Ranger's Apprentice- Revenge

Chapter 8

  It was evening and the rangers and knight camped for the night amid a secluded crop of rocks that jutted out of the ground; making a natural barrier that hid the group from any prying eyes.

  Will woke up once; the firelight reflecting off his bleary eyes. When Halt bent over his young apprentice, he could tell that Will wasn't fully aware and didn't recognize what was happening around him. Terrin brought a soaked cloth of cool water and Halt took it, then gently cleaned Will's face and neck from the grime and dirt. Terrin then left, seeing that he couldn't help any further, and started to make dinner over the fire. Horace watered and fed the horses; frustrated that he was unable to help his best friend.

  Gilan knelt down. "We need to check and rewrap the wound. Can you talk to Will and keep him distracted?" He said as he gingerly lifted the apprentice's shirt to reveal a bandage tightly wound around his chest; the blood already seeping through.

  "Will?" Halt's gruff voice quietly murmured. "Will? Can you hear me?"
Will mumbled something that Halt couldn't quite make out. "Hang in there. We're close to Redmont. We'll get you there soon." Will didn't reply, which was expected and Halt continued. "I'm sorry for not seeing through Corek's plan sooner. It was my fault and you paid the price."

  "Halt." Gilan spoke quietly. "This is not your fault. Drayvon was insane, you couldn't have known what he was thinking. I should've rode faster and brought reenforcements sooner."

  Halt grabbed his water flask, lifted his apprentice's head, and slowly drizzled water down his throat. He then shook his head. "No, blaming ourselves isn't going to help. There were too many variables that could've gone wrong. I'm just glad that Will jerked at the last moment."

  Gilan finished redressing Will's injuries and the group ate their meal of fire baked bread and spiced stew. They then bed down for the night; Halt taking the first shift.

  In the morning, they loaded up and retied Will to the litter after changing his bandages once more. They continued the long and anxious journey back.

>>>----->

  Will groggily cracked his eyes open to a blurry world. Tall, dark green spots passed him. He seemed to be rocking from side to side with an occasional bump in between which caused him pain for some reason. He tried to move his arm to where he thought the pain was located, but noticed that he couldn't move. Will scrunched his forehead in confusion at the weird predicament. His was uncomfortable and tried to escape the glaring, harsh light, but again couldn't move.

  Suddenly, he jerked upward more violently than the other times. He gasped as his side caught on fire. Then the movement abruptly stopped and the apprentice heard a sound of something crunching on gravel.

  Distantly, he heard voices that seemed familiar and more movement occurred. Faces came into his field of vision. "Halt... Terr'n... Gil'n...?" He slurred. "Horace... What're you doin' here? Why can't I move?" 

  "Will, how much pain are you in?" Halt said in the softest voice that Will had ever heard.

  Will groaned softly. "Mm fine, Halt." He said sleepily. Will tried to look down to see why he still couldn't move very well, but stopped when a dull ache flared in his head from the harsh light. He winced and Horace's big, bulky frame moved to block the sunlight; casting a shadow on the boy.

  "That's not a satisfactory answer, Will." Halt said in a more stern, but gentle voice.

  "My head aches, my side is on fire, and I feel really weak, but other than that 'm good." He smiled slightly, but that quickly turned into a grimace. "Why can't I move?" He asked again.

  "You're tied to a litter behind Abelard. We're heading back to Redmont now." Terrin replied.

  "You remember everything that happened, Will?" Asked a worried Horace.

  Will thought about this for a moment and nodded in reply then asked. "How much longer till we get there?"

  "A few hours more." Gilan said with a sympathetic smile. Just then, a pony's head bent into Will's vision and nudged him gently.

  "Hey, Tug. It's good to see you too. I would pet you, but as you can see, I'm a little tied down at the moment." Will smiled at the little pony. Tug snorted and the warm air ruffled Will's brown hair.

  "Here, Will." Halt bent down on his knees and brought a leather water skin to Will's lips. "Drink this slowly."
He said as he lifted his weakened apprentice's head and tipped cool water down his parched throat.

  Will swallowed and noticed a faint tinge of something in the water. "Why does it taste funny?"

  "I just tinged the water with Valerian Root to help with the pain and to help you sleep." Halt answered and rung out a wet cloth that Will didn't know where he got from and wiped the dust from off Will's face and neck. "Remember, I taught you that, Will." He added.

  "Wait, isn't the root fairly rare in Araluen?" Asked Will, trying to remember what Halt had taught him about it.

  Halt shook his head. "So many questions." He then shrugged. "Valerian is supposed to help with injuries. If I'm not supposed to use it when my apprentice gets shot with a crossbow bolt, then when should I use it?"

  Will didn't reply to that, not knowing how to answer when another question hoped into his head. "What did happen when I was out?"

  "We'll tell you on the way." Halt said as he stood up from his crouched position. "But we need to get on the rode again."

  Horace moved toward his horse and Will winced, squinting his eyes again as the sunlight hit him full in the face. Terrin noticed and walked over to Whinnifer. "I think I've got an idea that might help some." He said as he pulled a blanket roll off the back of the saddle and unrolled it. He then took the corners from one end of the blanket and tied the ends to some loops that hung from Abelard's saddle behind Halt and stretched it over Will and tied the other ends to the support branches at Will's feet; making an effective barrier that blocked most of the harsh glare of the sun. "There, how's that?" Terrin asked as he looked down and grinned at Will.

  Will closed his eyes in relief. "That's so much better. Thank you, Terrin."

  "Glad I can help." Terrin said as he swung onto Whinnifer's saddle.

  Will then looked down at the straps that restrained him and frowned. "Can you take these off?"

  Horace smiled grimly at him. "Sorry, Will. Can't do that. Those straps are the only thing that is keeping you on the litter. If you didn't have them on, you would be on the ground before Abelard took ten steps."

  "Yes, and the sooner we get to Redmont, the sooner you can have them off and taken care of. So let's be off before we decide to spend the night in this dreaded forest again. Will, try to sleep." Halt said, his commanding and grim voice turned back on. Abelard trotted with a smooth gait as the rest of the group followed in the pony's wake; Tug keeping pace easily and trotted alongside his young master.

  As they moved along, the litter continued to bump on small rocks despite Halt's best effort to keep it as still as possible. Although it twinged Will's side and made him uncomfortable, Will noticed it didn't hurt as bad as before. Valerian really was a miracle herb. The root did more than just leviate the pain though. Gilan and Horace explained what had transpired while Will wasn't with them and as Gilan got to the part where he raced back to the castle to bring reenforcements, Will was pulled into a dreamless sleep with the help of the Valerian.