Brian Jacques - Redwall #07 - Mariel of Redwall

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muffled silence fog brought in its wake, restless, turning. Rawnblade had finally left his beloved mountain to stroll on the tideline along the shore by Salamandastron.

That was when he had heard it.

The sickening crunch of ship's timbers upon rock was unmistakable.

00

The searat Captain Orgeye was below sleeping when he was thrown forcibly from his bunk onto the cabin floor. Shouts from the Waveblade's two lookouts brought him scrambling up on deck.

"Belay, we've run aground in this cursed fog!"

"Hell's teeth! She's run bow-on to a reef!"

Rawnblade had strained his ears to catch the shouts from the Waveblade.

"Cap'n Orgeye, what'll we do?"

"Bilgescum! You've been sleepin' on watch. If she breaks her keel on these blasted rocks, I'll rip out yer livers. Get over the side onto the reef an' see how she looks. Move yerselves!"

"Cap'n, she's nose-up on the stones, holed near the waterline an' trapped tighter than meat between yer teeth. What do we do?"

"What can we do, slophead? There's naught for it but to wait till this fog clears. May'aps we can beach

her for repairs then."

oo

Rawnblade expanded his massive chest, letting out a great sigh of pure joy at the memory of his night stroll. It was not often the big badger got a shipload of searats delivered to his doorstep. That was why he had sent his hares away. The Lord of Salamandastron wanted this one all to himself. Picking up his formidable broadsword, he swung it easily across his shoulders and strode silently back to the tideline. Standing with waves lapping his studded leg greaves, Rawnblade Widestripe resembled a great carved statue set at the edge of the

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sea. Fog swirled about his armored body as he listened to the sounds of the cursing searats, who were waiting for the fog to lift.

So was Rawnblade.

He remembered the dead bodies of his three hares swaying in the shallows of the tideline, the work of searats. A huge rumble of satisfaction welled up in his throat as he anticipated loosing his wrathful battle-sword upon Orgeye and the Waveblade's crew.

c/o

Colonel Clary notched an arrow to his bow, and the other two members of the long patrol followed his example. The fog had thinned to a milky river mist in the creek where the Darkqueen lay crippled. Clary's ears stood straight up as he listened to the noise of the Darkqueen's crew. They were crashing heedlessly through bush and shrub, careless and noisy, as they made their way back to the ship.

Ringtail was first to spot the Darkqueen's masts amid the forest greenery. He dashed forward with the light mist swirling about him.

"Ahoy, mates. There she lies. The DarkqueenY'

Even as the rest of the crew dashed forward, they saw Ringtail fall with a gurgle, an arrow through his neck.

"Down! Get down. The ship's been boarded!" roared

Bigfang.

The searats obeyed, dropping down instantly behind

trees and bushes.

Ranzo lay alongside Bigfang, pale with fright. "Ringtail's been done for. Who killed him?"

Bigfang peered through the mist-shrouded trees. "I don't know, mate, but I'll soon find out. 'Ere, bring up them oarslaves."

Brigadier Thyme raised himself from the heeling deck to obtain a better shot at the foebeast. He groaned aloud and sat down again.

"Oh, dash it, look what they're up to now!"

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Clary and Hon Rosie stood up in dismay. Bigfang was approaching with the rest of the searats, and they were using Pakatugg and the wretched oarslaves as a shield in front of them. They stood in a bunch at the woodland fringe on the creek bank.

Hon Rosie relaxed her bowstring. "Golly gosh, I say, that sort of thing's not on, you know. Hey there, you bunch of moldy old cowards. Come out an' fight, beast to beast."

Bigfang prodded Pakatugg with his cutlass. "Moldy ol' cowards is better than foolish dead heroes, rabbit. Now what d'ye say we parley a bit eh?"

Clary twitched his whiskers firmly. "We don't parley with the likes of you, bottlenose."

"Bottlenose yerself, rabbit!" Bigfang snatched a spear from Kybo and hurled it. The spear landed with a quivering thud, pinning Clary's paw to the Darkqueen's side. Immediately, Rosie and Thyme took a chance; shooting slightly upward, they sent their arrows over the tops of the oarslaves' heads, wounding Frink and slaying a searat named Reekhide.

The searats broke and ran for the cover of the bushes, dragging the oarslaves with them. Hon Rosie acted swiftly. Tugging the spear free, she pulled Clary into the scuppers.

"Knew they couldn't kill you, you old piewalloper. Are you hurt?"

Clary gritted his teeth, trying hard with one paw to stanch the flow of blood from the other. "Ahem! That feller's not very good at givin' a manicure with a spear, though I think he meant it to be a haircut."

Rosie could see by the tight-drawn expression on Clary's face that he was suffering greatly. She searched her pack for bandages.

"Not to worry, you'll soon be right as rain again, old lad."

Thyme put aside his bow and arrows now the confrontation was over. "Well, chaps, it looks like we're

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stuck aboard this tub until Clary's able to use the old

paw again, wot?"

oo

Out of sight and earshot of the hares, Bigfang was having trouble with his new command. Kybo had elected himself spokesrat for the rest, and he and Bigfang argued fiercely.

"We should've charged them when I flung that spear!"

"Huh, an' get caught in the water by those two with the bowsnot me, matey. Did you see the Darkqueen? They've crippled 'er."

"I could get her seaworthy an' sailin' again,"

"You! All you've done so far, Bigfang, is to get Frink wounded an' Reekhide killed. It was foolish chuckin' that spear. We should've got closer to 'em, then we could've done some real damage."

"Oh aye, an' what would you have done, scumbags?"

Kybo flung himself on Bigfang. They rolled over and over, grunting and kicking at each other. Bigfang was gaining the upper paw when he tripped and became tangled with the oarslaves. Kybo quickly sat on his adversary's chest. Pulling out a wicked skinning knife, he pressed the blade across Bigfang's throat. The former leader lay still, knowing that Kybo had won.

Kybo retained his position, breathing heavily. "Now you listen to me, addlebrain. I'm speakin' fer all of us, see! The Darkqueen's scupperedoars, rudder an' steerin' wheel gone, didn't y'seean' they've heeled her over. She'll sit on the bottom of that creek like a stone in mud. I'm takin' this crew back to Graypatch; that Abbey is the only place where we'll have it safe an' easy. He was right. Now you can come peaceable or die here. What's it t' be?"

Bigfang swallowed, feeling the blade scrape his throat. "You win."

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Mother Mellus crept up on Bagg and Runn the otter twins, who were hanging perilously over the north ramparts. She seized each one by an ear and pulled them down as they squeaked piteously.

"Now then, you two young fiends, what are you up to out here, eh?"

"Owow, leggo! We were keeping guard, that's all!"

"Eeeek, me ear! Somebeast's got to watch out for searats."

Mellus released them, shooing the delinquent pair down the steps to the Abbey lawn. "Run along now. Searats would eat two Dibbuns like you for tea."

"Ha, bet they wouldn't. We'd make 'em into searat pudden an' eat 'em!"

"No you wouldn't, they'd have your tails on toast. Then what would I tell the Abbot?"

The two small otters shuffled off disgruntled. Flagg the big otter called along from the west wall to Mellus, "The only tails on toast those scurvy rats'll have is their own tails, marm. You leave it t' me an' young Saxtus."

The badger gave a worried frown. "I hope you're right, Flagg. They're certain to be back. Searats like that lot don't give in easily."