“I see a mountain of rocks that must have taken an army to carry and place,” said Glenda. “I wonder how long it took to build and who were they afraid of.”
“It’s Roman built. This place must be the final outpost to secure the Roman Empire against invaders from the east.”
Traveler was again a history horse with the bit in his mouth and he charged into the subject. “The Romans were the masters of stone fortresses. Most indigenous people built defensive structures from wood. Their wooden walls were only about fifteen feet high and vulnerable to ladders and fire. The Romans built to last.
“A thousand years later stone castles returned after the Normans conquered England. Although they were the conquerors, they were under frequent attacks by the defeated Saxons. To maintain control, they built stone castles and smaller stone towers called keeps.”
“So how did you learn all this castle stuff?” asked Glenda.
“I was fascinated with stories of knights and their time period. I grew up reading about Ivanhoe, Robin Hood, and the struggles of the Saxons to survive under Norman rule.”
Glenda gave Traveler a sweet look then said, “That’s really interesting but enough history about castles. Let’s stop and eat. My tank is on empty. I suggest we picnic by the river, it’s close, and I’m thirsty.”
The river was indeed close and there were wide walking trails leading down to it. This was a rest area obviously used by merchants and other travelers. Visitors could relax and dine in an area that enjoyed the protective shadow of the nearby fortress. This morning there were no merchants evident since the castle was closed for visitors. They had the run of the area.
Once by the riverbank they drank their fill, then settled down on the soft grassy moss of the bank. They opened sacks for their breakfast. Both were ravenous after their early morning hike. They ate in silence until Glenda said, “How do you think we should get inside? I don’t think we can just walk through the gate when it’s open. There may already be stories about us. Who knows what Throbb has said. We need to be careful.”
“Agreed. You keeping eating, I’m done so I’ll take a closer look for entry points. Maybe the river will give us another way to sneak in. I sort of remember from the crow’s nest seeing a tributary that appeared to go into the fortress. My eyesight may be wrong but moving water seemed to head in or out, hard to tell at that distance. I’ll check it out and be back fairly shortly.”
“Good idea. Scout ahead and let’s hope you spot another way in.” To herself she thought, He eats faster than a starving lion. I wonder how he was at his family’s dinner table. Glenda took her own time to enjoy her fare and had just finished when Traveler returned.
“I think I have good news. As I followed the river on the left side, I noticed there was a lot of land between the river and the fortress. I continued until I saw another road coming to the castle. I imagine there are a number of villages out there serving the castle.
“While our present road leads directly to gate in front of us, this second road crosses a wide stone bridge then it curves around to the same entry gate in front of us.
“Now here comes the good news part. I continued past the bridge and saw a small tributary branching from the river toward the fortress. It appears to actually flow into the fortress. It’s our likely entry point and definitely worth a closer look.
“We’re probably going to end up in the river so I think we need to hide our carry bags. Don’t want them around our backs when we’re swimming.” Grinning he added, “We’ll go when you’re ready princess, but please don’t let me rush your morning breakfast.”
Biting her tongue Glenda only said, “Excellent scouting! I’m ready to roll now, but maybe you should have another drink and sandwich. Don’t worry about slowing us down, we need our energy and that fortress sure isn’t going anywhere.”
With Glenda’s prompt Traveler suddenly realized that indeed he was thirsty and hungry again. With a sheepish look he said, “Thanks for the suggestion and yeah, scouting uses up a lot of energy.”
As Traveler dug into his food store Glenda took her own advice and joined him saying, “Better we fill up now, who knows when the next time will come.” With that they settled back on the grassy bank and let the sun warm them up while they finished enjoying Martha’s offerings.
Once they were ready Traveler took their carry bags into a nearby clump of thick brush and hid them from sight. Refreshed and without their back sacks, they began following the river as it wound past the dominating stone fortress. Both of them were overwhelmed by its sheer size. It was an engineering marvel much as the great pyramids of ancient Egypt.
As they walked they saw what Traveler had found earlier. The river flowed under a large stone bridge. The bridge was another work of experienced engineers. It was wide and sat well above the river on stone abutments. Its wide arch spoke of Roman aesthetics, “Blend beauty with function” was the Roman statement for lasting structures. This statement is still found today throughout the great city of Rome.
“Maybe we need to take a lower profile,” said Glenda. “We’re close to the fortress, anybody on the top wall could wonder who we are and why we’re here. The bridge looks like a good place to drop out of sight.”
“Good thinking,” said Traveler. “You’re the leader now but please take us down the bank slowly, it looks slippery. We don’t need to act out the CCR song about rollin’ on the river.” Glenda nodded and smiled back.
They descended with caution to the river, then quickly moved under the bridge. Once inside they saw the bridge’s width offered significant cover from the road and the fortress.
Resting below the bridge’s surface they suddenly heard the tattoo cloppings of approaching horses. Once the horses were on the bridge their hoofbeats echoed loudly in the space below. Could they have been spotted going down to the river? Instinctively they scrambled upward to bury themselves in the darkness of the space where the bridge met its ground support.
The horses continued then silence returned. Traveler shook his head, “Hoofbeats are lots louder down here than above, my ears are ringing. I understand why bridge trolls are annoyed all the time.”
Glenda smiled back at his troll quip while her own ears were ringing, and she thought, Next time put fingers in your ears, Glenda.
They cautiously approached the far side of the bridge to look downstream. They studied the tributary leading into the fortress and considered their options. “I see what you mean. That tributary definitely flows into the castle; that may be our stealth way in.” Then she added, “Good scouting Hawkeye, you must have some American Indian blood in you.”
Traveler accepted the compliment with a shrug, “It’s a gift. I can find stuff in my room at home that seems impossibly hidden to my parents, it drives them nuts.”
Glenda continued to study the flowing river. “Bear with me on this, but I think we can hitch a ride on one of the trees floating down the river. When we are close to where the river branches into the fortress, we can leave our ride and swim to the entrance.
“Many of these floaters have leafy limbs offering good camouflage. We’ll be copycats and follow how M escaped the jinn to get to his island. We’ll stay close to the trunk and just let the current carry us to where the tributary goes in. Do you feel like a tree ride and a little swim, Mr Scout?”
“I’m a frog and love the water. You pick our ride.”
They both studied the debris as it floated by. Suddenly they pointed at the same time to a tree that was approaching the bridge. “There’s our Uber tree taxi,” whispered Glenda.
Stepping into the river they began to dog paddle forward to catch the tree as it entered the bridge. Once positioned in the river they paddled in place watching the tree as it came toward them.
Glenda was closest to the approaching tree and would be the first passenger on board. Suddenly she had a panic attack. The approaching tree appeared as a great green locomotive and she was standing in the center of the tracks. The loc
omotive appeared intent on running over her.
Traveler saw what was happening and called out, “It’s a slow-moving freight train and you’re a hobo hitching a free ride. Relax, grab a limb, and swing aboard.”
Traveler’s voice broke her hesitation; she was back on her game. Surging forward she grabbed a limb and became a passenger on the green, freight train express. Traveler paused a moment to see all was well then hitched his own ride further down the trunk.
Staying as passengers was harder than it appeared. Both had grabbed onto limbs and pulled themselves closer but immediately found underwater limbs were catching their leggings and boots. Traveler watched as Glenda was starting to fight the ensnaring limbs, “Relax, princess, you’re doing great. Hold onto that limb and just float along, we don’t go very far.”
He added some boy humor with, “Keep your head as low to the water as you can to hide that mop of red hair.” Glenda wasn’t worried about being spotted while under the bridge but she did need to keep the mop from getting tangled in the tree limbs. She used one hand to stuff it into the back of the sack dress while holding onto the limb with the other. I need another arm, she thought.
Before they cleared the bridge Traveler called, “You’re the lead scout now, so tell me when we need to jump ship and head into the tributary.”
Once out from under the bridge they kept their faces close to the water, both had to arch their necks to breathe. Occasionally the trunk twisted in the moving water and they were dunked under. They came up coughing and snorting water from nose and mouth.
Lifting her head up, Glenda saw the small mouth of the tributary approaching and said over her shoulder, “It’s almost time to cut and swim. Let go when I say ‘Now’. Traveler nodded and waited for her signal.
A minute later he heard “Now” and shoved away from the trunk. He dogpaddled in place until the tree’s caboose passed him and he saw Glenda paddling hard. He began to paddle toward the center of the river and was surprised at the effort required to move sideways in the current.
With his head so close to the river’s surface, he was approaching the branching point before he spotted it. He saw where tributary entered the fortress but realized he was in danger of passing it by. He forgot dogpaddling, put his head down, and began his strongest crawl stroke.
He picked his landing spot on the tributary’s bank and doubled his effort. Swimming at an angle to the river added the river’s force behind him. His mind stayed focused on the intersection path. Physics and the strength of his stroke paid off. Suddenly he was in the eddy part of the tributary.
He turned to look for Glenda and saw her struggling. Since she was on the leading part of the trunk, she was now further down river and was at risk of missing the entry point.
Traveler took a deep breath and swam hard toward her. He caught her waist-belt and gave a hard scissors kick. His kick was powerful and moved her slightly toward the last part of the entry bank. “I’ll pull on your belt and scissor kick. Keep your face close to the water, side stroke and kick as hard as you can. I’ll navigate.”
Neither could talk, that only wasted precious energy and air, each grabbed large lungfuls of air when needed. With their heads almost in the water, three arms pulled and four legs kicked. Pull, kick, pull, kick. They had a steady rhythm that advanced them despite the river’s flow.
Then they were suddenly out of the current and their kicks shot them forward to touch the embankment. Looking at their landing point Traveler noted they had just made the cutoff by a few feet.
They continued to gasp for air while resting against the side of the bank. Finally they were recovered and floated comfortably with small leg kicks. Looking at Traveler with respect Glenda said, “You’re the real river Uber, I was heading for big trouble. I misjudged the drift in the river. I don’t know what’s downstream and I don’t want to know.”
“You did really well. Your leg kicks are what did the trick.” For a moment Traveler was ready to add a comment about always helping a river rat, but wisely bit his tongue. The best line he could muster was, “Bad hair day all around, worse for some than others.” Glenda gave him a sweet smile, then rubbed the top of his head. For a moment Traveler felt a Theo purr coming out of him.
Fully recovered, they studied the tributary’s access into the fortress. They saw the entrance was through a dark tunnel that protruded out from the side of the fortress. The tunnel was twenty feet wide with an overhanging stone roof that was less than two feet off the water. No saboteurs could slip into the fortress on low-lying craft.
Chapter 59
Down and Out
Traveler pushed off to enter the tunnel, “Wait here while I scout.” Glenda watched him disappear, then heard his voice echo inside the tunnel, “There’s a serious ‘No Trespassing’ iron gate here. Let me give this puzzle more thought.” He was hanging onto the iron bars of the gate when Glenda joined him.
“What do you see ahead, Hawkeye?” she asked.
“I see what looks like a small interior lake. This is clearly one water source for the fortress.”
“Can we get past the blocking gate?”
“Not sure but maybe. I’ll pretend I’m one of the Bajau water people. Let’s see how far down this grate goes.” He took a deep breath and became vertical in the water. Glenda watched his feet follow his head down.
Traveler hung onto an iron rail and pulled himself down hand over hand. It was pitch black and not even a Bajau could see. As he went lower, he felt the water pressing against his ears and chest. He kept his mind steady and fought against the natural claustrophobia. He did not permit himself to consider time passing.
His left hand was moving down for another hold when it discovered there was no bar to grip. He had the presence of mind to use his right hand to run over the bottom of the adjoining bar. He swept his left hand back and forth without hitting a bar. Using his two-handed grip, he pulled his body down further and felt a muddy bottom.
Rolling onto his back, he used both hands to bury his backside in the mud, then pushed his body under the bars. Once his feet could push against the bars, he knew he was on the other side. He scissor-kicked upward. Cupping his hands, he pulled downward on the water while he kicked. It was like doing water chin-ups combined with powerful leg kicks. Going up was much faster than going down.
His head emerged followed by half his body as he shot out of the water. Fortunately there was no tunnel ceiling above him. His lungs pulled in huge gasps of air. He pulled in three more giant breaths, then began to stabilize his breathing.
Once in control he looked through the bars. Glenda was wide-eyed and staring at him. There were no witty jokes. Both of them were aware he had survived when another outcome was equally possible.
“Can I do it?” Glenda quietly asked him.
Traveler thought about simply assuring her, then thought again. “Honestly, it’s challenging. I’ll help you and we’ll do this together.
“First you need to grab onto a single bar and pull down on it. It’s pitch black but don’t let that bother you, your handhold will always confirm where you are. Keep going until you get to the bottom. You’ll know it since the bar ends and there is soft mud under you.
“Turn yourself to face up while holding onto the bars. Use both hands to push your back and butt into the mud, then push yourself through. Make sure you’re completely through with your legs against the bars. Once free your body will do the rest. Big leg kicks and arm pulls. Keep your hands cupped so you have more force when pulling down on the water.”
Glenda had an “I’m not sure at all” look on her face. She looked intimidated. It was just her against the water and book magic could not help her. Traveler knew a moment of truth was coming, they both needed to be on the inside.
It was time to problem solve. When he set his logical mind free, a possible solution came to him. He remembered a buddy-air trick he had read about in SEAL training. “I can help you, but we need to work together. There is a technique to share
oxygen.”
Glenda’s eyes were wide and she was starting to shiver from the cold water. Traveler saw they only had one chance at this. “Please tell me what to do.” Traveler never considered how unusual this statement was.
He felt her fear and fought against becoming equally scared. He forced his face and voice to appear matter-of-fact. This was just another exercise and they could manage it. His outward confidence helped Glenda to focus on what she had to do. To reassure herself she thought, This is easier than facing the jinn in the alley. Of course we can do this.
“Here’s how a buddy system for sharing air works. Part way down when you feel you really need another breath, you signal me and I will blow my air into your lungs.”
“Sounds like a sneaky underwater kiss, big boy.”
Traveler grinned, “That’s one way to describe it, but believe me all you’ll notice is the air.
“I’ll keep my hand on your belt and I’ll help pull you down faster. Between us we’ll make you sink faster than by yourself. When you want the air, squeeze anything like my hand, my arm, even my nose. Any squeeze works then we’ll do the breath exchange. We’ll both be upside down so use the bar as your frame of reference.
“Now let’s take a practice dive. Invert yourself so you’re upside down and I’ll have my hand on your belt pressing down.”
Traveler again saw how nervous Glenda was. Grinning he said, “Try not to break your nose when pushing your face between the bars for my air, it’s one of your best features.” Glenda could only give a scared, sad smile back. She knew gallows humor when she heard it.
Glenda took several slow, deep breaths, then nodded and flipped upside down. She went down far enough until her feet were well under the surface and she felt his hand on her belt gently pressing down. Moment of truth, she thought as she reached over and squeezed his hand.
They made an awkward joining of lips after Glenda first exhaled through her nose. She immediately felt Traveler’s air coming to her. She felt her lungs accept the new air and knew she had partially replenished her supply. She then reversed her vertical direction and returned to the surface.
The Blighted Fortress Page 19