Extra long chapter taking place at Redwall today. Covers various things, and continues to flesh out characters. One is technically new. Also introduce another situation that's unfulring somewhere in the world. ;)
Chapter 6
That night at Redwall Abbey, Abbot Isaiah was staying up late. This was rather unusual for the elderly abbot, as he typically went to bed sooner than most due to his extreme age. He simply didn't have the energy for it anymore. But tonight, in the wake of recent events, he had been doing some thinking, and had admittedly gotten himself a touch worried over those matters.
"Suppose for a moment Rowe's right." he spoke aloud for a moment, peering out the window of his study into the dark night, partly lit by the glow of the half-moon. "Suppose that there is cause for concern by sending young Mathoni out alone like that. Rowe said he wouldn't forgive himself if something did happen to the lad, and I am of a similar opinion."
"To quote yourself, Father Abbot, you underestimate young Mathoni." a voice spoke from behind him. "He'll adapt quickly enough to any given scenario, regardless of how unfavorable they might be."
Isaiah turned to face Martin, the warrior mouse standing on the other side of the abbot's desk, leaning against one of the sandstone walls. The abbot gave him a slightly unsatisfied look.
"I only have your word to go on that, you know." he commented.
"We've discussed this before, Isaiah." Martin said calmly. "Nothing serious will happen to Mathoni. I will see to that much."
"I would rather nothing happen to the lad at all." Isaiah retorted.
"I can't promise that."
"And why not?"
"You know why not."
Isaiah fell short at this comment. "You're right." he admitted. "I do. Doesn't necessarily mean I like it."
"Allow me to be the first to agree with you, Isaiah." Martin said, smiling. "But that just isn't how things work."
"Right." Isaiah said, lowing himself gingerly into his desk chair. "But convincing me is one thing, Martin. How are we supposed to convince the others? Rowe has already shown discontent with this whole matter, so I'm sure others will follow. Word of Mathoni's planned journey has already started to spread. I could sense mixed feelings about it at dinner tonight."
"I know." Martin said. "But this is one area that I can't help you much with."
"I was hoping you could at least give me some advice." Isaiah said.
"I could, but you know I won't."
"Aye. But sometimes I think about how much easier things would be if you would just tell me everything."
"True." Martin agreed. "But supposing I did just tell you what to do and all that, whatever would you learn from it?"
Isaiah snorted out a chuckle. "Once again, you have proven just how much wiser you are in comparison to me, Martin." he said.
"I do have a bit of an unfair advantage in that regard." Martin concurred.
They were silent for a moment.
"At the very least allow me to send a pair of creatures with Mathoni as far as River Moss." Isaiah spoke suddenly, getting back on subject. "The lad will need a boat, and as such, he'll probably take the canoe we have stashed away in one of the storerooms, and that can be very difficult to carry on his own."
"Very well, send two creatures with him to carry the boat." Martin said. "But no further than River Moss. I need Mathoni to make the rest of the journey to Angola and back on his own."
"Whatever for, Martin?" Isaiah asked. "I can see that you have something planned, but why such the need for Mathoni to travel alone?"
"A number of reasons." Martin replied cryptically, straightening and brushing dust from his tunic. "I imagine it'll all come clear when Mathoni returns to Redwall with his cohort."
"Cohort?" Isaiah repeated. This was news for him. "And what is that about?"
Martin grinned. "You'll see."
The following morning, the inhabitants of Redwall awoke to another beautiful spring day. Re-energized by the magnificent weather, the Redwallers quickly went about doing their usual morning chores and scarfing down a quick breakfast so they could quickly get outside and enjoy the pretty day.
Mathoni felt equally as energetic, and was anxious to go outside. Even though he had been excused from them by the abbot in favor of the 'quest' (as Mathoni had begun to call it in his excitement) he would be embarking upon today, the otter quickly did his usual morning chores, grabbed some breakfast in passing in Cavern Hole, and was still in the process of eating it when he arrived at the Infirmary to see Sister Mint to continue carrying out the abbot's instructions.
The stern and disapproving healer mouse had a few things to say about that, however.
"Do you mind?" she asked harshly as a couple of crumbs fell onto her head as Mathoni stuffed a biscuit into his mouth.
"Thorry Thifter Minth." Mathoni apologized as he chewed. He swallowed before continuing. "I'm in a 'urry, y'know."
"What youth isn't these days?" Sister Mint asked aloud as she continued to examine the young otter. "Always hurrying somewhere, you young'uns. Can't you just slow down a bit and enjoy life sometimes?"
"I enjoy life!" Mathoni objected indignantly. "Particularly now that I'm bein' sent on me first ever quest."
"Don't exaggerate, Mathoni, it's impolite." Sister Mint scolded. "I've heard everything about this little assignment Skipper Rowe is sending you on, and I disapprove of it. I'm surprised Father Abbot is agreeing to it. Remove your tunic please."
Mathoni yanked the shirt-like article of clothing over his head, exposing his upper body. "T' be 'onest with ye, Sister Mint, I think it was th' abbot's idea t' begin with." he said as Sister Mint continued her examination.
"What, agreeing to this silly assignment of your's?" Sister Mint asked.
Mathoni pulled out another biscuit from his pants pocket. "No, I mean it was his idea t' send me on th' 'assignment,' as ye put it." he explained. "If ye saw his face when he and Skip told me th' plan, I think ye'd agree."
"Perhaps." Sister Mint said. "But I think Abbot Isaiah is setting a poor example for the other creatures in this abbey by supporting this idea."
"Oh, come off it, Sister Mint." Mathoni said, rolling his eyes and biting into his biscuit.
"Don't you take that tone with me, Mathoni." Sister Mint said, and then patted him on the shoulder. "Lie down, please."
Mathoni laid himself flat on the bed behind him, facing upwards. Pulling a wooden, cone-shaped, device from a nearby drawer, Sister Mint pressed the large end against Mathoni's chest and put her ear near the narrow end, listening to Mathoni's heart and breathing. Her whiskers poked at Mathoni's middle as she did so, making Mathoni laugh.
"Hee-hee, that tickles, Sister Mint." he giggled.
One glare from the healer silenced Mathoni instantly. Holding out the glare a moment longer, she then returned to what she was doing. As she worked, Mathoni finished off the last of his biscuit and swallowed. A thought suddenly came to him.
"Just out of curiosity, but can ye 'ear me eatin' and swallowin' with that thing?" he asked, inquisitively.
Sister Mint shot him a repulsed look. Mathoni shrugged.
"Just askin'." he said.
With a sigh, the healer straightened. "That is simply a most disgusting thought, Mathoni." she said, returning the cone-shaped device to it's drawer. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were either Tobias or Illia."
"Uh-oh." Mathoni said, sitting up. "Now wot 'ave ye got against 'em?"
"Those two twins are more troublesome than some of the dibbuns in this abbey." Sister Mint stated as she turned around to pull out a satchel and begin placing herbs into it. "You would never think they're fully grown. Sometimes I wonder what their mother taught them over in Southsward."
"Well, I dunno about their mother, but I know that their father taught 'em t' fight, an' sink me rudder if they ain't good at it." Mathoni remarked, slipping his tunic back on. "I mean, haven't ye seen 'em fight with those swords of their's?"
"They're called rapiers, Mathoni, and as I matter of fact, I have." Sister Mint said over her shoulder. "I disapprove of that, as well. Simply dangerous, swordplay. In these times of peace, I fail to see the need to even practice it."
"If they didn't, wouldn't they kind of ferget it all?" Mathoni asked logically. "'Sides, they do it mostly for show these days. Remember th' mock battle they did with Skipper Rowe, where they only used one sword an' kept passin' it from one t' another at the last feast?"
"Indeed I do." Sister May said, pulling out a selection of clean cloth bandages and placing them in the satchel. "Miracle they didn't hurt themselves."
"I think that's th' point t' their practicin', t' make sure they don't 'urt 'emselves."
"I still don't approve of it."
"Yes, well, ye'd disapprove of th' sun risin' if ye ever got the notion to. A lot of good it'll do ye, as well..."
He was silenced when the satchel slapped into his face and then dropped into his stunned paws. Sister Mint, having thrown the satchel at him, stood there calmly, glaring at him.
"You are to speak respectfully to your elders and betters, Mathoni." she said, and then dismissively turned her back to him. "There are the herbs and bandages you needed. You may leave."
"Good." Mathoni said, jumping up and heading for the door. "I'll bet Friar Machaerus has those vittles I asked for ready."
"Oh, and speaking of that hare, there are some things I need to address to the abbot about the matter of a hare, of all creatures, being the friar of this abbey." Sister Mint remarked aloud, twisting a cloth she had picked up in her paws in frustration.
"Aye, right, wotever, be quiet." Mathoni said, and then quickly ducked out the door before Sister Mint could slap him silly with the cloth in her paws.
"A touch more salt in that broth, Brother Grant." Friar Machaerus prompted as he strolled past. "Need some more kick to it, dontcha know."
He moved on to where his son stood stirring a soup in a pot. Charles stood silently beside him, chopping carrots for the soup.
"Hullo there, Malachi, how's that stew comin' along?" he asked, standing over the teenaged hare to peer into the murky broth. He sniffed. "Smells mighty good, but does it taste good?"
"I dunno, you tell me, father." Malachi replied with a shrug.
Machaerus took the ladle from Malachi and dipped it into the broth and sampled it. He grinned. "Rule number one of bein' a cook, son." he said, returning the ladle to the pot. "Always taste your creations frequently. Helps you know if you're doin' it right, plus you get t' have a bite over everythin' that way, isn't that right?"
"Of course, father." Malachi said, stirring the soup again.
"Might I suggest adding a few leeks for some added flavor, though?" Machaerus said, patting both Malachi and Charles on the shoulders. "Jolly good. Carry on."
He turned and walked away. Malachi continued stirring the soup while his father was nearby, but the moment he had moved away, the hare quickly switched spots with Charles, so that he was doing the chopping, and Charles was doing the cooking.
"Thanks, Charles." Malachi said, chopping the carrots as carefully as he could, but still wasn't getting them as neatly cut as Charles had been. "Hope I didn't ruin the stew durin' the few moments I had to act like I was cookin' it, there."
"I don't think you're that bad a cook, Malachi." Charles said softly and politely, tossing a handful of herbs into the broth.
"Yes I am." Malachi said, depressed. He placed his elbows on the counter and cradled his head in his paws. "Remember when I tried t' make cherry pie last season?"
Charles didn't reply, but the mouse couldn't help but shudder at the memory.
"See?" Malachi said, his point proven. "I just can't cook, no matter how much I try. Thank Martin I've got you, though, because you most certainly can cook. Just so long as I can make father believe that it's me that's doin' the bloomin' cookin' and not you, then things can get along jolly well."
"You should tell him, you know." Charles said, nodding his head towards Machaerus's back as he helped a molemaid prepare a salad.
"That I can't cook?" Malachi repeated, shooting Charles a look. "Are you mad, Charles? I can't tell father that, he'd never understand. To him, life's all about cookin'. Furthermore, he expects me t' become friar someday, and I don't want to let him down."
"But you hate cooking." Charles said. "Why force yourself to do something you not only hate, but can't do, just so you can please the friar?"
"Just shush, Charles, you just don't understand." Malachi muttered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Machaerus turn to walk back towards him. He patted Charles on the arm "Quick now, we need to switch places again, he's comin' back."
By the time Machaerus arrived again, it was Malachi stirring the soup and Charles doing the cutting again. He grinned in approval, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, he froze, and then suddenly spun around.
"Hold it!" he exclaimed, pointing a claw at the culprit. "Put the watershrimp back!"
Mathoni, startled by Machaerus's sudden outburst, froze for a moment, then opened his paw, allowing the fistful of watershrimp to fall back into it's bowl.
"Sorry mate." he said quickly, hanging his head.
"Now that we've got that sorted, wot can I do for you, Mathoni?" Machaerus asked, stepping forward and adopting a more friendly attitude.
"I...I just came t' see if ye got that haversack of vittles that I asked for ready." Mathoni said, still a little leery of the friar.
"Oh, that's right." Machaerus said, snapping his claws and looking around the kitchen for the haversack in question. "Here it is. Got everythin' you asked for, plus some that I threw in at the last moment. It'll help a growin' young otter like you keep growin' I'll bet."
"Thank ye, Friar Machaerus." Mathoni said, accepting the haversack from the hare and pulling it over his shoulders.
"I trust you're goin' t' be headin' out then, here soon, eh wot?" Machaerus asked.
"Aye, I'm gonna get a few more things an' then be on me way." Mathoni said, pointing behind him.
"Well, I wish you luck." Machaerus said, patting Mathoni on the shoulder. "As my late bride, Rosemary, bless her heart, would've said, go and have some fun, wot?"
Mathoni grinned, and then turned and leave. "Thank again, friar!" he called. "See ye when I get back!"
Machaerus watched the otter leave the kitchens, and then turned back around, rubbing his paws together as he attempted to recall what he had been doing last.
"Father," Malachi spoke suddenly, "can me n' Charles go and see Mathoni off? Please?"
Machaerus looked at his son for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine, away with you, go have your fun." he said. "I'll watch over the stew."
"Thank you, father!" Malachi said, quickly grabbing Charles's paw and hurrying out of the room.
Machaerus continued speaking even after they had gone, stirring the soup they had left. "I daresay everybody needs a break from cookin' every now and then, wot-wot?" he said with a grin.
Skipper Rowe stood out on the abbey grounds not far from the gates, looking around in the bright sunlight as he watched abbeybeasts wander about doing whatever it was they felt like doing. As he stood there, Linus walked up carrying a bundle of parchments and had his snout buried in a book. The squirrel very nearly walked past the Skipper of Otters before he quickly backtracked a few paces.
"Hello there, Rowe." Linus said, glancing up from his book and adjusting his reading glasses. "I trust you're waiting for Mathoni to finish getting ready to leave, then."
"Aye." Rowe said, nodding. "Should be comin' along 'ere shortly."
"You really think he's up for this, then?" Linus asked.
"I'm not completely sure." Rowe admitted. "But I think that's part of what this little journey's goin' t' be about, mate, to find out for sure."
Linus gave him a long and puzzled look. "I suppose." he admitted. He shook his head and looked back at his book. "Anyway, I've taken the liberty of doing some research on Angola, and I wanted to ask you if..."
"Oof!" Rowe exclaimed as he was suddenly tackled from behind by a much smaller squirrel. "By the fur...?"
"Alexander!" Linus scolded.
"Gotcha mate, ain't that great?" Alexander squealed as he dangled from Rowe's shoulders.
Rowe pried the squirrel off of him with a grin. "Don't tempt yore fate, mate." he scolded, playing along with Alexander's rhyming game.
Alexander giggled. Rowe lowered him to the ground.
"Now shush, ye little scamp, yore father's talkin' t' me." he told the youth, and then turned to Linus. "Sorry, matey, now wot were ye sayin'?"
"Ah yes." Linus said, looking back at his book to get back on track. "Anyway, like I was saying, I was doing some research on Angola, partly for that map Mathoni requested, but also..."
"Speakin' of which, did ye find one?" Rowe asked, as Alexander knelt down to pick up a insect that was climbing along the ground.
"Huh?" Linus said, distracted. "Oh, the map! Uh, yes, I did. Bit out of date, but should still work." he pulled out a parchment and handed it to Rowe to study. "Anyway, as I was saying, I've been doing some research on Angola, and...well...I must admit I'm worried."
"Lemme guess, ye figured out who rules over there." Rowe said, holding up a paw momentarily to silence Linus.
Linus nodded. "Foxes." he said. "Confirmed vermin."
"Not these foxes, mate."
"Regardless of the fact, they're still foxes." Linus pressed. "Are we sure we really want to be sending Mathoni over to this place?"
"Foxes eat lotses in boxes." Alexander rhymed absentmindedly while letting the insect crawl over his claws.
Rowe and Linus glanced down at him.
"'Lotses'?" Linus repeated.
"It rhymes." Alexander said in his defense.
"How about ye try loxes, mate." Rowe suggested.
"What are loxes?" Alexander asked innocently.
"Some kind of smoked salmon that I've 'eard is popular in th' northwest." Rowe said with a shrug. "I dunno, I've never had it. Speakin' of which, I can't remember if it's pronounced 'loxes' or just 'lox'..." he shook his head. "Anyway, getting back t' yore question mate, no, I'm not sure. But Abbot Isaiah is, so I guess that counts t' somethin'."
"So the abbot is giving his complete approval to this." Linus summarized.
"Aye." Rowe replied, nodding. "Funny thing about it, though, is the fact that he seemed t' know somethin' I didn't."
"Like what, I wonder." Linus commented, pulling at his whiskers in thought.
The matter was set aside when one of the two double doors leading out of the main building of the abbey swung open, Charles and Malachi jointly pushing it open and then holding it open. A moment later, Mathoni appeared, grunting as he dragged a large and heavy canoe out the door, the claws on his footpaws skidding on the worn stone steps as he sought the traction he needed to pull the craft outside.
He had only gotten it about halfway out the door when Tobias and Illia arrived.
"Here, we'll help ye with that, mate." Tobias said as the twins jointly bent over and lifted the canoe up to carry over their heads.
"Always ready t' help, we are." Illia added as the two started down the steps.
Mathoni watched them go, not entirely sure how he should react to this. "Um, thanks, mates." he said as Charles and Malachi closed the door behind him. "But I think I can manage it meself."
"Mathoni, me matey, ye were 'ardly gettin' much further than three feet, tryin' t' manage this thing yoreself." Tobias said.
"'Sides, if we don't help ye carry this t' River Moss, then wot are we goin' t' carry th' whole way there?" Illia asked.
"Ye mean you're comin' with me?" Mathoni asked as he followed alongside the two Southsward otters.
"Only as far as th' river, mate." Illia said.
"Aye, figured last night that ye was probably gonna need some 'elp carryin' this thing that far." Tobias added.
"So this mornin' we went t' th' abbot t' ask him if we could." Illia continued.
"But we didn't 'ave t' say a thing, mate." Tobias said. "Father Abbot said he was just about t' come lookin' for us t' ask us t' do the very same thing, wouldn't ye know it."
"Guess we were both thinkin' th' same thing." Illia remarked. "That's wot always amazes me about Abbot Isaiah. Very perceptive, he is."
"Oh, well, in that case, I guess yore welcome t' come along." Mathoni said with a shrug.
"Thank ye, mate, we're glad t' be able t' come along." Tobias said, grinning.
They continued on up to the gates where Rowe and Linus stood waiting, Charles and Malachi trailing behind them.
"G'day, Skip." Mathoni said as he arrived. "I'm ready t' go! See, I got supplies, an' those herbs n' stuff, I let Sister Mint look me over, an' apparently Tobias and Illia got th' canoe under control, so all I need now is a map and few farewells."
Rowe handed over the map Linus had given him earlier. "'ere ye go, mate, this 'un should work nicely." he said. "Ye armed?"
"Got a sling." Mathoni said, patting his waist where it was tied to his belt next to a pouch of pebbles. "Do I need anythin' else?"
"How about a stave?" Linus suggested. "Even if you don't use it as a weapon, it would make for a good walking stick. Alexander, could you go get one from where they're kept near the pond?"
Alexander nodded and quickly ran off. He returned a few moments later with one of the wooden staffs and handed it to Mathoni.
"This stick should do the trick!" he commented with a giggle.
"Enough with the rhymes already, liddle matey." Rowe said, ruffling Alexander's ears. He turned back to Mathoni. "Let's see, I think that's everythin', so I say yore good t' go, so let's get ye going."
They opened the front gates. The action drew some of the surrounding Redwallers over, all gathering around to send off Mathoni as well.
Rowe walked Mathoni out onto the path, and then placed paws on both of the otter's shoulders.
"Ye got th' medallion, right?" he asked quickly.
Mathoni pulled it out of his pocket and held it up, it's emerald glinting brightly in the sunlight. Rowe grinned and nodded.
"Good luck, Mathoni." he said. "Stay out of trouble, y'hear?"
"I will." Mathoni promised. "I'll make ye proud, ye'll see."
"I don't doubt it." Rowe said. "I just hope everythin' works out for ye. It's the lest ye deserve. Now go on and get goin'. See ye when ye come back."
"Bye, Skip!" Mathoni said, hurrying out onto the path.
Tobias and Illia followed along with the canoe, also saying their goodbyes. The Redwallers that had gathered to see them off all chimed in and said or waved goodbye, and soon Mathoni was off on what he hoped would be a great adventure...
Elsewhere in the land, however, someone was returning from a journey, and word of that return and what they learned spread quickly throughout the place they had arrived at. Very soon, the news reached some very important beasts within the settlement and everything was explained to them. Two of these beasts were then sent down into a catacomb of tunnels that sat below the structure they all resided in.
They were an odd pair. One was a mouse. The other was a weasel. Walking side by side, these two clean and almost proper looking creatures made their way through the rocky caverns, alternately made out of brick or some of the surrounding bedrock. They both wore long, sky-blue habits made of a simple cloth, and both carried a staff. The staff's were intricately carved with unusual symbols and patterns, and set in the top of both staffs was a blue sapphire.
An odd symbol, no two symbols being exactly alike, were tattooed to each creature's right cheek, the mouse's being different from the weasel's and so forth. Another, much smaller, tattoo, this one identical to the one the other had, had been placed on both of their brows. The faces of both creatures were still and emotionless. They had been given an assignment, and they weren't even so much as thinking of doing any else until it had been carried out.
As they walked down the winding tunnel, they passed several torches that provided for the catacomb's only light, each torch producing a bundle of lapping blue flames. The blue light was further enhanced as the light reflected off of the many sapphires, both big and small, that the walls of the tunnel was riddled with. Were any other creature in this tunnel, their eyes would probably glaze over with greed at the very least, but the mouse and weasel were not such creatures. The sapphires were ignored.
Finally, the tunnel straightened, and then widened into a small, circular cavern, also lit by the same torches of blue flames as the rest of the catacombs. The mouse and the weasel came to a stop and stood silently in the middle of the room, their staffs planted into the floor. Their eyes were focused on only one thing in the room. Like the rest of the catacombs, this cavern had many sapphires riddled in it's walls, but none of those even compared to the sapphire that sat in the center of the far wall.
Put simply, it was enormous. A sapphire of this size had quite possibly never existed before. Appearing to be perfectly round, although it was difficult to tell as part of it was embedded directly into the wall, the sapphire's length stretched from the curving ceiling of the cavern down to where it stopped just short of the smooth and worn floor. It's width was easily equal to it's length. It was this that the mouse and the weasel focused their eyes upon.
A moment of silence fell, the two creatures looking like they were waiting for something. And then, without warning, a light started to glow, looking like it came from within the massive sapphire itself. When the glow reached it's peak, bright enough that the light emitted from the torches would no longer be necessary, the mouse and weasel simultaneously stooped down into a respective bow, dropping down to one knee.
There was another moment of silence, this one not nearly as long. Then, a powerful, echoing voice filled the cavern. It's source was difficult to pinpoint, but like the mysterious light, it seemed to come from within the large sapphire.
"You may speak." the voice said.
"Hallowed Gemini," the mouse began speaking, not looking up from his bowing position, "the scouts have returned, and they bring news. They have found many creatures who have strayed from thy holy path, including a large fortress of stone filled with unrighteous creatures. It is all located to the southeast from here."
"It is as I have foreseen." the voice spoke. "These lost creatures who have wandered from the path of righteousness must be led back and repent of their sin before they become too corrupt with wickedness. Go now, and rally together your fellow members in the Quorum of Teachers. Make plans without haste to go out and begin spreading my righteous word immediately. My almighty paw shall help guide you. Now go."
"Yes, hallowed Gemini." both the mouse and the weasel chorused together. "Praise be unto thy holy name."
And with that, the light subsided, and the voice spoke no more. The two creatures straightened and stood, then jointly turned around and exited the chamber to carry out their new orders...
