13

Arly had visited Adisa at least four times over the course of a week. None complained, for the big hedgehog seemed more than able to handle the civet. But it seemed strange to some of those thoughtful creatures how he volunteered so willingly. Abbott Varrus, normally so calm and reasonable, grew more suspicious and cross about Adisa by the day. He had tried to speak to him, and it had ended the same way. Mother Sara herself was puzzled by this behaviour from Varrus.

Varrus grew suspicious of Arly, and so, on the seventh day of Adisa's imprisonment, he decided to talk to Arly.

The hedgehog lumbered in to the Abbott's quarters, looking slightly worried. Varrus assumed that the hedgehog had been busy.

The old otter indicated a cup of tea, "Would you like a drink, my son?"

Arly shook his head in the almost mulish way which he refused tea or coffee, "No thanks, father. Could I ask why I'm 'ere?"

Varrus looked into the hedgehog's eyes, "Alonzo, you have volunteered to guard Adisa three times since your first time, is that correct?"

Arly gave a genuine thought to it, and nodded his head, "Oh yeah, yeah."

Varrus paused, and gave another question, "Do you ever talk to him?"

At this, Arly suddenly had a troubled look on his face, but just for a moment. Varrus knew there was something afoot. Arly was not a subtle creature, but a very loyal and helpful one, so if there was something amiss, the hedgehog would not be able to hide it from someone he had known his whole life. The Abbott's mind went back to when a young Jander had stolen a dozen oat cakes, and a young Arly had bravely tried to take the blame rather than tattle on his friend.

Varrus almost felt sentimental as he spoke again, "Arly, are you hiding something from me? It is probably trivial is it not?"

Arly shifted in his seat, and answered, "Probably."

Varrus leaned back. "So what do you talk about?" he asked as if it was merely a friendly conversation he was having with an old friend.

Arly shrugged, "Well, we talk about some o' his traditions, know what I'm saying? 'E also asks about my life here, and he eats. Smokes too." The last sentence was added almost as an afterthought.

Something came back to Varrus from his past, to his horror. Nevertheless, he was a far more subtle creature than Arly and hid it, "What do you mean, he smokes?"

Arly thought about it, "It's real strange, man. He's got some kind of substance in a pouch, and he smokes it sometimes. He gets this strange feel about 'im, you know?" He somehow felt he should not mention he had tried it once. It was very strange, not quite like drinking ale, but satisfying nonetheless.

Varrus almost shuddered at the thought, "Is that everything he speaks of?"

Arly suddenly froze. But for perhaps the first time in his life, he hid his discomfort by pretending to think. Adisa had asked many questions of Varrus, and with every answer Arly had given, he felt that Adisa knew a whole different side to Varrus than was believed to exist.

All this went through his head, but he felt that this was something that was best hidden between him and Adisa. Adisa had warned him that the two of them would get into trouble, and he had developed a liking for the civet, almost like an older brother he had not heard of before this week.

Arly took a breath, hoped to heaven that he would keep a straight face, and said, "He didn't go very far. All he wanted to know was when you'd let him go."

Varrus paused, and sighed, "Slade has been murdered, and we are investigating who it could have been." Indeed, Varrus had talked to all the visitors. Hal Copland the farmer mouse had given a full alibi for the evening of Slade's murder. Varrus could tell that he was not the killer. The bankvole brothers had been resistant, insisting that this was an insult, and little information had been received. Even the long hours of wait had not broken their spirits, and Varrus had given up on them for the moment. Elial, the old fox that had been in the Infirmary for the night, was amused at the suspicion of those interrogating him: he had stated his innocence with the air of someone who truly did not care of what was to come. Hella had been quite angry at the fact that someone could commit murder, and she stated that she felt only vermin could commit murder in Redwall. The lady squirrel had caused Varrus some puzzlement: she was very unconcerned about the death of another squirrel. She was totally black, and seemed to be one of those lone wolves that often stayed out of Mossflower. She had shrugged about her alibi, saying it was unreliable.

The interrogations had angered Varrus for the lack of information on who the murderer of Slade was. He wanted to know very badly, for he knew that the murderer was only biding their time for the moment to bring him to terms with his past.

He did not show any of this to Arly. He merely thanked the hedgehog for his time, sent him cheerfully out, and meditated on the matter until supper was announced.

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""

Two days of hard marching. Two days of sleeping under the stars. Two days of avoiding open fields and places of ambushes.

Judos, Ætharr, Iola, and Rosheen marched and ran the equivalent to a week's march the Long Patrol was used to.

Ætharr could begin to see the tracks of the army. Footsteps, badly hidden due to the quantity, marched across the countryside.

All four feared Oorlog. They knew that they would not let them get away easily. Oorlog had many friends in these parts, so it was mandatory to avoid anyone seeing them.

In the two days, Ætharr had talked with his three companions and he had found out many things about them. In particular, he had spoken with Rosheen.

One night, they had lain in the comfortable boughs of a large elm. They had gazed up at the stars, which shone like little suns.

Rosheen had talked about her country. The Falcarragh tribe were tough warriors, and they were also brawlers among themselves. But they also valued music. They wrote countless songs of their deeds, they sang easily, and they were also worshippers of very many gods, much like the Caladors.

"Who is your father?" Ætharr had asked.

"My father is one of the tribe's top fighters. He is also a good father to his children. I am his only daughter. He also has five sons. Two of them are already fighting in the army. The others are still too young to fight." Rosheen looked at Ætharr, "Tell about Calador."

And Ætharr had talked of his country. He had talked of his cousin, his friends, his life, and he had spoken of his father and mother.

As she had listened, Rosheen had hugged Ætharr, her face full of sympathy and sadness. Just seeing this display of emotion, the young weasel had wept, as he had done with Judos, seemingly so long ago. They had fallen asleep like that.

Now, on the third day, Iola was ahead of the group as a tracker. And she smelled something.

She ran back to the others, "I think we've found them."

The thought of seeing all the familiar faces in the army drove Ætharr to a speed unmatched in his life before. The others had difficulty just to keep him in their sights, so driven was he to find the army.

They found them. Ætharr and his companions were on the edge of a lake beside a waterfall, from which they could see the army. The lake was protecting their south and east flanks, while a cliff protected the north. The waterfall was the link between the cliff and the lake, while the reeds grew thick alongside a number of abandoned boats.

Ætharr wondered about the abandoned boats, but was very relieved they were there, for it made the trip so much easier.

But there was still a problem. He barely knew how to swim, let alone use a boat. He suspected Iola and Rosheen were equally unable, for they both looked apprehensive at the water.

He turned to ask Judos for help, but saw the otter was already in the water, laughing like a child. It had been a long time since the otter had been in water.

When he had gotten over his joy, Judos examined the boats. Skipper had taught him the basic skills for steering a boat, and he had had lessons from other otters passing through Redwall.

Soon enough, with help from the other three, Judos repaired one boat sufficiently for the trip back.

Iola was the first to notice a presence as they crossed the lake. But when the pike surfaced beside them, they all realized how much trouble they were.

Rosheen had shrieked, and the voice had caught the attention of the army across the lake. None of the companions noticed the audience that gathered rapidly on the opposite side of the lake.

Iola and Rosheen grabbed the sides of the boat to steady it, while Judos and Ætharr prepared weapons to fight off the big head. But it seemed almost silly to them, for how were they to survive in the pike's own realm?

Judos suddenly realized he had to do what an otter did best. Grabbing Ætharr, he spoke quickly, "I need a hatchet, now!"

Ætharr had gathered the weapons stolen from him in prison from Klinus' hall. Now he gave Judos two throwing hatchets without question.

The otter tucked one into his belt, the another between his teeth, and dived into the water.

For a while, he disappeared, but then he reappeared on the pike's back, hacking desperately at its head. The pike roared in anger, and shook the otter off its back. Judos jumped quickly into the water, the pike after him. Iola wailed, and Ætharr turned away, fearing the worst.

A yell caused him to turn back. Judos had resurfaced, far more agile than the huge pike, and was swimming right for its good eye.

The pike lunged forward, and suddenly screeched as its last good eye was taken. Judos swam away quickly, but the pike had now become completely infuriated. Using its lateral line, it began to pursue the otter, baring its long teeth menacingly.

Ætharr stared helplessly from the boat's edge. Rosheen and Iola were quickly steering the boat in the direction of the pike in an attempt to assist Judos.

Judos resurfaced, his brain numb with the horror and excitement of what he was doing. He suddenly felt a wonderful urge to laugh. Here he was, wrestling a full-grown and very dangerous pike with nothing but his swimming skills and two hatchets, one of which was buried in the pike's eye socket.

He had scarce thought this when he saw the dark shape of the pike looming from the corner of his eye. Lunging away, it did not escape the open-mouthed pike's long teeth raking his body with long scratches.

Pain surged through the otter, but it also consumed him with adrenaline. He knew now what to do to end this pike.

He tore in the direction of the boat. Now was his only chance. Time seemed to slow for the briefest moment under the water, just him and the pike.

He broke the surface, all his energy into this fateful race. The pike was behind him, preparing for the strike to make the fight its own.

He quickly climbed into the boat, gesturing towards the mast. It was pointed on one end.

With a single stroke of his axe, Ætharr hewed it down. Rosheen and Iola took it, Judos and Ætharr holding the boat steady.

The pike lunged for the boat, its maw open; only to have the mast lunged like a spear into its brain.

Even as Rosheen and Iola let go of the mast, they knew it was dead. The pike thrashed in the water, weakening very fast.

Judos shivered. The other three simply stared at him. He had won a fight with a monstrous pike, and all in under fifteen minutes.

Suddenly, they began to laugh. It was a laugh of relief, of happiness, and also at the surprise of the sudden cheering that they heard across the water.

Taking the four oars from inside the boat, they rowed steadily to shore, where creatures of all kinds grabbed them with glee. There were Caladors, Vireos, Jeri, Hunan, and even a group of strange-looking beasts who looked like fishers.

There was a roar, and from out of the crowd, came the leaders of the army. They grabbed Ætharr in an embrace.

Ætharr wept at the sight of his cousin in tears. Jinn was laughing, Horal was asking him questions he did not listen to, and the others were equally happy to see him.

He brought his companions to the fore, introducing them to all present. Each one was applauded loudly, especially Judos, for the otter had outfought a creature that had conquered an army.

Ædall explained what had happened to the army with Ætharr's absence, and there were tears shed over the deaths of Coldbane, Leofir, and the other beasts that had been lost to the pike. Ætharr had shown rage at the death of Gæruff, but was satisfied that at least some of the remaining theigns were still loyal.

Ætharr looked suddenly at Horal, who was silent, "Horal, you are now a theign. You will hold Leofir's old territory." It was fitting, for Horal had been born in that area, and he was a good fighter. Horal was stunned at the new appointment, but gave a respectful bow. Ætharr, for all the long years of friendship, was still the rightful Ealdor.

Then Ætharr told his story, but Judos was not listening.

Coldbane. The name his mother had stated to a younger Varrus. He had gone all this way to find Coldbane, only to find that he had died a gruesome death at the hands, or rather the fins, of the pike he had just wrestled in the water.

He allowed himself to be escorted to a medic's tent to be treated for the scratches the pike had inflicted. The otter had not even noticed that he had been slowly losing blood, and he suddenly felt very weak.

An hour later, Ætharr came to see him. Rosheen was with him, as was Iola. They all smiled down on him, but he was too furious and depressed. He was thinking of his past, the family he never knew, and the oath of vengeance never fulfilled. Although Coldbane had certainly suffered, it did not seem very much to Judos if he had not been there to see it. Vengeance had been robbed of him, and he hated the mockery that Death inflicted.

He did not want to see his friends, so he asked them to leave.

Ætharr, however, did not leave. He knew of what Judos was thinking, having heard the story in the prison cage.

He looked down at his new friend, "Will you return to Redwall, Judos? If that is your wish, I shall arrange all you wish given to you. Supplies, a boat, even an escort if that's what you'll need."

Judos looked at Ætharr, he suddenly realised he could only stay with him. He did not want to go back to Redwall. The memories haunted him, and he hated the arrogance of the system in the Abbey. He wanted to be with his friends, who had treated him as an equal, who promised adventure, and the otter wanted adventure.

He clasped the weasel's hand, "I'm with you, until Oorlog is killed."

Ætharr gave a genuine smile of gratitude that the otter was staying, "And afterwards?"

Judos grinned, "We'll see won't we?"

Ætharr nodded in agreement, "Aye. That we will."