It was another sunny day by the stream. The leaves rustled in the light breeze as the sun warmed the stones by the bank. The rippling of the water added a constant sound to the repertoire of nature, and everything seemed at harmony.
Stonefleck kicked a pebble into the stream with a light kick, sparking the curiosity of the carnivorous fish in the water. His army of grey rats materialized from the forest behind him as they watched Slagar emerge on the other side of the stream. Stonefleck nodded to two of his rats, and they loosed the raft and started to pilot it across the stream, towards the slaver fox.
Slagar watched the raft rowing towards him, this was going to be his final preparation for his ultimate plan, taking the children of Redwall for the journey of their lives, to work in the pits of the mysterious Malkariss. Slagar had heard of Stonefleck before, a whisper in the trees, a terror of the night, materializing out of the air, attacking whatever happened to be his target, and vanishing as quickly as he and his army had come. He'll be a useful ally, if half of what the stories tell is true. "Well, that certainly took you long enough!" Slagar shouted to the incoming raft, "We've been waiting here for the last moon!" Perhaps this Stonefleck would be better off dead, and his band of rats serving me. If he is always this late, he will be a liability.
His face impassive, Stonefleck shifted his paw into a good position to grab his bow. It was not unusual for the fox to throw around insults, but the rat was always put off by Slagar. "How many woodlanders this time around?" he called back.
Slagar, as he was constantly suspicious, saw this remark as Stonefleck trying to figure in his head exactly how much Slagar was worth dead. "So you want to kill me and take the slaves? Is that it? Well then, I would be most interested in seeing you try!" As Slagar finished he whipped out his bola and leapt to a nearby growth of brush as cover from Stonefleck's arrows.
Now this was more than just insults, thought Stonefleck as he watched the fox take cover. "Come out before I am forced to bring down the might of Malkariss upon your puny hide, fox," he said without raising his voice. It still carried the menace of the entire army of rats behind Stonefleck on the opposite shore.
"A few carefully placed words in the ear of Nadaz should take care of that. Now, what to say to an organized duel? Winner takes the loser's army. Speak now or I snap your neck here and now." Slagar said, still twirling his bola.
Stonefleck cast an eye over the mottled "army" Slagar had. Nothing much to win, but Slagar was worth killing. "Fine, fox," he sneered. "As soon as this raft reaches the shore, it's just us."
Slagar leaped off the raft and immediately moved in a wide arc, which in theory would force Stonefleck to constantly turn to keep Slagar in sight, therefore making it harder to get a clear shot.
However, Stonefleck was no token archer. Skillfully drawing back an arrow notched to his bowstring, the rat leaded his arrow on his circling enemy. He let it go in the blink of an eye, giving no forewarning to Slagar.
Slagar felt the arrow pierce through his cape and it pulled him off-balance. He fell to his knee for a moment before launching himself backward to avoid any more arrows. "Not today." He said to himself through gritted teeth. Another plan was forming in the fox's mind.