For Freedom. Book 2: Shadows Fall. Chapter 16

     The storm that had blown in Mossflower was just an echo of the one that raged over Terramort Isle. In that northwest island, storms and tempests were frequent guests. This was one of the strongest corsairs had seen in their lives – they could only thank their luck that they weren’t in the open sea at that night. The storm had brought enough problems for Fort Bladegirt: vegetable and grain fields were damaged, fishing boats were broken, and half of the roof was blown off soldiers’ Barracks.

     In the morning, Drooptail lined up all the vermin and declared that all the vermin were ought to work together with slaves. As one could expect, discontented grumbles and sighs could be heard immediately. “You are going to work, like it or not!” snapped the stoat Commander. “The all work must be done in a day!”

     New grumbles followed, and soldiers’ Captain Viro Strongclaw had to intervene. He was a grey cat with amber eyes, not big, but muscular and strong. He wasn’t carrying any weapon, since his main weapon had always been with him: his strong forepaws, which could break a creature’s neck and his sharp claws, which could tear out a creature’s flesh. Captain was well-respected by his soldiers, and everybeast fell silent when Viro had talked. “Listen, mates! All the work is for your own good – you’re going to mend the roof, so it’s either workin’ now or sleepin’ in the weather later. So, what would you choose?”

     There were shouts of approval, and a dark-brown stoat with long muzzle cried, “Sure we work! We ain’t idlepaws!”

     “Good,” smiled Viro. “Then you, Broknose, would be in charge of the work, so take all the soldiers and a half of the slaves. Bigger and Smaller will help you.” Two big identical foxes saluted, one only an inch taller than the other.

     “Don’t take new timber from the warehouse unless necessary,” said Drooptail. He was angry with Viro commanding the soldiers without even paying any attention to him, Fort Commander. Then Drooptail quickly divided the responsibilities. There were three groups of vermin on Terramort, thirty beasts each, including soldiers, whose duty was to defend the Fort from possible invaders and who was commanded by Viro Strongclaw, slave-drivers commanded by Houk the Slavemaster and Fort guards, the elite force commanded by Lord himself or, in his absence, by Fort Commander. “Houk will take the rest of the slaves and cleans up the fields, and the guards will repair the boats,” ordered Drooptail.

     The stoat cast a sidelong look at Strongclaw. Drooptail would never admit it, but he was wary of this cat. Viro was ambitious, and he had pretensions to the title of Fort Commander as a senior Captain, but Darm had chosen Drooptail because of his loyalty. However, more than fortnight had passed since Lord’s departure, and Viro hadn’t caused any troubles. But Drooptail still couldn’t trust him.

     ***

     Half of all the slaves were working at the field. Vegetables didn’t suffer much as they were close to the earth, but most of the crops were beaten down by the heavy rain, and barriers surrounding the field needed to be fortified to prevent mudslides from the hills. It was supposed that slave-drivers should work together with slaves, but vermin were doing what they could do best: command. Many of them walked among slaves, urging them to work harder, some bustled around, pretending to be busy, and those high-ranked enough were just doing nothing.

     Houk was eating his lunch when a lean otter with tan-colored fur silently came to him and bowed. It was Wavehound Streamdiver. He normally served vermin in Fort, but today even servants were taken to work in the field.

     “Speak, riverdog!” ordered Houk.

     Wavehound bowed once more and began in low voice. “Captain, sir, it’s more than three hours past noon, sir, and we’ve been working since dawn, with no food or water, sir, and…”

     “Oh, I see. You want a little break and some food, right?” Wavehound nodded, and Slavemaster raised his voice, “You won’t get any till sunset, so get back to work, seaweed head!”

     “But sir, give us at least some water, for old beasts only,” pleaded the otter.

     “There’s enough water for everybeast,” Houk grinned, waving his paw at the muddy pools that didn’t dry out after the storm. “To your work, lazy scum!”

     Wavehound could only bow and go away, but that wasn’t enough for Houk. Slavemaster picked up a flask of wine and a loaf of bread and jauntily strolled to the group of slaves Wavehound was working with.

     “Yeah, that wine is better than water,” he murmured, taking a sip. “What do you say now, riverdog?” Houk sliced a piece of bread with a pocketknife, intentionally letting a chunk to fall in the mud, next to a thin old squirrelwife. The squirrel tensed; her stomach rumbled, but she knew too well what would happen if she tried to take the bread. “Looks like you ain’t hungry,” smiled Houk and trampled the bread down with his footpaw.

     Then the unpredictable happened. Wavehound, who was known as the most obedient and patient servant in Fort, jumped on his footpaws and attacked Houk. The otter’s fists crushed into slave-driver’s face, hammering it with a fierce rage.

     “Mutiny!” The nearest vermin sprang to help his Captain, but tumbled down as Elsie the volemaid threw herself across his way. However, all the other slaves were either too scared or too astonished to do anything, and soon Wavehound and Elsie were thrown onto the ground, badly beaten but alive.

     “You!.. You two!..” hissed Houk, shaking with hatred. “You know the laws! The punishment for mutiny is death!”

     “Should I kill them?” asked one of the guards.

     “And let us lose two pairs of working paws?” frowned the ferret Captain. “Zhmura! No food or water for these crazy fools!”

     The air swayed as all the slaves sighed in relief. Such a light penalty was just a gift from heaven! A fleshy rat responsible for feeding the slaves asked, also a little surprised. “For how long, Cap’n?”

     “For the rest of their lives!” smirked Houk. “It would be a good lesson for every other slave to see how rebels starve to death, begging for a mouthful of water! And if anybeast try to smuggle them food or water…” he hadn’t finished the line, but everything was clear to the slaves who shrank back with terror.

     Houk enjoyed the sheer fear for a moment, then ordered, “Now stop wasting time and work, if you don’t want to stay here till dawn!”

     Elsie got up with difficulty, and Wavehound had to be helped. Swaying, the otter dragged himself back to the work, but inside he was triumphing. Sure, attacking Houk was risky. But now, with Deathtrap gone and storm clouds closing the sky, it was one of the rare chances to accomplish a first step in his plan. And he, Wavehound, took it and succeeded.

     ***

     Slaves got back into the Barn only at the sunset. It began to drizzle, and vermin urged them to walk faster. That day, unlike usually, Zhmura and her assistants not only divided scanty rations among slaves, but also stayed while they ate to make sure nobeast would try to hide food. By the time vermin padlocked both iron bars and wooden door the drizzle turned into steady rain, so Zhmura pulled her thick shawl over her head and run to the fortress, the others following her.

     During the meal Wavehound and Elsie attracted attention of their fellow-slaves that was fixing the Barrack’s roof and didn’t know what happened on the field. Now they finally had a chance to ask all their questions. “Treetops’n’leaves! What’s with you, Wavehound?”

     “You are punished, mates? What for?”

     “Looks like you got a good beating. Grr, stinky vermin!”

     “What happened, you poor thing?”

     “It happened that they two are great fools!” announced a sturdy hedgehog with long spikes. “What were you thinking about, attacking the Slavemaster, you silly riverdog? Thought you can get away with it?’

     “Oh, it’s all because of me,” cried out the old squirrelwife that was working with Wavehound. “Houk was teasing me with bread, and then Wavehound… Auh!”

     “Don’t worry, Tosna, it’s not your fault,” smiled the otterslave. “I had another reasons for it.”

     “What reasons, I’d like to know?” frowned Elsie. “I’ve tried to help you, but now I want to know what I was helping!”

     “Sh-hh!” Wavehound swiftly moved to the door and stood here for a moment, listening carefully. Then he nodded, “Nobeast. Sure, no vermin would stay in such a rain all night.”

     “Stop babbling and answer!” demanded the hedgehog.

     “I’ll answer you, Thornbush. I’ll answer everybeast. That’s what I had attacked Houk for!” Metal glittered in the dark of the Barn as Wavehound took Houk’s pocketknife out of his patched shirt and lifted it up in the air. “I’ve snatched it from ferret’s paw and hid it in my clothes, and all the slave-drivers were too occupied with my attack and didn’t notice it’s gone!”

     All kinds of whispers and murmurs spread among the slaves. “You- You are totally mad!” cried out a male squirrel with shabby tail. “If vermin find it out… No, when vermin find it out, they’ll make us all pay for your stupidity!”

     “No, Basko, ‘cause when they find out, we’ll be far away from ‘ere. We’ll force locks with this knife and escape!”

     Now all the creatures in the Barn were speaking at once. “There’s no way anybeast could escape Bladegirt!”

     “But it’s our chance! Maybe the only one!”

     “Nobeast has ever left that bloody island alive, that’s for sure!”

     “And what of it if so? We’ll be the first!”

     “That’s madness, a true madness…”

     “Calm down, everybeast! Do you want vermin to hear you?” called Seabird Galedeep, Wavehound’s fellow ottermaid from Green Isle. “Calm down, or I kick tails of those talking!” The slaves lowered their voices: Seabird’s clan, Galedeep, was known for its strength and heavy build, and even seasons of slavery could do nothing to the ottermaid’s wide shoulders and sinewy forepaws.

     “Wavehound, you are putting everybeast at risk,” stated Basko and rolled up his sleeves, revealing old scars upon his paws. “Remember my brother? He’d tried to escape, and vermin not only killed him, but also punished me – just because I could have been helping him.”

     The otter dipped his head. “I remember your brother, friend. He’d tried to break free during the daywork, but we’ll sneak away in the dark. The rain would wash our tracks away, and Drooptail isn’t as smart as the weasel. Vermin wouldn’t catch us.”

     “You’ve forgot about two guards at the Fort’s gates,” said Mlika, Basko’s wife. “They are always on duty, rain or no rain.”

     Wavehound had already thought it through. “They are guarding the fortress from an attack from outside, not inside. We’ll just sneak to the wall and stun them!”

     “And where you are going to go, sir-know-all?” grumbled Thornbush. “We’re on a bloody isle, seaweed head! Do you expect us to fly away?”

     “I know, the hills around Bladegirt are too open, but there are a kind of rocky range to the north shore, and where rock is, there’s caves and crevices – plenty places to hide!”

     Now most of the slaves were nodding approvingly, but Thornbush was still angry. “Ha, it’s easy for you to say ‘Let’s escape’, you risk nothing but your own hide! And what about those who has somebeast to care about? I have a wife and a little son, Basko and Mlika have a daughter and old Tosna, Basko’s mother, and… There are too many beasts to list! Why shall we risk our families’ lives just because of your word?”

     “Don’t you want your son to be free?” said Elsie.

     “First of all, I want my son to be alive!”

     “Quite!” Seabird tapped her rudder at the floor. “We won’t get anywhere like that! Let’s vote! What more than a half of beasts decide, the others will agree, so nobeast would be left behind! Agree, Thornbush? Okay, now, raise your paws those who want to escape with Wavehound!”

     Before the slaves could vote, a deep husky voice spoke – the voice that had been staying silent for months and that nobeast expected to hear. “I will!”

     Everybeast’s eyes fixed on a dark shape in the far corner of the Barn. A big creature stirred, straining its chains. “Help me out of my chains, and I’ll tear every vermin with my bare teeth’n’claws!”

     That creature was Betta, a badgerwife from Daggerrocks, and her story was known by every slave. Her home island, despite its warlike name, was a peaceful land, inhabited by mice, hedgehogs and badgers. Those badgers were farmers, not warriors, but Deathtrap, a young Captain at those seasons, knew how fierce and deadly they could be. So he hadn’t conquered Daggerrocks – he had simply burned it to the ground, and those who hadn’t died in the fire were killed by corsairs’ arrows.

     Betta, no more than a young maid, was the only one spared. Darm imprisoned her out of his pride and vanity, showing chained badgermaid to rival Captains as a symbol of his might. It’s not that Betta didn’t try to fight – during those seasons, she tore many chains, broke many cages and killed many vermin, but finally the starvation, harsh treatment and seeming hopelessness of all efforts broke her, and badgermaid became no more than a pale shadow of her former self. After Darm become the ruler of all the corsairs, he had no need to demonstrate Betta any more. Since that, she had been chained in the Barn constantly, never going out except for rare occasions when Deathtrap wanted to remind his subjects why he was their ruler.

     So as she sat at the darkest corner of the Barn, bone-thin, with her fur gone grey before age, in ragged clothes, Betta looked something like an old hag, and certainly not like a healthy strong middle-seasoned badgerwife she would have been if it wasn’t for Darm. The badgerwife was always silent, deep in her thoughts and memories, and didn’t even seem to hear when the others addressed her.

     But tonight the word ‘escape’ woke something in her and Betta’s usually lack-lustre eyes now shone blood red, her long claws gripped the chains in desperate effort to break them and a wheezy growl came out of her chest. “Let… let me out! Let me out, and I’ll kill them!..”

     “She’s going to bring here every vermin in Fort,” complained Thornbush. “We can’t take her with us!”

     “Of course we can!” rebelled Elsie. “We can’t leave… Wait – have you just said we?”

     The hedgehog nodded with a grim look. “Yes, we. If I can’t talk you out of that mad idea, me and my family will go with you.”

     “And we too,” added Basko, and soon all the slaves were nodding approvingly.

     Meanwhile, Wavehound neared the captive badgerwife. “We’ll help you out of chains, Betta, but you mustn’t attack vermin. You would give us all out!”

     “Don’t care!” snarled Betta. “I kill them, kill them all – and the rest doesn’t matter!”

     “I know, you want to avenge your compatriots for what the corsairs did to them – but if you do, a lot of other beasts will suffer, elders and babes among them. Do you want them to share the fate of your tribe?”

     At first, the otter thought that bloodthirsty badgerwife simply couldn’t hear him, but then Betta’s bloodshot eyes changed to their normal wane gray color. “No. Let me out. I won’t harm anybeast… unless vermin treat me… or you.”

     The rusty locks on Betta’s chains weren’t easy to open, but after some effort, Wavehound managed to force them. Betta immediately got to her paws and headed to the doors, but her near-starvation didn’t let her go far, and the big badger collapsed to the floor for want of habit to walk long.

     Basko and Mlika jumped to the badgerwife and helped her up. “Common, lean on my shoulder, marm!”

     “You’d better take care of the vermin outside, Wavehound,” muttered Mlika, sagging under Betta’s weight. “I doubt me’n’Basko could hold our friend if she sees one!”

     “Don’t worry.” The rebellious otter had already forced open the locked iron bars and now was dealing with the door. With a happy smile, he opened it – and a blast of wind immediately threw a flow of showering rain into his face. Wavehound threw his head back and laughed. “That’s how the freedom feels, mateys!”