Quest of Oblivious Page 3

  'No, but don't hang around too long as the police might get curious', instructed Flame.

  Paddy sighed in relief.

  'But they have the diamond', said Jack.

  'Don't worry, it's all going according to plan', said King Flame and with that the line went dead.

  'Better get out of here then, it's going to get pretty busy soon and I'm not sure I understand what just happened', said Paddy as he and Jack made from the exit.

  As they left the building Jack could have sworn he saw a familiar black shape out of the corner of his eye.

  'What?' said Paddy, noticing Jack's glance.

  'Nothing, thought I saw someone', replied Jack, shaking his head.

  'Let's go find something to eat, I'm starving', said Paddy.

  Chapter 9 - The world falls down on Atlas

  Thor and Atlas had encountered some minor problems with the local constabulary but nothing that Jenny or a bit of stomping on heads could not resolve. It would probably take Dublin some time to recover and those that witnessed the general acts of carnage and mayhem would probably relegate what they saw to the 'unidentified' compartments of their memories.

  Luckily for Thor and Atlas, and Dublin as well no doubt, Oblivious had arranged an escape route along the Liffey. As soon as they made it to the riverbank they jumped straight in and were able to make it to a rendezvous point where there was carefully concealed sub aqua gear as well as an underwater dive craft. Thor and Atlas were not the most graceful of swimmers, especially Thor who kept sinking to the bottom with the weight of Jenny, but they were fast, especially once they figured out how to start the dive craft which propelled them along like a mini torpedo.

  When they arrived back to Oblivious they marched straight to the library dripping water all over the carpets.

  'You better have good news or I'll have to kill you for destroying my Persian rug', greeted Oblivious as he toyed with the handle of the cutlass that hung from belt.

  Atlas held out the diamond that he had been safely carrying in his giant pocket.

  'We did good boss', he said.

  'Very good indeed', said Oblivious as he delicately took the diamond in both hands.

  It was certainly large enough he thought, but lighter than expected.

  Already Oblivious had cleared the table and made the preparations for the invocation to release the powers from the diamond of Osiris. The Scroll of Ra had been place on a music stand so that it could be read with ease. Oblivious placed the diamond on the table and stood behind the scroll to read the spell. He held out both arms and shut his eyes. He had read and reread the scroll many times now and pretty much had the incantation by heart. He began, hitting each syllable deliberately and with great energy. But nothing happened. He repeated the procedure but again nothing happened.

  Thor and Atlas who had not been excused and were mildly curious as to what would happen should Oblivious unleash the power of the diamond, looked at each other in confusion.

  'This is most strange', said Oblivious as he picked up the diamond. 'I wonder', he said and he took out his cutlass from the scabbard that hung at his side. In it handle sparkled many jewels, rubies, sapphires and diamonds. Oblivious ran the handle against the diamond of Osiris.

  'Damn', he shouted. He held up the Diamond of Osiris, which had been clearly scored by the diamonds on his cutlass handle.

  'This is a fake', he roared as he flung the diamond to the ground where it bounced dully and slid under a bookcase. With his other hand still firmly on the handle of his cutlass he raised the sword and jerked his entire arm to unleash a bolt of lighting which traveled across the room and hit Atlas squarely in the chest. Atlas flew back with the force of the bolt and crashed against the back wall. The sounding of the thud was deafening as Atlas' mighty but now most definitely smoldering and dead bulk fell to the floor.

  Lord Oblivious turned his cutlass to Thor, he paused for a moment and then shouted, 'That was for the rug, now get out before I lose my good mood'.

  It had been foolish to kill Atlas but Oblivious could not tolerate failure and this was one time too many for the strongman.

  Flame, thought Oblivious, I should have killed him when I had the chance.

  Chapter 10 - Hunting season begins

  Paddy and Jack were due to return home that day but instead took in a detour to the ancient grave of Fionn mac Cumhaill. As they paid in the man behind the counter looked at them curiously.

  'We're you two not here the other day?' he asked

  'Indeed we were,' replied Paddy.? 'It's such an amazing place, can't get enough of it'.

  'Well, that's great to hear, we don't get too many return visitors within the same week', he said, not quiet sure whether to believe Paddy or not.

  'I'm doing a project on stone age graveyards so we might need to come back a few more times', said Jack, thinking quickly on his feet.

  'That will be a very interesting project and, if that's the case there's no need to pay as we certainly wouldn't want to discourage learning', said the man as he handed over two complimentary entrance tickets.

  'Thanks', said Jack as he took the tickets.

  'Yes, thanks' repeated Paddy who had stood silent and impressed at Jack's ingenuity.

  Once in the tomb Jack knew instantly what to do and they were inside the base in no time at all, moving quickly down the corridor to the nerve centre. Inside King Flame was speaking with Ajnin.

  'We came as fast as we could', started Jack. 'The two big guys we told you about got the diamond'.

  'There really was nothing we could have done', continued Paddy. He wasn't sure why they felt so guilty and responsible for the loss of the diamond. A couple of days ago it had merely been an interesting artefact to see in a museum.

  'Please, don't worry', said King Flame. 'Without your help we would not have even known where to find the diamond.'

  'But Lord Oblivious has it now, isn't he going to use it to become even more powerful' asked Jack. 'Shouldn't we be doing something?'

  'You are very brave young Jack and we will do something very shortly. Luckily, thanks to the skills of Ajnin we are in no immediate danger'.

  This cue suddenly triggered something in Jack's memory, 'you were there weren't you?'.

  'Yes', replied Ajnin. 'But how did you know, my powers of stealth make me practically invisible to he human eye'.

  'Perhaps to the normal human eye, Ajnin, but our friend Jack here is not the common garden variety human. Well spotted Jack. This was the reason I wanted you to go, to see if your powers could detect Ajnin. As you noted, he was there and just in the nick of time to switch the diamond' said King Flame as he produced the Diamond of Osiris from under his cloak.

  'That's a relief', said Paddy out loud. He had been growing increasingly nervous since the theft of the diamond that an evil Lord Oblivious with unlimited power would most probably be a bad thing for the world.

  'We have the real diamond and we will keep it here for safe keeping until we can destroy the scroll of Ra' said King Flame.

  'But Lord Oblivious has the Scroll of Ra. How will you find him?' inquired Jack.

  'The beauty of the plan is that the fake diamond is also a tracking device. Ajnin, if you could locate the base we shall prepare our assault' said Flame. Ajnin turned behind him to the bank of computers and with great ease and finesse he hit a series of consoles and buttons in order. A blinking red dot appeared on a monitor overhead.

  'Ajnin, call up the troops and ready the drill porter, we've got some payback to deliver', said King Flame. He could not help but smile a little.

  Chapter 11 - Gnome place like gnome

  Thor had never really been frightened before but having seen Lord Oblivious kill his only friend in front of him had kindled some foreign emotions. Never having experience such feelings before he could not identify them, but to anyone else it could simply have been described as sadness. So when Lord Oblivious summoned him to the library again to
give him new instructions he did not want to point out the flashing light coming from underneath one of the bookcases.

  * * *

  Ajnin manipulated the drillporter with the finesse of a seasoned maestro, making minute and almost imperceptible adjustments that allowed the craft to move silently along the subterranean tracks. Jack and Paddy sat directly behind him, Jack enjoying every minute, Paddy wincing at each turn as Ajnin headed straight for sheer rock face and then slipped away and around corners with the slightest of margins.

  King Flame held the tracking device in his hands. It had all the appearances of an ancient stone tablet but nothing could have been further from the truth as contained within the granite was the latest in touch screen technology. Flame was using the tracking beacon in the fake diamond to pinpoint Lord Oblivious's lair, while also navigating the best route through the Gnomes network of tunnels. The three dimensional modeling and graphics were well beyond the latest technology available above ground. King Flame noticed Jack's interest, 'I bet you'd like one of these chips in your Play Station 3?!'.

  'If the gnomes released their own console they would have the whole games market in the morning', said Jack.

  'What makes you think that they don't already' said Flame.

  'You mean...' started Jack.

  'I mean', interrupted Flame, 'that all this costs money and sometimes we have to release selective bits of technology to fund our operation'.

  'So if you need to rebuild your base - does that mean that the Play Station 4 is going to be even better?'

  'Now that would be telling' said King Flame with more than a smirk on his face. 'Now, if you'll excuse me I must give Ajnin some directions. 'At the Kiltimagh Junction you'll want to head for the Lough Corrib exit, we'll take the Galway Bay route - that should be the quickest'.

  'Roger that' replied Ajnin with unusual loquaciousness. He was in a good mood at the prospect of dishing out some revenge.

  Krator, who had been engrossed in oiling his shotgun and filling it with buckshot, perked up when he heard the instructions.

  Spike had also been busy on his console, communicating with other squadron leaders from around the country. 'I'll radio in the coordinates to the reinforcements. Do you have a final position for our attack?' he enquired.

  'I do' said King Flame. 'Have the troops meet us at the entrance to the Aillwee caves'.

  * * *

  At the same moment, deep within the Aillwee caves themselves Lord Oblivious was searching for a means to track King Flame. He had instructed Thor and Revelent to lean on every spy and source that they had in order to locate King Flame's new base. He was sure he would have a backup station as it would be unlike Flame not to plan for every eventuality. But there was something that did not feel right. He couldn't put his finger on it but at the same time he couldn't shake the feeling that the pendulum was swinging back in his direction.

  Chapter 12 - Krator makes a crater

  The Aillwee caves had once been ancient river and so was naturally already part of the Gnomes web of tunnels. Lord Oblivious was aware of this but even with his power was unwilling to tackle the Gnomes head on. What he did not know however, was King Flame's incredibly advantageous deal with the Gnomes. If he did he would have destroyed the landing platform at the very least. It was somewhat derelict as it not been used in some time - Lord Oblivious not really being one for callers. Even so, King Flame, Ajnin, Spike, Krator, Jack and Paddy were all able to alight with ease.

  King Flame turned to Jack and Paddy once they had cleared the platform and were walking through the cave structure.

  'Just up ahead there is a viewing area. I want you to remain there and radio through what you see. This will be an essential part of our attack and once further inside the caves, the spaces become confined and difficult to see. We need informed vantage points. Do you think you can do that?' he asked.

  'Absolutely', replied Jack.

  'I'm counting on your powers of perception Jack', said King Flame and with that the remaining party walked deeper into the caves, the glow of their flashlight gradually fading.

  Spike had sent the coordinates on their approach and nearly all the support troops had massed outside the entrance to the caves. Luckily it was a feast day and all public attractions were closed, including the caves, so there were no tourists or visitors about.

  'King Flame, give the word and I will inform the squadron leaders', said Spike.

  'Very good. According to the tracking device Lord Oblivious's chamber should be just through the next series of bends. Instruct the leaders to take up advance positions inside the cave' said Flame.

  'I'll go ahead and clear the way if you don't mind', said Krator as he moved to point position. He was moving swiftly to the entrance and pumped the load action of his shotgun for good measure. It gave a reassuring click as the cartridges were loaded into the chamber.

  As they rounded the final bend Krator spotted the faint outline of a door. 'Here I take it?' he asked.

  'Yes, just behind..' started King Flame as Krator blew the hinges off the door. Spike took that as the cue to call in the reinforcements and commence the attack.

  The door fell away with a thud, immediately alerting Lord Oblivious. An attack he thought, but how? He had no time to dwell on such things. He must make a swift escape. There was a pod located on the upper storey of the complex that ejected into a nearby lake. He made his way to his personal elevator within the library. Just as the ping sounded to announce the lift's arrival the main door exploded inwards and King Flame stood in the smoldering door frame.

  'Going somewhere?' he said to Oblivious.

  'After I finish with you', he replied.

  Flame shot a jet of fire straight at Oblivious who managed to duck in time and unleash a bolt of lighting, which hit the wall immediately to the left of the King. Flame moved further into the room and began torching the bookcases. It pained him to destroy any learning but nothing of Oblivious' could survive. Lord Oblivious fired out lightning bolts left and right with no real direction, his cutlass waving about wildly in the air. One of his shots rebounded and it wasn't until he heard the creaking that he turned to see a burning bookcase fall on him. By now the library was engulfed in fire. Shouts and shots could be heard throughout the base as the attack was fully under way. King Flame covered his face with his hand from the heat in the room and backed out. He met Spike who been involved in a long battle with Revelent but lost him somewhere in the caves.

  'There are hundreds of tunnels and secret caverns. I suggest we moved out and detonate a remote charge.' said Spike.

  'Agreed, let's move out', said King Flame. 'I don't think there is much more to be achieved here now.'

  Chapter 13 - This is the end my friend

  Jack and Paddy had watched the battle unfold from their vantage point above the main cave. At first they could only hear garbled screams and the odd rifle shot. However, as the battle progressed more and more soldiers spilled out. They had seen Thor captured by Ajnin and Krator. They recognised him from the museum robbery. He had been clearing a path through the Guardspider people whom he had brushed aside very easily with his hammer. Krator had stood fearlessly in front of him firing barrel-loads of buckshot while Ajnin aimed throwing stars at his knees. Eventually Thor had stumbled and once he was on the ground the Guardspider people had quickly spun hundreds of very fine but incredibly strong webs around him. Even with all his strength his was unable to budge underneath the constraints.

  Jack heard the order to move out in his ear. It was Spike's voice saying that they were to move to more secure positions outside. To take any prisoners with them and they would blow the caves remotely.

  'Let's go', said Paddy, who had heard the same order.

  'We should wait until the last person leaves, we don't want to miss anyone', pleaded Jack.

  'We'll wait two more minutes and then we go', conceded Paddy.

  The exit from the cave was swift and efficient.
The Guardspider people bound up the prisoners and carried them on their backs to the exit. It took nearly twenty Spiderspeople to move Thor alone.? King Flame and Spike were the last to leave. Spike busy placing the charges. He was an expert in explosives and knew just where to place the mines in order to cause the precise amount of destruction required to seal off Lord Oblivious's base.

  As soon as they left Paddy turned to Jack and pulled his sleeve, 'that's it, we're out of here too'.

  'Okay', said Jack, who still wanted to man his post. As he got up to leave he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. It was a blur, but definitely something moving down near the caves.

  'There was something there', he said.

  'Well, whatever it is it's not going to last long as they're about to blow the cave.

  'Looked like a bat', said Jack.

  'Bats do live in caves, shouldn't be that unusual', said Paddy.

  'I know, but there was something different about that one', replied Jack.

  'Let's go, no more discussing', said Paddy, and he grabbed Jack firmly by the arm and they both ran as quickly as they could to catch up with King Flame and Spike.

  When they did catch up Jack told Flame about what he thought he had seen.

  'We need to make sure the Lord Oblivious and his cult do not survive. Let's finish this once and for all', he instructed Spike.

  'Ten more metres and we should be safe enough to detonate', said Spike.? 'I'll arm the charges.'

  With that Spike began tapping instructions into the tablet he was carrying under his arm.

  'Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Fire in the hole.' Spike hit the console with two sharp strokes. There was a definite stillness and then the sound of popping and the even greater sound of violent explosions. The cave shook and some stalactites that had been hanging from the ceiling of the cave for centuries gave way and crashed to the floor.

  Luckily they were close to ground level at this point and it wasn't long before they were out in the open again breathing in the fresh air of a fine Spring day.

  Meanwhile, one mile away on a lakes that was fed by an underground stream that ran through the very same caves a human form crawled through the reeds to its muddy banks. On its shoulder was what appeared to be a bat.