"'Tis said that wrath is the last thing in a man to grow old." ~Alcaeus.
Boom!
The door of Brockhall burst wide open. It whipped hard against the wall behind it. The impact reverberated across the tree-shaped main hall.
The Sandeyes turned in unison. Madeline gasped and clapped a paw to her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. Jared's jaw slacked, his exhausted face draining of color.
"Nagrig Deathblade!" they exclaimed in concert.
"Surprise!" Nagrig Deathblade pushed his way through the open doorway into Brockhall. In front of him he held a whimpering and squirming Antonius. His hunting dagger rested flat against the young shrew's throat.
"Who the—Antonius!" Tiraqoo's frustration turned in an instant to abject terror.
"I'm sorry, Log-a-Log!" Antonius whined out; his frightened eyes were clamped shut.
"Quiet, shrew!" Nagrig snapped in the Guoraf shrew's ear. He pressed the blunt side of his dagger into Antonius' windpipe. The shrew let out a half-strangled cry.
"Let go of my apprentice!" Ruth yelled at Nagrig. But her words fell on deaf ears. Remy and Ace held her back by her forearms.
Nagrig's eyes narrowed as they spied the squirrels across the main hall. "Sandeyes!"
"No!" Madeline cried out behind her palm. "That's impossible! How did you find us?!"
A sadistic grin spread across Nagrig's face. Pride twinkled in his eyes. "Good old-fashioned reconnaissance, that's how! Let's not waste time debating semantics. I've come for you, Sandeyes. And this time…"
His eyes narrowed into a chilling scowl. His grin shrank into an icy frown. "This time, I won't leave empty-pawed!"
"So, you're Nagrig Deathblade!" A growling Jacob stepped behind the Sandeyes. He placed a protective paw each on their shoulders. "You're the one casting this shadow of war over Redwall Abbey! Well, you'll get the Sandeyes over my dead body!"
A timid Larina peered out from behind Jacob's back. She gripped her walking stick tight like a quarterstaff.
"That can be arranged, wolf," the unfazed Nagrig responded in a cold, low growl. Zakrul, Dragel, and Adhuxnuo entered the hall, flanking their leader.
"There," Zakrul indicated the Sandeyes to Dragel. "Those are the ones we've been hunting."
Malice glowed in Dragel's eyes with a toothy grin to match. "Them squirrels, eh? Well, jus' say th' word an' I'll sink my daggers into 'em." He patted the twin daggers that rested against his hips.
"Who—who are you…?" Madeline took a couple steps back, as if trying to avoid Dragel's gaze.
Dragel's hungry eyes looked Madeline up and down. His eyes settled on her chest, and he licked his lips. "Dragel, personal mercenary o' His Majesty th' Kin' o' Searats, Grimscar Ragthorn."
He pressed a paw to his heart and bowed low. Upon coming back up, a not-at-all subtle predatory grin spread across his lips. "At yar service."
"Grimscar Ragthorn?" Jared repeated in a low whisper. "The King of Searats of Terramort Isle?
"The reinforcements!" Despite his tiredness, his voice rose with the realization. He too withdrew, staying abreast of his sister. "They're here!"
He threw an arm across Madeline to block Dragel's view. But the sable continued to lick his lips, his lecherous eyes still roving over the teenage squirrelmaid's body. They stopped with a lustful stare at her red trousers-covered crotch.
"Yes, indeed!" Zakrul pointed a finger of pride up in the air. "While you've been trotting your merry way out here to Brockhall, we've been building up our forces! Redwall Abbey won't stand a chance against our numbers!"
"How dare you demonic vermin invade our sacred sanctuary!" Tiraqoo bellowed. He clenched his fists and narrowed his furious eyes. "Your kind has no place here in these hallowed and historic halls!"
"Breakin' in on us when we're in th' middle o' our exhibition figh's?" Tillie objected, throwing out her paws in blatant disbelief. "Really? Are ya serious?!"
"Jared, Madeline, what's going on?" Tipuka came abreast of Jacob, glancing between the siblings and then at Nagrig. "Who are these foul vermin and how do they know you?"
"This, Log-a-Log Tipuka," Jared rounded on the shrew with gritted teeth. "Is exactly what we needed to warn you about!" He gestured to the foursome of vermin standing across the room.
"But you told us to wait until after all the Wungkan fights were over!" Madeline protested, also turning on the shrew, visibly annoyed.
"Now look at the mess you've gotten everyone into!" Jacob barked at the Log-a-Log, his eyes blazing. "This is your fault!"
"Why, Log-a-Log?" Larina pleaded, tightening her grip on her walking stick. She appeared more stunned and anguished than angered and judgmental. "Why didn't you listen? Why didn't you hear the Sandeyes out?"
"Wait, I—,"
"Silence!" Nagrig's voice roared across the hall. All the Guosim and Guoraf jumped and flinched. "No time for idle chatter! We have much to discuss, you and I, Sandeyes."
"Let Antonius go first," Jared reached out to the captive shrew beneath Nagrig's hunting dagger. "Then we'll talk!"
Nagrig's eyes narrowed with deep suspicion. "And how do I know he won't try anything stupid once he's free? He's already failed once with his pitiful Naijiat form. Needs more practice, I daresay."
"Just let him go!" Madeline also reached out her paws, desperate. "Antonius is our friend! Don't hurt him!"
"We'll talk to if you promise not to hurt him!" Jared added, holding up his palms in a gesture of pacification. "Please! He's innocent!"
"Have him then!"
Nagrig removed his dagger from Antonius' neck, twirling it between his fingers. He pushed Antonius forward and away from him. Adhuxnuo tossed the Guoraf's Naijiat into the air. Jared caught it before it landed in the dirt.
"Aaahhh!" Antonius cried as his captor pushed him forward. "Oof!" He landed straight in Madeline's outstretched arms.
"Are you okay, Toni?" Madeline wrapped her arms around the shrew, her eyes soft with sympathy. Antonius did not respond; he only buried his face in Madeline's chest.
"All right," Nagrig demanded, twirling and sheathing his dagger. He clenched his paws into fists and puffed out his chest. Absolute authority projected from him. "You have what you want. Now you will listen."
"No, you will listen first!" Tipuka stepped in front of the Sandeyes. He threw his arms out to either side, shielding the squirrels. "Why you have come to Brockhall seeking the Sandeyes? We were in the middle of friendly exhibition fights, celebrating the many ways of Wungkan. There will be no bloodshed in this holy place!"
"Hold your tongue, shrew! Before I cut it out!" Nagrig spat out. One paw flew to the hilt of his falchion. "I am the Scornful Tyrant! Ruler of the land of Morringtat! Rightful owner of this world! I command that I shall be heard!"
Tiraqoo turned over his shoulder at the sound of shrill whimpering. Saffron clutched at his arm and dug her face into his side. Her breaths burst in and out of her in sporadic rhythms.
"It's all right, dear…" he put his arm around Saffron's shoulders and held her close to him. "It's okay…"
Nagrig spied the frightened shrewmaid burying her face into her Log-a-Log. But he said nothing.
"So," he turned his attention back upon the Sandeyes. "No doubt you've told the creatures of Redwall about your pathetic little prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Tipuka stared over his shoulder at the squirrels, confused and suspicious. "What is he talking about?"
"Ah…" Nagrig folded his arms over his chest in deep disapproval. "I see. Kept you in the dark about it, too, have they? Got too caught up in the fun of Wungkan, and never gave them the chance to elaborate?"
"Kept us in the dark about what?" Tiraqoo demanded, still gently holding the frighted Saffron close to himself.
Nagrig snorted in derision. "Oh, how little you shrews know. You think the world revolves around you? You believe that your Wungkan prowess sets you above the common beast who doesn't have it? Or have you never considered that there's a greater world beyond your limited scope of thought?"
He shook his head, letting out a disappointed exhale. "No matter. Allow me to enlighten you."
He drew his hunting dagger in one swift movement. All the Guosim and Guoraf stood their ground. The Sandeyes, Jacob, and Larina stood their ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Gavlin and Remy gritted their teeth and clenched their fists.
Nagrig pointed the blade of his dagger at the Sandeyes. "Winter midsummer, and springtime hearts/Are born of metal and flower," he recited. "Three are sired of royal blood/Three who will balance the Five.'"
"Three?" Adhuxnuo snorted with sudden laughter. "Me killing that feeble and cowardly bloke Edoran really threw a rock into that plan, didn't it?"
He exploded into a fit of uproarious laughter, bowling over forward and slapping his knee. Dragel grinned from ear to ear, while Zakrul merely smiled and shook his head.
"You absolute monster!" the horrified Tiraqoo blurted out unprompted. He wrapped Saffron in a protective and comforting embrace. "You…you…murderer!"
"Edoran was not feeble or cowardly!" Madeline protested, pointing a condemning, cloth-wrapped finger. "The only real coward is you, Adhuxnuo!"
Fuming, Adhuxnuo made to advance on Madeline. But Dragel and Zakrul seized him underneath the elbows. Nagrig held out his arm to block him. Adhuxnuo relented, though his face crunched up in an offended scowl.
"Perhaps if I elaborated in a way you will understand, shrews," Nagrig rubbed his fingers together. "This will make our presence here a bit clearer."
He sheathed his dagger again. His countenance turned contemplative, suddenly lost in a flight of fancy.
"I was going to rule this world," he looked up and reached out a longing paw towards the ceiling of Brockhall. He closed it into a tight, squeezing fist clenching at empty air. "Entire kingdoms, countries, and continents would've knelt before my supremacy. I would've worn the crowns of kings and lords, chieftains and princes. All lands upon this globe, big and small, would be mine. My own personal empire to rule, expanding across every corner of the globe. But then these two—!"
He lowered his fist to his eye level and shot out his accusing index finger.
"These two had to go and dash these hopes and dreams with their own ambitions of rule! Their own prophecy! They came along, claiming that they were the true rulers of this world. Or at least their little corner of it!"
His fist uncurled. His razor-sharp claws bared to grab the Sandeyes.
"Their lands, like all others, are rightfully mine! Destiny and fate have dictated it so! And yet they continue to oppose them! To oppose me!"
He bashed his gauntlets together. Their metallic sound reverberated through the hall. Everyone except the Sandeyes and Jacob flinched and clapped their paws to their ears at the horrid sound.
"I am destiny!" Nagrig roared at the top of his voice. "I am fate!" He bashed his gauntlets again. "I am the present and future ruler of every nation in this world! Mossflower! Salamandastron! The Eastern Islands! I shall do everything in their power to bring them all to their knees!"
"You don't deserve to rule this world!" Jared shouted back, in a tone of full-voiced defiance that surprised the others in the room. "You'll never have it! The Prophecy of the Eastern Islands has said so!"
"Has it?" Nagrig let out a sadistic laugh. "Don't humor me, Tinarandel! There is still so much you and Isidith don't know about the Prophecy."
He put his paws on his hips, shaking his head and tut-tutting. "So little you yet understand. So close to and yet so far from uncovering the truths which, if revealed, would shake the entire Eastern Seaboard to its core. From Marshank to Senshan and your precious little Islands."
By now, all eyes of the Guosim and Guoraf shrews had set on the Sandeyes. Nobeast dared breathe a word. But Jared and Madeline could sense the palpable shock, disbelief, and confusion upon their faces.
"Jared? Madeline?" Tipuka turned around to face the Sandeyes. Jacob's paw curled around their shoulders on instinct, protecting them. "What is the meaning of all this? Why did he call you Tinarandel and Isidith?"
"Is there something you want to tell us?" Tiraqoo added, trying his hardest to sound empathetic and not suspicious. "Are you two perhaps involved in activities that we don't know about?"
"If we were, sir," Jared glared back. "Do you really think we would tell you?"
"And if you know the truth about the Prophecy," Madeline accused Nagrig. "Why don't you tell us what you know? What is it about the Prophecy that my brother and I don't understand?"
Nagrig's smirk returned anew. "Tell you? I think I'd rather not. I think I'd rather leave you to find out for yourselves. More fun for me that way."
He shrugged, nonchalant, showing his fangs in a knowing grin. "Why should I share my vast wealth of wisdom with you? Even if I do know the Prophecy in its most complete form?"
He sneered watching Madeline shrink beneath his gaze. "What good would it do for me to share my knowledge? Why, if I did disperse what I know amongst the likes you, royalty, commoner, or otherwise, it would diminish with the spread. There'd be none left for myself."
"You love to hear yourself talk, don't you?" Gavlin glowered, disgusted.
"That's gonna be your downfall someday!" Remy added in brutal honesty.
"This is all absurd!" Tipuka argued, still holding out his arms to shield the Sandeyes. "You barge into our sacred home and expect us to listen to you? We will never acquiesce to the demands of evil! The Sandeyes did nothing to hurt you!"
"They hurt me by existing!" Nagrig vociferated, his eyes ablaze and his face now contorted in building rage.
"Tipuka is right!" Tiraqoo added, pointing a prompting finger at Nagrig. "Explain yourself! Explain this prophecy!"
"No more talk!" Nagrig bashed his gauntlets together for the third time. "I believe I've explained myself enough! I came here for the Sandeyes and I shall not leave without them!"
He looked round at the others. They all exchanged determined and assertive nods.
"Those pious high-and-mighty beasts of Redwall wouldn't give them over to me. But this time around, I shall prevail!"
He traced a finger around the room at the Guosim and Guoraf. "I'll change the outcome here and now! Even if I must kill every one of you shrews to do it!"
"Be ready," Zakrul whispered aside to the other two. "I sense this conflict is about to escalate." He and Dragel released Adhuxnuo. The sable sneered and wrapped his paws around his daggers.
The shrews exploded in a collective protesting clamor. As one, all the Guosim and Guoraf crowded around the Sandeyes in a protective circle. Gavlin and Remy stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their Log-a-Log. They too threw their arms out in a barrier. Samson and Fritz threw themselves in front of their Log-a-Log and Saffron. Only Antonius slumped, his face still buried in Madeline's shirt.
One side of Nagrig's mouth curled upwards in a half-smirk. "Are none of you afraid to die? Fine. The hard way it is, then."
He lowered his gaze into a hateful black look. "I'll make you all regret this."
"Here's an idea, Nagrig," Zakrul stepped forward up to Nagrig's side. "Perhaps we don't need to swat the shrews aside to get to the Sandeyes."
"What do you have in mind, brother?" Nagrig queried, his gaze softening mildly.
"Did the Log-a-Log not mention friendly exhibition fights?" the thoughtful Zakrul asked, tapping his fingers together. "Perhaps we could continue that, offering ourselves as willing and eager participants?"
"Oh!" Dragel's eyebrows raised. "I see what ya're getting' at!" He snapped his claws. "Where th' shrews fought fer fun…" he hit one fist into his open palm. "We can figh' t' kill!"
"Incapacitate the Sandeyes," Adhuxnuo corrected the sable, a halting finger raised in the air. "Kill the rest."
"Yes," Dragel peered at Madeline, looking over head to toes once more. "But don't kill th' girl righ' away! Not until I've had my way wit' 'er!" He licked his lips watching Madeline shudder from his words. He resumed looking her up and down, even subtly leaning to one side to look around at her rear and tail.
"What a brilliant idea, Zakrul," Nagrig mused over his brother's words. He flashed the Sandeyes a cruel, disparaging smile. "No doubt the shrews have been using these fights to show off their amateurish skills in Wungkan." He gazed round in disdain at the shrew assembly concealing the Sandeyes from sight.
"Perhaps now it's time we showed ours."
He stepped forward, his face a portrait of scorn. "Log-a-Logs, I have a proposition for you. I request to participate in your Wungkan exhibition fights. I will not take no for an answer."
"You will acquiesce to our demand," Zakrul commanded, assertive and forceful. "Or we'll kill you lot on the spot."
Tiraqoo handed Saffron off to Samson and Fritz. He walked up to the other side of Remy.
He and Tipuka exchanged sideways glances. But neither of them said a word. None of the Gusom or Guoraf budged.
"No?" Nagrig raised an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised? Fine, then!" He wrapped one paw round the handle of his falchion.
"All right! Okay!" Tipuka waved his paws from side to side to calm the rat. Nagrig, who had turned over his shoulder to command the others, attentively snapped back to him.
"We'll fight you! One-on-one!"
"Sir!" Jared and Madeline argued in unison.
"We have to do it!" Tipuka pleaded, looking over his shoulder at the squirrels. "I'm sorry, Jared, Madeline; I really am. But perhaps if we show him that our skills in the ways of Wungkan are superior to his, then maybe he'll get the message and leave you alone!"
"And the prize will be the Sandeyes?" Nagrig leered at them, who glared wordlessly back.
"You won't get to lay a paw on them unless we're dead!" Tiraqoo ordered, also throwing out his arms. "We'll fight you, as long as you don't hurt them!"
"Done deal," Nagrig agreed. He proceeded to unstrap and remove his silversteel gauntlets. He held up and moved them around in a panorama for all to see.
Then he threw them upon the dirt-covered root-littered ground. He also shed his cuirass and passed it to Zakrul.
He unstrapped his weapons from his waist, and Adhuxnuo took them. The rat now wore a taupe sleeveless doublet over a plain short-sleeved white shirt.
"This'll be fun. Let the punishments begin. Who's first?"
"I will challenge you!" Tipuka stepped forward first.
"Uncle! No!" Gavlin moved to hold him back. But Tipuka threw his arm out across his nephew's chest. He reached up to stroke a reassuring paw up and down Gavlin's cheek.
Then he turned to approach the fighting ring. His expression turned stern yet determined.
He assumed his standard Ganguen Huk stance in the "Triangle Fundament".
Nagrig took an upright mobile stance. He loosed his legs and feet. Paws raised up flat at his eye level. His fingers held close together, pointing outwards like a tongue.
"Asssmodeusss…"
"Heart-Penetrators!"
Tipuka threw the heels of his paws into Nagrig's chest. Nagrig let out a grunt of surprise and pain from the blow.
Without warning, he threw a downward palm straight at Tipuka. The Guosim Log-a-Log moved to evade.
But four fingers shot straight out at his eyes. Tipuka threw his arms vertical in front of his face. Nagrig's claws grazed the Githinsteel rings.
Unfazed, the rat thrust his bared claws into Tipuka's Adam's apple. A claw rounded on his eyes before the shrew had a chance to react.
The blows lunged Tipuka backwards, then to the left. He screamed out, holding his eyes.
"Uncle!" Gavlin cried out at the top of his voice.
"Hisss!" Nagrig spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to the left side of Tipuka's head. Simultaneous he slammed the side of one paw to the shrew's abdomen. Then he swept his legs to kick Tipuka's out from underneath him.
Tipuka flopped to the floor on his back. His spine landed hard on a protruding horizontal root.
"Grrr!" Tipuka growled and pushed himself to his feet. "Chest-Splitter Paws!"
Tipuka chopped the sides of his paws into Nagrig's chest once more. They both struck the top of the rat's ribcage. Nagrig grimaced and crumpled.
"War Arrows!"
Now Tipuka's paws curled into tight fists. They struck Nagrig's chest in unison. Nagrig teetered backwards. His heels brushed against the edge of the fighting ring.
The Guosim and Guoraf started to cheer. They all exclaimed and shouted for Tipuka to knock Nagrig out of the ring.
His lips pulled into a confident grin.
"Butterfly Wings Cuffs—!"
But Nagrig moved in a flash. He swatted Tipuka's paws aside using his wrists. Then he gripped his enemy by the collar of his tunic.
He threw another roundhouse kick into his clavicular notch. It launched Tipuka clear out of the ring and into the crowd.
Gavlin and Remy caught him before he hit the floor. Tipuka slumped into their arms, breathless and grimacing in unbelievable pain. He held one paw to his sternum.
Nagrig smirked and shrugged, unapologetic. "Next?"
"You monster!" Gavlin seethed at him through gritted teeth. Madeline and Larina both clapped their paws to their mouths. Jared glared and clenched his fists at Nagrig. Jacob snarled and growled, his eyes narrowing. Nagrig only replied with a nonchalant shrug and charismatic smile.
"What—," Larina's face turned white, horrified. "What style is that?!"
"Lonxai," Jared declared, his teeth clenched with hate. "The Snake Style. The fighters of the island of Bevidred created it to honor the serpentine predators of our world."
"But it seems Nagrig has corrupted the sacred style," the shocked Madeline added. "To suit his own villainous purposes!"
"I can't believe he'd stoop that low!" Jacob's canine aggression turned to wide-eyed offense. "I may know next to nothing about Wungkan. But this sounds like sacrilege of the highest order to me!"
"Excuse me!" Nagrig's booming voice interrupted them. "I asked…" he pointed at the assembly of shrews. "Who's next?!"
"I'm in!" Tiraqoo stepped forward. He drew his rapier and stepped into the ring. His Guoraf all cheered in unison.
"Hear me, Nagrig Deathblade!" Tiraqoo pointed his blade at the rat. "You face Log-a-Log Tiraqoo of the Guerilla Union of Roving and Fighting Shrews!"
He turned to face Nagrig side on. Rapier held at a slight vertical angle. "Master of Kuanzai, the drunken style!"
Nagrig's face broke into a toothy grin. "Come at me then, Log-a-Log!" He made a daring, beckoning gesture. "Let's see your precious Eight Kuanzai Warriors defend you from me!"
Tiraqoo staggered and undulated from side to side. He swung his rapier in wild arcs.
Nagrig ducked and twisted and sidestepped. Stabs and lunges and thrusts punctuated each semicircular curve from the shrew's blade.
Tiraqoo jabbed at Nagrig's shoulders. Nagrig sank into a "serpent creeps down" Halichit stance to dodge.
Tiraqoo stepped in to close the distance. He continued his "drunken" stumbling.
He swiped back and forth at either side of Nagrig's shoulders and neck. But the rat blocked each blow with his upraised forearms.
"Venomous Cobra!"
He raised his paw as like a cobra rearing its head and relaxed his arm. Tiraqoo dropped to a crouch to swipe horizontal at Nagrig's chest.
Nagrig leaned back; the blade passed harmless across him. Tiraqoo turned his blade flat and made to bring it down upon Nagrig's head—
"Aaaggghhh!"
Nagrig's index and middle fingers slammed into the crease of his sword wrist. Tiraqoo bent and twisted and held his injured paw.
His pitiable rapier fell to the ground. The dirt muffled the blade's metallic clatter.
"Cobra Emerges from Den!"
Nagrig's squeezed fingers stabbed Tiraqoo's throat. The Log-a-Log responded with an audible choke. The blow cut his gasp of surprise short.
He scarce had a second to react before— "Aahh!" Nagrig's sharp fingers jabbed his eyes.
Whoomph! The rat's bent elbow caught him under the chin. The blow pushed him off his feet and onto his back.
The Guoraf and Guosim all screamed and yelled in desperation and objection.
"Hrrrggghhh!" Tiraqoo growled in frustrated anger. He forced himself back onto his feet. "Drunken Dus Tuthu!"
He advanced on Nagrig legs swinging. One foot swung at Nagrig. Then the other
Nagrig again returned to his evasive maneuvers. Tiraqoo flopped forward onto his palms and kicked at Nagrig's face and chin.
"Triple-Headed Adder!"
Nagrig arced his paws left and right. Each swipe ripped at Tiraqoo's trouser legs. His claws shredded the fabric to expose the vulnerable fur beneath.
Tiraqoo yelped from the sudden pain shooting through him. Nagrig's claws raked his fur to break the sensitive skin beneath.
The attacks caused Tiraqoo to sway back and forth on his palms. But Nagrig's fingers speared at the skin beneath his knees.
With a cry he flopped backwards and fell flat on his tail. Nagrig let out a long sadistic laugh.
"No wise old age for Dus Tuthu, I'm afraid!" He advanced on the dazed and wounded shrew.
"Harssacss!" His paw vice-gripped around the Log-a-Log's throat. Tiraqoo's eyes widened in dread. He grabbed and pulled at Nagrig's paw to no avail.
"Sesstra!" Nagrig's knuckles struck to gouge Tiraqoo's eyes. The poor Log-a-Log shrieked.
"Zassaliss!" Nagrig curled his paw into a fist and threw his knuckles into Tiraqoo's torso. He tightened his grip to crush Tiraqoo's throat.
"Berussca, Mother of Adders!" He pushed the Guoraf Log-a-Log by the shoulders flat out of the ring.
"Log-a-Log!" All the Guoraf rallied around their leader. Samson picked up Tiraqoo's head and rested it upon his lap. Tiraqoo did not respond, only holding one paw around his eyes. The other clutched his chest. His breathing had become labored, sporadic.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Nagrig roared with savage laughter. "Is this truly the best that the great shrews of Mossflower have to offer? I must confess, I am disappointed! For a moment, I thought I was fighting against true masters! To think I had expected a real challenge against the best of the very best!"
"Seasons, what an embarrassment!" Adhuxnuo threw up his paws in disbelief.
"Ya shrews oughta be ashamed o' yarselves!" Dragel pointed a condemning finger around at the shrews. "Bloody Wun'kan amateurs!"
"How truly pathetic indeed," Zakrul folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "I was hoping there'd be a chance in at least a decent workout from fighting with you all."
"Villains!" Ruth blurted out. She forced herself out of her brother's and Ace's grips. "I'll fight you, Deathblade!"
"Ruth, no!" Remy and Ace protested. Antonius lifted his head and reached out a feeble paw. But Ruth had already stomped her way up to Nagrig.
"Snake against snake, Deathblade!" Ruth assumed her "Adder Creeps Down" Halichit stance. "Let me show you how a real master of Halichit fights!"
Nagrig didn't hesitate. He extended his index and middle finger. The rest folded into his palm. He moved in to strike Ruth's eyes.
"Pale Serpent!"
Ruth sidestepped into the outside of Nagrig's arm.
"Water Snake Rises to Surface!"
Her forked fingers stabbed at every pressure point she could reach. Nagrig gritted his fangs and growled. He seemed to crumple at each blow from the shrewmaid.
"Sicariss Smoothsnake!"
She locked her paws tight around his elbow. Her claws dug into his flesh. Nagrig snarled but held his ground.
Ruth slammed one footpaw on his. The impact and weight locked it to the ground.
He swiped at her with his free paw. But she leaned back to dodge. She jabbed at the side of his neck. He bared his claws to strike at hers—
"Hurk!"
Her other paw slammed into his side below the ribcage. The attack to his neck had been a feint!
Whoomph! She struck his other side for good measure. Nagrig lurched one way then the other. Ruth lunged to lock his knee and other elbow—
"Slariss of Volcano Island!"
Nagrig dropped his stomach and abdominal muscles. He dug his feet into the dirt.
"Hmphhh!" Ruth scrunched up from the sudden free elbow to her diaphragm. She released Nagrig, breathless.
"You shall sacrifice yourself to me, Guosim! Serpent's Fist!"
Nagrig formed the snake using his body. His clenched extended fist, the head. His fingers, the forked tongue. His legs, like the tail.
"Aaahhh!" Ruth squealed from a stab to her eyes.
"Uh-hunh!" One blow to her groin.
"Huhk!" A final disabling strike to her joints.
"Ruth!" Ace and Antonius screamed in unison. But none louder than Remy. His face was chalk-white, only watching in wide-eyed horror.
A final jab to Ruth's stomach sent her falling out of the ring.
Nagrig dropped his stance and spread his arms wide on either side of him. He puffed out his chest and raised his face to Brockhall's tree bark ceiling.
"I am Nagrig Karthor Deathblade! The Scornful Tyrant! Descendant of the Snakes! I am death to all beastssssss!"
"Ruth!" Remy rushed to his fallen sister's side. "Ruth, are you okay?! Answer me!" He took one of her paws in his own.
"Teacher!" Antonius also broke away from Madeline and dropped to his knees beside Ruth.
Tears streamed down Ruth's cheeks. "I'm sorry, Remy…Antonius…I failed you…I'm so sorry…." She did not open her eyes, and her other paw pressed to her aching groin.
"She's my sister!" Remy sprang to his feet and charged Nagrig. "You bloodthirsty, monstrous, heartless son of a—"
"Language, shrew!" Nagrig let out a prolonged sadistic laugh. Zakrul and Dragel caught Remy by each of his wrists. Adhuxnuo twisted and launched a roundhouse kick into Remy's stomach.
"Ooomph!" Remy grunted as the kick sent him barreling away.
"Remy!" His fellow Guosim all rushed forward to catch him before he hit the floor.
"Enough of these exhibition fights!" Nagrig now ordered. "Get the Sandeyes!" he commanded the other three. "Strike down any shrews who get in your way! For the glories of Morringtat and Terramort Isle!"
Zakrul, Dragel, and Adhuxnuo charged the shrews. Roaring battle cries, the Guosim and Guoraf sprinted straight towards them.
"Stop righ' there!"
Zakrul stopped mid-run blocked by Samson and Fritz. Samson came flying at him in a pummeling barrage. Fritz put up his fists, waiting for an opening.
Zakrul put up his wrists to block the incoming assault. He bobbed left and right and through each blow from the Guoraf shrew.
The rat bit back his grunts and shouts of pain. His paws curled into fists.
"Kōnōtash? Is that seriously the best you can do?"
"How about this?!" Samson leaped in the air to bring his fists down on Zakrul's skull.
"Gotcha!"
Zakrul's leg lashed out. Whoof! His foot drove straight into Samson's solar plexus.
Samson winced, breathless for a split second. He landed flat on his rear end.
Zakrul's leg whipped up and smacked him in the face. The blow knocked Samson flat to the ground.
"Sam!" Fritz called after his friend. He struck a traditional Gōryjūn stance and charged Zakrul.
But Zakrul ducked beneath his arcing punches. He caught Fritz's wrists and spun him around. One leg kicked the shrew's feet out from underneath him.
Fritz flopped onto his spine. Wham! Zakrul's fist shot swift and hard into his celiac plexus.
Zakrul leaped over the winded shrews and bolted past the fighting ring.
He grabbed Saffron by the collar of her tunic and threw her aside.
He bobbed and weaved through Ace's Inijashi. He raked his claws over the shrew's shoulders. Two blows to the temples incapacitated the poor Guoraf.
A headbutt to Antonius's ribs and a trip of his feet out from underneath him.
A duck underneath Tillie's Timakwo and a wild haymaker to her stomach in response.
He shielded his face for half a minute from Laurel's furious Rtuyoshi. Then he replied with his own enraged fists to her knees and waist.
"Yarrr!" Dragel roared and landed in front of Jacob. "Ya're mine, wolf!"
"Wanna grapple, sable?! Huh?" Jacob barked. He settled into his standard wrestling stance. His tail draped in a protective embrace around Larina. She stood back-to-back with him gripping her walking stick.
Dragel threw his open palm towards Jacob's throat. The canine leaned back to evade. Larina spun outwards around him.
She windmilled her walking stick at Dragel. But he caught it clean above his wrist.
"Outta my way, squirrelmaid!" He flipped and pushed her away with his open palm. "My quarrel is not wit' ya!"
His paw then closed into a fist. It lunged right at the wolf—
"Urgh!"
"Jacob!"
Dragel's fist jabbed at Jacob's snout. Larina watched in horror as the wolf teeter-tottered back. A paw flew to his bleeding nose.
"Shonjin and Ahkdap in our sacred Brockhall?!" the prone Tipuka seethed, pushing himself towards Tiraqoo. "How profane!" In his peripheral vision, he noticed the Guoraf Log-a-Log still covering his eyes.
"Rina, run!" Jacob ordered through the blood dripping into his mouth. Dragel grabbed his other wrist and twisted. "Aaaggghhh!"
Larina glanced left and right. Then she spun around to sprint down the hall. towards the Infirmary. Dragel pursued hot on her heels.
"Jared!" But Larina scarce had time to get the name out before Dragel caught up to her. He seized the back collar of her tunic and pulled.
"Hey—No!" Larina wriggled against his grip. He hurled her backwards into him. In her surprise her grip slipped from her walking stick.
"Ungh!" He slammed her hard into the wall.
"Mmmfff!" She protested as his paw clamped around her mouth. The other slipped beneath her shirt and moved upwards. His fingers groped her stomach and chest—
"No!" a sprinting Gavlin tossed himself onto Dragel. He clamped his paws around the sable's waist mid-roll.
"Grrrggghhh!" Dragel slammed on his side on the floor. "Blast you, shrew!" he managed to cry out before Gavlin's elbow shoved into his mouth. Larina fetched her stick and retreated into the main hall.
She leaped up to jump from wall to wall over Adhuxnuo. The butt of her staff whacked the pine marten on the head.
"Bah!" He seethed as the squirrelmaid landed and dashed away. "You're not even worth half a thought…" He spat on the ground behind her before facing front.
"Shrew! Taste the wrath of Nata Shundua Uft!"
Gavlin turned over his shoulder, surprised. He threw out a palm to stop Adhuxnuo.
"Oww!" Adhuxnuo stopped Gavlin's palm with the heels of his own. Dragel seized the moment of weakness to squirm out from underneath him.
Adhuxnuo's foot swung in a short arc to catch Gavlin in the chest. He pushed the shrew flat onto his back.
Whoomph! Whumph! Curled knuckle punches rammed into Gavlin's stomach and diaphragm. Whoomph! Whumph!
Gavlin moved to sit up. But a hard punch to the underside of his jaw knocked him back down again. Slap! Slap! Two disciplinary slaps to either side of his mouth for good measure.
"One less to worry about," Adhuxnuo removed his foot from the disabled Gavlin.
"I'd expect nuthin' less from one o' Morrin'tat's signature styles!" Dragel followed him back out onto the main hall.
Nagrig fell into step beside Zakrul. He pointed over the throng of shrews at Jared.
The squirrel had mounted a tree stump slumped on his side. His legs were turned inwards and his feet sat flat on the floor. Jacob and Larina hurried over and dropped to their knees on either side of him.
"Jared, you must do something!" Larina pleaded, one prompting paw on Jared's shoulders.
"I can't…" Jared held a paw to his diaphragm. "I'm still…tired. My limbs hurt…I've already fought too much today…"
"He's vulnerable," Nagrig thought aloud. "He wouldn't dare fight me face-to-face…Adhuxnuo!" he ordered the helmsbeast. "Seize Tinarandel! But leave the wolf and the other squirrelmaid unscathed!"
"Aye, milord!" Adhuxnuo bolted past the brothers in the direction of the tree stump. "Right away—!"
"Adhuxnuo!"
Madeline's shout rang over the cacophonous din. All the shrews stopped frozen in their tracks.
Madeline stopped mid-slide in front of Adhuxnuo. The pine marten too slid through the dirt towards her.
"How kind of you to offer yourself to me, Princess Isidith!" Adhuxnuo made an exaggerated and mock formal bow. Arms opened wide and palms outstretched on either side of him. "I'd be deeply honored to escort Your Royal Highness back to our camp…in sackcloth and bloody rags!"
"This is for Edoran!" Madeline faced Adhuxnuo side-on. Both feet faced sideways. She held one paw above the other.
Her top paw was open with claws bared, palm downward. Bottom paw had closed into a strong fist. Her face dropped into a furious silent glare.
"Oh, my—! Tiraqoo, look!" Tipuka on the floor shook the incapacitated Tiraqoo. "Lunkuthwo!"
Tiraqoo lifted his head, blinking back stinging hot tears. His eyes suddenly widened.
"Great seasons…The Maraulian Water-Dragon style!"
"Ah-ha!" Adhuxnuo grinned and showed his fangs. He wagged a judgmental finger. "I seem to recall your idiot older brother using that style! Would you say he's…here with us in spirit?"
"Whoop his tail, Isidith!" Jared called out.
Adhuxnuo drew one leg back and placed most of his weight upon it. His front leg he raised at a slight upwards angle.
"Let us see how much of your Edoran exists in you!"
"Dragon's Claw!" Madeline curled her thumb, index, and middle finger in together to form a pincer. She grabbed at Adhuxnuo's elbow tendons. He winced but held his ground.
Madeline stepped in to close the distance. Her claws raked across his elbow ligaments.
"Basic!" Adhuxnuo mocked. His fist struck Madeline in the stomach. One leg swung to strike her in the head.
But she twisted out and way from him. She dropped into a low stance. His leg arced harmless over her ears.
Madeline dropped her weight on her front leg; the rest on the back. Back knee hovered close to the tendon of her front leg. Front arm bent at the elbow with the palm facing outward. Rear arm protected her armpit and ribs. Fingers faced up.
She locked her gaze on Adhuxnuo from underneath her front arm. Back kept straight but somewhat rounded. Rear heel she lifted off the ground and rested the weight on her toes.
Adhuxnuo's mouth stretched into a sadistic grin. He raised a paw and put four fingers together.
It lashed forward to strike Madeline's forehead.
But Madeline chopped his paw downward at the wrist. Adhuxnuo let out a growl of frustration. He whipped out again with the other paw.
Whip! This time the snake-whip technique struck true.
"Aahh!" Madeline squealed and slapped a paw to her aching third eye. Adhuxnuo clamped her other wrist and pulled her to her feet and into him.
She extended her arm from her forehead into a hook punch. Elbow lined up with the wrist. She channeled the momentum of the pine marten forcing her to her feet.
"Slothunog's Bite!"
Crunch! Her hook connected straight with his brow.
"Yaaahh!" Now Adhuxnuo held his throbbing head. He released her wrist. "So unladylike of you, princess!"
"Slothunog's Tongue!" A follow-through uppercut slammed into his chin. Adhuxnuo staggered back into the fighting ring, dazed and confused.
"Your arms are awfully weak, Adhuxnuo!" she taunted, advancing on him. "How did a scum of HellGates like you murder Edoran? You must've used some cheap tri—!"
"Gotcha!"
His foot crashed hard into her stomach.
Madeline bent inward from the blow. Adhuxnuo pushed her onto the ground.
Her spine connected with a protruding root. She had no time to cry out from the pain. Adhuxnuo rained down on her.
She rolled to her left, safe out of the way. But Adhuxnuo's foot caught and pinned her to the ground.
"Blimey, what a failure!" Adhuxnuo facepalmed himself in disbelief. "All these seasons of training and study, and you've only mastered the basic moves of Lunkuthwo?! What kind of a water-dragon even are you?!" he roared in Madeline's face.
"'Ow nice o' ya t' weaken fer me!" Dragel approached, his predatory grin from earlier returning. "Lay offa her, I'll take th' Princess from 'ere!" Adhuxnuo obliged and removed his foot from her.
"Jared! Help!" Madeline screamed at the tops of her lungs. "No—!" Dragel's paw clamped around her throat. The other snuck under her shirt, roving over her stomach and chest.
"No!" "Let her go!" Jacob and Larina stood up to charge Dragel. But Nagrig and Zakrul held them back.
"Tinarandel! Please!" Madeline begged. Tears sprang to her eyes.
Dragel's paw removed from her throat. It too slipped underneath her shirt.
Dragel licked his lips hungrily. His paws roamed free over her body. He forced up her undershirt, letting out a sensual exclaim at the sight of her bare stomach.
He slipped his paws underneath it. Madeline writhed and pleaded while his fingers crept upwards towards her chest.
Jared watched from the tree stump, unable to tear his eyes from the sable attacking his sister.
He moved to stand. His legs buckled underneath him, and he fell to his knees.
The pain of exhaustion shot through his bones and muscles. He winced and grimaced at the pain. Madeline's cries and begs rang in his ears—more deafening than any other sound in Brockhall.
"Tinarandel!"
Suddenly, all time seemed to freeze around him. All sound faded to an empty silence.
His eyes snapped open. His mind snapped to an inexplicable alertness.
"Martin?"
"Tinarandel!" Martin's voice sounded loud and clear within his mind. It seemed to drown out all other sounds in Brockhall. "Stand and fight! Strike back! Strike for Redwall! For Mossflower! For the Eastern Islands!"
His eyes rose to Madeline and Dragel. Then Jacob, forced onto his knees by Adhuxnuo and Nagrig. Larina, restrained by Zakrul, arms behind her back..
"Tinar-Andelle!"
"My sword shall wield for me!"
His own voice rang out above all others.
He had broken into full speed before he knew it.
He leaped high into the air.
Dragel had half a second to look up. His expression turned from pleasure to terror—
Crrrrrr-ACK! The dropkick connected with the underside of his jaw.
Dragel reeled away. He whined and raved from the unexpected blow. He flopped onto his back, breathless and shocked.
Jared helped a trembling, heaving Madeline to her feet and held her close to him. All eyes in Brockhall were upon him now. A strange heavenly aura now adorned his countenance.
He turned around to face Nagrig Deathblade. Madeline too turned with him. Jared raised a claw of accusation and warning at the vermin.
"Hear me, Nagrig Deathblade! Zakrul Bloodeyes! Adhuxnuo! Dragel of Terramort Isle! You now look upon Tinar-Andelle! I am the chosen Champion of Martin the Warrior! Defender of Redwall Abbey and Mossflower Woods! I am Tinarandel of the Eastern Islands! And I have come to settle the score with you!"
"Defender of Redwall Abbey?!" Nagrig's face contorted into a disbelieving anger. "No!" He shook his head. "I deny it!"
"Champion of Martin the Warrior?!" All color drained from Adhuxnuo's face.
"Wait…the Tapestry!" Zakrul remembered, his eyes widening. "Martin the Warrior! The Abbot himself told us about him!"
"That can't be!" Dragel sat up, cradling his injured jaw. "That's impossible! Nobeast is allowed t' be greater than th' chief mercenary o' Terramort Isle! Nobeast is elevated above th' Scornful Tyrant of Morringtat!"
Jared turned and mounted the tree stump. Madeline climbed up right beside him. Jared thrust his fist high in the air, the other around Madeline's waist. His sister followed suit.
"Stand and fight with us, Guosim and Guoraf! Wolf and squirrelmaid! Rise up and defend your beloved Brockhall! Overthrow this tyranny and shatter the chains of this oppression! Punish this sacrilege and blasphemy of the Unity Path! For Mossflower, for Redwall Abbey, for the Eastern Islands! For Wungkan!"
"Fer Wun'kan!" Tillie bellowed with her fist in the air.
The Guosim and Guoraf all rose with one growing voice and swarmed the four vermin.
"Rebels!" Nagrig spat at the incoming throng of shrews. "Anarchi—whoop!"
He could hardly finish the word before Jacob's claws gripped his doublet collar. The wolf tossed him head over heels. He flipped flat onto his back.
"Hyah!" Larina shoved her elbows into Zakrul's ribs.
"Hoomph!" Zakrul let out a sharp and pained exhale. Larina threw his arms off her and crawled forward to grab her walking stick.
"Oy!" Dragel seethed as he hurried to the tree stump. His wandering paws reached up to grab Madeline. "I warn't finished with' ya!"
"Oh, big boy!"
Dragel paused and glanced to his left. Saffron stood by her gong, lifting her tunic top to show him her bare belly. With a tantalizing slowness, she lifted it further up…until it hovered just below her chest.
Dragel turned to shoot Madeline a fuming death glare. "I'll deal wit' ya later. When I'm done wit' 'er!"
He turned and ran straight towards Saffron. Fingers wiggled and paws stretched out to touch her. Jared and Madeline made to dismount the stump to come to her aid—
"Hi-yah!"
Brrrooonnnggg!
The reverberating sound of the gong slammed into him with concussive force. Dragel clapped his paws to his ringing, throbbing ears, crying out from an indescribable pain. Saffron arced her mallet into his face.
Crack! It collided with the cartilage of his nose.
Dragel withdrew holding one paw to his nose and the other still on his ears.
"That'll teach you not ta treat a pure maiden like an object! Ya filthypaws!"
"Yeah!" Jared pumped his fist in the air. "Way to go, Saffron!"
"Antonius!" Madeline leaped down from the stump. She grabbed Antonius' paw and swung him round in front of Adhuxnuo.
"Baliss th' Slayer!"
His paws whipped out to strike every inch of the pine marten he could reach. Sharp and snappy. Fluttering like the serpent's forked tongue. Adhuxnuo yelped and grimaced with each sting.
He threw out one leg to trip the Guoraf's feet out from under him. But Antonius spun round and away. Madeline materialized from behind him.
She jerked one knee into Adhuxnuo's thigh. Then she threw herself onto him before he could counter attack.
Her fists clinched around his head.
"Baliss the Blind!" She threw her knees into his ribs and thighs.
"Get back 'ere!" Dragel bolted straight at Saffron, who retreated behind her gong.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Jacob slid right in front of the gong. Dragel's jaw slacked at the arctic-furred wolf towering over him.
Jacob bent low and placed his head underneath the sable's chest. Dragel moved to back away. But Jacob grabbed the inside of his right leg.
"Nononononono—!" But Jacob lifted Dragel up by the shoulders and threw him across his shoulders. The wolf fell backwards to the ground with the sable in tow.
Dragel's entire spine slammed into the legs of the gong frame. Jacob rolled over on top of the sable with claws bared.
"How does that feel? Huh?!" He slipped his paws underneath Dragel's armor. His claws raked at the vermin's chest. "How does that feel?!"
Dragel swiped and clawed at the wolf. But a wooden stick caught underneath his wrists and pushed them over his head into the dirt. He glanced up to see Larina's furious eyes glaring back at him.
"Aaahhh!" He screamed aloud when three female shrews charged him from the Guosim ranks. Coco, Phoebe, and Galaea stomped and kicked and kneed at his vulnerable prone form.
"Nagrig Deathblade!"
Nagrig clambered to his feet, his doublet coated in a base layer of dirt and twigs and tree bark. He looked up just in time to see—
"Finally."
Jared and Madeline stood before him. Jared set himself in the Natural Posture of Akret. Madeline had assumed the same Lunkuthwo stance from before.
"No, you don't!" "Come here!" Tipuka and Tiraqoo each held Zakrul back by his wrists.
"At long last," Nagrig shook dirt from his paws. "Will this be our climactic final battle? Or only one of many unfortunate little skirmishes? Let our fates be decided here and now, Tinarandel and Isidith! Let us see if destiny is on your side!"
"I'm gonna shred that fancy doublet and sew a quilt out of it!" Madeline threatened, eyes blazing. "And then I'll use that white shirt as a cleaning rag for my flowerpots!"
"You're outmatched, Deathblade!" Jared curled his open palms into firm fists. "Outnumbered! You and your cronies might as well give up now!"
"Give up?" Nagrig let out a hearty maniacal laugh. "Why should I? When I finally have my prey right here before me? When I could end my noble hunt right here, right now? When I have this chance—this one chance!" he held up an emphasizing claw. "—to subvert the Prophecy from ever coming true?"
His lips pulled into a fanged anticipatory grin. "Shall we see if your precious Martin the Warrior has truly chosen you to defend Redwall? To defend Mossflower? I'll decide that!" His face distorted into a wretched, furious scowl. "Not him! Deathcoil style!"
He moved lightning fast. Bared claws and open palms aimed at the squirrels' pressure points.
Jared moved in front of his sister. He ducked beneath Nagrig's incoming assault. He spun and threw a Rtuyoshi backfist into Nagrig's chest.
But the rat clamped the squirrel's wrist. His arm coiled around the woodlander's.
Whump! "Oof!" Jared's own fist struck him in the cheek.
Nagrig advanced on Madeline. He swung Jared around into her. The younger Sandeye sibling ducked beneath her brother's arms.
Nagrig stepped in with his forked snake's tongue claws. Madeline sidestepped and stopped his wrist using her own. In one fluid movement she had seized and forced him down onto his knees.
Nagrig twisted and pulled his arm free from Madeline's grip. His snake's tongues jabbed both squirrels in their torsos. He climbed to his feet as they recoiled from him.
Jared dug his feet into the dirt. Madeline threw her arms out behind her and caught the wall. Nagrig climbed to his feet and dropped into a low stance.
Jared charged Nagrig throwing a forefist punch. Nagrig adjusted his stance by inches so that it sailed over his shoulder.
He stabbed the squirrel's ribs. Two rapid jabs to the pectorals followed.
"Ha!" Nagrig finished with a swipe underneath Jared's chin.
While Jared reeled away, Nagrig turned once more to Madeline. He whipped out both paws to strike her arms and legs.
Madeline ducked and bent backward. She pushed down one of Nagrig's paws using her own. The other backslapped him across the face.
Nagrig growled and made to return the favor. She released his captive paw and punched him straight in the diaphragm.
Jared stopped his retreat by planting one foot on the wall. He rubbed his sore chin. His other paw prepared a fist.
Nagrig fell back, winded. Jared moved in from behind. One paw shaped into a thumb fist. The other closed at the knuckles. Both struck true at Nagrig's shoulder blades exposed beneath the doublet.
"Stay back!" He called to the Guosim and Guoraf. They were moving to reinforce him and his sister. "This is our fight!" Tipuka and Tiraqoo nodded in agreement, and the shrews relented.
"You two took everything from me!" Nagrig collapsed against a tree stump table, holding his shoulder blades. "I can't wait to return the favor!"
"What, you want us to apologize?" Jared leaped to deliver a roundhouse kick. Nagrig dropped into a kneeling crouch. Jared's arm sailed over the rat's ears and the table. "Keep dreaming, Deathblade!"
Saffron dashed out from behind her gong. Nagrig lunged to grab her.
But she whacked his paws aside using her mallet. She took the gained time to mold into the throng of shrews.
"You took everything from us first!" Madeline argued. She fell into Tuah Mann. Her whirling heavy fists assaulted Nagrig's chest and stomach. "Quit playing the victim and face justice for your crimes, you killer!"
"Selfish, rotten, entitled, little royal brats!" Nagrig jerked one way and the other. In and out. He clenched up his diaphragm and pulled in his stomach to evade each attack.
"The Eastern Islands were never yours! They never will be! They should and shall be mine! I'll guarantee it!"
He caught Madeline's incoming punches in his palms. Her face turned chalk-white in an instant. Nagrig rocketed his foot into her stomach. The blow sent her sailing into the fighting ring.
"Isidith!" Jared screamed and threw himself at Nagrig. He leaped up into a roundhouse kick. Nagrig backed up and away. Jared's foot grazed the side of his head.
The squirrel jumped up again to deliver a pair of Hoskinyuk kicks. Nagrig weaved around and between his feet.
Jared launched into a flurry of flying Kōnōtash punches to every inch he could reach. The rat gritted his teeth at each successful hit.
He contorted and twisted his body. His fists spun like whips to knock Jared's aside every which-way. One leg and arm wrapped around each of his opponent's.
An opening!
His snake's tongue struck Jared's forearms at deadly speed. One after the other. His prey lurched left then right.
Nagrig turned his paw sideways and chopped either side of Jared's neck. The squirrel crumpled to the ground.
"Tinarandel! Get away from my brother!"
Nagrig looked to his right. Madeline's fist rushed up into his throat. He choked and spat out air.
Madeline's arms closed around him in a headlock. A kick to his shins forced him back onto his knees. A classic Lunkuthwo chokehold.
"Surrender, Deathblade!"
"Never!"
He turned his head in Madeline's direction. His fist sailed into her ribs. Madeline cried out and released him from her headlock. She stumbled away with one paw held to her ribcage.
"Wildcat's Claws!"
Nagrig turned over his shoulder—Too late!
Jared's claws slashed diagonal down his face. Nagrig's paws flew to his face, covering it. Then Jared leaped up and dropkicked him in the collarbone.
Nagrig lumbered into the fighting ring. He risked to remove one paw from his face to intercept a charging Madeline.
He formed one final snake's tongue. Fresh warm blood from his face covered his clawed fingers.
"Sumiss the Snake Oracle!" He thrusted towards the incoming Madeline.
But Madeline's vertical wrist stopped it short. She spun round behind him and grabbed him by the attacking arm and shoulder.
"Into the Depths with Slothunog!"
"No!" Nagrig protested. But Madeline threw him into a wild tailspin into the crowd of shrews. They pushed and threw him all the way out through the open door of Brockhall.
Tipuka and Tiraqoo each lifted a leg and kicked Zakrul in the back. He too went reeling through the door.
"We should've brought more numbers!" Nagrig remarked to him.
"You think?! Ooofff!" He landed on top of his brother and threw them both to the ground.
"Gerroff!" Adhuxnuo pounced upon Jacob and Larina. "Yowch!" Larina's walking stick smacked him across the mouth. Blood filled the spaces between the pine marten's fangs. Larina retreated to the Sandeyes while he recovered.
"Here you go!" Jacob lifted the indisposed Dragel and tossed him at Adhuxnuo. The helmsbeast grabbed the sable and hurried away.
Zakrul clambered to his feet first, then helped Nagrig to his. The Scornful Tyrant had both paws to his stomach.
"This…isn't…over…" he seethed in between labored breaths. "I will have my revenge! I will own this world!" He raised a weak fist and shook it. "You, Sandeyes, are my birthright!"
He pointed a claw at them when they emerged at the front of the shrews. "My inheritance! My property! I will claim you, just wait and see! I'll kill every single male, maiden, and child at Redwall Abbey if I must! That includes you two!" He glared coldly at Jacob and Larina, who flanked the Sandeyes.
His claw then turned to Tipuka and Tiraqoo, who stood behind them. "Mark my words, Log-a-Logs. After I've had to kill every last one of your Guosim and Guoraf to get to the Sandeyes, I hope you understand…that their blood is on your paws! Let's go!"
He turned tail and floundered into the brush of Mossflower Forest. Zakrul gathered up his brother's armor and then followed right at his heels. Adhuxnuo lifted one of Dragel's arms around his shoulders and dashed after them.
The Guosim and Guoraf all broke into cheers and whoops, jumping and pumping their fists in the air.
"And stay out!" Tiraqoo bellowed after the retreating vermin. Meanwhile, the Sandeyes, Jacob, and Larina had collapsed into hugs of relief.