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

Chapter 10

Hal nervously stood at the tiller. He had first tried to give his crew as much guidance as he could, but they were already doing everything in their power, so it wasn't to much use. He didn't like fleeing. Especially when he didn't have a clue as to who the enemy he was running from was. He had no idea what these so-called Scoti were after. Besides that, he had the feeling Will was keeping secrets from him, seeing the ranger quietly staring at their pursuers from the railing. Perhaps the only reason why they had set out to follow the Heron was to get to Will - but Hal could hardly blame Will for that: he had given him clear warnings. He looked over his shoulder and was relieved to see that the distance between his ship and the pursuers was getting larger. Before long, he figured, the other ships would disappear over the horizon. This had itself disadvantages as well: if they could no longer see them, they would have no idea if they were still in pursuit. The Herons would have to watch their back constantly and there would be no more time to stop for the night. Hal shivered. The Scoti were getting on his nerves.
"Hal, what's the plan?" Stig called out to him, approaching from the other side of the ship.
"I don't know, okay?!" He yelled, frustrated. "I don't know! And if everybody keeps asking me questions, I won't be able to think either!" Stig raised his hands in defense.
"Calm down! It was just a question, no need to yell like that," he exclaimed, startled. Hal sighed and mumbled an apology. He never intended to explode against Stig like that, but he needed his moment of rest. He couldn't think otherwise. Stig went to stand with Thorn and Lydia to join them in a game of 'look-at-Hal-as-expectantly-as-possible'. Seeing them pose like that was kind of funny, and Hal had to look away, grinning broadly.
"Did you figure something out?!" Thorn, Lydia and Stig choired. Hal rolled his eyes.
What could they possibly do? Option one: turn around and fight. Not very smart. Option two: continue sailing and hope they'd reach Skandia before the Scoti caught up with them. Nearly impossible. Hal sighed. This wasn't going to work. He needed an option three.
"Stig, please take over the tiller," he mumbled, grinning, as option three came into his mind. Before Stig had a chance to reach the tiller, Hal was already moving away, his mind racing to finish his plan. He ignored all curious gazes sent his way and sat down on one of the benches, leaning his head in his hands. It wouldn't take long before they'd reach Skorghijl. They could sail in there and then block the bay as much as possible. They would need to use driftwood or perhaps old furniture from the huts to do so, and if necessary, they could break up one of the huts themselves. That would stop the Scoti for a while. The users of the huts probably wouldn't be too happy with this plan, but that was too bad for them; Hal needed to do something. After that they would have to defend themselves. They would need weapons in order to shoot through or over the barricade. Hopefully, they would be able to sink the other ships in time. The grin returned to his face and he went over his plan again, to make sure he hadn't overlooked a small but significant detail. He didn't think so. But then again, he never thought he did...

He called all Herons and Will together and informed them of his plan. Of course everybody approved, but Hal wasn't the skirl for nothing. He saw Thorn, Lydia and Stig regarding his with satisfaction, an expression of 'we-knew-you-had-it-in-you' on their faces. He took over the tiller from Stig and was relieved to find he was no longer feeling nervous. The effect a plan can have on a person... The rest of the crew appeared less tense as well and even Will had turned his back on the enemy by then.
Hal chuckled as he saw little Evanlyn struggled free from Will's arms and running back to Lydia. The two girls seemed to become good friends, despite the difference in age.
For about an hour, the Heron and the two Scoti ships retained the same distance from each other. From time to time, the distance seemed to become a little bigger or smaller, but in general it stayed equal. Hal though it was kind of nice to know exactly where his enemy was, without having to worry about being attacked. The hours following that however, the distance slowly, very slowly got bigger. When the Scoti ships disappeared over the horizon around sunset, the crew started to cheer. Danger has passed; at least for that moment.
The sailed on throughout the night, afraid the Scoti would catch up with them otherwise. Hal didn't mind: the more distance they covered, the sooner they'd reach the relative safety of Skorghijl. Only a little after the first light of day appeared over the horizon, in an explosion of pink, purple and orange, Skorghijl finally appeared in sight. Hal rubbed his tired eyes; he had refused to get away from the tiller. With renewed courage he woke up his crew and within a couple of minutes everyone was busy with their regular activities. Everybody was excited to get on land and execute Hal's plan.
Hal maneuvered the Heron into the bay with ease and let it slide steadily onto the beach.
"Listen carefully, everyone!" he called. "We don't have much time! The Scoti will probably be here in no more than two hours, so we have to move quickly." He started distributing tasks. Some of them would go around searching for driftwood, some would as quickly and efficiently as possible start to block the bay and some others again would start working on their defense. Hal helped around here and there, keeping the bigger picture in mind. Will approached him, holding Evanlyn's hand.
"Uh, Hal? You didn't give me a job?" he asked. Hal nodded.
"That is because I have something different in mind for you," he answered, grinning mischievously. Will's eyebrow slowly went up.
"I need you to get up there and keep a look out. Considering you are a ranger, they won't be able to see you, so they won't know we have a surprise waiting for them here and we will have the advantage of surprise," he explained in a more serious voice. Will nodded, approving of this plan, but then he frowned.
"Who will watch Evanlyn? She won't be able to sit still for two hours up there..." he remarked. Hal thought about it for a moment and then nodded.
"I think Ingvar could watch her for a while. He doesn't see much, so he can hardly help here. We only need him for the heavy lifting, but there is not much of that to do here, so he's got time on his hands," he suggested, pointing out Ingvar's big silhouette. WIll let the air escape from his lungs in relief and led the girl to her new babysitter. Hal chuckled. Funny little thing. Evanlyn. Not Will. That would be awkward.
Hal chuckled and turned around to help Ulf and Wulf with the driftwood.