It was a sunny day that dawned on the peaceful abbey that was Redwall. The light warmed the stones and the Dibbuns played in the pond, Marian Merlo Maximus Magnus along with the otter Quin Dancestream had been charged with watching the young ones today. The hare watched them splash each other in the water, and a few began trying to see how far into the deep end they could swim, all except for the molebabes, who were quite content to stay in the shallowest end of the pool and create mudballs to throw at the other Dibbuns. One of these struck Quin in the back of the head as he fished in the pond, hoping for a delightful little fish for tonight.
"It wassm I, Quin-sir,"One of them said, pointing at the other,"It was is him, Dugsley, burr aye."
The other one spouted mostly the same line before crumbling and he began to laugh, falling down in the shallow pool they stood in and splashing water everywhere, again hitting Quin and Mar.
The other abbey-hare, Rillibomp Ashenbury Talliwanger Paradeesus, had returned from his trip out into Mossflower, along with Redjar, and they both had sacks of ingredients for the dormouse Friar Lommel. Tomorrow was an important day, and the midsummer feast would commence, two days of stories,good food, and fellowship would begin and the preparations were underway to make this not only Abbot Monty's final feast, but for him to also announce his successor. A goodbeast that possessed not only the kindness all dwellers of Redwall had, but also the wisdom and strength to keep the abbey running smoothly.
And all the while Novice Malcolm slaved away in the hot kitchens, chopping onions,pears,carrots, and all manner of vegetables for the coming few days, everybeast that could wield a knife had been summoned to the kitchens and were chopping,stirring,baking, and boiling all sorts of good eats. Pies and cakes of the freshest fruit, from simple apple to the complex and exquisite special made by Friar Lommel Bigspoon himself, his own masterpiece, the four-fruit-three-cream triple-decker cake that was still hours away from completion. Soups from broths to the legendary hotroot soup had been made,skilly-n-duff, barley and turnips, and cheese that had been sitting in the cellar since the previous autumn had been wheeled up to the kitchens to supplement the breads that had since been baked. A cheese stuffed full with nuts of all kinds, most gathered by Redjar himself and allowed to sit as it ripened, now was the time for it to be spread upon loaves of bread lighter than feathers and sweet as honey, and for even the simple cheese to be brought to add into so many meals, as sauces, as sides, and as main courses for some.
Food was not the only thing brought up by the preparers of Redwall's feasts, but even their cellarhog Anslem had enlisted the help of many beasts to assist him in bringing out all manner of beverages. October Ale and Buttercup n' Honey Cordial, Strawberry and apple cider, and simple juices to be imbibed by the inhabitants of the peaceful place. Malcolm had been enlisted to help Durril and Badgermum Roselia push up a surprisingly large keg of drink stamped with an old sigil of a previous cellarbeast from an earlier era.
As they rolled the tun into place for tonight's feast, he realized that the bell had not been rung yet and that that was his duty. Muttering his apologies and goodbyes to the two, who nodded in acknowledgement, he rushed away, pulling the hem of his habit up to better run. As he neared the belltower, it began to ring. Fearing that he had forced some other beast's hand to do his job for him, he ran all the faster, and reached the top within a few more moments, and tripped on the last step. He fell and neared the edge before a large and weathered paw grasped him by his habits and deposited him by the bells. Looking up and mumbling his apologies, he looked into the face of Abbot Monty himself. An old and wizened mole with a cheery grin on his face, his eyes almost lost in the smile actually.
"Doan't you'm knowen that floiyin's for them's hawkburds? 'Tis not a way furr grounderbeasts's to bees gettin' noweres. It is a turrible longen ways dowan, N'vice Malcolm." The old mole shuffled to the edge before his smile disappeared and he visibly gulped and then he continued,"Let ussens gettin dowan from 'ere, we'tis a froitfully long ways oupp."
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Meanwhile, far south of the peaceful area surrounding Redwall Abbey, a band of hares traveled through the woods, making merry jokes and songs, not worried in the slightest as they were passing through a stretch of Mossflower woods that they'd recently been through with no incident. If only they'd been quieter, as Tavis Thunderfoot looked down at them from an outcropping, waiting for the right moment to strike. The vermin underneath the cloak was humongous, dwarfing every beast gathered around him, his Captains.
"Neow," He said to them, and the six scampered down, a red fox and blood stained rat disappearing into the underbrush faster than the rest. Their small bands would be the first attack. The fight was short, but brutal, with both sides suffering heavy losses, the count at the end was half a score of the hares, three scores rats, fifteen weasels, two foxes, a stoat, and three ferrets. All of them from different parts of his horde, and each expendable. He had come for plunder, and now the survivors would tell him where he could find it, in this new land.
The surviving hares were brought back to camp and tied up to trees, each limb held separately. the two revealed themselves as Guy Gaius Gemini, the as Staggish Blunderbuss Intaricles Facsimiles III, though he insulted the horde leader and was soundly beaten until he simply said they could call him Stag, the Captain of this patrol. After much "persuasion" and a foul brew shoved down their throats from Thunderfoot's right-paw rat Jararavick Nasty-Drink, they revealed that Redwall Abbey was only a week away, and was full of good tuck, which the vermin interpreted as good plunder. His underlings were tempted to kill the two hares, but he saw them as potential hostages, if what else they'd said about the place was true, all manner of goodbeasts lived there, and what good beast would allow a fellow to be killed? Things were falling into place, and Tavis Thunderfoot would go down in history as a true vermin, one to tell stories of for seasons to come.
He gathered his Captains to the tent on the edge of the lake and began the planning of Redwall's demise....
Please don't reveal anything about Tavis just yet, it's part of the mystery and fun for the Redwallers to learn about.
