Author's Note: Erm hi, remember me? I was that...author who used to write that...story that you used to...read.

-shields self from angry reviewers and projectiles being thrown at head- Yes, I know, it's WEEKS since I've posted, but I have a number of reasons.

Reason 1: End Of Term Commitments ie. Rounders matches, summer concerts, tests etc. 'Nuff said

Reason 2: End Of TermAnd BirthdayParty. This took a lot of organising and a lot of my time. Sorry

Reason 3: The Re-discoveryof Neopets Roleplaying. Not much of an excuse, but it's just sooooooo addiiiiiiiicvtiiive.

Reason 4: Writer's Block. Again, 'nuffsaid.

Reason 5: General Laziness Induced by The Start Of The Holidays. Again, really, really sorry.

Reason 6: Sumach School for Secondary Characters. This is a new fanfic that I have been working on with friends. I would love it if you went and read and reviewed, 'cause no-one had really done so and I feel unloved. It features many of our favourite characters from books and films all gathered otgether in oneschool, so it should be, if not fun, then at least amusing. Again, please read.

So, with all those apologies, excuses etc, we shall come to the story. I hope you enjoy and review.

Tales of Courage, Tears of Sorrow

Ade sat stiffly by the fire, his back screaming protest. He looked around nervously at the large cave.

It was hung with pelts and furs of vermin. The fiery-red of foxes mingling with the dull grey of rats. Reddish-brown, light amber, dark black, they all found their space amid the gory decorations that hung on her walls.

Her, he looked back to his…well, captor, but somehow, she didn't feel like one. He knew that he could defeat her in a moment and disappear, but something kept him sitting by this crackling fire whilst the odd beast pottered around, talking to herself and occasionally, him. She did not seem to mind that he did not respond.

Finally, she settled herself down opposite him, the firelight playing over her face.

Her face. He shuddered. What could happen to a beast to make them so deformed?

Her face was covered in mottled stripes; brown and smoky black and that was repeated over her paws, her tail, her back…

And her face.

Three horrendous scars, stretching from her right eye to the corner of her left cheek. Her nose had been almost completely removed, a ragged chunk still remaining. Her right eye was useless, milky-white, filmed over and completely blind. One of the scars crossed her upper lip, cutting it in two. As a result; her speech was slurred and thick. When she spoke, he could see her teeth were pointed and dangerously sharp.

But, through all her deformities, he could still see what manner of beast she was; an otter, like himself. He felt himself go numb with pity. As an Abbeybeast, he saw little blood or violence. The closest thing he got, until the horde came, was a Dibbun hurting themselves, or a careless elder.

But this. This was beyond anything he could imagine.

"So, my dearie," she said, settling herself down. "What story do you have to tell then? What brings you out here into these cold, thankless woods at such a time, eh?"

He found himself stumbling through the story of his Abbey. Tehera Redeyes coming, the battle, the conquest and the slavery. His paws shook and his eyes shone with anger. This was reflected by his listener, sitting opposite him, a cracked and worn cup clenched in striped paws.

"Vermin," she crooned, when he had finished his tale. He looked at her apprehensively, but she did not appear to notice him "Vermin," she said again, low and soft, her eyes glittering dangerously.

"Dhalia doesn't like vermin, does she my pet? Vermin do nasty things to good, honest beasts. Dhalia does like some vermin though. Dhalia likes them with an arrow through their back!" She laughed to herself; a horrible thing to hear as the laughter bubbled out through her cut lips. She turned suddenly, making him jump.

"Have you seen my pet, my little baby?" she asked and he blinked, the abrupt change in conversation throwing him. He shook his head dumbly and she giggled slightly maniacally to herself.

"Well then, I'll show you, won't I, yes, I will." Her mutterings faded as she padded over to the far wall and pulled aside a hanging that had once been a fox's magnificent red hide. Ade saw that instead of bare rock or earth behind it, there was another room behind it. He heard Dhalia's mutterings coming from inside and then her raised voice drifted over to him.

"Well, come inside then, my dear, come and meet my little one."

He stood and walked slowly over to the door. He stood outside, hesitating, but before he could turn away, she poked her ruined face around the door.

"Come in, come in," she said impatiently, and he stepped inside uncertainly, keeping close to the door so that he could bolt outside if needed.

But when Dhalia turned, he was rooted to the spot, staring at what she held in her arms. Finally, after a long, long silence, he managed to speak. His voice was even and quiet.

"Dhalia, what is that?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was strange, mused Rose as she tried to avoid hitting her head on the low ceiling. From Noonvale to the Ship, then to the Coast (that was a time she'd never forget), then to Mossflower, then here.

Well, she could say she'd had a varied life, at least.

And where was 'here' exactly? Well, at the moment, 'here' was a low, narrow sandstone tunnel, following Ayila who was following a badger who was following an old hedgehog who was holding the lamp. Every so often, she would hit her head on a lump of the aforementioned stone and have to bit down on a muffled curse.

Well, she couldn't complain, think how it was for Mother Tamlin whom she could hear grunting and shuffling her way along the tunnel in front of Ayila.

Eventually they reached their destination; that being a wooden door set into the wall. Tyg fumbled around with the handle for a moment, before he got it open and they were all able to step inside.

The space they found themselves in was much larger than the space they had been in a few moments previously, to the evident relief of Mother Tamlin.

Tyg fussed around, moving large, thick, heavy books off chairs and sneezing at the dust he created in doing so.

"I am sorry for the mess," he apologised "If I had known I was having visitors, I would have dusted."

Eventually, they were all seated and the Redwallers all turned to look expectantly at Rose and Ayila.

Rose grinned "You want the riddle, yes?"

By the extravagant nods, she judged the answer to be yes.

"Well, you're not getting it," she informed them "Until I get answers."

Skipper gave a great, heavy sigh. "What is it you wish to know, maid?"

"How is it that Redwall fell? Where are we now? What happened to all the Abbeybeats? And who is Martin, exactly? Why is he speaking to me? And what was that name you spoke, Tyg, Laterose of Noonvale, who is she? And-"

Arren held his paw up, laughing "Whoa, hold up there, that's a lot of questions."

"Answer them."

He spread his paws helplessly "You're not going to give us the riddle until we do, are you?"

"Nope," came the decisive answer.

"Well then," he turned to the others "This is not just my story. Mother Tamlin, you'd best begin."

The badger sighed and settled herself down into the chair "Well," she began "I suppose it all started when a fox appeared at the gates of the Abbey, a few winters back. He was badly injured, but was able to warn us before he died, of a great army, heading our way, led by the murderous Tehera Redeyes. He said that she came with an intention of conquering the Abbey. He told us that he slipped away from the main force to warn us, but was hunted by a party of fifty; a number easily spared from the army of at least tenscore.

When we heard this news, we immediately began preparing for war. The fox had said that he was, perhaps, five days ahead of the army. Not enough time to prepare.

But we did what we could. Arren, our Abbey Warrior, and Skipper oversaw the defences. I was left to argue out the position of the Dibbuns and old Redwallers with the Council." Her voice was now bitter, grief showed through her eyes. Log a log patted her paw "You couldn't have done anything, Tamlin."

The Badger heaved a huge sigh and continued with her sad story "The council said that the old 'uns and Dibbuns would remain in Redwall. 'We have defeated evil hordes before, what's so different about this one?' were their exact words."

Arren now took up the story "We managed to hold out against them for a month. Eventually, they managed to get in by discovering an old tunnel dug by some moles countless seasons ago. It led right into the Abbey grounds." His voice trailed away.

They sat in silence for a few moments, which was broken by Ayila "So what about you? How did you manage to escape?"

"When they attacked, we were keeping guard on the walltops and by the wallgates. As a safety precaution, our moles had dug tunnels that opened up many miles from Redwall. We were the only ones awake and so the only ones who were able to use them."

The next question was one Rose needed the answer to, but at the same time knew that it was not going to be nice "An-and, what of the Dibbuns?" she asked, hesitantly "What happened to them."

"Dead." Rose was surprised to hear Skipper answer "They were trapped in a dormitory and could not escape. Tehera executed them the next day, in front of all the Redwallers who had been captured. She burned the bodies outside the walls, where we could see from the trees. The screams are something I will never forget." His voice was quiet, but his were burning with hatred and his fists were clenched.

Silence reigned supreme for several minutes after that. This time it was broken by Rose, reciting softly.

"Bodies burned and blackened

Tears lie wet in the dust

Sunset walls are now the colour of blood

Pure souls filled with bloodlust'

No-one needed to ask where she had got those words from. They were filled with the compassion of their Abbey warrior and protector. Martin the Warrior had sent his message through the young mousemaid that now sat before them and the meeting now took up an atmosphere of steely determination.

"So," Tyg said, picking up his quill pen and dipping it in the inkwell "We come to you. Rose, Martin has sent us guidance through you. We need that riddle."

Rose nodded and drew a deep breath. Her voice was clear as the Matthias and Methuselah Bell tolling out through Mossflower Woodlands.

'Redeyes sits in Hate Grall

Whitethorn stands by window wide

Seabirds wheel and call to grey skies

Shining silver, earthy green

One is other once they are seen

Flashing steel and questing swords

Silver fins stir white foam fords

Red red rose climbs bloodied walls

Petals close, petal falls

Sorrow falls upon sunset walls

Friendship halted by killer keen

A debt repaid, a descendant seen

Add and subtract to find the blade

In the house where it was laid

White ghost, silver snake

Friends of enemies you must make

For the location, take this, the name of one

Who helped me and stayed, when they were all gone

Mother to Goldenstripe, Mother to all

First Mother to everybeast, at Redwall!'

She glanced at Tyg, who had been scribbling her words down frantically as she spoke them. "Have you got it all written down?" she asked anxiously.

He finished his last word with a flourish and sat back. "Yes, every word. So, now we need to solve it. Well, anyone got any ideas?"

There followed a great many umms and ahhs, but nobeast came forward with a suggestion. Tyg sighed. "Well, if we take it from the first line and work from there. So .Redeyes sits in Hate Grall'.

"Well, Redeyes is obviously Tehera," Arren volunteered "But where is Hate Grall? There isn't anywhere with that name in the Abbey."

Tyg regarded him with a knowing smile on his face "You think so? Well, then, anyone else have any ideas?"

"You know it, don't you?" Arren exploded, and Tyg giggled like a naughty Dibbun.

"Go on then, tell us!" Rose said eagerly and Ayila chimed in with "And if you don't, we'll make you eat some of Rose's cooking!"

"Well, my young ones," Tyg said, patiently "Look at those words carefully. 'Hate Grall' does not sound like a name of a place, but if you rearrange the letters…"

"It's an anagram!" Skipper suddenly yelled "'Hate Grall' is 'Great Hall' with the letters jumbled up!" He sat back, very satisfied with himself.

"Well done, Skipp! So, we have the first line; Redeyes sits in Great Hall. The next line is 'Whitethorn stands by window wide'."

There was along silence.

"Perhaps if you read the next line with it, it gives a meaning in some way," Mother Tamlin suggested. Tyg obliged.

"Whitethorn stands by window wide seabirds wheel and call to grey skies.'"

They all shook their heads. "No, it doesn't help," Log a log said, disappointed.

"Hang on," Ayila suddenly said, her eyes lighting up "Rose, remember a couple of summers back, when we were roving around the tideline, up near the mountain of Salamandastron?"

Rose nodded, comprehension dawning "The seabirds. Their cries to the grey sky sounded like they were mourning something. So it must have something to do with Salamandastron!"

The Redwallers were nodding now "Yes! Whitethorn must mean Tehera's sister, Tula Whitethorn." Arren said, excitedly "When the army arrived, there was only half the number there should be. The fox had said something about them being sisters, twins, and Tula taking half of the army up to Salamandastron! We were so busy with the preparations for the attack, it didn't register with us. So that means…"

"Salamandastron must be taken as well." Skipper said grimly. "The line 'Whitethorn stands by window wide' must place her somewhere in the mountain."

Tyg, busily writing all of this down sighed "So we cannot look to the hares for help. We sent a message via Chubb, a robin we use as a spy, but it must never have reached them."

"But didn't he-?" Arren began, but they were already discussing the next line.

"'Shining silver, earthy green?' What?" Rose looked perplexed.

But Foremole Diggum, quiet throughout their discussion so far, held the answer.

"Et must be ee sword!" she said "Look doawn ee powem. Et says whurr to foind ee sowrd o' Marthen."

"Yes, Foremole and 'earthy green', must mean one of us Redwallers!" Tyg said excitedly.

Now it was Arren's turn to look confused "Why?"

"Oh my young mouse, use some common sense!" Tyg said, exasperatedly "Earthy green! And what is the colour of the habit we wear? Earthy green! Simple logic, you young feather brain!"

"Right then, if you are so clever, O Wise One," Arren replied "Solve us the next line 'One is the other once they are seen'"

Tyg was silent, then took off his spectacles, rubbing them on his habit and, muttering to himself. "Well, never said I was that clever. I was merely applying the rudiments of sense. How anybody could solve that mess, I mean really."

"And on that note," Mother Tamlin said, with some amusement "I think we shall break for some refreshment."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Fuegro Brand was a fiery coloured fox with a temper to match. He was rumoured to come from the lands beyond where the sun sets at night and so had a strong accent; rolling his 'r's and elongating his 'e's. On 's's, he hissed like a snake, so the result was that his sentences were hard to understand at the best of times, pretty much impossible for the rest of the time.

Normally a cool, reserved beast, he could lose his formidable temper in a moment, screaming colourful phrases at the unfortunate at the receiving end of his anger, in an entirely different language, often striking them, normally on the face and storming off, leaving them with a bloody cheek. His claws were soaked in poison every day also; by the next morning, they would be left with ugly purple and green swellings, oozing yellow pus that would not die down for weeks.

He had come to Tehera as a young captain fresh from the sea and requested to join the army. It had been her sister, Tula, however, who had recognised his talent and taken him, giving him a small band to command and leaving him to it.

He had quickly risen up the ranks in her horde until he was second only to Tula and took orders solely from her. She, in her turn, trusted him with tasks as she would no other beast. Such as the one he found himself on now.

He was in a remarkably good mood this day, marching out at the head of the horde that Tula had commanded him to take to join her sister at Redwall Abbey where, she was sure; she had established as firm a rule as she herself had the mountain of the fire lizard.

He glanced back to the captive, tied by paw and footpaw to two long wooden stakes and carried over the shoulders of four hordebeasts. A cloth had been tied over their head, pushing down his long ears over his head and making it hard for him to breathe.

Captain Darnel had long since blacked out from hunger and exhaustion. His last thoughts before he had lost consciousness had been of Honeysuckle. He hoped the young gel had got away.

A/N: My longest yet, a full six pages! -gasp- So, anyway, pleeeaaaase review and show you still love me?