There are always risks in battle. It’s a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.’ [said Halt].’How do you know which are the right ones?’ Shigeru asked.Halt glanced at his two younger...

Will saw the first Senshi officer release and instantly knew where the arrow was aimed. ‘They’ve spotted Shigeru!’ He was about to turn and shove Shigeru to the ground, but as he did so, his...

I circled the site before I came in. If there’s anyone within five kilometers, I’ll eat my quiver.” Halt regarded him, eyebrow arched once more. “Anyone?””Anyone other than Crowley,” Will amended, making a dismissive gesture....

You’ve known him how long?” Malcolm asked. “Since he was a small boy. I firs noticed him when he slipped into Master Chubb’s kitchen to steal some pies.” “So, what did you have to say...

Will had been taken aback in his confrontation with Arisaka to discover that his name- Chocho- meant “Butterfly”… He was puzzled to know why they had selected it. His friends, of course, delighted in helping...

Halt! How are you? What have you been doing? Where’s Abelard? How’s Crowley? What’s this all about?” “I’m glad to see you rate my horse more important than our Corps Commandant,” Halt said, one eyebrow...

Halt eyed them balefully. They were all being so obvious about not mentioning his sudden reappearance that it was even worse than if they had commented on it…’Oh, go on!’ he said. ‘Somebody say something!...

Fighting positions, please, ladies…”That’s debatable,’ Halt said in an undertone to Will as they stood watching…’The ‘fighting’ part or the ‘ladies’ part?’ Will replied with a grin.Halt looked at him and shook his head. ‘Definitely...

Horace, who had been trying to find out the meaning of Kurokuma for some time now, was pleased to hear the translation. “Black bear,” he repeated. “It’s undoubtedly because I’m so terrible in battle.” “I’d...

The the uncertainty was dispelled and the melancholy lifted as he saw a familiar stocky figure moving near one of the tents. “Halt!” he cried out gladly, and a slight pressure with his knees set...

Now for God’s sake, will you two start behaving like a princess and a Courier?” Halt told them. “If you don’t, I’ll have to think about sending Will home.”Me?’ Will said, his voice breaking into...

Who are you, gaijin? What do you know about honor?”I’m called Chocho,’ Will said…’Chocho?’ Arisaka shouted, goaded beyond control. ‘Butterfly? Then die, Butterfly!

Butterfly?” Will said. “Why Butterfly?” “I believe it’s a term of great respect,” Selethen said gravely. He was very obviously not laughing. Too obviously, Will thought. “It’s all right for you,” he said. “They called...

Already, Cullum felt a stirring of interest. The name Horace and the mention of an oakleaf symbol struck a chord in his memory. Sir Horace, the Oakleaf Knight, was a legendary figure in Araluen, even...

[Will]’d barely been asleep a few minutes when Halt’s voice woke him.’Will? Are you asleep?’…’I was,’ he said, a little indignantly. ‘I’m not now.”Good,’ Halt replied, a trifle smugly. ‘Serves you right.

The two girls disappeared into the stern cabin once more. Will watched them go, then asked Halt, ‘Anything you’d like me to do? Grow a beard? Learn to walk like a rooster?”If you could stop...

S’mimasen,” Alyss said repeatedly as they brushed against passerby. “What does that mean?” Will asked as they reached a stretch of street bare of any other pedestrians. He was impressed by Alyss’s grasp of the...

What is this Chocho business?’ Will muttered to himself. But his friends overheard the comment.’It’s a term of great respect,’ they chorused, and he glared at them.’Oh, shut up,’ he said.

You’re right, Halt,’ she said, and he nodded acklowledgement of her backing down.’Nice to hear someone else saying that for a change,’ Will said cheerfully. ‘Seems like I’ve said those words an awful lot in...

George!’ [Horace] said, the relief evident in his voice. ‘Are you all right?”No! I am not!’ George replied with considerable spirit. ‘I have a whacking great arrow stuck through my arm and it hurts like...

What the devil is Chocho?’ Will whispered.Horace’s grin broadened. ‘You are. It’s what the men call you,’ he said. Then he added, ‘It’s a term of great respect.’Behind them, Halt nodded confirmation. ‘Great respect,’ he...

Shokaku is a crane of some kind.”For lifting things?’ Will asked.’For flying. A crane is a large bird,’ she corrected him…’Seems like a logical thing for a crane to do,’ Halt mused. ‘I suppose you...

If you’re a ghost,” he said, “we mean you no disrespect. And if you’re not a ghost, tell me who you are-or you soon will be one

How do we get there? How did you get here, by the way?’ [Will asked].He heard Halt’s deep sigh and knew he’d done it again.’Do you ever,’ the older Ranger said with great deliberation, ‘manage...

But…’ Horace looked from one familiar face to another. ‘How did you come to..?’Before he could finish the question, Will interupted, thinking to clarify matters but only making them more puzzling…’We were all in Toscana...

Will raised both eyebrows. ‘Well, you learn a new thing everyday,’ he said reflectively.’In your case, that’s no exaggeration,’ Halt said, completely straight-faced.

Without thinking, [Will] spoke.’Halt? Are you awake?”No.’ The ill humor in the one-word reply was unmistakable.’Oh. Sorry.”Shut up.’He pondered whether to apologize again and decided this would go against the instruction to shut up, so...

All we could get out of them was that they were taking us to ‘Kurokuma’. We didn’t know if that was a place or a person. What does it mean, by the way?”I’m told it’s...

Come closer, Kurokuma. It’s quite safe.’Horace shuffled closer to the edge…’Quite safe, my foot,’ he muttered to himself. ‘And what’s this Kurokuma you keep calling me?”It’s a term of great respect,’ Shigeru told him.’Great respect,’...

Easy climb, Kurokuma. You do it easily.”Not on your life,’ Horace said… ‘That’s what we have Rangers for. They climb up sheer rock walls and crawl along narrow, slippery ledges. I’m a trained warrior, and...

Right! Let’s get on with it! All right… you… Will… have trained as apprentice to Ranger Halt of Redmont Fief these last five twelvemonths and blah blah blah and so on and so on. You’ve...

What was that, Kurokuma?’ asked one of the escorts riding near him. The others chuckled at the name.’Nothing important,’ Horace said. Then he looked at them suspiciously. ‘What’s this Kurokuma business?’The Senshi looked at him...

Gundar, seeing Halt upright for the first time in two days, stumped up the deck to join them.’Back on your feet then?’ he boomed cheerfully, with typical Skandian tact. ‘By Gorlag’s toenails, with all the...

The Rangers were founded over one hundred and fifty years ago, in King Herbert’s reign. Do you know anything about him?” Halt looked sideways at the boy sitting beside him, tossing the question out quickly...