Burrows and Badgers - Three new gangs battle over the turf.

Sitting in the Inn of the Twin Tailed Fox, half an eye on the drizzle outside, the gang looked up as Martyn the monk slowly made his way downstairs, aided by a walking stick. One leg was heavily bandaged.
"Yah, that's a nasty wound old chap, it's going to slow you right down." Sir C'astle Berry the Shrew looked at the mouse and smiled wryly. "Still, could be worse!"
"I know," the old mouse agreed, "I'm sorry I brought us into this mess."
"Nonsense, we are here for adventure, just a shame we are a hamlet over from where we wanted to be. Come, sit, warm your leg."
"It was a prosperous village we sighted, we should have controlled it by sunset." A long green lizard uncurled her tail and hooked a flaggon.


Flash the kingfisher pecked at the steaming trout on the table, with a mouthful he muttered "How were we to know the TWO Royalist gangs were gonna 'ave a go at us!"
"Indeed my irridescent friend, one at a time, I am sure we could have dealt with them." Pebbles the lizard, enjoying the heat from the fire, uncurled herself even more and helped herself to a morsel of the trout.
Alk, a pale and strange looking fox, muttered something incomprehensible into his tankard. "You're a great tracker and fighter old bean," the shrew knight smiled, "but I wish I could understand what you were saying, something about potatoes?"
"It's beyond my knowledge of languages," the limping mouse monk added as he perched on a high stool next to the Fennic fox, "I know words in seven, read four and am fluent in speaking three, but I only comprehend a word or two of his language, where did you find him?"
"We met in the deserts of far Arabia while I esquired, to a great knight who needed a quest. As I was following my master, he perished in the sands, Alk here tracked us and saved me, he's followed me ever since. Says he wants me in a safe?"
From across the table, a mouse in a blue tabbard looked up from his book, adjusted his eye whiskers and said "Eee say he does not like this juis de pomme your Pebbles bought 'im, eee feels like it is not fresh!"
Pebbles picked up a grub, flicking her tongue over it, "It's all perfectly good, I mean, Sir C'astle, I was so impressed by that charge of yours, straight in that mouse Arthur, I was certain you and Prongs were going to finish that mouse off in one go!"


"Oh I nearly flattened him," the Shrew grinned, "but his little friend got into me too. Arthur was out the fight that day, but not incapacitated"
Alk uttered something, and the blue dressed mouse turned around to them again "Eee says it was not ees little friend you were worried about, it wass zat, how you say, oliphont?"
"Shhhh.." Martyn put one finger up to his lips. A nervous hush descended on the bar, as the patrons looked around quickly, seeing no great grey beast, they continued with the hubbub of the evening. "NEVER refer to Sir D.B. Oliphant as an elephant, he indentifies as a badger."
"But the elephant in the room is he is not," Pebbles winked at the interloper, "there was a terrible accident when he was young, the circus he was travelling with was involved, he was left wandering, lost, cold, and a kindky family of badgers took him in. He's been looking for his mum ever since"
Sir C'astle raised his tankard, toastin g this news, "Dashed fine fighter too, knew him in the Levant, took on lions by himself that one, never afraid of anything, that's why he surrounds himself with mice!"


"Friend of yours is he?" Pebbes grinned.
"Not as such," Martyn interuppted, "these two never saw eye-to-eye!"
Alk barked a comment, to which the blue dressed mouse laughed until he chockcd, a slap on the back later he whiped his eye and added "Eee says 'Not wisout ze step-ladder!' "
Sir C'astle put his paw on the monk's shoulder "Well, I, for one, old boy, was jolly glad of your spell breaking his sword, facing three of those Royalists on my own was too much, even for Prongs and myself in full harness, all help gratefully received!"
"Well, the arrows from those mouse archers must have been a blessing then, because I received a few of them!" The monk grinned and rubbed his leg.


"How many mice were there in that gang?" Flash added, "I got into the cottage like you told me too, suddenly two were battering through the door! Good thing the one I fought, Squint, couldn't get past my shield."


"Oh, and while you were doing that, I was haviing to face the other bunch of Royalists, I mean, they brought a HOUND!" Pebbles shook her head.
"Ower Fennic friend 'ere says you really 'urt eet by using your sling to throw a stick, ze whiplash as ee tried to fetch must 'ave 'urt 'im." The blue mouse twiddled his whiskers.


Flash looked up from her beer, and uttered "Boss, did you notice that the Royalist you were fighting had hired Hissing Syd?"
"I was rather preoccupied old chap."


Pebble fixed Alk in the eye, "Thank you for helping me with Sir Ralph the hound."
The whiskered mouse replied, "Eee says it was what was expected of 'im."


"First I knew of Syd, he was trying to remove his dentures from my armour." laughed Sir Berry, "To stat

rt with he could not land a bite."
"Ohh," Flash interjected, "is he a fisheman too?"


"While all that was going on," the monk muttered, "a shield mouse maiden, Sir Harry Hop-Spur and Magic Mike their magician were making a bee-line to us from the other gang!"  

"I managed to break the hare's sword with myyspell too, but that was about the last of the fight I saw, as I was conentrating so much I taken down by a flurry of bodkin arrows from the mouse archers of the first Royalists. All in one leg, my tango is ruined!" Martyn laughed.


"Sorry chap, at that point, we decided to withdraw after I was pummeled by that ele..badger's fists and bitten by that dratted adder! Good thing Prongs is the sensible one and carried me quickly away. My armour will never be the same" The knight grinned.


"After that, we tended your many wounds, and watched from a local hill." Flash added, "The two Royalists obviously wanted the better of each other, and set about each other." 

"Unfortunately, but it didn't stop Sir Harry landing a good hit on Syd and knocking him sraight out the fight!"
"The hound went down first," added Pebbles, "also hit by arrows and a rock hurled by the bader-phants' trunk, although he will claim he used a sling! We should of had that hit."


"Quite an impressive display on the Tomb of the unknown mouse, as Tommy Mouse took on Squint and Mousetangion single pawed!" Pebbles added.
"Zat is where my old amis got too, I will 'unt 'im down soon!" The blue smocked mouse laughed.


"With no swords between 'em," Flash laughed, "You should have seen Sir Oliphant and Sir Hop-Spur, it was like a boxing match, but wiv a shield getting in da badger's way!"
"You mean someine tried to out box a hare?" Sir C'astle shook his head.


The fight on the tomb went on for ages, we even opened a book on it, mouse-on-mouse action!" Pebbles winked.


"The mouse maiden was out for blood, she really cut up one of the mouse archers. Again, they could not get past 'er shield at all."
"Ze fox say we need to watch zat, zey are good wiz their shields, le lievre was stopping everything with 'is!"


"The mouse maiden ended up fighting two mice at once, they were everywhere!"


"Mice to spare!"


Pebbles drained her tankard, "Eventually, Sir Oliphant was battered down by Sir Harry, really boxed his ears!"
"Zey must be big enough!"

 

"It was all over, Sir Harry Hop-spur had won the village."
"We shall have to keep an eye on him in the future then!" Sir C'astle added. "Anyway," he put his goblet down on teh table, and fixed the blue clad mouse in the eye, "we have been frightfully selfish, only talking about our exploits, good and bad, and not asked you of your aquaintence, prey sir, who are you?"
The blue clad mouse stood, what the company had assumed was a smock was a tabard, silk, with a complex hearaldry on it in the shape of a white cross, surmounted by flames. At his side a long sword and a brace of throwing knivves hung, from the other side, a shorter sword. He bowed, "Monsieur, I am Arimouse, of ze Mouseketteer company of ze Guard of LeRoy. I am 'ere seeking ze lost jewels of my queen, and I suspect mes old amises Mousetangion ou Athos are somehow involved."
"You are welcome to join us and we will gladly assist you in your search." Sir Berry tipped his head.
"Zat would be formidable, or as you say, formidable!"

Over the following days, Martyn studied by the fire, resting his aching leg, joined by Sir Berry, who did not seem his robust self, maybe a nip fromm Syd had got through? Arimouse taught the pair how to converse fully in Alk's language and soon the mouse was the firmest of friemds with the group. Alk buisied himself helping a local farmed improve his crop yeild, and was well paid for it. He also introduced teh gang to a new drink, involing boiling water and special ground up beans, called choffee so he did not have yto risk the bad apple juice again. Pebbles put in a few hours behind the bar, which netted the gang some serious tip, of both kinds. Flash, after tending the gang's magical garden and selling a great many herbs, was on scouting duties around the hamlet, making sure all was secure and picking up snippets of news on the other gangs.
From what they heard, both teh Royalist gangs were still at each other's throats. The main event was that, after some negotiation, Syd the snake had been captured, and was ransomed for only a few pennies ("Seven pennies only buys you half a snake!" was heard to be uttered by Sir Harry, but he relented), but the mice from Sir Oliphant's gang spread far and wide, gathering a great many pennies worth of resources, scouring sunken ships for a small fortune, replacing Sir Oliphant's blade with a flaming enchanted sword (he made a full recovery). They intercepted a slaver and freed a tortoise legionary, who gladly joined their side.
The other Royalists, despite winning the field and completing all their other objectives by engaging and taking down both enemy leaders, did not gain as many coins, even after ransoming Syd. Thier forge was busy however, and at least two crossbows were now in the gang. Magic Mike, their squirrel mage, who had been hastening the gang along now also knew how to add luck to their gang's endevours, and they appeared to have aquired a great many fate points. Everyone apart from the hound aquired new skills or stats though, adding to the lethality of those Royalists; and a third mouseketteer was rumoured to be in the area, and may have been enticed into their gang