The Surprise Siege - Ranger's Apprentice

Smoke

Alyss rushed out alongside Will, Halt, Pauline, Rodney, and the Baron. She ran through the camp following Will closely, yelling for soldiers to get up and get moving.

"Get up!" She shouted.

"Move!" That was Halt.

"Get going!" Rodney bellowed.

The soldiers all stumbled out of their tents from their afternoon naps or leisurely games of cards with friends and frantically began strapping on armor and retrieving weapons. The sight of all three Rangers, the Baron, the Battlemaster, and two ladies all running for the head of the camp and the slight shaking that came from the steadily rising portcullis set them into a crazed panic. They all were suddenly shouting and racing around desperately trying to figure out what was going on and where was what. This resulted in sudden pandemonium and a deafening roar of sound from the camp. Alyss clapped her hands over her ears as she ran, and Will grabbed her hand, pulling her along as soldiers closed in. He pulled her out of the crowd and then dragged her to a stop as the small group suddenly came to a halt. They all stood there panting, and watching as the huge portcullis at the end of the drawbridge, which had been previously locked shut, now slowly rose, inch by inch, making a huge groaning noise and causing the surrounding ground to shake. "I'm so sick of running..." She heard Will mutter. She was about to reply, but then the creaking and squealing intensified. Alyss clamped her hands over her ears again as the grating sound scraped painfully at her eardrums. She noticed the others doing the same. But as the gate came farther up, the groaning ceased, and she removed her hands from her ears.

Halt turned around and began issuing orders. "The Genovesans must have retied the ropes. I'm going in there to see what's going on if they don't show themselves soon. Will, follow me but stop halfway and cover me. Gilan, follow a little ways out and stop, and provide backup and full coverage of the area. Sir, Rodney, please go and assist the men in assembling into formation." Then he pulled his bow off his shoulder and checked the string, flexing it a little. Then he handed the bow to Gilan, who had unslung his own bow and quiver as well. He then put on Halt's quiver and slung his bow over his shoulders. Then he out his own quiver on right next to Halt's, and held his own bow in his hand. Will checked his cloak to make sure it was open enough for his quiver, and pulled two arrows out, holding them in his right hand. Then all three Rangers advanced silently towards the almost open portcullis.

Once they had gone 20 meters out from the camp, Gilan stopped. He held his bow at the ready with an arrow already notched in it, scanning the whole area for potential threats. Will and Halt kept advancing, Halt holding both knives at the ready, while Will held his bow at half draw, walking softly behind him, his limp nonexistent. Must be the adrenaline, Alyss thought as she watched him walking. They had almost reached the end of the drawbridge when Will stopped walking. He pulled his bow up to almost full draw, and immediately began scanning. Halt pressed on, creeping silently down the rest of the drawbridge, and ghosted under the portcullis into the outer courtyard.

His eyes narrowed into slits as he slipped through the pillars. He carefully placed each foot so as to be as silent as possible and he ducked into every shadow. His narrowed eyes caught a flash of purple, and he froze in the shadow of the portcullis, barely a few meters from where he had started. Then he saw the Genovesan. It was Mario.

"Ranger Will? I know you are here. We have a present for you." Mario turned as he talked, pitching his voice to echo across the courtyard. So he hasn't seen me yet. He assumes I'm Will. Then he saw what Mario was holding in his hand, and Halt's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the odd object. It was a large mud-colored sphere, about the size of a watermelon. It was covered in cracks, and it looked like a dried mud ball that a young child might make for fun after a rain storm. But Halt instantly recognized it as a bigger version of something he had seen before. Malcolm had made those very things at their camp before they raided the Outsider's cave in Araluen. He had said that when you threw them on the ground, they would make a loud BANG sound. Some types came with smoke, others with a bright flash of light, some with both. Halt recognized that this was just a huge one in comparison to the baseball sized ones Malcolm had made, and he also realized in that same split second that the Genovesan was raising his arm to throw it. Halt, all attempts at stealth forgotten, turned and sprinted headlong for the portcullis, just as he heard the deafening BANG!

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BANG!

Will turned sharply toward the loud noise. He had been scanning the walls just inside the gate silently and carefully, but hadn't seen anything. He saw Halt go inside the gate and duck into the shadow of the portcullis, staring intently at something. He heard someone with a thick accent yelling something, but he couldn't understand it. Stay focused, Halt needs you to watch his back. He kept his eyes glued on Halt's still form, and he saw him lean forward slightly, as if studying something. Then in a sudden flurry of movement, Halt was sprinting towards him, waving his arms frantically, when the sudden loud noise startled him. BANG! The sound echoed multiple times off the stone walls in the courtyard, and Will squinted as a sudden brightness exploded from just behind Halt's frantic form. Will was suddenly blinded as white hot light burned his eyes. It was strange, the sound had happened, and everything had gone dead silent. Then the light had flashed and everything had gone white. Nothing happened for what felt to Will like and eternity. Or maybe he was just dazed, Will didn't really know. Just as his eyesight began to return, a pulse of hot, dry air knocked Will down. Will hit the ground, groaning as his ribs twinged, and his vision went from blotchy white to spotty red. He rolled over, trying to blink away the last few flashes of light obscuring his vision. He gazed up at a strangely red-tinged sky and wondered where Halt was.

Then came the smoke.

A huge wall of smoke enveloped Will, and his already blurry eyesight was covered by a grey screen of oddly fluffy clouds. He blinked a few more times, clearing away the last of the red, and forced himself to move. Halt... What happened to him? Did he fall down too? Got to... Find him. He stiffly clambered to his feet, gasping in pain as he did so, and then proceeded to start coughing as all he inhaled was a thick, pungent smoke. He stumbled for a moment, trying to suck in air and squint through the haze. He slung his bow over his shoulder and held his hand out in front of his face, forcing his eyes to focus on something, anything. Then he felt a distinct vibration under his feet in the wood slats of the bridge and gasped again, coughing and putting his hands out on each side of him as he tried to find a fast way through the thick curtain of smoke. Someone grabbed his arm, he turned abruptly and saw Halt. He was a little dusty, and he also was holding his arm out to find his way. "... Saw them! We have... Go!" Halt's mouth moved, but Will had trouble hearing him. It was as if Halt was in a different room from him, his voice was muted and distant. Will nodded numbly and coughed again, understanding what Halt was trying to say. They both turned and started jogging slowly, bending over slightly to see the slats of the drawbridge so they wouldn't run right off into the moat. They both were coughing violently now, their hands over their streaming eyes so that they could see. Will pulled his shirt collar up over his nose and mouth, but it didn't help much. There was so much smoke now that Will could barely even see Halt beside him, who still had a firm hold on his arm. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and Will found himself panicking. I can't breathe, I can't breathe. Yes, I can. Will tried to drag air into his ragged lungs, and only coughed more violently. No, no, I can't! I can't! Will could feel himself starting to slow, his legs giving out beneath him as his vision went from blurry to black around the edges, as breathing went from nearly impossible to truly impossible. His limbs and heart burned as his body fought for oxygen, and only got more smoke with each cough. He felt Halt's strong grip on his arm slack a little as he also began to slow down. They both struggled forward, meter after meter, but the smoke just wouldn't go away. Will's ribs were burning and throbbing with each cough, and now Halt was weakly dragging Will along. We aren't going to make it, we are going to pass out and we are either going to suffocate or those Genovesans are going to get us. Will's vision darkened further, and Halt's tug on his arm grew even weaker. Each breath was pure agony.

We aren't going to make it.

Will, who was nearly unconscious, sucked in a final breath and was surprised to find that it was air. Fresh, clean, cold, smoke-free, air. He immediately began coughing again, his body painfully expelling the smoke from his lungs. Renewed by the sudden fresh air, Will picked up speed again and looked around. Halt was still next to him, coughing just as violently, but he had also picked up the pace and had a firm grip on Will's sleeve again. They had made it all the way down the drawbridge, which had been swathed entirely in fluffy puffs of smoke. But just after the drawbridge hit land, the smoke abruptly stopped. It hung there, silently, like an ominous white sheet hung out to dry, and the wind was already starting to blow it away.

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Climax part one... Check. Bet you all didn't see that coming! Wonder what's going to happen next... More coming ASAP! Thanks so much for reading and please vote and comment! ;)