Fighters of the Glade
(Stories)
Daisy the Badger- by Maze
Salamandastron- by Starbob Fleetpaw
Tacnim- by Brook
Laron- by Brook
Daisy the Badger- by Maze
Once upon a time there was a cute little female badger whose
name was Daisy. She was named this because of the little
daisy that was between her ears. Daisy was a beautiful
badger and the daisy helped her look even prettier. She had
a very kind face and very soft fur. Her face always seemed
to shine. When other animals looked at her they felt joy.
One day when Daisy was out walking a very handsome badger
came up to her and asked her out. The male's name was
Dandin. She quickly said yes. After a couple time of being
asked out she decided she didn't want to get married or get
asked out anymore. She adopted a baby badger. She did this.
The badger she adopted was a little female named Crystal.
she too was beautiful. She had a gentle face, though. These
two spent many happy days togetehr visiting places like
Goldenlight Creek and Willowshade Forest. They liked to have
picnics together. Daisy always being a good mother to
Crystal. As a matter of fact they were probably one of the
happiest little families around.
Salamandastron- by Starbob Fleetpaw
The waves lap no to the sand. All is silent. Then suddenly, you can hear
a noise from inside the mountain you are standing in front of. It is the
sound of metal on metal. You realize that you must be at your
destination: the mountain of fire lizards. Salamandastron! Old
traveler’s stories have held you captivated for as long as days at
a time. Suddenly, a blow from behind knocks you out. When you regain
conciseness you realize you are tied to a pole. Your instinct tells you,
you have been captured by searats. You have heard stories about the
cruel and ruthless searats. You thankfully observe that they have not
noticed you are awake yet. You sit there for hours, or so it seems. Then
been traveling for almost a season to get here. You have always
dreamed of joining the Long Patrol and now your dream has come
true.they notice you are awake. One of them draws their sword and
walks towards you. Just as the searat reaches you
"Eeeeuuuuuuuulllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllliiiiiiaaaaaaaa!" The battle cry
rings through the air. The searats panic and run at the sound of the
famed cry of the Long Patrol hares and badger lords. After the searats
are slain big, gentle paw reaches down and releases you. You stretch
out legs. You have always dreamed of joining the Long Patrol and now
your dream has come true.
Tacnim- by Brook
Brook sat by the River Moss. She wasn't all that far from
Redwall Abbey and hoped to get there the next day. Starlight
filtered through the trees of Mossflower and reflected off
the running water, making strange patterns on the tree
trunks. Brook was about to doze off when she heard a noise
in the forest behind her. She grabbed her sword and turned
to find a stoat staring at her strangely. Brook held her
weapon up and pointed it at the creature. "Who are you and
what do you want?" she challenged him. "I'm called Tacnim,"
he said. "Please, I'm not going to hurt you." He gestured
with his paws indicating that he had no weapon. Brook
cautiously lowered her sword. Instead of rushing her like
she had expected, the stoat sat down and gazed at the water.
Brook sat down, but a little bit apart from him, still not
trusting him. She placed her sword on the ground within
paw's reach. "I'm Brook," she told Tacnim, giving a fair
exchange, name for name. Tacnim didn't reply, but grimaced
with pain. Only then did Brook notice the gash in his side.
"Here, let me help you with that," Brook said, not being
able to see another, even if he was a vermin, in pain
without doing something. Tearing off a strip of cloth from
her dark brown tunic, she dipped it in the river and wiped
away the crusted blood around the wound. Then she used some
of the herbs from her pack to make a poultice, which she
bound using the strip of cloth. "Thank you, Brook," Tacnim
said in his oddly literate voice. "For helping me I will
repay you by warning you that a corsair vessel was beached
and the crew is coming to that big building, Redwall Abbey I
think they called it. They plan to conquer it and enslave
the creatures inside. By the way, do you happen to have a
spare crust of bread? I haven't eaten in days." Brook handed
him her haversack, allowing him to take any of the food
within. As he ate, he told that tale of how he had come to
be injured. The corsairs had been recruiting the vermin of
the forest and come upon his home. Tacnim was a scholar and
a hermit, rarely coming out of his home. He had refused to
join and the corsairs had burned his home and books, trying
to kill him. He had escaped and had been pursued. One searat
had managed to take a swing at him before he lost them. He
had wandered ever since until he had found Brook. Brook
handed Tacnim her blanket then lay down to sleep. In the
morning, when she woke up, she found Tacnim gone with the
blanket. In his place was a necklace, a thick gray strand
with a single, clear blue glass bead on it, shaped like a
raindrop. Brook picked it up and slipped it around her head.
Then she packed up and started toward Redwall so that she
might do two things. The first was warn the goodbeasts there
of the coming danger. The second was to sample Redwall fare
once again. Brook sat down at the dinner table in Great
Hall. When she had finished her meal, she stood up.
"Brothers and Sisters of Redwall, I was recently traveling
along the River Moss as I was coming here. On my way, I
crossed paths with a wounded stoat. His name was Tacnim. I
bound up his wound and did what I could to heal him. In
return he warned me of a coming danger to Redwall. Tacnim
was injured by a band of corsairs trying to recruit him.
Tacnim is a scholar of sorts. When he refused to join, the
corsairs destroyed his home and nearly killed him.
Currently, these corsairs are heading straight for Redwall.
In the morning, the stoat was gone. However, he left behind
a necklace, though I don't know why." Brook sat down. Tariss
Longleap looked up from his plate of food. "We appear to be
in a spot of trouble then, me gel. From your story, it
sounds like those blighters shouldn't be too far from us
now, wot. That doesn't give us much time to prepare." He
picked up a roll and began devouring it as his words sank
in. "I don't know how we're goin' to do this, but we need
t'frighten off those vermin. There aren't very many fighters
here and not enough time to call in some help. Not a bally
lot we can do, eh Brook?" Brook shook her head. Abbess
Rosemary stood up. "I agree with Tariss. We of Redwall are
creatures of peace. We do not know the ways of war. The only
way I can think of to defeat the corsairs is to not battle
them in the first place." "Corsairs are a superstitious lot,
or so I've heard," said Brook. "We might be able to pull off
some sort of trick to convince the corsairs that Redwall
Abbey was haunted, or maybe Mossflower woods. Now that I
think of it, I think I know just what to do. Here is my
plan...." * * * Saskello the otter stood in the bushes
waiting for the right moment. The band of corsairs got
closer and closer. If the signal didn't come soon he'd be
discovered for sure. "Mossfloooweeeerr!!!!!!" Saskello leapt
out from hiding, striking a rat with his spear. He quickly
jumped back into the shadows only to jump back out and knock
a fox down with the but of his spear. Shouts filled the air.
The startled vermin were falling like flies. Saskello saw
other creatures also using the tactics Brook had laid out.
Brook lunged at the ferret. The ferret wasn't quite fast
enough and died instantly as her blade entered his belly.
Quickly hopping back into hiding, then striking again, she
made herself seem like more than one creature. She noticed
that the corsairs were beginning to respond properly to the
attack. That meant that they needed to get out now.
"Tiiiimeeee!!!!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. As
suddenly as the attack had begun, the Redwallers
disappeared, leaving many confused corsairs milling about.
Deadbeasts lay everywhere. "Harr harr, mateys, we beat the
cowards' and sent 'em packing!" shouted the corsair leader,
a strong and burly rat. He held up his cutlass and was about
to continue his speach when he was interrupted by a loud
voice. "GO BACK FROM WHENCE YOU CAME, SEASCUM!" the voice
rang out. "ONLY DEATH AWAITS YOU IN MOSSFLOWER." The
corsairs stirred uneasily. "Gah! It's only them woodlanders
tryin' t'scare us. They know they can't beat us!" The rat,
whose name was Catclaw, signalled his crew to march forward.
Regalvanized, the corsairs rushed forward. Suddenly, several
in front and to the side dropped with arrows in them. The
forest came alive with creatures as the Redwallers attacked
the corsairs again. However, they weren't the only ones
fighting against the vermin. The Redwallers stopped their
battle in confusion. Stoats, ferrets, weasles, foxes, and
rats rushed out from the forest and attacked the corsairs.
"Looooooore!!!!!" The shouts from the newcomers filled the
air. The newcomers outnumbered the corsairs by far. The
battle ended quickly. One stoat approached Brook. Brook
smiled. "Tacnim," she said. The mouse clasped the stoat's
paw. She removed the necklace from around her neck and
handed it back to Tacnim. Tacnim accepted it. "These
creatures are all fellow scholars or creatures who respect
scholars. When they heard that I had been threatened and the
lore had been destroyed, they vowed to battle and defeat the
corsairs." "You and your creatures are welcome to come back
with us to Redwall Abbey," Brook offered their rescuers.
Tacnim shool his head. "No, none of us are used to eating
among beasts such as yourself. We prefer out own company. No
offense is intended, but we will be on our way now." Tacnim
turned and led the army of scholars back into the forest.
"Now that wasn't the way I expected this all to turn out,"
remarked Saskello. "Being saved from vermin by vermin
scholars." "Hush, otter. Let's return to Redwall. If we're
lucky, they will have saved some supper for us."
Laron- by Brook
A small sparrow sat on a branch. She gazed down silently at the
strange sight that greeted her. Two creatures walked through the forest,
carefully avoiding the thorny vines. The strange thing about these
travelers was the fact that the sparrow had never before seen another
creature like them in this area of Mossflower.
Brook looked at her companion, Laron. Then she looked at the overgrown
road that looked like, long ago, it had been a well used one.
"I don't like it," she said. "I haven't seen any signs of anybeast
other than a few birds, and mostly sparrows at that."
"I know, but this is the way that the riddle told us to look for the
owner of that box." Laron pointed at the old wooden box Brook was carrying.
"I know, I know.
Past the pines then to the South,
Avoid the quarry like adder's mouth.
Cross the ribbon, blue as sky,
Follow road, do not it shy.
Box's owner lives in the Hall.
He will lead you behind the wall.
In the cellar, down corridor
Find the hole that's near the door.
Remove the leaf and twig from boughs
Then walk until you find dormouse.
You will know what then to do:
Make the enemy their day to rue!"
Brook finished reciting the riddle that Laron had been told in his
dream. The young warrior mouse nodded and was silent. Brook took the
opportunity to review everything that had led up to this moment.
Back at
home in Noonvale Laron had had a dream. In the dream, a strong, sturdy
mouse in armor came to him and had told him the riddle Brook had just
finished reciting. Laron had told her the dream in the morning. That day,
Laron found the old cave with the box inside. Next to the box was some
armor, armor that looked like that which the dream mouse had worn. Her
brother had convinced her to come with her in a quest to find the box's
owner. He had already tried to open the box but couldn't.
Brook was startled from her reverie by Laron's gasp. She looked up
from the path and followed his gaze. Then it was her turn to gasp. In
front of them was a huge red sandstone building. As the sunlight from the
dawn fell on its walls it seemed that a golden aura surrounded the building.
In wordless agreement, the two mice turned toward the building. One of
its massive wooden doors hung slightly ajar, just enough for them to slip
through. They gazed in awe at the place they found themselves in. They
took in with wonder the pond, the gatehouse, the orchards, the gardens, the
belltower, and the other buildings the stood inside the thick red walls.
Brook looked at Laron. She knew what he must be thinking. This must
be the place where they would find what they sought. She could understand
why, too.
"Let's split up and scout out the grounds." Brook agreed. They set
out.
An hour later the two met in front of the belltower. Brook brought
with her some of the pears, strawberries, and apples she had found in the
orchards. As they ate breakfast, they related to each other what they had
found.
Laron took the first turn. "I found what appears to be a dormitory from
all the beds I found. It's that building over there," he pointed, "but there
wasn't much there. The gatehouse also looked like someone had made it into
a home as well. There were all sorts of records there. It turns out this
place is called Redwall Abbey and was inhabited by woodlanders who had long
ago overthrown some tyrannical wildcats. Nothing there either."
"The pond, I found, is just a pond with some fish in it. I went in the
orchards, but there wasn't anything but fruit there, as you can see. The
belltower has two bells with names inscribed on them: Matthias and
Methusela. There is also an old hole near the southern wall that looks like
someone was trying to fill it up and the wall itself is under repair. It
looks like all that is left is that building over there." Brook pointed at
the main building.
Laron got up, brushing the crumbs off his tunic. Upon entering the
building the first thing to catch his sight was the tapestry on the wall.
"That's the mouse from my dream! Come on, we must be near."
After another half hour of searching, they found a cellar with
multitudes of barrels containing beverages of all sorts. They walked down
an ancient corridor to an empty room. Brook groaned and Laron stamped his
paw in frustration. There was nothing in the room but a pile of rubble next
to the door.
"I don't get it!" he shouted. "There is supposed to be a hole here."
"The riddle said to find the hole. Maybe it's behind this rubble."
The two work hard, clearing the rubble slowly. Brook's paw runs into
something. She clears the stones and dirt away to find a piece of floor
with a carving like a branch. It was a trap door.
"I found it Laron!" They
work furiously to clear the rest and then pull up on the handle.
A section
of the carving comes with the handle and a black hole yawns before them.
Without stopping to think, the two boldly walk down the flight of
stairs. Laron drew his dagger and Brook fumbled in her pack for a torch.
Finding one she lit it with lfint and steel, pausing to do so.
As soon as the flame sprang to life, someone cried out in front of
them. Laron and Brook stopped dead in their tracks as they faced the
largest black lizard they had ever seen. He was holding a stone club in
attack position and looked at them menacingly.
"Creaturesss of Redwall Refuge get passst the Krix attack linesssss
how?" the lizard hissed. His eyes blinked in the unaccustomed light from
Brook's torch.
"Redwall Refuge? What are you talking about? I'm Laron of Noonvale on
a quest," Laron challenged the stranger. Brook started edging around the
two trying to get into a better position.
"Fur you have. Miccce you are. Mice only in Redwall Refuge. Etharsss
am I.
Redwallerssss are the enemy ssso you mussst die, Laron."
With that Ethars
charged Laron, bringing his stone club perilously close to Laron's head.
Brook jumped forward and bit the lizard's leg. When Ethars cried out in
pain and turned his attention on Brook, Laron plunged his dagger into the
black beast's heart.
Though the battle was short lived, they were both breathing hard.
Staggering on they found a stone door.
"Mole work," breathed Brook. "I'd know their work anywhere."
Laron knocked on the door with the pommel of his dagger. The door
swung open on silent hinges.
Cerpop gaped at the two mice sitting at the old stone table. When
Skipper and Barc had opened the door, he had thought that the Maplar lizards
had come with another "message" to the Redwall leaders. Such messaged had
turned out in the past to be only ruses so that some lizards might be able
to get in. Cerpop hadn't seen anyone so surprised as the two otters had
when instead of lizards, the only thing that still lived in the old tunnels,
two strange mice, carrying a box and other assorted things, stood at the
threshold.
As the bigger mouse, Laron, was finishing telling the Brothers and
Sisters his story, the other one stood up. Cerpop recalled that she had
said her name was Brook.
"Now that we have come here, perhaps you can tell us who this box
belongs to," she said.
Abbess Rosemary walked over to the box. She was the oldest Redwaller
alive, and looked it. She was a mouse, though, being an albino, her fur had
always been white and her eyes pink, she seemed older now. Her whiskers
drooped and she had to wear spectacles now. The green habit she wore fit
her loosely and her sandals, once perfect fits, were a bit large for her.
She laid her aged paw on the seal, wiping away the last traces of dirt. The
seal was in the shape of a round shield with the letter M on it. Her eyes
widened in surprise.
"This is the seal Arven the Warrior put on the few belongings of his he
held dear." A gasp arose from the listeners Everyone knew of Arven.
He had
been the Abbey Warrior until he had vanished after going off to face the
first group of Maplar lizards. But how had one of his boxes come to be in
the hands of these mice from a far off land? What was in the box that he
had held dear?
They all watched with eager eyes as Brook picked the lock and opened the
box. What she lifted from the box surpassed their wildest hopes. Another
gasp, even louder this time, was heard.
Cerpop, stolid dormouse that he was, blinked and felt his jaw drop.
"Great seasons!" whispered Barc. "It's the sword of Martin."
Laron and Brook stood confused. Then Brook remembered the old tales.
Martin the
Warrior. Badrang. Laterose. All the heroes of a long ago past. Laron, too
remembered.
"I know what to do now," Brook said in a calm voice. "I must return
Martin's sword, and peace, to the Abbey. To do this we must rid these
tunnels of these lizards. Mother, Skipper, Barc, and any otherbeast here,
please tell me all about these lizards and I will make a plan."
The story came out. Four seasons ago, the Maplar lizards had invaded
Redwall. Caught by surprise, the Redwallers ahd sought refuge in the
tunnels underneath the Abbey. Somehow the lizards had found their way into
the tunnels even though the only known entrance was blocked up by a
Redwaller who had stayed behind to do so. They had continued to fight back
to this day.
Brook nodded. "All right, here is my plan...."
The stone door swung open again. Brook, holding the sword of Martin in
her paw, came through the door, followed by the Abbess, Skipper, Barc,
Cerpop, all the other Redwallers except Laron. Turning away from the tunnel
that she and Laron had come through the first time, they traveled down the
ancient tunnel lit by their torch light.
"Halt!" The voice came from far behind them. Brook smiled. So they had
thought that they would try to leave by that way. The Redwallers continued
on as Laron distracted the Maplar lizards. She hoped he would survive.
They picked up speed, knowing that time was of the escence. Suddenly
Brook felt a breath of fresh air. She had been right! There was another
exit.
Behind her the tunnels began to shake and rumble ominously.
"Run!" she shouted. Dashing towards the end she helped lift others up
through the hole. As the last went up she looked behind her, hoping that
Laron would show up. Dust and pebbles began to fall. With one last glance
into the darkness, Brook jumped up into the open room where the tunnel
ended.
"You know, I think that this place might be Brockhall, you know, the one
from Martin's time," said Tamlin the Recorder.
Brook only listened with
half an ear. She sat silently, holding a little white rock that Laron had
given her long ago in her paw. Her plan had worked. Laron had been able to
find the shorings that the old moles had left and had collapsed the tunnels
on the Maplar lizards. And himself too. Memories of her brother kept chasing
each other in her head. Her head bowed and she shook with silent tears.
"We will always remember him, Brook. He will remain in our hearts with
all our other heros." Brook looked up into Abbess Rosemary's eyes.
"But I will still miss him," she whispered. "I won't be returning home,
you know. Too many memories of him there. I shall stay here and help you
restore Redwall."
"Your brother gave me something before he left, Brook. He said to give
it to you after this was all over." Brook accepted the paper from the
Abbess.
It read:
My dear sister,
I already know that I won't survive the cavin. Last
night, Martin the Warrior told me that I would soon be joining him. Please
do not grieve too much, but remember the happy times. I have a small poem
for you. I will see you again someday, perhaps.
I am here in the flowers.
I am here in the air.
During rainy showers
And I'm here everywhere.
Remember me always,
And I'll remmber too.
Remember this for all your days:
I love you.
Your loving brother,
Laron of Noonvale
Do NOT take any of these stories to post on your own page without the permission of the author. Thank you!
