Chapter 261: The Discovery.

"The rain came down in torrents and, every so often, a shaft of blue-white lightening ripped through the dark sky. The stars were not visible this night, for the clouds covered every single one. The rain drenched everything and the bare patches of earth were swirled and stirred until they were all pools of mud."

-BlazeRabbit, Tales of the Lord Frith Owsla

Vervain was starting to feel quite cheerful. While Coltsfoot's story had been weird and disturbing, now that it was over, he was free to mock it (and, by extension, mock Coltsfoot himself) with Orchis. Such low-stakes batter was something he greatly enjoyed, and it reminded him of the old days with Chibiscuit (although he was not as friendly now as he was then). Coltsfoot did not seem to mind the criticism, and in fact agreed to several of the complaints, but Vervain ignored him. His conversation with Orchis was just so much fun. Until suddenly...

-"VVEERRVVAAIINN!"

Vervain immediately panicked. Of course, this was too good to last, and he was back to the agony of everyday life. He could only minimize the suffering by running over to his Chief before the anger got worse. He immediately dashed away towards the source of the noise.

-"What is it, sir?"

-"Where is your hostage?" Woundwort asked.

-"I don't know, sir. You asked that traitor Campion to carry him and..."

-"And yet, I distinctly remember seeing the hostage among the owsla after Campion betrayed us. Where is he?"

-"I will go search for him right away."

As soon as he heard Woundwort call for Vervain, Moss suspected what was going on. As he overheard the discussion regarding the hostage, his suspicions were confirmed: Dandelion's absence had been noticed, and it was only a matter of time before they figured out that the outsiders had recaptured him. For his own safety, it was time to leave. Fortunately, with Vervain and Orchis going off on their search, and Coltsfoot returning to his mentor, there was nobody to notice Moss running back up the Down.

Vervain was running across the crowd, followed closely by Orchis. There was no sign of Dandelion anywhere! How could this be possible? He had destroyed the hostage's paw, he would never be able to flee on his own! And since Woundwort had seem him after Campion's betrayal, he hadn't been carried away either.

Suddenly, Vervain found himself pinned to the ground, and he could feel Orchis' claws against his ears.

-"I challenge you to single combat," Orchis said menacingly.

-"Again? What do you want this time?"

-"Whoever loses this fight shall take the blame for the hostage's escape."

-"So he did escape?" As illogical as it seemed, this was the only possible option, and it left Vervain demoralized.

-"Yes, I'm fairly sure I saw him get carried away by the outsiders"

-"Why didn't you stop them?"

-"I wanted to finish listening to little weirdo's story."

-"But that story was pure horror! Surely capturing a runaway is more important?"

-"We're getting off-topic here. Single combat. Do you best."

-"Surely there must be another way to resolve this dispute?" Vervain really wanted to avoid this petty battle. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

-"Of course I remember." Orchis went silent for a few moments. "What happened?"

-"I don't remember. But surely it was bad, wasn't it?"

-"I don't believe it even happened! So, do you surrender, or do we fight it out?"

-"It would be totally unfair to fight it out like this. You are much stronger than me. I have an idea for something that would be more fair."

-"What would that be?"

-"Bob-stones."

-"You fool...the Speaker of the Past has been telling everyone how you cheat at every move."

Vervain was deeply offended by this remark.

-"Oh, NOW you take the Speaker seriously! You're always dismissing her words as nonsense, but now that it suits you, she's the voice of reason, is she?"

-"You're stalling. Surrender now, or fight."

-"I'll play honestly, I won't cheat at bob-stones, I swear!"

-"No deal. This is your last chance to surrender before I attack."

-"What's going on around here?"

Both rabbits gasped: this was the General's voice. Orchis quickly hopped off Vervain's back and stood next to him, as the General stepped over to them.

-"Vervain, Orchis, explain yourselves."

-"Well, General, as you can see, we were looking for the hostage."

-"Is that what you call 'looking'!?" Woundwort boomed. "Looks more like fighting to me! Besides, I heard you just say that the hostage has escaped."

-"Just like the ancient prophecy said," the Speaker started to say, "the one..."

-"Shut up," Woundwort ordered. "You blundering idiots! Whenever something goes wrong, it's always your fault! Be more careful next time! That is, IF there is a next time..."

-"Do you need them executed?" Kurai asked, provoking a gasp from both Vervain and Orchis.

-"I appreciate the offer, but no: I already lost enough rabbits, I don't want to lose two more, even such useless ones," Woundwort replied, before turning back to the captains. "You two shall live, but the next time this happens..."

Woundwort hopped away in frustration before he could finish his threat. The worst possible thing that could have happened had happened: the hostage was gone. With that, he had lost his main advantage. The only thing he could do now was attack quickly: if he waited any longer, the outsiders would have more time to prepare.

He shouted the order, and everyone soon dashed towards the target.

Hawkbit soon returned above ground, but he was alone: Dandelion had stayed underground. While Blackberry had managed to pop the storyteller's leg into place, she still warned him not to make any sudden movements, effectively forcing him to sit out the battle. This would no doubt do wonders for his self-esteem, Hawkbit thought sarcastically, given Dandelion's past fear of being useless...

As expected, it did not take long for Bigwig to ask Hawkbit the obvious question:

-"Where's Dandelion?"

-"Blackberry says that he needs time to recover."

Bigwig sighed and shook his head.

-"How long?"

-"She'll let us know when he's ready."

Following this comment, Hawkbit reasoned that Dandelion's uselessness had one advantage: he wouldn't have to put up with Bigwig's grumpy attitude! At that moment, he felt something fall on top of his head. Looking upwards, he saw the thick layer of clouds in the sky.

-"It's raining!" he shouted. "Noooo! We'll be soaked by the time the battle is over!"

-"So will the enemy," Thethuthinnang replied.

-"Not to mention, it completely ruins the mood," Bluebell added. "This is very dramatic, the future of the world will be determined today! A thunderstorm would be more appropriate."

-"But we would still be wet," Hawkbit pointed out.

-"It seems to me that no matter what happens, Hawkbit, you will find something to complain about," Bigwig said with a sigh.

Hawkbit was about to make another sarcastic remark, but was interrupted by the sound of Holly stamping.

-"They are attacking NOW!" the captain shouted. "Everyone be ready!"