And They Were Gone discussion

Here is a fanfic I am very proud of, mainly because it was the first one that I actually managed to finish.

Will sat on top of the rock, his Ranger cloak blending in perfectly with its moss-spotted surface. Halt could barely see him while looking directly at him. He shook his head. His former apprentice, who had already surpassed him in his archery skills, was getting close to surpassing him in concealment skills as well. Halt smiled wryly, and then turned over to find a more comfortable spot on the ground. I am definitely getting too old for this.
A sudden movement woke him. Within moments, Halt was on his feet, his throwing knife already in his hand.
“Will?”
A figure appeared to materialize next to him, a bow drawn and pointed into the darkness.
“Something’s out there. Not sure what.”
“Some thing? A creature of some sort?”
“I think so. All I saw was a large, dark shape. If it’s human, it’s an abnormally large one.”They were both silent for a few moments, moving so they were back to back, almost without thinking about it. Then out of nowhere, they were both knocked down by something dark and furry. It was much bigger than a bear, or any other normal animal. It yelped as Halt stabbed it several times with his knife. He’d managed to grab his saxe knife as well by this time. If he could just find the creature’s neck, killing it would be easy. Despite knocking them down and pinning them there, it seemed incapable of a serious attack. A few moments later the dark creature roared and lifted itself off them. It was bleeding profusely, the moonlight glinting of it’s blood as well as its large dark eyes and impossibly long fangs. It roared again and ran away, limping. Halt saw a grey arrow sticking out from its back.
“A bit too much for it to handle, eh, Will?” He turned to look at the young man. He gasped as he saw the large gash in his neck. Will reached up and touched it.
“Does it really look that bad?” He winced when he saw his hand covered in blood as he pulled it away.
“Did the fangs get you?”
“Yes, I think. It happened just as it knocked us down. I got the arrow in its back at almost the same time. I think it was aiming for my jugular, but it missed. Barely.”
He walked over to Tug, who was strangely restless now.
“Why didn’t you or Abelard warn us?” Will whispered to him as he pulled some bandages out of his pack. Tug merely tossed his head, making no sound. Will shivered. Something about this was extremely odd.
“Better get some salve too. Animal bites can get infected very easily.”
“I know, I know,” Will muttered as he retrieved the salve as well. When he sat down and began cleaning the wound, Halt sat next to him and got a closer look.
“Looks nasty. Does it hurt much?”
Will shrugged. “Stings, mostly. Does it look very deep?”His fingers rubbed at it with a wet cloth and he struggled not to grimace.
“More deep than I would like.”Will glanced at Halt.
“You would like a shallow wound?”
Halt grunted. “A shallow one might teach you a bit more humility. A deep one, though, can get serious.”
“I hardly think its enough to kill me, or even bother me much.”
Halt shrugged. “You can never really tell.” They were both silent, remembering the small gash on Halt’s arm that had led to his very close brush with death a few years ago.
“I hardly think a strange animal’s fangs could be poisoned.”
“Probably not. But still, let me know if you start feeling strange, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
Halt grunted again and stood up. “I’ll take the rest of your watch. Get some sleep. I think we should plan on making it home to Redmont tomorrow. We need to report that animal and get some help to kill it before it starts hunting livestock.”
Will nodded, though he knew that Halt had ulterior motives as well. He no doubt wanted to be close to medical help in case Will needed it. Ever since his poisoning, they both had been much more careful about open wounds, no matter how minor they seemed to be. And Albin, Malcolm’s recently graduated apprentice and the best healer they knew besides Malcolm himself, had recently moved to Redmont. Will suspected that he might soon be added to the special company made up of Halt, Horace, and himself if he agreed to have some basic training. He’d overheard Crowley and Halt discussing it only a few days ago, right before they left on this quick journey to investigate some strange disappearances.
“Do you think that animal is responsible for the disappearances?”
“It’s likely. It doesn’t seem all that dangerous, though. It could have tried a lot harder to kill us, but instead it just jumped on us and ran away after a few pricks.”
“I doubt they felt like mere pricks to him.”
“With his size, they must have been. Now, good night, Will. Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” Halt went to perch on the large rock occupied earlier by Will, and Will took his advice gratefully.
Despite Halt’s anxiety, Will woke up feeling perfectly normal the next day. He stretched a bit and started making a fire when Halt stopped him.
“Better not risk it.” Will nodded and extinguished the few tiny tongues of flame that he had managed to coax into existence.
“Think we can make it all the way to Redmont today?”
“If the horses hold up.” Tug whinnied as if to say, Of course we will. What are you talking about? Will smiled. Halt, however, remained grim-faced.
“How’s your neck?”
“Can’t even feel it anymore.” Halt walked over and checked the bandage. He scowled.
“You’re still bleeding.”
“What?” Will reached up to touch the bandage, and he felt dampness. “How can it still be bleeding?”
“Never can tell with animal wounds.” Halt went to get more bandages while Will took off the old one. He examined it, seeing that it was somehow soaked with blood, some of it browned from the night before, and some still very red and recent. He frowned and felt the gash. His hand came away sticky with blood.
“Better not mess with it. We’ll have Albin look at it as soon as we get back,” said Halt, handing Will the bandages.
The ride that day was long, but the weather was exceptionally good, making it much easier than the ride out, which had been slowed down a great deal by rainstorms. Will managed to ignore his now-itching neck and enjoy the ride, much more than Halt did, at least. Halt could not restrain himself from worrying. The reminder of his own poisoning was not so much on his mind now as the much older memory of a soldier he met once. This soldier had an odd disease which caused him to keep bleeding whenever he got even a small cut. He had chosen his career because he rationalized that he could easily die from any job that involved anything sharp, so he might as well die serving his country. In his very first battle, shortly after Halt had met him, the man had received a small arm wound. He tried everything to stop the bleeding, but he still died nearly two weeks later. There had been nothing anyone could do for him but watch him die. What had bothered Halt the most was that the man had kept hoping till the end that the bleeding would stop and he would survive. Now Halt glanced at Will and hoped he would not have to undergo that experience again.
When they finally rode up to Redmont Castle, the sun had long disappeared beneath the horizon. Lady Pauline greeted them at the gate. Halt immediately got off Abelard and kissed her. Will quietly dismounted while they were doing this, and by the time they were done, he had already fed both Tug and Abelard an apple each, silently thanking them for putting up with the long ride. Finally, Lady Pauline turned to Will with a smile and then frowned.
“What happened to your neck?”
“We had a brush with a rather large animal who fancied a bite out of him,” said Halt brusquely.
“Nothing serious, I hope?”said Lady Pauline, her eyebrows raised.
“I don’t think so,” replied Will. “Not enough to keep me from reporting to (insert name here) tonight, if he’s still awake, that is.”
“He should be. I was in a meeting with him and a few others when a guard alerted us that you were coming.”
“We should tell him immediately, then. The sooner we can get rid of that animal, the better,” said Halt. The three of them headed into the castle and up to the (whatshisname’s) office. Halt snuck a look at Will’s bandage and was disturbed to see that it was covered in blood again. As soon as they entered the office, Whatshisname stood up and smiled.
“Welcome home, Halt, Will. What news?” After they gave him the full report, he nodded. “We should be able to round up a few men and head out tomorrow morning. You two should get some rest, though. You both look exhausted.” They both smiled and nodded, then excused themselves. Lady Pauline accompanied them downstairs.
“Are you sure you are needed on this hunt? Surely they can do without you if it’s only one animal.”
“I need to go and make sure they don’t need any further help. But Will, I think you should stay behind.” Will opened his mouth to protest, but Halt cut him off.
“You need to get that wound looked at, right now. It’s still bleeding, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“But surely I can get it taken care of, and still ride out with you tomorrow.”
“How about we wait and see what Albin says,” interjected Lady Pauline, gripping her husband’s arm. “I’m sure he can give us a better idea of how serious it is.”
“All right,” said Will. “But if Albin says I’m fit to go, I’m going.” He looked at Halt a bit belligerently, but Halt merely nodded.
“I’m going to bed. Let me know what he says in the morning.” Back at the castle walls, he and Lady Pauline said goodbye to Will and watched as he mounted Tug and rode off. Pauline put an arm around her husband.
“I know you worry about him, Halt, but he is a grown man.”
“I know,” said Halt. “I still can’t help thinking of him as my apprentice.”
“You think of him as more than that, and so do I. But he can take care of himself.”
“I know. That doesn’t keep me from worrying, though.”
“I worry about you, too.” Halt hugged her back gently.
“I know.”
“What do you think?” Will asked impatiently. Albin stood next to where he was sitting, examining his wound closely. Albin was a young man, around the same age as Will, but he acted in a slow methodical way that suggested that he was much older. Like most of the people Malcolm associated with, he had a deformity. His was a leg that was mostly missing, so he could only walk with the help of a crutch. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, he remained very physically fit, which was a large factor in the consideration of him as a possible member of Halt, Horace, and Will’s group.
“It isn’t very deep, but it worries me that it is still bleeding. You say it was an animal’s fangs that did this to you?”
“Yes. I think it was trying to bite my head off, but it missed.”
“Mostly.”
“I suppose.”
Malcolm’s former apprentice sat down next to Will so he could look him in the eyes. He took a deep breath. Delivering bad news was the worst part of being a healer, next to watching a patient die right in front of your eyes.
“This could be very serious, Will. I think that animal had some sort of poison in its fangs that is keeping the wound from closing as it should have by now.”
“Don’t you have some sort of antidote?”
“If it were a regular sort of poison, I probably would. But since it is from some strange sort of animal, I don’t.”
Will sat back in his chair, stunned. “You mean I’m going to bleed to death and you can’t do anything about it?!”
Albin sighed. “Not exactly. I can probably slow down the bleeding, and I might be able to figure out an antidote if I have a better idea what I’m dealing with.”

“Meaning?”
“If you can get me a sample of the venom, I can try to analyze it perhaps concoct an antidote.” Will sat silently for a few moments, letting this information sink in.
“So I do have a chance?” he said softly. “I can do something.”
“Yes. I don’t like to boast, but I was often better than Malcolm with antidotes. I’m a bit more scientifically minded, while he is more preoccupied with tradition and such. Perhaps that just comes with being old.”
Will snorted. “Not with Halt. He doesn’t care much for tradition beyond the belief that the young should respect their elders.”
Albin chuckled. “Indeed. You are a lot like him in that, however.”
Will nodded, a bit sobered by this. “That’s a large part of being a Ranger, though. We have to be original in order to survive.”
“But only because you manage to get yourselves in the oddest scrapes. No other profession would involve random beasts jumping at you in the dark.”
“That is rather strange, even for a Ranger.” Will shifted on his chair uncomfortably. “Speaking of the creature, do you think I ought to go to help hunt for it?”
Albin thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t think it would make the wound much worse, as long as you don’t exert yourself too much. And you’ll want to make sure to get a sample of the venom. That might be best to do personally. However, if the bleeding gets any worse or if you start feeling ill effects, I would recommend heading back immediately.”
Will nodded and stood up. “Thank you, Albin. I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone about this.”
Albin squinted up at him. “You will tell Halt, at least, won’t you? I think he should know what’s going on.”
Will shrugged. “I suppose. Good night, Albin.” Then he swept away through the door, shutting it softly behind him. Tug snickered at him. What was all that about?
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Will muttered as he mounted him. It was a short ride back to his small cabin. He smiled to see candlelight shining through the window. After leaving Tug with a decent amount of hay, Will opened the door to see a sleepy-eyed Alyss rocking a small baby next to their kitchen table. She didn’t notice him at first.
“Lynnie keeping you up again?”
Alyss started and looked up at him. “Will! You’re home much sooner than I expected!” The sudden movement disturbed the baby, and she opened her eyes to immediately begin wailing. Will strode over and picked her up, carefully cradling her against his shoulder.
“Sorry. Did you just get her to sleep?”
“Yes,” Alyss sighed. “She doesn’t like having you gone any more than I do. I haven’t gotten more than a couple hours sleep in a night since you left.” Will muttered some soothing noises to the baby and began rocking back and forth. After a few minutes she was quiet again and he went to put her down in the cradle in their small bedroom. Alyss followed him, and they both watched for a few moments as Lynnie slept.
“Can I talk to you before we go to bed?” Will whispered.
“Of course.” Alyss whispered back. Once outside the bedroom, they shared a quick kiss and then returned to the table, sitting down. Will told Alyss everything. He knew she would worm it all out of him anyway, so it wasn’t worth trying to hide the truth about his wound. Not that it wasn’t pretty obvious already. She had noticed the bloodstained bandage immediately, but she knew Will would tell her about it in his own time. He never liked talking about his own injuries because he hated people fussing over him, but Alyss, with all her diplomatic training, was good at hiding her worry.
“So Albin thinks he can cure you?”
Will nodded. “If I get the venom.”
“So you are definitely going tomorrow?”
“Yes. I should be back soon, though. Do you think you’ll be all right without me for another few days?”
Alyss sighed. “I won’t like it, and neither will Lynnie, but we’ll survive somehow. Just come home safe, all right?”
Will smiled. “Of course. You know, if you need help, I’m sure Pauline would be willing to watch Lynnie for a while.”
Alyss smiled back. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Soon after that, they both were glad to collapse into bed and fall into an exhausted sleep.

Will rode up to the castle the next morning. Halt was glad to see him arrive.
“So Albin said it wasn’t serious?”
“Not exactly, but he did say it wouldn’t do me any harm to come with you.”
“It is serious, then?”
“It might be.”
“It might be if what?”
“I thought I was the one who always asked questions.”
Halt scowled. “I have a right to know! I’m the leader of this expedition, and if I say you can’t go, you can’t go.”
Will rolled his eyes, and then explained things to Halt, whose face became even stonier than usual.
“So he might be able to cure you? No guarantees?”
“No. But he seems pretty confident.”
Halt grunted, swinging himself up onto Abelard. “Let’s just get this over with and see.”
A few minutes later, they were joined by several other men, including Baron Arald, and to everyone’s surprise, Albin. Will raised his eyebrows as Albin rode up on what he was pretty sure was a borrowed horse.
“Coming to help?” he asked. Albin smiled.
“Sort of. After you left last night, I started having second thoughts, so I thought it would be better if I came along. You know, just in case.”
“In case of what?” interjected Halt. “Did you change your mind about Will being fit enough to come along?”
Will opened his mouth to protest, but Albin spoke first. “This isn’t just about Will. If other people get hurt by that beast, it will be best for me to be able to be on hand to make the antidote as soon as possible.”
“So you still think Will will be fine?”
Albin glanced at Will, who looked at him pleadingly. He sighed. “I don’t know. He’s not bleeding much, but eventually he’ll start feeling the effects. It’s impossible to know how soon that will be.”
Halt turned to Will. “I don’t feel good about this.”
Will looked straight into his eyes. “I know, but you might need me. I have a feeling this creature will prove difficult to find and to kill.”
Halt’s eyebrows moved closer together. “Will you promise to tell me as soon as you start feeling worse?”
Will nodded. “Of course.”
Then they heard Baron Arald clear his throat. “The men are all ready to depart, Halt.”Halt nodded, and they all headed out.
It was the end of the second day before they finally reached the place where Halt and Will had camped the night of the attack. As the sun was already setting, they decided to make camp and start the hunt the next day. By the time everything was set up, Will had already located the beginning of the creature’s trail and pointed it out to Halt. Then Will headed into the circle of tents and started a small fire that he later used to cook a few rabbits over for dinner.
As they were about to start eating a sentry yelled out, “Man on horseback approaching!” Several men, including Will and Halt, walked out of the circle of tents to see who it was. As the horseman got closer, Will smiled.
“It’s Horace! He must have smelled dinner cooking.” Soon Horace arrived and swung down from his horse.
“I heard you have been having a bit of trouble with strange large animals running about, and thought you might like my help. How goes the hunt?”
Will laughed and hugged Horace, patting him on the back in the process. “It hasn’t really begun yet. We’ve only just arrived at the last place we saw the creature.”
“Then how’d you get that scratch on your neck?” Horace pointed to the bandage, which already had a dark stain on it though it had been put there only an hour before.
“Is it really that obvious?” said Will, touching it. Halt rolled his eyes.
“To everyone but you, apparently. We’re all waiting for you to drop dead, but you don’t seem to even notice.”
Horace’s eyebrows rose. “Why would he drop dead? It doesn’t look that bad.” They both sobered up quickly and explained the situation to Horace on the way back to the fire, where Albin was still sitting. Will began serving the roasted rabbit, which everyone quickly devoured in silence. Horace looked much more serious than he usually did while eating, until finally Will punched him on the arm.
“Come on, Horace, it’s not that big of a deal. You look like you’re already on the way to my funeral.”
Horace looked at him. “I don’t know how you can be so optimistic about it. You’re as bad as Halt, you know that?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”protested Halt.
They both ignored him. “What am I supposed to do, moan all day? It’s been three days, I’ve pretty much gotten used to it by now. And Halt, I’ll let you know before I decide to drop dead.”He stood up and walked over to his bedroll/tent/sleeping bag-type-thingy, whatever-it’s-called.
“I wouldn’t ask him to take watch tonight, Halt,” said Albin.
“Why?” said Halt, his forehead creasing with worry. “Do you think he’s getting worse?”
“Maybe,” said Albin, staring at the fire. “The first symptom of slow blood loss like that is generally abnormal tiredness. With all the riding he’s been doing, I doubt Will would even notice. In any case, extra sleep would do him good.”
“Do you think I should go talk to him?” said Horace anxiously. “He’s usually not that prickly.”
“No, I think he probably just wants some time alone,” replied Halt, still looking anxious.

“Why didn’t you wake me for the watch last night?” said Will as they prepared to leave for the day’s hunt.
“Albin said you could probably use the extra sleep.”
Will rubbed his eyes. “I think it just made me more tired.”
Halt looked at him. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“I don’t really have a choice now. Somehow, I think riding home alone would be more dangerous than staying to go after the beast.”
Halt nodded reluctantly. “All right then. But remember, tell me if you start feeling weird.”
“Of course.” Will mounted Tug. He knew that he was more tired than he should be, and it bothered him. He didn’t want to start falling apart until after the animal, whatever it was, had been taken care of. Preferably, he wouldn’t fall apart at all. But that was becoming more unlikely with each passing day, and he knew it.
They rode slowly that day, stopping regularly to make sure that they were still following the beast’s tracks. As midday approached, the sun beat down on them fiercely and Will started to feel sure that without the regular stops, he would be falling asleep on Tug’s back. He knew that Halt would notice his drooping head, but he didn’t want to talk about it.
“The tracks stop here,” said Halt, sounding slightly puzzled.
“What?” said Will, blinking and shaking his head. Halt stood up and looked at him.
“The tracks stop here. It’s almost as if the creature knew it was going to be followed. It looks like it started hiding its tracks or something.”
Will’s brows furrowed. “It can’t possibly be that smart.” A wave of dizziness suddenly came over him, and he staggered to steady himself against Tug. Tug snorted but stayed in place.
“Will? Are you all right?”said Halt. Will closed his eyes and shook his head. He felt Halt’s strong callused hand on his arm.
“You’d better sit down.” He pulled Will down to a sitting position. Will pulled his knees up and rested his head on them. A few minutes later, he felt relatively normal again. When he lifted his head again, Horace was staring at him worriedly.
“Where’s Halt?”
“He went to get Albin, who got caught up in the back of the group. Are you all right?”
Will put his hand to his head. “I feel all right now, just a little tired. It was weird. I just felt really dizzy all the sudden, like I was about to pass out.” Halt and Albin came up a few moments later.
Albin knelt down and stared into Will’s eyes. “You’d better take it easy from now on. The more you exert yourself, the worse it will be.” He picked up Will’s arm and felt for a pulse. After a minute or so, he nodded.
“Your heart rate is still relatively normal. That’s good. The other symptoms are just your body telling you that this is serious.”
Will snorted. “Well, at least my body and Halt are in agreement. I still don’t get why it’s such a big deal.”
Halt knelt down and placed his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Will, I know you want to be part of this, but I think you should stay at the back of the party with Albin. If we need you at the front, we’ll let you know. Until then, take it easy. Alyss and Pauline will never forgive me if I let you die on my watch.”
Will thought about protesting, but he saw the iron look in Halt’s eyes and decided it would be useless. Plus, he knew that Alyss would be angry with him too if he didn’t do his best to stay alive. A small part of him was also afraid. He hadn’t felt weak like this in years, and he didn’t want to die. He wanted to live and get his own apprentice, and watch his child grow into a woman. Life was good right now, and he wanted to enjoy it if he could.
Will mounted Tug and followed Albin back to the end of the line of men. Halt watched him go, his shoulders slumping when he was out of sight. Horace put a hand on his shoulder. Halt shrugged it off gruffly.
“Let’s get going. I believe there’s a small lake nearby. The animal might have gone there to get water. If not, it will be a good place to water our horses.”He mounted Abelard and Horace mounted Kicker, not daring to say anything. He was beginning to better understand when it was better not to test Halt’s patience, and this was one of those times.
They reached the lake around midday, and Halt went to check on Will as soon as the horses began lapping up water. He found Albin standing by Tug and his own horse as they drank, but no Will.
“Where’s Will?”
Albin looked up at him. “I think he went to look for tracks. I gave him some medicine, and he said he felt a lot better, so I let him go.” Halt grunted in reply, and then turned around to observe the area. It didn’t take long for him to spot Will, who was kneeling on the ground about twenty feet away.
“Find anything?”
“I think so. No tracks, but the grass is bent, and I found the remains of a rabbit nearby.” He stood up and brushed himself off. “It could be something else, but judging by the state of the rabbit, I doubt it.” Halt looked around and soon found the rabbit. It wasn’t mauled at all beyond a bloody cut on its leg. Halt frowned, found a stick, and moved the rabbit a few inches with it. Underneath it was a large puddle of blood.
“It must have been unable to move after being struck, so it just stayed there and bled to death.”Will wouldn’t meet Halt’s eyes.
“It looks fairly recent.”
“The poison must be worse for small animals.”
“Hmmmm,” said Halt, turning away from the grisly sight. “Do you have a theory as to where it went?”
Will nodded and pointed to the east. “It looks like it was moving that way.”
Halt examined the bent grass and agreed. “We’ll head out in five minutes. Albin said you were feeling better. Is that still true?”
Will shrugged. “Yes, I suppose.”Halt raised one eyebrow, and Will elaborated.
“I still feel a little more tired than usual, but I haven’t had any more dizzy spells. The medicine he gave me really helped.” Halt continued to look skeptical.
“You’re not thinking of making me stay out of this, are you?”
“If you get any worse, you’re staying back whenever we get close to any action. It’s too late to send you home, but I’m not going to let you get hurt any more than you already are.”
Will reluctantly agreed, and both returned to their respective horses. They headed out a bit more slowly than before, as Halt had to continually dismount in order to find the faint traces of the animal. It appeared to have gotten careless in covering its tracks, if that was what it had done. As they went on, it became easier and easier, until finally they were back to their original speed. But by dusk, they still had not seen the beast itself. Halt reluctantly called a halt when it was too dark to see much. He and Horace again joined Albin and Will for dinner. Everyone was much quieter than usual. It had been a long day in the heat, and Will was not the only one who was tired. Despite his exhaustion, Horace ate as voraciously as usual, but he was the only one. Halt and Will avoided each other’s eyes as they picked at their food. Albin finally broke the silence.
“Do you Rangers have a plan for confronting the beast?”
Halt nodded. “Of course we do.”
“And?” asked Horace.
“I don’t think you really need to know. I’ll tell you if your skills are required.”
“Oh.” Horace looked uncomfortable. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize for Halt’s moodiness,” said Will wryly. “I’ll take credit for that. I’ve had a lot more practice, after all.”
Halt rolled his eyes. “You certainly do have a talent for getting on my nerves. I sometimes still question my sanity in taking you on as an apprentice in the first place.”
Will laughed. “Well, it’s a bit late to change your mind, twelve years later.”
Halt sighed. “Oh, soon enough, you’ll have your own apprentice. I can only hope he’ll be as obnoxious as you. Then maybe you’ll finally feel sorry for me.”
Horace snorted. “Good luck with that. Will’s breed of obnoxiousness is quite rare, I assure you. I’ve been training young knights for a couple years now, and none of them even comes close to Will.”
“Well, I for one hope my future apprentice is nothing like any of us,” said Will. “I think one Halt, one Will, and one Horace is about all Araluen can handle.”
“Hear, hear,” said Albin, raising an imaginary glass. They spent a few more minutes joking in this fashion before they all headed to bed.

The next morning, Will found it very difficult just to get out of bed. His head spun every time he moved, and he felt more tired than he had ever been before in his life. When he finally managed to sit up, he took a deep breath. Today was going to be difficult.
After he got used to being upright, he managed somehow to stand up and stagger over to Tug. Leaning on him for support, he made his way over to Albin’s tent. Albin was shaving outside, but he came over to Will as soon as he saw him.
“You look terrible. Come on, sit down.” Will complied and Albin checked his bandage. His face grew grave.
“The bleeding’s gotten a lot worse.” He checked Will’s pulse and shook his head. “I don’t know how you got out of bed, but I suggest you get right back to it.”
“Is it that bad?” said Will wearily.
“Yes.” Albin put his hand on Tug’s neck and led them both back to Will’s bedroll. Will collapsed onto it with a groan and closed his eyes. He was asleep again within minutes. Albin hurried off to find Halt.
Halt was saddling up Abelard for the day’s ride, and Horace was doing the same to Kicker nearby. When Halt saw Albin’s serious face, his heart dropped.
“Will’s worse, isn’t he?” he said, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice and failing. Albin nodded. Halt closed his eyes and put a hand to his face.
“How bad is it?”
“Quite bad. The bleeding got a lot worse during the night. I’d say he has a day or two at the most.”
“Can’t you do anything?”
Albin hesitated. “I could give him a bit more of the medicine I gave him yesterday, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” said Horace, who had come to stand next to Halt.
“There’s a chance that might have been what made him worse so suddenly. If I give it to him it could either make him live another couple days or it might kill him.”
Halt’s eyebrows came together. “Do you think I’ll be able to talk to him?”
Albin shrugged. “He was well enough to wake up this morning. He was asleep when I left him, though.”
“I’ll try to talk to him first, then.” Halt broke into a run, running to find Will still asleep. Horace arrived a minute later. They stood, both staring at Will until something woke him up.
He blinked up at them, then tried to sit up. Halt knelt down and pushed Will back down. He calmly explained the situation while Will tried to bring Halt’s face into focus. When he finished, Will closed his eyes.
“We might as well try.”
“You could die.” Halt fought to keep his voice steady, and almost succeeded.
Will opened his eyes. “Or I could live. Unless you think you can find the creature before tomorrow, this might be my only chance.” His hand grasped Halt’s, surprisingly strongly. “I don’t want to die, so I have to take this chance.”
“I have the medicine right here.” Albin had arrived at last. He glanced at Halt, who stepped back and nodded. He and Horace watched as Will swallowed the medicine and fell asleep again. Then Halt left to address the rest of the men. He didn’t mention Will, but he did say that the hunt had become more urgent, and that they would be returning to the same camp that night.
“The beast is most likely somewhere near. We should be able to find it today.” Everyone except Will and Albin set out ten minutes later. Halt did his best not to seem distracted, but Horace knew him too well.
“Forget Will, Halt. We need to find the beast, and worrying about him won’t do any good.”
“I know,” Halt snapped. “Don’t talk, I need to concentrate.” Horace nodded and let Kicker fall back a little so he was looking at Halt’s back. The rest of the day passed following tracks. It was around noon when they finally realized that they were going in circles.
“It’s like it was circling us in the night, just waiting to attack,” commented Horace.
Halt grunted. “It must hole up somewhere near here in the daytime.” They spent the rest of the day searching for this hidey-hole, finally returning with a feeling of defeat. Some of the men were grumbling about the pointlessness of the journey, but Halt silenced them with a single glare. He moved his sleeping gear over next to Will’s. Will greeted him with a smile.
“Catch anything?”
“No,” said Halt shortly. “Feeling better?”
“A bit. At least I can stay awake now.”
Halt finished his preparations and sat down. He put his face into his hands. “What on earth am I going to tell Alyss? And Pauline, and everyone else for that matter.”
Will propped himself up on his elbow. “We can discuss that later. Right now, I’m still planning on surviving this. Keep on like that and I might just have to change my mind, though.”
Halt looked at him. “Sorry. I’m acting like an old man again.”
Will smiled. “Well, you’re certainly the most capable old man I know. You just forget it sometimes.” He lay back down with a sigh and stared at the darkening sky above him. The two sat in silence for awhile, letting the darkness cover them. Horace finally walked up carrying some food. He sat next to Halt.
“Feel like eating?”
“No, not particularly,” said Halt.
“Now you’re acting like an old man,” Will muttered.
Horace jumped. “Will! I didn’t realize you were awake. Want some food?”
“Of course. Albin’s a wonderful healer, but a terrible cook. I’m starving.”Horace helped him sit up against a pile of blankets and handed him some bread. He tried not to notice how much Will was shaking as he tried to feed himself. But he knew Will would never let him do it, so he enthusiastically tucked into his own dinner.
“You’re both ridiculous,” said Halt
“You’re the one who’s starving yourself,” said Will cheerfully.
“Oh, fine, I’ll have some food.” He turned to Horace, who grimaced.
“Sorry, Halt, it’s all gone.” Will laughed. Halt shook his head and stood up.
“Horace, I don’t know how Evanlyn puts up with you, I really don’t.”
“She doesn’t have to do the cooking, that’s how. The palace cook now, I imagine she entertains putting poison in Horace’s food now and then,” quipped Will.
Horace snorted. “I’ll have you know the palace cook is quite fond of me. She says I’m one of the few people in this world who truly appreciate a good meal.”
The banter stopped abruptly when a shout rang out from the edge of the camp. “The beast! It’s coming!” Horace stood up and drew his sword, while Halt picked up his bow. As they ran towards the shouting, Will quietly pulled his bow out as well and reached for his quiver of arrows.
Men circled the animal, and it tossed its head wildly. Firelight shone off its beady black eyes. When Halt reached the circle, it snarled and ran for him. Before it tackled him, two black arrows were lodged in the loose flesh of its legs. Then it was on him like a returning nightmare. As before he stabbed at it, trying to avoid the deadly fangs. Halt struggled, using his strong legs and arms to roll out of the creature’s embrace. It lunged after him and he jumped back. Horace and several other men leaped for it, but carried on after Halt despite the men on its back stabbing it repeatedly. Horace raised his sword and tried to chop of the thing’s head, but it moved too fast, so he ended up chopping of its ear. The animal roared and reared up, knocking the men off its back. It swatted at Halt, who had been edging closer, and hit him in the chest. The force of the blow knocked him down and cracked a rib.
Halt shouted in pain and saw the beast beginning to lunge again, this time for his head. As it reared up for a second time, a grey-fletched arrow buried itself directly into its heart. Within seconds the creature lay dead.
Halt looked behind him to see Will leaning against Tug, still holding his bow. He ran over as Will slid to the ground, shaking and breathing fast, shallow breaths. He put a hand to his heart and grimaced in pain, letting his bow fall to the ground.
“Sorry, Halt. I just . . . had to get in on the . . . action,” he got out between shuddering breaths. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he lay still. Tug whinnied and reared, narrowly missing Halt. Horace grabbed at his mane and Tug looked at him with a crazy look in his eyes.
“It’s going to be all right, don’t worry,” he said soothingly, partly to the horse and partly to Halt, who was still staring at Will in shock.
Thankfully, it only took Albin about an hour to create the antidote after examining the venom on the dead animal’s fangs. But, as he told Halt, it would only stop the bleeding. Will’s body would have to do the rest on its own. They should be thankful that Will hadn’t had a heart attack. It had been a close thing. Halt watched in silence as Albin smeared the antidote, a greenish paste, on Will’s wound. At first it just turned brownish as it mixed with the blood, but when Albin washed it off, the bleeding had stopped. Halt let out a deep breath of relief. But that soon wore off as the night wore on and Will remained unconscious, barely breathing. When midnight arrived, Horace tried to get Halt to go to sleep. Halt refused, but then Albin gave him some medicine for his cracked ribs which made him fall asleep in minutes. Horace thanked him gratefully and took Halt’s place by Will.
When Halt woke up in the morning, there was still no change. After a long discussion, they devised a hammock-like stretcher that was held up between Abelard and Tug. Any other horses would most likely have been reluctant to adjust to this arrangement, but the two Ranger horses accepted it without complaint. It took them nearly a week to get home this way, with the other men riding ahead of them and getting home in four days. Halt was grateful for this, however, as Will woke up on the fourth day, so he could do all the explaining to the women. He was very weak and couldn’t walk on his own, but he could talk, for which Halt was very grateful.

Epilogue
Alyss was worried. The other men from the hunting party had returned a couple days ago. They had told her everything, including that the others were likely to return late, but their description of her husband’s condition was worrying nevertheless. Thankfully, Evanlyn was staying with her in the small cabin and was quite willing to comfort her as well as help with the baby. As the princess, she could have stayed at the castle while she waited for Horace to return, but one look at Alyss and she knew she just had to help.
“Seriously, Alyss, worrying is not going to help at all.”
Alyss was standing by the window, absently staring out of it while burping Lynnie. She didn’t answer Evanlyn.
“Um, Alyss, I think Lynnie fell asleep.”
“What?” Alyss looked down at her sleeping baby. “Oh. Sorry,” she whispered as she went to put her down in her cradle.
Evanlyn tried again. “Were you worrying about Will again?”
Alyss sighed. “I can’t really deny it, can I?”
“Well, you could, but I wouldn’t believe you. If it helps, I worry about Horace all the time too.”
“This is different though. We know for a fact that something bad has happened to him. I saw the wound myself. And I still let him go.” A sob escaped her, and Evanlyn gave her a hug.
“I think that’s just part of being a Ranger’s wife, or a knight’s wife for that matter. Even though we don’t want to let them go, we have to. You know Will would do the same thing in your place. And he probably has. You go on dangerous missions too. And I’m sure he’s stared out of that exact same window hundreds of times waiting for you to come back.”
Alyss hugged her back. “You’re a great friend, you know that? It’s hard to believe now how much I used to hate you.”
Evanlyn smiled. “I’ll admit it, I wasn’t too fond of you at first either. But be warned, I’m expecting something in return.”
Alyss raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“You, Will, and Lynnie all need to come and visit the palace sometime. I know it’ll be much more formal than us coming here, but Horace and I would really like to have you.”
Alyss smiled. “Lynnie will probably keep the entire palace up all night.”
Evanlyn laughed. “I can’t wait to see how all the painfully polite servants and nobles would react to that!”
Alyss laughed too, and then abruptly stopped. “I think I heard something.” She ran to the window, and Evanlyn joined her.
“It’s them.” Alyss threw the door open, and with Evanlyn following closely behind, she ran out to greet the three horses and their riders.
“Will!” she yelled. Horace dismounted and helped Will off Tug. Then Will was knocked down under the ferocity of Alyss’s hug. But he returned it as best he could, and kissed her with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Horace received a similar greeting, if not such an energetic one. Halt watched the two couples with a smile on his face. This was one of his favorite parts of being a Ranger. Coming home.