The Londum Omnibus Volume Two (The Londum Series Book 12)

by Tony Rattigan

  The colonel, who had no idea that the attack had only been a feint to cover the insertion of Cobb and his colleagues, replied enthusiastically, ‘Marvellously, Your Majesty. We severely damaged or destroyed several of their strongholds.’

  ‘Excellent. And our losses?’

  ‘Well, as we didn’t send any troops into enemy territory army losses were nil. The navy however lost several airships, but you would have to ask them about how many men that included.’

  ‘Very well, Colonel, take us to your HQ if you would be so kind.’

  ‘This way, Your Majesty. We have taken over the Town Hall and we have carriages waiting for you and your party.’ He led the way out of the station. Nearly everyone had disembarked from the train but it had been decided that Morgan le Fay would remain aboard accompanied by her carers, as it would likely be more comfortable than what waited for them at the Town Hall.

  It was only a short journey to the Town Hall. The carriages left the station and made their way down the road, over the River Kent and into the town centre. Adele knew a little bit about the place. It had once been heavily involved in the wool trade until the Industrial Revolution when it had moved into the Jorvikshire and Lancastrian factories. Now, apart from being a gateway into the Lake District, the town was mainly famous for a certain glucose bar.

  They arrived at the Town Hall, with its four-faced clock tower, which was the subject of the hustle and bustle of a military headquarters, armed guards outside, runners coming and going with messages. Nobody there really knew what was happening but everyone was stomping around, talking loudly and pretending they were in charge of whatever was going on, that they knew nothing about ... in other words “the military way”.

  The Town Hall was on one corner of a cross roads, there was no town square as such, but the roads had been blocked off so as to create a space for men and equipment to be spread around. In one short road horses had been tethered and Colonel Sumner indicated them and said to King Victor, ‘We have arranged a horse as requested. It’s one of the Horse Artillery mounts so it’s quite familiar with battle-ground noise and cannons firing. It should be exactly what Your Majesty is looking for.’

  ‘It’s for King Arthur here, not I. Would you have one of your men take him over to the horse so they can get acquainted?’

  Colonel Sumner did as requested and Adele followed Arthur as he went to meet his horse.

  The rest of King Victor’s party were led into the Town Hall and shown the large, public meeting room on the ground floor. Here were the members of the council who had not been at the station, on hand in case the army needed advice on the civil defence issues, plus the first aid station, food and hot drinks etc. Then they were taken upstairs to the council office meeting room, which had been taken over as the “Situation Room”. In here it was strictly “Army Personnel Only” until King Victor’s party arrived.

  After familiarising himself with the horse and detailing one of the stable boys to be his own personal groom, Arthur and Adele had joined the others in the Situation Room.

  ‘What do you think of your horse then?’ asked Victor.

  ‘ ‘Tis a fine animal. I will take him for a ride later to get to know him.’

  Victor looked around the room. Apart from his own entourage and the telegraphists in the corner, they were all senior, army officers. ‘We are free to talk in here. There are the maps showing the latest troop dispositions, us and the Elves. Please, study them and then let me know your plan. We must be ready to go if ...’ he looked at Adele and reminded himself that her man was one of the men risking his life to make it happen. ‘... I mean when, the portal is shut down.’

  ‘And how will we know when that has happened?’ asked Arthur.

  ‘Well, as we don’t know what our team will be facing over there, we weren’t able to arrange a time for it to happen. Therefore we have sent teams of observers into locations where they have sight of the portal. When it closes down they will fire off three green flares.’

  ‘Flares? What are flares?’ asked Arthur.’

  ‘A firework that flies up into the sky and explodes, you had them in your day, I believe?’

  ‘Ah yes, Merlin didst make them to amuse the children and the women.’

  ‘We’ve adapted them to use as long distance, signalling devices.’

  ‘Clever.’

  Arthur studied the map, asked Colonel Sumner a few questions and then after only a few moments turned to King Victor. ‘All done. I have chosen the position from whence I shall sally forth. I need a large, open space between here and thine enemy. Colonel Sumner hast suggested the open fields before Scar Wood,’ Arthur pointed them out to Victor on the map. ‘There I will go and summon my forces. From there we will launch our assault against those that seek to defile Briton.’

  ‘And once again I have to ask you, Arthur, what are these forces you mention?’

  ‘ ‘Twere best that I show thee, Victor. I fear if I didst try to explain thou wouldst not believe me.’

  ‘There is an awful lot riding on your word, Arthur. What if you fail to summon these forces or they are insufficient to defeat the Elves?’

  ‘Then it comes down to a matter of faith. Dost thou believe I would promise your salvation unless I could accomplish it? Dost thou imagine that I wouldst come back from my timeless sleep unless it was in my power to save Briton?’ he replied, confidently.

  Victor looked at Eloise and then Adele but they couldn’t help him, it was indeed a matter of faith.

  ‘Very well then,’ Victor conceded with a sigh. ‘As soon as we get word on the portal, ride forth to Scar Wood and call your men into battle.’

  ‘Send word to thy troops on the front lines not to panic or be afeared at anything they may see coming from behind them. They will be in no danger and must hold their posts,’ said Arthur. ‘In the meantime, couldst thou supply a couple of mounted soldiers who know the area to accompany me? I wouldst ride to Scar Wood to familiarise myself with my steed and also the layout of the ground. Then I shall return and brief thee on the situation.’ He smiled and looked at Adele who had to bite her lip so as not to laugh.

  Victor, puzzled, looked between the two of them but didn’t get the joke. ‘Erm, certainly. Colonel Sumner, two of your Horse Artillery to escort King Arthur, if you please.’

  At that moment Harlequin appeared in the middle of the room. He bowed deeply before Kings Victor and Arthur. ‘My kings,’ he said. ‘I am here once again to help.’

  King Arthur looked him up and down suspiciously. ‘Ist he one of thine?’ he asked Adele.

  ‘No,’ Victor replied in her place. ‘He is the “Agent of the Gods” I told you about. He has been most useful in providing information about what we’re facing against the Elves. It was his suggestion that we raised you at Glastonbury. He also helped to send the team over to the Elf dimension.’

  ‘Then I thank thee for thy assistance. Anyone that is helpful to our cause is welcome here.’

  Harlequin bowed and said,’ My pleasure, Your Majesty, and may I say it’s an honour to meet an actual legend, such as yourself.’

  ‘So how did the insertion go?’ Victor asked him. ‘Any problems?’

  ‘It went well, they jumped dimensions successfully. Unfortunately it cost you an airship but “C’est le Guerre”, as the Gauls say.’

  ‘A tragedy,’ said Victor. ‘But sacrifices have to be made if we are to win through.’

  ‘Victor, I must visit the battlefield now,’ said Arthur. ‘The men are waiting for me.’

  ‘Very well, I will see you on your return.’

  ‘And if you will excuse me, Your Majesty, I would like to speak with Miss Curran,’ Harlequin bowed to Victor and then taking her arm led her away.

  ***

  Adele came back into the Situation Room to find King Arthur sitting in a corner accepting a cup of coffee from Won Lungh. Won Lungh had simply joined in with the king’s servants when they were allowed in the room, to wait upon him. Those who knew he
came with Adele paid no mind to his presence and everyone else just accepted him as one of the staff.

  As Adele had attached herself to Arthur, so had Won Lungh and had become virtually Arthur’s personal servant.

  Adele had heard that Admiral Collins had joined them and now she saw him talking to the king. Apparently he had come across a patrol and commandeered them to bring him to the king. The airship had just dropped him off and left, which she found disappointing as she was hoping that she could see Cobb again before he went into danger, but no such luck.

  Arthur sipped his coffee appreciatively; he really seemed to have taken to the drink. He also munched on a glucose bar. ‘This ist wonderful, what didst thou say it was called?’

  ‘Mint Cake, sire, Kendal is famous for it,’ Adele told him. ‘It’s packed with sugar so it gives you a burst of energy for a short time. It might be an idea to take some bars with you. On the battlefield if you get fatigued you can chew on one of those and it will pick you up.’

  ‘I thank thee, Melina. I willst do as thou suggest. Please sit and join me in this excellent coffee.’

  Adele did as she was invited and Won Lungh poured her a cup of coffee. As she sipped it they sat there quietly and watched the “organised chaos” going on around them.

  ‘If you’ll excuse me saying so, Your Majesty, you seem awfully calm and relaxed.’

  He looked at her and casually nodded. ‘You see Melina, when I was first conjured back into existence by thee and thy witch associates, I felt like a “man out of time”. Everything was new and strange to me, I understood nothing of how this world worked, it was all beyond my understanding and I felt out of place.

  ‘But the nearer the time approaches to that purpose for which I was summoned, the surer I become of myself and my position in this ...’ he waved his hand vaguely towards the hub-bub in the room, ‘undertaking. The time of battle approaches and for that I was born and raised. I am in my element once again and that is why I seem so calm. I am a warrior Melina and when my friend and I ...’ he patted the hilt of Excalibur, ‘ride into battle, none can stand in our way. That is why I am relaxed.’

  ‘Well, it’s good to see.’

  ‘Your servant here, dost he hail from the New World?’

  ‘No, sire, from much further away.’ She held her hand up balled into a fist. She pointed to the knuckle where the thumb joined the hand, ‘This is Albion.’ Then she pointed to the matching joint on the index finger. ‘This is Amerigo, the New World. In global terms not too far away. Since your days we have discovered most of the world and Won Lungh here is from Canton, which is all the way around here.’ This time she pointed to the joint of her little finger. It wasn’t strictly accurate but it sufficed to give Arthur an idea of the distances involved.

  ‘So the world really is round?’ he asked. ‘Merlin always told me that it was but I couldst never be sure if he was joking or not. In my day everyone thought that it was flat and if one went too far thou wouldst fall off the edge. It seems they were wrong and Merlin was right after all.’

  ‘Indeed, Your Majesty. It would appear that he was wise in matters long before his time.’

  ***

  Lt. North and his team headed across the fields. The night was dark as the clouds rolled by overhead with only occasional breaks when the moonlight burst through. After a while they came to the road that led directly through a valley that would give them the easiest route into “Elf town” if they followed it, but they had all realised that this would be the most likely route to lead to detection, so they had discarded it.

  The road would likely be used for troop movements and the last thing they wanted was to run into a platoon of heavily armed Elves, so soon into the mission. (Or at all, come to that.)

  They crossed the road and kept on going until they reached the hills. There were two routes they could have chosen, both involved hiking over the hill paths. One of them was the shorter route, south of the town, but that meant they would have to pass by the castle. Logic dictated that that was where they were most likely to meet enemy troops. So, sensibly they opted for the longer route, to the north of the town. It meant more hillwalking but as Grasmere and Ambleside were only four miles apart, the extra distance wouldn’t add that much to the journey.

  Things went all right for the first half an hour or so but then Willoughby, who had taken point and was scouting the route in advance of the others, dropped back and gave the warning signal. They squatted down at the side of the track while they discussed their next move. The conversation was wordless and all done with hand signals. (But don’t worry, I shall translate for you.)

  Willoughby held up his hand and splayed out his fingers. (There are five Elves up ahead.)

  Lt. North looked around but they all knew from studying the maps that if this world was the same as theirs (it had been so far) then there was no way around the Elves, without wasting time retracing their route. They would have to be dealt with. He slipped off his pack and drew his sheath knife, which he held up. (We’ll take them out but we have to do this quietly.)

  The others did likewise and then Sgt. Forbes held up his hand with his fingers splayed, then he pointed around the marines and then held up four fingers. (There are five of them and only four of us.)

  At this point Jim slipped off his pack, drew his knife and held up his other hand with the fingers splayed out. (Now there are five of us.)

  Lt. North pointed at Jim and then Cobb. (You’re supposed to look after him.)

  Cobb held up his Winchester. (I can look after myself.)

  North got the backpack containing the Sunburst Weapon and slid it over to Cobb. Then he pointed at Cobb, his own eyes and then at the backpack. (You, watch the bag!)

  Cobb saluted. (I think you’re a dick!)

  Irked by the situation and Cobb’s attitude, North gave the “follow me” signal and led them out of where they were sheltering. Cobb sat on his own for a while, waiting for some noise or some shouting but none came.

  Jim and Sgt. Barnes suddenly appeared on the track in front of Cobb. Jim waved at him to follow and between them they picked up all the packs and went to where the Elves had been surprised.

  The Elves had been sitting around a small fire, drinking (whatever it was the Elves drank in place of a cup of tea) when the marines and Jim had attacked them. Taken by surprise they had been quickly defeated.

  In the aftermath of the fight and with the adrenaline high, nobody noticed at first that there were only three marines standing up. Cobb pointed this out and they searched amongst the bodies. They found Willoughby lying on top of an Elf. As they rolled him over they saw that although he had driven his knife deep into the Elf’s chest, at the same time he had struck with his knife through Willoughby’s rib cage. They had both died quickly.

  An air of gloom descended on the three marines as they pulled him off the Elf corpse and wrapped his body in his poncho. They left the Elves where they were but carried his body some distance away, so it wouldn’t be discovered easily by the opposition.

  The marines stripped the Elves of their cloaks and staff weapons and then they opened Willoughby’s pack and distributed his ammo and grenades amongst everyone.

  When they were finished, they all put on the Elven cloaks and picked up staff weapons. They were all of a height, six foot or more which seemed to be average height for an Elf, so the clothing would help them pass as Elves if they encountered any, especially in this light.

  North indicated to Barnes that he should take over as scout and they headed off.

  ***

  The rest of the hike went well. They ran into another couple of patrols but with sufficient warning they were able to move off the track and hide in the darkness until they passed. Occasionally they saw platoons of Elf troops marching along the road beneath them, towards the portal.

  The team made good time and dawn was coming up as they arrived in the hills on the opposite side of the valley to the portal generator, about quarter of a mile away. As it w
as light now they were all able to get out their binoculars and study the target. It was exactly as had been detailed in the reports, by the trained observers who had visited this world earlier.

  They saw the huge arch straddling the road being fed by the purplish stream of energy from the generator building. Before the arch was a large, open space whose purpose hadn’t been determined by the human dignitaries who had visited that world, but now Cobb’s team saw why it was there. It was a staging area. It contained a large amount of stores, in barrels and cases, waiting to be carried through to our Earth. There were also a large number of Elven troops lined up, waiting to go through the portal. It would appear that the stores had been brought through the portal from another dimension and then left there to await the portal to be realigned to Earth’s co-ordinates.

  The portal generator building was on the far side of the open area, so they had to make their way through all those Elf warriors to get to it.

  The portal had remained open continuously since the Elves had attacked Albion. Presumably they had spent the first few weeks since the humans had allowed them to settle on their world (still in the mistaken belief that they were friendly) shipping in men and equipment from the other worlds that they ruled and now that their intentions had been revealed, they held it open permanently so they could re-supply and re-inforce with speed and impunity.

  At least that’s what everyone believed, as the closing of the portal would be the signal for Arthur’s forces to attack. Cobb just hoped they were right.

  As they watched, the troops were gathered together in ranks and marched through the portal, along with a few supply wagons. This only left a few people who were placing the remaining stores onto carts, to go through later.

  ‘Right everyone,’ said Lt. North. ‘We’ll make for the portal generator now, while the area is reasonably empty. Let’s go.’

  They packed up their gear and made their way down into the valley. It looked to be a clear run at the portal generator building across open fields but then their luck changed. They were about half way across the valley when another platoon of soldiers marched down the road from the Elf town and halted in the staging area.