[Redwall 18] - High Rhulain (37 page)

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As he belaboured his drum, he bellowed out orders to the rowing crew. “Bend yore backs, ye skinny sideswabs! Avast there, ye paddle-pawed poltroons! Pull! Pull! Pullllll!”

The big hare felt happier than he had for many long seasons. “Steersbeasts! Hold her westward, ye dither-pawed dodderers! Sweep oars! Pull, ye gripe-gutted galoots! Heave ho, me blunderin' buckoes! I'll make seabeasts of ye, or I'll wallop yore whiskers, keelhaul yore scuts an' nail yore noses t'the mainmast! Pull! Puuuuullllll!”

The ship, caught by the breeze and swept on by two dozen long sweep oars, shot forward like a flying fish.

Pandion raised his beak to the sun-kissed skies. “Karraheeee! Take me to my home! Karreeehaarr!”

The two subalterns gripped the tiller tight between them, amazed at the speed the ship was gaining by the moment.

“I say, Quarters, in a bit of a blinkin' hurry aren't we, wot!”

“Rather, Porters. D'you think Ole Blood'n'guts is tryin' to gain a march, so's we can stop for tea?”

Cuthbert leaned over them both, squinting villainously. “Either of yew chubby-cheeked charmers lets go of that tiller an' I'll make subaltern skilly'n'duff out o' ye both. How'd ye like that for tea, eh?”

 

Lord Mandoral stood at the window of his high chamber. He saw reflecting sunlight flashing from Tiria's armour as she stood on the bowsprit, waving good-bye to him. The Badger Lord merely nodded his big striped head in acknowledgement. He watched the vessel receding over the water, its long sweep oars making it look like a damselfly skimming over a vast millpond.

Mandoral's lips barely moved as he softly chanted an old warrior's farewell to the tall young ottermaid he had come to respect and admire.

Leatho Shellhound struggled wildly to avoid the spear as Kaltag stabbed viciously down at him. Bound as he was by both paws to the cage bars, he did not have much room for manoeuvre. The outlaw ducked his head forward, wrenching his body to one side as the wooden cage rocked madly against the high tower wall. He felt a stinging pain close to his left paw as the spearhead glanced off it.

Kaltag's eyes glittered in the darkness as she drew back the weapon and thrust it down, screeching out vengeance for her dead son. “Eeeyaaaah! Go to Hellgates, murderer! Die! Die!”

Twice more the spear grazed Leatho as he wriggled about within the confines of his narrow prison. Defiant to the end, he roared insults at his tormentor. “Is that the best ye can do, Mangetail? Ye need a few lessons with the spear. Cut me loose, Scruffcoat, an' I'll show ye how it's done!”

Kaltag yowled with rage. Gripping the spearpole with both paws, she centred on the back of the otter's neck, readying herself for the killing strike.

Leatho knew his fate was sealed. Bound and helpless, he could not last much longer. He tensed himself, listening to the cat's rasping breath above him. Suddenly a hubbub broke out from the upper chamber. The spear slithered down through the bars and stuck, quivering, point first, in the pier far below.

Kaltag began wailing insanely. “Let me go, take your stupid paws off me! Shellhound must pay for my son's death!”

Weilmark Scaut and two catguards held her tight, dragging her back from the windowsill. Kaltag bit, scratched and kicked at them, but to no avail, as the three cats hauled her roughly from the chamber.

Riggu Felis stood outside. Quickly he slammed the door shut, snarling, “Get her downstairs. Nobeast comes into this room but me!”

Kaltag was borne away, yelling accusations at the wildcat. “Coward! Traitor! Will you see Jeefra's killer left alive?”

The warlord yelled down the stairwell after her, “Keep that madbeast away from here. She'll ruin all my plans. I need Shellhound alive!”

Felis went into the chamber and stole across to the window. Leaning out, he rattled the cage with his axehaft, taunting the captive. “Well, I'm glad to see you still alive, my friend.”

As Leatho looked up, he could see the disfigured face beneath the chain mail half-mask. He growled scornfully at the wildcat. “That's more'n I can say for you, ripface!”

Felis continued baiting his prisoner. “Would you like a drink of water? I'll spare you some if you beg for it. Lovely cold, fresh, clear water, just beg nicely and I'll tell the guards to fetch some.”

For answer, Leatho bared his teeth and rattled the cage. “All I'll beg for is a chance to get out of here an' stand facin' yore ugly mug. Then it'll be yore turn to beg!”

The wildcat backed off slowly, calling to his captive, “Oh, I'll let you loose soon enough, the moment your friends surrender to me. Then they can watch you licking my footpaws every day, with Scaut whipping you whenever you stop. That should make a pretty sight, eh?”

The outlaw heard the chamber door slam shut. He sagged forward in his bonds, head drooping. To his surprise, the rope holding his left paw creaked, stretching slightly. Hope surged anew through Leatho. He jerked and tugged on the rope, feeling the fibres starting to part. The spear, of course, it had to be! In the darkness, Kaltag's frenzied stabs must have hit the rope, partially slicing through and weakening it.

Leatho could not twist his head far enough to inspect the rope, but he knew he could eventually snap it. Even though his limbs were swollen and numbed with cramp, the tenacious otter pulled, twisted and jerked against his bond. Each fresh assault tore more of the fibres, snapping away the closely woven strands. He grunted with pain as one final wrench parted the rope, allowing the deadened paw to hang limply at his side. Dizzy with the effort, Leatho rested for a moment. Then, with no firm plan in mind, he set about freeing his other paw. Hauling himself up on the bars, the outlaw got his teeth into the other rope. He gnawed away, strand by strand, until he had chewed right through it. With a deep sigh, he allowed himself the luxury of sitting down on the cage floor. Leatho slowly rubbed the life back into his aching limbs and shoulders, thinking hard. Now, what next?

 

Early birds began their twittering chorus in the first rays of dawn as the otterclans arrived at the far shores of the lake. Crouching in the rushes, surrounded by his warriors, Big Kolun Galedeep cooled his paws in the cold water. He peered through the mist, which hung like a milky veil over the stillwater.

“Wot d'ye think, should we go in now?”

His brother, the tall, sombre Lorgo, spat on his paws, rubbing them together in anticipation. “Aye, dawn's a good time to attack. The cats won't be up an' about just yet!”

Banya Streamdog interrupted them. “Hold on, mates. We can't go chargin' in without a plan. If'n the Felis cat's got Leatho a prisoner, he's bound to have the fortress well guarded. Stands t'reason he'll be expectin' us to try somethin'.”

Kolun dug his big oar into the water moodily. “I s'pose yore right, so wot d'ye suggest we do? We can't just lie here all day twiddlin' our rudders!”

Besides being a tough warriormaid, Banya was seldom short of practical ideas. “A sensible plan would be t'send out scouts first. Whulky, Chab, you take the left bank. Lugg, Ganno, you take the right. See if they're patrollin' the pier an' the slave compound. Make a count of the cats y'can see an' wot sort of weapons they're totin'. That way we'll know just wot we're up against. Oh, an' most important, keep yore eyes skinned for the Shellhound.”

 

In the main gate lodge which led onto the pier, Riggu Felis took a leisurely breakfast. The wildcat felt that, with his plans reaching fruition, his position was becoming more secure. Picking at a freshly caught trout and sipping pale wine, he reflected on other matters which required his attention. It was one of the warlord's strengths: He never left loose ends untied.

Weilmark Scaut stood attendance upon his master, a task which invariably made him nervous, owing to the wildcat's unpredictable nature. After accidentally slopping wine onto the table while refilling the warlord's beaker, Scaut murmured apologetically, “Yore pardon, Lord.”

Without helmet or mask, the face of Riggu Felis was set in a tight, fearsome grimace, owing to the severe injuries inflicted on him by the osprey. Scaut wiped up the spillage as the wildcat questioned him.

“Is my prisoner well guarded?”

The weilmark nodded vigorously. “Aye, Lord. I posted two guards on the chamber door, an' two more at the bottom o' the stairs.”

The warlord's tongue licked pensively at his flayed upper gums. “Good. The Lady Kaltag, where is she?”

Scaut wondered where this conversation was leading. “In her room, Sire. I posted three guards on her door.”

Felis sipped more wine. “See that she is closely watched. Well, we should be expecting those outlaw otters to pay us a visit sometime today, Scaut. Listen now, make sure the slave compound is well guarded, but keep the rest of my force out of sight. Don't send any guards out scouting or patrolling. Now, about the slaves, keep them penned tight in their quarters. I don't want them out working or fishing the lake. Is that understood?”

The weilmark bowed clumsily. “I hear you, Lord!”

The wildcat's next question caught the feral cat officer totally off guard. “Tell me, who do you think murdered my faithful counsellor?”

Scaut stared dumbly at the floor. “Sire, I don't know who slew Atunra.”

Riggu Felis chided him mildly. “Come on, you must have some idea. Was it Pitru?”

The weilmark murmured unhappily, “Lord, it is not my place to accuse yore son.”

The warlord put aside his beaker. “You recall that when we returned here after hunting the Shellhound and his crew, we learned that Atunra had gone missing. That was when Pitru appointed himself Fortress Commander, was it not?”

Scaut's head bobbed dutifully. “Aye, Lord, yore right.”

The wildcat continued, staring fixedly at Scaut. “Pitru had some very close friends about him, three as I remember. One of them was an officer.”

Scaut replied. “I don't recall the other two, but the officer was Scorecat Yund, Sire.”

The warlord's torn features creased in a hideous grin. “That's the one, Scorecat Yund! Find him, bring him here to me. I'll find out who slew my pine marten.”

 

It was now over an hour since daybreak. Bright summer sunlight had banished the mists from the lake surface.

Banya Streamdog called out to Kolun, “Will ye quit paddlin' round out there an' get back behind these reeds? Any beast with half an eye could spot an otter of yore size out in the open!”

Big Kolun Galedeep waded grumpily back into the reeds. “Where've yore scouts got to, missy? Huh, I could've done their job in half the time!”

Lorgo came up on tip-paw, then bent down again. “I can see Lugg an' Ganno headin' back along the bank.”

Banya was watching twin ripples approaching along the lake. “That'll be Whulky'n'Chab if'n I ain't mistaken.”

Both the aforesaid otters surfaced. They waded in through the reeds, arriving at the same time as Lugg and Ganno.

Kolun cautioned them needlessly, “Stay low, mates. Ye might be spotted by the cats!”

Whulky stood up and stretched his paws. “Wot cats? All we saw out there was birds an' a few fishes.”

Banya sounded clearly baffled. “Ye saw no cats?”

Chab shook his head decisively. “Nary a frog, let alone a cat. An' there was no sign of Leatho, either. Everythin' was quiet at the fortress.”

Kolun scratched his rudder. “Nobeast around, sounds funny t'me. Wot about you two?”

Lugg spoke for himself and Ganno. “We saw catguards posted all around the slave compound. I think they're keepin' the slaves locked up—there wasn't any about, workin', or fishin'. Didn't see the Shellhound, though. Don't know where they're keepin' him.”

Lorgo spat away the reed stem he had been chewing on. “I think it's a trap! Those cats are sly villains.”

Chab pawed water from his ear and shook himself. “Well, if it is a trap, mate, it's the easiest one I ever walked into, an' away from!”

Banya stared around at the puzzled and unhappy faces of the clanbeasts. She reached a sudden decision. “Well, we can't sit here forever. Make ready to march, mates. But pay heed—don't go chargin' an' dashin' into anythin'. We'll go slow' n'steady, split into three groups. Roggan Streamdiver, take yore clan an' the Wavedogs along the left shore. Kolun, you an' Lorgo take yore Galedeeps an' the Wildloughs to the right. I'll take my clan an' the Streambattles up the middle o' the lake. Remember, slow'n'steady. Watch out for traps an' ambushes, an' don't take no foolish chances!”