Polleekin woke with a start. She hated when she got summons from Dark Forest. Unfortunately, all those beasts seemed to flock to her to give loved ones who still lived messages of hope, or as the case may be, impending doom. The seer's old, tired eyes brimmed over with tears as she realized what would have to be done when the time came."Marthen ee Wurrier woant ever furgive 'imself, an' all by moi paw!" The beleaguered mole cried helplessly to the pink-tinged sky, tears running unstopped down her careworn face.
Polleekin shook her head, bustling around to prepare herself for what she was about to do. She couldn't help remembering how it had all came about...
She was in a quiet glade, laying on a patch of soft grass. She saw a fairly large male badger, positively shaking with grief as he watched a young golden striped badger streaking towards a huge, slime covered building. As Polleekin stared down at this hopeless scene, she saw a vermin band in the strange colored badger's path, seemingly waiting for something. The badger, mad as he was with grief, did not see them, and charged headlong into the trap. The strange badger's sobs increased as he watched the foolhardy youth get knocked unconscious by the vermin's blows.
"Why, Sunflash?" He whispered, still too consumed in his grief to notice Polleekin.
"Excuze me, Zurr Badger, but whoi beez you summoning me?" The old mole asked kindly.
The older badger seemed to get a hold of himself as he turned to introduce himself, "I am Barkstripe, and it seems the fates have answered my pleas."
"I have summoned you to Dark Forest to forewarn you of your approaching company: Grumm, Pallum, a badger called Rowanoak and a sorely wounded but triumphant Martin. I think you already know that Laterose of Noonvale is in danger, owing to your prodigious skill as a seer, but you may not have foreseen this: Rose is alive, and Martin can never know of it."