The Fountain Pen

I don’t know what happened today. I took the day off. I intended on writing at least 4,000 words. I got a good night’s sleep; my wife let me sleep in until 9. I could not concentrate on my novel. Despite the abundant sleep I even took a nap in the afternoon. I broke my habit: I tried to write during the day, rather than the evening. When I did start writing at my usual time the words flowed better. Things were less forced and I made better progress.

Despite my slow start and underwhelming progress I did manage nearly 2,400 words, most of which is a rather protracted fight scene. I didn’t anticipate the fight lasting as long as it has. I’ll end it soon, as this is not the climax of the story. Until then you’ll have to wait and see just what happens. Again, I am starting this evening’s excerpt with some context from last time.

Joe wiped his brow. “Nevertheless I need to get back home. I need some kind of normalcy right now.” Joe looked from Ignatius to Katarina. “What is our next move?”

“We still need to find the rest of the binding if we are to unravel it,” Ignatius sighed. “That will take some time. We don’t know how many different pieces there are to this one, nor where they are hidden.”

“I thought Mortimer was able to get us a list of locations,” Joe said.

“He did,” Katarina replied. “But as we found out at Mission Mill not all of them are related to your predicament.”

“So we just need to keep looking then,” Joe said with finality.

“It’s getting late,” Katarina countered. “We are losing daylight and we all need some rest.”

“I’ll rest when I get back to my home,” Joe practically growled.

Katarina looked to Ignatius who only shrugged. “There was another location nearby, in Bush Park. We can try there while we still have some light,” Katarina suggested.

“Great. Let’s go,” Joe said, launching himself off the bench and out of the gazebo.

“Do you know where you are going?” called out Katarina as she hurried after him.

“Nope,” Joe called out. “But I expect you’ll show me the way,” he turned around showing a big grin on his face. “Come on, we’re losing daylight, and I’d like to be home now.”

Katarina took the lead, walking them out the way they came in, past the now quiet and nearly dark house, and back to the sidewalk. Taking a left she practically marched up the street.

“I take it that’s the park up ahead?” Joe asked upon noticing the expanse of forested land on their left, continuing off into the distance. Katarina nodded. “It seems like a rather large park,” Joe said, worry creeping into his voice.

“It’s a 90 acre park,” Katarina confirmed.

“Please tell me you have some idea where in the park we are headed,” Joe pleaded.

Katarina nodded at the tall oak trees looming over them. “I suspect it’s one of these trees.”

Joe looked crestfallen. “There must be hundreds of trees.”

“Aye,” confirmed Ignatius. “But we need only concern ourselves with the old ones.”

“They all look old,” Joe pointed out.

Ignatius chuckled. “I suppose they do. I have a fair idea where we need to go,” he said, veering off the sidewalk and into a wooded parking lot. “I think you’ll find it’s this way.”

Joe followed Ignatius without a word, and plunged into the darkening woods after him. The trees stood proud and tall, and sheltered those within their care not only from the sun, but also from the hustle and bustle of life outside the park. There was a quiet and stillness lingering in the forest. It was inviting and lulled people into a sense of safety. As if to prove the point a pair of squirrels ran chittering toward the trio, stopping a short distance from them, and stood on the hind legs, as if begging for food.

“I am sorry dear friends,” Katarina said to the squirrels, “but we do not have any food today.”

The squirrels cocked their heads at this, chittered to each other, then scampered up the nearest tree and vanished from sight.

“Tame squirrels,” Joe commented.

“They’ve come to trust that people are generally kind and giving,” Katarina said.

The came upon a jogging trail in the midst of the trees. Ignatius walked onto it, paused, then strode deeper into the dark forest.

Noticing how dark the forest was getting, Joe was about to ask if either Ignatius or Katarina had a flashlight with them when Ignatius stopped short. He crouched down and motioned that Joe and Katarina should do the same. Joe looked frantically around but saw nothing.

“What is it,” Joe whispered to Ignatius.

Ignatius shook his head then waved vaguely at Joe, who understood Ignatius to mean he should remain silent. Katarina placed a comforting hand on Joe’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. After a moment Ignatius stood up, saying, “I thought I heard something up ahead. Must have been a squirrel.” He shrugged. “This way,” he said, continuing deeper into the gloom.

They walked for a short distance then came upon a small playground nestled in and amongst the trees. There was a single toddler swing standing alone, just off the path, a mere short distance from a slide and a set of swings and a picnic table.

“Seems like an odd place to put a kiddie playground,” Joe said in hushed tones. “If I were a kid I wouldn’t want to play here.”

A cry split the stillness of the moment. Ignatius dropped to one knee, hand outstretched menacingly, pointing off into the gloom of the forest. Katarina moved to stand between Joe and the origin of the cry, then pulled him down to a crouch, whispering to him, “Keep your head down.”

Joe cowered on the ground, crouching, and cursing himself for hiding behind a girl. “What is it?” Joe hissed. “What do you see?”

“Nothing,” Katarina whispered back.

Another cry assailed them, followed by the muffled sounds of a skirmish. Dim sounds of wood clashing against wood wound its way through the forest, followed shortly by cries of victory and painful defeat. A sickening thud sounded just ahead, and a small round object fell to the ground. Joe panicked. “Please don’t tell me that’s a human head,” he whimpered into Katarina’s ear.

A dark, vaguely human shape, bearing what looked to be a menacing knife, or sword, loomed out of the forest, causing Joe to cringe, but he could not look away. It was bad enough to be hiding behind a girl, he would not look away. As the figure drew closer Joe saw it was a young man brandishing a stick wrapped in foam and duct tape. Stooping down he picked up a dripping wet foam ball, which he brandished with a certain viciousness. Turning around he let out a fierce, bellowing war cry, the thew the ball back the way he came and ran forward, his improvised sword extended before him.

Ignatius relaxed and stood up. Joe and Katarina did the same.

“Is that what I think it was?” Joe asked.

“There’s a group of guys who engage in live action role playing round about here in the park,” Ignatius said. “I expect that was what I had heard before.”

“You’ve got those guys out here too?” Joe asked. “I ran into a few of their kind back in college. If you ask me they aren’t all there.”

The woods echoed with a series of battle cries. Joe smirked. “You know, they would sound more frightening if they weren’t so few.”

A branch above Joe’s head rang out with a loud crack and came crashing down. Joe dove out of the way just before it slammed into the ground, where he had just been standing. Picking himself up off of the ground he looked at the fallen limb and saw one end was charred black. About to call attention to this detail Joe looked to Katarina and Ignatius and saw an onslaught of dark figures running towards them. Too late, Joe realized they were under attack.

“Stay down!” Katarina shouted at Joe as the trees around them erupted in a cacophony of loud cracks and explosions. Joe’s head reeled as he realized they were being ambushed. Looking up into the trees he saw branches burst into sudden flame, then just as suddenly extinguish as they came crashing down to the ground. Katarina held her hands aloft and braced herself for impact. The branches and limbs sped toward the trio, and to Joe’s utter astonishment careened off an invisible barrier, sliding safely down away from them.

Ignatius, standing only a few feet in front of Katarina, flung his arm out toward the fallen limbs. Making a fist with his outstretched arm he made a grand sweeping gesture bringing his harm straight in front of him, then opened his fist. A thick limb flew off the ground and hurtled itself with great force toward the onrushing figures. There were a few cries of surprise, and few muffled curses, as the limb crashed into two of the figures with a resounding clangor of wood against metal. Ignatius repeated the gesture sending yet another limb hurtling at another pair of figures who, this time expecting resistance, ducked behind trees, the limb crashing to the ground somewhere off in the distance.

“They’ve got mages!” someone bellowed from the attacking party.

“They can’t attack what they can’t see,” came a faint reply. As if someone flipped a switch the woods outside the playground became impenetrably dark. Tendrils of inky blackness flicked into the playground at the edges, as if the sudden darkness were alive and searching. Ignatius, crouching low to the ground, drew a series of figures in the debris on the forest floor. With a quick exhalation of breath the woods around them were suddenly populated with baseball sized floating spheres of blue-white light. The light revealed a stygian thing winding its way through the trees, gently embracing cloaked figures slowly advancing.

Joe looked all around them, looking for a line of retreat, but finding none called out, “We’re surrounded.”

Katarina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her lips began to move ever so slightly, though no sound came out, then in a sudden motion she exhaled and slammed her hand into the ground, palm first, fingers splayed wide. The instant her hand touched the ground an invisible wave of force ripped through the air, passing harmlessly through Ignatius and Joe. It sped through the forest tearing through the stygian tendrils, reducing them to nothing more than an incoherent black mist, and slammed into the cloaked and robed figures with such force that many were knocked to the ground.

A lone figure, brought down to one knee by Katarina’s attack, launched himself at Ignatius with a wild cry. Rushing toward Ignatius he passed under one of the spheres of light and Joe saw his face. “It’s the same kid as before,” he hissed in shocked warning. Where before the young man was waving a padded stick, Joe now saw he was brandishing a polished blade of steel, and wore a small wooden shield on his other arm.

Ignatius, aware of his onrushing attacker, remained crouched until his opponent was nearly upon him. Shifting his weight to one side he lunged with his feet and threw himself under the swing of the sword. As the sword arched to the ground harmlessly behind Ignatius, he brought his open palm up into the chest of his assailant. There was a sudden bright flash of angry red where Ignatius’s hand impacted. The would be warrior flew back in a delicate arch and landed limp as a rag doll a couple of feet away, wisps of smoke rising from a charred hole in his chest. Joe gaped, forgetting to breathe. It took a moment for the reality of what he saw to sink in, whereupon he thew up.

“I see you haven’t lost your touch,” a voice boomed out of the trees. Ignatius remained silent and grim faced. “I wonder, old friend, do you know any new tricks?” the voice taunted. “The last time we fought to a draw. Don’t think that will happen again.” An arc of electricity shot through the trees, racing straight for Ignatius. Ignatius snapped his hand up and caught the bolt as if he were playing catch.

“Let the others go,” Ignatius said, his voice carrying with authority. “This is between you and me, Bob.”

The giant who twice before tried to kill Joe emerged from the cover of darkness and scowled at Ignatius. “I can’t do that. I’m here for the boy. This is your only warning old friend: leave now, and I’ll let you live. This need not be your fight.”

“I thought he was dead,” Joe groaned “You said he couldn’t swim,” he whispered at Katarina.

“Stay close, and keep your head down,” she responded.

Ignatius looked up at Bob and cooly defied him, “I’m afraid this is my fight. I’ve grown rather fond of the boy.”

“Suit yourself,” Bob said with a wicked grin, then raised his hand, pointed at Joe, and let out a fierce roar. Joe ducked his head as sparks erupted in violent fury mere inches from him. With a crashing roar the small band of cloaked figures raised their arms high and all at once charged. The blue-white light from the floating spheres reflected off steel swords, maces, and a spear as men of all sizes crashed through the trees with war in their hearts, and thoughts of honor and glory running through their heads.

Ignatius flew into what at first appeared to be a furious dance, but as men were swept off their feet, some by fallen limbs crashing into them, others simply folding under the impact of invisible blows, it became apparent Ignatius was waging war. Another attacker drew near to Ignatius and swung a mighty blow, only to have it dodged. He didn’t have time to flinch in fear or regret as Ignatius drilled his palm into his chest and just as before there was a bright flash, and the man arched back and fell to the ground unmoving.

Katarina whirled around, turning her back toward Ignatius, and extending her arms outward glared at the charging men. Without so much as a twitch of a finger or a quiver of a lip the four nearest combatants collapsed to the ground grasping at their throats trying desperately to breathe. The remaining men slowed, but did not stop. Katarina remained unmoving, as still as a statue, and three more feel clawing at their throats. The charge faltered and drew short as the sight of their comrades turning blue at their feet gave them pause.

In the chaos of the charge Bob slipped back into the cover of darkness biding his time. Ignatius stood still, two more bodies laying still and smoldering on the ground around him. “You would waste the lives of noble men, who seek honor and glory?” he growled into the darkness, shaking his head in sorrow and pity. “You know they stand no match, no matter how many you send. Spare their lives at least, and face me in a duel,” he challenged.