The moon hung silently over the red sandstone rocks set at the fringe of Mossflower wood that were slowly starting to resemble an abbey. An abbey that would take in the homeless, welcome the poor, care for the sick, and be a safe restful place for all creatures who came to it's gates in peace.
Bella of Brockhall set inside the newly finished gatehouse looking at a battered scroll spread out on a sturdy old oak table. Save from that one piece of furniture, the room was empty. Of course, one day soon, shelves would have to be built to store records in, records that would document the history of the abbey so future generations would remember the good creatures who liberated Mossflower woods and built the great sandstone building.
But at the moment, badgermum Bella was not thinking about any of this. She was busy mulling over the scroll, the same scroll that she had been looking over and revising and extending for many a season now. The scroll that contained the construction plans for the great abbey. It was well past midnight when she finally looked up from the parchment, yawned, and rolled up the scroll. She picked up the candle that had been illuminating the room, and blew it out gently. Candle in hand, and with the precious plans tucked gently under her arm she left the small gatehouse and made her way back to her home, Brockhall.

It took the old, gray badger maid a good while to make it from the construction site to her home that night, not only because of her many seasons, but because of the many things on her mind. When she did finally reach the old tree which served as the entrance to her underground dwelling, she was very careful to walk on tippaw down the winding stairs and through the chambers of her home so as not to wake the many creatures who were sleeping there. The whole area was nearly full of mice, moles, otters, hedgehogs, shrews, and many other beasts who had come from all around to help with the building of the great abbey which was to be called, Redwall.
As she walked silently in to the kitchens of her large underground home,her ears picked up a rustling at the far corner of the room.
"Hello? What beast is there? Show yourself!" she whisperedurgently. A short, stocky figure trundled out from behind several large barrels of candied chestnuts.
"Burr hurr, it be only oi miz Bella marm, hurr."
She let out a sigh of relief as she groped her way through the darkness toward a shelf which held flint and tinder used for lighting the ovens. She lit the candle she had been carrying and held it up to the figure.
"Dinny mole! Is that you over there sneaking candied chestnuts? I was worried it was some vermin who had snuck in here to steal oursupplies!"
"Hurr hurr, that be oi! Just a reglur villian, hurr. But wot are ee doin down eer so late in the noit marm, if ee doint mind oi askin?
"I was just coming to get some green sap milk to help me sleep. I've been at the abbey since dusk," She sat down on a chair and stared reflectively into the candle flame. "It will be a wonderful place when it is finally finished, Dinny,"
"Thurr be no doubt 'bout that marm," he said, munching a chestnut. The old badger smiled, stood up slowly and while the mole continued to stash chestnuts in his pockets and mouth, she walked across the room to a bare rock wall. Setting down the candle, she ran her hands along the cracks until she found a spot where she could grip the wall with both paws, and, lifting the slab slowly up and outward she pulled it free of the wall to expose a small space in the rock. She held her candle up to the opening and picked up one of several beakers of green sap milk, which had been put in the cold rocky space to cool. Setting down the lantern and beaker, Bella picked up the slab of rock and recovered the opening.
"Well, come on Dinn, we best get to bed. We've got another hard day of work ahead of us tomorrow,"
"Boi ecky Miz Bella!" the mole exclaimed. "It wudd 'ave taken a score 'o usn molers to lift a gurt slab o rock such as that un, hurr hurr!" Bella smiled at the mole and patted the top of his head affectionately.
"I don't know about all that," she chuckled. "but I am glad that other beasts realize that I may be old, but I'm not helpless,"

By dawn the next day, every creature from Brockhall, and a few who lived in the Mossflower area, were already at the abbey constrution site. Large sand stone slabs were being laid by the Skipper of otters and his crew, the sound of ax striking wood echoed over the area as log a log and the Guosim shews made planks to be used as floor boards, and the noisy chatter of dibbuns could be heard as they helped plant strawberries, apples and pears in the area that had been set aside as the abbey orchard. Meanwhile, unbeknown to the others, Martin the Warrior, Gonff, Prince of Mousethieves, Bella of Brockhall, and old Abbess Germaine where in the Gatehouse holding a very urgent conference.
"I can not believe this! I swear I had it when I left here last night!" Bella protested as she banged her paw down on the table.
"It's alright marm," insisted Gonff comfortingly "It could have happened to any of us"
"No! No! No!" the badger cried "You are all young, spry and still have your minds, but not I. I'm just a worthless old badger maid. I'm not even fit to work on this great abbey"
"Bella!" gasped Abbess Germaine "I can not believe what I am hearing! First off, if anyone here is losing their minds, it is me. You can do far much more and are far more quick than I am. Haha, worthless old badgermum indeed. You had a lot on your mind and it's not a surprise that you misplaced the scroll. I do things such as that all the time! For example, this morning I woke up and couldn't find my spectacles anywhere!"
Martin and Gonff looked at each other and stifled chuckles. Martin, who was standing directly behind the abbess slowly slipped the small pair of glasses off the top of the old mouse's wrinkled head and walked around to the front of her chair.
"Here they are Abbess Germaine."
"Oh my, where ever did you find them?"
"Oh, er, I found them lying somewhere earlier and I, um, must have forgotten to give them to you." He said quickly.
Gonff winked at Martin, "See there Miz Bella, even our own warrior Martin forgets things sometimes."
Bella couldn't help but smile at the three mice. "I suppose you all are right. It could have happened to anybeast. But the fact remains, the plans for the abbey are missing and they are an essential part of our construction"
"Well," said the old, frail Abbess, rubbing her chin "Do you remember having it when you entered Brockhall last night?"
Bella closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Hmmm, yes, it seems that I did, but I'm not positive"
"That's where we'll start then," said Gonff "Lets assume, that you did have the plans when you entered Brockhall, what did you do after you came in?"
"Let me see, yes, I remember, I walked down to the kitchen to get some green sap milk. Oh, Dinny mole was down there when I arrived, sneaking candied chestnuts from the barrels."
"I was wondering where all those chestnuts were going," said Martin chuckling
Gonff laughed out loud at the statement "Haha, yes, and I've been wondering why Dinn has gotten a little pudgier lately"
"Look who's talking, oh prince of chestnut thieves"
Abbess Germaine rapped her cane on the table "Silence you two! Acting like a pair of dibbuns! Now, Bella, it seems like the best thing to do right now is to go to Brockhall and search the kitchens to see if the scroll turns up there"
"Yes I agree Germaine, come on you two, lets go get Dinny and return to Brockhall,"

As the four walked back to the badger's dwelling, Martin and Gonff questioned Dinny about the scroll, but he wasn't able to give them any information. They finally arrived at Brockhall and after searching the kitchens thoroughly, were about to give up when Dinny made a suggestion.
"Oi wuz thinkin Miz Bella, when ee pickered up ee slab 'o rock ore in ee wall, wuddn't ee ave to set down ee parchment?
"Dinn's right Bella!" exclaimed Gonff. "You would've had to set down the scroll to open that hole there when you get your milk!"
"No, I don't think so Gonff, because I was holding it under myarm"
Suddenly, Martin had an idea. "Bella, will you pull that rock slab out again for me please?"
"Of course, friend, but why?"
"I think I've got an idea"
"Go ahead marm" urged Gonff "I think I know what he has inmind."
Bella found good paw holds and, grunting softly, she pried the rock from the wall. She gasped in astonishment as she looked into the hole. There, lying next to one of the beakers was the scroll.
"Ow in ee woild did eet get in thurr?" Dinny asked, bewildered.
Bella slapped her head as realization of what occured hit her "I bet that when I bent down to pick up the slab and recover the hole, the parchment fell onto the rock and I didn't even realize it!"
Martin smiled, "I know why you didn't realize it Bella. I noticed that when you picked up the rock that first time, you had your eyes shut tight, anybeast would have done the same when picking up something that heavy."
Gonff looked over at Dinny accusingly "And there was only one other beast in here who would have noticed the scroll falling from under your arm, and he was stuffing his chubby little face with chestnuts!"
"Burr hurr, an oo wudd 'hat boi zurr Gonffer?"
Gonff picked up a sizable chestnut and threw it at the mole.
"Ow! Oi boi zorry! Pleeze doint 'it oi wit any more chestnutters! Oi didn't meen t' do eet!"
Martin tweaked Gonff's ears. "It's alright Dinn. At least now we know that it wasn't Bella's fault,"
"That's right marm," Gonff said, rubbing his ears. "So, are you still going to help us with the abbey, or will we have to get Abbess Germaine to do all the work?"
Bella chuckled at the sight of the old mouse having to help lift sandstone blocks and carry lumber. "Hoho, I think we can let Germaine rest, you'll have me to help with that old abbey until it's finished."
Martin held the badger's giant paw as they walked back up the stairs, "That's good to know Bella, and you can bet that I'll be with you all the way"