The Missing Piece

[Edraithel]

The Missing Piece

*********************

Redwall Abbey's finest cook is planning the crowning glory for the summer feast. A month from now, on the first day of summer, Redwall will host a great feast for it's inhabitants and the woodland dwellers. The abbey cook plans for the feast by combining tastes and textures to design the most spectacular dessert ever to grace Redwall. There is an ingredient though that has been said to taste better than you can imagine. Our cook wishes to abtain this delicacy but the legend says it grows only in the den of a serpent to the northeast. Since our friend is more accustom to the abbey kitchens then the dust road they imploy the help of the abbey's warriors. Vera, Jubilee, and Randoll take on this misson to satisfy the cook and to journey outside of the abbey.

Please keep OOC discussion to the sign up thread, if you have a quick question though for your fellow RPers while we are in the middle of RPing you may ask it here.

Cast:

Spoiler

Vera


Jubilee Kittywillow


Randoll


Damien Farworth


Diana


Abbess Graywing

[close]

The Beginning

The abbey cook, Ingrid, sighed as she flipped through the musty pages of an ancient cookbook in the gatehouse. Dust was beginning to collect on her snout and head. She was a mole of small stature and she wore a plain dress with a half-apron. The reason she was locking herself in the old gatehouse during this fine spring morning was to plan for the summer feast. Which would start on the first day of the new season. It was a month till the long awaited day and she felt slightly rushed to concot a spread such as the abbey had never seen. Hoping to get inspiration she had come to look at the cookbooks stored in the gatehouse.

"Hurr oi 'ope oi find somethin' afore oi turn ta dust like this yurr books." she muttered to herself.  

As her eyes skimmed over the pages she caught sight of a drawing that depicted a tree ladened with a red-orange fruit. The description pronounced it to be a fruit unlike any other, describing it as being sweeter than honey and firm as an apple. The tale went like so.

A fruit from above
Sweet as honey rain.
But beware of
The snake and his domain.
He abides there in
Waiting for travelers.
Smiling a deathly grin.

Traverse the miles
and head northeast
Till you meet a trial
That seems impossible to beat.
In a cave
You will find
What you crave.
The snake he is blind
But still brave.

There were accounts by a hare named Willowbee who claimed he had tasted the fruit. He praised it to beyond anything he had ever tasted. Ingrid's eyes light up and she longed to try the fruit. Already the wheels turned in her mind and she began to think up the most extravagant dessert that she could imagine. Grabbing the cookbook she trundled as quickly as she could off to meet her friend Vera. Vera was a warrior squirrel that had lived with her tribe when she was young but after her parents had died during a winter when she was very young and vermin had killed her only remaining family she traveled until she came to Redwall. Settling there she guarded the abbey even though the time of peace had been long and enjoyed.

[Cornflower MM]

OOC: Hey, Edraithel! Did you make an OOC: topic for this? OOC: topics give others a chance to see what the RP is all about, and sign up.....If you did, then my bad! If you did not, then I suggest you go make one, and when you're ready to start again, revive this fold topic.

[Edraithel]

OOC: Yes I did already make a sign up and OOC thread.

[Cornflower MM]

OOC: Okay! Oops! How long ago....? Because, generally, you wait to start the RP after you put up the OOC: topic. It usually takes about ten days between putting up the OOC: and putting up the actual topic...I don't mean to nag, I'm just curious.

[Edraithel]

OOC: about 8 days ago. I have a couple RPers and just need two more roles to be filled before we start.

[Cornflower MM]

OOC: Oohh, okay! I'm sorry I bugged you, then. May join.

[BlueRose]

OOC: So, where are we starting? Did we just leave the Abbey? Are we about to leave the Abbey? Are we receiving traveling instructions?

[Edraithel]

OOC: We'll start once we have a cook if nobody joins for the cook in 2 days I'll play the cook, and change from playing the badgermum to playing the abbot/abbess. When we offically start I'll add more info to this thread.

[BlueRose]

OOC: Ok. Thanks!

[Edraithel]

Vera sat atop the wall near the gatehouse. She turned inward towards the abbey and the grounds below. The sun warmed her as it rose higher into the sky, casting light onto the peaceful forest of Mossflower. Movement by the gatehouse caught her eye and she saw Ingrid looking around as she came out from within.

Hailing her friend she called, "Ingrid over here."

The mole looked her way and smiled as she hurried up the stairs to Vera.

"Verra, you 'um just te beast oi wurz lookin' fur. Oi found a gurt tale 'bout a fruit that iz supposed to taste loike none else. Hurr read te poem oi found."

Ingrid handed Vera a sheet of barkscroll that she had copied the poem onto.

The squirrel read the poem and voiced her thoughts of it out loud, "A rare fruit? What do you need it for?"

"Oi plans ta make the best desserrt this hurr abbey has everr seen. 'cept oi'm not a gurt fighter loike you'm are. Would ya 'elp me to find et?"

Vera looked skeptically at her friend. This whole tale of the fruit could just be a myth, but Ingrid's moist eyes looking pleadingly at her made her feel guilty if she was to say no.

"Alright. I'll go look for this fruit of yours. On one condition. That you stay here. The poem says there's a snake guarding the fruit, if there really is one I don't want you to come."

"Oh, thanke Verra! Oi'll never forget wut u'm doin' fur oi."

Vera sighed and rubbed the short moles head affectionately. Even if this mysterious fruit did not exist Vera was growing restless and welcomed the chance to go out on a venture.     

[BlueRose]

Jubilee Kittywhillow crouched beneath a flourishing bougainvillaea, hiding from the rollicking otter kits who found it amusing to attempt to push her in the pond. She would not have any such nonsense, thank you very much. Hearing Vera and Ingrid, the ottermaid perked up to listen to the conversation.


A snake? That sounded fun. On a whim, she crept out from underneath the bushes and climbed the wallsteps. "Lovely day." Her voice betrayed nothing, her face deadpan, yet inside, she was buzzing with excitement.

[Edraithel]

"Why hello Kitty. What are you doing up here?" Vera asked the youngster.

Else where in Redwall, Diana, the residing badger was getting the dibbuns ready for a bath. As most of the residents of the abbey know dibbuns despise bath time, and will hide or run away when the ritual of bathing comes. Two such babes were Perkins the mouse and Mary the squirrel. The two of them had run out into the abbey grounds from the main building.
Perkins smiled mischievously at Mary and said to her, "Let'sa go ta di orchard and picka fwuit."

[BlueRose]

Kitty looked at Vera with slightly innocent eyes. "Enjoying the view. Contemplating about snakes."

[Edraithel]

Ingrid smiled at Jubilee, "Hurr yur a clever beast miz Kit."

Vera glanced out of the corner of her eyes at Ingrid and then she focused on Jubilee. "So what specifically were you thinking about snakes, Kitty?"

[BlueRose]

Jubilee smiled a little at Ingrid before replying. "I've heard their skin makes for watertight pouches. Thought I might go catch a big one and sell the skin."