What Lies Beyond the Walls, Book II: Chapter 8

Story by Tcyk89 on SoFurry

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#8 of What Lies Beyond the Walls: Book II

Benrath finally confronts Jurlick; Darktail comes up with a new plan after his previous failure, but it all slowly unravels in front of him; Tegast and Grustur run into some new friends, along with new enemies.


XXXII

All Together Now

One last play. Lizards wouldn't help him. Pirates wouldn't help him. The goodbeasts of the forest definitely wouldn't go near him once they figured out who he was. So that only left the Guosim. He ran across the shrews a few times before. He engaged in a few deals here and there with their Chieftain. All he had to do was walk up to Log-a-Log and bow, maybe kiss his footpaws if necessary. If he said the right words and told the shrew what he wanted to hear, he could be a Guosim advocate for the next few seasons. Soon enough, everybeast would know about Darktail the Schemer, about how he managed to overthrow all these lizards and every other beast tormenting the land. The Guosim would keep him safe. The Guosim would protect him. He knew they would. They'd better. The sly fox knew he could easily turn everything against Log-a-Log if they didn't. He knew the MSB would be delighted to hear about some of the dastardly acts he committed in the past. But the vulpine was out of options. He needed friends, not more enemies.

The fox traveled alongside the river, panting heavily as sweat ran down his face. Darktail stopped for a moment and leaned against one of the trees so he could exhale sharply. He shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead as his stomach began to growl. He ran out of food, and the berries he consumed only sated his hunger for an hour. Darktail wiped the sweat off his face before he lifted his right footpaw and winced. Blisters. Fucking great, he thought. It was bad enough that he had been wandering around the woods by himself for over a day now. It was even worse that his body was beginning to take its toll and he was slowly getting more paranoid as each hour passed. And if that wasn't bad enough, he could smell those lizards in the distance again. Darktail put his footpaw down and resumed his journey. And then he swore after hearing a nasty snarl.

"Iz that a fox I zmell?"

The vulpine scrambled up a tree so fast he nearly popped the blisters on his footpaw in the process. He kept his mouth shut as he scampered up to the highest branch. But it was already too late. The monitor had spotted him. Darktail stayed on the branch anyway, hoping that the beast down below would lose track of him or suspect that he was still on the ground. He moved one of the branches aside and glanced down so he could get a better look at what he saw. Thankfully, he didn't stumble across another vile orgy, but the beast still preferred if he never saw another lizard again. The slender monitor stood beside the river and snorted twice as she gripped her spear. She snarled noisily as two shrews walked towards her.

"Wot is it?" one of them asked.

"Rrr...fox! Get the Mighty One. There'z an intruder lurking in the midzt."

The shrew scoffed. "Yew git 'im. I ain't goin' near that fuckin' monster."

"Hiz name iz Krazzak Ralfur, an' you would be wize t'show him zome rezpect!"

"We'll respect ye monitors as soon as ye wash yore mouths out. Go fetch yer 'Mighty One.' We'll stay 'ere an' scan the perimeter again."

The monitor lizard snorted. "Fine...but ye better watch your own mouth. It'd be a shame to have ta remove that fat tongue of yerz."

Darktail watched as the monitor lizard walked away. The fox blinked and glanced down at the shrews as he looked at his options. He was tempted to go down and ask them for help, but something told him they might attack on sight. The vulpine sighed softly and rubbed his nose. He had to speak to Log-a-Log personally--that was the only way he could get out of this alive.

"I dunno wot we're doin' with these twats t'begin with. Don't see 'ow they're gunna be much 'elp," said one of the shrews.

"Leave it to the Chieftain. He's always cookin' up some plan in that noggin' o' 'is," replied the other shrew.

It wouldn't be hard, nor would it take long. All the vulpine had to do was follow the river until he spotted the giant hut. Darktail crouched down and took out a small knife once he spotted a monitor standing on a branch in the adjacent tree. The fox swore softly and paused. He gripped his knife firmly and waited until the reptile was in the right spot. He watched as the giant lizard turned his head, and then he threw it. The beast gurgled for a moment and grabbed his throat as he toppled backwards and fell in the river. Darktail stood up and broke into a sprint, running along the branch and hopping to another tree as a few shrews and lizards hurried over to the lizard's corpse. He could see the logboats now, all of them resting in the water and tied to the trees or large rocks. Darktail exhaled and started to climb down the tree, digging his claws into the bark as he hurried to the ground. The vulpine hopped off and landed with a soft thud, then stood straight up. He didn't wait; there was no point in turning himself into a target. So Darktail started to run forward. And then froze when he heard a raspy growl.

"Darktail," Rowgat growled.

The fox whipped out his dagger and lashed backwards. Rowgat side-stepped the vulpine and quickly grabbed his wrist. Then the scaly beast squeezed until Darktail gradually opened his mouth to shout. His grip loosened, and the weapon fell from his paw. The fox panted a few times and stared at Rowgat's glowing eyes and menacing smile. He chuckled meekly.

"H-Hey! Sorry 'bout that--you...you startled me!"

"Did I?" Rowgat hissed and looked around. "Where'z Dazz an' Izzlak?"

"I-I was just--I was about to go find your Mighty One an'-an' discuss the, um--this whole...dilemma I've come across!"

"Oh? Were you?"

Darktail nodded. "That's right! So, um, perhaps now, you can let me go--"

Darktail shouted when Rowgat tightened his grip even more. The monitor turned the fox around and started to shove him forward.

"I got a better idea! Let'z go zee the Mighty One together! Then you c'n fully explain where you've been theze pazt few dayz, an' why you came back empty-pawed!"

Darktail started to breathe heavily as the lizard held him by the back of his neck firmly. The fox shut his eyes and swore. He knew his night couldn't get any worse than this.


Benrath was crouching down beside the river, letting his system void itself of the remains. When the last bit of the semen was out of his rectum, he proceeded to wash himself thoroughly. The lizard stink, the saliva and semen, the scent of his father--he wanted it all gone. The shrew struggled to move his limbs; he'd wince or grit his teeth whenever he strained himself. Sometimes he'd splash water on himself and feel the fluids seeping into all his wounds. Other times his tailhole would widen spontaneously, and the shrew thought he'd end up voiding his bowels a second time. But at worst, all he pushed out was air or small droplets of seed. After the beast cleaned himself up, he found some poultice and rubbed it on a few of his wounds. Then the shrew remained still and stared down into the water, looking at his reflection. All he could see was his father now, not the kind, young beast who wanted to become the leader of the Guosim one day. All the scars and bruises he received, his devotion to the tribe--it was all because his father corrupted him. The shrew slowly closed his eyes and flared his nostrils.

It had to end. All of this. His father, these lizards, Jurlick--every single one of them had to die. It wasn't just for him; if his father kept this up, he'd find another poor, young beast to drag into his web. And considering how petty and vengeful Jurlick was, he needed to perish too. At the rate he was going, he'd end up murdering somebeast else for sneezing in the wrong direction. Benrath opened his eyes and huffed. He reached up and grabbed his headband. And then he untied it and dropped it in the river. No more. No more Guosim, no more Log-a-Log--it all needed to stop. Tonight. Benrath turned around and looked at his clothes and the backpack filled with pine cones. He stood up and walked over to his clothing so he could put them on. After he fastened his belt and smoothed out his tunic, he reached for his backpack.

"Benrath?"

The shrew blinked and turned to his right. He let go of the pack and stared at the shrew with a blue headband on. "Wot is it, Kallin?"

"Jus' heard about wot the Chieftain's plannin'. Workin' with these lizards? Wot the 'ell's...the fuck happened t'ye?"

Benrath looked down at his scars and bruises, and then he rubbed his left eye, which was now blackened. "It's not important."

"I was...was that ye screamin' earlier? Those lizards told me--"

"It is not important," Benrath stated again.

"Wotcha mean it ain't important? Somebeast beat the shit outta ye an' yer just gunna stand there an' not let...it was Jurlick again, weren't it?"

"Kallin, please stop askin' questions." Benrath looked at the brewer's weapon and sniffed. "An' gimme yore spear."

"...Wot?"

"Yore spear. I need it."

Benrath didn't continue. He just waited until the brewer walked over to him and handed him the spear. The shrew gripped it tightly and nodded. Then he walked over and picked up his backpack and slung it over his back.

"Ben, jus' talk t'me. Wot the 'ell happened?!"

"Ask yore Chieftain."

"I'm askin' you!"

Benrath huffed noisily before he turned back around and looked at Kallin. "I opened my eyes, Kallin. That's wot happened. I realized that the Guosim is not the place fer me. It never was. I realized that my 'father' is really jus' a cold-hearted sadist who only cares about hisself. I thought he loved me. I thought he cared about me. But he never did. It's always gotta be about him."

"Did Log-a-Log do sumthin' to ye?"

"He's been doin' it since I were a babe, Kallin. I'm sure he's done it t'others too. He...where's Jurlick?"

Kallin gestured uphill. "Near that big pear tree. Think he's gettin' shit-faced again."

Benrath nodded. "Thank you."

Benrath was about to walk away when the brewer called out his name again. "We're not finished yet! Wot did Log-a-Log do t'ye?!"

"It doesn't matter anymore. Not after tonight. Once I do wot needs to be done, he won't hurt me or anybeast else ever again."

"Hurt y...Ben--"

"Ye always were nice t'me, Kallin. Sometimes...sometimes I wish ye 'ad been me father instead. Oh well...guess it's too late now. I prolly won't see ye again after tonight. But I jus'..."

Benrath shook his head. "Never mind. Goodbye, Kallin. And sorry."

"Sorry--"

Kallin shouted as Benrath whacked him in the head with the spear. He couldn't have anybeast interfering. Not now, not when his mind was finally clear. The shrew looked down at the wounded brewer and heard him groan. He whacked him in the head again just to make sure he stayed unconscious. Then Benrath turned around and walked up the hill, ready to confront Jurlick.


Darktail grunted when Rowgat shoved him down into a pile of mud. The fox groaned and slowly got to his footpaws, still trying to figure out a way to spin this to his favor. As the vulpine stood, he found himself facing a few other monitors, along with the chubby Shrew Chieftain.

"Heeeeeeeeey, Krassak! It's nice t'see you again!"

Krassak got right to the point. "Where are my lizardz?"

Darktail scratched the back of his head. "Now, now, Krassy! Let's, uh, let's not be rude and ignore this plump beast over here! What's yer name, good sir?"

Log-a-Log responded by belching noisily near Darktail's face. The fox coughed a few times and fanned the gas away before he shook his head.

"All right then, nice t'meet ya, Sir Gasshole! I'm Darktail the Schemer!"

"And I'm goin' t'fuck ye in the arse," growled Log-a-Log.

Darktail's eyes widened. He flicked his eyes back and forth between the two individuals and chuckled quietly. "Well now! Seems like you two are a bit hostile this evening! Perhaps it's better if I leave you alone, let you calm down--"

"Tell 'im where Dazz an' Izzlak are, vermin," Rowgat growled.

"Oh, gee. Y'see, here's the thing, I found the lizards--an' I even rescued them myself! But along the way, we ran into some pirates and...well...y'know how hot-headed them pirates be! So, um, so-so we were headin' back here, and...things happened..."

"They're dead," Krassak concluded.

"Yeah."

There was no point in lying anymore. They had him. The least he could do was admit it instead of dragging his lie out. Darktail was expecting the giant lizard to cut him down right then and there. He thought the monitor would leap on him and bite out his jugular. If anything, he thought Rowgat would yank his trousers down and sodomize him in front of everybeast. Instead, Krassak smiled widely and walked up to the vulpine. Then he planted a scaly paw on his head and rubbed his scalp.

"It'z okay. I know you tried yer bezt. We can't win 'em all, can we?"

"I'm sorry, Mighty Krassak. I wish there was somethin' I could do to make it up to you."

"Oh, you have! Yer gonna be our midnight znack."

Darktail's eyes grew wide. "What?"

Krassak turned and faced two other monitors. "Azloth, Palfin!"

"Yez, Mighty One?" they said in unison.

"Take thiz filth away an' kill 'im. I know you two haven't eaten in a while, zo you can have thiz tazty fox all to yourzelvez!"

Azloth, the young blue monitor with black spots on his body, licked his choppers and stomped towards the frightened fox. "With pleasure, Mighty Krazzak!"

Rowgat shoved Darktail over to Azloth. The fox started panting and struggling as the blue monitor grabbed him from behind and tried to hold his arms down.

"Wait! I--what about our plans?! What about the things I told you?! I can help you!"

Krassak shook his head. "Too late for that. Zir Gazzhole here iz my new ally!"

Darktail snarled. "Yer gunna partner with this fat fuck over me?!"

"This 'fat fuck' is the Chieftain of the mighty Guosim!" Log-a-Log bellowed. "As flatulent and corpulent as I may be, I am far more resourceful than some fox who 'olds less value than the shit-stains on me loincloths an' kilts."

"But I-I c'n be a tracker fer you!"

"I have many trackers in the Guosim already," said Log-a-Log.

"But w-what about--"

"Log-a-Log haz the zoldierz I need, the food I need, the layout of thiz forezt, proper routez to take on thiz river, contactz who could be uzeful in the future--he haz everything I need. All I azked you to do waz deliver two of my lizardz to me, unharmed, and you couldn't even do that. Meanwhile," said Krassak, as he put his arm around Log-a-Log's shoulders, "thiz kind beazt here welcomed me with open armz even after I zlaughtered zome of hiz shrewz. And then he happily decided to work alongzide me an' azzizt me to the bezt of hiz ability, while you had the audazity to inzult my army and try to bargain yer way into my good gracez!"

Log-a-Log shook his head. "As I always say, ye can't ever trust 'em foxes!"

"No, you can't."

Darktail huffed. "Kr...please. I can--"

"Feed my two lizardz, that'z what you can do."

Krassak said no more. He waved the two monitors away, and they started to drag Darktail over to the river. The fox continued to protest and swear at the reptiles, but they didn't listen. All he could do now was accept his fate.


There he was, sitting there acting like everything was okay. Benrath thought about breaking out into a fit of screaming and cursing, but he saw no point. He knew what he needed to do, and he knew he was better off if he had a clear head. So the shrew walked towards Jurlick, wincing slightly as he forced himself to ignore all the pain. Jurlick laughed to himself before he took his bottle of shrewbeer and consumed a large portion of it. He took the bottle from his mouth and spat some of the fluids into the campfire. Benrath crept behind Jurlick and blinked.

"Hello, Jurlick."

The smug shrew turned around and grinned at Benrath. "Oh. Hey, faggot! Sorry, ain't no lizards here! I'm sure yer father won't mind havin' another go at ye though!"

Benrath raised his spear and impaled Jurlick in his right kneecap. The other shrew yowled and dropped his beer bottle as he looked down at his knee. Then Benrath removed the spear with a meaty squelch and kicked Jurlick in the torso. The beast toppled over the stump he was sitting on and started to groan.

"FUCK! Mother--wot the fuck are ye doin'?!"

Jurlick yowled again when Benrath thrust the tip of the spear into his other kneecap. As Benrath pulled it back out, a stream of blood started to run down Jurlick's left leg.

"WOT?! Ye-ye want me t'apologize?! Kay, I-I'm--I'm sorry! Awright?! I'm fuckin'--it was jus' a joke! It was a fuckin' joke, Ben!"

Benrath blinked. "Okay."

"Okay?! W-wot the fuck ye mean 'okay'?!"

Benrath shrugged. "Okay."

Benrath removed his backpack and set it down on the ground. He flicked his eyes at Jurlick as the shrew tried to stand up. He barely managed to hoist his body back up before he collapsed onto the ground again. The shrew swore twice and reached for the dagger in his waistsash. But Benrath was ahead of him; he rushed over to the shrew and kicked the dagger from his paw before he could use it. Then he casually picked up the weapon and put it in his own belt. Jurlick panted twice and began to crawl backwards.

"S-so--so wot?! Ye...ye gonna kill me? Huh? That it?! Ye gonna fuckin' kill me over a stupid fuckin' prank?!"

He could argue with Jurlick, tell him that what he did was anything but a prank. He could toy with him, scream at him, lash out at him as he called him every single insult in his vocabulary. But he saw no point in doing so.

"Yes."

"Okay, hold up. I'm...I'm sorry, Ben. I-I mean it! I got carried away--I-I was wrong! I...I shouldn't have done that."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. I shoulda stuffed a gag in yore fuckin' mouth so I wouldn't hear your pathetic whinin'!"

Benrath blinked. He bent over and emptied his backpack. Jurlick huffed as he looked at all the cones lying on the ground.

"The fuck's that?"

"Pine cones."

"I-I know that, faggot! Wotcha gonna do: make me choke on 'em?"

Benrath walked over to Jurlick and kicked him in the mouth. As Jurlick lied on the ground moaning and holding his maw, Benrath bent down and flipped him over so he was lying on his stomach. Benrath stood behind Jurlick, crouched down, and grabbed his kilt and loincloth.

"Wot the FUCK?! STOP!"

Benrath yanked his trousers down, exposing the beast's rump. Jurlick started to whimper and clawed at the ground, but Benrath planted his right footpaw on his back and pinned him in place.

"I'M SORRY! Okay, I-I mean it--I mean it this time! I'm sorry! Please don't--"

"I'm not gunna rape you, Jurlick. I'm not like ye. I'm not like the Chieftain."

"Th-then--then pull me fuckin' kilt up! Let me go--let me go! PLEASE!"

Benrath was about to say something else when he heard a tiny sob. The shrew waited, and the sob gradually turned into whimpering and sniffling. When Jurlick turned and looked up over his shoulder, his teeth were grit and his cheeks were wet with tears.

"Is this wot ye want? Huh? Ye-ye fuckin' hap-happy now, faggot?! This wot ye wanted t'see?!"

Benrath didn't answer. He blinked and continued to stare at Jurlick as the beast sobbed again and began to shake. He shook his head and sniffled.

"I dun wanna die, Ben...please. I'm sorry, Ben! How many times I gotta say it?!"

"Until you mean it."

"I DO MEAN IT!"

Benrath shook his head. "No. You don't."

"FINE! FUCK IT THEN! GE-GET IT O'ER WITH! Go-go...go on, faggot! Kill me since that's wot ye want!"

"Wot I want...hmph. To tell ye the truth, I'm not sure wot I want anymore. But I know I don't want revenge."

"Yes, ye do! Otherwise ye wouldn't be-be doin' this!"

"In order fer me to have revenge on ye, I'd have to get those lizards t'fuck you back to back in one session. In order t'get revenge on the Chieftain, I would have ta rape 'im several times over the span of nearly eighteen seasons. I'd...I'd have to make him suck me cock when he's only two seasons an' he don't know any better. I'd have to flog 'im fer pissin' in his cot, fer not doin' wot I say, fer not catchin' enough fish, fer not... I would have to torture him for over ten seasons. That's how long he..."

Benrath closed his eyes. He paused and listened to Jurlick whimpering and crying. The shrew sucked on his teeth and shook his head. "It don't matter. Wot's done is done. An' now you an' my 'father' are going to answer fer wot ye both did t'me."

Benrath walked over and picked up one of the pine cones. Then he walked back over to the wounded shrew and roughly shoved the bitter cone inside his mouth to muffle his voice. As the shrew gagged and mumbled, Benrath acquired another cone and tossed it in his paw.

"Ye'd always throw these at me. I thought rocks or stones, even yer own shit would suffice. But now I see why. They're very large and prickly..."

Benrath turned and stared at Jurlick's exposed hole. "And hard."

Jurlick mumbled something as he drooled, but Benrath couldn't make out what he said. Ben crouched down near Jurlick's anus and rubbed his nose.

"I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't rape ye. But before I kill you, yer gonna know wot that feels like. Yer gonna understand the pain that I went through tonight, the pain I've had to deal with fer over ten seasons. And I assure you, no matter how much it hurts, no matter how much ye scream, no matter how much ye bleed...it will never compare to wot Log-a-Log did to me."

Jurlick muttered something again, but Benrath didn't listen. He took the pine cone in his paw, placed it against Jurlick's anus, and started to shove it inside. The beast's screams were muffled, but his voice was still vociferous enough for somebeast nearby to hear. Benrath didn't care. He kept stuffing the pine cone inside, listening as the prickly object scraped against Jurlick's rectum and cracked a few times. Benrath grunted a few times as the cone got stuck, but he managed to cram the cone inside after pushing it forward with both paws. The entire time, Jurlick was wailing pathetically and trying to jerk his body around to escape. But his damaged kneecaps rendered his legs inoperable; all he could do was crawl. And whenever Jurlick tried to move away, Benrath would either kick him or pin him down again. Once the first cone was inside, Benrath picked up a second, much thicker cone from the ground. He crouched down and repeated the gesture, shoving it inside Jurlick's sensitive hole. He watched as the hole dilated so it could take the giant cone in. Jurlick spat out the cone in his mouth and began to wail in a clearer voice. Benrath walked over to his mouth and shoved the cone back inside to shut him up again.

"Don't worry, Jurlick. I'll stop after the twelfth cone."

Jurlick lied on the ground and continued to sob. Benrath stoically crouched back down and kept inserting the cone inside his rectum.


He wasn't done yet. Not here. Not now. He still had a chance to get away--he just had to take it. There was no way he could die now--not like this. Darktail continued to whimper and pant as the lizards hauled him over to the river to execute him. And the entire time, Darktail was trying to bargain his way to freedom.

"Pl-please, please--c'mon now! I-I can--"

"Shurrup, vermin!" snarled Palfin.

Darktail grunted when the monitor shoved him down against the bank of the river. The vulpine swiftly turned around and got on his knees, looking up at the monitors with hopeful eyes.

"Spare me! Please! I'll do anything ye a-ask! I beg of you!"

Azloth and Palfin flicked their eyes at each other. The latter monitor hissed and rotated his index finger. "Turn 'round. Pull 'em trousers down."

Darktail blinked and shook his head. "N-no. No, n-not--not that! I'll-I'll do anything but that!"

"Fine. Open yer mouf, zuck m'cockz."

Darktail huffed and rolled his eyes. "I'll do anything that doesn't involve you two fuckin' me!"

"Hmm...zlice off yer own flesh an' feed it to uz!" growled Azloth.

"Oh, yez, YEZ! Wanna tazte dat fox flesh!" Palfin added.

"Oh fer fuck's sake," Darktail murmured.

"Wot waz that?!"

Darktail leaped forward, sobbing and sniffling as he latched his arms around Palfin's legs. "PLEASE! I'm-I'm sorry--I dun wanna die! Have mercy! Please...I-I can't die like this..."

Palfin looked down at the crying fox as he continued to weep and tremble. The lizards looked at each other again before Palfin grinned widely. "Zince ye down dere, lick m'cloaca! Gerrit all nice 'n' clean!"

Darktail listened to the two monitors as they laughed and sneered at him. They clearly weren't paying enough attention or they would've seen him move his paw to the side so he could take out another one of his knives. Darktail opened his eyes and snarled as he shoved the knife upwards and stabbed Palfin in his cloaca. The lizard howled shrilly as blood started to drip from the orifice. The fox swiftly removed the knife, got to his footpaws, and gunned for Azloth. The other monitor reacted just as fast and threw his spear at Darktail, just as the fox used Palfin for a shield. The fox shouted as he dove out the way, while the spear went straight through Palfin's torso. The fox immediately got back up as Azloth took out his cutlass. He snarled viciously as he swung his weapon at the fox, slowly becoming more agitated because he couldn't hit him. The swift fox ducked and weaved, panting as he looked around for something else to use as a weapon.

"HOLD ZTILL!" Azloth hissed.

Darktail side-stepped the lizard when Azloth swung his cutlass vertically. He ducked when he swung it horizontally twice. He backed away when the monitor tried to impale him with the long weapon. Furious and losing his patience, Azloth tossed his cutlass at Darktail's head. The fox ducked as the cutlass smacked against a tree, and then screamed when Azloth tackled him to the ground. Darktail grunted and swore as Azloth snarled and drooled all over his face. The fox gritted his teeth when the lizard dug his claws into his face and began to scratch hard enough to draw blood. Darktail stared at the reptile's nasty maw and shoved his mouth away with one paw. He used his other one to bring his knife up to the reptile's throat. Azloth gurgled as the blade punctured his flesh. He stopped clawing at Darktail's face and felt fluids dripping from his neck. The lizard coughed and groaned softly as he slouched over and collapsed into the soil. The vulpine panted heavily and wiped the slobber off his face before he rolled over and proceeded to stab Azloth in the neck six more times, squirting blood all over his face. Then the fox stood up, ran over to Palfin's body, and sliced his neck open.

Darktail wasn't taking any chances--even he knew some beasts were capable of surviving seemingly mortal injuries. After the fox disposed of the two lizards, he put his knife away and retrieved Azloth's cutlass. Then the fox grabbed the spear and grunted as he wrenched it out of Palfin's torso with a soft squish. Darktail looked up ahead where Krassak and the Guosim were. Then he turned tail and ran. Time for plan C...or D, thought Darktail. Whichever fuckin' one it is.


Benrath stared at Jurlick as he moaned softly. He had cried so much that the shrew didn't have any more tears left in him. Ben walked over to Jurlick's behind and stared at his ravaged anus. There was blood mixed in with fecal matter laying on the ground in-between his thighs. At some point, Benrath shoved so many pine cones up Jurlick's rectum that he pushed some of them back out, and ended up defecating in the process. Even now there was still blood and small bits of air leaking out of Jurlick's soiled anus. Benrath looked at the mess Jurlick made before he waltzed over and picked up the spear. He twirled it a few times and held it in front of Jurlick's face.

"No...no more," Jurlick said weakly. "Stop..."

Benrath crouched down and tapped Jurlick on his muzzle. "Those pine cones were only a warm-up. Wanted to stretch ye out, y'see. I'm sure now it'll be much easier stickin' this into ye."

Jurlick looked at the long spear with a metal tip and shuddered. "HELP! SOMEBEAST--"

Benrath took one of the pine cones and shoved it so far into Jurlick's mouth that it was caught in his throat. Jurlick let out several choking noises while Benrath walked behind Jurlick and pointed the spear at his anus. He crouched down and lined up the tip with his rectum closely, making sure the angle was just right. And then he jammed the spear inside with an audible squish. Benrath thought Jurlick was too exhausted to scream, but he was wrong. Even with the pine cone in his mouth, Jurlick still managed to holler and cry, his eyes growing wide as the weapon was crammed inside his tailhole. Benrath kept jamming the spear further inside, observing more blood and some feces leaking out. The spear started to rupture Jurlick's intestinal lining and punctured various parts of his colon. Benrath stopped when the spear was half-way in and stood up. He heard leaves and twigs snapping in the background, but paid no attention to it. Jurlick's screams were waning now--he knew the shrew was on the verge of dying from shock soon. Breathing heavily, Benrath held the spear and snapped it in half as he struck it with his footpaw. The beast carried the piece of wood over to Jurlick's head.

He looked down at the beast for a moment. Jurlick looked up at Benrath, hoping the shrew would change his mind at the last second and show mercy. But Benrath's form of "mercy" was to drive the jagged end of the hard wood into Jurlick's right eye. He thought about letting Jurlick bleed out, or even letting the shock get to him. But Ben saw no point in dragging this out any longer. After he inserted the wood into Jurlick's eye, the shrew's body twitched a few times and gradually went still. Benrath took several deep breaths as he heard stomping and branches moving behind him. His eyes widened. The shrew slowly turned around and stared at an adolescent rat and chubby watervole.

"Wot the fuck?!" shouted Teg.

Benrath suddenly felt emasculated, as if somebeast just caught him masturbating in public. He didn't know what to say to the beasts; there was no way he could lie about committing the murder, let alone the graphic position said body was in. He stammered and blinked, while Tegast and Grustur took out their weapons.

"Wait--"

"Get out of our fuckin' way," growled Grustur. "I don't...the fuck happened 'ere?!"

Benrath raised his paws. "Th-this doesn't involve ye. It...I won't harm you, kay? This was jus' 'tween me an' 'im, that's all."

"I take it yer Chieftain knows nothin' 'bout this?"

"The Chieftain don't care 'bout nobeast but hisself. He's gunna ruin the Guosim at the rate he's goin'."

"Wot are you talkin' about?" asked Tegast.

"He's workin' with monitor lizards now. Cannibalistic monitor lizards who--"

"Are you shitting me?! Those are the same fuckin' lizards we've been runnin' from!"

Benrath snorted. "Yer better off turnin' back around and gettin' as far 'way from 'ere as possible. The--"

"Oi, Ben! Get yer arse o'er 'ere! Something went wrong..."

Benrath gasped. He turned around and spotted a shrew with a gray headband walking towards him. The shrew walked up to Benrath and froze when she saw Jurlick's body. The shrew panted a few times and gazed at Benrath.

"L-let me--"

"Yew fuckin' traitor," she growled.

The shrew grabbed her rapier's hilt. Benrath sprinted towards her and grabbed her paws before she removed the weapon from its sheath. Both shrews began to tussle with each other as Benrath tried to keep the rapier down.

"No, no, no, no--WAIT! Let--"

"GET OFF!"

"Let--LET ME EXPLAIN!"

Benrath heard a crunching squelch, followed by the shrew gasping. He quickly backed away and whimpered when he looked down and saw that somebeast impaled the shrew with a spear. Ben looked back up as the other shrew started to cough up blood. Then she groaned and collapsed to the ground. Tegast and Grustur rushed towards Benrath just as the killer revealed himself.

"Fuckin' shrews," Darktail murmured.

The fox walked over to the shrew's corpse and removed the spear, just in time to spot the other three beasts and the ravaged cadaver in the distance. He looked at Jurlick's body, then at the trio, then back at Jurlick's body. Darktail scowled slowly and blinked.

"Erm...I'll come back," he said meekly.

Grustur grabbed the fox and dragged him towards him before he could run. He held his dagger up to his throat and snarled.

"You jus' murdered that shrew!"

"Yeah, well, you just murdered that shrew over there!"

Benrath blinked. "Actually, I did that."

"I don't give a shit who did it! All three of you are in on it; we're all in the same fuckin' boat now!"

Tegast blinked and cocked his head sideways. He walked towards Darktail and sniffed twice. "It can't...you son of a bitch."

"Technically, I'm a son of a vixen, but thanks," Darktail quipped.

Tegast drew his dagger at the fox now. "I fuckin' told you! I told you if I ever saw you again, I'd fuckin' kill you!"

Darktail raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Teg, you know this fox?" Grus asked.

"He an' this other fox tried to steal all my stuff! Then yer li'l friend tried to force himself on me!"

"I-I don't know what--"

"DON'T! I know you fuckin' remember who I am! Back in the swamp? Uh, um--Mark-somethin' or wotever! That fox tried to fuckin' rape me an' you let it happen!"

Grustur snarled. "You tried to rape Teg?"

"NO! No--fucking--that's not what happened! Markwin had a problem, okay?! But he's dead now; it don't matter no more! I've been on my own fer over a week now!"

"There's two dead shrews o'er here. We can kill each other later," Benrath growled.

Grustur turned and glared at Ben. "Don't think we're yer buddies now. Yer the reason why one of them bodies is there to begin with!"

"Look, I-I dunno wot happened with that beast with a stick up his arse, but we gotta go right now 'afore them lizards find me!" shouted Darktail.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't scalp you right now!" Tegast barked.

"'Cos I know about the tunnels 'round here! I know a lot 'bout Mossflower, the paths we c'n take to avoid the Guosim--everything!"

"I know a lot 'bout this forest too," Grustur interrupted. "What we need you for?"

"Backup? What happens if you end in in Hellgates? Who's gonna take care--"

The four beasts heard shouting and footsteps in the distance. The moment they turned to look, an arrow found its way near Tegast's leg. The young rat shouted, moments before they spotted a few dark figures coming towards them in the distance.

"Gah, jus' shut up an' get all the weapons! I'll show you where the tunnels are!"

They didn't have time to explain what happened--not with both bodies right there, and not with two other dead lizards near the river. The four creatures retrieved all of the dead shrews' weapons and ran in the other direction, with Darktail leading the way.


Kallin winced as the medic applied alcohol and poultice on his head. He and several other members of the Guosim were standing alongside a few reptiles, appalled at the news they heard. The shrew brewer gestured for the medic to stop dabbing his head with the soaked cloth and he walked over to the angry Chieftain.

"So wot's our plan now, Chief?"

Log-a-Log snorted and folded his arms. He flicked his eyes at the two dead shrews before looking up at a short shrew with a green and yellow spotted headband.

"Are you absolutely sure of wot ye saw, Mirnsak?"

Mirnsak nodded. "Big shrew, looked a bit like you, sah. Saw three other beasts with him run off that way. I come o'er here with some o' Krassak's lizards, find Jurlick an' Ginny dead."

"Hmph. I see."

"It...maybe it wasn't Benrath," the medic added. "Coulda been another--"

"It was Ben," Kallin stated. "That's how I got this lump on me 'ead. I talked to him not long ago. He sounded...off. He wouldn't tell me wot was wrong. Next thing I know, he's whackin' me in the skull with me own spear."

"But that don't mean Ben murdered Jurlick! Or Ginny, for that matter!"

Kallin scoffed. "Look at 'im! He's got a spear shoved up his arse! Who else would be that melodramatic about killin' 'im? Jurlick's been the bane o' Benrath's existence fer several seasons now. Maybe he finally snapped an' just killed 'im."

"So wot 'appened with Ginny?"

Kallin shook his head. "Jurlick I can unnerstand, but her? That mighta been somebeast else. She got hit in the back from a spear it looks like. And seein' as how the spear Ben used to murder Jurlick with is still up his hole..."

Log-a-Log scoffed. "Ben's a traitor, pure an' simple! He killed Jurlick out o' petty revenge! Ginny saw, so he killed her too to cover his tracks! Then the coward ran the second Mirnsak sighted 'im."

"That doesn't explain all the beasts he was with though," said Mirnsak.

Gila the Putrid stepped near the shrews and chuckled. "We lozt a few lizardz earlier tonight. Talked t'Luggrar 'bout it, an' ye wanna know wot he said?"

Krassak hissed. "What?"

"He told me zome o' hiz lizardz zpotted two beaztz together: a ztinky rat an' zome watervole."

"The zame two we keep running into?"

Gila nodded. "Zoundz like it."

Krassak snorted. "On top of that, we found Azloth an' Palfin'z bodiez too. That fox muzt've killed 'em and ezcaped."

"So, this fox slews two o' yer lizards, runs away, my son kills two o' me shrews, runs off, an' this all happens 'round the same time ye reptiles run into an ol' foe of yores?"

"Yeah, I don't believe in coincidencez either. Gila, you an' Rowgat get all the lizardz together! Zend zome unitz out t'go find 'em!"

Gila nodded. "On it, Mighty One!"

The shrews watched as the plump, odd-colored reptile walked away whilst Kallin turned and faced Log-a-Log. "Wot about Benrath, sah?"

"Kill 'im."

All the shrews' eyes grew wide. "WOT!"

"But--he's yore son, Chief!"

Log-a-Log scoffed. "He's a traitor. He murdered two o' his own, then ran away instead o' facin' the consequences. For that, he must die."

"That--" Kallin rubbed his forehead. "Yore not even gunna give 'im a proper trial? Shouldn't we at least hear his side o' the story? Doesn't yer son--"

"He's not me son anymore!" Log-a-Log exclaimed. "He's a traitor, nothing more, nothing less! Ye see 'im, ye kill 'im! Alla ye tell everybeast in the Guosim that Benrath Brugo is a turncoat who killed his own! Ye unnerstand?!"

The medic and Mirnsak blinked and flicked their eyes at each other. "Sah, I-I don't--"

"Do ye unnerstand or not?!"

Mirnsak shut his eyes and sighed. "Ye--"

"No," Kallin interrupted.

Log-a-Log raised an eyebrow and put his paws on his hips. "No?"

"Before Ben assaulted me, sumthin' happened to him. Sumthin' he told me to ask ye about."

Kallin walked up to Log-a-Log until his muzzle was only a few inches from the Chieftain's nose. "Care to explain?"

"Now is not the time--"

"Now's the perfect time. I dunno wot happened, but that beast was traumatized. I never saw him like that before. He told me t'ask you wot happened. So wot happened?"

Log-a-Log paused. He stared at Kallin for a moment, wondering if the brewer would finally back down and buy into his lies. Then he grinned very slowly, and the Chieftain took two steps towards the shrew so their muzzles were mere centimeters away.

"D'ye really wanna do this now?"

His breath was hot, but his voice was chilling, more menacing than a snake's raspy hiss. Kallin flared his nostrils and started to move his paw towards the knife in his waistsash.

"Hmm? D'ye...really want to open this can o' worms, Kallin?"

The brewer's fingers grabbed his knife's handle. The medic and Mirnsak walked closer to the shrews, only for Krassak, of all beasts, to separate them.

"Who givez a fuck who did what! The beaztz we wanna kill are ztill out there! You wanna catch 'em, or you wanna ztand here with our thumbz up our arzez?"

Log-a-Log backed away and giggled. "He's right, Kallin! Wotever happened, happened! Nuthin' we c'n do 'bout it now. So let's put all this frivolous matter aside an' catch us a traitor, shall we?"

Krassak and Log-a-Log started to walk away. But before Log-a-Log gained enough distance, Kallin grabbed his arm tightly and jerked him around.

"We're not done here."

The portly shrew grinned. "No. We're not."

Log-a-Log wrenched his arm free of Kallin's grasp and resumed walking away with the monitor. The medic and Mirnsak, however, were just as suspicious of their Chieftain as Kallin.

"Where's Barlo?"

"I dunno," Kallin said grimly.

The medic sighed and rubbed her chin. "Mkay, so-so we've known these lizards, wot? One night? And ever since Log-a-Log told us to 'mingle' with 'em, Jurlick died, Ginny died, Barlo and Lugo are missin', an' now Log-a-Log wants to murder his own son even though nobeast even saw him kill either shrew. I got that right?"

Kallin nodded. "That's basically it."

The medic scoffed and shook her head. "Fuck's sake. ...Wot the fuck's Log-a-Log gotten us into?"

"I dunno, Vikken," said Kallin as he lowered his head and rubbed his eyes.

"I don't know."


"C'mon, light it up. Hurry!" barked Darktail.

The young rat ran the flint against the dagger several times, causing sparks to fly out and land on top of the makeshift torch composed of a large stick and kindling tied to the tip of the wood with a rag. Darktail blew on the torch as tiny flames began to emerge. The other three beasts stood back as Darktail picked up the torch with a fire gradually growing on top of it. The fox gestured for them to follow him, and the beasts all found themselves standing in a grove filled with several large rocks. Benrath leaned against one of the rocks so he could catch his breath while Darktail mumbled to himself as he sniffed the air and looked beneath some of the rocks.

"Should be...c'mon, where's the bloody thing..."

Darktail grunted as he threw his body against a rock and flipped it over. Nothing. He swore to himself as he looked left and right, the wind blowing against his face and rustling all the bushes and tree branches around him. He headed over to one of the rocks towards the edge of the grove near a broken cart and grunted as he pressed his back against the large rock. After a few seconds of straining his back, the rock slowly slid and revealed a trap door concealed by all the dirt. Darktail exhaled with relief as he found the door and pulled it open.

"Found it! Jus' follow me; this should lead to one of them caves. We can rest there fer a bit."

Tegast and Grustur nodded and followed the fox with post haste, while Benrath found himself limping a bit as he struggled to stay with the group. He shut the door after entering the tunnel last and soon found himself standing on an incline. Benrath and the other beasts kept their balance as they walked down the dirt-enriched slope with only Darktail's torch as a source of light. The fox appeared at a small hole in the tunnel and jumped down, landing with a soft squelch. He waved a paw at the other beasts and they followed him down below.

"Interesting. Don't think I've come across these tunnels before," said Grustur.

"Prob'ly 'cos they flood so damn much when it rains," Darktail added. "No wonder them moles stopped usin' 'em."

"So...we are safe down 'ere, right?" asked Ben.

"Relax. Even if they find that door back there, these tunnels go all over the place. We'll be long gone 'afore they figure out which path we took. ...Think we c'n rest up in here."

Darktail arrived at a large, spacious section of the tunnel big enough for a badger to sleep in. All the beasts jumped off a small ledge and landed on the ground with a wet squelch. Tegast grimaced after stepping in all the mud while Darktail headed towards one of the metal fixtures embedded into the wall and set the torch inside of it. The fox let go of the torch and breathed heavily as he sat down on the floor. The other three beasts did the same and began to catch their breath. Everybeast's hearts began to slow down and they stopped sweating as much as before. Tegast looked around the spacious area and scrunched up his face when a muggy odor filled his nostrils.

"Not as homey as the tunnel you took me to, Grus," he remarked.

"Don't complain ya li'l twat. Moles built these tunnels fer hidin' from vermin an' transporting supplies, not fer livin'. It's better'n nothin'," sneered Darktail.

The rat scowled at Darktail, but ignored him nonetheless. He turned and faced Benrath instead as the shrew ran a few fingers down a scar on his face.

"So you wanna tell us why you killed that shrew back there?"

Ben shook his head. "It's irrelevant."

"Uh, you shoved a spear up his butthole. Pretty damn sure that's sayin' something," Darktail noted.

"He's dead. And I'd rather not talk about it..."

"Well, how do we know you won't slew us too? You got some issues up in yer brain, shrew? You get off t'shoving big ol' sticks up other beasts arses?"

Benrath huffed. "Fine. My name's Benrath Brugo. I'm the so...I was Log-a-Log's pet. His li'l plaything; his tool that he--"

"Nobeast cares 'bout yer fuckin' life story. Jus' get on with it."

Benrath flicked his eyes at Darktail and snorted. "That beast I killed lured me into a trap. By the time I figured out wot was happenin', it was too late. He stood there an' watched as several of those monitor lizards raped me--and all 'cos he held a grudge against me."

Grustur could only stare at Ben while Tegast lowered his ears and frowned. The former stammered for a brief moment while the latter slowly looked away.

"You're shitting me," said Grus deeply.

Benrath shook his head. "I, uh...well, you saw his corpse. If I told you that wot he did angered me, that'd be a severe understatement. But he's gone now. Log-a-Log isn't though."

"What did he do?"

"He killed me parents an' spent the last several seasons rapin' me. Made me think I were his real son...made me think he actually cared 'bout me."

"Fuck..."

Tegast shut his eyes and lowered his head. He didn't know what to say now, especially after treating him so hostilely not so long ago. He exhaled, almost whimpering as he tried to imagine how horrible his life must've been growing up. Darktail looked at the two shocked beasts and snorted.

"Oh yeah, my life's all kittens 'n' rainbows too. Yep. Grew up on a happy farm, ate lotsa food, had a successful life. ...Yep. Totally didn't go through any rough shit growin' up."

Darktail turned and faced Ben. "Lemme ask you somethin': if Log-a-Log was rapin' you all these years, why the fuck didn't you say somethin'? Why didn't you ask fer help?"

"'Cos if you beat a slave enough times, eventually he or she will think that's just a common thing that's s'posed to happen," Grustur said.

Benrath shrugged. "Don't matter why. I can't change wot happened now."

Tegast sniffed noisily and finally looked up at Benrath, his eyes watering. "I'm sorry..."

Benrath raised an eyebrow. "You didn't fuck me in the arse when I were tryin' t'sleep at night. Ye dun even know me--wot're you cryin' about?"

"I just..." Tegast sniffled again and wiped away a tear as it ran down his left cheek. He let out a soft chuckle. "An' here I thought I was the one with a shitty life..."

The shrew lowered his eyebrow and shrugged again. "Like I said, can't change the past."

"That's wonderful," Darktail butted in. "Now that we've shared all of our enchanting lives as babes, can we discuss wot the fuck we're gonna do now?"

"We find a boat. Build one maybe. Then we all head out towards Isle Glinsun," said Grustur.

"I thought that was our last resort?" asked Tegast.

"This is our fuckin' last resort, pup! I thought the Guosim would help us, an' look at what happened! Now we got the lizards and these shrews chasin' us! This shit can't get any worse! We have to leave Mossflower, an' we gotta do it now."

Darktail pointed at Grus. "I agree with the vole here."

"I'm not leavin' 'til Log-a-Log is dead," said Benrath. "We...I can't let him live any longer. I can't run away knowin' he's out there ruinin' everybeast else's lives."

"Good! You stay--the three of us will catch a boat outta here," said Darktail.

"...I'm not leavin' either," said Teg.

Darktail frowned, while Grustur smacked his paw against his forehead. "Pup, yer whole family's dead. You were almost raped. You were almost killed. The only reason why yer not dead is 'cos of me fer fuck's sake! What more proof do you need that we need to pack up an' leave this fuckin' forest?!"

Tegast stared at Grustur's scowl before he looked at Darktail as the fox folded his arms. Then he looked at Benrath's solemn face and blinked. The rat scoffed and stood up.

"Is that wot you wanna do? Run here, run there, hide here, hide there, repeat the same bullshit over and over and fucking over again? You wanna know wot's gonna happen? We're gonna die from exhaustion 'cos we spent all our fuckin' lives runnin'!"

Grustur sighed. "Pup--"

"Shut up, Grus! We heard that beast getting raped down there an' we did nothing about it! We knew those lizards were gonna attack that farm an' we did nothing at all! That's why this forest--this world--is the way that it is right now! 'Cos beasts like us see trouble, and instead of trying to fix the problem or lendin' a paw, we jus' pack up our shit and go somewhere else!"

"And we're still alive 'cos of that!"

"Wot do we have, Grus?! My whole fuckin' tribe was killed fer no fuckin' reason! This shrew's own parents were murdered and he was raised by some sadist who forced himself upon him night after night! Wot the fuck did any of us do t'deserve this, to end up where we are now?!"

"Well, I did murder a few--"

Tegast interrupted Darktail. "Okay, wot did beasts like me an' Ben--and you as well, Grus, assuming you didn't do any heinous shit in the past--do to end up here?! Nothing. And that's exactly the problem: we didn't do anything! Beasts like us had a chance to make this world better, but we chose not to. We chose to say, 'Fuck it. Let's go here away from the chaos and let some other beast deal with it.' ...I am tired. I've spent my whole life running, moving from place to place. And in the end, all I got to show for it is a dead family. And now I'm stuck down here with three strangers I barely know. We can't keep running anymore. We have to fix this so other goodbeasts out there won't have to suffer the way we did! If we leave knowin' beasts like Log-a-Log and this monitor lizard are still alive, they're gonna burn this whole world to the ground. An' if that happens, it won't matter where we run or hide. Redwall, Isle Glinsun--they'll find us anyway, and we'll perish 'cos we exerted all of our energy from running."

Everybeast in the cave went silent. The only noises they heard were some of the dirt falling from the ceiling and everybeast breathing softly. Tegast sat back down and exhaled moments before Darktail opened his mouth.

"Wow. That was such an inspirational speech, pup. Really. That-that really moved me...it did."

"Is that so?"

"Of course not, you fuckin' twat! Yer a fuckin' idiot if you think we're gonna change anything by stayin' here!"

Grustur turned and faced Tegast. "He's right. You're not thinkin' straight."

"Yes, I am! I know--"

"Think very clearly for a minute, Tegast. We're four beasts goin' up against two armies now, not just one. We won't last five minutes if we fight them straight on."

"So we ask for help. We find other beasts who know how to fight who can help us! As soon as we tell 'em wot danger they're in, they'll pick up their swords, bows, wotever an' help us fight back!"

"Do you really believe that'll work?"

"Yes," said Tegast firmly.

Grustur shook his head and turned away. "And here I thought you wanted to go to Isle Glinsun."

"That was before. Things changed, Grus."

Darktail rubbed his muzzle. "Right. Well, you two c'n stay an' get killed. I'm off to go find--"

"Sit yore arse down," Tegast growled.

"Or what? You gonna swear at me some more?"

"Yer not gonna leave. You have no friends, nobeast t'help you. Yore all alone and outnumbered. With us, yer chances of survival are much better. And yore gonna be amenable the entire time; yore not stupid enough to get us killed out of spite. If you were, you woulda died seasons ago. You need us. More importantly, you need us a helluva lot more than we need you."

Tegast looked at Grustur. "Yer not gonna leave either. I know you want to. You prob'ly pondered it. But yer still here. You saved me that night from the lizards. Yore still travelin' with me, hopin' I find someplace safe. You care about me a lot more than you want to admit. Even if you did leave, you'd come runnin' back, 'cos you don't want somethin' bad to happen to me that you know you might've been able to prevent. If I died 'cos you left me to the wolves, it'd eat you up inside. And you know it."

Tegast looked at Darktail and Grustur as they both scowled at him. The young rat folded his arms and sniffed. "So, we're all stayin'. Fuckin' deal with it."

There was another brief awkward silence that was once again broken by Darktail's mouth. "So...this group is a nomadic vole, a disgraced fox soldier, some headstrong pup who doesn't understand the concept of reality, and a tubby shrew with some serious daddy issues who won't die until he sends his father to the Hellgates."

"Pretty much. Yeah," stated Benrath.

The fox nodded. "I give us 'til the summer. Fall if we're lucky. We'll be dead by then."

Nobeast said anything afterwards. They all sat in silence and pondered, wondering if they would live long enough to see next spring.