"A big vermin, you say?"
"Aye, Sister, big strong-lookin' rascal with a faceful of tattoos that'd frighten the life out of ye!"
"Hmm. And you knocked him out with a mallet and axe handles, then locked him up down here. Why didn't you tell anybeast?"
"We were waiting for the right moment, Sister. I was trying to tell Mhera and Cregga about it when they dashed off."
"I see. What type of vermin is this creature? Is it armed?"
"Er, I dunno. I've never seen many vermin. 'Spect they all look the same, savage an' murderous. He wasn't carryin' any kind o' weapon, but he had a big heavy tail, like an otter's rudder. But I've heard o' weasels an' stoats that had hefty tails. Remember what we learned at Abbey School about that rat, Cluny the Scourge? Didn't he have a big heavy tail?"
Tagg listened intently to the speculation going back and forth. If he had been branded as a vermin, it might make matters worse if he began shouting. They could be frightened off. He decided to hold his silence until somebeast addressed him directly.
Nimbalo lay on his back, shutting his eyes against the sun. He felt furtively around the path until his tightly tied paws encountered what he had hoped to find. A sharp-edged piece of stone, not very big, but sufficient to his needs. Keeping his body as still as possible, he curled both paws inward. Then, gripping the stone securely, he began rubbing the broken edge against his bonds, hoping the vermin would not notice.
Eefera took Gruven's sword and leaned over the ditch's edge to lay it against Nimbalo's ear. "Wot's the matter with ye all in there?" he called out. "Don't ye care about yore liddle friend Nimbalo? Come an' see if yer don't believe us. Come on, ye lily-livered craven, we won't sling or fire arrows, ye've got my word on it!"
Cregga and Mhera lay flat beneath the threshold battlements, flanked by Gundil and Egburt. "What d'you think?" Mhera whispered to the Badgermum. "You know more about vermin than us."
Cregga placed a cautionary paw upon Mhera's shoulder. "Don't trust them, that's the first rule I learned about vermin. I don't know who this Nimbalo creature is, but it may be a trap, so here's what we'll do. Gundil and Egburt, you go back into the Abbey. Tell Drogg and any other able-bodied beasts to arm themselves and come up to the gate. They should be safe enough now the slinging has stopped. If the vermin have got a mouse prisoner, we might get the chance to open the doors quickly, dash out there and rescue him. But tell Drogg to stay by the gate, quietly, until I give the word. Go now."
Eefera's voice sang out from the ditch. "Pore liddle Nimbalo. I wouldn't like to be 'im, if'n one of youse in there doesn't make some kinda move soon. Hahahaha!"
Cregga gave her instructions to Mhera. "I'm going to stand up in plain view. I know how to parley with those scum. You stay low, just so you can see over the wall; that way you can let me know what's going on. Now don't argue, pretty one, do as I say."
Mhera pressed the badger's big paw to her cheek. "All right, but please be careful. You're our only Badgermum!"
Sister Alkanet tapped lightly upon the storeroom door and spoke in her no-nonsense voice.
"Listen to me, vermin, I want straight and truthful answers, or you can stay locked up in there until you perish. Understood?"
She was surprised that the answering voice was not a gruff snarl but a level and reasonable-sounding baritone. "I understand. What do you want to know?"
"What do you and your friends want at Redwall Abbey?"
"There are five vermin outside. They are not my friends, they are my enemies. I am not a vermin, I'm an otter."
Old Hoarg stamped his footpaw and chuckled. "Heehee, I knowed he was an otter, moment I set eyes on him!" He wilted into silence under Alkanet's skeptical stare. She continued.
"They say you have a tattooed face, like the two vermin one of our creatures saw in Mossflower Wood. Why is that?"
Tagg stood with his forehead against the door. He shrugged. "It's a very very long story, if you have the time to listen. Let me ask you a question, marm. Have you seen a harvest mouse lately? His name is Nimbalo the Slayer."
The Sister's severe voice left him in no doubt. "No, we have not! I'm asking the questions, otter, if that's what you are. Do you have a name? What is it?"
"You can call me Tagg. It's what I've been known as for as long as I can remember." The silence that followed was so long that Tagg asked, "What's the matter, marm? Don't you believe me? My name's Tagg!"
This time the Sister's voice sounded a little shrill. "Tagg? Is that short for something? What's your full name? The truth now, I want no lies!"
"Zann Juskarath Taggerung!"
Four voices echoed the last word. "Taggerung!"
Egburt came hurtling into the cellar at that precise moment. Forgetting all his hare impressions, he cried, "Brull said she saw you go down here. Quick, Drogg, an' you too, Broggle an' Hoarg! We're all needed up at the front gate. The vermin have captured a mouse an' they're goin' to kill him!"
Tagg banged upon the cellar door and shouted, "This mouse, d'you know his name?"
Egburt gaped at the door, wide-eyed. "Nimbalo the Slayer they said his name is. Why?"
Suddenly the door shook as the otter smashed his body against it. "Let me out of here, d'you hear me? I must get out! I won't harm anyone, I swear it! I've got to save my friend! It's me the vermin want, me, the Taggerung of the Juska!"
Sister Alkanet shook her head stubbornly. "We'll have to report this to the elders for a counselors' meeting. I'm afraid you'll have to stay locked up until they decide."
It was then that Broggle did something totally unexpected. He pushed the Sister to one side and heaved the bolts back. "Then go and save your friend. Hurry, Taggerung!"
Cregga stood up in full view of the vermin. "We have no mouse here named Nimbalo, but if you are holding him prisoner I beg you not to harm him!"
Vallug rose, an arrow notched full stretch on his bow. "Yore not in any position to make demands of us, stripedog. We'll chop this 'ere mouse inter fishbait if'n yer don't give up the Taggerung!"
Mhera peeped over the battlements and saw the five tattooed vermin and Nimbalo lying bound on the path. Cregga spread her paws. "I don't understand what you mean. There is no such thing as a Taggerung in our Abbey. How can we give what we don't have?"
Eefera whispered to Vallug as he watched the badger's face. "That ole stripedog's blind. See, she's lookin' right past us at the flatlands be'ind. I tell yer, she's blinder'n a stone!"
Vallug laughed scornfully at the old blind badger. "Hohoho, 'ow d'you know you ain't got a Taggerung in there? You couldn't see yer paw in front of ye, y'ole fool!"
Cregga could feel anger coursing through her veins. "Listen, you thickbrained scum, it's you who's the fool. You can stand out there shouting for a Taggerung until you're blue in the face. We haven't got a Taggerung and we don't even know what a Taggerung is. So use what little brain you have and tell us, what in the name of all seasons is a Taggerung, eh?"
Nimbalo sawed through the last of his bonds and burst loose. Bloodlust shone from his eyes as he leaped for the battle-axe sticking up over the ditch's edge. "Death t'the vermin!" he roared.
He grabbed the axehead. The shaft went sideways and struck Vallug on the elbow, and he released the arrow instinctively. Cregga stood stock still, the shaft buried in her chest. Mhera leapt up, screaming.
Tagg came up the stairs like a thunderbolt. Dashing through Cavern Hole, he collided with an ottermum. Stopping momentarily, he held her steady by the paw. "Sorry, marm!" Then he was off up the stairs into Great Hall, leaving Filorn looking as if she had seen a ghost. As he bounded through the Great Hall toward the Abbey door, the otter's eyes flicked left and right, looking for a weapon. He saw the warrior mouse on a huge wall tapestry. Perched above it on two silver spikes, Martin's sword shone like fire on ice. There was no time to stop. Bounding forward, Tagg gave a mighty leap. He snatched the sword and sped out of the door.