nobody of our conversation. I must talk to you further about certain important
matters, maybe later."
Martin nodded. "I will look forward to it, Bella. You have aroused my
curiosity. Hey, Goody, why are you looking so worried?"
Goody fussed with her apron. "Mornin' Miz Bella. Mornin', Martin, 'Ave you
seen ought of those two liddle ?ogs of mine in the woods?"
"Ferdy and Coggs?" Bella shook her head. "No, Goody, I'm afraid we haven't.
Is anything wrong?"
The hedgehog gnawed her lip. "Well, they ain't slept in their beds last night.
Asides that, there's two oatfaris, a good wedge o' cheese and some of my best
black-currant cordial missin' from the larder." Martin could not help smiling
at the thought of the two
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little would-be warriors. "All that for breakfast! They'll go bang one of
these days. I wouldn't worry too much, Mrs. Stickle. Knowing those two
rascals, they'll be back by lunch-time for more food."
Ben Stickle emerged into the sunlight. "Aye, Martin's right, m'dear. Don't you
go a-botherin' your old 'ead. Ferdy and Coggs is like new button
mushrooms—they always turn up at a good meal."
Ben sat against a tree, chuckling as he filled his pipe.
Gonff and Columbine came out to join them, the mouse-thief patting his
stomach.
"Better hurry up, mateys. There'll be no breakfast left soon. Hey, Goody, I
hear that Ferdy and Coggs are missing. We'll help you to look for them. Don't
worry, they're probably somewhere nearby playing soldiers."
Goody knotted her apron strings anxiously. "Thank you, Gonff. Oh, I do 'ope
they've come to no 'arm, Ben. Get up now and 'elp Gonff *n' Columbine. I won't
be 'appy until I see their mucky liddle snouts agin."
Ben stood up and stretched. "So be it, Goody. Come on, you two."
Bella assured her. "Now don't start getting upset, Goody. I'll send all the
woodlanders out looking. They'll find them. Martin and I will stop here at
Brockhall in case they come back while everyone's out searching."
Goody smiled gratefully, although she was close to tears. "Thank you kindly,
Miz Bella. I'll go and start cookin' the lunch."
Shortly thereafter, Bella addressed a large party of willing helpers.
"Listen now, friends. Ferdy and Coggs must be found before nightfall. Split up
into small groups, search everywhere, and pay particular attention to small
dens and possible hiding places—they may be lying asleep somewhere. Above all,
be careful. There may be Kotir vermin abroad in Mossflower. Don't shout too
loud or make unnecessary noise. Report back to me or to Martin. Off you go
now, and good luck."
The woodlanders dispersed, eager to begin. Each creature searched in the best
way it knew; squirrels swung off into treetops where they could scan the
ground below, otters made
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their way to the water to scour the banks and creeks, mice and hedgehogs
ploughed into the undergrowth. Moles trundled through last autumn's deep loam.
The search was on.
A blackbird in a sycamore raised its amber beak in a hymn of joy to the sun.
Ashleg blundered into wakefulness. Shivering from the damp, he hopped into the
sunlight and leaned against a tree. Scratt joined him, but not before he had
aimed a sly kick at the sleeping Fortunate.
"Oi! Are you going to lie there all day, lazybones?"
The weasel drew his paw swiftly back from the vixen's snapping jaws. Far more
used to sleeping in the open than the Kotir soldiers, she had dug herself into
the soft loam of the forest floor.
"Mind who you call lazybones, fathead. I've been lying awake here for the past
two hours listening to you snore like an ailing toad."
Ashleg closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the sun seep through his damp
cloak. With a sigh of resignation he remembered the quandary they faced.
"Can't you two stop squabbling long enough to give a thought to the mess we're
in? We've beaten each other up, slept through the whole night without posting
a single sentry, and now we've got to go back to face Tsarmina sometime today.
Look, if we must argue, at least let's argue about something useful. What's to
be done about this whole fiasco?"
Fortunata shook loose loam from her cloak, showering them. "Well, there were
three patrols sent out to search this forest. Where have Cludd and his lot got
to?"
As if in answer to the vixen's question, Cludd came marching through the
undergrowth at the head of his column. Scratt was the first to notice him.
"Oi, Cludd, over here. Where in hell's teeth did you get to? We haven't seen
you since we left the fortress."
The weasel Captain stuck a paw in his belt and leaned upon his spear, smirking
knowingly.
"Oh, we've been doing our job, don't you worry, Scratt. Huh, what happened to
you lot? Did a pile of trees fall down on you?"
"It was nothing, really—a little mistake, could have hap-
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pened to anybeast." Ashleg tried to sound casual. "Let me tell you, though, we
haven't seen hide nor hair of a living creature in this rotten maze of trees.
We're rightly in for it when the Queen sees us."
Cludd smiled confidently. "Speak for yourself, Ashleg. We won't be returning
empty-pawed. Oh no, not us."
"Why, what d'you mean?" Fortunata interrupted eagerly. "Who have you captured?
Where?"
Cludd sneered at the fox. "Oh hello, vixen. You look as if you've been
enjoying yourself. By the way, what happened to the old wooden leg, Ashy?"
The marten was using a forked branch as a crutch, and he stamped it down
bad-temperedly.
"Listen, weasel, will you stop waffling around and tell us what you've got,
instead of standing there looking pleased with yourself?"
Cludd beckoned with his spear. "Right. Show *em lads."
The ranks of the patrol parted, revealing two small hedgehogs. They were
gagged and trussed upside down, slung upon poles carried by four soldiers.
Ferdy and Coggs were well and truly captured!
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Bella paused, gazing at the run of the grain on the tabletop. She was
remembering times long gone.
"Where did old Lord Brocktree and Boar the Fighter go questing?" Martin asked
softly. The badger gave her answer in a single word: "Salamandastron."
"Salamandastron?" Martin repeated the strange-sounding word.
, Bella nodded slowly. "Aye, the fire mountain, secret place of the
dragons."
Martin's eyes went wide with wonderment. "Bella, don't stop now. Carry on,
please."
The badger smiled wistfully. "Ah, little Martin the Warrior, I see that same
strange fire kindled in your eyes, just as it was with my father and his
father before him. Why must Salamandastron always weave its spell upon the
brave? I can see your desire to travel there; that is as I wanted it to be."
Martin furrowed his brows. "You want me to travel to Salamandastron? But why?"
Bella leaned close, emphasizing each word with a tap of •her paw on the table.
"Since Boar left Mossflower, we have 3 lived under virtual siege. First there
was the rebellion, when many brave woodlanders lost their lives; then there
was the Settlement with its slummy hovels and tolls, and soldiers ha-fjassing
the creatures that had to endure living there. I know it seems fairly safe out
here in Brockhall, but will it always
?
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be so? Now that Tsarmina rules Kotir, we can never be sure what she will do
next. Ben Stickle hit the nail on the head when he said Kotir could not last
without creatures to supply it with rations. Will the cat start to search