First off, I'd like to thank all who reviewed, and for the wonderful ideas! This will officially be the longest story I've ever written! (not a big accomplishment.)
Now, on with chapter four.
Gilan was the last to leave the Gathering Grounds. He swung up into the saddle, none too pleased with the last few days. Things between him and Will had not gotten any better; they were quite the opposite. He knew Will would be mad, but he didn't anticipate him ignoring him totally. Even Crowley looked at him differently. Unfortunately, Gilan could never find a spare moment to talk to him about it. He guessed it was about him, Jenny, and Will, but couldn't think of an exact reason. But that would have to wait. He had to be getting back to Norgate.
It was beautiful out that day. The late morning sun cast its light over the treetops, illuminating the forest with a soft golden light. Birds sung carelessly, different voices creating a melodious background. Gilan listened to the sound of Blaze's footsteps as he clopped their way home, thinking about the Gathering. He couldn't say he was sad to leave this time. He let his mind wander, pondering idly one one thought, then another, all the while scanning for enemies and listening for small signal sounds. When he was about to take the fork leading to Norgate, he heard a small rumble go through Blaze. Some sixth sense told him trouble lay in the other direction, and he steered the other way. There was no real reason for taking the detour, but his intuition had never been wrong before, so there was no sense in ignoring it now.
Not ten minutes down the road, he came around a bend to see Will surrounded by ten men, bloody and favoring his left leg. Gilan thought about charging in and ordering the men to the ground, but immediately discarded the thought. If the solution were that simple, Will wouldn't be in trouble. Before he could contemplate a plan, though, one of the men lunged at Will's neck with his sword. Without thinking, he threw his smaller knife and hit the man in the throat. Will saw the man drop to his knees, clutching his neck. Dropping down and to the side, Will glanced over in Gilan's direction and saw him running over to help. Temporarily forgetting his anger, he called out, "Gilan!"
Gilan charged over and cut down two men. The remaining three, however, had gotten over their initial shock of seeing their companion fall to the ground, and were now upon Gilan and Will. Gilan found that, despite his immense skill with the sword, he was equally matched, if not a little outmatched. After a few moments' struggle, he had defeated the four men upon him and turned to deal with the remaining three on Will. Drawing his saxe with his left hand, he used the pommel to knock out one and the blade to stab the other. The last man standing was still hacking at Will. It was a losing battle. Will could only just manage to evade the attacks an him, but was becoming more and more tired. As the attacker was about to go for the kill, Gilan yelled out, "Will, DUCK!" Without pausing, he swung with all his might, separating the man's head from his body.
Then, kneeling beside an exhausted Will, he went to check the full extent of his injuries, but Will looked into his eyes and said, "Stay awa-" His injuries had caught up to him, though, and he passed out. Tug walked over to his master, nudging him gently with his muzzle. Gilan shoo'd him away slightly, looking over his comrade. There was a serious gash in his left leg, a shallower cut on his chest, and numerous bruises and minor cuts all over. Quickly grabbing the first aid kit from Tug's saddle bag, since he was closer than Blaze, he cut open Will's pantleg and bound the cut. Then, removing his quiver, cloak, and shirt, bound the cut spreading from his left shoulder to his right hip. Deciding that all the major wounds were dealt with, he replaced Will's shirt, but folded up his cloak and placed it in his bag, then secured Will's quiver to Tug's saddle. After retrieving both his and Will's throwing knives, along with Will's bow, he placed Will in the front of his saddle, then climbed up himself. Calling for Tug to follow, he made his way to Redmont.
He arrived at the castle gate at about ten that night. At first, one of the guards, the younger of the two, barred his way, but the elder one whacked him over the head, berating him. Four stretcher bearers came out, and Gilan allowed them to bring Will up to the infirmirary. After caring for Tug and Blaze, he went up to the infirmirary to check on Will.
"It's lucky you got him here when you did," said the healer, "Another hour or so and he might not have made it. He lost a lot of blood." Turning back to Will, he continuted. "You did a nice job bandaging him up. I wouldn't expect a warrior to do it so well." The healer, Jim, was in his early forties. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders. His voice was deep and had a soothing cadence to it. He looked like a powerful warrior, but was really a gentle spirit. Unlike most, he wasn't intimidated by Rangers. He usually tended to critically injured warriors, and had to deal with interrogative Rangers on more than one occasion.
"You should get some rest. Your friend won't be waking any time tonight," he suggested, gesturing to an empty bed. "You're welcome to sleep here, if you'd like."
"Thanks," Gilan replied, "but there's a few things I have to tend to first. Thanks again." Jim nodded, focused on setting the splint on Will's fractured leg.
Halt was woken to the sound of pounding at his door. He gently creeped out of bed, careful not to disturb Pauline. Grumbling to himself, he slipped on a shirt and slipped out of the bedroom. Quickly walking to the door, he opened it, exclaiming grouchily, "Who in God's name is pounding at my door this late at ni- Gilan!" he added, shocked. The last person he expected at his door this late at night was one of his former apprentices, especially not tousled and slightly blood covered. "What are you doing here?" He opened the door wider, gesturing for Gilan to enter.
"Hello, Halt." Gilan responded, exausted. "I was riding back when I found Will-"
"Will?" he inturrupted urgently. "What's wrong with Will?"
Gilan gave him a look, and Halt waved him onward. a little impatiently. "I found Will surounded by ten men. I tried to help out, but I couldn't get them off of him before they hurt him."
"Will's hurt?" Halt said quietly. Gilan, who had known Halt for the better part of his life, registered the emotions in that voice.
"He's in the infirmirary now, getting healed up. The healer said he'll be fine."
"Well, I'll just go-"
"You'll just go where?" Pauline interjected, walking up to where the two men were sitting.
""My lady! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you-" Gilan began, but she waved his apologies aside.
"I'm a light sleeper. Now, where are you going?" she demanded.
"To check on Will. Why?" Halt answered, a little suspiciously.
"Well, I just got you back, and it sounded like you were going to go charging after Will's attackers." Halt gave her a hurt look, to which she raised one eyebrow. "I wouldn't put it past you, you know." Halt nodded, accepting the accusation.
"Well, I have to check on him. Gilan, will you please show me to him?" Halt said. Gilan nodded, but Pauline shook her head. Halt started to protest, but she held a hand for silence.
"Before that, I'd like to to sort out a few things first. One, where will you be sleeping tonight?" she asked Gilan. He opened his mouth to respond, but then shut it again. He hadn't really thought of that. "You can sleep in our guest room, then. Secondly, don't you think you should put on some actual pants?" She asked of Halt. He looked down realizing he was wearing his pajama pants. They weren't exactly appropriate for public.
"Good point." he said, walking off to change. A few moments later, he emerged from his bedroom, fully dressed.
"I will not allow two Rangers to go tramping through my infirmirary, waking everyone up and making a mess."
"And I will not leave this spot until you let me see Will." Halt repeated dangerously. Either the man he was arguing with was stupid, or he didn't care. Gilan had tried to lead Halt to Will's bed, they had discovered Jim, the healer Gilan had dealt with, had gone to bed and was replaced with David, the head of the infirmiray. He was considerably more abrasive than Jim, and was refusing them entry. He and Halt had been at it for ten minutes, and so far, neither man had relented.
Finally, Jim emerged from the wing, thoroughly annoyed. "What is going on out here?"
Seeing the larger man, David pointed to Halt and Gilan, saying, "These two ruffians want to come in here and see a friend that is supposedly in here. I've already told them we haven't had any admittances this evening, but they won't leave!"
Recognizing Gilan, he said, "Yes, actually, we have. I took care of a young Ranger about an hour ago, I left the report on your desk. I suggest you let them in, before he admits you, too," he added, pointing to Halt. David huffed, but let them in anyway.
Approaching Will slowly, Halt let out a small sigh of relief. Despite Gilan's reassurances, he had imagined the worst. Now, seeing Will sleeping peacefully, he felt a little better. Just a little.
"There, can you leave now?" David snapped tersely. Halt glared at him. He was really starting to hate the annoying man beside him.
He looked over Will again, assuring himself he was going to be alright, then turned around and said, "Let's go." to Gilan. They strode out, leaving a battered Will to heal over.
Poor Will, we all seem to enjoy using him as a punching bag! Well, anyways, tell me what you think!