A new chapter. Number 10 already. Thank you all for the reviews! Forthy! I'm so happy. I will not have frequent updates anymore like before. But I try to write it in a short time as possible. I am away all the time, as is my beta. So we have some problems sometimes, but she's BACK! JustaBunchaHOOPLA , thank you. Wow, long authors note.

Enjoy

-Elsforever-

Chapter 10

"Good morning, our favourite little captured spy. You don't have many clever tricks up your sleeve now, do you?" Alda drawled, waking Will with a start.

…

Will tried to crawl away of the large man, but a fraying rope stopped his attempt. Alda backhanded him in the face, warning him not to try anything that implied escape.

Will was afraid, he was been held captured for more than a week. In the week his hunger was gone, even though he didn't get any food. His whole mind was filled with pain. He wanted to believe in Halt and Horace so badly, that they would save him, but the more time he was in this hellhole, the more he started to believe it will never happen.

But he had to believe in it, hope was the only thing he had left. They had been hitting him, beating him all the time. New bruises formed over the old ones, layer over layer. Every fibre in his body screamed pain. Only because they wanted revenge for something they did themselves. He was their scapegoat. Luckily, Alda stopped this time with only a kick aimed to his feet.

…

He saw Will was relieved as he walked away. He saw the face of the man tied to the tree was filled with pain, mixed with terror as soon as one of us came walking towards him. He went to his saddle bag. There he found a little linen bag with herbs in it. Forebo, to be precise.

That was what Will had been taking for weeks without him knowing, up until that moment. Before, he had just put it in his coffee beans. That man couldn't go without his coffee.

Will had gone to retrieve one sack of coffee beans each Friday; they found that out pretty quick after some careful observation. The shopkeeper made it ready before the Ranger came to retrieve it, so it was an easy to slip the drug in. Bryan had worked at the shop at some point, but that was before they kidnapped Will.

The only thing was, it had affected everybody who was in the cabin drinking coffee. Luckily, nobody stayed long enough for it to affect them. Even if it did, they thought it was because they were worried about their friend. Worry did funny things to your head. And soon enough, they were kicked out. Only the healer had stayed long enough, but the man barely drank the poisoned brew.

Alda walked back to the tree, noticing Will still tried to escape. He couldn't blame him; he would do the same if he was in his position. But he still kicked him, he couldn't show any pity. Not that he felt pity in the first place. He enjoyed it.

…

"Open up." Alda snarled. Will kept his mouth firmly shut. He didn't know why they kept giving it to him, but he was sure it was not for a good reason. Not for him.

"Not really cooperative today, I see." Alda's voice was cold, and filled with anger and resentment. He made Will open his mouth with pure force. After putting the herb in, he held his hand over Will's nose and mouth. Then he was forced to swallow it if he wanted some air. After he noticed his Adam's apple moving up and down, he moved his hand. The man just left Will there, barely conscious after being deprived of air for so long.

Halt sat on the chair in front of the baron's desk. His eyes were rounded with deep blue, almost black circles. But even more noticeable were the eyes himself, filled with fear, anger, misery, and pain. He looked the same all week long. When Will was captured by the Skandians, at least he knew where to look for him. Now he had no clue, he could be anywhere in Araluen by this time. Still, he had the feeling he was close, even if he couldn't find a trace of his former apprentice. How had the people who took Will done that? Rangers were experts at this kind of thing.

…

"No sign of him, I see?" Baron Arald asked, his voice filled with worry. For all he knew Will could be death. He didn't want to think of the worst possibility, but it was there. Halt kept insisting he was sure Will was alive, he just felt it. The baron didn't know; did Halt feel it because he wanted it so badly; or was it real? He knew the two options were really close, especially in desperate situations.

"Any ideas?" Sir Rodney asked Gilan. They sat together at the fire in the Rodney's quarters. It was sparsely furnished, but it wasn't lacking comfort. Gilan leaned back with a sigh.

…

"Nope, I'm completely blank. You?" Gilan replied. Rodney put his head in his hands, thinking. He knew they didn't cross the border of the fief just yet. They had started with stationing soldiers there after the news had reached him. They had searched everywhere. They didn't know how many men had taken the Ranger, if it was planned or not.

"What if Will's behaviour had something to do with it?" Gilan's voice broke through his musings. That was a possibility. They didn't know how it happened. And he seemed to get sadder the longer they were in the cabin. It was a realistic option.

…

"What exactly do you mean? How?" Rodney asked. Gilan thought for a moment, and when he looked up, a determined face looked back to the battle master.

"Let's find out."

Please review. I want to reach the fifthy. *Puppy eyes looking at you*

It wasn't a cliffie this time. How nice, don't you think? Hope you enjoyed. I did like this chapter.

-Elsforever-