Late Rose Summer Wars

Summary
The Late Rose Summer Wars occured during the season when Cluny the Scourge came down from the north with a horde of about five hundred rats and put Redwall Abbey under siege. Based initially at St. Ninian's Church, Cluny soon press-ganged and recruited about a hundred rats, weasels, stoats and ferrets from Mossflower Woods.

The young mouse Matthias, hoping to save the Abbey, went on a quest for the sword of Martin the Warrior which eventually led him to the old quarry where Asmodeus the snake made his lair.

Matthias was able to kill Asmodeus and take the sword back. He returned to Redwall, but not before Cluny had taken it over. He challenged Cluny and their fight across the lawn eventually led them to the belltower. Friar Hugo was at that time tolling the Joseph Bell and upon hearing the fight, hid under the stairs. But as the two were fighting, the mouse friar sneezed. Cluny, seeing an opportunity, grabbed him and used him as a hostage to try to get Matthias to surrender.

Matthias, who had climbed up to the belfry, told Cluny that if he let Hugo go he would come down. Cluny agreed to this, thinking that this would be the last he'd see of the mouse warrior. He was right, because at that moment, Matthias cut the rope supporting the Joseph Bell. The huge bell came crashing down on Cluny, killing him (the bell was later recast as 2 separate bells-the Methuselah Bell, and the Matthias Bell).