CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT

Long before Alex and Palter made it down from the western foothills onto the coastal plains, a heavy escort of gulls surrounded them, flocking overhead and on all sides with a presence intimidating if not outright harrying. And long before they made it to Salamandastron's gates, a company of Gawtrybe blocked their way, preventing them from taking one step closer to the mountain stronghold.

Ignoring the rat for the moment, the Northland squirrels' leader barked at Alexander, "What brings you here, Redwaller? Do you come with good will, or ill?"

"Your Lord has expended a great deal of ill will toward me and my friends, so you've no place even asking me that question. I have come to demand answers from him for his actions, and I will have them."

"If you've two acorns' worth of sense to rub together, you'll turn around right now and head back the way you came."

Alex nodded past them at the mountain looming so close. "That'd be rather foolish, with my destination right there."

"More foolish still, perhaps, to keep going. We're inclined to grant you a free pass and forget we saw you, but once you're inside, Lord Urthblood will have final say on your fate."

"Then we'll just have to see which of us gets the last word - him, or me."

"Won't be you, I'll guarantee. Very well. Surrender your quiver and blade, if you are determined to press on with this, and we'll escort you inside."

Alex didn't protest; he'd expected to be disarmed, and perhaps taken into custody, before this venture was concluded - at the very least. Passing his weapons to the adversary squirrels, he inclined his head toward Palter. "And what of my companion? Is he to be bound and frog-marched the rest of the way?"

The Gawtrybe leader laughed. "To what purpose? He's delivered himself to the heart of our domain. There's nowhere for him to escape to now. If he makes a run for it, he'll not get far - our gulls will see to that."

These words hardly reassured Palter, but he wasn't about to turn back now, even if he could have. Summoning his scant reserves of courage, he asked, "Where's Lattie? What've y' done with 'er?"

The squirrel guards scowled as one in distaste. "We don't answer questions from the likes of that one."

"But it's a perfectly good question," Alex countered, "so I'll ask it in his stead. Where is Latura now? Does she still live?"

"Lord Urthblood will decide how much you're entitled to know about any of that. Last chance to turn back, friend. Otherwise, come along with us ... "

As Alex marched down toward the tideline on their course to reach the seaward-facing main gates, the Gawtrybe escorts closed around him almost as tightly as they did the forlorn Palter. "So," he said to his fellow squirrels, as the gulls continued to circle and squawk overhead, "the other tracks coming down this side of the range were quite clear and easy to read in places. One squirrel, and one rat. Was it Captain Matowick himself who made it through alive, or did one of his underlings have to complete the mission for him? Not that it matters much to me; one's just as guilty of crimes against Redwall as the other."

"I'd stow that talk of crimes if I were you," the squad leader warned. "These are the coastlands, and soon you'll be inside Salamandastron, where Urthblood's word is law, and he decides what's a crime and what isn't."

"His word is growing worthless these days inside Redwall, where these affronts took place. What we witnessed was a violation of our hospitality bordering on treachery, and we will call it what we see it to be. I am one of the Abbey's chief defenders, and you'll find my voice carries considerable authority in such matters. If my treatment here leads me to believe Urthblood is an enemy of Redwall, I will make that voice heard loud and clear at our councils. And if I never make it back to the Abbey, my absence at those councils will speak even louder than my words would have."

The Gawtrybe regarded him with a new modicum of respect. "A chief defender, you say? Would you happen to be Alexander, Lady Mina's husband?"

He nodded. "I was Mina's husband when I left Redwall. Whether that relationship can be mended in light of all that's happened, I shall have to wait and see when I get back."

The Gawtrybe considered this. "In that case, you'll not be harmed or imprisoned - not if we have anything to say about it. We have heard that Lady Mina was wounded by an arrow. Was it serious?"

"She seemed safely out of danger when last I saw her."

"And yet you chose to journey here, rather than return to be by her side?"

"Mina has an entire Abbey to see to her care. Latura didn't have anybeast to look after her."

The Gawtrybe had no retort to that, and they marched around the north limb of Salamandastron in silence. Coming fully about to the seaward side, Alex and Palter beheld for the first time the jetty pier and the various vessels tied up to it. "That wasn't there last time I was here," Alex remarked, "and I see you're getting all types of company these days."

"With the Accord in place, Salamandastron has become a more important center of trade and diplomacy than ever before." The hint of pride in the Northlander's tone was unmistakable.

Regarding the red, black and green sails of the Redfoam, Alex added, "Seems strange seeing a searat ship anchored here as if it were a routine matter of course. Almost lends credence to the Long Patrols' longstanding suspicions of Urthblood and Tratton conspiring together."

"The Long Patrol belonged to the prior Lord of the Mountain," the Gawtrybe commander dismissed with a derisive snort. "We have a new Lord these days. This is a different age."

"Different isn't always better."

They trudged the rest of the way up into the main entryway in stony silence, both sides realizing neither was going to win over the other, or best them either. Alex felt a rush of mixed nostalgia wash over him, as he had any number of times during this trek. Pushing across the Plains with Palter had for him carried memory echoes of a similar path followed two summers before with Machus and Mina, as had the crossing of the high mountain passes, even more treacherous this time than when they'd met the Long Patrol coming the other way and narrowly avoided coming to blows over which party had the right of way. And now, finally being down on the coastal plain and entering Salamandastron itself, he couldn't help but be transported back to his previous visit here, when two Badger Lords had clashed in a contest of unprecedented calamity, and possibilities both terrible and bold had hung in the balance. Back then, having Mina at his side had meant everything, and made it easier to get through the mind-numbing carnage which had claimed so many lives from both armies.

But Mina was not at his side this time, and Alex found himself wondering now more than ever whether the right badger had emerged victorious in the contest for the throne of Salamandastron.

He found Matowick of all creatures awaiting them in the entry hall, with other squirrels, mice, hedgehogs and weasels arrayed around the natural rock gallery overlooking the high-ceilinged antechamber. Looking the other squirrel squarely in the eye, Alex bit off, "I'm surprised you have the temerity to even show your face to any Redwaller after what you pulled, Captain. Have you no shame at all?"

"Shame? I followed my orders - and nearly paid for it with my life. My companions weren't as lucky as I was. I make no apologies for fulfilling my assigned mission - to you or to anybeast. Now, Lord Urthblood is expecting you, up in the dining hall."

"I remember the way."

"You'll pardon us if we escort you anyway." Matowick's gaze went to Palter. "And His Lordship will want to speak with this one as well, but separately. We've a holding cell reserved for him that he can call home, until he's ready to be handed over to the searats. It's the last privacy he's likely to know for quite some time, so I would advise him to enjoy it while it lasts."

00000000000

In spite of all the visitors presently staying at Salamandastron, Alexander arrived at the dining hall finding it virtually empty. Not only was there no sign of Ambassador Erzath or any of the crew of the Redfoam, or Whiskersalt or Wakefern or any of the crew of the Stronganchor, or Captain Ramjohn or his first mate Chobor, but all the lower ranks of Urthblood's own forces had been chased from the spacious chamber as well, leaving it nearly deserted.

The Badger Lord himself sat, not at the head of the long central table as might be expected, but off to the side at one of the smaller tables. With him sat his captains, Abellon, Tillamook and Mattoon, and nobeast else. Alex was shown to a chair directly across from Urthblood, while Matowick took the seat to the Redwaller's right.

"I'm glad to see your captains here," Alex told the badger, who regarded him with his usual cool, level gaze. "Others need to hear what I have to say."

"They are not here for your benefit. They have been fully briefed on all aspects of Captain Matowick's mission, and so anything you might think to reveal to them that you would hold to be incriminating, they already know." Urthblood leaned forward over the narrow table, closer to Alexander. "What happened at Redwall?"

For a moment this incongruent inquiry made no sense to Alex, so he repeated it. "What happened at Redwall? You mean, the lies, treachery, deceit, false assurances, betrayal of your professed friendship with Redwall and violation of nearly every tenet of acceptable, civilized behavior? You have overstepped your bounds fatally this time, Lord, and I fear this breach can never be repaired. Where is Latura?"

"She has been surrendered to the searats, in compliance with the Accord."

Alex sat stunned at this even-tempered revelation. "To the searats? Why? You put everybeast through all of that ... risked everything you did ... just to give her over to the searats?"

"Such was not my original intent, but fate decreed I follow that course instead."

"That ship tied up outside now - is she aboard it?"

"She is. What happened at Redwall?"

"Latura must be freed! If there is to be any hope of salvaging peaceful relations with us, you must order the searats to release her, so I can take her back to Redwall. Then, maybe ... maybe."

"This matter resides at a level far beyond diplomacy. This is the province of fate, and of powers you cannot begin to understand. That creature cannot remain in the lands; she is far too dangerous. Now, what happened at Redwall?"

Alex pounded his fists against the arms of his chair. "Why do you keep asking that?! Your own captain here knows what happened at Redwall! He came to us under false pretenses - and under your direct orders - to lie his way into our midst with a fabricated proposal of negotiation and parley, when all he ever intended was to snatch Lattie away from us at the first opportunity and drag her back here to you! He lied to us - to our Abbot, to all of us, right at our own council, he lied, without batting an eye! How can there ever be peace or trust between us now if you and your followers so blatantly violate that trust and shatter the peace with force of arms?"

"It was necessary. Captain Matowick did only as I tasked him to do - and the price was dearly paid, both from your pursuit which cost me many of my gulls, and from the ratmaid herself, who cost the Captain the rest of his squad. And something else as well. You see, in spite of your insistence, he cannot tell me exactly what occurred at Redwall, because he cannot fully recall those events. There is a small hole in his memory, a tiny piece of his timeline which has been stolen from him. Moments which, as it happens, coincide with the ratmaid's removal from the Abbey. Small details he cannot account for - which can only lead me to believe something was meant to remain hidden from him ... and from me. So I will ask you once again, what happened at Redwall? How precisely did Captain Matowick acquire his target and get clear of the Abbey with her? What does she think to hide from me, and to what purpose?"

Long before Urthblood reached his final string of inquiries, Alex glanced sideways to study the Gawtrybe squirrel seated next to him, and found Matowick clearly ill at ease over this public airing of his imposed amnesia, clenching both jaw and paws and refusing to meet any gaze. And the expressions of the others present made it obvious that neither Urthblood nor Matowick had shared this secret before this moment.

"Matti - is it true?" Mattoon asked.

Matowick nodded but held his silence, still declining to look anybeast in the eye.

"It seems our ratmaid possesses many talents: Seeing the future; disrupting the natural world around her; and making others forget what she doesn't want them to remember." Uthblood's gaze fastened upon Alex once more. "So, what can you tell us of this?"

"Me?" The Redwaller held a defiant line. "I know nothing of any of this. But I came here to demand an accounting from you, Lord. Not to be interrogated. You'll find me a poor subject for such a line of questioning, if you have it in mind to try."

"There are interrogations, and then there are interrogations. Not all require words." Urthblood leaned even farther forward; due to the narrowness of the table, this brought him so close to Alex that the squirrel could feel the badger's measured breath on his whiskers, which twitched in agitation, as did his tail. Urthblood's cold, unblinking gaze seemed to bore past Alexander's eyes into some deeper realm. It was the same appraising, dissecting stare the Badger Lord had turned upon Matowick the day before in the forge room, which had uncovered the Captain's empty secret.

"Lord, what ... are you ... "

Nobeast there could have said for sure how long it lasted, but at length Urthblood leaned back. "Your memories are whole. Your awareness has not been compromised. Tell me, have you spent much time in close proximity to the rat in question?"

"No ... not really ... "

"Then that would make sense. So tell me about the hour when Captain Matowick's squad made their escape from Redwall? What was going on there? How did it happen?"

After the psychic inspection from his prophetic host, Alex found his uncooperative attitude wavering. "It was total confusion. Vanessa had egged some of our youngsters into misbehaving on a grand scale, contributing to the mayhem herself in no small measure, and in the turmoil, your squirrels got away with Latura ... and Palter, who went out after Lattie to try to coax her back inside before she was discovered. Unfortunately, the Gawtrybe were keeping too close an eye on her, so ... "

"The Abbess?" For the first time, Urthblood expressed surprise. "She was behind the diversion? Captain, is that true?"

This turn in the conversation finally induced Matowick to look his master in the eye. "I ... I have no idea, Lord. This is news to me."

Alex failed to make the immediate connection, assuming Matowick had simply been unaware up until now of Vanessa's paw in all of this. "It never occurred to us it was any kind of diversion. We just chalked it up as unruly behavior ... one of the many pranks and disruptions Nessa has unleashed upon us since becoming afflicted."

"Do her pranks often cast the entire Abbey into such chaos?"

"Well, no ... "

"At least you have confirmed what Captain Matowick has already told me about the ratmaid leaving the Abbey of her own volition, and being taken into custody there. Why would she abandon her haven of sanctuary and expose herself to such jeopardy?"

"Well, she followed Nessa out, according to Palter ... " Something inside Alex was starting to prickle, some vague and uneasy sense of warning he couldn't quite identify. But if there was danger here, he could not pinpoint its nature.

"The Abbess again? First she creates multiple distractions, and then she lures out beyond the Abbey walls the very creature I seek? That hardly sounds like a 'prank' to me. Why would she do such a thing?"

Alex knew exactly why, thanks to the other would-be rescuers who'd set out from the Abbey after he did, rendezvousing with him and Clewiston with the fantastic tale of a Vanessa miraculously returned and ordering that there be no rescue attempt. But that nagging sense of caution persuaded him not to speak of this.

"I could not tell you. I was up in the Infirmary with Mina when the pandemonium broke out, and then I was in Great Hall, helping to deal with all the hornet stings."

"Ah yes. The hornets. Captain Matowick has told me all about that as well. Hardly harmless fun and games, since those insects can be quite dangerous. But, if the Abbess truly did goad the ratmaid into following her out of Redwall ... " Urthblood looked to Matowick again. "Then she should have been there when you made the capture. Was she?"

Matowick slowly shook his head as if in a pained daze. "I ... do not remember any such thing, My Lord."

Most curious." Urthblood returned his attention to Alex. "And just when did your Abbess return inside, and make it clear what she had done?"

Alarm bells were going off inside Alexander's head now. Of course Matowick had to have seen Vanessa outside with Latura; Palter's own account of those events had made that much clear. He stared at the badger seated across from him, suddenly realizing something which should have occurred to him long before now: Everything he knew about the circumstances surrounding Latura's abduction had reached him through inference and secondpaw reports. First he and Clewiston had followed the tracks of squirrels and rats out through the east wallgate, and only surmised what had transpired through examination of the evidence before their eyes. And then, later, once they'd rescued Palter from the Gawtrybe, that rat had filled in the gaps, maintaining that Vanessa had indeed lured Latura out of the Abbey, allowing for the prophetess to be captured. And, in light of Vanessa's mandate that no rescue be mounted to recover Latura, it all made sense in its own internally convoluted way. Alexander had not even seen Vanessa since his childhood friend and former Abbess had returned to her senses and reclaimed the leadership of Redwall for her own. So much of what had happened had happened in his absence, and he realized now that he still had nearly as many questions about these events as Urthblood himself. Alex simple had not been on paw to witness so many of the crucial moments in this affair.

But Palter had.

A cold wave of apprehension washed over him. He still could not discern what the peril here might be, but a sudden conviction gripped him that Urthblood must not speak with the rat. Something Palter knew, something he had seen or heard, might prove the key to unlocking this mystery. And if Urthblood gained that key ...

"What happened at Redwall?"

Goaded by this repeated, bludgeoning question, Alexander said exactly the wrong thing. "I don't know," he practically snarled. "I wasn't there."

This retort, meant as a stinging rebuke, spurred Urthblood to rise, pushing his oversized chair back with a tortured scrape.

"Then you are not the beast I should be talking to."

And the crimson-armed badger strode from the dining hall without another word.

00000000000

Palter had never seen another creature like Urthblood - not even Sodexo, upon whose shoulders he rode partway across the Western Plains. When the current Lord of Salamandastron entered the tiny chamber where Palter was being kept alone with but one lamp and no window to the outside world, the rat pressed himself against the back of his chair and slunk down a bit, shrinking from the other's imposing presence. Urthblood stood nearly half a head taller than Sodexo, and the burnished red armor encasing his torso made him appear some mythic figure of war rather than a mere mortal. Not even the missing right paw could diminish the effect; if anything, the heavy iron wrist cap only cast this badger as all the more formidable, as if any attempt to destroy him would be doomed to fail, and only render him more fearsome.

The warrior settled himself upon the room's only other chair, across the small plain table from Palter, crossing left paw over the iron wrist cap on the tabletop.

"What happened at Redwall?"

Palter gaped at Urthblood as if his utterance made no sense. "What ... whaddya mean?"

"The day you left - how did that come to pass?"

"It came t' pass 'cos yer red-furred, bushtailed, rat-slayin' devils took us an' hauled us away from where we were safe an' dragged us all across Mossflower t' this fur-forsaken hunk o' rock!" Now that Palter had been properly prompted, he let his sense of umbrage and outrage take control, practically speaking for him.

"But they had help, didn't they? Tell me, what part did the Abbess play in all of this?"

"Aw, she was as bad as yer lot! First she baits Lattie inta goin' out where it wasn't safe an' yer minions could snatch 'er, then she goes an' orders nobeast t' try 'n' rescue us! 'Tween her 'n' you, we didn't stand a chance!"

"Her orders? What do you mean?"

"Once we'd been captured, an' were out bein' dragged across those awful plains, she ordered ev'rybeast else at Redwall t' stand down an' not come after us, an' just let you have us!"

"How could the Abbess give any such orders? She is ... impaired. Geoff has been Abbot in her stead for the past three seasons."

"Well, looks like she got 'erself unimpaired right quick when it counted, an' booted their Abbot right outta his chair. Like she planned it all along, which I don't doubt she did."

"And you are sure of this? Of Abbess Vanessa regaining her senses, and reclaiming the leadership of Redwall?"

"Heard it from hares an' from shrews who were there t' see it fer themselves. An' from a badger too. She forbid any Abbeybeast from comin' after us."

"And yet they violated her mandate? Disobeyed her direct orders?"

"Th' hares said they were actin' as Long Patrol, not Redwallers, an' th' shrews said th' same about actin' as Guosim, so neither felt bound by her orders. An' that badger ain't even from around Redwall - came up from somewhere way down south, 'parently - so he wasn't actin' in the name of the Abbey neither. Even some o' their birds helped out with scoutin' an' messages. Don't reckern the Abbess coulda been too tickled 'bout any of it, but what was she gonna do about it?"

"It appears she wanted me to get the ratmaid, and took great pains to aid my Gawtrybe's success in this venture. Why would this be, when Redwall shelters so many other fugitives?"

"Heard the others say she was afraid you'd go to war with Redwall t' get Lattie, an' she wanted t' keep that from hap'nin'." Palter stared at Urthblood, with a gaze taking every ounce of his meagre courage. "Wouldja have?"

"That question will now never be answered, due to the wisdom displayed by the restored Abbess. Still, it does raise questions. And then there is the matter of you. Why did you continue on here, after the force from Redwall had liberated you from Captain Matowick's squad?"

"Lattie said ... she said I hadta ... go t' sea."

Urthblood nodded. "That is her fate, and it will now be yours as well. So, you came to Salamandastron just to fulfill her prophecy? Was that your own choice, or were you enslaved to her will?"

"Lattie'd never do anything like that!"

"Perhaps you understand her less than you think. That one spews out webs of fate affecting the world around her, and I am not certain even she can control all she does."

"Then y' shoulda left 'er alone! Y' shoulda left us all alone! We was happy livin' in our own liddle seaside village, botherin' nobeast an' nobeast botherin' us. She'da been alright there, wouldn'ta troubled you at all. Why'd y' hafta come after us rats like this? Why're doin' alla this? Was it all 'cos o' Lattie? It was, wasn't it?"

"You believe I would instigate a seasons-long campaign of resettlement, commit so many of my resources to that cause, and risk alienating friends and allies, all for the sake of a single creature?"

"Um ... yes?"

"You rats are a problematic species. No kinship with weasels, stoats or ferrets, more troublesome and less trainable than foxes - truly, when I commenced my efforts to tame the Northlands and bring all creatures under my banner, rats gave me more trouble than all the other species combined. Stubborn, complaining, slow to integrate and put their vermin ways behind them. The Accord with Tratton provided the perfect solution to this problem. He can have all rats for his own, like dwelling among like, and we of the lands will be free of them. And to gain the freedom of all Tratton's woodlander slaves in the bargain, and to end the open warfare between Salamandastron and Terramort ... was I truly to pass up such an opportunity?"

"You had no right! Not t' reach inta th' lives of honest rats who were mindin' their own business, livin' on their own an' not botherin' anybeast else! To snatch us from our homes an' ship us off t' slavery in chains, or worse!"

"That is not your place to decide."

Palter sat momentarily stunned by the sheer arrogance of the badger before him. "So, 're y' gonna stop it now? Stop roundin' up us rats?"

"Stop the campaign? Why would I?"

"Well, y' got Lattie now, an' if she were th' reason fer yer Purge ... "

"Were you not just listening to me? I had multiple reasons for my present course of action; they simply happened to dovetail to this precise juncture in the way that they did. But the resettlement campaign is too far along now, too inextricably intertwined with the Accord. Suspending it now would cause too many problems, even were I of a mind to do so. It must continue."

"You ... you heartless, cold ... ye're just a tyrant, no matter what you 'n' yer followers say! Ain't no diff'rence 'tween you an' any other warlord who's ever terrorized th' lands!"

"There is a difference. I would gladly be a tyrant to one species in order to save all others."

"Yah ... an' I guess Abbess Martymouse would agree with that - which leaves all us rats out in th' cold."

An instant change overcame Urthblood, who now stared intently at Palter. "What did you just say?"

"Um ... us rats're gettin' left out in th' cold?" Palter asked, his embittered tone giving way to one of puzzlement.

"No. About the Abbess. What did you just call her?"

"Oh, uh, Martymouse?"

"Why did you use that name?"

"That name? That's just some silly thing Lattie came up with. She called the Abbess by it when we was first snatched, an' once or twice since then too."

"Why?"

"Not sure. She never did explain it. Just, kinda, th' name fit, is all."

Urthblood leaned back in his chair, his gaze suddenly far away. "Marty ... mouse ... Abbess ... "

And then something happened which had not happened in nearly thirty seasons: Urthblood smiled.

It started with the preliminary lifting of the corners of his mouth, as if in bemusement. But quickly it spread, peeling back from glistening fangs, the grin splitting the striped face so wide that it surely must have been painful, an involuntary rictus all-encompassing. It was a grin to devour the world.

And Palter, beholding that grin in the light cast by the cell's single lamp, fainted dead away from sheer terror.

00000000000

"Lord ... what's wrong with your face?"

Everybeast could see it upon Urthblood's return to the dining hall, where Alexander and the Northland captains had held their places during Palter's brief interrogation. The Badger Lord's perpetually-taciturn face was different somehow - pained, or altered, or perhaps even faintly suggesting a smile that couldn't possibly be trying to break out.

"Merely a momentary spasm, Captain Tillamook," Urthblood responded as he resumed his seat. "It has passed, with only minimal strain and discomfort. Leave us now - I must speak with Alexander alone. Wait upon my call."

The four captains obeyed, rising and filing away to gather upon one of the connecting stairways, where they could answer his summons when he issued it without overhearing the private conversation their master clearly desired.

Urthblood's gaze fastened on the Redwall squirrel. "When last you were here at Salamandastron, you demanded to know more of my prophecy. I am ready to tell you now, so ask."

This was the last thing Alex had expected, and he sat for some moments staring in bewilderment at Urthblood's somehow-transformed visage. At last he managed, "What has that to do with Latura?"

"The ratmaid is no longer of primary relevance. That danger to me is past. I have blunted that blade, and now I shall blunt another. Let us talk rather of the truly important things, the vital core at the center of all. Let me answer what you inquired of me two summers ago."

"Two summers ago?"

"You stand as one of four creatures alive to have gazed upon my prophecy with your own eyes. On that occasion, you pressed me on one thing in particular that struck you about it."

Suddenly, Alex remembered. "Redwall. A pictogram of Redwall, clear and unmistakable, right at the center of the carving."

"Yes. Redwall was always destined to play a not inconsiderable role in the events of this age. You see, in addition to foretelling the great crisis I have labored so hard for so many seasons to forestall, I believe that prophecy also ordains me the greatest fighting beast of all." Urthblood paused, his focus intent upon the squirrel. "Who is the greatest warrior who ever lived?"

Alex stammered, not sure what to say, or what his menacing host wanted him to say. "I ... I don't know ... "

"Of course you do. Forget where you are now. You are a Redwaller, so answer as any Redwaller would. Who is the greatest warrior of all time?"

In this context, Alex didn't even hesitate. "Martin. Martin the Warrior."

Urthblood leaned back, apparently satisfied that the other had finally replied as anticipated. "And there you have it. Ask any Abbeybeast ... ask any resident of Mossflower familiar with Redwall's history ... ask any Noonvaler, for that matter ... and the answer will always be the same. And therein lies the paradox, built into the very heart of my prophecy, designed to frustrate me so. The same oracular verse proclaiming my uncontested supremacy in this sphere then turns about and names the one I can never contest, the one I can never match blades with, the one who stands above me in reputation and yet lies beyond my reach by a span of countless generations. How am I to best a legend? How am I ever to prove myself against a ghost, and come into my own while the lore of one perceived as greater than I overshadows my every step, my every breath, my every waking moment?"

Alex considered his next words with meticulous care. "Latura says you have been grappling with Martin, in the spirit realm ... that the two of you are fighting. Is it true?"

"In dreams, perhaps - the dreams of eternal wakefulness. But the time of dreaming is over, and I will soon be able to claim my rightful place atop the echelon of history's greatest warriors." Urthblood paused, his gaze no less intense than before. "My destiny will only truly be fulfilled when I have bested Martin the Warrior in battle."

Alexander sat staring at Urthblood for long, stretched moments, eyes wide, before delivering his assessment.

"You're insane."

"Am I?" Abruptly, Urthblood rose from his chair. "If you truly think so, then ask your Abbess when you next see her why she is not herself these days. Ask her why she helped my Gawtrybe secure the ratmaid. She may even tell you the truth, although I doubt it. In the meantime, I must compose a special dispatch for her, thanking her for her role in these proceedings. Unless I miss my guess, she likely keeps secrets still - and those who keep secrets must take care that their secrecy not ensnare them." Turning to the distant stairwell he roared out, "Captains!"

Immediately his squirrel, mouse, hedgehog and weasel commanders hastened across the dining hall to him.

"Captain Matowick, you are hereby dismissed and excused from duty until further notice, so that you may spend time with your wife and son. Abellon, please see that Alexander is placed in suitable lodgings, or else assist him with his travel preparations, if it be his will to depart at once. Mattoon, please escort the rat upstairs down to the pier and put him aboard the Redfoam, and inform Captain Trangle he is free to sail at his leisure; there will be no more rats to deliver until the next batch arrives later this season, and those can wait for the next galleon or frigate."

Urthblood's gaze strayed to Alex once more. "That talkative rat, unlike his cherished prophetess, has proven most valuable to me this day. If he is lucky, perhaps he will find himself seated alongside her aboard the Redfoam, since that is likely to be their home for the next many days."