Chapter 43

New characters who are introduced in the next two chapters:

John Mc Intosh

Gwyn and Glanda's Husband, Lawyer, 5'-11' tall, 150 pounds, 26 years old, auburn hair, gray eyes

William Banister

Sererena and Saraid's Husband, printer, 5'-8" tall, 135 pounds, 25 years old, blond hair, blue eyes

James's Narrative of the Detroit and Niagara Operation:

It had been good working with Gerald again on the preparations to quarantine the warehouses that the British were using in Baltimore. It had been even better working closely with Jillian on that. We had always been so close, being twins, but now she had Connor in her life, and we had drifted apart to a certain extent, even though we worked together in S-3. I was glad that Jillian had found someone to make her happy.

The four of us had been to Fell's Point several times in February to check everything out and to plan how we would enclose the various groups of warehouses in defensive shells. We would need quite a few shells due to the layout of the buildings and piers along the shore. We also quickly came to realize that we would need to create openings at the top of each shell to allow for admitting fresh air and the escape of smoke, since there were sure to be guards trapped inside of the shells. They would burn wood or other items to remain warm and to cook their food. We would also need to determine how to remove them from the shells eventually.

There was another mission that Gerald and I were involved in, and it had to be accomplished before the operation against the Supply Depots at the various ports began. This was the quarantining of the British Fort at Detroit, and Fort Niagara at the mouth of the Niagara River.

We had met with Seamus in late January to assemble our team. The team consisted of Morgan O'Keefe, Duncan MacKenna, Gerald and me, James. Both Mark and Seamus gave us what they knew about both forts. The first thing needed was to create locations to transfer to near each fort so that isolating them could be done quickly just before the general offensive against the ports began. To accomplish this would require that we visit both areas ahead of time. Our nearest bookstore sites were quite some distance from the sites of the forts. Fortunately, we could accomplish this first part of the mission in daylight. We would just need to be careful.

The weather turned nasty on the east coast shortly after Ken, Kell, and their Wives finished the initial survey of the ports. This bad weather extended to at least as far north as Fort Niagara, so we would tackle it last. It also required the most travel.

After some discussion, we decided on Wednesday, the 18th of February, to start on Fort Detroit. We four with our horses transferred from Hickory Hill to our bookstore location north of Detroit. Arriving at what would eventually be the area known as Ferndale, we found it very cold with a wind blowing out of the north to add to our discomfort. We set out for the fort which is located near the Detroit River some ten miles south of where we had appeared. We needed to avoid a number of Indian encampments along the way but managed to make our way to within a couple of hundred yards of the fort. It had taken us nearly three hours to reach the vicinity of the fort because of the need to avoid the Indian encampments.

From our vantage point on ground a bit higher than the fort, we could see that it was quite large but rectangular rather than square like the forts that the Americans seemed to favor. It appeared to be a bit over six hundred feet long by about three hundred feet wide at its widest. This would give it a diagonal measure of about seven hundred feet for a spherical Defensive shell that would cover about nine acres. We created a small Defensive Shell to serve as a marker to return to when we isolated the fort in March. We did not tint it however, leaving it just a clear hemisphere about four feet in diameter with our wards woven into it.

We all transferred back to Hickory Hill then to get out of the icy wind and to warm up. We agreed that we would wait for better weather on the east coast for the trip to Fort Niagara. I reported to Ken later that day that we had set up the marker at Fort Detroit.

"When will you visit Fort Niagara?" he asked after hearing my report.

"We want to wait for better weather on the coast," I told him. "The cold and the wind at Detroit were a real challenge, and there is further to travel to Niagara." Gerald and I checked the weather in Baltimore several times during the next week to determine when it would be best to set out for Fort Niagara. A warm spell was just starting there on Wednesday the 25th of February, and we thought that Thursday, the 26th would be the best day to make the journey. We alerted Duncan and Connor to this.

Dressed for bad weather but hoping for the best, we transferred to our bookstore location outside of Buffalo, New York. It was located near the Niagara River, and was some twenty miles from Fort Niagara which is located on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River.

We passed a number of Indian encampments as we followed the general direction of the river but kept at a good distance inland from its shore. The ground was still frozen here but would soon thaw from the warmer temperatures and make it more difficult to travel. We soon needed to move even further inland and eventually had to stop completely. Duncan entered one of the Indian encampments to obtain directions. The rest of us waited for him on the edge of the encampment. Gerald and I had cast glamours of various Indians that we had met around the three of us to look inconspicuous. Duncan soon returned.

"I found an old man that spoke some Delaware, and he gave me directions. We need to move further inland to avoid the area near the river. It can be very dangerous, especially this time of year," he told us.

It required over five hours, but we eventually reached the area near Fort Niagara. The fort itself was on a point of land where the Niagara River emptied into Lake Ontario. The area around the fort had been used by the French as a defensive position since 1629, but the present fort was founded nearly a century later. The British had taken possession of it following the French and Indian War. We observed the fort with its earthworks and masonry walls from back in the trees some distance from it, and from a slightly higher elevation.

"What do you think?" I asked Gerald who was beside me.

"Looks impressive, but nowhere impervious to our Power Rings. It appears to be about a thousand feet or so across that point of land that it is sitting on. With a shell that large, an open top won't be a problem. It would be two hundred and fifty feet high," he commented.

"A bit larger shell would be better," I told him. "At twelve hundred feet in diameter, it would cover ... something like twenty-six acres, and be three hundred feet high for an open top shell, and we would be sure to include all of the fort and its surroundings."

"That sounds reasonable," Gerald agreed before we explained what we were considering to Duncan and Morgan. We returned to Hickory Hill after creating a small Defensive Shell here in the woods as a marker to return to, but again we didn't tint it so that it wouldn't reveal its location. I went to brief Ken and Kell on returning.

"On what day are you planning to isolate both forts?" Kell asked when I had finished my report.

"We are looking at Friday night, the 6th of March," I told him.

"Will all four of you be entering both forts?" Ken asked.

"Yes, Duncan and I will be casting the spells for the Defensive Shells while Gerald and Morgan stand guard. We will be using invisibility spells to keep from being seen. Fort Detroit has a lot of buildings in the center part of the fort so it shouldn't be a problem. Fort Niagara on the other hand has a lot of open space inside its walls and we will need to be more careful there," I told them.

"Fine. Alert us when you are ready to leave and inform us when you return," Ken told me. We all returned to our normal duties until the 6th.

On the afternoon of the 6th of March, Gerald, Duncan, Morgan, and I met at Hickory Hill. We went over what we would be doing at each fort, and I reported to Ken and Kell that we were ready and would be departing at about 10:00 that night. We didn't want to arrive at the forts when the residents were likely to still be out or awake.

We were all nervous after dinner while waiting to leave. Ten o'clock finally arrived, and we donned our winter coats and hats. It had started to rain lightly at Hickory Hill, which did not portend a good beginning to our operation. After setting our strongest wards, we transferred to the marker shell that we had set up near Fort Detroit. It was pouring down rain when we appeared there.

"Isn't this just lovely!?" Gerald asked, sarcastically.

"The sentries will be more interested in keeping dry than in checking on what is going on," Morgan told us with a grin.

"It will also be harder for them to hear any noise that we might make," Duncan added. "Also few others will be out tonight."

"Right. Let's transfer to the area to the right of the rear gate. Then I'll do a transfer inside the wooden palisade for a quick look around the fort.

"I'll return to get the rest of you when I have checked things out and chosen a location," I told them. This was agreeable to everyone, and we transferred to the rear of the fort. I then transferred inside the fort, but in an area well away from the rear gate and any guards there. I made my way across the open area near the palisade and moved through the shadows around the buildings to a street that appeared to run uninterrupted from the front gate to the rear gate. After selecting a location that appeared to be mid way between them in the rain clouded near total darkness, I transferred back outside the fort and informed the others of what I had found.

I transferred everyone to the spot that I had selected, then Duncan and I quickly sat on the soggy ground to cast the spell for an open top Defensive Shell while Gerald and Morgan kept watch. We expanded the shell until we thought that it covered the fort adequately. Gerald transferred outside of the fort to check on the coverage of the shell while we waited. He returned after many anxious minutes.

"The coverage looks good. The shell is past the points of the redoubts at the front of the fort where the gardens are," he told us in a whisper. I tinted the shell a light green before we all transferred back to the marker.

"One down, and one to go," I said after we reappeared at the marker. "How is everyone doing?" I asked after that.

"Fine!" Morgan said. "These wards keep the rain off of you which is important in this cold weather."

"Yes," Duncan agreed. "It has been much better that some of the hunts that I have been on." We transferred to the marker at Fort Niagara after that. The weather there wasn't any better than it had been at Fort Detroit. It just wasn't raining quite as hard here.

On moving to the edge of the forest, we observed the fort and its surroundings in the available darkness. There were a number of lights still showing inside the fort.

"I remember there being more buildings on the south side of the fort when we saw it on arriving here the first time," Duncan reminded us.

"Yes, and there is better cover for approaching the fort on the north or lake side," I agreed before we moved in that direction, bypassing the outer earthworks or ravelin as the French call them. We slipped around to the lake shore and passed the tower there before Gerald did a transfer inside the fort to have a look around. He returned after ten minutes or so.

"They have a huge parade ground, but most of the sentries appear to be on the walls and around the buildings on the south side. We shouldn't have any problems. We can transfer right to the center of the parade ground," he told us. We all checked our wards before casting the invisibility spell again, and Gerald transferred all of us to the center of the parade field. Gerald and I cast the spell for the open top Defensive Shell this time, and expanded it to cover this somewhat smaller fort while Duncan and Morgan kept watch for any trouble. We transferred back to our marker after tinting the shell a light green.

"That was easy enough," Morgan said after we canceled the invisibility spells.

"We need to check that the shell covers all of the fort," I told them.

"How will you do that?" Duncan asked.

"I'll go back, pass through the shell, and check that it actually covers all of the fort. You guys wait here. Gerald can expand the shell here to keep you out of the rain," I told them.

"All right, but be careful," Gerald agreed. I recast the invisibility spell before transferring back to where we had first approached the fort. I checked the shell on the north or lake side until the shell was far out in the water of the lake and past the 'French Castle' as the large stone building there at the point of land was known in our Reality. I transferred back to my starting point and checked around the south side of the fort where there was more land until the shell was out in the water again. Satisfied, I transferred back to the marker shell, and we all returned to Hickory Hill. The other guys left to join their fiancees, and Gerald and I went to report to Ken and Kell who were waiting up for us in the den. After that we returned to our own rooms for a good night's sleep.

Gwyn's Narrative of the Charles Town Operation:

Everyone was nervous on Sunday, the 8th of March. We all knew that at midnight the offensive operation against the British would begin with all of us setting out to quarantine all of the British supplies stored in the warehouses at the east coast ports.

We had all been to our assigned port a number of times during February to determine exactly what was required for our area. We had checked the warehouses to determine the extent of the area to be covered, and had determined the best way to set up our Defensive Shells to cover that area. There seemed to be as many different plans as there were ports. Now the time was drawing near and everyone was nervous, or at least anxious to start.

The weather, while it had been terrible with the freezing temperatures, and then the warming and rain cycles, had kept wagon traffic to an absolute minimum. The roads and the fields too were all muddy quagmires. This had infuriated the British authorities who had wanted to make an early start this year. A few had tried with disastrous results.

Dinner had been later than usual tonight so we wouldn't need to eat again while on the operation. We were all to regroup here at Hickory Hill when we had finished our assigned areas, and after the group leaders had checked the areas that they were responsible for. Sererena and I were responsible for Savannah, Manchester, and our own port of Charles Town. All of our teams were to meet us at the marker shell that we had set up near Mount Edgecomb on Hogg Island when they finished their work.

As midnight approached, we all donned our warmest clothing and headed outside. It was cold here at Hickory Hill and would not be any better on the coast. The moon was not up and would be just past the last quarter phase when it came up later tonight, so it wouldn't be supplying much light. We all assembled in our teams in front of the main house. We had no trouble seeing in the darkness as there was light from the house. Mark addressed us before we set out.

"In a few minutes we will be launching the operation to drive the British out of North America. You have all scouted your areas and made your plans for how to deal with them. Now it is time to put those plans into effect. We will all meet back here after your group leaders have checked everything out. The best of luck to each of you. When we return, there will be breakfast ready for us. The cooks will be starting on that shortly.

"Group Leaders, check your people and transfer to your ports when you are ready," Mark finished. Sererena and I checked with our Sisters and their fiances, and then we all transferred to our respective ports to begin work. Sererena, Saraid, Glanda, and I materialized in Charles Town to find it chilly and damp but not raining. It was certainly warmer here than it had been in Lexington, but it wasn't warm by any stretch of the imagination. We materialized in the alley off of Market Street that we had used previously.

Since we had previously paced off East Bay Street several times, we knew where the center point for the first shell was located. Sererena and I transferred to the dock there after casting the invisibility spell. Saraid transferred to the foot of East Bay Street to determine when the expanding shell reached there. Glanda stayed with Sererena and me as security to handle any problems. We quickly sat on the cold dock and cast the spell for a Prolate Defensive Shell and then began expanding it to 750 feet wide and 1800 feet long, covering half of the length of East Bay Street. Saraid appeared next to us when the shell had reached her position. We tinted it a nice light pink before transferring to the second center point.

Saraid and Glanda cast the second shell while I pulled security for them, and Sererena checked when the shell reached the inlet near the market. She soon returned to inform us that the shell was long enough. We all transferred out of the second shell after tinting it a light pink also. We then moved to the other side of the inlet at Market Street and cast a third shell around the warehouses being used by the English merchants. This completed the first part of our operation We could hear some of the guards in the first shell raising the alarm, as they had by now detected the shell in the dark despite the absence of light.

"We need to check the area where the shells meet to insure that there isn't a large gap between the first two shells," Sererena reminded us. We quickly checked that out and found that there was about a three foot gap between the ends of the first two shells.

"Last we need to create the vents at the tops of the shells so smoke can get out and air can get into the shells. The guards trapped inside are sure to start fires to keep warm," Sererena reminded us. "Gwyn, take Glanda and do the first shell, and I'll take Saraid and work on the second one. I don't think we need to cast wards over the openings. The tops of those shells are 375 feet above the docks."