Plans are made for the Salamandastron Ambassadors' trip
Champion's Cottage: Guard Training Yard
This small fenced in yard has been set up for the use
of the Abbey Champion, his guards and designated trainees.
The fence is made from very thick wooden planks over 12 feet
tall so that no one outside can see in. The fence has also
been coated with a layer of spikes and grease near the top to
make it very difficult to climb over. The only way into or
out of this yard is through the large locked door into the
champion's cottage.
The yard itself is split into different sections for the
various activities the champion and the abbey guards perform
here:
There is a small covered area that contains practice weapons
on racks and the storage bins for armour.
There is also a locked room that contains the real weapons.
Both visitor weapons and guard weapons are stored here. The Sword
of Martin the Warrior is kept elsewhere.
There is also a small area set aside for the repair and
maintenance of weapons though there is no forge here for there
making weapons. But there is a whetstone for keeping blades
sharp and facilities for minor repairs.
The main part of the yard is a simple stone courtyard for
sparring. There are practice dummies for archery and sword and
quarterstaff drill. It isn't very big but it is enough for two
or three beasts to practice in at any one time.
Exits: [C]ottage
Emyuil the mouse. DoraRose the mouse. Zinnia the badger.
Emyuil is sweating profusely, a silent snarl on his features as he stares down his wooden foes. He stands, perfectly motionless, Nevermore gleaming in his hand, and suddenly explodes into movement, cleaving through the first of the three wood-and-straw dummies, and using the follow-through as a parry against an imagined attack from the one on his right, then counter-attacking with a ripping strike to the abdomen. He whirls around and bulls towards the final dummy, decapitating it with a contemptuous look of disgust. He sheaths his sword. Only a few heartbeats have passed since he started moving, and by the piles of straw surrounding him, he's been doing this for quite some time now.
DoraRose opens the door to the training yard, dressed in her black training clothes. Leggings, tunic, boots. She looks around then yard at the devastation her brother has brought upon the poor, innocent wooden and straw thingies lying around everywhere. "You seem to be in a bad mood."
Emyuil shrugs. "Not really, just keeping sharp." He's wearing just trousers and a sleeveless grey shirt, doing away with the usual cloak and tunic and what-have-you in order to keep cool. His sword is on his back again. He's also bare-footpawed. He sits down and swigs some water from a clay jug he left by a crate of stuff.
DoraRose raises her eyebrows, then sighs and silently pads over to him. "Well.....I hope you stay in a not-bad mood after I tell you my news." She sits down on the edge of the crate and looks up at him in a slightly pensive manner.
Emyuil's head tilts slightly, almost like a puppy's. "Eh?" He seems a bit more relaxed just by his sister's presence, and he wonders what her news could be. He reaches up and wipes some sweat from his brow.
DoraRose looks at the wall and scratches her ear. She literally has no idea how he's going to react. "Welllll.......Abbot Benar is wanting to send an Ambassador to Salamandastron, the Mountain of the Long Patrol, and he's asked me to, ah....." she hesitates and looks back at his face. "He's asked me to be a guard for the Ambassador, and, um...I said 'yes'."
A miniature war of emotions plays out on Emyuil's face. First surprise, then concern, then a bit of bitter jealousy and anger, and finally, uncertainty. He moves closer to his sister, sitting down next to her, and leans his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes halfway and murmuring, "I suppose I can't come with you, then..."
DoraRose goes to wrap her arms around her baby brother. "I....I want you to stay here. Watch out for Lily and Caleb and Nana. Leon's coming along for the trip, and I'll feel more comfortable if I had a Warrior here to watch out for the rest of my family." She pauses, then sighs. "It won't be for forever. We're planning on coming back next Spring, and leaving just after this coming Autumn feast."
Emyuil, surprisingly, doesn't tense up at the sudden touching, and instead leans into the embrace, burying his head in his sister's shoulder now. "Very well," he says quietly. Surprisingly there's no tears on his face, but he's missing his sister already. "It always feels like forever," he whispers. "But I'll be here. And no harm will come to them, I swear it. On...on the names of our parents," he says, surprising himself.
DoraRose smiles and goes to rub his back in what she hopes he'll find a comforting way. "The feast is next month, so you'll have plenty of time to say good-bye. I trust you, and I believe that you'll do everything in your power to protect them." She goes to pull back from him and look him in the eyes. "I ask that you would continue Lily's Warrior training for me. I brought the book our grandfather, David Mightyone, had written, and I am teaching her the Warrior's Code of Honour from that right now. I want her to be able to recite it, without hesitation or help, before she can even begin training with weapons. I'll be leaving my sword behind for if she comes to that moment of readiness while I'm gone."
Emyuil closes his eyes fully, enjoying the backrub. Then he opens them to return his sister's gaze. "I would be honored," he says. "I will do as you ask. I assume you'll be taking Nightsong with you?"
DoraRose nods. "Yes. I want Lily to try a bastard sword first." she goes to change her hug to a sideways hug and lean her head against his. "Nightsong will be my main weapon on this journey. Zinnia is the Ambassador the Abbot has chosen. I'm hoping to get her to talk to me on the way there." She fondly remembers when she first saw the black axe in their father's paw. Her brother hadn't even been born yet. The axe gleamed like a stormy night, and she had wanted to wield it ever since. And now she does.
"Try not to lose it," Emyuil murmurs in her ear, sighing contentedly. He, too, remembers Nightsong, and the many times he saw it in his father's weather-beaten, powerful paw, Farrer towering over his son, but no danger in his eyes...only love. Emyuil remembers digging up the deepiron ore, the same kind in the axe's blade...the same ore later used to make Nevermore's obsidian-hued blade. He clears his mind of these thoughts now, for remembering the origins of his sword takes him back to the days of the hunt for Stormfeather...days that, while they formed an integral part of his being, he'd rather not recall.
"Pfft, like I would do that." Dora goes to gently whack him on the back of the head. "I've NEVER done that. Except that time when Leon had been kidnapped and I almost died. And when I stole it from Poppa's forge and lost it in the snow.....that was embarrassing..."
Emyuil grins at the whack to the head, at ease again. "Heh. I remember that. The look on your face was priceless. And it was quite the adventure getting it back..." He half-closes his eyes again, enjoying the shared warmth transferred from his sister to him, and vice versa, as well as the late-summer warmth in the air. He feels a little drowsy now.
DoraRose goes to shove him off onto the ground. "You're a jerk! I should shmack yous on da head agin!" But she's laughing. She then stands and smiles down at him, going to help him stand back up if he's really on the ground. "Hey, I need to talk to someone else now about the trip, okay? I would love to stay here and reminisce with you, but plans have to be made." She makes a face. "So...catch you later?"
Emyuil accepts the paw that helps him back up, and goes to give his sister a quick embrace and a brotherly peck on the cheek, whispering, "Go for it. I'm gonna take a nap now anyhow. Later!" He saunters off in search, not of vermin to kill, but of a tree to sleep under.
DoraRose accepts the hug and cheek-peck, aiming to return a squeeze of her own. As she watches her brother wander off, she lets out a small sigh of relief. Well, that went better than expected. She wanders off in search of Zinnia....
RW Abbey: Library
The library has never looked better in seasons as shelves have been
repaired and so have tables and chairs. The once empty sleeves now
have more books in them and not only that the books are in an ABC
order and arranged by subject to better find what one is looking for.
The beautifully crafted windows are well cleaned.
This gives the library plenty of light during the daylight hours. The
room has a high vaulted ceiling. The flagstones of the floor are cool
and smooth, and echoes are sometimes heard when beasts walk. Brass
lamps containing short, fat little white candles provide enough light
for reading. Some books are still being mended but being working on
getting on the shelves. The backroom is even very clean and organized
as well. Books were found in the attic and some from Ferravale were
added that the Ferravale beast had maybe two copies of something so
gave Redwall one of the copies for the Redwall library, all in all a
lot of hard work has done wonders for the library.
On an Oakwood desk is the charter laying inside a clear glass case for
all to see. The glass case keeps it safe and clean. Some other chairs
large and small, wooden and soft, have been placed in varies places
in the library and a pile of covers and blankets sit in one corner
with a few pillows as well.
Exits/Entrances:
[G]reat [H]all [M]ap [B]ookshelf [B]ookshelf of [W]oodland [L]ore
[B]ookbinding [R]oom [H]istory [B]ookshelf [B]ookshelf of [B]iographies
[P]oetry [B]ookshelf [B]ookshelf of [S]tories
Contents:
Abbey Charter
Zinnia is sitting at the table writing in her journal some and the log book as well as she quietly sits there, she has a plate of crumbs and an empty mug at the other end of the table.
DoraRose is still in her black outfit as she comes into the library. She smiles slightly and walks across the room. Plopping down across from the badger, she plunks her elbows onto the tabletop and stares at her friend, silent for now.
Zinnia looks over at Dorarose and then back to her writing, she seems to be updating the logs and her journal as she goes between the two, she is listening but is not looking right at her right now.
DoraRose taps the journal page and says, "I'm going to be your bodyguard on the trip to Salamandastron, and I need some information about any dangers or anythin' that you know about." She debates about telling her friend about the message from Martin, but for now decides against it.
Zinnia looks up and then back to writing and finishes as she closes the logger, "Dangers...yeah there some" she says quietly.
DoraRose smiles and rests her chin on the table, peering up at her friend's face, trying to catch her eye and get her talking. "Please tell me about them. I'd like to know what I'll have to be on the lookout for. Just a vague 'we all might die if I don't pay attention' is not my favourite way of traveling."
Zinnia shakes her head as she tries to look away from the mouse, she has become more quiet lately and still has no real emotion on her face.
DoraRose gets a disappointed look on her face. "Zinnia. Please. I want to protect you as best as I can, and I won't be able to do that if I'm not as prepared as I could be." She sits back up and crosses her arms. "Leon is coming along, too, and if something happened to him that your telling me about the dangers might've prevented, I will be sore pressed to not hurt you in my rage and sadness. I really don't want to hurt you. Please talk to me."
Zinnia glares a little, then her face goes back to no emotion at all and she quietly stands and walks over to a shelf with many scrolls and logger books, she has kept these in a by season it happen dating system and pulls one out to read it and places it back, all the while very quiet and all the while no words come from her lips. She looks for a good 30 minutes and finally lays one down in front of the mousemaid and points to where it starts **before the horde came.....*** and then steps back and picks up a couple books to place back on the shelves.
OOC Note: This is the link to what Zinnia is showing Dora http://rwmuck.limitless.org/rwmuck/content/sister-zinnias-recorder-records :) BIC:
DoraRose has been waiting patiently, thinking silently. She looks up at her friend as the badger comes back over. Suppressing a sigh of disappointment, then Warrior looks the records over. Raising her eyebrows, she looks up at the Recorder and says slightly incredulously, "/Toads/?? I've gotta watch out for /toads/?"
Zinnia speaks "We will...avoid swamps." The voice is flat toned as she talks and places the last of 4 books she had away, she doesn't go to pick up the logs so the mousemaid could always read more if she wanted to. Zinnia goes to grab a map and lays it out, wow no talking as she points to the swamps and shakes her head no and shows the river, the woods and where the badger Mt. is and there is the thing on the side of the map that says what is what, like this line is a river and then green and grey is swamps, the trees are woods and blue is the sea..ect ect.
DoraRose scratches her head as she continues to read. "Jellyfish? I'm....not sure whether to be afraid of it or eat it...." She grins sheepishly to the badger. "I've, ah, never actually /seen/ an ocean." She looks at the map and starts chewing on her lower lip pensively. "Err......this is.....ah, this looks....complicated...."
Zinnia shrugs, she knows the way and that's what is important as she sits down quietly.
DoraRose looks up at her friend's face. "Zinnia. Please talk to me. I care about you, and I'm worried about you. Please talk to me. At least about the trip, if nothing else."
Zinnia stands as if to get up and she starts to put her logs away, she starts to place her journal away and then sits down and starts to write something down, but this on a loose piece of the journal, a page she meant to fix, it's empty...well it was till she writes on it.===Her mind is such a foggy clouded mess, she slowly locks up all feeling and throws away the key and only a rare key will open it back up again...she is lost in the storm, lost within herself and the storm will only get worse and worse...ever more lost will she become, a fate some say would welcome death with open paws...=== She blinks and oddly seems to draw something?
Zinnia draws what looks like waves and then footpaws maybe and a Mt or a triangle angle of some sort with...clouds? Ummm...a key drawn and then she frowns as if she has a headache, all this takes maybe an hour, a very Very quiet hour, She gets up and rubs her forehead and groans a little and starts to move away from the table and then stumbles falling into the soft chair placing both paws on the side of her head like she has a very VERY bad headache.
DoraRose sighs and goes back to reading. She is looking over the records for the hour, even getting some other books she thinks might help. As her friend stands, she looks up, then gasps and rushes forward. She goes to place her paws on the badger's shoulders. "Zinnia? Are you alright? What's going on? Do you need to go to the Infirmary??"
Zinnia looks at Dorarose sort of dazed and groans, headache...headaches are bad, she goes to try and push her away and then stands only to pass out, least she landed somewhere soft, on the pile of blankets and pillows by the chair!
DoraRose gasps, then darts away to get her grandmother. Unless the badger awakens and makes them stop (somehow), Angela is going to make the Recorder stay in the Infirmary for 3 days as she runs what limited tests she can do. Dora, after making sure hat her friend is being looked at by a skilled healer, goes back to reading about the journey. She idly writes down the message from the Spirit of Martin the Warrior, having commited it to memory. Excitement and worry creep up upon her. She can't wait to get out of the Abbey for a while....but what dangers could be lurking there, on their way to the Mountain? Only Martin knows.
Some say she has no direction,
That she's a light of speed and distraction,
That's a knee-jerk reaction,
This is the final frontier,
Everything is so clear,
To destiny you steer her,
companions true,
healer and warrior,
as it must be as the path is written so shall it be.
Thanks for reading! :D
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