Next morning, Tweety brought news of Ferdy and Coggs to Brockhall.

"Da two liddle hedgehogs are still alive," he said. "But da puddy tat's got 'em locked up in da dungeons. I taw dem through a window. She's twying to get da location of Bwockhall out of dem."

Skipper slammed a paw against the hearth. "Mates, it doesn't bear thinkin' about, those two pore little fellers in the vermin's brig."

"Ya know, Tweety, ya don't have to keep goin' back there anymore," Bugs said. "Tsarmina's got Dip now. She could melt you into a puddle."

Tweety just giggled. "I'll be fine. She'll never catch me. I'm faster'n any puddy tat!"

"Okay, if you're sure."

"An' if I do get Dipped, I guess you can just double my fee again, huh?" Tweety flew off.

"What are we going to do?" Goody fretted.

Gonff was in no doubt at all. "We'll rescue little Ferdy and Coggs back straightaway. That's what we'll do, mateys!"

There was a roar of approval.

"Say, where did Martin an' Bella get to?" Bugs asked.

"They've been in Bella's study all morning, working on something," Gonff said.

"Let's go find 'em, Doc."

They found the study in a bit of a mess. Cupboards had been turned out and Bella's desk was emptied. Scrolls were all over the floor. Martin and Bella were searching the shelves for something.

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

"We're looking for information on Salamandastron," Martin said.

Bugs whistled. "Boy, what a moniker. Who is this Salamandastron?"

"It's not a person, it's a place," Bella said. "A big mountain by the sea somewhere."

"An' why are ya tryin' to get the dope on it?"

"Because Bella's father, Boar the Fighter lives there," said Martin. "I'm going to go on a quest and bring him back here to help us fight Tsarmina."

Bugs rubbed his paws together. "Sounds good to me, Doc. When do we start?"

"You mean you want to come with me?"

"Course I do. How d'ya expect to go on a quest without an able-bodied assistant?"

"I'm coming too, matey," said Gonff. "You'll be a lot safer with a prince of thieves along."

Martin took each of their paws in his. "What good friends you are, both of you."

"So we're trying to find a map that leads to Salamandastron," Bella said. "There must be one somewhere around here, but these old scrolls are in a bit of a mess."

"We'll help ya look," Bugs said.

But even with Bugs and Gonff helping, they still couldn't find anything. They searched for several hours.

Martin banged his paw on the desktop in frustration. "If only we knew ex… oof!"

A secret drawer shot out from the desk, catching the warrior mouse heavily in his stomach. He sat down, surprised and winded.

Bugs pointed. "Look, there's somethin' in there."

Bella took the single yellowed parchment from the drawer and read its contents aloud.

"To the mountain of fire where badgers go,

The path is fraught with danger.

The way is long and hard and slow,

Through foe and hostile stranger.

The warrior's heart must never fail,

Or falter on his quest.

Those who live to turn the tale,

First must turn the crest."

Gonff looked bemused. "Is that all?"

Martin took the parchment and scanned it carefully on both sides. "Yes, that seems to be it."

Bella sat in her chair with an air of resignation. "Well, there doesn't appear to be much to go on."

Bugs tapped the parchment with his gloved hands. "It's a start, though. This here's a clue, maybe: 'Those who live to tell the tale, first must turn the crest.' Now, where is this crest an' how do we turn it?"

Bella pondered awhile. "I think it's talking about the Brockhall shield- that's the badger family crest. It takes the form of a shield with the great oak of Brockhall on one half and the stripes of a badger on the other. Beneath it is a scroll bearing our family motto, 'To serve at home or afar.' It hangs over the hearth in the main hall."

Martin waved his broken sword excitedly. "Well, come on, let's try it!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The crest over the hearth was carved into the top lintel of the wide fireplace.

"Are we just supposed to turn it like a doorknob?" Martin wondered.

"I dunno. Try it, Doc."

Martin tried, but it didn't move.

"Maybe you need to grease it up a bit," Gonff suggested. He pulled a piece of cheese out of his pocket and rubbed it around the edges of the crest. After a short interval he wiped his paws upon his jerkin and gave the crest a skillful twist. The entire crest started to move outward. A hollow wooden cylinder dropped out. When they opened it up, they found a scroll and some leaves inside.

Martin picked up one of the leaves. "Look, Bella. What do you suppose this means?"

The badger shrugged. "They're just old leaves. Let's see what the parchment says."

This is what it said:

"Boar is badger named after wood,

Not after forest but trees.

Where did you play on a rainy day?

Where did I eat bread and cheese?

Search inside, stay indoors,

Look up and find the secret is yours.

Your castle your fort,

Or so you thought.

The way is in four trees.

The way is in Boar in Brockhall

Under ale, under bread, under cheese."

Martin leaned back against the fireplace. "Phew! That's a right old riddle and no mistake."

"I recognize the handwriting," Bella said. "My grandfather, Lord Brocktree, must have written this for Boar to read."

Gonff repeated the first line. "Boar is badger named after wood. I never knew your father was named after a wood, Bella. If he'd been named after the wood, he'd be called Mossboar or Boarflower or Mossboarflower…"

Martin silenced the mousethief with a stern look. "Please, Gonff, we're supposed to be solving the riddle, not fooling about. The second line tells you that Boar is not named after the forest, but after the trees."

"Trees… leaves!" Bugs muttered.

Martin looked at him quizzically. "What are you on about?"

"These leaves can't be here just for decoration. They must mean somethin'."

"You're probably right, but what do they mean?"

Bella touched them lightly with her paw. "Well, let's see. There's four leaves here- an ash, an oak, a rowan and a beech. There's nothing written or sketched on them."

"Maybe you're supposed to arrange them in a certain pattern," Bugs suggested.

Martin took the leaves and started shuffling them around. "Ash, beech, rowan, oak; rowan, oak, beech, ash. I don't know."

Gonff smiled in a highly superior way. "Listen, matey, it's a good thing I'm a prince of leaf-puzzle solvers. Try this: beech, oak, ash, rowan!"

"Is this another one of your jokes, Gonff?" Bella asked, eying him sternly.

"No, it's one of Lord Brocktree's jokes! Beech, oak, ash, and rowan in that order, can't you see, it's the first letter of each one. B-O-A-R. That spells Boar!"

Bella shook his paw warmly. "You're right. Boar is badger, named after wood, not after forest but trees. He was literally named after four trees!"

Bugs pointed at the paper. "An' look at this line further down. 'Search inside, stay indoors.' That must mean the map is somewhere inside Brockhall; we don't hafta go out scouring the woods."

"But where indoors?" Martin scratched his head.

"Well, it says, 'Where did you play on a rainy day? Where did I eat bread and cheese?' We just gotta find where Boar the Fighter played on a rainy day while his dad was eatin'. Where would that have been, Miz Bella?"

"I don't know. It's hard to imagine my father playing."

"He must've played when he was a Dibbun," Gonff said.

"I wasn't even born then," said Bella. "And Father never talked too much about playing when he was little."

"Did he ever say where Lord Brocktree went to eat his bread and cheese?" Martin asked.

"Hmm, not really. I expect he ate it in the kitchen, like everybeast does."

"Say, why do you guys in Mossflower always say 'everybeast' instead of 'everyone'?" Bugs interjected. "I mean, ya don't start countin' by sayin' 'Beast, two, three, four,' do ya? Anyway, let's go to the kitchen."

When they went into the kitchen, Bella made a discovery. "Look, this table is made of beech, oak, ash, and rowan."

"Those same four trees again," Martin said. "That can't be a coincidence."

Bella got a far off look in her eyes. "I remember when I was a Dibbun, I used to play under this table myself. There was a big white tablecloth on it then. I would pretend it was my tent…"

It came to Martin like a flash. "Not Boar the Fighter, though. When he was a Dibbun, he'd probably pretend it was a fort or a castle. 'Your castle your fort, or so you thought.'" He scrambled underneath the table. "Ha, here's an odd thing. Underneath here is covered with a few pieces of chestnut bark. Pass me your knife, Gonff."

Martin worked away underneath the table, cutting the chestnut bark and tossing it out. The other three inspected each piece of bark for clues without success.

Bugs tossed a piece away in disgust. "Nuts! There ain't nothin' here!"

"There's something here though." Martin emerged from under the table with another scroll in his paws. "This was laid between the bark and the table. Look, it's covered with strange writing."

Bella took it from him. "This is the ancient badger language. Luckily, I know how to read it. Right, back to my study."