The brawny otter winced grimly. “No time for chatter, mate, git us out o’ here, there’s a mob o’ savages on our tails!”
Aluco hove into view, with Samolus and Dwink illuminating the way with lanterns. The tawny owl beckoned urgently. “Back, back, to the ledge. My den’s on the far side of it. I’ll see if I can face them off whilst you escape!”
Bosie saw the mass of dark shapes pouring at them out of the gloom, yelling, screeching and shouting. Drawing the sword of Martin, the mountain hare stood alongside the tawny owl. “Ah’m with ye, bucko, nae beast’ll say that the Laird McScutta left others tae fight his battles!”
As the rest of the party rushed Skipper off to safety, Aluco picked up a lantern, muttering to Bosie, “They fear me, let me show you.” Holding the big emerald in front of the lantern light, the owl gave vent to a blood-chilling cry, which resounded around the passage. “Whoooh! Baliss the Eye of Death sees all! Whoooeeeeh!”
The Painted Ones suddenly fell silent, milling about, as if unsure of what to do. Aluco whispered to Bosie, “Let’s start retreating slowly whilst they’re still.” The vermin mob stayed motionless for a moment, then they were forced to come forward, as the front ranks were shoved by those behind them. Bosie whirled the sword, his blade weaving an eerie green arc in the emerald light. Then he roared out his warcry. “EulaliaaaaBowlayneeeee! Ah’m the slayer frae the mountains! EulaliaaaaBowlaynee! Ah’ll send ye all tae Hellgates! Yaaaahaaarrrrr!” Aluco bellowed out his Eye of Death challenge as Bosie carried on with his battle rant. It seemed to have the desired effect. They backed hastily off, still delivering dire threats.
But it did not last. The pair were almost safely on their way, when the Chieftain of the Painted Ones shouted out angrily, “Gerrem! Killem afore they ’scape! Chaaarge!”
Then the owl and the hare were running for their lives, as the vermin mob stampeded forward after them.
Aluco’s den was a cul-de-sac at the far side of the deep pit. Going in single file along the narrow ledge, which circled the abyss, the friends helped Skipper along, whichever way they could. Gasping and panting, they took shelter behind a palisade of stubby stalagmites, which fronted the den.
Taking his knife, Samolus cut strips from his tunic, passing them to Gullub, Dwink and Umfry. “Gather stones an’ pebbles, there’s lots of ’em about, this cloth should do to make slings. Skip, stay here an’ rest yoreself, we can’t leave Bosie an’ Aluco to face those villains alone. Come on!”
Skipper attempted to rise, but his leg flopped uselessly under him. He thrashed his rudder in frustration. “Garrr! That dart they stuck me in the footpaw with has deadened my blinkin’ leg!” Hauling himself upright on a stalagmite, he pointed. “Ahoy mates, here they come, gimme a sling, will ye!”
Bosie and Aluco reached the narrow rim with the vermin hard on their paws. The owl directed his companion, “Take the left ledge, I’ll go right. Watch out for any darts they shoot at you, they’re dangerous!”
The hare was a short way along the ledge, pushing his back hard against the rocky wall, as he tried to not think of the bottomless void yawning in front of him. A Painted One ventured out onto the ledge, loading a dart into a hollow blowpipe. He leered wickedly at Bosie.
“Yikahee, getcher now, rabbet, Gadik never misses!” A chunk of limestone struck him on the neck. He gave a choking gurgle, and plunged headlong into the pit.
Samolus’s voice called out cheerily, “I never miss, either, scum. Step up, who’s next?” This was followed by a salvo of slingstones, as the defenders called encouragement to Bosie and Aluco. “You’m goo easy naow, zurrs, us’ll give ’em billyoh ’til ee bees safe!”
The vermin gathered on the rim’s edge, with their Chieftain egging them on. “Shoot, shoot! Stoppem! Yikikik!”
Skipper grabbed up a lantern and shook it. “Give me space, mateys, this ’as still got oil in it!” Holding himself upright on the stalagmite fence, he swung the lantern back and forth with his powerful rudder. The still air whooshed as he hurled the lit lantern. Up it went, streaking across the dark pit like a comet. The vermin were too tightly packed on the far rim to avoid it. The missile came down with a crash amongst them, its rock crystal prisms shattering, spraying blazing vegetable oil over the heads of the foebeasts. The screams were deafening; three fell, blazing, into the black abyss. A second lantern followed, thrown by Foremole Gullub’s mighty digging claws. Dwink was about to hurl a third lantern, but he was stopped by Umfry.
“Don’t throw that un, h’it’s the h’only light we got left!”
Bosie and Aluco scrambled into the safety of the cul-de-sac. The hare put up his sword. “Mah thanks tae ye, friends, Ah reckon that’s given the blaggards somethin’ tae think aboot!”
The far rim was in chaos, more vermin were falling into the pit, as the mob scrambled to get away from the flames. The Chieftain was screeching unmercifully, lying flat on his back as he tried to extinguish a smouldering bottom and tail.
A green-and-black-painted female garbed in vines and withered vegetation took charge. She charged about with a long blowpipe, issuing orders. “Back, back, alla ye! Take Chigid with ye!”
Aluco pointed a talon. “That’s Chigid, their leader. He took me captive and pulled my pinions to stop me ever flying. What a pity the flames never slew him, the evil little rat!”
Dwink watched the enemy retreat from the rim. “Is that what Painted Ones are, rats?”
The owl nodded. “Aye, small, wild tree rats. They don’t like anybeast to know what they really are, so they paint themselves all green and black, and wear many kinds of vines and plants to disguise themselves. But there’s lots of them, they’re cruel and vicious!”
Tears popped unbidden to Umfry’s eyes. “H’and they’ve got pore Bisky, our mate!”
Skipper placed both paws against his brow in despair. “Aye, ’twas my fault, I couldn’t stop ’em!”
Bosie patted the otter’s stout back comfortingly. “Ach, ye canna blame yerself, Skip, Ah’ll wager ye did all ye could tae save the young un. But dinna fret, Ah’ll rescue Bisky frae yon vermin rogues. Aye, an’ Ah’ll make ’em weep bitter tears for their wrongdoin’s, ye have McScutta’s word on it!”
Aluco gave the hare a withering sideways glance. “Bravely said, sir, and when, pray, is all this going to happen, eh?”
Umfry interrupted, spikes a-bristle with righteous wrath, “H’as soon h’as possible, h’in fact right now!”
The tawny owl’s huge eyes widened. “Excuse me saying, but do you think that’s wise?”
Dwink sprang up, fitting a rock to his sling. “Wise? There’s no time t’worry about bein’ wise, we’ve got to save our pal Bisky from those fiends!”
Foremole Gullub shook his head at the young squirrel. “Ee owlyburd b’aint no fool, you’m lissen to ’im, zurrs!”
Knowing that mole logic could not be disputed, Samolus agreed with Gullub. He bowed to Aluco. “Carry on, friend.”
The owl puffed out his chest feathers, launching into an explanation. “I know this may sound dreadful, but forget about saving your friend for a moment. Our main problem is how to save ourselves. Think about it. Just up that tunnel there’s a whole army of Painted Ones, thirsting for our blood. Believe me, you wouldn’t last the wink of an eye. I know their leader, Chigid, he’s been injured by the lantern flames. That one won’t rest until your skinned carcasses are hanging from his five-topped oak tree. I was a captive of the Painted Ones for many seasons, I know how they think. They’ll be sworn to avenge themselves against you at all costs.”
Samolus had a question. “But how did you escape from them? And one other thing—where did you get that Doomwyte Eye, the big, green jewel you carry?”
Aluco placed the stone where the lantern light reflected its verdant fires. It was the size of a pigeon’s egg, completely smooth and highly polished. “’Tis a long story of how I escaped those savages. However, I jumped into the hole, near the five-topped oak. With twoscore Painted Ones pursuing me, I went in a mad scramble. I’d never been in the tunnels before, so I just plunged blindly along, not knowing where it would lead me, and totally in the dark. I was beginning to tire, out of breath, they were coming fast, almost right on my tail. The front runners were carrying blazing torches. Just around a bend, I ran smackbang into a locked door. I must have hooted and screeched aloud with pain and shock. Right at that moment they came racing round the bend, holding up their torches. The tunnel was suddenly filled with green light from the stone, which was fixed to the center of the door. What with that, and the dreadful noises I was making, they turned and fled. I could hear them shouting, ‘Baliss! Baliss!’