Ranger's Apprentice 3 & 4 Bindup Read Free

Morgarath recognised a kindred spirit and enlisted him. Now he was the sole surviving member of Morgarath’s band and King Duncan had made his capture and imprisonment a number one priority for the Kingdom’s armed forces.
    The problem was, Foldar impersonators were springing up everywhere – usually in the form of everyday bandits like this one. They used the man’s name and savage reputation to strike fear into their victims, making it easier to rob them. And as each one sprang up, Halt and his colleagues had to waste time tracking them down. He felt a slow burning of anger at the time he was wasting on these minor nuisances. Halt had other matters to attend to. He had a promise to keep and fools like this were preventing him doing so.
    The fake Foldar had stopped by the carriage now. The black cloak with its high collar was somewhat similar to the one Foldar wore. But Foldar was a dandy and his cloak was immaculate black velvet and satin, whereas this wassimple wool, badly dyed and patched in several places, with a collar of crudely tanned black leather.
    The man’s bonnet was unkempt and badly creased as well, while the black swan’s feather that adorned it was bent in the middle, probably where some careless bandit had sat on it. Now the man spoke, and his attempt to imitate Foldar’s lisping, sarcastic tones was spoiled by his thick rural accent and clumsy grammar.
    â€˜Step down from the carriage, good sor and mad’m,’ he said, sweeping a clumsy bow. ‘And fear not, good lady, the noble Foldar ne’er harms one as fair as thee art.’ He attempted a sardonic, evil laugh. It came out more as a thin cackle.
    The ‘good lady’ was anything but fair. She was middle aged, overweight and plain in the extreme. But that was no reason why she should be subjected to this sort of terror, Halt thought grimly. She held back, whimpering with fear at the sight of the black figure before her. ‘Foldar’ took a pace forward, his voice harsher, his tone more threatening.
    â€˜Get down, missus!’ he shouted. ‘Or I’ll hand you your husband’s ears!’
    His right hand dropped to the hilt of a long dagger in his belt. The woman cried out and cowered further back into the carriage. Her husband, equally terrified and more than fond of his ears where they were, was trying to push her towards the carriage door.
    Enough, Halt thought. Satisfied that no one was looking in his direction, he nocked an arrow, drew and sighted in one economical motion, and released.
    â€˜Foldar’, real name Rupert Gubblestone, had a brief impression of something flashing past, just in front of hisnose. Then there was an almighty jerk on the raised collar of his cloak and he found himself pinned against the carriage by a quivering black arrow that thudded into the wood. He gave a startled yelp, lost his balance and stumbled, saved from falling by his cloak, which now began to choke him where it fastened around his neck.
    As the other bandits turned to see where the arrow had come from, Halt stepped away from the tree. Yet to the startled robbers, it seemed as if he had stepped out of the massive oak.
    â€˜King’s Ranger!’ Halt called. ‘Drop your weapons.’
    There were ten men, all armed. Not a single one thought to disobey the order. Knives, swords and cudgels clattered to the ground. They had just seen a first-hand example of a Ranger’s black magic: the grim figure had stepped clean out of the living trunk of an oak tree. Even now, the strange cloak that he wore seemed to shimmer uncertainly against the background, making it difficult to focus on him. And if sorcery weren’t enough to compel them, they could see a more practical reason – the massive longbow, with another black-shafted arrow already on the string.
    â€˜On the ground, belly down! All of you!’ The words cut at them like a whip and they dropped to the ground. Halt pointed