Mune had to admit, his life had certainly gotten more interesting after meeting Rhizome. Briefly, he wondered if he would have been safer with the wolf than with that crazy rabbit and his pet weasel, but that was just wishful thinking. Besides, what really bothered him was the fact that Rhizome was very definitely not crazy.

“I said, get on the ground and don’t move!” A larger rabbit with several discolored spots on his face and left foreleg shoved him down onto his stomach. Mune observed the patches were from hair that was torn out and grew back wrong. There were scars, both on the skin and inside.

If Rhizome was crazy, Mune could blame him for this. Maybe he could blame Gurin. Gurin should have known more about the warren. Far from the peaceful herbalists he thought they were, this patrol was much more aggressively organized. Hopefully Eitan would be back with the others soon, Rhizome could probably convince them to be more polite, at least.

Mune let his senses expand through the ground. It wasn’t reliable, and who could tell what living past his foretold death might mean, but there was only a sense of hostile curiosity. He settled in to wait, with Cedric’s foot on his back. No one had said that name, that should mean his seer-trick was functional.

They were in a patch of shrubs in a small clearing in the forest. Eitan and Mune had been digging for grubs when the patrol arrived. He could feel them, several keeping watch as two questioned him.

“We want to know who’s with you, and if any of them are seers,” the tan rabbit with Cedric said.

The foot eased up enough for Mune to reply. “And, what will you do if one of us is a seer?”

Cedric pushed Mune hard into the ground. “We ask the questions! Sand, do you want me to rip his ears?”

Before the other rabbit responded, Mune wheezed, “You’re not going to hurt me.”

“Right,” the rabbit taunted. “What makes you say that? Are you a seer?”

“I don’t need a vision to know you want information.” Mune chuckled with half a breath. He wasn’t sure if admitting he was a seer would be good or not. He observed, “You’re on orders you don’t understand but will still follow. It’s your leader you believe in.”

“Lucky guess,” Cedric sneered. “Sand, what do you think? Is this one lucky? Think his luck would hold if we bit his foot off?”

“Come on, Mange,” Sand said. “Ghostpaw said that anyone we suspect of being a seer is to be brought to him.”

Mune laughed. The foot on his back was trying way too hard, and Mange was a cruel nickname for someone with Cedric’s injuries. “Why are you trying to be the tough one? Let me up.”

“Silence!” Cedric grunted, and shifted his weight a little more onto Mune. “Our orders say alive; I can rough you up first.”

“Cedric, put your foot down. There’s no need to hurt me.”

“Who’s Cedric?” asked Sand.

The foot on Mune’s back lifted up, and Cedric backed off. “You can’t know that name. It hasn’t been spoken in three springs.”

Mune sat up and watched the rabbit cringe with uncertainty. “If you prefer Mange, I can use that instead. Regardless, I am Mune. My friends and I are here to meet with the warren known as Starbasin.”

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The rest of the patrol whispered among themselves. They were silenced by Sand.

“Very well. If you come willingly, we will take you all to Ghostpaw, in Starbasin. Now, where are your companions?”

“On their way. They should be here soon.” Mune’s ears twitched slightly. “Why are you so desperate for seers?”

“Our warren is cursed.” Sand shook his head. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Not too much later, Rhizome called from the treeline, “Mune, are you okay?”

“Mostly. We worked things out.”

Rhizome and Gurin hopped up to the patrol. The rabbits gently herded them toward Sand, who hopped up to Rhizo.

“Who are you? Do you speak for your seer?”

“I’m Rhizome, and I do speak for the others.”

“Why are you looking for our warren?”

“I’ve had two seers tell me I need to seek the basin full of stars. You’ve met Mune.” Rhizome stood up tall. “I’m the hero.”

Sand’s ears went flat. “What are you talking about?”

Mune called out, “In the story, the hero seeks the basin full of stars to witness a greater tragedy and find his voice. If you are cursed, then we are here to fix things.”

All eyes turned toward him and he felt a tightening in his gut. So many eyes and ears on him, was this the fear that Rhizome was worried about? That if he said the wrong thing, that his friends would get hurt. Mune scanned the crowd of rabbits. Cedric was there. The big brute’s eyes offered belief. The trust that Mune was a powerful seer.

Mune spoke to Cedric, but his words reached everyone. “Rhizome has faced Death. He has changed visions, so if your warren can be saved, he can do so. His ways are strange, but they work.”

“Mune speaks the truth. He is my seer and Gurin is my herbalist. My attendant is hiding.” Rhizome took a breath and asked Sand, “Can you please make sure your patrol will not react badly?”

A tan eyebrow was raised and both ears pointed at Rhizome. “I am Sand, leader of this patrol. I doubt you or your companion could do anything to alarm us.”

Rhizome nodded. “Eitan, come out. They won’t harm you.”

Eitan poked his nose around a nearby tree. He hopped up to the group of rabbits, nose twitching. “You sure they’re safe? They look really big.”

Sand grunted. “He’s a weasel?”

“Weasel?” Eitan’s eyes went wide and he dropped to the ground. His forelegs covered his head; even Mune had to admit, the act was impressive. “Where? Don’t let him get me! Weasels eat rabbits!”

Rhizome put a paw on Eitan’s shoulder. “No, Eitan, there’s no weasel here. You’re safe, and the rabbits won’t get you either.”

To Mune’s surprise, it was Gurin who accosted Sand. In the many moons he had known the herbalist, Gurin was always timid and unsure of himself. It was an altogether different rabbit that spoke, grabbing the stunned leader by his shoulders. “Are you nuts? Do you have any idea how long it took to get the herb mix right? If you point it out, he might come to his senses.”

Gurin pulled away and looked at the rest of the scouts. “He’s a rabbit, understand? A harmless rabbit, so long as you can avoid saying anything rash.”

“No herb can do this,” Sand grumbled. “We’d know about it.”

Cedric paled and hopped over to Sand. “He looks a bit like… Do you remember last summer?”

Mune winced. Now that Eitan was here, he could feel the connection between them. They’ve seen this before. No, they saw it almost work before. He shouted, “It takes all three of us! I had to divine his name and I use my visions to put pressure on what his name means.”

“And what does he do?” Sand pointed at Rhizome.

Eitan perked up and bounced lightly like an excited bunny. “He tells me stories. Like how he faced two owls and how he scared off a wolf just by chanting.”

Sand shook his head and sighed. Mune could feel that even if the tan rabbit didn’t fully believe the story, this was beyond what he wanted to deal with. “Let King Ghostpaw decide what’s real. All of you, come with us.”