Author's note: Hello again. I'm back with another Redwall fanfic. Sorry for the lame title. I really couldn't think of anything better.
I started writing this back in August 2011 while I was on holiday, but progress was really slow and on-off. When I was about halfway through writing this fanfic, my computer got a virus and everything had to be wiped…and I didn't have another copy of my work :-( I've had to rewrite this whole thing from memory. Moral of the story: remember to keep copies of important things! But then I realised the story made no sense in its original form, so I completely rewrote the whole thing again. Perhaps the virus put me on the right track?
The inspiration behind this fanfic was Quatermass and the Pit…and yeah, you might have an idea of what's going to happen with inspiration like that, and I doubt the back-story I'm presenting in this fanfic is going to be the most popular one…in fact, I doubt this fanfic in general is going to be the most popular one either. How to explain this without (hopefully) giving away plot spoilers…you see, there's a certain question + topic related to Redwall that many of the readers of the books (and viewers of the TV show!) will say "absolutely no way" to. It's this topic that I'm dabbling with in this fanfic. It's funny though because I'm one of those fans who generally doesn't like the idea, but I've read a couple of other Redwall fanfics that bring this topic up, and some of them are quite interesting, but they generally seem to get mixed reviews :-/ Oh well, here's for the best…
Like with my previous Redwall fanfic, it's not official canon (obviously!) though it features canon Redwall characters. However, this fanfic has no connection with my previous one.
Never before had Mossflower endured such a chilling winter. The torrential snow rained continuously down from the dark grey sky, covering everything it touched in a thick layer of snow almost instantly. Icicles hung from the tree branches like daggers, growing longer with each passing minute. An icy mist hung in the air, making the trees loom over like ghostly shadows of monstrous creatures. A cruel, strong wind was blowing, making the falling snow swirl and dart through the frozen air. It would be foolish to think anybeast would be wandering around in these bitter conditions, but somebeast was…two, to be precise.
Two mice trudged and stumbled through the snowstorm, hunched forward and their eyes half-open to avoid their sight to be blinded by the intense snow. Every step for them was a tremendous effort in the cold heavy environment, making their progress slow. One of the mice was a strong warrior, as was evident by the sword at his side, but the heavy snow had taken its toll on him, raining intensely down on him as if he were a delicate feather in a storm. The other mouse was also a warrior with a sword, though he was not as strong or experienced a warrior as his companion. He was a few seasons younger and was walking with a limp, the result of a wound he had suffered on their journey courtesy of some thin ice.
Frightening rumours had been circulating amongst the mice at Saint Ninian's that a vermin horde was advancing from the north. To see if these rumours were true, the leader of the tribe proposed to venture through Mossflower to search for any vermin hordes, and selected another of his tribe to accompany him, as he believed a smaller group would be harder for vermin to detect. They had searched through Mossflower for any signs of vermin, but they encountered none, though they both agreed that it was better safe than sorry and the rest of the tribe would think so too. But then the snow came. It had been frosty for several weeks, so snow was naturally expected to arrive, but not so suddenly.
The two mice were heading back to Saint Ninian's, but the snow and fog were making it impossible to know where they were going through Mossflower, and they could swear that they were walking around in circles. Nevertheless, the two mice went on.
A sudden gust of wind caught the two mice and made them stop in their tracks. They leaned forward and braced themselves, fighting against the weather. If they both fell, there would be no hope for either of them. The younger mouse took a step back and lost his balance. His companion turned around to see him fall back over into the deep snow.
"It's no use, Martin," groaned the fallen mouse, straining to be heard over the wind. "My leg is hurting and I can barely walk. I'm slowing our progress. Just leave me here and save yourself. You're more important than me."
The standing warrior shook his head. "I've got no intention of leaving you to die, Liam," Martin said as he grabbed his companion by the arms and hoisted him up. "We're both going to get back to Saint Ninian's, I promise." They walked on through the snow, Martin supporting his exhausted companion with an arm around his shoulder. Martin also took Liam's sword and held it in his opposite paw.
"I'm so tired…" Liam said hoarsely, almost whispering.
"Don't go to sleep now," Martin said in response. He didn't stop walking to speak, and there was a sense of urgency in his voice. "If you go to sleep now, it's unlikely you'll wake up again." He began to speak more softly. "Think of a loved one, and promise them you'll make it back safely," he said boldly.
"Alright," Liam said. There was a moment of silence between the two, with only the wind billowing at them. Martin and Liam closed their eyes as if in deep thought or concentration, blotting out the merciless weather that was attacking them both.
Liam then spoke aloud. "…Teyna…I'll make it back," he said determinedly. "I won't die today…I promise."
Martin's eyes opened, both of them filled with some of the strongest willpower he had ever felt. He glared through the snow and mist, determined to conquer it.
"Ready?" asked Martin.
Liam nodded. "Let's go."
The two mice walked on, Martin supporting Liam. Their pace had now quickened slightly, though the weather was still battling against them. Despite the encouragement, both mice knew that they would not make it back to Saint Ninian's any time soon and they would have to find shelter before the sun went down…if it was still up in the sky, of course. The thick grey clouds and falling snow made it hard to tell, and the wind billowing the snow around made it almost impossible to see straight ahead, forcing the mice to walk with their heads down.
"We've got to find shelter…"
Martin looked up and squinted his eyes. They were walking not too far away from the base of a rocky cliff face that towered over them. With all the snow and mist, it looked as if the cliff face went on forever. While the ghostly trees surrounded them, there was a distance between the trees and the cliff face. At first, Martin thought that the cliff face may have been a waterfall that was completely frozen up, but there were no sheets of ice frozen in time to the rocks. Martin sighed. Had it been a waterfall and river, they would have at least had something to go on in establishing where they were, or if there were any tribes nearby.
Through the snow and mist, a small opening could be seen in the rock. Martin's eyes focused on it. It appeared to be the entrance of a cave. The opening wasn't too narrow or too wide, so they could at least get in. To his relief, the cave seemed to go a distance back into the rock from where he stood, so it would make a good place to shelter.
"Look!" Martin exclaimed. He pointed to the opening. "There's a cave over there. We can rest and try to get warm."
"Oh…thank goodness…" Liam said exhaustedly. He coughed. "I'm…I'm not giving up, if you think that's what I meant by that, Martin…"
"Don't worry," said Martin. "I believe you, and I'd never put a friend down."
They trudged over to the cave and entered. Instantly, the heavy feeling of the snow falling onto them and the wind blowing at them lifted off their shoulders as they walked into the cave and its roof covered their heads. The cave itself was about the size of a large room, with its width increasing slightly the further back the cave stretched, which wasn't too far back for the back of the cave was visible. The roof of the cave was quite low down – the two mice were able to stand up straight, but if they were badgers, they would have had to duck down as to avoid hitting their heads – and it appeared to get lower towards the back of the cave. There was a thin layer of sand-like gravel and dust that covered the floor.
Martin and Liam raised their heads, free from the weather, but not from the cold. Still, some shelter was better than none. Martin was still holding onto Liam, and he felt his companion begin to collapse. Martin carefully placed Liam down, sitting him against the right wall of the cave, a distance from the entrance. He also placed his and Liam's swords against the wall too.
"I'm so cold," Liam said weakly. He was shivering all over.
"Just hang on," Martin replied. "We'll make it back to Saint Ninian's in one piece."
Martin stepped away from Liam and looked out the cave. The storm appeared to intensify outside. Martin felt a wave of relief inside – had they remained outside any longer, they would have certainly perished from the cold. He himself was shivering, but Liam was in a worse state. Liam was now slowly dusting the snow off his fur and clothes. Every movement was uncomfortable for him. Martin moved around the cave, thinking of what to do.
As Martin looked at the floor of the cave, he noticed some old twigs and sticks lying scattered across that must have been there before winter had arrived. Martin couldn't believe their luck. He knelt down and picked up a few small bundles of twigs and sticks and placed them together on a space of the floor next to Liam.
"Martin?" came Liam's voice.
"Yes?"
"I…I want to thank you."
"What for?" Martin asked.
"For giving me the strength to carry on back there," Liam responded. "I was ready to give up…but then you told me to think of my wife…I'll do anything to return to her." Liam leaned forward and began adjusting the bandage that covered the wound on his leg. "Were you thinking of your wife as well?"
"Yes," replied Martin as he bundled the sticks together, "And my son. Luke's not even a season old, and I don't want him to live his entire life without a father. I couldn't let him or Vina lose me in such a way."
Martin stood up again and surveyed the cave. As one would expect in a cave, there were many stones scattered across the floor near the walls. Martin reached for two and held them over the twigs. He clinked the two stones together to create a spark, and a small fire began to rise from the twigs. As the warmth spread its way out from the flames, Liam shuffled closer to the fire.
"Do you think Luke will make a good warrior?" Liam enquired.
Martin sat down against the wall. "Of course," he replied. There was a pause. "…I hope." Martin turned to face Liam as if he were confiding something very personal. "I know this will sound like I expect too much from Luke, but I want him to follow in my footsteps and become a warrior, and I'd like him to raise his sons up as warriors as well, and his sons to raise theirs the same, and so on. I like to think that among them will be the greatest warrior that ever lived, who everybeast will remember for the rest of time, but I can't predict the future, can I?" Martin looked back at the fire. "But if he chooses another path away from the battlefield, I won't be disappointed – as long as he's happy with his life, I'll be proud no matter what." Martin looked up. "Well…what about you? Where do you see yourself after you've passed to the Dark Forest?"
"I don't know," said Liam. "I'd like to be remembered for something, but not everybeast is remembered for their achievements. Names get forgotten or muddled up over time, and I may become a forgotten warrior of the past." Liam stared at the fire, watching the flames dance and flicker. "My leg isn't hurting as much now. It's a pity there's nothing to eat," he sighed after a moment.
"At least we've got water though – plenty of it." Martin pointed outside to the snow.
"Martin?" Liam looked out at the snow, but continued to speak to his companion. "How long do you think it will be before we get back?"
"I'm not sure," Martin replied. "It would be easier to tell if the storm died down. If we set off now, it could take days to find somewhere or something to get bearings and make our way back to Saint Ninian's."
"But we will get back," Liam added.
"Of course," said Martin. He sighed and stood up. "Keep yourself warm while I look for more firewood. It won't last the entire night."
Liam nodded in response. Martin headed to the back of the cave, his eyes scanning the floor for more sticks.
As Martin made his way towards the back of the cave, he noticed something odd: it seemed to feel warmer the further into the cave he walked. Martin frowned and took a step back. As he did, he felt colder again. It was too much of a difference to be just stepping away from the weather.
It was then when Martin noticed a rather small but wide hole at the bottom of the back wall. Curious, he knelt down to look closer. Despite the hole being quite low down, it looked big enough for at least an otter to crawl through. Martin waved a paw at the hole to see if there was any difference in temperature.
There was. Every time Martin's paw went near the hole, he could feel the heat even more. There was no doubt about it; there was something on the other side of the hole.
Martin turned his head. "Liam!" he called. "Come here a moment."
Liam got to his feet and limped steadily over to Martin, who was now on all fours and peering straight into the hole. "What is it, Martin?"
"Can't you tell?" asked Martin, not taking his eyes away from the blackness that lay through the hole. "It's warmer over here."
"Now that you mention it, it does feel warmer," said Liam. "Are you sure it isn't just because we're further out of the snow?"
"No. Place a paw over this hole." Martin pointed at the hole. Liam carefully lowered himself down and held a paw out. His mouth opened in a silent gasp.
"Strange…it's like there's a fire burning through there." Liam took his paw away quickly from the hole. "How is that possible? Does somebeast live in this cave?"
"I don't know…" Martin poked his head into the crawlspace. "…But I'm going to find out."
"What? Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked a stunned Liam. He watched as Martin stood back up and headed over to get his sword. "There could be anything in there, and it's not safe or you could get lost."
"I just want to make sure," said Martin. He went back to the hole and placed his sword on the floor. "It could be the entrance of some underground cave or mine. If it's somebeast who lives in this cave, I'll tell them we mean no harm. If it's vermin…" Martin shook his head and crouched down.
"But –" Liam began.
"Wait here."
Martin crawled into the hole. Liam watched as Martin vanished under the rocky wall, but he could still hear the sound of Martin shuffling across the ground. Martin's paw briefly appeared for a second to retrieve his sword, before vanishing again. The shuffling sound gradually faded.
Liam stood outside the hole for a moment, and slowly hobbled his way back to the fire.
"I've got no intention of leaving," retorted Liam eventually. He was sure Martin hadn't heard. Liam turned his attention to the snow outside. The storm was still torrential, with the snow billowing around, and the wind made ghostly whistling noises as it passed the cave entrance. How long would it take for the storm to vanish?
A/N: This fanfic was meant to be a single document, but because it is so large, I've had to split it into chapters. Sorry if the chapters end or begin abruptly.