And there ends the edited chapters. Starting now will be the new chapters I wrote on my own. Enjoy!
Chapter Five
We need to do this intelligently," Hal stopped Roxie as she started in the direction of the band of thieves.
Hal motioned for the group to stand in a semi-circle facing him, instantly taking charge.
"There is a band of thieves just up ahead," Hal announced. "The first job needed is for someone to scout what is up ahead; to tell us how many thieves there are, what weapons they carry, and so on."
"I can do that," Roxie volunteered. "Rangers are excellent scouts."
Suddenly, the sound of a branch falling to the ground echoed through the forest.
Everyone jumped and heads turned towards the sound.
"What was that sound?" asked Jesper in a whisper.
"I'm not sure," answered Hal in the same quiet tone.
"Hopefully not a bandit," interjected Stig.
"Let me check," whispered Roxie.
"Be careful," Hal told Roxie in a worried tone.
Roxie nodded and with her concealing cloak and silent movement, quickly and silently disappeared into the trees.
Roxie crept silently towards the place the sound was coming from, glancing in all directions for a sign of the slightest movement. As she reached the point where the sound had come from she became even more careful, slipping from the cover of one tree trunk to another.
"Horace!" someone whisper-shouted. "Stop walking so loudly! We are nearing a bandit camp."
"Well, I can't help it," someone else, presumably Horace, retorted, also in a whisper. "I walk like a normal person, unlike you magical Rangers!"
Rangers! Were there Rangers nearby? That seemed almost too good to be true! Also, they were with someone named Horace… Horace is the name of a knight that is part of the foreign relations Ranger group and Roxie knew they were on a mission because Alun was subbing for Ranger Gilan. Could this be them?
This was confirmed when someone else whisper-shouted, "Will, Horace, stop. We are close enough and we will want the element of surprise."
Roxie smiled to herself and stepped out of cover to greet the team.
"Greetin-," Roxie started in a soft tone, putting her cowl down. She was cut off by the hard look in what she assumed was Halt's eyes and the readied weapons.
"Who are you?" asked Halt sharply in a suspicious tone, taking in the strange girl in a Ranger's cloak.
"I'm Roxie, Ranger Richard Forestel's apprentice," answered Roxie in a quiet and calm tone even though Roxie was quivering slightly inside.
Halt, Will, and Horace relaxed at the words and her non-threatening appearance and lowered their weapons.
Suddenly remembering the bandits, they glanced towards the camp and listened to make sure no one heard Halt's outburst.
"What are you doing here? Is Richard here?" asked Will quietly.
"I'm here because I heard rumors that Zavac is here and I think an old friend of mine was captured by him. And no, Richard is not here. He doesn't even know I'm here, but I do have some other allies," answered Roxie in the same quiet tone. She then put her finger on her lips, put the cowl back up, and gestured for the others to follow her.
The Herons started from their whispered conversations in their huddles and faced the newcomers with weapons drawn, relaxing when they recognized Roxie among the strangers.
"Hey, everybody!" announced Roxie. "These are the people we heard crashing around nearby."
"Crashing around?" asked Horace with pretend wounded dignity yet smiling.
"Well, it was you who was making all the noise," Halt muttered crushingly with a small glint of humor in his eyes.
"It's nice to have some extra help," said Hal, walking forward with his hand outstretched. "I'm Hal, the skirl of this motley band and these are Stig, Lydia, Thorn, Ingvar, Stefan, Ulf and Wulf, Edvin, and Jesper," shaking the newcomers' hands while pointing out each member of the band as he introduced them.
"I'm Halt, that's Will, and the big galumphing knight over there is Horace," replied Halt, returning Halt's handshake, nodding to the Herons, and pointing out Will and Horace as he introduced them.
"Do you know anything about the bandits?" Jesper asked Halt, Will, and Horace.
"Yeah, like how many there are and how many weapons they have," put in Edvin.
"It is a group of fifteen bandits," Will answered. "Fourteen of them are tolerable swordsmen with swords and one has a wounded arm and cannot fight."
"Why so few?" asked Ingvar.
"These kinds of bandits like to waylay small groups of travellers who usually have no experience or skill with weapons," answered Thorn.
"The only reason we will try to be quiet and will want to defeat the bandits without trouble is so we will not waste too much time on the way to the fortress," added Halt.
"Oh," Ingvar said, a proud grin starting to form on his face.
"So what will be our plan of attack?" asked Lydia.
Will, Halt, and Hal, the strategists of the team (Roxie hadn't had any experience in the field yet) put their heads together and came up with a plan:
Will, Halt, Roxie, Hal, and Lydia, the ranged fighters (while Hal did know how to use a sword, he was more helpful in actual battle with his crossbow since his crewmates were much more qualified in melee attacks) would encircle the camp with Will, Halt, and Roxie taking the farther positions that would need more stealth to get to without the bandits hearing. With five people shooting at the bandits, no more help will probably be needed but when arrows start flying, the melee warriors, lead by Horace and Thorn, will join the fray, cutting down the rest of the bandits.
And that is what happened. The Rangers, including Roxie, impressed the Herons with their deadly accuracy and silent movement while Horace awed looks for his usual skill and finesse with a sword. The Rangers and Horace in turn were impressed by the Herons' teamwork and skill.
After burying the dead bodies, taking the supplies they could, and burning the supplies they could not, they continued to trek through the forest until nightfall. Then, Edvin and Roxie made dinner (there were more people so they decided to both work on the food so they could be finished faster) and they sat down to eat with Horace amazing the Herons with his appetite.
"How much farther until we reach the fortress?" asked Jesper through mouthfuls of delicious squirrel stew.
Roxie took out her map and after considering it she said, "If we lave early, we should reach it by midday tomorrow."
"Good," said Hal, heart speeding up with the anticipation of battle the next day.
"What's the plan?" asked Will. "I mean, as much as I'd like to, we can't just barge into the fortress and start fighting the pirates! It will be their home turf and there will probably be many people there."
"Not so many," said Halt. "There was only one pirate ship in harbor. But you're right, it will be a challenge."
"Around how many pirates do you think they'll be?" inquired Wulf.
"The average crew has about twenty men," answered Thorn. "And they'll all be ruthless, blood-hungry creatures, taking as many opportunities as possible to kill us in the most underhanded ways possible."
"I see," said Wulf, looking thoughtful. "Twelve against twenty-one. This will be hard."
"Maybe for you, weakling," Ulf couldn't help but put in.
"I'm as much of a weakling as you have brains!" shot back Wulf.
"Yeah! None!"
"Oh yeah! Well, you…"
"Are they always like that?" asked Will in wonderment.
"Unfortunately, yes," answered Hal. "Now back to planning. We need to think of some way to defeat the pirates."
"Maybe we could do something to draw them out," Will said thoughtfully.
"Stefan, could you impersonate Zavac to get the pirates to come out?" Hal asked Stefan.
"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Stefan with a sly grin.
"Impersonate?" asked Roxie curiously.
"Yes. I can impersonate 'most anybody," answered Stefan in Roxie's voice.
"Cool!" Will said, looking at Stefan with a slightly awed look on his face. Stefan smiled at Will, looking proud of himself.
"That could work," Hal put in gruffly, acknowledging Stefan's talent with a quick nod.
"Then, after some pirates have been disposed of, it will be a simple storm the castle tactic?" asked Stig hopefully.
Will, Halt, and Horace looked at each other and smiled, remembering how Skandians like to fight.
"We should probably go in two shifts," said Will. "All you bush whackers can surround the castle, waiting for pirates to come out while we Rangers scout the place and maybe kill a few pirates. When we come back, the others can join us in storming the castle and finishing the job."
"You should probably bring Jesper with you to pick locks. He can also move pretty quietly," added Ingvar.
"Yeah, I could do that," said Jesper, looking at Will and Halt. Will and Halt looked at each other and then nodded at Jesper.
"And remember to keep Zavac alive so we can question him," put in Roxie quickly. "And Sam, if he is still there. And alive," she added glumly.
"Don't worry, Roxie," Lydia said softly, putting her arm around her cousin. "I'm sure we'll find him soon, alive."
"Thanks, Lydia," replied Roxie with a slight smile.
"Let's get some sleep," announced Thorn gruffly. "We've got a big day tomorrow."
Slowly, everyone drifted off to bed, leaving only the watch.