Chapter 36
Sinners of Redwall Abbey
Did you ever wonder why you're here? I'm not talking about the reason for your capture. I mean, why are you the one who is still here? Why is it you instead of Ravi or Midwyng? Is there a reason you're here, and they're not? Because let's face it, everything would be so much nicer if either of them were here instead of you.
So the question is, what do you do now? You're here. They're not. You can't change it. Now's not the time to lay in a tree all depressed. Not again. You have beasts who still care about you.
… But do you? You've alienated everybody with what you pulled at the tower. You threatened Kallius. Ahlrath and Toran probably wouldn't accept you. Durkfor… Durkfor was the one who pulled you out of your slump a season ago, and you still did that to him. You're disgusting, you know that? Yes, he loves Borsen, but you would still be wasting away in that bed if he didn't help, you depraved monster.
So, why are you still going? What is keeping you chained to life? Do you even have a reason?
…
No, you don't.
But someone else did. Ravi loved you. You know that for sure. If you're not going to keep going for yourself, use him as a reason to keep moving forward. Then again, you know that if he were here, he would be going around and helping everybody. Why can't you act like him? Stop acting like a child.
Oh? What's that? You're angry? What for? Is it because of how damn pathetic you've been since you arrived? Is it how you haven't done a single good thing ever since Ravi died? No, wait, you've always been angry. Angry at yourself. Angry at life. Angry at your uncle. Angry at Borsen. Angry at Midwyng. Angry at Ahlrath, Durkfor, Tiviko, everyone. You've always just been a cloud of rage, haven't you? Good. Use that. There's little else to keep you going otherwise. Channel that anger into something productive.
Tear them apart with your own two paws. Make them suffer. Make them plead. Make them cry. Don't leave a single one of them alive. Use every spark of that anger to make them regret ever capturing you. Especially Borsen. That god-forsaken monster pretending to be an otter deserves to rot in the Dark Forest for eternity.
Rain hell upon this island. For the good of us all.
The sun finally rose, casting the overgrown woods in a light that would've been pleasing if not for the fact it made them easier to see. Rays of light bled through the gaps in the leaves, bathing two beasts in the morning glow.
When morning came, It became obvious that neither Gurnilal Speareye nor Rianne Wurtil were leaders. Any plans they had decided on last night were forgotten in favour of sitting in the shack for an awkwardly long time before half-heartedly agreeing to search the island. For what, exactly? Neither of them were sure, but staying in the shack probably wasn't a great idea. Might as well do something productive, right?
Rianne had two objectives on her mind when she woke up. Well, calling them objectives was a bit of an exaggeration. They were more vague notions than anything solid. The first was finding anybody from Redwall. Crookedfang was nice, but there was no way she was going to be stuck with him and Gurnilal, no matter how nice Crookedfang was. The idea made her uncomfortable just thinking about it. The second, something that could be solved by the first, was finding somebeast that could protect her. Gurnilal looked pretty tough if the amount of sinewy muscle covering her arms was any indication and could definitely hold her own in a fight, but something told her she didn't want to rely on Gurnilal.
… Yeah, who am I kidding, it's because she's a weasel. Whatever. I never said I was a saint, and it's not like it's unjustified. Any other woodlander would think the same way in my situation, so what's the problem, really?
Recognising it didn't stop her from worrying about it, though. As much as she tried to rationalise that Gurnilal and Crookedfang had shown themselves to be friendly, there was always that inkling in the back of her mind that the moment she was seen as expendable, they would abandon her immediately, especially if things got more dire later. Especially after last night. It wasn't those two attacking the temple, but it was vermin all the same.
Rianne looked up hesitantly at the weasel. Gurnilal glanced at the hogmaid and quickly looked away. "So," Gurnilal began, "Know any place where we should look?"
"How should I know? I've only been to the same spots you have," Rianne snapped.
Gurnilal frowned. "Well, ya didn't have t'put it like that."
Rianne had to stop herself from saying more, but the irritation shone on her face clearly enough.
At certain points during their walk, Gurnilal would make them stop and listen for any sounds. Rianne didn't know if she heard something or was just being cautious, but it made the already slow trek a lot worse than it originally was.
At one point, however, she stopped entirely. Rianne did the same, wondering if she heard clinking metal or whatever Gurnilal was listening for. "Why'd we stop? Is somebeast there?" Rianne whispered. Looking up at the weasel, she realised that Gurnilal was staring at the treetops.
Gurnilal tilted her head. "D'ya see that? Up there, there's a blade pokin' out the leaves."
Rianne raised a brow. Following Gurnilal's line of sight, she saw a curved blade dangling limply through the canopy of a tree. "How'd that get up there?"
As if on cue, the blade slowly retracted. Gurnilal pulled Rianne behind a set of shrubbery and crouched down. Rianne poked her head out just enough to see the blade disappear entirely. A few moments later, a blue shape dropped from the treetops and landed on the grass with a crackling of the leaves.
Rianne's eyes widened. "No flipping way. Art?"
The squirrel stood up from where he fell and picked up a curved blade from the ground. Rianne could tell something was off immediately. Art's eyes were bleary and red, his oversized habit draped even more than usual on account of his missing habit cord, and the amount of blood staining his paws and sickle was concerning, to say the least. "Dear Martin, what the hell happened to you?"
Art shrugged lazily. "I don't know."
Gurnilal left the bushes to see who this squirrel was when Art instinctively aimed his sickle in her direction. Gurnilal raised her paws and backed away. "Wait, don't hurt me, I'm unarmed."
Rianne sighed. "Yeah, she's good. Where did you even get a sickle anyway?"
Art lowered his weapon cautiously. "A barn," he answered stiffly. "What are you two doing here?"
Rianne scoffed and folded her arms. "Nothing. We've just been wandering around without any idea what to do."
Art scanned the pair before limply gesturing with his sickle. "What happened to you?" He asked, looking at Gurnilal's wounds.
The weasel looked down at her arm. "Uh…"
"We got attacked," Rianne answered for her. "Yeah, it was this whole thing. I'll tell you later."
"Ah," Art raised a paw. "Who said we're sticking together?"
"Art, are you bloody serious? Why not?"
"I don't want you to-" the squirrel paused and exhaled. "Fine. I don't care. Come if you want."
Rianne immediately walked to Art's side, but Gurnilal was hesitant. "Why do ya not want us to follow? What're ya doin'?"
Art didn't answer. Again, Gurnilal asked, "What're ya doin', uh, Art?"
Art scowled and turned around. "Something, alright? Why do you want to know?" The vague answer made Rianne raise a brow. Art growled, rubbed his head, and explained that, "I'm doing something that will help all of us. Alright? What the hell do you want me to say?"
"Dear lord, Art, she just asked what you're doing," Rianne muttered, gazing at the squirrel hesitantly.
"God. Whatever. The two of you don't even need to follow me, I'm doing this whether you're here or not. Just hurry up and decide if you are."
Rianne frowned, leaning backwards slightly. "Art. Calm down-"
"You calm down! Do I look like I'm in any damn mood for this right now?" Art's paw instinctively reached for his sickle, something that didn't go unnoticed by both Rianne and Gurnilal. Art paused, letting his paw fall limply to his side. "Yes or no, are you following? Answer quick. I just want to get this over with."
If there was any other way to immediately destroy any credibility he had, Rianne didn't know if one existed (besides outright murdering the other abbeydwellers). But when it came to comparing her options, she could either stay with Gurnilal or go with Art. When thinking about it that way, the choice was obvious. "Sure, I'll go with you," she replied.
"What about you, weasel? Whatever your name is?" Art asked.
"Gurnilal," she mumbled in response. As expected, she couldn't make a decision. Rianne couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. Just say something already.
Rianne rest her paws behind her back. "Are you going to answer?"
"Maybe we shouldn't-" Gurnilal stopped when she took one look at Art. She looked away, clearly not wanting to say anything to his face, "I don' think… uh…"
"Make up your mind already," Rianne snapped. "I'm going with him, so you're either staying here or coming with us. Either way, just make a decision already."
"I don' know," Gurnilal complained. "Is he… okay?" She asked.
It was an innocent enough question to Rianne, but Art didn't seem to take it well. The squirrel gripped the handle of his sickle and walked past Gurnilal, not waiting for the two to follow. Rianne trailed behind him, glancing between Art and Gurnilal as she passed. The weasel stayed in place, clutching her wrist and staring at the hogmaid. Rianne steeled her face and padded after Art.
Yeah, we're bad beasts, aren't we? I can't think of any scenario where leaving her like this is a good thing. Dear Martin, Noruth would probably tell me off for this, but he's dead, so what good were his ideas anyway. It's not like it helped him in the end.
Even though she made her decision, Rianne couldn't help but mutter "Sorry," before leaving Gurnilal behind. Not that it helped.
When she finally caught up to Art, the squirrel was muttering intensively to himself. Rianne caught a few words about a tattooed otter and realised what he was doing was a stress reliever. She pulled at the collar around her neck and asked, "Art, what actually are we doing? This isn't good, is it?"
Art paused, turned, and stared Rianne dead in the eyes. "Do you think we have any chance of getting out of here?"
The question made Rianne nervous. Despite what Noruth told her earlier, she still couldn't think that way. "Not particularly, no… Why are you asking?"
Art rubbed his bleary eyes absentmindedly. "Well, we do. Trust me, there is a way out of here. We just need to find you a weapon, then we'll go after every single one of those monsters. They can't hurt us if they're dead."
"How does that help us get home, exactly?"
"What do you think?" Art snarled. "They brought us here and you're questioning how killing them would help us?"
Rianne backed off. "I was just asking."
Art shook his head and started walking to the north. "There are mines and tunnels all over the island, so I'm willing to bet there are shovels, pickaxes, or hammers lying around. Who knows? Maybe on the way, we'll find a guard or two to pick off."
"Art," Rianne began slowly. Her mind flashed back to the temple, and even though she didn't kill anybeast, she had to stab somebeast to save Gurnilal… Whom she just abandoned. "You know I don't like fighting, don't you?" She asked shakily. "Plus, do you think two beasts can take down an entire group of vermin?"
"Sure," Art replied flatly. "Just follow me."
Rianne grimaced and looked over her shoulder. Was it too late to go with Gurnilal? Probably. "Art, I can trust you, right?"
Art shrugged. He opened his mouth to speak but immediately shut it. Rianne clasped her paws behind her back, staring anxiously at the squirrel. She remembered all the times Art had gone to the infirmary, from overprotective beasts sending him there for comically mild bruises to a slash that needed stitches to heal. She recalled every reckless injury that could've been easily prevented had he been more careful. She recalled every "it was an accident, it won't happen again". The couple of times he accidentally cut himself while learning how to use different weapons he somehow got his paws on. A sprained ankle. Probably a few others she couldn't recall.
Art had definitely visited the infirmary more than any other beast his age, which already made her curious, but the reckless, almost negligent nature of some of them made her want to keep an eye on him. She liked Art fairly well on a normal day, but this was the beast she left Gurnilal for?
Art took so long to answer that Rianne wasn't sure if he would. Eventually, however, he did. "Yes. You can trust me."
Thaddeus picked up his vest, spilling the berries onto the grass as he did so. "Actually, did Borsen teach you first aid too?"
"He taught me a lil' bit," Durkfor answered.
Thaddeus scoffed and looked up at the sky. "Amazing. We should just ask him to come to the tower to heal Farshawn. Oh wait, he's trying to kill us. What a prick. Why'd you even become friends with him in the first place?"
Durkfor's smile was much more strained than before, "He's nice t'me, that's why."
It didn't seem like much at the time, but Durkfor didn't realise it would be the last conversation he would ever have with Thaddeus.
And now, as he stood near the chunks of flesh and blood painted all over the trees, he finally realised the true extent of Borsen's monstrosity.
Durkfor stood frozen, unable to divert his eyes from the body lying in front of him. It was so horribly mutilated that he couldn't recognise it as Thaddeus, but under the circumstances, what other mouse could it be? The hare stumbled over to the closest tree and threw up right there.
He was alive not too long ago, and now he's just…
Durkfor shivered as he reached his paw to the side of his neck, right by the jugular. "What am I supposed to do now, huh?" The hare asked bitterly. He forced himself to look at Thaddeus' corpse. He needed to look at it closely. He needed to take in every single detail. Borsen did this, and he needed to fully understand that.
Durkfor gagged as the stench of blood overwhelmed his senses. The air seemed to be laden with rusty metal as the bits of gore and blood dried in the morning air.
Borsen did this. He admitted to it back at the tower. Not only that, but he enjoyed it. Thaddeus was somebeast Durkfor had known forever, and while they weren't exactly close friends, there was still a bond between them that formed between him and the rest of his peers.
And to think the last thing Durkfor felt towards him was anger for saying… something about Borsen. He didn't even remember what it was, and he was willing to bet it wasn't even that bad.
But still even with all of this in mind, even with a rotting corpse in front of him, Durkfor couldn't hate the otter. In fact, more than ever, he felt absolutely terrified. Partially at Borsen, but mostly at himself.
Durkfor heard somebeast stumble behind him, and he turned around. "Hello?" He called out. Without a weapon to defend himself (and being in admittedly terrible shape), he had to hope Art didn't come to finish him off or something. Wait, no, Art was a good kid. Kind of. He couldn't think about him like this.
It only turned out to be a group of guards, which made Durkfor sigh with relief. Then he felt guilty for doing so. Then he realised that they seemed familiar.
It was the pine marten from earlier, Marlus. Behind him were four other beasts. The marten looked behind Durkfor and let out a scream. "God, who did that? What the hell happened here?"
"Marlus. Calm down," said a ferret.
"Didja do that?" Marlus asked Durkfor, ignoring the ferret.
Durkfor frowned. "Me? No! I wouldn't do anythin' like this!"
The ferret, Kajiir, motioned to the blood and pointed out that, "D'blood looks 'bout a day old. Whoever did it is long gone."
Marlus shivered. "You better be right, I ain't dealin' with whoever was messed up enough to do this crap." He glanced between the body and Durkfor for a bit before the realisation hit him. "Oh, you're the hare from earlier."
Durkfor weakly waved. "Uh, hi?"
"Ugh. You're the last beast I wanna see right now. Well, you and Borsen. C'mon, let's go-"
"Hold on a sec." Kajiir held out their crossbow, stopping Marlus in his tracks. "'Fore ya run away again, we should ask 'im some stuff."
Marlus began to scowl. "Ask him? You really think he's gonna help us?"
Kajiir shrugged. "'S wort' a shot. We've no idea where t'look."
"Aye, and whose fault is that?" Marlus growled.
"… Mine." Unbeknownst to Durkfor, Kajiir had asked their group to split up to search for the remaining prisoners at the temple. However, in a moment of poor planning, they didn't designate a meetup time or place, so two of the groups were still missing. "Anyhow, Durkfor." Kajiir turned to the hare intently. "Have ya seen anybeast nearby? Guards, prisoners, it doesn't really matter."
Durkfor scratched his drooping ears nervously. "No, I haven't seen anyone. If I did, ya know very bloody well I'd be anywhere but here, y'know? So, I mean, to answer your question, I will say no, because I haven't seen anyone."
Marlus snorted. "Idiot. You suck at lyin'. Look, I ain't gonna ask twice, tell us where they are or Kaj'll shoot ya."
"I won't."
"Well, then I'll shoot ya. Kaj, give me the crossbow."
"No. Don' shoot d'hare. "
"Give me the bloody crossbow or I'll punch your damn throat!"
"Ah, excuse me," Durkfor spoke up, "What about the two of youse? Have ya seen Borsen or Art anywhere?"
Marlus turned to the hare with a raised fist before pausing with fear. "No! Do you think we'd be talkin' to you if we'd seen anybody? You daft hare. Kajiir, give me the crossbow so I can shoot him in the chest."
"Why?" Durkfor raised a paw slightly. "What did I-"
"Look, we all know you're lyin'. I just know you are," Marlus interrupted.
Kajiir narrowed their eyes as they scanned the hare. "Why is dere blood on yer shirt?"
Durkfor looked down at the dried blood staining his tunic. He hid his arms behind his back with a nervous chuckle. "Whaddya mean?"
The ferret's cold grey eyes bore into Durkfor as he looked down at the ground. Kajiir snorted and buried their free paw in their pocket as they thought of a solution. "Do ya enjoy havin' blood on yer paws, Durkfor?"
The hare's ears twitched. "Is that a joke, or what?"
Without explanation, Kajiir raised the crossbow and levelled it at a small rat in the group, much to everyone's surprise. Durkfor's eyes widened and he held his breath. Marlus backed away while the rat began to snarl. "Hey, put that down!"
Kajiir shook their head. "No. Anyway, I have a few questions fer ya, hare. If ya don' answer, I'll shoot 'im dead. Got it?"
Durkfor nodded hesitantly. "Okay, but ya don't have to do this. Would ya really shoot your friend?"
Kajiir raised a brow in genuine confusion before shaking their head. "We're not friends. Dat goes fer d'rest o' youse, too. Move, an' I'll put an arrow in his chest."
Considering what Kajiir said, Durkfor expected the rest to try to take the crossbow from them, but nobody moved. Two of them looked at the rat with concern. It honestly surprised Durkfor. Considering what he'd been told about vermin, he expected none of them to really care. Kajiir adjusted their grip on the crossbow and continued. "Now, Durkfor, have ya seen any guards recently?"
Durkfor hesitated. Kajiir narrowed their eyes and reminded him that, "I know ya don' want blood on yer paws."
"I saw the wildcat, Tiviko, a few hours ago."
"Where? Is dat it?"
"At the tower in that direction. That's it." Durkfor paused. It didn't fully occur to him that Borsen should be counted as one of the guards now. In his mind, he was still somebeast from Redwall Abbey. "Borsen was there, too," he mumbled.
Kajiir nodded. "Now, any prisoners?"
The hare's ears drooped. He stroked his arm regretfully.
"Durkfor," Kajiir growled.
"Ahlrath, Toran, Kallius, Farshawn, a bat, and Art were there, too."
Marlus couldn't help but butt in. "All of them? Really?"
"Yes. Though, the bat was shot, and Farshawn…" Durkfor shuddered as he remembered the squirrelmaid's screams and Borsen's animalistic howling.
In spite of Durkfor's state, Kajiir didn't relent with the questions. "Didja see 'em leave? Where did dey go?"
"Ahlrath left on his own, I assume Kallius and Toran left together, and Art ran away."
"What direction?"
Durkfor's body grew hot. He didn't want to keep helping Kajiir with these answers, but every time he considered not answering, he looked at the rat's scared comrades and his resolve burned away. He didn't want them to watch a friend die. They were friends, right? "Ahlrath walked south, Kallius… went west, and so did Art. Not together, though."
The slightest smile grew on Kajiir's face but it faded quickly. "Final question, why are ya bleedin'?"
Durkfor removed his arms from his back. "Uh… Well, Art kinda cut me."
Kajiir raised a brow. So did Marlus. "He did that?" Marlus asked. "The hell he'd do that for?"
"'Tis strange," Kajiir agreed. "Wit' what weapon? An' are any of 'em besides Art armed?"
"A sickle," Durkfor replied with the slightest bit of spite. "The rest are unarmed, I think." Kajiir nodded slowly. Still, the crossbow wasn't lowered. Durkfor grimaced and spat, "What more do ya want from me? Huh?"
"Calm down, Durkfor," Kajiir said wryly, "Dat's all. Ya can leave." As soon as they lowered the crossbow, the rest of the group began to squabble.
"What the hell was that for?" The rat asked. He raised a fist to punch the ferret but Marlus stood in the way and clutched the rat's arm.
Kajiir reassured them that, "I wasn't gonna actually shoot ya, c'mon. I just wanted some information outta d'hare. Now we have some leads."
Marlus wrestled the rat to the ground, pinning his arm behind his back. "Exactly, so if ya punch 'em, you're dead. Got it? Remember that I'm still the leader here."
"Oh are you?" The rat asked dryly.
Durkfor watched with a certain level of disgust as everyone continued to argue. Meanwhile, Kajiir padded up to Durkfor and asked, "Yer story made me a bit curious. If dere were six- no, now four beasts wit' ya, why are ya alone?"
The hare buried his paws in his pockets. He wasn't sure if he should tell Kajiir, but this didn't feel important enough to warrant hiding. "Well, Borsen scared off Kallius, but Art doesn't want to be near me right now," he said with a guilty laugh. "Now that I think about it, a few of 'em prolly don't like me as much now 'cause I'm friends with Borsen."
"Hm." Kajiir rested their crossbow over their shoulder. "Well, not'in' wrong wit' helpin' out a friend, aye?"
"Borsen's tryin' to kill my other friends, though."
Kajiir clicked their tongue. "Well, yer gonna have t'decide which friend ya wanna help. Speakin' o' which, all o' ya, get offa him." Kajiir walked over to the two fighting beasts and pulled Marlus off the rat. Marlus snarled and thrashed in the ferret's grip. Apparently, their argument had escalated in the last few seconds. Go figure. Durkfor shook his head and sighed. Kajiir didn't need to ask him that question. He'd been contemplating it over the past few hours. Yes, helping the prisoners was objectively the morally best decision, even if Art's newfound hatred towards him made it a slightly less desirable one.
But there was still this odd pull that Borsen had on him. Durkfor brought his paw up to his jugular again.
Something happened last night.
Last night, Durkfor couldn't sleep. Borsen couldn't either, apparently.
Last night, he awoke to the sound of growling. Something was pressed against this throat…
He was snapped out of his thoughts by Marlus' snarling. Irritated, Durkfor turned and left the group to do whatever the heck they were going to do next. He looked at Thaddeus' corpse and shivered, though not as much as before. Meanwhile, Marlus and the rat finally stopped fighting, though only after Kajiir and a fox tore Marlus and the rat apart. The ferret sighed. "You two drive me nuts."
"Hey, I didn't start it," Marlus argued. Kajiir dropped Marlus to the dirt with a thud and gazed up at the sky. If they could figure out where the tower was, they would have a pretty good idea of where a few of the prisoners had gone. However, they would need to be quick. For all they knew, all of them could be long gone.
"Alright, everybeast," Kajiir addressed the group. "Let's get goin'."
