Plane of the Godless

by Peter Hartz

  Allison turned her face away as the tears suddenly overwhelmed her and the thoughts she had had earlier roared through her brain, wiping every other thought away. She reached out to Dave, and held his hand as her eyes closed involuntarily against the searing pain.

  Giltreas sat in silent astonishment at Allison’s response to the gentle words. He called up his Physicker Sight, and looked at Allison more carefully, and was dismayed. Poisons in small amounts laced her body, including the center of womanhood low in her belly. Other injuries and scars laced that same area, inside and out. There was also a sickness in her, mild, so not glowing brightly at all, but slowly it would spread, and while not deadly, would make her joints and bones ache in a number of years. His sight told him that remedying everything would be a simple task for someone like him, and even for a beginner in their first season studying the arts. Did no one here have any healers that could fix such simple things? He kept silent, however. This was not his argument to make, no matter how much he agreed with it, but he still hoped it would come to pass. He wanted a clear path, with as few companions as possible, when he went to war. It was his way.

  Giltreas had already decided to pursue the wrong-doers who had set those foul now-dead men on Michelle’s trail. He often was allowed to right such wrongs, unless it was counter to his patron’s wishes or if his skills were needed elsewhere. He would work alone, as he preferred, if need be, but too many things told him that this world was like no other (the strange clothing his current companions wore, the craftsmanship of the house he awoke in, and those incredibly strange “horseless carriages” setting there in his sight proved that to him by sight alone), that he knew he would need a guide.

  Giltreas would have chosen David, if given a voice, and asked the others to remove themselves to safety while he worked. He had no concern about the gender of a companion, to be sure. It was simple intuition that told him David would be the most help in his task to right a wrong. As the thought occurred to him, he felt a reassuring pulse in his chest as his patron confirmed his choice of companion for this quest, and the choice to pursue such retribution, as well.

  That David decided much the same thing reassured him. David would make a worthwhile companion, after Giltreas assessed his skills to see how much help he would be when words end and action begins. The way David carried himself spoke scrolls to him, though. The man at one time was a warrior, and seemed to have kept himself in readiness. He would be a worthwhile sword-mate as well, Giltreas decided. Now to resolve the rest of the situation and the safety of David’s loved ones. Giltreas would have felt much the same way in pursuit of unknown foes through strange pathways, as this plane promised to be. Turnabout to be, he needn’t have worried so much, as Allison turned her tear-streaked visage upon him.

  “Could you really fix me? Really?” The desperation in her voice tugged at him, and his emotions welled up inside.

  “Of a certainty, my – Allison. T’would be a simple thing, really. And an honor to do so for you.” David’s face turned towards him now, unshed tears in his astonished eyes, and the Physicker Sight confirmed that David’s needs should be addressed with his magic skills as well. “David, I would gladly do said same for you. Verily, I would do such for sweet Sadie and little Abby, for they both have the need as well, such wonderful companions they are. Max has no such need, being so young, and in perfect health.”

  ◆◆◆

  Dave’s heart overflowed as he turned to pull Allison from her seat into his lap, and they both held each other tightly as tears ran down their faces like rain. He had no idea what he needed, but if Giltreas was offering, he would gladly, and humbly, accept. Giltreas’ presence here was a gift from whatever God or Gods there were, he decided. While not a terribly religious person, he held his simple spiritual beliefs close to his heart. Then he pulled back from Allison, and looked her in the eye.

  “Will you go with Michelle, for all our sakes, and be safe while Giltreas and I run this down? I promise that you will not have to stay there any longer than necessary. I will give you anything you want when you get back.” His eyes pleaded with her to say yes.

  “Anything for you, my love. Anything,” she said, giving in. She buried her face into his shoulder again, and while the tears didn’t overflow again, she sat there silently as a last few coursed down her cheeks.

  “But you have to promise to come back to me. You once said you would die if you lost me. I feel the same way about you.” She grabbed his shoulders and nearly shook him in the intensity of her demand. “Promise me!”

  “I promise.” He said it quietly, but with the same intensity, then wrapped his arms around his wife, and pulled her close for a moment.

  Giltreas chose that moment to inject himself into the conversation. “I will promise as well, Allison, that I will do everything to bring him to you at the end of our task,” he spoke with grim intensity as he looked her in the eye.

  Allison glanced at Michelle once, then nodded at Giltreas. Then Giltreas spoke once more.

  “Come, my companions. Let us attend to these needs now, that we may move on to the less pleasant endeavors, the sooner to have them completed,” Giltreas said as he rose, and walked to the door back into the cottage, pausing to see if they followed, then opened the door and stepped inside.

  The others stepped inside, to see him kneel down to Sadie, pet her gently, then murmur something.

  A light flared red, then another yellow, a third green, and then a fourth blue. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then a fifth light, this one white, flashed briefly.

  Sadie stood, shook herself, and stretched all of her sixty-five pounds. Michelle was astonished, as the grey had disappeared from Sadie’s muzzle even as the stiffness disappeared from her legs. She looked like a young dog in the prime of her life, not the grand old dame she had become over time. She wagged her tail fiercely, and licked Giltreas’ face, even as everyone heard a new voice coming from where Giltreas knelt on the floor. It was a strange voice that seemed to be coming from Sadie, not Giltreas.

  “Thank you,” was all it said.

  “You are most welcome, sweet Sadie.” Sadie wagged again, licked Giltreas’ hand once more, then turned and bounded over to Michelle.

  “Pack mother! I am well and young again! We must play!” Sadie stood on her hind legs, and licked Michelle’s face as she bent down in open-mouthed astonishment. She turned to Giltreas, as shocked as anyone else in the room, except for Giltreas, who had a gentle smile on his face. “Wha…!?!”

  It is always a boon to be able to render your companions speechless, he decided. A simple, but wonderful, pleasure in life.

  “I cast animal-speak upon her. You can hear the words of her thoughts, and she yours. It lasts but a short while, I am afraid, but a small gift I can give you for your years of faithfulness to such a splendid companion.” He turned and knelt down, then the same first four bright flashes of light flowed from him to Abby, and she wiggled into his lap, licking furiously. He took the thanks stoically, and then set her on the floor, standing to wait.

  “Shall we complete our work here upon you?” he said as he turned to Allison and Dave.

  “Play now! No work!” Sadie bounded over to Giltreas, and the voice coming from her had a certain childish tone to it.

  “Sadie, we can play later,” Michelle smiled, wondering how long this would last.

  “Sadie wait. You see. We play; much fun,” as she hopped up on the couch, then laid down, head up, tail thumping into the cushion fiercely.

  “Sadie, off the… never mind.” Michelle turned to Giltreas with a smile, and asked, “How long until that wears off? Not that I don’t mind, but...”

  “Some small part of time. It never lasts very long. Those who work with animal companions will use such in time of need when alerted to danger, or how they were injured, or while training them up to their role.” Giltreas returned with a smile of his own, obviously enjoying his prank. Then he turned and faced Dave and Allison.

  Alli
son’s world was rapidly changing around her, and she felt herself tensing inside, bracing for some unknown that seemed to be rushing towards her at great speed.

  Giltreas sensed her apprehension, and reached out to place his hand on her arm. “Gather your peace, my friend. This will be pleasant for you. And, gather your clothing about you. It may get looser of a sudden.” Comprehension dawned, and she giggled as she grabbed the waistband of her jeans with both hands. Dave, who had also been struck by a case of the sillies, grabbed his jeans with both hands. “Fire away, Giltreas.”

  Allison’s world seemed to slow down as Giltreas murmured something, and the first of the colored flashes began. The lights jumped from the hand Giltreas held out towards them, and flashed over her as quick as she could count to two. Everything she saw suddenly changed color as each of the spells washed over her. Almost every part of her body tingled, and incredibly, every part of her body suddenly felt different. As the last flash of light washed over her, her vision suddenly changed as everything went out of focus, and as the world sped back up to normal, she realized she could no longer see.

  She closed her eyes, and heard Dave next to her say “Crap! Contact lenses,” and start laughing out loud. Then Allison joined in the laughter as she realized what had happened. She no longer had any use for the contact lenses she wore every day, because whatever Giltreas had done restored her vision. The effect of wearing her contact lens prescription was now the same as if she had a wrong prescription in that was much too strong.

  “Michelle, can you take us to a mirror? I need to get these bleepin’ contacts out before I go blind.” Michelle stepped forward, and grabbed Allison’s hand, then Dave’s as well.

  Michelle looked at Giltreas over her shoulder as she began to pull the two towards the hallway where the bathroom door was located. “Do you know what contact lenses are?” When he shook his head ‘no’, she continued, “Well, you might want to see this, then. Come on.”

  Giltreas watched in fascination as both Allison and Dave washed their hands carefully before sticking their fingers gently in each eye one at a time, pulling out something for which he had no description. Dave turned where he was, and held it out to Giltreas. When he put out his hand, Dave deposited the thing that had been in his eye on Giltreas’ upturned palm, and turned back to the mirror to remove one from his other eye.

  “What is it?” he asked, fascinated, as he looked closely at the tiny, soft, curving, slightly tinted see-through thing in his hand, touching it with a finger.

  “It is something people can put in their eye to correct their vision if they can’t see very well. Each person needs a different strength, depending on how bad their eyes are. Most people have different ones for each eye. If your eyesight is good, wearing contact lenses will make your vision worse,” Dave said as he removed the second one, and looked around. Unbelievable. He could see perfectly without lenses now.

  Giltreas looked up in surprise as Dave described what he was looking at.

  “I have never heard of such a thing like this before,” he said, faintly in awe of what he was learning.

  Allison’s breath caught in her throat as she looked in the mirror after getting her now-unneeded contacts out of her eyes, and into the small garbage can under the sink. While her transformation was not as dramatic and incredible as Michelle’s had been, she still could see the difference plainly. Small, almost invisible scars from teenage acne, spots from sun damage, anything at all that had made her less than perfect, all were now either muted significantly, or washed away completely. Her change was not as complete as Michelle’s, either: where Michelle now looked as if she were a living example of digital photo retouching, Allison now looked as if a professional had spent a long time on doing her makeup. The rest of her that she could see, such as her arms and neck, was lean, sleek, and toned. Wow. While she had carried very little extra weight before, the result of a rigorous and diligent exercise regimen, she now looked, where she could see, like the finished product she had always worked towards.

  Allison turned to Giltreas and said, “Where are you from that you have never seen a car, or contract lenses? What is it like where you are from?”

  Dave winced internally; leave it to Allie to cut right to the chase. Someone else might have some tact, and not asked such a forward question. Allison was a classic U.S. Marine, though. She determined her objective, and let nothing deter her from getting to it. Just like when she pursued him when they met in Iraq.

  He stared intently at the mirror in front of him, astonished at the sudden changes. He looked… different somehow. Softer skin, no crows-feet around his eyes, even skin tone, it was all so amazing.

  “I was born in the Forest Kingdom of Akkesh,” Giltreas answered absently, still fascinated by the lens in front of him. Then he looked up, holding out his palm, with the lens on it. “Have you not heard of it?”

  Dave plucked the lens from his palm, and stepped on the pedal to the garbage can, then dropped the lens in. “Nope. I have never heard of it before. How did you get here?”

  Michelle cut in then from the doorway, saying “I think we should have this conversation in the living room, instead of the bathroom. Let’s move out there.”

  Ushering the three others out of the bathroom, she led the way down the hallway to the big room across from the dining area, and waved the others to sit down. She sat on the couch, and waved Giltreas to sit next to her, as Dave and Allison sat in the loveseat. When everyone was settled, she indicated that Giltreas could continue. Sadie chose at that moment to try to jump into her lap. She grunted, and shifted the reddish/golden dog around until they were both comfortable.

  “The Forest Kingdom of Akkesh is on my home plane. From there, the Queen of the Elven Throne rules the Elvish kingdom, various human kingdoms, as well as some of the Dwarvish mountain keeps to the west that choose to be attached to her rule. Several other planes of humans also swear fealty to Her Majesty, as a symbol of their respect for the benevolence and wisdom of the Throne, and Her willingness to keep them away from harm, and support them in times of need,” Giltreas spoke softly, his voice adequate for them to hear clearly. “It is in her kingdom that I propose we bring Michelle and Allison to while we seek the evil doors and render unto them their due justice.”

  Allison was the first to open her mouth at the fantastic statement. “How do we get there? And, Elvish kingdom? Dwarvish mountains? We don’t have any elves or dwarves here on Earth. Never have. They are myths, or legends, or something.”

  Giltreas was surprised at her statement. “There are neither elves nor dwarves here? What is this Earth you speak of?”

  “Earth is what we call this world, this planet, that we all live on,” Michelle said, trying to pull together in her mind what was going on. So many pieces were still missing, though.

  Dave spoke up, then. “How do you travel to there? How did you get here, for that matter?” he asked.

  “I am adept at calling up gates that will take a traveler between planes, or any place I have been or can distance-see on the same plane, although calling gates to traverse between planes is harder, and takes more strength,” Giltreas said in that same, soft voice. “There are other ways to get to places I have not visited, as well.”

  “These gates, are they big enough to send that black truck in the yard through?”

  Michelle and Allison suddenly turned to Dave, and Allison spoke up, “What are you thinking?”

  “I think that we need to hide the Suburban. And Giltreas said he dealt with the ones that attacked Michelle. I think we may need to clean that up, and send the bodies through the gate as well. Someone is going to come looking for them, and the Suburban. Eventually, we can return it to the rightful owner, if we figure out that they didn’t have a part in this. But for now, I think we need to take some steps, along with getting you two to someplace where I don’t have to worry about you. Can we send the truck through a gate to your world – your plane? Will that cause any problems?” Dave said, turn
ing to Giltreas.

  “I can make it so the gate will suffice. As to problems with it, some might be curious, and others might be fearful,” he shrugged. “I care not for their concerns. Many travel through the Kingdom on their way to other places, and other planes even, having many strange things and devices with them. Certainly the dwarves will make unusual devices from time to time. I will vouchsafe for the watching of the thing, and the four whom I dealt with. The Queen will be willing to lend us locked cells aplenty for them, so they will not wander off, nor cause problems amongst the people of the Forest Kingdom.”

  That got him a very strange look from the others, and he wondered where it came from. “It would be better if they were to walk there. I have no desire to heft dead bodies, nor any interest in the stench a corpse will cast about. I will revive them, much like I revived Michelle after her ordeal.”

  Shocked silence ruled for a moment as the three stared at him, and in the stillness, Sadie’s voice was heard from where she sat on Michelle’s lap, turning and raising her head to look up at her. “Sadie and Abby and Max go outside now.”

  It didn’t really register at first, as Michelle turned to Sadie and started stroking her head and neck. Sadie shuffled her front feet from her seated position, and the voice was heard coming from the dog again. “Sadie and Abby and Max go outside now.”

  Michelle blinked, and turned to Giltreas with a wry grin. “I could get used to this. How long will the spell last again?”

  Giltreas thought about it, then reached out with his senses to see if the spell showed any signs of ending. He blinked in surprise as what he detected registered. “I think it may not end,” he said, his tone of voice conveying his confused feelings to them.

  “Sadie and Abby and Max go outside right now. Abby needs.” Sadie’s voice was a little more urgent this time as she jumped down and took a step towards the door, turning to look back at Michelle.