Here is the first actual chapter of this fic. If anyone has an idea on who could be the equivalent to the Enclave from Fallout 3, please leave a review. Yes, I will include a few references to canon. I know that in the Prequel chapter I said that this would start two weeks before the trek to Malkariss, but I changed my mind. This pretty much starts right before the trip. I know Malkariss was mostly destroyed in Mattemeo, but there is still some left, as seen in Loamhedge. And there are moles too, so they can dig extra tunnels and stuff. The carts are pulled by the Redwallers. Occasionally, as with this chapter, part of the story will be told in Corin's journal entries.

We are leaving Redwall. It was almost too much for Corin to handle when the Abbot had said those words a few days back. He had called a meeting to address the concern of the rumblings to the southwest. Almost everybeast knew what was going to happen. They knew that Salamandastron used to be a fire mountain. A volcano. But it was dormant now, right? Over the ages, magma had been building up deep below the ancient fortress, and now, it was reaching a crisis point.

Redwall's recorder had found something in the dusty old scrolls and books in the gatehouse. An underground kingdom. The newer reference, which was still centuries old, stated that it was only partially destroyed. This place, which lay underneath the ruins of the Redwaller's original home, Loamhedge, was the last and only hope of the abbeydwellers.

Corin, the abbey champion, a squirrel, packed the last of his things. He walked into great hall one last time, to gaze over the abbey that he would soon be leaving, most likely forever. It looked strange without the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. The Redwallers could not bear to part with the great tapestry, so it was packed onto one of the array of carts that were hastily built for the trek to this underground kingdom. Corin walked slowly out of the abbey building, where outside there was everybeast who lived in the abbey, accompanied by many carts full of supplies. Much of the food was preserved in jars. 4 of the 12 carts were full of wood to use as supports, as the tunnels of Malkariss were likely to be unstable, especially when the eruption came.

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling noise, and the ground shook ever so slightly. The Redwallers knew they didn't have much time. They had a week, two weeks, at the most. The Redwallers who were pulling the carts dug their paws into the ground, causing the carts to start off. They were on their way.

Day 3

As I write this, I am sitting atop a moving cart. We have been going non-stop, day and night, for the past 3 days. We haven't even stopped to rest. We all work in 5 hour shifts, five of us pulling a cart, and five of us sleeping on one. Those who are too old, young, or weak to pull the carts ride as well. 2 days ago, we had an old squirrel who insisted upon pulling the carts with the rest of us collapse dead of exhaustion. After digging a hasty grave, we moved on. The rumblings of Salamandastron are getting louder, the tremors more intense. I wonder of the fate of the Long Patrol…Now I will put down my pen, for I have been working a double shift, and haven't slept in ten hours. It may not seem like much, but after pulling a cart for ten hours you would be surprised at the toll it takes on somebeast.

The long patrol had seen this event coming two months ahead. It was first noticed when, while sent down to patrol the lower levels of Salamandastron as punishment for sneaking into the kitchens after dark, a young hare named Hal had discovered something unusual.

The ground in the old caves was very warm. Very intrigued by this, the young hare moved on further, until he saw a crack in the ground. Red light glowed from it. He looked down into it. Still a long way under him, he could see a river. A river of pure heat, a river of molten rock. He remembered an old sea otter who had sailed the seas for many years. He had told the young hare about volcanoes. Mountains of fire that were so intensely hot that rivers of melted rock flowed freely from them. The hare also remembered that Salamandastron had once been one of those mountains.

It took Hal a few moments to realize what was going on, but when he did, he ran back up from the caves, alerting the ancient Lord Lyons.

(Lord Lyons? Elder Lyons? Get it? (Fallout 3 reference))

After a scouting party was sent into the lower levels to confirm what the young Hare had said, Lord Lyons gave a most surprising order. It was a massive task. They were all ordered to build a ship. A ship that could hold everyone in the fortress. Hundreds of trees surrounding Salamandastron were cut down; they would all be destroyed soon anyway. After much time and effort, and the exhaustion of the hares, the ship was completed. Its destination was a small island, just far enough away to avoid the massive force of the eruption. The long patrol set off. Their plan was to stay on the island during the eruption, and after things calmed down, to investigate what was left of Mossflower.

Day 7

Today we had to ascend the great South cliffs. Or what was left of them. Apparently, the earth had shaken here recently, causing the cliffs to be pulverized, nothing left but a gentle slope of boulders. It was difficult to get the carts up, but it proved possible, and by the time it was evening, we had all stopped the carts for the first time, and had our first real rest.

Day 9

Trekking through the badlands is hard, but we all have a good supply of water. Fate smiled on us today, as we found that there was no longer a great gorge. The recent shaking of the earth had sealed it up, and now there was only a crack, about two feet wide. The tremors are getting worse, and now the rumblings are getting louder and louder, almost deafening at times. I wonder if we will make it in time.

Day 12

We made it! The first thing all of us did was enter a small hole in the side of a hill that was just big enough to get our carts through, and descend into ruins of the underground kingdom. We all investigated the place that was soon to be our new home. It was in ruins, many tunnels had collapsed (but the moles could handle that) , and there was debris everywhere. Good thing we brought enough lamp oil to last us half a season. The moles put a large flat boulder in front of the entrance, and then we started unpacking our supplies and setting things up. We put the great tapestry on a flat wall of the cave. Now we just have to wait for the eruption to come, and hope this place is enough.

Only two days later, it happened. A sound so intense that no sound had ever equaled it before rang out across the land, and a shockwave of intensely hot volcanic ash spread across the whole of Mossflower, destroying it's vast, beautiful forests, evaporating rivers and ponds, and charring the once great Redwall abbey. Then everything was silent.

(lol cliffhanger)