CHAPTER EIGHTEEN, CAPTURED BY TOADS
() Okay. My email is not working so I won't be able to tell the results of the "s/k" voting. But, as soon as it works, I will either post a chapter announcing the results and telling you what it is, or I will include it in a chaptero. The former is more likely than the latter, because these chapters have been getting PRETTY long lately. In a review, tell me if I should shorten these chapters. I know it is annoying to have to read super long chapters. So, since some of you are getting REALLY impatient, I'll stop this and get on with the story! ()
Varsha lifted her head from her paws. "What was that yell?"
The roar wrenched through the air again: "REDDDWAAAAAAAALL!"
"It's the Abbey's jolly ole war cry, wot!" exclaimed Majjit. He drew his sabre and waved it in the air. "Are we gonna stand 'round 'ere chattin' or will we help those in need!"
Varsha drew Flamebird. "The battle may be a while off. I could barely hear the yell. I only know that it was a male voice yelling something. I'm not even sure if you're saying that the word it was 'Redwall'."
Lilyblossom, Egua, and Koru all drew their weapons: an epee, a machete, and a sword. "You foller us, marm!" Egua told Varsha as she gripped her machete tightly. Majjit held his sabre in his left paw as he beckoned with his right paw for the other four to follow him. He cocked an ear to the West and nodded. "Thatta way, marm, wot!"
The four hares bounded off at top speed, with Varsha following behind as fast as she could. The badger's fastest speed could not match the speed of the slow trot of one of the hares. Varsha was fast for a badger her size, yet she was running slower than the hares as she crashed and bumbled after them, stumbling over tree roots and loam as the hares easily jumped over them.
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"Gerroff of Waterfish!" hollered Odell as he slapped away a toad with the large branch he was using for a weapon. Tiponya ripped away the toads with her beak and talons, but the toads were too many. The toad who looked to be the leader gave a croak. Toads croaked back and leapt at Tiponya's claws talons carrying mesh nets. Before anybeast could cry out a warning, the toads had wrapped up Tiponya's talons. As the Great Horned Owl spread her wings to fly away, she tripped and toads were immediately upon her, tying up her wings and her beak.
"TIPONYA! NO!" roared Riley. He bounded over to the toads. "NO! TIPONYA! OFF OF HER, YOU STUPID SLIMELY AMPHIBIANS! YOU STUPID SLIMELY AMPHIBIANS, OFF OF HER!"
"Help," cried Tiponya. "Riley, Odell, Waterfish, Fshio! Help me!"
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Waterfish heard muffled screams and yells in another world. She was slowly fading out of consciousness under the huge pile of toads suffocating her. She was still hacking and slashing with her dirk, but she could barely breathe and her grip was getting weaker.
"Odell," she whispered. She saw a toad face loom in front of her, and then the world went BLACK.
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The toads crawled off of Waterfish's unconscious form. Fshio, Riley, and Tiponya were bound with nets and Odell was still struggling, but the tridents had given him many wounds and his tree branch was ripped to shreds. Odell backed up against a redwood and gave a gasping breath. His eyelids flickered. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Waterfish's bleeding body, the dirk still clutched in her paws.
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"I swear that this's the spot, marm, I swear it!" panted Majjit, pointing his sabre wildly around. Lilyblossom crouched down and pawed at the ground, sniffing keenly.
"You're right, Majjit, wot. Look!" Lilyblossom held up a paw. The pure white fur was stained with red blood.
"How fresh d'you think the bally blood is?" asked Egua, coming over to squat next to Lilyblossom. Koru knelt on the ground and sniffed the blood.
"Hunh. This blood's about twenty minutes ole, wot wot wot wot wot wot wot! That's when the battle ended, I suppose." Korufylo Speechyard sniffed the air and trotted over to a redwood. "Why, lookit this ole tree! It's covered in blood, but different blood, not from the same beast, eh wot wot wot."
Lilyblossom leapt up, pointing at a thick, dark, blood red trail that led into the woods with her epee.
"Blood!" whispered Majjit. "Let's foller the bally trail."
Varsha nodded and the five quietly yet swiftly crept after the blood trail, wondering where it led.
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Cravvu flicked his tail. The crafty fox was trying to think up an idea for an attack, but the last plan had failed, so what's to say that his next plan would succeed?
"Hoi, Cravvu, what's the next plan?" called a jeering voice. A fishbone hit the side of Cravvu's head. Cravvu whirled around to see a stoat named Galea laughing especially hard as she held a fish in her paws.
"I suppose yew have a plan, d'you, Galea?" snarled Cravvu. Galea stood up, holding the fish in her paws.
"I suppose I do, Cravvu." Galea smirked back at the wily fox.
"Oh? And what is it?" asked the fox, feeling embarrassed that Galea, who had always been in the lower ranks, had a plan.
Galea beckoned Cravvu over. "Lissen closely, fox. Take the fishbone from yer lug."
Cravvu grew red as the horde laughed as he felt a fishbone in ear. He ripped it out.
"Now, 'm only gonna say it once, so lissen up!" Galea glanced around to make sure that the Redwallers weren't listening. "Okay, here it is..."
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Varsha froze when she saw where the blood trail led. Many who had tried to come to Salamandastron had met up with this fate.
Toads!
Varsha knew that these toads had a pit called the Screamhole. He sometimes contained an eel. This time, it contained two eels.
Two electric eels.
() But we all bleed the same way as you do/But we all have the same things to go throughHoolldd on, if you feel like lettin' go/Hoolldd on, it gets better than you know...()
)( Oh, whoops, sorry, this song was playing and I was listenin' to music as I typed. Or would it be I was listenin' to music as I typed and this song was playing? Oh well. Anyways, that's the chapter for now.
Y'know, it's strange, but...when I put out "Varsha's Truth", I thought, 'Okay, I'll probably have twenty chapteros for this storyo.' But, then, I realized...um, no, I realized nothing, actually, 'cepting that this is NOT gonna be twenty chapters and that I like writing a lot. Oh, and that I'm stuck in a car and that I've got a whole lot of time ahead of me so I'll write these chapters.
I'm not writing these chapters for you guys. I'm writing 'em for myself.
Okay, so I'm writing them for you guys...
But I'm still writin' 'em for me, toooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Will start Chapter Nineteen now. Okay? Okay. )(
() Okay. My email is not working so I won't be able to tell the results of the "s/k" voting. But, as soon as it works, I will either post a chapter announcing the results and telling you what it is, or I will include it in a chaptero. The former is more likely than the latter, because these chapters have been getting PRETTY long lately. In a review, tell me if I should shorten these chapters. I know it is annoying to have to read super long chapters. So, since some of you are getting REALLY impatient, I'll stop this and get on with the story! ()
Varsha lifted her head from her paws. "What was that yell?"
The roar wrenched through the air again: "REDDDWAAAAAAAALL!"
"It's the Abbey's jolly ole war cry, wot!" exclaimed Majjit. He drew his sabre and waved it in the air. "Are we gonna stand 'round 'ere chattin' or will we help those in need!"
Varsha drew Flamebird. "The battle may be a while off. I could barely hear the yell. I only know that it was a male voice yelling something. I'm not even sure if you're saying that the word it was 'Redwall'."
Lilyblossom, Egua, and Koru all drew their weapons: an epee, a machete, and a sword. "You foller us, marm!" Egua told Varsha as she gripped her machete tightly. Majjit held his sabre in his left paw as he beckoned with his right paw for the other four to follow him. He cocked an ear to the West and nodded. "Thatta way, marm, wot!"
The four hares bounded off at top speed, with Varsha following behind as fast as she could. The badger's fastest speed could not match the speed of the slow trot of one of the hares. Varsha was fast for a badger her size, yet she was running slower than the hares as she crashed and bumbled after them, stumbling over tree roots and loam as the hares easily jumped over them.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
"Gerroff of Waterfish!" hollered Odell as he slapped away a toad with the large branch he was using for a weapon. Tiponya ripped away the toads with her beak and talons, but the toads were too many. The toad who looked to be the leader gave a croak. Toads croaked back and leapt at Tiponya's claws talons carrying mesh nets. Before anybeast could cry out a warning, the toads had wrapped up Tiponya's talons. As the Great Horned Owl spread her wings to fly away, she tripped and toads were immediately upon her, tying up her wings and her beak.
"TIPONYA! NO!" roared Riley. He bounded over to the toads. "NO! TIPONYA! OFF OF HER, YOU STUPID SLIMELY AMPHIBIANS! YOU STUPID SLIMELY AMPHIBIANS, OFF OF HER!"
"Help," cried Tiponya. "Riley, Odell, Waterfish, Fshio! Help me!"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Waterfish heard muffled screams and yells in another world. She was slowly fading out of consciousness under the huge pile of toads suffocating her. She was still hacking and slashing with her dirk, but she could barely breathe and her grip was getting weaker.
"Odell," she whispered. She saw a toad face loom in front of her, and then the world went BLACK.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
The toads crawled off of Waterfish's unconscious form. Fshio, Riley, and Tiponya were bound with nets and Odell was still struggling, but the tridents had given him many wounds and his tree branch was ripped to shreds. Odell backed up against a redwood and gave a gasping breath. His eyelids flickered. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Waterfish's bleeding body, the dirk still clutched in her paws.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
"I swear that this's the spot, marm, I swear it!" panted Majjit, pointing his sabre wildly around. Lilyblossom crouched down and pawed at the ground, sniffing keenly.
"You're right, Majjit, wot. Look!" Lilyblossom held up a paw. The pure white fur was stained with red blood.
"How fresh d'you think the bally blood is?" asked Egua, coming over to squat next to Lilyblossom. Koru knelt on the ground and sniffed the blood.
"Hunh. This blood's about twenty minutes ole, wot wot wot wot wot wot wot! That's when the battle ended, I suppose." Korufylo Speechyard sniffed the air and trotted over to a redwood. "Why, lookit this ole tree! It's covered in blood, but different blood, not from the same beast, eh wot wot wot."
Lilyblossom leapt up, pointing at a thick, dark, blood red trail that led into the woods with her epee.
"Blood!" whispered Majjit. "Let's foller the bally trail."
Varsha nodded and the five quietly yet swiftly crept after the blood trail, wondering where it led.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Cravvu flicked his tail. The crafty fox was trying to think up an idea for an attack, but the last plan had failed, so what's to say that his next plan would succeed?
"Hoi, Cravvu, what's the next plan?" called a jeering voice. A fishbone hit the side of Cravvu's head. Cravvu whirled around to see a stoat named Galea laughing especially hard as she held a fish in her paws.
"I suppose yew have a plan, d'you, Galea?" snarled Cravvu. Galea stood up, holding the fish in her paws.
"I suppose I do, Cravvu." Galea smirked back at the wily fox.
"Oh? And what is it?" asked the fox, feeling embarrassed that Galea, who had always been in the lower ranks, had a plan.
Galea beckoned Cravvu over. "Lissen closely, fox. Take the fishbone from yer lug."
Cravvu grew red as the horde laughed as he felt a fishbone in ear. He ripped it out.
"Now, 'm only gonna say it once, so lissen up!" Galea glanced around to make sure that the Redwallers weren't listening. "Okay, here it is..."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Varsha froze when she saw where the blood trail led. Many who had tried to come to Salamandastron had met up with this fate.
Toads!
Varsha knew that these toads had a pit called the Screamhole. He sometimes contained an eel. This time, it contained two eels.
Two electric eels.
() But we all bleed the same way as you do/But we all have the same things to go throughHoolldd on, if you feel like lettin' go/Hoolldd on, it gets better than you know...()
)( Oh, whoops, sorry, this song was playing and I was listenin' to music as I typed. Or would it be I was listenin' to music as I typed and this song was playing? Oh well. Anyways, that's the chapter for now.
Y'know, it's strange, but...when I put out "Varsha's Truth", I thought, 'Okay, I'll probably have twenty chapteros for this storyo.' But, then, I realized...um, no, I realized nothing, actually, 'cepting that this is NOT gonna be twenty chapters and that I like writing a lot. Oh, and that I'm stuck in a car and that I've got a whole lot of time ahead of me so I'll write these chapters.
I'm not writing these chapters for you guys. I'm writing 'em for myself.
Okay, so I'm writing them for you guys...
But I'm still writin' 'em for me, toooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Will start Chapter Nineteen now. Okay? Okay. )(