Carrionplace

"Stay away from it, more rats than you can imagine live in those heaps, and even experienced warriors think twice before messing with them."

— Deerleap's warning to Yellowpaw about Carrionplace in Yellowfang's Secret, page 51

Carrionplace
General information
Twoleg name	North Allerton Amenity Tip
Usage	Twoleg dump, hunting
Book appearances
Books	Thunderstar's Echo, Shadowstar's Life, Tallstar's Revenge,Yellowfang's Secret, Tigerclaw's Fury, Rising Storm, Moonrise, The Ultimate Guide

Carrionplace is a location in ShadowClan's territory in the forest. There Twolegs dump their crow-food, and rats live amongst the heaps of crow-food and pose a threat to warriors.

Description

Located northwest of the ShadowClan camp, the Carrionplace poses as a source of prey during rough leaf-bares for the Clan. The place itself is described as downright disgusting due to the Twoleg rubbish piled in heaps. Many strange items can be found in the heaps such as strange black pelts and sharp-edged objects. The putrid stench of the Carrionplace is also quite notable and is able to smelt fox-lengths away. The edge of Carrionplace is also fenced off, with a silver mesh.

ShadowClan cats often raid the area for the large rats that live there for prey. This poses a threat to the cats due to injuries they are able to sustain and the infection that often follows. Inside of Carrionplace there are also large, yellow monsters that occupy the area as well.

Known deaths

This is a list of deaths, ordered chronologically, that took place at Carrionplace.

• Cedarstar (eighth life)
• Foxheart

Book mentions

In the The Prophecies Begin arc

Rising Storm

Littlecloud and Whitethroat are discovered on ThunderClan territory by Whitestorm on patrol. They are brought back to ThunderClan camp where Yellowfang tells Bluestar to send them away as they carry a sickness she had seen in ShadowClan.

Yellowfang turns to the two warriors and asks why the elders hadn't warned them not to take the rats from Carrionplace as prey. Littlecloud explains that an apprentice had brought one back and was too young to remember the warning. The tabby warrior also reveals that Nightstar, his deputy, Cinderfur, and an unnamed kit had all died from the rat-borne sickness.

In The New Prophecy arc

Midnight

Tawnypelt mentions the Carrionplace to Brambleclaw, when she scents something similar to it while on the journey. She notes that there would be rats due to the similarity.

Moonrise

Firestar argues with Blackstar over the lack of prey beginning to threaten the Clans while the ShadowClan leader remains adamant that his Clan can hunt at Carrionplace. Cinderpelt questions his decision, reminding the tom that last time they hunted those rats, half the Clan had died from sickness. Littlecloud agrees with the ThunderClan medicine cat, pointing out that he had almost died as a result of the rash decision. Blackstar shuts down his medicine cat's advice, claiming that the sickness was instead punishment from StarClan for Nightstar's leadership.

Later on, Littlecloud tells Cinderpelt at a half-moon meeting that Blackstar had sent a patrol of warriors to fetch rats and crowfood from Carrionplace. He notes that there hadn't been any sickness yet, prompting Cinderpelt to ask if he remembered the herbs she had used to cure his illness previously. He tells her that he had already been collecting them in preparation as Cinderpelt also tells him to remind his Clanmates that fresh rats should be fine, but that they should avoid eating crowfood.

In the Super Editions

Yellowfang's Secret

While touring ShadowClan territory for the first time, Yellowpaw scents an overpowering scent and asks her mentor, Deerleap, if was another Clan. Deerleap explains that the scent comes from Carrionplace, a place where Twolegs leave their crow-food. The older cat warns her apprentice to stay away from due to the rats that call it home.

In the following moons, Cedarstar decides to send two patrols to Carrionplace to raid the rats, due to scarce prey. Yellowpaw is assigned, along with her mentor, to the second patrol. The cats trek to Carrionplace and successfully manage to catch the rats without any injuries. Yellowpaw manages to catch a large rat with the help of Archeye and commended by her Clanmates and leader. Following the successful raid, more patrols are sent in order to maintain the Clan's prey source.

However, Brackenfoot and his patrol of warriors return one day to camp covered in scratches and bitemarks. The warrior explains that they had been attacked by the rats that called Carrionplace home. Newtspeck questions his story, stating that prey doesn't fight back, but the ginger tom remains firm in what had happened and that fleeing was their safest option. Cedarstar commends the tom's thinking and tells the gathered Clan that they must think of something to overpower the rats. Raggedpelt rallies ShadowClan with a speech and organises an attack plan that is approved by Cedarstar and then set in motion with the help of the Clan's senior warriors. The following day, patrols are sent to attack the rats, with Raggedpelt leading them. The ShadowClan warriors are attacked viciously by the rats, sending most them fleeing as even Cedarstar loses one of his nine lives.

Shortly after Runningpaw is made Yellowfang's apprentice, she takes him on a tour of the territory and explains the dangers of Carrionplace. She warns the young tom that rats are dangerous and tells him what to treat wounds with to stave of infection.

Sometime later, Lizardstripe's border patrol are attacked by the Carrionplace rats, causing ShadowClan to discuss that the rats need to be taught a lesson. Brokentail suggests to single out some of the rats and kill them in front of the others as a warning. The idea is met with conflicting opinions, but a majority of the Clan agree as Raggedstar organises the cats for the patrol. At Carrionplace, the ShadowClan cats win over the rats, however, Foxheart is killed by two rats, before they are able to finish the original plan.

Tallstar's Revenge

As Talltail leaves WindClan territory and enters ShadowClan's territory, he scents Carrionplace and quickly leaves to avoid being found by a patrol. He later passes by a heap of stinking bundles in a passage and notes that they smelt like Carrionplace.

In the Novellas

Thunderstar's Echo

Skystar and Thunderstar skirt the ShadowClan border while walking, and the ThunderClan able to scent Carrionplace, but nothing else due to the foul smell.

Shadowstar's Life

Raven Pelt reports to an injured Shadowstar that he lost her attacker, Quiet Rain, near the Carrionplace.

Tigerclaw's Fury

Tangleburr explains to Tigerclaw that the sickness in ShadowClan had come from the Carrionplace rats. She adds that Runningnose is doing all he can, but the number of sick and infected cats had grown too much for the tom to handle.

In the Field Guides

The Ultimate Guide

During the introduction to ShadowClan, Blackstar mentions that Carrionplace had been a part of their territory that gave the cats rats to eat, and they had to learn to be able to detect whether the rats were tainted or not. On Raggedstar's page, it is mentioned that he had been made Cedarstar's deputy after his plan to trap the rats in Carrionplace had succeeded. On the page shared between Runningnose and his apprentice, Littlecloud, it is said that Littlecloud wanted to become a medicine cat due to Cinderpelt taking care of him and his Clanmate, Whitethroat, when ShadowClan's camp was infected with the Carrionplace Disease.

Trivia

Continuity

The following information is from sources considered non-canon or retconned.

• In Secrets of the Clans, a 2007 field guide, Carrionplace is described as an evil place where rats live. In Raggedstar's description it is mentioned that due to his bravery, the rats stopped bothering ShadowClan for many moons. It is also stated his deputy, Foxheart, was killed by the rats in a raid. Pebble Heart, the first ShadowClan medicine cat, was the first to discover that the rats were a source of infection and would later himself die of those causes.

See also

• Rats
• The forest territories
• Yellowfang's Secret