"'Ey Skip, come and look at this."
Skipper of Otters put down his chisel and mallet. He bounded along the high rampant wall to the hedgehog's side, the ring and clink of chisel-work in his ears. "What's got yore tail in a twist, matey?"
"Look down there." The hedgehog pointed over the wall, down to the path and the great ditch beside it. Skipper peered down. Two pairs of ears were just visible, poking over the top of the ditch.
"Well, I'll be. Who'd be hidin' down there?" The otter frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Unless … Gumble, go an' get Lady Amber an' Bella."
"Right you are, Skip." Gumble hurried off, footpaws slapping on the fresh new stone of Redwall's great defences. Skipper stayed on the parapet a few moments longer, watching the two pairs of ears. Occasionally one pair would move, or turn to face the other pair. The otter chief grunted to himself and turned to follow Gumble down the stairs.
"Morning, Skipper! Lady Amber said she wants us to help raise the dormitory roof beam this morning, it's been waiting too long an' now Martin's off on his trip, we've got time to do it." A second otter, a brawny female, bounded up to join Skipper at the bottom of the steps. Skipper nodded to her, preoccupied.
"Here, Barlow, get me a few otterlads, would you? We've got some visitors outside, I think they need a welcome."
"Bit shy, are they?" Barlow asked, following Skipper toward the great Gate.
"I think they're shy of showin' their verminous faces, aye," Skipper said, heaving the brace-beam off the Gate. Barlow helped him pull the beam up to allow the Gate to open. She dusted her paws off and poked her head through the crack in the gate.
"Vermin? How many?"
"Two, by the looks of it. Go an' get the others. Lady Amber and Bella should be here in a moment."
Barlow nodded and ran off. She spun around and ran backward a moment to shout back at Skipper. "Want javelins, Skip?"
"No, just slings. Two vermin won't cause much trouble." Skipper pulled his head out of the gate as well and twisted over his shoulder to look for the squirrel and badger he'd sent Gumble to find. Sure enough, both Lady Amber and Bella were hurrying across the lawn from the main building of Redwall toward him. Alongside Lady Amber was her second-in-command and several curious mice and woodlanders. Any word of vermin still made woodlanders wary.
Down in the ditch, Skrinnit was damp and unhappy. He didn't dare suggest different tactics to his companion, but surely they could go and get something to eat while waiting for the woodlanders to notice them? Apparently not. "Ow." Skrinnit pinched the small ant that had bitten his tail and flicked it away grumpily.
"Shut up," his companion said.
"'m hungry!" Skrinnit hissed back.
"I don't care. Look, the gate is opening." Both vermin watched as first Barlow then Skipper poked their heads out the gate and looked out. "They've seen us. We're in."
"How d'you know?"
"Woodlanders don't kill us when we surrender. They'll take us in, feed us and then we'll kill them."
"You said that earlier. And the day before that. And the day -mmph!" Skrinnit whimpered as claws dug into his muzzle. He managed to nod his silence once before his companion released him. Rubbing his tender nose, Skrinnit muttered, "… lot of work just to kill some woodlanders."
"We're not killing them all. I've changed my mind. We will go in and poison their leaders. That otter. The badger, the squirrel Queen - their precious Abbess. They will suffer long and slow from my beautiful poisons, and their stupid little woodlander followers will run around in panic and fear, unable to stop their deaths. It shall be beautiful, Skrinnit, utterly beautiful. Martin their precious Warrior shall come home to death and disease and be powerless to stop it."
Skrinnit stared wide-eyed at the other vermin. "You're scarin' me."
"Good. Be silent, the woodlanders are approaching."
Skrinnit glanced up. Otters, squirrels and a great badger were walking toward the ditch. "Hellgates," he whimpered. His companion pressed himself further into the ground and watched with vengeful eyes as Redwall's leaders came closer.