Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice nor any of the character except a few OC's and some future places.

Will's gaze drifted around the forest around him as he and Tug emerged from the forest surrounding the near clearing that held the Gathering. It was already half filled with tents and bodies moving around. Contrary to the atmosphere of fun and excitement that usually accompanied Gatherings, the mood that day was tense and anxious.

With a sigh, he nudged Tug and the little pony trotted forward, both searching for a familiar horse and Ranger. It didn't take the pair long to find where Halt was camped. The older man was just walking back to his tent from where the elder members of the Ranger's Corps were gathered. "Halt!" He watched as his mentor looked up, pausing and waiting for Will and Tug to come to a stop.

"Took you long enough," Halt commented.

Will just grinned and dropped down off Tug's back as the little horse called a greeting to Abelard who called back.

"I left as soon as I got your letter. Are things really as bad as they seem?" he asked.

"Worse, I'm afraid. Several more have been killed since I sent the letter, including one of the servants and trainee knights at Redmont," Halt told him.

"Any idea who is doing this, or why?" Will asked. A servant and a trainee knight. They were hardly people of power, though they did have access to people of power. But what was to be accomplished by killing them.

"We have no idea," Halt said. "We suspected kalkara but they have no reason to and the cause of death is quite clear on all of them."

Will raised an eyebrow in question.

"They were all fatally wounded but they died by bleeding out."

Will felt the blood drain from his face and held back a shiver. "Anything else that could help us?"

Halt shook his head. "No. But the all those killed were killed the same way so we're guessing that it was the same person that killed them," he explained.

"Is there any plan?" Will asked.

Halt just shrugged. "Try to catch the person in the act," he said. "There's not much else we can do."

Will couldn't help feeling surprised, if not outright shocked. It sounded as if Halt had already given up! But, then, he was also right. There wasn't anything else they could do. But, there must be something more. "You wouldn't have asked me to come all this way if that was all you had to tell me."

"Crowley's the one that summoned everyone. He's just going to announce what I've already told you," Halt explained.

Will frowned and looked over to where Crowley was talking with some of the other senior Rangers. "There has to be something more," he said, mostly to himself. "Something we've missed."

"There isn't, Will," Halt told him. "I've been to two of the scenes myself. There's nothing we've missed."

Nothing. No clues, no signs, no trail to follow. Nothing. But there had to be something! No killer was good enough to not leave something behind. Only Rangers were that good, and even then only the very best could probably do it. That thought made a shudder run through him. Was it possible that one among them had done it? No. No, of course not. Rangers were loyal to King and country. There was no way a Ranger would do something like this. But…

"Halt, are there any renegade Rangers who might have a reason to do this?" he asked.

Halt had been making a pot of coffee while Will had been lost in thought. His head jerked up, however, at his former apprentice's question. "There's only one renegade Ranger that's still alive," he said. "But I can't think of any reason why he would want these people dead."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should track this guy down, just to make sure it's not him," Will suggested.

"No," Halt said, too quickly and too firmly. "We're not tracking him down."

Will watched his old mentor suspiciously. "Halt, if this guy is the one killing these people, it's our responsibility to hunt him down and see that justice is done."

"We're not going after him," Halt snapped. "We're not tracking him down. Just drop it Will. It's not him."

Will stared at Halt. How could he just dismiss someone like that when they had no other leads?! "But Halt-."

"Just drop it!"

Will snapped his mouth shut, taken aback by Halt's harsh words. He tried to think of something to say but his mind had gone completely blank.

"Besides," Halt said, watching as the water for the coffee started boiling. "No one knows where he is. He seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth. No one's heard or seen him in over fifteen years."

Will frowned and looked out across the Gathering. This renegade Ranger had to be somewhere, but there was no guarantee he was still in Araluen. Actually, it was most likely he had left it after… whatever happened to get him kicked out of the Ranger's Corps. So, they were back to square one with nowhere to go. Great.

As Halt had said, Crowley told them nothing Halt hadn't already told Will. That night, sitting around their own tiny fire, Will and Halt were joined by Gilan.

"So, what's the plan?" Gilan asked, pouring himself a mug of coffee.

Will glanced warily at Halt. His mentor had been touchy all day, ever since Will had asked about the possibility of a renegade Ranger. He had a right to be wary.

"Why does everyone always assume I have a plan?!" Halt demanded, glaring first at Gilan then at Will, then back at Gilan.

Gilan stared at Halt, wide-eyed.

Will glanced anxiously at Halt before shifting his gaze back to the fire.

"Well?" Halt snapped. When neither Ranger said anything, he snorted and took another drink from his own mug. Staring down into the flames, Halt could, in his mind's eyes, see a lightly tanned face, dark brown hair falling in front of a pair of green eyes. He could hear the sound of an arrow being shot from a bow, then the sickening noise of the arrowhead tearing through flesh and bone.

Luckily, he was pulled from his memories by the sound of someone saying his name. Blinking, his eyes focused on Gilan and Will, both watching him with concern written all over their young faces. He suddenly felt the years catching up with him.

"What?"

"Are you ok?" Gilan repeated.

"Of course I'm not ok! There's a serial killer on the loose! How is that ok?!"

"That's not ok, but are you ok?" Will asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Halt asked.

"You just looked… like you were somewhere else," Gilan told him.

Halt looked from one young man to the other and back. "I'm fine," he finally told them. "Just thinking is all."

"Come up with anything?" Gilan asked.

"I might have if you two would stop mother-henning me!"

Both of them raised an eyebrow. Both Will and Gilan had been subject to mother-henning by Halt himself during the last year of their apprenticeships.

Halt, seeing the look, glowered at both of them. He could feel a torrent of questions coming on. This was going to be a long night, he just knew it.

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