Hi! Posting in the morning because the rest of my day is absolutely insane.

My week has been pretty awful, although there have been a few good points.

Thank you to all of my awesome reviewers :) You guys make my day much happier.

Disclaimer: I honestly think it would be a very bad thing if I owned Redwall. For one, several of the books were published before I was born. For another, Brian Jaqcues was just awesome.


Chapter 54

Emalet swooped down onto a branch next to Amber, who was sharpening a wooden lance as she waited for the battle to start.

"I just wanted you to tell Martin that as far as I can see, Sharpscratch and his group are on the opposite side of the camp, near the old slave pens." The owl murmured, making Amber turn her head sharply to find the source of the voice.

The squirrel queen relaxed slightly. "Aye, I'll do that. Thank you Emalet." The owls and the Warden had been incredibly useful, flying all over the forest, delivering messages, and making sure that everyone was in place before they attacked, but it was always surprising to hear their voices when you thought you were alone.

Amber finished sharpening her lance, check the tip, and then stuck it into her quiver with her arrows. It was almost time, and she wanted to be ready for anything.

She hurried through the trees until she reached Martin and the others who were on the ground. They were carefully hidden, and alert, but Amber could tell that they were getting impatient.

Honestly, her archers were impatient too. There was only so long you could perch in a tree and do nothing without it getting mind numbingly boring.

Martin was whispering something to Gonff when Amber swooped out of the trees, and as the two mice turned towards her, the squirrel saw the amusement in their eyes and smiled. She'd been worried when she saw them leave the camp the other day. It had looked like they were arguing. But now they were joking, and working together just as well as they usually did.

"Emalet asked me to tell you that Sharpscratch is on the other side of the camp, near the pens where they kept the prisoners." Amber said, looking at Martin.

The mouse nodded seriously, the amusement fading from his eyes. "Thank you Amber, that's good to know. We'll have to avoid that area to make sure we don't accidentally start fighting any possible allies he's gathered."

Amber nodded in agreement, although she hadn't actually thought of that until Martin voiced it. It would be foolish to accidentally kill all of their allies.

"Aye, that would be counterproductive." Gonff agreed, flipping one of his knives in the air and catching it. "But it wouldn't be amiss to pretend they are our enemies would it? Maybe we pretend to defeat them, and then they join our ranks." He suggested.

Martin frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm . . . Good idea mate, but I'm not sure it would work, not with Sharpscratch. He's got somethin' workin' up in that vermin brain of his, and I don't know if it's in our favor or not."

Amber shivered. She couldn't help but agree. Despite the fact that Sharpscratch seemed much nicer and saner than most of his kind, there was still a certain slipperiness about him that made him really hard to trust. It would not be wise to follow him blindly when they didn't know if he was going to be a danger to them or not. "Should I get my archers and lance throwers ready?" She asked, glancing at the position of the sun. It was still early morning, but the sun was beginning to rise. She could tell by the faint pink glow in the sky near the mountains in the east.

"Aye, that's a good idea Amber. We should be attacking very soon. Once Brome and Rowanoak send up the signal, we should be ready to attack at a moments notice." Martin affirmed, and Amber nodded as she turned and headed back into the trees, where her squirrels, and a few mice who could climb and had good aim were waiting.

"Be ready." She hissed as she bounded through the trees. She could see by the way each of them straightened slightly that they were now completely and fully on the alert, and she felt a brief flash of pride. Half of these creatures hadn't even known how to hold a bow when she arrived in Noonvale, and now she had a force that was competent enough, and could certainly defend themselves if they weren't really being attacked. In this situation it was perfect, because it was exactly what they needed, a group of archers and lance throwers who would stay out of the battle and provide backup where needed.

Some of the slaves who'd been rescued from the vermin camp thankfully had some experience, so Amber wasn't working wholly with amateurs, but it was still a shot in the dark. Amber was really the only one of them who could use her skill in battle very well. But she knew that they could pull it off, as long as there was a good enough distraction going. That was why they had Martin and Gonff. She knew that the Gousim, the Pygmy shrews, and the Gawtrybe were also all posted in one place. The racket that those three groups set up was sure to cause a stir among the searats.

Just as Amber arrived back at her post, she saw a flash, and turned to see a flaming arrow shoot into the sky from far across the valley. It was immediately followed by another volley from the other side. Both arrows landed in the midst of the vermin camp, and two separate fires started.

Immediately there was an uproar, and Amber knew that the vermin were panicking, knowing they were under attack, but not sure from what side.

She smiled, knowing that whatever side the vermin attacked, it wouldn't matter. There was no way for them to win, and no way for them to escape. That was the plan that they'd come up with, and it might just work. Amber strung her bow and drew an arrow in one swift moving, letting it fly out into the night. She nodded as an answering scream came from the vermin's camp. There was nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run for the searats.

Because Raxil and his horde were at long last surrounded.


Bleh, I updated. I would love some more reviews guys, they would improve my writing speed, and inspiration to write, and the speed at which I figure out how to end this thing XD

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