Ch.21

Rewards and Rescues

Yay for early updates! I don't have school today for some reason, and since I'm gonna be busy all day Saturday, I thought I'd update today! Please R&R!

Keith picked up the pace as the area began to resemble his dream more and more. "I'm almost there Martin" thought Keith. "Soon I'll find out what my reward is!"

After pushing through another group of shrubbery, Keith stopped to survey the surrounding area. "Okay, this is the place where Martin showed me the door…" he stopped in mid sentence as his eyes caught sight of the very door he was talking about. The decrepit door was scarcely large enough to cover the entry to the moss-covered cavern.

The skunk walked over to the door, taking a deep breath as he did. "Okay, here goes nothing". He twisted the door handle, causing the door to release a rusty screech.

Keith walked slowly into the room, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The room looked as if it had been ransacked ages ago. Most of the room was damaged and tore, not to mention covered in a thick layer of dust. That's when more painful memories opened in Keith's mind.

The sudden rush of remembrance caused Keith fall to his knees with agony. He could see his parents taking care of him, the vermin raid, and finally, the gruesome death of his mother and father. All of it had taken place in this room.

Warm tears dampened the cheeks of the young skunk. "I'm…home."

Isaac sat with his back against one of the many sturdy oak trees. "Och, wot's takin' Keith so long? Ah hope he didn't get lost." Despite his new fatherly instincts, Isaac restrained himself from finding the skunk as he remembered the look of determination in Keith's eyes.

The highlander slumped down further against the tree. "Ah 'ope thae lil' stinker comes back soon. My rump's gone numb!" Before the hedgehog could give another comment on his slumbering buttocks, odd sound began to tantalize his ears.

Perking up his ears, the highlander silently continued to eavesdrop. It sounded like somebeasts were having some sort of quarrel. "Well, ah guess ah'll go figure oot wot thae fuss is all aboot." Isaac got up from his seat against the oak tree and followed the sound of the scuttle, letting his ears be his eyes.

Keith wiped more tears from his reddened eyes as he let out a small sniffle. Putting his emotions aside for the moment, he took a look at the small circular window. The sunlight seemed to be pointing to something like a lighthouse in a storm. The skunk looked over to where the sunlight hit: a cabinet on a cedar desk, which amazingly has not been upturned like everything else in the room.

Letting his curiosity wash over him, Keith grabbed the cabinet. Giving the aged cabinet a few sharp tugs, it finally came loose, revealing its contents: a small green box. The skunk opened the box, letting out a gasp of surprise as he did.

Inside laid two daggers, one white and one black, both of which looked fit for any warrior. Both glimmered with radiance, as if they were untouched by the seasons of dust and age. But those weren't the only objects in the box.

Also inside the box laid a chain necklace with a steel nametag on it. Keith read the name to himself quietly. "Lucius" Another memory popped into his head as he did, causing him to smile. "T-That's my name…I'm Lucius!"

After what seemed like an eternity of gazing at his new gifts, Keith tucked his daggers into his belt and put his necklace around his neck. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel great strength. "Mother, Father, Martin, thank you."

Isaac crouched behind the bushes as he formulated a plan. A young female hare was surrounded by two weasels, a rat, and a stoat.

"This neck o' th' woods ain't fer rabbit types like you" snarled one of the weasels as he brandished his rapier.

"First of all, I'm a hare, not a rabbit!" corrected the hare. "And second, I'm not afraid to use my dagger on you scum!"

"Well neither am I!" snickered the rat as he pulled out his rusty dagger.

"I-I'm warnin' ye!" stuttered the hare. "I'm a Long Patrol hare and I'm trained in the art of battlin'!" The truth was, however, she had very little experience with a weapon.

"I say we gut 'er!" said the other weasel.

"I think we should skin 'er alive!" suggested the stoat.

"Ah say ye should let thae princess go!" said Isaac as he walked up to the vermin.

"Hey, where'd yew come from?" snarled the rat. "An' wot's this talk about a princess?"

"Ah'm talkin' aboot letting yon princess go," answered Isaac. "Right princess?" The vermin missed the highlander's sly wink to the hare.

"Um, yes, that's right!" said the hare. "Release me at once!"

"Huh, yew don't look like a princess" said one of the weasels skeptically.

"Och, ne'er judge a book by its cover," said Isaac as he shook his head. "O' course, ye vermin probably ne'er even clasped yer peepers on a book in all yer season. Look, let's strike a wee bargin. If ye release thae princess, then ah'll lead ye to where 'er treasure is!" The very mention of treasure captured the vermin's attention as it tantalized their greed.

"Where is it?" demanded the stoat.

"Ah'll only tell ye if ye let thae princess go" answered Isaac.

The rat grabbed the hare and held his dagger at her throat. "How about I keep an eye on princess while yew leads us to the treasure!"

The hedgehog shrugged. "Fair enough ah guess. Follow me!"

After a few minutes of walking, Isaac held out a paw, signaling the vermin to stop. ""Ere we are!" The vermin looked around, thoroughly confused.

"Where's the treasure?" asked one of the weasels.

"Well ye can't find the treasure without thae key!" answered Isaac.

"Alright then, where's the key?" asked the rat who, like the other vermin, were beginning to lose his patience.

Isaac pointed to a beehive hanging from a high branch. "It's in there!"

"Why th' bloody 'ell would ye put a key in a beehive?" asked the stoat as he itched his head with confusion.

"Ah believe thae question is 'why wouldn't ye put a key in a beehive'" corrected Isaac.

"Jus' go an' get the key already!" shouted the rat.

Isaac winked at him impudently. "Only if ye release thae princess!"

"Fine! Not like she's gonna go anywhere with us around" muttered the rat as one of the weasels released his grip on her.

"Alright then!" said Isaac cheerfully as he began his ascent. "But no peekin' up mah kilt!" The vermin pulled faces of disgust as Isaac shaked his plump backside at the vermin before he continued up the tree.

"Why would we look up there?" asked one of the weasels. At this point, Isaac was already on the branch where the beehive hung.

The stoat snickered wickedly. "Hehehe! That bloated 'edgepig's gonna be even more of a pincushion after the bees have their way wi' 'im!"

One of the weasels chuckle. "Ha! I bet he falls on 'is 'ead!" Isaac, however, made it all the way to the beehive without any trouble. None of the bees even tried to sting him!

Isaac plucked the beehive off the branch. "Okay then, 'ere's the key! Catch!" With that said, the highlander hurled the beehive. Luckily, the hare was fast on her paws, allowing her to dodge just in time. The vermin, however, weren't so lucky, especially the rat. The beehive blew apart as it connected with his head.

The hedgehog took his time descending the tree, knowing that the vermin were too incapacitated with stinging bees to be concerned with him or the hare. "Come on lassie, let's leave these fools alone." The two hurried off, letting the vermin futilely swipe at the bees.

"Thanks so much for saving me!" said the hare as she and Isaac walked through Mossflower Wood.

"Och, 'twas no trouble at all!" replied the highlander. "The name's Isaac, Isaac Ashford. And you are?"

"Alice Rosemary DeSilva," answered Alice. "Runner for the Long Patrol."

"'Tis a guid thing ye showed up," said Isaac. "Some woodlanders were startin' tae think ye weren't showin' up! Well, not me of course!"

"The Lady Rhea and the regiment are only a few hours behind me and my brother" said Alice. At the mention of her brother, Alice slapped a paw on her forehead. "Oh corks, I'm supposed to be lookin' for him!"

"Don't ye worry ye pretty lil' face" said Isaac. "Ah'll help ye find 'im. Oh, thae reminds me, ah have te go get Keith! Let's see, which way did we come from?"

Ignatius slowed his pace, unsure of which way to go. "Everything looks the blinkin' same! I'm goin' in circles!" As he once again passed an oddly-shaped bush for the thousandth time, he decided to go left instead of right.

The hare looked about the forested area. "Okay, I think this part's different…" He suddenly stopped as he saw a door begin to open a few yards away from him. Diving behind a nearby bush, he watched as somebeast walk out into the open.

The creature was of the likes of which he had never seen before. The creature looked like a small badger with a large, voluminous tail and a much stronger scent. Ignatius could only think of one thing. "That must be some sort of stink weasel trying to pass of for a bloomin' badger!

The hare drew his dagger. "Well, looks like I'll just have to teach 'im a lesson Long Patrol style, wot!" Ignatius burst out of the bushes, charging at the black and white creature as he bellowed the Long Patrol war cry. Eulaliaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

I haven't written a chapter this long in a while. Also, I've received a lot of complaints about Keith's name being Keith so i hope this chapter helped! I had fun writing the Isaac's part of the story. I hope you know who Ignatius was referring to when he was talking about the black and white furred creature. He's definitely in for a surprise! What will happen, somebeast getting skunked? A battle? A funny scene? Either one could happen in the next chapter! Please R&R!