Brian Jacque's Redwall

Matthias the mouse is orphaned when the vile rat Cluny The Scourge destroys his township. Adopted by the generous creatures of Redwall Abbey, he grows up to admire their legendary protector, Martin The Warrior. But his dream-filled young life is shattered when the Abbey is attacked by rats and Matthias meets their warlord - none other than Cluny! Matthias resolves to fight the tyrant that once again threatens his life - and his new family

While Redwall prepares for a long siege, Cluny steals the symbolic tapestry of Martin The Warrior from within the Abbey, and Matthias learns that Martin's great sword still exists - but nobody knows where. As Cluny's next attack is repulsed Matthias meets a great ally, Basil Stag Hare, and learns that his own destiny is inextricably tied to his hero, Martin. Matthias will become Redwall's next Protector - but only if his quest for the sword is successful.

Cluny uses the treacherous fox, Chickenhound, to plant a rumour of an attack on Redwall, while Matthias and his mousemaid friend Cornflower unravel a mysterious motto - "I am that is". It is an anagram of "I Matthias" written years before he was born - another clue on the quest for Martin's sword. Cluny's real underground attack is inventively repulsed by hot porridge and Matthias sees the fearful snake Asmodeus for the first time and realizes that somehow their fates are horribly intertwined.

Following complex clues, which promise to lead to Martin's Sword, Matthias climbs high into the Abbey roof - and the kingdom of the crazy King Bull Sparra. There he discorvers that the slithering Asmodeus has Martin's Sword! The King returns in time to fight Matthias who narrowly escapes death. But at last Matthias knows where his sword quest must end; in a battle against the Snake!

A travelling circus comes to Redwall and Cluny uses it to try and infiltrate the Abbey with his lieutenants, dressed as clowns. The mysterious circus star, Wild Ivy the Knifethrower seemingly mesmerizes Matthias, but she is, in fact, an ally and as Cornflower is threatened with death by Cluny, Ivy turns the circus against the rats in an acrobatic battle of fire-eaters versus fur! It is then we see what Wild Ivy has seen - that Matthias and Cornflower are destined to be together...if Redwall survives.

Cluny attempts to starve the Redwallers into submission. When Basil and Jess the Squirrel seem to desert, Matthias wonders if surrender is close. He decides to try and rescue the stolen tapestry from Cluny in order to give courage to the Redwallers - and discovers Basil and Jess attempting the same thing! They outwit Cluny, retrieve the precious tapestry of Martin, and renew the spirit of Redwall.

While Cluny plans to recapture the tapestry by burning down the Abbey gates, Matthias determines to renew his search for Martin's sword. He must find Asmodeus' hideout. He learns that only the fierce mouse-eating owl, Captain Snow, knows where it is. To ask him Matthias has to pass Julian Gingivere, a marmalade cat and the Shrew of Mossflower Wood! Matthias breaks off the search for the sword to return with his new allies to once again beat off Cluny.

To finally lift the siege, Constance creates a special crossbow to snipe Cluny dead, only for the warlord to learn of the plan and use it to his advantage.

Cluny captures a travelling spice salesmouse and holds his wife. The fearful husband is forced to enter Redwall and take Cornflower captive in return for his wife. Torn between love and honor, he does as Cluny demands. But with Matthias's help the two outwit Cluny and rescue the mousemaids, riding back to safety in a spectacular underground waterborne escape.

Matthais's wild sparrow friend, Warbeak, attempts to scout Cluny's camp as he prepares yet another attack on the Abbey. She is captured and Matthias has to rescue her before Cluny feeds her to Asmodeus the Snake. Posing as Cluny, Basil Stag Hare helps rescue Warbeak and Matthias resolves once more to find a way to kill Asmodeus. He stands between Matthias and Martin's Sword - their battle is inevitable.

Matthias sets off to find Asmodeus and recapture Martin's sword. Helped by the shrews of Mossflower he finally meets his foe in the deep caverns where he guards the Warrior's sword - the object of Matthias's quest. In a terrible battle Matthias kills Asmodeus. At last the serpent is dead and the sword is his. Now he can truly be the protector of Redwall. But news of Cluny's assault reaches him as he realizes he is trapped deep underground.

As Matthias is lost deep in Asmodeus's caverns, Cluny digs his way under Redwall, taking advantage of the exhausted Redwallers and the absence of Matthias. Using the sword to escape the caverns and after a terrifying river adventure, Matthias returns with the shrews to defend Redwall - but not before he is almost trapped by Cluny and only just saved by Cornflower. Cluny flees at the sight of Martin The Warrior's "ghost" while Matthias at last gets to wear his hero's armor.

Cluny seizes the family of a dormouse and threatens to kill them unless their father, Plumpen, betrays Redwall and opens the gates to his huge army of rats. The plan works and Redwall is finally captured. But Matthias challenges Cluny and in a final confrontation kills him. Cornflower and Matthias are at last married and Redwall returns to its idyllic lifestyle. Matthias has become the hero he admired in his childhood.

In the kitchens of Redwall Abbey, MATTIMEO son of Matthias The Warrior and Cornflower, fights VITCH, a mean little rat. Mattimeo is punished by his father for discourtesy to a guest. But Mattimeo's instincts about Vitch are validated when it transpires that Vitch is a spy for SLAGAR THE FOX - a slaver for the terrible underground Kingdom Of Malkariss. Slagar gains entry to Redwall disguised as leader of a troupe of magicians. At a great feast he is able to drug the drinks and capture Mattimeo and his friends, Tess and Tim Churchmouse and Sam Squirrel and Cynthia Vole. They join a group of slaves among whom is AUMA, little daughter of ORLANDO the Badger who even now is hunting the fox. As the slaves are taken away Slagar is revealed to be Chickenhound the treacherous fox from Series One, "Redwall" - seeking his revenge against Matthias The Warrior.

Redwall Abbey awakes to find their young ones are gone, and as they piece the previous night together realize that Mattimeo was right and that Vitch was the slaver's spy. Desperate that he ignored his son's warnings, Matthias vows to pursue Slagar The Fox accompanied by BASIL STAG HARE and others. He is unaware that Orlando the badger is already in far away pursuit.Slagar takes his slaves on circuitous routes, laying false trails to confuse the pursuers. The frightened slaves look to Mattimeo for leadership but he is not ready and responds badly. As his father sets off in entirely the wrong direction Mattimeo learns the true story of Chickenhound - and that he himself is hostage to Chickenhound's revenge on Matthias who will never see his son again.

Mattimeo realizes that the slaves are headed South and will get no help from their parents who are following false trails - they must escape by themselves or not at all. It is the slow beginning of his transformation into a leader but not yet in time to save them from the treachery of SCURL the frilled newt who steals their few belongings for false promises of freedom.Way behind the slaves, The Redwall Pursuers meet CHEEK an alert orphan otter who, in return for food and kindness, sets them on the right trail - and joins the hunt under the wry protection of Basil Stag Hare. The group encounters and joins forces with Orlando the badger and a group of hedgehogs who have also lost young ones to Slagar. At Redwall Abbey, Abbot Mordalfus dreams of Martin The Warrior who tells him "to seek the founder in the stones, where the little ones go," and Constance, Cornflower, Foremole and others begin the task of deciphering the cryptic clue to the destination of Slagar...who moves southwards fast towards the dark mountains of Malkariss.

Mattimeo and the slaves make their first attempt to escape, valiantly led by Tess Churchmouse, and Mattimeo takes another short step towards his birthright of leadership. Matthias is now hot on their trail. With the badger and hedgehog reinforcements he discovers Scurl who, in exchange for his life, gives him accurate directions towards Slagar and the slaves.At Redwall Abbey, BABY ROLLO unravels the dream clue and the Redwall Company follow the little folk - the ants - and so begin their own strange journey of pursuit which leads them to more cryptic clues which they struggle to solve. Something in the riddle will help them to help Matthias in pursuit of their young ones. The Past and the Present move towards a combined destiny, but what?As Mattimeo and company hide from Slagar, Matthias and his companions approach the very gorge where Slagar secretly awaits them. As they enter a cave carefully baited with slave tracks, Slagar triumphantly causes a landslide, which buries them - along with all hopes of rescue.

Mattimeo and his companions race to the landslide beneath which their parents are buried, and are seen by Slagar who sends rats to recapture them. Within the cave Matthias and the Pursuers are close to suffocating while above them - and unknown to them - Mattimeo digs frantically. And Slagar watches.Beneath Redwall Abbey, JOHN, father of the captured Tim and Tess, helps decipher the ancient Loamscript - but it contains more questions than answers. They work on, aware that solving the complex riddle will give them an answer to where their young ones are being taken. The answer indicates the South - and WARBEAK and her Sparra squadrons take copies of the partly-solved riddle and fly South to try and find Matthias.Mattimeo is recaptured by Slagar and cruelly forced to abandon his dying father - it forces the last step in his transformation which chills even Slagar with its cold intensity. Mattimeo has become a warrior. Behind him, his father Matthias is released by LOG-A-LOG and his shrew army and prepares to again take up the pursuit.

From Redwall Abbey, Warbeak and her sparra squadrons fly South bearing the riddle - they hope to find Matthias and help his quest. But they are unaware that their departure is observed by IRONBEAK, an evil raven general who invades Redwall as soon as Warbeak is gone. Theydrive the Redwallers into the cavern Hole B and make them prisoners in their own abbey. Slagar and his slaves ascend the huge Great South Cliffs and cut off the means of pursuit leaving Matthias unable to follow. They pass through the Dark Forest and are attacked by the fearsome and terrifying Painted Ones, but survive to find that Slagar is about to cross a huge river beyond which a huge rat army awaits him and his slaves.Mattimeo is beyond help, Matthias is halted - and Redwall is under siege.

Safely across the river, Slagar awaits Stonefleck's Army of rats. Below the cliffs, Matthias meets Sir Harry the owl who reveals a way to ascend them. Matthias and company ascend but come under attack in the Dark Forest, almost losing Cheek before making good their escape. Across the river Mattimeo leads an escape of his own but is immediately recaptured by Stonefleck's rats. Back at Redwall, Ambrose Spike and others set traps for the invading birds and engage in what is to be a long battle of wits and courage. The birds take Cornflower, Rollo and Mrs. Churchmouse hostage and threaten to kill them unless Redwall surrenders - a stand off temporarily resolved by the Abbott, but leaving the captives in great danger. Matthias and the pursuers launch a raft to rescue Mattimeo but come under massed fire and take to the water - only to find it is alive with nibbling fish. They sweep down the river, all choices exhausted. Across the river, allied with a huge army, Slagar can't lose.

Matthias's raft drifts towards the rats on shore, watched in horror by Mattimeo and friends as the arrows fall and the fish nibble. In the roof of Redwall Abbey Baby Rollo, Mrs. Churchmouse and Cornflower wait to be thrown down unless the abbey surrenders. Triumphant, Slagar drags the miserable slaves onwards as Warbeak desperately and unsuccessfully still seeks Matthias. At Redwall, little Sister May comes up with a potion to drug the birds with food, and at the river it is a frightened Cheek who finally risks swimming - saving Matthias and company by eating vast numbers of nibbling fish. As Abbot Mordalfus prepares to exchange hostages at Redwall, Warbeak joins Matthias at the river to defeat Stonefleck's rats. She delivers the deciphered message, which will help locate the young ones, but is killed in battle trying to save other sparras. Matthias heads south, deeply saddened by the death of his old Redwall ally. Slagar will pay dearly for his evil.

Slagar reaches The Abyss and forces the slaves across a rope bridge, cutting it away behind him. There is now no way for Matthias to pursue him. A full day and night behind, the pursuers arrive at the abyss and are stopped dead until Sir Harry comes to their rescue by retrieving enough rope to cross the bottomless gorge.At Redwall Abbey the hostages are exchanged but Ironbeak treacherously uses the diversion to take over a section of the abbey. The Redwallers are trapped without water and only saved when Foremole digs a tunnel. The celebration is short when it is discovered that Ironbeak is attacking the Martin The Warrior Tapestry. Rushing to its rescue the Redwallers are trapped - it was a baited ruse.Ahead of Mattimeo and the slaves are the Badger Head and Bell Rocks in a silent, lifeless wasteland - ominous portents which scare even Slagar and his rats. The terrible journey is approaching its climax.

As the slaves arrive at the ominous Badger Head and Bell Rocks, Mattimeo bravely comforts them and promises "I will not fail us". At the Abbey the Redwallers defend the tapestry in a pitched battle and recapture it. Simultaneously Matthias arrives at Loamhedge Abbey and meets an Old Rabbit who forecasts doom but gives him an amulet.Slagar craftily sets his henchrats against each other and prepares to take all the slave profits himself. While at Redwall Cornflower and Constance haunt the terrified birds with the 'ghost' of Martin - in fact, his armour.Nadaz, henchrat to the king of Malkariss, appears silently and orders the slaves anaesthetized. Slagar's rats attack each other and in the chaos are captured by Matthias who demands they help him pursue Slagar - but he already has his slaves deep underground in the evil kingdom. In front of the statue of a polecat he tells them this is where they will live and die. It is journey's end and down here there is no hope of rescue.

To finally lift the siege, Constance creates a special crossbow to snipe Cluny dead, only for the warlord to learn of the plan and use it to his advantage.

In The Kingdom of Malkariss the Polecat, Matthias fights the slavemaster monster, the Wearet, and falls into the abyss. There he grimly hangs onto the rope that previously lowered a mysterious basket. But as Mattimeo and friends are released by the dying Log-a-log, the Wearet cuts the rope and Matthias falls into the basket - and meets Malkariss himself!In Redwall, Stryk recovers slowly and becomes a close friend of Cornflower. But Ironbeak uncovers the 'hauntings' are a ruse and cunningly imprisons Constance as he prepares his final attack. The defenders are found out and weakened. Ironbeak is sure of victory.Matthias faces the evil but surprisingly puny, scabby and pale polecat Malkariss - whose slaves, seeing Matthias' courage, turn on him and stone him to death. Matthias looks up to the high-above battle to see his son Mattimeo and fights to get to him. But he fails to see Slagar The Fox taking deadly aim at him with his bolas - and Slagar has never been known to miss.