For Freedom. Book 1: Chains of Slavery. Chapter 7

     Bulot Zig Juskazig met the morning in a good mood. His clan had plenty of forage and weapon, and neither other Juska nor hares from the badger mountain troubled them. But the most important, there were no sight of corsairs for almost two moon-cycles. Sure, sometimes it’s convenient to have an ally whom you can sell the captured slaves or plundered loot. But corsairs were bad allies. They had always been paying less then asked, cheating during trade and threatening with Deathtrap’s fleet destroying them if Juska tried to clamp down on them. No, it was better without any corsairs.

     Bulot Zig Juskazig was big and fat rat, but under his clumsy appearance, great strength and cunning mind were hiding. His clan was the only one that dared to live so close to the badger mountain, which other Juska were afraid to approach. Here they could find food, shelter, and no rival Juska clans.

     “Chieftain!” a stoat entered Bulot’s tent. Two blue stripes running across his eyes had made him look like a ferret; three yellow circles were laid on his cheeks. The same Juskazig clan tattoos marked everybeast including Bulot himself. “Chieftain, there are beasts approaching our camp. They look like corsairs!”

     “Blade’n’thunder on their rotten heads! May they choke with their own grog and fall on their own swords!” Bulot sighed and calmed down a bit. “Let them enter.”

     Nevertheless, he’d met corsairs with open paws. “Haha, Krugg me old mate, where you’ve been for so long?”

     The fox Captain hugged the big rat. “Hoho, Bulot you pal, sorry I’ve made you wait. You know, I was capturing slaves for you, strong and healthy beasts, just as we’ve agreed. You remember the deal, right?”

    “Sure I do! You get me twoscore slaves, and my clan joins your Lord in the war with Redwall and get our share of loot after all.” …as long as we gain more plunder and vittles than we have now, Bulot thought to himself. Then he asked aloud, “But I don’t see any slaves here.”

     “Alas, friend.” Krugg shook his head with feigned sorrow. “Who’d thought beasts could be so ungrateful? We’ve spared their lives, and what they did? Escaped our ship. But if my crew and your clan join forces we’ll catch them before noon!”

    “Aargh! Don’t you worry, my clan’ll catch them before you sip a cup of nettle beer!”

     ***

     Marching all morning among dunes with burning sand covering everybeast’s fur and faces and with no food and water was very difficult even for strong creatures, not to mention the freed slaves. Most of them were tired and famished, and even before noon creatures began to fall from exhaustion.

     “Urr, we shoud stop fur a rest,” called Myrra when Broom stumbled over the stone.

     “Corsairs’ll be on our tails soon,” argued Chestnut. “We’d better keep going!”

     “Then lets go,” wheezed Broom. “I’m all right.”

     “Nay ye ain’t,” growled the molemaid and glanced back where their other companions were panting heavily. “An’ not unly ye Oi sez.”

     “I can see a shadow down here!” cried sharp-eyed Yew. “Looks like some kind of shelter. Better make our way to it and rest here.”

     The shadow Yew saw was cast by small group of rocks huddled together. There even was a streamlet running between the rocks where thirsty beasts could drink.

     Chestnut was very tired as he hadn’t been used to long walks, and his shoulders ached from the blow of Krugg’s pikeshaft. However, he just took a few gulps of water before taking a look-out behind one of the rocks. “Somebeast should be on guard if… well, just in case!” he said when Myrra joined him.

     “Ye sez roight,” the molemaid bowed her velvety head. “Oi’ll gard thee oder slope o’ dere!”

     The slaves weren’t resting for a long when Chestnut spotted some vermin coming to the rocks. “It’s corsairs down here!” he cried. “We should leave the rocks, quick!”

     “Hurr, we can’t!” cried Myrra. “We bees suraunded, dere’s Juska ‘ere. Oi’ve seen dat painty snauts o’ them beefo! Oh, great rock’n’crag, wot we’ll do?”

     Yew was already swinging her sling. “Well, I didn’t come all the way here to be captured again. I’d better die fighting!”

     A loud cheer of approval rose among the rocks.

     Meanwhile, Bulot stepped out the vermin group. “Hey, in the rocks! We know you are here! It’s useless to fight, just lay down your weapon and surrender. Nobeast will be hurt, I say!”

     “Except for the spikehog who slew Vuten and the tree-hopper who wounded me!” cried Krugg with an evil grin.

    Bulot gave his ribs a firm thrust. “It’s my slaves now, not yours no more! And I say, nobeast will be hurt! I’m a beast of my word!”

     After a short pause, a squirrel appeared from behind a big stone. “Want to get our weapon? Take that!”

    The big rat saw the squirrel whirling her sling and dodged with a great swiftness for the creature of his weight. A big pebble zipped a fraction from Bulot’s ear. “It was your choice, pals.” Juskazig Chieftain murmured to himself. “Attack!”

     Krugg Bloodpike clenched his deadly weapon. “Now they’ll pay!”

     Bulot quickly grabbed the pike away from his paws. “Nay they won’t. I don’t need maimed slaves.” He cried for his clan, “Don’t kill them, stun or wound, hear me?”

     The vermin rushed to the rocks slaves were holding, shouting their battlecries.

     “Juskaaaaaa!”

     “Deathtraaap!”

     The slaves responded with rain of pebbles and their own cries. “Hurray! Freeedom!”

     Much to surprise of both vermin and slaves, they all had heard a third warcry. “Eulaliaaaa! Death on the wind!”

     “Wha-at’s? Blood’n’fur!” Bulot turned round to see four hares charging his clan. The rat’s face blanched with terror. “Retreat! Juskazig, retreat! Retreat, everybeast!”

     Krugg seized his ally’s paw. “What’s that? It’s just a bunch of rabbits! Our beasts’ll crush them down!”

     “This ain’t ‘just rabbits’, it’s hares from the badger mountain, and they and their badger will blow you to smithereens if you don’t make it off here!”

     With those words, Bulot gave an example to his clan, taking to his heels with a great speed for such fat creature. Juska followed him; many of them even threw away their weapon to quicken their running. After a momentary hesitation, corsairs went after them, with Krugg bringing up the rear.

     The hares didn’t pursue them. Three of them straggled to fetch dropped weapons, and the fourth one made his way to the rocks. That tall stringy hare with his fur turning gray obviously was a leader. He made a gallant bow to all the creatures in the rocks.

     “Ma greetin’ to you, brave goodbeests,” he said with slight accent, drawling words a bit. “Ai hope you wouldn’t mind to share our deener back at jolly old Salamandastron, sah.”

     Myrra spoke for everybeast. “Thankee, thankee, koind zurrs, fur yur words an’ fur yur ‘elp. Rock’n’crag, four beests rauted at leest hundred o’ vermint! Oi’ve neve’ seen anythink loike that!”

     The hare bowed once more. “We’ve deelt with those Juska before, they’re just bleenkin’ cowards. Think notheen’ about it, sah.”

     “Aye, chaps,” said a young light-furred hare coming closer. “Think nothing about it, for you don’t have any jolly vittles for us, wot!”

    His pretty haremaid companion twisted his long ear. “Hold your flippin’ tongue, Hopse! Long Patrol doesn’t need any rewards for helpin’ others, wot!”

     “That’s a pity,” grumbled the four hare. “All we get is blinkin’ battle wounds and sore paws. Hah, no good deed goes unpunished, wot!”

     The hare leader gave him a stern glance, “Ai’m ashamed for you, Corporal Trenton! Hopse is youn’ an’ green, but you should know the preenciples o’ Long Patrol better!” Then he turned to the freed slaves again. “Never mind Trent, hee just likes to complain, wot! Now, you know he’s Corporal Trenton; those two are Hopse an’ Plana, an’ mee is old jolly Captain Longstep.”

    “Longstep!” Chestnut breathed out. Longstep is a hare? He’d always thought that he was a vermin, a corsair Captain just like One-ear! “B-but… you’re a hare!”

     A smile touched Longstep’s lips. “Veery observantly, chap, for somebeests keep mistaking me for an otter. Now we’d better go to old Salamandastron before our jolly dinner is eeten by some gluttonous mouths!” He led the freed slaves south, accompanied by Broom and Myrra.

     Chestnut gave younger hares an inquiring look. “What is Long Patrol?”

     Hopse winked and gave him a broad smile, “Long Patrol is us, lad!”

     However, Plana explained him, “Long Patrol is a group of fighting hares from Salamandastron. We patrol these shores and keep all the blinkin’ corsairs and Juska and other vermin away from it, to defend simple beasts like you and your friends.”

     “Oh, I see. And what is Sala-mana..? Is it the place called the Mountain of the Fire Lizard?”

     “Yes, it’s also called the badger mountain, for we’re ruled by the Badger Lord, old jolly Lord Sagaxus. You’ll like him, you see!”

     After a time, they saw a huge mountain in the distance. Coming closer, Chestnut could distinguish small windows made in stone and big oaken double door in the bottom. When they drew near, this door was swung open.

     “Greetings, my friends!” A young badger stood in the doorway. He wasn’t as big as Chestnut imagined, not even as tall as a hare, and rather narrow-shouldered, wearing simple green tunic and no weapon.

     Broom bowed to him. “Lord Sagaxus…”

     The badger quickly held him back. “No need for such deference. And, actually, I’m not Lord Sagaxus. My name is Grawn Woodsmith, and I’ve just come visiting. Lord Sagaxus should be in the mess hall, that way.”

     “Are you some kind of Lord’s relative, Grawn?” asked Broom while the young badger led them through the wide stone-carved passage.

     “Well, actually no, though Lord Sagax is like uncle to me. You see, I’m a carpenter, and my parents were carpenters, and their parents, and so on. We’ve lived in a small pine grove east from here, and then… You know, the winter five seasons ago was especially cruel. My… my parents came down with a fever, and I had to take care of them myself.” Grawn sighed ruefully. “If only I went to seek help! But I was afraid to leave them alone. And then I fell ill myself… Long Patrol hares found our house and nursed me back to life, but… it was too late for my poor parents…”

     Myrra patted young badger’s paw with sympathy. “Ho urr, pur creetur, wot a ‘orrible story!”

     Grawn gave the kind molemaid a smile. “Thanks. Well, that’s how I met Lord Sagaxus. He was very kind to me, and I was living here for a while, before returning to my old home, though I come visiting fairly often, just like today!”

     The mess hall was filled with noise. A lot of hares laughed, joked and sang songs, demanding dinner. For a moment, Chestnut thought he was about to become deaf from that hubbub. "Is there always like this?"

     Trenton gave him a scornful glare. “Yes, it is, and you’d better look for another bloomin’ place if you don’t like it, wot wot!” The dark-furred hare twitched his ears and left.

     “Ha, my Da says old Trent scoffed a frog when he was a leveret, that’s why he’s so flippin’ sulky, wot,” Hopse patted the hedgehog’s shoulder carefully to avoid spikes. “Let’s find your friends some place to sit. Hey chaps, move your tails, sah, we have guests today! Move aside there, you great fatties, let poorbeasts in!”

     By the way, Longstep, Grawn, Broom and Myrra came to an old badger pair.

     “Lord Sagaxus…” Broom addressed a huge grizzled male badger.

     “I’m afraid I’m not him,” smiled the badger. “My name is Hightor, this is my wife Merola, and Sagax is actually our good son. Ah, here he goes!”

     A strong middle-seasoned badger as big as Hightor came into the hall. Broom gave him a light-hearted wink. “Don’t say you ain’t Lord Sagaxus, please!”

     The badger was really puzzled. “Why should I? Umm, why everybeast is laughing?” Longstep tried to make his report, but the Badger Lord shook his head. “Later, Cap’n. Our guests are weary and hungry. Let’s have dinner and rest first.”