Bloodback the Merciless
Along the eastern plains of Mossflower, smoke poured into the air like water, tainting it, turning the blue sky black with soot and ashes. Through this veil of blackened smog, screams issued forth, intermingled with cruel laughter and the sound of metal slicing through flesh.
As the smoke begins to clear, a stoat of middle seasons is clearly visible holding a bloodied blade. Tall, muscular and wearing a black red cape, this was Bloodback the Merciless. The stoat was clearly enjoying himself as he brought the blade down repeatedly on the backs of the survivors of a vole settlement his horde had just raided. Ignoring the screams of pain, a rat came up to him, and saluted, "Chief".
Bloodback snarled and threw his sword down forcefully at the back of the poor creature he was torturing.
"What is it now Naccog? I told ye to not interrupt my fun unless it was important."
The vole he was just torturing gave a final shudder and went limp, never to rise again on this world. Bloodback snorted irritably, "See, now look what ye done. He died on me and I wasn't finished with him yet. Ah well, there is still plenty more left to have some fun with."
Naccog bowed, "Apologies, chief, but two of the voles had escaped our notice. If they talk, all of Mossflower will soon know we are here and will be prepared once we march for Redwall."
Bloodback waved his paw dismissively, "Then send a score of trackers after them and make sure they don't talk then."
"As you wish chief"
Naccog walked off and motioned a slick-looking weasel to attend him.
"Yves, take a score of trackers and hunt down those two voles, chief wants them back"
"As you wish, cap-tain"
"And when you catch them, silence them."
Yves nodded and signaled a group of waiting vermin to follow him. At his command, all twenty one of them set a fast pace, being swallowed up by the forest in a matter of minutes.
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Cavan and Tammia, who were brother and sister, were lying in a hollow log, panting for breath. They were the only ones to escape out of an entire community of voles and had just lost their entire family.
"Mother" gasped Cavan
"Father" sobbed Tammia
They hugged each other and allowed their anguish to be subdued by each other's presence. They continue to cry for a bit then released each other, still sniffling a bit, but otherwise out of the shock. Cavan spoke first, ::"I think we should have a little moment of silence for our parents, may they be forever happy in the Dark Forest."
Tammia sniffed "Aye, we should also go to Redwall Abbey and warn them of Bloodback and his horde. I overhead saying that after this, he was gonna go to the big red stoned abbey in the center of the country and take it for himself."
Cavan got up, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Redwall Abbey." As they both got out of the log, Tammia asked, "Umm…which way is it to the abbey?"
"Well, mum always said that the abbey was to our west and a touch south, and since moss grows north of the trees, I say we go that way."
He pointed to the right, in the direction between south and west. Then he grabbed his sister's paw and they started running.
Hours later just when the sun was setting and it was the new phase of the moon, both of them stopped running, each gasping for air and trembling with exhaustion. Suddenly both of them fell in unison and were soon deep in sleep, whiskers twitching. Dreaming of memories with their now dead family and weeping in their sleep.
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Yves contingent was still trotting at a fast pace when Yves held up a paw.
"It's getting too dark to continue, we can't track further than this now. 'Tis a new moon and its pitch black. We sleep where drop, no fires. We can't advertise our presence in Mossflower yet, I see a single spark, that creature who made the spark is a dead beast. Get down and shut up, we continue at dawn."