Chapter 256: The Destination.

"Asysy orders magic to create himself an army, does he not?" the witch cackled.

"Yes," said Asysymorez, eyes flashing with red. "And a powerful army it shall be! One that cannot be killed... One that shall take down the government and put me in charge! This is a new era. This is my reign- MY eternal Birthday!"

-Ashleg, This Dynasty

-"That's strange. The area looks different from the last time I was there."

The Darkhaveners were getting close to Watership Down. Orchis was carefully smelling the ground, and was baffled by what he was seeing.

-"Is it now?" Woundwort said, unconvinced.

-"Yes, there was a deep trench here, and Spartina knocked what's-his-name in."

-"Did she?"

Orchis was getting nervous. After the incident a few days before, while he was under the influence, he was afraid of making another poor impression on Woundwort. Vervain was also feeling nervous: despite his complicated relationship with Orchis, he didn't want the fellow captain to get in trouble.

-"I tell you sir, it was there..." Orchis insisted.

Suddenly, another rabbit's squeal was heard. Everyone turned around, and saw a hole in the ground, further away. Woundwort cautiously approached, and looked at the bottom.

-"Some idiot who didn't look where he was going fell in," he said emotionlessly. "He's unconscious now, and I don't want to lose any more of you like this. So be careful where you step."

The rabbits continued hopping forward, albeit slower than before. Despite this, it did not take long before a second rabbit fell into another hidden pit. Vervain carefully peaked inside, and saw the victim's corpse, impaled on a tree root at the bottom of the pit. The sight of blood upset him so greatly that he nearly fell in too, but Orchis pulled him away.

-"I said to be careful!" Woundwort shouted, as he realized what had likely happened: the outsiders, having anticipated the attack, dug some concealed traps. "I need you all alive and..."

Before he could finish his sentence, another rabbit fell into a trench. Unlike the other two, however, he soon crawled back out.

-"My paw hurts..."

-"They're everywhere," Vervain whispered. "Everywhere...there is no escape."

-"The only way out is to run for it!" Feldspar added.

With that, everyone dashed towards the Down; several fell through the ground, but the others kept running.

-"Come back, you fools!" the General ordered. "This is not how this is done!"

But it was too late. The remains of the owsla had already reached the bottom of the Down; approximately a third of them had fallen into pits along the way. Shaking his head, Woundwort hopped over to them.

-"...there aren't many of us left, are there?" Vervain said pitifully.

-"If you hadn't run like idiots, this wouldn't be the case! Still, there are more than enough of us to kill all the outsiders."

-"Shouldn't we go pick up the survivors in the holes?" Shale asked.

-"Don't waste your time with this. Those who are still alive, let them crawl out themselves. If they can't handle such a simple task, then their injuries are too severe and they would be useless in battle; let the elil take them."

-"Is it time to attack?" Orchis asked, excited.

-"Not just yet."

-"Why not?" Granite asked, seemingly disappointed.

-"We have a hostage."

While Woundwort was explaining his reasoning, Campion sneaked away from the group, along with said hostage. The Black Rabbit of Inlé had forced him to go to Darkhaven to find Woundwort, but now he didn't have to do this anymore. He could help the outsiders more easily now: all he had to do was hop over to them and fight for them. At the same time, he could also deprive Woundwort of his hostage. With the General busy with other matters, this seemed like the perfect time to defect.

-"Don't move," he whispered to the rabbit on his back. "Just hold on tightly. Your life depends on it."

Campion hesitated a bit. If he ran to the warren too slowly, he could easily get spotted and chased. If he ran too fast, there were higher risks of Dandelion falling off. Campion therefore decided to go for something in the middle, but that did not go well either. Dandelion made the mistake of holding on to Campion's ears, a relatively weak part of his body, especially with all the injuries he had sustained over the course of his many deaths. This, along with steep slope of the Down, allowed Dandelion to simply slide off Campion's back. It was a bumpy ride back down the hill: due to his injury, the storyteller was unable to control or halt his descent, until he was once again among the owsla.

-"Hey, this reminds me," Orchis told Vervain, as he placed his paw on Dandelion's neck. "While we bargained over Primrose's killing, we didn't reach a decision for this one."

All Campion could do was look at the scene with dismay. Now that Orchis had recaptured Dandelion, there was no way he would be able to save him again alone. He would need help from the other Watershippers.

The Speaker of the Past was among the rabbits who had survived the traps. With the battle appearing imminent, she made a final plea to Woundwort.

-"Now that I am allowed to speak again, I have a question for you," she said. "Will you reconsider? Remember what I said: only one rabbit will die."

-"No, I will NOT reconsider. I am determined to prove you wrong: at the very least, Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig will die. Ideally all the others too."

The Speaker of the Past shrugged, and hopped away with Coltsfoot. Ignoring her, Woundwort addressed his troops:

-"This is the end. The warren is at the top, and we shall destroy it. All the outsiders will die. Campion, announce the hostage."

This order was highly insulting to Vervain: why would Campion be the one announcing the hostage? As the one responsible for the capture, Vervain felt he should do it himself.

But Campion did not step forward. Perplexed, Woundwort called out to him again:

-"WHERE ARE YOU CAMPION?"

-"Up here, General," came the voice of Campion; the General turned around and saw him at the top.

-"What are you doing there?"

-"I switched sides. I'm with the outsiders now."

-"See?" Vervain shouted. "I told you all these seasons, sire! Campion is a traitor!"

Woundwort remained silent. He had always refused to believe that Campion had been disloyal, no matter how many times Vervain had accused him. But now, Campion had openly said that he had switched sides; he could not deny it. Losing his first captain like this was very painful.

For a moment, he considered ending the war without any fighting. Campion had a reason for joining them. Clearly, there were good things about them that had won him over. However, this same reasoning caused him to change his mind again. These filthy outsiders had stolen his best captain from him. They had to pay for it.

-"Vervain, you announce the hostage."

-"With pleasure, General."

Meanwhile, Campion looked at the rabbits at the top of the Down. It was a large crowd, it seemed that nearly everyone was present, including a few rabbits that he didn't recognize. Hazel was at the front; Campion smiled at him.

-"You're fighting with us?" the Chief asked.

-"Yes."

-"We're glad to have you with us. Now let's win this war."

-"We have a problem, though. They captured one of yours."

-"Dandelion?" Hawkbit asked, with mixed feelings: while seeing his friend captured by the enemy was unfortunate, at least he would finally know what had happened to him.

-"Yes," Campion confirmed.

It was at that moment that they heard Vervain shout:

-"OUTSIDERS! WE HAVE A HOSTAGE!"

Bigwig peered over the edge of the Down, and soon spotted Dandelion, lying under Vervain's paws. The sight filled him with anger.

-"OH THIS IS REAL NICE OF YOU, DANDELION! Betraying us to Woundwort! Is this revenge for getting kicked out of the owsla?"

-"I swear, I didn't betray you!" Dandelion shouted back. "I just got captured while on hobaring."

-"Hobaring? Nobody sent you out on hobaring!"

-"But.."

-"You are so incompetent and foolish, and this is just as bad as if you had acted with actual malice."

-"This is what I saw in my vision last night," Fiver said, suddenly understanding. "Woundwort has something we want. He has Dandelion, and we want him back in our warren."

-"Speak for yourself, I don't want him," Bigwig said in disgust. "Woundwort can keep him for all I care."

Leo was among the rabbits above ground at the time. He had been absent at the time of Dandelion's initial disappearance; having only just returned, he was also unaware that the storyteller was missing. Nevertheless, he was saddened by Bigwig's accusations: whatever mistakes Dandelion may have made, he was not a traitor, and he did not deserve to be abandoned.

-"Don't worry, Dandelion, he doesn't mean that!" he shouted. "Once he calms down, he'll regret his harsh words!"

-"You have until ni-Frith to surrender!" Woundwort shouted. "If we haven't received a response by then, we'll kill him!"

-"Do you think it's wise to wait?" Vervain asked, hesitating. "It doesn't sound like they really want him."

-"Are you telling me how to fight my war?"

-"...no, sir."