Modus the Cellar keeper was sampling cordial from a barrel along with young Burrley early this morning, as usual. However, neither beast knew that Rigbane the fox had made his return to the abbey just before the break of dawn. Rigbane had poisoned the barrel of strawberry cordial, trying to do what he had failed with Sister Sloey. When Liam the mouse discovered the two friendly creatures slumped over the barrel of cordial he immediately sent for help. Entering the room you noticed the two poor beasts bent over the barrel, and ran to them. Touching their skin, you could feel moisture coming off of their clammy skin, and you noticed their clenched jaws and fisted paws. It could only be poison! Looking down into the barrel you saw a small thin sheet rock, and reached in to retrieve it. On the slate was a riddle, signed by none other than Rigbane himself:
I told ye that I would return, And this time it's the cellarbeast's turn. Look ye left and find ye there, A book with remedies for ye I spared. Within its pages lies the truth, To which poison has betook cellarhog and youth. And there is written remedy, If in time you resolve this calamity. Find ye not the healing root, Anyplace save where I wait for ye with friendly newt. Rigbane
Back there is where Veil was kept before he was outcast...
Hey, that's not all down here! Behind some barrels of elderberry wine, there lies a secret door hidden behind the cellar's shelf. The passageway that lies ahead leads to a place that has never been visited in the abbey. Until Now
Looking at the tattered book in futility, you quickly began scanning each poison, trying to find the any one that may be the culprit...
White Bryony - A flowering plant with a poisonous root. If taken internally, it may result in muscle spasms, headache, and serious brain damage. Treat with petals of black bryony, found only in the plains to the far south of Redwall. False Hellebore - A flowering red plant yielding poisonous herbs. If eaten, False Hellebore will cause excruciating pain, swelling, and result in muscle tightening, and often death. Administer flowers of icetor within two days of ingesting. Gelsemium - A tall fruit-bearing plant with long, poisonous roots. If swallowed, Gelsemium root causes a breakdown of the nervous system and near certain death in smaller creatures. Treat with small doses of leaves of Foxglove to counteract the poison. Clematis - A white flowering plant with large leaves containing poisonous roots and stems. If ingested, Clematis may cause serious muscle pain and cramping accompanied by severe headache and sometimes unconsciousness. Treat with a herbal combination of thyme, rosepetal, and white mushrooms. Baneberry - A rare berry-yielding plant with a poisonous root. If taken internally, it may result in muscle tightening, cold sweats, and sometimes death. Treat with root of Cohosh, found exclusively in a cave northeast of Redwall Abbey. Hemlock - A tall plant with white flowers, producing poisonous leaves, fruit, and seeds. If eaten, Hemlock can cause excessive sweating and excretion of fluids, muscle spasms, and death in extreme circumstances. Treat with bloodroot, found in the marshlands south of Salamandastron, to relieve symptoms. Red Mathes - A flowering red plant yielding poisonous herbs. If eaten, Red Mathes will deteriorate the beast's nervous system and eventually lead to certain death if not treated. Administer yellow mushrooms, from the pine grove in the north crushed, with rosewort from the swamps near Salamandastron within a day of consumption. Laburnum - A tree that produces clusters of yellow flowers as well as toxic seeds. If eaten, it may result in serious nerve damage and often death in the extremely young or old. The toxins may only be counteracted by the rare mushroom of Talor, found in dank caves west of Redwall Abbey. Foxglove - A brilliant flowering plant that has highly poisonous leaves. If consumed, foxglove leaves can cause muscle cramps, sweating, and often death. If treated with small doses of Baneberry root from the arid southlands, death can be avoided. Black Nightshade - A small, dull colored plant with egg-shaped leaves. The entire plant may be used as poison, though especially the fresh leaves. If ingested, black nightshade may cause muscle swelling, cold sweats, and heart damage. If treated with large amounts of black bryony root from the northlands, permanent heart damage can be avoided.
(Be sure to use proper spelling and capitalization. Click "Go" to continue.)
Upon closer examination of the page containing the information about Baneberry, you noticed that there was something different about this page. Knowing Rigbane's cleverness you knew it was no coincidence that this was on the page containing the poison he used. Holding the page up to the light hidden text became apparent. Rigbane had set up the page so that his message would be unreadable and almost unnoticeable unless it was held up to the light. Rigbane was certainly one clever fox, and his latest message was just more proof.
By wit or luck, ye found this page,
Now for ye I leave a cage.
Find it behind yonder cask of wine,
To the left of where this book ye did find.
Carefully place the pins where they must go,
And the box shall open and unto ye show,
My location, true and exact,
With the baneberry roots you need extract.
Fear you not my contraption,
For all you need are 8 of 10 for extraction.
Clearly Rigbane had put a lot of effort into this entire scheme, and this complicated box was just more proof. On top of the box was a piece of parchment with numbers and questions, the questions were startling to say the least, for each and every one was about a vermin Redwallers had crossed paths with in the past. Rigbane was obviously obsessed with the abbey for some reason. Also on top of the box were ten pins that would fit perfectly in any of the box's forty holes. The box was ten rows long and four columns wide in holes. The rows each had a number followed by the four holes. It was apparent what Rigbane wants you to do... With each right answer you heard a click as it presses a release button in the box, however each wrong answer yields you nothing and your pin is trapped in the hole.
Quickly unfolding the map, you take one glance at it and know exactly where Rigbane had fled to with the poison's remedy. Travelling quickly, you make it to the cave, northwest of the abbey. Rigbane had known Cohosh was used to treat Baneberry, and he had set up camp in the one cave known to grow the plant. Without Rigbane's help you would have never found the cave, but his map made it easy. It was obvious that once again he was toying with you, daring you to find him. Upon entering the cave, you could see no plants, but a fire flickered in the rear of the cave. Striding ahead boldly, you could see the fox's back as he sat facing the fire. You rush at him, but the crafty fox heard your footpaws slosh through the mud. Turning about swiftly, his dagger blade met your sword and he quickly shouted, "Drop it! I've procured the only cohosh plants within five days of here. You'll need them sooner than that to save your friends. Now drop the blade." You knew you had no choice. Dropping the blade, you fill with hatred as the fox grins. "Now then, as ye see here, I've got nine piles of roots to the right of the fire. One of them is the root of the cohosh. The other eight piles are roots of poisonous plants from the region. Take a seat by the fire over there while I tell ye a story." Knowing your friends' lives hang in the balance, you comply, not knowing where this is leading. "I was a mere fox cub when my tribe came upon Redwall Abbey. I don't remember too much before that day, but I do remember that we were a peaceful tribe, one of few. The abbot of your abbey at that time was some old mouse, an angry sort. We told your abbot that we had come in peace, but when we entered through the big gates we found ourselves surrounded. We had been told to leave any weapons outside, so when a burly otter found my father had a dagger hidden in his left boot, things got ugly. My father had forgotten about the daggers in his boots. When he went to withdraw the dagger that remained in his right boot, the otter saw it and slew my father with his own dagger. That vile otter had killed my father for complying with your abbey rules. In the chaos that ensued, many of my tribe were killed, mostly unarmed creatures who had been thought dangerous when they cried out at my father's death. I fled back out the door I came in through and into the woods. There I waited for days, but I saw nobeast exit. Your abbey ruined my life. What had I ever done to anybeast there to deserve what had happened? From that day on I vowed to wreak my revenge on your abbey. I researched and studied, heightening my intellect and divining the best revenge. I decided that it would be best to kill those who the abbeybeasts seemed the fondest of, and torture your minds in doing so. So I watched and waiting, choosing the best targets. Sister Sloey was only the first stage in my plan, with her out of the way there'd be nobeast to slow my poisons. It came as quite a shock when ye solved my riddles and got the antidote, but I had planned for everything. This time ye cannot win. This time I shall have the ultimate victory and my revenge shall be complete. In one mighty stroke I shall cripple your abbey's spirit. When ye, the abbey champion, do not return from this voyage, your abbey will crumble from within..." When you open your mouth to reply Rigbane quickly silences you, "Say nothing, lest I send all the roots into the fire with a sweep of my tail. Now then, you must choose one pile of roots, and then you must choose one of the roots of the pile and eat it. The root will either bring you painful death or no harm shall befall you. If you make it back to the abbey alive, you will know you carry the right roots. However, I will give ye more of a chance than your abbey gave my tribe. Ye've a one in nine chance, and one last riddle.
"Start ye central,
Move ye right,
Up an o'er two.
Next move ye like a knight of chess,
Ne'er backwards on this test.
Minus e numerically,
Then move ye just one, so oddly.
"The beauty of this is that if ye choose the right pile, I will return to your abbey and strike again. However, should you fail, I will be avenged. Are you willing to even choose the right pile to trade your life and the lives of those I poisoned for those that I will in the future, should you live? And if you even thought of laying a paw to me, here's a twist: I hold here a pawful of herbs. All I need to do is sprinkle a few on the fire and a thick poisonous smoke will either kill you, or your abbey friends if you decide to flee from its poisonous vapors, so dare not law a paw near me...Choose wisely."
Choose which pile?
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Congratulations!
You've saved Modus and Burrley and once again outwitted Rigbane.
"Thank you so much! You made it just in time. Modus and Burrley will fully recover. How can I reward you? Here, I know, take this!"
You receive 100 points for saving Modus and Burrley.
Email Pawflash all the text above to receive your points. Congratulations!
(Highlight the text above, hold down CTRL and press C to copy the text.)
Modus the Cellar keeper was sampling cordial from a barrel along with young Burrley early this morning, as usual. However, neither beast knew that Rigbane the fox had made his return to the abbey just before the break of dawn. Rigbane had poisoned the barrel of strawberry cordial, trying to do what he had failed with Sister Sloey.