On the outskirts of Mossflower woods, the bright, yellow moon cast its rays on a young mole, an otter, and a squirrelmaid creeping out of a small, covered burrow in the side of a grassy knoll.
"Shhhhh," Twurl, the squirrelmaid, whispered as the silence was broken by a loud cracking twig.
"Ho burr, aye, me lassie. I ain't be a-meanin' to, boi okie, no," Billybab, a chubby little mole, said innocently.
"I don't care whether ye been meanin' to or not, just shut your pie-hole," Raff hissed in what he imagined was a tough otter voice, "this is the third time this week. We can't risk being caught.
As the three friends crept silently from Billybab's burrow, they chuckled silently at the obliviousness of their parents. The three friends snuck out almost every night, not to cause trouble, but merely to be the wild, adventurous young villains they saw themselves as.
Once the group was safely under the cover ofa grove oftall, dark green pines, they stopped to rest. It was only a few moments before Twurl's alert ears went rigid and she lept to her feet.
"Somebeast's a-comin!" she informed the others. "Best take shelter quickly"
Without question, the two friends plunged into the woods as Twurl sprinted towards the treetops.
Within a few minutes, the steady beat of a loud, heavy drum became evident, if not annoying, to all three. The pattern was unmistakable; it was captain Strenk and his army of rats. They were famous throughout the land as ruthless savages who served their captain with unwavering precision and ruthlessness. Their arrival was always made known by their unique drum beat, which had come to be known as a symbol for death and destruction.
Thug gud gud duggedy dudda diga diga dug dig dug
The beat never wavered, growing ever-louder. It rang through the forest and birds could be seen scattering to the winds as the deadly unit advanced towards the glade where the three youngbeasts were hidden. Several gunshots were heard, and a number of birds dropped to the ground, killed with a shrewd accuracy only seen in the Strenkans, as the group was commonly called.
But, still the beat did not waver.
Thug guf guf fuggedy duda diga diga dug dig dug
By now, the three friends could here captain Strenk roaring orders to his subjects. "Steady in the back there! Rifnab, pick up the pace or I'll use your tongue as a napkin! Weapons at the ready, boys. Flipsnout said somebeast was around here." He said the last part to himself, but the menacing words were unmistakable to the three beasts who lay in hiding not far from the army.
Billybab wept silently inside the large soft shrub that was his hiding place. The Strenkans were getting closer. By now, he could hear their footsteps rustling through the tall, overgrown grass that grew at the entrance of the grove. As the noise increased, Billybab began to shake involuntary. He did not want to die. He knew there was no way of fighting or running from the Strenkans. He had heard uncountable stories of woodland creatures alone in the woods being slaughtered ruthlessly by the irresistible force that was the Strenkan army. He, Billybab, a mere molechild, was nothing compared to the valiant heroes who had been hunted and killed by captain Strenk and his ruthless followers. His hands were cold and sweating, his face twisting with fear and anticipation. He could hardly bear it, the cold, harsh drums thumping in his head and pumping through his veins.
Thug guf guf fuggedy duda diga dug dig dug
Raff, who had run deep into the woods as soon as he had realized who their pursuers were, now stood by a wide, deep, running river. It was rather calm where he stood, but he could see a long stretch of whitewater through the reeds that lined the low, rugged shoreline.
He was about to turn back, but remembering the infamous beating of the drum and the harsh, measured footsteps of the Strenkans, he chose to brave the rushing waters. Throwing caution to the winds, Raff shot into the river like an arrow and took off at an alarming pace.
He was feeling good until he spied the telltale white in front of him. The current sped up suddenly as he reached the rapids. He soon realized he was no longer in control. The current tossed him this way and that, his rudder proving useless against the hectic rapids. As he was rushed along, his head was suddenly forced below the surface. He was struggling for breath, his body utterly limp and at the mercy of the river. As the rapids let up and his head came above the surface, he gasped for air, breathinga sigh of relief. No more rapids were in sight. Then he saw it. Directly in front of him, a dark, water-drenched stone stuck out of the water like a pinnacle. Its point was deadly sharp, and its black body loomed out of the mist like a grim reaper preparing for the kill. Raff barely had time to collect his thoughts before it was upon him. Just in front of him, the black was growing ever larger. It had almost completely consumed his vision when he heard a loud thonk and a searing pain pervaded his body. That was the last thing he remembered.
Twurl, high in the treetops of an ancient elm, peered apprehensively down at captain Strenk, now almost directly below her. She had made up her mind. She would distract the rats with her sling while the others escaped to safety. She knew it was a long shot, but she would do anything for her friends. She knew she was risking her life, and she was proud of it as well. She had always wanted to die a hero, and now she could do that and protect the friends she had had and loved all of her life.
"Spread out and search the woodlands", boomed captain Strenk. "Meet at Gopher's Point at 300 hours. All captives are to be taken alive. No exceptions"
The army acted promptly, splitting into five equal groups. Three continued through the woodlands, but two split and moved through the surrounding woodlands at a rapid pace.
Twurl had to admire their discipline, but they had made a mistake by splitting up. Now she could pick them off one by one. With a secret smile hovering on her soft features, the squirrelmaid dashed over the treetops, sling in hand and pride in her heart.
Billybab crouched low, afraid to move even an inch. There were Strenkans all around him now; he could feel it. The drumbeat had faded into the distance, but the occasional footfall could easily be picked out from the eerily silent atmosphere. He should have run while he had the chance. He didn't know why he hadn't. It had just seemed the natural thing to dive into the undergrowth at the time. It was as his mother had always said; he was a sillybeast. Moles were known for their sensibility, but not Billybab.
"Why can't I just be a normal mole?" Billybab wondered in anguish and despair.
This feeling of grief was just passing through his mind when a coarse, hairy hand grabbed him by the collar and roughly pulled him from his hiding spot.
"I've got a little 'un!" called a gruff voice from right next to Billybab's ear.
"Tie him up quicklike, that's what I say," a high squeaky one replied from nearby.
"I ain't takin' orders from yew, slobbersnout," the gruff voice said menacingly. "You're a dirty liar and a coward, and I could lay you flat iffin I had a mind to."
Apparently he didn't, because a firm grip was maintained on Billybab as he was tied fast to a tree. He looked up to see a huge rat standing above him, his hands on his hips and his face fixed in a smug smile.
"W-w-w-what d-do you w-w-want with me?" Billybab managed to squeak out.
"Shuttup, scum", the Strenkan rat ordered, silencing the young mole with a single sharp, painful kick in the behind. Turning away in contempt he yelledat a group of huddled rats nearby, "put this 'un under heavy guard. He's a troublemaker, I kin tell a'ready"
As the rat strode off and was consumed by the unfathomable depths of the forest, the party of tough-looking rats advanced menacingly on Billybab. The closest one drew up near his face and snarled, apparently trying to intimidate the young mole. When Billybab began weeping in terror, the rat struck up a rough sort of laughter that was imitated by his followers. However, their laughter was cut to an abrupt stop when the leader slumped suddenly to the ground, a sharp stone tumbling to the earth beside him.
Billybab looked up and saw a dark shape flitting among the branches.
"Enemy! In the trees!", a voice shouted, then rapped out commands. "Combat formation B. All-out frontal assault, commence! Fire at will!"
A volley of arrows was launched into the overhanging branches. A nondescript shadowfarted back and forth, apparently evading the assault. Within seconds two more rats had been struck by stones and lay dead on the ground.
"Don't let up!" a voice rasped, and with renewed strength, arrows were loosed into the treetops.
A tiny thud was heard as an arrow hit home. In the distance, a small, furry shape could be seen falling to the ground. A flurry of leaves rose from the forest floor where the shape had fallen.
Billybab's heart was racing. Twurl! It couldn't be, it just couldn't. As the rats raced to the scene of the commotion, a second shape dropped to the ground right in front of Billybab. It was Twurl! He had never been happier to see her face in his life. He was about to cry out, but she silenced him with a gentle finger on the lips. She gestured quickly at the rats, who, she knew, would soon discover that the shape they had hit was a decoy she had made of moss and leaves.
After deftly untying Billybab, Twurl picked him up and laboriously carried him into the treetops. She made it just in time. The Strenkans had discovered the decoy and now were regrouping. Without a thought to their safety, Twurlslowly made her wayoff towards the edge of the glade with Billybab in tow. When she got to the edge of the forest, she gently let him down to the ground.
"Quick," she told him. "Run home to your burrow before it's too late."
"But what will you do?", asked Billybab.
"Never you mind. I'll be fine, I promise," Twurl told him.
Billybab consented quickly and dashed off towards his home. Twurl climbed back into the woods and made her way to the one place she knew she would be safe: Redwall Abbey. As she looked back over her shoulder, she saw, to her horror, a group of six Strenkans hotly pursuing Billybab across the hilly country near his home. As he grew nearer and nearer to the hill his home was hidden, the Strenkans grew nearer and nearer to him. He had just reached the entrance to the burrow when a rat in the frontrunners reached out and seized him bodily. Twurl, overcome with guilt and grief, turned away and tore through the overlying foliage.
The soft treesfelt good under her paws, but sadness felt heavy in her heart. Her eyes blurred with tears as she ran at a breakneck speed. She could not see where she was going. However, herlegs carried her along at a rapid pace, as she knew the Strenkans must be close on her heels. Carrying blindly onward, her foot snagged on something hard and sharp. She fell forward with an abrupt lurch and her head hit a thick branch. Hard.
As her world turned to darkness, Twurl's last vision was that of a small cloaked creature standing over her, its face enshrouded by the voluminous folds of its hood.
