Will and Halt went to retrieve their Ranger horses.
Tug gave Will an affectionate snort and let his master clamber on.
Will gave Halt a quizzical look.
"I suppose we'd better go to Redmont first. It's nearest." Halt decided. "We'll worry about getting to Castle Araluen later."
Will nodded to show that he'd understood the plan. They rode into the dark night, eyes cast on the road ahead.
When the two Rangers had arrived at Castle Redmont, the sky was a brilliant shade of black. The moon was barely visible through foggy clouds and the stars were faint.
They looked around, hoping to spot any person. Any person, any late-night straggler, anybody who would spread the word about Squid's funeral. The first person they saw was a boy a few years older than Will. Will and Halt quickly rode up to him.
"You are invited to Squid's funeral, five o'clock, four evenings from now, at Halt's cottage. Spread the word."
And with that, Halt and Will left. The boy was left looking confused. "Um…okay!" he called after them.
They rode on, searching for another person to invite. There was nobody else. Halt cursed.
"Why did Gilan send us out now?" he said furiously. "We might as well invite the stars and moon to come!"
Will thought for a moment. "Maybe Baron Arald is still up."
Halt nodded and they both rode to the towering turrets of Redmont Castle. Even though it very late, there were guards stationed at the doors.
Now, one guard with a large mustache looked suspiciously at Halt and Will. "Who are you?"
"I'm Halt, member of the Ranger Corps." Halt showed him his silver amulet. "And this is Will, my apprentice."
"What yer doin' at 'tis hour?" the other guard said in a thick accent. He had a large scar under his left eye.
"We need to see Baron Arald. We have an appointment." said Halt.
"At 'tis hour?" the man said again.
Halt nodded. "Yes."
The guard with the large mustache looked suspiciously at the small figure. Finally, he nodded, but rather reluctantly.
"All right, you two may enter. The Baron is in his chambers." He did not have an accent, unlike the other guard. "You may leave your horses in the stable over there." He gestured to the stable nearby.
Halt and Will left Abelard and Tug in the stable.
Then they entered Redmont. The halls were still lit with flaming candles, despite the time. Halt led the way to the Baron's chambers. Fortunately, through the crack under the door, Will could see that the room was brightly lit. He could hear two voices. One was the Baron's, the other was another male voice.
Halt knocked softly.
"Come in!" came a cheerful voice behind the door.
Will pushed the door open and they stepped inside. He saw that Baron Arald had been speaking to Crowley, the Ranger Corps Commandant. Crowley grinned at the sight of his Ranger friends.
"Good to see you, Halt." Crowley said. "And you too, Will."
"Crowley," Halt said. "You are invited to Squid's funeral, five o'clock, four evenings from now, at Halt's cottage. Spread the word." Halt repeated, word for word, what he'd said earlier to the boy. Then, he added, "Gilan wants all the Rangers to be there. And try to spread the word to the rest of Castle Araluen."
Crowley was taken aback. "And who might this 'Squid' be?" he inquired.
"An imaginary person." Halt said. He immediately felt stupid for saying it.
"Ah…okay, that's very nice. I guess…I guess I'll be there." Crowley said. He grinned. "Well, I'd better get going. Good night, my lord."
Baron Arald smiled. "Good night, Crowley."
Crowley waved to Will and Halt, and then turned around and left.
The Baron looked at Will and Halt after Crowley had left. "What were you saying about this funeral?" he asked mildly.
"You see, my lord, Squid is an imaginary person. He has two brothers, Gary and Bob, who are still living. Squid recently died and Gilan feels that he needs a proper funeral, so he wants tons of people there. It's at five o' clock tomorrow evening at Halt's cottage," said Will.
The Baron nodded thoughtfully. "Might I ask," he said, "why you are throwing a funeral for an imaginary person?"
"I was thinking the same thing, my lord," Halt said quietly.
Will nodded. "If you want the details, my lord, you can ask Gilan tomorrow at the funeral."
"Ah, yes, I think I will." Arald nodded, clearly amused.
"Will you come, my lord?" Will asked.
The Baron smiled. "Yes, yes, I think I will. This sounds highly amusing. And I'd like to see all of the Ranger Corps there; that should be interesting…"
Will and Halt laughed politely.
"My lord, could you spread the word—to the kitchens, and to the Scribeschool, and the Battleschool, and everywhere else?" Will asked. "As we've mentioned, Gilan wants tons of people there—everyone living in Araluen, to be precise, my lord."
At this, the Baron laughed cheerfully. "Everyone? I'll try my best."
"That's all we came to talk about," said Will after a moment's silence.
Arald nodded. "Good night, both of you. Would you mind closing the door after you? Thanks."
"Good night," Will and Halt said together.
Halt and Will left the chambers. Halt closed the door behind them. They left Castle Redmont.
They had retrieved their horses and were on the road again.
"Well, now what, Halt?" Will asked.
Halt sighed. "We still haven't invited enough people, Will. We've got Castle Redmont and Castle Araluen covered, but we need to make sure everyone in this village knows. We still have a lot of work."
Will sighed. It was already way past midnight, he was sure of it. "Can't we just return to your cottage and invite people tomorrow morning?"
Halt considered this option. "Good idea," he said, looking weary. "We'll do just that."