For Freedom. Book 1: Chains of Slavery. Chapter 12

     “Here it is – Brockhall!”

    A loud ‘wow’ breathed out of Dibbuns’ mouths. They were sure they had just seen the biggest, the oldest and the most impressive oak ever – and it was close to the truth. The tree heaved its boughs high into the sky, so thick that only half-dozen badgers holding paws could embrace its trunk. There were not a single leaf or bud on its bare gnarled branches, what made the oak look like an ancient creature with its paws risen.

     The silence was broken by Cleve’s excited voice, “I wonna climb the tree!”

     “Afraid you can’t,” said Abbess Bikkle with a smile. “This oak has been standing here before Redwall was built – imagine how old it is? It’s long dead now, nothing but a tree skeleton here. The branches will break even under such a light Dibbun as you!”

     The squirrelbabe nodded with a sigh, and Simon decided to cheer him up. “Try to climb my back instead, little warrior!” he said as he put Cleve on his shoulders. Simon wore the Sword of Martin across his back, and Cleve immediately clutched its red pommel stone, happy again.

     Churk opened a small door in the trunk and lit two lanterns that hang inside. “Common, I’ll tell you the history of this place. Simon, Olva, look after Dibbuns, we don’t want anybeast to get lost!” As all Redwallers entered the gloomy passage inside, the Abbey Recorder pointed at the carvings on the walls. “Look, they were made by Lady Sable Brock, one of the first rulers of Brockhall…”

     Simon soon found himself occupied with the story, and only some time after noticed there were no more extra-weight on his shoulders. “Cleve?.. Cleve! Where’s Cleve?”

     Bikkle raised her lantern higher – there were only seven Dibbuns with them. “He must have gone to climb the oak!”

     “I’ll get him!” Simon was closest to the exit, and he rushed away from Brockhall as if he was chased by wolves. When he went out, Cleve had already climbed on the lowest tree branch.

     “Look, it ain’t break!” At that very moment, the branch broke, and the squirrelbabe plummeted down with a short ‘eep’.

     “Krrreeeeegaaaaah!” A cloud of black feathers dived from the sky, and Cleve cried again as he was caught by a giant hawk.

     Dibbun’s cry for help waked something inside Simon, and a fire of rage blazed up in his chest. “Aaaar-rraaagh!” The young otter jumped for the hawk with his teeth and claws bare, the weight of his body hit the bird in mid-flight, and both creatures fell on the earth, Simon atop his enemy, biting and clawing and trying to reach the hawk’s throat.

     “Simon, stop! I order it!” The cold liquid sloshed in his face, and Simon backed away, tossing his head to shake off drops of mint tea from his whiskers. Bloodwrath slowly faded away, and he could see the Abbess standing between him and the hawk. The bird was squatting, his tattered feathers bristled, his claws clenching. Bikkle held her paws high as a sign of peace. “You are Truvo Blackhawk, right? I remember you, our Infirmary Keepers treated your dislocated wing two seasons ago. We are peaceful creatures, there’s no need to fight. What happened here?”

     “Gaah!” shrieked the hawk. “I was trying to save your nestling from falling when that crazy riverdog attacked me!”

     Simon dropped his head in shame, his conscience was giving him more pain then a wound on his shoulder left by the carved beak. Now he recognized the hawk. What he had feared most happened: he let Bloodwrath overcome him and attacked a friend. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, “I was confused. I thought you was attacking a Dibbun.”

     Truvo ruffled his plumage. “Kraah, I came here not to snatch your useless whining maggot, maddog!”

     ‘Useless whining maggot’ had already got over with his fear and now was tugging Truvo’s tail. “Mr. Hawk, gimme a ride, pleeease, I wonna fly!”

     Truvo stared at the annoying squirrelbabe as hawks alone can stare, and Olva hurried to take Cleve away. “Cleve, it’s impolite to pester our friend like that.”

     “Let me add my apologies to Simon’s,” Bikkle bowed her head to the fierce bird. “We should thank you for helping our Dibbun.”

     “Hmm. Then my two-season old debt for your help is paid off.” Truvo turned away and flapped his wings, preparing to leave.

     “Wait, sir!” cried Olva. “You said you came here not to help Cleve. Then, what did you come for?”

     “Kreeh, there’re fifty vermin on your tracks. I’ve heard them say they will kill you and take you nestlings hostages. Krreegaah, dirty cowards! They are brave enough to ravage nests and kill nestlings, but not brave enough to face a warrior like me! Krrreee, white-feathered, stinky-beaked, pale-hearted…”

     “Okay, okay, we got the point!” interrupted Rumbol. “I mean, thank you, but we should hurry, mates! We can’t go back the same way, but…”

     “…But we can use Brockhall’s secret entrance to escape!” concluded Churk, finishing her brother’s thought. “Me and Abbess know it best, so we’ll show the way. Rumbol, Simon, watch our backs. Olva, try to cover the tracks. And carry all the Dibbuns, everybeast, we can’t lose any more time!”

     “Sure, sis!” Rumbol saluted with his rudder.

     Simon’s little sister Ripple clutched to her brother’ hind paw. “Bad beasties comin’?”

     Simon held her tightly. “Yes, but don’t worry, I won’t let them harm you!”

     ***

     With the dagger in her paw and a grin on her face, Shamra was coming to the slaves. Freedom was trying to break free with no effect, her teeth clenched. It was no use to ask for mercy, and the mousemaid knew it.

    Slash! With quick move of the dagger ropes bound Dom and Maple were cut. But instead of finishing off slaves that slumped to the ground, Shamra turned to her father. “Remember what I’ve said you a month ago, oldfur? It’s my will to decide if my slave lives or not, not yours! And I say – these two live!”

     Instead of losing his temper, Darm inquired, “Don’t you want to be a Captain?”

    “I do. But I don’t want to be your Captain and obey you for the rest of my life. I’m not going to dance to your piping any more. I’ve got enough of you and your wars and you conquests. I’m leaving!”

     While everybeast’s eyes were fixed on warlord’s daughter, Freedom and Maple got to their paws and backed to the forest edge. However, under shadows of elms they both stopped, too curious to leave.

     Now Nabon, still shocked, looked at his sister almost pleadingly. “But Shamra! You – you shouldn’t leave! How…”

     “Poor fool brother,” sniffed Shamra. “You still think Deathtrap will share his power with you? Even if you become a Captain, you’ll always be nothing but a puppet in his paws! Come with me – you still have a chance to leave that madbeast!”

     “No!” cried Nabon. “You – you are lying! No!”

     “I was wrong to call you my heir,” growled Darm, and his voice gave Freedom shivers. “I’ve sensed you’ll never be a great warleader like me!”

    Shamra laughed madly. “Didn’t you realize, Yellowbelly? I’m happy I’ll never be a monster like you! I’m ashamed I have your blood in my veins! Now, what would you do? Kill me like you’ve killed my mother? If that, why don’t you just order to – FIRE!”

     Z-zip! S-shh! Whi-ip!

     All Freedom saw next was a blurry movement behind Darm’s back, and then vermin just stumbled down on the earth with arrows in their bodies and cut wounds. Most of the corsairs made the same mistake as Dom did – they were too occupied with the scene before them that they hardly noticed anything suspicious until it was too late. About a dozen of vermin cut through their crewmates’ line and now stood near Shamra, their weapon at ready.

     Amina stood next to the weaselmaid, an arrow notched to her bow aimed at Darm. Shamra waved her paw to Lord of the Seas. “Don’t hope your armor will save you, Amina is aiming for eyes, so don’t try to follow me!” she cried while backing away with her supporters, and Dom and Maple also moved back not to get under their paws.

     “You won’t get out of this so easy,” promised Darm. “You are already dead. I’ll get you even if the earth would swallow you up.”

     Shamra didn’t response. At the very edge of the clearing, the small group of vermin finally turned and ran to the forest, and soon it turned out that Freedom and Maple were running with them. The mousemaid was too busy running to be surprised when Amina didn’t let stumbled Maple fall. “Come on, don’t slow us down!”

     After crossing a small spinney, they ran right into a shallow stream and jumped into it with a splash. Even in this summer month, the water was icy cold, and Dom had to hold her breath when they went downstream.

     The corsairs headed to an old tree leaning over the water. Shamra was the first to jump on the trunk and, digging her claws deep in the bark, climbed up, disappearing among the branches. One after another, vermin followed her, but at her turn Freedom could only gave a jump and try to grab the branches. “I – I can’t climb trees!” Next moment two strong rats grabbed her under the paws and literally dragged her upward. The mousemaid immediately clutched to the trunk: looking down made her sick.

     “Now sh-hh!” The hush was needless. Now they could hear angry shouts of corsairs following them, and everybeast fell silent, some even held their breath. Their pursuers were examining the stream, and Dom rejoiced that they lost the trail. She could only hope none of them noticed scratched treebark and movement among the branches. Finally, corsairs left the stream and disappeared in the forest.

     Freedom sighed with relief. They were free at last, free… but only due to Shamra. The last thing she expected from that bad-tempered brat was to save them… and the last thing she expected from Nabon was trying to kill her. Dom glanced at the weaselmaid. She may dislike her, but now she owed her her life.

     It wasn’t easy to say these words, but Dom whispered, “Th-thank you, Shamra… you saved me and Maple.”

     “Don’t you think I cared about you,” spat Shamra. “I just didn’t want to follow orders of that poor excuse of a weasel, and then you two could be caught and give us away.”

     “And what are you going to do now?” asked Maple in low voice. “Wait for Captain Greywhisker?”

     Shamra got closer to her former slave and twitched his ear. “So you were eavesdropping, bushtail!”

     “Leave him alone!” hissed Freedom. She won’t let anybeast abuse her friend anymore!

     “I’m okay,” reassured her Maple, moving aside from the weaselmaid. “And I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was looking and listening carefully. And I saw you, marm Shamra, and you, Lieutenant Amina, and Captain Greywhisker, and some others, talking more often then other crewbeasts. So I thought you are plotting something…”

     “Why, he is an observant chap, noticing what we managed to hide from spies!” Amina shook her head. “We need the one like him in our crew!”

     Shamra rolled her eyes. “Put up with that stupid furball again? No, thanks!”

     “And we are not going to put up with you, to begin with!” argued Dom.

     “Fine. Then go wherever you want… but don’t get on my way anymore!” said Shamra.

     “P-ss! Shamra?” Like a silent lightning, Greywhisker climbed the tree and was on a branch next to the weaselmaid in a second. “I gathered a score of our followers, they’re waiting over there, but we must hurry!”

     “Good. What about those sent after us? And Deathtrap?”

     “We’re lucky that Darm sent Tamant and his best trackers after Abbeyleaders. And Darm took his army to Redwall, saying he’ll attack it leaderless and deal with you later. But there is bad news: one of ours was wounded during your escape… and Clyde got him before me.”

     “Stinky foul dirty…” Shamra lowered her voice and uttered more curses. “That hangbeast will make poor creature say everything he does and doesn’t know!”

     “That’s it. So I immediately came here. Hellteeth, I didn’t even have time to talk to my old buddy Catcher! Sure he’d joined us…”

     “No time to wait for him! The faster we get to the ships and leave this country…”

     “Are we going to Terramort?” interrupted Amina. “Drooptail and Houk are loyal to Darm, but Viro Strongclaw, Captain of soldiers, can support you…”

     “That prideful arrogant strutter? ‘Backstabber’, that’s what even a fool can read in his face,” Sharma made a sour muzzle. “We won’t sail to Terramort, at least not before I recruit a good full crew, Amina, no matter how you miss your fiancé.”

     Amina frowned and crossed her paws on her chest, miraculously managing not to fall from the branch. “Broknose ain’t my fiancé!”

     “Wherever. Now, it’s time to go!” One after another, vermin silently slid down the earth and disappeared in the forest till there were only Freedom and Maple on the tree.

     Two friends were silent for a moment, then Dom asked in offended tone, “So, all that time you knew Shamra was plotting something, and said me nothing?”

     Maple tried to avoid her gaze. “S-sorry, I just was afraid to. I mean, there were spies, and it was dangerous, and I could give everybeast away, and…”

     “Well, I see.” The mousemaid nodded, her offense gone. “Now, when we’re finally in Mossflower and we’re finally free, we must go to that – Brockhall, right? – and help Redwallers!” She began to go down the branches only to feel giddy. “…as soon as I manage to get down.”

     Maple didn’t seem to be bothered by the height. “Why to get down? We can travel from tree to tree!”

     “Looks like you forgot one little thing, Maple: I’m a mouse, not a squirrel. I can’t climb trees and jump from branch to branch. I just can’t!”

     “But it’s faster, and there’re still Darm’s corsairs lurking down in the forest. Look, I’ll show you.” The squirrel went down on all fours and walked over a branch. “Grip the branch with all your paws, use your tail to balance yourself. Don’t be afraid if the branch bent under your weight, it’ll hold. Oh, did I mentioned not looking down?”

     At that very moment, Dom looked down. “Can I close my eyes?”

     “No. Try to concentrate on something. Think… I know! Think about Redwall! You won’t help the Abbey if you fall to death, right?” Surprisingly, it helped, and Maple went on to the next lesson. “Now grab that upper branch, swing yourself back and forth and let the branch carry you to this bough – it’s firm enough to hold me, see? Try it yourself!”

     Freedom clenched her teeth and grabbed the branch. For few terrible moments her footpaws hung in the air unsupported, and then they softly hit the bough. “I did it!”

     “Aye, you did it,” agreed Maple. “But remember, vermin left earlier then we did, so let’s hurry!”