Sathe hummed a pleasant tune. It was one she had memorized as a child many seasons ago. It was one of the few pleasant memories she had of her life before coming to Redwall Abbey. It was a song her mother would sing as she fell asleep before drinking and jealousy turned her cold and unloving. She had hummed the tune when she awoke that morning and hummed it as she watched Trilloway beat that vile rat on her behalf.
The hare was irate when Sathe explained how Seabane had cornered her before attacking her and Minerva. He expressed his desire to "find the ruffian and knock some jolly good sense into the blighter " throughout the night. Sathe couldn't help but laugh at his claims. He had stayed by her side all morning, which she was more than content with. They only spoke when needed, not wanting to spoil their little secret. They both agreed to keep the truth of that night to themselves for as long as possible. Any attention would only wedge them apart. Of course, Trilloway wanted to pummel the rat the moment he saw him.
Foolish hare. Sathe thought as Trilloway began wrestling the giant white rat Marrow. The Long Patrol hare had knocked the rat to one knee and repeatedly tried to cave the vermin's snout in with his foot. Sathe knew she should feel scared or intimidated by the hare laying waste to her kinsmen, but she didn't. She relished watching the two bullies be taught a lesson. Although Trilloway pleaded and advised her to become a better beast, Sathe couldn't deny she was enjoying the hare enacting a bit of revenge on her behalf.
She caught Seabane, battered and bloodied staring at her. She didn't meet his gaze but smiled as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto his back. She broke into an audible laugh which got the attention of several Redwallers. She quickly hid her face behind her cowl. Holding tightly to her seer's amulet she thanked Trilloway for being a loyal fool.
As swiftly as the brawl had started it ended. The one-legged grey mouse and the abbot stormed across the snow-covered green and shouted at the hare. Marrow was being held at spearpoint by over a score of beasts and Seabane still lay on the ground unconscious. Sathe watched the hare and mouse argue before Eli finally broke and ordered Trilloway to the dungeon. The hare found Sathe amongst the crowd and the ferret mouthed a 'thank you' to him before he was rushed inside. She hummed her merry tune as she glided toward the abbey's great front doors. She'd be sure to visit him, to reprimand him for causing fights and abandoning her in the infirmary. She was sure he wouldn't mind. Sathe was already planning how to scold the hare that she didn't notice Ripeye sneak out the door until she slammed into him.
"Ow! What in blazes are ye doing?" Sathe snapped before recognizing the weasel kit.
"Yew!" She hissed. "Whattar yew doin' outta bed?"
The weasel rubbed his head before looking into the ferret's masked face. A look of horror washed over him.
"Me pa said I could!" The little weasel said as he tried to hide a large square object under his cloak. "I was just going t' the book room wiv him."
Ripeye stood and turned about quickly trying to leave. Sathe grabbed his cloak before he could take a step.
"Who told him he could do that? You're still healing. You probably tore open your stitches when you ran into me!"
"I don't think so," Ripeye said as he pulled away from Sathe. "Now lemme go find my pa!"
Ripeye pulled away from Sathe but the ferret yanked him back in place. Sathe scowled, figuring this indignant rapscallion would ruin her pleasant morning. She might have told Trilloway about her desire to be a better beast, but speaking to Ripeye was giving her second thoughts.
"What's in yer paws ye little mite?" Sathe snapped as she yanked his collar. Several of the threads snapped as the book fell to the snow.
Ripeye gasped and tried to jump on the book but Sathe was quicker than the weasel. She plucked it up and handed it safely out of Ripeye's reach.
"What's this ye little thief? Stealing from the Abbeybeasts?" Sathe asked as Ripeye jumped up and down trying to steal the book back from her.
"Giv that back! I took it right from under the mouse's nose!"
"Why'd ye steal ye blitherin' idjit!" Sathe snapped as she grabbed his whiskers and yanked. "D'ye want t' be thrown out?"
Ripeye shrunk away from Sathe's scolding. "They wouldn't!"
"They absolutely would! An' I think that ghost would love t' finish what he started." Sathe threatened.
Ripeye turned as pale as a ghost. Sathe even thought the little weasel would cry. Normally the ferret would look to twist the dagger in the vile hobs heart but she paused. Taking a breath she closed her eyes. Looking back at the weasel his eyes were watery. Pathetic fool.
"I'll return this to the mouse, but I'd better never see you with stolen goods," Sathe warned as she raised her nose. "If you can keep from stealing for the rest of the day I'll try to obscure your doings to the ghost."
"You kin do that?"
"I'm a seer." Sathe said with a snort. "Of course I can."
"Iv yew do that I promise you'll have the Dibbuns Against Bedtimes help!" Ripeye said with excitement.
"Wonderful," Sathe said as she rolled her eyes. "You'll let me take this book and you'll return to your bed before you hurt yourself or someone else."
Just as Sathe had closed her mouth the bell for lunch was rung.
"Kin I go t' the infirmary after lunch."
"Yes," Sathe sighed. "But no playing and go straight to bed!"
"Aye!" Ripeye shouted as he rushed back inside leaving Sathe alone with the book.
Foolish runt. Sathe thought as she watched the weasel disappear into the Abbey. Since when did he ever learn to read?
Reading and writing weren't sought-after skills within the horde. However, seers were expected to know how to do both to a serviceable amount. The seers were far smarter than the common rabble after all. Although most vermin traditions and lore were kept orally, some more obscure or important medicinals were kept in writing. It was also important to communicate with other seers in secret. Notes and messages handed to each other without speaking could create the appearance that Zidar's seers could communicate without needing to see or speak to one another. The seers were also taught runes and enchantments from an ancient language only they could understand. It was imperative that language was kept a secret and they were sworn to keep it a secret on the penalty of death. It further heightened their mystique and created whispers that they could kill a beast with just a thought if given enough reason to.
Sathe looked at the book. It was yellowed with age as the cover was coming apart at the edges. It was thinner than it looked with pages neatly folded in on itself. She hesitantly opened it.
"Kotir and the Construction of Redwall Abbey." The title was finely written yet the name of the author had faded over the seasons. Sathe turned the page to see a sketch of a garish-looking fortress. There was a note near the bottom.
"Kotir. The great castle fortress of Verduaga Greeneyes and his daughter Tsarmina. This ancient fortress was the precursor to Redwall Abbey after the warlord's defeat and its destruction by Martin the Warrior. Sandstone from this cursed place was used to create the first structures of Redwall Abbey."
Redwall? Redwall has never been under vermin control. Sathe thought to herself as she stared dazed at the confusing drawing. After a moment Sathe looked about worried that somebeast would see her reading in public, but lunch had consumed everyone's attention. Sathe wasn't that hungry and didn't particularly want to speak to anyone or answer why she had a book on Redwalls construction. She decided that she wanted to look at the work being done on the cellar. She flipped through the book as she headed toward the mounds of dirt and stone.
The next page folded out and showed a cross-section view of the fortress Kotir. There was a large gatehouse and massive sandstone walls with a keep that towered over a full-grown oak drawn in for scale. There was also a deep dark lake and a mazelike network of tunnels drawn haphazardly below the surface.
"Kotir was a mighty fortress yet the name of its original builders has been lost to time. The first beasts in recorded history to inhabit the castle were Verduaga Greeneyes and his horde. The fortress was large enough to comfortably hold over fifty scores of vermin and several scores more slaves. Kotir was partially flooded by the Counsel of Resistance in Mossflower before the castle itself was destroyed by Timballisto. After the death of Tsarmina Greeneys by Martin the Warrior the flooded portion of Kotir slowly drained back into the River Moss. Now all that remains of this cursed place is the pond that Redwall Abbey was built around."
Redwall was built on top of a vermin fortress? Sathe shuddered at the thought. She had no idea who Verduaga Greeneyes was but it was shocking to think that vermin once ruled Redwall. Although a bit of her vermin pride scoffed at the idea of Woodlander's toppling a great vermin king she knew that if that hadn't been the case she wouldn't be walking within the Abbeys walls right now. Knowing that an even more horrifying thought came to mind. What if the stories about ghosts were true?
Sathe quickly flipped the page hoping to find answers. The next page was a bird's eye view of the outlines of Kotir and Redwall. The abbey fit neatly within' the old castle like it was an oversized glove. The next was a beautiful drawing of Redwall as seen from the artists view. The note beneath it simply stated the following:
"Born from the ashes of war and tyranny, Redwall Abbey is a beacon of hope to all good beasts in Mossflower."
"I'm clearly not a goodbeast then." Sathe bitterly said to herself as she flipped the page. Trilloway might see some good within her but the author of this book most certainly didn't. The page afterward was another crosssection of Redwall Abbey with its beautiful red sandstone walls, Great Hall, and kitchens with the adjoining cellar.
"Although Redwall isn't as grand in size as Kotir, whose cellar was large enough that the planned Great Hall would fit inside with room to spare. However, its strength and role as a bastion of peace within Mossflower will make it the crown jewel of this land. Current amenities include its red walls to protect it from vermin hordes, kitchen and cellars where the best meals in the land shall be made, and its Great Hall which will serve as a meeting place and home for all the good beasts in Mossflower. Fresh water will be supplied by rain barrels and the pond. Orchards can be planted within and around the abbey for food. Some proposed additional structures include: dormitories, an infirmary, a gatehouse, an apiary, a belltow…" The ink faded to obscurity near the end.
Sathe frowned as she flipped the next several pages, they were filled with drawings and dimensions of the walls, the Great Hall, the kitchens, cellars, and the gatehouse. Several newer drawings on paper were less worn and with ink that had survived the test of time of the bell tower, the dormitories, and the library along with notes that covered repairs made in wartime and peace. There were numbers higher than Sathe could count too and words she questioned were real so those pages meant nothing to her. However, near the end of the book, there was a map that looked like it was drawn in earnest.
The map was that of an underground fortress sunk beneath the Abbey. It looked like a child had drawn it and was covered in crisscrossing passageways and giant undefined structures. If there hadn't been a massive 'X' with the word 'Treasure' written next to it Sathe would've thought it was just a dibbuns drawing. But there was something else that caught her eye. There were only two entrances that connected to the surface one was under a wall tower while the other led to the cellar. Sathe squinted at the map trying to decipher it when a cheery voice pulled her from the book.
"G'morning miss." A smiling hedgehog said as he walked toward the ferret. Sathe slapped the book shut.
"Ahh, whaddaya… I mean, how kin aye help ye?"
"I was gonna ask ye the same," The kind hedgehog asked with a laugh. "Were ye wantin' t' take a peek at what we've been doin' t' the cellar?"
The hedgehog wore a dirty brown coif and a green overcoat. Sathe noted a sling and dagger in his belt although he didn't appear to know that he carried a weapon. He smiled at the ferret, a rare occurrence in Redwall.
"Can I?"
"Of course!" The hedgehog said as he wrapped his arm around Sathe and walked with her toward the opening in the wall.
"I'm glad ye asked, I've been pestered by beasts t' get a look at what we've been doing. I want t' show them but I don't want anyone t' slip an hit their 'ead!" The hedgehog prattled on. "The name's Kerwin by the way."
Sathe followed unable to pull away and curious to observe the work being done by the Redwallers to fix it. "M-mines Sathe."
"Pleasure t' meet ye marm!" The hedgehog smiled at her with a toothy grin. "I'm what many might call an adventurer but I don't see myself as that. I just follow the road until it ends and make friends with all sorts of beasts I stumble into. I think I met your friend Seabane several days ago. A good beast he is although his tongue carries many barbs."
Sathe groaned. "He's not me friend. We both took the chance to desert."
The hedgehog nodded. "Ye trust him a lot for a beast who ye don't consider your friend."
"I don't trust him." Sathe snapped. "But if we stayed we would've been slain by yer badger."
"How d'ye know that?"
"... Because of Seabane," Sathe grumbled.
"Well, then it seems ye kin trust him fer somethin' then," Kerwin said as they reached the edge of a pit.
The two beasts stood at the lip of a cut in the dirt that angled to the cellar's floor. Several tall scaffoldings supported the ceiling scattered around the undamaged portions of the cellar. Beyond the scaffolding, foodstuffs that could be salvaged were packed together on overstuffed shelves and on top of barrels of what remained of the spirits. Foremole had beasts working throughout the day and even into the early hours of the night to add wooden support columns and replace the rotten wood. The beams were supported by iron braces that ran the length of the columns and nailed into place by rings every two tail lengths. Trunks of wood held the abbey wall above as the stone and dirt from the collapsed section of the abbey were slowly being cleared away. The chunks of collapsed stone were meticulously removed and hauled to the surface. Slowly the wood from the crushed barrels was being reviled beneath the stone.
"Why are ye diggin' from th' surface?" Sathe asked. "Wouldn't it be smarter t' clear the debris and build from there?"
"Great question!" Kerwin responded. "Foremole's worried about the Abbey above us falling onto our 'eads, so we've got to support the inside with extra beams and scaffolding. We're digging around the damage to relieve the pressure on the collapsed stone while ensuring that no further damage is done to the cellar or the kitchens above."
"So you're cutting around the wound t' protect the rest of the body?"
"Pretty much." Kerwin responded with a half smile. "We've got to replace most of the stone in the cellar so strengthening and rebuilding the walls is our priority."
"I've never seen the cellar before now," Sathe said as she stared into the cavern. "What was stored in the collapsed section."
"Only some of the best cordials, ales, and wines in all Mossflower," Kerwin said as he wiped his eyes. "Some of those barrels had been aging since I was a dibbun. Such a loss has devastated the cellarhog and his mate, he's been drinking ever since."
Sathe frowned as she tightened her grip on the book. She could understand the hedgehog's pain.
"Is the cellar the oldest part of Redwall?" Sathe asked, remembering the drawings in her book.
"No. At least I don't believe it to be. I believe the first was the great hall and the kitchens. The walls and the cellar were built later but at around the same time. Although the cellar would've been completed first."
"It seems like the cellar was about to collapse before Ripeye ran into the ghost," Sathe said as she worded the question in her head. "If it had been in such disrepair why are we only fixing it now?"
Kerwin shrugged. "It never seemed to be in too rough of shape and we didn't notice water on the inside until the day it collapsed. It also never lost a beam or had an entire season's worth of elderberry wine crash into it!"
"The water. Aren't cellars supposed to be dry?"
"They should be."
"Then why was there water and why didn't anybeast notice it?" Sathe asked, before quickly adding. "Could it be from the pond?"
"We'd have a river flowing through Cavern Hole if that were true. Did you know there used to be an ancient castle where Redwall currently stands?" Kerwin responded.
Sathe played dumb and shook her head.
"There was! It stood countless generations ago when Martin the Warrior still walked the land. It was under the control of a ruthless tyrant."
"What happened to it?"
"It was destroyed. The fortress, Kotir, was destroyed by a flood. Or at least that's what I was told."
"Is there any way to get to Kotir?" Sathe blurted. Kerwin looked at her with a confused frown.
"No. It was destroyed. The only thing that remains is its name in our stories."
"But what of the entrance to the tunnels? Under the Abbey." Sathe said with dampened enthusiasm.
"What tunnels?" Kerwin asked. "Have the dibbuns been telling you stories?"
Sathe looked at the debris. There must be a hidden passageway under the mess of stone and splintered wood. This hedgehog couldn't be lying, could he? Did he know of the hidden entrance?
"But there's treasure!" Sathe stammered. Kerwin laughed aloud.
"There's no treasure here! Unless you consider the Friars cooking a treasure."
Sathe frowned as Kerwin laughed at his joke. There had to be treasure, there had to be something she was missing. Everything about the Abbey was foreign to her even though she had been here over a moon.
"Who could I talk to if I have questions about the Abbey's history?" Sathe asked.
"Ahh interested in history are you? Well Brother Samuel could talk you to sleep with his knowledge of Redwalls great past. Abbot Micah and Sister Beryl would be open to discussing what they know with you as well."
Sathe frowned, she had seen the skittish mouse in passing a few times. She didn't know if he was brave enough to speak with a vermin or if she would be able to stand him.
"Actually," Kerwin said as he hurried toward a table. "We found something that Brother Samuel might want to see."
When he reached the table he grabbed several stone pieces. "We found this while clearing some of the rubble. We think there might be more that were missing but this was the best we could find."
Sathe looked at the stone fragments and her mouth dropped open. The stones were a greyish red and had been broken and worn down over the seasons. However, runes were chiseled into the fractured pieces.
"When we slide the stones t'gether like so, we think it says something. But none of us have any clue what it says." Kerwin laughed.
The runes were different from the spoken language and it was no surprise that the Redwallers couldn't read it. Nobody should be able to read it. Nobody who wasn't a seer.
"I can read this," Sathe said in astonishment.
"You what?" Kerwin said not hearing the ferret.
"I can take this to Samuel!" Sathe swiftly corrected. "I'll ask him my questions then!"
She quickly scooped the bits of stone into her arm. Careful to make sure she held onto the book as well. The hedgehog was wrong, there were tunnels and the ghost was real! There was even more here than she could even imagine! She had to tell Trilloway! This must be kept a secret!
This took a little longer but I have some good work completed on the next chapter!
As always please let me know what you think and what can be improved upon. Any and all feedback is appreciated!