Chapter 30
What's in a Name
? seasons before the ship's crash
He stomped out the remains of his fire as he heard yelling. They were coming for him. Vermin were not allowed in the area. Backing away into the bushes, he shoved what little he had into a bag and retreated into the foliage.
His frantic pawsteps thundered against the earth. He glanced behind him and saw the head of a shovel peaking over the grass. His body went cold and he ran faster. If nothing else, he was always good at running.
His paws swiped away leaves and foliage. The undergrowth crackled as he ran. A stray branch scratched his face. A tear ran down his face. He couldn't stop now.
The woods opened up and the ground disappeared beneath him. He yelped loudly as he tumbled down an incline. His bag flew away from his paws. Eventually, he crashed to the ground. Picking himself up, he groped around for his belongings.
Behind him, he heard more angry yelling. A whimper escaped his mouth as he ran, not bothering to find his bag.
The next few days were torture as he trudged across endless plains and woods. Nobeast was around for miles. He was alone, just like he had been since he could remember. Every night, he hugged himself to sleep in the dead of night. No one was around to comfort him if he cried, but he did anyway.
One day, while wandering the shoreline, he stumbled upon a stoat regaling a group of vermin. Behind the stoat was a ship. His face lit up with awe, having never seen one up close. More importantly, there were other vermin. There were other beasts that wouldn't drive him away. He didn't have to be alone anymore.
He ran towards the group, fueled by desperation. A few of the beasts noticed him, but nobeast seemed to care enough to speak up. He stood at the back of the small crowd. Unlike the last few times he tried something like this, he didn't stand out. He wasn't the only rat in this bunch.
After a long speech, none of which he understood, the group of vermin stepped forward one at a time. The stoat spoke with them for a few moments, and they headed aboard the ship. When it got to his turn, the stoat's snout wrinkled, staring down at him with contempt.
"Who're ye?" He sneered. "I didn't see ye wit' d'others."
How was he supposed to answer?
"Oy, are ye deaf? I asked fer yer name."
He had a name, or at least, he thought he had one. It's been so long since somebeast called him by his name that he didn't know if it truly belonged to him. "Eryin," he answered.
"Interestin' name, eh? Got anybeast t'vouch fer ye?"
He shook his head. "Nah."
The stoat raised a brow. "Lemme get this straight, ya've got nothin' t'yer name an' nobeast t'search fer ye if ye vanished?"
Once again, he shook his head.
The stoat tapped his footpaw on the sand, narrowing his eyes at the beast in front of him. Eventually, he clicked his tongue and turned towards the ship. "Y'know what? Fine. Git on d'ship. Now."
The rat's eyes lit up. A smile spread across his face as he followed the group of vermin onto Captain Vulcan's ship.
The rat- Eryin, wasn't alone. Not anymore.
Not anymore…
2:00, Day 2
He had been limping parallel to the beach for the past hour. There wasn't any reason why; he just felt like he needed to keep on going.
Try as he might to delude himself into believing Noruth was alive, he couldn't. The mole's smile flashed in his mind along with his final words. "Oi be seein' you later. Now run!"
That's right. He had to keep going.
But where was he going? What was he even moving forward for?
The rat grimaced as that thud replayed in his head. A moment later, he saw Vhynias lying on the ground. The rat wiped his face with a paw, although no more tears poured out. His body was wracked with exhaustion. Still, he kept going. He was still alive, and he needed to stay that way.
His footpaw caught a root, and he fell to the grass. The rat whimpered and clutched his sides. He needed to keep going. Gurnilal was still alive. Bolgash might be alive. Tornear might be alive. Vhynias…
The rat groaned as he pushed himself up, yelping as pain shot through his right arm. A few metres away, there was a log. He sighed solemnly and stumbled closer. He sat down with a grunt, burying his face in his uninjured paw and wincing at the wounds that covered his body.
His body felt heavy. He whimpered and grabbed the collar around his neck, jerking the metal across his tightening throat. He shut his eyes, crumpling to the ground and curling into a ball. "Vhynias, please… I love ya. I'm sorry."
The rat's body sunk to the ground as he buried his face in his arms. The cold shiver of night descended upon him like a wave but he didn't care. He just wanted to sleep for a very long time. He nuzzled up against the log, quivering as his sobbing weakened and he fell into a restless slumber.
"Are ye alright, rat?"
The rat slowly opened his eyes as he heard a voice. He couldn't quite place its owner, but the accent and tone were enough to deliver a bit of comfort. He shook his head, unable to force a response out of his mouth.
"Oh. Do ye wanna talk about it?"
The rat sniffled and peered up. Sitting on the log and gazing down at him was an unfamiliar ferret. Try as he might to remember, he didn't recognise this face. "Who're ya?"
The ferret chuckled warmly. "Matey, that's not important. I see a cryin' face in fronta me an' that's more important. So, tell me, what's gotcha down?"
The rat buried his face back in his arms. "He's… Vhyn's gone," he replied with a whimper.
The ferret paused. "Really?"
The rat whined and hugged himself tighter. "I dunno what happened. I heard a sound an'… What should I do?"
For a moment, the ferret didn't respond. She seemed to ponder what the rat had told her and shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"What do I do?" The rat asked once more.
The ferret tapped the log idly as she stared at the rat. "Do ye miss him?"
"O' course! I shouldn'ta ran. I shoulda stayed by 'im. He got shot an' I did nothin'."
The ferret paused once more. "Huh."
The rat looked up. "Didja know 'im?"
"Ye could say that," the ferret said with a grin.
The rat raised a brow. He pushed himself up and looked at the ferret once more. She wore a black jacket over a green tunic. In the dim moonlight, he saw that her green eyes carried a mischievous shine to them.
Most importantly, she did not have a collar.
The rat slumped down, too exhausted to care. "Whaddya know 'bout 'im?"
"Just a few things," the ferret replied. "He loved the four of ye very much, he was a part of Vulcan's crew before he was taken over, -"
"What?"
"- He got in trouble wit' quite a bit o' beasts to protect youse, the four o' youse were en route to Sampetra, an' more."
The rat's expression morphed into worry as the ferret bared her teeth. "He cared 'bout youse a lot."
The rat nodded solemnly. "I love 'im."
"What's yer name, rat?"
"Crookedfang."
The ferret shook her head. "Nah, I meant yer real name."
"Why? I like my name," he replied. "Tornear gave it ter me. Said it's cuz my teeth're weird."
The ferret chuckled. "That's nice, but wouldn't it make more sense t'know each other by our real names, first?"
The rat stared sheepishly at the ferret for a moment. "Eryin," he mumbled.
"Nice t'see ye again, Eryin. The name's Ayers. Well, 'tis actually Langayers, but 'tis a bit of a mouthful, ain't it?"
The rat kept his silence.
The ferret leaned forward, tilting her head curiously at the rat. "Ye love yer friends, aye?"
The rat nodded.
"Well," the ferret continued, "How wouldja feel if I told ye that there was a way t'save 'em?"
The rat's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Oh, aye. Do ye know why the five of ye're here?"
"No."
"It was easier t'get all five o' youse even if we only needed three. Do ye know what that means?"
"What?" The rat asked, raising his head in desperation. "What's it mean?"
"Ye and Gurnilal aren't on the list."
The rat's face twisted with guilt as the ferret's words set in. "So, Tornear an' Bolgash-"
"Aye, they're on the list. However, they're both dead."
"What?" The rat croaked. His chest tightened as that grin stayed on the ferret's face. "They're dead?"
The ferret nodded. "But ye can still save Gurnilal. Ye love her, aye?"
"Aye, I do."
"So…" The ferret crouched, staring directly into the rat's eyes. "Help us, and we can get you an' Gurnilal outta here safely. Ye don' want anythin' bad t'happen t'her, aye?"
"No."
"Do we have a deal, then?"
The rat paused, "What about Riyan? Is she safe, too?"
The ferret shrugged. "Surrre… Why not?"
A tense moment of silence passed between the two. The rat slowly pushed themselves up against the log and stared at the ferret with a look of desperation. "Fine, I'll help ya."
"Great," the ferret smiled. "We have a deal." She held out a paw for the rat to take. He took a hesitant glance at the ferret and slowly extended his trembling paw. The ferret took it immediately.
And with that, Eryin, or Crookedfang as he was known to his friends, became the second prisoner to side with the guards.
"So, will ya finally admit I had a great idea?" Marlus said with a cocky grin.
Sitting next to Marlus' bed, Kajiir snorted and smiled. "'Twas just luck."
"Luck, my tail!" Marlus exclaimed. "Just admit I had a great idea for once."
Kajiir grinned slightly and rolled their eyes. "Nah."
Marlus scowled at the ferret and punched their side as hard as he could. "Oh, because ya've had such great ideas today, haven'tcha?"
"Fine," Kajiir relented, wrapping an arm around the marten. "Ya've got some'in bumpin' 'round in dat head o' yers."
Marlus growled and punched Kajiir again. "You callin' me stupid? Get your paws offa me," he said, stifling a grin. "I oughta shank ya in your sleep."
Kajiir chuckled and opened their mouth to speak when they heard a commotion outside of the infirmary. Marlus and Kajiir stopped and turned towards the door. "Stay here," Kajiir ordered.
Getting up from Marlus' cot, the ferret darted out the door and jogged towards the mess. They burst into the room and immediately muttered a curse. Ayers stood in the middle of the room, grinning confidently at a concerned group of beasts. Sitting behind her was a familiar rat with fresh bandages covering his right arm. Kajiir's eyes widened with horror as they saw Crookedfang sitting in the mess hall.
Kajiir pushed their way past the small crowd and stared at the other ferret. "Ayers? What're ya doin'?"
Ayers folded her arms. "Relax, Kaj, I've got it under control."
"Do ya?" Kajiir exclaimed. "Dat's d'rat who from earlier! He tried t'kill Marls!"
Ayers noticed the concern that crept into Kajiir's normally professional tone and stood down. Well, only a little. "Okay, Kaj, I know you're worried, but believe me-"
"Ayers. A word. Now." Even though she was the temporary captain, she could tell Kajiir meant business so she shut up. That, and they were still her friend. Ayers nodded and followed Kajiir out of the mess hall.
Turning back, she ordered, "Don't hurt the rat. Temporary captain's orders." Ayers departed with a wry grin and left.
Ayers didn't know what Kajiir had in mind until the ferret led her into the infirmary. They shut the door behind Ayers as a confused Marlus looked on. Kajiir's expression showed genuine anger for the first time in seasons as they glared at Ayers. "Why is d'rat here?"
Ayers adopted a confident stance. "Simple. I've just got another prisoner t'work wit' us. Isn't that great?"
"Ayers," Kajiir growled sternly. "Don't complicate stuff. We're supposed t'kill d'prisoners 'cept fer Durkfor an' d'two who need t'be delivered alive."
It took Marlus a few moments to realise what was going on, but when he realised, he was enraged. "The rat's here?" He snarled. "Lemme at him! I ain't done with him!" Marlus tried to stand up, but Kajiir pushed him down.
Ayers waved their concerns away and reminded them, "I'm the temporary captain, ain't I?"
Kajiir scowled, realising where this was going. "Aye, but'cha goin' against what d'captain said."
Ayers smirked. "Tiv still put me in charge, didn't he? Everythin' I say goes. Remember? We always listen to d'captain, aye?"
Marlus was still growling, but that made him back down. "Fine. Damn it."
Kajiir turned towards Marlus. No, she's not right! Just because somebeast's d'captain doesn't mean ya gotta listen! They thought. "Ayers, c'mon, yer bein' unreasonable."
"Look, it worked wit' Yos, I don't see what the big deal is."
"D'big deal is dat we got lucky wit' Yos. We just got lucky. Thank d'lord we got lucky. 'Tis not gonna go well wit' Crookedfang."
"C'mon, Kaj. Tiv put me in charge, do ya not trust him?" Ayers asked with a smirk.
Kajiir scowled. They glanced towards Marlus, who was staring at him with a look of confusion. "I mean," the marten began, "It's obvious, aye? O' course they trust Tiv."
Kajiir narrowed their eyes. From the look on Ayers' face, they know she just saw it as winning a fun argument but asking that question on this ship? Kajiir nodded slowly. "Aye, I trust d'captain… I'm just advising ye t'reconsider."
"Tiv put me in charge," Ayers reiterated. "So ye can trust me."
"But why Crookedfang?" Kajiir asked.
Ayers grinned. "He's not on the list, and he's desperate. Three o' his friends are dead an' he wants to protect Gurnilal. Simple. And Rianne."
"Three?" Said Marlus. "The otter strangled one o' the weasels, but what about the other two?"
Ayers nodded. "Oh, let's face it, Bolgash's prolly dead, and Vhynias is… well, I dunno, but he got shot in fronta Crookedfang."
Immediately, Marlus flashed Kajiir an almost proud grin, but Kajiir just shook their head.
"Regardless, doesn't that make the rat the perfect ally?" Ayers said.
Neither Marlus nor Kajiir were excited. Marlus wanted to kill Crookedfang, and Kajiir thought this was a bad idea. Still, it wasn't as if they could fight it if Ayers kept putting forth the "acting captain" excuse.
Eventually, Kajiir sighed and stood down. "Fine. Crookedfang's helpin' us. Do we gotta save Rianne, t'ough?"
"Yeah," Marlus grumbled. "Borsen's gonna be super mad at us if we save her."
Ayers shrugged it off. "We just give Borsen Rianne afterwards. The two o' youse need to calm down. I've got it all under control, aye? Trust me."
Marlus and Kajiir gave a reluctant nod. With that, Ayers flashed a thumbs up and left the infirmary to deal with Yos and Crookedfang. As soon as Ayers left, Marlus turned to Kajiir. "Can we leave now? I'm sick of being stuck in bed."
"No, ye need ter rest," Kajiir responded.
Marlus growled. "Oh my lord, Kaj. I've been fine, yer just paranoid." To prove his point, Marlus winced, pushed himself out of bed, and stood on the ground. He waved his arms angrily at the ferret. "See? Yer just overreactin'."
Kajiir stared grimly at the marten. Marlus was quivering. "I don'-"
"Shut up. Can we go now?"
Kajiir hesitated before nodding and leading a disgruntled Marlus to the door. As they were leaving, Kajiir couldn't help but glance towards the mess hall. Ayers, ye better be right.
The two members of Tiviko's crew stood on the deck, staring off into the island as they prepared to find the group they had left in the woods.
"Guess what, ye two?" A sing-songy voice called out from the hall. Crookedfang stopped picking at his bandages and turned towards Yos. The vole avoided eye contact with the rat.
Ayers waltzed into the mess hall, turning to the two prisoners with a grin. "Hey, I've got a task for d'two o' youse."
Yos shrunk into herself. "I thought I was done already. Why are you making me do more?"
Crookedfang raised a brow, puzzled as to what Yos meant. He couldn't recall Yos helping the guards at all.
Ayers reached into her jacket and pulled out two daggers. She tossed them towards the two prisoners with a flourish. The blades landed on the floor, with the pair staring at them hesitantly. Ayers spread her arms and explained, "Your next task is to… help us kill d'prisoners!"
Yos hugged her sides. Crookedfang stood up in a panic. "Ya want us ter do what?"
Yos shook her head. "You think we can beat them?"
"Ha, no." Ayers let out a chuckle. "Not ye, at least, but ye don' have t'fight 'em. Ye just have t'kill 'em. Wait 'till they sleep an' slide a knife in their throat or somethin'. Easy as that."
The two prisoners glanced at each other. Neither of them wanted to move. Ayers kicked the daggers closer to the pair. Crookedfang took a deep breath and reached for the blade. Yos grimaced and hesitantly picked up her dagger.
Ayers smirked. "Alright, you two, get out there an' show us what ye can do."
One day in, and things weren't looking good for the prisoners at the tower. Kallius Placent listened to the growls emanating throughout the room. Every so often, the growls would be punctuated by scratching or snarling.
Borsen Stonetail was at the tower, and there was nothing they could do. With Farshawn Iriswind passed out in the armoury upstairs, Kallius decided to rest in a riskier spot: the bottom of the living room staircase.
It was a stupid thing to do. Kallius was aware of that, but ever since she had been captured, one question had been poking at her psyche.
Why? Why did Borsen choose them?
Kallius jumped slightly as Borsen let out a snarl, lashing out with his footpaw. On the nearby cot, Tiviko Polonuk opened an eye slightly before shutting it. A feeling of guilt washed over her as she watched the otter. Did he always do this? I do not remember this ever being a thing… Wait, he always slept away from everyone else. The only exception to that is Durkfor, but did he ever mention this? They have been close for around ten seasons. Durkfor definitely heard something. He must be hiding it. I do not blame him. I probably would have done the same… But what else has Durkfor been hiding?
Kallius relaxed as Borsen's snarling receded into a deep, rumbling growl. Can somebeast like him ever change? She pondered. Everybeast started as good, so what happened to make him like this? Does it even matter right now? The pragmatic part of her brain said "no", but she still refused to think like that. I do not care. All of us grew up together; I know they can change. Me, Farshawn, Rianne, Durkfor, Borsen, and Thaddeus.
Thaddeus…
The hogmaid shivered, clutching her arms to her sides. What happened to him? Why wasn't he back yet? I think I have a guess…
A thud brought her attention back to Borsen. Kallius leaned forward just enough to get a look on the otter's face as his paw lashed out, slamming against the wall. Kallius expected the otter to look hurt, but his face instead was a cross of two emotions: excitement, and fear.
A lot of fear.
Kallius went through what she knew about sleeping in her mind. Some of it was information that she learned through an overly inquisitive journal in the library, but most of it was observation and a lot of it. She gathered that there were somewhere between two and four stages, but when describing this to Farshawn, she only said two for simplicity: light and heavy sleep. Beasts tended to be woken easily in light sleep, just like Tiviko when Borsen began snarling. In contrast, heavy sleep tended to be harder to break out of. Beasts' heart rate slowed, they were harder to wake up, and, more importantly, it was when beasts seemed to start dreaming.
Borsen didn't make much sound for around an hour after he fell asleep. Kallius could occasionally hear growling, but that was it. When he started snarling and lashing out, Kallius knew something was wrong. Not that it was a surprise. She recalled some of the things the other sea otters had confided in her when she asked them what happened before and during their trek. None of them went into specifics, and they seemed uncomfortable doing so.
But even compared to the other sea otters, Borsen seemed especially erratic. Although he had stopped snarling, the way he batted his paws in front of him was disconcerting, to say the least. What happened to you, Borsen? What are you dreaming about? I cannot tell if you find it terrifying or amazing. Could we have done something to help?
Once again, the rational part of her brain reasoned that it wasn't likely. Borsen pushed away anybeast that wasn't Durkfor, so the odds of him getting help were very low. I have tried to talk to him. I tried to get him to open up, but he never did. Durkfor really was the apple of his eye. How much of his violent tendencies was Durkfor aware of? He should have known something, right?
Borsen seemed to relax for now. His twisted expression passed, and for a moment, Kallius forgot what he had done. Right now, all that she saw was that silent, strong otter who kept away from everyone else. Although he didn't go out of his way to help others, he grew increasingly devoted to Durkfor. Kallius still couldn't believe that somebeast like that ended up doing something this awful. Was there a chance that he could change?
She shook her head. As of right now, I do not think he will. Beasts tend not to change if they are comfortable where they are, and I do not know enough about Borsen to know what would make him want to. I will never forgive him, but I still hope he can find a way to redeem himself. He seems happy, but at the same time, do happy beasts thrash around this much in their sleep?
Kallius sighed as she slowly stood up. I know a lot less about Borsen than I thought. Tiviko's ears twitched, and he opened his eyes, gazing at the hogmaid cautiously. Borsen, on the other hand, began to growl. Kallius padded up the stairs with a grimace and shut the door behind her. She headed to the armoury, where Farshawn was asleep on the couch. Kallius walked up to her and whispered, "Farshawn?"
No response. "Farshawn?" She said louder.
The squirrelmaid jumped, raising her head and immediately relaxing. "Oh, it's just you. Hi Kallius."
"Good evening."
Farshawn sat up with a wince and yawned. "Have you gotten any sleep?"
She shook her head. "I took a nap earlier today, but that is it."
"You should get more. I don't want you to be tired in the morning."
Kallius laughed dryly. "It looks like that will happen regardless. I am finding it hard to sleep when those two are down there."
Farshawn's face darkened at the mention of those two. "Yeah? I don't blame you." The squirrelmaid shuffled anxiously and looked at the floor. "Kallius? How do you stay so positive? I am trying to tell myself that we'll make it out of here, but I can't. I'm really trying. I want to do anything to help you, but I don't know how."
"I'm not, really," Kallius said. "We are in quite the bad spot, and by the look of things, we only have until Borsen wakes up to get out of here. But I do not think that Arthur- Art or Durkfor would abandon us. I know they are coming back to help."
"So… We're entrusting our lives with a depressed, near shut-in and a spineless pacifist who's friends with Borsen?"
"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds bad. But we grew up with Durkfor, and Art is a good beast. I know the two of them will think of something. Besides, there were other beasts with them. We're not hopeless."
Farshawn buried her head in her arms. "I don't know."
"Farshawn, look here," Kallius said. "We are going to get out of here just fine, alright? We cannot give up and believe that everything is over. If we do that, then we are already dead."
Farshawn smiled weakly. "I haven't given up, don't you worry. I just think that we're more alone in this than you say we are."
"But we cannot think like that, either. There were 20- 18 prisoners that escaped the ship. Someone is bound to help us. We are still alive, after all. We are not done yet. We still have the time to do something, or who knows? Somebeast may come and help. Art or Durkfor may come back."
Farshawn opened her mouth but slowly shut it. Instead of whatever she was about to say, she smiled. "How do you do this?" She says with a chuckle. "I guess we aren't dead yet. If worse comes to worst, we can still jump out of the kitchen window… Odds of us getting away then are low, though."
"Yes, that probably isn't the best choice. Come on, let's go look for a way out."
"Alright." Farshawn stood up clumsily, leaning against the table for support. "Hey, Kallius? Can I ask you something first?"
"Go ahead."
"I haven't been dragging you down, have I?" Farshawn asked. "And I don't just mean here, I mean back home, too."
Kallius placed an arm around her comfortingly. Farshawn froze. "Of course you haven't. What brought this up?"
"Nothing," Farshawn said shakily. "I just think that whenever I compare what you do for me and what I do for you, you shadow me by a lot. I guess being here made me want to ask that. Please be as honest as you can. If… in case we don't get out of here, I want to know."
Kallius looked down. "I will say… that sometimes, you can be a lot. You antagonise Thaddeus, Borsen and Rianne even if you don't realise it. You spread rumours about a few beasts, mostly Thaddeus or Borsen, you skirt your duties at Redwall Abbey, not as much as Thaddeus, but you still do it, and I have had to vouch for you a few times."
Farshawn shook her head. "I'm a bad friend, aren't I?"
"... Some beasts may consider you to be one, but I do not. You're trying to help me, and you always had, even when you did not agree. Remember that camping trip? The one where it ended in a fight? You knew it was going to go bad, yet you helped me plan it anyway."
"I guess, but that is one good act compared to the many things you've done for me."
Kallius pulled her closer. "You were here for me before, and you are here for me now. That is enough. We do not need to explain why or quantify everything we have done. I was friends with you back then, and I still am now."
Farshawn hesitated before stiffly wrapping an arm around Kallius. "Thank you."
"No problem."
"Hey, Kallius? Can I tell you something?"
The hogmaid nodded. "Of course, you can. What is it?"
Farshawn sighed. "In case we… don't get out of here, I just wanted to say thanks for everything you helped me with. You didn't have to help me after I got shot, and you didn't have to keep helping me every time I made your life harder. It may be selfish to say this, but I'm glad you're here with me."
"No, I understand," Kallius said. "And… I do not disagree. If I was somehow spared, but you, Thaddeus, Rianne, Durkfor, Arthur, and… If all of you were taken, I do not know if I could be happy with myself. I want to be here so I can help… Even if I cannot do much here, or if I fail at everything I try to do, I want to at least have a chance of doing something. I am not doing a good job, though."
"We're trying," Farshawn said. "There isn't much we can do right now with Borsen and the wildcat downstairs, though. Kallius, I still don't know how you can think like this, but I want to help you help everyone. Even if we fail, it's better than nothing."
Kallius smiled. "Thank you, Farshawn."
The squirrelmaid chuckled tiredly. "No problem." As the two sat in silence, Borsen could be heard resuming his growling downstairs. Farshawn shivered. "Dear Martin, please protect the both of us so we may come back home."
