It was a fine sunny day in the island of Aquamort. Valcure Matterang,
emperor of Aquamort, watched his soldiers from his royal chamber. They had
grown fat and lazy having nothing to do for at least three seasons.
Like all emperors and warlords, Valcure had grown restless sitting on his rough, rocky, island. He wanted to conquer something. The ferret wanted to taste the salt of the sea and feel the wind in his smooth fur. The ferret was strong and robust, but quick and ruthless. He called for one of his captains, Deckeye the searat.
"You called fer me, Mightiness?"
"Deckeye, tell my other captains too provision their ships and make sure the ships are fixed up and ready to cast off anchor. We are going to set sail soon. I've been looking over my charts and we have only ever sailed to this land called Mossflower once. Tomorrow we're sailing there!"
Deckeye bowed and said "It shall be done yer Highness."
All the rest of the day the 10,000 odd rats began getting ready to set sail for the long journey. It will be a hard and dangerous route, something that Valcure thought will crack his rats into shape like they were seasons ago. By the end of the day his 20 massive ships were ready to set sail.
Valcure sat in his room and shouted to the empty hall, "Tomorrow we go will go, and Mossflower will be mine!"
.....
Down by the ships, some of the captains were chatting together. They were all happy that they were sailing out again. Deckeye was overjoyed.
"I tell you mates, there ain't a thing like the sea!"
One captain, Halfskull was deep in thought.
"I wonder if Valcure is com'n on the voyage?"
"You bet yer life he is," a rat captain named Sallon snorted. "I heared him shouting like a mad creature say'n "Mossflower will be mine"! You shoulda seen 'im. I tell ya, it was scary, see'n his eyes like that!"
Deckeye sat up, "Well one way or another, were sail'n out morrow."
(At Redwall Abbey)
It was midmorning at Redwall Abbey and the Abbeybabes, or Dibbuns, were setting up a storm in the cavern hole. Having gone under the tables and spilling all the oatmeal on the floor and then racing to the dormitory, trying to lock themselves in. Luckily the Abby elders had already cleaned up the oatmeal by the time the Dibbuns were running upstairs. They managed to catch the Dibbuns before they got through the door. Ruggum, the Abby recorder, threw up his paws in relief.
"Thank goodness, a few more seconds they would have locked themselves in or e would be in real trouble!"
The Dibbuns moaned with disappointment, now that there fun had been ruined.
Emma the Abbess of Redwall, picked up a Dibbun and said to him and the other Dibbuns, "I know, lets go to Brockhall for afternoon tea tomorrow!"
The Dibbuns whooped in delight. They never wanted to miss a chance to go to Brockhall. After all, what Dibbun would not want to go into a big tree.
Later that day the Abbey elders set up a trip to the place where badgers roamed. They also wanted to see the other Redwallers and otters there, putting the finishing touches on restoring the ancient place. They contacted the Guosim shrews to the help on the trip.
"We would be glad to," said Log-a-log Kamer, chieftain of the water shrews. The Abbess thanked them and tuned to her fellow Redwallers.
"It's all settled were going to Brockhall tomorrow!"
The creatures cheered with excitement.
"Now its time for our part, we will need to provide food for everybody who's going until we get to Brockhall. Now back to your duties everyone. Get ready for tomorrow."
(Salamandastron) Saxas, ruler of Salamandastron, was sitting in the mess hall with his hares. There were so many hares the mess hall had to have a loft build to have another huge table there to accommodate all the hares there. There were at least 6,000 hares at the dormant volcano. there had to be two kitchens in order to feed all the hares there.
Corneal Scarum was sitting next to the mountain ruler, bolting down a fruit cake and eyeing a scone.
"Wow, there jolly are a lot more hares here than I've seen in a while, wot. There all trained too, thanks t'me, told you I'd be a absoballyluty good commander, eh, Saxas?"
"I guess so. You still though have a terrible eating problem. You made Mim faint when you ate all the food for lunch a couple days ago. I'll never forget that," he replied, chuckling to himself. Colonel Scarum shuddered. When the badger ruler had seen what had happened a few days earlier at the lunch incident, the ruler came into the state of shadowrage, which is unlike Bloodrage.
Bloodrage is where the creature is in a state of going berserk, with nothing sanding in your way. In Bloodrage your eyes are red.
In Shadowrage however, you go more like a mad person than ever, but for a shorter time, and your eyes are the color of a ghastly purple. It took twenty hares to hold the badger back from strangling Scarum.
"Anyway, Scarum I've been having dreams. Something horrible is going to happen soon, I can feel it. I have to warn Redwall. For some reason I think vermin of great numbers, larger than ours even, is going to try to take over redwall. I cannot let that happen. We must take all our force except 200 in three days. Understand, Colonel?"
"Course sir, I'll pop off my hunkers and tell the troops, which will be quite difficult, assuming how many there are so many of the blighters." And with that, he grabbed the last scone and marched off to give the news.
(At Redwall Abbey....)
In Mossflower, the Redwallers had made it to the clearing in front of Brockhall. The Dibbuns squealed in delight.
"Yippee! We made it!"
"Good, a little longer I thought we had gotten lost!" the Abbess sighed in relief. In a couple minutes they were at the front door. Skipper of otters banged his rudder on the door.
"Let us poor hungry beasts in, mates."
The great oak door swung open and reveling the breathtaking scene. Inside was a automatic smell of warmth, just a bit above luke warm. The shelves had been repaired all along with the carved furniture and the plush armchairs. A otter and a squirrel were jumping up and down on a huge overstuffed silk maroon colored footstool. Emma the hedgehog came running to stop them, making her headspikes rattle. "Saro, Bragoon, stop that this instant, your going to get all the stuffing out!"
The two Dibbuns used the cushion as a trampling and jumped off, of course, being the usual acrobat, Saro did a somersault before landing then both shot off like flamed tipped arrows, giggling.
Constance the badger mother (being named from a earlier badger with the same name) slammed her foot down, making a small dent in the floor because of her strength.
"Ohhh, those two, their an absolute horror. We can never catch them. I just get tired when I look at them. I still remember when I had to find them in the woods. I followed there tracks to the shoreline, which I had to camp there for three days looking for them when I see them come to shore on a boat. They looked as though they thought it was everyday life."
They walked into the dining hall. The table was made of huge oak. It was so long that any creature to try going from one end of the table to the other would get tired out. The abbess sat down on her huge chair which was the same kind of fluffy chair, but with white silk. The rest of the party sat down as well happy to be in Brockhall.
"Well, I'm going off to the kitchen to help prepare supper. That is a big kitchen, though I love it dearly." The Abbess said. She got to her feet, heading in the kitchens direction. Others went to help too. And the rest of the group wandering in the huge badger domain. Badgermum Constance was about to leave when she saw the squirrel Macron. Macon was a tough young squirrel who loved riddles and music. His bushy tail was far bigger than any squirrel in the land (which he was very proud of). He sat huddled with his friends, looking at the tapestry of Lord Brocktree. She walked over to them.
"Hello Macron, what's got you so interested?"
A second later Macron reveled what had excited him. There was a riddle behind the wall hanging. Constance widened her eyes.
"Well go on, Bangle, read it."
Bangle, a solid, tough, hedgehog, the same age as Macron, read in a clear voice.
"Everyone in the home Brockhall
including the tall and small,
know that the house of badgers
always provides for all.
Though in this humble home
we badgers have great prizes
that are made.
In all shapes and sizes
if any creature
want to find these possessions
than follow our directions."
Constance leaned closer to see more writing but there was only one more sentence present she read aloud:
"to find more
go find another tapestry of the great Boar"
They all stared at the riddle for a moment. Then Macron sat up. "C'mon guys. Lets go!" he said.
"Whoa, don't go running off right now, lets get something to eat first. I also have my curiosity roused, but we need to eat."
(Aquamort) The twenty ships from Aquamort were in the sea for two days now with Lord Valcure in the head ship, which was far larger than the other nineteen ships. The searat captain of the vessel, Draggle, which was named Waveterror, was telling his emperor what he knew about a place named Redwall.
"Mightiness, this place is called Redwall h'Abbey. It is filled with harmless mice. The Abbey is full of riches and leisure. The place is filled with magic swords and mythical tapestries. It is a perfect place with every thing a warlord needs. Slaves, plunder, a fortress, wonnerful food and more!"
Valcure nodded in satisfaction. "Good, when we get to Mossflower you will take me there. Say what you told me to none. If you do, I will seek out and will personally kill you and the people you told. But if you don't say anything and we take over the Abbey, you will become a rich beast."
And on saying that he left the cabin. The searat shuddered at what would happen if told anyone his secret.
Up on the lookout post, a couple of searats were playing pebbles and acorns, a popular game among the rats. The prize was a flask of heavy wine. One of the rats called Blaine shouted triumphantly.
"Hah, I won, mates, yippee!"
Another rat on the post looked at the pattern of the objects one the wooden deck and observed it.
"He's right, Blaine gits the wine."
A moan of disappointment came from the two who hadn't won. Blaine pulled out a big object wrapped in a cloth.
"How 'bout we play for this good ole cheese, me cullies?"
Shouts of approval came from the rats on deck.
Meanwhile on the ground deck, two rats were not so happy. They were in a corner on a deep conversation. Draggle the searat was telling his grievances to Tarmac the searat.
"I tell you mate, my life stinks being with this ever since this season. I've been here for as long as I can remember, and I still haven't been promoted captain. And 'is Royal Highness is still havin a easy life. He is goin to pay for what he's been doin' to me!"
Tarmac agreed.
"Aye, he's gonna be sorry!"
Like all emperors and warlords, Valcure had grown restless sitting on his rough, rocky, island. He wanted to conquer something. The ferret wanted to taste the salt of the sea and feel the wind in his smooth fur. The ferret was strong and robust, but quick and ruthless. He called for one of his captains, Deckeye the searat.
"You called fer me, Mightiness?"
"Deckeye, tell my other captains too provision their ships and make sure the ships are fixed up and ready to cast off anchor. We are going to set sail soon. I've been looking over my charts and we have only ever sailed to this land called Mossflower once. Tomorrow we're sailing there!"
Deckeye bowed and said "It shall be done yer Highness."
All the rest of the day the 10,000 odd rats began getting ready to set sail for the long journey. It will be a hard and dangerous route, something that Valcure thought will crack his rats into shape like they were seasons ago. By the end of the day his 20 massive ships were ready to set sail.
Valcure sat in his room and shouted to the empty hall, "Tomorrow we go will go, and Mossflower will be mine!"
.....
Down by the ships, some of the captains were chatting together. They were all happy that they were sailing out again. Deckeye was overjoyed.
"I tell you mates, there ain't a thing like the sea!"
One captain, Halfskull was deep in thought.
"I wonder if Valcure is com'n on the voyage?"
"You bet yer life he is," a rat captain named Sallon snorted. "I heared him shouting like a mad creature say'n "Mossflower will be mine"! You shoulda seen 'im. I tell ya, it was scary, see'n his eyes like that!"
Deckeye sat up, "Well one way or another, were sail'n out morrow."
(At Redwall Abbey)
It was midmorning at Redwall Abbey and the Abbeybabes, or Dibbuns, were setting up a storm in the cavern hole. Having gone under the tables and spilling all the oatmeal on the floor and then racing to the dormitory, trying to lock themselves in. Luckily the Abby elders had already cleaned up the oatmeal by the time the Dibbuns were running upstairs. They managed to catch the Dibbuns before they got through the door. Ruggum, the Abby recorder, threw up his paws in relief.
"Thank goodness, a few more seconds they would have locked themselves in or e would be in real trouble!"
The Dibbuns moaned with disappointment, now that there fun had been ruined.
Emma the Abbess of Redwall, picked up a Dibbun and said to him and the other Dibbuns, "I know, lets go to Brockhall for afternoon tea tomorrow!"
The Dibbuns whooped in delight. They never wanted to miss a chance to go to Brockhall. After all, what Dibbun would not want to go into a big tree.
Later that day the Abbey elders set up a trip to the place where badgers roamed. They also wanted to see the other Redwallers and otters there, putting the finishing touches on restoring the ancient place. They contacted the Guosim shrews to the help on the trip.
"We would be glad to," said Log-a-log Kamer, chieftain of the water shrews. The Abbess thanked them and tuned to her fellow Redwallers.
"It's all settled were going to Brockhall tomorrow!"
The creatures cheered with excitement.
"Now its time for our part, we will need to provide food for everybody who's going until we get to Brockhall. Now back to your duties everyone. Get ready for tomorrow."
(Salamandastron) Saxas, ruler of Salamandastron, was sitting in the mess hall with his hares. There were so many hares the mess hall had to have a loft build to have another huge table there to accommodate all the hares there. There were at least 6,000 hares at the dormant volcano. there had to be two kitchens in order to feed all the hares there.
Corneal Scarum was sitting next to the mountain ruler, bolting down a fruit cake and eyeing a scone.
"Wow, there jolly are a lot more hares here than I've seen in a while, wot. There all trained too, thanks t'me, told you I'd be a absoballyluty good commander, eh, Saxas?"
"I guess so. You still though have a terrible eating problem. You made Mim faint when you ate all the food for lunch a couple days ago. I'll never forget that," he replied, chuckling to himself. Colonel Scarum shuddered. When the badger ruler had seen what had happened a few days earlier at the lunch incident, the ruler came into the state of shadowrage, which is unlike Bloodrage.
Bloodrage is where the creature is in a state of going berserk, with nothing sanding in your way. In Bloodrage your eyes are red.
In Shadowrage however, you go more like a mad person than ever, but for a shorter time, and your eyes are the color of a ghastly purple. It took twenty hares to hold the badger back from strangling Scarum.
"Anyway, Scarum I've been having dreams. Something horrible is going to happen soon, I can feel it. I have to warn Redwall. For some reason I think vermin of great numbers, larger than ours even, is going to try to take over redwall. I cannot let that happen. We must take all our force except 200 in three days. Understand, Colonel?"
"Course sir, I'll pop off my hunkers and tell the troops, which will be quite difficult, assuming how many there are so many of the blighters." And with that, he grabbed the last scone and marched off to give the news.
(At Redwall Abbey....)
In Mossflower, the Redwallers had made it to the clearing in front of Brockhall. The Dibbuns squealed in delight.
"Yippee! We made it!"
"Good, a little longer I thought we had gotten lost!" the Abbess sighed in relief. In a couple minutes they were at the front door. Skipper of otters banged his rudder on the door.
"Let us poor hungry beasts in, mates."
The great oak door swung open and reveling the breathtaking scene. Inside was a automatic smell of warmth, just a bit above luke warm. The shelves had been repaired all along with the carved furniture and the plush armchairs. A otter and a squirrel were jumping up and down on a huge overstuffed silk maroon colored footstool. Emma the hedgehog came running to stop them, making her headspikes rattle. "Saro, Bragoon, stop that this instant, your going to get all the stuffing out!"
The two Dibbuns used the cushion as a trampling and jumped off, of course, being the usual acrobat, Saro did a somersault before landing then both shot off like flamed tipped arrows, giggling.
Constance the badger mother (being named from a earlier badger with the same name) slammed her foot down, making a small dent in the floor because of her strength.
"Ohhh, those two, their an absolute horror. We can never catch them. I just get tired when I look at them. I still remember when I had to find them in the woods. I followed there tracks to the shoreline, which I had to camp there for three days looking for them when I see them come to shore on a boat. They looked as though they thought it was everyday life."
They walked into the dining hall. The table was made of huge oak. It was so long that any creature to try going from one end of the table to the other would get tired out. The abbess sat down on her huge chair which was the same kind of fluffy chair, but with white silk. The rest of the party sat down as well happy to be in Brockhall.
"Well, I'm going off to the kitchen to help prepare supper. That is a big kitchen, though I love it dearly." The Abbess said. She got to her feet, heading in the kitchens direction. Others went to help too. And the rest of the group wandering in the huge badger domain. Badgermum Constance was about to leave when she saw the squirrel Macron. Macon was a tough young squirrel who loved riddles and music. His bushy tail was far bigger than any squirrel in the land (which he was very proud of). He sat huddled with his friends, looking at the tapestry of Lord Brocktree. She walked over to them.
"Hello Macron, what's got you so interested?"
A second later Macron reveled what had excited him. There was a riddle behind the wall hanging. Constance widened her eyes.
"Well go on, Bangle, read it."
Bangle, a solid, tough, hedgehog, the same age as Macron, read in a clear voice.
"Everyone in the home Brockhall
including the tall and small,
know that the house of badgers
always provides for all.
Though in this humble home
we badgers have great prizes
that are made.
In all shapes and sizes
if any creature
want to find these possessions
than follow our directions."
Constance leaned closer to see more writing but there was only one more sentence present she read aloud:
"to find more
go find another tapestry of the great Boar"
They all stared at the riddle for a moment. Then Macron sat up. "C'mon guys. Lets go!" he said.
"Whoa, don't go running off right now, lets get something to eat first. I also have my curiosity roused, but we need to eat."
(Aquamort) The twenty ships from Aquamort were in the sea for two days now with Lord Valcure in the head ship, which was far larger than the other nineteen ships. The searat captain of the vessel, Draggle, which was named Waveterror, was telling his emperor what he knew about a place named Redwall.
"Mightiness, this place is called Redwall h'Abbey. It is filled with harmless mice. The Abbey is full of riches and leisure. The place is filled with magic swords and mythical tapestries. It is a perfect place with every thing a warlord needs. Slaves, plunder, a fortress, wonnerful food and more!"
Valcure nodded in satisfaction. "Good, when we get to Mossflower you will take me there. Say what you told me to none. If you do, I will seek out and will personally kill you and the people you told. But if you don't say anything and we take over the Abbey, you will become a rich beast."
And on saying that he left the cabin. The searat shuddered at what would happen if told anyone his secret.
Up on the lookout post, a couple of searats were playing pebbles and acorns, a popular game among the rats. The prize was a flask of heavy wine. One of the rats called Blaine shouted triumphantly.
"Hah, I won, mates, yippee!"
Another rat on the post looked at the pattern of the objects one the wooden deck and observed it.
"He's right, Blaine gits the wine."
A moan of disappointment came from the two who hadn't won. Blaine pulled out a big object wrapped in a cloth.
"How 'bout we play for this good ole cheese, me cullies?"
Shouts of approval came from the rats on deck.
Meanwhile on the ground deck, two rats were not so happy. They were in a corner on a deep conversation. Draggle the searat was telling his grievances to Tarmac the searat.
"I tell you mate, my life stinks being with this ever since this season. I've been here for as long as I can remember, and I still haven't been promoted captain. And 'is Royal Highness is still havin a easy life. He is goin to pay for what he's been doin' to me!"
Tarmac agreed.
"Aye, he's gonna be sorry!"