Chapter 4

Shell Island

As soon as Will's feet touched the ground. He found he could not stay on his feet, he fell over every time he tried to get up, as it seemed that the ground seemed to be moving. He looked over at Halt, who had grabbed hold of the ship's side to stop himself also from falling over.

"What is it? Halt?" Will asked him.

Will looked back up at the ship, thinking that he should climb back in it, maybe then this feeling would stop. Halt for his part wanted to answer him but his stomach was feeling pretty nauseous and he could not trust what would come out of it.

"Got the land - wobbles, Rangers?" said Svengal before lifting them both up and sling one over each shoulder and started to walk to the place where he would place them on the bench in front of the huts.

Once they were there Halt looked over at a very green Will before saying " Will we will be alright again in a few hours and before you ask it, its caused by staying on board a ship for more than a few days"

"So its like you still think you are still on a ship? is that right Halt?" Will asked, he was starting to feel better, not so sick.

"Right Will" Halt replied in kind.

Soon they were told to do all sorts of jobs before they were allowed to eat and turn in for the night. Will's small hammock lay next to Halt's their room too small for the pirates to fit in there with them. Will's body was shaking with fear that they would come for him tonight only to have his hand grabbed by Halt's. Will looked into those dark eyes and found comfort in them. He knew that once they reached Hallasholm's slave market Halt would find a way to free them if not he knew that they would be sold to different masters and then there was that witch, which the pirates talked about in fear. Would Halt or himself be sold to her? he hoped not.

His biggest hope was that Halt would find a way to get the two of them back home. His worst fear was being alone and trapped with the Skandians and they were... Will shook his head at the thought. It would do him no good to think of what they do to him. Luck was with him they did not come for him that night.

Halt for is part was trying to stay strong for Will. He had seen the boy after one of those monsters had finished with him and it pained him greatly that he could not do any thing about it. He had been giving Will warmweed that he had hidden away from the pirates, to lesson the boy's pain, which the drug seem to help and even though he was greatful to have it he did not want to give him to much or else Will would become addicted to it.

Even with the jobs they did each day, Halt would have the two of them run laps around the beach and other things to keep fit. Halt knew this helped in two ways firstly it made Will sleepy so he did not feel what they did as much and he knew if they made their bodies as fit as they could be that when a chance came to escape they would be able to take it.

"Halt do you think Gilan might come after us? I mean I know you will find a way to get us out of this but do you think he might come anyway?" Will said on one of their morning runs.

"I believe he will Whether we are free or not. You know him he never forgave himself for leaving you Will. He thinks of you as a brother, but still he blames what happened on his desertion" Halt told him as they sat down on the beach cooling down from their run.

Will nodded and then he saw some thing in the harbor that he did not like.

"Will what's wrong?" Halt said in a gentle tone, he knew the boy would not react like that if he had not seen some thing good.

"Halt I see a ship. Its coming into the harbor. I am scared. What if they are like this ship's crew? what if they are worse? I can't go through more of this to have them touch me, Halt I just can't" Will said sobbing his fears finally getting the best of him, only to have Halt place his arm around the boy's shoulder.

"Just stay close to me Will and also I will keep an eye on the new crew, but some ow I do not think they will come after you. The jarl of our ship will not let them, Will" Halt said as they watched the two captains greet each other.

Will saw their eyes look in his direction and he soon curled into Halt. His body shaking. Halt turned from the ship leaving pirates to his frightened apprentice behind him. Over the weeks that the boy had been with the Skandians it was clear that the boy had been broken and was a shell of himself.

Far away from the two rangers, the two Skandian captain were still talking as the rest of the other's crew was making sure that the ship was going no where.

"Slagor!" Erak said slapping him on the back "where the devil did you spring from?"

"We were heading back home when we were hit by the mother of all storms. Lost most of the newly caught slaves too" Slagor told him, then he went on to tell him about the rest of his misfortune, before saying "at least you have some thing to sale. The boy has been broken I trust?"

"Yes many times over. Why is that important ?" asked Erak, he had not been the one to do the braking through many types of torture but still he wondered why that was important for the boy to know his place.

"It is the reason I risked the storms of this year and why the boy must be fully broken. For Panis Raulum is coming to the markets this year looking for young boys and you know how he is" Slagor said looking at the boy again. Yes, even though Erak had said the boy was broken he and his men would make sure of it, he thought.

An: turn of events for Will and Halt? maybe

Panis Raulum is said like this "Pan - nis" "Re - aul - um"

Review please