Eefera is one of the secondary antagonists (alongside Vallug Bowbeast) of The Taggerung, the fourteenth book in the Redwall novel series. He used to be Sawney Rath's trusted fighter and lieutenant of the Juskarath clan when he was leader before he gets slain by Antigra as revenge for killing her mate Gruven long ago. As Antigra takes over as leader and assigns Gruven Zann, who winds up leading a group of eight members of the clan, including Vallug and Eefera, in a hunt against the Taggerung, Eefera and Vallug themselves outwit Gruven Zann whenever he tries to assert authority over them or bully them into submission due to his pathetic nature, eventually abandoning the group with plans to kill the Taggerung themselves and have one of them become the next Taggerung.
Biography[]
Being a trusted fighter and lieutenant of Sawney Rath, he accompanies him along with a group of vermin he assigned on a journey to a location nearby Redwall Abbey where he finds the Taggerung, as advised by his seer Grissoul, in the form of a baby otter named Deyna being tended to outside by his father Rillflag. Rillflag gets killed by Vallug Bowbeast shooting an arrow at him on Sawney's orders so that Deyna could be kidnapped and raised by Sawney as his own to be a ruthless killer when grown. This doesn't wind up working as the Taggerung eventually defies his father's order to kill a fox named Felch for stealing his blade and runs away from the camp with Sawney in pursuit. Sawney, however, gets killed by Antigra in revenge for killing her husband Gruven years ago and with the help of Grissoul, she has her son, Gruven Zann, be placed in charge of a group of vermin to hunt down and kill the Taggerung, having framed him for the death of Sawney, Eeferea himself being one of the vermin.
During camp in the woodlands, Eefera would come in after having searched for tracks before dawn to grab and eat some dried fish while commenting on what a waste of time it was to try to track in the raining weather to Rabbad, saying that there is a stream over yonder. When Rabbad asks if they should follow the water course and where the otter must have went, Vallug deduces that he went north as that's the way he was traveling. Gruven would make an attempt to assert his authority by declaring that they go north only to stride off in the wrong direction, deriving laughs from the group as Eefera points to the correct direction contemptuously that they go in. After some traveling, Vallug stops them for a short rest on the bankside while Eefera scouts ahead as the others rested under the shade of some weeping willows. Soon, Eefera reappears to take them to some pawprints he spotted on the bank, deducing when they get there that he was there sometime last night. Ignoring Gruven who ignorantly asks him how he knows that and gets his explanation from Milkeye that the paws haven't been sticky and stood there broke in the rain since it started last night, Eefera spots a vole, who had befriended the Taggerung moments prior, and orders someone to get a hold of it, though he winds up being unintentionally crashed into by Gruven when he noticed the bushes moving, missing the vole as it dodged by. Eefera orders Vallug to get the vole as it escapes into the water, though Vallug only hits him in the back paw with the few arrows he shot.
Controlling his temper with great difficulty, Eefera berates Gruven for causing him to miss the vole. When Gruven tells him he yelled out for him to stop him, Eefera sarcastically apologizes and declares he didn't know it was Gruven he was shouting to as he thought it was one of the others, a beast with a bit of sense. Gruven shrugs this off and asks what he would want with a vole to which Eefera responded that he needed information before tossing Gruven's sword over his shoulder, leaving Gruven a little time locating it before he hurries back to the others to see them eating pears. Studying the bank edge, Eefera reports to Rawback that he sees no signs near the shallows with Rawback giving a similar report, leading to Eefera deducing that he must have some sort of fast light boat, which gets objection by Gruven who gets an explanation from Rabbad. Unbeknownst to them, the vole they attempted to capture would shoot Milkeye, who was sent over back to the top of the hill by Gruven to get pears, with a poison dart that winds up causing him to be killed once he arrives back, much to their horror. They throw his body weighed with a few stones lashed to its middle into the stream before Eefera confers with Vallug as to the group's next move.
They come up with the idea to scout both sides of the water as Vallug explains to Gruven to see if the can spot more tracks before Eefera wades into the stream to test the current, explaining to Vallug out of Gruven's hearing that the curent is too deep and fast and there's trailing weeds that wrap around the paws too. Soon, they come up with a plan to have Ribrow, Grobait, and Rabbad go with Eefera holding paws into the stream where they discover how deep it is with Rabbad declaring that they'd have to swim for it, though Eefera explains that it gets shallower from there to the bank and orders them to keep going while holding to each other's paws. This leads to predatory fish attacking them, prompting Eefera to escape onto the bank. He saves Grobait by pulling him out with a pole and kills the fish while Rawback and Dagrab run into the shallows beating off the other with sticks and Ribrow stumbled ashore his eyes wide with fear. Rabbad winds up being killed by several fish devouring him and sinks as he yells. With both him and Vallug having gotten fish for dinner, they decide to stop there for the night and start tracking again at dawn. While eating his fish with Grobait, he watches as Gruven tries to take Vallug's fish and gets challenged by Vallug before being floored by him. He overhears Vallug declaring that he'll slay the Taggerung himself, having slain his father, and murmurs to himself that they'll see about that, planning to do it before he does.
Later, the hunting party came together again after following both sides of the steam course up into the foothills where they find a broad shallow expanse. Eefera pushes roughly past Gruven as he mocks Grobait for letting a fish take a chunk out of his behind, telling him that it's easy for him to say that as he didn't have to get his paws wet before conversing with Vallug about his tracks and debating whether they should climb the mountain. Gruven gets into a bit of an argument with Grobait after expressing his opinion that they're on a fool's errand if no tracks lead up there with Grobait explaining that he traveled upstream and that it is the only place they could go. Vallug, who had been sniffing the air, then alerts them of a storm coming up and orders them to get under the rock ledge up yonder and the others follow him there, except Grobait who was still suffering from his wounds and would seem to die later with his body being taken away by the flood.
During the evening of their second day upon the mountain, together, they split from the main group and set up a small campfire nearby where they discuss how they haven't found any tracks of the Taggerung on the mountain and soon deduce that he must have went to Redwall Abbey. As such, they decide to abandon Gruven and the others in spite of them having potential to freeze and starve to death on the mountain and partner up with each other to hunt down Tagg themselves with the intent to backstab each other when the time is right and lie about the others being killed by predators when arriving back to the clan. Eventually, they come across a rat named Poskra holding two children from Redwall Abbey, a mouse and a mole, hostage to use them for ransom for wine from the abbey and having gotten the idea to take the children for themselves to use as hostages to trade them for the Taggerung, whom they wrongly assumed was in the abbey, Vallug himself slays the rat with an arrow and after Eefera takes the carcass of Poskra off the children, Vallug bundles them into the sack the rat was carrying. However, a squirrel named Fwirl encounters them upon being alerted of the two children being absent from the abbey and begins attacking them by hurling stones at them, striking Eefera in the eye, left footpaw, throat, nd forehead while Eefera harangues Vallug into killing her which Vallug attempts by shooting arrows at her, though she only dodges them and hurls stones at him as well, striking Vallug on the shoulder and paw all while mocking the two, much to their anger as they threaten her angrily. Soon, Vallug strikes her with an arrow and shoots a second one at her through a bush she was hiding behind, thinking he's killed her before she shoots through the trees and reveals she's still alive, exiting the scene, leaving the two to realize the sack will be empty and the children they kidnapped would be rescued.
In front of Redwall Abbey's main gate, when Eefera suggests that the Taggerung is not in the abbey, Vallug contests this before they discuss a plan as to how they'll get his due to how guarded the abbey is while Vallug insults Eeferea a bit for his breath. Taking offense at it, Eefera wiped soil and bit into it while talking about his idea to make the Taggerung come out to them, though Vallug scoffs at this as the Taggerung would know they want to kill him. Eefera then explains his plan to kill one of the guards to send a message. Vallug, however, sarcastically retorts that this could result in them coming out and charging against them and killing them, though he loses the argument when Eefera asks him if he has a better plan, instead referencing to when Sawney said he didn't want to tangle with the warriors within the abbey. He gets provoked when Eefera laughs scornfully and reminds him that Sawney is a dead chief due to the Taggerung and asks if he's scared or if he'll go with his idea and as such, shoots an arrow at one of the guards left of the threshold above the gate, sarcastically telling Eefera to tell him he's scared before noticing him running away with Eefera telling him that it's best to get out of the way as the Redwallers would likely start firing back with many creatures. Vallug decides to take precaution and follow him into the trees where they could be safe.
Later at night, Eefera watches as Vallug shoots an arrow at a Redwaller striding the North battlements and striking it, satisfied as he recognizes the creature as Fwirl and that she won't interfere no more. After Vallug gets the Redwallers' attention by shooting a couple arrows at the abbey's bells, luring them to the scene where they talk to the two after having a wounded yet still alive Fwirl be taken to the infirmary, the two demand that the abbey give them the Taggerung, unaware that they actually don't have him. The Redwallers, confused by this due to this as well as not being familiar with the term "Taggerung", try to figure out what they mean and call a truce, but Vallug refuses, demanding that they get the Taggerung before shooting a couple more arrows over the wall to give them something to think about. Afterwards, they retreat into the woodlands with Eefera leading the way while declaring that they'll kill another tomorrow to get them to send him out soon. While in the woodlands, they argue with each other about starting a fire as while it was cold, it could risk the Redwallers finding them before they hear creatures coming to their area. As such, they decide to light the fire on the twigs Vallug gathered to set an ambush.
The creatures turned out to be Gruven, Rawback, and Dagrab who had heard the abbey's bells and decided to check the area with Gruven ordering the other two to kill anyone nearby the fire while foolishly staying back, allowing Vallug and Eefera to ambush them easily with Eefera knocking Rawback and Dagrab to the floor and Vallug taking Gruven's sword and locking Gruven in a chokehold using his bow while prodding at his spine with the swordpoint. When Gruven cowardly reveals that there's food in the sacks they brought, Eefera pours the contents out in front of the fire, satisfied by the food and drinks while Vallug mocks him for his cowardice and pathetic nature. As Gruven begs for mercy, Eefera assures to him that they won't kill them as they'll be useful to him and Vallug. He then makes them sit together by the fire with their paws bound, explaining that they have, from what they think, killed a few of the abbey's creatures and that the three are to be used as decoys in case any Redwallers come looking to kill them while he and Vallug sleep easy until dawn. After Vallug threatens them if they try to escape, the two retire into the shadows.
At dawn, due to the three still being alive, Eefera releases the prisoners and issues them with their weapons with Vallug explains their plan to have Gruven, Rawback, and Dagrab go with them up north across the path and into the ditch, then back down to the main gates of Redwall Abbey where they are to use the weapons to make themselves look like Juska warriors, threatening to kill whoever makes a wrong move. After Vallug tells them to get going, Eefera goes ahead to show the way with Vallug in the rear. They had not gone far when Eefera and Vallug noticed Nimbalo, the Taggerung's friend, in the woods and knocked him down with his spearbutt unconscious. When they notice Sawney Rath's blade in the mouse's belt, they get more firm in their assumptions of Tagg being there. Assuming Nimbalo to be a Redwaller, they make plans to use him as a hostage before forcing the three to continue trekking north and enter the ditch. Meanwhile, Tagg, who had been wandering nearby Redwall Abbey, gets knocked out by the Redwallers mistaking him to be an evil vermin and capture him, ironically now proving Vallug and Eefera's assumptions to be correct.
In the ditch, once Gruven, Dagrab, and Rawback have made slings and collected heaps of pebbles, Vallug strikes several arrows down in the ditchbed, close to paw while Eefera instructs them to keep slinging stones over the wall and to stop when he tells them to before giving the order to start slinging. Soon, Nimbalo awakens and when Vallug gets alerted of this, he threatens him before having Eefera tie him up while ordering the three to keep slinging. As Vallug and Eefera interrogate him regarding who he is and how much he knows about the Taggerung, Nimbalo insults them, leading to Eefera dealing him a blow with Vallug stopping him from leaping upon him as he's no use to them dead. Gruven was amused by this and as such, Eefera slaps him about the face and ears for smiling at the situation with Vallug taking a few kicks at him too before forcing him to continue slinging stones. Vallug then fires an arrow over the abbey wall and yells at them a threat to kill them all if they don't give them the Taggerung. After continuously forcing Gruven, Dagrab, and Rawback to fire slingstones at the abbey to the point of their paws getting weary and tricking the abbey into thinking they're under siege, Vallug proceeds to drag Nimbalo out of the ditch onto the path in front of the abbey's main wallgate, making a threat to kill him if they don't give them the Taggerung with Eefera further emphasizing this.
Soon, Cregga, the badgermum of the abbey, decides to show herself above the wallgates and converse with the two, oblivious as to what a Taggerung is, to try to save Nimbalo. As she speaks, Eefera points out her blindness by commenting on how she's looking right past them at the flatlands behind, leading to Vallug laughing scornfully at her and asking how she knows she doesn't have a Taggerung when she can't see her paw, angering Cregga as shefurther tries to get to the bottom of the situation. During this, Nimbalo saws through the last of his bonds and struck Vallug on the elbow with the shaft of his axe, causing him to release the arrow and strike Cregga instinctively. Just then, Tagg himself came running out of the abbey with the sword of Martin the Warrior and attacks and beheads Vallug. Eefera himself was up out of the ditch running across the flatlands with Tagg in pursuit, eventually getting slain by him moments after.
