User blog:Lordsunflash/Corbus Quick-blade

Right now i really need some names for Vermin(Will be explained in next chapter) i don't care much about species but if you could give me any names that would be very helpful

Chapter one
Corbus was not as large as other ferrets but he was unmatched in the use of blades. He did not earn his skills from anybeast but was naturally talented with them and this was always to his advantage. He was currently heading north after an uneventful summer in Southsward with his companion Durb. it as a peaceful place and this usually bored him, but it kept him away from the more savage of his kind so he would often go there as a bit of a sanctuary.

"I thought you said there would be a river soon.” said Durb

"I’ve been through these parts before i recognize the land."

"Well you had better find it soon were out of water"

Corbus stopped abruptly causing Durb to bump into him, his ear raised.

"Do ye hear that, tis music?"

"Aye and look there’s a fire up ahead" The proceeded slowly and came across what appeared to be a troupe of performers who had made camp and were sitting around a fire slowly dozing off

"Looks like we don't have to die of thirst after all by the size of that hare there they will probably have some supplies on them" said Durb

"Let me do it you aren't exactly the stealthiest rat, stay behind and make sure they don't wake up" Whispered Corbus. As Corbus approached one of the caravans he saw something that stopped him in his tracks, it was the young ones sleeping.

Seeing this made his heart feel like an anchor" this isn’t right" he said to himself and began heading back to Durb

"Why didn't ye grab the food you were right next to the caravan?"

"It was um locked in a chest, didn't want to alert them, lets go and try and find that river I’m sure its not that far ahead."

"Alright then let’s go."

They journeyed through the night and did in fact make it to the river. When Durb saw this he ran straight for it almost falling in and began filling his bottle as Corbus began looking around for firewood and a place to set up camp.

“We should journey upriver from here to Mossflower Woods, the food is a bit more plentiful there." said Corbus

As they began setting up camp a noise came from a nearby bush.

"What was that" Said Durb "lets find out" whispered Corbus.

As they got closer they fond it was a mouse, injured and barely alive

"Get back you vermin leave me in peace" said the mouse

"We won't hurt you, what’s your name and how did this happen to you" asked Corbus "R...Rupert" said the mouse as he passed out.

"We had better get him somewhere safe, I think there’s an abbey northeast of here, we can get him there." Said Corbus

"Alright but we might need some disguises, they wont exactly take in a rat and ferret like us"

"Good point" said Corbus as he began bandaging Rupert's head.

The next day they headed off towards the abbey planning what they would do as they went along.

"How exactly are we going to get him in the abbey without them seeing us, i doubt that mouse would be able to walk there on his own." asked Durb

"We’ll just walk him near it and hopefully somebeast will see him and bring him in"

"But what if he says he was attacked by vermin and they find us walking around, it wouldn't add up well for us."

"I'm sure they wouldn't just attack us on the spot they would probably just question us, maybe if were lucky he will say we saved him, that would get us something for sure."

"Aye I’ve heard talk that the place is filled with gold and riches"

"Well i was thinking more along the line of some supplies but that would be just as good, but lets try and get to the abbey first then maybe we can get some kind of reward."

"Well if that’s the case then why not bring him in ourselves it would save us from an interrogation for sure."

"Alright but lets still put on the cloaks just in case they get confused of our intentions"

As they neared the path Rupert began to wake up, Corbus and Durb Put on their hoods as he did. "Where am I?" said the injured mouse

Corbus explained" we err found you a while back, near the river, were taking you to Redwall abbey so you can be taken care of."

"Ah the abbey, and who are you." he asked.

"I am Corbus and this is Durb were travelers"

"Well then I owe you a debt of gratitude, now please put me down it’s my head that is injured"

"How exactly did that happen anyway." asked Durb

"A band of vermin came and attacked me, stole all my belongings." he answered

"oh were sorry for you but you will be safer at the abbey, where they can help you recover"

they journeyed a while further, Corbus supporting Rupert as he was not as ready to walk as he thought he was, until the abbey appeared in the distance

"Well there it is hope we get a warm welcome" Corbus Whispered to Durb.

Tobias was sleeping in the gatehouse when suddenly a knock at the door woke him up. He looked over the rampart to see a mouse and two figures in traveling cloaks" who goes there" he yelled at the one in the lead.

"We are travelers and our friend here needs your medical attention please let us in." Corbus yelled at the gatekeeper.

Tobias rushed down to the gate as soon as he saw the bandage on Rupert's head but as he helped Rupert in he had second thoughts “first you two take off you hoods then you can come in."

Corbus did so cautiously, as did Durb. Tobias was surprised that a mouse had been rescued by vermin; Rupert was just as surprised as he had yet to see the faces of his rescuers.

"We mean no harm; do not judge us by the deeds of our kind."Said Corbus.

"We do not wish to, please come in if you rescued this mouse I’m sure you mean us no harm." Said Tobias.

As they entered the abbey Corbus noticed it grand size and beauty, never before on any of his travels had he seen such a place, the closest he had seen were ruins and small villages but this was beyond any of his expectations. As they walked to the main building a voice beckoned them.

“I see we have three new faces in our abbey” Said the voice.

They turned to see an very old badger with a band of dubbuns” welcome to Redwall abbey I am Cregga “

“Hello I am Corbus, this is Durb, and the mouse they just sent off to the infirmary was Rupert”

“Tell me, Corbus, you are not like other vermin why are you so peaceful.” She inquired.

“Let’s just say we have a bad enough reputation as is.” He answered

“Well whatever your reasons are let me be the first to welcome you to Redwall, may you find peace here.”

“I hope we will Cregga I hope we will.”

Chapter Two
Far from Redwall abbey, on the western shores resided the reason for their reputation and their peacefulness, the Taggerung, he was the strongest of the clan and was as such their leader, and first into battle and last to leave, he had never once lost in battle to anybeast. He was currently discussing his plans with his second in command a wildcat named Stitcheye.

“The tribe is growing restless we must soon find a new venture to set out upon or we will be facing rebellion” Said Stitcheye.

Zann, as he wished himself to be called, already had an answer to this problem” I have heard talk of a great building, an abbey apparently filled to the bursting with gold and jewels and experts of many trades, It seems to me that this is the exact place we are looking for.”

“I too have heard of this place and the names of its enemies, Cluny the scourge, the marlfoxes, Slagar the Cruel, all of which have been slain attempting to take over it, you would be a fool to try and take over such a place.”

“If they have failed then they were themselves fools, merely bandits in comparison to my might.” he said in Narcissism. But then he considered the names and thought up a plan to deal with Stitcheye.

“But if it will bring moral to my troops I will send you and a score of Juska to scout out this fabled abbey.”

“Yes sir” said the wildcat.

Stitcheye soon left with a score of the strongest he could find they traveled for five days until they reached Mossflower wood.

“The abbey should be no longer than a days march away, if we are to scout it we will have to split up.”He ordered They traversed through the woodland finding few things until he came across the path that led to Redwall he then ordered five to go up the path and the other to go down it, they saw the abbey at noon

“So this is the fabled Redwall abbey, you two go back and gather the others and come here, we shall search this place.” They searched around the walls until the rest of the patrol had arrived.

“Now lets find out if the creatures inside are truly the battle-hardened warriors they are supposed to be.”

It was a week after Corbus had arrived at the abbey and he and Durb had taken to the life well, they had been easily accepted due to their rescue of Rupert, except for Skipper who was still a bit cautious around them. They were currently In the Great hall speaking well of Redwall.

“I’m still surprised we were taken in so easily maybe they have not seen much of other vermin, except for Cregga, she seems to have led a very violent life.” Said Durb

“Well we haven’t exactly been like this our entire life too, remember those days in my father’s tribe, we were quite bad back then.”

“Yes and may we never have anything to do with it ever again” he replied

As if someone had heard him a voice came from outside “Attack!’

As if by instinct they took out their weapons and headed of to see who the attackers were The attackers were of course the Juska and they were currently grappling onto the walls. As soon as Corbus saw them he was thrust back into his younger days when he was in fact with the Juska of his father’s tribe, he bounded down the rope of one of the hooks and began battling for his life slaying all invaders on sight as Durb picked them off with his bow and not missing a single shot. As soon as Stitcheye saw his troops falling to the redwallers he knew these were the warriors he was looking for.

“We found what we were looking for there’s no need to thin our numbers further, RETREAT! RETREAT!” Before vanishing into the woodlands Corbus was finally able to see the enemy commander, and his face was not a new one “No not them” he whispered to himself.

The redwallers then began to assess the attack and ponder it.

“Where did they come from, I have never seen the like of them before” said sister Balsam, the infirmary keeper.

“I have seen their kind before and if I’m not mistaken they were the Juska.” Said Corbus

“The Juska but they live on the western shores far from here” Said the Skipper of otters.

“Aye but the rumors of this abbey have spread far and wide and have become changed and altered, when we first came here we expected to see vast amounts of treasure and gold, so that is probably what they are after also.” Explained Durb

Corbus pulled Durb back from the crowd as they began discussing the problem”Durb I saw their leader, it was Stitcheye my brother’s old lackey, and him here means my brother is not far away.” Said Corbus urgently “But his clan is the largest on the entire western coast.”

“Yes but fortunately we know all his weaknesses, his mentality, the way he thinks, if we can use this against him surely we can win.”

“Well we should keep our past a secret for now, I don’t know how they will respond to us being like them once.”

“Alright make sure they get the information, but not too much, Skipper is still a little wary of us and I don’t think the idea of us being Juska will help with our situation and Skipper is the one beast whose trust we need”

As Corbus and Durb were weaving their web of secrets the rest of the abbey were planning their defenses, Skipper taking charge

“Ok we need to bring in some help if we have the choice, somebeast find out if the Gousim are in the area, their help will be needed. Secondly we will need to stock up on arrows; Drogg isn’t there a bellows in the cellar”

“Yes I use it to make the barrels, but it will probably work in making arrowheads.” Said the young cellarhog

“Great now we just need a group to get the wood for the shafts and javelins and stones for the slings, Balsam get the infirmary ready for a battle you will have to get some help by the end of this, well what are you all still doing here GO!”

The abbeybeasts all went off to their respectful jobs while Skipper beckoned to Corbus and Durb”Come over here you two; you seem to know the most about the Juska so tell me all you know” he ordered

Durb began” well this certain clan we recognize and if not much has changed since we last saw them they must number at about 300 to 400 in all, not good numbers for us”

“Also its worth pointing out their leader isn’t a lazy buffoon, he’s a highly trained warrior the Juska call ‘The Taggerung’ not a beast to be reckoned with a real nasty feller.” Added Corbus

“Tell me more of this Taggerung, Corbus” he inquired

They then began telling him everything they knew about The Taggerung, though only telling him of his strength and weapons and nothing of his history, they then began to tell of the Juska and what they knew of them, once again not mentioning the history they had with the clan.

“Hmm sounds like we have a rather large battle ahead of us”

“Aye and it wont be an easy one The Taggerung is a sly one, killed his own father and almost his brother too” Durb accidentally blurted out

Skipper did not take much notice of his words “seems like he’s a real evil one, alright that should be enough, if you remember anything important tell me”

“Understood” they said simultaneously

Chapter Three
Zann was in his tent training his son Sawney when the first of the scouts arrived.

“Sir News from Stitcheye, we have found Redwall and have tested their battle prowess, they have lived up to their name, we await your orders.”

“So they truly are the warriors I have heard so much about, tell the tribe we will be making out for the abbey tomorrow, where is Stitcheye?” he asked

“He had decided to stay with ten others at the abbey to spy on them and watch how they responded to their attack.” “Excellent, now return to your tent and prepare for a march.”

Sawney spoke to his father of Redwall “what is so special about this Redwall place to you father I know it is supposed to be filled with riches, but you are not wanting that are you”

“No my son for I seek a even greater reward, they say that within this abbey lies a sword of tremendous power, one that has been through numerous battles without even being scratched.” He replied

“And this is why you wish to attack the abbey"

“Yes for if I can acquire such a sword then I will be able to gain a treasure ten times the amount I would find in the abbey out of conquest alone”

The next day the Juska left camp and began the five day march to Redwall abbey and his ultimate prize, The Sword of Martin the Warrior!

Back at the abbey the plans were going well and the abbey defenders were being trained by skipper and Durb (due to his skill with a bow) in the middle of the training Corbus ran up to the two with good News

“While Looking for metal to make the arrows we have found an old room in the belltower and it seems to be filled with weapons and even some old battle plans written b somebeast called Arven”

The name was familiar to Skipper “Of course the battle of the ridge of a thousand, you see many seasons ago a evil rat named Damug Warfang attempted to capture the abbey, but with the help of the long patrol, the Gousim, and some woodlanders they were able to repel them, I was wondering where they had put all those weapons.”

“Speaking of the Gousim they have just arrived Log a Log wishes to speak to you.”

Just as he said that the aforementioned shrew came out of the front gate “Skipper you ole streamwalloper it’s great to see you”

“Aye it’s great to see you too Log a Log but I wish the reason for your arrival were better”

“Yes about that who exactly are we up against this time”

“The Juska, I’m afraid and this isn’t just a scouting party this time, from what I’ve heard we’ll be facing about 400 of them so we’ll need all the help we can get”

“Well that’s why I’m here; the Guerilla unions of shrews in Mossflower are at your command my friend”

“Well then begin helping me by beginning a guard around the ramparts.”

As skipper went back to training the Redwallers Corbus and Durb went off to guard duty.

“I still remember the day it happened like it was yesterday.” Said Corbus touching the patch over his eye

“Aye me too, but lets not let him win this time, and now we have help, he wont trick us like he did last time.”

“Your right we have time to prepare for him, we must not be caught off guard, and how many do we have Durb?”

“Five score with the Gousim here, a quarter of his forces”

“Yes that may be true, but we also have the walls, these will be his greatest obstacle, we need to consider what he may try.”

“Well I think the best place to find out is to look at what other invaders have tried, remember, Skipper said that this place has been attacked many times before.”

“Of course! Those invaders must have used every tactic there is.”

The two friends then ran off to the Gatehouse where they met up with Brother Tobias with Rupert, whom had recovered well, whom was also the recorder for Redwall

“Why hello it’s nice to see you again how goes the defenses” Rupert asked

“We are making great progress but right now we need to see the records of other invaders of Redwall abbey, we hope to prepare or such tactics”

“Well then you had better start off with Cluny the Scourge, he was the only one able the actually conquer it, though he was immediately defeated afterwards here I’ll find it for you” said Brother Tobias

He rummaged around until he was certain he had found the correct records.

“Here the records from the Summer of the Late Rose.”

Corbus searched through it until he found the correct passage “here it says that they later found out that Cluny was able to get in through the use of a spy, some dormouse whom he had ransomed his family for entrance to the abbey”

“That sounds like something he would do alright but that wouldn’t be all lets look at the other invasions and see what else was attempted”

They worked with Brother Tobias through the day finding records of all the previous invasions and even ones from the great Mossflower war before the founding of the abbey, at one point Rupert began to get inquisitive

“You seem to know a great deal about the Juska yet your very peaceful why is that.”

Corbus turned to Durb “I think they had best know now it may make us lose their trust if we don’t let them know soon enough”

“Alright then if it’s for the best, tell them”

Corbus began “You see we were not always the kind beasts you see today, many seasons ago we were in fact Juska ourselves”

This surprised Rupert “But what caused you to change”

“Well you see back when we were with the Juska my father was chief, so I was next in line to be, but one day he was killed by an assassin, my brother. Claiming he should become the next chief in line he challenged me to a duel and we fought the next day but he knew I was the better swordsbeast so he dulled my sword before the fight and I was forced to retreat after losing my eye in the fight, from then on me and Durb here wandered through the land giving up our ways of death and slaughter because we knew it would only bring us more harm.”

“Well it seems you’ve had a bit of a dark past, but I guess that is fortunate on our part considering you know so much about our enemy, but just one thing is still puzzling me, why then is he called Taggerung”

Durb knew this “That is a name he made himself even had a seeress make up a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how his first name meant ‘great warrior’ in some ancient language”

“Well it seems he is not as big of a threat as we once thought him to be” said Tobias

“Don’t underestimate him he may not be all his name sets him out to be but he is still a tricky one and that is the most deadly thing about him.” Warned Corbus

A Gousim shrew came in at that moment yelling to them

“The Juska have arrived in full force they are attacking the abbey!”

Durb and Corbus then ran to the wall top pulling out their weapons, Zann was currently giving the abbey his ultimatum

“Surrender the abbey to us and you shall be spared but fight back and you shall be defeated” he ordered

Corbus was the one to answer this” this abbey shall never be yours as should the tribe you lead traitor!”

Zann recognized the voice and was partially surprised to hear it, though he hid it “ah brother it’s so nice to see you again I had though you would be dead right now and is that your brainless lackey Durb next to you, this truly shall be a glorious victory” he motioned to Stitcheye at that point “CHARGE SCALE THE WALLS!” Stitcheye screamed at the troops

They then began a murderous charge towards the abbey, some carrying grappling hooks and some with ladders, but the abbeybeasts fought back bringing a rain of arrows and stones down upon them.

As the battle went on ahead Zann had ordered six loyal Juska to follow him “while they attack from the front and get their attention we will scale the walls to the west”

On the walltop Corbus had seen such an attack coming, knowing his brother so well “Durb come with me I don’t see Zann out there and if I know him he’s doing something right under our nose” “Good point lets check the other sides, see what he’s up to”

Zann and his group had circled around the abbey until they had found a relatively easy place to scale

“Ok start here and when you get to the top try and get into the abbey building and try to take a hostage, preferably a young one”

As they neared the top two faces suddenly appeared on the wall top, it was Durb and Corbus “Well hello I believe you plan has failed, oh and thanks for the idea about hostages” Corbus said as he cut six of the ropes and pulled the seventh one up knocking its climber unconscious in doing so.

“Good idea about taking the hostage now we may get an idea to why he’s here, it can’t just be the gold Zann has always wanted something bigger” complimented Durb

“Well the battle should end soon considering his plan failed”

“Aye I can already see them falling back”

After the Juska had finally retreated the abbey met to discuss the battle

“Well we have minimal losses only about five injured” assessed log a Log

“it should be worth pointing out that while the battle was going on me and Durb discovered they were trying to scale the walls on the western rampart, we stopped them and even got a hostage, he should be waking up about now”

“Well then lets see who we have and what he knows” said Skipper

In the cellar the prisoner was awake and being guarded by Drogg, He addressed Corbus, skipper and Log a log as they entered the room

“The prisoner has just woken up and i have some good news for you Corbus, your an uncle, he says he Zann's son Sawney Rath."

Chapter four
They entered the room where Sawney was imprisoned, his paws had been tied and he was sitting in a corner

“You’re going to regret this I’m telling you my father is was just here for the treasure, he probably would have left this place intact but now that you’ve got me he’s going to burn it top the ground because of this”

Corbus silenced hum by putting a blade up to his throat “listen sonny, we need to know what he is up to, now these gentlebeasts here have some restraint and won’t dare hurt a young one like you but I’m a vermin see so I don’t have any kind of restraint like that” he threatened

Skipper, whom had been told their past, whispered to Durb “You two were real scary when you were with the Juska weren’t you”

“Aye you should’ve seen us back then we were real pirates back then, especially Corbus, he was a real mean one until his father was killed” he answered

Corbus continued to interrogate Sawney to no avail “tell me what he is doing now or we’ll string you up, I know your Juska and I know that by your age you’ve done you share of blood shedding so we have more than enough reason to”

“Never I will escape here and you will be the first one I kill for I am Sawney Rath the son of Zann, the Taggerung.” “So you think your father is some ‘great warrior’ well let me tell you the truth, I am his brother, your uncle, and when we were younger he killed chief Tabun, our father, assassinated him in the night then he challenged me to battle, but before doing so he dulled my blade and cheated in the fight, I still have the scars to prove it, ya see he took my left eye in the fight and because of it I have never forgotten what he has done”

Sawney was surprised by this “But he told me you killed his father and that he killed you too”

“Oh is that what he told you well it’s wrong I am the rightful chieftain of the Juska, and he is nothing but a coward” It was at this that he finally gave in “He’s not here for the treasure, he’s here for some great sword, one that is supposedly unbreakable, forged from a star.”

“Now that sounds a bit more like him, someone post a guard to make sure he doesn’t escape, we need to find out what he’s up to next “said Corbus as he left

Outside the abbey Zann had already begun plans for his next attack “it seems that our largest problem is my brother, he knows all my tricks and will be prepared for him, so we must find a way to get rid of him, get me Sombra”

Sombra was a weasel, an assassin for Zann; he had helped him when he planned to assassinate his father and was responsible for dulling Corbus’s blade before the fight “What does the Taggerung require of me”

“I need you to kill someone for me, and it is not a new target, it’s my brother, he is aiding these Redwallers and is telling them all of my tricks, he must be eliminated. He is currently inside the abbey most likely interrogating my son, find him kill him and free my son.” He ordered

That night Sombra began climbing the wall, making sure he did not make a single sound in doing so and that nobeast would see him, he avoided the wall guards and made it to the abbey where he quickly mad it to the stairs but stopped as he heard voices up ahead.

“The prisoners been pretty quite, I think Corbus scared him a bit too much”

“When I saw him he looked pretty shaken”

He waited in a empty room until their voices faded away and went strait for the dormitories and searched until he found a room with a ferret in the bed, acting quickly he brought out his dagger and stabbed the sleeping ferret in the stomach, unfortunately he screamed “Help!”, alerting all in the area.

“Somebeast has been attacked quickly I heard it coming from here”

Sombra acted quickly making for the door but was stopped by the last beast he expected to see,

It was Corbus.

He was so confused he failed to notice Corbus’s own dagger lunge at him piercing his heart.

Corbus quickly ran to the bed “Get Sister Balsam Sawney has been attacked”

The sister was soon at Sawney’s side aiding him “he’ll survive but the injury will pain him for many years to come” Skipper easily figured out what happened “it seems to me that this weasel came here trying to kill Corbus but mistook Sawney for him, stabbing him.”

“Well let’s just be glad that both of us are still here and that he yelled help, otherwise he might have realized the mistake and gone for me too”

“To be safe we should double the guard tonight, incase he isn’t the only one”

The next day Corbus convened with the abbey leaders and discussed his idea

“I believe that the Juska may now think I am dead, if this is true then we can use this t our advantage, I think that if we can disguise me I will be able to infiltrate the camp and find out what his plans are.”

“But how could we disguise you to the point that your own brother wouldn’t recognize you?” asked Rupert

“Well the thing is that he hasn’t seen me for many seasons so he will have a bit of an outdated idea of what I look like up close, that with a good disguise and he will not recognize me at all.”

“Well we had better get started” said Log a Log

They then spent the next few hours making Corbus look less like himself, which was rather easy as there were many materials to use in doing so.

Once they were finished He barely resembled his former self, he appeared much dirtier wore a red tunic and had even put on a fake tattoo that he had seen the other Juska wearing “well lets hope this works” he said to himself.

Chapter Five
Corbus arrived early the next day as the Juska began to wake up and started wandering through the camp until he came across what was undoubtedly Zann’s tent, as it seemed more ornate and larger than the others, unfortunately for him it was guarded by several Juska, whom were clearly of higher rank.

“Well that rules out spying, maybe I can find another way of discovering his weakness”

It was mere moments later that he noticed something that aided him greatly; the rest of the tribe seemed to be living in shabby tents and been given minimal amounts of food in comparison to what Zann and his captains had been eating. He then went to one of the Juska, a female stoat, and began inquiring about Zann.

“Excuse me how long have you been with this tribe”

“About twenty seasons, why?”

“So you’ve been here since Tabun was chief correct”

“Aye, those were the good days, Tabun was a good chief, Kind to those in his command and ruthless to his enemies.” She said happily

“Yes until Zann took charge”

“He isn’t fit to command a loaf of bread let alone the tribe, personally I liked his brother more, and it’s just too bad he’s dead now”

A nearby rat added his view “I’m still not sure ‘ow he won, Corbus was a great swordsbeast”

The stoat looked around “Well don’t let it out but I remember the day of the fight, and right before it I saw that weasel, Sombra, takin’ Corbus’ sword and dulling it”

“Why has he been in power for so long, it seems that he should have been replaced years ago” Corbus asked

“It’s that wildcat, Stitcheye, and the guards; they keep a good tight circle around him, keep him nice and safe” said the rat, who’s name was Calrun.

“But the numbers of the clan surely outnumber his guard”

“That’s the other reason he’s still chief, no one here has the battle smarts that he has, sure we can fight but when it comes to leading the battle, well you see anyone who has the smarts enough to lead is promoted to captain”

‘Well maybe we can solve that, I happen to be a great strategist, before I came here I leaded a band of my own and we never came out defeated, that is until Zann recruited us”

A horn sounded calling the Juska to battle.

Before going Calrun added “See us after the battle if your still here we’ll see if you can help”

Corbus made it look as if he were heading to the abbey like the others when actually he was slipping off into the woods to alert His friends of the plan.

Back at the abbey the alarm was raised as they saw Zann’s new plan, a battering ram.

“Moles pile up dirt on the front gate, anyone not on the walls find anything you can use to barricade it” ordered Skipper.

The defenders hurried up to the wall top and began firing upon the invaders mainly focusing on the battering ram As this was going on Corbus reached one of the wicker gates was brought inside to the main abbey building.

Cregga heard him coming in “great Corbus your back, tell me what you have learned”

“Well I was unable to get to Zann, but I did find out that he has been hoarding all the luxuries for himself and the rest of the tribe are becoming mutinous over it, if I can get them angry enough I may just be able to have them rebel against him and, if anything, it will force him to give up his position as chief”

“ah even better than I had imagined, now to our current predicament, we need to find a way to get rid of his battering ram before it reaches the gate”

“I saw it and it looked as if it had seen a rather dry summer, so I think that if we could set it on fire not only would they abandon it but they would lose it altogether”

“Yes but how would we do so, we can’t get close enough to it”

Just then Corbus remembered something he had long forgotten “I think Durb will be able to help us with that, I’ll go get him”

A few minutes later Corbus came in with Durb and several archers from the wall

“Alright now where do you keep the oil Durb?”

“What are you talking about” asked Cregga

Durb explained “You see I always keep with me a bottle of oil and cloth so that when needed I could make a fire arrow, though up to today I never thought I would have to use them”

“Of course my fire arrows it’s perfect for our needs”

Durb began showing the shrew archers how to make the arrows “all we need to do is Dip a bit of cloth in the oil and tie it around the arrow and when you fire you literally set it on fire”

The archers began doing as they were shown and soon had several quivers of fire arrows

“Now to the walltop I shall sneak back to camp and begin preparations for the rebellion”

The newly equipped archers arrived at the walltop and began firing upon the battering ram, avoiding setting fire to anything else, and soon it was alight and the Juska were running for the ditch to douse the flames. Once Zann realized his plan had failed he retreated back to the safety of his camp.

Later that night the mutinous horde converged away from Zann and began plotting his downfall with Corbus taking the lead.

“Now remember how Zann gained his leadership, he defeated his brother in battle”

“Yes but also remember that he cheated”

“This is why we must remain vigilant and watch out because he may try it again in fact I’m almost certain of it” “Then when shall we attack?” one asked

“We shall have to catch him off guard, find at which point in the day that he is the least prepared, when he’s tired even”

“That would be in the morning after he has woken up, he will be tired and sluggish” added a ferret named Aldy

“Perfect then we have a time and we have a means, if we do this correctly then we shall have the support of the rest of the tribe”

Corbus then traveled in secret into the abbey and began to sharpen his blade and repair his armor. Through the night he prepared, planning his every move considering every possibility and once he left he did not leave alone.