Finding Halt

Chapter 1

King Duncan was about to speak when there was a loud knock on the door. "Come in." He called, swiveling in his seat to face the door. Seeing the Ranger uniform, he instantly assumed the man was Crowley. "You're late, Crowley." Gilan pushed back his cowl and nodded respectfully to the king, as the king realized that though both Rangers were absurdly cheerful, this wasn't Crowley.

"I'm sorry, Crowley won't be coming today. He left a message for King Duncan, and it is best that you read it." Gilan walked forwards, his soft boots making no noise on the stone floor to hand a piece of paper to the King.

Duncan frowned but began reading the paper that was clearly marked as addressed to him. As he read Crowley's hurried scrawl, his eyes widened. "Is this true? Has he really left?" He asked Gilan, before realizing that Gilan would have no idea either.

"I can't find him or Cropper anywhere." It took Duncan a few seconds to realize that Cropper was Crowley's horse. "And I recognized the handwriting as definitely his, so I assume it is true."

"What is it?" Sir David, Gilan's father, asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Crowley has left to go after Halt." Exclamations erupted around the table. Duncan waited calmly for them to quiet before continuing. "He has taken his leave that he never uses, and he's left for a year."

"But he's the Commandant! We need him!" Sir Anthony exclaimed, before realizing it wasn't his place to interrupt the king. "Sorry sir."

"Anthony, what are the rules for the Commandant taking leave?" Baron Arald asked quietly, hoping no others would hear, but King Duncan and Sir David listened intently.

"If they overstay their leave, they are banished." Anthony answered flatly.

"Banished? Are you sure?" Duncan asked and the rest of the table quietened, trying to listen to the conversation.

"Yes. King Herbert, who started the Rangers, used that for his Commandant who used to overstay his leave to make him stop. It worked perfectly."

"But here, it only causes trouble." Duncan muttered to himself. "Well, for Crowley's sake, I hope they find Will and Cassandra and bring them back within a year."

Sir David nodded. "If they can't, likely Crowley will return, and Halt will continue the search." The rest of the table nodded, but Duncan found himself doubting that statement.

"Who is going to be the Commandant, then?" Another Baron, from further down the table, spoke up. Halt would have been the obvious choice, but he had already been banished. Most of the council frowned, trying to think of a Ranger they knew well and trusted.

King Duncan met Gilan's alarmed gaze steadily. Gilan had read the letter and knew what Crowley had said on the subject. Sir David watched his son and King Duncan carefully.

"What did he say?" he asked, interrupting the silence. Most of the council stared at him, wondering what David meant.

"What do you mean?" Duncan said, willfully ignoring the clear meaning of David's words. David frowned.

"Who did Crowley suggest?" Duncan sighed, and Gilan discreetly pulled his cowl back up, hiding his expression as he noted two empty chairs next to Duncan on the normally full table. Two chairs near the wall, the more shadowy side of the table, farthest away from the lamps. He wondered who normally sat there, as he shifted nervously, knowing what Duncan would answer in return to his father's question.

"He suggested Gilan Davidson for the job." Duncan said calmly, and noticed Sir David's eyes widen slightly as he glanced as his son. Half the table began to protest, claiming the Ranger was too young and inexperienced for the job.

"Crowley knew what he was doing when he suggested Gilan for the job." Baron Arald spoke over the noise, quieting the rest down. "And Crowley himself was a young man, recently turned Ranger, when he and Halt restarted the Rangers and Crowley became Commandant. And I was a young man, and so was Duncan, when we started our jobs. The boy was trained by Halt, he couldn't have better training, and he helped Halt lead the cavalry at Hackham Heath when he was just a boy." Gilan was flushing, embarrassed at his praise in front of the whole council, and was very grateful for the long cowl hiding his face.

Sir David said nothing, inwardly pleased at the praise of his son, but keeping his soldier face on. Duncan nodded. "Being young in no way means inexperienced, and as Sir David's son, Gilan would know plenty about the situation, as well as being Halt's former apprentice."

One of the younger Barons, who didn't know who Halt was, and knew Crowley only as the Corps Commandant, spoke up. "I must have missed something, but who is Halt, and why is being his apprentice such a great thing? And how does it follow that this Halt would know a lot about our situation?" Instant silence followed the words. The young Baron glanced around nervously, wondering at the astonished look on all the other council members' faces. Gilan had gone rigid, trying to ignore the thoughts of Halt and Will which were now coming to mind.

"Halt is a Ranger, who has saved this country many times, and was recently banished for – a certain situation. Without him, we would certainly all be serving Morgarath." Baron Arald spoke firmly, ignoring Duncan and Gilan's winces at the mention of Halt's banishment. "He has a seat on this council, one he has held for over twenty years – as long as I've held mine." Sir David nodded agreement. "He was the Ranger of Redmont Fief, and the most famous and talented Ranger in the whole of Araluen, with the possible exception of the Commandant himself."

"But that's not very likely." Gilan muttered to himself, and Duncan, overhearing, nearly burst out laughing, but hid it with skilled diplomacy.

"If anyone would have a clear knowledge of the situation, it would be Halt, as one of the King's advisors, a skilled tactician and the Commandant's best friend." Baron Arald said flatly. "His apprentices are talented too, passing with flying colors every exam that's been set, and they're not at all easy. Halt's younger apprentice, in the first year of his training killed a Kalkara, after two of them began to hunt Halt, saving myself, my battlemaster Rodney and Halt himself." The young Baron's eyes were wide, and Duncan thought that Arald was laying it on a bit thick but decided not to interfere. "Halt only trains the best, and the best are his apprentices."

"Or they're Halt and Crowley." Gilan muttered again, and Duncan fought hard to suppress a snort, flashing Gilan a dangerous look which his father did not miss.

"And he won't be Commandant for very long, just a year until Crowley returns, then Crowley will take back his job." Another Baron chipped in.

"Fine." The younger Baron conceded, nodding his head in acknowledgement to the young Ranger, who flushed again. "Do we vote on it?"

"Yes." Duncan spoke. "All in approval, say Aye." There was a chorus of Ayes, and Duncan quickly tallied up how many there were, Gilan's sharp eyes not missing that he added Crowley's vote as well.

"Very well, Gilan Davidson, you are our new Commandant."

"Temporary." Gilan muttered under his breath, before pushing back his cowl and revealing a determined face. "Thank you." He nodded to them.

"Now, Gilan, take a seat. The Commandant is here, now we can finally begin our council." Duncan said, and Gilan quickly moved to take one of the two empty chairs, next to Baron Arald and another empty chair, near the edge of the room.

"That was Halt's seat." Arald told him in an approving undertone, and Gilan winced, realizing that the two empty chairs had been Halt and Crowley's. As his father had often said, he really was his master's apprentice.