The Blighted Fortress

by David E Dresner

  Glenda smiled at the rhetorical question; she knew they were just making conversation to help in adjusting to their new surroundings. “Our Norwegian bears climb trees but not our wolves; however our wolves can jump really high.”

  “If a bear comes climbing up, I’ll give it a kick it won’t believe,” Traveler said. “That bear will meet a tree demon it won’t like, not one little bit.” With a thoughtful look he added, “Seriously, we need to climb high enough not to tempt any hungry ground animal, wolf or bear. Let’s go tree exploring.”

  Standing there they looked up and began to survey the surrounding forest for candidate trees offering secure overnight lodging. “So many choices,” said Glenda, “trees everywhere.”

  Traveler laughed, “That’s why it’s called a forest.” Glenda laughed back.

  With her head twisting around Glenda said more to herself, “This reminds me of the poem about an ancient mariner lost at sea. He is dying of thirst and laments ‘Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink’. Unlike that sad mariner, our problem is that we have many tree choices, but are there any acceptable ones? Do you see a winner, big boy?”

  “I do, and my pick is right here,” and he walked to a massive oak and patted it.

  “Works for me but what made you pick it out?”

  “Boy scout training. We used to build tree houses and had to find trees with the right limbs to build on. If you look up a-ways, you will notice there are massive limbs that are close together. They are growing out of the trunk almost side by side and appear to be making a natural resting platform. They’re easily strong enough to hold a dozen of us.”

  Glenda studied the limb architecture and finally saw what Traveler was describing, “Well done, Scout Traveler. Now that I see it, you’re absolutely right about the natural platform. It’s like a nest made for tree people. I don’t think I could have spotted it. All I see looking up is a maze of limbs and leaves, they all blur together.”

  Traveler was enjoying the compliment, he liked being called “Scout Traveler” instead of the slightly pejorative “big boy”.

  “How do we proceed?” asked Glenda.

  “I’ll be the first monkey up the tree. I’m no Tarzan but I do have some tree-climbing experience.” With that Traveler studied a lower access limb. The limb was about fifteen feet off the ground and very thick. Studying the distance, he made a measured vertical leap and soared above the limb. Slowing he grabbed a nearby limb and hugged the tree for balance. His feet were now resting on the thick lower limb.

  “So far, so good. I’m going to climb up to our nest and check it out.”

  Glenda was impressed as she watched him ascend among the forest of limbs. She laughed to herself thinking, All boys must have some ape DNA left in them. My classroom certainly had its share of monkeys.

  Traveler returned back down to the lower starting limb. Looking down at Glenda he said, “Found it! A perfect crow’s nest, it’s even better than what I thought. Toss me up the backpacks and I’ll get them up to the nest, then we’ll get you up here.”

  Glenda nodded and tossed the first pack up. Traveler caught it and put it on his back, then called down, “I can take the second one now.” Glenda nodded again and threw a perfect strike at his outstretched hand.” She mentally patted herself on the back and thought, Girls can pitch fine, we just need practice.

  Traveler disappeared again into the limb forest. He returned shortly to their starting access limb. “Can I offer a little advice before you start up?”

  “Sure, advise away.”

  “I suggest you attend to your body’s natural duties before getting up here.”

  Glenda felt her cheeks turning a nice red then thought, Of course he’s right, let me get on with it.

  Several minutes later she was again under the tree looking up. “I’m all set. Could you please get out of the way?”

  Looking down Traveler cautioned, “Sure I will, but let’s err on the side of safety. I’m going to hold onto another limb and grab you on the way up. You are the greater leaper as I recall.”

  “Sounds good. My equilibrium is still a little iffy from our roller-coaster trip. Ready or not, here I come.”

  Glenda made a calculated leap but put a bit too much kick in it. She was still going up when Traveler grabbed her arm and pulled her down to rest beside him.

  “You don’t know your own strength,” he said. “By the way, those were two nice ‘over the plate’, strike pitches with the packs. I see a baseball contract in your future.”

  Glenda grinned. “No contract if I had clobbered myself on the way up. Thanks for being this pitcher’s catcher, I owe you one.”

  Traveler turned to head up saying, “Watch where I place my feet. Always be secure with a handhold before moving up to the next footrest. I love trees but they can be dangerous.”

  Glenda said nothing but concentrated on following him up. Then he suddenly disappeared. Out of the darkness above an arm reached down to her and a voice said. “Can a gentleman give a lady a hand?”

  Traveler did a Roman grip on Glenda’s forearm and she returned the grip. Securely locked together Traveler easily swung her up into the nest.

  Chapter 22

  Above the Fray

  “Wow, Mr Scout, you sure know how to pick em!” Glenda was sitting comfortably on a crisscross of limbs. The limbs created a smooth platform over eight feet across. It extended out from the trunk for over a dozen feet before individual limbs separated on their journeys to find sunlight.

  Their platform was a secure nest with sides. There were smaller side limbs coming out from the trunk that created railings that protected against falling out. About four feet above their heads were canopy limbs offering shelter from heavy rains or winds.

  The tree nest reminded Traveler of his upper bunk in the train ride to Chicago. I think boys just know where to find the best places to rest and hide. That’s probably how we survived during the ice ages.

  “How high up are we?” asked Glenda.

  “Not really sure, probably at least forty feet or maybe fifty feet. No fear of jumping creatures. The trees and overhead limbs cut out most of the view either up or down. I know we are in one very old and very big grandfather of an oak tree. It’s amazing how this all started with an acorn, Mother Nature was the original magician. We’ll get our bearings tomorrow by climbing to the top for a look-around view.”

  Glenda nodded and thought I’ll let you lead the way on this tree climbing. Don’t think it’s my cup of tea. Speaking of tea, I think it’s time for a little dinner. “There are nice sandwiches in our packs and I’m really hungry.”

  “When you’re right, you’re right. It’s definitely time to chow down.” The wit in him added, “Well, technically from here we’ll be chowing up.” Glenda wrinkled her nose back at him.

  “Very funny. Now not to insult you, scout, but M suggested we ration them until we have a replacement food supply.” Chuckling, she added, “I think he was talking more to you than me.”

  “Guilty as charged,” Traveler laughed back. “I’ll try to control my inner wolf, now let’s see what our choices are.”

  They went into their packs and found layers of food. The top layer was smoked chicken layered on M’s heavy black bread. Beside the sandwiches were oranges. “Looks great, my inner wolf is already drooling. The oranges must be here to give us fluid before we find a source of water. And here’s a pack of oatmeal cookies, it’s a treetop feast! Thank you, M.”

  They rationed out the meal, one sandwich, one cookie, and one orange. They looked down at the acceptable but limited meal and considered the endless food back in the sanctuary. Traveler thought, A feast because M made it, but unfortunately a really small feast.

  Watching Traveler study the food, Glenda said, “Eat slowly. Slow chewing makes it seem like more.”

  Traveler nodded, he knew she was right but his belly was already voting for more. Glenda’s belly was sending the same desperate message to her mouth. Both of the
m ordered their minds to tell their stomachs to shut up. Their bellies accepted this harsh command but knew they would shortly be back in hunger court asking the brain judge to ease up.

  Taking a few studied bites and doing his best to chew slowly, Traveler looked at Glenda, “Are you concerned we had a one-way ticket to get here, but not one back? We only return if we defeat the jinn.”

  “Of course I’m concerned, how could I not be? But when we signed up we knew failure meant we’d be stuck here forever, or worse. Isn’t that what you thought?”

  Traveler continued to chew his sandwich slowly. “Yeah, I understood that, but did we really have a choice? I think that’s why they’re called ‘suicide missions’. You feel compelled to go even though the odds are really stacked against you.”

  “Well let’s beat the odds. M and Theo believe we will, and I trust them. I also think there’s no return ticket because if it unconditionally worked the jinn would be aware of us and know Theo is hunting it. The jinn would simply move to another time and place and everything would start over.”

  “Bummer,” said Traveler. “Your logic, as always, is spot on. This is our ‘advance or die’ time so I’ll stop whining.” Glenda gave an encouraging smile back.

  Once they were finished eating it was close to pitch dark. They had anticipated the darkness and had their makeshift beds ready. The tree limb platform was warm enough and they used their blankets to keep the chilly night air at bay. For a moment their individual brains suggested that a closer contact would offer more heat, but neither acknowledged this logical move.

  As they were drifting into sleep, they heard the night forest waking up. Scampering sounds came from the floor. Battles of wit were taking place between predators and prey. Both had to eat, yet avoid being eaten. Larger predators had to stalk quietly while their empty bellies made them anxious for a meal.

  Among the scampering sounds were the heavy treads of large alpha animals. The larger animals could not walk as softly so they used their size to make noises hoping that a prey would panic and bolt. Older prey knew the scare game and would remain motionless while a predator passed within inches, that’s how they became older.

  Foolish young prey were the ones most likely to bolt and become dinner. Nature knew how to thin the herd while maintaining the balance. Only the fit, either predator or prey, survived.

  The last sound that Traveler and Glenda heard was a sad lament from a hungry, lone wolf. No longer able to hunt with the pack, it was on its own. Dinner was increasingly elusive for it; the wolf knew its predator days were numbered.

  Chapter 23

  A Tree with a View

  Morning gradually announced itself. It arrived like a series of blinds being slowly twisted open. The gibbous moon from the night before was reluctant to leave its place in the sky but the sun prevailed as it always did. Sunlight eventually reached the two sleepers and worked its wakeup magic. They stirred at the same time.

  Overnight nature’s logic had intervened while they slept. It was cold in the forest and their blankets came up short on providing warmth. Their bodies had sensed a nearby heat source and had instinctively moved toward it. Traveler woke up with his eyes closed still fighting the light. He stretched and clonked Glenda on the side, “Ouch,” was the response that had him quickly sitting up and moving away.

  “That’s one way to wake me up, big boy. Thanks for the poke. Now that I’m awake I’m going back down to the surface.”

  “Yeah, me too,” answered a sheepish Traveler.

  Their minds had memorized the tree’s ladder of limbs. Without thinking they went down the tree quickly. Using their gravity control skill, their descent was fast and efficient, similar to firemen sliding down the firehouse pole. Once on the ground they headed in opposite directions.

  When Traveler returned to the base of the tree, he waited a few minutes for Glenda. Girls are naturally slower, he muttered to himself and proceeded to climb back to the nest. When he swung into it, he found Glenda sitting there examining breakfast. “How did you do that?” he asked.

  “Easy, girls are also natural monkeys. If we couldn’t get up trees quick enough there would not have been any girls. No girls, then no boys. End of story. Let’s eat.”

  Their stomachs had their say before the hunger court judge. They had petitioned the judge to add some extra food to the rationed breakfast meal. “An extra cookie would be appropriate,” the stomach argued.

  “Maybe and maybe not,” the wise brain judge said. “Today’s travel is going to be hard work and the body will need more fuel later.” The stomach sulked, “You’re the boss, but feed me something now if you want me to shut up.”

  The two proceeded to dig into M’s breakfast. There was smoked ham, cheese, thick black bread, cookies, and apples. “I’m saving my apple and cookie for later,” said Traveler. “Good decision,” replied Glenda while thinking, That apple and cookie have a half-life of maybe an hour.

  They consumed their minimal breakfast but felt surprisingly energized. Their bodies were starting to adjust to reduced intakes.

  “Ready to go mountain climbing on a tree?” Traveler asked.

  “To misquote Shakespeare, ‘Lead on MacDuff’.” Traveler gave her a look that said, Shakespeare right now, really?

  Traveler seized an overhead limb and began a careful ascent. Glenda gave him climbing space while watching his hand and foot placements. She followed him up and never looked down.

  As they moved up and gradually out of the enveloping darkness of the tree’s thick canopy, stronger light began to appear. Occasional shafts of bright sunlight cut through the canopy and illuminated leaves and limbs. Curious birds were now visible watching the strange intruders moving in their domain.

  “Are we there yet? I’m going to get a nose bleed.”

  Traveler laughed, “Hang on Jane, Tarzan sees what may be an opening.”

  After another ten minutes of careful climbing, Traveler called back, “Tarzan now standing on the lookout point and the views are amazing. Take your time, Jane, these views are not going anywhere.”

  Glenda was quickly beside Traveler. There was a natural grouping of top limbs that formed a casual crow’s nest. To avoid getting vertigo they leaned against the remaining thin trunk and held onto the surrounding limbs for additional security. They immediately saw that their treetop perch was above the surrounding canopy. They slowly rotated their bodies to get a panoramic 360-degree view.

  “Wow!” Glenda exclaimed. “Let me repeat. Wow, what views! Well done, Scout Traveler. You found the tallest, oldest tree in creation. This is so breathtaking, really stunning. I feel I’m looking down on the world when it was just newborn. Everything is so lush and green and natural. It feels like I’m on the movie set of Jurassic Park. I can imagine a 130-foot-long titanosaur happily grazing on the leaves below.”

  “Not to break the wonderment mood, Jane, but I wish all we had to worry about were dinosaurs. The jinn would make short work of even a T-Rex.”

  Traveler then extended his right arm and pointed, “Look at the river to the east. That river may be offering us a road map about where to head. Villages are usually found along rivers and we need food and water. I bet the water here is fine for drinking, no human chemicals are being added to rivers in this time period.”

  “You’re right, and I believe I see civilization. Follow the river going to the left, that haze is definitely chimney smoke. Where there’s smoke there’s people.”

  “Good eyes, Jane, that’s definitely a hamlet. There are open fields around it so this hamlet is likely a farming center. I think we’ve found our starting destination for food, water, and maybe information about Mr Jinn.”

  Glenda was continuing to stare out past the hamlet then said, “Is that a solid rock mountain a few miles away rising up behind the fields and hamlet? It reminds me of pictures of the Rock of Gibraltar except it’s rising up and out of land rather than the Mediterranean Sea.”

  Traveler looked where Glenda was po
inting and squinted hard, “That’s no rock mountain, Glenda, that’s one humongous fortress. I think I can see battlements running along the top of huge rock walls.

  “And that’s not morning fog on top of it, that’s smoke from lots of huge fireplaces. Look closely, I think part of the river branches away and flows around it. The river must be serving as a water source and a very wide moat.”

  Glenda nodded as she focused on the smoking rock mountain. “You’re right. I’ve never seen a real castle, or fortress as the case may be, and this one is really a small mountain. It must be gigantic inside.”

  Traveler was captivated by the fortress, “I think that’s a Roman fortress since it’s built using stone rather than wood. I bet that’s the stronghold that controls this whole region. The Romans must have built it a long time ago to secure this region against local warlords and eastern invaders. It has also stood up to Father Time.”

  Glenda tapped Traveler on his shoulder, “Turn all the way around, Traveler, what do you see?”

  Traveler stared out into the vast wilderness. “Big trees and more big trees. This is an endless forest! It may go all the way west to the Atlantic Ocean.”

  Nodding Glenda said, “Yes, and thanks to Theo we have been placed fairly close to the edge of the endless forest. If we were a few more miles back into it we’d feel like Lewis and Clark crossing an endless American wilderness. Now that we know where to go, I guess we might as well get started. Are you feeling lucky?”

  Traveler winced, “Lucky? Not so much. But yeah, I guess it’s hiking time. Let’s head for that village and meet some locals.” Then laughing, he added, “I think we can skip asking subtle questions with these bumpkin farmers. We’ll just ask for directions to their local fire demon. I bet they know a lot.”