Chapter 35

The Albatross Around Your Neck


6:00, Day 2


Two figures made their way along the east shore illuminated by the rising sun, their long shadows sweeping along the rocks and sand as the ocean churned behind them. Toran Firepool looked to his left, where Kallius Placent was walking beside him.

As it turned out, Toran was just fine. What happened between him and Bolgash was a wake-up call that he needed to follow Ahlrath's advice. He decided to run and hide until he got a message saying it was safe. However, as it turned out, hiding in a bush and refusing to leave means that beasts have a harder time looking for you, hence why Kallius was the only one here. That's what he assumed, at least.

More than anything, that realisation filled Toran with dread. If just hiding out of the way was enough to lose contact with Ahlrath and Durkfor, how would they find the mountain hare again once he finished whatever he was doing? Speaking of which, what was Ahlrath doing? Toran grew worried, not because of the safety the mountain hare provided (though, he'd have to admit that was a part of it) or because Ahlrath could be in danger (he couldn't be, right?), but because whatever Ahlrath was doing must be bad if he told nobeast to follow him.

Toran looked around. He wasn't even sure why they were following the shoreline now that he thought about it. At first, it was about putting as much distance between them and the tower as possible. At this point, however, their trek had become rather pointless. They were ambling around without a purpose. Toran turned to Kallius and opened his mouth to speak, but without Ahlrath around, getting the words out became rather difficult. "Um, where're we?" he mumbled.

Kallius turned vacantly towards the otter. "Somewhere safe," she replied subduedly.

The young otter let out a nervous growl. Kallius had been a bit distant ever since she met up with him. No doubt it was because of what happened at the tower. Toran heard the screams. He knew another prisoner had died. Toran admittedly didn't know how to process it given that he'd never known the victim, but he had enough sense to tread lightly.

Still, walking around without any direction was getting a bit tiring. "Can we go somewhere?" He asked.

"Oh, right, yes." Kallius attempted to inject some energy into her voice, but Toran saw through it easily.

Still, he nodded. "Ok."

Toran scanned the area once more. If they wanted to stay hidden, they were doing an awful job at it. There wasn't any cover on the shoreline whatsoever. If they were looking for supplies, this was also a terrible place. The otter was starting to lose hope that they'd find anything when something caught the corner of his eye. He paused. On the far end of the beach, he saw a tent, along with a set of docks jutting from the shore.

But most important were the two otters inspecting the tent, armed with a flail and a bow, Ulfrad Shorepass and Miena Dawnraft.

Toran's heart skipped a beat. He shook Kallius' shoulder and pointed towards the two figures. "Over there! Look!"

Kallius looked up with a flicker of fear on her face, but it faded when she realised who it was. "Is that the Skipper? Oh, thank Martin."

As if on cue, the taller of the two otters turned and froze when she saw Kallius and Toran. Glancing down at Toran, Kallius took that as their cue to introduce themselves. She took a deep breath and walked over to the otters. As they got closer, Toran noticed some strange things. The first was the bag slung over Miena's shoulder. It didn't look like it belonged to the guards and none of the prisoners had it on the brig, so where did she get it? The second, and most important, was the lack of chains attached to their collars.

Suddenly, Toran felt a lot more apprehensive about meeting them. The only prisoners with files were the stoat and fox, and neither were around.

Kallius didn't seem to notice and greeted the pair as if nothing was wrong. "Oh, thank Martin we found you two. I am so glad you are here."

Miena nodded with a wry grin. "I'm not, I'd rather be anywhere else than here. In all seriousness, 'tis nice t'see ye."

"What do ye two want?" Ulfrad asked, getting straight to the point.

Kallius blinked at how curt Ulfrad's delivery was. "Oh, um, nothing, really. Why? Are we supposed to-"

"Oh, no, that's just how he talks," Miena cut in before Kallius or Ulfrad could continue. "How are the two of ye holding up?"

Kallius looked at Toran and then herself. "It could be worse, I think." After she answered, she noticed Ulfrad staring at her. The hogmaid kneaded her paws awkwardly and asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Hm? Ah, 'tis nothin'," Ulfrad mumbled. "'Tis just, ye don't sound alright. Are ye alright? Did somethin' happen?"

At this, Kallius shrunk back slightly. Toran took this as his cue to explain. "Two beasts got hurt back there."

"Back there?" Ulfrad raised a brow.

"Um, yeah, a tower," Toran answered.

"Who?"

Toran stared owlishly at Ulfrad for a moment. He didn't want to answer with Kallius here, so he switched the topic. "What about you two?"

Ulfrad's expression soured at the abrupt switch. Toran acted like he didn't do it intentionally. Miena sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, we may as well let the two o' ye know, even if I don't think ye know who these three are. Information's valuable in a situation like this, anyhow."

Miena's previous demeanour shifted into a more grim tone as she listed some names. "First was Tornear, one o' the weasels. He was captured sometime after noon and was apparently killed by Borsen. Next was Noruth, the mole. Finally, there's Vhynias, the fox. Both o' them died last night far east o' here."

Toran looked between his footpaws. Well, that explains how they got the file. The fox had died. That didn't explain everything, though. "Where'd you get that?" Toran asked, pointing to Miena's bag.

'Eh, 'tis nothing special." Miena's voice switched back to her normal, cheerful tone. "'Twas handed down to me by my great grandmother, who got it when she was just a wee- Vhynias had it."

Toran didn't know how to react to any of this, so he didn't. Kallius, on the other paw, decided to extend an offer. "Since there are four of us here, should we stick together? There is safety in numbers, as they say."

Ulfrad scoffed. "Aye, safety in numbers until a fox aims a sword at ye."

"Or ye get slowed down by an uncooperative stoat and weasel," Miena added. "Hypothetically, of course."

Kallius' expression fell. "Why are you bringing this up? Did this happen to you earlier?"

Miena crouched to meet Kallius' height. "What we're saying is that we're a bit hesitant on bringing ye aboard the 'S.S. Let's Get Outta Here'. Nothing against the two of ye, we're just being a bit more cautious now. That's all!"

Kallius tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? Why? We did not do anything."

Ulfrad sighed and gazed down at the pair. "Let me put it like this, and excuse me fer bein' blunt, this is just how I talk. The two o' ye are small, weak, have no weapons, no supplies, and no skills. 'Tis harsh, and in the perfect world, we'd take ye along. Then again, in the perfect world, we wouldn't even be here. We'll be slowed down if we add ye into the mix."

"Well, ye didn't have to put it like that," Miena commented.

Ulfrad turned away. "Aye, sorry Miena."

"Slowed down?" Kallius said incredulously. "How is everyone supposed to work together if we think like that? Everyone has something of value, even if it is not physical."

"That's a genuinely nice thought," Miena said with a smile.

"... But you are still going to say no?"

"Aye, unfortunately."

Kallius stared confoundedly at the otters. Unfortunately? Really? You do not sound very sorry.

"Besides," Ulfrad cut in, "The bigger the group, the bigger of a chance we have of gettin' caught by any guards roamin' around. This isn't personal, we're just tryin' to take less risks… Where is the kid?" He suddenly looked around. Kallius blinked and turned. Toran was nowhere to be found.

Miena couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, that kid was prolly a hide-and-seek champion. Seriously, where is he?"

Kallius' eyes darted around the beach but stopped when she saw a shadow. Inside the tent, there was the silhouette of an otter walking around. Miena and Ulfrad noticed a little bit later. Miena's smile immediately faded. "Hey, get outta there!" She snapped.

Inside the tent, Toran's head jerked up and he ran out. Ulfrad hurried and planted himself in front of the entrance as soon as Toran left.

Kallius' eyes widened. She tried to back off, but Miena was right behind her. She moved away from the ottermaid and glanced at Toran. "What is going on?" She asked nervously. "What are you two doing?"

"There's a raft in there," Toran answered without hesitation.

Ulfrad shook his head. "If ye find anyone else, don't tell them about this, aye?"

Kallius slowly raised her paws as she shuffled closer to Toran. "Why should we not tell others about this? You have a raft!"

"That's exactly why," Ulfrad growled. "Word gets out about this, who knows what'll happen? Some of the prisoners might fight over it or the guards may use it as an ambush spot."

"Ambush from where?" Toran looked around.

"Are you actually concerned for everyone? I think you just do not trust beasts," Kallius muttered.

"And ye'd be right," Miena said lightheartedly. "Ran into a bit o' trouble earlier, so we're keepin' it careful. Believe me, we wanted to trust everyone, but somebeasts made that impossible. Best to keep our ears pricked, aye?"

Kallius looked at the two otters regretfully. "This does not seem like a good idea. There has to be a way for all of us to work together, right?"

Ulfrad snorted. "In a perfect world, aye."

Kallius wanted to try to negotiate, but Toran was already walking away. "Let's leave, c'mon."

The hogmaid reluctantly started to follow, but she took one last glance at the two otters before she did so. Despite Miena's attitude, there wasn't even a 'goodbye' or a 'good luck'. Defeated, Kallius turned away. The two continued up the shoreline. The rocks underneath their paws grew more rugged, rising higher and higher above the ocean. Kallius was silent for the entire walk while Toran kept an eye out for enemies- guards and prisoners alike.

"Why is this so hard?" Kallius said out of nowhere.

"What?" Toran asked.

Kallius half-heartedly threw a paw in the air. "All of this. We should not even be fighting, yet here we are. Ulfrad and the Skipper are doing it, they imply the vermin are too, and so are Art and Durkfor, and I have to wonder, why?"

"I was attacked by a stoat earlier, too," Toran added solemnly.

"Really?" Kallius' face fell with disgust and shock. "I admit that I had a hard time trusting Borsen back at Redwall Abbey, but I still tried to treat him well. It may not have been a perfect effort, but I tried. Why? Why are we not helping each other during a time when we should definitely be doing so?"

Toran didn't know what to say. He gazed up at the sky where spots of orange were bleeding through the clouds. He didn't know how to phrase his answer to Kallius' question, even though it came rather quickly. "I dunno. It's easier sometimes?"

"Easy, hm?" Kallius turned towards the rising sun, then to the forest shrouding most of the island. Somewhere out there, there were, to her knowledge, 13 other prisoners still roaming around. Were any of them working together, or were they fighting? Were they in a group, or were they alone? Would somebeast pick up and help a friend, or would they leave them to die? "Even if it is easier, I am still going to keep trying to bring everyone together. For Farshawn and Thaddeus, I will make this work. I know none of them would want me to give up."

Toran fidgeted with his tie, evidently having doubts about this. "Some are bad, though."

"I am going to be at least a bit cautious. If what the otters said is true, there may be dangerous prisoners out there. Not to mention the one who attacked you. But if I turned away because of a few bad beasts, that would be betraying those who are willing to work together."

Toran nodded. "I guess."

Kallius looked over. "You do not have to help if you-"

"No, I'll come with."

Kallius sighed. "Thank you." Toran nodded in reply. At least she knew there was somebeast by her side. Even if it was a kid. Kallius gazed at the docks below. Was that raft even going to work? Toran seemed to read her mind and shook his head. Still, she couldn't help but hope it worked out for them. Turning back to the woods, she uttered a simple, "Let's go," before trekking down the cliffs into the darkness below.


He'd been hunted before. Heck, he'd been hunted way before he was stuck on this island. Most of the time, it was when his group fell into a disadvantage in a fight. A few times, it was when somebeast had a revenge quest against him.

This was the first time he tried to invoke it knowingly.

Ahlrath Palaechia didn't want to die. At the very least, if he was going to die, he didn't want it to happen yet. Not for himself, but for Toran. He hoped the little otter was still with Durkfor and Kallius, but he only began to realise the possibility that Durkfor abandoned them after he had already left. After all, Ahlrath knew what lengths beasts would go to for the ones they loved. He didn't know what the hell was going on with Borsen and Durkfor, but it seemed like love. A twisted, unhealthy amalgamation pretending to be love, but he was just going to call it love for now.

The mountain hare glanced over his shoulder. Once he realised Durkfor might have reneged, he considered going back. Unfortunately, he had already gone too far. There was no turning back, especially when he'd been leading Tiviko Polonuk on for the past hour.

He'd been hunted before. He'd also been the hunter before. The issue was knowing if the leads he'd been giving were too obvious. Most of the time, he relied on brute strength or forced his way into finding somebeast. Giving out clues like this wasn't something he knew how to do well. The mountain hare sighed as he reached above his head and snapped off a twig.

That wildcat better follow me, else this'll be fer nought.

He'd been paying attention to ensure Tiviko was following. Ahlrath felt certain that he was, and that the wildcat didn't know he was being led somewhere. After all, if Tiviko were aware, he would've brought Borsen along.

The mountain hare couldn't help but shiver. The otter's face during their fight flashed in his mind. Borsen enjoyed every single moment of the struggle. No, enjoyed was too mild of a word. Borsen was practically euphoric, throwing everything he had into that fight as if it was the last thing he'd ever do. At that moment, the otter clearly didn't care whether he died or not and probably would've been fine doing so.

Add on the fact that Borsen was pretty strong as well and Ahlrath was admittedly scared. If he tried to kill Borsen there, Ahlrath was certain he'd die, too. Both of them were so closely matched that as soon as one fell, the other one also would soon after. It didn't help that sea otters have fangs and a powerful tail, and mountain hares don't. Granted, mountain hares were also faster and had stronger legs, but they would both still end up dead. Call it selfish especially since Borsen already had a body count, but he wanted to live. Instead, he decided to go after Tiviko.

A growl rumbled in his throat as he pictured the wildcat's face. Who would've guessed that after all this time, they'd meet up here?

Ahlrath scanned the town surrounding him. It was the perfect place to ambush Tiviko. There weren't any tall structures he could climb. The many corners and walls made close-quarters combat a necessity, and, most importantly, it'd be hard for Tiviko to use his bow here. The mountain hare flexed his fingers as he peered around another corner. While he couldn't beat Borsen in a fight (and walk away from it), he was sure that he could beat Tiviko.

And oh boy, when he finally gets his paws on him…

The mountain hare's ears twitched as he heard a faint click. However, it was too far to know what direction it came from. Ahlrath looked behind him. Now that he thought about it, was Tiviko following him in a straight line, or was he going to ambush him from the side? More importantly, did he even know where Ahlrath was?

Ahlrath growled and pressed forward. His eyes scanned the ruined buildings for any sort of weapon. It might not be needed right now, but if he wanted to get an edge over Borsen, a weapon could spell the difference between one or both of them dying.

Or it could just make things worse if Borsen somehow took it from him, but he would cross that bridge if he got there.

Ahlrath was so distracted by his thoughts that he stumbled on a crack in the road. He let out a growl and chastised himself. What're ye doin'? Lower yer guard like that an' 'fore ye know it, ye have a dagger stuck in yer lung. Fer all ye know, that wildcat's already got a hold on yer position an' is ready tae-

When he turned a corner, he stopped.

So did Tiviko.

The two made eye contact. For a moment, nobeast moved. Ahlrath's eyes darted to the bow in Tiviko's paw. It was loaded. The distance between them wasn't exactly close, but he knew he could catch him. Tiviko must've realised, too. The wildcat's face betrayed the slightest bit of fear as he gazed up at the mountain hare. "Oh… no."

Tiviko raised his bow. Ahlrath ran forward. Tiviko let loose an arrow and turned. Ahlrath leaned to the side. The arrow grazed his neck, causing him to stumble. It wasn't enough. Ahlrath let out a roar as he pushed off the ground with a bestial ferocity and landed on Tiviko's back.

Ahrlath wrestled Tiviko to the ground with a grunt. Tiviko scrambled for his dagger, but Ahlrath grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the stone. Tiviko yelped and elbowed Ahlrath in the chest- right in one of Borsen's wounds. The mountain hare snarled and felt his body seize, but he used that to clutch Tiviko harder.

Ahlrath's paw grasped the back of Tiviko's head and slammed it against the ground once. In desperation, Tiviko unsheathed his claws and dug them into Borsen's previous wounds, tearing them wider. The mountain hare roared with pain and loosened his grip just enough for Tiviko to squirm away.

Tiviko took a few steps before he was jerked back. Ahlrath's paw shot out and dragged Tiviko back to the ground. With both paws free, however, Tiviko unsheathed his dagger and slammed it into Ahlrath's arm.

The mountain hare howled and pulled his arm back with the dagger still inside. Tiviko tried once more to run, but Ahlrath was still leagues stronger even with a dagger in his arm. They wrestled on the ground, snarling and growling like feral beasts before Ahlrath pressed Tiviko against the road.

Tiviko's back slammed against the ground with a yowl. He tried to move his limbs only to find they were all pinned. The wildcat looked up. Revenge and bloodlust flared in Ahlrath's eyes, similarly to Borsen's back at the tower. Tiviko winced and glanced at the dagger in Ahlrath's arm.

Ahlrath shifted so his arm hovered over Tiviko's throat. The wildcat shook and screamed, "I know where Emmeline is! I know where she is! She's still alive!"

The mountain hare's eyes widened. His grip lessened. Tiviko yanked his arm away and tore the dagger out of Ahlrath's arm in a spray of blood. Ahlrath howled with pain as Tiviko scrambled out from underneath him and darted away. Ahlrath reached for the wildcat, but this time, he failed.

Tiviko used his head start to run for the outskirts of town and climb up a tree right before Ahlrath caught up with him. Unfortunately, although Ahlrath was better than him in many aspects physically, Tiviko knew the mountain hare couldn't climb trees.

Ahlrath's breath ran ragged as he reached the base of the tree, glaring up at Tiviko as the wildcat pulled himself onto a thick branch.

Tiviko pulled out an arrow, reached for his bow, and froze. It was gone. From where he sat, he could see the spot where he fought Ahlrath and saw his bow lying on the ground. Ahlrath walked back, grabbed the weapon, and went back to the tree. Tiviko was forced to watch as the mountain hare snapped the bow in two like a twig. Tiviko groaned. "Oh. Damn it."

"Ye cannae hide up there forever, cat!" Ahlrath yelled.

Tiviko scoffed. "Right, and how are you going to get me from down there?"

"Coward! Come down here an' fight me!"

"Like I'd go head to head with you. No chance of that. You'd break my neck like you did with my bow. Thanks for that, by the way," Tiviko snarled.

Ahlrath's breathing slowed as it dawned on him that Tiviko had gotten away. There were trees everywhere and it would be easy for Tiviko to lose him. Shutting his eyes, Ahlrath sighed and asked, "Were ye tellin' the truth? Do ye know where Emmeline is?"

At this, Tiviko burst out in laughter. His voice dripped with rage as he lifted his head and cackled madly. "You too, huh? Oh, what a sorrowful tragedy befalls us!" He bemoaned, "It's almost like a play, really. Star-crossed lovers and such. Guess what, Ahlrath? Your one true love, Emmeline, is dead! Saw her execution myself. It was quite interesting, honestly. I'm not one for watching public executions, but I just had to watch. This might surprise you given my line of work, but I've never seen anyone get burned at the stake. I couldn't imagine how terrifying and painful it would be to be in her position. I mean, just imagine your skin melting and your fur catching fire, it's awful."

Ahlrath's eyes began to sting at the wildcat's words. Tiviko narrowed his eyes. "What is wrong with all of you?! I just had to deal with this kind of thing earlier! Why do you still care?! Hasn't she been gone for, what, almost 10 seasons by this point? Why do you still want to know?! Get over it!" He spat.

"Ah am over it," Ahlrath declared. "But ah'll be damned if ah let ye disrespect 'er memory!"

"Aww, that's so sweet. You know, for someone who's over it, you sure did a great job not killing me after I said I knew where she was. Don't make me laugh, you delusional moron! We both saw how you changed as soon as you saw the child in the brig with you."

"He has nothin' tae do wit' this! Leave Toran outta this!" Ahlrath roared.

"Wow, so defensive." Tiviko leaned against the trunk and sneered, "For both of our sakes, I hope Borsen finds him before you do. Don't worry, Borsen's one of the fairest beasts I've ever known. He doesn't discriminate when it comes to beasts he's grown up with or children. He'll make them all suffer the same."

"Dinnae even say that," Ahlrath muttered.

Tiviko snickered. "Yeah, you're completely over it. You don't even care. That's why you spent so much time searching for me after Emmeline went missing. When Toran dies, I bet you'll act completely normally. Look, I'm going to go somewhere where you can't throttle my neck. Goodbye Ahlrath! Have fun with the family you'll never get to have!"

Before Ahlrath could retort, Tiviko lept to another tree. Ahlrath felt a stab of fear when Tiviko vanished from his sight, but he tried to follow anyway. His eyes darted to any rustling of the leaves or any movement in the sky. However, it slowly became apparent that Tiviko was getting farther and farther away. Still, he kept going. He had to. He gave up searching seasons ago, but now, Tiviko was here. It'd be wrong to give up now, wouldn't it?

Ahlrath eventually slowed to a stop. Tiviko was gone by now, he was sure of it. He had gotten away. "Damn it," he mumbled. "He's gone. Emmeline, sorry."

He felt like a fool. He really did. The adrenaline wore off and he crumpled against a tree. His entire body felt like it was on fire. He shut his one good eye and shuddered. Maybe ah'm not over it, he mused. Dunno if ah ever will. God, why'd ah leave Toran tae go fer Tiviko. Toran, ah'm sorry. Ah'm a damn fool, Ah should'a stayed wit' ye.

Tiviko's last words echoed in his head. Ahlrath gazed up at the trees. Tiviko was probably still close by. At least, close enough to where if he really tried, he could maybe find him. Though, the odds seemed pretty slim.

He didn't know what was the right thing to do anymore. He wasn't sure if he hadn't for a while. Tiviko's words kept flashing through his mind like a lightning bolt. Ahlrath pushed himself up and brushed off his coat. He thought it would take him a while to decide what to do next, but honestly, the decision was made after a few seconds.

Ahlrath stood up and headed off in Toran's direction. He didn't know how much longer Toran, Kallius, and maybe Durkfor would last, but he needed to be quick regardless. Tiviko was right, if Borsen found them before he did… no, he couldn't think like that. Not now.

Screw making the most of their last moments. Screw assuming they were going to die. He wasn't going to accept Toran dying here. Toran was going to survive, and he'd make sure of that no matter what.