Sorry for not writing anything for what, like a year? Oh my god, has it already been that long! Well, I'm going to write something now.
I love writing dialogue here. It's real funny with the speak I can get away with. Sounds a bit of Olde English without the 'thous' and 'herebys.'
I love how Halt is basically medieval Batman. Detecctive.
A few weeks later Barry had all but forgotten about the incident with Horace's former bullies. Horace however had not. He mentally thanked Barry every day for getting rid of them. His grades had quickly picked up and the other students started to associate with him. But Barry had bigger problems to worry about.
He had been chosen by the Baron to help out with the paperwork, one of the more dreaded tasks of a Ranger. Even though he could do it at super speed, that didn't make it any less tedious.
Barry and Will were doing their chores around the cabin while Halt did his own paperwork. Will would be leaving the cabin in an hour for everyday Ranger training with his bow while Barry made his way to Redmont Castle.
"You're so lucky! I have to do paperwork while you get training." said Barry to Will. Halt appeared out of nowhere.
"Are you implying that my training regimen is more enjoyable than paperwork?"
"Why, I suppose that is what I'm doing, yes." said Barry in open defiance to Halt. They glared at each other until Halt broke the staring contest as he left the room though not before he gave a passing comment.
"Speaking of the paperwork, be sure to bring your belongings with you. You'll be staying at the castle for a full week."
"Alright. I'll get my things packed." He left and Will and Halt shared a glance before Halt broke the silence. It was going to be an extremely awkward week. Without Barry there was usually no real conversation. Barry soon left for the castle.
The path was very familiar as Halt, Will, and Barry often went into town for supplies. Well, more of he sent Will and Barry to be his errand boys. Barry easily made his way to the castle where the Baron himself stood outside, protected by multiple guards.
"Why hello there Barry! It's been so long hasn't it!" Barry cracked a small smile that quickly disappeared.
"It has. Well then, let's start." They talked while heading up to the Baron's study. The guards quickly dispersed once the two had made it to the Castle grounds. The same fat guard Barry had tricked moved out of the way, letting them in. They went up to the study at the top of the same tall tower Barry and Will had climbed the outside of that had resulted in their becoming Rangers.
"Now, I've set aside a pile of work for you on the new desk I've moved in."
"Alright," he settled down into the seat. "So, what have you been up to?" asked Barry in a conversational tone.
"This boy really doesn't fear talking to one of the higher officials to the king, does he." thought the Baron. He decided he liked it. It'd been far too long since someone new had talked to him without fear in their voice. The only one who he talked to on a daily basis was Sir Rodney and the man was far too predictable, a quality most of all knights had.
"Same here and there. Now I heard about how you got Alda, Bryn, and Jerome expelled. Whatever caused the idea?" asked the Baron.
"Oh, them. I'd nearly forgotten they existed. I'd been checking up on Horace when I saw the decrease in his grades. I've seen his practices. He's far too good for those barely passing marks Sir Karel had been giving him."
"Indeed. I check up on my wards from time to time. Horace would never have gotten those marks had an outside force not plagued with him. Go on."
"I started suspecting something was wrong when I noticed that his yearmates were reluctant to speak with him. Even Horace couldn't be that daft or unpleasant." The Baron sent him a look of confusion as he thought that the wardmates were best of friends.
"Horace bullied Will for several months before I put a stop to it for wanting to get into the Battleschool. It was years ago however." The Baron nodded, looking uncertain. He shook it off and they continued with their paperwork in silence.
The rest of the week passed normally for both Will and Barry. When the time came for Barry to return, the Baron bid him off and returned to his study soon after with the words , "Farewell. Be sure to say hello to Will and Halt for me."
When Barry opened the door to the cabin, Will lept towards the door and opened it hurriedly.
"Thank god you're back! I've been toiling away all afternoon. Halt seems to always be in a bad mood without you to calm him."
"Where is he now?"
"He's headed off to the town for food. He said he'd be back before it reaches 10 o'clock and 'if all the chores aren't done by the time I come back Will, your sorry ass will pay the price.'" Barry chuckled at Will's terrible impression of the older man.
"I'll go put my things back and help with the chores."
"Thank you. I'll be eternally grateful." By the time Halt came back the cottage was sparkling clean and all the chores had been done. Halt walked in the door with a nod to Will and Barry before he sat down with some paperwork. Barry looked at the paperwork in disgust.
"I'd be glad if I never saw another piece of paperwork in my life." Halt called the two over and they walked over.
"As you know, we'll be going to the Ranger Gathering this year. I have a feeling that they'll be canceling."
"Why?" asked Will. Barry had a look of understanding on his face. A lot of the paperwork he'd handled highlighted more and more problems arising in the fiefs. The most notable was the possible return of Morgorath and his forces. Some of the letters were from the other Barons, saying that their Rangers had warned them of possible attacks from the Kalkara.
"There's talk of Morgorath finding a new beast to exploit. They call them the Kalkara. They look like a cross of an ape and a bear but it walks upright. Apparently they love silver and they work for Morgorath for some of his supply."
"What's so dangerous about them?"
"They're assassins. Even though there are only two left in the world, they are practically unbeatable and have eyes that paralyze you if you look into them."
"So there IS a way to stop them."
"Fire is their only weakness. Their matted fur is so flammable that if you get near it, you can light the thing on fire immediately. But they only hunt at night and carrying a naked flame will get you killed almost immediately. The only reason we know all this is because three knights, two of which died in there and the other permanently disabled took one down." Will shivered while Barry looked on with the same calm he'd started the conversation with. Halt noticed as he noticed everything and took it down in his mental notebook.
"Why are you telling us all this?" asked Barry. He was the less vocal one. Actually, he rarely spoke unless he was talking to Will or the other wardmates.
"Because we'll be going after them." That got Barry's eyebrows raised and Will looking towards him in slight horror.
"You sure about this one?" asked Barry.
"Well, you happen to be the two I can use. We set off for Solidarity Plain where they are rumored to live in the morning." They went to sleep quickly and set off in the morning. It was mostly uneventful until they got into range of the Stone Flutes. The droning of the Flutes set Will's nerves on edge and he kept touching his bow to calm himself.
"So when will we get there?" asked Barry who was still in a comfortable state of mind.
"Well, we're looking for their hideout so it could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days." They continued on in the barren landscape, dunes after dunes passed by. Soon it came to night and Halt stopped them to set up camp. They slept in the normal Ranger way. The camp was set up in the most guarded place and the campfire was 100 or 200 feet away from their temporary sleeping quarters. Their sleeping bags were also hidden so if someone found their fire, they wouldn't immediately be spotted. One stayed up for a few hours until it was their time to sleep and they woke someone else up. Halt took the first shift.
Light footsteps woke Barry as Halt crept back to the sleeping quarters to wake him. In his bleariness, he didn't realize his mistake in getting up before Halt shook him awake. His cover was that he was a heavy sleeper, something that Halt thought would stop him from becoming a good Ranger.
Halt stared as his footsteps woke Barry who immediately got out of his bag and, almost all sleepiness gone, set out to complete his shift. Another thing to go into the weird Barry folder.
Barry was stuck in the same uncomfortable position, hidden in the leaves with an arrow resting on his bow when he heard a sound that even unsettled him. A howl sounded across the desert, followed by another. Halt slunk to where Barry was and without even a flinch, Barry turned towards the campsite where Halt's face blocked the view. Barry spoke in a calm, level tone when he said, "The Kalkara's have found a new victim."
"Yes. Go wake Will, we'll be setting off now." Barry crept back with no sound at all and shook Will awake gently. They packed, erased anything that showed they'd been there, and left for where the howls had come from. It was nerve-wracking with the constant droning of the Stone Flutes combined with the howling of the Kalkara.