Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 (my version)
A/N: Okay people, here's the second chapter of this story. Sorry It took so long, I'm working of getting my Vet Tech stuff done. I'm working on becoming a Veterinarian cause of my love for animals and I want to help animals. Also, I need to re-read the first Mouse Guard book to give some ideas, and I ran into a few writer's blocks. Anyway, I don't own Mouse guard or it's characters, story line, and setting. They belong to David Petersen. I only own my OCs. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Traitor in the shadows
While Saxon, Lieam, Kenzie, and Edward were tracking the path of the grain merchant to Barkstone, Gwendolyn, and her brother, Richard, both head of the Mouse Guard sent word to Sadie and Remy.
Sadie, who once watched a shoreline region of the Mouse Territories, has been asked to make contact with one of the missing Guard, Conard. Remy, who's a skilled crossbow mouse from Rootwallow, and close friend of Sadie, accompany her to Calogero which for some odd reason, haven't have any communication for a year, and the Guards feared the worse.
Many miles North-East of the Mouse Territories, two mice were on their way to Calogero. Sadie is a female brown mouse wearing a plum cloak and carry two daggers. Accompanying her is Remy, a male tan field mouse wearing a yellow cloak and carry a short sword, a crossbow and a quiver of arrows. Like Edward, he's a skilled archer. One time, he challenge Edward to see who shoot the best. Turns out, it was a tie. They're both great archers. However, unlike Edward, Remy choose a crossbow instead of a bow. It may reload slower, but it have better range.
As they walked, Sadie heard a tweet, Sadie and Remy looked up and saw a female sparrow with a bag over her shoulder, she is Lucy, the Guard's messenger bird. She help deliver important letters to the guard mice, anywhere at anytime.
"Greetings fellow guard mice." Lucy said as she landed in front of Sadie and Remy.
"Hi Lucy, it's great to see you again." Remy greeted the messenger.
"What you got Lucy?" Ask Sadie.
"I got a message from Gwen and Richard. They said it's urgent." Lucy answered while digging through her bag.
Lucy pulled out a scroll with the Guard mouse seal on it and handed it to Sadie.
"Well, I'm off, these messages won't deliver themselves you know." Lucy said before spreading her wings. "See you later."
With that, Lucy took to the sky and flew til she was beyond Sadie and Remy's sight.
" I wonder what's so urgent." Remy said while Sadie removed the seal. She opened the scroll which said:
Sadie, Remy, please travel to Calogero. We haven't make any contact with the northern post for a year, and we fear the worse. Remy will accompany you with any way he can. Stationed there is Conrad, an old sailor. You two must investigate the problem at once.
Signed, G and R
"Hmm, I wonder why we haven't heard anything from Calogero in a year." Remy said to himself.
"There's any one way to find out Remy." Sadie said to her partner as she rolled up the scroll and placed it in her cloak pocket.
Sadie and Remy continue til they came upon a river. Near the edge, was a leaf held fast by a rope.
Remy, being a gentleman or mouse, offered Sadie to go first. "After you." Remy said to Sadie with a bow.
Sadie got on board the leaf and Remy followed. Sadie use one of her daggers to cut the rope, and both Sadie and Remy use oars to paddle their way west.
They ran into a few currents, luckily, they made through all of them, but not without getting themselves wet and before long, the Northern Shore was in sight.
"The Northern Shore." Sadie though in her head.
"Land-Ho!' shouted Remy and he laughed at his own joke. "I always wanted to say that."
Remy and Sadie jumped out of the leaf and parked the leaf by the river.
Remy spotted a rock covering a hole in a tree root. "Over there." Remy exclaimed to Sadie while pointing to the root.
Using a one on the paddles as a lever, they lifted the rock, uncovering the hole.
Both Remy and Sadie looked inside and found messages all of them not read.
"Look like these messages haven't been open in a while." Remy said while holding one of the unopened note.
"Gwendolyn and Richard was right, there's something weird going on here." Sadie said to Remy.
As Remy put the note back into the root, Sadie saw something on the sand, tracks, and from the look of it, mice tracks.
"Hey Remy, look at this. Tracks." Sadie called to Remy as he walked to her. Remy and Sadie both examine the tracks.
"I doubt these are Conard's tracks, I don't see any peg leg." Remy was right, the trick don't belong to Conard, but from someone else.
"And they lead away from Calogero." Said Sadie as she and Remy followed the tracks.
Sadie and Remy shove the grass out of the way, and there, a few miles away, was Calogero. It's a three story building with a straw roof, two chimneys, and six windows in different spots. The door was however, nearly torn from it's hinges.
Remy and Sadie entered the building, it was dark, save for a few sunlight entering the building and is was strangely empty.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Remy called out. There was no answer, except for the sound of the waves moving against the shore outside.
"Look like nobody's home." Remy said to Sadie. "True." Sadie replied to Remy as she looked at the map which was close to the door.
She pointed on the spot which said 'Calogero' with her dagger.
"This is the right place, but where's..." Sadie was interrupted when she heard a peg leg behind her. Before she could blink, a fish hook complete with a fishing line came close to her neck.
Behind her is a grey mouse with a ring on his right ear and a peg leg on his left leg.
Remy draw out his sword and pointed it at the mouse.
You must be Conard, right?" Remy asked the grey mouse.
"I am." Conard said with a sailor accent.
"Now speak yeh two if yeh both want to live to see tomorrow." He said with a treating voice.
"We're Sadie and Remy of the Guards. Gwen and Richard sent us to find you." Remy said to Conard in a serious tone.
"And we order you to stand down!" Sadie said to Conard.
Conard lowered the hook and placed it next to the door.
"So, Richard and Gwendolyn sent yeh two, eh?" Conard said to Sadie and Remy while fixing the door.
"They must've already know about the traitor."
This made Sadie and Remy confused. "Traitor? What traitor?" Sadie asked.
"We didn't know that." said Remy puzzled as he sheathed his sword.
"I would recognize the voice just do make sure yeh two.."
Then Conard feel dizzy as he try to continue.
"...weren't the traitoooor."
With that, Conard feel to the floor out cold.
"Conard, are you alright?" Sadie said to Conard, but Conard was out like a candle.
Remy went to Conard's side and snapped his fingers several times to make him wake up, but it was no good.
"Guess he couldn't hold his rum." Remy said to Sadie.
"What make you say that, Remy?" Asked Sadie.
"Look." Remy said, pointing his thumb to an empty rum bottle.
"And this is why we don't drink on the job." Sadie said annoyed while shaking her head.
(Several Hours later)
While Conard was unconscious, Sadie and Remy gathered wood for the fire, and ingredients to make soup.
Conard soon wake up with a head ache.
"Hi there." Remy greeted Conard.
"You were out for a few hours.' Sadie said as she put another piece of wood for the fire.
"We made you some soup. It'll make you fell better." Sadie poured the soup into a bowl and handed it to Conard.
"Now, can you tell us about this 'traitor' you spoke of earlier?" Remy said to Conard while he's enjoying the soup.
"He's right." Sadie agreed.
Conard stop and sigh he begin his story.
"It's all stared about a year ago, I begin to suspect something, something strange, like someone was there then I wasn't around."
(Flashback: A year ago)
A year ago, Conard was hiding in the rafters using his hook to keep hidden. Below him were two mice, one was the merchant, the other was hidden in the shadows so he couldn't tell who he was.
" I hide myself in the rafters, I saw two mice in Calogero, one was a small merchant mouse, while the other was hidden on the shadow. I couldn't tell who it was, but they both spoke of the dead."
Unknown to both mice, Conard was eavesdropping on their plain while drinking rum.
"I wanted to know more on what their planning before I leave my hiding place."
Until one day,
"Your service to me have been useful." said the mouse in the shadows.
"It's been an honor to serve you, m'lord." the merchant mouse said while bowing.
"To you have the map I requested?" Asked the merchant. The mouse smiled evilly and chuckled.
"Yes. I have it right here." The mouse pulled out a folded parchment and handed it to the merchant.
"Lockhaven." The mouse said in a wicked voice.
"Good. Soon the guards will be no more and the territories will be in our paws." The merchant said with an evil smile an his face.
"Indeed." The shadowed mouse agreed with an equally evil smile.
Soon, the two mice left leaving Conard alone who have heard the entire conversation.
He have to warn Lockhaven of what he just heard before it's too late.
(End Flashback)
"I tried to follow, but when yeh two came here, I though one of yeh would might be the shadowy mouse, so I have both of yeh to speak so I would recognize the voice." Conard said as he finished his story.
Remy was deep in his though while Conard was telling his story. "Hmm. I wonder who's our mystery mouse is." Remy said to himself with his paw on his chin.
"I'm sure we'll figure that out soon, Remy." Sadie answered.
Sadie saw the fire going out and decided to call it a night.
"We leave for Lockhaven at dawn tomorrow." Sadie said to Remy and Conard as they used their cloaks as blankets.
"And once we're there, we can tell Richard and Gwen what you told us." Remy finish.
And this that, all three mice went to sleep.
At dawn the next day, Sadie open her eyes, but instead of a full sunlight to greet her, it was strangely dark out.
Remy woke up, and yawned. He cracked his back. "Morning Sadie." Remy looked out the window, and was puzzled. "That's weird, it's morning and yet is still dark around here."
Sadie nudged Conard to woke up "Conard, we got a problem."
Sadie and Remy went to the windows to open them, but they're blocked for some reason.
"Something's blocking the windows." Said Sadie while she and Remy try to push the windows open.
"It's not just the windows, but the door too." Conard was right, whatever was blocking the windows was blocking the door as well as Conard try to push it open.
All tree mice looked out the door window and their eye went big.
"Holy crabs!" Remy said shock.
What Remy said was true, outside Calogreo, was seven orange crabs. Normally, crabs are territorial and would crush a mouse unlucky enough to trespass into their territory, but now, it's look like they want to expand their territories.
One of the crabs ripped the top door off it's hinges with it's pincers.
"We need to get out of here and fast." Said Remy.
"Yes, but how?" Asked Sadie.
"There's another way out. Follow me." Conard said to Remy and Sadie.
Conard lead Remy and Sadie to a window on the second floor.
All three of them got out unharmed.
"Come on! We need to get to Lockhaven." Sadie said to the others.
'Yeah, and fast." Remy finish.
They didn't get far as two crabs block their way.
"Look like they won't let us." Conard said as he aimed his hook.
Sadie draw her two daggers and Remy got out his crossbow and readied a bolt.
"Charge!" Remy shouted as he, Conard, and Sadie attacked the crabs.
Remy fired his crossbow, but the bolt bounced off the crab hard shell.
"Nuts. These guys have though armor." Remy cursed.
"Well, their crabs after all." Sadie said to Remy.
Conard dodges one of the crabs pincers and used his hook, to grip the crabs mouth. Conard pulled on the fishing line under the crab and tie it up on another crabs leg. The crab move causing the crab with the fish hook to fell other.
Meanwhile, Sadie threw her dagger which, like Remy's crossbow bolt, bounced off the crabs shell. The crab picked up the dagger, when Sadie stabbed it with her other dagger while saying, "Fooled you!"
Sadie try to remove the dagger, but the crabs shell was too tough.
"It's stuck." Said muttered while trying to pull the dagger out. "Remy is right, they do have tough smells." Sadie said to herself.
When, a whistle was heard. "Hey you over-size crustacean!"
The crab turned around and saw Remy with another bolt on his crossbow, bending out.
He fired, which hit Sadie's dagger, causing it to fall off.
Sadie smiled said "Thanks Remy!" "Your welcome, Sadie!" Remy answered back.
Sadie try to grab her other dagger which was in the crabs pincer. As she get closer, the crab opened it's pincer causing the dagger to drop. Sadie use her tail to grab the dagger.
Then, the craw threw Sadie off and she fell to the sand. The reason was Conard was on top of one of the crab using himself as a distraction.
"I got em covered! Yeh two get of here!" Conard shot to Remy and Sadie as the crabs closed in on Conard.
The crab grab Conard in it's pincer as the others move closer and closer on Conard.
"Take what yeh to know to Lockhaven!" Conard shouted again.
Remy was helping Sadie on her feet. "Come on Sadie, there's nothing we can do."
Sadie, who want to help Conard, disagree.
"But we gonna help him."
"It's a losing battle. Our best choice is to warn Lockhaven."
Sadie wanted to argue, but she know Remy's right. It's a losing battle. They'll be defeated easily.
"Your right. Let's move!" Sadie said and with that, both Sadie and Remy ran as fast as their legs could carry them.
Conard, who knew his fate was sealed, have one final thing to say.
"Hey!" Conard shouted and Remy and Sadie stopped and looked back.
"Mouseguard forever!" Conard shouted to Sadie and Remy.
Both smiled and shouted back, "Mouseguard forever!"
Both Remy and Sadie continue running away from Calogero, Conard quickly say, "Warn Gwendolyn, warn Richard, warn Lockhaven GAAHHH!" *crunch*
The crabs overwhelmed Conard and crushed him which killed him instantly.
Sadie, with tears in her eyes, whispered, "Goodbye brave friend".
"And may your sacrifice be remembered." Remy finish.
As both Sadie and Remy ran, the crabs are fighting over poor Conard's dead corpse.
They have to warn Lockhaven of what Conard told them ASAP before it's too late.
Another chapter done. R.I.P. Conard. May you find peace in another life. I hope Remy and Sadie warn Lockhaven and soon. In the next chapter, we return to Saxon, Liam, Kenzie and Edward as they enter the town of Barkstone. What they'll find here? You'll have to wait and see.
The "Holy crabs!" is a reference to Ice Age 4: Continental Drift my favorite movie as well as Ice Age 1,2 and 3. Don't forgot to leave a review, comment, and favorite this story. And flamers will be used to make swords. See you later.