Kuranes: Hostage!
Sweeping down out of the sky over the manor house, Hero once again noted the striking likeness of this part of the countryside to a bit of Old England. For this area was of Kuranes’ own molding and had been modeled after an oft-glimpsed memory of his previous existence in the waking world. Like Serannian’s wall, however, the ivied manor house too had undergone several ominous changes.
For one thing, striped sentry boxes had been erected on the four approach roads close to the garden walls; and for another, within the gardens themselves a small, temporary wooden barracks had been constructed to house the King’s own guardsmen. And so by all rights Kuranes’ estate should have been perfectly safe and secure. Except—
Except that as the gaunt-riders circled overhead they could see no sign of movement or life in the place—but they could see the still form of a uniformed guardsman, complete with pike and bearskin, lying crumpled on the cobbled road beside his sentry box!
As Limnar Dass alighted on the road and examined the stricken guardsman, the others flew directly into the
inner courtyard. There, hastily freeing themselves from the gaunts, it soon became perfectly obvious to them that all was far from well. Something had happened during the night, something of which Serannian’s common citizens, freshly waking, were as yet unaware. Indeed Hero and his friends were the first to stumble on the thing, whose mystery was very quickly and easily fathomed.
The gates and doors of Kuranes residence stood gapingly open; all of the King’s men lay where they had fallen; signs of fighting were apparent in the great hall, where one of Kuranes’ butlers lay dead in a dark pool of his own blood; but of the Lord of Serannian himself—not a sign.
“Kidnapped!” Eldin snarled. “Stolen away in the night by Zura’s dead ’uns.”
Hero found an unconscious guardsman in an inner room and slapped his face until he came to. “What happened here?” the young adventurer demanded of the dazed man.
“Happened? Why … I—” Suddenly the soldier’s eyes sprang wide open and he tried to scramble to his feet, only to fall back weakly into Hero’s arms. “The King!” the man gasped. “Kuranes—and those wormy, nightmare horrors that came for him. And the gas—”
“Gas?” Hero growned. “Green gas?”
“No, not green—purple. The attack came an hour before dawn. Small vials of purple gas thrown at the manor house from all sides and tossed into the barrack rooms. Some of the men lasted a little longer against the knockout effect of the gas, but they were the unlucky ones. Those
things
in the white robes cut them down without mercy. As I lost consciousness I saw Kuranes carried out of his room and into the garden mists. It was all so quick … So well planned …
Kuranes’ security wasn’t good enough … Who would have thought Zura’s forces would dare strike here, in the very heart of the sky-island?”
As he finished speaking, exhausted by the effort, the guardsman’s head fell back and his eyes closed. His chest rose and fell in the steady rhythm of sleep. Hero stood up and stared at Gytherik and Eldin. The faces of all three were pale in the unnatural quiet of the place. Then Limnar Dass arrived with a relief squad of pike-bearing guardsmen.
“I met these lads marching down the road,” he said. “They’ve come to relieve the night watch. It’s my guess, however, that they’ll have precious little to guard. Am I right?”
Hero nodded, then went on to relate the unconscious soldier’s story. As he finished, the Officer of the Watch sprang to attention. “Right!” snapped that young man, a Lieutenant of Serannian’s 3rd Company of Pikes. “The way I see it the King’s been taken hostage. Very well—you, you and you,” he picked out three of the men in his command. “Off you go, at the double, and get word to the authorities in the city. They’ll know what to do. House to house searches and so on.” As the three chosen men hurried off to carry out their orders, the lieutenant turned to Limnar and saluted. “Is there anything else I can do, sir?” he inquired.
“You can secure the manor house and grounds,” said Dass, “and revive these comrades of yours, if that’s at all possible right now. Perhaps one of them knows more about what happened here. For the time being we’ll be making this place our headquarters, until we’ve worked out what we’re going to do.”
“One other thing,” said Hero. “Let the City Councilors know we’re back. They may have already been informed, but it’s very important that we see them as soon
as possible. We’ve brought news of Zura. There’s a black armada on its way here right now, with Zura herself in command.”
“Aye,” Eldin gruffly added. “She’s on her way all right. Coming to watch Serannian go crashing to her doom!”
Hero turned to his burly friend with a frown. “Eh, what’s that? Surely she’s coming to bring about the crash, not merely to watch it.”
Eldin slowly shook his head. “No,” he said, “I don’t think so. She’s coming purely as a spectator …”
As the guardsmen dispersed to their various duties, Hero took Eldin aside. Gytherik and Limnar followed in time to hear Hero’s question: “What’s on your mind, old lad? Something I’ve missed?”
“Something we’ve all missed,” growled Eldin by way of reply. “Well, not missed, exactly. It’s just that things have happened so fast we haven’t had time to get it all together yet, that’s all.”
Hero and Gytherik continued to look blank, but Limnar snapped his fingers and said: “Damn me! I believe you’re right, Eldin!”
“Eh?” said Hero.
“Of course!” Limnar continued to speak in exclamations. “The white ship and its cargo … and Kuranes a hostage … and Zura’s fleet due to arrive sometime tomorrow morning, possibly at dawn. Yes, I can see what the Wanderer is getting at now.”
Eldin nodded. “Ask yourself the real purpose behind that white ship,” he said. “Sabotage has already been mentioned. Very well, just what do the zombies intend to sabotage? Where’s the bulk of the green gas which was in that ship’s hold?”
“Why, that’s obvious,” said Hero. “There’s only one possible target for—” And in the next moment his jaw
dropped and his face turned ashen. “Serannian’s flotation chambers!”
“Right!” said Eldin. “That’s the way I see it. Oh, we know Zura’s armada is capable of shooting down a ship or two—perhaps Kuranes’ entire fleet, though not without a great deal of damage to her own—but how could she hope to handle all of Serannian? Impossible from the outside, for the city’s armaments are sound and the potential size of Kuranes’ army is enormous … but from the
inside
?”
“Where are the engine rooms?” Hero turned to Limnar. “They’re below the surface, I know, but where
exactly
, and how many of them are there? Surely as a citizen of Serannian you’ll know that much, Limnar?”
The sky-captain raised his eyebrows. “What? But I have no idea! Would you expect a taverner in Ulthar to know the intricacies of a silver mine in Ulthar’s hinterland?”
“Well, who would know?” Hero pressed.
“The engineers, I suppose,” Limnar answered. “They work in shifts. I’ve heard it said that some of the old-timers have worked on every flotation engine in the entire sky-island. As to how many engines there are: I believe the answer to that one is sixteen. But only four of those are master engines, monstrous great things that manufacture by far the majority of the flotation essence. The lesser engines are mainly for balance. They are there to give us the Tilt.”
“So if Zura’s gang is planning to take over the engine rooms—” Hero began.
“Or if they’ve already started,” Eldin added.
“Their best bet,” Gytherik concluded, “would be to infiltrate the master engine rooms.”
“Right,” Limnar agreed.
“I’m hungry,” said Eldin after a pause, and the tension visibly eased off.
“You could use a bath, too,” Hero told him, grinning as he wrinkled his nose.
“We all could,” said Limnar reasonably. “We stink of gaunts.”
“Me especially,” said Gytherik ruefully. “Let’s all eat, drink, bathe, sleep—generally refresh ourselves. But first—”
“The answer’s an egg,” Hero cut him short.
“Pardon?”
“The way to set your old man free,” Eldin explained, “involves a shantak-bird’s egg. That’s what you wanted to know, isn’t it?”
Gytherik eagerly nodded. “An egg, you say? Of the giant shantak?”
The adventurers took turns explaining and Gytherik listened intently. They told him the whole tale of their underground adventures, and when they were done there were unashamed tears in his eyes. Limnar had meanwhile roused a pair of Kuranes’ butlers who had prepared a huge room for the four and were now seeing to a meal for them.
As they retired to their room Hero threw an arm round Gytherik’s shoulder and said: “Well, lad, I suppose that as soon as you’re fed and watered you’ll be off to find yourself a shantak-bird’s egg, eh?”
“Inquanok’s hinterland is a fair way away,” answered Gytherik after a moment’s thought. “It will take a long time to get there and back, even using my gaunts. And they could use a good rest, I’m sure. Zura’s fleet, on the other hand, is less than a day away, and the gaunts and I make a fine team in a fight. In fact, using the gaunts we can engage the armada before it even gets here.”
“Are you saying you’ll stay till it’s all over?” Eldin gruffly asked, a delighted smile splitting his bearded face.
“I suppose I am,” answered Gytherik. “I think my father would forgive me this one indulgence. There is one other suggestion I would make, however …”
“Oh?” said Hero.
“Yes. Do you think we could stable the gaunts closer to hand? Say—next door? I’m not a coward but I am discreet. The moment I feel this sky-floating island start to wobble …”
“I for one couldn’t agree more,” Eldin replied. “In fact, as soon as we’ve eaten I’ll see to it myself.”
An hour or so later—with all of their immediate needs satisfied and as they were about to stretch out on their beds in the huge room which they had made their headquarters—one of Kuranes’ butlers knocked at their door, entered, bowed and announced the arrival of three of Serannian’s councillors. Hero bade the three graybeards enter and the butler quickly produced chairs for them.
Introductions followed and the three newcomers turned out to be Messid Lythta, Allain Merrinay and Chelos Smith. The latter, as his surname might suggest, was a man late of the waking world who had lived for many years in Serannian. He suspected that he had been a policeman in the waking world, and if so he was a rare exception to a universally accepted rule; namely, it was almost unknown for a waking-worlder to follow the same vocation in the land of Earth’s dreams. In fact Chelos (he had been awarded half of a dream-name) was not truly a policeman, but he did advise the City Fathers on what little crime there was in Serannian.
Messid Lythta was likewise useful, for he was the councillor in charge of Services and Amenities; he had overall control of the city’s workforce, including its flotation engineers. As for Allain Merrinay: he was a personal friend of Kuranes’—and an expert on all matters concerning the sky-island’s security. Three very important men indeed.
Though the councillors were old men they still had all of their wits about them. When Limnar Dass had finished telling them of Zura’s approach, of the white ship, and all that was known of Kuranes’ kidnapping, then the three went into a huddle together and conversed in lowered voices for many minutes. Finally they seemed to come to some decision or other, and Chelos Smith turned his grizzled policeman’s head in the direction of the four where they sat on their beds.
“You are brave men all,” Chelos told them. “We knew that even before your return, for the Lord of Serannian told us all about you. Now we are sure that he was right. Now, too, it is our intention to involve you in our plans for Serannian’s security; also in the safe recovery of Kuranes himself, if he still lives. The way we understand it, however, you are all independently secure even in the event of the sky-island’s fall. Is that so?”
“Aye,” answered Gytherik, “for we have the use of my gaunts. I have but to call out to them and they would come instantly to our rescue.”
“Very reassuring for you,” said Allain Merrinay dryly, “but not very helpful to Serannian.”
“Our plan,” Chelos continued, “would deny at least two of you access to the gaunts—” and he gazed steadily at Hero and Eldin. “During the execution of that plan, if the sky-island should tail—you would also fall.”
“Now hold on a minute—” Eldin started to his feet; but Hero only sighed and said:
“Sit down, old lad, for we’re committed. You know it as well as I do, so we may a well hear the thing out.” He turned back to Chelos Smith. “All right, councillor, say on—and let’s hope for everyone’s sake that your plan’s a good one …”