Author's Note: Sorry for not getting this up sooner, but my computer decided to delete my very-nearly-finished first type-up of this, so I had to start from scratch.

And no-one had guessed the meaning(s) of the riddle yet. Really, I am ashamed.

Oh, and thanks to all my luvverly reviewers- Clouded Horizon, InChrist-Billios, Nasgul07 and Redwallfreak108. You guys are great!

Disclaimer: This is not the remotest possible chance that I own Redwall. Not a brick. not a stone, not a speck of dust, nothing.

Revelations and Strawberry Pie

Four dead.

The day dawned bright and clear after the night's storm, the apologetic sun peeping over the dark horizon and giving a pink edge to the clouds and a golden wash to the sky.

Four had died that night. As the rain hammered down on the roof of the cave and the wind howled and moaned through the entrance, four hares had let go of life. They were buried early the next morning.

Honeysuckle had risen early and replaced one of the hares who were on watch at and around the entrance of the cave. She turned and gazed to where the dead hares had been buried. Four freshly turned patches of earth marked where they lay, soon, not even that would remain. No-one would know that four beasts lay beneath that ground, beasts who had fought for freedom and good against injustice and tyranny.

A commotion in the cave behind her caught her attention and she turned to see a healer crouching down beside a wounded hare. They murmured together for a few seconds, before the Healer rose again, tears sparkling in her eyes and snaking down her face. The wounded hare closed their eyes and sighed softly. The Healer leant down and pulled the blanket that they rested on up and over their face, covering them from view.

Five dead.

Honeysuckle gripped her javelin tightly. This was WRONG! The Long Patrol, skulking in a dark cave, hiding from vermin. They were slowly starving, they dared not venture into the forest to gather food 'lest they alert the fox's vermin scouts to their presence. At least they had fresh water, she though humourlessly. Some had had the presence of mind to catch some of the rain that had fallen the previous night.

So, at least while we starve to death, we will never be thirsty, she thought bitterly.

Of course, a group, three or four hares, moving together through a dense forest, galloping over the flatlands and beach within sight of Salamandastron, they will make noise however quiet they try to be. But one hare, a lone hare who has had experience of camouflage and stealth, well they have a chance of passing unnoticed. They have a chance of bringing back some food…

But as the idea occurred to her, the consequences of such an action hit her. Even if she succeeded, she would be abandoning her post here, and that was not to mention the risks that were involved. If a vermin party spotted her in the flatlands, if she made a sound near the mountain, if they saw her…

But, glancing over to the cave, at the sick and wounded hares lying there, she knew that her mind was already made up.

She edged along the wall until a craggy outcrop if rock hid her from view. Then she turned and loped silently into the surrounding forest, clutching her javelin tightly in one paw, the other resting on her bow, slung over her back. Soon, she was lost from view.

Six dead.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Darkness and pain were the first things that Ayila wakened to. Her head throbbed and her mouth was dry. She also seemed to be tied. Around the paws and…yes around the footpaws too. She kicked out with her bound feet and felt a furry form beside her. Her kick was rewarded with a sleepy groan. Good, Rose was here too.

Now, where was here? She squinted around, trying to ignore the ache in her head. As she woke up a bit more, and her eyes got used to the dark, she was able to make out shapes. A barrel there and a sack there… Oh, they were in a store room.

"Well," she said out loud "If they intend to keep us here, then at least we won't starve."

Immensely cheered by this thought, she turned her attention to the rope that bound her paws. Having had her fair share of close scrapes and encounters involving her being tied up in one form or another, she was not unduly worried. They had got out of worse.

The sounds of beasts moving outside caught her attention and she nudged Rose with her foot, provoking a moan and a sleepy mumble. She nudged her again, harder, and this time, Rose opened her eyes and glared at her friend.

"What?"

Ayila nodded towards the door "Looks like we've been captured again. Why is it that we always seem to be taken and tied up in a darkened room? Why can't they just tap up nicely on the shoulder and say 'Excuse me, but we've seen you wandering through these woods and would like to know whether you are an enemy'? Then, at least, you don't have to go through the whole business of being knocked out, and then tied up, and then deposited somewhere…"

"Ayila," Rose said, her eyes closed and her voice dangerously quiet "Be quiet."

But Ayila was getting into her stride now and would not be stopped "…it reminds me of that time when we were caught be that tribe of mice. Very polite they were, said sorry very nicely when they realised they had made a mistake and even offered us a nice cup of mint tea and some pie before we left. Very nice pie it was too, I seem to remember it had strawberries in it…Ooooof!" the 'Ooooof' showed where Rose had lost all patience and whacked her.

They sat for several moments in sulky silence (Ayila muttering about strawberry pie and tea) when the door swung open. They shielded their eyes from the brightness of the light that flooded into the room and so were unable to see the beasts who had walked in until after a few moments after they had done so.

A tall, menacing otter, a shrew, a mole, a mouse and a huge female badger all stood, regarding them solemnly. Ayila made a little bleat of annoyance.

"If you are going to tie us up and leave us in a darkened room, then at least have the decency to open the door slowly, so that we aren't blinded by the light that heralds your arrival."

The mole peered into the room. "Bo hurr, marm, us'uns carn't see you'uns from ee darkness. Us'uns need ee loightness to see ee!"

Rose smiled a wan smile "Mole logic is always impossible to argue against."

The otter now spoke "Be quiet maid. And you Foremole, don't encourage 'em!" he stepped closer to where they were tied "Now, what are two young maids like you two doing wandering the forests in a night like that? Spies, scouts mayhaps?"

Rose, seeing his aggression, decided to fight fire with fire. She looked him up and down fearlessly. "And what's it to you, streamdog?"

He bristled, but a voice from the doorway stopped him from retorting.

"Skipp! Stop, do you not see who she is?"

They all turned sharply. Silhouetted again the light streaming through the door, stood an old hedgehog, wearing a dusty brown habit and clutching a heavy volume in his paws. He looked from Rose to a page he held open and back again.

"Tyg?" The mouse spoke for the first time. "What do you mean? What have you found?"

Tyg stepped through the doorway and approached, holding the book at the appropriate page so that they could all see. "Laterose of Noonvale, daughter of Urran Voh and Aryah."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A small form whipped through the branches of the Mossflower trees. The dappled light shone on her face, catching features of her face and throwing them into sharp relief. Her fur, from what was shown, was of a mottled grey and brown, her eyes a deep amber. She grinned, showing sharp teeth. Her morning had gone well. Three soldiers dead and she had shot down some birds for food.

She reached a tall elder that overlooked a huge lump of grass and earth in the ground. Swinging herself down from the tree, she burrowed into the mound, emerging in a sizeable cavern, dug from the earth and shored up with tall, strong wooden posts. She swung her pack down onto the soft earth and then padded to the centre of the cavern, chattering to herself.

"So what have we got to eat then? What nice, tasty food has Dhalia got today then?" she rummaged around in her pack and pulled out three small, feathered bodies.

"Well, we have a nice fat woodpigeon, a magpie. We don't like them, nasty noisy birds, greedy and covetous," she shuddered and continued, turning to the last body "Oh, a robin. Nice fat robin. Robin will do for supper. Dhalia likes robin, so she does." The odd creature continued in her one-sided conversation, her long tail whipping about as she plucked the robin and set it to cook. Those who saw her would say she was mad. Those who observed her closely would say different. Quite, quite different.

Author's Note Pwease review, pwease, pwease pease? I don't have much of a life, you know, just school.

And yes, I have written Ayila slightly like a hare this chapter, but mainly because I'm hungry for fooooooood. And choooooooocolate. –drools-

Ayila: Ahem, anyway, while my creator dreams about chocolate, I am to tell you that guesses on the riddle are still very much welcome and she will try to update soon –looks nervously at Tess, who is now beginning to chew her sleeve- Um, that is all…I guess..goodbye. Oh and REVIEW.