CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

"So, Lieutenant, do you think Mykola is alive, or dead?'

"I honestly do not know, Lady."

Mina and Custis leaned against the balcony wall of Foxguard's observation tower, gazing out over the evening forest. Both squirrels needed the support to rest upon, having taken the spiral staircase up to the lofty summit; the Lieutenant, wishing to demonstrate his independence from Tolar, had insisted upon making the climb under his own power rather than relying on the swordfoxes or their weasel laborers. Two of those weasels shared lookout duty this night, and were all but dumbfounded to see the Gawtrybe emerge unheralded from the stairwell; not only had they not been informed to expect any visitors, but nobeast climbed those thousand-odd steps to get to the observation deck!

Two other members of Custis's brigade had accompanied Mina and their commander up to the tower top, but did not join them out on the open deck.

"I still don't know how much I can trust Tolar," Custis went on. "I just have the feeling that if I take everything he says at face value, I'll be making a grave mistake."

"Perhaps you are the one making the grave mistake, Lieutenant - at least as far as graves are concerned, if you'll pardon the pun. You and your squirrels examined every square pace of these grounds, and uncovered no sign of any fresh burial plot where Mykola could have been interred. Nor did you find any evidence of such outside the walls, in the surrounding clearing or in the nearer woods where a body could have reasonably been carried. What you did find was the very clear tracks of a lame fox going several hundred paces into the south woods before they doubled back and abruptly disappeared. I'd surmise Tolar was correct in his assessment of Mykola's pursuit-eluding abilities."

"Unless Tolar sent out his other lame fox to make those pawprints and throw us off track. He's got another one in his squad, you know."

Mina shook her head. "Mykola and Dalkeith have their limps in different legs, and Dalkeith's is the result of a battle wound, not something he was born with like Mykola's malady is. I am sure those tracks we saw were Mykola's ... and the witnesses we interviewed all corroborated that he left Foxguard in that direction, alone, just as all the signs indicate."

"And that's another thing," Custis growled, unwilling to concede the point. "Just how trustworthy were those so-called witnesses anyway? You notice Tolar insisted upon being present when we questioned them ... "

"Which made sense, considering that those witnesses consisted of one junior swordfox, two cadets and two weasels - all creatures either youthful and inexperienced enough or lowly enough to be easily intimidated by us."

"Maybe a little intimidation is exactly what the situation called for, since Tolar himself has shown he's not about to be intimidated, and he could very easily have briefed and coached them all on what to say."

"Even with Tolar there, I think those weasels and cadets were flustered enough by our questioning that they would have betrayed any inconsistencies in a fabricated cover story. And as for Roxroy, I've gotten to know him fairly well in his dealings with Redwall, and I know him to be an earnest and forthright beast. Tolar might be able to keep something from us or concoct and elaborate ruse, but I do not deem that Roxroy could. But if Tolar truly were trying to deceive us, why would he not have arranged for his highest-ranking foxes to have directly backed up his version of events? As it was, they only thing they could confirm was the discovery of Mykola's apparent resignation under his pillow ... "

"A letter which Tolar admitted under duress to having burned. The one document, in the missing beast's own paw, which might have exonerated Tolar, and he goes and burns it! Why would he do such a thing, if he's not trying to hide something?"

"He stated pretty adamantly that it was because he never expected he'd have to justify or explain himself, as well as to respect Mykola's privacy."

"Pah! It only makes Mykola look more guilty, even if his Sword is guilty of nothing more than covering up his crimes for him. But even if all we heard today was true, the manner in which he was seen to leave and in which his letter was discovered after the fact would clearly suggest that Mykola didn't resign at all, as Tolar maintains. If that's not a desertion, I don't know what is."

"I would largely agree with you on that score, Lieutenant. So, are you going to go after him?"

"That depends on what Lord Urthblood says ... "

As if on cue, a light flared from somewhere up above them, an undulating blaze in the pervading twilight casting their aerial terrace into an island of brightness. Mina glanced up in surprise as the loud crackling of combusting drywood reached her ears. "Lieutenant, what are you doing?"

"Sending a message to His Lordship. It's too late in the day to dispatch Klystra, and I don't want to wait. My squirrels and I know how to employ the signal mirror; we've done it enough times at Salamandastron. And I'm keeping this one short and simple."

"Does Tolar know you planned to do this?"

"That would rather defeat the purpose, Lady, wouldn't it?"

The two weasels assigned high watch, realizing themselves what was going on when they saw the signal fire lit, raced over to the two Gawtrybe. "Sir," one stammered, "are you sendin' a message to Saman'dastron?"

"I am."

"Did Sword Tolar authorize it?"

"I authorized it." When the weasel pair looked to each other as if wordlessly debating whether they ought to put a stop to this, Custis added, "Consider carefully your next move. If you interfere in any way with the message I am sending, or with the reply I expect to receive this evening, I will make sure Lord Urthblood knows both your names in my next dispatch to him."

The weasel lookouts withdrew into the domed enclosure of the observation deck without further objection; clearly this matter was beyond them, and best left for the Gawtrybe and swordfox commanders to work out between themselves.

Down at ground level, the lighting of the signal fire did not go unnoticed. Walltop sentries spotted it first, being farther from the base of the tower and not having to look straight up to see the apex. And since none had been notified of any communication with Salamandastron scheduled for that evening, runners quickly came down from the lower ramparts to find and alert Tolar. In very short order the fox Sword, his interrupted dinner now forgotten, stood out on the grounds under the silver twilit sky, craning his neck to confirm that yes, the signal mirror was indeed in use. Even as he watched, he observed the intermittent flashes of the enormous reflective instrument being swung back and forth, transmitting its unknown message to the mountain fortress by the sea.

"Fur 'n' thunder!" Tolar swore to himself. "What does that pompous, usurping treejumper think he's doing now?"

Several of the nearby Gawtrybe - all of whom were camped out in the courtyard for the night - looked askance at the swordfox chieftain over this less-than-complimentary imprecation of their own commander, but showed enough discretion to hold their tongues.

"Shall we go up and stop him, sir?" Sappakit asked.

"If it's a short message - and I suspect it will be - we'd never reach him in time. He might even be finished before we can even get the elevator in motion."

"That's assuming it's running at all," added Haddican, "and Custis hasn't ordered our weasels to stand down from the winch until he's finished with the mirror."

Tolar eyed his fellow veteran fox. "Not even the Lieutenant would overstep his authority that egregiously."

"Are you sure about that, sir?" Sappakit said. "This is, after all, the very same squirrel who all but accused you of murder, or treason, or both, and interrogated your seniormost foxes to try to prove it."

"Hmm. Point taken, Sapp. But we'd still never get up there in time, even if the winching crew is still on duty."

"Maybe not to stop the message being sent, sir. But there's still the matter of the reply, which may take some time in coming. And we'll not be able to see for ourselves what it is if we're down here."

"Another valid point, Sapp. But I'd like to try something else first. Where's Captain Klystra? Will somebeast go fetch him please?"

The falcon officer was quickly called down from his open guest roost atop the fortress's third level roof, flapping earthward to join the assembled Foxguarders and encamped Gawtrybe upon the courtyard lawns.

"Hope you ask no flying," Klystra told the Sword. "Almost dark soon, do not fly as night."

"Don't worry, Captain, it won't be a flight of distance - just altitude." Tolar pointed straight up at the tower peak. "Somebeast is using the signal mirror without my authorization - although it's fairly safe to assume who it must be. Would you please fly up there and see what the Lieutenant is up to?"

Without a word, Klystra clacked his beak and launched his formidable form straight off from the lawns, soaring into the fading sky. Going into a spiralling climb that looped around the tower in wide swoops during his powerful ascent, he attained the balcony wall and alighted upon it with the practiced ease and utter fearlessness of a winged creature, perched half over the dizzying precipice and barely visible to those looking on from below.

Whatever falcon and squirrel had to say to each other didn't take long, and Klystra was soon gliding back down again, following the same oblique corkscrew pattern as his ascent, and finally thumping onto the ground before the awaiting Tolar once more. "Well?" the Sword prompted.

"Routine status report, nothing more," the bird replied.

"Oh? And just what status is it that he's reporting?"

"Did not say. Said only Gawtrybe message meant for Lord Urthblood, and Gawtrybe will take care of it."

"Is that so? Well, this is my fortress, and I'll not have anybeast beaming communiques from my tower without even knowing what they are." Tolar motioned to Sappakit, Haddican and a couple of his other senior foxes. "Come on, let's go see what this is all about. Looks like we will be taking the elevator this evening after all."

Their small party marched across the courtyard and into the fortress to the central tower shaft ... and shortly thereafter, the elevator summons bell up in the observation deck began to ring with impatient urgency.

Away at Redwall, Latura and Winokur stood atop the east wall, leaning against the battlements there just as Mina and Custis had leaned upon the high balcony at Foxguard. Otter Recorder and rat refugee enjoyed the fresh, clear spring evening air, the atmospheric clarity making the brilliant flashes from the towertop all the more prominent.

"Th' bad red's talkin' to each other agin."

"Yes, we can often see when Foxguard and Salamandastron are messaging each other, especially at night. You must admit, they've got a lot to talk about these days, with everything that's going on - and you can't expect Klystra to go flying back and forth between here and the coast everytime Tolar and Urthblood have a question for each other, or need some small point of clarification, now can you? But don't you worry - no matter what they're saying to each other, you're safe inside Redwall now. And the only way the Gawtrybe will threaten you anymore is if they declare war on Redwall itself!"

Latura shook her head. "Nay, t'ain't about us this time. About us rats, I mean. They're talkin' 'bout sumpthin' else. Red 'gainst red."

"Red against red?" Winokur suddenly grew worried. "Could Urthblood actually be contemplating ... ?" He didn't wish to finish such a disconcerting thought, but then something else occurred to him. "Or is this about your vision? By the tapestry? The red badger against the Warrior of the red Abbey?"

"Naw, t'ain't about us at all, this night," Latura assured him. "It's bad red turnin' on itself. Can't tell what it's all about, or where it leads. But it's happ'nin'."

Winokur mulled this over. "Well, according to you, the 'bad red' is the Gawtrybe, and it's Urthblood, and it's maybe Foxguard too, at least from where you rats stand. That's an awful lot of bad red. Any idea which is turning against which?"

"Hard t' say. All mixed up, an' more t' come. Bad feelin's, all confused ... " She wrapped her paw round Winokur's waist, and this time the otter could stand unflinching, assured that he wouldn't catch any more fleas again, thanks to Arlyn's treatments. "Keep us safe, Greenpup. Keep my Da safe, an' the others too. Can't be taken away now, not after comin' all this way."

Winokur draped a comforting webbed paw around her shoulders. "Nobeast here is going to allow any rat to be taken from within these walls against their will, as long as we have anything to say about it. And we've got plenty of otters and hares, and squirrels of our own too, to back that up."

Latura rested her head against his breast. "I know you'll do a good job o' it. Greenpup always does."

"I'd like to think I do." Winokur stared at the distant tower summit, meaningful flashes sparkling off of it. "I wonder it they're answering a message of Urthblood's, or sending one of their own? We can only ever guess at that whenever we see that device in use, since we're nowhere near high enough to see Salamandastron from here." After a long pause he added, "But if you really do foresee some manner of strife at Foxguard, maybe the Abbot had better tell our Sparra to make daily flights there too, as well as those to the quarry."

Back at the fox fortress, it took longer than anticipated for Tolar to reach the observation deck. With the weasels pressed into special service these days, the labor pool was stretched thinner than usual, and one area suffering cutbacks was the safety bar crews for the elevator ... many of whom were now, of necessity, junior and cadet foxes rather than the regular weasels. With only half the normal number of beasts staffing the tower stations, crews found themselves doing double duty, having to clear and replace the catcher timbers for the ascending elevator as it passed, then racing up the twisting staircase to the next station ahead of the rising platform so that they could perform the same operation all over again. And the winch weasels at the top of the tower, aware of this shortage of muscle power, factored it into their own efforts, turning their winch handles at a more measured rate accordingly. As a result, Tolar's party found themselves reaching the towertop dome in nearly twice the time the vertical journey typically took.

The foxes waited for the weasels to secure the elevator, then stepped off onto the stone floor and strode out onto the open balcony to confront Custis and Mina. "Lieutenant," Tolar bit off, "what is the meaning of this? I did not authorize you to use our signal mirror."

"Your mirror?" Custis shot back with his usual air of self-assurance. "I would remind you that that mirror apparatus is the property of Lord Urthblood, and not your own personal plaything. And as one of his commanding officers, I am perfectly entitled to make use of it, without having to seek your permission. Indeed, as the senior Gawtrybe personally appointed by Lord Urthblood to oversee this operation, I can claim special privilege to employ any and all resources at my disposal for whatever I need."

"Ah. And just what message are you sending now, the need for which could not wait?"

"Now? I am sending no message now. The one I was sending was finished before you even rang the bell to be brought up here. And as to its content, I was merely appraising Lord Urthblood of latest developments, and seeking his counsel on the matter."

"And why do I have the feeling that your 'routine status report' may have been far from impartial in its wording, and cast certain parties in an unnecessarily negative light? If Foxguard's signal mirror is to be used in the manner you suggest, Lieutenant, the commander of Foxguard is entitled to know what messages are being sent from his own fortress."

"Let's wait and see what Lord Urthblood has to say about that, shall we?" Custis brusquely pushed past Tolar and the other foxes into the domed shelter. "I'm going up to wait for his reply right now. Perhaps it shall arrive before the night grows too old."

"We'll go with you," Tolar said stiffly as he started to follow.

Custis glanced back over his shoulder. "All of you? I don't think so. There's only room for half a dozen up there, at most, and my squirrels and I will be taking up half that space. Lady Mina, do you care to join us as well?"

Seeing what the Lieutenant was trying to do - crowd out the foxes with Gawtrybe to leave room for few if any of the swordsbeasts up on the signal mirror platform - Mina opted to decline, not caring to heighten tensions any more than they already were. "No thank you, I'll stay down here - this is enough fresh air for me!"

"Suit yourself." Custis proceeded on to the curved staircase up to the roof, Tolar and the others at his heels. Before they'd even reached the bottom step, however, the squirrel Vanacour came pounding down the stairs, parchment flapping in his paw. Startled, Custis inquired, "Van, what is it?"

"Reply, sir." Vanocour held up the parchment, pointing at it as he stepped down onto the floor.

"Already? Lord Urthblood himself must have been up on the plateau of Salamandastron when we sent our message, for such a fast turnaround."

"That would be like him, wouldn't it?" Vanocour said with a lopsided smile. "Nobeast's ever accused that badger of not knowing where to be when he needs to be. Um, did you want me to read it, sir, or did you want to see it yourself?"

Custis eyed Tolar. "Is there anything best not shared aloud?"

"Um ... I don't think so, sir."

"Then read it, and we can all hear His Lordship's will together."

"Yes, sir!" Vanocour held out the message before him. "Build Gawdrey. Commence campaign at once. That is all."

A silence settled over the group. "That's ... it?" Custis prompted. "There's no more?"

"You were expecting something more?" Tolar teased, sensing that the situation had suddenly turned, and not in the Lieutenant's favor. "Sounds like exactly what he already had Klystra tell us yesterday. Just what did your message to Salamandastron say?"

Custis scowled. "It's not important now ... apparently."

"Uh, there's one other thing, sir."

"Yes, Van?"

"The salutation - it addressed you as 'Captain Custis.'"

Custis blinked. "As ... Captain?"

Mina smiled. "Lord Urthblood doesn't make careless mistakes about such things. Does he, Sword?"

Tolar grimaced. "Indeed he doesn't." Swallowing his gorge, he stepped forward and extended a grudging paw to the Gawtrybe commander. "It appears congratulations are in order for your promotion ... Captain."

Custis hesitated, then took the proffered paw firmly in his own. "You do know what this means, Sword? Captain is the highest rank Lord Urthblood awards in any of his general brigades. You will no longer be able to issue me orders, inside Foxguard or out."

Tolar gave a mirthless smirk. "As if that changes anything, aside from perhaps making it more official. I look forward to working with you, Captain."

The squirrel's eyes narrowed. "Do you?"

Tolar released his rival's paw. "Respect goes both ways. I'll not disrespect you, and will expect the same courtesy in return. It's clear Lord Urthblood expects operations to proceed apace, and that means the cooperation between us that I've been willing to give ever since you first arrived. Anything less, I suspect, would displease our master."

"Uh huh. Van, please maintain your position up above, in case any further messages come through. I'm going down to rejoin the others. We have carts to get packed if we want to be ready to leave for the Gawdrey site first thing in the morning, and I need to get the assignments worked out for which Gawtrybe will be leaving with Captain Klystra and which will remain here to help commence the campaign." Custis eyed the elevator platform and its two attendant weasels, then started for the long staircase leading down to the main fortress, a thousand steps below. "Are you coming, Lady, or did you wish to take the lift?"

"The climb up was rather tiring. I think I'll take the easy way down, if you please."

"Of course. I'll see you down below."

The others watched as Custis's tufted ears and trailing bush disappeared down the twisting stairwell. Tolar turned to Mina. "I have a feeling something rather dire may have just been narrowly averted here. Just what was the nature of his dispatch to Lord Urthblood?"

Mina shook her head. "I was honestly as surprised as you must have been. I had no idea he intended to use the signal mirror until the fire was lit. And I gathered from our conversation prior to that that he expected a far different response from Lord Urthblood than the one he got."

"That much was obvious. And you have no inkling as to the content of his message?"

"I might have made some guesses or assumptions, but it appears now I might have been wrong, in light of the reply. Taking that rather curt communique into account, I'd surmise that Lord Urthblood didn't consider our new captain's inquiry to be particularly urgent."

"Yes," Tolar agreed, "it would seem not. Let's hope that puts an end to this rather unpleasant chapter once and for all."

00000000000

The Point had stopped.

And it had stopped at the most inconvenient place of all.

Urthblood stood on the plateau of Salamandastron at the crater rim staring east, past the low mountain range to the unseen heart of Mossflower. For nearly two days, ever since Klytra's report of rats at Redwall, the taciturn Badger Lord had held to this vigil, forsaking food, drink or sleep as he maintained his statuesque pose of watchfulness. The other beasts of the mountain could sense that some crucial juncture lay at paw, and the fortress buzzed with speculation as to what this news might portend. Most had known or suspected that the Abbey might not view their master's latest endeavor favorably, but now that nearly two hundred rats had been granted sanctuary at Redwall, what would happen now? Would actual strife break out between the two powers?

The latest message flashed from Foxguard only served to cast the situation in an even more dire light. Captain Matowick, summoned to the mountaintop when the signalling first began, now stood alongside his Lord, the scrawled deciphering of the incoming communique clutched absently in his paw. He didn't need to look at the parchment to recall the simple dispatch, its few words emblazoned upon his memory.

Mykola deserted, Tolar uncooperative, perhaps untrustworthy -
Advise

Lt Custis

In light of this startling and perplexing report, Matowick and his fellow captains Abellon, Mattoon and Tillamook were even more surprised when Urthblood issued an immediate and absolute reply doing little if anything to address the Lieutenant's - now Captain's - concerns.

"Sir," Matowick prompted a second time under the darkening coastal skies, "I really do feel Custis was counting on a response more ... well, instructive."

"I reminded him what he was sent to Mossflower to do, and gave him a promotion to make that reminder stick. I foresee no undue trouble coming from Foxguard, so I suspect it is more a matter of Tolar and Custis clashing on details of command procedure. I trust them to work out these differences on their own, as experienced professional officers. Any tensions between them should ease once Gawdrey is well along, and once Custis is fully engaged in his campaign."

"And what of Mykola?" asked Abellon. "Desertion's a serious transgression ... "

"There are far larger issues at play than a single fox ... if he even did desert. He may simply be following in the pawsteps of Captain Saybrook, leaving my service over a difference of opinion. As long as he does nothing to actively oppose or interfere with my efforts, I see no need to personally involve myself. Tolar is Sword of Foxguard; he will know what to do about this situation."

"An' what of all them rats in Redwall?" Tillamook inquired. "What's to be done about them?"

Urthblood turned to address everybeast around him. "Leave us. Captain Matowick and I must speak privately."

This abrupt dismissal caught the Gawtrybe commander off guard as much as anybeast, and Matowick stood by in curiosity as his fellow captains and the signal mirror operators filed down the central plateau stairs and disappeared into the natural citadel. With everybeast else gone, the ever-present ringing in his ears reasserted itself, the faint distant inner shriek vying with the whistle of the shore breezes at this altitude and the crackle of the dying signal fire a dozen paces away. Looking to his master, Matowick asked, "What is it, Lord?"

"You must go to Redwall. Tomorrow, at first light."

"Redwall?" The squirrel's heart fell, for reasons fully occupying his mind these days. "My Lord, if you need to send an envoy over this rat impasse ... "

"That can be your cover story, if you like, but that is not why I am sending you. There is a creature at the Abbey - a creature you must find and bring before me."

"A creature?"

"Yes. A rat."

"A rat?" Matowick wasn't sure whether to laugh or despair at this statement. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard - there are certainly enough there these days to choose from!"

"I am not concerned with every rat at Redwall. And I am not concerned with just any rat there - only one in particular."

Matowick felt a little like he'd fallen into a dream that was making less sense with each passing moment. "And which one is that, Lord?"

"The one I am sending you to find."

"Um, I was hoping for something a bit more specific, Lord. What is this rat's name?"

Urthblood gave his Gawtrybe captain a hard, unnerving stare. "I do not know."

"Well, is it male or female?"

"I do not know."

"Is it young, or old?" Matowick probed, growing flustered. "Infirm, or healthy? A family beast, or a fighter? A leader, or a follower? How am I to know this 'one particular' rat out of the scores at Redwall?"

"You will know it, Captain, by its gift."

"Gift? And what gift is that?"

"The rat I seek possesses the same powers of prophecy that I do."

Matowick stood silent for long moments, eyes wide and jaw slack as old reports and rumors and idle soldier talk tumbled into a semblance of sense in his mind. "Tardo ... the shrews ... this is the rat you had them searching for in Mossflower, last spring and summer?"

"It is."

"You're ... certain?"

"Certain beyond doubt."

Matowick mulled this over some more. "I ... I can appreciate the importance of this, My Lord. But Perri is very nearly due ... "

"Then she does not have to accompany you."

The squirrel stood speechless for several heartbeats, unable for the life of him to determine whether the hulking badger had just cracked a joke. "Sir, it's many days to Redwall, and many days back, even when no difficulties are encountered. I'd really counted on being by Perri's side when our son or daughter comes."

"I am sorry, Captain, but this cannot wait. You must go there at once."

"Why me? Why not somebeast else? Custis is right there in Mossflower already. Why can't he and his squirrels handle this? They could get it done in half the time."

"Custis will be too busy with his assignment - and none of his Gawtrybe would be welcome at the Abbey in any case."

"And I will? I'm Gawtrybe too. Perhaps Abellon and some of his mice, or Tillamook and his hedgehogs ... "

Urthblood stared hard at him, gaze unwavering. "I see you and your squirrels doing this."

"Ah," Matowick fell silent once more, and this time no further objections came to him. Not now that the prophetic badger had invoked the one argument beyond arguing.

"You say you appreciate the importance of this, Captain, but do you really? Envision this mountain without a badger on its throne. Picture my army falling apart, captains defecting or turning against each other, all the vermin falling back to their savage old ways and the Northlands returning to what they were before I tamed them. Imaging Tratton storming these coastlands with nobeast to stop him, and claiming Salamandastron as his own, and then turning his ambitions of conquest in toward Mossflower itself. Contemplate all we have worked for, struggled and bled and died for, lying in ruin. Now, do you appreciate what is at stake?"

"You mean ... this rat ... ?"

"Has within its power, I believe, the potential to undo everything we have achieved, and cast the lands into total chaos."

"Is it ... the crisis you have foreseen? In your prophecy?"

"I cannot be sure. A key part of it, perhaps."

Matowick set his jaw. "Then this rat must be slain on sight."

"Perhaps it must be slain. But first it must be brought before me, so that I may determine for myself just what threat it may hold to the lands."

"I ... wish it were otherwise, Lord, and that I could stay here with Perri, as I'd intended and hoped. I know she will be as disappointed as I am. But now that you have explained the need for this ... I presume this is not to be mentioned to anybeast else?"

"There was reason I sent away my other captains. Obviously they will deduce on their own the importance I place on your mission, from the mere fact that I am even sending you at such a time. For now, let the reasons remain just between the two of us."

"I understand, Lord. I take it I am to assemble a team?"

"Yes. All Gawtrybe, no more than half a dozen - and make sure they are all squirrels you can trust. You may encounter resistance."

"From ... Redwall?"

"From any number of directions. If fate is as heavily bound up in this creature as I suspect, you may find difficulties placed in your path that you did not anticipate."

Matowick wasn't sure what that meant, so returned to the more obvious and mundane. "If this rat is under the protection of the Abbey, extracting it might prove tricky. And even if we can make a clean snatch and get clear of the vicinity with our target, this could seriously damage our relations with Redwall."

"I am aware of that, Captain, but this is more important than our relationship with Redwall. It is more important than all else, at the moment."

"I understand, but ... even if the extraction goes smoothly, this could spur the Redwallers to open opposition against us."

"It cannot be helped. If the choice is between possibly losing Redwall and possibly losing everything, the decision becomes easy. Relations can always be mended at a later juncture, but not if I am no longer in power to rein in the forces of havoc. Preserving all we have already wrought becomes paramount. It must not be jeopardized."

"Yes, My Lord."

"You and your team will travel to Redwall by the most direct route, over the mountain pass to the Western Plains. You will return the same way with your prisoner, if at all possible. Once you arrive at the Abbey, you will spend time among the Redwallers and take as long as you need to positively identify the one rat we seek. I suspect you will not need to search very hard, and Lady Mina will be able to assist you in this, but there must be no mistake. The correct rat must be brought here to Salamandastron, or else disaster may loom."

Matowick nodded, the whine in his ears now forgotten, forced from his awareness by the sudden intrusion of so many more important things. "I will go at once to pick my team and brief them, so that we will be prepared to leave come dawn. And then ... I must tell Perri. That won't be easy."

"Would you like me to be there? She may take the news better if she realizes these are my express wishes, and my direct orders."

"Oh, she'll know. We've served you long enough to understand the sacrifices sometimes required of us. If it's all the same, My Lord, I'd prefer to see to this privately."

"Of course. You are dismissed, Captain. I will see you in the morning."

After Matowick was gone, Urthblood strode across the plateau to the only other creatures still occupying the mountaintop: a number of his battlegulls, roosting at various points around the crater rim. Spying Captain Scarbatta among them, the badger went right to the gull commander.

"Captain, if I may impose upon you to fly down to the aerie and summon Captain Saugus? I have a special mission to assign him."