High Rhulain

Pulling the face mask to one side, the warlord thrust his hideous features close to her. “Never! I’m the only true wildcat here—I, Riggu Felis! You and all the rest of these cats, you are only feral cats. Your ancestors were tame creatures who served stronger beasts. You could not even fend for yourselves. It took my kin, the real wildcats, to conquer your masters. We brought your kind here from the sunset lands of the far oceans. See my colour, my stripes, these are the marks of the proper wildcat bloodline. I am the only one who is all wildcat, a warlord born. Jeefra is more like you, but Pitru has more wildcat in him!”

Pitru had been eavesdropping on his father’s words. “Does that mean I’ll be the ruler of Green Isle someday?”

Riggu allowed the chain mail to cover his lower face again. “It takes more than a bully to make a warlord. You have to be fearless, like me. Why could you not have slain that bird on the eve of the storm, eh?”

Both brothers had been reminded of the incident many times by their father. Pitru did not like being criticised. Turning on one paw, he prowled off, leaving his father with a parting shot. “Huh, you tried, and look at the mess it made of you.”

Springing up in a fury, the wildcat chieftain seized his single-bladed axe. “You insolent whelp! Why, I’ll. . . .”

A cry rang out from the lakeshore, distracting Riggu. “Master, we have taken two prisoners!”

Bound together by ropes, the two otterslaves, Whulky and Chab, were thrust up onto the pier. Surrounding them were catguards, with Weilmark Scaut and Atunra at their head. Still hefting the axe in one paw, Riggu wiped froth from his slobbering lower lip. He composed himself swiftly and sat down.

The prisoners were forced to lie facedown in front of the wildcat as he stared regally at them. “Why do you bring them before me? What have they done?”

The pine marten Atunra bowed. “Master, they were caught outside of the settlement before dawn. Both have been missing all night.”

Weilmark Scaut pointed with his whipbutt at the otters. A large bandage covered Scaut’s jaw, where the missile from Leatho had broken it. He was in pain and had to speak from between clenched teeth.

“This younger one I caught stealing recently. He’s already served a night and a day beneath the pier, Lord. I’ve had my eye on these two, they’re always whisperin’ together.”

He pawed at the painful swelling on the side of his face before continuing. “Last night I could not sleep, so I did a secret visit to the slave compound. They were both missing.”

Scaut winced in agony, while Riggu gestured for Atunra to continue. “After Weilmark Scaut roused me, we took a patrol of catguards and two trackers. We picked up their trail to the riverbank, but there it ended. So we hid and waited, knowing they would return the same way. Sure enough, an hour before dawn, we caught them both skulking back.”

Intrigued, Riggu leaned forward. “And where had they been?”

Scaut was not to be outdone if any credit were to be given. He took up the narrative again, despite his aching jaw. “I sent the trackers downriver, Lord. They found lots of pawprints an’ the ashes of a fire inside the circle of tall stones. They was attendin’ some sort o’ otter outlaw meeting, Sire. I’d swear an oath on it!”

The face mask swayed in and out as the wildcat chieftain beckoned the guards to stand the captives up. He peered at their bruised and battered heads. “Hmm, I see, and they’ve refused to talk, eh?”

Scaut uncoiled his whip. “Leave them to me, Sire. They’ll soon talk when their ribs show through their hides!”

Riggu glimpsed the looks of stubborn defiance the otters gave each other. “No they won’t. Put away that lash, I have a better idea. Tell me, do they have families?”

Atunra answered smartly, “Master, the younger one has a wife and three offspring. The older one has only a wife.”

Riggu looked at the two otters enquiringly. “Why do you not think of your families and talk to me?”

Whulky and Chab remained tight-lipped. The wildcat shrugged. “Bravery in a warrior is an admirable quality, but bravery in a slave with loved ones to care for is just plain stupidity. So, do you wish to speak to me now, or go to your deaths in silence?”

Whulky and Chab were trembling all over, but they stared straight ahead without saying a single word.

The wildcat leaned back in his chair, tapping his claws on the arm. “So be it. Tie them both underneath this pier until tomorrow morning. If they haven’t spoken by then, we’ll take them to Deeplough and introduce them to Slothunog.”

He rose dismissively and wandered casually indoors. Stopping in the fortress doorway, Riggu Felis called back over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought, “Oh, and let their families join them beneath the pier. They can accompany them to Deeplough. That might help to loosen their tongues before tomorrow.”

Atunra and the catguards marched the otters off. Whulky and Chab were in deep shock at the horror they and their families would have to face.

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