As Gelltor finished speaking, Mokkan hobbled into camp, bent almost double and limping badly, his face creased with pain. He held up a paw for silence before any creature could speak further. “All right, all right, ’twas all my fault. I messed it up, by taking those Redwallers for fools, which they weren’t. But hear me! You all fought a gallant fight. I couldn’t ask for braver beasts in my command, particularly you, brother Gelltor, and you, sister Predak . . .” Here he paused for effect, shaking his head sadly. “And our dear sister Ziral, so treacherously slain after I had called retreat. How can I go back to our mother Queen Silth and tell her that poor Ziral is with us no more? Gelltor, you were right, brother. I should have listened to you.”

The Marlfoxes were slightly bewildered. Mokkan had never spoken like this before, but had always been arrogant and imperious. Vannan tapped the handle of her ax against the tapestry. “It wasn’t a total loss. Look what we took from the Abbey.”

Mokkan had been looking at the thing for over an hour from the tree limb. But he put on an expression of awed astonishment and approached the object reverently. “You stole this? Wondrous, beautiful, it must be beyond price! Well, congratulations to you. Our mother will be overjoyed to see such a splendid and magnificent prize. At least poor Ziral didn’t give her life in vain. But remember what she said here only a day ago. Blood calls for blood. It is the code of Marlfoxes, our law. Redwall and its creatures must pay dearly for our sister!”

Gelltor drew his ax and brandished it in Mokkan’s face. “Like I said at first, we should have gone to war!”

Mokkan sat down by the fire with agonizing slowness, biting his lip. “Aye, brother, you were right, I was the fool. Now I am sorely wounded and unfit to lead. Leave a few good rats here with me so that we may guard your plunder. I need rest, I may never walk again with these injuries. Split our forces up between the four of you and take vengeance upon those Redwall scum. Go quickly, before they become confident and begin combing the woodlands for our blood. Surround Redwall Abbey, kill them one by one, with the cunning that is the pawmark of a Marlfox. Snipe at them, starve them by keeping them penned up inside their Abbey, make them prisoners inside their own home!”

Gelltor’s eyes lit up, fired by plans of conquest. “We’ll besiege them until they crawl out begging to be spared! Then I’ll execute the one that wounded me and we’ll take revenge on the squirrel Janglur for Ziral’s death. Those whom we spare can be dragged back to our island in chains, to serve us!”