Attacks from the Long Patrol had been frequent, but due to the
Stormbringer's leadership, losses had been far less than the first one, and
they were able to drive off the hares each time. They had been unable to
kill any more hares, but they were keeping the Patrollers at a distance,
and were marching steadily toward Salamandastron.
Danni walked up front with the Stormbringer, who seemed to be in a good mood that morning. They were a few paces ahead of every other beast, and all the vermin in this horde knew to leave the Stormbringer and his mate alone when they wanted privacy. He wore his cloak with the hood down, letting the wind sweep though fur that was almost as magnificent as his brother's. But he was nowhere near as muscular as Meist, and he was far less savage in both appearance and habit. Whereas Meist was built for combat, with a lust for battle and a mind suited for almost nothing other than killing, rage, and taking orders, the Stormbringer was a sly Stormrat. It was he who thought up the horde's battle plans, and his fighting style revolved around deception and stealth rather than brute force. But he wasn't afraid to fight an enemy in single combat, and probably stood a more than fair chance of besting the greatest of any woodlander.
"Nice day, isn't it, Danni?" asked the Stormbringer, smiling from beside her. He swept a paw around her waist and looked up at the blue sky. "I wish it were like this all the time. I promise you that when we've destroyed the Long Patrol and have captured Salamandastron and Redwall, we'll have many peaceful days like this. Remember the time we spent together a few seasons ago? I'd like to do that again..."
"So would I, Stormbringer," she said, smiling back at him. When she was with him, it was like they were in their own little world. If it hadn't been for his obligation to avenge the death of the other Stormrats, she was sure that they would be spending their life together somewhere quiet, instead of as a part of a vermin horde. But she was happy here, too, as long as he was there.
The Stormrat laughed. "You don't have to be so formal with me when there aren't any other beasts around to hear you," he said quietly, looking into her eyes. "I'd ask you to call me by my name all the time, but discipline needs to be maintained in my horde. But we're along now, Danni, and there's nothing to stop you from saying whatever you want to say."
"Well then, Sunai, let me say that after all this is through, I want to live away from battle for the rest of my life, with you by my side." Danni spun her dagger into the air and caught it with her paw, and her expression hardened. "And if anybeast gets in the way of that, they'll have a dagger through their throat."
Sunai grinned. "And they'd have my Stormbringer through their heart in no time at all. I wish I didn't have to do this, but I honestly think that if I didn't avenge my father's death, he'd haunt me. And I loved the rest of the Stormrats - not the way I loved you, but I still loved them. It would be an injustice to let their murderers go unpunished."
"You never told me how they died, Sunai," said Danni cautiously. When she and the Stormrat had met, and eventually gotten to know each other, he had mentioned that his family had been murdered, and mentioned his father's death with marked fury. But he had never told her anything specific about his father, and hadn't told her how he died. She had avoided bringing up the subject even though she was naturally curious about it, but it had nagged at her for a while now. And this seemed like a good time to bring it up if there was ever going to be one.
The Stormbringer was silent for several minutes, and Danni was afraid that she had offended him. She waited in silence for a few moments, afraid of provoking his wrath. But when Sunai spoke, his voice was low and sad, and only vaguely angry. Danni got the impression that his anger was not directed at her.
"My father was first in line to be commander of the Stormrat horde if the leader were to die. He was a fierce warrior, not as strong as my brother, but quick, cunning, and clever. He took it upon himself to play a major part in the siege of Salamandastron." Sunai smiled and touched the sword at his belt. "I was one of the rats that he assigned to keep watch. I was too young to be much good in a fight, but he said that I'd be an excellent sentry. I took offense, but I did my duty well. No hare got through our defensive lines while I was on duty."
"It was when I was getting off sentry duty and a ferret named Klaze was taking up the position that I was leaving that the beasts within Salamandastron finally made their move. They must have been watching us for a while, because they attacked the area where I was supposed to be watching just as I ended my shift. I managed to alert the rest of the camp, but they were slow in waking up. The badger slew about a score of our beasts before every one of us was fully awake.
"My father and two other Stormrats attacked the badger. The others organized the horde and attacked the hares and woodlanders. At the time, I bore a small blade, much smaller than my Stormbringer. I would have fought alongside the rest of the horde, but I realized that a swordsbeast of my size and experience would do little good to my companions. But I didn't run and hide. Instead, I picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows from a dead beast and hid in the shadows. I wasn't the best archer, but I managed to kill six hares before the battle was brought to a finish." From Sunai's exactness and the fire that burned in his eyes, Danni could tell that his memory of the battle had not faded with time.
"It was my father who managed to drive off the Stormrats. He scored the killing blow on the Badger Lord, and after that, the hares and woodlanders were quick to retreat. But at the battle's end, he found me in the shadows with my bow and arrow. I was already ashamed that I had gone to hide instead of drawing my sword, but he said he understood that. He had come to ask why I had not spotted the attack force when it came." He closed his eyes, but continued to walk and speak. "I said that I hadn't paid attention beyond the time my watch had ended. He said that what I said was the answer he would expect from a common soldier, not a Stormrat. He didn't punish me, but he told me to carry my sword with me at all times and assigned me another hour of practice sparring each day, even though we were placing a fortress under siege. He told me that a warrior should be vigilant at all times, and recommended that I stay out of combat until I was able to sense anybeast that might be sneaking up on me before they attacked. Needless to say, I could develop those skills quickly enough to be any assistance in the war."
Sunai's expression turned bitter. "But the worst part of the Stormrat War for me wasn't my failure to keep watch, nor was it our hasty march into Mossflower. It was when our horde was caught between two armies, and my father led a group of vermin to attack the army of hares and woodlanders. Nobeast on our side expected the hares to recognize him as the Stormrat who killed their Lord Sunforge, but at least one of the hares did. They swarmed him and the beasts who were with him, and killed every one of his companions. He slew many of the hares, but in the end, they closed around him so tightly that he couldn't move to fight, and one of them murdered him with a dagger through his heart.
"If I hadn't been ordered to stay away from the battle, I would've helped him. If I knew how to fight like I did today, I would've attacked the hares regardless of his orders." Sunai drew Stormbringer from its sheath, and slashed it through the air in front of him. He held the sword with both paws, and it moved with swiftness and careful control. "But I sat and waited as far away from the fighting as I could get, as I was ordered to, and when the order came to retreat, I went."
"Meist and I were the only Stormrats who made it to the ships. We ran for days, and the few vermin who survived ran the last distance out of desperation. I only survived because most of the vermin were between our pursuers and myself, and because I was stronger than the average vermin. Meist survived on brute strength alone, even though he had been fighting against the Guosim and the beasts of Mossflower since the beginning of the battle. We passed out when we made it to the ships, and if it hadn't been for a vixen who had stayed behind with the ships' guards when our horde left the ships, neither of us would've made it." Sunai rubbed his chest with his paw. "I thought my heart would burst, and if it hadn't been for her, it would've. She managed to slow it down, I'm not sure how. A pity that my brother killed her when he woke up. Many of the vermin on the ship he was on ended up dead, all because of his Bloodwrath."
"I'm glad you survived," said Danni gently, smiling at her mate. She fingered her dagger, and wondered if the vixen he had mentioned had even tried to defend herself against Meist. That won't happen to me, she vowed. There's no way a beast that stupid will kill me, no matter what state of mind he's in. "What happened between then and the time you came to my village?"
"I took command of the beasts that remained. Less than threescore, not including the oarslaves. But we managed to capture several vessels and recruit some of the beasts aboard them to our cause. The original ships' captains were killed and replaced with beasts I could trust, and any rebels were bound, weighted, and tossed into the sea. After we had about two hundred beasts in our fleet, we sailed far south along the coast. We landed west of your village, and came there after crossing over a range of mountains."
Danni smiled. "The Kariha Mountains. My village's sorcerers' used to make sacrifices to the spirits of that mountain. I always thought that was foolish, but they always seemed to get the results they wanted so nobeast questioned them. To this day, I still can't figure out how they did their tricks."
"I honestly don't think they were tricks, Danni," said Sunai, thinking back to the day his army had reached the village. Mice and squirrels lived in slavery against their will, but it seemed that there was no way for them to escape the sorcerers' clutches. And every vermin in the village lived in fear of the sorcerers' wrath. It was their fear that had inspired Sunai to free them. But somehow, the sorcerers had learned of Sunai's plan. When his army slept outside the village, they crept into his camp and managed to kill twoscore beasts before anybody noticed. To this day, Sunai could not explain how they had gotten past his sentries. The only explanation he could think of was magic.
But even magic couldn't stop his horde from capturing the village, and killing all beasts that did not swear obedience to him. Except for Danni, who refused to be treated as anything but an equal by the beasts in his horde. Originally, he had resisted her attempts to gain a higher rank in his horde, but since she was skilled in healing, he had allowed her to become the head healer. And when she convinced beasts Sunai's horde met on its journey to join the horde, he grudgingly gave her a position as one of his advisers. It was only after that point that he had fallen in love with her.
"What else could they have been?" asked Danni. She was a vixen skilled not only in healing, but in the art of deception. She knew that what most beasts thought of as magic was actually sleight of paw or mind tricks. Even when she was young and raised in a village filled with the fear of sorcerers, she didn't believe that they could actually use magic to harm the villagers. Poison and assassins, certainly, and maybe some roots and herbs that caused beasts to die sudden deaths.
"Magic," said Sunai simply. Seeing the doubt in his mate's face, he held out Stormbringer to her. "I forged this sword using magic metals from the hut of one of the sorcerers that ruled your village. I would've been unable to shape this metal at all if they hadn't left records of their studies. Unfortunately, only the one I used to forge this sword and one other survived. But this metal is unbreakable unless you know how to break it. Any other sword pales in comparison to this one."
Danni still doubted Sunai's words, thinking that the sorcerers must have tricked him somehow. But Sunai is as sly as any fox, and more cunning than most of them. I can't think of anything that would trick him... so could he be right?
The vixen pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, and Sunai sheathed Stormbringer. "Only a day's march until we reach Salamandastron," he said, his eyes gleaming in anticipation. "I'll see every last one of those Long Patrol hares dead."
~~~
"Abbess Elm and Jacob want to see us?" asked Ellen, looking up from the book she and Luc were hunched over to glare at Retherin. Even though he wasn't the one who had decided to take the two young squirrels away from their sanctuary in the gatehouse, they were both annoyed at the interruption. Luc took it well, since he read a lot and a few hours wouldn't matter. But he could tell that Ellen was more angry than even her extreme annoyance was letting on.
"You can always read another time, Ellen," said Luc, placing a paw on Ellen's shoulder. The squirrelmaid glared at him and seemed about to snap at him. But she got a hold of her emotions and nodded in assent. But she seemed downcast, and more than a bit disappointed.
"There's some other news, too," said Retherin. "The reason we were drugged is that Gormin, Cain, and Jacob wanted to sway the votes of the beasts here towards going to war rather than staying at Redwall and defending it. Jacob says that if the rest of Redwall learned of what happened to us out in Mossflower, the vote would probably have been swayed against war. I think he's right. But that doesn't make what he did right..."
"War?" asked Luc, confused. "What's this about war? When we left Redwall, there wasn't any talk about war with anybeast? What happened?"
"Remember the hare that came to Redwall on the stormy night? She brought a message from Lord Rocketh at Salamandastron asking us to send warriors to help them fight off a horde led by a Stormrat. Gormin and Cain realized when they saw us at the gates that if we told the rest of Redwall what happened with the ferrets, the vote would go against sending beasts to war. They convinced Jacob to keep us drugged here in the gatehouse until the vote had passed." Retherin shook his head and sighed. "My friends... the otters that died, their parents already left with Skipper. Abbess Elm has already said that she'll have Cain and Gormin exiled when they return from the war."
Luc's eyes widened. "What about Jacob? Has the Abbess said what she plans to do to Jacob?"
"I don't think she's going to exile him," said Retherin. "Even though he was the beast who drugged us, he says that it was Cain who came up with the plan and the concoction that kept us asleep and that it was Jacob who convinced him to keep us asleep. Jacob says that he is just as much to blame as the rest of them, but the Abbess doesn't agree with him."
Luc was certain that both Ellen and Retherin could detect his relief at that, but neither of them said anything. After a short silence, Ellen stood up from the books she was hunched over and turned toward the door. "Let's go, Luc. If the Abbess wants to see us, there has to be a reason." Luc stood too, and followed Ellen out the door after she cast a glare at Retherin. The otter looked offended, but followed the squirrels out of the gatehouse.
Most of the beasts that the trio ran into on their way to Cavern Hole looked at them curiously, but seeing Ellen's bad temper and the whole group's urgency, they let them move without stopping them or questioning them. Retherin and Ellen walked past the tapestry of Martin without so much as a glance. Luc, though, stopped and started at the mouse until Ellen yelled for him to keep walking.
In Cavern Hole, Jacob was seated across the table from Abbess Elm, Sister Rain, and a hard-faced otter. Kiran stood beside Jacob, gazing solemnly at the Abbess, Sister Rain, and the otter. Jacob was gazing sullenly at the table, and Sister Rain and the otter were glaring at him. The Abbess's expression was neutral, but Luc could somehow tell that she was doing her best to maintain the peace between the beasts in Cavern Hole.
"Finally, we'll have a fresh point of view!" exclaimed Sister Rain, turning to look at the squirrels. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ellen. "Thank gosh you're safe, my friend!" she said dramatically, getting out of her chair and spreading her arms out toward Ellen.
Ellen had always seemed to respect Sister Rain. Not only had she volunteered freely to be the apprentice Infirmary Keeper, she had seemed to enjoy every minute of it, aside from the extra chores that she tried to get Andrew and Luc to help her with. But when she answered Sister Rain, her voice was full of disdain.
"I'm glad you were worried, Sister. Every squirrelmaid needs a bigger beast to take care of her." Luc might have passed off her annoyance at her bad mood, but there was something in her eyes that told him that it was directed specifically at Sister Rain.
"Just because I'm a healer doesn't mean I'm better than any other beast in this Abbey," continued Ellen angrily. Luc's eyes widened in surprise; that was not something he would expect to hear from someone as headstrong as Ellen. "There are plenty of beasts here that are just as sensible as you are, Sister. I'm sick of sitting in the Infirmary and listening to you degrade everybody else in this Abbey! I'm not putting up with it anymore! I quit!"
Sister Rain broke the shocked silence that followed with her screeching protests. "You ungrateful brat! I never said anything like that! And even if I had, there's no way you could keep your mouth shut about it this long!"
The beasts in Cavern Hole stared at Sister Rain and Ellen. Luc's eyes widened as he heard his friend's words; he had no doubt that she spoke the truth. Sister Rain was the type of beast that would consider herself above others just because she was the Infirmary Keeper and knew more about healing than she did. Thinking back, he remembered that Ellen had often been in a sour mood when she came out of the Infirmary, even though she tried her best to hide it from everybeast. But why was she discrediting Sister Rain now, rather than some other time?
"Ungrateful? Should I be grateful to you for trying to turn me against the rest of Redwall?" Ellen glared at Sister Rain, and Luc heard something in Ellen's words that spoke volumes to him, though he couldn't place what it was.
"That's enough!" said Abbess Elm sharply, rapping her paw on the table. "We will keep this discussion civilized! Ellen, there is no excuse to speak to your elders as you did, especially in the presence of other Redwallers. And Sister Rain, I thought you had better self control than you've shown here. Now let us get to the matter at hand. Luc, you and Ellen departed for a journey into Mossflower Wood. Why?"
"Sister Rain told Ellen to go pick some herbs for her, and she wanted me to come along with her," said Luc.
"And what did you do from there?" asked the otter, who Luc now recognized as a beast name Kyle. "Kiran and Retherin were able to tell us how they ran into you, but why were you in their path?"
"We rested up a bit, and then started walking home," said Ellen, speaking before Luc could open his mouth. He glanced at his friend, but she didn't seem to notice. "Kiran and Retherin met us on the path we were following, and when we ended up hiding in the bushes, we heard the ferrets talk about eating the two otters they had slain."
Sister Rain glared at Jacob, long and hard. The recorder was able to meet her gaze, but not without flinching. The Infirmary Keeper's face was like poison to look at, and the fury she was showing would have been enough to make a beast explode. "You drugged these beasts and made them stay in your crummy gatehouse after they went through all that? You call yourself a Redwaller?"
"He did the best he could do!" said Luc, leaping to his mentor's defense. Jacob looked over at him, and gave him a small smile in gratitude. "What else was he supposed to do? Let the Long Patrol die and leave Mossflower defenseless? And it wasn't he who made the decision to drug us. It was Gormin, and Cain. And they can't really be faulted, either, for taking steps to secure a single decision from a divided Abbey."
"What do you mean, divided Abbey?" asked Sister Rain. "This Abbey is as united as it has ever been. Just as long as everybeast lets Abbess Elm and us older beasts do as we know best, nothing will go wrong." The Infirmary Keeper glared at Ellen. "Don't you tell me what I should and shouldn't do, little girl. I'm older than you, I've been alive longer, and I am..."
"Sister Rain, either leave, or I'll have Kyle take you out of here." Abbess Elm glared at Sister Rain, and the healer bowed her head and walked out of Cavern Hole. Luc looked at Ellen and tried to read her expression, but other than disgust, he couldn't see anything in her face that he could understand.
"Luc, Ellen, Kiran, and Retherin, it will be up to each of you to decide what will happen to Jacob," said Abbess Elm. "Tell Kyle and I what you think his punishment should be."
"What about Gormin and Cain?" asked Kiran.
"Their punishments have already been decided," answered Abbess Elm. "Those two will be exiled from the Abbey. But since Jacob was the beast who kept you drugged, we think that you should decide his punishment. Remember that while your answers may be debated by other beasts, they will determine Jacob's fate. This isn't a game. Do each of you understand the seriousness of what you're being asked to do?"
All four youngbeasts nodded solemnly. "Alright then, let us begin. Luc, you first. What do you believe Jacob's punishment should be?"
"I don't think he should be punished," said Luc. His decision was based mostly on the fact that he liked the recorder, but he felt that if he based his decision completely on that, he would be ridiculed by the other beasts. "He did what he thought was best for Redwall, and there is no shame in that. If I were able, I would lessen Gormin and Cain's sentences as well." The words began flowing from somewhere outside of Luc; from where, he could not guess. "They were trying to find a way around the division within this Abbey, and if they could've united the Abbey and convinced them to go to war, they would have. But they couldn't, and they did the next best thing - leading beasts east for the good of Mossflower Country and Salamandastron. Their methods may have been dishonorable, but if the Abbey was not divided into separate factions, they wouldn't have had to do what they did."
"You say this Abbey is divided into factions?" asked Abbess Elm, looking concerned. "What makes you think this, Luc? Is there any evidence that Redwall is splitting apart?"
"There's Sister Lane, and the way she was acting before you told her to leave. You might not think I have the right to criticize the actions of one of my elders, but I think that she's completely wrong in the way she thinks. I don't doubt that what Ellen was accusing her of saying was actually said. Other than that... I don't have anything else to back up my thoughts, but somehow I know." Luc felt confused, but there was a strong feeling within him, almost like a memory, that told him he was right. "I didn't think this before, but I know now."
"The ballot was almost too close to call, and that says something on its own. In the past, Redwallers would stick together and support each other, even when they didn't approve of the actions of the Abbey." Jacob looked up sadly He hadn't been invited to speak, but something compelled him to explain his actions. "Without Salamandastron in the way of the vermin horde, this Abbey would almost certainly perish. There is nobeast who could unite all of Redwall into one present either here at the Abbey or with the warriors marching east. At first I didn't think that Gormin, Cain, and I were doing the right thing, but now I see that it's the straightest path, even if what we must do may go against somebeasts."
"I agree with Luc," said Ellen. "And Jacob. Sister Rain tried to convince me that I was better than the other beasts living here in Redwall, and I was tempted to believe her. But I knew better than that. Before my parents died, they taught me that everybeast is born equal, and unless they do something that would take away their right to be called a goodbeast, they stay that way. Jacob should not be punished, since he, Gormin, and Cain were merely trying to overcome the division that beasts like Sister Rain were trying to create."
Luc had never heard Ellen speak so calmly before, but was glad of it now. So far, there were two beasts voting to let Jacob walk free.
Kiran shattered Luc's hopes, though. "I can't forgive Jacob for hidin' the deaths of my mates from their families. After they've beaten back the vermin horde and come home victorious, they'll expect t' be greeted by their children. But instead of a happy greeting, they'll find that their young 'uns are dead, murdered by ferrets. Doin' that to a beast is an unforgivable crime, an' although it was the ferrets who killed my friends, the three beasts who plotted to conceal their deaths from the rest of the Abbey only made the pain worse. I ask that Jacob be exiled from Redwall, and commanded never to return." After glaring menacingly at the recorder, he looked toward the wall and kept his gaze away from the rest of the proceedings.
Retherin was the last beast to cast his vote. "I agree with Kiran that Jacob increased the pain of my mateys' families, and for that, he cannot be easily forgiven. But as Luc has said, they did the right thing. I ask that Jacob be confined to his gatehouse until his accomplices return and are punished."
Abbess Elm agreed immediately with Retherin. "Young otter, your solution seems to be the most reasonable that I've heard. Recorder Jacob, you are ordered to remain in the gatehouse until Gormin and Cain are sentenced. You will not step outside its walls. Once you are freed from your confinement, your trial will be held anew, before the entire Abbey."
Jacob smiled sadly. "I'll be getting back to the gatehouse, then. I know that what Gormin, Cain, and I did was wrong, but I still believe that we took the best path possible." Then he stood, and walked for the stairs of Cavern Hole.
After a few moments of hesitation, Luc hurried after him. The other beasts in Cavern Hole seemed surprised, but he didn't stop running until he had caught up with Jacob. "I'm sorry," the recorder mumbled when Luc came up beside him. "If I could think of any other way, I would not have kept you drugged."
"I forgive you," said Luc. "It doesn't make what you did right, but it should ease your conscience a bit. Let's organize those records in the gatehouse. They've been gathering dust for quite a while."
Luc and Jacob had only spent a few minutes on this task when Ellen joined them. Luc looked up at her, and was pleased to see her smile at him. "Let me give you two a hand," she muttered, and set about sorting through Redwall's histories.
Danni walked up front with the Stormbringer, who seemed to be in a good mood that morning. They were a few paces ahead of every other beast, and all the vermin in this horde knew to leave the Stormbringer and his mate alone when they wanted privacy. He wore his cloak with the hood down, letting the wind sweep though fur that was almost as magnificent as his brother's. But he was nowhere near as muscular as Meist, and he was far less savage in both appearance and habit. Whereas Meist was built for combat, with a lust for battle and a mind suited for almost nothing other than killing, rage, and taking orders, the Stormbringer was a sly Stormrat. It was he who thought up the horde's battle plans, and his fighting style revolved around deception and stealth rather than brute force. But he wasn't afraid to fight an enemy in single combat, and probably stood a more than fair chance of besting the greatest of any woodlander.
"Nice day, isn't it, Danni?" asked the Stormbringer, smiling from beside her. He swept a paw around her waist and looked up at the blue sky. "I wish it were like this all the time. I promise you that when we've destroyed the Long Patrol and have captured Salamandastron and Redwall, we'll have many peaceful days like this. Remember the time we spent together a few seasons ago? I'd like to do that again..."
"So would I, Stormbringer," she said, smiling back at him. When she was with him, it was like they were in their own little world. If it hadn't been for his obligation to avenge the death of the other Stormrats, she was sure that they would be spending their life together somewhere quiet, instead of as a part of a vermin horde. But she was happy here, too, as long as he was there.
The Stormrat laughed. "You don't have to be so formal with me when there aren't any other beasts around to hear you," he said quietly, looking into her eyes. "I'd ask you to call me by my name all the time, but discipline needs to be maintained in my horde. But we're along now, Danni, and there's nothing to stop you from saying whatever you want to say."
"Well then, Sunai, let me say that after all this is through, I want to live away from battle for the rest of my life, with you by my side." Danni spun her dagger into the air and caught it with her paw, and her expression hardened. "And if anybeast gets in the way of that, they'll have a dagger through their throat."
Sunai grinned. "And they'd have my Stormbringer through their heart in no time at all. I wish I didn't have to do this, but I honestly think that if I didn't avenge my father's death, he'd haunt me. And I loved the rest of the Stormrats - not the way I loved you, but I still loved them. It would be an injustice to let their murderers go unpunished."
"You never told me how they died, Sunai," said Danni cautiously. When she and the Stormrat had met, and eventually gotten to know each other, he had mentioned that his family had been murdered, and mentioned his father's death with marked fury. But he had never told her anything specific about his father, and hadn't told her how he died. She had avoided bringing up the subject even though she was naturally curious about it, but it had nagged at her for a while now. And this seemed like a good time to bring it up if there was ever going to be one.
The Stormbringer was silent for several minutes, and Danni was afraid that she had offended him. She waited in silence for a few moments, afraid of provoking his wrath. But when Sunai spoke, his voice was low and sad, and only vaguely angry. Danni got the impression that his anger was not directed at her.
"My father was first in line to be commander of the Stormrat horde if the leader were to die. He was a fierce warrior, not as strong as my brother, but quick, cunning, and clever. He took it upon himself to play a major part in the siege of Salamandastron." Sunai smiled and touched the sword at his belt. "I was one of the rats that he assigned to keep watch. I was too young to be much good in a fight, but he said that I'd be an excellent sentry. I took offense, but I did my duty well. No hare got through our defensive lines while I was on duty."
"It was when I was getting off sentry duty and a ferret named Klaze was taking up the position that I was leaving that the beasts within Salamandastron finally made their move. They must have been watching us for a while, because they attacked the area where I was supposed to be watching just as I ended my shift. I managed to alert the rest of the camp, but they were slow in waking up. The badger slew about a score of our beasts before every one of us was fully awake.
"My father and two other Stormrats attacked the badger. The others organized the horde and attacked the hares and woodlanders. At the time, I bore a small blade, much smaller than my Stormbringer. I would have fought alongside the rest of the horde, but I realized that a swordsbeast of my size and experience would do little good to my companions. But I didn't run and hide. Instead, I picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows from a dead beast and hid in the shadows. I wasn't the best archer, but I managed to kill six hares before the battle was brought to a finish." From Sunai's exactness and the fire that burned in his eyes, Danni could tell that his memory of the battle had not faded with time.
"It was my father who managed to drive off the Stormrats. He scored the killing blow on the Badger Lord, and after that, the hares and woodlanders were quick to retreat. But at the battle's end, he found me in the shadows with my bow and arrow. I was already ashamed that I had gone to hide instead of drawing my sword, but he said he understood that. He had come to ask why I had not spotted the attack force when it came." He closed his eyes, but continued to walk and speak. "I said that I hadn't paid attention beyond the time my watch had ended. He said that what I said was the answer he would expect from a common soldier, not a Stormrat. He didn't punish me, but he told me to carry my sword with me at all times and assigned me another hour of practice sparring each day, even though we were placing a fortress under siege. He told me that a warrior should be vigilant at all times, and recommended that I stay out of combat until I was able to sense anybeast that might be sneaking up on me before they attacked. Needless to say, I could develop those skills quickly enough to be any assistance in the war."
Sunai's expression turned bitter. "But the worst part of the Stormrat War for me wasn't my failure to keep watch, nor was it our hasty march into Mossflower. It was when our horde was caught between two armies, and my father led a group of vermin to attack the army of hares and woodlanders. Nobeast on our side expected the hares to recognize him as the Stormrat who killed their Lord Sunforge, but at least one of the hares did. They swarmed him and the beasts who were with him, and killed every one of his companions. He slew many of the hares, but in the end, they closed around him so tightly that he couldn't move to fight, and one of them murdered him with a dagger through his heart.
"If I hadn't been ordered to stay away from the battle, I would've helped him. If I knew how to fight like I did today, I would've attacked the hares regardless of his orders." Sunai drew Stormbringer from its sheath, and slashed it through the air in front of him. He held the sword with both paws, and it moved with swiftness and careful control. "But I sat and waited as far away from the fighting as I could get, as I was ordered to, and when the order came to retreat, I went."
"Meist and I were the only Stormrats who made it to the ships. We ran for days, and the few vermin who survived ran the last distance out of desperation. I only survived because most of the vermin were between our pursuers and myself, and because I was stronger than the average vermin. Meist survived on brute strength alone, even though he had been fighting against the Guosim and the beasts of Mossflower since the beginning of the battle. We passed out when we made it to the ships, and if it hadn't been for a vixen who had stayed behind with the ships' guards when our horde left the ships, neither of us would've made it." Sunai rubbed his chest with his paw. "I thought my heart would burst, and if it hadn't been for her, it would've. She managed to slow it down, I'm not sure how. A pity that my brother killed her when he woke up. Many of the vermin on the ship he was on ended up dead, all because of his Bloodwrath."
"I'm glad you survived," said Danni gently, smiling at her mate. She fingered her dagger, and wondered if the vixen he had mentioned had even tried to defend herself against Meist. That won't happen to me, she vowed. There's no way a beast that stupid will kill me, no matter what state of mind he's in. "What happened between then and the time you came to my village?"
"I took command of the beasts that remained. Less than threescore, not including the oarslaves. But we managed to capture several vessels and recruit some of the beasts aboard them to our cause. The original ships' captains were killed and replaced with beasts I could trust, and any rebels were bound, weighted, and tossed into the sea. After we had about two hundred beasts in our fleet, we sailed far south along the coast. We landed west of your village, and came there after crossing over a range of mountains."
Danni smiled. "The Kariha Mountains. My village's sorcerers' used to make sacrifices to the spirits of that mountain. I always thought that was foolish, but they always seemed to get the results they wanted so nobeast questioned them. To this day, I still can't figure out how they did their tricks."
"I honestly don't think they were tricks, Danni," said Sunai, thinking back to the day his army had reached the village. Mice and squirrels lived in slavery against their will, but it seemed that there was no way for them to escape the sorcerers' clutches. And every vermin in the village lived in fear of the sorcerers' wrath. It was their fear that had inspired Sunai to free them. But somehow, the sorcerers had learned of Sunai's plan. When his army slept outside the village, they crept into his camp and managed to kill twoscore beasts before anybody noticed. To this day, Sunai could not explain how they had gotten past his sentries. The only explanation he could think of was magic.
But even magic couldn't stop his horde from capturing the village, and killing all beasts that did not swear obedience to him. Except for Danni, who refused to be treated as anything but an equal by the beasts in his horde. Originally, he had resisted her attempts to gain a higher rank in his horde, but since she was skilled in healing, he had allowed her to become the head healer. And when she convinced beasts Sunai's horde met on its journey to join the horde, he grudgingly gave her a position as one of his advisers. It was only after that point that he had fallen in love with her.
"What else could they have been?" asked Danni. She was a vixen skilled not only in healing, but in the art of deception. She knew that what most beasts thought of as magic was actually sleight of paw or mind tricks. Even when she was young and raised in a village filled with the fear of sorcerers, she didn't believe that they could actually use magic to harm the villagers. Poison and assassins, certainly, and maybe some roots and herbs that caused beasts to die sudden deaths.
"Magic," said Sunai simply. Seeing the doubt in his mate's face, he held out Stormbringer to her. "I forged this sword using magic metals from the hut of one of the sorcerers that ruled your village. I would've been unable to shape this metal at all if they hadn't left records of their studies. Unfortunately, only the one I used to forge this sword and one other survived. But this metal is unbreakable unless you know how to break it. Any other sword pales in comparison to this one."
Danni still doubted Sunai's words, thinking that the sorcerers must have tricked him somehow. But Sunai is as sly as any fox, and more cunning than most of them. I can't think of anything that would trick him... so could he be right?
The vixen pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, and Sunai sheathed Stormbringer. "Only a day's march until we reach Salamandastron," he said, his eyes gleaming in anticipation. "I'll see every last one of those Long Patrol hares dead."
~~~
"Abbess Elm and Jacob want to see us?" asked Ellen, looking up from the book she and Luc were hunched over to glare at Retherin. Even though he wasn't the one who had decided to take the two young squirrels away from their sanctuary in the gatehouse, they were both annoyed at the interruption. Luc took it well, since he read a lot and a few hours wouldn't matter. But he could tell that Ellen was more angry than even her extreme annoyance was letting on.
"You can always read another time, Ellen," said Luc, placing a paw on Ellen's shoulder. The squirrelmaid glared at him and seemed about to snap at him. But she got a hold of her emotions and nodded in assent. But she seemed downcast, and more than a bit disappointed.
"There's some other news, too," said Retherin. "The reason we were drugged is that Gormin, Cain, and Jacob wanted to sway the votes of the beasts here towards going to war rather than staying at Redwall and defending it. Jacob says that if the rest of Redwall learned of what happened to us out in Mossflower, the vote would probably have been swayed against war. I think he's right. But that doesn't make what he did right..."
"War?" asked Luc, confused. "What's this about war? When we left Redwall, there wasn't any talk about war with anybeast? What happened?"
"Remember the hare that came to Redwall on the stormy night? She brought a message from Lord Rocketh at Salamandastron asking us to send warriors to help them fight off a horde led by a Stormrat. Gormin and Cain realized when they saw us at the gates that if we told the rest of Redwall what happened with the ferrets, the vote would go against sending beasts to war. They convinced Jacob to keep us drugged here in the gatehouse until the vote had passed." Retherin shook his head and sighed. "My friends... the otters that died, their parents already left with Skipper. Abbess Elm has already said that she'll have Cain and Gormin exiled when they return from the war."
Luc's eyes widened. "What about Jacob? Has the Abbess said what she plans to do to Jacob?"
"I don't think she's going to exile him," said Retherin. "Even though he was the beast who drugged us, he says that it was Cain who came up with the plan and the concoction that kept us asleep and that it was Jacob who convinced him to keep us asleep. Jacob says that he is just as much to blame as the rest of them, but the Abbess doesn't agree with him."
Luc was certain that both Ellen and Retherin could detect his relief at that, but neither of them said anything. After a short silence, Ellen stood up from the books she was hunched over and turned toward the door. "Let's go, Luc. If the Abbess wants to see us, there has to be a reason." Luc stood too, and followed Ellen out the door after she cast a glare at Retherin. The otter looked offended, but followed the squirrels out of the gatehouse.
Most of the beasts that the trio ran into on their way to Cavern Hole looked at them curiously, but seeing Ellen's bad temper and the whole group's urgency, they let them move without stopping them or questioning them. Retherin and Ellen walked past the tapestry of Martin without so much as a glance. Luc, though, stopped and started at the mouse until Ellen yelled for him to keep walking.
In Cavern Hole, Jacob was seated across the table from Abbess Elm, Sister Rain, and a hard-faced otter. Kiran stood beside Jacob, gazing solemnly at the Abbess, Sister Rain, and the otter. Jacob was gazing sullenly at the table, and Sister Rain and the otter were glaring at him. The Abbess's expression was neutral, but Luc could somehow tell that she was doing her best to maintain the peace between the beasts in Cavern Hole.
"Finally, we'll have a fresh point of view!" exclaimed Sister Rain, turning to look at the squirrels. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ellen. "Thank gosh you're safe, my friend!" she said dramatically, getting out of her chair and spreading her arms out toward Ellen.
Ellen had always seemed to respect Sister Rain. Not only had she volunteered freely to be the apprentice Infirmary Keeper, she had seemed to enjoy every minute of it, aside from the extra chores that she tried to get Andrew and Luc to help her with. But when she answered Sister Rain, her voice was full of disdain.
"I'm glad you were worried, Sister. Every squirrelmaid needs a bigger beast to take care of her." Luc might have passed off her annoyance at her bad mood, but there was something in her eyes that told him that it was directed specifically at Sister Rain.
"Just because I'm a healer doesn't mean I'm better than any other beast in this Abbey," continued Ellen angrily. Luc's eyes widened in surprise; that was not something he would expect to hear from someone as headstrong as Ellen. "There are plenty of beasts here that are just as sensible as you are, Sister. I'm sick of sitting in the Infirmary and listening to you degrade everybody else in this Abbey! I'm not putting up with it anymore! I quit!"
Sister Rain broke the shocked silence that followed with her screeching protests. "You ungrateful brat! I never said anything like that! And even if I had, there's no way you could keep your mouth shut about it this long!"
The beasts in Cavern Hole stared at Sister Rain and Ellen. Luc's eyes widened as he heard his friend's words; he had no doubt that she spoke the truth. Sister Rain was the type of beast that would consider herself above others just because she was the Infirmary Keeper and knew more about healing than she did. Thinking back, he remembered that Ellen had often been in a sour mood when she came out of the Infirmary, even though she tried her best to hide it from everybeast. But why was she discrediting Sister Rain now, rather than some other time?
"Ungrateful? Should I be grateful to you for trying to turn me against the rest of Redwall?" Ellen glared at Sister Rain, and Luc heard something in Ellen's words that spoke volumes to him, though he couldn't place what it was.
"That's enough!" said Abbess Elm sharply, rapping her paw on the table. "We will keep this discussion civilized! Ellen, there is no excuse to speak to your elders as you did, especially in the presence of other Redwallers. And Sister Rain, I thought you had better self control than you've shown here. Now let us get to the matter at hand. Luc, you and Ellen departed for a journey into Mossflower Wood. Why?"
"Sister Rain told Ellen to go pick some herbs for her, and she wanted me to come along with her," said Luc.
"And what did you do from there?" asked the otter, who Luc now recognized as a beast name Kyle. "Kiran and Retherin were able to tell us how they ran into you, but why were you in their path?"
"We rested up a bit, and then started walking home," said Ellen, speaking before Luc could open his mouth. He glanced at his friend, but she didn't seem to notice. "Kiran and Retherin met us on the path we were following, and when we ended up hiding in the bushes, we heard the ferrets talk about eating the two otters they had slain."
Sister Rain glared at Jacob, long and hard. The recorder was able to meet her gaze, but not without flinching. The Infirmary Keeper's face was like poison to look at, and the fury she was showing would have been enough to make a beast explode. "You drugged these beasts and made them stay in your crummy gatehouse after they went through all that? You call yourself a Redwaller?"
"He did the best he could do!" said Luc, leaping to his mentor's defense. Jacob looked over at him, and gave him a small smile in gratitude. "What else was he supposed to do? Let the Long Patrol die and leave Mossflower defenseless? And it wasn't he who made the decision to drug us. It was Gormin, and Cain. And they can't really be faulted, either, for taking steps to secure a single decision from a divided Abbey."
"What do you mean, divided Abbey?" asked Sister Rain. "This Abbey is as united as it has ever been. Just as long as everybeast lets Abbess Elm and us older beasts do as we know best, nothing will go wrong." The Infirmary Keeper glared at Ellen. "Don't you tell me what I should and shouldn't do, little girl. I'm older than you, I've been alive longer, and I am..."
"Sister Rain, either leave, or I'll have Kyle take you out of here." Abbess Elm glared at Sister Rain, and the healer bowed her head and walked out of Cavern Hole. Luc looked at Ellen and tried to read her expression, but other than disgust, he couldn't see anything in her face that he could understand.
"Luc, Ellen, Kiran, and Retherin, it will be up to each of you to decide what will happen to Jacob," said Abbess Elm. "Tell Kyle and I what you think his punishment should be."
"What about Gormin and Cain?" asked Kiran.
"Their punishments have already been decided," answered Abbess Elm. "Those two will be exiled from the Abbey. But since Jacob was the beast who kept you drugged, we think that you should decide his punishment. Remember that while your answers may be debated by other beasts, they will determine Jacob's fate. This isn't a game. Do each of you understand the seriousness of what you're being asked to do?"
All four youngbeasts nodded solemnly. "Alright then, let us begin. Luc, you first. What do you believe Jacob's punishment should be?"
"I don't think he should be punished," said Luc. His decision was based mostly on the fact that he liked the recorder, but he felt that if he based his decision completely on that, he would be ridiculed by the other beasts. "He did what he thought was best for Redwall, and there is no shame in that. If I were able, I would lessen Gormin and Cain's sentences as well." The words began flowing from somewhere outside of Luc; from where, he could not guess. "They were trying to find a way around the division within this Abbey, and if they could've united the Abbey and convinced them to go to war, they would have. But they couldn't, and they did the next best thing - leading beasts east for the good of Mossflower Country and Salamandastron. Their methods may have been dishonorable, but if the Abbey was not divided into separate factions, they wouldn't have had to do what they did."
"You say this Abbey is divided into factions?" asked Abbess Elm, looking concerned. "What makes you think this, Luc? Is there any evidence that Redwall is splitting apart?"
"There's Sister Lane, and the way she was acting before you told her to leave. You might not think I have the right to criticize the actions of one of my elders, but I think that she's completely wrong in the way she thinks. I don't doubt that what Ellen was accusing her of saying was actually said. Other than that... I don't have anything else to back up my thoughts, but somehow I know." Luc felt confused, but there was a strong feeling within him, almost like a memory, that told him he was right. "I didn't think this before, but I know now."
"The ballot was almost too close to call, and that says something on its own. In the past, Redwallers would stick together and support each other, even when they didn't approve of the actions of the Abbey." Jacob looked up sadly He hadn't been invited to speak, but something compelled him to explain his actions. "Without Salamandastron in the way of the vermin horde, this Abbey would almost certainly perish. There is nobeast who could unite all of Redwall into one present either here at the Abbey or with the warriors marching east. At first I didn't think that Gormin, Cain, and I were doing the right thing, but now I see that it's the straightest path, even if what we must do may go against somebeasts."
"I agree with Luc," said Ellen. "And Jacob. Sister Rain tried to convince me that I was better than the other beasts living here in Redwall, and I was tempted to believe her. But I knew better than that. Before my parents died, they taught me that everybeast is born equal, and unless they do something that would take away their right to be called a goodbeast, they stay that way. Jacob should not be punished, since he, Gormin, and Cain were merely trying to overcome the division that beasts like Sister Rain were trying to create."
Luc had never heard Ellen speak so calmly before, but was glad of it now. So far, there were two beasts voting to let Jacob walk free.
Kiran shattered Luc's hopes, though. "I can't forgive Jacob for hidin' the deaths of my mates from their families. After they've beaten back the vermin horde and come home victorious, they'll expect t' be greeted by their children. But instead of a happy greeting, they'll find that their young 'uns are dead, murdered by ferrets. Doin' that to a beast is an unforgivable crime, an' although it was the ferrets who killed my friends, the three beasts who plotted to conceal their deaths from the rest of the Abbey only made the pain worse. I ask that Jacob be exiled from Redwall, and commanded never to return." After glaring menacingly at the recorder, he looked toward the wall and kept his gaze away from the rest of the proceedings.
Retherin was the last beast to cast his vote. "I agree with Kiran that Jacob increased the pain of my mateys' families, and for that, he cannot be easily forgiven. But as Luc has said, they did the right thing. I ask that Jacob be confined to his gatehouse until his accomplices return and are punished."
Abbess Elm agreed immediately with Retherin. "Young otter, your solution seems to be the most reasonable that I've heard. Recorder Jacob, you are ordered to remain in the gatehouse until Gormin and Cain are sentenced. You will not step outside its walls. Once you are freed from your confinement, your trial will be held anew, before the entire Abbey."
Jacob smiled sadly. "I'll be getting back to the gatehouse, then. I know that what Gormin, Cain, and I did was wrong, but I still believe that we took the best path possible." Then he stood, and walked for the stairs of Cavern Hole.
After a few moments of hesitation, Luc hurried after him. The other beasts in Cavern Hole seemed surprised, but he didn't stop running until he had caught up with Jacob. "I'm sorry," the recorder mumbled when Luc came up beside him. "If I could think of any other way, I would not have kept you drugged."
"I forgive you," said Luc. "It doesn't make what you did right, but it should ease your conscience a bit. Let's organize those records in the gatehouse. They've been gathering dust for quite a while."
Luc and Jacob had only spent a few minutes on this task when Ellen joined them. Luc looked up at her, and was pleased to see her smile at him. "Let me give you two a hand," she muttered, and set about sorting through Redwall's histories.