Author Note:
Waycaster: Lol, yeah. (Thanks, I snuck the marker back in;) ) There were reasons why Broge didn't change the name of the Gutkeel, one of them being the fact that, in case they ran into enemy ships, they could have a slim chance as passing for allies (But, yes, I could probably edit that fact into the story). Plot armor for the win! Will it be enough though? Likely so, but ya never know… (Hey! That sorta rhymed!)
AvengeThem: You caught up! Yay! Hmm. I might do something with the first two, but Redwall Abbey might have to wait a bit. Places to be and battles to fight ya know, wot wot! ;-)
Highwing: You also caught up! Congrats! *Throws pawful of confetti over Wing and Avenge* Aaaaand yes, correct. This is not the last chapter. You know, fun fact of the day, I originally planned for my fic to end at Chapter 60, but… -*Glances at my bulging pile of plotlines*- yeah… :P
The Grey Coincidence: Lol. Yeah. Glad you liked its name! A little simple, but oh well. ;D Btw, from what I remember in Mariel of Redwall, Terramort isn't that far away from the mountain, but I guess we'll see! :-)
Happy reading to you all!
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SALAMANDASTRON
Lord Rockfur was right up at the front of the ranks, his broadsword held ready as his eyes turned red with Bloodwrath.
As the vermin horde charged into his sword's reach, he let out a mighty roar, shouting the battle cry that echoed so many times on the Western Shores in the past.
"Eulalia!"
The hares beside him took up the cry.
"Eulaliaaa! Death's on the wind!"
And then the vermin were upon them. The vermin leading the frontal assault were armed with long pikes, they thrusted at the bobbing shapes of hares above them on the crater.
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All of the refugee volunteers and new recruits had gone to the Forge Room to select weapons.
Flugg had found a small suit of armor in the corner that was roughly a shrew's size -though a tad too big- and immediately claimed it, along with a rapier. Tilda had selected two dirks and tucked them in her belt, also grabbing a short spear. Tragg donned a helmet and armed himself with a rapier and a small, round, wooden shield with a steel edge. Both Tragg and Tilda wore leather vests.
Tragg was swinging his rapier in small circles in the air, trying to get the feel for it, when a cadet came running into the forge room.
"The vermin have charged the mountain top, chaps! We're gonna need every blinking beast we can jolly-well get!"
Snapping out orders, the captain in charge ushered them out of the room, leading them up a corridor to the crater. Arriving at the top, Tragg squinted as the painfully bright morning light hit his eyes.
The north, east, and south ends of the crater were packed with fighting beasts. Screams and cries filled the air as blades slashed and pikes thrusted.
"Come on, chaps!" The hare captain in front of Tragg yelled, brandishing his weapon as he pointed ahead. "Stay in the rear. You're all the back-up! If you see an opening in our lines, then run over and fill it! Eulaliaaa!"
Tragg had to yell to be heard over the din. "Tilda! Flugg! We all need tae stick together!" His voice was noticeably squeakier and higher than usual.
Flugg thrusted his rapier up into the air, barking out in agreement, "Aye!"
Tilda made eye contact with Tragg and nodded.
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There seemed to be no winning side in the initial start of the battle. The hares fought tooth and nail to make sure that the vermin couldn't claw a foothold on the crater top. So far, the woodlanders hadn't been able to drive them back, resulting in a stalemate of sorts.
Down at the mountain's gates, the Smasher hammered on. The vermin and woodlander slaves would haul the monstrous ram back, using ropes and chains, then would release it, the blunted metal cap hitting the gates with a loud boom.
The creatures inside were sealing the entrance with anything that came to paw. Benches, furniture, rock slabs, and even bags of dirt were being used.
The woodlanders formed a chain, passing the heavy objects along. Keva turned to pass a rock to the hare beside her, when she noticed a familiar pair of crutches. She glanced up at his face.
"Sergeant One-Ear?! What are you doing down 'ere? You should be up with the wounded!"
"Bah!" The hare replied, trying to snatch the rock from her with one paw. "I'm not crippled for life yet, m'gal! Nobeast is gonna stop me from trying to help! Wot wot."
Keva could see the desperation in his eyes. Since she knew that she most likely wouldn't be able to convince him to leave, she decided to take a different approach.
"Fine, but instead of passing stuff, you could help by keeping all of the refugees calm. All of the other able bodied beasts are either here or fighting, and they don't have anybeast to lead them."
Sergeant One-Ear nodded. "Aye. I'm on it!" Hefting his crutches, he hobbled off, barking at the creatures in his way, "Move over, hare coming through! Pardon me, chaps. Where are those dashed refugees anyways?"
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"For Urthblaze!" Lord Rockfur's blade sliced through steel and flesh alike. Killing any vermin who crawled onto the crater. Shearing arms and bashing in skulls with his fist, the Badger Lord of Salamandastron fought, blood covering his fur and armor.
"Die, vermin!"
An ermine darted forward, sliding up like a snake and stabbed Rockfur's leg with her knife. The vermin didn't live long to savor her victory. Rockfur grunted, picking up the ermine and hurling her down the mountain slope. The vermin screamed as she tumbled down.
Rockfur's vision was entirely red, mostly from the Bloodwrath, but partly from actual blood. He wiped a paw quickly over his eyes. The smell of blood assailed his nostrils.
He looked up and saw Brewster a couple of feet away. The colonel was shouting out orders to the other hares, directing them to defend specific parts of the mountain.
The Badger Lord was forced to turn back to take care of his own problems, as more vermin tried to storm past him.
"Eulalia!"
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A few vermin had gained a small hold on the crater, so Tragg, Tilda, and Flugg -along with the rest of their company- were ordered to push them back down.
Tragg felt hot and cold all at the same time. His teeth were chattering, yet sweat clung to his clothes and armor. He blinked as he used his shield to block a rat's blow.
As the vermin's weapon caught on the metal ridge of Tragg's shield, Flugg darted over and plunged his rapier into the rat's back.
"Thanks, mate," Tragg gasped.
His cousin didn't have the breath to reply verbally. Instead, he gave Tragg a half-smile and nodded his head. He turned away to thrust his weapon at another vermin.
Tragg's eye wound was throbbing again under his eyepatch. He blinked rapidly. He could see that the woodlanders had finally pushed the vermin off the parapet, but the enemy kept coming.
"For th' Northlands!" the shrew cried, smacking his round shield into a vermin below as the creature tried to crawl up. The ferret's nose was smashed as it was struck with the hard surface of the shield, blood exploding over his face as he fell backwards.
Tilda was on Tragg's right. The female shrew was using her spear to great effect, skillfully stabbing down at the beasts below before they even got a chance to get in sword range. The only ones that she had to watch out for were the vermin armed with pikes -whose weapons outreached hers.
"You there, back away!" Private Eric suddenly yelled, pulling Tragg by the shoulder. "Make way for your replacements! Wot wot! Take a breather!"
The young shrew nodded gratefully.
The hare officers had been rotating the fighters, trying to make it so that everybeast would be able to catch a few brief minutes' respite.
Tragg backed out of the way as two fresh Long Patrollers took his position. Flugg and Tilda joined him, running to find cover in one of the tunnels leading down into the mountain.
A group of other warriors were also resting there, along with a few wounded that had been carried in.
Some warriors carried the wounded into the tunnel. A few medics ran about, trying to patch up the worst of the injuries before sending the wounded down to the mountain's infirmary.
"Are you two alright?" Tilda asked, wiping sweat from her brow, "Any injuries?"
"A few wee ones, but nothin' serious," Flugg replied, wincing as he rubbed a cut on his footpaw. "Apparently, this armor isn't foolproof. What about ye, Tragg?"
"I'm fine, I think." Tragg sighed, leaning his back against the tunnel wall. "Tired as I can be though. I don't think I'll ever get used tae all o' this." His eyes darted back to the fighting just outside the tunnel. "There are no words to describe this... this bloodbath!"
Tragg and Tilda began to assist by loading the wounded on stretchers for the bigger beasts to carry them down, while Flugg brought water to the injured beasts.
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"Badger Lord!" The voice boomed over the sounds of the fighting. "Why do you cower behind your walls?"
Lord Rockfur's eyes seemed to burn as he turned his gaze to where Baro stood. The wolverine was down the slope a ways. He carried his massive mace and chain in one paw, and his sword in the other.
"You let other beasts do your fighting for you, coward! I will kill you like I killed that badger whelp! I'll have your flesh fed to my carrion birds!"
A growl rumbled deep in Rockfur's chest. Slicing a vermin in half with a swipe of his broadsword, he leapt over the side of the parapet and began to climb down, roaring only one word, "Eulalia!"
"Sah!" Colonel Brewster cried, "Come back! Sah!"
In his enraged state, Rockfur didn't even hear the old colonel's shouts.
He left a red trail of dead bodies and hewn limbs behind him.
One thought burned through his mind: Killing the sneering wolverine that had murdered Urthblaze.
Baro Steelclaws trembled inwardly as his soldiers before him were thrown aside like rags by the fearsome badger warrior. Steeling his nerves, the wolverine spat on the ground, and ran forward to meet Rockfur's wild charge.
The two mighty beasts met in a shower of sparks as their weapons clashed. The wolverine scrambled back a few steps, trying to keep out of sword range, and using his mace and chain to keep the badger at bay.
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Rockfur's absence left a gap in the woodlanders' defence. Brewster and Private Eric were desperately trying to fill in his position. Even with reinforcements rushed in, the defenders were hard pressed to keep the vermin from flooding up.
"We've got to help his Lordship!" Brewster yelled, his saber blocking a ferret's pike thrust. "He'll get himself bally surrounded if he stays down there! Wot!"
"Agreed, old chap!" Private Eric winced as a spear nicked his shoulder. "I'll take a patrol and go get him! You stay here and keep things from going bloomin' bonkers, eh wot?" He broke off as the vermin ranks charged forward again. "Dash it all!" Eric exclaimed, stabbing a corsair in the neck, "Their numbers never seemed to jolly-well end!"
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Baro's mace and chain had smashed into Rockfur's shoulder, knocking the Badger Lord over. His armor luckily took most of the damage. Grunting, he got back on his footpaws in time to block another swing with his sword.
"Die, you old fool!" Baro Steelclaws laughed.
Rockfur leapt forward and tackled the wolverine, the two of them rolling down the mountain slope a ways. Vermin soldiers desperately got out of their way.
Just when it looked like Rockfur had the upper paw, tragedy struck.
Bertvar the Slavemaster seemed to appear out of nowhere. The wolf hit the back of Rockfur's head with his scimitar pommel. Then, lifting him off Baro, he threw the Badger Lord down the mountain slope.
Rockfur rolled until his head smacked against a rock and he went limp.
The wolf lifted his scimitar in the air, and called out loudly to the surrounding soldiers, "They've no badger to save them now! Kill them all!"
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"Rockfur!"
Private Eric had to grab the furious colonel as Brewster tried to charge down to his Badger Lord.
"No! You'll be killed!"
"Dash it all! I'm gonna kill those scum!"
"You're our leader now! We'll kill those vermin, sah, but we'll let them come up to us! Wot! We can't lose you too!"
Brewster didn't have a chance to reply as the bulk of the vermin army once again surged up toward them.
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Askarr Bonecrusher knocked the weapon out of a nearby vermin's paw, and the chieftain head-butted him. The unconscious vermin dropped to the ground.
Using his axe, he chopped a vixen's head off her shoulders. He blinked as a shout reached his ears.
"Chief! Chief!" Baglarr fought his way to Askarr's side. "Lord Rockfur's down!" he cried, "Vermin are taking over the eastern crater!"
"Let's go get 'em then!" Askarr Bonecrusher replied, "There's not a moment to lose!"
"Right behind ye, Chief!"
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Bertvar and Baro stormed the crater wall together, accompanied by an elite force bearing pikes and spears, and another with crossbows. The two massive creatures gained a section of the crater top.
Colonel Brewster led his hares in a countercharge, when an unlucky stab from a pikebeast stabbed him in the shoulder.
The hare colonel yelled with pain, twisting his body as he fell to his knees. Private Eric threw his weapon at the pikebeast, killing the vermin.
The rest of the hares surged past them, giving the two beasts a brief respite from the thick of the fighting.
Brewster grunted with pain as Eric tore a rag from his own shirt and pressed it against the colonel's wound.
"Hold that there!" Eric said, "We'll move you down to safety!"
Brewster looked past him at the fighting. The woodlanders were being pushed back. The wolverine and the wolf were slicing through the defenders like butter, vermin pouring into the breach by the score.
"Call everybeast back!" Brewster ordered, "We'll continue to fight on the lower levels."
Private Eric nodded, helping Colonel Brewster up into a standing position.
"Fall back!" he cried to the crowded soldiers around them, "Down to the lower levels! Retreat!"
