John Flanagan
John Flanagan
believe said expected
It's not what I expected," he said. "They're far more organized than our intelligence had led us to believe.
talking eyebrows two
I thought told you to watch where you put your feet," he said accusingly. Erak shrugged. I did," he replied ruefully. "But while I was busy watching the ground, I hit that branch with my head. Broke it clean in two." Halt raised his eyebrows. "I assume you're not talking about your head," he muttered. Erak frowned at the suggestion. Of course not," he replied. More's the pity," Halt told him.
horse children play
Now," said Halt, "all I have to do is work out a way of beating these horse-riding devils." Erak grinned at him. "That should be child's play," he said. "The hard part will be convincing Ragnak about it.
believe may excellent
You may believe you're an excellent rider," he called, "but there are a score of Temujai back there who actually are.
horse potatoes halt
Halt shook his head. Frankly, he'd seen sacks of potatoes that could sit a horse better than Erak
kings intelligent doe
...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.
kings rooms tone
Several of them were discussing this in low tones as they waited for Halt to arrive - until they realized that he was already among them. They weren't used to this. Kings were supposed to sweep into a room majestically - not suddenly appear without anyone seeing their arrival.
archery said
Keep practicing," he told her."Until I get it right?" she said. But he corrected her."No. Until you don't get it wrong.
littles weapons annoying
The mace prodded Will in the back again. That little habit was starting to annoy him and he was tempted to take the weapon from the sergeant major and do a little prodding of his own.
country war simple
You had this young man with you for... what, six years?" Halt shrugged. "Near enough," he replied. "And did you ever understand a word he was saying?" "Not a lot of the time, no," Halt said. Crowley shook his head in wonder. "It's just as well he didn't go into the Diplomatic Service. We'd be at war with half a dozen countries by now if he was on the loose." Will drew a deep breath to begin talking. He noticed that both men took an involuntary half step backward and he decided he'd better try to keep it as simple as possible.
sunshine faces face-your-fears
Face your fears, Halt had always thought him, and more often than not they fade like mist in the sunshine
mean departure gestures
What do you mean, Araluen? Death?" Halt made a careless gesture. "The usual, I suppose: the sudden cessation of life. The end of it all. Departure for a happier place. Or oblivion, depending upon your personal beliefs.
letting-go moving eye
Are there bears in these mountains?" he asked. His companion nodded. "Of course. But it's a bit early in the year for them to be moving around. Why?" Halt let go a long breath. "Just a vague hope, really. There's a chance that when the Temujai here you crashing around in the trees, they might think you're a bear." Erak smiled, with his mouth only. His eyes were as cold as the snow. "You're a very amusing fellow," he told Halt. "I'd like to brain you with my ax one of these days." "If you could manage to do it quietly, I'd almost welcome it," Halt said.
horse numbers twelve
Gorlog's teeth!" Erak exclaimed, stunned at the numbers. "How many are there?" "Ten thousand, maybe twelve," Halt replied briefly. The Skandian let out a low whistle. "Are you sure? How can you tell?" It wasn't a sensible question, but Erak was overwhelmed by the size of the horse herd and he asked the question more for something to say than for any other reason. Halt looked at him dryly. "It's an old calvary trick," he said. "You count the legs and divide by four.