The Porttown came into view on time, thanks to a sturdy inland wind and the smooth, quick flow of the stream. The town was rather spacious and namely so: it looked to be a promising bustle of activity. Docks of all shapes, colors, and sizes jutted out into the pristine waters of the Porttown bay, amassed by the port road and backed by the many streets and compacted buildings. It was a center of trade and economy. Across the bay, though, was desolate - only a few rotten piers stuck out from what the crew could see.
Upon closer inspection as they drew to their pier and boat, they noticed something peculiar. The Captain was the first to spot it.
"Oi! Wot's this? No beast be har!"
He was halfway through saying that when an ottermaid ran across the street parallel to the dock. She tripped in exhileration, and fell with a cry. She stiflied it quickly though, and picked herself up and hurried off to a building. The door shut, and the clank of a lock echoed off the cobblestone pavement.
The crew stirred about. One approached the Captain and said, "I don' like th' looks o' this cap'n. This ain't right."
All eyes were on the street. The odd silence, and barren condition of the streets and walkways were tensionous. Jaden looked to his right and left down the rows of piers off the elevated streets, and saw that nothing was going on. No beasts, no people, no inhabitants of Portstown.
A ball of unease grew in Jaden's stomach. The other crewmen were looking around, their unease showing through their faces. A maid peered her head out of the hatch and looked around.
"Wot's goin' on?" She asked rather loudly.
That caused heads to turn. The disturbance of the tensioned silence irritated the beasts.
And suddenly, a shout sounded from down the road:
"Eeeeeeuuullaliiiiiiiiiaaaaaa!"
That accented cry was unmistakable. The sounds of footbeats and accompanying shouts confirmed the already confirmable: they were the hares of Salamandonstron.
A beast portside cried aloud suddenly and flopped on the deck, squirming. The well-aimed weapon made its mark in the soft of the otter's stomach. A foot of the lance protruded from his backside. Gasps of horror were breathed among the crew; the Captain stood stock still for a second in shock before bellowing out orders.
"Everyone t' the boat! Everyone! Woman an' children go first an-"
"Eeeeeeuuullaliiiiiiiiiaaaaaa!"
The cry was closer. Jaden looked up down the street to see a mass of hares running headlong down the streets. The sounds of armor and weapons clattering echoed off the walls of the buildings. As quickly as the hares appeared, they were cut of quickly as beasts yelling with equal ferocious intensity bounded from the many alleyways and corners of the street. They were the members of Portstown by their clothes and weapons - dark browns and tans as opposed to the uniforms of the hairs. It quickly became a confused scene of chaos as metal clashed against metal and flesh. Hares, hedgehogs, otters, squirrels, and mice were pitted against the well trained legion of hares. The many pikes present dipped from view of
The holt of Potsly was confused as well. The Captain retorted again to yell sense into the crew, and they sprung into action. Obviously, the question raised was:
"Oi! Them be woodlander hares of Sala fightin' against their own-" An arrow embedded itself into the otter's throat. In a gurgling, miserable state, he stumbled backwards and over into the water. The Captain growled loudly, looking up to see a small group of hares running towards the boat. A few had shortbows drawn, and half had arrows ready. The others were clad with pikes and sabres. That was enough of an insight to encourage those still stunned to move into action.
"Two O'Clock bowside!" The Captain drew his own scimitar and tested the blade quickly with finger. "Maties, give 'em hell! -Oi, Raathsgard, Pewny, Scarface, Motly, Scumclaw get yer bows! An' the rest of ye make ship fer th' women an' children t'th boat!"
The crew did as told. Those the Captain named appeared and formed a line bowside, quickly bringing suppresive fire at the hares. Their skills proved worthy of their being named by the Captain - four hairs fell, and the remaining scrambled for cover behind wooden crates. A few others had swords and bounded up on the dock to go after the hares, while the others pulled the children, babes, and women out. Jaden instinctively reached back for his own bow and arrow, but was flushed with dismay as he groped for nothing. He had left his weapons at the Abbey, he recalled sickly. His eyes quickly searched for one, but he found none. One of the otters fell down in a cry of terror as an arrow found its mark in his chest. He fell like a tree on the wooden surface of the boat. He ceased moving with the fall, his head banging on the floor. Scarface, Jaden thought, glancing over the scarred complexion. He gathered the bow and an arrow from the otter, took aim at the hares behind the boxes - one poked his head out from behind and Jaden let fly. It struck the beast and the hair rolled to the side on the wooden dock-extension of the road. Dead.
Jaden ducked behind a barrel and looked down at Scarface. The quill was on the underside of the beast. Jaden hauled the otter over onto his stomach and slipped an arrow from the bunch of tightly packed arrows. As he set the notch against the string and stood up, pulling back on the arrow while searching for a target, he thought: Prepared as if they were expecting this! Hares quickly leaked out onto the streets from where Jaden supposed more members of Portstown had ambushed the flow of hares. Jaden aimed, fired, and cursed as he missed. He crouched down and reloaded. His archer otter companions continued to do the same, though two more fell.
The other crew were still leading out the women and children. Two took to a women and child, and the others scurried along those children remaining. The first of those that made it up onto the dock and onto the loading ramp were suddenly caught by surprise. Lances and arrows, seemingly raining down from the heavens, came upon the Potsly otter holt. Several arrows were tied with burnings bits of cloth soaked in oil. Jaden ducked instintively as he noticed the flaming bits come down out of the cloudy sky, and must have been one to miss it all - after the volley ended he looked up to see the line of women and children disintigrate. Several otters toppled into the water, while others fell into confusion, or fell about the dock with arrows sticking out of their bodies. Shouting sounded from over by the road, and a second volley fell down to extinguish those remaining. The marks were strangely accurate.
Jaden looked up to see why. He quickly discovered the reason - he spotted several bow-wielding members in Hellsman uniform among the hares! Some more of the hares had broken through the lines of the determined Portstown people. Jaden cursed loudly as his eyes darted wildly about the boat. He spotted the Captain leaning up against the wall of the hut, and the Captain cried out to Jaden.
"Laddie! Save yoreself an' the badgerbabe!" He reached over to the corpse of Violet to try to wrest the babe from the arms of the ottermaid. Two arrows were embedded into her chest, while another in her throat. She lay alongside the crippled Gregshaw. A look of surprise mixed with determination befelled her fallen face. The badgerbabe was unharmed, as evident to its loud wailing. Jaden was soon to forget his instinct of bow and arrow and scurried over to Violet. He knelt down quickly and tried to take the badger from the deceased otter's arms, but they remained locked in place as if her fighting spirit still lived.
He finally pried her fingers off after much working. The Captain's eyes shifted to the road and he shouted at Jaden. "Get out with the babe! Save yoreself laddie..." His eyes flashed about the fallen otters. A few were still moving, though on the ground. The Captain surveyed the scene and cried out again. "Arg, me 'olt is dead! My family 'o otters..."
Jaden stood with the babe in his arms. He looked down at the Captain. "No, you're coming with me, Gregshaw!" He shifted the babe in his arms to one arm, and reached out and grabbed hold of the brown-haired Captain's arm. "Stop talking that way. Not on my watch you're going down like this!"
The Captain got up with much effort. Jaden discovered why he had been laying there - half of a javelin, broken, lay on the ground with the slight stain of pink on the end. He couldn't see where the wound was though. "Oi, I ain't goin' down until they take me down! Aight laddie, this is where it gets hard." He grunted and hobbled into the cabin. "Follow me."
"Yeah, heh. Gets hard," Jaden said sarcastically. "That's a good one."
Jaden followed quickly. More shouting sounded from outside. Jaden peered out to see that the townspeople of Portstown had fallen back and were overtaking those who had leaked through the lines. From his quick glance, he could tell it was getting worse - because the Hellsman were present. They fought at least four times the ferocity of the hares. The hares were trained in formal combat; these Hellsmen were obviously not. They did have a peculiar fighting style, but it was dominated with power, and not the grace those hares with rapiers fought with. Jaden caught the flash of a badge on one of the Hellsman shoulders - elite. These were trained to exterminate and annihilate quickly.
"Oi, laddie, look o're 'ere. 'elp me wit' this cargo!"
The Captain had situated himself by his chest of belongings, the one with the sword and tapestry. It was placed strategically near the entrance at the front of other barrels and boxes. Jaden nodded and grabbed one handle while being careful to cradle the baby. The baby, meanwhile, was whimpering. He edged on wailing. Jaden noticed this rather quickly and adjusted his hold. With the other paw he grasped the handle.
"Les' take it t' tha' little boat o'r there. Erg...!" He grimaced as he tested the weight of the chest. "On th' count o' three!"
A few arrows struck into the side of the boat. Stray, most likely. Jaden blurted out, "Three!" Both heaved and lifted the chest up. It was surprisingly light for what Jaden expected of it.
"I'll lead th' way. Follow me!" Gregshaw and Jaden weaved around two barrels to the entrance. Jaden looked up at the melee: the fighting was still happening, and growing thicker. Empty determination marked the faces of the townspeople as they came upon the Hellsman. All the other hares around them had fallen - Jaden huffed. Wouldn't be surprised if the Hellsman took them out. But what marked it in his memory more was the fact that the hares had been fighting alongside the Hellsman to begin with...
The Captain twisted his body to look behind him and about collapsed. He shouted in pain. "Arg! Curse those hares birth! With those blithering fools would've never..."
The two quickly made their way across the deck to the dock. From there they made their way around to the plank going to the larger sea-going vessel. The tall edge alongside the deck provided minor relief from being seen.
Or, at least what Jaden hoped. As the two scurried on deck Jaden took the lead. He glanced back every so often to watch his footpaws, the two making their way to the boat tied portside. It hung out over the water, deck pointing inward to the sea-going vessel, just in front of the dock. Jaden looked back and double glanced at the fighting - some knarly Hellsman caught an eye and glared out at the two making haste for the derelict. Around him more Hellsmen were appearing from the lines - must have fought their way through, carved a bloody channle to the docks. If they had gotten that far, then that would mean... the townspeople were loosing. For a while it seemed that they had the upper hand over the hares, but now, Jaden reasoned, their chances were becoming more narrow by the sword swing. Jaden growled under his breath. "Fools got an eye for me!"
That stance - that pose, the way he holds that knife.
Lightbulbs went off. Skreerpulse!
"...Erg!"
Jaden made much haste. He pushed aside thoughts of rememberance and made his way back. The Captain did all he could to keep up midst his grunting, occasional groan, and sharp yelling. The two made it to the dingy; the captain dropped his end at once and made for cutting the rigging holding the dingy on side of the vessel. Jaden peered over again and saw that Skreerpulse was missing from the crowd of fighting beasts. He shuddered - ahh yes, old Skreer. The one of whom I shot an arrow through accidentally. Unfortunetely it was his foot...
Jaden looked up at the mast and ropes spidering across the air above the deck of the Potsly. No Skreerpulse. A light sloshing sounded from overboard. Captain Gregshaw let loose the rigging and the boat swung out over the water on its supports. The wood creaked with its new use. The captain grabbed one end of the chest. Jaden did the same on his end, and both picked the chest up.
"Thar be a mast an' sail in thar -" Thunder sounded rather loudly, as a wave of light sprinkling jostled the light movement of the waters below. The darkening sky allowed errie shadows to dance around the otter. It reminded Jaden of some beast from Hellgates itself, crowning judgement on some poor beast to follow. His eyes were becoming glassy - and Jaden discovered where the lance was buried in him. His stomach - blood was pooling on his shirt, square center in it. "Ye'll jus' have t' lift th' mast an' plant it in th' deck, an' ye be set. Jus' tie the riggin' like I showed ye an trim th'sheets."
Jaden growled as the chest was set into the dingy. He let go and adjusted his hold on the babe. "Why didn't you tell me you're bleeding like a fool all over this earth!"
"Aye, laddie, I ain't goin' with ye. I'd rather die 'ere than -"
Jaden grabbed his arm, but the Captain drew back. "No lad! Ain't happenin'! I'd rather die with takin' a few o' them fools an' hares down with me. 'Sides, it's my home 'ere."
Jaden glared daggers at the Captain. "You arn't pulling an Abbot on me... I... I..." He shook his head. Emotion clouded his mind. "Ye're comin'! We could just patch you up and..."
"No laddie, 'alf a jav's in me." He grimaced and leaned up against the frame that arched over the derelict. He drew a short sword from his right side - not his fighting arm side - and began to cut on the lines. "Boat's settin' ship!" He barked rather distantly. "Ye best be gettin' in thar. Times a wastin', storms a blowing!"
Jaden glanced over at the sky above the sea. The sea was become rathe rough, with a squall line clearly visible over the darkening sky. It was as if a dark arm of judgement itself had stretched across the once blue heavens, and introduced a hellish realm of darkness. The sprinkling turned into a light downpour rather quickly. Lighting flashed and boomed voraciously. Gregshaw stopped cutting halfway through the one of two riggings. He gestured. "Ye best be gettin'! If ye're goin' t' ship an' with a badger babe, ye best be gettin'! Yore Abbot was right when 'ee says it-" Thunder clapped overhead again as the streets and dock were lighted by lightning. "Ye gots a future in yore 'ands!"
Jaden looked down at the wailing bundle in his arms. Large bundle, at that - a badger babe. The thought hadn't occoured to Jaden at all - return to Mossflower after he has grown. But to where?
"Where shall I go, Gregshaw? We both will die out there in this!" Jaden gestured. Lightning flashed as if on cue, and boomed loudly.
Gregshaw gestured. "West, laddie! Cuz let me tells ye somethin' I ne'r told anybeast fer fear o' their retaliation. There be a legend that says thar be an island out thar... me 'eard some says also these Mossflower beasts originate from those parts, lad. If ye gots this much o' brainwashed buzzards 'ere, then thar be at least that much over yonder! Birds 'av reported it exists, laddie. - An' at least-"
A looming form dropped from above and landed behind Gregshaw. Jaden only got out a shout before he could do anything. The beady, gleaming eyes of Skreerpulse reflected the escaping sunlight of the far North - coupled with a flash of metal. Gregshaw was hurtled forward and knocked Jaden and the babe back into the boat. The line snapped instantly, the derelict swinging only slightly before the weight of the boat and burden snapped the old frayed second line, dropping Jaden, his burden, and the chest down into the waters below with a great splash!
Jaden cradled the babe. His upper back struck the mast, sending inkvines of pain throughout his body. He glanced up through teary eyes to see Gregshaw hanging over the edge of the boat. Skeerpulse raised the blade above his head and struck down with a resulting, sickening thunk! The Captain's eyes bulged, but he did not cry out in pain. His arms went limp and his head dangled.
"Oi! I can't move me legs -" His eyes lolled over to Jaden as Skreerpules readied a second high swing. This time, it would be a jab. "Save yoreself laddie! Get outta-"
His voice quickly silenced as Skreerpulse finished the job. Jaden was thrusted with adreneline and the current prospects of the moment, and scrambled up to his footpaws - he set the babe down underneath a plank set across the deck for seating, and made his best to upright the mast around the tangle of lines. It had twisted around from the fall. He looked up in horror to see the broad-shouldered stoat step over the deck, pushing Gregshaw into the water. Gregshaw's hand thunked the side of the derelect as he fell straight down and sunk, lifeless and limply. But Skreerpulses' efforst were short lived - a cry was raised, and an arrow sunk itself through the stoat's neck. He too fell to a strangulated mess and into the water. He did not surface.