The group ran towards the tribe's palisade, their arboreal pursuer not far behind.

Tiwaz walked through the opened gate, bow in paw as he watched the squirrel descend to the ground behind Pearl and the kids.

Nocking an arrow to his bowstring, he pulled it to his ear and loosed the iron-tipped missile.

The squirrel shrieked in agony as the arrow pierced through his knee, sending him to the ground, writhing in agony.

Tiwaz ran to Azalea, embracing the frightened little otter as a pair of rats and a stoat surrounded the stricken squirrel.

The squirrel scowled at the vermin, swiping at them with his sling.

The stoat chuckled as the cord struck his boot ineffectually, driving the butt of his spear into the squirrel's stomach.

The rats pulled the squirrel to his knee, laughing as he screamed in pain.

"Are you okay?", Tiwaz asked as he held Azalea.

The little otter nodded, still gripping her guardian tightly.

"What's going on?", Iblis asked as he walked up to the commotion, seeing the wounded squirrel on his knees.

"Vermin!", the squirrel snarled, spitting on the chieftain.

Iblis responded by striking the woodlander in the mouth with his mace.

"Raarrrgghh!", the squirrel howled as his incisors were knocked out, flying through the air in a spray of blood.

"Bind him.", Iblis ordered a pair of ferrets. "We'll deal with him later."

"What happened?", Tiwaz asked Pearl.

"The squirrel was in our territory, watching us.", the vixen replied. "I threw an ash cloud at him and he fell out of the tree, then chased us back here."

Iblis growled in irritation as he glared down at the bound squirrel.

The squirrel responded by spitting on the rat's boots as he matched the larger rodent's glare.

Iblis calmly wiped his boots off, then retaliated with his mace.

Crack!

The squirrel gasped in agony as the weapon's steel head cracked his collarbone in two, causing him to pass out from the pain.

"Take him away.", Iblis ordered, gesturing to the pair of ferrets.

The mustelids nodded in acknowledgement and dragged the squirrel away, still screaming and cursing at the vermin.