Disclaimer: not mine
Tran nodded in satisfaction as he watched the Castle's troops trained for the upcoming battle. Baron Arald had sent notice to King Duncan about the news and he was sending a spokesperson to confirm what he heard. That spokesperson was to be arriving soon. Not soon enough, Tran thought. Being in Redmont was slowly changing the grim Dark Ranger. There was one thing, though, that he needed to do before he continued with the battle plans.
.
Horace Altman sat on his tall battle horse, Kicker, as he made his way to Castle Redmont. He'd received word from King Duncan to get to Redmont as soon as possible. So, Horace left a worried Cassandra for Castle Redmont with instructions and the King's Seal. "You better have good reason to make me cancel a date with the Princess, Arald…" Horace muttered to himself.
He made his way over a hill to reveal a rather large meadow… filled with soldiers. Among them, he could pick out Halt, Arald, and a figure clothed in nothing but black. He was armed with a long bow, broad sword, and what looked to be a bunch of throwing knives- all of which were black. This must be the messenger Duncan was talking about… Horace thought.
.
Tran turned to see a large battle horse make its way down the hill and into the meadow. The knight on the horse showed an Oakleaf on his shield. "Representatives here…" Tran muttered to no one in particular. He then pulled his hood over his head and 'flew' over to the horse.
.
Horace jumped at the sight of the cloaked figure 'flying' towards him. He then dismounted Kicker and waited for the figure to land. He landed and then spook in a quiet voice. "You're late…" Horace knew the voice and was able to recognize it easily. "Hurry up, you're late enough as is. I'll tell you this now, though, you're going to need to tell Duncan to send troops."
"Will?" Horace asked. "What… what are doing?" The figure's head darted towards Horace. He'd been enjoying the scenery of earth. You don't get sunsets in hell… Tran thought. Tran then removed his hood to reveal his face. As Horace examined it, he saw the trident scar on the side of Will's head. His haircut showed it nice and clear, leaving Horace to shake his head sadly.
"Halt and Arald are that way," Tran said in a huff. He then sulked away into the shadows, leaving Horace to wonder where his best friend went.
.
"The Dark Ranger was getting antsy…" Sir Rodney said to Horace. They were discussing battle plans with Halt and Arald. Rodney was still a bit peeved to know a Dark Ranger was taking over his troops. "He almost sent a person out to find you…" Rodney added in annoyance.
"Dark Ranger?" Horace asked. Halt's jaw dropped in surprise. "Where's the Dark Ranger?" He began. Halt's mouth moved to answer, but nothing came out.
Arald was the first to answer. "Will… he… Tran… I mean…" Horace cut him off.
"You mean… Will… no, that can't be true! He'd never do anything like that!" Horace began. He then too was cut off, this time by a messenger.
"Sir, his Royal Highness King Duncan has arrived with reinforcements." Halt nodded and then went back to his sulking. It just dawned on him that his apprentice was now considered evil among these men. They now feared his apprentice. In fact, they probably hated him.
.
Duncan looked around for the Dark Ranger he'd been told about. Die in hell, he thought. Duncan's father had been killed by a group of Dark Rangers when he was 21. I wasn't ready to be King! Duncan's thoughts continued. He found Arald's tent and entered. Arald, Rodney, Horace, and Halt immediately stood up as he entered. "Sit down, gentlemen. Now where is that blasted Dark Ranger so I can give him a piece of my mind…" He muttered.
"Sir… I don't think you understand… that Dark Ranger is… Will Treaty." Arald choked out. Halt couldn't take it anymore. His King now hated his apprentice, so he got up from his seat and exited the tent. Once outside, he found a nice and tall pine tree that was easy to climb.
Once there, Halt watched Tran in the meadow. He stood practicing with the black long bow, firing off at every target; some were Redmont's troops, some were birds in trees, he even shot a few animals lurking in the grass. "Hell's made him an amazing archer." Halt muttered. He could see Duncan finalizing plans with Arald and Rodney; Horace stood watching Tran fire off at targets.
Halt couldn't help but look at Duncan with hate. Sure, his father had been killed by a bunch of Dark Rangers, but Dark Rangers have a purpose for things. Duncan may hate them, but they were helping him. Duncan's father was slowly becoming an evil king. Tran said it himself, with the right bribery, Dark Rangers can be good. Duncan was an amazing king from the start, probably the best Araluen has ever known.
"They're not evil… they're misunderstood." Halt muttered to a bird above him. "I may as well get down… they can't exactly plan a war without me…" So, Halt slowly climbed down the tall tree, careful not to fall, and made his way towards the three planners.
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The Scotti were near Redmont. Surprisingly, they were able to make it all the way here without any real issues. The General was ready to ambush Redmont and take it over, that way Picta would have more land. Using Redmont, he'd expand to other fiefs and eventually take over Araluen. It was a simple yet genius plan… to him. To his troops, it was probably the stupidest thing they'd ever heard.
They might as well take over Macindaw in their opinions. In his natural tongue, the General spook to one of his lieutenants, "We're going to go and scout ahead. If they won't surrender the castle to us while we talk, then there will be war." The lieutenant nodded as he gathered eight more troops to escort the General to Redmont.
.
Duncan stared expectantly at the General in front of him. Sure, he had troops, but this man was no battle planner. "You want me to just surrender one of my most valuable castles for nothing?" Duncan asked the tall man. "You have another thing coming. If you want the castle, then you're going to rip it from my cold dead hands!"
"We will get the castle!" The Scotti General said, his accent was heavy and marked him as a man not to be messed with. "We have more troops than you and more allies than you!"
"Don't be too sure, little General," Duncan muttered. The Scotti General looked at the King as if he were crazy.
"Oh and why would that be?" The General's accent was heavy as he spoke.
"Because, we have hell on our side."
Short chapter, I know. There's more to this story than the Scotti attacking, so I'm trying to get that part over it. The main thing I was trying to do with this chapter was to get that last sentence in "We've got hell on our side"…. It amuses me.
-Sharkbait
