A twig snapped in the darkness, and Cowmaster awoke with a start. He peered into the night, but he was tired. It was their second night on the stream, and the hawk was developing a painful crick in his neck that made flight almost impossible. He had become irritable, and Nurv had not wasted one second teasing him about it. He had just settled back down and was about to fall asleep when another branch snapped, much closer this time. Cowmaster was up and moving in a second, rousing Jeol and Nurv. Jeol blinked sleep out of his eyes and yawned.
âWhatâs up Cowmaster?â
âShut up and watch out.â The three turned to the sparse woods flanking the left side of the stream. At first there was nothing, but eventually they saw a dim light coming towards them from out of the woods. After it had drawn closer they found it to be two lights, red and bright. Cowmaster slowly advanced towards them, and after even closer inspection saw that they were eyes. Round and malicious, they floated all the way onto the bank and in a few minutes were almost upon the group. Cowmaster resisted the urge to retreat, and when the eyes threatened to pass through him, they stopped. Cowmaster stood expectantly, and when there was no conversation, he said,
âHello there. Who are you?â Nurv and Jeol flanked the hawk, but still the eyes said nothing. Cowmaster became impatient, and asked for a second time, âWho are you?â The eyes creased, but still did not speak. Cowmaster cawed harshly in anger. Nurv sat up and cocked his head in the direction of the eyes, while Jeol hopped forward slowly. A third time, Cowmaster asked loudly, âWho are you?â There was a pause, and the thing spoke.
âHello there. I am MageGrayWolf. It is nice to meet you.â The voice was utterly disturbing. Not deftly evil as Slothâs was, but it was bestial and crazed. Nurv whimpered piteously, while Jeol crouched down, cowed. Cowmaster, usually annoyed by rabbit instincts, ignored them and waited, but when it was apparent there would be no more, he said,
âWhy are you here?â The eyes pondered the question, and then responded, âWell, I guess Iâm here to eat you. You see, your scent is absolutely delectable.â The group froze. In a second, however, they responded. Nurv quickly turned and gave the thing a kick with his powerful hind legs, while Cowmaster quickly took to the sky. Jeol quietly backed up, and uncertain, started to circle the struggle. Nurvâs kick had connected with something hard and leathery, and the rabbit recoiled in disgust. With the certain events taking place, Nurv was suddenly enlightened to the circumstances his group was in. When they had set out on their journey, the three adventurers had set off with images of grandeur and bravery, saving their warren from imminent danger. This was most certainly not the case. They had not even thought about danger, and the prospect of their mortality almost paralyzed them with fear. Almost. Before MageGrayWolf could respond, Cowmaster had flown down on him and clawed him, digging in with a sharp beak and talons. MageGrayWolf screeched in rage and disappeared. Nurv and Cowmaster looked around in a panic, and turned, too late, to see the thing appear behind Jeol and strike him savagely.
* * * * *
Secretmapper tried to make his voice heard over the din in the warren, but could not succeed. He sighed and gave up trying. Since the death of Gantic, his home has become a train wreck. Him and Zaichic had quickly asserted his authority as new leader, but they had run into trouble. Gantic himself had designed not only the general quarters themselves, but the entire warren. A collapse wasnât possible. This could only mean one thing; there was something out there. There had immediately been uproar in the warren as to its safety. Secretmapper again tried for attention, but again failed. It was going to be a long couple of days.
