6

Halt


"WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW?" I ASKED a few evenings later. The sun was just setting, and the night was nice and cool out on the verandah.

"About the Ranger Corps or about you?" he asked.

A little bit of fear went through me. The boy was Hibernian after all. There was a chance that he knew. But I quickly pushed that thought away. There was just a slight chance. Who knew? He might have lived in another kingdom of Hibernia. I had yet to ask.

"You don't want to know anything about me. It's far less interesting than the other choice."

He nodded, but I could tell that he didn't really believe me. "When was the Ranger Corps found?"

"A long time ago. Names probably mean nothing to you, do they?"

"No. I wasn't really educated in Gorlan," Saab said, grinning slightly. "I'm as stupid as they get. And I bet you that's how he wanted it."

"Nah. I'm sure that's not true. You can read, can't you?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Well, you've beat most newly admitted Battleschool apprentices."

He laughed. It was kind of funny. Crowley wouldn't believe that I actually made jokes around anyone but him. He would die of shock. Speaking of Crowley…I was going to be dead since I hadn't told him and it had been a couple of weeks already. After I was done talking to Saab, I'd go send a letter to him.

"Well, long ago the Ranger Corps was founded by King Herbert. He thought that, to keep the kingdom safe, we needed an intelligence force. We Ranger's, the intelligent force, keep our eyes and ears open, we listen and we observe, we report back. We patrol the kingdom and beyond, we find out what our enemies and potential enemies are up to."

"That must take a good many of you to be able to do that and keep things under control in the other fifty fiefs."

"Eh, somewhat. The Corps were established at fifty, but there are more than that, including the apprentices. There's only fifty employed at once, one for each fief."

"Oh. Do the others still work?"

"Yes. If help is needed, they're sent in. If none of the Rangers that have a fief can't spare the time away from their fief, they're sent on the special missions."

"Why were you called to the Baron a couple weeks ago?" It was a strange thing itself that this question had not been voiced that day. But I guess he had had a lot on his mind.

"Rangers are also the law keepers. The Baron is the judge who gets the wondrous job of hearing complaining people all the time. He settles the complaints and we get to take care of the trouble-makers, a much easier task if you ask me. We look for evidence and see who has done what. We either report back to the Baron or we deal with them ourselves."

"What about during times of war? Do you spy on the enemies since it's harder for you to be seen?"

"I wouldn't know from experience since, fortunately, there's been no war from the time I came here til this day. But in the event of one, we guide the armies, scout, and yes, spy on the enemy and make their lives hell before they even start the fighting."

"Who are the most frequent troublesome people?"

"The Skandians, without a doubt."

He paled just a bit, then nodded, looking away, hoping I didn't notice anything. "They're definitely something to be worried about." I didn't want to pry, because one; it wasn't my place, and two; he could just be a sensible person and be wary of the fearsome, war-like sea-wolves.

"What about the Wargals?" he asked after a moment. "I know they're working for somebody. That time when you saved me from them…that wasn't the first time I had seen them around. It was just the first time I had thought to follow them."

I paused, thinking about what he said. "You've seen them before?"

"Yes."

"And you never told anyone?"

"Well, I told Vadym, but he told me to stay far away, especially if I was unarmed. But other than him, no, no one."

"About how many?"

"There must be more than fifty. I've stumbled upon some camps before."

"Do you go looking for trouble or are you just a magnet for it?"

"The correct answer is most likely the second the majority of times."

"I'll let Crowley know about that and then we'll see what to do from there."

"Crowley? Who's Crowley?"

"He's the Ranger Corps Commandment."

"He's your friend." It wasn't a question.

"How can you tell?"

"I don't know. You seem so…casual…not the way one would seem to talk about his boss or his superior."

"And you said you're stupid. You're observation skills are impressive, as is your vocabulary."

"Why thank you," he said, grinning. "How long have you known him?"

"About six years."

"Will I ever get to meet him?"

"No. He hates kids."

"But…I…" he trailed off, a stricken look on his face.

"I'm just kidding. Yes, you can meet him. As for when, that's up to him."

"Have you told him yet?" He took my silence as a no. "Why not?"

"Does it seem like I've had the time? You're quite the handful."

"Does he have an apprentice?"

"Not at the moment, no."

"Has he ever had one before?"

"No. He hasn't been a Ranger long, which is surprising in itself that he was made the Corps Commandment. Not that he's terrible or anything. He's quite good." I didn't feel the need to mention that it was Crowley and myself working together who brought the Corps back to life after all those years…it just didn't seem important to mention the fact that I was given the opportunity to be in command, but I had stepped down to allow Crowley.

"Have you ever had an apprentice before?"

"Why does that even matter?"

"I'm just trying to figure out if I'm going to make it worse for your future apprentices, or if after you're through with me you'll even want another one."

I chuckled, trying unsuccessfully to keep it inside. "We'll see about that."

"How long have you been a Ranger?"

"I thought I told you I didn't want to talk about me."

"You were answering them anyways. So how long have you been a Ranger?"

"Almost three years now."

"How long was your training?"

"Why does that matter?" I didn't want to get into the fact that Crowley and I had basically trained ourselves with the help of others who supported the return of the legendary Ranger Corps.

"I want to know how long mine will be."

"That depends on you. There's no set time or deadline or whatever. It depends on your skills and when I and Crowley think you're ready, as well as your assessors at the Gathering."

"Gathering?" Of course there was another question. The boy was always so damned curious…not that it bothered me. That was a good thing, even if it did mean hours upon hours of endless queries.

"That's nothing you need to worry about for now. You've still got a long way to go before we come to that. A couple months, at the least."

"So you're not going to tell me anything about it?"

"Not until we get closer to it."

"Fine." He was silent for a moment, forming another question in his head. "What would happen if they wanted to send you on a mission while you still have an apprentice?"

"Strange question."

"Not really if you look at it from my point of view."

"Point taken. I'm not sure. It would depend on the importance of the task."

"So…you, the best Ranger out there—"

"I'm not the best Ranger out there," I said hurriedly.

"Whatever the case. Let's just say you are, okay? What if they needed you, and only you were fit for the job, would I stay here by myself, be sent to someone else, or would I go with you?"

"I don't know. I think it might depend on the mission and how experienced you are at the time." I looked at him questioningly. "Why are you asking?"

"I'm just curious, that's all."

"Of course you are."

"But I thought you said that curiosity was a good thing."

"You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think."

He laughed, but seeing the expression, or lack there-of, on my face, he quit immediately. "Oh. You weren't kidding."

"I never kid around. Humor and having fun is just a huge waste of time," I said, keeping my expressions, as always, under control. I was finding that was becoming increasingly harder to do the more time I spent with this boy.

"That spells out a dull life," he muttered under his breath.

"Speak for yourself. I find it the best way to live."

He just stared at me in disbelief, saying nothing.


A/N: This chapter was more of a time waster than anything else. Yes, I know, it was shorter than my normal chapters, too. Sorry 'bout that…

Since I set the pattern of having two chapters in a row in one characters' POV, I couldn't think of what I wanted to happen because I was thinking of what would happen in Saab's POV, not Halt's. So if you thought this chapter was rather boring and uneventful, yeah, you're very right. And I don't mind you saying so because I was a little bit bored myself when I went through and edited it.

I never was able to find more information about how the Ranger Corps was re-found. I'd thought I'd heard that Halt and Crowley had done it, but I haven't exactly had any time to do the research, so I'm going to go with they did. I think that will make it more interesting because that means the whole thing is new once again to the kingdom.

I'm getting a little bit anxious, however, for the real action to start. I guess that's why it's taking me longer to write. But, I do have to get the first couple weeks of the apprenticeship out of the way, and I'm not sure I like the idea of just skipping out on writing at least a little bit about 'em.

So please bear with me for awhile guys! I think it will be worth it in the end.

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Nike