Chapter 4: It's Not That Simple.
"To have no errors
Would be life without meaning
No struggle, no joy"
-Unknown (NetPositive web browser Easter egg)
Chaos persisted in Efrafa for a long time. After it had finally subsided, a few officers carried General Woundwort's body away from Efrafa. He was by far the largest rabbit in the warren, and it took four members of the owsla to transport him. A deep hole was dug some distance from the warren, and the body was deposited at the bottom. The hole was then filled up again, and an officer returned with a few leaves of woundwort, which were scattered over the grave. The officers then remained silent and bowed in respect for their fallen leader.
A while later, the owsla was gathered in the central chamber. Moss jumped on top of the rock overlooking the chamber; it was still stained with Woundwort's blood.
-"Today is a sad day for everyone here in Efrafa, and all rabbits everywhere. General Woundwort, the most fearless, strongest, bravest and wisest rabbit ever, has stopped running today. He did not die in the line of duty, but was mercilessly killed in cold blood. We do not know yet who is responsible, but when the murderer is discovered, they will pay the supreme penalty.
General Woundwort was one of a kind. No other rabbit can replace him, but Efrafa nevertheless needs a new Chief to carry on his legacy. He did not have a mate or kittens; therefore, according to ancient Efrafan law, the new leader is to be his captain of owsla: Campion."
As Moss finished his speech, everyone started to cheer, pleased with Campion's promotion. Only Campion himself was unhappy; as he made his way to the top of the rock, he was filled with a mixture of sadness and anger. Seeing everyone pressuring him for a speech, he had no choice but to make one:
-"I thank all of you for your kind words, and for trusting me with such an important job.
General Woundwort's main goal, for the past year or so, has been to find the outsiders' warren and destroy it, a task we have failed to accomplish so far. If we were unable to find the warren in a full set of seasons, how can we be expected to do it now, when we have just lost our leader? I therefore order that all patrols are to be stopped until further notice. That will prevent a lot of unnecessary deaths.
The General's death has also affected the outskirters and the slaves. Many of them are in bad health, and the news of today's tragedy will probably weaken them further. Disease may break, and if that happens, it would be impossible to stop, and might possibly destroy us all. Therefore, I order that all rabbits are hereby allowed to silflay whenever they wish..."
-"STOP!"
Everyone turned to see who had spoken. It was Vervain, sitting at the back of the crowd, his fur completely wet. He had taken advantage of the confusion following the discovery of Woundwort's body to go the river, where he had thoroughly cleaned himself. It did not take long for Moss to pounce on him and pin him to the ground.
-"I'm sorry, Campion sir," the officer said, "this slave must have escaped in the confusion, and now interrupts your speech. I will make sure this doesn't happen again."
-"You can't!" Vervain insisted. "Campion is a traitor to Efrafa! He is working with the outsid-"
-"Let him go, Moss," Campion ordered. "Give him back his old burrow. The General's murder has affected his fragile mind, give him time to recover. But remember that he is insane and is to be treated as such."
-"As you say, sir," Moss said reluctantly. Vervain, meanwhile, was angry:
-"You think you can buy my silence with privileges. Well, let me tell you: you can't. I will not rest until you are exposed as the traitor you really are."
With that, he stormed away toward the burrow he had when he was a captain of owsla. Most of the officers looked at him with contempt; after he was gone, Campion finished his speech:
-"As I was saying, all rabbits may silflay whenever they wish. And finally, General Woundwort's killer must be discovered. Nobody in the owsla is to rest until the rabbit responsible is discovered and punished. That is all."
With that, Campion walked away from the crowd. He took Moss aside.
-"Look, take over for the day, will you?" he said. "I have some business elsewhere to take care of."
-"As you say, sir," Moss replied. "When can we expect you back?"
-"I don't know, but wait until my return before putting anyone on trial for Woundwort's murder. I want to be the judge."
With that, he walked out of the warren. Moss looked at him until he lost sight of him near the river.
At Watership Down, a certain number of rabbits were enjoying a late afternoon silflay. Hazel was quietly nibbling a dandelion when he suddenly saw a large shadow appear next to him. He turned to see what it was.
-"Hello Campion," he said. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
-"WHY DID YOU DO IT?" Campion asked angrily.
-"Do what?"
-"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about!"
By this point, several rabbits had gathered around Hazel and Campion.
-"What's going on here?" Bigwig asked.
-"You're all pretending not to know," Campion said, "but I'll tell you. General Woundwort was killed today."
Everyone gasped in shock at the news.
-"Do you know who did it?" Hazel asked cautiously.
-"One of you outsiders did, obviously. You were all keeping me busy, showing me all the wonders of your warren, but while I was distracted, one of you mercilessly murdered my Chief."
-"Eh, if he's dead, so much the better," Hawkbit said, only to be cuffed in the ears by Bigwig.
-"I may have agreed to work against Woundwort from the inside," Campion continued, "but that didn't give you permission to kill him in cold blood like you did."
-"Campion," Fiver said, having just arrived, "you don't seriously think we would have misled you like this, do you?"
Campion stared at Fiver for a long time. Ever since he had first seen Woundwort's corpse, he had been convinced that the outsiders were responsible, but the look on the small buck's face almost proved that they had nothing to do with it.
-"Oh, this is all so MEANINGLESS!" he shouted in anger, before running toward the bottom of the Down, away from Efrafa. The Watershippers remained motionless and silent.
-"Do you think...Woundwort is really...dead?" Dandelion asked after a while.
-"Campion wouldn't joke about something like this," Hazel said.
-"I can't believe it," Blackberry said. "This war has been going on for almost a full set of seasons, and suddenly...it's over. Without a battle or anything."
-"Whoever killed Woundwort saved us a lot of trouble," Hawkbit said. "Now that the war's over, Bigwig, you'll stop all these patrols and everything, all right?"
-"The patrols will continue as usual," Bigwig said sternly. "This war may be over, but if we ever have to fight another one, we have to be ready."
With that, Bigwig walked away from the others, when he suddenly bumped into another rabbit; it was Strawberry.
-"Where have you been?" he asked angrily. "I've been searching for you all day!"
-"I'm sorry, Bigwig," Strawberry stammered, "there was a patch of clover at the bottom of the Down, and I thought I would visit it. Once I was there, I met this bird and we had a long, thought-provoking discussion until she flew away. And then...I fell asleep, I guess."
Strawberry expected Bigwig to lecture him on his lack of discipline, but that did not happen:
-"It doesn't really matter. General Woundwort is dead. The war is over."
-"Really? That's good news. I suppose this means the patrols will stop?"
-"You're the second one to ask me this, but the answer remains the same: no. Say, did YOU kill Woundwort? You weren't anywhere in the warren when it happened. This clover patch story isn't just an excuse, is it?"
-"No, I tell you, Bigwig, it wasn't me. I wouldn't have been brave enough. I really wonder who it was..."
The news spread quickly throughout the warren. Most rabbits were happy that the war was finally over, but shocked at the way it had ended. The only one who had reservations was Fiver.
-"I'm a bit worried about Campion," he told Hazel that evening. "I really don't like the way he ran away. This could potentially spell trouble."
-"Don't worry about that, Fiver," Hazel said. "He's probably just as shocked as we are. Give him a few days and he will probably be back to normal. Then, maybe we will be able to go to Efrafa and begin formal negotiations."
-"Perhaps you're right, Hazel. But altogether, I don't like it."
Meanwhile, some distance from Efrafa, a weasel was wandering through the woods, searching for food. He eventually came upon some freshly disturbed ground, and a fresh scent of blood. There was probably a dead creature buried there.
Suddenly, the ground started to move. The weasel remained motionless, looking at the moving dirt as it seemed to cave in. After it had stopped, he slowly approached it again. At the moment when he least expected it, something sprung from the hole. It was a rabbit, but unlike any other rabbit he had ever seen before. It was unusually large and covered with blood, with its right eye shining bright red.
The weasel was about to dismiss this strange apparition as a ghost and look for an easy meal elsewhere when suddenly, the "ghost" bit his nose. The weasel yelped in pain, and tried to get his nose free, to no avail. After a few seconds, the rabbit let go, and the weasel ran away as fast as he could. It took a while for the bleeding to stop.
Woundwort finished to dig himself out of his grave. Vervain had not killed him, but would have succeeded had he not panicked. Instead, the General had been knocked unconscious, and was still in great pain from the attack. He cleaned the blood, but it would take a while before he could move his head properly again.
He turned and looked at the dead tree under which Efrafa was built. It looked unusually calm and silent.
"I made Efrafa great again," he thought, "and this is how they repay me: burying me alive. They won't get away with it. I will have revenge."
With that, he ran away into the night, thinking about nothing but revenge, against the outsiders responsible for his downfall, and his own owsla, who had deserted him when he needed them the most.