Part Two: Ambush
"By my auntie's bonnet, 'tis stopped rainin', chaps!"
These words made the Long Patrol look up at the sky immediately, previously glum faces bright with cheer.
"So it has! Well spotted, Frillin!"
"Compliment 'im? By all means, Major, y'kin berate an' chide 'im all y'want, but compliment? Ah well, the sun's come out anyway, eh, Dart?"
"Seasons o' Salamandastron, Cap'n, all hail the sun, wot!"
"Whoopee!"
Whirl hurled himself down the steep him, enjoying the damp but soft grass after a long, tiring march. After he stopped rolling around, he busied himself in hugging the grass and praising the sun. "Oh sweet sun, I'll ne'er take you fer granted agin! Hail the bright, burnin' sun, chaps an' chapesses, dun e'er be hidden by them nasty, rain- filled clouds agin!"
Captain Imerilane clapped a paw to her mouth to prevent from laughing out loud as she watched Whirl and his curious actions. The young hare had begun doing cartwheels, hooting loudly. Winsah smiled as he joined the captain, a tight smile upon his face. Imerilane turned to the sergeant to speak to him.
"Look at the rascal, rollin' about like a mole that's been unner water fer so long an' 'as finally seen land. Well, technically, we are, somewhat, but y'know wot I mean."
Sergeant Winsah nodded in agreement, eyeing the young recruit as he began doing flips and rolls in the grass.
"Aye, look at 'im go! Sort o' makes you wish that y'weren't a respected offisah so y'could join 'im, eh?"
Imerilane agreed instantly, smirking as Dart ran down and joined the Galloper on the grass, contributing his own share of tosses and twirls.
"Yes, Sar'nt, I sometimes miss those days of young!"
Dart whooped loudly as he did a semi-cartwheel, landing on his back instead of his footpaws. He waved to the officers from his position on the ground, grinning wildly.
"I say, chaps, y'sure are missin' some fun, wot! Praise the bally sun! Haha!"
The irrepressible hare immediately dodged out of the way when Flimipaw went catapulting down the hill, shouting and whooping.
"Woohoo!"
Lieutenant Frillin grinned cheerfully and did a skip run down the hill, calling out behind his shoulder, "If'n y' can't beat 'em, join 'em!"
**
Soon, almost all the recruits of the Long Patrol were on the hill, rolling about. Cramber had joined them amid his injured footpaw, and was rolling about as if with no care in the world, but still careful enough to make sure nothing happened to his footpaw. Even the Major was attempting a small caper, but he mostly just sat back and watched. Now only Blackstarr and Captain Imerilane were left. The Captain had never joined them to begin with, and the camouflage expert had joined her on the top of the hill for a short rest.
"Whew, rollin' about sure does take the life outa yer, eh, Cap'n!"
Imerilane nodded absently, her eyes darting around restlessly, paw near her dirk in case of an emergency. Amid the hoots and shouts of the other patrollers, it was considerably quiet, and that bothered the captain. A lot.
"Hmm? Oh, er, yes, of course it does, Blackstarr."
Blackstarr raised an eyebrow. His curiosity always did get the better of him. "Wot is it, marm? Some botherin' ye?"
The captain turned to Blackstarr and nodded, keeping her voice low.
"Blackstarr, I 'ave a bad feelin' 'bout this. Out in the open, we 'ave a terrible chance of bein' attacked. Mindless rabble they are, rolling 'bout with no attentiveness on what could 'appen. Gets me nervous jus' thinkin' 'bout it."
The camouflage expert chortled slightly at the idea of Imerilane being nervous. The captain made quite a perilous figured, and it was hard imagining her being nervous about anything.
"Dun worry, Cap'n. Here, I'll go down there an' tell 'em yore thoughts. Like th'ole sayin' goes, united we stand.er.I ferget th'rest, but y'know what I mean."
With that, Blackstarr bounced down the hill. Captain Imerilane nodded and watched the brown-furred hare dash down the hill, but a rustle from the shrubs at the right broke her gaze. The Captain slid back into the shadows slowly, watching the shrubs closely. Faintly, dark figures could be made out, watching the patrol closely. A buff, though short, figure was at the head of the squad. Dart had left his bow and quiver of arrows on the hill top so he could avoid damaging them, and Imerilane grabbed them quickly. The officer narrowed her eyes and bent down, slowly bobbing and weaving towards the right, careful to make no sound.
**
Blackstarr approached Major Embaril, who was looking around at his surroundings. He turned to the 'Shadow of Salamandastron' and frowned slightly.
"I don't like the feel of this, young sir. Too quiet."
Blackstarr smiled crookedly, pointed a paw at the rolling and tumbling patrollers and said, "Hah, y'call that too quiet, sah? Anyway, yessers, th'cap'n was thinkin' th'same thing. Said that we should be careful an' not let our guard down, sah."
The Major's head shot up to the top of the hill, expecting to see Captain Imerilane standing there. Embaril quickly dodged out of the way as an arrow shot past, grazing his cheek. Blackstarr turned immediately, eyes gazing around the top of the hill. His paw gripped on the hilt of his rapier and he was about to unsheathe it, but a small snicker set him still.
"I wouldn't do that, longears, lessen y'want yer Major here t'have a missin' 'ead."
A small band of rats immerged from the bushes. Each one wore a malicious grin. With them was a weasel archer, bow set upon string, aimed for Major Embaril's neck. The weasel smirked confidently as he added, "An' I ne'er miss."
A rat, who seemed to be the leader of the band, nodded and pointed a dirty paw at Blackstarr, glaring at him through narrowed yellow eyes.
"Now put th'weapon down an' we won't hurt yer poor Major."
The rest of the patrol had stopped rolling around, and all eyes were on the Major. No hare dared to move, in fear that the archer might make his move. Embaril growled, eyes flickering over to the direction where Blackstarr was.
"Don't do it."
The camouflage expert blinked. He had been on the verge of putting the rapier down. Instead, he kept it by his side as the Major ordered. Even in a perilous situation such as this, listening to the upper officer was important. Until a certain bowstring drew tauter.
"You move another inch wid that blade an' Major longears here is dead rabbits meat."
"Don't put it down."
Blackstarr choked on a sob and turned to face Embaril. The rapier clattered to the ground from the hare's paw.
"I kin't jus' let yer die, Major!"
Embaril Burine Rinteran had raised Blackstarr since he was a babe, his parents slain by searats and whatnot. The Major was like his father, and seeing him almost looking death in the eye was too much for the hare. Sinking to his knees, ears drooping, Blackstarr sighed heavily and ran a paw across his eyes, completely aware of the eyes of his fellow comrades glued on his back. The leader of the band nodded, smiling victoriously.
"Loyalty to the leader, always a nice thing. Cagot, keep that bowstring tight. Cile, go down there and see if y'kin pinch us some valuables. Lord Malavice likes loot. After that, we kin take 'em back t' Malavice, see if'n he wants t' keep 'em as hostages."
Cagot the weasel nodded and cackled slightly, but that was his last. A blue fletched arrow hit him like a thunderbolt, and he fell to the ground, slain, an arrow protruding from his back. The rat leader, whose name was Rotfin, blinked in surprise. He bent down to examine the arrow, which saved his life. Rotfin flinched as another arrow flew above his head, piercing a rat behind him. "Stand still, rat, less y'want t'die."
Lieutenant Frillin couldn't stop letting out a hoot as he recognized the voice.
"Wohoo! Cap'n Immi t'the rescue, wot!"
Captain Imerilane sighed, but kept her eyes on Rotfin, giving him no chance to escape. She addressed the lieutenant with a voice laden with annoyance, but that didn't stop him from leaping about in relief.
"Frillin, you're better when you're quiet. And stop that caperin'. Right then, rat, get yer forces lined up, and be quick about it."
As the disappointed rat and his horde formed a line, the boisterous Frillin began chatting away with Imerilane, as if the vermin weren't even there, a grin as wide as Mossflower spread on his face. "I say, Immi, nice timin', ole gel!"
"Call me Immi agin an' I'll rip yer throat out."
"Harsh words fer a 'beautiful captain,' wot! Hahaha!"
"Shut yer gab, Frillin. Now, rat, I want yer t'march yer crew outer here, quickly now. Still here after ten seconds an' I'm firin'. Dun worry, I ne'er miss either."
The captain didn't even bother to count as Rotfin and his crew fled, but not without a shout from the rat leader.
"This isn't the end, rabbit! We'll be back soon 'nough, there's more o' us, see! There's a whole horde o' us back wid Lord Malavice, hundreds an' hundreds. Y'haven't heard th'last o' Cap'n Rotfin o' Malavice's horde, oh no, jus' you wait! He'll get ye all, an' yore precious mountain too!" Cramber blinked as the vermin disappeared.
"Well that was interestin', wot! That rat don't know it, but we learned a blinkin' amount o' information from him."
Major Embaril nodded and motioned the others to sit down in a small circle.
"Right, Cramber. Their leader is called Malavice, and the rat there was Rotfin. By the way Rotfin said things, Malavice is after Salamandastron. There's a lot of them, that's for sure."
Dart nodded and contributed his share. "The blighters can't be that far away, I think, an' they mus' be experienced, 'cos they were able t'sneak up on us like that an' take us by surprise, wot! Good job Cap'n's serious an' wotnot, else we'd been dead or end up hostage."
Captain Imerilane shrugged modestly. "Well, I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if you all 'adn't started goofin' 'round. Now, wot's our plan, troops?"
Flimipaw supplied them with the answer to the captain's question.
"First, we should get the information to Lord Winterele, so Whirl's going to be gone from the rest of us for a while. While he's on his trip, I think we should try to gather up more information, then get back to the mountain also. What do you all say?"
"Simple but nice, I likes it," Blackstarr said. He had recovered from his little breakdown, and was back to normal again. "Righto, so we'll get yer things ready an' ye'll be off, Whirl. Tell 'em that a large group o' vermin, led by some beast named Malavice, is headin' o'er. We'll be gatherin' more info, then we'll be back soon. Got it?"
Whirl nodded. He had already started packing himself some provisions when he had heard Flimipaw say his name.
"Clear as rain, ole chap. Any last commands afore I go?"
Sergeant Winsah winked and patted the Galloper on the back good-naturedly.
"Tell 'em ne'er t'take the sun fer granted agin, m'laddo. Righto, yer off now. See y'soon, young sir!" Galloper Whirl nodded and waved at everyone, sending each his regards before he sprinted off. Flimipaw waved him off, then once he was out of sight, sighed.
"I hope he gets to the mountain without any trouble."
**
Air raced past Whirl as he ran forward, eyes set above on the peak of Salamandastron. He would be able to make it to his home in another day if he continued to run at that speed and only took short breaks. The Galloper repeated to himself what he was to say to Lord Winterele when he got to Salamandastron, trying to remember exactly what Blackstarr had told him to say.
"M'lud, there's a large group o' Malavice over by vermin heading led. Wait a tick, that's not it. There's a large group o'led heading vermin by over. Agh, memory was ne'er me strong point. Lesse, there's a large group o' vermin led by Malavice and they're heading o'er to Salamandastron. The patrol is gatherin' more jolly info, an' will be back soon. There, that's it. Eeks!"
The hare halted to a stop as he approached a fence of weeds, a few trees around. Taking caution, his ears perked up, picking up the voices that came from the other side of the fence.
"After Malavice an' th'others git here, it's off t'the mountain fer us."
"Aye, th'attack on the mountain can't be held back much longer."
"Th'stoat'll surely lead us t'victory. There's a warlord 'oo knows wot he's doin'."
"Haharr, well said Blackfang. 'Tis fair sailin' after we win th'mountain!"
Whirl clenched his fists in anger, and had half the mind to step into the camp and teach the vermin a thing or two. Still, he pushed the thought out of his mind and backed away from the camp slowly and was about to stroll around the weeds to continue on when a shout reached his ears.
"There, 'tis a bunny from th'mountain!"
Whirl turned and slapped his forehead. The group of vermin had sent out a foraging party, and the party had returned. Soon, Whirl was surrounded by a score of rats, weasels, and whatnot. Adopting a Salamandastron fighting stance, the Galloper grimaced as he faced the group. Each vermin had a smug smile upon their face, seeing as there was only one. However, a volley of arrows made the smile their last. From behind Whirl, a cry rang out and a second volley of arrows followed. The remains of the group bent down and dashed back to their camp, leaving Whirl by himself.
A squirrel dropped from the treetops, a burly male. He wore a simple forest green tunic, most likely to blend in with his surroundings. The squirrel's amber eyes looked over the hare, studying him curiously. Finally, he extended a strong paw, which Whirl shook enthusiastically.
"I'm Birchfire, leader of the Treedance tribe."
Whirl grinned lopsidedly as he replied, "I'm Whirl, Galloper of the Long Patrol."
Birchfire nodded and pointed up at the trees.
"Can you climb?"
"Eh?"
The squirrel chuckled and bounded up a tree with ease, calling down to the hare.
"Can you climb?"
"I can jolly well climb, old lad, but not fast enough to catch up t'you, wot!"
The squirrel nodded and bounced down, landing with ease.
"My tribe's grove is far up ahead, on the path to your home, Salamandastron, I believe. We have heard of your home's troubles and have seen Malavice's large horde. We will aide you most certainly, for against a horde that size, your mountain stands no chance. Now, you are a Galloper, you say? Let's see if you can keep up with a simple treejumper."
With that, the squirrel climbed up the tree again and bounded off from limb to limb. Whirl dashed off after him, trying to keep up and not loose sight of the strange squirrel.
**
Birchfire bounced off from the oak tree he had been sitting on and turned to face the direction he had just came, waiting patiently for Whirl. Finally, the hare Galloper was sighted. He was breathing lightly, though it was plain to see that he was tired. Accepting canteen of water from Birchfire gratefully, the hare took a quick swig.
"Whew, y'sure kin run, old chap. Hard keepin' up, wot!"
The squirrel strolled up ahead, not bothering to reply to the compliment, though the faint reddish color of his cheek indicated that he most certainly heard it.
"Don't drink too much, friend. Follow me."
The hare followed the squirrel, mystified. Birchfire led him to a large cluster of trees with many squirrels about. They all looked up as Birchfire entered. He nodded at them and pointed a paw at Whirl.
"This is Whirl from the mountain Salamandastron. He will be staying with us for a while, and then we will be heading over to Salamandastron to help. Firpine, has the Pridestream been spotted?" A small female squirrel with bright brown eyes nodded and smiled.
"Yes sir. Riversleek's heading over to land, no doubt about it. The old crew will be here soon, including Seekers, who'll be ready to eat us out of our grove and home. Why do you ask?" Birchfire winked at the squirrelmaid as he made his way through the camp, both Firpine and Whirl following him.
"The fire mountain needs all the help it can get, even if it means getting help from that good old pudden-headed riverdog."
**
Riversleek Waterprowl, captain of the vessel Pridestream, stood on deck of his ship, enjoying the evening breeze. A lanky hare was at his side, a light javelin balancing on his paw and a sabre thrust in his belt.
"Been a while since we're seen Birchfire, eh mate?"
Riversleek cuffed the hare's ear playfully as he replied, "Aye, Seekers. He's probably still th'same good ole thick-headed treejumper."
Seekstone Sabreblade Galebreeze, otherwise known as Seekers, chuckled.
"But you're still the same good old pudden-headed riverdog. Hoi, Karisma, how's it going?"
A sturdy harvestmouse was at the stern. Giving the wheel a small turn, she turned her head and winked at the hare roguishly.
"Belay matey, stow the Karisma junk an' call me Kari. It's goin' fine. Smooth sailin', y'know. Ahoy, Thicket, how much further?"
A head peeked down from the ship's mast. It was a squirrel, and his hazel eyes twinkled as he called down to the creatures on the deck.
"Not far, mate. Th'latest we'll git there is dawn. Think they'll welcome us, mate?"
Seekers rubbed his paws together in anticipation and nodded eagerly.
"They'll welcome us all right, mate. Never knew Birchfire not to. But I just hope they welcome us with vittles!"
"By my auntie's bonnet, 'tis stopped rainin', chaps!"
These words made the Long Patrol look up at the sky immediately, previously glum faces bright with cheer.
"So it has! Well spotted, Frillin!"
"Compliment 'im? By all means, Major, y'kin berate an' chide 'im all y'want, but compliment? Ah well, the sun's come out anyway, eh, Dart?"
"Seasons o' Salamandastron, Cap'n, all hail the sun, wot!"
"Whoopee!"
Whirl hurled himself down the steep him, enjoying the damp but soft grass after a long, tiring march. After he stopped rolling around, he busied himself in hugging the grass and praising the sun. "Oh sweet sun, I'll ne'er take you fer granted agin! Hail the bright, burnin' sun, chaps an' chapesses, dun e'er be hidden by them nasty, rain- filled clouds agin!"
Captain Imerilane clapped a paw to her mouth to prevent from laughing out loud as she watched Whirl and his curious actions. The young hare had begun doing cartwheels, hooting loudly. Winsah smiled as he joined the captain, a tight smile upon his face. Imerilane turned to the sergeant to speak to him.
"Look at the rascal, rollin' about like a mole that's been unner water fer so long an' 'as finally seen land. Well, technically, we are, somewhat, but y'know wot I mean."
Sergeant Winsah nodded in agreement, eyeing the young recruit as he began doing flips and rolls in the grass.
"Aye, look at 'im go! Sort o' makes you wish that y'weren't a respected offisah so y'could join 'im, eh?"
Imerilane agreed instantly, smirking as Dart ran down and joined the Galloper on the grass, contributing his own share of tosses and twirls.
"Yes, Sar'nt, I sometimes miss those days of young!"
Dart whooped loudly as he did a semi-cartwheel, landing on his back instead of his footpaws. He waved to the officers from his position on the ground, grinning wildly.
"I say, chaps, y'sure are missin' some fun, wot! Praise the bally sun! Haha!"
The irrepressible hare immediately dodged out of the way when Flimipaw went catapulting down the hill, shouting and whooping.
"Woohoo!"
Lieutenant Frillin grinned cheerfully and did a skip run down the hill, calling out behind his shoulder, "If'n y' can't beat 'em, join 'em!"
**
Soon, almost all the recruits of the Long Patrol were on the hill, rolling about. Cramber had joined them amid his injured footpaw, and was rolling about as if with no care in the world, but still careful enough to make sure nothing happened to his footpaw. Even the Major was attempting a small caper, but he mostly just sat back and watched. Now only Blackstarr and Captain Imerilane were left. The Captain had never joined them to begin with, and the camouflage expert had joined her on the top of the hill for a short rest.
"Whew, rollin' about sure does take the life outa yer, eh, Cap'n!"
Imerilane nodded absently, her eyes darting around restlessly, paw near her dirk in case of an emergency. Amid the hoots and shouts of the other patrollers, it was considerably quiet, and that bothered the captain. A lot.
"Hmm? Oh, er, yes, of course it does, Blackstarr."
Blackstarr raised an eyebrow. His curiosity always did get the better of him. "Wot is it, marm? Some botherin' ye?"
The captain turned to Blackstarr and nodded, keeping her voice low.
"Blackstarr, I 'ave a bad feelin' 'bout this. Out in the open, we 'ave a terrible chance of bein' attacked. Mindless rabble they are, rolling 'bout with no attentiveness on what could 'appen. Gets me nervous jus' thinkin' 'bout it."
The camouflage expert chortled slightly at the idea of Imerilane being nervous. The captain made quite a perilous figured, and it was hard imagining her being nervous about anything.
"Dun worry, Cap'n. Here, I'll go down there an' tell 'em yore thoughts. Like th'ole sayin' goes, united we stand.er.I ferget th'rest, but y'know what I mean."
With that, Blackstarr bounced down the hill. Captain Imerilane nodded and watched the brown-furred hare dash down the hill, but a rustle from the shrubs at the right broke her gaze. The Captain slid back into the shadows slowly, watching the shrubs closely. Faintly, dark figures could be made out, watching the patrol closely. A buff, though short, figure was at the head of the squad. Dart had left his bow and quiver of arrows on the hill top so he could avoid damaging them, and Imerilane grabbed them quickly. The officer narrowed her eyes and bent down, slowly bobbing and weaving towards the right, careful to make no sound.
**
Blackstarr approached Major Embaril, who was looking around at his surroundings. He turned to the 'Shadow of Salamandastron' and frowned slightly.
"I don't like the feel of this, young sir. Too quiet."
Blackstarr smiled crookedly, pointed a paw at the rolling and tumbling patrollers and said, "Hah, y'call that too quiet, sah? Anyway, yessers, th'cap'n was thinkin' th'same thing. Said that we should be careful an' not let our guard down, sah."
The Major's head shot up to the top of the hill, expecting to see Captain Imerilane standing there. Embaril quickly dodged out of the way as an arrow shot past, grazing his cheek. Blackstarr turned immediately, eyes gazing around the top of the hill. His paw gripped on the hilt of his rapier and he was about to unsheathe it, but a small snicker set him still.
"I wouldn't do that, longears, lessen y'want yer Major here t'have a missin' 'ead."
A small band of rats immerged from the bushes. Each one wore a malicious grin. With them was a weasel archer, bow set upon string, aimed for Major Embaril's neck. The weasel smirked confidently as he added, "An' I ne'er miss."
A rat, who seemed to be the leader of the band, nodded and pointed a dirty paw at Blackstarr, glaring at him through narrowed yellow eyes.
"Now put th'weapon down an' we won't hurt yer poor Major."
The rest of the patrol had stopped rolling around, and all eyes were on the Major. No hare dared to move, in fear that the archer might make his move. Embaril growled, eyes flickering over to the direction where Blackstarr was.
"Don't do it."
The camouflage expert blinked. He had been on the verge of putting the rapier down. Instead, he kept it by his side as the Major ordered. Even in a perilous situation such as this, listening to the upper officer was important. Until a certain bowstring drew tauter.
"You move another inch wid that blade an' Major longears here is dead rabbits meat."
"Don't put it down."
Blackstarr choked on a sob and turned to face Embaril. The rapier clattered to the ground from the hare's paw.
"I kin't jus' let yer die, Major!"
Embaril Burine Rinteran had raised Blackstarr since he was a babe, his parents slain by searats and whatnot. The Major was like his father, and seeing him almost looking death in the eye was too much for the hare. Sinking to his knees, ears drooping, Blackstarr sighed heavily and ran a paw across his eyes, completely aware of the eyes of his fellow comrades glued on his back. The leader of the band nodded, smiling victoriously.
"Loyalty to the leader, always a nice thing. Cagot, keep that bowstring tight. Cile, go down there and see if y'kin pinch us some valuables. Lord Malavice likes loot. After that, we kin take 'em back t' Malavice, see if'n he wants t' keep 'em as hostages."
Cagot the weasel nodded and cackled slightly, but that was his last. A blue fletched arrow hit him like a thunderbolt, and he fell to the ground, slain, an arrow protruding from his back. The rat leader, whose name was Rotfin, blinked in surprise. He bent down to examine the arrow, which saved his life. Rotfin flinched as another arrow flew above his head, piercing a rat behind him. "Stand still, rat, less y'want t'die."
Lieutenant Frillin couldn't stop letting out a hoot as he recognized the voice.
"Wohoo! Cap'n Immi t'the rescue, wot!"
Captain Imerilane sighed, but kept her eyes on Rotfin, giving him no chance to escape. She addressed the lieutenant with a voice laden with annoyance, but that didn't stop him from leaping about in relief.
"Frillin, you're better when you're quiet. And stop that caperin'. Right then, rat, get yer forces lined up, and be quick about it."
As the disappointed rat and his horde formed a line, the boisterous Frillin began chatting away with Imerilane, as if the vermin weren't even there, a grin as wide as Mossflower spread on his face. "I say, Immi, nice timin', ole gel!"
"Call me Immi agin an' I'll rip yer throat out."
"Harsh words fer a 'beautiful captain,' wot! Hahaha!"
"Shut yer gab, Frillin. Now, rat, I want yer t'march yer crew outer here, quickly now. Still here after ten seconds an' I'm firin'. Dun worry, I ne'er miss either."
The captain didn't even bother to count as Rotfin and his crew fled, but not without a shout from the rat leader.
"This isn't the end, rabbit! We'll be back soon 'nough, there's more o' us, see! There's a whole horde o' us back wid Lord Malavice, hundreds an' hundreds. Y'haven't heard th'last o' Cap'n Rotfin o' Malavice's horde, oh no, jus' you wait! He'll get ye all, an' yore precious mountain too!" Cramber blinked as the vermin disappeared.
"Well that was interestin', wot! That rat don't know it, but we learned a blinkin' amount o' information from him."
Major Embaril nodded and motioned the others to sit down in a small circle.
"Right, Cramber. Their leader is called Malavice, and the rat there was Rotfin. By the way Rotfin said things, Malavice is after Salamandastron. There's a lot of them, that's for sure."
Dart nodded and contributed his share. "The blighters can't be that far away, I think, an' they mus' be experienced, 'cos they were able t'sneak up on us like that an' take us by surprise, wot! Good job Cap'n's serious an' wotnot, else we'd been dead or end up hostage."
Captain Imerilane shrugged modestly. "Well, I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if you all 'adn't started goofin' 'round. Now, wot's our plan, troops?"
Flimipaw supplied them with the answer to the captain's question.
"First, we should get the information to Lord Winterele, so Whirl's going to be gone from the rest of us for a while. While he's on his trip, I think we should try to gather up more information, then get back to the mountain also. What do you all say?"
"Simple but nice, I likes it," Blackstarr said. He had recovered from his little breakdown, and was back to normal again. "Righto, so we'll get yer things ready an' ye'll be off, Whirl. Tell 'em that a large group o' vermin, led by some beast named Malavice, is headin' o'er. We'll be gatherin' more info, then we'll be back soon. Got it?"
Whirl nodded. He had already started packing himself some provisions when he had heard Flimipaw say his name.
"Clear as rain, ole chap. Any last commands afore I go?"
Sergeant Winsah winked and patted the Galloper on the back good-naturedly.
"Tell 'em ne'er t'take the sun fer granted agin, m'laddo. Righto, yer off now. See y'soon, young sir!" Galloper Whirl nodded and waved at everyone, sending each his regards before he sprinted off. Flimipaw waved him off, then once he was out of sight, sighed.
"I hope he gets to the mountain without any trouble."
**
Air raced past Whirl as he ran forward, eyes set above on the peak of Salamandastron. He would be able to make it to his home in another day if he continued to run at that speed and only took short breaks. The Galloper repeated to himself what he was to say to Lord Winterele when he got to Salamandastron, trying to remember exactly what Blackstarr had told him to say.
"M'lud, there's a large group o' Malavice over by vermin heading led. Wait a tick, that's not it. There's a large group o'led heading vermin by over. Agh, memory was ne'er me strong point. Lesse, there's a large group o' vermin led by Malavice and they're heading o'er to Salamandastron. The patrol is gatherin' more jolly info, an' will be back soon. There, that's it. Eeks!"
The hare halted to a stop as he approached a fence of weeds, a few trees around. Taking caution, his ears perked up, picking up the voices that came from the other side of the fence.
"After Malavice an' th'others git here, it's off t'the mountain fer us."
"Aye, th'attack on the mountain can't be held back much longer."
"Th'stoat'll surely lead us t'victory. There's a warlord 'oo knows wot he's doin'."
"Haharr, well said Blackfang. 'Tis fair sailin' after we win th'mountain!"
Whirl clenched his fists in anger, and had half the mind to step into the camp and teach the vermin a thing or two. Still, he pushed the thought out of his mind and backed away from the camp slowly and was about to stroll around the weeds to continue on when a shout reached his ears.
"There, 'tis a bunny from th'mountain!"
Whirl turned and slapped his forehead. The group of vermin had sent out a foraging party, and the party had returned. Soon, Whirl was surrounded by a score of rats, weasels, and whatnot. Adopting a Salamandastron fighting stance, the Galloper grimaced as he faced the group. Each vermin had a smug smile upon their face, seeing as there was only one. However, a volley of arrows made the smile their last. From behind Whirl, a cry rang out and a second volley of arrows followed. The remains of the group bent down and dashed back to their camp, leaving Whirl by himself.
A squirrel dropped from the treetops, a burly male. He wore a simple forest green tunic, most likely to blend in with his surroundings. The squirrel's amber eyes looked over the hare, studying him curiously. Finally, he extended a strong paw, which Whirl shook enthusiastically.
"I'm Birchfire, leader of the Treedance tribe."
Whirl grinned lopsidedly as he replied, "I'm Whirl, Galloper of the Long Patrol."
Birchfire nodded and pointed up at the trees.
"Can you climb?"
"Eh?"
The squirrel chuckled and bounded up a tree with ease, calling down to the hare.
"Can you climb?"
"I can jolly well climb, old lad, but not fast enough to catch up t'you, wot!"
The squirrel nodded and bounced down, landing with ease.
"My tribe's grove is far up ahead, on the path to your home, Salamandastron, I believe. We have heard of your home's troubles and have seen Malavice's large horde. We will aide you most certainly, for against a horde that size, your mountain stands no chance. Now, you are a Galloper, you say? Let's see if you can keep up with a simple treejumper."
With that, the squirrel climbed up the tree again and bounded off from limb to limb. Whirl dashed off after him, trying to keep up and not loose sight of the strange squirrel.
**
Birchfire bounced off from the oak tree he had been sitting on and turned to face the direction he had just came, waiting patiently for Whirl. Finally, the hare Galloper was sighted. He was breathing lightly, though it was plain to see that he was tired. Accepting canteen of water from Birchfire gratefully, the hare took a quick swig.
"Whew, y'sure kin run, old chap. Hard keepin' up, wot!"
The squirrel strolled up ahead, not bothering to reply to the compliment, though the faint reddish color of his cheek indicated that he most certainly heard it.
"Don't drink too much, friend. Follow me."
The hare followed the squirrel, mystified. Birchfire led him to a large cluster of trees with many squirrels about. They all looked up as Birchfire entered. He nodded at them and pointed a paw at Whirl.
"This is Whirl from the mountain Salamandastron. He will be staying with us for a while, and then we will be heading over to Salamandastron to help. Firpine, has the Pridestream been spotted?" A small female squirrel with bright brown eyes nodded and smiled.
"Yes sir. Riversleek's heading over to land, no doubt about it. The old crew will be here soon, including Seekers, who'll be ready to eat us out of our grove and home. Why do you ask?" Birchfire winked at the squirrelmaid as he made his way through the camp, both Firpine and Whirl following him.
"The fire mountain needs all the help it can get, even if it means getting help from that good old pudden-headed riverdog."
**
Riversleek Waterprowl, captain of the vessel Pridestream, stood on deck of his ship, enjoying the evening breeze. A lanky hare was at his side, a light javelin balancing on his paw and a sabre thrust in his belt.
"Been a while since we're seen Birchfire, eh mate?"
Riversleek cuffed the hare's ear playfully as he replied, "Aye, Seekers. He's probably still th'same good ole thick-headed treejumper."
Seekstone Sabreblade Galebreeze, otherwise known as Seekers, chuckled.
"But you're still the same good old pudden-headed riverdog. Hoi, Karisma, how's it going?"
A sturdy harvestmouse was at the stern. Giving the wheel a small turn, she turned her head and winked at the hare roguishly.
"Belay matey, stow the Karisma junk an' call me Kari. It's goin' fine. Smooth sailin', y'know. Ahoy, Thicket, how much further?"
A head peeked down from the ship's mast. It was a squirrel, and his hazel eyes twinkled as he called down to the creatures on the deck.
"Not far, mate. Th'latest we'll git there is dawn. Think they'll welcome us, mate?"
Seekers rubbed his paws together in anticipation and nodded eagerly.
"They'll welcome us all right, mate. Never knew Birchfire not to. But I just hope they welcome us with vittles!"