The morning after Daenerys had saved Martin, Badrang, the evil stoat in charge of Marshank, came up onto the walltop and was shocked to see Martin gone! "Hisk!" he shouted.

A weasel appeared next to him. "What's the problem, Lord Badrang?"

"Where's the mouse who was chained up here last night?"

"I don't know. Maybe the birds ate him."

Badrang glared. "What, you think they ate his bones, too?"

"They could have."

Badrang hit Hisk upside the head. "Idiot! Birds don't eat bones! Nobeast eats bones. One of the other slaves must have helped him escape. I'll wager he's still hiding somewhere in this fortress. Have the guards gather all the slaves together so we can interrogate them."

A short time later, Badrang stood in the center of the courtyard. His slaves were all chained in a line. Hisk and a rat named Gurrad wandered amongst them, flicking their whips.

"What's this all about?" a young squirrel named Felldoh asked boldly. "What do you want of us?"

"Where is the mouse who calls himself Martin the Warrior?" Badrang demanded.

Felldoh stuck out his lip defiantly. "Last I heard he was tied to a rack up on the wall. You ought to know, since you're the one put him there!"

"Liar! He's not there anymore. He's escaped, and somebeast here helped him. I think it was you! Hisk! Gurrad! Give this squirrel a few lashes!"

At Badrang's command, Hisk and Gurrad began to whip Felldoh. "Leave Felldoh alone!" an otter named Keyla shouted. "He hasn't done nothing!"

Badrang turned his wrath on Keyla. "Oh? Was it you who freed Martin, then? Is that a confession? Where is he?"

"None of us has left our barracks all night," Keyla asserted. "If Martin got away, it wasn't with any help from us."

Then a fox named Skalrag came running up. "Dragons! There's dragons outside!"

"What?" said Badrang.

"I was guarding the gates, when some creatures came walking up. One of them was that mouse you were asking about. There was another mouse with him, a girl one, and a mole, and three humans, and three DRAGONS!"

"I always wanted a dragon slave," Badrang mused. "If I had a dragon, I'd be unstoppable. I could conquer all of Mossflower! Did these people say what they wanted?"

"No, as soon as I saw them comin' I ran to get you."

"Very well," said Badrang. "I'll go and look at them." He strode off. "Nothing may happen until I return!" he bellowed at the guards and slaves.

When he got to the gates, he stepped outside. "Hello, Martin," he said. "You were very foolish to come back here. What is it you want?"

"I'm not the leader of this group," Martin told him. He pointed at Dany. "She is."

"I am Queen Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons," Dany said. "I need an army to retake my throne."

"What's that got to do with me?" Badrang asked.

"I understand you have slaves here. I imagine many of them are strong and would make excellent fighters."

"My slaves aren't for sale," Badrang told her bluntly. "I need them all. If you wanted to buy slaves, you should have gone to Astapor or Merreen. Do you even have any money with you?"

"I have no money," Dany said, "but I have something better. Dragons."

Badrang's eyes lit up with greed.

Soon, Dany and her companions were inside, examining the slaves. Rose recognized her brother Brome among them.

"Which ones do you want?" Badrang asked.

"I'll take them all," Dany said.

"All?" Badrang gulped. "You can't do that. You've got to leave me some. And anyway, I thought you said you wanted them for your army. Many of these slaves are too old, or too young, or too weak to fight!"

"Nevertheless, I want them all," said Dany. "I will give you one dragon for the whole lot."

"If I'm giving up all my slaves, you should give up all your dragons," Badrang haggled.

"One dragon for all the slaves," Dany insisted. "Otherwise, I'll take my dragons and leave, and you won't get any!"

"Let's not be hasty." Badrang's mind was racing. This girl drove a hard bargain. But, he reasoned to himself, while he could always find more slaves, this might be his only chance to own a dragon. He couldn't pass it up. "All right. I agree to your terms."

"Which dragon do you want?" Dany asked him.

"I'll take the black one. It matches the color of my heart. Does he have a name?"

"His name is Drogon."

"So, his name is Dragon, with one letter changed? That's stupid. I think I'll give him a new name."

"He was named after my dead husband Drogo," Dany said coldly. "It's a tradition in my family to name children after dead relatives or ancestors."

"Wait, if your husband's name was Drogo, shouldn't the dragon's name be Drogo too, rather than Drogon?" Badrang asked in confusion. "Well, whatever. Enjoy your slaves."

Dany turned to the line of creatures, all chained together. "Listen well. From this day forward, you are no longer slaves. You are all free! Once I release you from your chains, you can do as you wish."

Felldoh could hardly believe his ears. "You mean, you bought us just so you could set us free?"

"That's right," said Dany.

"Makes you wonder why no one did that in any of the actual Redwall books," said Keyla.

Martin, Rose, Grumm, Jorah, and Ser Barristan bent down and started undoing the slaves' shackles. When Brome was loose, he ran to Rose's arms and hugged her.

Badrang watched in disgust. "Well, I hope you're happy, Queen Daenerys. You gave up your dragon for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing," Dany said. "I bought freedom for all these creatures. Anyway, what do you care? They are no longer your slaves. What I do with them is none of your concern."

Badrang put a leash around Drogon's neck and tried to lead him away, but Drogon wouldn't budge. "You are in difficulty," Dany observed.

"He will not come," Badrang said.

"There is a reason. A dragon is no slave." And Dany snatched a whip from Hisk and swept the lash down as hard as she could across the stoat's face. Badrang screamed and staggered back, the blood running red down his cheeks, staining his fur. "Drogon," Dany sang out loudly, sweetly. "Dracarys!"

The black dragon spread his wings and roared.

A lance of swirling dark flame took Badrang full in the face. His eyes melted and ran down his cheeks, and his fur burst so fiercely into fire that for an instant the slaver wore a burning crown twice as tall as his head. His wail seemed to drown all other sound.

"Slay the masters!" Dany cried. "Slay the soldiers! Slay everybeast who holds a whip!"

"I can get behind that," Felldoh said. He picked up the chain that had held him and swung at Hisk, hitting him in the head and killing him. The other freed slaves began to follow suit, striking at their former masters.

"Freedom!" Dany sang out. "Dracarys! Dracarys!"

"Dracarys!" the animals shouted back. They didn't know what it meant, but to them it meant freedom. "Dracarys! Dracarys!" It was the sweetest sound Dany had ever heard. All around, slavers ran and sobbed and begged and died, and the dusty air was filled with fire.