Flying 61
The room seemed to be frozen in a stillness of decision. Telos did not move. In fact, she did not even blink. Her stare was embedded in Kinesis’ blue crystal eyes. Telos was calculating outcomes; Kinesis was absorbing the feelings around her. What Kinesis could feel from around Telos was like the anguish of trying to walk a narrow log over a deep canyon lined with terrible rocks. What Telos thought was that she knew little about the strange Elven queen, but she did know about her brother. And if he now was subject to the slings and arrows of feelings, that was not good. Further, the killing of Kinesis could provoke the emergence of those feelings in ways that probably could not be handled. The choice was not exactly well founded, but she concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Keep for Kinesis to live. That is, until it would be in the best interests of the Keep to kill her.
Telos nodded and reached out with her right hand. “I agree to your conditions. If at any time you wish to return to your homeland, I shall do everything in my power to get you there, even against the actions of my brother. Do you promise in return, to never display your feelings in the Keep or let Phora know about them so that his actions may be changed by them?” Telos held her hand as steady as her gaze was penetratingly severe. Kinesis knew that she would not leave the room alive should she answer no.
(to be continued)
Flying 62
Kinesis thought for a long time. The guards and Hyle were breathing heavily just from the tension that hung in the room like an axe poised to fall.
“Here is my answer, Telos,” replied Kinesis, bringing her hand down to her waist. “I shall never divulge that Phora has feelings. Nor shall I try to bring out those feelings. But, if Phora expresses feelings towards me, it is in my very nature itself to return them. What may be the result, I cannot say, though you say it would not be in the best interest of the Keep. I will respect your conclusion. However, I am not so sure that it is true. Phora may be more of a leader with feelings than without. I am not of your world, so I cannot be certain that my judgment is more sound than yours. But, then again, my judgment is based more on feelings than yours. It will be interesting to see how it turns out, at least for you if you decide to kill me. Let me say now, that I will not be taken without a fight.” Kinesis eased her right hand up to her forehead to swirl the locks of hair while pointing her fingers at Telos.
(to be continued)
Flying 63
Telos studied Kinesis. She could see that were she to reach for her dagger, Kinesis would cast some sort of charm and, given what happened in the rejuvenation chamber, that would be a disaster.
“I accept your terms, Kinesis. My concern is for my brother and his ability to lead and protect the Keep. Right now, you seem to be an important part of that concern, though I am still worried about these feelings that may reside in him.” Telos raised her hands to the bottom of her chin, away from her dagger.
“Then we both have mutual goals,” replied Kinesis dropping her hands and shaking her head so that her stray locks flew back behind her ears. Even so, a golden stray wisp ran down along the corner of her right eye and down the side of her cheek.
“In that case, we must be off to the armor room. It is not safe for you to be unprotected as you are.” Telos spoke loudly so that Hyle could hear. She could see the expression of relief on his and the guards faces. Hyle and the guards took positions around Telos and Kinesis and they began their journey to the armor fitting room.
(to be continued)
Flying 64
They went quickly through a number of soot darkened corridors and doors that must have weighed hundreds of pounds from the steel plates that covered them. The corridors got larger as they approached the armor room. Kinesis noticed that the walls were studded with spikes and overhead there was what she thought at first was a fish net. “How strange,” she thought to herself, “that they would even think of drying fish nets indoors.” But upon closer inspection, she saw that they were made of chain webbing and had weighted balls with sharp spikes, like sea urchins, imbedded in the webbing. Should the net be dropped on those below they would be trapped. Any movement would cause the steel spikes to penetrate and cut the trapped person or creature into ribbons. She shuddered at the thought.
The armor room had a large polished steel door, so polished that it gleamed in the dim light of the torches. Kinesis reached out to touch the door. It was so smooth that her hand merely slipped to the side. There would be no way to hold or fasten anything to that door. It opened with amazing speed for its size after the proper passwords. There was another door that was fifty feet farther, but they had to cross a steel grate to get to it. Below the grated floor was a pit. Kinesis looked down and saw sword blades imbedded in the stone floor, all facing up like blades of grass, only reeking of certain death. They trudged across the grate, their footsteps giving off a weird metallic music.
Telos spoke something and the second door swung open for them.
(to be continued)
Flying 65
Kinesis looked at a very large room with high ceilings, huge brown white oak beams, and grey granite walls. Everywhere there were weapons (shields, axes, spears, bows, lances, swords, maces, tridents, and daggers), but she saw no armor. The room had a distinctive smell of battle steel, the smell of sharpened blade and honing oil. It was quiet, but there were rustlings from corners and nooks that indicated hidden guards.
Four persons who were walking quickly towards Telos. One was a man who was almost the size of Ergon. He was dressed in armor that was simple but elegant. It seemed to move with him, rather than be forced by his action. A dark beard encased most of his face. Bushy eyebrows covered gleaming dark brown eyes. His nose was large and bore several notches and scars, and it had a slight purple red hue to it. His arms set him apart. They were massive, as if he did nothing but lift heavy weights all day. Even the veins of his arms were visible through the armor. Which made Kinesis think. “What could this armor be made of to be so strong, yet so flexible so as to fit as if it were a nightshift?”
Beside him was a woman. She wore a similar elegant, simple armor suit. Her build was what may be called stout, but she was not fat. Power of strength emanated from every step that she took towards them. The expression that she wore on her broad face was one of curiosity and wariness. Her hair was black, but there was a touch of deep red giving it the appearance of a fire glowing at night. She and the man beside her made the distinct impression that they had seen much turmoil and had the strength and ability to overcome it.
The two other persons were teenagers, dressed in armor, of course, but lighter in weight and with fewer special additions. (Kinesis assumed that they were basic suits.) One was a boy, the other was a girl. The boy was tall and looked much like Phora. Kinesis guessed that his age would be fifteen. The girl was shorter by half a head, had a broad face and the same hair as the woman striding towards Kinesis. The red in the girl’s hair flashed scarlet tinged with a deep orange when she turned and the black silk strands rippled as wheat does in the wind. She looked to be the same age of the boy, though she bore the wariness of the woman. They, too, had expressions of curiosity.
(to be continued)
Flying 66
“So, Telos, this is our visitor from an unknown region,” said the man with a voice that was so deep that some of the shields on the wall murmured metal clanking sounds in a sympathetic response. He looked Kinesis from head to toe, and Kinesis had the distinct thought that he knew in that one look her dimensions down to the fraction.
“Yes, Pyro,” replied Telos. “Her name is Kinesis and she claims to be an Elven Queen. And she is in need of armor. Please excuse Hyle and me for a moment. There is important business that we must discuss. We shall be back by the time that you are finished”
“Certainly,” replied Pyro. Hyle and Telos made a quick exit. Telos was speaking animatedly and before she left the room, gave a quick over the shoulder glance at Kinesis. Kinesis had followed their departure and gave a slight nod as her eyes met Telos’.
Pyro turned his attention to Kinesis.
“A Queen, and without armor. Hmmm. Either she is very brave, very stupid or does not need armor, and I doubt the last alternative. I shall consider her to be brave. That being decided upon, let me introduce myself and the others. I am Pyro, the head maker of armor. This is my wife, Yare, who is my second in command.” Yare gave a nod of her head. “You two, come up here,” he barked at the teenagers, who were at his side almost before he ended his command. Pointing to the girl, he said, “Kinesis, please meet Terra, my daughter. Terra this is Kinesis who has been brought to the Keep by Phora.” Terra nodded her head and Kinesis did likewise. She had been about to reach out and grasp the girl’s hand, but she thought twice and realized that the action may have been mistaken as an aggressive move. “This is a strange world,” the thought reappeared in her mind.
“Beside Terra is Noesis,” who is the son of Phora’s sister and her husband, may the Keep always hold them in mind,” said Pyro. Kinesis gathered from this remark that something dreadful had happened to Noesis’ parents and/or that they were no longer living. Her blue eyes looked deeply into those of Noesis and for a second, a fleeting moment, she caught the hint of a feeling of deep sadness. Noesis gave a slight squint and small twist of the head as one does when he hears something fall in the distance while walking in twilighted woods.
“I welcome you to the Keep, Kinesis,” said Noesis with a nod and another squint.
(to be continued)
Flying 67
“Enough of the introductions. We must fit Kinesis with armor,” said Yare. Pyro nodded his head vigorously.
“Come with me,” said Yare to Kinesis, and she led Kinesis to a small side room. “Take off your garments and put on the armor undersleeves. We regard them as clothing, so when you are done please step out into the room in order for Pyro to fit you into the armor maker properly. Kinesis nodded, careful not to smile since she had seen no one doing so, and entered the room. She removed the clothing that she had and put on the underamor sleeves. They consisted of a bottom set that looked like silk stockings, a top set with of the same material though designed for the upper torso, socks, gloves and something resembling a knit cap. They seemed to be made for a child they were so small, but they slipped easily into place, expanding when needed, and did not wrinkle or fold when she moved, even to the extreme. Nor did they feel hot or cold, tight or loose; her body stayed at its normal temperature and her flexibility was as if she were wearing nothing. Not even her feet were cold, which surprised her, for the floor was hard, cold granite. She returned to the room.
“Ah, good,” said Pyro. “Let me adjust the armor maker and we shall have you fitted in another minute or two.
Kinesis was puzzled. How could she be fitted in a minute, much less the armor being made? There was more to this world than its archaic appearance, but, of course, she knew already that the armor was different from that of her world. For one, her world had armor that was made of leather or steel. This armor was almost organic in nature, for it fit on as if it were a skin. It certainly wasn’t steel or leather. Secondly, it seemed to bond with the wearer in a symbiotic relationship in which the one depended on the other and vice versa.
Pyro led Kinesis over to a large titanium box which had black, rubber tubes running to various copper pots that were sealed, but looked like they were very hot and contained liquids. Violet and green vapors issued from the front pots while yellow and red vapors came from the rear pots after the pots shook with violent gurgles. The whole apparatus had an unhealthy gruesome cast to it; Kinesis wondered if she were being led to a torture machine.
In the background, Terra pulled Noesis over to the side of a stand of spears. “Noesis, have you ever seen anyone as skinny as she is? Poor thing must never have been fed in her country. She’ll need the armor for certain. I should imagine that she hasn’t the strength even to carry a dagger.” Terra shook her head “She would be a disaster to have as a companion in battle.”
“You would think that by her looks, but I have heard from one of Ergon’s guards that she and Phora fought off the dragon Jarz and made it back to the Keep through a mass of savagers.” Noesis turned to look at Terra’s reaction.
(to be continued)
Flying 68
Terra squinted her eyes and put her right hand to the bottom of her chin. She rubbed it, though Noesis was sure that she neither felt the friction on her chin nor was aware that she was even doing it. Noesis could always tell when Terra was deep in a calculation. She would squint and rub her chin.
“That report is hard to believe,” she replied.
“Well, wait till you hear this. The guard also said that Kinesis had felled Ergon with a charm that he could not stop. Out cold on the floor.” Noesis spoke in a whisper, and looked around to make sure that he was not overheard.
Terra immediately ran both her hands through her hair, pulling it back into a taut tail. The red strands of stressed hair sticking out flashed a raging orange as horsetail clouds in a sunset. “Impossible. No one has even brought Ergon to a knee. And you say that this skinny Elven Queen did that? Noesis, you have been taken in by some sort of miscommunication. Perhaps, you should have your hearing checked.” Terra turned and looked at him as though he were losing his mind, and Noesis knew that she was seriously concerned.
“It may be that I misheard or misunderstood what was told to me, or that the story changed radically since it is second hand, but you know how careful we are in the Keep to provide accurate information. Looks like we have a living contradiction. Kinesis obviously is not strong enough to do battle, yet she has survived episodes that we probably would not have made it through. Something does not reason well. Interesting,” said Noesis with a rub to his chin by his right hand, which he did not notice.
Noesis looked as Pyro guided Kinesis to the armor machine. She definitely was thin, very thin, but there was something to her that was like the honey jars in the kitchen; they were interesting to look at, held sweet mysteries of strong flavors, yet were protected by hidden snap traps that caught the young thief unawares. He had experienced that condition many times; the kitchen guards were always devising new traps to keep him and the rest of his young group out of the sweet pantry. Noesis and his friends thought they had an “obligation” to keep those guards on their toes by continuously raiding the pantry. It was an ongoing battle.
(to be continued)
Flying 69
“As soon as she gets her armor, we’ll find out what she’s made of,” said Terra flexing her shoulders in a forward roll and running her hands along the bow which she had over her right shoulder. Elves are reported to be archers. If she chooses a bow, I’ll give her a ‘test’ to see how good she really is.” Terra reached up out of habit with her right hand and touched the tip of the first use arrow in her quiver, which was in an almost hidden quiver behind her left shoulder. Noesis was always amazed that she never, never ever missed finding that arrow, no matter whether she was sitting, standing, running or whatever. If she needed that arrow, it would be in her hand and to her bow in a split second.
Pyro led Kinesis over to the titanium armor making box. He pressed some hidden buttons on its side and it reshaped itself to match the height of Kinesis. He pressed another hidden button and the front, which had appeared seamless, split into two doors that smoothly opened revealing a dark blue interior that consisted of many tiny nozzles imbedded in the whole interior, tiny blue fingers with holes in their tips. Kinesis was reminded of some of the sponges at the coral reef near her beach that had the same tubular shape and openings at the tip ends.
“Kinesis, before you step inside, let me tell you what you will experience. The machine will ask you to assume many positions. Do what it tells you. I know that you are thinking that there will not be enough room for you to do what it requests, but the machine will make adjustments in its own proportions to match your movements. You will feel a sort of tingling at the final measurement of each movement. Then, it will open and release you. In another few moments, it will attempt to build your armor and have it ready for you to try.” Pyro spoke in a way that indicated that he had said these instructions many, many times. He nodded for Kinesis to enter.
Kinesis regarded the dark blue interior of the box, hesitated, then walked in and turned to face the group. As the doors closed, she saw Noesis and Terra crowding alongside the adults to get a better view. Terra had a bit of a glare that she had seen before with Phora, only her glare had what may have been a hint of pride in it. Strange that she should be bringing out such things as feelings, especially in young persons, even when not trying. She made a mental note to be careful around the youth of the Keep.
The doors closed and rather than darkness, she was enveloped in a soft blue light. A woman’s voice came on and asked her to stretch her arms above her head, a movement she thought to be impossible, since the box was only as high as the topmost of her hair. But, she raised her arms up slowly. She was surprised that she did not touch the top of the box. The voice asked her to bring her arms down and kneel, which she did. It asked her to do many positions, but in more rapid succession. She felt after each movement a tingling breeze that gave a puff pop at the end when the machine was satisfied that it had the proper measurements. In just a short time the doors opened and she walked out.
What the group had seen was the box growing, shrinking, even twisting, and then the doors opening and Kinesis emerging from the blue interior.
The doors closed and the machine made a purring noise, while the rubber hoses moved like disturbed snakes and the pots gave off bubbling mummers. Then the doors opened to reveal an armor suit. Pyro and Telos removed the parts and went to Kinesis. They placed the parts on the floor before Kinesis.
“Kinesis,” said Pyro. “Let us see if we have a match. Go over to the suit and touch each part. Start with the boots. Then the bottoms, gloves and finally the helmet and cloak. When you touch the part you want, say ‘Part on.’ If the part moves and becomes a part of you, then we know that there is a good match. The suit will be similar to making a friend. If it will not snap too, then we must repeat the procedure. Usually, it takes two or three tries, so don’t be worried if the parts do not snap to you right away.” Pyro spoke again with the “reading from a text book” voice.
(to be continued)
Flying 70
Kinesis walked over to the parts of the armor. She looked at them and a strange vision eased its way into her mind. She felt that she was looking at pieces of herself. Pieces that belonged and yearned to be with her. “Strange clothing to seem to have feelings and wants of their own. Much like a starfish and its skeleton,” she thought and shook her head to ease the vision, but it, nevertheless, stayed in her mind. The closer she got to the armor, the stronger the vision became and her body began to tremble with a yearning feeling. She and the armor were drawing each other closer. Then, it happened. Just as she reached to touch the boots, the armor sprang to her, as bits of metal would fly to a strong magnet. She reacted instantly by falling back and letting the armor clothe her, which it did in less than a blink of an eye. It seemed to her the natural thing to do. When she hit the floor backwards, she was fully armored, and the armor broke the fall. She was at home with herself in the armor.
She sat up and looked at the group through her visor slits. They stood frozen as statues with gaping mouths. Pyro’s mouth resembled a blowfish. Terra had half way pulled her first arrow from the quiver, but there was a bit of her hair twisted in it and that piece looked as if it were on fire from the brightness of its orange and red strands. Noesis eyes were wide open and he held the position of someone just about to sit down in a chair. He kept his eyes on Kinesis but shot sideways glances of disbelief at Terra’s hand on her arrow with its entanglement of hair. Yare’s eyebrows had disappeared up into the bangs of her dark hair. Stunned, all of them.
Kinesis got to her feet in the next blink of their eyes. She merely wanted to stand quickly, but the armor made it so easy to move that she was up standing and stood directly in front of the group before they could blink again. They saw her movements as a blur, whereas she thought that she was moving normally. They were obviously startled by the incredible swiftness of her move, which she considered to be normal.
Pyro took two steps backwards quickly, then inched forward and softly touched Kinesis’ shoulder with his right hand. “I, uh, I, er, the armor looks to be a perfect fit. I have never seen armor so attracted to a person. I do think that it moved on its own all that distance. Never. Not possible, yet it happened. Nor have I seen armor to work so well with a new match; in fact, what I just saw is impossible. But, I did see it. Yes, I did. I can only conclude that you must be born to our armor, especially this making.” Pyro spoke as if he had just seen a ghost and was recounting his experience.
(to be continued)
Flying 71
Kinesis thought to herself that she would like to move the visor back. And, the visor moved back exposing her face. She had not touched it. She saw the sparkle again in Pyro’s eyes. “Pyro,” she said, “the armor seems to be a part of me; it is a masterful work. I congratulate you. I know that it will protect me from harm.” Kinesis gave a nod to Pyro.
Pyro gave a nod back. Then, without warning her, he drew out his short sword and struck a blow at Kinesis’ right shoulder. Before his sword was halfway to the target, Kinesis’ left arm was up and the forearm had expanded like a fan into a shield against which Pyro’s sword struck, or seemed to strike –it merely glided away to the side as Kinesis’ hand had done against the polished door of the armor room. Kinesis’ right hand was instantly at her midsection and from a now open left side slot around her beltline, her right hand drew a long dagger, which glistened in the light and gave off a barely audible sizzle. Her right hand moved faster than time.
(to be continued)
Flying 72
The dagger split the air with a whizzing sound only a few inches from Pyro’s throat. His seemingly quick reaction to block the thrust only hastened the dagger’s departure, his hand catching Kinesis’ as it went by, but not being able to hold it as the armor had turned its surface to be as slippery as an eel. The dagger came back to his throat before he could bring his hand up. Pyro jumped backwards as if he had been kicked by Phora’s great horse, Fire. He turned red, then sweat started to gleam in small beads on his forehead. The others had backed towards the granite wall with its weapon ready to be pulled from the mounts. Guards, who had been invisible behind hidden sections of the wall, stepped out from behind swinging stone fronted doors, their swords drawn and shields up.
Kinesis saw that they may be considering her a threat and withdrew towards the armor making machine. She spoke. “Pyro. I am a friend. Why did you attack me? I have meant no harm to anyone, yet you tried to strike me.” She looked around the room at the stares of amazement and calculation.
(to be continued)
Flying 73
Pyro said quickly, “Guards secure. Blue,” and the guards put their weapons back in place and returned to their hidden spots, virtually disappearing into the walls. “Kinesis. My thrust at you was a test to see if the armor was functioning well. And that seems to be not only the case, but the armor is doing things that we have never seen before. Did you call for the armor?” Pyro raised his thick eyebrows with the question.
“No, it came to me without request,” replied Kinesis. Noesis shot a look at Terra, who was trying to undo her tangled hair from the arrow. Yare’s eyebrows remained up in her bangs.
“Did you ask for the arm shield?”
“No, my hand went up and the shield came with it.”
“Did you call for the dagger?” Pyro’s eyebrows were bunched together and covered in a thin glisten of sweat.
“No, my hand found it waiting to be used.”
“Did you realize that the dagger’s thrust was fractions from killing me? It was a perfect thrust to instill retreat in an opponent without killing him.” Pyro’s eyes were beginning to sparkle.
“No, the action seemed the natural thing to do,” replied Kinesis.
She looked at Pyro who was wiping the sweat from his face, especially over his eyes, with a towel that had been on the back a spear rack nearby.
“I think that you have done something to the machine and it has done something to your armor. Exactly what I cannot tell, yet. The armor works better with you than any I have ever seen. Not only that, it reacts with you, to your thoughts, not waiting to be called into action. Your armor is very unusual to say the least. Armor that tends to think for itself as a part of the person’s mind and body is, well, very, very unusual. Most of us have quick code words to which our armor responds. But, I think the change in your armor will be all for the good. Welcome to the Keep as a bearer of its armor,” he said and gave a deep nod.
Kinesis felt her right arm move and the dagger returned itself into the beltline place that opened to receive the dagger, then closed to become invisible to the eye. The movement was one that Kinesis wished to do, but the armor itself guided her actions. “The armor has, indeed, become a part of me,” she thought to herself.
Pyro motioned Kinesis to his side. “We must see about a weapon, more than the dagger,” he said and pointed towards a gated room towards the back left. The large black iron gate had two doors of which were shaped with strange leaf designs. There was a bronze dragon forged on the front of each door. The eyes of the two dragons seemed to follow whoever approached the gate.
(to be continued)
Flying 74
Pyro, Yare and Kinesis went over to the gate and began to speak together. “Be careful not to touch the gate, Kinesis; the leaves are poisoned,” Pyro said. Kinesis looked more closely at the leaves and could see that they had small spines, like nettles, covering them. She took a cautious step backwards.
Not far away, Noesis grabbed Terra’s arm and pulled her over to a nook in the wall, careful to avoid a hidden guard spot and being overheard.
“Did you see that? Did you see how she moved? Unbelievable,” said Noesis in an excited whisper. He kept shifting his eyes back and forth from Terra to Kinesis.
Terra grabbed his face and held it towards hers. “Look, Noesis. I’ll admit that what we just saw shouldn’t have been possible. But, remember, she is not of our world. Phora brought her and whatever strange powers she has back into ours. We must been on alert that we are not taken in by something bad, especially someone who has enchanting powers. Remember the situation with Ergon, if it really happened; we have reason to believe that she is an enchantress who can cast powerful spells. That power may harm Phora and ultimately the Keep. Moreover, she has strange effects on persons.” Terra inched closer to Noesis. “I am in what I call an unbalanced situation when she is near me. I can’t put my finger on it, but she has a weird, destabilizing effect on me.” She looked closely at Noesis’ face and deeply into his eyes. He tried to snatch a quick glance at Kinesis, but she squeezed his face and brought it closer to hers.
“She seems to have some effect on you, also. I saw you squint when you spoke to her,” said Terra, with a hint of an accusatory tone.
(to be continued)
Flying 75
Noesis did a doubletake. “You saw that, huh? I thought that I had rid myself of that giveaway. Yeah, she made me have funny thoughts; same as you. Like you, I can’t put my finger on what they are or what they are about. But, she is really neat. I can see why Phora brought her back,” said Noesis, wide eyed as Kinesis removed her helmet and her golden hair spilled out in what looked to him a rainbow of golden colors. Terra still had a good hold on Noesis and pinched his mouth until his lips were in a vertical position. She turned so that she was blocking his view of Kinesis.
“Keep up that look and I’ll roast you over the fire on a spit.” Her eyes flashed and her left eyebrow went up while the right one went down. And Noesis knew what that meant.
“Er, uh, I was just remarking that she had a strange effect on me, too, Terra. Don’t shout Dragon unless there is one there,” said Noesis in a subdued voice.
“You don’t fool me, Noesis. Keep your eyes to yourself, or better, to me, if you know what’s good for you. But, then again, your being a boy, what could I expect.” Terra’s eyebrows were still in their cocked position, with her right eyebrow down so low it almost closed her eye. She gave his lips another squeeze. They were beginning to turn purple. She released then with a bit of a snap to her fingers.
“Boy! Don’t call me a boy. I can fight as well as any man here, and you know it,” shot back Noesis (his words sounded distorted as if he were trying to talk through a pillow, for his lips could hardly move) and took Terra’s nose between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. He was squinting. Terra quickly reached back and squeezed Noesis’ mouth until it looked like it that of a squashed fish. Noesis twisted Terra’s nose until it was almost sideways to her face. The two were in a standoff. Neither was about to back down even though both tremble danced to the pain inflicted.
(to be continued)
Flying 76
Pyro was speaking to Yare and Kinesis about weaponry that needed to be chosen, when he took a quick combat survey of the room. All was well defense wise, save the moment his eyes landed on Noesis and Terra. He tapped Yare on the shoulder. “They’re at it again,” he remarked with disapproval. “One of these days they’re going to be trying to back each other down and will miss a real attack. See if you can straighten them out while I ask Kinesis about what major weapon she would prefer.”
Yare took in the two teenagers going at it, shook her head. Using spear racks and shield displays to mask her approach, she crept fox like over to Noesis and Terra. She came around the edge of a stand of swords in a crouch, her own sword drawn. Terra’s back was to her and Noesis could not see because his face was so contorted. In a flash Yare was on the two, her left hand over Terra’s eyes, her right brandishing the sword against Noesis’ throat.
“Both of you are dead,” she said flatly. And having said that, gave Terra a sharp smack on the back of her head with the side of her hand and thumped Noesis’ head soundly with her sword. “A fine pair of soldiers you two will be. And you, Terra, to be caught by your own mother who taught you all of her combat ways. I don’t know what our youth is amounting to these days. I hope that the two of you are not the standard.” With that, she spun on her heel and walked briskly back to Pyro and Kinesis.
Noesis’ head rang from the thump of the sword. Terra’s smarted with a bee sting quality from the flat slap. Both frowned from the pain of the drubbing.
“Well, we’re dead again,” said Noesis in a matter of fact voice. “Too many more and we’ll lose any chance of getting into early training for real trips outside.” He gave a weary sigh.
“My fault,” said Terra. “I don’t know what it is, but when that Kinesis woman is around, I do stupid actions and have weird thoughts.”
“Me too,” immediately responded Noesis. “There is something to what you said about her being an enchantress. Weird thoughts go through my head in her presence. Kind of like the sun. You can see by its light, and you can sense it on your skin. I see her actions and understand what’s she seems to be all about, but it’s that other weird sensation that has me confused. Sort of like her being on or under your skin. Your don’t see it, yet you have the sensation that its there. It’s so strange because it’s like the sensation of the warm sun and not like the things you see by the sun’s light.”
Terra was studying Kinesis. “She’s a mystery all right. I get the same sort of sensation; yeah, she gets under my skin. And there’s no doubt that she has unusual powers. But, let’s see what she chooses as a major weapon. We may be able to show her just how capable we are.” Terra reached up to rub her chin, but instead massaged her nose.
Noesis gave Terra a “What now?” sideways look.
They walked over to the massive iron gate where Pyro, Yare, and Kinesis were speaking, careful not to come to close to any of the leaves, which seemed to cluster and reach towards them as they got near even though they were made of metal and certainly could not move on their own.
(to be continued)
Flying 77
Pyro was saying codes to enter the room. In a strange way, he sounded like he was singing a song. Through the open spots in the gates, Kinesis could see the many types of weapons that could be individually chosen. There were not merely stands of spears, maces, axes, lances and swords, but each item was individually labeled; she could tell that each one had different qualities. There were not nearly as many weapons in this room as the one in which they stood. The room was laid out in sections of multicolored small stones that reminded Kinesis of a board game she used to play as a child using different colored shells to move across colored patches of dried seaweed. . It was a beautiful symmetrical collage of colored tiles of various shapes. The room’s sides were lined with individual cases embedded in steel fixtures that had bronze inlays of dragons and other types of creatures that looked terrifying. The overhead ceiling was crisscrossed with massive oak beams with carvings of soldiers in battle with dragons and other strange looking creatures.
The gates swung open at Pyro’s last command and Kinesis started to enter. Pyro held her back, grasping her left arm lightly. “There are sensors that are built into the very walls here. They sense anything strange to the Keep. Let me show you.” He went over to a black wooden box next to the hinges of the gate and removed a rag with what looked like dried bronze paint on it.
“Dragon blood,” he said and tossed the rag into the very front of the room. Immediately, some of the small stones flipped over and from the floor emerged a stand of rows and rows of razor sharp spears which shot up to the ceiling. The rag was impaled on two of the closest spears. There would be no way in or out of the room for any unwary intruder. Pyro went to the gate, manipulated some buttons, spoke a few commands and the spears quickly returned to the floor.
“Just for safety’s sake, Kinesis, pass you hand as quickly as you can over the first section of colored tiles. Bring it back to you as fast as you can,” said Pyro with a concerned look at Kinesis and then the stones.
(to be continued)
Flying 78
Kinesis inched to the edge of the room and passed her hand as fast as she could over the first row. Her hand felt warm inside of her armor. Nothing happened. She looked back at Pyro.
“Ok, just put your hand in and hold it there,” said Pyro. Kinesis saw a tiny trickle of sweat edge down from his right temple.
She had the uncomfortable image of seeing her hand severed by one of the spears. Nevertheless, she slowly put in her hand and left it there. Again, there was the slight warm feeling in her hand.
Pyro breathed a breath of relief. “I think that we can enter now,” he said. Kinesis took the challenge and went in first. Nothing happened, save that she had a slight warm feeling all over. The others followed.
(to be continued)
Flying 79
There were beautiful swords, maces, axes, lances, shields, and bows, each in its separate case. The air had the smell of oil, stripping acid, finishing stain and worked leather. The temperature was cooler in this room than the other, or at least it seemed to be. Maybe it was because she felt warmer as she got closer to the weapons. She walked by the swords and felt a slight tingling in the arms of her armor, a hint of warmth with it. But, as she walked farter towards the end of the sword section, towards the bows, the tingling became much stronger and the warmth deeper. She turned and went directly to the cases of bows. Her whole body felt as if it were glowing.
Terra and Noesis had been following them. Terra grabbed Noesis’ arm and pulled him close so that she could whisper in his ear. “What did I tell you, huh? Bet she chooses a bow. And, it had better be one of the children’s bows; she hasn’t got any arm strength to draw a real bow, one like mine.” Terra reached with her left hand and stroked the gleaming metal alloy bow that hung on her right shoulder.
“You’re right about that, Terra,” replied Noesis. “Pyro should take her to the beginner’s section for children. Those bows she’s looking at are far too much for her. Why I can hardly draw your bow and I would think that those bows would have just as many pounds of pull.” He looked over at the bow that Terra was gripping, her fingers slowly massaging the grip in a caressing motion.
Kinesis walked down the cases of bows. Some seemed to make her hands feel warmer while others had the opposite effect. She went back and forth along the cases, but no bow seemed to want to join her armor, at least that’s what she thought to herself. She was just about to turn to Pyro and say that maybe she should just stick with her dagger, when a brief warm streak went across her back. It was similar to being on her beach and having the sun come out from behind clouds for a moment and stroke her shoulders. She turned to see where the felling had come from.
At the end of the room, there were some old, very old cases that looked a bit worn. Not that they were unkept, but they were obviously used to keep things of historical value and had been polished so many times that even the upkeep had aged them. There were two swords with dragon head handles, two shields with red lions, a mace with what looked to be large diamonds on its spikes, and two wooden bows. She began to walk over to the bows.
“Ah, Kinesis,” said Pyro. “Those are old ancient weapons that do not have the durability of our newer weapons. For example, our ally bows can stand humidity changes without any distortion. The new alloy bows are compounds, so that the draw can be held much longer. These old bows are kept to remember those who bore them. The swords are from two thousand years ago and were used by Prince Treiben who was the great dragon slayer and saved the Keep many a time. The shields belonged to Prince Siwel and his wife. They fought the great Wisp wars. The bows belong to Queen Arete. Not much is known about her. Her bows are the oldest relics of the Keep, probably about three thousand years old. I am amazed that they do not show any kind of weakening or deterioration from age. Legend has it that when she shot from the large bow, thunder would clap. But, that is merely a legend or old folk tale. The bows do not have the compound draw ease that our new bows have and would be unsuitable for combat today.” Pyro turned to lead Kinesis back to the other bows.
Kinesis could feel not only warmth radiating from the bows, but her armor tingled. No it hummed, almost vibrated.
“Pyro. Would you be kind enough to let me at least heft the larger bow?” Kinesis asked.
(to be continued)
Flying 80
“Why, of course, Kinesis. But as you can see they have been only maintained as relics. They are not even strung.” Pyro gestured towards the bows in an offhanded way
But, he reached over an opened the case of the larger bow. It was more than half the height of Kinesis. Its wood had a deep sheen similar to mahogany, though it could not have been that type of wood. Around the handle grip, the grain was almost black from sweat and probably some blood that had colored it by constant handling. Yet the grip was clearly visible, for it was made of inlayed pieces of gold and silver that formed the tiniest of patterns to make a hold place for each ridge of the skin of a person’s gripping hand. The arrow rest was made of ivory that had a deep yellow cast to it. The sights were bronze and were bright at the view points, yet unpolished black as it joined the bow.
Pyro reached in the case and lifted the bow out carefully.
“Ah, yes. It still has the look of power in it.” He held it up and the wood seemed to glow in the subdued light of the room. He handed it carefully to Kinesis.
Even before she touched it, Kinesis knew. The bow pulled away from Pyro’s hand and went straight into hers in shooting grip position. Pyro’s eyes narrowed. “It seems to like you, Kinesis,” he said. “I’ve never seen a bow move on its own. Let me get a proper string for it.” Pyro went over to some nearby tall wooden cases with large wooden handles. He opened the first one and removed a pitch black bow string. Kinesis gave the bow back to him.
“Yes, this is right. The bow is so strong that the string must have a special kind of silver alloy in it to be able to hold the tension. And that means that few people are going to be able to string it. The bow is a relic, remember, and must be strung the old way. And that requires great strength and ability. But, I think I can do it if I really put my back into it. Stand clear and let me give it a try.
(to be continued)