by Dave Hazel
The men who had performed as Silent Killers, and the men who would be great at being a Silent Killer walked along side of Mykal, Towbar, the Elves, and the Dwarves ahead of the vehicles. If they encountered any soldiers, or even civilians, who could expose them, the potential threat would have to be eliminated quickly and quietly. The Elves had increased hearing and increased sight in the darkness. The Dwarves sight was increased during the darkened hours. Towbar and Mykal also had increased hearing and sight during the darkness.
When they reached the pond that Mykal saw from Doninka’s window, he wanted to get his force on the other side of the water and to be that much closer to the stone wall that would be between them and the castle. Mykal wanted to eliminate any slight delays and make their path to the stone wall, thus Doninka’s confined quarters, as short and quick as possible. They stopped and set up a brief camp after they got positioned on the other side of the small body of water. The body of water was large enough to create difficulties if they would have waited on the wrong side and had to move to her location in a hurry. He realized they couldn’t move all the way to the stone wall because of the thousands of soldiers on both sides of the wall. Mykal’s anxious thoughts were making him think and re-think every step. He knew he could do this alone, because he could be invisible, but he couldn’t allow them to know of his ability to disappear. Mykal also realized that though he could turn invisible and sneak to her location, he wouldn’t be able to turn Doninka invisible when they would try to depart her holding grounds. Thus he had to share the task with them or else they would think he would be ‘big-headed’ and think more highly of himself than he should.
The men gathered for a soft spoken briefing put on by Mykal and Captain Diaz. “First thing men,” Captain Diaz began the impromptu briefing. “Those tasked for guard duty must stay extra alert. We are in the midst of the lion’s den so to speak. If an enemy soldier or soldiers approach our position they must be dealt with quietly and as swiftly as possible. If we are detected before we retrieve our package and complete our objective we will have to flee unless we are ready to have an all-out battle. So we must do what we can to remain hidden and remain silent. If we flee before retrieving the princess,” he said and paused. “We may not get another opportunity to rescue her. They will move her or at the least completely surround her with numbers we will not be able to contend with. So these next few hours will be vitally important to us.”
The men all acknowledged Diaz with nods and thumbs up.
While Diaz spoke Mykal’s thoughts drifted to many different types of possible plans of attack. He wondered how difficult it would be to go back to the Pass and bring several helicopters not only to attack the forces on the ground but to also fly away once they had Doninka in their possession. He had the idea of using tanks to bust through the wall and drive away with her inside a tank. With all the different ideas that were going through his mind he knew each one of those new ideas would include greater delay and possibly more complications with Colonel Fisher back at the Pass. They were here now, and he wanted to rescue her as soon as possible.
He listened as Captain Diaz took questions from the men and realized he was so excited to rescue Doninka because she was a close friend, and had to fight the thoughts that he loved her. ‘No. I love my wife and I’ll never betray that. I love Doninka like a close friend. It’s not gonna go beyond that,’ he thought and looked to the building he knew she was in. He knew he had to maintain control over his emotions, yet his emotions were constantly on a rollercoaster because of the magic ring that seemed to take control of his mind. ‘No, it seeks to control my mind, but I’m not gonna allow it,’ he thought with a defiant combative attitude and nodded to those speaking though he was no longer really listening.
“Any final words Mykal?” Diaz asked.
“When you’re not on guard duty get as much rest as you can get,” he replied. “Shortly after midnight when things are quiet we’re going to rescue the princess. From here you can see there’s still a lot of activity taking place. Look at all the little camp fires and look at all the movement around the camp fires. I’m sure it’s gonna die down after it gets late. Be sure to put your camy face paint on your exposed flesh. If we come in contact with any of Ziggy’s soldiers they may think we’re Goblins or something like Goblins. The split second of hesitation may save your life and it may even win you a friend,” he chuckled to be funny. “But seriously men, get some rest and be ready in the next few hours. In the meantime I’m gonna try to work out a couple of different options with Captain Diaz, Lieutenant Finley and Towbar to see what we can come up with. Nevertheless, we are going to be victorious. The princess is this close to us,” he added and pointed to the light of the small camp fires in the distance. “We’re not gonna let these scumbags win now.”
“Alright men,” Diaz concluded the briefing. “Get as much rest as possible.”
Everyone split up to go their own direction. Vick Daring and his camera man approached Mykal and Towbar as they prepared to go inside their vehicle. “Towbar, could we please have a little of your time?” Vick asked.
“What’s up guys?” Mykal asked when Towbar looked at them to see what they wanted. Mykal knew Towbar didn’t care for the media all that much since their fame back in the real world.
“Towbar, would you please allow us to interview you?” Vick asked.
“Interview me?” Towbar asked and looked sincerely confused.
“Yes. There haven’t been any in depth interviews on you, Towbar the person,” Vick explained. “When you had your close call today with that giant snake I saw the concern in Mykal’s face and it made me realize the relationship between the two of you has never really been explored. At least, not that I’m aware of,” he said and smiled. “I do understand that your friendship started in June when Mykal and his people first arrived here during the first trip to your world. I would just like to get your version to see what makes your relationship so special.”
Towbar’s facial expression started a slow frown as if he didn’t feel comfortable.
“Go ahead Towbar,” Mykal replied to encourage him. “Cuz when we did our tour around the country you didn’t really open up all that much. And if it had been anyone else asking I’d blow them off. But Vick and Benny have been a couple of standup guys. Unless you really don’t wanna,” Mykal added after they were inside the vehicle. “I’m gonna sit here and try to get some sleep so go ahead and answer their questions unless they get annoying,” he joked.
“I will,” Towbar said as he sat in his specially crafted seat. It was larger than the other seats due to his size.
“Thank you, thank you,” Vick replied and turned to Benny to turn on his camera. “This will be titled the Towbar Interview. When you tell me to stop, we’ll stop. But my purpose is to get some insights and deeper understanding of who Towbar is and what you’re all about. So first things first, tell us what you would like us to know about you. You must remember the people know virtually nothing about you, so this is a great opportunity for you to share with others what you would like them to know of the person Towbar,” Vick explained and hoped that would help the giant open up and reveal who he was.
Towbar thought for a moment and then opened up. “The person who raised me from a baby to an adult is the person I would thank for my attitude about life and my views concerning loyalty and dedication in everything that I do. His name is Nidious. He is a wizard,” he added and his voice noticeably softened due to the danger associated with magic and magic users. “Nidious is my mentor and my friend. I count that more valuable than the role he played in being my surrogate father. He raised me when my mother died giving birth. Nidious has been an advisor to the King and to prior kings for all my life. So that is all I have ever known. Nidious instilled a dedication to the throne, or rather the office of the throne, for as long as I can remember. I will gladly lay down my life for the King and his family because he is the ruler of our people and he deserves our complete devotion as he lead
s our people.
“I have been close to the throne all my life and this King, Loankore the third has been a great man and a great leader. I am close to his family and I have a fondness for Doninka since I have been tasked with watching over her for the past few years. I do not think she would be queen, though it is possible. Her older brother is evil and not good like her father. He would be harmful to the people when he ascends to the throne and should he not, his younger brother would be just as disastrous only for the reasons of his weakness. Doninka would be third should they not ascend to the throne. She has a loving heart that cares for her people she only lacks experience. She would make a fine queen if given the time and if she had the right advisors placed around her.”
“So is that why you are so committed to rescuing the Princess Doninka?” Vick asked.
“She is the King’s daughter and I would lay down my life for the King. As I have grown to know Doninka over the years I would lay down my life for her as a person. However, my drive is because of my love and devotion to the throne which in turn leads to my dedication to our kingdom. Nidious had instilled that in me from a young age. I must do my duty for, not only the throne, rather for our country. I also believe the gods will bless me for being a good man, a good soldier and a committed and loyal protector of the person the gods placed on our throne. I will always do good to appease the gods rather than--”
“Can I just interrupt real quick?” Mykal cut in. “I won’t say anything else after this cuz this is your interview with Towbar. But please, do me a favor and stay away from gods and God for now. There are others who will take that and have a problem with that.”
“That’s fine, that’s fine,” Vick replied and nodded amicably. “I’m so thrilled to get this opportunity to interview you and I don’t want to make it look like I’m trying to set you up to have people turn on you and that is one of those things that could do it. But let’s change direction. Let’s talk about your relationship to Mykal and why your friendship is so strong.”
“Mykal is my close friend, and will forever be my close friend,” Towbar said with a genuine smile as Mykal turned away to get some rest. Just prior to the day we met I traveled to the land of Labins from Beramus. The wars with the Sosos had just completed a couple of years before and following the pattern set for ages it would be another five or six years before the Sosos would have rebuilt their forces and tried again to start the wars. However, there were rumors swirling around Beramus that Locod, the King’s eldest son was in communication with the Soso nations and he would agree to make a truce and yield power should he ascend the throne. The King would not hear of his son’s involvement so that was not mentioned. There was a true concern the Sosos were rushing forces to the Pass much sooner than we would have expected. I took a small group of men, sixty-four, and rode a ship ahead of the forces I sent on foot.
“My goal was to discover if in fact the Sosos were making war so soon. Our small group was sent in secret. There were very few who knew that we travel by ship and they knew when we should arrive and where we would land exactly. Locod was one of the few who knew. If there was any evidence that Sosos were on the move my task was to mobilize the local towns and villages to move to the Pass in order to set up a defensive position until my army should arrive. My men and I discussed the possibility that the rumors were true. We agreed if that was the case the only way we would have any chance of survival would be for the gods to intervene and help us. We were not, I’m ashamed to say, prepared for such an early attack.
“When we disembarked and were left on the beach we came under attack by Sosos. They obviously knew where we arrived and when we arrived. They had a force of several hundred, possibly ten times the size of my force. That was not a coincidence, and we found out at a later time, while all this was taking place, at the same time, there was an assassination attempt on the King. If he would have died, Locod would have assumed the throne and he would have surrendered our forces to the rule of the Sosos.
“Our small group came under attack and we stood our ground to fight. I must admit that I believed I would die that day due to the sheer size of the Soso force against us. Just as certain as I would have died from the giant snake earlier today, I believed their force would have been too large for us to survive. Yet when it looked like doom was to befall us a strange creature screamed its way to us and strange people came from within the strange creatures and they killed the Sosos at a surprising rate with what appeared to be magic. There were only a small number of them. Nevertheless, they instilled fear into the Sosos. That was something I never witnessed before. Not only did they terrorize the Sosos they killed them with a mighty power I never witnessed. Those strange creatures were actually what I soon learned to be vehicles.
“One of the strangers rushed to my battle, that was Mykal,” he added and couldn’t help but smile with pride. “I was awed and fearful only since I did not know what his intentions were. I did not know if he would try to kill me and I had no defense for such a powerful force they displayed. I was battling six Sosos when he approached. With my sword I cut one in half and was faced with five as Mykal rushed to my battle. I was fighting off five at once while keeping my eye on the new stranger and I tripped over some of the bodies of those I had just killed. I rarely experience fear, yet at this time I was fearful. I believed the five would pounce on me while I was down on the ground and then I had no idea what the stranger would do.
“I know Mykal just mentioned that I not speak of the gods, yet internally I cried out to the gods. With a loud noise Mykal killed four of the five and wounded the fifth one. I will never forget that day,” he said with a great big smile. “What I thought would end in doom and gloom turned out to be the opposite. I remember the stranger, Mykal, speaking to me and asked if I could understand him. I was still fearful as I slowly rose to my feet and the lone Soso prepared to throw a dagger and Mykal turned his weapon on the Soso. I understand now that Mykal shot the Sosos in the head, yet at that time I heard the thunder of his finger point and the Soso’s head had been split open. To say I was grateful, yet filled with fear, is an understatement.
“I believed there was no way I could compete with such a mighty powerful weapon. If Mykal had been sent by the Supreme Ruler I knew that our days were numbered. However,” Towbar said with an animated display of excitement by raising his pointed finger in the air. “After speaking to Mykal briefly and after he explained their situation, I knew the gods responded to the cry of my heart. As mighty of a warrior as I am, I knew I could not accomplish this task on my own. I knew the gods sent Mykal and his men to help us.
“After a brief discussion with Mykal and his men I knew that I was to be bound with Mykal. When we shook I knew I was not wrong in displaying my devotion and dedication to him as a helper and partner. I truly believed the gods sent them to aid us due to our precarious situation. I would like to explain something to you,” he said and focused on Vick Daring. “In my land men greet each other similarly like your people do. Yet instead of shaking hands we grab the wrist,” he added and grabbed his wrists as a demonstration of greeting one another. “And to display a commitment of loyalty and trust one grabs the forearm,” he added and moved his powerful hands up on to his forearms to demonstrate. “This is what I did with Mykal and it startled my men who witnessed it. I realize I could have been bound to any of his people, however he was the one who displayed a true care and concern to help my people. I am not foolish and I understand he desired something from me. That was for my help. Mykal and his people wanted me to get them back to their home.
“As time went on and I discovered his dedication and commitment to fulfill a task I knew that I had made the right choice in being committed to him. When I make a decision I am loyal and committed until that trust is broken. That did not happen with Mykal. He risked his life to help me when he knew nothing of my people. He risked his life to help warn my people when he knew nothing of my people. He has helped my people and defended our lands so he has my u
ndying support and commitment. Though the length of our friendship may be measured in months as of now, the commitment of our friendship may be stated as life times. I will stand beside Mykal all the days of my life…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 01/30/1984
1. Monday, January 30th 1984
0032 hours, Other side of Towbar’s World (23rd Day)
“Hey Mykal,” Mathis whispered and gently shook his shoulder. “Hey Mykal, it’s about twelve thirty. You said you wanted up at this time.”
Mykal bolted up from the seat he slept in while inside the transport vehicle. He quickly rubbed his face. He rubbed his face vigorously a second time to help wake himself. “Damn. I feel like crap,” he whispered back to Mathis who had his face covered in green, tan, brown and black camouflage face paint. “I just laid down about an hour and a half ago. Is anyone still sleeping?”
“No. Everyone is up. Towbar is with Captain Diaz,” Mathis informed him. “It seemed like it got really quiet over by the wall. Most of the little camp fires are out. Hopefully they’re all asleep. Hopefully it will be like when you guys went into the Soso camp with the Silent Killers.”
“Yeah. That’d be nice,” Mykal answered and stretched. “Are you ready for the next couple of hours? Cuz the shit could really hit the fan soon.”
“Yeah. I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Mathis replied and looked a little scared.
“Don’t worry about it. I want you to stay near the main group,” Mykal said to ease Mathis’s fears.
