Part One: The Army

Chapter Fourteen: Infiltration

Swike stood in front of Lord Koron, Naysta the seer, Raynat the assassin, Jaoto the second-in-command, and all of the captains of Lord Koron's army. They were all looking her up and down, ordering her to turn slowly in a circle from time to time. She did her best not to sweat.

"And you're certain you can maintain this disguise?" asked Koron.

Swike nodded. "For as long as you need me to. I may need to make adjustments to it every now and then, but I'll find a place and time to do that once I'm inside."

Koron grinned. "I'd swear you were a mouse and had been one your whole life. Excellent work! Now to show you to the army." He waved at her to follow him. The captains quickly left the tent before him, barking at their units to form ranks. General Sharpwing and a few crows nearly as big as him cawed at the crows to land and form lines. Swike was glad to see them there. She had been informed, before preparing her disguise, that Koron had let Sharpwing do all the talking and had gathered in no time that Swike had lied to him. The crows were still in the army and Swike had never really been in trouble.

As the army lined up and quiet spread over them, Swike felt like shaking her head and taking another look. She had spent much time among their ranks and had ventured all over the camp, but she hadn't realized the army was so vast. Now, with everybeast standing in line, it was like looking upon a sea of vermin. Swike's eyes surveyed the army, trying to make a rough calculation of their numbers. Six, no, eight thousand at least, and that wasn't including the crows. A shiver went down her spine as she envisioned a small redstone building, the walls crumbling inwards, and these stony faces before her swarming over the wreckage. Redwall had never fallen to vermin before, but there was no way it could stand up against this.

"This is my spy, Swike the rat," called out Koron in a loud voice. "She is disguised as Rosethorn the mouse. She will be among the Redwallers, giving us information from the inside. It is very possible that she will be with them for much of the time during the actual battle. You WILL NOT kill her. Memorize her face. If you're fighting and you see her, or a mouse that looks even slightly like her, DO NOT attack that mouse. If it is found out later that any one of you killed her, you will be executed. If we can't determine exactly which one of you it was, then we'll execute the entire unit which attacked the area where her body was found. Is that clear?"

A roar of understanding echoed from the army. Swike noticed that Lord Koron didn't think it necessary to inform the army that her orders had been to kill any member of the army without hesitation if it came to that. Lord Koron waved his paw at the captains. One by one, the units marched forward, allowing the vermin to get a closer look at Swike before each unit marched back into its former place. Swike stood still, a blank look on her face. It unnerved her a bit to see so many eyes on her, so she just didn't let herself focus on the faces before her. Finally, the crows began to wing around Lord Koron and Swike, getting their own look. As they settled back into their former place, it was over. The army disbanded to finish the job of setting up a permanent camp (the army wouldn't move until Koron received word from Swike) and Swike was ushered back into Lord Koron's tent. She picked up her satchel and swung it over her head, checking everything in it one more time.

And then, there was nothing left to do but go. She had received all of her instructions. She was ready. With a nod from Lord Koron, she left the tent. She walked through the camp, ignoring the faces which turned toward her, getting one last look. Leaving the camp behind and stepping onto the road, she turned south and began to walk. As trees closed behind her, cutting off view of the camp, she couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. She was on her own now, no more eyes to scrutinize her appearance. But she didn't get too comfortable. While the woods seemed empty of anything that moved, she knew Koron would have her followed. If she walked past Redwall, she would find herself dead. Koron had no uses for a disloyal spy.

Around midday, Swike found herself staring at a river which cut across the road. It had been forded by somebeast at this spot. Staring into the rushing water, Swike was grateful for the ford. Her first thoughts upon seeing the river had been that she would have to redo much of her disguise after getting wet from the swim, but now she realized she probably wouldn't have made it across the river with her life if not for the ford. Swimming in the running water by the ford were fish, fish with the distinctive look of pikes: slender, with pointed snouts. Swike shivered involuntarily at the sight of them. They're not snakes, she reassured herself, they're fish.

Swike took a deep breath and then charged across the river, wanting to get this over with. When her footpaws touched the ground on the other side, she let out her breath in a rush. Glancing behind, she saw the fin of a pike surface and then slide under the water again. Swike turned away from the river and began to walk, very fast, away from it.

It wasn't until the woods around her began to change that Swike finally slowed down and paid attention to what she was doing. On her right, the forest was beginning to thin. Before long, there were only woods on her left. Swike stopped and looked off into the west. Grasslands extended towards some distant hills, and then, unto mountains. Beyond that is the sea, she thought, and mother. Swike had never known her mother. After giving birth to her, the searat had decided that life as a mother of four was not for her. She left to return to life at sea. Swike's father had let her go without ever acting as if he missed her. He had no intentions of leaving his current residence to endanger his life in service to another. Instead he lived on in the same place, attacking travelers with the help of his sons.

Swike blinked her eyes rapidly and shook her head. Why these sudden thoughts of mom and dad? Mom's probably dead and I sure wish dad were. Swike began to walk along the road again. It shouldn't be long now. Soon I'll be in Redwall. Swike paused mentally, awaiting the nervousness and fear that always followed any mention of that place. It didn't come. She nearly stopped walking, she was so surprised. Do I no longer fear Redwall? Am I not afraid to see it? To enter it? To live in it? Swike grinned from ear to ear. Good! I'll be able to do my job much better this way.

The sun was sinking in the west. Swike put up a paw to block its brightness as she looked in its direction. As the sun began to slide behind the distant mountains, Swike couldn't help but feel that this would make an excellent painting. The mountain tops were thrown into sharp relief by the falling sun and the sky seemed to be changing color in waves. She knew she couldn't take the time to enjoy it though. Actually, she was surprised she hadn't reached Redwall yet. Surely she should have run into it by now. Turning back to the road, Swike trudged onward. As the sun sent out its last rays before disappearing completely, they fell upon something up ahead which appeared to be red. Swike nearly jumped forward into a run before remembering her injuries. Her body wouldn't thank her later if she broke into a sprint after a day of walking almost non-stop. Plus, with Redwall in sight, it would be a good idea if she actually walked slower, to better portray herself as a pitiful, injured mouse.

Swike staggered along the road, her face downcast. She kept her eyes looking ahead, ignoring the pain of having them staring so sharply upward. Even in the twilight, the building rearing up before her was unmistakably red. As she approached, Swike felt awe at the talents shown by the Redwallers of the past. The stones which made up the walls were all the same exact size and had been fitted together so perfectly that, even an uncountable number of seasons later, no beast intent on climbing those walls would be able to find a paw-hold. The walls themselves were so high that Swike could barely make out the top of the abbey building.

Swike lifted her head as she neared the north wall. "Water," she croaked. She had gone the entire day without food or water. Raynat had been right in instructing her to do so. She knew she would be much more impressionable in this state and already she was feeling more confident in her ability to act the part of a mouse who had been ambushed. She reached the northwest corner of Redwall and leaned against it feebly. The stones were still giving off the warmth of the sun. "Water," she managed to whisper before crumpling next to the wall. She let her eyes droop and her shoulders sag, but she remained as alert as ever, taking in all the sounds and smells of this place. She could hear running feet on the other side of the wall. Had somebeast seen her and gone to get help? Or were things so peaceful that a few young beasts were simply playing a game? Swike didn't know which but she hoped very much for the former to be true. She began to crawl slowly south along the wall. After a few minutes, she reached wood. A door. She leaned against it. There was the sound of running feet again. The door sprang open and Swike fell through it.

"Oh my!" said a voice above her. "Help it up!" Strong paws reached under her arms. Swike called out in pain. "Be careful! Can't you see that its right arm is in a sling?"

"Sorry," another voice mumbled.

Swike's head lolled back and forth as she got a look through half-lidded eyes at the beasts around her. The one in charge looked like an elderly mouse. The other two were young otters. The otters carried her inside while the mouse closed and locked the door.

"We need to get it to the infirmary!" she said.

One of the otters nodded. A third otter ran forward. "See … I … told you," she said, out of breath from running. "A … mouse."

"I never said I didn't believe you," said the elderly mouse. "Lifil, help Ronn and Char to carry it."

The new otter, Lifil, squinted into Swike's face. "I think it is a she," she said.

"Well she needs to get to the infirmary right away," spat the mouse.

Lifil sighed but didn't say anything in reply. She grabbed Swike's legs while the other two otters supported her on either side. The odd party made its way toward the abbey building. Swike let her head fall back and closed her eyes. Who is the mouse? Is she some sort of leader here? Paws gripped her head, bringing it back up so that it wasn't hanging anymore. Opening her eyes a bit, Swike saw the mouse's face above her.

"What's your name?" she asked comfortingly.

Swike opened her mouth, licking her lips. "Ro-Rosethorn."

The mouse smiled. "Welcome to Redwall, Rosethorn! You're safe now!"

Swike smiled weakly, trying to look relieved though fearing that she simply looked pained. Then she closed her eyes.