CHAPTER THREE
Waves rolled and pounded onto the shore at the foot of the great Fire Mountain, Salamandastron. The joyful shouts and whoops of a group of young creatures suddenly broke the summer morning's peaceful silence.
Seagulls scattered and took to the skies as the group pounded along the beach. Shrews, leverets, and two young badgers composed the merry group. They gleefully ran, chasing each other along the sandy shore.
"Yah, yew can't catch me, boil-bottom!"
"Ho yes I can, bootnose!"
"Yahaha, Bruma's it!"
Bruma, one of the two badgers, stopped and flopped down onto the sand. "Phwaw, I'll never catch any of you! I'm too tuckered out." Russano, named in the memory of the late Russano the Wise, led the group over to his sister. "Are you okay, Bruma?"
The young badgermaid laughed, and leapt up. She tapped her brother on the snout. "There, now you're it!" She laughed maniacally, and took off down the beach. The rest of the group followed swiftly after her, leaving a very bewildered Russtano on the shore. A few moments later, however, he had taken up the chase.
Larkbeat, a pretty young leveret, ran alongside Bruma, her friend. She chuckled as she ran. "I say, Bruma, that was quite possibly the cleverest way of tagging somebeast I've ever seen, wot? 'Ceptin, o' course, fer me great grand pater Fil- waah!" She suddenly fell head over paw into a large dip in the dunes. Bruma fell after her, landing only a few inches from on top of Larkbeat.
"Whoa, that was quite a tumble, wasn't it, Lark?"
The hare laughed. "Quite right, m'friend. Are you…" She trailed off as she looked around. None of their other friends, or the towering sentinel that was Salamandastron, was in sight. "Where are we?" Bruma stood up, and nearly tripped over again. She whirled around to see what had almost felled her.
Right in the middle of the ditch was a large, slumbering, slow worm. Larkbeat backed up quickly. "That there is a slow worm, Bruma. I doubt you've heard of them, they're not poisonous, but they wrap themselves around your neck and squeeze and-" She shuddered, and drew her paw across her neck.
Bruma shivered, and turned back to look at the sleeping snake. "It's asleep. If we're quiet, we can get away easily," She whispered.
But the badger had spoke too soon. Already the slow worm was slowly waking up and slithering across to them. Its eyes were a light gold, and seemed to be whirling slightly, hypnotic like. His scales were a brilliant white, with a hint of gold mixed in. The strong, muscular body slowly slid over the rough sand. It spoke, in a harsh, yet soothing voice.
"Who are you creaturesss, to disssturb my sssleep? I am Ssseveren, ruler of thessse sssands." Bruma tried not to show her fear. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Larkbeat. "Yah, go boil your 'ead, slimy snake! These are free lands, nobeast rules 'em!" Bruma went to cut off her friend, but it was too late. Severen had been angered.
He coiled up, curling his entire length into a tower that was almost as tall as Bruma. "You lie! I am the ruler of thessse sssands, and all who enter will die!" He moved to strike, but stopped suddenly. His hypnotic eyes stared at Bruma's neck. The badgermaid's hand flew to the medallion hanging there, the symbol that she was the daughter of the Badger Lord Whitestripe. "What are you looking at?"
Severen uncoiled, eyes never leaving the medallion. "You are a badger of the mountain, are you not" He spoke slowly and clearly, thinking hard about each word before speaking it. Bruma nodded fearfully, eyes wide. "I am Lord Whitestripe's daughter Bruma, of Salamandastron. Yes."
What Severen did next surprised both Larkbeat and Bruma. He bowed his head, laying it down in the sands. "Then I am yoursss to command, my lady." Larkbeat nodded happily. "Thas' right, slowsnake m'pal, yore ours to command" Severen raised his head, fangs glinting menacingly in the sharp summer sun. "I can finissshhh thisss fool off for you, my lady, if you wissshhh..."
Bruma shook her head emphatically. "Um, no, that won't be necessary, Mister Severen, sir."
The sinuous serpent nodded, then turned his head to look Larkbeat in the eye. "I'll do as my lady sssays, but if you call me ssslowsssnake again, I will forsssake my honor to do you in, hare. I am an adder. Would you like it if I called you a rabbit"
The frightened hare maiden gulped audibly, patting Severen timidly on his arrowed head. "Y-yes, t'wouldn't like et at all, never do it again. Sah"
Back at Salamandastron, Lord Whitestripe paced the forge room that had belonged to every Badger Lord and Lady from seasons past. His son Russano stood in the corner, with Lady Vura fussing over him.
"Whitestripe, whatever shall we do? Oh, my poor Bruma gone missing… What if vermin got to her? Or the adder Log-a-Log warned us about? Oh, I knew we should have sent the Long Patrol with the Guosim to get rid of it, I knew it" With a grunt, Russano squirmed free of his mother's vice-like grip. "Mother, please. I'm sure Bruma just got lost. She was running swift as any storm breeze, with Larkbeat at her side, not even watching where she was going."
A knock resounded on the door to the forge. Whitestripe swung it open with a hopeful look on his face. There stood a battle-hardened, tough looking hare. Beside him was a young shrew, rapier still in her hand.
"Well"
The shrew shook her head. "Sorry, milord. No sign of either of them." She strode further into the room, facing Russano. "Yore sure they were headin' north, Russ"
The young badger nodded his head solemnly. The hare sighed, leaning against a knotted, wooden rod. "Log a Log 'ere and I searched all up that way. The duo must have doubled 'round or somethin'. Like Shen said, there was no sign of either of 'em."
Log a Log Shen took Vura's paw comfortingly as Whitestripe let the door fall shut. "The Guosim and I searched from North to Northwest."
The hare, General Gronnell, nodded his head. "Right, and I took my patrol to the Northeast, sah. Not so much as a bruised blade of blinkin' grass." Just as Lady Vura began to dissolve into tears again, Whitestripe spoke. "We shall find them soon, dear." Turning to his son, the badger lord's mouth twisted into a slight grin. "How'd you like to head your first official Long Patrol mission, son"
Author's Notes:
Well, there we are then. That's as much as I have pre-written. I'm not sure this chapter is done yet, I'll probably add more... What do you lot think? Should I just leave it and start Chapter Four?
