Chapter eight
Circe led us into through an entrance into her complex. The architecture of the interior looked almost modern, all the rooms all had large floor to ceiling windows on their exterior walls. The furniture was Spartan but looked very comfortable.
“You must stay inside from now on, I have activated the grounds protective enchantments,” Circe said.
“You fear Odysseus will come back?”
“I am sure of it.”
Circe led us into a large carpeted room with a massive wooden table surrounded by chairs, there was a huge bookshelf lining one wall full of clay tablets and papyri. I saw a large mural on the far wall of a young Nubian woman standing next to some unrecognizable device.
Circe looked at the mural, then turned and looked at me.
“Kem... your name, what’s that short for,” Circe asked.
“Um... Kem-berly,” I said.
“Is that Kemamonit?” Shelley asked pointing to the mural.
“Yes, she was kind of a hero of mine, I used to visit her and Senbi’s tomb in the Magic City.”
“Tomb?!” I thought to myself.
“How long have you been away from the city?” I asked.
Circe beckoned us to sit down, and then conjured up some food and drink onto the table, thankfully it was beer and fruit.
“I left years ago, there’s a weird bunch running it now. They are trying to create some sort of Utopia, they want to travel to one of the planets, Mars I think.”
“What’s going on with that ship Sobek’s Teeth?” Shelley asked.
“I’m not sure, someone’s either very brave or very stupid flying that firetrap around. The wood in it is a thousand years old, what isn’t bone dry is rotten,” Circe looked at me,” Kemberly... that’s an odd name. Is it Nubian?”
Circe had an inscrutable expression on her face.
“No... I’m from a people far to the south...the Seattle people.”
“Hmm... Seattle, another odd name.”
I desperately wanted to change the subject before I got entrapped in my web of lies.
“The air in here is very cool and it smells of pine. Is that a spell? “I asked.
“Yes, not a very sophisticated one though, it’s just a gateway to a large forest far to the north I circulate the air through large tunnels with rotating sails.”
A thought suddenly occurred to me, “what stop’s animals from coming through the gateway?”
“I have bars across it and a guard. You must never leave your air sweetener unguarded.”
“Is there another sorcerer in this area?” I asked.
“Yes there is... and now that I think about it, I think he has that old flying ship. I haven’t seen him in years though his names Hattu.”
“Would it be possible for us to borrow a small flyer at some point and a map to his stronghold?” I asked.
“Sure, but he’s a crusty old fart.”
Circe offered to let us spend the night in her complex. The thought of clean clothes a bath and a good night’s sleep was something we could not pass up.
Circe gave us a tour of her complex, the sophistication of the place was beyond anything I had ever seen, just the plumbing alone would have put a modern mansion to shame. She even had an amphitheater with a stage which showed three dimensional performances selectable from a library.
When she activated one of the amphitheater’s performances’ it had visual effects that would not have been out of place in a modern Hollywood film.
We spent the night in a luxurious guest house, the beds were huge and impossibly soft, that along with the cool pine scented air caused me to fall into a deep sleep. I woke up the next morning completely refreshed.
I got up and spent an hour in a large warm bath complete with scented water, it felt so good on my sore and bruised body I almost fell asleep again.
It took great effort to finally force myself to get out of the bath and get dressed.
“Wow this place is like a five star hotel,” Shelley said to me when I walked into our common room.
“Yes, it is tempting to stay, “I said as I plopped down on a comfortable coach.
“Do you think that’s what happened to Odysseus? He got so comfortable he didn’t want to get back on his rickety ship.”
“A man that drinks that much would be comfortable on a rock pile.”
“Why can’t we stay then?”
“Circe... she was not so nice in the history books?” I asked.
“Yes, but that was part of a myth, I had no idea she was real... besides remember the stories about you? Stories change over the millennia.”
“I feel we should not overstay our welcome, the less she knows about us the better.”
“Kem... do you think that a lot of those mythical stories about witches and wizards are really about people like us?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t read very many of them I’m afraid... those boring movies with the short people walking in the wilderness was that a myth?”
“Um... no... you didn’t like them?”
“Not really... I liked those movies with the handsome space ship pilot... you know, the villain was dressed in black and everybody fought with electrical swords.”
“Oh yuck... really?”
“They were much more imaginative, I thought.”
“Well what about King Arthur... I’m sure you’ve seen stuff about him?” Shelley asked.
“Yes... now that you mention it Morgan le Fay strikes me as a real sorcerer, the stories about her depict a lot of complexity, in magic and personality.”
“What about Merlin?”
“He struck me as someone being manipulated by an unseen power, I have a tough time believing any sorcerer would align themselves with a minor king.”
“What about Circe and Odysseus?” Shelley said.
“That’s love... no woman acts rationally when love is involved.”
“I sense you are talking about me... such a harsh language, what is it called?” Circe had entered our room unnoticed.
“English, Shelley is from an island far to the west, we were just saying how grateful we are for your hospitality.”
“Thank you, the pleasure is all mine. It is quite a treat to talk to other sorcerers,” Circe said.
“Did Odysseus come back?” Shelley asked.
Circe’s face turned dark, “if he did he better like swine.”
Circe led us to a large dining room for breakfast, there was a long wooden table piled with food and drink, we sat down to eat.
I had some warm bread slathered with butter and a bowl of peeled and sliced fruit, I washed it all down with a cup of beer. Shelley was more adventurous eating some fish and other meats, I reasoned all the food was probably safe, being conjured it would only have been of the best quality.
“You are such a cautious eater Kem, you look at food like a general surveying his enemy,” Circe said.
“I have a sensitive stomach.”
“Hmm... I have some herbs for that.”
“Um... no... I have it under control if I watch what I eat,” I said.
When we finished our breakfast Circe gave us a papyrus map of the local islands, she pointed out Hattu’s island. We then walked up three flights of stairs until we came to a rooftop hangar which housed her flying craft.
“You can use this one,” she pointed at a rakish looking craft.”
We climbed aboard it and Circe explained the controls, “When you’re done with it just pull this red lever, you’ll have about thirty seconds to get off before it will take off and return to me.”
Shelley and I sat in the comfortable seats, the craft had a sturdy awning and a thick glass windshield.
Circe climbed off the ship and closed the door. I carefully rose up off the hangar floor and then aimed for the large exit. Shelley and I waved good bye to Circe.
“Farewell Kemamonit, it was nice to meet you,” she yelled.
I felt my face go warm as I increased
our speed.
“No fooling her, huh?”
“It would be a lot easier to be incognito if my goddamn picture wasn’t everywhere,” I said.
The craft was quite nimble and very easy to fly, it also had rudimentary instruments including a device which acted like a cross between an autopilot and compass. I could dial a heading and the craft would fly that direction.
I looked at the map and using a ruler and a protractor determined the proper heading, I dialed it up and then increased our speed.
The craft flew smoothly, it obviously had some aerodynamic characteristic’s.
“This is pretty cool,” Shelley said.
“It sure beat’s walking.”
I calculated it would take about an hour and a half to get to Hattu’s island, so I decided to take a nap, Shelley was more than happy to take over the controls having never flown such a complex craft before.
I awoke to the feeling of Shelley shaking my arm, I yawned and stretched.
“I think that’s it Kem,” Shelley said pointing to an island about a thousand feet below us.
I saw a small rocky island about a mile wide, there was a large building complex on it similar to Circe’s. I also saw hundreds of what looked like dark needle like objects in the water next to the shore.
“Oh my god those are ships,” I said to Shelley.
“There must be over a thousand Sea-people on the island,” she replied.
“If what I suspect is true, they used this island to travel from the far north.”
“Travelled how?”
“Through the complex’s air conditioning, they must have burst through the air gateway and overwhelmed the guard.”
Shelley looked at me,” so the Bronze age Collapse was caused by faulty air conditioning?”
“Let’s set the craft down in front of the main entrance, I’ve had enough of being incognito,” I said.
Shelley piloted the flyer lower and slowed its velocity. She proved to be a capable pilot and we were soon on the ground in front of the complex’s main entrance.
I saw a large group of armed men gathering about thirty yards to one side of the craft.
I handed Shelley the paper pad with the time spell written on it.
“If anything happens activate it, remember to stay close,” I said.
We both exited the craft, I pulled the red homing lever and then closed the door, thirty seconds later as Circe has said it suddenly took off and headed back to her island.
The group of warriors had grown into the hundreds and they had completely encircled us, they still kept about ten yards away from us, I saw fearful looks on their faces.
“Elefante... Elefante,” I heard whispered from the group, I saw one of the men pointing at Shelley.
“Now you’re the famous one, they are frightened of you,” I said.
“What now?” Shelley asked.
A low murmur went through the large crowd and the men in front of us suddenly parted creating an opening. I saw a tall thin man wearing a light gray cloak, he had on a tall hat that looked similar to a large fedora, and a long gray beard flowed down from his chin. He carried a wood staff in his right hand.
The man slowly walked towards us halting when he was about five feet away.
“You will come no further,” he said in badly accented Egyptian.
“You speak our language,” I said.
“One must study the enemy.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I am the great wizard king Heimdal, descendant of a royal linage a thousand years long.”
“Really?” I said.
“You will surrender, or be destroyed.
“We too are powerful wizards, how will you destroy us?”
“You do not have the power that I possess!”
He used his free hand to grab a chain hanging around his neck. He flicked open the chains clasp with his thumb nail and then held it in front of us on his outstretched arm. I saw a small silver ring hanging down from it.
“Behold the ring that controls all rings!” he bellowed.
I recognized it immediately.
Heimdal rested his staff in the crook of his shoulder as he used his two shaky hands to put the ring on one of his fingers.
He made a fist of the hand with the ring on it and held it over his head.
“In the name of Odin, I will strike you down!!” he said dramatically.
I could tell he was about to utter one of the rings command words.
“Oh great wizard may I say a few words before you destroy us” I said.
“If you must, but it will not save you,” Heimdal said arrogantly.
“Kemamonit’s goose is not quite cooked,” I said loudly.
I grabbed Shelley around the shoulders and pulled her to the ground, “lie as close as you can to the ground,” I yelled to her.
No sooner had we flattened ourselves then an enormous gust of wind swept over top of us, its intensity was that of the largest of typhoons. I knew this because that was the effect I had used in the rings spell.
The wind gust blew for about sixty seconds and then stopped as suddenly as it came. Shelley and I stood up brushing the sand and dirt from our clothing.
The only other person left standing was Heimdal, all the other warriors had been blown many yards away.
Heimdal looked at us with terror in his eyes and started yelling out the rings many command words, none of them worked.
“How... how is this possible this ring was forged in the underworld by the gods,” he croaked.
“That ring was made by a jeweler in Lunu, he made me a bunch of earrings too, and it has now turned back to what it was when I purchased it, a piece of jewellery.” I said.
“But... but... impossible... I’m the greatest wizard... a thousand year linage...” Heimdal stammered.
“And I am a peasant born from a long line of peasants. You are nothing but a doddering old fool with a bunch of magic trinkets. Gather your men and leave this place or you will feel the wraith of true sorcery.”
Heimdal hung his head in defeat.
“Ya... and stop the raping and pillaging too, you guys should be ashamed of yourselves,” Shelley yelled.
The warriors who had been swept away by the gust had started to stand up and limp around. Heimdal yelled a few terse commands to them and they slowly started walking towards the complex.
Heimdal turned towards us, “our ships, we need to take our ships... things have not been good in our land since the gods filled the air with dust and ash... we will starve without them.”
“I think he’s telling the truth Kem, there was a huge volcanic eruption about this time in Iceland, Hekla I think,” Shelley said.
“I will send your ships through the gateway after you have left,” I said to Heimdal.
I did not trust him or his men, the sooner they were gone the safer I would feel.