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Janglur Swifteye and Rusval Reguba ascended the broad sandstone steps up to the second floor of the Abbey and entered the Infirmary. Cregga, Dann and Abbess Song were already there, still apologizing profusely to the fox for the older squirrel's behavior. Argo himself sat on the edge of a cot allowing Sister Sloey, who had already sewn up the wound on his back again, to check his paw for any broken bones. She was the first to notice the new arrivals.

"If you plan on continuing your skuffle, I'd thank you to kindly do it outside my Infirmary," she said curtly.

Jangluar stepped in front of Rus and held up his paws defensively. "Hold steady, Sister," the overweight squirrel said, "we're jus' here ta talk. Ain't that right, Rus?"

"Aye," he responded softly.

"Then what, pray tell, are you doing here," the blind badgermum asked somewhat icily.

"Well mates, we come to ask Argo a favor."

"Did ya now? Well, get on wit it," the fox said said, apprehensively.

"Well, I'm thinkin' the reason you make Rus here so nervous is we still don't really know anythin' about you."

Argo closed his eyes and lowered his scarred head, uttering a sigh. "I reckon you're right, cully," he said after a few moments.

"Sharing a bit about yourself isn't such a bad idea," Dann said, shrugging, "especially if you're gonna be here the rest of the winter."

Song, feeling the unease radiating from the fox like heat from an oven, daintily rested her paw on his knee. "Would you mind indulging us, friend?"

Argo took a deep breath and let it out, bringing his head back up to look the Redwallers in the eye. "Aye. Though if'n I'm gonna be tellin' ya about me past, I'll be needin' somet'ing ta keep me whistle wet. Tha strongest somet'ing ya got. ********************************************************************************* Argo set aside the sizable clay jar that, until very recently, was filled to the brim with the oldest vintage of deep purple damson wine in the Abbey and wiped his lips on the back of his paw before starting his tale. "I was born in a land far south o' 'ere across the great sea, called Albon...

"...a land o' mild winters an' vittles aplenty. Leastways 'twas, afore a warlord goin' by tha name o' Drasker invaded and took over. Now 'e was a vicious beastie, big ruthless pine martin. I was only a bit older than me liddle mousey and molebabe mateys when 'e took over. Me Ma and Pa were killed in that first battle, an' those o' us too young or too old ta fight were taken as slaves. I barely 'ave any memory o' them, but me granpa was taken alon' wit me so I 'ad some family. Mosta tha others 'tweren't so lucky.

"So I grew up in tha slave pens. 'Twas a 'ard life, workin' tha fields from dusk 'til dawn. We considered it a good day if'n we could make it make it t'rough tha day wit'out feeling tha lash 'cross our backs, tha slave master took pride in bein' able in bein' able ta flay to tha bone wit 'is whip an' 'e enjoyed 'is position.

"At night, me granpa tried ta teach some o' us more rebellious types swordplay. We used sticks as weapons, wrapped in shreds o' cloth to keep 'em making noise. It took seasons, but if finally paid off. We rebelled one night when I 'twas jus' a mite younger than you, Abbess. We managed to break outta tha compound and slay Drasker, but not wit'out a cost. Me Gran was mortally wounded during the fight, an' afore 'e died 'e tells me ta go up to a certain cliff overlookin' tha sea and I'd find somet'ing for me buried at tha base o' a pine. I used one o' tha carts we'd spent so long carryin' crops an' tools in to 'aul 'is body up ta that place an' dug. That's where I found this sword an' this dagger I carry. Seems me Pa 'ad a feeling 'e might not survive an' wanted ta make sure I'd git 'em. I kept on diggin' 'til dawn, 'til I 'ad a it deep enough an' buried me granpa there. I like ta think 'e'd a liked it up there.

"After that, I didn't 'ave much keepin' me in Albon, so I took ta travellin'. Eventually I found myself in a port town in tha east an' ended up meetin' a beastie by tha name o' Braka. 'e became somet'ing like a mentor, takin' me under 'is wing an' teachin' me tha way o' tha assassin."

"I knew it," Rusval exclaimed, interrupting Argo's story and causing the rest of the assembled Redwallers, who until this point was completely absorbed, to turn around swiftly and glare at him. "Jus' a murderin', back-stabbin' scum!"

"Rusval Reguba, if you insist..." the young Abbess started, but stopped when she felt the fox's paw rest gently on her shoulder.

"No offense to ya, marm, but I can fight me own battles. Aye, Rus, I done some things in me life I ain't proud of, but some of those things saved lives an' stopped battles from 'appenin'. If'n I gotta kill one ta save others, well mate, I ain't gonna be losin' no sleep over it."

Dark brown eyes and pale green eyes locked, attempting to stare each other down. After what felt like an eternity, Rusval looked down. Argo continued to stare for a few moments more before picking up where he left off in his tale.

"As I was a'sayin', Braka taught me e'erythin' I know 'bout fightin' an' killin', but 'e did more'n that: 'e taught me strategy, some trackin', survival skills. 'e even taught me ta read some! We 'ad plenty o' ventures together, but I guess fate 'ad decided it couldn't last. 'e got killed off durin' a mission we was 'ired on.

"After that, I started ta 'ear tha big blue callin' me name, so I tried lookin' fer a ship that would take on a landlubber, and weren't I tha lucky beastie ta find tha perfect ship fer me: Tha Chainbreaker!

"Ya see, tha gud ol' Chainbreaker 'twas crewed by nought but freed slaves like meself, an' even though we was a mercenary ship, we never sided wit anybeasts wot wante' slaves. Oh aye, I spent many a long, gud seasons aboard 'er, an' atop that fine ol' deck is where I first met Dennalia. She were tha most beautiful fox I ever seen, aye, an' that still be holdin' true, me cullies.

"Eventually we both agreed ta leave tha 'venturing life behin', even though we loved tha time we spent on that fine ship, an' settle down an' have some liddle 'uns o' our own, give 'em ev'rything we never 'ad. So we left wit the cap'n's blessin' and found a nice cozy liddle cove fer ourselves, and there we 'ad three cubs; me son, Harven, the oldest, then Brola, our duahgter, an' our liddlest daughter Frenza. 'twas the 'appiest time o' me life, but it all ended.

"'bout six seasons back, I was pullin' up veggibles from tha liddle garden me wife 'ad planted with Harven 'elpin' me when we was suddenly attacked by a gang o' big squirrels wit spears. I told 'im to run back ta tha 'ouse while I tried ta fight 'em off wit a garden 'oe, but instead 'e picked up a trowel an' tried ta fight 'em wit me. I made tha mistake o' teachin' 'im a few moves wit tha knife so I suppose 'e fancied 'imself a warrior like 'is Pa. 'e managed ta take one down ta tha ground, but afore I could git ta 'im, that big beastie ran 'im t'rough right in fronta me. Then e'eryt'ing went black.

"When I came to, I 'ad wot felt like a thunderstorm in me 'ead an' I was layin' face down in tha dirt next ta me son. One o' 'em musta bashed me o'er tha ol' skull an' I can only guess they was thinkin' I was dead. At that moment, seeing Harven layin' there and lookin' up ta see tha 'ouse torn apart an' no sign o' Dennalia an' me daughters nowheres, I wish I were.

"I tell ya, mates, I jus' layed there tha resta tha day an' all night, i jus' couldn't find tha strength ta pick meself up. Tha one thing that got me up an' movin' came wit tha dawn, when I saw tha new light glintin' off somet'ing near me I didn't see tha day afore. 'twas this ring I wear about me neck, I gave it ta me love tha day we left tha ship an' she'd never taken it off. I thought that meant they musta still been alive an' she left it ta tell me.

"I finally stood up an' went about tha sad bus'ness o' buryin' me boy, and believe me when I say I truly 'ope none of you gennel beasts e'er 'ave ta go t'rough somet'ing like that. When that was done I grabbed me travellin' gear an' me weapons from where i'd 'idden 'em an' started out after 'em. Been wanderin' e'er since, 'elpin' beasts I come across wot need 'elping, and searchin' for me family and tha murdering scum wot took 'em. So that's me story, cullies."

The assembled Redwallers sat in stunned silence, heartbroken about the poor fox's tragic past. No beast felt it more so than Rusval: He knew what it was like to lose a loved one, and at least he had Dannflor to fall back on, Argo had no beast. The greying squirrel stood and shuffled over to the fox, surprising everybeast by extending his paw in silence. Argo considered the appendage held out towards him for just a few moments before clasping in inside his own larger paw, if not friendship then at least a begrudging mutual respect established between the two.