User blog:ScottyBlue/Gingiverian: Chapter 35

NOTE: THIS PAGE WILL CONTAIN ALL THE REMAINING CHAPTERS.

Cover art by ForrestFighter

Chapter 35

In the days since the wreck, the escaped prisoners had quite made themselves at home in the Whisperer's caverns. Once the Council of bats had agreed their guests were harmless, they had treated them with the utmost care and concern, plying them with all the food and drink they could wish. Many of the guests allowed their hosts to fly them back and forth to the big meeting cavern, which was in shape like the interior of a giant hornets nest, and lit by thousands of flaming lanterns fed by some natural oil source in the ground. Others chose to stay in the wreck of the Bowbolt, not enjoying having to ride with the bats through the air to get to the meeting cavern. The Whisperer's Empress Ahamai, a wise and truly ancient bat, had heard their plight and was aware of the army amassing outside, a fact that could have caused some tension. The deaths of Ribjee and the three sentry bats also had cast a shadow upon the proceedings; however, Ahamai was determined that after so much sorrow, her guests should have a few days of peace while they waited for the Ranks to give up the search and go away. Therefore, the mood was kept as friendly and happy as possible, the bats interacting with the woodlanders as if they had been old friends for many seasons.

In the shallow pool cavern, several youngbeasts were playing on the rigging of the wrecked ship. Many batbabes only just old enough to fly joined them. All of them ceased their game, however, when Vaccar was returned from a meeting with the Empress to the ship, borne as usual by several bats. Donnabel hailed him as he was sat down upon the deck. "Hoi, there. What news?"

"Not much new to report, today." Vaccar waved to the larger bats, who wheeled around and found perches farther away. "Thanks, mateys, much obliged....OOOF!"

The big young weasel found himself mobbed and nearly knocked down by all the young ones. The concept of one good 'varmint' out of the many evil was something that fascinated them, and they considered him the most novel and interesting thing handy. "Come pway wiv us, come pway wiv us!"

"Yes, yes! Yes, yes!" The little batbabes took up the cry, as well.

Vaccar had been truly touched by their acceptance of him, and was always more than willing to oblige. "Aye aye, mateys. What'll it be, today? Hide and seek? Tag? Racing?"

Donnabel put her paws akimbo. "Aren't you going to make your report to us, first?"

Roan, sharpening a stone knife he had fashioned, laughed as Vaccar was practically dragged away by the little ones to join them in a game of tag on the shore. "Oh, let him be. He's having a good time. You know, I never really thought about how unhappy some vermin must be, before we met him."

Starburst joined them on the deck. "Aye, he told me he's been pretty miserable all his life before now. His folks, his captain, pretty much everyone called him a coward 'cause he didn't like to fight. The fools. Bein' peaceable ain't being cowardly. Lucky we found 'im before they hardened 'im into one 'a them, or slew 'im."

Donnabel nodded. "I wasn't 100% sure about giving him a chance or not at first, but he's more than proved himself. I just wish he'd tell us what's been going on NOW."

Muddwing, the big elderly bat who had first met them (and incidentally the Empress' son), flapped over to land spread-eagled on the deck. "I shall report in his stead, his stead. Leave him to play, play."

Starburst nodded. "Well, thank ye, yore highness. What news, then?"

Muddwing shrugged. "Our spies indicate they have encircled our domain, finding the cave entrance through which the old rat escaped, escaped. However, we have taken the precautions necessary, necessary. They shall not invade if we have anything to do with it, with it."

Roan nodded. "Well, thank you, sir, for that. Might I ask, why are you going to all this trouble for us? You certainly have no need to risk your lives."

Muddwing shrugged again. "T'is the alliance, alliance. Ever since an ancient Log-a-Log saved the life of my mother, many generations ago, we and the Guosim, and any ally of Guosim, will ever have our fates entwined, entwined."

The conversation was cut short by the crowd of babes, again dragging a captive Vaccar along for the ride, as they again stormed the boat. They were all talking at once and laughing. As they passed by, Fuzztail came up from belowdecks to see what was going on. "Any news on when we can leave, yet? I feel sort of trapped, even though this is a good kind of trapped."

Roan relayed the information Muddwing had given them, and the older wildcat pounded the deckrail in frustration. "We should'a thrown that rat overboard when we had the chance. If we had, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Muddwing disagreed. "Nay, nay. Thou couldst not have slain an unarmed beast, t'is not the goodbeasts way, way. What's done is done and we must merely move forward, forward. If thou wilt excuse me, I must fly, must fly."

He took off into the caves again. The small gathering at the rail of the wreck looked at one another. Starburst tapped her rudder on the deck. "Well, mates, what now?"

Roan sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine. We can only play the waiting game so long. The whisperers can forage at night untouched by the vermin, mostly, but not forever. But escape isn't an option."

Donnabel wiped her face with her ragged apron. "Unless we ask the Whisperers if there's any way a new entrance could be made, somewhere the Ranks won't notice, and escape out that way. If there isn't, we'll just have to wait and play it by ea....GUFFLE!"

The baby vole had just tumbled from somewhere in the rigging and landed right on top of her. He laughed. "Heehee, I not a good bat, mommy. Gotta learn."

Starburst patted his head. "Belay, ye ain't a bat, matey. What are ye talkin' about?"

Guffle pointed upwards. "They teach us to be bats."

A quick glance upward caused the whole party to burst into guffaws of laughter. The baby bats, as usual hanging upside down from the rigging, were using their tiny wing claws to help their playmates learn to hang upside down, too. Vaccar didn't trust himself to hang only by his footpaws, so he was spread-eagled head-down on the netting, much to the amusement of his much smaller comerades. He flashed a joking smile at the group below. "Oi! Someone might need to rescue me from these liddle savages in a minute!"

Above the caverns, the waiting game had also become tedious to the Ranks. The one entrance Rugg had shown them was now blocked by rocks, and the other two - the hole in the ground and the waterfall entrance - were impassable to creatures on foot. Enzi Grexx, sensing the morale was beginning to lower again, knew that once again a change of plans was in order. However, this time, he had already laid out a plan B, which he gave to his two aides now.

"Block the ceiling hole, and set a large bonfire burning near the waterfall entrance so we can see and shoot the batbeasts as they fly out. Eventually they will have to remove the barricade and surrender to us, or starve to death."

Gatlak's cruel fangs showed in a wicked smile. "Aye, aye, boss!"

By that night, the lack of moonlight coming through the ceiling hole and several bats returning with arrow injuries through their ears and wings tipped off the creatures within that something was seriously wrong. An emergency council of the entire cave population was called. Empress Ahamai, an ancient and wizened bat who had long since lost the ability of flight, hobbled and fluttered her way to the top of a large rock, raising a hole-pocked and withered wing to silence the agitated murmurs that had broken out. "My friends, friends. We hath the advantage of numbers, but the vermin hath the advantage of weaponry by far, by far. We cannot dig our way out, the walls be of solid rock, rock. Therefore, our only option is to find a strategy to confront them, catch them off guard."

A shrew near to her shook his head. "You have done enough for us, Your highness. It's too much to ask that you go to war with us as well."

Ahamai held an imperious claw to his lips, a faint smile on her face. "My friend, dost thou not comprehend that the presence of this enemy in our lands affects us, affects us? They intend to overtake the whole of the southlands and maybe further, a spy overheard this proclamation from the wolfdog's own lips, lips. We shall have to fight, one way or another, so t'is just as well we do so now, now."

A hissing, whispering murmur of assent went up from the thousands of bats gathered around. "Yes, yes! Yes, yes!"

The Empress continued. "They have been sleeping during the day and keeping watch in the evening, for they expect us to fly at night, thanks to the age-old myth that bats cannot fly in light, light. Therefore, cometh the dawn, we shall attack by surprise through the waterfall, and kill as many as possible before a quick retreat. Those of ye who wish to fight to avenge young ones, we do have a stash of a few quivers and bows that were left by our Guosim friends, if ye wish to fly with us, us. Those who do not wish to fight shall stay here, not in the waterfall cave, far from harm, harm. Ye shall not be judged, for some must stay to guard the little ones, little ones, after all."

Again, the "Yes, yes" chant broke out. Vaccar breathed a large sigh of relief - it was still ingrained in him to be ashamed of his pacifist nature.

"We shall drive them back as best we can, and use the space to unblock the roof vent, vent. After that, we shall attack from both fronts, fronts. T'is a risky plan and if they choose not to retreat the cost shall be dear, dear. I want this distinctly understood, understood, before we fly."

The bats all repeated, "Understood, understood," until it was hard to tell what was their voice and what was natural cave echoes.

Flipp bowed low. "Milady, we thank you. And of course as many of us as possible will fight with you, come the dawn. "

Ahamai nodded her silvered head. "I have not forgotten how two generations ago, thy kind saved my life when vermin had given me up for dead. Until such time as my descendants forget, we shall ever be the allies of all woodlanders who be on thy side, side. Meeting dismissed, dismissed."

The bats flew away to make preparations, and the guests followed their guide to the makeshift armory. The normally humming cave falling into a pall of silence bore witness to the mood that had sunk over the prisoners. They were hopelessly outweaponed even with the Whisperer's teeth and claws to help, and they knew it. This was likely going to be a last stand, with the best outcome possible being that the youngest members of their party would have a chance to escape to freedom.

Chapter 36

Scaleflier sat in his usual place - curled up in a tree out of reach of everyone else, watching the weary and disheveled crew of Dankfur with sadistic glee. He had slowed pace under pain of death from Dankfur, but apart from that the last five days had proceeded much like the first had done, with the mutinous Krozzfoxx just one wrong word away from mutiny. Uja had been showing signs of disloyalty as well, the seeds planted by Scaleflier beginning to mature. Akalle had also disposed of one of her enemies, when Ux fell with a broken footpaw thanks to Scaleflier tripping him. She got permission to slit his throat from Dankfur, who was about to do the same himself. However, the chance to slay Ringgob had not yet presented itself, so she waited patiently for her chance, following at the end of the line as usual.

Like the captives and the Ranks of the Shadow, Dankfur now had to sit and seriously reevaluate his plans. He couldn't chase Dippertail anymore, there was no way they would catch up to him. He had to preserve the few healthy soldiers he had left. He called up to the small snake, in the tree. "You, tireless one, now have a new job. I want you to go back and see if the Redwallers are still trailing us, or if they stopped once the falcon returned." He had not bothered before now to do this, assuming that they would.

Scaleflier bobbed his wicked little head. "Assssss you wissssssshhh." He slithered off to do the bidding, glad to be out of range for a while. If the mutiny he had set in motion erupted, he'd much rather be far from any chance of harm, even though watching it would be his sadistic idea of fun.

To be continued