Halt stood with Pauline in the command tent with Gilan and Sir Rodney. The Baron had gone off the check on his wife. Pauline and Rodney were drinking from cups of water, and Gilan ran his hands through his hair thoughtfully. They had just finished talking with Pauline and Rodney, and now they were thinking about everything that and happened.

"So the time limit is gone right? Will got the prisoners out. Now we just need to get him and the jewels out before the assassins get to either one," Gilan said.

Halt nodded. "Will still doesn't have much time. But there is no reason to count minutes anymore."

Alyss came running into the tent. "Will! Have any of you seen Will? I saw the the people escaping, but he wasn't with them. I already checked the medical tent, he's not there either..."

She trailed off as Pauline gave her a sad smile. "He's not here, Alyss, he's still in there."

She looked confused for a moment, then she looked at Halt for confirmation. He just stared at her, stone-faced. She turned back to the group, struggling to keep her emotions in check. "Well, why isn't he here? Why didn't he escape with you?"

There was an awkward silence as neither Ranger really wanted to explain this fact to Alyss, since they knew it would upset her.

"Alyss, come sit with me. I'm going to explain everything to you." Pauline could see that Alyss was struggling, so she patted the bench she was sitting on and beckoned to her. Alyss walked over and sat down next to her mentor, who gave her a warm hug. When Alyss sat back, she looked a little more in control, but she was still a little pale. Pauline started talking to her, giving her a brief summary of everything that had happened.

Gilan and Halt were quietly discussing everything Pauline had told them. "I didn't know there were hooks outside the windows!" Gilan exclaimed. "I would have liked to know that!"

"That's cause you haven't ever been stationed at Redmont. I invented those hooks," Halt muttered.

Gilan scowled at him. "Would have been nice to know..."

"And another thing. Pauline, how did you say that Will hid from that Genovesan in the meeting room after he sent his second message?"

Pauline glanced up from talking with Alyss. "Oh, he hung under the table."

Rodney raised his eyebrows. "Never heard of that before. It's a miracle the Genovesan didn't see him."

"No, the Genovesans saw what he expected to see, which was nothing. He didn't think Will could hide under the table, because normally just laying under a table isn't a hiding place at all," Halt pointed out.

"True, so since he wasn't expecting to see Will hanging from the table..." Gilan said.

"He didn't see him," Halt finished.

"Another thing, about these rubies, how many are there?" Rodney said.

"Twelve. At least, that's what Mario said to Will," Pauline said.

"And you said they were from Picta?"

"Yes."

Gilan glanced at Rodney. "We should go find out more about these rubies."

"Sounds good."

Gilan and Rodney both walked out of the tent, heading for the food tent, in deep conversation about the details of the rubies.

Alyss looked up from her daze. Pauline had finished explaining, and now she was staring off into the distance with unfocused eyes. "Wait, so I still don't understand something. Why isn't he here? I mean, why didn't he escape with the rest of you? Didn't he say that he was going to lead the Genovesans away and then escape himself?"

Pauline glanced at Halt sadly, who had his back to them and was looked out the tent door at the castle, then turned back to Alyss and put an arm around her. "He lied. He constructed his plan so that we would all escape almost indefinitely... But that would require him to sacrifice himself to them as an extra distraction. He knew from the beginning that he wasn't going to escape in the first place... He told us that he would just so that we would get out. I suspected it, but I couldn't think of any other possibilities."

Alyss's eyes grew wide. "So you mean that... He knew he wasn't going to make it anyway? So he sent you all off to safety, but now he's in terrible danger!" Pauline could see her eyes watering a little, but Alyss was holding it in. "Why - why would he do that?"

"He was keeping us all safe," Halt said softly.

There was a moment of contemplative silence.

Alyss clenched her jaw angrily. "If he gets out of there, I'm going to - "

"When. When he gets out." Halt turned around and Pauline recognized the steely look in his eyes.

"But you don't know - "

"I do. I know because he's Will." Halt turned back around. "And I know because I'm going in there with him."

Pauline stood up and walked over to him, wrapping an arm around him. "Are you sure? What about Gilan? Will he go too?"

He put his arm around her. "No, he should stay back here and hold down the fort. He's going to need all the help he can get out here. Besides, more than one or two people would be too many for maneuvering inside the castle unseen."

Pauline kissed him gently, then said, "Come and see me before you leave. I am going to get some food." She turned and walked out of the tent.

Halt started to gather up his things, grabbing his bow from the chair next to the table. He looked up as Alyss walked up to him and said, "One thing, Halt."

He nodded for her to continue. "Yes?"

"Get him out. I don't care about these blasted rubies. Just... Keep him safe."

Halt took her hands in his. "I will do my very best."

She smiled. "Then he'll be fine. I'll see you both very soon." She turned her back and walked calmly out of the tent.

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

Halt ghosted through the trees towards the castle. He ducked carefully under each patch of cover, moving as stealthily as possible to avoid detection. He could see someone standing on the far tower wall, holding a crossbow. It's pretty safe to say that must be one of the Genovesans. How many did Pauline say are left? Five. So since that one is up there that means there are only four out with Will. Halt made it to the edge of the moat, right next to the drawbridge. He and Gilan had decided that he was going to slip through the main entrance. Even though it was the most visible spot, there were only a few hostile men left in the castle and Halt was certain he could make it through without being seen.

Halt looked up towards the far tower, and, seeing that the assassin was turned away, he ran lightly down the drawbridge and ducked under the open portcullis. He slipped behind the crank mechanism used to raise the gate and sat very still, waiting for the yell of alarm signaling that he had been seen. But there was none. Halt released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and thought through what he had to do now that he was inside. Find Will, get the rubies, get out.

He stood up from behind the crank and ghosted through the courtyard, finally entering the castle through the servants' kitchen entrance. He opened the small door to reveal the inner rooms of Master Chubb's kitchen: the oven room, multiple food pantries for dry and perishable foods, and clean surfaces used for food prep and presentation. Then, seeing the freshly baked bread abandoned on the counter and some open crates of apples, he wondered, When was the last time I ate? It wouldn't hurt to borrow just a little snack... He snatched the bread off the counter and tucked it into his jerkin. Then he grabbed a couple apples and slipped them into his pockets. He debated filling his water skin, then dismissed the idea. It would be too loud to pump the water. Halt wove his way through the counters and out the other door, into multiple dining halls. He was about to move out of the dining room when he heard a slight noise. Later, looking back on the situation, he wasn't even actually certain that there had been any noise in the first place, it had just been his sixth sense. Halt ducked back inside the dining hall just as a Genovesan walked by. He had his crossbow at the ready. Halt held his breath and didn't dare move and the assassin poked his head into the very dining hall Halt was standing in. He looked straight into the room, just 3 feet from Halt. But since he didn't look left or right, he never even saw Halt. The Genovesan glanced into the room, then leaned back out and kept walking slowly down the hall. Halt waited until the assassin turned the corner, then he ducked back into the kitchen and walked into a dark food pantry, cracking the door behind him. He turned around and saw that he was in a dry food pantry. He sat down on a barrel and resolved himself to waiting a few minutes for the Genovesan to get farther away. It was alright, though, because he needed to decide where he was going to look for Will first. But I can't waste time. If the Genovesan nearly found me that quickly, they must be scanning the castle quickly and quietly in order to find Will. It'll be lucky if Will hasn't been found by now... If I were Will, where would I hide? Halt shut his eyes, running through all the possibilities in his mind. Well, he's not in the kitchen, and he's not in the dining rooms. He was running from the Genovesans, he would lead them as far away from the audience hall as possible... So up by the north tower. But... Halt thought back to what Pauline had said about how she and Will had hidden safely in the wine cellar deep beneath the castle, and how it had been accessed by the secret tunnel in the linen closet. That could be where he's hiding. It was far enough away that Genovesans wouldn't hear Will even if he talked out loud, and the thick doors and heavy chains give the impression that no one could possibly be in there.

Halt got up and checked the hallway again. It was dead quiet. He gathered himself again and ghosted out of the the pantry, down the hallway, and down a couple flights of stairs without seeing or hearing a single thing. He made it to the landing, ducked behind a tapestry, and saw the linen closet door on the other side. He started going across the landing, but had to frantically scramble back behind the tapestry as yet another Genovesan walked down the nearest staircase. Halt squinted at his face and was able to recognize it. Mario. He walked slowly past, then suddenly wrenched open the door to the linen closet and yelled, "HAH!"

Nothing happened.

Mario shut the door and walked off down another flight of stairs, grumbling, "Got to find him... Bloody Ranger... I'll catch him..."

Halt couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the assassin. Well, he is certainly a passionate one.

He checked the stairways again, and then advanced across the landing, more slowly this time, and entered the linen closet, silently closing the door behind him. He waited a moment to see if Mario would come back, but after a few minutes of waiting with no sounds, he walked to the back of the closet and felt around for the knob Pauline had described. Sure enough, he felt the knob and he pushed the door open. It revealed the stone passageway that Pauline had told him about. Halt stepped down into the passageway, and immediately had to brush aside a large spider web. Just in case there are assassins waiting for me at the end of this, I had better prepare myself. Halt pulled out his saxe and held it out in front of him. He moved farther along the passageway, walking at a steady downward pace for about three minutes. Finally he reached the end of the tunnel and came upon the small wooden door. He found the handle and pulled it open to reveal the back shelves of the wine cellar. He cautiously stepped into the cellar, his knife held in front of him. He walked quietly between two shelves, placing his booted feet carefully and silently on the wood-paneled floor. He turned a corner, and saw no one.

"You move, you die."

The voice echoed from the rafters above him, and Halt couldn't hide the small smile as he recognized Will's voice.

"And who would you be planning to shoot? Me or the enemy?" Halt replied conversationally.

There was silence again. And then a sudden sigh of relief. "Halt, it's you. I thought - "

"You thought I was a Genovesan? Tell me, are you color blind? Because I'm definitely not wearing purple." Halt turned around towards the sound of Will's voice, which was now discernible since he wasn't echoing it around the room. He could just barely make out a shadowy figure moving around up in the rafters in the corner across from the door. The figure dropped down from the rafters and walked, rather, limped over. As he came into the light, Halt looked Will up and down. He stood hunched over a little, and had an arm wrapped around his ribs. He had dirt smeared on his face, hands, ears, and hair, and he had a few minor bruises and cuts on his face, and his hands were wrapped up in a bandage that already had fresh blood on it. He looked exhausted and a little scared, and just all around a little beat up. "Well, did you have fun playing in the mud? Fall on your side there? Slice your hands?" He gestured to Will's side and hands.

Will just scowled at him. "I've been crawling through dirty tunnels and closets for the last few hours. What about you? Sat in your tent all day, eating biscuits?"

"That's actually about right. It was cookies, not biscuits." They both knew that neither of them had been kicking back that afternoon, and Halt decided that was enough sarcasm for the moment. He put his hand on Will's shoulder, and said more gently, "Care to explain what happened here?" He again pointed to Will's side and hands.

"Got kicked."

"By whom?"

"Some Genovesan."

"And the hands?"

"Hung on the bottom of a table."

"Pauline told me about that - " he pointed to Will's hands, "but she didn't tell me about that," and he pointed to his side.

"That's because this happened more recently." Will winced as he tried to stretch his side.

"I think you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Did Pauline and Rodney and everyone get back to the camp safely? What about Alyss? What happened to you both when the Genovesans came riding up the main road? Isn't that where you were walking?"

Halt put his hands up. "Can you ever ask just one question at a time? Everyone is safe. Pauline, Rodney, and Alyss are all fine."

Will breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back into his chair, whispering, "Good. That's very good." Then he sat back up again. "So did Pauline catch you up on everything?"

"Yes, but she only knows as far as after you ran off out of the hall with those assassins hot on your tail. We don't have enough to time to talk about it all, but you had better give me a quick summary, and then I'll patch you up."

Will lead him over to the front of the wine cellar and gave Halt a brief summary of the events that had transpired since he ran out of the main audience hall. After hearing it, Halt sat back and thought for a minute, absorbing it all.

"You lead away five deadly assassins, completely alone, into the depths of the castle while Pauline and Rodney herded everyone out."

"Yes, that sounds about right," muttered Will. He had stood up painfully and was unclipping his cloak so that Halt could check his side.

"Why the hell would you do something like that? You're practically committing suicide!" Halt was up on his feet, his fists clenched, eyes burning with fury. Will shrank back a little in surprise. "Did you think about the consequences of your plan before you went off and died? What about the minuscule threat of, oh, I don't know, the Genovesans catching you? Or did you not think at all, and simply decided to go walk off the cliff to your doom?"

A moment of tense silence followed.

"Are you quite finished?" Will had stopped unbuttoning his leather jerkin, but was now gazing Halt with not a sorry or hurt expression, rather a tired one. "Or do you have anything else to get off your chest?"

Halt's tone became suddenly soft. "I would keep going on and on about how incredibly stupid your plan was... Did I mention how incredibly stupid your plan was?" Will rolled his eyes at him, and Halt continued, "But I can't. Because you succeeded. I don't know how you bloody did it, but you did. But let me make this very clear:  never do something like that ever again. Do you understand?"

Will was almost finished undoing his jerkin buttons. "Halt, I understand that you are very upset about this. And I understand that you were worried about me - No, don't try to deny it, I know you were," Will cut a Halt off as he opened his mouth to argue. "But we don't have time for this right now. I invite you to yell at me later once we get out of this dusty pile of stones."

Halt harrumphed peevishly. "Be sure I'll take advantage of that invitation later. And I don't even want to be in the room once Alyss hears about this... But, I suppose you're right. Now let me see what that Genovesan did to you."

Alyss. God, I hope she's alright. Will thought. He had his jerkin off and was slipping his shirt over his head. But even Halt had to wince as he saw Will's side. There was a great purple-blue blotch that extended from just below his armpit almost all the way to the bottom of his rib cage. At the center of the bruise there was a small patch of skin that had broken and was bleeding a little. Will twisted his neck to try to get a better look. "Well? How bad is it?"

Halt blanched a little. "It's... Not terrible. You said you had cracked ribs?"

"Yes. Here... And here. Ouch, don't press that hard." Will guided Halt's finger to each injured rib and winced and Halt pressed his finger in to feel it.

"Unfortunately, I can feel a small break here. Not out of place, though, you're lucky. And the ribs around it are only cracked a little."

"I think I'm lucky to still be alive," Will muttered.

"Well, you're damn right about that. Five Genovesans..." Halt muttered as he pulled out his first aid kit from his belt pouch and started wiping away what little blood there was. Will rolled his eyes at Halt's grumbling and painfully forced himself to hold his arm up as Halt applied a field dressing, and then wrapped his ribs up tightly in a white bandage.

Then Halt stepped back while Will rotated his shoulder to try to ease out stiffness. "You look terrible, you know." Halt couldn't help it, it was just so true.

Will scowled at him again as he winced. "Thanks very much, but you don't look so good yourself." Will slipped his shirt back over his head.

"I don't look that bad. I'm not filthy, bandaged, and exhausted."

"You do realize you're dirty too, right?" Halt looked down and sure enough, he had dirt on his hands.

"Yes, but not as dirty as you. Your hair is practically grey with dust. Must be from running from five Genovesans..."

Will glowered at him and shook his hair out, and decided Halt wasn't going to let up the jibes about the quality of his planning and his self preservation instincts. He resolved to ignore it for now, and get him back for it later. "You should try hiding in dusty old shafts for a few hours and see how you look after you're done."

Halt smiled wolfishly. "I hope I never have to do that." But then his face became serious. "But really, are you alright? Any other injuries? Should I just get you out of here, or can you stay and help me finish this?"

Will almost laughed as he put his shirt back on. "I'm fine, and there is no way I'm giving up on this now, not when we are so close... Another thing." Will smirked at Halt. "It's nice to actually communicate in person... I was getting sick of sending you messages. Those soldiers had no idea what they were doing, and half the time I forced myself to think you never even received them."

Halt laughed out loud. "That first one you sent us... He was a piece of work. He spat, stuttered, and fainted his way through his briefing."

"Yes, that's how he was when I sent him off, unfortunately in a situation like that you get no choice on the intelligence of your messenger. I think the second one had more brains, he was actually quite resourceful. He was careful never to reveal my name to the Genovesan when he was being interrogated." Will clipped his cloak on and rearranged his quiver and bow over his shoulders.

"Smart man, although from what I heard outside from Mario, he knows your name now." Halt pointed outside the door, referring to his near encounter with the assassin.

Will smiled darkly. "Yes, he does, he asked me after he kicked me. I would sure like to give him a few kicks in the ribs..." Will trailed off, no doubt picturing what he would do to Mario if he ever caught him.

Halt decided to pull him out of his grim revere. "Well then, let's get to it." He pulled a castle map out of his inner jacket pocket, and then felt the bread loaf. "Oh, another thing, I thought you might want this. To help you get your energy back after being chased by five Genovesians." He pulled out the loaf. It was still warm from being tucked up against his chest and the fragrant smell of fresh bread filled the air. He also procured the apples and put them on the table.

Will's eyes narrowed in annoyance at yet another jibe, then widened at the sight of food. "I haven't eaten in hours..." He grabbed the bread from Halt, put the apples in his pockets, and leaned over the map, taking a bite of the bread. "So, there are only five Genovesans left..." He glanced at Halt, gauging his reaction. He was surprised when there wasn't one, so he continued on. "How do you think we should do this?"

Halt looked sidelong at Will. "Well, we have a few options. We can get the rubies and then get out. We can just escape and flush the Genovesans out, or we can get rid of the Genovesans. So basically, get the rubies, the Genovesans, or neither, and lay seige."

Will looked at the map for a long moment, so long that Halt looked up at him, wondering why his normally talkative former apprentice was so quiet.

"Actually..." Will started thoughtfully.

"What? You were thinking of something different?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. I saw something in the scribe's offices today that might come in very handy - also, how would you feel if I only lead away a few Genovesans..."

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

Oh no, what's he planning now? Will Halt go along with it? This was a super long part, over 4000 words! It was really difficult to write too, and it took a long time. Hope you all enjoy! Please vote and comment! Thanks so much for reading and sticking with this story for so long! ❤️ ;)