A lone rider entered the gates of Redmont fief in the late hours of the afternoon, when the sun was just starting to set. As he reached the front gate that lead to the upper town of Redmont that extended as a wall around the castle itself, the guards could make out the emblem of Seacliff Fief on his shirt. He seemed exhausted, and the horse he was riding had foamy sides and was breathing heavily, its head drooping. Normally the messengers from Seacliff rode in slowly and comfortably, with nothing unusual or fabulous to report, and due to the fact that this rider was the complete opposite, the guards let him through without a word. He proceeded to trot up the sloping cobble stones, oblivious to the smell of the market food and the cold autumn air and the many villagers who glanced up from their work as he passed. He rode straight up the hill until he reached the castle entrance and rode through without even a nod to the second guard duty. He reached the main castle courtyard and heaved himself painfully off his horse and limped hurriedly up the stairwell that lead to the Baron's office. The on-lookers watched him, but then dismissed him from their minds and went back to their work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sound. Small, faint and far off. But it was definitely there. The sound of a galloping horse was unmistakable. Will's subconscious had spent years learning to recognize and tune out the sounds of the forest at night, and only just recently, Alyss's breathing, who lay next to him in bed. He and Alyss both were presently living in Will's old cabin just outside of Redmont. But as soon as his brain registered that it was indeed a horse and rider, Will's eyes flicked open, but he kept his body relaxed and his breathing steady and soft so as not to startle Alyss. He carefully and silently rose to his elbows on the bed and slipped his feet out from under the blankets and into his boots on the floor, then he slid out from under the covers and smoothed them down, so that none of Alyss's body heat escaped. He padded soundlessly over their bedroom threshold and into the main room of the cabin, where his knives lay in their double scabbards on the table. He slipped the belt around his waist and secured it tightly over the trousers and loose shirt he wore as sleeping clothes, and made his way to the door. He stood right next to the door so that he would be ready whenever the mysterious rider came by. By the sound of it the rider was crunching through the fallen leaves all over the lawn that surrounded the clearing around the cabin. Will heard the rider enter the yard and reign in his horse, and dismounting as he did so. He must be in a hurry, Will thought. He heard a snort from Tug in the stable. It was a warning that someone was coming, but not an alert.

He heard movement from the bedroom and saw that Alyss had gotten out of bed and wrapped a robe around her night gown. She was now creeping quietly towards him, her long Courier's knife held in her hand. Will signaled for her to stay behind him and he leaned against the thick wooden door. Will could tell he was a man from the weight of his footsteps on the deck outside his cabin, and he was definitely not a Ranger, not after the ruckus he made entering the clearing. The man's footsteps reached the door and a few hurried knocks announced his presence formally, although how should he know that everyone in the little cabin was awake and waiting with knives? Yet another confirmation that this man is definitely not a Ranger, thought Will.

After their wedding, Will had been hesitant to move into the castle, and Alyss had gladly moved into the small but cozy cabin with Will, understanding his discomfort at breaking the Ranger tradition of living outside of the castle to maintain the understanding that the Rangers were not under the direct control of the Baron. Now they both lived there comfortably, and normally it was a peaceful and relaxing place, except when there was an intruder outside the door.

Will finally clicked open the latch on the door and opened it to reveal a man at arms from Redmont castle.

"Er, uhm, Ranger Will! Lady Alyss! I - I did not expect you to be awake..." he stuttered, surprised to see both people awake and alert at 1 in the morning.

"Well, when someone comes crunching through the leaves and stomping up the porch steps and practically banging down the door, one does tend to wake up, " Will said dryly. "What on earth can be so urgent as to wake myself and my wife up at this hour of the morning?"

Suddenly aware of the knives both of the people facing him were holding, the man-at-arms hurried on nervously, "The B-Baron says he needs you at the castle. Says its ur-urgent."

Will sighed, and the man-at-arms shifted back and forth uncomfortably. "Please return to the castle and tell the Baron that I will be arriving shortly, and the Lady Alyss is coming with me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." The man-at-arms gave a little bow to Alyss and then to Will, and then slumped off the porch and ran to his horse, and galloped away.

"Well, that was sudden," Alyss muttered.

"Yes, it was. I'm sorry for waking you up, I tried to be quiet," Will turned to Alyss and gave a small smile. "But I did understand correctly that you will be coming with me, right? Because you can always stay here if you're too tired..."

"No, Will, of course I'm not too tired. Just give me a moment to dress and I'll be right back. And I also suggest that you put at least your cloak on." Will looked down and was suddenly self-conscious as he realized that his shirt was very thin and wide open at the neck revealing much of his torso to the chill night air.

"Yes, I think I rather agree."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will and Alyss rode up to the courtyard of Castle Redmont, and put their horses in the stables. They then proceeded straight up to the Baron's quarters. Some guards recognized him and directed him and Alyss to the main meeting room, where, upon entering, they saw that Halt, Pauline, King Duncan, Evanlyn, and Crowley were already there. They seemed to be the last to arrive. Everyone in the room seemed unnaturally jittery and restless, and they all looked up suddenly as Will and Alyss entered. They both bowed to the King, who nodded in acknowledgement. Halt immediately stood and gestured to two chairs next to him.

"Take a seat, Will. You too, Alyss." They both did as Halt said, glancing at each other and exchanging meaningful looks as they did so.

They all sat there for perhaps a full second in a curious and unsettled silence until the King rose and looked over everyone, blinked once and began. "I expect you are all wondering what in the world could be so important to wake up all of you at some crazy hour of the night, especially you, Will, and you Alyss, considering that you had to travel to get here. First off, I do apologize for that. But as you all have probably guessed, we are not here for apologies. On to the important news." The King to a deep breath, then continued a little stoically, "We have received an alert that the Scotti are planning to invade Araluen."

Everyone was quiet for a moment in complete shock and near disbelief, and then the princess, impulsive as she was, expressed her feelings.

"Are you serious? Dad! Why didn't you tell me about it sooner?" Evanlyn exclaimed. The King raised an eyebrow at her, and she fell silent, muttering things under her breath.

"But they were stoppered up..." Alyss murmured mildly to herself, in contrast to Evanlyn's outburst.

"My lord... Are you certain? I did just barely halt an invasion in that area very recently." Will said disbelievingly.

"Again? Didn't we just get rid of them?" Crowley muttered irritably.

"Hmmm... " was all Halt had to say as he thought through every possible situation and how this could have happened.

Only Lady Pauline was silent, but she seemed to be thinking as well.

"Alright, alright, now that you've gotten your excitement out could you just listen up?" the King had to raise his voice over the chatter. Once everyone had quieted down, he continued. "Yes, I completely agree with all of you. That was my first reaction as well. A rider from Seacliff came in yesterday evening with the news."

"Seacliff again?" Will raised his eyebrows. "That fief is just the perfect target for invasions, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's the most efficient way for the Scotti to enter Araluen. The messenger had a written letter from the Baron and the Ranger there, Liam."

"I hope that you will be reading and showing us these letters," Halt said, raising his eyebrows at the King.

"Of course." The King nodded to Halt,and then withdrew two letters from his sleeves, one on fine white paper, and one on thick yellowed paper. He read the white papered letter first."'There is nothing much to say in this letter, because all the information you need is in the other letter. Please show this to Ranger Will immediately. I know that he has had dealings with these people before. He saved my fief once, I know he can do it again.'" The King solemnly closed the paper. "That's it."

Everyone glanced at Will, who was as nonplussed as they were. "Well, let's hear the other letter," he said quietly. Everyone's eyes turned and became riveted on the King. The briefness and urgency of the Baron's letter had instilled in them just how serious this really was, and everyone wanted to hear the real information and understand what they were dealing with.

The King cleared his throat and began to read. "Liam, Ranger 21, of Seacliff Fief: A Message for His Majesty King Duncan and Ranger Will Treaty. I have been scouting around the forest on the border of Seacliff and Scotti with the regular patrols just to check up on things, as Ranger Halt and Commandant Crowley suggested I do. Nothing has been happening for years, until now. The Scotti have a camp set up just north of the border, and a large group of men are gathering there. It can't be for any reason other than to invade Seacliff Fief and, by extension, Araluen as a whole. I already have scouted out their camp, and I barely escaped with my life. They know how to set up tough scouting perimeters to keep away spying eyes, no matter how skilled or clever. I was not able to penetrate their perimeter, and I lost my north seeker in the chase, so I am regrettably unable to give you an exact position of the camp, but it shouldn't be hard to find. I have included general landmarks on a separate document that should ease you on your way to finding it speedily. The leader of the camp is General MacHaddish. I know that Ranger Will has dealt with him before. He used to be locked up in the prison in Norgate, but a small party of Scotti stormed the prison blocks and broke MacHaddish out sometime ago, and he is free and aiding the war camp with preparations, which, as I understand it, are nearly complete. We are in need of some reinforcements if we are going to let them try to invade, or, stop them before they can even begin. I believe we need to stop them now, but I leave the decision to whosoever reads this. Do not reply to this letter."

The King folded the sheet up again, placed it back into his sleeve, and leaned down on the table. Will had so many questions bouncing around in his head he didn't even know where to start. How did this develop with Liam riding around, observing everything? How did the Scotti return to try again after just 4 years? How could a only small party of men break MacHaddish out of one of the toughest prisons in Araluen? And why were the Scotti being so predictable as to try invading in the same place as last time? He looked up and realized Halt had already spoken.

"I think that letter is pretty self-explanatory. Everyone does understand what it means in the long run, correct?" He glanced around the room, getting nods from everyone. "I think the solutions that Liam suggests are perhaps the only ones there are. We either need to let the Scotti try to launch an attack and put the whole of our army up there on the border, or we need to send someone to try to sneak into their camp and get some information at least, before we decide what action to take. I think the second choice is obviously the better one."

"I would send you, Halt, but to be honest, you are much more useful here helping us place our troops and organize the plan as a whole," Crowley said.

"Yes, I agree with that, I want you here to help me with this, Halt," the King said. Halt shrugged and sat down resignedly. He had already known he wouldn't go.

"Well, then Will should go." Evanlyn said matter-a-factly. Everyone turned and looked at her. "Don't look at me like that! You all know that he is the obvious choice glaring at you in the face. Will is the only person in this room that has a good chance at this. He's dealt with these people before, in the same climate, and the exact same general!"

"Yes, I agree as well. Will is the best person suited to go," Pauline said smoothly.

"I was thinking the same thing. I think it's settled then. Will, I assume you are willing to go?" the King asked.

Everyone turned to look at Will, who was still staring with unfocused eyes at some point on the wall, thinking deeply. He shook his head a little, clearing his mind, and shrugged at them. "I'll be gone at first light. I'll communicate with you by pigeon, I know that Seacliff has a pigeon service --"

"Will, hold on a second." Alyss looked him in the eyes and said softly, "Consider the emotional state of everyone in this situation for a moment."

Will reared back a little in his chair, looking suddenly dismayed. He said desperately, "Alyss, I'm sorry, I know we just barely got married, and that we've been having problems finding a place to live, but I can't put that before the fate of Araluen - "

"No, Will, it's not that...." Alyss gave a small laugh, putting a comforting hand on his arm. "Of course I understand that. I meant the emotions between you and the Scotti. Remember... they hate you, Will." Her face darkened slightly at these words."In one day you stopped their invasion, and you also destroyed years of work and preparation. Yes, I know Horace was with you, but he isn't here now, and you were the leader. That means you have to face the consequences." Will looked relieved, but was thinking hard.

"Alyss is right, Will. These people probably know your name, that you're a Ranger, and I'm sure MacHaddish has warned them all of your skills, probably all of the details of your previous mission there... wait, where is Horace, by the way?" Pauline asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh, he's off in Celtica, meeting with some of the Celtic warmasters and getting some sort of weapons instruction there," interjected Will.

"Continuing on with the situation at hand - " Halt said through slightly clenched teeth, "good point, Alyss. Will, if you want to take this mission, you'll have to be extra careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks."

"I won't, Halt. I promise." Will's eyes moved from Halt to Alyss, reassuring them both. I'll be safe. I promise.

The King slumped back into his chair. "So you will depart at first light?" Will nodded. "Remember to update us every two days with messages, including every scrap of news you manage to overhear, even if it sounds irrelevant."

"Of course, my lord."

The King sighed heavily, and then said, "Then I wish upon you as much luck as you can muster, because you're going to need it."

*******************

Thanks for reading, friends! Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought! ;)