Cold sunlight awoke Seabane from his dreamless sleep. He didn't move from the wooden bench he lay on, but his eyes darted about his cell instinctually searching for any danger or ways to escape. When he couldn't find either he sighed and pulled the thick blanket tighter around him. The cell was a large square room with a long and narrow stairway that protruded from a heavy wooden and iron wrought door. There were pairs of cuffs at the end of long chains connected to the four walls. Seabane was thankful he wasn't in them. Several grimy wooden benches built into the wall sat between the chains. A simple iron bowl held off the ground by three intersecting wooden poles provided little light and warmth for the vermin the night prior. The coals were dark and cold. Seabane rolled around on the bench which was held parallel to the ground by rusted chains at either end. It squeaked and groaned in complaint. Several tail lengths above him a rectangular slit in the wall provided the only light aside from that of torches that slipped under the door of the cell. The hares who had brought the vermin to their cell assured him that he wouldn't fit through it if he had tried. Seabane doubted he had the energy too.
That night had left Seabane sore and exhausted. His bony joints screamed in protest as he tried to fall back asleep. The blanket wrapped around him worked when there was a fire supporting it, but without it, the cold had seized the opportunity and chilled him awake. Biting his tongue, the pounding in his head had returned, but to less an effect than the day before. Seabane closed his eyes once more and a momentary relief washed over him. He opened his eyes again and his stomach growled. Furious, he reached down and touched the dirt floor as he yawned. His paw brushed against a small stone. It was frozen to the touch. He shot his paw back under the warm blanket. Seabane sighed as he opened his eyes, accepting that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. When his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he realized he was staring at Marrow's giant tattoo.
Seabane froze as the skull watched him. Its bony mouth opened and closed to the rhythm of Marrow's snoring. Seabane could hear the skull's voice, its mocking laughter grating on his ears.
"Hahahahahaha! Look at you Captain Seabane. Fleeing to your enemy for protection. Groveling beneath them for a bit of bread! Gleefully sleeping in their dungeon like the slaves you once captured! You're a disgrace." The skull growled.
"We're alive," Seabane responded, picking at the head of a nail which jutted from the bench.
The skull burst into a howling laugh.
"For how long? Redwall and Salamandraston aren't merciful to corsairs or hordebeasts. Much less those who murder and use orphaned children to bargain their way to freedom! But this isn't the first time you've done such a thing."
"They won't slay us." Seabane hissed. "They'll help!"
"What makes you so sure? The fox's wound is mortal. You've seen beasts perish from far less. Why would the Redwallers waste their time saving a worthless runt who'd rush to stab them in the back!"
"Shuddup liar!" Seabane barked. The pounding in his head grew as the voice boomed in his ears.
"He looked up to you as a hero! An what will his final memories of you be? A sniveling coward! Begging for help at the tails of wretches that would slit your throat without hesitation! Every beast saw it, and none will forget it!"
"Shuddup!" Seabane cried and covered his ears, desperately trying to block the badger's voice.
"His fate will be far kinder than yours! Yours is far worse than death, to live and be hated by your own kind! You will never be accepted by them! Vermin and Woodlander, they will only see you as a fool! A fool who was too cowardly to accept what he is, fleeing to his enemy to live out his few remaining days in shame! Living a constant reminder of what cannot be!"
"Shuddup!" Seabane shouted as he grabbed a stone and hurled it at the skull. It missed and hit Marrow. The laughing skull vanished as Marrow's white head whipped around. His red eyes were awash with fury. The white rat exploded toward Seabane. The corsair couldn't react in time. Seabane felt weightless as Marrow lifted him to eye level. His face was a vicious snarl.
Seabane opened his mouth to scream but Marrow's head whipped forward, slamming him in the nose. Marrow crumpled to the ground landing awkwardly on top of the brown rat.
"Gerroff me yew-" Seabane barked as he pushed the limp rat off him. He couldn't utter much more as the tip of a sword was pointed at his throat.
"Wots all this fighting ye empty-headed toads?" Captain Santain piped as he looked down at the rats from overtop a grey mouse.
"Jus' a… small disagreement." Seabane managed to stammer out. "What's it mattah tah yew!"
The hare scoffed. "Nothing. I'm surprised your kind survived for as long, chap."
"What's that supposed to mean," Seabane growled.
"Nothing laddie. Now straighten up and look presentable for the abbot, wot!" Captain Santain snapped at him.
Seabane held back the curses he wished to hurl at the long-eared fool. Moving Marrow's unconscious body around was harder than he expected but after a few moments of tiresome exertion, he managed to free himself from the white mass.
"Is there a problem rat!" The dark-furred otter called as Seabane attempted to avoid the tip of the mouse's long blade.
"Was yer friend tryin' to make a meal out of ya? I don't know why he would, you're nothin' but a filthy pelt with bones!"
Seabane regretfully remembered Dokkur as he strode down the stairs of the cell with the abbot following closely behind. His steel chest plate was spotless, and the red cape draped behind him like a wet blanket. Seabane thought he looked like a fool.
"Naw riverdog," Seabane responded. "Why d'ye look like an idjit?"
The otter puffed out his chest and lowered his javelin at Seabane as he reached the bottom of the steps. "You talk far too much for a beast in chains."
"Yarr and ye talk far too much for a beast who's never seen battle! Haven't ye been told that clean armor isn't anything to be proud of? It means yew've never crossed blades or ye run from every fight!" Seabane cracked a smile as Dokkur's face twisted in rage.
"You!" The otter shouted as he started toward the rat.
"Dokkur!" The grey-furred mouse's voice boomed as he turned his head from Seabane to glare at the otter. Obedient to whatever command, Dokkur turned and walked back to the abbot's side.
The mouse's sword remained pointed at Seabane. "You speak from experience vermin. Why are you so eager to get a knife in your throat?"
"Corsairs fear nothing mouse!" Seabane's voice was a hiss. The mouse didn't flinch but cracked a wry smile on his short whiskers.
"That's not what I heard happened last night."
Seabane twisted his face in a rage as the skull's voice echoed in his head, reminding him of his pitiful pleas for aid.
"Yarr what does it matter tah yew? Beasts do things they regret when they're starvin', yew abbeybeasts wouldn't know."
"Believe me I do." The mouse said as he crept closer to Seabane. "I find beasts only start to think when the shadow of the dark forest is cast over them." Seabane felt his back press against the wall as the tip of the sword edged his way toward his throat.
There was a clearing of somebeast's throat, and the mouse stopped. Seabane let out a puff of air as he pushed himself away from the wall. A cruel smile broke onto the faces of the otter and hare. The grey mouse remained as stone-faced as the dark cell walls.
"I was hoping we could continue our discussion from earlier." Abbot Micah said as he stepped forward.
"I've brought breakfast." The abbot nodded down at the tray in his paws. "Just to whet your appetite."
Served on a simple wooden tray, a generous bowl of steaming hot vegetable and nut stew was ladled out for the hungry prisoner. Plump root vegetables, foraged wild mushrooms, and tender chestnuts, were all simmered to perfection in a savory broth infused with fragrant herbs. Accompanying the stew was a crusty loaf of freshly baked honey oat bread, its golden crust giving way to a warm, soft interior. A wedge of flat white cheese completed the meal, offering a delightful contrast to the hearty stew. A tiny sky-blue teacup with what Seabane assumed to be mint tea from its crisp aroma steamed in the dark and fridged cell.
Seabane felt saliva dripping from his mouth. His stomach roared at the scent of food. He nodded and reached for the tray. The grey mouse who had pointed his sword at him a moment before stepped between the Abbot and the rat.
"First answer my questions." The mouse said leveling his sword at Seabane's chest.
Seabane looked at Abbot Micah, then at the food, then at the mouse. His face twisted in disappointed fury.
"No! Your abbot-"
"The abbot isn't the one asking the questions!"
"That's not!" Seabane stammered out his high voice grated on the stones.
"Not what!" The mouse interrupted. "Abbot Micah let you in out of the kindness of his heart. If I were you, I'd answer the questions unless you want to be thrown into the cold!"
The abbot remained motionless but glanced between Seabane and the small mouse as if he expected Seabane to comply. Marrow was still unconscious and Dokkur and Captain Santain watched Seabane with their paws on their weapons ready to aid this small mouse if it came to it.
Seabane was forced to swallow his pride. "Yarr… make the questions quick. I'm starvin'!"
"You were in a horde, who was its leader?" The mouse snapped.
"Zidar. I told yew idjits this last night!" Seabane snapped back.
The blade edged closer to his throat.
"Yew recognizes that name?" Seabane asked, a sudden pang of worry traveling down his spine.
"Of course I do." The mouse responded, his tail swishing about behind him like an adder preparing to strike. "You scum have been tormenting the north for seasons. Plenty of good beasts have been slain by your claws! Give me one reason I shouldn't slit your throat right now!"
Seabane raked his mind struggling to come up with a reason. He knew none of them would be good enough for the mouse, so he reverted to the next best option, lying.
"We didn't have a choice! An we left almost a season ago. Killing isn't enjoyable but we had to, or we'd be killt'." It was partially true, but Seabane wished he had kept his mouth shut.
The mouse was quicker than Seabane first thought, and his fist caught the rat's left cheek knocking him to the ground. Seabane blinked in a daze as the mouse's wooden peg leg pressed into his chest as the first pangs of pain echoed in his head.
"Don't speak of killing, vermin! We all know you do it for your sick pleasure!" The mouse pressed down harder.
"Naw, I'm being honest!" Seabane croaked as he raised his paws to cover his face. "We fled because we wanted tah start again in the Southlands! We nevah wanted tah hurt anybeast but we'd be slain if we didn't!"
Seabane felt what meager trust he had gained from the Redwallers begin to slip from his grasp. The hare and the otter slowly crept forward.
"What were your plans involving Redwall?"
"What plans?"
"Zidar's! Where did he plan on marching once spring arrived?"
Seabane looked around searching for support from anybeast. With their paws resting on sheathed swords and faces set in stone Seabane wasn't going to receive any. Even the abbot looked on, his brows furrowed in concerned disappointment.
"I don't know I wasn't an officer, none of us were! An why would that matter iv dey've been slain!"
"How do ye know they've been destroyed, wot?" Captain Santain interjected.
"Marrow saw them get wiped out!" Seabane desperately pointed at the rat. "They attacked a fortnight ago, but we left just before they surrounded the horde. We didn't know there was a badger and his hares waiting to attack us!"
The grey mouse stepped back off the rat, seemingly pleased with his answer. The hare captain looked at him in surprise.
"Chap if you're lying then I'll split ye in two, from yer ears to yer tail!"
"Why would I lie yew long-eared maggot!" Seabane writhed in pain as the hare kicked him in the stomach.
Seabane hacked for air and rolled in the dirt as the hare unsheathed his rapier and squatted next to him.
"Lad, you said that you left the horde a season ago. Now you're telling me that you and your merry little band deserted this past fortnight?"
"You wouldn't believe anything I told ya!" Seabane managed to croak.
The hare pressed the tip of his rapier against Seabane's chest and lightly pressed down.
"You're blinkin' right chap."
"Captain, has there been any word from Lord Bromwell?" The grey mouse asked.
"No, nothing yet. If anybeast knew, they'd be in Salamandastron. The snow only delays any messenger headed our way."
"Why does it matter?" Dokkur asked.
"When I was with Dane, he said that he and Log-a-log left before Lord Bromwell pushed into the mountains." The mouse said as he nudged the hare rapier away from the rat. "They were preparing to get rid of them before the snow arrived."
"Why didn't he and the shrews stay behind to help?" The hare asked annoyed. "Lord Bromwell certainly would've appreciated it."
"They had spent longer than they had anticipated with them already. They needed to return to their families." The mouse responded. "I don't like it, but the vermin's story adds up."
"Why would I lie tah yew idjits!" Seabane barked.
"Because you're vermin." Dokkur snapped. "You lied a moment ago, and you and your companions threatened beasts in the abbey."
Dokkur swung toward the abbot.
"I think that's enough reason to throw them out! Although if they came from Zidar's horde it would be best to send them to the Dark Forest!"
Seabane wanted to fillet the beast, skin him alive, and wear his pelt like a trophy. Instead, he growled and muttered curses as Dokkur kept talking.
"Zidar's the problem not the rest of us," Seabane muttered loud enough for the others to hear.
"Oh aye! An the rest of ye are innocent little kits! He wouldn't be a problem if you chose not to follow him, mate," Dokkur responded as he twirled his javelin in his paw.
"Yarr, we didn't have a choice!"
"Vermin always have a choice! You just choose to do the wrong thing!"
"What would yew know otter!" Seabane snapped at him. "Yew've done nothing but torment us since we've arrived!"
"We don't want you here!"
"We don't wanna be here!" Seabane shouted. "Now yew gotta help us!"
"You should've been slain along with the rest of your wretched horde!"
"Dokkur!" The abbot had been silent up until that point. His voice snapped off the walls and made Seabane's heart skip a beat.
"Zidar might have been a monster, but one way or the other they chose to leave!"
"To desert!" Seabane interjected before the abbot could finish his breath.
"Scores of unfortunate beasts have been slain because of one horrid creature." The abbot continued. "And all you can do is mock the few beasts that managed to escape!"
The otter scrunched his nose in fury. "They didn't escape. They deserted! They probably knew what was coming and ran off like cowards. They'll continue pillaging and murdering farther south if we let them leave."
"We have kits and injured! We couldn't threaten anybeast even if we wanted to!" Seabane hoped that they still believed his lie about the squirrel.
"That didn't stop you here, vermin!" Captain Santain added as he pointed his rapier at Seabane. "How many beasts did your jolly crew threaten once we let you in, wot? If the hares of the Long Patrol hadn't been there-"
"Captain Santain the actions of you and your hares last night were utterly disgraceful!" Abbot Micah said, his face full of fury.
"I asked you to escort them to the kitchen and infirmary and you couldn't do that without tormenting them like a hawk hunting its prey!" The hare was stunned and opened his mouth to proclaim his innocence. Abbot Micah continued over him.
"To make matters worse you stormed out without a word to anybeast! Your hares searched all about Redwall looking for you! With Eli gone you were the head of the abbey's defenses. If something had happened Redwall would be looking to you for leadership."
Seabane felt the need to remind them that nothing had happened but felt that it wouldn't be the best time. He just smiled as he watched the Woodlanders begin to tear each other apart. It was reassuring to see that vermin weren't the only beasts to do that.
"Stop smiling." The grey-furred mouse snapped at him with a hushed voice. Seabane frowned but inside cackled with glee.
"Now Eli, have you finished interrogating Mr.…." Abbot Micah looked at Seabane who had let a guilty smile spread to his face once more.
The mouse prodded him with his sword, as the smile vanished in the darkened room.
"Yarr the name's Seabane. If everybeast can be a captain, I wanna be called Captain Seabane as well." He snickered at the hare.
"Yes of course." The abbot said ignoring him, which hurt more than Seabane expected. "Eli if you're done with your show, I'd like to ask him questions myself."
"Yes, Abbot. I've gotten all I wanted." If there was any anger from the abbot's snide remark it didn't show.
"Excellent." Abbot Micah said as he strode forward, the tray of food held firmly in both paws. "You may eat as I ask questions of my own."
Seabane devoured the food to the disgust of the woodlanders watching him. He didn't realize how hungry he still was and didn't intend on sharing with the unconscious albino rat. The abbot wanted to speak to him anyway, so it was his food.
Seabane finished the tea with obnoxious slurps which got an intended rise from the hare and otter. The grey mouse looked on with the same firm and action-like glare he had worn since he had entered the cell. Seabane began to lick the crumbs from his paw hoping to crack the mouse's rock-solid shell.
"Whaddaya want abbot? Although it might cost ye some more vikkles if ya wants it." Seabane barked as he reclined himself on the wooden bench.
"How far north were you when you deserted?" Abbot Micah asked as he rested his head on his paws. A stool had been brought in for the old mouse. He stooped over, elbows resting on his knees, watching Seabane with a peculiar interest.
"I told ye the horde's been slain." Seabane paused his search for crumbs just to snap at him.
"I know, but how far north were you when you deserted?"
Seabane rolled the thought around in his head. In truth, he had no idea, but he suspected the farther the better.
"Yarr, it took us too long to make it this far south, but we were camped in the center of the northern mountains. At the foothills of the highest peak, that Zidar named after himself."
The abbot's face went blank as he absorbed what the rat had said, before nodding in acknowledgement.
"Were there as many with you now as when you left?"
"We picked up the squirrel a fortnight errr… moon ago but we were all the vermin that left." Seabane thought it best that Muckfur remain out of their ears. It might ruin the idea of a lost group of pitiful vermin.
"You wanted to go south for a 'better life?'" The mouse asked.
"Yes!" Seabane snapped but didn't rib the mouse like he would have Captain Santain for asking such a stupid question. "We told ya all o' dis last night!"
"I thought you left because you knew the horde would be destroyed?" The grey-furred warrior mouse asked.
Seabane hated how he'd been paying attention. "Well… yes. We'd been planning on deserting for a while. Got lucky we did, or else we'd been slain like the rest of the horde."
"Did you see that with your premonition?" the old abbot asked.
Seabane felt the air catch in his throat. He had kept his premonitions closely guarded while he was in the horde, only admitting it to his closest companions and to those he would need on his journey south. Seabane was more than a bit hesitant to speak of it to these woodlanders.
"What's a premonition?" he asked, playing dumb and running his claw around the teacup.
The old abbot sighed and knitted his paws together as if he were explaining to a brainless kit why he shouldn't play with knives.
"I assumed you would know. It's when a beast has a dream of the future or past. Often these visions carry warnings or can provide advice to whoever views it." The mouse started. "Often times these visions show items or places of incredible yet seemingly unknown importance. Sometimes beasts will be left with a riddle or a limerick that they were charged with deciphering."
"There have been cases where long lost family members or ancient heroes have been present in these premonitions. Redwall's history is littered with examples of our valiant heroes being given advice or wisdom that gave them the advantage in battle."
"Wonderful. Even the dead side with you." Seabane muttered to himself with a snarl. "Why should I care?"
"Well considering that you seemed to admit to having one, I thought you might tell us more." The abbot said with a slight smile.
Seabane pinned his mouth shut and tried to avoid the mouse's stare. He hated himself for how foolish he must have been last night. Now that he had vittles in his stomach and was out of the snow, he could see all the mistakes as plain as a sunbeam on a summer's morn. The biggest of which was coming to this cursed abbey!
"Yarr, I don't remember having any pre-mo-nish-uns." Seabane snorted. "An I don't think I want one now that yew thinks they're-."
"I'm certain you have." The abbot's restrained voice cut through Seabane's lies. "And I'm certain Captain Santain and Dokkur would love to convince you otherwise."
Small smiles formed on the malicious faces of the otter and hare as they stepped forward hearing their names. Seabane's stomach twisted about as he tried to form a response. After a moment of silence, the abbot continued.
"Or we could throw the lot of ye out. Either way, we would sleep soundly without you here."
"Yarr ya don' have tah do that!" Seabane snapped rubbing at his ear, fuming underneath his startled expression.
"So, you do remember?" Abbot Micah asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Aye. There was a premonition an all it did was warn me that we should leave before we were slain." Seabane sunk deeper into the dark wall.
The abbot relaxed into his stool with a thankful smile. "Did you see anything or anyone you recognized? Also, what exactly did it tell you?"
Seabane curled back his lip but continued.
"I think I saw some beast I recognized but I don't remember. An dey didn't tell me anything, they only showed me something bad was gonna happen."
"Are you sure you didn't recognize anybeast? Could you have seen one of your companions? Or even one of us?"
Seabane snorted in disgust. "Naw I saw none of yew Redwallers. Just somebeast I thought I recognized from before I could bumble on me own paws."
Seabane's heart sank as the abbot's kindhearted expression turned to one of slight perplexity.
"Yarr what's tha mattah?" He asked.
"He knows yer lying," Dokkur responded.
"No. I'm just thinking." Abbot Micah interjected before the two beasts' words turned to war.
"How long before your desertion did you have your premonition?"
"A day or so. We had to keep it secret and couldn't prepare any supplies." Seabane said looking down at his paws. He hoped he hadn't led his comrades to their doom by taking them to Redwall.
"I didn't see yer abbey or any of ye in my dreams," Seabane said trying to further convince them. "I only led us here because we were lost and desperate. We hoped to avoid this place altogether."
"It's alright Seabane." Abbot Micah responded as he gently rose from his seat. "Everything happens for a reason, and while none of us might understand it, eventually we will."
"So does that mean that we kin stay?" Seabane asked hoping for some good news.
"I will discuss this with Sister Beryl and a few others, but I am planning on calling a meeting with the whole of Redwall to make a decision tonight."
Seabane felt a cold chill rush from his tail to his ears. His lying was good, but he was certain he couldn't convince all of Redwall of their innocence. He tried to look for a way out.
"I would ask that you might be able to attend since you are the leader of your bedraggled crew."
"Yarr so I kin be humiliated in front of the whole abbey! I'll let ye know how much I think of yer… kindness."
"You'll be able to speak if it's appropriate." The grey mouse snapped at Seabane. "However, I doubt it'll matter, word of vermin spread like fire, and beasts' fur has yet to settle."
Seabane held his tongue. He suspected that they had made quite a scene last night, but he couldn't grasp how they could see through their innocent ruse. He then remembered Sathe had antagonized a badger to the point of being cuffed. Seabane couldn't blame the Redwallers for wanting to throw her out.
"I'll send somebeast to get you when the time comes." Abbot Micah said as he turned his back on the rat and walked towards the other Redwallers.
For a moment Seabane thought he should take the abbot as his prisoner. He might be able to use the old beast as a shield and find a way to escape. He had done so before, but he soon realized how stupid the thought was. Out of the four woodlanders in the room, three wouldn't hesitate to run him through. There was also only one exit. Taking the only sane Redwaller that seemed to be on his side prisoner would get him and his comrades slain for certain.
But Seabane remembered a question he needed to ask.
"Yarr Abbot! How are me maties doing?"
Abbot Micah wore a momentarily confused expression, before realizing.
"As far as I know some are better than others. But I can check with Mildred." The mouse turned around and walked out of the cell with the grey-furred mouse and Captain Santain on his heels.
Seabane's shoulders drooped. Disappointment welled in his eyes as he realized the vermin had gone from disposable fools in the horde to prisoners in Redwall. Dokkur, who followed several tail lengths behind the others stopped at the top of the steps. He was halfway out of the door when he turned back to Seabane.
"I hate tah tell ye this mate." Sunlight illuminated his somber eyes and his small downturned mouth. "But the fox died."
Seabane felt the world about the otter spin. The dark stone walls blended into a blackened canvas as the silver armor of the otter shone like a horrifying beacon. The rat's heart leaped into his throat as his eyes began to water and tears fell.
"No." Was all Seabane managed to whisper as he braced the wall behind him for support.
The otter didn't move but continued.
"Aye, but don't worry. We chopped 'em up and fed'em to the pike in the pond!"
A malevolent smile danced across Dokkur's face as Seabane's sorrow turned to rage. He roared up the stairs cursing the otter at the top of his lungs. Dokkur stepped through the doorway and slammed the heavy door behind him. He whipped open the viewing hatch at about eye level of the furious rat.
"Where's Bloodclaw! Where's Ruddy!" Seabane bellowed at the otter as furious tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I told ye matey!" The otter looked like a mischievous young'un as he bounced on his footpaws. He had an almost prideful look in his eyes that reminded Seabane of Muckfur after they attacked the squirrels' cottage. Seabane cursed at him in anger.
"Shhhhhhh. Shut up ye stupid vermin!" Dokkur said with maddened laughter. "Don't want somebeast to hear ye or ye'll all be frozen by tomorrow morn!"
"I'll kill yew! I'll slit yer throat and rip yer tongue from it!" Seabane howled at him.
"I said be quiet!" Dokkur yelled back as he thrust his javelin through the small opening. Seabane dodged, his head narrowly avoiding the weapon's sharp point. He reached out to grab the javelin but felt his footpaws slip out from underneath him. Seabane could only yell in terror as he tumbled down the sharp stone stairs to the hard dirt floor beneath. Seabane heard the otters' mocking, crazed laughter ringing in his ears.
"The abbot was too kind an didn't want tah tell ye mate, but tha dirty fox didn't make it through the night!" The otter laughed before slamming the viewing hole shut and letting the broken rat sob in the darkness.
Just broke 100k words! Thank you so much for all of your support over the course of the story! Cheers, to an even better 200k!
Please let me know what you think and what I can improve on. Any and all feedback is appreciated!
