Detoured Tour

From Redwall MUCK Wiki


Characters: William, Ella, Tagger, Edgar

Location: Ferravale

Tagger’s holt outside Ferravale

William had stayed with Tagger and Ella at Tagg's holt a good long while talking and catching up with his younger siblings. "So when do you want th' tour?" he asked Ella as he scooped up a pawful of snow and began to mold it into a hard ball of ice in his paws. "Oi need t be headin' back soon. So now would work unless yew got somethin’ better t’ do," the rat said as he silently debated on which otter to throw his hail like snowball at.

Ella smiles as she gets up quickly from her seat, "Ooo! Right now is just fine!" Tagg gives a light hmph as he walks over to one of the larger trees with a low hanging branch, "You guys go nuts. Though id keep away from a cat..." Ella quickly interrupts, "Jaja! I know Tagg, Geeze! Will you never shut up about that" "Nope!" he grunts, hopping up unto the branch with his paws and hanging there. Starting to do his daily workout of pull ups, "Ill be quiet when i never have to see that cat again!" he grins going up above the branch and then down again. Ella hums to herself starting to walk over to the gate, "Come on Will! Lets get this show on the road!" Both otters are unaware of the hail-like snowball. And both are perfect targets.

William considers his options a moment more before hurling the icy ball at the tree branches above Tagg's head, hoping the ball will burst over the otter's head when it meets the tree. "Oi'm comin'," he calls to Ella as he starts to walk ahead of her toward the village of Ferravale.

The snowball shatters right above the otters head, and millions of icy crystals fall ontop of his noggin, "ARGH! THAT WAS COLD! YOU LITTLE!" he was just about to retaliate when he sees them running off toward the village. He shakes his head and continues, shaking the snow off his ears, "Ill get them later..." he laughs evilly before grunting in his workout. Ella laughs as Tagg gets splattered, "Haha! Serves you right for not coming with us!" She then hurries to catch up with the rat, lest the brother decides to barrage them, "Heehee! So... What are gonna go see first eh?" she asks as the gate and walls looms just in front of them.

The rat almost says 'Th’ tavern' but stops himself. "Oi figure we'll jus start at one end an’ head for the center then go from there," he says. "Any place you want to see more than others?" he asks. "There's not much near th gates," the rat says as they approch the gates. One of the guards looks Ella over as she draws near. "Th' otter's with me," Will tells him, "She's jus’ visitin'."

Ferravale

Ella hums to herself as she follows the rat. One good thing about being a Tazan otter, is you are more then likely taller then other beasts. Same notion goes for the guard, whose size should make him cower in front of the femotter. When they make it past him, she turns around and prepares to make a rude gesture. But, thinks better of it, and sticks her tongue out at him instead. She chuckles to herself as she taps her chin, "Not really. Guess this town is like any other town... Cept its all full of the vermany types. So! Ill let you lead!" she grins. A lot of the residence eye and watch the otter. Some of them even sigh or grunt loudly. Another woodlander? This has got to stop.

William nudges his sister in the side he notices her sticking her tounge out at the guard. "Quit it, Ella. 'E's jus' doin' 'is job." The rat ignores the muttered comments passersby make about 'woodies'. It's nothing he hasn't heard before. "Yeah, I guess," the rat replies, " An' woodies, as we call yew, aren't 'xactly beloved by all 'round 'ere. An' if yew run int' thet cat we were talkin' about ty not t kill 'er. Somebeast someplace might get upset, even iffen it's jus' cause yer an otter an all."

Ella looks around, then raises her eyebrows at the term, "Woodies? Never heard of that term before... That's a new one i must tell VeeVee about." she then pats her axe and smirks, "No promises. Though i don't plan to stick long enough to make enemies like Tagg has. I have life" she chuckles, "Sides. Way i hear it from Tagg, if you can ignore the jibes. Then most dont seem to bother ye to much..." she hums as she looks toward the buildings, sniffing the air, "Mmmm."

William shrugs, "Most 'ere are jus' regular beasts livin' their lives, workin', lot 'ave families. No different fer th most part then any other village. An' at the moment we're on good terms with Redwall. With luck it'll stay thet way." He points at the buildings as they walk down the street, "Over there's th' inn an' th tavern. Not much on this end really. Further ahead is th square an' th infirm an ev'rythin' else. Well get t' it all as we go through."

Ella nods as she looks around. Most of the other beasts ignoring them, "Well. Thats something. Though it still seems they don't really care for me." she chuckles to herself before looking toward where he points, "Inn, Tavern. Got it. That's what i was smelling..." Might have to stop there later, "Oh boy the infrim. Heard this family are big residence there.." she shakes her head and walks on.

"Lots of beasts stop by th' tavern t talk an there's fights now an then. Nothing' too serious usaully. Was mostly th' stoats in th' infirm, 'til Tagg came up 'ere," Will remarks. "Yew drink much?" he asks his sister, "Looks like yew got Pa's talent fer sniffin' out a tavern or pub."

Ella chuckles, "They love the infirm don't they..." She grins and then laughs, "Oh aye! Mum said that once when we lived at the Camp. I have it, at least more then Veevee does." she gives the air one more little sniff, "I can take a few glasses, aye! Can drink any otter under the table! Mmmm. Might have to come back here for a little nip later." she rubs her paws together as they walk toward the center of town.

William leads Ella into the town square. "Down thet way is houses," he says pointing in one direction. "Thet way is Scioto, th' cheiftain's, place. 'Is liddle daughter got in some trouble a little while ago. 'E tries t' keep a close eye on 'er. 'E was in bad shape back when she being held captive an' all thet. Oi've tried t' talk Coby int' makin' friends with 'er, but no luck so far. .... Over there's th' infirm loike Oi said b'fore. An' down this way's th market," Will continues pointing things out to his sister as he leads her toward the market. "We got a brewery, bakery, seamtress, carpenter, liddle of ev'rythin'," he says.

Ella nods as she looks at everything, noting it in her head, "Right... Okay. The signs also help." she laughs as she points to a few of them. She listens to the rat for a bit not really understanding completely, But there is a time and place for everything, "Hmmm. So. This is Chris' place?" Points to the bakery. Then looks around, "What about your place eh? The errr... Pottery thing shop Tagg told me about..." she looks around.

William nods, "Yeah th' bakery's Chris' an my shop is across from 'is an' down a bit." He points at a small brick building. 'Tazan Pottery Shop' is written on the sign above the door. Smoke rise constanly from the chimney darkening the pale winter sky. "There's living space in th' back or above in Chris' case," the rat says. "Want t' see if th' stoats are in or if Ame is?" he suggests.

Ella looks beyond the walkway and manages to see the brick building, "Ah! There it is! I was wondering if Taggs letters were true!" she grins as she sniffs around. More odd smells. Mostly from the odd beast who doesn't bathe in the marketplace. She rubs at her nose and says, "Well have to seem them both eventually. But its up to you. Maybe we can continue to look around first?" she suggests.

Ella taps her claw against her hip, "Mmmm. Well. I'm don't really care for shopping. Would like to see Amy though. You know if she is around?" she asks making a little circle in the snow with her footpaw, like she does when she is thinking, "Or maybe we can go to the tavern?" she asks, almost excitedly, "You are the tour guide after all. And im not sure me walking around at night is such a good idea." she smirks.

Ella nods then smiles, "Eh. We can visit the local family later. To be honest. I haven't say down at a decent place in days. It’s quite a walk up here from the camp." she chuckles and she sniffs the air, "I think... I know the way..." she grins as she starts to walk in one direction, then walk in another. The second time walking toward the tavern correctly.

Ferravale: Tavern

William smiles and follows her to the tavern. Since it's getting late the place is busy. Once inside Will takes his place at his usual place at a table to one side of the door near the front of the building. There are a few other beasts at the table, but they are too deep into discussion with each other to notice the rat and otter right away. Will is often in the tavern so he hardly has to say anything to the servers. "Usual?" a waiterbeast asks him. Will nods and looks over at Ella. "An' fer yew, Miz?" the server asks of the femotter.

Ella smiles as she looks around the tavern, very much like the one at the camp. Except its not full of ottery types. She left her axe at the door, and sits down with the rat at the table crossing her legs under herself. When the waiterbeast arrives she smiles and says, "I’ll have a glass of whiskey and some mead, if you got it." The waiter raises an eyebrow at the femotter. She grins, "Meads the chaser..." she adds. The beast blinks before heading off to get their drinks She chuckles, "Nice place!" she is all eyes and ears as she looks around.

"Yeah. It's not a bad place. An' since we 'ave a brewery th' princes aren't as high as some places," Will says.

Ella nods as she looks around, "I can tell. Seems alright. Was really not like the stories I've been hearing." Most of the beasts are happy enough with their drinks. Mostly just want to be left alone. A few happier (drunker) guests are having a grand ole time singing a classic, Pop goes the weasel. There are a few beasts smoking pipes, and a even a few with eye patches. One or two glances toward their table. But most are keen to leave them alone. Ella taps her black claws on the table in unison to the song in the background, "So Will... How do you like it here?" she asks.

"Oi loike it well enough. Oi got my own shop an' kiln 'ere. Some probably think we're odd seein' 'ow friendly we've been with otters lately and a certain dubbin being overly friendly with a certain begger, but we 'aven't had any trouble with anybeast so far," the rat replies, "Can't think of anything t' complain of." The waiter returns as the potter is still talking and sets down the drinks, whisky and mead for Ella and ale for Will.

Ella smiles as she gets her drinks in front of her, "Thank ye!" she says. The waiter just nods as he walks away to some other table. She chuckles, "Heh. Sounds like you guys been having fun then?" she asks. Then if you blink, you miss it as she one shots the whiskey, letting it burn down her throat, "Oooo. Thats a spicy meatball!" she laughs drinking a bit of the mead to cool it down, "Wheh... Thats better. Anywho. Been making good money?" Then she has a question, "Have you guys seen or heard from Kluner?"

"Can't say we fit in hunderd percent 'ere, but we fit 'ere better then most places," Will says. He lifts his mug and takes a swig of his ale. Still holding the mug aloft he nods at her. "Some days are better than others, but over all Oi'm doin' good. Even when it's slow we still manage alright. Of course Oi started work 'ere about th' same time there was a battle goin' on an th' wall got a hole in et. So, thet helped get us invovled with things and stuff," the rat says smiling. "No 'aven't heard from 'im. 'Aven't seen 'im since we left Moledeep actually," Will says as he starts to chew on his lip, thinking the matter over. "Chris never meantions 'im much," he says, "Think 'e might 'ave moved away some place. Don't recall if the stoats said what had happened to their weasel or not now. Don't know if th' stoats 'ave heard from 'im. Might want t' ask them. But fer wot et's worth we don't hear from many beasts. 'Aven't heard from my own son in Oi don't know 'ow long either. 'E's probably still plaguing

Mossflower if 'e hasn't been caught by some maid yet."

Ella continues to tap her claws on the table as the group in the corner starts another round of chorus. The words getting worse with every drink. The femotter drinks another swig of her drink before continuing, "Aye. Well at least you've been keeping busy. Since i left the guards, i've mostly been running with a mercenary group, as i've told you..." Another swig, and nods at the last words, "Aye. Tagg sent a letter to the camp, asking if we knew where he was. Wondered if you guys had followed up or not." she asks, almost done with her drink already.

"Wot's Tagg want with Kluner?" Will asks. He downs more of his ale as they talk. "Oi think yew'd 'ave better luck talkin' t' th' stoats then me." He finishes off his mug and sets it down. "We kin head t' th' bakery an ask em if ya want," he suggest, "In a bit."

William sighs and frowns at Ella. "Th' staff 'ere aint deaf, El. Yew lose yer 'inside voice' someplace?" he jokes. The otter isn't the first to make a scene in this tavern and no doubt more will come after her to continue the tradition in future. "Do yew really need another drink?" Will asks, "It's gettin' dark out an' we got places t' go an' family t' see 'fore yew get yerself tossed out."

Ella chuckles as grins stupidly, "My inside voice? I have one of those?" she laughs and then thinks about what the rat said and nods, still semi being loud, "Aye. I think your right. Ill just be happy with what i got, and live with it!" she grins before streaching her arms and putting them behind her head. A loud pop is heard, "Oh aye, thats the stuff!" before yawing and standing up, "Come on then lazy tail, get of your rear, and lets get a'shakin!"

William tries to step on his sister's rudder as he gets up from the table. She may not have to deal with the beasts in this village much, but he does and her causing trouble isn't in his best interest right now. "Lazy?" the rat echos, "Oi may sit a lot, but even so most of th' time Oi'm workin'." The half blind rat pays for their drinks and leads the otter out of the tavern and back toward the marketplace. The sun has set and street lamps glow to light the main paths in the village. The air has grown colder since they entered the tavern and their breaths come out in puffs of steam on this winter evening.

Ferravale: Marketplace

Ella manages to whip her rudder out of the way. She might have a drink or two, but she is still on the ball, "Oi! No steeping on me rudder alright?" She then walks/bounces toward the door, retrieving her axe and sliding it on her hook on her leather armor, "Oh aye. Lazy tail!" She smirks following the ratto out she smiles at all all the snow everywhere and she walks along with Will. Her rudder making a swirly pattern behind them, "So! Where we off to now eh? Tagg offered me a place in his tent. Though knowing him he's probably reading or something..." she chuckles.

"Oi thought Oi might show yew my shop an' let Ame an' Coby know yer in th' area. Ame's liable t' get sore iffen Oi don't let 'er know yer 'ere right away," Will says grinning as he tries again to step on her rudder. "Unless yew'd rather hunt up th' stoats. Oi figure if they aren't et home, best bet'd be th' infirm. We'll check th' bakery first anyway."

Ella nods managing to keep her rudder away from the rat at all times. Even playing a game with him. Getting her rudder purposefully close before she quickly moves it away, "Its up to you. I'm just here, for the beer!" she laughs, "According to Tagg, Rob is still in the infirm, could bug him or something." she then hums as she, "Mmmmm. Alright. Maybe i can swipe some bread!" she giggles.

Once the corner is rounded and the two come upon the southernmost street, they would meet a strange sight. A young molly scampers to and fro, from alley to alley, loping about on all fours. As she continues on her situation seems to become more dire, as a whispered mewling escapes her throat. She skids to a stop when she reaches the end of the street, skirts swirling around her knees. Then comes the throaty yowl of a feline in lament. "Maaaaaaaaiiiiiieeeeemed!" She calls. Where is that fox? The night has come and so has the cold, and she would give her hypothetical kingdom for a cloak to share.

William stops and stares at the cat. He's seen a lot of strange things in this village, but not quite this strange. His tattered ears press against his head when the feline yowls. As much as he's trying not to hear her the strangled name is too familiar for him to not recognize it. "Wot yew yowlin' fer?" he calls to her. He's not sure what her connection may be to the beggar his daughter'd befriended, but wouldn't hurt too much to ask.

Ella is the same way. Strange. She eyes the cat up and down before something clicks in her mind. Is this the same cat that attacked Tagg? Doesn't look the way Tagg described her. But Tagg probably wasn't thinking right in the first place. She hums and decides not to do anything that might be considered antagonizing. Let the rat do all the talking. Probably better in this town anyway.

Edgar turns, her eyes catching the moonlight and shining opalescent. "For whatever I want!" She replies, though there is no barb in her voice. She is too cold to be peevish. Upon closer inspection, it is clear the cat's clothes are soaked through, her fur slick with damp and her hair stiff with dried mud. What was harmless fun at midday is now torture. As soon as she stops moving she sinks to the ground, wrapping her limbs around her body.

William looks the cat over. She can't be any older than his son Clenal. Old enough to be on her own but still quite young. Of course he was a poor judge of such things as he'd been out in the world fending for himself since he'd been quite small. "Wot yew lookin' fer thet old diseased beggar fox fer?" the rat asks again. Ella has spied one of the stoats farther along the road and walks over to him and inquire after Kluner, leaving the rat alone with the cat.

Edgar's face darkens here. If it can get darker than black. "My business is my own, you chewed up old rat," she says. And this time there /is/ some sting in her voice. who does this beast think he is, insulting her friend? Nevermind that everything he said about the fox is entirely true...She tucks her paws under the hem of her sudden skirt and pulls it as low over her legs as possible. "What is it to you anyway?"

"Well Oi might be wondering wot some half drown kitten is doing skulking about an yowling loud 'nough t' rattle hellsgates fer one thin'. Doubt th' fox would loike t' be hollered fer loike thet any'ow. 'E gen'ly loikes t' not get attention from beasts from wot Oi seen of 'im," Will replies calmly. "Wot yew need 'im fer? Why not go run hom t' yer mum or wotever hole yew call home, an get out th' cold," he suggests not too kindly. He's never been overly fond of cats in general.

Especially female cats. They always seemed to cause trouble in his experience.

This rat doesn't understand. As Edgar sees it now, /nobeast/ understands Only Maimed understands and that's because they're in the same boat. "Oh you want me to go home, rat? Am I offending your gentle sensibilities with my unrefined manner?" Strange, she doesn't sound nearly so insane when she's angry. "Here." She falls backward and her rear drops the remaining few inches to the cobbles. "Oh wait, it seems you're invading my personal property.

William sighs. He probably would have acted the same if not worse when he was younger. "Yew a friend of th' fox Oi suppose," he says, "Oi 'aven't seen 'im around lately, but Oi don't go lookin' fer 'im myself. There's a fire goin' in th' square, 'e might be over thet way unless 'e has a better place t' spend the night." He backs away from the cat a few paces. "Didn't mean t' trespass, Miz," he says in a nicer tone. He glances up at the dark sky above the street. "Might want t' patch yer roof a bit 'fore et snow again though," he suggests as if there were a covering over the street that only he could see.

Edgar looks up at the sky, her petulant airs are discarded rather quickly for a fear of snow. "There's no clouds," She says, unsure. "What's the fire for? What are they burning? Will you sell me a roof?" Her fingers tug at the frayed hem of her petticoats, fiddling over the fabric in a distraught manner. Questions. Always questions. Questions can be calming.

"Fire's partly fer th' guards an partly fer wotever beast is out t' use et. Suppose they're burnin' wood. Oi'm not in th' busness of sellin' roofs an' Oi'm not sure yer neighbors would agree t' 'ave on put in unless it was somethin' simple. Loike maybe some boards laid over the roofs t' cover this part or sheet. Shopkeepers throw out all sorts of things. An' some beast just leave stuff layin' about, loike clothes lines an pies on windowsills," he says casually as if she already knew these things. He looks up at the sky again and says, "Probably won’t snow fer a few hours at least, but clouds kin move in fast even if ya watch em." He doesn't mention that his pottery shop has a fire going night and day and the front wall is always warm and the roof hangs over keeping it dry as well. He doesn't want to encourage beggars at his door.

"And bread." come on, rat, /duh/, what you think she was born yesterday. And the baker really needs to get a better lock. "Guards have bricks for brains and bad tempers besides, you think I can't hear you telling me what to do under all your nice?" As if in protest, Edgar flops back on her back, her head and right arm landing /splat/ in a puddle. At this point she's so wet and cold she might as well be a fish, but she does a wonderful show of not letting it bother her. There she lays, uncaring, in a pool of fetid water in the middle of the road.

"Yew kin do wot yew loike. Don't make any difference t' me. Maimed spends a fair amount of time in th' square from wot Oi've seen. Don't know iffen 'e's there or where 'e is. Unless yew do somethin' about puttin' a roof or covering of some kind up yer gonna get snowed on. Yew gettin' snowed on doesn't hurt me any, jus' hurts yew," the rat says ignoring the cat's mean tone.

Edgar does respond to the rat at all, she just stares up at the sky, as if, suddenly, she wants it to snow. No, she /dares/ it. "How romantic it'd be." She mumbles, flicking her fingers against the surface of the water and making little splashing noises. "Perhaps I'll haunt a minstrel." It seems when she is done with a beast she simply ignores them until they go away. Or with Edgar, who knows. Maybe she's just forgotten he's there.

"Please don't she'd enjoy thet far too much," the rat mutters mostly to himself. He doesn't want the cat to haunt him. Sure he's no minstrel, but his wife is. And she has a odd fondness for cats. He counts it to his favor she hasn't met Wyld or this new just a crazy cat he's found. He doesn't say anything to the cat as he turns away from her and starts to walk toward his shop. She's old enough t' be out on her own anyway in his opinion, why waste time when he could be home where it's warm and dry and lacking in crazy cats.

And just like that, the cat is up and about. Edgar streaks after the curmudgeonly old rat like a bolt of black, soggy lightning. "Oh, oh, wait! Do you know a minstrel?!" She doesn't slow as she gets closer, and bare footpaws on wet stones means loss of traction. she slips and plummets forward, and mere inches away, no warning given but a surprised little "whup!"

"Why do yew want t' know?" the rat asks looking down at the cat. "Yew aint a ghost yet. Wot yew want a minstrel fer?" He is not taking his bedraggled cat home. On one paw his wife might not mind, but on the other she might mind a great deal and upsetting her wasn't high on his list of things to do tonight. In fact it was on the list of things NOT to do. "Thought yew wanted t' find yer fox friend," Will says half hoping the reminder with get her back to looking for and whining about the old fox.

"My business is my own!" She repeats, though this time her tone is desperate. falling is no matter. She's already wet, and always banged up, what difference does one tumble make? Before the rat can move away her paws shoot out, searching for an ankle to grab. "And a beast can want two things at once but I can look all night for a fox and you're leaving now and I need you to talk to the minstrel and get her to talk to me it's very important!" The molly gasps, having said all this in one breath.

"The minstrel is somewot retired, as in she don't go about minstreling much these days," he says a bit quickly. He's not sure if he should bring the part about her being blind or not or her being his wife. "Why would she talk t' yew? She don't know yew. She aint a fortune teller ya know," he says. He stumbles a bit as the cat latches onto one of his boots.

Hah! Target acquired! The claws come out, catching as much as they can into the smooth, tanned material. "My business is my own!" That's thrice now, she's said that. "Minstrels know things fortune tellers don't, you can't deny! I need to know her songs, please!" She scrabbles onto her knees, fingers worrying up the length of the rat's leg.

William is quite uncomfortable with the direction the cat's claws are moving. "Oi quite sure she doesn't know any songs thet aren't known 'ere already. Oi doubt they'd be thet useful. She don't make her own songs up," he says, "She jus picks up songs from others mostly. She did try t' make 'er own a few times, but didn't lead t' anything. ........ Wot do Oi need t' say or do t' get ya t' let go my leg?"

"I'm not saying, 'cause then you'll just do it and not mean it, and other beast's songs are the /point,/ seasons, do I have to teach you everything? Aren't you old beasts always talking about how much you know?" Edgar's claws halt in their progression at around knee level, but her grip is nowhere near loosening. In short order her legs are wrapped around William's boot and now there is a cat hunched around William's limb.

William sighs and looks down at the cat. Her position was reminiscent of one his daughter sometimes took when playing around, but unlike her the cat was not playing. "'ow am Oi suppose t' tell anybeast anythin' with yew ancorin' me t' this spot?" he asked getting annoyed with the cat. Whatever fear he may have had about having a crazy cat around now gone. After all she was half his age and he had a sword for Martin's sake, not that it was doing him much good right now. His left paw gripped the hilt more on reflex than anything. "Let go an' Oi'll ask 'er if she wants t' see yew. Will thet do?"

Edgar jumps away from the rat's leg as quick as she jumped out of the puddle. She skids hastily to a stop on all fours, then faults back in his direction, aiming to envelop him in her arms. "Oh yes, that's perfect, how'd you guess? well done! What's your name? What's her name? I'm Edgar!"

"Lucky guess," the rat mutters. "So kin Oi leave or yew gonna 'ave t' tag a long?" he asks assuming it'll be the later. "Oi'm William Tazan. Own th' pottery shop. Edgar? Thet's a bit different sort of name. Et suits yew. Now Yew gonna let go so Oi kin move?" he asks the cat.

Ferravale: Pottery Shop

William nods and watches the cat until he can't see her anymore before sprinting the remaining distance to his shop. Naturally the stout rat has to stop once he's inside to catch his breath and sit down. He is not accustomed to running anymore. As he sits slumped by the door bathing in the heat from the shop oven he can hear singing and the strings of a lute being plucked from the back living area. The rat leans his head back against his front door and groans, "Why does this village have two crazy cats in it? Wasn't one enough?"

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