Traveler discovered he was ravenous. As he heaped his plate Olaff offered more battle advice. “The trick is to eat enough to have your power but not so much that you lose your speed.” Traveler gave a sheepish smile and cut his portion in half. He knew from school sports how to eat before a game. Use intake discipline before the game, then pig-out after.
Glenda arrived with a spring in her step just as he was descending into his pile of ripe berries, “Save any good stuff for me?” she asked.
“More than enough, your highness, but remember you will need your best speed. I suggest you go easy on the bread and bacon, I’ll eat for both of us.”
Early morning banter. How many battles have I been in when warriors start the day with friendly pokes? That’s an excellent sign. Relieves the tension and gets the mind focused, reflected Olaff.
The light joking quickly disappeared. Gallows humor had a very short half-life. Looking at their faces Olaff decided it was time to move out, Must not let them spend too much time reflecting on what’s coming. A stationary soldier is called a target, he thought.
“Glenda, I suggest you and I leave now. Best we get to the kitchen and confirm all is in order. I want to make sure the cook does not forget my directions from yesterday. She’s indeed nasty and could send a couple of servants up early just to get even with me. Of course that would be a big mistake on her part, but it would alter our plan.
“Assuming all is well, you will remain in the kitchen area until it’s time to carry the tray up.” Glenda nodded in agreement. She also had a bad feeling about the overseer woman, so better to get there early.
“Traveler, after Glenda’s kitchen plan is in order I’ll come back and meet you in the armory. The two of us will proceed to the alcoves.”
Giving them a final encouraging look Olaff added, “Since we are now approaching battle time, I suggest you both retire to the personal room.” Without embarrassment they followed Olaff’s advice.
Olaff was on the landing waiting when the two companions returned. He stood near his own large boat confirming it was riding high in the water and ready to accept the weight of his giant body.
“You OK?” Traveler asked Glenda in a quiet voice.
“I am if you are,” she whispered back. Neither spoke again.
Both were doing their best to keep a positive mindset. Both focused on the plan and the execution steps. With a shared glance of encouragement at each other they entered their boat. Olaff led the way across. Landing first, he secured his boat and waited to help them out of their boat.
With boats secured they ascended the stone staircase with Olaff leading the climb, followed by Glenda and lastly Traveler. Olaff set a fast pace for his ascension and the two companions instinctively tried to keep up.
When Glenda and Traveler reached the top they paused, they had to give their racing hearts time to slow down. Their elevated heart rates were a result of stress combined with the climb. As their rates recovered they agreed the rapid climb had helped them regain control over their nerves and spinning minds. It was a good thing.
Olaff opened the door and confirmed it was clear. All three quickly entered the hallway. Traveler turned toward the armory while Olaff and Glenda turned toward the kitchen. Traveler gave Glenda his most encouraging smile, “See you upstairs, Glenda. Now don’t spill anything, you know how annoyed the mage gets.” Pausing, he grinned, “Let’s give him an annoyance he’ll never forget.”
Glenda’s mood lifted with Traveler’s sendoff message. He was recognizing the difficult task facing her. While each of them had their own challenging tasks, hers came first. She was the point of the spear they would attempt to drive into the jinn.
Traveler entered the armory and shut the door behind him. His legs immediately called out for relief. Leg nerves, he chuckled, then promptly sat down on a large keg. Alone, he felt the weight of the stillness descend on him. His mind flashed back to being alone in the museum before the fire creatures emerged from the portal. This had the same unsettling feel.
This is different, he reassured himself. This time I have allies and we’re prepared. I trust my companions. Let the isolated creature know fear, not us. This self-assurance buoyed his spirits, he found the room’s weight lifting from his body and his mind.
Time passed without notice for a resting Traveler until a soft knock alerted him. Olaff promptly entered and gave Traveler a look that said, “Time to go.” Mache schnell was understood.
Locking the door behind him, Olaff opened the passageway door and stepped in. Traveler followed, closed the door, and fell in beside the giant. The two walked together in silence. When they reached the final wall to enter the last passageway Traveler asked, “I assume all went well in the kitchen and Glenda is on her way?”
“Turned out all right, but good thing we were there early. That silly woman was indeed trying a sneaky move. She had already prepared the breakfast tray and was ready to send it up when we surprised her. She froze as I walked up and peered down at her from my great height. All I said was, ‘Why annoy me?’
“She thinks pretty fast. When she found her tongue she claimed it was such a busy morning she had forgotten my request. My look told her I thought otherwise. Even in the hot kitchen her face paled.
“I might add that the little exchange helped bolster Glenda’s spirits. She was very quiet the whole way there and I knew she was really nervous. Well, I’m nervous also, and I have been in more battles than I can remember. This little skirmish broke her somber mood. She actually grinned as I took the arrogant woman to task.”
Smiling at Olaff, Traveler said, “Let’s think of this kitchen victory as a harbinger of what’s coming next, and ‘next’ is right now. We sure can’t keep the princess waiting with the tray.”
Olaff nodded with a look that said, “Of course”.
Once inside the final passage they doubled-timed their walk. Olaff’s fast walk was Traveler’s fast jog. Reaching the last wall Olaff quickly twisted the overhead latches and swung the wall away. When the wall opened they found Glenda already standing there with a warm smile.
“Welcome gentlemen, you’re expected and right on time! I came early so I can help roll our model into place. The tray is stowed in the alcove closest to the door.” Looking at Traveler she said, “I’m here, tell me what to do.”
“Well done on the timing, Glenda! More hands are welcome, for sure,” said Traveler. “Olaff, you’re in charge of moving our device, so please take over.”
Olaff nodded, “I’ll do the pushing. You two remove the back roller poles as they are freed up and place them in front. Once we’re out on the landing, start angling the poles so that our device can be placed inside the alcove. We’ve got to keep it hidden until the last moment.
“Everyone clear?” Two heads nodded back. “OK let’s roll over ‘em now.” Pausing he added with a hint of a smile, “‘Roll over ’em now’, that’s an old battle joke.”
Who knew he had a sense of humor? Glenda and Traveler thought at the same time.
The heavy construct advanced easily on the roller poles. They quickly moved it straight ahead from the assembly area until they reached the exit point. Turning to Glenda Traveler said, “You’re up! Take the lead determining the roller path into the alcove. You place a roller then point me. We do need to move fast.”
Glenda beamed. Traveler, the math guy, had deferred to her geometry skills. Her mind immediately created a mental pathway to the alcove. She could picture where each pole needed to be placed. “I see our path. I’ll place the first pole then point.”
“Lead on,” Traveler said. Olaff observed this exchange and the quickly defined leadership role for Glenda. They are easily on the same page. Good for the lad to defer to her judgement, that bolsters both of their spirits for what’s coming.
While the two were agreeing on the division of roller-path labor, Olaff returned quickly to the assembly site and brought the remaining materials out and placed them out of sight inside the alcove.
While Traveler and Glenda were moving the construct, Olaff triggered a hidden release on a back wall sconce, then rotated the sconce. The wall slowly closed back and was again a solid stone face.
Glenda led the pole placements toward the alcove at a quick pace. She could visualize each pole’s placement and Traveler immediately followed her pointing directions. Glenda’s mental geometry was spot on. With the last pole placed, the construct was now totally hidden inside the alcove.
Next they took one of Traveler’s two sealant jars, opened it and applied its contents according to the plan. The other jar remained sealed. Finally they emptied the contents of all the large jars into the open construct.
The three looked at the product of Traveler’s plan with satisfaction. This was exactly what he had envisioned, and here it was, ready and waiting.
As Glenda started to walk toward the furthest alcove to retrieve the breakfast tray, she paused then said, “I’m a little early for the delivery, but that adds a little unknown for the creature to deal with.”
Traveler gave her a reassuring grin, “Yeah, and Mr Jinn won’t know the breakfast is no longer hot, but that will be the least of its worries.”
Carrying the silver tray Glenda headed to the duke’s entry door. She forced deep controlled breaths and cleared her mind. Her next few moves would determine their shared fate. Don’t think about outcomes, only focus on the action steps. Now she was in front of the door thinking, It’s showtime!
She gave the usual soft, tentative knock. Her voice did not need to be forced to offer a nervous greeting, “I have breakfast.”
As usual the duke was at the door with the mage standing at a distance behind him. The mage gave his normal response in a commanding voice, “We assume there is no spillage and all is at an acceptable temperature.”
Looking at the mage Glenda did two things at once. She stuck out her tongue and replied, “Screw you!” At the same time, she permitted her mind’s guard over her vibrational field to drop slightly. The mage instantly responded to the vibration. “I know you from the museum. Seize her!”
Fortunately the duke’s reflexes were slower than Glenda’s. As he tried to grab an arm, he felt a sleeve pass through his fingers and the girl escaped. Turning to run, Glenda dropped the tray, spun out of the doorway, rounded the corner and disappeared.
The mage called again, “Follow and seize her. Do not let her escape or you will feel pain beyond your understanding.”
Once she turned the corner and disappeared from sight, the duke’s limited focus failed to notice the slippery mess on the floor. As he hurried forward his large feet suddenly took separate paths as they tried to schuss down a steep ski slope. Out of control he landed first on the breakfast then the floor.
The mage was quickly beside him shouting commands, “Stand up, dolt! After her! The fool has gone into an area without an exit. She cannot escape you.” The duke was already on his feet before the mage’s admonishments reached his ears.
The duke was battling a mix of confusing thoughts. The mage seemed overly concerned with a simple peasant girl. This servant girl offered no possible threat to the mage’s power, yet he reacted with an emotion the duke had never seen.
The bigger thought was the mage’s threat of pain. The duke had previously experienced pain so severe that it immobilized him. That single experience had instantly conditioned him into accepting unchallenging obedience to the mage. The duke’s sole focus now was capturing the girl.
Entering the landing area, the duke saw the red-haired girl had retreated to the far end of the landing. Her back was pressed against the solid stone wall. She was contained in a dead-end alley. There was no way out.
For a moment the duke considered the distance she had covered in virtually no time. Even with a dulled mind he momentarily wondered how she had gotten there that fast. However, thinking was not in his mission statement and he refocused on the helpless girl.
Advancing behind the duke was the mage. The jinn recalled meeting this girl in a museum before it had to flee from the dark god. She had powers beyond those common for the human species. Possibly the god had given her some enhanced capabilities. The jinn also knew her powers, enhanced or not, were no match for its own.
For the first time the jinn was close to absorbing a superior member of this human species. The jinn was eager to close the trap and absorb this human. The girl’s knowledge of the dark god could result in the host achieving a final conquest of the elusive god.
The duke was closing cautiously on the girl. He knew she was fast, very fast. His advance had to be planned to ensure she could not dart past him. The duke extended his long left arm to reach the left side wall while his right arm extended to reduce escape on his right. The duke relaxed slightly as he saw the mage was now on his right side, sealing that exit route off.
The girl made no attempt to try and rush past the duke. Any forward move would lead her into the arms of either the duke or the mage. She stared at them with an apparent acceptance of her fate. She was a trapped prey facing vastly superior hunters. She knew the outcome.
The mage was now less than eight feet away. The jinn prepared the mage’s body for a final fast-close. It paused for a moment to study the girl’s body posture and feet to detect any tension that could lead to a last-minute attempt to escape.
The woman’s body displayed nothing beyond acceptance. The jinn was ready. The creature knew that it would momentarily lose control over the duke as it focused on absorbing the girl. It was confident that the duke would predictably stay in place.
Closing to five feet, the mage heard a deep voice behind him in the dark alcove call out, “Stun the creature now!”
The jinn saw the boy from the museum leap out from the dark alcove to join the girl. The creature immediately thought, I will absorb both. Even together they are no threat. That thought lingered as the mage’s body suddenly froze.
Glenda and Traveler had prepared for this moment in their previous mind-control encounters. They focused their minds on the mage’s brain stem and took instant control. With control of the nervous system they stopped all muscle movement.
The jinn had so embedded itself in the mage’s brain and body that it was a momentary prisoner. It could not instantly leave the mage’s body. It never considered that it would have to.
Before the jinn could start to respond, it was lifted off the ground by the giant. The giant placed the immobilized body into a coffin-shaped container filled with enveloping water. The body was immediately pressed against the bottom.
The mage’s flickering red eyes stared up through the clear water in anger, then in helplessness as a heavy lid came down on top of its body. The lead lid totally covered the mage’s body holding it flat against the bottom. Neither mage nor jinn could move. They were wedded and immobilized together.
Next a second lid came down on top of an enclosing larger coffin. This coffin was also filled with water.
The creature had no awareness of the third and final lid that sealed the largest coffin shut. The final lid was rendered airtight and watertight by a thick sealant. The sealant thickly coated all internal edges of each container coffin.
A final, external coat of the thick sealant was applied from the last jug Traveler had brought. The outside edges of the coffin and its lid were doubly-sealed. This final sealing was unnecessary Olaff had said, but “Better we overkill the containment when an actual kill of the creature cannot be accomplished.”
The trapped jinn was now resting inside tightly sealed, water filled, lead coffins that resembled a Russian Matryoshka doll. The creature was trapped inside as the smallest doll. Of course the jinn was no cute painted doll. It was a monster.
“Time to put this bad boy away,” said Traveler. With that Olaff bent down and pushed the coffin forward into a recessed opening in the solid stone back wall of the alcove. He then turned a lever that caused the opening to be sealed by five feet of sliding solid stone.
Pleased with the fina
l enclosure, Olaff added, “Dall and I added a few hidden improvements to the fortress once we were the masters of the fortress. You never know when secret storage places may be needed.”
The emotional letdown suddenly demanded a physical sit-down. They each retired to the floor to provide relief to trembling legs. Sitting there they all stared at the solid wall that hid the buried coffin. After a few minutes Traveler looked at Glenda, “I don’t sense a vibration of any sort, do you?”
Glenda shook her head. “None. I think the creature is insulated from us, and more importantly from its own kind. It’s trapped inside the mage’s dead body. I believe if these creatures can go crazy, then this one will. It has never existed for long in total isolation from its own kind.”
All three jerked their heads up as a massive man descended to sit beside them. “It deserves worse. Much worse,” replied the smiling duke. “My mind became my own again as I watched the creature get sealed up. To be back is a gift from each of you. I am in your debts forever.”
Sitting beside Olaff he placed a heavy arm across Olaff’s shoulder. Olaff’s first comment was, “Welcome back, brother. If we were standing I would give you a giant bear hug. One giant bear to another.”
The duke smiled back, “I believe bears can hug sitting.” And with that the two giants gripped each other.
The duke’s attention then shifted from Olaff and began studying the two young people. He saw the respect Olaff clearly had for the two and understood they were close companions of his friend. He knew they had played a significant part in his own liberation. He accepted that he owed them a great deal, possibly his life.
“I want to hear all that has happened. I have been existing in a fog that rarely lifted. Occasionally I saw something and tried to speak or act but the fog quickly returned. I don’t know how that was done to me but I do know the body you just hid was at the center of my helplessness. May that being stay there and suffer through eternity.”
Suddenly a bright smile flashed across the duke’s face. “Would it sound strange to say I am beyond ravenous? I believe I was kept on a diet of some sort.”
The Blighted Fortress Page 33