Chapter 2
First Strike
2 weeks later…
Dizbob lay lying in his bed, staring unblinkingly into the dull ceiling of his room. It was sometime early morning, he did not know exactly when. He had no plans for the day (barely anybody in Rapulum has plans) and was thus planning to sleep a while longer. He would’ve carried out the idea if it weren’t for some tapping noises on his windowsill. Yawningly, he stood and looked through the window to find himself staring at the face of Timmy Thurston. Timmy was apparently trying to tell Dizbob something, but the window had filtered out the noise. Dizbob pushed open the window, unaware that it was the only thing Timmy was holding on to, and before Dizbob could react with a quick yelp Timmy’s hands slipped off the window and he came tumbling into the underbrush underneath.
Darn. Gotta remember the fact that I live on the second floor…
“Sorry about that kiddo, what was it you wanted to say?”
Timmy got up from the bushes and spat out several leaves. His fur was snarled and had several twigs protruding out of it. “I said, turn on your TV!”
Dizbob had walked downstairs and towards the foyer, and let Timmy into his house. They both walked towards the living room and Dizbob turned on the television to the channel Timmy had told him to.
“..and therefore the trial for Diktarbal and Andrew Holdes has been carried out today. Without a doubt, the jury found them both guilty in several areas, and they are both scheduled to be executed tomorrow morning. In related news, no word of Admiral Strato has been heard of, nor has he been seen anywhere near the borderland, authorities have therefore assumed him to be recently deceased. Now, for our commercial break!
An attractive female rabbit stands in front of a flashing backround holding a roll of toilet paper. “Buy the Super Paper! It’s 100% rabies-tested, it’s safe, its fuzzy, and its recyclab –CLICK-
Dizbob had turned off the television. Timmy stared up to him, anxious, “Are we going to see an exectecutionabob tomorrow Bobby, are we? Are we?”
Dizbob smiled and escorted Timmy out the door, “I think you need to be home soon.”
And Timmy ran off.
Haresburg, the Capital of Cuniculosus, the following evening…
“Man, this sucks. Why didn’t they shoot us on the spot there or something? They expect us to wait in here in this crummy jail cell until next morning when they actually ARE going to kill us?” Andrew Holdes was furiously punching the jail cell wall. Diktarbal sat scrunched up in a corner looking through the bars.
Andrew Holdes looked like a giant. He was extremely muscular for a rabbit, with a good build, and was really tall. His veins were surging with anger. Diktarbal looked like a dwarf compared to him; he was only half the height (and half the width) of Andrew Holdes, but this never did discourage Diktarbal. He relied more on stealth than on sheer brute force, and his size was just perfect for that.
“You know what else really boils my tea? These jail cell uniforms smell horrible. I feel like I’m wearing something that was on a corpse 3 minutes ago…”
Andrew was about to spout out more complaints, but Diktarbal suddenly jumped up and signaled him to be quiet.
“I just heard something…” Diktarbal whispered.
“Probably the jail guard checking up on us..”
“No, quiet…”
A swift as sound, a dark shape appeared in front of the jail cell, and with a flick of a blade in its hand, a portion of the jail bars fell to the ground with a clunk. The dark figure signaled them to move out, and ran down the hallway. They quickly followed it.
“Won’t the jail guards have heard the noise?” Andrew whispered to Diktarbal as they ran.
As they turned a corner towards a staircase leading above, a security guard lay sprawled across it with his body mangled. As they exited the damp and cramped underground jailhouse and were greeted by daylight, they noticed the dark shape they were following was wearing a cloak as dim as the night.
“Where do you think he’s leading us?” Holdes asked.
“I think...he's leading us to freedom," Diktarbal replied.
The Day after the execution date…
After word of the escapees was let lose, people again fell into a state of nervousness and paranoia. Guards at the border outposts were again doubled in number, and on the news Dizbob could see King Quist was in a very troubled state. Even worse, the rate of the attacks on the borders seems to have almost doubled. There was rumor of even some small villages having to be evacuated. Despite this, life in Rapulum,
Dizbob’s life, continued on normally, until a rather spectacular event happened this afternoon.
Dizbob was parched. He was walking down the streets of Rapulum, hoping to stumble upon some Carrot Mix. Unfortunately, the shortage of carrots in the north which he had so long ago heard about spread further south and to the west, affecting the companies which provide Rapulum with its beverages. He hoped the local bar would have one.
The bar was old and decrepit, it had been in the town as long as anyone could remember. It was the only place for visitors to stay in, as it had cheap renting rooms upstairs. The prices were affordable and cheap, it being currently owned by a kind and polite rabbit known as Dalspots. Many visitors had stopped to rest at the bar in the past, but with the recent events the numbers were now declining. Dizbob walked through the worn and partially rotten wooden doors of the bar, and straight towards the counter.
“Ah, Dizbob. Haven’t seen you in a long while. What can I get you?”
“Some Carrot Mix would be fine, if you have any.”
“You’re just in luck, I have a few more bottles, here you go.” Dizbob exchanged a gold coin and received a small bottle of Carrot Mix. He glanced around at his company in the bar. The only people currently in it were 4I Falcon, slumped over a table in a corner with two glasses of some sort of beverage next to him, and a rabbit he did not recognize, nor could he see the face of due to the hooded cloak he was wearing. He seemed to be drinking some sort of strong alcoholic beverage. Dizbob paid no attention to the man and walked over to 4I Falcon.
“Hey, what’re you doing here? Don’t you have that part time job at the Corner Store?”
4I Falcon slowly glanced up at Dizbob, and in his eyes Dizbob could see he was slightly intoxicated. “Feh. No business lately, times are hard enough already. Let alone the fact that we lost half our imports because of the blasted carrot shortage. Storekeeper says he can’t afford to pay me anymore, so I’m currently unemployed.”
“Ah, well cheer up. Things’ll get better soon I guess,” Dizbob replied, but he could already see that 4I Falcon had fallen into a deep slumber. On the chair next to 4I Dizbob could see a bottle of some sort of liquor, and he picked it up. “Oh, and try to lay off these things. They’ll kill your brain cells.” Dizbob took the half empty bottle and threw it into the trash. As Dizbob was about to leave the bar, the hooded figure approached him.
“You’re Dizbob aren’t you?” It said in an unnerving raspy voice.
“Yeah…”
Dizbob glanced down just in time to see the hooded figure reveal a hidden knife and managed to dodge just in time as it darted the knife at him. Dizbob still had some of the glory from his former days with him, and he jump kicked the knife out of the hooded figure’s hand. It gave a hiss-like noise, and retreated further back. It reached into its cloak and pulled out two, longer knives, and gave a chuckle. Dalspots had noticed what was going on and gave a loud scream, which awoke 4I. In commotion, the hooded figure threw one of the knives at Dizbob, which narrowly missed his cheek. It threw the second one at Dizbob’s head, but 4I Falcon, who had just awoken in time to see what was occurring, threw a stool which collided in the knife’s path.
The hooded figure let out a vile grunt, and darted out through the bar doors. Dizbob was about to follow it when he heard a loud, raspy yell. He looked out through the window of the bar and saw the hooded figure darting away at full speed, clutching its shoulder with one arm, apparently wounded. Dizbob, 4I Falcon and Dalspots all stepped outside to see a rabbit clad in military armor wielding a sword with some fresh blood on its tip. The rabbit did not glance at them, but seemed to be aware of their presence.
“Darn, missed his neck by just over an inch. I’m going to need to work up on my ambushes.”
Dizbob stared at the rabbit, trying to connect its voice with some image from the past.
“Solomon Blacksirthe. Known and dangerous criminal. Escaped just over 4 months ago into the wilderness. We thought he’d be done for, but he’s made some appearances here and there lately and we’ve managed to track him,” the rabbit glanced at Dizbob, “I can see why he came here.”
Suddenly, Dizbob’s mind sparked. He ran down up to the armored rabbit, and smiled. “Well, Firesword, it’s been a long time.”
The armored rabbit took off its helmet, revealing the head of known and admired knight of Carrotus, Firesword. “Indeed it has.”
After Firesword had explained what had happened to 4I and Dalspots, they both returned to the bar. Firesword then walked back up to Dizbob. “We need to have a long talk.”
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Because many people (aka Strato and Violet) wanted, Chapter 2 was released seperate of chapter 3. Enjoy and comment pls ;(.