| Subject: Mariel, Dandin, and the Origin of Methuselah |
Author:
Tamer Lorika, TT
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Date Posted: 20:22:11 02/10/07 Sat
Oh, yes, I am obsessed with Mariel and Dandin. How kind of you to notice
It was the winter of the Frozen Moss, dubbed so because even the river Moss had frozen over. Leagues and leagues away, in the mountain fortress of Salamandastron, Rawnblade and his hares found that they could walk many pawlengths out onto the thick ice that covered the sea.
But at Redwall Abbey, all was warmth and light. Dibbuns cavorted about in front of the fire, anxiously awaiting the start of the Midwinter Feast. The older creatures took up more sedate positions, sipping at earthenware mugs of cocoa, cider, or mint and comfrey tea. Soon, the table was being set by Friar Cockleburr. Toasty gingerbreads mixed their spicy scents with those of savory cheese and leek popovers and steaming batches of hotroot soup, much to Rab Streambattle’s delight. King Gael and his household had been invited to the feast this year, along with Old Joseph, the maker of the Abbey’s famous bell.
As the table was loaded with delicacies of perch and pasties, deeper’n’ever pie, and cinnamon flans, Abbot Saxtus rose from his high-backed chair at the head of the table, and raised his hands for silence.
Cavern Hole had just begun to quiet down when the silence was shattered by a loud laugh.
“WHAHOHOHOO! Father Abbot, sah, sombeast’s a’knockin’ at the door, wot, wot!” Hon Rosie’s loud laugh rang through the room. “Two beasts, methinks. You’d best get out there, m’lad, the storm’s fiercer ‘n ever, wot!”
“Thank you, dear maid, you’re impeccable hearing has once more come to our aid,” Saxtus replied courteously, trying to mask his anxiety. He pointed at a sturdy-looking squirrel, and his companion, a solidly-built hedgehog. “Rufe, Durry, please come with me and help me unbar the gate. The rest of you may carry on, I shall be back shortly.”
All three were careful to mask their excitement; there was no use in getting everybeast riled up for nothing, but at the back of each of their minds was the murmur of a question: Could it be…?
As soon as Saxtus stepped paw outside, a blast of icy wind ripped through his habit, but he would not be daunted. Rufe and Durry helped him struggle his way to the gate. Saxtus heaved with all of his might on the wooden latch of the door as Rufe and Durry pulled it open against the snowdrifts.
Huddling in front of the gate were two figures, heavily cloaked and hooded against the cold. Each was sturdy and strong-looking, and one, slightly shorter than the other, was carrying a small bundle close to its chest.
“Who goes there?” Saxtus called as welcomingly as he could while still being heard over the blustering wind.
“Two foxes, here to kill you!” the smaller of the two cried, as the other launched itself upon Saxtus.
Rufe and Durry stood by the figure with the bundle, laughing heartily as Saxtus rolled about in the snow. He was chuckling so hard that he could barely speak. “Dandin, hahaha, you great lump, hehehe, get of me and get that, hahaha, maid of yours inside!”
The package was thrust into Dandin’s willing paws as his companion, Mariel, started to chase Saxtus around the snow-covered lawn. “Maid, huh, well maid this!” she cried, hurling a snowball at the abbot. Dandin and Durry were laughing so hard that they had to sit down, but Rufe managed to shout over the cries of the enraged mousemaid.
“Whoa! Halt you villainous vixen! Mariel lay off our abbot and get inside. You’re acting like dibbuns!”
Mariel grudgingly left off hurling snow at Saxtus, and took the package back from Dandin, cradling it to your chest. Saxtus looked at her over the top of his spectacles. “And what, pray tell, is this?” he queried.
Carefully, Mariel unwrapped the little bundle. The small, serious face of a mousebabe peered out at them.
Rufe and Durry stared at Dandin quizzically. Durry hazarded to clap Dandin on the shoulder. “Erm, congratu…” he began, but an icy glance from Mariel chilled them even more than the storm did.
Dandin, having always been a small beast except for when compared to Mariel, gazed up at his friends. “He’s not ours. We,” he glanced over to Mariel, “we, er, found him….in some tall grass… on the side of the path. He looked so helpless that we had to bring him back here. His name is Methuselah.”
“And that is the end of the conversation,” stated Mariel with a tone that suggested utter finality.
Saxtus peered into his friend’s face, searching it. Dandin kept his eyes carefully blank. Finally, the young abbot sighed, and led the newcomers inside, where the feast was in full swing.
Refusing all offers of help, Mariel carried young Methuselah herself. Her eyes roved casually around the room, looking for friends and noting new faces. Her eyes rested on Old Joseph. Once more Dandin found himself holding the babe as Mariel raced to embrace her father.
“Father!”
“Daughter!” cried Joseph in surprise. Then, he noticed Dandin, standing beside her. He nodded courteously at the mouse warrior. “Dandin.”
“Eep… Sir,” he said nervously. The strong, stolid Bellmaker always scared him a bit. Saxtus, watching, stifled a grin behind a paw… one big happy family, the beasts at Redwall.
As the abbot lead Mariel and Dandin to their seats, Simeon, Saxtus’ old, blind friend, reached over his plate and grasped Mariel’s paw. “So good to have you here,” he said warmly, “Ah, I can hear a new heartbeat. Who is the babe?”
Dandin was still awestruck by Simeon’s amazing powers of perception. “This is Methuselah. We found him."
Simeon raised an incredulous eyebrow, but said nothing.
The atmosphere of jollity seemed to bubble over in the room - especially after Durry broke out casks of October Ale – as everybeast laughed and sang and gossiped. Many of Mariel and Dandin’s old friends came over to greet them, and they talked about events at the Abbey: new babes being born, old ones passing to their rest, and the arrival of Hollypaw, a young, pretty badger who was welcomed as the new badgermum. Dandin wiped away a treacherous tear as he thought of Mother Mellus, the badgermum that he had grown up with until and evil searat had killed her. Blaggut, the searat’s companion and now stout, loyal boatbuilder, had also attended the feast.
As tired Dibbuns were bustled off to their beds, the elders gathered in front of a roaring fire to tell stories. Mariel and Dandin regaled them with tales of adventures they had. Tarquin insisted on acting out all the parts, from hero to vermin.
When the jollity of the stories began to fade away into various nodding heads, Abbot Saxtus announced, “All right, everybeast, I believe that it is time for us to get some rest. We can continue in the morning. I have a feeling that the snow will still be falling."
Grateful beasts trooped up to the dormitories. Mariel helped her father ascend the steps. After much protesting, Joseph finally allowed himself to be led to bed. As Mariel returned, Dandin gave her a look. She nodded, almost imperceptibly.
Now, only the two warrior mice, Saxtus, Simeon, and little Methuselah were left in Cavern Hole. Saxtus could feel the air crackling with anticipation.
He finally broke the silence. “Do you have something you wish to tell me?” he asked.
Exchanging another quick glance with Mariel, Dandin sucked in a breath. “Yes, in fact. There is something out in Mossflower, something that may threaten the abbey. A rouge ferret by the name of Sasine has created a horde, a Great Horde, and they are on their way to Redwall. These vermin are slaying everything in their path; murdering whole clans and taking slaves… and even burning Mossflower.”
“What…how…” Saxtus stammered, sinking into a chair, “burning…?”
Mariel laid a comforting paw on his shoulder. “It’s controlled. For now. Very professional. That’s what worries me. That, and if ever there was a stray gust of wind, all of Mossflower would be up in smoke."
Dandin picked up the story. “That is why we came. We just wanted to tell you to be ready. We’re leaving tonight to scout it out.”
“But, Dandin!” Saxtus protested, beginning to recover somewhat, “You’ve only just arrived! Stay the night, at least. And you can’t go alone!”
Mariel smiled grimly. “Saxtus, they’re close. We have to go.” She gently laid Methuselah in his paws, kissing the tiny mousebabe on the forehead. It opened its eyes for a moment, blinked sleepily, and closed them again. When Saxtus looked up from the babe, Mariel and Dandin were already halfway out the door.
A voice spoke in Saxtus’ mind, and he knew in his heart that it was Martin the Warrior. “Watch them, Saxtus, watch them carefully. They are warriors. Brave warriors. And they will not return.”
And he did watch, staring at the door even after it closed against the wind.
As if blown by the breeze, Saxtus heard Mariel’s voice, too, drifting through Cavern Hole.
“Take care of Methuselah, please. Take good care of our son.”
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