do?"
Crowley gestured for Halt to go ahead with the briefing. The bond between master and pupil was still strong, he knew, and would facilitate a concise briefing with less chance of misunderstanding or confusion. These two knew each other's minds.
"Very well," Halt began, "in the first place, we're talking about Norgate Fief—"
"Norgate?" Will interrupted, surprise evident in his voice. "Don't we have a Ranger assigned to that fief?"
"Yes, we do," Halt agreed. "But he's known in the area. He's recognized. People are scared and confused and the last person they'll talk to at this stage is a Ranger. Half of them think we're sorcerers ourselves," he added grimly. Will nodded. He knew that to be true.
"But won't they distrust me if I turn up there?" he asked. "After all, they may not know me, but I am a Ranger."
"You're not going as a Ranger," Halt told him.
That piece of information succeeded in stopping the barrage of questions Will was about to unleash. To tell the truth, he was a little taken aback by the news.
People were nervous of Rangers, it was true. But there was undeniable prestige that attached to members of the Corps as well Doors opened for Rangers. Their opinions were sought and respected by the knights and barons of the realm—even, on occasion, by the King himself. Their skill with their chosen weapons was legendary. He wasn't sure if he wanted to put all that aside. He wasn't sure that without the aura of being a Ranger to bolster his confidence, he could actually handle a difficult and dangerous mission—and already, this mission sounded as if it were going to be both of those.
"We're getting ahead of ourselves," Crowley said. "Let's get the big picture out of the way before we start going into details."
"Good idea," Halt said. He gave Will a meaningful look and the younger man nodded. He knew that now was the time to listen without interruption.
"All right. Norgate Fief is rather unique in the kingdom, insofar as, in addition to Castle Norgate, the center of the fief, there is an additional castle in a shire right at the north."
As Halt was speaking, Crowley unfolded a map of the area on the ground between them and Will came onto one knee to study it. He touched the map, where a castle was indicated, virtually on the kingdom's northern border.
"Castle Macindaw," he muttered, and Halt nodded.
"It's more a fortress than a castle," he said. "It's a little low on luxuries and high on strategic position. As you can see..." He took one of his black arrows from the quiver beside him and used it to point to the rugged mountains that divided Araluen from its northern neighbor, Picta. "It's placed so that it dominates and controls the Macindaw pass through the mountains."
He paused, watching the younger man as he took in the situation, his eyes intent on the map. Finally, Will nodded and Halt continued.
"Without Castle Macindaw, we'd have constant forays from the Scotti—the wild tribe who control the southern provinces of Picta. They're raiders, thieves and fighters. In fact, without Macindaw, we'd be hard-pressed to keep them out of Norgate Fief entirely. It's a long way north and it's not easy traveling for an army in winter—particularly when the bulk of our troops are from the southern fiefs and not used to the extremes of weather that you find up there."
Nodding to himself, Will sat back from the chart. The picture was imprinted on his memory now. He shifted his gaze back to Halt as the older man continued.
"So you can understand why we get a tad anxious when anything seems to upset the natural balance of things in Norgate Fief," he said.
Will nodded.
"When Lord Syron, the commander at Macindaw, was struck down by a mysterious illness, we were understandably concerned. That concern grew when we started to hear wild rumors of sorcery. Apparently, one of Syron's ancestors, some hundred years back, had a falling-out with a local sorcerer." Halt sensed the question on Will's lips and held up a
Crowley gestured for Halt to go ahead with the briefing. The bond between master and pupil was still strong, he knew, and would facilitate a concise briefing with less chance of misunderstanding or confusion. These two knew each other's minds.
"Very well," Halt began, "in the first place, we're talking about Norgate Fief—"
"Norgate?" Will interrupted, surprise evident in his voice. "Don't we have a Ranger assigned to that fief?"
"Yes, we do," Halt agreed. "But he's known in the area. He's recognized. People are scared and confused and the last person they'll talk to at this stage is a Ranger. Half of them think we're sorcerers ourselves," he added grimly. Will nodded. He knew that to be true.
"But won't they distrust me if I turn up there?" he asked. "After all, they may not know me, but I am a Ranger."
"You're not going as a Ranger," Halt told him.
That piece of information succeeded in stopping the barrage of questions Will was about to unleash. To tell the truth, he was a little taken aback by the news.
People were nervous of Rangers, it was true. But there was undeniable prestige that attached to members of the Corps as well Doors opened for Rangers. Their opinions were sought and respected by the knights and barons of the realm—even, on occasion, by the King himself. Their skill with their chosen weapons was legendary. He wasn't sure if he wanted to put all that aside. He wasn't sure that without the aura of being a Ranger to bolster his confidence, he could actually handle a difficult and dangerous mission—and already, this mission sounded as if it were going to be both of those.
"We're getting ahead of ourselves," Crowley said. "Let's get the big picture out of the way before we start going into details."
"Good idea," Halt said. He gave Will a meaningful look and the younger man nodded. He knew that now was the time to listen without interruption.
"All right. Norgate Fief is rather unique in the kingdom, insofar as, in addition to Castle Norgate, the center of the fief, there is an additional castle in a shire right at the north."
As Halt was speaking, Crowley unfolded a map of the area on the ground between them and Will came onto one knee to study it. He touched the map, where a castle was indicated, virtually on the kingdom's northern border.
"Castle Macindaw," he muttered, and Halt nodded.
"It's more a fortress than a castle," he said. "It's a little low on luxuries and high on strategic position. As you can see..." He took one of his black arrows from the quiver beside him and used it to point to the rugged mountains that divided Araluen from its northern neighbor, Picta. "It's placed so that it dominates and controls the Macindaw pass through the mountains."
He paused, watching the younger man as he took in the situation, his eyes intent on the map. Finally, Will nodded and Halt continued.
"Without Castle Macindaw, we'd have constant forays from the Scotti—the wild tribe who control the southern provinces of Picta. They're raiders, thieves and fighters. In fact, without Macindaw, we'd be hard-pressed to keep them out of Norgate Fief entirely. It's a long way north and it's not easy traveling for an army in winter—particularly when the bulk of our troops are from the southern fiefs and not used to the extremes of weather that you find up there."
Nodding to himself, Will sat back from the chart. The picture was imprinted on his memory now. He shifted his gaze back to Halt as the older man continued.
"So you can understand why we get a tad anxious when anything seems to upset the natural balance of things in Norgate Fief," he said.
Will nodded.
"When Lord Syron, the commander at Macindaw, was struck down by a mysterious illness, we were understandably concerned. That concern grew when we started to hear wild rumors of sorcery. Apparently, one of Syron's ancestors, some hundred years back, had a falling-out with a local sorcerer." Halt sensed the question on Will's lips and held up a
Similar Books
