Chapter Eight: Battle Plans

Will and Aya lay awake, listening to the awful screams that rent the otherwise silent night. "That's my brother's voice. I'd recognize it anywhere." She said, voice breaking. Will gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, feeling horrible for her.

They scratched a message in the ground should Halt be looking for them, then mounted up and sneakily inched parallel to the trail through the bushes. They continued like this until the tower was out of sight, then crossed the road and vanished into the forest on the other side. They crept slowly through the underbrush, task for the night complete. They untacked Aya's farm horse and lay down to sleep, trying to ignore the horrible shrieks emanating from the dungeon.

As the sun broke the horizon like an eggshell on a bowl, Will stood up and began his scanning of the tower wall for weaknesses. Aya groggily became conscious, browsing through the underbrush for things to eat. She then led the horses to a nearby stream which fed into the lake, then let them loose to graze. She knew Tug would keep her horse close.

Will saw at first that the tower had more structural instabilities in this side, as well as deeper cracks, if he was forced to climb. Will was an excellent climber, but was still prone to being seen against a stark wall. Plus, still had nightmares of when Master Chubb caught him stealing cakes and forced scalding soup down his throat, and was in no rush to encounter boiling liquids being hurled at him from above.

Will also began to worry about Halt. He should have been here by now, if he was following the other group anywhere near closely. Horrible images filled Will's mind; those of Halt being captured by the Gallicans, lying injured somewhere on the road, or lying there dead. Will shook himself to rid the images from his mind. It would do him no good to worry.

Aya and Will speculated all day about the ways they might attack. It was as fruitless as the dead tree in the courtyard of Castle Redmont Baron Arald would not believe was dead. He insisted that his servant watered it every day, regardless of its continuing fruitlessness.

The screams picked up again at dinnertime, causing Will to lose his normally expansive appetite. They were undoubtedly the screams of the same man, Aya's brother, Martin. Will had met Martin before, at the last Gathering. He had liked the solemn, concentrated apprentice, and was very empathetic to what he must be going though. When Will listened closely, he could hear the whoosh of the whip before a bout of shrill screams.

Will felt terrible as they laid down to sleep. They were nowhere closer to saving the Rangers and Will knew it. After tossing and turning on the ground for an hour, Will gave up trying to sleep and sulked back over to the edge of the forest to stare at the unrelentingly blank tower. What was that?

Will rubbed his eyes to reawaken himself fully. He looked back over to the spot he had found earlier and couldn't believe his eyes. In between two gruff guards, a bush grew, and behind that bush, Will became aware of a light. Flickering, uncertain, but a light nonetheless. The light gained a meter in height, then moved out of sight. Will saw a flicker of the light twice more, moving right on the same level.

This was great news for Will. He knew now that there was a large crack on ground level, one boarded from the inside. That would be easy to kick down. Now, the only problem was getting past the guards.

"You want me to what?" Aya asked, accusingly.

"I just want you to cause a distraction on the opposite side of the ramparts to distract them while I sneak over." Will responded.

"And let you have all the fun? Absolutely not." Aya said, crossing her arms. However, this time Will was prepared for her back talk.

"Aya, it's not going to work if you don't do this, and if you don't come through, your brother and all the Rangers will stay captured and the Gallicans will go through with whatever horrid plan they have."

The truth of his words stung her like a bee. She scowled, but agreed.

"What type of distraction?" She asked.

"Whatever comes to mind. Doesn't have to be too elaborate. Feel free to shout and throw some rocks if you want but make sure to get away fast. Leave your horse nearby so you can easily escape. By the way, we'll attack at sunset." Will responded.

"Alright. I'll get to work." Aya said.

AN: Thanks for reading! Please review! Only two chapters left to this story!