A/N: So, the background information is, Halt, Will, and Horace were in some kind of battle the reason of which will be determined and told at a later chapter.

Will and Horace got into a tight spot, and this is the aftermath thereof.

Halt scrambled to catch Horace as his eyes rolled back in his head his knees going weak.

"Horace?" Halt asked, "Horace?"

Halt turned to Will, still holding Horace up.

"You're not going to pass out on me, are you?" Halt asked exasperatedly, turning to his apprentice.

Will shook out his arms and legs, trying to escape the cold chill that had come over him in the fight. "No, I'm alright." Will said. Between Will and Halt, they drug Horace over to a good spot to make camp. Halt got some supper cooking while Will put up the tents.

Halt stoked the fire they were sitting around.

"You're awfully quiet tonight." Halt said.

Will just stared at the fire, answering only by shifting positions the slightest bit.

"That close, huh?" Halt said, "It's alright to be afraid." Will glanced away.
"I know. It's just- I can't figure out where we went wrong." Will said, "You told me that one person could defeat an army if only they chose the right way to do it. As far as I can see we did it the right way, but we still had that close of a call."

"Wait, hold on, we?" Halt asked.

"It was both of us, not just Horace." Will said. "The man had us backed into a corner. He had Horace's sword, and I didn't have room to draw my bow."
"So what did you do?" Halt asked. It sounded like an impossible situation to him.
"Well, I used dual knife defense, but I was having trouble keeping up. Who ever trained those guys was good." Will said, "Then, just as he knocked the knives out of my hands, your arrow, the one that went nuts because a man pushed you as you fired, it stuck right beside us, the man didn't notice. Horace threw the arrow at him, diverting his attention, and I managed to get around behind him. I stabbed him a few times with my saxe."

"Where was your quiver?" Halt asked.

"The man tore it off of me. I got it back though. Somehow it wasn't broken." Will said.

"Well, you did pretty much exactly what I would have." Halt said.

"Except you would have gotten him with dual knife defense. You wouldn't have had to have had Horace distract him with the arrow." Will moped. Halt chuckled lightly, slowing himself a slight smile.

"You put to much stock in me Will, I'm not perfect." Halt said, "Dual knife defense is called 'defense' for a reason. It's made to keep you alive until you have a better option."

"You or Gilan would have figured out something." Will said. Halt frowned; this was getting a bit excessive.

"I'm serious Will, don't overestimate us." Halt said, "We make mistakes too. Just because we wear the silver leaf doesn't mean we've got everything figured out."

"But you could have gotten out of this one." Will said.

"What makes you so sure?" Halt asked.

"Be cause if it happened again I could do it alone." Will said, "I know what I did wrong now. Ugh! It's so obvious! All I would have had to do it roll between his legs, come up, and back-stab. In both senses of the word."

Halt was taken aback. "H-how big was this man?" Halt asked, "Taller than Gilan?"

"Much." Will answered, "Over two feet taller."

"He looked kind of scaly with bluish skin?" Halt asked. "Exactly. How did you know?" Will asked, "Have you fought him before?"

"By Gorlag's beard!" Halt exclaimed.

Will's head stayed in place but his eyes darted quickly, checking for any immediate danger.

Not seeing any, he was confused.

"What is it, Halt?" Will asked.

"You- you fought a Kalanchi!" Halt said, staring at his apprentice.

"A Kalanchi?" Will said, "What's that?"

"The Kalanchi are some of the most skilled short swordsmen in history." Halt said, "You kept up with him? Using dual knife defense?"

"Yeah..." Will said, "I told you he was good, and that I was having trouble."