It has been a year since I first published this fic. Thank you so much for the support and feedback ever since then! I have learned a ton and have had a blast writing it and I hope to continue to improve. Here's to another great year!
Please let me know what you think and what I can improve on. Enjoy!
Seabane opened his eyes to find himself lying alone at the foot of a giant tree. Treetops loomed far above, casting long shadows that seemed to move and sway with an otherworldly presence. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and rotting leaves. He sat up slowly, feeling the dampness of the ground seeping through his clothes. Looking around with growing unease the rat opened his mouth and called out to the deserters, but his voice seemed to be swallowed up by the enormity of the trees above him. Seabane scrambled upright. Something was wrong, very wrong.
Seabane cautiously began trekking through the strange forest. Everything about it appeared to be oddly off. The trees were massive with long spindly branches reaching out high above him protruding from huge immovable trunks. Everything from the grass underpaw to the sky above was an unnatural grey. It was darker than ash but lighter than a moonless night sky. He couldn't find the sun or the stars either. A dark cloud hung motionless far above the branches of the giant trees. It was the same grey as everything else in the forest, but it cast dark shadows from which no light escaped. Seabane tried to steer clear of those shadows.
The colors didn't scare Seabane as much as the sound, or more precisely the lack of sound did. The forest seemed so large that it sucked the voice from everything that dwelled in it. Where there should be the noise of the rustling of leaves or the hooting of a far-off owl there was nothing. Only empty silence. The silence only exasperated Seabanes panic.
The quiet reminded him of a time when he was a new pirate on The Damnation. The pirates had been attacked by a small group of woodlanders the night after raiding a village. Thinking they could sneakily board the vessel and slay his sleeping crewmates; they were surprised when Seabane stumbled across them and raised the alarm. After a vicious fight that left several beasts dead the remaining woodlanders were captured and tied together to prevent an escape. Seabane was to guard them for the remainder of the night. Before dawn the captain of The Damnation, a large, black-furred rat named Grogarr, had Seabane cut them loose and toss them into the sea.
Enraged at freeing the captives he worked so hard to capture, Seabane complained to Captain Grogarr. The captain laughed aloud as he put a paw on Seabane's shoulder and led him to the side of the boat.
"Yarr jus' watch. Iz feedin' time!" He had said.
Aside from the soft rocking of the boat and the lapping of the water against the great ship's hull, it was completely silent. Seabane and Captain Grogarr looked down at the five woodlanders that bobbed in the water beneath them. Suddenly one of the woodlanders was drug under the surface. The water where he once was bubbled and churned before turning blood red. Immediately, three other woodlanders were attacked by the mysterious predator. However, they weren't immediately pulled below the waves. Large green and blue fish, with rows of sharp white teeth, flailed about near the surface of the water, desperate to get a bite. The screams of the prisoners woke much of the crew, who before long joined Seabane and Captain Grogarr on the ship's railing. The pirates cheered and jeered the suffering woodlanders before Captain Grogarr slammed his fist on the bow of the ship, demanding absolute silence.
The silence was deafening. Not a soul on board made a sound and the ship itself went quiet, as everybeast held its breath in anticipation. Seabane's knees shook. The only thing that kept him from running from the ship's railing was Captain Grogarr's strong paw and the words he whispered in his ear.
"Every predator knows deres always a bigger fish."
Suddenly a large spiny dorsal fin shot out of the water. The fin was as large as he was. It rushed parallel to the side of the ship. The fish was deathly silent and cut through the water at an amazing clip. The remaining woodlander, a mouse a few seasons older than Seabane saw the fin and looked up at the gleeful vermin awaiting his demise. Somehow the mouse found Seabane who stood mouth agape in astonished shock. As the mouse opened his mouth to call for help, the giant fish dragged him under the water. Then once again there was total silence.
Captain Grogarr tilted his shaggy head back and gave a victorious howl. The crew did the same.
The silence before the slaughter was what haunted Seabane. Perhaps if the mouse had noticed the giant fish stalking him sooner, he would have called out. Maybe Seabane would've done something to help him. But he didn't, and the quiet horror of the event forever remained with him.
"Deres always a bigger fish." The words echoed throughout the dark forest rustling the trees as a wind grew in strength.
Seabane began to run faster. His panting and racing heart drowned out every step he took. Careful to avoid the shadows that seemed to be growing ever larger, he ran faster and faster until a great wind picked him off the ground. The odd grey world around him froze as he tumbled headfirst through the noiseless wind. Seabane opened his mouth to scream but another gust of wind forced the air back into his lungs. With a silent howl, he fell into the darkness.
Seabane flailed helplessly. He opened his mouth to scream but like before no words came out. He fell for what seemed like an eternity before slamming to a stop on his back. Groaning Seabane looked up into the eyes of a badger skull. He tried to crawl away, but he was rooted in place by the horrifying sight. Hoping the skull didn't see him Seabane shrunk down. The skull's empty eyes looked down at him. It laughed at the sight of the sniveling rat.
"You think you can run Seabane? I'll always find you!"
The ominous figure let out a bellow before breaking into sickening laughter. Scores of fiery white orbs materialized slowly from behind the badger's skull. As they grew larger, dwarfing the dark figure in front of Seabane, they charged. Seabane opened his mouth to scream in terror as the flames consumed him.
"Wake up yew idjit!"
Seabanes eyes snapped open looking into the bewildered faces of Crooksnout and Marrow. They stood atop him both holding one of his extremities. Seabane turned his head to look around. The small branch tent he had made a day prior had collapsed into different parts that lay on top and around him. He could see Sathe eyeing him oddly from the fire. Ruddy who lay on his back upon a nearby log turned his head to watch him. The fox's eyes were hollow and distant.
"Damn it Seabane what was that about!" Crooksnout exclaimed. "Yew almost hit me in tha arm!"
"I what?" Seabane asked, bewildered from his dream.
"Yew were thrashin' around like a hooked fish!"
Seabane opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. The dream had felt so real. The silent forest, the memory from The Damnation, the badger skull, the lights. It was odd, but it all felt like it had happened. A swift gust of wind blew and swirled light white flakes that landed softly on his nose.
Annoyed, Crooksnout released his grip on the rat and marched back to the fire. Seabane sat stunned, sucking air into his lungs. He was drenched with sweat and was cold, but his migraine from earlier seemed to have gone away. Marrow offered a paw to help him up, which Seabane accepted.
Shakily he walked over to the fire with Marrow at his heels. Crooksnout stood close to the fire doing his best to warm his paws and dry his tunic. Sathe crouched next to him, keeping her rear off the snow. All the while Ruddy lay on his back staring blankly into the sky as he noiselessly opened and closed his mouth.
"Do we got any food?" Seabane asked.
"Naw, we couldn't find anything!" Crooksnout barked back.
Sathe threw Seabane a few nuts that were roasting on a flat rock. With a sinking heart, Seabane picked them up. They were barely enough for a mouthful.
"These fools couldn't find anything, aside from a few nuts and poisonous mushrooms," Sathe added as Seabane placed one of the roasted nuts into his mouth. They tasted more like smoke than anything edible.
He continued to slowly eat as Crooksnout and Sathe broke into an argument.
"I didn't see yew do anything to help seer! Aside from complaining that is."
"I'm sorry, weren't you the one who thought it would be a good idea to feast on poison?"
"Yew could've warned us what we'd find. Considerin' all yew do is run into the woods to hide from any real work."
"Yew ate poison?" Seabane asked Crooksnout through distasteful bites.
"That's right 'e did! Crooksnout and Ruddy both foraged for some delicious mushrooms. Unfortunately, for them they were poisonous. That didn't stop them though!" Sathe responded in a morbidly merry tone.
Sathe could see what Seabane was going to ask. "I already made their medicine. They'll both be fine but Ruddy's taking the worst of it."
As soon as Sathe closed her mouth Ruddy rolled off the log and loudly vomited. Crooksnout hauled Ruddy back onto the log as the fox quietly moaned. Seabane could feel his migraine making a resurgence.
"I thought ye were supposed to make him feel better, not worse!"
"I saved his life! Besides this is what the medicine is supposed to do." Sathe said between Ruddy's groans.
"Why is he still sick then?" Crooksnout snapped at Sathe.
She shrugged. "I don't know. It's probably because yew had three or four while he ate a whole score of 'em."
"Is he supposed to be doing that? It can't be good." Seabane asked, worry emanating from his voice.
"The best thing that can happen is if they get everything out of their body. Unfortunately, that's all I can do right now considering we don't even have enough food to fill our bellies!" Sathe snapped.
"It would be nice if we had that squirrel's cottage," Seabane said absentmindedly to himself. Crooksnout nodded in agreement.
"Muckfur's gone now, so we shouldn't have tah worry about him," Sathe said, brushing Seabanes' complaint to the side.
"But you should've killed him, there's no telling what he could do to us. He could be luring the otters here as we speak!" Sathe added with a hint of discontentment.
Seabane was silent for a moment as he watched the snow begin to fall with greater intensity. The fire was nice, critical to their survival. But the wind still cut through them like frozen arrows.
"That was my worry, which is why I wanted us to leave as soon as we could," Seabane responded, pausing and letting the night envelop them.
"I had another premonition."
No beast acknowledged him, aside from Ruddy who continued to wordlessly open and close his mouth. Seabane looked around thinking that they didn't hear him. After a few more moments of silence, Seabane spoke.
"And because of my premonition, I think we should leave immediately."
Sathe and Crooksnout groaned, and Marrow gave him a disapproving glare.
"Not this again," Sathe muttered loud enough for Seabane to hear her disapproval.
"I'm not asking you to believe me, but I am telling you that we need to leave now, or else something terrible will happen."
"I thought this was over Seabane!" Crooksnout shouted at him. "We can't leave, we can't even survive as it is!"
"I know it'll be hard but-"
"But what!" Crooksnout exploded. "We left the horde because of your premonition and we've been slowly dying ever since!"
"If we leave now we'll freeze to death in this storm," Sathe warned. "As a beast who's more versed in soothsaying and fortunetelling than the rest of ye," Sathe added with an intentional flourish. "I wonder if you're madder than anything else."
"I'm not mad, idjit! We've just run into some… unforeseen issues."
"Unforeseen issues?!" Crooksnout spat. "How good are your premonitions if you always end up in a worse place because of them? You went from a cozy life at sea to a lowly hordebeast. But even being a hordebeast was better than being a pathetic wandering vermin who has tah grovel for his meal!" Crooksnout was shrieking to be heard over the wind which had picked up in intensity.
"We're not dead yet fool!" Seabane snapped at him. "Would ye rather have run headfirst into a maddened badger with Zidar, or do you want to wait for some riverdogs to find us and put yew and yer mate out of yer misery."
"We can find food and remain unnoticed! Besides Captain Seabane, I thought you plundered otter holts all along the western coast before. Why don't yew show us how it's done since you brought us here? But I forgot yer a crazy coward who was too afraid of the sea to do anything aside from swab the deck." Crooksnout barked back.
"Shuddup yew two!" Sathe snapped at the two of them before words turned to physical violence.
"Seabane yer a mad fool, but you still have more brains than this idiot," Sathe said pointing to Crooksnout. "Even yew should be able to see we can't go anywhere right now."
"It doesn't matter!" Seabane pleaded. "I know what I saw, and I know we need to leave!"
"We'll die if we leave!" Sathe snapped, rising to her footpaws. Seabane could see that she held a small bundle under her cloak.
"Silvertongue and her kits have a fever and Herrik probably won't survive the night. Ruddy's body and mind are fighting off the effects of the poison, and Crooksnout is still weak from it." Sathe's authoritative voice slowly turned to desperate pleas.
"We can't find food and we don't have good shelter. If this storm is as bad as it looks then things are going to get worse. We'll die if we leave but if we stay here then the woodlanders might not find us and kill us!" Sathe was trying hard to keep the emotion from her voice.
"We'll die if we leave. But we have a chance if we stay."
Seabane glared daggers at Sathe, he hated it, but he knew she was right. There wasn't much they could do without getting themselves slain. Defeated Seabane didn't say anything but nodded and moved closer to the fire. Unfortunately, there were bigger issues that awaited the vermin.
As the evening darkened into the night the light falling of snow worsened into a howling white blizzard. The vermin huddled close to the fire. Ruddy had thrown up several more times but appeared to be slowly getting better. All the fox wanted to do was sleep. But Seabane, wary of the cold, forced him to sit aside Marrow who pinched him awake when needed. Aside from Ruddy's occasional grumblings, the vermin were silent. They were all aware of how dire their situation had become, and Seabane for one didn't feel like rehashing what they already knew. So instead, he spent his time thinking of how they could survive the next day, much less the rest of winter.
Their lack of food gnawed at their stomachs. A good meal would be certain to raise the deserter's morale. Unfortunately, Seabane realized that finding food would only strengthen their will to stay when Seabane still wanted them to leave. Seabane hated to admit he didn't know who should be searching for food. Muckfur was the obvious choice, but as of that morning, he was no longer with them. Crooksnout and Ruddy had proven they were too… incompetent to do so. Seabane had no idea how competent Marrow was at foraging. He hadn't seen the white rat do anything aside from picking up a few acorns that lay at his footpaws. So, the best option was that he and Sathe go foraging the next morning. If the weather calmed like Seabane hoped it would. The two of them would hopefully have a productive search. Seabane could also get the ferret to spill some foraging secrets she claimed to have. Seabane grabbed the hilt of his cutlass, comforting himself. Happy he had come up with the inkling of a plan.
A gust of wind and snow blasted Seabane in the face as he closed his eyes to protect them from the assault. Shimmying closer to the fire Seabane realized the biggest threat to them was the weather. This damn storm would kill them far faster than starving would! None of them were prepared for it, but none of them expected the nasty cold they had experienced over the past fortnight. Sathe was adamant for whatever reason that the storm was far worse than it appeared. Seabane hoped that she was wrong. But even if she wasn't they had to improve their shelter. Seabane had only built a makeshift canopy for the sick tent and a small branch tent, which he had destroyed upon waking up from his dream. They would need a much more insulated shelter if they wanted to survive. Another gust of wind cut through Seabanes thin vest which did nothing to protect him. Looking at the other vermin he could see they were shivering as quietly as they could.
"Did tha fire get smaller?" Ruddy said as he drunkenly swayed on his seat.
Seabanes ears perked up at Ruddy's question. It had! The crackling blaze from earlier was growing smaller even as fresh kindling was placed atop it. The wind and snow had been slowly choking the life from the flames. Forget surviving the night the vermin needed to survive the next hour!
Seabane leaped to his footpaws. "Everybeast get up now!"
The other vermin eyed him oddly.
"We're not leaving, Seabane!" Crooksnout snapped at him.
"Yarr right Crooksnout we're not. But we need to get out of this storm, it's killin' the fire."
Looking at the fire Crooksnout exhaled a large puff of smoke before getting to his footpaws.
"What do ye want us to do then?"
Seabane breathed a thankful sigh before barking out orders.
"Sathe you and Ruddy go clear away whatever snow laying by the entrance of the sick tent. Clear all the snow along the foot of the wall. Iv ye can pile it into a barrier to break the wind. When yer done grab all the kindling ye can and drag it to the wall. We're gonna make a shelter against it."
Seabane spun to Marrow. "I want you to keep the fire alive until they're finished. Once they come back for the kindling you need to move the fire to the entrance of the sick tent. Far enough away that it won't take fire but close enough to be protected by the wall."
Marrow nodded solemnly as he bounced on his toes trying to keep warm.
Seabane looked at Crooksnout. "I need yew to help me salvage whatever we can from the shelter I made."
"Yew means the one ye destroyed?"
"Yes, that one." Seabane didn't want to fight with Crooksnout, not now.
"We'll take the wood from it and lean it against the wall to extend the sick tent. We'll move the fire under the new section of the tent so it'll be closer to the sick beasts and protected from this snow."
Crooksnout wore a bewildered look as he tried to visualize what Seabane was saying. Seabane realized that he probably could have done a better job explaining. But time was limited, and he hadn't been thinking properly in the past few days.
"Just do what I say, please." Seabane didn't want to argue with him. He didn't have the energy to do so anymore, and if they wanted to ignore him and freeze, he would let them.
Marrow leaned over the fire in front of the vermin and began preparing to move it. He looked up at the other vermin with a furious light in his eyes.
"Go!" The white rat boomed. The deserters scattered blindly through the storm to accomplish their tasks.
"Be sure to talk! I don't want tah hear any of ye slacking behind!" Seabane shouted over his shoulder to the howling wind.
Seabane and Crooksnout bounded to where the temporary tent lay in a heap. It was under a thin layer of snow which fell off the branches quite easily when picked up. The makeshift tent was supposed to be a round structure made of large branches that would converge to a single point above the center of the tent. There was an opening on one end and moss and pine needles that acted as bedding lying on the floor. There had been cracks between the branches where wind and weather crept in. But Seabane had done his best to fill them up with an odd assortment of rocks, moss, snow, mud, and smaller branches. Unfortunately, most of the structure lay in ruin after Seabane knocked it over following his premonition.
"I hope ye knows what yer doing, Seabane." Crooksnout sighed echoing Seabanes conscience.
"Yar we hav' tah do something or else we'll freeze to death," Seabane said rubbing his paws together.
Crooksnout said nothing but began to pick up the larger branches and brush away the fresh snow from the moss. Seabane followed suit and stooped over to grab as many branches as he could hold. In a few moments, Seabane held half a score of branches while Crooksnout held three under his good arm.
Seabane started in a huff, straining to walk quickly and not slam the wood against the hilt of his cutlass.
"It's probably good that we're making this. I don't think we'll last very long in this weather." Seabane said, trying to be jovial.
Crooksnout grunted in agreement and tried to maintain pace. After a few more trips Seabane and Crooksnout had managed to salvage as much of the old tent as they could. Sathe and Ruddy had cleared the snow from the foot of the sick tent to the end of the low wall. Quickly Seabane went about leaning the larger branches against the stone wall with Ruddy's beleaguered help. Ruddy was still reeling from the effects of the mushrooms. But the fox was moving which meant he was alive which was all that mattered to Seabane.
Although Seabane said they should be speaking as they work, very little was said. The vermin focused on their tasks with silent desperation, only speaking when needed. Sathe and Crooksnout managed to dig a small fire pit at the foot of the wall near the entrance of the sick tent. Crooksnout took as many dry pieces of wood as he could find and arranged them so that they would light as soon as they touched embers. Shortly thereafter Marrow bounded over to the new tent with a small bundle of burning coals that held their remaining fire.
A sense of dread momentarily overcame Seabane as he wondered if the kindling was too damp to be lit. However, luck must have been on their side as the kindling burst into flames without issue. Seabane told Ruddy to warm himself by the fire as his shivering had gotten so bad, he almost knocked over the tent.
Sathe slid under the new extension to the tent along with Ruddy, desperately needing to warm her cloak before it froze. Meanwhile, Seabane, Marrow, and Crooksnout hurried to put up the remaining branches and patch the gaps in the structure. After a furious half hour of work with the snow showing no signs of stopping the new makeshift tent was completed. There was no time to admire their work and the three other vermin squirmed their way inside the cramped structure. Even with the fire, it was damp, dark, and cold. But it protected them from the wind and snow, so they were safe for now. Seabane looked at the other vermin and prepared to address them.
"Good work mates. It's not much but it's better than being in that weather. Ruddy, I need you to stay awake, if ye fall asleep you probably won't wake up. As for the rest of ye. I don't want any beast freezing to death tonight. If ye need to sleep that's fine but make sure somebeast's awake to keep the fire alive."
There was a low groan from Ruddy but the other vermin were too tired or cold to complain. The vermin sat in the cramped tent for what seemed like hours. It was difficult to move about without bumping into something or somebeast. Marrow and Seabane sat at the entrance to the tent, and Crooksnout and Ruddy sat on either side of the fire. Sathe sat beyond them at the old entrance of the sick tent, at the footpaws of Herrik and Silvertongue. Between Seabanes orders to stay awake and the occasional gust of wind, there were few moments of rest.
Slowly Seabane's eyes began to droop, and he saw that Ruddy and Sathe had fallen asleep. He snapped at them to wake up, which they begrudgingly did. Seabane opened his mouth to berate them when a voice boomed from outside the tent.
"Come out vermin!"
Seabane thought he was hearing something as if the winter cold and hunger were finally getting to him. The expressions on the other vermin's faces were enough to tell him he was wrong.
Seabane turned to exit the tent. Marrow was already outside peering over the stone wall. His hammer clenched tightly in his paw. Seabane crouched and slowly poked his head over the wall, his stomach dropped.
A stone's throw from them obscured by the swirling snow was a glowing white ball of light. Seabane immediately hid back behind the wall. Crooksnout crawled out of the tent as he did so.
"Who is it?" He asked.
Seabane was silent. His gut wrenched in pain, and he did his best not to throw up. For once Seabane didn't want to be right. If his premonition was accurate, they were certainly going to die.
Seeing as he was getting no answer from Seabane, Crooksnout popped his head over the wall.
"What d'ye want!" He shouted back at the glowing orb.
"Leave now vermin! Or the gates of the dark forest await!" The voice was amplified by the howling wind which added to its supernatural sound.
Crooksnout looked down at Seabane trying to contain his laughter.
"Kin ye believe this fool?"
Seabane sat with a petrified expression. Knowing he wasn't going to get a response from the sea rat, Crooksnout glanced at Marrow who hadn't moved since the orb began to speak.
"Ya thinks yew can slay that fool before he tries attacking us?"
Marrow said nothing but squinted his eyes as he stared into the swirling storm. Gathering his courage, Seabane poked his head over the wall, flattening his ears to not be seen. It was impossible to see anything clearly beyond a paw's reach. It didn't help that the wind and snow were blowing toward them obscuring anything even remotely identifiable. All that was clear was that there was a glowing light that seemed to be hovering a short distance from them.
"D'ya think it's a ghost!" Seabane exclaimed. The fear he felt from his premonition dripped from his voice.
"Ghost!" Somebeast called from the tent. Seabane's racing heart made it difficult to identify who.
"Naw yew idiot! It's probably some stupid woodlander trying to be a hero! Nothin', we can't deal with." Crooksnout snorted. By 'we' Crooksnout must've meant Seabane and Marrow, as the weasel was in no condition to cross blades with any beast.
"Yarr, I told ye we should've left. My premonition was right! We're going to die!"
Ruddy and Sathe had curiously poked their heads out of the tent. They wore worried expressions and watched Seabane with concern.
"Shuddup yew idiot! I'll handle this!" Crooksnout snapped at Seabane.
"Oi! Woodlander, we're not leavin'! Now if ye want tah die go ahead and try an-AHHH!" Crooksnout leaped back tumbling into the snow.
A flaming javelin flew from the stormy darkness and impacted the wall where Crooksnout had stood, coming within a whisker of hitting the weasel. This was followed by several more flaming javelins and arrows piercing the snow and wall around the deserters. Sathe screamed and Ruddy disappeared inside the makeshift tent. Seabane remained frozen as the single sphere of light multiplied and spread out creating a half-circle around the deserters. There had to be scores of them and each sphere hurled flaming projectiles at the vermin.
Seabane sank and hid behind the wall, Marrow was already hiding from the assault. Seabane wanted to curl into a ball and disappear. His stomach churned knowing he had been right all along. Crooksnout franticly crawled over to him and pinned himself as close to the wall as possible.
"What do we do Seabane!" He bellowed.
Seabane looked at him and then turned to Marrow. The white rat's red eyes were wide with fright which only furthered Seabanes terror. Nobeast wanted to die especially from whatever horror assaulted their camp.
"We hav' tah get out of here!" Seabane shouted. His voice shook as he did so.
"We'll die if we go out there!" Sathe called from inside the tent.
"We'll die if we stay here!" Seabane responded jumping up into a low crouch. His knees shook but he knew that time was of the essence. He didn't want to die. Not now.
"Marrow! Grab Silvertongue and Herrick! Ruddy, Sathe! Carry the kits! Crooksnout make a torch from the fire!"
The vermin quickly followed his orders. Bumbling over each other and knocking part of the tent down in the process. They cursed each other as they desperately rushed about. Seabane popped his head over the wall to see that the lights were moving slowly but steadily toward them. As they did so they emitted a low haunting howl that raised the fur on the back of his neck. He ducked just in time to dodge a javelin that landed in the snow a tails length from him. The javelin was partially on fire as it had a strange wrap near its tip and was smudged with a foul-smelling oil. Seabane scrambled his belly to the ground and grabbed the flaming weapon. As he did so Marrow burst out of the tent. He carried Silvertongue and Herrik over his shoulders and held a small homemade torch in his massive claw. He bolted into the swirling snow, zig-zagging his way around javelins and arrows intended for him. Soon enough the white body of the rat blended into the darkened snowfall, the only thing identifying him was the faint glow of the torchlight.
Not far behind him were Crooksnout and Sathe. Sathe held a small bundle of swaddling close to her chest and another homemade torch in her paw. Seabane yelled at her to drop the squirrel and run, but his words were silenced by the howling winds. Crooksnout ran after her carrying little Fenril in his good arm. He ran awkwardly, unaccustomed to doing so while wearing a sling. He slipped and bumbled about, avoiding some well-placed arrows. Eventually, the two of them disappeared into the dark abyss that lay before them.
Seabane got up and followed them. He did his best tripping over hidden stones and sliding about in the blinding storm. He could still faintly see the light from Crooksnout but he needed to keep pace. The low howling cry from the vermin's attackers changed into the Guoisim Shrew battle cry. He knew prisoners were seldom ever taken if captured. Seabane frantically pressed on. Knives of snow and ice lashed at his face. He had just about made it to the trees at the edge of the clearing when a bloodcurdling scream cut through the storm.
Seabane's gut wrenched as he instinctively turned towards the sound. A few tail lengths behind him a javelin had found its mark. Ruddy sunk to his knees before slumping face-first into the snow.
"Ruddy!" Seabane called frantically.
Without thinking, Seabane rushed to the young fox. The howling storm and mortifying shrew war cry amplified the pounding in his head. Spears and javelins rained down around him. Seabane slid to a stop next to the fox. There was blood forming on his green and black kilt.
"I don't wanna die!" Ruddy sobbed. Two other voices joined his wailing, he was carrying Ripeye and Twinetail. His green eyes were filled with the same terror from his first battle.
"Get up!" Seabane shouted at him.
He attempted to haul the fox to his foot paws, aware of the lights growing ever closer. A cry of pain was elicited as the fox attempted to stand on his left leg, before slumping down again.
"I'm sorry about this mate," Seabane said as he grabbed the javelin and pulled it free from his leg. Ruddy released another piercing scream. Seabane flung the javelin towards the lights, tearing a bit of Ruddy's kilt as he did so.
"It's just a scratch. Now get up!" Seabane said trying to sound as confident as possible.
Seabane hauled Ruddy to his footpaws and threw his arm over his shoulders. Twinetail and Ripeye wailed as they held on desperately to the fox. Slowly they started forward. Bumbling drunkenly through the snow and around the falling javelins and arrows, which continued to land around them. Seabane strained his eyes and could see a small pinprick of light in the distance. Looking down he could faintly see the trail made by the fleeing vermin rapidly disappear in the falling snow. Using the flaming javelin as a crutch to support the limping fox, Seabane desperately plunged himself into the swirling storm. The voice of the badger skull from his premonition echoed in his head.
"You think you can run Seabane? I'll always find you!"