Feedback is always appreciated! Enjoy!
Villis followed along behind his friends with Stinkpaw on his tail. With Grubby's strong nose leading the group they were certain to find vittles sometime soon.
"Hurry up rat! Iv yew could waddle any quicker we'd be there by now!" Mudpelt barked into Grubby's large ear.
"Uhhh mate I think we're goin' the wrong way," Darkeye added.
"No, we're not. Yew kin see the castle over the hill." Grubby said without halting his pace.
"But yer still going too slow! There won't be any crumbs left for us when we get there!" Mudpelt barked once again.
Vilis had requested other beasts to play with several seasons ago. His father had managed to find Mudpelt, Grubby, and Darkeye from the horde to amuse him. Their parents had been more than eager to let them follow along with the warlord's son. It meant their kits would never have to worry about going hungry again. Villis was just happy to have other beasts his age to go on adventures with. Since he was the wildcat son of a warlord, he could do whatever he pleased.
"Oi Mudpelt. Yew remembers when we stole that weasel's sword an tried tah catch a pike with it?" Villis asked.
"We lost Slitnose's rod 'cus of that fish. Pulled it straight from Darkeye's paws." Mudpelt muttered.
"He told us if he didn't bring the fish with the rod, he'd cut us up and serve us for suppah!" Villis said remembering how furious the old cook had been.
"Darkeye looked like he was gonna wet himself!" Grubby chimed in.
"Really?" Stinkpaw asked, eager to hear more.
"I did not!" Darkeye snapped. "But it wasn't my stupid idea tah take the sword, that was Mudpelt's!"
"I didn't want tah eat yew for suppah, that's all mate. Yer too skinny tah taste good, and yew smell like rotten vegetables." Mudpelt said stooping over and grabbing a stone before whipping it at the ferret. "Besides it was Villis who stole his sword, I just suggested it."
"You waded into the river with it. When the pike started swimming towards you threw it and ran." Villis chided as he mimicked the scene to every beast's amusement.
"That toadlicking, flee-brained weasel saw and immediately threw me back in after it! The rotten beast tried drowning me over a stupid sword!"
"I thought you loved swords?" Stinkpaw asked as she bit her paw to hold back her laughter.
"I do idjit!" Mudpelt snapped. "But his sword was too small. It wasn't even as long as my tail. It was also ugly, no gold or jewels or anything."
"Just like yer knife."
"Shuddup Darkeye 'afore I stick it in yer gullet!"
"Then what sword d'ye want?" Stinkpaw asked.
Mudpelt smiled gleefully, Villis was certain he had his response all planned out.
"I'd have a big sword, a double-edged one where the blade is longer than Villis is tall! The hilt will be made of gold and there'll be rubies on it. I want the pommel to be a massive diamond! Or a skull. I might keep the diamond for meself!" Mudpelt said dancing about with glee, swinging his imaginary sword about like the great Cluny the Scourge.
"But Mudpelt yer too small to carry a sword like that." Grubby interrupted the fox.
"Not when I grow up!" He shouted at the rat. "My dad said that I'll get bigger and stronger than a badger! Meanwhile, you'll still be fat!"
"But I'll be eatin' better vikkles then yew!"
"No yew won't! I'll have the best vikkles! There'll be food from all across Mossflower on my table, and I'll have more of it than any other beast."
"You kin be my head cook Grubby." Villis chimed. "An Mudpelt yew kin be one of my officers!"
"Why would I wanna be one of yer officers when I can lead my own horde." Mudpelt spat.
Villis curled his lips in anger.
"Why? So I kin slay yew like my father slew Kassvir and his band.
Mudpelt swallowed remembering the searat and his doomed pirate crew, changing his tone.
"No, I mean I'd be willing tah join ye for a while, but I'd like tah start off on my own. Slitnose said that there's land that needs conquering across the sea. Yew kin has Mossflower and I kin have whatever's over there."
"I'll be yer cook Villis, as long as I get a kitchen all to myself!" Grubby said nodding his head in eager anticipation.
"Yew kin have the kitchen in the castle. We just hav' tah get to it." Villis said kicking a pebble ahead of him.
"One more thing about my sword," Mudpelt said recalling a crucial detail.
"The blade will be black. I want it darker than the night, darker than that bottomless well we found by the ancient badger fortress. An I'll call it Soulstealer. No, Night Ripper. Wait no, Mournblade: The Key to the Dark Forest." Mudpelt rubbed his paws giddy to finally get what was so deservedly his.
"Those are stupid names," Darkeye said. "I bet yew only want a black sword because that hare in the castle has one."
"No, I don't yew scaredy squirrel! I thought of it first he just copied me!" Darkeye snapped back.
"How could he do that? You haven't met him have yew?" Stinkpaw asked.
"I drew out my idea on a stone when we got to the castle." The fox said shaking his head in disappointment at their new companion. "I went back the next day an the stone was gone. That dirty rabbet had to have stolen it and made it that night!"
"What did he call himself again?" Villis asked. "Rulus or Rufus Blacknose?"
"It was Ruckous Blackblade." Darkeye said. "I'm surprised yew didn't hear him Villis. You know how dumb hares are, he was shouting his name while he waived his sword and cursed your father."
Now that the ferret mentioned it Villis remembered hearing his father yelling about a hare. He was furious when one of his carefully constructed plans had been thwarted and he lost almost a score of vermin.
"I bet he's regretting that now!" Mudpelt said, tossing his small knife into the air. "He won't last long."
"I bet he tore his ears out and stuffed them down his throat," Villis said remembering the last hare that had been foolish enough to insult his father. It was enough to send chills down his spine.
"If yew gets his sword, I want to see it fir-OW!" Mudpelt shouted as he stumbled landing hard in the dirt.
"What's the matter?" Darkeye asked. Vilis, Stinkpaw, and Darkeye looked down at the fox who held his footpaw in furious anguish.
"Stupid stone!" Mudpelt said grabbing a sharp stone that had caused his blunder and throwing it at the ferret.
The stone missed its mark but landed with a whump in a small clump of grass several tail lengths away.
"Villis! There're beasts in the castle!" Grubby called jumping up and down as he did so. Ignoring Mudpelt who was gingerly rubbing his footpaw, Villis rushed to see what had gotten the rat so worked up. Darkeye and Stinkpaw followed behind him.
Grubby continued forward as the other vermin mocked Mudpelt. He was standing on a small hill crest that had been the unofficial marker between the vermin horde and Castle Floret. Green grasses and wildflowers of all different colors had been stomped down to hard and dry dirt over several moons. Grass buds struggled to crack through the dry-packed earth but were successful in a few places.
Villis ran to the crest of the hill where his friend was waiting for him. By the time he reached the top a cool sweat had accumulated on his brow. He held his paws above his head to gulp the fresh air and admire the view.
Castle Floret was situated atop a tall hill with lofty spires reaching even further into the sapphire spring sky. Four guard towers covered in arrows and in various states of damage from the vermin assault crowned the top of the hill. Thick stone walls and ramparts that looked like tiny sharp teeth connected the towers, all of which were in a similar state of damage. A moat reinforced the already impressive walls, adding additional protection to the already nearly impenetrable castle. A near sheer cliff face on three sides made an assault from those directions nearly impossible. The easiest way into the castle was up the one remaining side of the hill. A great stairway led from a small village at the foot of the castle to the drawbridge at the top. The village was in ruin. Sitting in the small valley between the vermin camp and the castle, the stone village had taken the brunt of the damage from the siege. Beasts sauntered between the houses taking stock of the damage. Several of the buildings had been burnt to the ground by a surprise attack by the castle defenders that had caught the vermin unawares. Others had collapsed during the first assault over three moons ago. The rest showed the signs of a several moons-long siege.
Just looking at the castle, Villis could feel an invisible urge to rule it. His father had been nothing short of obsessed with capturing it. Sending wave after wave of beasts to their doom in his quest to take it. After conquering that red-walled fort to the north with ease Villis's father told him that he needed a new challenge. Something to test him before he traveled further west to besiege that badger den that he had spoken so highly of. Then he would have control of all Mossflower. Then in time, Villis would take control of the hordes from his father, and he would rule the land.
Villis was giddy with excitement.
"We're kings of the castle! We're kings of the castle!" Villis cheered. Grubby quickly joined in. When Stinkpaw and Darkeye reached the top of the hill Villis and Grubby were doing a little jig.
"They did? But why is their flag still there." Darkeye said as he pointed at a green and yellow flag that waived proudly overtop of the tallest spire in the castle.
"They probably didn't think about it with all the treasure inside!" Mudpelt said as he bounded up the hill.
"But there's a badger!" Stinkpaw said pointing at the castle, horror dripping from her voice.
Villis looked back, he hadn't noticed the beasts scattered across the hill that connected the castle and village. Villis's mouth opened in shock. Dead vermin lie scattered about where they had fallen in the many attacks. The defenders picked through the bodies. A large ring of beasts surrounded a finely dressed squirrel with a large crown upon his head. To his right, an armored badger with a long two-handed blade strapped to his back lumbered alongside him.
"But… where's the horde?"
"Vermin! Halt!"
Villis looked at the edge of the village. A furious chain-mailed otter and armor-plated squirrel charged straight toward him.