“
...at the time, King Herbert felt that to remain safe, the kingdom needed an effective intelligence force."
"An intelligent force?" said Will.
"Not intelligent. Intelligence. Although it does help if your intelligence force was also intelligent.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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People will think what they want to," he said quietly. Never take too much notice of it.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Strange, he thought, how seldom people tend to look up
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Halt looked up at the trees above him.
"Why does this boy ask so many questions?" he asked the trees.
Naturally, they didn't answer.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Halt Halt," said Gilan stepping out into the open.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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I said, names aren't important," he repeated. There was a silence between them for some seconds, then the Ranger said: "Do you know what is important?"
Will shook his head.
"Supper is important!
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Once you best a man, never gloat. Be generous and find something in his actions to praise. He won't enjoy being bested, but he'll make a good face of it. Show him you appreciate it. Praise can win you a friend. Gloating will only ever make enemies.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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It's the Kalkara. they're hunting.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Sometimes, he thought wryly, a reputation for being right all the time could be a heavy burden.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Take one more step and I'll put an arrow through you."
Will tried to model his voice on the quiet, threatening tone Halt had used. He had retrieved several of his arrows from the nearest target and now he had one of them ready, laid on the bowstring. Halt glanced around approvingly.
"Good idea," he said. "Aim for the left calf. It's a very painful wound.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Bryn looked from Halt to Horace and back again. He saw no pity in either face.
"I don't want to," he said in a very small voice. Horace found it hard to reconcile this cringing figure with the sneering bully who had been making his life hell for the past few months. Halt appeared to consider Bryn's statement.
"We'll note your protest," he said cheerfully. "Now continue, please.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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What about you three, where are you going?"
Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make it any less terrifying or blood-chilling when the words were said.
"We're going after the Kalkara.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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The sun was trembling on the brink of the world, the shadows at their longest, and they still had several kilometers to go.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Halt and Gilan looked at him, then looked at each other, and said in chorus: “You’re an apprentice. You’re not ready to think.” Then
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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I'm sure we're all nervous," Alyss said. She directed one of her rare smiles at Will. "We'd be stupid not to be."
"Well, I'm not!" Horace said, then reddened as Alyss raised one eyebrow and Jenny giggled.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Then he had run, unarmed and bleeding, trusting to the maze like confusion of the ruins to evade the monster behind him.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Halt's heavy-shafted, long arrow was almost buried in its side, driven there by the full power of the Ranger's mighty longbow. He'd stuck the charging monster right behind the left shoulder, driving the head of the arrow into and through the pig's massive heart.
A perfect shot.
Halt reined in Abelard in a shower of snow and hurled himself to the ground, throwing his arms around the shaking boy. Will, overcome with relief, buried his face into the rough cloth of the Rang'ers cloak. He didn't want anyone to see the tears of relief that wer streaming down his face.
Gently, Halt took the knife from WIll's hand.
"What on earth where you hoping to do with this?" he asked.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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It is possible, of course...to want to do two different things at the same time. Then it just becomes a choice of knowing which one you want most.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Halt, for his part, said nothing. But when Will turned to look at his mentor, the grizzled Ranger met his eye, and simply nodded. And that, Will knew, was the equivalent of three hearty cheers from Halt.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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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 to see his response.
Will hesitated. He vaugely remembered the name from history lessons in the Ward, but he couldn't remember any details. Still, he decided he'd try to bluff his way through it...
"Oh ... yes," he said, "King Herbert. We learned about him."
"Really?" said the Ranger expansively. "Perhaps you could tell me a little about him?" He leaned back and crossed his legs, getting himself comfortable...
"He was ..." he hesitated, pretending to gather his thoughts. "The king." That much he was sure of. Halt merely smiled and made a rolling gesture with his hand that meant go on.
"He was the king ... a hundred and fifty years ago," Will said, trying to sound certain of his facts. The Ranger smiled at him, gesturing for him to continue yet again.
"Ummm ... well, I seem to recall that he was the one who founded the Ranger Corps," he said hopefully, and Halt raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.
"Really? You recall that, do you?
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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People will think what they want to...Never take too much notice of it.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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What if Halt were wrong?
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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What Rangers do, or more correctly, what Rangers’ apprentices do, is the housework.”
Will had a sinking feeling as the suspicion struck him that he’d made a tactical error. “The…housework?” he repeated. Halt nodded, looking distinctly pleased with himself.
“That’s right. Take a look around.” He paused, gesturing around the interior of the cabin for Will to do as he suggested, then continued, “See ay servants?”
“No, sir,” Will said slowly.
“No sir indeed!” Halt said. “Because this isn’t a mighty castle with a staff of servants. This is a lowly cabin. And it has water to be fetched and firewood to be chopped and floors to be swept and rugs to be beaten. And who do you suppose might do all those things, boy?”
Will tried to think of some answer other than the one which now seemed inevitable. Nothing came to mind, so he finally said, in a defeated tone, “Would that be me, sir?”
“I believe it would be,” the Ranger told him, then rattled off a list of instructions crisply. “Bucket there. Barrel outside the door. Water in the river. Ax in the lean-to, firewood behind the cabin. Broom by the door and I believe you can probably see where the floor might be?”
“Yes, sir,” said Will, beginning to roll up his sleeves.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Then, marveling at the recuperative powers and endurance of the Ranger horse breed, he tightened the girths on Blaze’s saddle and swung astride the bay, groaning softly as he did so. Ranger horses might recover quickly. Ranger apprentices took a little longer. It
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Although it does help if your intelligence force is also intelligent.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Once you best a man, never gloat. Be generous and find something in his actions to praise. He won’t enjoy being bested, but he’ll make a good face of it. Show him you appreciate it. Praise can win you a friend. Gloating will only ever make enemies.
”
”
John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Will hadn’t seen him come into the room. He realized that the mysterious figure must have slipped in through a side door while everyone’s attention was on the Craftmasters as they made their entrance. Now he stood behind the Baron’s chair and slightly to one side, dressed in his usual brown and gray clothes and wrapped in his long, mottled gray and green Ranger’s cloak. Halt was an unnerving person. He had a habit of coming up on you when you least expected it—and you never heard his approach. The superstitious villagers believed that Rangers practiced a form of magic that made them invisible to ordinary people. Will wasn’t sure if he believed that—but he wasn’t sure he disbelieved it either. He wondered why Halt was here today. He wasn’t recognized as one of the Craftmasters and, as far as Will knew, he hadn’t attended a Choosing session prior to this one.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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was an old Ranger joke and they all smiled.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Horace was big for his age and a natural athlete. The chances that he would be refused were virtually nonexistent. Horace was exactly the type of recruit that Sir Rodney looked for in his warrior apprentices. Strong, athletic, fit. And, thought Will a trifle sourly, not too bright.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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WILL COULDN’T HELP SMILING TO HIMSELF. ANYTHING LESS like a ferocious, charging wild boar, he couldn’t imagine.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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I see,” said Will. But Halt shook his head. “No. All too often, you don’t see, because you don’t maintain your concentration. You’ll have to work on that.” Will said nothing. He merely accepted the criticism. He’d learned by now that Halt didn’t criticize without reason. And when there was reason, no amount of excuses could save him.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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any of the level roads or tracks in the area. It meant running through broken, uneven ground, up hills and across streams, through heavily overgrown thickets where hanging vines and thick underbrush would claw at you and try to pull you down. Horace had just completed one such run. Earlier in the day, one of his classmates had been spotted in Tactics I, passing a note to a friend. Unfortunately, the note was not in the form of text but was an unflattering caricature of the long-nosed instructor who taught the class. Equally unfortunately, the boy possessed considerable skill as a cartoonist and the drawing was instantly recognizable. As a result, Horace
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Het zal u misschien verbazen, heer, maar toen ik zelf zo jong was stotterde ik verschrikkelijk. Het was werkelijk dramatisch, heer, werkelijk waar. Ik kon nauwelijks twee woorden achter elkaar zeggen zonder...'
'Nou, daar ben je inderdaad overheen gegroeid, merk ik,' onderbrak de baron hem droogjes.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Jongens vertrouwden steeds op hun fysieke krachten om problemen op te lossen, terwijl meisjes eerder hun verstand gebruikten.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Ik ben blij met jullie gezelschap, Jager. Soms ben ik zo lang met die paarden alleen dat ik begin te denken dat ik er ook een wordt.'
Zonder erbij na te denken greep hij in de mand met appelen en nam een flinke hap - net als Trek zojuist gedaan had.
Halt keek hem aan, één wenkbrauw opgetrokken. 'Misschien zijn we nog net op tijd gekomen.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Not intelligent. Intelligence. Although it does help if your intelligence force was also intelligent.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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prison, he could still remember the pleasant green glades and thickly forested hills of his former fief. The streams filled with fish and the fields rich with crops and game. Gorlan had been a beautiful, living place. The Mountains of Rain and Night were dead and
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Jenny, of course, would gravitate immediately to the castle kitchens, domain of Master Chubb, Redmont’s head chef. He was a man renowned throughout the kingdom for the banquets served in the castle’s massive dining hall. Jenny loved food and cooking, and her easygoing nature and unfailing good humor would make her an invaluable staff member in the turmoil of the castle kitchens
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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I forgot how much fun it is having an apprentice.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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necessary to meet the demands of day-to-day country life—a cooper, wheelwright, smithy and harness maker. The land around had been cleared for some distance, both to provide farmlands for the villagers to tend and to prevent enemies
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Always assume an enemy knows you’re there and that he will attack you,” he said.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Next flute player I meet,” said Gilan with grim humor,“I’m going to split his lip for him.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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And while boys constantly looked to physical means as the way of solving problems, girls could be depended on to use their wits.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Rangers on watch never stayed in the open by the campsite but always moved away ten or twenty meters, and found a place of concealment. That way, strangers coming upon the campsite would be less likely to see them.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Always assume an enemy knows you’re there and that he will attack you,” he said.“That way, you tend to avoid unpleasant surprises.” He smiled grimly to reassure the boy.“It can still be unpleasant, but at least it’s not a surprise
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Ranger horses might recover quickly. Ranger apprentices took a little longer.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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It is possible, of course,” said Halt quietly,“to want to do two different things at the same time. Then it just becomes a choice of knowing which one you want most.
”
”
John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Although it does help if your intelligence force is also intelligent
”
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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Gorlan had been a beautiful, living place. The Mountains of Rain and Night were dead and desolate.
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))
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So, not expecting to see anyone, he failed to do so.
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John Flanagan
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Now," he said, "all you have to do is learn to use them. And you know what that means, don't you?
Will nodded his head, grinning.
"A lot of practice
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John Flanagan (The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1))