Tyra woke the next day, her eyes straying to the tent. A Marlfox came out of it, her eyes meeting Tyra's.

"Well, he did have the hare. Come on, hare, we're taking you and your friends back to Redwall." The Marlfox untied her from the tree, and again she bound the rope around Tyra and pulled her off.

The troops were in file, and Predak (Tyra guessed this must be her, obviously) motioned to Akhal to begin the march. In those few seconds before Predak began travelling at the back of the line, Tyra's eyes met with Katzey, Nicole, and Tulia over the crowd.

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Sassy choked on dust. It was hard doing this marching thing, but even harder in chains. She thought that the sooner they got to Redwall the better...but her thoughts turned to the ford, with the pike. She risked a glance towards the end of the lines, but only saw Predak. Tyra appeared to be marching with her head down, staring at the ground. Sassy wished that she could be back at Redwall, her thoughts straying to it, her face becoming absentminded.

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Katzey strode on, her powerful steps pulling everyone behind her, making them keep up. She looked strait ahead, over the heads of the vermin. She was the first to see Redwall.

Chapter 30

As soon as they reached the camp, Tyra was again forced off in another direction. And, as before, another tree served as the tying point. A few woodland slaves pitched Predak's tent for her, glancing sympathecticly at Tyra every now and then. Predak had gone off to survey the new catapults. Tyra was left alone.

Tyra jumped (as well as she could) when a rat strolled out of the underbrush. The woodland slaves began to edge away. He glanced at Tyra, and she immidiatly stared at the ground.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little hare who ran off seasons ago."

"Leave me alone, rat." Tyra said, a deathly glint in the downcast eyes.

"No," Eric replied, "I'm going to deal out the punishment."

Tyra didn't see what he pulled from behind his back, as her eyes were screwed tightly shut. All she felt was the stinging pains across her shoulders.

She winced and just kept from crying out. Just as the tenth one fell, Predak and Akhal entered the clearing. The woodland slaves scattered behind a tree, to peer out timidly.

"Leave her, Eric, you go also, Akhal," Predak said. Erick threw something down on the ground and left with Akhal.

Tyra felt the blood running down her back, and that was when she opened her eyes.

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"I can't believe they got Tyra!" Katzey exclaimed. It didn't help the mood much.

"Aye," Katze said, "And I admit that it was my fault."

"What?!" Sassy said, looking very confused.

"It was my fault that Predak seized Tyra. I told them where she was, and they took her the day after they took me for not delivering her. I told her to run."

"YOU TRAITOR!" Tulia screamed, drawing the attention of a lot of the vermin camped out. "WHY?! WHY?! HOW LONG HAD IF BEEN SINCE SHE BOUGHT YOU?! PROBABLY BACK WHEN CAMP TUSSOCK WAS BURNING, JUST TO SAVE YOUR OWN SKIN!" Katzey leaned across Sassy, Muddy and Vicy and clapped a paw over Tulia's mouth.

"Shhh...you'll get into trouble and probably killed!" The vermin finally got on with their lives after Tulia shut up.

"Yes. That's why I escaped beign thrown in the flames after I had rescured both Nicole there and Tyra." Nicole stared strait forward, silent. "Then Predak told me to take care of Nicole."

"Why you--" Muddy stammered, almost at the same time that Vicy said, "Bu-but..."

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Breton paced the gatehouse, worried as usual. His wife sighed.

"They still can't find them. I'm worried."

"I know. But they can't have been captured--"

The twin bells began to ring. Breton literally lept up the wall stairs and stared down at Eric's grinning face.

"What do you want, rat?"

Eric grinned wider, displaying a few missing teeth.

"Search throught that, woodlander." he said, "You'll be surprised at what you find." He disappeared.

Breton literally ripped open the bundle. Inside were seven things...a ripped piece of cloth from Kessa's apron; a small stick practice-raft that could only belong to Muddy; a polished water-stone he knew belonged to Vicy; a tail-ring belonging to Sassy; an emblem of Tulia's holt that she carried around with her; and then a ripped piece of embroidered habit he knew was his son, Tuthine's. As his eyes began to fill, he saw the final thing.

An exact replica of the medal that Tyra had left here.

They have them all, was his immidiate thought.