Ah, the joys of having a pet snake.....among other things :) (Marek's Revenge TP)

From Redwall MUCK Wiki


Ferravale Entryway

Just inside the closed gates, under a tree. :)

John the squirrel. Nightbreath the ermine Seer. Treesong, another squirrel. Blisa the cat, Ferdinand the ferret, DoraRose the mouse and a male rat with a scimitar. Basilisk the whipsnake. Lee the otter.

It was a relatively pleasent day for most, clear skies and birds chirping in branches that sway in the breeze- Your typical Summer day. A squirrel sits with his back to a tree trunk, idly twirling a small knife. His eyes are bright and alert, though, as John waits for something or another...Watch and wait, till the time comes.

Nightbreath enters, almost seeming to fade into existence behind the squirrel, saying nothing, merely observing, too silent for even John to notice him without looking.

Treesong walks along the path looking rather depressed today and she is also not as alert as she probally should be, alert only a little.

Blisa comes out of the inn, having had some business there. Trailing behind her are DoraRose, Ferdinand and a black male rat with a scimitar. Upon seeing the ermine, the kitten leads the group over to him. "Ah, Nightbreath. Good day. Any news?"

"None, but salvation is near according to the spirit world," Nightbreath reports. "Nothing on this plane of existence yet. Only wars...rumors of wars," he murmurs. "How strong are our forces as of now?"

John glances over to the group, the turns his head towards who, or what, they are talking to. He jumps at the sight of Nightbreath standing near him, and, standing hastily to hide his surprise, nods a greeting towards the ermine. Turning towards the young cat, he says, "'Ello there, miss. How are ye as o' Taday?"

Treesong looks over at the group just noticing them "Oh hello to...umm hello, I was just taking a walk and thinking a lot today, there has been...problems it seems"

Blisa nods politely at the male squirrel. "Tired." Turning back to the seer, she adds, "We only have around 150 to 200 soldiers here. Hardly enough to retake Redwall." DoraRose smiles and waves the female squirrel over, not wanting to have to holler over the other beasts in order to speak with her.

"Remember, we don't want to retake it so much as worry Marek's forces. We want to fight a guerrilla war, not a full-fledged battle. That...we leave to those who will soon come," Nightbreath says.

Treesong walks slowly over to Dorarose and nods a hello, she stays quiet as she lets the others speak.

Adding to Nightbreath's statement, John says, "We'd need a good ol' plan 'efore even thinkin' o' takin' it back, anyhow... " He pauses, thinking. "Yon squirrel tribe," Here he gestures at Treesong, "Might be able tae help with that' kind o' fightin'..."

Blisa stomps her foot and shakes her head vigorously. "No! No guerilla attacks! I have the Mossflower Militia to worry about now, in addition to Marek's forces! We need to keep Ferravale guarded! Did you bring our troops back into the village as I instructed?" DoraRose winces as the kitten hollers. Ferdinand shakes his head, seriously hoping that the Seer did do as the kitten instructed...

"Yes. I was awaiting your final go-ahead to launch the first raid," Nightbreath says placatingly. "What is the Mossflower Militia, anyhow?"

Treesong frowns, "I...I do not know if my tribe can help or not. My leadership has been challenged cause of all this...some are ok with fight and others say no and one main one who says no, not to help fight wants to challenge me and be new leader"

John is, to say the least, rather surprised at Blisa's out break. "An' what did ye do tae get this 'militia' angery at ye?" Turning towards the other squirrel, he shrugs. "Ah can't help ye there."

Blisa facepalms. "Seriously? You don't know who the Mossflower Militia is? They're the vermin-hating militia here in Mossflower! They refuse to go to Redwall because they have an alliance with us! And I'm slightly at odds with them because their leader insulted me and my leadership skills. I almost let Basilisk eat him, he was so irritating." DoraRose goes to put a paw on the female squirrel's arm. "That's awful. Don't they realize that if Marek isn't driven out of Mossflower, they might all be killed?"

"I would rather have not...fanaticsss give me indigessstionssss..." The voice seems to come from no where and everywhere at once. The bushes behind the party begin to part. First comes the serpents head, which is covered by a large cast iron helm with the Ferreval emblem on it. Then comes the creatures body. A whiptail snake Basilisk is covered head to...tail in dark green scales which have begun to split due to obesity. While very obviously overweight Basil has begun to slim down after carrying around the heavy iron breast plate the villagers made for him. Even if a little bit.

Treesong gasps as she sees the snake and backs off, looking ready to bolt in fact if needed.

"Ah've heard o' them, alright, missy. As for them insulting ye, that seems like a rather fool's thin' tae do." John continues, "An' what's this Basilisk cre-" He stops when he hears the bushes moving. Turning, he faces the snake and pales. Holding the knife between him and the serpent...This must be Basilisk, John thinks grimly.

Blisa glares at the ermine as he wanders off, but her attention is instantly diverted by the startled, freaking out cretaures around her. She promptly hops on his back and shouts, "It's alright! Don't worry! This is Basilisk, my snake bodyguard and friend! He won't eat you without permission....right, Basil? I bet you dont' want to loose an eye, right?" Dorarose glares at the reptile, hefting her battleaxe. Ferdinand and the black rat just ignore the snake, having gotten quite used to him just appearing otu of seemingly nowhere.

The snake takes in all the fearfull gazes, the threats of dismemberment if he should eat someone and smiles. He likes the attention. The constrictor begins to slither up to John, staring down at him menacingly he gives him a less than friendly grin. After a moments pause he slithers to the right and stretches himself out on the road, sunning his back. "Of courssse Blissa. You know...I had forgotten how nisssse the outdoorsss were."

Treesong frowns, she nods a little "Umm...ok, like said I...I do not know if will help or not."

John, clearly uneasy at the snake's presence, lowers the knife. Backing away slightly, he regains his briskness. "Well, now tha's all well an' good, bu' back tae Marek and this Militia...Why won' they Militia help us ou'?" He glances at the snake, "then again, if ye really did threaten 'em, Ah can see why they'd be reluctant tae 'elp ye. Ah know I would."

Lee comes walking down the path from the road.

Blisa nods, frowning. "Yes, I know. You'll be fine. Well, actually," says the kitten, hopping off the snake and turning to the male squirrel. "They wanted to help defeat Marek, but before this all happened they wouldn't go within a league of Redwall. But now they want to make Marek go away." DoraRose turns from the snake and give the other squirrel a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help. And don't worry about Basilisk...I can defeat him if necessary, I'm sure."

Treesong nods "It is...alright. I will figure it out maybe its just I promised to help and ...others wish not to, it is hard"

The snake smirks while lazing across the road. IF nothing else he would make a great road block in the up coming battle. He lifts his eyes towards the approaching otter. He quickly loses interest. Otters are too large for the young whip tail to devour, not unlike the squirrels. Pity they don't look very appetizing. There are a few beasts in Ferreval that would make a decent meal. If only he can find a way to actually eat someone with out getting into trouble...

"Ah thought yer tribe loved killing vermin..." John states, turning towards the other squirrel, "A' least, they sure seemed tae when Ah saw 'em. As for thae Militia," he adds, turning back to the cat, "They don' sound al' tha' reliable..." Hearing the mouse, he lets out a chuckle, "Ah don' doubt ye could, havin' an axe like tha'."

Treesong frowns "My tribe do dislike..vermin, maybe just disliek a little less...some vermin" She frowns" The one who challenges me wants to just stay on our land..not help as say help brings troubles" She goes to leave after this

Lee steps closer. "'Ello ev'rybeast."

Blisa shakes her head. "I don't trust them at all....and I probably didn't help matters when I taunted the messenger as he walked away..." she ways meditatively. DoraRose watches the Gawtrybe leader leave, then hefts her axe again, looking at the edge. "Neither do I. I was sorely tempted to attack that Tavis character when he insulted you." Ferdinand nods in agreement, almost invisible, he's so quiet.

John nods. "Ah see...Wha' did he say, this Tavis?" hearing Lee, he turns to him. "'Ello there, matey! 'Ow 'ave ye been, Lee?"

The snake lifts up his head and hisses, "You mean the moussse? He'ssss staying at the inn. I caught his scent there..." The snake yawns and stretches out further on the road, effectively blocking the road like a giant meat wall. Being a snake his eyes remain open even after he dozes off.

Lee raises his paw in greeting. "Oy, 'ello sir. 'Ow are ye?"

Blisa frowns and cracks her knuckles. "Maybe I should keep track of him...." she murmurs, then waves to the otter. "Hi. Whatcha need this time?" DoraRose frowns in the direction of the otter's outfit, but whether she's upset about that or about the proximity of the Mossflower Miltitia mouse is unclear.

John leans back against the trunk, glad that the snake is dozing. He closes his eyes. "Aye, that ye should...leavin' 'em unchecked might case a bit o' a problem tae ye." His eyes open, and he adds to that thought, "Then again, ye'd have tae do it smartly- No sense in offendin' 'em more so then 'e already 's."

Lee looks down at Blisa. "Err, not exactly. I be vistin' ta check up on Ferravale." Glancing at DoraRose, he frowns. "Oy, are ye alright marm? I thought I explained that I didn't really join Marek... I only pretended to... The only way I could leave the Abbey, y'know..."

DoraRose jumps slightly, then forces a smile. "Oh...it's fine. I'm not upset with you. It's...something else...don't worry..." Blisa stands on the balls of her feet. "Oh, alright. We're fine, I'm just being irritated by Tavis." Turning to the squirrel, she adds, "Do you have any suggestions?"

John thinks for a moment before saying, "I may have 'un or two ideas...Maybe get the tavern keeper to keep an eye on 'em, perhaps? or some woodlander..."

Lee narrows his eyes. "Tavis? Who is that?"

DoraRose sighs. "He's one of the leader beasts in the Mossflower Militia. They kill all vermin that they can get ahold of. They'd probably kill you for pretending to be a turncoat, and then ask questions." Blisa flashes a smile at the squirrel. "Good ideas. Thanks." she turns to the snake, seeming to notice the fact that he's sleeping for the first time. Waving her paws, she shouts, "Hey, some of you off- duty soldiers! come carry this snake to my house, please!" About 26 off-duty soldiers come up and lift the whipsnake, looking positively terrified. They march after the kitten with their awkward load, and DoraRose, Ferdinand, and the rat guard hurry after them, the mouse waving a hasty good-bye over her shoulder.

I had permission from Liam (the runner of Basilisk) to do that last pose. Thanks for reading! :)

Groups: