Chapter 19
No Beast is an Island
Suffice it to say, priorities weren't their strong suit.
Once Tornear Burke, Miena Dawnraft, and Bolgash Wolters arrived at the castle, they took an hour to explore the castle, half an hour to gather weapons, and the remaining hour and a half were spent getting an astounding zero things done.
Tornear paced back and forth through the hallway. Yes, helping Vhynias was his priority, but in all honesty, even though his mind was in a daze ever since they found the castle, he felt safe here. Bolgash didn't seem in a rush to leave, either.
In essence, everything that was about to happen could be blamed on the three of them.
Tornear let out a sigh as he examined the weapons they had collected. All things considered; they were in good condition. They found two poleaxes, a spear, a mace, a bow (with no usable arrows, annoyingly. Miena had arrows, but Tornear didn't want to ask her for anything), two daggers… and a decorative sword. Sure, the poleaxes and the spear seemed to be sized for shrews and mice, but that didn't matter. Tornear played with his fur as he went over a list in his head.
Bolgash had the fox's sword and a dagger that came from a stoat. She should be fine. Tornear knew Bolgash preferred swords, so he had no worries there.
Gurnilal Speareye had a cutlass that came from an ermine. That was okay, but to utilise her strength more, giving her the mace would be beneficial. Tornear couldn't help but smile and blush thinking about how Gurnilal saved him after the ship crashed. He hoped that he could pay her back, somehow.
Crookedfang was given a kitchen knife. Admittedly, Tornear didn't know what kind of weapons Crookedfang preferred, but anything would be better than his kitchen knife. He considered giving him the spear or a poleaxe, but then he remembered Crookedfang's right arm had been skinned by an otter. Probably the same one that was on the ship. Tornear closed his eyes and groaned as a wave of nausea rushed through him. Crookedfang will probably have to settle for a dagger.
Vhynias Sharptail didn't have a weapon as far as he knew, but Tornear wanted to give him something that would work with his… weaker build, as he politely put it. Tornear was thinking of giving him the spear for that reason.
Finally, there was himself. If only we found some throwing knives. I'll catch anybeast in the eye with those, Tornear thought to himself. He remembered the times on their old ship when he taught Gurnilal and Crookedfang how to throw knives and smiled. Anyway, Tornear felt that he was fine. He had a sword from a rat, a handaxe he stole after the ship crashed, and a dagger from a fox. Although it wasn't ideal, he'd be fine even if attaching them to his belt was getting uncomfortable.
And the rest of the prisoners? Tornear didn't care about them. They'd figure out the rest themselves. Maybe he'd give something to Rianne. Admittedly, Tornear didn't pay attention when he was getting taught first aid back home and it showed. Even then, giving Rianne a weapon was a huge maybe.
With his analysis done, he yawned and stretched his arms. He was tempted to go into the bedroom that he found to sleep and block everything out, but that would be too stupid. Instead, he decided to go find Bolgash.
"Hey, Bolgash, where are you?" Tornear called out.
No response. Tornear grumbled and glanced around. The castle was big and there were many rooms, so who knows where she went. As his worries started to grow, he looked through every room on the second floor to no avail. He did, however, find Miena looking out of the window that pointed toward the ocean. "You're pretty awful at keeping watch," he deadpanned. "What? Is the wildcat going to come out of the ocean?"
Miena shook her head. "Nay, that's not what I'm doing. I'm checking to see if some ships or birds could help us."
Tornear sighed heavily. "Do you really think we're going to see any other ships?"
Miena turned to Tornear. "The odds are low. Very low. But it doesn't hurt to check, aye?"
"You're wasting your time," he replied sharply. "Nobeast is going to save us."
"Am I? We're not doing anything else," Miena reminded pointedly. "Besides, are ye tellin' me ye haven't checked the shore not once just in case there was a ship? Or are ye just disagreeing wit' me because ye don't like me?"
Tornear scowled indignantly. "I haven't checked. I haven't been near the shore since the ship crashed."
"Oh. I guess that'd make sense."
"That's right. Stop trying to act smart," Tornear grumbled. He rubbed the back of his neck and growled. "Have you seen Bolgash anywhere?"
Miena surveyed the hallway and shrugged. "No, why?"
"None of your business," he hissed, "go back to staring at the ocean or whatever it is you otters do."
As Tornear began to walk away, Miena asked, "By the way, I was thinkin', we should leave this place, soon."
Tornear stopped with a grunt. "No."
"Why?" Miena smirked.
"Because…" He tried to come up with a retort, but he couldn't think of a logical one. "Do you want to leave, or not? Stop asking me questions. I know you're not going to leave before we do so how about you just shut up."
Miena threw her paws up and sighed. "I thought ye wanted to help yer fox friend."
"I do."
"Then why don't ye want to leave if ye like him so much? I know you're scared, but-"
Because we're safe in here and I don't want to walk through the forest to find Vhyn, alright? I love the fox, but I don't want to do that! "What do you know? And what'd I say about asking me questions? Remember who's got the weapons." Tornear placed a paw on the sword tucked into his belt. His face twisted into a snarl as he glared at the otter, but in the back of his mind, he wondered why he was even doing this. Come on, she's not worth it. Why are you acting like this?
Miena held her paws up, staring cautiously at Tornear's sword. "Maybe you should stop? I don't think Vhynias or Gurnilal would want you to do this."
You're right, but… ah, to hell with it. Tornear let go of the sword and walked away, grumbling an apology before leaving.
Walking down the steps leading to the main hall, Tornear chastised himself in his head. Okay, what was that? Why were you like that? All she said was that we should think about leaving… I need to get back to Gurn. She usually calms me down. Dear lord, can't I just be normal without anybeast helping me?
Tornear pulled his cape across his body and descended into the castle's basement. It was dark. Tornear felt uncomfortable just being here. Nevertheless, he felt that Bolgash would be here… especially considering they found a torture room down here. She tended to enjoy macabre things like that. Sure enough, he could hear her voice echoing throughout the basement, which looked like whoever built this castle just took a cave that happened to be underneath and built a few rooms and structural supports.
Tornear let out a grunt as he accidentally walked into a pile of… something. He wasn't sure what it was. It felt like tinder and brushwood. I know this place is abandoned, but why is there even stuff like this here? Clean up! There are shelves against the wall over there, use those! They're right there! Waving it off, he headed into the torture room. "Hey, Bolgash?" he said as he opened the door.
Inside, Bolgash was flailing around a hacksaw. She stopped when she saw Tornear enter. "Oh. It's just you. Do ya need somethin'?"
Tornear opened his mouth and quickly closed it. Originally, he came down here to ask if she found anything else of note like food, but then he remembered what Miena had asked him. Ugh. The otter has a point. Maybe we should start leaving. Vhyn's waiting for us, wherever he is.
But still, Tornear couldn't shake the stress that he was feeling for some reason. It felt like he'd be arrested and executed as soon as he left the castle. He almost left the room to look for Gurnilal only to remember she wasn't here. Tornear let out a growl as he played with his fur. "Bolgash, I think we should grab the weapons we can carry and leave soon."
Bolgash scoffed and swung the hacksaw over her shoulder. "Why? We're fine."
"I know," Tornear muttered. "But Vhyn, Gurn, and Crooked may not be."
"What? Ya scared?" Bolgash tilted her head.
Tornear frowned and crossed his arms. "Maybe? For them."
Bolgash immediately smirked. "Oh, are ya now? Is the great and almighty Tornear actually scared?"
Tornear scowled. Bolgash was fun to be around when things were light, but right now? Why couldn't she take anything seriously? "No, I'm not," he said defensively. "I mean, we should bring the weapons back to them. That's the entire reason we are here, right?"
"Well, fine, if yer so scared then-"
"And you're waving around a hacksaw like you're a child," he interrupted, "can't you realise we're in trouble?"
Bolgash raised a brow "Oh, so first ya don't want to go to the castle an' now that we're here, ya don't wanna leave?"
Tornear shook his head and, instead of justifying himself to Bolgash, left the room, kicking a nearby bundle of tinder as he headed up the stairs. Strangely enough, Tornear's mind went back to the dead fox they found by the lake. A low growl escaped his throat as he wrapped his cape around himself. Why couldn't things just be easy? Why couldn't he be somewhere far away, living peacefully with his friends instead of doing whatever this is?
"Hey, Tornear," Bolgash said, following the weasel up the stairs.
"What do you want?" He replied bitterly.
"Yer overreacting. Calm down."
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Tornear sneered. "Well, maybe I am! I am really on edge staying in a castle and having to walk around the island alone."
Bolgash snickered. "Idiot. Yer not alone."
Tornear threw his paws up in the air as he walked onto the second floor. "Yes, I can see you and Miena exist. I guess I'm blind now. Come on. You know what I mean."
"I don't. Please explain," Bolgash answered with that stupid grin. Tornear normally would appreciate this kind of levity, but…
Why can't you just tell her you're scared, Tornear?
The two beasts walked down the second-floor hallway, not bothering to acknowledge Miena, who was sitting by the front window. "Bolgash, I swear I'm going to throw you into the ocean."
"Try it," Bolgash dared jokingly.
"I am not joking. I will take you over to that window and push you out."
"With those arms? I thought ya need Gurnilal t'do anythin' like that fer ya."
"What the- why are you getting so personal?"
"Am I?" Boglash asked, genuinely confused.
"Hey, Tornear?" Miena said hesitantly.
Tornear buried his head in a paw as his voice began to crack. "Can't we just go back? I want to be back with Gurn."
"Aw, so sweet," Bolgash responded, deadpan.
"Why are you like this?" Tornear yelled.
"They're here," Miena announced.
Bolgash and Tornear's bickering ceased immediately. The room went dead silent. Tornear bared his fangs and trudged toward the window. "What?" He asked shakily.
Miena turned to Tornear, her eyes wide with alarm. She moved out of the way to let Tornear see. Sure enough, a large group of beasts were nearing the castle. There didn't seem to be enough cover for them to hide, so they marched straight towards the destroyed gate. Tornear let out an anxious trill as Tiviko Polonuk loaded an arrow and aimed it at the window. Tornear ducked. An arrow flew through the window, whizzing past Bolgash.
"They're blocking off our only exit," Miena observed.
Tornear took a deep breath and clasped his paws together, exhaling a few moments later. Gazing intently at his two allies, he spoke in an angry growl, "okay, you know what? Damn it all. Take whatever weapons you can carry and find a way to leave the castle. If you can't do that, hide until they leave. Whatever happens, meet up… to the west. Do you understand?"
Bolgash crossed her arms indignantly. "I have to lug 'round a-"
"Bolgash," Tornear uttered coldly, "do you want to die? I don't. Do what I say or do us a favour and jump out of the window. Understand?"
Miena needed no further instruction and nodded. Tornear took a glance out the window.
They were here. At the front of the group, Tiviko looked up at Tornear and narrowed his eyes. The weasel shook with anger (or fear, Tornear couldn't tell) and roared at the wildcat. "What? You're here to kill us, huh? Too bad, you bastard! We're not going down unless we say so!"
Wanting a chance to yell at Tiviko too, Bolgash pushed Tornear out of the way. "Ya think yer gonna get me? Well, ya won't! We'll kill ya instead! Ha!"
Tiviko folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head. "Oh. I'm terrified. You four," he said, pointing toward his crew, "guard the entrance. Everyone else, catch them."
Tornear grabbed two of the weapons and immediately bolted, heading into the nearby master bedroom. Miena followed suit. Bolgash bared her fangs as she pulled out her dagger and threw it at the four guards below, aiming for their heads. It buried itself in the ground harmlessly by their footpaws. Having failed, Bolgash sauntered off toward the stairs. Tornear took notice and hissed, "Bolgash! They're downstairs! Do not go down there!"
Bolgash grinned and tapped her temple. "There's a hatch in th'cellar that leads outside. See ya."
"That's not the problem! The problem is that there's…" Before Tornear could finish, Bolgash had already limped down the stairs. Grunting with frustration, Tornear ducked inside the bedroom and shut the door.
"Help me block the door!" Miena ordered once Tornear was inside. Nodding, Tornear ran towards a large cabinet and pushed it in front of the door. Miena slid a dresser there for good measure. They were safe. For now.
Tornear let out a huff and eyed the door nervously. "Bolgash, you moron. Get somewhere safe, okay?"
While Tornear set the weapons he managed to grab onto the bed, Miena took no time to start looking for a way out. The room was surprisingly spacious with a large bed on the left and a fireplace on the right. Miena ran across the tiled floors toward the two windows on the opposite side and looked down. The ottermaid frowned and clicked her tongue. "Too high t'jump out. Unless… hm… Tornear, got any ideas?"
When she looked back, the weasel was crouching next to the fireplace, staring up at the sky. "Do you know how to climb?" He asked.
Miena laughed humorlessly and began to pace around. "Nope. Can you?"
Tornear shook his head. His breathing hastened as he mulled over the situation they were in. "We're trapped. We're trapped. We're trapped and there's no way out. Damn it! I'm not dying here! There's got to be some way out of here! Bloody hell!"
Miena would've told him to calm down if it wasn't for the fact that Tornear hated her. "Tornear, was there anything ye found while exploring earlier?"
"No, I don't- maybe? I mean, there's always something. This castle is old and awful and we're trapped in it by a wildcat with a bow and I'm going to flay all of them! What should I do? I'm going to kill everybeast here!" Tornear fumed, his words coming out faster than he could think. Miena was about to try to calm him down again when the weasel suddenly looked up and spoke. "Secret passage."
"Huh?" Miena crossed her arms.
Tornear looked at the blocked door and explained, "back home, we had a few secret passages and hideaways in case of intruders. We're in the master bedroom so there may be one in here. I had one underneath my bed."
Miena smiled. So, Tornear had an idea after all. "What if there isn't one?"
"We're dead," he said bluntly. "Help me look before they get in."
Miena nodded and began to look around. Tornear crouched underneath the bed. Nothing. Miena didn't know what to look for so she walked in a circle, eyeing anything that seemed suspicious but getting no results when she checked them. "What should I be lookin' fer?" Miena asked.
Tornear growled. "What do you think? Look for a place where you could hide a hatch or a door." When he got out from under the bed, he saw Miena standing still, staring at the door. Tornear's first instinct was to snap at her but something stopped him.
As the pair stood silently in the bedroom, they could hear the frantic thumping of footpaws outside followed by the familiar sound of chains being dragged against the floor. A whimper escaped Tornear as the thumping was replaced by a monstrous snarl, then tumbling. "Bolgash?" Tornear mumbled shakily.
Miena scowled at the door. If somebeast was here, they might find them soon. She investigated the room, pulling up the carpet, checking behind furniture, anything. They needed to leave, now!
Meanwhile, Tornear ran up to the door. He reached out to pull the barricades away, but fear held him back. The weasel stared hopelessly at the door; a futile spectator as Bolgash could be heard snarling and screaming in the hallway. Tornear quivered where he stood as his mind raced for a way to save Bolgash. He experimentally reached through a tiny gap between the door and the blockade and, to his relief, was able to open it. Unfortunately, the door opened inwards. He was only able to open the door enough to get a partial view of Bolgash's attacker: a large sea otter who was pinning her down and cutting her with a knife.
Tornear looked at the weapons he dropped onto the bed when an idea hit him. The spear! He grabbed the spear and aimed it toward the slot in the door. A part of him wondered, however, why Bolgash wasn't dead yet. Why bother torturing her like this? Without a moment's hesitation, he thrusted, catching the otter in the shoulder blade. The otter snarled and spun around. With her attacker distracted, Bolgash slipped out of his grasp and ran… down the hallway? They were at the end of the hall, so there was nothing there except…
Tornear's eyes went wide as he realised Bolgash had possibly jumped out of the window facing the ocean. Bolgash! Can you even survive a fall from that high? Are there rocks jutting out the cliff face?
Tornear was broken out of his thoughts when the sea otter grabbed the other end of the spear and pushed back, jamming Tornear in the ribs. The weasel coughed and crumpled to the floor.
Crack!
A moment later, the otter began to pound violently on the door. Tornear looked up at the barricade. It wouldn't hold much longer! He turned towards Miena and called out, "find anything?"
Miena let out a strained grunt as she reached through the fireplace, pulling up a secret hatch. Tornear grinned. "There, there! We've gotta go, come on!"
Crack!
Tornear scrambled back up and darted toward the fireplace. The moment he crawled inside the dark, however, he felt the floor beneath him disappear. He was falling. He let out a shocked yelp as he plummeted.
A few seconds later, everything stopped. Agony exploded from his chest all over his body as the air escaped him. For a moment, he couldn't breathe. He could only wheeze as stars appeared in his vision. Tornear groped the ground blindly, pulling his battered body away from the drop. He carried himself a few feet away then curled up in a ball, hugging his arms against his chest as air slowly returned to him. It was then that he noticed it was still dark. Disoriented, Tornear blinked a couple of times. He still couldn't see.
Although not being able to see was concerning, what was more concerning was the burning pain in his side along with blood running down his body. He experimentally ran a paw over his side and winced. Panicked, he realised what happened and reached for his belt, pulling out the weapons he tucked in there and placing them on the floor. As he grabbed the dagger by his side, he experimentally ran a finger on the blade. He could feel blood. That wasn't good.
He could hear pawsteps behind him along with chains clanking. Miena? He tried to turn around but was met with a sharp pain in his body. He thought about telling Miena that he stabbed himself but decided not to. She'd leave him behind, he was sure of it.
For a while, nobeast spoke. Miena sat down on the stone floor, catching her breath. It was strange and almost peaceful. In what little light reached the room, Miena spoke, "Tornear? Ye okay?"
Tornear's voice was raspy and sharp, "No. It hurts. What happened?"
Miena motioned upwards. "There was a ladder leadin' down here. I guess ye fergot t'climb down an' fell like a bird's egg. Did ye save yer friend in the hallway?"
Tornear smiled slightly. "Yes. Otter attacked her. Got him off." He recalled that Bolgash escaped through the window, but he'd worry about that later. He needed to survive first. His breathing slowed and he closed his eyes. "We're safe?"
Miena chuckled lightly. "Nope. Whoever's still huntin' us is up there and they may find the door eventually. I closed it when I climbed down, so they shouldn't find us, but ye never know. But hey, if they fall as ye did, we may get a few seconds to run 'fore we die," she joked.
If Tornear had the strength to, he would've snapped back. Instead, he simply lay there, regaining his energy. "Where are we?"
"Dunno," Miena admitted. "Can't see much, either." The otter picked up the chains attached to her neck so it wouldn't drag against the ground and began to explore the darkness. The room was fairly small and it seemed like there was only one way to go. At least that made it easy. She walked to the end of the room, reaching her free paw out and touched what felt like wood. She pushed and, to her surprise, it opened outwards. She let out a sharp gasp as the basement unfolded before her. She could even see light coming from the steps. Curious, she examined the door she had just opened. It was a door hidden behind the shelves in the basement. Miena closed the door and frowned. Why would a secret passage lead to the basement, of all things? Why not outside?
She went back to Tornear and told him, "we're in the basement."
Tornear, who was able to stand by this point, scoffed. "Of course. Why make this easy?"
Miena shrugged. "Pick up yer chains and stick wit' me. Ye look like yer gonna collapse."
Tornear nodded begrudgingly and grabbed his chains. As he moved to follow Miena, he glanced at where he set down his weapons. Shakily, he picked up the dagger with his free paw and held it behind his back. Miena opened the hidden door and peered out. Although it was too dark to be certain, it seemed that nobeast was here. The pair exited the secret room cautiously and headed toward the stairs. Tornear watched the floor, making sure he didn't knock over the piles of tinder lying around.
Luckily for them, it didn't seem like anybeast was searching the basement. Unluckily for them, Miena saw two shadows at the top of the stairs. She held out a paw to stop Tornear and turned towards him. "Two up there," she whispered, "we need a way through."
Tornear closed his eyes to think. His shallow breathing echoed through his mind as he flashed back to the past hour. What could they do…?
He opened his eyes and looked around. "Uh, Bolgash said there's a hatch somewhere in the cellar leading outside. The cellar is in the basement, so we could just find that instead of having to deal with all those beasts."
Miena nodded and the two of them set off together, exploring the basement as quietly as they could. Fear crept up their spines knowing that the slightest sound could alert the guards to their location. Every time they heard somebeast walk near the steps, they froze, not daring to breathe until they went away. To their relief, nobeast ever went in the basement… but that unsettled Miena. Why wouldn't they check here? If they're hunting for prisoners, why would they miss a whole floor of the castle? She briefly considered the possibility that something else was here, but she discarded that quickly. They would've heard something.
"Tornear, did you search the basement? Where is the cellar?" She whispered.
"Hm… I didn't see it while walking toward the torture room, so we should check that hall over there."
A few minutes of searching later, they found the cellar. From there, it didn't take long until they found the hatch. Something felt off, but that was the last thing on their mind as Miena pushed open the hatch. The two beasts squinted as sunlight filled the room. Sighing with relief, Miena climbed the ladder leading out and immediately grimaced. The path leading out was precarious. The hatch was placed on a steep part of the cliffside. But if they were careful enough, exiting and running away wouldn't be a problem. Miena stood up and grabbed onto a rock that bulged out of the cliff face to keep herself steady. Chuckling slightly, she looked down into the cellar and said, "c'mon, Tornear. Let's go."
The weasel nodded and grabbed onto the ladder. However, that's when Miena noticed a pair of sharp, yellow eyes in the corner of the cellar.
Tornear let out a yelp as he was pulled off the ladder and onto the ground. The sunlight caught the glint of a knife blade as it was pressed against the weasel's throat, right above his collar. "Tornear!" Miena cried out.
The wildcat holding Tornear turned toward the stairs and yelled, "Borsen! Come down here, now!"
Miena covered her mouth as she looked frantically for a way back up the cliff. While she was searching, Borsen Stonetail had come into the cellar, gazing at Tiviko Polonuk obediently. The wildcat motioned for the otter to come closer. Miena watched suspiciously as Tiviko whispered into the otter's ear. The otter bared his teeth in a grin and nodded. "Bring him to the ship. We need him alive," Tiviko ordered. "I trust that you can do it alone?"
Borsen nodded, grabbing Tornear's collar and pulling him closer with ease. "No problem, Tiv."
Tiviko grinned. "Great. There's another spot on the map right over there, so when you're done bringing Tornear- I'm sorry, Rykeld, that's where you'll find us. Okay?"
A flash of anger ran through Miena as Borsen glanced up at her with a wolfish smile. She wanted to save Tornear and get rid of Borsen and Tiviko, but she was scared. She reached to her belt and touched the dagger she took from the pile of weapons. She also still had the bow and arrows from the lake. That wouldn't be enough to kill both Tiviko and Borsen, though, seeing as the wildcat also had a bow. Not to mention the ten or so beasts still inside the castle For a brief moment, she and Tornear made eye contact. The weasel's face was twisted in a mix of fear and resentment as a desperate hum escaped his mouth.
Tornear reached into his bag and for a moment, Miena thought he'd pull out his dagger and stab Borsen, getting in one last hit before he was dragged away.
But to everybeast's surprise, he pulled out the wooden map and tossed it towards her. Tiviko's tilted his head in confusion as she caught the slab mid-air. Thinking fast, Tiviko nocked an arrow onto his longbow and fired it.
Miena's forearm suddenly started to burn. The ottermaid almost fell off the cliff face as the force of the arrow caused her to stagger. Still, she kept hold of the slab. Seething with pain and frustration, Miena finally found a path up the cliff face and ran off.
She didn't know where she was going, she just wanted to get away. Miena's heart pounded like thunder as she darted through the woods. Whatever joy she felt in the last hour had been replaced by fear. Everything seemed like it'd jump out at her.
Miena felt truly afraid for her life, almost as if she were wading through an endless tunnel. For the first time since the ship crashed, Miena was undeniably alone.
By Tiviko's demand, his group of beasts were searching the castle and the nearby cliff for prisoners. However, none of them decided to search the ocean and shoreline beneath the cliff. Mostly because nobeast would be stupid enough to jump out of the window and into the ocean, right?
By some miracle, after jumping from the second-story window of the castle and landing into the ocean, Bolgash was still alive. Shortly after, she washed up on a small set of rocks nearby. Falling into the ocean hurt, she had numerous cuts on her body from when Borsen caught her, she lost all of her supplies and weapons, and she had to discard her armour to stay afloat, but she was alive.
Although she was too tired to move, Bolgash let out a weak chuckle. Of course, she survived. There wasn't any way she couldn't. Through luck, cunning, strength, skill, or anythin', I'll survive. I always do. That's why I'm so great.
Lying on her back, Bolgash could barely see the castle. Part of her wondered what happened to Tornear. He's nice t'be 'round. Whiny when he's scared, but fun when he isn't. He's probably doing okay.
She didn't bother to think about how Tornear saved her. Heck, she didn't know. All she knew was that the otter let go for some reason and she escaped. Why're ya thinkin' 'bout th'otter? Ya escaped. Ya don't need t'worry. He ain't gettin' ya.
Bolgash let out a cocky snicker. Once she got her energy back, what would she do? Of course, she could go find Vhynias. While nobeast was as smart as her, Vhynias was smarter than most others and to be fair, Vhynias did help her 13 seasons ago. In the very back of her mind, she felt a tiny sliver of guilt realising that she failed to do what Vhynias told her to do. I lost all the weapons. Huh. Guess Vhynias'll have t'deal wit'out 'em.
Just like Tornear, helping Vhynias was her priority. However, unlike Tornear, that was because she couldn't think of anything else to do. As she lay on the rock, she knew what she wanted. Food, weapons and water. Vhynias could come later. The garlic she stole from that mouse earlier was good, but she wanted more. She also hadn't drunk anything today. Luckily, she knew there was a river on the island.
Bolgash stretched her body and turned to her side. By whatever means necessary, she'd find the things she wanted, even if she had to go through the other prisoners for them. None of her sins would matter when she's far away from this island, anyway.
Chuckling softly, Bolgash was certain that she'd leave the island. But right now, she was tired. Letting out a yawn, she shut her eyes, unaware that her friend, Tornear, was being carried back to The Twilight Serpent.
