THE CRIMSON BADGER - Chapter Sixty-Two
As the hares climbed throughout that day, the terrain became craggier, the rocky ground harder beneath their feet, and the vegetation more sparse the higher they got. The air grew cooler as well, in spite of the radiant afternoon sunshine, promising a cold night for them if they were unable to attain the summit pass and start back down the other side before nightfall.
Several times the trail seemed to die out in broad gravelly slopes or uneven stretches of boulders, but always the intrepid hares were able to pick it up again once they were past these apparent dead ends. There did indeed seem to be a trail all the way up through the backbone of the mountain range, but it was hardly obvious, especially not to beasts on the ground. Perhaps there was some small element of truth in Browder's tale, in that it was in fact a bird who had discovered this path. What the deceitful hare had omitted was that the bird was one of Urthblood's creatures, and had most likely mapped out the route at the villainous badger's request.
Late afternoon found them high in the barren pass, twin peaks rising above them on either paw. Here was where the pass actually cut between the two summits; the stretch directly ahead of them looked to level off well below the pair of mountains flanking it. The Long Patrol had made very good time upon the lower slopes, but the higher elevations slowed them considerably. By now all signs of grass, plants and trees had vanished, and there was only naked rock to behold in all directions. Nothing at all appeared to live in this bleak environment, not even the hunter birds who often built their nests upon high mountain crags.
Clewiston was forced to slow their pace, as much as it pained him to do so. It would be more painful still to have any of his hares suffer sprained ankles or broken legs on the cracked and uneven course they followed. And twice their path narrowed to a winding ledge, forcing them to hug the mountain face to their right to avoid a precipitous drop on their left. At times the walkway was scarcely wide enough for two hares to walk abreast, and then their column was careful to march single file. The Colonel didn't want to risk losing a single hare over the unprotected cliff edge.
A third such area lay directly ahead of them. Even as the rocky landscape fell away on their left to a deep and deadly ravine, the path disappeared around a curve of the mountain flank. The incline seemed to be levelling off, suggesting that they were near the top of their climb. With the westering sun at their backs they once more assumed a cautious single file and pressed on around the blind bend.
Clewiston, at the head of the column, risked a glance down and to his left as he inched his way along the ledge, feeling ahead with his footpaws to make certain every step was firm and sure. The drop here was deeper than the previous two gorges, affirming his suspicion that they must be near the apex of the path. It certainly was a long way down. Clewiston thought to himself that a beast who slipped here might fall for days before smashing itself to smeared pieces upon unseen rocks far below, or perhaps even tumble into the deeper parts of the world, where the molten lava that formed Salamandastron in another age still flowed, red and hot and unforgiving. If Browder truly had made this passing, alone and in the good time he'd boasted, then he was a better hare than the Colonel was willing to admit.
The vertiginous view was making Clewiston giddy, even after a few scant moments. Shaking himself, he returned his gaze to the narrow path before him ...
... and found himself staring into the red-brown eyes of a black-clad fox. A formidable sword hung at the beast's side, and behind him stood twoscore heavily-armed vermin and fox soldiers, totally filling the ledge and leaving no spare inch for the hares to pass.
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Machus stood stock still, appraising the hares before him with a calm military gaze. These were Long Patrol, of that he was certain, although their crude weaponry hardly seemed the type he would expect such professional soldiers to carry. Their single-file column disappeared around the mountain bend, but those who did have a clear view of the swordfox were clearly tensed for battle. Encountering such a force here was the last thing Machus would have expected, and he could think of only one reason why they would be in this place. That boded well for the success of Lord Urthblood's mission to Salamandastron. On the other paw, it presented Machus and his band with a rather significant problem here and now.
The swordfox shot a glance into the seemingly bottomless crevass on his right. His force probably outnumbered the hares by more than two to one, but they were formidable fighting beasts, if their reputation was to be credited. But neither side would have the advantage in a place like this; both would lose members over the lip of the deadly abyss. Most of the fighters could well perish in such a manner. And Machus himself, at the head of his column, would be one of the first to go, leaving the rest of his company leaderless in this perilous place.
He must avoid a fight here, at all costs.
Machus guessed the same idea must have occurred to the hares' leader, since he caught their commander stealing a similar glance at the deep ravine. And hares of the Long Patrol were renowned for reacting like lightning toward an enemy. The very fact that they had yet to attack showed that they might want to avoid a battle as much as he did.
Machus forced his paws to remain at his sides, away from his sword hilt and in plain view of the hares. He did not want to risk any move that might be mistaken as belligerent. Looking the lead hare levelly in the eye, he said, "I take it you are the hares of the Long Patrol?"
"That's right." The foremost hare gripped his crude wood spear tightly in his paw. "An' who th' devil might you be?"
"I am called Machus the Sword, commander of Lord Urthblood's fox brigade. I have Redwallers travelling with me. We are on our way to Salamandastron."
"Y' don't say? You just come from Redwall?"
"Three days ago," Machus nodded. "After Lord Urthfist arrived, the Abbess bade us leave, to ensure the neutrality of the Abbey. Otherwise, I would still be there." Machus decided there was nothing to gain here by concealing the truth.
"Wot, there was no battle?"
"Arrangements were made to avoid that. And, I think it would be in both our best interests for you and me to do the same right now."
The hare seemed to look at Machus rather differently then. "Surprised t' hear such good sense comin' from a beast like you."
"So we're agreed?"
"Keep talkin', fox. Is Lord Urthfist still at Redwall?"
"He was when I left, and I've seen no signs that he was pursuing us. As you may imagine, a creature does a lot of looking behind it when an angry badger might be on your tail."
"Sounds like he's got you on th' run, right an' proper."
"I'd hazard a guess the same could be said for you. I assume you're not all up here taking a stroll for your health."
The hare glared at Machus, jaw clenched. Machus instantly regretted his words. He wanted to avoid any confrontation, even a verbal one. At the same time, it would be very helpful if he could get these hares to reveal exactly what the situation was at Salamandastron. He decided to take a less provoking tack.
"Are all twenty of you here?" he inquired.
"How'd you know our number?"
"Fourscore of the Long Patrol came to Redwall with Urthfist. That leaves a score. And I don't think Lord Urthblood would expel some of you from Salamandastron and let others remain. So, unless you lost any of your hares in the defense of that fortress, there should be twenty of you here."
"Yah. There are."
"Good," Machus nodded, keeping his tone at its most concilliatory and sincere. "I'm glad none of you were slain. Any bloodshed would have hurt the cause of peace in the lands."
The hare remained cold toward him. "If you think there's gonna be peace as long as Urthblood's in control o' Salamandastron, you've lost a few acorns outta yer bally tree. If we was on flat ground now instead o' hangin' off the side o' this blinkin' mountain, my staff would've found yer skull long before now."
Machus refused to be baited. "Then it's a good thing we're not on flat ground. Which brings us back to our present predicament. We seem to be headed in opposite directions, and there's barely enough room here for two beasts to pass each other. If we're both agreed that this is not the place to start a fight, then we must work out some way to get by each other that is satisfactory to both of us."
"That's simple enuff, chap. You just take a step to th' outside, an' we'll file by against th' wall. Nothing easier."
Machus kept his friendly smile on. "I'm not sure I can trust you. That would put all of us out at the edge of this cliff, with you hares safely in with your backs to the mountain. What's to stop you from pushing us all off this ledge to our deaths once you have us in that position?"
"My bally word, that's wot!"
"And under other circumstances, that would be good enough for me," Machus said. "But since you just voiced a desire to do me harm and obviously see me as an enemy, I should think you will be very tempted to take advantage of this opportunity to kill me now. You could justify yourself by saying it was your duty to eliminate an adversary when you had the chance to do so. No, that is not acceptable."
"Well, you sure as seashells don't expect us to trust a fox, do you?"
"It wouldn't work either way. Even if we are both true to our word, this ledge is just too narrow. An accidental jostle could send a creature to its death. We dare not try to pass our two columns here. We must move to another spot where the path widens, so we can do this in safety."
"Right ho. That'll work. You jus' shuffle this crew o' frighters y' got here back a spell, an' we'll jog by an' be on our merry way."
"Now, let's be reasonable, friend. I've got more than twice as many troops as you do. It makes far more sense for you to back up your smaller force to a place where we can pass you."
"Nothin' doin', chap. We're makin' to crest this bally hump an' be well on our way down the other side before daylight fails. Not gonna spend a single night shiverin' our scuts off at these cold altitudes if we don't hafta."
"But we're past the summit," Machus argued, "meaning we were climbing before you were. That gives us the right of way. You should yield to us."
"Not gonna happen, redfur. It's your master wot turned us outta our home. If you think we're about t' yield to you, you've another thing comin'."
For several tense moments fox and hare glared at each other defiantly, neither willing to concede this one last point which might allow them to part company without violence. The Long Patrol were fully poised and ready to charge at a word from their commander. Tension was also high in the ranks lined up behind Machus. The situation was liable to become dire if one side or the other didn't make a concession, and quickly.
Machus heard a bustle behind him. There came a light tap on his shoulder. Glancing back, he saw that Alexander and Lady Mina had moved forward to stand at his back.
"Machus, crouch over low so I can vault over you," Alex whispered urgently in his ear. "If these hares can talk to a Redwaller, they won't be as likely to do something we'll all regret."
Machus gave a curt nod, and held up an open paw to the hare chief. "Got a Redwaller, coming through." Then he bent over, his snout almost touching the rocky concourse. Alex nimbly leapfrogged over the crouching fox and landed in the clear space separating the two leaders.
He extended a paw to the hare. "Alexander of Redwall."
His paw was accepted in a hesitant shake. "Colonel Clewiston, high commander of the Long Patrol. Wot's with all you Redwallers cozyin' up to Urthblood's minions? First that otter, an' now you."
"Otter?" Alexander's eyes widened. "You mean young Winokur? Have you met him? Is he all right?"
The squirrel's genuine expressions of concern for the novice otter gave Clewiston pause. "Oh, yes. Just fine an' dandy, when last I saw him. Doin' a sight better'n any of us are, at the moment."
"Well, that's a relief. He's really been on the minds of everybeast at Redwall. I wish there was some way I could let the Abbess know Wink's okay."
"We'll jolly well tell her ourselves, when we get there," Clewiston said. "You jus' get this fox an' his cronies t' step aside, an' we'll be there all the sooner."
"Yes, we do have to work on that, don't we? Machus has a valid point: we're further along in our march over the mountains, so we were here first, in a manner of speaking. You really should back up for us to get by."
Clewiston shook his head resolutely. "We're on a schedule, chap. See, you lot're headin' fer Salamandastron, an' that mountain ain't goin' nowheres. Neither is Urthblood, hate t' say it, so he'll be waitin' fer you even if you're delayed here a spell. We, on the other paw, hafta try 'n' get to Redwall before Lord Urthfist leaves. Otherwise, we'll be chasin' him all across th' bloomin' countryside, playin' catch-up. So speed's not of the essence fer you. It is fer us."
"Well, one of us had better give in soon, or we'll all be spending tonight up on this barren place. Um, excuse me a moment." Alex turned back to the anxiously waiting swordfox. "Machus, I really think we ought to let this one go. Those hares aren't budging. And if this comes to blows, a lot of us going over the side."
"Yes, I know." Machus worked his jaw muscles in contemplation. "But I hate to lose the time, and by all rights we shouldn't have to!"
"It won't take that long," said Alex.
"Long enough to force us to spend all night up here. The sun's almost set. We can't traverse the more hazardous stretches in the dark. It'll be a cold sleep."
"What choice do we have, Machus?"
"I also don't like the idea of backing down to the hares in front of my troops. Not good for discipline."
Alex grinned. "But, Machus! You didn't back down at all! You negotiated, with me as your mediator. And now you're going to do what has to be done. Your decision, and nobeast else's. Diplomacy, pure and simple!"
Machus mulled it over. "Well, let's at least make it look official." As Alex sidled around him to the outside of the ledge to rejoin Mina, Machus stepped across to face Clewiston. "In the interest of peace for the lands, Colonel, I will instruct my beasts to turn around and return to the last wide part of the path, where you may pass us in safety."
"In th' interest o' keepin' yerselves alive, you jolly well better."
Machus grimaced. "You could at least be gracious about this, Colonel."
"Gracious, he says. Chappie, I just been conquered an' exiled. That doesn't exactly put one in much of a mood t' be gracious, wot?"
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Machus had his company double back to a spot roughly five hundred paces from where they'd encountered the hares. Here the two mountain faces drew close together, and the frightening ravine narrowed to a mere crack less than a paw's width across. The path widened into a kind of high-altitude gully, sloped upward at either side.
The Northland troops lined up along one inclined wall, standing well back so that the Long Patrol could pass at a safe distance. Colonel Clewiston strolled over to be with Alexander and Machus while his hares filed past, preferring to keep his adversary close-to-paw to discourage any treachery the fox might be contemplating. It also gave him a chance to converse a bit more with the Redwall squirrel.
"So," Clewiston nodded toward Machus's soldiers, "are these all the forces wot Urthblood left at Redwall?"
"This is all of them," Alex answered. "When you get to the Abbey, there'll only be Redwallers and Urthfist and his hares waiting for you."
"Assumin', o' course, that His Lordship hasn't already left, wot?"
"Yes, there is that. But it looked to me like Urthfist might've been planning to stay awhile."
"Oh, won't be too long, you c'n count on that. And you're sure everything was all okay back at Redwall?"
"Was when I left. Whether Urthfist's done anything to change that, who knows?"
Clewiston shot Alex an irate glance. "Steady on, bushytail. Lord Urthfist's the bally good guy in all this."
"All I know is, Lord Urthblood never showed up at our gates threatening to put Redwall under siege or slaughter guests of our Abbey."
Clewiston's ears waggled. "I say, sounds like a bit of a bad show back your way. Is that wot happened?"
"More or less. Your master doesn't exactly have a very winning way of making friends or getting the sympathy of outsiders. Personally, I think he's obsessed ... and maybe dangerous."
"Wha ... wha ... hey, are you sure you're a Redwaller?"
"Don't get offended, Colonel. When you reach Redwall you'll see for yourself that most of us felt that way. I just hope he didn't cause any trouble after the Abbess let him in. He wasn't in much of a mood to have anybeast question or disagree with him, and such attitudes don't go over well with us."
"Well, you can hardly blame him, wot? Gettin' outwitted by that devious brother o' his, losin' Salamandastron, findin' out Redwall's partway under Urthblood's sway ... "
"Redwall belongs to itself," Alex said curtly. "This is all a feud between Badger Lords. It's not our problem, and we won't take sides in this."
"Oh no? Then wot're you doin' here?"
Alex glanced at Lady Mina. "My reasons are more ... personal."
"An' wot about that wet-b'hind-the-ears otter who came to us when we were bound prisoners, blowin' hot air about playing peacemaker?"
"He wasn't playing, Colonel. Winokur was sent with Urthblood as an envoy and mediator. Don't let his young seasons fool you - he can handle a javelin with the best of them, and he knows more about Redwall history than many Abbeybeasts twice his age. He was trying to stop a war ... a very Redwall thing of him to do."
Clewiston was unconvinced. "Fat jolly good he did. Stood by an' let Urthblood take Salamandastron."
"Was he supposed to stop it?" Alex demanded. "Or maybe run ahead and tell you what Urthblood was planning? You're still alive, aren't you?"
Clewiston shook his head sadly. "If Urthblood wins all this, you'll find out soon enuff that it is yer bally problem. Mossflower won't be safe from him, and neither will Redwall."
Alexander sighed. "Well, at least Winokur's safe and sound. Guess he won't be playing peacemaker anymore, now that you're all running off to Redwall."
"Oh, not t' worry," Clewiston said. "If he stays at Salamandastron fer awhile, he'll be seein' plenty more o' us ... an' I do mean plenty!"
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When the final hare of the column was past, Clewiston loped over to put himself at the end of the line, never taking his eyes from Machus or completely turning his back on the Northland troops. Then the Colonel was gone, along with the rest of his company, behind a rise in the winding mountain trail.
"Thank goodness that all worked out for the best!" Alexander exhaled. "For awhile there, I thought those hares were gonna attack us even at the risk of getting themselves all killed as well."
"So was I," Machus admitted. "That beast has a strong sense of duty, I could tell. Fortunately for us, he also cares very deeply for the safety and welfare of his troops. Too much so to waste them in a futile battle. Still, he must have been itching for battle after what happened at Salamandastron. We were very lucky in that respect." The swordfox gazed after the departed Long Patrol. "I have a feeling our fight with them has only been put off until another day. We may be destined to face each other on the field of combat yet."
"Let them come," said Lady Mina. "I won't shy away."
Machus sighed and turned to face west. "And as far as everything working out for the best, Alex, I'm afraid I can't agree. No lives were lost, but we've been pushed back to almost the highest point of the pass. The sun's already set, and according to Colonel Clewiston there are several more hazardous stretches ahead of us. We can't risk marching at night along this broken trail, even if the moon is out and bright. We're spending the night up here, like it or not."
The gully-like hollow they presently occupied was cast in the gloomy gray of impending twilight. Already they could get a taste of what it was going to be like at this altitude without the sun's rays to warm them. In a word, cold. The company carried no tents or blankets, and had been using their supply packs as pillows. They would have only their clothes and their fur to keep them warm. It looked like it might be a sleepless and uncomfortable night ahead of them.
"Well, let's cover what ground we can," Alex said hopefully. "At least we seem to be past the summit. The farther down we can get before the light fails altogether, the better off we'll be."
"Not necessarily," said Mina. "On this side of the range, we'll have the breezes off the ocean to contend with. There's no way we can climb far enough down now to make much of a difference. Machus, I almost think we'd be better off staying right where we are for the night. At least the contours of the terrain here might provide some protection from the wind."
Machus glanced up and down the gully. "I don't know, Mina. The wind's already pretty stiff from where I'm standing. And the two peaks above us are quite close together here. I can envision some pretty fierce gusts howling through this pass as the temperature drops."
"No worse here than anywhere else we could reach before nightfall. But I've spent some time in the Boldred Mountains above the forest of the Gawtrybe. I know something of the ways of high passes, and I think the curved walls here should work to our benefit." Mina shrugged. "It'll still be pretty cold. We're going to be miserable no matter where we stop. It's your call, Machus."
Machus fondled the hilt of his sword absently as he considered. "If I'd known this was going to happen, I would have asked the Abbess for blankets, or cloaks. I'd assumed we'd be able to crest the ridge in one day and be back down below the tree line before nightfall. If we'd started our climb before dawn instead of waiting for daybreak after we located the trail ... and if we hadn't run into those hares ... "
"And if we had wings we'd be eagles," Mina said impatiently. "Don't berate yourself, Machus. You can't anticipate everything. We're here now, and that's what we have to deal with. Do we stop here, or go on?"
Machus decided with a curt nod. "I'll trust your judgment in this, Mina, since you've more mountain experience than I. We'll camp here for the night. That way we'll have all day tomorrow to finish our descent in the safety of full light. With luck we can still make it to Salamandastron by tomorrow evening."
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Cold feet were the biggest problem facing the westbound travelers that night on the high mountain pass.
It was worst for the rats and shrews, with their furless paws and tails. Many pressed their tails between their backs and the smooth rock they lay against, but such a posture only left their footpaws sticking out and all the more vulnerable to the chill wind. This was bad enough for the rats, but the diminutive shrews couldn't afford to lose any of their body heat that they could possibly save, if they wanted to survive the night.
To safeguard his smaller comrades, Machus arranged for the company to spend the night hunkered together in a line along one gully wall, and ordered that the rats and shrews take positions between foxes and weasels, so that the larger animals could share their warmth with the rodents and partly shield them from the wind with their bodies. Machus and Andrus, the two foxes at either end of the line, bore the brunt of the elemental assault, since they only had another creature on one side of them to help keep them warm. Neither of the disciplined foxes complained.
In spite of these precautions, freezing footpaws were rampant. And while nobeast was likely to die now, it was a night none of them would ever wish to relive, if they lived for a hundred seasons.
Mina had been right: they were going to be miserable no matter what they did.
She and Alexander held the second and third places from the end after Machus. The two squirrels huddled especially tight together, their extravagant bushy tails looped around in front of them to serve as muffs for their feet. They were enjoying this closeness too much to be as bothered by the cold as the others. Not that they were oblivious to it; the lovestruck duo would do their share of shivering this night. When the three-quarter moon finally rose into view, sharp and clear against the perfect black velvet of the sky and shining brightly, they could quite clearly see their breaths misting in the moonlight.
"Brrrrgh!" Mina chattered. "If this is what it's like up here in summer, I'd hate to be here at the height of winter!"
"Whole place is probably snowbound then," Alex said. "We'd be sitting at the bottom of a deep drift right now. At least be glad we don't have that to contend with."
Mina gazed up at the luminous disk of moon and the brilliantly twinkling pinpoint stars. "No, although I think it is cold enough to snow. Good thing it's a clear night. If there were thick clouds like two nights ago, I'd be worried about getting covered."
Alex mused, "I suppose it does snow at this altitude in late summer, sometimes. But clear nights are always the coldest, too. I could use a thick blanket of cloud night now."
The fox nestled against Alexander's right side groaned. "I'd settle for a blanket of wool. This's almost as bad as a Northlands winter!"
Mina scoffed from Alex's left. "Oh, not even close! But I'll bet there is frost on all these rocks come morning."
"It's frost on us that worries me," said Machus from the end. "A beast can't march on frostbitten feet, and this trail is too treacherous for any of us to try to carry anybeast who can't walk on its own. It shouldn't be a danger to us foxes," he glanced at the squirrel's tails wrapped about their footpaws, "or to you either, apparently. But the shrews and rats could lose toes from this. Or worse."
Alex said to the swordfox, "I'm surprised you don't wear boots as part of your uniform. Urthblood seems to supply you with everything else you need."
"We do wear boots, in the winter," Machus told him. "No choice there, really; the winters in the north can be terrible, with snow on the ground well into spring. Our footpaws would be cut to ribbons on the icy snowcrust, not to mention frozen through. But the rest of the time we prefer to go barepawed. A fighting beast needs good feel and balance under it, and boots can be more of a hindrance than a help. You're a squirrel, so you should understand. Can you picture yourself dashing through the treetops in a pair of clunky boots?"
"No, I guess not," Alex chuckled at the thought. Squirrels generally never wore shoes of any kind. If they did, there would be an awful lot of squirrels falling out of trees!
"Anyway," Machus went on, "it never would have occurred to any of us to bring boots along on a march to Mossflower in the summer. And truthfully, I wouldn't have wanted to attempt some parts of this climb encumbered by boots. We'd probably have lost a beast or two by now."
"We still could," Mina said grimly. "Any who can't march come morning will have to be left behind to make it down on their own. I wouldn't favor their chances."
Machus nodded. "Perhaps I should order everybeast to get up and stamp around for a bit, to keep their blood flowing to their extremities."
"And disturb their sleep?" Alex chortled. All night he'd been able to hear the constant murmur of indistinct voices off to his right, from farther down the line. Their present conversation was hardly the only one taking place amongst the troops.
"Who are you kidding?" Mina playfully chided. "I don't think any of us are going to get a single wink tonight."
Alex pressed himself closer to Mina, if such was possible. "I can think of worse spots to be in ... and worse company to be in them with."
Machus smiled knowingly. The other fox to Alexander's right rolled his eyes skyward at this romantic foolishness, then huddled closer to the weasel on his other side.
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Contrary to Mina's contention, most of them did fall asleep eventually, in spite of the cold that had them shivering where they sat. When the first gray tinges of dawn began to brighten the sky, causing the harsh landscape around them reemerge out of the darkness, Machus was on his chilled feet, rousing his troops up and down the line to see how they'd fared during the night. Now that sleep had finally found them, some of the rats and shrews complained about being stirred at this early hour. Machus was immune to their grumbling. And they all knew better than to disobey the fox captain, and so all were quickly up and pacing about the rocky gully.
To everybeast's relief, none seemed to have suffered any serious effects from the cold. There were stiff limbs and tails aplenty, and most of the troop had the look of decrepit oldsters as they walked to and fro, working out the kinks in their muscles and getting their circulation flowing again. All would be able to make the day's march without any problem.
And Machus wasted no time in getting that march underway. Their cold breakfast was a speedy affair at the fox's urging, and then the procession was on the move once more, even as the sliver-gray skies above brightened to a blue as clear as the mountain air in their nostrils. Now that they had passed the summit, the sun was hidden by the peak behind them and would remain so for some time to come as they made their way farther down the mountain. Any grumbling among the troops about being forced into this early start was tempered by the realization that it would get them off this cold, windy and desolate high pass all the sooner. It also didn't hurt to know that Urthblood had successfully taken Salamandastron, and that they were marching toward a safe haven where they could enjoy some relaxation and comfort after their hard travels.
At least, they hoped so. But it was impossible to forget that another Badger Lord roamed these lands, one who would want the mountain back and would undoubtedly be willing to fight to regain it. Even if they found Salamandastron unassailed and at peace upon their arrival, they might have only a brief respite before the storm of war broke over all of them.