They were escorted by the group of soldiers for about two hours. By the time they arrived at the encampment, it was already close to dusk.
Although “encampment” was hardly the right word for it. There were no clear spaces in the forest to pitch a tent. The forest was thick with trees, and the forest floor was covered with bushes. Soldiers instead simply took their rest where they could. Some had strung hammocks between the trees. Others had constructed small shelters by leaning fallen sticks against a tree trunk. And others were simply resting on the ground. There were perhaps a hundred soldiers there.
“Send word to General Graten,” one of the soldiers said upon arriving. “Tell them we have them, and are awaiting his orders.”
Two birds flew off to deliver the message.
Robert realized that the army must be terribly spread out throughout the forest. It must be almost impossible to keep a huge army together. The soldiers who had caught them were the fastest part of the group camped here, and the group camped here was ahead of the main army.
Nevertheless, as Robert surveyed the encampment, he realized that there were maybe about 500 soldiers sheltering here. Most of them were human. (Mora, after all, was primarily a human kingdom.) But there were also several animals among them--some wolves, several birds, a few tigers and lions and jaguars, and others. Robert knew they were not from the forest. For one thing, Robert knew all the animals from this part of the forest. But even if he did not know them, he could tell right away that they were not native woodland animals just by the way they acted. They seemed uncomfortable in the forest.
The soldiers were talking amongst themselves. “What shall we do with them while we’re waiting for the general?”
“We may as well give them some food. They are still royalty.”
“What about the forest ranger? He’s not royalty. Shall we cut his throat?”
“What? Cut the throat of the most valuable member of the party? He’s the only one who knows the way through this miserable forest. When we’re stuck in the middle of these woods, I’d kill one-hundred princes before I harmed a ranger.”
“Keep him tied up for now, at any rate. We don’t want him sneaking off.”
Robert was taken and had his hands tied behind his back. They tied his feet together, and then tied the rope around the tree. And then they left him there, while they went back to look after the princes and princess.
It was dusk now, and the sun was beginning to slowly set. The sky (what could be seen of the sky through the trees) was glowing pink and red.
“Son of Midor,” came a squeaky voice from the tree. “It is I, Fulvio. I have come to repay the debt I owe to your father.”
Robert was careful not to move his head. He looked straight ahead. “Did you come alone?” he whispered.
“I have brought my whole family.”
“Excellent,” Robert said. “Well done, Fulvio. I knew you would not disappoint me.”
“What is your plan, Son of Midor?”
Robert looked around him. Even though the soldiers had led them on a long walk back to the camp, he knew exactly where in the forest they were. “The burrows are near here,” he said. “If we can get there, we can hide from the soldiers. Could you send one of your family to let them know we need their help?”
There was some squeaking in the trees, and then Fulvio replied to Robert, “My cousin is on his way now.”
“Great. How long do you think it will take you and your family to chew through these ropes and get me free?”
“With all of us working on it at once? We could chew through those ropes in ten minutes, tops.”
“Don’t start yet. Wait until it gets completely dark. It shouldn’t be more than 30 minutes now until the last of the sunlight disappears.”
Robert looked out at the activity of the soldiers. They were giving some dried food and wine to Henry, Grace and John. They were still being treated respectfully by the soldiers. No one had dared to bind them with rope like Robert was bound. But it was notable that soldiers always kept them in the middle of a big group.
Some of the soldiers were trying to start a fire with fallen branches and other dead wood. Robert called out in a loud voice, “This grove is sacred to the forest nymphs. Take care that you do not damage any of the trees with your fire.”
The soldiers stopped and stared back at Robert. There was some debate about whether or not to heed his warning. “He’s just a prisoner, don’t listen to him,” said one of them.
“He’s a forest ranger. Better do as he says,” said another.
In the end, no big fire was kindled, although some individual torches were lit made from oily rags tied to wooden branches. Once the last of the sun’s rays disappeared, the camp fell into darkness, punctuated by only a few spots of scattered light.
And with the fall of night, the mice set to work chewing through Robert’s ropes.
The sound of flapping wings was heard. The birds were coming back. “What news?” one of the soldiers asked.
“The General says to kill them at once,” said one of the birds. “Don’t wait until morning. This forest is too unpredictable, and we can’t take any risks of them getting free. Leave their bodies in the forest, but cut off their heads so King Richard can see proof that they’re dead.”
There was the sound of several swords being unsheathed. The camp was still largely in darkness, but several of the torches were moving closer to Henry, John and Grace.
And then, there was the sound of yelping, and the torches began falling to the ground. “What’s going on?” somebody yelled.
“Forest mice,” someone else yelled back. “They’re swarming us. They crawled all over me, and bit the hand that was carrying the torch.”
Several of the torches went out upon hitting the dirt. A few of them were still burning on the ground, but the soldiers were busy yelping and trying to fend off the forest mice.
At this moment, the ropes around Robert’s hands fell away. Fulvio and the rest of the mice had chewed through them. The mice were still working on the bonds around Robert’s waist and legs, but now that Robert had his hands free, he helped to undo the rest of the ropes himself.
Meanwhile, Henry, Grace, and John were struggling to defend themselves in the dark. No one could see anyone, and although the soldiers had their swords, they couldn’t see where to stab, and so were hacking wildly in the dark. Henry laid his hands on one of the soldiers and grappled with him until he was able to wrestle free the sword out of the soldier’s grip. Grace and John were doing their best to push the soldiers away. The mice were also busy running up the legs of the soldiers, and giving them painful bites all over their bodies.
Robert ran into the melee. Robert was aided by Fulvio, who sat on his shoulder and told him where to go, for mice can see perfectly fine in the dark. “There’s a soldier in front of you. Step to the left. Watch out for the one on the right. Your friends are right in front of you.”
“Follow me!” Robert said. He reached out for Grace’s hand. Grace grabbed Robert’s hand, and John grabbed Grace’s hand. Henry also ran beside them, still swinging his sword wildly at the soldiers.
Somehow, they made their way through the crowd of soldiers, and ran into the forest. The soldiers pursued them closely as they ran. “Get them!” “Don’t let them get away!”
Robert’s eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness now, but he still let Fulvio guide him as they ran. The soldiers were close behind, but Robert knew that they just had to make it to the entrance to the burrow. “Stay close,” Robert said. “Don’t lose my hand. Just a little bit further now.”
When they got to the big tree, the badgers were expecting Robert. They had the hole in the ground at the base of the tree already uncovered. “Jump in here,” Robert called to the others, before jumping himself. Henry, Grace and John followed him. The Badgers immediately covered the hole back up with roots and leaves, and the entrance to the burrow was once more hidden. When the soldiers came, they ran right past the tree.
Robert, Henry, Grace and John slid down a dirt slide, and then landed in a large underground room. It was completely dark under the ground (there was not even the light of the stars or the moon) and so they couldn’t see anything at all. But they were reassured by Robert. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here.”
“Where are we?” asked John.
“You are in the badger burrow,” said a voice. “And you are most welcome as our guests. The son of Midor is always welcome here.”
It was too dark for John to see the full extent of the room. But just by being able to stand up in the room, he knew that it was much bigger than a normal badger burrow. “This is a badger burrow?” he asked.
“The room you are in now is the entrance,” said the voice. “It was built specifically to be large enough for humans. We built it for Midor, so he could come in the burrow anytime he pleased.”
“Friend Andrew,” said Robert to the badger, “We thank you for your help. May I present to you the princes and princess of the Kingdom of Mora. They are pursued by the soldiers above the ground. May we spend the night here?”
“Son of Midor, you know we would refuse you nothing because of the debt we badgers owe to your father. I am sorry that it is so dark down here. I know you humans cannot see in the dark as well as we badgers can. Go to sleep now, and in the morning, when the sunlight returns, I will show your friends our badger hospitality.”
“Sleep?” asked John. “How could we possibly go to sleep after all that excitement? My heart is still racing from running through the woods.”
“It’s pitch black in here,” said Henry. “What else are we going to do?”
“I think you’ll find,” said Robert, “That as soon as you lie down on the ground, you’ll fall asleep soon enough. We’ve had an exhausting day walking and running all through the woods.”
And indeed, Robert was right. As soon as Henry, John and Grace put their heads down on the dirt floor of the badger burrow, they were asleep in no time.
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