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‘Twas a season after the attack of the Marlfoxes, and everyone the abbey was doing their routine choirs. The dibbuns were out playing in the abbey pond, with their boats.
 “Is something wrong, Abbess”
 Abbess Song jumped up at the voice that came from the shadows behind her.
 “No, nothings wrong Cregga, I was just watching the dibbuns.”
 “If something is troubling you, you can always talk about it” Cregga said, ignoring Songs comment.
 “Well… there’s this dream…”
 “Is Martin trying to tell you something?”
 “I believe so, but he keeps talking in a riddle, repeating it over and over again.”
 “May I here it?”
 “I can’t remember it… I always forget it when I wake up.”
  All this was watched by a pine martin that was spying through the trees.
 Down in the great hall Dann stood admiring the tapestry.  For a whole season had passed since it was brought back, and he found himself drawn towards it.  He had inspected it closely, and he saw a seam around the picture of the Martin, as if it had been torn out and sown back in.  He was just about to grab a snack from the kitchen, when the bells sounded, calling him to the west wall.
 “Har’ a ‘roup o’ ‘hoxzez ‘prouching the habbey, zurr!” said Wursom, a mole which had recently come to the abbey, and had a strange accent even for a mole.
 “I’ll never learn to understand you” said Dann
 “Har’ a ‘roup o’ ‘hoxzez ‘prouching the habbey!” Wursom repeated, though louder this time.
 “Okay, okay, just let me look” Dann replied.
 “Oh my gosh, there’s a group of foxes approaching the abbey”
 “’Hat’s wat’ I bean tringg o’ teal ou!’” Wursom shouted, but Dann was already at the gates, waiting to meet the foxes.
 Silently the foxes approached the gates of Redwall.  They opened them, only to find a mole and a squirrel standing there, waiting for them.
 “Hat o’ ou hink ’oure doyng ’her”
 “Can you understand him?” the first fox asked
 “No.” Dann replied flatly
 “Well then, since nether of us can understand him, why doesn’t someone find someone who can?” the third fox replied.
 “Wursom, go find someone that can understand you.”
 “Zurr, Ey ’hont hink hanyoon han’ onerhand ’nmee”
 The glare from Dann sent the mole away.
 “There, that’s better.” The first fox replied
 “You know”, the second fox said, speaking for the first time “If I were you I’d be more careful”
 Dann barely had time to turn around when the pine martin knocked him out.
 Wursom, finding no one could understand him, went to admire the tapestry, not wanting to bother Dann while he was dealing with the foxes.  He was staring at the picture of Martin, when he noticed Martin
was looking in a different direction.  He turn to see what Martin was “looking” at.  He saw a pine martin hiding around the corner, and he started sneaking up on it.  Obviously the pine martin saw him too, because he leaded at Wursom with a cutlass already drawn.  Reacting on instinct, Wursom threw his arms forward, knocking the pine martin in the chest.  Not only was the pine martin winded, he was also knocked out the window.  He didn’t catch his breath fast enough to scream.
 Dann stood up.  He could see straight everything was still wavy.  He had been talking to the foxes when everything went black…
 “The foxes, that’s it!” Dann said out loud, and he set off to find them.
 Wursom stood staring out the window at the lifeless body of the pine martin.  He couldn’t believe he had actually killed a beast, even if it was a vermin. He turned around and saw Dann looking at him.
 “Did you…?”
 “Hes, zurr” Wursom said, now staring at his paws.
 “I know what it’s like, killing someone, it scares you, doesn’t it?”
 Wursom nodded.
 “It’s okay, don’t think about it, but the foxes are still here. We have to find them!”
 Wursom nodded, and began to follow Dann.
 “That stupid pine martin! He can’t do anything right!”
 “Shut up! You want the whole abbey to here us!”
 “Both of you be quiet! None of us where expected to live through this, remember?” The other foxes nodded. “Good. Now here’s the plan, we need to burn the tapestry, so…”
 That was all Abbess Song heard, for they started whispering.
 Meanwhile, Dann and Wursom were trekking though the abbey, when the Abbess ran into them.
 “Oh, Dann, there are three foxes…”
 “I know, where are they?”
 “That’s not important, they’re trying to burn the tapestry!”
 “Ho’, nmy ’hosh!” it was the first thing Wursom said since he killed the pine martin.
 “To the tapestry!” Dann practically yelled.
 They made it to the tapestry before the foxes, each of them hiding in a different spot.  Wursom had taken the pine martin’s cutlass, and Abbess Song had a brass ladle, taken from the kitchen.  Dann of course, had the Martin’s sword.  They were so well hidden the foxes didn’t see them, where as the first one fell to the sword of Martin.
 “Be quick about it!” The second fox yelled, blocking the cutlass with his axe.
 “I am…” the third fox fell, victim of the ladle, dropping the flint and steel.
 The second fox was surrounded quickly.  All three of the warriors were closing in on him, leave no way to escape.  Or so they thought… the fox threw his axe at Dann, forcing him to dodge, and the fox jumped out the broken window, landing with a thump on top of the pine martin’s body. The fall broke his left leg and he was forced to limp out the gates of Redwall, into the safety of Mossflower forest.

It was three seasons after the attack of the Marlfoxes, and the abbey had settled down after the foxes had tried to burn the tapestry.  It still worried Dann, because of that one fox that had escaped.  The
mention of it worried Abbess Song, but other than that, she had recovered.  The mention of the foxes had no effect whatsoever on Wursom, but talk about the pine martin left him silent for quite a time.  Sadly, Cregga Rose Eyes had passed away.  The funeral was held the same day as a feast, so the feast wasn’t as merry as usual, despite attempts to cheer people up. Ironically, a baby badger was found out side the gates that same day.  He was named after Cregga, being called Florerose.
Another weird thing had occurred in that season, an owl had arrived at the abbey, and she actually understood Wursom!  Thus, the season was named Summer of the Intelligent Owl.
 Meanwhile, a fox was busy scheming in the forest, so far he had come up with two ideas.  One was to burn the gate as a distraction, climb over a wall and burn the tapestry.  The other was to use fire arrows to burn the tapestry; however, there wasn’t a place in the forest he could shot it from.
 “This is going to be harder then I thought” he said out loud.

“Hat ydo ou ’hinek he hext hezon hon’a ’e kaled?”
“If I knew I would tell you, friend”
“Hamby hey’wll hane iet ofher ou ahaign”
“They get along so well, don’t they Song”
“Yes they do”
“I think Wursom is amazed that someone can understand him”
“Maybe, Dann”
“Is something troubling you?”
“There’s this dream…”
 “Martin?”
“Yes, he talks in a riddle…”
“Can I hear it?”
“That’s the thing, I can’t remember it”
“When did it start?”
“Right before the foxes came…”
“Of course! That fox got away! He’s up to something”
“I hope not…”

 ‘This is pathetic’ the fox thought, looking at the ragged ferrets and stoats he had rallied up. ‘Only five… we're all doomed, oh well’
“Okay troops, are you ready?!”
“Aye!”
“Do you know your mission?!”
“Aye!”
‘Do you know were all gonna die’ the fox thought
“To Redwall!”
 “Zurr, ’he hoxz hes hak!”
 “What…?”
 “He said, Sir the fox is back!”
 “Oh my gosh! What is he doing?”
 “’He hoxz hass fiev feritss hamdd heseals, hamdd ’hey’ere pieling whod hom ’he hnain jattes!”
 “Translation, please”
 “The fox has five ferrets and weasels, and they’re piling wood on the main gate!”
 “They’re going to burn the gate down!”
 “Yes, but it may be only a distraction, I suggest you go to the tapestry.  Me and Wursom will take over here”
 “Right”
 It was then that Dann noticed a grappling hook on the east wall.  He started running as fast as he could.  He arrived in time to see the fox trying to start a fire.
 “Hey” Dann yelled, startling the fox and making him drop the flint. Dann drew his sword, and charged the fox.  The fox would have been killed, if he hadn’t drawn his sword and blocked the attack.  While Dann was recoiling, the fox charged him.  Dann recovered in time, but instead of blocking the attack,  he raised his sword, and brought it down with the force of a badger.  It sword of Martin worked well, slicing the fox’s sword in two, and giving the fox a very nasty gash across his eye.  The fox backed away, holding the eye that would never see again. He rounded a corner, and Dann was going to chase him, but he was already gone.

The fox was getting desperate.  He hadn’t rallied any troops, and it was time he did.  Oddly enough, he decided against it.  He wanted to end it now, by himself, either way.  It was time to either destroy Redwall morale forever, or die trying.  He didn’t really care what happened to him, as long as one day Redwall was destroyed.
 “Thinking about the fox again, Dann?”
 Dann jumped.
“You startled me, Abbess”
“Dann, you know you don’t have to call me that”
“Yes, ma’am”
“That fox still has you worried, doesn’t he?”
“I don’t see how he got away” Dann said, through clenched teeth.
“Don’t worry, I don’t think he’ll try anything again”
“Have you still been having that dream”
“Well…”
“You have, haven’t you”
“Yes, but it’s different now, I still can’t remember the riddle he’s repeating, but I see a blurred image of a mole standing beside him”
“Is it Foremole?”
“I can’t tell, it’s blurred like a reflection of unsteady water”
“Either way, I’m going to check on the tapestry”
“Okay, fine, have it your way” Song replied, but Dann was already gone. Dann jogged to the tapestry rather then running.  He was able to greet people as he went by, which is how he happened to meet Florerose.
“Hi miser ‘Ann”
“Hi Florerose”
“Where ya’ goin”
“To the tapestry”
“Tapestry in ’rouble”
“Who told you that”
Florerose pointed at Dann’s sword, and Dann was gone before Florerose could say good-bye.
Dann arrived at the tapestry the exact time the fox did; however, the fox had faster reflexes.  He was on Dann like a lightning bolt.  Dann tried to defend himself, but the fox had already cut him seven times, and was going for the kill.  Suddenly, a cutlass seemed to grow through the fox’s middle.  The fox fell to the ground, never to rise again. There was a blurred reflection of Wursom in the puddle of blood.


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