Half A Pound Of Treacle

Plessey shook Gorden awake. "We had visitors during the night." He said.

Gorden's eyes shot open, his mouth opened questioningly. Plessey floated away, motioning for Gorden to follow. He led Gorden to the edge of the circle he'd drawn around their camp the previous night. On the outside of one section of the circle the ground was scortched and the nearest bush was smouldering, the dew steaming off.

"We're all alright." Plessey smiled, "But at least one of them has a burnt nose!"

"The spell worked then." Gorden stated.

Plessey nodded. "But that spell drained me. I won't have enough manna to cast anything more for, well, probably until tonight."

"It's all sweetness and light today." Gorden grimaced as the first rain drop of the day landed on his nose.

---*---

It was a short shower and refreshed the friends rather than soaked them. Cola fixed a quick breakfast and they ate in near silence. The ferret managed to drink something, but he wasn't looking well and didn't look strong enough to walk. Gorden had hoped he'd strengthen up over night and let them get away without having to stretcher him.

No such luck.

Gorden and Cola conie-handed the ferret onto the makeshift stretcher. Gorden laid his staff alongside the ferret and took hold of the poles. Cola grabbed her end and they started off. They travelled on in a silence only broken by the occasional moan from their patient and the padding of their feet over the undergrowth.

---*---

"When do we take them Steve?" The first weasel said, "Look at them, ripe for it!"

"Not yet, Bert." Said the second, glad that their names were out in the open and they could stop being numbers. "They are pretty fresh after their night's rest. Let them get tired from stretchering a dying ferret for a few hours first."

Bert nodded and they started along, shadowing the rabbits, snail and ferret a few hundred yards away. Steve stopped and turned to Bert.

"Hey," He said, pointing, "Was that a bustle in the hedgerow?"

"Nah," Bert replied, "Don't be alarmed. It's probably a spring-clean for a May-queen. Or some such." Steve nodded and they continued on their way.

A few paces on there was a low rustle and a shape like a small ghost slid out of the undergrowth. The only thing the weasels knew was the pain of a thousand knives as Bert keeled over in agony, blood gushing from a wound behind his knee. Steve clamped his paw over Bert's mouth.

"Shaddapa your face!" He hissed, "If you make a racket like that they'll hear us!"

"My leg!" Bert wailed. His paws desperately squeezing his leg, trying to staunch the flow and failing. Steve jumped up and looked in the direction of their prey - there was no sign that Bert's cries had been heard and he breathed a quick sigh of relief. He bent to Steve's leg and whistled. It was not a pretty sight. He made some mental calculations and they came out in Bert's favour, *just*. Bert could see the thoughts behind his eyes - the Lords only knew how many times he'd had to make the same decision in the past.

"Let me live." He whispered. Steve nodded a small nod.

"We'll bandage and splint your leg. We'll still be as fast as two rabbits carrying a stretcher. But.." He hesitated and Bert finished for him:

"I'll not survive the next fight." Steve shook his head.

"But having you alive will give me an edge I won't have on my own."

---*---

"Is it time for lunch yet?" Cola asked. Although the sun was nowhere near it's zenith, Gorden could understand her wish for a break.

"Not much farther and we'll be at the Hart's Watering Hole. There could be some friendly faces." Cola grunted so Gorden continued, "And I still thing that sound we heard was a scream of some sort."

Plessey came floating back from Point. "Good news!" He said with a smile, "We've got some company not far ahead!"

A long drawn-out sigh came from the ferret, the first sound from his lips for over an hour.

"I know, I know." Gorden said to the ailing creature, "We'll all be able to rest soon."

He didn't want to mention that he didn't think the ferret would wake up from his next sleep.

They rounded a large tree and were pleased to see a young deer lapping at the water's edge.

"Yo! Bambi!" Gorden shouted, "How's the water?" The animal raised up and fixed Gorden with a hard stare.

"I'll have you know," He said, "my name is *not* 'Bambi'"

Gorden gulped, "Sorry sir," He said, "But your age makes you look a little..." He tried to stop as he realised he was digging himself in a deeper and deeper hole.

"You saying I look like a woman?" The young antler-less stag said. Gorden tried to say something and failed, his eyes bulging as he tried to think of the right thing to say. The stagglette laughed out loud.

"Look at you!" He roared. Cola sniggered, seeing the rougeness of Gorden's cheeks, then she too burst out laughing. "I hear you would like a lift across the river?" Bamber asked.

Gorden would have replied, but instead there came a crashing noise from the woods.

Suddenly the weasels were rushing upon them. If Gorden had had time to think he'd have noticed that one was hobbling rather than running and was a lot slower than the other. But he didn't.

Gorden nearly threw the stretcher to the floor and grabbed at his staff. The ferret groaned in pain. Cola held onto her end. Gorden's hand grasped for his staff, unfortunately it bounced when the stetcher hit the floor and he missed it and the end rolled to his right. The first weasel was upon them and Gorden had to dive under him to try for his weapon. Gorden hit the weasel's legs and he felt the wiry predator roll over him. Gorden grabbed his staff and spun up, swinging for the weasel. The weasel dodged Gorden's swing, but as Gorden was spun round by the force of the staff the second weasel was upon them and took the staff full in the face.

With a crunch and a scream the second weasel (Oh god we're back to numbers. Look, I know Gorden doesn't know who they are but I'll call them by their names, okay?)

With a crunch and a scream, Bert collapsed in agony, his nose crushed by the force of the metal-shod wood. Without that scream Steve would have been on the ferret, but it broke his concentration just enough for Cola to drag the stretcher forwards out of his immediate grasp. Plessey rushed in and tried to prop up Gorden's end of the stretcher as our hero turned his attention to Steve.

Gorden feinted one end towards the weasel and he dodged. Gorden attempted a low strike, but Steve hopped back and out of the way. In front of Gorden, behind Steve, Plessey and Cola were dragging the stretcher onto the back of Bamber, whom had knelt down for the purpose.Bamber's eyes were wide with youthful panic, but you could see he was doing his very best to be an adult and keep his calm.

Gorden's staff whisked forwards and Steve dodged back. A sharp set of claws attempted to come in underneath Gorden's guard, but a light tap from the staff and Steve withdrew his paw. They circled each other, first one feinting, then the next. One taking a swipe and the other dodging, then in reverse.

Gorden was facing the river, but his concentration was on Steve when Cola shouted his name "Gorden!"

He looked up to see that Bamber was half into the water and Cola, Plessey and the ferret perched on his back ready for the trip. Steve turned his head to look and Gorden decided to take advantage of his distraction. Unfortunately they had all forgotton Bert who was down but not completly out for the count. Gorden lunged at Steve just as Bert lunged his last lunge at Gorden. Steve jumped clear of Gorden's amature swing, and Bert's claws raked at Gorden and caught his tail. Gorden gave a high squeel of pain and rounded on Bert and reflexively struck down with the staff. The staff swung with a high whistle and seemed to land in slow motion on Bert's head, the iron-shod end glowed blue and it passed clear through Bert's skull and buried itself in the ground.

Gorden was knocked off balance by the pain in his rump, the shock of killing for the first time and the abruptness of the ground halting the staff's path.

Gorden rolled slowly to his feet and took three deep breaths before he realised that he wasn't being attacked by the other weasel. He turned to see Bamber half-way across the river and would have been able to breath if it wasn't for the dart-shaped wave of water striking out from the bank.

Gorden took one huge breath and raised his staff before him and ran towards the river's edge. He reached the bank as Steve was just reaching the swimming stag. Gorden wasn't sure what to do, but the staff took over. Gorden raised the end of the staff high in the air then, as he reached the river's edge, he swung the end down to the ground. The end stuck hard in a tree-root and Gorden pole-vaulted high into the air - helped by a flash of magic from the staff. He was in mid-air when he realised that he still held the staff, although it felt light as a feather in his grasp.

Cola's mouth dropped in surprise and Gorden seemed to fly through the air and Bamber grunted as the rabbit landed on his back. Steve clawed once at the ferret from the river then ducked down as Gorden swung the staff at him!

Where had that rabbit come from?

Steve felt a blinding flash as the staff hit his head a glancing blow... He went under and then clawed his way back to the surface only to find the staff swinging down again to crash against his skull.

He didn't surface.

Gorden stared over the side of the swimming stag at the water, his staff held at the ready.Cola fussed over the ferret. Bambers long legs were pumping: Three, four stokes further and they reached the other bank. Bamber clambered out and knelt down so that the party could climb off. Gorden and Cola carried the stretcher gingerly. The last attack by Steve had drawn more than blood, some of the ferret's inside were hanging from deep clawmarks in his belly. They laid the stretcher down and the ferret beckoned weakly.

Gorden knelt to him, more than one tear in his eye.

"thank you" The ferret managed to squeak.

Then he was silent; his rough breaths stopped and he was out of pain.

Gorden collapsed to his knees, his head in his front paws. Then he raised his head, he'd forgotton something.

"Ouch!" He finally said, reaching back to feel for his torn tail. Cola slipped her arms around him and they held each other.

---*---

You can picture the camera panning back and spiralling gently around them, slowly taking in the scene. Twice around the two rabbits it spins then back a little so that you can see the emanciated and bloody ferret.

Back further to show a weary snail and a young stag with a four blood-red lines along his side.

Further still to show, a few yards down stream, the washed-up and limp body of one dead weasel.

Further back and spiralling gently round and out, we can see the majesty of the river as it runs by, ignoring the death and carnage.

Further back still to show another weasel, his head caved through.

The camera swirls once more, barely pausing over a small darker-than-dark shape in the shadows of the forest, just slightly upstream of our friends, that was anything but a spring-clean for the May-Queen.

---*---