The Ruins of Gorlan- Character Reaction

29

"Here, sir." Horace handed the book to Arald, who took it and started reading.

THROUGH THAT LONG AFTERNOON, WILL FELT AS IF HE HAD lived his entire life in the saddle, his only respite being the hourly changes from one horse to another.

A brief pause to dismount, loosen the girth straps of the horse he had been riding, tighten those on the horse which had been following, then he would remount and ride on. Again and again, he marveled at the amazing endurance shown by Tug and Blaze as they maintained their steady canter. He even had to rein them in a little, to keep pace with the battlehorses ridden by the two knights. Big, powerful and trained for war as they might be, they couldn't match the constant pace of the Ranger horses, in spite of the fact that they were fresh when the small party had left Castle Redmont.

Halt and Crowley smiled smugly. "That'll show those battlehorses," the sandy-haired Ranger said.

They rode without speaking. There was no time for idle talk and, even if there had been, it would have been difficult to hear one another above the drumming thunder of the four heavy battlehorses, the lighter rattle of Tug and Blaze's hooves and the constant clank of equipment and weapons that accompanied them as they rode.

"And that's why a battle horse can never be a Ranger horse," Halt put in. The knights in the room turned aggrieved looks on the grizzled Ranger.

Both men carried long war lances—hard ash poles more than three meters in length, tipped with a heavy iron point. In addition, each had a broadsword strapped to their saddles—huge, two-handed weapons that dwarfed the swords they normally wore in day-to-day use—and Rodney had a heavy battleax slung at the rear right pommel of his saddle. It was the lances on which they would place greatest trust, however. They would keep the Kalkara at a distance, and so reduce the chance that the knights might be frozen by the terrifying stare of the two beasts. Apparently, the hypnotic gaze was only effective at close quarters. If a man couldn't see the eyes clearly, there was little chance of their paralyzing him with their gaze.

"That is, if you can catch him while being far away," Will said.

The sun was dropping fast behind them, throwing their shadows out before them, long and distorted by the low angle light. Arald glanced over his shoulder at the sun's position and called to Will.

"How long before dusk, Will?" Halt raised an eyebrow.

Will turned in his saddle and frowned at the descending ball of light before answering. "Less than an hour, my lord."

"And how come you answered him without a question?" Halt protested. Will snorted.

"You made me nervous. He didn't."

The Baron shook his head doubtfully. "It'll be a close run to get there before full dark then," he said. He urged his battlehorse onward, increasing speed a little. Tug and Blaze matched the increase without effort. None of them wanted to be hunting the Kalkara in the dark.

Halt snorted. "Really? And why wouldn't you want to do that?"

"Your sarcasm is dripping from your mouth."

The hour's rest at the castle had done wonders for Will. But it seemed that it had happened in another lifetime now. He thought over the cursory briefing that Arald had given as they mounted to leave Redmont. If they found the Kalkara at the Gorlan Ruins, Will was to hold back while the Baron and Sir Rodney charged the two monsters. There were no complex tactics involved, just a headlong charge that might take the two killers by surprise.

Will snorted. "Yes, I'm sure that will totally work."

"If Halt's there, I'm sure he'll take a hand too. But I want you well back out of harm's way, Will. That bow of yours won't make any impression on a Kalkara."