The Lengthening Shadow

“Attaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!” screamed a rat called Flickey, bursting into the crew’s quarters on the Ragsail. “It’s the prisoners an’ slaves! They’re gettin’ away! Quick, down ter the lower decks!” Waveclaw leapt out of his hammock with a jolt, landing hard on the cabin floor. “Wot? An escape? Where, who, how?” Flickey explained, clutching a wounded leg and panting heavily: “It’s the rebel squirrel, Mary whatsername! Somehow, she broke out, slew ol’ Flayer, an’ freed the oarslaves. Raw’ide was killed by that mob, an’ that squirrel also took out Limper. They took the third an’ fourth decks, and they’re makin’ their way up ’ere! Let’s go!”

Waveclaw nearly bowled the hapless rat over as he ran through the aisles, rousing everybeast and telling them what had happened. Skullworm and Bladewhipp stood to one side, knowing that, as the jailer and slavedriver, they would be blamed. Alrack, Havaraa, and Groddo stormed out of the captain’s cabin, the weasel yelling “Wyrm’s blood! What in the name o’ fur’n’fangs is goin’ on out there. Wot is it about an escape? Tell me!” he shook Waveclaw furiously, “TELL ME!” With chattering teeth, Waveclaw and Flickey told it piecemeal.

“Well, I waz sleepin’ when Flickey ‘ere slams in, yellin’ somethin’ about an escape.”

“It’s the squirrel, Maria. She slew Limper an’ Flayer, wounded Rawhide-he was finished off later, but that’s not the point-an’ freed the oarslaves. They’re all comin’ up here, the third an’ fourth decks are theirs.”

“Yah, and then, Skullworm comes up wounded, sayin’ the same thing.”

“So ye see, Cap’n. Let’s slaughter ’em while we got the chance. Come on!”

Alrack shoved Flickey down. “No. We’ve gotta plan this out, ya see. We have the armory and kitchens, all they’ve got is oars. We have food, they don’t. We’ll starve ’em out! Then we’ll win, ya see, idjit?” Flickey and Waveclaw nodded furiously, and the three of them went out to inform the rest of the crew about these new developments.

Down at the other end of the scale, Maria had called a meeting of the most trusted slaves. It consisted of her, the fieldmouse who had tripped Rawhide, a squirrel who had been captured along with Maria, and a hare about the squirrelmaid’s age named Bladeberry Scutterton, her best friend.

The fieldmouse, Malcolm, had suggested that they make a charge while the crew was still confused, but Bladeberry rejected it. “Ah, Malcolm. How could we do it at a time like this. We only have Flayer, Rawhide, and Limper’s weapons and no food. We’re in no fit state to go into battle.” The Brushtipp squirrel Grace thought that they could make a bargain with the crew, but this was turned down as too peaceful. Another idea had come from the hare slave Josh, Bladeberry’s older cousin. This stated that the build a raft and get away on it after sinking the Ragsail.

Malcolm’s opinion was that this was the best idea, violent but mostly foolproof, to the delight of Maria and Bladeberry. Grace was pleased that there would be no sword-to-sword death. With the unanimous opinion that this would be the road to take, work started on the raft almost immediately.

Gringutt and Hisser stood on a high ledge to the east of Greenbloom, surveying the Ragsail as it sailed west. They were using Gringutt’s tracking eye and Hisser’s power of scrying to look at the crew’s activities. Hisser leaned over a puddle and, after speaking some words in Thazancian, stepping back as an image appeared. Waveclaw, Krakler, and Alrack were arguing over the course. “You idiotic fox!” Alrack was ranting, “Greenbloom is our target, but to get there we’ll ’ave ter go through Brushtipp, can’t you see?” To emphasize his captain’s point, Waveclaw cuffed the aide soundly on the ear. “Yeah, an’ who are you ta question our cap’n’s orders!” Krakler backed off, looking ashamed. “Sorry, cap’n, I just thought...”

“Thought!” roared the weasel, “Thought! Who gave you permission ta think? Me? Waveclaw? NO! You just stand there an’ have the sheer cheek ter question me like that? Get yerself outta my sight afore I kills yer stone dead!” The fox took one look at Alrack’s face, paused a moment, turned, and ran at top speed out of the room.

Hisser looked up from the puddle at Gringutt. “They are headed here. Quick! Inform Crowblood about this immediately! I will continue to scry and learn more about the exact location of docking. Hurry and go now!” The huge ferret dashed of, leaving Hisser alone with his secret thoughts.

Crowblood was beside himself with rage. Those annoying pirates! He recalled an infamous captain from his younger seasons, one Scarjib the Vile. Could it be him? No, that was long ago, the old ferret would be dead by now. Even so, with several of his family slain when pirates attacked General Steeltooth, he HATED pirates, corsairs, and marauders of any kind.

Hisser came scrambling back into camp with good news. “Sire, they are landing on the western shores, not anywhere near the northeast! However, the captain is Alrack Bloodfen, have you heard of him? He carries a curved sword, has a huge iron gauntlet?” The marten shook his head. “Never seen or heard of him, but does he have a broadsword anywhere in his chambers, a large steel bladed one with two parallel fangs engraved on the crossguard?” Hisser looked puzzled at this question. “As a matter of fact, he does. Why?” Crowblood strode forward until his nose was nearly touching Hisser’s chin. “Because, fool, that was Scarjib’s sword. He must be the ferret’s successor. Wait, a curved sword? He’s a black weasel, right?” When Hisser confirmed this, Crowblood’s lip curled in a snarl. “That one is the beast who murdered my family. If he’s the captain, then he’d better watch out.”

Splash! The Oak Limb set forth upon its long journey to find Havaraa. The weather at sea had been perfect so far, and the crew was optimistic...until the ship came. It was black as night, with six decks and four masts. The huge vessel had come alongside the craft from Fernwood, so close that Gharris could nearly see its crew. They were an assortment of vermin soldiers in red-and-black livery, and animals in long dark robes. Also, there were two cloaked and hooded figures that, for some reason unexplained as of yet, emanated a powerful and evil force. It did not take long until Glid guessed the identity of the villains.

“Destromancers!”

The ship was indeed crewed by evil wizards, along with many Thazancian troops. He could see a soldier, a weasel, approach one of the cloaked figures and ask it a question.

Suddenly, the weasel fell to the deck, clutching his head and writhing in pain, then he went perfectly still. The cloaked figure seemed to glow for a moment, then the light disappeared and the creature, whatever it was, went back to its original position.

Glid, horrified, yelled for Bernie to change course, away from the evil ship and the beasts that could suck out a creature’s life force. The Oak Limb turned away and sped on its course to the western shores. Later, when they had come in sight of the gray galley, they saw a small raft emerging from its bulk.

Maria and her friends had spent a long, sleepless night constructing the raft on which they were to make their escape from Alrack and his vermin. Two vermin had gone down to check on the mob, but Malcolm quickly ‘took care’ of them. Wiping his blade on the floor timbers after the last one, he remarked “These vermin are doin’ something that we don’t know about. If they only sent two down here, they obviously aren’t gonna destroy us by pure brute force.” Bladeberry looked up from where he was sewing old cloaks together for a sail.

“I think they’re trying to fray our temper by making us wait. That’s an old tactic, stretching the other side’s patience to the limit. I remember reading about a famous use of it once, on Karkna Isle. It was Defteye’s winning move against a peasant uprising. He didn’t kill any of them, though. However, in the year… ” Malcolm clapped a paw over the hare’s mouth before he could continue with his story.

“All right, all right, we know his tactic. Now, can you please shut up for a few minutes? I need to think.” Maria conceded. “Yes, we need silence. Now, everybeast, think.”

On the upper decks of the Ragsail, Alrack and his crew were doing the same thing. They had put their heads together to think up a plan that would rid them of the insurgent slaves. The sailsbeasts up on the rigging could hear the gasps from the Captain’s Cabin when Alrack suggested something.

“What!?!”, screeched Waveclaw, “Him!?!” The black weasel nodded his head. “Yes. In order to defeat these rebellious underlings, we must ally ourselves with Uldrich Onefang and the Vengeful.”

When news of their captain’s radical move reached their ears, the crew was clamoring to know why they would work with their hated enemy. He explained that there was strength in numbers, and that allies were better than foes. They reluctantly agreed with his logic and stalked off to their posts.

Now, the story goes back to the aforementioned Vengeful and its crew. Tensions had been running high among the vermin; many supporting Ditchtail, and an equal number backing Hagfrall. The two ferrets had been arguing and insulting each other over the insults exchanged at their last battle with Alrack’s craft, and it was likely to culminate in a duel sometime soon.

Ditchtail had maintained that the insults were unpardonable and a severe blow to his honor. Hagfrall countered with the fact that Ditchtail was, in fact, a coward. At this, Ditchtail called the other a “slimy-bottomed bilge weed”, which led to blows. Ditchtail won because he was an experienced brawler and Hagfrall was a “lace-rimmed prissypaws”. That was true because Hagfrall had been born into a wealthy crime syndicate on Karkna Isle, while Ditchtail had been born and taught on ships, and had never set foot on land.

Both had used sneaky tactics to get supporters, such as blackmail, hypnotism, and zealous propaganda. Hagfrall won over many with his calm, sophisticated manner and fancy dress, while Ditchtail had the force of a preacher, along with superior strength and agility. This morning, they were swordfighting. Ditchtail yanked a cutlass from his belt, while Hagfrall slipped out his rapier cane. The two circled round and round, not making a move. Suddenly, Ditchtail went into a defensive stance. This surprised Hagfrall, as the other was usually very aggressive. Nevertheless, the elegant ferret countered by taking up the en garde position. Ditchtail made a few thrusts to test the defense of the other, but they were smoothly parried. The beasts circled round and round again, testing for openings in the other’s guard. Suddenly, Hagfrall darted forward and slashed. Ditchtail cried out, clutching his arm where it had been pierced by the slender blade. In retaliation, he thrusted and whipped mercilessly at the ferret. They were at it hammer-and-tongs when Uldrich’s cutlass whooshed through the air to land quivering in the deck at their feet.

“What is going on here?”, he roared, “You two are in big trouble!”

Ditchtail quickly sidestepped and pointed a finger at Hagfrall. “It was all him, Cap’n, I swear it on me affidavit, I do, an’ he was the one who wound−”

“SILENCE!”, Uldrich yelled at the top of his lungs. “Now, what’s the matter wid these two, boys?”

The sea splashed wildly at the sides of the Ragsail as Maria put the first stage of the plan into action. Two moles and five mice armed with augers and hacksaws followed her down to where a wooden box was hanging from the ceiling of the Hole. The eight clambered inside and stuck their tools through holes in the side, close to the side of the ship. Standing carefully on the raft (Which had been shoved inside the box) they went to work. Every oarslave who was not on duty sat cramped up until the raft went away. They were all on, with the exception of two rats who had been assigned to oar duty for disobedience. As they were about to start, a familiar face popped up. “Hello, me pretties,” chuckled Krakler.

Maria gaped in disbelief at the fox who was rising and drawing a nasty looking blade. “You...how...what...how could you have?” He winked. “Oh, I jist snuck aboard when yew weren’t watchin’, that’s all.” She grabbed a dagger from her belt and stepped toward him. “You nasty, evil vermin! Prepare to die.” He laughed even harder and took a step forward towards Maria. “Oh, this I’d love ter see. Hahahahahahahah! A squirrel killin’ me? Really? What could yew possibly ’ave been think–urk!” He fell dead as a doornail with the dagger sticking out of him. Maria turned back to the workers. “Quick! Start before anyone else gets us!” The augers and saws easily pierced the wood of the ship, and water started gushing in like a river. As the hole was completed, the box slipped out into the ocean. As it broke the surface, Maria undid the connectors and the box floated away. Sinking the ship was an idea of Malcolm’s, and a smart one at–where was Malcolm? As she peered back, she saw him on the ship, locked in combat with Ringtooth and a stoat called Valager. They had to save him from death or the clutches of Alrack and his crew, but how?

Alrack was in a quandary. The first sign of alarm was that the ship started to shudder, and it was reported that there was a hole below the waterline. Then this mouse attacked the crew with no signs of surrendering. He had slain Grunge and Deflarg, then taken on two crewbeasts single-pawed. It seemed as if the mouse would win, when Havaraa stepped in. Brandishing his poisoned dagger, he sliced at the mouse. One of the blows hit Malcolm’s shoulder, and he staggered. Leaping forward, Havaraa was struck by the mouse’s sword, leaving a nasty slash across his back. The Seer backed away, while Ringtooth and Valager renewed their assault.

Maria knew she had to do something, so she untied an extra rope and attached a squirrel’s manacle to the end, then swung it over her head and hurled it at the Ragsail. The improvised grappling hook latched on and held firm. With her dagger in her teeth, she shimmied up to rescue Malcolm.

The mouse knew he was losing. Wounded by a poisoned knife and totally exhausted, he was about to give up when he heard a noise to his right. Astonished, he turned and saw Maria clamber over the side and threw herself at his opponents. Valager fell with the dagger in his throat and Ringtooth, taking one look at the fire in the squirrelmaid’s eyes, let out a shriek and threw himself over the side.

Alrack yelled furiously at the cowering vermin, “Get ‘em! It’s only a squirrel an’ a mouse. C’mon, what’re ya afraid of, squidbrains?” One of the nearby foxes replied, shivering, “Those tew are a pair o’ fierce fighters, Cap’n. With me own tew eyes, I saw ’em slay five of our mates. Five, mark that. Five! An’ two of ‘em was the best killers ever ta draw sword.” Alrack leaned over the rail at the fox. “Still, they’re only woodlanders, and we’re over fivescore trained pirates. What possible harm could they do tew us’n’s, eh?” His spittle sprayed over the face of the hapless crewbeast. “Nothin’, that’s what! Now, git down there an’ join ’em, or die by my blade!” Twoscore vermin advanced on the pair, drawing weapons and grinning in triumph.

At the same time, the Vengeful was experiencing a bit of a surprise. They had awoken to find Ditchtail sprawled amidships, stone dead. Even though the method of the ferret’s killing was still a mystery, the general opinion was that Hagfrall was deeply involved in the matter.

“I always said one of ’em would finish off the other,” was one of the popular comments. Still, there was not enough evidence to condemn Hagfrall to the yardarm. Since the present story cannot clear this matter up, I will document the events of the previous night.

Darkness had fallen on the ship and the sea. The gentle waves did nothing to dispel the murderous plans of Hagfrall. Belowdecks, his opponent was feeling restless. Ditchtail had not been getting good sleep lately and thought that a breath of salty air would cure him. As he went up the stairs, the other ferret trailed him, making sure not to make any sound.

As Ditchtail went out into the night, Hagfrall followed closely, until his nemesis lay down near the mainmast. In his evil joy, the spy blundered and tripped over a rope lying coiled on the deck. Ditchtail knew something was wrong; he went over to check. The ferret ducked out of the way just in time, as Ditchtail found the rope.

When the enemy made as if to return to his position, Hagfrall struck!

His swordcane flew through the air until it pinned Ditchtail’s vest to the deck. As he struggled to rise, Hagfrall pounced on him and gagged him with a strip of sailcloth. Then he took off his monocle and wrapped the chain around the ferret’s neck, drawing it tighter and tighter until, at last, Ditchtail drew his last breath and slumped lifeless to the deck.

Hagfrall took his leave of the corpse, whispering, “Sleep well, ferret. I win.”

“What is going on here?”

The shrill screeching of Uldrich Onefang brought everybeast on deck to attention. The ranks of vermin stood stiff as pokers, paws frozen in salute. The fox walked down the rows, looking at each and every one with a suspicious eye. “Now, answer me clearly. Do you have any idea who did this?” He waved a paw toward Ditchtail’s body. “Yes, Sir!” was the spontaneous response. Upon his stare, fivescore paws were pointed directly at Hagfrall. He responded with a look of pure innocence.

“Me, Sire? I’d never do such a thing! It must have been somebody else...” He trailed off as Uldrich’s eyes turned upon him with a look of cold fury. The fox was disgusted by the cowardice of the aide. “Nice try, butterbones.” He stalked over to the corpse and peered at his neck a moment before continuing. “Now, who here has a thin, long chain?”

Once again, all paws were pointed at Hagfrall.

Uldrich turned to the ferret. “I, your Cap’n, find yew guilty of murder’n’treason. Who ’ere wants ter see ‘im swingin’ from the yardarm?” A chorus of yes went up from the watchers.

In a desperate act of trying to escape, the aide pushed his way through the crowd to the deckrail and threw himself over the side rather than face certain death by hanging. Uldrich turned his back on the ocean and faced his crew. “Remember, boys, I am the law.”

The Ragsail was not faring so well. It had used a secret route through around a tip of Karkna Isle and through the Lar-Reftawle Straits, but the beating it had received by the Arvand Navy was severe for not paying the passage toll. That, along with the leak left by the escapers off the coast of Eastern Nortpoint, was slowly sinking the gray vessel bit by bit. In a move forced by desperation, he was passing through the heavily guarded area off the coast of Melgo. Then one day, he saw something that made him nearly vomit over the siderail. The Vengeful! Upon seeing it, he yelled to the crew, “Ahoy, me buckoes! Uldrich’s vessel is off starboard side, about a quarter-league away! Prepare the cannons and bows fer any funny business from this ’ere fox!” As they pulled closer, it became clear that there was a white flag of truce waving from the Vengeful’s mainmast.

Even closer, they could hear the voice of Uldrich crying “Stop! Parley! I want to parley with your Cap’n!” As the two ships drew close, Alrack yelled: “First, can yew ‘elp us? We’re takin’ on water in several places; if we don’t git ’em plugged, we’ll sink!”

Uldrich scratched his chin for a moment, pondering his enemy’s plea. “Per’aps, per’aps not. Why should I?” “BECAUSE!” shrieked Alrack, “We’re mates, right?” Uldrich furrowed his brow, his agile mind thinking quickly. If he helped Alrack, the weasel would owe him his life. Then again, if Alrack was on board the Vengeful, he could murder them in their beds! Weighing the options, he made up his mind and yelled a reply. “Fine, fine. I’ll ’elp yew, but ye’ll owe me yer life. Understood?”

Alrack nodded meekly, and ten boats were sent over to transport the crew from their sinking vessel onto his ship.

About a quarter mile away, Hagfrall heard the parley, saw the exchange, and knew his plan would work. He just had to wait for the right time. When night fell, the sly ferret made his move. Taking a rope stored in his collar, he attached a small hook and threw it up onto the ship. He pulled on it, and when the rope held, he started climbing up. When he was on the deck, he coiled the rope up and went to the helmdeck. Taking the tiller, he spun it onto a course that would take them straight into Galleydeath Reef. This particular reef stuck four meters out of the water and was made entirely of jagged black rock. Once a ship was in sight of them, a strange current pulled them towards it, making all steering useless. When Hagfrall had reached the desired course, he snapped it off and poured Slip Oil onto the shaft. Now, the pirates could not change course, no matter how hard they tried. And Galleydeath Reef was only half a league away. Chuckling with evil humor, he slipped off into the night. His master had called him and he had to come on the next assignment, or things worse, much, much, much worse than death would be the penalty.

The next morning, the pirates awoke and realized Hagfrall’s deadly trick. Alrack knew this place, and he estimated it was about three minutes until the reef was in sight. Frantically, he awoke Uldrich and raced up to the helmdeck. Seeing no tiller, he yelled “We’re stuck on course ta Galleydeath Reef, boys! We’re all doomed! Save yerselves!”

It was complete chaos. The reef was in sight now, and the ship was moving steadily toward it. No corsair jumped ship; the current would pull them in too. As the reef got closer and closer, Alrack tried a last trick that he had reserved for a situation like this: a buoyancy potion he had obtained from a Fatebane on Jaggspit. He explained the procedure to Uldrich. “A drop of this potion on the ship’ll make it bounce off the reef an’ out o’ the current. Watch!” The reef was getting closer. The weasel dropped a small splash of the potion onto the deck. Suddenly, a wave bounced the vessel up. Alrack’s hand slipped, and the bottle crashed to the deck, sending the liquid all over the ship. Alrack clapped a paw to his forehead. “Oh, in the name of Mist! We’re all gonna die! More than a drop’ll send us flyin’ inta the air! The reef was four hundred feet away. Two hundred. Fifty. The vessel hit. True to the sable corsair’s word, the Vengeful flew like a bird.

As they saw the shore coming up to meet them, Alrack covered his eyes. There was a huge jolt, and the ship hit the ground with a loud crunch! When he opened his eyes again, he was lying spread-eagled on a large coil of rope. When he moved, his leg hurt as if it were broken, for he had landed on it when he fell. Looking around, he saw crewbeasts lying injured or dead among the wreckage of the ship. Painfully getting up, he hobbled over to where Uldrich lay. The fox was uninjured, but his iron hook had been bent and broken in two places.

When the crew had recovered enough to stand, the two captains took a roll call of their vermin. Alrack had lost Intra, Hexeye, Rakkx, and five others. On Uldrich’s side: Speartooth, Raglar, and Yellowring. After burying the eleven dead, Alrack made a sickening discovery. Havaraa, his Seer, had been crushed by a piece of wood so hard that it was embedded in his body; his blood was running in great streams into the sand. “Al...rack...help...meeeeee.” The captain turned his back on the pitiful figure. “Fend fer yerself, ferret. I ain’t ‘elpin’ yew, ya worthless piece o’ bilge. Find another who’s willin’ ta help, maybe they’ll ’eal you. See yew ’round, deadbeast!”

He turned at the call of Blackpan the cook. The fox had spotted lights in a grove of trees not twenty miles from where they were. The pirates turned away from the wreck, confident that they could make it in a day or two. Still, a lot can happen in twenty miles.