They Thought Redwall was Safe! (Is Redwall as Safe as they Say it is? Part 3!)

[Groddil]

"Mmmph."
"Don't waste your breath."
Stumbly blinked, trying to take in her surroundings. Where was she? A fire burned low nearby, surrounded by the otters she had been chasing. All she remembered was a sudden chocking feeling, before blacking out, and her bow seemed to have disappeared. Seated beside the riverdogs were several vermin, of all species. One, a weasel, leant on his spearshaft, glaring at her.
"Where do you come from, mouse?"
The weasel knelt down and removed the gag, kicking Stumbly as he stood back up.
"You'll get another one if you don't talk. Where are you from?"
"Not telling you an- Oof!"
The weasel kicked her roughly in the gut several times, before crouching in front of her.
"Stop wasting my time, or you go in the river. So where are you from? Redwall? Heh. Yes, you are. I saw your eyes widen. That fear... Always gives your kind away. Naive little-"
"Sir!"
The weasel rounded on a vole that had emerged into the clearing.
"What?"
"Our King calls you, Sir. He asks if the riverdogs found a path across the river."
"Go back to the King. We've found a fallen log, but moving the whole army across it would take a whole season. We don't have the supplies for that. But tell him we have a captive Redwaller. All right, scouts, get up! This little berry-muncher's gonna lead us to Redwall. Think, mates. Once we know where it is, that's one step crossed off on th'plan. Sooner we find that hive o' resistance, and crush it, the sooner our lands get even bigger."
A few of the vermin chuckled, looking at each other with greedy delight in their eyes.
"Let's go."
An otter hauled Stumbly to her feet and shoved her ahead of the scouts. The weasel nudged her with his spear.
"We're goin' t'the clearin' where you met my riverdogs. Hopefully you know how to get to the Red place from there. Otherwise you're of no use to us."

[LT Sandpaw]

Jarred from the peaceful quiet of the infirmary by Grant's unexpected entrance. Rayne jumped upright, banging her knee on the underside of her work station.
"Ow, ooh sorry. Did you say Maxy was outside, is he hurt? Did you see what he was running from?"
Snatching up her satchel, just in case, she limped over to Grant rubbing her leg as the pain wore off.

~*~*~*~

Urged on by the chief's own antics Yippip preformed a little jig on the branch, making sure to land as heavily as possible to add to the branch's movement. His impromptu dance was accompanied by a stream of mocking insults and crude paw gestures.
"Yikkik I a scary fire maker. I eat you for brek, er brek, I eat you! Hehehe."

Down below Fastooth felt as if his brains were about to launch from his head. The big rat loosened his jaw and tried riding out the storm, hoping this torment would only last so long. The constant movement wasn't aiding his stomach and after one of his loftier swings he made a guttural gagging sound, clamping a paw to his mouth.
"Ack, I'm gonna be sick, cease this I beg ye!"

~*~*~*~

"If only we had wings and could fly away over the rainbow." Bracklew rolled his eyes, crossing his arms irritably. "There's a few things we should have brought, rations being one of those them. But we can get them at Riverblue when we make it there. Should be sooner now, I can hear the river."

He peered through the darkness surprised by the distant glimmer of orange light in the distance. "Duncan did you see that, somebeast has a campfire over there." He pointed in the direction he had seen the light, only afterwards remembering pointing would be useless in the near blackness. "I bet'cha I know who would be camping under the stars near the river. We were worried for no reason, that's probably Maxy and Stumbly's fire."


OOC:

Bracklew saw the same campfire the weasel had made, we could have his scouting party and Bracklew and Duncan stumble into each other in the darkness. What'cha think?

[Ashleg]

"Don't jump to conclusions," Duncan warned, creeping forward on his tip-paws.
"If there's anything in there that isn't Stumbly or Maxy we had best expect it. Luckily, I have a dagger on me."
Duncan couldn't see in the dark. He nodded sideways at Bracklew. "Did you bring your sword? Now, I'm not saying to do anything with it...but in case we're attacked..."

--

Syccidth was near out of breath, but Fastooth's pleas put more spunk in him.
The rat hopped wildly, mimicking the captive with a sneer in his voice. "Yeh, I'm gonna be sick, cease th's I beg ye!"
Inyoni and the others released wild hooting laughter.
When the Chief stopped jumping, he swung himself over the branch so he could hang down and match Fastooth eye-for-eye.
"Boo!"

The others roared.

--

"Hurry," said Grant, racing to the door.
"I don't know if he's hurt. I didn't get to see."

The Abbot pushed the gates open and allowed Rayne to pass him. He hung back tiredly.

[Groddil]

OOC: Nah. I've got a better idea in mind. >

[Groddil]

Shoving Stumbly ahead of them, the scouting party crossed the fallen log that bridged the River Moss, following the mouse to Redwall. The threat of a spear at her neck left Stumbly unable to resist the weasel's demands, and soon she found herself peering over the treetops at a spire of pink sandstone.
"There it is."
"Good. You have been most helpful. Let's go pay them a visit."
The weasel shoved the mouse out of the way and strode off towards the Abbey, followed by the other vermin and the otters. A large ferret kicked the mousemaid in front of him, forcing her to keep up the brisk marching pace. Before long, the scouting party had managed to narrowly avoid Duncan and Bracklew, and stood amongst the trees east of Redwall. Grenlik viewed the side wallgate with a knowing nod.
"If I recall correctly, those wallgates are the weakest links. Course, they've been reinforced I would imagine?"
Stumbly nodded weakly, trying to resist the urge to call out.
"And there would be a key, correct?"
"There is."
"And you would have the key?"
"No. I... My friend has it. But he came back before nightfall."
"A pity. It would seem your only use would be to call out, and have somebeast else unlock the door. But we have a problem, don't we? We can't trust you to say what we tell you to."
"I will. I promise. Please."
"No. No, that's not an option. We're not a large enough force to crush that place. We don't need you when we can get through the door by force later. No sense wasting resources."
"Wait! Please! I'll do anyth- Argh!"
The weasel ripped his spear from Stumbly's gut and wiped the blood on a nearby bush.
"One less insurgent to worry about."
The mouse whimpered as she fell to the ground, already feeling light-headed. As the blood left her body, her vision blurred and her ears began to ring. The last thing she heard was a rat talking to her killer.
"What now, Grenlik, sir?"
"Find a way for the army to cross the river. Then what's left of this damned hovel is ours."

[LT Sandpaw]

  Putting his paw to the hilt of his sword Bracklew closed his claws around the leather-bound handle. Of course he had taken his sword, but there would be no need to use it, he was sure the fire was Maxy's and Stumbly's, it had to be. He would never forgive himself if something was to happen to them.
"I saw it this way, follow me." He led the way forward, stumbling over roots and through the thick undergrowth as he stepped off the path and into the woodlands. They only narrowly missed Grenlik's company in the darkness arriving on the banks of the river less than twenty minutes after the vermin had crossed.

  "There's a log bridging the river," Bracklew pointed out stepping into the shallows, feeling the cool water flow past his footpaws. "They must've crossed here and set up camp on the other side. I bet if we call them they'll hear us. By the by we should have this log cleared, once Stumbly and Maxy are back across that is. The Guosim and that vole chap who rafts these waters will be obstructed by this."

~*~*~*~*~

Groaning Fastooth went limp, a tiny dribble of saliva hanging from his open mouth as he gasped. His innards churned like a wild ocean only subsiding once Syccidth jumped off and Yippip grew tired, thankfully slowing the branch's wild movement. Cringing, Fastooth tried to shrink away from the chieftain's awful breath that stirred his whiskers, thinking up crazy schemes to try and free himself.
"It wasn't me who was burnin' yer trees I swears it yer lordship. I - I was forced by that bloody squirrel, yeah, he'll be back too one day. To burn 'em all th' way down, honest to hell. I c'n show ye where to find 'Im if'n ye stop, please matey."

~*~*~*~*~

Sprinting out onto the path that lay before Redwall's main gates, unaware of the menace that crept by the north wall, Rayne knelt down stroking Maxy's head.
"He's alright I think, just exhausted." She called, reassuring Grant. Rubbing the young squirrel's paws she tried to revive him to some semblance of consciousness.
"Maxy? Maxy can you hear me, are you hurt at all?"

[Ashleg]

Maxy jerked abruptly but gave no sign of having heard.
Abbot Grant felt around the squirrel's back for anything abnormal while Rayne tried to coax him awake.
Gagging, the old mouse raised his paw to his face.
"Maxy's bleeding from his back it seems," he whispered. "I'll help you get him safe. I couldn't sleep anyway."

--

"Bracklew! Don't try me!" hissed Duncan from clenched teeth.
"Since when was it ever a good idea to call out to random creatures that we may not know--in the bloomin' woods in the middle of the night? Sneak around back and, I warn you, do not do anything stupid!"
He stepped onto the log. It took a lot for him to keep his voice down to that scolding whisper.

--

Laughing, Syccidth shot his paws out so that they collided with Fastooth's shoulders, sending the larger rat swinging back and forth from the tree.
Whenever Fastooth was sent back to him from the relapse, he pushed again, like one would do with a Dibbun on a swing.
"What else did Squirrel do?" he chided. "Chiiiikiki, dim Fire Maker! Painted Ones all know that Squirrel be dead!"
The others chittered.

[LT Sandpaw]

"Grant," Rayne said, her eyes widening in worry. "Bracklew and Duncan are at Riverblue looking for Maxy and Stumbly, and we have no way of getting a message to them. And Stumbly! She's not here, who knows what might've befallen her."
Quaking at the thought of the mousmaid's fate Rayne grabbed Maxy by his shoulders dragging him inside. There was no other more sophisticated way of moving the squirrel beyond this, and the mouse healer could not waste any time fetching a stretcher.
"Quick shut the gate Grant in case whoever hurt Maxy arrives."

~*~*~*~*~

The ropes tied tight around Fastooth's ankles rubbed and chaffed the furless skin. Tiny droplets of blood soaked into the ropes and flicked into the dark sky as Fastooth swung back and forth wincing each time he was launched out again.

"Aaagh, mercy yer rippin' me footpaws off!" Fastooth cried in panic, writhing in his bindings. His condition was exaggerated, but the immense pain left even the battle hardened rodent crying out for mercy.

Above Fastooth, practically dancing on the branch, little Yippip howled in laughter clapping his paws together in morbid excitement. "Rip fire maker paws off chief! Big ratty splat fall yikik hehehe."

~*~*~*~*~

Flattening his ears at the rebuke, Bracklew huffed off finding a tree whose wide branches stretched nearly the width of the river, leaving only a short jump onto a different tree branch from the opposite shore. Scrambling along the squirrel warrior made the jump easily, muttering under his breath as he did.
"Don't do anything stupid Bracklew, don't go calling out to creatures we don't know Bracklew. Like I'd do something overtly foolish. Huh, old duffer is getting nervous for no reason. What are we worried about? Getting jumped by a couple of kits, barely into adulthood. What's next, are we going to be hiding from butterflies tomorrow? Can't just give them a call no, we have to go sneaking around like thieves because it's dar- Hey, whose it?"
The warrior placed a paw on his sword hilt, touching down into the soft clay of the riverbank. Shaking his head Bracklew straightened up convincing himself there was nothing.
"Duncan." He called in a loud whisper. "Are you across yet?"

[Ashleg]

"No, I'm at Salamandastron, trimmin' my fur while the Badger Lord serenades me with lullabies." Duncan whispered, hopping down from the log. "What is it? You see somethin'?"

--


Syccidth grinned at Fastooth's discomfort.
Backing up, he removed the bone from his fur and bopped him with it. "Yeh, heheheh, Yippip--b'fore Fire Maker falls y' better jump onna branch ag'in!"

"Inyoni help'a you," chimed the smaller Painted One as she appeared beside Yippip.
"At t'count. One, two...two...yik, three! Jump!"

--

With astounding speed, likely due to his panic, Grant slammed the gates shut and fastened every additional lock that had been installed during the battle with Alfhild, Rapshade, and Fardan.
He hurried Rayne (and Maxy) in past the doors and locked those as well. The mouse healer's concerns were valid.
Duncan and Bracklew would be out there forever, perhaps endangering themselves in this endeavor!
His mind spun. Who was able-bodied and currently at the Abbey? Fangfang and Petu...that wouldn't work.
The Abbot bit his lip. Who was able-minded?
"Do you think I should send Petu out after them to get them to come back?" he asked as the two climbed the stairs that led to the infirmary.

[LT Sandpaw]

  "It might as well be dawn by the time he gets there." Rayne said, shaking her head. She never visited Riverblue herself, but based on Bracklew's assessment of time and distance earlier that night she made the best guess she could. Which was bleak in terms of recalling the two warriors in time.
"Besides, we wouldn't want Petu to run out and pass by them in the night. No, I think Duncan and Bracklew can take care of themselves, but we should wake someone to watch the Abbey door all the same. In case Stumbly arrives."

~*~*~*~*~

"No need to get snippy." Bracklew growled spinning on his heel. "It was nothing, probably a bird or a frog or something unimportant. Let's get over to that fire and check on Maxy and Stumbly, I know it's them." It has to be them, by the fates please let it be them. He added silently to himself.

~*~*~*~*~

"Yik yip jump, jump, jump!" Yippip chanted bouncing up and down on the branch beside Inyoni enjoying every second of their captive's torture. His nose still hurt from Fastooth's blows, but the pride in being recognized and spoken to by his chieftains, in a manner that didn't involve a kick or a crude remark filled the little rat's black heart with pride, and dulled the pain of his battle wounds. Not to mention it was the perfect revenge for those same wounds.

  Below the cavorting tree rats Fastooth's stomach could take no more. Gagging and choking the rat vomited up his dinner even as he continued the awful ride, his eyes glazing over in a sickly sheen. He almost wished Maxy had escaped, at least he would have had his story to tell if nothing else. Now the young fellow was presumably lying dead in the woodlands, to be picked over by the insects. Fastooth swore to himself, even as bile clung to his whiskers, if he managed to break free somehow he'd personally see to it that the rat responsible would perish. Painfully.

[Ashleg]

"I'll wake Petu and tell him what's going on," Grant murmured.
"You take care of Maxy."
He silently backed out from the door, closing it behind him.

--

"Lead the way, since you're so sure you know what you're doing." Duncan snapped.
He looked away sharply, feeling bad, but he only wanted to protect them both. If it was a fire that belonged to Maxy and Stumbly, he would apologize--but if Bracklew walked into trouble, that was on the squirrel.

--

Syccidth recoiled, disgusted, but soon after became trapped in a fit of howling laughter.
"Fire Maker not makin' fire anymore!" the Chieftain bawled, rocking backwards. The other Painted Ones caught him so he did not fall off the tree, and all had their eyes mockingly locked on Fastooth.
"Chikkip! I'mma hop ag'in!" Syccidth scrambled up the trunk.
Oh, this would be a long night indeed.

OOC-
Hey Snad, how about we leave off with everybody and just continue with Brack and Duncan until their thing is resolved (and then timeskip to morning).
Also, do you have plans of who should be at the fire? No one? Someone? If you do, great, if not I'll put somebeast there.

[LT Sandpaw]

Deciding against responding to Duncan's verbal jab the squirrel warrior marched off through the last few trees, glaring towards the soft glow of the fire. The approach was clear but a stale taste remained in Bracklew's mouth. Something wasn't right and he couldn't help but feel Duncan might have had a point about caution. Nevertheless there was no turning back now.

"Maxy, Stumbly?" He inquired, stepping into the firelight.

[Ashleg]

No answer.
Duncan followed, holding up a paw after the rancid tang of vermin scent hit his nose.
"Bracklew, Maxy and Stumbly don't smell like that," he whispered. "Squint your eyes. We must have stumbled across some kind of vermin camp."

[LT Sandpaw]

 "I can smell it, I think you're right." Bracklew admitted, kneeling down to stir the fire back into greater life, adding a few branches to increase its warmth and light. He glance about, trying to pierce the darkness and shadows to little avail.
"I don't think there's anybeast here, but they couldn't have left very long ago. Their scent is still overpowering and their fire is burning."

[Ashleg]

"What do you say we find somewhere to rest for the night and continue on to RiverBlue come morning?" asked Duncan, waving smoke out of his face.
It was getting to dark and hard to see for them to continue journeying safely.
"You did say Maxy and Stumbly can handle themselves...maybe I need to put more trust in them."