(Disclaimer; I do not own Redwall nor any characters or places seen in the
Redwall Series by Brian Jacques, they are copyrighted to him.)
~Theft Of The Sword~
~Chapter One~
The moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the abbey known as Redwall in the nighttime hours. The normally beautiful, red-stoned abbey was turned cold and menacing by the pale orb in the sky. From the forests surrounding the abbey a pair of dark green eyes watched the sentries posted upon the great walls. They were lit only by a few torches, revealing one of the sentries to be an otter, the other a small mouse, both armed with a spear and a sling. Neither beast saw the pair of eyes watching them, neither saw the bushes stir as it made its way to the wall, neither heard the crunching of the fallen foliage. The moonlight revealed that the eyes belonged to a medium sized beast cloaked in black shawls, camouflaging it in the night hours. The eyes belonged to a thief.
Staring up at the wall, the thief breathed a sigh of relief that the two guards had not noticed its presence before setting about it work, removing a hook wrapped in cloth and a length of rope from within its cloaks. With a final glance up at the wall it spun the hook around to gain enough momentum before letting it sail over the top of the wall to land with a muffled clang. Quickly the beast climbed up the rope and let itself over the side of the wall, taking care to remain silent and out of sight of the two sentries.
"So far, so good . . ." The thief muttered in a young, male voice to itself before freezing at the sounds of the guards.
"It's time already?" A deep voice called out, probably the otter. Staying well below the wall, the thief watched the two guards as a pair of otters joined them, one male and one female. Breathing another sigh of relief as he realized what was going on, only a simple shift change. Ignoring the otters for the moment, the thief removed out a small map of Redwall from his cloaks, glancing over the wall for landmarks at the darkened main building of the ground, only a soft glow coming from the great hall. Quickly he replaced the map in his cloak, drawing out a pair of medium sized, curved daggers from the black cloth.
"See ya on the 'morrow, mate." One of the fresh sentries called over the wall to the otter and mouse he had relieved, the thief glanced over the wall in a quick movement to find that they had disappeared through the great, wooden doors into the abbey's main building.
"Wish we had brought a bit o' food out with us, don't you?" Another voice, the female otter, asked her fellow sentry. Moving quickly the thief stalked along, hidden by the wall from the light of the torches, until he was just to the side of the two otters as they stood at the outer edge of the wall, watching the darkened forests surrounding Redwall for any signs, unaware of the danger that lurked behind them. Moving quietly behind the backs of the sentries he poised himself to strike, flipping one of his daggers up into the air, catching it by the point.
"Aye, that I do, but-"The otter never finished as a dagger hilt struck him at the back of the skull, knocking the sentry unconscious. The female otter could only watch as her fellow otter slumped over the outer wall as a blur streaked towards her and she too found herself knocked unconscious with a blow to the side of her skull, her body crumpling like a rag. Knowing that they wouldn't be unconscious for too long, the thief ran down the stairs, skipping over steps as he went, making a break for the doors to the great hall. Silently he slipped inside, barely cracking the door.
"Now where is it?" The thief whispered softly, walking through the empty hall slowly, glancing at the empty tables that had been filled just a few hours ago by the good beasts of Redwall. Suddenly he saw his prize, gleaming with the torchlight just above the Tapestry of Redwall, the mighty sword of Martin, but before the thief could make a move for the blade he heard the soft sound of paw steps coming down from the dormitories. Dodging under a table just a few yards from the Tapestry and his prize, the thief waited as a pretty otter maid, dressed in a flowing, white night gown made her way into the Great Hall. At first the thief began to move towards the Tapestry, knowing that he could dispatch a lone maiden without too much trouble, but he halted as another beast came down the stairs, a tall, burly male otter.
"Came down ta see Martin?" The otter asked in a reasonable baritone, putting a paw on the otter maid's shoulder.
"Just to thank him for bringing you back to us." She replied with a smile, wiping a few tears from her eyes.
"Aye, he has my thanks as well." With that they stood in silence, not realizing the danger that lurked just a few yards away, silently cursing beneath a table. Removing his pair of daggers from his cloak once more the thief rolled out from under his hiding place into the main aisle of the Great Hall as the pair of otters stared up at the figure of the heroic mouse on t he Tapestry, holding a likeness of the sword that rested just above it.
"Ye best get a bit of sleep before daylight comes, Mother Abbess." The male said with a grin, stepping towards the stairway up to the dormitories, but he never made it, crumpling to the ground with a loud thud, the dagger that had fallen him clattering to the ground beside his body. The otter maid glanced to the tables, letting out a scream as the thief was revealed, emerging from the shadows, dagger drawn.
~Theft Of The Sword~
~Chapter One~
The moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the abbey known as Redwall in the nighttime hours. The normally beautiful, red-stoned abbey was turned cold and menacing by the pale orb in the sky. From the forests surrounding the abbey a pair of dark green eyes watched the sentries posted upon the great walls. They were lit only by a few torches, revealing one of the sentries to be an otter, the other a small mouse, both armed with a spear and a sling. Neither beast saw the pair of eyes watching them, neither saw the bushes stir as it made its way to the wall, neither heard the crunching of the fallen foliage. The moonlight revealed that the eyes belonged to a medium sized beast cloaked in black shawls, camouflaging it in the night hours. The eyes belonged to a thief.
Staring up at the wall, the thief breathed a sigh of relief that the two guards had not noticed its presence before setting about it work, removing a hook wrapped in cloth and a length of rope from within its cloaks. With a final glance up at the wall it spun the hook around to gain enough momentum before letting it sail over the top of the wall to land with a muffled clang. Quickly the beast climbed up the rope and let itself over the side of the wall, taking care to remain silent and out of sight of the two sentries.
"So far, so good . . ." The thief muttered in a young, male voice to itself before freezing at the sounds of the guards.
"It's time already?" A deep voice called out, probably the otter. Staying well below the wall, the thief watched the two guards as a pair of otters joined them, one male and one female. Breathing another sigh of relief as he realized what was going on, only a simple shift change. Ignoring the otters for the moment, the thief removed out a small map of Redwall from his cloaks, glancing over the wall for landmarks at the darkened main building of the ground, only a soft glow coming from the great hall. Quickly he replaced the map in his cloak, drawing out a pair of medium sized, curved daggers from the black cloth.
"See ya on the 'morrow, mate." One of the fresh sentries called over the wall to the otter and mouse he had relieved, the thief glanced over the wall in a quick movement to find that they had disappeared through the great, wooden doors into the abbey's main building.
"Wish we had brought a bit o' food out with us, don't you?" Another voice, the female otter, asked her fellow sentry. Moving quickly the thief stalked along, hidden by the wall from the light of the torches, until he was just to the side of the two otters as they stood at the outer edge of the wall, watching the darkened forests surrounding Redwall for any signs, unaware of the danger that lurked behind them. Moving quietly behind the backs of the sentries he poised himself to strike, flipping one of his daggers up into the air, catching it by the point.
"Aye, that I do, but-"The otter never finished as a dagger hilt struck him at the back of the skull, knocking the sentry unconscious. The female otter could only watch as her fellow otter slumped over the outer wall as a blur streaked towards her and she too found herself knocked unconscious with a blow to the side of her skull, her body crumpling like a rag. Knowing that they wouldn't be unconscious for too long, the thief ran down the stairs, skipping over steps as he went, making a break for the doors to the great hall. Silently he slipped inside, barely cracking the door.
"Now where is it?" The thief whispered softly, walking through the empty hall slowly, glancing at the empty tables that had been filled just a few hours ago by the good beasts of Redwall. Suddenly he saw his prize, gleaming with the torchlight just above the Tapestry of Redwall, the mighty sword of Martin, but before the thief could make a move for the blade he heard the soft sound of paw steps coming down from the dormitories. Dodging under a table just a few yards from the Tapestry and his prize, the thief waited as a pretty otter maid, dressed in a flowing, white night gown made her way into the Great Hall. At first the thief began to move towards the Tapestry, knowing that he could dispatch a lone maiden without too much trouble, but he halted as another beast came down the stairs, a tall, burly male otter.
"Came down ta see Martin?" The otter asked in a reasonable baritone, putting a paw on the otter maid's shoulder.
"Just to thank him for bringing you back to us." She replied with a smile, wiping a few tears from her eyes.
"Aye, he has my thanks as well." With that they stood in silence, not realizing the danger that lurked just a few yards away, silently cursing beneath a table. Removing his pair of daggers from his cloak once more the thief rolled out from under his hiding place into the main aisle of the Great Hall as the pair of otters stared up at the figure of the heroic mouse on t he Tapestry, holding a likeness of the sword that rested just above it.
"Ye best get a bit of sleep before daylight comes, Mother Abbess." The male said with a grin, stepping towards the stairway up to the dormitories, but he never made it, crumpling to the ground with a loud thud, the dagger that had fallen him clattering to the ground beside his body. The otter maid glanced to the tables, letting out a scream as the thief was revealed, emerging from the shadows, dagger drawn.