A/N: Hi everybody! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! If you look back at ch. 1, you'll notice that I've changed the spelling error some of you caught (my thanks), and that other stuff about Skipper.

About Skipper: You're not supposed to care whether or not he is Deyna's descendant or not; it's not fundamental to this story. The only reason why I put that in there was because I found it amusing that such a big, strong beast that might be a descendant of Deyna would actually take any lip from such a skinny little vermin. Besides, Skipper isn't the main character here. The ferret is.

And as to why Skip didn't beat the ferret up: What did the ferret do to Skip that would've provoked him to beat the ferret up?! I am so sick and tired of reading about all these jerkish Skippers who go around beating on vermin whether they've done something or not, so I decided to stray away from that. Eh, no offense to anyone who has written something like that.

Well, onward!


Chapter 2

The young ferret was furious.

It was bad enough he had to go to Mossflower and do something that he wasn't certain he wanted to do, but to have all of his stuff torn to pieces and thrown in the dirt by some crazy otter. . . .

Maybe it's an omen, the young ferret's mind said. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. Maybe I should just run away. . . .

The young ferret shrugged the thought off as he searched through the pile of clothes and pulled out the cleanest tunic he could find.

Oh sure, the young ferret berated himself. I could have worn this nice rough tunic with the stout leather belt on my journey, but nooo, I just had to wear one of my nice tunics with the waist sash! Stupid stupid! Now it's all torn, good enough only for rags now, and not only that, but all my food is covered in dirt!

The young ferret scowled as he tried to brush off the dirt from the already half-stale biscuits, but a lot of them had not only been dropped into the dirt, but also grounded into the moss from the tree nearby.

Stupid otter, the ferret thought, glaring down at the necklace the otter had given him. He considered running after the otter and throwing the necklace at his head, but then the ferret decided against it. Usually if a woodlander gave you something, usually it came in handy.

The young ferret then tried to bundle up his belongings in the torn haversack, but it wasn't easy. Everything kept on flopping out. When he finally got everything strapped in, the young ferret then tried to untangle his cloak, which took him awhile. After that was finished, he picked up his sack and continued on, huffing and puffing, and very flustered.

He walked on and on, further and further south, toward his destination: Mossflower Woods.

It would be there were he would fulfill his assignment. And he dreaded every step he took.

Well, just hurry up and get it over with! his mind rapped out sharply.

Right. The young ferret picked up his pace and hurried; he was getting rather hungry, but he had discarded the food that had been ruined, and had precious little left.

Stupid otter.


It was getting close to noon, and the ferret was getting more hungry by the minute. Again and again he considered stopping for lunch, but always decided against it. Maybe he could find some berry bush or a fruit tree or something along the way.

Snap!

The young ferret jumped. He looked around wildly pawing frantically at the dagger he kept hidden behind his back in his belt. But there was nobeast there.

Bam!

A large stone came streaking past the ferret's head and slammed into the tree trunk by his head.

"Yipe!" The young ferret dropped to the ground, putting his paws over his head, calling out, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Please! I haven't done anything!"

From up above, the ferret thought he heard a contemptuous answer, but it was cut off by a louder, sterner voice, "Cease, Treebolt! Can't you see he's alone and unarmed!"

There was a sound of paws dropping to the ground beside him.

The young ferret looked up into the stern features of a middle seasoned squirrel. He was tall, and looked even taller from the ferrets' position on the ground. He wore a belt with a sling hanging from his side.

A second squirrel, much younger than the first, also came down. He also wore a belt, only he had his sling in his paws, ready with another stone. He glared down at the ferret with eyes like charcoals.

"Don't mind Treebolt," the older squirrel said to the ferret, holding out a strong-looking paw to the ferret. "He is young and too rash and overly protective. I hope you're not hurt."

The skinny ferret took the squirrel's outstretched paw, and was astounded by how rough it felt. He was astounded still when the squirrel pulled him up to his feet without seeming to exert himself.

The ferret quickly stood back, wiping dirt from his tunic, his eyes darting between both squirrels.

"Uh, no," the young ferret said in response to the older squirrel. "I'm . . . I'm not hurt. I was just . . . passing by."

The younger squirrel, Treebolt, snorted. He was taller than the ferret. Much broader, too.

The older squirrel kicked him before turning to the ferret. "Don't take it personally. We usually don't get many creatures that just 'pass by' around here, so Treebolt is suspicious of many beasts; not just vermin. He's acts like this even with woodlanders, too. We got mates and liddle uns to worry about, eh?"

The ferret nodded, not wanting to offend any one.

Suddenly the younger squirrel, Treebolt, pointed a sharp claw, snarling, "Where'd you get that?"

Taken aback, the young ferret could only blink and back away, but Treebolt darted forward and grabbed at the ferret's neck.

The older squirrel hollered and charged forward, but the younger squirrel held forth the leaf-stone hanging from the ferret's neck.

The squirrel stared at it for awhile, and then turned dark eyes to the ferret. "Where'd you get that, young un?"

The ferret, shaking and not liking having Treebolt so close, whimpered, "Skipper gave it to me!"

Treebolt gave a scornful, disbelieving laugh. The oldster, however, looked thoughtful.

"You say Skipper gave this to you? Why'd he do that?"

The young ferret thought about his 'run-in' with the otter that morning, and said, "It was to make up for something."

Treebolt tightened his grip on the ferret's tunic, bringing his face closer, snarling, "And that was?"

"Treebolt! Get out o' that ferret's face so he can answer properly!"

The younger squirrel backed away, still glaring. The ferret brushed at his tunic, his paws shaking.

"I didn't kill him," began the ferret, but he was interrupted by the older squirrel.

"I figured that," he said, waving his paw. "A beast like you wouldn't stand a chance against Skipper. Ah well, I can see you had an unsavory dealing with him, so I won't ask you again how you came by his amulet. Hm, though I suppose we ought to help you though, since he gave it to you. . . ."

The ferret could see by the look on Treebolt's face just what the squirrel thought of helping him, so the ferret held up his paws, saying, "Oh no, friend, it's alright. I don't really need any help. Just point me in the direction of Mossflower Woods and I'll be on my way."

Both squirrels perked up at the mention of Mossflower.

"What business do you have in Mossflower?" growled Treebolt.

"It's not to storm Redwall Abbey, if you must know," the ferret shot back, taking even himself by surprise.

Before Treebolt could react, the older squirrel stood forward, paws akimbo. "Well, if you're goin' to Mossflower, I suggest taking the Shrew Ferry. It'll get you down there quicker than on foot."

"Shrew Ferry?"

"Aye. It's a river, not far from here, a little to the east actually, where some shrews have set up a ferry settlement. They row up and down the river for anybeast that's pawsore and honest. If you show 'em your amulet there, young un, they'll most probably row you down the river. You'll end up in Mossflower in no time if you take that."

The ferret nodded; the idea of sitting for the rest of his trip set well with his mind. "Thank you, sir, I'll be sure to try it."

"Alright, then, young un. Good-bye and safe trip!" And with that, the squirrel leapt up into the branches, vanishing from sight.

Treebolt, on the other paw, stayed a moment longer, giving the ferret a glare, and then followed the elder into the boughs.

The ferret sighed shakily and picked up his things. This was certainly not an everyday-trip.

First you have a run-in with an otter, then you have a nice little "chat" with some squirrels, one of whom would've liked to have gnawed your head off, and now you're going to go ask some shrews to row you down the river.

Oh well. The ferret shrugged and walked off to the east, more than a little apprehensive of what was going to happen.


Well, there it is! Chapter 2! What did you all think?

And just what do you all think will happen in the next chapter?!