Redwall Under Attack! [EXTRAVAGANZA EVENT]

[HoltLutra]

Zanna stood up abruptly and prodded the seer with her footpaw. A twitch was all Zanna needed to make sure the fox was still alive. Sure enough, she moved. Zanna walked out of the firelight and grabbed a horn from a nearby guard. She walked to the front of the camp and blew three, short, harsh blasts. The vermin knew the signal well.

Within a few moments, the entire horde was assembled in front of her. Zanna strode through the ranks and pointed to certain beasts. By the time she had finished, she had half-a-score of vermin singled out from the rest. "Your task," she told the group, "is to breach the Abbey. Your purpose is simple, take hostages. As many as you can get, or even as few as a single beast. It matters not. Do not kill, plunder, pillage, or burn. Simply take hostages and get out of the Abbey as quickly and quietly as possible. Try to gain entry at the rear and sides of the Abbey."

"The rest of you!" Zanna called as she turned to address the rest of the horde," We will provide a distraction. A show of force, perhaps. We will assemble at the front of the Abbey and be as loud as possible. Fire arrows, bang on the gates, anything! Simply make sure everybeast is focused on the main gates!"

A few moments later, the entire horde (with the exception of those ten) was assembled a mere few feet from the front gates and walls. The noise was uproarious. The vermin chanted, "Zanna! Zanna! ZANNA! Kill, pillage, plunder!" Archers sent volleys of flaming arrows over the wall, panic ensued within.

The others had each been issued a rope with a large metal hook and a small knife meant for close quarters, along with whatever other weaponry they carried. Across the rear and side walls, grappling hooks were sent flying into the night and latched onto the battlements with a dull 'clang.' The vermin, comprised of 3 weasels, 4 ferrets, and 3 rats, pulled their ways up the walls, before lithely leaping inside the Abbey.

The vermin grabbed beasts standing along the battlements. They took one squirrel, one otter, and two mice. One vermin was killed trying to subdue the otter. They carried their prisoners over the walls and exited as quietly as they had entered.

OOC: Would anyone like to play a hostage?

[Lady Amber]

Raylin and a bunch of other abbeydwellers were assembled on the North wall. The vermin horde was in front of the Abbey, standing there, chanting. Flaming arrows flew over the wall, and Raylin ducked as a shaft whistled past her head, burying itself in the ground below. She peeked over the battlements, singled out a random rat in the horde, and launched a stone from her sling at him. It missed and hit the ground instead. Frustrated, the squirrel tried again, grinning triumphantly when it struck her target. The rat collapsed to the ground.

Raylin made quick work of another rat and a ferret. As she was reloading her sling, however, she heard a commotion over on another wall. Her eyes widened as she made out the figures of several vermin. Shadows flickered on the wall on which they stood, cast by the flaming arrows that flew through the night sky. A few of the vermin had abbeydwellers thrown across their shoulders. They climbed over the edge of the battlements and started down several ropes, even as Raylin cried out in alarm. She ran towards where they had climbed down, but by the time she got there it was too late. All there was was a vermin corpse lying there. At least they hadn't gotten away without casualties. Her eyes searched the edge of the forest next to the Abbey, but to no avail. There was no sign of them.

She turned and ran back to the main group on the wall, yelling out as she went, "They've captured several creatures! The vermin snuck in and captured them!" She searched the crowd until she found the Abbess. "What do we do?"

[HoltLutra]

OOC: Just to make sure everyone knows-- we are able to continue posting in this RP after the extravaganza is over.

[a crumb]

The Abbess was about to reply to the squirrelmaid when the young hedgehog standing to Hannah's right fell to his side, clutching his forehead. A stone bounced away into the dark. Hannah grabbed the hedgehog by his arms and assisted him to a seat along the parapet. As she did this, Hannah took stock of the situation. There were enough Abbeybeasts along the four sides to note, with some degree of expediency, any further grappling hooks. Raylin shouted over the commotion, gesturing to the Abbess as she asked for direction. Between the hedgehog gasping for breath and the humid air, the Abbess felt impatient and annoyed. However, once the hedgehog was under the care of a molewife, Hannah delicately maneuvered over to Raylin.

She had manged to hear the squirrelmaid's question, and was thinking. To her right, two mice were awkwardly carrying the dead vermin to the Abbey grounds. Hannah watched them nearly tumble downwards, only for the otter Arrap to hastily steady the shorter mouse. Hannah had seen enough of the commotion to identify a couple of the missing Abbeydwellers, among them Arrap's husband. Almost certainly, Arrap already knew of her husband's loss, as the names of the taken were being mouthed by a few creatures milling about. The plot afoot was also fairly obvious to most. That, the Abbess thought, could at least be expected by this defense force. It was disorderly, Hannah knew, running the state of the defense through her mind once again. Even after a few forays and casualties, it was still so easy for her to spot a mouse who had no business walking as carelessly as he did, or a squirrel who looked dangerously over a parapet too often. Too many Abbeybeasts were in one area at one moment, and then too few somewhere else. If not for a clever few, the Abbey would be in all likelihood in even more precipitous danger. And for all that, not even a war council for consistent strategizing. It would get better, slowly, as long as the enemy didn't get lucky, or too sneaky. What comfort, Hannah thought. As far as the enemy went, they seemed very concentrated in their plans to the west and north walls. The southern forest fringe was in the Abbess' view, and hung remarkably close to the walls. Wally and the moles' construction work pattered onwards within her sight. After a few moments, Raylin repeated her question, and it was with a pained look that the Abbess turned to the energetic squirrel. It would be replaced by determination a second later.

"How would you feel about a night raid of our own?"

[HoltLutra]

After Zanna saw that her plan had been successful, she sounded the same three short blasts and the army trudged back to the camp. The vermin cheered and taunted the captives being prodded at spear point. The otter was particularly vicious. He kicked out at a vermin and managed to knock a weasel out, despite his hand being bound. The hostages were all put in the center of the camp, right next to the large fire. Zanna herself sat and watched them, along with two score of vermin all armed and ready to defend their captives. The horde leader continued the raid a success. She had lost a mere four beasts. This was nothing compared to her army of many hundreds strong. Zanna looked around for Rune, she needed to talk to the fox about the next step of the siege.

[Lady Amber]

Raylin grinned darkly. "Let's do it." The vermin wouldn't get away with this for long. They had threatened the safety of the Abbey and those within, and now they had captured several of their own. They would pay. She looked around at the creatures gathered. "We'll need a small group of creatures to sneak into the vermin camp and free the others. Any volunteers?"

[HoltLutra]

Zanna collapsed onto a log an sighed contentedly. Her plan had worked. She had captives and the souls of the former war leaders were with her. The captives were in the center of camp, tied around a large boulder and held under guard. "So," Zanna said," how many able bodied troops do you have in that fancy Abbey o' yours?"

[Captain Tammo]

Wally cautioned Raylin. "Hold on, there! We can't just waltz in and snag a few creatures just like that! I'm surprised they were able to get by us so sneakily. Next time we'll be prepared. I've sent a few pages through the council to review. It involves sectioned areas of watches - that is, nobeast leaves their watch, even if battle is happening elsewhere. The watch is to sound the alarm, not do the fighting. It also had ideas for breaking glass panes on the walltops. I'm not so sure about this one - I'll leave it up to Abbess Hannah and them - but it could give those nasty beasts quite the surprise should they hop over the wall when we least suspect it. Most of those vermin are bare-pawed!

"Now, as for getting our beasts back, what is to be proposed? They have leverage now and that's dangerous!"

Rune was summoned to Zanna Crowely's side. Patiently, she waited whilst the interrogation went on. She strained her ears to hear it but only caught snippets.

OOC: Is somebody playing as captives? Do we have any info on that?