Author's Note: Hello, welcome to my fanfiction! I know there are a lot of these to browse through, so thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my work. With the crazy number of Redwall fics out there, I figured I'd tell you a bit about what I think makes this one stand out in the community. Call it arrogant if you want, but you'll have to take my word that my only goal here is to get you interested.
Notable Achievements and awards
This fanfiction is in the possession by the Jacques family (sent through the official publisher in November, 2015)
+17,000 total views on the official Redwall Abbey Forum ( )
Grand Prize Winner of the fist ever official Redwall Abbey Forum Fanfiction Contest (Summer, 2011. )
Winner of the "Best Fanfiction" Award in the Redwall Abbey Forum Fanfiction Awards Contest (Summer, 2015. )
Story has been fully proof-read multiple times (hey, I consider that an accomplishment!)
Praise for The Origins of Simon and Other Adventures (by Redwall Abbey Forum members)
"Hands down the best fan-fiction I've ever read."
"Wow. That is great."
"I loved this story; it was hard to not finish. Great plot, wonderful characters... and a satisfying final battle."
"Amazing"
"It has promise far beyond any other fanfiction on here"
"It was awesome! Very good! Hope you've got more fanfictions in store for us."
"Out of all the fanfiction I've read, this one is the closest in tone and plot to the original canon books."
"In a word: epic."
That's enough from me. Don't want to make this post too crowded. Let me know if you enjoy the story! Feedback's always welcome...
PART I:
THE ORIGINS OF SIMON
AND
THE VOW OF THE MAD CAPTAIN
Chapter 1
It was a beautiful ship, the result of an uncountable number of hours put in from several creatures to make it the caravel it was that day. True, the Seaspark was slightly smaller than the average vessel, but nevertheless, it was a sign of security and safety among the good and gentle beasts of the Western Sea. Be that as it may, it was a much different story for vermin seafarers. To them, the sight of the so-called cursed vessel was like that of a foul omen. It brought about with it a sense of terror that chilled even the seawater, for the Seaspark was a privateer. Having been built entirely for the purpose of hunting down a villain that had destroyed many families, the survivors of which being the very crew of the ship itself, the Seaspark roamed the world in a never-ending hunt. Legends spoke of the vessel and its reputation of mercilessness among corsair crews. It was headed by a captain that was said to never rest and a crew that thirsted for revenge. It existed as the sort of thing that the common searat would hope to be just a nightmare. For the unlucky, those nightmares were more real than they suspected...
Captain Leonardo Velox Williams was tall for a mouse. His long, red military coatee, a gift given to him by a wayfaring trader he had saved many seasons prior, hung down to his neatly shined boots. A dagger, which fit more like a short sword, hung delicately at his side along with a sharpened hatchet. His large blue eyes missed nothing. Every square inch on the ship was old news to him. Nineteen seasons he had been scouring the seas with his faithful crew by his side, hunting down a forsaken ship now led by the sinister Deamal the Menace. Leonardo stood behind the wheel of his ship, the Seaspark and looked at his working crew. Every one of them were loyal sailors ever faithful to their cause, in his eyes. He turned to the sea and watched the gulls fly overhead and get lifted by the salty wind. The wide waters stretched in all directions until it met the sky. Many times it felt like the ship sailed in the clouds rather than water. The Seaspark truly was a vessel to behold, it glided across the water like no other vessel among the seas, cleaving the waves like it was a hot knife cutting butter. The sun hung in the sky like a white medallion and a single cloud drifted lazily across the sky with the westerly breeze. It was a perfect day. That is until the black sails peaked over the horizon.
"Spotted it captain! Port side." Dassiter De Fformelo Tussock, a tall hare and also first mate of the ship, yelled down to Leonardo from one of the ratlines. Dassiter was a tough creature. He and the captain had always been good friends and had shared many adventures. He wore a long coatee that was similar to Leonardo's, but navy in color. A black sash with a long cutlass hung closely at his side. It was an unlikely choice for a hare, especially one from Salamandastron, the great mountain fortress of the long patrol[1]. Unlike the other military hares, Dassiter did not share their accent. Instead, he spoke as you and I would, which was rare among this crew. They were an oddball bunch of creatures, all from different islands and corners of the map. They all spoke with different voices and jargon, even some different tongues entirely!
The tall hare climbed further up the ratlines until he was standing near the top of the main mast.
"Are you sure it's the sea rats?" Called Leonardo.
"Positive, sir! No merchant vessel sports black sails like that."
"And they didn't spot us earlier?"
"I doubt it, captain, awaiting your command."
"Excellent, Mr. Tussock! Gather the crew and issue orders for everybeast to prepare the ship for battle! I'm guessing we'll catch it early this afternoon." The Seaspark glided forward into the wind with its triangular sails. Once more, it was on the hunt.
Aboard the searat vessel Redworm, the lookout, a rat named Wearul, was scanning the horizon when he spotted sails on the far horizon.
"Ey, Scoffgut! Sails spotted off the starboard side towards the stern!"
"What did I tell you about calling me by name, rat! I'll have yer hide fer that, it's captain to you! What kind o' vessel is it, merchants?" Scolded the captain, a massively fat searat named Scoffgut. He wore a large cloak and an even bigger pair of boots. His belt strained to hold back his great stomach and hold up his striped trousers. He carried nothing more than a rusted sword in his belt and a bottle of grog in his paw that he drank from constantly. In the center of the belt was a huge brass buckle in the shape of a hare's skull. He had a large nose ring and half of one of his ears was gone. To top it all off, Scoffgut was heavily tattooed from head to toe, not an inch of un-inked fur showed.
The lookout peered through the spyglass again, squinting to see the vessel's type before calling back to the captain,"It's uh, one o' those ships with the triangle sails."
"Well, that doesn't mean anythin' to me! I said what kind o' vessel is it and that's an order!"
Having not the slightest clue how to classify ships, Wearul made up his own class. "It's one o' them, um, new gold schleppers! Maybe they still have some onboard!"
"Of course it is, ye stupid oaf! I could see that even from here, what good are you, anyhow! Turn this hunk o' crud around and prepare for battle!"
As the ships neared, the crew of the Redworm stood about on the deck with their weapons in their paws and fidgeted eagerly in anticipation to get their paws on the gold Wearul talked about. As they neared closer, another rat by the name of Scrupp jabbed Wearul in the ribs with his elbow and asked, "What's the name o' the ship, anyway? Maybe it belongs to a prince er somethin'!"
Wearul was quickly realizing that he had not played his cards too right and it was going to bite him in the tail if he was not going to be able to explain to Scoffgut where all of the 'gold' was. Scrupp elbowed him again, "Agh! I don't know where the gold is!" He blurted out. Scrupp looked at him like he had four heads,
"What're ye talkin' 'bout Wearul? All I wanted t' know was what the name o' the stinkin' ship was! An' you know I don't read squiggles."
"Er, right, I know... Jus' gimme a minute to check!" The rat leaned over the rail of the ship and peered through his spyglass. He could see creatures going about their business as if they had not even seen the Redworm. As he focused in on the bow of the ship, he suddenly froze. His mouth went dry as he checked the name and checked again. He heard Scrupp ask him his question again and he looked at him and tried to find something to say.
"You okay, mate, ye arn't lookin' too good? Er, Wearul?"
Wearul stood on the deck as if it had grown into his feet. It was like a bad dream come to life. Finally, he managed to stammer out an excuse, "I... I forgot somethin' in my bunk!" and ran down to the lower deck, leaving a very puzzled Scrupp with a spyglass in his paws.
Captain Williams was a bit surprised to see that the enemy ship had turned and charged them. He leaned to the ship's musician, an otter called Siri Luna, and gestured to the oncoming ship. He spoke to her in the tribal language of her kind, "Toka mah la suda mi happa happa. Dey la paw offila, eh?"
The otter laughed hard before answering, "Sikanu nok' rannawa murkalanamit!" The pair laughed and resumed their chores.
The crew of the Redworm was well armed and heavily populated. They had war-paint covering their faces and teeth filed to points. The crew of the Seaspark appeared completely unprepared by comparison. The two ships floated next to each other almost lazily. Captain Williams stood on the ship's rail and looked from his ship to the other. He could see the grin's on the pirate's faces underneath their warpaint. A fat rat stepped out of the crowd and pointed a rusty sword at him,
"Mouse, I'm Scoffgut, captain o' this mighty ship. Send forth your captain."
"I am him." He replied, "Spit out what you need to say. Quickly now, I have a busy schedule to keep."
The rat was slightly taken aback. He waved his sword at the other ship. "Big words for such a tiny mouse, we'll see how tough ye are with a blade in yer neck! I'm taking your gold, and don't pretend you don't have any, I know a gold schlepper when I sees it..."
"Captain." A rat whispered from behind Scoffgut.
"Quiet you!" He murmured. Turning back to the other vessel, he continued, "You were foolish to follow my ship. Too bad ye won't live long enough to regret it!"
"You destroyed a village of innocent creatures, I saw the wreckage myself! I am here in place of them to put an end to you." Replied Leonardo.
"Captain!" The rat whispered, more urgently this time.
"I said shut it!" Scoffgut mumbled back. "Those creatures were weak, you don't stand a chance against us. We outnumber you at least three to one, surrender now or I'll kill you all!"
"Captain!" The rat said. This was the last straw for Scoffgut, who turned about and thrust his rusty sword against the rat's neck.
"What is it?!" He said angrily. The rat swallowed hard before answering,
"The name, cap'n. The name o' the ship!"
Scoffgut wheeled about and looked at the bow of the ship across him and read its name: Seaspark. Terror gripped him by his neck. Scoffgut could feel his breath get ripped away from him. The rest of the crew that knew how to read found themselves in similar conditions. Scoffgut looked at the mouse captain standing on his ship's rail. "The Prince o' Privateers…" he said with an astounded whisper. Leonardo returned his stunned stare with narrow eyes and an angry glare. He did not have to say a word for him to get the message loud and clear.
It was complete chaos among the crew of the Redworm. They did not stand a chance even though they outnumbered the Seaspark by great amounts. Captain Williams was fighting next to first mate Dassiter. They conversed like they had done many times as they blocked and slashed, parried and stabbed.
"Watch out for that one, oh good swing pal!"
"Heads up! We got a wiseass swinging from a rope."
Sidestepping skillfully at the last second, Dassiter and Leonardo cut the attacker's rope, but the momentum kept it going and threw it through the Redworm's rail.
"Who's filling in for the cook tonight?"
"Let us see, Monday, Tuesday… I believe Gorm is on duty."
"Ugh, again?! Leo, he's the worst cook on the ship! I'm surprised we even let him near the kitchen at all– Look out! Nice shot."
"Thank you, s'all in the wrist, y' see. I wouldn't say worst! He told me he's trying something new this time: fish surprise!" Leonardo said, throwing his ax at a rat with a bow.
"Oh, that's just perfect. Just what we need after a long battle!"
"Chin up my friend, I bet you'll love it!"
After the brawl aboard the Redworm had ended, Leonardo found his ax and swung back aboard his ship, patting himself down to be sure that there was not anything he was forgetting. A pretty mousemaid approached him from the stern, "We're all aboard captain, counted everybeast twice and awaiting your orders."
"Thank you, Miss Bellus. Any wounded?"
"Not more than a couple of scratches, sir."
"Food supply?"
"A couple of day's worth."
"And fresh water?"
"Almost out. We're nearly scraping the bottom of the barrels."
"Has the crew searched the ship for anything of use?"
"Yes captain."
"And?..."
"A little loot and a barrel of grog."
Leonardo nodded to himself and looked at the Redworm, speaking his thoughts aloud, "Sink it, don't burn it. We'll stop at Amijowi Isle to get some more water. Food, too. Then we'll need to do any repairs necessary, especially after the storm two nights back..." He looked up at the pretty mouse's face and smiled, "We'll use the rams. You can take the lead for the operation."
She returned his smile before walking away and repeating Leonardo's orders in a booming voice "Ram operators are to report below deck!"
Within a short while, two hatches on the port side of the ship opened up, revealing two large rams kept below the main deck. The Seaspark was unique in the fact that it had rams onboard. They were made of sturdy oak wood and each held a spiked metal cap sticking from either end. They were perfect for making an escape, or in this case, sinking a vessel. They were located on the cargo deck of the ship, just above the steerage, with one ram towards the center of the ship and the other towards the stern. Dassiter Tussock controlled the operation below deck. Crewbeasts moved any and all pieces of loose cargo to the port side of the ship and the rest of the crew above deck positioned their weight to the port side of the ship. The resulting shift in weight was enough to lean the Seaspark ever so slightly towards the waterline of the Redworm. It would not be enough to capsize the Seaspark by any means, but it would make the rams more effective. By striking the enemy ship at a slight downward angle, it increased the likelihood of doing more damage to the ship hull and avoiding simply pushing it away.
The mousemaid Bellus stood on the stairs between decks relaying messages and yelling out orders between the lower and main deck, "Is the top crew ready?" Bellus yelled out
"Aye, we're ready, awaiting your orders."
"Bottom crew ready?"
The voice that answered was Dassiter's, "We're ready!"
Bellus smiled. Then, roaring out so all could hear her, she said, "Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three, now!"
There was a resounding crash as both rams hit the hull of the Redworm, putting two massive holes in its side right on the waterline. Bellus continued, "Okay top crew, reposition the ship. Bottom crew, pull in the rams, steady now!" The caravel evened out and the rams were pulled in and tied down.
Bellus inspected the Redworm. Satisfied with the job, she turned to Leonardo, "Mission complete, captain."
Leonardo looked over the edge of the ship at the Redworm. Water was already filling the two newly formed pockets. "Good work, my dear! She'll be under within minutes."
Still looking at the hull of the ship, in one of the two shaded openings, Leonardo spotted a creature stirring about. Apparently, one of the pirates had survived the fight. Smiling, Captain Williams quickly ordered, "Get that rat up here, now! I have some questions for him."
A gargantuan creature (who was said to be part badger due to his size[2]) stepped forward. This was Marius Colossus, an otter from the Kingdom of Southsward, a region far to the south of Mossflower Country. Marius was picked up as the soul survivor of a coastal raid only a few seasons after Leonardo and Dassiter set out on their hunt. He was the strongbeast in a traveling circus that was performing on the coast. When the pirates came, Marius was shot with several arrows, but even still he never fell. It was often said among the crew that it would take a mountain falling down on him to kill Marius. None doubted it.
"Where's the one you want?" Said Marius' deep bass voice. The captain pointed overboard at the rat and Marius quickly grabbed a rope, tied it about his waist and vaulted over the rail of the ship. Swimming up to the Redworm's hull, he entered the sinking ship and gave the rat a large whack on the head to knock it unconscious. Then, as if without needing any effort, Marius hauled them both back onto the Seaspark.
Leonardo instructed the otter what to do, "Put 'im in the brig. Post a sentry and come and tell me when he comes around. I'll be in my quarters."
"Captain, should we set course for anywhere?" said Dassiter.
Leonardo turned to the first mate and replied, "Set course for Amijowi Isle. We'll stop there for supplies, we should make it there by tomorrow evening. Let's go under half sail, there's no major rush. But I want this ship cleaned up, it's always a mess after dealing with searats."
"Aye, sir!" replied Dassiter, turning to the crew, he yelled out orders, "Set course for Amijowi Isle! Travel under half sail, batten down the rams and stow the grappling hooks, this ship is going to be spotless, get moving!" Turning back to Leonardo he said, "What's wrong mate? You don't look too good."
The captain had a strange look to him; his face was pale. His normally blue eyes clouded like a fog over the sea; his weariness was clear. Dassiter quickly ushered him into his quarters, closing and locking the door behind him as they entered. Leonardo slumped down in his chair before his map covered desk with his head in his paws.
Dassiter leaned against the wall and said what was clear, "You need to sleep."
"No, I need to find this ship..." Leonardo replied and he poured himself a drink.
"Captain, we've scoured almost every part of this ocean looking for a ship we don't even know exists anymore! We've destroyed enough ships to fill Salamandastron two times over and you want us to keep going after this thing?! Face it, it doesn't exist. Look at your maps," Dassiter walked over to the desk and started going through the 'X' covered charts that were stacked on Leonardo's desk, "Rudderang, Sampetra, Green Isle, where the queen herself said the ship hasn't been spotted in years, the lands of ice and snow, the great Southern sea, Terramort, Peace island, we've gone so far west, if we went any farther we would've run into the setting sun! Now we did find a wreck at the twin islands and I told you it could've been what you were looking for but you insisted it was—"
"It said Sayna!" interrupted the captain, clearing the maps from the desk with an angry swipe.
"There were other wrecks there too Leo, Sayna was not the only one!"
"They were too small to be Deamal's!"
"Well, we've looked everywhere else! The trail's gone cold, Leo! It went cold seasons ago!" he paused for a moment, "What makes you so sure were gonna find it?"
The captain was silent for what seemed like several minutes, then admitted, "I'm not."
"Then why do you keep this up? You're driving yourself mad and haven't eaten or slept in days!"
Standing up, the captain leaned over the desk, getting closer to the first mate with every word until their faces were almost touching, "I'm not going to go back home until I am without a doubt certain that Deamal and his whole cursed crew are rotting at the bottom of the sea with my knife stuck in his gut!"
There was a knock at the door, a voice called in, "Captain, the prisoner has come about."
Leonardo made his way to the door and stopped to put on his coatee. Before exiting the room, he turned back to Dassiter, who leaned against the desk with crossed arms, and said, "Now you've been a friend of mine for as long as I can remember, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get in my way." Slamming the door behind him, Leonardo stormed out of the room.
[1] The Long Patrol: a group of hares that serve as the armed patrol of Mossflower Country. They hail from the mountain fortress of Salamandastron on the west coast of Mossflower country and have protected the land from invaders for generations.
[2] Badgers are a very rare, nearly mythical species in the world of Redwall. They are notable for their towering size and strong military prowess. Badgers commonly rule from the mountain fortress, Salamandastron, on the west coast of Mossflower country and are referred to as "Badger Lords".