9. The north trail

[Abrahem]

Rubtus looked out west, as a small battalion of his warriors ran to him. All were bruised, and broken up, wounded. They had told him they were ambushed by the toads!

"You're all sure you didn't see where they went?"

"Sorry Chief, if we knew, we would tell you. But they caught us completely off guard!"

"We May be river beasts, but in those bogs we're clueless!"

"It's alright" the Log-a-Log reassured them. "You are guosim. All of you. I know you'd never fail us, that you'd never fail or betray me. Unless it was for the sake of the guosim as a whole." He smiled pityingly. "Now, get yourselves stitched up."

The beasts wearily stumbled toward where the healers were. Log-a-Log was upset, he was willing to save the dibbun, both for good graces, and because it was no benefit for an innocent young 'un to perish. But he had hoped it would take no unnecessary toll on his own shrews.

Toads were easy to kill, but in large numbers and with the element of surprise, they could wipe out half a tribe of innocent woodlanders. So dibbun or not, finding them and feeding their warty flesh to crows would only do mossflower good.

He had remembered his predecessor, how toads were always his biggest worry. Next to his own people's arguments. Rubtus did not want to do what he did to the Old shrew. But he knew that sacrifice was what kept others alive. He loved Log-a-Log, and he fancied his daughter Orpah. But he loved the guosim more.

The shrew maiden had naturally changed after her father's passing. She was always a jovial type, smiling, dancing, sewing dresses. She never cared about fencing. But now, she practiced daily, shredding unfortunate dummies to shreds, pretending they were toads. She vowed revenge for her father. Rubtus admired her for it. But kept his distance.

"We'll find those scum soon, friend." He heard her voice behind him.  "And my father shall be avenged. You and I, together."

He looked at her and saw her smile again for the first time in forever. He was inclined to smile back as he did at the assembly in Redwall.

"Don't worry about the toads, nothing the Guosim can't handle. Are you sure you want to join in the skirmish?"

"Why not? You said I had a knack for it before the toads attacked him, before I cared about it. Now that he's gone, you've barely spoken to me. What's wrong?" Orpah felt talked down to.

"You do, but there's a difference between practice and a real battle. I just don't want you to get hurt is all. Your mind may be a bit clouded by what has happened, pushing you before you're ready." 

"One has to start somewhere." She smiled "I remember when we were ambushed by rats, and you joined your father for the first time. You earned your spurs that day. Let me earn mine, for his sake." 

"It won't be easy." He gestured to the wounded shrews.

"That little bird will patch us up, what is she again? A bullfinch?"

"There are more than a dozen shrews with us....and otters I guess....we'll let our own healers deal with them."

"See for yourself, Rubtus."

The male shrew turned, and saw Peri, the little bullfinch healer, tirelessly at work with his own shrews, cleaning them and bandaging them, caring for them like redwallers.

The chieftain stared in surprise. He walked over to Peri. "You there! Peri is it?"

"Yep, are you hurt?"

"No. Tell me, did you heal all of my shrews? By yourself?"

"It never hurts me to help." She seemed exhausted, earlier she had shown to be very hyper, and overly nice.

"Well. I must extend gratitude to you then. Tell me, why have you help my beasts like they were abbey dwellers? What good does it do to you?"

The bird cocked her head and shrugged her feathers. "What good does it do to anyone not to be helped? I'm a healer, it's my calling."

"What our chief means to say." Orpah chimed in like a reprimanding mother, "Is thank you little bullfinch, we Guosim are in debt to you."

Peri chirped happily, fluttering her wings. "Don't mention it. Is that really what he thinks though?"

The bird seemed, in Rubtus' mind, to be suspicious of him, but perhaps that was just how he felt about everyone after Log-a-Log's death.

"It is, I highly appreciate it. It's rare to find birds or beasts so kind." He smiled lightly, then he ceased. "I'd be careful if I were you, some would take advantage of that. Anyway, I know you were scouting earlier, couldn't find anything?"

She shook her head.

"This will take a while." He muttered.

He saw that weird acting badger, Bo he was called. And wondered what on earth he could actually do for the benefit of the mission.

"What on earth is he doing anyway?" He asked Peri.

She shrugged "Don't know, all he cares about is bees. He loves them as much as you love your guosim." 

"Makes no sense," the aforementioned badger muttered.

He walked over to the shrews and bullfinch. "Everyone knows bees cluster in winter, not hibernate."

"We don't!" A chorus replied to him.

"Well, they do! Listen, I saw three bees flying around north that way, poor things might freeze and die. Some fiend must've disturbed their hive!"

"Would you shut up you-" Rubtus spoke, before Orpah interrupted.

"Must've been toads! They're the only group of beasts currently out in this weather! Good eyes Bo."

"We don't know that Orpah."

"We can find out," Peri replied. "I'll fly and scout it, northward right?" Bo nodded, and Peri took flight.

"That Peri is a selfless old sky dog." Skipper Ash spoke up admiringly. He scowled at Rubtus "One could learn from her!"

"If every beast was like her, the world would be a better place," Rubtus admitted. "But we share the earth with vermin, sea rats, toads, and slavers. Her kind doesn't last long, though I pray she does."

He scowled, the Skipper was annoying even away from negotiations. They had already agreed that a portion of the river was guosim, naturally, it was the Guosim's right to do what they pleased with it. It was only beneficial to them to dam the river up, it wasn't his fault otters weren't smart enough to think of the idea first.

Peri flew back in shivering, her feather tips frosted, but she was excited and eager. "Found a beehive, damaged. There's a trail of toad prints! Follow me!"

The otters loaded their slings, the shrews' arrows. Orpah squeezed Rubtus' paw and smiled. "Let's go avenge my father, and save that poor dibbun from the same fate."

He nodded awkwardly.  "Guosim! Follow the bird!"