Chapter 14
Nomak and Kagget were continuing on their quest. Nomak was very tired from almost a sleepless night, so it was slow going.
"Can we stop for breakfast?" he asked.
"No, we have ter wait until dawn."
"Why?"
"Cos' then we're fully awake, and I won't burn the food."
"Okay."
"Say, have you ever tasted burnt food?"
"No, why?"
"When I was with the vermin, all the food I ate was burnt."
"Did you like it?"
"No, I went outside and vomited every night after everybeast went to their tents."
"Ew! So you really didn't like burnt food."
"No, I hated it. I gave Cudder most of it and ate what I needed ter survive. If only he was here now, he was always good at cooking."
"Did he burn everything?"
"No, he didn't burn salads."
"How is that good at cooking?"
"Cos' the cook burned everything, even salad."
"There was only one cook for the entire army?"
"No, there was one cook and three helpers for every fivescore vermin or so."
"What's a score?"
"Twenty beasts, an' fivescore is a hundred."
"So fivescore is twenty times five?"
"Yeah."
They walked in silence for a little while until Kagget stopped.
"Why did you stop, Kagget?" asked Nomak.
"'Cos I think there's somebeast watching us. Don't look up, I think they're suspicious enough already."
"Why would they be suspicious?"
"They know I know they're watching us."
"Oh."
Suddenly, the bushes in front of them exploded, and several figures dropped down from the trees. Leaves showered everywhere as the mysterious figures formed a circle and pressed in. The leader gave some sort of signal, and at once the figures drew their weapons, still making the circle tighter and tighter.
The three hares Cupper, Drepp and Troblaw were still walking, though they were now following some sort of tracks. Because of the shrew tracks earlier, they easily identified them as non-shrew tracks.
"Wish these tracks would stop goin' in circles, wot?" said Troblaw.
"Yeah, wish they would," replied Drepp.
The tracks were indeed going in circles, and sometimes turning around for a few steps, then turning around again. The tracks were evidently made by somebeast in a hurry, as they were not even in the slightest erased. They continued onwards, until Cupper noticed something.
"Do you smell that?"
"Smell what?" asked Troblaw.
"Something rotten, I think."
"No, it's moldy bread, magnified," said Drepp.
"Look around. Do you see any moldy bread?"
"No, but I can't see your footpaws."
"Huh? Oh, we must be in a swamp."
"What's a swamp? Some sort of food?" asked Troblaw.
"No, Troblaw, a swamp is a place where it smells terrible, an' you'll sink if you don't move for too long, just like I'm sinking right now."
"Then let's get out of here, it stinks!"
"You just noticed the smell?"
"Yeah, so? Hey, come back here!"
Drepp and Cupper had ran from the stench. Troblaw began making his way back through the swamp, muttering to himself.
"Call themselves friends, rotten ole cads, traitors if I ever saw one- Hey, what's that?"
Troblaw had stubbed his toe on something white poking up from the ground. He started uncovering it with his paws, and soon had uncovered a skull, its sightless eyes grinning up at him. Worms and insects crawled through the eye sockets of Spegg, the drowned tracker.
"Arrrrrgh!"
Troblaw ran as fast as he could, towards his two companions, away from the horrible swamp.
The Gorvim were now trying to find Redwall. They had been marching since morning, and now the sun was beginning to set. Skorret was still at the back of the army. He was hungry, and proclaimed this to the section of the horde around him.
"Wish ol' Blueback would command us to stop, I'm a bit hungry."
The vermin surrounding him said nothing. Skorret attempted to get the rest of the horde hungry.
"Are you hungry? I sure am. I'd give me rations fer three days fer a big ol' pie, with meadowcream fillin' an' good crusty pie crust. Crusty crust, that sounds funny. Crusty crusty crusty crust!"
The vermin on his right side, a big weasel, nudged him.
"Wot?"
"Shut up."
"Why?"
"'Cos I told ye to."
"Why?"
"Shut up or I'll rip your paw off and shove it in your mouth."
"Fine, fine, ye didn't have ter threaten me."
The weasel took a big meaty swing at Skorret's head. Skorret ducked and avoided it but got the message: the Gorvim were not hungry, and they didn't want him to make them.