It had been three days since their capture. Marelda and two other young foxes named Kesare and Garynne were the only ones who had chosen slavery over death. The rest of the tribe had not been seen, and the other ones who had been given the choice between life and death had already been killed. Marelda envied their bravery and it seemed as if her resolve to execute her plan diminished every hour. She had not breathed a word of it to the others. She wouldn't have had time to even if she wanted to. The vermin kept them working in the worst of ways- carrying their armour for miles at a time, cooking and serving them food, picking the nits out of their fur… The work was non-stop and almost always under the deceptively calm eyes of Ferahgo. Marelda guessed that they were his guinea pigs. He wanted to see if they improved horde morale. She intended to prove him wrong.

The final push for her was meeting Ferahgo's right hand beast, Fleshclaw. A nasty looking weasel with no tail and a wandering eye, he was the worst of all the vermin that they had met. His orders were the most demanding of all, between the paw massages and carrying his armour trunk which weighed about as much as a full grown badger. His eyes were always on anything but their worn faces and he scared them all with his threats of being skinned alive by Ferahgo. He was menacing and perverted and needed a good skinning himself. When he demanded for the thirtieth time for Marelda to feed him extra rations like a king, without having to lift a paw, she thought of Klitch and how he would never stand for such treatment. With bitter tears in her eyes, she did what was bid of her. That night would be the last night she would be under his command.

----

It was late at night, but Marelda wasn't the only one awake. The slaves were chained at night, thanks to Kesare who tried to escape once and failed. Ferahgo had put guards on them anyway, though. He wanted to seem like he was in total control, she saw that. That was why she had been out of her ropes the first night. But he underestimated her. He was about to realize that.

Marelda slipped a thin sliver of diamond out of her sleeve and cut through her ropes like they were liquid butter. The guards didn't notice. Half of the idiots were asleep and the other half were chatting and hitting each other over the head. She could simply bribe them, but she didn't want to cause a fuss. And she wanted Ferahgo to feel uneasy. Bribing was something even a babe could figure out how to do.

So, she slowly began to roll, stopping every couple of feet. If any beast were to look over, they'd think she was turning in her sleep. The other two didn't notice. A thousand badgers' war cry would not have woken them. They had been dead on their feet since they awoke anyway.

Somehow, she made it to the bushes. She wasted no time getting up and scrambling into a tree. Considering she wasn't a squirrel, it was not an easy task. Foxes weren't meant to climb things. Branches rustled and twigs fell. Her tail got caught on a limb or two. Nearby vermin looked into the darkness of the forest, but didn't venture any closer, muttering something about a frightening creature that haunted the woodlands. The legend served Marelda well. She remained undiscovered, although she was sure her fast paced heartbeat could be heard for miles around.

After one treacherous jump after another, she scrambled down to hide in the undergrowth of the forest. It was a sheer miracle that no beast had noticed. She was within reach of Ferahgo's private tent by then. It was easy to spot to be sure. None of the other vermin, even the captains, had one without massive holes in the sides. Ferahgo's tent also sported the Corpsemaker's flag and had nobody lounging around it within a ten paw radius. She didn't blame any one of them. The next part of her plan was to sit and wait, while she summoned her courage.

Inside, safe from the elements, sat Ferahgo comfortably on a feather down cot, analysing a map and planning his next move. Settlements in the woodlands were hard to mark, due to inaccessibility by his men and nomadic tribes. He didn't want to waste time chasing after baby hedgehogs and ancient molemaids. Conquering the known world was a time consuming job and he wanted to complete his mission before he was too old to wield a sword.

His best option, he finally decided, rested on the tales of a great, stone castle. His spies had seen it from a distance, but had said that they had been turned back too soon to explore it, for whatever reason. He didn't care. It sounded like his best bet, whether inhabited or abandoned, it could be valuable. As long as he could keep his men's morale up for the long traveling that it would require to get there.

"Sir!" A weasel interrupted his train of thought, poking his head inside the tent, an urgent tone to his voice.

Ferahgo rose dangerously from his seat. "What is it now?"

"There's something in the woods. They're all talking about it- they say it's the Veruim. They're all too afraid to see what it is, chief."

"Well go see for yourself, nut brain!"

"But, see, sir…the Veruim is a very dangerous thing, sir. You wouldn't want anything to happen to me, I'm-"

"Get out of my way, then. I'll show this sorry excuse for an army what fear really is." He drew his favorite skinning knife from a strap across his chest and stalked out of the tent, growling insults and threatening to kill them all in the worst ways imaginable if they didn't pull themselves together. Marelda's plan was working better than she'd expected. She slipped inside the tent and made herself comfortable on his cot, awaiting the deceptive leader's return with baited breath.

It was only ten minutes later when Ferahgo stormed back into his tent, muttering under his breath about the incompetence of the creatures at his disposal.

"It must be hard for you, leading a battalion that's terrified of a little old fox maid. It's a wonder they've conquered anything at all." Marelda said cooly. Ferahgo looked up from where he was re-arming himself with more knives from his arms chest. A look of surprise crossed his face, an expression that filled her with confidence. She obviously had the upper hand.

"Anyone could make better guards than those imbeciles you had on us. Don't worry, Garynne and Kesare are both still sleeping soundly under the not so watchful eyes of…was it Cuttail and Snarlface? Or was it Snarltail and Cutface? They both look as ugly as the other, it's hard to tell which is which…"

Ferahgo stuck his head out of the tent, looking at where his slaves were kept. The idiots weren't even paying attention, but there were still two bodies there, their chests gently lifting with each breath. He looked back at her, regaining his composure. He had never underestimated anyone that badly before. What he thought was her acting, was impressing him. Marelda was surprised that he wasn't detecting her fear. She was terrified, angry and anxious. Thinking of Klitch was the only reason she wasn't shaking. She had to act like him. She had to get justice for him.

"I'm going to cut to the chase, Ferahgo. May I call you by your first name? I scared your entire horde by rustling a few branches. Never mind escaping. Here's what I want: to join your horde. First rate. Not like those other slobs sitting out there. I've proven to you I've at least got more cunning than they do- not a hard crowd to beat in that department, mind you, but I'm obviously worth something."

"Ha. And what makes you think that I'd trust you?"

"Because I've also got a little secret you might want to trust me about." She pulled out the sliver of diamond from her sleeve again and held it up so it shone in the dim light of the nearby campfires. "Do you like shiny things, Ferahgo?"

"Is that diamond?"

Marelda pulled out a knife from her other sleeve and Ferahgo's manner changed. "Give me one of your knives." He obliged. She cut it in half with one swipe and raised an eyebrow. "I have more where that came from. My tribe mined those caves until there was not a sliver of diamond left, and hid most of it in places only they would find for security. I am the daughter of the chief. I know where to get more diamonds than you can carry. Rather fit for a great ruler, such as you plan to be, wouldn't you say? But if you think for one second that I would ever tell you, then you're mistaken. If you let me out of my duties, I will make sure that we both get what we want. I may be a fox, but I was taught how to keep my word unlike your horde."

Ferahgo sat down beside her calmly and took the diamond knife from her paw. "And why should I not take all that you have on you and torture you for the answers? I'm more inclined towards win-lose situations in my favour then I am in win-win ones. It's just so much more fun that way." He slid the smooth side of the blade down her arm slowly, but she refused to flinch. It was a game to him, but she was not about to play by his rules. Only by his code of ethics.

"Okay, fine. Don't take my offer. But even if I tell you where they all are, there's no guaruntee you'll find them. They're all across the globe, from here to the vast ocean, to the cavernous mountains, to the great, mystical, sanctuary of the castle Redwall, to-"
"Redwall…yes…What do you know about Redwall? Where is it?"

"A far ways North from here. It is an impressive place, or so I've been told."

Ferahgo nodded knowingly. "Tell me what you've been told."

"If that's what you'd prefer to barter, then the offer still stands."

His blue eyes looked deep into hers, analysing his position. Before him stood a smart, strong young fox with cunning he had not expected. She had information and obvious riches. What could he possibly stand to lose? He grinned and reached out a paw.

"You have a deal. Welcome to the Corpsemakers."