To Hades and Back; The CAP; episode something or other...
by Bt
Just at dusk a dirt smeared battered wagon pulled by two weary horses entered the gates
of Deb U. A light mist was falling and the two wagon occupants huddled closer to each
other as if body warmth would lessen the sudden chill in the air.
“Was it only two weeks ago when we left?: Bluetopaz asked her companion.
“As near as I can figure,” He replied. This of course, indicated that the time
frame was exactly correct since The Engineer was always most exact in whatever measurement
he took.
“It is good to be home.” Bt continued, “Even if it did manage to rain for
our return.”
“I could have done without that right now,” The Engineer chuckled, “But at
least we’ll sleep warm and dry for a change.”
The next morning Bt contacted her assistants Orlena and ‘Shana, and her fellow ACs
and their assistants to find out what had happened during her absence. Catching up took
most of the day and so, The Engineer, after seeing to the needs of the team and wagon
wandered about the campus, nodding to students he knew and studying carefully the walls,
gates, and buildings while muttering to himself, about the unsuitability of defending the
compound against a determined attack. Finally realizing he would be on his own for the
noon meal he followed his nose and a large group of students to the cafeteria. It was a
little embarrassing for him to find himself the center of attention as a group of Debs
cornered him demanding a blow by blow account of his latest adventure with Bt.
And so, emboldened by the clamorous Debs’ demands for the story, he told this tale.
“The first day out was mostly uneventful except that the special device I’d
installed to measure the total leagues we traveled and leagues per hour malfunctioned and
made it quite difficult to pace the team and conserve their strength for the more
difficult parts of the trip later on.”
“On the second day we passed through the farming country of Iowa. All was peaceful
and quiet until late afternoon. Bt had just suggested that we look for a good place to
camp when we were attacked by band of thieves. I guess they thought we looked like an easy
mark. Bt soon showed them the error of their ways and between us we managed to drive the
thugs off. Unfortunately one of them either by chance or out of pure spite put an crossbow
bolt through the leg of one of our team. Bt was able to patch it up but the poor beast was
in no shape to pull the wagon. We hitched Bt’s saddle horse in it’s place but it
soon became apparent that she and the other draft animal were not well matched. To make a
long story short, we limped slowly into the next village, secured a room at the inn and
the following morning traded for a new team. The injured animal, who would soon heal and
be as sound as ever, and it’s team-mate were high quality draft animals and I was
sorry to part with them but time wasn’t on our side. We needed to reach our
destination as soon as possible in order to carry out our separate orders.”
The Debs reacted with sympathy as The Engineer told his tale and urged him to continue.
“The noon hour has past, young ladies,” he replied with a smile and a wink,
“And I do believe you all have classes to attend. I’ll continue the story later.
After you finish your studies.”
To be continued...
Posted on Sep 23 1999, 07:17 PM
|