This is my first story so sorry if its crap and thank you people who have reviewed I think I fixed all the grammar mistakes if I didn't please point them out to me. I will not continue this story it's a one shot. And if anyone knows how to do line breaks please tell me.
-Cheshiresapprentice
It was as if the world had stopped. Halt froze as he saw the figure lying limp in the middle of the track. Next to the figure was a small shaggy horse unmistakably it was Tug. If there was any doubt was in his mind about who the figure was it was gone now, the figure lying in the road was Will, it couldn't have been anyone else in the world, and he was lying in a pool of blood.
Weeks earlier Halt had been the first to know that Will had gone missing. It was only natural that he would be the one to look for him. He and Gilan were riding into the gathering together, already worried about Will. They had waited the last few hours for him, at the crossroad where they always met, eventually deciding he was going to be late they continued on to the gathering. Halt went to Crowley's tent while Gilan pitched the tents. As Halt approached the tent he could already tell there was bad news. Crowley invited Halt in with a few mumbled words. They sat in silence for a few moments until Halt broke the silence. "What's the bad news?" Halt said in his usual grim tone.
"We haven't heard from Will for weeks not since he set out to disband a group of raiders near the border." Crowley looked pained when he told Halt the news. He knew how much Halt cared for the boy. Halt's mind raced it was true he hadn't heard from Will in a couple of weeks but he assumed the raiders he been sent to deal with had been bigger than expected. Apparently that hadn't been the case. "Are you sure?" Halt said, silently pleading in his mind that there had been a mistake and Will was on his way.
"Positive he sent a message ahead saying he was on his way home four weeks ago. He should have been back by now." Crowley watched as Halts face became even grimmer than usual.
"I'll set out right away." He explained the situation to Gilan then headed towards the border where the raiders were at large.
Halt rushed off his horse and bent next to the figure in the road. Halt rolled the unconscious Will over and felt a cold hand grasp his heart when he saw his former apprentice with an arrow in his side. He let loose a small sigh of relief when he saw that Will was breathing, but he was pale, and was covered with cuts and large colorful bruises. Halt wasted no time in tending to Wills injuries. Halt took of his cloak, folded it up and place it under Wills head so the boy could have some comfort. The cut in his side wasn't the only injury Will had received; the boy was also covered in major cuts and bruises. While Halt was treating the injuries all he could think was that Will had to recover. What would Halt do if Will didn't recover, Halt wouldn't be able to go on, and he would surely die of grief.
Halt, leaving Will alone for a few minutes, set up a small camp off the side of the track where it was hidden by bushes and trees. Then he carried Will into the camp and put him down onto a bedroll. Will was still out cold and starting to get feverish. Halt wasn't that surprised to find that Tug had never left Wills side. He kept wondering why, whoever did this to Will, let the horse stay with him. He hardly doubted it was from the goodness of their hearts. Getting water from the small stream nearby halt soaked rags in it and put them on Wills brow hoping to cool the fever. Will was still unconscious and for what seemed like hours Halt sat next to Will waiting for the young apprentice to wake up. He has a dangerous habit of getting into trouble Halt thought. But everything would be alright he had found Will and they would go back to Redmont once Will got well enough to ride.
Weeks earlier Will was traveling back from his mission near Picta. He was eager to get home after the long journey. His mission wasn't anything extremely important; he just had to take care of a small band of raiders. The raiders were causing small issues around the border and he had quickly resolved the problem. Downhill from where Will was a group of fifty men hidden in the surrounding woods. Normally Tug would have smelt or heard the men by now but the wind was too loud and blowing away from them. Tug eventually heard them but it was already too late to warn his master. The men came screaming out of the woods prepared to attack. Even totally surprised Will shot five or so men down but they soon overtook him and pulled him from his horse. His bow torn from his grasp he grabbed both of his knifes and stabbed wherever skin showed. Then one of the attackers club came down hard onto Wills head knocking him out.
When he awoke he was tied to a tree at the edge of a camp. His head throbbed and ached so badly he almost passed out again. It took a couple of minutes to shake some of the dizziness from him. When his vision cleared and his head pain went down he took a look around the camp site. From his view it looked like it could hold forty people comfortably and there were guards posted about every six or eight meters.
One man sitting next to one of the fires noticed he was up, got up and walked into the biggest tent in the center of the camp. Will figured that this was the leader's tent. After ten minutes the man who noticed Will was up came out with another man. The man was tall and bulky. He was poor clothes and you could see the man's tattoos stretch up his arms. He wore his hair and beard long and in some places it was matted with sweat. He walked up to Will and asked in a thick rural accent "Hello ranger, enjoy your nap?" As he said the last word a drop of spit launched off his lip and landed on Wills face.
Will wiped it off his cheek with his shoulder then replied "Who are you?" the man glared at Will.
"You know it is awfully rude to answer a question with a question." Will glared at the man then remembered how many times Halt had gotten onto Will for the same thing, but this was different it was being said by a kidnapper not by a friend.
"I won't tell you my name you won't be needing it." The leader said it as if Will wouldn't be there long. He got a dreaded feeling as if he would never see any friends again.
"You'll be answering some questions for us." The leader said to Will. "We know that you are a ranger so no need to deny that. We know every year you rangers get together but we want to know where, and you're going to tell us." Will looked up at the man surprised and wondered where he got his information from.
"You won't get any information from me." Will spat.
"Well, looks like we captured a loyal dog." The leader said to the men that started to gather around them then continued "Take this mutt and torture him for a week then we'll see if he's more talkative."
Three men then grabbed Will and took him to a separate camp a couple miles away from the other one. During the next week Will was put through painful, bloody, tortures to the point of almost death, and the whole time Will didn't utter a single word or show that any of this hurt him. After the week was up they questioned him but he didn't say anything. Will new the importance of all of the ranger's secrets they would have to almost kill him and even then he wouldn't talk. They sent one of their own to report the results. The reply was another two weeks of torture then death.
Normally Will would try to escape but the torture had drained his strength and hope. After two weeks they untied him and lead him to a road a few hours of riding away. To add insult to injury they let him walk unbound. He barely had enough energy to walk let alone run to freedom. Before they got too far Wills legs failed him and he fell to the ground. They sent one of them to fetch his horse which they put him on. It hadn't taken long to figure out Tug could only be ridden by Will but they still kept Tug alive with plans to abandon him with his masters body. After three hours of riding they dragged Will off his horse while one held him still while another walked a few meters away with Wills bow they confiscated weeks back. It took a few more seconds than normally to realize what they planned to do. Will tried to avoid the arrow by lunging to the side but it struck Will in the side. Unbearable pain swept through him radiating from his side, at the edges of his vision there was a gray mist that was quickly turning black. He tried to stay up but the one who had been holding him still pushed him to the ground and spat on him.
Before they left one of them said "One last chance to gives us the information we want." Will looked up at the man and said "Never." Will would never talk even if it meant death on his part. By now his breathing was short and fast he was sure he'd be dead before the day was out
The man looked at Will in discuss and replied "Then die a slow painful death." Then they left leaving Will to die alone with nobody expect Tug who was leaning over him with an expression that looked like he was crying. The only thing Will could do is lay there and feel the life slowly drain out of him. Each minute passing by felt like an hour and sank into the deep blackness that had wrapped itself around Will.
Nearly a day later Halt found Will at deaths doorstep.
Halt hadn't moved from Wills side since he found the boy and didn't plan on it until Will woke up. Late into the night Halt began to dose and soon fell asleep upright still next to Will. Will stayed unconscious for the next three days. Wills fever had gone and he looked less pale than when Halt had found him. Still Halt was on edge and he found himself pacing back and forth through the small camp. Halt didn't get any sleep and he hardly even ate. And once again Halt fell asleep next to his former apprentice.
Will woke up to a comforting sight. Halt next to him a familiar campsite set up around him. Tug and Abelard standing next to one and another ready to warn them if any trouble is near. Of course Tug was only a few feet away from Will like he always was when he was concerned for his master's safety. Will breathed a sigh of relief and for the first time in weeks he felt safe. After a few minutes the aches and pains came back and for the first time Will understood how bad of a shape he was in. It would probably be weeks before he could travel. "Will! You're awake." Halt said in a relived voice. The doubt that Will might die was lifted from Halts shoulders the second he woke up to see Will awake.
Will looked up at his old mentor and closest friend. "Will, are you ok? Who did this to you?" Will didn't know where to begin. Of course he had already figured out why Tug didn't warn him in time. The wind was blowing there scent downhill and was blowing so loud Tug didn't hear them until they were right on top of them. "I'm fine Halt. How did you find me?" Will said his voice shaking. Halt smiled out of the corner of his mouth, but Will could tell that Halt was still concerned for him, and he probably exhausted himself taking care of Will.
"I found you on the side of a rode with an arrow in your side and you were covered with tons of cuts. Are you sure you're ok. Who did this to you Will?" Will looked up at Halt who usually wore an uncaring expression but today he looked deeply concerned.
"I'm fine. I don't know who attacked me, well at least not his name. It was a band of thieves, not the ones I was sent to disband. The ones who attacked me seemed more organized, they knew who I was and they know about the gathering just not where. They tortured me and when they realized I wasn't going to tell them anything they tried to kill me." As Will said the last sentence he tried to sit up, which caused a wave of pain and dizziness to wash over him.
"Will your still too weak to sit up stay laying down I'll make you some broth." Halt said as he eased Will back down onto the bedroll. "I would rather have coffee."
Halt smiled to himself. He knew of course Will got his addiction to coffee from him; each and every ranger as far as he knew was addicted to coffee. They both were silent as halt made the brew. He poured out two cups then went to sit next to Will. He lifted the young man's head up and slowly poured the coffee into Wills mouth. Color slowly returned to his cheeks. Will sat there thinking about what had happened during the last few weeks. Then a question formed into his mind.
"Halt, where are we." Halt looked at Will, to see whether he was joking, but then he realized the last few weeks of Wills life have been anything but easy.
"We're in Araluen, about fifty kilometers south of the border. Will what happened, how did they take you?" Will looked up at Halt.
"I was riding Tug home; we were about twenty three kilometers till the Araluen border. The wind was blowing very loud and hard Tug wasn't able to hear them until they were upon us. Tug wasn't able to smell them because they were downhill from us and …" Wills voice trailed off. Will shifted his weight the winced in pain. Halt notice this action.
"I better reapply the slave." Will tried his best to stay quiet and still as Halt cleaned his injuries and re-did his bandages. "You better get some sleep, Will."