Cleaning
Up The Mess:
He walked down the rough track, kept clear now by his passing.
Home was calling. It was
both cold and dark, and he thought
Longingly of his warm and convivial barge, the arms of Esme,
Most beautiful of Naiads, and the comfort of a Dwarven beer.
Timothy sat, huddled on his shoulder, still sulking, he thought,
Because of their move from Teddington. The Raven missed
The Tower, the gossip and the hustle and bustle of London .
He, on the other hand, wanted some peace for a while and Esme
Wished to visit her Mama who had made her home in the soft
Foundations of Folly Bridge in Oxford.
He had enjoyed seeing
His old friend, the Arch-Mage of Oxbridge and
imbibing one or
Two glasses of his Synsepalum dulcificum[1] juice,
but the news
From
the Realm Of Man was quite grim and he wondered if his
Master would wish to
intervene. Only time would tell. For now
Though,
the soft lights from the barge blinked their welcome
Through the trees. Timothy sat up a little straighter. Home.
………………………………………………………………….
The
Sun kissed his face as he opened the door.
Sweet Esme had
Slipped into the water earlier to visit her Mama and he
had the
Day to do with as he wished.
Thus it was that he strolled up the
Road, near Folly House, Timothy a
little more chipper now, on
His shoulder, and on up to the High Street thronged
as usual
With gowned students who seemed to think it their right to walk
In the
middle of the road, carters and herders be damned! He
Laughed
quietly when a grey-bearded dwarf riding a fine grey
Stallion,
had it lower its head and carve a route for them with its
Glittering and
menacing horn. He chose to follow in
their wake,
And soon it was entered the covered market. The smells that
Assailed his nostrils and
the calls of the vendors delighted him,
Reminding
him of his childhood when the family Ogre, Henry,
Would carry him through on
his shoulders. No problems with
Folk
making way for them then! He reached
his destination
Soon enough, and purchased three truffle and pomegranate seed
Pies, one for his darling Esme, another to eat now and a third for
Timothy, who
still needed a bit of cheering up!
Leaving the
Market he continued on down the High Street to Magdalen
Merman who took him back
to the barge in a trice and gained a
Double blessing for his trouble. He settled, then, whilst he and
Timothy ate
their pies in companionable silence. As
he wiped
The last crumbs from his lips he sighed. A message owl landed!
…………………………………………………………………...
Leaving
a brief note and her pie for Esme, he had Timothy hail
A dragon. The rider was an old acquaintance from Glasgow and
They
enjoyed catching up as they flew over the Anglic passage
And on to Paris , a city he knew
well, and loved. They parted
Near his
destination, a small, family run, hostelry in the Avenue
Mac-Mahon, close by the Folie de Triumph. He entered, gave
Bisous to Jenifra, the aged
Pixie who had kept the place open
And respectable for more than three centuries
now, and took
From her a live memory cell.
He retired to his normal room and
Having made himself comfortable and
secure, knowing Timothy
Would stay alert, he pressed the cell against the interface
on his
Arm, placed there by his Master, where it slowly sank into him.
…………………………………………………………………..
Momentarily he was confused, the whole world
reeling, and
Then he found himself standing in a dark tower, one of many
Such,
high above a vast square in the Realm Of Man looking
Down upon an equally vast multitude
which was filling it. He
Recognised the
place immediately. He had been here
several
Times before, though never in this vantage point. Nuremburg.
The Zeppelin Field, to be precise, with the ‘Curtain Of Light’ in
Place,
reaching high in the sky. Very dramatic
and evocative.
He thought that all of that rubbish had been
got rid of years ago!
…………………………………………………………………...
The crowd were responding in wild, hysterical
rapture to a bile-
Filled speech from a woman whose face was one of the most
Stunning, extraordinary beauty.
Lilith! He swiftly crowd-
Scanned
and, sure enough, found there her wretched Samael
Sired, evil lilim spawn in
their black shirts scattered amongst it,
Encouraging ever greater frenzied
support. How, he pondered,
As he watched
the crowd become an adoring potential tool for
Violence and rioting, had she succeeded
in entering this reality?
That wasn’t
really his concern however, he thought, as the vast
Throng turned into a tool
of savagery, pouring out of the square,
Getting ready to, as instructed, run
through the streets of their
Home towns smashing shop fronts, looting and
setting fire to
The vehicles of whichever hapless minority Lilith had decided
Would make a good focus for their frustration.
She stoked fear
Of an imagined enemy within, oft using the words,
‘incomers’
And ‘immigrants’, plus loaded phrases carping about taking jobs
And destroying
the culture – all the ghastly garbage dictators
In the Realm Of Man had used since time
immemorial. He was
Staggered that these
people didn’t notice the formula and the
Nonsense being peddled! Then the world he was viewing ended
Returning
him to his room in the hostelry in sane Home Realm.
…………………………………………………………………...
He sat there for two days, eating, drinking
Dwarven Ale which
Jenifra got in specially for him, thinking and doing research
as
Much as he could, what Lilith was doing.
This, of course, had
Entailed several trips to the Realm Of Man to
access the News
Media of one sort or another.
Her malevolent actions rippled to
Countries outside Deutsche Bestellung,
through all of old Gaul.
Obviously he was not being called upon by his
Master to slay
Lilith, she being one of the ‘Dark Side’ untouchables whom
One
was forbidden to harm, so he must want him to find some
Way to somehow remove
or discredit her and her tainted vision.
It would be pleasant, he mused aloud one evening whilst sitting
In his
room with Timothy, partaking of a lightish supper of spiced
Potatoes and peas,
if his Master would be a little more specific
Now and then in telling him what
he wanted as an end result,
But no, he was always presented with situations and
expected to
Know the right thing to do.
So, first things first, he needed to
Travel to Berlin ,
enter the Realm of Man and analytically study
The real situation on the ground. He didn’t look forward to it.
…………………………………………………………………...
Timothy had hailed him a fast rickshaw with two
fine centaurs
Working in excellent tandem to spirit him to the Place Du
Terte.
On arrival he gave them, each a
strong charm in thanks for a
Speedy and trouble-free journey through the hustle
and bustle of
Busy Parisian streets, their only holdup being the enforced stop
Whilst a herd of unicorn were taken through to the market at the
Marché
Bastille. The Parisians really loved
their unicorn meat.
The herd needs must be
culled from time to time, due to their
Fouling which was one of the serious
impediments to walking in
Paris looking anywhere but down, but he would stick
to not
Eating aught he could cuddle, which pretty much made him a
Committed
pescatarian, and a most fortunate one at that, since
Esme knew the lore of the
water, and could catch fish with ease.
Having alighted the rickshaw he made his way to
the very busy
Concourse, there to hire a dragon to take him
to Berlin . To his
Delight he found again his old friend,
the Dragon Master from
His saddle and passed an enjoyable flight talking about the
old
Days when they had done officer training at Sandlehurst and
Gone on to
serve the Master in the Goblin Uprisings, he in the
Special Ops core and his
friend a Squadron Leader of a force of
One thousand wyverns. Though they both shared some happy
Memories
they also recalled the horror. Thus it
was that they
Both still served the Master, his friend flying the world over
With passengers of every stripe, listening out for discontent or
Injustice,
whilst he, of course, was the Master’s Prime Envoy
And Assassin. Thus it was that the flight appeared to end
too
Abruptly, as suddenly they were spiralling down to the slightly
Sleepy,
Centre City Dragon port in Potsdamer Platz where his
Dear friend Timothy took
to the wing to organise an auto-
Rickshaw whilst he made his farewells and they
arranged to
Meet up the next time he was in the bonnie city of Glasgow.
…………………………………………………………………...
He didn’t like auto-rickshaws but that’s what
Berliners did like,
So he had no option. He gave it a charm, with an address in
Schinkelpl, and it’s little clockwork engine sprung into life and
Off they
went, Timothy preferring to fly rather than put up with
This noisy and somewhat
juddering contraption. It brought him
Swiftly
and safely, however, to the little Gasthaus
which Jenifra
Had recommended to him.
It was run by a cousin, was large
Enough to have a well-stocked and
frequented bar and she’d
Sent a message owl ahead of him to book the best room
and to
Ensure there was Dwarven beer.
When he got there he found a
Charming old building, a warm welcome,
delightfully appointed
Room overlooking the river and a jug of Dwarven beer
brought
Up for him to enjoy as he settled in.
His work wasn’t all bad!
…………………………………………………………………...
After an excellent supper, sound night’s sleep
and equally good
Breakfast, he dressed appropriately for his mission,
popped
Timothy into his carry-bag and
slipped into the Realm Of Man.
He wanted
to get a real feel for the city, everyday Berlin, which
Had of course already
embraced extremism once, with appalling
Consequences. He hailed a cab and had
himself dropped off in
Front of the Reichstag Building in the great Platz der
Republik,
Paying the bemused driver with a charm – he didn’t do money.
Filthy stuff !– and then stood quiet, viewing
the unsettling scene
Around him. He had
known what to expect but the reality was
More personal, deeply unpleasant. As he had noticed during the
Drive, there
were men and women in uniform everywhere, all
Black shirted, as Lilith’s
children had been, many with insignia
Of a variety of types, and a large number
carrying weapons,
Some merely holstered pistols, some with submachine-guns –
Heckler And Koch MP5s, he thought. More
disturbing by far
Was the multi-gallows in front of the Reichstag occupied by
Several hooded human beings swinging and turning slowly on
Their ropes in the
strong breeze. A sign below their bodies
was
Prominent, as was its simple message: ‘So sterben muslimische
Verräter’[2].
So, evil Lilith had obviously managed to acquire
Complete power, using a
perfectly innocent minority religious
Group as her ‘enemy within’. Why had these folk, especially
After the
ghastly holocaust of less than a century ago, fallen for
This kind
of fanatical leader’s claptrap once again?
He walked
A little closer to the gallows. There he could smell the urine
And excrement
the victims had released when they dropped
Through the trap doors. As he stood musing on a tragedy that
Was
being repeated, he caught the attention of one of the black
Shirts with a
machine-gun who waved him away. It was
tragic.
…………………………………………………………………...
For the
next three days he remained holed up in his room at the
Gasthaus sipping
Dwarven beer, alternated with Martian coffee,
Which to his mind was the best
coffee a charm could purchase,
Reading copious newspapers, mostly German but
some of them
International, educating himself in more detail as to the situation
That Lilith had created. As he did so,
Timothy flew through the
Realm Of Man in Berlin talking to other Ravens and
watching
What was taking place on the streets before coming back and
Linking
with him to transfer his newly acquired knowledge. It
Was clear that not only had Lilith
manufactured an (innocent)
Enemy within, she had also, partly as a result of this, managed
To start wars on
several different fronts. She liked nothing
Better than wars and mass killings. As well as the wars, she had
Also stirred up
a poisonous stew of terrorists who supported the
Many fatwas against the
country and leader, who were killing,
With a certain element of abandon,
innocent souls of their own
Faith. Car
bombs, gas attacks, poisoned reservoirs and a variety
Of shootings were all fairly
commonplace, which had resulted
In polarising the citizenry, even those whose
general inclination
Was to oppose Lilith and her deadly spawn. The situation was
A mess and since he was
unable to kill Lilith he needed to take
Another course and either ruin her
credibility or frighten her.
…………………………………………………………………...
He loved
the experience of Martian gravity. It
made him feel
Both a hundred years younger but incredibly clumsy. He knew
If he stayed for a day or so it would
change, as it always had
Before, but this visit was going to be time
constrained, as he
Was here on duty, working for the Master. He exited the portal
And made his way
carefully along the fungi lit tunnels and met
His old mentor, the Archmage of
Barsoom who controlled the
Vast network of Predecessor tunnels which Home Realm
folk
Now occupied in this sector. A
quick glance around showed the
Progress.
He instantly had the somewhat superficial thought
That hopefully this
would mean an increase in production, and a
Lowering of price, of his favourite
coffee. Now, however, he
Was merely
checking that there was still a labour insufficiency.
There was, and Archmage Raunien would happily
receive more
Recalcitrants to continue the irrigation work and the
planting.
They were good dealing with
all sorts of intractable souls; There
Were even some from the Realm Of
Man. The simple Rule
Here was that work
was not obligatory, but no work led to no
Food.
It was a great motivator, and hard work could result in
The reward of
citizenship and a land title. The
Archmage would
Happily post a pair of Security Ogres at the Reception Centre
For the next week or three, as necessary.
That sorted, and with
A gift of the best coffee in the Solar System
under his arm, he
Returned to the portal and a few moments later was back in
the
Home Realm in the Tiergarten, by the lovely lake where he sat
Outside a
little biergarten and sipped a cool local wine, a rather
Pleasant thimbleberry
with a honey aroma and sweet/tart fuzzy
Taste,
whilst his body adjusted and he got his ‘Earth legs’ back
As Timothy stretched
his wings going to hail an auto-rickshaw.
…………………………………………………………………
Having
contacted the local mayor and showed him his Master’s
Seal charm, he had
arranged for two Ogres and a robust paddy
Wagon to be available for him in front of the Reichstag. He’d
Decided he would pick the low hanging
fruit first. Utilising his
Unique skill
he slipped back and forth into the Realm Of Man,
Swiftly plotting on a chart
the location of the most obvious of
The spawn of Lilith and Samael, and then he
ran from place to
Place, the ogres rumbling along behind him, leaping in to the
Realm Of Man and dragging back each time a startled victim.
Their automatic reaction was to attempt to
use their weapons
Which never had, thank Chance, functioned in the Home Realm.
This allowed the Ogres time to quickly scoop
them up without
Damaging them too much, not something Ogres generally gave
Consideration
to, and propel them, firmly and surely, into the
Paddy wagon where strong shock
charms kept them very secure.
He
managed this until his interventions were noticed and the
Spawn scattered out
of the Square. By this time he had
filled
The wagon, however, and decided to go with it and ensure that
The
contents were bound and pushed through the Martian portal
Before calling it a day
and returning to the Gasthaus and a beer.
…………………………………………………………………...
Having
now removed 3 wagon loads from the more obvious
Places he commenced the next
phase. Disguised and hands-off
In the
Realm of Man he strolled the busy city streets, chatting,
Visiting bars and
restaurants, finding the favourite haunts of the
Spawn of Lilith, and when he
identified a target he had Timothy
Follow it back to wherever it resided. It was slower work but
Capturing in the night
from their residences had a psychological
Impact, adding, as it did, to the mystery
of the disappearances
From public spaces.
Now nowhere was safe! He was
guessing
Too, that the result of this was not more restful sleep and that
Would
lead to impaired judgement. Indeed,
after he had sent
Another group through the portal he found that they started
to
Sleep in dormitories, always guarded by alert colleagues. His
Only, and in retrospect, foolish attempt
to remove one from
Such a circumstance had ended up with his target being shot,
Causing much inconvenience to the Doctors back in Home
Realm. If he were honest, he should have known that
would be
The case, and he could very easily have ended up killed or
wounded himself, not something he aspired to.
Thus it was that
He decided that it was time for him to visit the
beautiful Lilith.
…………………………………………………………………...
He
entered the Reichstag building in the Home Realm and then
Crossed
to the most opulent of offices in the Realm Of Man and
Stepped through. Here he found her, sitting at a vast desk
with
Documents
scattered all over it. She was alone. Close to, he
Noted that she was even more
beautiful. Alluring was the word
That
popped into his mind. She looked up from
the document
She was reading and a puzzled look briefly crossed her features,
To be followed swiftly by one of annoyance.
In a voice both
Beautifully modulated and menacing she asked him just who
he
Was, what it was he wanted and how he got in? He ignored her
Questions and drew from his
pocket a large pistol which he had
Liberated from one of her captive children. Her eyes widened
Slightly, though not
fearful, more calculating. He’d see
about
That! He knew he couldn’t harm
her, but she didn’t. Swiftly,
Then, he
moved round her desk, slipped his arm round her soft
Throat and placed the
barrel of the pistol against her temple.
At
This point, as he expected, and indeed hoped, a pair of heavily
Armed
guards burst through the door, obviously summoned by
Some concealed alarms or
cameras. Lilith had wisely decided
That perhaps
it was time to be fearful and remained very still.
He let the guards have a clear view of
events, nodded a greeting,
Stepped back into Home Realm and picked up from the
desk of
The empty office there a syringe he had earlier purloined and
Carefully
prepared from the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Hospital.
He was not certain as to its efficacy on one
such as Lilith but
After a bit of rather necessary experimentation on a few of
her
Children, none of whom were harmed in any way, he had some
Reason for
optimism, and having deployed it found to his joy
And satisfaction that she was
unconscious almost instantly but,
As per the Directive, had also in no way been
harmed. As was
Usual, the information
supplied by his Master, at his request,
Had proved correct. Relieved he signalled for his ogres who
Picked
her up and removed her to her place of confinement.
…………………………………………………………………...
He had
arranged for Lilith to be housed in a cell, designed as
Though in the Realm Of
Man. He had not talked with her.
There was no point. He ensured that she was well fed, received
Books from the other realm, was not greatly discomforted,
And
considered herself to be being held in her own realm. All
That she received was sent to her via
dumbwaiter and each day
He renewed the charm he had placed upon her which kept
her
Unquestioning and content, despite her obvious imprisonment.
It was a
shame he couldn’t have done that in the other realm.
As she
took her enforced rest he continued with his routine of
Kidnapping her children
from the Realm Of Man and sending
Them up to Mars. As word of their disappearance and then hers
Spread, plus increasingly exaggerated rumours concerning what
Had taken place,
the whole robust system of communication and
Command started to unravel, and
the prodigious multitude of
Her spawn started to behave with great violence at
the moment
They perceived any threat.
This did not enamour them to the
Local Berliners, and nor did the
internecine strife that rapidly
Commenced within the family of lilim as they
jockeyed for
Position and tried to fill the vacuum of Lilith, which her absence
Led to. Slowly, at the first, the
organisation unravelled. News
From the
various fronts became appalling, so much so that all
Troops were pulled back,
merely to hold the borders firm. The
Terrorism which had plagued the country slowly receded as the
Causes of it
ceased. The situation was finally ended,
he thought
Probably to his Master’s satisfaction, when, with total of kidnap
Victims reaching 179, the lilim spawn of the now, it was said,
Totally emasculated Sameal
and Lilith, at last quit the task and
Slunk stealthily by night to the safety
of their ship, concealed
Deep below the waters of the Bodensee. At this point the whole
Country collapsed
into chaos and it was quickly the case that
The entire population lost any military adventurism, completely
The entire population lost any military adventurism, completely
Absorbed as
they were in acquiring life’s basic requirements.
…………………………………………………………………..
Lake where her children were cowering, returned to the Realm
Of Man and watched over her from a discrete distance as she
Came round and took in her surroundings. She was, of course,
Confused but did as he had anticipated and slipped into the dark
Waters and out of sight. He relaxed and gently scratched the
Back of Timothy’s neck where he liked it and then unpacked his
Picnic hamper and tucked in to some Wilstermarschkäse and
Brötchen washed down with a bottle of most pleasant Blanc de
Noir Spatburgunder which complimented the tang of the cheese
Perfectly. They truly did know how to excel at some things in
The Realm Of Man. Unfortunately they were really very few.
As he sat, the hum of bees and the carolling of birds relaxed him
And it was almost with disappointment that he observed Lilith’s
Vast ship leap from the waters and within seconds disappear
From sight. She and her children obviously didn’t care if they
Were seen; they just wanted to get away from this disaster, fast!
.......................................................................................................
Once again, having made his genuinely sad farewells to the
Gasthaus and Jenifra’s cousin Sofia, he made his way to the
Potsdamer Platz and Timothy found him a dragon which would
Take him directly to Oxford. On this occasion the Dragon
Master was from Éireann. He enjoyed the musical brogue and
The tall tales, so the trip went very quickly and he was surprised
How soon it was that they had crossed the Anglic Channel, the
White Cliffs a welcome sight, as always, and shortly thereafter
Spiralled down to Merton Field, where he tipped the Master
Handsomely with extra charms to thank him for an enjoyable
Trip. Freeing Timothy from his travel bag he made his way to
Poplar Walk, across what in the Realm Of Man they named
Christ Church Meadow and was locally known as the big field!
Soon it was that the barge was nearly in sight and his footsteps
And heart quickened at the thought of holding again the most
Delightful of Naiads, his lovely Esme, hoping that she was not
At her mother's. In the dusk’s haze he saw the welcoming light
Shining from his home’s windows, and joy washed over him.
[1] Miracle Fruit
[2] Thus die Muslim traitors
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