“Well done!” Said Victoria. “Good plan.”
“You should have seen it trying to reach the door before it shut.” laughed Romney.
Victoria laughed and stood up, and found that this time she was on a small platform in what appeared to be a wide, darkly lit cavern. The platform was, she estimated, at least one hundred feet in the air, and across its long length at the far side she saw a similar platform. Zooming in to it with her enhanced vision she saw another door there, a small pressure plate jutting from the floor in front of it. From the roof of the cavern were suspended nets and ropes, and about the cave were many platforms in the air, most wooden, but there were also a multitude of metal platforms, upon which were mounted steel plated weapon turrets.
“It’s an obstacle course.” said Romney. “With weapon fire.”
“Excellent.” she said, and without further thought she threw herself off the platform towards the nearest rope. She grasped it but was surprised to find it fall with her.
“It was booby-trapped!” shouted Romney, “Grab another!” She did not need to be told however as already the turrets were spinning to track her, and then the nearest opened fire as she grabbed another rope that held this time, swinging further down than she liked, but as she did so she fired two impulse beams off to one side and one weapon turret exploded in flames, the other tumbling down into the cavern below as the platform it was on collapsed, the supports for it sliced through by her beams.
She threw herself forward, grasping another rope that failed to hold her and she fell down onto a wooden platform. Without hesitation she leapt back up into the air as weapon fire destroyed the platform upon which she had just been standing. She estimated that she was nearly half way across the cavern now, but she was lower down than the platform upon which the door she needed to exit through stood, and so she climbed higher and higher, destroying turrets as she went. She rolled over one platform and threw herself at the nearest metal turret and landing beside it she ripped it from its mounting, sparks and flames crackling from the weapon as she lifted it above her head and threw it through the air, the heavy weapon landing just in front of the door and the plate. Instantly the door slid open.
She fired another blast into two turrets guarding the exit, and landing on the platform for the now open door she kicked the wrecked turret off and into the pit below. Ducking to avoid more weapon fire she leapt through the door which slid shut instantly behind her, the stone crashing down behind her. She slumped to the ground for a second, gathering her wits about her before she assessed the next ordeal.
She looked up and was surprised to find that she was in a very similar room to the first one. It was small and circular, again three doors with pressure plates in front of them. Over one door was carved the letter, “M”, over the other the letter “X” and the final door bore a carving of the letter “C”.
“Well, following the Latin theme “M” is a thousand, “C” is a hundred and “X” is ten in Roman numerals. The Romans were the most entrenched Latin speakers.”
“Finally Latin even I can understand.” she said. “There is an inscription here. Again it’s in Latin.”
“EGO SVM PRINCIPIVM
MVNDI ET FINIS
SACVLORVM ATTAMEN
NON SVM DEVS”
They both read.
“What does it say?” asked Victoria.
“It says, “I am the beginning of the world and the end of the ages, but I am not God.”” said Romney.
“That’s quite a bit more complicated than the first one.” she grumbled. “I can’t see how that relates to Roman numerals at all.” She thought about it for a moment. “Perhaps God is, “one” as in, “one God”. One world perhaps?
“Doesn’t make sense.” said Romney. “So let us assume that they are not numbers but letters. The clue may be in the words. Break it down.”
“Right.” she said, recalling Romney’s translation and moving her fingers along the words of the inscription carved into the wall. “I am the beginning of the world.” she said. “Now the beginning of world is “W”.”
“Okay.” said Romney. “Carry on.
““And the end of ages.”” she said. “That is “S”.” So put them together and we have “WS”. Doesn’t mean anything does it? “W” isn’t a Roman numeral by any chance is it?”
“No.” sighed Romney.
“Thought not.” she said, lapsing into silence and looking at the inscription again. Suddenly she stood bolt upright. “Romney. What Is Latin for “World”?”
“Mundi” said Romney.
“And Latin for “Ages”?”
““Saeculorum”.” He said.
“So.” she smiled, “The first word of “world” is, “M” in Latin, and the last word of “Ages” in Latin is also “M”.”
She glanced back at the three doors, and the letters, “M”, “C” and “X” carved over them. With a smile she stepped forward and stood on the plate that had the letter “M” above it. The door raised and she walked inside, the stone falling back into place after her. Again they found themselves in a large room, square this time, with a door at the far end with a pressure plate in front of it. Over this door however she could see the letters “IV” carved prominently above it.
“Same plan as before if we get another Dependable?” asked Romney and she grunted her consent.
“Why the number four in Roman numerals over the door though?” he asked.
“No doubt all will be revealed.” she said, and began to sprint towards the door. As she did so the air rippled in two places on the far side of the room and the shapes of two Dependables formed in front of them. One was black, the other bronze. As soon as they were transported they began to move, the bronze armoured knight heading towards Victoria and bracing itself, it sent a surge of power towards her that scorched across the flagstones, hitting her full on. She was amazed to feel nothing, merely a slight rise in temperature and then it stopped. Already the black Dependable was firing at her and she leapt out of the way to avoid the beams. She landed on the floor and rushed towards the end of the room and the plate and exit. It was only then that she realised Romney had gone very quiet.
“Romney?” she asked. Silence. “Romney?”
“Wait.” he gasped. “That bronze knight - keep out of its way.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” he panted, “But that last blast hurt. It hurt a lot.”
“Will do!” She said, seeing that although the bronze creature had turned to face her it was moving, its arms outstretched as if recharging. The black knight however was charging towards her, dual cannons blazing, the explosions from its beams smashing into the wall where mere seconds before she had been standing. She flipped from the wall and easily reached the far side of the room and jumped upon the pressure plate, preparing to throw herself through the door.
Nothing happened.
She stood looking at it for a split second and then threw herself to one side as more pulse beams exploded around her. She flung herself towards the far wall, somersaulting high into the air to avoid the constant barrage of firepower the black dependable was throwing at her.
“The door isn’t working, Romney!” she shouted. Her demon assistant however when he did reply sounded distinctly groggy.
“There’s a new door appeared on the side wall.” he said. “Victoria! Look out! The bronze dependable!”
Again there was a ripple in the air and a wave of power sent from the bronze knight caught her full on, again not hurting her in the slightest. Romney however seemed to be screaming.
“What is it?” she asked, hearing him gasping.
“Victoria. Whatever you do keep out of the way of that thing. It is just wrong in every possible way.” She could hear him panting as if in terrible pain before he continued, “The knight has a blood bound demon as well.” he spluttered finally, “But it is a second circle demon.”
“Nonsense!” she said, “It is impossible to harness a level t
wo demon. They are far more powerful and resist any attempt to harness them. Surely you are mistaken?”
“We are dealing with something beyond our knowledge here Victoria. Just keep out of it's way.”
“Doing my best!” she shouted as she spun again to look on the new door in the side of the wall. It was the same as every other door but it had Roman Numerals carved above it as well, reading, “III”, as well as a pressure plate on the floor in front of it. Dancing away from the black creature that was firing at her again she reached the new door and stepped onto the pressure plate. Again nothing happened as she dodged a blow from the black Dependable, its arm crashing into the wall behind her so hard it gouged into the stone itself. Now she saw another door had appeared on the far side of the wall, and this one had “II” carved over it.
She ran towards it just as the bronze creature released a new tidal wave of energy which she flung herself onto the floor to avoid and rolled away, reaching the new door and again stepping onto the plate. As she did so this time however she saw the door that was opposite the one they had entered through rattled loudly and rose, the door now open waiting for her to exit. She saw the bronze Dependable beginning to recharge, its arms extended but immobile as energy crackled about it. She somersaulted over the bronze knight’s head and landed behind it as the black knight approached and she grabbed hold of the bronze knight to use as a shield.
The bronze Dependable did not move at all, it's abilities obviously different from the black knights she had encountered so far. So she held it in front of her, the black knight swinging at her from the other side and as it threw a punch at her, its visor lit by two dots of red light now clearly visible. She dragged the bronze knight into its path and the black knights arm crashed completely through the chest of the bronze knight. The bronze Dependable slumped, its energy dissipating almost instantly, but electricity sparked at its armour joints and Victoria released it. She flung herself away from the two knights, the bronze one crackling with bright blue arcs of energy, and she saw then that the black one seemed to be having problems releasing its arm from the chest of the bronze soldier, its fist clearly visible jutting from the back of the bronze knight.
The energy built to a crescendo just as the black knight began to wriggle free but it was too late. Energy tore through the two robotic knights and there was a dull implosion and the two creatures fell to the ground, both unmoving. There was an echo that raced about the room as if something was being released followed by a disturbance in the air, a sigh almost.
“The level two demon has gone.” said Romney. “These two guys don’t look so bright though.”
Victoria walked across to the two destroyed knights lying on the floor and examined them closely.
“See the pulse cannon on its hands.” said Romney, “I reckon it’s impulse controlled from its computational engine.”
“So it will have wires?’ smiled Victoria.
“Yes. Somewhere around the welded joints of the elbow.”
She looked at its right hand and then to the arm and grasping the lower part of the limb twisted it with all of her strength. The armour held but the joint cracked and into it she shot a pulse beam at it, maintaining the integrity of the beam, using it as if it were a welding instrument. Rapidly the joint widened and she ripped the arm from the fallen knight. She stood, looking at the wiring and machinery that comprised the stump of the arm.
“Avoid any ‘armless jokes, Romney.” she muttered as she examined the wiring encased in the metal limb.
“Yes boss.” chuckled the demon, “Am I that predictable?”
She did not answer but held the arm out before her and at the same time connected two loose green wires in the arm stump. Instantly a red pulse cannon beam shot across the room and into the corner of the wall, stone and shale exploding where that it had struck.
“Nice work boss.” said Romney, “We have a weapon.”
“Always handy to try and level the odds.” She said.
“Now. Try and open the black Dependables visor.” said Romney. “That arm has no organic matter in it at all. Just what is it that is at the heart of these machines?”
She kneeled down beside the prone creature and tugged the visor open, noticing as she did so that the twin red points of light now completely extinguished. She tugged at the metal visor and eventually it moved. Inside the faceplate there were tiny cogs and copper tubing everywhere, all linked to all that was left of the original soldier, which was a shrivelled pale face covered in brass plates and workings. The man’s head was almost invisible though the machinery, but his two eyes were shut. She gasped in shock as they opened. The eyes struggled to focus on her at first but eventually they managed to do so.
“Kill me.” Said a distorted voice from inside the armour that had more to do with machinery than humanity. “Release me.” Victoria did not answer, but stood and walked away slowly. “Please.” came the final plea and she turned to face the fallen creature, raising her hand and firing her blue pulse weapon into what was left of the man’s face. The voice fell silent and the creature did not move. Without another word she strode across the room and walked through the open door, the black knights arm cradled in her hands. Without pause the stone slid shut behind her and she found herself in another small granite walled round room.
“The only organic matter left seems to be the brain, boss.” Said Romney.
“Enhanced, no doubt.”
“Pretty grim.”
“Despicable.” She said, “I will ensure that Corrigan will pay his due when we find our way out of his play pen.”
She looked about the room. Once more the decor of the room was as before, again three doors all closed were on the far wall with an inscription on a plate on the side wall. This time however each door had exactly the same symbol over it. It was the shape of a cannon.
“ULTIMA
RATIO
REGUM”
It read and Victoria clapped her hands as she looked at it.
“I know this one.” she said, “It was one of my school’s houses mottos.”
“The last resort of kings.” said Romney and she nodded. “Funny school you went to.”
“Assassin’s school.” she winked, and turned to face the three doors, all with exactly the same symbol over each of them. “So. A cannon. The last resort of kings is violence if you like; war. But why does each door have the same symbol?”
“Would the last resort ever change?” asked Romney.
“I think not.”
“So the doors are all the same as there can never be any variation.”
“Yes.”
“So which one do we go through?”
“I don’t know.” laughed Victoria, “I would suggest that perhaps it does not matter. Each one should take you to the same place really.”
“Pick a door then.” laughed Romney and she stood on the middle plate, the door sliding open. Hesitating slightly, she went through it and the door slammed down shut behind her. She found herself in another round room, though this time there were three closed entrances behind her.
“Ah. They did all lead to the same place.” said Romney. In front of them were a further three doors. Above one were the letters, “LX”, “XL” and “L”. She walked across to another inscription on the wall.
“How many brave men are there in camp?” She read aloud, turning and facing the symbols above the doors again.
“Well “L” I know is the Roman Numeral for “fifty, so “XL” would be forty, and “LX” sixty.” She turned and looked at the inscription again. “The English is quite stilted, isn’t it?” she said.
“What do you mean?” asked Romney.
“Well, I would expect it to say, “how many brave men are there In the camp, but it doesn’t. It actually says, “How many brave men are there in camp”. You see?”
“How many brave men in camp?” said Romney.
“Yes.” She rubbed her chin, the broken knights arm held in her other hand, dangling at
her side. “What is Latin for “camp”, Romney?”
““Forti’.” He replied.
“Ah.” she smiled, and stood on the plate for the door with the carving of “XL” above it. Instantly the door rose and she walked through it, the stone slamming shut behind her again.
This time she found herself in a large open square room again, the exit door closed at the far end, pressure pad in place in front of it. She began to walk across the floor and as she did so there were three ripples in the air this time and a red, blue and black knight appeared in the room before them. Instantly the black Dependable began to fire its pulse cannons at her, forcing her to leap to one side, clutching the severed arm to her side.
“Three.” muttered Romney. “Get that arm ready.” Victoria was about to reply when the blue knight gestured towards her and she found herself flying through the air towards it. As she tumbled in front of it it struck out with its arm, sending her crashing to the ground like a rag doll.
“Magnetic.” said Victoria and the red knight made a similar gesture and she found herself flung away from it across the room, colliding with the ceiling at the far end and sliding down the wall, crashing in a heap onto the flagstones.
“Gravitronic weaponry.” said Romney, “I have heard rumours of it but seen it used before.” Victoria groaned and made to stand up as the blue knight gestured towards her and she found herself flying through the air again, but this time the dependable guided her almost neatly into the grasp of the black knight, its arms grasping her and pulling her from the floor, crushing her.
She was facing the creature as it began to squeeze and crush her, the twin pinpricks of light in the visor dancing almost with glee. She had dropped the severed arm at her feet and it lay there now uselessly as the red and blue knights watched in silence, unmoving as it continued to crush her. Already she could taste blood in her mouth, through whether that was from being flung about the room or not she was not sure.
The Complete Adventures of Victoria Neaves & Romney Page 37
