Chapter 17

The three hares Cupper, Drepp and Troblaw had gotten lost. After travelling for several days, they had found the swamp twice more, and after the third time, Troblaw had been nagging the other two to admit they were lost.

"We're lost, there's no denying that," said Troblaw.

"Fine, we're lost. Saying that doesn't change things, though," admitted Drepp.

"I say, can you hear singing?"

The hares could indeed hear singing, and went closer to hear it more clearly.

"O'er the hills an' far away,
'Tis there my home's awaitin',
The season's shorter by a day,
Whilst I'm anticipatin',
A logfire made from crackling pine,
An' washin' dancin' on the line,
As blossoms round the door entwine,
Hurrah for there's that dearie mine!"

"Good day, young chaps, state y'rank and orders, quick now, sharpish!"

The hares, for it was about a dozen of them, had noticed the trio.

"No rank sah, orders taken from Lord Ferral personally sah, us three must find an' kill Rukkar the Wrecker, sah!"

"No rank? Then why in the name of blazes are ye out tryin' to kill a Warlord?"

"Er, we don't know, sah, Lord Ferral had a dream, sah, 'twas of a mouse in armor telling a riddle, sah, the riddle said that we have to do this, sah!"

"Huh. Well, I'm Colonel Retno. An' you are?"

"Cupper, Drepp an' Troblaw, sah."

"This here is my Long Patrol. About a score o' hares, all fit an' trained well. They have ranks, of course, but you surprisingly don't. I prefer that every hare out in Mossflower has a rank, so I guess I'll have to unofficially give ye a rank. Do ye want one?"

"Yes, sah."

"Okay, give me some time to think of one... I know. You three - Cupper, Drepp an' Troblaw - are now Lancejacks. Oh, an' you're in the Patrol."

"What?"

"There aren't any solitary hares in Mossflower, y'know. Also, if you have a rank, then you're in the Patrol. Simple, wot?"

"Aye, sah."

The other hares welcomed the three youngsters warmly into the Patrol, also giving them advice.

"Be warned, you'll only get about an hour of sleep per day. Also your paws will get sore before breakfast, so ye need to toughen up."

"An' the food tastes like mud, but don't tell the cook, wot?"

Cupper surveyed the Long Patrol. There were indeed twenty hares, ranging from only a season older than him to having to carry walking sticks. What a turn of events, going from being completely lost to joining up with the Long Patrol in almost no time.

Nomak and Kagget were still with the otters, but they had run out of food. The otters were searching for more, but there didn't seem to be any food anywhere, apart from some bitter roots. Bardo could see a small search party returning with no success.

"Nothin', not even one measly apple. I think we'll have ter move camp agin."

"I guess we do," replied Bardo sadly. "I liked this place - it's warm but not boiling hot, an' there was plenty of food - was... I wish there still was."

"Aye, we definitely have ter move camp," said Kagget. "I can hear voices, though."

"Voices? Where?"

"Over that way, beyond the swamp. We can go around, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Okay, I guess we'll go there. I'm not surprised the search parties haven't heard them, the swamp is barely five steps away from the edge of camp."

"Then how can you hear the voices?" asked Nomak.

"I used ter be a tracker, remember? I've always had keen hearing, trackers are supposed ter have good senses."

"Oh, right."

The otters, Nomak and Kagget had skirted around the edge of the swamp, though it had been extremely slow going. The upside was that they had no food bags or packs to carry, so they weren't weighed down by a bag of bread or cordial flasks.

"I can hear the voices clearer now, I think they're hares'," said Kagget.

They were indeed hares' voices. Kagget, Nomak and the otters had stumbled on the hares and the Long Patrol.