The Matriarch Gwendolyn thinks back on the events of 1148, a tumultuous year that saw the birth of Wildseed, the excommunication of Woodstuff's Grove, and rising tensions with the weasels of Darkheather.
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Lily is played by Eliza. Sable is played by Arden. Francisca is played by Riley. Tander is played by Drakkel. Isolde is played by Poor Weather. Zeke is played by Devious Vacuum. Marx and Granny Waxwort are played by Gnome. Overlord Rampaul is played by Ikks.. And our Games Mouse is Grant.
Music performed by Thylacinus. Today's episode was edited by both Grant and Riley.
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The Matriarch's record of 1148
Let me begin with happy things. The year will be remembered for Wildseed. The landlords of Gilpledge saw last Fall's surplus as an opportunity and bought an entire caravan of grain from Ivydale with which to build a brand new settlement. Two patrols were sent out to escort this journey. Saxon, Kenzie, Rand, and new Guardsmouse Taryn (whose further missions are covered in later pages) went ahead [see appendix I: New and Ascending Guardmice 1148]. I assembled a new patrol as well from the exiled Marx, my contentious friend Francisca, and her new Tenderpaw Tander.
When underway, they noticed the caravan was intentionally making poor time. The governor of Ivydale had made a side deal: wealthy merchants offered a higher price for the grain so they could store it in the hopes a poor harvest later would drive up the price. It backfired, as a fear of weasel attack scattered the grain peddlers into the night. The patrols divided, the real threat appeared: a pair of whistle pigs hoping for a meal. The scavengers were driven off, and the goods protected, but Saxon was injured for the rest of the season. Lockhaven accepted the fleeing harvesters and peddlers, where Marx convinced them, and the laborers who were to accept the wagons for the under-the-table deal, to instead follow the original mission. In no time at all, Wildseed set its first foundations.
After some time guarding and assisting the building, the patrol rescued a cartographer, and escorted her home to Port Sumac to produce new maps reflecting the settlement-to-be. In the harbor an alarm went up. Calogero was swarmed with crabs again, and the patrol set sail to reclaim it. Their plan reflected a flair for creative solutions, creating a disguise made from discarded crab shells. They emerged from it with the element of surprise, and Francisca was in her element.
By the heat of the summer, Wildseed was ready for residents. A new caravan, this one of settlers, formed at Shorestone. It only seemed right for Francisca, Tander, and Marx to attend to them. Francisca was very interested in taking a mission there. Their path was not easy. At times the threat seemed to come from within, an attack Francisca had no defense for. [see appendix IV: Disciplinary Action 1148] Caring for one another is our strength. The last challenge was the greatest: turning a group of mice and buildings into a sustainable community. But, they managed.
[Several pages later]
Meanwhile, I had assembled another new patrol. The stoic Zeke, the reticent Isolde, and the caring Sable were sent out to lay a portion of the scent barrier after the frost melted. Sable also took a new Tenderpaw this year: Lily. The supply was low this year, and they were met with delays at every step. They escaped a snake before bureaucracy of Elmoss took its delay, then had their weapons stolen at Sprucetuck. This was a blessing in disguise, as Lily proved herself able to see solutions nobody else did; a perspective Sable chose to protect from certain facts. As Lily befriended a noble weasel and searched for the missing gear, Sable and Zeke discovered the weasel had caused the trouble in the first place. I do not believe Lily knows the full truth even n