Redwall MUCK Forum

****Its long! ****

It was just a couple hours before sunrise, and Zoltar chose now to strike! His horde, right now 450 strong! Learned from past mistakes and shields, blades and armor on.They were trained to fight. They would show their true force today, as before small groups attack, well the wildcat had waited long enough.   

" Get the battering ram Ready!" The battering ram was large.   

" Is the catapult ready?" He asked as he got a nod, he had got it from the sea rats.Not too large but a couple large rocks could well break the gate that prevented entry.   

Zoltar himself was in his armor, chainmail and gauntlets on his arms that had large curved blades. He had his twin blades.He also had claws.   

"Attack!"   
   
Tiny nods, the fox was tall as he ordered the horde beasts, " Stay in formation and we will have victory."   

Rufus watches the horde moving and frowns.He can only hope Swift keeps his promise of helping the patrol,he stays out of sight as he already risked a lot going back and forth between Ciocan and the Mayor a couple times.   
   
Mayor Durang  and the Seer Orel  along with the villagers from Halyard who escaped by sea and the hare from the patrol consisting of Corporal Jessica and her squad as well as Lieutenant Velm and his team who were rescued are waiting to the south and west of the mountain's beach.   

They are awaiting a signal from Rufus to attack from the sea, they have sailed out so they are in place and ready as discussed in the letters Mayor Durang the sea otter has been exchanging with Lord Ciocan over the past few days via the handy medium of seagull mail carrier.   

Quinten meanwhile is up on the crater, watching through a telescope mounted and issuing instructions to the runners who are carrying messages back and forth from his vantage point and the leaders of the patrol. The General is staying put to give himself a tactical over-view of the outside and run messages to his Lordship and the other officers.   

Felicity is standing at the entrance to the catacombs, all of the Recruits in ranks behind her, ranging from the almost-graduates at the front to the newest members at the back. Behind them are the Dibbuns and the other non-combatants, hiding in the recesses of the caves. The Healers have banned the Sergeant from fighting unless absolutely necessary, and so this is the group she's in charge of. Honestly, the only better battler to have in charge of this group of hares would probably be Dominik. He and Felicity would both give their lives to protect the Dibbuns....after fighting ferociously.

"Steady in th'ranks back there," she firmly commands as she hears the rattle of weapons shaking in frightened Recruit's paws.   

Velm is with the ship and pawful of hares on it, he watches and hopes this goes well. 
 
Unknown to all, another beast is watching this altercation from his hiding spot among the dunes not far off. That mountain has been plaguing the periphery of his dreams for a while, as has the image of a Badger he doesn't quite know. But that cat. The hare squints through a spyglass he stole from a dead horse beast, and clutches a battleaxe he'd also pilfered from another corpse. He's been harassing these vermin for weeks... And now he's going to make them pay for displacing the villagers.
   
Zoltar grins as the battering ram hits the gate, some arrows are fired but the vermin are ready with shields this time. One rat does get an arrow in his side and falls dead.   

Tiny keeps an eye on gate, he barely avoids an arrow.The hares inside are gonna need to come outside and fight too. 
 
"LET THEM HAVE IT!"   

The voice would be all too familiar to the horde by now - the Master Sergeant of the Long Patrol having been the primary defender of the gates, his taunts often ringing out at the vermin, and it was often the herald of vicious counter-attacks, such as now.   

Rocks and stones and arrows are released upon the shielded vermin, and slowly pots of water are brought to boil. "Release them - now," Terrence commands when they're ready, and the defending hares pour them out into the space before the entrance.   

Rufus quickly flies towards the ships to alert them, the horde is after all a bit focused on the mountain.But it's hard to say how long just stones and arrows can help. 
 
Durang keeps walking up and down nervously by the tiller of his fishing ship, all told there are 9 ships in the little flotilla and about a hundred and twenty villagers. Not a big number all told, but they have been busy. They have built some makeshift catapults on the decks of their ships so they can also rain rocks on horde from behind.   

If they grab the element of surprise they can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. But for now they are waiting. Corporal Jessica has put herself under Velm's command as the superior officer and they are all waiting for Rufus' message to set sail.   

Quinten watches the approaching horde and the forward guard moving out front and raises a flag, whipping it up quickly and the bright yellow colour is the signal! Large rocks emplaced on the slopes of the mountain on either side of the main entrance are released.   

The hares manning them set them free and they THUNDER down the hillside, massive boulders dragging smaller with them as they set off a small avalanche and the whole thing rumbles down the hill towards the approaching horde. 
     
The hares under Terrence's command give a good account of themselves, obeying with alacrity. In different areas of the Mountain, the Long Patrol hares fire off their weapons, defending their home valiantly. Those obeying the General quickly move on to their next defensive task.   

The /bang/ of the battering ram hitting the main gates echoes down through the lower caverns of Salamandastron, and the Recruits jump. Some of them mutter, and others start to cry. Wails echo up from deeper below the Mountain as the Dibbuns' fright heightens.   

Felicity turns, leaning on her crutch as she looks at her command. "Steady in th'ranks thah!" The Sergeant looks up and down the ranks of Recruits before carrying on. "Y' 'ave ev'ry right t'be scared. I'm terrified, m'self. But we must be brave! We must 'ave courage! We must show fortitude! We are th'last line o' defense before the enemy reaches th'Dibbuns. I know many o' y' 'ahe fam'ly down thah, jus' like I do. Think of th' enem reachin' them, an' stand firm! Should they get down 'ere, we will make them weep /blood/ afore 'tis all through!!" The Recruits straighten and raise their weapons, even as some wipe away tears. "SAH, YES SAH!"   

Velm scans the sky and smiles"Its Rufus, up thar" He points to where the seagull is flying. He nods to the hares he is leading now"Best be ready for a fight..."He lets the mayor lead the villagers. "Let's do this." He says calmly,he forces back his worry for Donica for now, he has to focus.   

The horde backs up, a bit surprised at the landslide. The horde also does remember the hot liquids, a group of 10 get seriously burned. half die.But more will grab the battering ram. About 8 rats get boulders on them, Zoltar snorts." Come out and fight me hares are you too scared! You just hide in your fortress, a fortress that will soon be mine!"   

Tiny shakes his head.He chuckles." They fear us, my Lord."   

Varus frowns, as he watches the siege through his stolen spyglass. He fixes his gaze on the cat, and a wellspring of fresh hatred from a source he can't pinpoint wells up. The hare gets up, and moves stealthily toward the outer edges of the horde, camouflaged by a sand-colored cloak that he borrowed from the fox that found him in the ruins of the fort. Moments later, with a low "URK," a rat falls down, dead, a dagger protruding from between his ribs.   

"Sounds like that's the general's trick- louder than the ram, eh?" Terrence murmurs to those around him, hopping down the stairs to stand before the gates and drawing out a long, two edged sword, his own saber having been left in the sand where he threw it at Zolomon's foot-paws.   
"Fighters, brace the gates!" With the master-sergeant as the first line inside the mountain are the most able-bodied or veteran hares that Terrence had paw-picked himself for the task, which included a certain Pvt. Konner Attenborough. 
 
Above them arrows from the small contingent of the 67th, led by an old retired captain, are loose to thud about the wildcat. Lucia Cadwallader let out a cold laugh. "Next time, lads, we shan't miss turning him into a hedgehog, yes?" She hefted her hammer, looking out the arrow-slit. "It's too bad we aren't the ones to meet him in the field - I would so like to ring his noggin a few times."   

Slaw is inside helping with defenses.

Cole is helping where he can. They still have not let him go back to full on fighting.

Lord Ciocan is inside with his hares as he helps direct the hares, and when ready will l fight the horde on the shores itself.   

Rufus lands on the deck "Ya ys....they is gonna needs help quickfast before badfurs get insidee."   

Durang gives the order once Rufus delivers his message, flags fly, sails are hoisted and with a creak of wood and a rattle of metal the little fleet of 9 ships gets under sail, tacking into the wind and beginning its zig-zagging course back towards land.   

Orel, the brown sea-rat seer gives orders, preparing the make shift stone throwers, he won't call them catapults, they are the most basic stoen throwing devices he old sea-rat could build in the time avaliable but they will do the trick. Especially as the stones he intends to throw are burning coals currently being stoked in small braziers on each ship. They'll be about fifteen minutes before they are in the shallows but they are picking up speed and racing in for the shore as quickly as they can.   

Quinten meanwhile shakes his head, "They always do that, "Ooooh such cowards, hiding in your fortress," The General lifts his head from the telescope and scans the sea, "The point of the fortress isn't cowardice, it's sensible tactics...."   

He returns to viewing the shore again, "Send an order to Lucia, I want the second tier of archers to move down a level and we will be using the widdershins gambit with the ventral archery posts." He orders and the runners attending the General raise up and run down into the mountain. The avalanche is a one off trick but the archers at the archery points on the mid range point of the mountain are going to be an ongoing threat to anyone trying to take the door.   
 
The archers and slingers continue to fire as they're ordered to. Some of the hares with Lucia are actually kind of glad they're not going out there -- they have heard the reputation she and Terrence's father have, and would rather be led by hares who try to keep casualties to a reasonable minimum when possible, thanks. More booms from the battering ram, as well as the crash of the rockslide, echo down through the lower caverns as the wails of frightened Dibbuns echo upwards. The Recruits look frightened, then one young one way at the back starts singing: "I'm a hare of Salamandastron an' foes don't bother me. I'll march all day an' sing all night this song of liberty!" Felicity joins in, and the rest of the Recruits follow suit, trying to find courage in the words.

"Liberty, liberty, that's for me! The mountain hares are wild and free. 1, 2, 3, hooray! You can't stop sunrise every day!"   

Velm watches as they get closer to shore"Once we get in range, we attack quickly. They aren't even looking this way."   

Olivia is down in the caverns with the leverets, and she's trying to keep them calm. She's had a rough few weeks being a "widow." "Yes, sing along. That's it, stay calm."

Varus, meanwhile, is stealthily murdering rats, a weasel, and two stoats, as he cuts a swath of death further into Zoltar's ranks. So far the chaotic nature of the siege is doing well to camouflage his kills, but the deeper he goes, the more risks he takes of getting discovered. 
 
Zoltar paces back and forth, he doesn't know an attack is coming from behind as his focus is getting inside." Try the batterram again!" A fox notices the odd hare and goes to attempt to fight him.   

Tiny nods for archers to fire at the gates, they may injure if any luck a hare or two. 
 
The fighting hares of the Long Patrol at the gates, led by Terrence, brace the gates against the ram, some being pushed back - but they hold. Rocks, arrows and boiling water, oil, and porridge continue to fall about the attacks ramming the gates, causing ruin and chaos on any caught in the mess.   

The message reaches the Captain, earning the hare a clap on the back from the officer. "Good news! We'll be pulling off the ol' Widdershins!" Lucia gives a wolfish grin. "Cpl, you'h squad'll stay here, keep firing, the rest of you lot come with me!"   

Slaw keeps alert as he frowns." I hope they don't get inside." A few screams of the horde beast, he laughs." Ha..take that vermin."
   

Rufus looks up as he sees seagulls, and swift.He nods to them as the sea gulls are ready to deliver pain from above for the horde.   
 
The fleet of ships from the Halyard Villagers hooves too in the shallows, reefing sails to slow themselves down and with an order Orel fires the rock throwers. The braziers are swung and hurl a whole mass of burning coals at the back of the horde.   

As the ships splash through the shallows the Mayor calls out, "Onward, for Halyard, Lieutenant I believe the war-cry is yours!" The sea otter leaps into the shallows and will lead the villagers forward.   

Quinten watches the horde, considers their massed ranks and can see the oncoming ships and signals. There is a creak of wood and rope behind him and the manganol he built on the top of the mountain whips a huge chunk of rock into the air. A catapult doesn't have the range to reach the shore but a manganol does, he only has space for one but it is enough to toss a HUGE rock down at the horde.
   
The Dibbuns are crowded around Olivia and the other non-combatants down here. Some are wailing very loudly still, and it's not helping the others calm down and stay calm. Julia, Felicity's baby sister, goes to tug on Olivia's paw. "We're not gonna die, are we??"   

Upstairs a bit, Felicity leads the Recruits in another song. They still feel afraid, but they are feeling more brave as they continue to sing. "You won't find poor helpless beasts all undefended, like the old ones, babes, and mothers that you've slain. And you'll find that when your pleasant visit's ended, you'll never, ever leave our shores again..."   

The Corporal nods and orders the archers and slingers to keep firing. Various Privates are dashing through the Mountain, making sure no one is running out of ammo. One comes dashing up to Quinten. "Sah, we're startin' t'look low on arrows!" The hares with Lucia obey without complaint, but they aren't exactly thrilled to be following her anywhere. She's scary.   
   
Velm grins as he nods, he gets his saber out his saber and calls out strong "Give em blood and vinegar! Attack the horde!" He then leads the pawful of hares forward and whoever else wants to join.He nods to one beast to keep an eye out for Private Donica.   
 
The old healer shakes her head, and tries to smile reassuringly for Julia. "We won't... We'll be fine, lass. Don't y' worry y' little 'ead, dear." She sighs, knowing that her other two sons and daughter are out there, defending the mountain.

Varus, meanwhile, finds himself the unwanted target of a fox, who draws his sword. Varus raises his pilfered battleaxe, and using combat training that he didn't even remember he had, he begins to battle said fox. Before they can get very far, however, Varus hears something massive sailing through the air, and the shadow falls over himself and his foe. Turning quickly, the hare sees that massive rock, and he dives to the side. The fox, meanwhile, is not so lucky, as he stands there, transfixed, with a "Oh sh..."

*SPLAT*   
 
Zoltar quickly turns as he hisses." What on the name of all....!!!" Horde beasts are hit, wait from behind and from the front. The ones holding the batterram make the..fatal mistake of stopping..yeah those holding the battering ram are a little...dead.The wildcat puffs out and growls." Dont stare like fools...kill them!" He points to the charging beasts.   

Tiny blinks, " Where did they come from!"

Meanwhile inside Lord Ciocan peeks out of one of the slits. He looks to Terrence. " Shall we help?" He smiles, the horde is distracted.   

Terrence nods, slowly. "Of course, sah." He sucks in a breath, preparing to shout out -   

"JAVELINS, NOW!" Terrence's voice is unmistakable, and the many large darts are hefted by strong paws to pierce shield and armor alike, clouding out for a moment any light in before the entrance. 
 
"Hares, open the gates! Sally forth! GIVE THEM BLOOD AND VINAGAHHH!!"   

Meanwhile, it would seem only the General, the retired Captain, and the aged members of the Long Patrol know whatever the heck the widdershins gambit was - and not just Lucia seemed almost excited about it, even if most hares under her command seemed wary of her as they head to the lowest ring of outer rooms. "Prepare you'h ranged weapons" She shouted, gripping her own. They'll have a surprise for the vermin for sure - and so they wait for word from General Quinten.

Rufus has his own surprise, seagulls now also strike down at the horde pecking and clawing.Swift heads for..Tiny...and goes to claw his head. There are about 50 seagulls.
   
Mayor Durang and the villagers charge up out of the beach with the hares under Velm's control and ram into the back of the horde, the sea otter is using a sling with a hefty rock in it but is spinning it around, using it more as a club then a sling.   
The villagers are able to cut down a good few of the horde before they can attack and they retreat back to the boats as the horde sort themselves out and attack back.   

Quinten's order to widdershins is a sneaky one. Lucia takes her hares through the back of the main hall, into a hidden doorway and down a tunnel that emerges in a stand of rocks about a third of the way around the mountain from the beach. Now they are up on the cliffs above the beach and can rain arrows down on the horde from an entirely unexpected part of the mountain!   

Now however with the horde distracted is when Ciocan would give the order to fortay out! He won't leave the brave heroes of the village and Velm to face the horde alone and be destroyed! So now it is time to charge on out and attack!   

Another leveret goes to tug on Olivia's paw, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I want mummy! I want 'er rights /nows/!!"

His mother is upstairs with Terrence, charging out the gates. Felicity pauses the singing and gives an order to one of the most advanced Recruits. "Pass out th'watah canteens. Everybeast take a sip, then pass it on t'y'neighbour. Jus' a sip, mind you!" The Recruits do as she commands.   

Their silence is all that was needed for them to hear the command from upstairs. Felicity grips her crutch more tightly and loads her sling. "'Urry up wi' y'drink an' ready any ranged weapons y'got! Prepah defence!" The Sergeant has no idea that they're opening the gates due to reinforcements arriving. All she knows is that she heard the order for a charge. Again, the Recruits do as she commands. 
 
The gulls continue to attack from above, some of them even grabbing rocks and flotsam to drop on the enemy's heads. They claw, peck, and beat at the horde beasts with their powerful wings.   

The hares throughout the Mountain are doing their jobs perfectly. Even the ones with Lucia. They shoot out at the horde from their cliff top vantage point until their comrades are in the way. Then they will follow her to whatever they're supposed to do next. The arrows in the Mountain are running low, so many hares are being forced to switch to slings and stones.   

Velm slices at a weasel, and stabs the rat as the battle goes in favor of the hares.He scans the area for anything out of place. A small group of villagers surprise some horde beasts in a tent, the group of 15 horde beasts cut down before they can do much, it's there the villagers in the group find the haremaid, free her and quickly get her to one of the ships for needed first aid. Velm gets a nod and quick word from a Private with him that Donica was found, but he can't go be by her, he has to focus on the fight.   

With his foxy foe a flattened splat under a massive rock, Varus turns his attention to the rest of the horde. And now with Long Patrollers streaming out of the mountain, most of the vermin are ignoring the cloaked grim reaper. Raising his battleaxe, he launches into the fray, and starts to cut down his enemies with a yell. He's leaving carnage in his wake, stalking inexorably toward Zoltar. His single-minded mission to cut that beast down.

Meanwhile, inside the mountain, Olivia holds the young leveret, and shushes them gently. "Your Mummy will be back. Fear not. She'll be safe with Lord Ciocan leadin' th' charge..."   

Zoltar growls, ears flat he was losing, he can not..he WILL not lose! He has some claw marks on his arms and back but has also slain five of the sea gulls as he quickly moves. Then he sees the hares coming from inside now.He doesn't see Varus, yet anyways.   

Tiny is having issues of his own as the woodlanders and villagers come from both sides.He nods to some horde beasts still alive as a lot have fallen." Take out leaders!"   

Slaw charges at a couple horde beasts that have overpowered a hare maid and smiles at her, he then is back in battle mode.

As for the badger Lord...the horde seem to quickly want to get as far from the badger as possible, of course..some horde beasts fail.

"SPEAHS!" Terrence shouts with the swagger of his drill sergeant days, waving his sword. "CHARGE FORWARD! HOUND THEM BACK!"   

And that's what they do - the fighting hares with yells and battlecries rush forward, their spear points glittering in the early light of dawn.   

"Count your arrows, lads, we're down to the last of it." The captain says to those about her - they had put on tan and sandy cloaks for their maneuver, and she had them all organized into three ranks. "First rank!" She shouts, "Stand, loose!" The long-bows are fired, the arrows hitting their marks. Whatever their experience, the 67th can hit their target. "Second! Stand, loose!" Hefting her mace she rolls her shoulders, "Third rank - you're the last, stand and loose! The rest of you - draw swords and slings, let's be ready to hunt down any of the vermin who try running this way, eh?"   
   
The villagers continue to press their attack with Durang leading the way, he is cutting a way toward Tiny. The sea-otter intends to take them out if he can reach them and is pressing forward with the rest of the villages Sea-Otters. Then Orel gives an order, seemingly at random and another barrage of hot coals fall out of the sky and land on only horde-beasts. Quite how he managed that is a mystery but then he's a seer, he can see things others cannot.   

Quinten meanwhile is watching things and sadly for Lucia there is now way down from the widdershins cliff to the beach. It's a shear drop down a third of the mountains flank. It's a perfect place to grow vegetables normally and to rain arrows and sling stones down but there is no safe passage down to the beach to engage with swords and hammers.   

Ciocan meanwhile is striding forward, walking in his full armour and whirls his hammer into the fray! He is taking no nonsense, taking no prisoners and is going to batter his way toward Zoltar and his commanders, sending horde beasts flying like he was playing golf. 
 
Meanwhile, in Redwall, everyone is having a lovely day! Building a tree-house....
   
On the shore the Badger lord is angry!!!!!   
   
Velm is careful to avoid anything,he leads his hares to fight more of the horde,a stoat barely misses slicing Velm, the hare then smirks as the stoat is suddenly a bit...well he has a burning coal on his head and the stoat panics,getting taken down by harees.   
 
Varus sees him now. That hated CAT. Looking scared, he thinks. The hare stalks forward, and deftly beheads another stoat who was trying to protect his boss' flank. Too bad. He didn't have a head for battle, unfortunately. "CAT, I HAVE COME FOR YOU!" His voice rings out, above the din of battle, echoing off the mountain's sheer face. His memories are still all a jumble, but Zoltar factors heavily, and he knows there's a deep-seated desire for payback for some forgotten slight against the forgetful hare. He raises his axe, and throws back the hood of his cloak for every beast to see, though the gesture is meant for Zoltar alone.   

The Dibbun quiets down some. If he knew, he would give Slaw a huge hug for saving his mother. As it is, he goes to hide his tear-stained face in the crook of Olivia's neck. The Dibbuns have all quieted down, but many are still whimpering and crying. Felicity and her Recruits stand ready. "Steady....steady...." Outside, the hares with Lucia ready their other weapons as they step back, dropping their bows. They prepare for her to lead them back inside to charge out the front gate into close combat.

The gulls continue attacking, taking advantage of the enemies that just got literally burned.

And yes, meanwhile, in Redwall, even the DAB is behaving, which is somewhat miraculous since Dochas is bored.

But here on the Western shores, everything is dissolving into chaos.   

Tiny turns seeing the sea otter and smirks, the fox slays 4 villagers who try to take him down and heads straight to the mayor." Say goodbye."   
 
Zoltar snorts, he then sees Varus." impossible….IMPOSSIBLE....I KILLED YOU!." He somewhat freezes and then swings his blade.. 
 
With two paws on the hilt, Terrence hefts the long blade and takes two heads of vermin off in one sling. He's a large hare, so the big two-pawed sword isn't completely out of his skill to use. The hares about him and the Badger Lord are the best of the best of the Patrol, and they show that now - following Ciocan to slay any vermin in their path.   

"Well damn, I could've sworn there was a path down from here," Lucia mutters disappointedly, setting her mace to rest against a stone and take her sling out. "No matter!" she turns back to her hares. "Time to practice you'h stone tossing!"   

Now instead of arrows small sharp stones fly into the horde from up on the cliffs.   
   
Mayor Durang charges Tiny's, the villagers he just slayed all had belaying pins, cutlasses but Durang has the weapon he is feared for by those who know him, a sling and a rock.   

The otter just leaps forward, his sling spinning. It hits Tiny in the sword arm, then the stomach, and then with a whirling over-hand blow the otter crashes the small boulder in his sling down on Tiny's head, crushing it quite literally and ending the evil fox right there and then.
   
The horde near the villagers and Velm's squad of hares lose their nerves at this and fall apart leaving them easy prey for Velm's hares and the villagers.   

Quinten is watching the battle and his Lordship striding out surrounded by hares. He considers and sends a few more orders but there isn't much else the General can do from here. He does send orders to start pulling wounded back inside and an order for healers to move to the forward infirmary post and prepare for wounded.   

And a second order for Felicity to hold her post, the doors are open, no one has gotten in yet but they could and he doesn't want her to think he has forgotten her and her vital post as the last line of defence. If anyone gets in they will run into her team first.   

The hares with Lucia quickly prove that they're just as much of dead shots with slings and stones as they are with bows and arrows. Screams rend the air as stones take out enemies. The gulls continue to attack, though a number of them have fallen victim to enemy weapons. They're more cautious now, preferring to drop debris on the enemy, trying to stay out of range of the various weapons the enemy has. But they haven't retreated from the battle yet! They're keeping their promise.   

Felicity shuffles slightly on her crutch as she receives the message from the General. Makes sense for the doors to have been left open. She passes on the order to her Recruits. "Th'gates are open, but well-guarded. But we still need to be ready! Be brave! Prove y'selves this day! Make our ancestors proud! Futah genahrations shall remembah th'deed we do this day, whether courageous oh cowahdly. Let us make 'em remembah us foh our fortitude!" The Recruits all stand a little taller. "SAH, YES SAH!"   
   
Velm is close enough too see....he blinks "But...how?" He barely misses getting a bad slice to the arm,he does get an injury to his shoulder as he stumbles back slightly and a couple villagers help him.He looks over at.."Varus?"   

Olivia hugs the boy, and comforts him. She's great with leverets, being a mother several times over, herself.

Outside, Varus raises his axe, as Zoltar's blade crashes into it with a resounding clang of metal. He stares directly into the cat's eyes, full of hatred for the foul beast, his shattered memory just letting him know that his foe has caused him a great personal slight. Good hares slain. Young lads with their whole lives ahead of them. He shakes his head, trying to dismiss those flashes and fractured images, channeling his resolve into slaying this cat. "Y' AIN'T KILLED ME YET, CAT!" He yells again. "I'VE BEEN WATCHIN' Y'... WATCHIN' Y' TRY T' ENSLAVE THESE GOODBEASTS. AN' I WON'T STAND BY. YAHR GONNA DIE 'ERE, MATE! I SWEAR IT!"   

Zoltar growls, he swings his blade at Varus and focuses his attention on the old hare. He blocks a couple strikes sent at him and even gets disarmed of his blade.A hiss..a growl...claws out he lunges at the hare." Die old Fool!"   

Darung is leading a retreat back to the shallows with his villagers, he can see Varus off in the distance but he can't push forward, he has lost about a third of the villagers and their retreat is being covered by the onslaught of more coals from the boats, they could really do with some back up.   

Ciocan stares at Varus and roars and speeds up, the badger lord smashing his way through horde beasts, "VARUS!" His bellow is one full of joy, "EULALIAAAAAA RALLY to the Major!!"   

The Badger starts off and a group of the archers by the gate have to move forward to follow their Lord and defend his back. He isn't really watching his rear in his joyous rage to reach the Major so their Lieutenant following some orders Quinten had given him earlier ordered his squad forward to protect his Lordship's flanks. The General was quite specific not to let his Lordship run off without some hares watching his back incase he got a bit "Blood Wrath" on them all.   

This has the unfortunate effect of letting two rats slip in through the gate whilst everyone is distracted. They hurry inside, ready to cause as much mischief as they can and burst out of a side corridor to find themselves facing Felicity and the recruits. They smirk in delight at the clearly un-prepared greenhorns between them and the plunder and charge Felicity and her recruits.   
 
Terrence hews both cutlass and shoulder of a ferret who tried to block his claymore, the hefty blade thudding into the sand. The Master-Sergeant used the blade as leverage to kick a rat - sending them flying back as he dragged the sword point from the earth, slashing and cutting, with his hares following his path.   

But that voice - he thought he recognized and, and he spent a moment to look across the field at the other hares fighting - they must have shouted it. "ZOLTAR! KITTY-CAT!" He yells, realizing he couldn't see the leader, "WANNA SAY THE LONG PATROL'S A BAND OF COWARDS NOW?! I'LL HAVE YOU'H BLOODY HEAD!"   

Lucia, for her part, is keeping the stones flying down.   

Velm blinks"It is..varus....."He yells out "Varus!" He is distracted slightly and barely avoids a weasel going to try and slice his throat. He gets a wave of dizziness, lucky a villager ends the weasel's life first and catches Velm as the Lt. passes out, worn out and he does have the shoulder wound.   
- 
The hares with Lucia keep up their salvo of stones. But as the archers move ahead with the Badger Lord and the rats enter, a gull lands beside them.

"Rats go in bunny gate!" The other gulls continue to drop debris, some of them trying to cover the retreat of the Halyardians by swooping low and attacking the enemy from above. A few squawk at each other as they notice the crazy Bunny Lord doing crazy stuff like not protecting his back. They make sure to drop stuff on those enemies, for sure. 
 
The Recruits freeze as the rats appear around the corner. No one has time to fire off any missiles before the rats charge. Felicity drops her sling and draws her sword. Swinging her crutch and stabbing at one rat, she gives her best Sergeant yell: "PATROL, DEFEND! EULALIAAAA!!" The Recruits give out a full-throated echo of the time-honoured battle cry and fling their ranged weapons at the other rat, who will be buried under a veritable wave of slings, javelins, and like 3 arrows unless the rat runs away faster than they came in.   
   
Varus has no idea who this "Varus" fellow is, but he supposes it's some beast the Long Patrollers are looking for. Ignoring their problem, which is NOT his business, he returns to the task at paw, raising his axe, deftly swinging, and with one fell swoop, Zoltar's right paw is sliced clean off. The old hare is NOT playing here. No games. This is life or death, and Zoltar is the one going to die. He readies to give the feline a firm kick to the gut. His endgame starts now.   

Zoltar looks on, wait is that...fear? His paw is gone as he backs up.His ears flatten as he then rushes forwards to get kicked in the gut and falls backwards onto his back, dazed.   

Gritting his teeth, Terrence would  take stalk of the battlefield, and those around him. They were on a small sand, luckily near the Badger Lord. "Konnah, take the rea'h, I'll take point - TO THE LORD CIOCAN!" Raising the long blade the master-sergeant charges forward, hefting the weapon down at any who stand between him and the badger.   

Errapel is in the infirm, here to help any wounded hares. But he can fight, if needed..even if it's just a staff. 
 
"What the bloody hell is the patrol doing in there?" Lucia spits, picking her mace back up. "Sounds like there's trouble back inside! Half of you, stay out here, keep slinging those stones - the rest of you follow me back! QUICKLY!"   
 
Durang and the villagers have arrived at the shore and are holding their own, with the sea behind them the horde can't get behind them and with Tiny dead quite a few on the shoreside are just bolting south and leaving and the villagers are letting them go.   

Ciocan meanwhile is still hammering his way toward Varus and Zoltar, a bunch of horde beasts are in his way, he intends to careen through them with that hammer of his and pick up the Major. He is getting such a hug!   

Middle of a battle isn't the best time your Lordship!   

But well badgers are crazy in battle at the best of time.   

The two rats however are pretty done for, the one the recruits attack is swarmed under and the one Felicity is facing is somewhat startled. He is holding his own for now but the recruits are regrouping and he has no space to run away! By the time Lucia gets down here Felicity will probably have finished them off!   

The gulls are starting to settle on the mountainside and loose rocks down at the horde below. Flying is actually a lot of work, and they're getting exhausted.

Meanwhile, inside the Mountain, the front 2 ranks of the Recruits charge forward and help the Sergeant by surrounding the rat while the less experienced Recruits keep the passageway down well blocked. Just as they had drilled! Felicity has managed to block all attacks (turns out a crutch is a decent shield!), and now she throws her crutch at the rat and leaps forward, partly tearing her wound open as she does so. The rat has nowhere to go and a sword headed straight for his throat. There's not much he can do. The Dibbuns have been frightened into terrified and tearful silence down below as they realize danger may be on its way.   

The hare raises his axe, eyes locked on those of the dazed cat. "Yahr reign is ovah," He says, his voice practically dripping with malice. "Say 'ello to 'Ellsgates f'r me when y' get there." And then *WHOOSH*, the axe falls, a single swipe, and without further ado, the cat finds his head quite neatly severed from his shoulders. He raises it aloft like a trophy. "THE CAT IS DEAD!" He calls, letting all the remaining hordes beasts see that their commander has fallen, quite unceremoniously. "Halyahd is OURS!"   

As the fighting begins to fizzle out, Terrence comes to stand by the Badger Lord and Major, leaning on his big sword exhausted. He's covered in numerous cut and bruises, with a black eye where a spear butt hit him - but he still stands, breathing heavily, and so do many of the hares around them.   
"Konnah," He remarks to the Private now beside him, "My brain has turned to oatmeal mush, I think, o'h I took a right blow to the head. I'm seeing the bloody ghost of Majah Varus!"   

For her part, and the hares of the 67th with her, captain Lucia sighs. "Ah, good job. Wish you'd left some fo'h us, of course, but there's still work to do outside. Sergeant, get yourself and any of you'h hares that need it to the healahs - that wound looks bad. We'll take care of things here."   

Errapel walks towards the entry, stopping to nod to Felicity as he speaks"The wildcat's unexpected death has found him."He then says"I will help tend to any wounded."   

With Zoltar dead the back of the horde breaks and they throw down weapons and turn and flee. Ciocan is knocked out of his weird bloodwrath rage to reach Varus by watching Zoltar fall and he blinks around and then nods and raises his voice.   
"THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND RUN SOUTH! AND YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED"   
Maybe not the most popular order but he won't order the wanton slaughter of beasts who are running for it. He has spoken though and Quinten hears it from up top and also relays the order with a messenger for Lucia to hold the gates and form a defensive cordon to get the wounded back inside.   

Mayor Durang gives the order for the boats to sail as close to shore as they can and drop anchor and the sea-otter then approaches the Badger Lord, distracting him from Varus. SO CLOSE, hug him your Lordship... but no he has been distracted by the Mayor.   

"Your Lordship," The Mayor salutes, "Thanks for your help ... with your permission we will head back to Halyard, we need to reclaim the town properly before anyone tries to move in. But we have healing supplies and we are off loading them for your hares."   
   
The gulls come to land by the badger once the horde starts to flee. "Bunnies and Bunny Lord win! Never do it without gull help."

The hares remaining on the mountainside and at various windows wait for orders, firing at any horde beasts who try to continue fighting (until the order to cease fire arrives, of course). The Recruits are all save one unharmed, and they return to their ranks after saluting the Captain. Felicity retrieves her crutch, ignoring the blood seeping down her pants leg. "With all due respect, Sah, I'd prefah t'stay 'ere. M'sistah's down thah, an' I'd rathah die than leave 'er at this time." The passing otter Healer provides a helpful distraction. "'E c'n 'elp me, Captain, Sah." The Recruit who was injured has already left to go the Infirmary after receiving a nod from the Sergeant (who really ought to go, too, but is stubborn).   

Varus sees the badger. There are flashes of recognition. It's... So close. Flashes of the mountain, and soldiers. But then that devolves into fire, and death. And so much burning. A younger hare stabbed, and falling dead beside him. His gaze transfixed in a frozen gaze of pain. The older hare *almost* goes to Ciocan, to take his bigger paw, but those painful, confusingly jumbled memories sending his mind reeling in a spiral. Varus turns. This isn't his place. These aren't his friends and colleagues. They are complete strangers. Hefting his axe over his shoulder, he slips off into the chaos of fleeing horde beasts. 
 
"Wait." The Master-Sergeant stumbles forward, exhausted - "That IS the Majah?! WHY IS HE RUNNING?" With the last of his energy spent he falls forward on his face, but the hares of his quad soon help him back up.   

With pursed lips, the Captain replies, "Sergeant, that is an ordah - go to the healahs, o'h get one here to look at you. Besides, the fighting is done now, outside, if my hearing is anything to go off of. Which it is." Lucia turns to a corporal. "Come on, let's head out to check."   
 
Ciocan is busy talking quietly to the Mayor and just assumes someone took Varus inside for tea and healers and he'll be receiving the usual "I should be let out of the infirmary at once" letters from any officer over Corporal who gets over-ruled by a healer into staying in bed.   

The Badger Lord walks down to the shore to talk to the villagers and when he spots Lucia coming outside he waves her over, "Captain go with the Mayor's fleet to pick up the remaining villagers and take possession of the fort when they return to the village. Take some fresh hares out of the reserves and remain on duty in the village to help protect them incase any horde beasts are stupid enough to try their luck in the village."   

Quinten meanwhile has descended like the rolling wrath of command and is ordering anyone who says "they are fine" to the infirmary. He spots Felicity and Errapel and shakes his head, "Friend Errapel please tend to wounds in the infirmary, Felicity infirmary please and stay in bed until a healer says you can leave."   
He then turns and makes his way toward Olivia and the other non-combatant resident hares to see how they all are and what they need to start getting things back to some semblance of order. There will be a memorial for the fallen and a feast of celebration at some point, but for today, everyone can just be glad they are alive.

Felicity does not like this, but she hides all her irritation at having two (TWO!) commanders order her to the Infirmary and heads off, hobbling and striving to ignore the blood and the pain from her wound.  The Healers had let her do this since the noncombatants needed to be protected, but now she's stuck in the Infirmary.  *Fake hooray!*  The Recruits follow the General's orders now that the Sergeant is gone.  While she's in the Infirm, Felicity will be writing up recommendations for awards for each Recruit because they did so well obeying orders and being brave.

The gulls fly off. 

The Dibbuns and others rejoice when they are reunited with their families later.  Julia insists on spending the night with her sister.  They both need it.

Errapel will offer his help in the infirm, use his healer skills but also, unknowingly yet, his seer skills could well come in handy.

The rest of the day and also the next everyone has off, so they can recover, so they can heal, so they can gather their thoughts . So they can finally...relax. The horde was gone and the shores were once more safe.

Zoltar has had some bad luck, some good, but he still saw victory, in the end, he just had to wait. But right now he needed to get rid of annoying hares, yeah some got lucky, but not all of them as he grinned." Gonna have a good morning...for a swim huh?"

Velm just glared at the cat."You're all happy right now chap, trust me it won't last." He knew they were not in a good position but that doesn't mean he won't tell the cat off.

Zoltar smirks." You..and them." He points to the other 3 hares." Are the ones in the cage." He backs off, the sandbar was clearly seen and a few good yards into the sea, not too large to be on, but big enough for a cage." DO have a lovely morning..or rather a bad one." He chuckles." Maybe the stripe dog is watching the fun." He laughs coldly and quickly heads back to shore before the high tide comes in.

Velm just glared, but as the cat left a frown formed...water was only up to their knees but that would change in a  couple of hours.."

"Sur?.."One of the privates asked, "How do we...get out of this?"

  The Lt. just sighs and slams a paw into the bars. He looked at the other 3 hares, "We...don't"He sounded defeated.

A couple of hours pass, it's morning and seagulls are out..and by now that water is very likely chest deep....the hares seemed doomed.

The small flotilla of fishing vessels that set out from Halyard when the horde invaded have been making a temporary port out on one of the small islands beyond the western shore. It has fresh water and grass but not much else so they have been doing scouting trips back along the shore to see what is going on.
   
They have seen the horde leave Halyard but are reluctant to return home just yet. They did pull off a quick run to pick up more villagers and what food supplies were left. The Mayor doesn't want to risk everyone going home as that'd just give Zoltar a chance to sweep back in and seize a load of prisoners.
 
Now the bulk of the ships are back at their temporary base but Mayor Durang, the sea-rat seer Orel and a small  group of hares are crewing the Mayor's fishing boat. Corporal Jessica, Privates Harvey, Tamon, Sarah and Debra are making up the crew. The Mayor is acting as captain with Orel helping to teach the hares how to sail over the past few weeks they have gotten quite good at it.
   
They are lurking just out of sight of the shore to the south, Durang the big sea otter watching the horde on the shore before the mountain through his telescope. He has been watching the captive hares and the horde leader on the shore waiting for the tide to come in.
 
As the water reaches their chests Durang gives the order and Orel snaps too, shouting instructions to the hares on the crew and the little fishing boat raises its sails and leaps forward with the riding tide. Corporal Jessica, Harvey and Tamon have bows and arrows ready to pepper the shore whilst the Mayor and the others aim to sang that cage.

Zoltar doesn't see the small boat yet, but he soon will.A few horde do watch the cage,  every so often anyways as it's assumed the hares will die anyways, and the wildcat has not yet seen any ships, that may change today.

Velm mutters to himself,till he feels a tap on his shoulder.."Wot....I'm sorry guys, I let you down..".."Sur...look" the Lt. looks to where the Private ispointing and his ears perk up,but he doesn't dare shout out as that would alert the horde.

The little sailing ship has one sail and several spars with triangular side sails to aid with the ocean breezes. Durang and the hares have piled on as much canvas as they can to pick up speed, they don't intend to stop from the looks of it.
 
The sea otter is on the tiller, steering them toward the cage and the sand-bar, he is going to have to steer the boat just right to not crash on the sandbar but get close enough to the cage to make a difference.

Orel the brown rat is up the front of the boat doing something with ropes whilst the hares are ready to start shooting the shore as soon as they are in range or manning the various ropes.

Zoltar has decided he is gonna, well he assumes, watch the water take the cage ,the hares wouldn't  be able to stay standing too long.He glances at the mountain with a chuckle and then looks out at where the cage is, he blinks as he thought he caught movement and motions a small group of 10 horde beasts over to him.

Velm smiles as he sees the ship but there is still the rising water to deal with.He nods to his fellow hares,3 privates with him"We may have hope chaps."

The little fishing boat tacks left, then right, it is zig-zagging to keep in the wind and bearing down faster and faster on the little cage as the water keeps rising. It is not far away now, about half a mile, it will be within bow-range any minute now however and the Corporal Jessica and her team are ready to start firing as up the front Orel is ready.

Zoltar watches movement...it is a movement." what in the blazes!" The horde beasts beside him look confused." Don't just stand there! GEt arrows ready! No one gets away from me!"

Velm looks over at the shore and frowns"Oh great..."He frowns at the water level as it's a little higher,but he had to stay positive, he had to stay hopeful so the prvates wouldn't panic."That boat is getting closer, we are not done yet..stay

A  Zig
   
A Zag.....
 
Then the boat turns and is racing along the outward edge of the sandbar, arrows start to fly as Jessica gives the order. They are still far enough out that a lot of them hit the shallows but if Zoltar's beasts want to hit the cage or the boat they will also have to come into the shallows where the arrows are falling.
   
It'll be about a minute, Orel is leaning over the side of the boat, the tails of his bandana streaming as he calls out orders to the hares on the ropes, it won't be long.

Zoltar steps back, he glares at a couple of the horde beasts, so a couple get brave and step into the shallows quickly and fire off thier own arrows." Morons..." He hisses a little,well if the badger is watching this the wildcat is getting grumpy at the idea of losing captives. His right paw from wrist to almost elbow is still bandaged tightly but he can still use it somewhat.
.
Velm watches the shore, when one private panics a little he lays apaw under  their shoulder and makes sure to keep them from falling under the water.

Ciocan is watching, in fact as the little fishing boat swings a horn is sounded from inside the mountain! The horde may be camped outside of bow-range but the Badger Lord is standing tall atop the crater, puffing on an old horn, taunting Zoltar and the horde and adding some distraction, it could after all be prelude to attack.
 
It isn't an attack, just a loud noise but then there is a clang. The large hook Orel is holding snags the top of the cage as the rat expertly clunks it into place. Then with a bellowed order two of the privates aboard haul on a rope as the boat flashes past, a spar shifts, swinging around as a rope goes taught and starts to pull the cage up out of the water.
   
Mayor Durang throws the tiller over and starts to head back out to sea and away, the cage slowly lifting up out of the water to dangle from the rear spar of the boat. Corporal Jessica calls a halt to the firing and wanders over to salute. "Sah.... sorry for interupting your no doubt very convoluted spy op but we felt you might need a pick up," she jokes quietly as the little fishing boat races away from the shore and Ciocan keeps on tooting the horn in victory.

Zoltar looks toward the mountain,  he draws a sword and points." Any hares that dare come out...kill them!" One of the horde archers is hit and falls over while others back off and look to prepare for an attack from the mountain.

Velm nods up at the corpal "Oh tis fine corporal....perfect timing." At first the privates, even the Lt. for a brief second did panic a little.The hares are safe now, dripping wet and a little cold,but safe.

Durang is still sailing the boat, heading north and away, once out of sight of shore he will turn west and south to head back to their island hideout. But for now they are safe.
 
The brown rat Orel walks over, looking up at the cage and gives some orders to the hares who lower it down to the deck. He then climbs up on top of it and smacks out the pins with a mallet and one side falls open. "Welcome aboard friends," he says softly, "I'm Orel, the Mayor Durang and I thought we'd invite you to join us in freedom."

Zoltar hisses and  in angry straggles one weasel and tosses them into the sea as he storms away from the waters edge." Stupid hares..." He smirks." No matter, I will have my victory..the vixen said so." He looks at the mountain." Your all gonna die! I will have this fortress do you hear me!" He chuckles,  the seer fox said if he got rid of the cub he would have vicory...little does he know the cub is still alive.

Velm steps out, the 3 privates follow as the Lt. smiles"Thankyou for your help Orel. Wot we need ta do now is plan an attack ...hopefully a surprise one."He glaces at the shore and back to them."I am unsure how long  Salamastron can put up with that lot of horde beasts."

Orel nods and peers back, "They will not win," He says soflty, "I have seen it... but it will not be won without loss."
 
The rat sighs, "This is why I left the sea, so I didn't have to give prophecy to mad tyrants... I'd much rather use it to help the village predict fishing patterns... but I will help the Long Patrol when asked."
   
Private Sarah is now on the tiller and the Mayor walks over, the big sea otter smiling through their thick whiskers, "Good to see you, it's Velm isn't it? Glad we could help, we are heading back to our little island hide-away. But we want to help as best we can."

Zoltar meanwhile gets his horde ready for an attack, it likely won't be today...but soon

Velm listens and nods.He nods to the otter "Yes,  Lt. Velm...one of the main healers in the mountain. We recently saved an otter from that cat...his name is Errapel...came from a small holt  that cat attacked"

Orel sighs and nods and looks at Durang who growls soflty, "I know that holt... damn them..."
 
The Mayor stares out at sea then looks back at Velm, "Hopefully we can come up with some way to help drive off this horde from our home. I have been having one of the ships keep watch on the shore each day. Hopefully we can then use this as a warning to all sail in and help.

Velm nods "Yes ..any help be good thank you." He takes a towel given to him so he can dry off more,as do the 3 privates with him "As for the hares on your ship, I am glad to see them safe."He glances towards the shore, a worried look..a very worried look."One is...missing..I don't know where...Private Donica.."

Orel looks at Jessica who shakes her head, "I don't think any of us have seen Private Donica, there are about fifteen of us with the fishing fleet. Mostly the team from Halyard when the horde arrived, we were outside on the docks so we were able to make it aboard the boats with the villagers but Donica isn't with ks "

Velm nods"Explains where some of the hares were, the ones from the base...well"He frowns "Some...got to the mountain..barely." Some hares died at the base, which needs to be rebuilt now." I knew a handful of hares were missing, sadly we still lost around 16 hares at the base."

Durang nods, "Well you are safe with us now, hopefully we can return to the fleet and you can all dry off and rest up and Private Donica will show up soon."

Velm nods"Yes...hopefully..."He sighs again, but soon lets it be know why more worry for Donica than most others.."Me and Donicaare supposed to get married..we had hoped soon then..this stupid wildcat shows up"

Durang nods his head, "Well if we can locate the lass we'll throw you an impromptu ship wedding instead! But we'll find her, don't worry."

Velm chuckles" that be unique indeed" He then gets serious "But yes we need to plan, this horde needs gone. Its possible we may have some seagulls helping but I have not see the one Sea Gull his Lordship made friends with for a few days now." He hmms"Unless he is with the other gulls or just  I just not seen him  perhaps"

Orel tilts his head, "We have some birds with the fleet, we could send one of them to the mountain. If we can establish communications with the Badger Lord we can co-ordinate our efforts and hit the horde from both sides. "

Velm nods"That...could be good,I don't think the wildcat is expecting many from the sea. He is gonna be too focus on trying to get into the mountain ."