chapter 9
previous chapter
Up in the sky, a black airship drifted along gently. It was drawn by a single majestic black unicorn, a creature that seemed to consist entirely of pure muscle. This airship had no visible insignia of any kind, and it was certainly not in a hurry. It cruised.
The airship was, in fact, somewhat similar to a floating mini-mansion. The balloon was studded with elegant silver hubs, stitched into strips of expensive leather. The chains were stainless steel, and the cabin itself was carved out of specially imported wood: light yet strong. Velvet curtains covered the windows, and the interior of the cabin was designed to resemble an exact replica of a very upscale lounge. There was a bar, several sofas, a writing table, and even a mini pool, complete with a tiny fountain.
The whole place gave the impression that its owner was very, very rich indeed. And actually, he really was very rich. He was known as Mr Porpoise, and he was currently standing on a small platform on the airship, staring down at the world below. He was dressed in a specially tailored smoking jacket, and against all stereotypes of rich people who float around in black airships, he was neither short, fat, nor round. Six feet three could hardly be considered short, he worked out often enough to have proper muscles, and the only thing round about him was a large gold ring on his finger.
Tucked barely out of sight were two even more well built men, who could be described very vaguely as bodyguards. Their eyes never stopped moving, constantly scanning the skies for, one has to assume, any would-be assassins lying in ambush within the clouds. One of their hands remained within their coats at all times, presumably because they were too shy to show both hands.
Mr Porpoise was reading a letter. As he read, his eyes narrowed in fury, and he angrily tore the paper into shreds. "Damn..." he muttered in a voice that, somehow, reminded a listener of an assortment of animals such as foxes, wolves and snakes. Particularly snakes. Every word uttered in that voice dripped with cunning.
So, he thought, there has been a minor hiccup in the plan. No matter.. every problem had a solution, if you look hard enough. Sometimes it was money. In fact, most of the time it was money: all you had to know was where to put it, and if you keep shoving money in the right places, the problems went away eventually.
Fortunately, he had plenty of money. And to ensure that this plan succeeds.. well, even his entire fortune would be a small price to pay.
* * * * *
The Watch had dug a very big hole in the middle of a busy street to reach the caved-in chamber. They then hammered together a rickety series of scaffolds, leading deeper and deeper underground. The Forensics arm of the Watch were gone now, but several Watchmen hung around the hole on guard duty. They looked really bored: nobody was likely to steal a hole in the ground, and there was nothing down there but a lot of rocks and dust.
In a nearby alleyway, Seraph and Cantrip peeked around a corner at the gaping hole.
"If Fred was right, then the metal guy and the girl would probably reappear eventually. All we have to do is wait," whispered Seraph.
"And you honestly believe we can just WALK in there and whisk away the girl?? We'll probably get ourselves killed!" Cantrip hissed back. "Can't you think of a better plan?"
"Trust me... this time, it had better watch out, because we are PREPARED," declared Seraph with a lot more confidence than he felt. "Now all we have to do is figure out a way to get inside."
They stared blankly at the Watchmen around the hole. For a moment, Cantrip's imagination ran wild, and he pictured both of them leaping forward, swords drawn, charging valiantly towards the hole while shrieking bravely, striking terror into the hearts of all who oppose them. Unfortunately, doing so right now would most probably lead to them being: a) shot dead and turned into a pair of human pincushions by a shower of crossbow bolts before they'd taken more than 10 steps, b) attacked by the Watchmen, put up a brief and pointless struggle, and then get chopped into tiny pieces, or c) all of the above.
They continued staring glumly. Overhead, the sun continued chugging across the sky, and time dripped through late afternoon, trickled into dusk, and then flowed on into the night. The Watchmen continued guarding, and far above, a Watchwoman remained perched on top of a chimney, staring curiously at the two figures in the alleyway.
* * * * *
Five hooded figures arrived at the edge of the City, just as the first rays of moonlight lightly touched the earth, as soundless as a, urm, thing with no sound. The leading figure flicked back his hood, and grimly turned to the other figures.
"Alright, brothers. Here we are. Don't forget, our main purpose here is to find the Key and return it before it falls into the wrong hands. Keep a low profile as much as possible, we don't know who we're dealing with for now," said Ancient One, already discarding his robes, revealing a slightly less attention grabbing leather tunic beneath. "We'll split up, and meet back here in five days. Here, take these.." He distributed some suspicious looking cylinders to the other Ancients. "..and set them off if anything happens. Good luck."
The rest nodded silently, and then the group dispersed, leaving behind nothing but a small pile of discarded robes.
* * * * *
At night, the street lanterns lit up the roads of the City like a very long and hopelessly tangled string of Christmas lights. Overhead, the airship traffic became noticably slower. The airships had their own lights, so the night sky blinked with random little red dots. One of the airships flew low over the buildings, and Cantrip caught a quick glimpse of what looked suspiciously like another dolphin painted to the bottom of the airship.
Those airship people must really love dolphins, thought Cantrip. Either they had delusions that their airships resembled dolphins slicing gracefully through the air (which really IS a delusion, because they looked like big fat walruses) or they all hired a painter with an obsession with gray fish that have snouts.
Then Seraph had an idea.
He dragged a startled Cantrip into action, and they ran down the alleyway, away from the hole, eyes scanning furiously along the wall, looking for.. there. A drainpipe, rusted with age, leading straight to the roof. Seraph clung onto the pipe and started climbing, pausing halfway up the pipe to rip some clothes off one of the many overhanging clotheslines. This was a typical alleyway, after all.
Cantrip followed, and they darted up the drainpipe like a pair of very determined monkeys. Seraph was moving with one hand: his other hand shoved what appeared to be a large bedsheet into his tunic, then began fumbling in his pockets for something. He pulled out a small tube that looked very much like a primitive grenade. They reached the top just as the airship glided by overhead, and Seraph ripped off a piece of cloth, twisted it hurriedly around the tube, and hurled it over the edge of the roof.
The cloth opened up like a tiny parachute, and the grenade started to fall...
The airship looked deceptively slow from a distance, but now that it was just overhead, it was moving FAST, with a loud whooshing sound, dragged forward by a unicorn. Seraph grabbed Cantrip and sprinted, up another drainpipe, and soon they were going higher and higher, up a smaller tower on the roofs...
And NOW, higher than the airship's balloon... with Cantrip clinging on tightly, Seraph leapt, barely landing on the strong leathery surface of the airship, and slipping... The streets far below looked quite fatal from this distance, but Seraph's face was full of exhilaration, drunk in the thrill of the stunt. He's actually ENJOYING himself, thought a shocked Cantrip, just before Seraph released his grip on the balloon and fell backwards.
...there was an explosion from a nearby alleyway as the grenade landed...
As the Watchmen drew their weapons and rushed towards the alley, they completely failed to notice two figures dropping from the airship. One of the figures released a giant bedsheet as a makeshift parachute, and they drifted gently into the great big hole in the ground.
The Watchmen found nothing in the alley except a small crater, rubbish blown to bits everywhere, and a very cooked rat. Puzzled, they resumed their vigil, more alert now than before. But the falling figures were already gone.
* * * * *
Oh, by the way, dolphins are not fish... they're mammals. But I'm sure you already knew that.
next chapter
Up in the sky, a black airship drifted along gently. It was drawn by a single majestic black unicorn, a creature that seemed to consist entirely of pure muscle. This airship had no visible insignia of any kind, and it was certainly not in a hurry. It cruised.
The airship was, in fact, somewhat similar to a floating mini-mansion. The balloon was studded with elegant silver hubs, stitched into strips of expensive leather. The chains were stainless steel, and the cabin itself was carved out of specially imported wood: light yet strong. Velvet curtains covered the windows, and the interior of the cabin was designed to resemble an exact replica of a very upscale lounge. There was a bar, several sofas, a writing table, and even a mini pool, complete with a tiny fountain.
The whole place gave the impression that its owner was very, very rich indeed. And actually, he really was very rich. He was known as Mr Porpoise, and he was currently standing on a small platform on the airship, staring down at the world below. He was dressed in a specially tailored smoking jacket, and against all stereotypes of rich people who float around in black airships, he was neither short, fat, nor round. Six feet three could hardly be considered short, he worked out often enough to have proper muscles, and the only thing round about him was a large gold ring on his finger.
Tucked barely out of sight were two even more well built men, who could be described very vaguely as bodyguards. Their eyes never stopped moving, constantly scanning the skies for, one has to assume, any would-be assassins lying in ambush within the clouds. One of their hands remained within their coats at all times, presumably because they were too shy to show both hands.
Mr Porpoise was reading a letter. As he read, his eyes narrowed in fury, and he angrily tore the paper into shreds. "Damn..." he muttered in a voice that, somehow, reminded a listener of an assortment of animals such as foxes, wolves and snakes. Particularly snakes. Every word uttered in that voice dripped with cunning.
So, he thought, there has been a minor hiccup in the plan. No matter.. every problem had a solution, if you look hard enough. Sometimes it was money. In fact, most of the time it was money: all you had to know was where to put it, and if you keep shoving money in the right places, the problems went away eventually.
Fortunately, he had plenty of money. And to ensure that this plan succeeds.. well, even his entire fortune would be a small price to pay.
* * * * *
The Watch had dug a very big hole in the middle of a busy street to reach the caved-in chamber. They then hammered together a rickety series of scaffolds, leading deeper and deeper underground. The Forensics arm of the Watch were gone now, but several Watchmen hung around the hole on guard duty. They looked really bored: nobody was likely to steal a hole in the ground, and there was nothing down there but a lot of rocks and dust.
In a nearby alleyway, Seraph and Cantrip peeked around a corner at the gaping hole.
"If Fred was right, then the metal guy and the girl would probably reappear eventually. All we have to do is wait," whispered Seraph.
"And you honestly believe we can just WALK in there and whisk away the girl?? We'll probably get ourselves killed!" Cantrip hissed back. "Can't you think of a better plan?"
"Trust me... this time, it had better watch out, because we are PREPARED," declared Seraph with a lot more confidence than he felt. "Now all we have to do is figure out a way to get inside."
They stared blankly at the Watchmen around the hole. For a moment, Cantrip's imagination ran wild, and he pictured both of them leaping forward, swords drawn, charging valiantly towards the hole while shrieking bravely, striking terror into the hearts of all who oppose them. Unfortunately, doing so right now would most probably lead to them being: a) shot dead and turned into a pair of human pincushions by a shower of crossbow bolts before they'd taken more than 10 steps, b) attacked by the Watchmen, put up a brief and pointless struggle, and then get chopped into tiny pieces, or c) all of the above.
They continued staring glumly. Overhead, the sun continued chugging across the sky, and time dripped through late afternoon, trickled into dusk, and then flowed on into the night. The Watchmen continued guarding, and far above, a Watchwoman remained perched on top of a chimney, staring curiously at the two figures in the alleyway.
* * * * *
Five hooded figures arrived at the edge of the City, just as the first rays of moonlight lightly touched the earth, as soundless as a, urm, thing with no sound. The leading figure flicked back his hood, and grimly turned to the other figures.
"Alright, brothers. Here we are. Don't forget, our main purpose here is to find the Key and return it before it falls into the wrong hands. Keep a low profile as much as possible, we don't know who we're dealing with for now," said Ancient One, already discarding his robes, revealing a slightly less attention grabbing leather tunic beneath. "We'll split up, and meet back here in five days. Here, take these.." He distributed some suspicious looking cylinders to the other Ancients. "..and set them off if anything happens. Good luck."
The rest nodded silently, and then the group dispersed, leaving behind nothing but a small pile of discarded robes.
* * * * *
At night, the street lanterns lit up the roads of the City like a very long and hopelessly tangled string of Christmas lights. Overhead, the airship traffic became noticably slower. The airships had their own lights, so the night sky blinked with random little red dots. One of the airships flew low over the buildings, and Cantrip caught a quick glimpse of what looked suspiciously like another dolphin painted to the bottom of the airship.
Those airship people must really love dolphins, thought Cantrip. Either they had delusions that their airships resembled dolphins slicing gracefully through the air (which really IS a delusion, because they looked like big fat walruses) or they all hired a painter with an obsession with gray fish that have snouts.
Then Seraph had an idea.
He dragged a startled Cantrip into action, and they ran down the alleyway, away from the hole, eyes scanning furiously along the wall, looking for.. there. A drainpipe, rusted with age, leading straight to the roof. Seraph clung onto the pipe and started climbing, pausing halfway up the pipe to rip some clothes off one of the many overhanging clotheslines. This was a typical alleyway, after all.
Cantrip followed, and they darted up the drainpipe like a pair of very determined monkeys. Seraph was moving with one hand: his other hand shoved what appeared to be a large bedsheet into his tunic, then began fumbling in his pockets for something. He pulled out a small tube that looked very much like a primitive grenade. They reached the top just as the airship glided by overhead, and Seraph ripped off a piece of cloth, twisted it hurriedly around the tube, and hurled it over the edge of the roof.
The cloth opened up like a tiny parachute, and the grenade started to fall...
The airship looked deceptively slow from a distance, but now that it was just overhead, it was moving FAST, with a loud whooshing sound, dragged forward by a unicorn. Seraph grabbed Cantrip and sprinted, up another drainpipe, and soon they were going higher and higher, up a smaller tower on the roofs...
And NOW, higher than the airship's balloon... with Cantrip clinging on tightly, Seraph leapt, barely landing on the strong leathery surface of the airship, and slipping... The streets far below looked quite fatal from this distance, but Seraph's face was full of exhilaration, drunk in the thrill of the stunt. He's actually ENJOYING himself, thought a shocked Cantrip, just before Seraph released his grip on the balloon and fell backwards.
...there was an explosion from a nearby alleyway as the grenade landed...
As the Watchmen drew their weapons and rushed towards the alley, they completely failed to notice two figures dropping from the airship. One of the figures released a giant bedsheet as a makeshift parachute, and they drifted gently into the great big hole in the ground.
The Watchmen found nothing in the alley except a small crater, rubbish blown to bits everywhere, and a very cooked rat. Puzzled, they resumed their vigil, more alert now than before. But the falling figures were already gone.
* * * * *
Oh, by the way, dolphins are not fish... they're mammals. But I'm sure you already knew that.
next chapter
posted by nerdook at 9:55 PM
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