Dan left as soon as he got word of what had happened. Leaving a note for Beth, he quickly changed and drove out to the site. There were two police cars on the scene when he arrived. As there were no street lamps, and the sun had not yet come up, the bright lights of headlights and flashlights circled around everybeast. The squirrel could make out the figure of Wally, speaking with one of the constables.
"Wally, what's happened?" Dan called out, running over, heart in his throat.
The mouse constable paused in his note taking, he turned towards Dan. The otter made motion bidding the constable not to worry.
"Seems somebeast 'as taken t'doing some digging on their own." Wally's voice had lost the usual jovial spirit. "Lockben is here too, he's speaking with the police sergeant in the caravan."
"Do we know what was taken?"
The otter walked towards the string grid. It had been trampled, by paws. Both squirrel and otter were cautious not to get too close, as they didn't wish to hinder investigations. Wally pointed his light on the ground. Two deep shovel holes could be seen. Poking from the earth below corners of artifacts could be spied. "They dug in a part we hadn't uncovered yet. Had to say what was taken if anything. Perhaps they thought they would find valuables, some sort of souvenir? Worst thing mate, is the mess they left for us."
A long moment of silence passed, each lost in the thought of what damage these robbers cause their work. The silence was broken by none other than Bulfie, who as soon as he arrived, stormed up to the site, and let out a string of choice words.
"Hellsteeth! Look at this mess!" The ferret gritted his teeth, muttering foully under his breath. His banded eyes looked about at all the creatures assembled. In the darkness he eyed another ferret; a tall lanky fellow, with the same sable like features of Bulfie. This was one of the security guards, employed by the university to watch over the site. Like a madbest he made his way over, and then hauled the security guard up by the collar of his coat.
"Where the hell were you idjet when this was happening eh? 'Ave y'gone blind an' got mud down your lugs all at the same time? Listen rotbrain, y'best hope I don't find out ye or any o'yer mates was involved in this, otherwise…"
"Enough Daclaw!" Dr. Lockben exited the caravan accompanied by the police sergeant. "Put that creature down at once."
Realizing, that shaking the daylights out of another beast when surrounded by police wasn't a good idea, Bulfie complied.
The hare could see the rage in the ferret's eyes. While he outwardly didn't show it, he wanted to wring the guard's neck. "Best give your report to the sergeant and be on your way lad." He spoke coldly to the security guard. If he had his way, come morning the ferret would be out of a job. "Listen chaps, I'm just as cross as the next over this incident, but now is not the time to act foolishly. I'm not about to fluff over the nasty business, so I'll just say this: we may not recover what was taken. The police will do all they can for us, of course, but that means we'll have t'stop work a few days. A week at most I should think. Let the investigator whallahs do what they do. For now it is best we go back home, and try t'get some sleep."
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Beth's alarm went off at seven am, the young squirrel yawned, wanting nothing more than to stay in bed all day. After a few minutes she managed to pull herself away from the comforts of her bed. Expecting to hear her father trying to hurry her up, she quickly got a shower and dried her fur. Pulling on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts she ran down the narrow stairs to get breakfast.
To her surprise her dad was already at the breakfast table, dressed, and staring into his untouched coffee.
"Good morning…" she spoke slowly, unsure of what caused the depressed look about her father's face.
After a moment or two of awkward silence, Dan explained to his daughter what had taken place. He tried to be positive, letting her know the police were doing everything they could. In the end he didn't know who he was trying to convince, his daughter, or himself. Beth sat before him, listening without a single question. When he finished she sighed.
"So what do we do in the meantime?"Leaning her cheek on a paw, Beth was the picture of crushed dreams. This was something Dan wasn't about to see continue.
"I'll tell you what we do. We carry on regardless. As we have some free time, I'm taking you somewhere special. "
The girl's eyes lit up." Where dad?"
"You know."
Squealing with excitement she leapt from her chair and hugged her father tightly.
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Dan was sure to park the car as close to the Abbey as possible. There was still a little walk involved, but Beth didn't seem to mind in the slightest. She carried a smile that she couldn't wipe off her face. When she wasn't looking he took a photo on his phone, to email home to her mother. What a change this was from the squirrel he saw this morning.
They, along with the many other visitors to the abbey would walk though the main gates. The high wooden doors were open for all to pass though. Beth craned her neck, to glance up at the ornate stone work of the archway. She had cold shivers run down her back. The walls were so high and sturdy, protecting the community within. How many creatures had passed these very gates? Beth got giddy just thinking of it.
It actually surprised her how large the grounds were. Somehow she thought it would be smaller. Once inside the gates, Redwall Abbey appeared to be a place lost in time. She watched as some of the tour groups gathered for their walking tour of the site. Her father had offered to buy tickets for one of the tours, but Beth knew her father could tell her just as much as any tour guide could.
Dan gave his daughter some time to soak the place in. They strolled through the orchards of fruit-trees, steering clear of the beehives as neither of them were fond of the insects. All along the walking path there were small plaques, or information boards, explaining various points of interest or importance. Dan motioned to one of them, a large board posted up beside the southern wall.
"Come look at this." Waiting for Beth to follow he explained. "That site we're working on, this is why they were there. When those creatures were alive, Redwall's south wall had begun to crumble. This is because Redwall was built on the site where the ancient fortress of Kotir once stood. There was also the threat of this warlord named Damug Warfang, and his hoard taking advantage of this weakness. So the hares tricked this warlord into taking his army up into the ridge to fight. It is said they went into battle with only three hundred beasts, not all of them trained warriors. Warfang was said to have an arm of a thousand. "
Beth listened, look up at the wall as her father related the story. "But how did they win?"
"Well, Lady Cregga the first arrived in the nick of time, and the skilled hares and brave woodlanders fought them off. In the end they returned to Redwall, repaired the wall, and lived happily ever after. "
"Except for Bertha and Lieutenant Bob." Beth cheekily pointed out.
"Yes, those, and the number of other creatures we will likely uncover." Wanting to turn attention away from the dig site he motioned towards the bellower.
"Did you know Redwall used to have one bell?"
"When did they get the second one?"
"The Joseph bell which was the first bell was damaged during the war of the Late Rose. It fell on Cluny, killing the rat, and breaking the bell. Abbot Mordalfus ordered that the bell be melted down and recast. From then on, it was the Matthias and Methuselah bells. "As he spoke they walked towards the tower. "Ah look they have a copy of the old bell's carvings on the board." Dan smiled. "Bless those Abbey beasts; they're so good at recording every detail."
Beth looked over the image. She didn't really understand what the strange inscriptions meant. "What is all this?"
"Badger script, ancient and few historians can translate it."
Beth ran a paw over the cool stones of the bell tower. Grinning broadly she spied a group of mice all wearing green habits. She couldn't help but stare, it seemed so strange to her.
"Who are they? Actors or something?" Her and her father had visited other historical sites, many employed actors to portray historical figured.
"Not likely." Dan explained. "Those are novice habits, Redwall is still an abbey. They still have an Abbot and everything."
"You mean they actually live here. "
Dan nodded. "Oh yes, and devote their lives to living as the abbey beasts of old did. They all take the same oath to heal the sick, feed the poor, and help the weak. Not to mention live a life of peace. "
"But if Redwall is such a peaceful place, why is its history so violent?"
Dan shrugged. "She's a strong building, many creatures wanted to use her as a fortress. They made the mistake of viewing peace and charity as weakness."
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After waiting in a line-up for over an hour, Dan and Beth were able to enter the main building. Of Redwall's interior, only The Great Hall was open for guests. The rest of the Abbey was closed to the public. Occasionally, other spaces would be opened, but on days such as this only the grounds and Great Hall were available to be viewed. It didn't matter of course, anybeast who came to see Redwall only wanted to see one thing.
Weaving through the sea of creatures Beth admired the stone work. Redwall had some of the most breathtaking stone reliefs in Mossflower. There were also the stain glass windows, many holding the images of past Abbey leaders or warriors. Then there was the frescos painted in the Renaissance. The most famous and controversial of these was a piece entitled: Maid of the Ocean. It depicted a mousemaid coiled up in a knotted rope, pulling herself from the sea. Abbot Alphonse was said to have commissioned the piece in the spring of 1508 to honour Mariel of Redwall, one of the female warriors of Redwall's past. What made it such a beautiful piece was the emotional response the image brought out in creatures. The maids face, so young, yet so determined to live hauntingly, looked out to the viewer. Beth could spot more than one tourist crying at the site of the painting. The controversy, came from rumours the model for the Mariel had been Alphonse's illegitimate child.
All these examples of art and architecture were beautiful, even inspiring. But that wasn't what they came to see. The one thing, every beast waited so long for, hung on the wall, behind a velvet rope. Beth's jaw dropped; there before her very eyes was the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. The one mouse that inspired not only Redwall, but an entire nation. It was said, that even in these modern times, some creatures saw his spirit. Although it had been a number of seasons since the Abbot of Redwall authenticated a sighing. The cloth figure framed by fleeing rats, stoats, weasels, ferrets, and even a wildcat watched over all. As the line moved, Beth caught her breath. Below the tapestry, contained in a glass case, was the sword of Martin. The blade held by every Redwall warrior, lost to the Abbey countless times only to be reclaimed. For all the battles it had been used in, the blade didn't even appear scratched. The red pommel stone as polished as it might have been the day it was set.
"Beth are you crying?" Her father whispered.
"Maybe just a little." Beth laughed as they stood gazing at the blade at tapestry.