The Recruiting Sergeants

[W0NWILL]

Furff followed reluctantly. She looked all around, there was several houses, all with at least a small garden, few of them were very big. There were several large fields growing wheat and turnips among other things. And there was too many beasts around. Walnut seemed to want to go towards the center where the sounds of many creatures doing, things. She broke away from Walnut and headed towards a sign that caught her eye. Long Patrol recruiting all beasts, it read. Inwardly, she groaned, Walnut would probally be exactic to join. But then, maybe she would join, naybe she could kill the fox while on it. That decided, she went to find Walnut. She tugged her snout out of respect to the hares standing near the sign, "Hello zurrs."

OOC: Not at all Myrkin.

[DanielofRedwall]

Thorn put on his best friendly smile at the otter and took the contract from her paws, tucking it back in to his pocket. He addressed the maid. "Alright then, miss, if you don't have any questions than off you go! Just meet me an' ole Dougie around here in the morning." With one recruit each and plenty more villagers interested, it seemed this journey would be worthwhile. "Wonder if anybeast else is interested, eh Doug?" he asked his companion, before turning to see the other hare wasn't by his side. Now where'd he get off too? he thought.

Looking about the village, he quickly spotted Dougie walking towards a crowd of beasts. Probably seein' if anybeast is interested in joinin', He followed him and was quite surprised to see the commotion in front of his eyes. There were two rats (better not trust them, he thought), a mouse and a mole holding back the mouse, with a squirrel watching on. "Now, what's all this, wot?" he shouted at the group in a classical Thorn manner.

[Myrkin]

Walnut was trying to get through the crowd to the centre of commotion without bumping or pushing anyone. It wasn't the first time he had been in such a large gathering, but he surely hadn't seen so many different creatures in one place before. There were squirrels, otters, mice and moles here, to name a few. Nobody paid any attention to him. It looked like everybody was interested in some kind of paper nailed to the door of the building, which was slightly bigger than all others in the town.

Eventually Walnut got close enough to the paper to be able to read it. It was a call to arms! Well... That's just perfect. Right when I leave home to travel around the world, there has to be a war going on, he thought. He wondered about what he should do now? Should he go home and warn his family and friends in Greenweed Warren? But warn them about what exactly? The poster wasn't too specific and wasn't saying who or what was threatening 'Mossflower's freedom'. If he had to decide what to do, then he needed more information. Volunteers see any Long Patrol member, Walnut read again. That means there have to be some hares from Salamandastron here! They will certainly know something more. But where are they?

Walnut looked around and after a moment he found what he had been looking for: two hares were standing several yards from him. At least he thought they were hares. When he had listened to the stories about Long Patrol back home, he had always pictured them as giants, taller than two rabbits (one standing on another). Those two, while higher than Walnut, didn't look like the hares from tales. Maybe they are leverets? Walnut wondered, but he quickly dismissed that thought No, they don't look so young. I guess the stories had exaggerated a thing or two.

He came closer to the hares, who were part of small crowd, which had gathered around pair of rats. Walnut watched them warily, but they didn't seem to be a threat at the moment.

[W0NWILL]

"Wurlnut! Guezz wot Oi found!" Furff saw that Walnut was reading the sign, "Oi guezz you'm already found et, wuddent et be gurt to go? Oi cudd be a-kilin' ee fosk!" Mentally, she kicked herself for letting slip mention of the fox again.

[Flandor]

Character: Ashe Blackflight (at the request of danflorreguba who is going on vacation)
Location: Barrow

As the atmosphere in the square became more and more chaotic, Ashe found himself feeling uncomfortable.  He didn't like the look of the scrawny black rat, and he thought he'd caught the glint of a knife in his belt.  All of a sudden, it seemed their small group had exploded.  Corgan was throwing a rock, Bruntil was restraining the older mouse and shouting, and now the two Long Patrol hares were there and trying to assert some sort of authority.

Time for him to go, Ashe decided.  He backed off of the group, wishing he could say goodbye to Bruntil but figuring he could come back at a later time to catch up with his mole friend.  With a flick of his black brush, he'd disappeared behind the nearest cottage, blending into the trees and hedges on the edge of Mossflower Wood. 

[Calaron]

This whole mess was not the day Bruntil had hoped.  It was in fact the opposite.  Now both of the hares had come over and Ashe, whom he had hoped would help, had vanished.  The first hare to approach seemed nice and helpful enough, his calm and quiet tone starting to calm the crowd.  But the second hare, with his bellowing and shouting stirred the crowd, as both hares were viewed as leaders.  But the crowd, which was already in a state of excitement, went with the higher energy.  The group of beasts began milling about.  The mole sighed and then spoke, not as a shout, but quite loudly to be heard.  "Gudd day to ee, zurr," he said to Dougie.  "Ee small ratten bumped into Brigg.  Oi dunno what came o'er Corgan, but 'e's vurry oopset.". He ignored Thorn, having take a dislike to the loud hare's manner.

As he spoke, Bruntil moved towards Brigg, having noted the look of suspicion in the hare's eyes.  He stood by the large rat in a show of support.  He spoke quietly to Brigg.  "You'm doin' foin.  Jus' keep ee 'ead abowt ee."

[Flandor]

OOC: If everyone could give my latest post in the ooc thread a read, I'd appreciate it I'll make my next rp post after Something Horrifying.

[Myrkin]

There was the mention of that fox again. He had had to do something really bad, if Furff was so excited about the possibility of killing him. What that had been Walnut might never find out, since molemaiden didn't seem to be more willing to talk about it than earlier.

"Well... I suppose it would be good to go. For some creatures anyway," Walnut answered without much enthusiasm. Honestly, he couldn't see himself as a soldier and he doubted he would be good at fighting and killing other beasts. Then again all of Mossflower was in danger and wasn't it his duty - as its inhabitant - to stand and fight in its defense? Or maybe it wasn't so bad that everybody had to join the ranks of Long Patrol in order to save Mossflower? Or maybe he should return home and fight alongside other rabbits from Greenweed Warren?

Walnut sighed. He really needed more information about this situation. If he could just talk with hares, but they were already busy with other business.

[W0NWILL]

"Cummon, Oi'll soign up." Furff fought her way to the hares and tugged her snout at them, "Oi loike to soign up zurrs. Wot do Oi need to do?"

[Something Horrifying]

Character: Dmitri
Location: THE MOON no, wait, still Barrow, Village Square



"...Of course, you're right," said Dmitri, somewhat quietly, and released Brigg's paws. With a deep breath, he straightened himself up a bit, seemingly trying to regain his composure. He gave the other rat a small, appreciative smile. "I'm Dmitri. And...thank you."

This was certainly an interesting situation. Most of these creatures seemed completely accepting of the rat standing by Dmitri's side, yet the angry mouse still asserted the same view of rats Dmitri had been warned to expect from most creatures that didn't themselves fall under the label of "vermin". Though slightly confused by the word "son", he worked out that the mouse was referring to the other rat, and barely managed to avoid smirking at the obvious defense he'd just been handed.

"Excuse me, sir," he began, addressing Corgan, and keeping his tone a little firmer now, but still polite. "But if us rats are always the same, wouldn't that include this rat here, too?" He gave a small nod in Brigg's direction. "You said he's honest and kind, but if we're all the same to you, you must not really believe that...and I don't know, he seems a nice enough fellow to me. I mean, he offered to help me out of the dirt, instead of throwing anything..."

[Flandor]

Character: Brigg

Brigg could see on his father's face that he was furious with what Dmitri had said, though he still couldn't quite comprehend why.  Corgan was generally an easy-going mouse, never given to brash judgements and mean words.  His father had clamped his jaw shut however, and didn't give a reply.  Brigg guessed he did not want to debate the matter with Dmitri.

Good old Bruntil seemed to have some semblance of control of the situation, thankfully, and when the two Long Patrol hares finally came over to see what the ruckus was, the mole explained the situation calmly.  He wondered why Bruntil felt the need to tell him to keep his head, but after a moment he felt his neckfur prickle and noticed he was being eyed rather sternly by the hares.

It seemed to be a rat was a much worse thing than he ever knew.  

He suddenly felt a rush of sympathy for Dmitri.  Sure, maybe he had stolen some food, but could he really be labeled as an evil beast for such a small crime? He was probably hungry, and was clearly alone.  The injustice of his father's quick judgement stung a little.  He felt almost betrayed, a feeling very foreign to him.  He trusted his father more than anybeast, and loved him fiercely.  But did his father really think those things about all rats? His ears great hot and he ducked his head a little, feeling very unsure.  Bruntil's words kept him somewhat grounded though.  The mole was right; he had to keep his head.

--------------------

Character: Dougie

It seemed he and Thorn had entered upon a peculiar situation.  Dougie still wasn't sure what the big, slow-looking rat's business was there, but he definitely got a weasely vibe from the small rat.  The mole fellow seemed calm and straightforward however, so Dougie chose to continue speaking with him.  Before he could ask any more questions, however, he heard a quieter, female mole voice next to him.

He looked to his right and saw a short molemaid, who was tugging her snout at him and asking about recruitment.

"Er- ah, yes, of course." He fished another blank contract out of his haversack and handed it to the mole, along with a small bit of charcoal.  "Just need your jolly old signature, wot? Hand it back when you've read it and signed, please."

He turned back to the group before him.  The sudden appearance of the shady looking rat, the small scuffle, the farmer mouse still clearly fuming, the whole scene stirred something in him.  He was struck quite suddenly by a determination to fulfill their mission.  Though he often joked and took things lightly, this was no mere errand he and Thorn had been given.  The mountain was really in grave danger, if what the scouts had reported was all true. 

If there was one thing Dougie was brilliant at, it was speeches, and he felt moved to give one at that moment.  He searched about for a moment before he spied a large, upturned crate by the wall of the nearest cottage.  Perfect.  In a few short seconds he had shifted the crate to the outside of the crowd and leapt on top of it.

His voice was not nearly so loud as Thorn's, but he was still a Sergeant and could shout loud enough.

"Right then! 'Tenshun! Stop all that milling about and listen up, everybeast."

The noise in the square died down to a low buzz. 

"My name is Sgt. Douglass Jolloper, of the Long Patrol.  My compatriot, Sgt. Thornbury Forepaw, and myself have been sent here for a reason! You all know our Long Patrol has traditionally only recruited hares into their ranks.  Well, my fellow creatures, today we must beg your help.

"Five seasons ago, our mountain was struck by a bout of fever that left many of our kin dead, and others bedridden never to recover properly.  Our elders are weak, our young ones are few, and the number of us who are at fighting fitness is quite worrying.  Now, with word from our Gallopers that trouble is coming our way from the South, we fear we will not be able to defend Mossflower as we have in countless seasons of war past.

"You may wonder indeed what this has to do with you.  Surely the vermin would never find you here, you must think.  That is not true.  If Salamandastron were to fall, how long do you think it would be before those beasts turned to Mossflower? I say to you, if you value your freedom, if you wish your families to be safe and your homes to remain standing, you will join with us!"

Dougie paused, taking a breath.  He gestured at the young black rat. 

"Petty thieves and small criminals will be the least of your worries.  I have seen the damages truly evil beasts will wreak onto peaceable creatures.  You will be enslaved in your own fields, your children starving and your elderly dead from the torture of working under the lash.  You will see your homes burned, your valuables stolen, the fruits of all your labors taken from you!

"I say to you, if you be fit of body and strong of mind, if you haven't babes to care for, then stand with us at Salamandastron! It is your duty! The day must be won, or you will see all that I have foretold to you happen before your eyes, that I promise you.  It is your choice."

With that, he jumped off the crate, standing before the crowd with arms folded across his chest, secretly quite proud of his speech.  He may not be a master warrior, but he sure could speak eloquently.  His blood was even roused by his own words.  They had all been true. 

[Flandor]

OOC: Sorry for the double post, everyone, but I wanted to make sure everyone saw my revisions to my last post.  Dougie made quite the grand speech.  Trying to get things moving a little quicker.

[W0NWILL]

Furff scrawled her signature on the bottom of the parchment, though it wasn't very neat, she had never gotten any schooling and had to ask creatures around her, intent of looking at the scene how to make and F and a U and a R. She got many exasperated looks, but she didn't care, she would be part of the Long Patrol! She loitered at one of the hare's elbows for awhile, waiting for him to notice her.

[Myrkin]

Character: Walnut Strider


When one of the hares leapt on the crate Walnut had a feeling he is going to say something of importance. The traveling rabbit came prepared for situations like this. He rested his walking staff against the side of nearest stall and he took out of his bag a few things: a quill, a bottle of ink and a book. Or, to be precise, his journal. Every member of Strider family was expected to record all his or her adventures, in order to provide next generations with knowledge of the world outside of Greenweed and to give them inspiration in their own travels. Not all Striders had been dutiful in keeping their diaries. Some had been too lazy to write anything at all. Some had settled somewhere else, so they had left no journals in Greenweed either, and some... Well... Some Striders had never been heard from again after their departure.

As Sgt. Douglass Jolloper was speaking, Walnut was partly listening and partly trying to write everything down. Though it wasn't an easy task, he was able to keep up, though the quality of his writing didn't benefit from the hastiness. He would have to rewrite it probably, so other beasts wouldn't have hard time trying to decipher that fragment of text.

Only after Douglass had finished his speech Walnut was able to truly react to what he had heard just a moment before. Now he understood the threat and what the situation demanded. In order to defend Mossflower, to protect Greenweed, he had to join Long Patrol and fight. Part of him was telling him to do just that, but there was other part of him. The one that was terrified with fighting and killing. The one that was begging him to forget this whole business, return home and let others solve this problem with invading vermin. Wouldn't that be a wiser thing to do? He wasn't a warrior after all. These conflicting sides of him were shouting against each others in his thoughts. Finally, the one that wanted him to do his duty, brought the argument that would end the whole discussion: What would great-grandmother Violet do?

He put his journal and writing tools back in the bag and picked up his walking staff. Then he approached the hare, Sgt. Douglass. He walked like he was marching straight to an endless abyss: his knees were weak, ears pressed against back of his head and eyes wide with fear.

"S-s-sir. I would like to sign up," he said. He was surprised that he hadn't stuttered more given the circumstances.

[W0NWILL]

"Yurr soigning up s'well, Wurlnut? Good furr ee. Oi'm askited!(excited) Oi kin kill ee fosk!" She reckoned that she had let slip of the fox enough times that Walnut was aware, so she didn't have to watch her tongue anymore.