Cluny's Fortress

Lore & Background

Cluny the Scourge and his army of rats take a nearby church as their main base after marching onto Redwall. The church becomes the headquarters for Cluny's campaign, where he plans his assaults. From here, he orders Shadow, his ninja-esque climber, to steal the image of Martin from the tapestry to reduce Redwall's morale. Shadow succeeds but falls to his death from the walls. Cluny then uses the tapestry as his war standard, but suffers nightmares about Martin and Matthias until Jess Squirrel and Basil Stag Hare steal it back. Throughout the siege, Cluny employs various tactics from this base: tunnelling into Redwall, using a battering ram, blackmailing a dormouse to kidnap Cornflower, burning the gates, using a siege tower, and sneaking soldiers in with a visiting circus. Each attempt fails, and Cluny begins to show signs of insanity. Eventually, he forces a captured dormouse to open Redwall's gates from inside, allowing his army to enter the Abbey. However, Matthias returns with an army of shrews and sparrows, and during the battle, Cluny hides in the belltower. Matthias follows, and after a duel, Matthias cuts the bellropes, causing the Abbey-bell to crash down onto Cluny, killing him instantly.

In Their Own Story

The church stood dark against the night sky, its spire a jagged finger pointing at the moon. Inside, Cluny the Scourge paced among his captains, the stolen tapestry of Martin the Warrior hanging as his war standard. The rat's eyes gleamed with madness as he plotted his next move against Redwall Abbey. Outside, the wind carried the distant sound of the Abbey-bell, a reminder of the peace he sought to destroy. But within these stone walls, only the clatter of weapons and the hiss of whispered schemes could be heard. The church was not a place of worship; it was a den of hunger and ambition, where every shadow hid a blade and every rat dreamed of blood.

Reader's Guide

Cluny's Fortress is the church taken over by Cluny the Scourge and his rat army as their main base during the siege of Redwall Abbey. It is located near Redwall, allowing Cluny to launch attacks and retreat. The fortress is not a ruined castle but a functional church, used for planning and storing supplies. Key events include Shadow's theft of Martin's tapestry, which Cluny uses as his standard until it is stolen back. Cluny's tactics from this base include tunnelling, a battering ram, a siege tower, and burning the gates. The fortress is also where Cluny keeps captured hostages, such as the dormouse he forces to open Redwall's gates. Ultimately, the fortress is abandoned after Cluny's death, as the rat army is defeated in the final battle at Redwall Abbey.

Did You Know?

• Cluny's fortress is actually a church taken over by his rat army, not a ruined castle.
• Shadow, a ninja-esque climber, steals Martin's tapestry from Redwall and brings it to the church, where Cluny uses it as his war standard.
• Cluny suffers nightmares about Martin and Matthias while the tapestry is in his possession.
• The fortress is the base from which Cluny launches a siege tower, battering ram, and tunnelling attacks against Redwall.
• Cluny is killed when Matthias cuts the bellropes, causing the Abbey-bell to crash down on him in the belltower.