Finding Halt

Chapter 2

"No, boy, absolutely not!" Battlemaster Rodney of Redmont fief cuffed the second-year cadet around the ears. "You may not leave your training. You understand?" He glared at the boy, wondering how stupid the boy could be, to try to run off with a recently banished for good criminal - though Halt was a man Rodney respected, Rodney needed his cadets, and especially his most talented one. After the battle, quite a few were dead, and Araluen needed some new young skilled knights.

He couldn't have them wasting their opportunities for friends. And anyway, Halt would find the boy, and bring him back, though he could never come back himself

The cadet, Horace Altman, nodded, inwardly greatly saddened, ears stinging from Rodney's blow. "Now get to your barracks." Horace saluted sadly and turned away, marching dismally back to his room.

As he disappeared back into his barracks, Rodney made a mental note to set one of the older Cadets to keep an eye on the second year the next morning. Paul, he thought, would do it, but then Rodney realized with a jolt that Paul had been killed. He'd have to ask someone else.

He sighed. He hated thinking about the young cadets who had died, it made him slightly upset at Morgarath, who was now dead, at wasting such young potential by killing the boys. He turned away back towards his room, rather tired, and retired to bed soon later

Later that night, one of the new, final year cadets hammered on Rodney's door, startling him awake, making he scrambled out of bed hurriedly, wondering what the emergency was. "What is it?" He threw open the door irritably, annoyed at being awoken this early in the morning - before the sun, even.

Matt Adleus, an extremely shy cadet, jumped back as the annoyed Rodney glared at him, after suddenly flinging the door open and nearly hitting poor Matt. "One of – one of t-the second-year cadets, the one who killed Morgarath – he's gone! And Baron Arald ju-just arrived, and he wa-wants to see you." Matt stuttered, not prepared to face his angry Battlemaster that early in the morning. He was pale, not a good sign for a near knight, no matter how angry the Battlemaster, but Rodney let it pass unnoticed

"Go after him. Now. He can't have gone far. Go!" Matt turned and ran off, forgetting to salute, but Rodney forgot about salutes entirely as he slumped against the doorway, tired. It was four in the morning, he'd spent half his night up thinking, and he wasn't ready to face a most likely upset after an overnight ride Baron after three hours of sleep.

This was going to be a terrible day.