Silas
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Squirellking*~*Southsward[P:NaN]
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Post by Silas on Dec 5, 2007 17:43:56 GMT -5
Through the winding course of the River Moss, one would assume its route to be of pure origin, from the mountains. And it was, but there was one small technicality. It is stemming from the east mountains, from Redwall's perspective. The river flows down the mountainside to roll through one particular town, a small one, where we find a seemingly ordinary weasel, spending his afternoon 'relaxing' in a local pub and Inn. The sign outside declared proudly, Darkwood Inn & Pub, the arcitecture gracefully simple, made of trademark dark woods of the area. On the inside, the afternoon sun shone through the tinted windows, coloring everything in a slight shade of gold, making the weasel's fur glisten as he sat at the window seat.
Sergei, a regular at the Inn, sat alone at his table, dropping one of his many daggers point-first into the wooden surface, whic was plenty scarred already. All of the other tables were occupied by the shadier members of Darkwood, as the lunch rush was on. The weasel sighed boredly, looking at his own reflection in the dagger, which shone like new.
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carabadgermum
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~Badger Matriarch~[P:NaN]
the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 5, 2007 18:33:07 GMT -5
The door suddenly burst open bringing in a blast of cold winter air and a haggard looking weaslemaid. One of her paws was supporting her huge pregnant stomach the other clutching a lead rope. At the other end of the rope was tied, paws bound a young auburn-furred haremaid with thick glasses perched on her nose. The Haremaid's glasses fogged over the instant they came into contact with the warmer air in the pub. She didn't look particularly troubled at the situation. She only removed the glasses with her bound paws and attempted to wipe them off on her torn dress. Her name was Ally Braebuck and she was very glad to be in the warmth after the long walk through the cold woods. The weaselmaid, Kolia, on the other hand was very agitated. She had been since she left Redwall Abbey after a particularly nasty nightmare that seemed to point to her future murder at the paws of her unborn twin sons. She traveled for a time with a ferret named Vrelt and an old weasel named Pepp but they weren't moving fast enough so she had left to carry out her search on her own. And search she had, every inch of Mossflower Wood, looking for Roask. Roask was the leader of a mercenary band. A band in which Kolia had once be the second in command. Roask was also the father of Kolia's whelps. He was the reason she was sure they would want to kill her. Kolia had killed her own mother after she had betrayed Kolia's father to his death. Kolia had blamed her mother for the death of her father. And Kolia had tried to kill Roask. Why shouldn't her children take revenge on her for the death of their father. But she had been told that Roask still lived. She had to find him she had to know if it was true. So why the haremaid? It had been Roask's plan to take a hostage from Redwall, somebeast important enough to exact a ransom maybe even a way to take the abbey itself. But Kolia had asked him to change the plan. Her plan had failed and Roask had gotten a dagger in the back, her dagger. Now she had to make it up to him if she could. She'd seen this hare in the abbey. Or thought she had. That hare had looked an awful lot like this one. The abbeybeasts had sent that hare out on a quest so she must have been important to them. This hare was exactly the hostage Roask needed and Kolia would bring her to him. If she could find him. Kolia waddled up to the bar. This was the place. If anyone would know what had happened to Roask these vermin were sure to. She slammed her fist still holding the lead rope down onto the counter. She didn't ask for food or lodging such things were far from her fevered mind these days. The weaselmaid only wanted one thing, "Where's Roask?!"
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Silas
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Squirellking*~*Southsward[P:NaN]
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Post by Silas on Dec 6, 2007 7:35:12 GMT -5
The whole pub turned to look at this odd new arrival, mostly glances of contempt, a few smirks, But Sergei's face was blank. As Kolia waddled inside and pounded her fist on the table, demanding a beast named Roask, the bartender eyed first the weasel's stomach, then her face with one eyebrow raised. "Roask?" he said, breaking the silence that now hung over the bar, everyone watching the events play out. Whoever this 'Roask' was, it looked like he was in for it, if the bartender's suspicion was correct... "Never heard o' him." He said truthfully. "If you're lookin' for 'im, you came to the wrong town."
Sergei watched the proceedings across the room through slightly narrowed eyes. How peculiar. And how laughable, in some cases, a pregnant beast stomping through town asking for somebody usually meant ill happenings earlier on... But nobeast laughed. Not if he didn't. He had this town on the tip of his dagger, being a conbeast. He lifted his boots off of thetable, ttok in a breath, and dared to speak in the silence. "I've 'eard of 'im." he announced, though it was awhile ago.
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carabadgermum
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~Badger Matriarch~[P:NaN]
the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 6, 2007 12:15:19 GMT -5
Kolia nearly burst into tears when the bartender said he'd never heard of her Roask. She had searched so long, so far. Somebeast had to know where he was, if he was okay. And then she heard the voice behind her. She spun around, searching the faces of the vermin to see who had spoken. Her face was transformed at the mention of the knowledge of his existence. Suddenly she had hope again. Her eyes, wet with unshed tears fell on a weasel who looked like he had some kind of power. She addressed her question to him quietly, hardly daring to believe he might know the answer, "where is he?" She grimaced then and clutched at her stomach. "No," she looked down and struck the offending bump, "Not yet, not till we've found yur daddy." She'd been having false labor for the past several days but in her mind she was stopping it by telling the whelps to stay put. Then another sharper pain seized her as one of the babies kicked. It was more than she could handle in her weakened state and she blacked out. Amazingly enough it was haremaid who rushed forward and caught Kolia with her bound paws before she fell to the ground. "Any o' you chaps care to 'elp me out 'ere?" Ally spoke for the first time. Her eyes also went to the weasel who had spoken.
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Silas
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Post by Silas on Dec 6, 2007 16:29:58 GMT -5
Most smriked as Kolia passed out, however, Sergei remained impassive. twirling his dagger, hethrew it up, catching it lightly and thrusting it into the table with a Thunk! The other beasts turned to stare at the nosie now, seeing what he would do.
The weasel himself sighed, feeling all those eyes upon him. He was hoping for a nice quiet weekend... Apparently fate decided otherwise. He got up out of his seat, saying, "Derek, Antra, help 'em." When neither beast moved, he growled silently. "Well, don't just stand there! Can't y'see she's carryin'?" he scorned them irately, gesturing to Kolia's stomach.
The ferret and fox hesitantly obeyed, steeping forth as Sergei did likewise. The whole bar was silent with tension. Nothing like this had ever been done before. Usually no one offered any help in Darkwood, maybe the opposite was given out occasionally. The eyes gazing upon Sergei turned to ones of distaste. Nevertheless, he crouched by the haremaid and asked, "...What can we do?"
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carabadgermum
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~Badger Matriarch~[P:NaN]
the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 6, 2007 16:55:45 GMT -5
Only now when surrounded by the vermin and addressed directly did the haremaid show any kind of fear. She began to babble. "Her name is Kolia an' I think it's gettin' close to her time. She'll need a healer. We were near Redwall Abbey when she er . . . captured me. I tried to tell her that they could help her in the abbey but she seemed in a jolly hurry to be shot of the place. She seemed to think that's where I came from but I've never been there in m'blinkin' life. She doesn't talk to me much mostly just t' the bally h'infants. And everybeast we meet, she asks them if they know this Roask character."
As Ally finished this speech Kolia began to come around the first creature she saw was the weasel. "Roasky?" she said weakly thinking it was him through blurry eyes. She blinked a couple of times to clear them and realized that this was a different weasel but one that had said he might know Roask. "You said you knew 'im?"
"Can she get some water?" Ally called to anybeast who was listening.
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Silas
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Squirellking*~*Southsward[P:NaN]
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Post by Silas on Dec 6, 2007 19:22:00 GMT -5
The weasel looked down at kolia as she inquired. "I said I heard of him, marm." he clarified. "Seen him awhile back too, though I didn't get in so close as t' say hi." He informed her. Antra, the grey fox, presented a glass of water to Ally wordlessly after Sergei had said 'marm'.
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carabadgermum
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~Badger Matriarch~[P:NaN]
the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 6, 2007 22:20:24 GMT -5
With some difficulty, owing to her paws still being bound, Ally gave Kolia a drink of the water. "She should probably have somethin' t' eat as well." The haremaid said to anyone who was listening.
"I don't want nothin' to eat," Kolia sat up and swatted the water away drenching the Haremaid with what was left in the cup. Then she addressed the weasel again, "You saw him though. Where was he? I need to find him."
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Silas
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Post by Silas on Dec 6, 2007 22:41:49 GMT -5
"Calm down, marm," the weasel advised. "I saw him a while ago. Years ago." he tells her regretfully. "The only place I know he went to was here, though nobeast remembers him..." The other patrons of the bar gathered about now, hemming the small group in. "Hey! Give 'em some space, ye maggots!" Derek, a ferret yelled out. Normally he would've been in a fight had he said that to another local. But this time it was different. They obeyed, shuffling their footpaws back.
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carabadgermum
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~Badger Matriarch~[P:NaN]
the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 6, 2007 22:54:30 GMT -5
Ally took the drenching in stride. She'd been treated worse since she became the prisoner of the weasel but she couldn't help but feel sorry for the pregnant beast. "Kolia, y'need t'eat for the baby's sake and you're gonna need a healer soon."
Kolia was crushed by the weasel's news. She listened to Ally and knew the hare was right. "Where'm I supposed to find a healer. I won't have no goodbeast touchin' me an' I surely won't go back to that abbey."
"I know of a healer fox who travels with a band of strolling players. They should be close by this time of year." Ally whispered soothingly trying to placate her captress. She looked up at the weasel hoping the mention of strolling players might have sparked some memory in him, that he might know where they were.
((please say that he does. I'd really like him to help her find them.))
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Silas
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Squirellking*~*Southsward[P:NaN]
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Post by Silas on Dec 7, 2007 16:51:06 GMT -5
((I'm not evil, don't worry.))
The weasel nodded in rememberance. "Aye, they come 'round here lookin' to put on a show or two... We also have a healer in town, though they're gettin' on in years..." He frowned inwardly though. Not out of sympathy, as he would claim, but somehow it was a little. Sure, he would help them, but at a distance. Their business was still their own. He didn't exactly know where Roask was, and at that point he wondered why he poked his snout into all this in the first place.
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carabadgermum
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~Badger Matriarch~[P:NaN]
the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 7, 2007 17:36:12 GMT -5
"You say this healer's a vixen?" Kolia asked Ally. "Yes," Ally assured her. "An' I don't have to go in to any place to see her?" She was mostly thinking of going into the abbey building at Redwall, but since her stay there having any roof over her head made her feel a bit claustrophobic. She was homesick for the tent that was her very own when she traveled with Roask. She looked up at the male weasel, "an' you can help us to find this creature?"
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Silas
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Post by Silas on Dec 7, 2007 18:02:56 GMT -5
"Yeah." The weasel replied after a second's pause, nodding in reassurance. He held out a paw in front of Kolia. "Now, uh, if you don't mind, I think it'll be a good idea to stop disturbin' the folks down here...." Besides, the floor of a tavern was no place for anyone to be.
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carabadgermum
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the paw that rocks the cradle rules the world
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Post by carabadgermum on Dec 7, 2007 21:16:26 GMT -5
Kolia took hold of the paw he offered and allowed him to help her up. This was awkwardly done with her large stomach throwing off her balance. But she tried to appear dignified despite this. Standing once again she brushed herself off and made sure she still had Ally's lead rope. "So, when do we leave?"
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Silas
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Post by Silas on Dec 7, 2007 21:29:09 GMT -5
"Well, I don't think you'll need to." The weasel said, purposely saying 'you'll' instead of 'we'll'. "I could have Derek watch for 'em when they swing by here..." He glanced at the ferret before stating, "Ye don't want to travel much, anyways..." He indicated her swollen belly with a minute gesture of a paw.
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