The Bell Tower Sparks Memories...

RW Abbey: Great Hall

The Great Hall of Redwall Abbey. Countless paw falls have echoed from these stones, and untold numbers of feasts and merry gatherings have been held here. A table, not nearly so grand or large as its predecessors, but quite functional for mealtimes, rests near the center of the hall. Chairs exist here aplenty, and they are all of a matching set. High above, the stain glass windows give the Great Hall a beautiful appearance. The glasswork is exceptionally done, crafted by a skilled artist. The floor is clean and swept. A fire is kept burning in the fireplace at almost all times of the day and night, and there are several more comfortable chairs and cushions set up here, of varying sizes. One looks large enough to easily accommodate a badger.

The Tapestry hangs proud and tall, and while the rest of Redwall may still bear the scars of natural disaster, this most famous of Redwall's relics remains unharmed by beast, time, or the elements. The figure of Martin the Warrior seems to be watching over his own with an unchanging, kindly gaze.

Soft light is slowly beginning to filter in through the stained glass windows high above your head.

Exits: Abbey's [Li]brary, [K]itchen, [C]avern [H]ole, [B]reezeway, [En]try, [Stairs]

Contents:

a message (board) with notes tacked to it

With:

Pearl comes down stairs and entering the great hall she takes a charcoal and paper and sits down in one of the chairs and starts drawing.

Zork is down here in his chair as he sees the mouse maid and smiles "Ello thar lass, how ya be tonight?" He sounds to be feeling better tonight.

Pearl pauses , then looks up and smiles, "Good, and you?" She says

Zork nods "I be feeling wee bit better than yesterday, didn’t go outside but I don’t always go outside"

Pearl glances back down at her paper draws something and them glances back up at Zork and she continues draw as she talks to him, "There's nothing wrong with that, sometimes I don't like it outside either, especially in the winter."

Zork nods slowly, "I always loved winter, de snow and snow ball fights are fun." He chuckles softly, "And dibbuns making forts, maybe I likes winter cause I be use to snow a lot in de northlands."

Pearl says, "There are good things about snow I guess, the forts and the games... but then there was the hunger and the cold... with fourteen mouths an' all,"

Zork frowns "Well..ya be right some beasts have trouble, but we will have plenty of food here at de abbey to go around and its warm in de abbey when a large fire is in de fireplace."

Pearl says, "That was one of the reasons I left home and came here. So my parents wouldn't have to worry about me and so there would be more food to go around back home. "

Zork goes to wheel over to her and, if allowed, give her a gentle hug or least a sort of hug," Maybe they could come live here lass, or they be too far away to?"

Pearl lets him hug her gratefully. If Zork looks over he can see that the drawing she was working on is a half-finished sketch of him. "It is a bit too far for the littluns and there are dangerous beasts on the road,"

Zork does glace at the drawing but doesn’t say anything about it just yet as he nods and he wheels backwards slightly, "Thar is dangerous beast on de road sometimes, maybe we could have a couple sparrows bring them something" He shrugs as if he is unsure if that’s a good idea or not.

Pearl's face lights up, "Oh, that might actually work," She says hopefully "Though they shouldn’t be doing too badly, My older sister is now living with her husband and my older brother left for who knows where a season ago... He was always like that. He can take care of himself though, I am not worried."

Zork nods "Beasts do leave their homes, like me and Ozzy who use ta live in de Northlands, couse I just wanted to see wot was south and find Ozzy..he didn’t leave fer de best reasons, he was a hermit for a while, and coming here helped him not be a hermit"

Pearl says, "There is nothing wrong with being a hermit... unless you are trying to hide form reality, if you are trying to find the truth then it can actually be a good thing... perhaps not forever though..."

Zork frowns "Well at de time it wasn’t a good thing, he wanted ta leave, he did have his adopted son with him, he was a mouse named Maxtor." He frowns "Maxtor was sadly killed in a big fight that happen when the abbey was attacked one season." But Ozzy didn’t contract any family, I got lucky to find him here and that were after he had started to be less hermit like, I think he still is a little, any crowd around him is usually dibbuns, any other crowd he is with is at de feasts"

"Well I will have to meet him first before I can say for sure, but some beasts are just shy like that," Pearl says.

Zork nods, “Like said before he does live here, takes care of all de dibbuns. I will let him explain why he was that way, tis best coming from him"

"I've been meaning to meet him... just keep forgetting," Pearl says making a face and looking down at her paper and then looking back up at Zork. "I really should work on that."

Zork smiles "Not to worry, I am sure your get a chance to meet him, if he isn’t with de dibbuns he is down here sometimes drinking mint tea."

"You know I forgot to ask." Pearl says tugging her whiskers "What manner of creature is he?"

Zork raises an eyebrow, " That be an odd question, he's me brother so a badger, what else would he be?"

Pearl laughs "It seems I minded that piece of information... Wait Ozzy... Oz... Actually I have met him. Can't believe I didn't realize this before. I met him a few days ago, Flicktail introduced us."

Zork smiles "Yeah..Oz, ...Ozzy is a nick name I like ta call him, just me thou..heee"

Pearl starts laughing harder, covering her mouth with one paw. "Oh, you messed me up," She says still laughing. "Have a hard enough time remembering everyone’s real name, let alone nick names and pet names,"

Zork grins, " Anyways I am glad you meet him, your soon meet other beasts of the abbey too I am sure"

Pearl exclaims, "The funny thing is that I have been here several days and I still haven't met the cook! Though from what I've heard he's a stickler."

Zork says, "He is Friar Lacota, a squirrel and he is usually only real moody when someone tries to take a pie or something or misses dinner"

"Or a tart for that matter," Pearl says braking into a series of stifled giggles. "Sorry," She says composing herself.

Zork says, "Yah, anything..hmms guess we got lucky he didn't come into the kitchens then huh"

Pearl starts giggling again "oh I don't know why this is so funny," She tries to compose herself but just ends up laughing harder. She coughs a few times and manages to stop laughing.

Zork shrugs as the mouse maid stops laughing "Don’t know"

Pearl doesn’t say anything, instead she takes a moment to touch up her drawing before holding up a rather good sketch of Zork, "What do you think?" she asks.

Zork smiles "I like , ya be a very good artist indeed. you could try and draw more beasts even if ya like ta"

Pearl says, "I will now that I have found some paper and charcoal,"

Zork hmms and smiles "May be some charcoal in me room, I could look as I sometimes had extra..de forge uses it as well so....or ya can ask Silverstorm"

Pearl chuckles and says "Ah, that kind of charcoal is kind of hard to draw with, It is better to use a piece of straitened vine and burn it to charcoal," She holds up her piece for him to see.

Zork nods, "Well then, use that if it’s better."

"It is smaller and doesn’t get all over your paws as much," Pearl says holding up only a slightly blackened paw for him to see.

Zork nods "I never did draw really..well blueprints before but that’s all. And fer writing thar be quill pens"

Pearl says, "I count a blue print as a drawing, it takes some skill and accuracy to make them so they are of any use. "

Zork smiles “I helped ta rebuild de bell tower, and ta redo de gates once, did have some unexpected help with the gates but they be stronger than ever before"

Pearl says, "They are an amazing, and that is a kind of art that lasts, paper fades and decays but stone will last forever."

"... well along time anyways," Pearl adds

Zork says, "De gates be made of metal lass, gates anyways, de wall is stone yes"

Zork says, "And the bell tower has bits of metal in it too...have ya looked at de bell tower?""

Pearl says, "well It lasts a lot longer than paper, and no I haven't taken a good look at the bell tower... I should. "

Zork says, "We can look now, it’s very nice inside and out"

"That's a good idea," Pearl says putting aside her paper and standing up.

The both head to the Bell tower as Zork goes to wheel over to the tower and also peek inside as the mouse maid follows him.

RW Abbey: Bell Tower (Outside)

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A magnificent sandstone structure stands tall here on the

edge of the Redwall Abbey open ground near the main building.

Soaring higher then the fabled north gable the towers made

from Redwall's famouse red sandstone blocks has been fully

restored using stones from the old tower and newly quarried

rocks from the original quarry in eastern Mossflower.

The spiral pattern carved into the rock of the tapered

cylinder of the building has been lovingly restored. A double

line of carved stone with depictions of beasts carved into

the deep red sandstone. Badger, Hare, Mole, Mouse, Otter,

Shrew, Sparra and Squirrel. And in light of the new found

friendship with beasts not traditionally of Redwall the motif

continues with Cat, Ferret, Fox, Owl, Rat before repeating the

woodland animals once more.

At the top there is a canopy, as well as a roof made out of

shingles fashioned from some grey sedimentary rock. Held up by

four vertical and three horizontal oak wooden beams. If viewed

at the right angle, the brass shine of two large bells can be

seen hanging from the inside of the tower, forming the defining

piece of the Bell Tower of Redwall.

Above the arched doorway a block of granite has been set in a

frame of Sandstone. Choosen for its long lasting nature and

expertly carved with this message.

             ~The Great Quake Laid us Low~

              ~Voices Silenced evermore~

                 ~Or so we thought~

      ~Redwall's Spirit, made us soar once more~

           ~Our thanks to all who helped~

~Abbot Lorimis, Elder Benar, Blacksmith Zork, Foremole Diggun~

                ~Summer of the Bells~

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Exits: [E]nter, [O]pen [G]round

Zork smiles, "Last summer in fact.." Zork smiles as he reads the writing and lays a paw on the steps looking up them.

Pearl just stairs up at it in wonder, all the detail, she had never really taken a close look at it before. "This is amazing," She says after a moment.

Zork nods, "Tis is....Lorimis were abbot then, he died in the spring. He was probably one of the oldest beast that lived here, he were abbot a long, long time. Then Benar was chosen to take over..."

Pearl says, "I met Benar, He is a nice beast."

Zork just nods, "Yes, he will do good as abbot and has so far. His first feast were the summer one.." He chuckles and sighs a little just looking around the bell tower in quiet and letting a single tear scape him before he wipes it away. "Want ta..see more of de Bell Tower lass?"

"Sure," Pearl says cheerfully, not noticing the tear.

Zork nods as he gets the staff off the back of his chair and stands slowly and looks at the stairs..stairs are his enemy but he will climb them anyways tonight, tonight he doesn’t care he wants to spend some time in the bell tower and remember some things of building it.

RW Abbey: Bell Tower

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The interior of the Bell Tower of Redwall Abbey is cool and

quiet. At least when the bells are not ringing and from inside

the care and workmanship devoted to the rebuilding can easily

be seen. After every forth row of sandstone bricks held in

place by mole made mortar is a row of stout cast iron brackets.

Designed to help support the hollow structure.

The iron work was also carried over into the beautiful wooden

staircase. The steps are made from carved oak planks pinned into

sockets in the wall by iron frames and the bannister has had a

lot of care and attention lavished on it. The hand-rail is oak

to match the steps but the balusters are made from cast iron

moulded into the shape of Mice wearing the robes of the order

of Redwall.

The stair spirals up the length of the tower, a span of at

least two storeys from the ground to the first floor. It is a

simple wooden floor filling the width of the tower and from

here the Bellringers can use the ropes to sound the Matthias

and Methuselah bells.

From the first floor an iron ladder set into the sandstone

wall allows access to the actual Belfry where the bells are

hung. It is possible to climb all the way up to the open canopy

at the top of the building and the huge rafters that support

the twin bells of Redwall Abbey.

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Exits: [Out]side

Contents:

Matthias and Methuselah Bells

Pearl realizes too late that Zork should probably not be climbing stairs but she doesn’t say anything, he seems determines and she knew better than to argue with a determined badger. Instead she follows close by him to make sure he is ok.

Zork makes it up the stairs slowly with the help of the staff and railing and takes a few deep breaths and looks very very shaky on his foot paws as he leans on the wall and looks around, "De..bells, Matthias and Methuselah Bells..here..tower" He sits down after she pass him and shivers just slightly and rubs his legs.

Zork says, "Now...only a squirrel should ever think trying ta go further than just the top of theses stairs...and de view from here is...well dis nice" But he is not able to get a really good view sitting down."

Pearl bites her lip, Zork doesn't look to good, she should have tried to stop him. She sits down next to him. "it is beautiful." She says.

Zork smiles a little, "Tis is..an earthquake seasons ago had..had caused it ta fall, its back up and even better. I remember helping foremole build it..took couple seasons of hard work and long hours, couse some other moles and few other beasts helped too.."

Pearl says, "it is just a testament to determination and team work."

Zork nods, he lays a paw on the wall and smiles as he closes his eyes, just remembering a lot of things, rebuilding gates and the bell tower and chats with friends while working on the Bell Tower, he even chuckles at one memory," I got drunk one day..were upset bout something and de foremole dunked me head in ice cold water..I mean it were winter, hated it but tis funny now" He opens his eyes and looks at her, some tears are there.

Pearl laughs at his story she then sees the tears and stops, "Oh what's the matter,"

Zork still smiles, "Just some memories is all lass, memories recent and ones further inta de past..building this..de gates..and that fueled other memories of de abbey. when I first became de blacksmith and later on decided ta join de brotherhood of de order. I..use ta be a warrior ya see, but I locked me armor and blade in a chest, that me uncle has now, and vowed never ta touch it again and never did"

Pearl smiles again and says "That is a wonderful path, a lot like Martin. A warrior and a brother."

Zork says, "Well ..maybe lass, me warrior days are far behind me, and a lot of me strength be gone now"

Pearl says, "What was does not have to be what is, and what is can still be as beautiful."

Zork listens and smiles, he looks down the stairs and chuckles softly," I shouldn't of climbed de stairs, stairs are my mortal enemy now." He grins and chuckles softly. But he smiles "I wanted ta see de tower though, relax and think in here..before.." He frowns "Well let's not dwell on things."

Pearl says, "Yes, The future is in the future and the past the past but only now can be changed. So enjoy it. "

Zork nods "De..future...not sure want ta worry on that lass"

Pearl shrugs, "Some beasts do, like will we have enough to eat or a place to sleep, or will I have sandals on my feet,"

Zork says, "You have a place here lass, in de abbey not to worry ya self. Worry causes stress..trust me I know"

Pearl says, ""I agree, worry is stress, not that I do, Just some beasts, and they waste away like that... Sometimes I think I think to deeply into things,"

Zork smiles "I say..try ta think happy, try not ta worry..least too much. Like me I were worried bout me daughter and brother, but they are ok and will be ok..and will be..even after." He stops here as if unsure to go on

Pearl looks up at Zork and then says "I know," and that was all. She then says as the thought comes to her "Oh this view would make a wonderful landscape drawing,"

Zork smiles "It most likely would, just be careful up here" He looks down the stairs, "Yeah will be enjoyable getting down, hee hee"

"This thing needs a ramp... too bad I am not an architect," Pearl says the then takes her drawing of Zork and flips it over and drawing on the other side the draws a loose design for the tower if it had a ramp. "Something like that I think would do it,"

Zork asks, "A ramp huh? Well no need ta worry bout, they won’t be needing one..." He sighs some but smiles, " We should get down..slowly"

"Yes but it is still fun to fantasize, haven't you ever imagined there was a slide from the dormitory window or a secret door into the kitchen," Pearl says laughing. "I suppose we should be leaving..."

Zork chuckles a little and smiles, he slowly stands with the help of his staff and stabs the banister as well and takes a deep breath, "Down...we go then" He can get down, just super slow it seems and he almost trips on the last step.

Pearl follows close behind even though he is so much bigger than her she would be able to do very little if he fell. He make it down all right though and Pearl lets out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Zork takes a couple deep breaths and slowly goes one..two..steps and half falls and half sits in the wheelchair, he leans back in it and looks so worn out.

Pearl goes to stand beside him "this wasn't a good idea. You need to rest," she says.

Zork nods slowly," I..wanted ta lass.”

Pearl says, ""That’s why I didn't stop you,""

Zork smiles, "I will be ok, just rest and then get to me room and sleep fer de night"

Pearl nods, "yes, I should probably be getting to sleep myself,"

Zork nods, he rests for about 30 minutes before slowly heading across the grounds to his room, he nods "Goodnight lass"

"Good night, and rest well," Pearl says as she and him part ways.

Zork nods, he is soon in his room, he slowly gets from the chair and to his bed and then gets so much needed sleep.