No More

[Crue Sarish]

Crue held Tooley?s hat in her blood-stained paws as she looked down at her friend. His eyes still looked in her direction, but they were vacant and dull, frozen in place by muscles that had ceased all motion. He had the faint hint of a smile on his lips, but the image was spoiled by the trail of red that ran down his cheek and toward the ground. His body was still warm, but it would only be a matter of time before the lack of a pulse rendered him cold and stiff.

She?d seen beasts die, and she?d accepted that as part of her profession. She?d lost loved ones to disease and old age; upsetting, but still a natural part of life. No reason existed for why she had to watch this one, this gentle soul, be snatched away from the world. He didn?t deserve this! He was just trying to do what was right, and now he lay on the cold ground, punished for his loyalty, his idealism, and his kindness.

She tore her eyes away from Tooley and turned her head to look at the High Priest. Shuga was on his knees, one of Laika?s arms around his neck and her other paw holding his own knife to his gut. Shuga?s eyes were nearly as dead as Tooley?s, his ten-season reign over the mongooses ended by a single simple weasel.

Crue?s tears ceased as her vision grew tinged with red. Her lip curled up in a snarl at the sight of Shuga and a growl formed in her throat. Dropping Tooley?s hat, she leapt up and began to run toward the High Priest as she screamed out, ?I?LL KILL YOU!?

She covered the short distance between her friend?s corpse and her target. Claws outstretched, she aimed for his face. Shuga?s eyes went wide with fear, affording Crue a measure of satisfaction before somebeast grasped her left arm and pulled her back. Her momentum spun her around and she reached out to attack the one who had stopped her, but Dekeft took hold of her other arm.

?Crue, you must stop, ayah!? he shouted.

?Let? me? go!? She struggled to pull herself free.

?Shuga es not yours to keel, Crue!?

Crue stopped struggling and stared at Dekeft. She took a moment to register his words and half a moment to deny them. She had every right to kill him! ?I-?

?Leesten, Crue! You are healer, not hunter! It is not for you to keel anot?er.? Before she could protest, he continued, ?Shuga hes deceived monkoozers for ten seasons! Monkoozers will punish him for t?is.?

She stopped struggling and Dekeft released her. Still vengeful, she demanded, ?And just how do you intend to punish him??

Dekeft looked at his wife, who smiled wickedly and nodded. He turned to the crowd of mongooses around him and their faces showed that they would agree with his decision. He looked back at Crue and declared, ?He will die, but quick death will mean not?ing. He play Priest for long time. His punishment will take long time, ayah!?

Crue looked at Dekeft, then to Shuga, who hung his head in defeat. Looking back at Dekeft, she nodded. ?That sounds fair.?

She went back to pick up Tooley?s hat, her anger fading until she looked up and saw the entryway into the mountain. Shuga may have been defeated, but much still remained to be done. ?Dekeft, will your people follow me into the mountain? I still need to rescue my friends and see that Blade pays for what he?s done.?

All eyes turned to him and he stood up straighter, every bit the First Atilak. Speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, he declared, ?You have freed our people from t?e false gott ef t?e mountain. We will help you free your people en? kill t?e Fiyah Gott!?

Crue saw each head turn in her direction. Suddenly the focus of their rapt attention, she knew that now was the time to rise to the occasion. She raised her arms in the air and lifted her voice so all could hear, ?Your Fire God, Captain Blade, is in this mountain! We have captured his priest, but Blade still lives and breathes. Will you help me stop him?? Mongooses shouted out in agreement, raising their fists toward the sky. ?His followers are many and will fight to the death.?

?T?e are no match for monkoozers!? one of the mongooses shouted. Other voices rose in agreement.

Before their enthusiasm could drown her out, she continued, ?Yes, but they have their own weapons and some are good fighters. It will not be an easy battle, but I have faith in the mongoose tribe! Your hunters are strong and swift and together we will will reclaim the mountain!?

Cheers erupted, the volume increasing as row upon row joined in. Ramped up earlier in the day by Shuga?s rush to the sacrifice, Crue?s voice no longer reached their ears. She couldn?t let them run in with a crucial part of her plan missing. ?Please, listen!?

?Ey?cha!? Laika bellowed, her voice carrying over the crowd. They quieted and returned their attention to Crue.

?Not only must Blade and his followers be stopped, but those who were once sacrifices must be rescued. The Hellgates are not in this mountain! Those sacrifices are alive, but many will be sick and injured.?

?How will we know who are t?e followers ef t?e Fi?. ef Blade?? Dekeft asked.

Fortunately, Crue had spent over a week pondering some of the details of the upcoming assault. ?All of the pirates will be wearing sashes like the one I wore around my waist. If a beast is not wearing a sash, they are a friend.? Her heartache almost prevented her from adding one more detail, but having rehearsed it so many times in the past, she couldn?t bring herself to hold the words back. ?If any beast surrenders, take them prisoner.?

The mongooses nodded, passing on this information to those who were further back in the crowd. ?Most of you will hunt for Blade and his followers, but I am looking for the sacrifices. I can not find them alone.?

Dekeft spoke up, ?I will keep you safe, ayah! Twenty will come wit? me.?

Crue nodded. With any luck they might actually be able to rescue Rob and the other slaves. ?We must go now, but please, be careful!?

Dekeft gave last minute instructions regarding Shuga?s care, and sent a small group back to the village to defend against possible retaliation. A few more were given the charge of preparing funeral rites for Tooley. A lump formed in Crue?s throat as she watched them carry him away. She squeezed her friend?s hat, wishing she didn?t have to leave him, but those trapped in the mountain were relying on her and she returned her attention to the mountain. She turned away and put the hat into one of her pockets, burying the feelings of loss and heartache she had no time to deal with.

A growl in Laika?s throat rose in volume until her voice cut once more through the morning air, ?We hunt!?

As soon as the sound of her cry faded, the mongooses rushed up the path toward the entrance to Dead Rock, their steps quiet. A tunnel led into the mountain and a door kept the entryway secure, but today the door was unlocked, the guards likely waiting for the Fire God to return. Crue, further back with her honor guard, watched Laika shove the door open and run in. The mongoose army surged forward, and while Crue expected to hear war cries and the clash of steel upon steel, she found the beginning of the battle to be oddly quiet.

Inside the atrium, every sash-wearing pirate lay dead on the floor. Mongooses were pulling knives and spears from the corpses when Crue entered. She found Laika and watched as the Second Atilak silently instructed the horde, who split off into three groups and ran into the tunnels. Laika looked back in her husband?s direction before she ran off, leading a fourth group into the mountain.

?Which way?? Dekeft asked Crue.

She pointed toward the tunnel she?d taken before when she came with Shuga to visit Blade, one that another group had gone through as well. ?This way.?

Dekeft ran in first, knife in paw and eyes alert. Whenever they came to a fork, Crue would point in a direction she thought might head toward the far side of the mountain, but she wished she were more certain. She spotted the corpses of dozens of slain pirates, their throats cut or their necks broken or their skulls bleeding from blunt-force trauma. A few dead mongooses were mixed in among the bodies, their bodies to be retrieved later.

Crue was taking in the sight of a old weasel, alive but gagged and tied securely with his own sash, when a pain-fueled scream tore through the tunnel ahead of her. She did not know where exactly it came from, but she did know what it meant. ?Blade knows we?re here. We have to hurry!?

Dekeft nodded and the pace increased, Crue having to push herself to keep up amidst growing fatigue. She assured herself that she would recuperate when the rest of her friends were safe.

As they turned a corner, their group came across a band of six beasts in red sashes. Dekeft rushed forward and dug his claws into the soft flesh of a ferret?s throat before knocking the pirate to the ground. Another mongoose ran up and aimed his knife at a weasel?s throat. The weasel brought his arm up quickly and pulled out his short sword with his other paw, determined to survive as long as possible.

The narrow tunnel forced the mongooses to engage just two at a time, and the pirates? need to survive lent them strength. Despite outnumbering the pirates, they temporarily fought on even footing.

?Spear!? Dekeft called for and one was put in his outstretched paw. He took a small step as if to lunge at his closest opponent, but when the gray cat took a step back, Dekeft instead jumped and launched the spear over the cat?s head at a rat attempting to run from the battle. Crue watched as the gray cat?s sword rose toward Dekeft, who managed to deflect it just in time to avoid being gutted. He pressed forward and sliced a long gash in the cat?s belly. As the pirate fell, a well-muscled ferret filled the gap.

?Watch out!? Crue cried out in alarm. The ferret struck out with his mace, the spiked ball at the end of the chain catching Dekeft in his left arm.

One of the other mongooses pulled their leader back, taking his place. Crue rushed forward as the battle continued with two remaining pirates, who were quickly dispatched. Dekeft?s arm bled from a long gash and Crue looked around for a bandage. When her eyes fell on the slain pirates, she ordered, ?Get me their sashes.?

The mongooses worked quickly and Crue selected the cleanest one before wrapping it tightly around Dekeft?s arm. ?I thought you were going to be careful.?

?I em always keerful,? he replied proudly, ?but t?e strong prey hes t?e sharpest fangs.?

?Spare me your adages, Dekeft.? She looked at the other mongooses who were relieving the corpses of their weapons, and then looked back at their leader. ?Grab all the weapons; we can arm the slaves to help us when we find them.?

Dekeft agreed, and as they continued up the tunnels, Crue saw them reach down and replace their stone weapons with iron and steel. The group continued up the tunnels, now taking paths that no other mongooses had taken. Crue kept an eye out for an infirmary where she could cobble together a useable medical kit, but she saw nothing of the sort. They did, however, continue to find pirates, more of them flooding the tunnels with every passing minute. Crue was surprised to see that even before engaging in battle, the pirates did not look well; their eyes dull, sweat glistening on their fur, and their movements sluggish.

After a surprisingly quick engagement against a dozen pirates, Crue lifted her nose to the air and sniffed. ?Wait,? she told the mongooses who were ready to move on. ?There?s something??

The other mongooses sniffed the air as well, some of them wrinkling their noses in displeasure. She led them further down the path, careful to watch for an attack. ?We keep going this way!?

?How do you know this is the right way??

?It?s that bad smell in the air. I can smell the sulfur that the slaves are mining, and if we follow it, there?s a good chance it will take us right to them.?

With a clearer direction, they carried on. More pirates clogged the tunnels, and despite their dismal state of health, they were armed and prepared to defend their lair. Leading their group around one corner, a mongoose named Teppa let out a howl of pain as an arrow struck him in the belly. As one of his comrades pulled him back out of harm?s way, two more mongooses rushed ahead, spears at the ready. As Crue rushed to Teppa?s side, she heard more screams come from the pirates and the mongooses as spears and arrows flew through the air.

The healer looked down at Teppa?s injury. She was positive that the arrow had pierced several major organs, and she could do nothing for him here. She wadded up one of the sashes and put it under his head, giving him the only comfort she could.

?I die?? Teppa asked. When Crue nodded, he took a shaky breath. ?It was good hunt.?

Crue discarded a number of platitudes that sprang to mind. Instead, she stood and stated, ?Thank you, Teppa.?

Dekeft came back for her, nodding consolingly at the fallen hunter, before the two of them turned away. As Crue passed two other fallen mongooses, she wished that it wasn?t taking them so long to get where they needed to go. By this point, they?d spent at least an hour traveling through the mountain, and numbed by the tedium of a drawn-out battle, she wondered what was happening to the slaves by this point. Had they been left toiling in the mines? Had they been locked up? Had they been executed to prevent an uprising?

As she explored possible contingencies regarding what to do with the slaves if they were rescued, the mongooses halted at an intersection. Crue looked up, wondering why they?d stopped. Stepping closer to the front, she asked, ?What is it??

?Beasts come, ayah,? Dekeft whispered. ?Many en noisy.?

?Are they pirates??

?T?ey come down tunnel. Not see t?em yeet.?

Dekeft placed his hunters near the entryway, ready to strike when the enemy drew close. Crue heard the voices of several beasts, but they were just quiet enough that it was difficult to make out what they were discussing. The voices drew closer.

She began to step forward toward the tunnel, but a paw held her back. She looked back at Dekeft and whispered, ?It?s Rob!?

?We not know if t?ey free or eef some hef seshes.?

Despite his logic, Crue itched to rush forward. Someone was alive! She crossed her arms and forced herself to stay quiet until Dekeft peered around the corner and signaled to the other hunters to lower their weapons. ?T?ey no haf seshes,? he announced with a grin of his own.

Without waiting for the others, she stepped out and looked up the path. She first saw the mass of slaves that filled the tunnel, many of them the worse for wear. Those in the worst condition sat or lay in a wagon, and it took her a few seconds to recognize Chak as the one who was pulling it. Standing close to him was bedraggled hedgehog in a tattered Waverunner uniform. ?Chak! Robert!? she exclaimed as she rushed toward them. ?You?re alive!?

Chak nearly stumbled as his attention was diverted from the wagon he led down the incline. As soon as he registered who it was, he grinned and kept walking until they were on a flatter surface before he set down the wagon.

At the same time, Robert?s face lit up. ?You?re a sight for sore eyes, Miss Crue!?

?As are you, Mister Rosequill!? She felt her eyes begin to tear up as she looked him over. ?I heard you were in the sulfur mines! Are you alright??

?Better ?n many o? these poor souls.? He waved a paw at the rest of the group.

?What took ye so long?? came Chak?s gruff voice as he rubbed his paws against his shirt.

Before she could respond, three mongooses darted forward, raising their weapons at the sea otter. Crue ran forward and screamed out, ?Stop!? Standing between him and a small collection of pointy weapons, she raised her paws toward them and exclaimed, ?Wait! Don?t hurt him! I know this beast!?

The mongooses stood their ground, but did not come any closer. ?He hes sash. He es ef t?e Fiyah Gott!?

Crue turned and saw Chak pull at the red sash around his waist. He chuckled nervously as he took it off, saying, ?Be that the problem?? He untied the sash and threw it aside. "Thar." He met the fierce eyes of the mongooses, then looked back to the squirrel. ?Thankee,? he nodded.

?Don?t mention it, Chak. I?m glad to see you alive...? She looked at the sash on the ground, thinking of how he?d spent the last two weeks handling slaves and wondered just how much he?d fallen back upon old habits. ?...And on our side.?

?He played his part,? Robert spoke up, ?just like the rest of us. Couldn?t?ve escaped as easily without him.?

Crue decided to rely on Robert?s assessment and considered the matter closed. ?Very well.? She looked back toward Dekeft and motioned him closer while the other mongooses kept an eye out for anyone coming in their direction. ?This is Dekeft, the leader of the mongooses,? she started before pointing toward her two friends, ?and this is Robert and Chak.?

Dekeft nodded and stated, ?Crue en? t?e woozle help monkoozers, en? we help her find you.? He beckoned the other mongooses forward and picked up one of the cutlasses they?d taken off of a pirate. He handed it toward Robert and said, ?We haf weapons for you. T?e dead not need t?em.?

Crue watched as Robert took the cutlass and tested its weight in his paws. As the mongooses handed over more weapons, she grinned and stated, ?I know it?s no oar, but it?s better than nothing, right??

?Heh heh heh, it?ll do fine, Miss Crue.? He then looked down at one of the pockets in her robes. Pointing at it, he noted, ?What?s that you have there, miss? Looks familiar.?

Chak looked over as she pulled the hat out. ?That be Tooley?s hat! Where?d ye come by it??

He extended a paw toward it, but Crue pulled it out of reach of his claws. Words stuck in her throat as she looked at the tattered fabric and tried to explain. ?Tooley? he??

Seeing that she could say no more, Dekeft spoke for her, ?T?e woozle come to help Crue en? I ven we are to be keel?t by Shuga. He show my tribe t?at Fiyah Gott ees no gott, en? t?en High Priest keel heem.? Dekeft stood up a little straighter as he added, ?We deal wit? High Priest.?

Crue tucked the hat gently back into her pocket. She cleared her throat as she once more pushing back the need to mourn her friend. Her voice quavering a little, she declared, ?Now that we?re all together, I intend to keep the rest of you alive! I?ve brought the mongooses. What?s our next move??