Redwall Isn't Safe Anymore! (Is Redwall as Safe as they Say it is? Part Two)

[Groddil]

OOC: I thought it's already been.

[Ashleg]

OOC-
It's already been, just not around the vermin since it's such a short timeskip.

[Hickory]

Asher swore. "What in Hellgates?!"

He kicked at the dust angrily, some of it settling on Brush's body. "Applelad! Get back to the Abbey, tell Charm about this. Harnam, you and I will bury Brush and take care of those vermin encampments.

"Go!"

Appalled ran off into the trees.

[Groddil]

The otter, holding a lit torch in his paw, led the procession of Rebels through the damp tunnels under the Wetlands. They passed numerous empty cells, as all the prisoners had already gone to Sheba. Soon, however, One-Ear stopped. One tunnel was not empty. A vixen that looked his age was slumped against a wall, her brilliant orange and white fur stained by dried blood.
"Hey, you."
The vixen slowly moved her head up, staring at them. Her eyes were clouding over, her mouth hung open limply.
"What?"
"Who are you? What are you here for?"
"What does it matter? You're going to kill me anyway, otter!"
One-Ear looked down at his disguise. Tearing off the otter mask and stamping off the fake rudder, the fox revealed his true self.
"Do I look like I want you dead?"
"But...you. How are you here? With them?"
"We're taking over the city. I'm going to kill the Governor, and Seacloak's next."
The vixen shakily rose to her feet.
"Then I'm with you, if I can get out of here."
"We'll find a way, but you still didn't answer me."
"I'm Shadomay, and I'm in here because I'm like you. A fox. A vermin. I had the audacity to make myself visible from the walls."
"I'm One-Ear. I lead an army that protects the Abbey of Redwall."
"You're noble, aren't you, One-Ear?"
The fox chuckled, before turning to the squirrel.
"The keys, near the door. Do any of them fit her cell?"
The squirrel dashed off, swiftly returning with a keyring. He randomly selected a key and thrust it into the cell door. Nothing. Several keys later, the cell clicked open. Shadomay staggered out, nearly collapsing.
"Farnod, help her."
The otter shrugged his free paw under the vixen's shoulders, helping her walk. One-Ear drew his sword and looked up and down the hallway.
"Shadomay, have you seen the Governor?"
The vixen pointed down the hallway.
"He's down there. Interrogating somebeast."
One-Ear nodded to the others, jogging down the hallway. The rest of the rebels were right behind him, with Farnod and Shadomay trailing just a few pawlengths behind. The group stopped at a heavy oaken door, which the fox edged slightly open. Inside, a rat had been tied to several shackles in the wall. A voice echoed out from somewhere unseen.
"We won't get anything more from him. Put him out of his misery."
A hare strode into view, holding a dagger. He plunged it into the rat's throat, wiped it on his fur, and resheathed it. The rat gurgled briefly, before he stopped moving. One-Ear nodded to the others, who began crowding in the doorway. Suddenly, the fox kicked the door wide open. The hare was in mid dagger draw when the fox's blade whizzed through the air, severing his head in an instant. In the room with the Rebels were four others. A squirrel, two otters, and a mouse. The squirrel was missing an ear, had a long scar stretching from its stump to his chin, and was dressed in an exquisite, gem-encrusted tunic. A black patch was draped across one eye, and his remaining eye glared at the fox. He turned to speak, but One-Ear cut him off.
"Listen to me, all of you. We're here for the Governor. If you throw down your blades and leave, we will not harm you."
The otter looked at each other briefly, before tossing there weapons aside. The rebels made a path for the deserters as they took their leave of the room. The mouse stared fearfully at the rebels, then at the governor. He gulped, and stayed put. Finally, the squirrel was able to talk.
"So, you have come to kill me? Why? Have you tired of life, but cannot bring yourselves to kill each other? Do you need me to do it for you? Or are you trying to take over the city. Fools. You may kill me, but when Seacloak returns, all the guards will flock to him. They know better than to betray their lord. Any of you that make it out of this room alive will be thrown to Sheba, this I know."
"Perhaps. But all I have to worry about now is killing you.
The squirrel shook his head, turning to the mouse. The mouse produced a large scabbard, which he presented to the Governor.
"When I was younger, I used to collect seashells. I was especially curious about the conical ones. One day, I found a particularly sharp shell, and it made me think."
The Governor gripped the hilt of the sword, drawing it from the scabbard. It was certainly a strange sight. The hilt was plain and silver, but the blade was something else. A long, cylindrical piece of metal had been affixed to the hilt, quite smooth and thick. At the end of the cylinder; however, it had been thinned and sharpened into a point. Molded around the cylinder was a sharp, spiraling line of metal: the actual blade.
"This sword took a long time to make properly, but now... It really is the best weapon I have ever owned. All you have to do is stab..."
The Governor thrust the point of the sword into the mouse's chest as he was trying to edge towards the door.
"...And TWIST!"
The Governor whirled the blade in a swift flick of his wrist. The spiral blade tore into the mouse's flesh, turning the small wound into a gaping hole in his chest. The mouse grunted, before falling to the ground.
"I really cannot abide traitors. Helping you, then trying to run. Useless, sniveling coward. You, fox. Come and test your might!"
In an instant, One-Ear had locked blades with the squirrel. He kicked the Governor roughly, breaking away, before thrusting his blade forward towards the squirrel's side. The Governor spun around, his sword already at his side to deflect the fox's strike. The squirrel jumped backwards, preparing himself. One-Ear swiped his blade low, managing to cut the Governor's leg. Angered, the squirrel shot his paw out and grabbed the hilt of One-Ear's sword. As the fox struggled to shake him off, the Governor thrust his odd blade forward. Were it not for Shadomay, One-Ear would have gone to the Dark Forest that day. The vixen dived forwards, snatching the dagger of the fallen hare. She stabbed it into the Governor's paw, causing him to drop his sword. The squirrel headbutted One-Ear, snatching the sword off of the fox. He charged Shadomay, who had backed into a corner. The squirrel never made it. One-Ear flicked his wrist, turning the back of the Governor's head into a bloodied mess. He withdrew the Governor's sword, its previous owner having been killed instantly. He stared at the strange weapon, before thrusting it into his belt. He helped Shadomay back to the rest of the rebels, who had been ambushed by a group of guards. Thankfully, they had managed to overpower the guards, who stared in amazement at the Governor's corpse. One of them, a hare, moaned loudly.
"Ah, what've ye done, wot? Ye've killed the Governor. Now ye've done it, eh? Oh, we're all bally deadbeasts!"
The squirrel kicked him roughly.
"Why? He's the deadbeast."
"'Cause Seacloak'll kill ye, an' throw us ta Sheba fa failin' ta stop ye."
"Well, he won't. He ain't gettin' inta the Wetlands. If 'ee shows up at th' gates-"
One-Ear pushed past the disarmed guards.
"I'll kill him. I'll challenge him to combat, for control of the Wetlands, and I'll kill him."
The hare stared at the fox in amazement.
"Ye'll die, sah. Seacloak'll kill ye, an' Sheba'll eat yer bones. Ye can't take on a badger!"
One-Ear licked his lips.
"I'll try."

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Sandpwaaaa!

[LT Sandpaw]

OOC: What do I do?

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Don't the crowd have something to do with Rapshade?

[Groddil]

OOC: I'm just going to say that my last post and this one were on opposite sides of the time skip, just to let the Rebels gain a foothold in the Wetlands.

Seacloak, Former Lord of the Wetlands, strode up to the city gates, with Needle just behind him. The badger hailed a hare standing atop the wall.
"You there, I have returned. Open the gate!"
The hare shook his head.
"Sorry, Seacloak. You ain't welcome 'ere anymore, wot!"
The badger clenched both paws in rage.
"How dare you speak to me like that! As soon as these gates are opened, I'll have you th-"
"Thrown ta Sheba, I ain't bally stupid, wot. But it's you who'll be thrown ta the beast once One-Ear's done wit' ya, eh, wot?"
One-Ear emerged onto the balcony.
"It's over, Seacloak. The Wetlands are no longer under your control. Farnod is to rule now, along with a council of elders. You're finished."
"Never! This is my city, and it will stay that way. I'll kill you, and all of your traitor allies."
One-Ear crossed his arms.
"Then do it. I challenge you to Trial by Combat. You win, and Farnod will surrender the city to you. I win, and all that matters is you'll be at Hellgates."
Seacloak grinned.
"You fool. Staking all that on your ability to defeat me? I took your ear once, pup. Now I'll take your head!"

[Hickory]

Breathing heavily, Applelad jogged up to Charm, nearly collapsing. "Mark... Asher sent me... Daxian escaped. He... He killed Brush. Asher wanted to know if we should... Track him down."

Gasping for breath, Applelad grabbed a lawn chair set out by the abbeydwellers and sat down in it.

[Groddil]

OOC: Don't you mean Daxian?

Charm signaled to Gukom, who handed Applelad a flagon of water.
"Rest a while, get your strength up. Daxian will pay for this, believe me."
The otter sat on a nearby crate, concentrating on the pit.
"When you are ready, find Asher. Tell him to find Damien as soon as possible. Bring him back to the camp, and I'll be there as soon as word gets back."
Back in the pit, Drubble emerged from the excavated tunnel and called up to Charm.
"Burr, 'ee tunnel be's fixed, marm. All o' 'ee collapses 'ave been filled in an' excavated, burr aye!"
Charm shook her head.
"If only Daxian had waited a little longer to escape, we could have moved him without this happening. Change of plans, when the stoat is recaptured, take him straight to the Moledeep Entrance. I'll have a cell waiting for him..."
Gukom shuffled over again, holding a vial. Charm motioned to it.
"When you leave, take that to Asher. We found it in Mortembell's satchel. Appears to be some sort of potion. According to the label, it'll paralyze your target, but not kill them. When you find Daxian, shoot him with an arrow dipped in the poison. That should make transporting him easier."

[Hickory]

Wiping his mouth, Applelad took the vial. "Will do, marm. I'll get going right away."

He saluted and started at a run for the gates and the forest beyond.

[Ashleg]

OOC-
Anything I can do with Needle, Grodds?

[Groddil]

OOC: Well, there'll be a confrontation with [THE VICTOR] later, but right now, if ha want Needle to talk to Seacloak as he's getting ready, you can do that. Otherwise, it's fine, mate.

[LT Sandpaw]

Walking up behind the small crowd that had gathered around Alfhild and Rapshade, Fastooth proceeded to bully his way through. Kicking and shoving those smaller then himself, and showing a dagger blade to those larger. It didn't take long for him to reach the center.
"Wot's goin' on here chief?" Fastooth asked as he finally made it; his eyes narrowed when he saw Glaser.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was midday when Bracklew woke. The squirrel slowly opened his eyes, feeling groggy, and out of place. Sitting up Bracklew immediately noticed something wrong, a stinging pain on his wrist, and like a tidal wave the memories of the previous three days crashed back in.

Groaning he looked around. The infirmary was occupied by three other creatures besides himself. Resting alongside him on neatly made beds.
"Duncan!" Bracklew gasped staring at the old hare. His chest was covered in a swath of bandages.

"He'll be alright. Rayne says so." Came a voice from behind him. Bracklew turned to see Petu sitting on a third bed, grinning broadly. "Me on the other paw, devastatingly wounded, an arrow through the shoulder you know. I might die in bed."

"Are you sure he's alright?" Bracklew asked, "Are you alright. I was worried you might have been killed, Fardan said another one of ours had been slain..."

Petu's face fell, the rabbit took on a much more sorrowful tone. "They killed Ava, I think you know that. And... And Fangfang. We weren't able to recover their bodies, I think we're all lucky to be alive... So what about you," He nodded towards Bracklew's paw, or lack thereof. "Are you alright?"

"Better then Ava..."

"Aye..." A solemn silence stretched between them, and Petu itched at his bandage, picking up one of his pillows. "Say, um, lets talk to Duncan eh? He'll cheer you up. Hoy old duffer wake up and say something." He called throwing the pillow towards Duncan's bed.

[Hickory]

"Oh good, you're up," said Friar Rusk as he pushed a trolley of food in through the infirmary door. "I was wondering if you'd wake. There's plenty of food here you you to stuff yourselves..." he muttered darkly, glaring at Petu. "Help yourselves."

He unloaded the trolley onto a nearby table and proceeded out the door.