I finished chapter three yaaaay! I don't really have the time for this, but I do it anyways so enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall. It belongs/ed to Brian Jacques. I do not own Juska Either.
Claimer: I own mostly everyone except Martin (who of course will appear in this story but later) and Ruggan Bor (who was mentioned in chapter 1). I own Juskubel, just not Juska.
Chapter 3
"March!" Amber called out in her best commanding voice.
Amber was almost surprised as the horde immediately followed her order. She had been expecting that they wouldn't listen to her as she was new, but they had apparently learned from the incident the day before. The Clan marched on a small path that had been created by the foraging parties as they came in and out of the camp. Something about the place was familiar, but Amber couldn't put her paw on it. She scanned the area, hoping to see something to explain the feeling, when she saw a patch of thorny bushes. The world spun, and Amber found herself falling to the ground.
Amber was awakened late at night by her mother, who picked her up and began to run. Being jostled around this way was not comfortable to her, so she began to cry. vermin shouted, lighting torches and pursuing them. The path was not well made, and there were rocks poking out from the hard-packed dirt of it. Suddenly, her mother took a sharp turn and flung herself into the bushes. Amber didn't like the feeling of spinning and rolling, and was relieved when it stopped. She felt herself placed gently between two roots. A few words were spoken, but Amber couldn't understand them. The mother stepped back and turned around, walking back to the path. More words. A scream. Laughter. The sounds blended together in Amber's mind, becoming louder and louder. She set up a thin wail. The laughter stopped. There was the sound of rustling leaves getting closer and closer. A jeering face came into view. She was grabbed roughly and brought into the torchlight of the path. She saw another face. The face began to speak. The words meant nothing to her. The face slipped away and the scene faded into whiteness.
She found herself standing in a cavernous room made of red sandstone. A tapestry covered most of one wall. The tapestry depicted a mouse holding a magnificent sword. Vermin fled in all directions from him. Amber stared at the tapestry in awe for five minutes before she realized that the mouse was looking at her. He began to speak.
"When hope is lost to make amends,
Go to the east to find your friends
Though enemies will surely follow,
In misery and death they wallow.
Stand fast and true
And they will trust you
When all seems lost
Follow the moss
And find the ones to help you there."
The mouse melted back into the tapestry and the scene once again faded.
Amber opened her eyes to jeering faces. It wasn't normal for commanding officers to faint in the middle of a march. They had obviously taken it as a sign of weakness. I'll just have to show them it wasn't! Amber said to herself. Forcing the vermin off of her, she stood up and pulled out her knife. Picking out her target, she aimed and threw the knife towards where a particularly unlucky rat was standing, pinning his ear to a tree. He let out a strangled yelp, and flinched as Amber gingerly pulled the knife out. She walked away, thinking That's better. Taking her position, she waited for the signal and, getting it, she ordered them to move again.
Amber thought about the words that the strange mouse had spoken. They were still fresh in her mind along with the entire dream. She repeated the words under her breath.
"When hope is lost to make amends,
Go to the east to find your friends
Though enemies will surely follow,
In misery and death they wallow.
Stand fast and true
And they will trust you
When all seems lost
Follow the moss
And find the ones to help you there."
The words repeated themselves again and again in her mind, leaving her puzzled. What could it mean?
Amber was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of rushing water. They had reached where the river Moss turned north after running west for miles. The horde began to progress alongside the water. The path began to worm around trees and bushes, staying close to the river. The foragers barely ever came out this far, and soon there would be no path at all. The trees grew larger with every mile, and they knew they had reached Mossflower wood. There was no other place with such big trees. After a mile into the forest, Marduk signaled to Amber and she ordered the horde to stop and set up camp. The sun was setting, and the vermin were eager for some rest after the long trek. They had made double time, and knew that if they did the same on the morrow, they could reach the village and have it taken by the day after. Amber set up her tent at a nod from Marduk, and was soon asleep. Late that night, she was aroused by footsteps outside the tent. She could hear a conversation, but could barely hear the words, hearing only snatches.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, that weakling ain't even gonna know what hit her. Now shut up an' lissen ta me."
A long silence followed, then Amber heard the tent flap opening. She made sure she still had her knife, and feigned sleep. Footsteps could be heard, getting closer and closer. She felt something pressed to her neck. Now! She said to herself, slashing out with the knife. A surprised yelp came from the form she was now beginning to make out. She stood up and grabbed it.
"Who are you and what is your business here? Tell me and I might let you live." She growled, Pushing the knife against the vermin's throat. No answer came. She pushed harder. "Tell me!"
This time, an answer came. "Why should I tell you? You's gonna kill me anyways."
"I swear that I won't kill you if you answer me truthfully. If you don't answer, you'll die anyways. I think the solution is simple here, don't you?" Amber said, putting even more pressure on the knife.
A strangled yelp followed. "I'll tell you, but get this dagger offa my neck!" the voice demanded.
Amber released him, and walked over to stand in front of the exit, with the dagger in her hand. She looked expectantly at him.
"I'm Scratch. I am one of the smarter ones who don't like you 'aving so much power." He stated.
"If you want my place, then you should know that it's open for anyone to take." She said, smiling at the surprised look on scratches face. "All you have to do is defeat me in battle. Everyone knows that. Now, leave. If this happens again, believe me, I will kill you. Just be glad I didn't this time."
The rat obliged and left without a word more. When he was gone, Amber collapsed onto the bed. This was going against her nature. She fell asleep once more.
That morning, Amber packed up and reported to Marduk, who was standing in the middle of the clearing, with about half of the clan in front of him.
He beckoned her towards him, and said under his breath, "Get these scumbags up and moving before the daylight is gone!"
"Yes chief!" she responded. Turning towards the many tents that were still up, she yelled "Report to duty all of you lazy, flea-ridden, useless lumps! It's time to move on!"
In a remarkably fast period of time, the entire clan stood ready to leave. Marduk nodded and Amber called for them to march. Nothing much happened that day, apart from the scouts finding a patch of berry bushes and bringing back three baskets of them.
When they set camp the first few houses of the village were visible through the trees, and Marduk ordered that no fires were lit or tents set up so that they wouldn't be found. They ate most of the berries and all fell asleep except for Amber, who looked up at the stars pondering the dream from the day before. She heard a rustling noise looked for the source. A young mouse poked his head out from some shrubbery. He stared around and gasped a bit too loudly, waking up a few stoats sleeping near the edge of the camp. They looked around before seeing the mouse. They smiled at each other cruelly and advanced towards him. He screamed, waking up the entire camp and most importantly, Marduk. Amber stood up and walked over to get a closer look.
"What is the meaning of this?" Marduk asked the stoats before catching a glimpse of the young mouse they were doing their best to hide. "Oh, I see. Show him to me." The three vermin grudgingly moved out of the way.
Amber approached and stood beside Marduk. He nodded to acknowledge her presence. "What do you think we should do with him?" he asked her.
I have to help him! She said to herself."I'll take him." Amber did her best to look cruel. "Save you the trouble of killing him." The mouse whimpered at this, beginning to cry.
Marduk considered the idea. "Ok. You take him. Have some fun. You've been doing well recently. Everyone else go back to sleep."
Amber smiled and laughed. "This will be fun!" she forced herself to say.
Amber dragged him into the woods. When they were a ways away from the camp, she crouched down and looked at the mouse. He looked to be around Amber's age. Not quite an adult. He stared back at her in complete terror. He had probably never seen a rat before, and obviously knew how cruel most of them were. Amber had no clue how to calm him down enough to have a civilized conversation so she just looked at him, trying not to appear intimidating. She realized that his eyes were focused on her dagger, so she pulled it out, making him gasp and scramble backwards. Amber dropped the weapon, receiving a confused look from the mouse.
Deciding that anything was better that just standing there staring, she spoke. "What is your name?" she asked.
The mouse looked at her in surprise. "A-A-Alek." He responded.
"Hello Alek, my name is Amber." She said, sitting down on a nearby rock. "You have no reason to be afraid of me. I do not intend to harm you. You must understand that that was the only way to get you out of there."
The mouse relaxed a little bit, but was not fully convinced. "Can I go home?" he asked hopefully.
"I do not know if that is a good idea. The vermin think you're dead, and if they see you during the battle, they will know that I spared you. That leaves me dead for insubordination, and I really would not prefer that." Alek's shoulders slouched. "Is there anywhere near here where you could go for help?" she asked
"The closest place is Redwall Abbey, but I've never been there. I heard it's a great big red sandstone fort or something."
Amber's eyes widened, and she asked "How would you get there?"
"Well, I don't really know for sure, I think I remember being told about it when I was very small." He seemed to trust her a bit more with every sentence.
"Could it perhaps be to the east?" Amber asked hopefully, remembering her dream.
"Yes! I think it was! I'm sure! … how would you know that?" he inquired.
"You won't believe me but I'll tell you." She told him about her dream and the words that the strange warrior mouse had spoken. When she finished she looked at Alek and said "You think I'm insane now, don't you?"
The mouse shook his head. "No, I believe you. Why did you tell me that?"
Amber shrugged. " I can't carry this secret alone. It's not so heavy now that someone else knows." Her face grew more serious. "Does anyone in your village know how to fight?" she asked. Alek shook his head. "Ok. This might be hard for you, but your village is not going to win this battle. Your best bet is to ask the Redwallers for help. I'll try to slip out of the battle and meet you at Redwall. You should head there now. Don't tell them about me. Will you do this?" Alek nodded. "Sorry about the flaws in this plan, But it's the best one I have. Go."
Alek slipped out into the night. Amber left the area with her own plans. Slipping into the village, she knocked on the door of the first house she saw. A Hedgehog answered the door a minute later, wiping sleep away from his eyes. When he realized that a rat was standing at his door, he stepped back, alarmed.
Amber put a paw to her lips. "I think you would like to know that there is a gigantic Juska clan outside your town waiting to attack in the morning. You should surrender. I am part of the clan, as you see by my tattoos. I am going to suggest that we take over the town and take you all prisoner unless you fight. Do NOT fight. That will only get you all killed. Understand?" The hedgehog nodded. "Do not cause a panic, though. Keep this quiet. You will find that a certain mouse named Alek has gone missing. He made the mistake of running right into the camp." The hedgehog gasped. "I got them to put him into my charge and they think I have killed him. I have done no such thing. I plan to slip away during the battle and meet him at Redwall to get help. Be patient. We will come. I must go now." She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Called the hedgehog. Amber turned. "Why are you helping us?"
"Because I am not like them. This is the right thing to do so I will do it." She replied before walking off into the darkness.
There I'm done. How was the dream/poem? This Chapter is longer than the others because I had so many ideas for it. I hope you enjoyed it!
