Welcome, to the Barkhills

[The Skarzs]

OOC: ^ Answered in the OOC topic.
Also, due to the unfortunate account of Cornflower leaving the forum, I'm afraid her characters must be put into the back of everyone's minds; however, if need be PPing them will be allowed.

[The Skarzs]

OOC: . . . Riiiight. . . soooo I'm going to time-skip to the evening of their march, and hopefully this won't mess up anything anyone has planned.

Actually, upon further thought, I think I will time-skip to the following day, seeing as making them set up camp and sleep the night off may prove to be boorish.
If anybeast has a problem with this, please feel free to shoot me a PM.

BIC: Karn shook himself roughly, expelling the morning cold from his clothes as he buckled on his armor. They had reached the fort of Riverwatch the evening before, and here the Homeguard would stay as replacement sentries for the original guards.
Thankfully the night had been uneventful, and the dark of the early morning was equally peaceful. Other soldiers were waking as well, either by some inner clock or by some officers calling out that it was morning.
The cougar sighed, tightening the last strap of his armor; as much as he disliked it, he knew his force would have needed to rest. Yes, it cut back on time, but he consoled himself that Vrungin would have to do the same with his own creatures: the wolf was smart, and would not be foolish enough to run his force completely ragged. Still, the longer they waited. . .
"Good morning, Mossflowerians!" Karn called to the nearby-sleeping beasts. "Wake yourselves and take breakfast; we leave in fifteen minutes."
The cougar considered their route; they could go on to West Watch, but that would mean going even further west several miles before they could get there. No, they would go to the mustelid clans; it would be good to see if they could help them in their fight with Vrungin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In that very morning Guthar, Enktan, and their two brothers sent by Vrungin were nervously dragging away a large mass of fur, which growled and fought against them. Chains were attached to it in several places, and each cougar held a thick chain each. Behind them were smoldering and bashed remains of wooden buildings, and dead bodies lay on the ground. As quickly as they could, the soldiers took their charge as far away from the site as they could.

[Jasper]

The mossflowerians lay in heaps all over the ground. A lone dark figure stalked their ranks through their ranks in silence.Trillo was fast asleep, dreaming, oddly enough, of daisies. He felt something grasp him, and all pretense of slumber immediately left him. He was pulled over, and found himself looking into the black burning eyes of Ginny. Panicking, he looked around to his fellow crewmembers, and realized they had all been slain in their sleep. And now it was his turn.
"No...no... I knew I couldn't trust you..."
Trillo allowed himself to glance sideways at the limp form of his captain, lying with a deep wound in his back. It was a real shame to die this way along with everyone he held dear. He looked up at Ginny, as she plunged a dark knife towards his own chest.

Trillo awoke with a start.

"Good Morning Mossflowerians!"

He groaned and sat up, glancing at the nearby form of Ginny stirring as she also awoke. He shook his head and moaned, thinking to himself:
"Of course it was a dream, the captain isn't even here to be killed anyway. It's all in your head you great fool!"
He sat in place for a little while, rubbing his face and gathering his wits. He huddled his blanket about him as the chilly morning developed around him. He could see each of his breaths like a puff of white smoke. He heard sizzling as small fires cooked the breakfasts of the soldiers and creatures around him. A few redwall  beasts had started a small campfire nearby, and he gathered his belongings and moved there. He sat on a large boulder near the fire and wrapped himself tighter. He noticed Ginny getting up and raised his hand, gesturing to an open spot at their campfire:
"Here Ginny!"
Simultaneously, a group of lively ferrets and a few members of the homeguard they had met yesterday waved as well from a nearby campfire:
"Oy! Ginny, over here matey!"
Trillo fell silent, and looked towards Ginny, wondering which she would pick.

[Izeroth]

 Ashtail awoke to the sound of Trillo's voice. The mouse was apparently calling for Ginny, the only "vermin" in the group other than himself.

Ashtail, though awake, attempted to remain in a sleeping position. He had no desire to get out of his perfectly comfortable blanket, and knew that a great many chores would likely be put on his shoulders when the others realized he was conscious enough to do work. Such is the life of a soldier, he grimly thought.

The stoat finally mustered his energy and rose up from his position. Well, I might as well get whatever they want me to do over with now. "Is there any way I can be of assistance?"

[Conrad the Painless]

(Two moons prior)

Norton swiftly jumped from the deck of the ship and onto a rocky outcropping. Around him, the waves washed up against the cliffs, causing a chilling spray to leap onto his sore paws. Norton ignored the cold sensation as he took note of his surroundings. The Kingcrab's bow faced a thick forest of trees, which were definitely as dark and forbidding as any other forest. "All right beasts, unload what cargo we have onto the rocks, you two, start a fire over by the tree line!" He paused to consider what he said, "And not too close to the trees!" Norton watched as his small horde busied themselves with the tasks he desired. Later that night, Norton and his vermin crew ate surprisingly heartily due to the discovery of a small colony of seagulls nesting in the cliffs. As usual, Norton slept away from the others, on the edge of where the grass of the forest ended and the rough rock of the cliff began. In his mind, he counted the amount of weapons he had, the morale of his horde, and the occasional thought of his familiar territory back across the vast sea. Norton sighed as he rolled over, using a thin cloth as a blanket and a lump of moss as a pillow. What remained of the dinner lays by the small fire, along with other provisions both from the ship and the surrounding forrest. Norton's eyes began to close, but were still focused on a large chest by the fire which contained his armor and weapons.   

[The Skarzs]

Karn looked at Ashtail and answered his question.
"Make sure you're fed and rested enough for a day of travel. We're going to the mustelid clans today; who knows? you might feel better in the presence of others of your species."
The cougar turned away to find the officers of Riverwatch and make some last-minute arrangements; he also wanted to make sure the Homeguard were all settled into the fort before they left.

[Dannflower Reguba]

       "Well now, look who finally decided to wake!" Phlame had just finished sharpening his short sword when the beasts he'd been watching stirred. He hardly ever slept, so he amused himself by exploring the campsite while they snored. The guards had been easy enough to sneak past, but at one point, he could have sworn that mouse saw him... In his sleep of all things! The nerve... Anyway, he could tell who they were after, or could he? It was hard for him to tell much of anything sometimes, but who was he to say? The foreigners would suggest that they would be after Vrungin and his horde of Stompy-McSquashies, loud oafs, "What was I thinking about again? Oh yeah! This tree's bark is comfortably harsh..... Wait a minute, that wasn't it... Hmm. Oh well." The squirrel weighed the idea of approaching the present group for a full second and a half before standing up, and promptly tripping on the rock he'd used to sharpen his blade just moments ago, "Téigh ta geataí ifreann ya cloch dúr!"

[Jasper]

As Ginny took her seat, Trillo took his portion of breakfast. The meager marching rations consisted of an odd-looking stew and a stale loaf, and they tasted remarkably good after being warmed by the fire.  Trying his best not to think of what might be in the cloudy stew, Trillo wrapped himself tighter. "I'm freezing," he stated miserably. Another former sailor glanced up at him with an amused look on his face: "You think this is bad? Wait until we get up to those mountains. I believe that's where we're headed. I'll bet we'll be getting snow within a day or two at this pace."

Trillo was about to respond when he heard a thump; it sounded as if someone had dropped a sack of potatoes down the stairs. He glanced around the bleak morning landscape, and saw nothing of interest. He shook his head and was about to continue eating his rapidly cooling stew when he heard a string of muttering in the distance. It was so faint, he could not pinpoint the exact location. He looked around once more, but the only thing he spotted was a dull rock near a rustic old tree, devoid of leaves of any kind. Shaking his head in puzzlement, he turned back to his meal.

As he chewed, he noticed Ashtail talking to Karn. The cook pulled another bowl of soup off the fire, and offered it around. Trillo took it and raised it above his head:
"Ashtail! You might need a bit of grub if you would rather walk than be carried to that Musta-Whatsit place!"

[Izeroth]

OOC: Will post soon.

[Conrad the Painless]

(One moon ago)

Norton was leading the trudge through the pine forest. North was a sensible direction, but some in his band argued that the south was just as bountiful in terms of food and places to make camp. Thus, they were separated, and agreed to meet back at the cliffs once they both had collected more vermin to join their growing horde. So far, Norton liked this land. Food was plentiful, but far in-between. Behind him, Norton heard the pawsteps of his crew, making quite a commotion compared to the calm silence of the forest. Two members of the crew carried a chest between them, which was filled with Norton's armor. They walked behind their captain, making a great show of their strain. Norton ordered everyone to stop and make camp, for it was getting dark.

[Gwen A. Mouse]

((OOC: Retro-posting, yay! And an educational tidbit. Bit of a long post though, my apologies. Don't feel obligated to wade through this whole thing-only the last bit's actual conversation.))

Ginny had slept deeply and woke refreshed, her rest made all the more satisfying for the previous day's tiring march. The jill had laid still for a little while, eyes closed, savoring the feeling of the peaceful early morning. When that peace was shattered by Karn's wake-up call, she decided it was probably time to get up. "We have to move if we want to get anywhere, after all," she muttered, standing up and stretching.

Suddenly she found herself hailed by a group of soldiers she'd gotten acquainted with the day before. She started towards the fire where they were making breakfast- and noticed that Trillo was also waving her over. It wasn't a tough decision. With a wave to the soldiers, she changed course and went to sit with Trillo. The jill began her breakfast in silence, mulling over her first thoughts of the day, but soon entered the conversation.

"I'm freezing."

"You think this is bad? Wait until we get up to those mountains. I believe that's where we're headed. I'll bet we'll be getting snow within a day or two at this pace."

Snow! Ginny had to smile. "I love snow," she confided to the sailor. "Though the chances are that I will like it a bit less when we have to wade through it."

"Ashtail! You might need a bit of grub if you would rather walk than be carried to that Musta-Whatsit place!"

"Mustelid, I think he said. It's a family of beastkind. If I remember correctly, it includes weasels, stoats, ferrets, otters, and badgers." Ginny shook her head. "It's always been strange to know that 'vermin' like myself are related, however distantly, to such noble creatures."

[The Skarzs]

Vrungin had roused his troops a little earlier than Karn, and they were already nearly on their way again. As the wolf stalked the camp grounds, he stopped when he reached where Lord Durgren and the Hammer warriors were held captive. The wolf lord, though he was tied both paws and feet, he was still a sight of noble authority, and his eyes burned as he looked at Vrungin.
"You will be stopped."
"Hardly."
The other bent down to the crouched form. "We are living in an age of change, where the wolf lord will not hold his power by merely protecting the weak; he will rule them. I intend to make that change, and the transition is already happening. Even as we speak, my allies wait for my command. Your precious Hammer are bound behind you, and you will receive no help from the mustelids."
He stood up straight. "I am already in charge, Durgren! I have in my paws the power to destroy the Barkhills as you know it! Without your most powerful army, you are helpless!"
"You shouldn't underestimate what good beasts can do." Vrungin turned incredulously toward the otter who spoke. "I've seen small creatures give more and fight better than beasts twice their size. It ain't matter how few there are: If there is still good in them, then they will be victorious, no matter the cost."
Vrungin struck Garan with the back of his paw, knocking the otter onto his back. "Silence, foreigner," he gritted. "You know nothing of the Barkhills."
The otter captain smiled through his bloodied nose and his bruised face. "I don't need to; bad beasts are still quick to anger and good beasts still never give up."
The wolf stormed off in disgust and rage at the captive, roaring for them to start marching again.
"Brave words, Garan, but there's little we can do in this state, and we have no idea how much of a chance we have of beating Vrungin." Durgren sighed.
The other shook his head. "We can't give up hope; if Commander Karn and his soldiers are on their way, then there will always be a chance."

[Dannflower Reguba]

       Phlame was having quite the time sorting himself out. He punted the rock to only heaven knows where, hitting heaven knows who upside the head.... Or would it be downside the head? No matter, it'd fall on something. Now that he'd shown the rock just who was boss around these parts... for now... he turned back towards the group, only to realize that he had no idea how to approach. The squirrel paced back and forth trying to decide one way or another for a much much longer time than it took him earlier, "Ah well, why don't we just get this over with mm?"

       After  closing the distance, Phlame called from the outskirts of the campsite... to nobeast in particular, "What's a lot from castle whatsits doin' all the way out 'ere?" He started to ponder answers to his own question out loud, having quite forgotten his last thoughts, "Well, I guess they could be followin' the wolf en his posse... T'would certainly explain why in the blaze's there's an otter out 'ere agin'. Last one I saw got frozen all up, shouldn't a gone a swimmin'... even if it was an 'ot water spring, heh heh. Oh, blúiríní! Aon duine ar mian ta anseo faoi sin madra uisce."

[Jasper]

Trillo was eating his breakfast, and having a pleasant conversation with Ginny. She had, to his surprise, chosen to sit with him and the Reddwallers, over her own kind. Perhaps this creature was sincere and could really be trusted; he was certainly starting to enjoy her company.

He was just mentioning how much he was looking forward to meeting the Mustelids, when he heard the voice and muttering he had heard earlier. He turned to see an odd cloaked figure declare himself and begin chattering and mumbling is some unknown manner. Wondering about the sanity of the figure standing before him, Trillo stood:

"Er... Hello there. I'm Trillo, this is Ashtail and Ginny. We come from Redwall Abbey... er ... who are you? Are you from around here?"

[The Skarzs]

Karn came back just in time to catch what the strange squirrel had said, and he came straight up to Phlame. "You said something about an otter: Where? Which way did they go? Speak, squirrel." Karn realized he might not get a proper answer as soon as he got a better look at the beast: Everything about him screamed "unsound in the mind". Despite his inner warnings, the cougar waited for an answer.