Angola-centric chapter, though I tried to fit in a brief blurb about Redwall. Oh well. Anyway, Adah's loyalties again put to the test, we meet the alluded to vermin, and a friendly chat between Mathoni and Kani that I'll be building on in later chapters. Oh, and if some of the names I list in this chpt. seem familiar...well...they should. ;)
Chapter 24
As the afternoon wore on, the late afternoon light shone brightly into study, traveling through the room's impressive window. Standing in front of the window, looking out it at the land of Angola beyond was Methusael. He wasn't so much enjoying the view at the moment, but thinking. He had new information that was both good and bad, and there were several ways he could choose to respond to it.
He knew how he wanted to respond to it. But he wanted a second opinion first.
At that moment, there was a knock on the chamber door. Methusael glanced back at it, half-grinning.
"Enter." he called.
The door opened, and Adah entered calmly. The vixen hadn't taken recent events well; Methusael suspected that the strain all of it was grated against her conscience. Her face seemed to be perpetually grim and depressed now, and she seemed altogether worn down. She probably needed time to bounce back from the ordeal, but at the moment, Methusael couldn't afford that.
He wasn't lying when he said he needed her help.
"Yes, milord?" Adah greeted flatly upon her entry, shutting the door behind her. "What is it you wanted?"
Methusael couldn't help but grin at the fact that Adah was already referring to him as the lord of the land, but it was short lived. He picked up a piece of parchment that was lying before him on the desk, and held it up.
"The message," he began, "that I received from my hired paws. I've been giving it a lot of thought, I think that I need to take action upon it."
Adah frowned. "I disagree."
"I know you do. Which is why I'm telling you first."
"Why, so you can rub it in? Cause me more grief that I've already got?"
"So bitter, Adah..."
"I've done several things that I'm not proud of recently, Methusael." Adah gave the fox a glare. "Because of you."
"I appreciate it, nonetheless."
"That's not my point."
"Nor is it mine. Adah, if my sources are to be believed, Kani is getting away."
"Then let him. Isn't that what you wanted? For him to go away?"
"If I let him go, he could just make things worse than they already are."
"Methusael, you promised me you wouldn't hurt him. That was our deal."
"The deal was that I wouldn't hurt him if I could help it." Methusael cooly, turned to face Adah. "Already, my plans have hit far too many hitches for my liking. From the beginning, I never planned to hurt Kani, you should know that. I merely wanted to...force him...out of the way. But plans changed. The rebellion occurred unexpectedly. Threw a wild card into the mix. Kani reacted accordingly, and he wasn't where I needed him to be when I took over. In fact, it forced me to act sooner that I would've liked." he started towards Adah. "It's bad enough that I have to deal with the rebellion. I don't need whatever Kani will bring down upon me on top of that."
"That wasn't our deal." Adah pressed bitterly, maintaining eye contact with Methusael. "Kani is out of the way, you got what you wanted. Now please, just leave him alone!"
"I can't do that!" Methusael said, confronting her. "Not until I'm sure he won't come back to haunt me!" he suddenly turned his back to her and walked back to the desk. "He may have left to gather help to retake Angola from my control, and I can't permit that!"
"You don't know that!"
"Exactly why I need to take action, now, before it's much too late." Methusael sat into the chair behind the desk. "I'm giving the order to take Kani down."
"If Kani dies, then you loose me too." Adah said determinedly.
"I wish it didn't have to come to that."
"But it will. And you know it's no empty threat, either. You said it yourself, you need me, for whatever accursed plans you have left! So long as it stays to that, you have me under your control! But if you go after Kani, you'll loose that control."
"I wouldn't let you get away with it."
"I don't expect you to. I wouldn't underestimate the damage I could do before that, however."
Methusael narrowed his eyes at her, but couldn't reprimand him. She had every right to act like this, even to try and blackmail him like this. And she did have some good points, and he really did want her under his control still. He couldn't afford to loose it, not now.
She knew too much.
He reluctant to let her have her way, though. "Kani left the land for a reason." he finally said after a long pause. "Neither could know with one hundred percent certainty what that reason is. I think he's gone to seek help, to rally together an army to use to take back Angola and settle the score we have between us."
"And I say you're wrong." Adah said bitterly. "You know how close we were. I know you recommended against it, but it happened anyway. But because of it, I know Kani better than you certainly do. I can have a pretty good idea what that reason might be."
"Oh?" Methusael didn't look convinced. "And what do you think it is?"
"That Kani sees that he's been beaten. We all knew how much confidence he had lost in himself being the lord of Angola. All of this will only subtract from it more. He won't have anything left to use against you. I'm honestly surprised he's even still sane, the grief for him must be terrible." At this point, Adah allowed herself to shed a tear for Kani before regaining her composure and continuing. "My point is that Kani won't have any will left to fight you. The only thing left for him to do other than turn himself in is to get far, far, away while he still has the chance and start life anew, and seek peace."
Methusael still didn't look convinced. So Adah added the clincher.
"According to your own sources, Kani left heading west." Adah looked levelly at Methusael. "Towards Mossflower Country. A land we know to be a peaceful land. This not only supports my theory, but do you really think Kani would head there to rally an army? An army out of peaceful woodlanders who probably wouldn't know how to hold a sword?"
Methusael paused, not having considered this. "But," he said, having one last point to make, "this is all only theoretical."
"Maybe so, but the argument still carries." Adah said with one final glare.
Methusael glared back, not liking her manipulating him like this, but knowing he couldn't resist it without consequences. "Fine." he said finally. "Have our messenger spread the word. But the moment I discover that things are going otherwise to your claims, Adah, I will take action. Regardless of what you do in response."
Adah nodded. "Understood." she said. "Therefore, seeing that there's no real reason to continue discussing this any further, I bid you good day, your lordship." And with an unreadable grin, she turned and exited.
Out beyond the southern borders of Angola resided the vermin camp. It was a simple thing, composed of only a campfire, some blankets used for bedding, some food and other supplies, and a smattering of some personal belongings, and nothing more. These vermin believed in traveling light. Their line of employment demanded such a thing. Besides, if they needed to move, they could be moving again within moments.
Besides, there wasn't much in the group. No more than three creatures. One was a rat, the only female in the group, another was a ferret, and the third was a weasel. They were good enough at what they did that they didn't need any more creatures than that. They had a reputation as such, hence why their employer hired them on the spot, the moment he found out about them. He had been quite pleased with their work thus far. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual.
The group was waiting on a response from their employer before acting again, and he was taking his dear sweet time about it.
"If he doesn't hurry and send a response, we'll won't be able to catch up with that stupid creature." the ferret remarked hotly as he cooked a plucked woodpigeon on a spit over the fire.
"I'm sure he has his reasons for the delay." the rat said from across the campsite, working on making new arrows, identical to the kind the Angolians used. "Perhaps he simply has been too busy, and hasn't gotten around to the matter yet."
"Hardly." the weasel said with a snort, he simply sat on a tree stump, doing nothing but thinking. "The reason for the delay is because he is seeking the opinion of another, Aurora."
The rat, named Aurora, glanced up at the weasel. "And what makes you so sure of that, Grim?" she asked hotly.
"Simple logic." the weasel, Grim, remarked. "Our employer the knows the seriousness of the creature who left the land. He can't afford to wait, for the very reason Sais stated. Wait too long and he'll get away. The only logical reason for the delay, then, is that he is asking another for his opinion."
"Okay, but who's and why?" Aurora asked, curious.
Grim merely shrugged.
"Aw, I don't care about any of that." the ferret, Sais, said, lifting the woodpigeon out of the fire and blowing on it. "All I care about is whether or not we get paid, in full."
"Our employer promised our fee, doubled." Aurora said, turning back to making arrows. "He will fulfill that promise." she paused. "Even if we have to use force."
"Ha-ha, aye, wouldn't mind seeing that twit's blood on my blade." Sais remarked with a chortle.
"There is more to our reason for being than that, Sais." Grim remarked calmly.
"Oh, come now, Grim, you can't like that creature anymore than me." Sais said, biting into the woodpigeon with a frown.
"He's right, though, Sais." Aurora stated. "We are mercenaries. Our job is to do what we're asked, no questions asked. Regardless of what our employers think of us. And regardless of what we think of them. Furthermore, we bear the names of vermin warriors of old, who lived many seasons well before us, and fought as valiant warriors that we as vermin should be proud of. Some even gave up their lives for it. That is what we are here to do."
"Carry on their legacy, I know." Sais mumbled, nibbling at the woodpigeon still. "Still, can't a creature have the right to an opinion?"
"Somebeast is coming." Grim suddenly announced without looking up.
Sais and Aurora turned in time to see a cloaked creature enter the camp with his head down. The cloak successfully hid the creature, never really revealing who he was, nor his species. The vermin didn't care about that, however, but what the creature did. He was their messenger delivering messages to them from Methusael himself.
"Finally!" Sais said, racing over to the messenger to grab the parchment he carried in his paw. "I'm tired of sitting on my tail waiting for an answer! Now we'll actually get to do something!"
Moments before he could grab it, though, Grim suddenly appeared and snatched it deftly from the messenger. The messenger then bowed and departed. Sais gave Grim a glare.
"Hey, I was gonna get that!" he wined, trying to reach over Sais's shoulder to grab the parchment.
Grim simply kept it at arm's length from Sais. "I will read the note." he said flatly, and then knocked Sais aside.
"So what's it say, Grim?" Aurora asked, setting aside the arrows she was making and stepping over.
Grim didn't respond while he read the lettering on the parchment. "It would appear we are to let the fox go." he said.
"What?" Sais asked, surprised. "I thought the whole reason we were doing this was to get rid of that fox our employer wants so desperately dead. Kanis...or whatever his name was."
"Kani." Grim corrected flatly. "And we have orders to instead stay here and let him go."
"Does he say why?" Aurora asked, also puzzled.
"No." Grim stated, tossing the parchment into the fire to destroy the evidence. "But he does assign us to begin looking for possible Angolian rebels so we can begin eradicating them."
"Well, good, I think I have a few ideas about some of those mice." Aurora said.
"Better than nothing, I suppose." Sais agreed, picking up his sword. "We ready to go, then?"
That evening, having only covered about a fraction of distance that they would've had they could've gone by foot, Mathoni and Kani made camp beside the side of the river. While Mathoni prepared a simple meal using some of his rations, Kani sat at the side of the river, chucking stones into the water.
"We're going too slow." he grumbled. "We could've been halfway there by now if we had taken the boat."
"Mebbe even further, considerin' that we' would've been goin' downstream." Mathoni said with a shrug, unconcerned as he poured the soup he had prepared into a bowl and bringing it over to Kani. "Anyways, it's not so bad. We'll get there eventually."
"Hmm." Kani grunted, sipping at the soup, then glancing into it. "Hotroot soup?"
"An' watershrimp." Mathoni added brightly before swigging his bowl of soup.
"Ah, that explains why I have the sudden urge to drink the ocean to soothe my burning mouth."
"Nah, ye wouldn't want t' do that, yore lordship, much too salty."
Kani didn't comment, and instead drank a few pawfuls of river water before falling silent for a few moments. "Mathoni, what's Redwall like?" he asked suddenly.
Mathoni paused to think. "Hmm, well, yore lordship, it's an abbey." he said with a shrug. "It's big, it's red, an' it has walls." he shrugged. "That's Redwall."
"I don't mean in appearance, I can more or less picture that on my own." Kani said, grinning at the otter's simple logic. "I mean...what is it like to live there?"
Mathoni grinned. "Well, yore lordship, I doubt ye could find a happier place." he said. "We're all kind off...one big family in a way. Most of us are just creatures who 'ad a bit of bad luck in life, an' come t' Redwall t' start over. Some 'ad no 'omes t' speak of before they arrived at Redwall, whereas now they do. We welcome everybody, we 'elp everybody, we're just all around nice creatures."
"And if you're proof of that, then I don't doubt it." Kani said.
"An' that's just th' beginnin' yore lordship. It's not just the creatures that are good, but everythin'! Especially th' food! Wait 'till ye try 'un oof our feasts. Mmmm! Ye wouldn't be hungry again for days, the food is good!"
Kani kept on grinning. "Sounds wonderful." he remarked, then sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't plan on staying for anything like a feast. I intend to arrive, gather the forces I need to overtake Methusael, then take back what is rightfully mine." he sighed. "Though I wish it didn't have to be that way. Redwall sounds wonderful."
"It is, yore lordship." Mathoni agreed with a nod.
They were silent for a moment.
"Mathoni?" Kani began again suddenly. "Please call me Kani and not 'your lordship'. I'm not the lord of anything at the moment, and I never liked the title anyway."
Mathoni nodded. "Okay yore lord–er, Kani." he replied, with a grin. "Maybe I'll just call ye me matey."
Kani grinned back. "That'd be fine." he replied, and he meant it.