Mad Pursuit (Part 2)
Mad Pursuit: Part 2
Continued from this log and this log.
Darkmane having deduced the most likely path the traitorious rat took can be seen arriving from the rocky pass at full speed ahead, his gaze surveying the area constantly after the rat or the hare, tho obviously mostly the hare.
Zen nods at Nidlorf. He then blinks as he spots the fox... "I... I don't know... It just can't be.. I won't rule it out but..." He blinks as he continues to watch silently... He glances at Rodigero for a moment, then glances back...
Rayuwil whispers over to Zen, "Hey, do you think we should... have her follow - him and the haremaid? I think it was a haremaid, anyway - couldn't tell if she was alive or dead to tell the truth. She'd be able to fly over them, though, without much danger... but I would tell her to keep out of sight. You know, 'playing spy'?"
Zen's ears perk as the thought crosses his mind. "Yea... I think that'd be a good idea... Hrmm... I'm thinking though we need a way to signal her back to us... I've got an idea in mind but... I can work on it tommorow..."
Rayuwil looks at Zen incredulously, "Hasn't this been worked out already? We clearly can't wait until tomorrow, young mouse... that fox needs chasing after as soon as possible!"
Rodigero looks at the king, "Sire, that rat is jus' standin' there... 'e's lookin' downright dumbfounded, 'e is... should we try to cross and capture him, sire? I think there's a rocky bit over upstream where we could come out of and surprise 'im..."
Zen nods his head at Rayuwil, "No, you misunderstood me... She can go tonight, I'm just working on my idea to signal her back tommorow... I find you might like it." He then glances up and shivers.... "That fox..." Hearing Rodigero, he takes glance and looks at the rat he was pointing out...
The falcon's patience is godlike. He remains, unmoving, on the branch, keen eyes piercing through the falling snow to watch Zen, Rodigero, and Rayuwil.
Rayuwil waves Zen off, "Yes, yes, fine... send her out, please!" He looks at Rodigero, "Absolutely not. We're following the fox - there might be others attempting to follow the rat - we are not even a quarter a day's march from Ruingate! Let me do the thinking, soldier." The king huffs and keeps watching.
Viddick sits down. "Those others'll never get out of that fortress this soon... e'en with that horse of theirs. Can't believe..." He stares down the hill at the two dead rats, former comrades. He spots the falcon, sitting on the branch, and squints. "What's got yore interest, hm? Ahhh, dumb bird... can't even communicate to th'beasts I'm worried about, probably..." He scratches the ground with the tip of his sword, arm hanging limply at his side... in no particular rush.
Zen nods his head as he turns to find Poppy, though his eyes widen... In a soft whisper, "Poppy?!? Wh.. wh... where'd you go?!?!" He feels his face flush as his ears wilt... He turns to Nidlorf and squeaks softly, "She.. she.. Poppy wandered off! I told her to stay right there and..."
Rayuwil slowly turns his head to Zen. "What. Care to repeat that report, mouse?" The king grumbles and groans and yells to his men, "Everybody double time - downstream!" He looks back at Zen, "You've no idea... you've probably blown our cover, and now we'll never catch up! You're not even half the mouse Mayeul was, and he was a flipping traitor!!" The king follows the other squirrels downstream at a quick trot, but have barely even a wake to follow.
Some distance away, Stubb emerges from the darkness of the tunnel. His leg is caked in blood that has congealed into a splatter of jelly on the back of his calf. He limps, but the pain does not much slow his progress as he charts a course by the fresh hoof-prints in the snow. The weasel turns back once to look at the now-distant gates of the city, and he spits his disdain over his shoulder.
Zen's ears spaly back at Nidlorf's harsh words... He sighs and looks behind him at where Poppy was... Stupid brat! It was all her fault... Wait, no... it wasn't her fault... It wasn't HER who decided to tag along... Oh no, it was big ol' mighty king who just couldn't leave a kid out of adult matters... "'M sorry sir..."
Hactor dodges the glob of liquid hissing, "Watch yerself!" He then hobbles quickly after the weasel, trying to keep up with the group. His good eye darts around seeing if there are any rats near by.
The falcon's eye catches this new source of movement. A horse, kicking up snow. And now, a weasel. A familiar weasel. George adjusts his perch and, with another shudder, throws off his new coat of frosty scurf.
Darkmane gives an equines equalent of a growl as he notices Viddick and alters his course directly toward him. "You...you" A deep breath exhaled as he forces his anger down a notch or two. "Oh, you are in for a world of pain like none other has experienced before." His voice perfectly calm and icy cold as he starts speaking again. "Where is Dangeon."
Amos follows the others out into night, eyes darting around as he he looks on warily with his paw gripping his weapon tightly. He follows behind Hactor, spotting the others and looking over to the horse who is ahead of them. He grins, hoping Viddick gets a taste of Darky's steel. He scans the area, Dangeon is nowhere to be found eh? He grunts. Looking more or less intact from the previous skirmish with the rats if for his right ear looking like its been bitten.
Viddick sheaths his sword and goes over and reaches into a bottle that appears to have been dropped by Bratsche. "Poor mate, you'll never drink anythin' anymore... well, here's to ya... to ya both, in fact." Just before he is able to drink, he looks over at the horse and the bottle shakes radically in his paw. "N..n...n...no... no..." He gulps and drinks some of the liquid before dropping the bottle and unsheathing his sword. Stupid rat. "You want to know, hmm?" His nerves completely fail him and he just laughs - hysterically, in fact. He can't stop! "Ha... hahahaha!! Haaaaaaaaaahahaha!!! Dan... Dangeon.... the hare... hahahaaa!"
Rayuwil and his party are quickly skirting the perimeter of the opposite bank, making all kinds of snapping and rustling sounds as they desperately try to keep the fox's wake in sight, by now far out of view of the bank Viddick and the others are now standing on... "Hurry!!"
Stubb mutters a curt apology to the fox as he trudges onward. His ears flicker to the sound of Darkmane's drumming hoofs, but the darkness and falling snow preclude a better view. "Dark!" the weasel stumbles forward, gasping in pain, his burbling wound reawakening to leave traces in his wake. "Don'! Pin 'im down, bu'...!"
Zen moves behind quietly and as quickly as he could... Unlike the others, he wasn't as fast..
Hactor follows quickly, and his eye twinkles with twisted delight at the scene. "Oh no Darkie don be killing him," began the old fox. "We'll need em for information!" He unsheaths his sword and asks, "I wonder if he can still comunicate without a tounge?" He chuckles advancing.
Viddick starts to... feel... funny. His stomach grumbles out of control. "Ugh, m-m-mate... whaddijda... have... in that..." He starts to stumble on his feet. The horse now seems like two horses, in front of him. Two become four. He sneezes, chilled the bone, but that doesn't seem to aleviate his symptoms. He gasps for breath...
Scaith wanders out from the tunnel behind Darkmane, Hactor, Stubb and Amos, taking her time rather than rushing into the area behind the quartet. The sight of even more beasts is bewildering; she remains silent but curious, and more sober. Her dagger remains drawn and she twirls it idly while catching up to the vermin group. "Qui' a gatherin' out 'ere..." she mumbles.
Darkmane skids to a stop as he notices viddicks strange behavior and simply uses his blade to knock the rats blade out his his hand before trying to get a solid grip around the rats throat with the aim to simply hold him in place, not choke.
George's sharp eyes descry the figure of a familiar warlord emerging from the rocky pass ahead, and it is all he can do to remain still on his branch.
Viddick doesn't put up much of a fight... in fact, none at all. His sword is knocked away without much fight, and his one good arm comes up to hold the horse's, but it's just a weak grip. This is familiar... the fox was doing this to him the day before. What is he, a rag doll? He suddenly thinks about home and about his daughters and about the Empire he left behind... he's not even paying attention.
Rayuwil, meanwhile, stops half his men. "Rodigero, head downstream and take a few with you. Zen, stay here with me. Is that?!!" The king shouts with incredible glee, as he crouches behind the brush across the stream. He waves on Rodigero, "Find the other fox!" He looks over at Zen, "I think that's the one called 'Stubb', so that /must/ be Hactor..." He squints.
"Yes hold em Darkmane." began Hacto now crouched to Viddick's level. He smiled in mock kindness and braught the blade up to the rat's throat. "Ain't fun missing an arm is it eh? Well not ta worry chum." His face then when very cold as he whisperd, "You will tell me what you have done!"
Stubb arrives behind Hactor, his breath coming in thick gasps. "Moi weapon. Speak, rat! Wha did you do wif i'?"
Viddick gurgles out one last chuckle before his head and arm go limp. There's a smile on his face. The rat is dead weight, now, in the horse's grip. His eyes glaze over, and his tongue is hanging out.
Zen nods his head at Nidlorf, then blinks... He of course, follows right behind him then glances at the fox... "Hactor... he's.. who we're after, right?" He continues to watch quietly... Overall, he felt confused..
Amos follows behind Stubb, glaring at the rat and about to add his own words when the rat goes limp. He hisses and curses, gripping his weapon tightly, "Rat bastard...he ain't dead is he?!"
Scaith breaks away from the vermin group, suddenly disinterested in the ongoings of the rat's potential demise. "'ve 'ad enough of y'beasts f'r one night-- y've given me an awful 'eadache, so I best be on m'way." She wanders off, nodding adieu to Amos with her dagger.
The scene is pretty gruesome. Three dead rats, now, a broken cart, and fox and rat prints that lead nowhere, at first glance.
Darkmane growls lowly "Get what you need from him as i can't feel his pulse, I made a vow of what would happen when I got my hands on him and so it will" a few deep breaths taken "I would have prefered him alive, but a promise is a promise"
Hactor roles his eye and with his good arm sheaths his sword. He then slaps the rat and roars, "Wake up you sack of river sludge! I ant done with you yet!"
Stubb shakes his head. "You... You idiot." The rage coursing through his veins finds a new target in Darkmane. "Din't even /fink/ ta get information out a tha bugger, did ya?" The weasel spits into the ground again. "Dammit, ma'e! 'Ow do you spec' ta foin' your li'tle precious now, eh? Dam an blas'!"
Rayuwil watches the other bank with interest... "They have that rat - see, I told that fool Rodigero there were others after him! I can't tell... he looks pretty still..." He sees the fox smacking the rat and yelling at it, although it's hard to hear over the sound of the stream, "I think he's dead... but... I didn't see anything happen! Why would they kill him?"
Zen watches as he bites his tongue. "Maybe they didn't mean to kill him just yet... It... looks like they wanted something from him..." He thinks a moment as he looks around.
Amos scowers, "Ain't nothing to be had from a dead beast, we should be doing what we can to find Dangeon ya rutty horse, " He grunts, "Not that we have the slightest idea where to start."
"They wanted that haremaid, I would swear upon it! Without any of those rats alive, they couldn't even be sure if the fox went by boat or back up the rocks or what... we may be the only ones that know. I hope Rodigero gets back here soon with good news. As soon as you find Poppy, send her out, Zen! I'm... I was rash before, perhaps. But this is a good development." The king smiles at him, patting the mouse on the back.
Zen finds himself even more confused... Now Nidlorf was praising him!? He felt so confused... Between trying to figure out what was happening, trying to figure out where Nidlorf stood with him, the anxiety of the whole situation, and where the heck Poppy was, he felt his mind was a puddle of mush... "I see... So we need Poppy to keep an eye on the fox... but I've got a feeling we might need to keep an ee on that haremaid too... Why are they after her.."
Viddick hangs limply, still in the horse's grip. The object of Stubb's desire doesn't seem to be anywhere on his ratness.
Just then, one of the squirrels comes back to the king's party, "Sire! We have news from downstream - the fox landed on /our/ side, just ahead of us! Rodigero needs orders, sire!!"
Darkmane drops the rat on the ground "And find her we will, but i have a feeling two of our friends here will want to find an stolen item yes?" his body turning around as he seemingly ignores stubbs rage knowing that feeling all to well "And while they look for that, maybe you can look after any hints on where they went as i complete my promise?"
Hactor curses under his breath and backhands the rat one more time. "Enough of this. Darkmane kill the basterd!"
Stubb pokes the limp corpse with his foot, and the air goes out of the weasel. "Fink 'e's a'ready dead, 'Actor."
Stubb's rage subsides, and he marches off to search for his precious trinkey.
Amos follows behind Stubb, giving a glance at the one eye fox as he goes.
The king nods back at the scout, "Good, good!! Zen - follow them! If the fox stops anywhere, stay there and have Poppy lead the rest of us there - we'll meet here again in two days time, so have her come directly to this spot, understood? I may have a deal worked out by then. Go! Both of you!" He stays with the remainder of the squirrels.
George kicks off the pine tree's branch and wheels in the air above Hactor and the horse, struggling even with his predator's eyes to discern the specific features of the fox's face.
Darkmane hisses lowly to himself as he quickly removes the dead rats upper armour and clothing before drawing his knife "Have you ever seen anybody perform the blood eagle" His gaze turning to Hactor for a few moments as he speaks while twirling the dagger in his hand.
Hactor cocks his head slightly and asks, "Have you ever seen a beast skinned alive?" The irritation was quite apparent in the old foxes voice, and he swaggered over to the rivers edge . He began to stroke his beard his thoughts on this kidnapper.
Zen nods his head, "Understood... I'll follow them... Whenever I get hold of Poppy, I'll send her off right away!" He then crouches low as he treads quietly and low to the ground..
George's talons touch down not far away. He crawls awkwardly forward, high-stepping and sinking into the snow with each step, so that his head bobs wildly from side to side. "Mastar Hactorr?" cries the bird.
Rayuwil stares at the scene... it's still hard to tell - he isn't completely sure of the identities, but that hawk... now, that hawk certainly seems to be hovering over the fox. If it lands on him, Nidlorf will know. Hactor was definitely known to have a hawk. The king waits...
Stubb kicks the ground furiously. "Nuffin'. No' a damn fing. We need ta foin' that damn fox!" He stalks back over to Hactor and looks with mild interest at the bird. "You! Been a whoile, ain' it?" The weasel grins, forgetting his trinket for the moment. "Jes' Jarge, ain' i'?"
Hactor twirls around his eye wide. "G-George?" he stammers. He came forword and embraces the bird saying, "I thought you were dead lad!" He heartily patted George on the back grinning from ear to ear.
George is indeed not dead, though up close it is clear that he is much the worse for the wear. A scar mars much of his left flank: a ribbon of scar tissue that interrupts his once immaculate feathers. "At yor sarvice, Hactorr!" His claws work rapidly to prevent his body from toppling over as Hactor hugs him. "I en't dead, an I wairn't plannin' on it, neithar!"
Rayuwil nods, and smiles. "Clarino, go find a suitable spot to cross, and in the morning we'll go pay this folks a visit." The squirrel heads off.
Amos follows the weasel back over towards the others, looking past the horse and fox to the bird. His stomach making an audiable noise, "Suppose we can't eat this feller either?" He mutters under his breath.
Hactor looks at the dead Viddick then Amos and says jokingly, "Eat up!" He laughs a bit turning back to Stubb asking, "You know each other?"
Darkmane shakes his head slightly before his dagger makes a deep cut down along the dead rats spine, his hands then thrusting inside the rat as breaks the ribs and pulls them out the back to make it seem like wings, his lungs being removed shortly after. "And so it ends" a deep sigh as he slowly stands up and heads over to the water to wash his hands and arms.
Amos hisses at Hactor, "i've had my fill of rats thank ya, " Making a face as he recalls the taste.
Stubb nods to Hactor. "Aye. We met a' de inn, down souf. He, er. Took care a some business for us, if you remember."
George nods sharply. "Aye! That I did, sarr!" He leans in to whisper into Hactor's ear. "The egg, Mastar!"
George actually says this rather too loudly.
"Ah I er..almost forgot that." replies the fox nervously. He licks his lips and whispers to George, "It is safe isn't it?"
Zen leaves Rayuwil's group and wanders off on his own.
George chirps conspiratorially. "En't an egg na marr, Hactar. Bin follarin' it, I have." He points his beak in the direction of where Nidlorf and his young mouse charge lay hiding. "Tha fellar what's got it en't but a hop away!"
The foxe's ears fold back and he looks in the derection of the hawk's beak. "Stubb," he begins not looking away from the bank,"I suggest we make camp here..and pick up the search tomorrow..Aye?"
Certainly somewhat exhausted from fighting rats, the disappointment of coming up empty and taking a gander at the lot which could use the rest Amos chimes in, "Sounds like a plan, maybe we'll find some fresh tracks in the light... at the least we can use the rest chums."
Stubb communicates his reluctance with a sigh. He looks piningly in the direction that George indicated. "Oi don' wan tha trail ta go cold." His eyes fall to his bloodied leg. "But oi don suppose we can go on tonoigh'. Best we head back to tha pass. Moigh' foind a place tha's free a snow."
Amos murmers his agreement, "Aye."
Hactor still watching the other bank only grunts his approval.
George salutes the warlord. "I shall keep watch, sarr. Jarge en't lettin' them outta his sight!"
With that, the bird takes off to find a new perch from which to monitor the king's activities.
Hactor smiles to himself and murmurs, "Good to have ya back George." He then becomes more serious and folds his arm behind his back. He turns to the other and sayes with renewed vigor,"Well let's be off chaps. And Darkmane stop playing with Amos' food." He chuckles at the joke moving pst the cat and weasel.
Amos scowls at Hactor and moves off in the direction of the pass.
Groups:
