CHAPTER THREE, THE NAMELESS OTTERMAID
"'m sorry, ottermaid, but your mother...is dead." Songtamer looked up at the infirmary keeper, a stuttering and nervous-around-strangers vole, Brother Marrev. Songtamer said nothing to this news, just looked up at Marrev with eyes filled with no emotion. If Marrev hadn't known any better, he could have said that Songtamer was dead, too.
"Ottermaid? Miss, what was your mother's name?" Marrev asked of Songtamer. Song hadn't spoken a word since her arrival. Honeyflower had spoken few words, mainly about keeping her daughter alive.
Songtamer stood up from her position on the ground. In four seasons she would reach her teen seasons. Five seasons into Bowfire's teen seasons was when he had died...and called her a coward! Songtamer regretted allowing him to go without a farewell, without telling him to be cautious.
"Honeyflower," she whispered hoarsely. "Momma...was Honeyflower."
"Honeyflower? What a sweet name," Brother Marrev commented softly. "Really, ottermaid, don't blame yourself on this. What is YOUR name?"
Songtamer looked at Marrev and shook her head.
"Don't you have a name?" asked Marrev kindly. Songtamer blinked her eyes slowly at Marrev, keeping them closed for a few seconds. She let a sigh escaped from her nose, not opening her mouth, and turned away.
"Ottermaid...?" whispered the vole.
"Wot's wrong wi' yon ottermaid, mate?" asked Skipper of Otters. He had just sidled up from Cavern Hole. Cavern Hole was slightly underground, with a huge roaring fireplace in the wintertime to keep it snug. It was always at the right temperature, whether it was Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter.
"She won't speak, Skip," grunted Marrev. "She won't speak."
"Wot? Why not? Did she tell you 'er name?" asked Skipper.
"Skip, I tole ye, she won't speak! Mayhaps she'll lissen to one of her own folk?" suggested Marrev.
"Mayhaps...I'll go talk to her. See you, Marrev!" Skipper called over his shoulder to the Infirmary Keeper as he trundled away.
"Ottermaid?" Skipper caught up with Songtamer. The ottermaid kept on walking. "Lissen, matey, maybe we can talk..."
"I'm no one's matey," whispered Song. "No one calls me matey, now that Hyas is dead. They don't go to the Dark Forest, d'you hear? They go to death. A world who no one does anything. They don't live some other life in the Dark Forest. THEY'RE DEAD."
"Hyas? Who was that, matey – um, ottermaid?" asked Skipper softly.
"Hyas Stickspike. MY chum. Now go away," Songtamer whispered. She began to run away from Skipper.
"Lissen, ottermaid! Wot's yer name!" Skipper called after the ottermaid. Songtamer shook her head.
Later that day, Songtamer took a vow of silence. She would speak to no one and keep to herself. She may live inside the ground of Redwall, but she would not live IN Redwall!
Varsha stood at a window, looking 'round.
"Korufylo's runnin' back with news, marm! Look at 'im, wot! Running like there's a score of vermin on his scut!" laughed Quidjill Dearhare. She saw Koru leap over a rotten log. Quidjill went pale. "Good lord, Varsha marm, there IS a score of vermin on his scut!"
Varsha gripped the windowsill. "KORU! RUN TOWARDS US! SWIFTLY!" she bellowed out the window. Varsha turned to Quidjill. "Jill, listen to me. The life of the bravest hare depends on YOU. Warn every hare that there's an army of vermin out there. I know there is! Hurry, Jill! Warn the hares! Ask as many as possible to come with me. Quidjill, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" asked Varsha seriously. The nervous haremaid nodded and quickly bounded away to where the other hares would be. Varsha strapped on her battle sword and drew it. She had named the huge weapon Flamebird. In her capable paws, sparks flew and it soared down like a bird.
"Come, Flamebird! Let's hew some vermin," growled Varsha. She ran down to the steps of Salamandastron with hares following her.
"Marm, who's out there?" panted Mateo Dearhare.
"It's Korufylo, wot!" panted back Egua Rarfin. "He's being chased by a score of vermin, says yore dear ole sis!"
"Euulaaaaliiiaaaa!" The battle cry of hares and badgers was heard by both vermin and goodbeasts alike. Varsha swung Flamebird down on a stoat and two rats before the vermin knew what was happening.
"Marm! Thank goodness you're here..." began Korufylo, but Varsha cut him off.
"Just run back, Koru, run back!"
"Me, leave you here with only a dozen behind yore back, wot wot wot wot wot? Ne'er, I say, marm, never!" declared Koru. He turned to the vermin and called, "C'mon, you beastly vermin, let's see wot ye got, wot wot wot wot wot wot!"
Flamebird was seen slicing and chopping down at every vermin. Swords and paws weren't nearly as fast as Flamebird.
"Leave one alive!" yelled Varsha. "We need to question!"
When all of the vermin except for a marten and two rats were dead, Varsha knocked them to the ground. She stood over the marten.
"You," she growled. "Who sent you?"
"S-second-in-command Kabble Ionaeyes," whimpered the marten. "Just don't kill me!" she added.
"NEVER SPEAK OF IONAEYES TO ME AGAIN!" roared Varsha. "Who is the first-in- command?"
"First-in-c-command?" whimpered the marten, looking at the two rats close by, who had killed by the contact with Varsha's paw.
"Yes, first-in-command, the warlord, the horde leader, WHO IS IT?!" shouted Varsha.
"'Tis....Deyinvo Ejunn the Conqueror..." whispered the marten.
"THAT EVIL ERMINE?!" hollered Varsha angrily. "Never...in my days...did I expect to hear of Deyinvo again..."
"You're heard of Deyinvo before, marm?" asked Mateo.
"Silence, Dearhare. All of ye, go back to the mountain. I'll deal with this marten!" Varsha snarled. The hares nodded and filed back to the mountain. Their Badger Lady could deal with a whimpering, sniveling, vermin like that marten any day.
Varsha pulled the marten to her feet. She stripped the marten of any weapons, including the hidden knife in her inside pocket. Varsha stripped the marten of her uniform.
"If you go back to Deyinvo then you will be killed. If I ever see or hear of you again, then the hares at my mountain and I will kill you." Varsha paused to let this sink in. "Understand?"
The frightened marten nodded.
"Good! Now, SCRAM!" yelled Varsha, whacking the marten on the rump with her sword. The marten gave a squeal of pain and ran off in the opposite direction of where Deyinvo's horde was.
"Why are they coming back to haunt me?" muttered Varsha as she headed back to Salamandastron. "I thought that they had left me for good when we – they – lost Redwall..."
Varsha gripped her sword tighter. "Never speak of that again, Varsh," she instructed herself. "Remember, THEY lost Redwall. Not WE."
The Badger Lady headed back to her mountain.
Mateo Dearhare, who had been hiding behind a rock, keeping an eye on his Badger Lady, let his mouth open in shock, something that Dearhares never let happen.
"WE?" he whispered. "She lost Redwall...?" He stood up, his eyes opened wide. He then hit him.
"Da always told stories of when the Badger Lady would run off when she was young. The Bader Lord didn't care, he knew that she could take care of herself...so she went and joined Kabble Ionaeyes! Deyinvo must've been part of the horde, wot. So then when she lost at Redwall, our Lady must've realized wot she was doing! Oh, corks! Our Badger Lady..." Mateo swallowed before his continued talking to himself. "Our Badger Lady worked with vermin!"
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"'m sorry, ottermaid, but your mother...is dead." Songtamer looked up at the infirmary keeper, a stuttering and nervous-around-strangers vole, Brother Marrev. Songtamer said nothing to this news, just looked up at Marrev with eyes filled with no emotion. If Marrev hadn't known any better, he could have said that Songtamer was dead, too.
"Ottermaid? Miss, what was your mother's name?" Marrev asked of Songtamer. Song hadn't spoken a word since her arrival. Honeyflower had spoken few words, mainly about keeping her daughter alive.
Songtamer stood up from her position on the ground. In four seasons she would reach her teen seasons. Five seasons into Bowfire's teen seasons was when he had died...and called her a coward! Songtamer regretted allowing him to go without a farewell, without telling him to be cautious.
"Honeyflower," she whispered hoarsely. "Momma...was Honeyflower."
"Honeyflower? What a sweet name," Brother Marrev commented softly. "Really, ottermaid, don't blame yourself on this. What is YOUR name?"
Songtamer looked at Marrev and shook her head.
"Don't you have a name?" asked Marrev kindly. Songtamer blinked her eyes slowly at Marrev, keeping them closed for a few seconds. She let a sigh escaped from her nose, not opening her mouth, and turned away.
"Ottermaid...?" whispered the vole.
"Wot's wrong wi' yon ottermaid, mate?" asked Skipper of Otters. He had just sidled up from Cavern Hole. Cavern Hole was slightly underground, with a huge roaring fireplace in the wintertime to keep it snug. It was always at the right temperature, whether it was Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter.
"She won't speak, Skip," grunted Marrev. "She won't speak."
"Wot? Why not? Did she tell you 'er name?" asked Skipper.
"Skip, I tole ye, she won't speak! Mayhaps she'll lissen to one of her own folk?" suggested Marrev.
"Mayhaps...I'll go talk to her. See you, Marrev!" Skipper called over his shoulder to the Infirmary Keeper as he trundled away.
"Ottermaid?" Skipper caught up with Songtamer. The ottermaid kept on walking. "Lissen, matey, maybe we can talk..."
"I'm no one's matey," whispered Song. "No one calls me matey, now that Hyas is dead. They don't go to the Dark Forest, d'you hear? They go to death. A world who no one does anything. They don't live some other life in the Dark Forest. THEY'RE DEAD."
"Hyas? Who was that, matey – um, ottermaid?" asked Skipper softly.
"Hyas Stickspike. MY chum. Now go away," Songtamer whispered. She began to run away from Skipper.
"Lissen, ottermaid! Wot's yer name!" Skipper called after the ottermaid. Songtamer shook her head.
Later that day, Songtamer took a vow of silence. She would speak to no one and keep to herself. She may live inside the ground of Redwall, but she would not live IN Redwall!
Varsha stood at a window, looking 'round.
"Korufylo's runnin' back with news, marm! Look at 'im, wot! Running like there's a score of vermin on his scut!" laughed Quidjill Dearhare. She saw Koru leap over a rotten log. Quidjill went pale. "Good lord, Varsha marm, there IS a score of vermin on his scut!"
Varsha gripped the windowsill. "KORU! RUN TOWARDS US! SWIFTLY!" she bellowed out the window. Varsha turned to Quidjill. "Jill, listen to me. The life of the bravest hare depends on YOU. Warn every hare that there's an army of vermin out there. I know there is! Hurry, Jill! Warn the hares! Ask as many as possible to come with me. Quidjill, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" asked Varsha seriously. The nervous haremaid nodded and quickly bounded away to where the other hares would be. Varsha strapped on her battle sword and drew it. She had named the huge weapon Flamebird. In her capable paws, sparks flew and it soared down like a bird.
"Come, Flamebird! Let's hew some vermin," growled Varsha. She ran down to the steps of Salamandastron with hares following her.
"Marm, who's out there?" panted Mateo Dearhare.
"It's Korufylo, wot!" panted back Egua Rarfin. "He's being chased by a score of vermin, says yore dear ole sis!"
"Euulaaaaliiiaaaa!" The battle cry of hares and badgers was heard by both vermin and goodbeasts alike. Varsha swung Flamebird down on a stoat and two rats before the vermin knew what was happening.
"Marm! Thank goodness you're here..." began Korufylo, but Varsha cut him off.
"Just run back, Koru, run back!"
"Me, leave you here with only a dozen behind yore back, wot wot wot wot wot? Ne'er, I say, marm, never!" declared Koru. He turned to the vermin and called, "C'mon, you beastly vermin, let's see wot ye got, wot wot wot wot wot wot!"
Flamebird was seen slicing and chopping down at every vermin. Swords and paws weren't nearly as fast as Flamebird.
"Leave one alive!" yelled Varsha. "We need to question!"
When all of the vermin except for a marten and two rats were dead, Varsha knocked them to the ground. She stood over the marten.
"You," she growled. "Who sent you?"
"S-second-in-command Kabble Ionaeyes," whimpered the marten. "Just don't kill me!" she added.
"NEVER SPEAK OF IONAEYES TO ME AGAIN!" roared Varsha. "Who is the first-in- command?"
"First-in-c-command?" whimpered the marten, looking at the two rats close by, who had killed by the contact with Varsha's paw.
"Yes, first-in-command, the warlord, the horde leader, WHO IS IT?!" shouted Varsha.
"'Tis....Deyinvo Ejunn the Conqueror..." whispered the marten.
"THAT EVIL ERMINE?!" hollered Varsha angrily. "Never...in my days...did I expect to hear of Deyinvo again..."
"You're heard of Deyinvo before, marm?" asked Mateo.
"Silence, Dearhare. All of ye, go back to the mountain. I'll deal with this marten!" Varsha snarled. The hares nodded and filed back to the mountain. Their Badger Lady could deal with a whimpering, sniveling, vermin like that marten any day.
Varsha pulled the marten to her feet. She stripped the marten of any weapons, including the hidden knife in her inside pocket. Varsha stripped the marten of her uniform.
"If you go back to Deyinvo then you will be killed. If I ever see or hear of you again, then the hares at my mountain and I will kill you." Varsha paused to let this sink in. "Understand?"
The frightened marten nodded.
"Good! Now, SCRAM!" yelled Varsha, whacking the marten on the rump with her sword. The marten gave a squeal of pain and ran off in the opposite direction of where Deyinvo's horde was.
"Why are they coming back to haunt me?" muttered Varsha as she headed back to Salamandastron. "I thought that they had left me for good when we – they – lost Redwall..."
Varsha gripped her sword tighter. "Never speak of that again, Varsh," she instructed herself. "Remember, THEY lost Redwall. Not WE."
The Badger Lady headed back to her mountain.
Mateo Dearhare, who had been hiding behind a rock, keeping an eye on his Badger Lady, let his mouth open in shock, something that Dearhares never let happen.
"WE?" he whispered. "She lost Redwall...?" He stood up, his eyes opened wide. He then hit him.
"Da always told stories of when the Badger Lady would run off when she was young. The Bader Lord didn't care, he knew that she could take care of herself...so she went and joined Kabble Ionaeyes! Deyinvo must've been part of the horde, wot. So then when she lost at Redwall, our Lady must've realized wot she was doing! Oh, corks! Our Badger Lady..." Mateo swallowed before his continued talking to himself. "Our Badger Lady worked with vermin!"
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