THE CRIMSON BADGER - Chapter Twenty-Eight

Rafter returned to Redwall Abbey just as lunch was getting underway.

Swooping down in two wide circles over the walled grounds, the young Sparra failed to see the Abbess anywhere. Vanessa, it just so happened, was out in the orchard taking her midday meal with Lady Mina, Machus and the other Abbey leaders, and the spreading branches of a fruit-laden pear tree hid her from Rafter's questing gaze. Finally giving a mid-air shrug of his wing shoulders to himself, he rolled out of his circular flight plan and dove down to the wallsteps by the main gate, where Maura and Sister Aurelia sat tending the Abbey youngsters.

The badger matriarch had noticed Rafter's shadow chasing around the lawns long before the sparrow commenced his typical daredevil dive, so nobeast was not overly startled when plummeted toward them. The children were delighted as always by the bird's acrobatics, and Rafter indulged them with a playfull screech from his beak as he braked to a furiously fluttering halt just before plopping springingly onto the grass upon his outstretched talons. Very young voles, hedgehogs and moles giggled and laughed as Rafter took bows with one wing behind his back and the other folded in front of him.

"Do it again!" Droge demanded.

"Maybe some otherday, hedgepig tyke." Rafter turned to the two babysitters, nimbly hopping as he did in order to avoid the hurtling ball of juvenile hedgehog who was miffed at being denied his request for an encore. As the rolling mass of spines that was Droge tumbled harmlessly beneath his raised claws, Rafter rattled off to Maura the news that Lord Urthblood's column was making good progress, and that all was well with the marchers.

"Rafter gonna miss Winkurfriend, hope pal waterdog come backsafe to Redwall."

"Yes," Maura nodded, "so do we all. I'll make sure the Abbess hears your message, Rafter. Our thanks to you."

The sparrow bobbed his head in acknowledgement. "Me tired from longfly, go take sleepynap up in Warbeak Loft. Goodday, groundfriends." Rafter flapped up into the sky, dwindling in the high sun until he vanished under the eaves of the Sparra court.

"Well," said Aurelia, "at least we know they haven't encountered any trouble along the way so far, even if they are still relatively close to Redwall. I'm just glad that grim badger's away from here. Now I don't have to hide in my Infirmary anymore for fear of running into him."

"Oh, he wasn't that bad, Aurelia," Maura chided her.

"Hmm. Maybe you didn't notice as much, being a badger yourself. But to a little mouse like me, having that unsmiling brute around could be downright suffocating!"

"If his fears about his brother Urthfist are on the mark, there could be another badger warrior on the way here who's twice as grim as Lord Urthblood ever was ... and maybe dangerous too."

"Hmph! If he shows up with hares at his side, it'll still be an improvement over Urthblood's lot!" Aurelia noticed Droge was still on a roll, tumbling further away from them. "Hey, you little spiky terror, get back here!"

"Oh, let him be, Sister," Maura said. "He's heading right for the orchard, where Vanessa and the others are. No danger of bumping into any vermin, as long as he doesn't swerve toward one of the wallgates."

Aurelia studied the somersaulting hogchild's progess. "I suppose you're right, Maura ... "

At least two weasels or rats had joined the guards at each gate, mingling with the Redwall otters, while the rest remained on the walltop. Machus was the only questionable creature in the orchard, although his fellow foxes had been seen that day crossing the Abbey grounds from time to time as if the place belonged to them. Vanessa had said to trust them and treat them like fellow goodbeasts, but Monty and Alex weren't the only ones keeping a sharp eye on the Northlanders.

"Vermin roaming freely inside Redwall, while two Badger Lords are at such loggerheads ... who could have imagined it would come to this?"

"Yes," Maura nodded, reigning in a wayward molebabe, "who could have imagined?"

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Machus had issued Montybank an invitation.

"Duelling contests, y'say?" The otter Skipper twiddled his whiskers as he mulled over the swordfox's proposal. "'Tween my crew an' yours?"

"You don't have to give me your answer right this moment," Machus said. "But it's not satisfactory for my troops to simply stand watch on the walltop or help guard the gates. They could be here at Redwall for many days, perhaps the rest of this season, and they will have to drill sooner or later to keep their skills sharp. I was planning to take them outside in the meadow where we practiced before with Lord Urthblood, since I am sure the Abbess would not want such violent displays inside your walls. But, if you and your otters would be willing, perhaps we could instead match your jousting skills to ours, and make something of a sport of it."

The other Abbey leaders around the table in the orchard looked on with a mix of emotions upon their faces. "You mean, your foxes against Redwall's otters?" old Arlyn asked.

"No, not my foxes," Machus replied. "We are swordsbeasts, and there are none in Redwall to match us in that area. And the shrews in my force are too small for such a thing. But these rats and weasels would perfectly complement your otters, both in size and strength, and in their choice of weaponry, which is mostly staffs and javelins."

"I think it's a very good idea," Lady Mina offered enthusiastically. "These Northlanders have led a mostly grim existence, even under Lord Urthblood's service. Most of them already have half a lifetime's drilling experience under their belts. I'm sure they would be gladdened to exchange their usual cheerless battle exercises for something a little more ... frivolous."

"Exactly my thinking," Machus nodded. "What say you, Abbess?"

"Well ... " Vanessa tried not to let her misgivings show too plainly. The fox chieftain had presented his idea in his most courteous manner, and received instant support from the Gawtrybe Lady. It would be hard to voice disagreement without appearing curmudgeonly. "Tomorrow, perhaps? I will discuss it more fully with Montybank later."

"I had planned on giving them the rest of today off," said Machus, "since they worked so hard this morning, helping to get their comrades ready for marching. But tomorrow I will have to drill them, either outside in their accustomed manner or in here as part of the contest I suggested. By all means, sleep on it, and in the morning - hey!"

The gathered adult beasts had been so intent upon their mealtime discussion that they failed to notice little Droge - littler than usual, since he was tightly curled in a ball - hurtling across the lawn toward their table. The oblivious young hedgehog was brought up short when he connected solidly with Machus's leg, eliciting a surprised gasp from the swordfox.

Droge uncurled and sat on his rump, footpaws out before him, gazing innocently up at Machus. "Heya, Mr. Squirreldog!"

"I beg your pardon?"

Droge reached out and tugged at the fox's brush. "Y'gotta big bushy tail like a squirrel. That makes you a squirreldog."

"Droge! Be polite to our guest!" Vanessa looked to Machus. "My apologies. Most of our young ones had never seen a fox before you and your squad came to Redwall. They don't quite know what to make of you."

"Oh, I don't mind at all, Abbess." Machus gingerly ruffled Droge's headspikes. "Squirreldog - I rather like that name. Where did you hear it?"

Droge puffed out his chest proudly. "Made it up m'self. Now that's what we all call you!"

"This one always has been something of the ringleader among the young ones," Alex explained. "If he devises some way of disrupting our peaceful home, you can be sure the other children will pick up on it."

Maura came bustling over, gathering Droge into her arms. "I'm sorry, Machus, I didn't think my little runaway here would reach you so fast. Did this unruly pincushion prick you?"

The fox smoothed his leg fur with one paw. "Not enough to draw blood, thank goodness for youthful soft spines. It's a war wound I'll wear with pride."

"Oh. Good." Maura turned to the Abbess. "Vanessa, that birdbrain Rafter just flew back from seeing off Winokur. He said the army is now a little south of where old St. Ninian's used to be, and has encountered no trouble of any kind. They're hoping to make better time today, and they should be far from Redwall by this evening."

"That's encouraging," Mina said.

"But it raises an interesting point." Machus addressed Vanessa. "Abbess, one of your Sparra was able to keep track of Lord Urthblood's main force this morning, even though they were long out of sight of this Abbey. I think we should make better use of your birds. They can easily range a day's march from Redwall in any direction. It would be a good way to know whether Urthfist might be approaching."

"I'm sure they would let us know such a thing immediately. They're out foraging all the time."

"Maybe so, Abbess, but I might rest easier if we formalized the arrangement, so to speak. Lord Urthblood relies upon his own birds heavily for surveillance, and they have aided him greatly in his various Northland campaigns. I only suggest that we do the same."

"It makes sense," Mina backed up Machus.

"Very well," said Vanessa. "Maura, once you get Droge settled down with Sister Aurelia, why don't you and Cyril go ring the toll that will summon Highwing? We would have to consult with him about this."

"I'll see to it right away." The badger matriarch guided the young hedgehog away from the adults' table. "Come along, you awful pawful. You've troubled your elders enough for one day."

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The Abbey leaders lingered at the table in the orchard after Machus excused himself to make the rounds of his troops. Alexander wandered off with Lady Mina to visit with the squirrel sentries and see how they were getting along with the Northland walltop watchers.

"Squirreldogs!" Geoff chuckled. "That Droge can sure come up with them, can't he?"

Old Arlyn wasn't quite so amused. "Yes, and he can cause trouble too. Was it my imagination, or did Machus's paw go right for his sword hilt when Droge collided with him?"

"Yes, I thought I noticed that too," Vanessa frowned. "It happened so fast, I couldn't be sure. Machus certainly is quick, I'll give him that."

"Aye," Monty nodded. "An' not just quick, but subtle too. Th' way he kept his paw goin' past the hilt so it looked like he was just turnin' 'round in surprise an' not reachin' fer his blade. Don't reckon we could've caught him, even if we'd called him on it."

"Well, he is a trained fighting beast," Vanessa sighed. "If he was reaching for his sword, I'd like to think it was just his reflexes. As Monty pointed out, he certainly recovered quickly enough. But Machus and his foxes are supposedly the best of Urthblood's swordsbeasts. Would one of these rats or weasels have been able to stay its paw so swiftly?"

"Let's not leave out Urthblood's shrews," Geoff chimed in. "I know they're woodlanders, but they're as grim as the badger who leads them. And the ones down in the tunnel outside Hanchett's cell have a killer's gleam in their eyes. I wouldn't trust them not to slay a beast at the flick of a whisker."

"Maybe so, but it's the larger beasts that concern me more." The Abbess turned to the otter Skipper. "Monty, you've spent a fair amount of time with those rats and weasels these past two days. What's your take on them?"

"Well, Nessa, wot can I say?" Monty shrugged. "They're 'ere to help protect our Abbey, an' as far as that goes, they're actin' professionally soldier-like, I s'pose. They take orders from me 'n' Alex 'n' Lady Mina 'n' Machus calmly 'nuff. But these troopers ain't as timid as their captains were when we first invited 'em in with Urthblood. Mebbe it's 'cos their master's not around to intimidate 'em, or mebbe the lower ranks ain't as worried 'bout makin' good impressions as the officers were. Wot little gab I've shared with 'em makes me glad they ain't me bunkmates, if'n y' know wot I mean."

"Well, I'd hardly expect that they'd become refined Abbeybeasts overnight," said Arlyn. "We knew they'd be a little rough around the edges."

"That's a kind way o' puttin' it," Monty huffed.

"Crudeness is not grounds for banishment from Redwall," Vanessa reminded her companions. "If it were, I could name some hedgehogs who wouldn't be living here now."

"And mayhaps an otter or three," Monty admitted. "Not t' mention the Guosim shrews who winter here. They're about as tumble-about a crew as any ye're like t' meet anywheres."

"Maura and Aurelia are doing a good job of keeping the young ones away from those vermin, in spite of Droge's little misadventure just now," Vanessa said. "And I think the rest of us know enough to give rats and weasels plenty of elbow room. We'll keep this present arrangement until I see reason to change it. These soldiers are donating their services to us for our benefit. As long as they do nothing to violate our rules and continue to do what Alex and Monty tell them to, we'll just have to put up with them."

"Yes, but for how long?" Arlyn asked. "What if it gets to be the end of summer, and Urthfist still hasn't shown up? Are these beasts to be permanent residents and defenders of Redwall?"

"Season's end is still a long way off," said Vanessa. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it ... although, hopefully, we won't have to."

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Droge couldn't wait to share his new nickname with all his playmates.

"Hey, guess what!" he announced proudly as Maura escorted him back to Aurelia and the other children by the west wallsteps. "I'm th' Awful Pawful!"

His friends found this every bit as amusing as Droge did, laughing robustly at the apt nickname. "Hurr hurr," chuckled Padgett the mole, "'ee's ee Oreful Poreful, roight 'nuff."

"Offle Poffle!" Cuffy the dormouse seconded in delight.

Just then Maura spied Droge's aunt Balla striding along the lawns with a long window pole slung over her shoulder. Maura steered Droge toward the cellarhog.

"Hullo, Balla, would you mind keeping this tyke under your wing for awhile? He's already given me and Sister Aurelia enough grief for one afternoon, and your paw's just as strong with him as mine is."

"Be a pleasure, Maura. Li'l Drogey an' me ain't spent as much time t'gether lately as we oughtta. Come along, ye mischievious spikeball."

As Balla and Droge wandered off, paw in paw, Aurelia turned to the badger. "What just happened over at the elders' table, Maura? Looked to me like Droge went and spiked exactly the wrong beast."

"It was nothing," Maura replied. "Nothing at all, I'm sure."