Freiyon Fables A Tail To Remember
Chapter Nine: Forest Frenzy

Micklang almost dropped his sword on his toe in excitement as he shouted down to Abrigail and the crew.

“Land Ho! We’ve made it, friends! Land ho!” He called, picking up his sword from the ground and pointing it onwards.

Abrigail ran to the stern of the ship and realised Micklang was right.

“Prepare to land. Drop starboard anchor and lower the long boats. Frebil, you stay behind with Haunchback and Squeaktoes to bring the ship completely ashore. We’re gonna be here for a while, I imagine.” Abrigail announced.

Micklang joined the first lot of boats that were lowered down onto the water, among others such as Pistachio, Penelope, Oliver and Oscar.

When they reached shore, they waited for the others to arrive and waited a bit more for Frebil to bring the ship to shore.

Once that was done, Abrigail issued orders that everyone should stay together and keep their eyes open for anything odd.

Micklang had no idea where to go to next, but something, possibly warrior Micklang, kept telling him to continue in the same direction they had been heading.

Then he clicked his fingers when he remembered the rhyme spoken through him.

" ’Sail to where the sun raises high, the land there you cannot sail by.

Your destiny lies beyond that which cannot be seen by all.’ We can’t sail any further because of this land, the sun rises high here. This means that this is the very island we were looking for! Abrigail, I’ll need your map to sketch where I’ve been so far,”

Abrigail handed him a map which had all the places Abrigail had been through his sailing adventures and Micklang started to draw down all he could remember from his adventure.

He added a path he had taken and put in names such as “otter camp” and “Abrigail’s port” where they belonged on the map. He then sketched the trip they had made from the port to this island and was surprised to see that Abrigail had been to this island before, but landed in a different area.

Micklang finished drawing and put his name down underneath Abrigail’s on the map and dated it, with help from the mouse captain on that part, and then handed it back.

“Right, like you said, we should stick together and keep our eyes open. You never know what we could come across around here.”

“We shall continue east and see where we end up, alright guys? Let’s go!” Abrigail said.

The large group were rather happy to be on shore; even though they had been walking around on the ship, they felt like their legs were as wobbly as jelly.

The forest was rather quiet considering that the group was working their way through it; even the trees didn’t move to discover what the group was up to.

Micklang and Abrigail lead the party along through the forest, chatting in silence over the quietness of the forest.

“Do you think the trees could be asleep?” Abrigail asked Micklang.

“No, I know the sound of trees sleeping, t’is too quiet for that. Something else is going on. I saw on the map you had been here before; have you ever experience anything like this?”

“Alas, I haven’t, my friend. This is the very island where I was given my prophecy where I would meet you. If something has happened around here, my prophesying friend will tell us of the trouble.”

Micklang nodded and turned back to see how the group was going.

But he saw that they were gone! Vanished without a trace!

“Abrigail! Where has everyone go …?” Micklang saw that Abrigail had disappeared as well.

“Otters? Mouse Crew? Abrigail? Harriet?” Micklang called.

Where had they gone in such a short time? How could they have left without him knowing?

Had they been killed?

“Abrigail! Oscar! Harriet! Where are you?! No, not again. Please no! You can’t leave me! Not twice in my life! You can’t! No!” Micklang sobbed.

Tursorl the chief awoke sharply with a vision warning him of some danger.

“Everyone up quickly! Get up! Someone needs our help!” He called, wakening the other trees.

The trees awoke and listened to where they were to go.

King Karel awoke as well, realising exactly who it was that needed help.

“I’m coming Micklang. Your king will help you.” He said.

Lord Libertas looked up at the darkening sky and nodded.

“The time has come. Micklang, I am coming for you. I will help you, my friend.” He promised.

Micklang cried loudly and desperately, hoping it all to be a dream.

It couldn’t happen, it just couldn’t. He had come so far, made so many friends, fought amazing battles; it couldn’t end like this.

“Help me! I can’t go on without my friends! Somebeast help me!” He shouted with all his might.

The thunder rumbled, the rain got worse …

The storm had begun for real.

Micklang looked up at the sky and shouted an oath.

“I swear I’ll save those I love. This is my oath, and I will never let it down, or I will surely kill myself!”

Lightning streaked across the sky, showing the eagerness in Micklang’s eyes.

“I’ll save you, Harriet. I swear it!”

Oscar was the first to wake up, noticing that the crew, his otters, and the platypi family were all in some sort of pit. When he looked up, he saw a group that consisted of tigers and snakes, each snarling at the otter whenever he moved.

“Oh, dear. We seem to be in quite a bit of trouble here.” He mumbled.

A fierce tiger swiped at his face hard.

“Silence, or we’ll eat you before our boss even gets here.” The tiger said.

Oscar sniggered.

“Your boss, huh? He wouldn’t be a soft putty-tat named King Karel, would he?” The brave otter asked, trying to keep up a good attitude.

“You snivelin’ otter, you filthy stream-dog. You don’t know nuthin’, do ya? I’ve never ’eard of this King Karel. Our boss, he be a fierce tiger who be ruler of this land. You trespassers here and he kills all trespassers.”

Oscar took another look around and noticed with surprise that Micklang wasn’t there.

“Looks like you forgot one member of our group, mister. And trust me, you don’t wanna mess with him.” Oscar said.

The tiger looked around in surprise to see if there was another animal there. Oscar gave the tiger a good wallop with his tail, sending the tiger flying backwards.

The tiger growled at the otter viciously and was about to attack when a booming voice interrupted the conflict.

“What’s all this, you know I don’t like surprises, comrades, and you don’t want to see me angry.” The leader tiger snarled at the group.

“Tressspasssserss, bossss, making their way through the busssh before we caught ’em.” A viper told the tiger leader.

Oscar looked at the leader in wonder. Why would they call just this one tiger leader? What was so special about him?

The tiger leader looked at Oscar and the group and smiled slightly.

“Keep them in the snarl-pit for now, let them suffer slowly. If they try to escape, kill them any way possible.” The Leader chuckled.

Oscar did not know what a ‘snarl-pit’ was, but he was willing to bet it was where they were now.

Meanwhile, Micklang had decided to go back to the ship. He’d be able to grab some more weapons and maybe learn more about the island he was on.

Running as fast as he could, he made it to the ship and climbed the anchor rope as quickly as he could.

He dashed into Abrigail’s cabin first. If there was any clue about the island, Micklang knew the answer would be in there.

Searching every bookcase, drawer and cupboard there was, Micklang discovered Abrigail’s very own diary.

Holding the book high triumphantly, he sat down at the desk and looked through it carefully, going back from the last day that was recorded.

“Right, let’s see. ‘July the 2nd, Summer of the strange world. We’ve landed on the island that Hagnagder (still think that wasn’t her proper name) told me about. Before we had landed, Frebil had suggested building a dock there, just in case we ever wanted to come back after another adventure at sea. Smart mouse, that one.’ No, that’s not it. What about this one?

‘June the 15th, my meeting with the strange fortune teller Hagnagder brought new hope into my future. I’m certain that isn’t the creature’s real name, but that’s what she called herself. The island I had found the misfortunately named cat was a strange one indeed, the trees never moved or talked to each other, like I knew them to. But every now and then, I would hear them whisper to each other about a tiger that was meant to rule there. I’m sure it’s all nonsense.’ Hmm, maybe there’s a connection with that. I’ll read a bit further. ‘Hagnagder tells me there is danger on the island she lives on, danger she isn’t totally certain of yet, but a fortune telling cat like her would sort it out I’m sure. Meanwhile, I still wonder about the quietness of the trees and the strange message Hagnagder gave to me. One of my crew members seems to have gone missing, good ol’ Tailhopper the kangaroo. Of course, I know the rascal can take care of himself, but it’s not like him to wander off like that.′ Tailhopper, hmm, I don’t think I like where this is heading. ‘June the 18th, three days after Tailhopper’s strange disappearance: Some awful and sad news about him, I’m afraid. Two of my crew who went looking for him reported replaceing his carcass torn to shreds next to a pit of water, with only his tail and head left behind. They proved it to me by showing me the exact spot where they found him and I saw that other creatures had been there as well. I wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible. I knew there was something not quite right about that area of the island. Maybe there was truth behind the tree’s talk after all.’ Oh, no! I knew this wasn’t going to end well. This clearly states that something on that island will eat my friends if I don’t get to them soon,” Micklang realised after reading the diary.

He closed the book and dashed out to the weapon’s room, grabbing as many weapons as he could.

Then he slid back down the anchor rope and turned to the forest.

“We have separated once before, I’m not about to let it happen again. I’m coming Harriet!”

Bringing his sword down in a fine swiping circle, he chopped at a crab walking by and killed it instantly.

“Alright, let’s move, move, move! We’ve got a mission here! Come on, lend a hand there! We can’t waste a single moment. Every second we waste could mean an animal’s life lost!” Tursorl announced, as his forest of trees rushed along the path that Micklang had took.

“I can’t let him down, not after what he did for me, not Micklang. What on earth?” King Karel gasped as he saw the trees gaining on him.

“Holy moley! The trees are coming right this way!”

Lord Libertas heard the thumping of the trees as he ran as well, but he couldn’t see them yet.

“Hmm, that’s odd. I wonder what those trees are up to.” He murmured.

The lion and the bear continued to run, but neither had any idea they were going to meet each other again all because of one squirrel warrior.

Micklang climbed up a tall oak tree and looked around the forest carefully.

“If you can hear me, mister tree, I need your help. Do you know of Chief Tursorl of the faraway lake?” Micklang whispered to the tree, hoping for an answer.

“I have, some say he is the chief of the whole forest that covers the world. What do you want from me?” The tree asked.

“He’s a friend of mine, and I need his help to replace some other friends.”

The tree was silent for a few seconds, then replied with a slight chuckle in his voice.

“No need to worry, young friend. Believe it or not, I can hear him coming ten miles away. He’s heading this way, ordering his tree to follow. He’s telling them to hurry because they are trying to save something. I think he knows already about your dilemma.”

Micklang marvelled at the fact that Tursorl knew he needed help already and almost cheered with excitement.

“Can you … Is there a way you can help out as well with my problem?”

“Of course, but I think we’re gonna need the help of the other trees around here. Right, young one, you tell me your dilemma, and I’ll spread the news like wild-fire. If trees around here are willing to help, we’ll have ourselves a good army to help you out,”

Micklang whispered his trouble to the tree and waited for the reply, but instead of a reply, he was met with a bird whistle that came out of the tree’s mouth. The whistle echoed through the forest and went on for a little while, changing notes every now and then.

“There we go, now all the trees on this island know about your dilemma. All we have to do is wait for the answer.”

Libertas and Karel reached the ocean-side and saw the dock which Abrigail had built. They hoped there would be a boat there, but there wasn’t. The only thing that surprised them was seeing each other.

“What are you doing here, Karel, this is my territory here!” Libertas snarled, staring at the lion and wondering where he got the crown from.

“What am I doing here? I should ask you the same question, Libertas. What do you know of Micklang?”

The bear stopped growling when he heard the name.

“You know Micklang, how?” Pretending he had forgotten what Micklang told him.

“I met him while he was going down the river in my area. He was the one that gave me this crown. How do you know him?” Karel folded his arms and looked stern but wise.

“He … convinced me to change my ways, and I feel that it’s my duty to help him with whatever he needs help with.”

“Then we are both helping the same animal, and therefore we should help each other as well.” Karel smiled friendly.

“I’d be happy with that, just as long as we don’t have to stay together for eternity.” Libertas replied.

Karel smiled again and patted the bear on the back.

“I have a feeling we’re gonna be best friends after all of this.”

“Now THAT would be a story: A bear and a lion becoming friends. What’s next, eh? All the trees on this island coming together to build a giant bridge across the ocean?” Libertas chuckled.

“Hmm, that just might work.” Tursorl interrupted.

Both creatures jumped at the voice and saw exactly what they thought wouldn’t happen.

The trees were there to help them get to Micklang.

Oscar shook Abrigail awake and told him of their situation. So far, only Oscar and Abrigail had been the only ones that had woken up, realizing they had been thrown into a deep hole with a dangerous creature staring at them, swimming around in murky water.

“I can’t remember anything. I hope Micklang is alright.” Abrigail said.

“He’ll be fine. You know how he is, he’ll never give up looking for us.” Oscar replied.

Micklang had waited eagerly at the shore, hoping Tursorl would be there soon.

“They have agreed, and you’ll have their help as soon as Tursorl arrives. My suggestion is for you to start looking for your friends.” His oak tree friend had said. So that’s what he ended up doing, retracing his tracks to the very place he had lost the big group.

Micklang stared around for any sign of disturbance in the bush and discovered a snake trail that disappeared in all the foliage of the forest. He followed it slowly and carefully, hoping dearly that his friends would still be alive. The tracks stopped without warning and Micklang stared around in surprise. A figure appeared nearby and crept up behind Micklang. Micklang heard a twig snap and whirled around, just in time to see a huge cat jump out of the bush and snarl at him angrily.

Micklang almost screamed in fright, but he remembered he had weapons to help him ward off the cat.

“Keep back, I’m warning you! I’m not in the mood for this.” Micklang slashed at the cat with his sword. The cat was slightly surprised that Micklang heard it, but slunk back slightly and looked at Micklang like he was its best friend. “You’re him, aren’t you? The warrior Abrigail Cheesethief was destined to meet. Many tales will bear your name, Warrior.” Micklang didn’t remove his sword but wondered if this was the fortune-teller that Abrigail had mentioned. “You … know who I am?”

“Hahaha! Of course I do, for was it not me that sent that cheeky Abrigail to replace you. You are a warrior unlike any that will ever come across this land. A travelling warrior, one who helps those he comes across in however way possible, even if it means risking his life. You will become a legend, Micklang the Warrior, a legend which will make the hearts of all that enter this world have hope.”

“So, you’re Hagnagder the fortune-telling cat. I must say, you surprised me when you jumped out of the bush like that, but I noticed YOU were surprised to see me as well. Funny that you should be able to see the future and yet not expect to see me. One wonders if you really are a fortune-teller or not, cat. If you knew who I was, why did you attack me like an ordinary cat would attack a mouse?”

Micklang crossed his arms and stared at the cat angrily.

The cat didn’t freak out about the fact Micklang didn’t really expect it to actually be a fortune-teller, but swung her tail around in full view of Micklang.

For the first time, Micklang was surprised to see another creature with a tail like his, and he wondered what had happened to this cat to cause it.

“Now you can see what I mean. We’re Lightning-tails, you and I, affected by the strange strands of wire from that other world. Like you, I can only tell some of the future. You may have had an experience that told you to come here, a strange vision of an animal that looks like you, claims to be you, but has some small details different to your own. I know because I have had the same sort of thing happen to me. The reason Abrigail was so surprised to see your type of tail was because he hadn’t seen me completely, where as he has seen the whole of you instead. So now you know my secret, and now you must return to the beach.” Hagnagder explained.

“Why? Why must I return to the beach, is there something there I missed?”

“They are here, Micklang.” Hagnagder slinked closer to him as she spoke.

“Who are?” Micklang asked, about to run off from the cat.

Hagnagder whispered into Micklang’s ear.

“Your helpers that you have saved in the past.”

The wind picked up, trees called out to each other, another storm was brewing.

Micklang looked around in surprise, trying to see why the trees were getting into an uproar about a storm, but when he turned back to the cat, Hagnagder was gone!

Micklang knew better than to pursue the cat, but he felt cheated that he never found Hagnagder’s proper name. “Fine, go ahead and leave. I don’t need your help anyway.” Micklang called. He turned around again and ran off back to the beach.

When he got there, the tree he had asked for help was waiting there for him.

And the HUGE surprise that waited for him.