INTERLUDE, WITH HONEY BADGERS

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

The early days of spring crept by toward the height of the season, Mossflower's forests growing thicker and its greens more verdant and its colorful accents wilder as all the flowers bloomed to their fullest in this visual song of annual renewal. Through sunny days and rainstorms alike, the scent of life reborn wafted on every breeze, the symphonic mingling of pollen and leaf and fragrant earth to herald the arrival of the growing season when vital life reclaimed the dormant lands. And of course the literal symphony of the vernal awakening added its voice to the natural chorus, with the myriad courtship songs of countless birds and the croaks and peeps of frogs and the whirr and chirrup and buzz of all the insects now revived from winter's long sleep. Here, in the lengthening days balanced halfway between spring and summer, the warmer weather inviting robust activity rather than the sweltering stupor to come, the world seemed at its very peak, the ideal pinnacle from which things could not possibly get any better.

But this was to be a springtide unlike any other. Out from Redwall, out from Foxguard, rippled news and actions both stark and disconcerting. And from the coastlands reached out the long arm (and longer wings) of Salamandastron, exerting an influence over Mossflower that no outside power had ever exercised over these woodlands before. And if the more remote stretches of these lands remained at the moment blissfully ignorant of the changes about to break over them, they would not stay that way for long ...

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"The honey badgers! The honey badgers!"

The mousechild Pryle led the stampede out of the large riverside homestead shared by the mouse and vole families, eager with glee to greet the visiting merchants and their wagon. In no time at all, the travelling badger clan found itself surrounded by laughing and shouting youngbeasts dancing about the stopped cart, each begging for a sneak taste of the sweet product these beekeepers plied as their stock in trade. It was always a festive time and cause for celebration when the honey badgers visited!

It didn't take much longer for the adults to join their boisterous offspring under the morning sun in front of their two-story lodge, equally eager to receive their esteemed guests. Deakyne, patriarch of the mouse family, and his vole counterpart Neblett led a happy procession out of doors to meet their old friends.

Lord Sodexo of the Southern Glades stood puffing between the pulling hafts of the badger-sized transport, his wife Hekko down on one knee alongside him to hug and pat the youthful throng milling about them while their daughter Bostany hung back, regarding the scene with a more serious expression. Sodexo extended his paw when he saw his fond acquaintances approaching, a warm smile splitting his rugged striped face.

"Welcome, Lord, welcome!" Deakyne exhorted. "As you can no doubt tell, we are all happy to see you! It's been too long!"

"Indeed it has, but time has a way of slipping away from one, especially if you happen to be a badger." Sodexo took Deakyne's paw in a firm yet gentle grip, the mouse's smaller appendage all but disappearing in the badger's massive fist. Releasing his amiable grasp, Sodexo greeted Neblett in like fashion, although his gaze strayed to the domicile rearing up behind the family beasts. "Too long indeed, by the look of things. Unless my eye deceives me, your home is different."

"Good eye, Lord, and good memory too," complimented Neblett. "Recently rebuilt, just this past autumn, in fact."

"Rebuilt? Did some manner of misfortune befall you?"

Deakyne nodded. "Sadly, yes. A fierce little vermin in shrew's clothes named Snoga tried to burn us alive when we refused to give that rampaging rapscallion everything he demanded. Fortunately, he didn't realize we had a basement level we shared with our vole friends, where we could retreat and escape the flames without losing a single beast. Neblett and his kin were literally lifesavers on that occasion, and a great boon to us in the season that followed, allowing us to all live down in his dwellings even as they all pitched in to help us rebuild our lodge above. Can't imagine what we would have done without them."

Neblett gave a sheepish shrug. "What're friends for, if not to aid each other at their time of greatest need?"

Deakyne set a paw on the vole's shoulder. "More than friends," he said solemnly. "Family."

"Easy there now," warned Neblett's wife Frodella with a smile." "You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family - an' sometimes relations are the biggest pains in the tail there are!"

"Snoga, you say?" Sodexo prompted. "I have heard of that ruffian, from the shrew tribes of the Big Inland Lake. They told me of strife and struggle in that region which went way beyond Snoga's rebels, and pulled in searats and a mighty Badger Lord as well."

"We've heard very little of those events," Deakyne admitted, "although his misdeeds even before he found his way to us are enough to paint him as one of the vilest creatures ever to tread the paths of Mossflower. And our direct experience with him was quite enough, so that we didn't seek out any other tidings of his further crimes. I honestly believe he would have slain every mouse and vole of us if he'd been able. Do you know what became of that villain, Lord?"

"Slain, by all accounts. He picked a fight with forces far beyond his station, and that sorry affair ended the only way it could have."

"Couldn't have been that sorry an affair if that savage little bully ended up dead," Neblett said. "The lands need a creature like him on the loose like they need a five-season famine!"

"That's true," Frodella agreed, "even if we ought not say such things 'round our young 'uns. I know it's not decent or proper to wish such misfortune on anybeast, but if ever a vile soul earned itself such scorn, in life or death, it was Snoga!"

"It's only reasonable for us to feel that way," said Deakyne, "since since we all nearly paid with our lives. And my daughter did her part in holding off that bristly rabble, taking out more than one of them with her bow!" Beaming, he brought forward a comely mousemaid, tall and slender and proud, just entering her adult seasons. "Jiriel, you probably don't remember Lord Sodexo, since you were but a babe when he last visited us."

Jiriel rolled her eyes in prime adolescent fashion. "I was more than a babe then, Father! Even Pryle remembers him - and, more to the point, we remember the taste of his heavenly honey!"

"Ah! 'Tis good to be remembered!" the badger chortled. "And my honey is, naturally, what brings me here again, as your overjoyed younglings have clearly figured out on their own. An especially fine batch this year, with hints of meadow clover and deep forest wildflowers. It may be my best yet!"

"Then your timing is most fortuitous indeed," Deakyne revealed to the larger creature, "for if you'd happened by a day later than you did, you'd have found most of us gone. We were just about to depart this very morn for Redwall, which we planned to visit for the first time ever!"

"Redwall, you say? How uncanny! That was to be our own destination, once we'd finished here and perhaps made one or two other stops along the way. Perhaps we can travel there together."

"A marvellous idea! Although you'd best keep our families away from your wares along the journey, or there'll be none left by the time we reach the Abbey!"

"I can certainly spare a small pot for our own personal use between here and there, since it will be a journey of several days and hence several breakfasts. And, of course, before we depart we can barter for your more permanent supplies for your household stocks, and what you're willing to trade for them. How much do you think you'll be needing?"

"As much as we can get, if it's even half as good as you've made it out to be. I just hope we've enough to offer in exchange that you'll find acceptable. We did lose a lot of our belongings in the fire, after all."

"I'm sure we can reach terms we'll find mutually acceptable, and I will keep in mind your recent misfortunes in order not to drive too hard a bargain. But for now, my family and I would most appreciate a short spell off our footpaws in the cool of your lodge, along with some tall drinks of cool river water."

"And food too," his daughter Bostany put in, speaking for the first time. "'m hungry."

"Yes, that would be welcome too," Sodexo added, "although of course any hospitality you extend us beyond shade, chairs and drink will naturally be applied toward your honey debt. I would insist on it."

"You are too kind, Lord."

As everybeast headed inside - with an older mouse and vole agreeing to remain by the cart to guard its contents from greedy paws - Sodexo remarked, "I am so looking forward to visiting Redwall again, it has been so many seasons ... Father Darrow always so looks forward to seeing me, and my honey. No, wait - young Arlyn is Abbot now, isn't he? That's just as well - he likes my honey too!"

Deakyne chuckled and shook his head. "I guess you badgers really do measure time differently than the rest of us! Arlyn retired seasons ago, from what we were told, and Vanessa became Abbess in his stead."

"Vanessa?! No, that can't be - she's just a novice! Has it really been that long?"

"Apparently so, Lord."

"Vanessa - well! But, how do you know these things, if you've never been to Redwall before?"

"Unfortunately, that business with Snoga last spring also involved Redwall to some extent as well, and a couple of those Abbeybeasts made their way down here. We learned much news of their home from them - and not all of it welcome, I'm afraid."

"Oh? Well, you can fill me in on what you feel comfortable with, and I suppose I shall learn the rest from Abbess Vanessa in due time."

Shadows of grief crossed the faces of the gathered mice and voles. "No, I fear you won't, Lord. Come inside - there is still much to tell."

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When the party of mice, voles and badgers set out along the northeast-leading forest trail, Sodexo didn't tell them where they were going. By midafternoon, they knew.

The cottage sat nestled in the woods like a part of the natural setting, blending so well with its sylvan surroundings that it scarcely seemed like an artificial structure wrought by beasts' paws. Its once-handsome lines, however, had taken on a dilapidated air and a dingy aspect of neglect, as if nobeast had dwelt here for seasons ... or at least not the right kind of beasts.

Sodexo slowed his steps as the rundown state of the dwelling registered on him. "Something is wrong here. My cousin Mavus would never allow her cottage to fall into such disrepair."

Pryle tugged anxiously at Deakyne's sleeve. "Dad ... Dad, this is th' badger's place. Somethin' very bad happened here ... "

Sodexo turned to the mice. "What was that?"

Before the rodent woodlanders could explain, rodents of a very different stripe spilled out of the cottage to confront the travellers. Half a dozen rats, male and female both, each seemingly more coarse and unrefined than the next. They made no secret of the blades and spears they bore, brandishing these arms without apology.

"Whadda you lot want?" asked a burly male with an undisguised sneer, cradling a loaded crossbow in his grungy paws.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sodexo roared, dropping the cart hafts and starting forward toward the rats, flecks of red in his dangerous gaze. "Where is Mavus, and Metellus? What have you done with them?"

"Dunno whatcher jawin' about, stripedog - " the rat raised the crossbow menacingly, " - but if'n you don't want this bolt 'tween yer eyes, ye'll stop right where y' are."

The Badger Lord might not have heeded this warning, had not Deakyne and Neblett each grabbed hold of one arm to restrain the massive creature. "No, Lord! I don't know who these rats are, but they had no part in what happened here!" Deakyne implored.

Sodexo halted, fixing his hard gaze on the mouse. "What do you know of this, friend?"

"We told you of the fox slavers who stole away some of our young ones last spring, and the Redwallers who rescued them and returned them to us. We also told of other youngbeasts rescued from the clutches of those villains as well, and one of those was a badger child who came from this place."

"It's true," Pryle chimed in, sensing in spite of his tender seasons that violence hung close at paw unless proper explanations were offered. "Them foxes slew his mum, an' took him away from here. We passed by on th' way home - the shrews made us little ones stay outside in th' woods while they buried her."

"Mavus? Mavus is dead?"

"I am sorry, Lord," said Deakyne, "but we did not go into details about this earlier because we did not know we would be coming this way, and it never occurred to us that the badgers who dwelt here were related to you in any way."

Sodexo's voice grew hollow as if he were speaking automatically. "There are not too many badgers in Mossflower. Many are related ... "

"For whatever scant consolation it's worth," Neblett put in, "the blackhearts who slew her are all in their graves themselves - our Redwall friends an' the Guosim shrews saw to that. Main thing is, these rats're blameless in any o' that, whatever else their faults may be, so we don't need to go startin' trouble with them, eh?"

"Lissen to yer scrawny pal, stripedog," the crossbow-bearing rat warned. "It's th' best advice ye'll get this season."

Sodexo all but snarled at the rats. "Creatures of your ilk should not be defiling this place of decent folk!" Not allowing any time for a retort, the badger's gaze snapped back to Deakyne. "What of Metellus, her son? What became of him?"

"Rescued," answered the mouse patriarch, "along with all the other youngbeasts otherwise destined for a life of chained misery under the whip. He told the Guosim he had no other family, so he was taken to Redwall to grow up there."

Sodexo nodded, regaining some of his composure. "Yes, I have not visited Mavus since Metellus was very little. If he remembered me at all, he likely would not have recalled my name, or have known where to find me, so I can see why he would say he had no other family beside his mother. You say Mavus is buried here?"

"Yes, sir," Pryle volunteered. "Around back, I think."

"Very well. Very well." Sodexo gave the rats a long look, then went to his cart and took from it a single pot of honey, one with a particularly ornate and intricate design winding around its sides. Approaching the squatter rodents with a more cautious and conciliatory manner, he held forth the fancy vessel. "I apologize for my hostile attitude and unkind words. I see now that you must have come upon this cottage empty and unused, and settled here intending no insult to the creatures who dwelt here before you. This honey was meant to be a gift to my cousin Mavus, whose home this was. Please accept it in her stead, as redress for my ill-informed conduct."

Another male rat, clearly related to the crossbow-wielder, took the pot hesitantly. "Honey, y' say? Is it any good?"

"Only the best in all the lands." Sodexo's level gaze went from rat to rat, meeting each gaze without flinching. "I would ask but one indulgence of you ... "

The first rat waved his crossbow. "We happen t' like honey. Quite fond of it, actshully. Mebbe we'll just help ourselves to th' rest y' got there ... "

"You get one pot. And if your greed should tempt you, I will remind you that I am a Badger Lord. You threatened a moment ago to put that bolt between my eyes. Your aim had best be perfect true, because if you are off by the tiniest fraction, the six of you will lie slain long before I fall to my own wounds."

Emboldened, Neblett stepped forward. "An' we got skilled archers too, so I'm sure we could drop one or two of you before the rest could flee."

The rat worked his jaw, now betraying obvious nervousness, then lowered his crossbow. "So, uh, what was this favor you'd have of us ... ?"

A short time later, the three badgers stood behind the cottage with Deakyne and Neblett at their sides, all five gazing down at the twin burial mounds. Sodexo shot a searching gaze toward the two woodlanders. "Two graves?"

"The other belongs to the stoat Broggen, whom we told you about," said Deakyne.

"The one who slew Redwall's healer, and was slain by Snoga?"

"And helped rescue our young ones from the fox slavers and guide them back to us," the mouse quickly reminded Sodexo. "He served the cause of good under the Badger Lord Urthblood in the Northlands, and before that tragic incident at the Abbey, many Redwallers called him a true friend. He proved his final worth with his last deeds. It's largely due to him that Metellus is free today."

Sodexo digested this. "It seems Snoga affected these lands for the worse far more than I'd realized. It is only appropriate, then, that this Broggen share his eternal rest alongside the mother whose son he saved from a life of torment." Sodexo knelt, placing his large open paw on the stoat's grave. "Rest well, savior of shackled youth, and know that you will always be remembered well by this heart." Moving his paw to the other burial mound, he intoned, "And rest at peace as well, my cousin and my kin, who was taken too cruelly from this life long before her time. May Dark Forest be kind to you both."

Farewells to the departed now given, the travellers were soon underway once more, forging their way along the rough forest trail while the rats stood out in front of the cottage, watching them off with a mix of suspicion, relief and lost opportunity.

"I sure am glad you were with us, Lord," Deakyne said to Sodexo once they were well away from the cottage. "Those rats struck me as the type who might thieve and plunder a band of honest journeybeasts - or worse - and even though we outnumbered them by quite a bit, we're no fighters. And with all the little ones too, we'd dare not risk forcing any sort of confrontation."

"Then again," Sodexo countered, "you might not even have come this way if not for me. This is not one of the more widely-trafficked paths, and only my desire to visit Mavus led me to choose it. But, even though I was to find tragedy here, fate did smile upon me in one small respect, and that was having you here to tell me what happened, and learning that Metellus at least escaped harm and found his way to Redwall. If Hekko, Bostany and I had come upon the cottage on our own and found those rats living there, there might have been bloodshed, because I would have assumed the worst of them."

"Still can't believe you wasted a jar of your honey on those ruffians," Neblett grumbled. "What'd you do that for?"

"Mostly to ease the tension of the situation, although their verminish greed nearly wrecked my gesture. But that pot had been meant for this cottage anyway, and if neither Mavus nor Metellus were here to receive it, perhaps it's only proper to leave it with the current occupants of that homestead. But this now gives me an extra reason to visit Redwall. I shall be most eager to see for myself how Metellus is settling in there."

"I'm sure he's doing splendidly," said Deakyne. "By all accounts, there is no better place in all the lands for an orphaned youngbeast to find the support it needs to grow into a respectable goodbeast."

Bostany, trailing behind the cart as she usually did, gave an indignant snort that only a few of her companions noticed, and was dismissed as a stifled sneeze by most of them.

Neblett glanced back over his shoulder. "Still, it's ranklin' t' see a perfectly good homestead like that fall into the clutches of such creatures, even if they did come into it honestly - or as honest as their sort're able to come into anything. Judgin' by their attitude toward us just now, I'd say they pose a right hazard to any decent wayfarers who come along this trail."

"Then it's a good thing this path is seldom travelled," Sodexo pronounced as he negotiated his laden cart over an awkward tree root with the skill of a seasoned hauler, setting not one jar clanking against another. "Still, I think it would be prudent to mention them to the next goodbeasts we meet, so that the warning can be put out, and anybeast thinking of venturing this way will know to be wary."

CHAPTER SIXTY

"So, why're you so grumpy?" Jiriel asked Bostany as they pushed their way along the forest trail.

After leaving the cottage behind the previous afternoon, the procession had failed to reach any other shelter or settlement before sundown, and so were forced to make camp at the next convenient clearing they came upon. Deakyne and Neblett and the other parents, secretly concerned over how well their children might hold up during the long march to Redwall, soon saw they had nothing to worry about; with bedrolls spread on the soft, mossy ground under clear, dry skies, and a roaring fire built at the center of their camp - for what ruffians would dare molest so large a party, and one with three badgers among them, no less? - the youngsters treated the whole thing like a grand adventure, enjoying tales told around the hearty blaze after a delicious dinner and then getting right to bed without any fuss at all, only to rise at dawn refreshed and ready for another day of travel. Mouse and vole mothers and fathers could not have been prouder of their respective broods.

Now, trudging merrily along under the misty overhangs of the morning woods, the adolescent badgermaid greeted Jiriel's inquiry with a sullen sigh. "It's cuz when Mum 'n' Dad leave Redwall, I won't be going with 'em. I'll be staying there."

"That's 'because,' not 'cuz,'" Hekko corrected over her shoulder. "And 'them,' not 'em.' And you've just demonstrated on your own why a season or two of Abbey schooling will do you some good. A proper young Badger Lady is expected to express herself like a well-mannnered and educated beast, and comport herself with the due measure of dignity and refinement."

Bostany rolled her eyes so severely that those walking abreast of her could practically hear the orbs squelch in their sockets.

"You'll be getting to stay at Redwall?!" Pryle almost exploded. "You're so lucky! I wish I was gonna get to stay at Redwall!"

The badgermaid looked down her snout at the mouselad. "Have you ever even been to Redwall?"

"Never hadta. I've heard all about it from two of its bravest warriors! It's got its own lake, and its own fruit grove, an' berry patches, an' green lawns that go on forever ... "

"And its own hives," Sodexo put in, "although, while Redwall's honey can be quite splendid too in its better seasons, it still doesn't hold a candle to mine, if I may be so immodest. That's why Abbots Darrow and Arlyn always took it upon themselves to add a few pots of my own to their stores, for a little extra taste of luxury they'd not normally have to enjoy and savor."

"And it's got a whole great big Abbey all its own to explore," Pryle went on. "Cellars 'n' tunnels 'n' attics 'n' roofspaces 'n' a bell tower, room after room an' passage after passage ... "

"And a Great Hall that could probably seat a thousand beasts - as long as most of them weren't badgers," Sodexo added with a chuckle.

"Don't forget the food and drink," Hekko reminded them. "The best in all the lands!"

"Except for the honey," Sodexo gently chided his wife.

Now it was Hekko's turn to roll her eyes. "Yes, of course, dear. Except for the honey."

Jiriel added her own two acorns. "It's the beds I'm most looking forward to. I hear they're the softest, firmest, most deliciously comfortable beds to be found anywhere! Being able to fall into one of those at day's end will make sleeping out on open ground for a few nights worth it!"

Bostany hung her head. "But it's not home."

Sodexo's tone took a less compromising edge toward his daughter. "I'm sure you'll find it enough like a home once you've given it a chance. Because, of all Redwall's wonderful attributes we've just covered, we left out the most wonderful of all: the Redwallers themselves. Nowhere else will you find creatures of greater character, cheer and hospitality - friendly mice and down-to-earth hedgehogs and boisterous otters and gallant squirrels and sensible moles ... "

"And a Badgermum I fear you may grow fonder of than your own mother," Hekko admitted with a hint of wistfulness.

"At least she's not sending me away to someplace strange ... "

A dour, awkward silence settled over the group then, now that it was apparent that all the good-natured chatter they could muster wouldn't cheer the petulant badgermaid.

Their stilled tongues didn't last long before a pair of squirrels dropped from the trees into the path before them. "Hail there, friends, and welcome to Barrenoak territory!"

Momentary alarm over the strangers' startling entrance quickly gave way to relieved recognition, at least among the mice and voles. "Barrenoak!" Neblett cried out. "T'was your chieftain Deltus who came to our aid last spring, guiding Cyril to us after Broggen was slain. Well do we remember and honor the Barrenoak name!"

"Yes," said the first squirrel, "we thought you might be the very same mouse and vole clan, especially when we heard you speak of going to Redwall."

"We've been shadowing you from above for some time," the second squirrel explained. "It's our custom to track and observe any and all travellers through our woods, from solitary journeybeasts who might be in need of aid to vermin bands apt to cause mischief ... or worse."

"But it's been some time since we've last seen any group as large as yours traversing our territory. Did you perchance intend to pay us a visit at our drey? It would be our pleasure to have you stay with us, for one afternoon or several."

It was the badger who answered. "We would be only too happy to accept your offer of hospitality. My own family's business is the trade of gourmet honey, and if your drey may prove a willing customer in this regard, all the better for us. I am Lord Sodexo of the Southern Glades, and this is my mate Hekko, and our daughter Bostany." Hekko gave a gracious bow, while Bostany barely nodded.

"A Badger Lord, as a guest of Barrenoak? That would be an honor indeed, and a first as well, unless I'm mistaken. I'm Barklom, and this is Kappel, and we will gladly escort all of you to our home, to stay for however long you like. Although - " he favored the badgers with an appraising gaze, " - I don't think some of you will quite fit in our hammock beds, if you should decide to spend the night!"

The two squirrels stayed on the ground to guide the travellers along, since it would make no sense for them to flit ahead through the treetops while the larger party was held to the pace of the badgers' cart. And although some of the youngbeasts might have been most willing to try to keep up with any treebounding squirrel, in the end they all kept to their moderate pace, and so did not reach the grand drey of Tribe Barrenoak until well past noon.

Their reactions upon beholding the site mirrored those of Cyril the spring before, when the young mouse, on his way back to Redwall with the hare Hanchett after Broggen's slaying, had stopped here to rest for a night. The dead but still majestic towering oak, its spreading limbs supporting all manner of platforms, walkways and enclosures, held upright by scores of guy ropes tied to the surrounding trees - it was enough to take the breath away, and quite unlike anything any of the journeyers had ever seen or imagined.

Pryle craned his neck searching out the uppermost extent of the arboreal village. "Do we ... hafta go up in that?"

"Only if you don't wanna stay down here underneath, having us drop our acorn shells and leaf pawwipes and other rude things on top of you!" Kappel joked.

"It does appear rather ... steep," Neblett observed.

"Too steep for badgers, that's for certain," Sodexo assessed. "It seems we'll not be taking advantage of your hammock beds after all, even if you did have any to fit us. We shall have to remain down here with our cart."

"Too bad - the views from up there are pretty spectacular." Barklom turned to the mice and voles. "I certainly hope the rest of you will take at least a quick trip up our ladders to experience the full effect of Drey Barrenoak!"

"Ladders?" Deakyne prompted.

"Oh yes. One of our primary lines of defense - not that any villain with half a brain in its head would dare attack our clan. The only way up from the ground, aside from scaling the bark itself, is by rope ladders dropped from above. Keeps out all the unsavory elements, as you can well imagine!"

"As well as badgers," Hekko wryly remarked.

Barklom grinned. "Can't say we've ever had any otters up their either, or moles for that matter. T'was novel enough just having a mouse and a hare with us last spring!"

Jiriel, adjusting her bow over her shoulder, regarded the high dwellings with no trace of fear or apprehension. "I for one can't wait to go up. It should be quite the experience!"

Pryle, not to be outdone by his older sibling, quickly seconded, "Yeah, me too! I'm not afraid of a rope ladder! Lemme up it!"

And once he'd lent his voice to the matter, all the other mouse and vole youths started clambering and beseeching for a chance to be up the ladders which were only just now being unfurled and dropped as the party advanced to directly below the lofty settlement. Up above, shouts and calls rang out as the Barrenoak squirrels spread word throughout the drey that unexpected visitors had arrived, and all the tribe stirred themselves to make the newcomers welcome.

The third ladder to drop had a burly squirrel riding the end of it; he stepped off easily as the rope egress reached its full extension, alighting on the ground with a practiced spring as if merely stepping from one level surface to another. "Greetings, friends! It's good to see you again - and this time under happier circumstances, I hope!"

"Happier indeed, Chieftain!" Deakyne assured as he and Neblett strode forward to clasp paws with Deltus. "We're on our way for a short vacation to Redwall, as are our badger companions here."

"Redwall, eh?" Deltus mused after Lord Sodexo had introduced his own family. "Your timing might have been a bit better on that score, I'm afraid to say. I've heard that they've got their paws quite full with things these days. But I'm sure they'll make time and room for long-travelled journeyers of good heart such as yourselves, so worry not."

Concern knit Deakyne's brow. "Why? What is going on at Redwall?"

"Let's just say they've experienced a bit of a population explosion lately, by all accounts, and are quite crowded by newcomers in need of a home. I'll fill you in on all the details after you've gotten settled in. Now then ... " Deltus regarded the badger trio. "I'm not sure our drey is really set up to accommodate beast so large or unwieldy as yourselves, I'm afraid ... "

"We were just discussing that, sir," Barklom said. "They agree it's best they not try to climb up."

"Yes, we are quite large," Sodexo concurred with Deltus in good humor, "and in the interests of hospitality, I'll overlook the 'unwieldy' half of your assessment."

Deltus flashed a sheepish grin. "Well then, in the interest of hospitality as well, I could not entertain some of your party up above while others are relegated to remaining earthbound. Therefore, I will have all food and drink and everything else we need brought down from our drey, so that we may celebrate together here under our mighty if leafless oak! Then, once we've had our fill of refreshments and conversation on the forest floor, any of you who wish may come on up for the tour of our settlement, and even spend the night up there if you choose. We are quite proud of our home, and so seldom have the chance to show it off like this!"

"A splendid proposal!" Neblett enthused. "As you can see, even among us mice and voles we've got beasts of all ages, and I'm not sure the very oldest or very youngest would be all that capable of making that climb any better than Lord Sodexo and his family. In fact, even some of our more able-bodied kith and kin might think twice before undertaking such an ascent."

"It would be their loss," Deltus lamented, "since Drey Barrenoak truly is a sight to see, and can't be fully appreciated without going up into it. But, to each its own. For now, let us see to bringing the welcoming feast down to you!" The squirrel chieftain sidled over to Sodexo and gave the Badger Lord a playful elbow in the side. "And what's this I hear about honey, hmmm ... ?"

00000000000

The celebratory gathering under the massive dead oak lasted until nearly evening, with almost every squirrel of Drey Barrenoak descending to partake of the festivities. Deltus and his dreymates listened with keen attentiveness as Deakyne and Neblett described the efforts entailed in rebuilding the riverside lodge Snoga had burned down during the previous spring, how a nearby otter holt had willingly and cheerfully lent their brawn to the reconstruction labors without any expectation of reward, and how members of that very same holt now "housesat" their lodge in the absence of most of the mice and voles, being on paw to watch over the few babes and oldsters who weren't up to making the trek to Redwall.

"I doubt those riverdogs'll see it as any kind of hardship," Neblett concluded. "In exchange for minding our home for us for part of the season, they get free run of the place - their choice of any beds they want, and access to our larders day and night!"

"Not that they're likely to find many otter-sized beds in our home," Deakyne put in. "Unless they like to sleep curled up with their rudders against their bellies, I imagine they'll stick to sleeping on the floor."

"And our food stocks might not hold much attraction for them either," added Frodella. "We never did keep much fresh fish or pickled shrimp on paw!"

After that came Sodexo's turn, sharing all about himself and his family. Since the beekeeping Badger Lord had never before visited or even heard of Barrenoak, the squirrels were most interested in hearing all about him: the glades where he dwelt, the other creatures who lived there with him, and news from his travels over the seasons. All this and more he related, with the easygoing cheer of a beast at home anywhere he found himself.

Lastly, the travellers recounted their tense brush with the rats who'd taken up residence in the former badger cottage. Deltus pricked his ears and sat up straighter at this, and not only because he knew exactly where it was and had previously played a part in the events there surrounding Cyril, Broggen and Snoga.

"It was not the happiest news, to be sure," Sodexo confided, "learning that the relative you'd planned to visit had been slain by vermin several seasons before, and her son very nearly sent into slavery. At least young Metellus escaped such a fate, thanks to the honest creatures who were in the right place at the right time to rescue him. I hope he has fared well at Redwall."

"I can attest that he is," said Deltus. "I myself escorted him to the Abbey once he was freed, along with his little terror of a squirrel friend Budsock, who sadly chose Abbey life over joining us here at Barrenoak - he'd have made a fine addition to our clan. But, we all choose our own paths in life, or sometimes fate chooses for us, and it appears Redwall has chosen Buddy. I saw them again in mid-autumn, when I paid the Abbey another visit before the weather grew too cold for comfortable travel. Both squirrel and badger are thriving there, you'll be glad to hear, Lord, and I'm sure you will find Metellus in good spirits and glad to learn he has a distant relative who happens to be Lord of the Southern Glades."

"Do you suppose he might wish to accompany my family and me back south when we leave Redwall?"

"I seriously doubt it, Lord. Not only has he settled into the Abbey environment and forged fast friendships there, but he's also in training to replace Redwall's healer, who was lost last spring."

"Yes, my friends here have already told me the tragic tale of Broggen and his transgression at Redwall - and of his ultimate redemption in saving young ones from a life of bondage and misery. Then I suppose Metellus has truly found his place, just as his squirrel friend has, all the strands of fate weaving together to deliver him to his intended destiny. I will not seek to sunder him from where he feels he must be."

"And what of Hanchett?" Deakyne inquired of Deltus. "He also played a role in helping Cyril during that nasty business with Snoga. How fares that hare?"

Deltus's expression grew somber. "During my second visit to Redwall, I learned also that Hanchett perished during his vendetta against that shrew. That he and Snoga both died with their paws around each other's neck, throttling the life out of each other."

As the others sat digesting this grim news, Sodexo said, "I had heard that it was a Badger Lord such as myself who put an end to Snoga, after that shrew had aroused his wrath."

"The events surrounding that conflict were rather ... complicated," Deltus replied. "Snoga did indeed attack and destroy one of Lord Urthblood's fortresses, and with the help of searats, of all beasts - truly an alliance of unsavory equals. Urthblood's weapons may have slain most of Snoga's wretched excuse for an army, but in the end Snoga and Hanchett were found dead in each other's fatal grip. I only knew that hare for a short time, but I could tell he was consumed with vengeance, and was like as not to meet such an end as he did."

"Well can I imagine how he must have felt," said Sodexo, "To see the Abbess of Redwall struck down by cowardous treachery, as Hanchett related that incident to my friends here - to witness a mouse of such dignity and wisdom slain without rhyme or reason ... "

"Slain?" Deltus cocked his head in surprise. "The Abbess wasn't slain."

"She wasn't?!" Deakyne and Neblett exclaimed as one.

"She was grievously injured, but she did survive."

"So Vanessa is still Abbess after all?" Sodexo asked.

"Well, no ... " Deltus proceeded to describe the state in which he'd found the former Abbess upon his previous visit to Redwall, while his guests looked on with amazement and were left shaking their heads at such an absurdly tragic situation.

"So, in her stead, Geoff was named Abbot," Deltus concluded. "He seems a fine and sensible mouse, all things considered, although he also strikes me as somebeast who could demonstrate a little more assured forcefulness in his position. But with so many upstanding creatures dwelling there now, Redwall remains in good paws."

"Geoff, Geoff ... " Sodexo tried the name on his tongue and his memory. "I barely recall him at all. A fellow novice and friend of Vanessa's, but I can't say he really made much of an impression on me. Arlyn was still Abbot when last I visited."

"Arlyn lives still," Deltus informed the Badger Lord, "or at least he did as of autumn last, although he is quite along in his seasons. It is mainly he who helps train Metellus in the healer's ways, along with the vixen Mona of Foxguard."

"Foxguard ... the fortress of the red tower. Tell me, I have seen what I take to be that very edifice; it is visible, if tiny and needle-like, from the Southern Glades themselves, atop hillocks and ridges where the trees thin out. Can it really rear so high, to be visible from so far away?"

"It can," Deltus assured with a nod. "Just wait until you behold it from the ramparts of Redwall; that's a sight you'll not forget for the rest of your seasons. Truth to tell, I'm glad the River Moss lies between Redwall and Foxguard. Those swordsbeasts may serve Lord Urthblood, but I will never entirely trust foxes. Never."

"We've never seen it ourselves," Deakyne said. "I guess the trees are too tall around us, and we are down in the river valley a bit. When Lord Sodexo asked us about the red tower, we honestly didn't know what he was talking about, but from his description of its position, we assumed it had to be the fox fortress Hanchett had told us about. We never imagined it to be so tall - although, in all fairness to us and to Hanchett, that structure was still a-building last spring when this news reached us."

"I can't wait to see it!" Pryle burst out. "I bet it's even more splendid than Redwall!"

"Can't testify to that," Deltus said, "but it certainly is taller. You'll see it soon enough, once you break from the forest trails into the main north-south road. Then you'll get an eyeful far more spectacular than any glimpse of it Lord Sodexo has ever caught from his southern home."

"Oh, the shots I wager I could make from the summit of such a tower!" Jiriel enthused.

"They might prove less impressive than you suppose," Deltus told the archer mousemaid. "From a thousand steps and more above the ground, wind and distance can wreak havoc with even the keenest shot, sending it far astray. Some of the land's best archerbeasts have tried, and they attest that it's largely useless as any kind of shooting vantage."

"A thousand steps?" Neblett repeated. "Can that be right? That would amount to ... over eighty stories tall, at a dozen steps to a story ... "

"When you see if from Redwall, or even from the road at a distance of just a few days' march, you'll see that it can be that tall, and then some. It truly is an amazing feat of architecture, whatever you think of the beasts who dwell there."

"A brigade of swordfoxes, dwelling across the river from Redwall in a tower that touches the sky, built for them by a Badger Lord like myself." Sodexo slowly shook his head. "Who would have imagined such changes would visit Mossflower in our lifetimes?"

"Change is upon us, that's for certain," Deltus agreed. "But I would hardly say Urthblood is a badger just like yourself, Lord."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Because," the Barrenoak squirrel replied, "I very much doubt that Urthblood is like any other creature who's ever lived."

00000000000

Jiriel awoke with dawn's first pale approach, the slow and lazy rhythm of her gently-swaying hammock lulling her into that hazy state between sleep and wakefulness.

The more daring half of the mouse/vole clan chanced to spend the night up in Drey Barrenoak, availing themselves of the squirrels' offer of swinging hammock beds - or, for those who couldn't get the feel for them and kept falling out, blankets and bedrolls spread out on the drey's flooring. It was a novel experience for one and all, and likely the only chance any of them might ever have of sleeping so high up in a tree, so those who wanted the thrill jumped at the chance while their less adventurous friends and family stayed down below with the badgers.

A light clambering commotion just outside her partly-enclosed shelter brought Jiriel fully awake. Twisting in her hammock to peer out at this early activity - which set her webbed bedding to pitching and rolling like a dinghy on rough seas - she spied Deltus and a couple of other squirrels climbing along the branches toward the upper reaches of their arboreal home. Curious, she swung herself out of the hammock and stood with both footpaws planted on the wood decking, staring up after her ascending hosts.

"Hey, Pryle! Pryle, wake up!"

Her younger brother, stretched out in his bedroll on the plank floor alongside her hammock, mumbled and muttered as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "Huh? Wotsis, sis?"

"Something's going on. Get up, so we can see what it is!"

Pryle lay back on his blanket, groaning. "'s not even sunup yet. Don't wanna get up ... 's too early."

"Get up, or I'll go without you!"

"Go on then, leamme in peace ... " Pryle closed his eyes again, draping his paw over his face as extra protection against the new day's intrusive brightening.

Jiriel huffed, then set out without her stubbornly sleep-loving sibling, loosely following Deltus and his companions at a distance along inclined walkways and simple stairs and nailed ladder slats and sometimes just climbing along exposed tree branches with no infrastructure covering them whatsoever. Heights had never much bothered the intrepid mousemaid, and now she thought nothing of scaling the uppermost byways of Drey Barrenoak almost as effortlessly as if she'd been a squirrel herself. Drawing near the slender, swaying topmost branches where Deltus had stopped, she nearly lost her balance in alarm as she felt a strong grip seize her arm.

"Hey, missy, what're you doin' up here? You shouldn't be this high up!"

Regaining her balance and composure, she shot back, "I was doing just fine until you went and grabbed me like that. And if you don't want your guests up and about, you ought not go waking them before sunrise with so much hustle and bustle outside their sleeping chambers."

The burly male squirrel guard released her, settling back upon the wide limb they shared, a wide grin on his face. "Heh, a spunky one, aren't we? Don't usually see that in mice. You do climb well, I must say. Ever thought of joining us bushytailed treerats as a full-time member?"

"I'll stick with just the occasional treetop forays, thanks. I prefer being a full-time mouse and part-time squirrel." Jiriel gazed up where Deltus and the others labored under the early dawn sky. "What're they doing up there?"

"Oh, just responding to something you folks told us about yesterday."

"Us? What could anything we said have your chief up at this hour, doing ... well, whatever it is he's doing up there?"

"You just watch, missy, and you'll see for yourself!"

So that's what Jiriel did, and as she looked on from below she saw Deltus and his helpers unfold a large sheet of fabric so white it practically gleamed, and together they stretched it taut and pinned it to the branch tips like a sheer sheltering tarp, even though only bare, unbuilt-upon branches lay directly beneath it, hardly in need of any protection from the elements.

"What's that for? I don't understand ... "

Scarcely had Jiriel uttered these words than Deltus, apparently satisfied with his arrangement above, descended along with his companions in the swift, sure manner that only seasoned squirrels can negotiate in the high forest canopy. Halting on the branch alongside hers with a look of surprise, the Barrenoak chieftain asked, "What's she doing here?"

"Got curious, and decided to take a vertical morning stroll," the guard replied with a wink.

"What's that for, sir?" she asked of Deltus, pointing upward. "Some kind of screen to shade part of your home from the midday sun?"

"Yes, I suppose it will serve that purpose too, although that's not its chief function. But I always try to avoid explaining myself twice, so let's go down and join everybeast else for breakfast, and I'll tell you all then."

A short time later, as the early spring sunrise sent its first rays piercing sideways through whatever trees they could penetrate, mice and voles and badgers and squirrels once again sat gathered on the ground beneath Drey Barrenoak, sharing their second and final meal together before the travellers would depart for Redwall. After Jiriel described to her companions what she'd seen the squirrels doing that morning, Deltus picked up from her account for his promised explanation.

"Earlier this season, a delegation of Lord Urthblood's Northland squirrels came to us, asking if we could help them maintain the security of these lands. One thing we agreed to do toward this end was to keep a large signal flag, to be displayed to summon his bird scouts in the event that we should need to alert them to any danger abroad in Mossflower." He pointed skyward to the gently rippling white sheet visible high above. "That's what we did at dawn's first light."

"Danger?" Deakyne asked, confused. "What danger do you speak of?"

"Those rats in the cottage you told us about yesterday. From your description of your encounter with them, I would say they represent a definite peril to any honest creatures who should unwittingly happen upon them. We could have taken it upon ourselves to see to it, even though that cottage lies outside our territory, but Urthblood's forces will be able to tend to the situation far more effectively and efficiently than we could. So, we will tell whatever messenger bird responds to our signal what you have shared with us, and thus will have discharged our responsibility in this matter."

"And then his birds will spread the word through these parts for travellers to beware?" Sodexo surmised.

Deltus hesitated only in the slightest. "Yes, I imagine it will be something like that."

"I wonder which of his birds will come here?" Pryle speculated. "Do you think it could be Captain Klystra? If it is, I'd love to stay and see that!"

Jiriel looked askance at her brother. "I seem to remember you quaking behind Mother over your terror of that fearsome falcon!"

Mortified, Pryle jabbered, "I ... I never did! An' I was much littler then!"

"I cannot say who it will be," Deltus answered. "Klystra is the only bird of Urthblood's I have ever met as well, but I understand that badger has many others in his service, including an entire squadron of fierce and loyal gulls who helped him win his war against the searats."

"I too have heard of his gulls," said Sodexo. "A great number were seen at the Big Inland Lake summer last, more than had ever been seen so far from the sea before, as part of his battle with Snoga. Some reports have him using those birds to deliver terrible weapons to destroy the enemy shrews."

"Redwall too has heard these reports, although - as with anything regarding Urthblood - it can be hard to pin down what is fact and what is wild rumor or speculation. The only thing we can be fairly sure of is that he commands a staggering number of forces, and if you choose to pick a fight with him, you will almost certainly end up dead - or, at the very least, forced to the bargaining table, as were the searats."

This surprised the others. "I thought you said Urthblood defeated the searats," Neblett asked. "Do you mean to say he actually negotiated with them?"

"That he did. Not even Urthblood, with all his power, would be able to totally defeat the searats. Too much of their strength lies far out at sea, beyond the reach of any land creature. But no more would they have free reign of the coastlands as before, with Urthblood standing vigilant to crush any landing they might attempt. So, with each side standing to gain from negotiations, and a ruinous war facing searats and woodlanders alike if their parlay failed, they reached an Accord and called a truce."

"I had not heard of this," murmured Sodexo.

"Nor I," added Deakyne, as Neblett nodded in agreement.

"It makes sense that you wouldn't have," Deltus told them, "since these incidents took place far from here on the coastlands, and involved creatures who seldom venture into the heart of Mossflower and whose influence mostly centers around distant realms and seas. It was quite enough that the affair with Snoga threw these nearer woods into tumult, and it's safe to say that neither Urthblood nor the searats would have inserted themselves directly into Mossflower's business without that shrew to call them here. Once you arrive at Redwall, you may hear far more about these events from those who have recorded them into the Abbey histories, often from direct accounts of those who took part in them."

Sodexo pursed his lips. "So, it seems the reasons for us to visit Redwall keep mounting. My honey trade, my daughter's education, these good folks' desire to see it for the first time and visit an old heroic friend, and now this. But, I do not know if we can stay to witness the arrival of the winged scout you've summoned. Do you have any idea when it will arrive?"

Deltus shrugged. "It could be at any moment, or it might not be until midday, or later. We have never done this before, so we don't really know what to expect."

"In that case, we cannot tarry here for something which might not occur until much later today. We must be off after this fine morning meal, with thanks to you for your hospitality."

"Your complimentary pot of honey is thanks enough, so feel no obligation to stay here longer than your travel schedule will allow, out of any sense of formality or protocol."

"And your larder basket of acorn delicacies is ample payment and then some for my honey. My mouse and vole friends and I will enjoy them well between here and Redwall."

And so, the morning meal taken, the woodlander company packed up all their belongings and made ready to travel once more. When no bird of Urthblood's had appeared by the time they'd finished these preparations, they made their final farewells and set out along the forest trails, guided by the two escorts Deltus assigned to show the mouse and vole and badger families the most direct route to the main north-south path.

Deltus stood in one of the lower branch semi-rooms of Drey Barrenoak watching the procession recede into the forest, the lightly-jostling badger cart surrounded by a cheerful array of marchers. Beside the squirrel chieftain stood Gravina, a powerful and influential matriarch of the tribe.

"You didn't tell them," she said, her tone neither complimentary nor accusatory.

"I told them enough. They know I'm helping Urthblood keep watch over these woods, and that I'm in communication with his birds."

"But not your specific reason for summoning them now ... or what will become of those rats who've moved into the old badger cottage."

"What happens at the cottage is none of our concern. As I told our guests, that lies outside Barrenoak territory."

"It will become our concern if some of us have to guide Lord Urthblood's forces to the cottage, and be on paw to witness what happens there. We should not be drawn into anything like that."

"We won't be. If it comes to that at all, we will serve as guides, and nothing more. I'll order our own squirrels to stand back once the cottage is reached, and leave it to the Gawtrybe to do as they must."

"I hope we can keep it as neat and as clean as you make it sound. But I am still not sure it was right to keep these things from those good creatures."

Deltus pursed his lips. "They will find out for themselves soon enough, Gravina - once they reach Redwall, if not before."

The old female squirrel shook her head slowly. "It's the 'before' I'm worried about."

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Once they were out on the main north-south path, the travellers didn't have to go very far before a break in the trees afforded them their first unobstructed view of Foxguard's upper reaches.

Mice and voles and badgers stopped in their tracks, simply standing and staring awestruck up at the red tower for long moments. At length, Neblett broke their collective silence. "I'm looking at it ... but I don't believe it!"

Sodexo nodded. "This is also my first glimpse of the structure from so close a vantage, seeing it at last as more than an indistinct rosy needle rising above the distant horizon. So, that's what it actually looks like ... "

"I can't understand how we never saw this from our home," Deakyne remarked, scratching at his jaw. "Even after hearing what you and Deltus had to say about it, I still could not have envisioned anything so tall. I'm of a mind with my vole friend here: I stand beholding it with my own eyes, but I can scarcely dare credit it."

"And I would estimate we are still at least a day or two's march away from it," Sodexo reminded them. "From the battlements of Redwall, it must reveal itself as every bit as spectacular as Deltus claimed."

Pryle, his attention already drawn upwards by Foxguard, tipped his head back even farther to take in another aerial attraction not yet commented upon by anybeast else. "Hey, look up there! Birds!"

The others followed his gaze and excitedly-pointing paw to see for themselves the circling, wheeling and gliding winged shapes high above, their darker forms clearly silhouetted against the blue afternoon sky.

"Do you think those are Lord Urthblood's birds?" Deakyne asked of nobeast in particular.

"I could not say," Sodexo answered. "Now that we have left Deltus and Barrenoak behind us, we have none among us who might qualify as experts in this area. You have met one of his warrior birds once, which happens to be exactly one time more than I ever have. But at their current altitude, I cannot clearly make out what species they are. Certainly larger than sparrows or starlings or robins, I would say, but they could as easily be gulls as any kind of raptor."

"Either of which can be dangerous," Neblett quickly added. "And if they're not Urthblood's ... "

"Yes, caution and alertness are certainly called for," Sodexo agreed. "It seems unlikely that they would harass a party as large as ours, especially with badgers among us, but when large birds flock in numbers, they can prove unpredictable, brash and brazen. We'd best be on our guard, and ready for anything. If they do trouble us, look to the youngsters first, since they could be most easily borne aloft."

Jiriel unslung her bow from her shoulder. "Trouble us? Make off with one of my brothers or sisters or cousins? I invite them to try!"

Deakyne scanned ahead. "It looks like things are opening up a bit up ahead, at least to our left."

Sodexo nodded. "The woodlands to the west are starting to give way to the Western Plains. The forest on that side will grow patchier and more sparse as we proceed, yielding eventually to wide rolling meadows with only the occasional copse of trees."

"That bit up there looks like those Plains are nearly upon us," Neblett assessed. "Wonder if that'll help or hinder us as far as those birds are concerned?"

"It will certainly give us less protection and cover if they should dive down at us," said Sodexo. "Best look to the east in such a case, where the forest still hews close to the road's edge. The leaves and branches there should help disrupt any attack they may have in mind."

And so they all kept one eye on the sky and the other on the thick woods to their right - and it was the forest which rewarded their vigilance first, as a fewscore paces later they saw a large group emerge from the shadowed treetrunks with a definite sense of purpose and destination. Sodexo raised a paw to halt his procession, until it could be determined whether these strangers were friend or foe.

At first glance they seemed both: a half dozen or so bushytailed squirrels clad in dull greens and browns and grays, along with nearly a score of rats, marching stiffly and stumblingly among them. The reason for their clumsiness quickly became clear, as the mice and voles and badgers realized the rats all had their paws bound, and were being sternly marshalled along by the armed treebeasts.

"It's Deltus's squirrels!" Pryle burst out.

"And the rats from the cottage!" Jiriel added.

But Sodexo shook his head. "We left Barrenoak and the cottage well behind us to the southeast, and these creatures are coming from the northwest. And those outfits of the squirrels are different from any worn by Deltus and his tribe - almost like uniforms, or forest camouflage. And look at the rats - far many more than were at the cottage, or even could have fit in that dwelling. No, these are completely different beasts."

"Well, if those aren't Barrenoak squirrels," Deakyne asked, confused, "and those aren't the rats from the cottage, then who are they?"

"An excellent question." Sodexo resumed pulling his cart forward. "I propose we go ask them."

As the Redwall-bound contingent looked on, the squirrels urged the rats across the road ahead, crossing from the sheltering woods out into the open fields. It seemed as if one or two of the bound rodents might have cast desperate, imploring glances southward upon spotting the woodlander caravan, but they were pushed and prodded along before they could call out. One of the squirrels, taking a momentary break from butting at the rats with his longbow, paused to stare skyward, then waved his weapon up at the birds cruising high overhead before rejoining his comrades in their prisoner march.

"Whoever they are," observed Deakyne, "they seem acquainted with those birds up there, and aren't afraid of them at all."

Sodexo nodded. "Whatever is going on here speaks to a high degree of organization. I've no doubt those are military beasts, engaged in some mission or purpose. And I would truly like to know, if I may, what this is all about before moving on to Redwall."

As they drew abreast of the spot where squirrels and rats had crossed the road, they glanced to their left and saw the prisoners and their captors bearing down on a pair of shrews, who stood in the midst of what appeared a temporary encampment out on the fringes of the Plains. "What's this now?" Deakyne wondered, "shrews too?"

Sodexo released his grip on the pulling hafts, letting his cart drop to rest on its forward struts. "Stay here. I will see to this." Striding forward, he left his travel companions in the road as he stepped out onto the grassy meadow and approached the strangers. For their part, having moved beyond the path and dismissing the mice and voles and badgers as inconsequential, the squirrels now stood so intently engaged with the waiting shrews that they barely acknowledged Sodexo as he neared, which gave the Badger Lord ample opportunity to overhear their heated conversation.

"Why are there only two of you?" the lead squirrel demanded. "There was supposed to be a whole escort squad here. Where are the rest?"

"One of Cap'n Scarbatta's gulls came by just this morn with intelligence 'bout a whole cabin in th' woods full o' rats off to th' southeast a ways, so most of us went off t' round 'em up an' bring 'em back here. Left th' two of us t' mind camp."

"Well, when will they be back?"

The shrew shrugged. "Depends how far 'tis, how quickly they find it, an' how much of a fight those rats put up. Could be later today, could be a couple o' days - who c'n say?"

The squirrel hooked an irate pawthumb over his shoulder at the rats. "Then what are we supposed to do with all of them? We brought them here for conduct to the seacoast. There was supposed to be a full complement stationed here at this transfer point to relieve us of prisoners. Two of you won't be able to manage it by yourselves."

The shrew was clearly growing tired of the squirrel's superior and quarrelsome demeanor. "Then I guess ye'll just hafta abide with 'em here t' watch over 'em until our mates get back with their own prisoners, eh?"

"We can't wait around for what could be days! We're needed back in the forest to proceed with the sweeps! Your fellows never should have gone after those cabin rats on their own - you should have waited until some of us Gawtrybe could be summoned to make a proper job of it. We'd have had it done in half the time!"

"You weren't here, we were, so we decided to see to it ourselves. Who knew when th' next batch o' you bushtails would be along?"

"Well, we're here now, and the shrews we need aren't. What are we supposed to do now?"

The shrew had clearly had enough. "Go soak yer sodden tails fer all I care. We'll move these rats when we move 'em, an' that'll be when we're good an' ready!"

The squirrel chuffed out his whiskers in agitation. "We need more beasts for this," he muttered sourly, then his gaze snapped around to Sodexo as if the badger had only just materialized out of thin air. "Yes, can I help you?" he spat.

"What is going on here?"

"Who wants to know?" the shrew bit off, suddenly now very much on the same side as the squirrel he'd been arguing with a moment before.

"I am Lord Sodexo of the Southern Glades, on my way to Redwall for a visit."

"Southern Glades, eh?" the squirrel assessed. "Then you're not from around here and have no standing in this matter."

"I am not local, if that is what you mean, but at least I am from Mossflower. Your own accents betray Northland tones. So I will ask again, what goes on here?"

The squirrel seemed about to rebuff Sodexo a second time but then thought better of it, perhaps realizing the creature he faced was a Badger Lord like his own master. "These rats are fugitives in our custody, and we're taking them where they must go."

"Fugitives? They are criminals?"

"In a sense, yes, since they stand in violation of Lord Urthblood's laws. They opposed the rules which safeguard these lands, which is why you see them bound before you."

"I see," Sodexo said, although in reality he didn't. Running his studious gaze over the rats, who stood staring back at him with a mix of hope and fear, he said, "I see children among these prisoners. What was their crime?"

"I've already told you," the squirrel replied, his tone growing curt once more, but before he could continue, several of the rats cried out.

"Help us, please, Mister Badger sir!"

"We're just simple family rats, woodlanders like you!"

"We been turned outta our homes an' forced away at swordpoint!"

"We ain't never committed no crimes, jus' keepin' to ourselves an' mindin' our own business when these murderous treejumpers came along!"

"They slew my auntie fer raisin' her fryin' pan to 'em!"

Before the babbling rats could plead their plight further, several of the squirrels and one of the shrews lay into them with heavy blows from longbows and the flats of swords, smacking their protests to silence. The children among them whimpered in terror, tears in their wide eyes.

"Stop that!" Sodexo bellowed, and to their own surprise the squirrels and shrew obeyed, ceasing their punishment. "I cannot let this proceed until you have explained yourselves more fully. What exactly do these rats stand accused of doing?"

The head squirrel set his jaw hard. "I'm done explaining. This matter is none of your concern. These rats stand in violation of the Accord which safeguards these lands - and that's all you need to know."

"The Accord?"

"Between Lord Urthblood and Tratton, that keeps the searats at bay. So you see, this is Salamandastron business, and we must ask that you not interfere."

"Salamandastron? I do not understand. We are nearly as far from that coastal fortress here as you are from your Northland home, so by what authority do you conduct yourself so here in Mossflower? I would insist upon answers to this, according to my species and my station."

"Then how's this for an answer: we do serve a Badger Lord - and it's not you. So step away now, or you'll be guilty of hindering our sanctioned campaign."

"These are still free lands, the last I was aware, and I choose not to obey creatures who display the disrespect and arrogant ill manners of common ruffians. These rats you call criminals show better grace than you do, and furthermore - " Sodexo found himself talking to the back of the squirrel's head, the archerbeast having turned away from him in dismissive disdain. The badger reached out and grabbed the other creature's arm to spin the squirrel back to face him ...

... and, in an instant, found four drawn shafts aimed dead at him, the other squirrels nocking arrow to bowstring with lightning reflexes and staring him down with uncompromising coldness.

"You do not want to interfere with Lord Urthblood's campaign," the lead squirrel growled at him with undisguised menace. "Now release me and move on, because my squad will use lethal force to end this."

"You are in the way. They would not dare shoot."

"Badgers are big targets. They'd shoot around me ... and we Gawtrybe never miss."

Sodexo chewed on this a moment, then let go of the squirrel and stepped back; being a minor Badger Lord, he wore no armor, merely ordinary fabrics which would provide no protection against expertly-launched arrows. "Very well. But I will see to it that Redwall hears of this, and knows what went on here."

The other straightened his tunic in smug fashion. "Be my guest. You'll not be telling them anything they don't already know."

Puzzled by this statement, Sodexo turned and trudged back to the road where the others awaited him, looking on in alarm. "Lord, what went on there?" Deakyne inquired. "We thought they were going to shoot you!"

"They very nearly did, I suppose. I believe only my standing as a Badger Lord allowed me to push the matter as far as I did before they threatened violence. Those beast are not to be trifled with, and I pity those rats for being in their captivity."

"Why? What's going to happen to them?"

"The same, I suspect, as will happen to the rats from Mavus's cottage. I overheard those squirrels and shrews arguing about it as I neared. There were more shrews here than just those two, and I gather the others have left to round up those rats we left behind and bring them here to join these unfortunates - and after that, it appears they are all bound for the coastlands."

"The coastlands?" Neblett repeated. "Whatever for?"

"I could not say." Sodexo once again stepped between the pulling hafts of his cart, took strong hold of the two rods and resumed his plodding forward progress, wordlessly beckoning the others to pick up their pace as well. "I came away with more questions than answers myself, but that one squirrel implied Redwall knows more of this than we do ... and now, in light of this incident, I am more eager than ever to reach the Abbey, to see what light those good folk can shed on this mystery."

00000000000

Half a day out from Redwall, the woodland travellers drew to a halt before the rustic inn fronting the east side of the road.

"Grayfoot's Tavern," Sodexo read from the quaint wood-burnt sign stretching across the top face of the establishment above the door lintel. "This was not here when last I came this way."

His wife Hekko couldn't resist a loving jab at her long-lived spouse. "Well, considering that, by your own admission, the last time you came this way was one Abbot and one Abbess ago, it's hardly surprising that some things have changed, is it? And let's face it, a modest roadside inn is much less eye-opening than a skyscraping tower of stone, you must admit ... "

"I think I know what this place is," Deakyne volunteered. "When they were amongst us last spring, Cyril and Broggen and Hanchett made mention of a tavern to be built by a former ferret captain of Lord Urthblood's who was retired from service in the North and sent down to Mossflower with his family to settle here. And the name Grayfoot does sound familiar ... "

"Another of Urthblood's beasts, hm?" Sodexo sounded less than enthralled by this revelation, as his gaze went from the tavern to Foxguard and back again. "Does that badger mean to make all of Mossflower his own?"

"It does almost seem that way these days, doesn't it?" Neblett looked to his companions. "So, do we go in for a spell to wet our whistles and rest our weary legs, or do we press on to Redwall?"

"I am not enamored of the idea of patronizing a ferret," Sodexo admitted.

"Nor I," Hekko concurred. "All our experiences with those beasts have been of the bad sort."

"But this's s'posed to be a good ferret," Pryle declared, "just like Broggs was a good stoat, and that one-eared weasel living at Redwall is a goodbeast too."

Sodexo raised an eyebrow. "There's a weasel dwelling at the Abbey?"

"Last we heard, yes," Deakyne replied. "But, like my son says, he's reputed to be a decent creature, just as Broggen was."

"And what of this ferret?" Sodexo waved a paw toward the tavern.

"Well, I suppose we've nothing to lose by poking our heads inside and seeing what there is to see. Surely a party as large as ours had nothing to - "

At that moment a ferret lad, little more than a toddler, appeared around the north side of the structure, skipping and running in carefree play ... until he caught sight of all the travellers stopped before the building and froze, standing in the road regarding the strangers with wide eyes and slack jaw. For several heartbeats the tableau held, then the young ferret spun and raced back behind the tavern, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Badgerses! Badgerses!"

"Our reception committee?" Bostany wryly remarked.

"He did seem a bit young to be the proprietor," Frodella chimed in.

"Then let's go see if we can find Mr. Grayfoot himself," Sodexo said, setting down the front of his cart. "I suppose we should at least meet the beast."

As the others fell into line and filed in after the three badgers, Jiriel glanced up at the signage. "Grayfoot ... strange name for this place, or for a beast."

"You think it should be called 'Grayfootpaw's' instead?" Pryle contended.

"Well, when you put it that way ... "

Inside, the limited light filtering through the small box windows cast the interior in a semi-gloom, forcing their eyes to adjust from the outdoor brightness. As the details of the large open room came into focus, Sodexo and his cohorts saw that the place was completely deserted, save for a solitary female ferret sitting placidly at a table near the bar. Wearing a simple but refined gown, the lone creature regarded them with neither welcome nor challenge in her eyes, taking them all in as if this was merely a play and she was out in the audience somewhere.

"Hullo," Sodexo greeted, nodding to the ferret. "Is Grayfoot around?"

She shouted out over her shoulder to somebeast unseen, "Gray! Customers!" Then she returned to her demure, unemotive study of them.

A jostling and clanging came from somewhere in a back room behind the counter, and a male ferret appeared through the door, wiping his paws with a rag. "Customers? Now? Just when we're about to - " He never got to finish what it was they were about to do, eyes going agog at the sight of so many creatures packing his modest tavern - more, by the look of it, than there were available seats in the dining area. "Fur," he muttered, casting aside his towel and stepping out from behind the bar. "Sorry, folks, but we were just closin' up. Kitchen's shut down, so no meal service, although I might be able t' dispense a quick drink, long as y' don't tarry overmuch."

"Closing?" Sodexo mildly rumbled. "But it's only early afternoon."

"Aye, an' just enuff daylight left t' make it to Redwall by ev'nin'."

The badger's eyebrows went up. "Redwall? That's where we're bound. You're going there too?"

Grayfoot nodded. "It'll be our first visit there since 'fore winter - me 'n' my wife Judelka here, an' our whelp Percival, who's around here somewhere ... "

"Yes," Deakyne said, "we saw him outside, if only briefly. He certainly knows we're here."

"Ah. Well, gonna hafta round 'im up soon, so's we c'n be on our way, so if you folks don't mind ... "

Sodexo took in the tavern room, which had clearly been empty before their arrival. "It does not seem you have any patrons to keep you here - aside from us, that is, and we are perfectly happy not to trouble you for any refreshment if that would delay your own departure. Perhaps we could travel to the Abbey together."

"Uh ... yeah, don't see why not. If ye're sure you don't want aught t' drink ... "

"We've water pouches freshly filled from the last stream we encountered. We'll be fine."

"Okay, then. Hey, Judy, go out an' wrangle up Percy, an' I'll meet you out front ... "

"Are we leavin' fer Redwall now?"

"Aye, that we are, Jude."

"We ain't gonna feed these beasts first?"

"Nay, kitchen's closed. We'll have some sips on th' way."

"Oh. Okay." The ferretwife stood, with no particular grace or awkwardness, and ambled to the rear of the building, disappearing from view moments before everybeast heard the muted opening and closing of a rear door.

"Hard of hearin', is she?" Neblett commiserated. "I mean, she was sittin' right here while we were talking ... "

Grayfoot shook his head. "Sadly, th' problem's 'tween her ears, not in 'em. She's hard o' thinkin', not hearin'. Sweet liddle thing, but she ain't th' swiftest arrow in th' quiver, if y' take my meanin'. Needs a liddle extra attention an' guidance ... "

"Oh." Neblett looked after the departed ferretwife. "That can't be easy, runnin' this place an' with a young one to boot."

"Oh, she's good fer helpin' out 'round th' place. Doesn't do too bad, once she gets th' hang of a routine. Not exactly like I got patrons bangin' down my door. Most folks in these parts still ain't very trustin' of ferrets ... "

"So it seems, to judge by what we saw some squirrels and shrews doing to others of your ilk," said Sodexo. "You should be happy they have not yet seen fit to treat you similarly."

"Whaddya mean, of my ilk?" Grayfoot asked, showing alarm. "I've had Gawtrybe stationed here off an' on fer over a season ... "

"Well, they were rats," Deakyne clarified.

"Oh. Well, o' course they were," Grayfoot responded, showing obvious relief. "You had me goin' there fer a tick ... "

"Rats, ferrets - lotsa woodlanders would lump 'em together," Neblett observed. "Aren't you worried about those squirrels coming for you too? Or didn't you know about this?"

"Oh, I know, awright," Grayfoot assured them. "But this's about rats, not any other species. Not ferrets, or stoats or weasels or foxes ... "

"Why just rats?" Sodexo inquired.

"It's the Accord, o' course. 'Tween Lord Urthblood an' King Tratton. His rats there, an' ours here. That's what it's all about."

"So you know what is going on?" the badger pressed. "Why honest family rats are being turned out of their homes, forced to march bound and at swordpoint to the coast, and slain if they resist?"

Grayfoot swallowed nervously, then nodded. "Yeah, I do, more or less."

"Tell us."

And so he did.