Chapter 25

Infighting


Not too long ago, he wasn't referred to by a name.

On Tiviko Polonuk's documents, he was called Prisoner #9 for organisation and confidentiality purposes.

Back home, he was known as just another mole. He was the one that other beasts went to when they needed help with something they didn't want to do or if they needed something fixed.

But to his very few friends and to the other prisoners on this island, he was known as Noruth Peltameo.

Noruth would be the first one to say that he wasn't anything special. Even compared to other moles, Noruth wasn't all that different. He used to be a miner, currently works as a carpenter, is friendly, loves wrestling, likes pie, is scared of heights, and hates drowning (though that last one could apply to everybeast when he thought about it). He wasn't that unique, but he was okay with it and in fact, he embraced it. He was proud to be a mole. He liked feeling like he was a part of something and feeling like he belonged. Sure, his life wasn't average by any means given that he spent a significant portion of his life thus far stuck in a mining camp until he and a few guards and prisoners escaped, but even then, Noruth liked to say he was just like every other beast. In the end, he could live or die on this island just like everyone else, get happy and sad just like everyone else, and, more relevantly, he had to help out like everyone else.

In the four hours since Vhynias Sharptail left the temple, Noruth had led Miena Dawnraft and Gurnilal Speareye towards the spot where they were attacked by Marlus and dropped their food. After picking it up and heading back, Crookedfang and Ulfrad Shorepass portioned them out and handed some to everybeast with Noruth, Rianne Wurtil, and Crookedfang getting less since they ate earlier that day.

Ulfrad Shorepass had left for a bit and took Crookedfang with him. When they came back, Ulfrad had another weapon. He used one of his belts and attached a rock to it, creating a rudimentary flail.

After Rianne looked over Miena's arrow wound, the ottermaid had left with Gurnilal to collect some water for the group. Luckily, the storm earlier meant that it was one of the easier tasks.

And now, as the sun began to set on the first day on the island, the beasts at the temple simply rested save for Gurnilal, as Miena had brought her somewhere to fix something. Crookedfang had complained to Noruth and Rianne about how unfair it was that he never got time to speak with Gurnilal but Noruth didn't have to think about it for long. The mole had seen this situation before and had even been in it once or twice. Back at the mining camp, if a worker was acting suspiciously or planning an escape, extra guards would be assigned to watch over them and them alone. Those guards would also make sure they couldn't meet up with other suspicious prisoners. It didn't take much for Noruth to realise that's what the two otters were doing with Gurnilal and Crookedfang. If anything, he was surprised that Crookedfang didn't seem to catch onto it.

Personally, Noruth didn't see it. Sure, all of the guards at the mining camp were vermin and some of them were cruel (Noruth unconsciously brushed his paw over the scars on his face), but most of them were simply apathetic and a few of them, usually the ones that Noruth could tell were forced to be there, were even somewhat nice. Plus, some of the other prisoners were awful, too.

As far as Noruth was concerned, unless somebeast explicitly showed themselves to be untrustworthy, he'd do his absolute best to get along with them. And as Noruth sat on the balcony with Crookedfang and Rianne, he couldn't help but smile. Not because the situation was anything to smile at, but because he felt like he had to. The mood had been pretty dour in the past few hours and Noruth felt like he had to do something. The mole gazed up. The orange light of the setting sun gleamed through the numerous grey clouds across the sky like fire against a tarp. Noruth hummed to himself. It shurr be a bootiful noight, burr aye. It be a shame we're yurr, tho'.

Before Noruth could say anything to cheer up the other two beasts, however, Crookedfang spoke. "Do ya tink Vhyn an' Tornear're okay?"

Noruth pondered how he was going to answer. In all honesty, he felt that something bad might happen. Desperate beasts do stupid things sometimes and… well, Vhynias didn't seem to keep his composure well if him aiming a sword at Ulfrad was any indication. Sill, Vhynias has shown some level of ingenuity and care… kind of. "Thoi'll be foin," Noruth eventually replied. "Thurr currful beasties."

Still, that didn't stop Crookedfang from grumbling anxiously. The rat picked on his fur as he stared down at the beach. Rianne let out a sigh and rest her chin on her paw. "Hey, I can trust you two to not tell the Skipper if I say something, right?"

Noruth blinked. "Oo aye, you can."

Crookedfang simply waved his paw in response.

Rianne hesitated for a moment. She eyed Crookedfang and Noruth closely before talking. "Does anybeast even know how we get off of this island?"

Noruth shrugged. "Burr, oi be not a plans koind o' moler, but oi think-"

"No, you don't know, Crookedfang doesn't know, and I'm willing to bet neither Vhynias nor the Skipper knows, either," Rianne spat. "Dear Martin, we can hardly work together without being at each other's throats!" The memory of Ulfrad leaving Noruth and Crookedfang to die surfaced in her head, and although she didn't see what happened between Vhynias and the two otters, Noruth had told her what had happened. "We haven't made a single bit of progress since we banded together. We almost got shot at trying to get some food, Borsen almost killed us, Tornear and Bolgash are probably dead-"

"Oy! No dey aren't!" Crookedfang snarled adamantly.

"- Vhynias ran after them and is probably going to kill himself doing so-"

"Shut yer mout'!"

"- We have no weapons except for whatever in hellgates Ulfrad and Miena have, but none of that matters because we haven't even made a step towards our actual escape! To be frank, I don't trust those two, either. What are we supposed to do? How do we get off of this bloody island? What was Vhynias' plan, hm? What was it?"

"Vhyn wanted- wants t'take o'er d'ship-"

"Oh? Does he now? Sounds like a nightmare with this group. Crookedfang, your entire right arm is useless, Miena's been shot, that vole can't fight, and neither can I. So what? That just leaves Noruth, Gurnilal, and Ulfrad? Great. We have three beasts against however many are in that ship. Amazing plan, Crookedfang."

"We'll git more when Vhyn comes back wit'-"

"They aren't coming back!" Rianne exclaimed; her voice laced with panic.

"Excuse oi, marm," Noruth said sharply, stopping a mildly confused Rianne. "Crookedfang, stay thurr." The mole motioned for Rianne to follow him as he opened the balcony door and headed inside. He gave a reassuring smile to Crookedfang before shutting the door. He felt kind of bad for doing this, but he felt like he should intervene. "Rianne?" Noruth began, staring at the hogmaid grimly, "listen t'oi, count t'ten."

"Count to ten?" She said incredulously. "Counting to ten isn't going to solve our-"

"One, two, tree…" Noruth began, not waiting for Rianne to finish.

Rianne rolled her eyes. "... Four, five, six…"

"... Seven, eight…"

"... Nine and ten." Rianne flashed a sarcastic smile and said, "wow. That did so much to help us."

Noruth twiddled his claws timidly. "Ho urr, marm, iffen oi may, wudd you mind bein' a tid less… uh… what be the word? Negative?"

Rianne ran a paw down her face. "Ugh… You're probably right. But, come on, those three are definitely dead."

"We doan't know that!" Noruth said optimistically.

"Techincally we don't, but they're most likely dead."

"We doan't know that oither. We doan't know how thurr doin', so why doan't we assume thurr alive? It be easier that way."

Rianne glanced guiltily at the balcony door and sighed. "It's not even that. We're all going to die here, aren't we?"

"Whoi do you say that?" Noruth probed, staring dead into Rianne's eyes.

"I- well, come on. We don't even know a way out of here. I can't trust a single beast leading this group. I just want to go home," she replied, her voice cracking.

Noruth smiled reassuringly. "Wurr still alive roight now, aren't we? It may take a bit, but we'll goo 'ome."

"How do you know that?" Rianne muttered.

Noruth chuckled. "Oi doan't. But we dunno what's gonna 'appen, so woi not think o' the best… uh… best endin'"

Rianne looked down at the floor. "Because the best ending isn't going to happen."

"We doan't-"

"We don't know that, right." Rianne covered her face with her paws and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll assume the best for now, or whatever… I should probably say something to Crookedfang, shouldn't I?"

Noruth nodded.

"Alright." Rianne placed her paw on the balcony's door handle and paused. "Thanks, Noruth."

"No problem, marm."

The hogmaid opened the door. Crookedfang sat slumped against the wall, hugging his legs against his chest. The rat looked up at Rianne and scowled. "Whaddya want?"

"I'm apologising, what do you think?" Noruth shut the door behind them as he and Rianne sat down on the balcony. "Listen, Crookedfang. Your friends are weird and… let's say, erratic. But they're very determined. I take back what I said. They're going to come back here," she said, though her voice wavered with uncertainty.

Crookedfang snorted. "Uh huh?"

"And I'm sorry."

The rat turned away. For a while, nobeast said a word. Crookedfang eventually looked at the ground and muttered a simple, "aye."

The three beasts sat on the balcony, listening as the tide crashed against the shoreline. Rianne stared out at the ocean, the grey waves churning and rolling as they stretched out far beyond her view. She mumbled nervously to herself. No matter what Noruth told her, she couldn't see this having a happy ending at all. Rianne turned to Noruth. The mole was gazing contentedly up at the sky. The hogmaid couldn't help but envy the mole. How did he manage to stay so upbeat?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Noruth suddenly began to chuckle, a deep, baritone sound that reverberated through the air.

"What's so funny?" Crookedfang asked.

Noruth waved it off. "Burr, just a joke a friend told oi. It doan't make sense 'less you wurr thurr, though."

"Oh."

The mole grinned and stared down at the floor. "What're you two gonna do when you goo 'ome? On a day loike this, oi'd moibe visit moi friend wit' summ flowers, talk a bit 'bout moi day, leave the flowers thurr, moybe goo furr a run, talk wit' them beasts at the market, an' after work oi'd… well, oi dunno. Oi guess it'd depend. What about you, Crookedfang?"

The rat looked down at the floor with the faintest chuckle. "We were captured while tryna catch a ride t'Sampertra or whatever it's called, so guess we'd go dere. Vhyn's kinda likes bein' alone so I'd sit wit' 'im. Mebbe Tornear an' Bolgash'd pull a prank on me or sometin'. Dey always like t'make fun o' me. It's funny," the rat said with a long sigh. "When Vhyn gits back, I'mma give 'im a hug."

"Thart sounds noice," Noruth nodded.

Crookedfang smiled. "Aye…"

As Crookedfang continued to ramble about his plans, Rianne couldn't help but think. What did she like to do at Redwall? Sure, she was a healer, but she didn't particularly enjoy it. She only took the job for… personal reasons. She was well-liked enough by most beasts, Farshawn and Thaddeus being the exceptions (Dear Martin, that was his scream I heard earlier, wasn't it?). But there wasn't really anybeast that she'd consider a friend. The beast she talked to the most was Art and while she liked the kid a lot, he was also really bloody strange.

"… An' den, I'd catch a fich," Crookedfang finished while Rianne was thinking. The rat's voice was notably a lot more animated than before.

Noruth nodded. "What 'bout you, Rianne?"

"Hm? Me?" The hogmaid looked up, not expecting Noruth to ask her. "Well, I guess I'd just continue work as Redwall's healer, as fun as that is."

"It sounds fun," Noruth agreed, not realising she was sarcastic.

Rianne frowned. It really isn't. At best, it's boring with the minor scrapes and bruises that beasts get while working, but at worst… at worst, I have a mouse lying in a puddle of his blood with dozens of stab wounds dotting his body while a squirrel forces himself to stay in the room, watching as they try not to cry. Yeah, really sounds fun, doesn't it, Noruth?

Noruth noticed Rianne's silence and shrunk away in embarrassment. "Oh, soiry, marm."

Rianne was about to reply sarcastically when the door opened. The hogmaid turned to see Ulfrad poking his head out of the doorway. "The three of ye, come downstairs. We're having a meeting." With that short order, the otter left.

Rianne sighed and stood up. "Well. Let's go. We can only hope this isn't a complete waste of time."

Noruth and Crookedfang glanced at each other. The rat's face was a mix between confusion and resentment as he watched the otter disappear. Wordlessly, Crookedfang got up and followed Rianne and Noruth downstairs.


Miena and Ulfrad stood next to a wooden statue while the other five remaining beasts at the temple gathered around. Crookedfang shuffled in his seat as he looked up at the two otters. Ulfrad stared back, his gaze seemingly piercing into Crookedfang as if daring him to try something. It didn't help that Miena and Ulfrad held most of their weapons. In fact, Crookedfang held the only other weapon from the entire group, a kitchen knife.

Noruth looked over, noticing that Gurnilal and Crookedfang were sitting alone. Rianne and Yos were sitting by themselves (Yos noticeably sitting farther away from everyone else, which Noruth found interesting). The mole shrugged and decided to sit next to the two vermin. Crookedfang gave him a glance and Noruth simply nodded. With everybeast there, Miena began the meeting. "So, good evenin'. 'Tis about to get dark soon, so I've decided that we should keep watches throughout the night, so we don't get ambushed." Ulfrad scowled at the mention of the dark but didn't say anything. Miena continued. "The first watch'll be me and Crookedfang. The second'll be… uh… what's her name, the vole and Noruth. Next, Ulfrad and Gurny- Gurna- Gurnilal- that's a hard name to say. Then, Crookedfang and Rianne. Finally, if we need another shift, me and Ulfrad."

Noruth turned left. Crookedfang bared his teeth, and Gurnilal was frowning. Ulfrad folded his arms across his chest. "Anybeast not happy with these?" He asked rather coldly.

"Aye," Crookedfang and Noruth said at the same time. The rat looked over with confusion. Noruth nodded as if to say, "I've got this."

Ulfrad grumbled. "What is it?"

"Pardon oi, zurr, can you'm do a switcharoo so Gurnilal an' Crookedfang can be togethurr?"

"No," Ulfrad replied bluntly.

"Whoi?" Noruth prodded.

Ulfrad frowned. "We already made the list. 'Tis too late to change it."

Rianne raised her paw. "Uh, if that's the case, then why'd you even ask if anybeast wasn't happy?"

Ulfrad stayed silent, unsure how to respond. Miena smiled casually and replied, "oh, the groups'll stay the same, but let's say, if ye wanted to keep watch earlier, ye could. Aye? So the groups are solid, the times aren't."

Crookedfang stood up. Noruth looked over, expecting him to say something. To his surprise, it wasn't the rat who spoke up.

"That's stupid!" Gurnilal yelled, standing up. "I know what yarr doin'. Just, please just give us a moment t'talk! Yar've been keepin' us away from each other since Vhyn left! It's not fair!"

"I don't care," Ulfrad replied bluntly. "Fer the safety of everybeast in the group-"

"Well don't say it like that," Miena interrupted. "Erm… well, yer captain did pull a sword on us, so-"

"He threatened to kill us," Ulfrad jumped in, "so excuse us if we're not feelin' that this-

Noruth began clapping as loud as he could, drowning out Ulfrad's voice until he got annoyed and snapped, "what is it, mole?"

Noruth stopped clapping and stood up. He adjusted his tunic and cleared his throat, looking to everybeast before speaking. "Hullo. Oi be Noruth- you'm already know thart."

"Where is this going?" Ulfrad grumbled. "The groups are solid. That's final."

Noruth returned a piercing gaze at Ulfrad and suggested, "whoi urr the shifts two beasties? Oi could take second shift with Crookedfang and Gurnylal. Thurr you goo. You doan't have to worry! Oi'll warch 'em for you'm. Oi know thart's what you'm scurred 'bout."

Ulfrad raised a brow. The mole stared at him owlishly as he waited for him to reply. Ulfrad sighed and whispered something to Miena. Miena said something back. They exchanged a few more words before turning back to Noruth. "Fine," Ulfrad relented.

Noruth let out a sigh of relief. He didn't think he could handle any more arguing. Even if Ulfrad didn't seem happy about this, a yes was still a yes. Crookedfang and Gurnilal turned to Noruth with a look of appreciation. Noruth simply tugged his snout in response. The mole felt quite happy right now. Sure, this wasn't much help in the long run, and he didn't make any direct progress towards their escape, but this one small act was enough to make him smile.

"Is this meeting over, now?" Rianne grumbled moodily. "Because if this goes on for any longer, I might actually throw myself into the ocean."

Ulfrad growled. "Ye could do without the attitude. Ye haven't contributed a single positive word to anything that-"

"Aye," Miena answered, cutting off Ulfrad before he could continue his rant. She stepped backwards, signalling for everybeast to disperse.

Rianne and Noruth stood up and walked toward the stairs. Crookedfang and Gurnilal were about to follow when Ulfrad stopped them. "Ahem, weasel, I need ye to go with Miena. We need somebeast of yer stature."

Rianne and Noruth paused. Crookedfang growled. Gurnilal frowned and asked, "what's she doin'?"

Ulfrad paused before clarifying. "Barricading the entrance. Help grab some debris and statues and meet Miena by the door."

"Oy!" Crookedfang interjected. "Ya said we could go on watch wit' Noruff!"

"It's not time fer yer watch yet, is it?" Ulfrad countered.

Gurnilal sighed dejectedly. "No."

Ulfrad nodded. "Good. Now, hop to it."

Without hesitation, Crookedfang walked by her side. "I'm helpin', too!"

The older otter let out a sigh. "Nay, rat. I need ye to… help me wit'-"

Noruth waddled up with Rianne in tow. "Excuse oi, zurr, oi loike liftin' sturf. Oi cudd help they two."

"Those two?" Ulfrad frowned. "Those two? No, only one of them is helping Miena. More paws on the task would be a detriment, if anything."

Rianne folded her arms across her chest. "Just us help, you knob. You know what? I'm tired of dancing around it, stop trying to split them up. There's two of you and four of us."

"Is that a threat?"

"That… came out wrong. That wasn't a threat. I just mean that we're the majority. If we want something, it'll happen."

"That's definitely a threat," Ulfrad growled. Miena buried her face in a paw.

"That isn't a threat, damn it!" Rianne exclaimed. "I'm just talking!"

"Um, purdon oi," Noruth said as he shuffled between the pair, "to oi, it lukks loike most o' this is because you'm scurred o' 'em, but thurr's nothin' t'be scurred 'bout, really."

Gurnilal's mouth hung open. "Uh, ya didn't have to put it like that…"

"I don't care." Ulfrad adjusted his vest as he turned away from the two vermin. "The moment we let our guards down, that's when bad things happen. Just like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "Aye?"

"Bad things? We're not doin' anythin'!" Gurnilal exclaimed.

At this point, Miena sauntered up casually and patted Ulfrad on the shoulder. "Eh, just let 'em help. 'Sides, they're not gonna quit, so why not?"

Ulfrad turned towards Miena. The corners of his mouth twitched, and his eyes darted back and forth between the Skipper and the four beasts for a moment. "Are ye sure?" He asked in a nervous tone.

Miena shrugged. "There's no point arguing. They're as stubborn as a rat."

Crookedfang grinned and placed his paws on his hips. "Aye!"

A hum rumbled in Ulfrad's throat as he stared down at the floor. His tail lashed anxiously, and he crossed his arms. "Fine," he replied in a shaky tone before walking off. Crookedfang snickered while Rianne gazed at the floor. Of course, she trusted Crookedfang, but who knows? The rat might do something stupid with good intentions and put them all in danger. She knew Gurnilal even less. She stayed with Vhynias for most of the time so who knows what was going on in her head. Vhynias did end up threatening everybeast with a sword so it made Rianne uneasy that Gurnilal may do the same.

Still, Noruth and Crookedfang seemed relieved. Miena nodded and led the three other beasts towards the entrance while Rianne lingered there for a moment. Well, let's see what good this does for us.

The hogmaid adjusted her hood and fixed her habit before following Miena, Crookedfang, and Gurnilal. Unbeknownst to the five of them, somebeast had slunk away during the argument: a certain vole wearing a bright red poncho.


As she had been for the last few hours, Yos Peonymaid had been trying to stay hidden. Although she thought there was still a long time before Kajiir and Marlus came back, she wanted to stay quiet. The less the other prisoners paid attention to her, the better. She agreed to lead prisoners to the temple but didn't want any more part in this. This was for her own survival, after all, but going even further than she already had seemed a bit too vulgar. Luckily, staying in the background was much easier when the other prisoners were constantly at each other's throats.

As soon as the meeting was over, Yos walked towards the steps and began to head upstairs. Yes, I just need to hide somewhere and stay quiet. I don't need to do anything else except wait.

As it stood, Yos didn't feel all that guilty about selling out the other prisoners. When she thought about it, she didn't do anything bad to them. If anything, she did something good by bringing them all to the temple. It is shelter, after all. It's their fault for constantly self-destructing. At this rate, they'll kill each other before that pine marten even gets here.

It actually annoyed Yos to no end. She knew for a fact that if she wanted to help, she could solve all of their problems easily. I didn't even know it was possible for beasts to hate each other in this short amount of time.

Yos didn't even really like staying hidden… well, she did in this case because everybeast was arguing and it made her uncomfortable, but in general, she liked being in the spotlight. Back home, she liked to be known as the best, and she was. Of course, she couldn't exactly use her skills here given that there wasn't much use for a tailor right now, but it was still a nice thought-

"I thought I saw red. Where are ye going?"

Yos was startled out of her thoughts, and she turned around. Standing at the bottom of the steps was Ulfrad. The older otter blinked and narrowed his eyes. "Well?"

"I uh, I was just heading upstairs to rest," Yos answered.

Ulfrad sighed and looked back at the group by the entrance. "This is crazy, aye?"

Yos nodded slowly, even if she mostly blamed Ulfrad for the arguments. "Yes." She turned and walked hastily up the stairs, trying to leave before Ulfrad asked her any more questions.

"Hey," Ulfrad snapped. Yos instinctively froze. She considered leaving anyway and pretending that she didn't hear him, but that would make her even more suspicious.

"What is it?" Yos turned towards the river otter.

"I feel like it ain't my place to say anything, but Miena wanted to ask why ye keep trying to hide from us. Don't act like we haven't noticed," he said pointedly.

"Uh… I don't know… you are kind of scary?"

Ulfrad scoffed. "Thought so. Y'know, while yer here, I've got a question since I fergot to ask ye earlier. Ye said that ye were here 'fore the rest of us, aye?"

"Yes?"

"Is there anything we should know about this place? Hidin' spots or great places to ambush or anything like that?"

"Huh? Why?"

"In case we get attacked?"

"Do you think we're going to get attacked?" She asked nervously.

Ulfrad crossed his arms. "I don't like this spot. We're surrounded by mountains so there's only one way in or out. That's a problem if we're attacked in the middle of the night. I reckon 'tis too late to find a better place to spend the night, though."

"One way? Can't you uh, s-swim in the ocean?" Yos pointed out, trying to change the subject.

"What? Aye, I can." Ulfrad waved his tail incredulously as if he were saying, "I'm an otter."

"Good… Well, if that is all uh- all of your questions, I am going to lie down- sleep." Yos reached the top of the steps.

Ulfrad tilted his head and followed after her. "Ye didn't answer my question."

"What makes you think I'd know?"

"Ye were hiding here?"

"I would've told you if I knew anything."

"I dunno, ye barely said a word to any of us." Ulfrad said bluntly. "I wouldn't be surprised if ye haven't mentioned something to us."

Yos paused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hm? Yer shy. What did ye think I…?"

"Ah… Well, I uh, I don't know. I ju- I just hid in one of the empty rooms until… Bolgash found me."

Disappointment was evident on Ulfrad's face. "If I found a place like this, the first thing I'd do was check out how safe it is."

Of course, you would. That's why ever since you arrived at the temple, you did nothing but fight with other beasts and complain. I haven't seen you checking anything out, yet, Yos mused to herself. "Good for you, I guess. I'm going to bed. Goodbye."

"Hey wait, have ye seen-"

Yos quickly entered one of the smaller rooms and shut the door behind her. Ulfrad stood there dumbfounded for a moment, unsure what any of that was about. He pondered whether to do something about Yos but decided against it. There were bigger issues right now. He rubbed his eyes and headed towards the stairs to look for Miena. "By the claw, what is wrong with everybeast here?"


A hiss of pain escaped Bolgash Wolters' lips as she put pressure on her left footpaw. It has been around 13 hours since she was stabbed by that stupid mouse (Bolgash would be delighted to know he was now very dead) and the wound hadn't gotten better. Well, she didn't expect it to magically disappear, but at the very least, Bolgash didn't expect it to get bad this fast. Sweat trickled down her body as she supported herself against a tree. Everything felt both hot and cold at the same time. She was pretty sure it was an infection… or at least, she would think it was an infection if it was anybody else. No, you only get infections if you weren't careful. Bolgash knew for a fact that she was careful. This was probably just a temporary illness or something. After all, they were trapped in the brig for many, many days and the rations the prisoners were given weren't exactly the best. It was definitely food poisoning. It wasn't as if she had any other choice than to eat the diseased food.

In short, it wasn't her fault. No matter the cause, the important thing was that it hurt. She gazed down at her left footpaw. It was swollen.

Growling, Bolgash pushed herself up and picked up the tree branch she had been using as a cane. It did manage to keep some of the pressure away from her injured footpaw and thus, make everything suck a lot less. However, even if she was ignoring her footpaw, Bolgash was still in a world of hurt.

Her chest felt very stiff and sore. Her breathing was shallow, and she felt a stab of pain every time she breathed. Bolgash would be willing to bet it was from falling into the ocean… if she was any other beast, that is. She jumped and landed in the water correctly. It was probably just related to the food poisoning.

Then there were the numerous stab wounds. Her skin felt like it was burning. That otter at the castle had chased her, tackled her, and then started carving into her with a knife. She almost thought for a moment that she was a goner but, of course, she managed to survive. She must've been especially lucky because instead of cutting into any vital organs or arteries, the otter chose to make shallow slices all over her body. Yeah, it hurt, but she was alive.

Unfortunately, it meant that moving through the woods had been nothing but painful. Her breath came out as a shallow wheeze as she ambled about the island with a purpose. What was she looking for? Well, it wasn't food or water. She found the river not too long ago and luckily for her, ever since her body started to grow hot, she didn't feel as hungry.

No, more than anything else, Bolgash wanted a weapon.

She had lost her dagger back at the castle, so she had nothing to fight with. Ignoring the fact that her odds of winning or even surviving any kind of fight given her condition were alarmingly low, her first priority was to find a knife or a sword. Unfortunately, finding a weapon was a lot easier said than done given the sparse structures and the setting sun. Still, Bolgash persevered. It wasn't as if there was anything more important to do.

Bolgash wandered aimlessly for a while until the trees started to thin out. Eh. Ya can see more out in the open, anyway.

It didn't take long for Bolgash to see something. She smiled as it came into view. A set of cliffs and hills stretched out above her. Even more amazing was the massive hole separating the stoat from the hills. She couldn't see the bottom from where she stood so she ambled over to the edge and looked down. A nearby path snaked its way down the hole, crisscrossing through a set of bridges placed within various places in the pit. To Bolgash, it looked like somebeast had ripped the top of a cavern out of the earth. The walls and floor of the pit were dug and cut jaggedly as if somebeast were extracting something from the rock. Next to the pit was a set of buildings that she couldn't discern the use for.

It was a sight to behold and Bolgash couldn't help but stare. This was most definitely a mine or a quarry of sorts. Ya know what that means? That's right. Pickaxe! Knew I'd find somethin'.

The stoat chuckled and limped towards the buildings. She took a quick glance down and suddenly noticed that there were a large group of beasts halfway down the path. They were all wearing the same stupid black coats and jackets, so she knew that they were guards. It didn't seem like they saw her. Fantastic. Of course, they didn't. Instead of going faster or doing literally anything else a normal beast would do in her scenario, she continued at the same pace because, in her mind, nothing could go wrong for her.

A flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned towards a raised building by the quarry and saw a tiny otter by a large hole in the wall. He was waving his paws about, urging Bolgash to hide.

Bolgash rolled her eyes. She considered walking away out of spite, but she remembered what she was here for. Maybe the kid had a knife or something? Bolgash limped over to the raised building and headed up the steps, leaning against the railings for support. Halfway up, she heard a hushed voice. "Toran! Whaddya doin'?" A gruff voice spoke.

A smaller voice, presumably belonging to the otter kid, replied, "somebeast's here."

Bolgash heard a high-pitched chuckle. "Oh wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. So, are we dead now, now, now?"

"No, um, a prisoner. They're hurt," the otter kid replied.

Bolgash paused as a large mountain hare poked his head out of the doorway. His sharp blue eyes widened as he looked her up and down. "Get inside."

"Ya can't tell me what t'do," Bolgash snapped.

The mountain hare scowled. "Get in th'bloody door!"

Bolgash rolled her eyes and limped inside. The mountain hare moved to help her walk but she batted his paw away. He shut the door behind them. The first thing that caught Bolgash's eye was the massive wheel at the edge of the room. A crank was attached in the centre while a giant rod protruded through a large opening in the building and over the quarry. A set of ropes dangled from the edge of the rod outside, holding up a platform with a crate on it. Bolgash guessed it was a crane to transport ores and such.

The mountain hare urged her to sit away from the opening and she did, if only because she was tired of walking around all day. Bolgash sat down in the corner of the room, looking at the other prisoners before her.

Toran Firepool, the small otter she saw earlier, was sitting against the wall and fidgeting with his tie. He gazed up at the brawny mountain hare next to him, Ahlrath Palaechia, as he muttered something to him and demonstrated some kind of punch. Sitting by the wheel was Midwyng Coeptigo, a bat. Midwyng paid no attention to Bolgash and was staring at the crank.

Bolgash looked at them, confused. For the most part, the three of them were unharmed save for the bat who couldn't walk for some reason. If they were here for this long, why didn't they have anything with them? She couldn't help but ask, "are ya here for weapons, too?"

Ahlrath raised a brow at the word "too", but didn't comment on it. "Are ye alright? Yer lookin' a wee bit… beat up."

Bolgash grinned. "Nah. I'm just sick. Wait, so what are ya doin' here?"

Toran kneaded his paws as he gazed out the opening. "Um. Looking for a place to sleep. Ahlrath saw the guards, so we hid."

Midwyng scoffed from the wheel. "We probably didn't even need to hide, hide, hide. That rabbit could probably run faster than all of them, even if he was carrying me and the riverdo-."

"Wait," Ahlrath interrupted as he turned towards the opening. "They're down in th'quarry? We should leave now, then."

Bolgash didn't even bother to pretend she cared. None of this was important to her. They didn't even have weapons. No, what was important was the set of pickaxes lying discarded by the wheel. She smiled. It wasn't the best, but in her paws, it may as well be the sword of Martin. She got up to walk towards the tools, but Ahlrath immediately noticed and snapped at her to sit down. Bolgash kept going. Toran stood up to try to do something, but Ahlrath lightly pushed him down. "Ma'am," the hare growled dangerously.

He was about to walk over to her when she warned, "get any closer an' I'll scream. How 'bout that, hm?" Using her free paw, Bolgash picked up a pickaxe and twirled it around in her paw. It felt too heavy for some reason, but she didn't care. A sharp object was a sharp object, and she would definitely be putting this to use, starting with the three beasts in the room. Bolgash eyed the bag slung over Toran's shoulder. There was no reason he'd be carrying it around unless something good was in it, so she raised the pickaxe and aimed it towards the otter. "Give me th'bag. Now."

Toran's eyes grew wide as he realised what was happening. Ahlrath shielded the small otter with his body and growled. "Whaddya think yer doin'?"

"If ya don', I'll scream. Three…"

Toran motioned with his paws. "Please don't!"

"Two-"

A sharp stab of agony travelled up her body from her ankle. Bolgash screamed and fell to her left. Midwyng, who had bit her ankle, crawled on top of her and bared their fangs, preparing to tear out the stoat's throat right then and there.

Instead of flesh, Midwyng's teeth met metal as they bit into Bolgash's collar. Wasting no time, Bolgash kneed Midwyng in the stomach and pushed them off. The bat let out a groan as they fell to the floor. Still, they managed to push themselves up and lunge at Bolgash, gnashing their teeth like a feral animal. As much as she tried, all of the stab wounds Borsen gave her earlier meant she was in too much pain to fight back effectively. One, two, three bite marks appeared on Bolgash's arms as Midwyng's fangs dug into them.

Ahlrath jerked his head out the opening. Some of the guards heard the scream and were on their way over. Without hesitation, he grabbed Toran and ran towards the door. He hesitated and turned around. "Bat, hurry up!"

Bolgash thrashed around desperately as she struggled to throw Midwyng off. This bat is nuts! What did I ever do to them? Midwyng's eyes were wild with fury as they pulled Bolgash's collar down with one paw and her chin up with the other. They bared their fangs, prepared to kill her once and for all…

… That is, until Ahlrath pulled them off and bolted down the steps. Midwyng was right, Ahlrath was still fairly quick carrying the two beasts. Bolgash grabbed her cane and pushed herself up as blood dripped from her arms. She could hear the guards approaching fast. Thinking quickly, she limped towards the opening in the wall and pushed off the ground with her uninjured footpaw and cane. She plummeted, but she felt no fear. She'd always survive, after all.

Although the crane was old, it did its job as Bolgash landed on the platform, drawing the stoat to a slow stop. She crawled inside a crate lying on the platform and lay still. She could hear the guards conversing above her. A snicker escaped her lips as she curled up inside the box. They probably thought that she ran away like that stupid mountain hare. Bolgash stayed for a while until she heard the guards leave. When she was sure the coast was clear, she poked her head out of the box and looked around.

By this point, the sun had set. The sky was grey with the slightest hint of orange peeking over the horizon. There was barely enough light for Bolgash to notice that the platform was still above the quarry. While it was still a high drop to the ground, she could still feasibly reach the grass safely. She couldn't help but laugh. She really was lucky. Definitely destined for something greater.

But all those dreams of grandeur were overshadowed by one thing: revenge. All three of them, the mountain hare, the bat, and the otter all wronged her. If she had anything to say about it, they would not be seeing the light of day again.