The Rogue Tribe - Ranger's Apprentice

Chapter 4: Unexpected Surpise

"And... Again. Yes, much better. A little more flick... Again," said Will as he watched the young apprentice throw a knife at a target some meters away. Halt had departed earlier that morning with Crowley to "sort through some things" with a few of the more senior Rangers, leaving Will and Gilan with the list he had delivered the previous night. Gilan had left with the younger apprentices for a demonstration in unseen movement, and Will had taken the older group for some knife throwing practice. He had two older boys with him, Evan and Matthias, in a clearing just off the campsite. Off to the right, older Rangers practiced their knife throwing using tiny targets set at various heights and distances. Every time they threw, their knives hit the dead center of the target with a resounding thunk! The two older boys were trying not to even glance at the others, but Will could tell that they were amazed by the other Ranger's accuracy. He had been helping Evan, but he had abruptly stopped as he gaped at an older Ranger, who sank his tiny throwing knife into a target barely the size of a dinner plate at least fifty meters away.

"Uhm... Uh - " stuttered Evan as he tried to focus on the task at hand, but Will forestalled him.

"Hold up for a moment, Evan." He picked up a bulky bag from under a tree, and then gestured to Matthias, who had also stopped throwing. Then he turned and walked across the clearing, heading for the trail again. He heard Evan and Matthias running to catch up behind him, and he thought, I've got to get them away from here, somewhere where they can concentrate.

"Ranger Will? I don't understand... Where are we going?" Matthias asked from behind him.

"To a different clearing." Will started walking at a faster pace, and he heard the two behind him rushing to catch up again.

"Why? Did we do something wrong?" This time it was Evan who asked.

Will stopped abruptly. They had reached a small and empty clearing a good ways away from the bigger one. He turned around, and sighed. "No, Evan, of course not. What could you have possibly done wrong while we were walking?"

Evan looked puzzled, then said, "No, I meant, why did we move to a different clearing? Did we do something wrong?"

Will smiled gently at them. "You did absolutely nothing wrong." He turned away and set down the package, opening it to reveal target boards.

"Uhm... Then why did we move, Ranger Will?" asked Matthias.

Will turned back around and sighed again. "Listen, as I said before, you did absolutely nothing wrong. It was just too distracting back there. Too many people making too much of a ruckus. Here is much better." Evan and Matthias looked relieved. Then Will added, "Oh, and I told you this before, but please call me Will."

Evan shook his head slightly, as if trying to make himself remember. "Of course, Rang- I mean Will."

Will smiled at him, and then walked to a point about twenty meters away, and set up a series of targets at varying heights. Then he walked back over to where the two boys stood, and said, "Alright. Remember what I told you, flick the wrist more. Throw ten times each, and we'll see how well you do."

The two boys nodded, and Will walked over to a large tree close to where the boys were. He hitched his bow around his torso and was just about to sit down at the base of the tree when suddenly Halt and Crowley walked into the far side of the clearing. Will froze, sensing that something was wrong, and watched them as they walked. Halt was speaking in a low and intense tone, and Crowley was shaking his head, muttering something back. But they both also froze in their tracks as they saw the two apprentices, who had stopped throwing, and Will leaning against the tree. Evan and Matthias both stared unabashedly at Halt and Crowley, but they only had eyes for Will. Crowley made an urgent gesture in Will's direction, saying something to Halt, and Halt sighed, letting his shoulders slump down. "Fine," he heard him mutter, and Will reslung his bow on his shoulder as he made his way over to where they were standing.