A Call To Arms (Sigurd)

[Arrowbrush MacBurl]

Arrowbrush MacBurl sat in an upper branch of a spruce that stood on the edge of Reguba Hollow, her keen green eyes scouring the horizon. A refreshing breeze caused the tree to sway gently, the cool, mid-morning spring air pleasant with the addition of the wind. Turning suddenly to her friend, MacTalon, she asked the falcon, “Ach, can ye see tha’ figure in the distance, o’ a beastie a-coomin’ taeward us? Thaiy’re boot a few wee minutes awa’, Ah would say oot a guess, mebbe five, mebbe ten a’ the moost.”

The bird nodded in agreement. “Aye, sae we’ll stay oop here oontil we ken what manner o’ beastie ‘tis, Ah take et?” The squirrelmaid dipped her head several times in wordless agreement, toying with the bow she held in her paws. It had been some weeks since she had been appointed Squirrel Queen of the band of fighters who resided in Mossflower, often visiting Redwall Abbey to see friends, check that there was no trouble about, and take advantage of the famous Redwall hospitality. It was on one such visit, little more than a season ago, at the start of winter that Arrowbrush and MacTalon had encountered the group of squirrels, and they had asked to join the band right away.

After demonstrating her skill with her claymore and bow, Arrowbrush was instantly accepted into the group; MacTalon showed the squirrels how fast he could fly and how sharp his lethal beak and talons were, and they were happy to have him, too. After a full winter season spent with the small fighting force, (which consisted of somewhere between fifty and fivescore squirrel warriors, and in some cases, their little ones), making friends, and getting used to finding her way around Mossflower, two middle-aged squirrels announced to the group that it was time they had a Squirrel Queen once again, a leader.

All the maids who wanted to be considered for the position (including Arrowbrush), had been carefully watched for a week, and were tested at every turn, with questions about every situation possible, as well as their knowledge of Mossflower, forest craft, and other skills a competent leader was required to possess. At the end of this, all the squirrels or who their new leader would be, after being told each maid’s results.


Arrowbrush had been voted for by thirty of the eighty squirrels; there had been four other maids in the running; she and they had been told the results, too, and had been required to vote for someone other than themselves. She had not really expected to be the one chosen for the position, since she was really still a newcomer, and so it was a pleasant surprise for her. Giving her oath that she would lead the band of squirrels as best she could, she had started fulfilling her duties as Squirrel Queen immediately. The young maid was a creature who hated to be idle for long.

Now, several weeks on, she sat high in the tree with MacTalon as the unknown creature came ever closer, waiting to see if they posed a threat or if they were friendly.

OOC;; Hope this is ok!

[Sigurd]

(Well, the Mossguard are experts at camouflage, but I got this)

The beast coming up was a ferret, a big fat one, carrying a heavy cutlass. "Erg, dumb hedgepig! Er, I showed 'im, bafafafafa!" he said, laughing to himself. He reached for his jug of grog. He didn't get farther. Out of nowhere, a javelin shot through the right of his back, angling left, and smashing the jug. The ferret looked down at the wound, before hitting the ground, dead.

--

Thirty-two and a half feet away lay fifteen beasts. Five hares, eight squirrels, and two shrews. Of course, they were all decked out in ghille suits, almost completely invisible. The leader of the hidden group, a hare, hissed to one of his men, "Och, Oogi, are those yon beasties squirrels?"

"Aye, Chief, they operate out of Reguba Hollow!" Oogi, the squirrel replied in a whisper.

"Shauld we call to them, Oogi, meh' lad?" The hare whispered back.

"I'm sensing hawk, Chief, don't move too much or it might detect us! Let's just wait and see what they do after that dead ferret!" Oogi replied.

"Aye, lay low, lads!" The hare replied. And, thus, the patrol stayed perfectly still, undetectable even by the eyes of a hawk.

[Arrowbrush MacBurl]

Arrowbrush narrowed her eyes in the sunlight, shading them with a paw held across her brown as she gazed at the creature crossing the open flatlands between the forest and Reguba Hollow. "Ey oop, tha' 'un's a vermin beastie, eh, MacTalon? Ye've got better eyes than me, can ye no tell me if'n Ah'm reeht?"

The falcon glanced again at the figure. "Aye, tha's a vermin sure enough, a ferret, ye ken. Ey oop, wha's tha'?"


The squirrelmaid had put an arrow to her bow and was preparing to fire on the ferret when her friend's words caused her to look up. As she did, she saw the javalin just as it pierced the foebeast's back. Thinking quickly, she slackened the bowstring, her mind racing. Peering at the woodland, she saw that nothing stirred - nobeast had come forward to retrieve the weapon.

Her mind racing, Arrowbrush told her friend, "We need everybeast on th' alert, noo. Mate, could ye goo an'tell everybeast who's nae actively doin' a job tae arm oop an' get thairselves over heer? An' please get one or two tae alert th' otheer sentries. Teel all o' them wha' juist happened, the noo."

Saluting with his right wing, Mactalon threw himself from his perch and winged swiftly through the trees, down into the valley.

* * * * * * * * * *

Five short minutes later, the tree in which Arrowbrush sat and those surrounding it, all the one on the fringe facing towards the east and Redwall Abbey, were filled with silent, capable squirrel warriors, numbering about fifty and all armed with a wide variety of close-combat weapons, as well as a bow and a large quiver of arrows apiece. Sitting on the branch between Arrowbrush and MacTalon was a much older and experienced squirrel, a big sturdy female called Beechpaw, who was forty years old but as fit and hale as any squirrel of twenty. "I'll wager that whoever they are, if'n there's more than one, they'll be waitin' for us to make the next move."

The younger maid nodded head slowly. "Aye, tha's whit Ah thought, tae. Ah was thinkin', mebbe we should goo an' scout oot th' area, buit th' fact tha' theere's nae trees 'twixt heer an' where th' javalin was thrown from."

"Aye. you're right there. Might I suggest that you go, sir? You'd be taking a risk, but nobeast's forcing you to go," Beechpaw told MacTalon, addressing the falcon seriously. He nodded once, blinking. "Ach, Ah'll goo, lassies. Ah'm nae afrighted o' geetin' shot at. Besides, if naebeast goos th' noo, then we could be here all day, ye ken." He was about to launch himself into flight when Arrowbrush put a restraining paw on his back and wings. "Wait a moment, mate. We'll spread th' word o' whit we're goin' tae do, sae tha' everybeast nae's whit's gooin on."

Beechpaw signalled to a squirrel on a branch level with hers that was attached to the next tree by putting her head to one side. Leaning skilfully off the edge of the branch without falling, the veteran warrior informed the other squirrel of what was about to occur. A short minute later, the same squirrel gave Beechpaw a thumbs up, and she murmured to MacTalon, "Right, off ye go now, sir."

* * * * * * * * * *

The falcon swooped down from the trees, circling the ferret several times before flapping his wings and slowly winging his way towards the forest that concealed the vermin's killer. Alighting on top of a shrub, he gazed around; he detected movement nearby but could not quite pinpoint the source of it at first. Scanning the undergrowth, he realised that just below him was a small fighting force; he couldn't see the whole of their bodies, camoflagued as they were, but his keen eyes picked out what nearly everybeast did not hide: their eyes. He could tell that they were not vermin, and here and there he could make out what might have been a hare's ear or a squirrle's tail, but once again, he couldn't say for sure.

Deciding to take action outside the orders he'd been given, the falcon called in a husky voice, "Who are ye? Show yerselves, if'n ye aren't vermin. Ah'm MacTalon Tallpeak, an' Ah can teel tha' there's soombeasts here, whoever ye are."

OOC;; Once again, hope this is ok. Tell me if it's not and I can change it, if I shouldn't have had MacTalon spot the Mossguard. ;D

[Sigurd]

OOC: Well, I did say, 'detectable, even to a hawk's eye', but whatever.

"Alright, lads, who moved?" the hare asked, straightening up. "Och, Graul, meh' lad, was et' yeh'?" he said, ignoring the hawk.

"Nah, ain't me, Chief!" the shrew replied.

"Och, Ah'll get back to et' later, Graul!" the hare replied. Turning to the hawk, he offered a paw. "Acting Field Marshall O'Barukal, at yeh' service, meh' laddie! Ah' can sense the accent in yon voice, ye ken!"

[Arrowbrush MacBurl]

OOC;; Sorry! I thought I'd read your post more thoroughly than I had, I'll try not to let it happen again.

MacTalon swooped down from the bush and landed in front of the hair, shaking the proffered paw with a wing. A smile sparkled in his eyes and curved across his beak at the Field Marshal's comment, said in a thick northern accent similar to his own. Saluting him, the falcon exclaimed with a chuckle, "Och, sir, tha's verra guid o' ye tae notice - Ah sense yer accent too, ye ken!"

Remembering abruptly that he was not here simply to chat with other northerners, he informed the hare, "Theer are fifty odd squirrels oot theer, on' th' other side o that clearin', sir, as ye may already ken. Ah'm sue, if'n a told them tha' yer no' a gang o' vermin, they'd be more'n willin' tae welcome ye tae Reguba Hollow. At th' moment theer waitin' on mah return, tae tell 'em whit manner o' beastie it was tha' killed tha' scummy ferret." Hopping impatiently from one taloned foot to the other, the bird of prey waited for the guerrilla hare's response.

* * * * * *

Meanwhile, Arrowbrush and Beechpaw sat, waiting for MacTalon to return. The squirrelmaid was a little agitated. "Ach, Ah hope he cooms back soon. He's been gone for a wee while, ye ken."

The older squirrel placed a comforting paw on her Squirrel Queen's shoulder. "Don't free, Arrowbrush. He may be talking to them, or still searching if they're well hidden or have run off."

The young squirrel warrior stared out at the trees opposite them. "Ah dae hope yer right, Beechpaw."