The Lutra - Jacques, Brian - Redwall 09 - The Pearls Of Lutra

"Yes, she'd think there was something dreadfully wrong with us and she'd put us to bed in sick bay and feed us warm nettle broth."

"Groooogh! Let's just stick to two jobs."

Rising to its noontide zenith, the high summer sun shone down on the three Abbeymaids sitting on the walltop.

The same sun also shone on three tiny Dibbuns trundling far in the depths of Mossflower. Not surprisingly, they had stayed awake half the night, wrapping themselves in the blanket they intended making into a tent. They had kept up their courage by eating all their supplies three hours before dawn. Now they staggered on, pawsore and weary, completely lost and dispirited. Arven, the leader, was the only one of the trio who had been outside in the woods before. The other two followed him, complaining.

"Yurr, h'Arven, do ee knows whurr you'm a takin' us'ns?"

"Course a knows, we goin' to de Abbey, it not far now."

"Gurr, you'm said that when ee dawn breaked. We'm still wan'erin' round tho', oi'm a thinken us'ns be losted."

Arven took a swipe at a tall nettle with his stick. "Losted? Don' be silly, I don't get losted. But I orful 'ungry, you'm scoffed all our cake, Diggum greedytummy."

Gurrbowl sat down, curling into a ball on the woodland floor. "Hoooaw! Oi be tumble sleepery."

Diggum joined him, covering her snout with her apron. "An' oi too, may'ap ee likkle rest do's oi gudd."

Arven sat down by the two molebabes, brandishing his stick. "Aaah, you two be's on'y h'infants. I stay 'wake an' keep guards."

A short time later all three were curled on the ground, snoring uproariously in the windless sunwarmed woodlands. Without knowing, Arven had led them north and in a curve to the west, and now they were not far from the main path leading to Redwall. Somewhere nearby a songthrush trilled melodiously, his music mingling with that of a descending skylark out on the open flatlands, where grasshoppers chirruped endlessly in a dry chorus. But none of this disturbed the deep slumbers of the exhausted Dibbuns. They slept on, snouts twitching and paws quivering occasionally as they dreamed small dreams.

Chapter 34

Gerul had placed the crystal so that it could be seen through the nest opening. Late noon sunlight glinted off the fragment, sending out pale green and soft golden facets of twinkling light. Scruvo the jackdaw saw it immediately. Ever on the alert for bright objects, the bird had been ranging far and wide after taking a midday repast of grubs and woodlice from a rotting log he had found in a woodland clearing. Scruvo wheeled in midair, his needlesharp eyes watching the iridescence of the crystal shard as he performed a neat loop in his flight west. Soaring gracefully downward, he spread dark-feathered wings wide and stuck his talons forward, beating the air back as he landed on the ledge. He cocked his head to one side, squinting with one eye at the treasure. Bright, shiny, twinkling. He hopped towards it and gave a harsh cry of delight.

"Tchak! Keeyaaa!"

He struck the crystal with his beakpoint as if attacking a living thing. It did not move or fight back, so he struck it several more times to assure himself it was harmless. Quite satisfied, the jackdaw did a curious hopskip shuffle, his victory dance, then he plucked the piece of crystal from the nest and flung himself from the ledge. Down he spiraled crazily, like a dark torn scrap of cloth buffeted by breezes, then, leveling out, he winged strongly upward and shot off southeast into Mossflower.

Leaping to their paws, the three Abbeymaids scampered down the wallstairs, stumbling in their haste, calling, "It's the jackdaw, there it goes!"

Gerul and Rollo descended the stairs as fast as they could, making haste out to the lawn. They arrived in time to see the three friends slipping out of Redwall by the small south wicker gate in the outer wall.

The owl looked sadly at his damaged wing. "Faith, 'tisn't the walkin' I mind, but I do wish I could fly agin."

Rollo shaded his eyes with both paws, peering up into the blue. "I fear they'll have lost that jackdaw by now; it would be far too difficult to follow a bird through woodlands."

The old Recorder's fears proved true. Tansy and her friends were far too small to keep track of a high-flying jackdaw, but they were not about to admit defeat. Craklyn went scooting up a nearby sycamore with all the agility of a young squirrelmaid. Piknim and Tansy almost lost sight of her, until she emerged swaying among the topmost branches. She watched awhile, then pointed eagerly before scrambling down. Back on the ground, breathless and disheveled, she shouted, "Circling south, the jackdaw's taking a round sweep southward!"

Tansy grinned and clapped her paws. "Of course, it's headed to old Ninian's church! Come on!"

As they dashed by the southwest corner of the Abbey, the maids bumped into Gerul and Rollo, who had exited Redwall by its main gate.

Rollo was agog for information. "Did you see the bird? Which way did it go?"

Tansy nodded. "To the old church, I think!"

Dust rose in a small column as the three Abbeymaids hurtled off down the path, Rollo and Gerul following them at a more sedate pace.

The old Recorder explained to the owl about the ancient building. "Nobeast really knows when Ninian's was built, or who built it. Every once in a while creatures will try to settle there, but it's so damp and decaying they leave after a short time. It would be an ideal dwelling for scavengers like jackdaws."

Gerul hobbled along the dusty path as swiftly as he could, leaving Rollo behind. "Sure, if there's more'n one jackdaw t'deal with, those young maids will be in trouble," he shouted as he went. "Those are bad'n'dangerous birds if'n they're disturbed. I'll try t'catch up with them."

Twilight's first shadows were stealing gently over the woodlands when a long javelin sank deep into the ground next to the sleeping Dibbuns. Arven was wakened by a huge dark shape which swept him up into its powerful paws.

"Yeeeek! It'sa blizzards, they got me, 'eeeeelp!" he yelled.

Still befuddled by slumber, Diggum and Gurrbowl found themselves hefted upward in similar fashion.

"Hoo urr, let oi go, zurr, we'm naught but babes!"

"Ee blizzards goin' to eat uz all oop, oh woe!" the molebabes cried out.

Chuckling deeply, Rangapaw, daughter of Skipper, held the kicking, struggling Arven firmly. “Belay there, you liddle maggots, we ain't goin' to eat ye! Quit wrigglin' or you'll fall on yore 'ead!"

Diggum scrambled up onto the shoulder of the otter who was holding her. Grabbing his whiskers, she stared into her rescuer's eyes and said, "Yurr, you'm bain't no blizzard, you'm a h'otter!"

Rangapaw tucked Arven firmly into her side as she retrieved her javelin. "Hoho, matey, lucky fer you we are. Now wot are you three rogues doin' a wanderin' off from yore Abbey? Can't y'see 'tis close on nightfall? And we're supposed to be searching for a volemaid, not blizzard-hunters."

Arven popped out of his captor's grasp. Landing nimbly on the ground, he folded his paws across his small fat stomach and murmured darkly, "Us was 'untin' for blizzards who took Farver h'Abbot an' Voler. Us was gonna catcherem an' get all mucky an' scratchered an' bringem back to the h' Abbey an' not get shouted at."

The big otter shook with silent laughter at the three Dibbuns. She could understand their predicament, having had many similar adventures when she was small. "You did well, mates," she said. "We saw a great crowd o' them blizzards, just a short time ago. They was runnin' fer their cowardly lives 'cos they knew three warriors like you was abroad trackinem. Ain't that right, mates?"

The otter crew caught her broad wink and nodded solemnly.

"Ho aye, runnin' scared stiff they was!"

"Harr, I wouldn't 'ave liked to be one o' them if'n you three'd caught up with 'em!"