Everyone looked up at the Ranger Commandant in surprise.
"Where in the blue blithering blazes did you come from?!?" Halt asked.
Crowley looked back at him, confused. "Araluen. Obviously."
"But Araluen is three days ride from here..." Gilan wondered.
"Only if you go the long way." Crowley said elusively, as he entered the cabin from his place in the door. No one stopped him, although none of them quite understood what he meant.
He walked over to the now nearly empty coffee pot, and poured himself a cup, drinking it black. Will looked at him.
"You've played this before?" Will asked.
"Once or twice." Crowley shrugged. "A few times. Quite a few times. It shows up every now and again." He smiled. "No one has any idea where it came from, but it's quite fun."
"That's great." Halt grunted, "But we still need two more players."
"I've got an idea!" Will said, suddenly, before sprinting out the door Crowley had left open.
"Wha-" Gilan started, before realising Will wouldn't hear him.
"Where's he off to?" Halt asked, staring out the door.
Crowley shrugged. "For all we know, he'll be back with a crew of Skandians."
Meanwhile, Will was out in Wensley Village, looking for a certain someone. Or, certain someones.
He found Horace where he expected him to be, in the battleschool, running drills with the apprentices. They'd just finished a round of drills, and the apprentices were in the midst of moving to their next class. Will flagged down Horace, and the tall knight jogged over to see what the ranger wanted.
"Will!" Horace smiled, greeting his friend.
"Horace!" Will smiled back. "Can I borrow you?"
"Yeah, sure." Horace replied. "I saw Gilan riding in earlier, what's up?"
"Time to explain later." Will said, before suddenly running off, out of the battleschool. Horace, while confused, ran after his friend, trusting (or rather, hoping) that he would explain.
Will's next stop was Castle Redmont. He rushed through the gates, ignoring the confused looks from the guards, which grew when they spotted the knight running after him.
Alyss was relaxing in the courtyard during one of her few hours off. She spotted Will as he was running towards her, and rose to greet him. Spotting Horace running a few metres behind Will, she waved to him as Will came to a stop next to her.
Will hugged her in greeting, before asking, "You busy?"
"Not at the moment, why?" Alyss asked, as Horace caught up.
Will grinned and said, "Come with me. I'll explain on the way."
