Chapter Four
Lamgret gasped as Dindfledge fell to the ground in the middle of explaining what goodvermin were. The rat let out a squeak of anguish before colaspsing dead. Lamgret's eyes widened as they shifted to the sight of an arrow protruding from the vermin's back. The squirrel pulled it out upon seeing the piece of parchment attached to it. With still shaking hands he opened it.
To you, Redwall
Beware your fall
The end is coming soon!
Ferret and sable
Are armed and able
To make you sing a different tune!
Verskan had little time to write a full message, so she did it in a ryhme. Lamgret looked around a moment then ran inside. Everybeast was getting ready for dinner, Kristveren was the first to notice Lamgret's shocked expression. She ran up to him in a hurry.
"Brother Lamgret, what's wrong!" she asked, a large bit of seriousness in her voice.
He sat down at the table, and pushed the parchment over to her. She read it slowly, then looked at him with an expression of fear on her face. There hadn't been a vermin threat in seasons, and none of the abbeybeasts were prepared for anything. The only two fighters that they had were Skipper and March, but they enjoyed travling and had gone out to explore Mossflower just a few days ago, and had not yet returned.
"I-I'll get Abbot Unad!" she said and scampered off, leaving Lamgret with a bunch of wide-eyed Dibbuns.
The squirrelnurse ran up a flight of stairs and knocked on the door before her rapidly. She heard a raspy voice bekon her in, and she opened the door slowly. Sitting in a chair and reading parchments was Abbot Unad. His tawny mouse body moved slightly as he adjusted his glasses to look at Kristveren.
"Come in, my child." he rasped.
Kristveren ran up to him waving the parchment back and forth. Her eyes were filled with fear and she was out of breath. She picked up her long habit as she ran.
"Abbot Unad, look at this!" she half-yelled.
Verskan chuckled at herself as she shot down a bird from a tree. The ferret warlady glanced around just to make sure there were nobeasts wanting to ambush her, then picked it up carefully, watching her back at all times. It was quite frighting to be in Mossflower woods alone, for fear of attack from an army of woodlanders...and alone at that! She began plucking feathers from her kill, carefully taking out the arrow.
Her paws were blood encrusted by the time she finished. Silently, and blending with the forest, Verskan walked back through the trees. Her hunting patrol would have caught a lot more food, but it didn't hurt to have extra. She yawned and looked upat the now-darkened skies. She would have to find her horde soon.
In the distance she heard talking, the gruff voices of vermin to be sure. She sighed, it must be her hordebeasts. Swiftly she ran to the sound of the noise, she stopped when she found it wasn't her horde, but startled the vermin into shooting an arrow into her shoulder. She lay whimpering on the ground and pulled out the arrow.
Tigraner jerked Verskan to her feet only to discover that it was his long-lost half-sister. He snarled at the rat who had fired the arrow and picked it up by the neck-fur. His hot breath flooded into the rodent's face, he breathed a warning.
"You idiot. Don't fire unless I tell you to!"
He threw the rat over to the other side of his camp, then turned to Verskan. He tore a bit of cloth off of the clothing of the weasel that stood next to him and wrapped her shoulder carefully. Verskan looked up, her eyes shining brightly as she uttered a single word:
"Tigran?"
The night at Redwall was filled with fear, though none suspected an attack that very same day. A few nervous guards were placed on the walls, but due to lack of training, soon fell asleep. Tigraner Nightdark watched the abbey from a high tree, he had stationed three pine martens below to keep watch, and due to a perfect plan created by Tigran, Verskan disguised herself as goodvermin.
Verskan smiled ruefully as she knocked rapidly on the gates. This woke the guards on top of the wall. The ferret warlady had several fake 'goodvermin' along, who were concealing weapons in places where no one would think to look.
"Halt, who goes there!" a gruff voice came from the top of the walls.
"Goodvermin, looking for a rat called Dindfledge. Is he here?" she said.
She could hear them talking amoung eachother for a moment, her eyes shown in delight as they opened the gates. She led her guards in with her, and the gates were shut behind them. She was lucky one of her spies had overheard Gerhaf talking to Dindfledge earlier, so she knew his name, and Tigran had told her everything else about the Goodvermin.
"I'm Sister Triakan, I come from the goodvermin that have camped in the forest. Our Abbess Gerhaf sent a little rat-babe here earlier..."
She stopped when she saw the look on the face of a molemaid in front of her. She pointed with her paw to a mound of dirt underneath a tree.
"Oi zurry, miz, Dind'ege won't be a comin' home with ya..."
Verskan put on a mock look of sadness, but inside she knew it was her arrow that killed the rat. She looked up at the molemaid through pretend tears.
"His mother will be so upset. How did it happen?" she asked, making her voice quiver on purpose.
Lamgret stepped in before the molemaid had a chance to reply. He remembered the wording on the parchment...it had mentioned ferret...and 'Sister Triakan' was a ferret...but if the vermin wanted to get in, they wouldn't send a ferret for fear of being identified, so he was quite calm.
"Some verminbeast shot the arrow, it flew above the abbey walls and landed directly in Dindfledge's back...and there was a parchment..."
Lamgret had no time to go any farther, he swiftly dodged as Verskan's javelin hit the ground in front of him, barely missing. The other vermin began uncovering their weapons, some pulled out daggers or swords, others pulled out axes that you couldn't believe how they had hidden thim.
The molemaid who had been explaining Dindfledge's death to Verskan was the first to be felled. Her body was laying on the ground, a sword sticking out of it. Lamgret ran into the abbey, right above the tapestry of Martin the Warrior sat the legendary sword. Quick as a flash Lamgret piled up some chairs and grabbed it, then sped outside.
The pine marten who had killed the molemaid was the first vermin that Lamgret slew. He stabbed Martin's sword into the vermin's back then pulled it out. Lamgret fought like a madbeast, swinging the sword at the vermin. He saw Verskan pushing open the abbey gates and running out, right as a weasel hit him over the head with the flat of his blade...
"Lamgret's down!" yelled a mouse.
Kristveren ran outside when she heard this being yelled. She gazed over to the dead molemaid (whose name was Sister Jaden), and then to the vermin, then to the fallen figure of Lamgret. She screamed, right as the vermin had retreated, and ran up to Lamgret.
"Brother Lamgret? Are you alright!" she ran up to the squirrel and patted his paw.
The healer of Redwall, Tabitha ran over to Jaden first, she knew that her friend was dead, and hot tears fell off her whiskers. The hogmaid ran over to Lamgret next and checked him.
"It's alright, Krist, he's just unconcious."
An otter began digging holes to bury the dead in, just asthe rain begant to fall. Kristveren helped Tabitha get Lamgret inside. Dark clouds and coldness surrounded the red-walled abbey...
Ooooo, evil plotting between Verskan and Tigraner. Poor Redwallers...runs off to write about her favorite character, Tivigin
Thanks for the reviews so far :D
