7
Over the course of days, the tension between Shadow and Grimpaw eased and it seemed like things had gone back to normal. Sabrina had found an apple on a tree which was just low enough for her to reach and she shared it with the friar. They laughed together at CrudÕs pitiful attempts at yanking an apple off of the tree. He jumped as high as he could but he was still mere inches from getting his claws on the apple. Taking the advantage of being just out of earshot from their captors, Sabrina taunted Crud. ÔLook at the slobbering idiot. He couldnÕt snag vittles if they dropped right on his head!Õ She hollered. At that exact moment, a big red juicy apple finally came loose and plummeted toward the ground. Panting underneath the tree, Crud stuck out his tongue. ÔWeÕll see who getÕs the last laugh! When IÕm done with you youÕll be begginÕ for death!Õ He jumped up and was ready to attack Sabrina when he took the full force of the falling apple. Sabrina clutched her sides and felt as if she were going to explode with laughter, tears of merriment trikkling down her cheeks.
Chuckling, Friar Barnacle walked up to Crud, picked up the apple and stuffed a piece into his mouth which had split open on the ratÕs skull. ÔMmmmmm, no pain no gain, huh ratface? You donÕt mind if I hold on to this do you?Õ Stars had exploded in front of CrudÕs eyes and his tongue stuck askew out of his mouth. The rat grinned stupidly at Barnacle and fell backwards in a daze.
Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasnÕt as eventful as the apple incident. For the remainder of the day Crud kept shooting murderous glances at Sabrina and the friar. As the night began to spread its blanket of darkness across the sky, Shadow signalled them to stop marching and rest. Friar Barnacle flopped down on the grass thankfully, rubbing his tired paws. Soon, the three slaves fell asleep, watched closely by Shadow. About an hour later, GrimpawÕs eyelids began to droop as well, and before he knew it, he was amidst a peaceful slumber. Now, only Shadow showed no signs of weariness. He sat against an ashtree playing with his sword hilt. He longed for the day he slaughtered the badger lord and claimed his treasure. He wanted it so badly he could see it right before his eyes, but no. He was no fool. He, unlike Grimpaw or any other creature would not be overwhelmed by greed. That was what had kept him alive for so long. Had had seen far too many warlords fall by the sickle of greed. While he sat there, a fly had wondered into the his palm. He crushed it. Shadow would not make the same mistake.
***
Sabrina yawned and squinted against the sun as she awoke the next morning. Almost emmidiately she saw Grimpaw kicking Barnacle awake. ÔGet up lardbelly! We have marching to do.Õ Just as quickly as the ottermaid had awaken, she found herself marching again with the company of the friar with Crud lingering behind. Thing werenÕt so bad for the slaves. Grimpaw wasnÕt bullying them around as often, Mossflower was full of food, and Shadow wasnÕt as cruel a leader as some of the ones Sabrina had read about in her village. The only thing that could spoil everything now, would be a power struggle, thought Sabrina. Unlike her, this was exactly what Shadow wanted. He needed to gain control of a hordeÉ
As time dragged by, night had wandered once again into the forest. Just as their paws were getting weary, the group had spotted a number of bonfires in the distance. ShadowÕs face split into an evil grin. The time had come. Shadow beckoned Grimpaw over, and silently told him his plan. Shadow never left anything to chance. Soon, they had briskly strode into a camp full of the most fearsome vermin Sabrina had ever seen. Rats sat around fires drinking grog, accompinied by stoats and ferrets, with pierced ears and golden chains who picked their yellow teeth with jagged bones and weasels armed with an array of lethal looking weapons. Shadow was pleased. ÔWho is your leader you scumbags? Speak up!Õ The vermin looked around at each other and hesitated. Soon, a sliver fox armed with a scimitar arose from the masses of murderers. ÔI am Crosshatch the Wicked.Õ He said with a wicked grin which displayed his gold-plated teeth. ÔYou are trespassing on my land. As a fee for this insolence, you will give us all your booty.Õ He looked past Shadow at Grimpaw who wasnÕt payig any attention to him but fiddling around with a dagger, to the three slaves who cowered in terror.
ÔOr...Õ Crosshatch began, ÔYou can give me those creatures you are holding captive.Õ He pointed at the the horrified Sabrina with his scimitar. Their hides will make fine fur coats thus winter comes this way.Õ he cackled and licked the blade of his weapon. Shadow however had different ideas. He drew his twin swords and pointed one at the fox. ÔTry your luck, foxbreath. You canÕt order me around.Õ Furious, Crosshatch threw himself at the cat and slashed at him with his blade. The vermin formed a large circle around the two fighters, curious to see the victor. Some of them shouted encouragement. ÔLetÕs see the colour of Ôis insides!Õ Shouted a particularily skinny rat. ÔSlice his gizzard capÕn!Õ Piped up an ugly weasel. But Crosshatch was begining to falter. Shadow proved to be quite the adversary, hacking at the fox with his fearsome swords. Beads of sweat poured down the foxes brow as he began to panick. He did not possess such incredible speed as Shadow.
Suddenly, Crosshatch caught his opponent offgaurd and swung outward with the scimitar. Shadow dodged it but fell to the ground, panting. He underestimated the fox. Crosshatch chuckled. ÔNot so brave now, cat! You should have ran back to your mamma when yeh had the chance to. Now youÕre mine!Õ He thrust forward with the weapon and Shadow rolled over. Before the fox could turn around, Shadow went to plan B. Nodding to Grimpaw, the cat tossed him the dagger he was playing with and Shadow caught it. The second Crosshatch turned around, the cat ran him through with the knife. ÔSee you at hellÕs gates.Õ He whispered as the foxÕs eyes clouded over and fell to the ground, his head twisted at an odd angle. There was silence from the vermin crew. The death of their leader was sinking in. ÔI am your new leader, scum of the earth! You will obey only me! Together we will punder the lands and before you know it, youÕll all be living like kings!Õ
Quickly, the silence turned to an uproar of vermin waving their weapons in the air, cheering for their new captain. Shadow smiled inwardly at the slowitted vermin who had taken the bait. He grinned. Shadow had a horde.
Over the course of days, the tension between Shadow and Grimpaw eased and it seemed like things had gone back to normal. Sabrina had found an apple on a tree which was just low enough for her to reach and she shared it with the friar. They laughed together at CrudÕs pitiful attempts at yanking an apple off of the tree. He jumped as high as he could but he was still mere inches from getting his claws on the apple. Taking the advantage of being just out of earshot from their captors, Sabrina taunted Crud. ÔLook at the slobbering idiot. He couldnÕt snag vittles if they dropped right on his head!Õ She hollered. At that exact moment, a big red juicy apple finally came loose and plummeted toward the ground. Panting underneath the tree, Crud stuck out his tongue. ÔWeÕll see who getÕs the last laugh! When IÕm done with you youÕll be begginÕ for death!Õ He jumped up and was ready to attack Sabrina when he took the full force of the falling apple. Sabrina clutched her sides and felt as if she were going to explode with laughter, tears of merriment trikkling down her cheeks.
Chuckling, Friar Barnacle walked up to Crud, picked up the apple and stuffed a piece into his mouth which had split open on the ratÕs skull. ÔMmmmmm, no pain no gain, huh ratface? You donÕt mind if I hold on to this do you?Õ Stars had exploded in front of CrudÕs eyes and his tongue stuck askew out of his mouth. The rat grinned stupidly at Barnacle and fell backwards in a daze.
Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasnÕt as eventful as the apple incident. For the remainder of the day Crud kept shooting murderous glances at Sabrina and the friar. As the night began to spread its blanket of darkness across the sky, Shadow signalled them to stop marching and rest. Friar Barnacle flopped down on the grass thankfully, rubbing his tired paws. Soon, the three slaves fell asleep, watched closely by Shadow. About an hour later, GrimpawÕs eyelids began to droop as well, and before he knew it, he was amidst a peaceful slumber. Now, only Shadow showed no signs of weariness. He sat against an ashtree playing with his sword hilt. He longed for the day he slaughtered the badger lord and claimed his treasure. He wanted it so badly he could see it right before his eyes, but no. He was no fool. He, unlike Grimpaw or any other creature would not be overwhelmed by greed. That was what had kept him alive for so long. Had had seen far too many warlords fall by the sickle of greed. While he sat there, a fly had wondered into the his palm. He crushed it. Shadow would not make the same mistake.
***
Sabrina yawned and squinted against the sun as she awoke the next morning. Almost emmidiately she saw Grimpaw kicking Barnacle awake. ÔGet up lardbelly! We have marching to do.Õ Just as quickly as the ottermaid had awaken, she found herself marching again with the company of the friar with Crud lingering behind. Thing werenÕt so bad for the slaves. Grimpaw wasnÕt bullying them around as often, Mossflower was full of food, and Shadow wasnÕt as cruel a leader as some of the ones Sabrina had read about in her village. The only thing that could spoil everything now, would be a power struggle, thought Sabrina. Unlike her, this was exactly what Shadow wanted. He needed to gain control of a hordeÉ
As time dragged by, night had wandered once again into the forest. Just as their paws were getting weary, the group had spotted a number of bonfires in the distance. ShadowÕs face split into an evil grin. The time had come. Shadow beckoned Grimpaw over, and silently told him his plan. Shadow never left anything to chance. Soon, they had briskly strode into a camp full of the most fearsome vermin Sabrina had ever seen. Rats sat around fires drinking grog, accompinied by stoats and ferrets, with pierced ears and golden chains who picked their yellow teeth with jagged bones and weasels armed with an array of lethal looking weapons. Shadow was pleased. ÔWho is your leader you scumbags? Speak up!Õ The vermin looked around at each other and hesitated. Soon, a sliver fox armed with a scimitar arose from the masses of murderers. ÔI am Crosshatch the Wicked.Õ He said with a wicked grin which displayed his gold-plated teeth. ÔYou are trespassing on my land. As a fee for this insolence, you will give us all your booty.Õ He looked past Shadow at Grimpaw who wasnÕt payig any attention to him but fiddling around with a dagger, to the three slaves who cowered in terror.
ÔOr...Õ Crosshatch began, ÔYou can give me those creatures you are holding captive.Õ He pointed at the the horrified Sabrina with his scimitar. Their hides will make fine fur coats thus winter comes this way.Õ he cackled and licked the blade of his weapon. Shadow however had different ideas. He drew his twin swords and pointed one at the fox. ÔTry your luck, foxbreath. You canÕt order me around.Õ Furious, Crosshatch threw himself at the cat and slashed at him with his blade. The vermin formed a large circle around the two fighters, curious to see the victor. Some of them shouted encouragement. ÔLetÕs see the colour of Ôis insides!Õ Shouted a particularily skinny rat. ÔSlice his gizzard capÕn!Õ Piped up an ugly weasel. But Crosshatch was begining to falter. Shadow proved to be quite the adversary, hacking at the fox with his fearsome swords. Beads of sweat poured down the foxes brow as he began to panick. He did not possess such incredible speed as Shadow.
Suddenly, Crosshatch caught his opponent offgaurd and swung outward with the scimitar. Shadow dodged it but fell to the ground, panting. He underestimated the fox. Crosshatch chuckled. ÔNot so brave now, cat! You should have ran back to your mamma when yeh had the chance to. Now youÕre mine!Õ He thrust forward with the weapon and Shadow rolled over. Before the fox could turn around, Shadow went to plan B. Nodding to Grimpaw, the cat tossed him the dagger he was playing with and Shadow caught it. The second Crosshatch turned around, the cat ran him through with the knife. ÔSee you at hellÕs gates.Õ He whispered as the foxÕs eyes clouded over and fell to the ground, his head twisted at an odd angle. There was silence from the vermin crew. The death of their leader was sinking in. ÔI am your new leader, scum of the earth! You will obey only me! Together we will punder the lands and before you know it, youÕll all be living like kings!Õ
Quickly, the silence turned to an uproar of vermin waving their weapons in the air, cheering for their new captain. Shadow smiled inwardly at the slowitted vermin who had taken the bait. He grinned. Shadow had a horde.