User blog:Skipper Rorc/The Runaway

Prologue
The sun shone brightly upon a warm spring day. The bees hummed as they busied themselves, traveling from flower to flower in search of sweet nectar. The great stone abbey of Redwall stood next to the woodland path, towering above the trees. From inside came the sounds of happy young voices and the chatter of abbeybeasts as they busied themselves with their various chores. Inside the abbey however, not everyone was as contented. A tall, strong male otter paced the hallway outside a room on the second floor with nervous energy. He paused and listened to the murmurs and gasps coming from behind the door and resumed pacing the corridor with worry etched on his features. A gold-furred harvest mouse came up the stairs from the hall below. “How’s it going Deyna me old mate?” said the mouse anxiously glancing at the closed door. “They’ve been in there for hours.”

“They chased me out.”  The big otter looked glum, “They said I was only in the way. I can’t stand it Nimbalo! If they don’t come out and get me soon I’m going to have to break down the door to see if she’s alright.”

“Calm down mate.” Nimbalo got up. “Yore mum knows what she’s doin’, yore wife’ll be just fine.” He started walking down the stairs again. “Now I’d better get back to the kitchens or me matey Boorab will eat everything and leave nothing for afternoon tea. Can’t let that happen now can we?”

Deyna thought ruefully that what Nimbalo really meant was that if he didn’t get to the kitchens soon the hare would eat everything and wouldn’t leave anything for him. He didn’t bother to tell Nimbalo this but sat down against the wall opposite the door he was watching. His mind drifted back over the past few seasons starting with the visit of Russano the Wise, Badger Lord of Salamandastron. The Badger Lord had revisited everything he had known in his dibbun days at Redwall and listened attentively to Deyna’s story. He stayed until the first snow and then bade Redwall farewell, saying that he needed to get back to his mountain and see that the hares hadn’t eaten him out of house and home while he was gone. The winter feast had been held in their honor. Deyna had promised Russano that he would come to Salamandastron in the summer and stay there for awhile. Friar Bobb had sunk to his knees with relief when the army of hares had left, declaring that one hare was defiantly enough to cope with. Deyna spent two happy seasons with his mother and sister, surrounded with creatures and things that he should have grown up with but never had the chance to. But when summer came around, true to his word, he set off to visit Salamandastron. When he had first seen the mountain he had been amazed by its sheer size. Even when he spotted it, it took him a full day to actually reach its threshold. He had been received warmly and the days had passed by quickly, with Russano showing Deyna around his domain and answering his every question about its past with pleasure. One day stood out in Deyna’s memory vividly, it had been one of the most important days of his life. Deyna shifted to a more comfortable position and brought this memory to the forefront of his mind and recalled as many details as he could.

***

Deyna woke to the sound of seabirds calling to each other through the early morning air. He stretched luxuriously and got up from his bed, wincing as he placed his feet on the cold stone floor of his room on the west side of the mountain. He got dressed and headed towards the Badger Lord’s forge. He knew by now that, early riser as he was; Russano always woke up before him. Deyna stepped into the forge; the soft glow of sunrise and the red glow of the fire in the forge were the main sources of light in the vast cavern. Russano heard him enter and called him over to the desk he had placed next to a large window opening in the stone. From it, he could look out over the sea and watch the waves pound ceaselessly against the shore.

“What are you doing today?” Deyna peered over Russano’s shoulder trying to get a glimpse at what the big badger was looking at, “Are you still on Lord Brocktree?”

“Yes,” Russano looked at Deyna his excitement evident in his eyes, “I am piecing together his story so that those that live here can learn more about how this mountain came to be what it is now.”

Deyna glanced at the stacks of scrolls, papers, and books that littered the tabletop and asked, “So, ‘ow long have you been at this mate?”

Russano chuckled and replied, “Only two seasons so far, but many more will pass before this history is finished.”

Deyna sat on the edge of the window and looked out over the sea, “It’s a good thing that badgers live longer than most creatures mate, otherwise…” Deyna words dwindled away as he stood, looking intently out over the sea.

Russano got up from his desk and looked out the window, his gaze sweeping over the expanse of water while he asked Deyna anxiously, “What do you see friend? Is it a ship?”

“Aye, it’s a ship shore enough, but I can’t tell what kind it is or who the crew is yet.” Deyna pointed his paw at the horizon, “Can you see it? It’s straight out, just coming into view over the horizon.”

“Yes I can see it now, Fleetwood!”

A young hare stepped into the forge, throwing a salute and then standing rigidly at attention. “Yes sah?”

“Fleetwood I want you to get the Long Patrol ready, tell them that Arflow’s coming.”

“Yes sah!” The young hare dashed away, footpaws pounding madly against the cold stone floor as he raced off through the mountain.

Deyna stared after him quizzically, and then turned to Russano for an explanation. “Who’s Arflow mate?”

Russano smiled and sat down, watching the vessel draw nearer to the mountain. “Arflow is a sea otter, Skipper of the Waverunner. His crewbeasts consist mainly of his wife and their ten sons and eight daughters, but there are a few in the crew who are not related to him, mainly sea otters who have fallen head over tail for one of his daughters.” Russano laughed, his brown eyes twinkling as he struggled to contain his mirth as he continued fill Deyna in. “The only problem for them is that Arflow’s daughters want to have nothing to do with malebeasts other than their father and brothers.” Russano could no longer contain his mirth and between deep laughs said, “So all those poor beasts are crewing the Waverunner in the hope that his daughters will fall in love with them, while the maids don’t want to have anything to do with them.”

Deyna smiled and shook his head, “Well, ‘ave any succeeded?” Russano could only shake his head, so engulfed was he in his mirth. “What I still don’t understand,” continued Deyna, glancing out at the rapidly approaching ship and the hares gathering on the shore. “is why you’re lining up for battle if there not foes.”

“Ah yes,” Russano said, his mirth now under control, “It’s really just a big act that we both put on when they arrive. It started when they came to Salamandastron the second time. They had just acquired the Waverunner and we didn’t recognize them, and so prepared Salamandastron for defense. Arflow got a kick out of seeing us all on shore in battle array and so for the last twenty seasons every time they visit Arflow and his crew pretend to invade the mountain just to rub in our mistake.” Russano glanced out the window and was surprised to see the Waverunner starting to anchor. “We’d better start if we’re going to get down there before they land.”

Both warriors left the forge quickly, one carrying a short length of black hardwood while the other had a magnificent sword with a red pommel stone, black leather grip, and a blade that shone like fire.

***

Deyna watched with interest as the sea otters poured onto the beach shouting wildly and found himself being swept along by the hares who were giving their battle cry as they rushed toward the strong looking otters. When the two groups were five paces apart everyone sheathed their weapons and the two sides crashed into each other with shouts of “Ahoy mate, I ‘ope ye ‘aven’t gone along and scoffed all the vittles when ya saw us coming!” and “Wouldn’t dream of it old lad, wot wot?” Deyna didn’t take part in any of the friendly insults and greetings exchanged. He stood thunderstruck by the ottermaid that stood before him. When Russano had said that some otters had fallen head over tail after Arflow’s daughters he had assumed that they were pretty, but the female otter that stood in front of him was beyond description. He stood there stunned until the ottermaid held out her paw and said “Ahoy mate, me name’s Pearl wot’s yours?”

The Abbey Warrior blinked and shook his head. “Deyna.” was all he could manage.

The days passed away the quickly with Deyna hardly being able to break himself from Pearl’s company. When fall came and the leaves of the few trees on the mountain had turned to their reds and yellows, Deyna said he must leave to go back to the abbey. Much to everybeast’s amazement Pearl said that she had decided to go with him. Russano wished them a long and happy life together and they departed.

***

Deyna’s memories were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. His mother, Filorn, looked out and saw him sitting against the wall looking expectantly at him. She pushed the door open wider and said quietly “Come in and meet your son.” Deyna stood up quickly, his entire body suffused with joy, and slid quietly through the door to find his wife Pearl and the much awaited cub.