Unlucky thirteen. Hopefully, that supersition won't come true for this chapter. :)
Chapter 13
As lunchtime rolled around in Redwall, Toka's horde was still hard at work rebuilding what Basil had confirmed as some sort of catapult, albeit one he had never seen before.
"The important thing, though, is that it is a catapult." Basil said later in Cavern Hole while eating a large helping of summer salad. "Once that Toka fella gets it rebuilt again, I expect it'll cause quite a spot of bother for us in the abbey, wot?"
"I expect that you're making an understatement, Basil." Cornflower said, watching the gluttonous hare eat. "If we're right, and Toka does use the catapult to knock down the barriers we've set up, we'll have little to no shelter from his archers, and it'll be that much easier for him to get inside the abbey."
"And even if we're wrong about his intentions with the catapult, he can still cause a great deal of damage with the device." Constance spoke.
"I'm already having the barriers reenforced." Abbot Mordalfus reported. "But if Basil's right, and I'm suspecting that he is, it's not going to do us a whole lot of good."
"Well, it's safe to say that the villainous vermin out there won't attempt to use it again until tomorrow, seeing that it took 'em most of yesterday and this morning to use it the first time." Basil said, "That gives us a fair amount of time to get a plan ready."
"But what can we do, Basil?" Cornflower asked. "The only way we can stop them is to attack them and drive them to where they can't work on the catapult, and we don't have the creatures nor weaponry to do it."
"What we can do is hold out for Mattimeo and Weylan to come back." Constance said. "It's clear that they had some sort of plan, one that can work, otherwise Mattimeo at the very least wouldn't have left the abbey at such a dire time."
"That's true, Constance, but that doesn't tell us what to do to hold out." Cornflower pointed out, then sighed. "I wish Matthias was well. He'd have some ideas."
A mouse suddenly walked in and whispered something in the abbot's ear.
"Toka wishes to have a word with our leading warriors." Mordalfus announced.
"Righto, I'll talk with the blighter!" Basil said, hopping up.
"I'm afraid not, Basil." Mordalfus interrupted. "As skillful as a warrior you are, Toka apparently wishes to speak with Matthias or Mattimeo. Preferably Mattimeo."
"But he can't." Cornflower said, also standing. "Matthias is ill, and Mattimeo left."
"And Toka doesn't know that yet, and it's probably better that it stays that way." Constance said. "If he thinks for any reason that our Redwall warriors cannot fight, he'll think he'll have a greater advantage than he already has, and attack full force that much sooner."
"A fight that we know that we can't win." Cornflower added.
The doors leading into Cavern Hole swung open again, and Cheek walked it.
"G'day mates!" he said, adopting a thick otter accent. "By the paw am I 'ungry! Me wonders if there's any 'otroot soup about?"
Ignoring the four in meeting, he walked into the kitchens, looking for his favorite meal.
"But what can we do?" Mordalfus said, ignoring Cheek's untimely arrival. "Toka wants to talk with Matthias or Mattimeo."
"Jolly good food in here, wot?" Cheek could be heard saying from the kitchens, a phrase Basil was commonly heard saying when he entered the kitchens. This was followed by a mousemaid telling Cheek off for snitching food.
"If only there was someway to convince Toka that he was speaking with Matthias or Mattimeo when he really isn't." Constance thought aloud.
"Hurr, oi wonders iffen you'm knows whurr oi can get oi some food, zurr." Cheek asked a passing mole as he exited the kitchens, mimicking a perfect mole accent.
Cornflower watched the young otter. "What we need is someone who can speak like anyone one might want." she said.
Cheek tried to reenter the kitchen, but several paws pushed him back out. Slumping his shoulders in defeat, he noticed that everyone was watching him.
"Wot?" he asked.
"What's keeping them so long?" Toka asked, as he paced anxiously in front of his partly finished catapult.
An ambitious young rat named Scourge spoke, "Mayhaps they're sleepin' an' they gotta wake 'em up, sir." he suggested.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Scourge." the warlord said.
"Sorry sir." Scourge apologized quickly.
"And stop calling me sir." Toka added. "You sound like some proper, educated, beast."
"Yes sir, I'll stop calling you sir, sir." Scourge said, returning to helping another rat work on the catapult.
Toka mumbled something that Scourge thankfully couldn't hear under his breath.
"Oy!" a voice shouted out from the abbey. "Still waiting for me, Toka?"
"Finally!" Toka said to himself, stopping his pacing. "Mattimeo, my friend, I am still here. I wish to have a word with you."
"Go ahead." Mattimeo prompted, hidden out of sight behind the abbey's barricades.
"By now, I assume you have figured out what I am building." Toka said.
"Yes, we know you're building a catapult." Mattimeo answered.
"I want you to know that I have plans that I can put into action that would not require the catapult." Toka said. "I have a means of capturing you're abbey quickly and effectively, but you seem like fair beasts. I wish to make a proposal."
"I'm listening." Mattimeo said.
"I will not use the plans I speak of and continue with my catapult plan if you stop resisting my forces." Toka said. "It will do you no good either way."
"If it will do us no good, and we'll end up defeated either way, why agree to your proposal?" Mattimeo asked. "No, we will resist you until the very end Toka. Do your worst if you must."
"Is this your final choice?" Toka asked.
"It is final." Mattimeo confirmed after a brief pause.
"Then so be it."
Toka began to walk off.
"You've got a plan that wouldn't require a catapult, sir?" Scourge asked.
"I believe that is what I said, Scourge." Toka answered.
"Then what is it, sir?" Scourge asked next.
"That's for me to know," Toka said, walking off, "and for Redwall to find out."
Inside the Great Hall, Cornflower, the abbot, Constance, and the others watched Toka walk off, congratulating a beaming Cheek at the same time.
"Well done, very well done!"
"An absolutely spiffin' performance Cheek!"
"You completely fooled him, I'm quite impressed with you!"
Cheek shrugged under all the credit. "What can I say?" he said, still perfectly mimicking Mattimeo's voice, "It's a talent of mine."
"Yes it is," Abbot Mordalfus agreed, "And such a talent requires a reward."
"Does that mean I can get somethin' to eat out of the kitchens?" Cheek asked, curious.
"Anything you want." the abbot assured him. "Go on, tell the friar that I said you could.
Cheek ran off, grinning broadly.
"Well, that's one problem solved." Cornflower said, watching the otter go. "Unfortunately, we've got a lot more where that came from."
"And a whole deal more after talking with Toka." Constance added. "Most importantly, what is this new plan he spoke of?"
"Yes, and what can we do to protect ourselves from it?" Cornflower asked rhetorically.
"If we can." Mordalfus said slowly.
Swayner snuck into the bell tower, a strawberry pie in tow. Satisfied that he was alone, he quickly began eating the dessert. He knew that it probably wasn't a very sensible thing to do at a time like this, stealing pies off of cooling shelves while the cooks were looking the other way. And he'd probably get another unwanted chore to do because of it. But a squirrel must eat, and for Swayner, it was a time to eat pie.
Halfway through, he heard something clatter to the floor nearby. Jumping from fright, he looked around for the source, and soon found it. It was a small stone, not even big enough to be a slingstone. He looked upward. It must have fallen from the top of the bell tower. Throwing the stone aside, he returned to his pie, quickly forgetting the incident.
Then the Matthias bell rang softly, barely loud enough to be heard, but enough to worry Swayner. Someone had to be up there.
"Who's up there?" he yelled, gearing up to half-heartedly throw the half-empty pie tray. "Show yourself!"
Nothing happened for several moments. But then, a female squirrel about Swayner's age nimbly slid down the bell rope with such agility that neither bell rang once, landing right in front of Swayner.
Swayner stared at the newcomer for several moments, unsure how to react. The other squirrel stared back at Swayner in mild interest.
"So are you going to throw the pie or eat it?" the newcomer asked.
Swayner looked at the pie he still had in his hand. "I'll eat it." he finally said, grabbing a slice with one hand. "Care for some?"
The other squirrel pushed the tray away. "I'll pass, thank you." she said. "Who are you?"
"Swayner."
"Can I speak with the Father Abbot?" the newcomer asked. "It's about the vermin sitting out on his doorstep. I think I can help."
"Oh, yes, I'll lead you to him." Swayner said, still slightly shocked by the newcomer's sudden arrival. "Who are you?"
The other squirrel was silent for a moment before answering, suddenly nervous.
"Marigold."