Chapter 8
Halt and Horace (LOL double H) jumped on their horses and rode down to the blackened mass.
They wandered around the once town with wide eyes. Nothing that could have been used for any importance had been set on fire, including the cattle.
All of a sudden, Kicker lost control and started rearing. Horace tried to stay on his once placid horse, but his horse would not calm down.
Letting out a word that Horace had only ever heard Will use once, he fell off Kicker and hit the ground with a dull thud.
'That sounded like it hurt,' Halt muttered to Horace. The younger man just groaned. 'The one hundred and one tons of armor helped that,' Horace replied and then sat up. Halt just shook his head in frustration and got off Abelard.
He hauled Horace off the ground so fast that the knight stumbled forward a bit before regaining his balance.
'Thanks, Halt,' he said sarcastically.
'Just don't do it again,' Halt replied as though he had never heard the sarcasm lacing his voice. The two men looked over to where Kicker and Abelard were. Kicker was still dancing around, obviously distressed and Abelard was trying to calm him down.
'What the hell is wrong with him?' Halt asked Horace who just shrugged in return. They stood there watching for a moment before he replied.
'I have no clue, he has never acted this way before,' he said. Both of them continued to watch as Abelard obviously gave up with trying to calm the other horse down. The horse walked over to them. He nudged Halt's shoulder and upon getting no response, bit it.
'What was that for?' Halt asked his horse. Abelard snorted, sending huge amounts of horse spit into Halt's hair.
'Thanks,' Horace said, wiping the small amount that hit him out of his eye. Horace could have sworn blind that the horse had just grinned.
Suddenly, just as fast as it had started, Kicker stopped dancing around and he walked over to Horace.
Halt frowned and looked over Kicker, making sure that there were no pieces of leaf or branch under the saddle causing him to go crazy. Once he had found nothing there, Halt shook his head and moved away.
'Your guess is as good as mine,' he told Horace and then mounted Abelard. 'But I think this is our cue to go and try to find the ranger of this place. '
! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*()
'Whatever questions you have I am not answering them,' Crowley said as Gil thudded into the tent.
'Why not?' Gil asked.
'Because I don't particularly want to,' Crowley replied.
'But you have already answered one of my questions, why not answer any more?' Gil snapped back. Crowley froze. He knew that he had been put into a tight spot and he frowned.
'Hit me with them,' he said. 'One at a time though,' aware that Gil was going to try and fire them off at sixty-six miles per hour. Or should I say a couple of kilometers, considering this is an Australian series and all...
'Where is he?' Gil asked.
'Where is who?' Crowley replied, trying to avoid as many questions as possible.
'You know,' growled Gil in return.
'He has rooms in castle Araluen where food and everything else he might need is brought to him.'
'What did Will say to be classed as insane?'
'He insisted that magic is real and that there is a practicer about to take over Araluen.'
'Did you even send anyone to see if he was right?'
'I sent Marvin.'
'He's crazy already!' Gil said and stormed out of the tent. He needed time to calm down again before he had to deal with everyone again.
He walked over to the target range, all the apprentices that were there ran off upon seeing the anger present in his whole body and he started throwing his knives at the targets. Gilan never hit anything other than the bulls-eye. After a little time doing this (actually two hours) he made the decision to seek Crowley out again.
The commandant of the Rangers was just where he had been left, in his tent working on some paperwork.
'I want to go and see him,' Gil told Crowley.
'I can't let you,' he replied and looked up to face Gil.
'Just give me one month off, let me go see him. I promise not to go crazy as well,' Gil pleaded and Crowley relented.
'One month starting from tomorrow,' Crowley said and Gilan knew that he had just been dismissed.
Once he was outside, he was ambushed by almost all of the other Rangers.
'What's the news about Will?' the closest Ranger asked.
'He is in Castle Araluen and the other person who was labeled as insane was Marvin,' Gil said.
'He was already bloody insane,' Ranger 34, George, commented darkly.
'Now tell us something that we don't already know,' replied his twin Ranger 35, René. They were the only twins that the corps had ever had and they often went on missions together, working well.
'I'm going to see how crazy he really is, or if he is just knocked slightly off kilter,' Gilan told the group around him. They all nodded.
'Try and bring him back sane, although with what happened to his wife it would make sense if it never happened,' someone, Gil didn't catch who, said.
'But for now, let's eat!' George said and the whole group sat down to eat some slop.
! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*()
Pauline sighed and removed the child hanging off her arm. Will's son started cry and she was forced to pick him up again.
Suddenly she was hit with a brilliant idea to keep them entertained.
'How old are you?' she asked the little boy who had stopped crying as soon as she had picked him up.
'Thwee,' he said in the way that children have.
'I think that means that you are big enough to start learning how to count,' she told him.
'Like a big boy?' he replied.
'Exactly like a big boy,' she grinned.
They wandered around the once town with wide eyes. Nothing that could have been used for any importance had been set on fire, including the cattle.
All of a sudden, Kicker lost control and started rearing. Horace tried to stay on his once placid horse, but his horse would not calm down.
Letting out a word that Horace had only ever heard Will use once, he fell off Kicker and hit the ground with a dull thud.
'That sounded like it hurt,' Halt muttered to Horace. The younger man just groaned. 'The one hundred and one tons of armor helped that,' Horace replied and then sat up. Halt just shook his head in frustration and got off Abelard.
He hauled Horace off the ground so fast that the knight stumbled forward a bit before regaining his balance.
'Thanks, Halt,' he said sarcastically.
'Just don't do it again,' Halt replied as though he had never heard the sarcasm lacing his voice. The two men looked over to where Kicker and Abelard were. Kicker was still dancing around, obviously distressed and Abelard was trying to calm him down.
'What the hell is wrong with him?' Halt asked Horace who just shrugged in return. They stood there watching for a moment before he replied.
'I have no clue, he has never acted this way before,' he said. Both of them continued to watch as Abelard obviously gave up with trying to calm the other horse down. The horse walked over to them. He nudged Halt's shoulder and upon getting no response, bit it.
'What was that for?' Halt asked his horse. Abelard snorted, sending huge amounts of horse spit into Halt's hair.
'Thanks,' Horace said, wiping the small amount that hit him out of his eye. Horace could have sworn blind that the horse had just grinned.
Suddenly, just as fast as it had started, Kicker stopped dancing around and he walked over to Horace.
Halt frowned and looked over Kicker, making sure that there were no pieces of leaf or branch under the saddle causing him to go crazy. Once he had found nothing there, Halt shook his head and moved away.
'Your guess is as good as mine,' he told Horace and then mounted Abelard. 'But I think this is our cue to go and try to find the ranger of this place. '
! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*()
'Whatever questions you have I am not answering them,' Crowley said as Gil thudded into the tent.
'Why not?' Gil asked.
'Because I don't particularly want to,' Crowley replied.
'But you have already answered one of my questions, why not answer any more?' Gil snapped back. Crowley froze. He knew that he had been put into a tight spot and he frowned.
'Hit me with them,' he said. 'One at a time though,' aware that Gil was going to try and fire them off at sixty-six miles per hour. Or should I say a couple of kilometers, considering this is an Australian series and all...
'Where is he?' Gil asked.
'Where is who?' Crowley replied, trying to avoid as many questions as possible.
'You know,' growled Gil in return.
'He has rooms in castle Araluen where food and everything else he might need is brought to him.'
'What did Will say to be classed as insane?'
'He insisted that magic is real and that there is a practicer about to take over Araluen.'
'Did you even send anyone to see if he was right?'
'I sent Marvin.'
'He's crazy already!' Gil said and stormed out of the tent. He needed time to calm down again before he had to deal with everyone again.
He walked over to the target range, all the apprentices that were there ran off upon seeing the anger present in his whole body and he started throwing his knives at the targets. Gilan never hit anything other than the bulls-eye. After a little time doing this (actually two hours) he made the decision to seek Crowley out again.
The commandant of the Rangers was just where he had been left, in his tent working on some paperwork.
'I want to go and see him,' Gil told Crowley.
'I can't let you,' he replied and looked up to face Gil.
'Just give me one month off, let me go see him. I promise not to go crazy as well,' Gil pleaded and Crowley relented.
'One month starting from tomorrow,' Crowley said and Gilan knew that he had just been dismissed.
Once he was outside, he was ambushed by almost all of the other Rangers.
'What's the news about Will?' the closest Ranger asked.
'He is in Castle Araluen and the other person who was labeled as insane was Marvin,' Gil said.
'He was already bloody insane,' Ranger 34, George, commented darkly.
'Now tell us something that we don't already know,' replied his twin Ranger 35, René. They were the only twins that the corps had ever had and they often went on missions together, working well.
'I'm going to see how crazy he really is, or if he is just knocked slightly off kilter,' Gilan told the group around him. They all nodded.
'Try and bring him back sane, although with what happened to his wife it would make sense if it never happened,' someone, Gil didn't catch who, said.
'But for now, let's eat!' George said and the whole group sat down to eat some slop.
! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*() ! #$%^&*()
Pauline sighed and removed the child hanging off her arm. Will's son started cry and she was forced to pick him up again.
Suddenly she was hit with a brilliant idea to keep them entertained.
'How old are you?' she asked the little boy who had stopped crying as soon as she had picked him up.
'Thwee,' he said in the way that children have.
'I think that means that you are big enough to start learning how to count,' she told him.
'Like a big boy?' he replied.
'Exactly like a big boy,' she grinned.