The vermin halted at the edge of the pine grove. "Dey go in dere, yarr?" Kurda said to her best tracker, a rat named Riggan.

Riggan inspected the ground, then peered up into the trees, sniffing the air suspiciously. "Aye, yore 'ighness, they've gone inter these woods, but there's summat I don't like about this place. I ain't put me paw on it yet, but I'll find out."

She took a pace into the trees… and found out. Three pinecones hit Riggan, one on the head, another on the paw, and a third in the throat.

Another Ratguard named Vorto said, "Somebeast up in the trees is attackin' us!"

"Archers, shoot arrows up at der trees, slay der beasts who are slinging dose pinecones!" Kurda commanded.

Four Ratguards set shafts to their bows. The first one fired off at a shape high in the trees. But one of the Coneslingers grabbed the arrow and snapped it in half. He threw the pieces back down at the vermin. One of them hit Blad on the paw. "Oh, I vish I'd stayed at home!" the prince wailed.

"Yore 'ighness, I think we'd better retreat," said Plug.

Kurda whacked him in the midriff with the flat of her blade. "Retreat? Vot you t'ink I am? De Princess of Riftgard does not run from silly beasts who t'row pinecones. We stay here and teach dem lesson for insolence!"

"Listen," Plug snarled. "It's time you learned that you ain't at home in your palace anymore. Nobeast is gonna wipe your ass for you when it gets dirty. We're going around this grove. We can catch them on the other side."

He led his crew south along the edge of the grove, keeping out of range of the squirrels' pinecones. Blad ran after them. After a minute, Kurda and her Ratguards angrily followed.

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Burnby led Triss, Shogg, Flurry, Fahari, and Felch out of the pine grove. "There, my friends," she said. "You may go whichever way you please. I must return to my father now." She sprang up into the trees and was instantly gone.

"Goodbye, and thank you for your help!" Triss called. "Well, which way now?"

Fahari said, "Since we're in Mossflower, I think our best bet is to make for Redwall Abbey."

"Where's that?" Shogg asked.

Flurry explained, "It's a great big castle in da middle o' Mossflower. Dey got all sorts of animals dere- mice, otters, squirrels. Dere will be warriors dere who can protect us from da vermin."

"An' they've got the most marvelous vittles there," Felch put in. "Expert cooks an' the best of grub."

"Then by all means, let's make Redwall our destination," Triss said. "Do you know how to get there?"

"Roughly," Fahari said. "If we keep heading east, eventually we'll come to a road. I can figure out how to get to Redwall from there."