Glenda looked at Traveler and they had the same thought, Don’t look for sympathy here, there are no consoling counselors. Young people must accept their fates and move on with their lives as best they can.
Chapter 71
We Met the Hun
Glenda watched as the foreman resumed eating. When she saw him pause with his ale, she thought he was now relaxed and had accepted Traveler’s explanation.
Glenda looked around the table before asking, “Have the Hun threatened in this region?”
All those sitting at the table immediately looked to the foreman for the answer. He was the leader among this group and was expected to speak first. There was a recognized pecking order for talking and many a young stable hand had received cuffs for speaking out of turn.
Traveler saw the immediate deference given the leader. He compared this deference to how many of his schoolmates felt free to speak out of turn in a classroom. Their undisciplined behavior was frequently described by teachers as, “What’s in their head is in their mouth.” Times have changed a lot, he thought.
The man finished chewing his food and swallowed before answering, “Sadly, we have more than simply seen the Hun, we have faced them on a battlefield.”
Glenda sent a sympathetic look then asked, “How did you escape them?”
“How indeed? That is the unanswered question.
“Our duke received word of their coming and chose to fight them. All men were conscripted into the army. I was a made a unit leader and drafted to lead the stable men.
“It was considered an honor to be chosen as a leader, but that’s an honor best avoided. When facing any enemy, the unit leaders had to lead from the front. Surviving the initial contact was a challenge that few survived.”
Traveler repeated Glenda’s question asking, “How did you stop the Hun? I thought they were invincible?”
The foreman sighed and shook his head. “We never stopped them in battle. Our hoped-for success was all predicated on being positioned to surprise the Hun when they arrived, instead they surprised us.
“We greatly underestimated the speed with which the Hun horde moves. When we arrived at the battlefield, we faced a great mounted army waiting for us. The Hun had secured the pass and were spread out in their classic flanking position.
“What happened next is a mystery, perhaps a gift from the gods. The duke sent an envoy requesting a meeting with the Hun leader called Attila. We all knew the Hun leader never negotiated so we were stunned when a meeting was accepted. The only terms set for the meeting by the Hun leader was that the duke must advance on foot at a rapid pace holding his flag up high.
“As the duke proceeded forward we saw that his advisor, we call him our mage, was trotting beside him. This was equally unexpected. We assumed the mage had chosen to die with his longtime lord.
“We all watched and held our breath. We expected to see the Hun guards emerge with both heads fastened to long spears. After some time passed, the tent reopened. The duke emerged first followed closely by the mage. Last came the Hun leader.
“The duke and mage walked toward us and never looked back at the Hun camp. When they entered our defensive line of wagons the duke had a strange look on his face, ‘They will leave now,’ was his only statement.
“As we looked up the hill, we saw the Hun horde was indeed mobilizing and was leaving. Silence hung across our army then a cheer arose that shook our wagons. Men began to stomp the ground with boots and spear butts. Swords clapped against shields. Calls of ‘Duke!’ ‘Duke!’ ‘Duke!’ carried to the retreating Hun riders.
“Some of the Hun rear riders turned to face us and lifted their bows and shook them. Their message was clear, ‘be quiet or die’. We went immediately silent; victories are best celebrated when they are fully secured.”
Glenda and Traveler exchanged knowing looks. The foreman’s tale agreed with Hermann’s story. Something unbelievable had happened at the meeting.
Chapter 72
Shovel and Push
The man rose from the table. “Enough lunch tales. The horses are thirsty and stalls need to be mucked out. I trust all of you will expend as much effort with those chores as you have eating and listening.”
Traveler and Glenda waited until their tablemates hurried back. They fell in step with their new friend and returned to the land of horse stalls.
The afternoon sun had raised the stable temperature and the oppressive heat was only surpassed by the smell of stalls that needed mucking out. The stable crew worked in teams to load large wheelbarrows with the horse leavings. “Want to shovel or push the barrow?” asked Traveler.
“Neither of course,” said Glenda with a forced smile, “but I guess I’ll shovel.”
“Don’t overload the barrow, thank you. Remember we’ve been told slow and steady is the best pace. Last thing we want is for it to tip over.”
At the end of the pushing route Traveler studied the dumping ground, So this is how you spell “organic”. They’re recycling all-natural stuff and producing all-natural fertilizer. They may die from a lot of causes but not from chemical additives.
Once they had completed their turn at the stall mucking, they switched to becoming water carriers. Naturally Glenda had already adopted favorites among the horses. The horse that gave her a sweet nuzzle earned a bigger supply and a pull on its ears. If a dog is man’s best friend, I think horses are a girl’s best friend, thought Traveler.
Joining them was a sweating Robert. “It’s about bell time,” he said just before a deep sound resonated from the courtyard. The horses ignored it but Traveler and Glenda jumped. Their friend laughed, “Thought I’d warn you it’s loud, but I guess I was a little slow. Anyway, that bell means we are free to enjoy our own time now.”
Chapter 73
The Mage
“If you can put up with me a little more, I can lead you to dinner.”
“Lead on, MacDuff,” said a grinning Traveler.
The young man had a puzzled expression. “I’m Robert, not Macduff.”
“Sorry Robert, it’s an expression said with intended good humor. Consider it a compliment of sorts.”
Robert beamed, stable workers rarely received compliments from any source. Work orders and criticisms were the daily bill of fare for the laboring class. The war horses may appreciate their efforts, but even they seemed to regard the stable workers with condescending looks. Being taller, the horses literally looked down on their servants much as elevated, dining nobility looked down at the feasting attendees.
When the three friends reached the dining area, they immediately heaped food onto their plates. Dinner was similar to lunch but with meats added. Sausages, chicken, and cuts of beef were offered. Each worker took samples of everything. A darker ale was poured from large pitchers into mugs held out by large hands.
After the initial intakes, all at the table took a slow breath then sat back on the bench. Robert had a mug of ale which he drank quickly, while Glenda and Traveler had taken cider to avoid any missteps over alcohol.
“There do not appear to be nearly as many here as there were for lunch,” observed Traveler.
Robert nodded then explained, “You are perceptive, my friend. Tonight there is a ceremony in the great hall. Many of the older staff are attending to the tables. While serving the lords and warriors they can watch the events. Naturally the servers don’t want to miss the happenings so they are incented to move fast delivering food and ale. The system works well for both sides at the feast.”
“Could we sneak in and watch from a dark corner?” asked Glenda.
“Absolutely not. You would assuredly be caught and then whipped. Likely they would whip you as entertainment for the attendees and as a message to the servers.
“As for me I’m going to simply go to my sleeping place and rest up. Tomorrow the attendees will be in foul moods lamenting all the ale they consumed this evening. Tonight is fun for them while the morrow will be a hardship for us.”
Once Robert was out of hearing distance, they immediately faced each other. “Of course we’re going to join the show,” said Glenda. “Stealth gives us the best seats in the house. While the show is happening, we can look for the jinn. I also want to see this duke and his mage. This is going to be a big discovery night for us.”
Traveler was nodding in agreement when Glenda said, “We need to get there early and secure our observation places.”
“You’re right, we need to secure the high ground before the crowd comes in. I’m thinking of the crow’s nest that is close to the dais, we’ll see and hear everything. That work for you?”
“That’s my thinking also. Even though it’s early I think we should head over and settle in.”
When they entered the stable again, they each carried water and feed buckets in the event they were questioned, however their return was unchallenged. Inside, the stable was quiet and tranquil. The heat of the day had been blown out by evening breezes passing through the open doors. The horses were relaxed after their feeding and watering and seemed to appreciate the mucked stalls and fresh air.
Walking to the end of the stable they looked around to confirm they were alone. Rather than leaping up they remained cautious and climbed the ladder to the first loft. Once on the hay loft they moved back to disappear from ground view, then leaped to the second loft.
They landed in piles of stacked straw and Glenda immediately sneezed.
Traveler discovered the long day of stress had taken a toll and he needed playtime. He fell into a high mound of soft straw and rolled. He threw handfuls of the straw into the air and blew gusts into it causing clouds to float toward Glenda.
Glenda instantly grabbed huge handfuls of straw and proceeded to bury Traveler. He accepted the cover and disappeared.
Glenda laughed as she saw him crawling through mounds of straw tunneling along like a groundhog. His head popped up in the center of a mound as he said, “Forget what you’re thinking, princess! This is definitely not ‘whack-a-mole’ time.” Laughing, he submerged himself.
A short minute later he popped up with a pile of straw resting on his head. It had the appearance of a dunce hat and Glenda started laughing. “I’ve found our perfect hiding place, princess. We’re safe as long as you don’t sneeze. By the way you’ve got a lot of straw in your hair. You’re a Vogue model for scarecrow girls.”
Laughing back she quipped, “Right now you remind me of the Scarecrow trying to find a brain, let me know when you succeed.”
“Touché, princess. The good news is that my Scarecrow brain has woken up. It’s telling me we need to mache schnell to our crow’s nest.”
As they wiggled backward to enter the passageway Traveler again swept straw to obscuring their path. Once inside they stood up and combed straw out of their hair. After repeated hand combings Glenda felt satisfied, “Don’t want straw drifting down from our observation roost.”
Taking her cue Traveler made several more pass-throughs and declared, “We have conquered the straw threat, let’s head to our crow’s nest and settle in.”
Walking beside each other Glenda suddenly covered her mouth to stifle the sound of an impending sneeze. “Relax, princess, and let it rip out. These stone walls are absolutely soundproof. Get it out now before we’re camped in our nest.”
Glenda gave a sheepish smile in return. She pulled out a small handcloth from the stables and proceeded to do the nose honors. Traveler was ready to joke about not blowing bugles inside tunnels but thought better. It was time to get serious. Time to get to their hiding place in the great hall.
Chapter 74
The Jinn Reflects
Seated in the duke’s private quarters, the jinn studied the seated giant with satisfaction. Over the weeks following their return to the fortress, the jinn had increased his hold over the human leader. The jinn was confident the giant had no awareness beyond what he permitted.
For reasons not yet clear to the jinn, its control of the duke was not as complete as it was with other humans. However, his increased control permitted him to direct the giant at a greater distance.
With time available before the evening’s feast, the jinn began a review of its past decisions. The jinn was a highly evolved decision-maker. This review was not to gloat over past successes but to confirm there was nothing further to be learned from their outcomes.
The jinn naturally started its review with its initial decision. This decision was simply how to survive. It had just arrived through a portal resting in a building the humans called a museum. As it was exploring the large room that housed the portal, it was set upon by a young human male. It had quickly determined the aggressive male was no threat and it prepared to absorb the human for information.
Suddenly a great threat arrived in the form of an ancient dark god. To survive the dark god, the jinn had instantly projected itself to a distant time period. The jinn knew that “out of sight, out of mind” would not save him from the god, but it only needed enough time to build the portal so the greater host could arrive.
The location was picked as it offered the necessary materials to construct the portal. The quarry stones used to build the fortress contained the electrical properties required for the portal.
The jinn recalled that its second decision was made in a more controlled, analytic manner. It had to decide which of the two confronting armies to take control of. The chosen army would provide the required workforce to construct the portal.
A quick assessment concluded that the duke’s encircled army was more easily controlled. The jinn’s final decision was how to eliminate the Hun army as a threat against the selected army. The jinn saw the answer was to gain control of both leaders and imprint them with his orders.
To gain control of the leaders’ minds, the jinn initially needed to make physical contact. The first leader to be controlled was the giant referred to as the duke. To gain physical contact with this duke, the jinn would first enter a body that could easily approach him.
The jinn recalled the details of its search for a suitable host. It moved through the surrounded army in the form of a small cloud of early morning fog. If a soldier took time to notice the moving fog, he would simply see a lingering, reddish, night-mist reflecting the light from a rising sun.
As the jinn cloud passed through the camp it identified several candidate bodies, but none felt right. As it approached the command tent the correct choice was identified. The choice appeared as a burly guard standing in front of the duke’s tent. The jinn cloud flowed unnoticed into the unsuspecting guard.
The guard’s only awareness of the jinn’s entry into his body was a paralyzing shock running up his spine. The guard’s face registered a moment of surprise and confusion. An observer would have noted how the eyes suddenly dilated and the legs stiffened. For a moment the mouth seemed ready to utter a sound, but nothing escaped the lips.
Once inside the guard’s body the jinn instantly flowed along the electrical conduits of the nervous system call the spine. The spine offered an electrical superhighway to control all parts of the body, and the jinn took immediate control. All senses and muscles now obeyed the jinn’s wishes. The first command it issued was to maintain the body’s standing position to remain unnoticed.
While controlling the guard’s body stance, the jinn traveled upwards to the brain stem. This small structure rests on top of the spine. It is the oldest part of the human brain and is charged with operating the routine but critical body needs, such as breathing and heartbeats.
Flowing up and past the brain stem, the jinn assessed the higher brain functions and found the guard’s brain was typical of the species. It was physically divided into two similar but separate parts. One part controlled logic skills such as mathematics, while the other part controlled abstract competencies such as art and music.
The jinn immediately understood how this physical separation limited the brain’s potential to develop further. This two-sided structure acted like a mental flywheel with hu
mans going to their dominant side for a wide variety of actions and decisions. The result was an unbalanced thinking machine.
With the analysis completed the jinn rewired the guard’s cognitive abilities and slaved them to its wishes.
The guard’s cognitive brain had a fleeting final moment of self-awareness, then it fell into an endless nightmare trapped in a black void without sensory awareness. The cognitive mind screamed and screamed into the void. The jinn considered the screams as background static without purpose and ignored them. The screams were not even a small distraction to the jinn.
For a moment the jinn reflected on humans being the planet’s dominant life form. The jinn’s determination of dominancy was the rule of the universe: “Who is the eater and who gets eaten?” While humans ate a wide variety of animals, the jinn could consume humans with ease.
Once inside the guard’s mind, the jinn identified each sub-leader in the tent. These lesser leaders were called captains and were slaved by training to obey their leader, the duke. True to expectations, this uber-leader was by far the largest among those in the command tent. The jinn mused about size being a critical component of human leadership and how this bias limited planning and outcomes.
The jinn’s control and assessments were over in less than a second. Wearing the guard as an external suit, it entered the tent to join a small group of captains and guards. The guards knew him and simply nodded at his presence.
The jinn observed that the duke was receiving a stream of news from breathless scouts. These scouts conveyed their information using a mixture of breathless words along with excited hand gestures. The jinn found the undisciplined flow of information highly inefficient. The efficient acquisition of factual data was its own lifeblood. Sorting out facts from emotional expressions slowed its data intake.
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