they walked around the throne to the back of the temple where a staircase led up into the Royal rooms above the domed ceiling. Much like the architecture from the royal palace, the ceiling was decorated with carvings to produce a grand design worthy of any house of god. His protectors enter the upper levels to the temple, and he could see through arched doors into a room, here the oval wall was painted orange and the ceiling gold. The torchlight was dispersed to illuminate their surroundings. Mars entered the room facing him was another smaller royal throne, which looked, simpler in design to the one downstairs. He noticed that the layout of the room was much more informal here, with cushions and small tables dotted around the oval suite.
‘Just what my aching bones need,’ Wolfe said breaking the silence.
‘Yes we should be able to get a goods nights rest here,’ said Sheriff.
‘But what about something to eat, my stomach’s aching?’ asked Mars who had not had a bite to eat all day.
‘Good idea, there’s a fireplace here with a spit built into the stonework. The trouble is we only have fruit, bread and water in the bags,’ Sheriff threw one of the field bags on the floor.
‘That will do for now, but we need a proper meal before we leave tomorrow,’ Wolfe said.
‘Lets get more comfortable. We all need to relax after the rigors of our journey,’ Sheriff moved over to some storage cupboards and fetched some candles, he lit and positioned them around the room before turning off the torch to his rifle. He slid the rifle strap over his head and placed it at the base of the fireplace.
‘It would be terrific if we had a fire,’ said Mars walking over to look at the chimney.
‘I think you are right, let me see what wood I can find from the perimeter of the jungle,’ said Sheriff.
Arsenal looked thoughtful before speaking. ‘This jungle has some of the best wild boar on the continent; let me see if I can hunt one down. That would give us enough food for tonight and the morning.’
‘That would be great,’ said Mars rubbing his hungry stomach.
Sheriff gathered his weapon from near the fireplace, joined Arsenal and then they both disappeared from the chamber and Mars relaxed and fell asleep.
Later that night the boy was interrupted from his dreams by a beast spit roasting, he sat up and saw the men sitting on large cushions around the fireplace. As he moved closer to, them he could feel the heat from the fire on his face. With delight, he watched the flames cook the giant boar. He stretched out his arms and watched Arsenal turn the boar with the spit, but where was Wolfe, he had disappeared?
‘’I’m Starving, how long will it take before it is ready?’ Mars asked impatiently.
Arsenal produced an army knife from under his dish dash and opened the blade out; he then rummaged in the cupboards at the back of the room to see if there were any plates. Eventually with a clatter he produced a platter, big enough to carve meat onto. When he returned to the fire, he turned the roasted pig to expose the hot rump, trying to caramelise fat into crackling. He raise his knife and pointed the blade into the tender meat of the animal, and began to cut large slices onto the platter. When there was a big pile he bent down, and placed the tray amongst the laid out bread and fruit. ‘Your dinner awaits you, please help yourself,’ he said before turning back to the spit and turning the animal to keep the meat cooking.
A few moments later as if smelling the aroma of food Wolfe returned to the royal suite, under his arm he had found two bottles of red wine. With a smile, he produced them for his colleagues to see. ‘A little beverage for tonight’s dinning, gentlemen!’ he said with a smile.
Arsenal removed the cork with his army knife, and Sheriff found some glasses to drink from; they all sat down and feasted on the practical meal before them.
‘Mars joined them and constructed the bread and meat to make a large sandwich and began to eat it far too quickly; his mouth felt dry and the bread got stuck in his throat. Mars gulped, and he could feel his eyes nearly sticking out of their sockets, as the food remained jammed in his throat.
Wolfe had no water nearby so he gave the boy his glass of red wine. Mars gulped it down to immediately relieved the pressure, the wine was rich and sweet and felt warm to his mouth, it did the trick as the food slid down into his stomach nice and gently. His dry parched mouth watered as he finished off Wolfe’s sweet wine.
‘Steady on Mars that wines vintage, it will make you feel all dizzy!’ Wolfe said.
Mars ate on and had is fill of the pork, it had been delicious, but when he stood to wander around the chamber the floor felt uneven and the room began to spin. He put his hand out on the fireplace to balance and caught the attention of the others.
‘The boys drunk, Wolfe!’ Arsenal laughed.
‘So he is, looks like he might have a hangover in the morning,’ chuckled Sheriff.
Wolfe came to the boys aid and helped him over to the chambers window. They both stood next to the small arch and took a breath of fresh air. ‘There you go Mars, breathe the fresh air, it will clear your head.’
The two of them looked out from the Temple down onto the canal. The waterfall flowed into The Lake of Kings leaving a cloud of spray above the lake. Beyond it, they could see the meandering river shimmer in the moonlight, for countless miles until it disappeared behind a riverbed full of palm trees silhouetted against the nights sky.
‘What a view, you can see the coast from up here,’ Wolfe said. They continued to marvel for another few minutes, and then Wolfe started to leave the boys side. ‘I think I’ll return to the fire it is a little chilly here.’
‘Wait, look at the light,’ Mars said to grab someone’s attention.
‘Yes I think that is Prince town you can see. The other settlement Newport is only single and double storey buildings and so the lights do not shine as brightly as the old town,’ said Arsenal as he approached them by the window.
‘That’s not what I’m talking about,’ said Mars as he looked over the side of the temple.
‘There’s a light shining inside the other building, you can see light moving in this direction,’ he said nervously.
Wolfe quickly stretched to look through the window to gain a better view. ‘Where did you see it?’
‘Down there by the ground floor window.’
Wolfe looked on intently his eyes scanning the building for any sign of movement, after a few minutes he turned to look at Mars. ‘You might have been mistaken, I can not see anything.’
Mars looked out of the arched window again and returned a puzzled look. ‘But it was there, on the lower floor, he confirmed,’ pointing at the buildings exact window. Now the two of them were leaning out of the window. Wolfe said anxiously. ‘Lets just wait a minute and watch to see if anything happens,’
Interest at the window had made Arsenal and Sheriff nervous; the two men were well trained and had much experience dealing with Jazri’s commandos. If they were going to make a fight of it, they would have to assess the enemy’s strength. Instinctively without saying a word, they gathered their weapons and took up defensive positions inside the chamber. Their rifles at the ready, they knelt in an aggressive posture taking aim at the arched door.
They waited without any sign of movement, and Sheriff began to relax a little. ‘Perhaps it was just a pilgrim saying a midnight prayer,’ he said shrugging his shoulders to Arsenal.
‘Perhaps we should check it out,’ said Arsenal, his comment a sign of a professional soldier, always thinking ahead.
Suddenly out of the corner of his eye Wolfe caught a shimmer of faint light on the first floor. ‘We’ve got company, and they seam to be making their way directly to us,’ he said as he turned to facing Arsenal and Wolfe.
‘Get the boy away from the window, and get behind the stone throne,’ said Sheriff anxiously, as Wolfe pulled out the pistol he had hidden under his dish dash. ‘Stay laying on the floor, and do not move,’ he said pointing at the boy.
Mars looked around the room and could see Wolfe and Sherif
f. Their shadows were like painted figures on the oval wall until suddenly there was only a flicker of light from the fire as the candles were blown out.
The mood like the light added to the tension in the room, a cloud of smoke from the doused candles drifted into the centre of the room. It hung there whilst they all listened and looked toward the chamber doors for any signs of the intruders.
The waiting was agonising, and eventually curiosity got the better of the boy. He left his hiding place and ventured back towards the window. He could not resist he had to see who was there.
The Shepherd
In the valley below with a view from a far, the shepherd had been watching his flock of goats wander around the meadow in front of him. He could see their outlines in the moonlight as they had a midnight graze on the lush grassland, which sustained its sustenance from the meandering river. In the distance, he could faintly hear the rumble from the waterfall at The Lake of Kings. This his favourite spot for a camp to tend to his flock because of the panoramic views which spanned out along the Crown Elevation, a series of cliffs which had a variety of waterfalls cascading them. On nights like these his life was simple and uncomplicated, the only thing that concern him was his livestock and his lively hood. He sat on a smooth boulder and held his rifle across his lap, it had been a long day, and he had travelled with his goats a distance on his way to Newport where they
Space Refugees - Star Warriors Page 10
