Chapter 4:
Rungtol's Account
Once he was back in the main hall, the young mouse sat down for a breather. Where shall I go next? he demanded of himself. I've been everywhere. Hmm, well, perhaps I should go to the Gatehouse once again. Yes, I wasn't in there very long. Perhaps there's some sort of clue hidden amongst the decaying papers.
Leaving the main Abbey, the young mouse stepped into the Gatehouse, where he sat down in the decaying old chair. He felt as though there were a presence in this room. But he was not afraid. The presence seemed almost friendly...like a fatherly paw on his shoulders in his darkest hour.
Gnawing his lip, the young mouse took out the four identical papers he had managed to collect on his way around the Abbey. Perhaps there is some sort of clue hidden in them, he thought to himself.
Digging them out of his pockets, he arranged them on the table so that he could see all four at the same time. Immediately, the old feather pen on the desk floated into the air and began to write on the papers.
The young mouse was about to pull the pen down, but something told him not to. Instead, he simply sat and watched as the pen finished its task. Whatever the force that was controlling the pen was, it was an experienced writer.
The script was strong and flowing, yet it had been written in the stretch of less than a couple of minutes. Again, the young mouse felt that friendly presence in the room. Curious, he bent down to read the first page of parchment. So engrossed was he by the tale they told that he didn't stop reading them until he had finished the whole thing not once but twice. They ran thus:
R
"Welcome to Soilran Abbey to Soilran Abbey, a place of peace and prosperity. Anybeast in need of help or healing may seek refuge within our walls, for Soilran Abbey is a place of safety. Safety that will last forever." This is the way I would have described our Abbey many seasons ago. But things have changed. The days of everlasting peace are long gone. Soilran Abbey is now a place of eternal pain and death.
I am Rungtol, the recorder of Soilran Abbey. It was indeed a wonderful place to live. We had created in the image and spirit of Redwall, the Abbey to the far Northwest. But as you can see, things did not stay that way. Now, the spirits of my former brothers haunt this Abbey, forever put through horrible torment. We are all ghosts, and most of us are forced into malicious hostility.
I have been watching you, my young friend. You already know most of this. I am fairly sure that there are two questions you wish to have answered more than anything. How the inhabitants of the Abbey were reduced to these horrible monstrosities, and how you can escape from this place. I may have answers for both, but I feel it would be best if I answered the first question first, as its answer is much more complicated and long- winded. Part of the cause was the invasion of a terrible vermin horde, but it all really began with a fox named Malazrael.
R
I cannot pretend to know everything about Malazrael. I do not know just how old he is, or how he came to command the powers he has. I do, however, know how he came into our concern. He was traveling with a horde of vermin, using some of his powers to pose as a seer. As they headed for Soilran Abbey, their first highly-populated target, he ran ahead and came to the Abbey about a day before the others.
Malazrael pretended to be an old, tired traveler, and was received by the Abbey with open arms. But on the night of the horde's invasion, Malazrael began his evil works. He erected the first of two mantels in our Abbey's main hall. This mantel is infused with mystical runes, which keep the souls of the dead from leaving this place. But the vermin invaded a little earlier than Malazrael had predicted....
Malazrael was unable to erect his second mantle by the time three Abbeybeasts had already died. The first was me...I had been working late in the Gatehouse, and I was the first one the hordebeasts met with. The second was our Cellarhog, also working late, who ran from the vermin but was killed in the Courtyard. The third was our Abbot who, by a stroke of freak luck, had died of old age at just the right time. Our spirits were bound to the Abbey, but we were unaffected by the second curse. The curse which caused the souls of the dead to come under the control of the terrible Malazrael!
R
The horde had invaded while most of us were sleeping. They rushed into the dormitory and quickly did most of the Abbeybeasts in as they slept. There were a few, however, that awoke. Several were fighting beasts, who defended the Abbey. One of them, our champion warrior, dueled with the horde's leader on the dormitory balcony, winning by stabbing him and causing him to topple over the edge. Sadly, he was killed soon afterwards.
The other warriors retreated to the lower levels of the Abbey, taking refuge in the Armory. They fought valiantly, slaying many vermin, but eventually they were overcome as the horde poured into the Archery Range and slew the last of them. It was too late, though - Malazrael's runes had just begun to take effect. As the hordebeasts were about to leave the cellars, gloating about their victory, the ghosts of the Abbeybeasts rose up and tore into the flesh of the vermin. None survived.
I am not sure why you have not been attacked with quite so much viciousness. Perhaps it is because it has been so long since any living creatures have walked here; perhaps it is because you are only one mouse. Whatever the reason, you are lucky to still be alive. And perhaps you can put an end to our misery. While the mantels originally bound us here, destroying them now would be useless. We are now being kept here by Malazrael's own power. He is the one directing our spirits into hatred and anger. He is siphoning something from our souls, keeping himself alive to rule a kingdom of deadbeasts.
R
If you want to leave this Abbey alive - or even dead - you'll have to kill Malazrael...but he will not be easy to find. Have you noticed a lack of corpses around the Abbey? That's because a crew of otters came here about twenty seasons ago, during the day (while our spirits "slept"), and buried us in a cemetery behind the Abbey, over the walled playground where the Dibbuns used to play. Malazrael has created a system of tunnels underneath, from which he controls many of our souls...and holds the Abbot's grave captive.
You must travel under the cemetery and do battle with Malazrael. Then, you must free the Abbot's ghost, so that he may lead us all to the Dark Forest in peace. There is no direct entrance to the old playground...but there is a secret passageway. You must travel to the Abbot's study, and play the following notes on his organ:
C D B G A
Good luck, my friend. If you succeed, you shall have countless friends on the other side of existence....
-Rungtol, Recorder of Soilran Abbey
44 Seasons After His Death
Gulping, the young mouse piled the parchments up and put them back in his pocket. The Abbot's study must have been that room with an organ up on the second floor. He knew what he had to do. Steeling himself, the young mouse left the gatehouse and entered the main building...he had to kill Malazrael!
Once he was back in the main hall, the young mouse sat down for a breather. Where shall I go next? he demanded of himself. I've been everywhere. Hmm, well, perhaps I should go to the Gatehouse once again. Yes, I wasn't in there very long. Perhaps there's some sort of clue hidden amongst the decaying papers.
Leaving the main Abbey, the young mouse stepped into the Gatehouse, where he sat down in the decaying old chair. He felt as though there were a presence in this room. But he was not afraid. The presence seemed almost friendly...like a fatherly paw on his shoulders in his darkest hour.
Gnawing his lip, the young mouse took out the four identical papers he had managed to collect on his way around the Abbey. Perhaps there is some sort of clue hidden in them, he thought to himself.
Digging them out of his pockets, he arranged them on the table so that he could see all four at the same time. Immediately, the old feather pen on the desk floated into the air and began to write on the papers.
The young mouse was about to pull the pen down, but something told him not to. Instead, he simply sat and watched as the pen finished its task. Whatever the force that was controlling the pen was, it was an experienced writer.
The script was strong and flowing, yet it had been written in the stretch of less than a couple of minutes. Again, the young mouse felt that friendly presence in the room. Curious, he bent down to read the first page of parchment. So engrossed was he by the tale they told that he didn't stop reading them until he had finished the whole thing not once but twice. They ran thus:
R
"Welcome to Soilran Abbey to Soilran Abbey, a place of peace and prosperity. Anybeast in need of help or healing may seek refuge within our walls, for Soilran Abbey is a place of safety. Safety that will last forever." This is the way I would have described our Abbey many seasons ago. But things have changed. The days of everlasting peace are long gone. Soilran Abbey is now a place of eternal pain and death.
I am Rungtol, the recorder of Soilran Abbey. It was indeed a wonderful place to live. We had created in the image and spirit of Redwall, the Abbey to the far Northwest. But as you can see, things did not stay that way. Now, the spirits of my former brothers haunt this Abbey, forever put through horrible torment. We are all ghosts, and most of us are forced into malicious hostility.
I have been watching you, my young friend. You already know most of this. I am fairly sure that there are two questions you wish to have answered more than anything. How the inhabitants of the Abbey were reduced to these horrible monstrosities, and how you can escape from this place. I may have answers for both, but I feel it would be best if I answered the first question first, as its answer is much more complicated and long- winded. Part of the cause was the invasion of a terrible vermin horde, but it all really began with a fox named Malazrael.
R
I cannot pretend to know everything about Malazrael. I do not know just how old he is, or how he came to command the powers he has. I do, however, know how he came into our concern. He was traveling with a horde of vermin, using some of his powers to pose as a seer. As they headed for Soilran Abbey, their first highly-populated target, he ran ahead and came to the Abbey about a day before the others.
Malazrael pretended to be an old, tired traveler, and was received by the Abbey with open arms. But on the night of the horde's invasion, Malazrael began his evil works. He erected the first of two mantels in our Abbey's main hall. This mantel is infused with mystical runes, which keep the souls of the dead from leaving this place. But the vermin invaded a little earlier than Malazrael had predicted....
Malazrael was unable to erect his second mantle by the time three Abbeybeasts had already died. The first was me...I had been working late in the Gatehouse, and I was the first one the hordebeasts met with. The second was our Cellarhog, also working late, who ran from the vermin but was killed in the Courtyard. The third was our Abbot who, by a stroke of freak luck, had died of old age at just the right time. Our spirits were bound to the Abbey, but we were unaffected by the second curse. The curse which caused the souls of the dead to come under the control of the terrible Malazrael!
R
The horde had invaded while most of us were sleeping. They rushed into the dormitory and quickly did most of the Abbeybeasts in as they slept. There were a few, however, that awoke. Several were fighting beasts, who defended the Abbey. One of them, our champion warrior, dueled with the horde's leader on the dormitory balcony, winning by stabbing him and causing him to topple over the edge. Sadly, he was killed soon afterwards.
The other warriors retreated to the lower levels of the Abbey, taking refuge in the Armory. They fought valiantly, slaying many vermin, but eventually they were overcome as the horde poured into the Archery Range and slew the last of them. It was too late, though - Malazrael's runes had just begun to take effect. As the hordebeasts were about to leave the cellars, gloating about their victory, the ghosts of the Abbeybeasts rose up and tore into the flesh of the vermin. None survived.
I am not sure why you have not been attacked with quite so much viciousness. Perhaps it is because it has been so long since any living creatures have walked here; perhaps it is because you are only one mouse. Whatever the reason, you are lucky to still be alive. And perhaps you can put an end to our misery. While the mantels originally bound us here, destroying them now would be useless. We are now being kept here by Malazrael's own power. He is the one directing our spirits into hatred and anger. He is siphoning something from our souls, keeping himself alive to rule a kingdom of deadbeasts.
R
If you want to leave this Abbey alive - or even dead - you'll have to kill Malazrael...but he will not be easy to find. Have you noticed a lack of corpses around the Abbey? That's because a crew of otters came here about twenty seasons ago, during the day (while our spirits "slept"), and buried us in a cemetery behind the Abbey, over the walled playground where the Dibbuns used to play. Malazrael has created a system of tunnels underneath, from which he controls many of our souls...and holds the Abbot's grave captive.
You must travel under the cemetery and do battle with Malazrael. Then, you must free the Abbot's ghost, so that he may lead us all to the Dark Forest in peace. There is no direct entrance to the old playground...but there is a secret passageway. You must travel to the Abbot's study, and play the following notes on his organ:
C D B G A
Good luck, my friend. If you succeed, you shall have countless friends on the other side of existence....
-Rungtol, Recorder of Soilran Abbey
44 Seasons After His Death
Gulping, the young mouse piled the parchments up and put them back in his pocket. The Abbot's study must have been that room with an organ up on the second floor. He knew what he had to do. Steeling himself, the young mouse left the gatehouse and entered the main building...he had to kill Malazrael!