Xenophus had remained as still as a statue, mouth agape. Only its cluster of evil eyes moved, each in a different direction, taking in all that surrounded it. Even the thick glistening tentacles remained immobile, draping over its head and coiling like leathery rope upon the floor at the creature's side.
As he led the supplicants to the monster's front, Skaar realized for the first time that the formations in the alcove, which he had always assumed to be stalactites and stalagmites were in fact the monster's fangs, dripping the vile poison that Azmeritus had used in his potions. He shuddered at the realization that in the years past he had spent time walking around the creatures mouth, unaware of the horror which surrounded him.
Azmeritus instructed several of his minions to place the bound Chief Acolyte Zaphyr into the gaping yaw of the beast first. Nervously, with looks of terror etched on their faces, they quickly deposited the squirming weasel into the opening and retreated to the safety of the cavern as quickly as their paws could carry them. The remainder of the noble supplicants stood stoically in front of the cavernous mouth mumbling silent prayers and devotions and trying very hard not to contemplate the fate which awaited them.
On Azmeritus' signal, the supplicants filed into the beasts waiting mouth and knelt. Zaphyr's eyes widened in horror and he managed one last whimper before the massive orifice closed.
Xenophus raised his head slightly off the floor, pointing his snout skyward. He swallowed his offering with a gluttonous gulp. Almost immediately upon the completion of his meal, the Ürgod thrust his head upward through the collapsed roof and let out a bone-chilling howl. Every beast in and around the castle froze at the sound. On the castle grounds, where both Frega and Vasheron had begun their attack, the battle ceased momentarily as every beast present stared in horror at the hideous leviathan head which now protruded from the hole in the center of the courtyard.
The monster ignored the beasts scurrying around it, fixated now on the magical shield arcing above its head, no longer invisible, but throbbing in a pulsating amber glow. Its tentacles extended upward and squirmed violently in an attempt to reach the mystic barrier a hundred feet above its repulsive head. With its body still trapped beneath the earth, the Ürgod struggled mightily, sending boulders flying as it flailed about.
Azmeritus was in a state of bliss, standing unmoving in front of the creature, unconcerned with the barrage of stone and dirt being thrown about. Then, as if waking from a dream, he sprang into action.
Ignoring the other beasts in the cave, he rushed to the Abitar and placed his paws upon it. Kneeling at its base the mongoose mouthed an incantation and almost immediately the crystal began to vibrate. The oscillation became more intense and soon the cavern, castle, and entire island began to shake forcefully and with a vengeance.
The emergence of the Ürgod's head into the courtyard coincided with Frega's forces over-running the Scarlet Brothers guarding the front gate to the castle. The wall-tops had been cleared by Pretor Barus' platoon and the attack from within the castle had taken the monks charged with guarding the entrance completely by surprise. They did, however, manage to raise the alarm before they were overwhelmed and even as Frega's force was securing the gate against Brotherhood reinforcements, scarlet-clad troops began to swarm out of the main barracks in response. They ran right into the Deev force which was emerging from the mess-hall.
In almost no time a full battle was raging on the cobbled surface of the courtyard. Frega personally led a contingent of his troops in a furious charge toward the emerging castle guard. It was just as the two forces were about to collide that the Ürgod surfaced. The nearly fearless Frega found the hairs on his neck rising and actually stumbled in shock, tripping over a fallen monk. He looked up in time to see a Scarlet brother with scimitar raised, ready to slice the mighty wolf in two. Suddenly, a look of confused distress crossed the monk's face as he looked down to see a sword-point protruding from the front of his chest. He crumbled to the ground, falling off the blade and revealing Frega's savior. The mighty wolf's jaw dropped. It was Prince Vasheron, wearing a self-satisfied grin. The Deev looked down at the Lokian King.
"Frega Tarchak deserves a better death than being slain at the hands of an underling," he said loudly, then turned to re-join his Minge, who were heading down the stairs in the courtyard leading to the waterfall and Azmeritus' lair.
Frega stood, half angry and half grateful. He put the incident out of his mind and continued to battle ferociously against the monks, keeping a portion of his attention focused on Xenophus, who still towered over the clash. It was at this point that the ground beneath them began to quake furiously and with such force as to knock a good number of the combatants off their foot-paws.
A sense of panic began to spread through the warriors on both sides. The fighting subsided once more, as most beasts merely fought to maintain their balance. Suddenly the Ürgod withdrew it's head back into the cave and another vicious shudder shook the castle. This was all that the less disciplined soldiers of the Brotherhood needed as an excuse to throw down their arms. They had suffered extensive casualties at the paws of the Deev and the Lokians, Without the hope of reinforcements from the compound and plateau, their remaining officers realized it was only a matter of time until the fierce lupine warriors annihilated them.
Soon all the Scarlet brothers within the confines of the courtyard were unarmed with paws raised above their heads. Frega assigned a number of his troops to escort the prisoners to a secure barracks.
The Lokian king looked around at the aftermath of the battle. Over a hundred and fifty monks lay dead or wounded on the cobbled ground. The Lokians suffered twenty-seven casualties including eleven deaths. The castaways fared slightly better owing to the fact that they were to the rear of the battle, many never having had the opportunity to engage the enemy.
Frega allowed his troops some time to tend to the wounded and catch their breaths. The ground still shook, now without respite. Large stone slabs on the top of the walls were shaken loose and began toppling like dominoes, shattering as they hit the ground and sending stony shards of shrapnel flying through the air. The Wolf-King called his army to the center of the courtyard for safety and waited, hoping the tremor would soon cease so that he could continue his search for Azmeritus.
By the time the second major tremor hit, Bobo was a nervous wreck. He and Egbert had been working their way to the wine cellar along the maze of tunnels when the ground shifted and the sound of collapsing passages echoed all around them. The nutria looked nervously toward his friend.
"What's happening?" he asked covering his head to protect himself.
Egbert placed his digging claws flat against the tunnel walls. He stood silently for a few minutes, then turned 180 degrees and began backtracking. He beckoned Bobo to follow him.
"These tunnels are unsound. Some of them are collapsing and the others are getting weaker. We need to head back to Ozab's cave or we will be buried or trapped," he said with conviction.
"I'm right behind ya, pal," Bobo said urgently, "the quicker we get out of here the better."
Egbert led them through the increasingly dusty passageways until they were once more in Ozab's cave. Bobo sat down in one of the mongoose's carved chairs and sighed with relief.
The big mole inspected the cave's interior and carefully tapped at all the walls. When this was done to his satisfaction he moved to the entrance and stared outward toward the beach. A steady rain of boulders was plummeting from the cliffs above the cave. He walked back in and sat next to his friend.
"This cave is solid and safe which is more than Oi can say about the beach. Oi think we should stay here till the shaking stops," he recommended.
Bobo smiled and curled himself up in the chair.
"You ain't gonna get no argument from me, besides, I could sure use a nap."
Egbert chuckled.
"A foine bodyguard you are, shouldn't you be guarding me while Oi take a nap?"
Bobo returned the chuckle.
"Fair enough, I tell you what...I'll keep one eye open."
Wilbur, Ursamus, and the Scratchbacks were forced to move away from the cliff-face near the waterfall and relocated on a spit of sand extending into the Narrows about halfway between where the Brotherhood fleet was moored and where the West Wind rested at anchor. They had an impressive view of the magnificent waterfall which cascaded into the deep harbor almost directly behind the Brotherhood ships. Salto paced nervously up and down the sand bar.
"This is real bad, real bad...that mountain's shakin' like a dancin' girl and our pals are stuck either on it or in it and we're out here like tourists." The garrulous rat proclaimed.
Ursamus walked up to Salto and gently patted him on the back.
"They are on their own, my friend...beyond our help. All we can do is keep an eye on the enemy and our friends on the West Wind and help as best we can if the opportunity presents itself."
"Yah, I guess you're right...it is kinda frustratin' though," Salto conceded.
Wilbur chimed in.
"Oi feel exactly like you do. Oi wonder if the attack is going okay...I hope Uncle Eggy is all right."
Gella leaned over and patted Wilbur's paw.
"He's fine, Willy. All we can do is hope for the best."
On board the West Wind, the most recent series of quakes aggravated the deep concerns for the welfare of their friends. Robbi had already over-ridden repeated requests by Gladiverserac and Max to fly over the battle in fear that they would be easy targets for any of the many archers along the plateau or on the castle walls.
Now that the walls of the fortress seemed to be crumbling under the continuous geologic assault and the beasts they could see on the plateau seemed more concerned with their own safety than the diligent pursuit of victory, everyone agreed that a quick scouting flight over the castle would not be overly dangerous. Though Gladis still wished to go, even she conceded that Max would be a far more difficult target to hit should some archer feel a renewed need to display his talents. With a quick farewell and many wishes of good luck, the brightly-colored bird took off for Deev castle.
As Max flew over the edge of the beach near the waterfall, he noted his other friends gathered on the small spit of sand. There was no mistaking Ursamus for any other creature on Xenoth. His massive white form stood out prominently. It became apparent to Max as he circled the group once before heading to the castle that they recognized him as well. Far below he could see the six beasts on the beach waving to him happily.
Max continued a slow descending circle over the castle, getting closer than he had originally planned when it became apparent that the walls of the fortress had been abandoned as a result of the tremors and that most of the enemy outside the castle had moved further away, toward the center of the plateau for safety.
When he saw all he could from above and around the Deev castle, he began his flight back to the West Wind, deciding to stop on the beach to update his comrades there.
The parrot was welcomed by open arms and hugs and was even given an affectionate kiss by Gella when he landed on the beach.
Wilbur questioned him anxiously.
"What did you see? How are we doing...could you see Eggy or Frega?" the young mole asked urgently.
"The castle is shaking pretty good, good," the bird began, "there's a big hole in the courtyard and a lot of wounded and dead creature's scattered about," seeing the concern on his friends faces, he explained further, "there are only our friends walking about, about...I saw Frega and his wolves...so we must have won that battle. Eggy wasn't in the courtyard among the wounded...so he's probably fine, fine," the parrot chuckled, "he's pretty hard to miss, even from up in the air, air."
Wilbur smiled.
"Uncle Eggy is a pretty big goi, dat's for sure. Dat is good news."
Salto piped in.
"How about the ceremony? Azmeritus? The Ürgod?"
Max shook his head.
"Don't know, know."
"Let's hope they stopped it." Gella said to no one in particular. Her brothers Trey and Cat nodded in affirmation.
She looked toward the West Wind,
"How's the Secret King doing? Is he ready if we need him?"
Max cocked his head to the side.
"I think so, think so. He seems calm, calm."
"Dat's good Max," Wilbur said, "You better get back to the ship and let Robbi and the rest know what's going on. We'll stay here and keep our eyes open. Say hi to everyone for us!"
"Will do, will do!" Max said cheerfully and then took off back to the West Wind after a short running start.
Max's assessments had been mainly correct except for one glaring error, The Asherouboros was anything but calm. The creature strained against the landward side of his tank, head raised high out of the water, nostrils flared and inflamed at the vile new scent which wafted from the cave above the distant waterfall.
His good eye strained to see where the abomination which produced the repugnant odor was, while his milky dead eye wept bitter tears. The great beast's body quivered in fury, his mind filled with unfamiliar visions and an unquenchable loathing for the monster he could sense was being reborn.
During his interminably long and trying life he had felt blind rage before, a rage born of suffering and hopelessness, aimed at anything which crossed his path, but this was different. Somehow he knew that the monster on Xenoth deserved his fury and loathing, that it had done him some great injustice in a past beyond his memory. It was more than instinct, more than blind destiny, it was a sore festering for millennia. It was revenge unachieved... and it hurt.