Mossflower


 * "Look up and find the secret is yours. Your castle your fort, Or so you thought. The way is in four trees. The way is in Boar in Brockhall. Under ale, under bread, under cheese..."
 * ―Poem from Mossflower

Mossflower is an award-winning novel by Brian Jacques, the second book in the Redwall saga. It takes place chronologically after the events of Martin the Warrior. The first part of the story explains how Martin comes to Mossflower Woods and joins the woodlanders against the tyrannical Tsarmina. The second part describes the warrior mouse's journey to Salamandastron, home of the badger lords. The third and final part details his return to Mossflower and subsequent victory over Tsarmina and her fortress of Kotir. Created as a prequel to Redwall, the novel clarifies the origins of Redwall Abbey and Martin's sword. The storyline also provides the background of the legendary mouse and introduces the mountain of Salamandastron for the first time.

Book Divisions (English)

 * Book 1: Kotir
 * Book 2: Salamandastron
 * Book 3: Of Water and Warriors

Kotir
The protagonist is Martin the Warrior, who comes to Mossflower Woods after recently escaping from Fort Marshank. He discovers that Mossflower is being ruled by a tyrant wildcat, Verdauga Greeneyes, who resides in the castle Kotir. After getting into a fight with some of Verdauga's soldiers, Martin is imprisoned at the orders of Verdauga. Tsarmina breaks Luke the Warrior's sword in half, and Martin swears to slay her.

Verdauga's daughter, Tsarmina, poisons her father with the aid of female fox physician Fortunata, and frames her brother Gingivere for the murder. She subsequently takes over the throne for herself and imprisons Gingivere. Meanwhile, Gonff the Mousethief is caught stealing from Kotir, and is thrown in prison with Martin. The two get acquainted, and Gonff tells the story of Mossflower and of the Council of Resistance in Mossflower (CORIM) resistance movement against Verdauga.

Martin and Gonff are given a message and pick-locking tools from the Corim, and stage a daring escape. Tsarmina is alerted to their presence, and a harrowing chase begins. The pursuit leads to the mess hall, where Martin and Gonff jump out of the window.

During the commotion inside, the Corim task force outside Kotir witnesses a strange sight: a band of mice dressed in green robes walking straight for Kotir. Squirrel Queen Lady Amber unceremoniously orders the "bunch of ninnies" to get under cover, and the mice are shuttled off to Brockhall.

Gonff and Martin land on the grass and are protected from projectiles by the dense tree branches. Lady Amber and her archers audaciously hold off the entire Kotir army with showers of arrows. Their valiant efforts enable the Skipper of the otters and his otter crew to spirit Martin and Gonff away to Camp Willow. Tsarmina pursues them with some of her soldiers to the edge of the river, but loses the woodlanders. 



Furious over the well-coordinated escape, she orders Brogg and Scratt to go back to Kotir to fetch a feral, blind water rat called The Gloomer. With the aid of a reluctant Fortunata, they bring Gloomer to the river to hunt down the fleeing otters. Skipper releases an enormous pike named Stormfin into the water, and a vicious battle ensues. Gloomer tears ferociously at the pike, but the water rat is overmastered by Stormfin and drowns. Tsarmina and her army are left with nothing but the laughter of the woodlanders as they vanish into the forest.

Subterfuge and Negotiation
At Brockhall, the Corim's headquarters, the woodlanders are properly introduced to the mice and their leader, Abbess Germaine. The Abbess happens to be an old friend of Bella of Brockhall. They are refugees from Loamhedge, an abbey that was suddenly plagued by disease. All the creatures sup together, and Gonff strikes up a friendship with Loamhedge mouse Columbine.

After dinner, the woodlanders, along with Martin and Gonff, hold an animated discussion about their next course of action against Kotir. Bella advises the use of espionage, and Gonff proposes that the robin Chibb would be an ideal spy. This idea causes a great deal of expostulation, as Chibb is very self-serving and greedy. In the end, Bella and Foremole vouch for the mousethief's suggestion, and the Corim enlists Chibb to spy on Kotir. Later that evening, woodlanders celebrate the successful rescue and two little hedgehogs, Ferdy and Coggs, sons of Ben Stickle and Goody Stickle leave Brockhall, wanting to overrun Kotir.

Ordered by Tsarmina to scout the woodlands, Scratt, Brogg, Fortunata, and their soldiers bump into another Kotir group led by Ashleg in the darkness. They fight madly before they recognize each other.

Early the next morning, Chibb flies around Kotir, examines its layout, and meets Gingivere briefly. That same morning, Bella and Martin discuss the predicament of the woodlanders during their morning stroll in the woods. The seasoned badger tells him about the mountain of fire lizards, Salamandastron, and its current ruler, her father Boar the Fighter. Upon their return to Brockhall, Bella arranges a search-and-rescue effort to find the two errant hedgehogs.

Unfortunately, Ferdy and Coggs have already been captured by a third Kotir search party under Captain Cludd, a dull-witted weasel. They undergo a terrifying interrogation by Tsarmina herself, but refuse to divulge any information. The young brothers are then thrown into the cells on either side of Gingivere's cell, and the kindly wildcat befriends them. In Brockhall, Bella tells Martin more about Salamandastron. She expresses her belief that Boar the Fighter is the only one could defeat Tsarmina.

Journeying to Salamandastron
Bella, Martin, Gonff, and Dinny the mole begin an exhausting search for a map to find the route to Salamandastron. They search among Brockhall's vast piles of dusty scrolls and records, but meet with little success until Martin accidentally discovers their first set of clues in a secret compartment. These clues lead them to the Brockhall family crest, where they find a scroll with a cryptic poem. This poem leads them, in turn, to the bottom of a table, which conceals another enigmatic poem. The four interpret the first few lines of the poem, which is a map to Salamandastron in verse.

Martin, Gonff, and Dinny begin the first part of the journey to Salamandastron with a Corim force headed to Kotir. They part ways, and Kotir soldiers Splitnose, Scratch, and Blacktooth stealthily shadow the three adventurers. Just outside of Kotir, the woodlanders use Chibb to ferry bags of food to Ferdy and Coggs. They are soon spotted by Tsarmina and are ambushed. Lady Amber and Skipper's forces fire successive volleys of arrows and sling stones, delaying the slow, armoured beasts of Kotir. All seems lost until Foremole provides an escape tunnel to Moledeep.

Gingivere and the hedgehogs enjoy the provisions, and the wildcat hides them in his cell in a bag. Tsarmina hears of their "escape" and searches all Kotir for them, but the two little hedgehogs cannot be found.

As the hue and cry is raised at Kotir, Martin, Dinny, and Gonff attempt to outrun their pursuers. They apparently succeed, and find a quiet pond where Gonff sits down to fish. Martin, however, spots a female swan and her mate and orders the other two to silently slip off. Later, Blacktooth, Scratch, and Splitnose arrive and foolishly try to throw spears at the swan. Scratch orders the other two to fetch some rocks while he wades up to stab the female swan. The male swan on guard kills Scratch instantly. Blacktooth and Splitnose flee the scene.

The Mask
Back in Mossflower, Skipper enlists the help of his brother Mask to free Gingivere, Ferdy, and Coggs from Kotir. Mask, an eccentric otter without a tail, is a master of diguise and can imitate a wide range of animals, from rats to squirrels. Outside Brockhall, Columbine spots Fortunata, who is sent by Tsarmina to spy in the guise of a wandering healer. The young mouse hurries to Brockhall and alerts the Corim of the fox's presence.

Wandering aimlessly after the death of Scratch, Splitnose and Blacktooth stumble upon Gonff, Martin, and Dinny, who are sleeping on a river bank. The two villains tie them up and hold them captive while they devour all of the woodlanders' supplies. However, Gonff, in his role as "Prince of Escapers," plays on their greed and causes them to fight over the food. Blacktooth is killed by Splitnose's spear and Splitnose falls into a pit hole.

At Brockhall, Mask disguises himself as a fox named Patchcoat and makes contact with Fortunata. Accompanied by Mask, she visits Brockhall and takes Spike and Posy (disguised as Ferdy and Coggs) into the woods under the pretext of gathering herbs. Mask gets Fortunata lost and brings her to a fork in the woods. He suggests that Fortunata should try one path and he another. Fortunata acquiesces and follows her path until ten arrows from Lady Amber and her archers halt her progress.

Meanwhile, Martin, Gonff, and Dinny attempt to cross a ford, but are ordered to pay a toll by a newt named Whipscale and a grass snake named Deathcoil. The two bullies are driven off by Log-a-Log Big Club of the Northwest Shrew Tribe. Log-a-Log takes the travellers to his home and tells them how he ended up in such a remote location. The shrew was enslaved by the sea rat Ripfang, but escaped to the Great South Stream, where he now lives.

They continue their quest with Log-a-Log on his ship the Waterwing until it wrecks by a waterfall. The unconscious Martin, Dinny, and Log-a-Log are rescued by Lord Cayvear and his tribe of bats and are taken to Bat Mountpit. It takes them only a few minutes to realize that Gonff is nowhere to be found. Their other problem is that the only exit to the cave is guarded by a hostile owl, which is more than a match for the whole bat tribe. Dinny utilizes his superior engineering skills to dislodge the owl's roost, effectively driving off the predatory bird.

The Rescue
Mask, alias Patchcoat, infiltrates Kotir and impresses Tsarmina, who demotes Captain Cludd to promote the mercenary. That night, the otter heads down to the cells and pretends to bring Gingivere to Tsarmina, while the hedgehogs are concealed under his voluminous cloak. Sore at his relegation, Cludd maliciously steps on Mask's fake tail to get back at him. The tail comes right off, and Cludd sounds the alarm.

The fugitives run across the parade ground, and Tsarmina fires an arrow directly at her brother Gingivere. Gingivere bends over to pick up Coggs, and Mask takes the full force of Tsarmina’s arrow. The waiting Corim warriors boldly make a stand on the parade ground and slow the advance of Tsarmina’s army while the escapers dash into the woodlands. They are forced to retreat and wedge the gates shut to buy time for Mask, who is staggering painfully through the forest. Mask falls heavily, tells Skipper that he won’t make it, and dies.

Enraged at his brother’s death, Skipper challenges Cludd to one-on-one combat as both armies watch on. The vengeful otter gains the upper hand and throws Cludd onto several rows of double-ended otter javelins. The irony of the situation is noted in the novel, where it is pointed out that Cludd's Captain cloak was impaled to him, thus returning to it's final master after a vacation to the Mask and Skipper. The woodlanders, including Skipper, quickly disperse into the shadows of Mossflower. While this action takes place, Abbess Germaine, Columbine, and Old Dinny wander through the deserted fortress of Kotir, assessing its strengths and weaknesses. Deep in the lowest levels, they find a tunnel that leads out of Kotir and into Mossflower. Upon their return to Brockhall, Old Dinny proposes the flooding of Kotir through this tunnel, and the plan is met with sound approval.

Captured by Toads
After taking leave of Lord Cayvear and the bats, Martin, Log-a-Log, and Dinny travel to the Toadlands. The land is wreathed in fog, and they are surprised and captured in a net by six trident-wielding toads. They are dragged to the toad king Marshgreen, who is flanked by none other than their old friends Whipscale and Deathcoil.

After an elaborate ceremony, the trio are released from the net and thrown into Screamhole, a large pit. They land with a splash into deep, muddy water and are rescued, to their astonishment, by Gonff. The irrepressible mouse-thief hauls them up to a ledge in the pit with a vine; he explains that he was washed down the river, captured by Whipscale and Deathcoil, and thrown into the Screamhole. Gonff goes on to introduce them to Snakefish, a giant eel that will eat them all if he is not given food soon.

Tsarmina has been having dreams about being drowned and acts insane, prompting her advisor Ashleg to desert. The Queen appoints Brogg the weasel as captain in Cludd’s stead, and sets out alone to hunt Gingivere. As she wanders around Mossflower, she runs into Bane, a mercenary fox commanding sixty scruffy, but well-fed soldiers. Planning to take control of Kotir, Bane joins forces with Tsarmina and they attack the woodlanders digging the flood tunnels, inflicting heavy casualties. Lady Amber and Skipper launch a successful surprise attack on Kotir with fire arrows as retribution for their losses.

Huddled in the Screamhole with his three companions, Martin comes up with a plan. He has Dinny dig up to the surface and hang the net they were captured in over the side of the Screamhole. Snakefish, who is mighty partial to a “brace of plump toads,” hauls Martin, Gonff, and Log-a-Log up and dines on toads all night.

Boar the Fighter
Given directions by a cowed Marshgreen, the group cross an interminable area of sandy beach. After fighting off sea gulls and a fierce crab, they finally reach Salamandastron and meet three hares. Trubbs, Wother, and Ffring, as the hares are called, lead Martin and his friends to meet Boar. They familiarize themselves with the mighty badger, who re-forges Martin's broken sword with metal from a star. Unfortunately, Ripfang the searat comes to capture Salamandastron with his innumerable hordes of pirates. Martin, Dinny, Gonff, and Log-a-log help Boar fight the bloodthirsty corsairs, but they are badly outnumbered.

At Boar’s command, they break through the searat lines to capture the pirate flagship, Bloodwake. They find out that Boar had broken away from them to kill Ripfang; Boar urges Martin to escape and save Mossflower and dies from his grievous wounds. Sailing for Mossflower, Martin and his companions’ numbers are bolstered by former slaves (including Martin's childhood friend Timballisto) aboard Bloodwake, and Log-a-log’s long lost tribe.

In Kotir, the tensions between Tsarmina and Bane heighten after Lady Amber and Skipper’s attack. Tsarmina pretends to apologize to Bane, gives him Ashleg’s magnificent cloak, and asks him to inspect the gates. As soon as he goes outside, Tsarmina locks the gates and gleefully watches as he is pounced upon by the eagle Argulor. Longing for a taste of pine marten, the near-sighted Argulor kills Bane, but dies from wounds inflicted by the fox’s curved sword.

The Last Battle
The flooding of Kotir is going far too slowly, and the Corim believe that they must abandon that plan. However, Martin arrives with his force and sinks the Bloodwake, renamed Wuddshipp, in the middle of the river, diverting most of the water into the flood tunnels. Gonff is reunited with Columbine, and the newcomers to Mossflower get acquainted with the woodlanders. The next day, Martin parleys with Tsarmina and delivers an ultimatum: if Tsarmina and her army are not out of Mossflower by noon, they will all be buried beneath the ruins of Kotir. Tsarmina treacherously attempts to slay the entire committee, but the woodlanders foil her efforts and bring down a number of her soldiers.

Tsarmina attempts a surprise attack on them, but Martin leads a force of hares, woodlanders, and freed slaves that overruns the wildcat’s troops. To show the woodlanders’ mercy, Martin allows the remainder of the force to slink back to Tsarmina. Later, the warrior mouse negotiates with Tsarmina again, asking her to leave Mossflower with her army. The Queen refuses and fires an arrow into Martin’s side, and the wounded mouse walks away, declaring that Kotir will brought down stone by stone.

The next day, widespread consternation reigns in Kotir as the vermin discover that the lower levels are flooded. Most of Tsarmina’s soldiers desert and swim through the flooded valley to the safety of shore. Brogg and those that remain are crushed as Timballisto’s newly made ballistae hurl huge boulders at the sunken fortress. As Columbine and Abbess Germaine draw up plans for an Abbey called Redwall, Martin watches the progress of Tsarmina, who is floating to shore on a table. The warrior limps to the place of Tsarmina’s landing and hurls a few stinging insults at the former queen. Tsarmina reacts by joining the mouse in battle.

The Duel
Tsarmina rakes Martin’s back with her claws as he slashes away with his newly forged sword. Martin falls heavily to the ground, but miraculously manages to pull himself up and redouble the assault. The wildcat queen shoves him into the shallows, but her redoubtable foe slowly wades out and faces her with sword at the ready. The two opponents circle each other, and Tsarmina backs off, unaware that the water is behind her. She falls into the water and drowns as Martin collapses from his wounds.

As the pitiful remnants of the Kotir army are fished out of the water by the woodlanders, Dinny, Bella, and Gonff search for Martin. They see his sword shining in the sun and rush to the scene of the battle. Seeing the signs of a great struggle, they find Martin more dead than alive, and realize that he is beyond Bella’s skill to treat.

Chibb is sent to tell Abbess Germaine to gather her medical supplies, and Bella races to Brockhall to pick her up, nearly killing herself with the exertion. With the frail Abbess on her back, she hurries back to Martin, who is speaking to Boar at the gates of the Dark Forest. The mouse falls into a coma, and finally wakes after twenty days of Columbine and Germaine’s care.

Celebration
Martin finds himself in the middle of a celebration, and is updated on all that has passed since his duel with Tsarmina. The ferrets, stoats, and rats have all been chased away from Mossflower, and Gonff and Columbine have been married.

In the epilogue, Bella finishes telling the story to Gonff, the grandson of Gonff and Columbine. She goes on to say that Martin hung up his sword and forsook the way of the warrior, and that at a great feast skipper ate to much and sunk in the abbey pool and Lady Amber had to dive in and fish him out. Characters in Mossflower

Awards
Winner:


 * Lancashire Libraries Children's Book of the Year Award
 * Western Australian Young Readers' Award

Nominated:


 * Carnegie Medal

Collector's Edition
In 2004, Philomel re-released Mossflower in a new special collector's edition. The hardcover book is bound in leather with pictorial front board, gold gilt design, and sewn in ribbon page marker, with all new illustrations by David Elliot.

Release details

 * 1988, UK, Hutchinson Children's Books Ltd., ISBN 0091721601, Pub. Date: July 1988, Hardcover
 * 1988, US, Philomel Books, ISBN 9780399215490, Pub. Date: November 1988, Hardcover
 * 1989, UK, Beaver Books, ISBN 0099554003, Pub. Date: July 1989, Paperback
 * 1990, US, Avon Books, ISBN 0380708280, Pub. Date: September 1990, Paperback
 * 1994, UK, Arrow, ISBN 0099319217, Pub. Date: November 1994, Paperback
 * 1996, US, Avon Books, ISBN 0380708280, Pub. Date: August 1996, Paperback Re-Issue
 * 1998, US, Ace, ISBN 9780441005765, Pub. Date: November 1998, Paperback
 * 2002, US, Puffin, ISBN 9780142302385, Pub. Date: September 2002, Paperback
 * 2004, US, Philomel Books, ISBN 0399240314, Pub. Date: February 2004, Hardcover
 * 2006, UK, Red Fox, ISBN 1862301395, Pub. Date: August 2006, Paperback
 * 2006, US, Red Fox, ISBN 1862301395, Pub. Date: September 2006, Paperback