I'm not for sure about liking this chapter…so please review and tell me what you thought…I'm going to try and write a chapter a day, but with school starting up again, it might not happen. Sorry if I fail to update…

Will gave Halt his best attempt at a smile before turning and riding down the dirt road. Alyss took more time, kissing Halt on his grizzled cheek and giving Evanlyn a hug. She had to ride quickly to catch up with Will. "Be back soon, don't worry!"

And they went on their way, to get the money that might save them.

XxXx

A gasp escaped Horace. "You…" he murmured, and subconsciously let his fingers drift to his shoulder. He could remember the pain this man had induced, and even though it had been years ago, Horace still held a small grudge. And apparently, so did the other man.

Alda let his smile falter. "Yes, me. You and that damned Ranger ruined my life. I was to be a knight! A knight!"

"Well, on that count, I would consider us even! You turned me against my wife, my best friend, and a man who was like a father to me!"

Alda tapped the cane threateningly against his palm, much as he had done when they were younger. "Now, now, no need to get snippy. I hold all the cards…And you don't need to worry about your best friend, because soon he will be back at the castle and you can explain all you want…"

XxXx

The road to the heart of Celtica did not have much traffic, and Will and Alyss were content to ride quickly, slowing down to talk only when Will thought he heard someone else on the road. It was during one of these 'breaks' that a tall, handsome man rode up beside them. There was something about him that seemed vaguely familiar, and Will felt that he should know the man, but a name didn't come up.

The man road beside them for a while, making things slightly awkward as Will and Alyss attempted to carry on a false conversation about their "visit with Will's aunt". The man seemed content to drink it all in, seemingly unaware of Will's anxious eyes flicking back to him every couple of seconds.

And then, without warning, the man leapt from his horse onto Alyss's and pressed a knife to her neck. Alyss tensed, as if to put up a fight, but Will held up a hand.

"What do you want? Money? I have none, but I can get you some…" He was remember a trick Halt taught him. Talk, up to the point when you attack and then do it midsentence while still talking. But apparently, the man knew the trick as well.

"Shut up. Get off your horse and put your weapons on the ground. All of them," The man watched carefully as Will hoped nimbly off Tug. He dropped his bow and quiver and pulled out his larger saxe knife. The man glared and pressed the knife harder into Alyss's neck.

"Throwing knife and strikers, too. And that cloak. Take off the cloak," Will was caught unawares. How did this man know what weapons he carried? He pulled out the strikers and the smaller knife and let them fall to the dirt. His nimble fingers began working on the drawstring for his cloak. He really, really, really hated to lose it. It was his lifeline, that cape, and it had saved him many times. He laid it down very carefully over the weapons.

The man pulled something from his saddlebag with his one free hand and tossed it to Will. It was a pair of cuffs. "Tighten them to what you think you can take, and crank it down one more. I'll be checking later, and if they're not up to standard, you'll pay," So Will ratcheted them down on his wrists, to an almost painfully tightness. "I want you to go sit back against that tree over there. Your girlfriends going to stay right here, and neither of you are going to move. I'll kill her first, and then I'll hamstring the horse,"

As Will and Alyss moved to their appointed positions, the man a rope and proceeded to tie Tug to his own horse. He tied Alyss's horse to the tree Will was sitting against. "Get up, Treaty," the man ordered. It took Will a second to figure out the man was talking to him; he had never heard his last name said with so much venom, but he hauled himself up and walked over to the man.

"Here's what's going to happen. You're going to get on your horse and you're going to stay there, all the way to Castle Araluen. If you try to escape, I'll send someone back for your girlfriend and have her killed in front of you. Got it?" Will nodded and wordlessly got up on Tug. The man pointed at Alyss and jerked his head towards a tree. "Climb it, and stay there for an hour. I've got a man in the trees over there, and if you move, he'll ride to me and I'll…I'll make your boyfriend go for a swim wearing a suit of armor,"

And with that, the man spurred his horse and they began the long ride back to Araluen.