Chapter 13: Scouting

Will's POV:

I flopped down onto one of the two beds in the room. Raven had lead us to an inn, though it had taken several hours to do so. Now, she was in her own room, unpacking her few possessions. Seth copied me, and, naturally, his being much bigger than me, nearly propelled me into the ceiling with his force. I glared at him and he chuckled. Suddenly, Raven burst into our room.

"Guys!" She said, then recovered her composure, and said in a tone similar to Halt's, "you'd better come see this, it's important." She had changed to a dark green tunic, gray leggings and dark brown soft-soled boots.

"Come on, Will," she said to me, as if I needed further goading. However, I was used to the aura of mystery that came with being a Ranger, so I hesitated, sizing up this slightly built, slightly older female who was telling me what to do. But, for some reason, probably the don't-mess-with-me attitude, told me it would be unwise to do so. We followed her outside. Parading through the marketplace, and herding two prisoners among them, was our quarry. I stiffened.

"I thought you said the Red Soldiers didn't like people noticing them?" I asked Raven. She shook her head.

"It's true. This is quite unusual of them. Unless . . ." She looked at me in horror. "They're not taking Halt and Gilan back to their country. They're taking them elsewhere. To Skandia." The word froze my heart.

"We can rescue Halt and Gil tonight, right? I mean, they're probably staying in this town, right?" Horace cut in.

"No. Something's not right about this whole thing. It's just to easy. Besides, I'd like to find out what business they have in Skandia," Raven replied.

"It's too easy?!" I repeated indignantly. "This is my mentor we're talking about! And Gilan too! You expect us to just sit here and watch Halt and Gil suffer at the hands of these . . . these invaders?!"

"No, I expect you to come with me tonight and scout out their camp." She replied, as calm as ever. "Believe me, Will, I want to rush in there and rescue them too, but we don't really know what we're up against." After several minutes of awkward silence, Horace looked pointedly at the setting sun and said "Isn't it about supper time?" Seth agreed enthusiastically.

"Finally!" Raven exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Something you two agree on!" Both nodded, and Raven and I exchanged a grin. She was kind of like a miniature Halt, I realized.

Raven's POV:

I watched as Will spooned honey into his coffee.

"You're going to be up all night," I pointed out. He shrugged happily.

"We're going to be out all night anyway," he said, reminding me of our future midnight escapade. I nodded.

"True," I replied. Then, when no one was watching, I spooned honey into my coffee too. I returned to the table where we had supper. Seth leaned over.

"I saw that," he whispered in my ear. I blushed.

"You saw nothing," I replied in like manner. He pretended to be puzzled, then replied, "you're right! I didn't."

"Didn't what?" Horace cut in, eyeing Seth coldly.

"Nothing!" Seth replied hastily. Will rolled his eyes.

"It's probably time for bed," he commented. I nodded quickly.

"It is," I said. Anything to get these two separate, I thought ruefully. Will and I escorted them upstairs and we literally fell into bed.

Sometime around midnight . . .

Click! Creak! The sound pulled me from my slumber. There was a solitary figure standing in the doorway. I Immediately recognized the figure as Will.

"It's that time already?" I asked, but it came out more like a croak. He nodded. I rolled out of the bed, slipped my feet into my boots, and fastened my black cloak about my shoulders.

"Then, let's go," I said. Will headed for the door. I shook my head violently.

"Not that way!" I whispered, and pointed to the window. Will nodded, and we lowered ourselves out of the window. Then, taking lead, I swarmed up a nearby wall and casually jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Will followed, and soon we were out of the village. We crept along the turf; the soldiers would be encamped outside of the town. Each sound Will made echoed inside my head, my overly acute hearing picking up every footfall. Literally. Plus, I was nervous. Nervousness always heightened my senses. Finally, I snapped.

"Didn't Halt teach you how to move silently?!" I demanded, whirling around to face him. He was actually silent, but I was to tensed to realize that.

"Yes, he did. But he didn't teach me how to float!" He protested.

"More's the pity," I said under my breath. "Look, over there! There's a sentry." I crept over to him and seemingly rose up from the ground. The sentry opened his mouth, but I was quicker. My fist swung and connected with his jaw with a satisfactory, resounding crack. He dropped to the ground and Will regarded me with something close to awe.

"How'd you do that?" He whispered. I opened my hand to reveal a small iron ball nestled perfectly in my palm.

"It's formed to fit my hand. It adds authority to any blow I can offer," I explained. Will nodded.

"Looks like we've got a prisoner," I commented. We secured him tightly and left him lying there till he regained consciousness. Will and I crept closer to the camp. I peeked out of the foliage. I froze. Smack in the middle of the camp, chained together, sat Halt and Gilan. And Halt was looking straight at us.

Authors note: Barely squeaked this in! Anyway, enjoy!

TrustTheCloak: Suspense makes half the book. Thanks! I appreciate the compliment.

Willow Treaty: I'm ok, for now. I'll let you know as soon as I need an idea.

Mac Gustah: Thank you!

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