11. Tunnel to Nowhere

[Dirgecallers]

It would seem to Jaskia that she had been walking through these tunnels for far too long. . The Hare would be in the middle of the group, walking besides Flowers, and thinking of how they were going to get out of this predicament. Jaskia decided that she'd break the tension, a bit, "You know it's funny, if I'd known that the tunnels ran on this long under here, I'd have made that lock on the shed a bit tighter," she paused, knowing that was in bad taste even as she said it, but she was on edge. They all were, really...it was very claustrophobic in here.

She was holding her rake a bit tighter, though it seemed to be insufficient here when she was underneath the surface. They'd just realized, all of them...that the only help they would get was themselves. And there was no going back after all, only forward...into whatever awaited them there before the tunnel. It made her nervous and anxious at the same time, but she could do nothing but put on a brave face.

Maybe all of them were trying their best foot forward, she thought, glancing at the other beasts, maybe they each had their own reasons for coming.  Surely they were all of them indispensable to the abbey, they could've easily sent another in to take their place, after all. So why them? Why this group? Maybe she should have thought twice before volunteering that information about the tunnels. Maybe that was a question they'd all have to ask for themselves, as she sighed deeply, looking down at the ground.

She didn't know exactly what she was looking for- maybe some clues or something similar - she thought idly as her eyes trailed over the dirt floor. Still, her eyes widened as she realized what she was looking at for a second, and she turned to the others.  She wasn't sure if they were seeing what she was seeing, really. Maybe it was just here after all...but there was something about it that just had made her stop and really think. They wouldn't get that lucky, not right away would they? Oh but it seemed that they had. Despite all odds, they had lucked out beyond belief as she could see clearly what was strewn across the wet floor. The impressions were still very visible, as nothing had come by yet to brush them aside. Tracks. Not a lot of them.

Not just tracks but...produce. She narrowed her eyes as she saw parsnips, carrots, celery, bits and pieces of it strewn on the floor. Turning, she looked behind her and now that she was looking for it, she could realize it was behind them as well.

She looked back over at Timothy, Nibs, Elsine and Flowers, unsure if they'd noticed it or not. If not, she would call it to their attention by gently tapping the nearest beast on the shoulder, "Do you see it there? I found more tracks, they look more fresh than the last?" She wasn't an experienced tracker, she had not often spent a lot of time out in Mossflower Woods, at least not by herself that was...

"Hurr aye!" Flowers agreed as she glanced over the tracks. "Oi think they be left some toime betwixt today an' last noight." She looked first at Timothy, then at Jaskia," Oi think we'm be gettin' close."

She gave a miffed and annoyed shake of her head, feeling herself grip her rake tighter. Maybe the others noticed it too, as Elsine would turn to her , words of reassurance. "It's going to be okay, Jaskia. After we get out, we'll make sure that the gardens will be better guarded."

Jaskia paused, looking down at the produce, but up at the others, frowning slightly. "No...I don't want the gardens to be walled off. Everybeast should have a chance to go through them." Perhaps that was a symptom of the search for Acer, but had this all started with the dibbuns wandering around the garden? It seemed like long ago.

So she believed that they were fresh, and said so. "We should follow them regardless....They might lead to where these toads are hiding out," she said after a moment, nodding, as she looked at the others. They needed a lead, and right now, they had one, or at least Jaskia did. Even if they did not have any other clues, this felt like one of the right ones, that would lead them closer to finding the dibbun.

The group followed the trail, scattered as it might seem. However her initial guess seemed right, as she was seeing more produce scattered on the floor as they walked, in addition to many more footprints. "What do you think we'll do when we find them?" she asked, turning to Nibs. It was an entirely new experience to her, as she was keenly aware that they were getting closer to the toads. Perhaps they would be pushed into a confrontation?

Nibs didn't mince words. "We're going to get Acer back. That's exactly what we're going to do. And if they don't give him back nicely? Well...just stand behind me," he said as he hafted his hatchet. Jaskia looked at her rake, really unsure if she would be able to use it.

Jaskia had very little time to ponder her concern as she and the rest of the group turned the next corner suddenly and found their quarry, nearly bumping into them in surprise. The two groups stared at each other for a second, as Jaskia took stock of how many there were. Six of them, a number she thought that they could take, even though it was still not anything that she'd prefer to have to deal with.

Jaskia stepped forward, her determination apparent on her face, as she realized that this could be the moment. Or was it? She couldn't see Acer within the group, although that didn't have to mean anything necessarily. "Where did you take the Dibbun?" her accusatory words shot out directly.

What sort of reaction she'd expected she didn't know, only that she was met with blank stares from the toads. "What Dibbun?" They turned to face each other, and she could see now that they were holding thin reed spears, and a few in the back were carrying some vegetables. The stems still had some dirt on them. Jaskia frowned, as she wondered just how recently that they'd been digging them up.

"Don't lie! Just tell us if a Dibbun's passed this way, and we can work things out..." Maybe it was something about her demeanor, but the toads seemed to bristle as she continued her line of questioning. The toads started to straighten up, but their spears still swayed slightly. Jaskia was suddenly very aware that the group was vulnerable.

She would swing her rake to the side, back and forth, to command their attention, or at least try to. "Do you have him?" Behind her the others seemed to be a tad rankled, as Nibs would place a hand on Jaskia's shoulder.

"Jaskia...let them have a chance to speak? Perhaps we are rushing to conclusions," the Cellarhog said softly. It was a good sentiment. However, it didn't have the intended effect, as Jaskia felt her ears twitch and whiskers bristle, as she stared at the toads.

Suddenly it became obvious to her, that she was down here for a reason. Or, she might be messing things up already, either one of the two was a possible reason. Either way, things escalated quickly from there, as one of the toads started hopping to the side, clearly trying to slink away in the time it took for Jaskia and Nibs to talk.

"Oh no, you don't...." Jaskia spat, turning her attention to the toad, as things happened very quickly. Initially the toads tried to simply distract her, tossing the stolen produce back at the group. A carrot hit Jaskia on the head, denting the brim of her sunhat, bringing it down over her eyes. In her confusion  she swung out with the rake, getting a toad by accident and sending it falling to the side with a croak.

There was silence again for a half-second, before the toads started jumping up and down in agitation. That was not good at all, she thought as they descended on the group, hopping mad, and waving their spears around. There was no more time to think, as the two groups clashed.

There were enough shouts and croaks to fill the tunnels with an echoing din. Jaskia swung to the left and right with her rake, her lack of experience showing as she was just blindly striking out. Not too many toads were hit, if at all here, but maybe one or two were lucky strikes. She wasn't overtly paying attention to what the others were doing, but she could hear it well enough.

" 'Oi that bee fur Redwall, toady blighter!" Must be Mrs. Flowers. Jaskia could see that Nibs and Timothy were holding their own. Elsine was definitely the biggest of the group, and was doing the most against the toads, at least thus far, as toads went flying left and right. Certainly the toads didn't have the numbers to take down an adult badger, and they knew it.

The 'fight' - if anyone could call it that, was very brief, as shortly thereafter, the toads would retreat down the passage with a din of croaks. Jaskia felt herself breathing very hard, as she looked at the others, not really sure what had just happened. "Is...is it over?" That was what she was thinking as she looked up at the tunnel ahead.

They had just lost the element of surprise, was the last thing she remembered thinking, even as she saw the last toads turn the corner, just out of sight, a panic giving speed to their retreat.

"No...it's not over," Elsine said finally, as she would turn to Jaskia, shaking her head.

Looking around them, the haremaid realized that all they had to show for it was a scatter of broken vegetables. Acer was still missing, and with the one path out of the tunnels swarming with toads, he was likely in more danger than they previously thought."