Brian Jacques - Mossflower

voice that rang across the waves,

"Mossflowerrrrrrr!!!"

301

43

Argulor was awake.

Shifting on his high spruce perch, he glared down greedily through his old

watery eyes at the red-cloaked figure crossing the parade ground of Kotir.

"At last, pine marten!"

Tsarmina pushed hard against the gates. "See, they're rocking on their

hinges," she pointed out to Bane. "Those wood-landers have been meddling with

them, I'm sure of it."

Bane gave the gates a kick. "Do you think so? They seem solid enough to me.

Huh, even fire arrows didn't make much impression on these gates."

Tsarmina unbolted the locks. Opening the gates cautiously, she peered around

them at the woodlands. It was safe.

"All clear out here, but I don't like it. I'm sure theyVe done something to

these hinges from outside. Just think, if these gates blew down during the

autumn, we'd be at their mercy."

"Huh, I don't know what you're fussing about," Bane said, swirling his new

cloak impatiently. "The gates look all right to me."

Tsarmina gnawed her lip. "Are you really sure, though?"

The fox sighed in exasperation. "Oh, I suppose I'll have to go and take a look

to keep you happy."

He strode briskly outside.

302

Tsarmina dodged inside, slamming the gates and bolting them.

Bane was puzzled momentarily. "Hoi, what's the matter with you, Tsarmina?"

There was no reply. Tsarmina was racing across the parade ground to watch from

her high window.

Suddenly Bane sensed he had been tricked, but it was too late.

Argulor had already launched himself from his perch. He homed in on the

red-cloaked figure like a bolt from the blue.

On the other side of Kotir, Bane's mercenaries worked away on the scullery

door, blissfully unaware of what was taking place outside.

Bane did not see the eagle swoop; he was trying to find pawholds as he

clambered up the oaken gates.

Argulor struck him hard from behind, burying powerful talons and vicious

hooked beak in the prey that had eluded him for so long. The fox was

transfixed, frozen with cruel agony; but as the eagle started to carry him

off, Bane's fighting instincts took over. Freeing his curved sword, he struck

upward at the feathered enemy.

The sword hit Argulor, once, twice!

Doggedly the great eagle sank talons and beak deeper into his prey. Beating

the air with his massive wingspread as he did, both hunter and quarry rose

skyward.

Tsarmina at her window danced up and down in fiendish glee. Attracted by the

screams, the occupants of Kotir looked up. Bane slashed wildly with his sword;

Argulor stabbed madly with his beak. All the while the combatants rose higher,

and soon they were above the treetops.

Chibb fluttered in circles some distance away. He watched the amazing sight as

eagle and fox rose into the sky.

Far above Mossflower, Argulor won the battle. Bane gave a final shudder and

went limp, the curved sword falling from his lifeless paws. The ancient eagle

felt cheated; this was no pine marten, it was a fox. Argulor's heart sank in

his breast. It did not rise again. The rheumy eyes shut in the same instant as

the great wings folded in death, and only the talons remained fixed deep into

the dead fox.

303

Tsarmina watched as both creatures plunged earthward. Two enemies defeated in

a single brilliant stroke.

Ratflank dashed for the gate. Brogg shouted after him, "Where d'you think

you're off to?"

"Ha, to get that cloak, of course. That's a good bit of velvet. It can be

repaired, y'know."

"Get back here, frogbrain. See what happened to the fox-he wore the cloak.

D'you want the same thing happening to you?"

"Frogbrain yourself, dimwit. Can't you see the eagle's dead? Any creature can

wear that cloak now."

"Hoi! Don't you call me dimwit, droopy whiskers."

"I'll call you what I like, dimwit. Nitears! Fatnose!"

Tsarmina smiled inwardly, a third victory today. Now that she heard Ratflank

shouting she could identify the insolent voice that had often insulted her

from the protection of the ranks or the bottom of a curved stairwell.

Later that day, she instructed Brogg.

"Take Ratflank, and find the bodies of the eagle and the fox."

"Yes, Milady. Shall I bring them back here?"

"No, Brogg. Bury them."

"As you say, Milady."

"Oh, and Brogg ..."

"Yes, Milady?"

"How do you feel about that insolent Ratflank these days?"

"Oh, him. He's a cheekybeast, Milady. Called me lots of nasty names."

"Yes. Me too. How would you like to bury him with the fox and the eagle?"

"Huh huhuhuh," Brogg chortled. "Can I, Milady?"

"Yes, but not a word to any creature about it."

"Can I have the red cloak too, Milady?"

"Yes, if you want it."

"And Bane's curved sword, Milady?" Brogg pressed her.

"If you can find it."

"Where d'you think it fell, Milady?"

Tsarmina turned her eyes upward as if seeking patience. "Brogg, I wouldn't

know where the sword fell, or the eagle,

304

or the fox. Just get out of my sight and don't bother me with details." >

"But what about—Yes, Milady."

Urthclaw was first to reach the underground foundations of Kotir. Tunneling

steadily, he made his way along the under-ground wall until he met up with

Billum. Together they continued until they linked up with Soilflyer, who was

waiting for them.

"Burr, 'day to 'ee moles," he greeted them. "Foremole an' Owd Dinny be along

wi' tools soon, us'ns can brekk throo *ee rock then."

Lady Amber had sunk the floodgates at the other end of the tunnels, they were

to be lifted by rope hoists attached to rock counterweights over high

branches. Skipper and his crew had dug fresh tunnels from the river, sloping

down to meet the floodgates which separated them from the main tunnels. All

the workings had been shorn up with stone and timber. Foremole supervised the

removal of rocks from the foundations of Kotir. The moles pried away the soft,

damp stones with bars and chisels until they felt the cold fetid air on their

snouts. "Burr, oo, durty owd place needen a gurt barth, hur burr."

Shortly before nightfall, the moles climbed out of the tunnel workings, back

in Mossflower, where the woodlanders and Corim leaders had assembled. Bella

rolled three large rocks over the holes from which the moles had emerged.

Others moved in to pack the bungrocks firmly in with wood and soil.

Now everything was ready.

Between the lower depths of Kotir and the distant river in Mossflower Woods,

all that stood was three timber sluicegates.

Lady Amber laid her tail flat on the lower branches of a sycamore.

The woodlanders held their breath.

Skipper nodded to Foremole.

Foremole nodded to Bella.

Bella nodded to Amber.

The squirrel's tail rose like a starter's flag. There was a creaking of rope

pulleys as squirrels launched the rocks from

305

the high trees, riding down to earth on them, holding to the ropes. The

counterweights traveled fast, humming across the heavily beeswaxed branches.

The wooden floodgates made a squelching sound as they were pulled free of the

earth, then water began rippling through into the tunnels.

The flooding of Kotir had begun!

44

306

Driving Wuddshipp inland against the flow of the River Moss was a difficult

task.

All paws manned the oarbanks, and Martin sat alongside Timballisto.

"Phew! I never realized rowing was such heavy work," Martin groaned.

< "Pull, my friend, pull. It's twice as bad when you have to do it on