Part Three: The War
Chapter Twenty-five: The Meeting
Swike looked sidelong at Lifil. The otter's face was steely, set. Kneeling down, the young otter felt for a pulse on the mouse sentry lying at her side. Martin made a good choice, Swike found herself thinking, Lifil has never seen anything like this army, but she isn't freaking out. Swike pressed her eyes shut tightly and clenched her paws. No! No! Martin didn't choose Lifil! He didn't! That's impossible! I should know better!
Done chastising herself, Swike opened her eyes and snapped into action. She ran along the walltop to the next sentry. It was a mole. Once she had turned him over onto his back, he immediately began to blink and sit up. He appeared too shocked to speak, and once he was on his paws, Swike was barely fast enough to catch him from falling down again. From the wide-eyed expression on his face, she figured that he hadn't seen the army, or at least not the bulk of the army, due to the crow attack, till now.
The ground began to rumble as if in an earthquake. Swike and the mole at her side grabbed at the wall for balance. Looking back out at the mass of vermin, Swike found the cause of the quake. All of the vermin, all the thousands of rats and weasels and ferrets and stoats, were stomping on the ground and clanking their weapons together. Fear gripped Swike, a fear which defied reason. She felt as if she had gone numb; she couldn't look away. Her heart pounded in her ears.
And then the sound faded away and the army quieted down, ceased its movements. A voice, clear and unwavering, sounded to Swike's left. Turning numbly, Swike saw Abbess Pojam, standing in the center of the western walltop, Lifil solid beside her. It looked like scores of seasons had fallen away from the old mouse. She stood up straight and strong, very much in her prime and in control of her beloved abbey.
"What is the meaning of this?" she projected, as if to a room full of naughty dibbuns who had tracked in mud and then set up a racket. "What harm have we done to you that you bring war here?"
The power and complete lack of fear in the Abbess sent a rustle of murmurs and unsettled fidgeting through the army below. Swike didn't know if all of the vermin could hear the Abbess or not, but if they could just see her, that would probably be enough.
At this moment, a wave passed through the vermin army. A mass of green seemed to rise into the air, starting near the back of the army and coming toward the abbey. It took Swike a while to figure out what it must be, but then she saw a ferret wearing a cloak of forest green, striding forward, and she understood. As Lord Koron passed between the units of his army, the beasts alongside him raised their left paws into the air in some sort of salute, and except for a few captains wearing blue, everybeast else sported a green wristband. Swike looked down at her own left paw. She had forgotten about the wristband that she had left behind when she became Rosethorn.
The wave of green appeared to speed up as it came closer, and then Lord Koron was right below the Abbess, cloak swishing to a halt around his form. The fear in Swike began to rise even more. She clung onto the battlements, her mind a jumble of panic which she couldn't understand.
"Abbess Pojam," spoke Koron confidently, "I, Lord Koron, hereby declare your abbey at siege. Surrender or everybeast in Redwall will die. I promise you that."
The old mouse flinched as she heard her name on the lips of the ferret, but she recovered quickly. "And what will happen to us if we do surrender?" she asked. Swike felt as if her tongue had swelled within her mouth and she didn't know how the Abbess could stand up to Koron as she was doing.
"Then your lives and the lives of Skipper and his band will be spared and you will all be made into slaves."
Lifil's shoulders noticeably fell. The otter looked as if she were about to explode, but the Abbess grabbed her paw and she remained silent.
"This is a big decision," said the Abbess clearly, "and I am but one beast, and an old one at that. It is not right for me to make this decision on my own."
She's buying time!
"Of course," said Koron politely, his voice dripping with a sweetness which chilled Swike to the bone, "you will have your time. Tell me your decision at sunset. At that time, either you or I will open up Redwall's gates to my army." Without another word, Koron turned and strode away. A wave of green accompanied his retreating form.
Swike sat comfortably between Lifil and Maren in the war meeting. She had long ago recovered from her fright at dawn. Oddly, she wasn't tired after her sleepless night. This was where it all began.
Abbess Pojam, still in possession of her composure, rang a bell to start the meeting. All chatter around the table died down. The old mouse set the bell on the table before her and stared into its glistening metal, quiet for a moment. Finally, she cleared her throat and began.
"Evil times these are," she said, eyes still on the bell, "evil times have come upon us." She sighed and looked up at the beasts gathered around her. "You are all here because I or someone else has recommended you. You are all here because your insight and skills can help us."
Swike glanced around the table. Many of the elders had been gathered, but the youth had not gone unrepresented. Spyn sat halfway down the table from her, filling in for his sister who still refused to leave the bell tower. Bryce, one of the kitchen helpers, was here to represent the kitchen staff, the only beast who had been let off duty for this meeting. Ronn, recently named the official infirmary apprentice, was here to represent Haley. Lifil, of course, sat next to Swike, directly opposite Pojam, Martin's sword resting on the table in front of her. It was she who had insisted that Swike and Maren be allowed to attend. There was tension, Swike knew, over that issue. Spyn had seemed very against Swike being allowed in, and even Maren had been unsure of what help she could be, though she followed Swike's lead anyway.
"Today," continued the Abbess, "was a disaster. Thankfully, only two abbeybeasts were killed, but it was a disaster none the less. In only a few minutes, our abbey was rendered practically defenseless."
Swike's mind drifted outside. One otter and one mole had fallen off the battlements. They were the only two casualties. A squirrel had fallen too, but she was currently in the infirmary, expected to recover. Among the injured, none were actually expected to die. A shiver went down Swike's spine as she thought of the uninjured. Most of the beasts who had fallen into that category were mice. The crows felt no desire to risk hurting Lord Koron's spy.
"I am not so proud to suggest that I have all the answers," said Abbess Pojam, her eyes watering. "In fact, I have little to contribute here." She rose her paw to quiet any arguments. "I don't," she stressed. "I am old and my uses here are few.
"Now, we don't need talk like this. We need to discuss what it is we're going to do. Ammiv," she said, turning to the Badgermum, "you've been here the longest. You were actually here the last time Redwall went through a war."
"Not exactly a war," apologized the badger. "It was more of a skirmish, Abbess. And I was young then too."
"You still know more of this than I do," insisted the Abbess. A sad look settled on her face. "If only we had a Recorder…"
Many of the older beasts tensed up at this. Swike saw a few tears falling.
"Too long," said an old mouse sitting next to the Abbess quietly. "Too long have we left that position empty." She reached over and took Pojam's paw in hers. "Your sister was such an excellent Recorder, Pojam! So knowledgeable! I know … that she would have been able to help us today."
"It's been seasons," said Ammiv, "since anybeast really went through the documents in the gatehouse. We're losing touch with our past, with our history. A terrible loss. I promised Kimmy that I'd find a new Recorder. When she never found an apprentice … I promised her … that I would." The old badger hung her head.
"Stop this," said Brandy. "Stop this! This is not the time to have such regrets! An army," she took a deep breath, "a huge army surrounds us. We have to act! We have to win! So, let's discuss how we're going to do that."
"So we're not surrendering?" asked Ronn nervously.
"Of course not!" said Lifil. "We can't surrender!"
"Lifil's right," said Brandy, her spikes bristling. "Surrender is not an option. Would you see our dibbuns made into slaves? And how do we know we can even trust that none will be killed once we surrender?"
Slaves, thought Swike. But I thought Lord Koron never took slaves. I thought he always left death and destruction…
"Burr aye!" put in the Foremole, "We'm carn't surrendier! Must foight!"
"Alright," said the Abbess. "I knew we couldn't surrender, so let's come up with a plan. I," she pressed her eyes closed tight, "will not see my abbey fall to the likes of Lord Koron and his army, not as my seasons are drawing to a close. So, what are we going to do?"
All eyes left Abbess Pojam, but there was an obvious split. Some of the beasts around the table looked to Brandy for the plan of action, but just as many eyes were upon Lifil and Martin's sword. Brandy and Lifil took this fact in as quickly as anybeast else, and they stared each other down.
"In Skipper's absence…" began Brandy. Lifil grabbed onto the handle of Martin's sword, her eyes on fire.
"Wait!" said Maren, standing up and reaching across Swike to place a paw on Lifil's shoulder. She looked first at her roommate and friend and then across at Brandy. "Do you really plan to fight? Brandy, there's an army outside and we have to act, you said so yourself. If we can't work together within these walls, we're doomed." Maren turned to look at her friend again, squeezing the otter's shoulder. "Lifil, Martin gave you his sword because he has faith in you, but you must learn to glorify his memory by having faith in the rest of us."
"Well said, young one," said the mouse sitting beside the Abbess. She glanced over her spectacles as if to get a better look at Maren, who immediately sat back down, blushing. "How is it that I never saw…" her voice faded away.
"Never saw what, Tissa?" asked the Abbess.
The old mouse shook her head. "Something to talk of another time, Pojam. Other, more important, matters face us today."
"Yes," said Brandy. The hedgehog stood up and walked around the table to stand behind Lifil. "I and…" her eyes rested on the otter, "the Abbey Champion, will come up with a defensive plan which we can both agree upon and which plays to the strengths of the beasts still in Redwall."
"They control the skies," said Swike, speaking up for the first time.
"Owls," said Lifil. "Even in fewer numbers, owls are better fighters than crows. Abbess, is your owl friend ready to fly? He could fetch more of his kind to help us."
"Too many crows," said Swike matter-of-factly. "He'll never get away to fetch any help. Without control of the skies, we'll lose. All the vermin have to do is send in the crows, overwhelm the battlements, and then they just scale the walls and they're in."
"Do you have any suggestions, Rosethorn, or are you just trying to rob us of all hope?" asked Brandy haughtily.
For the first time in the meeting, all eyes were on the spy. Spyn was clenching his fists together so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "Squirrels," said Swike, eyeing Spyn. "On the sides of the abbey building, with weighted nets."
Murmurs spread throughout the room. Brandy clamped a paw on Swike's shoulder. "Lifil chooses her friends wisely," said the hedgehog. "Maybe you could help us with the defensive strategies. We could use a mind like yours."
"Down in the cellars," said Bryce, "in the room next to where we keep the cheese, there's lots of rope. Some nets too. I think they use the nets for fishing sometimes. We could get to work on those."
"Good," said the Abbess. "Bryce, would you lead the Foremole and some other helpers down there? You could start on the nets. Ronn, I need to speak with you a bit about how the infirmary is fairing. Lifil and Brandy, gather good beasts around you. I want to see extensive plans and sentry schedules by noon. If Lord Koron is true to his word and holds back his force till sunset, then I'll be very surprised. This meeting is adjourned!"