Chapter Thirteen
Vermeng was on the verge of slaying all his former seabeasts out of sheer anger, especially since he had learned that the hare and eagle were a fair way ahead of him. The former weasel corsair pushed his horde and the slaves, who were chained up in a line, harder than before, hoping to catch up to his former slaves. Many of his slaves had been beaten and whipped for falling behind and stumbling, or anything else that dissatisfied Vermeng, which was quite a lot, considering he was in a very bad mood. Dockpetal endured it in silence, unlike the others who cried out in pain. Repeating in his mind that Diathus would save him and the others kept him going on, determined not to give in. The otter turned his head slightly as he marched, and saw Wynde a few spaces behind him, protecting Ariel to the fullest. The squirrel gave Dockpetal a small smile, which he returned immediately, but was replaced by a grimace as a thin whip struck him on the back. As he turned, he came face to face with the ferret Foglute, who had been especially assigned by Vermeng to deal with him and Wynde. Sneering into the otter's non-emotional face, the ferret brought the whip down again, striking one or two inches from his neck, on his shoulder.
"No talkin' or turnin' or smilin' or anythin' o' that sort allowed, orders from Vermeng 'imself! So ye'll do yerself good to keep a straight face an' march for'ard, head faced directly in front o' yerself, unless ye have the desire to be chained separately away from the others an' live on half rations fer the rest o' the time we're on land. So, wot'll it be, otter?"
Ignoring the ferret completely, Dockpetal walked on, head forward, chin up, doing exactly what Foglute had told him too. Foglute spat contemptuously and turned onto his next victim.
"An' ye, squirrel, wot do ye think ye were doin', smilin' at the otter like that? Rules o' the great Vermeng 'imself, no smilin' wotsoever. Unnerstand? Hah, probably don't. Yore jus' a thick headed slave like all the others. Move along now, or else ye'll find me whip across yore back, an' that's not the best thing to have!"
When Foglute had forgotten about him, Dockpetal sighed and closed his eyes pleadingly, still marching. "Diathus, please…save us soon…"
**
"Do you actually think that we'll be able to catch up to Vermeng an' his bally horde? We're pretty far behind, wot!"
Lance, Seventh Spring Runner, gasped for breath as he ran besides Bullet, the Eighth Spring Runner, both running at a quick pace, trying to catch up to Vermeng's horde.
"Well, I dunno, old chum, but I think that we can jolly well make it. We're goin' pretty fast, aren't we?" Bullet grinned as he picked up speed, leaving Lance a fair distance behind. Panting heavily, the hare tried his hardest to keep up. Seeing that his fellow runner was lagging behind, the faster hare dropped his pace down a bit, allowing Lance to catch up, but just barely.
"Bullet me old chap, how can ye run that fast? You can jolly well leave me behind, eatin' yore bally dust!" Lance stared at his companion in amazement as they both ran together at the same speed. Bullet gave a short laugh a he fixed his eyes straight ahead.
"Ha, if you think I'm fast, wait till you see Swiftspeed, wot! He's the fastest hare of Salamandawotsit, an' I've heard that he can run widout stoppin' fer days if he jolly well had the right mind to. Imagine that!" A dreamy sort of smile hovered over the Runner's face as he continued. "Me ambition in life is to grow up to be as fast as Swiftspeed, though I know that I won't have much of a bally chance. I'm practicin', though, an' I think that when he comes home, he'll have the surprise of his life! He's seen me run before, an' he said that I was a pretty fast chap for my age, but wait till he sees me now! I might even be promoted to be a blinkin' Galloper instead of stayin' a jolly Runner, wot!"
Lance smiled encouragingly at his friend. "You have a lot o' chance o' becomin' a Galloper, old chum, and maybe someday you'll get to run beside bally old Swiftspeed, wot!"
"I sure hope so, old chap!"
The two hares were paying so much attention to talking that they had forgotten that they were even running, so when Bullet finally found out they weren't far from Vermeng's camp, he stopped and whistled softly to himself on wonder. He and Lance stopped running and started walking carefully, making sure they weren't making any loud noises. Lance shook his head in amazement as he followed the confident Bullet.
"Distance bally well flies when yore talkin' away, doesn't it, chappy?"
**
Vermeng had finally allowed his horde and the slaves a moment of rest, which they were extremely grateful for. As the hordebeasts gathered up in groups and drank from their canteens of water that were already half empty, while the slaves had to live with only a medium sized beech tree to give them shade. Dockpetal shook his head sadly as he looked around at his surroundings.
"Nice place, this is. Wish I could stay here fer the rest o' me life instead o' goin' back to the Carrassan with Vermeng and the rest o' the lot."
Ariel sighed and plopped down on Wynde's lap, which he said nothing to.
"I wish I could stay here too, but we can't, because we're slaves. I hope we find Diathus soon, so then she can free us all."
"I hope we don't find her."
Dockpetal turned to Wynde in surprise, while Ariel turned around to face the squirrel, bewilderment on her face.
"Why not, Wynde? Don't you want to be free too?"
Wynde sighed and began to draw little figures in the ground absently. "I want to be free, Ariel. Everybeast does. But didn't you hear Vermeng's plan? He wants to use us to lure Di to surrender. You know how much Di cares for us. She'd give her life to save us, but you also know that Vermeng would never let us go. So he'll just trap Diathus, and then she'll be a slave again. They're going to be extra careful, so what other chance do we have of escaping?"
The three friends were silent, all thinking their separate thoughts, which all related to Diathus and freedom.
**
"Come on, old chap, let me see a bit!"
Lance tried looking over Bullet's head to get a full view of what was going on. Bullet pushed his down immediately.
"Do you want the vermin to see yore long ears, y'lil'blighter? Stay still and stay down; you'll only need yore ears for this. Now listen!"
Lance cast the not-much-older hare a nasty glare, muttering to himself ill temperedly.
"Humph, if it only needs ears, then why are you peekin' at 'em? An' wot do you mean 'y'lil'blighter?' I'm not much younger than you, wot!"
"Shush! I'm trying to listen to wot they're saying!"
Turning his attention back onto Vermeng, who was discussing his plans with Foglute, the second in command.
"We'll follow that Dianthy where ever she goes, an' the eagle too. I'll catch them both an' I'll kill them! I'll make their death slow an' painful…"
"If ye mean that hare that escaped, captain, her name's Diathus."
"I don't give a care about wot her name is! I'm catching her an' that's that!"
Bullet turned to Lance, who was still moping about, complaining about not being able to see what was going on.
"Come on, old chap. We got our information, so let's report back to Colonel Arrow."
Lance crossed his arms and pouted. "Humph, didn't get to see anythin' at all; only heard things. 'Tain't fair, y'know, Bullet, that y'get to see an' I…youch!"
Lance, forgetting all about hiding, leapt up and started hopping on one footpaw, the other one with the thorn in it in his paws. Bullet turned around urgently to see vermin looking in their direction, then jumping up and charging at them. A ferret pounced on him, knocking him down flat. They were discovered.
"Lance, run! Hurry, back to Salamandastron!" Bullet grabbed his dirk from his belt and immediately started attacking the ferret on top of him, trying to get up. The ferret wouldn't let him go, though, and he fought back just as hard.
Lance stared at the charging vermin, horrified, then turned to his comrade on the ground. "B-but…wot about you, chum? I can't just-"
"Lance, go, before they get you too! Run for Salamandastron! I'll hold this blinkin' lot off so they don't follow you. Here, take some of this, you nasty ferret. Bet y'don't like bein' on the bottom either, wot! Eulaliiaaaa! S'death on the wind! Eulaliiiiaaaaa!"
The Seventh Spring Runner took one last look at his former companion and sprinted off, running as fast as he could towards Salamandastron.
"Don't worry, Bullet old chum, I'll come back for you!"
Vermeng was on the verge of slaying all his former seabeasts out of sheer anger, especially since he had learned that the hare and eagle were a fair way ahead of him. The former weasel corsair pushed his horde and the slaves, who were chained up in a line, harder than before, hoping to catch up to his former slaves. Many of his slaves had been beaten and whipped for falling behind and stumbling, or anything else that dissatisfied Vermeng, which was quite a lot, considering he was in a very bad mood. Dockpetal endured it in silence, unlike the others who cried out in pain. Repeating in his mind that Diathus would save him and the others kept him going on, determined not to give in. The otter turned his head slightly as he marched, and saw Wynde a few spaces behind him, protecting Ariel to the fullest. The squirrel gave Dockpetal a small smile, which he returned immediately, but was replaced by a grimace as a thin whip struck him on the back. As he turned, he came face to face with the ferret Foglute, who had been especially assigned by Vermeng to deal with him and Wynde. Sneering into the otter's non-emotional face, the ferret brought the whip down again, striking one or two inches from his neck, on his shoulder.
"No talkin' or turnin' or smilin' or anythin' o' that sort allowed, orders from Vermeng 'imself! So ye'll do yerself good to keep a straight face an' march for'ard, head faced directly in front o' yerself, unless ye have the desire to be chained separately away from the others an' live on half rations fer the rest o' the time we're on land. So, wot'll it be, otter?"
Ignoring the ferret completely, Dockpetal walked on, head forward, chin up, doing exactly what Foglute had told him too. Foglute spat contemptuously and turned onto his next victim.
"An' ye, squirrel, wot do ye think ye were doin', smilin' at the otter like that? Rules o' the great Vermeng 'imself, no smilin' wotsoever. Unnerstand? Hah, probably don't. Yore jus' a thick headed slave like all the others. Move along now, or else ye'll find me whip across yore back, an' that's not the best thing to have!"
When Foglute had forgotten about him, Dockpetal sighed and closed his eyes pleadingly, still marching. "Diathus, please…save us soon…"
**
"Do you actually think that we'll be able to catch up to Vermeng an' his bally horde? We're pretty far behind, wot!"
Lance, Seventh Spring Runner, gasped for breath as he ran besides Bullet, the Eighth Spring Runner, both running at a quick pace, trying to catch up to Vermeng's horde.
"Well, I dunno, old chum, but I think that we can jolly well make it. We're goin' pretty fast, aren't we?" Bullet grinned as he picked up speed, leaving Lance a fair distance behind. Panting heavily, the hare tried his hardest to keep up. Seeing that his fellow runner was lagging behind, the faster hare dropped his pace down a bit, allowing Lance to catch up, but just barely.
"Bullet me old chap, how can ye run that fast? You can jolly well leave me behind, eatin' yore bally dust!" Lance stared at his companion in amazement as they both ran together at the same speed. Bullet gave a short laugh a he fixed his eyes straight ahead.
"Ha, if you think I'm fast, wait till you see Swiftspeed, wot! He's the fastest hare of Salamandawotsit, an' I've heard that he can run widout stoppin' fer days if he jolly well had the right mind to. Imagine that!" A dreamy sort of smile hovered over the Runner's face as he continued. "Me ambition in life is to grow up to be as fast as Swiftspeed, though I know that I won't have much of a bally chance. I'm practicin', though, an' I think that when he comes home, he'll have the surprise of his life! He's seen me run before, an' he said that I was a pretty fast chap for my age, but wait till he sees me now! I might even be promoted to be a blinkin' Galloper instead of stayin' a jolly Runner, wot!"
Lance smiled encouragingly at his friend. "You have a lot o' chance o' becomin' a Galloper, old chum, and maybe someday you'll get to run beside bally old Swiftspeed, wot!"
"I sure hope so, old chap!"
The two hares were paying so much attention to talking that they had forgotten that they were even running, so when Bullet finally found out they weren't far from Vermeng's camp, he stopped and whistled softly to himself on wonder. He and Lance stopped running and started walking carefully, making sure they weren't making any loud noises. Lance shook his head in amazement as he followed the confident Bullet.
"Distance bally well flies when yore talkin' away, doesn't it, chappy?"
**
Vermeng had finally allowed his horde and the slaves a moment of rest, which they were extremely grateful for. As the hordebeasts gathered up in groups and drank from their canteens of water that were already half empty, while the slaves had to live with only a medium sized beech tree to give them shade. Dockpetal shook his head sadly as he looked around at his surroundings.
"Nice place, this is. Wish I could stay here fer the rest o' me life instead o' goin' back to the Carrassan with Vermeng and the rest o' the lot."
Ariel sighed and plopped down on Wynde's lap, which he said nothing to.
"I wish I could stay here too, but we can't, because we're slaves. I hope we find Diathus soon, so then she can free us all."
"I hope we don't find her."
Dockpetal turned to Wynde in surprise, while Ariel turned around to face the squirrel, bewilderment on her face.
"Why not, Wynde? Don't you want to be free too?"
Wynde sighed and began to draw little figures in the ground absently. "I want to be free, Ariel. Everybeast does. But didn't you hear Vermeng's plan? He wants to use us to lure Di to surrender. You know how much Di cares for us. She'd give her life to save us, but you also know that Vermeng would never let us go. So he'll just trap Diathus, and then she'll be a slave again. They're going to be extra careful, so what other chance do we have of escaping?"
The three friends were silent, all thinking their separate thoughts, which all related to Diathus and freedom.
**
"Come on, old chap, let me see a bit!"
Lance tried looking over Bullet's head to get a full view of what was going on. Bullet pushed his down immediately.
"Do you want the vermin to see yore long ears, y'lil'blighter? Stay still and stay down; you'll only need yore ears for this. Now listen!"
Lance cast the not-much-older hare a nasty glare, muttering to himself ill temperedly.
"Humph, if it only needs ears, then why are you peekin' at 'em? An' wot do you mean 'y'lil'blighter?' I'm not much younger than you, wot!"
"Shush! I'm trying to listen to wot they're saying!"
Turning his attention back onto Vermeng, who was discussing his plans with Foglute, the second in command.
"We'll follow that Dianthy where ever she goes, an' the eagle too. I'll catch them both an' I'll kill them! I'll make their death slow an' painful…"
"If ye mean that hare that escaped, captain, her name's Diathus."
"I don't give a care about wot her name is! I'm catching her an' that's that!"
Bullet turned to Lance, who was still moping about, complaining about not being able to see what was going on.
"Come on, old chap. We got our information, so let's report back to Colonel Arrow."
Lance crossed his arms and pouted. "Humph, didn't get to see anythin' at all; only heard things. 'Tain't fair, y'know, Bullet, that y'get to see an' I…youch!"
Lance, forgetting all about hiding, leapt up and started hopping on one footpaw, the other one with the thorn in it in his paws. Bullet turned around urgently to see vermin looking in their direction, then jumping up and charging at them. A ferret pounced on him, knocking him down flat. They were discovered.
"Lance, run! Hurry, back to Salamandastron!" Bullet grabbed his dirk from his belt and immediately started attacking the ferret on top of him, trying to get up. The ferret wouldn't let him go, though, and he fought back just as hard.
Lance stared at the charging vermin, horrified, then turned to his comrade on the ground. "B-but…wot about you, chum? I can't just-"
"Lance, go, before they get you too! Run for Salamandastron! I'll hold this blinkin' lot off so they don't follow you. Here, take some of this, you nasty ferret. Bet y'don't like bein' on the bottom either, wot! Eulaliiaaaa! S'death on the wind! Eulaliiiiaaaaa!"
The Seventh Spring Runner took one last look at his former companion and sprinted off, running as fast as he could towards Salamandastron.
"Don't worry, Bullet old chum, I'll come back for you!"