Chapter VII
Ten of Juska Kall's tribe and three vermin had been killed over the course of the few hours since the moles had agitated the roads that fiercely protected their marsh. Now as sunset crossed over the boundaries of the nearby mountains, Selah knew that more of the amphibians would be coming out to join the fight.
She had been gritting her teeth so hard that her false snake fangs had caused her lips to bleed, and still they had been unable to break thru the collapsed tunnel where the moles escaped or defeat the roads.
Worse still the weasel could see that Juska Kall's patience was wearing thin and she wondered if the feral stoat might turn on her and her raiders at any time.
"Fall back!" she finally ordered as the vermin raiders vainly tried to sling more stones at the toads. Even Juska's warriors didn't argue with the order as they ran toward the safety of the dunes.
The frogs didn't bother following, having won the battle they bellowed and made other loud noises in the night as the vermin found safety amid the shoreline.
"Ye lied ta Juska Kall, weasel mistress. Not a jewel been found and now some of me best ravagers are toad feed!" The stoat in charge of the feral vermin snarled angrily.
"All is not lost yet, my new companion. Calm yourself and provide me the chance to prove that what I told you is going to occur!" Selah told The stoat even as other natives circled them seeking vengeance on her raiders.
"I'm not likin' the way this is turnin' out at all..." Nazier muttered nervously even as the tribe drew their weapons ready to do battle.
"My Seer can tell us the next move to make! We can make this work to our benefit I am sure of it!" Selah told them.
Juska Kall held up his paw to draw back his ravagers and then cocked his head to one side as he looked at Selah. "Ye say Ye has a Seer? Why did ya hide this from Juska Kall?" He asked suspiciously.
"There was no need to mention it until now. The Seer has seen our future he brought us to you, and now he can help us to recover your jewels," Selah Falsetooth explained calmly, smiling with her dangerous fangs to show she was pleased.
"Very well, bring this Seer of yours to our camp. We will see if his prophecies are true as Ye say," Juska Kall commented as he gestured for the ravagers to follow back toward his camp.
The female weasel in charge of the raiders snatched up Nazier by his collar and snarled, "Get Vargas out here on the double!"
Tossing the mink into the sand, Selah followed the tribal vermin toward their camp to feee her hunger and appease the temperament of Juska Kall.
Nazier got up and dusted off his clothes looking toward the two rat Captains that were sneering at him as he walked back toward the Foxwolf.
"Sick and tired of bein' treated like scat," the mink said spitting toward the vermin camp as he hurried to the plank that led toward the main ship.
It was almost eerie to stand on the Foxwolf and peer toward the dark sea alone, not another vermin stirred on deck.
Making his way to the inner chambers, he unlocked the ferret's caged room and looked at the mangy Seer. What if he took us here based on some Mad dream? Nazier didn't want to doubt the words of their prophet, but now they had already experienced losses.
Finally the crazed ferret seemed to notice his arrival and looked up before commenting, "We have stopped sailing."
"Aye Ye ugly bloater. We made it to the coast! En now all our molers are goned! They escaped into the forests! No thanks to you!" The mink snapped.
"You wish to point blame? Look no further than our leader, who tore her family aside just to bring us out here to die," Vargas snarled.
Nazier looked at the crazed Seer, uncertain what he meant by that and muttered, "Ye sayin' Selah is lying to us?"
Vargas seemed to have a moment of clarity before commenting, "Why did you come here?"
"Falsetooth sent me, we gots new allies from a shore line of vermin. Led be a feller names himself Juska, almost as nutty as you," the mink said.
The ferret stood up and hobbled toward the door, gesturing toward the bonds that shackled him.
"I ain't a fool, Ye tryin' to escape just like them moles!" Nazier laughed. He grabbed the chain instead to lead the Seer out.
"There will come a day where you wished you had freed me when you had the chance," Vargas snarled back.
The mink said nothing and instead yanked on the chain to pull the ferret back up deck and toward the sandy shores. It worried him more and more that the Seer might have told him the truth about Selah leading them to disaster.
Should I even tell the others? Or would they even believe me? He didn't want to wind up as gull food like his former crew mates. Nazier decided for now to say nothing. But if things keep going bad, I will turn my tail and follow those moles, he thought.
They were half way to Juska's camp when a familiar face appeared in the darkness. Nazier tried not to show his fear of the wicked weasel as her fangs gleamed in the moonlight.
"Ah Vargas my faithful Seer. Again your words are needed to soothe the doubters," Selah snarled.
"I knew you would need my advise once more," Vargas replied as the two seemed to look at each other with vicious glares.
Selah glanced at the mink who still stood nearby, growling, "Get to the camp! By the morning I expect that thick skull of yours to be rested. We will be hunting those moles." Nazier saluted smartly and ran off, leaving the two older vermin to talk alone.
"You have failed me, Mad Seer. Our slaves escaped and our new allies are close to butchering us! How do you care to explain yourself?" Selah Falsetooth asked angrily.
"There were words in my visions that you did not care to hear, or forgot to heed," Vargas answered.
Neither said a word for a moment and then the weasel grabbed her servant by the neck and placed her fangs precariously near his neck. "You will share only what I need you to! The other parts of your visions will never come to pass! Now speak to me those words!" Selah said.
"You have led us to a land filled with treasures, this much has already come to pass. But you have not made any allies, not the ones I foresaw," Vargas replied with a mocking tone.
"Have you lost your head? Juska Kall's tribe is over a hundred strong! More than enough for us to take on any enemy," Selah stated.
"Again you ignore my prophecies! Is this to be your legacy, Falsetooth? Of running away?" Vargas snapped back.
The weasel frowned and remembered how the ferret had said she would make an arrangement with the creatures of the night... could it be that the Mad Seer was talking about the toads?
She fell silent as she led him into the camp where the feral vermin all eagerly awaited his words, and Juska Kall began to chant a tribal dirge.
"Listen Ye ta the visions of future days,
And ev'rthin' this Seer has to says.
We ask now the blessin' of the sacred stones,
And with this incantation; we set the tone!
Juska, Juska, Juska, Juska, forever and ever we remain."
The group fell silent as he lit a torch and then held it close to the crazed eyes of the ferret, waiting for him to speak.
"The tribe of Juska, strong and fierce will always be.
For their future I did see.
Their leader will live on forever,
His name etched in their history.
This weasel mistress that you do not trust,
Will keep you alive and always be just.
Follow the Falsetooth and take on the toadies,
And you will find your immortality."
Juska Kall stared at the ferret for another long moment and cackled madly as he went to dance with his tribe, satisfied for now with the prophecy.
"Tell me now you Mad Seer, what do your words mean?" Selah asked snatching the ferret aside as the stairs and rats danced about the flames.
"Return to the toads and you will find your answers, they will guide you to the great island that you seek, to the sacred stone of shadow," Vargas answered.
"Then when dawn comes a squadron of raiders will be at my side, and we will feed Juska Kall to these toads, and make them our slaves," Selah Falsetooth decided. The chanting of the tribal chief continued into the night, even as the weasel began to plot the stoat's downfall.
