Shadowy forms moved silently through the ferns under the forest. The night was black, the moon and stars being blocked by rolling dark clouds. A soft drizzle fell from the bleak sky, making mud and slick ground.
The shadows turned out to be Begon, Soma, and three shrews. The night's bad weather made their cloths uncomfortably damp, the wet cloth rubbing against their fur. Despite this, the night was perfect. Under the cover of the black clouds, the group could enter Peace Vally without having to worry about moonlight or starlight giving them away.
This small band wove quickly and quietly through the forest ground, going to complete their mission. The plan was to assassinate Rangar, the fox leader of the hord of brushrsts. After this, the hord will have no head. No leader, no order. In this time of chaos, Rudon will bring his army to crush the brushrats and take back Peace Valley.
Rudon wanted Soma and Begon to go on this mission with a few select warrior shrews. An otter and a mountain mouse are way bigger and stronger than any one shrew, which is why they where specifically chosen to slay Rangar. They stand more of a chance against him than anybeast else. But of course the plan was to take the fox lord out in his sleep, that way their is no risk of anyone getting hurt or killed. However, it is always good to come prepared as possible.
As the group moved further forward, they could make out dark, blocky shapes through the trees. It was the wall and watchtower. Begon saw the outline of a brushrat sentry walking pacing on the wall, and his heart started pounding in both excitement and fear.
I can do this. I am a mountain mouse, Begon though. I can take out Rangar and any brushrats that get in my way. I can do it, just like Martin. Just like a hero.
However, even after prep talking himself, Begon couldn't shake of the feeling that something was wrong. Kind of like his fur was being brushed the wrong way. Something just didn't feel right. Begon tried to put this off as nerves. All warriors must feel fear at some point, especially before their first big battle.
The hidden crew came to a halt, just under where the treeling met the valley. And for the first time, they got a clear view of Peace Valley. A large, grassy field stretched out before them, wet with the drizzling rain that was slowly getting heavier. In the background was tall, toothy mountains that dominated the sky. Begon's heart leaped with a sudden joy that warmed him. It was something in Begon's mountain mouse blood that made him feel right at home near mountains. Oh, he wondered what it would be like to climb one. How wonderful and amazing and beautiful it would be.
The mountains are not what I came for, Begon scolded himself for loosing his track of thought on the mission. But he still couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever climbed a mountain before his settlement was destroyed, before combing to Redwall as an orphan.
No, what he came for was in the foreground. In the grassy field stood a dilapidated, castle-like building made of rough cobblestone and wood. In a way, the building almost resembled a shrunken, ghostly skeleton of Redwall. As if this fort on Peace Vally could be mirroring some horrifying future of Redwall.
The thought made Begon shudder.
Soma clasped Begon's shoulder. "Cold rain, mate," the otter whispered. "Hoff should be here shortly."
The minuets ticked by, until finally the spiky figure of Hoff walked down the dirt road to the front gate of the fort. The brushrat sentries on top of the wall obove the gate pointed down at the hedgehog and seemed to be talking amongst each other. One of the two guards manning the front gate on the dirt road put his paw up to the wall sentries, but also made a few other signs as if to say 'keep watch, be ready.'
When Hoff reaches the front gate, he was confronted by the two guards.
"What do you want, hedgehog?" said the first guard in a gruff voice.
"Well, y'see," Hoff said, "I be a traveler. Yep, that be me. I've done traveled a long way, see? And y'know, a traveler gets awful tired-"
"Get on with it," the second guard snapped.
"Ye'sir," Hoff replied, still showing his quaint smile. "S' I'm tired. An' heard of a place called Peace Valley. S' y'see, I thought I'd come here t'see if y'all had shelter or food."
"You've come to the wrong place," sniffed the first guard.
"Begone, hedgehog," warned the second guard.
"Then what's this place, anywho?" asked Hoff. "S'as I'm walkin' I see this here building..."
During this confrontation, Begon's crew wasted no time. With the guards distracted by Hoff, Soma aimed his loaded bow at the dark shape of a sentry one of the four watchtowers, the closest one too them. The otter let go of the bowstring and a split second later, the sentry fell silently, an arrow through his heart.
One particularly skilled shrew named Madro rushes forward, ducking down in the grass completely. He ran through the field, any disturbances in the grass looking like it was caused by the wind. Soon, the shrew climbing the watchtower, grabbing the brushrat's body, and heading back to the treeline where his group where waiting. Madro made it back and hid the body in some ferns. Then, he spoke his report softly.
"Hoff's distraction is working, all the guards on the front-face are preoccupied with him, besides this one," the shrew grimly joked. "Now that this sentry is down, we should be able to enter the watchtower unseen. Come quickly, follow me."
Soma and the other shrews followed Madro, their forms covered by the tall grass and the movements hidden by the wind and rain. However, Begon hesitated. The mountain mouse looked at the place where the dead brushrat was hidden. Begon decided to search the body, and found an old cutlass. With a soft clank, Begon fixed the rat's weapon to his belt and discarded the rapier.
This will be much better than that tiney shrew weapon, Begon thought as he moved into the grass to catch up to the others.
Silent as shadows, the group opened the door to the watchtower and entered the rough-looking building. The inside looked like something similar to a log cabin. There was no furnishings on the inside, just a latter leading to the top of the tower.
Madro put a claw to his mouth as a reminder to the others to keep silent, his figure barely visible in the dark. He listened for a moment and looked around, then he motioned for the others to follow him.
They followed single-filled, with Madro up front. The group claimed the old wood latter, eventually stopping on the first floor. It was a simple wood platform, with a door that led out to the top of the wall. If they where to climb the latter further, they would be on top of the watchtower. But they needed to stop on the first floor, then go out the door to the top of the wall.
Slowly and carefully, the group moved along the wall, ducked under the cover of the wood spikes framing the wall. The rain was much heavier now, drumming on the surrounding building. While the group was thankful for the rain to cover their sounds of footfall, the rain also made the stone they trod on slick.
Everybeast continued forward, until Madro halted them. The shrew tied a rope to one of the wood spikes lining the wall and used it to climb downwards, to the ground. The others followed. They continued to walk, this time inside the fort of Peace Vally. They creeped behind the misshapen old cottages and huts that served as lodging for the hord. The only decent place was a small, tower-like building made of cobblestone.
That building was the home of Rangar.
The group headed to the oaken front door of this small tower. Madro greased the hinges, then he opened the door slowly, silently. Everybeast filed into the throne hall. It was pretty dark and empty inside, with only six candles lighting the hall, three candles lining each wall. There was a rope tied to each candle, attaching them together and leading to the pitch-black back of the hall, where the throne was supposed to be. Begon thought the ropes where some type of cheap decoration, since this place obviously didn't have the luxurious resources to make fine decor. The group walked further down the hall, door clanking shut behind them.
"Now," Soma whispered, "we just have to get to Rangar's sleeping quarters and finish him there, quick and easy."
Begon nodded, his confidence surging. If word spread that he, Begon, slew Rangar the fox, he'd be regarded as a hero. Maybe even the recorder of Redwall will write a story about him and put him in the Redwall Chronicles. Then maybe Begon would get as much respect as Gred. And if Begon found Martin's sword on top of that, he'd be renowned as one of the best heros yet to date in the new age.
A loud, soupy voice coming from the end of the hall broke Begon's thoughts. "Oh, you won't find Rangar in his sleeping quarters."
Suddenly, a dark figure walked into view from the shadows where the throne was. It yanked on the ropes that Begon thought where decorations. The candles attached to that rope where pulled off the walls, landing in a big, goblet-shaped fireplace. The kindling caught instantly and lit up the room in a blinding light after being in the dark for so long. The members of the group shielded their eyes in shock, trying to recover as fast as they could. Once his eyes adjusted, Begon could see a tall, lean red fox standing in front of the throne with a smirk on his face.
"That's right," the red fox said," Rangar is not asleep, he is right in front of you."
