It Comes to War: Part One
This is apart of 'The Great Ones', a Camp Willow plot. Read the [[[The_Great_Ones_Aren%27t_Here|introduction]]] and [[[The_Great_Ones%2C_Part_One%3A_Under_Siege|Part One]]].
Setting:
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<----> Camp Willow - Eastern Path <---->
The willow reeds disappear for a few minutes along the trail, but reappear as the water can be heard even louder. Trees seem to hang overhead and spread the sunlight evenly with the darkness of shade. Around the trail has a few wildflowers here and there, also there are a few wild berries growing in groves. Far to your left, you can hear the waters from the inlet rush by, the sounds faint though distinct.
'
Characters:
Magramba, Champion of Redwall
Zee, an Abbeybeast
Lee, a Redwall guard
DoraRose, a warrior
Emyuil, a warrior
==
<---->It Comes to War<---->
The Freedom Fighters
==
[[[It_Comes_to_War%3A_Part_Two|Part Two]]]
The darkness is settling in over Mossflower, darkening the forest and lending its cover to those slinking through it. The beasts of the North are not the only creatures who use the blanket of night time to launch an invasion The moon, merely a sliver in the navy sky does not offer much illumination, either, and barely reflects the sheen of the blades, the eyes glinting in the shadows Camp Willow looms ahead, nestled and hidden amongst the reeds, settled into the marsh. Help is on the way, sneaking forward, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
The frigid winds of the North do not grow complacent, and neither do the beasts of it. They've been expecting a counter attack since they first crushed this "warrior's" dwelling, and even now - in the dead of night - stand, armored and at the ready. But, even as they have rampaged through the Camp's many entrances - secret and otherwise - the terrain is not fully known to them. Focused at the entrance are the guards, many of whom are not even the Northbeasts themselves, but those unfortunate lumps of vermin flesh that they have managed to pluck from the surrounding countryside. The Swan-killer's beasts, less armored and trained than Kolbjorn's, lean against their spears, scattered throughout the reeds on whatever land is dry enough to permit them. "W'not bloody otters." One guard is grumbling to his companion as he yanks his boot from the muck (for what seems like the hundredth time that night). "All this standin' 'round in th'muck an'water. I ain't been dry f'days." He turns his head and spits into the marsh with a grimace as his partner shrugs. "Boss says." Is his only reply, continuing to squint into the forest. The trees loom ahead, dark and innocent.
The forces of Redwall are not as many as Magramba would have hoped, and not as well-trained, and not as well-equipped, but they have gathered as many as they could. The Champion is leading the way, such as it is, through the underbrush and the shrubbery. As they near the entrance, the Redwallers are careful to stay out of the marshy ground, sticking behind the trees as they endeavor to slip stealthily into position a bow-shot or so away from the sentries.
Zee follows along behind slowly as offered to help, and so help he will best he can. He keeps an eye out for trouble and has his blade at his side when needed.
Lee is being Stealth-Otter, keeping well hidden, not even his friends can see the camouflaged otter.
DoraRose is stealthily sneaking through the trees, following the Abbey Champion's signals. Dressed all in black and covered in her camouflage forest-colour cloak, she blends in well with the night-darkened forest. Hefting her axe, Nightsong, in her left paw, she can only hope that it can't be seen; its blades are black, but she took the extra precaution of covering it in soot, just to be on the safe side. She also has her bastard sword at her side, just in case Nightsong gets caught in, like, armour or something; its pommel and pawguard has been covered with a black cloth, that she secured in place with a black string, tied with a slip knot, easily undone. In her right paw she has a loaded sling, ready to fire when the squirrel gives the signal. Silently she walks, being careful with each step so as not to make any noise.
There are Vikings, of course, scattered among the meat-shields they enlisted, and the wane moonlight glints from their shields. Their helmets shift in the silvery snatches of light, harsh and impassive - stony faces which set them apart from the rest of the rabble. Skarl's beasts, while skilled killers, are nowhere near as efficient or terrifying as the beasts of the North. There is a reason Camp Willow fell to them - it is evident in their eyes, in their stances; the very air tingles around them. It's terrifying.
The Champion himself is some sort of forest-thing, with his clothes that are already woodsy colors and all that. His principal form of camo, which the others seem to have been very thoughtful and delicate about, is dirt. He's very dirty, and from time to time he actually stops to find fresh local dirt to smear and sprinkle on his body, clothes, and accouterments. The filthy fighter filters through the flora, finding friends and making sure that each of them is in a good, covered position. Once they loose the first volley, there will be no time for careful arrangement, and the freedom fighters can't afford any foolish fatalities.
Lee peers from his hiding spot, the otter preparing to loose his sword and rain angry death upon the wicked vermin.
Zee is doing ok where he is, he has a cloak thats the color of some dirt and mud and he makes sure to stay hidden by a tree or bush as he waits for any signs to fight. He only has his sword so he won't be one firing arrows.
DoraRose allows the squirrel to guide her to where she needs to hide. After she is settles, she softly and silently squishes her axe into the slightly mushy ground where she can reach it easily, and readies her sling. Picking out a Vikingish person, she starts trying to figure out where the best place to hit him with her stone might be. She's not as interested in killing the local vermin peoples; she figures they won't be so vicious and bloodthirsty. After getting into position and picking her target, she waits for the Champion's signal....meh, whatever, she also picks out a second target. Because why not?
While they may be unaware that the danger lurks so imminently, the vermin conquerors are not oblivious to the threat. Still, the element of surprise rests with the woodlanders. "I swear, Ersk..." A fox is saying, muttering low in the quiet night. "I been pourin' mud out m'boots since we got'ere an' I think m'just goin' t'drown slowly. One paw at a time." His steady stream of complaints continues, and he frowns, boots slurping as he slogs through the muck, changing positions. He falters in the glare of one of the Vikings, his complains and frown withering into terror beneath the hardened stare... Even their 'allies' fear these foreign invaders.
Lee draws his sword, careful not to make a sound. He is Stealth-Otter. He peers at the vermin, sizing up a weakling who can give up his head as a distraction...
"Remember, ranged attacks only," Magramba hisses to the Redwallers, finding his own spot behind a tree and nocking an arrow. "We want them to cross the marsh, not us. If they make it across, /then/ we fight." The warrior's eyes fall shut as he takes a deep breath, rolling his back off the trunk to take aim across the marshy stretch of reeds and fenland between the two groups, and suddenly yells, "Loose!" His own fingers jump from the bowstring, launching the feathered shaft across the expanse. A ferret who's just glanced up at the noise has the bad luck of just having glanced up, and the arrow suddenly grows out of his eye socket.
DoraRose nods slightly. Only ranged weapons right now. Got it. When she hears the signal, she stands, looses her stone at the Viking, then drops back down. A screech can be heard, and she scowls. She didn't kill him; only broke his nose. Phooey. Quickly, without hesitation, just as she is thinking those thoughts, she expertly loads another stone into her sling and starts whirling it, preparing to stand and fire again....
And, all at once, the battle begins. The vermin launch into formation, shields going up to cover their heads as the arrows pepper the marsh. Gurgles and shouts sound off as they fall beneath the force of the first volley, and the marsh suddenly comes to life. And then the fires are ablaze - they've set the closest houses on fire, letting whatever still stands burn in brilliant blazes of orange. "Wha' the-" The fox will not have to complain anymore, because an arrow bursts through his neck.
Lee doesn't have a ranged weapon, so he holds off. But then the marsh comes to life, and buildings are burning, and the otter starts slashing and stabbing at whatever vermin come close to his hiding place.
Zee peers over a log as two rats come close and speak quietly to one another. " I don't like this Redpaw" "Ya I agree with ya Chess...we could run?" A voice behind them speaks quietly "Running be good lads?" The two rats gasp and start to run when one is grabed by the throat by the tall badger, the other rat runs and falls from a drawn arrow to the head from another fighter. The ageing badger slams the rat into a tree when he goes to stab his arm and drops the rat. He frowns and rubs his now slightly bleeding arm.
Setting the pattern for all the Redwallers, Magramba ducks back behind the tree, his back pressed up against the bark while he notches another arrow, then spinning back out to shoot again, this shaft thudding uselessly into a wooden shield. As the vermin don't seem to be returning fire, he stays out of cover to reload, launching another that dings off a conical helmet but still knocks its owner groggily to the swampy ground. The advancing vermin continue their harried advance, until the front line suddenly cries out, stumbling and swarming about in the reeds as their feet are pierced by caltrops and hidden spikes placed there by the freedom fighters.
And so it comes to war. Arrows explode from Camp in a return fire, and they catch on, quickly, that the marsh is a danger. Still, they come - the Vikings let the lesser hordes advance freely, urging them on, using their bodies as footholds - stomping across them to pass through the traps as they fall. They shout back and forth in the Northern tongue, arrows whizzing blindly into the treeline. A few make it through the marsh, and immediately set upon Lee and Zee with maces and broadswords, and another takes a swing for DoraRose. Another volley of arrows is launched towards the freedom fighters - they are catching on to their locations, now, using Skarl's vermin to absorb the initial attack.
And so the Stealth-Otter's location is discovered. He comes out, sword swinging, the otter bellowing, "REDWAAAAAAAALLLLLL!" And he launches into a fierce defence, hacking and slashing with little regard for his safety, attempting to give these expert fighters as much grievous injury as possible.
DoraRose lets off another stone and loads a third stone. Launching it, she laughs recklessly as the vermin stumble into the trap; /this/ is war. Yelping, she then drops to the ground and barely misses being killed by an arrow; it still nicks her ear, however, and the sting of the wound is enough to tick her off. Roaring, she drops her sling (she can always make another one) and grabs her axe. Standing, she barely blocks the swing of the Viking attacking her. Baring her teeth, she backs up, careful on the treacherous ground as begins the merry dance of death. Her black axe swings, aiming to slice the vermin's torso open as she does her level best to use the fact that she's smaller than he is to her advantage...
Zee, unlike some others, has some good armor on under that cloak and it's most likely what saves his life when a viking slices at his chest and gets a surpriseing clicking sound of metal upon armor and blinks. The badger takes the few secounds to relieve the surprised marten of his head with his large blade and barely ducks another slash of a blade from the enemey. He growls and kicks a rat that gets too close.
The meat shields drop like flies beneath the Redwaller's assult, but the Vikings are not as easy. One, a stoat, gives a mighty roar as he charges forward - he grabs a passing mouse and hefts him into the air, the woodlander screaming. The Viking looks DoraRose dead in the eye, and crushes his head between his paws - gauntlets gleaming red in the sudden spray of gore. The body is dropped to the ground, and he advances, wrenching twin paw-axes from his belt he spins left, striking at the woodlanders there, and then continues his advance, roaring beneath his helm. One of Mag's arrows catches him through the shoulder, just in the joint of the armor, but he keeps coming. The badger is his next target, and he flings one of his axes at Zee. To fell one of the great striped dogs is cause for celebration.
Lee quickly finds the battle rough, as he fruitlessly slashes and hacks. A stoat attempts to stab him in the chest, but the otter just smiles. "I wore me chain mail, ye fool..." And he promptly slices off the stoat's sword paw. "Fight me like a proper beast!" he yells, "Single-pawed!"
Zee has been watching the stoat closely and when he sees the ax he quickly goes to sidestep out of the way. The ax barely misses him, but it does leave a line of red along his upper arm.
Holy. Freaking. Crap. Gulping (only a crazy person would not be filled with fear), DoraRose, after evading, ducking, and dodging like an irritating little will-o'-the-wisp, finally manages to kill the Viking she's fighting with when he starts challenging her courage. Dropping back, she sinks a little into the marsh. Growling, she kills one of the local vermin who was a dork and tried to flee. Keeping silent, she engages another, closer Viking, who gives as good as he gets. They fight long and hard, equal in skill.... She can only hope her brother is doin' okay in this whole crappy business.
As if the thought of him was a summons, Emyuil's bellow of 'TUSCANI! DEATH! DEATH!' resounds through the area. The Half-Rat bursts through the trees, swinging his black sword. Caught off guard, he wounds one of the Northerners badly, cripping him with a gash from right shoulder to left hip. Kicking him aside, he moves towards DoraRose like an arrow, laughing uproariously.
The problem with bows and arrows is that you run out of arrows. Magramba has just run out of arrows. From his spot in the tree where he has been taking pot-shots, he picks out a nice spot to just quietly, gently, fall onto the head of a passing raider. With a sword. It was a nice surprise for everyone involved. Now dirty, angry, and bloody, the squirrel whirls to his feet, casting about for the next. An ermine, snarling, seems eager to fill the slot, and charges in with a raised shield. The Champion, shieldless, chops at it but ends up getting smacked rather roughly to the side, clinging doggedly to his weapon.
Lee yells at the newly crippled stoat, taunting him mercilessly. "Pick up yer sword! PICK IT UP! FIGHT ME!" The one-pawed stoat, for his part, stands his ground, the momentary shock of having his swordpaw hacked off having passed. With his remaining paw, he grabs up a blade from a fallen rat, and launches at Lee.
The stoat batters back against Zee's defenses, roaring like a beast possessed, favoring his right arm. Even in the lax lighting, the blood that drenches him is visible, as are bits of skull and brain matter which cling to his armor. Another Viking spies Lee, shouting instructions to /his kin/ in the heat of battle. He rushes him. The fox, armored and enraged with bloodlust, charges the otter, a morningstar swinging at him with crushing force. Surprisingly, he batters his wounded compatriot aside with his shield - he's outlived his usefulness, he can't continue this fight, what purpose does he serve? "OUT OF MY WAY." He bellows, bearing down on the otter with bloodstained teeth. Zee's attacker takes a hit to the side, and it staggers him, but he swings his axe again, howling in rage and the euphoria of battle. The beast attacking Magramba shoves back against the squirrel with his shield, even as the beast near him falls to the Champion's legendary sword.
Zee pants slightly but he forces himself to swing his large blade and block the other. He goes sideways and slices the the stoat as he growls. He is fairly strong like the stoat is.
DoraRose is growing weary already. She's not too old to fight like this, is she? Spotting the badger briefly, she bares her teeth and wordlessly roars again. If he can keep fighting, then so can she! As her combatants blade nicks her shoulder, she yells and gives in to the fury and hate and anger and sorrow that has been plaguing her since she first heard about what happened to Camp Willow, and as she swings her axe again, the Bloodwrath takes over. Fighting wildly, with an energy that can only come from such a violent force, she manages to cut of this vermin's leg...yet still he fights.
Lee is practically knocked to the side, the wind knocked out of him. The otter wheezes... Any broken ribs? He can't tell. The fox is an unexpected distraction, and his sword is shattered. The otter is briefly defenseless, but he grabs a javelin out of a nearby carcass and tries to jab it vainly at the fox.
Emyuil bellows, seeing that DoraRose's foe has yet to fall. He pounds forward again, barreling towards the unlucky vermin and raising his sword to lop off the beast's head. It won't be long now before he, too, is lost in a killing rage.
Suddenly, the stoat finds a blade opening a gash in his side. The Viking gasps out, and thrusts himself forward at the badger. It buries the blade deeper into his ribs, splitting bone and shredding his organs, but it closes the distance. With his final ounce of strength, he swings the axe at Zee with a shout, blood spraying from his mouth as it bubbles out in a red froth. Lee isn't having the same luck, and the fox laughs with disgusting glee, spurred on by his initial success. The javelin finds lucky, but not fatal, purchase through his shoulder, and he roars in pain and rage - throwing his morningstar and shield to the ground and going after the otter with his bare paws, beating and grasping at any part of Lee that he can reach. As Emyuil and DoraRose cut down the now legless beast, another replaces him, but the rat does not let them get close. He fires an arrow at them, constantly dancing back and away from the closed combat, arrows leaping for Dora and Emyuil in quick succession.
Zee grunts as his blade finishes off the stoat, his armor again saves him from a fatal blow but the ax does cut into his arm some and his armor is slightly dented in a couple places. He growls and ripes his blade from the stoat and staggers back panting and trying to catch his breath.
Lee kicks at the fox, throwing punches wherever he can reach, giving as good as he gets. He gasps, the wind repeatedly knocked out of him, but the vermin finding the otter is no push-over when it comes to unarmed combat. He scoops up some bloody mud with his paw, and goes to fling it at his enemy's face, hoping to buy himself some time to grab a better weapon from another dead beast.
The arrow goes wild and rips through Emyuil's cloak, adding yet another hole in it. The Half-Rat is knocked back but regains his footing quickly. Roaring in fury, he charges at the rat. "I'll kill you!"
DoraRose grabs the dropped shield and can barely lift it. "Help me!" she shouts at her brother as an arrow imbeds itself into her shoulder. "EMMY!" Curses. Dropping the humongous shield, she charges, too, the Bloodwrath fading from her for some reason. She can't be getting old already, can she? She's not even middle aged yet! Swinging her axe, she comes abreast of her brother, sticking with her family. Another arrow hits her thigh, and she shouts, "Get a shield with me so we can stop the stupid arrows!" as she stumbles slightly. Grabbing said new shield, she manages to cover herself with it...
The bloodcrazed stoat falls, crumpling in a bloodied heap to the ground. The fox laughs aloud as Lee continues fighting back, forcing himself forward, bearing his weight down at him, his jaws snapping shut inches from his face as he strives to /crush/ the otter's defenses. He grapples for the beast, all the while laughing that deep, sickening guffaw. Locking jaws with a skilled warrior: this is truly /living/! A hefty fist crashes towards the otter's head, his feet constantly back and seeking purchase. "Fight, FIGHT!" He roars, cackling, the blood pounding in his ears as his attacks intensify, driven forward by bloodlust and insanity. Suddenly, a call goes up from the center of Camp, and it doesn't take long for the plan to advance. The fires which rage about the Camp are growing hungry, sending their flames higher and higher skyward, smoke clogging the battlefield on both fronts... And the Vikings are pulling back - leaving the recruited horde members, who are unaware of this apparent change of plans.
Something big is happening.
Lee is losing, his strength fading. He tries vainly to fight off the crazed fox, kicking and cursing, and punching. He takes a rounder to the face, likely cracking his skull, and leaving Lee dazed, seeing stars. Just when the otter is starting to consign himself to his fate in the Dark Forest... The Fox leaves? Just like that? Lee is too weak to get up and flee, and he soon passes out.
Emyuil grabs a buckler off a corpse and passes it to DoraRose, gasping through his wild rage when he sees her injuries. He spots Lee and guides his sister towards the fallen otter. "This way." That rat will have to wait...
Waitwhyaretheyretreating? The rat leaves after firing off a final arrow at the mouse, who gets the buckler up just in the nick of time. Leaning heavily on her axe, DoraRose spots the Abbey otter and shoves Nightsong at her brother. "Sheath your sword and use this!" Drawing her sword after her brother does as she bids, she limps as fast as she can and yells at the fox, "Oi, you with the face! I've seen WORMS with more backbone than you! Your mother was a yellow-bellied, lily-livered toad!" She is not crazy; their mother had her tested. Lurching forward (and hoping that her brother is right behind her), she roars and, pushing through the pain, forces herself to walk almost normally as she evades anything the fox might throw at her...
Emyuil snatches the axe and whirls it a few times. Now that he's adjusted to the weight of the hefty weapon, he strides after DoraRose, making sure to protect her back from any surprise assault. A few vermin get near and are dismembered for their troubles.
Lee is dreaming of meadows and daisies... AND AN EVIL FOX.
The remaining vermin are confused - even as they are cut down by the woodland forces. "BETRAYAL!" One shrieks, even as a sword bursts through the side of his neck, bringing him to his knees as his scream dies in a pathetic gargle. The fox in question, though, doesn't give Dora a chance to evade anything - let alone everything - because her charges her, scooping a shield from the ground as he does so. He leaps - hiding himself behind the shield - and tries to bear down on her, to crowd her, overwhelm her defenses. "My /mother/ -" He snarls, sneering at her from behind the metal shield. But he cannot finish his sentence - one of his comrades grabs him by the neck of his armor. "Kolbjorn said to come." He snarls, and is dragging the fox away.
Emyuil raises Nightsong, lost in blood rage again seeing DoraRose threatened. No matter the consequences, he charges unthinkingly, swinging the great obsidian-colored axe in a frenzy, roaring his hatred.
"Yer mother was a... Priiiiick..." Lee mumbles, half in, half out of consciousness.
DoraRose screams. Literally, she screams -- her brother's name. "EMYUIL, NO!" even as she is borne to the ground, FAMILY is the sole thing on her mind. She goes to stab at the fox desperately -- but misses as he gets dragged away. "Emmy...uil....STREAMSTONE!" She shouts with her last bit of strength, then she passes out from the pain and blood loss. Another mouse, an archer, rushes forward to help drag her and Lee away. The Rose still has a hold of her sword...the buckler clatters to the ground, unneeded, unheeded.
Somewhere through the red haze, Emyuil hears his name. His old name. He gradually slows his advance, and turns as if in a dream. He sees DoraRose down on the ground and shouts, no words, just a scream of denial. He sprints to her side, and pulls her to safety, grunting with effort, talking the whole time. "Stay with me, 'rose, you can do this. Just wake up, please!"
Lee is dragged away, as well, by the archer, to fight another day.
Those left are scattered and confused, cut down by the woodlanders who still have their wits about them. The beasts of the North have vanished into the swirling inferno of burning holt that has become Camp Willow - flames snatching at the reeds even as the wet terrain puts them out. The fire struggles to gain a grasp on the landscape, but its damage is still massive, even at the periphery of Camp. The way is open for the allied forces, and they are surging forward through the marsh, through the reeds, pouring into Camp in time to meet another line of attack. But these, at least, are not the Vikings - steel clashes against steel as they struggle forward, the battle raging on…
To be continued…
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