Roland's Castle (15 page)

It was about to get worse. Beneath
him the scuttler had begun to stir. It was now making an aggressive
roaring sound and a strange whirring. It did not sound good and
Roland suspected that it was the build up to some sort of
aggressive act. As he got closer to the tower he found out he was
right. The scuttler reared up like a horse whilst it horns closed
together and then drew apart again. Between them now was a bright,
glowing string, like lightning. The horns pointed towards him and
the lightning string formed into a missile which the creature shot
towards him. It hit the tower just below the point where the boom
projected from it.

Just For a moment Roland saw what
the tower actually looked like. The energy from the scuttler’s
missile spread across and through it, causing it to be visible and
shine. It was like a tree of crystals with many branches and a
gleaming trunk that stretched from the ground to the sky. Around it
was wrapped a spiral which also shone. Roland was quite stunned by
the sight of it, but was then jerked back to reality by the
scuttler’s second missile, which came much closer. By that time he
was very near the window. Seeing that the boom disappeared just a
few feet in front of him he decided to leap for it. Grabbing up
Savitri’s tinder box he placed a foot on the edge of the cradle and
leapt into the air. He passed through the window and landed in a
heap on the floor. Savitri and Oliver picked him up and made sure
he wasn’t on fire.

“That was close!” he said.

“You are a risk taker,” Savitri
said, “I think I underestimated you.”

“You think!?” Oliver said.

“I did no harm to that thing,
whatever it is. It was useless,” Roland cursed angrily.

“You tried,” Oliver said.

“Trying is not succeeding, and we
need to succeed. Dagarth only has to beat us once, and he can stay
out there until Doomsday trying at it.”

“Unless we take it to him,” Savitri
said, “Finish this now.”

“And divide our forces,” Roland
said.

“We fought them off once before
with the villagers, and we have another army – or have you
forgotten those Sun Warrior things?” Savitri said.

“Of course!” Oliver said.

“I was hoping to hold them in
reserve, until a time when we really needed them,” Roland
objected.

Firebrace said, “I think that time
may have come.”

The Sun Warriors were an eerie
sight under their sheets. The only cheering thing about them was
that they were on the side of the castle.

“Do they ride?” Roland
inquired.

“Yes, they ride,” Firebrace
said.

“They will need horses,” Roland
said.

“They will have horses,” Firebrace
said.

“But where from?”

“You will see. Now, raise your
arm,”

Roland did so, and as he did the
warriors reached up with their hands and removed the sheets that
covered them. Before him were a hundred suits of glittering
armour.

“Address one of them and you will
address them all,” Firebrace said.

Roland tried it, “Right err, well,
we need…,” he cleared his throat and tried to speak in the tones of
a leader, “We need you to go out and fight against my uncle, but,
well, I can’t send you out on your own and…. – I will lead you!

“Roland!” Oliver objected.

“Good for you!” Savitri said, “and
I will ride out by your side.”

“Will you stay here,” Roland said
to Oliver, “You can lead the defence of the tower in my absence,
but use Firebrace to guide you, follow his advice.”

Back in the great hall Roland and
friends pored over the maps of the castle and its surroundings once
more.

“lets recap what we know,” Roland
said. “We cannot defeat that Spirus scuttler thing and it will
likely breach the castle walls. So, we must attack the people
attacking with it. That means we must fight them hand-to-hand them
in the field.”

“I like it,” Savitri said

“I thought you might,” Roland said.
“Kind of your thing isn’t it?”

“Definitely,” Savitri agreed.

“I think we need another advantage
– something else to ensure this strategy is a success.”

“What?” Oliver asked.

“The land surveyor,” Roland said.
“It is time to bring all of our resources to bear. It is win or
lose time. We get him out there with his clipboard and his
theodo-ma-thingey-ma-jig and change the world beneath their feet,
then go in for the attack with the sun warriors.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Savitri
said.

“It is one,” Roland agreed, “Let’s
just hope it is a good one.”

Once more they were waiting. They
waited all through the night until sunrise lit the view of their
enemy on the hill. Very pretty they looked too, in their bright
coloured tabards and shields, shiny armour and weapons. All expect
the Spirus, that is, who were dark and grim.

Dagarth and friends were plainly in
no hurry, no hurry whatsoever. The waiting lengthened and the
shadows shortened as the defenders watched keenly for the
inevitable attack. The scuttler was nowhere to be seen but its
menacing presence was felt in the minds and hearts of Roland and
his friends.

The afternoon came and the troops
on the hill started to move down, as they had on the day of the
first attack. This time there were no carts bringing trebuchets or
rafts, just men who gathered into phalanxes ready to move forwards
when the time came.

It was sometime after two o clock
that an unearthly sound in the far distance, like a roaring
rumbling sound combined with the faint chimes of a deep bell, could
be heard. It seemed to rumble both through the earth and across the
sky, all at once, shaking the castle and its defenders.

Roland and Firebrace stood
together, watching from the battlements. Slowly the beast emerged
from around the hill, painfully slow but impressive and powerful
looking. Soon Roland could see its legs, all working together and
rippling as they moved the beast towards the castle. An army of
Spirusses followed it.

“Curse Dagarth for bringing such a
monstrous thing to our home, “Roland said.

“Yes,” said Firebrace, “this alone
proves that your grandfather was right about him.” The thing got
closer. It took up a position in front of the castle, about a
quarter of a mile from the moat.

Roland took a deep breath. “it must
be nearly time,” he said.

“Yes,” Firebrace agreed, “nearly
time.”

At that moment they could see three
riders with escorts start out from the brow of the hill and make
their way down to the fields beside the castle. It was Dagarth,
Bril-a-Brag and Gloatenglorp. Gloatenglorp now had a bandage around
his head and Dagarth was still tender in the saddle area. At least
we have
affected
two of them, Roland thought.

It was now time. He left the
battlements and saddled up. In front of him the Sun Warriors, their
armour gleaming in the bright afternoon sunlight, were still
without mounts. As Roland yet again wondered about this a shout
came from the battlements

“Enemy advancing!”

It was time to meet them in the
field.

At the gatehouse two groups of men
stood above a doorway. They were manning two wheels that when
turned would raise a large door. Behind the door was the terrible
weapon that the defenders had – most reluctantly - decided to
unleash on the countryside they wished to defend. Using it meant
sweeping away all the landmarks they knew. They just had to hope
that something as good, maybe better, would take its place.

Roland hoped so. He raised him arm
and gave the much feared order, “Release the land surveyor!”

A gasp went around the castle from
those who had not been made aware of the plan. Could such a
terrible thing really be about to happen? The unleashing of a land
surveyor?
A land surveyor!!!!!!!
Free to do his awful
work!!!!

The door was hauled upward,
creaking and groaning, and the land surveyor and his two assistants
stepped forward, blinking in the bright light of the day after the
darkness of captivity.

Roland rode up to him, “You know
what you must do?”

“Yes sire! And thank you sire for
authorising me to do my work. It is a rare occasion when we are
allowed to go about it – not just allowed, but positively
authorised and encouraged by the lord of the manor himself! It is a
rare treat indeed and we will not disappoint you sir!”

Those in ear shot trembled at his
words. He cautioned Roland, “You must make sure that you stay close
by me at all times during my task, otherwise you will not know
where you are, or anyone is, or anything is, ever again!”

He and his assistants picked up
their clipboards, notebooks and theod-a-me-thing-a-me-jigs and
waited for the drawbridge to be lowered. Meanwhile Roland turned
his steed and faced the sun warriors. He did as Firebrace had told
him. He raised his arm and said, “Mount up.”

The moment he had spoken flurries
of fire appeared between their legs. The fires grew in intensity
and formed the shapes of horses. As they did so they lifted up the
warriors up so that they were now mounted on steeds of fire with
fiery mains, gleaming yellow eyes and steaming, flame-streaked
breath.

Roland, Oliver and Savitri looked
on, amazed.

“With such power, how can we lose?”
Oliver gasped.

“The power is limited, sadly,”
Firebrace said, “but it is good, and on our side, and may yet be
good enough.”

Roland ordered that the portcullis
be raised and the drawbridge lowered. He gave the command to move
forwards. The land surveyor, his assistants and the sun warriors
followed him to the entrance, but at the gatehouse they paused as a
young couple approached Roland. The woman spoke to him, “My lord,
we are a couple wishing to marry. You are now the lord and we need,
and wish for, your blessing. Please give it us before you ride
out.”

“Gladly,” Roland said. He waved his
hand over them, “You have my blessing.”

Once they were across the
drawbridge the Land Surveyor and his assistants set to work and the
land started changing before their eyes. Fields and hedges, tracks
and roads, all flickered out of existence whilst others flickered
into existence elsewhere. Landmarks disappeared from one place to
reappear in another. The landscape was indeed changing at dizzying
speed.

The land surveyor had been
instructed that some things had to remain; the castle, the river
and the hill of the Scary Oak. The river was diverted here, there
and back again, but always making its way to the castle in order to
supply the moat. The castle and the hill of the Scary Oak remained
as landmarks, but with the distance changing between them by the
second.

The enemy was now finding the
terrain changing under their very feet. Even the castle was moving
away from them as the space was being stretched out to the maximum
so as to give an advantage to the defenders. Dagarth and his pals
would no longer know where they were, and that was the point!

With all the confusion going on it
was hard to keep track of it all and Roland had to rely on the land
surveyor. Roland now understood the Land Surveyor’s caution that he
remain by his side. They had no chance of finding their way without
him now. Roland watched the man working and resolved that he
wouldn’t let him beyond a rein’s-length if he could help it. He
smiled at the thought that Dagarth and company were without his
guidance and must be getting peeved to find themselves
thwarted.

Within a few minutes it was done.
The land surveyor presented Roland with new maps showing the new
terrain and also showing clearly where the enemy were. The
defenders were now riding down a pleasant country lane. It was
twisting and narrow, and it soon became clear that although it
appeared to go somewhere it never actually went where it seemed to
be going.

“What is this?” Roland asked, “We
don’t seem to be able to go where we want to – where the map
says.”

“Ah,” said the surveyor. “A clever
mapmaker’s illusion, very clever if I may say so. The lane won’t go
anywhere you need to go – and certainly not where it seems to! Ever
wondered why so many people get lost even if they have a map! It
conceals a
surveyors’ snicket
– a secret passage through the
landscape only a surveyor can find!”

“And we can use it? My army?”
Roland asked.

“Oh yes, with me as your guide.
That’s what its meant for.”

“Very good. lead on!”

“Right! down here -” and the
surveyor led them straight to some bushes that parted to reveal a
dark hole with a rippling affect at the entrance. The entered and
came out at the rear of the enemy, who seemed quite unaware of
their presence. They now had a cracking advantage.

Roland saw the chance, unsheathed
his sword and whirled it around his head. He was about to order,
“Attack!” when everything changed
again
. There was a
blinding flash and the scene was replaced on all sides by steep
grassy slopes. Up on the brows of the slopes were the enemy, all
around. Now
they
had the advantage.

“What happened!?” Roland
demanded.

“There can only be one
explanation,” the land surveyor said –“ I have an opponent on the
other side. Another land surveyor! Quick!” he said to his
assistants, “We must work! Quickly! Quickly!”

They got out their clipboards and
theo-do-mething-a-mee-jigs again and surveyed the land once more.
In a flash it was transformed into a low lying area of marshland.
Roland and his entourage were on a causeway that ran across it but
the enemy were now dumped up to their thighs in water and mud.

“That fixed them!” The land
surveyor said, “But we will have to keep on working to maintain it
– even now my adversary will be trying hard to change it
again…”