by Tom Larcombe
* * *
Chapter 11
Merlin was awakened by Nimue abruptly. He'd just gotten back to sleep after his own watch and it took him a few moments to waken fully.
“What is it?” he asked.
He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
“I was standing watch, I thought I could do it better by keeping an eye on the outside with my Sight. I think I've found our contact.”
“That's wonderful.”
“No, it isn't. He's in bad shape. It looks like he was tortured. He's leading a party of German SS troops in this direction.”
Merlin groaned.
“Wake everyone else up, I'll look in on our visitors and see how long we have before they get here.”
Nimue moved over and shook Gunter awake next. He woke smoothly and his pistol was half drawn before he realized who was shaking him. A whispered conversation ensued before Nimue moved on to Anselm.
Merlin cast his awareness into the sky and scanned the area. He found the Germans and their prisoner less than a half mile away from the ruined farmhouse. They were moving slowly, primarily due to the condition of the prisoner leading them, but would arrive in less than fifteen minutes.
He returned his awareness to his body and looked around the basement.
“There are seven SS troops and the prisoner. I assume he's supposed to be our guide for the next leg of the journey. The guide is out in front and at least one soldier has a weapon pointed at him all the time. Does anyone have any ideas?”
“We need to rescue the guide if we want to stay with our plan,” Nimue said.
“Yes, but how?”
“Can we cloak him and spirit him away?” she asked.
“I think if he disappeared the soldier with a rifle aimed at him would simply open fire,” Merlin said. “We need something to get them looking elsewhere first. If none of them are aiming at him, we'd have a good chance.”
“Let me see if there are any wild animals around,” Anselm said. “If there are any predators out there, maybe I can steer them towards the SS.”
“We've only got a few minutes, do you have enough time to do that in ten minutes?”
“I can check for them in a couple of minutes. If there's anything out there, I don't know how long it would take to bring it towards them though.”
“You start doing that, we'll try to think of something else in case it doesn't work,” Merlin said.
Anselm seated himself and sent his consciousness out to search the surrounding area.
“We could damage them directly,” Nimue said. “Or maybe render the rifle pointed at the guide useless?”
“If we just damage them, they'll shoot him. Working on the rifle is a good plan though, do you know guns well enough to do that?”
Nimue nodded and seated herself.
“Gunter, you keep an eye on the trapdoor. If it comes to it, shoot them when they try to come in. I'm going to try to slow them down.”
Merlin cast his awareness out again. He approached the trailing soldier and tried to loosen his boot heel by dissolving a nail. Nothing happened. He tried again, this time trying to rot out the material of the heel. His magic wouldn't touch the boot.
He looked at the soldier more closely with his Sight. The soldier wore a necklace with a crystal on it. When Merlin looked for it he could see that it created a translucent purple shield that followed the soldier's outline exactly, including his clothes. He looked and found that the other soldiers wore similar necklaces. He retreated to his body.
“Demon spawned sons of...”
“What's wrong Merlin?” Gunter asked.
“They're protected against magic. Some sort of shield built into a crystal that they're wearing around their necks.”
Gunter looked at his pistol doubtfully.
“Is it just for magic or is there a physical shield as well?”
“I don't know, but the crystals aren't very large, so I'm guessing it's just magic. A physical shield takes a lot more energy and they couldn't store that much in a small crystal.”
“Then we can still hurt them.”
“You can, at least, but there are seven of them.”
“If you give me a physical shield, then that will balance those odds out,” Gunter said.
Merlin tugged at his chin.
“If it comes down to it, we'll do that. Let's see how Nimue and Anselm do first.”
They waited impatiently for a minute or so before Nimue stirred and stood.
“I think I have it taken care of. I rusted out the firing pin until it fell off. It was a model I haven't seen before though. I don't know exactly what it was but I'm sure it needs that pin to work.”
“Describe it for me,” Gunter said. “I might be able to identify it.”
“It was a full length rifle. It had a stock and a pistol grip. There was a long curving magazine coming out of the bottom. It had adjustable sights, a V-notch and a hooded post.”
Gunter looked nervous.
“The only rifle I know of with that description was still in development when I left. I've heard since then that they've named it the Sturmgewehr 44.”
“The storm rifle?” Merlin asked.
“Yes, as in storming a position. It's also known as an assault rifle, for assaulting a fortified position. The weapon is similar to a portable machine gun but with a limited amount of ammunition. Facing seven of them at once will be... interesting.”
“Only six now, I disabled one,” Nimue said.
“It sounds as though it might be to our advantage to disable a few more,” Merlin said. “If we have the time I suggest we do that. They're protected with shields against magic so anything in close proximity to them, like their clothing, we're unable to affect. Evidently their rifles don't have the same protection.”
“I'll see how close they are and if we have the time,” Nimue offered.
She resumed her sitting position and Merlin searched his brain to recall the quickest method of destroying a small metal pin. Within a minute she spoke.
“We've got about five minutes remaining. I can destroy one more firing pin in that amount of time. Merlin?”
“Three, maybe four. So Gunter, it appears you'll to face at least one of these assault rifles, plus a variety of pistols I would guess.”
Gunter nodded.
“I'm not looking forward to it, but I can do that.”
Merlin sent his awareness out towards the patrol once more. He split his projected awareness into two portions and used one to apply intense heat to the base of a firing pin. The other portion followed each application of heat with intense cold. He observed the strain in the metal and by working on two firing pins at a time, heating one and freezing the other, he managed to render four of the pins brittle enough that a small tap from his mind shattered them. Those four weapons were rendered unable to fire before the patrol was at the ruins of the house.
Merlin roused himself from his trance and looked around. Nimue caught his eye and nodded. Merlin held up four fingers in response. Anselm was just now stirring. Merlin caught his eye and held a finger to his lips.
{Anselm, any luck?}
{Yes, there's a large wild boar that I angered and sent this way. He'll think the patrol was aggressive towards him. An impressive specimen, two hundred and fifty pounds or more.}
{Good job. We need to remain quiet though. They're in the ruins above us. I suggest having a physical shield ready to use.}
Merlin turned his attention to Nimue.
{Be ready to shield if they open the trapdoor my love. I'll protect myself and Gunter.}
Nimue nodded at him again.
Merlin heard the rubble being shifted around overhead. After a few minutes of that, the trap door opened.
“You down there. Come up and make no suspicious moves,” a voice called down in halting French.
Merlin held up a hand to the others. He shook his head.
“We know you're down there and we know you'r
e wizards. Come up or else.”
Once again Merlin remained still.
“One final chance to come out on your own. We know what shields do so we brought three different types of grenades. Your shield will protect against the fragmentation grenades but our gas grenades will ignore your shields. Our phosphorus grenades will kill you through your shields from the heat.”
Merlin looked around, Gunter was slightly pale from the mention of gas grenades and Merlin himself remembered the heat from the flame thrower passing through his shields. He bowed his head in defeat and gestured to the ladder.
“We're coming out, don't shoot,” he yelled.
Gunter was the first one up the ladder, followed by Anselm, and then Merlin himself. When he reached the top of the ladder Merlin looked at the soldiers. They seemed like normal people but the shimmer of purple he saw surrounding them was a reminder that they were more formidable than they appeared. He was looking at the apparent leader when Nimue crested the ladder behind him. The man grinned in anticipation and Merlin knew what he was thinking even without being able to scan his mind.
The man walked over to Nimue and offered a hand to 'assist' her off the ladder. When she refused the help and stood on her own, the man reached out and grabbed her wrist. He attempted to draw her in against him.
Not if I can help it, thought Merlin.
Merlin broadcast to both Nimue and Anselm.
{Shield! Warm yourselves as well.}
Merlin split a large piece of his awareness off and sent it rocketing into the skies. His hand clutched the silver-blue scale in his pocket and he channeled the power from it into his body. His anger at the leader, who considered Nimue a plaything for his amusement, infused the power from the scale, strengthening it.
At the same time he split a smaller piece of his awareness off and sent it to Gunter. Physical shields formed around both Gunter and himself a fraction of a second after his warning.
Merlin's awareness continued to soar until it reached a point high above the sky where the winds were frigid enough to freeze a man solid. The power from the scale infused his awareness and he used it to force the frigid air down towards the surface of the earth.
The winds came howling down onto the ruins of the farmhouse. Frost instantly formed on all exposed surfaces. Merlin channeled part of his power to Gunter and himself, warming the air within their shields. He continued to push the air down and the local weather began to react. Dark clouds formed overhead, assembling in seconds. The wind howled and strengthened. Charred beams and other debris began to shift in the wind.
The first of the SS patrol fell over, coated in frost. Two of their squad, towards the edge of the ruins, turned to flee. They began to run across the field and discovered that they were attracting the attention of a wild boar. When the soldiers unsuccessfully tried to fire their rifles at it, the boar broke into a run, chasing them. The soldiers continued to flee but the boar gained rapidly.
Of the four remaining SS soldiers, three were shivering and coated with frost. The leader of the patrol wasn't even cold. He tried to draw Nimue in again. This time there was a brilliant blue flash and his hand flew back.
“Merlin, if you're in skin contact, the shield doesn't intervene,” Nimue yelled above the howl of the wind.
Merlin filed that bit of information for later but he was already having difficulties maintaining his awareness split three ways. As a whirlwind formed over the ruined farmhouse, he released the high winds. Nature took over and the storm continued. Large, heavy drops of rain began to hammer down from the sky. Debris flew through the air striking wizard and soldier alike. The wizards and Gunter had shields to absorb the impacts, but of the remaining four soldiers three were taken down as chunks of wood and stone struck them with bruising impacts. The leader stared at Nimue before glancing around at the others.
He stepped back a pace and drew a grenade from his belt. He pulled the pin and clutched the lever against the body of the grenade. He glared at Merlin as if daring him to do something now, Merlin guessed it was one of the phosphorus grenades the man had referred to, gas would be swept away by the winds, and their shields were proof against a normal one.
Merlin's shield began to glow an icy blue color and he spun in place to find out why. One of the other soldiers was in a kneeling position, firing his storm rifle. The bullets were striking Merlin's shield one after the other in a continuous stream. One of the other two soldiers was also kneeling, but his rifle was on the ground beside him and he was drawing his pistol. The wind was so loud that Merlin couldn't even hear the guns firing.
One after the other the two soldiers collapsed, Merlin turned back and found Gunter scanning the area, pistol in hand. The pistol had a hint of frost on the end of its barrel, which told Merlin that Gunter had simply thrust the gun through the shield before firing it.
The leader of the SS patrol was still standing, ten feet farther away from where Merlin last saw him. Merlin focused on the grenade in the man's hands and channeled the last remnants of the high winds into a tight stream. He focused the stream on the leader's shield where it was closest to the grenade. Within seconds he was rewarded by the sight of frost forming on the grenade and the man's hand.
Good, now it'll stay there for a while, Merlin thought.
He released his grasp on the high winds and scanned the area. A small chunk of charred beam was rocking in the wind. Merlin added some force to it and directed it at the leader. It barreled through the air and struck the man's shield, driving him farther back. Merlin chose the largest pieces of debris he could see and hurled them at the man in a similar fashion, sending him tumbling head over heels, farther away from the ruins.
When Merlin judged the man was far enough away he stopped the physical assault. He sent a tiny fragment of awareness towards the man. Merlin scanned the man's thoughts and found that, as suspected, the man was a minor wizard. He carried two shields on him, a shield against magic that was always active and a physical one he could activate at will. Merlin targeted the grenade with a brief spurt of warmth and waited for the frost to disappear.
Since there were no mental shields, Merlin slid his awareness into the leader's mind. With a simple act of will, he loosened the man's grip on the grenade and it tumbled to his feet, inside his shield. Seconds later there was a flash of white light and smoke was forced out through the man's shield briefly before the shield dissipated and a large cloud of smoke was torn away by the wind.
Merlin stood staring at the bright light for several moments before tearing his eyes away. He had spots in his vision and he leaned his head back to allow for the hard rain to rinse his face and eyes.
“Back into the cellar!” he screamed.
No-one heard him, the wind was still too loud.
{Back into the cellar. Now!} he broadcast to Anselm and Nimue.
He rushed over to Gunter, who was leaning over the bodies of the dead soldiers, pointed to the sky and then to the trap door. Gunter looked aghast as he turned his eyes upwards and saw the descending maw of a tornado. He jumped to the trapdoor and opened it, holding it braced against the wind. Nimue struggled through the storm and dropped down into the basement. Gunter motioned for Merlin to follow but Merlin was looking for Anselm. He found his ex-student attempting to stand on the far side of the ruins. Anselm was supporting the guide, keeping him close enough that the young wizard could hold a shield around the two of them. Merlin ran over and hastened the two of them to the trapdoor. Merlin and Anselm assisted the guide in descending. Meanwhile Gunter was gesticulating furiously where he stood. Merlin was still on the top of the ladder when Gunter jumped in and slammed the door behind him.
“It's upon us,” Gunter said.
Gunter struggled to hold the trapdoor closed.
“We'll need to keep the trapdoor closed somehow,” Merlin answered, barely hanging onto the rungs of the ladder.
Merlin felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. Anguis formed himself into a long bar of metallic dragon and slit
hered his way into the bar holders on the trapdoor.
{I'll get that for you Merlin.} Anguis sent.
Gunter and Merlin made their way to the floor of the basement. Merlin slumped against a wall, sliding down to a sitting position.
“How's our guide?” he asked.
“Tortured but functional,” Nimue answered.
“Can you heal him?”
“Given some time I can.”
“Do it please. I don't think we're going anywhere soon.”
Merlin tipped over from his sitting position against the wall. His body sprawled on the floor as he fell into the sleep of the exhausted.
* * *
Merlin woke, slowly and painfully. Even with the minimal illumination in the basement he cringed and groaned when he opened his eyes.
“Merlin, you're awake,” Nimue said.
“I feel as though I've been run over by a truck though. I don't know how much use I'll be for a bit.”
“I hope it doesn't take too long for you to recuperate. The guide told us that he was taken while leading a group of Jews and Gypsies to this safe house to await another guide. They're holding them nearby but will ship them off soon.”
Merlin groaned.
“It's never just one thing is it? I'm going to need to eat, a lot, if I'm to be any use within the next day.”
“Reynard has offered everything they have stocked here. He says they won't be able to use this site any more.”
“Reynard?” Merlin asked.
“Our guide. I've been working on healing him as you asked. He isn't back to full health but he's already better then he was. You've been sleeping for about four hours.”
“That long? And the storm is still out there?”
“More than four inches of hail has fallen. The entire landscape is white. The wind died off a few times, but it keeps coming back. It seems to weaken each time though.”
Merlin pulled himself to a standing position.
“Let's see what there is to eat.”
After the first plate of food, Merlin slowed down his eating. Anselm and Gunter were talking as Merlin approached them.
