Chapter Sixteen: Solving Riddles

Abbot Thren was deep in thought. So deep, in fact that he didn't notice the twin mole dibbuns, Gurbie and Burbie, who were playing tag with Zik, a baby squirrel, until they cannoned into him.

"Ooff," the old mouse lost his balance and fell. The two molebabes ignored him, and fled down the stairs to Cavern Hole.

A strong paw grasped his shoulder, and lifted him to his feet, "You have to watch those dibbuns, they don't think about whoever might be in their way," said a gruff voice it was Skipper. "You know, come to think of it, you have seemed a bit detached all day, something wrong?"

"I saw Martin in a dream last night, he gave me a poem that seems to be a riddle, but I can't make heads or tails of it."

"Ooh, I love a good riddle," Skipper replied, "Can I help?"

The Abbot gave him a slip of parchment, on which he had recorded the poem from his dream. Skipper pored over it for a few minutes. Then he looked up. "Hmm, this doesn't make much sense, it seems like Martin is telling us to look for certain things that will happen, and gives instructions on what to do when they happen. These first two lines are plain enough, there is going to be a war."

"A war! There hasn't been a real war in Mossflower since…since…I can't remember."

Skipper looked grim, "Yes, the Long Patrol usually handles the large groups of vermin before they get to the Abbey. Aspen, Log-a-log, and my crew usually handle whatever gets by them. However, since this is Martin telling us this, we can assume it will happen. What puzzles me is that the last line indicates that the vermin will be rapscallions, I thought they were all destroyed at the Ridge of a Thousand."

"They were, but I guess some could have escaped. I'll have to go look at the records. What about the next part?"

"They are a little more cryptic, so we'll ignore them, for the time being, the next few lines are easier to understand. It seems a "warrior" will come, as far as I know, Martin usually appoints a Champion in times of crisis. From what the poem says, this "warrior" will come from a village, there are several in Mossflower nowadays, and he will have a sword that once belonged to a vermin. If I understand it correctly, we are supposed to give him Martin's sword."

"What about the other part, what does that mean?" Thren asked.

"Simple, it refers to the warrior, if he has a vermin sword, and we give him Martin's, what does he have?"

"Two sword… Oh, I get it."

"I wouldn't tell everyone about this, we don't want to cause a panic."

"Agreed, I should've thought to ask you sooner, I've been trying to solve that all day, ha, and you got it in a couple of-," he got no further because at that moment, a large group of squealing dibbuns, evidently fleeing bath time, stampeded through Great Hall, headed for the open door.

"Somebeast, stop them!" Sister Acilla, the infirmary keeper and assistant dibbun-minder, shouted from the stairs to the dormitories, "If they get outside it'll be midnight before we catch them."

Skipper managed to reach the doors before the dibbuns did, but just as he was shutting it, Zik raced forward and slipped past him. Burbie tried to escape into Cavern Hole, but was stopped by the Abbot. Together, he and Acilla herded the dibbuns back up the stairs to their baths.

Skipper opened the door and ran out. The escaping dibbun was running east, along the south wall top. He caught up with him at the corner of the wall. Skipper lifted the baby squirrel off his feet. Zik immediately began to complain, "Me no wanna get baffed, get water in eyes an nose an mouf an soap an drownded an…."

"Hey up there, who's drowning dibbuns?" A voice said from over the wall.

Skipper looked down; Zik took the opportunity to try to wriggle free, but with no success. "Log-a-log, is that you, matey?"

"Aye, Skipper, and let us in, you old streamwalloper."

Still holding the struggling squirrelbabe, Skipper opened the east wallgate, "Ha, Aspen Limbrunner, you haven't visited us for a while, and you brought Lutran too. Welcome back!"

"I say Skipper old chap, we didn't miss supper now did we, I'm feeling a bit famished right now." Lutran asked.

"You're always famished," Aspen retorted, "allow me to introduce my friends, Beechtail and Maplefur, she's hurt, so I would like to get her up to the infirmary."

Skipper did not reply. Zik wriggled free, and was caught by Log-a-log. Skipper hardly noticed. His eyes were fixed on Beechtail's sword.