Okay, having Mantara be a female character might not seem like a great choice, but it opens up some humour opportunities later in the novel
Chapter Thirteen
It was, Brand conceded, very possible to be both tired and happy at the start or end of a day, and yet still have room for a little bit of sadness and regret. This morning and the night before it were all he needed for proof.
Last night had been a rather restrained celebration. A celebration because the siege was over, but a restrained celebration because of the devastation caused by Craydon's horde.
Brand and Vedeshk, of course, had more reason to celebrate than many of the other revellers. They had avoided execution. They were alive, and free, and they had actually made allies of those that had been there captors. They had good reasons to celebrate, though they kept their revelling reserved, neither beast was particularly flamboyant, and they both felt the mood of sadness in many of those around them.
In the course of last night's discussions, Brand had secured a pledge from Syon. Syon had not committed his entire village to Brand's fight, but he had offered some support. He would allow any of the adult mice who wished to assist Brand to do so. The pair had agreed that the mice assisting Brand would arrive in Mossflower at about the end of the summer, and that Syon's village would provide them with weapons. Brand didn't think he'd get exactly huge numbers of mice from the village, but some was better than none. They might even surprise him.
Brand has checked the agreement with Syon that morning. He had wanted to double check because last night's memories were made slightly hazy by the quantities of ale he had consumed. For some reason ale seemed to cause things to go hazy for Brand, even though he controlled his intake. That fact was more than a little disconcerting for the otter, as he was not in a career that tolerated befuddled senses.
Brand had awoken tired in the morning, due to the late celebration, but even so, he prepared for a journey. Despite being tired, he was happy. It felt wonderful to be alive, after yesterday. Brand's life had been at risk before, but never had he been in quite the same circumstances as those of yesterday's trial. He felt glad to be alive, and he savoured the world with new relish.
Vedeshk, of course, was not so affected by the lack of sleep. However, unlike Brand, the wildcat had managed to drink enough ale to give himself a fairly sizeable hangover. Vedeshk was decidedly grumpy, which was both to Brand's delight and dismay.
Almost the entire village turned out to see the pair off, and it took quite some time for the duo to get free. So many people wanted to say a few words-or in a few cases more than a few words-to the companions. Many of these words were words of thanks, but many were also words of encouragement. Brand lost track of how many times the words "Good Luck" were said. Not that he had been trying to keep track in the first place.
Once out on the plain, Brand found himself under attack by heat and bugs. Vedeshk broke his customary stoicism and muttered something about wishing he had been executed, but Brand did not mind the conditions particularly, except for the itching of some of the gashes he had received yesterday.
Brand set a moderate pace, knowing how Vedeshk felt. He chaffed a little at the delay, but frankly he wasn't sure he would have been able to move at all had he been in the wildcat's position. He was amazed that the wildcat wasn't going even slower. And as the day progressed, Vedeshk seemed to grow stronger. They sped up later in the day before slowing down because of travel fatigue.
Brand lay down on the grass that evening with a feeling of relief. He was tired, and he wanted some time to ponder recent events. So much had changed in such a short time. Had it only been two days ago that he and Vedeshk had approached Mat's village? Brand shook his head. Where does time go? he asked himself. It was not the sort of thing he would have expected himself to be thinking. He remembered hearing that the young were more adaptable to change than the old, but he wasn't seeing it that way.
But hardly anything's changed, a voice told him. You still have those people back in the woodlands to help. Nothing has changed that.
The voice in his mind was right. Keep sight of the north star, and you'll never lose your course.
He still had a course, even if his surrounding had changed.
They encountered few settlements who where willing to fight Ronscazar as they made their way north. Those tended to be closer to Brand's starting point as the big otter made his way north, the settlements became less willing to help. Brand that would assumed that this was a geographical consideration. The distances, while not formidable for a few fit individuals, were terrific barriers to the villages and communities Brand and Vedeshk encountered. The duo was asking settlers to abandon their homes for too long. Few committed their support.
Brand stayed his course however. He and Vedeshk made fairly steady progress towards the northern end of the mountain range that bordered the plains, which was where Brand intended to begin his search.
It was a relief for Brand when the duo reached the mountains. His memory might be fragmented, but he knew he had a lot of memories of mountains. And in his opinion they were far more pleasant than plains. They had streams, and trees, two things that Brand had found lacking on the plains.
Vedeshk, of course, cared for the steams mainly because they could fill his canteen. But he definitely liked the trees. They provided shade, relief from the heat. The wildcat was almost as glad as Brand that they were now in the mountains.
Brand kept mainly to the lower areas of the mountains as the journey progressed. The higher parts of the range had few trees, were they had any at all, and were not exactly Brand's area of choice to be in during the heat.
Despite this, Brand's search of the mountains was thorough, if only because he looked up. He knew he could look for smoke that might indicate a settlement. But the smoke he did see that resembled that of a settlement's fires where too far off. There was one thick column of smoke that he spotted near the beginning of the journey that piqued Brand's curiosity, and he went to investigate. But it was coming from a mountain quite close to shore, which was some distance from Brand. After consulting Vedeshk, the big otter decided not to go out of his way to investigate.
And so the summer progressed. Though he managed to suppress the feeling much of the time, Brand did occasionally feel on edge, mainly because he wasn't spotting any smoke from a settlement in his search area. He also felt as if he where being followed by a darkness, but that was probably just stress. But as the journey progressed, the feeling grew stronger, and Brand got the impression that whatever was following them, if it was not a figment of Brand's imagination, was growing bolder. The big otter tried to tell himself it was just a feeling brought on by anxiety, but just as his anxiety at not finding any sign of a settlement increased, the dark foreboding increased, as well.
They have to be linked, Brand tried to convince himself.
Brand and Vedeshk progressed through the mountains, and with each stride the pair's conversations deteriorated. Brand got the distinct impression that Vedeshk was starting to get anxious, but he kept to himself, just as the wildcat was doing.
As they approached the area near what is now called the Great South Stream, they finally saw smoke. But not from the mountain. The companions exchanged a few words, and altered course.
With that decision, they set an entirely new set of events into motion.
***
Even Vedeshk seemed tired as he and Brand approached the settlement. They had both slept poorly for several nights. Now, normally that might not have bothered Vedeshk all that much, but he had been taking longer shifts so that Brand could get some sleep, and that made things worse for the wildcat. Brand had not asked Vedeshk to take longer shifts, but he had been more than willing to allow the wildcat to take them when he offered.
So it was perhaps not much of a surprise that the duo didn't have a whole lot of warning. Brand let out a surprised yell and dived low after the first arrow came whizzing past. And then it was chaos. Brand looked around, seeing vermin running in at him and Vedeshk. Quite a number of vermin.
"Run for the stream!" Brand yelled, as he quickly followed his own advice.
It was a harrowing run. Vermin arrows fell nearby, and Brand distinctly felt how much bigger he was than most other beasts. Because he knew that he presented a much bigger target.
Somehow, miraculously, he reached the stream and dived in. Instead of swimming immediately to the other bank, the big otter turned downstream and swam fast. As he swam, he looked back to see where Vedeshk was.
The wildcat was not behind him.
Brand swore as his head broke the surface. He was somewhat relieved when he saw what was probably Vedeshk running swiftly back the way they had come. However, Brand didn't keep his head above water for long. He plunged back under.
He resurfaced further downstream. He could see some vermin in the distance, but they where some ways behind. They wouldn't be able to catch up to him very fast if he got to shore.
So Brand emerged on the side opposite the vermin. That would mean that the vermin would have to cross to get at him. It also separated him from Vedeshk. However, he figured that he wouldn't have done Vedeshk much good in any case. The wildcat would either escape or he would not escape.
And Brand was on his own, at least for now.
The big otter looked towards the approximate location of the settlement he had detected in the mountains. He saw what might have been a structure in the distance. He wished that he had Vedeshk's eyes, he was going to have to chance it. Whoever lived at that settlement needed to be warned about the vermin.
If they didn't know about them already.
***
Brand was tired as he approached what he now strongly suspected was a log palisade. He'd taken a longer route in order to throw off his pursuers, and the settlement had been some distance away to begin with. The big otter was thirsty, and began to think that he should have stopped at one of the streams along the way, since his head was feeling funny. It had been a hot day, and the chase hadn't particularly helped matters.
Still, he wasn't very far from the settlement. He could get some water when he got there. He trudged on.
The big otter finally surrendered and got a drink, and even had a quick swim. He had not had far to go when he took the break, but it was still about dusk when he reached the palisade.
"Halt!"
Brand stopped and looked up at the palisade.
There where several otters standing near the top of it. All of them had longbows, and all of them seemed tense.
Brand laid down his own longbow.
"Greeting, friends. I come in peace."
"That's an awful lot of pointy objects for someone who comes in peace," one of the otters remarked.
"They're for the baddies," Brand replied drily, "Um, speaking of which, you have a vermin horde in your area."
"We noticed," one of the otters commented. His tone was not dry.
"I thought I should make sure of that. Can I meet with your skipper? I might be able to help out. I have experience with vermin, I might be able to help you get organized."
"We're capable of organizing ourselves!" one of the otters retorted hotly.
"Clem! He's only offering to help!"
Brand kept a reasonable tone of voice as he replied to the angry otter.
"I didn't say you weren't. I was only offering my assistance. Having one more head couldn't hurt."
The otters on the rooftop held a hushed conversation. Brand couldn't make out any of it, in fact he could hear none of it. But when the otters turned around, they turned around to accept his offer. Sort of.
"Depends whether the interim skipper likes you."
"Interim skipper?"
"Long story. But it does have something to do with those vermin you were talking about."
"Ah."
The otters opened a gate in the palisade, and Brand was let in. Inside the palisade was a variety of small structures. Brand got the impression that the otters actually made use of the areas outside the palisade to a large degree, and that this palisade was more of a sanctuary of sorts for times of trouble. The place was certainly a sanctuary now. The otters Brand spotted were all armed, often with longbows, which were enough of a hindrance that many otters did not carry them on a regular basis.
Brand was led to one of the buildings, a meeting place of sorts, judging from it's construction.
"We'll see if she can talk to you now," one of the otters told him. "If not, we'll find you accommodations."
"Thank you."
It took several minutes for the skipper to arrive. But when she did, she surprised Brand.
Brand was rarely surprised by people, but the skippers appearance caught him completely off guard. He'd seen otters with fairly dark fur colours before, but black?
Her fur was unmistakably black, almost from nose to tail, even her eyes were black, thought they had a glassier appearance than her fur. She wore a brown coloured jacket and a quiver full of arrows with odd, whitish-grey fletchings.
Of course, Brand noted smaller details about the skipper as well. With all the dark fur it was hard to tell, but Brand gathered from looking at the area near her eyes that she was extremely tired much more so than he himself was, and he wasn't anywhere near his peak alertness.
She studied him with those eyes that were distinguishable from her fur mainly because of the difference in texture. She seemed nervous, and Brand got the impression that she was not normally this jittery.
Get your head on straight. Interim skipper, vermin horde. She's younger than you are and she's now the leader of a holt that's under attack. What did you expect her to be, overflowing with assurance and confidence?
The skipper's study was at most a long glance. Almost immediately she extended one webbed paw.
"Greeting. My name is Mantara Ruddaring. Welcome to Holt Toran."
"Isn't that Holt Mantara?" asked one of the other otters.
"It's still Toran's holt, Grek."
"Mantara, Toran is dead. You're the skipper now."
"Only until they elect a permanent skipper."
"Mantara-"
"Grek, please don't interrupt when I'm speaking to our guest."
Grek's mouth snapped shut.
"I apologize for the interruption, friend. What is your name?"
Brand actually wasn't sure, but he gave a certain sounding response.
"My name is Brand."
"That's a good name. Better than mine, at least," a trace of humour lit up the skipper's eyes.
Brand eyed the nearby otters.
"Mantara-"
Mantara winced.
"Please, call me Rud."
"Rud?"
"Better than Mantara. And frankly, I don't think "Mant" sounds to good either.
Brand winced in his mind. Rud sounded like an awful name to him.
"Rud, do you have anyone who you would consider officers?"
"I don't have real officers. But I have a few people that I would consider leaders. I suppose you could call them officers, since I designated them as leaders."
"Well, one of the reasons I'm here is that I want to help you come up with a defense plan. It seems logical that having your "officers"-please excuse my terminology- present would allow for a better coordinated defense."
"That sounds logical."
Mantara turned to some of the nearby otters.
"Get my leaders here. You know who they are, or if you don't find out from each other. Tell them to meet here. They can take a little time, but tell them to make sure it's not too much. Bring me a cup of hot water while you're at it." Almost as an afterthought, she added: "do you want anything to drink, Brand?"
"Waters fine for drinks. But I could probably use something a bit more on the solid side."
"Alright, then."
She turned to the otters.
"That's all, thank you. After this, you're free to return home, or to your watches, whichever the case may be."
The food and water arrived a little before the leaders. Mantara thanked the otter-Lundi?- as if she were not yet entirely comfortable with being served on by him. He was probably one of her peers.
The black-furred otter turned to face Brand while rummaging through a pocket.
"Anything you can tell me before paw?" she asked him.
"A little. But it's not really about the upcoming discussion."
Mantara looked surprised at that.
"Continue," she told him in a reserved tone.
Brand sniffed the air, taking in the odor of what Mantara was mixing with the hot water.
"First of all, get some proper sleep. The herbs you're using there aren't a proper substitute for rest."
"I've tried to sleep."
"And probably the reason you fail is because you drink that stuff so much. Try laying of for one night."
Mantara made a sour face.
"Despite the fact that I should try to stay awake, your offer is very tempting. Mainly because this stuff tastes like ditchwater."
"I know what those herbs tastes like. Though I can't remember when exactly I used it."
"Interesting. Why is that?"
"Now's probably not the time to discuss it. Because I want to tell you a few more things."
"More commands on how to run my life?"
"They're suggestions, not commands. Now, first, don't downplay yourself so much. Your people elected you to replace the skipper, so they obviously thought you were competent enough to take his place."
"Her place."
"Her place, then. But do you honestly think that they weren't being sensible when they elected you?"
"I think they only elected me because I coordinated the watches and patrols we maintained near our holt. They seem to think that gives me extra combat experience."
"If you think that you shouldn't be in this position, you should have turned it down. If you don't think you're good enough for a position, you won't be good enough for the position."
"I felt it would be rude to refuse."
Brand was tired, and he was starting to get frustrated. Normally, he was controlled when negotiating, but now he let loose with a sigh.
"Look, you took this position, so you'd better live up to it. The first part of doing that is telling yourself that you can. If you tell yourself you can you can. If you tell yourself you can't, you can't. It's simple. And let me remind you that you'd better be confident and alert, or your troops will notice, and that's not good for their moral."
Mantara's eyes flashed.
"I've told myself the same thing. But wouldn't you feel the same way I do if you where in my position?"
"Perhaps. But I'm not in your position, so I can't give you a straight answer on that."
"I do intend to win against the vermin. But that's easier said than done."
"That is true. But you need to be sure of yourself. Overconfident commanders are fools, but it's hard to win if you're underconfident. Frankly, you should strive to be confident. You challenge yourself, don't you?"
"I live for challenges."
"Good. Then your challenge is to become more confident. Force yourself to be confident if you have to."
"I'll try."
Despite the lackluster response, Brand knew he had struck a chord.
***
You really aren't to good at taking your own advice, are you?
Brand snarled. Vedeshk was alive. The vermin hadn't killed him. The wildcat was too fast.
Even the mighty fall. Remember Toraman?
Toro-who?
Brand tried to grasp onto the fragment, but it receded into his memory. Had he known someone called Toraman? Or was he someone he had heard about?
Whatever Toroman was, he wasn't helping. Brand snarled and rose. He pulled on his jacket and buckled his belts.
He strode into the relatively cool air of the summer night. It was finally cooler outside than inside, Brand wondered if he should try to sleep on the ground tonight it might help.
Had it not been for a few thing like the lighter brown colour of her clothing and the whitish-grey fletching of the arrows in her quiver, Brand might not have spotted Mantara until he was almost standing next to her. Her fur seemed to make rather good camouflage at night though during the day it was probably a bit of a liability.
"For somebeast who looked ready to crash some time ago, you're sure up late, Rud."
"Substitute "Brand" and you'd have my thoughts too," she replied.
"I'm worried about Vedeshk. You?"
"I'm wondering why those vermin seem to have thrown subtlety to the wind. Who's Vedeshk?"
"My travelling companion, a wildcat actually."
Mantara's brow creased.
"A wildcat?"
"Yes, but one I'd trust. Now what were you saying about the vermin having thrown subtlety to the wind?"
"Look out there."
Brand looked out at the plain. And then he noted the fires, which were, after all, not too well hidden.
There were lots of them. Probably made with piles of grass thrown into enclosures. But it gave Brand a clear indication of how many vermin there were. Or at least the words "too many" kept flashing in his mind.
Remember what you told Rud earlier?
"At least I now know Vedeshk is alive. They probably think he'll try to stir up the locals."
Brand grinned.
"Which he very well may do. If there's a village that might be sympathetic to you, he'll find it."
"Except that the vermin might try and eliminate us faster now. Even a whole army can't help corpses."
"We can defeat them." Brand told her. "We will defeat them."
He wished he felt as certain as he sounded.
Chapter Thirteen
It was, Brand conceded, very possible to be both tired and happy at the start or end of a day, and yet still have room for a little bit of sadness and regret. This morning and the night before it were all he needed for proof.
Last night had been a rather restrained celebration. A celebration because the siege was over, but a restrained celebration because of the devastation caused by Craydon's horde.
Brand and Vedeshk, of course, had more reason to celebrate than many of the other revellers. They had avoided execution. They were alive, and free, and they had actually made allies of those that had been there captors. They had good reasons to celebrate, though they kept their revelling reserved, neither beast was particularly flamboyant, and they both felt the mood of sadness in many of those around them.
In the course of last night's discussions, Brand had secured a pledge from Syon. Syon had not committed his entire village to Brand's fight, but he had offered some support. He would allow any of the adult mice who wished to assist Brand to do so. The pair had agreed that the mice assisting Brand would arrive in Mossflower at about the end of the summer, and that Syon's village would provide them with weapons. Brand didn't think he'd get exactly huge numbers of mice from the village, but some was better than none. They might even surprise him.
Brand has checked the agreement with Syon that morning. He had wanted to double check because last night's memories were made slightly hazy by the quantities of ale he had consumed. For some reason ale seemed to cause things to go hazy for Brand, even though he controlled his intake. That fact was more than a little disconcerting for the otter, as he was not in a career that tolerated befuddled senses.
Brand had awoken tired in the morning, due to the late celebration, but even so, he prepared for a journey. Despite being tired, he was happy. It felt wonderful to be alive, after yesterday. Brand's life had been at risk before, but never had he been in quite the same circumstances as those of yesterday's trial. He felt glad to be alive, and he savoured the world with new relish.
Vedeshk, of course, was not so affected by the lack of sleep. However, unlike Brand, the wildcat had managed to drink enough ale to give himself a fairly sizeable hangover. Vedeshk was decidedly grumpy, which was both to Brand's delight and dismay.
Almost the entire village turned out to see the pair off, and it took quite some time for the duo to get free. So many people wanted to say a few words-or in a few cases more than a few words-to the companions. Many of these words were words of thanks, but many were also words of encouragement. Brand lost track of how many times the words "Good Luck" were said. Not that he had been trying to keep track in the first place.
Once out on the plain, Brand found himself under attack by heat and bugs. Vedeshk broke his customary stoicism and muttered something about wishing he had been executed, but Brand did not mind the conditions particularly, except for the itching of some of the gashes he had received yesterday.
Brand set a moderate pace, knowing how Vedeshk felt. He chaffed a little at the delay, but frankly he wasn't sure he would have been able to move at all had he been in the wildcat's position. He was amazed that the wildcat wasn't going even slower. And as the day progressed, Vedeshk seemed to grow stronger. They sped up later in the day before slowing down because of travel fatigue.
Brand lay down on the grass that evening with a feeling of relief. He was tired, and he wanted some time to ponder recent events. So much had changed in such a short time. Had it only been two days ago that he and Vedeshk had approached Mat's village? Brand shook his head. Where does time go? he asked himself. It was not the sort of thing he would have expected himself to be thinking. He remembered hearing that the young were more adaptable to change than the old, but he wasn't seeing it that way.
But hardly anything's changed, a voice told him. You still have those people back in the woodlands to help. Nothing has changed that.
The voice in his mind was right. Keep sight of the north star, and you'll never lose your course.
He still had a course, even if his surrounding had changed.
They encountered few settlements who where willing to fight Ronscazar as they made their way north. Those tended to be closer to Brand's starting point as the big otter made his way north, the settlements became less willing to help. Brand that would assumed that this was a geographical consideration. The distances, while not formidable for a few fit individuals, were terrific barriers to the villages and communities Brand and Vedeshk encountered. The duo was asking settlers to abandon their homes for too long. Few committed their support.
Brand stayed his course however. He and Vedeshk made fairly steady progress towards the northern end of the mountain range that bordered the plains, which was where Brand intended to begin his search.
It was a relief for Brand when the duo reached the mountains. His memory might be fragmented, but he knew he had a lot of memories of mountains. And in his opinion they were far more pleasant than plains. They had streams, and trees, two things that Brand had found lacking on the plains.
Vedeshk, of course, cared for the steams mainly because they could fill his canteen. But he definitely liked the trees. They provided shade, relief from the heat. The wildcat was almost as glad as Brand that they were now in the mountains.
Brand kept mainly to the lower areas of the mountains as the journey progressed. The higher parts of the range had few trees, were they had any at all, and were not exactly Brand's area of choice to be in during the heat.
Despite this, Brand's search of the mountains was thorough, if only because he looked up. He knew he could look for smoke that might indicate a settlement. But the smoke he did see that resembled that of a settlement's fires where too far off. There was one thick column of smoke that he spotted near the beginning of the journey that piqued Brand's curiosity, and he went to investigate. But it was coming from a mountain quite close to shore, which was some distance from Brand. After consulting Vedeshk, the big otter decided not to go out of his way to investigate.
And so the summer progressed. Though he managed to suppress the feeling much of the time, Brand did occasionally feel on edge, mainly because he wasn't spotting any smoke from a settlement in his search area. He also felt as if he where being followed by a darkness, but that was probably just stress. But as the journey progressed, the feeling grew stronger, and Brand got the impression that whatever was following them, if it was not a figment of Brand's imagination, was growing bolder. The big otter tried to tell himself it was just a feeling brought on by anxiety, but just as his anxiety at not finding any sign of a settlement increased, the dark foreboding increased, as well.
They have to be linked, Brand tried to convince himself.
Brand and Vedeshk progressed through the mountains, and with each stride the pair's conversations deteriorated. Brand got the distinct impression that Vedeshk was starting to get anxious, but he kept to himself, just as the wildcat was doing.
As they approached the area near what is now called the Great South Stream, they finally saw smoke. But not from the mountain. The companions exchanged a few words, and altered course.
With that decision, they set an entirely new set of events into motion.
***
Even Vedeshk seemed tired as he and Brand approached the settlement. They had both slept poorly for several nights. Now, normally that might not have bothered Vedeshk all that much, but he had been taking longer shifts so that Brand could get some sleep, and that made things worse for the wildcat. Brand had not asked Vedeshk to take longer shifts, but he had been more than willing to allow the wildcat to take them when he offered.
So it was perhaps not much of a surprise that the duo didn't have a whole lot of warning. Brand let out a surprised yell and dived low after the first arrow came whizzing past. And then it was chaos. Brand looked around, seeing vermin running in at him and Vedeshk. Quite a number of vermin.
"Run for the stream!" Brand yelled, as he quickly followed his own advice.
It was a harrowing run. Vermin arrows fell nearby, and Brand distinctly felt how much bigger he was than most other beasts. Because he knew that he presented a much bigger target.
Somehow, miraculously, he reached the stream and dived in. Instead of swimming immediately to the other bank, the big otter turned downstream and swam fast. As he swam, he looked back to see where Vedeshk was.
The wildcat was not behind him.
Brand swore as his head broke the surface. He was somewhat relieved when he saw what was probably Vedeshk running swiftly back the way they had come. However, Brand didn't keep his head above water for long. He plunged back under.
He resurfaced further downstream. He could see some vermin in the distance, but they where some ways behind. They wouldn't be able to catch up to him very fast if he got to shore.
So Brand emerged on the side opposite the vermin. That would mean that the vermin would have to cross to get at him. It also separated him from Vedeshk. However, he figured that he wouldn't have done Vedeshk much good in any case. The wildcat would either escape or he would not escape.
And Brand was on his own, at least for now.
The big otter looked towards the approximate location of the settlement he had detected in the mountains. He saw what might have been a structure in the distance. He wished that he had Vedeshk's eyes, he was going to have to chance it. Whoever lived at that settlement needed to be warned about the vermin.
If they didn't know about them already.
***
Brand was tired as he approached what he now strongly suspected was a log palisade. He'd taken a longer route in order to throw off his pursuers, and the settlement had been some distance away to begin with. The big otter was thirsty, and began to think that he should have stopped at one of the streams along the way, since his head was feeling funny. It had been a hot day, and the chase hadn't particularly helped matters.
Still, he wasn't very far from the settlement. He could get some water when he got there. He trudged on.
The big otter finally surrendered and got a drink, and even had a quick swim. He had not had far to go when he took the break, but it was still about dusk when he reached the palisade.
"Halt!"
Brand stopped and looked up at the palisade.
There where several otters standing near the top of it. All of them had longbows, and all of them seemed tense.
Brand laid down his own longbow.
"Greeting, friends. I come in peace."
"That's an awful lot of pointy objects for someone who comes in peace," one of the otters remarked.
"They're for the baddies," Brand replied drily, "Um, speaking of which, you have a vermin horde in your area."
"We noticed," one of the otters commented. His tone was not dry.
"I thought I should make sure of that. Can I meet with your skipper? I might be able to help out. I have experience with vermin, I might be able to help you get organized."
"We're capable of organizing ourselves!" one of the otters retorted hotly.
"Clem! He's only offering to help!"
Brand kept a reasonable tone of voice as he replied to the angry otter.
"I didn't say you weren't. I was only offering my assistance. Having one more head couldn't hurt."
The otters on the rooftop held a hushed conversation. Brand couldn't make out any of it, in fact he could hear none of it. But when the otters turned around, they turned around to accept his offer. Sort of.
"Depends whether the interim skipper likes you."
"Interim skipper?"
"Long story. But it does have something to do with those vermin you were talking about."
"Ah."
The otters opened a gate in the palisade, and Brand was let in. Inside the palisade was a variety of small structures. Brand got the impression that the otters actually made use of the areas outside the palisade to a large degree, and that this palisade was more of a sanctuary of sorts for times of trouble. The place was certainly a sanctuary now. The otters Brand spotted were all armed, often with longbows, which were enough of a hindrance that many otters did not carry them on a regular basis.
Brand was led to one of the buildings, a meeting place of sorts, judging from it's construction.
"We'll see if she can talk to you now," one of the otters told him. "If not, we'll find you accommodations."
"Thank you."
It took several minutes for the skipper to arrive. But when she did, she surprised Brand.
Brand was rarely surprised by people, but the skippers appearance caught him completely off guard. He'd seen otters with fairly dark fur colours before, but black?
Her fur was unmistakably black, almost from nose to tail, even her eyes were black, thought they had a glassier appearance than her fur. She wore a brown coloured jacket and a quiver full of arrows with odd, whitish-grey fletchings.
Of course, Brand noted smaller details about the skipper as well. With all the dark fur it was hard to tell, but Brand gathered from looking at the area near her eyes that she was extremely tired much more so than he himself was, and he wasn't anywhere near his peak alertness.
She studied him with those eyes that were distinguishable from her fur mainly because of the difference in texture. She seemed nervous, and Brand got the impression that she was not normally this jittery.
Get your head on straight. Interim skipper, vermin horde. She's younger than you are and she's now the leader of a holt that's under attack. What did you expect her to be, overflowing with assurance and confidence?
The skipper's study was at most a long glance. Almost immediately she extended one webbed paw.
"Greeting. My name is Mantara Ruddaring. Welcome to Holt Toran."
"Isn't that Holt Mantara?" asked one of the other otters.
"It's still Toran's holt, Grek."
"Mantara, Toran is dead. You're the skipper now."
"Only until they elect a permanent skipper."
"Mantara-"
"Grek, please don't interrupt when I'm speaking to our guest."
Grek's mouth snapped shut.
"I apologize for the interruption, friend. What is your name?"
Brand actually wasn't sure, but he gave a certain sounding response.
"My name is Brand."
"That's a good name. Better than mine, at least," a trace of humour lit up the skipper's eyes.
Brand eyed the nearby otters.
"Mantara-"
Mantara winced.
"Please, call me Rud."
"Rud?"
"Better than Mantara. And frankly, I don't think "Mant" sounds to good either.
Brand winced in his mind. Rud sounded like an awful name to him.
"Rud, do you have anyone who you would consider officers?"
"I don't have real officers. But I have a few people that I would consider leaders. I suppose you could call them officers, since I designated them as leaders."
"Well, one of the reasons I'm here is that I want to help you come up with a defense plan. It seems logical that having your "officers"-please excuse my terminology- present would allow for a better coordinated defense."
"That sounds logical."
Mantara turned to some of the nearby otters.
"Get my leaders here. You know who they are, or if you don't find out from each other. Tell them to meet here. They can take a little time, but tell them to make sure it's not too much. Bring me a cup of hot water while you're at it." Almost as an afterthought, she added: "do you want anything to drink, Brand?"
"Waters fine for drinks. But I could probably use something a bit more on the solid side."
"Alright, then."
She turned to the otters.
"That's all, thank you. After this, you're free to return home, or to your watches, whichever the case may be."
The food and water arrived a little before the leaders. Mantara thanked the otter-Lundi?- as if she were not yet entirely comfortable with being served on by him. He was probably one of her peers.
The black-furred otter turned to face Brand while rummaging through a pocket.
"Anything you can tell me before paw?" she asked him.
"A little. But it's not really about the upcoming discussion."
Mantara looked surprised at that.
"Continue," she told him in a reserved tone.
Brand sniffed the air, taking in the odor of what Mantara was mixing with the hot water.
"First of all, get some proper sleep. The herbs you're using there aren't a proper substitute for rest."
"I've tried to sleep."
"And probably the reason you fail is because you drink that stuff so much. Try laying of for one night."
Mantara made a sour face.
"Despite the fact that I should try to stay awake, your offer is very tempting. Mainly because this stuff tastes like ditchwater."
"I know what those herbs tastes like. Though I can't remember when exactly I used it."
"Interesting. Why is that?"
"Now's probably not the time to discuss it. Because I want to tell you a few more things."
"More commands on how to run my life?"
"They're suggestions, not commands. Now, first, don't downplay yourself so much. Your people elected you to replace the skipper, so they obviously thought you were competent enough to take his place."
"Her place."
"Her place, then. But do you honestly think that they weren't being sensible when they elected you?"
"I think they only elected me because I coordinated the watches and patrols we maintained near our holt. They seem to think that gives me extra combat experience."
"If you think that you shouldn't be in this position, you should have turned it down. If you don't think you're good enough for a position, you won't be good enough for the position."
"I felt it would be rude to refuse."
Brand was tired, and he was starting to get frustrated. Normally, he was controlled when negotiating, but now he let loose with a sigh.
"Look, you took this position, so you'd better live up to it. The first part of doing that is telling yourself that you can. If you tell yourself you can you can. If you tell yourself you can't, you can't. It's simple. And let me remind you that you'd better be confident and alert, or your troops will notice, and that's not good for their moral."
Mantara's eyes flashed.
"I've told myself the same thing. But wouldn't you feel the same way I do if you where in my position?"
"Perhaps. But I'm not in your position, so I can't give you a straight answer on that."
"I do intend to win against the vermin. But that's easier said than done."
"That is true. But you need to be sure of yourself. Overconfident commanders are fools, but it's hard to win if you're underconfident. Frankly, you should strive to be confident. You challenge yourself, don't you?"
"I live for challenges."
"Good. Then your challenge is to become more confident. Force yourself to be confident if you have to."
"I'll try."
Despite the lackluster response, Brand knew he had struck a chord.
***
You really aren't to good at taking your own advice, are you?
Brand snarled. Vedeshk was alive. The vermin hadn't killed him. The wildcat was too fast.
Even the mighty fall. Remember Toraman?
Toro-who?
Brand tried to grasp onto the fragment, but it receded into his memory. Had he known someone called Toraman? Or was he someone he had heard about?
Whatever Toroman was, he wasn't helping. Brand snarled and rose. He pulled on his jacket and buckled his belts.
He strode into the relatively cool air of the summer night. It was finally cooler outside than inside, Brand wondered if he should try to sleep on the ground tonight it might help.
Had it not been for a few thing like the lighter brown colour of her clothing and the whitish-grey fletching of the arrows in her quiver, Brand might not have spotted Mantara until he was almost standing next to her. Her fur seemed to make rather good camouflage at night though during the day it was probably a bit of a liability.
"For somebeast who looked ready to crash some time ago, you're sure up late, Rud."
"Substitute "Brand" and you'd have my thoughts too," she replied.
"I'm worried about Vedeshk. You?"
"I'm wondering why those vermin seem to have thrown subtlety to the wind. Who's Vedeshk?"
"My travelling companion, a wildcat actually."
Mantara's brow creased.
"A wildcat?"
"Yes, but one I'd trust. Now what were you saying about the vermin having thrown subtlety to the wind?"
"Look out there."
Brand looked out at the plain. And then he noted the fires, which were, after all, not too well hidden.
There were lots of them. Probably made with piles of grass thrown into enclosures. But it gave Brand a clear indication of how many vermin there were. Or at least the words "too many" kept flashing in his mind.
Remember what you told Rud earlier?
"At least I now know Vedeshk is alive. They probably think he'll try to stir up the locals."
Brand grinned.
"Which he very well may do. If there's a village that might be sympathetic to you, he'll find it."
"Except that the vermin might try and eliminate us faster now. Even a whole army can't help corpses."
"We can defeat them." Brand told her. "We will defeat them."
He wished he felt as certain as he sounded.
I don't lack a life. I lack nine lives. -Darthtabby
