What happened to the drum??

[General Ironbeak]

In Rackety Tamm, the Salamandastron ruler was sending Redwall a drum to go with their bells. Gulo captured it, but he brought it near the abbey. However,  in the last few chapters it isn't mentioned at all.

[The Grey Coincidence]

In Rackety Tamm, the Salamandastron ruler was sending Redwall a drum to go with their bells. Gulo captured it, but he brought it near the abbey. However,  in the last few chapters it isn't mentioned at all.

It is likely just an inconsistency in the story. Brian Jacques is only human after all and as a semi(un)proffesional author I can tell you that keeping track of everything you're writing can be very difficult. And I don't write anything quite as long as Rakkety Tammy (I haven't read Rakkety Tammy though, so perhaps I'm overstating length). In short the devil is in the details and the devil is a trickster, which means that, by my sometimes confusing logic, details can be difficult.

Although, an in-universe explanation *might* be that one of Gulo's vermin decided 'ye know what? I wanna be vegetarian!' and leaves. Then, because he's part vegan-extremist, he steals the drum to spite his former leader (the Redwall-verse's greatest carnivore by virtue of being a cannibal).
I'll add this to my fanfic to-do list XD

[Sebias of Redwall]

It is likely just an inconsistency in the story. Brian Jacques is only human after all and as a semi(un)proffesional author I can tell you that keeping track of everything you're writing can be very difficult. And I don't write anything quite as long as Rakkety Tammy (I haven't read Rakkety Tammy though, so perhaps I'm overstating length). In short the devil is in the details and the devil is a trickster, which means that, by my sometimes confusing logic, details can be difficult.

Although, an in-universe explanation *might* be that one of Gulo's vermin decided 'ye know what? I wanna be vegetarian!' and leaves. Then, because he's part vegan-extremist, he steals the drum to spite his former leader (the Redwall-verse's greatest carnivore by virtue of being a cannibal).
I'll add this to my fanfic to-do list XD

Lol. Guess who is a vegetarian! 

[The Grey Coincidence]

Zee GrayKoincidence

[Sebias of Redwall]

Zee GrayKoincidence

[Captain Tammo]

I wonder if it was just abandoned? Maybe it became too much of a symbol of Gulo and none of the good creatures wanted anything to do with it? Wouldn't be a first in the series:

High Rhulain

Like how the wooden fortress on the lake was burned down in the end, even though it was originally a dwelling for otters. It was described as "stinking of wildcat" and the otters wanted nothing to do with it.

[close]

Pearls of Lutra

Or how Rollo ordered the destruction of St. Ninians, since even though it was a church (despite the Redwall universe having no religion), it had only become a place where baddies set up their base of operations over the seasons.

And also in Pearls of Lutra, how the Tears of All Oceans were cast into the sea to be lost forever, since they only brought out the worst in creatures

[close]

hmmm... any others?

[The Grey Coincidence]

Plausible.

[Sebias of Redwall]

I wonder if it was just abandoned? Maybe it became too much of a symbol of Gulo and none of the good creatures wanted anything to do with it? Wouldn't be a first in the series:

High Rhulain

Like how the wooden fortress on the lake was burned down in the end, even though it was originally a dwelling for otters. It was described as "stinking of wildcat" and the otters wanted nothing to do with it.

[close]

Pearls of Lutra

Or how Rollo ordered the destruction of St. Ninians, since even though it was a church (despite the Redwall universe having no religion), it had only become a place where baddies set up their base of operations over the seasons.

And also in Pearls of Lutra, how the Tears of All Oceans were cast into the sea to be lost forever, since they only brought out the worst in creatures

[close]

hmmm... any others?

Maybe...

[Keldor]

Maybe someone broke it.  Drums are fairly delicate in a lot of ways, and vermin are careless and destructive even when they're not trying to be.

[The Grey Coincidence]

I can just imagine Gulo trying to play it. And then his sharp wolverine claws tear through it. XD

[Sebias of Redwall]

I can just imagine Gulo trying to play it. And then his sharp wolverine claws tear through it. XD

Lol.

Maybe someone broke it.  Drums are fairly delicate in a lot of ways, and vermin are careless and destructive even when they're not trying to be.

There was actually a drum destroyed in one of the books..."Martin the Warrior" I think it was. (It wasn't the drum from Rakkety Tam though for sure)

[Keldor]

I can just imagine Gulo trying to play it. And then his sharp wolverine claws tear through it. XD

And being a wolverine, his idea of "playing" it was "hit it as hard as I can".  Poor drum.

I wonder how a drum in the Redwall universe would be constructed.  Real life drums were historically made with animal skins, which, while I can imagine some of the more primative vermin doing this, is right out for Salamandastron.  Some modern drums use plastic instead.  This isn't helping.

It's possible to make a drum head out of wood, but you probably need a very thin sheet of plywood to keep it from cracking with use, which I doubt could be made with medieval hand tools.  Wood headed drums have a pretty weak sound anyway.

Cloth doesn't hold enough tension to make an effective drum.

The last option I can think of, which seems the most plausible, it to make the head out of metal, probably bronze or brass.  It would most likely be a gong rather than a drum, though, but maybe we shouldn't read too deeply into terminology, especially since the word "gong" has Malaysian roots, far removed from the medieval English countryside of Mossflower.

[Tungro]

It the book, they say it was made out of sharkskin that the long patrol found on the beach

[The Grey Coincidence]

All of Keldor's posts are so beautiful to read.
Now that you mention 'hit as hard as possible' I can imagine Gulo karate-chopping it XD

[One-Eye the wildcat]

More like punching it repeatedly.