"The east entrance has been attacked?" bellowed Lord Rocketh. He tightened
his grip on the blade Lord Sunforge had made for him. The hare that had
delivered the news to Lord Rocketh, one of the beasts that had entered the
Long Patrol after the Stormrat War, backed away from the badger. "I knew I
should have spared more troops to defend the eastern side. If only we had
more hares..."
"I suggest fightin' back immediately, sah," said Sergeant Maxwell. He had been the one who noticed the frantic hare come out of Salamandastron and taken him to the Badger Lord. Once he was in front of Lord Rocketh, the hare had frantically gave an account of a vermin attack on the eastern entrance that Lord Rocketh had decided to keep open. Though he had been ordered off before the battle begun, the screams of vermin and hares alike had echoed through the corridors and reached the Long Patroller's ears. And though he could not say for certain what the outcome of the battle had been, the hare had said that it had likely ended in favor of the vermin.
"How many hares can we spare, Sergeant?" asked Rocketh, whirling to face Maxwell. His eyes were bright and sharp, and although he had never fought such a crucial battle as this, he was ready to do what was expected of him. "I need all the beasts we can spare. I'll lead them into battle myself."
Sergeant Maxwell glanced behind him. Hares were kneeling on the mountainside, holding their longbows at the ready and waiting for the vermin to make their move. Although they couldn't see movement in the vermin camp, they kept their eyes and ears focused in case one sight or sound made the difference in the defense of Salamandastron. "I think we can spare twoscore hares," said the Sergeant, "as well as any that're left guardin' the southern entrances. I'll send a runner down there t' tell everybeast t' meet us outside the dinin' hall."
"You're coming along?" asked Rocketh. "That would leave only Colonel Jeffrey to command the defense here."
"He can manage," said Maxwell confidently. "If the vermin try chargin' up this face o' th' mountain, th' archers will almost certainly cut them down."
"Stormrats are more clever than that," muttered Rocketh. His eyes were unfocused, and he spoke with the certainty of a beast who had realized a truth that could not be argued with. "But it is the force that has already breached Salamandastron that we should be concerned about. In fact, it may already be too late, if the beasts of Redwall have decided not to come to our aid."
"...Lord Rocketh?" whispered Sergeant Maxwell, his voice quivering as he watched his lord look at something the hare could not see. The seconds that Rocketh spent with this blank, unfocused look in his eyes seemed to Maxwell to last for many nervous hours.
Then, the badger shook his head violently from side to side. Maxwell to instinctively backed away, nervous despite his Long Patrol discipline. But when the badger stopped moving his head and looked up at Maxwell, the sight of his bared teeth and the blood-red fire that seemed to glow in his eyes was enough to terrify the hare.
Every instinct in Maxwell's body told him to turn away from this fearsome beast that was his lord. It took every scrap of self control he had and all his seasons of training as a Long Patroller to stay where he was. The Badger Lord looked at Maxwell with death in his eyes, and after what seemed like an eternity a small shred of sense appeared within that flaming gaze. "Gather the troops," he rasped. "Twoscore hares, Maxwell, like you said."
The sergeant shuffled his feet. Despite his desire to flee the presence of the Badger Lord, he could not move his legs. They felt as if they had turned to jelly. Seeing Lord Rocketh succumbing to the grips of the Bloodwrath struck fear into Maxwell's heart in a way that nothing had before - not beast or battle or anything he knew.
"Go," hissed Lord Rocketh. Somehow, Sergeant Maxwell fought his terror and regained control over his legs. Once he could move, he hurried away from the badger and toward Colonel Jeffrey, who was staring through the darkness at the vermin army. Although he couldn't see much of anything without light, it would be clear to him if anything more than a small group of vermin approached the mountain.
"I'm afraid I'll be puttin' command o' th' defenses in your paws, Jeff," said Maxwell when he reached the colonel's side. His voice shook, but already he felt himself regaining control over his body and mind. "Lord Rocketh says that he an' I are supposed t' lead twoscore hares in an attack on a group o' vermin that took th' east entrance."
Jeffrey closed his eyes. "Good luck t' y', old chap, whatever good it'll do you. I'll hold this place good 'n' strong with whatever hares I have." The Sergeant's eyes opened, and there was a touch of fear in them. "But what does Lord Rocketh think he can do with twoscore hares?" he whispered.
"I don't know, but whatever he's goin' t' do, I'm with him. If Lord Sunforge saw fit t' choose him as Salamandastron's Badger Lord, he is th' one whose judgement I must obey. I can disagree with him, and argue with him, but when it comes t' th' defense o' this mountain, his orders are what I follow, just as it was under Lord Sunforge." Maxwell shivered. "An' I don't think there will be any reasoning with Lord Rocketh."
It took a few moments for Jeffrey to understand the meaning of Maxwell's words. When the implication of what his fellow hare said registered in his brain, he shivered exactly as the Sergeant had. "Then y' better go an' find twoscore hares willin' t' fight t' th' death."
Maxwell nodded, turned away, and began to pick and choose from the mountain's defenders.
~~~
The shadowed shape of Salamandastron loomed in the distance. From where he was, Cain could see nothing more detailed than the outline of the mountain, which appeared slightly darker than the land around it. Nevertheless, it was an awe-inspiring sight, even though he had seen it before when he had come to fight the Stormrats five seasons ago.
Skipper walked at Cain's right, and several of his otters marched behind them. Gormin was several meters in front of them, staring ahead into the darkness. Candice had left several minutes ago to scout ahead, leaving Gormin behind to lead the march. The pair had been walking in front together ever since they had passed through Mossflower Wood.
Once they had left Mossflower behind them, the group picked up their pace and did not stop to rest. It was a strain on almost all of the Redwallers, but they marched onward with little complaint. After all, Lord Rocketh and the Long Patrol needed them. Even those beasts who had not wanted to leave home kept marching - they could not call themselves goodbeasts if they did any less.
"I wonder if the fighting has started yet, mate," said Skipper. He was breathing more heavily than usual from the effort of the marching, but he kept pushing on.
The otter had a bag of slingstones and a sling at his belt, alongside a short knife.. But unlike most of the otters in Redwall's fighting force, he didn't carry any javelins. Instead, he had throwing axes at his belt and wore a larger axe, with a shaft almost as long as he was tall, across his back. When Skipper had first fought, driving a small band of vermin away from Redwall, his fellow otters had ridiculed him for choosing to use a battleaxe over their trusty javelins. His father, who had been Redwall's Skipper at the time, had even threatened to have him punished if he didn't discard his axe for a less unwieldy weapon. But after he had proven his worth in battle by charging toward the vermin under the cover of otter slingstones and squirrel arrows and dealing a swift death to the beasts who stood in his path, his fellow otters accepted that the battleaxe was an effective weapon, though a bit strange to see in an otter's paws.
"If the battle has begun, we may already be too late." Cain kept his voice low; he definitely did not want to let any of the other Redwallers hear him saying this. "If the vermin have gotten inside the mountain, the Long Patrol may already have been slain."
"I'm not so sure about that, mate," said Skipper. "Even if the vermin have gotten inside, the hares can still hide in the tunnels and underneath the mountain. An' if they must, I think the Long Patrollers can escape from Salamandastron."
Cain looked forward again, and was surprised to see that Candice had returned. The hare was marching alongside Gormin and whispering excitedly to the warrior. Cain couldn't hear what was being said, nor could he see the beasts clearly in the dark. He looked over at Skipper, trying to make out his face in the dark. The otter nodded, and he and Cain quickened their pace until they caught up with Gormin and Candice.
Without bothering to turn her head toward the two newcomers, Candice started speaking quickly, as if she had already said what she needed to say before and didn't want to repeat it again. "I went inside one o' th' eastern entrances, an' found more than a score o' hares dead. There were about twoscore vermin dead, too."
"A battle, then?" asked Cain.
Candice nodded. "My best guess is that th' vermin attacked th' east entrance, and forced their way through th' hares that were guardin' it. Th' other entrances were blocked by boulders, so I think that Lord Rocketh left that one open for us. There are prolly vermin in th' mountain now, but there's nothin' stoppin' us from takin' advantage o' that entrance, wot?"
"Right," said Cain. "Let's charge the mountain and attack the vermin. They won't know what hit them!"
It was only when he was running alongside Skipper, charging forward to Salamandastron, that it occurred to Cain how much pain Candice must have been in, after seeing the dead bodies of her fellow Long Patrollers. He briefly wished that he hadn't been so insensitive to the hare when they had talked, but it was too late to change now.
~~~
Maxwell followed Lord Rocketh carefully, keeping a good distance between himself and the badger. The huge beast held his sword in paw, and walked forward with purpose. He followed Salamandastron's tunnels without a backwards glance, with his loyal hares trailing along behind him.
It had only taken about ten minutes for Sergeant Maxwell to gather a group of hares for Lord Rocketh and himself to venture into Salamandastron with. He had tried to withdraw hares from a variety of areas on the mountainside, not wanting to make it apparent to any watching vermin that the numbers of the defenders were thinning.
Lord Rocketh led the hares through tunnels, down stairs, and across open caverns in the mountain, bringing them ever closer to the entrance that the vermin had captured. The Long Patrol hares kept their mouths closed, not letting even a whisper pass their lips for fear of bringing the wrath of their lord down on them. But each of the hares' hearts beat rapidly, not only because of the vermin that awaited them, but also due to the fierce rage of the beast who led them.
Sergeant Maxwell gripped his saber as Lord Rocketh rounded a corner. They were drawing closer to the entrance, and it would soon be time to fight.
The hare found himself staring at Lord Rocketh's back. A few other hares went up to stand behind Maxwell, and stopped when they saw that Maxwell and Rocketh had come to a stop. Maxwell looked around the badger in front of him, hoping to catch a glimpse of what stood in his leader's way.
A searat, holding his saber with one shaking paw, was slowly backing away from the fierce Badger Lord who stood in front of him. The searat was in an open cavern, with the entrance into the tunnel that led toward the opening in the mountain to his back. Lord Rocketh brought his sword up and lowered his head. The searat let out a cry of terror and turned to run toward the cavern exit.
Rocketh dashed forward, quickly catching up to the fleeing searat. With his free paw, he reached out and grabbed the searat by the scruff of its neck. The vermin flailed his legs uselessly and screamed, putting all the desperation and horror he felt into this one final cry.
Then Lord Rocketh slammed the poor beast's skull into the cavern's stone wall, resulting in a sickening crunch. The searat's struggles ceased immediately, and Rocketh threw the vermin to the other wall. The limp body hit the wall and sunk to the ground, leaking brain fluids from its cracked skull.
Not even glancing at the searat he had killed, Rocketh continued walking, going the rest of the way through the cavern and walking into the next tunnel. His hares followed him, stepping around the slain searat. Maxwell's muscles tensed. Where there was one searat, there would probably be others.
Lord Rocketh stopped in his tracks, and cupped one paw to his ear. He only stood still for about a second before charging forward, snarling. Cries of fear came from the shadows, but Maxwell couldn't see what the badger was attacking. Nevertheless, he raised his saber and called out to his comrades.
"We can't let 'im fight alone! Give 'em blood 'n' vinegar!" Maxwell dashed after Lord Rocketh, holding his saber in front of him as he charged down the dark corridor. "Eulalia!"
However, Maxwell was forced to come to an abrupt halt when he finally caught up to Lord Rocketh. The badger was swinging his sword at vermin that Maxwell could barely make out, roaring fiercely and charging forward. The vermin fell out of his way, pressing their backs against the sides of the corridors and throwing themselves to the floor. Those that did not move were beheaded by Lord Rocketh.
"Get 'em! Don't let any of 'em survive!" Not waiting to see if any of the other hares did as he said, Maxwell leaped at a searat that had gotten by Lord Rocketh. The vermin looked up at the Sergeant, fear in his eyes. For a moment, pity filled the hare's heart. Then, the searat picked up his scimitar from the ground and swung it at Maxwell's stomach. The hare dodged to the side, and slit the searat's throat with his saber.
Unfortunately for the hares, Lord Rocketh was blocking the passageway. His sword swung from left to right, maiming vermin and knocking them to the side of the corridor. Although Rocketh's display of power was fearsome to watch, Maxwell found himself standing still with his saber hanging at his side, gaping at the spectacle.
Only a few seconds passed before the badger was sent staggering backwards, swinging his sword in front of him and roaring in rage. A huge Stormrat, slightly bigger than Rocketh, charged forward with no weapon except for his own muscle. The badger swung his sword at the vermin with fierce strength, but the Stormrat jumped back, out of the way of the blade.
Rocketh drew back his sword and lunged forward with an unearthly howl, bringing the blade up and pointing it toward the Stormrat's chest. The terrible rat pressed itself to the side of the corridor, letting the sword and the badger sail past him. Then, with a speed that Maxwell didn't expect from such a huge beast, it whirled toward Rocketh and struck the back of the badger's head with his paw. Rocketh fell forward, and vermin scurried away from him for fear of being caught in the battle.
Maxwell, on the other paw, was brought to his senses by the sight of Lord Rocketh falling to the ground. "Get that damn rat!" Without waiting to see what the rest of the hares did, he threw himself forward with ferocity that he didn't know he had and flung himself onto the Stormrat.
But before he could do anything, the beast threw Maxwell off of itself with a heave of his shoulders. Maxwell stumbled backward toward the other Long Patrollers. In their haste to move their weapons so they would not harm Maxwell, the hares at the front of the charge let the Sergeant slam into them and send them sprawling to the ground.
Lord Rocketh was faring no better. Although he kept trying to use his sword to help push himself up, it wasn't enough to let him overcome the enraged Stormrat's attempts to keep him down. Although he was able to struggle free of the beast's grip on him and keep him back by kicking his footpaws out, he couldn't pull himself to a position in which he would be able to fight.
He let out a howl of pain and frustration as the Stormrat's claws dug into his back again. Using a surge of energy granted to him by his Bloodwrath, he got to his feet and picked up his sword. Then, he swung it in a wide arc, intending to cleave his opponent in two.
Had Lord Rocketh had his wits about him, he would not have made this fatal mistake. The blade of his sword slammed into the corridor's wall, sending vibrations up the sword's blade.
Rocketh let go of his sword, and turned to face the Stormrat. But the beast was already on him, clawing at his face and kicking at his legs. He couldn't understand how it happened, but somehow he felt himself on the ground, flailing his arms and legs while the Stormrat dug his claws into Rocketh's neck.
With lightning speed that nobeast as big as the Stormrat should have had, the vermin grabbed Lord Rocketh's jaw and snapped the badger's head up and to the right. The Badger Lord's neck snapped, and his struggling slowly began to subside.
Sergeant Maxwell stood as still as a statue, letting his mouth hang wide open as the Stormrat rose and turned around. After trying several times to find his voice, he finally managed to let out a weak yell. "Retreat! The battle is lost!"
The Stormrat stepped forward, and Maxwell felt himself regain control of his body. He glanced backwards, and after he saw that the hares were following his orders, he moved straight into the middle of the corridor to bar the Stormrat's path.
"You'll have t' go through me t' get them, bucko," said Maxwell. The hare knew that he was going to die, and somehow, the knowledge made him bold. "Come 'n' get me, you chunky son of a gull! I'll show you what it's like t' fight a real battle!"
The Stormrat stopped in its tracks, and then let out a loud laugh that reverberated through the corridor. The abominable beast hissed something unintelligible, grabbing the sword that Lord Rocketh had dropped and advancing slowly toward Maxwell.
Although he was unable to strike a single blow on the Stormrat, Maxwell's courage didn't falter. When he dropped to the floor, felled with only one thrust of Lord Rocketh's blade, he felt only grim determination until Dark Forest took him.
~~~
"Lord Rocketh!" cried Candice in horror, sinking to the tunnel floor beside the body of the Badger Lord. At least fifteen vermin bodies were strewn through the corridor, along with the body of a hare, but it was the sight of her Lord lying prone on the floor that distressed her. Her paws reached out to grab one of the great beast's shoulders, and she shook him frantically.
Cain knelt on the floor next to her, and examined the badger's body. "It's no use, Candice," he said, remembering his behavior toward Candice earlier and striving to make his voice comforting. "He's dead."
A tear fell down the Long Patroller's face, but she stood and drew her dirk. "I'll make these vermin pay. I won't let Lord Rocketh die in vain."
Gormin walked over to Candice and put a paw on her shoulder. "We'll slay them all. The vermin are probably in this mountain. We'll hunt them down, and take revenge for the beasts they killed."
"They can't have gone far," said Skipper. He was knelt near the body of a hare, and was looking the corpse over as closely as Cain had Lord Rocketh's. "The blood hasn't had enough time to dry completely. Maybe we can follow them and catch them by surprise."
In less than half a minute, Skipper and several of his otters had begun to continue down the tunnel. There was enough space for three otters to walk side to side, and Skipper brought two of his best slingers in front with him. Three more otters followed, and after them came Colin, Gormin, and Cain. Candice, an otter, and a mouse walked behind them, and Cain had no idea who marched further back.
After walking for a very short amount of time, Skipper stopped in his tracks, and held up a hand to signal the beasts following him to do the same. "Vermin," he whispered. "Around twoscore of them. There's a really big rat there - he must be the Stormrat. He's arguing with a fox..." Skipper twisted his head around, gazing between the otters that stood behind him and trying to catch a glimpse of Gormin. "There's an open cavern ahead, so the battle won't be in an enclosed space. If we attack now, we may be able to kill them."
"Then we charge," hissed Gormin. The squirrel gripped his sword and nodded to Skipper. The otter turned to face forward, and said something under his breath. The six otters in front of Cain tensed their legs, and Cain, Gormin, and Colin followed suit. Then, Skipper barked out the order to charge.
When Cain emerged into the cavern, Skipper and two other otters were charging forward, and the two slingers that had been in front with Skipper were hurling their stones at the vermin. The fox that Skipper had mentioned had already vanished into the tunnel, but the Stormrat remained. And he, along with the other vermin, were rushing toward Skipper and his otters.
"Redwaaall!" shouted Skipper, swinging his battleaxe at a weasel who stood in front of him. The vermin raised a sword to block the blow, but the brute strength behind Skipper's blow sent his opponent stumbling away. "I'll teach ya vermin types to mess with me mateys!"
Cain brought out his own sword and leaped to the aid of an otter, who was being assaulted by a trio of vermin. A quick thrust slew a ferret, but by the time he turned to face another opponent the otter was lying prone on the ground. A searat swung a scimitar at Cain, but before the blade could pierce him, Gormin had run the beast through with his sword. The squirrel warrior ducked a blow from another vermin, and Cain hurried over to stand beside Redwall's Champion.
The short hail of slingstones that the pair of otters had provided stopped now that both sides were engaged in close quarters combat. Reinforcements for the Redwallers poured from the tunnels in groups of three, rushing forward to assist their friends. Although many goodbeasts had been slain initially, the steady flood of reinforcements stopped the vermin from pushing them further back.
Candice had moved to join Cain and Gormin, adding her battle cry of "Eulalia" to their calls of "Redwall" and "Mossflower". But her voice was far from the most dangerous thing she had to offer her enemies. Her dirk thrust forward and pierced vermin skin, and although she hadn't slain anybeast yet, the trio had become a veritable hurricane of fur and steel which the vermin stayed well away from.
But a glimpse of Colin and a mouse fighting against three searats sent Cain spinning away from them, leaving them to fight by themselves. A violent swing of his sword cleaved through a searat's neck. With his aid, Colin and the mouse were able to regain their ground.
Once it seemed that they would be able to fend for themselves, Cain looked around the cavern, hoping to see Candice and Gormin. To his immense relief, they were alive, blending with the many goodbeasts that had come through the tunnels to join the fight. He briefly noticed that the flow of reinforcements had stopped now that the cavern had become crowded.
Then, a howl more fearsome than anything Cain had heard before echoed through the cavern. Goodbeast and vermin alike put down their weapons to stare at what they had been missing in the frenzy of battle.
The giant Stormrat that had thrown himself toward Skipper at the beginning of the battle was staggering back, clutching at a deep gash in his stomach with one paw and holding an immense sword in another. In front of him stood Skipper, the broad blade of his battleaxe touching the ground and the steel shaft gripped tightly in his paws. The Stormrat stared at the otter with eyes full of astonishment and rage, but Skipper stood his ground. The leader of Redwall's otters bled from at least a dozen minor wounds, but he gave no indication that he felt any pain.
Cain began to fear that the otter was possessed with the same Bloodwrath that seemed to fuel the Stormrat, but his suspicions were proved false when the otter stepped back. He stood straight with a firm posture and a sort of grim determination, exhibiting a discipline that nobeast under the effects of the Bloodwrath would be able to grasp. Taking a deep breath, Skipper brought his battleaxe up from the floor and brought it up over his shoulder. "Come and fight me, demon. I'll send you to Hellgates!"
The Stormrat swung Lord Rocketh's sword forward, throwing all his weight behind the blow. Skipper jumped backwards and let the sword graze the air in front of him. Then, he brought the battleaxe up over his head and swung it downward, toward the vermin's neck.
Skipper may have been strong, but the Stormrat was able to stop the blow with only one paw. The shaft of Skipper's battleaxe was halted by his iron grip, and the giant rat brought the sword he held back behind him.
Before the vermin could strike a blow, Gormin threw himself away from Candice and toward the rat, shoving and slashing at anybeast that stood in his way, whether it was a friend or foe. Cain also began to charge toward the Stormrat. The death of a Stormrat would surely discourage these vermin, maybe render them leaderless! Then, another thought flashed into his mind, lending Cain the strength he needed to move like lightning. It was another one of these beasts who took Kelly away from me.
The mouse didn't notice the near-stillness that had followed the Stormrat's scream break as he flew forward. Beasts swung their weapons and slew one another, but Cain's only concern was the immense beast that was now thrusting his sword at Skipper. Desperation added to his efforts, but it soon became clear to Cain that there was no way he would be able to reach the Stormrat in time to keep him from slaying Skipper.
The Stormrat thrust the badger-forged blade toward Skipper. The otter let go of his battleaxe and leaped back, grabbing a throwing axe from his belt. He whipped it forward, sending it swinging at the Stormrat, but the weapon cut into his arm and flew onward, barely causing the beast to pause.
Cain flew past Skipper and leaped into the air, swinging his sword down at the Stormrat's neck just as Skipper had done with his axe. But his target was too quick. The Stormrat caught Cain's wrist with his paw, and swung him down to the ground. He thought he felt his skull split as he hit, and by the time the vermin had thrust his sword into the mouse's stomach, Cain was too far gone to feel pain.
"I suggest fightin' back immediately, sah," said Sergeant Maxwell. He had been the one who noticed the frantic hare come out of Salamandastron and taken him to the Badger Lord. Once he was in front of Lord Rocketh, the hare had frantically gave an account of a vermin attack on the eastern entrance that Lord Rocketh had decided to keep open. Though he had been ordered off before the battle begun, the screams of vermin and hares alike had echoed through the corridors and reached the Long Patroller's ears. And though he could not say for certain what the outcome of the battle had been, the hare had said that it had likely ended in favor of the vermin.
"How many hares can we spare, Sergeant?" asked Rocketh, whirling to face Maxwell. His eyes were bright and sharp, and although he had never fought such a crucial battle as this, he was ready to do what was expected of him. "I need all the beasts we can spare. I'll lead them into battle myself."
Sergeant Maxwell glanced behind him. Hares were kneeling on the mountainside, holding their longbows at the ready and waiting for the vermin to make their move. Although they couldn't see movement in the vermin camp, they kept their eyes and ears focused in case one sight or sound made the difference in the defense of Salamandastron. "I think we can spare twoscore hares," said the Sergeant, "as well as any that're left guardin' the southern entrances. I'll send a runner down there t' tell everybeast t' meet us outside the dinin' hall."
"You're coming along?" asked Rocketh. "That would leave only Colonel Jeffrey to command the defense here."
"He can manage," said Maxwell confidently. "If the vermin try chargin' up this face o' th' mountain, th' archers will almost certainly cut them down."
"Stormrats are more clever than that," muttered Rocketh. His eyes were unfocused, and he spoke with the certainty of a beast who had realized a truth that could not be argued with. "But it is the force that has already breached Salamandastron that we should be concerned about. In fact, it may already be too late, if the beasts of Redwall have decided not to come to our aid."
"...Lord Rocketh?" whispered Sergeant Maxwell, his voice quivering as he watched his lord look at something the hare could not see. The seconds that Rocketh spent with this blank, unfocused look in his eyes seemed to Maxwell to last for many nervous hours.
Then, the badger shook his head violently from side to side. Maxwell to instinctively backed away, nervous despite his Long Patrol discipline. But when the badger stopped moving his head and looked up at Maxwell, the sight of his bared teeth and the blood-red fire that seemed to glow in his eyes was enough to terrify the hare.
Every instinct in Maxwell's body told him to turn away from this fearsome beast that was his lord. It took every scrap of self control he had and all his seasons of training as a Long Patroller to stay where he was. The Badger Lord looked at Maxwell with death in his eyes, and after what seemed like an eternity a small shred of sense appeared within that flaming gaze. "Gather the troops," he rasped. "Twoscore hares, Maxwell, like you said."
The sergeant shuffled his feet. Despite his desire to flee the presence of the Badger Lord, he could not move his legs. They felt as if they had turned to jelly. Seeing Lord Rocketh succumbing to the grips of the Bloodwrath struck fear into Maxwell's heart in a way that nothing had before - not beast or battle or anything he knew.
"Go," hissed Lord Rocketh. Somehow, Sergeant Maxwell fought his terror and regained control over his legs. Once he could move, he hurried away from the badger and toward Colonel Jeffrey, who was staring through the darkness at the vermin army. Although he couldn't see much of anything without light, it would be clear to him if anything more than a small group of vermin approached the mountain.
"I'm afraid I'll be puttin' command o' th' defenses in your paws, Jeff," said Maxwell when he reached the colonel's side. His voice shook, but already he felt himself regaining control over his body and mind. "Lord Rocketh says that he an' I are supposed t' lead twoscore hares in an attack on a group o' vermin that took th' east entrance."
Jeffrey closed his eyes. "Good luck t' y', old chap, whatever good it'll do you. I'll hold this place good 'n' strong with whatever hares I have." The Sergeant's eyes opened, and there was a touch of fear in them. "But what does Lord Rocketh think he can do with twoscore hares?" he whispered.
"I don't know, but whatever he's goin' t' do, I'm with him. If Lord Sunforge saw fit t' choose him as Salamandastron's Badger Lord, he is th' one whose judgement I must obey. I can disagree with him, and argue with him, but when it comes t' th' defense o' this mountain, his orders are what I follow, just as it was under Lord Sunforge." Maxwell shivered. "An' I don't think there will be any reasoning with Lord Rocketh."
It took a few moments for Jeffrey to understand the meaning of Maxwell's words. When the implication of what his fellow hare said registered in his brain, he shivered exactly as the Sergeant had. "Then y' better go an' find twoscore hares willin' t' fight t' th' death."
Maxwell nodded, turned away, and began to pick and choose from the mountain's defenders.
~~~
The shadowed shape of Salamandastron loomed in the distance. From where he was, Cain could see nothing more detailed than the outline of the mountain, which appeared slightly darker than the land around it. Nevertheless, it was an awe-inspiring sight, even though he had seen it before when he had come to fight the Stormrats five seasons ago.
Skipper walked at Cain's right, and several of his otters marched behind them. Gormin was several meters in front of them, staring ahead into the darkness. Candice had left several minutes ago to scout ahead, leaving Gormin behind to lead the march. The pair had been walking in front together ever since they had passed through Mossflower Wood.
Once they had left Mossflower behind them, the group picked up their pace and did not stop to rest. It was a strain on almost all of the Redwallers, but they marched onward with little complaint. After all, Lord Rocketh and the Long Patrol needed them. Even those beasts who had not wanted to leave home kept marching - they could not call themselves goodbeasts if they did any less.
"I wonder if the fighting has started yet, mate," said Skipper. He was breathing more heavily than usual from the effort of the marching, but he kept pushing on.
The otter had a bag of slingstones and a sling at his belt, alongside a short knife.. But unlike most of the otters in Redwall's fighting force, he didn't carry any javelins. Instead, he had throwing axes at his belt and wore a larger axe, with a shaft almost as long as he was tall, across his back. When Skipper had first fought, driving a small band of vermin away from Redwall, his fellow otters had ridiculed him for choosing to use a battleaxe over their trusty javelins. His father, who had been Redwall's Skipper at the time, had even threatened to have him punished if he didn't discard his axe for a less unwieldy weapon. But after he had proven his worth in battle by charging toward the vermin under the cover of otter slingstones and squirrel arrows and dealing a swift death to the beasts who stood in his path, his fellow otters accepted that the battleaxe was an effective weapon, though a bit strange to see in an otter's paws.
"If the battle has begun, we may already be too late." Cain kept his voice low; he definitely did not want to let any of the other Redwallers hear him saying this. "If the vermin have gotten inside the mountain, the Long Patrol may already have been slain."
"I'm not so sure about that, mate," said Skipper. "Even if the vermin have gotten inside, the hares can still hide in the tunnels and underneath the mountain. An' if they must, I think the Long Patrollers can escape from Salamandastron."
Cain looked forward again, and was surprised to see that Candice had returned. The hare was marching alongside Gormin and whispering excitedly to the warrior. Cain couldn't hear what was being said, nor could he see the beasts clearly in the dark. He looked over at Skipper, trying to make out his face in the dark. The otter nodded, and he and Cain quickened their pace until they caught up with Gormin and Candice.
Without bothering to turn her head toward the two newcomers, Candice started speaking quickly, as if she had already said what she needed to say before and didn't want to repeat it again. "I went inside one o' th' eastern entrances, an' found more than a score o' hares dead. There were about twoscore vermin dead, too."
"A battle, then?" asked Cain.
Candice nodded. "My best guess is that th' vermin attacked th' east entrance, and forced their way through th' hares that were guardin' it. Th' other entrances were blocked by boulders, so I think that Lord Rocketh left that one open for us. There are prolly vermin in th' mountain now, but there's nothin' stoppin' us from takin' advantage o' that entrance, wot?"
"Right," said Cain. "Let's charge the mountain and attack the vermin. They won't know what hit them!"
It was only when he was running alongside Skipper, charging forward to Salamandastron, that it occurred to Cain how much pain Candice must have been in, after seeing the dead bodies of her fellow Long Patrollers. He briefly wished that he hadn't been so insensitive to the hare when they had talked, but it was too late to change now.
~~~
Maxwell followed Lord Rocketh carefully, keeping a good distance between himself and the badger. The huge beast held his sword in paw, and walked forward with purpose. He followed Salamandastron's tunnels without a backwards glance, with his loyal hares trailing along behind him.
It had only taken about ten minutes for Sergeant Maxwell to gather a group of hares for Lord Rocketh and himself to venture into Salamandastron with. He had tried to withdraw hares from a variety of areas on the mountainside, not wanting to make it apparent to any watching vermin that the numbers of the defenders were thinning.
Lord Rocketh led the hares through tunnels, down stairs, and across open caverns in the mountain, bringing them ever closer to the entrance that the vermin had captured. The Long Patrol hares kept their mouths closed, not letting even a whisper pass their lips for fear of bringing the wrath of their lord down on them. But each of the hares' hearts beat rapidly, not only because of the vermin that awaited them, but also due to the fierce rage of the beast who led them.
Sergeant Maxwell gripped his saber as Lord Rocketh rounded a corner. They were drawing closer to the entrance, and it would soon be time to fight.
The hare found himself staring at Lord Rocketh's back. A few other hares went up to stand behind Maxwell, and stopped when they saw that Maxwell and Rocketh had come to a stop. Maxwell looked around the badger in front of him, hoping to catch a glimpse of what stood in his leader's way.
A searat, holding his saber with one shaking paw, was slowly backing away from the fierce Badger Lord who stood in front of him. The searat was in an open cavern, with the entrance into the tunnel that led toward the opening in the mountain to his back. Lord Rocketh brought his sword up and lowered his head. The searat let out a cry of terror and turned to run toward the cavern exit.
Rocketh dashed forward, quickly catching up to the fleeing searat. With his free paw, he reached out and grabbed the searat by the scruff of its neck. The vermin flailed his legs uselessly and screamed, putting all the desperation and horror he felt into this one final cry.
Then Lord Rocketh slammed the poor beast's skull into the cavern's stone wall, resulting in a sickening crunch. The searat's struggles ceased immediately, and Rocketh threw the vermin to the other wall. The limp body hit the wall and sunk to the ground, leaking brain fluids from its cracked skull.
Not even glancing at the searat he had killed, Rocketh continued walking, going the rest of the way through the cavern and walking into the next tunnel. His hares followed him, stepping around the slain searat. Maxwell's muscles tensed. Where there was one searat, there would probably be others.
Lord Rocketh stopped in his tracks, and cupped one paw to his ear. He only stood still for about a second before charging forward, snarling. Cries of fear came from the shadows, but Maxwell couldn't see what the badger was attacking. Nevertheless, he raised his saber and called out to his comrades.
"We can't let 'im fight alone! Give 'em blood 'n' vinegar!" Maxwell dashed after Lord Rocketh, holding his saber in front of him as he charged down the dark corridor. "Eulalia!"
However, Maxwell was forced to come to an abrupt halt when he finally caught up to Lord Rocketh. The badger was swinging his sword at vermin that Maxwell could barely make out, roaring fiercely and charging forward. The vermin fell out of his way, pressing their backs against the sides of the corridors and throwing themselves to the floor. Those that did not move were beheaded by Lord Rocketh.
"Get 'em! Don't let any of 'em survive!" Not waiting to see if any of the other hares did as he said, Maxwell leaped at a searat that had gotten by Lord Rocketh. The vermin looked up at the Sergeant, fear in his eyes. For a moment, pity filled the hare's heart. Then, the searat picked up his scimitar from the ground and swung it at Maxwell's stomach. The hare dodged to the side, and slit the searat's throat with his saber.
Unfortunately for the hares, Lord Rocketh was blocking the passageway. His sword swung from left to right, maiming vermin and knocking them to the side of the corridor. Although Rocketh's display of power was fearsome to watch, Maxwell found himself standing still with his saber hanging at his side, gaping at the spectacle.
Only a few seconds passed before the badger was sent staggering backwards, swinging his sword in front of him and roaring in rage. A huge Stormrat, slightly bigger than Rocketh, charged forward with no weapon except for his own muscle. The badger swung his sword at the vermin with fierce strength, but the Stormrat jumped back, out of the way of the blade.
Rocketh drew back his sword and lunged forward with an unearthly howl, bringing the blade up and pointing it toward the Stormrat's chest. The terrible rat pressed itself to the side of the corridor, letting the sword and the badger sail past him. Then, with a speed that Maxwell didn't expect from such a huge beast, it whirled toward Rocketh and struck the back of the badger's head with his paw. Rocketh fell forward, and vermin scurried away from him for fear of being caught in the battle.
Maxwell, on the other paw, was brought to his senses by the sight of Lord Rocketh falling to the ground. "Get that damn rat!" Without waiting to see what the rest of the hares did, he threw himself forward with ferocity that he didn't know he had and flung himself onto the Stormrat.
But before he could do anything, the beast threw Maxwell off of itself with a heave of his shoulders. Maxwell stumbled backward toward the other Long Patrollers. In their haste to move their weapons so they would not harm Maxwell, the hares at the front of the charge let the Sergeant slam into them and send them sprawling to the ground.
Lord Rocketh was faring no better. Although he kept trying to use his sword to help push himself up, it wasn't enough to let him overcome the enraged Stormrat's attempts to keep him down. Although he was able to struggle free of the beast's grip on him and keep him back by kicking his footpaws out, he couldn't pull himself to a position in which he would be able to fight.
He let out a howl of pain and frustration as the Stormrat's claws dug into his back again. Using a surge of energy granted to him by his Bloodwrath, he got to his feet and picked up his sword. Then, he swung it in a wide arc, intending to cleave his opponent in two.
Had Lord Rocketh had his wits about him, he would not have made this fatal mistake. The blade of his sword slammed into the corridor's wall, sending vibrations up the sword's blade.
Rocketh let go of his sword, and turned to face the Stormrat. But the beast was already on him, clawing at his face and kicking at his legs. He couldn't understand how it happened, but somehow he felt himself on the ground, flailing his arms and legs while the Stormrat dug his claws into Rocketh's neck.
With lightning speed that nobeast as big as the Stormrat should have had, the vermin grabbed Lord Rocketh's jaw and snapped the badger's head up and to the right. The Badger Lord's neck snapped, and his struggling slowly began to subside.
Sergeant Maxwell stood as still as a statue, letting his mouth hang wide open as the Stormrat rose and turned around. After trying several times to find his voice, he finally managed to let out a weak yell. "Retreat! The battle is lost!"
The Stormrat stepped forward, and Maxwell felt himself regain control of his body. He glanced backwards, and after he saw that the hares were following his orders, he moved straight into the middle of the corridor to bar the Stormrat's path.
"You'll have t' go through me t' get them, bucko," said Maxwell. The hare knew that he was going to die, and somehow, the knowledge made him bold. "Come 'n' get me, you chunky son of a gull! I'll show you what it's like t' fight a real battle!"
The Stormrat stopped in its tracks, and then let out a loud laugh that reverberated through the corridor. The abominable beast hissed something unintelligible, grabbing the sword that Lord Rocketh had dropped and advancing slowly toward Maxwell.
Although he was unable to strike a single blow on the Stormrat, Maxwell's courage didn't falter. When he dropped to the floor, felled with only one thrust of Lord Rocketh's blade, he felt only grim determination until Dark Forest took him.
~~~
"Lord Rocketh!" cried Candice in horror, sinking to the tunnel floor beside the body of the Badger Lord. At least fifteen vermin bodies were strewn through the corridor, along with the body of a hare, but it was the sight of her Lord lying prone on the floor that distressed her. Her paws reached out to grab one of the great beast's shoulders, and she shook him frantically.
Cain knelt on the floor next to her, and examined the badger's body. "It's no use, Candice," he said, remembering his behavior toward Candice earlier and striving to make his voice comforting. "He's dead."
A tear fell down the Long Patroller's face, but she stood and drew her dirk. "I'll make these vermin pay. I won't let Lord Rocketh die in vain."
Gormin walked over to Candice and put a paw on her shoulder. "We'll slay them all. The vermin are probably in this mountain. We'll hunt them down, and take revenge for the beasts they killed."
"They can't have gone far," said Skipper. He was knelt near the body of a hare, and was looking the corpse over as closely as Cain had Lord Rocketh's. "The blood hasn't had enough time to dry completely. Maybe we can follow them and catch them by surprise."
In less than half a minute, Skipper and several of his otters had begun to continue down the tunnel. There was enough space for three otters to walk side to side, and Skipper brought two of his best slingers in front with him. Three more otters followed, and after them came Colin, Gormin, and Cain. Candice, an otter, and a mouse walked behind them, and Cain had no idea who marched further back.
After walking for a very short amount of time, Skipper stopped in his tracks, and held up a hand to signal the beasts following him to do the same. "Vermin," he whispered. "Around twoscore of them. There's a really big rat there - he must be the Stormrat. He's arguing with a fox..." Skipper twisted his head around, gazing between the otters that stood behind him and trying to catch a glimpse of Gormin. "There's an open cavern ahead, so the battle won't be in an enclosed space. If we attack now, we may be able to kill them."
"Then we charge," hissed Gormin. The squirrel gripped his sword and nodded to Skipper. The otter turned to face forward, and said something under his breath. The six otters in front of Cain tensed their legs, and Cain, Gormin, and Colin followed suit. Then, Skipper barked out the order to charge.
When Cain emerged into the cavern, Skipper and two other otters were charging forward, and the two slingers that had been in front with Skipper were hurling their stones at the vermin. The fox that Skipper had mentioned had already vanished into the tunnel, but the Stormrat remained. And he, along with the other vermin, were rushing toward Skipper and his otters.
"Redwaaall!" shouted Skipper, swinging his battleaxe at a weasel who stood in front of him. The vermin raised a sword to block the blow, but the brute strength behind Skipper's blow sent his opponent stumbling away. "I'll teach ya vermin types to mess with me mateys!"
Cain brought out his own sword and leaped to the aid of an otter, who was being assaulted by a trio of vermin. A quick thrust slew a ferret, but by the time he turned to face another opponent the otter was lying prone on the ground. A searat swung a scimitar at Cain, but before the blade could pierce him, Gormin had run the beast through with his sword. The squirrel warrior ducked a blow from another vermin, and Cain hurried over to stand beside Redwall's Champion.
The short hail of slingstones that the pair of otters had provided stopped now that both sides were engaged in close quarters combat. Reinforcements for the Redwallers poured from the tunnels in groups of three, rushing forward to assist their friends. Although many goodbeasts had been slain initially, the steady flood of reinforcements stopped the vermin from pushing them further back.
Candice had moved to join Cain and Gormin, adding her battle cry of "Eulalia" to their calls of "Redwall" and "Mossflower". But her voice was far from the most dangerous thing she had to offer her enemies. Her dirk thrust forward and pierced vermin skin, and although she hadn't slain anybeast yet, the trio had become a veritable hurricane of fur and steel which the vermin stayed well away from.
But a glimpse of Colin and a mouse fighting against three searats sent Cain spinning away from them, leaving them to fight by themselves. A violent swing of his sword cleaved through a searat's neck. With his aid, Colin and the mouse were able to regain their ground.
Once it seemed that they would be able to fend for themselves, Cain looked around the cavern, hoping to see Candice and Gormin. To his immense relief, they were alive, blending with the many goodbeasts that had come through the tunnels to join the fight. He briefly noticed that the flow of reinforcements had stopped now that the cavern had become crowded.
Then, a howl more fearsome than anything Cain had heard before echoed through the cavern. Goodbeast and vermin alike put down their weapons to stare at what they had been missing in the frenzy of battle.
The giant Stormrat that had thrown himself toward Skipper at the beginning of the battle was staggering back, clutching at a deep gash in his stomach with one paw and holding an immense sword in another. In front of him stood Skipper, the broad blade of his battleaxe touching the ground and the steel shaft gripped tightly in his paws. The Stormrat stared at the otter with eyes full of astonishment and rage, but Skipper stood his ground. The leader of Redwall's otters bled from at least a dozen minor wounds, but he gave no indication that he felt any pain.
Cain began to fear that the otter was possessed with the same Bloodwrath that seemed to fuel the Stormrat, but his suspicions were proved false when the otter stepped back. He stood straight with a firm posture and a sort of grim determination, exhibiting a discipline that nobeast under the effects of the Bloodwrath would be able to grasp. Taking a deep breath, Skipper brought his battleaxe up from the floor and brought it up over his shoulder. "Come and fight me, demon. I'll send you to Hellgates!"
The Stormrat swung Lord Rocketh's sword forward, throwing all his weight behind the blow. Skipper jumped backwards and let the sword graze the air in front of him. Then, he brought the battleaxe up over his head and swung it downward, toward the vermin's neck.
Skipper may have been strong, but the Stormrat was able to stop the blow with only one paw. The shaft of Skipper's battleaxe was halted by his iron grip, and the giant rat brought the sword he held back behind him.
Before the vermin could strike a blow, Gormin threw himself away from Candice and toward the rat, shoving and slashing at anybeast that stood in his way, whether it was a friend or foe. Cain also began to charge toward the Stormrat. The death of a Stormrat would surely discourage these vermin, maybe render them leaderless! Then, another thought flashed into his mind, lending Cain the strength he needed to move like lightning. It was another one of these beasts who took Kelly away from me.
The mouse didn't notice the near-stillness that had followed the Stormrat's scream break as he flew forward. Beasts swung their weapons and slew one another, but Cain's only concern was the immense beast that was now thrusting his sword at Skipper. Desperation added to his efforts, but it soon became clear to Cain that there was no way he would be able to reach the Stormrat in time to keep him from slaying Skipper.
The Stormrat thrust the badger-forged blade toward Skipper. The otter let go of his battleaxe and leaped back, grabbing a throwing axe from his belt. He whipped it forward, sending it swinging at the Stormrat, but the weapon cut into his arm and flew onward, barely causing the beast to pause.
Cain flew past Skipper and leaped into the air, swinging his sword down at the Stormrat's neck just as Skipper had done with his axe. But his target was too quick. The Stormrat caught Cain's wrist with his paw, and swung him down to the ground. He thought he felt his skull split as he hit, and by the time the vermin had thrust his sword into the mouse's stomach, Cain was too far gone to feel pain.