“No, sir Mr. Crinklehat, sir.”

  “I know what happened yesterday was terrible, but I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

  “That’s the thing. No one knows where he is.”

  “And you’ve asked everybody?” Crinklehat’s eyes remained closed.

  “Well, no, but…”

  “Remember when you thought someone took all your acorns,” said Crinklehat, bemused.

  “Yeah,” replied Puff.

  “And what happened then?”

  “I found them the next day.”

  “Precisely.”

  “But this isn’t the same.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “This isn’t like Sir Pattercloud.”

  “Perhaps he went off on a stroll. What happened to Hustlefoot yesterday weighed heavily on him. They were quite close.”

  “He told me to meet him this morning,” said Puff exasperated1.

  “I’m sure he’ll turn up,” repeated Crinklehat, opening one eyelid, but Puff had already bounded off, mumbling to himself as he went.

  Puff needed to find both Tinderbug and Nibbles. Something wasn’t right. He knew it, and finding Sir Pattercloud was of the utmost importance. He scurried tree to tree on branches and limbs, heading towards the part of the park where Nibs resided.

  It was eerily quiet. Unusually so. Puff didn’t find Nibbles in her typical places, including her hole. Maybe she was hiding. Heck, maybe Sir Pattercloud was hiding somewhere. Squirrels were feeling down after yesterday’s events, but Puff couldn’t shake the feeling in his stomach. Even if Pattercloud were grieving the loss of a close friend, he wouldn’t just disappear.

  While mucking about trying to locate Nibs from above, Puff saw Blabberbit, the oldest, wisest squirrel in the entire park. Puff thought if anyone would know where to find Sir Pattercloud, she would.

  He made his way over to her. She was sprawled out on her back and sunning herself on the wall next to a paved path. Her four brown paws were spread out in different directions, her chest rising gently with each breath. The old squirrel was snoring and seemed to be asleep. Puff cleared his throat.

  “S’cuse me,” he said, trying not to startle her. Blabberbit continued to snore. Puff spoke more loudly this time.

  “Excuse me, Blabberbit.”

  Another snore.

  “Blabberbit!” said Puff sharply.

  The old squirrel woke with a start, making all sorts of snortle and coughing sounds, rolled off the top of the wall and landed unceremoniously on the ground below. A verbal barrage was unleashed back up towards Puff.

  “Don’t you know it’s rude waking up an old woman like that! Golly gee whiskers, I about had a coronary!”

  Puff slowly stuck his little head over the edge of the wall, looking down at Blabberbit below. “What’s a coronary?” asked Puff, curious.

  “Something you won’t have to worry about for a long while. Now get your furry gray tail down here and help me up. I have arthritis in my joints, I’ll have you know!”

  Puff wasn’t sure what arthritis was either, but it didn’t sound like fun. He hopped down off the wall and helped Blabberbit up.

  “Now please explain to me, young squirrel, why you so rudely woke me up?”

  The words tumbled out of Puff. He explained that Pattercloud was missing. That he couldn’t find him anywhere. That it wasn’t like the Knight Champion to just disappear. The old squirrel listened patiently and, after Puff had finished, took a moment before speaking.

  “I appreciate your concern, Puff. I do know Sir Pattercloud, although not extremely well. And what you say does sound out of the ordinary. Come, follow me back to my tree. Let us consult the divining acorns.”

  8

  Signs

  “Do you know what an oracle is, Puff?” asked Blabberbit.

  Puff shook his head ‘no’ emphatically.

  “An oracle is someone who divines1, or gets information from, the Great Nature Spirit. Some call it a gift. And that burden of divination falls on me. Now, since I already know what your question is, I will consult the acorns. Here, hand me that bag in the corner.”

  They were inside Blabberbit’s home, a hole nestled between two great limbs of an older oak. It was sparsely furnished, with a place to sleep in the corner and a small table and two chairs in the center.

  Puff fetched the bag the old squirrel spoke of and brought it to her.

  “Thank you,” said Blabberbit. “These are the divination acorns. They will help us determine the fate of Sir Pattercloud.”

  She carefully pulled out a collection of acorn caps and gently laid them out on the table.

  “Now, I shall call forth my ancestors, generations of squirrels in my line who can commune2 with the Great Spirit and lead us to the truth.”

  Blabberbit began chanting and motioned her front paws over the acorn tops laying on the table. She uttered words Puff didn’t understand and then picked up the tops and threw them right at Puff. He ducked, and the pieces went flying over his furry head and clattered onto the floor behind him.

  “Ta-dah!” yelled Blabberbit proudly. Puff looked at the acorn bits on the floor and then back at Blabberbit.

  “So, what do you think?” she asked.

  Puff hesitated. “I don’t know what to think other than you just made a mess on the floor.” The corners of Blabberbit’s mouth twitched for a second before she burst out laughing.

  “Oh, Puff, you are a funny little squirrel. You’re supposed to be impressed with my theatrics. That’s why people come to me, you know. If I just gave them the news without the song and dance, they’d feel cheated. Now let us go see what they say.”

  Puff wasn’t an oracle, but to him it looked like a bunch of acorn caps littered on the dusty floor. He and Blabberbit stood there looking down at the mess. The old squirrel stroked her fuzzy chin with one of her front paws, deep in thought.

  “Hmm. This is interesting,” she said.

  “What’s interesting?” Puff asked, growing slightly impatient.

  “See those three acorn caps laying on top of each other?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, that portends a crossing in the stars.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “It means great change could be coming. Or perhaps I didn’t mix up the acorn tops enough and they stuck together when I threw them.”

  “I’m not sure this is helping.”

  “Oh come now, Puff. You have to have more faith than that. It was a joke.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m just really worried.”

  “I understand. Well, those three clumped together do signal change is coming. Could be the rise of Clan Black. Could be something else. Whatever it is, the nuts are rarely wrong. But this,” said Blabberbit pointing, “this is the most concerning.”

  She indicated a lone acorn top that had rolled over to the corner of the room. The old squirrel walked over to where it lay and looked down at it with a frown on her face. Her whiskers twitched.

  “This could simply mean Sir Pattercloud is alone somewhere. However, it could mean that he’s in grave danger.”

  Puff felt his stomach knot and his throat tighten. He reflexively squeaked out, “No!”

  “It could mean either, Puff,” replied Blabberbit, trying to calm him. “Puff?”

  She turned around only to see the squire dashing out of her home, tail streaming behind him.

  9

  Search

  Puff ran back through the park. His mind was racing. Leaves slapped at his face as he tore across branches and limbs.

  I need to find Nibbles! I need to find Tinderbug!

  He couldn’t shake the feeling of dread. It continued to grow inside him, regardless of how much he told himself that everything was okay and his mind was playing tricks on him. Puff needed to focus.

  I’ll get Nibbles first, he thought. She is closer to Blabberbit and then we’ll find Tinderbug together.

  She might be by a clump of old birch trees. She was often there, feasting on the nuts, grass, and worms that helped keep her little body going. Eating made her happy, and Puff was already feeling bad that he may be interrupting her fun.

  The cluster of birches and their white, knotted trunks came into view. There were some old stumps mixed in as well. Puff quickened his pace even more. He raced down the trunk of a maple tree and bounded over to where he thought Nibs might be. But when he didn’t see his chipmunk friend, Puff began calling out her name in earnest.

  “Nibs!” cried Puff. “Nibs!” he shouted again. He had seen her here so many times. He wasn’t sure where she was now. Puff checked behind the stumps, in the boughs of every birch and even by the mossy patch on the big, jagged rock. He was desperate. He didn’t know what to do. He felt tears suddenly coming on.

  A paw tapped him on the shoulder. He whipped around. It was Nibbles. She was clutching a paw full of grass and happily chewing it.

  “Nibs,” squeaked Puff, giving her a big hug.

  “What’s wrong? Are you crying?”

  Puff tried to gather himself. He blinked a few times and sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of one of his fuzzy paws. Everything came out in a jumble of words.

  “I can’t find Sir Pattercloud and I think he’s missing and Blabberbit said there’s a bad omen and we need to find him because the tournament is tomorrow and I’m worried he’s in trouble and…”

  “Shhhh,” soothed Nibbles. She had never seen Puff out of sorts like this before. “Take a breath.”

  Squire Puff remembered all the times Sir Pattercloud had emphasized that a calm approach helped a knight to think—that clear thought and intellect, not the sword, were a knight’s greatest weapons. He took a deep breath before trying again.

  “I can’t find Sir Pattercloud anywhere. Anywhere.”

  “Really?” Nibs, for a moment, was at a loss for words. It was an unusual occurrence. “Okay, umm, a lot happened yesterday. Maybe he decided to take a walk?”

  “No, no, no! Please Nibbles, you have to trust me. I’ve been through this with everyone else. I’m his squire. It’s not like him to go wandering off without letting me or someone else know why he’ll be gone. I mean, I was just a little bit late, but he shouldn’t disappear, especially the day before he’s supposed to do battle against Clan Black.”

  Puff began pacing. He was desperate.

  “I’m worried. Really worried. He’s supposed to fight Scratchclaw tomorrow and he’s missing. He didn’t say anything to me, and I’m his squire. To me that means he wasn’t expecting to go anywhere or be gone.”

  “Except you were late, even if it was just a little bit.”

  Nibs thought for a moment while Puff chewed on his lip.

  “Okay, how ‘bout this,” she offered. “You and I will go get Tinderbug and then the three of us will look for Sir Pattercloud.”

  “That sounds like a plan. Let’s go!”

  Puff didn’t even wait to see if Nibbles was ready or not, he just took off, scaling the closest tree and running full tilt amongst the leaves and branches. The pudgy little chipmunk stayed on the ground and bounded after him, but had a hard time keeping up.

  It was a mad dash toward the part of the park where Clan Brown resided. Nibbles kept having to track Puff through the maze of trees. She had never seen him so worked up.

  The two of them, Puff tearing through the trees and Nibbles trailing, could feel the energy change the closer they got to Clan Brown. It was palpable1. Fewer birds chirped. No squirrels were out. It was abnormally quiet.

  There was a branch that hung low from a stately elm, and Puff launched himself from there to the ground without breaking his stride. Nibbles, panting, called out to him.

  “Puff,” said the chipmunk, “please slow down. I’m getting a stitch in my side and my paw is cramping.”

  Puff looked at her, worry in his eyes. Nibs rolled over on her back, breathing heavily.

  “Just…give…me…a…moment…to…catch…my…breath.”

  “I think you eat too many nuts,” replied Puff.

  “Says the squirrel…who is always sneaking cherries…from where he shouldn’t.” Each phrase was broken by a quick inhale of breath.

  “Okay, okay. C’mon, let’s find Tinderbug.”

  “I need a moment,” repeated Nibbles, still breathing hard. “You don’t have a spare nut so I can recover, do you?”

  “Nibs, I need you to hurry.”

  Nibbles rolled back onto her stomach. She closed her eyes, sighed, and then opened them.

  “Okay. I’m ready.”

  “You go over by the pond and the cattails. I think she has an acorn stash over there in the tall grass, before the water.”

  “All right,” said Nibbles dutifully. She was still breathing rapidly.

  “I’m going to go check by the old evergreen. Tinderbug has a thing for pinecones.”

  Both squirrel and chipmunk bounded away, unaware that Tinderbug was in the trees above them, hiding from them and life and the world. She didn’t care that they were there. She didn’t care about anything at the moment.

  That was, until she heard Puff yelling for her in a way she had never heard. His cries were plaintive and pained. He sounded scared. Scared enough, that she became scared. And when her concern for Puff became greater than her sadness, she climbed down out of her hiding spot and headed towards her friend.

  10

  High and Low

  Puff gave Tinderbug a long hug. He could sense her sadness, and when one of your two best friends in the whole world is feeling such pain, you give them a hug. It’s just what friends do. She hugged him back.

  After giving her one last, loving squeeze, Puff pulled back and looked Tinderbug in the eyes.

  “I am sorry for your loss, Tinderbug. What Scratchclaw did, hiding a knife, pretending to yield…that was not honorable. Clan Brown shall one day be avenged, but right now we need to find Sir Pattercloud. If there is no champion to fight for Clan Gray, Clan Black will win the tournament and everything will be lost.”

  “Well, you could fight if Sir Pattercloud couldn’t,” interjected Nibs, who was lying on the grass nearby.

  Puff recoiled and looked like he had been physically punched in the stomach. He just shook his head ‘no’ vigorously, his eyes wide. “Me? Fight?” He just continued shaking his head ‘no.’

  Tinderbug, sensing his panic, tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.

  “Do you have any idea where Pattercloud went?” she asked.

  Puff tried to collect himself. “Not really. I mean, he had his favorite parts of the park where he’d retreat to, but I searched most of those.”

  “Which ones didn’t you search?” continued Tinderbug.

  “Well, there’s the big bridge by the pond. He likes to go by the rocks next to it and look out across the water.”

  “Anywhere else?” asked Tinderbug.

  “Sometimes he likes to talk to the other animals in the park, the ones that aren’t free.”

  “The Confined?” asked Nibbles.

  “Yes. I didn’t check there because I don’t talk to them,” replied Puff, “aside from that one time. Also, perhaps the alley behind the bodega1? You know, the little convenience store across from the edge of the park?”

  “All right. Just tell us where to go.”

  “Okay. Nibs, you go check by the bridge. It will be the easiest to get to without needing to climb trees.”

  “Yeah, I know it’s inconvenient, but I’m not in the kind of shape to be scampering up and down,” said the chipmunk. “Sorry.”

  “Tinderbug, you go check out the bodega. But be careful of the alley cat. She’s a nasty girl. You don’t want an ear like Nibs.”

  “Okay,” said the brown squirrel. “I’ll be extra careful.”

  “And even though they scare me, I’ll try and speak with The Confined.” Puff shivered a little as he spoke. He had always tried to avoid that area of the park.

  The three friends said their goodbyes and hurried on their ways, eager to find Sir Pattercloud before the Tournament of Oaks tomorrow.

  Puff made his way, weaving through oaks and maples and noble elms, to where The Confined were housed. As worried as he was about the Knight Champion, being amongst the trees always gave him some solace. His thoughts focused on the times when he and Sir Pattercloud had wandered through the green canopy of the Great Park, talking about life and what mattered. They discussed how strength of character was more valuable than physical strength. Of course, being a small squirrel, Puff always found this funny. He wished he could wield Truthseeker, but the Greatsword of Clan Gray was much too big for him. Sometimes he wondered if it was easy for the elder squirrel to say size wasn’t all that important since he wasn’t small like Puff.

  The squire steeled himself. There were crowds of giants in the park today, and he could feel fear rising in him. He felt fear of the giants, fear of the unknown, fear of talking with one of The Confined, and possibly his biggest fear, that of having to fight for his clan himself.

  He paused a moment longer before finally making his way forward.

  11

  The Confined

  The complex rose from the ground like huge, square stones of brown mixed with red and beige. Crowds of giants milled around, their noisy, scattered energy spoiling the surrounding calm.

  Wanting to avoid the boisterous activity, Puff made his way around to the far side of the structures. This was only his second time here. The first, now but a memory, was with Sir Pattercloud, who briefly introduced him to a few of The Confined. Puff didn’t like seeing animals in cages, but the knight sometimes sought their council.

  In fits and bursts, he got closer, snaking his way along intertwined branches. He was hoping the animals were willing to talk to him, because Puff needed information. He needed to find the Knight Champion. And he needed to do it quickly.

 

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