What Lies Beyond the Walls, Book II: Chapter 1

Story by Tcyk89 on SoFurry

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#1 of What Lies Beyond the Walls: Book II

Major Fenson continues to worry about Urthquake's sanity; Tegast and Grustur begin to question Mossflower's safety; Jurlick begins to plot against fellow Guosim soldiers; Kurwin the Flayer and his captains all continue their plans to take over the woods, and run into a new ally.


XXV

Destiny

A/N: I'm finally back at it. After putting the series on hold for a couple months, I decided to go ahead and start working on Book II. Now just like Book I, all the swearing, sex, rape, violence, and vulgar scenes will follow throughout. So those of you looking for a "standard" Redwall fanfic might wanna look elsewhere, as this one is much more different from the original series.


Such tall creatures they were. Giant, massive beasts covered in black and white fur. He could see one of them looking down at him, smiling, while the other kept laughing and scratching or poking at him. The smaller creature grunted and panted, moving his large furry paws around and kicking at the air.

"Feisty one, isn't he?"

The small creature let out a snarling noise, reaching up as if he wanted to grab something, snatch it away from the beast holding it. The female beast laughed as she looked over at the male one.

"He got that from you, dear."

The small creature sniffed and snarled again, still lashing his burly paws around. He blinked and started to move his body, hoping to get on the ground.

"Hold still, darling. You're not ready to walk yet."

"You sure about that? Not even a full season and he's got his father's temper, his mother's kindness..."

The small creature grunted and mumbled as the female beast brought him over to the male one. The babe blinked and looked up at the male beast, not long before he started to grunt and snarl, curling his fingers.

"Look at him. Look at how big he already is."

The tall female creature chuckled. "Seems like he has his father's appetite too."

The small creature grunted and started to move his paws around again, with the larger creature occasionally poking him on the muzzle to see what he would do. The babe would lift a paw and try to whack the larger creature's finger away, only for him to move it back half a second early.

"He'll make a fine leader someday..."


The badger was sitting down for once. Not walking, not fighting, and not screaming. Urthquake blinked before he rubbed the blue stripe on his head. A few strands of fur fell from his body onto the soft soil. Urthquake looked at his broadsword and axe, moments before looking down at his blue armor. He stared at it, mesmerized by all the scratches, by how dull it was beginning to look, by all the dried-up blood stains he never washed off. And then the badger looked at his arms and legs, only to notice similar scars and tears on his flesh. He thought he'd be relaxed, sitting here in such a peaceful state. He thought the sunny day and the fresh air would make him feel content. But he only felt exhausted now, tired. He felt like a sword that had been dulled after somebeast struck it against a tree too much. Urthquake looked out into the distance and away from his damaged body and armor. He blinked again and took a long breath. And then Urthquake started to look around, examining the safe, beautiful environment.

It was late in the spring now. Most of the trees and bushes had fully bloomed. Urthquake could already see a pear tree a few yards ahead, the pears all brightly green and ready to be plucked. A butterfly fluttered its small wings, giving off a rich blue color that matched his armor and stripe. He looked down again, only this time he saw the large green leaves lying flat on the soil. He saw the brown dirt, the bits of earth still rich and flourishing due to the pleasant weather. The badger even saw a few tiny insects skittering along the ground, some ants transferring food back to their colony. Urthquake almost found himself smiling, especially when he heard a few birds tweeting in the distance and what sounded like a woodpecker poking at tree bark. The wind blew gently across his face again, carrying the scent of the warm spring afternoon. Urthquake flared his nostrils and started to smile. He was just starting to enjoy the comforting sights and the serenity of the area when a different smell filled his lungs. Blood. Death. The smell of some creature that hadn't bathed in a few weeks. The sound of flies buzzing around furiously started to fill the badger's ears. When Urthquake looked down, he could see a small trail of blood slowly moving through the soil, washing over the ants like a slow-moving mudslide.

Urthquake turned and reached behind the tree, grabbing the dead body and dragging it in front of him. He looked down at the corpse, gazing at the fallen weasel with his eyes half-open, his clothes ripped and torn, and his stomach cut open. The blue-striped badger started to grimace, his smile twitching as he gazed at the corpse. He looked back up at the sky, the shining sun and the beautiful plants all around him. And then he looked back down at the decaying body, the rotten pile of flesh that was soiling the dirt. Urthquake smiled and let out a soft laugh. He grabbed the weasel's head and turned it. And then, without even grunting, he broke the beast's jaw. The badger's ears twitched as he heard the joints pop, the mandible stuck at an awkward angle. He stuck a giant paw into the open mouth and grabbed the tongue. Using very little effort, he slowly moved his paw upwards, the tongue squelching as it was removed from the mouth. Urthquake stared at the long organ and blinked before he tossed it aside. Still smiling, the badger looked at the open stomach wound and stared at some of the bugs crawling inside.

The badger grabbed the weasel's exposed ribs, digging his paws deep into the wound. He grunted twice before he jerked his paws apart, breaking the dead creature's chest open. The ribs cracked so noisily that the bone-shattering sound nearly echoed. Urthquake kept smiling as he stared at the bones and the juicy organs with blood and other fluids still smothering the insides. The Badger Lord was about to start sticking his paws into the opening when he saw the weasel's eyes. He gazed at the yellowish, half-open orbs and blinked. And then the Badger Lord jammed a thumb into each eye socket, listening to his fingers as they destroyed the eyeballs. There was a soft squish and faint pop; the badger could feel the fluids oozing around his thumbs. He kept digging his thumbs inside until he nearly felt the brain. Urthquake kept shoving his fingers deep inside until there was another subtle squish. Then the Badger Lord pulled his fingers away and sighed heavily. He glanced back at the exposed chest cavity and blinked as he began to stick his large paws inside.

"M'lord?"

Urthquake stopped and blinked. He turned to his right and saw the plump major standing beside the tree, his red coat glittering with medals.

"Hello, Major."

"U-um..." Major Fenson blinked as he glared at the corpse. "Wot are you doin', sah?"

Urthquake was still smiling as he turned away and looked back down at the weasel's body. He stuck his paws into the chest and started to grab the intestinal lining.

"Enjoying myself. I figured it was time for me to relax, try to wind down a bit."

The major watched as the badger started to pull out the weasel's intestines, with blood splashing on Urthquake's armor and face. Then the badger grabbed a portion of the large intestines, twisted it several times, and flinched when the intestines popped off and splashed some more blood on the badger's face.

"What is it, Major?"

"I-I was...it's just another update, sah. We're still low on supplies and medicine, but Hollis is doin' his best to conserve it all. Some more hares are getting sick--allergies, some bug goin' around too since I've noticed a few cases of the trots."

"And the Red Sand tribe?"

"Well, 'sides these scouts we've been killin', we haven't found a clear trail to follow just yet."

"Not good enough. We should've found that tribe days ago. Who knows how many allies they have by now? The last thing we need is to run into pirates or thieves, or for all we know, some wolverine..."

"We've already come up with a plan, sah. We're gonna keep following this route for now--we're bound to find another Red Sand clan member soon. The second we do, we'll capture him or her, keep 'em prisoner, question 'em."

Urthquake nodded. "Good." The badger turned and faced the major. "Anything else?"

The Badger Lord watched as the hare shook his head. He could practically smell the nervousness brewing from the long-eared beast.

"Um...n-no, m'lord."

Urthquake nodded and smiled again. "Try to relax yourself, Major. After all..."

Urthquake grunted as he jammed a fist inside the cadaver, crushing one of the organs to a mushy pulp.

"It's such a beautiful day."


The weasel gurgled after the ferret sliced his neck open. His body twirled before it collapsed to the ground, the weasel choking on his own crimson. The ferret who slew him breathed heavily, panting as he carried his cutlass in one paw and hatchet in the other. He turned around, looking at the rest of the corsairs who were either panting or grasping their weapons firmly, scratched and bloodied after tangling with the group of foes. Then the ferret blinked and exhaled as he lowered his two weapons and stared at the huts and oversized boulders.

"You c'n all come outta hidin' now!" Kurwin shouted.

The ferret chuckled as he wiped some of the blood off his face and observed the various groups of otters, mice, and even a few rabbits slowly emerging from their well-crafted wood and straw huts. Some of them looked old enough to be heading for the Dark Forest; others were young and only recently learned how to walk. Kurwin watched with a sly grin as the goodbeasts all started to come closer to him, although many of them looked queasy from the grisly scene around them.

"Now, now, no need t'worry! Yer ole mate Kurwin an' his corsairs took care of the nasty li'l Cleavers for ya!"

Kurwin glared at his first mate, Traegar, and the weasel and ferret both grinned at each other before the leader of the group of woodlanders walked towards the pirate.

"Y...you slew 'em all?"

"Every last beast, sah! I'm sure you an' yer colony will sleep much better tonight!"

"I..." The rabbit swallowed hard. "I-I thought you were gonna talk to 'em...scare 'em off."

"We've been doin' this a looooong time, Malley," said Traegar. "You don't 'talk' to beasts like the Cleavers an' expect 'em to leave you alone."

"...Thank you. I...I don't know how we could--"

Kurwin held up a paw. "It's no trouble, mate. We saw some poor beasts in trouble an' wanted to help!"

One of the members in the group of goodbeasts couldn't stand listening to the ferret talking. She gritted her teeth and stepped forward, her rudder slapping against the ground with anger.

"Like you helped out the MSB? Like you helped out all those beasts you flayed in the past?! How many beasts have you tortured an' slain before today--you think we're jus' gonna forget about that?!"

The otter turned around and started to pant as she talked loudly. "This pirate is Kurwin the Flayer! Don't any of you lot know what that means?! He skins his victims alive fer sport! He's been roamin' the seas fer many seasons now, slaughterin' anybeast in his path! Why should we even think to trust him now--especially after what happened to those innocent squirrels?!"

Kurwin looked around at the goodbeasts and could hear faint chatter and saw some beasts looking at each other with concern. But the ferret merely smiled and placed his weapons in his waistsash.

"Yes, that is all true. I have slain many beasts in the past. An' I earned my flayer title fer a reason. Quite frankly, I think it suits me."

"See?! The scoundrel even admits it!"

The scarred ferret started to walk around the group of goodbeasts, pacing slowly as he wagged his tail. "Of course I admit it. Why would I lie to all you kind beasts? The truth is that I've slain dozens of beasts in my time. Some pirates, some thieves--I even brought down a warlord's glorious empire! An' sure, yeah, I slew some woodlanders here an' there, helpless otters who were tryin' t'flee from me, even small babes who were huggin' their parents' legs, hopin' to make the 'mean ferret' go away."

Kurwin could see more goodbeasts growing cautious of him. Some of them were backing up or turning away from him, shaking as they tried to avoid his line of sight. The pirate snickered as he kept pacing around.

"But I assure you, I've changed my ways! There's no need for senseless slaughter--wot good would it do slayin' beasts like you? It's better t'make friends than enemies--that's somethin' I had to learn the hard way. An' wot better friends to make than all you precious, helpful beasts?"

The otter shook her head. "No. Y-you're lyin'! This is all some ruse to make us lower our guard! You say you changed yer ways? Then explain what happened with the MSB over a week ago!"

Kurwin sighed heavily and rubbed his chin. "They attacked first. My corsairs and I were just walking around this forest, taking in the beautiful scenery, when those squirrels ambushed us. Three of my pirates were near the river mindin' their own business--on of 'em was takin' a shit. You wanna know wot those squirrels did? They fired arrows at 'em--hit one of my pirates in the arse! Now, I thought it were jus' a misunderstanding--that tends to happen a lot, right? So I had one of my senior captains--Stinkfoot--try to talk to 'em, tell 'em to back off. They refused. An' like my first mate just told yer leader here, we knew deep down that talkin' wouldn't work."

Kurwin grinned widely. "So we killed 'em all."

"And then you skinned most of 'em an' hung their bodies from the trees like common game!"

"To send a message. If the MSB is smart, they'll stay away from me an' my corsairs for good. Y'see, I'm also known for my temper, an' if you push me far enough, the consequences could be dire. You don't fuck with me, I won't fuck with you. It's that simple."

"And what happens on the day where you start fucking with us first?"

Kurwin slowly stepped towards the otter. Kurwin didn't realize until he stood within inches of her that she was a few inches taller than he was. He glanced up into the otter's eyes and smirked.

"There is absolutely nothing stoppin' me from fuckin' you. D'you know that? If I wanted to, I could shove you to the ground right now, lift that pretty li'l gown of yours up, exposing that moist cunt of yers. I could pin ya down, thrust my way into ya as you scream fer help. But nobeast will help you. All my corsairs will be busy rapin' and killin' the rest of the goodbeasts in this area. An' then, after I fill you with my seed, I'll stick my knife into a fire, then use it to slice that cunt of yours in half. You'll never know wot it feels like to have another cock inside of you without feeling my pain ever again."

The otter didn't back away or break out into a fit of sweats, but she had nothing else to say to the ferret. Kurwin grinned as he saw the beast's mouth twitch--she wanted to say something, even a small swear word. But nothing would come out. Kurwin folded his arms before he backed away.

"But like I said, I've changed my ways! There's not a single beast here who'll have t'worry 'bout Kurwin murderin' their babes!"

Malley finally started to chime in. "H-how do we know we can still trust you? How can we be sure this isn't some kind of trick?"

Kurwin chuckled as he walked towards the rabbit. "You don't know. That's the beauty of it! But before you write me off as another scoundrel who should be sent to the Hellgates, remember this: there are lots of other vermin tribes out there. There's lots of clans like the Cleavers, terrible beasts spawned straight from the Hellgates who do nothing but rape an' kill fer sport. There may come a day where you run into another, deadlier group of beasts like the Cleavers. An' if you choose not to put your trust in me, then yer good ol' friend Kurwin the Flayer won't be there t'pull yer arses outta the fire."

Kurwin grinned widely as he saw the long-eared beast frown. "Li'l somethin' t'think about before you go to sleep tonight."

The ferret whistled shrilly before he raised his paw and waved at his crew. "ALL A' YA! GET YOUR WEAPONS AN' MOVE OUT! WE'RE DONE HERE!"

Some of the pirates began to cheer or shouted out Kurwin's name for a brief moment, chanting as they looked upon their leader. The ferret flashed another nasty grin at Malley and the otter before he joined his group of vermin, the steadily growing army stomping along the ground and away from the pile of dead bodies they left. As the cheering and chanting began to die down, Traegar hurried over to Kurwin and snickered as he walked beside him.

"Think ya did that quite well, Cap'n! Not sure if it was wise to reveal all that stuff you've done in the past though."

"No point in lyin', Trae. They prob'ly knew anyways an' wanted t'see if I had the balls to admit it. Nowadays, beasts want a truthful leader who admits his errors rather than a hypocritical twat who keeps performin' misdeeds beneath his followers' noses."

Traegar nodded. "Can't argue with that!"

Kurwin flicked his eyes to his left and could see a filthy gray searat walking beside him scowling. Kurwin frowned and snorted, not even bothering to look at the beast.

"Somethin' you gotta say, Dirtfoot?"

"Oh no, not at all, Cap'n. If I jus' saw a male spread his legs an' show everybeast that there were a cunt 'tween his legs an' not a cock, I'd be speechless too."

"Don't you fuckin' start, Dirtfoot," growled Traegar.

"Wot?! I just tell it like it is! You've been hidin' that juicy hole from us all along! Didn't see it 'til just now!"

Kurwin turned and spat in front of Dirtfoot. The rat yelped when he stepped in the glob of saliva and started to walk slowly. The rat and ferret both looked at each other with scowls on their faces, while Traegar stuck close to Kurwin, his paw already near his knife.

"You got a problem with me, you tell somebeast straight up! We don't need your constant sarcasm an' other bullshit weighin' us down!"

Dirtfoot snorted. "You know I hate this fuckin' plan. Allyin' ourselves with those-those fuckin' landlubbers?! How fuckin' stupid are ye, Cap'n?! It's bad enough we ain't got no ships--we're out in the middle o' this fuckin' cesspool of a forest--we've already lost o'er forty beasts--"

"How's 'bout I cut out your tongue an' end this senseless blether for good?" growled Traegar.

"How's 'bout I cut off yore balls an' shove 'em down yer gullet?!"

Kurwin snarled. "I'm more'n capable of defending myself, Trae! As fer you, Dirtfoot, yer even dumber than I thought you was. I'm not makin' friends with those fuckin' landlubbers!"

"Really, Cap'n? Then wot are ye doin'?"

Kurwin grinned. "Makin' slaves. We just saved all those beasts from peril. We showed them mercy. An' we're not forcin' them to do anythin' they don't wanna do."

"So fuckin' wot?" asked Dirtfoot.

"You can rule with a fist, or rule with your brain. There is nothin' more satisfying than manipulation, Dirtfoot. Most of us vermin, they think that brute force, things like shouting, threatenin' to kill somebeast, rape and wotnot--they think that gives 'em power. But it doesn't. If you beat an' rape yer slaves, they get tired. An' wot use do you have for a sore, broken down slave? But if you're kind to 'em, protect them, let 'em know you actually give a shit, they'll have no problem lendin' you a paw when you desperately need it. You beat yer slaves, kill 'em, hurt 'em, torment them--sooner or later, they rebel an' kill you. But if you're kind an' caring, make sure they're safe an' well-fed, they'll be yer servants for life. Tell me, wot happens when you give a well-treated servant a weapon?"

"They use it t'shave their hairy arse."

"They fight for you, ya dumb shit!" barked Trae.

Kurwin nodded. "Exactly. Sentiment. That's these beasts' weakness. You show enough of it, an' they'll bend over an' let you fuck 'em raw and bloody. With the right words and a few 'favours' here an' there, I can get all these 'goodbeasts' to be on my side. I c'n make 'em fight for me, make my army grow!"

"Hmph. Sure, good luck with that," sneered Dirtfoot.

"You still don't seem convinced."

The gray rat faced Kurwin and blinked. "An apple that dyes itself orange is still an apple."

"But if you stay dyed long enough, when the oranges finally find out that you've been an apple all along, they won't care."

"An' wot happens when we come across the oranges that are smart enough to realize you've been a murderous, conniving, cold-blooded apple all along?"

Kurwin grinned. "Some oranges rot faster than others. They'll serve no purpose in my empire besides being squashed. Besides...sooner or later, beasts will realize that they can live in a world with apples and oranges."

"What about strawberries?" Traegar chimed in.

Kurwin looked at his first mate and frowned. "Now you're just confusin' me."


Tegast leaned against the tree bark and sighed heavily. The rat looked down at the ground while the watervole tried his best not to breathe. The rat was starting to get irritated now. It seemed like they couldn't go a full day without running into some kind of lizard or snake or other menacing reptile that posed a threat to them. Tegast blinked and leaned to his left, glancing down at the ground once he heard the sound of footsteps growing softer. But then the rodent heard a vicious snarl and raspy laughter down below, and the rat proceeded to lean against the tree and shut his eyes.

"How much longer?"

Grustur blinked as he continued to observe the reptiles. "We should prob'ly wait 'til nightfall. And keep your voice down!" whispered the vole.

"We've been up here hidin' on the same branch for almost an hour. If they were gonna spot us, it woulda happened by now."

Grustur shook his head. "You never know with these lizards. Gotta be them monitors again--we keep runnin' into 'em!"

"Can't be. I woulda smelled their breath all the way up here by now."

Grustur chuckled. "Good point. Still, best we wait. Last lizards we ran into tried to skin us alive."

"An' those dark blue newts with all them white an' black spots drugged us and nearly ate us alive."

Grustur sighed. "We're slippin' up, Teg. We gotta find a different route or..."

Tegast blinked. "Or wot?"

"Or we find the Guosim. We're not far from River Moss; Log-a-Log controls the waters 'round here. If we pair ourselves with the Guosim, maybe we'll be able to hold off the lizards for a while--at least until we find a safe place to stay. You know about the Guosim, yeah?"

"Yeah. That's why yore idea doesn't make any sense. Yore a watervole--I'm a fuckin' rat! Wot d'you think they're gonna do to us the second they see us? They're either gonna think we're bandits or spies for some bigger army! Hell, they might think we're on the lizards' side!"

Grustur smirked. "There's two paths you can take to get to your destination. Path A will lead you through shark-infested waters. Path B will lead you through a vast gorge that can only be crossed with a rickety bridge composed entirely of rope. Which path do you take?"

"Path C."

Grustur raised an eyebrow. "Path C?"

"The path that leads to me turning the fuck around an' searching for a new destination altogether."

The watervole snickered. "I like the way you're thinkin'. But no, Teg. We take the path least likely to get us killed. An' right now, I see no other option besides findin' the Guosim and havin' some shrews help us drive these lizards away."

"Again, Path C. Why not travel away from the lizards? Avoid 'em entirely?"

"Look at 'em, pup. Look at how many are down there. We can't avoid them any longer."

Tegast peeked down at the ground again and stared at all the ravenous beasts. He couldn't make out all the lizards--some were moving too quickly to notice. Some lizards were thin; others were tall and burly. Some were short and had colorful scales; others were a dull shade of brown and had thick tails. Many lizards were clothed in tattered rags, but just as many were naked, showing off their scars and other assets for the world to see. The rat's ears started to lower when he noticed how many lizards kept walking by. He tried counting them in his head--twenty, twenty-seven, thirty-two, forty--he lost count after fifty-four. And everytime he thought he spotted the last group of lizards, more would follow. All of them were hissing, slobbering, chewing and laughing, most likely devouring the flesh from their victims' bodies. The noisome scent the reptiles carried was enough to put a vermin army to shame. Tegast and Grustur had grown used to it, but now, the foul smell was creeping into the rat's mouth; he found himself gagging a few times whenever the wind blew in his direction.

"This is serious, Grus."

Grustur nodded. "I know, pup. At the rate we're going, it won't be long--"

"No, I mean...this is an army. There's no way this many lizards would be travelin' in one direction at one time. And they're not...Grus, wot were you sayin' about Isle Glinsun?"

"That if we don't find a tribe for you to join, we'll head there."

Tegast pressed his head against the tree and huffed. "Let's head there now. How far away is it?"

"It's across the sea, Teg."

"Then let's find a boat. We c'n go there now--be there by the summer, right?"

"No. Isle Glinsun is our last option. It's the 'fuckin' 'ell, we're neck deep in badger shit now!' option."

"Wot about lizard shit? Is Mossflower even safe anymore? These lizards could wipe out the Guosim in a day if they wanted to! D'you seriously think they'll be able to help us?"

"Trust me; Log-a-Log is no pushover, and neither are his shrews. They can take care of a few lizards."

"This isn't a few, Grus! This is a fuckin' army, an' we don't know how many there are!"

"Log-a-Log doesn't need to slay every single reptile, y'know. If the Guosim kill enough of 'em, they'll back off. An' if they leave the Guosim alone, they'll get scared, realize that stayin' in Mossflower is too dangerous for 'em. They'll head back to whatever island they came from and never bother us again."

Tegast started to breathe heavily. "I...you didn't see, Grustur. Those monitors...they're not like normal reptiles. I stared down a fuckin' milk snake an' killed it with no trouble; these-these monitors...it's like starin' at pure evil, like some demon resurrected from the depths of the Hellgates."

Grustur smirked. "Like I said, Teg, if it gets bad enough, we'll head straight for Isle Glinsun."

"You promise?"

The vole nodded. "Promise."

Tegast blinked and looked down at the lizards again. "Okay."


The shrew had it all figured out. It was going to work perfectly. All his plans would come together, so long as he didn't screw anything up. It was finally dark. Most of the shrews were sleeping, except for the ones who were busy patrolling the area. Nobeast would see him. And if they did, he'd deal with them too. Jurlick grinned very slowly, his body concealed by all the darkness and the trees. He could see Menryl now, the shrew completely inebriated after he decided to share drinks with the beast. Jurlick blinked and looked around the woods, hearing the crickets chirping and a few bugs buzzing around the ground. Some beasts were chattering, probably talking about the Guosim's next move. Jurlick didn't care. All that mattered right now was Menryl. He walked over to the drunken shrew with a blue headband on and crouched down. Menryl was snorting and gurgling in his sleep, with a small pool of saliva simmering inside his half-open mouth. He smacked his lips and muttered something in his sleep before he exhaled and started snorting again. Jurlick snickered as he poked Menryl a few times, causing the shrew to snort and open one eye.

"J...Jurlick? Wotcha--"

Jurlick took out his concealed dagger and stabbed Menryl in the side of his neck. The shrew snickered as he heard the blade piercing the flesh. Menryl's eyes grew wide, and the saliva in his mouth was quickly replaced with blood. He coughed twice and started to gasp, having trouble breathing. Jurlick watched as the beast continued to gurgle loudly, gasping and choking on his own blood. The shrew slyly raised a paw and covered Menryl's mouth with it, muffling the beast's seemingly raucous shouts. Menryl's head bobbed up and down a few times as the beast tried to fight back. But the blood was gushing out of the shrew's neck fast, leaving a small puddle of red fluids near his head. Jurlick removed the dagger and stabbed him in the neck again, listening to the soft squish as he dug into the flesh again. Menryl let out a soft, gurgled moan and stopped moving. He blinked twice as he spat up more blood against Jurlick's paw. And then his head tilted over, and Menryl lay very still. Jurlick removed the dagger and raised his now bloody paw. Still grinning, Jurlick moved away from Menryl's corpse, crouching as he walked so nobeast would see him.

He walked for another minute before he stumbled upon another drunken shrew with a yellow headband. Jurlick breathed as quietly as possible; the shrew was more inebriated than Menryl. He had a broken bottle of rum in one paw and he smelled like he was sleeping in his own vomit.

"Yore makin' this all too easy fer me, Tileer," muttered Jurlick.

The shrew held in his laughter as he slyly grabbed the top of the bottle and pried it from Tileer's fingers. Tileer snorted and mumbled in his sleep, flexing his fingers, wondering where his precious bottle of fluids disappeared too. As Tileer blindly tried to grab something, Jurlick lowered the dagger just far enough so the shrew would clutch it. Once Tileer grabbed hold of the weapon, the shrew stopped mumbling and moving. He sighed deeply and went back to sleep, while Jurlick shook his head, marveled by the shrew's stupidity. He reached over and wiped the blood off his paw by using Jurlick's tunic as a rag; the last thing he needed was something to contradict his story. Jurlick retreated over to the river and washed off the rest of the blood remaining on his paw. And then he returned to the Guosim campsite and went back to sleep, snickering to himself.


"Wot part o' that don't ye understand?!" shouted the black fox.

"The part where we start bendin' o'er lettin' these goodbeasts tell us wot t'do!" responded the gray rat.

Kurwin couldn't tell what was bothering him more: the large argument going on between all of his senior captains, or the sound of the crickets chirping that occasionally ruined any moments of peace and quiet he got inside the tent. The ferret was standing up with his arms folded, constantly flicking his eyes back and forth as one group of vermin shouted at the other. Ishlin was threatening and walking up towards beasts, hoping to intimidate them with his large body; Kronno and Dirtfoot were constantly snapping at each other; Stinkfoot and Glud were trying to calm everybeast down; Muslar was busy shifting his eyes around and backing up Dirtfoot with anything the rat said. Kurwin was waiting for the right time, hoping that one beast would offer good advice--something they could all agree upon.

"These woodlanders aren't gonna believe 'im! Don't any of you fuckin' twats understand that?!"

"The only twat in 'ere, Dirtfoot, is you. An' wot the Cap'n says goes; if he says gettin' woodlanders t'be our slaves is a good idea, then so be it!" snarled Kronno.

"Like how it were a good idea t'take on the MSB? How many beasts we lose that day again? Nearly twoscore, weren't it?"

"Wot we need--"

"Shut up, Glud!"

Stinkfoot glared at Dirtfoot and scowled. "Wot we need is for everybeast t'stop shoutin' like fuckin' idiots! How hard is it to stand in 'ere an' come up with a solution we all agree upon? Frankly, I think Kurwin's right. Let's be kind to these beasts--they'll let their guard down, won't they? An' if they do that, they'll be easier to control. We show 'em a little compassion--"

"We show 'em compassion an' they'll think we're weak! They're gonna stab us in the fuckin' back when we least expect it!"

The black fox looked over at the giant stoat inside the tent and rubbed her nose. "Yore awfully quiet 'bout all this. Wot's yore take on Kurwin's idea, Ishlin?"

Ishlin scoffed. "I'm with Dirtfoot! Who gives a fuck 'bout 'compassion' an' 'sentiment' an' all this other shit? 'Do wot we say and we won't jam a sword up yore arse!' These woodlanders are pushovers--show 'em some force an' they'll listen to us!"

"These 'pushovers' are responsible for slayin' thousands of us vermin over the past several generations. Thousands, Ishlin! You wanna be on the long, tall list of vermin who tried to take over this forest an' fucked it up an' got themselves killed?" asked Stinkfoot.

Ishlin grinned. "Wot I want is another fuckin' drink! Where's that bottle of rum..."

Kronno sighed and rolled her eyes. "Where's Fleckle Mard? I wanna 'ear wot he thinks 'bout all this."

"He's busy holdin' his own council with wot's left of his clan. Lately there's been chatter 'bout the Juskamard clan leavin' and goin' their own way," said Traegar.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh, great! That's just fuckin' wonderful! So Dead-Eye was slain fer no fuckin' reason! We lost a good tracker jus' t'get the fuckin' clan t'join us, an' now they're already thinkin' about leavin'!" shouted Dirtfoot.

"I said they're discussing it! They haven't made a final vote yet!"

"We already know how it's gonna go down," said Muslar. "Them cowardly fucks are gunna go back t'sittin' on their fat arses and lazing about 'til some goodbeasts slay 'em all in their sleep!"

"Okay, wot's yore brilliant plan then, Dirtfoot? Since you hate Kurwin's plan so fuckin' much, please, tell us wot ye think is the better solution 'ere!" shouted Kronno.

"Simple. We go back t'sea--"

"Fer fuck's sake..." groaned Kronno.

Dirtfoot snorted when he saw a few other beasts groaning or looking at him with scowls. He ignored them all and raised his voice.

"We build a ship, go back t'sea, find more pirates t'ally ourselves with! We repair broken relationships, gain control of the seas again! We show everybeast on the ocean that they don't fuck with Kurwin the Flayer! Then, after we've conquered every sea an' every isle known to beast, we head back to Mossflower an' take over this forest!"

"Sounds like a reasonable idea. It really does," said Stinkfoot. "Only problem is that it'll take a few lifetimes before we control the seas! Over half of us will be dead or on our way towards the Hellgates before that happens!" shouted Stinkfoot.

"An' you think takin' over Mossflower won't take as long as well?! You think o'er half of us won't be dead by the time we control these woods?!"

"So wot d'you think--"

Everybeast stopped talking after hearing the sudden thwack against the ground. All the vermin glanced down and noticed Kurwin's hatchet lodged into the soil, not far from Ishlin and Dirtfoot's footpaws. Kurwin was staring at his captain and breathing heavily, scowling as he gazed at everybeast in the tent.

"Shut. Your fuckin'. Mouths."

The ferret slowly began to walk in the middle of the group; Ishlin, Dirtfoot and Kronno stood on one side, while Stinkfoot, Glud and Muslar stood on the other. All of the vermin could practically feel the anger coming from the captain and knew it was wise to keep their mouths shut.

"I did not raise babes in this crew. We do not have these meetings fer the sake of whinin' an' shoutin' as much as we can. We have problems. We run into issues. So we 'discuss' 'em until we all agree on somethin'. But we do not stand here an' fuckin' scream at each other like we don't have any fuckin' sense! Is that clear?!"

"Yes, Cap'n," murmured a few vermin with their ears lowered and their tails limp.

Kurwin crouched down and jerked his hatchet out of the ground. "Since nobeast can be civil about this, I'll make it easy fer alla you! Now Dirtfoot, I understand yer concerns--I really do. You think I'm gonna go soft. You think those woodlanders will mistake my kindness fer a weakness."

"They will! You an' I--"

"I am not finished," Kurwin snarled. "Like it or not, wot we need right now is more soldiers! An' your way, goin' back to the seas, buildin' ships, makin' vermin allies and teamin' up with other pirates--that'll take way too long! We need more soldiers now, before these goodbeasts find us an' slaughter us all!"

Kurwin rubbed his head and sighed before he turned and looked at Glud and Stinkfoot. "And Stinkfoot, yes, we're supposed to be kind to 'em. We're s'posed to be nice and do them no harm. But that's only 'cos we need 'em on our side. We need 'em to back us up whenever we find ourselves stuck in a corner. That's all they're gonna be to us: assets, nothin' more. So we're not goin'--"

Kurwin stopped talking when somebeast stomped inside the tent. The captain spun around and growled when he saw the stoic ferret with parts of his fur dyed red interrupting his speech. He was holding a struggling fox by the back of his neck.

"Wot is it, Bloodbrain?! I'm busy right now!"

"Found an intruder spying on you."

Kurwin and the others watched as Bloodbrain threw the reddish-brown fox with black paws down on the ground. The sly creature grunted after falling on his stomach and started to breathe heavily.

"Want me to kill him?"

"No, Bloodbrain; he's no threat to us," Kurwin responded.

"Then why was he spyin' on us?" Traegar asked.

Kurwin watched as the scruffy fox grunted and began to stand on his footpaws. The ferret walked over to him and reached for his flaying knife as the fox started to dust himself off.

"That's a very good question...mind explainin' yourself?"

The reddish-brown fox looked at all the pirates and smirked. "C'mon now, surely you must know of me! Every vermin 'round these parts knows about Darktail the Schemer!"

"I didn't ask your name. I asked why you've been spyin' on us!"

Darktail shrugged. "'Cos I want to."

Kurwin flicked his eyes at Bloodbrain and nodded. The red and black ferret reached for his daggers and started to walk towards the fox.

"Okay, okay, okay! You can all relax--I'm just messin' with ya!"

Bloodbrain blinked and lowered his daggers while Kurwin folded his arms and wagged his tail.

"Start talkin' then!"

Darktail started to smile slyly as he began to walk around the tent slowly, glancing at the pirates as he moved his fluffy tail around. He kept his distance from some of them, unsure of how erratic the corsairs were.

"Couldn't help but overhear 'bout your li'l problem with gaining more support! I'm sure you won't mind if I help you in making this lovely army of yours thrive beyond the lands."

"I care very little for your platitudes," Kurwin growled. "An' you're just one fox. How could you possibly help us?"

Darktail continued to smirk as he circled back around towards Kurwin. "I know of one such army that's constantly getting larger even as we speak. Y'see, I've spoken to them as well an' we had a li'l...discussion. They're more than happy to partner themselves up with a band of pirates such as yourselves! But they need you to pass a li'l test of theirs..."

"You keep sayin' 'li'l' like it's some holy word that'll shield you from arrows. Define 'li'l' fer me."

"The leader of this army needs somebeast to rescue two of his soldiers. They've both been captured by a holt of otters somewhere on the Western Coast."

"That's not my problem."

"No, but it is your solution! I know where this holt is--I've been scouting around the area. I know where the soldiers are; I know how many otters are in the holt. I can take your army there, an' together we'll free the soldiers an' slay the holt! You'll be that much closer to making your army increase tenfold!"

Kurwin started to rub his chin. "Exactly wot kind of soldiers are we lookin' for?"

"Lizards."

"Wot kind of lizards?"

Darktail continued to smirk and shrugged. Kurwin frowned and lowered his arms. "Your vagueness is beginning to irritate me. Shall I cut the words from your mouth instead?!"

Darktail kept grinning as he stepped close to Kurwin and looked him dead in his eyes. "Need I remind you that nobeast asked me to come here? Nobeast is forcin' me to tell you all this useful information. I've spent days searchin' fer you 'cos I knew you'd be interested. I didn't have to tell you a thing. I could've lied, could've tried to swindle you. I'm merely a fox tryin' to help my fellow vermin brethren take what's rightfully theirs. So you can either believe me an' let me guide you to these lizards, or you can piss away this perfectly good opportunity to strengthen your numbers. Let's see how long you'll last by the time Redwall gets wind of what you've been doin' in Mossflower."

Kurwin and Darktail continued to stare at each other. The ferret kept looking at the fox's crafty smile and the strange gaze in his eyes, as if the fox already knew what Kurwin's response was going to be. The captain felt like declining his offer just to spite him, but he knew better. As much as he wanted to do things his own way, Kurwin couldn't give up such a grand offer that fell right in his lap. He needed more soldiers. And if the soldiers didn't work out, he'd find a way to turn them into slaves. Either way, he couldn't see how this would be deleterious for his crew. So Kurwin broke out into a fit of laughter with spittle flying from his mouth and hitting Darktail in his face. He turned away and grimaced as he wiped some of the spit off. Kurwin slapped the fox on his back a few times before grinning.

"Gotta love you foxes, eh? Your species could talk yer way to a throne if ya tried hard enough!"

Darktail sighed. "So you plan on goin' through with this rescue?"

Kurwin grinned. "Why would I not say yes?"

What Lies Beyond the Walls, Book II: Chapter 2

**XXVI** **Lizard Breath** The young beast was whimpering, staring at the fallen creature with teary eyes. He didn't know what happened or why. He covered his ears and shut his eyes, but he still heard. There were other, older beasts around him. He...

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The Aces of Lylat, Chapter 7: Ruffians on Fire

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Confession

It had been bothering him all day. He could barely focus on his job without looking down and feeling that hardness in his pants. The second he came home he went straight to the bedroom, taking deep breaths as he removed his shirt. The spaniel huffed...

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