The Blighted Fortress

by David E Dresner

  Glenda’s returning chuckle was halfhearted, “We have sent them on a well-deserved snipe hunt, but there is a much bigger game here. What did you think of the Hun guards’ story about the mage?”

  “It sounds like a story made up to explain Attila’s change of direction. If anything weird really happened in the tent, I think Karl’s explanation is very plausible. The mage is most likely a strong hypnotist as well as a sleight of hand magician.

  “Between us there is no unsolvable situation. Consider yourself Nancy Drew and I’m Sherlock Holmes. Once we get to the fortress, we’ll study the duke and this mage as well as any other weird-acting person. The jinn can run but it can’t hide. Besides there’s no reason for it to hide, it doesn’t know we’re after it.”

  Glenda shook her head, “Brave words, Sherlock, but I’m not so much worried about it hiding from us as how we’ll hide from it. There is no cavalry here to protect us. We need to go very slowly and use our wits. The worst thing for us is that the jinn becomes aware we’re here.”

  “Agreed, ‘caution’ is the word of the day. However, for right now, we have an opportunity to move fast while Throbb is on his snipe hunt. Let’s get back on the road where we can move double time.”

  Chapter 49

  Where’s Our Path?

  With speed as their immediate goal, they dropped down to the forest floor and began searching for an animal trail back to the road. Once again, moving through the dense forest was slow, exhausting work. On the forest floor the temperature had jumped another ten degrees. Both were quickly sweating from the heat and the effort.

  “I know we got to the river in about two hours”, said Traveler, “but we were on a path then. This is just ridiculous, Stanley had to be nuts to do this for years.”

  “He was not nuts, just motivated and focused like we need to be. Look around and not just at your feet, there may be another trail.” Another hour of slow progress and Glenda said, “I need a rest,” and she sat down on the forest floor. Traveler semi-collapsed beside her.

  The two lay there quietly recovering their energy. Neither spoke, that took too much effort. Sitting there they heard twigs snap at the same time. They both looked slowly around to see a full-grown red buck deer with a large rack of antlers. The buck was moving through the woods apparently following a nearly invisible path toward the river. They waited until it had disappeared into the protective trees.

  “I do believe we have found our easier way out,” said Traveler. “Did you see the size of those antlers? He needs a path wide enough to keep his head from being yanked around.”

  They stood up and worked their way toward the spot the buck came from. Once there they realized there was indeed a hidden path. The path led toward the road and they put their heads down and followed it. Being larger, Traveler led the way. Glenda was quite happy about following him as he moved branches away with his walking stick.

  “I think we are approaching dusk again. Maybe we need to call it a day,” said Glenda.

  “It’s a day!” laughed Traveler. “Time for the army to camp down.”

  Chapter 50

  Nighttime Resting Retreats

  “I miss our cave,” said Glenda. “Plus, I think it’s going to rain. I smell rain in the air.”

  “Yeah, I feel it coming also. I think our best bet is pick a dense tree, go up then huddle against its trunk. We’re in for a long miserable night.”

  “Well you’re Mr Tree-Picker so go pick our shelter, I’ll follow your lead.”

  Traveler studied the surrounding forest. Too many choices, he thought. Then he spotted the grandfather of all trees. It was a giant among giants, maybe the great grandfather of the forest. It was majestic with a diameter well over twenty feet. As Traveler studied it, he suddenly saw what might be their sanctuary for the night.

  Above the lower limbs there appeared to be an opening carved into the massive trunk. “Let me explore grandfather for a minute,” and he leaped to the lowest limb.

  Looking up Glenda was puzzled, What does Tarzan see that I don’t?

  Her answer came quickly from the dense overhead foliage, “You won’t believe this. Come on up, bring your sack with you and toss mine up.” Hesitating a moment, he added, “You’ll like what I found.”

  Moments later Glenda was beside Traveler and studying the natural opening that was carved into the massive trunk. “Lightning hit here and took out a big piece of the tree. It literally burned out this space. We have a tree cave.

  “Based on the layers of scarred sealing rings, I’d guess lightning struck maybe fifty years ago. This tree was so large it absorbed the strike. Most trees receiving a major strike split apart. Grandfather was way too large and strong to split. Bark never regrew but the internal sap and fiber formed a perfect protective seal.”

  “I’m very impressed with Grandfather but I’m really impressed that you found this tree cave. You have a genuine talent for finding safe lodging, first the land cave now the tree cave. To repeat, I’m impressed.”

  Traveler was ready to modestly agree about his lodge-finding skills when an enormous clap of thunder put an explanation point right behind Glenda’s praise. “Uh-oh, here comes our rain,” she said.

  The forest canopy became an instant kettle drum with Mother Nature beating out a Gene Krupa pulsating rhythm. The rain hit in sheets with a determination to reach the floor far below. Traveler and Glenda instinctively moved inside as far as they could.

  “Wow, I’m able to be completely inside,” said Glenda as she put her back against the back wall. “We can lay down in here.”

  “Well I could fit completely if we lay in a more diagonal position. Right now my feet will stick out, but that’s OK I guess. Wet feet never killed anyone.”

  “Let’s keep your feet dry, Mr Cave Finder. We can sleep on a diagonal and we can make a little more room by placing our boots together on either side of the opening.”

  Traveler was running the possible resting layouts in his head when his stomach took over. “Let’s eat first, then arrange the sleeping quarters.” Glenda nodded as she was already opening her bag.

  They reached into their sacks and removed wrapped slices of sausage, cheese, and the heavy dark bread. “Save something for tomorrow,” advised Glenda, “it may be a while before we can resupply.”

  Traveler felt a moment of annoyance at her advice, Like I don’t know how to pace myself. He opened his sack and saw his remaining supply was smaller than he had thought. I don’t remember eating three chicken sandwiches. I swear I only ate two.

  Glenda watched him and saw he was surprised about his diminished store. For a moment “I warned you,” started to come out. Instead she bit her tongue then took out a large chicken sandwich. She ripped it in half and handed the larger half to Traveler. Before he could protest, she said, “The fact is you’re a lot bigger, so no argument please.”

  Traveler gave her a sheepish smile, “I’ll be a gracious accepter, but know I will even the debt scales. This elephant never forgets a good deed. Thank you.”

  “You evened any debt scale just by finding this retreat. Now please eat that before I reclaim it.”

  They ate in silence then folded their blankets into sleeping bags. The blankets were large enough that they double-folded the bottom layer and kept a single layer to go over their tops. Boots were place by Glenda’s side since Traveler had the longer legs.

  Once they stretched out, they squirmed around to find the best shared diagonals. Once Traveler’s feet were inside they quit squirming and were asleep in minutes.

  Chapter 51

  New Day, Old Woods

  “My back is broken,” said Glenda. “The blanket was not last night’s bed of thick leaves and moss. I don’t think I can move.”

  “Well whatever you do,” grinned Traveler, “don’t think about today’s walk.”

  “Nice reminder, thanks a lot.”

  “Once you’re down I’ll throw down our sacks. Call out when you’re there.”

&nbs
p; Glenda moved on her knees to the opening, held onto the side to stand up, and then grunted, “It’s worse than I thought. Every vertebra is mad at me.” She worked her way out onto the access limb, looked down and said, “Here goes nothing. I hope gravity is still my friend.”

  Gravity still loved her and she came down in a controlled descent, she was Mary Poppins sans umbrella. Looking up she called, “The eagle has landed in one piece but I feel like there are lots of me held together with Krazy Glue. Throw down our sacks.”

  Traveler responded and both sacks cleared the bottom limbs. Moments later Traveler joined her, “You’ll feel better once we get walking.”

  “Sure,” was her only response.

  They began to follow the path again. In daylight the path was easier to see than it was at dusk the evening before. Also helping were various animals’ tracks. The path had been well traveled during the night. Various footprints affirmed it was forest freeway. As they walked Traveler found himself looking at the various tracks. “Lots of deer, rabbit, and I believe a wolf or two,” he periodically announced as he showed off his animal lore. Then he went suddenly silent.

  Glenda glanced over at him, “See any T-Rex prints, boy scout?”

  Traveler did not respond to the gentle gibe. That’s unlike him, she thought. “You’re awfully quiet, anything bothering you?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t want to bother you, it’s probably nothing.”

  “That’s great, just leave me hanging with ‘probably nothing’.”

  “OK, What I saw back there were bear tracks. They were so large I wasn’t sure they were bear, but there’s no elephant in this part of the world.”

  “That’s no big deal. Bears need to drink and catch fish, and this is the wildlife highway road to the river. Right?”

  “Yes, it is. The problem is that the tracks were coming away from the river.”

  Glenda shivered for a second. “Not the best news to start the morning, but it’s likely gone off in some other direction. I’m sure we’re OK. Right?”

  Traveler made a noncommittal grunting sound. “Speak up, big boy. Elucidate me on bears and tell me why I should worry, I know you’re dying to.”

  “Dying is not the word I would choose, but OK since you asked. The bear is a natural hunter with great senses of hearing and smell. It’s also at the top of wildlife intelligence. It’s clever, unpredictable, and frankly a killing machine. Prehistoric bears grew very, very large. A modern grizzly would definitely avoid a meeting. Think of a 4000-pound hound with long knife-sharp claws tracking you with dinner on its mind.

  “Even worse is that at least you can hear the hounds coming. The bear on the other hand is pure stealth. Oh yeah, and it’s extra ferocious in the fall since it needs to build up body fat for hibernation.”

  “Well I’m sorry I asked. Seriously, any thought about how we can avoid Mr Bear if he is stalking us?”

  “Not really. Our best escape is to jump up into a tree. At the same time, he’s a natural climber, but at least that saves us for a while.”

  With Traveler’s treetop escape plan now firmly in her mind, Glenda walked with an eye upward as well as on the path in front. With the bear lecture she had forgotten her aches from sleeping on the hard floor the night before. She was on full alert. She was well aware she was expending a lot of nervous energy. As they continued to walk Glenda felt her fear gradually recede. You can only hold your breath so long, she thought.

  The path suddenly opened up to offer both sunshine as well as a grassy resting spot. “Let’s take a break and have breakfast,” suggested Traveler. Glenda saw he looked relaxed and that put her into a similar mood.

  Chapter 52

  Bear Days

  They sat in the center of the dell, lay on their backs and stretched. Glenda looked up at the clear blue sky, “I never knew how good soft ground could feel. It’s like a five-star mattress. And I can’t believe how good Mr Sun feels after being trapped in that underground forest. Mother Nature is a good mother.”

  They finally sat up cross-legged and pulled out their late breakfast fare. “I think we must be less than an hour to the road,” said Traveler. “Once we’re on it we’ll put good distance between us and Throbb.”

  “Speaking of Throbb,” Traveler said grinning, “I wonder how he and his crew survived the storm last night? Bet they are just miserable right now. They must have slept on the cold wet ground while we had a warm tree cave. Even with the hard floor, our tree house was the winner in that sleeping contest.” With that self-congratulating comment, Traveler bit off a wedge of the sausage.

  Glenda was chewing pieces off the hard cheese. She had a witty comment about Throbb smelling like a wet dog. As she cleared her throat to speak, her mouth froze open. A brown mountain was rising off the forest floor, it was well over Traveler’s standing height then it went up another story.

  Traveler stopped eating the moment he saw Glenda’s eyes widen and fear cross her face. He turned his head and also froze. The brown mountain was now a bear giant towering over twelve feet.

  It was a mass of thick fur with paws larger than a catcher’s mitt. Out of these mitts extended butcher knife claws. Its mouth opened to form a volcano. Rather than lava the opening spewed out saliva. Similar to lava the spittle was thick and hot. No longer a stealth hunter it declared its presence with a mind-numbing roar.

  “Don’t move,” was all Traveler could mutter.

  “I can’t breathe,” whispered Glenda. “There’s no escape tree around us, this is really bad.”

  The bear had finished its assessment, no threat here just tasty early morning food. As it dropped to the ground Traveler threw his sandwich at it. “Throw your cheese.”

  Glenda’s trance broke and she threw the remaining chunk at the bear’s head. The scent of the cheese had the monster swing a few feet away to capture the morsel. “Don’t run. We need to try and change its mind about us as food. Go stealth then try to change its scent memory.”

  Glenda immediately became one with their grassy sitting area. Once she was blended into the grass, she felt some of her control return. She forced her mind into its newly developed skill to change animal memories.

  Traveler was staring at the beast with a distant look in his eyes, he had also entered his mental control state.

  The beast had found the cheese and the sandwich. A long, thick, black and pink tongue brought both edibles into the cavernous maw. There was no chewing, the food simply went down the gullet tunnel. With the food consumed the tongue licked the fur around the mouth for any remaining treat. Then its head came up looking for the two larger meals.

  A look of bear confusion crossed its muzzle, the two humans were gone. It narrowed its eyes, then sniffed the air for a scent. Like the hounds the bear had a terrific sense of smell.

  “Let’s give it a scent of a honey, high up in that tree behind it. Make it climb up to the top.”

  Glenda understood. Her mind called up a memory from a National Geographic TV show. The show presented the life of bees and their honey lodes. This lode was built into limbs at the top of a tall tree. The show’s narrator explained that bees knew all about honey predators and placed their golden treasure in difficult-to-reach places. Her memory included the bees buzzing in and out.

  The bear turned and sniffed in a new direction. It was visibly excited. The anger at the missed meals was overcome with the image of its honey meal. Once it headed for the faux honey tree, Traveler and Glenda slowly stood, picked up their sacks, and eased back onto the path.

  “That had to be the father of bears. He could eat a grizzly and still be hungry.”

  Glenda put her finger to her lips signaling to be quiet and whispered, “We’re OK for the moment. That guy has one thought right now and it’s honey not us, let’s not change its mind. Hopefully we’ll be long gone and long forgotten before it finds there is no honey tree.”

  With a young man’s bravado Traveler declared, “Stupid bear ruined my breakfast. Lucky for him
he missed my Sunday punch.” Traveler proceeded to throw shadowboxing jabs while Glenda smiled to herself. Sure, big boy. Sometimes you get the bear but sometimes the bear gets you. Let’s call it a draw and avoid a rematch.

  The late morning turned into early midday. Occasionally they found small pools of water from the night before but most of the rain had sunk into the forest floor. They drank what they could find. It was not nearly enough.

  Chapter 53

  Some Days the Bear…

  Traveler and Glenda emerged from the forest path at last. Their woolen shirt coats were soaked as well as their faces and hair. “I feel like a drowned rat,” complained Glenda. “The humidity must be two hundred percent. Where’s our cool river when we need it?”

  Traveler shook his head like a wet dog and moisture flew off. “Hate to tell you but you’re also having a skein hair day, I pity you trying to comb out that mess, and no conditioner either. Bummer for you.”

  Glenda appreciated Traveler’s use of an obscure word and laughed saying, “Please, enough with skeining me. It’s bad enough we smell like wet dogs, no reason to rub it in.”

  Traveler sniffed the air, “Yep, wet dog. The scent that keeps on coming.”

  Glenda’s mind switched from conversation to studying their immediate surroundings. “Call me cautious or call me still scared, but I’d feel better resting in a nice shady tree.” Spotting a large tree beside the road she elevated herself to a thick limb hanging out over the road. Traveler rose to join her. They moved along the limb and settled down against the thick tree trunk.

  “I think we’re about out of food thanks to the uninvited guest, but let’s take in what we have left,” said Glenda. She opened her sack, retrieved a piece of the remaining sausage, broke it in half, and offered half to Traveler. He reciprocated with his untouched chunk of the hard cheese.