Chapter Three
March Arrowshaft and Tivigin of the Long Patrol had found themselves in a situation before they had gone three miles. Surrounded by more then four-score vermin and a big silver fox. Tivigin gulped and hid himself (as best as a hare can hide himself behind a mouse). The warriormaid seemed to show no fear, she marched directly up to the vixen and stompted her foot down on the ground. Her blue eyes sparkled darkly. The fox and the warriormaid glared at eachother for a second, then the vixen moved.
"Welcome, travelers! This is the camp of the Goodvermin of Mossflower. I'm Abbess Gerhaf." the vixen greeted them with a smile.
Tivigin was absolutly shocked. He was stiff around the areas where March had bandaged his wounds, and as he shifted it was painful. The mousemaid was obviously shocked as well. Never in her life had she seen vermin behave so. And goodvermin? What was a goodvermin? Her mouth was stuck open for a few moments, but then she managed to stutter one word.
"G-g-goodvermin?"
The Long Patrol hare shook his head, not believing what he had heard. None of the beasts seem to carry any weapons, and none of them seemed to want to make a move to attack. But what he couldn't believe is that the vixen was an abbess.
"Abbess...Ger'af?" he questioned.
Both of them fainted at the same time. Gerhaf walked over to March and picked her up in her paws. It took two stoats and two rats to lift Tivigin off the ground, for hares, are usually quite heavy due to their constant appitite, though Tivigin didn't look his weight. Gerhaf placed March gently in a bed of soft moss and blankets. Tivigin was laid in a bed of pine needles and blankets. The sun had begun to set in the sky, and the smell of leek and mushroom soup that cooked over the campfire began to reach the hare's nose. He awoke with a start and began following his nose.
"I see you're up. Come and eat with us, hare." said a ferretmaid with a smile.
Tivigin wouldn't turn down the offer of good food for anything. The glow of the fire illuminated his oatmeal colored fur. He sat himself down on a blanket near the blaze. A ratmaid handed him a bowl of the soup. He ate hungerly, pausing every once in a while to comment.
"Erm, yum. My compliments to the chef, best soup I've 'ad yet, wot!" he said, quite loudly.
A few of the Dibbun-vermin giggled and laughed at him. March soon awoke and sat near Tivigin by the fire, still astounded by the kindness of the vermin, and a bit wary of it.
"Are you sure the soup isn't poisoned?" she growled as the ratmaid handed her a bowl.
She shrugged, "We've ate it already, and your friend their is on his third 'elping."
Once March was quite sure that nothing in the soup would poision her, she ate hungerly, nearly matching Tivigin's speed of eating. Finally, licking the last bit from her whiskers, she thanked Gerhaf politly.
"That was a wonderful meal. Is there anything we can do to repay you?" she asked.
Gerhaf seemed to think deeply, although she knew just what she wanted from the start. She looked down at March and smiled.
"Can you sing?"
March nodded and stood by the fire, near Tivigin. She cleared her throat and raised her head, a bit uncomfortable singing in front of anybeast, especially vermin, even though they were good.
"Down by the Abbey
Where the woodlanders live
I had my home by the creek
And every morning
The birds, they would sing
And asoft, sweet tune they would tweet
Down down, a long long time
I spent my days by the waterside
Fishin' for whatever I could get on my line
Yes I'd sit by the ol' creek's side
Down by the Abbey
Where the woodlanders live
I had my home by the creek
And theDibbuns who played, always sang
'bout the sea who's waters could speak
Down down, a long long time
I spent my days by the waterside
Fishin' for whatever I could get on my line
Yes I'd sit by the ol' creek's side!"
She drew her last note out long and sweet. The goodvermin were clapping to the fast-paced song the whole time. Tivigin had eaten another bowl of soup as she sang.
"I want to sing! Can I, Abbess?" he asked, his mouth still half-full.
Gerhaf shrugged and nodded. Though nobeast there knew how awful Tivigin's singing was. To discribe it as short as possible, it sounded like two swords grateing together slowly and a dying cow combined.
"Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh!
I sing my songggg
I sing it longgggg
It isn't wronggggggg
I singggggggg and singgggggggg
I sing so strongggggggggg
and I..."
All the creatures had gone and ran. Tivigin had even scared off the birds that sat in the trees. He stuck his nose in the air and twitched his whiskers indignantly. There was not even an echo in the air.
"They don't know good singing when they hear it, wot!"
Skipper Fleth was beginning to grow tired as the vermin debated what to do with him. He winced at some of the more terrible things they said. The dark furred otter began to attempt loosing his ropes. He found a sharp stick near his paw and grabbed it the best he could. Trying not to let Tigran's hordebeasts see, he began sawing away at the coils. A sharp snap told him that his plan was working. None of the vermin seemed to hear it, except for Tigraner.
"Watch out, the otter's doin' something with his ropes!" he snarled loudly.
About five vermin all had their blades pointed at Skipper in a flash. Tigran retied the ropes, and for safety, added another layer. He growled viciously at Fleth. His eyes narrowing as they often did when he was very angry. He kicked the sharp stone away with his footpaw.
"Well, otterscum, you'll soon learn that Tigraner Nightdark's prisoners don't try to escape around here." he breathed.
The otter was beginning to hate himself for that attempt. Tigran walked away and the five beasts began beating the otter with anything they could find, the flats of their blades, whips, sticks, anything. Finally, when they were quite sure they had knocked Skipper unconcious, they returned to their leader.
Skipper was beginning to have dreams in his unconciousness. It started with wondering if March and that hare were alright. Then he saw a warriormouse come into view. He realized that it was Martin, for he had seen the tapastry in Redwall many times. He shifted his weight, and found he was standing in the middle of a clearing. Martin's strong voice rang out through the woods.
"When the sun sets in the dusky skies
Find where the auburn passage lies
Twenty straight down, follow R then to L
The key to defeat the evil is there."
The dream soon faded, and Skipper was left in a sea of blackness.
Verskan Tilersk jumped over a large fern that blocked her path. Her brown capeand green tunic helping her to blend with her surroundings. Verskan was a ferret warlady, a former corsair, vicious and evil, and was Tigraner Nightdark's half-sister. Tigraner's parents had adopted Verskan when she was found wandering outside their home. Tigraner and Verskan had been best of friends, training eachother new moves and play-fighting. When her half-brother left home one day, she vowed to find him and unite their hordes with her and her brother as leaders.
The warlady sniffed the air, and finally came to a path. She had left her hordebeasts back in Mossflower woods and gone off by herself. Looking up the path, she saw a enormous redwalled building. She knew exactly what it was, for she had heard stories of the great Redwall Abbey, which nobeast could conquer. Tigraner had said he would come and conquer Redwall one day, so that was where Verskan had sailed. Once she neared Redwall close enough to fire an arrow, she scribbled a note quickly, and tied it to one of her shafts. She pulled it back and fired, and it landed directly into the abbey. Verskan smiled when she also heard a scream following soon after. Quick as a flash she ran back to the woods where her horde awaited her return.