| Braun The Great |
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| Breed: Male Giant Otter Mission/s: Capturing of the large pike for Redwall Abbey's Moat Mission Status: Completed Awards: The Silvershine Pike Medallion Position: undecided Date Joined to Council: early Winter of the Pike |
| The Capture of the Pike I, Braun the otter, was sent by Abbess Senna to capture a large pike for the new Abbey moat. I alone could not capture a large pike, so I gathered fifty of my otter crew. Also sent were my friends Jetwing the peregrine falcon, and Clawbeak the enormous golden eagle to look for Log-a-log and his Guosim shrews. I looked over the full crew satisfyingly, and began to rap out orders. "Log-a-log ol' matey, go an' fetch two of yer finest log boats fer us to paddle downstreams in." The tubby shrew saluted smartly, and turned to his fellow Guosim shrews and commanded them likewise. I turned to Clawbeak and Jetwing, startled slightly by their constantly fluctuating pupils, dilating in and out expectantly. "Yew two kin scout out ahead and give us a holler if ye sees any lakes ahead, we'll be lookin' there fer a sizeable pike," I hesitantly ordered them. "Aye Brauny, us'ns oonly have to gloid soo far ahead tae see summat," Clawbeak replied in his thick Northern accent. The fearsome pair ruffled their feathers, and with that they took off in a whoosh of wind. My otters and the shrews boarded our waiting log boat, and traveled down a small tributary. Soon Jetwing could be heard screeching from above. "Ahoy, sir Braun! Large lake in me sight, plow ahead full steam and we kin reach it afore nightfall!" With excitement brewing deep inside me, and fire gleaming in my eyes, I shouted back, "Good job matey! We kin certainly make it!" By dusk we paddled into the calm waters of lake Silvershine, and docked the log boat on the south shore. A conservative meal of Shrewbread, damsons in honey glazed over oat cakes, and October ale were hastily eaten around a small fire. Jetwing and Clawbeak could be heard rustling in the tall pines to roost as dark closed in. After an hour or so of planning the next day's adventure, the fire was doused to coals and the camp fell silent as sleep took over everybeast. |
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| Morning greeted me with the sound of the argumentative shrews bustling about fixing our breakfast, and through half closed eyes I could dimply see the shapes of Clawbeak and Jetwing circling overhead. I soon sprang to reality, and sat expectantly at the water's edge, rocking back and forth. Breakfast was not appealing at the moment, only the lust for action and excitment under the lake's mirror surface. After what seemed like an hour, the rest of my crew was ready. Jetwing and Clawbeak flew down beside me, and offered to scout ahead for the sleek forms of pike. I refused, for I wanted this to be my chase, this was between me and the pike. I swam in alone, armed with my lance. The shrews paddled about the surface in the general area where I was, to be ready for any action. My efforts proved futile, and I surfaced for air. "Did you find any, maister Braun?" Log-a-log asked. I was disappointed, and sighed as I spoke, "No, we'll 'ave to try again." After a short break I dived back in and found a massive school of pike, and looked for the largest one, only to encounter the male leader pike. I thought to myself, this is just what I was looking for. He was enormous with a dangerous hooked mouth, and a faint, black tiger stripe pattern contrasted with the rest of his silvery body. I swam up to tell my mateys about it, and we decided to drive the pike to the surface. My mates Jetwing and Clawbeak would haul him onto the log boat, and we would stun but not kill it. My otter crew and I dived in with two lances apiece; we had to get through the other pikes to get to our target. We swam to their den and kept the other pikes distracted, three pikes to an otter. Now I had this pike to myself. I harassed him and poked at him with lance point, and he lunged at me. Dodging the furious pike, I poked at him and made him so enraged that he wouldn't cease chasing me. That was exactly what I wanted. |
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| I swam to the surface with the pike close behind, and shot straight out of the water and into the log boat. Exactly as planned, the massive fish breached out of the water in a fray of glittering water, flailing his toothed jaws madly. Jetwing was on him in a flash, but the pike pulled him into the water. Seeing his companion in desperate need of help, Clawbeak came and grabbed the pike, beating it senseless with his wings. I helped Jetwing back onto the boat to recover, and called my otters back from the water since the distraction of the other pikes was no longer necessary. My otters hauled the pike back into the log boat first, with a sturdy twine net after a few heave-hos. Unfortunately for us, the other pikes were infuriated. They battered our two boats, and we launched lances at them, even though our desperate actions were of no impact. Log-a-log and I seemed to have the same idea as we both groped for the weighted nets, and tossed them overboard, entangling the school of pikes. They'll eventually break free, but we had enough time to get away. |
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| The procession of paddling back to Redwall was rather slow, and uneasy because of the pike we had onboard. Clawbeak and Jetwing aided our journey though, by pushing the boat from behind. To make the haul even easier, Log-a-log's other shrews hooked their boat to the pike-bearing one to help tow it from the front. Finally, the log boat reached the swift current of the river, and we were speedily gaining towards the Abbey, reaching it by nightfall. I took good care of the pike, pouring fresh water over its pulsating gills every few minutes. Once during the trip the pike awakened, only to be thwacked by a swift knock from Log-a-log's paddle. As we reached the shore near the Abbey, my otter crew prepared to lift the heavy pike, using the net as a stretcher. Aftered they were finished, Log-a-log secured the small vessels, and we hauled the fish to Redwall's moat, which Abbes Senna had built during her time as Abbess. It slid into the water with a plop, and regained consciousness in a matter of seconds. With a vicious thrash, it sped off to the South Battlements. |
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| BRAUN'S MISSION |
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