The end...? (Ranger's apprentice/ Brotherband fan-fiction)

Chapter 21

Halt was bored. There was no other way to describe it. An when a ranger gets bored, one needs to be careful. Especially when that one is the person who 'locked up' said ranger. Halt made up all kinds of funny little plans to embarrass Evan in front of his crew. Of course, half of the things he imagined were impossible to actually do, but the thinking was a nice way to get through some time. And time was something Halt had enough of, now he was stuck on the ship. He had noticed that his seasickness didn't bother him all that much when he kept himself busy, which encouraged him to continue thinking up even more ingenious, but crazy plans.

Part of the plan he decided to stick to, consisted of remaining silent. He would not say a word, not to anyone aboard the ship. Twice a day, some people from the kitchen staff brought him a meal. Those meals weren't very special, but he appreciated that they didn't forget him. It would be a shame to starve to death, now he was finally on his way to Skandia. An hour after the first meal of the day had been delivered to him, he gathered his belongings and left his 'cell'.
He casually strolled across various decks until he reached the fresh air of the top deck. It took a while before the first crewmember noticed the escaped prisoner walking around. The man had a bewildered look in his eyes as he stared at Halt's cloak for a moment, before turning to another crewmember. He barked a few words in the strange language that characterized the Scoti, pointing towards the ranger. The two of them followed him with their eyes, as he passed them. They decided not to move, though. Very well, Halt though. You don't bother me, I don't bother you. For a while he just walked there, enjoying the fresh air, which was an incredible improvement after having been below deck between the dusty barrels for several days. That, and the fact that he was barely bothered by seasickness, due to the size of the ship, put him into a good mood. Almost cheerfully he continued towards the middle of the ship.

A gigantic sail occupied a large part above the deck there. This was the ship's most important sail, catching most wind. All the way above it, at the top of the mast, a flag displaying the Scoti's royal crest waved about proudly. Halt realized this situation could get very interesting. He took his long bow off his shoulder and slowly grabbed an arrow. A few second later, the rope holding up the flag snapped, causing the piece of fabric to come sailing down. Halt chuckled at his own inward pun.
As if nothing had happened, Halt continued on his way down the ship. Several moments later confused Scoti voices were calling out to one another; the fallen flag had been found. Some yards away from Halt, a smaller, but still important-looking sail was filled with wind. Again, Halt grabbed an arrow. By the time he passed the sail, a nice and big hole decorated the sail, which immediately let go of the wind. A crewmember who happened to witness Halt's destructive actions came rushing towards the ranger, shouting angrily. Without hesitation Halt took care of him. He didn't kill the man, he didn't believe that to be necessary. If he had done that, too many crewmembers would be lost and then he'd never reach Skandia. That did not agree with Halt's plans of course...
Everyone who got in Halt's way, simply got knocked unconscious or disarmed. That was always fun. The ranger didn't feel like hurting innocent bystanders, so he only attacked people attacking him. He continued like this for another while, cutting ropes and sails every now and then, defending himself when needed. Eventually someone higher up in the ship's hierarchy heard of what he was doing and ordered for Halt to be captured again. He was again taken back to the room full of wine barrels. The Scoti didn't seem to learn from their previous mistakes, as they tied him up exactly the same way and left his weapons in the same spot. An extra rope was brought in to keep him where he was.
Halt had noticed by then that the Scoti weren't all that bright. But this was simply stupid, even for them: he had escaped from here twice now. Didn't they see that their methods weren't working?! He shook his head in disappointment. He had expected a little more of a challenge.
Barely an hour later, he repeated his actions.