Chapter 11

Invincible Beasts


Three beasts walked along a dirt path in the forest. Fallen trees and patches of cobblestone dotted the trail as if whoever was building it had given up before they could finish. The path snaked its way up a hillside, leading up to a viewing platform at the very top of the hill. The sun shone on the three beasts walking up the road, bathing them in warm light.

"Lookie, the sun be oop!" Noruth Peltameo stretched out his portly body as he looked up happily at the early morning sky. "Burr aye, oi loive mornings!" Crookedfang nodded eagerly in agreement. Rianne Wurtil stared blankly at Noruth. He had such a positive reaction to everything that it irked her. Then again, it was probably for the best. She knew that if it were just her and Crookedfang, the mood would get sour really fast.

"This morning's makin' me 'ungry," Crookedfang commented, "I could go fer a nice perch er snapper. Ooh, mebbe some scallops."

"We just ate," Rianne pointed out. "And how does a morning make you hungry?"

Crookedfang tapped his temple with a claw, "Look at d' sky, doesn't dat colour make ya 'ungry fer some vikkles?"

Noruth nodded in understanding, "Ooh, reminds me o' ornges."

Crookedfang snapped his fingers, "Or coconuts, we shud look fer coconuts."

"What? No," Rianne said, trying to get them back on track. "We need to find help, remember? That's what we're doing?"

Crookedfang nodded, "Aye, but there's time t'look fer coconuts."

Rianne frowned, it was tiring to work with Noruth and Crookedfang. None of them took anything seriously.

The rat smiled, misinterpreting Rianne's frown, "Oy, what's wit' d'long face? I'll make sure t'getcha a coconut by d'end o' d'day." Crookedfang's smile sent a shudder down Rianne's spine. She couldn't tell if it was just her imagination, but something about it seemed friendly, yet offputting. His top incisors were crooked (probably where his name came from), and one of his bottom teeth was missing. Crookedfang wrapped an arm around Rianne, much to her discomfort. As he spoke, he gesticulated with his free paw, "Y'kin make sum gud stuff wit' d'coconut, d'coconut water tastes gud, cut out some o' d'white part, grind 'em an' make sum coconut butter, an-"

While Crookedfang was listing all the things you could make with coconut, Rianne was trying to push him off. "Stop that, now," she said quickly. She shoved the rat as hard as she could, knocking him to the ground. Crookedfang looked up, mildly annoyed.

"What was dat fer?" He asked.

Rianne was panting and backed away from the rat. Why was she so scared? All he did was wrap an arm around her. From what she'd seen so far, Crookedfang was just a rat with no sense of personal space, but nothing too dangerous.

Luckily for Rianne, Crookedfang easily shrugged it off and stood up, "Well, whatever. C'mon ye big ox," he said, wrapping an arm around Noruth, "Talkin' 'bout this made me 'ungry, 'ow 'bout we go find sumthin' t'eat?"

"Ooh, kin we get ornges?" Noruth asked excitedly.

"No, stop it! Both of you!" Rianne snapped. The mole and the rat looked at her confused as she scolded them.

"What is wrong with you two?" She practically yelled, "Don't you two realize what kind of situation we're in right now? We can't be sitting around looking for food every three hours, we need to find a way out of here! Why aren't you two taking this seriously?"

Noruth tugged his snout apologetically, "Burr, we be soiry, marm. We'm be stoppin' soon."

Crookedfang, however, didn't seem sorry, "Eh, what's d'rush?"

Rianne didn't want to argue anymore, she was tired of this stupid, stupid rat. Thinking back to when she was on the ship, she replied, "Well, I assume you want to find your fox friend as fast as possible, right?" She didn't really want to find Vhynias, but hey, it would at least get them moving. Crookedfang would probably get distracted by something else anyway.

The rat blinked as if he just remembered he was supposed to be searching for Vhynias. "Oy, I fergot! Oh, Vhyn's not gonna be happy wit' me." Crookedfang reached into his pocket; he seemed to be searching for something. He smiled apologetically a few seconds later, "Oops. Well, d'two o' ye listen out fer a bird call, aye?"

Rianne was confused, but it seemed that Crookedfang at least had some sort of plan. "Good. Now, can we shut up and keep moving?"

Crookedfang smirked, "Nah, we ain't heard d'bird call yet, let's go look fer some vikkles an'-"

Rianne's face twisted into a snarl, and she screamed at the rat. "Crookedfang, I swear I'll strangle you with a-!" She clasped a paw over her mouth when she realised how loud she was yelling. Noruth cocked his head, confused. Crookedfang smirked, thinking that he had won the argument.

"We should get a move on," Rianne muttered." Noruth nodded in agreement. Finally, the three of them continued to follow the path going up the hill.

They walked in relative silence, which made it all the stranger when Rianne began to hear scraping in the distance. She shivered, something didn't seem right. As they walked, Rianne glanced back occasionally in case they were being followed, but there was nobeast there. An odd feeling of trepidation started to seep its way into her mind, but it was probably nothing. Maybe that nervousness was caused by something else. After all, as she looked forwards at Crookedfang (who was staring at the ground for some reason), that nervousness only grew.

Eventually, Noruth could see some sort of viewing platform at the top of the hill. The mole clapped excitedly and waddled up towards it.

"Ho urr! Lookee at that view!" Noruth leaned against the railing, gazing out at the treetops below him. A river snaked its way through the woods, going past the town they had met up in. Rianne stood next to him, staring out into the distance. However, she didn't see anything noteworthy, so she decided to sit down on the platform.

"See anybeast from up dere?" Crookedfang asked as he stood next to Noruth.

The mole shook his head, "Nope, but oi see a river, let's follow that!"

"That's not a bad idea," Rianne commented, "Some of the other prisoners may be doing the same thing, so we might find somebeast."

Crookedfang placed a paw on his chin, looking around strangely. "Did any o' youse see marks as we walked up d'hill?"

Noruth cocked his head, "Whaddya mean?"

"While we was walkin' up, I found marks da'looked like t'was from our chains." He tapped his collar with a clawed finger. "Think I shud check it out?"

Rianne shrugged, "Do whatever you want."

Crookedfang grinned victoriously and started down the path, following the marks he saw in the dirt.

Noruth began to tap the platform's railing, humming a small tune as he did so. Rianne gazed idly toward the path, how long does it take to check out a trail? "It be a noice mornin', burr aye?" Noruth asked out of the blue.

"Oh yes, wonderful day we're having," Rianne replied contemptously.

Noruth nodded, trying to create conversation, "Oo arr, that rat, Crookedfang. Noice vurmint, aye?"

Rianne scoffed. Yeah right. He may be nice now, but he might stab us in the back.

When Rianne didn't respond, Noruth continued on, "Oi wonder what it be like t'be missin' an' eye. Iffen oi lost an eye…" The mole placed a paw over his right eye. Rianne rolled her eyes, was Noruth expecting some big revelation or something? I wonder how he lost his eye and tooth, Rianne wondered idly. He probably lost them in a fight or something. A rat who looks like that has probably been in a fair share of fights. How many fights has he started? Probably quite a few.

More time passed. Should she be looking for Crookedfang by this point? Eh. Even Noruth was starting to realise something may be off as he turned toward the path that led down the hill. "Hm, oi be wonderin' what happens."

"He's probably fine, he's survived this long," Rianne replied sarcastically.

"Still…" Noruth tapped his footpaws anxiously, twiddling his digging claws together. They stood around in silence, neither of them uttering a sound.

A scream shattered through the air, shocking Noruth into action. Noruth frantically ran down the path, eyes wide, following the chain marks toward Crookedfang. Rianne froze on the spot, her heart pounding in her chest. Her paws shook as she steadily walked down the path. What are you doing, just run! It's fine if you leave… what are you thinking, he may be vermin, but leaving him is still awful, so don't just…

Swallowing the fear welling up inside her, she ran down the path with Noruth.


"What happened to you?" Rianne asked boredly from her table in the infirmary.

Borsen stared down at her blankly. Rianne sighed. It was obvious Durkfor forced him to get help. Again.

"Just sit down somewhere, I'll be there in a bit." Borsen did as he was told and sat down on the cot closest to the door. Again, Rianne asked, "What happened to you?"

And once again, Borsen didn't answer, still blankly staring at nothing. Rianne sighed sharply as she looked through her shelves, "You need to tell me what happened so I can fix you up. At the very least, tell me if you're in pain, or what attacked you."

"Vermin," Borsen answered. Rianne scoffed, what a surprise. As she brought over some basic supplies and sat down next to the otter.

"Can you be a little more specific?" Rianne asked, "Did they stab you with a rusty blade or something?" She asked flatly as she glanced around Borsen's body for any wounds. She noted the strange amount of claw marks on his arms, neck, and chest.

"Ferret tried to kill me," Borsen replied plainly. Just as he spoke, Rianne could swear she saw the slightest smile form on his face. She shrugged it off, Borsen never smiled, it was definitely her imagination.


Rianne's eyes were wide with terror as she and Noruth hid in the bushes nearby. In front of her was Crookedfang, screaming like a banshee as Borsen Stonetail pinned him down with a heavy arm. The otter's body was quivering, face twisted with unimaginable glee as Crookedfang tried to escape from under him. The rat desperately clawed at Borsen's arms and chest trying to get away. To the rat's dismay, it only seemed to make Borsen's smile widen.

Borsen giggled as he prodded the rat's stomach with his knife, "'Tis a shame, y'know? I ain't gonna kill ye yet, but oh boy…"

Rianne shut her eyes as Crookedfang's screams grew more frantic as Borsen began to skin the rat's right arm with a knife. She could feel Noruth tugging on her arm, begging for her to do something. Rianne opened her eyes and saw Crookedfang with his arm torn open. For a split moment, they made eye contact. The rat's eyes were wide with terror. Rianne looked away. She didn't want to help. She just wanted to get herself and Noruth to safety.

Although it happened for a split second, it felt like days as Rianne's mind pulled her back into the past…


1 season before the ship's crash


The day was coming to a close. Warm tinges of orange melded with the dark blue sky, illuminating the clouds with touches of pink and purple. Already, stars were beginning to show up in the sky, twinkling like glitter. The last remnants of sunlight shone through the infirmary's window, casting rays on the empty cots. It was a beautiful evening, calm and quiet. The silence that permeated the abbey was broken only by the Matthias and Methuselah bells ringing out.

The two bells were used for many purposes. Alarms, celebrations, weddings, and warnings.

In this case, however, it was for a funeral.

Rianne leaned against the windowsill of the infirmary, gazing out solemnly into the evening sky. She let out a sigh and rested her head against the glass. She was tired.

Once again, somebeast got attacked by vermin outside.

Once again, she tried to save them.

Once again, she failed.

Once again, she had to explain to their friends and family what had happened to them.

Once again, there was a funeral.

And she was sick of it all. It felt unfair; the sky looked too beautiful for such an awful day. As she looked down at the abbey lawns, the image of it flashed into her mind. A mouse with numerous stab wounds dotting his body being brought into the infirmary, Rianne doing the best she could to help him despite the severity of the injuries, and the moment he stopped breathing. Rianne knew it was hopeless the moment the mouse was brought in, but she still felt ashamed of herself. A deep, swirling cloud of guilt filled her stomach as she remembered the face of the beast who brought the mouse, and the sheer fear and remorse on their face when she told them the mouse had died.

All of this pain and suffering happened because a couple of low-life ferrets decided to try to rob two innocent beasts. Rianne walked over to one of the cots and lay down, taking many deep breaths as she did so. How could anybeast do this? What made them think it was right to kill? Don't they realise how their victim's friends and families feel? It was sickening.

She was about to fall asleep when she heard somebeast knocking on the infirmary door. "Come in," she called out. The door opened, and in came the abbey cook, Friar Tibbins.

The stout squirrel rubbed the back of his neck apologetically and asked, "Forgive me for intruding at a time like this, but have you seen Arthur anywhere? He ran off, and I'm looking for him before it gets too dark."

Rianne blinked in surprise. Arthur left? "No, I haven't seen him. Have you tried checking the attics? He's usually hiding up there. Though, sometimes he hides in the trees if he doesn't want to be seen by anybeast."

The squirrel nodded, "Thanks, I'll check right now."

Before he could leave, Rianne couldn't help but ask, "This is really messed up, huh?"

Friar Tibbins grunted and responded, "You bet it is. How many vermin attacks have we seen this season alone?"

"Too many," Rianne responded, including some beasts that came to Redwall Abbey for help. From robberies gone wrong, to stabbings, to torture wounds, Rianne felt like she'd seen too much. There were even reports of horrifically mutilated corpses being left in Mossflower Woods. How could anybeast have the stomach to do that?

But what stuck out to Rianne was how many of those attacks were caused by vermin. She didn't know why, but it seemed it was the case. Regardless of whether it was a coincidence or not, that fact stuck in her head for a long time…


7:31, Day 1


Crookedfang's struggle died down, and he stared up tiredly at Borsen. The otter's eyes lit up, smiling as the rat gave up. "Hurts, don't it? Well, I got an offer t'make. Who knows? I might let'cha go."

"What?" Crookedfang croaked out.

Borsen chuckled and began to prod Crookedfang's throat with his knife, "Heard somethin' interesting a lil' bit ago, what was it? Aye, 'Crookedfang, I swear I'll strangle you'. Rianne yelled that, didn't she?"

From her hiding spot in the bushes, Rianne froze. Noruth covered his mouth with his paws. "Yer Crookedfang, ain't'cha? If ye tell me where she is, I may let'cha go." Borsen asked wolfishly.

Rianne paralyzing fear creep its way into her mind, fogging her thoughts. No, he's going to tell Borsen where I am, Borsen's going to kill me! I'm going to die!

Crookedfang glared up at Borsen, "I ain't gonna tells ya where dey are! I ain't no snitch!" he roared.

Borsen cocked his head, "They?" Crookedfang continued glaring up at him as if he didn't just give something away. The otter simply shrugged, "Eh, doesn't really matter, I guess. Rianne's still probably 'round here somewhere."

Borsen raised his knife with a grin on his face as he slammed the blade down into Crookedfang's right paw, forcing the rat to howl out with pain. Borsen opened his mouth wide, preparing to bite Crookedfang.

Why? Rianne pondered, why didn't he give us away? Why did he protect us? We barely know each other, yet he refused to give us away. I know he saw me, so why didn't he? Meanwhile, I wanted to leave him behind. What is wrong with me?

Noruth suddenly ran out of the bushes screaming. Borsen looked behind him confused just in time for Noruth to drive his sharp digging claws straight into Borsen's side. The otter roared out and swung his arm like a hammer, knocking the mole to the ground. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Crookedfang pulled Borsen's knife out of his paw and buried the blade in Borsen's back, bringing him to the ground.

Seeing Noruth and Crookedfang fight back spurred Rianne into action. She lept out of the bushes and knelt down right next to Crookedfang, who got up dazed. Using his uninjured arm, Crookedfang pulled Noruth up and urged him to run, "C'mon!"

Before Borsen could get up, Noruth, Crookedfang, and Rianne ran into the undergrowth. Noruth clawed away branches and plants as they ran.

Rianne jumped as Borsen's enraged howl rang out in the air. She looked at Crookedfang and sharply whispered, "We need to find somewhere to hide!"

"Split up," Crookedfang responded quickly, clutching his arm as he bolted downhill towards the river. Noruth dove into an area thick with bushes and began to dig to conceal himself even more. Rianne's eyes darted around the forest, searching for a place to hide. Her eyes landed on a set of moss-covered rocks downhill. Once again, Borsen roared out. He was getting closer, fast.

Her body was wracked with fear as she stumbled downhill toward the rocks. Halfway down, she tripped on her footpaws and began to tumble down the hill, rolling to a stop right in front of the rocks. As she got up, she saw a crevice between two rocks she could maybe fit in. She crawled into the space, pressing her body against the rock and staying as silent as possible.

And then it was quiet. All Rianne could hear was her own ragged breathing and the sound of Borsen growling uphill. Don't breathe. Not a single sound.

She could hear bushes being pushed aside. Heavy footpaws thumped against the earth as if Borsen was trying to make as much noise as possible. The sound that Borsen was making filled Rianne with dread. I think he's trying to scare us… Guttural grunts and snarls emanated from above, slowly moving downhill. Noruth may be safe, at least.

The footsteps moved closer. Rianne felt herself go lightheaded as she caught a glimpse of him. Borsen stood hunched over, a bloodstained knife clenched in his twitching paws as his bloodshot eyes darted around. A primaeval growl rumbled in his throat, a sound that seemed to belong more to a monster than an otter. His eyes landed on something below him. What was he looking for? Crouching down close to the ground, he began to smile. Drops of blood had fallen onto the grass in a line. He broke into a run, following the trail of blood that had come from Crookedfang's arm. He seemed to focus solely on that, trying to capture the prey that had escaped once already.

Rianne waited until she was certain it was safe and crawled out of the crevice. Smiling slightly, she sighed with relief. That smile quickly faded away as she realised Crookedfang was in danger. You're safe for now. But what about Crookedfang? Yes, he's vermin. But he's still a beast like me, and I wanted to leave him to die.

She felt exhausted as she walked up the hill towards Noruth's hiding spot. It was morbid to think about, but she didn't hear him scream or cry out, so she knew he was okay. Borsen wanted them to suffer, she knew it. She saw Noruth's head poke out of a bush, flinching as he saw Rianne approach. "Whurr's Crookedfang?"

"I don't know," Rianne admitted. "C'mon, let's go find him." Noruth nodded eagerly and stepped out of the bushes, following Rianne as she followed the trail of blood leading deeper and deeper into the woods.


Crookedfang snickered to himself as he sat high in a tree. In lieu of any bandages, he tore at his vest with his teeth (which was difficult) to wrap around his arm. "Heh, ain't so fast on land, are ya buddy?" While Borsen was fast for a sea otter, he was still a sea otter. Crookedfang was faster and managed to outrun Borsen and hide in a tree. Around ten minutes have now passed since he last heard from Borsen, and Crookedfang was feeling good. Well, as good as one can feel under the current circumstances. If it weren't for his arm and the fact that he was now alone, he would be feeling a lot better.

Crookedfang drew in a sharp breath as he wrapped a strip of his vest onto his arm. Stupid otter, he just had t'skin me 'live.

When Crookedfang thought back, there were a couple of beasts that seemed to enjoy hurting him. His old captain, that one moron who stabbed his eye out, that gang on the old ship, and some others. But that look on Borsen's face sent shivers down his spine.

After forcing his way through the pain, Crookedfang finally wrapped as much of his arm as he could. He winced, some of his arm was still exposed. Sighing, he leaned against the trunk and stared up at the sky. Was anybeast looking for him? Maybe. If Rianne and Noruth abandoned him, he would understand. Wait, stop thinkin' they've done an' left ya. They're nice, I know it. This time, I know I kin trust 'em.

Realising Noruth and Rianne may be searching for him, Crookedfang climbed down the tree, leaping down (mainly because he slipped) at the halfway mark. Still clutching his arm with a paw, Crookedfang recklessly ran through the forest to find Noruth and Rianne as soon as possible. They couldn't have abandoned him. Not again. Glancing around, he didn't know where he was. He was lost. Great. Borsen was still searching the woods for them, and he didn't know where to go. That ain't matter though, just need t'find Vhyn, Tornear, Gurn, Bolgash, Noruth, or even Rianne. Everythin'll be fine. Just can't be alone. Just find somebeast, an' everythin'll be fine. Just… I need t'find somebeast, please.


She stood at the helm of a massive ship. A self-satisfied grin crossed the stoat's face as she gazed carelessly down at the port side of the vessel, chuckling at the beasts tied up by the plank. Every beast that had ever wronged her was getting poked with a sabre, urging them closer and closer off the ship. The stoat sighed with relief as she watched every single beast fall with a heavy splash. Of course it would end like this. Why wouldn't it? It's just common sense that she'd come out on top. After all, it's destined for her to succeed. There literally could not be another outcome. The stoat jumped down onto the main deck, smirking as everybeast stared at her fearfully. Out of sheer boredom, she unsheathed her sabre and swung it at an unfortunate marten, dropping him to the ground-


"Agh! Stop!" A voice called out, travelling sharply through the air. If there was a sound that should create panic, a beast screaming for help should be one of them. But instead, for Bolgash Wolters, it annoyed her more than anything as she groggily lifted her head off the ground. The nerve of whoever was screaming to wake her from her nap.

Unlike most of the other prisoners who chose to hide first and foremost, the first thing Bolgash did after running from the beach was find a nice, comfortable spot to nap. The first spot she found, an open spot underneath a giant oak, shielding it slightly from the rain, was perfect. Of course it was a perfect spot, it was the first spot she found, so it had to be. She was never wrong. After taking some moss nearby and fashioning a quick pillow, she set the dagger she stole on the ground next to her and got some sleep.

The fact that she woke up and nothing was stolen from her only filled her with more confidence, inflating her already massive ego. She fell asleep in the open and woke up unharmed so that just further proves she can't be hurt.

So it only made her angrier, who had the audacity to wake her up? She picked up her dagger and stood up, marching toward the source of the scream with little care to how much noise she was making. Luckily for her, whoever she was pursuing didn't seem to notice. What an idiot. She pushed aside branches and sticks only to find a mouse waving his arm wildly as a spider clung to his paw. "Get off of me!" The mouse yelled, slamming his paw against the ground multiple times until the spider relented and crawled away. The mouse shivered and focused back on what he was doing. He crouched down at a bush, examining the leaves and stalks closely. "I don't know," the mouse muttered to himself, "This looks like something I saw Art put in a soup once, so it's probably fine?" The mouse then proceeded to pick off some of the leaves and stalks, placing them gently on the red vest lying next to him.

As she watched the mouse, Bolgash clutched her dagger tightly. She was starting to feel peckish, and a bite of whatever that was wouldn't hurt. She grinned and stepped toward the mouse, aiming the dagger at his heart.

Thaddeus Elderbark's eyes went wide as he watched the stoat emerge from the trees. How could he be so stupid? Why didn't he notice her? And… why did she have a knife? "What do you want?" He whimpered, backing away.

Bolgash nodded to the food Thaddeus was collecting. "Give it. Now."

Thaddeus looked terrified, shaking his head as he pulled the vest closer. "Wait, but this is for Kallius, I can't-"

"I 'aven't got a problem cuttin' that tiny throat o' yers open, give it," Bolgash stomped closer to Thaddeus, swinging the dagger threateningly in his direction.

Thaddeus stared up at Bolgash, hesitantly grasping the vest with a paw. Reluctantly, he pushed the vest closer to Bolgash. However, Bolgash noticed that Thaddeus' other paw was reaching for something on his back. Bolgash smirked, this tiny mouse couldn't do anything! Even if he pulled out a sword, she could still easily beat him.

Just as she expected, Thaddeus lunged forward, clumsily swinging a kitchen knife in her direction. Bolgash was so confident that she didn't even bother to dodge, and the knife hacked into her footpaw. The stoat grunted in pain and raised her dagger, swinging it down on Thaddeus.

The mouse screamed and lifted his paws defensively. It was a good thing he did too because the dagger was aimed at his head. Unfortunately, the blade pierced through both of his paws, eliciting a scream from the mouse. Bolgash pulled the blade out, releasing Thaddeus to the grass, whimpering in pain.

With a self-satisfied grin on her face, Bolgash reached down and grabbed the plants that Thaddeus had collected. Looking closer, Bolgash recognized them as wild garlic (if she wasn't so self-centred, she would admit it was because Crookedfang told her what it was a long time ago). "Thanks fer th'plants, sucker." She also took Thaddeus' kitchen knife and tucked it into her belt. She then limped away, clutching onto the vest like a pouch.

As she walked away, she began to think of what she wanted to do. Considering the situation, she might as well go find Vhynias, why not? He and the three other beasts were kind of cool. Allowing Thaddeus to easily leave her mind, she strolled casually downhill to find Vhynias, eating the garlic she had collected as she did so.