I can't believe how fast these past two weeks have gone. Or that it's now July. Where has all the time gone!
I've actually been writing again, haven't finished a new chapter but its a start. I forsee a mad rush in my future to get things finished but...nothing new there eh?
There is something I want to try out for next week mind, which will either reignite my writing passion, or give me a bigger headache. Take your bets now which one it'll be.
One thing I didn't keep notice of, is that apparently I'm well over two hundred blog posts since I very first started! Should have probably paid attention to that sooner. I'll just have to make sure I do a proper celebration when we reach the 200th issue of the Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz! Far easier to track that!
Speaking of that pair though...
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
In case anyone is wondering, this strip is a sequel to this one from over three years ago.
I had several different ideas with this one, some of which may end up in a hypotension 3rd strip. No good ideas are ever left to waste!
Short Diversions: Avalon Tales Chapter 9
With new resolve, Isabelle runs off to make her own choice regarding the mission, and the threat. What of the other Avalon personnel though? Will Robyn sit tight not knowing what happened with Isabelle? What agenda does Cade have? What secrets will be revealed now?
Read on to find out!
Avalon Tales Chapter Index
Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Their Choices
Robyn was sitting uneasy, she’d been told everything that had happened to Isabelle, about her survival from Isabelle’s dad which was a complete surprise to even hear his voice, and then she was informed about her being sent back to headquarters by an irate Ramona. None of this would have been too bad if it wasn’t for the next edict that came down from Rainer himself, who had been insisting that he was still in charge of the operation. That one was that for now, they must all operate in complete radio silence, relying on visual directional cues to give further orders. She knew Isabelle too well not to know that she’d be dwelling on everything that had happened. She needed to talk to her, but instead, she found herself stuck on a rooftop overlooking Highdale’s high street, which was nowhere near the operational area.
Her squad had welcomed the change in scenery, joking about how they could just skip the job and head to the pub, but to Robyn, it added to the already sketchy nature of that evening's operation. Hearing that Leo and his retinue was mixed up in all of this didn’t come as much as a surprise to her considering what Rei had relayed to her before the radio silence rule came into effect. In fact, she had to consider whether the two were related.
She looked through her binoculars, ostensibly looking for the demons that Rainer had proclaimed would be driven from the industrial area. What she was really looking for was Ramona, she felt like out of all the higher ups, she was the only one that was listening, despite having her own hands tied up theoretically speaking. She was so busy looking down that she didn’t notice that superior officer had already made the short climb up to her position, only becoming aware when she heard her two subordinates quickly falling over themselves to salute.
“Knight Master Ramona ma’am!” They said, practically falling over themselves.
“At ease, gentlemen,” Ramona said, dismissing them with a wave before addressing Robyn. “What an evening eh?”
Robyn offered a salute, but the tone that Ramona was using didn’t sit well with her.
“What an evening? What an evening! How can you say that considering what happened? All that talk about this being a routine operation were just bullshit weren’t they?”
“I get that you’re angry with what's happened with Isabelle, and I am too! She’s one of my best soldiers and they just tossed her away! The threat level here has just been elevated yet those idiots in charge are limiting our forces. This isn’t how things should be run,” Ramona looked as though she wanted to scream in frustration, and Robyn got that, but that didn’t help any such way.
“So what? I’m just to lie back and accept it? Isabelle needs me, and I’d rather be sorting that mess out rather than sitting here!”
“You do realise that’s why I came here to talk to you, right? None of this has sat right with me, and if there’s anything I can do to try and make things better, I’m going to take it. Even if that means going over the heads of people who have their heads stuck up their arses,” Ramona walked around Robyn till she was standing next to her, facing out over Highdale.
“And how are you going to make it better?”
“By relieving you of duty of course! I mean, you look like you might have a really bad cold, can’t have you infecting everyone with your horrible germs can I? So you run along, maybe try and catch your beloved Izzy before she gets taken away. I’ve got more than enough hands on deck here to make short work of any demon that tries to get in our way.”
“I don’t have a cold though?”
“If anyone asks me, yes you do.”
“And my squad here?” Robyn gestured to her two team members who were doing their best to sound like they weren’t listening in on everything.
“They can join my team, three man squads were a stupid idea anyway, and I don’t know why Rainer insisted on them so much. Either way, you’re free to go and don’t worry, you’ll still get paid for the time,” Ramona winked.
“Are you sure about this? I can’t say that either Rainer or the Lord Commander is going to be happy with this.”
“You leave them to me, this ain’t my first rodeo don’t you know, now go before I change my mind at how nice I’m being.”
“Wait, what’s going on?” one of Robyn’s squad mates asked.
“I’m in charge now, so you’re going to do what I say, got it?” Ramona said addressing them.
“Thank you,” Robyn said as she sorted her gear out.
“You’d better hurry up if you’re going to catch Isabelle, her transport isn't too far away from what I can tell.”
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Robyn took off without as much as a second glance.
“Where’s the knight captain going though?” she heard one of the others say, and although she couldn’t hear Ramona’s reply clearly, she was certain that he was put in his place just as fast.
Hopping down to the street from the makeshift rope ladder, Robyn quickly found her bearings, she knew it was only about a ten minute walk from where she was to the industrial park, and then a short walk from there to where Isabelle had been told to wait. Annoyingly, she knew there wasn’t a direct short cut which would make things easier.She ran the length of the alley way till she reached the part where it met an offshoot of the high street. From there, she kept a controlled pace while there were other people around. She checked her watch and was surprised to see it wasn’t even eleven yet. She let out a sigh knowing that her bed was still far away, but there were other concerns that needed more focus right now. She tried to keep away from people where she could, not wanting anyone to have a close look at what she was carrying. After a tense period and a lot of unwanted attention, she made it out of the high street, and thus, out of the current operation zone. Looking back, she spotted her squad still on that rooftop, now joined by Ramona and a couple of others. There was doubt in her head about her decision, being part of Avalon meant she had a duty to fulfil, she should have still been over there watching out for demons, especially at times like this when the threat was greater, but at the same time, she couldn’t leave Isabelle like this. She turned her back to her comrades, and continued on, through the streets that slowly shifted to the industrial area. Even though she wasn’t supposed to enter, she couldn’t help but peek through the fence as she passed, she couldn’t see anything going on but could see plenty of evidence that something was going on, as the ground was broken in many places and there was bullet holes visible.
“If you’re looking for anything in there, you won’t find anything you’re looking for,” Cade said as he approached from behind.
“Cade? I mean, Knight Inquisitor Anderson! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the thick of it with the Lord Commander and Master of Arms?” Robyn asked, managing to keep her composure.
“I’ve had other matters to take care of, and I’ve been in contact with your sister…” Cade pointed to the receiver in his ear, a type Robyn had never seen before. At that moment, Cade’s face twisted as a burst of noise was heard, Robyn didn’t even need to hear it to know it was her sister. “She wants to talk to you…” Cade took the receiver out and handed it over. Robyn put it in, and the minute she did, she was subjected to the same rant that Cade had to endure.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL PLAYING AT OVER THERE! FIRST YOU TAKE THE WRONG BLOODY EQUIPMENT, THEN YOU TURN OFF ALL THE SODDING RADIOS!” Rei’s voice came in as worse than the harshest static.
“Hi sis, it’s lovely to talk to you again too. Also, haven’t we already had this conversation when I told you to tell Izzy?” Robyn questioned.
“It was worth repeating as it’s clear that something very stupid has infected everyone over there.”
“Well, I’m not going to argue with that, but are you really calling Izzy’s dad stupid?”
“Yes, clearly I am, as he ignored my advice!”
“Your advice?”
“Yes, why am I repeating things? Don’t tell me you’re going stupid too!”
“No, you’re just really bad at explaining things! Let’s start over, do you know why the Lord Commander is here?” Robyn changed how she referred to Isabelle’s dad as she could feel Cade’s stare drilling a hole in her head.
“He rang me earlier asking why I’d authorised the Holy Grail being moved from the main headquarters and took it to Scotland. I replied ‘that was absolutely crazy, as I’d hadn’t done anything like that’. He and his team left to intercept the convoy and retrieve the Holy Grail but those demons got it first! Then, to make matters worse, they bore down on that place you ended up.”
“Okay, I know I said let’s start over, but I’m already lost, what the hell is the Holy Grail in this context? Not the actual Holy Grail right?”
“Please save all questions to the end, ‘kay? So, the situation as it stands right now, is that the Lord Commander Dimwit is running around with his team trying to retrieve the Holy Grail, Master of knobheadedness Rainer is doing something, and I can’t contact anyone because it’s clear that someone in the middle of all this is screwing everyone else over!”
Robyn was left speechless at the accusation at the end. The way her sister had dropped it so brazenly.
“Look, I know it’s okay to be in awe of me, but please keep it brief, we’ve got a lot to do tonight, and I need you to focus, got it?” Rei stated calmly.
“Me? You’ve basically just told me that there’s a traitor in our midst without any explanation and now you’re telling me to focus? Not to mention all this talk of a Holy Grail! You’re lucky you're not in front of me right now!”
“Good grief, you’re the one wasting time! Yes, I suspect there’s a traitor there as that’s what Cade was doing you dummy! Looking at your branch was just a cover story so no one questioned things. Plus look at it, someone deliberately picks the wrong scanners up, someone leads everyone into a trap while a major crime happens nearby. I know you’re not one for movies but, come on!”
Robyn looked over at Cade, who stood with his patience wearing thin as he overheard each and every outburst.
“Any ideas on who the traitor is?”
“Nope, I’m letting Cade deal with that, I’m trying to straighten everything else out from where I am.”
“...And the Holy Grail?”
“You didn’t hear this from me as it’s well above your pay grade, but it’s a special formula that Avalon created. It was first created centuries ago but for a niche use that I definitely can’t talk about, bloody promises and all that. I’ve been tinkering with it to turn it into a more general healing agent for normal people, which I think is what was stolen, the bastards. Either way, we don’t want it in the demon’s hands, er, I mean claws.”
“Must be important if the Lord Commander personally went after it.”
“Right, are you sorted now? As time is ticking before something serious happens.”
“I was going to get Izzy first to be fair, I’m literally on my way to her.”
“Well, good news for you as according to the tracking devices that all your communication devices have on them, she’s on her way to you, or at least the area you’re currently in.”
“Wait, what? Are you sure?” Robyn shouted out, then she realised what her sister had just admitted to. “Tracking devices…really?”
“Shush, I like to make sure that I know where those I care about are. The first task is the three of you get together, then, according to my sensors, the great source or demonic activity is right near you, you’ll probably find the Holy Grail there, not to mention the traitor. Should you find that particular individual, please give them a damn good hiding from me. Those twats have given me a headache tonight. I’ll leave things in your hands okay? Be safe sis.” With that Rei signed off.
Robyn took the receiver out and handed it back to Cade.
“So, it looks like we’re buddies, Mr Knight Inquisitor.”
“It appears so, I suppose we’re meeting up with the Knight Major then.”
“You can call her by her name you know, and yes. Looks like the night isn’t through with us after all.” Robyn was putting on a brave face but what her sister had said had unnerved her. A traitor in Avalon’s midst, and the taking of the Holy Grail. She didn’t know what the demons they were facing were, or what plans they could have with it, but that someone who wore their uniform would gladly sell out their own kind.,, I left a bad taste in her mouth.
“Come on,” She said to Cade, facing the industrial area once more. “Let’s go find Izzy.”
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Next Chapter (not live yet!)
Phew! That's your lot for this week! We're over half way through now, so expect things to heaf up as we push forward! Should be an interesting in-between post next time, so please keep an eye out for that!
Till then...
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
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