The Undecided

[Ashleg]

Willet stood beside Joccan, thirsting for battle. He knew that the Redwallers were more than likely lying to them to protect Darrin and his precious group, and he and his party would be the ones to bring Darrin to justice. It took only a few right moves for them to become the center of Hacklaw's attention.
"Lead th' way, Joccan."

[The Skarzs]

  Joccan wished it had been anyone else but him who Hacklaw had chosen to head the search party. But the ferret didn't want the other vermin to know he was uncomfortable, so he puffed out his chest and pointed to his left. "Alright, you three go 'round thataway, an' th' rest of us'll go in the big building." The three chosen started off, heading toward the gatehouse to search it. Several wary Redwallers followed close behind.
  As Joccan walked with Willet and Deknal to the abbey building, however, and he looked up at the towering heights, he suddenly realized how impossible his task was. "What's chief thinkin'? We ain't never gonna find 'em in this place! If we attacked an' took this castle, we could find 'em then."

[Ashleg]

"Too much effort," huffed Willet. "Plus, ye shudden't question Chief. Not unless ya wanna 'ave yer tail cut off." He remembered what had happened to the two scouts with a shudder.

[The Skarzs]

  Joccan grumbled nonetheless, looking around at the Redwallers. "We ain't attackin' because of these softies? This is crazy."
  Of course, he didn't feel safe having left his axe outside. He felt so naked without a weapon. He opened the door of the Abbey and looked around, mouth agape. It seemed even bigger on the inside!

OOC: Should we just skip through their searching?

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Yeeahssss pleeasssy.

[The Skarzs]

OOC: Sorry for the wait. We are now focusing back on Darrin's and Elijah's groups. Hopefully this isn't too far ahead.

BIC: Darrin called a halt to his band, who all collapsed to the ground gratefully. It was nearing sundown, and they had barely stopped the entire day. Darrin had pushed them hard, always looking over his shoulder expecting to see Hacklaw running straight at him ready to flay him alive.
  After taking a moment to catch his breath, he stood up straight. "Someone get a fire going. We'll rest until dawn."

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Raleigh was fading in and out of consciousness, ushered forward by the jostling of shoulders and the preference to avoid being trampled. She ran into the stoat in front of her, oblivious to the orders that had just been given as she fell right along with the rest of them. Two nights without sleep, and a day without food or a break had completely drained her. She tried desperately to figure out where they had ended up, but couldn't remember anything from the past three hours. Raspy breathing filled her ears as she passed out, unable to run, even from her own nightmare.

[Ashleg]

Twisty barely lifted his snout from the ground.
"'Tain't gonna be me, Darrin," he lamented crossly. "Can't use me paw yet, remember?" The rat set his head down on his arms and tried to keep himself awake.

OOC-
...I swear I checked the "Roleplaying" board multiple times since August third, when it says Dan posted. The 'new' button did not appear until today, when I decided to log into the forum again and check on it. Strange.

[The Skarzs]

  After listening to more moaning from the rest of the band, Darrin threw up his paws. "Lazy page! I'll do it myself."
  He found some dry moss and grass, as well as several twigs and fallen leaves, and struck the Flint with his knife, until it sent a small spark onto the moss. After picking up the moss bundle like it was some precious treasure, he blew on it until it went up in flames, then set it down and piled the grass and leaves and twigs on it. He breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to the others. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

[Ashleg]

They muttered to themselves and Darrin under their breath, but Twisty was not among them.
The skinny brown rat with the red overcoat was sneaking away, off to find some food for himself... and Raleigh.

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: I've been away for awhile, and this is something of an apology, so please bear with.

IC:


   A different type of war was waged that day, a ferocious battle between patience and reason, a bout of tolerance and foreboding, and Hacklaw was determined to win. The hours ticked by, second by second sliding away into eternity. The sun marked its passage, peeking slowly up from behind the scarlet walls like a great shy entity, before becoming encouraged and presenting itself in full, forcing all the vermin to squint and shield their eyes. Hacklaw ordered a big fox to come stand in front of him so he could see. But even that momentary annoyance faded as the great orb rose higher into the sky, before sinking back towards the distant western mountains. Hacklaw's army, finding itself with nothing to do settled into shifts, a score of their number standing ready, watching the defenders and protecting their hostages while their comrades reclined in the ditch. All the while Hacklaw did not move more than twenty places from his spot, only moving to give the occasional order, or hiss at a droopy eyed sentry. He commanded his hostages be kept in clear view of the Redwallers, and be given water to drink. They were offered food, but not even the otters would taste the roasted woodpigeon provided.

   Hacklaw began to suspect foul play as the late afternoon shifted into early evening and the light began to fade. He pounded his halberd's haft into the dirt, a low growl in his throat. Somebeast tugged at his tunic.

   "M'lord," Darktooth had sidled up beside Hacklaw an expression of concern on his face, his voice low and calculated. The stoat warlord grimaced, Darktooth wasn't the one to sidle or whisper. Leaning closer to the ferret Hacklaw wrapped his arm around his shoulders, muttering into his ear.

   "Speak your piece Darktooth. What's happened?"

   "Tis Rallowan lord. I went about to check those small wicker gates. Th' north and south guards still be there, watching. But that black fox an' th' fifty 'e 'ad wit' him are gone. With clear signs leading eastward into the forest. They've all abandoned their post, an' not a word to anybeast."

   The growl in Hacklaw's throat deepened into a steady rumble, and his claws dug deep into the halberd's haft, leaving marks on the smooth wood. "Are ye telling me, that one of my most trusted lieutenants and an sixth of my army have deserted me, of all times and places here and now?" The disturbing words meant more to Hacklaw then they did to Darktooth. Deserters, thieves, Abbey bumpkins all were disrespecting him left and right, trampling his feared reputation into the mud. How long would it be before the tactic changed from desertion and flight to open rebellion and assassination? There were two things keeping Hacklaw and his many children alive. And that was his skill in battle, and the fear of his reputation to punish those who wronged him harshly. But if he continued to allow his subordinates to insult him with impudence, that shield would wither and die. Meaning he would be back to the beginning, fighting battles that were already won.

   "Aye, lord." Darktooth gave a slow nod, knowing all too well the consequences for such a slight, and whose head would roll once Hacklaw caught up to him. The ferret kept his face serious, but inside he was laughing, mocking the only real opposition to his position as Hacklaw's second in command. And who knew, Rallowan was a dangerous creature, perhaps one of the few who could stand toe to toe with Hacklaw and hope to tell the tale. Maybe they would kill each other and leave the Southeastern Empire for grabs. One could only hope.

   "By my blade and honor I'll have that traitorous fox's head." Hacklaw vowed, every word spoken with utter sincerity. He glanced one final time up at the Abbey walls before turning to address his army. "Gonrith, ye, Foxworthy, Gabbers, Zasmas, Needith..." He continued to list names until twenty fighters stepped forward, assembling on the path, clutching an array of varied weaponry. These were no ordinary soldiers. Tough, wizened, and battle scared, together they were some of Hacklaw's most fierce, and veteran warriors. Known killers all. Nodding approvingly Hacklaw led them a few paces away from the rest of the army, instructing them to kneel on the path while he issued a few final orders to Darktooth.

        "Rallowan is the greater threat, and I'll have his head on a spike, but I want Darrin too. You'll remain here with the rest of the army, if Joccon and the others haven't returned, or if Darrin is discovered attack the Abbey and execute the hostages, do it slowly." Here Darktooth grinned, licking his dagger blade in anticipation. "If he isn't found release the hostages as agreed upon, and scope around, pick up Darrin's trail. I'll move faster than Rallowan and catch him soon enough. When I return I want to either see this place burning and Darrin's head mounted above the walls, or Darrin's head in a sack and the army encamped on the Western plains."

   Darktooth nodded, burning the simple orders into his memory. They were vague enough to leave him quite a bit of leeway, for actions at his own digression. "It shall be done as ye say lord. But what of Rallowan, and his soldiers. He'll outnumber you, and expect your pursuit. He's no slouch with a blade, and has a fair mind for battle."

   Hacklaw waved off the concerns. "Indeed, but I did not become the warlord of the Southeast by fighting every battle with the numerically superior army. Rallowan will face his fate like all my other foes, whether he has fifty or a thousand at his back. Besides, I can't spare any more forces. You'll need every blade you've got to take this Abbey if it comes to that, and I'm leaving you with less than two hundred and thirty fighters. Don't fail me in this regard Darktooth, and when I return there have better not be any more desertions."

   "I will make sure of it lord." Darktooth vowed. Stoat and ferret shook paws and then Hacklaw was away with his chosen few, making a wide sweep around the Abbey's northern wall towards the eastern gate, and Rallowan's trail.

[The Skarzs]

  Elijah looked back at his small group of Redwallers as they stumbled through the darkening forest. The otter waved his paw. "Come on, we can't stop now. We've got to keep going or we'll never catch up to them."
  "We need to rest!" said a young male mouse.
  "Our friend is out there, a fellow Redwaller." The warrior pointed out into the trees. "We aren't going to put less effort into saving her than the vermin who took her away in the first place. Let's go. A little further."
  They pressed on, weary, but resolute. Elijah was fighting off sleep himself, but bit his tongue to stay awake. He turned to Rowan. "You good?"

[Cornflower MM]

Rowan was still a bit grumpy from the conversation with Elijah earlier, and nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. They do have a point, though. The vermin will be just as tired as we are, we should catch up to them and then rest while fine tuning our plan."

OOC: How far away are we from Darrin's group?

[The Skarzs]

OOC: Half a day away.

BIC: Elijah sighed. "We'll just have to go harder tomorrow." He let the group stop, and they set up camp. A fire was started and food was warmed, and they settled down to rest. Elijah sat in front of the fire, his otter javelin laying across his lap.
  The vermin's path was easy to follow, but it was also obvious they were going as fast as they could. The otter ground his teeth together. He knew it was a mistake to let them in the Abbey, and they were paying for that mistake. They had lost Raleigh and the sword of Martin to the scum.
  But now he had to think about how he was going to get both back. He could probably take down a dozen vermin by himself, but they were outnumbered, and he knew the others weren't as skilled as he. So they would have to talk to them and try to bargain for Raleigh's life. But as much as he didn't like it, the warrior felt that whoever took the sword wouldn't be willing to just give it up.
  He looked over at Rowan, who was still awake. "What do you think we should do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darrin was also lost in thought. After almost two full days of going through the forest, he was feeling a little safer about the threat that was Hacklaw. He hadn't seen anything following them, and they had made good distance. Tomorrow would be an easier day, and his band would be much happier with that.

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Gimme somethin' to do.