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Character Spotlight: Druwp

"Out of my way or I'll report you!"

- Druwp's infamous last words

Druwp the bankvole was a slave under the cruel stone paw of Badrang the Tyrant. Concerned only with self-preservation, Druwp acted as a spy for one of Badrang's aides, a fox named Skalrag. At one point in his career of underhanded espionage, Druwp reported directly to Badrang about the whereabouts of the compound slaves who led the resistance. His incredible self-centeredness ultimately led to his own demise at the paws of Felldoh the warrior squirrel.

A surly vole, Druwp attempted to cajole his fellow slaves into submission under Badrang's rule. In his opinion, it was better to live than be "killed trying to do foolish things". It is of little surprise that the other slaves were aware of Druwp's untrustworthy nature; the female mouse Purslane pins the negative and slightly derogatory titles "sneak" and "toady" on him. In spite of his fair but stern treatment by the leaders of the slave rebellion Druwp was thoroughly concerned with his own well-being. It seemed as though Druwp had resigned himself to the life of a slave and was determined to live as best he could, bartering good food and drink in exchange for the information he gained from eavesdropping and spying on his fellow slaves. Druwp is one of the only known "good" aligned creatures of the Redwall universe to have eaten meat. A loner by nature, Druwp was nonplussed by Skalrag's flippant references to him as a "friend", insisting that he was one to "side with nobeast". After Skalrag's demise, Druwp was rediscovered as an information source by Hisk the weasel, one of Badrang's captains. It was from Druwp that Badrang learned of the slaves' plan to horde weapons/weapon-like objects, revealing that the items had been buried in the slave compound under the bedding of Tullgrew, a female otter who acted as one of the rebellion leaders. When Badrang followed up on Druwp's information, he was unable to find the hidden weapons; furious, Badrang punished Druwp by trapping him in a room and beating him with rods. It wasn't long after the conclusion of Druwp's punishment that Felldoh launched an inside attempt to free all the slaves from Marshank. Druwp shouted to alert Badrang and his horde to the slaves' escape; his alarm brought about the death of Hillgorse, a hedgehog slave, who sacrificed himself so Felldoh could escort his wounded father to safety. In an act of vengeance, Felldoh slayed Druwp with a spear as the traitorous bankvole was trying to bully his way back into the slave compound.

Druwp is an interesting character study because he is one of a handful of creatures who breaks the Redwall race stereotype (see this post for more information about the stereotype). As a slave, Druwp found that the only thing he wished to live for was himself, a stunning departure from the meme of "goodness" usually found in vole characters. Whether Druwp's past has an influence on his behavior is unknown. Perhaps he witnessed such terrible cruelty that he gave up on acting honorably, or maybe he was betrayed by a trusted friend to end up Badrang's slave. But pondering Druwp's behavior begs the question: what does it take for a "good" aligned creature of Redwall to go bad?