Loamhedge

infobox Book |
name = Loamhedge
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = UK 1st Edition Cover
author = Brian Jacques
illustrator = David Elliot
cover_artist = David Wyatt
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Redwall
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Viking (UK) & Philomel (US)
release_date = 2003
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 432 (UK Hardback) & 432 (US Hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-670-91068-6 (UK Hardback) & ISBN 0-399-23724-0 (US Hardback)
preceded_by = Triss
followed_by = Rakkety Tam

"Loamhedge" is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 2003. It is the sixteenth book in the Redwall series.

Plot introduction

In the book, young haremaid Martha Braebuck has been chair-bound since Dibbun-hood and no beast has any idea why. Martin the Warrior's spirit sends two former Redwall warriors, Bragoon and Saro, to the old Loamhedge Abbey to discover a secret that could change Martha's life. Meanwhile, the badger Lonna Bowstripe hunts the pirate Raga Bol and his horde for vengeance.

Plot summary

One day while Abruc the otter and his son Stugg are out foraging for food, they find the bodies of two badgers; an old one, dead, and a giant one who is barely clinging to life. The otters take the giant back to their colony, where he is revived and reveals himself to be called Lonna Bowstripe. He is told that his attacker was most likely the pirate Raga Bol, whose ship has been lost, and his crew of sea-rats, who are moving inland. Lonna vows to hunt down and kill the entire crew. Armed with his bow and arrows, he sets out to exact his revenge.

Meanwhile at Redwall Abbey, there is a young hare maid named Martha Braebuck, who is totally incapable of walking, thus restricting her to a wheelchair. She is wheeled around by her hyperactive brother Hortwill Longblade Braebuck (Horty) and his friends, Springald and Fenna. While napping in front of the tapestry of Martin the Warrior, Martin and Sister Amyl appear to Martha in a dream, and she is told that the secret to make her able to walk can be found within the ancient walls of Loamhedge Abbey and that two individuals are coming that can help her.

As it so happens, the two in question are Bragoon and Sarobando, two lifelong friends who ran away from the Abbey as Dibbuns. They survive by tricking small vermin bands and taking their food. This time, it's the gang of the weasel Burrad, whose numbers are at about 13. After Bragoon enters the camp (and Skrodd accidentily kills Burrad) they tell the gang that they must leave Mossflower Woods and never return. Skrodd has other plans, however, and convinces the gang to head to Redwall, where there is a rumor of a magical sword. One night, Skrodd gets killed by the rat Dargle, who gets decapitated during Skrodd's death throes. The bodies are discovered by a young fox named Badredd, who convinces the gang he was the one who had killed Dargle. They continue on to Redwall, though no one really takes the fox seriously.

Bragoon and Sarobando arrive at the Abbey during Summer festivities and are told Martha's sad story and where the cure can be found. They decide to set out to Loamhedge, but not before Horty's group asks if they can go too. When Abbot Carrul refuses, the trio create a distraction and escape the Abbey. Though they wind up being captured by cannibals, they are rescued by Bragoon and Saro, who are not too entirely pleased to see them. Since they are already fairly far from the Abbey and could risk recapture, however, they are allowed to join the quest.

Meanwhile, Badredd's group has arrived at Redwall and hold it under siege by slipping in through the east wall gate. Realizing he could do with some more troops, Badredd sends Flinky and Crinktail out to recruit some new talent. The two stoats unwittingly run into Raga Bol and his crew, who take over management of besieging the Abbey.

Elsewhere, the group of questers scale the tall cliffs leading to Loamhedge and enter a cave to avoid the rain. There they find Lonna and exchange stories. Lonna encounters Martin the Warrior's spirit during the night, telling him the whereabouts of Raga Bol. Lonna sets out, and the gang from Redwall continue up the cliff face and keep walking to the ancient Abbey.

At Redwall, Raga Bol continues to try and break into the Abbey. After an escapade of using a ladder to scale one of the windows, one sea rat manages to enter the Abbey and is about to kill Carrul when Martha suddenly lunges out of her chair and pushes him away, realizing she now has the ability to stand and all she needed was will power.

Badredd's group managed to escape the Abbey during the battle, and Bol sends a rat named Blowfly after them. Instead of finding the escapees, Blowfly encounters Lonna, who asks him where the Abbey is and then kills him. When Lonna arrives at Redwall, he manages to kill many sea rats, and due to the efforts of the now mobile Martha, gets inside of the main building and is able to snipe out the crew from there. In a last ditch attempt to kill the badger, Raga Bol tricks Lonna into coming out to the open where a group of spear chuckers wait to slay him. Things go wrong when Lonna seizes Bol and uses him as a living shield against the spears. Then he goes on a rampage and kills every last rat.

In the meantime, the expedition to find Loamhedge has resulted in the group finally arriving at the dead Abbey, but the whereabouts of the cure are unknown. Rather than return empty pawed, Bragoon and Saro tell the young ones to wait outside while they write their own cure, essentially saying that one just needs faith in oneself. On the way back, the group encounters the Abyss and are attacked by Kharanjul the Wearet. In an attempt to allow Horty, Fenna, and Springald to get to safety, Sarobando and Bragoon hold off the oncoming forces, eventually pushing the bridge over the edge of the abyss. Though they won the battle, the duo is badly injured, and they die shortly after.

Seasons after they return to the Abbey, Springald becomes Abbey Recorder, Fenna becomes Abbess, Horty joins the Long Patrol, Lonna becomes ruler of Salamandastron, and Martha dances on the walls every season in memory of the two who left to try and find her a cure.

Characters in "Loamhedge"

*Abruc and Stugg
*Lonna Bowstripe
*Raga Bol
*Martha Braebuck
*Hortwill Longblade Braebuck (Horty)
*Springald
*Fenna
*Bragoon and Sarobando
*Badredd
*Abbot Carrul
*Blowfly
*Kharanjul the Wearet
*Toran

Book Divisions (English)

*Book 1: "They're Not as Big as I Thought They'd Be"
*Book 2: "If Only They Were Back Here at Redwall"
*Book 3: "We Lived One Summer Too Long"

(These titles are in quotation marks because they are spoken by various characters during the book.)

Translations

*(French) "Rougemuraille : Le Secret de Loumèges"
*(Russian) "Меч Мартина"

External links

* [http://www.redwall.org/dave/loamhedge.html Plot summary]