Avalon

Avalon 3.3: part 3 of 6, Serpents of the Deep

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Iddin-Addad stood on the beach and took a long whiff of salt air. “One day those hill will be covered with grass and trees. All they need is several thousand years for the wind and rain to leach out all the salt in the soil.”

“How do you figure?” Clicker asked.

“Easy. The Caspian Sea is shrinking. Once, it covered those little hills and deposited plenty of salt. Now, it is drying up, and the sea will continue to get smaller over the next some thousand years.”

“I like it,” Serpentelle said as she splashed her feet in the water. “I never got to see the water before in caspian sea 4the sunlight.”

“You are a hobgoblin now, no longer stuck in the dark,” Iddin told her for the thousandth time.

“I know, and I can’t wait to have a handful of little hobgoblins.”

“Not with me you don’t,” Iddin said as he looked down the beach in the direction they had to travel.

Serpentelle smiled at him even if he did not notice, before she turned to the imp. “How about with you, Clicker.” She bent down to kiss the imp’s gray, bald forehead and gave him a good view of her scantily clad body. Iddin noticed a little reddening underneath Clicker’s gray skin.

Clicker coughed when Serpentelle stood up straight again and looked once more at the sea. “We best keep moving on,” Clicker said.

“I don’t think we can,” Iddin responded. Nine riders, warriors by the look of them, were blocking their path.

###

The three witches floated in the air and let their eyes look all around the village, like they were calculating something. “Move village.” The one in the center spoke in the local tongue.

“We bring the three serpents of the deep,” the one on the left spoke. It was in a language unknown to the locals, but thanks to the translation gift of the Kairos, the travelers understood perfectly what the witch said.

“Serpents, come!” The one on the right shouted.

“Move village,” the center one repeated and the three witches flew off down the beach that the travelers had just come up.

“Congratulations Major,” Lockhart said. “We managed that whole exchange without you taking a potshot at one of the witches.”

Caspian sea 2“It was tempting,” Decker said. “Just to see what they were made out of.”

“Some kind of robotics,” Elder Stow reported what they already guessed.

“The serpents?” Katie got their attention and they followed her down to the sea which was already beginning to bubble with activity. Of course, it turned out there was only one serpent left, and it squealed when it saw the travelers, like it recognized them and did not want to be there. But it could not help itself. It was still bleeding from several bullet holes it received earlier in the day, but it dutifully began to reach for boats and nets, to tear them up.

“Allow me,” Elder Stow said, and he fired his weapon. The energy beam sliced perfectly through the neck, and like the last time, the head fell before the body joined it “Mercifully quick,” Elder Stow added even as Andovar and some thirty men armed with spears and bows came to the beach.

There were several moments of silence and dropped jaws before spontaneous joy erupted from the men on the beach. It was quickly joined by shouts and cheers from the people around the village. Boston took Roland’s hand and said they had to check on Alexis. The others and Andovar abruptly paused the celebration when they saw the witches returning. It was hard to tell on those unexpressive faces, but the travelers imagined the witches were not too happy

The witches moved again to the edge of the village and the center one spoke once more. “Move village”

“We bring the Giant of the Transvaak,” the one on the left said.

“Giant, come!” The one on the right shouted.

“You got a stun setting on that thing?” Lockhart asked.

Elder Stow fiddled with something on his weapon, but shook his head at the same time. “I don’t know about robots as you call them, or giants,” he said as the witches once again flew off down the beach to the south.

“We may have a wait,” Andovar said “The giant lives some distance from here.”

“Good to know,” Lincoln said

“How big?” Elder Stow asked.

“Which direction?” Major Decker asked.

“Hold up!” Katie yelled and pointed. There were twelve horses riding toward the village, eleven with riders, though one horse appeared to have two figures on it. Andovar quickly gathered his men into some semblance of a defensive formation, and they waited.caspian ponies

The riders were mostly women, as it turned out. One man and one of the women dismounted immediately on arrival. “Hey, Lockhart,” Iddin got that much out before he was surrounded by spears. The woman drew her sword. The other women appeared to have bows already strung and ready for battle.

“No, no,” Lockhart spoke quickly. “Andovar. That would be most unwise.”

There was serious tension in the air until they heard a squeak from the back of the horse that appeared to be wandering off down toward the beach.

“Help.” It was a pitiful sound.

“Get your paws off of me.” The response came in a woman’s strong voice.

Iddin rolled his eyes. “Clicker! Serpentelle!” he yelled and pointed at the small space in front of where he stood. The little ones appeared as out of nowhere. Clicker breathed. Serpentelle brushed off her little bit of clothes and remarked.

“Normally I don’t mind hands all over me, but you were preventing me from getting down.”

The men with the spears backed up. It was hard to say what was more frightening, the imp or the hobgoblin, or maybe the fact that this man just called them to appear out of thin air. Iddin signaled to the woman beside him and she lowered her sword. She turned to her troop and shouted, “Lower your weapons.”

“Borsi, put down the spears,” Andovar shouted as soon as he found his breath. The spears were lowered, but Iddin was already on another track.

“Hey, Katie. I brought some friends of yours.” The woman beside Iddin opened her mouth and her eyes, wide. She rushed to Katie and two of the women in the troop leapt from their horses and joined her. All three went to their knees.

“Elect,” the first woman said. “The second in all the world. Zoe is gracious to her humble servants.”

“Yeah.” Iddin was still speaking. “The Amazon seer said I was going to face a terrible monster and she sent help all the way from the Black Sea. They have been chasing me for weeks, and finally caught me just up the beach here. Say, where is Little Fire?”caspian village 2

“You? Facing a terrible monster? Hard to believe,” Lockhart said and Decker almost smiled.

“Here I am,” Boston said as she and Roland came back out of the house. “What’s up?”

“Iddin-Addad,” Lincoln pointed at the newcomer.

“Just Iddin,” Iddin said. “Addad is a reference to our family god, if you follow me. Nice guy, by the way. I met him.”

“Come on Alia.” Katie was already giving orders. “Let’s get your horses rubbed down and put up for the night.”

“Can someone explain what is happening?” Andovar shouted to the sky. Lincoln and Lockhart decided to try to explain the inexplicable.

Boston and Roland came close and Serpentelle became very animated. “An elf. A light elf Well, well. I could have fun with this one”

Boston grabbed Roland’s hand. “Not a chance. He is taken.” The fire danced in her eyes.

“I don’t traffic much with hobgoblins,” Roland said, honestly.

“I could show you how,” Serpentelle batted her eyes and wiggled her fine figure in an enticing way.

Boston found the fire down in the palms of her hands and Roland had to let go quickly to keep from being burned.

“Hold it” Iddin bravely stepped between the women. “Boston. You have no claim until you and Roland make a decision.” That stopped Boston cold and she looked at Roland, but he deliberately kept his eyes on the Kairos whom he hoped was not finished speaking “And Serpentelle. You keep your wiggles to yourself. You can practice on Clicker, but that is it.” Serpentelle pouted.

“Incoming,” Major Decker interrupted everyone. At least he was still keeping watch.

“He is bigger than I thought.”  Elder Stow shook his head again.

The giant began to throw stones into the village that were more nearly the size of small boulders.

Avalon 3.3: part 2 of 6, The Fishermen

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Iddin-Addad paused at the top of the next hill. There were some trees that he could hide behind and spy on who was following them. The people were on horseback, whoever they were, so they moved slowly through the hills, weaving in and out and around the hills. Iddin went over the rocky top, which was quicker, but tiring. If they did not reach the sea soon, he would have to stop and seriously rest.

“We are almost there,” Clicker said with a little less optimism than usual. Serpentelle did not let out her expected giggle. She was too busy peeking over Iddin’s shoulder and trying to be good. She just couldn’t be good. Her serpent-like tongue squirted out and licked Iddin’s ear.

“Serpentelle!”Caspian hills 3

“I’m sorry, but you smell so good. You taste so good.”

“Stop it. I am not for smelling and not on the menu.”

“I didn’t mean that kind of tasting.” Serpentelle grinned, batted her long lashes and pretended to be shy which no one in their right mind would believe.

“Forget it.” Iddin stood. “They seem to have a sixth sense about when I am looking and don’t show themselves.”

“I think there are seven,” Clicker said in all seriousness. “There may be more. There may be less.” He shrugged.

Iddin rolled his eyes and started down the back of the hill. Serpentelle sashayed beside him and kept looking at him with a humble expression, but her eyelids still batted away. Clicker walked on the other side and got out the words “We are –“ before Iddin put a hand over the imp’s big mouth.

###

Elder Stow did not float quite so far over the water this time. He clung to the shoreline, kept his eyes wide open, and one eye on his scanner. Major Decker wandered out over the sharper rocks, inland. He let his horse pick the way while he continually scanned the horizon. He only hoped he would not have to make a dash for safety over those sharp rocks.

“We are coming up on the village,” Roland reported. After passing that morning through the second abandoned village, Decker took the time to let his mind rise up with the eagles and spy out the land ahead. Elder Stow extended his scanner as far out as he could, but he admitted at that distance, his little handheld could not distinguish between human and animal life signs.

Caspian 2“What reaction do you think we might receive?” Lincoln asked.

“No telling,” Roland answered. “Humans have a way of surprising me.” He turned his elf smile on Boston.

“Wailing women,” Boston said, and she looked at Roland like a woman who might wail if she lost him.

“We don’t know if these men are from the village,” Alexis countered. “These might have been the ones who drove the other villagers off.”

“No.” Lincoln and Lockhart spoke together. They eyed each other and Lockhart motioned for Lincoln to explain.

“Whatever drove the people from their villages was not local. We found burn marks from energy weapons.”

“Bluebloods or Pendratti?” Katie asked Lockhart quietly.

“Maybe the elusive Sevarese,” he answered. “Probably not Gott-Druk or Elenar. I believe Elder Stow would have identified them as such.”

Katie nodded and turned her attention forward. There were a dozen horsemen riding out to meet them. They stopped several yards off. Katie and Lockhart split and came up alongside Boston and Roland. Decker and Elder Stow shadowed Lincoln and Alexis.

Three of the village men separated from the group and came forward slowly, without a word. They recognized the ponies and, from the look of it, the dead men. One pushed around Decker to examine Alexis’ wounded man. The other two, in particular the elder one, kept a close eye on the proceedings. The wounded man showed some sign of movement when they stopped, but his eyes never opened.

Alexis reacted before the local could touch the wounded man. “Are you a healer?” The local looked up, surprised. He gently shook his head. “Then keep your hands off him. I won’t be responsible if you kill him with your bungling.”Avalon 3 explorers on horseback

The local withdrew his hand and looked at his elder. The elder appeared to nod. “Come,” he said, and he turned back to his troop. They all entered the village together and Alexis had a hard time keeping one of Boston’s wailing women from dragging the man off the pony and into the dirt.

Katie and Lockhart dismounted in the center square and untied their ponies for the locals to take away. Decker opted to stay up on his mustang for the moment where he could look down on events. His horse was far taller than the horses the locals rode. Elder Stow floated down to use his own feet. The locals did not know what to make of the Gott-Druk, but they gave him plenty of space.

The elder man who came out to meet them came up to Roland with his two followers, but Roland merely pointed at Lockhart. Lockhart introduced himself and Katie and the man reciprocated.

“Andovar.”

“Your wounded friend has not said much so far.”

“Pedic. He and some of his people were trying to get back to their village to gather the things they left behind.”

“He spoke of three witches.”

Andovar nodded. “Pedic’s people and Lorimar’s both claim they were driven out by the witches and many fear we will be next. But above us, the land is ruled by the Scaldi so there is nowhere we can go.”

“Inland?” Katie wondered.

“Dry and stones. Our land grows little” The man shrugged. “We are fishermen.”caspian village 1

Lockhart understood. There was a real beach here, and a number of primitive boats and nets set out to dry. Several small fields had been cleared of rocks to grow grain of some sort. The rocks were used in the houses, since wood was scarce enough. There were trees and bushes in places, but no forest of any kind. The people burned something like coal for heat and to cook. They also had stone ovens for baking, which Katie pointed out. It appeared they had not yet learned to bake clay into pots, but the coal obviously burned hot enough to melt and shape whatever soft metals came to hand.

“Alexis,” Lockhart called, but she was busy. “Boston.”

“Yes, boss.” Boston was nosing around and her horse was sticking to her shoulder. “Tell Alexis. You can share the bread crackers here.”

Boston waved. Katie spoke. “A hard life.”

“Hard for you,” Lockhart spoke to her in English so Andovar would not understand. “You are not allowed to show them how to better store their grain or how to make pots or anything.”

“I understand. The Kairos would not be happy if I did that.” Katie made a joke, but got serious to match Lockhart’s more serious look. “I really do understand. Messing with history is not a good idea.”

“Incoming.” Decker interrupted with the word. Everyone looked up. There were three figures flying toward them. Lincoln, Boston and Roland were already bringing their horses and Alexis’ gray to a fenced in area. Alexis was in a nearby house with their wounded man. Decker pulled his rifle, dismounted, and hurried his horse in the same direction. Katie and Lockhart followed his example. Andovar tried to gather his men, but most of the rest of the village went into a panic when they saw what was coming.

The three witches came to the edge of the village where they hovered fifteen feet off the ground. The travelers heard the slight hum and saw the little light that came from beneath their long dresses. They did not appear to have legs, but they had arms and hands that Boston guessed were gloved until Elder Stow pointed out that they were metal hands. They also had faces that only approximated human faces. Their mouths opened and closed when they spoke, but the lips did not move with the words, like some cheesy animation. And they spoke while the people stared up at them in abject terror.

Avalon 3.3 Fireworks, part 1 of 6

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After 3029 BC, around the Caspian Sea. Kairos lifetime 36: Iddin-Addad

Recording …

Every time Iddin-Addad reached the top of a hill, he expected to see the shoreline of the Caspian Sea stretched out in front of him in blue and deep glory. Instead, he found there was yet one more hill. “There is always another hill to climb,” he said out loud, and then scolded his tongue for mouthing the cliché.

“We are almost there,” Clicker the imp said. He always said it with the same cheery voice, and Iddin thought if he said it one more time, he might hit the imp.

Serpentelle, the hobgoblin laughed. She always laughed when the imp said it, and licked her lips with Caspian hills 2her forked tongue. Iddin thought he might have to do something about these two and their obsessive, compulsive disorders.

Iddin stopped and looked back. Whoever that group was that was following, they were still following.

###

“Over here,” Roland yelled. “This one is alive.”

Boston raced up and dismounted before her horse stopped moving. She rushed to Roland’s side, but said nothing as she looked. Alexis was moments behind. She arrived as the man began to moan and mumble.

“Three witches,” the man said. “No escape. Three witches.” He fell back into a semi-conscious state as Alexis came up and began to lay on hands to heal the man’s obvious wounds.

Lincoln and Lockhart rode up more slowly. They each had a string of ponies that trailed out behind their stallions. Three of the ponies had dead bodies of men carefully draped over the backs and tied underneath with old fishing net to keep them from falling off.

“Did he say anything?” Lockhart asked. He was searching for some idea of what they might be up against.

caspian 1“He said something about three witches,” Boston responded. Lincoln quickly looked around. That did not sound good.

“We must be getting near the Kairos.” Lockhart tried not to grin.

“How do you figure?” Lincoln asked without moving his eyes from the horizon, what he could see of it over the hills.

“Dead bodies and witches. What could be more Kairos than that?”

Lincoln gave Lockhart a foul look, as Katie came up leading another pony. “That makes seven ponies,” she said. “But we only found four men.” She craned her neck to see what she could. “How is he?”

“He’ll live,” Alexis stood. “But I have no doubt he has a concussion and maybe some internal bleeding around the brain. He had a terrible gash there.” Alexis looked at the arrangement. “Katie, would you take Lincoln’s string of horses? I want to tie the pony you found to the back of Benjamin’s horse so we can put our wounded one on it. I want to keep an eye on him.” Katie nodded, and she and Lincoln got down to make that arrangement.

Major Decker and Elder Stow came in last and the Elder reported. “The scanner doesn’t pick up any more bodies.” He looked up. “Flesh and blood bodies.”

Caspian pony“There is a village not too far north along the shore,” Decker said with one more look around. “But this is a pretty desolate area.” The rises in the ground they had been traveling over were full of rocks. The horses had to tread carefully. Even the shoreline of the Caspian Sea was rocky, though those stones were rounded from the sea and the tides. “No place to hide a body here,” he concluded. There were trees here and there and some grass and bushes between the rocks, but that was it.

Lincoln got up on his horse to keep the horse steady while they got the wounded man up on the pony. They draped the man’s arms around the neck of the pony and Alexis and Roland did some magic to keep him glued there. Lincoln would not be able to move fast in any case because of the man’s wounds and head trauma, but at least they would not have to worry about the man falling off.

Roland and Boston prepared to take the point, as usual. They had seen two villages in the morning, likely fishing villages, but both were deserted. There were signs of violence, like the people were driven out in a hurry, but at least they found no bodies until now.

Lincoln and Alexis took the middle, and Alexis paralleled the pony with the wounded man. Decker and Elder Stow switched their normal sides so Decker could watch the inland flank while Elder Stow floated over the sea. Katie and Lockhart took rear guard position, still wary of what might be following them, though presently, two strings of ponies with three dead men, trailed out behind. The ponies at least seemed to be obedient animals and had not bucked much since being tied in a line.

“We ready?” Lockhart asked with a quick look around at the nods. “Wagons ho!” He waved his hand forward and spoke in a funny voice before he turned to Katie. “I always wanted to do John Wayne.”

“That wasn’t anything like John Wayne,” she scoffed. “He was a movie actor, right?”

Lockhart was astounded before he said, “We have some generational issues I see.”

“Great Gobs of Puss!” Elder Stow swore. He had not done that before. Everyone looked as three giant serpent heads rose out of the shallows. The center one snapped at the Elder and could have swallowed him in one bite. Elder Stow raced to the shore as Decker came riding up, blazing away with his rifle.Caspian serpent

Everyone kicked their horses into high gear as Katie got out her rifle and began to fire. One snake head lunged for Alexis, but Lockhart blasted it with both barrels of his shotgun and it swerved off.

Decker and Harper put enough holes in the one on the end, it began to jerk from the concussions before it collapsed to the beach behind them. They turned on the one out front that made a snap at Alexis. Elder Stow had his sonic device out, but the sound made no difference to the snakes. He fumbled for his weapon, but before he drew it, the center snake grabbed the pony on the end of Lockhart’s string. The serpent easily lifted the pony and began to lift the whole string of ponies.

Katie dropped her rifle and grabbed her knife. She got up on her horse’s back and leapt straight toward that terrible mouth. She cut the lead and the snake head snapped back, the screaming pony in its jaw. It began to submerge.

Elder Stow had his weapon by then, but he dared not fire on the snake with the pony for fear of hitting Katie. Decker was riddling the other even as it made a try for the pony with the wounded man. Elder Stow turned and made short work of the beast when his weapon sliced through the neck. The head fell and landed inches from Alexis. Then the body fell, mostly in the sea.

There was pandemonium as the travelers struggled to restore order to their animals and the trailing ponies. Katie was banged up when she fell, but all right. The second to back pony on Lockhart’s string broke its leg when it fell. It had a body tied to it so they had to transfer the body to one of the unburdened ponies they had. They took it and tied it at the end of Lockhart’s string so he and Katie now had two each rather than three ponies trailing behind. Lockhart shot the poor pony with the broken leg, and Decker came up to Elder Stow with an observation.

“Now we can guess where the other three bodies went.”

############

Please forgive my haphazardness in posting these episodes.  I am 70,000 words into a book.  I’ve been writing for the past twelve days like a madman, and losing track of day and night, and things like posts.  Episode 3.3 of the Avalon season 3 will cover six posts.  M, T and W of this week, and again, M, T, and W of next week.  If I lose track and miss a posting.  Bear with me.  I will get it up on the net.as soon as my brain starts functioning outside my current story mode.  Thanks, and enjoy the episode.

— Michael.

Avalon 3.2: part 6 of 6, Human Babies?

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Ptah looked at Weret. “I noticed, but I was being polite not saying it.” He looked at Wadjt, but she ignored his look.

Wadjt stepped over to the trembling Captain in the middle and spoke softly to him. “I am keeping my word. I am staying out of it, but I would leave Weret alone if I were you. She has too many friends in high places, if you know what I mean.” Wadjt vanished, but Weret was ready to explode. She looked at the Bluebloods beside her, and this time her angry face had some teeth in it before she vanished. Amun Junior came to stand there with the same angry expression, but his was truly a frightening, teeth filled expression. Sakhmet roared again with the appearance of her younger-older brother.

“You explained the rules to your Captain like I asked?” Junior squeezed the words between his teeth.

“Absolutely,” the Blueblood female swore. “Of course. Just like you asked. In great detail.”

“Liar!” Junior yelled, waved his hand and the female no longer had a tongue. “I want every male responsible for impregnating a female and every female who has planted her egg in a human to be in the cafeteria. He jumped to the cafeteria, and so did Ptah, Bast Sakhmet and Boston. There were twelve males and seven females together in that room, and three of the females still carried their egg, not yet having found a carrier.Egyptian banquet

Junior yelled a second time. “The Captain and any senior officers not already here, be here, now.” Four males and two females appeared. Junior double-checked. They were clean. “Stand and watch,” he said, and that group had no choice.

Junior extracted the embryos from the three females by making them disappear and reappear in the woman’s hands. He explained, though for the most part the embryos were too small to be seen.”You are now holding your children in your hand, children that will never be born. If you have trouble washing your hand clean after today, too bad.”

Then he went one by one through the others. He found in their minds the one they had touched and he brought that woman or girl to the room in a state of suspension. He extracted each embryo the same way and placed it in the offending hand. Then he sent the woman back to the place she came from with her never knowing that anything untoward happened.

Last of all was the man from Abydos who implanted his seed in Boston. Boston froze and was released again when the deed was done. She later said she did not feel a thing. The man had his hand out like the others. He wanted to protest but was not allowed to speak.

Junior reached out to his home on Avalon and called for his armor and weapons. They fit themselves around him perfectly, and he immediately drew his sword.   “You were told the rules and have no excuse,” he said and in one sweep of his sword he cut the man’s head off. There would be a blue blood stain on the floor that would not easily come out. Then he turned to the Captain and his officers.

“Go home,” he said. “Go home and tell all of your people this world is off limits. There will be no breeding here, not now, not ever. I was merciful this time. Next time you can expect no mercy.” He waved his hand once more and he and Boston were back outside, well away from the ship. Ptah, Bast and Sakhmet followed.place of the lion

Bast, in human form, came up to Amun with a tear in her eye. She kissed his cheek gently and went home. Boston sat down beside the lioness and did not think twice about putting her arms around Sakhmet’s neck. Sakhmet gave Boston a great big lick, a lion kiss that made Boston go “Ew!” and laugh.

Ptah, as was his way, said something. “That was merciful indeed. Not many of the gods would have shown such restraint, considering.”

“I thought getting the message out was more important in the long run than giving vent to my anger. One killing was enough.”

“And one tongue from a liar.” Junior nodded while Ptah stepped over to his lioness daughter who seemed to be licking a poor giggling Boston to death. “Daughter, you will drown that poor girl. Get dressed. I believe Weret will need her Sakhmetet soon.” Ptah sighed and vanished.

Junior made a tent appear in the wilderness next to the Place of the Lion. “We stay until the ship leaves.” He looked up at the stone lion for the first time since his arrival at the place of the lion, and he saw the human face there. “I see they finally re-carved the face into the image of Osiris. And just in time for Horus to become King of the gods.”egyptian beauty

“No.” Sakhmet said as she made circles with her thumb and fingers and put them to her eyes. “Horus wears glasses,” she said. She went into the tent. Boston followed. Junior sighed and left that place so Weret could come home Junior took the armor so Weret could have her dress back. When she went into the tent, she ignored the roast cooking on the smokeless fire in the center. She waddled to a cot and laid down. In fact, she continued to lie there the whole time they camped.

The Bluebloods did not actually leave the planet until just after lunch on the next day. Weret reluctantly got up and Sakhmet had the honor of reducing their tent to a hand-sized package. Then she took the three of them to where the rest of the travelers were moving lazily down the river. There were a number of riverboats alongside and several thousand soldiers moving across the land and trying not to tromp down any newly planted fields they came to.

“Boston!” Alexis noticed first.

“Boston!” Lockhart tried to sound like the Kairos.

Boston went straight for her horse, Honey, who was trailing behind Roland’s horse. Roland complained. “Your horse got the first kiss.”

Boston leapt up on Honey’s back and leaned over to Roland. “You get the rest,” then she paused and said, “Did I tell you I got pregnant?”

Weret went straight to Lockhart, made him and Katie dismount and follow her to a quiet spot. “You have to be more careful,” she scolded. “You were right not to show them weapons and to discourage the horse idea. But you gave them clean water for the journey. Now Narmer will show up with six or seven thousand men ready for battle instead of the usual four thousand men and three thousand doubled over with diarrhea. In this case, history tells us that Narmer succeeds, but you could change the outcome of an entire war with such a simple thing.” She wagged her finger at them and made a concerned face which was just as cute as the rest of her faces.

“I understand,” Lockhart said.egyptian soldiers

“We discussed that very thing earlier,” Katie confessed and lowered her eyes.

“No harm,” Weret said and she smiled her beautiful smile, and then she moaned and doubled over.

“Drinking the water?” Lockhart kidded.

“Not funny,” Katie pushed him back as Alexis came rushing over.

“My water broke,” Weret said.

“Her water broke,” Alexis shouted for the others.

“Don’t tell Narmer.” She grabbed Lockhart’s arm. “Don’t tell Narmer,” she shouted.

Sakhmet came rushing over. “Is it time?” She turned to the others. “We are going to have a baby boy.”

“What are you going to name him?” Boston shouted.

“Menes,” Sakhmet answered.

Avalon 3.2 part 5 of 6, Prisoners

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“Let me get this straight.” Sakhmet was being coy. “You want me to transport you and me and Boston and this shuttle with the five Bluebloods and all of this material to the Place of the Lion in a heartbeat?”

“Please.” Weret was tired and feeling exceptionally heavy. She was beginning to think what Alexis said might be true, that she was off in her calculations and the baby might come any day.

“Okay,” Sakhmet said, and they were there. “I wouldn’t want you to go into labor on my account.”

Weret simply stepped up and gave her older-younger sister a kiss and a hug. Boston, who was no stranger to being transported by the gods, allowed a bit of time for the Bluebloods to get over their dizziness, confusion and total sense of disorientation before she spoke.

“Now, you need to call your Captain and your workers to pick up this material. Then you need to dock your shuttle and prepare it to be dismantled if necessary, as agreed.” She wanted to go outside and scope the landscape, but she knew she needed to eavesdrop on exactly what these Bluebloods told their Captain. She did not trust the man or the woman, the ones who did the talking the night before. She couldn’t say about the other three. They never said anything.

“Orders failed. Commander dead.” It was the woman who talked on the communication device. “Results. Three prisoners who claim they can fix the navigation system. One prisoner is the concubine of the White King and carries his heir. Recommendation. See what they can do with the equipment before selling them to the Red King. Work scow needed to pick up—”

“Ouch!” Boston felt a drop of blood and put her finger in her mouth. Somehow, the Blueblood male got behind her and scratched her. Boston already had reason not to like the guy. As Weret would say, he was not helping his case, and of course he said nothing to apologize, no excuse me or nothing.

Boston turned back to the woman on the communicator, but she had already signed off and was coming to the shuttle door. “Captain said ride in on the shuttle. It will get us through the ship’s screens and we can better guide you to the array from the inside.”

“I smell rats,” Weret said. “You going to visit Wadjt while Boston and I spend the day doing boring things?”

Sakhmet shook her head. “I owe father a visit. I think he is about ready to surrender Memphis, but the King in Buto is fighting.”

“Don’t be out of ear shot,” Weret said, and then she chided herself in her cheekiness for telling a goddess what to do.

As Boston helped Weret up into the shuttle, she whispered in High Elf, what she knew of the language. Roland was teaching her. It came out, “they make us captive,” rather than “they are calling us prisoners” but Weret got the gist of it.

They sat in the back of the shuttle so when they landed, Weret made the Bluebloods wait while she traded paces through time with Martok, the Bospori, the mathematical engineer, a life she would live impossibly far in the future. Martok simply said, “now we go,” and he let the Bluebloods off before he and Boston followed.

By two in the afternoon, they had everything repaired but one circuit, and neither could see any reason why that circuit should not work. Boston was very upset and frustrated with the whole convoluted thing by then, and the fact that they were not offered lunch irked her terribly.

“Wait!” Martok roared. “Let me get out first. Let me get out.” He had his head and tools inside the cabinet and Boston was getting out her wand. Boston waited, but barely. She waved her wand and shouted at the machine, and suddenly it sprang to life.

“It is a wonder you didn’t blow the whole thing to smithereens,” Martok said.

“I know,” Boston admitted, but she was glad that it worked.

“We’re done!” Martok shouted and Boston held her ears. A Bospori shout could be uncomfortably loud. Several Bluebloods came over to begin testing the equipment. Both the man and the woman who did the talking in Abydos came to escort them out.

“Bad feeling about this,” Boston said. Martok simply took and patted her hand like a kindly old grandfather, though currently he was no older than thirty.

When they reached the ramp to exit the ship, they saw three groups of men, each having twenty or more warriors, and three captains standing at the bottom of the ramp, arguing.

“Time for Weret to come home,” Martok said, and he gave Boston’s hand one more pat before Weret was there to let go of Boston’s hand and take her arm instead for support. “Let’s see what we have here.”

Weret and Boston barely reached the bottom of the ramp before Ptah appeared. While a third of the men fell to their knees before their god, he stepped up and gave Weret a kiss on the cheek. “Sakhmet has told me all about you,” he said. “And you must be the irrepressible Boston. I recognized the red hair.”

“Sir.” Boston did not know what else to say.

“So I take it these are locals, from Memphis,” Weret pointed to the men on their knees with their eyes turned to the ground.

“Indeed,” Ptah said with a sharp look at the Blueblood male and female. “And they have no intention of turning you over to the Red King.”

As he finished speaking, a woman appeared and a second third of the soldiers fell to the ground.

‘Mother Bast,” Weret hugged the woman. “So these are yours, from Bubastis.”

The woman simply kissed Weret’s other cheek and transformed into a house cat. She went straight for Boston and wanted to be picked up. Boston loved cats. She was delighted and a bit scared as well. This was one cat she did not want to rub the wrong way.

The captain of the center group called out, and there was plenty of fear in his voice. “Set! Set!” He did not know that Horus was given the whole of the Nile back in Junior’s day and Set was driven out. Set could not come, so the man tried another name. “Wadjt.”

Wadjt came, and Sakhmet was with her. Sakhmet immediately transformed to a lioness and roared at the frightened men in the middle. They had gone to their knees before Wadjt, but fell to their trembling faces before Sakhmet.

“We were playing a game, and I was winning,” Wadjt complained. “Hello Weret, Blueblood trouble? Why look, your friend is pregnant too.” She reached for Boston as Bast got down from her arms. “Just pregnant I would say.”

“No,” Boston looked confused. “I’m still a virgin.”

Avalon 3.2: part 4 of 6, Moonbeams

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Elder Stow spent most of the supper time purifying the water so he could drink something safe that did not have alcohol in it. He offered to set his tent up on the courtyard where he could keep an eye on the Bluebloods, but Weret declined. The girls all moved together toward a doorway. The men stayed, but Elder Stow looked ready to retire. Lockhart only made Elder Stow pause because he had a question.

“You seem changed, somehow, since the last time zone. Are you okay?”

Elder Stow gave a slight and uncharacteristic bow of his head. “My father,” he began. “Through the eyes of the furies I saw myself. I did not like what I saw. Decker keeps reminding me of the mission, to get everyone back to our own time zone, alive. This also is what I want, and it has come to mind there is more I can do to help accomplish this task.” He looked like he might say something more, but changed his mind. “Right now I believe I will sleep. I will try my best to snore loudly so you can find the room when you come.” He hurried off to catch up with the women. Fortunately, the feet of the women were moving rather slow even if their jaws were not.

Lincoln nudged Lockhart. “His ways are not our ways,” he said.

At that same time, Narmer turned to the old priest beside him. “You are a learned man,” he said. “You are perhaps the most learned man in the kingdom. So tell me. Did you understand the conversation the Princess had with her friends and the blue ones?”egypt king and priest

The priest shook his head and sipped his brew. “Hardly a word.”

“Lord.” Two of the generals came up from the far end of the table, stepped around the blood on the floor, and took seats by their king. “If we could get weapons like the dark one has, we could end this war in no time.”

Narmer doubted it. Weret made clear to him the dangers of disturbing history. “I will ask,” he said. He waved the travelers to come and join them at the head of the table. He also called for more brew which the servants brought right away. The travelers sat opposite the priest and the Generals, with Lockhart next to the king. That left Roland in the odd, extra seat, but he did not mind.

“A fine supper,” Lockhart felt the compliment was in order before he sat.

“This brew is not the best,” the king confessed. It was watery, but acceptable. Of course, it would be hard to top the thick brewed ale made by Bogart in the last time zone. “But now, Major, I have a question.” He looked at Decker. “My Generals were wondering if they might look at that miraculous weapon of yours.”

“Not allowed,” Decker said flatly.

“The Kairos,” Lockhart said. “The god of history would be very upset if we shared things from the future and disturbed the present.”

“That probably goes for the horses, too.” Lincoln added.

“So it has been explained to me,” Narmer turned back to his Generals. “There you have it.” The Generals did not look happy.

“Lockhart, correct me if I am wrong,” Roland said. “But I have been thinking about what Elder Stow was doing all night, purifying some water to make it safe to drink. How about if we offer them a chance to egypt crowd generalget to the battle without having half their army out of action with dysentery.”

“When are you leaving with the army?” Lockhart asked.

“I was thinking in the morning with the Princess and the blue people.” Narmer was curious.

“What!” Both Generals jumped to their feet. “Morning?”

“Wait.” Lockhart held up his hand. “Give it one more day. Let me explain what we can do for you.”

###

Upstairs, the women all wanted to feel the baby move. “He is not moving as much as he used to,” Weret admitted as she stepped to the window. The window was actually a wide open space between the columns. Only a simple overhang of the roof protected the room from the rain, if it should ever rain in Egypt. There were curtains Weret could pull across the space, but she preferred to leave them open so she could see the moon and the stars.

“Are you sure you have another month before delivery?” Alexis asked.

“Doctor Mishka’s estimate,” Weret said. “But it is hard to estimate when I can’t examine myself.” Alexis nodded as Boston butted in. She put her hand on the baby and whined.

“I want a baby.”

“So do I,” Alexis said. “But you should know, elves, and all the little spirits reproduce slowly. I know an elf couple that faithfully mated for six hundred years, and in all that time they only had six children.”

“One per century. But I don’t have that long,” Boston continued to complain until Sakhmet’s words distracted them.

“I hope you have a handful, Mom.” She hugged Katie and spoke to the others who were listening in. “Surrogate mother, and Lockhart is my surrogate dad.”

“Yes, What is wrong with that man?” Boston found something else to complain about.

“He is slower than Benjamin,” Alexis said.

“The moon.” Weret had moved to the window and the bit of a balcony that it had. She was pointing to the risen moon. “It has been full for a fortnight. Chron is so sweet. I told him the full moon was romantic, so he has kept it full all this time.” Something special crept into Weret’s voice on the mention of Chron’s name. Alexis picked up on it.

Weret turned to face them and there was something special in her smile as well. “He is young and strong and handsome. Oh, Narmer is a lovely older gentleman, and I love him in a very special way, but he is a bit of a father figure.” She stopped talking and everyone stared. Something on the balcony railing behind her growled at her.Egypt Bedroom

“Come away, slowly,” Katie said. She had her pistol out. Alexis and Boston pulled the goat bone wands they had fashioned in the alps. Sakhmet was not there anymore but a lioness was, and she was full grown, and she roared and growled in response. The werewolf stepped down from the railing, but it went no further while it tried to judge the opposition.

Weret stepped in little steps from the window and tried not to trigger the instinct that pursued anything trying to escape. A man appeared in the room. He held a big sword, but could not use it around Weret who scurried into his arms and buried her eyes in his chest.

With the appearance of the lioness and the man with the sword, something triggered in the werewolf’s brain that said this was not a good place to be. It howled and leapt back out the window. When it touched the ground below, it scurried off into the long shadows of Abydos at night.

The man looked down at Weret as she looked up at him. The sword vanished so he could hold her better, and they kissed for some time with hardly a breath between them. Katie’s hand reached down to pet and scratch the head and ears of the animal beside her. It did not occur to her at first she was petting the lioness because the lioness was sitting and panting like a puppy.

‘Chron.” Alexis guessed the visitor’s name and added an odd thought. “You know, if the moon was not quite full, the werewolf would not be able to take the wolf form.”

“Hush,” Boston said. She had her arms folded and was watching the kissing.

When the men from the table downstairs burst into the room, decked out for war, they were presented egypt lionesswith this very strange sight. Narmer turned first to the lioness.

“You ate Sakhmetet again, I see.” The lioness did something like stick her tongue out at the man before she plopped down by the window and began to clean her paws.

The couple separated and both wore doofy grins the way only young people in love can look. When they noticed the room was filled up with visitors, Chron thought it wise to vanish and Weret felt a sudden need to straighten out her dress.

Alexis went to Lincoln and held him. Boston went to Roland and kissed him, not wanting to miss out on the action and wanting a doofy grin of her own. Roland obliged. Katie looked embarrassed for having been standing there petting a lion without realizing it. Lockhart went to her and gave her a kiss which she thought was all too brief.

“Gentlemen,” Decker called. “Listen.” Everyone got still so they could hear Elder Stow and the honks and snores that penetrated from the room next door.

“Right,” Lockhart agreed. “Busy day tomorrow.” He headed toward the door. When Narmer joined him and he realized he would have to wait a moment for Lincoln and Roland to catch up, he asked the King a question.

“Does it bother you?”

Narmer knew exactly what Lockhart was asking. “I am happy for her if she is happy. This way she will be safe. Otherwise, when the baby is born, I have every assurance that the Queen will have her killed. Better she be safe and happy, don’t you think?”

“I agree.” Lockhart nodded. “I was just wondering.”

Avalon 3.2: part 3 of 6, Negotiations

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Supper put the six Bluebloods on one side of the long table with several of the king’s generals, the other side was taken up with the travelers beside Weret and Sakhmet who was masquerading as Sakhmetet, Weret’s good friend and something like a lady in waiting. There were other dignitaries, and guards stationed around the room, but to be sure, the king’s table could hardly accommodate thirty.

Narmer sat at the head of the table, Weret to one side and a chief among the priests to the other. Narmer was a middle aged man, but looked to be in excellent shape and health. He was content at first to eat his beef, grain and onion quietly and sip his beer while he watched his guests. The chief Blueblood showed right from the start that rude was to be expected.

“I see the Gott-Druk still has his equipment, and weapons I presume. Special privilege for the one not so bright?”

Weret put her hand on Narmer’s hand and repeated what the Blueblood said, then she turned to the Egyptian banquetBlueblood and answered, calmly, in the local tongue. “Elder Stow and his people are native to this planet. He is a trusted and welcomed guest at this table. You are not of this world and thus far have not proved yourself a friend. You are a guest here, and would do well to remember that.”

Narmer pulled his big hand from beneath Weret’s little one to capture her hand with his warmth. He smiled for the young beauty. Every man did, but clearly Narmer and Weret has shared on a most intimate basis. “She is my reason,” he called her. “She knows things no other person knows and she has resources no other person has. Isn’t that so, master elf?” He looked briefly at Roland who nodded graciously. “Every man in the army is in love with her and no doubt would die for her if she asked them to, but diplomacy is not her strong suit. These blue people are strangers to us, as may be their ways. What we consider proper, they might not understand. They might consider very different things proper.” He shrugged a very human shrug. “But I have said they are welcome at my table. Let it be so for now.”

“But tell me,” Katie spoke up casually. “Weret mentioned your ship is parked down by the Place of the Lion and in need of repair. What brought you all the way up here?”

The second male brought a small translator from his belt that would translate his words to the local words, then he spoke since the chief looked put-off by Weret’s comment. “We heard there was a king in these lands and we thought we might ask his help. There are certain things we need for our repairs, the chief thing being copper.” It was not the whole truth, and many of the people there, travelers and Egyptians alike were not fooled.

“Yes.”   Lincoln took up the question as he imagined he was wondering the same thing as Katie. “But how did you know to come here, to Abydos? There are real cities you passed over on the way, and the Narmerbig cities are all upstream from here. We passed through two, Hekhen, which is the capitol and where I would expect to find the king, and the big city, Thebes.”

A blueblood female leaned over to speak into the translation device. “There are a small number of men outside a town in the north. They told us of the king of the south.”

The travelers looked at Narmer and he took his smiling eyes from Weret to give an answer. “I have three thousand men holding a wall just outside Memphis. I came here a year ago and have raised and trained five thousand more. We hope to pick up another two thousand as we move on the Land of the Bee. That will be an army the Red King cannot counter. We already have Bubastis, Heliopolis and Merimde pledged to switch sides. If we can take Buto, the delta will fall and the two lands can finally be at peace.”

“But we were in Thebes until a week ago.” Weret interjected. “We only came here to see how five thousand men might be moved. We learned a few things, but I am sure word has not yet gotten to the three thousand so there is no way they could have told you we were in Abydos.”

The other Bluebloods looked at their chief. “We saw the army here.” He said the words, but it truly came out as a question. Weret shook her head.temple at abydos

“The impressive building here, the one any stranger would take for a palace is the Temple of Osiris, but you came straight here.”

The Blueblood nodded like he knew he was trapped in the lie. He appeared to think it was time for some honesty. “The king in the north has already promised us all the copper and other things we need. He has required only one price.” The Blueblood took something from his pocket. It looked like a spray bottle of some kind. “He said we must kill the White King.”

Even as the translation box was rendering those last words, the Blueblood raised the bottle and sprayed its contents at the king. He did not know that Sakhmet, the warrior goddess whose job it is to defend the upper lands, had already put up an invisible wall against treachery. The spray only went as far as the wall where it bounced back in the face of the one who sprayed it. They did not get a chance to see what affect that spray might have, though, because Sakhmet’s wall was not put up to stop Decker’s bullet.

Decker had pulled his pistol to his lap, and used it without hesitation. The Blueblood chief got a hole right through is head and he fell to the ground. Several spear toting guards rushed up and stabbed the body several times, but the Blueblood was already dead.

egyptian soldiers“Wait!” Weret yelled and stood, and Sakhmet stood with her, her hand of concern on Weret’s belly. The guards were ready to slaughter all of the Bluebloods present, but with a glance at their king, they were willing to wait for Weret.

“I want to send them home, get them off this planet, and I would rather not see them all killed if we can help it,” Weret said as she sat again, slowly, with Sakhmet’s help. “Let’s start again. What is wrong with your ship and how can we help you repair it?”

The five remaining Bluebloods watched as men came and took the body away. Then the man on the end grabbed the translation box and spoke rapidly. “The wires burned out in the navigation system. We brought extra, but lost it in battle. The hole in the hull is sealed off. It should not be a problem, but without navigation we won’t be going anywhere.”

The woman leaned over again. “Navigation is the system that shows us what path we need to take through the stars—“

“We know what navigation means,” Lincoln interrupted.

“Did you try replacing the wire?” Katie asked.

The man spoke again, more slowly this time. “We had enough to try and replace it once, but it just burned out again.”

Several people looked at Boston. She held the doctorate in electrical engineering, after all. She considered her words. “It sounds like the trouble is deeper in the system, like whatever you are using as capacitors are malfunctioning, maybe shorting out. It sounds like the electricity is being stalled at some point and then suddenly surging out like a mini-lightning strike, frying any little wires in the way. Something like that. But I can’t really know what the real trouble is until I get a look at it.”

“You would look at it?” The woman sounded surprised.

“I will if you want me to fix it, and maybe if Martok helps.”

Weret did her best to lean over to look at Boston. “He says he would be delighted.” She sat back down . “But now you five that used to be six. You have two strikes against you. One more incident and I won’t be able to save you from destruction. Remember the rules. You are not to kill the locals, king or commoner alike. There will be no Blueblood babies. This planet is off limits for breeding. And you will respect the rightful authority here. Again, is that clear?” Weret saw that at least a couple of the Bluebloods were willing. “Then for your own safety, I suggest you sleep tonight in your shuttle. We will see about going to your ship in the morning, after we have all had some rest.”

“But our ship is gone,” the Blueblood woman protested.egyptian beauty

“No,” Weret countered. “It is back where you parked it. But your weapons and engines have been temporarily disabled so you won’t be able to hurt anyone or go anywhere tonight.”

Narmer waved for guards. “Escort these back to their ship for the night. It is in the courtyard?” He had to look at Weret who nodded.

As the Bluebloods marched out, Sakhmet helped Weret stand again. Narmer wanted to help, but Weret waved him off. “I am fine. You have to wait at least another thirty days before you can see your, um, grandson. Right now, I just want to show my friends to their rooms. Ugh. I sat too long.”

************

This ends the first half of Avalon, episode 3.2.  Be sure to return next week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) to see if Weret and Boston can repair the Blueblood ship and how far the Bluebloods may go to test the patience of these two trusting young women.

Avalon 3.2: part 2 of 6, Bluebloods

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Weret nudged Elder Stow before the shuttle came to the ground. The sound of the landing was terribly loud, but Weret shouted into the Elder’s ear. “Can you put up a screen wall between us and the ship, just in case?” Elder Stow nodded and pulled out his little box while Weret turned to the Egyptian. “Captain. Captain!” she had to say it twice to get the man to close his astonished mouth and get his attention. “Keep your soldiers on the steps until we see what these visitors do.” The man nodded and ran to get his troop back up on the steps.

The shuttle set down in the courtyard. There was a minute while the engines shut down before a door opened up on the side of the ship. Three men stepped out, and despite the fancy blue and gold striped space suits with the high collars, and certainly in their faces and hands, they appeared human, if one discounted the slightly blue tint to the skin.

“Disappointing,” Lincoln whispered. “I expected jello-blobs.”Blueblood landing

Lockhart whispered back. “You always think they should be jello-blobs.”

“He does,” Alexis confirmed and took Lincoln’s arm.

The three Bluebloods spread out. They had their weapons drawn and the way they moved caused Decker to go on high alert. He pulled his rifle up to the ready, and that caused Katie to do the same.

Weret moved two steps down, opened her arms and said her speech. “Welcome. The King is pleased to greet you and requests your presence in the hall of the gods.” She smiled. The Bluebloods answered with a full blast of their shuttle’s main gun. It stopped short of the steps while Elder Stow monitored his box.

“Impressive,” he said. “A real antique bit of fireworks, but impressive strength. That is about as far as they can go down that energy line before they hit a dead end and have to find a new energy source.”

“That was rude!” Weret looked angry, She stomped her foot on the steps, but the travelers smiled as did the Egyptians. Weret’s angry face was extremely cute, and her pregnancy just enhanced the cuteness. “Elder Stow,” she called, and he stepped down to join her.

“Gott-Druk.” One of the Bluebloods shouted when he saw him.

“I don’t know what you are thinking,” Weret groused. “There are no Pendratti or Sevarese here or whomever it is you are fighting right now.” She raised her hands to be sure she had their attention. “I gave you my King’s greeting,” she said and vanished from that place to be replaced by Junior in the full armor of the Kairos. The Bluebloods took a step back at that transformation. The Egyptian soldiers fell to their knees and dared not look up at the god.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA“Now you need to hear the rules. You are not to kill the locals. You can visit, but only if you leave your weapons behind.” He snapped his finger and the three weapons in the hands of the three Bluebloods in the courtyard vanished. “Second, you are not permitted to breed on this planet. If you do, the baby will be aborted and so will the offending party. This planet is off limits for breeding. Third, you will show due respect for all who have authority on this planet. If you are here to repair your ship, as I see you are, do so, but break the rules and you will have a long walk home.” Junior snapped his fingers and the shuttle vanished. The man and two women still inside the shuttle were deposited on their rumps on the ground. Do I make myself clear?” he shouted the last.

The Blueblloods bunched up and showed very human expressions of surprise and wonder. They nodded as Junior went away and Weret came back bearing her meanest expression. It might have been more effective if Weret’s mean face was not even cuter than her angry face. Besides, she could not hold it. Her face blossomed into her beautiful smile as she invited the visitors to come meet her King,

“I’ll say that was clear,” another young woman appeared beside Weret and gave her a sisterly hug and kiss on the cheek. “I heard my younger-older brother all the way down in Bubastis. So what did I miss.”

Weret’s smile got bigger than ever. She was not just happy, she was excited, and she pointed to the travelers.   “Friends of yours.”

The young woman’s eyes got big and she shrieked and literally flew up the steps to wrap her arms first around Katie and then around Lockhart. Katie was the one who guessed.

“Sakhmet.”

“My little lion girl?” Lockhart said, and Sakhmet was so thrilled to be remembered, she gave him a kiss. Then she kissed Katie and took their hands.

“I always dreamed if I was born a mortal human, you would be my parents.”

Katie looked up at Lockhart and he stammered, “And I am sure, if we married and had a little girl, we would want her to be just like you.” Katie smiled.

“We are going inside,” Weret said as she walked by. She stuck her tongue out at Sakhmet and Sakhmet returned a pucker-face before she laughed..sakhmet 1

“My younger-older brother makes a great sister. I never had a real sister before.” She looked at Katie and batted her sad little eyes.

“We’ll see,” Katie said, and patted Sakhmet’s hand as she squeezed between the couple and took Katie’s arm and Lockhart’s arm.

Lockhart looked at the woman. “I think our scared little girl desperately trying to reach her father’s house has grown up,” he said. He patted Sakhmet’s other hand.

“You would make a wonderful daughter,” Katie said with an undisguised look at Lockhart.

“I accept.” Sakhmet smiled the smile of a true goddess and guided the couple into the King’s house, where they heard a stick rap three times sharply against a hollow log. A man’s voice followed.

“Narmer, the Aha Hor of the Great God Horus, Master of Aswan, King of Hekhen, Lord of Thebes, Protector of Abydos, the resting place of the Kings, Lord of all the Sedge, Wearer of the White crown and Ruler over all of Upper Egypt, give glory.”

“Holy—“ Katie found her mouth covered by Roland’s hand.

“We are entering days where it will be dangerous to tell what you know or what you think you know,” Roland said. “From now on we need to be careful not to disturb history.”

Katie nodded, and he let her go. She walked past Lincoln who had Alexis’ hand over his mouth in just the same way.

“Better to be like me,” Lockhart confided to Sakhmet. “If you don’t know anything there is no danger of speaking out of turn.”

“Oh, Dad!” Sakhmet scolded, but grinned.

Avalon 3.2: Bluebloods and Babies, part 1 of 6

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After 3089 BC in Abydos, Egypt. Kairos Lifetime 35: Weret

Recording …                                                                                

Roland came riding back from out front and made the motion that people should hide. Everyone looked around. The land was exceptionally flat. There was grass and one tree by the bank of the Nile. There were a couple of grass covered dunes away from the river, but there was honestly nowhere to hide.

“Play ostrich?” Boston teased.

Roland took another look around and shrugged. When he arrived beside Boston at the head of the column, he gave her a quick kiss.

“What is coming?” Lockhart asked as he and Katie rode up from the rear. Decker came in from the flank and got his rifle ready. Elder Stow floated in from where he had been hovering over the river, and he pointed.nie river

Thirty men in plain white tunics and long spears were jogging through the heat in a military-like formation. They halted a hundred yards off, spread out and approached the travelers carefully. When they got close, they asked a very strange question.

“Are you the ones who fell from the sky?”

“No?” Lockhart said with a quick look at Elder Stow.

Lincoln had the Database out and was reading when he spoke up. “We are looking for Weret.”

The Egyptian who spoke glanced at the men beside him before he answered. “She is looking for you. Come.” He turned his troop, and they escorted the travelers two miles downriver to a small city. It was not clear if it was a honor escort or if they were being guarded. Katie and Decker suggested it was probably both, but at least they were headed in the right direction.

When they got close, Lincoln decided it was Abydos.

“I thought it looked familiar,” Katie agreed, but she wondered what happened to the villages that used to be upriver from the little city. This was their second day of travel since Dendera and they had only passed a lone hut here and there, and no real villages.nile hippo

Once arrived, the travelers were told to leave the horses in a barn and assured the animals would be fed and guarded. The travelers hesitated, but felt they had no choice. There were certainly plenty of guards around. In fact, it looked like the city was preparing for war.

The travelers took enough time to unsaddle the horses and give them a brush down against the heat. They gathered small packs and they were careful to take their weapons with them before they were marched to a multi-columned building. All along the way, the military minded Katie and Decker, pointed out the signs of soldiers in training, marching in formation, the gathering of food and supplies, and on the river, the gathering of ships. The conclusion was these people were preparing to invade.

A chubby young woman met them on the steps of the building that Lincoln guessed was the palace.. She kept her eyes lowered the whole time they approached. When they got close enough, the Egyptian still beside them and his troop still surrounding them, the woman spoke.

abydos temple 2“The King is pleased to greet you and requests your presence in the hall of the gods.” The young woman looked pleased that she remembered to say everything just right, and then she looked up to better judge the response, but when she did she shouted one more word, “Boston!” The young woman reached out and hugged Boston, but carefully and Alexis stated the obvious reason.

“You are pregnant.”

“Weret?” Lincoln always had to ask.

“Yes,” Weret said, and she smiled for them, a lovely smile. Even the Egyptian smiled in response to her beauty as she turned to him shook her little finger at him and tried to put on a serious face. “Captain, these are not the ones I was looking for, but they will do.” She hugged Alexis and then hugged Katie and told Katie she arrived at an auspicious time. “You too, Decker. You too, Elder Stow,” and she hugged the Neanderthal which surprised and frightened everyone, Elder Stow most of all. “Now stay close. I may need you.” In all, Weret came across as a precious and lovely young woman.

“Why are you the one greeting in the gate?” Lincoln asked. He understood that was a job for servants.

Weret understood exactly. “We have servants, well, slaves actually.” Weret switched to English, a strangely accented English, but it was so her Captain and his soldiers would not understand. “I was once a slave as the Queen is fond to remind me, but the King selected me to marry his son and then … let me say the King was involved in this, intimately,” She smiled at that thought and put her hands to her belly. “The Queen tolerates me for the baby. She can’t have any more children.   And she tolerates me for the sake of her son who won’t produce an heir under torture. I mean, he is really, seriously gay.”

The women all hovered around Weret and made cooing noises for the baby so the men could hardly get close. Eventually, Lockhart interrupted. “Different question,” he said rather loudly in the native tongue. “Who are the ones you are looking for, the ones who fell from the sky?”

“Bluebloods.” Weret looked up in his face and then back down at her baby.

“You mean, Bluebloods, like rich people with old money?” Boston asked. The others also showed that they did not understand, so Weret sighed and gave the ten second explanation.

“They have the ability to alter their body chemistry and mate with whatever species dominates the planet. They don’t invade, they breed until the non-blueblood children die out. That is not going to happen here. They sneak a couple by me in the future, but never enough to impact human development, long term. They die out eventually, but by then the reputation takes hold, that the Bluebloods are somehow smarter and better than ordinary people.”

“I know a few people around Boston who think they qualify,” Boston said.

“Also, they are naturally cold blooded,” Weret added.

Boston nodded. “That too.”abydos temple

“But come in,” Weret said. “I am sure the King would like to meet you. He really is very nice.” She put her hands out to welcome them and spoke to the Egyptian. “Captain, you need to keep your men here and guard the entrance—or not.” She looked up toward the sky and the travelers all turned around and looked with her.

A shuttle of some sort was working its way in for a landing. As soon as they looked, they also heard the whine of the engines slowing down. It was headed straight for the open courtyard in front of the palace, and Weret, and Elder Stow saw the scorch marks along the side of the ship. That shuttle had been in battle, and Weret wanted to know with whom and where.

************

As with the last episode, Avalon episode 3.2 will be posted over two weeks, with the first half posted this week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and the second half posted next week on the same schedule (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). Once again, let me say reading only selected parts may be confusing. I urge you to read the whole episode, and enjoy.

Avalon 3.1: part 7 of 7, Carthair Revealed

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“Can I stay and watch?” Vrya asked.

“Of course, mother,” Danna responded, and she clapped her hands. “Boys!” There were three who appeared. Two went straight to the body and hauled the ghost of Carthair out by his arms. He kicked and screamed and protested, but it did him no good. The third one went straight to Danna.

.“No, please,” Carthair protested. “It was Vorgen. He made me do it. I didn’t want to kill anybody. I was enchanted.”

“I was thinking the deepest pit for this one,” the man said to Danna.

Danna slapped the man hard on his cheek. “You were raised better than that. You do what is right, and nothing more and nothing less.”

“Ow.” The man put his hand to his cheek. “Mother!” he protested.

“I like that,” Vrya said. “Do the right thing.” Danna simply nodded.

“All right,” the man said. “But he did commit murder, and he was not enchanted so it won’t be easy on him.” He pointed to his compatriots and they all vanished along with Carthair’s ghost.

“Mother Vrya.” Danna turned to the goddess.

“I’ll meet your friends another time,” Vrya said and she vanished. So Danna also left that time, and Lucas instantly came back in her place, and it was just in time to be smothered by a young girl and her kisses. Lucas did not seem to mind, but when he could catch a breath, he yelled.inside Blacksmith

“Boston!”

Boston nudged Roland with her head. “Is it safe now to uncover my eyes?”

The young girl giggled at Boston’s response and then spoke to Lucas like they did not have any visitors. “I was with Mother Vrya. We were making wedding plans.”

“Really? Who is getting married?”

The girl’s mouth opened wide in pretend shock. She slapped Lucas softly in his arm before she took the arm and turned at last to the travelers. “You are,” she said to the side.

“Oh,” Lucas pretended surprise. “To you, I suppose.”

“No one else,” the girl said and proceeded to introduce herself. “I’m Oneesis. I felt you all day walking down my mountainside. Sometimes it tickles.”

“The oread of the mountain,” Lincoln said.

“Lovely to meet you,” Alexis shook the girl’s hand.

Katie had a different thought and turned it on Lucas. “Do you ever marry a normal woman, human I mean.”

“Yes, yes. Normally. All the time.” His voice trailed off as a normal, human woman came into the blacksmith shop with two small children. The woman fell on Carthair’s body and began to weep. The children did not know what to do, so they stared at the travelers with weepy eyes. Men were coming in to take away the body, so Lucas thought it was wise to move everyone back outside.

blacksmith shop“Maybe we should all go over to Bogart’s,” he said.

After that, it was mostly a liquid supper. The elf bread Alexis offered up did not help much. Elder Stow opted out of the refreshment. He found a place to set their camp and put up his tent to rest. For the others, there was plenty of laughter and good feelings until Decker could not hold back his question.

“So who did Carthair murder?”

The locals grew quiet so the travelers did the same. They looked at Lucas. Oneesis put an arms around him and gave him a squeeze of support. “My father,” Lucas answered. He took a deep breath before he told the story.

“I was just thirteen or so. My father was the worker in metals in our village on the other side of the mountains, you see, and when traders came over the mountains with bronze artifacts, we just had to find out how to make that metal.   It took some convincing, but my older brother got the metal works and Father and I went back over the mountains with the traders.

“We spent almost two years here learning the craft of bronze making. Then we were ready to take our knowledge back to our people. Carthair was a helper in the shop, and he volunteered to go with us. He said he knew the way over the mountains and he could help once we got settled in back home. Father was agreeable.

“The first leg of the journey was the worst. It took a week going around, not through the goblin lair, to get to the stunted forest beside the glacier. We felt invigorated, because no part of the long journey to come would take us to so high an elevation. It was there that father let me hunt for something edible, as long as I didn’t wander too far. I found the goblin lair and made a request for some deer meat. You can imagine.

“Carthair took advantage of my absence to stab my father in the shoulder. Father knocked Carthair into a hole he had trouble getting out of, but then Father saw two men rushing up. They had followed all the way from the village. Father was bleeding badly, but he had no choice but to grab his bow and run.

“Father climbed the ice, thinking the men would not follow him there. He had a good head start and got way up on the glacier. The thing is, ice flows develop cracks as they move, especially when they are generally melting back, and it is. The last vestige of the last ice age. It may be gone in several thousand years. But anyway, he was losing blood and strength and knew they would catch him in time. He turned and shot Carthair in the belly. The men fired back, but it was Carthair’s arrow that pierced my father’s heart.

“Now Carthair was the one lagging behind and losing blood and strength. When he stepped over a crack in the ice and broke through, he plummeted into the ravine and got stuck down some twenty feet. He broke his leg. The other two men had no way to get him up, and anyway, already counted him dead, so they moved on.

“I returned to the camp. I saw the blood and pieced it together in my mind. I hid when the two men came though. They called Carthair no great loss, and said as a young boy I wouldn’t last three days in the wilderness this high up. I am ashamed to say it, but I let the goblins have the men. It was Aphrodite, of all people who found me, freezing, and took me to my father’s ghost. Then Hades showed up, but that is a very long story.”celtic town

The howl of a wolf sounded in the distance and echoed down the mountainside. The locals thought nothing of it since wolves were common in the alps. The travelers recognized the slightly human nuance in that sound, and Roland stepped out to confirm the full moon. They were about to discuss what measures to take when Elder Stow returned to the party.

“I set a screen around the village. The people will not be able to go out tonight, but the wolf should not be able to get in either.” He took a few discs out of a pocket in his belt. “Are there any unaccounted for villagers in the wilderness tonight?”

“By the way, Lucas,” Gunther looked over at the young man. “You did shut down the forge for the night, didn’t you?”

Lucas spilled his drink and jumped to his feet. “Damn!” He ran out. There was no telling what those dwarfs might be doing left to their own devices.