The Siege of Mackindaw

by 8trustthecloak8

A while after the events of Nihon-Ja... The adventures are only just beginning. Will and Alyss have settled down after their marriage when Will is suddenly forced away on a dangerous mission with ties to his past. When something goes horribly wrong, no one seems to be able to help him... Except Alyss. Follow her on her journey to save Will.

2. Chapter 2

Will rode through the chilly forests in northern-Araluen alone, following the roads that lead to Seacliff Fief. He had departed from Castle Redmont two days prior, and he was already missing Alyss. On the morning he had left, only a small group of people had come to see him off, because much of the castle's staff were swept up in war preparations. Only Alyss, Halt, Pauline, Crowley, and Evanlyn had come to say goodbye.

Evanlyn had gone first, squeezing Will into a hug, kissing him on the cheek, and wishing him luck. She had then swept back up into the castle to go through some paperwork with her father.

Crowley had slapped him on the back a few times and told him, "Will, I really hope you succeed because if you don't, we will all be in big trouble." On that cheery note, he also left quickly, to send numerous messages to all the Rangers to give a report on what was happening.

Next Will stepped up to Halt and gave him a hug, and Halt slapped him on the back a few times as well. "I believe in you, Will, and I know you can do most anything once you can get your arrow to go in the right place. You have got your extra arrow cases, right?"

"Yes, of course Halt. Don't worry, I'll be back soon with lots of information. And hopefully a dead Scotti general."

"Now that would be something." Halt gave just the barest hint of a smile, and stepped back to let Alyss in. He walked back into the courtyard of the castle, knowing that those two would want a little privacy. It is, after all, Will's first mission since he's gotten married, Halt thought.

Alyss took hold of both of his hands and looked deeply into Will's eyes, drinking in his presence. "Be safe, Will."

"I will. At least, I'll try." But I can't promise, he added silently.

"I know. But trouble always seems to find you anyway." Then she leaned forward and gave him just the tenderest of kisses, and then leaned in for a hug, burying her face in his cloak, try to memorize what he smelled like. Will stroked her long blonde hair and breathed in the light scent of her perfume. She murmured into his cloak, "If you die, I'll kill you."

Will smiled. "I won't die, Alyss."

Alyss also smiled, but it was a sad smile. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, but you really can't guarantee that, can you?"

"That's... True. But - ," Will muttered.

"Go, Will. You must leave soon if you are going to get there by nightfall in two days."

He took one last good look at her, and then kissed her gently. "Don't worry about me, Alyss." Will climbed up on to Tug, and grabbed the reins.

"You know I will." Alyss raised a hand in farewell as Will rode off to the north.

Will smiled faintly at the memory, but returned his attention to the forest around him. He had been travelling for two days now, and had to reach Seacliff before nightfall and meet with the Baron just briefly before setting off to locate the camp. The Ranger there, Liam, had ridden away to Castle Araluen after receiving the news that Will was coming, so Will was completely alone.

The leaves crunched underneath Tug's hooves as he made his way through the forest path and up toward Castle Seacliff.

Don't worry, Tug said. You've still got me.

"Of course," Will said, and patted Tug's neck affectionately. "I've always got you." Minutes later, they crested a hill and the forest stopped. Beyond was the castle on the cliffs that hung majestically over the ocean on the far western part of Araluen. The castle was just as beautiful as Will remembered it from the years that he served there. He rode up to the castle and the guardsmen let him through, recognizing him and greeting him. It's as though I never left, Will thought. Of course, he didn't realize that though that guardsmen didn't actually recognize him, he was so famous that once he had stated his name, they would have let him through whether he was here to stop an invasion or to just have dinner.

Will left Tug in the courtyard, and went up a similar stairwell to the one in Redmont where Baron Ergel was waiting for him. "Ranger Will! Thank goodness you've come! I assume you have read the letters?" Baron Ergel asked breathlessly, pumping Will's hand enthusiastically.

Will quickly withdrew his hand from the Baron's grasp and shook it slightly to get the blood flowing again. "Yes, I have read the letters. I have been assigned by the King to take care of the trouble up here. This was just a visit to let you know that I was here. I actually must leave right now to go and locate the camp."

"Of course, I understand. Will you be continuing communication here?"

"Yes, I will need to use your message pigeons for sending information updates to Redmont and Araluen. But I will not be keeping up direct contact with you. As of this evening, I am going 'dark'."

The Baron looked puzzled at this terminology. "'Dark'?"

Will sighed inwardly. "I won't be coming back to report to you. I'll sneak in to use the pigeons, and then leave. I don't want many people to know of my presence."

The Baron looked a little surprised, but nodded. "So be it. Thank you for coming. I wish you the best of luck." Will bowed to him and left. Everyone seems to think I need luck, he thought as he mounted Tug.

Tug glanced up at him. You don't need luck when you're with me. But when you're alone you definitely need luck.

Will glared at him. "I can take care of myself, you know." Tug just rolled his horsey eyes, and responded to Will's touch. They galloped off towards the border.

Once he reached the vicinity of the camp, Will dismounted Tug and left him safely in a patch of particularly thick brush and spoke the command 'silent'. That meant that if Tug heard anything or smelled anything, he would freeze and be completely quiet, which meant he would not be discovered by anyone passing by.

From there, Will continued on foot. He pulled his cowl around his head and he ghosted through the trees, making almost no sound. He moved swiftly from cover to cover, for unseen movement wasn't hard in the forest because it was nearly dark and it was a dense forest. Finally after a good two hours of seemingly going in circles, Will caught a whiff of smoke in the air, and as he turned in that direction, he saw the faintest hint of light coming through the trees. He began to move toward it when suddenly his 'sixth sense' began to tingle. It wasn't something Will could explain, most Rangers had it. It was the feeling that you were being watched, or that someone was nearby before even seeing them. Will froze, and only just in time. Suddenly a large, hairy man came into his line of vision not ten feet from the bush Will was standing behind. He walked by, surprisingly light-footed on the leaf-strewn ground, almost no noise, not as quiet as Will, but nearly. In fact, if Will hadn't stopped, he would have practically walked right into him. The huge man was clearly a Scotti, with a large plaid kilt that fell to his knees and strange blue paint on his face. He wasn't MacHaddish but he was definitely a person to be reckoned with. He had a large ball and chain on his belt, one on each hip, one for each arm. And by the size of his arm muscles, he knew how to use them.

Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around, for god's sake. Will prayed desperately that the man would just walk right by, but apparently his last movement was what had attracted the huge man to the area. The man paused just about ten feet from Will. He even stared straight at the place where Will was standing for a full five seconds. His face was huge and red and covered in a thick and scraggly beard. Now here was a beard that was truly 'scruffy', as Will sometimes called Halt's beard. But Halt's beard was sleek compared to this. God... He's ugly. Will didn't move a muscle, even though he felt so afraid that he just wanted to duck and run, not only from his terrifying figure, but also his horrendous physical appearance.

"Ey! Adair! Git over here!" A voice called out from a short distance away, but it was rapidly get further away as the person moved deeper into the forest.

The man named Adair said, "Oy, hold on Bartholomew, I thought I saw somethin' here."

But Bartholomew didn't care. He was tired and in desperate need of a drink, and he didn't want Adair wasting his tavern time just to watch a squirrel. "Fine, but I'm leaving. Have fun tracking rodents." He crashed through the underbrush, getting further and further away from Will and Adair.

Follow him. I'm not here. Just follow him. Will fought the urge to shiver as a drop of sweat traced its way down his spine from his neck to the small of his back.

Finally Adair turned away from where Will was standing, and called back, "You're right, pro'lly just a squirrel. I'm comin'." And with that Adair left as quietly as he had come.

Don't turn around again. Don't do it. Will forced himself to stay absolutely still for a full minute before beginning to move forward again, just to make sure that both men were truly gone. But before advancing, he sank down against a tree and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. All he could picture was what would have happened if that man had spotted him, and flashes of his nearly fatal fight with MacHaddish flitted across his closed eyelids. He recalled Halt and Alyss's warnings: Don't take any unnecessary risks. Finally he managed to calm down, and he got back up, brushed leaves off of himself, and started silently and carefully towards the light.

The next few minutes were incredibly nerve racking, as Will had to cross several clearings with little to no cover, and every second Will was sure someone would come out of the woods and see a figure in a green cloak trying futilely to look like a rock. Finally Will reached the outskirts of the camp, where there countless tents set up by the men who were staying there. From the number of tents, it was certainly a formidable mass of people. Will ghosted between the tents with no problem, not coming across anyone. It was clear that all the men must be at some meeting or gathering in the middle of the camp, because as Will went past more and more tents, the light got brighter and the noise grew louder. It was completely dark now, and the shadows were long.

Finally Will passed all the tents and came across quite a sight. There was a massive bonfire, probably about ten to fifteen feet tall, and as wide as two carts, and just as long. Surrounding it were logs that had men squeezed on to every one of them, four men to each log, and about fifty logs. That meant about a hundred and fifty people, Will estimated. That meant that nearly the entire Scotti tribe had come to the camp. Then a man that Will knew well stepped in front of the camp fire, creating a rather dramatic silhouette. He had a kilt but was slimmer than Adair, and he had half of his face covered in thick blue war paint, which symbolized a general. A ball and chain, similar to Adair's, was hanging at his belt. But this one had wicked long spikes. And it was no mistaking who it was.

MacHaddish.

Will listened carefully and quietly as the men started their meeting. First off, they all ate a huge pig that was roasting on a spit over the fire, and they laughed and drank and generally just talked about their families and lives. The delicious smell of pig was intoxicating for Will, who hadn't eaten yet, and he worried that his stomach would reveal his presence. But after the meal, MacHaddish rose and began to speak. "Men! Listen! Listen to me! Your leader!" Gradually all of the man stopped talking and watched MacHaddish for his next few words. Will leaned in a bit farther to make sure he heard everything right. "Tonight is a joyous night! Does anybody know why?"

He glanced around the crowd, until one man shouted out, "We got a new supply of mead!" A chorus of laughter and applause rose from the crowd, and even MacHaddish gave a small, gruesome smile. But then it was gone and he continued. "Yes, that is a good thing, but it is not the reason we are here! We are here to invade! Invade Araluen!" Another chorus of shouting and cheering rose, but MacHaddish let this one continue, revelling in his glory and accomplishment. It was basically a rally, a long meeting where they drank and cheered for themselves. "Men! In just a few days, we will march over that border with our prize and no one will be able to stop us! We will take over all the tiny fiefs in our way and finally unseat King Duncan and his blasted Rangers! Are you all ready to do it with me?" More loud cheering. More drinking. I've seen all this before. I need to get out of here before Adair walks right into me. He had quite enough to mull over tonight, and plenty to report to Halt and the King back at Redmont. Will turned and left.

Later that evening, when the Scotti perimeter guards returned to the main control tent to report before their breaks, one of the guards had something to report. "I - I'm not really sure what I saw. It wasn't an animal, it was definitely human sized, but it was as though it wasn't there quite, a - a ghost, like." The captain of the guard stood and grabbed the man harshly by the arm and yelled in his face, "What? What did you see? Tell me! I must know!"

The guard, suddenly realized that his report had some meaning, continued nervously, "Uh, a man I think, in some sort of cloak that made it so I couldn't really tell where he was, I lost sight of him a lot, I only glanced him a few times. I never even saw his f - face..." the guard floundered to a stop as the captain released him and ran out of the tent. The captain sprinted for the main command tent, and he entered and called, "General! General MacHaddish! The green man! He is here! The green ghost man!"

The tent fell eerily silent and MacHaddish turned and slowly faced the captain. A slow, wicked grin spread over his face, and he murmured, "Our plan is in motion."

"... in conclusion, the camp is nearly done with preparations, and they are going to attack in 'a few days', which I interpret to be maybe a week or more. Please arrange your forces accordingly. Sincerely, Will." Halt closed the letter and leaned heavily down on the table in Araluen Fief at a meeting table in the King's quarters. Maps and charts were spread out before him and the King and Crowley who were selecting men and positioning so that they would be ready when Will gave the word.

"All I can say, Halt, is that Will is doing a fabulous job, as usual," the King said while looking over a map.

"We just have to hope he doesn't get caught. If he does, I don't know what we'll do..." Crowley murmured thoughtfully, pouring over a list of men.

"We just have to hope he doesn't get caught." Halt said this with confidence, but there was an inkling of doubt in his heart he would never tell anyone about. What would they do?

Two nights after his discovery of the camp, Will returned to the camp for the third time. The second time he had gone, it had been another war rally, and he hadn't gotten any new information, except for some repeats of the night before. This time he creeped into camp again past a different guard, who didn't even glance his way as he went by. Will still felt nervous entering the camp, but he was a little more comfortable now since he knew where everything was now. He made a beeline to the camp fire and climbed up into a tree that was just inside the clearing, but not near enough for it to be noticeable. He found a comfortable position in the tree, and set himself for another night of cheering and rallying. He waited a while, and then while longer, and then he realized that the tribe had not yet gathered, and they were running late. They were never late, or at least they had been exactly on time both other days Will had watched them. So Will climbed cautiously down from the tree, and smoothly left the bonfire and followed some officer to the main command tent, where MacHaddish was planning the last of his invasion. Will quickly ducked into one of the tents, shed his cloak and left it under a shelf in the tent. He grabbed one of the cloaks hanging on the hanger by the door and put it around him. Then he flipped the hood up over his head and strolled out confidently and headed for the command tent again, this time walking as though he was supposed to be there. Halt had taught him long ago: if you want to infiltrate somewhere, act like you belong there, and people will assume that you do. Will wasn't about to ignore his mentor's advice now, not when he was in such a dangerous situation. Will walked right into the tent and stood near the back of the crowd of people as MacHaddish was overviewing the last of their movement plans. MacHaddish nodded a few times, pursed his lips again, and said, "... yes, yes this all looks in order. When can we move out, Sergeant?"

The man nearest to him said, "About four days, sir."

MacHaddish grinned slightly, and turned to the man who had just entered behind him. He looked like a messenger. He krept meekly up behind him a whispered something into his ear. Will couldn't even hope to hear what it was from that distance. MacHaddish nodded a few times again, murmured a 'thank you' to the messenger, and then announced in a surprising loud voice, "Well, well, well, it seems that tonight we have a distinguished guest with us! A great man, a great man, in one's opinion. He stopped an invasion some years ago, he was a genius tactician against a mighty foe and he managed to survive and escape to save the day! All in all, a very accomplished man. I haven't seen him for some years, but he is here tonight with us, and I expect to show him some hospitality!"

As Will listened to this banter, he thought how accomplished this Scotti must be to have earned MacHaddish's respect... and then suddenly a terrifying, horrible doubt crossed his mind. Could MacHaddish have discovered... Could I have been so sloppy as to let someone know I was here... Will wasn't sure, but it sounded eerily similar to what had happened years ago in Seacliff when Will was a newly commissioned Ranger, so he turned and began to make his way toward the door, at a relaxed pace so as not to disturb the other people in the tent, but MacHaddish's next words confirmed it.

"Ranger Will Treaty! Ranger Will! Where are you? I know that you are in here! The exits are sealed, you have no way to escape. May as well reveal yourself, you have no where to go."

God. Oh, god. No, don't panic. Will's heart pounded furiously in his chest and he furtively glanced around at the two exits from the tent, but he could see a mass of soldiers completely sealing off each exit. Nobody was coming in or out, and that included Will. In just a few seconds, Will decided that he had no choice. Even if he did escape the tent, which was a big 'if', there would be about a hundred men between him and freedom. I don't have any other choice. Will slowly took a few steps forward into the center of the tent, and lowered his hood. MacHaddish watched him carefully, following his every move, and yet never losing his awareness of what was going on around him.

They both stood frozen in the center of the tent for a few seconds just looking intently at one another, sizing each other up. Finally MacHaddish spoke. "Ranger Will. I have not seen you in a long time."

So you wanna play polite? I'll play, too. "And you, General MacHaddish. Your makeup is still as blue as ever."

MacHaddish kept up his pleasant grimace, but the skin around his eyes tightened noticeably. "I see your wit has not deteriorated either. Are you still shooting toothpicks with your twig and twine?"

"Yes, and I've gotten better. I see you've dumped the broadsword and have taken up to playing with a cat toy." Will jibed at his weapon, trying to drive MacHaddish over the edge. The only way Will could escape was if MacHaddish lost his temper and the whole tent descended into chaos, and Will could slip out in the ruckus. But from the look of MacHaddish at the moment, that chance was getting slimmer and slimmer.

MacHaddish took a step closer to Will, and Will tried to back up as well, but the men behind him formed a wall and he couldn't go anywhere. MacHaddish thrust his face into Wills and spat, "I am going to make you pay, Ranger Will. I am going to make you pay for all the suffering you caused my people and all the planning and preparations you ruined in just a few hours. But that will have to come after I 'ransom' you off to the King."

"You do understand that the King isn't going to send a ransom for me, right? I am sworn into his service. That includes my life." Will kept up his calm charade on the outside, but inside his heart was pounding so hard he was surprised that MacHaddish couldn't hear it.

At this information, MacHaddish just smiled. "Yes, I do know that, Ranger Will. That's why I set up the plan for you to be captured, because I know that yes, you have friends, and yes, they would normally help you. But this time they can't, because they are all in the capital of Araluen right now planning a war, and your value, though extremely high, does not equal a country. None of your friends can help you. You are all alone." He leaned down into Will's face, his voice hard and merciless. "So when I send for a ransom request, you will feel sad, and your friends will feel sad, even the King will feel sad because I do know how much he values you as an adviser and a friend to his daughter. Everyone in Araluen will be sad, and then I'll march right in, and even though your friends will be ordered to kill me, they won't do it because they won't be able to bear to let you die. They love you too much. And then I will kill you. And that will be merciful, because I am obviously an extremely merciful person."

Will just looked at him blankly on the outside, but inside he was sad and angry and frustrated. The information MacHaddish had just sent like arrows rapid-fire into his brain were bouncing around as he tried to make sense of what he had just heard. And then it all clicked. And he knew he had very little hope left of surviving more than a week.

MacHaddish saw it all register in Will's eyes, and he grinned his crooked, wicked grin, murmured to a man beside him, "Tie him." The man advanced nervously, and then several men grabbed Will's arms and dragged them in front of him and he tied them together securely. The men holding him ripped his knives out of his scabbards and dug into his belt pouches and removed the strikers as well.

Then MacHaddish said, "Take him away. We have an invasion to prepare," and Will was dragged out of the tent.

Alyss paced back and forth worriedly in the pigeon shed, waiting for Will's pigeon to come. But it wasn't coming. It was a day late, and that was very unlike Will. Different scenarios ran through her head about what could have possibly happened to him... Maybe he got trapped in the camp and had to wait before he could leave... or maybe he had to return to Araluen... but he would have sent a letter warning them. She wished she knew what was happening to him, but she had no way of knowing until he sent a letter or she went and discovered it herself.

She left the pigeon shed, walked across the lawn, and entered Castle Araluen. She quickly went up to the main meeting room. Halt and the King were still there. Evanlyn and Crowley were not.

Halt looked up as she entered and nodded to her. "I assume you have the letter from Will. It was late this time, does it explain why?"

Alyss shook her head. "I don't have the letter from Will, because there isn't one! Halt, he's not going to send one! Something's happened to him... I can feel it."

Halt raised an eyebrow. "You can feel it? Alyss, he's probably just running a bit late. When he comes back, I'll have to tell him off for that..." then his voice faded away as he looked at another list. "Your Majesty, it seems that, according to this list, the Third Infantry Division has gathered in the wrong holding area again."

Alyss lost her temper at this, shouting harshly, "Halt! Something has happened to Will and you're just going to ignore it? How could you?"

Halt sighed, and looked up at her. "Alyss, I'm not ignoring it. But unfortunately, there are more important things to be dealt with at the moment."

"What, Halt? What could be more important than your son?"

That stopped Halt in his tracks. He froze, staring at the map, but his glazed eyes weren't really seeing it. The King, sensing the tension, inconspicuously sauntered away from the table and out of the room. Now it was empty, except for Halt and Alyss.

"Alyss." Halt stepped away from the table and gently took her hand. "I love Will. Like a son, as you said. But, like the King, my emotions come after the safety of Araluen, and as of right now, Araluen is being threatened, as we know from Will. You have no idea how badly I want to ride out there and check up on him, or at least send him a letter, but I can't, not when the kingdom comes first." Alyss knew he was right. I know that, but I can't just leave him, he's my husband... But more importantly, he's my best friend. She was having a strange feeling, the premonition that Will wasn't just delayed, something had happened. Maybe not to him, but something important enough to delay his letter. She let go of his hand.

"You're right, Halt. I'm sorry for getting angry."

Halt smiled. "I understand it. I feel a bit angry as well that I can't help him. If only there was someone who could..." and then he was swept up in his maps and charts and lists again. Alyss sensed that anymore talk about this would be wasting time, both her's and Halt's. She left the room quietly and started down the stairs. Something Halt had said lingered in her mind... if only there was someone who could. And then it dawned on her... there was someone who could help Will!

"I can help him," she whispered. Alyss knew she had no duties left. Most of the diplomacy was done now, and Lady Pauline was handling her workload without any problems. No one would even miss her. She ran back up the stairs and swung around the corner into the room, and said, "Halt! I'm leaving to find Will! Don't try to follow me! I'll send a message when we've sorted out what's going on up there! I should be back in a week or less!" Not even waiting for Halt's reaction, she ran right back down the stairs, packed up a few belongings, and galloped off towards the north.

Will had been a captive in the Scotti camp for about a day now. They had taken his weapons and everything in his belt. The had retied his hands to a stake they had set up at the edge of the camp just a few meters away from MacHaddish's tent. They hadn't even given him any food. They left him there all night, and he had wrapped himself up in his cloak as best he could to stay warm. The next morning, they had given him a bit of oatmeal and dried fruit and some water. The smell of coffee had been intoxicating, Will remembered. Occasionally a soldier or guard would kick him or spit on him as they walked by, but so far all he had were a few bruises, and none of them were very bad. He sat there all afternoon, and all the way into the evening, and nobody paid him much attention at all. It seemed as though they simply wanted to contain him until he was actually needed. But later in the evening, just before dinner, at around six in the evening, MacHaddish and group of his advisors left the tent and advanced toward him. Will rose to his feet and stood awkwardly against the stake his wrists were tied to. MacHaddish reached him and just looked at him for a second, sneering at him in utter contempt and hatred. But then he gestured to one of the men behind him, and he gave Will a piece of bread. Will took it and ate it, savoring the taste and eating every crumb. He needed to keep up his strength if he was going to escape. MacHaddish waited until Will had finished his bread, and then began to speak. "Ranger Will. I need you to answer some questions for me, please. They are not hard questions, they are simply to find out what you learned while you were spying on us. Will you answer them truthfully?"

Will shrugged. "I can't make any promises. "

MacHaddish's eyebrows lowered slightly, but other than that he held his temper. "I shall pretend that I did not hear you. How many days did you spy on our camp?"

Will shrugged again, his expression indifferent. "I don't think I want to tell you right now."

MacHaddish sighed slightly, and his shoulders tightened. "What information did you hear during your time at this camp?"

Another shrug from Will. "I don't really want to talk to you. "

MacHaddish's whole body tightened up and he growled through clenched teeth, "Where did you hide while you were listening to us?"

Will shrugged one more time. "I already said that I didn't want to talk to you. Do I really have to say it again?"

By this time, MacHaddish's temper was hanging by a thread. One more poke, and he would explode. His face was bright red, his whole body was tense and his hand was clenched, white-knuckled, around the handle of his spiked ball and chain. MacHaddish struggled to say, "This is your last chance. Answer my question. What did you hear?"

Will goaded him one last time. "Fine. I'll say it again: I don't want to talk to you."

MacHaddish lost it. He whipped the ball and chain from his belt and brought it swinging across his body horizontally, aiming for Will's head. Will had been expecting an attack, but his luck was out that day. Will ducked, but just a hair too soon. The ball itself missed Will's head, but the spikes did not. Three of the sharp spikes slashed the side of his head, slicing through the skin. Will, having lost his balance by throwing himself down to avoid the ball, fell to the ground, and immediately felt hot blood running down the right side of his face, over his temple and dripping off his jaw. It was also running down through his hair over his ear. He knelt on the ground and breathed for a moment. And then all at once the shock went away and the pain set in. He suddenly had a massive headache, his whole head was throbbing horribly.

Meanwhile, most of MacHaddish's advisors had grabbed at his arms and legs just after hitting Will. They ripped the ball and chain from his grasp and restrained him for a moment, shouting for him to calm down and get in control. Eventually MacHaddish stopped shaking and the redness disappeared from his face, and he stopped struggling. He calmly pulled the men's arms off of him and took back his ball and chain and secured it to his belt, acting as though nothing had happened. "Thank you, gentlemen. That will not happen again." But he turned to Will and bent over him, rasping into his ear, "That was just the beginning."

Alyss was tired. So tired. She had ridden all day and through the night and part of the next day to get to Seacliff. She had taken some maps with her so that she would know exactly where to go to find Will. He had written in his letter the exact location of the camp, so she didn't have to look for it. But after spending about thirty-two straight hours in the saddle she was so tired she could barely walk. She heaved herself off the horse she was riding and walked along for a little while, resting the horse and her legs. Then she mounted the other horse she had brought and rode the last few miles up to the location Will had said the camp was near. After another thirty minutes of riding, she reached a part of the forest that was familiar to her according to Will's directions. She went past the huge log that had fallen down and then suddenly her horse bucked! His muscles tightened and all at once his front hooves were in the air. Alyss nearly fell off, but she just managed to grab the saddle horn. Finally she managed to calm the poor horse down and she tried to pull the reigns in the right direction, but the horse dragged its head in the opposite direction and pranced to the left a little, Alyss dragging the reins the other way all the while. Finally after the horse been stopped she leaned down to fix a strap that had snapped when she was wrestling with the horse when she saw a shadow move. No, it was too big to be a tree branch, and it was too solid to be a bush. It was bigger than a man, definitely bigger. She slowly and quietly dismounted and crept up behind a huge tree. The she saw the shadow move again, and she looked up and saw some large animal behind the clump of bushes. It was moving around quietly, but it didn't seem to be alarmed. It wasn't the same size as a bear, but it was bigger than a deer. In fact, it looked like horse.

A horse.

"Tug! Tug! Is that you?" Alyss called out and ran over to the bush and pulled back the bramble. Sure enough, Will's unmistakable stocky, barrel-chested horse looked at her with big brown eyes. "Tug!" Alyss hugged him around the neck, relieved to see him. This meant that she was definitely in the right place. Will had been here... But where was he now? Alyss went around behind Tug and suddenly noticed that Will's longbow was unstrung and in its case, slung onto the side of his saddle. His full quiver and both spare arrow cases were there as well. Wherever he went he couldn't bring his bow, she thought. She dug around in his saddle bags, and found his food rations. He had brought enough rations for a week and a half. His water bottle was full, but the water was leathery and old. He hasn't been here recently, she thought, and he has only eaten 4 days of his rations... that means that he hasn't eaten his rations for either yesterday or today. And Alyss knew that Will would never not eat. He was gone, and hadn't been here for about two days, that was for sure. She had been right. Something had happened to Will, and she had to find out where he was.

She was about to mount Tug, but then she remembered something about what Will had said about Tug... something about how Ranger horses never got stolen because they had a code phrase to mount them safely. She wracked her brain for the phrase; she was certain will had told her. "That's it!" She leaned into Tug's head and whispered, "Do you mind?" into his ear.

Tug flicked back his ear and gave a horsey nod.

Alyss took this as a sign and she mounted Tug. She waited for a moment just to make sure she had been right, then she twitched the reins and rode Tug out of the clearing with the two other horses following behind, making her way closer and closer to the camp.

Alyss dismounted Tug as soon as she saw the light in the distance. It was the light of the bonfire, according to Will's letter. She lead the horses to a safe place in the forest and quickly pulled her blue cloak over her riding clothes. She pulled out her disguise kit she always carried as part of being a Courier and worked on becoming a man. She skillfully applied makeup that thickened her eyebrows and made her jawline more defined and thicker looking. She lightened her eyelashes and made her lips look a bit thinner. She put on a pair of spectacles to hide her feminine-set eyes, she pulled her cowl up and straightened her shoulders. Her height helped, since she was as tall as most men anyway. She practiced walking harder to seem heavier and thicker built. She put thick leather on her arms to make them seem thicker, and last of all, she made herself cough a lot so that her voice was gruffer and deeper. Then she left the horses there, and walked into the camp. Some men actually greeted her as she made her way through the tents, so she thought she must be doing a pretty good job. She finally made it past the tents and came across the massive bonfire. But it wasn't lit, and no one was there, so she kept on moving. She walked past all the logs and made it to the rows of command tents. The largest tent there was full of people, so Alyss walked over there and stood near the back to listen in. A large man was speaking in the center of the tent, saying, "... in two days time we will march out of Scotti and into Araluen, and we will win without even fighting because we have a weapon that they will never expect! Do you all hear me?" The crowd of men cheered and screamed in bloodlust and the need for victory. "Good. The last order of business before I suggest we all turn in is that someone still needs to feed the Ranger. Does anyone want to volunteer?" he sneered.

Will's at the camp. I need to find him. "I'll do it!" she shouted gruffly, trying to sound manly.

"Good, a volunteer. Go to the mess tent to get something for him. Then stay and watch him eat it it, and then you can leave him again. Feel free to go to bed after that. In fact, all of you should turn in. We have a big couple of days ahead of us." The huge man addressed Alyss and then the whole tent. But Alyss was already gone heading for the mess tent.

She walked in, grabbed a loaf of bread and some dried meat and went back to the main command tent. She looked around carefully certain that Will had to be somewhere nearby, and then she saw him. A figure in a green and gray cloak was slumped against a huge thick stake stuck into the ground, and his hands were tied to the stake. His head was slumped down so she couldn't see his face. Sleeping, he's only sleeping. They wouldn't tie up a dead man. She walked slowly over, even though her heart was pounding with relief as she now had living proof that Will was alive. She hadn't let that doubt cross her mind often but she had known it wasn't out of the question. But here was proof that he was alive. She came within about five meters of him and Will looked up. The right side of his face was shrouded in shadow from the lanterns, and he looked a bit pale, but his eyes still had steel in him, and she knew he was alright.

"Finally come with my food, have you? Running a bit late..." he said quietly. She came up close to him and he reared back uncomfortably, unsure of why this man was so close to him. Alyss smiled slightly. Her disguise was working a little too well. She removed her spectacles and sloshed some of Will's water onto her face. She wiped her face off with her cloak and her makeup came off in a few smudges. "What - what are you doing..." Will trailed off as Alyss leaned in close to him.

"Will... it's me. Alyss." His eyes widened as he registered the suddenly familiar face without the make up or glasses.

"Alyss? Is that really you? How the devil did you get here?" his voice seemed relieved and shocked at the same time. But Alyss put a finger to his lips and whispered, "Just eat. I'll explain everything to you."

Will did eat. But he ate slowly as he listened to everything Alyss said. She explained how she had not received a letter and how she knew something was wrong, about her fight with Halt, and then he long ride here. Finally at the end, Will whispered, "I would tell you everything that's happened to me, but it would take way too long and be too complicated for just a short conversation. Let's just say that I ran into a bit of trouble and I got caught. They have included me in their plan to invade, that's the only reason I'm still alive. What I need to do right now is escape." A faint smile crossed over his lips. "And I have a plan to do it."

"Of course you do, you schemer." Alyss smiled at him. Will tried to grin widely back at her but he suddenly winced as if in pain. "What? Is something wrong?"

"No, not really, well, it depends on your definition of 'wrong' , but... wait, you can't see it?" Will seemed bewildered that she didn't already know.

"See... what?" she asked uncertainly. Will glanced around for a moment, and then smiled again.

"I see. I'm in shadow, so you can't see it... hold on a moment..." He rose to his knees and twisted his head a bit so that his whole face was in the light, and Alyss gasped. Blood covered the right side of his head from his temple to just beyond his ear and down to his jaw and neck. Three deep cuts had been slashed into the side of his head, and they had bled profusely. They weren't bleeding much anymore, but they were still oozing, and it was clear that it hurt very badly.

"Oh... Will, did they do this to you?"

"Yes, unfortunately, MacHaddish did. He lost his temper and slashed me with his spiked ball and chain."

"What?" Alyss's voice raised louder than a whisper, and she jerked around to see if any one had noticed... but nobody was around. "He hit your head with a ball and chain? How did you not... die?"

"I ducked at the last minute, just not quite soon enough to avoid the spikes. The cuts didn't even hit the skull. They just bled a lot, that's why it looks so bad."

Alyss sighed and gently wrapped her arms around him for a moment and then let go before anyone could see. "Are you sure? It looks really painful..."

"I'll admit, it hurts like the very devil, but I'll survive."

"Now that we've confirmed you will live, tell me about this escape plan of yours."