Redwall Book #5: Salamandastron

From the back cover:
   Redwall slumbers in the summer sun, unaware that Lord Urthstripe's moutain fortress of Salamandastron lies besieged by the weasel army of Feragho the Assassin. Or that danger is creeping up on the Abbey too: the deadly Dryditch Fever...
   But when Mara the badger leaves Salamandastron, and the sword of Martin the Warrior sends Samkim and Arula from Redwall, the fates of the two strongholds become entwined through their dangerous and seemingly separate quests. Through forest and swamp and over great waters, Samkim, Mara, the ghostly white badger and a host of other brave creatures reach the same goal - the final battle for Salamandastron!

A paragraph from the book:
There followed a whirring noise overhead. Fearing it was more lightning, Arula thre herself flat, paws covering her head. Samkim shut his eyes tight as something zipped by him.
   Sssshhfffttt!
   Close by his side a sword had buried itself half its bladelength in the wet lawn. He gasped with shock.
   Arula risked a glimpse through her digging claws. "Wot whurr et, more lightenen?"
   Samkim tugged the blade free. "It was this. Look, Arula!"
   From the red pommel stone to the tight black leather-bound handle and stout silver crosstree hilt, the rain ran down the razor-sharp edges, though the runnelled blood channel to a pointed tip keen as a midwinter blizzard. They stared at the sword in awe. It glittered and shone in the downpour, reflecting a lightning bolt over the threshold in a shimmering gleam of whitefire. Samkim held it flat across both his paws.
   "The sword of Martin the Warrior!"