Reviews Answers:

Waycaster: 1: Kamataya isn't actually new, I updated the prologue and added her. And yeah, I definitely need to put some more with her crew. As for her name, Kamatayan means death in Filipino (I like using foreign languages for names. VafĂ­r comes from Vafer, latin for sly, Occisor is some language, I think norwegian, for death, Thorkrig, Thor is god of war, and krig is norwegian word for I think war, and Hurqu is latin for goat). Also, if you had read the rogue crew, you'd understand the song. ;) And as for Martin being vague, he doesn't know the full story himself... Though I will still change some things, thanks. And yeah, I'll go change Darkblood's thing. You're right about that, I was in a hurry.

Thanks for reviewing!

Bat Mountpit

Tharius awoke, blinking water out of his eyes. "Where? What?" He asked groggily.

"Quiet, quiet. You need rest, rest," came a voice.

"Huh?"

"Quiet, quite, I said, said."

Tharius shook his head. "Where's Hurqu?" His vision focused and he saw a black bat leaning over him.

"The horned one healed quicker, quicker. You can see him when you are ready, you are ready."

Tharius tried to lift himself, but the bat pushed him down. "Rest, rest."

"No, I need to know what's going on!"

"You are in Bat Mountpit, Bat Mountpit, under Lord Nightshadow, Lord Nightshadow. I am Rockwing, We are here to help, help."

Tharius struggled a bit more, but Rockwing poured a strange concoction in his mouth and he drifted off to sleep.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Tharius was on a shore, surrounded by cliffs with caves into them. He was alone in the expanse, with exception of a wiry young mouse dressed in full armor, carrying a shield, and a magnificent sword with a red pommel stone. The sword's point was in the sand, and he had his right paw rested on it.

"Hello, Tharius Oakleaf."

Always straight forward, Tharius plowed ahead. "How do you know my name, how am I here, and what do you want?"

The mouse chuckled. "You are dreaming, young one. I want you to remember."

"What do I have to remember?"

The mouse smiled. "You will remember, when you remember. Look for the one with the answers."

And with that, the scene dissipated, and Tharius awoke.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Tharius left his chamber, rubbing his head. He was trying to find some peace to figure out the dream, when Hurqu ran up.

Enveloping him in a bear hug, Hurqu lifted him off the rocky ground. "Och, ye're alive! Haharr!" The mountain goat dropped the squirrel on the floor.

Tharius smiled and looked up. "Hey, Hurqu." He grabbed the goat's gripper and was pulled up. "Do you know what's going on? Rockwing was kinda vague."

"That's somethin' bats do. But when we fell in the river, some current pulled us into a tunnel to auld Bat Mountpit. The bats, friendly chaps, saved us. There's a few others 'ere."

"Who else?"

"Well, a pretty mousemaid that 'asn't awoken yet, and a few vermin, also 'asn't awoken, and a group of-"

"Hurqu! This is Tharius, I presume." A bulky rabbit with dark-brown fur, short legs, and reddish eyes ran up and shook the squirrel's paw vigorously. "I am Amamo, the wandering trader." The rabbit pulled back his cloak, revealing six curved swords in elegant sheaths. He unsheathed one. "This is called a Katana. They are very good-"

"Lies!" exclaimed an angry hedgehog, that walked up behind the rabbit, interrupting him. He was an odd hedgehog, with a white-furred belly, light quill tips, and large ears. "That sword is useless! Weak, and you can disarm easily! Now-" he pulled back his cloak, revealing seven claymores. "These are prime fightin' weapons! Much better than any old Katana!"

Amamo continued the argument. "That's cause you use it wrong. Listen, all of you draw your weapons. I'll show you how you really use a Katana!"

Feeling foolish, Tharius drew caught a claymore the hedgehog tossed him. Hurqu grabbed his axe with his grippers; it was in a strap across his back. Amamo swished his Katana and stood on one short leg, Katana high above his head. The others stood around, waiting for the bulky rabbit to make his move. Suddenly, he swished it downward, tapping the hedgehog on his shoulder.

"Dead!" called the rabbit. After the hedgehog withdrew, he ducked under Tharius's attack and leaped up, doing the same trick.

"Dead! Aaaaand..." he moved to attack Hurqu. Wordlessly, the mountain goat flicked his axe, sending the blade across the cave, and it clattered across the wall. Hurqu then tapped the bulky rabbit's head with his axe.

"Dead."

"What are you doing, doing? I will not permit fighting in my halls." A tall bat, much larger than Rockwing, came forward. He was completely black, which made him a little hard to distinguish in the dark cave,

only lit by a single torch.

Amamo bowed. "Sorry, Lord Nightshadow. We were just practicing." His earlier brash voice had vanished, replaced with meekness.

The great bat nodded. "Make sure it does not happen again." He walked away, and after a few seconds Tharius heard the whoosh of wings.

After staring where the bat vanished to, Tharius jumped a decimeter and the sound of a new, deep voice. "Here's your katana, Amamo."

Tharius whirled around. A well-built badger was holding the katana, the thin blade dwarfed in his massive paw. He had a noble, bearded face with ice-blue eyes that stood out.

"Ah, ye dented it goat!" shouted the rabbit, pointing at a knot in the blade where the axe had hit it.

Hurqu laughed. "These braw lads are the Traveling Tradebeasts. You met Amamo, he's a foreign lad from the far east. Brought some very interesting weapon designs and attack techniques. And the auld hog is Aar Krullen, he's from the fah, fah south, where there's plains and flatlands. Also brought some good auld stuff with 'im. And the bonny badger there is from the highlands, brilliant blacksmith and fighter, 'is name is-"

"Ironhammer Wildstripe, cousin of Brawblade Wildstripe, lord of yon mountain. I was cummin' to visit him and met with Aar 'n' Amamo. We tried to brave the rapids and-" the badger moved his paw around- "we ended up here. I made that claymore, why don't you examine it."

Tharius held the claymore in front of his face. The blade was harder and stronger than any he'd ever felt before, with a blade like a razor. It felt like an extension of his arm; its balance was perfect. "Thanks."

"I was the one that gave it to ye! It'll cost ye!" shouted Aar Krullen.

Ironhammer laughed, a deep, booming laugh. "Relax, Aar. He can have it."

Tharius smiled. "Thank you, this is a marvelous sword, truly. Hurqu, could you show me around Bat Mountpit?"

"That will be my job, my job," came Rockwing's voice. "We have two types of caverns. Ground caverns, and the High cavern, the High cavern. The ground caverns are like the ones you are in. They are tunnels that all come to the High cavern, and also where we store food and medicine, keep young ones and groundwalkers, groundwalkers. The lowest ones lead to the stream or out side, why the highest leads out the top of Bat Mountpit. I will take you to the high cavern, the high cavern."

They followed Rockwing as the bat toddled to an abrupt end of the tunnel. There was a sheer drop from where the hole was. Rockwing spread his wings and flew.

Tharius was awed by the sight. The cavern expanded from the bottom of the mountain to the top. Holes decorated the walls, leading to more ground caverns. Thousands of bats flew around, or hung to the ceiling. Young bats leaped from ledges, encouraged by their parents to fly for their first time. Bats flew, playing or just for the sake of it. They latched on to the walls to sleep or take a rest. Tharius immediately noticed the massive Lord Nightshadow, largest and darkest of all the bats. He hung upside down from the ceiling, keeping an eye on any who would get to rough.

A young bat leaped from a ground cavern hole. He fluttered his small wings, and started flying flimsily. After just a few moments, his small wings failed him, and he began to fall to the earth, screaming.

Wordlessly, Nightshadow dropped from his perch. He dived down with speed that would make a bird flying with the wind look as if it was standing still. The great bat caught the young one. He carried the small bat back to the wings of his worried parents, then flew back to his upside down perch.

"Ye saw that, right?" asked Hurqu.

"Aye. Nightshadow is a good ruler, though there is many mysteries about him."

ooooooooooooooooooo

Four vermin, two rats, one weasel and one feral cat grumped around Bat Mountpit. They had just awoken, and had nothing to do, the only survivors of the boat crash.

Both the rats were WROOTS, and were uncomfortable being so high. All the vermin were unhappy with the bats, so the bats refused to allow them weapons, which made them even more unhappy. But the more they misbehaved, the more the bats disliked them.

A bat caretaker, Rockwing's mate, an albino called Whitefur, was speaking with Nightshadow.

"Lord, you may want to sort the vermin out, or remove them from the mountain and let them make a new life, new life. They are unpleasant and I do not think we can change them, change them."

Nightshadow shook his large head. "No, Whitefur. If we can change them, then we will have done something great. If we throw them out to fend for themselves, the greedy and lazy ones will die, and we'd have done something bad. Though, Whitefur, if you cannot stand them, then go see how the mousemaid is doing."

The white bat nodded and flew off.

ooooooooooooooooo

Anera yawned and rubbed her eyes. A white bat was leaning over her. "How do you feel, young one?"

Anera blinked. "Good, Abbess Fern. Thank you." The mousemaid yawned and rolled over. "Wait! Your not Abbess Fern!"

"That's right, right. I'm-"

"Where's the sword? Where's the boat? Do you know? I need to find a squirrel! Yes! Ummm..." Anera leaped from her bed and ran away from Whitefur. On the ground cavern, Anera was much faster than the toddling Whitefur.

"Wait! Come back, come back!" called the bat, but Anera was not listening. The disoriented mouse ran away, and didn't notice the sheer drop from the ground cavern hole.

ooooooooooooooooooooo

Nightshadow dropped like a stone. Without a sound he caught the falling mouse in his claws. He carried her up and dropped her in a heap in front of Tharius, Hurqu, and the Traveling Tradebeasts.

She accepted Aar's paw and was pulled onto her footpaws. "Thank you. Where are we?"

"We're in Bat Mountpit, young- what's your name?" asked Amamo.

"Anera. And yours?"

"I'm Amamo the Wandering Trader."

"I'm the great Aar Krullen!"

"Well, I guess that makes me Ironhammer Wildstripe, greatest of blacksmiths!"

Anera smiled. "And you two? And, no offense, but what are you?"

Hurqu chuckled. "Ah'm a great mountain goat! Mah name is Hurqu the Proud!"

"And I'm Tharius, the one who knows nothing about my past."

Anera stopped. "Could you be Tharius... Squirrelprince?"