Halt was the first one to recognize the rumbling. He stood in front of the camp, not really looking at the drawbridge, which was now lowered, lost in thought. Then suddenly the ground beneath him began to rumble and the portcullis started to rise. Then he heard yelling and the thumping of hundreds of feet on the ground. Halt squinted into the late afternoon sun as hundreds of Redmont guards came pouring out of the main castle exit, through the small courtyard, and through the main arch to the opening portcullis. Gilan came running out from under the command tent to watch with Halt. "What's going on?"

"Will got them out."

Gilan had no response to this, and he turned back to watch the spectacle.

The men hunched over a little bit to get under the slowly rising portcullis, but had no trouble a few seconds later once the bars had risen high enough to allow them all throught. They came pouring across the drawbridge, and, with delighted cries and shouts, spilled into the camp, immediately greeting their comrades. Once each and every soldier had filtered his way into the camp, the last of the stragglers came running down the bridge. There were only about ten of them, and Halt could make out Lady Sandra among them. Then he saw an even smaller group come sprinting down the bridge as well, and even from a long way away, he could make out the form of his lovely wife, along with the much bulkier figures of Baron Arald and Sir Rodney.

Gilan also saw this and gave a sigh of relief. "They all made it..."

"Not all of them." Halt started walking up toward the two smaller groups that were running. Lady Sandra and her group came up first.

"Ranger Halt! Thank goodness! Is my husband back there?" She gasped as she ran up.

"Yes, but right now I need you to get the others settled into the camp. Can you do that?"

She nodded and guided the others off deeper into the camp. Halt waited patiently as Pauline came running up with Rodney and the Baron. She looked up and saw him waiting, and she smiled a big, beautiful smile. Halt couldn't hide his own smile as she jogged lightly up to him. He stepped forward and she fell into his arms, hugging him tightly. Then she kissed him lightly on the lips for a few precious seconds, and then stepped back.

"Pauline, are you alright? It's so good to see you safe."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Halt, I'm just a little dirty and bruised at the worst. What about yourself? What happened with you and Alyss?"

"I'm fine, so is Alyss, and I'll explain everything to you and everyone else in one moment. But one thing... "

"You want to know where Will is." This wasn't a question, it was Pauline already knowing what Halt was thinking.

He sighed. "Yes. Is he coming out in a few minutes? What was his plan?"

Pauline gave him a sad smile. "I think we both have a lot of explaining to do. Why don't we continue this somewhere where I can get a drink of something? My throat is parched."

"Of course." They both turned back towards the camp.

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

Will ran down the hall at a full out sprint. He had just taunted the Genovesans to 'come and get him' and now he had gotten exactly what he wanted: they were coming to get him. As he ran he turned, pulled back his three arrows, and released them, killing the two nearest guards and firing a rouge arrow into the pack of assassins to create chaos. He didn't turn around, but he heard the scream of pain as one of the Genovesans fell. So now there must be five, though Will as he ran though the main doors and hung a hard left, skidding precariously on the smooth stones. He accelerated into another full sprint as he barreled down the hallway. He could hear the five men following him, just barely ten meters behind him. He turned a corner and sprinted up two flights of stairs. Now his lungs were burning horribly, but he knew he had to keep going. He had to give Pauline and Rodney time. He ran for a full five minutes, running up staircases, going through tiny rooms and not turning in any particular directional pattern to keep his enemies guessing. Suddenly the hallway ended and he was inside a large storage cleaning closet. Will tried to turn around but he could hear the assassins, and they were already too close. Having no other choice and not enough time, Will ducked behind the door into the shadow of a large barrel and crouched there, trying to calm his gasping breath and racing heart.
The Genovesans reached the outside of the closet, and Will painfully forced himself to hold his breath as the door creaked open. Then four of the five Genovesans entered the small closet, and one stayed outside to keep watch. Mario kicked a box over, and then called out, "Ranger! You had better come out this time! You have no chance of escaping! This room has one door and we are guarding it."

Will looked around, only moving his eyes, and saw that Mario was right. Five assassins stood between him and his only chance of freedom. Will knew that the fight was already lost. Well, if they are going to get me, the least I can do is not hand them my weapons. He carefully unclipped his quiver and dropped his knives and strikers in a small pile behind the barrel. Then he got his bow in the edge of his shoulder, ready to be flung off. Then he readied himself, and jumped. He leapt out his hiding place, shedding his bow instantly and jumping onto Mario. He squeezed his fingers around his neck, cutting off his air, and bit down on his ear. He heard Mario retching in pain before the tip of a boot walloped him in the side. He gasped and slid off Mario, clutching at his side. Mario also collapsed to the floor, retching and heaving. Someone kicked him in the other side, knocking out his breath. His vision went blurry as his oxygen-deprived body desperately sucked in air, and then he saw the other four Genovesans standing over him.

"Hello Ranger...Will? Is that your name? So kind of you to join us."

"If you're going to kill me, just get on with it." Will gasped as he tried to focus on the assassin's face. He thought it was Guido or Giovanni.

"We won't be killing you just yet, Ranger Will, we need something you have."

"And what would that be?"

"The location of the rubies."

"I won't give it to you." Just then the floor rumbled and shouts and calls filled the echoing halls. Mario got up from the floor, massaging his neck. "What was that?"

The assassin outside keeping watch leaned inside and said, "It sounded like it was coming from the main audience hall..."

Then realization dawned on Mario's face, and he glared at Will. "You didn't."

Will grinned triumphantly at him and said, "I did."

Mario whirled around and spoke in rapid Toscan to two of the assassins. Will didn't understand any of it, but then Mario dashed out of the room, with two of the others. Now there was only two Genovesans left guarding Will.

Will lay on the ground, desperately trying to think of a way to get out of there. God, what Halt would say to me if he saw me like this. Then his eyes saw the thick handled broom balanced above the door as well as his throwing knife that poked out from behind the barrel and he got an idea. He readied himself, then abruptly kicked out his left foot towards to door. The Genovesan saw his movement and turned toward him threateningly, but he didn't move from his position. Will kicked the door frame hard enough that the broom fell... Right onto the head of the first Genovesan. He didn't even have a chance and was out cold before he hit the ground. The other assassin immediately turned around and leaped at Will, who had crawled backward painfully and grasped his knife. He thrust it out to block the assassin's first blow. Will pulled himself up off the floor desperately as the dagger in the Genovesan's hand drove into the wood right next to his face, and he stumbled over a bucket and fell between some barrels. Then he saw a mop with a bucket on top and he shoved his elbow against the mop handle. The Genovesan drew his arm back for the killing blow, certain that Will had no chance left... Then he felt a sudden pain on the side of his head, then all went black. He didn't even remember hitting the floor.

Will lay there against the wall, panting heavily and gasping in pain as each breath hurt. He kicked the bucket off of the assassin and propped the mop back up against the wall. Once he had his breathing back under control, he grasped the barrels on each side of him and pulled himself up. He gritted his teeth as the movement hurt his ribs. He put his fingers on his side and felt around for a break. Sure enough, he felt a rough spot. Cracked at least, maybe broken...
Will put his pain aside for a moment, and took all of the dead assassins' weapons and threw them out the window into the moat. Then he grabbed his thumb cuffs, and put them on the two unconscious assassins. Then he grabbed a short length of laundry rope from one of the cupboards, tied each of their ankles together, and dragged the two men over to the large closet. He propped them each up and hung them from the hooks installed in the ceiling. Then he stuffed some cloth in their mouth. Satisfied with his work, he shut the closet door and locked it. Then he grabbed his weapons from behind the barrel, and locked the main door to the closet from the outside. He turned and stared off down the end of the hallway. What should I do now? Leave the castle, meet up with Halt, or I could go and get the jewels before I leave, I could stay and catch the rest of the Genovesans...

Then he remembered that the Genovesans would get to the audience hall any minute and, hopefully, find all his men plus two of his comrades dead, as well as all of his prisoners gone. Then he would return with terrible hatred and fury, force him to get the rubies, and then kill him. Will shuddered slightly, and wrapped his arm around his ribs. Then he limped off down the hallway in search of a hiding place.

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So now you know what happened to Will! He's in pretty bad shape right now... Wonder what will happen next... 😈 Anyway, this is an extra long update so it should tide you over for the time being. Will update again soon, you all know the drill. Please vote and comment if you enjoyed! Thanks so much for reading! ;)