Redwall MUCK Forum

SCENE: Redwall Abbey Infirmary

CHARACTERS: Xander, a male badger.  Krisha, a female badger.  DoraRose, a female mouse.

LOG:
Xander had spent the last day in the infirm, and stuck in here another day in fact as he was told to stay put a couple days as he slowly woke up and looked around. Dinner was brought and today he sleep through breakfast it seems. He blinked a couple times and starts to sit up on the bed.

Krisha only slipped out for a little while, she now was back and walked over to the other badger and goes to gently make him lay down giving him a look to still rest.  She then sits down in a chair beside him.

DoraRose comes bustling into the Infirmary, carrying a basket full of bowls filled with chopped vegetables.  "Oh, hi!" she says when she spots the 2 younger beasts.  "Just bringing some veggies for the broth they cook in here."

Xander allows himself lay down and smiles at Krisha, He is still unsure of weather yesterday was a dream or maybe it did happen "Krisha...your still here" He sounds concern  "You are....not leaving Mossflower...right?" He hears Dorarose but will pay attention to her in a moment.

Krisha takes his paw and shakes her head no to leaving, she is staying. She looks around for her notepad...darn, well she is fine for now as she smiles at Xander. She nods to Dorarose on the vegetables

DoraRose gives the veggies to a healer and then walks over to the badgers.  "Hey, how you feelin'?  I heard that you were confined in here for a few days."

Xander nods "Yeah....no fun I have other things to do" He frowns, he looks at Krisha still curious but then he was a bit out of it yesterday afternoon, he speaks "I do feel better, still somewhat tired just had a lot on my mind, last couple days been so messed up"

Krisha frowns, she hasn't had the best pass few days either as she folds her paws into her lap and quietly listens to them talking.

DoraRose sits at the foot of the bed the badger is in.  Glancing at the maiden, the mouse pulls a slate and a slate pencil out of her apron pocket and hands them to her.  "I was helping a squirrel with her letters.  She has a bit more trouble than most, so I volunteered to be a tutor for her 3 days a week.  You can use the slate right now if you like."  Turning back to the male badger, she adds, "Wanna talk about it?"  She has a slight motherly concern him.

Xander shrugs " Just...maybe a couple things wouldn't of happen if I had better thought...like Krisha being temporarily captive or...when Cynthia tried a cookie. Beasts deciding whether to stay or go"

Krisha frowns, she does take the offered writing materials and looks at Xander concerned.

DoraRose's forehead furrows.  "Xander, honey, you can't blame yourself.  You did everything you could to protect Krisha....." she trails off as he turns and faces the wall.  Sighing, the Warrior rubs her forehead.  "C'mon, Krisha.  Let's go have some tea by the fire in here and let him have some peace..." she stands and gestures for the maiden to follow her to the fireplace.

Xander rolls over to face the wall, maybe he heard what was said or maybe he didn't...right now he just wants to rest. He is soon back asleep. He will eat some lunch later.

Krisha looks concerned for Xander and lays a paw on his shoulder. She then stands and goes over to the mousemaid as she frowns.

DoraRose drags 2 chairs over and then gets some regular mint tea for the 2 of them.  "Would you like some honey in yours, Krisha?"  She asks, looking over at the badger.

Krisha nods as she is asked about the honey and glances over at Xander, she is worried and she isn't sure how to help. The morning wasn't the best so far as Ferro left to stay in Ferravale and she is here.

DoraRose puts honey in both teas, then sits down in her chair by the fireplace.  "Have a seat, sweetheart.  Would you like to tell me what's bothering you?"  She holds out one of the cups to the badgermaid and takes a sip from the other one.

Krisha frowns, she holds the mug after taking it and sips the tea a couple times and looks to be concentrating on something and  takes another sip and coughs a little, "W...W.." She frowns and her brow furrows, her throat hurts as that sort of thing happens when one not spoken for over 2 seasons, yeah she spoke a word  yesterday and earlier today, just barely. She tries again it's rough sounding as she manages to speak "W...Worried...." She coughs roughly now, she frowns giving the mousemaid a sorry look and looks down. Her voice sounds horrible from not being used for so long.

DoraRose looks surprised, but she waves a paw airily.  "Hey, it's okay.  It's nice to hear you speak -- it's a lovely sound."  And she is being sincere.  It's good to hear the maiden talking, especially since she knows that she's not spoken for 2 seasons.  "And it's okay to be worried.  I think Xander will be okay if he does what the Healers tell him to."  She sips her tea again.

Krisha frowns, she looks like she doesn't believe the mousemaid and goes to rub her now very sore throat and drinks half of the tea. She nods and sits the cup down, she decides to write = Father left to Ferravale. I will stay here.=  She after a short moment adds =Throat hurts=.

DoraRose reads the note and nods.  "I think that was a good decision on his part. You'll be safe here."  She stands and grabs the honey and then rummages around in a cabinet for a few minutes.  She then returns to her seat carrying the honey jar and a small blue clay jar.  "Here.  Let's put more honey in your tea.  I find that helps me when I have a sore throat."  After she hands the honey jar to the badger maid, the Warrior reads a note that's tied onto the small jar.  "These are throat lozenges that my daughter and I helped my grandmother make.  I'm sure she'd be okay with you trying a couple and seeing if they help."

Krisha nods, she smiles slightly as she does like honey and maybe it will help, she will be hopeful. She seems sad at her father leaving but knows she is safe at the abbey. But...=where would I sleep, no room yet= And shows the note.

DoraRose raises an eyebrow.  "You mean nobeast has told you?  I find that kind of surprising....guests are usually told immediately where they can sleep."  She points to the door.  "Just go out that door and head....y'know, it might be easier if I showed you.  We have a couple of dormitories specifically for guests to use.  Would you like me to show you the female dormitory?"

Krisha writes =Don't think know staying yet. And not seen Abbot Benar yet as he would need to know I am staying here now.= She then nods to the showing as that would be a good idea. She looks over at Xander before back to Dorarose as she writes =Thanks=.

And so Dora shows the badger where the female dormitories are.  She then goes to try to find the Abbot so she can let him know that Krisha is staying here now.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading!

SCENE: Big Bang Bar and Grille

LOG:
What at first seems to be a puff of smoke that soon turns into a miniature dust storm and at last into a cloud of plain old dirt a ferret appears in the bar. Looking around in what could be construed as a shifty manner the ferret first falls to the floor and rolls around in his dirt to both reclaim some of it and spread the rest around a bit, because sharing. Done with that little bit the ferret quickly heads over to the bar, it's time to get something to drink! something.... good, like a watermelon.

Blisa appears behind the bar!  "HI.  Please clean up your mess.  I appreciate you wanting to share, but none of us want your germs."  She pulls out a watermelon smoothie (which is literally just watermelon fruit that was frozen and crushed and then thawed slightly) and sips it.  "What would you like to drink?"

With a slight air of indignation over the comment to clean up his dirt Sarnith puffs out his chest, raises his right paw and extends his let most digit and proclaims " That my dear mouse is a pristine offering of choice planting material! Germs indeed! " Lowering the the waggling digit the ferret continues " A whole water melon if you please! I'm due for a right stumptuous drink I do believe! "

Blisa glares at the ferret.  "I'm a cat, stupid."  Ignoring the whole 'planting material', thing, she just nods and sets her drink out of his reach.  "One watermelon, coming up."  She pulls out from under the counter.....a midget watermelon, about the size of the ferret's head.  Setting it before him, she picks up her drink again and sips it.

Exactly what the ferret ordered! ignoring the first comment Sarnith says " My thanks dear stoat! " promptly picks up the watermelon with one paw and places it to his ear and taps on it with the other paw. And taps on it some more. And thumps on it. And then does a little dance with his fingers across the melon. Then sets the melon down on the bar and promptly smashes into it with his face, sending the top half of the melon everywhere and pulping the rest into the bottom of the rind, which the ferret nosily starts sucking up.

Blisa watches the ferret with widening eyes.  He's crazy!  Completely, utterly, irrevocably, inarguably insane!!  She then sees his head coming towards the watermelon and hides under the counter with her drink!  Pulling out her phone, she looks up the number of the closes psychiatric ward and calls them.

Crazy? Sarnith isn't crazy! YOU'RE CRAZY! He's not locked in here with you! YOU'RE LOCKED IN HERE WITH HIM! Or something like that, the ferret is far too busy making a further mess of the melon rind that his face is buried in to notice the bat making with the phone.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading! x'D

A direct continuation of this log: http://forum.rwmuck.org/viewtopic.php?id=366

SCENE:  Ferravale Chieftain's Office

CHARACTERS:  Patch, a male rat.  Blisa, a female cat; Ferdinand, a male ferret.  Ferro, a male monitor lizard; a spoofed weasel.

LOG:
Patch ran, one he wanted to get away from the blacksmith's place....just in case the monitor went a little too insane and of course update trouble on the road, he stopped by the door and took a little while to catch his breath and then knocked

Blisa is sitting at her desk, working on paperwork because that's a huge part of the work a Chieftain has to work on.  Ferdinand is sitting in a corner, his recurve bow and quiver full of arrows leaning up against the wall while he sits on a stool and works on his loom.  He's making something blue.  They both look up at the sound of the knock, and then the cat calls out, "Come in!"  She and the bodyguard are pretty well armed, so she figures that they'll be alright.

Patch pokes his head inside and gulps a little as he slowly enters "Umm...thar...seee.....there is a weasel who may or may not get eaten or torn apart..."

Blisa raises an eyebrow.  "Okay, what?"  she sets her work aside and fixes the rat with an intense stare.  "Who is going to eat the weasel?  Where is this?  Why didn't you get a guard to stop it?  I'm sure there's one nearby."  She's assuming it's a tavern brawl or something along those lines.

Patch frowns and then speaks "Stop a monitor?  ...Yeah right I will just ask him to kindly not be peeved off..."  He then gasps, wait what if he blames someone else "Oh no...I left stripy thar....not that he was peeved off at him....he was peeved off at the weasel...and the weasel's friends...see the weasel was left behind by the stoat, couple foxes and couple other weasels on the road."

Blisa resists the urge to roll her eyes.  Ferdinand is still looking patient as he goes back to the thingy he's weaving.  "And what, pray, were the weasels and foxes and stoat doing on the road that would make a monitor mad at them?  And who is the monitor that is angry?  And where did you leave your friend?  Please use beast's /names/, thankyouverymuch," the cat adds, trying to keep her impatience and grumpiness out of her voice; it only works a little.

Patch frowns and backs up a little, in his mind an angry chief is worse than an angry monitor...  "The vermin...ummm group guess have his daughter, the...forgot his name he is the blacksmith and the one weasel was the knocked out and so me and str...Xander brought him back to the village and yeah Xander is with the Blacksmith"

Blisa poufs up a little.  "WHAT?!"  She shrieks.  Ferdinand sighs and stands up, grabbing his bow and arrows and slinging them over his shoulder.  "We have to go at once!  I hope Ferro hasn't permanently injured the weasel; oh my Heavens, we have to get more information so we can get his daughter back!  Come on!"  And she quickly exits the room, her bodyguard close on her heels.  She's just assuming the rat will follow her; why wouldn't he?  An angry monitor can't be that bad....right??

SCENE CHANGE:  Ferravale Blacksmith's shop

Ferro has grumpily told everyone to leave, not that the place was full of beasts just a couple, and there was a ferret who was wanting a dagger sharpened and will have to wait as the monitor has a struggling weasel upside down...  "Answer me...." His voice is not calm as the weasel shivers and gets a hiss in the face.

Patch pokes his head inside and looks around, he frowns at the sight of the monitor and looks ready to flee away from the shop, "Umm...well s...s...stripy seems not here let me go find him...yeah find him"

"Nope, you're staying here since you were a witness of what happened on the road," Blisa states, walking into the shop, Ferdinand close behind.  "Ferro, please put the weasel down.  Patch told me that your daughter has been kidnapped, and I want to help.  We can tie up this weasel so he can't get away while we question him.  Okay?"  Her voice, though authoritative, is gentle, or at least as close to gentle as she can get.

Ferro narrows his eyes and hisses, he looks ready to kill the weasel, he shows his fangs and the weasel faints and then is roughgly dropped to the floor as the monitor's tail moves back and forth, "He needsssssss punished for hissssssss crimessssssss......"

Patch whimpers, why stay? He sighs defeated and stays by the doorway "But......." He shakes his head "Ok...fine...was a sort of ambush and not like something could of been done de stoat had a knife at her throat, you don't charge at that sort of thing, claimed his boss wanted an exchange"

Blisa nods as Ferdinand goes to drag the weasel over to a nearby chair and tie him up with some rope he grabbed on the way here.  "I agree, and he will be.  But first we need information from him.  Don't worry, I won't let a beast who kidnapped one of the residents in my village get away with it.  We'll do everything we can to rescue your daughter."  She pauses and listens to what the rat says.  "An exchange?  We have no hostages or prisoners, and we would give food and shelter to whoever needs it, whether they pay for it or are willing to work for it.  What on Earth could this kidnapper want?"

Ferro looks to Patch, he heard some of this earlier, he calms a little....but only slightly, "Xander...and Patch..ssssssaid earlier some...boss of a stoat wanted a mouse or ssssomething"

Patch frowns "Yeah he said bring the mouse maid and he would give back that badger maid.....someone named...ioooh" Think darn it, a name was given right? "Cynthia and didn't say his boss's name but stripy seems to have an idea of who may be, he also said not for me and stripy to follow him and he be at some bridge at sundown for this exchange of beasts, the stoat said that  as he seemed sort of in charge but seemed to care less about the weasel here"

Blisa furrows her brow.  "Cynthia?  Isn't she in Redwall?  *Sigh*  Ferdy, would you please see if there's a blackbird nearby who can take word of this to the Abbey?"  The ferret nods and goes outside to look for one of their bird messengers.  "Well, hmm.....maybe we can do a decoy and after the exchange, rush them while somebeast gets the badgermaid to safety?"  She's not so sure that's the best idea in the world, and her voice betrays it.  "I won't give them anybeast, much less an Abbey resident; who knows what they'd do to her?"  (To find out what the bird told the Abbeybeasts, read this: http://forum.rwmuck.org/viewtopic.php?id=368 )

Ferro says, "I have no clue......ssssssssemed to be...ssssssems this...who ever wanted her brought from abbey to him...." He hisses and makes a fist " I sssssuggest we find the foes and....teach then a lesson""   

Patch stays by the door "She...was during the wedding and that feast...darn good feast too...anyways the wedding did have someone interrupt it and they got tossed out of the abbey cause of it" 

Blisa frowns slightly and thinks for a few moments.  Ferdinand comes back in.  "I thent a magpie to go tell the Abbey."  The cat nods, then says, "Somebeast interrupted Cynthia's wedding, huh?  What did they want to do that for?  They.....that might be a clue of who did this."  Her ears twitching slightly, the Chieftain turns and says soothingly, "Hey, whoa.  I know you want to go swooping in to rescue your daughter, but I think that would only guarantee her death, and we want to prevent that.  Whoever did this seems serious, and we need to proceed with caution."

Ferro snorts, he is mad...and getting madder   
Ferro says, "The lasssssst onessssss to hold her captive....meet death....they didn't see death 'til wasssssssss too late and they fell one by one and I wassssss willing to die to sssssssstop them from living""   

Patch looks pale....yeah this monitor is so fun to be around, so friendly and....ummm nope. "C..C..Can I Goooo now?" 

"No you're staying you're fine," Blisa states quickly before turning to the monitor, ignoring both Ferdinand's nervous look and the fear that's starting to rise up within her, memories of when she was held captive by a horrible fox and his monitor lizard army long ago....  "Yes, but these beasts will probably expect us coming and kill her the moment you got there!  You can kill them /after/ we get her safely out of danger.  But we need a plan to save her first, or she'll die, and you probably will too!"  /FOR THE LOVE, why is this lizard so hard to reason with?/  the cat thinks silently in her mind. 

Ferro is very protective of his daughter and it shows as claws and fangs show and then he takes a deep breath and hisssses one of those long hisses..."Fine.......we make plansssssssssssss" He controls the urge to push her aside and just storm off, he has weapons...like he needs them.

Patch whimpers..."But.....we don't know where they went...by the river maybe?" He sighs and sits down as he may as well, "Should I find Xander?" Yes he used his real name, he can use real names when its important after all "Or...we handle this...or the lizard...or you?"

Blisa sighs.  Plans.  Yeah, that's not exactly her strong point.  Oh, where's Bandit when you need him?  "Hmmm.....yes, go find Xander. If you can't find him, then come back, please; we will probably need your help."  She turns and glares at the weasel captive.  "Maybe knowing where the base is will help us with our planning..."  She hopes so, at least.

Ferro still looks willing to kill the weasel when he wakes up and groans, seeing the monitor glaring at him he screams loudly, a hiss makes him stop as he shivers "You...will sssssssssspeak" The weasel nods quickly.

Patch nods and heads off to find the badger!

Blisa swishes her tail back and forth.  "Where is your camp?  Answer me truly, or I'll let Mister Lizard at you, and I'm pretty sure any threats he's made against you will be carried out.  By him.  And I won't stop him."

Ferro looks at the weasel. His fangs show as does claws,  yeah best to speak.

The weasel tries to scoot away and finds he can't "Its...its at river but the boss would just kill you, kill you all cause he has that badger maid and you wont get her back with an exchange....'cause Hook does as the boss wishes"

Blisa ignores the warning.  "/Where/ by the river?  And why does he want Cynthia?  Who is your boss?  Is Hook the stoat who took the badgermaid, or is that the name of your boos?"  Hey, she's liking teaming up with the lizard!  Maybe he can help her interrogate all her other prisoners from now on....

The weasel seems unwilling to go on till he looks at the monitor who seems to be low on staying calm and shivers "Yeah yeah...Hook is the stoat and I don't know the boss but he offered a lot of money...some mouse with a broken paw, seemed real eager to get the mousemaid and take her to some place called Halyard or something ......." He shivers "It's all I know....please don't feed me to your monitor!!"

Blisa thinks for a moment, then nods.  "I think he's telling the truth; Ferdinand, please get a guard to take this beast to a holding cell until I'm ready to do something with him."  Ferdinand sighs a little, but nods and sticks his head out the door and hails a passing city guard.  "A mouse with a broken paw....hmmm.....I wonder if he was the beast who interrupted Cynthia's wedding?  I wonder....I wonder if we could find a beast about her size who can fight and who'd be willing to be a decoy, a fake Cynthia?  So we could pretend to do the exchange and not have to worry about Cynthia being in the path of danger....and get your daughter out of danger, too, of course," she hastily adds.

Ferro snorts at the weasel "I have missed lunch......" The weasel faints. The monitor smirks "Not that I eatssssssss meat...but do keep it a ssssssssecret." He frowns "Another.....mouse? What mouse be willing to and would not be noticed as fake?"

Blisa nods, smiling slightly.  "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul."  As the village guard comes and goes to carry the weasel away, the Chieftain turns to Ferdinand.  "Who do you think would make a good double for Cynthia?"  The ferret doesn't need to pause and think.  "LilyMoore, DoraRothe'th daughter.  Lily and Cynthia may not get along very well, but thince the married Lily'th brother, the'd do anything to help keep Cynthia thafe."  Blisa frowns.  "But DoraRose may not let her....does Lily even know how to fight?  Maybe we could find a rat, instead...."

Ferro just listens he doesn't know many beasts as he mainly stays in the forge, the only reason he even went to the feast, for a little while, was his daughter asked him to.

Blisa thinks for a few moments more.  "Maybe DoraRose would work as the double...she's a bit small for a mouse, so maybe she and Cynthia are close enough in size that it would work....you've met DoraRose, haven't you?"  This is addressed to the Blacksmith.  "She's a Warrior mouse, and a member of the Defenders.  She can use a bastard sword and a battleaxe.  She has brown fur and blues eyes, and is also the Gatekeeper of Redwall.  I would trust her with my life, and the lives of those I care about, in a heartbeat."

Ferro nods "Briefly..yessssssss...but not many in the abbey I ssssspoken to....ssssssome ssssssee me as......well...fear me ssssssso I sssstay only a sssshort while, went to feast 'cause daughter assssked, ssstayed....sssshsort while"

Blisa nods and goes back to thinking.  Ferdinand nods.  "Many beathtth have irrational fearth, and aren't willing to give creatureth a chance to prove themthelveth ath truthtworthy."

Ferro nods, he then shakes his head "I needsssssss back to work...mind offf thingsssssssss.....please find Krisha and get her back sssssafely I trust you chief Blisa" With that he decides to get back to his Blacksmithing and a couple beasts are glad of it, course he does close early and debates on going out himself and then decides not to as the last thing he dares to do is risk his daughters life.

Blisa does everything she can to do just that!

~*END*~

Will they be able to save Krisha in time?  Will the decoy work, and who will be the decoy?  WILL THERE BE KOOL-AID?!  Keep watch for new logs to find out!

A direct continuation of this log: http://forum.rwmuck.org/viewtopic.php?id=342

SCENE:  Somewhere on the Western shoreline...

LOG:
Felicity's eyes widen as they enter the room.  She smells the real meat smell and tries to not gag, or even look like she wants to vomit everywhere.  She nudges the vixen and whispers in Tuscanian, "Empty table?  I am not going to gamble, but I am so hungry I could eat the cards...."  She trails off as she sees the bigger door in the pit below.  "Uh.....do you, uh, know why they call this the 'Snake Pit', by any chance?"  She suddenly actually /sounds/ nervous, instead of only /being/ nervous and hiding it....

The fox's glance at the pit is long with out pausing to reply. Finally she turns away from the hare, leading them to an empty table, "Let's hope we never find out why."   
It only takes a few moments between Rioko planting her tail into a chair before a waiter appears. A sleek looking weasel in a uniform greets them with a friendly smile. "Good evening!" He says, "I don't believe I have seen either of you here before. Is this your first time?"   
"Er...yes! First time. All quite...overwhelming." The weasel's smile only grows at the vixen's comment. "Perhaps something to eat or drink will help you both settle in. Tonight we are serving Roasted Robin, Steak, or the Chef's Special. If you order now your meal should arrive before the Festivities begin." 

Felicity plops down in a chair beside the vixen and listens wide-eyes to the weasel's chipper announcement.  "What's in the Chef's Special?" she asks, making sure to speak only in Tuscanian, using the accent that she heard DoraRose use when the mouse was speaking in this language.  Hopefully he'll not understand it and the vixen will actually translate it and not be a brat.  Also, Festivities?  The haremaid is thinking that she absolutely does NOT want to know beforehand what this is all about.

The weasel blinks before replying with a smile, and in Tuscanian. "A rack of ribs seasoned with our signature sauces." He stands there, expectant for an answer. The fox can be seen behind him, biting her lip as she wonders if Fel will break their cover with her Long Patrol sensibilities.

Felicity bites her own lip to keep from looking like she's FREAKING OUT.  "Oh my word, I couldn't possibly decide!"  She replies, still in the language of the East.  She now hoping that she doesn't actually say a word that's not being used anymore; the book she was using is a tad out of date.  (Tad=it's about 50 seasons old.)  "I going to have to think about it.  What do you have to drink?"

Rioko may not speak the language well enough to follow but since the weasel isn't freaking out and declaring Fel a hated Long Patrol veggie eater then she must be doing good. "Um, excuse me. I'll have the steak. Does that come with a salad?"   
"But of course!" He says in basic beasty speak. "Tonight we are serving your choice of wine, ale, mead, or water."   
After the drinks are ordered the waiter departs to place their meal, leaving Rioko slumping forward over the table clutching either side of her head. "We are in waaaaaaaaaaay over our head." She says, tail curling between her legs. "This was a BAD Idea. Why did I let you talk me into this!?" 

Felicity orders ale because she's not an imbecile.  "I call dibs on your salad," she grumbles in Tuscanian.  "And I didn't talk you into this.  It was your idea because you're a greedy lunatic."  Kicking the table leg, she sniffs and adds, "And how was I supposed to know that some o' the beasts 'ere know this language?  Not my fault..."

The fox only whines, "I knoooooow." Her head slumps further to the table. "Oh who am I kidding. This is all my own fault. If I just...just walked away we wouldn't be in this mess. And now we are in the very center of a vermin gambling den. How are we supposed to reclaim my fortune now? Eh?" Rioko begins to sniffle with her head burried in her arms.   
(A few moments later the waiter returns, "Bon appetite! Your steak will be out shortly!" He deposits the salad on the middle of the table before departing again. It is a scrumptious looking salad filled with green vegetables, onions, cruotons, cheese and...chunks of cooked and seasons /meat/. It's hard to tell at first what animal the meat comes from. It almost looks like bird but...the texture is...different.)   
"Lizard." Rioko sniffs the air. "That's lizard that is." She pauses, "Not that I would know what cooked lizard looks like of course." And laughs nervously, tapping her paws together. 

Felicity rolls her eyes.  "I hate you right now."  She peers at the salad.  "Is there any food you hate and refuse to eat?  Next time we go on an adventure, I'm goin' to make you eat that....and if you don't mention fox meat, I'm going to hurt you....."  For not growing up with Tuscanian, she certainly speaks it well.  "I wonder if there's a way I can sneakily get some of the salad without the meat and have nobeast notice....."  She's hungry, okay?

The music abruptly stops, cutting off the fox's snark reply. All eyes fall upon the beast that enters through the front door. For a monitor lizard he is rather small, and a bit rounded about the edges, but his burly upper torso speaks of strength hidden by a silk shirt and vestment. "Good evening gentle beasssts." The lizard twirls his cane before slamming it down in front of him, resting on it.   
Despite his business attire the lizard has a series of jagged scars running down his muzzle. "Allow me to welcome you each to my humble abode." A series of light chuckling fills the air. "I am afraid that the gladiatorial combat has been canceled tonight. But don't worry...we have a /NEW/ event to fill your need for wonton destruction."   
At the snap of his claws the exits are closed and barred. With a feral smile, "Tonight a select few uninvited guests are going to get a close one on one meeting with the Snake Pit's main attraction." He says with a feral smile. 

Felicity's widen.  Glancing at the vixen, she tries to communicate with her gaze, 'We were actually invited, right?'  But other than that, she keeps an easy-going, expectant look on her face.  Entertainment of a different sort?  Great!  That's what she's trying to communicate with  her facial expression and body language now.  Not her thoughts, which are more along the lines of WE ARE SO VERY MUCH DEAD AND IT'S ALL RIOKO'S FAULT I'M GONNA KILL HER.  That's what she's /actually/ thinking and trying to not show.  She may or may not be slightly paranoid of Rioko tricking her...

The vixens heart stops as a pair of burly henchbeasts move through the crowd towards the unwelcomed pair. They stop short however at the car tables, grabbing a pair of rats and dragging them towards the pit. Despite the vermin's pleas the guards unceremoniously toss them into the pit. They both scream as they land hard on the sand below.   
"My grandpappy always said there are Vermin, and then there are Vermin. I never understood that saying until I had beasts try to cheat at our wonderful card tables." The reptile laughs. Walking by the guard he swipes a small dagger from his belt, tossing the single weapon into the pit. "But I'm a fair beast. I'll let you all bet on which one of these cheaters will earn the right to live...and which will not. Go ahead lads and ladies! Who will win!" The betting begins immediately as the two rats, one with orange fur the other grey stare at the single blade between them and then each other.   
The fight begins shortly afterward... 

Felicity hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath.  "Okay, we are not gambling /ever/," she says as she turns back to the table cracking her knuckles to hide the fact that her paws are shaking.  Lowering her voice to a level that is barely audible to the vixen beside her, much less to anyone else here, "You didn't steal our invitation, right?"  She slips money out of her pocket, making it look like she's making a bet with her friend about the rats.

~*TO BE CONTINUED.....*~

Did Rioko get the invitation legitimately, or are our 2 misfits the next beasts who are going to be thrown into the pit to fight to the death?  Stay tuned!

SCENE: Redwall Abbey, Abbot's chambers

CHARACTERS: Various spoofed DAB Dibbuns.  Benar, a male squirrel.

LOG:
The Abbot's bedroom, or actually suite of rooms. On the Ground Floor it has a fine view across the cloisters and down to the rose garden. The first room is the Abbot's study, where he is sat currently working away at his desk on the various bits and pieces of paperwork that keep the abbey running. Beyond that is his bedroom and then the small bathroom past that, the door between the Bedroom and Study is shut, thick sturdy oak, good at blocking out noises. Like say the noise of the open window to the cloister being used as a surreptitious entry for a bunch of DAB plotters!

A couple dibbuns, who were of course bored with how one of the abbey novice tried to do a reading lesson, sneaked off and is now close to that window as they look around.

Benar is of course Blissfully unaware of anything outside. No dibbun would dare sneak into his bedroom

They are met by Squirrelbabe, leading a troupe of other DABers who somehow escaped their lessons without being noticed.....which seems impossible, seeing as how there's like 10 of them.  Won't they be missed?  Apparently not.  The young squirrel draws herself up regally and whispers, "We's gonna 'xplore da Abbot's room.  Come if ye're not 'fraidycats."  And then she scrambles up the sandstone and over the windowsill, blissfully proving the Abbot wrong!  The other 10 Dibbuns, mostly squirrels and mice (although there are a mole and a leveret, who are assisted through the window by the squirrels), and they are, of course, ready to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting adult's bedroom.  They huddle near the window and look around in awe...

The two already there is a vole and an otter dibbun a little too big to fit in the window, "Hey you cans not go inna thar you gonna gets us all in troubles"

To a dibbun, used to the big communual nursery it must seem like another world. The abbot's bed is a massive four poster, the ancient oak carved long long ago for the first Abbess of Redwall. The wardrobe is tall rowan oak and the sideboards oak carved in a similar style to the bed. Of course the beauty and history is probably lost on the dibbuns, the big soft comfy bed and large armchair by the fireplace however and the bookcase full of interesting looking knick knacks are probably much more interesting.

"Oh, we be's fines, cowa'ds.  We'w be gone afore aaaaaaaanybeastie /notices/ us."  Squirrelbabe states confidently as she helps the leveret into the room.  She then extends a paw.  "I'll 'elp you get in; I stoles gwease from da /kitchens/ so we can make yous slippery so yous'll fit!"  The leveret's eyes open wide as he sees the armchair, and he immediately toddles over to it, dragging the picture book be brought with him on the floor.  A couple squirrels dash over to the bed and climb the posts, perching on the top with natural ease.  The mole trundles over to the bookcase and solemnly looks the thingies therein over, not touching them.  The others start exploring, climbing over and under things and trying to open the wardrobe.

The wardrobe sadly is latched with a rather fiddly catch quite out of reach. The bed however is so very soft and springy and the armchair, piled high with cushions it is deliciously soft and bounce-able! The bookcase has several old books, a couple of framed pictures and the top shelf holds a collection of rocks. Semi-precious quartz and gemstone off cuts and the hilt of a broken sword and a pool of bowstring.

The vole is in and sticks their tongue out at the otter dibbun, the otter frowns "I tells on you then..." Would he, then again Papa Oz is off today, maybe with a couple novice and abbey sisters do some important thing or what ever as the otter sighs, the one Abbey Elder with the reading lesson was old and boring and may seriously need glasses to see escaping dibbuns, that or they fell asleep on the job

Squirrelbabe scowls darkly at the otter Dibbun.  "If yous tells on us, I'w makes you regret it forevers!!"  She has been known to hit people with sticks at 2 in the morning, so don't doubt her vengefulness.  The squirrels on top of the posts leap off onto the bed, landing and bouncing with giggles galore!  The leveret has managed to scramble up into the armchair and is busily throwing all the pillows onto the floor!  The mole carefully pulls a book off the shelf, sits down, and reads it....upside down, of course.  But he is being respectful of the book, so that's good.  A squirrel wearing a little tam with a feather in it cartwheels over and peers at the remaining books on the shelf, then promptly starts taking them off and stacking them on the floor for no obvious reason.  The Dibbuns at the wardrobe give a choral, "Aw...", then start trying to make a pyramid so the can reach the latch!

The latch is reached! Such a resourceful pyramid of dibbuns! The latch however refuses to move, is it stiff? Is it locked, it's hard to tell for little ones but it is refusing to open! Whatever magical wonders the Abbot keeps in there are currently beyond them! The bed however is super bouncy, springing the squirrels back up almost to the top of the posts as they bounce on it! And behind the books is a discovery...a small hidden compartment with a tiny box. It looks precious, it looks old and it is very much not locked though there is no obvious way to open it.

The otter frowns and looks for another way in or maybe he is off to...tell on them, the vole however gets on the bed and bounces a couple times and gets a small pillow to hit the dibbun on the bottom of that tower with!

With frantic squeaks the pyramid collapses as the one Dibbun that got smacked turns and growls, letting go of the beast above him as he tries to tackle the vole!  Squirrelbabe shakes a miniscule fist at the otter.  "Twaitor!!  Nogooddirtywotten--meep!"  she slips off the windowsill into the room, barely catching herself and then falling with a bump onto the floor.  She whimpers and rubs her hurting rear.  The leveret is now sitting in the bereft-of-cushions chair and is looking at his book.  The mole and the tam-wearing squirrel peer at the little box.  "Hurr, wot do yer think that is, hur?"  "I dunno, but is cutie!"  The squirrel pulls the box out and sits on the floor, looking at the box and turning it about as the mole goes to pet it.  The bouncing Dibbuns spot the potential pillow fight and, snagging the bed pillows, launch themselves at the pile of their comrades on the floor, squeaking, "BAFFS NEVAH, PWAY FOWEVAH!!!"

There is a sound, not of the room, mostly unnoticed, the scrape of a chair, that thump has drawn someone's attention. In the room however things are going swingingly! Pillow fight and pillows and the mysteries of the abbey!

The vole is having fun and then is tackled and screams loudly, meanwhile the otter dibbun gets to the other door, the one in the hallway and goes to try push it open and knocks loudly "Hey...Heys!" 

Squirrelbabe notices the faint noises from the other room and, still rubbing her bum, toddles over to the door, looking anxiously around the room for something -- ANYTHING -- she can use to block the door shut. The pile in front of the wardrobe is now a swinging blur of pillow-wielding miscreants! As the vole screams they pause, gasping. Surely the Abbot heard that!! Oh, no! What are they gonna do now?! The leveret has gotten bored with his book and is now carefully ripping one of the blank pages out of the back. The tam-adorned squirrel and the mole are now laying on the floor, staring at the box and discussing very seriously about where it came from. The mole suggested extraterrestrials, and the squirrel suggested merefolk. Either way, that makes the Abbot more awe-inspiring than he already is. (Although clearly not awesome enough to keep them out of his bedroom.)

Too late... much too late, the door to the study swings open and there is Benar. He freezes in the doorway, eyes wide at the state of his bedroom. He looks from one mess to another and then settles his eyes on Squirrelbabe.... "Just... what do you think you are all doing?"

The vole gets punched in the face by one of the squirrels and of course starts wailing as a tooth is knocked out. The otter dibbun finally gets the door open and walks up behind the abbot and frowns "They sneaked outta lessons they being bads..." Wait didn't he sneak out too, oh yeah as he frowns.

Squirrelbabe freezes, her own eyes wide as she tries to come up with some coherent lie.  "Uh...." she's not doing very well.  The Dibbuns by the wardrobe are mostly all frozen for a few seconds, and then they start to run around squeaking frantically as their ringleader fails to defend them.  They make a mad dash towards the window, the squirrels hopping up and trying to escape first, aiming to leave the mice to their fate!  The tam-wearing squirrel and mole stare at the chaos around them in fear, and then they go to carefully put the books back on the shelf.  The leveret is the only who doesn't seem bothered; he's munching on the piece of paper he ripped out of his book.

Benar stares at the chaos for a moment more, the crying dibbun, the nose and then there is an otter behind him... "SILENCE!" he roars, "Everyone stand still right now!" he orders, stepping into the room and pulling the otter with him. He then kicks the door shut and marches over to the window, pulling them shut and turning to stare at the room. Anyone who got out is lucky, not that they had much chance, the Abbot looks angry and he fixes each dibbun with a stare, "Quiet down all of you."

The vole sniffs and holds his sore nose, least no blood as he sits where he is, the otter gasps and is dragged into the room.

Squirrelbabe glares at the otter, but withholds her 'punishment' for him for later.  1 of the other squirrels escaped; the others huddle on the floor in a heap with the mice, eyes wide with fear.  The squirrel with the tam and the mole freeze, then stand up and stare at the floor, looking honestly contrite.  They're probably not naughty creatures, they were just tricked by the ringleader.  The leveret blink shis big eyes and mumbles around a mouthful of paper, "I'm bein' quiet," but it comes out more like, "Mbemcut."  One of the mice sniffles; she's about to cry.

Benar sighs and rubs his snout, staring at the pile of dibbuns in front of him, "I hope you all realise what you have done is very wrong? Breaking into another beasts room, messing it up like this?" he looks around from one to another and then his eyes come back to Squirrelbabe, the ringleader, oh yes, he knows who she is. "So... you are all going to help me tidy my room up. And then I shall tell Papa Oz when he returns and he shall decide if it is bath-time and early bed." he raises a paw, "However if you are all very good at helping me tidy up... I may, /may/ put in a good word."

The otter just slowly sits down in a chair, he was outside and never got in, but yes he did sneak out of the reading lesson and frowns, he will most likely be a novice soon....or maybe not now. The vole just sniffs and rubs his nose and looks at the now no feathered pillow he holds and drops it

The huddle on the floor whimpers, but nods in unison.  The squirrel takes off her tam and uses it to wipe the tears off her cheeks as she and the mole softly say, "I sowwy, Father Habit."  Putting her hat back on, she and her friend start putting the books back on the shelf, but they forgot the box!  The other squirrels and the mice are whimpering and sniffling, but they move to go help to.  Squirrelbabe is furious, however, and as she pretends to go over to help, she makes herself trip over the otter's rudder, trying to make it look like an accident as she falls to the floor.  "HE TWIPPED ME!!"  She hollers, and she flies at him to try to punch him in the face!

The otter starts to say how he clearly did not, he is in a chair that is knocked over and he gasps as he is punched in the jaw, this causes blood as well as tears. Also the chair has a leg break off!

Benar had turned his back on Squirrelbabe, to retrieve the box. he checks the puzzle lid is still in tact and then tucks it up the sleeve of his habit into the pocket hidden there. He'll have to hide this somewhere else now. And then a fight breaks out, he turns around and for a moment stares as the chair goes over, the leg snapping, the frame twisting. For a moment he freezes and then motions for everyone else to stay back and wades into this, he grabs one then the other by the scruff of their necks and habits and lifts them both up to dangle in front of him. "Enough, the pair of you."

The otter tries to kick the squirrel ringer leader before she and he is grabbed and lets a cuss word slip, he covers his mouth.......oops too late, and blood drips down his snout and he has a black eye

The Abbot sighs and keeping hold of the two clear hoodlums and ring leaders, pushes open the door to his study and rings the bell on his desk, mostly by kicking it. A novice arrives and gets delivery of the rest of the group with orders to take them back to the abbey school and see to it they do not escape again! The otter and squirrelbabe well those two... they are going to get the Abbot's special attention and one of his much feared punishments! Toned down for dibbuns naturally, but the sort that make Novices step lightly.

Squirrelbabe gets kicked in the leg, and so she yells the cuss word the otter just accidentally said right back at him. The other Dibbuns are gasping to each other behind the Abbot, and the tam-adorned squirrel and the mole look guilty and sad. The leveret keeps munching on his paper as they head back to school. Squirrelbabe is on her own now! Poor Dibbuns....poor Benar, more like it.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading!  Wasn't this crazy? xD

SCENE:  Redwall Abbey library.

CHARACTERS:  Gorvenalus the male beaver.  LilyMoore the female mouse.

LOG:
Gorvenalus has kept himself busy the past day and a half, he has begun to write some info he has gathered and his thoughts on his time here so far. A couple scrolls are near him updating some records here, he wasn't asked to do this but has decided to help the abbey and a couple abbey beast seemed ok and happy about a much needed break from writing. He has also not been outside the room for a day and a half either.

"Gorvenalus?"  LilyMoore opens the door to the library and pads over to her friend.  "Hey, are you okay?  I haven't seen you for a few days.  ...what are you doing?"  She looks at a scroll filled with writing. 

Gorvenalus dips the quill pen into the ink and then goes to writing again. He responds after a couple moments "Greetings I was...writing, helping update the abbey's history as it was needed since some beasts have fallen behind, but then again times have not always been the best, but things are improving and that is good"

LilyMoore drags a chair over and sits beside the beaver.  "But I haven't seen you for a few days.  Have you gotten food at different times than I have?  I've missed you."  She carefully picks up one of the full scrolls to look at it better.

Gorvenalus frowns "I have gotten a bite to eat a couple times. I have just spent some time alone to....to better think" He stands to put away the ink and quill pen with a sigh and looks around the room he is in "I suppose spending one's time in one room mostly is not always a wise choice to do"

LilyMoore looks up at her friend.  "Hey, are you okay?"  She sets the scroll down.  Does he look sad?  He seems at least a little pensive, or lost in thought, or something, at least to her.

Gorvenalus allows a tear to fall from his eye and down his cheek and wipes it away. He spent some time crying earlier, " I shall recover...all recover from all things given time even if one doesn't always understand why "

LilyMoore goes to lay a paw on her friend's arm.  "Well, whatever it is, I think the way to recover from it is probably to talk about it, and I do my best to listen and I try to understand.  So what's wrong?"  Her brow is furrowed, and she is concerned for her friend.  She'll help him in whatever way he needs.

Gorvenalus keeps the frown "Minsc...has left. I know not where he is just that his mind is troubled and he refuses to allow me to fully help. He said goodbye and walked away....away from..."  Great, he is good at keeping calm and under control, but even one such as him can break at times as he slumps into one of the soft chairs and lets the tears flow silently.

LilyMoore does for the beaver what she would want others to do for her: she goes over to him and goes to give him a hug.  That's all for right now.  She doesn't reply, doesn't try to offer answers or advice or suggestions.  She just goes to hug him, letting her own concern and sorrow show on her face to let him know that she is offering him empathy -- reaching into the hurts of her heart and trying to understand.

Gorvenalus does allow the hug but doesn't hug back and that's ok too sometimes as he finally finds the will to speak again "Minsc and me have been friends for a long time, I knew him since he was a small one or what you call dibbuns....he misses his homeland, as do I, but refuses to find home elsewhere"

LilyMoore listens.  "I'm sorry.  That sounds stressful and saddening.  Thank you for telling me."  Keeping an arm around his shouders, she sits on the arm of his chair. 

Gorvenalus says, "I should go look for him as I worry about him as he is like a son to me, we been through a lot and this land is still new to us"

LilyMoore shakes her head emphatically.  "You're not a Warrior, you could get hurt.  Hey, we can tell my mom and my uncle, and maybe a few other people; I know Momma and Uncle Emyuil would go look for him."  She tries to get him to look at her.  "And he's a Warrior, too; I'm sure he'll keep himself from getting killed."

Gorvenalus nods "Minsc is skilled yes but doesn't always think before he acts. He gets angry easily now a days" He does look to the mousemaid "It is true I am not a warrior and refuse to lay a paw on a weapon if I was told to to save my life, even while in the cell I did not try and to harm a guard or even Quade...oh Quade...the main cause of most of the troubles of the past few seasons. I've seen alot, as has Minsc...too much that some here would...well never wish to see and hopefully never will as Quade didn't get a chance to do as he wished, he slipped a couple times as power does that to a beast and he was lost to darkness"

LilyMoore nods.  "Yeah.....Quade was an awful beast.  And his guards were so mean....*sigh*..." after a few moments, she goes to give the old Abbot's shoulders a squeeze.  "I guess we just need to trust, and hope that he'll be okay.  Maybe we can let Blisa know to keep a look out for him..."

Gorvenalus tilts his head "Blisa?" He seems to not know that name but is quiet "He may head to where the Defenders are to....let them know he is leaving or maybe he won't I do not know I am getting to old to go off and follow him who knows where and it seems he doesn't want some slow old beast around anymore"  Yes he is feeling his age now as his eyes close "Maybe......"

"Blisa is the Chieftain of Ferravale," Lily explains.  After a moment, she murmurs, "I'm sorry.  That would make me feel hurt and sad and rejected. I wish I knew what to do or say that would help...."

Gorvenalus says, "I could go there then again he may wish to not see me and I am unsure how well I could travel there, then the roads are a little better"

LilyMoore shakes her head slightly.  "If you think you can't manage the trip very well, then you probably shouldn't try, Gorvenalus.  Let's let the Warriors try to find him, okay?  I'm sure he'll be fine, and maybe he'll find somebeast who can help him that he'd be willing to listen to.  Okay?"  She really wants him to not even try to go out and risk death and loss of limb.....and just a dirty habit.  She mostly just wants him to not leave Redwall.

Gorvenalus nods "Prehaps.....Xander, maybe he will listen to him as he is leader of the Defenders and Minsc is...or least was....in the group. I know Minsc still has loyalty in him and a kind heart, he is just confused and lost right now and has lost hope...hope is hard to gain and easy to lose at times"

LilyMoore nods.  "Yeah, maybe Xander.  And I believe you; hard times can hide even the kindest and most loving of hearts."  She gently kicks the side of the chair repeatedly.  "I almost lost my hope for a little bit...I think that was part of Quade's plan."  After a few seconds, she adds, "He was nuts."

Gorvenalus answers "Quade was...yes, he wanted to destroy everything and not sure what gain he believed he would have, he had planed to kill Abbot Benar and I am glad he did not get that chance and that he was stopped. I think Quade was beyond help and maybe never was a good beast as he falsely showed he was good and did fool some but not all"

LilyMoore nods.  "Momma called him pathological once.  She said that means that a beast can lie believingly and nobeast can tell, and the liar has no sense of shame or guilt; they literally don't care that nobeast can trust them.  They believe that they'll never be found out."  Lily shakes her head.  "I think you're right; some beasts you can never help, and thye need to be locked away or killed to keep them from hurting others.  It's really, really sad..."

Gorvenalus sighs "Death should not have to happen to anybeast I dislike....death and have never killed in my life, even fishing I dislike and always tell others only kill the fish for food, not for any other reason"

LilyMoore nods.  "I don't even eat fish or shrimp anymore; they are beasts just like us, and they have the right to live, just as we do.  Besides, the Abbey charter says that we shouldn't kill except out of self-defense.  So killing other creatures for food sounds to me like a direct breaking of the charter."  She sighs and adds, "But sometimes killing somebeast is the only way to stop them, unfortunately.  Oh, I wish there was no evil in the world; then we wouldn't have to worry about any of this!"

Gorvenalus says, "I do not think fish and shrimp count as otters eat them but only for food and not for some sort of game. "

LilyMoore shrugs.  "I think they do, but that's just my conviction.  Nobeast else has to agree with me."  and she is honestly okay with that.  She goes to give him another hug.  "Speaking of eating....I'm getting hungry.  I wonder how close it is to tea time?  You should come with me!  Being around friends can really help when your life isn't going very well."

Gorvenalus nods "Yes a meal would be welcomed and wise to have and I have not ate much in the past couple days"  He chuckles a little.

LilyMoore grins. "Okay! C'mon, then! Ohmigoodness, I really need to go; I'm supposed to ring the bells!!" The mousemaid is now all in a tizzy as she realized that she forgot he important job! The last job that Lorimis gave her actually: Bellringer.   
LilyMoore goes to grab her friend's paw and lead/drag him to Great Hall, and then she runs to ring the bells for tea time...just in time, too. She was almost late! 

Gorvenalus lets her lead him to the Great Hall and then to where ever the meal is, he eats fairly well  and even has a couple helpings of some food.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading!

SCENE: Redwall Abbey's first orchard.

CHARACTERS:  Minsc, a male hamster.  Gorvenalus, a male beaver.  LilyMoore, a female mouse.

LOG:
Minsc walks among the trees of the orchards, the orchards have shade for one and it seemed a good place to think seeing as not many beasts walk around here this time of the year.   

Gorvenalus sits under an apple tree, eyes closed and sitting in a meditate position. His ear twitches as a butterfly lands on it and he seems not bothered by the bees nearby at the skeps. 

LilyMoore is walking through the orchard, too, thinking her own thoughts and worries about all the things in her life, past and present.  She pauses and watches another butterfly flutter by, the look on her face softening from one that is troubled to something more akin to a smile.  She has yet to notice the other beasts here.

Minsc does see the mousemaid and walks over "Hello there, out enjoying the day....it's ok I suppose" He then sees the old beaver but stays where he is.

Gorvenalus is still meditating quietly and seems to not know any other beast or living thing is around him for the time being.

LilyMoore jumps slightly, her blue-hazel-violet eyes widening.  "Ah!  Oh, Minsc, hi.  Yeah, it's....it's a nice day, actually.  I think it's pretty out here."  A bee flies hurriedly past on its way to one of the skeps.  The mousemaid sighs softly.  "I hope your day is going well..."

Minsc nods "Yeah, been a while since seen a summer day"

Gorvenalus opens his eyes "You sound troubled young one, and Minsc is correct it's been a while, least for some.....to see a nice sunny day, any good day needs treasured and shared with others, come sit with me both of you"

LilyMoore sighs again.  Seriously?  The beaver's almost as good at noticing these kinds of things as Oz is.  She walks over and sits beside the old Abbot.  "I'm sorry.....Quade must've had you captive for an awfully long time."  She picks a flower (after checking and making sure that it didn't have a bug in it, of course) and looks at it.  "I'm glad my uncle killed him."

Minsc shakes his head "Quade was insane. I really wanted to be the one to slay him but didn't get the chance, he...he took so much...toooo much from me" He makes a couple fists and closes his eyes, just trying to calm down.

Gorvenalus listens "DO breath Minsc, anger clouds the mind and gets one no where and Quade is...no more, he is no longer among the living and you once more have your blade" He then offers a smile to the mouse maid "What is on your mind child? And even though one is evil, one should never be glad of death."

LilyMoore sighs again.  "But now that he's gone he can't hurt anybeasts anymore.  And...." she bites her trembling lip to try to not cry.  "And I still have nightmares about him.  It was really scary in that dungeon....his guards were so mean to me, and...."  a tear trickles down her cheek unheeded as the memories come rushing back to the forefront of her mind.

Minsc is breathing, but he takes a deep breath and exhales slowly and sits down with a sigh." Bad dreams are no fun, seen someone have a bad dream...bout something else, wasn't sure to wake him and decided to wake him. And yes I know talking helps and at least you were not a captive for 5 seasons"

Gorvenalus frowns a little but  then nods "It's the past and the past cannot harm anyone. The past will always be there and sometimes pain, but it can lessen after time  and one can have hope. I may feel down but I am not dead....I am alive and I have new friends, friends are also important as well as family to get one through the hardships of life"

More tears trickle down Lily's cheeks.  "I just wish the bad memories would go away..."  ignoring the hamster's 'at least' statement, she whispers, "I hate change, too....why do beasts have to get married?"  She won't tell them that it's her brother getting married; she'll keep it a secret until he and Cynthia announce it to the rest of the Abbey.

Minsc blinks "Married?  Well they don't...have to, I mean it happens it say beasts fall in love and want to .....well"  Ok he is lost and clears his throat "Anyways that has nothing to do with life problems really."

Gorvenalus frowns at Minsc and looks back to Lilymoore "I am unsure how to answer your question child perhaps talk to those involved, love can be an odd thing....it can save lives, help one be brave, love is a powerful thing and change is not always bad"

LilyMoore glares at the hamster. "You're not being very helpful....it /is/ a problem in my life, so there!" Turning back to the beaver, she adds, "Well, that's true....I'm brave because I care about others. But what should I do if I'm sure that one of the beasts involved doesn't want to talk to me?"   

Minsc controls an urge to grumble back, in stead he stands and storms off.

Gorvenalus frowns as Minsc walks off and shakes his head "He has much...unrest in him" He then looks to the mousemaid and offers a slight smile "Talk with them, why do you assume they wish to not talk with you?"

"'Cause I bit her once and had every intention to kill her 'cause I was so mad at her,"  Lily says matter-of-factly.  Yep, that's why.  "She had tricked my brother to leave Redwall and he almost died, and I didn't know that she had tried to save him after she did that, so I bit her."

Gorvenalus listens and nods "Did forgiveness happen? It would seem her and your brother love one another and that she is a caring beast if she saved him"

LilyMoore scowls.  "Well, they say they forgave me.....but how can I be sure?"  She hasn't forgiven herself, that's for sure.  "I think she only tried, but....but that's the problem.  I don't want them loving each other; I just want things to not change.  Caleb promised he's still be my best friend, but I'm afraid he'll get so distracted that he won't keep his promise...." she trails off as she realizes that she just spilled her twin's secret.  "Please don't tell /anybeast/ about this, please!  I wanna let Caleb and Cynthia be the ones telling beasts..."  Ooopsie-daisy!

Gorvenalus hmmms "I suggest...talk with her as well, if they are to wed then they will wed it would be unwise to stop them as I am sure when you wed one day your brother would not stop you but wish you happiness"

Gorvenalus chuckles "You may wish to wed one day. I said the same thing when I was young and then meet my love..."He sighs a little sounding sad as he finishes "She was a light in my life, blowed out too soon"

LilyMoore looks sad again, but this time it's for the beaver, and not for herself.  "By Quade?"  She asks quietly.

Gorvenalus nods slowly and is quiet before speaking " And....a lot more was taken. It does take time to recover and one can lose hope but if even a speck is there, a spark then....it can grow into a bright flame again"

LilyMoore nods and goes to hug the beaver.  "And if hope is gone, then it can be refound," she whispers.  "I'm sorry that life has been so hard for you.  Hey, Marek sent me a gift; wanna see it?"  If he agrees, she's gonna lead him to the gatehouse to show him the bell that her friend gave her.  If he doesn't want to, well, then, she'll just hang out with him here.

Gorvenalus smiles "Maybe later I wish to meditate for now" Which he does and later he does go to see the gift she mentioned.

~*END*~

Thanks for reading!

A direct continuation of this log: http://forum.rwmuck.org/viewtopic.php?id=300

SCENE: The Western Shoreline

CHARACTERS: Rioko, a vixen.  Felicity, a female hare.

LOG:
The Snake Pit certainly has the physical feel of one, Rioko thinks as she and her companion make their way across the beach in the dark. However, the vixen thinks the entrance to the cave ahead of them is filled more with the two legged variety of snakes.   
A simple cave entrance with a pair of weasel guards. Their clothing is almost uniform, red vests with black over coats, making them look more like ushers than guards. The serrated cutlass's at their sides however, and the scars across their burly hides, are less than welcoming as they stare down the party approaching them.   
"Ok," whispers Rio, "Remember the plan. We get in, scope the area out, and then steal back my treasure. Simple, right?" 

Felicity Rosinbloom, Private in the Long Patrol, haremaid extraordinaire, is unrecognizable in her disguise. She is black, with her nose covered with a thingy to make it look like that of a weasel. She hugs her own brown overcoat closer to herself, covering her worn, torn clothes that, while being very clean, are still stained. Even though the washed them 5 times. Leaning on the spear she brought, she glares at the vixen from under her kerchief, which she tied over her ears and is using to cover her ears and forehead down over her eyebrows. Over this, to hide the bumps of her ears, is a leather cap, which she DETESTS. "Oh, aye, so long as there's nobeast who notices whot we're about, nobeast that understands Tuscanian and so notices who awful I am at it, and so long as nobeast starts a fight. Other than those things, as well as a squillion othah things that could go wrong, 'twill be as simple as stealin' a pie from the Dibbuns in Redwall, wot!!"  The grumpy lagomorph's whisper carries all of her discomfort at this whole mess. She feels practically naked without her trusty short sword (although she did bring a sling and a pouch full of rocks). Glaring at the vixen, she shuts up as they get within hearing distance of the guards.

"Hahahah! Silly hare. Spillion isn't a number. And...I'll take yer word on Redwall. What ever that place is... time to get into character." The fox keeps walking towards the guards. When they don't attack them on sight Rio begins to breath again.   
The fox shows off her invitation to the guards, hoping they will just nod their head and let them inside. Instead they come closer together to bar their entry. "Guest or contestant?"   
Rioko blinks. "Uhhhh...guest?" The weasels look the fox and her friend over.   
"Y'all sure about that?" One asks before giving the fox a shrug. "Surrender yer weapons with the beast inside, then take the left hallway." The weasels part.   
To let them pass. 

Felicity keeps herself from smiling; if they saw her buck teeth their cover would be blown in a heartbeat.  Instead, she mutters 'guest' in Tuscanian, which probably no one in the whole area has ever heard before.  She's even managing to hide her real accent, instead having one more like, well, what DoraRose has when she starts talking in her native language.  Peering through the doorway, the hare gives the vixen an uneasy glance.  Maybe they should've said contestants??  Too late now, thinks the Long Patroller as she follows her friend.

The fox steps inside, trying hard not to look the guards in the eye. The darkness of the cave is offset by torches. The narrow cave leads deeper into the earth until it comes to a fork in the road. One cave hallway leads to the left where sounds of laughter and music can be heard. Another path leads to the right, leading downward into the darkness and in the very center between them is a booth where a single, one eyed rat sits. Behind him is a wooden wall where various swords, daggers and even one flail are hanging. The beast looks up when he sees them, he growls as he points upward to a sign above him, "Guests check their weapons here."

Felicity trails behind the vixen, acting sullen and nonchalant, slouched and lazy looking, but in actuality she is fully alert and ready for action.  As they come up to the booth, she reads the sign and says, in Tuscanian, "Really?  I forgot that, or I would have left my spear at home."  She goes to surrender it and the sling and stone pouch (not her regular, Long Patrol-issued ones; they're just blah and drab and normal for a vermin person).  Glancing at the vixen, she manages to sneer as she says in Tuscanian, "You didn't warn me about this!"  Hopefully nobody actually understands her....

"That's because I didn't /know/ about this." The vixen hisses back. Reluctantly she surrenders her glaive before turning for the left path. The rat grunts to the fox, holding out an paw as if expecting something. Rioko sighs, dressed in only cloth wraps, a yellow vest, and a sash it's not quite clear where she was keeping the dagger but she surrenders it as well. The rat appeased the two are free to move deeper into the cave.   
The room ahead opens into a large cavern. It's beast made to be sure as nature never deals in square room shapes. Wooden floors and walls decorated with paper lanterns the room is filled with dining tables and card tables. Beasts dressed as servants come to and fro through doors in the back that lead to kitchens. The smell of cooked meat is strong, and not just fish by the smell of it but real, actual meat that makes Rioko's mouth water.   
Gambling tables fill the floor as beasts roll dice or play cards. A stage is set up off in the corner where a group of vermin play soothing violin music.   
And in the center of the room there is the pit. The walls seem natural, forming a large semi circular pit with wooden rails to prevent beasts from falling into the sandy bottom two stories below. There are three entrances to the pit, two normal sized doors for beasts and one very large metal door for...something else.

~*TO BE CONTINUED...*~