Queen Amballa (or Ballamum as she was otherwise called) was the Queen of the Highbeast pygmy shrew colony that lived on the cliffs north of Fort Marshank. She was the mother of Dinjer. Her husband was carried off by a gannet and presumably eaten.
Queen Amballa imprisoned Martin the Warrior, Rose, and Grumm Trencher for a short while. After Martin rescued Dinjer from another gannet, she set them free, in addition to another beast she had previously taken captive, Pallum. Her sword supplied Martin with a weapon until he recovered his own sword from Badrang the Tyrant. Later, she was recruited by Boldred to ally with Martin in the Battle of Marshank.