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SAVING ROSE
Chapter Three
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It had been pretty long now, and still no chance to catch Grumm, Rose or Pallum alone came. Their hope diminished as Boldred swooped from the sky and related them her news.
They were on the kind otter Starwort's Waterlily, the same one that had delivered Rose and her companions to Noonvale. Martin stood at the edge of the boat, and for once in countless days, Rose's impending doom wasn't first and foremost on his mind. He felt the savage excitement that a nearing battle always provided. In his temporary moment on peace, Martin came to the realization that if worst came to worst, he could always take Rose and his dear friends out by force. Or perhaps an opportunity would arise… he sighed. So many thoughts occupied his troubled head. The young warrior couldn't keep them straight, didn't know which he should concentrate on. Best he could do was just to ignore them.
Boldred perched by him. Her eyes seemed to pierce him through, as she said, "I have the sack with me."
Martin looked up at her in surprise, but soon quickly realized that no one else could have taken on the task better than the owl, anyway. The owl in question shook her great head, knowing what he was thinking. "No, Martin, I only overheard. The one who is in charge of lying about your death was forbidden to come, but she'll be along shortly, if she can manage to sneak out unnoticed." She spoke in a hushed tone, rightfully aware of eavesdroppers. "Aryah and Urran Voh were afraid that I would be too attached to Rose to carry the plan, I think. Yet the one they chose is responsible, she'll keep quiet."
Martin looked at the sunset, eyes unseeing. "And what is that beast's name?"
"Josephine, I believe."
The warrior racked his memory, but no beast by such a name surfaced. He shrugged. "Nonetheless, thank you for all your help." Boldred looked at Martin. Her eyes searched him, hidden pity in her gaze. To be forced to carry such burden…
Boldred locked away her sympathy for the mouse. Pity gets you nowhere, and what he needed was encouragement, not regret.
Josephine was breathing hard as she ran to catch up. She was desperately needed in the plan – Boldred couldn't dig graves, for goodness sakes! The owl had instructed Starwort's boat to pause further along in the Broadstream inlet, but not for long. With the boat in sight, Josephine yelled out to announce her presence. Josephine braced herself and took flying jump. She landed with a thump against another beast that rocked the boat in the waters.
"Oof, easy there, miss!" The beast she landed on was Martin, and he held out a paw to help her up. She blushed as she held out the bag, untouched by the landing.
"Sorry, sir. I have it all here," she huffed.
Martin nodded his thanks. "Remember, stay out of sight until we get there, then follow along in the back."
Boldred hushed them and pushed Josephine with the rest of the beasts inside. She covered her head with a hat to evade being recognized. Back outside, the owl called for the otter boat to get moving, then flew away. Shortly after, Rose and Starwort's wife Marigold joined them. Marigold drummed more help, and the two mice watched as tribe after tribe of creatures joined them.
More beasts, more help... more chances of defeating Marshank. Martin had to make an effort to keep a maniacal smile from creeping unto his face.
The next day came, and the waterfall was long behind them. Martin was running up the hilltop, with Grumm, Pallum, and Rose on his trail. Boldred looked smug as she exclaimed; "Now we have a horde too!"
Martin looked at the vast amount of creatures, from the Gawtrybe squirrels to the argumentative shrews. Rose was completely wiped from his mind as he drew his short sword, the bloodwrath rising within him. It was an unstoppable crimson wave of barbaric will, and he yelled out in a voice that left no doubt in anybeast's mind that he was a born leader.
"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaarge!"
He ran in front, barely feeling his hindpaws strike the ground in a mad stampede. Badrang's torment flashed by his eyes and his strength doubled, as his mind and common sense was wiped blank by the bloodwrath. As his army roared forward, they were sighted by the Fur and Freedom fighters. Once the two forces had joined, they were unstoppable.
At first he, the otters, and hedgehogs battered the gate with a piece of driftwood, but it was no use. Completely enraged, he hacked at the gate despite Starwort and another hedgehog named Gulba's efforts to restrain him. He calmed down, however, once Rose, Pallum, and Grumm appeared. They summoned him away to prepare a plan of action.
Martin had an idea, and it was laid out as such; at a few hours before dawn, the army would split into four, one section on each wall of Marshank. Those at the gate would distract Badrang and his vermin with a burning cart, the Gawtrybe squirrels would climb the south wall, north would be undertaken by the pygmy shrews and hedgehogs climbing a net, and the moles would dig beneath the last wall to help the remaining beasts in. All that needed to be done had been, and now the only thing to do was wait...
Wait they did, and they were still at it when midnight arrived. Martin sat with Rose, the others sleeping soundly all around them. He itched for Rose to go to sleep, waiting for his chance. His target smiled at him, and yawned. Martin frowned at her, his concern mixed with relief.
"Rose, you look tired. Here," he handed her a cloak some beast had given him. Rose smiled gratefully, and Martin tucked it in around her as she laid down. Within a few tense minutes for Martin, Rose was asleep.
The warrior relaxed and made sure that the bottle of chloroform was unscathed. He kept it and the cloth ready, then he began to seek out a spot where he could keep an eye on Brome, Rose, Grumm and Pallum altogether. He didn't want any problems, and Aryah had given him the entire contents of the original anesthetic upon his leaving. This meant that he had enough for all four of them. Martin felt terribly guilty about all this, but his sense of duty and his love for Rose kept him sticking to the plan. Talking about plans, the young mouse hoped Boldred and Josephine had kept their end of it. Hurriedly, he checked the spot Boldred had mentioned to him, and saw to his satisfaction that it was safely hidden.
Everything was set. Now he waited patiently for the waking hours to arrive.
It was a few moments before everybeast in the camp awoke. Moving speedily among the beasts, Martin kept his ears and eyes open for signs of his friend's waking. Pallum was the first to stir. Settling down beside him, Martin placed his cloak against Pallum's eyes to keep him from telling tales once the battle was over. The mouse turned the bottle of anesthetic upside down and pressed the cloth against the opening, then he turned it right-side up again and pressed the cloth against the hedgehog's snout and mouth once Pallum began to stir. He knew that Pallum had just had a full night's restful slumber, so the warrior gave him a strong dose of chloroform. Immediately Pallum relaxed and withdrew into unconsciousness. He did the exact same thing for each of his friends as they came to, first Brome, then Rose, and Grumm last.
The bottle of chloroform was not quite empty, and leaving it lying about would be dangerous for Martin. He carefully put in within the hidden bag, then picked up each of his friends and hid them out of sight in the North Hills. Martin took one last careful look at his first real and only companions, especially Rose, and propped her head in a more comfortable position. Tears prickled his eyes, and he felt certain that this was the last time he would ever see them. Feeling slightly embarrassed of himself, he kissed all of their brows in sorrow. Then the bold warrior mouse turned his back on his friends, and did not look back.
The task had been simple, a mere matter of precise timing and effective actions. There really hadn't been much to it. Yet he felt as if he had run miles on end, and his heart agreed with him as it beat furiously against his ribs, threatening to burst. Once he got back to camp, Martin washed the scent of chemicals off himself and proceeded to wake Ballaw, leader of the Fur and Freedom fighters.
Finally the camp began to stir. Breakfast was eaten in silence, a sense of foreboding, tension, and excitement hovering over the creatures. The last preparations were seen to, and the time had come for the battle to continue. Buckler, a mole of the Fur and Freedom fighters, set the cart alight. Another member, a badger named Rowanoak, shoved the cart against the gates on the infamous Marshank.
The war had begun!
Archers fired, squirrels hacked, and moles tunneled. The battle was in full swing, and Martin was at the gates with the cart, firing up at the battlements. As Rowanoak returned, he cast aside his bow and drew his sword. The warrior made his way to the north wall and started to climb the shrew's net. Once he was up and over, he threw himself into the melee, his own safety completely forgotten. While he was at it, Martin kept an eye out for the stoat he had dreamed of slaying for so long. He knocked out a fox that had its eye on Amballa, queen on the pygmy shrews. And while she said something to him, he paid her no heed as his attention was drawn to a certain creature, running towards the slave compound.
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