Redwall MUCK Forum

SCENE:
RW Abbey: Kitchen Yard
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Boasting a decent view of the Abbey's orchards and gardens, this
space is mostly a work area, displaying well trampled grass and the
occasonal bare spot.  An especaily worn spot is the path that leads
between the kitchen gardens and the vineyards.
 
From one end of the kitchen yard to the other, the space is nearly
filled by the tremendous gnarled trunk of an ancient apple tree,
roots and branches and boughs trimmed off and piled alongside for
later use.  A deep groove of mud-churned sod and torn grass leads
back to the orchard, from where the fallen tree must have come.
     
There are also a variety of workshops around the edge of the yard,
the wood-shop, the cooper for making barrels. The small smithy
where the abbey's tools are made, the potters kiln and the brewery.
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Exits: (Vine)yards, (K)itchen (G)arden

CHARACTERS:  Krisha, a female badger.  Gracie, a female gosling.  Spruce, a male squirrel.

LOG:
Krisha is finishing up making new hinges for the east,west and south gate. Only one needs fixed up now.She also has decided to make another couple usufull things , it gets her mind off recent events.   

Gracie has been a busy goose today. She has gotten very tired of being the only Dibbun, with all the grown ups watching her all the time and telling her, specifically, what to do and not do, giving her little chores when she does something wrong, smothering her with attention and affection and 'help.' The gosling is SO DONE with all of this. So she has made an escape!   
First she snuck off when the adults weren't looking. Then she snagged a couple of dolls from where all the toys have been stashed. She found a little wagon that's just her size and hijacked it, using it to carry the dolls and her blankie. She then snuck by the kitchen window and stole some scones from the sill, putting them in her wagon, too. And now she's trundling across the kitchen yard with the wagon full of things, aiming to hide somewhere in the gardens, BY HERSELF, and play. ALONE. WITH NO GROWN UPS. Little does she know that she's passing right by the area where the Badger Mother is...   

Krisha happens to catch sight of the goose and goes to block her path after she sits down the forge hammer.She looks down at Gracie and smiles "And where are you going with all of that now Graceie?"   

Gracie honks in surprise and alarm and tries to hide the wagon behind her (which doesn't work since her body and the wagon are about the same size). "Muvver Krisha! I just.....I just gonna go pway." She doesn't say /where/ she's going to go play. "Why you out here? What you doin'?" She's trying to change the subject, okay?   

Krisha smiles "I know how to use the forge, it's helped some to distract me since only have 1 class now"She frowns "I am sorry you dont have others to play with,I know they will return just not when"   

Gracie clacks her beak. "Is okay. I wants to be's alones. Too many fings from grown ups to do." She tries to get around the badger, which would reveal that she's also stolen a book from the library. The gosling has been busy. "I wants da ovver Dibbuns back so's da grown ups don't tells me whats to do so much."   

Krisha stays beside her "But hiding is not a good thing, a lot has been going on even at the abbey dear, you could get hurt."She smiles again "Maybe you can help me get the dorm rooms and class room ready for when they do get back" She stands "I have had the rooms sweeped,mopped and slowly am placeing things back.The girls dorm is a light green and the boys a sort of sky blue.Still need to paint the class room and main dibbun room, add some painted pictures on the walls."   

"But I wants to hiiiiiiide," Gracie whines, which is something she's never done before. Letting go of the wagon's handle, she crosses her wings and pouts. But as the badger keeps talking, the gosling does perk up a bit. "You wiked my idea to make da girw's room green?" She looks happy about that. "What sorta pictures? Cans I hewp? I don't wike getting my fevvers messy," she adds, looking at the down that covers her wings.   

Krisha chuckles "We coud find a way to keep them clean...and I am unsure..like clouds or maybe stars in the main one...classroom things like a number chart,shapes,colors and a place for paw prints, and each dibbun thier own little stoage area to keep things"   

Gracie thinks about this. "I wike it! Couwds I do footprints, tho'? I don't has paws." She holds up 1 webbed foot and wriggles the toes. She then pauses, her half-formed smile fading away. "But hows we keeps my /bwankie/ cwean?" Because she literally takes her blanket around with her everywhere.   

Krisha says, "We can...put it somewhere safe,maybe even clean it soon. Maybe ...web print?""   

Gracie looks horrified. "No, nos, you can'ts takes my bwankie! It don't go nowheres safe! It mine!" She grabs her blanket and hugs it close, accidentally spilling a scone onto the ground. This is actually the fight they have every single time they try to clean her blanket, she just usually doesn't start freaking out until she is no longer holding it.   

Krisha blinks and frowns "It will be all clean and nice and..."She thinks quickly "You can help wash it if like"   
   
"IT IS CWEAN!!" Gracie has started to cry at the thought of her security blanket getting taken from her. But the badger's offer stops the tantrum in its tracks, and the gosling looks up at her in surprise. "I /can/?"   

Krisha nods and is surprised no one has thought of this idea,let her help as it will be a lot cleaner and the dibbun has control of what happens to it "Yes, and you can pick a scent for it to have and it will be super soft and nice after wards, well after its...dry but it can dry quickly in the sun"   

Leaping from tree to tree, Spruce has done his best to avoid any abbey elder in the grounds. A barrel is under one arm (no doubt nicked from the cellars as most of abbey's attention has been intent on guarding the walls) and a tankard is hanging by its handle on his tail. Landing surprisingly gracefully on the ground considering how the squirrel's weighed down, the young creature proceeds to make his way towards the garden intent on getting a few herbs - and immediately stops upon seeing the badger mother. With a terrified squeak Spruce tosses the small barrel away from him into a bush with the house no one saw him.   

Gracie wipes her tears away with a corner of her blankie. "What scentses are dere to /choose/?" She is starting to like this idea, actually -- who wouldn't want control over what happens to their security items? She hugs it to her cheek.....and spots the squirrel. No luck for him! "Why he has a barrew?" She asks the badger, pointing to him with a wing tip.   

Krisha turns and sees the squirrel and frowns, she goes to grab him by his robe sleeve,but also keep an eye on graceie as she is use to keeping an eye on a lot of dibbuns at once,even with help.She clears her throat"Hello, did you need something"She studies him close"Spruce?"   

"Wh-what's a barrew?" Spruce mutters, letting out a nervous laugh. "And uh NOPE. Don't need any help!" Plastering on a wide smile, the young squirrel backs away from the badger and goose. "I'm alright, for now! Everything just dandy!"   

Gracie scowls irately at the squirrel, her keen Dibbun ears having picked up his mutter. "I no say barr-oo," she says, her mispronunciation of things coming through, "I say /barrew/! Muvver Krisha, he be a meanie!" The gosling waddles close to them, dark eyes fixed on the squirrel's face. He should be immensely happy that she can not fly, because she is OFFENDED.   

Krisha snorts "Why do you have a barrel and do be polite to Gracie young man or I will find the abbot and you and him can chat"   

Spruce has never been that fond of geese, even small ones - and so he quickly starts moving back towards the safety of the trees to escape the angry gosling. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO!" He screams, his eyes wide and on the bird's beak. The tankard that was hooked on his tail is forgotten and in his eagerness to get way his tail sends the cup flying into the distance were a loud crack can be heard. "/Idon'thaveabarrelwhatgaveyouthatimpression/!" He blurts out, all his attention on the goose coming towards him. Even as a baby, the bird probably reaches his chest in terms of height.   

Gracie is actually not very aggressive, and she hides behind the badger, scowling at the squirrel. "He a wiar! I seed him wif a barrew, den he tossed it over dere!" She points to where the barrel was stashed. "Take 'im to da Abbot! He choppa his /taiw/ off an' turn 'im inta /soup/!" Because Dibbuns are all very morbid creatures, apparently.
   
Krisha keeps an eye on both of them as she looks to where the goose pointed and folds her srms over her chest as she looks at the squirrel "Expalin...now and where were you going? We have had problems enough already in this abbey and we don't need things broken or hidden, or lost.Maybe you need more chores ta keep you busy spruce"   

"I /was/ on my way to get a bit of mint and thyme leafs." Spruce manages, getting himself under control now and calming. "I wasn't being rude. The goose is the one who accused /me/. Not the other way around. And I /diiiiid/ my chores already, washed all those pots from breakfast." He's avoiding the topic of the barrel, though he does cast a sideways glance towards the bush.   

Gracie looks about ready to cry. "I no wying," she whimpers, afraid that she's going to get in trouble now. She actually is one of the most honest of all the Dibbuns in Redwall. Still sniffling, she waddles over to the bush the barrel is in. "I /seed/ him frow it in here," she says again as she finds it. "See, it right /here/." She tries to move it, but unless she can get it rolling, it's not going to move. She's not the strongest person in the Abbey, after all.   

Krisha snorts and looks peeved off"Stay PUT!" She says to Spuce and storms over to the bush and,,well well "Gee this LOOKS like a barrel, it LOOKS like stuff is inside, and why you need mint for? Its called asking for it, taking is stealing and I will not any of this!" Ohhh mad grumpy Badger Mother, it's been a while and she is already stressed, oh Krisha will SO move it for her!   

"FINE!" Spruce bursts, marching over to the badger mother and does his best to grab the barrel from her. "Fine- fine. It's a barrel. Of lemon fizz. I think. And the herbs are for spicing it. Do you /want/ some?" The young squirrel screws up his nose. "Sure, I hid it, but I wasn' being rude 'til I was /called/ rude." He looks from badger to the goose all fear gone from his face to be replaced with indignant rage, and he narrows his eyes. "I hide the barrow because of how touchy everyone here is."   

Gracie lets the Badger Mother take the barrel, seeing as how, well, she's a grown up and so is bigger than the gosling. The bird just listens, scowling more and more darkly as the squirrel talks back. She finally snaps when she picks up on him mocking her. "YOU A BIG MEANIE FACE!" she honks. She then pounces on him and tries to clamber up to where she can bite his ear! Being a goose, she doesn't have teeth, but it would still hurt. Additionally, she is just about the least aggressive Dibbun in all of Redwall (when the others are here, of course), so this is basically the first time she's ever attacked anyone. Good job, Spruce
   
For the second time in his life, Spruce finds himself being bitten by a goose. With yowl of pain the squirrel tries to push the gosling off him and scramble away. "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY /JUSGEEROFF!/" he begs, tears leaking from his eyes at the pain from his ear.   

Gracie gets shoved to the ground, where she sits down hard. Tears fall down her cheeks. "Muvver Krisha...." she starts to wail, throwing her blankie over her head.   

Krisha glares at the squirrel, he should run and run away fast as she looks at him with that...your doomed look.She checks on Graceie, her voice sweet "You ok dear? We can get some snack"And then the squirrel, oh the squirrel, she walks towards him"Let's..chat...now"   

Clutching his ear that's /very/ red, Spruce is crying as well. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO!" He manages to get out, before letting out a wail and falling backwards on his tail, and he leaps up, dashing as fast as he can in hopes of escaping (probably into some fruit tree in the orchid) to get as far away from the (to him) evil little goose and irate badger as he can, all plans of having a nice drink on this nice June day forgotten.   

Gracie watches the Badger Mother chases off after the squirrel. Eventually she comes back, and the 2 of them get a snack....then report Spruce to the Abbot together!

~*END*~

Real life sucked Krisha away, so she gave me permission to pose her out like that.

Thanks for reading!

SCENE:  Redwall Abbey's first orchards

CHARACTERS:  Sola, a female hare.  Angela, a female mouse.

LOG:
Angela has a lot of things to be worrying about right now. The Dibbuns were kidnapped by wicked creatures. Her granddaughter is off trying to rescue them. Her great-granddaughter has been given the responsibility of Gatekeeper, which the old mouse isn't sure she's ready for. She also has been upset since Tuesday -- the Healer suspects it's because Lily killed someone else for the first time. The old mouse is also worrying about the safety of the Abbey and the sanity of her friend, the Abbot. And all her patients in the Infirmary, too. Which brings Angela to her latest worry: the newly arrived haremaid, Sola. The elderly Healer is sneaking her way around outside, looking for the hare without being spotted. This is something the mouse is actually quite good at.   

Sola is a bit of an odd one out among the group of hares. She's got more scars than most of them (Possibly with the exception of Monty but she might still win that contest by being half blind) but she's no fighter. Neither is she a healer though she followed instructions to help at least during the battle. Refusing to go near any injured vermin species including the Ferravale beasts didn't win her any friends though and now she was helping with the cleaning instead. She isn't too hard to find. She has gathered a couple of old rugs and hung them up between the trees so she can beat the dust out of them. She mutters to herself a lot but it's even worse and almost constant when she's on her own.   

Oh, there she is! Angela follows the mumbles until she's hiding behind a peach tree, watching the haremaid and listening closely. The old Healer takes special interest in insanity, and she suspects there's some of that in the hare. She wishes the hare could have continued to help in the Infirmary -- even beasts who can follow directions are valued.   

Sola doesn't look relaxed. Her eye is focused on the job but her ear and a half are constantly moving and on the alert, her nose twitches and she looks tense. The slightest breeze rustling the trees makes her ears move and perhaps that's why they can't focus on the mouse trying to sneak up on her. It helps that the healer is hiding on her blind side though "But they can't come back or the would have but if they can then they will but they can't but they're there but I won't look, I won't and they'll make me but I won't" go the mutterings. There's definitely some crazy going on there.   

Angela prides herself with her silent tread. However, she's not so great at hiding behind trees that are awkwardly shaped. Peaches are strange plants. After listening for a few minutes, the mouse steps out from behind the tree. "I think y'should hit those rugs 'arder, if ye can." Because taking aggression out on innocent inanimate objects is helpful for curing mental illnesses.   

Sola freezes, breathing in sharply as she's surprised. She doesn't move but her eye looks around wildly, just not in Angela's direction because when you think things are hiding behind every tree they're all a possibility for mysterious voices. Nothing matches the voice so she finally slowly turns her head until she can see the mouse. She stops. Staring for longer than normal until she finally, in a polite, calm but firm voice says "I am hitting them firmly enough for the task" she sounds calm but it's only a second afterwards her ears are back to twitching.   

Nodding, Angela sits down on an overturned wheelbarrow that's basically left out here for this purpose. "Aye, f'r the task, yes. But not for your agitation." She rests her staff across her lap, the poisoned crystal at the top glinting in the filtered sunlight. "You seem worried. We're relatively safe here in Redwall, despite what y'may have seen and heard."   

Sola takes another deep breath but slower this time "I do not need to hit things like a barbarian. I am cleaning. Nothing more" her eye flicks around the trees cautiously before it fixes once more on Angela at the idea the abbey is safe. Her lips purse, she doesn't believe it "Yes, your badger said that too...between kidnappers, rat hordes and numerous vermin staying within the walls I'm afraid I can't believe it. We are always running from one danger to another, it's no different here"   

Angela cocks an eyebrow. "The vermin we're allowing t'stay in our walls 'ave proven themselves t'be trustworthy allies. We take our safety very seriously. As for the kidnappers....that was an unusual occurrence. We're usually pretty safe." I mean, except for how every year somebody tries to conquer them. But the hare doesn't need to know that. "An' how does smackin' a rug as hard as y'can to get all yer anger out bein' a barbarian? Pray explain that t'me."   

Sola gives her that same disbelieving, disapproving look again when she talks about the vermin but it's not an argument that she chooses to start again so she doesn't say anything about that. She's half blind, scarred, had half an ear ripped off and is missing fingers, with the exception of the ear everything is very neat, purposeful and unlikely to have been caused by a quick slash in a battle. It's not hard to guess where the dislike of vermin comes from. "I am not angry" she merely replies, pausing to beat the rug a little harder a couple of times before she adds "And I am not crazy" because she knows she is but she's trying to pretend otherwise which is why she's keeping the muttering to herself now.   

Angela has been looking at those scars, all right. And this conversation is giving her some clues as to how those scars came to be. But instead of commenting on that, or on the hare being angry (which the harder hits on the rug are suggesting she is), she instead pounces on the last statement. "Crazy? I didn't say anythin' about you bein' crazy, hon. What makes y'mention it?"   

Sola wasn't angry until she started talking to the mouse, she's normally too busy being afraid to get around to anger "Because that's what they always think. It's not my fault that they're always there, how am I supposed to handle that?" she starts beating the rug again in an oddly calm way as she breaks in to a full blown rant "Now I know they're not there but they are. I can't just believe them away when I see them, I can't stop seeing them and now they can come back and they will though they can't"   

Angela just listens, quite calm, herself. Crazy people don't seem to bother her too much. "I don't care whot other beasts think" which is kind of obvious from the way she treats people. "But who is this 'they' you're talking 'bout, hon? What do y'mean by them coming back when they can't? I'd like t'understand." She is speaking in a gentle, inquisitive tone. She is making absolutely sure that she doesn't sound accusatory or argumentative (a feat within itself).   

Sola finds it hard to stop once she's started, she's not thinking straight lately, all the travelling and vermin has her mind back to the days when she first escaped "Them, them, the..." she stops to stare at the trees, her ear perked. The calm is gone. Now she's paying attention to all the things she imagines to be lurking out there she's frozen in place, just her eye moving. She's breathing fast but so quietly like she's trying to go unnoticed "They're dead" she whispers very very quietly.   

Whoo, boy. Angela frowns slightly. She hasn't had to deal with this level of crazy since Blisa was rescued from Ormaz. The mouse looks around -- she knows this helps people who see things. "Hon....if they're dead, whot's t'fear? Please tell me."   

Sola grips the bat she was using on the rugs as is for a second she looks like she wants to fight back but she can't, even fighting imaginary vermin she's too afraid to do and she slowly puts the bat down instead "They can come back. He died and came back. I think he came back. I wanted him to come back...if they come back..." she's afraid of that idea.   
   
Angela has a good idea of what the hare means now. "I doubt they'll come back, hon. If anybeast 'as come back, it's 'cause they had such good hearts, Dark Forest thought they needed to do more work here on Earth. Hellgates doesn't release back those who would hurt others."   

For the first time since Sola started her crazy ranting her eye turns back to Angela and she looks confused "I...Is...Is that a rule? How do you know?" the crazy hare thankfully accepts crazy reasoning.   

Angela doesn't actually believe a single word she's saying. But she's dealt with enough crazy beasts to be able to bluff her way through things like this. "Course it is. Wouldn't it be just so unfair f'r villains t'be able to come back, just like good beasts? So Hellgates keeps shut to keep them in, while Dark Forest, on occasion, sends back those who have good hearts to continue their work here amongst th' living. If y'don't believe me, as Martin the Warrior." She only hopes the spirit of Redwall's Hero Founder will back her up if he decides to start speaking to crazy people.   

Sola starts to frown as she explains further and it begins to poke holes in the logic for Sola "This world isn't fair" if it was she wouldn't be half blind having lost years of her life to slavery "...If the good come back why didn't your warrior?"   

Angela nods. "Aye, life ain't fair, ye're right. But the afterlife /is/. Remember, the evil cross Hellgate's threshold, while the good live forever by quiet streams in the Dark Forest." She smiles and shakes her head. "Martin didn't come back because his work was done. D'y'know how many lives he saved as a Warrior? Then he founded Redwall, became a Brother of the Order, an' died as an old mouse. And now he comes back as a spirit and speaks to us when Redwall is in danger. His work was done while he was alive, so now he comes back in beast's dreams."   

Sola frowns again but looks thoughtful "Oh..." she says quietly. It's clear that she has to think about this for a while but she seems calm again. Properly calm. Not just pretending this time "Alright..." she sounds slightly unsure but she's currently accepting it as she quietly thinks while she gets back to work, beating the dust from the rug.   

Angela relaxes. She always gets a little nervous when she's dealing with crazy people -- she's always concerned she'll say the wrong thing. But this looks like it turned out pretty well. The old Healer stands and hobbles to a different part of the orchard, leaving the haremaid to think through what she said.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading!

We had to RP this out early.  It ICly occurred on either June 8th or June 9th, 2020.

LOG:
The heros have traveled a while, slown sometimes....and get ever ever closer to the sea coast and its been quiet...up to now.Some voices are herard a little further downriver.   

Donica frowns, she was likeing the quietness and voices don't always mean a good thing."Should we...stop?"   

Keldorn hmms softly and looks at the others as he is not sure himself.   

Xander asks, "Stop?Why stop?We keep stoping we lose track of the vermin scum bags."He lays a paw on his blade as he been a little tense the longer this trip has gone."   

"Xander, please stay calm," Matilda requests in a soothing voice. "I think we should pull the boats over once we're a little closer and cautiously approach on foot." DoraRose, in the other logboat, nods. "That sounds like a good plan to me."
   
Donica frowns but will help where she can.A little further they will be able to make out a boat, guarded by some rats, and a couple weasels it looks like.The haremaid frowns and points "We need to pull over now before we are seen"She whispers .   

Keldorn gasps "My...boat" But he stays seated" They best not ruined my boat"   

Xander looks ovr and his eyes narrow and he is barely calm right now.But at least he is not jumping out of the boat, at least yet he isnt.
   
At a signal from the hedgehog, they pull over to the side of the river. "Quick, hide the boatth in the reedth!" DoraRose whispers, making sure the S sound isn't said since that's the sound that travels the most. She and Matilda get out of the boats, grabbing their weapons. They go to lead the way closer to the boat, staying hidden. The Champion sticks near Xander to keep an eye on him.   

The boat is well guarded with maybe 10 stream rats, one taller than the rest and a couple weasels. Looks like spears,daggers and maybe one or two longbow beasts are here and yep it's the boat alright.   

Donica stays near the others "Wot do I do, I still dont have a weapon" Maybe she can..find one? She is not sure.   

Keldorn grips his rasiper and stays close to the others.   

Xander snorts but draws his long blade.He will stay by the others,for now anyways but how long he stays calm, is...well..hard to say.   

While Matilda keeps close to the badger, DoraRose pulls a knife out of her boot and hands it to the haremaid. "Here -- you can borrow thith. I have another one," the mouse murmurs, keeping a wary gaze on the rats. She sets her axe on the ground and unwinds her sling from around her waist. "I'll take out the archerth...or at leatht 1 of them." She loads her sling, twirls it, then fires with deadly accurate aim at 1 of the archers, rapidly reloading her sling and twirling it. Will she have time to fire at the 2nd archer?   

Donica gets the dagger and nods "Thanks" She watches the boat closely "So do we, have a plan?"   

Keldorn says, "we get them off my boat thats what lass"
   
Xander says, "Stabing vermin can be fun yes, we should do that the dibbuns are in there and my son" Or so he believes to be so"We need a plan, a good one"   

One archer is suddenly holding the side of his head as a rat beside him looks confused at what just happen and now they seem on...alert   

But they're not retaliating, so! DoraRose twirls her sling faster and lets the rock fly towards the other archer with her incredible accuracy. Winding her sling around her waist again, she picks up her axe and looks over at her friends. It's then that the can see that her eyes are getting red. Hey, look, the Bloodwrath! "Save the Dibbuns. That's the plan." She then dashes out and swings her axe at the closest enemy. "REEEDDWAAAAAALLLLLL!!!"   
"Dora, wait!" Matilda calls out to her, then groans, drawing the Sword of Martin. "We should follow her so she doesn't get herself killed!"   
   
And they are seen! The rats attck with spears and daggers,one archer fires at the badger cause bigger target to hit of course.The leader speaks "They not get inside....Mistclaw demands they dont...slay them all" The two weasels stay on the ship and guard a trap door, if only they knew but hey they were not told , so they guard it.

Donica gulps and slips out, she can at least help any of her injuried friends best she can.Healing is one skill she is very good at.   

Xander takes a deep breath, and another and sidesteps the arrow.He walks up to a rat and beheads it! He manages to not go bloodwrath...not yet, but its clear he is having a hard time controling the urge.   

Keldorn races over and right away is in battle with a rat, he looks around for the leader as they are likely more dangerous right now.   

Yeah, DoraRose isn't holding the Bloodwrath back. She's a roaring, fighting, scary mouse lady with a big axe! She moves with practiced speed and skill, chopping, hacking, slicing, and dicing with her giant battleaxe of doom! 3 enemies have fallen before they can figure out what to do about the Warrior charging them, screaming her battlecry with eyes turned red.   
Matilda sticks right by Xander, figuring he's more likely to do something ridiculous than Dora is (yeah, right -- Rose in the Bloodwrath is unpredictable). The Sword of Martin flashes in the sunlight as she slays an enemy, then blocks the hit of another. She lets the mouse do all the yelling for the 2 of them    
   
The Stream rats are not as great a fighters as they seem, not when they are the ones surprised anyways. The leader rat seems a better fighter and scans to see who is a better target, he grins and tries to slip behind the champion! Meanwhile one archer fires an arrow at Dora!   

Donica backs up, she gasps and stabs at a rat that was beside her.Its is wounded enough to back away as she looks around,Shiverin ga little in this battle,she hasnt been in one before.   

From the shadow of a tree a cloaked figure watches the fighting as if making sure things go as planed.   

Xander slices at the rat that was going after the hare"Stay..near where..log boats are"His eyes flash a little, he is slowly loseing control but still has some control for now.   

Keldorn quickly gets near the trapdoor, he watches the two weasel guards, those two need distracted or better yet killed.   

DoraRose ignores the arrow in her shoulder and charges the archer, oblivious to any other danger. She chops his bow in half as he ducks her first swing, then he screams as she gets him. Finishing him off, she tries to fight her way through the enemies to get to the trapdoor, herself. The Dibbuns are still in the forefront of her mind, even through the haze of the Bloodwrath.   
Matilda finishes off her opponent, then whips around and engages with the leader. "You will pay for your villainy!" She shouts at him, trying to get through his defense to stab him in the heart!   
   
The leader smirks "The spike pig will die now.."He angles his blade, yes he is a better as these other rats...well they are worthless or whats left of them. One weasel moves slighty, the other notices Keldorn an moves to attck.   

Donica decides to get a bit off to the side and watches from the shore, she frowns as she goes to get a knapsack as she has some bandages in there and other simple fix wound herbs, she looks at the one mixture she has and hmmms, she pockets it and places the knapsack on and goes to head back...she then feels someone grab her from behind and screams!   

Xander spins around to slice a head off a rat and looks around when he hears the scream and frowns, he sends a rt flying into the river when it gets in his way and heads to the scream.   

Keldorn jumps back and slices at the weasels leg   

DoraRose has managed to get onto the boat! Another enemy dies by her axe, then the mouse is upon the weasel that is not attacking the shrew! Her face is a mask of fury, and her eyes are red from the Bloodwrath as she swings her axe to murderify the guard.   
Matilda is rankled! "Spike pig?!" She blocks the strike with ease. "Excuse you, but I am the Champion of Redwall! And it's pronounced 'hedgehog!'" She brings the offensive with a flurry of strikes, parries, and slices. She, too, hears the scream, but she is kind of busy right now trying to defeat her opponent to go investigate.   

The weasel is surprised at the mouse, he slices at her and then screams as he is killed, the other weasel looks at her from his attck on the shrew and looks slightly paniced. The leader grins at the hedgehog and blocks a couple strikes with the blade and then gets his shoulder hit, he stabs at her and in the blocks,jabs and swings his blade goes flying and hits a fellow rat in the arm!The trap door is now unguarded!One of the weasels have the key to it!   

Donica sceams again as she kicks and bites a paw, the hood if off and its the vixen who says something and knocks out the haremaid and throws her over her shoulder, well an extra slave...fine with her! She rushes off, she needs to get out of sight.   

Xander scnas the area......saddly Mistclaw is too late and she was seen.The badger snarls loudly and just seeing the vixen, and the fact she has the hare maid.Control is throw out the window and he lets himself get lost in a swirl of red vision. Hopefully the vixwn can run faster than a badger, a...very angery one!He gives chase!   

Keldorn finishes off the 2nd weasel while its distracted by the mouse maid skills in battle!   
   
DoraRose tries to open the door, her Bloodwrath-covered brain not registering that it might be locked. When it turns out it is, she roars and chops the lock off with her axe. (Who needs a key when you have an angry mouse?) She throws the door open, the Rage clearing as she realizes she's near her goal...   
The whole beach echoes with her scream as she discovers that the ship....IS EMPTY! There are chains connecting the empty slave collars to the walls of the ship, dried blood near the stairs where Burfy died, and a little wooden ball, left behind by the Dibbuns. The mouse dashes down, looking around frantically, hardly able to process it. "MATILDA!!" The mouse charges back up the ladder, her blue eyes still tinged pink.   
The hedgehog stabs the enemy leader's heart, then swings her blade around and slices his head off! Matilda flinches as her name is screamed by the mouse again as the Gatekeeper dashes to the ship's rail. "MATILDA! THE BOAT -- IT'S EMPTY!! THE DIBBUNS AREN'T HERE!!!" The hedgehog, finally free of her enemy, spots the badger dashing off. "Xander, wait!" The Champion chases off after him.   
DoraRose spots the vixen carrying the hare away, and the Bloodwrath surges back in full force. Roaring wordlessly, the mouse leaps off the boat (author's note: is it a ship or a boat? I can't tell. I'm not good with that kind of stuff) and hits the ground literally running, leaving the rest behind to deal with the remaining rats as she picks up Mistclaw's trail...   
   
The fox makes the mistake of looking back and gasps in horror at the fact, thats a badger! She goes to run faster forget the others that badger she needs to lose!!!   

Xander growls, he is in bloodwrath so yeah...she in bad BAD DANGER!!" Get..back here you...."And those last words are not for most ears.....and he can run rather fast!!!!

Keldorn frowns, he stabs a rat who falls over dead, the lasy couple bolt into woods, " So...now what?"

~*To be continued....*

Stay tuned for the next log to learn what next happens to our intrepid heroes!

SCENE:  On the River Moss, headed towards the sea

LOG:
Xander still disliked the log boat, it was not that comfortable and he was not the best swimmer,yes he has improved and once he had to pull up Caleb and that Ferret.He still wasn't sure how he managed to not drown...pure luck he suppose or just the need to not let his newly adopted son Caleb drown.He helps to paddle along as others in his boat rest a bit.

DoraRose is in the badger's boat, grateful for the rest. She has decided that she would rather just ride in the logboats than row them. But she hasn't been heard complaining. She keeps it to herself. The summer day is cool beneath the canopy of the trees and with the river absorbing the heat of the day. If their mission wasn't so desperate, the mouse would actually be enjoying this.

Keldorn is helping paddle along, he sniffs the air. " A hint of....salt, we are close to the sea"   

Xander smiles some, the river is not so bad and the weather is nice, Though they have slowed down some sadly, but maybe the vermin up ahead have as well.

Donica is also just sort of quiet, she scans the land a little and lets a paw sort of dip into the water as the go downstream.
   
DoraRose smiles a little. "The ocean is beautiful..." But then she spots something on the shore, and she jerks upright. She's not standing, but she's not fully sitting, either, and this rocks the logboat in a way that will probably make the badger a bit unhappy with her. "Pull to shore!! We need to pull to shore!" The mouse sounds as if she has been wounded, but she hasn't. She keeps her gaze fixed on a certain object, half hidden in the reeds. Matilda frowns, but she does whatever she needs to do to help get her logboat to the shore.

Xander whimpers, the boat is rocking a little as he grips the side "Dora......"He frowns "Shore...sure...ok"He will paddle there, long as she don't tip over the log boat! He makes sure the others log boat knows as well, a shrug as he has no clue he didnt see what the mouse saw.

Donica blinks as she looks the same direction " Wot is...going on?" She had not been there the whole trip but has slowly learned to trust her new friends and..also grow up a lot in a short time.

Keldorn looks over " what is it my friend?"

DoraRose manages to not tip the boat over, but she does hop out while she still has some water to wade through. A strangled cry escapes her as she kneels beside the decaying corpse of a mole Dibbuns. "This is Burfy," the mouse manages to say. "Look, I recognize his bracelet." She points to a chain that has a tiny hammer charm on it. "He wanted to be Foremole," she continues, tears trickling down her cheeks. "He was taken by the kidnappers. I...what will I tell his parents?"   

Xander stays in the log boat and just glances over, he mutters something but stays put cause if he got out he would likely storm down the shoreline and find the slavers himself.   

Donica gets out of the boat slowly and frowns, "They...killled a dibbun?" She lets a tear fall and then "We...we can't leave him here...in the...we should bury him, tis the right thing to do"   

Keldorn looks ready to stab an unseen vermin, he shakes his head and tells the others what Dora found and why they go to shore suddenly.

Matilda joins them on the shore. "We will bury him, but quickly. We can't waste much time." She instructs those in the boats to stay there, getting a couple of shovels for them to dig the hole with and a spare blanket to wrap the body in. The Champion hands a shovel to the hare as DoraRose starts to wrap the body in the blanket. The mouse removes the bracelet from the Dibbun's wrist, then tenderly wraps him up, tears freely pouring down her cheeks. The hedgehog has picked a place to bury Burfy's remains.

Xander stays on watch, just in case any of the slavers or any one for that matter is around."We need to...to catch up...and end these slavers"Great his temper is riseing and he was starting to be calmer too.   

Donica frown, her ears droop as she helps to bury the dibbun mole carefully.  "It..wont be easy to...tell his parents but when you get back to the abbey, your have to find a way to..to tell them"   

Keldorn replies as he is close " We will catch up soon, I have a feeling of this. "

DoraRose gently lowers the body into the hole the hare and the hedgehog have dug. Looking about and wiping away the tears still streaming down her cheeks, the mouse finds a rock to use as a grave marker. She places it next to the body and holds it there as Matilda leads in putting the soil back in the hole. The Champion's eyes are angry and sad. "We will come back for you, little one," she murmurs, "we will take you home on our way back." After all the dirt is put back and tamped down, the hedgehog says a few words similar to what the Redwallers will recognize is said at funerals.   

Xander frowns from where he sits, he then glares down river as ever muscle wants to just leave, but he forces himself to stay as wandering off right now wouldnt help.   

Donica finishes helping and frowns handing the shovel to the hedgehog and goes to sit by a trunk of a tree, she sniffs and wipes her eyes and looks down a path, seeming curious of something and ...yeah talk of wandering off, she does so but further into the woods by the river.
   
Keldorn sighs. " We need to head off..." He then gets out of the boat to see what is up with the hare " Lass...no time for a walk, may be danger around"

DoraRose digs out some vinegar, rinses the bracelet, then loops it onto her belt. Matilda puts the shovels away, then frowns. "Donica, don't wander off! As Keldorn said, there could be danger around." If the haremaid doesn't come back, the Champion will be forced to follow after her before she loses sight of her. "Please stay with the boats, Xander," she wisely requests. "We need somebeast to guard them." Dora looks at the haremaid, picking up her axe as she tries to stop crying.

Xander nods "I ill make sure my son Caleb is safe, as well as Keldorn,Oswald and Dorarose too."   

Donica does wander just out of sight, she oddly is serching the ground for...well something, that she clearly finds by some moss, and something else by a tree.She stuffs them into her small pack she has and looks back to where the boat is,she will start walking back and likely meet the champion "I am sorry....I needed to...sorry"She says again"We can go now"

Keldorn stops as he stays by the boat, rolls his eyes " I do not need protection..good grief" Ok he is slightly grumpy.   

DoraRose smiles. "Thanks, Xander. I appreciate it." She doesn't add that she's pretty sure she can save herself. That would ruin the moment. Meanwhile, the haremaid does, indeed, meet Matilda on the way back. The hedgehog looks a little annoyed, but then an odd look crosses her face. "...you were being led by Martin the Warrior," she says, not as a question, but as a fact. The Champion nods. "Well, alright then. Let's get back to the boats." She goes to lead the way back to their friends.

Donica blinks "Who?" She seems a little unsure and ajusts her pack "Just needed something, I'm sorry I wont do that again"Why did she do it, who is Martin they talk of, well maybe she can find out later but it was odd to just...walk off like that, she sort of just...did and she is unsure why and why the need for what she found, she frowns as if she knows what it is, one is a little hard to find if one doesnt know what to look for, she sighs when she gets in her boat"I'm...tried..can others paddle?" She knows they have a ways to go before a break.   

Keldorn will explain who martin is and share a story if him once they start heading off.

Matilda nods.  "Of course!  You can rest."  She allows the shrew to tell them a story of Martin.

DoraRose gets in the boat, holding her axe in her lap.  She kind of tunes everything out in her grief over Burfy, and tears slip down her cheeks.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading!