Chapter Twenty-One
Dust arose on the sandy beaches of the Salamandastron as a tall figure, light tan fur covered in sweat and sand, approached the large mountain. Lance, Seventh Spring Runner, dashed forward towards the gates of Salamandastron, coughing and breathing sharply. His footpaws seemed to grow heavier with each step and his eyesight became slightly out of focus as exhaustion overtook him. Finally reaching his destination, the immensely tired hare fell back onto the sturdy gates with a thump, too exhausted to actually bring his paw up and knock on the gates. Fortunately, somebeast had heard the thump. Colonel Arrow swung open the gates, only to have Lance tumble onto her. Scrambling up to her footpaws hastily, she reached down and hauled Lance up also. Studying the hare from the tip of his ears to his footpaws, a deep frown creased onto the officer's facial features.
"Alright young sah, speak up. Wot happened, eh? Where's th'bally chap, Bullet? How fast have you been runnin', wot? You're blinkin' well dehydrated!"
A small moan escaped Lance's mouth. His throat was too dry to talk. He held up a paw and made a slow running motion with it, hoping to get the message through. Then he held up his other paw and made it seem as if one paw was running away from the other at an alarmingly fast rate. Looking up at the Colonel, the Runner awaited her reaction.
Arrow had studied Lance's movements closely. Her eyebrows quirked up and her frown grew deeper as she confirmed, "You two were running at a medium speed. When you got there, the vermin saw you and they got Bullet, but you managed to escape and came back here as fast as you could."
Lance gave a weak nod. His consciousness was drifting away quickly, and he began leaning forward to the Colonel. Taking the other hare's arm and slinging it around her shoulders, Arrow began making her way into Salamandastron, supporting the Runner the whole way.
Staff Sergeant Tinure peered at Lance closely as Arrow brought him into the barracks, utterly confused at why the runner was in such bad shape and why Bullet wasn't there with him. The colonel looked up at the hare sharply after she laid Lance onto a bed.
"Do us a favor an' get Lord Brawnpeak, old chap. I'll bally well explain later, wot."
Saluting smartly, the sergeant darted off into the corridors, and appeared moments later with a large badger in his wake. Lord Brawnpeak peered at Lance closely with a worried frown. Then looking up at Arrow, he asked, "What happened?"
Although it sounded more like a statement than a question, the colonel saluted before launching into report. "Found Lance at the front door, sah. He told, erm, showed me that he an' Bullet were running at a medium speed to find th' vermin. After they found them and got their blinkin' information, the vermin saw them and they got Bullet, but Lance managed to bally well escape an' came back here as fast as he could."
The badger lord sighed. "I'll speak to Lance once he's ready to talk. Until then, Arrow, Tinure, I'd like you to gather around six hundred able hares, tell them to prepare for war. I've decided that we are to leave Salamandastron and help Redwall."
The colonel and sergeant spoke as one. "But wot of Salamandastron, wot?"
Brawnpeak pulled a wry grin. "Salamandastron is populated by one thousand hares. If six hundred leave for war, there are still four hundred left to defend.wot."
Amid the situation, Staff Sergeant Tinure chuckled gleefully. "I say, wot! I think us hares have bally well had a jolly influence on our lud!"
**
Bullet, eight spring runner, glanced around the vermin camp slowly. After his capture, he had been questioned by Vermeng and then chained up with the other slaves. For some reason, the weasel corsair thought that he was another hare, and it took some convincing that he was not. A group of three slaves were sitting not too far from the hare. Crawling over slowly so not to catch anybeast's attention, Bullet grinning cheerfully.
"I say, nice place, eh?"
All three of them turned to the hare and stared at him incredulously. Simultaneously, they said, "Diathus?"
The grin on Bullet's face immediately disappeared. Quirking up an eyebrow, he sighed. "Again with the blinkin' Diathus thing! Who is th' gel, eh? Wot's goin'on here? Will somebeast please bally well explain this t' me?"
"Sorry," Wynde apologized. "It's just that you look so much like one of our other friend who escaped. You know, with the obsidian eyes, light tan fur." the squirrel trailed off sadly, obviously missing the other hare.
The Salamandastron runner straightened up indignantly. "Lots o' th' Salamandastron chaps have light tan fur, wot! Now, kin y' please explain th' rest to me?"
Dockpetal shrugged. Scooting in closer to the hare, taking Ariel with him, he sat cross-legged with the young vole in his lap. "The name's Dockpetal, nice t'meetcha. This is Ariel, an' that's Wynde. Yer now a slave t'Vermeng, feared corsair o' the south. A while ago, a friend of ours named Diathus broke free o' her chains an' escaped here wid th' help of an eagle named Skydrop an' the two o' 'em headed north. Vermeng didn't like th'fact that one o' his slaves escaped, so he vowed t' hunt 'em down. So here we are, footpaws on land after wot seemed like forever. Nice o' you to join us, mate."
Bullet chose to ignore the last statement. His eyes and smile brightened up a considerable amount. "Welly now, chaps, dun seem so gloom. If'n yer Diathus an' Skydrop pals went north, they were sure t'find Redwall Abbey, an' if'n this Vermeng blighter's followin' Diathus, we'll get t'Redwall too, an' th'chaps there are bound t' figure out a way t' free us, wot!"
A slave guard threw Bullet a look, but did no more, obviously not hearing the hare's remark. Ariel's eyes widened, but she was careful to keep her voice low.
"Really? You think we can get free, without hurting Diathus?"
The hare scoffed and let out a short laugh, keeping his voice softer by a considerable amount. "I'd bet me aunt's bilges on it, wot!"
Ariel blinked, not very used to the hare's language. "Why would you want to do that?"
Dockpetal grinned and ruffled the vole's head fur fondly. "It's an expression, Ariel." Raising auburn eyes, he gazed at Bullet with renewed hope. "You're not jokin', right mate?"
"Course not! Salamandastron's honor, 'm tellin' th'truth!"
Unable to hold in his relief, Wynde let out an excited chuckle, causing many slaves and guards to look his way. But the squirrel did not care. The kindle of hope was renewed once again.
**
In the branches of an oak tree, not even as far as thirty paces from the vermin camp, a bird sat perched there, hidden from sight. Skydrop had been on his way of when he had seen Vermeng's horde, and stopped to look around for a while. Sighing to himself, the eagle faced his dilemma. Whether to go back to Redwall, or continue on his way as Diathus had bid him. A small perch from his right caused him to turn his head. A small robin with bright red feathers sat there, gazing at him curiously.
"Do you know them?"
Skydrop nodded, though not very quickly, less he attracted some unwanted attention.
"Aye, lassie. Tell meh somethin', kin you visit Redwall Abbey an' tell 'em that a weasel corsair named Vermeng is headed thar way?"
The robin, whose name was Glidewing, bobbed her head. "I was headed there myself. I'll be sure to tell them. Anything else?"
The eagle smiled with a sort of regretful air. "Aye, tell Diathus Ah said hello."
With one last nod, the two flew off in their own directions, both with their own errands.
Dust arose on the sandy beaches of the Salamandastron as a tall figure, light tan fur covered in sweat and sand, approached the large mountain. Lance, Seventh Spring Runner, dashed forward towards the gates of Salamandastron, coughing and breathing sharply. His footpaws seemed to grow heavier with each step and his eyesight became slightly out of focus as exhaustion overtook him. Finally reaching his destination, the immensely tired hare fell back onto the sturdy gates with a thump, too exhausted to actually bring his paw up and knock on the gates. Fortunately, somebeast had heard the thump. Colonel Arrow swung open the gates, only to have Lance tumble onto her. Scrambling up to her footpaws hastily, she reached down and hauled Lance up also. Studying the hare from the tip of his ears to his footpaws, a deep frown creased onto the officer's facial features.
"Alright young sah, speak up. Wot happened, eh? Where's th'bally chap, Bullet? How fast have you been runnin', wot? You're blinkin' well dehydrated!"
A small moan escaped Lance's mouth. His throat was too dry to talk. He held up a paw and made a slow running motion with it, hoping to get the message through. Then he held up his other paw and made it seem as if one paw was running away from the other at an alarmingly fast rate. Looking up at the Colonel, the Runner awaited her reaction.
Arrow had studied Lance's movements closely. Her eyebrows quirked up and her frown grew deeper as she confirmed, "You two were running at a medium speed. When you got there, the vermin saw you and they got Bullet, but you managed to escape and came back here as fast as you could."
Lance gave a weak nod. His consciousness was drifting away quickly, and he began leaning forward to the Colonel. Taking the other hare's arm and slinging it around her shoulders, Arrow began making her way into Salamandastron, supporting the Runner the whole way.
Staff Sergeant Tinure peered at Lance closely as Arrow brought him into the barracks, utterly confused at why the runner was in such bad shape and why Bullet wasn't there with him. The colonel looked up at the hare sharply after she laid Lance onto a bed.
"Do us a favor an' get Lord Brawnpeak, old chap. I'll bally well explain later, wot."
Saluting smartly, the sergeant darted off into the corridors, and appeared moments later with a large badger in his wake. Lord Brawnpeak peered at Lance closely with a worried frown. Then looking up at Arrow, he asked, "What happened?"
Although it sounded more like a statement than a question, the colonel saluted before launching into report. "Found Lance at the front door, sah. He told, erm, showed me that he an' Bullet were running at a medium speed to find th' vermin. After they found them and got their blinkin' information, the vermin saw them and they got Bullet, but Lance managed to bally well escape an' came back here as fast as he could."
The badger lord sighed. "I'll speak to Lance once he's ready to talk. Until then, Arrow, Tinure, I'd like you to gather around six hundred able hares, tell them to prepare for war. I've decided that we are to leave Salamandastron and help Redwall."
The colonel and sergeant spoke as one. "But wot of Salamandastron, wot?"
Brawnpeak pulled a wry grin. "Salamandastron is populated by one thousand hares. If six hundred leave for war, there are still four hundred left to defend.wot."
Amid the situation, Staff Sergeant Tinure chuckled gleefully. "I say, wot! I think us hares have bally well had a jolly influence on our lud!"
**
Bullet, eight spring runner, glanced around the vermin camp slowly. After his capture, he had been questioned by Vermeng and then chained up with the other slaves. For some reason, the weasel corsair thought that he was another hare, and it took some convincing that he was not. A group of three slaves were sitting not too far from the hare. Crawling over slowly so not to catch anybeast's attention, Bullet grinning cheerfully.
"I say, nice place, eh?"
All three of them turned to the hare and stared at him incredulously. Simultaneously, they said, "Diathus?"
The grin on Bullet's face immediately disappeared. Quirking up an eyebrow, he sighed. "Again with the blinkin' Diathus thing! Who is th' gel, eh? Wot's goin'on here? Will somebeast please bally well explain this t' me?"
"Sorry," Wynde apologized. "It's just that you look so much like one of our other friend who escaped. You know, with the obsidian eyes, light tan fur." the squirrel trailed off sadly, obviously missing the other hare.
The Salamandastron runner straightened up indignantly. "Lots o' th' Salamandastron chaps have light tan fur, wot! Now, kin y' please explain th' rest to me?"
Dockpetal shrugged. Scooting in closer to the hare, taking Ariel with him, he sat cross-legged with the young vole in his lap. "The name's Dockpetal, nice t'meetcha. This is Ariel, an' that's Wynde. Yer now a slave t'Vermeng, feared corsair o' the south. A while ago, a friend of ours named Diathus broke free o' her chains an' escaped here wid th' help of an eagle named Skydrop an' the two o' 'em headed north. Vermeng didn't like th'fact that one o' his slaves escaped, so he vowed t' hunt 'em down. So here we are, footpaws on land after wot seemed like forever. Nice o' you to join us, mate."
Bullet chose to ignore the last statement. His eyes and smile brightened up a considerable amount. "Welly now, chaps, dun seem so gloom. If'n yer Diathus an' Skydrop pals went north, they were sure t'find Redwall Abbey, an' if'n this Vermeng blighter's followin' Diathus, we'll get t'Redwall too, an' th'chaps there are bound t' figure out a way t' free us, wot!"
A slave guard threw Bullet a look, but did no more, obviously not hearing the hare's remark. Ariel's eyes widened, but she was careful to keep her voice low.
"Really? You think we can get free, without hurting Diathus?"
The hare scoffed and let out a short laugh, keeping his voice softer by a considerable amount. "I'd bet me aunt's bilges on it, wot!"
Ariel blinked, not very used to the hare's language. "Why would you want to do that?"
Dockpetal grinned and ruffled the vole's head fur fondly. "It's an expression, Ariel." Raising auburn eyes, he gazed at Bullet with renewed hope. "You're not jokin', right mate?"
"Course not! Salamandastron's honor, 'm tellin' th'truth!"
Unable to hold in his relief, Wynde let out an excited chuckle, causing many slaves and guards to look his way. But the squirrel did not care. The kindle of hope was renewed once again.
**
In the branches of an oak tree, not even as far as thirty paces from the vermin camp, a bird sat perched there, hidden from sight. Skydrop had been on his way of when he had seen Vermeng's horde, and stopped to look around for a while. Sighing to himself, the eagle faced his dilemma. Whether to go back to Redwall, or continue on his way as Diathus had bid him. A small perch from his right caused him to turn his head. A small robin with bright red feathers sat there, gazing at him curiously.
"Do you know them?"
Skydrop nodded, though not very quickly, less he attracted some unwanted attention.
"Aye, lassie. Tell meh somethin', kin you visit Redwall Abbey an' tell 'em that a weasel corsair named Vermeng is headed thar way?"
The robin, whose name was Glidewing, bobbed her head. "I was headed there myself. I'll be sure to tell them. Anything else?"
The eagle smiled with a sort of regretful air. "Aye, tell Diathus Ah said hello."
With one last nod, the two flew off in their own directions, both with their own errands.