Sorry if my terms are incorrect.
Will paced the Great Hall, swearing Borsa. That idiot hilfman wouldn't let Hal take him to Araluen. "'Oh no! We need all the warriors we can get' my foot!" Will grumbled. Erak came in trailed by Tursgurd, Hal, Rolland, and Thorn. "I am amazing!" Erak boomed. "I got you not only one, but three brotherbands to escort you back to Araluen." Will rolled his eyes. It surprised him that Erak had the… "capacity" to reason with Borsa.
Will nodded, deciding like the practiced diplomat he was not to point that out. "Thank you," he replied. Erak nodded. "You know where to go if you need help," Erak said seriously. Will nodded. "Thank you for everything," Will said quietly. "The ships are ready," Hal quietly told Will. The Ranger followed the young skirls and the old seawolf.
They had been sailing for a week now. Of course, being the genius he was, he had chosen to sail the Stormwhite in the middle of winter. "We have to stop at Skorghijl!" Rolland yelled over to Hal. The three brotherband crews had been made sure that they knew how to get there incase of a storm. Like now. Hal glanced at the Ranger to make sure he hadn't fallen out of the ship. Another wave broke over the wolfship and Hal turned back to battling the storm.
After a day of fighting the storm, they finally made it to the rock. Will groaned, prying his numb hands off the side of the ship and tumbled in an ungraceful heap onto the ground. The other boys did the same. Lydia attempted to make a graceful exit, but her legs crumpled under her. Thorn watched with amusement.
After resting for 10 minutes, Will hauled himself off the ground. "Stuck here. Again," he moaned. Hal groaned and hauled himself up and nearly face-planted. He wandered around the ship, searching for damage. Rolland did the same, but Tursgurd made one of his crew do it. Thorn watched the arrogant skirl with disgust. Thorn turned his gaze to Will who was making sure the shelters were still inhabitable.
"We'll have to stay here for a few days. The Heron's planking is badly torn and rotting from the moisture," Hal said.
Rolland came up. "The Wolf is also badly beaten," Rolland reported. Thorn looked for Tursgurd's report, but the lazy ass was sitting on his butt, scanning the island with disgust. Will came back. "Shelter's fine. Perfectly waterproof."
"Will," Hal began hesitantly. "We may have to stay for a while. Th ships are in disrepair," he said quietly. Will nodded slowly, but the young boy could see the panic and desperation in the Ranger's eyes. "I'll take the lean to," he said abruptly, striding off.
Stig groaned. "I can't believe we have to share this small rock with that little-" Hal cut him off. "Language Stig," he said sharply. "I agree," Rolland huffed stalking off. Hal managed to split the three brotherbands into the two cabins. Thorn elected to sleep in his own tent and so did Lydia who claimed to not want to be near smelly boys.
The next morning found Will fighting Thorn. With big sharp swords. Hal who was still half asleep, woke up immediately. He ran over to them. "What's going on?" he demanded. "I asked Thorn to train me," Will answered. Hal let out a sigh of relief. Two very dangerous people weren't trying to kill each other. "Why? I thought Ranger's didn't use swords." Will shrugged, "It's never too late to learn."
Hal grunted. The lovely aroma of coffee drifted towards them. Will sprinted towards it, Hal jumping aside to avoid being bowled over by a coffee-dependent Ranger.
They found Will inhaling coffee in the "dining room." Slowly, a trickle of hungry boys came in to eat. After breakfast, Thorn had them all go outside to drill them. Tursgurd, predictably argued. "but we're all exhausted." Thorn scowled. "Only injured or sick are allowed to skip." Tursgurd screamed as an arrow appeared in his calf. "There. You're injured. You may be excused." Will seemed to rise from the ground with a rabbit carcass slung over his shoulder. "Don't ask," he replied to Hal questioning gaze. Hal decided that Rangers really are black magicians if they could find anything that grows or lives on the rock.
Thorn trained them the entire morning. Lydia had went off to play with her atlatl. Hal collapsed onto a fallen log, gulping down water. He could see Will in the distance, climbing that stupid cliff for the umpteenth time. Hal shook his head, wondering why anyone would do such extreme exercise willingly. "Time for a jog," Thorn announced. "Then you can go back to whatever you're doing." The boys groaned and jogged along their usual path.
They stopped at the cliff where Thorn allowed them to catch their breaths. Hal nearly jumped out of his skin when Will dropped lightly down next to him and tapped his shoulder. "Gorlog's beard!" he bellowed causing the other boys to whip around. Will looked surprised at his outburst. "We can't hear or see you, you know?" Hal grumbled. Will muttered an apology.
"Thorn says it's time for lunch," he said. Hal stared at him incredulously, wondering how he got from here to the camp then back in the time it took the boys to run from there to here. Will was gone before he could ask. "Weird," Rolland muttered. The other boys nodded in agreement.
By the time the panting boys made it back to the shelters, Will and Lydia had already finished lunch. Hal watched in interest as Will practiced his archery. He couldn't even see the arrows until they landed with a thud in the targets. He turned his attention to where Lydia was making new darts. She took special care in crafting and fitting the fletching. Hal caught himself staring at her.
Thorn yelled at them to continue their drills. Hal sighed. He couldn't wait to get off this rock.