A Tale of Two Parties

Three traveling mice (Mayeul, Jennefer, and Naje) on a quest of their own happen upon the weary Aikuen and Riverdale. It turns out they all have a common foe.

Riverdale is slouched against the tree where Aikuen left him, the left side of his head coated in a thin coat of syrupy blood. It is a bit later in the day now, and the sun sits like a halved orange upon the treeline, casting a sanguine light upon the squirrel's limp body.

Aikuen is crouching by the relit fire. He places the red sword on his shoulder, sealing up the last of his wounds. He places his sword on the ground, and there is a slight sizzle as it hits the snow. Using his right arm he lifts his left arm into a makeshift sling. He glances toward the Squirrel, then at the setting sun. He grunts with exertion and lifts himself up, and walks toward Riverdale.

Riverdale has barely moved a muscle since his earlier injury, and his breathing, though not absent, has been shallow and slow, rising in a whisper of cloud from his muzzle. At the otter's approach, however, there is at last a sign of recovery. Riverdale's eye creeps open, cracked just enough to espy the warrior drawing near. His breath catches momentarily, and he straightens slightly against the trunk of the tree.

Aikuen kneels, and takes a quick assessment of the damage on Riverdale. Looks pretty bad, but it wont need any emergency care right now. Reaching out with his right paw. He grabs Riverdales paw. He grunts with pain as he speaks, "How are you doing mate..."

Riverdale reels when the otter takes his paw. Eyes suddenly wide, he pulls away with a jolt and nearly falls over onto the ground. After a half second, the animal fear subsides, and he pants heavily, recovering his energy. "Aaghh..." he moans softly. He leans his head back again and closes his eyes. A small trickle of blood drips from his head wound, then stops again.

Aikuen Stands and glances at the blood, on Riverdales head, he shakes his own, "Don't move to quickly, you'll cause more blood to come out...". He goes over and places a comforting paw on the Squirrels Shoulders. He asks again, "How ye fellin' "

For a moment, a smile appears on Riverdale's face, as drained and weary as it is. "I... I'll make it, lad. Where Ekho?" he rasps. And then it's as if the feral instinct has returned. He jolts upright. His expression falls. "Where's Ekho?!" he demands again, knowing full well now where the dibbun has gone.

Aikuen looks away from the Squirrel, and sort of mumbles, "Ummm,... Ekhos, is umm... was taken by the..umm...the fox....".

Riverdale is in no condition to get up, but get up he does, though his hind paws seem to stymie him at every turn. They flop first one way, then the other. The old fellow's struggle would be comical, if not for the anger that distorts his face. "You damn f-fool!" he says, after catching his balance and his breath. "How in the name... of Hell's bells... DID YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?" Angry tears cut a path through his fur and drip to the earth, melting the frost there.

Aikuen is surprised at the Riverdales angry demeanor, he explains with certain growl in his voice. "I did everything i could, ...Everything but die..." He takes a step forward in Riverdales direction, then continues "I'm sorry i let this happened, If it was up to me I go after the fox, But i can barely hold a sword, let alone fight against a Poison-Fox!"

Riverdale is still struggling to stay upright, and his paws extend behind him to use the tree as ballast. His anger, however, remains undiluted, and his watery eyes remain fixed upon the otter. "You... you d-damn idiot! You should know not to provoke a fox! You... you headstrong..." His head lolls woozily, and he slumps down against the tree again, his frail body racked with sobs.

Mayeul is walking down the road, following a set of tracks, when he sees the camp and turns to Jennefer, "I think we should see what's going on here... be careful, stay behind me..." He exits the road and walks towards the other two beasts, "Hello, there!"

Jennefer nods her head to Mayeul, then stays close behind, silent as can be. She glances around the area first, looking to see if there is a place to run just in case things did now go well.

Aikuen does nothing to support the Squirrel, instead he goes over toward the fire, and places the sword into it again. He's fuming a bit, "Well, i was not just going to stand around and let that...Fox... Kidnap Ekho..." Then the realization of what happened hits him, "Oh, ... " He takes the hot sword and places it on his shoulder wound that had opened again. There is a loud Sizzle, and smoke, But He doesn't react in any way. He continues, "Oh, What have i done....." Noticing the the mice, he just looks at them intently.

Mayeul comes further into the clearing and sees the squirrel sobbing, and asks Aikuen, "Forgive us for intruding... we're, uh.. we're - I'm sorry, what's wrong? Has something happened here?"

Jennefer winces a bit at the sight of Aikuen pressing the hot blade against his shoulder, closing her eyes at the sizzle. She bittes her lower lip, opening her eyes again. She follows Mayeul closly, looking around..

Naje steps in from the outside shadows silently, green eyes darting about as he takes in the situation. He calmly leans on his spear and waits to either be noticed or be addressed on what happened. Slightly impolite perhaps, but that is just the way he is...

Aikuen removes the sword from the wound. The now sealed shoulder looks like a black spot with fur and skin melted into it. Some smoke continues to rise from the burnt area. He looks at Mayeul with eyes that is both bloodshot, and with a tint of green, "Aye something did go on, and its my fault!" He places the sword onto the ground, the snow quickly disappearing from underneath it. He stands, with some difficulty and extends his right paw, which is noticeably shaking.

Riverdale's sobbing has slowed, his anger dissipated, and he ventures again to rise to his paws. It's not an easy process to watch, but after a bit of clumsy clambering, he stands against the trunk of the tree. Composing himself, he stumbles towards the fire, hunched forward and seeming not to notice the new arrivls.

"I... I apologize, lad." He says with a pant, drawing near Aikuen. "You did what... what you thought you must."

Mayeul cringes too at the burning wound, "I'm... we're sorry..." He looks at Jennefer, sitting down as the others explain, and lets Jennefer introduce them and talk about trying to find her son. They would probably be more sympathetic to her, anyway... Mayeul is along to help track and forage. He watches the conversation between the others.

Jennefer stops in her place, and slowly takes a step back. She's not sure what is to happen, but it was clear to her that it wouldn't be wise ask, or speak for that matter. She took a deep breath though and went for it anyways. Steping forwards, she bowed her head. "I-I am Jennefer and, this is Mayeul. I'm very sorry about what happend, whatever it may be, but it pains me more to have to ask you this. H... have you seen a young dibbun.. my son Zen, wandering about?" She bites her lower lip again, a bad habit.

The male mouse steps forward a little, giving the otter and the squirrel's wounds a look with a practiced eye, glancing from one of them to the other, wondering what went on but figuring that they would say soon enough. His eyes flick to Mayeul and Jennefer and he also silently wonders what they are doing here.

Aikuen bow his head slightly to Jennefer and Mayeul, "Hello my name is Aikuen of the West Islands, and this is Riverdale." He points the the Squirrel, "No, we haven't seen a dibbun around here, except for...Ekho..." He's voice trails off.

Riverdale's leg buckles, and the squirrel flops heavily upon the ground by the fire. He wobbles a bit on his rump, then seems to settle into a hunched pose. His ear twitches at the sound of Ekho's name, and his head, where the gash is looking quite ugly in the stark light of the fire, describes a slight circular path in the air as it wanders. He offers no greeting, his thoughts drawn inward by grief and anger and pain.

Mayeul stands for a moment, wondering if perhaps this is the same dibbun going by a different name, "This 'Ekho'... you know this dibbun? Or they just passed through?" He doesn't know anything about an Ekho, but he looks over at the squirrel, "Is your friend over there okay? He looks awful -" He darts forward a bit when the older squirrel falls, but sees that he's just sitting, and stops.

Jennefer nods her head slowly, bitting her lower lip more. She sighs softly, opening her mouth to say something but, she sneezes! After rubbing her nose, she blushes red and looks back up at Riverdale and Aikuen. "I-I understand..." She glances at Mayeul, then nods a little.

Naje twirls the spear in his paw and stick the tip of it in the ground, leaning on it again, clearing his throat a little he speaks quietly to anyone who would listen. "Trouble? Everything ok?" He questions

Aikuen looks at the Squirrel, "Aye, he's alright... for now. He just has small concussion. He's just a little ... grief stricken..." He hears the Naje speaking, He looks at him, he talks loudly "Aye, There is trouble, and no everything's not okay, but there is nothing we can do right now..." He arranges his arm sling, then continues, "We've been through, what basically can be described as Hell..."

Riverdale's gaze drifts up from the dirt and glides groggily over the assembly of recent arrivals. "Ahh..." he begins, but his eyes clamp shut and his paw darts to the gash on the left side of his head as he newly realizes the pain involved in speaking.

Mayeul nods, and sucks in air through his teeth as he sees the gash, "Ooooh... that bad, huh?" He looks at Aikuen, "So then, the dibbun ran away? Or..." He's afraid to ask, also - who was responsible for all this? He sits back down, and shakes his head... he shouldn't be out here, especially where danger surrounds him.

Jennefer nods her head at the reference to Hell. "I... you.. don't suppose Zen might... have gotten wrapped up... na, maybe not... I.." She bites her lip again, though this time, she actualy draw blood! Then at notice of Naje, she smiles softly and waves a paw, going over to him. "Oh Kun..."

Naje glances over at her, giving a small nod but no smile. Apparently he isn't in a good mood about something and he just remains silent.

Aikuen Shakes his head, then quietly muttering, "No, no... Ekho...was...well, kidnapped by a black fox by the name of Val." He's voice grows in rage as he continues, "That.... Fox... Wants us to deliver a note to the abbey, and to make sure that we do it, he took little Ekho... Damn Fox, If he didn't have poison daggers, he'd be Waiting at the dark forest right now..."

Riverdale looks stoically at the fire and begins to speak, not addressing anyone in particular. "Dibbuns dying... Young ones disappearing. Travelers can't go five paces from the abbey without getting, ah... without getting attacked!" A sharp pain evidently derails his thoughts for a moment, drawing his paw back to his head again. He looks down and sees that his fur is damp with red, then flicks his paw at the ground a couple times in disgust. "Th-those Redwall do-gooders... Th-they're daft to think they can live f-forever without weapons... Without arming themselves."

Riverdale continues, muttering under his breath, "Should never have gone there. Should never have let them... s-soften me."

Mayeul's eyes widen, "Are you sure that was his name?" He can't believe it! If that fox was anywhere around here, /he/ shouldn't be... "A note? What kind of note?" He almost forgets about Zen, but remembers and gets an idea, "What if I could tell you where this fox's den was? If I told you his real name - would you help us in turn find this maid's little one?" They could use the help, even if the trail was still cold...

Jennefer blinks at Mayeul's reaction, tilting her head a little. For the most part she stays quite, still biting her lip a little as she, yes, leans on Naje's shoulder just slightly. She stays quite silent for the most part.

The warrior mouse turns his head slightly so he is looking down at the mousemaid, plain suprise at her action written in his green eyes. He slowly glances away, thinking about everything...Zen, Jen, the fox, the other dibbun...Ugh. And a little of Krim, too..."You should be heading back to the Abbey, Jen." He says softly, now regreting his sudden outburst at her earlier.

Aikuen shakes his head, "Sorry, but in our current state, we would not be much help...but... here's the note" he pulls it from his pocket, and hands it to Mayeul. It reads 'You are in danger - king is after you, will help you for a small fee... your friend the fox'. He continues, "Id love to help, but for Ekhos sake I think we better return to the abbey."

Riverdale continues to ramble all the while in a gradual crescendo, speaking nonsense and sense, words and gibberish, mingling reason and madness and becoming, it seems, decreasingly aware of the others around him. It's not the sound of an angry squirrel. It's the sound of a mad one.

Mayeul looks at the note and shakes his head, "This is definitely the same fox... same handwriting - I don't think I recognize the name at the top, but I do know what king is being referred to... and I think the fox is lying to whomever this note is written, based on a similar note he sent me. Do you know why he wanted you to deliver this?" He thinks for a moment, "I think you had better warn this 'Leilah' not to take this fox's offer, in any case."

Jennefer listens in a little, but focuses more on Naje. "I know I should... but... I... I-I just don't know... I have to find Zen... if it.. it.." She pauses a sec to burry her face in her arms, sneezing again. "Ughn.. sorry, but I must find Zen... I... I can hardly sleep at nights anymore. I'm... not as strong as I appear, but I have to be for Zen.." She leans into Kun more and more, closeing her eyes a bit.

Naje , at the moment, doesn't care about the fox although he is actually listening intently. He braces himself against the maiden's weight. "I told you..." He says softly, making a point to keep it gentle, "That you can't be there for Zen if you are ill...Please, I'll take you back to the Abbey, you can rest up and while you are I'll look for Zen...Then when you are better we both can go out after him, alright?" He lets go of the spear shaft and reaches across himself to law a paw on her shoulder as his one mobil ear turns to catch what the others are saying, although that is not his main concern currently.

Aikuen shakes head again, "No, i don't know why he wanted us to deliver the note, probably thought we were from the abbey...and based on how the fox acts he probably is lying... But still, for the sake of Ekhos life, we must do what he says." He looks at the Mayeul for seconds then continues, "We tell this beast not to accept the fox's offer"

Riverdale's rant has stopped, to be replaced by a slow rocking movement. He remains seated, apparently listening to Aikuen.

Mayeul looks at Naje, wondering what is going on... he catches 'Please, I'll take you back to the abbey' - what?! And give up so soon? He looks back at Aikuen, not entirely hearing the otter for the other conversation, "Uh.. oh, well of course you have to do what you must to get the dibbun back safely... but I know where this fox sleeps... surely you are fortunate to have this information?" He realizes this is getting off the topic of Zen, and he looks at Jennefer, "Perhaps Zen is with this Ekho? At least this fox might know where Zen is?"

Jennefer closes her eyes and remains leaning against Naje. She speaks in a near whisper, "I... I have to find him, Kun... I have to..." Closing her eyes, she takes another breath, "If... I-I go back now.. I'll loose wh... what ever..." She goes quiet, tearing up. "Information.... on where he's at.." She looked it over, there realy was no information. After another sneeze, she burries her face into Kun, "I don't know... I just don't know... but... I-I... want Zen back.."

Kun shoots a glance at Mayeul that basically says, "shut up about Zen for now" then looks to the others, head whirling as he tries to figure out what would be best, finally he speaks out. "Look, we should ALL go back to the Abbey, have a hot meal and a good rest." He says firmly, proving his point by taking a step in that direction, one paw still on the maiden's shoulder.

Aikuen very slowly gets up, from beside the fire...mumbling 'ayes'. He picks up the now cool short sword, and sheaths it. Going over to Riverdale, he extends his good paw to help the Squirrel up. "Come on mister Riverdale, lets ... be on our way... sooner the better..."

Riverdale's senses have largely returned to him, but the energy that flowed through him during the rant has fled. He allows himself to be helped to his feet. "M-my cane, lad..." he says in a voice near a whisper. His face is drawn and anemic as he casts his weary gaze over his surroundings, his eyes small, though one pupil is noticeably larger than the other. There's a flicker of a smile, a briefly furrowed brow, then: "I... don't blame you. For... for what happened. It... was my own d-damn fault." Several emotions seem to jockey for position. "Ah... but... a hot meal... some rest... Per-perhaps we should return to the abbey now."

Mayeul is not about to go back to that abbey - not now, at least... he can feel a trap being laid out for him there, especially now that he's once again /out/. "Hold on, now... perhaps that's exactly what this fox /wants/ us to do? I mean, wants you both to do..." He notices the look from Naje and nods in agreement with Jennefer, "Zen's chances are diminished every single moment we spend inside the abbey. So are Ekho's."

Jennefer tears up, shaking her head a little, but then she... she gives in? "Ok.. let's... let's go back to the abbey... I... guess your right..." She sneezes again and sniffles, rubbing her nose. Her gaze seems focused on the ground.

Aikuen begins to pick up one of the throwing javelins, this takes a huge effort on the part of the otter, but he does not show it. He looks to Mayeul, "If I was still up to it, id go with you, but i was poisoned twice. My left arm can no longer move, and Riverdales gash needs to get looked at before it gets infected and that's not included the slashes he received awhile ago..."

Mayeul gives up and throws up his paws, "I would not be able to find either one of the dibbuns dead, which is how I'd end up out here alone. I suppose I must go back as well." He leans forward, running his paws through his fur - that fox will run loose forever at this rate, with no one to stop him... unless... No, that would be too dangerous an idea. It could work, but it would be too dangerous.

Riverdale repeats his previous demand. "My cane... My spectacles..." He looks pretty sorry without these accoutrements: just a feeble old squirrel.

Jennefer glances at Mayeul once, before she turns around to try and hide her tears. She continues onwards towards the abbey, stopping to sneeze again! After the sneeze though, there's an akward whine of some sort escaping her. A soft sob of fear, but she still tries to keep it hidden.

Aikuen hops to it after he forgot to retrieve the cane. He goes and picks up the cane that had fell that morning, he then goes and tries to find the Spectacles in the snow. He grunts with pain every time he bends over, but after awhile he comes upon them, dusting the snow off, he goes to Riverdale and hands the objects to him.

Riverdale accepts them with a silent nod. He takes his time settling the glasses upon his nose and leans heavily upon the cane, quaking gently, frail even with his characteristic accessories.

Mayeul stands and offers to take up the rear of the party, as Jennefer and Naje begin to clear out. "Hopefully our two dibbuns are safe for the moment... I can't say anything about what the fox might be up to now, although he could very well be watching us - seems to be his usual game." He pulls out a dagger, "By the way, just so I don't jump to any conclusions... did the daggers look like this?"

Jennefer continues to walk forwards, sneezing again and rubbing her nose. She sighs a bit, rubbing at her nose more and more. For some reason, she hides her paw in her sleave and pulls her sleave up to cover her nose.

Aikuen looks at the dagger held in Mayeuls paw, "Aye, that dagger looks just like then he got me with" He scratches the burn mark on his left shoulder. He goes to the food sack, which has been lying on the ground for about a day now. He tries to pick it up, but he cant so he just leaves it there. making sure he got everything, except the food sack, he heads over to Riverdales tent. Seeing the same problem he shakes his head. "I think we are just going to have to leave these things here..."

Riverdale, from his expression, doesn't seem to mind. He nods again, vacantly, and looks at the camp. "Ay, lad..." he says in a strained whisper. "I feel... t-terrible." He looks it, too.

Mayeul considers the fact that they were poisoned, and wonders, "So he gave you the antidote, obviously? Interesting... he must like being in control of life and death, not really interesting in killing. Good to know..." He follows behind as everybody slowly gets underway.

Jennefer continues to walk, a ways ahead of the others though not by much. She pulls back her sleeve and glances at it... Blood.. She curses softly to herself, another nose bleed. Hrmm... either a bad omen, or she's sneezing far to hard. Either way, she seemed to be plotting something..

Aikuen Using the javelin as a walking stick, he follows the group north along the path. He glances back at the camp, where so much had happened in the span of about a day. He sees Riverdale, he yells, "Come on mate!" . He continues to walk north.

Riverdale walks very slowly, stopping every pace or so to catch his breath, as if he must draw energy from a new source with every movement; as if the effort were slowly eating through his meager frame. As he disappears, northbound on the dirt road, his cane crunches through the frost.