‘Halt! You’re awake! How are you feeling?’
Halt didn’t answer immediately. He peered at the figure leaning over him and tried to raise his head a little but then let it drop back, defeated.
‘Who’s that?’ he said. ‘Can’t see too clearly for some reason. Must have taken a knock on the head, did I?’
‘It’s me, Halt. And no, you were…’ Before Horace could continue to explain what had happened, Halt began talking again and the young warrior’s heart sank as he realised that, despite the apparent strength in Halt’s voice, he was even more far gone now than he had been before.
‘That damned Thorgan, wasn’t it? Him with his club. I never saw him coming till he was on me.’
Horace actually recoiled a little in shock. Thorgan? He’d heard the name. He’d heard it when he was a little boy in the Ward at Redmont. It was a famous tale of courage and loyalty throughout Araluen and one that had helped cement the remarkable legend of the Ranger Corps.
Thorgan the Smasher had been an infamous brigand who had terrified the north-eastern region of Araluen many years ago. His crew of cutthroats robbed and murdered travellers and even raided small villages, burning, robbing and terrorising wherever they went. Thorgan himself carried an immense war club, from which he derived his nickname.
Halt and Crowley, having just revitalised and re-formed the Ranger Corps, had vowed to stamp out Thorgan’s band, and to bring Thorgan before King Duncan’s court of law. But in a running battle in a forest, Crowley had been ambushed by three of Thorgan’s men and was fighting desperately for his life. Halt went to his aid, shooting two of the bandits and cutting the third down with his saxe knife. But in saving Crowley, he failed to see Thorgan concealed in the trees until it was almost too late. The huge bandit leapt out, swinging a terrible blow with the massive club. Halt just managed to evade its full force, slipping cat-like to one side at the very last moment. Still, it caught him a glancing blow on the head and he only just managed to drive his saxe knife deep into Thorgan’s body before falling unconscious across Crowley. Even in that movement, he was trying to protect his friend.
The two friends were found some hours later by a patrol of Duncan’s cavalry. They were huddled together, both unconscious. Close by, the body of Thorgan was leaning against the bole of a tree, a surprised expression on his face, and the hilt of Halt’s saxe knife protruding from his ribs.

Halt's Peril, Chapter 30