Meanwhile Bugs Bunny and the Stickle family were trying to find Brockhall. Ben squinted down at the map in his paws. "I can't read this. Somebody's spilled coffee all over it."

At that moment a figure bounded out from behind a snow laden bush. Ben nearly jumped out of his spikes.

But it was only a plump little mouse with a sack on his back. "Boo! Guess who? Hahaha, Ben, me old matey, you should have seen your face just then. Who's your friend?"

Ben recovered quickly. "Gonff, I might have known! This is Bugs Bunny. We're lookin' for Brockhall."

"What's up, Doc?" said Bugs.

The mouse extended a paw. "My name's Gonff the Mousethief, or Prince of Mousethieves to you, matey. I'm as likely a cove as ever pirated vittles from Kotir's galley."

"Have you been stealing from Koitr again, Gonff? What did you pinch this time?" Goody asked.

Gonff pulled a wedge of cheese out of his sack and tossed it over to the little hedgehogs. "It's not pinching or stealing if it comes out of Kotir, mateys. It's called liberating."

"Reminds me of when I used to liberate carrots from the gardens of hunters who wanted to make me into rabbit stew," Bugs laughed. "So I guess you're sorta like the Robin Hood of this place? Ya rob from the rich an' give to the poor?"

"That's about right, matey."

"Ya know, doc, I've done a little of that sorta thing myself. Whaddya say we team up sometime?"

"Sounds good to me."

Ben broke in. "Gonff, I need you to help us find Corim headquarters. I got this map from a mole, but Brockhall isn't marked anywhere on here, and it looks like somebeast poured a cup of coffee on the map."

Gonff took the map from him and burst out laughing. "Sillyspikes, the coffee stain is what marks the location of Brockhall! We don't want to put it in plain sight for anybeast to see, so we just put the stain there to mark it. You're supposed to head for the spot on the map where the coffee is. Follow me, matey. I'll have you there in two shakes of a cat's whisker."

Goody shuddered. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that, you little rogue."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At Kotir the next morning, Ashleg knocked on Verdauga's bedroom door. "My Lord Greeneyes, your breakfast is ready."

There was no reply.

Ashleg knocked again. Still no answer. He knew Verdauga hated to be disturbed, but he was starting to get worried. Slowly Ashleg pushed the door open and slipped inside. He found Lord Verdauga Greeneyes lying dead on his bed!

Ashleg panicked and rushed out of the room. He ran gibbering down the hallway, right into Tsarmina.

"Out of my way, woodenpin!" Tsarmina snapped.

"Lady Tsarmina, your father, he's dead!"

Tsarmina pretended to be shocked. "My father, dead?"

"I found him lying on his bed this morning."

Ashleg led Tsarmina into the bedroom, where she surveyed her father's body. "You're right, for once, weasel."

"Um, I'm not a weasel. I'm a pine marten…"

Tsarmina cut him off with a growl. "Fetch the fox and be quick about it."

Ashleg went and got Fortunata. Fortunata pretended to examine the corpse. "It looks like he's been poisoned," she said.

Tsarmina's cruel eyes burned. "My brother Gingivere must have done this. He's the one who gave Father his medicine last night!"

"What's going on?" Gingivere poked his head through the doorway.

Tsarmina pointed an accusing claw at him. "Murderer! You killed our father!"

"What?"

"Guards! Seize him!"

A weasel and a stoat came up behind Gingivere and each grabbed one of his arms.

"When our father went to bed last night, he was fine," Tsarmina said. "Now he's dead."

"Well, I didn't kill him," said Gingivere.

"The only thing he had was the medicine you gave him!" said Tsarmina.

Gingivere looked into Ashleg's eyes. "This is a setup. It's got to be. You know me. I wouldn't hurt anybeast."

"Shut up!" The pine marten raised his wooden leg and kicked Gingivere in the face. "You're a murderin' traitor! You probably killed your father just so you could become king!" Ashleg hadn't been in on the plot, so he truly believed Gingivere was a killer. His anger was genuine, which made him all the more dangerous to Gingivere.

Tsarmina raised her voice. "Silence! I will say what is to be done here. Even though my brother is a murderer, I cannot harm him. He will stay locked up in the cells until he lives out his days. He is now dead to me; I never again want to hear his name spoken within the walls of Kotir."

The guards marched Gingivere down to the dungeons and put him in a cell right across from Martin. Martin gaped at him. "What are you doing in here?"

Blood dripped from Gingivere's mouth. "My father is dead, and Tsarmina blames me."

"But you didn't actually kill him?"

"No. I think the fox, Fortunata, must have put poison in the medicine I gave to my father, on Tsarmina's orders."

"When I was taken prisoner, you were the only one who tried to help me," Martin said. "You said I should be set free. I've not forgotten that, even though we're on opposite sides. Maybe we can help each other."

Upstairs they could hear the soldiers chanting, "Long live Queen Tsarmina! Long live Queen Tsarmina!" It was going to be a long, hard winter.