The mouse and the two hedgehogs immediately jumped to action. Brandishing their branches they ran into the house, taking the vermin by surprise. Gonff hit a searat on the head with a bone shattering crunch and he fell to the floor. Coggs twirled his branch around and hit two stoats in the stomach. Ferdy, the stronger of the two hedgehogs, surprised the others by grabbing a fox and a ferret and bashing their heads together. They fell to the ground in two crumpled heaps.
Quickly they untied Gingivere and Lady Sandingomm's ropes.
"You little darlings!" Lady Sandingomm squealed, hugging Coggs and Ferdy, her honorary nephews, but being careful of their spikes.
Gingivere shook Gonff paw firmly. "You're a right little warrior young mouse. I am glad my nephews have a friend like you! You came in the nick of time, they were just planning who to slay us when you came barging in"
"Uncle Gingivere, you must help us, Redwall Abbey is under siege!" Ferdy piped up, pulling free of Lady Sandingomm's embrace.
"That's dreadful!" Gingivere gasped. "What's happening?"
"Gashleg the stoat and his horde are hiding in Mossflower Woods. They want to rebuild Kortir, where your evil sister Tsarmina lived. They say we have to become their slaves or he will kill us. The five vermins in her were part of his huge horde!"
"I have a plan" Gingivere said slowly. "Sandingomm my dear, do you remember those Guosim shrews whose boat was stranded in the shallows of the River Moss? Their leader chap, Log a Log or something daft like that, said he would make camp here for a while, are they still there?"
"Yes, as far as I know" his wife replied, guessing what he was thinking. "We gave them plenty of our own vittles to get them through the winter. Log a whatever said that his army of shrews would help us whenever we needed it in return of our good deed. If we find them then maybe they will help in the fight against Gashleg!"
Gonff, Ferdy and Coggs loved the idea and they set off at once to find the Guosim shrews.
~ In Redwall things had gone from bad to worse. Bella had been badly wounded as she ventured outside to find the dibbuns, and a few of the squirrels and otters had been slain defending the battlement of the abbey. Lady Amber and Skipper had sent some willing beasts into Mossflower Wood to attack from behind but they had been slain as they approached. Gashleg was firing fire arrows at the Abbey's huge wooden gates. Abbess Germaine feared it was getting too late...
~
Log a Log and his huge band of Guosim shrews had eagerly accepted the challenge.
"We are glad to repay our dept to you, Gingivere" Log a Log said on the journey. If you had not shown such kindness to us by giving us yer own vittles we would surely have perished"
Gingivere brushed aside the thanks with a wave of his paw. "Enough of that Log a Log. We must form a plan to get rid of this Gashleg. I suggest we come from behind, that puts the element of surprise on our side. Then we fire arrows at them, ducking a weaving all the time, though large our numbers are not as great as Gashleg's horde"
"Sounds like a good plan to me" Log a Log siad, nodding with approval. "Let's get cracking" With Gonff, Ferdy, Coggs, Log a Log and Gingivere in the lead the shrews crawled through the undergrowth and eventually heard the sounds of Gashleg's horde laughing and cursing each other.
"Send another volley of fire arrars and some good 'ard pebbles eh?" Gashleg shouted. A shower of deadly rain poured of the Abbey walls.
Before they had a chance to scream the back row of vermin were slain by a score of shrew arrows. Pandamonium went up in the vermin ranks.
"Snotfoot is dead! An Bloodguts too!" cries spread around the camp. From the bushes more arrows and slingstones went flying, and were rewarded by the screams of fifty of Gashleg's archers. Gashleg stood up and walked towards the bushes bravely, but a large ferret stood in his path. Suddenly the ferret went down with a gurgle, killed by the arrow meant for Gashleg. In fifteen minutes of ducking, dodging and shooting the horde was down to ten including Gashleg, and the unorganized vermin had only killed two Guosim shrews.
Now the shrews were on all side of the encampmant. In his element Gonff flicked his tail up, the sign the archers were waiting for. They let fly a quick volley of arrows and the nine vermin surronding Gashleg fell slain. Bravely the two hedgehogs and the mouse walked into the clearing.
"Hah! Is that all I have to deal with, three dibbuns from that stupid Abbey? Couldn't they do any better?" Gashleg sneered.
"Up troops!" shouted Gonff, insulted at being called a dibbun yet again. At once the two score Guosim shrews jumped out of the bushes, arrows and slingshots poised, straight at Gashleg's head.
Gashleg gulped. "You be a stupid slimy vermint and you ain't never going to get our good Abbey!" yelled Ferdy. All three of them shouted, "FIRE!"
Gashleg never knew what hit him.
~ Gonff, Ferdy and Coggs were scolded for leaving, but treated as heros as the story came out. A huge feast was held in the honor of the Guosim shrews, Gingivere and the three Dibbuns. And though there was still six seasons to go until Gonff was officially not a Dibbun, and only three for Ferdy and Coggs, no beast in Redwall dared to call them Dibbuns for a long time.