Abbot Lorimis is Dead..(Lorimis Log)

RW Abbey: Great Hall

The Great Hall of Redwall Abbey. Countless paw falls have echoed from these stones, and untold numbers of feasts and merry gatherings have been held here. A table, not nearly so grand or large as its predecessors, but quite functional for mealtimes, rests near the center of the hall. Chairs exist here aplenty, and they are all of a matching set. High above, the stain glass windows give the Great Hall a beautiful appearance. The glasswork is exceptionally done, crafted by a skilled artist. The floor is clean and swept. A fire is kept burning in the fireplace at almost all times of the day and night, and there are several more comfortable chairs and cushions set up here, of varying sizes. One looks large enough to easily accommodate a badger.

The Tapestry hangs proud and tall, and while the rest of Redwall may still bear the scars of natural disaster, this most famous of Redwall's relics remains unharmed by beast, time, or the elements. The figure of Martin the Warrior seems to be watching over his own with an unchanging, kindly gaze.

Soft light is slowly beginning to filter in through the stained glass windows high above your head.

Exits: Abbey's [Li]brary, [K]itchen, [C]avern [H]ole, [B]reezeway, [En]try, [Stairs]

Contents:

a message (board) with notes tacked to it

With:

It's a regular Spring day in Redwall, lunch has just about finished and Benar is standing in the open doors of the Great Hall talking to some of the brothers and sisters who help him to maintain the orchards. He laughs at something and can be heard to say, "Well yes Cherry Blossom always gets everywhere this time of year but we really do need to clear it out of the strawberry patch."

Zork wheels his chair into the room and waves to a couple beasts as they enter for lunch and goes to where he usually is for a little while, but not before chatting with a novice that stops him.

Benar turns to listen to Brother Elmef and shakes his head, "No we really should clear the strawberries first then we can consider the peach trees." He raises a paw, "Ah Zork, hello how are you?"

Oz has finished a class with the dibbuns, made sure they washed up and now leads them inside the room to sit for lunch. He yawns a little as he must have gotten to bed later than he usually does last night, oh well he can get in a nap after lunch.

Zork grins "I be just fine Benar. Today is a sunny day and it’s starting to be warmer outside."

DoraRose is helping clean up the lunch dishes that everyone's done with. Her green dress and blue apron are coming in handy in wiping tabletops and a couple of snotty Dibbun noses. Angela is sitting beside the Abbot's chair, hoping that he'll come so she can slip a few herbs into his food to try and help him a little. LilyMoore is nowhere to be seen, although a couple of kitchen helpers are murmuring darkly about how she knocked the dish tub over and scraped her scabs off her paw this morning.

Sister Clementine comes out of the stairs, Abbot Lorimis's nurse. She looks around the hall and hurries over to Benar, she staggers and grabs Zork's chair to steady herself and then grabs Benar by the sleeve. The mouse seems distraught and Benar turns to support her and then she whispers something in his ear. Benar almost drops her, stares and then bolts racing across the hall toward the stairs. Clementine collapses into another chair and starts to sob quietly as Elder Benar vanishes up the stairs.

Zork blinks as Clementine leans on his chair, "Ya ok lass?" He hears bits and pieces of what is said" Wot?.." He frowns.

Oz hears the crying and the fact Benar just rushed upstairs. Well if no other beast is following Benar he will follow him.

DoraRose immediately rushes over to the Order Sister and goes to wrap her in a huge hug. Angela has an inkling of what's happened and follows Benar as fast as she can, hoping against hope that she's wrong.

Clementine shakes her head, she slides off her chair and lays her head in Zork's lap and keeps sobbing quietly, her body trembling. She tries to speak but she can't get the words out, tears trickling down her cheeks as she shakes against Zork and DoraRose

Oz had started to follow them, but frowns at the fact he is told to wait and go back to the great hall, which he does. And its probably a good thing as the dibbuns had started to throw some scones around and Oz catches one, "This is not the time for that" Something in his voice gets the dibbuns to suddenly go quiet and sit down, wow. The badger sits down in his chair and folds his paws in his lap.

Zork frowns, he starts to reach for his walking staff and looks ready to try and go up the stairs himself, weather that’s a bad idea or not.

But Zork does stop and leans back in his chair to comfort the abbey sister, he has gotten better at this sort of thing and rubs her back a little as he frowns.

DoraRose continues to try and soothe Clementine, holding her in in a strong-armed embrace. The warrior has noticed that her grandmother has followed Benar, so she is not concerning herself with that right now. She's not even asking the Sister what happened. She is only focused on comforting her. She begins to try and rock the other mouse.

Clementine begins to calm down a bit more, shaking a bit still and trying to dry her eyes. As Zork is crossing the hall Benar comes back down the stairs. He looks around the hall and grabs the sleeve of a nearby Novice and whispers to them. The novice looks surprised and bolts out of the room and then Benar starts to walk across the hall. He stops before the tapestry and picks up a long brass rod with a cap on the end of it, his hands shake and it trembles as he lifts it above his head. He then extinguishes both candles standing before the tapestry and bows his head then the sound of the Matthias bell begins to ring, slow, steady, sonorous.... sorrowful.

Zork has sit back down shortly before Benar had some down the stairs, he looks up and over as the candles are put out and frowns, and the bells only proof he did hear the sister's mumble correctly.

Oz frowns, he doesn’t need to see the candles go out, he hears the bells and he knows what those bells mean.

DoraRose freezes as the bell begins to toll. Her grandmother has not come down the stairs yet. She forces herself to relax and continue rocking Clementine as a single tear courses down her cheek. She's not sure who's died, but she knows that the sandstone walls of the Abbey have been tinged with darkness.

Benar raises his hands, "Everyone... please... can I have your attention..." He waits and people stop, Brothers, Sisters and Novices come up the stairs from cavern hole and the kitchen. The singular bell is sending its message out and beasts are gathering from the orchards and the gardens. "I... have sad news.... I am afraid Abbot Lorimis.... has left us on the final journey to the gates of the Dark Forest. Redwall Abbey's Abbot has left us..." He hangs his head then and starts to cry softly, the squirrel sobbing gently.

Zork does his best not to cry in front of the others, but sometimes one fails as he feels silent tears go down his face and he lays a paw on the abbey sister if she is still beside him.

Oz frowns, a lot of the dibbuns don't really understand whats going on, luckily a couple abbey novice come over to sit by the dibbuns as Oz goes over to give Benar a gentle hug, he takes a long breath to calm himself as he can grief later as someone needs to be strong right now.

Benar leans in against Oz, shoulders shaking gently as he cries quietly, trembling gently as he hugs onto the badger

DoraRose is trying to be strong as another tear courses down her cheek. She bites the inside of her lip until she bleed to keep her composure. Angela comes slowly down the staircase, leaning heavily upon her staff. She reaches the bottom of the stairs, and a couple of Novices rush to her, murmuring questions. The old mouse just nods, looking as old as time and the grave. The Novices start crying softly.

Zork has become quiet, most are quiet or crying or just in shock.

Another beast walks in with his staff, its Zee as he raises an eye brow and looks to Zork, "Whats going on boy?" He gets an answer .."Lorimis just died..." To this he frowns.

Oz holds Benar, and just stays quiet, he isn’t sure what to say. He does look to a novice “Some beast should send a note to Ferravale about..bout Lorimis"

Benar looks at Zee and nods silently still leaning against Oz and trying his best to contain himself, he takes a deep breath and stands up. "We... must be strong... Sister Rebecca please... can you try and... make sure dinner happens.... all other chores are suspended... everything can wait until tomorrow... I... will have to consult with Recorder Zinnia on the correct methods to proceed.... next..... a funeral will be held shortly."

Angela hobbles over to a chair and slumps into it, looking beyond sad. She looks despondent. DoraRose stumbles over to her grandmother, holding a handkerchief to her now-bleeding lip as she fights back a sob. She buries her face in Angela's lap, not even needing to ask to know that the news is true.

Zork frowns and nods"Yeah...."

Oz says, "We can look in the records if needed..Zinnia can look that up and let us know"

Some people beginning to wander off, small groups walking together, heads together, the bell continues to ring softly in fare well to the abbey's abbot.

The front doors bang open and LilyMoore comes running at top speed through the Great Hall, tears falling down her face. She runs down to Cavern Hole, her final destination the back of the cellars. Angela absently strokes her granddaughter's ears as DoraRose begins to silently sob.

Benar sits down numbly in a chair, staring ahead absently still struggling to decide what to do... how to react

Zinnia walks into the room quietly, she heard the bells sound but didn’t come into the great hall right away as if she was afraid who may have died, looking around she finds out it’s no one in the room and sits slowly in a chair.

Oz hears Zinnia enter the room as he stays by Benar.

Zork sighs softly, he doesn’t wave to Zinnia as he is not his usual happy go lucky self now.

Angela starts shaking her head. "Maybe if I'd given him a tonic or somethin'...?" DoraRose sniffs and shakes her head as she manages to get out, "No...Nana....you...did everything..." The old mouse just stands and slowly hobbles out the front door.

Benar lifts his head, "Angela... wait please..." He holds out a paw to her, "It... was just his time.... he knew."

Zinnia frowns, she stands as she goes over to Benar" I..heard the bell and..didn’t come back inside right away..I am sorry"

Oz lets Benar explain to Zinnia as he might start sobbing and for now he is managing, just barely, not to start sobbing. He will do it in his room here a little later

DoraRose stands and stumbles out the front door, to find her husband. She passes a Novice squirrel maid who stumbles over to Benar and says, "I...I told...Leon and...he fainted and.....LilyMoore ran away..." she breaks down sobbing. Angela just shakes her head. "No...I should've tried harder...." and she leaves to go into the Garden of the Late Rose. She can barely think.

"Zinnia.. .it.. is was Lorimis, the Abbot" Benar says quietly, "He... he passed away..."

Zinnia eyes go wide, "What?..How? He...I talked to him a couple days ago, he..he saw the library..how it’s fixed up..h..how.." Great now she starts sobbing out of control, she knows he passed out but he claimed he was fine..."He said he was..o...ok" Any further talking stops.

Oz frowns, he quietly asks a Sister Mary and the novices to take the dibbuns to the dibbun dorms, a couple was taken away already as he gives Zinnia a quick hug before he goes to sit down, he needs to sit down now.

Benar says, "I am not sure yet Zinnia... we think... it was the cough he had... or... just old age...." He shakes his head, trembling slightly, "We will need you by our side Recorder."

Zinnia nods slowly "Of..of couse, and I will put this in the recorder logs of..Lorimis death."

Oz nods "And...we need to plan funeral and then...the abbot's replacement takes over"