Two as One Chapter 22
Crim didn't know how long he sat there, staring at Webwinger and trying to figure out if what the bat told him was all just some sick joke. He had to be kidding. It was dark; maybe he had just been mistaken in what he saw. Surely his sister was still alive? The eyes that he stared into told him differently. They were full of shock, fear, anger, and grief. They weren't lying.
Ebonia was gone.
Crim felt his arms go numb. This couldn't be happening. They had just found one another and now…she was being taken away from him?! It just didn't seem right! It wasn't fair! The squirrel pulled away from the bat and looked towards Redwall, the falling snow starting to obscure his vision. He had to go back and get her; she would do the same for him. He took a step forward, only to feel Webwinger's wing on his shoulder.
"No my friend…my friend. You remember what you told them…told them. You said you wouldn't be able to go after her…ter her."
Crim shoved the bat's wing off of his shoulder and whirled around, paw clutching the hilt of Martin's sword.
"Hang what I said, I'm not going into this without her. I can't lose her to them, I've already lost so much."
Webwinger screeched in annoyance and grabbed at his arm again, eyes blazing.
"But these beasts will lose a leader and much more if you run off…run off. You can't help her Crim, she's gone…she's gone. Continue on so that she didn't sacrifice herself for nothing…nothing." Crim came close to striking the bat out of pure anger, but he kept himself calm, or as calm as he could be. If Ebonia was indeed gone, Webwinger was right; he couldn't do anything.
The squirrel turned away and looked up at the sky again, his paw tightening around Martin's sword. With a metal ring, the blade left its scabbard and was lifted high in the air. The snow danced along the keen silver, causing the weapon to glisten in the faint light. With a growl, Crim drove it down into the dirt, the point piercing the frozen earth as if it was nothing but bread. The squirrel fell to his knees, his paws still wrapped around the hilt as he rested his head on the pummel.
Webwinger stepped back and gave a sigh, watching the squirrel. This was his moment of solace, the only thing he could do to keep himself from tearing off after the vermin and dying trying to kill every last one of them. The bat lowered his wings then headed inside, leaving Crim for the moment. He knew the squirrel wouldn't run off…or so he hoped.
Crim felt a tear fall from his eye as he gripped the blade fiercely, silently praying to the fates that they would watch over his sister if she was indeed alive. He prayed for strength, for guidance, for anything they could give him that would help him through his most desperate hour. Most of all, he prayed for Martin to watch over the Abbey so that he would be able provide a home that his friends could return to.
Swallowing down the tears, he gazed resolutely through the snow, teeth baring after a long moment. Feeling as if Martin had placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, Crim rose to his paws and slammed the blade home in his belt. Even if Ebonia was indeed gone, he wasn't going to let the vermin win. She'd still be with him in death…he only had to convince himself of that.
The squirrel turned on his paw, heading indoors with his eyes stone cold and his ears flicked back. He'd press on… at least until he destroyed Stelumos.
Darkness embraced her mind, hindering her from the light that she so desperately sought. From the first moment that her mind had tried to bring her back to consciousness, she thought that she was dead. She couldn't make out anything and the pain was so fierce that for a long time, she thought that she had ended up right in front of Hell Gates. Surely death wasn't supposed to be this painful, right?
As time passed though, she felt the wave of confusion fade away into one of relief when she realized that if she was dead, she would at least see something other than pitch darkness. Consciousness faded in and out for hours on end until, miraculously, she managed to cling to the light.
Ebonia groaned and slowly opened her eyes, almost crying out as the sunlight pierced her irises. She turned her head away, a hiss leaving her lips as she felt pain race through her. What in the world had happened? She remembered going up the stairs and seeing some beast standing in front of her, but then everything went blank. The squirrel blinked several times and found that she was lying on the ground, her paws stretched out in front of her. Both were bound in chains, the metal clamped so tightly that it had long ago cut the circulation off to her fingers.
Blood glistened off of the red stone floor, helping the sunlight blind her even more. Through blurred vision, she caught sight of what looked like whip marks on her arms. Well…at least that explained the pain. Ebonia sighed and shifted the best she could, her head screaming in agony and her back feeling raw as if a wildcat had scraped dull claws against the flesh for the whole night. Not a pleasant feeling to be sure. But…at least she was alive.
With what little strength she had, Ebonia sat up and touched her face. Part of it was matted from blood and she could feel a large wound stretching from the bottom of her ear, to the middle of her cheek. The squirrel grunted. Well, now she remembered the crack to the face and she could only assume that she had fallen down the steps. That would explain the sore muscles in her back and the pain in her ankle.
It took several minutes for her vision to fully return. When it did, she almost allowed herself to plop back down to the ground out of despair. She was in the Abbey itself, with her ankle and wrist chains attacked to a stake in the ground. Bits and pieces of the precious red sandstone lay scattered around the metal. Ebonia gave an experimental tug but the stake didn't even move. Instead, it caused more pain to run down her back and throughout her body.
The squirrel sighed and looked around. As far as she could tell, she was alone. She wasn't too sure how she had managed to survive but she wasn't complaining. At least she still had a chance to help the Abbey…at least once she got out of her chains. Her eyes glinted and she reached down to tug on the stake again when a vicious paw snaked out and wrapped around a chain hanging from her neck. With a strangled cry, Ebonia was dragged onto her back, eyes wide and mouth held open as she struggled to breathe. She looked up to the beast that had grabbed her and groaned.
"Stelumos…"
The mink smiled darkly and yanked the chain again, choking Ebonia to the point where she thought she was going to pass out again.
"Aye, me. Took ya bloody well long enough ta wake up, traitor."
Giving the chain another fierce tug, he released it and stood up, allowing Ebonia to flounder on the ground so she could catch her breath. The sunlight poured across her body as she watched Stelumos stalk to the window, a devious smile on his face.
"I thought IceEye had killed ya there fer a minute. Glad ta see you still alive."
Ebonia bared her teeth behind his back and struggled to sit up.
"Why do you care?" Again, Stelumos's paw came down at her but this time it cracked her right across the cheek, sending her flying to the ground again. Ebonia growled then yelped as the mink pressed his paw against her side, stabbing his claws into one of the wounds.
"I care because yer gonna help me destroy those little brats that ya saved." Though his paw began digging into her side harder, Ebonia couldn't help but release a derisive laugh.
"Help you? And here I thought you couldn't become any more idiotic. Go to hell gat-" Again, Stelumos struck her upside the head and grabbed her headfur. He forced her head back so that her neck was exposed to Doomsfate. The sword hissed as it left its scabbard, the keen blade pressing tightly against her throat.
"I'd watch me tongue, Ebonia. Now, ya haven't heard me terms yet."
Ebonia spat blood at his face, despite the fact that the sword was digging into her flesh. She didn't care how much he tortured her; she wasn't going to betray them.
"Do what you want…you won't break me."
A slow, malicious smile creased on Stelumos's face and he shook his head. This was all too easy. She'd regret the day that she turned her back on the horde. The mink stood up and stepped over Ebonia, sending a kick into her side as he headed towards one of the windows. The light washed across his back, only to be sucked into his black cloak. His body cast a lengthening shadow across the ground that encompassed Ebonia.
"I don't want ta break ya, Ebonia," he hissed softly and snapped his claws. "But I can break someone else iff'n ya don't do wot I say."
As he spoke, Deathfang walked into the room, dragging a beaten and bruised bundle behind him. Ebonia narrowed her eyes and managed to right herself, only to gasp in horror. The weasel threw his prisoner to the ground and sneered, a whip dangling from his paw. Right beneath him was Abbot Welkum, looking as horrible as ever. The squirrel maiden took one look at the otter then howled out in anger. Despite the chains, she threw herself at Stelumos, trying to drive him to the ground.
The mink took a step back, allowing the chains wrapped around Ebonia's neck, ankles, and wrists to yank her to the ground again. The squirrel breathed heavily, claws outstretched and eyes blazing. She wouldn't let them hurt the Abbot! She didn't care if she died trying to protect him….he would live!
Stelumos sneered and moved towards the fallen otter, his footpaw landing hard on Welkum's rudder. The Abbot groaned but didn't fight back. He just didn't have the strength any longer to do so.
"Well, Ebonia…this do make things interesting, wouldn't ya agree. Now…as fer me terms. Ya tell me about yer little friends and I'll leave the otter alone. Ya don' tell me and well…" He motioned to Deathfang with a grin. Before Ebonia could so much as cry out in protest, the whip came down and opened a new wound on Welkum's body. Grief stricken, the squirrel slowly sat down on her knees and glared up at Stelumos. Oh how she would have liked nothing more than to kill that mink where he stood.
Ebonia bit back a growl and looked over Welkum's quivering form, her heart going out to the beaten otter. Of all beasts, he didn't deserve this. Hell, none of them did. The squirrel glanced down at her paws, her claws gripping her skin tightly. She couldn't betray Crim and the others, but she couldn't just let the Abbot die either. So lost was she in her thoughts, she didn't notice Stelumos coming up to her until his blade tapped her beneath the chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"Well?"
In his eyes, she could see the future for her and the Abbey beasts. He intended to torture them, to tear them away from their families, friends, and everything that made them who they were. She saw the horror of what she had done and realized that no matter how much she wanted to help Crim, she couldn't sacrifice the otter to this monster. Slowly, her eyes lowered and she breathed out a sigh.
"What do you want to know?"
"We can't just sit here and do nothing. Ebonia's gone…we can't let that discourage us from moving on." Crim looked around at the beasts at the table, his tail twitching from side to side. After finding out what had happened to his sister, Crim had stayed away from everyone else for the rest of the evening so that he could collect himself. It had been a hard night and he hadn't been able to sleep at all both out of grief and out of confusion of what to do next.
As the first rays of dawn settled over them though, he had called the warriors to the table. Now he stood in front of them all, his eyes traveling over each face, both old and new. The four remaining members of the Long Patrol sat to one corner with Sprypaw. Malya remained seated near Crim as well as Kenyo, Renla, Tellio, and Log a Log. Skipper, Jenkins, and SilverStreak took up the other corner of the table, their paws folded as they listened quietly to Crim. Most of the bat warriors were off in the trees now but Mirage, CloudDancer, and Webwinger remained behind to listen.
The news of Ebonia's plight had shocked them all to no end. Out of them all, they thought that Ebonia would probably be the last one standing. With her gone, they had lost valuable information about the vermin, not to mention a friend. Valena sat with her head in her paws; ears flicked back as Crim continued.
"We have more warriors thanks to the bats, but we must find more to help us. The last we knew, Stelumos was going to sell the Abbey beasts. We don't know when but if he gets more help or something of the sort, we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
"We're already in a bally lot of trouble, chap," Sprypaw commented with a soft sigh. SkyBreeze touched his arm and gave it a small squeeze.
"We'll jolly well figure something out, wot. We always do." She glanced up at the other hares for a reassuring smile; which she didn't receive. PeriNickel looked like hell had frozen over, Fleetfoot was lost in his own grief, and Ballard couldn't really bring himself to speak. It was the first time in a long time that she had seen her fellow hares look so down cast.
Crim glanced over them and fingered Martin's sword with a sigh.
"I…know that we're hurting because of the losses that we have recently been forced to go through, but we can't let them die in vain. Can any of you think of a way to get us more help?"
Mirage scratched the bride of her nose apprehensively.
"Well…I realize that not many beasts around here want to fight for the Abbey because they don't want to lose their lives but…I think we should do something to make them realize exactly what will happen to them if they lose Redwall."
Silently, the others nodded their heads. That would be the best thing to do, but how exactly were they going to prove what could happen to them? Mirage folded her wings a bit and looked at Crim.
"Asides from that…I guess that we can only hope that Nightscree and OakRealm send more help."
"We can't rely on that though," Crim replied with a heavy sigh. "For now, I think that we're on our own. We haven't been found yet so we at least have that to our advantage."
"But for how long?" The rest of the beasts looked in Malya's direction as the young otter maiden held out a paw imploringly. "We're safe, yes, but how long will it be before he sends trackers out to find us? For all we know, some of them could be lurking in the woods right now."
Kenyo placed a paw on the otter maiden's shoulder and nodded his head.
"She's right, I suggest that we take turns guarding the entrance, just in case they do come. We'll have to stay hidden of course but-"
"My bats can watch over Brockhall from the trees. They won't be able to see them…trust me." Kenyo sent Mirage a soft smile and nodded his head. At least they were doing something to ensure the safety of the resistance. Crim tapped his claws on the table and sighed.
"Alright…at least we have a way to protect ourselves. All we can do now though is send a few of us out and try to convince others to join us. We can't fight how we are now. We need help. I don't care what you have to do, just try to get others to join us. If we lose, Redwall and Mossflower are gone from us forever."
A hush fell over the warriors, their heads bowed in a silent prayer. The days ahead were going to be rough, they knew that much, but they had to do something to help the Abbey. If they lost, Salamandastron and Mount Bat Pit would fall as well. Fleetfoot closed his eyes then slowly got to his paws, his black ears folding back.
"Ballard and I will jolly well go off and try to find some beasts. Most realize how serious something is when a Long Patrol hare visits them, wot."
Mirage nodded and released her talons from the top of the ceiling. She fluttered and landed lightly on the table.
"I will go as well. Bats are rarely seen around Mossflower. They'll know we're desperate."
Crim gave a small nod of his head before motioning with his paw to Log a Log and Skipper.
"Both of you go and see if you can find any shrews or otters that weren't captured. They'll listen to you more than they'll listen to us."
Without responding, both gave small salutes and headed outside, followed by Fleetfoot, Ballard, and Mirage. Crim leaned against the knuckles of his paws and looked at the others. Malya quietly touched his arm and frowned.
"What do you want us to do?"
Crim's answer was slow and faint.
"Make weapons. Use whatever you can find even if it's just using your tunic hems for slings. We need to be ready at any time."
Grimly, the other beasts stood up and started to disperse, their ears tilted back and their eyes darkening. Moral was lowering, Crim could tell that much. First Weave now Ebonia. If they lost any more…he didn't know if he'd be able to keep them all together. At least his closest friends seemed optimistic; for the most part. He watched Sprypaw go off with SkyBreeze to find sturdy branches that they could turn into spears. Kenyo started searching through Brockhall, trying to see if he could spot any extra blades that had been discarded.
Crim sighed and backed away from the table, ready to assign guard shifts to Webwinger and his wife when Malya touched his arm again.
"Crim…we'll figure something out, I promise. This is Redwall Abbey; Martin wouldn't let anything happen to it. Everything will be alright."
Crim looked down at her paw and slowly closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging. How he wanted to believe her. She had always been the voice of reason and a strong asset to his life. Now, he just didn't know what to think.
"I hope so, Malya…I really do."
OakRealm stood at his room window, his eyes narrowed as he watched the vermin activity from down below. Since dawn, they had been strangely quiet. He could catch sight of their retched leader, Falamia stalking amongst her troop members, motioning with her paw to a few then jerking her arm back, signaling for them to form another group. It was strange behavior to the badger. They had been constantly bombarding the mountain with vermin and arrows…what was causing them to become so organized?
"I don't dashed like this milord." OakRealm didn't even looked back as he responded with a sigh.
"I know, Galamore. I don't like it either. They should be doing something to us but instead they're just standing there."
The General twitched his mustache slightly and poked his head out the window.
"Hmm…I could send a bally squad out to s-"
"No…no I won't risk any more hares right now. We've lost enough as it is. We'll just wait and see what happens." Galamore lifted an eyebrow in mild surprise as the badger walked to his bed and sat down, paws clasped before him. This was probably the first time he had ever seen his lord lose hope. He knew that OakRealm was worried about the mountain and the Abbey, but he seemed much more downhearted than usual.
Tweaking his whiskers once more, the hare looked out the window. He caught sight of a black dot on the horizon that was growing larger the closer it got to the mountain. Galamore furrowed his brow then looked down at the vermin. Most were too busy with their chieftain but a couple had grabbed arrows. The hare looked up, his eyes widening when he realized what it was.
"Sir! Sir there's a bally bat headed this way!" OakRealm rose to his footpaws quickly and stepped over to his General's side, eyes narrowing at the vermin. One loosed an arrow that arched up, just barely missing the bat. A gust of wind blew the creature off course for a moment; much to his luck for another arrow just missed him. The badger growled then bellowed loudly.
"Get the archers! Tell them to fire on the vermin! Distract them!"
A volley of arrows flew through the air towards the vermin, the deadly blades thunking into the ground a few feet away from the beasts. They already knew that the vermin were out of range, but they could at least try to pull their attention away from the sky.
It was just enough. The bat folded back his wings slightly and shot through the window. The tips of his wings banged into the sill and sent him tumbling right into Galarmore's arms with a soft screech. The hare helped the unfortunate beast up and scrambled back with a shake of his head.
OakRealm turned away from the window and was about to inquire about the Abbey, until he noticed who the bat was. With a frown, the badger folded his arms and spoke curtly.
"Nightscree…"
Nightscree went down on his wings and talons, his eyes watching the badger with an unwavering stare.
"OakRealm…OakRealm. I'm surprised you didn't try to shoot me down yourself…yourself." The badger growled and stalked away from the bat, his footpaws crashing down on the ground bad temperedly.
"Keep speaking to me like that and I might reconsider. What do you want?"
The bat screech in indignation and was about to snap right back at the badger lord, but thought better of it. He hadn't just risked his life to lose it just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Besides, he had more important things to worry about. Slowly, Nightscree moved closer and called after him.
"OakRealm, please wait…please wait." It took all of Nightscree's energy to keep from sounding scornful. This was going to be a hard meeting, he knew that much. OakRealm looked over his shoulder then finally turned and nodded his head for the bat to speak. Nightscree blew out a breath and held out his wings. "This has gone on far enough…enough. We've been at one another's throats for well over a season now…now. It's time that we put it behind us and think of what to do next…do next."
OakRealm gave a small grunt and tightened his arms across his chest.
"I've wanted to patch things up for a long time, Nightscree, but you wouldn't heed my calls. Now tell me why you're here. It has to be more than trying to bury the feud between us."
The bat's eyes glinted angrily and this time he couldn't keep his temper. Leaping onto the table, he stuck his face close to the badger's and growled.
"Stop acting like this is all my fault, OakRealm…OakRealm!" The badger flung his paw out, motioning towards Galamore.
"Why shouldn't I?! I asked you for your help and you just abandoned us, costing us the lives of 30 noble hares!"
"Where were you when I asked for your help two seasons ago…ago?! You stabbed me in the back and cost me 45 of my bats…my bats! I forgave you then…you then. What makes this so bloody different…different?!" Silence passed between the badger lord and the leader of Mount Bat Pit. Neither of them could bring themselves to look into one another's eyes. In truth, they were both at fault. Long ago, OakRealm had pulled his hares out of a battle and Nightscree had lost many of his own. The bat had forgiven him after time…it made him wonder why he couldn't do the same now.
The badger ran a paw through his short headfur, his armor clinking against his body as he replied in a strained voice.
"You're right…I guess I've just been too blind by what's happening to really think about it. You forgave me when I backed out of that battle…so I can forgive you for doing the same. Now what…was it you wanted to speak with me about?"
Nightscree released a long sigh of relief. He was still angry but he'd put it off to the side for now.
"I came to talk to you about Redwall…Redwall. Salamandastron has been under attack for a long time now…time now. You've lost many beasts and it doesn't seem to be doing you much good…much good. Mount Bat Pit is in a similar position…sition. Ever since the vermin started defeating you, they've been trying to head over towards my mountain to attack us…us. I will not have it…have it. As far as I can tell, so long as Redwall is fallen, we will not win this war…this war. We've given it all our best effort but I don't think it's going to be enough…enough. With Redwall gone, Falamia may bring more troops towards the mountain so that we all fall…all fall."
Nightscree sighed and looked up. "I think it's time we gave our troops to Redwall…Redwall. We'll keep as many as we can here to at least make certain we don't completely fall…fall. However, we will not survive if more help comes…help comes. We have to focus our attacks on one place and that place is Redwall…Redwall."
OakRealm looked out the window again, his eyes landing on the vermin. He knew Nightscree was right but how…how would they get the hares and the bats to Redwall without getting killed? They still had to defend both places but if they could retake the Abbey, at least half of the threat would be gone. Rubbing his chin, the badger glanced at Nightscree and frowned.
"How would we get them there? The vermin have this place guarded."
The look that appeared in Nightscree's eyes actually sent a shiver down OakRealm's back. It was a haunted look that told him that what the bat was about to say was going to be hard for him.
"I will send some of my bats to attack the vermin while you get your hares out…hares out. Once enough have left then we will follow…follow."
OakRealm shook his head.
"Nightscree, you could lose a lot of bats that way." Nightscree held up a wing and sighed.
"This I know… I know. But I will lose a lot more if we don't stop the vermin from attacking us…us." The bat glanced out the window for a long time. He knew that either way he was going to lose many of his loyal subjects, but it was something that he was going to have to do. Being a leader wasn't an easy thing; he knew this full well; as did OakRealm. "At twilight, I'll fly back to Mount Bat Pit and get my troops together…gether. Have your hares ready to travel…travel. We'll set up an attack late tomorrow night and then you can send off your hares…your hares."
OakRealm looked down at his fellow chieftain and reached out a paw, placing it on the bat's shoulder. Nightscree looked up at him and placed a wing on the paw, nodding his head a bit.
"We'll put our differences behind us from now on yes…on yes?"
A small smile touched OakRealm's lips.
"Yes…Stay here for awhile, my friend. We'll be ready to defend your bats when they come. I don't want to see them die."
"Nor do I want to see your hares die…hares die," Nightscree replied. The two old friends exchanged long looks then glanced outside. The badger stepped forward and tightened his paw into a fist, his eyes darkening.
"I'll die before I let them take my mountain." Nightscree didn't even look up. Instead, he turned away and started heading for the door, his wings and talons running across the ground. Before he left, he closed his eyes and spoke softly.
"I might take just that…just that." With that, the bat disappeared down the hall.
Ebonia sat with her back against the wall, her paws dangling over her knees, which were pressed up to her chest. After she had answered Stelumos's questions, he had had Deathfang whip her until she was unconscious. When she awoke, she had found herself in one of the make shift shelters that the Abbey slaves had built to protect themselves from the snow. She watched her breath rise in small plumes, her eyes narrowed to mere slits.
The squirrel glanced to the right, catching sight of Welkum who was watching her with those stern eyes. The whole time he had begged her not to give Stelumos the information of where Crim and the others were or what they had planned. The whole time…Ebonia had avoided his gaze and told Stelumos what she knew; or what he thought she knew. The squirrel maiden rubbed her paws to keep them warm and looked at the other beasts, who were glaring at her with hate filled eyes. They remembered seeing her fight against Stelumos right before she fled off into the snow, but after what Welkum had told them, they just didn't trust her.
Ebonia just ignored them and glanced up at the morning sky, watching as a few snowflakes drifted to the ground. The vermin had left her alone for the time being, much to her relief. She really didn't have the strength to fight against them at the moment, not in her condition anyway.
She rubbed her paws slowly then glanced at Welkum. The slave masters were out and about, forcing a few of the stronger Abbey beasts to continue working on the walls. Idiots. Flicking an ear to make certain they weren't around, she leaned forward and whispered to the Abbot.
"Can I speak with you?"
The otter lifted an eyebrow at her and was about to decline until he saw the look in her eyes. It was the same tortured gaze that had made him feel sorry for her so long ago. Biting his lip, Welkum slid weakly over to her side and spoke before she even had the chance to say anything.
"Why did you tell him? Why did you tell him Crim and the others were hiding in the cave and that they were going to attack tomorrow evening?"
Oddly enough, a small smile touched Ebonia's lips and she whispered softly in his ear.
"Because he'll believe just about anything I tell him. Crim isn't hiding there, none of them are. They've found a hiding place where the vermin won't think to look and they aren't going to attack. I just made it up so Stelumos thought I was telling the truth. I couldn't very well refuse to say anything and let him kill you now could I?"
Stunned, Welkum tilted his head back and just stared at the squirrel maiden. Ebonia touched his paw and lowered her voice.
"I know what I did was wrong before but…I told you, I'm not part of them any longer. I was supposed to get information about the Abbey to help Crim but they caught me. I promise you though, we'll find a way to get you all out of here and get your Abbey back. It's time I righted some wrongs."
Welkum sighed deeply and held out his paw imploringly to her. Though he was still surprised at her actions, it was good to know that they at least had another beast to help them.
"But how are you going to help? And what did you find out from Stelumos?"
The squirrel maiden sighed and leaned back into the shadows. Her body hurt and all she wanted to do was rest, but this was important.
"I have my own ways…don't worry. As for Stelumos, he's going to sell the Abbey beasts in turn to receive aid from a group of vermin that are attacking Salamandastron. We're doing our best to get you out, but it's going to take us time. I need to get more information and then I'll find a way out of here. As far as I know, Crim is still safe so…I'll just have to hope that I get to him in time."
Welkum nodded slowly and glanced at the other Abbey beasts. They were watching the duo with curious, almost distrustful eyes. Ebonia couldn't blame them. The squirrel maiden shifted and folded her paws, eyes resolute as she spoke once more.
"I need your help though. Give me any information that you can while I figure out a way to get out of here. This could either help the Abbey or destroy it. I promise though, we'll do something to save Redwall." She looked at the otter and folded back her ears. "Even if I have to die to protect these walls…I will do so."