ever.
âHow many Rangers are there?â he asked. Halt and the Baron had referred more than once to the Ranger Corps, but Will had only ever seen one â and that was Halt.
âKing Herbert established the Corps at fifty. One for each of the fifty fiefdoms. Iâm based here. My colleagues are based at the other forty-nine castles throughout the Kingdom.
âIn addition to providing intelligence about potential enemies, Rangers are the law keepers,â said Halt. âWe patrol the fiefdom assigned to us and make sure that the laws are being obeyed.â
âI thought Baron Arald did that?â Will put in. Halt shook his head.
âThe Baron is a judge,â he said. âPeople bring their complaints to him so he can settle them. Rangers enforce the law. We take the law out to the people. If a crime has been committed, we look for evidence. Weâre particularly suited to that role since people often donât realise weâre around. We investigate to see whoâs responsible.â
âWhat happens then?â Will asked. Halt gave a small shrug.
âSometimes we report back to the baron of the fief and heâll have the person arrested and charged. Sometimes, if itâs a matter of urgency, we just ⦠deal with it.â
âWhat do we do?â Will asked, before he could stop himself. Halt gave him a long, considering look.
âNot too much if weâve only been an apprentice for a few hours,â he replied. âThose of us whoâve been Rangers for twenty years or more tend to know what to do without asking.â
âOh,â said Will, suitably chastened. Halt continued.
âThen, in times of war, we act as special troops â guiding the armies, scouting before them, going behind enemy lines to cause the enemy grief and so on.â He glanced down at the boy. âItâs a bit more exciting than working on a farm.â Will nodded. Perhaps life as a Rangerâs apprentice was going to have its appeal after all.
âWhat sort of enemies?â he asked. After all, Castle Redmont had been at peace for as long as he could remember.
âEnemies from within and without,â Halt told him. âPeople like the Skandian sea raiders â or Morgarath and his Wargals.â
Will shivered, recalling some of the more lurid stories about Morgarath, the Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night. Halt nodded sombrely as he saw Willâs reaction.
âYes,â he said, âMorgarath and his Wargals are definitely people to be worried about. Thatâs why the Rangers keep an eye on them. We like to know if theyâre gathering, if theyâre getting ready for war.â
âStill,â said Will, as much to reassure himself as for any other reason, âthe last time they attacked, the baronsâ armies made mincemeat out of them.â
âThatâs true,â Halt agreed. âBut only because theyâdbeen warned of the attack â¦â He paused and looked meaningfully at Will.
âBy a Ranger?â the boy asked.
âCorrect. It was a Ranger who brought word that Morgarathâs Wargals were on their way ⦠then led the cavalry across a secret ford so they could flank the enemy.â
âIt was a great victory,â Will said.
âIt certainly was. And all due to a Rangerâs alertness and skill, and knowledge of back trails and secret paths.â
âMy father died in that battle,â Will added in a quieter voice, and Halt cast a curious look at him.
âIs that so?â he said.
âHe was a hero. A mighty knight,â Will continued. The Ranger paused, almost as if he were deciding whether to say something or not. Then he simply replied:
âI wasnât aware of that.â
Will was conscious of a sense of disappointment. For a moment, heâd had a feeling that Halt knew something about his father, that he could tell him the story of his heroic death.
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