Book 3: “Death On Mt. Undenkhark!” Page 57
SGT. MAC MAKES A MOST MOMENTOUS DECISION
or
TURNING OF THE TIDE?
Welcome, again, most honored reader!
How much difference a few moments can make in turning the tide not only of our lives, but especially of our battles as well. Last time we saw our heroes, Bryan and Nikki, they and their friends were literally running for their lives from the vampires and other monsters. Now….well, Bryan is still running, of course, but now there may also be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Darya, as always, is prepared to throw her life away to save our young friends (as well as Lucretius and the Grey Archer) from Anasha and the other monsters. She doesn’t really stand a chance without her sword, of course, but then she may not need to fight for long anyhow.
Enter: Sgt. Mac, who having made his own fateful decision, has returned for his new friends. This has definitely evened the odds some (a vampire vs. a Sherman Tank, which is what I suspect the Thinker patterned his proto-tank on). But Mac has paid a terrible price for this decision. After all, the Thinker, that most mysterious wizard, is also a strict autocrat. If you disobey your boss, the worst to happen is that you may get fired; but if a minion of the Thinker disobeys? Hmmm…the consequences can be grim.
And we still need to contend with the Thinker’s New Magic (read: bomb) ready to destroy the arena’s arch supports, as Mac reminds us. If the ceiling collapses, it should take out the vampire and many of the other monsters too. But the rain falls on both the good and the wicked alike. Won’t the rubble fall on our heroes as well? It could be that indeed the tide will turn: the danger is that it will become a tidal wave, sweeping away friend and foe alike.
Please join me next week to find out, dear reader. Until then,
May the blessings of the Holy Cognescentii rain abundantly about you!
~The Traveller