Okay, this chapter will hopefully be good, but I don't guarantee anything. Please review and tell me whether I should change something or not. And, if you have any ideas for future chapters, please let me know!

Chapter 7

Captain Rotch glanced franticly around him, looking for his hired assassin, Strat the fox. Although he knew that he would be unable to complete anything that night, since his minion wasn't in place, he still knew that if he got out, he would have a very good chance another try.

Glancing around, he darted through the crowd to the back door, and slid through. Letting out a sigh of relief, he swaggered away in the darkness.

"Captain?" Strat's voice came out from behind a dark tree. Rotch answered warily,

"That you, Strat?"

"Aye." Sensing something was amiss, he backed away a few paces,

"Then come out and show yourself!" Strat emerged, although it seemed a little that he was pushed, for he stumbled a little. The stoat sniffed the air, "is there somebeast behind that tree?" The little fox looked nervously behind him, and then back at Rotch,

"Behind the tree? Nope, never had nobeast followin' me." His eyes flickered franticly, trying to tell his friend something. "I'm sorry I wasn't in the rafters on time, I…uh…got delayed." The stoat captain backed away, again getting the sense he should turn and flee. What's wrong wi' me? Why should I stay anyway. He messed up my whole plan!

"Well, Strat, I guess I'll be movein' along." Nodding his head he added warningly, "I'll see you later and you better not mess up again, or it'll be worse for you!" He turned around, only to be confronted by half a dozen hefty rats. He whirled and dashed past the evilly grinning fox, strait into the waiting paws of Grugan Nightslayer.

"Har har, I was meanin' ta thank yer for the loverly party mate!" The stoat knew he was as good as dead. The penalty of treason was known to all: death! He let out a loud shriek, as Nightslayer's claws pierced his back. "I think a night in the guard house before yur trial will do y some good. Strat, go stop those idjits in there from getting any louder." Strat grinned evilly at the terrified Rotch,

"Aye, chief. And shall I tell 'em they can spend the night in the compound?" The big fox laughed raucously,

"That's a bright idea mate. And you can extend the invitation for a week, no food or water!"

Redwood Slyon was a happy fox. He and his friends, Rose and Heather, were sitting on the bank of a clear-running stream, dabbling their paws in the cool water. They had entered Mossflower about mid-morning, and were taking a noon-time rest for lunch.

His day-dreaming was suddenly interrupted, when Rose snuck up behind him and shoved him in the water. He came up sputtering at her,

"Ahug, I got da wader up my dose!" He chased her up the bank, still sputtering about the water up his nose. Heather sat on the ground and laughed until she cried.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, cheecheechee!" Her laughing ended abruptly when she noticed that her friends were nowhere to be seen. There was also a strange smell that she had never noticed before; she sniffed harder. It seemed vaguely familiar. Something snapped inside her head: toad! She sighed, those two blunder paws! Why can't they stay out of trouble? Sighing, the little bird flew off in the direction the Red and Rose had taken.

Oh my head! Oh my head! Rose woke with a jolt. Toads. She groaned to herself; she had been captured by toads before and knew that they were very dangerous to a small number of beasts. Turning her head, she hissed at Red, who was lying on the ground next to her,

"Red…Red…are you awake?" He groaned,

"Yeah I'm awake alright. Wow that was quite a whack they gave me! Oh my head!" If the situation hadn't been that serious, Rose would have laughed. Now, however, laying in the mud, in the green woodlands, she didn't quite feel like laughing.

"Cheecheechee, hahahahah, cheecheechee, hahahahaha!" They both looked up, startled. Heather was in the trees above them, trying to get their attention. Rose hissed up at her,

"Heather can come get these ropes off us?" Flitting down from the branch, the bird chattered reproachfully at them,

"Sheshe, ye foolish little beasts. Yes, I can try to get the off. Hmm…" She started pecking at Roses bonds, grunting with each peck, "this…tastes…like…rotten…fish…that…has…been…been…roting…for…seasons…upon…seasons…there!" Rose snapped the last few strands,

"Heather, I'll do my foot paws, you do Red…hurry, or the guards 'll here us!" Just as Red's last rope snapped, they all felt slimy fingers grab them from behind,

"Urg, trying tug gut aways, waz youz?" A dry, croaking, horrible voice came from behind them. The biggest toad they had ever seen stood at the edge of the trees, surrounded by guards. "Takez them touzen the pit! Hargharg!" The three friends were dragged, squirming and wriggling toward a pile of brush that was being moved aside. A huge, gaping hole was revealed, and they were thrown into it, still trying to free themselves.

Splash! Rose hit the bottom, landing face-down in the mud. She lay there, not moving, just trying to get herself to think clearly. When she finally sat up, she surveyed her surroundings with disgust. The sides of the pit were brown and ray pebbles mixed with mud, all very slippery looking. The bottom was about half mud and half mud-and-water. She looked up and groaned. The toads were covering the top back up with branches.

Red got up slowly from where he had been lying.

"Aug! This is grose!"

"Sheshe!" Together the three of them searched around the pit, but there was no way out