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Copyright© 2009 by Yoron
Chapter 4
As they enjoyed the last batch of scones, the captain calmed down some, even if still throwing a spiteful glance at that damned contraption now and then. Reluctantly, he agreed to let Katherine keep the oven, but not without putting in his word of wisdom.
"One day, my dear, you will sit at my feet, begging for me to teach you the mysteries of cooking and baking. Yes, my dear, you may laugh, you make shake your head, but I envision a day when we men, we men will be sole masters of the kitchen."
My God, thought Roland suddenly, remembering all those magazines lifting forward chiefs. He's right.
"Do you want to destroy the peace?" he asked, in vain trying to warn Lance from the horrors to come.
"What will Katherine do if you do?"
"Oh, don't you worry." she answered.
"I will just sit back and, ah, enjoy." Shaking her head again at the overblown egos of the male species.
After having had their second meal, they went back to discussing, but somehow the tea and warm scones had destroyed what planning they had. Roland had already agreed on staying the night with Pup, and Sztra wasn't expecting him back until the next day anyway. As Katherine made his bed, she kept throwing him inquiring and rather sly glances, making him feel quite uncomfortable.
In the end he just had to ask. "What?"
"What, what?"
"You know, giving me all those looks, Katherine. What?"
"Oh, it's nothing." Smiling as she finished.
It wasn't until he went in to sleep he got the meaning. As he was creeping under the covers he found someone already snoozing.
"Hell, Pup! What are you doing here?". She mumbled something drowsily. "What?" 'Shit I'm repeating myself.' She mumbled something again, sounding very tired. Roland considered getting up again and trying to find somewhere else to sleep, but in the end he just turned around and fell asleep, giving up on it as a bad decision. Pup smiled, satisfied in her corner of the bed, 'They do take some breaking in' she thought, as she too went to sleep.
Now, one could have all kind of moral considerations about that kind of behavior, but being well traveled, Roland had learnt that customs differed, also he seemed to remember some countries where the girls were betrothed at a very early age. And one thing his time in the service had taught him, was that you didn't unnecessarily stomp on other folks' customs, not without repercussions, at least. But the next morning, as he followed the captain up the wall, he asked him. "Lance? This thing with Pup. When, ah, you know." The captain smiled a little as he heard Roland's hesitation.
"Don't worry, by our customs girls are free to make their own choices from the age of fifteen, as our boys, too. Doesn't mean we enjoy seeing them getting taken advantage of, but as long as there is no force involved we usually turn a blind eye. Although..."
"Although what?"
"Well, if you got pledged it would sit a little better with some."
"Pledged?"
"Betrothed, man. Betrothed."
Roland looked at him, not believing his ears. He and Pup? "Come on, you can't be serious."
The captain smiled again. "Well, my friend, I would say that if Pup has set her mind at something, you won't have much to say about it either way. Better do the best you can about it."
Roland stared at him incredulously. "That was the craziest thing you've said yet, Lance." He muttered, deciding that he for one wouldn't be pussy-whipped by some slip of a girl.
"I'm gonna have a long good talk with her, just you wait."
The captain looked out at the valley stretching out under him in the early morning sun. 'Oh yes, just you wait' he thought, unable to stop the laughter bubbling up. Roland looked at him suspiciously, but decided to make no more comments. As they both surveyed the foes' encampment, Roland noticed how neat and well planned it seemed.
"You have a real problem here." He concluded, studying it. "They know what they're doing, and they seem to be here to stay."
The captain nodded. "Can't argue with that." He said.
"And where is that Skr'a?" Roland asked, looking for the cage.
The captain pointed to the left, behind what looked most like some wooden pyramid. "There."
As Roland tried to see, the captain remembered the binoculars he had left in his saddlebag. "Wait here, I'll go fetch your lenses, Roland."
Roland waited, and soon enough the captain was back with his field glasses. As he put them to his eyes, he realized that this realm didn't work solely by magic. After all, the batteries worked as good here as they had done at home. 'Wonder when they'll stop working' he thought, realizing that a pair of older ones probably would have been better, but there was another thing with them too. They were both field glasses and a digital camera. The last one he hadn't bothered to explain to the captain, as he knew that it would only be seen as some kind of magic.
But from the service, he knew the importance of having the right tools, and when he first had seen them selling at home, he remembered himself wishing that those would have been available during his time in the service. There was also a GPS in it, able to give the exact latitude and longitude, although he had to admit to that one being worthless here as it needed satellites overhead to compute the time difference and pinpoint the exact location. 'Just for fun' he thought, as he turned the camera on. He couldn't believe his eyes as it suddenly gave a position, not that the position meant something to him, but the fucker worked?
"This is weird" he muttered to himself. Was it some strange kind of magic perhaps?
The captain, who had seen him touching one of the black knobs on the underside, looked at him inquiringly.
"So it is broke then?" He queried.
"No, not at all, it works?" muttered Roland incredulously, staring at it.
"And?" said the captain, not understanding.
"Well, it shouldn't, not like this?" answered Roland.
The captain shook his head, listening to the weird mumbling. 'Roland was sure one weird guy' he thought, contemplating again all that had happened.
'Complaining that it worked? Well, never mind.'
"Have you found it, then?"
Roland, who suddenly remembered why he was standing there, started to look for the cage again.
"Yeah, now I see it." he answered. 'Boy'o oh boy.'
That cage was indeed a very strange sight. Black, having thick vertical iron bars on the side turned to them, and walled at the three other sides. The cover was off and he could see the Skr'a inside looking out with its large red faceted eyes almost smoldering in the weak winter light, and inside he saw something that most reminded him of some sort of a cocoon wrapped in silk at the side anchored to a bar. The beasts and men ambling around it were giving the cage a wide berth as they went about their work.
"That gotta be that beast you was talking about." he muttered, as he studied it more closely. The captain who guessed what he was seeing, agreed.
"Yes, Roland, that's the unfortunate." He assented.
"And that, thing, is still supposed to be sentient?" The captain muttered unbelievingly, as he tried to accept the sight of it,
'it's big!' Roland thought. He took some quick snaps of the encampment and the spider, then turning back to Lance.
"Here, have a look yourself." Lance took the lenses gingerly, not wanting to break them by any rough handling. After all, Roland had seemed surprised that it still worked? Looking down the path, he couldn't help feeling a little shiver creeping up his back. "Poor sod." he muttered as he saw the cocoon. Slowly turning the field glasses he could see that the camp had grown even bigger.
"Sure looks like they mean business." He muttered, as he gave the lenses back to Roland, who silently nodded his assessment of the situation.
"Yep, let's go back and discuss it." Said Roland.
"Would you mind if Magnus sat in with us?" Asked the captain.
"Why would I? It's your battle, and your men need to know who their allies will be, too."
The captain nodded, 'that was kind of a problem' he thought. The men wouldn't be too pleased realizing that there would be Keepers amongst their midst.
"Yep, Magnus, can you come join us." He called. Magnus, who was setting up an observation post outside the wall and preparing some trip lines, looked up.
"I'll be finished in a jiffy, Sir." He called back.
"Now, Ian, you know what to do." He muttered to the closest man.
"Make sure that the trip lines are well hidden."
Ian nodded. "No problem, Magnus." He answered, not stopping.
"Good man." Said the captain approvingly, as he saw Magnus coming.
"You will find Magnus an asset, Roland." He added.
Roland, who studied the short but compact man coming to them, nodded thoughtfully. He didn't look anything as he assumed Northerners to look, but this wasn't home and that wasn't a Viking. But as he saw the lithe grace with which the man climbed up the embankment he smiled.
"Oh, I'll think were going to get along splendidly." He answered. As they went back, Lance started to tell Magnus about the developments. Magnus listened flabbergasted.
"Keepers, you mean worms?"
"Yes, and they've agreed to help us." Answered the captain, as they once more were back in Katherine's kitchen.
The captain had made a move as if going to put on the kettle, but Pup had rushed over before him shooing him back. "No way, you daft man." She told him.
"Yesterday was quite enough." The captain seemed a little hurt, and Magnus wondered what had happened yesterday. 'I'm missing something here' he thought, seeing Katherine nod grimly.
He looked at Roland enquiringly, but Roland just smiled a bland smile muttering. "Just an ammunitions experiment corporal, a small detonation."
Now Magnus saw the captain looking even worse as he heard Roland. 'Yep, he was most certainly going to get to the bottom of this secret.' decided the corporal, as he saw the relief everyone seemed to feel as the captain sheepishly sat down at the table. 'there must be a good tale waiting here, lad' he promised himself, as he sat down beside the captain, watching the ladies gearing up to serve them.
"Katherine, Lilah, those scones are a treasure. I've talked to the men, and we are planning to exchange Lilah here for our cook."
Lilah smiled, seeming quite pleased at the praise, and Katherine nodded.
"Good." she said. "some peace at last, she's all too fretful."
"Mumm." Said Lilah complainingly. "I'm not!"
"Well, not when you're away." Said Katherine, laughing a little at her daughter's tone of voice. She gave her a hug. "Relax girl, I was only joking. But I've been thinking of adopting Pup, here." She added, looking serious.
Lilah stared at her, thinking of it. Then she started to jump up and down.
"Yahh, my own sister." She hollered, as she run over to Pup to jump in her lap.
"You will, won't you? Be my big sister, Pup?"
Pup looked down smiling. "Who wouldn't want to be your sister, Lilah?" She said, making Lilah even more pleased, if that now was possible.
Then the discussion turned to more serious things.
"Well, it's time for us to join the Keepers again." Said the captain.
"If we are going to free that, that Skr'a?." Roland turned questioningly to Pup, suddenly remembering his photos.
"Come here, Pup." He said. "I want to show you something." getting his binoculars.
She came over, looking curious, as he turned it over showing her how to use it she saw her first still pictures ever.
"You're a grand magician Roland." She said in quiet awe, wondering what imp it was he had locked into the lenses cage, painting so lifelike pictures.
"Yes, yes. But do you recognize the spider?" he asked impatiently.
"Oh yes, that's a Skr'a." She said, looking in the binoculars. 'Good.' thought Roland, one question less then.
"What good pictures." marveled Pup. "Katherine, Lilah, come and look."
"How do you feed it." she asked, as they also marveled at the instrument.
"What?"
"That." She said pointing to the binocular.
"Batteries." He answered shortly, hoping that she would be satisfied with that.
'So that is what imps eat, ' thought Pup, impressed.
"Are there a lot of batteries growing here." She asked, interested.
"No." Answered Roland, even more curtly, trying to signal that he didn't want to speak about it. It had to be a very secret thing then, guessed Pup even more impressed. She had to admit to Roland's magic being both strange and strong. She smiled at him and asked no more.
Magnus and the captain was as impressed as Pup, but as both knew of telescopes they guessed that this was just some more of Roland's strange 'technology', as he called those machines.
"Quite impressive, heh, Magnus?" said the captain quietly, as they watched the photos. Magnus nodded silently, trying to figure out how the paintings were made.
"Well." said Roland decisively when all had got a good look.
"Time to plan, it's noon, and we have to get back soon. I would really like to have some plan to present to the Keepers when I arrive."
The discussion went forth and back, even Pup and Lilah getting involved. Pup, insisting to come, as she expected herself to be the only one able to speak with the spider. At last they had some sort of rudimentary plan. Roland and Pup would get the Keepers, while Magnus would handpick some good men to follow them on their raid. The captain and Katherine would make sure that the way was empty of people.
After all, he didn't want any panic from people seeing the Keepers for the first time. And to be honest, he wasn't too sure on his own reaction, either. Too long had they seen the Keepers as horrifying beasts, slithering around in the caves waiting for prey. Lilah would go with them, too, and all agreed that they split up to arrange their tasks to order.
"Do you think it will work?" asked Pup doubtfully.
"Well, it was your idea." Answered the captain. "So it better, Pup."
Pup wasn't too happy at that answer.
"It's your idea, too." she said imperiously.
Roland looked thoughtfully down at her as she walked beside him.
"You know." He said, changing the subject. "I have this strange feeling you have grown, girl?"
'Ah, so he noticed' thought Pup, pleased.
"Well, you said I was too small, didn't you? And now you're complaining that I'm growing?"
'Impossible to live with, impossible to live without' he thought, feeling a quiet desperation. "You do know that Mari will hear about those, Ah, plans?"
"Oh, didn't I tell you? She does know."
It was in fact Mari that had told her that if she wanted Roland, to give notice to her, as anything more than his little friend she would have to become more adult looking. It gave her some pain growing that fast, but the rewards seemed more than compensating it, she thought as she smiled. Roland shook his head despondently, realizing that he was stuck with the situation for now.
"Whatever." he muttered, as they kept walking down the stairs. It was a lot easier downward, and soon enough they found themselves in the old deserted store room again. 'Strange that the tunnel starts directly' thought Roland. "It's almost like this was some old trading path with the Keepers." He remarked
"Yes, that's right." Said a voice. It was Sztra.
He was standing in the opening with Foil. "We got a little worried that you were gone so long." He said. "Foil wanted to go looking, and we almost, ah, caved in."
He wheezed that strange laugh of his. "So? How did it go?"
"well, it's like this." Started Roland, as they arranged themselves around the small fire Pup had made, taking some tea. As they explained, the Keeper looked more and more incredulous, his body language becoming quite excited.
"A Skr'a? Here." He asked. Roland nodded, and Pup started once more to tell what she knew about them.
"Shhh, child. We know. Once we shared the same realm." Answered Sztra.
"So that was the Foul one's final bribe," he said to himself.
"Bribe?" asked Roland.
"Yes, bribe. He knows the way home, that why the Skr'a is with him. Living proof of how we could come home once again." The story he started to tell was long and convoluted, involving a long time, more than Roland expected. It was about how the Keepers once fought a terrible war, being forced to retreat, and finally finding themselves down in a tunnel system through some strange cataclysm in the earth's surface, had been thrown through the portal to this realm. Listening to his story Roland couldn't help but start worrying. This bribe seemed larger than anything he or his friends ever could offer. He looked at the Keeper.
"So? What do you want to do now?" he asked cautiously. The Keeper studied him closely and seemed to learn some of the worry Roland felt.
"We are no oath breakers, Roland, and you are by oaths cave our chosen one. We will follow you and stand, or die, by your side. It is said that the chosen one will free us from bondage, making our numbers as large as the green grass above. You have our word."
Roland smiled thinly, feeling the tension in the room lessen considerable.
"Thanks, Sztra, I needed to hear that." He admitted quietly. "There are hard times before us, and I need all the friends I can get. But you may loose the way back. It's my guess that this, ah, Skr'a, is as lost as you, not knowing the gateway either. We thought he would be some sort of guide to the tunnels first, but this makes more sense to me."
Sztra agreed. "You may well be right there, but I speak for us all here, Roland. We will not go back on our pact, come hell or high waters. Hopefully he will know enough, but we won't know until we rescue him. And that we will, this is a thing of rejoice to us, Roland. To find one of our lost realm, a sister or brother in need."
As they were talking, the storeroom slowly had filled with Keepers. All of them listening in silence, for once not moving around, and as their chief finished they all started to thump their legs in a slow steady rhythm.
"They are telling the others." Informed Sztra, himself thumping too.
"This is the most exciting and promising news we've had in a long time."
As the thumping stopped, they all started to climb the winding stairs. 'I'll never complain about taking it easy again' decided Roland, as he felt his energy deplete.
The Keepers kept mostly to the walls, but Sztra slithered with Roland and the others keeping company. "They will wait for us up there." He told them. "They are just impatient."
Looking at his pocket watch, Roland realized that the daylight must be fading above. "Yeah, the light is waning up there. Sztra, one question just. It will be quite cold in the night. Are you keepers up to it?"
Sztra wheezed again. "Don't you worry, those are the hardiest Keepers we have. We use them as herders and scouts. They know the cold, and they will fight."
Roland liked what he heard, those and the men Magnus was picking should be able to perform. On that he was sure, the only question was how the spider would take it. Not for the first time, he wished he had one of those night scopes too, but what he had might work anyway. It all depended on what kind of sight the others had.
"Sztra, Pup. Can any of you see in the dark?" Sztra seemed to find the question amusing.
"Where do we live, Roland?" he asked rhetorically. "Of course we can find our way in the dark, although we use a lot of other senses, too."
Pup shook her head. "Not like this. Then I need to change and that will take time, and I like myself like this. Don't you, too, Roland?" She smiled sunnily at him, and to his surprise he found himself agreeing with her. He did like her as she was.
"Well, yes, Pup. I do like you as you are. But don't you get any strange notions now, girl." He warned her. "It's strictly platonic, you hear."
"Platonic, sounds exiting." Said Pup enthusiastically. "Will we try it tonight?"
He stared. "Look Pup, get this straight. I like you as a little sister, okay?" Now Pup looked confused for a moment, and then she asked carefully. "Isn't that a little kinky Roland? Making love with your own sister, and platonically, too?"
Roland felt like wanting to bang his head into something hard. "Pup." he asked sternly. "Tonight we will save that, that spider right?"
"Yes." She answered meekly.
"And then we will have no time for anything else, won't we?"
"Yes."
"Soo... ?"
"We'll wait until after?"
'shit, talk about a one way track' "Look, girl, concentrate on what we are going to do instead, please." He saw her slowly acceding to his demand, but then she started to look woebegone and her lip started to tremble.
"You don't like me." She said.
"What?"
"You hate me."
"I don't hate you, Pup. I'm just trying to plan a raid where we all can be hurt. Don't you see? That this discussion should wait." Now tears were becoming visible, and without thinking he swooped her up in his arms.
"I like you a lot, Pup, but one thing at a time, please."
She looked at him from under her long eyelashes, her eyes changing to violet. 'Strange' he mused, 'that I never noticed them before. She really has most extraordinary eyes.' Now they seemed to start to twinkle at him as she sighed, a highly pleased sound.
"So you will carry me the whole way, won't you, Roland?"
"What?"
"You have to, or I will cry."
"Are you threatening me?
"Yes."
Finally giving up on it he said. "Okay, but only up the stairs, Pup, I can't fight with you in my arms." She sighed again, and settled in into his arms. Strangely enough he found her blackmail methods less than abusive. He smiled down, admitting defeat.
Sztra and Foil seemed to snicker somewhere in the background, but for the moment he couldn't be bothered. This was a hell of a way to prepare for battle, he had to admit to himself. But still, he had known worse ways, too. 'Well, at least the nagging's gone." He muttered, satisfied as they climbed the last stairs.
Coming up, he found the chamber crawling with Keepers, none of them able to be still. He turned to Sztra. "If you wait here I will take Foil with me to introduce to the men, then I'll bring them here to meet you"
"You're afraid it's too much, meeting us all then?" the Keeper queried. Roland shamefacedly had to admit to him, thinking that it might be a little to overwhelming introducing both Keepers and dragon at the same time to Lance's men, but the Keeper seemed to understand.
"We will wait, Roland, go in peace." As he and Foil left, he heard Sztra start to wheeze again.
"What?" he asked turning back to him, at the same time starting to worry that he was asking that question all too often lately.
"You can let Pup down now, Roland. The stairs has ended." Shit, he had became so accustomed to carrying her around that he almost had forgotten. Sheepishly he let her down, accompanied by Foil's guffawing.
"Wondered how long it would take you noticing, Sir." The dragon remarked.
"The men would probably have forgotten all about me, seeing you silly looking like that."
Muttering under his breath, Roland walked out of the chamber. Looking down he found Pups smiling face looking back, her little hand in his.
'This is going to look downright silly' he realized. Him going to battle holding a little girl's hand, and with a silly looking dragon guffawing beside him, letting off small clouds of smoke as the miserable creature desperately tried to hold it in.
But he found that he didn't want to let her hand go, and, in fact, was becoming increasingly reluctant to allow her with the raiding party at all.
"This won't work, Pup." He said abruptly. "I won't let you go."
She studied him, surprised, what was it this time? She thought they had been coming along so well, with him learning how to behave and all. "You want me to let go of your hand?" she asked confused.
"What?" 'There was that damned word again.'
"Sorry, Pup, but you're to damned young for this stuff."
"Holding hands?"
"No, getting involved with us fighting, girl. I can't condone it."
"Pathetic." She muttered, suddenly all fired up. "I told Mari that I would take care of you, and so I will. I'm coming."
"No, you're just too young." Saying it, he suddenly realized how stupid it sounded. She was probably as old as Foil, or older. Looking at her determined expression he muttered. "Oh, what the hell."
"But you will do as I tell you, Pup, no stupid excursions you hear."
She cooled off immediately, becoming sweet as syrup.
"Me? Why, I wouldn't dare, Roland." He shook his head, promising himself to keep a eye on her, questioning the wisdom of letting her come.
Talking, they had without noticing came out in the mess hall, where the others already stood waiting for them. It was the captain, Magnus, and what looked about twenty hardened hale men talking silently amongst themselves. The captain had used the photos and the scouts to make a rough map of the outlay, using sand that he had spread on a table to draw in.
The men all knew what they were in for, but seeing Roland coming strolling, arguing with what looked as his daughter, having a big green dragon lumbering behind them guffawing and letting out smoke signals, made them all stop to just stare at the strange procession.
The captain couldn't help wishing that Roland could look a little more warlike, some scars, even pock marks would have helped. But instead he looked like some absentminded professor searching for the right words as he argued in vain with the girl. Lance had reluctantly to admit that she was the one looking most war like of those two. It didn't help when the dragon saw them and opened his snout.
"Oh, a mess hall, are those our waiters, I'm hungry?" Roland looked up from Pup to find forty four eyes staring at him, all except two disbelieving their eyesight. In haste he tried to collect himself.
"Captain, a pleasure seeing you all. This is Pup, my vixen from hell. Sorry, a small joke, and Foil." Here he found he couldn't stop himself, again, probably it was her name. "Foil, the magic dragon."
The men stared. The captain harrumphed a little and then answered. "Pleased to see you, Roland. Well, Magnus you know already, right, the rest of my men here is our little party tonight. We were just discussing how to best proceed, where are your wo ... Sorry, Keepers?" Roland realized that this probably was the better place to hold the gathering.
"Pup, go get the Sztra will you? We will hold our council here." Pup went away without a word, and Roland took a breath of silent relief. It seemed as if she was going to behave after all. He nodded to the others, and joined them at the table, Foil seeming to sharpen up now that the fun and games at last was going to start.
As they stood there discussing, the men relaxed a little. If it hadn't been for that dragon they would have thought him some sort of fop, not that his clothes was that good, but still. But as they exchanged views and slowly seemed to agree on how to create their little surprise, they couldn't help but notice his businesslike approach to it.
"And they have posted sentries here and here." The captain pointed. "I will leave that one to you, Torval and Magnus, and Lars and Ian, you'll take the other one. And do it silently, please."
The idea was to try to do it as close up as possible, with one of the two as a sort of backup ready with a crossbow, and as the captain knew the guys from before, he felt reasonably confident in their ability.
This was just the kind of situation where Roland wished he could have trained a little with them before, to evaluate their capabilities, but as it was, he knew he had to trust to the captain's judgement. He studied them surreptitiously, and decided that none seemed that nervous over what was waiting for them, though.
The captain continued. "the whole plan is to let the girl, Pup, here, who will interpret, and Roland, here, up to that spider, remember. And don't you freak out if it follows them back. It is a sentient being, no matter how you see it, and a prisoner of Lord Foul's. Do you understand?" the men mumbled their consent, as a sudden weak whispery sound made them look up to find the Keepers finally arriving.
Sztra had given strict orders that none of his kin would come from the walls, fully realizing the importance of making their impact as unthreatening and calm as possible, but there were still several hands searching for sword and bows, as the men suddenly found themselves engulfed in a sea of silent Keepers, their appendages twisting.
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