and tempers in check. Bella is very busy working on something else for our
benefit with Martin, and they must be excluded from the rescue attempt."
Bella was astonished. She looked blankly at Germaine.
The old Abbess smiled back at her. "I too was out taking the air in the woods
early this morning."
Bella bowed to the Abbess. "Thank you for offering your help, old friend."
Bella and Martin retired to the study. Immediately Bella closed the door,
Martin turned to her.
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"Bella, I have decided. I will find Boar the Fighter—I will undertake the
journey to Salamandastron."
Bella took hold of the warrior's paws. "Are you sure you want to do this
thing, Martin?"
Martin nodded firmly. "For you and all my friends in Mossflower, I will find
this strange place, even if it is at the world's end. And I will bring back
your father Boar the Fighter."
The door swung open. Gonff entered, rubbing a paw to his ear.
"Funny things, doors. Sometimes it's as if they're not there, and you can hear
everything. By the way, Miss Bella, I'm surprised at you. Fancy sending my
matey off on a quest without an able-bodied assistant."
Martin hesitated. He looked at Bella. "I'd feel a lot safer with a good thief
along."
The kindly badger smiled. "Of course. Careless of me. Welcome, GonfF. We may
need a brain as sharp as yours."
They sat on the edge of a scroll-littered desk, while Bella settled
comfortably into a dusty old armchair. She sighed and looked from one to the
other.
"Well, I wish I knew where to begin. Fighting badgers have been going off
questing for Salamandastron as far back as memory goes. My grandfather, old
Lord Brocktree, went off when I was very small, then later he was followed by
my father, Boar the Fighter."
"Is there any record of whether they ever found it, or are there any maps of
the way to Salamandastron?" Martin interrupted.
Bella stroked her stripes thoughtfully. "There must be a map somewhere. Both
Lord Brocktree and Boar seemed to know where they were going. One thing I do
know, it would be far too difficult to find the place of dragons without some
form of key or map. You would need directions."
Gonff smiled disarmingly. He picked up a bundle of scrolls from the desktop.
"Well, mateys, the solution is simple. Let's find the map!"
It had been a confused and frightening day for the two little hedgehogs. Since
they had been taken by Cludd's patrol, not a word had passed between them.
Both lay on the floor of
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Tsarmina's room, trying to forget the pains that shot through their bound-up
paws and the filthy-tasting gags tied roughly across their mouths. Ferdy
snuffled through his nostrils for breath and exchanged glances with Coggs.
What must Goody and Ben be doing?
Would the Corim leaders organize a search and a rescue?
What lay ahead they could only guess, but it wasn't going to be very pleasant.
Tsarmina sat watching impassively as Ashleg cut the captives' bonds and
relieved them of their gags. Ferdy and Coggs lay quite still, fighting back
tears as the circulation was painfully restored to their swollen limbs.
Cludd stirred the inert forms with his spearpoint. "Huh, they're fit enough,
Milady. Wait'11 their tongues loosen up, and we'll see what they've got to say
for themselves."
Coggs rolled closer to Ferdy. "Don't tell the villains a thing, matey. Let's
be like Martin and Gonff: brave and silent. '' His voice was barely above a
whisper.
Fortunata kicked out cruelly at Coggs. She regretted it immediately as her paw
came into contact with his sharp little spines.
"Silence, prisoner. Don't you know you're in the presence of Her Majesty Queen
Tsarmina?''
Ferdy curled his lip rebelliously at the vixen. "She's not our Majesty—we're
woodlanders."
Tsarmina leaned forward to the two little creatures lying at the foot of her
chair. Bringing her face near them she slitted her eyes venomously. Baring her
great yellowed fangs and extending her fearsome claws she gave vent to a
sudden wild growl.
' ' Yeeeggaarroooorrr!''
Ferdy and Coggs clutched at each other, their eyes wide with terror.
Tsarmina laughed and leaned back in her chair. "Now, my two tiny woodland
heroes, let's begin, shall we?"
The wildcat's expression became almost benevolent as she took a tray of food
from a table and sat with it in her lap.
"You, Ferdy—or is it Coggs? Wouldn't you like some milk and biscuits? A rosy
autumn apple, perhaps? Or maybe you prefer dried fruit and nuts? Look, they
won't hurt you."
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Tsarmina bit into an apple, washing it down with a draught of milk.
The two small hedgehogs gazed longingly as she ate. They had not tasted food
since dawn that morning.
Tsarmina selected a biscuit. Tossing the apple aside, she nibbled daintily,
flicking crumbs from her whiskers.
Ferdy licked his lips. Coggs nudged him warningly. "It's probably all
poisoned. Don't touch it."
Tsarmina placed the platter on the floor close to them. "Silly, if it were
poison I'd be ill by now. Try it yourself, it's all from my special store. All
I want is that you tell me about your woodland friends."
Coggs yawned and muttered wearily, "Don't tell her anything, matey. Not a
word."
Ferdy yawned.
Tsarmina sat watching the two young captives. Their eyelids were beginning to
droop, so she decided to try another angle. Stretching luxuriously, she yawned
and snuggled deep in the big cushioned chair.
"I'll bet you two are tired. Mmmm, wouldn't it be nice to lie down on a bed of
clean fresh straw and sleep for as long as you please? You can, too. It's
quite simple, really. Just tell me about your friends—who they are, where they
live, and so on. I won't harm them, you have my word. They'll thank you for it
later when they are truly free. What do you say?"
Ferdy blinked hard, fighting back sleep. "Our friends are already free from
you."
Tsarmina controlled her mounting temper by burying her claws in a russet
apple. "That's as may be. But consider your own position. You two aren't free,
and you're not likely to be, until you get some sense into your heads and
answer my questions. D'you hear me?"
The wildcat's threats fell upon deaf ears. Ferdy and Coggs lay with their
heads resting against each other, nodding slightly as they snored. They were
both fast asleep.
Cludd touched them gently with his spearbutt. "Huh, it beats me why you don't
string 'em both up and give 'em a taste of your claws, Milady. That'd soon
make them talk."
Tsarmina's voice was tinged with heavy sarcasm. "You would think that,
thickhead. How long d'you suppose they'd last with that treatment? These two
are valuable hostages.
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Carry them down to the cells and lock them up for the night. We'll see if they
are hungry enough to talk business tomorrow."
Gingivere heard the sound of an upstairs door opening. Someone was coming.
It was Cludd, accompanied by Ashleg and Fortunata. A key turned in the lock of
the cell to the wildcat's immediate left. He heard Cludd's voice giving
orders.
"Right. One in here, and one in the cell on the other side of the prisoner
whose name must not be mentioned by Milady's order. They must be kept apart."
When the trio had departed, Gingivere reflected upon this new development.
Whoever the prisoners were, he knew that Chibb the robin would be interested