As the sun creeped up over the horizon, seeing it safe as the moon had hidden minutes ago. It�s light slowly washed through the forest canopy, shining on every niche and cranny. The trees groaned in their thanks, and the wind howled in agreement. Although the sun was pale, it was a warm light. It was looking as if the weather decided for an overcast morning. The cold dark sea sank back from the shores leaving them shells and wooden spars, and bits of pottery and weaponry. Another pirate attack was not what Holt Shadows Wake needed. Talno Moonwhisp watched from afar at the top of the rocky cliff hidden amongst the foliage, watching the tattooed otters patrol the littered beaches and gingerly poke at broken glass lamps and such.
Though Talno was barely paying attention, his mind drifted on distant thoughts as he muttered sayings and poems.� Lay down yer� sharp steel an � ah, butterscotch taffy, thankee mum�� Talno droned as he swatted away a fly perched on the tip of his nose. Suddenly he jolted awake. �Stoppit, Mearill, didn�t you see I �� Talno was cut off short at the sound of a horn. It sounded long and deep.� Skip! N�other boats destroyed!� Said a rather large and bulky otter, Talno heard from down the cliff. He yawned lazily and crawled over to the edge of the cliff to tired to stand up. What a night he had.
Talno�s sister Mearill invited herself over to have a cup of tea, of course she brought her amazingly stupid otter mate. As she sat at my old wooden table she cooed Deedill (her mate) and complained about how filthy the table was. Once Talno had brought the tray with chipped cups and the glued together teapot that unfortunately sprung a leak at the exact right time, running all over the tarnished silver tray. He stuck a small piece of a bottle cork from his pocket and stuck it in the small hole. �That�ll do�. Mearill nearly died laughing deliberately collapsing on Deedill still sighing recovering from the laughter.� Oh would you shutup! I mean, why do you come over here anyway if you�re just going to make fun of me. Go take you and your oversized mate outta here!� But soon my confidence was lost when I was preoccupied staring into Deedill�s oversized shadow. Hmm� He couldn�t really remember after that�
He peered over the edge placing him in a precarious position. A couple small rocks fell down the side of the cliff. The otters saw them and looked up at the same time curiously. They saw only the head of Talno who was now being pulled back to sleep. He drooled and sported a black eye which was now turning purple, so more likely to be called a purple eye.� A survivor from the ship! �E must �a crawled up the side o� the cliff!� The two otters exchanged glances and dashed up to where Talno laid sloppily.� Is �e dead mate?� Said the one with a large axe which he laid down worriedly.� Nay friend, �es still breathin��. Talno gave a moan.� What da� you �spose we do now?� The otter with the axe said.� I know�� Said the other one.� Me �ole mum taught me this�. He clenched his fists and pushed down hard on Talno�s chest. He gave a wheeze of surprise and yelled out in a raspy voice �mother �o minstrels!� The axe otter placed his haversack behind Talno�s head.� Mate! �E talked �e�s alive!� He glanced excitedly at the other otter who had a tattoo of a fish on his forehead.� What �appened mate? Was it pirates? Mutiny? Fire?� He waited for a moment for Talno to reply, and then gingerly tapped Talno�s forehead. �I think we need more �o those pushes on his chest. Lemme try this time�. The fish-foreheaded otter violently beat one his stomach. Talno had the words blown out of him every time he tried to talk, his words would turn into coughs. �I� cough �am� cough �ok!� He yelled as loud as he could. The fish foreheaded otter stopped and looked at the axe otter.� Do you think �e needs more?� He said excitedly holding his hands over Talno�s chest, which heaved up and down still catching his breath. �No! �E�s �ad enough!� murmured the axe otter.
Talno was barely awake, his head pounded as he muttered �She took the toffee, the whole toffee!� Then Talno fainted, as the two puzzled otters stood above him. �Whad�a�ya think �e means?� Said the fish headed otter. � Did yeh� ever go ter� woodland school? See, now, toffee, rhymes with coffee, which is brown, which is like a pirate ship�. The axe otter nodded vigorously. �So, coffee is a bean, right?� � �I thought it was a drink though� � �No mate, coffees made out of coffee beans� the axe otter said exaggerating the words coffee beans. The fish headed otter nodded.� So, Obviously coffee beans grow on tropical islands� � �they do?� � �Yes, I read it in a book� snapped the axe otter.� Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted me, Coffee beans are from tropical islands. So obviously means� � �Pirates from tropical islands!� Interrupted the fish headed otter again. The axe otter smiled and nodded slowly. � Looks like were the two new geniuses of Mossflower!� But the fish headed otter�s smile slowly curled into a thoughtful frown.� But �ow do we know their pirates! They could be a merchant ship!� The axe otter looked at him like he was stupid.� Yeh see, toffee is a gold brown color so �� Talno Moonwhisp interrupted groggily, for he had just come around.� What in blazes �r you talkin� �bout?� The otters looked at him for a moment and then looked at each other. � �E�s alive mate!� The fish headed otter cried with joy. Both otters jumped up gleefully shouting. Talno looked at them with a confused look.� What are you talkin� �bout I�m alive? Of course I am!� Their shouts slowly died down the moment he finished his sentence with am.
�No mate! Pirates captured your ship!� exclaimed the fish headed otter. �Tropical pirates to be correct, Glunn� He said looking menacingly at the fish headed otter. �Listen, I don�t know what you to lunatics are talkin� about, but I�ve never been attacked by pirates! Now I�m off, away from you� He said unstably walking down the cliff.� But yew told us that there where pirates when you was unconscious!� The axe otter said violently pushing his friend the fish headed otter, Glunn rolling down the rocky path descending from the cliff.� �You said umm, somethin� �bout taffy� � �No it was toffee mate� said the bruised Glunn. Talno stopped in his tracks glancing from Glunn to the fish headed otter.� Yew two are the craziest beasts I�ve ever seen� He muttered. Then he ran off down to the Holt glancing back warily.
Finally once he lost the two crazy otters, his pawsteps faded to a walk. The morning sun now beamed overhead, casting the pale light away, refreshing it with golden rays. The small cobblestone path twisted through the forest. It fit in between the many rooted trees, and branched off to different places. Talno heard a rushing noise suddenly as he rounded a bend. There was a rather small wooden sign that was slightly tipped to the side that read in messy written letters; Holt Shadows Wake. Beyond it was a beautiful stream. An old moss covered log stretched across the stream. There were layers of flat stones declining down the stream making small mini waterfalls that gurgled as the fell to the stony bed. The far side of the stream was a continuation of the path, yet it seemed, more clean and tame, unlike the forest path. Talno teetered precariously to the other side scaring all the fish away below him. As he continued the path, finally he came to his destination.
It was wonderful, magnificent. There was a small clearing filled with puddles of water and yellow daffodils that shone a pale gold. The ground was damp and slippery, a platform in the middle of the clearing made out of gray old stone that was cracked in many a places. Upon the platform was a screen walled gazebo with a seat that held a fat gray haired otter. His eyes were squinty and smirky looking, along with his chubby hand clutched onto a pewter goblet. Three heavily tattooed otters that looked dangerous stood behind him growling and brandishing their weapons at the sight of Talno. As Talno removed his foot from a puddle of murky water and made his way onto the platform. At the sight of Talno the fat otter sighed �Talno, Talno, why do you keep coming here. I already told you to stay away�. Talno fell to one knee in fake respect. �Er, well, I just wanted to say to you, that there was �� �A shipwreck last night, I have already been informed�. Talno fiddled with his hands staring down at one particular stone.� Oh, also sir, can you keep two specific otters away from me, they keep saying crazy things� Just wanted to tell you that�. The fat otter shifted in his seat and pulled his blue cloak folds from the ground.� Talno, leave me be. Stop bothering me with your, pointless dilemmas. Just go away, we�ve had enough of you�. Talno whipped back around and marched off silently. He was fuming with anger as he slipped through the Holt and back into the forest. Talno walked off towards the beach and perched himself on his rock letting his mind free. If only he was the wind, free to roam wherever he wished, not being bothered by his relatives and enemies. To be free from his cage of imprisonment�