The Snake Pearl.

[Dartpaw]

'Young Gus!! Stay here!!!!' The adult otter warned him.
'Call me Gus again and I'll call you Pudgo.' The younger otter said bitterly.
Tundo and Dwib were walking into a quarry.
'Tund, why are we coming here?'
Tundo snapped at him. 'Because of your run in with the vermin back there. Rule number 1 MAKE SURE YOUR ENEMY IS DEAD!!'
Apparently Dwib went off by himself and got attacked by a ferret whom he wounded thinking was dead and took her treasured amulet. But the ferret recovered going back to her camp and sent a whole gang of vermin on their tails much to Tundo's anger.
'You don't know it but after you told me what happened I was nervous and I could hear somebeast following us from a yard away. We need to hide in here.'
They went into a tunnel within the quarry just to wait the vermin out.
Dwib was around the same height as Tundo being slightly tall for his age and Tundo being slightly short.
'Tund, normally I'd be scared but oddly I'm not.'
'Because you're assured they'll leave us alone but I'd be more scared of what lies down here. You've heard the stories of Asmodeus. There could be others down here.'
Vermin were now swarming the area around the entrance.
'Look a hole!! they went in here!!' A vermin said.
'But this is cursed, snakes live here!!' A whiny weasel replied. 'I ain't going in there.'
The female ferret from earlier limped forward. 'GO IN THERE AND KILL THEM!!! THAT AMULET I STOLE FROM THE ABBOT OF REDWALL HIMSELF!!! I could have killed him but he apparently goes for walks in the woods with hidden bodyguards... killed my husband... if this is lost his death will mean nothing and you all will suffer.'
She was the daughter of the chieftain and everyone listened to her and thus started climbing in the tunnel.

Dwib and Tundo were forced to go further in. Despite he was a master of sword fighting even with one arm he couldn't take on that many. There were thirty-seven of them.
'Tundo now I'm scared.'
'Just keep quiet Dwib these tunnels echo, vermin or something worse could find us.' He whispered.

(Someone please join in? You can even be part of the vermin horde )

[Malum]

Emeralda flinched and started to shake as she was forcefully shoved into the cave after the prey. She tried to back out, but the rest of the horde shoved her back in. Sighing, she walked further in until she saw the prey. 2 otters. Strange, she thought, we usually go after other vermin.... Silently, she stalked towards them, until she tripped. She fell to the floor with a loud bang right in front of the otters.

[Dartpaw]

Tundo with his one arm shoved Dwib ahead. 'Go hide over there I'll deal with this' He whispered.
He looked behind Emeralda to see if she was alone and she seemed to be.
Picking up the ferret by the scruff he snarled in her face. 'Okay ferret... I know your kind. You would sell each-other out for your own skin. So listen tell your gang we are not in here or I'll slay you. Of course I'll listen to whatever you think might change my mind but right now you're our ticket out of here.'

Dwib was walking further down the tunnel and gasped in horror.
'TUNDO!!!!'
He was in a large room completely filled with snake eggs. Small ones, large ones all over the room.
But Tundo didn't hear him and kept on waiting for an answer from the ferret.

[Malum]

Emeralda fliched as she was hauled upright and huny limply from her scruff. She grunted as she tried to reach the ground but to no avail. Sighing, and blowing the hair from her face, she looked the otter in the face and answered.

"Fine. I'll tell them you aren't in here... On one condition! Can I come with you? At least until we get out of this damp, dark, Adder cave...." Emeralda asked, no pleaded.

[Dartpaw]

The tough otter thought for a minute.
'........Okay you can come with us but you're our prisoner for the time being. Now where's my young charge?'
Dwib soon came running back in frightened out of his wits. 'Eggs!!! Lots of eggs!!!'
Tundo gave him some bread and pawed some over to Emeralda.
'We'll deal with that when it comes Dwib let's take this other path then.'

Dwib looked at Emeralda asking out of Tundo's earshot.
'Are you a...? Mean vermin?' he asked knowing she wouldn't attack him with Tundo with them.
She didn't look evil and he smiled at her hoping she wasn't.

[Malum]

Emeralda thought about it, and finally nodded in agreement, sitting on the ground. She layed back and was enjoying the silence when suddenly....

'Eggs!!! Lots of eggs!!!'

Emeralda rolled her eyes.

"Of course there's eggs! This IS a snake Quarry!" She said.

Suddenly, she saw the big otter paw some bread over to her. Eyeing him warily, she snatched it up and sniffed it carefully. Emeralda nibbled on it a little bit, and then not tasting anything funny, she started bto nibble on it more.

'Are you a...? Mean vermin?'

"I prefer not to put labels on people but yes, I'm nicer than regular vermin."

[Dartpaw]

Dwib scarfed his down within seconds. He was kind of a glutton, being a far descendant of Cheek he thinks he inherited that from him who in turn from Basil.

'Okay, I trust you because Tundo is a master swordsotter even with one paw so don't be deceived and try to attack him.'
Tundo smiled. 'Dwibs right, I once slayed a fox stabbing him seven times before he even hit the ground how many seconds was that?'
Dwib counted his fingers. 'Six'
'Six, but you should know that as long as you are on our side we won't let anyother beast harm you. Only as long as you are on our side...'
Dwib laid down and went to sleep but the big otter never took his eye off of the ferret for a second.
'Why are you in this horde anyway?' He asked. 'You don't seem like the murdering type.'

[Malum]

"Believe me when I say that only an idiot would attack you." Emeralda said.

'Why are you in this horde anyway?'[...]'You don't seem like the murdering type.'

Emeralda sighed and thought for a moment.

"Well, I'm NOT the murdering type... I'm the expendable type which is thr number one reason I was sent in here after you. And I'm part of that horde because..." Emeralda stopped. "I don't much care for being left all alone. Especially being a female and a vermin at that. After my parents...'passed away' I guess I ran to the nearest protectional place I new of. A horde. Of course they all hate me but, oh well."

Emeralda sighed and looked at the ground.

"My parrents were the best ever. They never fought or screamed at eachother, and they loved me dearly. Until those stupid rats came and killed my whole family. The only ones they left alive were me and my sister, who hated me anyway. She walked away from me the first chance she got. And it's kinda funny because she looks exactly like me. I wonder where she is now, if she's alive still."

[Dartpaw]

Tundo understood. 'I have a cousin, lived in a fort with Woodlanders but crazy he was. He double-crossed them letting vermin in with the promise of a strawberry pie. The vermin slayed him instantly once they took over poor guy... he always had sanity problems.'
He heard noises coming from where they arrived in.
'I don't know if that's yer gang or snakes. Either way we'd better move.'
He shook Dwib awake motioning him to follow them not knowing it was just a frilled lizard.
A con artist lizard who sold things for high prices but still a plain easy to kill lizard.

[Malum]

Emeralda shook her head at the story.

"Poor guy." She said, mimicing Tundo.

Suddenly she heard scritching, as Tundo heard it too. She followed them further into the cave, listening intently for a hiss or a slither. Then, they came upon the cave full of eggs. Emeralda walked in, and eyed the eggs, touching them and studying it.

"Yep. Adders...." She said, backing out, and walking further into the cave.

Suddenly, she heard a sound she recognized from her horde years. Stopping dead in her tracks, she grabbed Tundo's arm and stopped him, motioning Dwib to stop too.

"I think my. I mean the horde's other scouts are chadsing us."