Happy Blog Day Everyone!
Its Short Diversions time again, and I'm returning to the world of Avalon Tales thus week to have a peek at Isabelle and Robyn’s first encounter...Other than that, we have the first of two Easter themed Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz! Don't worry though, there's no continuity there, other than a theme.
Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
As I stated above, this is the first of two new Easter themed strips. The thought of a giant chick cchasing the pair was too good to pass up, even if it didn't quite come out like the vision in my head. The giant, sentient Easter egg however, came out perfect. Always do enjoy these minimal word strips. Let's see how next week's turns our!
Short Diversions: First Mission
Looking at the reception of the first Avalon Tales Short story is what led me to write this one (helps as well that I wasn't planning on writing up the first meeting of Robyn and Isabelle, at least not in the first Novella). It wasn't that bad a write for once, the words flowed quite easily.
Please enjoy!
****
The North Eastern Branch of Avalon was remarkably quiet. It’s hallways empty aside from admin and the guards that were on patrol. This was the calm before the storm, before there was a big operation, it was good practice to get the soldiers rested up. Isabelle wasn’t at rest though, she was sitting at her desk, open documents spread about before her, and a blank sheet of paper, awaiting the pen in her hand. Each file contained a picture and a brief report of the newest recruits to that particular branch. In accordance with the naming conventions within the organisation, they were the ‘Squires’, the lowest rank Avalon had, fitting next to the more common Knight and Knight Captain titles. Isabelle often wondered what possessed the leaders so long ago to adopt such a naming system, but it was entrenched, and as long as people knew what they were doing, it didn’t really matter.
Her commanding officer had put her in charge of assigning the Squires to the forthcoming operation, for many of them, this was their first live battle against the demon menace that Avalon had pledged to eradicate wherever it was found on the British Isles. It was not without risk.
“Whatcha doing?” Robyn asked as she leaned on the doorway, looking in as Isabelle sat contemplating silently.
“Ramona delegated the task of assigning the Squires to me… It’s not an easy thing to do,” Isabelle replied, understating the pressure on her. While they were supposed to have received the best training, and sometimes had been recruited from other military services that had encountered demonkind, the first battle was a test of wills, and sadly, one that was easily lost.
“I remember those days,” Robyn said with a whimsical smile. She walked over to Isabelle and hugged her, offering her comfort.
“I should hope so, it wasn’t that long ago.”
“Eight years…give or take. We were both eighteen…what a time.”
Isabelle stopped at the realisation at how much time had passed.
“That long already?” She mumbled, the words spurring memories to form, of when she was just a squire, that fateful day where she and Robyn first crossed paths…
—--
The tunnel was cramped, forcing Isabelle to move far slower than she would have liked. Still, she had her orders, and she would see them to completion. Being a lowly Squire, she had been giving a reconnaissance role, to scout out some tunnels that had been found in some woods. All she had to do was sneak in, identify any threats, and retreat so the Knight squads could do their thing.
So far, things had been quiet, in fact the tunnels could have been mistaken for relics of a by-gone age, if it wasn't for the fact they didn't exist a month prior. Isabelle stopped and looked around, using a little torch to light her way. She glanced at the map she'd been given, while the tunnels had not been mapped prior to this mission of hers, it did allow her to estimate where she currently was, and by her best guesses, she was under part of the outskirts of Manchester. Given that, she knew that the demon's lair had to be close. She found that, then it was mission accomplished.
A far off sound changed that though, a cry, a child's cry. The way it echoed through the tunnel, told her that it wasn't coming from above, but ahead of her. She froze, working out her options in her head. Per the rules that all knights, and aspiring knights had to abide by, she would have to retreat and get in contact with whoever was leading the mission, telling them what she'd discovered. Inevitable this would have then led to her being sidelined for everything that followed. However, she had joined Avalon to protect, and there was a child who needed protection. There was a tinge in her shoulder, a sensitive spot bearing the snowflake shaped scar, a reminder of that fateful accident all those years ago. She knew what such a feeling was trying to tell her, there were demons nearby. Armed with this knowledge, she pressed onward, not blind to the potential danger she was throwing herself towards, but she kept asking herself, what would her mother do? That proved enough to fend off any wayward thoughts.
The tunnel soon started going up at an angle, the child's cries getting louder and louder until Isabelle stealthy entered the ground floor of an industrial unit through a badly constructed opening. She darted behind a nearby steel pillar to get a good look at the situation.
“Bosssss” a demon hissed “Is that child enough?” The demon was small for its kind, sitting kneeling in front of a larger creature that had the head of a bulk, with ears like that of a jackal.
“Idiot! I said bring me at least four of these! I've already had to suffer the ignominy of being forced to stay here, I shouldn't suffer your stupidity as well!” The bigger demon's tongue seemed as sharp as its horns. It was this demon who was holding a small girl that was scared out of her wits. There were five smaller demons in total. All of them scurrying around, trying to avoid the bigger ones glare. Appearance wise, she recognised their more skeletal, frail frames as the more common demons that plagued the land. Their smaller size was peculiar but that didn’t matter at this point, Isabelle knew she had to get the girl to safety. Weapon wise, Isabelle wasn’t as heavily armed as she would have liked. She had a small handgun with modified rounds, and a combat knife that was meant for self defence only. She certainly didn’t have the means to kill all the demons, so she sat there trying to think what she could do.
She had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t noticed someone behind her till they put a hand on her shoulder:
“Tough one isn’t it?”
Isabelle held it together enough so she didn’t jump, but was relieved to see it was a young woman dressed the same as her. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail with a red feather placed behind her ear. She gave a concerned smile, and it was clear to Isabelle that her focus was on the demons as well, particularly the big one with the child.
“Squire?” Isabelle asked, hoping that her new friend would respond in the negative, leading to an increase in resources they could use to kill the demons.
“Yeah, first mission…Don’t tell me you’re?”
“The same? Yeah, so you’re going to be armed the same aren’t you.”
“I got this,” the brown haired girl pulled a bow from a holster on her back.
“A bow?”
“And arrows with specially modified arrowheads, some very strong specially modified arrowheads …My younger sister made them.”
Isabelle didn’t know what she wanted to question first with that statement, as she felt there was a story behind both.
“What’s your name?” she asked instead. If this was to be just the two of them, then so be it.
“Robyn, Robyn Gouzen,” Robyn replied. “You’re Isabelle Blake, right?”
“Guess you’ve heard all the rumours too then,” Isabelle sighed, turning back to the demons.
“I don’t listen to things like that. Besides, I know what it’s like to have a famous dad,” Robyn got closer, putting her head near Isabelle’s. “Though all that small talk can wait till we’ve got that girl to safety.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Isabelle admitted. Inside, she was relieved by what Robyn had said. She hadn’t been able to bond with her teammates as she would have wanted because of everything that was said about her. Her strange white hair, the fact that her father was the one in charge of Avalon. There had been so few people to reach out to her. Those that had were the Knight Master Galahad, who had taken her under his wing, and Ramona Trask who had been her trainer the year before. Now, she could add Robyn to that list.
A friendship would have to wait though, Isabelle stared at the bow on her new friend’s back, and the beginnings of a plan started to form.
“Okay, I think I know what we have to do, to ensure that the child is safe,” Isabelle said as she made sure her gun was loaded and ready to use.
“You mean, you’re not doing what we’re supposed to do and get help?” Robyn raised her eyebrow.
“That kid doesn’t have the time, and neither do we. There’s five of them, and two of us, easy odds given what I can figure out of the demons.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Trust me, get ready to act.”
“My parents told me not to trust someone I just met, but…” Robyn glanced at the demon who was now holding the child tight to his chest, with his eyes staring at her hungrily. “Guess this one time won’t hurt.”
“Good, You’ve got the best long range, so stay here, and I’m going to get their attention.”
“You’re just going to waltz right up to them?” Robyn said in disbelief.
“I said trust me didn’t I. I’m not about to die today,” Isabelle put the barrel of the gun against her face, calming her thoughts. Her eyes closed and a fraction of a second later, when they opened again, they were full of her determination. “Let’s go.”
Robyn followed Isabelle’s lead and readied her bow as Isabelle herself went from pillar to pillar, getting closer and closer to the demons. The first part of her plan involved the art of surprise. She didn’t want her targets to see her until it was too late. At the moment, the smaller demons had started pestering the big one, wanting him to share some of his food with them, even if it was just a finger or two. The conversation made Isabelle’s skin crawl. At last though, she came to the point she’d wanted, and breathed a loud sigh of relief. In part as she was certain that the girl would be safe in a moment, and also, to get the demon’s attention. At first, there was only one demon that turned its head, the skin of it’s neck stretching as it looked. Needing better results, Isabelle stepped into the open, slamming her foot down to make an impact.
“Who are you!” The large demon demanded to know, the smaller demons joined in with a chorus of the question.
“I’m a Squire of Avalon, and as such, I demand you release that child to me, unharmed, right now. By Queen and Country, I swear that she is under my protection,” Isabelle had been rehearsing a speech like that ever since she was a little girl, and discovered that her own mother was a Knight of Avalon, striving to protect everyone she could. Her mother was gone now, but Isabelle made sure she was there to take up her mantle.
“A runt like you a part of Avalon? Ha! Don’t delude yourself. You’re just another vermin who has come to die!” The demon gestured to the smaller ones who gathered round him. “You want more food? Then go and get it!”
At once, the smaller demons erupted into a feeding frenzy, they charged at her but Isabelle responded by calmly pulling out the handgun, and aiming the best she could. With a few controlled squeezes of the trigger, two demons fell, their heads being blown apart by the special ammunition.
Seeing the dissolving corpses of their allies didn't dissuade them from their berserk attack, but Isabelle found her aim increasingly shaky the closer they got, and more and more wasted ammunition fell to the floor. A nerve rattling click signalled that the gun was out of bullets, and that the demons were upon her. With no sign of panic though, Isabelle reached for the combat knife and ran forward. She used the knife to knock back the demon’s clumsy strikes, as she got closer and closer to the bigger demon, who tilted its head to observe her. The creature had probably noticed that any damage the knife was doing wasn't permanent, unlike the bullets.
“You expected to kill us with such crap tools? I’m actually insulted!” the demon licked its lips as the smaller ones rounded on her, nipping at her heels. She was so close now, a few more feet and then it’d be over. An errant thought at the back of her mind questioned if Robyn was still standing there, waiting, or if she’d fled. She wouldn’t have blamed her, but something else told her she had nothing to worry about. One of the demons grabbed at her legs, causing her trip, another grabbed the other leg. Isbabelle slashed at their arms, trying to get some freedom, but the third one stalked around her, getting ready to pounce from behind.
The deluded demon eagerly anticipated the kill, and the fresh meat it was going to feast on. It howled in victory, but it was cut short as an arrow bore through its skull, and cleared through to the other side. The demon wavered as if a tree swaying in the breeze, before it fell backwards, its body already dissolving itself to nothingness. The other two demons looked around, almost forgetting Isabelle, though the sight of an ammo clip flying through the air quickly made them snap their focus back to where it should have been, but it was too late, as Isabelle had already caught the ammo clip, and reloaded. Now, at point blank range, the two demons didn’t have much they could do to avoid their fate.
Bang-bang!
Isabelle quickly rolled out of the way as the now remaining demon went to stand on her, still clutching the child. This wasn’t how the plan was supposed to have gone. Isabelle had assumed that, like they’d been told in training, that Robyn would have aimed for the big one in the first place. Indeed, Isabelle had been counting on that, wanting to get as close to the demon as possible in order to catch the girl as he dropped her. However, the plans had changed though, it would still have the same result. All targets eliminated.
“So you had a friend waiting all along! Bet you think that you're clever!” The demon roared as it tried to grab Isabelle, who was trying to get to her feet.
“Don't you think you should be more concerned about her?” Isabelle replied, turning onto her back. As she spoke another arrow shot out, scratching the demon's shoulder as it moved to evade. He was still stubbornly clinging to the little girl, refusing to drop his prize, no matter how disappointed he'd been with her earlier. The demon eyed up the direction the arrows were coming from, having to make a decision about what to do. He narrowly avoided another arrow, this one cutting his cheek, and then he'd decided enough was enough and let out a huge roar:
“Enough of this! I am a god amongst you pests! You are beneath me! All this effort! Why? To save this thing? Give it up! This is mine!” The demon was clearly enraged now, and it surged forward, heading to where he perceived the arrows were coming from. He demonstrated a super act of speed as he made it to the pillar, and sliced through it with his free hand. The look of surprise on his face as he realised that he's caught nothing. By now Isabelle was on her feet and running at him, she emptied the other ammo clip, but only a couple of the rounds hit him in the right leg, causing him to lower. This brought him down to the right height for Isabelle to strike with the knife, using all her force to plunge it deep enough that it got stuck.
Looking at her with a bemused expression, the demon threw her off, leaving the knife where it'd stuck. Despite his injured leg, the demon was eager to continue the fight.
“That the best you got?”
“No, this is all part of the plan,” Isabelle said as she got back up.
“Plan? You planned to get beaten?”
“Not at first but I quickly got the gist.”
“What are you on about?”
“Your end,” Isabelle smiled. “Or did you think that I left my knife by accident?”
The demon stopped and looked at it the knife, still wedged in, and while the flesh was trying to heal itself, it couldn't, the foreign object keeping the wound open.
“I couldn't help but notice the arrowheads weren't being that effective against your skin, only nicking it at best…” Isabelle explained, walking around the demon slowly. The demon tried to do its best to watch her and keep an eye out for the next arrow, it ended up backing into the wall.
“How dare you!” The demon hissed, the grim realisation of why Isabelle had attacked kicked in, and with his free hand, he started trying to scratch the knife out, making an even worse mess.
Isabelle didn't know where Robyn was going to strike from, till she saw a glimpse of a flicker of metal as the light caught the arrowhead just before it was propelled forward.
“No, how dare you for attacking and murdering. How dare you for thinking you are above us. We are not here to serve your desires.”
“I’ll kill you!”
“I very much doubt that,” Isabelle replied as she took measured steps towards him. There was the distinct twang as Robyn let fly the last arrow, it soared through the air as if in slow motion, till impact. It sunk deep into the open, gaping wound, and the demon howled in pain. It finally dropped the little girl, and Isabelle was there to catch her. The demon caught hold of the arrow, and pulled out the shaft.
“What?” He asked in confusion.
“Should probably point out, that was an explosive one,” Robyn called out, not for the demons sake, but for Isabelle to get some space with the child.
“Explosive?” No sooner had the demon mouthed that word, a small ringing sound rang out from the wound, and then, it exploded. The demon fell over, half of its body ruined. It coughed up black blood that practically evaporated before it even hit the ground.
“Nice shot,” Isabelle said to Robyn as the archer came out from her hiding place. “Impressed you hit a target that small.”
“I could train you to do that,” Robyn replied with a smile and a wink.
“That's a date... But, there's something I need to do first,” Isabelle pulled out her gun, and checked it one last time. She left Robyn with the young girl and went back to the demon, who was trying to crawl away.
“Where do you think you're going?” She asked, raising the gun. The demon didn't reply, it just growled.
“I saved one shot, just for this. For Queen and Country…” she pulled the trigger, and the demon died.
“Do you think we're going to get in trouble for this?”Robyn asked.
“Probably, but we saved a life, and that's all that matters to me.” Isabelle checked the little girl over, but apart from being scared witless and a few scratches, she was okay. The three of them had moved to outside the building, where they had finally called for back up. The first aiders, once they got there, would do a more thorough examination, and then return her home, if one remained. For Isabelle and Robyn though, neither of them predicted where that encounter took their lives…
****
That's all for this week.
Till next time,
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
Quick Links
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Hubble Bubble
Harvey Duckman Presents Volume 13
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