User blog:Lyth Streambattle/Lyth's Secret (still in progress).

Lyth’s Secret

Caution: Very long

It was all peaceful there. Gaelmount isle was hardly ever visited by sea vermin due to the extensive ring of fog around the island. As one of the Gaelmount otters, Lyth, went to the docks he sensed something strange. He thought it was just the cold wind that sent shivers down his spine. He was wrong. As all the inhabitants of the isle went about their business, a corsair ship loomed in the fog. It was a more pleasant day, however, at the fabled Abbey of Redwall. As Urtho cellermole was trundling off to the kitchens with a keg of Elderberry wine, he was stopped by the Abbot of Redwall, Ampodemus. “Hello Urtho, my old friend, off to the kitchens are you?” Urtho cellermole turned around trying to keep the keg in balance. “Hello zurr H’abbot. Oi’m tekken this yurr kegg too ee kittchenns furr ee duff ee froir bee’s makken furr suppertoid.” “Is Friar Furlo going to make it this evening?” Questioned the Abbot,” I didn’t know he had the recipe.” Urtho turned around again and trundled off to the kitchens with the Abbot in his wake. When they arrived at the kitchens the Abbot went to the Friar. The homely hedgehog was just taking some raspberry scones out of the oven. “Hello Father, what is it that ye’ want with me?” “Friar, I didn’t know you had the recipe for skilly an’ duff.” Furlo looked at the Abbot curiously,” I don’t. Why do ye’ ask?” The Abbot returned the quizzical expression, “But Urtho said you where making it for supper this evening.” The good Friar replied with question in his voice, “I am Father.” The Father Abbot of Redwall puzzled over this and replied,” If you don’t have the recipe how will you make it?” The Friar chuckled and said,” Ye’ve got it all wrong, Father, the Guosim are comin’ and showing me how to make it.” The old mouse shook his head, what an eventful evening this would be. Very eventful indeed.

After his duties, Lyth strode into his parents dwelling. A small cave dug in the side of a great mountain was the main part of the dwelling. His mother came out of one of the various side caves carrying a basket full of watershrimp. “Your father will be back soon” said his mother as she set the basket of shrimp on a raised slab of stone. The two otters embraced and then his mother said,” Lyth, will you go and fetch me a pail of water for this soup?”Lyth was soon out on the mountain. Even though there was a stream at the base of the mountain, he preferred going to the top. The very top portion of the mountain had been dilapidated and a deep lake was formed in the center. None on the otters knew exactly how deep the lake was, so to be safe the otterclans made their dwellings on the lower half of the mountain. Lyth had heard tell of a great pike that resided within the lake. Lyth was at the top. Hardly anyone went up there so he was by himself most of the time. He had tied the pail he carried with him to a rope made of dried and oiled seaweed and looped the rope around a rock that was jutting out of the outer rim of the lake. Not only did he do this to insure that the pail did not sink to the depths of the lake, but to ensure that he did not sink to the depths. The dilapidated top of this mountain had apparently been so for many seasons. The top had been polished smooth due to exposure to the elements. With a lake at its center, the marble-like surface was always slippery. As Lyth cast the pail down to the lake he thought he saw a silver glimmer in the water. Lyth dismissed it as a trick of the mind. He drew the bucket from the lake and set it down next to him. He stood there for a moment. As he turned with the pail he heard a splash. He turned around just in time to see a huge dorsal fin rise and fall in the water. This time, forgetting the pail, he turned and dashed to his dwelling. About halfway to his dwelling Lyth ran into his father. Gasping for breath he told his father what he had witnessed. Wordlessly he led his father up the slope of the mountain. When they reached the top they stopped for breath. “So son, ye’ saw the pike?” Lyth answered with only one word,” Aye.” His father looked to the surface of the lake. His mouth dropped in awe as the great pike of Gaelmount Isle surfaced. Only in the briefest of seconds was the pike visible, but that was all Lyth’s father needed. Soon Rab Streambattle was bounding down the mountain faster than his son could keep up with. Rab stopped at his dwelling, where he was soundly chastised for being late for the midmorning meal.

The Guosim shrews where a short tempered bunch, but thoroughly enjoyable company. The Guosim derived their name from Guerilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower. These spiky-furred creatures wore colored headbands and bore short rapiers. As they rowed their logboats to the ford they sang a rowing song in the deep bass voice that was characteristic to shrews,

“Hey now, hark belay there an’ listen ole mate

Hear the high seas a-callin’, c’mon let’s not wait,

Out there on the briny with no land in sight,

Just the gold sun above you an’ bright stars at night,

Just be happy for wot yew got,

Don’t throw it in the meltin’ pot,

Melltinnnn’ pppppoooooooootttttttttt!

When they arrived at the ford they disguised their boats and walked the rest of the way. Upon the shrews arrival there was much reunion. In the kitchen Friar Furlo was being taught to make skilly n’ duff. “Now Friar, you really must be faster with cracking those hazelnuts.” The friar stood slowly.”Log a Log Bendo, if you think you can tell me how to run my own kitchens then you can remove yourself from them!” “Yer’ right Furlo, I shouldn’t have rushed ye’.” “Right then, back to business, wot’s next?”Said the homely hedgehog. “Ye’ throw those nuts into the batter,” Log a Log said distractedly. Furlo looked at him for a moment then asked,” Something ailin’ ye’ log?” Log a Log shook his head,” No, nothing really, just got a bad feelin’ about somethin’.” “About wot,” asked Furlo. Once more the old shrew shook his head,” I dunno’.”

After being forced to explain his tale to his wife, Rab led his son to an old friend’s house. As they were running somewhere unknown to Lyth, his father said “Garfo, he’s the one we need to see to about this.” Lyth had no idea what his father was talking about. They finally stopped at a curious dugout at the base of the mountain. Rab tapped the wooden slat being used for a door. An old silver-furred otter removed the slat. “Eh? Whaddaya want wid me?” “Garfo ole matey it’s me, Rab, ye remember me,” Rab asked cautiously, as not to offend the elder otter. Garfo thought for a moment, then replied,” Little Rab! Aye, I remember the little mite wot kept stealin’ the watershrimp out o’ me soup. Not so tiny now, are ye’. What is it that ye’ want me fer?” Rab muttered something under his breath about watershrimp then said,” Garfo, I recall ye’ bein’ an expert on the lore of this island. I was wanderin’ if ye’ could tell us about the pike in the great lake.” Immediately Garfo’s face went somber. “Indeed,” he said, as he turned and receded into the darkness of his cave. As Lyth and Rab entered the mess of scrolls and bound parchment the silver otter seemed to materialize out of the darkness. He looked at them both for a moment then said very seriously,” All ye’ need to know about that monster is in these scrolls.” He set the scrolls down and removed another wooden slat that was covering a rough hole in the top of the cave. Sunlight flooded in and illuminated the cave and exposed rough walls and tattered shelves. As they opened the scrolls, dust swirled and twirled in the air as the father and son coughed and spluttered for breath. Garfo turned around for his last words before he entered a side cave,” Before yew come to any conclusions, ask me. Not all o’ that lot is true.” Lyth looked at his father and said,” Old Garfo sounded a bit too serious for my liking.” His father looked to the sidecave to make sure Garfo wasn’t coming,” Well, if ye’ must know, tis said that we has a connection with the pike.” Lyth’s inquisitive look deepened,” What kind of connection?” His father’s voice lowered,” Direct.” A look of concern spread across Lyth’s face. “What happened?” Rab’s face gave the indication that what he was about to say would not be pleasant. “Legend has it that ole Garfo fell in the lake and almost got himself killed by the pike.” Lyth’s eyes widened with awe and concern as his father told him the tale. They read through the various scrolls and documentaries of tales of those who claim to have seen the pike. “Dad, can you have a look at this,” Lyth asked as he showed a particularly old looking scroll to his father. “It says ‘ere that when the pike is seen frequently the Isle of Gaelmount is in grave danger.” After they puzzled over this for a while they called Garfo in to see what he thought. “Aye, ‘tis true. ‘Ow many times did yew two see the monster this day,” Asked Garfo. The two otters thought back to the previous experience. “Three,” They said in unison. Garfo gasped and stood stock still, looking back and forth between the two. “We must be on our guard then, mustn’t we?”

Friar Furlo and Log a Log Bendo had set about serving lunch to everyone. Furlo looked at the hungry faces and said, “Where’s old Phred, ‘e should be here by now, considerin’ ‘ow old ‘e is.” Bendo chimed in,” Phred said ‘e was takin’ lunch in the gatehouse t’day, found summat interestin’ ‘e said.” Furlo smiled inwardly and sighed,” Well, I better go give it to ‘im then, you comin’ Log?” Log a Log shook his head,” No, I’ll stay out ‘ere thankee, that gatehouse is too dusty fer me.” As the homely friar carried a tray laden with all kinds of food stuffs, the summer sun twinkled overhead. When Furlo was about to knock on the gatehouse door, it swung open to reveal Old Phred, the gatekeeper. “Well ‘tis about time ye came. Looks t’me like ye’ve brought food for the two of us. Come in, come in.” They entered the mass of tomes and scrolls and settled themselves in two overstuffed armchairs, setting the tray on a table between them. “Log a Log said ye’ found summat interestin’. Wot is it?” The old squirrel shuffled through various scrolls then picked up a large tome,” This is wot I’ve found that’s so interesting. A riddle in this book applies to this very day.” The look on Furlo’s face was one of confusion. “I suppose I’ll ‘ave to explain,” asked Phred with a hint of annoyance. The friar nodded. Phred sighed,” All this mumbo-jumbo says that our abbey will be in grave danger very shortly.” This got the friar concerned,” How?” Phred chuckled,” You’re never goin’ to belive this, but it says that all the villains that have fought and lost to the abbey will be resurrected and sent here.” The friar said,” Yer right, I don’t belive it.” The old squirrel shook his head,” Nor do I my friend, but just in case this is true we better alert the Abbot right away.” Furlo stood up,”Alright then, let’s go.” Phred groaned then sat back down in his chair. “Will you do it, my rheumatism is actin’ up agin.” “Ye go on ahead an’ rest yoreself an’ I’ll go tell ‘im.” Phred was about to thank him but he found himself alone. The old gatekeeper sighed contentedly and went to sleep.

The two otters where, once again, at the top of the mountain. Lyth looked to the surface of the great lake and said to his father,” Do ye’ believe wot ole Garfo said about the island bein’ in danger?” His father shook his head,” I don’t know what I belive anymore.” Lyth looked at his father and said,” I think Garfo thought the pike was magical.” Rab grinned,” Then it very well may be.” Just then Lyth’s foot slipped and sent him plummeting down towards the lake. Rab Streambattle’s eyes widened in horror as his son hit the surface of the lake. The first thing that went that went through Lyth’s mind as he hit the surface of the lake, was old Garfo. He heard his father shout as he hurtled the pail down towards him. He quickly got out of the way as the pail hit the water. He grabbed on to it and stuck there for dear life. He looked up at his father and saw a look of shock upon his face. His father started hauling faster as the look of shock turned to a look of fear. Then, as Lyth looked up at his father once more, an arrow seemed to grow out of his father’s neck. Rab Streambattle, one of the most brave and kind otters on the Isle of Gaelmount, was dead. His father’s body fell backwards and three villainous creatures appeared over the rim. The fox, wildcat, and pine marten stared at him for a moment. The pine marten sniggered and raised a bow, fitted with an arrow, over the rim. “No!” the wildcat shouted, “This one, we keep.” The pine marten lowered the bow and sighed. Lyth felt something stirring the water, he saw it. The pike was coming for him. He felt a jerk on the rope as the three evildoers started hauling him up again. He was about halfway up when he saw the most fascinating and horrifying thing he had ever wanted to. The pike jumped up for him. Even though he flattened himself against the wall of the crater the pike grazed his back, leaving two long, deep wounds, and a tooth buried deep within his back. When Lyth had been hauled up he was hustled to a large pen used for crab catching. There were other otters there, but nowhere even close to how many there had been before. He grit his teeth in pain and anger at what they did next. One by one the otters were picked out by the fivescore rats that accompanied the three creatures that slew his father. The fit and strong ones were directed one way, and the others were sent to the Great Lake. A ratguard hauled him out of the pen, but Lyth grabbed the guard and shoved him to the ground. Lyth leapt upon the unfortunate rat and slew him within seconds. He was hauled upright by half a score of rats. He strained and struggled, but to no effect. The fox, called Gallath, mused over this,” Hmmm, you seem strong, yet defiant, what do you think, Sterfella?” The wildcat looked over,” If I had my, he would end up like his father.” The fox looked to the pine marten,” Wot about you, Farinath? What should be done with him?” Farinath considered this carefully,” Methinks he could be valuable, with proper training of course.” Gallath looked back at Lyth, his amber colored eyes piercing him like a knife. “So, ‘tis decided then, you may live, but if you have another outburst like that, I will kill you. Make no mistake on this.” He directed the ratguards to put him in a solitary cell which was made of thick metal stakes driven into the ground. They threw him in and sealed the entrance. Up on top of the mountain, there was something more serious going on. Gallath, Farinath, and Sterfella were preparing for something. “Why must we do this,” Sterfella whined as the other two went to work making grooves in the rock. Gallath looked at her angrily, but kept his voice steady,” I think of you two as siblings, but sometimes you are as incompetent as our guards are. This is what we left home for, so it must be done!” Sterfella continued whining, “Yes, but must we do it now? We have an infinite time to do this.” Gallath had a hard time controlling his anger, “Sister, it would be wise to stop complaining or you will meet the pike face-to-face.” Farinath called to Gallath, “Brother, ‘tis ready!” Gallath walked over to his brother, “Well done, give them to me.” Farinath took a small burlap bag and handed it to his brother. Gallath took it and sighed, taking in the aura of mystical presence. Gallath walked around the rim of the lake, placing one of the objects in every groove. Throwing aside the bag he gestured for his siblings to gather to him. Gallath closed his eyes, “Are we ready, are they in place?” Farinath stepped forward, “The Tears of all Oceans are in place.” Gallath picked one of the large pearls, which had a distinctive pink color. He rolled it around in his paw and set it back in place. “It is ready,” is all he said.

Later in the day, old Phred heard a rapping on his door. “Don’t get yer tail in a tizzy, I’m comin’!” When he opened the door the Abbot and Friar Furlo. “Hello Phred, may I come in, I have an issue to consult you on.” The silver squirrel stepped out of the doorway and gestured for the Abbot to enter. The Abbot entered and seated himself on a small wooden stool old Phred and Furlo seated themselves in the two armchairs. “So, Furlo tells me that our abbey may be in danger. Do you belive this?” Phred thought about this, “I belive it is possible Father. I am not sure how, but I belive it can happen.” Just then, the door burst open to reveal a young, female otter called Brookflow, usually called Brooky. “Am I late? I heard the abbey might be in danger. Can I help?” Phred struggled to contain a smile, “Help us do wot, young missy?” Brooky entered and perched on                the arm of a chair, “Help you figure out what’s goin’ on of course!” “We could use a young mind like yours.” The Abbot explained what had happened. Brooky only had one question, “If it’s as bad that, who will help us? We can’t take on all that alone.” Ampodemus spoke up, “Brooky has a point, with nobeast to help us we will be at their mercy.” Phred flipped through the pages of the tome and found something useful, “Ah ha! I found something! Look at this.” He shoved the tome in front of them and pointed to a riddle, “This one says something about saving the abbey.”

One will come, none will go

And of this, he will make no show

Come he will, along the path

Vermin are following, you do the math

Save the abbey, he will try

Unfortunately, he must die

See him again, you well might

But only if you fight the good fight

Come he will, stay he must

Tell him it is you he must trust

Protect the abbey forevermore

Of this he will make sure

For he has found love

One who will love, not shove

Live forever he well could

His love will to, at least she should.

Furlo was the first to speak, “Well, I don’t understand a bloody thing that said, do yew Abbot?” The Abbot shook his head, “No, my friend, I do not.” Brooky stood in a state of disbelief, “Am I the only one here that understands any of this?” All three creatures answered in unison, “Yes!” Brooky chuckled, “Well then, better explain in shouldn’t I?” The three nodded their heads. “Alright then, the first four lines mean someone will come along the path, most likely the one from the south, and vermin are trying to recapture him.” Phred interrupted her, “Recapture? You mean he escaped the villains?” Brooky looked at the old gatekeeper, “Yes, now please let me finish.” Phred apologized, “Sorry Brooky, keep goin’.” “Thank you, the second set of four still puzzles me a bit, the third set of four means that we must convince him to stay here so he can protect the Abbey for as long as he can, and the last set of four says that we will protect our abbey for as long as he will because he has feelings for someone in the abbey.

Gallath and his siblings spread out around the rim. Each one sat between a set of two pearls and placed their paws on them. Soon a blue sphere of light formed around the pearls and a beam shot out of the sphere of light towards the sky. Still sitting, Gallath raised his paws, holding the pearls. One by one Gallath threw the pearls into the lake, they made a hissing sound, like fire on water, as they hit the surface of the deep expanse of the lake. His siblings did likewise, until there was one central beam, rising from the lake. Farinath stood and drew his bow. As he notched an arrow in the bow he sighted the pike. He pulled and released, letting the arrow fly. It broke the surface of the water and thudded into the side of the pike, just deep enough to draw blood. Immediately the beam turned red and pointed towards the southeast, directly towards the Abbey. Gallath and Sterfella rose and all three of them cut their paws, Farinath with an arrow, Sterfella with her saber, and Gallath with his claymore. They held their paws out and let their blood flow into the lake. Red balls of light formed and shot into the sky, towards the abbey. They waited until the final, and largest, ball shot in to the air. The red light faded, and they stood for a minute to recap what had happened. “Who exactly did we just resurrect,” Farinath asked. Gallath looked at his brother and sighed, “I suppose you want the whole list, my halfwit brother?” Farinath nodded. Gallath sighed once more, “The villains we just brought back were: Badrang the Tyrant, King Agarnu, Shang Damsontongue, Bane, King Mortspear, King Sarengo, Queen Silth and the Marlfox brood, Slagar the Cruel, Cap’n Slipp, Swartt Sixclaw the Warlord, Cluny the Scourge and his horde, Damug Warfang, Queen Tsarmina Greeneyes and her father Verudaga Greeneyes, Ferahgo the Assassin, Ublaz of the Mad Eyes and his Monitor Lizards, Ungatt Trunn, the Urgan Nagru, Plugg Firetail, Princess Kurda, Gulo the Savage, Raga Bol, Riggu Felis, Ruggan Bor, Vizka Longtooth, Vilu Daskar, and Sawney Rath. Satisfied?” Farinath nodded, then asked, “Gallath, where will they all reside?” Gallath was astonished his brother had asked something worth asking, “Do you remember the big red ball at the end? That was a castle, a very large castle.” Farinath had one more question, “How will we get there?” Gallath’s astonishment was stunted, “By boat my dim-witted brother.” Farinath suddenly yelled, “Gallath, Sterfella look,” as he held up a pebble with a white and black half. Sterfella scoffed, “Look, you know what a rock is. Good job.” Gallath was nicer about it, “Very nice Farinath, what are you going to do with it?” Farinath thought, “Well, I was going to chuck it in the lake if it was alright with you.” Gallath gave a false smile, “Go right ahead.” Farinath was leaning back to throw it when Gallath questioned him, “Brother, where did you get that?” Farinath answered, “Out o’ my bag,” Farinath threw the stone, “Why?”    Gallath dived for the stone, but it went over the rim, just out of his reach. “Farinath, you dim-witted excuse for a warrior! You unspeakable traitorous galoot! Do you realize what you have done?” Gallath was seething with rage as he bodily picked up his confused sibling and threw him to the ground, whereas he continued berating him, “Farinath, what you have just done could ruin our entire mission, you have just supported the Redwallers in more ways than we could destroy them!” Farinath was scared to ask, “What did I do?” They heard a splash as the stone hit the water. This time a green beam rose and pointed towards the Abbey. Several balls of light shot towards the Abbey. Gallath screamed in rage as the lights disappeared into the sunset. Gallath shuddered, “You have just thrown a black and white object into the lake. Black and white halves in the same object symbolize the separating of the universe into good and bad parts. For every bad action there is a good one. I found a way around that until your buffoon self threw the stone in the lake.” Farinath felt horrible. His brother’s insults hurt him deeply. He still had one question, “What did I do though?” Gallath smiled at his brother’s simplicity, “You have resurrected: Bragoon, Felldoh, Rakkety Tam MacBurl, Grath Longfletch, Inbar Trueflight, Sarobando, Sergeant Wonwill of the Long Patrol, Shogg, Sir Harry the Muse, Kroova Wavedog, Leatho Shellhound, Dannflor Reguba, The Mask, and Zaran the Black. To top it all off you gave them the two most useful tools we have! Are you happy with what you have done?” Farinath shook his head. He felt horrible.

Lyth writhed in pain as the tooth that was embedded in him seemed to move deeper into his body. He screamed as the tooth moved closer to what he thought to be his heart. He passed out as soon as the tooth stopped. Through the night he was forced to stand through an ice storm that ravaged the land. In the morning the land was an ice palace. Farinath was delighted as he picked an icicle off an overhanging branch and started to munch on it. Gallath strode in among the slave pen, “Are you lot cold?” The slaves nodded. Gallath smirked, “Do you want to get warmer?” Once more the slaves nodded. Gallath grinned evilly then turned toward Sterfella, “Bring out the branding iron sister. Give it first to the defiant one.” The wildcat to as grinning as she entered a pitched tent and came out with a branding iron, which was a triangle with letters G, S, and F in the center. She pointed to Lyth, “Bring him in.” He was carried, for his limbs where numb, into the large tent where he was forced to bend over as the iron heated. “Pike gave ye a nasty bite. Does it hurt,” The wicked wildcat asked as she prodded his wound. Lyth cried out in pain, but to no avail. As Sterfella lifted the iron from the fire, she whispered to Lyth, “This is for my top guard that you slew.” Farinath walked in and as he passed, the tip broke of his new icicle and landed in the wound, right next to the tooth. Lyth screamed in pain and lurched forward, causing the wildcat to press the iron onto the wound, sealing it. Stars popped in Lyth’s head as the iron pressed against him. He passed out, not to awake for several days.

The sky darkened over the Abbey as a storm rolled in. Furlo, the Abbot, and old Phred hurried to the Abbey as raindrops began to fall. Little did they know, as they entered the Abbey, fourteen balls of neon light zoomed towards their blessed home. Suddenly, freak lightning bolts struck two places simultaneously. One, a league and a half away, and the other right next to the south wall. Both sets of lights had been hit. All that was left to do was rain. Down in cavern hole there was more conversing about the meaning of the riddle. “When do yew three think this applies to us,” Furlo asked. Phred was apparently asleep, so Brooky answered, “I think it will apply to us within the next two or three days.” The abbot was amazed, “An’ how did you come to this conclusion missy?” Brooky was amazed that she was the only one had figured this out, “These alignments of dots on the page represent stars, and this N here in the corner says that we should face north. So, I face due north and see if I can find this pattern of stars. There is one group like that, so I think it will be soon.” Phred came awake with a jolt, “It will be soon, I have just seen Martin the Warrior. He’s the one that told me.” The four friends felt a deep, far off rumble, they dismissed it for thunder, when, if they had been outside, they would have seen a huge castle slowly rising from the ground. The entirety of the Abbey went to sleep peacefully that night, only to awake to extreme surprise in the morning.

In the middle of the night Lyth was forced awake into the worried face of Farinath. Farinath spoke fast, but clearly, “Wake up, there ye’ are, alright, if ye want to get out of this place alive you’ll listen to what I say. I apologize for killin’ yer father, but we’ll get to that later. I saw how my brother and sister treated ye’ and I felt sorry for ye’. So here’s wot I’m goin’ to do, I’ll get ye out o’ here in one piece, but on one condition, when we meet on the mainland, ye’ll lissen to my story before ye’ judge me on the good or evil side o’ things. Nod yer head if ye want to live.” Lyth nodded his head and Farinath continued, “Good, wot yer have to do is rest fer a few days and I’ll do the rest, I will come here again three days from now.” Farinath was gone before Lyth could say anything. Lyth moaned in agony as he leaned forward on the bars. So he was the one that killed his father, but he seemed like he wanted to help. Lyth would have to play along to figure it out. He eventually fell into a fitful sleep. “Farinath! What’re ye doin’ out here,” Farinath nearly jumped out of his skin as his brother seemed to materialize out of the darkness. “Oh, er, Gallath, I thought I heard a scraping on the bars” Gallath stared his brother down, “And? Was he?” Farinath quickly thought of an answer, “No, t’was just a guard’s spear hittin’ the bars.” Gallath nodded briefly, “Very well.” Gallath stalked off, leaving his brother relived. Farinath went to his separate tent to draw out a plan. This would be hardest than anything he had ever done. He found a blank scroll and started to sketch an escape plan for Lyth to follow. His sister strode up to him and said, “What’s this? Once again, Farinath almost jumped out of his skin, “Oh, hello Sterfella, these are just possible ways of escape the defiant one might take if he escaped.” Sterfella scoffed, “As if he ever could, Gallath just doubled daytime security.” This worried Farinath, what if he had doubled nighttime security to? He had to perfect his plan. Soon he would have to put his plan into action. Farinath stayed up all night checking and rechecking his plan. The night passed and when day came, a tired Farinath staggered out of his tent and reported to his brother, “All clear through the night, still sleepin’.” Gallath spoke the thoughts his sister and himself, “Looks like you haven’t been, what kept you up?” Sterfella answered for him, “He was mapping possible escape routes the defiant one might take if he escaped.” Gallath clapped his brother on the back, none to gently, “There’s doing something useful!” Sterfella clapped him on the back as well, but with her claws out. Tears welled in Farinath’s eyes as her claws dug into his shoulder. She released her grip on the cowering pine marten and walked off.

Skipper was up early this morning, as he did his regular jog around the walltop he saw four mounds in the earth that had not been there the previous night and he was curious to see what it was. He went to the kitchens to find the Abbot and Furlo making a batch of oatfarls, “Father, ye’ better come have a look at this.” The Abbot looked up at Skipper and said, “Alright, I’m comin’, Furlo, can you carry on here?” The Friar nodded and Skipper and the Abbot climbed the wallsteps and went to the center of the north wall. Skipper pointed to the four hills that had formed in a square about a league away from where they stood, “There, those hills, they weren’t there yesterday.” The Abbot was in awe, “Overnight those hills formed? This is obviously not natural. What caused this?” Skipper gave ready answer, “Well Abbot, I was hopein’ that I would find out today, with yer permission o’ course.” The Abbot considered this carefully, “On one condition, you return here at midmorn. Skipper was soon out on the path heading towards the four mounds. When he got there he started to investigate the mounds. He started digging into one of them. When he got to the center he was surprised to find that his paws where not digging through loose dirt, but hitting solid rock. He dug around the whole thing until there was only stone exposed. He looked at it for a while, then started to dig in the other four mounds until there was only stone left. Skipper ran to the Abbey to make his report. The Abbot was waiting for him, “So, wot did you find?” Skipper was huffing and puffing for breath but managed to report, “Dug up all the hills, found stone blocks.” The Abbot looked at the stone blocks, “They almost look like the four corners of a castle.” The Abbot looked at skipper for a moment. It couldn’t be. It was just not possible. The Abbot went to the gatehouse and consulted old Phred, “Phred, what is the possibility of a large castle rising up through the earth about a league from here?” Phred muttered only one word, “Preposterous.” The Abbot nodded, “That’s what I thought at first, come have a look at this.” The Abbot led Phred up to the top of the north wall. “Right there, look.” Phred took out his spectacles and looked in the direction the Abbot had pointed in. “Oh my. It does look like the four corners of some sort of building. Where did they come from?” The Abbot shook his head slowly, “We do not know.”

Farinath went to his tent to dress his wound. Gallath appeared behind him, “Nasty wound, what happened?” Farinath turned around, “Our sister is wot happened.” Gallath winced as he thought of his sister doing that to him, “Anyway, we will be leaving here tomorrow. Get some rest, you look tired.” Gallath left his brother. As soon as he was out of earshot of his brother he burst into a fit of laughing. Sterfella walked up to him, “What’re you laughing at?” Gallath looked up at his sister, still laughing, “Hahahaha, I’m hootin’ at, hahahaha, wot yer did to our brother, hahaha.” Sterfella immediately wanted in, “What, what happened?” Gallath composed himself, “He was dressing the wound you gave him.” His sister to burst out laughing at their pathetic brother. As soon as he was convinced that his brother and sister where no longer paying attention to him, Farinath slipped out of his tent to the pen that Lyth was in. Once again, Lyth was rudely awakened to the face of Farinath, “Lissen, we have to carry out the plan tonight, Gallath and us are leavin’ here tomorrow. Stand back, alright, come on, out ye go. Follow me, and try not to make any noise. They crept to the jetty unnoticed, “Right, I got yer all the provisions I could, a small greenwood dagger that I waterproofed, a cloak, an’ a couple flasks o’ fresh water. Oh, an’ this nice liddle boat.” Lyth got in the boat and said, “Why are you doing this for me?” Farinath leaned in and pushed the boat out, “On mainland!” Farinath waved goodbye and went about putting things as they were, resealing the pen, scattering pawprints and scuffmarks until it looked like it had never been touched.

Drama/adventure/tragedy:Fan Fiction