User blog:Kalmia Polifolia/War of Fire

Prologue
The seas were raging. It was a stormy night. Kalmar Treebounder was sailing to Southsward, his brother was dying. He had left his young daughter and wife back at Redwall so they would be safe from the long, dangerous journey over the stormy seas. Kalmar was a tall, muscular squirrel with the bushiest tail you had ever seen. His wife, Lily, was the best treewhiffler since Fwirl, and the most beautiful. His daughter, Tayla, though very young, was already as good as her mother at treewhiffling and had the most beautiful voice anybeast in the Abbey had ever heard. It was still raining, it didn't look like this storm would ever let up. This gave Zeela the Deadly the chance of a perfect target. A small boat was heading toward Southsward. And the crafty vixen knew why. She knew she could not let that boat land safely at the docks or she would lose the advantage she had gained. She would take Southsward for her own! Her hoards were unstoppable! She fell upon the unsuspecting ship like a spider preying upon a fly. The battle was quick, her crew boarded the smaller ship. They slaughtered all; then crushed the ship to splinters! All the while Kalmar was swimming toward shore, in what he knew was his only chance of survival.

Chapter 1
The Dibbuns went squealing through Great Hall, before being stopped by Redwall's badgermum, Reesa Longstripe. "Where do you think you are going?" She asked the Dibbuns. "We's is goin' to paggle in d'pond an' get all wetsis." Replied a little mousebabe named Duff. "Oh, really?" Replied Reesa, "Without an elder abbeybeast there with you? I don't think so." She saw Skipper and the young squirrelmaid Tayla coming out of the kitchen with Redwall's resident hare, Currie Longblade Woodruff. "Skipper, Tayla would you please escort the Dibbuns out to the pond for a paddle; I'll have Friar Gorral send out some snacks later." "Of course we will Reesa, come on you Dibbuns!" Tayla replied. As they walked out of the door Currie walked up with a half-eaten scone in his hand, and meadowcream all over his whiskers. "Blinkin' bounders rotton cads! To think that they won't even let me near the kitchens!" Reesa looked at the hare and rolled her eyes, "Well it serves you right you great scoffbag! Trying to steal before anyone else has had breakfast!" "Stealing marm! I was only trying to get a light snack to keep fur and bone together!" "A light snack!" Reesa exclaimed. "It seems to me that you've stolen half the meadowcream and nearly half the scones!" "I only had about three or four." Reesa was furious at the hare. "Go sit in the corner of the orchard and think of what you've done, then go apologize to the good friar!" The dejected hare went out seething and muttering under his breath. "Blinkin' bounders, ungrateful cads! Imagine me, the most hardworking chap in the place getting told off because of a few measly scones. They'll be sorry when they find only the bones of my handsome self in the orchard when they start missing me."

Chapter 2
The Dibbuns were headed towards the pond to skip pebbles. Tayla was leading the boisterous group of Dibbuns and trying to keep them from running off. "Come back here at once, Keeble, you nasty little maggot!" The little otterbabe was trying to evade Tayla's grasp. "You no catch mees Taywa, Hehehehehe!" Skipper scooped up the babe and ran towards the pond. "You'll never catch either of us mate!" "No fair Skip!" Tayla called out.(She always called Skipper 'Skip' because he and his mate had practically raised her after her mother had died). As Tayla herded the Dibbuns toward the pond Abbess Katira, a sweet sensible old hedgehog, and Reesa Badgermum watched her closely as Skipper's mate, Fayr, walked up. "What a sweet sensible maid that Tayla is", Said Abbess Katira, "She always seems to know exactly how to deal with Skipper and the Dibbuns." "She should considering she spent most of her life figuring Skip out" said Fayr. "Aye, ever since her poor mother died and ever since her father left it seems as though she's not quite as immature as the other young ones her age" Reesa pointed out. "Why is Currie over there in the corner of the orchard, Reesa?" The Abbess asked. "Oh, him, I almost forgot about him. I put him over there earlier for stealing from the kitchens. You can tell him he can come out now." Currie bounded over "Really marm? Oh you won't regret it. I'll be the most helped bloke in this Abbey, I think I'll go ask Friar Gorral if he needs any help there." "I think you can start out by helping Tayla with the Dibbuns, I don't know why I asked Skipper to help; he does more harm than good." "Righto, marm! Belay there you Dibbun chaps, I...OOF!" Currie never got to finish his sentence because he slipped on a apple core that had fallen from his grasp when he bounded over to Reesa. "That hare will kill himself before long" said Abbess Katira. "Imagine the food we'd save" replied Fayr. Then they heard a voice. "Ahoy the Abbey!"