Ok, this will seem a bit out of sorts, but to save MJN and ILMJN one job I decided to just paste this straight accross from the old board ..


itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:01 pm
Gods Deceit

Gods Deceit

Chapter one.

It was one of those sunsets that appeared to defy nature, it was the sort that bored right through your skull and hit your brain without seeming to pass through your eyes. A sunset that was a myriad of red, pink, blue, purple, grey and black hues, evanescent and peaceful in its effect.

Indeed this was no ordinary sunset it was one of many eternal images that were around this world. Lucifer looked out over the domain that belonged to God and he wondered if the world below could cope with what he was about to do. He also wondered if the people could handle the truth about this Heaven, he himself had his doubts about whether they could handle it but too much wrong was being done. The time to act was now. He as the angel of light HAD to do something. He had to protect mankind.

Looking around surveying the carnage of the battlefield Lucifer found it hard to believe that it had only been 24 hours since that moment when he had stood by his window with those thoughts going through his head. Many had perished in the battle that had followed, that beautiful sunset now marred by bodies piled up high, pools of new, fresh, bright red blood congealing over the caked dried brownie coloured blood that already saturated the ground, mingled in with this were the swords and shields of the dead littered all over the ground. It was a horror landscape; enormous craters now replaced what had been sweet green fields. The wonders of the previous smells now obliterated, the fresh grass, the newly cut hay, the flowers and the dew now all erased in a new overpowering smell and emotion of death, death masked all.

Sat astride his white charger Lucifer oozed an almost visible power, both he and his steed appeared bathed in a blue haze, an aura that could not be broken. The halo above his head beamed radiant silver. Blazing a light as it had never done before. This vista made even more powerful as it was all lit brighter by the lightening flashes which accompanied the thunderstorm that was raging, this was no ordinary storm, this had been created by the enemy to try and thwart Lucifer’s grand plan. The rain was yet to join its brother and sister of thunder and lightening but would be there shortly. All those alive felt that when that happened a shift in the balance of power would take place in Gods favour. Up until then he had been losing despite the fact Lucifer’s forces only numbered a third of his own. Yet Lucifer felt no despair, it was far from over. He knew his enemies had placed far too much confidence on the approaching storm; the real victory would not take place here if this battle were lost

The Angels of Heaven carried on fighting relentless in the battle. Among the toiling fighters an Angel, (a man to look at in all respects, the sword and shield in his hand seeming to glow a golden colour thanks to the gold aura around him,) broke off and went to Lucifer’s side.
Speaking in rushed tones he looked up to Lucifer and said, “ My Lord, the left flank is hard hit, we can hold for now but we look to your guidance. “As he spoke the clash of swords and shields as well as the many death cries almost drowned out his words.
With a graceful bow of his head Lucifer replied,” Fear not” The reply that came soothed instantly with the gentle tone of his voice yet despite the soft speech the voice cut through the noises of the battle with ease, “ We have a certain amount of time on our side we may use the horses off the central column to bolster those weakened forces. I myself will command by leading those mounted into the fight.”
“ But my Lord, if you are lost then the battle is all but over.”
“ We only need to halt the advance for a short while my old friend, there are some issues which I haven’t yet talked to you about, however shortly I hope to be able to reveal all. Do you trust me Carod?”
With a wry smile that almost became a laugh Carod replied “ Lucifer my dear friend, if I didn’t trust you I would hardly be here now.”
That comment in turn caused Lucifer to smile “ You always did have manage to bring a lightness to everything. We have been through so much you and I, but now we must concentrate our efforts on this war. If we lose this war then mankind is doomed”

As if noticing the noises being made in the background for the first time, Lucifer raised his head, looking at the battling troops he motioned with his hand towards the centre of the field where the main battle forces were.
“ See the false prophet, he marshals those around him making them believe he is the one true God. It is telling that those who back him are mostly young Angels, less than a thousand years old in many cases. If those Angels had been here at the very beginning of time, they would have realized the truth and seen behind his deception. As for those few older Angels, I can only assume that they think they can add to their own greed and wealth by supporting God.” Lucifer paused as if to gather his thoughts “ If I lose this battle people for many millennia will believe me to be the false prophet, they will be led to believe that it is me that has Satan’s heart beating inside him, history is written by those that win and God is so good at making people believe what they want to believe rather than what they should believe it will be hard for anyone to mount a defence against those sorts of charges, however I hope that the plans I have put in place can prove, if not straight away, that I am indeed the true ruler of this Kingdom.”

With a slight shake to bring him self out of the revere he appeared to be in his face hardened as he spoke to Carod. “ Come my friend, it is time to muster our mounted forces to that left side, please go and tell them of my intentions.”
And with that Lucifer hoisted his sword out from its scabbard and the shield from across the pommel of the saddle before spurring his mount forward.


Carod wasted no time in starting to make his way back to the Angels he had left moments earlier. Bravely they still battled against overwhelming odds, the clashes sounding even louder now as if all involved sensed a new urgency to the fight, even if not fully understanding why they should feel this way. As Carod reached the edge of the melee an opposing Angel broke through the ranks and headed in his direction. Hoisting his shield to a defensive position Carod automatically placed his feet to create a solid stance to greet his foe head on. His one main advantage lay in the fact that he was on stable even ground where as the attacking Angel had to cross uneven earth made slippery by the spilt blood of those already wounded or killed which meant he would reach Carod off balance. The spilt second that was used for this information to be processed by Carod’s brain was all the time his enemy needed to reach fighting distance. With no sound and only thoughts of regret that yet another Angel would almost certainly be killed in this fading evening light Carod reached forward to parry the sword strike that was being hefted his way, with a clash sparks flew as the two swords met, with no conscious thought Carod easily deflected the opposing sword away and was able to strike a decisive crippling blow to his opponents arm. Not willing to kill unnecessarily Carod as always decided he would give his opponent the chance to yield.

With a heavy heart the question passed from his lips “ Do you wish to yield, if you do so I promise no harm will come of you.”
The answer was short, defiant and was almost spat out “ I will never yield to those who think they are the one true God.”
The sorrow Carod felt was immense as he replied, “ Then may there be mercy on your eternal soul” before he dealt the swift instant deathblow.
Looking around Carod soon spied Cain, a dark haired man who was the very capable and brave commander of this flank and who at present was busily engaged in fighting two of the enemy and while he was holding his own against two, in the time it would take to defeat both of them his strength was going to be sorely sapped, to the degree that it may leave him in danger of being overwhelmed. Holding his sword and shield ready for more action Carod shouldered his way through the throngs of fighters to aid him. A nod from the commander was all Cain could afford to give to acknowledge Carod’s presence as sparks once again flew from heavenly swords hitting defensive shields made out of the same unearthly material. Much lighter than steel but with ten times the strength the metal here shone with a golden hue. The sparks that were created sparkled all the colours of Heaven and Earths most spectacular rainbows.
The parries of all four of those involved were fast and furious, but thanks to Carod’s help the two opponents were quickly weakening and at once, in quick succession both fell to Carod and Cain’s blades.

Knowing that Carod would be bring word from Lucifer Cain turned and said, “ Quick, over here,” he pointed back the way Carod had come, “ We should be safe from the fighting back there for some while.”
The breath from all those around sent steam up into the cold night time air as Cain and Carod headed for the relative safety of the higher ground.
As they turned to face each other Carod was struck by the look of pain on Cain’s face, worried he hastily asked, “ Are you alright?”
The reply was laden with total grief as Cain answered, “ I almost feel like my soul has died today, I wish my brother had believed what was truly going on. I had hoped we would not meet on the battlefield but unfortunately fate was to deal us a cruel blow by forcing us to fight each other. I have now killed my precious brother Abel, and my heart is weighted down with this terrible knowledge.”
Reaching out, Carod placed his hand on Cain’s shoulder as he replied “ My friend, many of us have been pitted against others in our family or against old and valued friends, but I know your closeness to your brother was immense, I feel for your hard loss now.”
“Your kindness has touched me greatly Carod, and I hope to be able to spend time later to grieve Abel properly, but now I must put my personal feeling aside as the most important business is to try and win this fight without too much more bloodshed.”
“ Aye, sadly it must be our thoughts now,” said Carod “ And to that end I bring news from Lucifer. He is mustering horses from the central battle which he will lead over here himself to command.”
Cain visibly paled at that news, “But if Lucifer is killed during the fighting then our cause is surely lost!”
“ Have faith Cain, I am not privy to Lucifer’s exact plans but I feel there is yet more to come, the troops he is leading should be here soon.”
“ I hope you are right in this matter Carod.” Cain sighed before carrying on in a weary voice, “ I do so hope that you are right.”

Meanwhile at a different part of the battlefield site Lucifer had arrived at the head of the mounted column, which consisted of five hundred Angels with steeds as black as the night, which was now totally upon them. Lucifer soon found Juda the leader of the troops; he was easy to spot due to his immense physical stance. Few men got to tower over Juda; Lucifer was one of those few.
Unusually for an Angel, Juda spoke with quite a harsh gruff edge to his voice. As one of the first Angels to arrive in Heaven his life had been made very hard by God. Only Juda, Lucifer and God knew exactly what had transpired to make Juda feel this way. Juda would refuse to talk to others about it, when asked he would just cite personal reasons but it had left him very bitter about the ruler of a place that in Juda’s mind should have been full of love and understanding but quite often was full of suspicion and an underlying fear of the terror that God had proved himself capable of.
Although Juda was mounted he still bowed his head in deference to Lucifer as overall commander of this revolution. Lucifer was the one many felt had been robbed of his true place as the overall divine spiritual leader of Heaven and in turn master of Earth.
“ Sir, do you bring news from other areas of the battlefront?” Juda as normal was forthright in the way he spoke.
“ I do” Came Lucifer’s assured reply, “ The left flank is severely weakened but not yet over run. I intend to lead your troopers into the battle to aid them.”
“Sir as you wish” Juda was the one who Lucifer knew would never question his orders or motives, Juda was the consummate soldier, hardened by many years of enforced hard labour in penance imposed by God as a punishment for the personal issues that had happened between the two men. As the only other person that knew what had happened Lucifer felt grateful that Juda was on his side, God had used Juda unjustly. In needing a scapegoat on Earth to cover up a bad mistake made by an important prophet God had un-mercilessly thrown Juda to the people on Earth who had vilified him forever. The real breaking point had been when Juda had objected to being used in this cold hard hearted way and it had been that objection which had earned him the punishment.

“Are your forces ready to move?” Lucifer asked, hopeful he would get an affirmative answer as speed was now of the essence.
“Yes sir” came the swift reply “I can give the call to arms straight away if you so wish”
“Then please do so without delay”
“Sir”

Juda turned to his troops. Somehow in the way typical of all military officers he managed to make himself easily heard by all five hundred men even with the noises of battles going on. “Troop, the call to arms has been made, Lucifer himself will be taking direct command. Remember keep the battle formation tight and be accurate. Take as many prisoners as possible. No body here wishes to kill any more than they have to.”
As one unit there was a rousing response of “YES SIR”. This was followed by the clang of metal the squeak of leather and the general rustling of cloth as each man made a last quick safety check of their equipment. The failure of basic but important items could not be an issue in the heat of battle.

The horses started to sense that the time for action was near, many started to stamp about with their hooves, eager to be moving. The sound of horseshoes hitting the ground became almost overwhelming to any that were in earshot.
Lucifer decided he would speak before he moved the troop forward and so in that same soft voice that seemed to just float above the loud background he said, “Men” a slight pause while all around turned to listen “Many of you may not return from this fight but be aware that this tyrants rule must be brought to an end. God is not the good kind being that he has led the human race to believe he is, he is a deceiver a most malicious thing indeed. Many more will suffer if he is not stopped now. This is something we can and will do. We must do. May those that perish while trying to defeat God have peace on their eternal soul, I bless each and everyone of you.”

With that Lucifer turned his horse towards the left flank before giving the first of many orders to the troopers that night “ Troops top speed to the left flank, March”

As they looked towards the people fighting below them from the higher ground where they still stood Carod and Cain both heard a new sound, it seemed to puncture its way through the air, through the storm and battle. As one they turned to see behind them and witnessed the columns of mounted troops being led by Lucifer heading their way. Lucifer seemed to show against the background as radiating whites, silvers and blues. Colours seemed to bounce off him at all angles despite the blackness of the night.
The sound Carod and Cain had heard was the thud of the horse’s hooves beating on the ground and with that sound came the vibrations being felt from underfoot as the troopers made their way towards the weakened battlefront.

The opposing side seemed to be suddenly aware of the reinforcements, which caused them to redouble their efforts. They knew that if they made no real headway soon then things could bogged down for some time with no real indication as too the final outcome.
The noises of the horses making their way forward was getting louder, the clamour of the hooves on the ground mingled with the sounds of leather, metal and horse flesh moving at a steady speed, that combined with the increased ground vibrations was making an impressive, even frightening sight. Carod and Cain felt relief for a brief second. However this was tempered by the knowledge that they still had a long way to go but they hoped the extra reinforcements would provide them with the much-needed incentive to push the advantage forward in their favour. As they watched they could see the column splitting into three to provide greater cover. Lucifer had obviously given the order ahead of arriving in the middle of the fight knowing that would be the most effective use of the manpower available to him. Carod and Cain were also starting to hear snippets of Lucifer’s orders as his voice carried so clearly over every thing else. As the middle of the three columns drew ever nearer the order to engage the enemy could be clearly heard. Looking at each other Carod and Cain knew that the time had come to join the fight; they had both had the luxury of being away from the carnage for a very short time and that was already long enough.


A few hours later the fighting had broken off, many lay dead, dying or injured on the battlefield, as the night had got blacker the full force of the thunder storm had hit, no man could see to engage his enemy in such conditions, rain slanted down as though it were sheets of glass, clothes soon saturated to the point where people could hardly move under the combined weight of heavy cloth and armour, so the two opposing sides had broken off, the commanders of both sides would be using this lull in proceedings to allow the regrouping of men and to take stock of what had happened to their respective sides, mud as thick and as black as the night its self clung to everything. The ground already saturated with the spilt blood of those dead or dying now an unrecognisable quagmire. Any remnants of lush, green pastures long forgotten. Lucifer stood, still mounted with his three commanders around him. They looked weary and each must have felt despondent even though they didn’t show it. The battle even with the extra mounted troops had not gone in their favour; the overwhelming odds were just proving to be insurmountable for those involved in the fight. Lucifer decided the time had come to inform them of his long-term plan.
Looking at each man in turn he spoke their names, “ Carod, Cain and Juda, you are all my loyal friends for which I thank you. No words can express my gratitude to each of you and no words can portray the loyalty you shown to the cause and myself. We have lost many and although we have right on our side, we may lose this battle,”
At this the three started to protest, Lucifer held up his hand to silence them, “Please my friends let me continue, as I said the battle may be lost but I believe the war can and will be won, unbeknown to you I have found a secret so great God put to death any who discovered it, as it was such a threat to his power. I believe this secret can aid us in our fight and may win us the war. It may take time to win the next battle but I believe that battle will be decisive. The reason I choose today to start this war was the important of the sky; we have an ally in the sky, which God has forgotten about in his overconfidence. I refer to The Great Comet. It is one of the most powerful bodies in the universe and tonight the comet is at its strongest and for the purpose I have in mind I will need all of that strength.”

Lucifer knew he had amazed the three in front of him; they were unable to hide the astonishment from their faces. Carod seemed to pull himself together the quickest and asked “ My Lord, I have heard stories of such a thing but I have never heard anything that could be called proof, just rumours and no more. I do not doubt your word but I find myself doubting the ability of such an astrological body to make such a difference.”
“Aye” Said Juda “ I also heard such things when I was doing my hard labour, but nobody every thought it more than fanciful talk used to give hope to those incarcerated”
Noting Cain had yet to speak, Lucifer turned towards him and said “ Cain, I notice you have not spoken on this matter, yet you look troubled, please speak your thoughts without fear, your counsel is always valuable to me”
“It is true I am troubled by this news Lord,” came Cain’s reply, looking at the others he carried on “ I had also heard such rumours as you, indeed I had also dismissed them as fanciful talk, however I then lost a friend to a sudden and unexplained death. This friend had told me just before he died he was in search of information to prove the rumours to be true. I never heard from him again and yet even knowing that I find myself doubting the ability of such an object to create such an awesome power.”
“Ah, well” came Lucifer’s answer “ My friends, in your honest counsel, lies part of the answer I can now share with you, the secret was is so heavily guarded it has taken me many years to perfect the objects needed to harness the power in the only way possible.”
With those words he removed from his sodden robes that were under the protection of his armour a small wooden box, unassuming in its look, plain and unadorned. As Lucifer started to open the box up he carried on talking.” The box its self is of no importance, a vessel made only with the sole purpose of protecting the sphere inside. This sphere could be one of the most important things in the history of Heaven and Earth,”
All eyes were now on Lucifer’s hands as he carefully removed the inner material that covered the object inside. The expectation was so great by those watching it was almost tangible. Then in the box, the sight of a glass sphere, it seemed to show many different colours at once, a small luminous orb that caught the eye while it took the breath away due to its sheer beauty, a mist seemed to flow within making it look as though it were alive. As the lightening that was still flashing around the battlefield lit it up, it almost looked as if the orb was trying to grow, a strain against an unseen leash. It had a wondrous strength. Yet that was tempered with a gentle vulnerability. Looking up from his task Lucifer carried on explaining his plan, “This sphere has the ability to transcend the realms of Heaven and Earth, but it can’t travel by normal avenues as their power is not strong enough. If it can be sent to Earth using the power generated by The Great Comet it will change shape and form, a complete metamorphosis. It will then have become objects that can be used on Earth to challenge Gods authority. These objects will reveal and then prove his word as being false.”
Lucifer could see that fascination now gripped those around him He paused from his task to look directly at Carod, “And now,” He said “ I arrive at the hardest part of my plan as it involves me asking you to make a great personal sacrifice.”
Carod nodded, indicating his desire to hear the rest of what Lucifer proposed before he would make comment.
“The sphere can not travel on its own, it is too dangerous, the method used would mean the sphere was unprotected leaving it vulnerable to damage, damage that would render it useless. Unfortunately this box is not stable enough to use on its own. Somebody must take the sphere to ensure its safe arrival, and once they reach Earth they will become mortal with no hope of return. What do you say my friends, the risk is great but the rewards will, in time be immense. I feel you three are the only ones I can trust to tell of this task and Carod, you especially, I feel for such a matter of importance you are the only one I can really ask to become the messenger.”

The silence that followed what had been said seemed to last half of the nighttime that remained but in reality could not have been more than thirty seconds. Taken a swift glance at the others Carod drew in a shaky breath before he would trust his voice, “Lucifer, I address you now as an old friend not the holder of titles, you say the courier will become human with no hope of return, but does the job involve more than just being the carrier of the sphere to Earth or will more be required once Earth is reached?”
“ A valid question my friend, yes there will be more required but it should be small matters in relation to the task that has already taken place. The sphere after it has changed will need hiding and guarding for a while; If you decide to go I would also then hope that you would be able to live your life in a complete and happy way. Maybe some kin for you with a life free from the horrors of battle. Some good should come out of this sacrifice.”
Juda was the next to speak, “And the sphere, what does that then become?”
Lucifer laughed, a pleasant light sound. “Forgive me, I do not meant to make light of the situation but as always Juda you are the practical one, in answer to your question the sphere becomes scrolls, one of which will be able to guide Carod, if he agrees to go, in what he should do next.”
“I thank you for that answer” Said Juda, “ However please allow me to be practical once more. What is the catch?”
“Yes Juda” Came Lucifer’s reply, “I am afraid you are right, there is a catch, the scrolls will be sent back to a time where their use would be pointless, they would not be understood, on this matter I have no control, they must stay hidden until such time as mankind can understand their message.”
Cain then spoke, “ My Lord, the power you speak of sounds immense, how do you hope to harness such a thing?”
Lucifer knew the answer he would give now would be the one that could make or break this happening, if the three commanders felt it would work they would back him in this plan. “The way to harness this lies in a simple object that is made using not such simple materials. The secret I found, the one your friend would have died for Cain, was the use of certain rare metals and minerals in the forge process while a shield is being made. You have all often commented on how much more my shield shines in certain lights, the way it often refracts light in a way different to others, these metals and minerals are the reason why. When this shield is held up to catch the light rays from The Great Comet during the Comets brightest hour on the correct night of the correct year the reflected beams will create an energy field that will cause a portal to be formed between the two realms. While this portal is stable its short duration also means it is only open for a very limited time, it is long enough for the single journey to be made one way, but like I said, no return. It is also the energy beams created inside the portal which when passed through make the traveller mortal and the scrolls visible. My friends do you support me in this action?”

The silence that followed seemed to encompass all other sounds for some distance such was its strength. Then the replies came.
“I pledge myself to this plan,” came Juda’s gruff response, “Let us go and make this portal, if Carod feels he is unable to go I would go in his stead.”
“The is no need for that kind offer Juda,” Carod’s voice was firm, “I shall willingly make this journey and hope that it creates a healing tide for all to use.”
“I also pledge myself to this course of action.” Cain then turned to Carod and spoke to him directly, “Go in peace, may you have a safe journey and a long and happy life on Earth, my thoughts and prayers are with you. May there be mercy on your eternal soul.”

Lucifer looked at his friends with pride “ Then let us go and deal the blow which should defeat not just our enemy but the enemy of all mankind. The time for action is upon us.” I say blueberry, you say whinberry



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 96





itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:03 pm
Gods Deceit

obssesdwithsimone
Onto Basic
Posts: 132
(1/28/05 14:27)
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Re: GODS DECEIT.
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wow what a start this story looks incrediably interesting and i am curious as to where it will lead us. It is also interesting to read different views on the sbject of God - I look forward to more - espeically where Helen and Nikki come in lol

4 us
"Undercover."
Posts: 102
(1/29/05 21:50)
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WOW!!!!!!! for your first ever fan fic you have most definitely chosen an incredibly challenging piece to write. Brilliant falls short of what you so far have achieved. Uncannily true in parts. Frighteningly so. Rings of some form of Armageddon. I look forward to your next installment to see where you are taking this. Congratulations thus far.

MJnet
MJs knight in shining armour
Posts: 261
(1/30/05 9:40)
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Absolutely stunning!!! Where have you been hiding all this time?

More please! *In awe of your writing skills* I say blueberry, you say whinberry



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 96





itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:04 pm
Gods Deceit

Re: GODS DECEIT.
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Thank you for those words, here is chapter 2, not checked for any errors same as chapter 1 so sorry for those in advance, I am sure there must be some .... I hope you enjoy the read, and next chapter there will be some familiar faces for you all ...

Gods Deceit

Chapter Two



The stars were struggling to be seen, the clouds from the storm still around, drifting along looking like spectres floating on the wind, inter-dispersed by the odd rumble of thunder and flash of lightening, the sky mingled dark blues, grey, purples and blacks. It seemed as if the whole sky was deliberately interlaying the colours for more effect, everywhere the eye looked it created a beautiful sight, if only the landscape below was as serene. The opposing armies had regrouped, the general noises coming from the ranks of Angels was underpinned by the sounds of nervous talking. Neither side seemed to want to make the first move to carry on the battle. The vestiges of the memories from the first battle were still fresh in the air. The unease and uncertainty seemed to seep into every pore, and then slowly another emotion started to stir. Lucifer’s army had started to retreat the way they had come, moving up onto a plateau, which didn’t appear to give any clear military advantage. Disbelief from the opposite ranks was mingled with puzzlement, what was happening? The move seemed to make no sense, why would they yield so much of their hard fought over ground? The main column of troops, both on foot and mounted were moving as if to mimic the inner circle of a target with the outer rim being made up of auxiliary troops. The unpredictable nature of it all made God’s already nervous troops much more on edge. A taut silence started to descend on their ranks. God knew he had to find a reason why this action appeared to be happening. Turning to his right he barked an order to a commander “We need answers to this unexpected move, I want to know what is happening!!”
In contrast to Lucifer’s quiet soothing tones Gods voice sounded harsh and uncompromising; the sort of voice that accepted no argument and expects instant compliance and indeed this is what happened. The commander didn’t even waste time with a reply; he just curtly nodded his head in acceptance of the order that had been given.


Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield an almost perfect outer circle had been formed, it stood six deep and it comprised purely of those on foot, all mounted troops had been ordered to help bolster the inner defence. A general order had been sent through the ranks that even enemy forces waving flags of truce were not to be allowed passage through the outer defensive line. If they were bearing a message of peace then the messenger was not to be harmed, but they could not be allowed into the inner sanctum, a message was to be sent and a senior commander would come to them or they could leave a message with the outer defences that would be relayed up. A rumour was circulating through the both sets of ranks that Lucifer had some new great powerful weapon and like a Chinese whisper the weapon got bigger and more powerful every time the story was relayed so in the end they were saying it was a weapon that could destroy all of his enemies in one decisive move. Most that heard this rumour would have been amazed to know the truth. As if on cue a rider broke away from Gods troops. It was a magnificent grey charger, muscles rippling in perfect symmetry, a proud carriage to this horse indicated an animal which had been breed to impress and impress it certainly did, horse and rider seeming to move as one. In his right hand the rider held a white pennant as a sign of peace, this pennant would be the guarantee of a safe passage.

On reaching the outer defences made by Lucifer’s forces the commander sent by God to find out what was going on spoke to the nearest ranking officer. “I bring word from your opposing forces, please grant me access to pass this on to the Privy Council as a message of peace.”
Expecting the standard chivalry that allowed safe passage directly to the highest commander or overall leader the messenger was therefore shocked to discover the mass of people before him did not automatically move allowing his access to the central core of men. As if anticipating the query the sergeant in the ranks to whom he had addressed spoke, “Sorry sir, I may either take a verbal message directly or go and collect a commander to bring here to deal with your parley, we unfortunately can not grant you passage as we have direct orders to that effect.”
As any professional would the messenger was able to hide the surprise he felt at this statement. Weighing the situation up he decided there would be little information gained waiting for a commander to be fetched. He then also decided the sergeant was a honourable man who would deliver the message safely “Please pass this message on then” he said, “Our Lord God wishes to extend an amnesty to all opposing Angels, this amnesty will last the rest of the night and until the middle of the day tomorrow. The amnesty will be considered broken if your forces attack at any point during that period, in that event all offers will then become null and void.”
“Your offer will be duly noted and delivered to the higher commanders,” Came the sergeant’s reply, “As you arrived on a flag of truce so you shall be allowed to depart.”
“Your courtesy in this matter is much appreciated, I wish each and everyone of you Gods speed.” With those words the messenger turned his horse away from Lucifer’s ranks and headed back towards his own.

The sergeant turned to his right, at his side a young Angel, one of the few younger ones to have joined Lucifer’s cause. He was a keen young man and one the sergeant knew he could trust. “You heard and understood the message?” asked the sergeant.
“Yes sir I did.”
“I wish you to deliver it to the inner sanctum without delay.”
“Certainly sir, will there be anything else before I leave?”
“No, please wait to see if there is a reply or further orders then return here.”
The sergeant looked back across what had now become a wasteland towards the enemy’s troops, “And if nothing else the amnesty will give us time to rest, a precious thing in these troubled times.”
With a nod the young Angel turned, he quickly made his way through the auxiliary troops, many still covered in the blood of Angels they had killed or the blood of their friends and comrades. In some cases it was their own blood, every so often a bandage could be seen, once white but now all to often grey from the filth and grim that was now surrounding everything. Hardly a thing remained recognisable. The entire known landscape seemed to have just vanished. As the young man walked along he looked about in total awe, the battle site had been well chosen away from populated built up areas, so protecting the innocents. While Angels needed no material things their human forms appreciated the comforts a building could bring. It was in one such building his family were in now and for that he was grateful. The valley they occupied at this moment was shaped like a horseshoe only it looked like somebody had knocked the toe out of the shoe allowing equal access from either side. On the sides beyond there were lush green mountains, all still by some miracle untouched by the carnage. Only the valley itself had been desecrated by recent events, above the valley there were still semi wooded slopes with clear sparkling streams winding there way through the trees and fields, greens of every colour from the blades of grass to the bracken leaves glittered bright in the occasional starlight. Trees with leaves of green, red and copper mixed in their rich colours to this wonderful natural tapestry. All this beauty tugged at the young mans heart and he hoped the message he brought to the commanders would help bring all this death and destruction to a speedy end.

Lucifer, Carod and the others had watched from a distance as the rider had approached the outer defences, the main hope was that nothing would give away the plan now set in motion which would send Carod and the sphere through the portal. They knew that God would work out what was happening once the rays of light that were going to shine off The Great Comet hit Lucifer’s shield, but by then it should be too late for God to mount any real defence leaving them enough time to complete the task. If God realized what they were doing before then it may just give him enough time to try and interfere using the remnants of the storm, lightening would be a good weapon against the portal as it would be light against light. As things stood it was still possible that could happen. Timing was going to be critical so they were all relieved when the rider was kept at the outer defence, it was good to see that order had reached the outer rim. They had decided on this extreme course of action as a last resort, too much was at stake even though it was a huge breach in protocol, to risk the opposition getting any ideas as to what they were doing was not something they dare let happen, they did not want to increase the chances of failure.

Juda was pacing up and down, nerves apparent in his face. Cain stood looking out towards the Eastern sky knowing the Comets tail would come into view very soon. Carod and Lucifer stood shoulder to shoulder; Carod kept reaching inside his woollen robes to place his hand on the wooden box that was now entrusted to him. He watched as a young Angel broke away from their own ranks a few seconds after the messenger had turned his horse around and ridden back to his own lines. A stalling message then, that was Carod’s guess, to try and gain information on what they were planning. If the message were any more than that they would have demanded to see a commander. That at least was one small sign of good luck. In only a short while the Comets appearance would be made. As if sensing his thought Lucifer turned to him, “My biggest regret is that I shall be saying goodbye to you very shortly my dear friend, but if we win this war be assured I shall entrust your eternal soul back to Heaven when we will be reunited.”
“That is the day I look forward to with all of my being Lucifer. My biggest regret is that I will not be at your side when the end of the battle happens, whichever way that should go.”
At that moment the young Angel they had seen leave the ranks arrived, he was slightly out of breath from the walk up the slope to the plateau where they were standing. “My Lords,” He began, “An amnesty has been offered until midday tomorrow, any attack made by our forces before that time will invalidate this offer.”
“Thank you” came Lucifer’s thoughtful reply, “Please return with new orders for the troops. If God does not see what we are about to do as a direct attack then the amnesty should still hold true, if that is the case I wish all Angels to take up this offer at a given signal, the time that they should do this will be after a bright ray of light appears in the sky and focuses on this plateau, please stress to everybody I ask them to do this not as defeat or surrender but as the best way to prevent further loss of life. However, if God sees what is about to happen as an attack on his troops then I will leave each man to make up their own mind as to the course of action they wish to take.”
“As you say my lord,” And with that the Angel turned and left making as much haste as he could down the slippery slope.
“Well my friends, that amnesty could help our cause, I had been worried about how we could reduce the number of casualties once Carod had left, the amnesty could do just that.”
With a brief pause to look up at the sky Lucifer then carried on, “And now my friends the time grows every nearer, let us say our goodbyes and prepare for Carods departure.”
Juda stopped pacing a few paces away from Carod at those words, suddenly he crossed the distance between them in two huge strides before encompassing Carod in a hug, thumping Carods back, in a rare emotion his voice also cracked slightly as he said in halting tones, “My friend, I have not been one to speak many words over the years but I shall miss you. May your road be smooth and the wind always be at your back, may your life as a mortal be filled with company and laughter, and most of all let us hope that this journey will be a healing one for all of mankind.”
As Juda finished speaking the other two were at once all gathered around, each in turn giving Carod hugs and their best wishes. Tears now sparkled in everybody’s eyes knowing that the time had come for what could be the final goodbye. Lucifer was the first to break away, looking up to the east “Well my old friend, the time has come, the Comet is now in view. I feel we have been lucky, there is no sign from Gods ranks that he knows what is going on. In a few minutes the Comets tail should flare with the brightest of colours as it only can do every few thousand years, that is our moment.”
Carod nodded, unable to trust his voice. He knew that once the portal had been opened there would be little or no time for thought. It was as Carod finished thinking that that Lucifer started to shoulder his shield in readiness. Juda and Cain along with the other commanders that were near by stepped away leaving just Carod and Lucifer in a clear space of about sixty square foot. Lucifer had assured them that once opened the portal would not be large, enough for a man to pass through and no more. Also the smaller the portal the harder it would be to strike it down with the lightening, and God would almost certainly try that if he could muster enough of its energy once he realized what was going on. Overall they had estimated they had two clear minutes before God would be in a position to do that. Two very important minutes that might change the destiny of the entire world. At once the light seemed upon them, the hues almost more powerful than they could stand to look at, Lucifer in the middle radiated in colours too many for the senses to process, his shield then seeming to absorb it all causing the effect of the world being sucked in to that one space for a brief second, the sides edged black and the landscape around looking as if it was being pulled into the centre of the shield. It all looked as thought it were made from elastic. It appeared to stay there for a brief second before bouncing with a huge rush to its correct place in the universe, only there was one difference. The portal had formed. The edges flowing away from Lucifer and Carod like ribbons in the wind. In that instant all heard a terrible roar. Everything seemed to vibrate such was its power. Startled into looking around Carod saw the storm clouds rushing as if summoned towards the opposing line of troops. At once Carod realized God must have now been trying to thwart their attempts to use the portal, lightening crackled and sparkled above Gods troops, then somehow the lightening seemed to drawn down into one point before erupting upwards in two straight lines, knowing he could afford no more time Carod started towards the portal, all of his senses seemed more acute. Every nerve tingled as if charged with some sort of electrical power. His peripheral vision took in the sight of Lucifer, shield still held high, then of Juda and Cain standing in front of the commanders group looking concerned. The rippling sides of the portal took up his main vision more and more. The pressure was building up around him, pushing against his body making it harder for him to breath. By the time he reached the threshold Carod was no longer sure which way he was facing, all he could feel were the external forces that propelled his body into the centre of the portal. Now was the point of no return. Pulled from one side and pushed from another there was an increase in speed, felt more than seen, the images swirling around him in a kaleidoscope of colour, it all went faster and faster in a sensory overload, until in almost blessed relief, consciousness was lost, blackness arriving in an instant. Carod would never be aware that as he had entered the portal lightening had struck the ground not two foot away. He had only just made it!

Slowly conscious thought seeped in, head thumping at every move so even opening an eye hurt, Carod groaned, he was sure he had become human. While Angels had emotions and feelings they were nothing quite like this, all the negative emotions had been muted while his life had been in Heaven, and with the thump that was happening he knew that he certainly could not be an Angel anymore. Not wanting to move than was necessary Carod decided that to reach inside his robes without opening his eyes was something he could do without waves of nausea sweeping over him and when he did so he was relived to find his hand closed around what felt like scrolls with the wooden box now in pieces next to that. With a sigh of relief that they were all safe, Carod wondered how long he had been lying there. The ground felt soft, a slight dampness had seeped through his robes. He knew he would have to move soon, the dampness alone was not a pleasant sensation however that tempered against the way his body protested each time he moved he made the decision to stay lying there a little bit longer, so pulling his robes tighter against his body he slept for a while. When he awoke he was surprised to find warmth was on his body, carefully opening an eye for the first time his first sight was blue sky. The sun appeared to have just risen, turning his head he saw mist rising off the ground. Pleased to find he could now move with only a small amount of pain he pushed himself up with his elbow to take stoke of his surroundings. The landscape was not something he recognized straight away. No lush green pastures instead rough, tough looking grass grew often speckled with slightly thicker yellow coloured clumps. Amongst this were thicker dark green reeds standing about a foot high, again in clumps, which dotted the landscape. The dampness he had felt earlier had come from the earth that felt soft and more like a sponge that the soil he had previously known. He could also see areas that a man would have to wade through because of the deeper pockets of water; no doubt some would contain bogs that would have to be avoided.

Now feeling strong enough to stand Carod felt a moment of alarm. As he moved he felt the wooden box give way and fall from his robes, forgetting for a brief moment that he reached for the scrolls earlier Carod patted at the robes where the box had been and as his felt the lump that were the scrolls, remembered with relief he had found them safe before. Unsure of what to do next or even which direction he would go in Carod forced himself to think. A scroll, that was it, Lucifer had told him a scroll would be able to help guide him once he reached Earth. So with care he extracted the small tightly rolled bundle from beneath his robes. Indeed the top scroll looked different somehow, as if it didn’t quite belong with the rest. Untying the leather thong that held the bundle together he carefully removed the top scroll before fastening it back up with care. He wasn’t going to take a chance of losing a scroll, a few minutes spent now securing the scrolls would make no difference to the task at hand. Happy that they were all safe and back under his robes he unrolled the one he had just removed, not much was written on the parchment and somehow the lack of information did not surprise him. He knew a lot already from what Lucifer had told him, all he needed help in was finding the correct place to hide the scrolls. The writing was bold and clear making it easy to read.

*This scroll should guide you to a safe place where the scrolls can be hidden. You have arrived at a time in history when the Pagan beliefs are still held firmly. God’s influence is not yet ready to take hold of these people as they cling to their old beliefs. This should aid you to live a normal, happy and long life. You are now in England, and you should start your journey towards the South, after a couple of hours you will come across a group of Pagans. They have been worshipping The Great Comet as their ancestors have done for many years, however this year they have also seen the light from the portal, with luck they should see your coming as an omen and so will aid you in hiding the scroll. Once you have reached your destination and done all of this no more shall be asked of you, you may if you wish destroy this scroll as there is no more help that can be given to you *

With a strange pang of nostalgic emotion Carod read the final lines. It was the final vestige of his old life that touched him deeply.

Surveying the landscape he noted it was similar to the area where he was standing, plain and boggy. Checking the direction he was to head into to against the position of the sun, he started to make his way South. His journey was not terribly harsh; the ground was flat and springy underfoot, although he had to wade his way through some of the deeper water pools. The early morning soon turned into the sort of autumn day where the mist would not quite clear in certain places but when it did clear all around were bathed in wonderful warmth from the sun. Where the mist stayed sounds and shapes seemed distorted. Once or twice he came across foxes scurrying across the plain hunting for the odd rabbit or hare he had also seen. Birds were chirping in the distance, some could be seen flitting about in from of him sounding and looking eerie through the misty air. Every so often he would pause at the springs that bubbled up through the earth. The water as clear and pure as anything known to man, chilled perfectly, refreshing and quenching any thirst instantly. Lost to the wonders around him Carod had no idea how long he had been walking or indeed how far he had gone. He was revelling in new emotions and feelings so unlike anything he had ever known, not because his senses were any more acute it was just that there seemed to be so many more of them as they were no long muted. It was going to take some time to get used to all these different feelings.

As Carod was making his way south, a group of people situated a couple of hours away were discussing what events had been seen in the midnight sky. Opinion was divided over what had transpired. An older man was trying to calm the situation that was developing between two others “Please, we must not argue among ourselves, the one thing that we all agree on is, whatever we witnessed was an extraordinary event. Let us not get distracted from that fact.”
The man had spoken with some authority and as the group elder he was held in high regard by all those there, after he had spoken the two that had nearly come to blows instantly stopped, they had more reason than most to listen to what he had to say.
“Sorry Father,”
“Yes sorry father, as usual you are right.”
“Thank you,” came their Fathers reply, he then gestured towards the rest of the group, and said “We must decide what we saw and what it means. Our ancestors have worshipped the seasons and the sky from this very spot for many generations. Whilst the first great light was seen many years ago and that information passed down the years, the second light was unlike anything our ancestors told us about. What does it herald is the real question. Let us go through what we saw.” Turning towards his taller son he carried on, “Alfred, you may speak first as you were the nearest.”
Alfred frowned for a moment as if recalling in his own mind what he had seen before he spoke. “Looking out across the plain I saw the great starlight which was known by our ancestors. I was thinking that the bracken and gorse seemed to show up lighter than it had before as if it was lit by another source. At first I was unable to work out where it was coming from until I looked closer Westward, a dot of light appeared near to the great starlight, I stood in wonder as it got bigger and bigger. Then a tear seemed to happen in the heavens as the light flashed larger than anything I have ever seen before it blinked and was gone. As it blinked a bang sounded from above, it was so loud it blocked out all other sounds for a while.”
“Harod as elder, what do you think, is it an omen?” asked one of the others in the group, a short man by their standards.
“Yes I think it may be that, did anybody see anything more than what Alfred has told us?” At this question the group all murmured negatives, an uneasy silence fell, no one seems quite sure what to say next as they could not really add to what Alfred had already told them.
The shorter of the two brothers broke the silence, “Father, as the elder of us two Alfred may be of more use here to keep watch. Why don’t I go and consult the priestess over what we have seen. She holds the higher power and may know of ancient mysteries that can help us.”
“A wise plan my son,” Came Harod’s reply, “We shall await your return and while you are gone we will bear witness to anything else that may happen.”
“Father I shall try and return within the hour.” With those words Rhys was gone, running through the mist with the swiftness of one who knows where they are heading and what obstacles to expect. The remainder of the group waited in silence, each person at peace with their own thoughts when the heard somebody approaching. Expecting Rhys return they were surprised to hear, through the mist, the footsteps wading through the water pool from a different direction. A stranger broke through the mist, his surprise at seeing them matched by their own. He was tall, even by the villagers standards, and as they were dark haired and dark eyed he was blond with blue eyes. Astounding indeed, around here to have blond hair and blue eyes meant that you were considered to have magical powers. Even his robes seemed to radiate in a different way, although they were woollen the weave was so much finer than anything they had ever seen. The stranger stopped short, placed his hand to his side as if to check for something and then spoke, his words were calm and clear, not a local dialect but certainly understood. “I greet your group in peace and extend a hand of friendship.” A moment of natural tension passed through the group of men. Suspicion was to be expected. Strangers wandering around the plain were not a common sight. Invaders had left these isles alone for many years, but nobody from the older members of the group easily forgot the fierce battles that had raged in the past.
“If you come in peace then I say this to you” Harod as elder took it upon himself to greet this man, “Do what thou wilt, but harm not and we will do the same.”
“For your trust I thank you, I am the one called Carod and as a stranger in these lands I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I wish to ask though, as one who has been on the road for some time now please could you tell me the day?”
“That we can” said Harod, “Today is one of our most important days, September 21st, the autumn equinox, it is the day that follows a night that is special in these parts, last night more than most.”
Now sure that these were the people he was meant to find Carod decided to ask, “A great light was in the sky last night, it is that of which you speak?”
“Indeed it is, and this is something my people will reflect on a bit later, but first may I ask how you come to be here, you must be far from home?”
“That I am,” the pang Carod felt when he spoke of home was strong.
“Then please can you tell us your story.” A new voice came from behind the group, soft and silky sounding, a woman of confidence had spoken.
Startled the group of men turned, Harod bowed his head, “My priestess, I am sorry we did not hear you arrive, indeed we did not expect you to come.”
“This event is important enough for me to come and see the spot for myself, and now the stranger is here I am even more glad I came.” She held her head slightly to one side as if in thought when she spoke, “ I know not how, but I feel this man requires our aid in some small way.”
Carod had to mentally shake himself to respond, he was transfixed by this woman’s beauty, she was tall, slim and never before had he seen such eyes, so dark and luminous they glowed and radiated, he felt as though he was being pulled into their depths. He had fallen instantly and hopelessly in love!
“My lady, I indeed beg for you aid, all I ask is a safe place to hide some scrolls,” For some unknown reason Carod felt he could tell anything to this women. “I am entrusted with these scrolls so that the future of mankind may be saved.”
As if Carod had spoken the most natural thing in the world rather than about mankind’s doom the priestess just said, “Then aid you we shall, the henge that is being built here to celebrate the seasons and skies can be used, the scrolls will be buried,” Looking around at the rest of the men present the priestesses voice was firm when she carried on “This secret will pass no further than the men here, only your kin can be told of what has transpired so the knowledge is not forgotten.” Turning back to Carod she asked, “Do you have a second name Carod?”
“No my lady I do not”
“From the mists and water pools you came so I decree from now on you shall be known as Carod the Wader.”
“I give you thanks my lady, and what may I call you?”
“If you will stay in our village I would hope that you would call me wife.”
Carod now knew that all was right with the world.

...........

obssesdwithsimone
Onto Basic
Posts: 135
(2/2/05 18:27)
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wow that was once again brillinat...

''You shall call me wife'' - wow she is forward lol

Love where this is going and can not wait for the entrance of Helen and Nikki
[centre][/center]

4 us
"Undercover."
Posts: 116
(2/3/05 0:40)
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I am so totally absorbed in this story and find it incredibly hard to believe with your talent for expression and detail you have not written before. I am so looking forward to more. Brilliant just doesn't cut it. Hope not to have to wait too long.

I love MJ Net
Idealism precedes experience.
Posts: 201
(2/3/05 10:48)
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Bloody hell, where did this come from!
Don't answer that cos I really do know the answer
Actually I am stunned that this is your first attempt...... lets keep 'em coming






Karma or action is powerless to destroy ignorance, and the Self can be known only through knowledge
Keeper of: Nikki's suit; Helen's Double Bed Quote: Helen "Shit happens!"


itsmetwo
Baby mod
Posts: 60
(2/3/05 11:11)
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Thanks guys, working on the third chapter as we speak ...
Do not be put off fighting for what you want in life. When you get to the top of the hill and you see how tall the next one is..remember it is all downhill to get off the hill you are already on..

AngelTrisha9
Out of strips!
Posts: 62
(2/3/05 14:39)
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Oki, I haven't been on the board in a while and I've only read the first chapter (will read the second one after I come back from work tonight) but I have to say this: WOW!!!!!!! Where have you been hiding this talent???? First chapter was absolutely amazing and fascinating! It was... too good! Loved it! You are so awesome... Wow!
I don't fit the mold society
Has Planned
****
And I no longer justify
Reasons for the way that I behave
I offer no apologies
For the things that I believe and say
And I like it that way

~*Trisha Yearwood - Real Live Woman*~



AngelTrisha9
Out of strips!
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(2/3/05 23:11)
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So sorry for the double post! But I just finished the second chapter. You rock! It was amazing. Question: Carod the WADER is that sorta's Nikki's ancestry? And OWS, she is indeed forward, too cool! Loved it!
I don't fit the mold society
Has Planned
****
And I no longer justify
Reasons for the way that I behave
I offer no apologies
For the things that I believe and say
And I like it that way

~*Trisha Yearwood - Real Live Woman*~ I say blueberry, you say whinberry



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 96





itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:06 pm
Chapter

itsmetwo
Baby mod
Posts: 62
(2/5/05 14:34)
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Oh ok, ok I bow to you all, thanks so much for comments and as promised here is the third Chapter, just so you know fourth one has been started in rough draft so if I can get a couple of good days working on it I hope to post that soon ..




Chapter 3.

“One of your ancestors was what?” Trish was incredulous at the suggestion.
“I’m telling you, the story handed down by the family is that we are descended from a Pagan high priestess who lived the year nineteen hundred and frozen to death, it was that story that got me interested in finding out more about genealogy and history.” Nikki was amused at her friend’s reaction, she hadn’t told many people this story or how it had got her interested in history in the first place. Trish paused from chopping up the onion she was going to use to start making the lasagne they would be eating tonight. She held Nikki’s eyes with her own, striking blue against the dark brown almost black, “Please tell me it’s not the first of April!”
Amusement shone from Nikkis’s face, smiling she said, “No, honestly its not a joke and some of my family reckon I must be very much like her.”
Trish started to chop the onion again before asking, “Why on earth would they think that?”
“Well, you remember the house my family owned when I was a child, the one with its own water supply that came from the artesian spring behind the property ”
“Yes”, suspicion reigned in Trish’s voice; she was still expecting this to be a wind up of some sort.
“I don’t think I have told you how we found that well, we dowsed for it and I picked it up, or so the expert said who was with us said.”
”OH come ON, now I know you are having me on, dowsing for water in this day and age, you a water-diviner, hazel twigs and bent metal coat hangers. Please!”
“ You would be surprised Trish, they still use the method a lot in places like Sri Lanka, in fact the guy that came to look on our property was from there.”
Trish stopped what she was doing again to scrutinize Nikki’s face; she had to concede her friend seemed genuine in what she was telling her.
“You had better be telling me the truth, I can check those sorts of details online you know!”
Nikki couldn’t suppress a snort of laughter, “You can never take the scientist out of you Trish, but its all true and it’s because of that story I ended up working in the county archives. You know me and my love for old books and manuscripts.”
“Well that much is true at least.”
Getting up from where she was sitting at the scrubbed pine table in the kitchen, Nikki went across to the side where Trish was working, as she pinched a piece of carrot out of the saucepan that was ready to go on the stove she ruffled the shorter woman’s blond hair.
“Hey, cut that out, not fair, I can’t retaliate while I’m chopping onions as well you know! AND you know I’m so much shorter than you, which makes reaching up to you and that dammed short mop you call a haircut impossible. Plus if you keep nicking all the carrots there will be none left for dinner.”
Nikki threw her head back and laughed, a deep rich sound, filled with genuine pleasure. “Surely you know that’s what friends are for, if I can’t pester you, then who can I annoy?”
“Yeah, yeah, and anyway,” Trish pointed the knife that she was using directly at Nikki, waving it about as she spoke, “How come after all these years as your friend and colleague you have failed to tell me this story before, I shall pretend to be gravely hurt by this omission in your life’s story for a long time you know, don’t think you are getting away with this lightly.”
Just as she finished talking the doorbell rang,
“Ah, saved by the proverbial bell, you are a bit tied up with onions and other things so do you want me to answer that for you? Its probably Sean.”
“Yes please if you wouldn’t mind but don’t think that for one moment just because the doorbell gone I’ll forget about giving you the third degree over your high priestess.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Nikki called over her shoulder as she made her way through the porch to open the door. She turned her head back to greet the tallish man with brown floppy hair that stood on the doorstep.
“Hey, its Sean alright” Nikki feinted surprise at seeing him there, much to his amusement. “How are you?”
“I’m fine” He lent forward to kiss Nikki on the cheek, “and how’s my favourite archivist?”
“Very happy thank you, looking forward to having a nice dinner and drinks with my friends.”
As Nikki closed the door, Sean took off his coat and hung it up in the porch on the old coat rack that Trish treasured, he then replied, “Yes the three of us should really try and get together more often.”
Reaching over Sean gave Nikki a hug before draping one hand around her waist and holding out the bottle of wine he had in the other hand. “Come on then, lets go and do some damage to this, it’s a rather nice Cabernet Sauvignon, I happen to know its one of your favourites.”
Taking the bottle off him Nikki replied, “Why thank you kind sir, I am sure we can find a home for this.”
As they walked back through to the kitchen Trish called her hello to Sean before turning her attention back to the meal. Nikki set the wine bottle on the kitchen sideboard before she set about hunting through the drawers in a bid to find a corkscrew.
“It’s a good job we’re such good friends,” Said Trish “People can take offence when others start rummaging about in their drawers without so much as a by your leave. Oh and I don’t want any wise cracks off either of you about how you would love to rummage in my drawers any time. I know what you two are like.”
As Sean laughed at this he said, “Well then, in that case I shall just join Nikki in ransacking your kitchen.” He crossed over to the cupboard where Trish kept her wine glasses. Opening it he retrieved three glasses before sitting down at the table. Nikki in the meantime had found the corkscrew and so sat down next to him before uncorking the bottle of wine.
“Watch out,” Nikki said, “Trish will have the police onto us for breaking and entering.”
“To bloody right I will” Trish replied with feeling, not bothering to turn around from the cooking.
The sound of three people laughing, who were totally at ease with each others company rang out, echoing throughout the house.

A couple of hours later the well cooked dinner had been eaten and appreciated, the bottle of red wine that Sean had brought with him had been drunk and another one opened. All three had helped with the washing up, which, as a result had soon been done. Now the three of them had retired into the smaller but cosier of the two reception rooms, rich terracotta and oranges were the colours on the walls, all warm and soothing, deep luxurious rugs were scattered liberally across the wooden floor, while a few lovely pictures hung on the walls, they included one of a farmhouse which had been Trish’s childhood home, it was a picture her Uncle had done and was a simple red ink drawing but it captured the essence of the place so well, there was also a beautiful charcoal drawing of Trish’s old cat which Nikki could look at all day. Trish and Nikki sat on opposite ends of a large sofa; both had drawn their feet up underneath them, snuggled up in the overstuffed cushions. Sean meanwhile sat in his favourite chair, a 1920’s/1930’s style armchair; it was circular in shape with a completely solid, padded back with round stuffed arms that seemed to wrap themselves around the body. It was not a chair that suited everybody and certainly wasn’t modern or trendy, but Sean had always found it extremely comfortable. Trish had kept the chair after her Father had died, it had been his favourite chair so for sentimental reasons she had not wanted to get rid of it and had therefore been thrilled when Sean had fallen in love with it, at least it was getting the use it deserved. Three glasses of wine and the new bottle of opened wine sat on the square wooden coffee table that was in the middle of the room. A log fire was burning in the reproduction Victorian wood burner that sat in the fireplace. Trish hated being reliant on too much modern technology and so had gone for the stove that would also heat the water and run radiators as well. The warmth generated was made even more enjoyable because of the wind and the rain that was now splattering against the windows, at that moment Nikki felt as if the world couldn’t get in and harm anybody. They all looked content and comfortable as the music from the Enya CD that was playing in the background washed over them.
Trish was the first to break the silence. “So, how’s your new boss Sean, name of Helen Stewart isn’t it, from Scotland I heard?”
“Yes that’s right, she came from Aberdeen University and is certainly qualified in her field, I would say that we are very lucky to have her here, she’s certainly proving very knowledgeable when it comes to our latest project.”
“Ah yes,” Said Nikki, “I have been involved in that, all be it very briefly, the project manager wanted to know if we had any information in the archives which may have been of some use.” She paused to pick up her glass of wine and take a sip. “I had a good look through, to be honest I was quite surprised how much stuff we had got hidden away but when it came down to details it was pretty well all the same sort of thing rehashed, and it was all facts that they knew about anyway so it didn’t prove to be helpful on this occasion. Mind you, I am sure that there must be other references somewhere. Plus we are always finding new documents and books in collections and some of those can be in the oddest of places, look at that manuscript they found in that School library last year, I mean, its not where you would expect to find ancient manuscripts at all!”
“Hum” Said Trish “I would certainly agree with you on that, I had a person come into the museum last week. He had been using a metal detector on his farm to locate some metal that had been dropped in some thick mud.”
Both Sean and Nikki looked amazed at what she had said, “Well I know that your job as assistant curator at the local museum can be pretty tedious sometimes with odd days of excitement, but that sounds like one of the weirdest yet.” Shaun sounded as though he thought the April fools joke was being played on him now. “A farmer, metal lost in mud and a metal detector, it sounds like something out of a comedy sketch show off the TV … Why on earth would he be wanting to find bits of metal?”
Trish laughed, “Well it does turn out that the metal had been a small but very important and very expensive part off the tractor.”
“Oh, OK expensive piece off tractor, anybody know the words to I’ve got a brand new combine harvester?” interrupted Sean.
Giving him a mock glare at the interruption Trish carried on, “AS I was saying” Another mock glare was sent Sean’s way before she carried on, “He found the piece off the tractor quite quickly and because the friend who had lent him the metal detector was away until that evening he decided he would have a play with his new toy as you men tend to do.”
Neither Sean nor Nikki could quite stop themselves laughing at Trish’s description. Trish carried on as if she hadn’t heard anything and that made Nikki feel even more like the giggling school kid in class.
“He had often wondered about a big patch of stones, oblong in shape, about 30 foot long by 20 wide, the stones were set just above a field which seemed different to the others in the same area. The grazing this field produced was always top quality but in fact it shouldn’t have been because it was set in an area of poor boggy marshland. The farmer often wondered if there had been some sort of occupation on the site in the past. It seems he may have been right. He found several gold pieces including a beautiful bracelet, those are the pieces he brought into the museum and I have now started the legal process to decide whether they come under the treasure law. I’ve no doubt the farmer will be allowed to keep the pieces in due time and I expect that they will make him a fairly rich man.”
Sean whistled under his breath on hearing the end to the story “SO THAT’S the dig old bodybag is involved in then! Right up her street that one. The thought of fame, glory and riches seems to be the only thing that every makes that old hag come alive, no wonder she volunteered for that dig if treasure is involved.”
Trish stood up to put some more logs on the fire, on her way back she picked up her wine glass and handed Sean his glass as well, Nikki still had hold of hers from earlier. “She hasn’t changed then?” Asked Nikki.
“No way, especially now she’s started going out with that jobs worth copper Fenner.”
“Wasn’t he the prat you had to deal with last year after that poor woman panicked when she found those human remains in her garden after she started to dig a new fish pond?”
“Yep, that’s the one, oh thanks Trish” he said as she picked up the bottle of wine and topped everybody’s glasses up, “ The poor woman thought she had found a murder victim or something buried in her garden, phoned the police and as bad luck had it Fenner is the one that gets sent down to investigate it all. He managed to be his normal obnoxious self, upsetting both her and the half the dig team who were sent to investigate from our point of view, by the time I got down there a full scale riot was about to break out. Anyway in the end it turned out to be a body from an unknown medieval cemetery. I think it may have been at that dig that he and Bodybag met. The way he was posturing would have appealed to her and the way she was fawning over him would have been the quickest way to massage his ego!”
“That man always did give me the creeps” Said Nikki giving an involuntary shudder.
“Well, at least if Bodybag is tied up with that farmers dig she can’t interfere with what you are doing at the moment,” added Trish “Although what you are doing is unlike anything every done before I doubt its ever going to be big headline news, certainly not in the same way that gold treasure tends to be anyway. A lot of those headlines will be the same old story. If the farmer can and does decide to sell the items, I can see them now, lack of resources force the sale of national treasure to a foreign buyer.”
“It’s the same with so many of our old books and manuscripts” Said Nikki with a sigh. “The American market in particular can afford to outbid us every time a private collection comes up for sale, the Americans really go mad for the sales that come from a stately home, even more so if they think that their ancestors from the Mayflower have links to that particular stately home. Ok I admit there have been times when we have been sold books at a reduced market rate, or even been donated them, but it only tends to happen if the owner decides that they want a particular collection to stay together or if they want to make sure the collection stays in Britain, sometimes its for both reasons.”
“I’m glad you said that Nikki,” Trish said, “The talk of old books and your job has reminded me that you were telling how you got interesting in such things, its about time you finished that tale off, I’m sure Sean will be interested in hearing the whole story as well.”
“OK” Nikki grinned as she got up, “But first I need to take a break, that wine has caught up with my bladder.”
“Jeez, thanks for sharing that one with us,” Said Sean laughing, “Way to much information there for my liking, now I am going to be plagued with visions of your bladder playing games with that red wine, I shall have to think about demanding damages you know!”
“That’s nothing” came Nikkis reply as she left the room, “Get Trish to fill you in on the little she knows while I am gone”
With a quizzical look on his face Sean turned to Trish, Trish in turn just raised her eyebrows at him, laughing Trish gave way first, “Ok, I’ll tell you all I know, but its not much honestly.”
“Well, if it’s a typical Nikki Wade story is got to be worth listening to. I think a refill of glasses is in order before she comes back and gives us all the gory details.” Picking up the wine bottle he motioned towards Trish’s glass, “A top up?”
“Yes please, and I expect Nikki will want a refill as well.”
“What the hell, in for a penny in for a pound as they say” Sean leant forward over the table to fill Nikki’s glass before filling his own. Then Trish began to tell him the little bit of the story she knew.


A few miles away a woman was sitting on her sofa, but there were differences to what was happening in Trish’s house, This woman was alone except for the vodka bottle at her side, the lights were turned down low and as she cried the low light levels distorted her features, she was an attractive woman, in her mid thirties, she had a pretty face that had a wide mouth and green eyes, her mousy coloured hair was shoulder length which at the moment was not tied back. Sean would have been shocked to see her at the moment; The Helen Stewart at home was not the Helen Stewart he knew at work. Just as she was wondering how much more vodka she would be able to drink so she could get comfortably numb without it affecting her the next day the phone rang on the table next to where she was sitting. Jumping at the sound, Helen wiped her eyes with the back of one hand as she snatched to phone from the receiver with the other. “Thomas, is that you?” her gentle Scottish accent sounded thick from the tears she had been crying, Her hopes were dashed when she heard her Fathers voice on the other end of the line, “No Helen, its me.”
“Hi Dad.” Helen numbly replied, hoping she didn’t sound too drunk, she knew how disapproving her Father was of drink.
“Look I don’t want to preach, but why don’t you come back home?”
“Dad, I know that’s where you think I should be, but Thomas has made his feeling quite clear. He doesn’t want me; I still think a complete break away from the whole thing is the best solution.” A slight pause, “For everybody.”
“Then why are you hoping he’ll call you?” Her Fathers voice sounded as though he was losing patience with her, “Look at the way you answered the phone just now, that’s no way to be going on.”
Helen mentally flinched at those words, knowing they were true but not wanting to admit to anything. “Sorry Dad, I can’t cope with this right now, if there’s nothing else?” She left the question hanging in the air, hopeful her Father would take the hint that she didn’t want to talk about it.
With a resigned sign he said, “No, that’s all love but you know where I am.”
“Aye, ok then. Thanks for phoning; bye Dad ” Was all Helen could manage in reply.
“Bye” came the equally short reply before she heard the phone being put down on the other end of the line.
As Helen put her own phone back on its receiver she thought back on what had happened to her the last couple of months. Had it only been two months. It seemed so much longer somehow. Two months ago she was happy in a relationship with Thomas, living up in Scotland, the perfect idyll or so she had thought, but the relationship had got stale somehow, it was as if her life was lacking something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It seemed nothing major so she had ignored it. She had believed that she and Thomas would eventually get married but Thomas had got more and more distant from her until in the end he had told her he couldn’t carry on with the relationship, she had found that such a strange word to use, couldn’t rather than wouldn’t. When she challenged him about it all he had just said that she needed to “Find herself” whatever that meant! The shock at what he had done was immense. There was nobody else involved on his side, and he was genuine when he had said that, he had then gone on to say, for some reason he believed that she was missing something in her life and she would never be truly happy until she found out what that was. Yet because of his kindness it had somehow made the whole thing worse, she had no other “woman” to blame, at least that would have given her something to focus her anger at and he had even denied her that because it had just come down to him. So, she had seen the job in Wiltshire and decided to leave. The trouble was once she had moved she found she was consumed by an aching, lonely emptiness that she couldn’t show to the world. It was so encompassing at times she often wondered how she could possibly function, and yet somehow she managed it with out giving anything away. To the world at large she had this great academic career, had managed to buy a nice little Victorian terraced house and yet somehow the nagging thought that Thomas was right kept coming back to haunt her, and so often her evenings were spent alone, looking at the vodka bottle wondering how much she dare drink. Her colleagues at work often asked her out for drinks and meals, but she couldn’t face it, so would say no, often using the excuse that there was still a lot to do to get the house in order. Vaguely she wondered how long she could drag that excuse out. Hopefully a few more months before anybody started to question the terrible state of the property she had bought!

Thinking about her Father, she knew how much she had disappointed him. He had always had very strict ideas about what his daughter should be doing with her life, he had wanted her to leave school, meet a nice man who had a respectable job, get married have the two point four children and then be the wife who stayed at home doing the endless rounds of the Women’s Institute, Parents and Teachers Association and all the after school clubs, not to mention the Church Fetes on Sundays. A neat little world, and one Helen found horrifying. So her rebellious streak had kicked in and as soon as she could she had made her own way in the world, first going to University where she had graduated with honours, then a prime job at Aberdeen where she had met Thomas. At least that had gone some way to placating her Father as it meant she had not moved too far away and was with a respectable man. Then she had disappointed him further by upping sticks and moving to Wiltshire. That had been as bad as moving to a foreign country as far as he had been concerned. Despite her reasons for moving it had turned out to be her dream job. So it had been something that she had been able to throw herself into body and soul during the daylight hours, it was only at night that the thoughts of her life with Thomas haunted her.

Pulling her thoughts back to the present day she started to think about the morning and the day that was ahead of her and the small team she ran, the person she had dealt with most since she had arrived was a guy called Sean, he seemed nice and had been rattling on this afternoon about the friends he was going to visit after he had finished work, he was going for dinner and from what she could make out there were three friends who would go to each others houses on a rotating system every couple of weeks, the person who was hosting that evening would cook a dinner, they would drink some wine and catch up on what the others were doing. It had sounded nice and had made lonely pangs she often felt more acute this evening. With a start she had realized that she had no real close friends, sure there had been a close circle of acquaintances when she and Thomas had been together, but she realized no real friends. At least she had work and tomorrow was going to be one of her biggest days yet. As much as possible had been done on the groundwork. The project manager had been efficient in contacting and dealing with the various local archive departments and museums. Nothing of any merit had surfaced but there again they hadn’t really expected anything new to be found. There had been one brief moment of excitement when the local Roman museum had queried the age of a robe stored there that had been found near the site, they were not sure how accurate the carbon dating that had been done on the robe was, but it had been soon decided that the carbon date must be inaccurate, no one could see how a robe of such fine woollen material could have been made before the Roman period. The dates given had suggested that this could be a much earlier artefact but there was always a huge margin for error. It was going to be an early start in the morning with the logistics involved. The local police had been contacted and they were providing support and security. Sean had already warned her about one of the policemen that may be involved, it seemed he would try and take over given half the chance; She seemed to recall that his name was Fenner. She regretted the need to involve the police quite so much but given what they planned to do there were bound to be some protesters about. The last thing she would want to be doing was dealing with any sort of interference from them. She also knew there was going to be minimal media coverage, probably the sort of thing that would take up five minutes on the local night-time news desk, and half of that time would be taken up with the protestors. While dealing with the media was part of her job, Helen was glad that there would not be a big presence, she much preferred being involved in the running of the site, especially as the way they were going to work was such a new idea and was so radical in its approach. It could yield a huge amount of information or it could be the biggest flop ever seen in local archaeological history.


Nikki had just finished telling the rest of her families’ story to Shaun and Trish. By the time she had finished, the second bottle of wine had been drunk and they had considered opening a third but as they had all got work in the morning they had decided against that.
“Well” said Sean as a slight burp escaped his lips, “I feel as if enough wine has be drunk by myself and I feel comfortably sated. I have also heard an intriguing Wade family story as only she can tell and I would love to stay longer, but I have got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, time to go home I think, thanks for wonderful evening you two, the meal, as always, was lovely Trish. Don’t forget you are round at mine on Saturday to return the favour.” As Trish went to get up he motioned to her to stay where she was, “No don’t bother getting up Trish I can see myself out thanks.” Getting up out of the chair, he lent over and kissed Nikki on the cheek before going to Trish to do the same. “Goodnight you two wonderful woman, if I don’t see you before, I’ll see you Saturday.”
“ Goodnight Sean.” Nikki said
“Goodnight, I look forward to the return trip.” Said Trish. As Sean made his way out Trish looked across to Nikki and she asked, “Do you want me to make up the spare bed, Sean only has to go down the road but you don’t really want to be out for long in this horrid weather.”
“If you are sure you don’t mind? It is still blowing a gale out there.” Just then they heard the front door closing.
“No trouble at all.” With that Trish got up and went to deal with the spare bed. Nikki sat looking into the fire reflecting on what a lovely evening it had been.

Little did the four of them know how things would change for them all over the next few days.

Do not be put off fighting for what you want in life. When you get to the top of the hill and you see how tall the next one is..remember it is all downhill to get off the hill you are already on.. I say blueberry, you say whinberry



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 96





itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:07 pm
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itsmetwo
Baby mod
Posts: 63
(2/5/05 14:37)
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and Arrrgh! I hate privilege of the writer when I'm not the one abusing it! If I pout and bat my lashes can I get a hint as to what's coming next? Did I mention I love your story?
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lol AT9, lol ... Glad you like the story so far, of course you may hate it now I have added the third chapter .. There again you may not ... Good call on Wader by the way .... But I can't give any more than that away.
Do not be put off fighting for what you want in life. When you get to the top of the hill and you see how tall the next one is..remember it is all downhill to get off the hill you are already on..

AngelTrisha9
Out of strips!
Posts: 65
(2/5/05 20:44)
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Oki, read the third chapter, still love it!!! Ah, so Helen is working on the dig that's got to do with Nikki's ancestors, how nice. SHe'll find what's mising in her life and all too!

And you can't give more away... Even with say... a box of godiva and a bottle of pinot noir? (I learn fast, don't I ILMJN?)

And I knew she doesn't bat that way, but imagine this: poutty lip, slightly quivery with tears in my eyes, not enough to cry, but enough make them shine and make me look absolutely pitiful, don't it just pull at your heartstrings? who's be able to resist? throw in a puppy if you like, but ti works every time

Anyway, off to work I am, pass the puke bucket please!
I don't fit the mold society
Has Planned
****
And I no longer justify
Reasons for the way that I behave
I offer no apologies
For the things that I believe and say
And I like it that way

~*Trisha Yearwood - Real Live Woman*~



itsmetwo
Baby mod
Posts: 62
(2/6/05 0:18)
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but imagine this: poutty lip, slightly quivery with tears in my eyes, not enough to cry, but enough make them shine and make me look absolutely pitiful, don't it just pull at your heartstrings? who's be able to resist? throw in a puppy if you like, but ti works every time
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Now who could resist that!!! ... .... lol ...


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And you can't give more away... Even with say... a box of godiva and a bottle of pinot noir?
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Tempting, but I'm afraid I have to resist ..
Do not be put off fighting for what you want in life. When you get to the top of the hill and you see how tall the next one is..remember it is all downhill to get off the hill you are already on..

4 us
"Undercover."
Posts: 125
(2/6/05 4:54)
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Don't know what would make you think the 3rd chapter would not be well recieved!!!! think you are selling yourself way short.....lol.would want more than one bottle and chocs though.lol.... so keep going girl this is becoming more and more intriguing to say the least.
had to laugh at fenner and body bag getting it together.... reckon that's who he deserves...the mind boggles a match made in heaven???? nah hell more likely.!!!

MJnet
MJs knight in shining armour
Posts: 268
(2/6/05 11:15)
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This is absolutely fantastic!!! Took me a while to catch up but it was well worth the read.... keep it up sis-in-not-law-but-wish-i-was




"A lot of our misery comes from having to achieve and need things,
whereas there is a lot to be said for valuing what you do have"






obssesdwithsimone
Onto Basic
Posts: 139
(2/7/05 14:50)
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OK i thought this was good before and now it has my darling Helen in it it has got a million times better. This is intriguing and i am terribaly curious as to where it goes next.

Chapter

Re: Gods Deceit
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Sorry for the delay in the next chapter, I am busy typing into the PC as I speak, I am afraid that I lost this week to a very bad flu like bug that has been sweeping the area, the casualty list at work going longer and longer as the week went on and I have only really felt up to dealing with logging on and catching up today ... I did manage to write a bit of the story in rough though so I have kept ahead a bit ... Thanks for all your kind words on what I have done so far...
Do not be put off fighting for what you want in life. When you get to the top of the hill and you see how tall the next one is..remember it is all downhill to get off the hill you are already on..

itsmetwo
Baby mod
Posts: 63
(2/12/05 15:58)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: GODS DECEIT.
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Chapter 4 is now done, I haven't checked it for errors so once again I am sorry for spelling and grammer .. Not that people seem to have minded so far .. lol .. Anyway I hope that you enjoy the update, chapter 5 being worked on at the moment ..



Gods Deceit.
Chapter Four.

As the following day dawned, it was clear, bright and cool the wind and rain from the night before a distant memory. It was typical weather for the early part of September. Stonehenge rose out of the mist like some grey monster, an imposing sight. Despite the earliness of the hour quite a few people now mingled on the surrounding landscape. Mostly protesters who had camped in vans ready to wave placards and sing their songs of peaceful protest over what they saw as the desecration of a mystical site. There had been a couple of police on duty overnight just to make sure that no-body camping had tried to sneak into the main control areas or the inner circle of the henge itself. They had found the night peaceful. All had been quiet, just the early sounds of the birds rising with the dawn and the odd car passing on the roads nearby. That peace would be broken shortly with the arrival of the archaeologists and their equipment.

At five am Helens alarm clock had sounded, reaching over she had turned it off before switching on the bedside light. She groaned inwardly at the dull ache between her eyes. It seemed as though she wasn’t going to get away without a slight hangover after all. She hoped that a mug of coffee and a couple of paracetamol would cure her aches. At least she didn’t feel sick, before long she had prised herself out of bed and was waking up fully under the shower. She had chosen sensible clothes knowing that despite the time of year the weather could turn cool, wet or both at anytime or be blazing with sunshine. She dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans, navy polo shirt and sweatshirt with woollen socks and her Dr Martin safety boots, she also decided to wear a baseball cap, it was good to keep off the suns glare or if needed the rain, in the small bag she put her hard hat and reflective safety vest. She had a piece of toast with her coffee knowing it could be a long morning, she didn’t really feel up to eating at that time of the morning but had done too many of them in the past to ignore being sensible. Looking at her watch she realized she had timed it well, by the time she got outside the minibus that they were using today should be waiting at the end of her street ready to collect her. There were only half a dozen people going to the site today, as they weren’t expecting to be able to do very much. It should be mostly setting up and dealing with the people bringing special equipment.

Helen went through the house making sure all the windows and doors were secured properly before she went out through the front door, as she was dealing with the front lock she heard the sound of a vehicle in the distance behind her, looking round she saw the minibus pull up at the junction which was only a twenty yards or so from her house. Sean was driving and the front passenger seat had been left clear for her, typical of the sort of minibus so often used by council services the seats looked stained from so much outdoor use but the rest was clean and tidy, and for once they seem to have been given a bus which had working heating which was welcome in the autumn chill. Glancing behind her Helen nodded her greeting to the four young archaeological students who had volunteered to do the donkeywork for today. They all looked nervous no doubt their first major outing, she remembered how that felt! She looked across to Sean. He grinned at her before speaking, “Morning Helen, I hope that you are ready for this?”
“Morning, as ready as I’ll every be.”
Putting the bus into gear Sean started the short drive from the town that would take them to Stonehenge. “ I hope you don’t mind only I phoned the contractors just before we left. They both say they are on time and should arrive shortly after us.”
Glad Sean had dealt with that already Helen just said “No, that’s fine, it saves me a job when we get there.”
“ That’s what I thought.” Sean paused as if thinking about something before he carried on, “I hope that this works, you must be really excited about being able to work on this unhindered for a change especially when you consider that you specialize in henges.”
As he had been speaking Helen had been looking out of the passenger window when she replied it seemed to Sean that her mind was half on something else. “Its certainly a unique opportunity to look into how these things were built, just to get the chance to try this new Geo Physics machine out is something.”
Deciding that what ever else was on her mind was none of his business Sean made a point not to push the conversation further, in turn Helen was grateful for the quiet journey, the loneliness she had felt last night still in the back of her mind. She hoped a good day out in the field rather than stuck behind a desk would bring a welcome chance to we way she felt. Before long they approached Stonehenge and Helen felt the little frisson of excitement that seeing this wonderful monument always gave her. Part of her had to admit that Sean was right. She was looking forward to being able to work unhindered by the normal rules and regulations that governed this site.

In anticipation of the day Helen muttered the little comfort prayer she often used to herself, it was a simple “Please God, Dear God” Although she had got out of the habit of going to church on a regular basis, a woman she had known many years before had often used that prayer, Helen had liked it so much she often reverted to using it if there was a big day or if there were stressful moments ahead. Sometimes she would just shorten it to a simpler PGDG, and now it seemed more appropriate than ever as the stones rose in the early autumn sunshine, reflecting the suns rays from the grey surface that seemed to radiate an almost tangible powerful force that Helen felt she could almost touch. Sean parked the minibus in the field about a hundred yards away from the henge. A minibus had already arrived with extra police to join the two that had been here overnight so they could set up a cordon, which hopefully should mean they were going to be able to work unhindered from the protestors. Helen got out and turned to open the side slide door on the minibus so the students could get out and stretch their legs. A few yards from where they had parked stood a porta-cabin that was to house the office and coffee and tea making facilities for both themselves and the police on the site. A generator engine was rumbling in the background to power the electricity needed inside the porta cabin. Sean came around the bus to join her. Looking at his watch he said, “ Just gone six forty five, the others should be here soon.”
“ As soon as the Geo Phys get here please can you get them started,” Asked Helen using the shortened form of Geo Physics that people often lapsed into “ I think start at the Altar and work their way out. Keep the searches short so we can get information quickly and I hope this new improved system doesn’t prove to be a waste of time.”
“Ok, no problem.”
Just then they saw the lorry with the JCB turning into the field. Looking towards it Helen said “ Unless we are very lucky I’ll don’t think we will get to use that today.”
“No” Agreed Sean “ But Murphy’s law states that if we didn’t have it here you could guarantee we would need it.”
With out any trace of humour Helen simply said, “ I wish I knew who Murphy was, I could quite gladly kill him!”
Sean couldn’t quite work out if what she had said was meant as a joke or not so he decided to keep quiet.

As the lorry was parking a bit further away than they had another council minibus and Land Rover Defender turned into the field, “Ah” Said Sean, “That looks as though it could be our surveyors and Geo Phys lot.” Sure enough both vehicles parked up next to theirs before the occupants got out. The first to introduce themselves was the woman who got out of the Land Rover and was called Di. It turned out she was the head of the Geo Physics team. The other four members of the team had arrived in the minibus and after consulting with Sean about what was required of them had started to unload the equipment from the Land Rover. Two other men also got out of the minibus, a taller man with dark hair had made his way over to greet Helen. “Hello there, nice to see you again, I see the JCB lot have arrived.”
“Hello Dominic,” Replied Helen shaking his hand, “Yes, I doubt we will need them today but you never know,” Turning she said, “Have you met Sean at all? He’s second in command on this from our point of view.”
“No, I don’t believe we have met, I am from the surveys department to help with positioning of the Geo Phys ” he turned to extend his greeting towards Sean who responded likewise.
Looking around Dominic asked Helen “Have you seen anything of the media yet?”
“Nothing yet and to be honest I for one would be quite happy if they managed to forget about us for today, I won’t really be able to tell them much. What they can see is pretty much what they are going to get.”
“True” Replied Dominic, “Well I’ll leave you to the hungry jaws of the press and go and see about positioning the JCB just in case that is needed today. I’ll see you both a bit later no doubt.”
“Yes, time for us to go and see how the Geo Phys are getting on.” As she and Sean walked over to where the Geo Physics were setting up Helen couldn’t help but wonder how long the day would last.

An hour later the first results were coming through, the new Geo Physics system proving to be much quicker than the old one. Helen was just getting her first look at the results when as if by magic the media decided to arrive with a sense of perfect timing that disrupted her viewing. As Helen had thought it only turned out to be a very small crew from the local T.V news and a single journalist from the local paper. Mentally making a note to keep smiling Helen went to introduce herself. As she approached the small group one of the men broke away, he was fairly tall with light brown short hair dressed in a navy suit. Helen couldn’t help but think how young he looked, she thought that maybe he was fairly new to the job and so got sent on the less interesting stories. He introduced himself as Mark and outlined what he would like to do, starting with asking a few questions about what they were doing today, how long did they think it would take. The usual basic things, after about ten minutes of small talk, most of which Helen couldn’t recall the TV crew said that they were ready to try for a take. Still reminding herself to keep smiling Helen stood where they asked her to and waited why they fussed about background shots, lighting, sound and other technical details. Soon Mark was standing just in front of her, the journalist from the paper behind him ready to note what was said. Mark was handed a microphone and said something to the soundman that she couldn’t make out before he turned his attention back to her. Helen braced herself for the first round of questions. “Miss Stewart, as head of archaeology here at Stonehenge today, please can you give a brief description of what is happening and why?”
“Certainly,” Helens response was professional and measured, “ As you know there are radical plans to divert the A303 that runs alongside Stonehenge by creating a tunnel, we are awaiting a decision from the Secretary of State for Transport following the public inquiry that took place last year. With this in mind we have been asked to try and provide additional information regarding the impact the vibrations drilling out the tunnel may have on Stonehenge.” Before she could carry on Mark broke in with a question, “How can archaeologists help in this matter?”
“Well, as I was going to say,” Said Helen a bit annoyed at what she saw was a needless interruption “ A tunnel is being looked at to reduce the road impact on the surface environment of the Plain. Our plans over the next few days are to try and make sure, by using the latest Geo Physics techniques, that there are no hidden underground holes or caverns that might collapse due to vibrations from the tunnel. Any such collapse could cause the ground to become unstable around the stones. If any anomalies are found by the Geo Physics team then they surveyors have worked out they should be able to mimic, in a controlled way, the vibrations of the tunnel by digging a trench 2 meters deep at quarter meter intervals close to those anomalies with the JCB, if the Geo Physics pick up any change around any of the areas which have been pin pointed as being at risk while the JCB digs the trench then we should have an idea as to how the tunnel work should affect the henge as a whole. If the JCB is used today then we as archaeologists will also be trying to prevent loss of any archaeology that may be uncovered, I estimate that we should be here for three days.”
“Well Miss Stewart, it certainly sounds like it’s a radical idea, I hope it works. I can’t help but wonder how you feel about the protestors though?”
“Ah” Thought Helen to herself, “He’s hoping that we might feel threatened, the old confrontational story.” Out loud all she said was, “They have a right to peaceful protest which is what it has been, none of the people working here today have felt threatened in anyway.”
Clearly disappointed he was not going to get anything from that question Mark just finished by saying, “ Thank you for your time I wish you luck over the next couple of days.”
After he ended the interview he turned to the crew and checked that everybody was happy with the take. Amazingly for a first attempt everybody involved was pleased with what they had. Mark then turned back to Helen. “Once again thank you for your time Miss Stewart, I don’t think there will be anything else, if you are interested this should be shown on the local news sometime between six and six thirty PM. I hope you understand that I do need to go and talk to the protestors and get their point of view on what you are doing.”
“ Of course and I am glad I could be of some help,” Helen had been amused that he thought she would be that interested in wanting to catch the article on the news, she had no desire to see herself on the TV. She made her goodbyes as quickly as possible before heading back to the porta cabin.

When Helen got inside the porta cabin she found that Geo Phys had returned with the results from another sector and that Di was in conversation with Sean. Looking up Di waved at Helen to join them, “I Just thought that you and Sean would be interested in this,” She said, “ Right next door to the Altar, on its western side there is an area there is a small anomaly which might be worth keeping an eye on. It’s not deep but the results indicate there may be a void in that area, about two deep.”
“Ok,” Said Helen, “ Sean, have you got that mapped out on the grid for reference?”
“ Yes and I’ve just sent one of the students down to double check it all.”
“That’s great,” Turning her attention back to Di she carried on “ Is there anything more?”
“Not yet, just little blips, nothing more than rabbit warrens really, although there is an area which is just on the very western edge of the survey which is showing some interesting resistance, the problem is that the main part does seem to be outside of the search pattern that we are doing so we seem to be getting a tantalizing glimpse and no more.”
“Well if its that good and we get time we may be able to extend the area we are covering, what have you got so far?”
“It looks like a depth of six foot, length twelve feet, as for how far back it goes we can’t be sure, we have caught a foot of the width within our survey. It’s not a void but it is disturbed ground of some sort. It is a pity that we can’t get a trench put in there, but I guess you can’t have everything, anyway I had better get back to the others, I catch up with you later.”
With that Di picked up some of the paperwork that had been on the table before she headed back out of the door. After she went out Sean and Helen found themselves alone in the porta cabin, Sean pointed at the kettle and small fridge on the side next to the plastic cups saying, “ I don’t know about you but I think it’s about time we had a cup of coffee,” As he got up from the table to put the kettle on he said, “Would you like one, only instant I’m afraid but at least its not powered milk!”
Suddenly Helen realized it had been several hours since she had left the house and so with relish answered, “ Yes please, milk and no sugar thanks.”

A little while later that sat with cups of coffee steaming in their hands, Sean broke the silence that had descended while they sipped at the drinks. “ I hope that you had a good evening last night?” Helen just nodded unable to think of a convincing lie; luckily Sean took that as a yes and carried on. “ I enjoyed myself with Nikki and Trish, I think you would like them, in fact the chances are you will get to meet them while you work here as Trish works up at the main museum and Nikki is involved with the archives department, actually Nikki was telling us last night that she was asked by the project manager to look up any documents they had stored in the archives regarding this particular site.”
Although Helen wasn’t really feeling up to personal talk she found herself asking
“ Have you known Trish and Nikki for long?”
“ A while now, Trish and Nikki have known each other since school, they grew up in the same area. I met them when we all went to university, we got on very well, similar sense of humour that sort of thing, and have been best friends ever since. None of us are in any kind of relationship at the moment so we are getting to see a bit more of each other right now, which is nice. How about you, any friends that you get to see regularly?”
“No not regularly,” Helen was regretting asking the question now. Sean didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong as he carried on talking, “Well of course now that you have moved so far away it will be harder to keep in touch but good friends are always worth the effort in the end.”
“ Yes” Lied Helen, “Yes they are.” She hoped Sean would lose interest in the conversation as she found it was stirring up the negative emotions in her that she didn’t want to deal with without a vodka bottle at her side. To change the subject Helen decided to ask “ Do you think that there may be a chance we can get going on digging that test pit with the JCB today?”
“ Well, you never know. If Geo Phys carry on at the speed they have been we might just get that going.”
“ Would that be delayed while they chance the police shift over, that’s at two this afternoon and the again at ten this evening isn’t it?”
“ That’s right, I can’t see that it would affect the work we are doing unless we have the misfortune to get Fenner here. Then you will get an hour of posturing by him”
You’ve gone on about Fenner before” Helen sounded intrigued “ What is it about him that you don’t like?”
“Well, without wanting to end up with a slander case slapped on me the least I can say is that he is obnoxious, controlling, rude and very much a male chauvinist pig. I could add that he would be delighted to find you in charge here.”
“Why?” Asked Helen.
“Simply because you are a woman, and I do not jest, he is stuck in the dark ages as far as his views on that sort of thing goes. He won’t say anything directly to your face, too much to lose if he ends up with a formal complaint against him, but he keeps pushing the limits with people the whole time, women more than most.”
“Oh,” Came Helens reply, “He does sound charming and gracious, I look forward to meeting him, I don’t think.”
They both laughed at that and for the first time since Helen had arrived in Wiltshire she felt totally relaxed and at ease in another persons company. It came as a pleasant surprise.

After lunch they were pleased to see that Fenner wasn’t amongst the police relief, then, just after two thirty Di came over with the last of the Geo Physics results, the new system had worked much quicker than anybody could have hoped for. Apart from the two areas that they had already discussed it looked as though there were three or four other targets, possibly indicating voids that could be monitored to check against collapse from the JCB vibrations. The archaeologists would have loved to have time to excavate the areas indicated but they knew that they were there for a specific reason and so stayed focused on dealing with the test pit that the JCB would be able to start digging soon. Sean had gone to tell the police what was happening so they had up to date information, as he went and dealt with them Helen had gone across to speak with the driver of the JCB. She gave him a two way radio so they could stop and start the JCB at will. Then Helen handed out the remaining radio sets to the archaeological students. One was to do a visual search on the spoil heap. The other two were to assist Helen and Sean on a visual search of the trench the JCB would be digging. The driver had assured Helen that he could skim off a layer only half an inch deep each time if she wanted and she had been glad to hear that, as that sort of accuracy would be critical in reducing any damage and maintaining any archaeology they may find. Having looked at the Geo Physics results both Helen and Sean had decided to place the digger on the eastern edge of the stones, that gave them a good distance from the target areas, the people who had first thought of this scheme in some nameless office somewhere had worked out that the distance needed to mimic the tunnel vibrations was fifty foot east of any areas that may be affected. As the digger rumbled into place the TV crew took the opportunity for a few last shots of the site to send off for the news broadcast that would be going out tonight. Even the protestors had fallen silent in expectation. The archaeologists donned their safety gear and took up the positions allocated to them. The radios were checked. Helen then looked up at Sean who stood to her left, gave him a wry smile and said, “ Here goes nothing. At least if it all goes wrong we have done everything right this end.”
Sean sounded nervous when he replied, “ It does seem strange to be doing something like this, I guess its time to grab the bull by the horns.”
Nodding at what he had said Helen gave the verbal order to the digger driver to start while Sean gave a hand signal to the others that they were starting. With what seemed like a massive roar the driver restarted the diggers engine and the first layer of earth was removed. It consisted of the grass layer which was being set to one side and kept moist so that it could be used to top the ground once the trench had been refilled after all the work was done.

An hour later the first half-meter of the trench had been carefully excavated. Geo Physics were going over the target areas again to se if they could spot any changes that may be taking place. Checking the time Helen wondered if they would get much of a chance to do anymore today. Walking over to where Sean stood she discussed the timing with him, “ I am not sure that we will get an awful lot more done today, I think that Geo Phys will be about another half hour before the new results are ready, that’s going to take us to five PM. How about when that’s all finished we call it a day, the JCB driver may as well go home now?”
“ I think your right, although I might ask Geo Phys if I can have a copy of the areas where they got resistance readings to study while once I get home tonight. I didn’t really get chance to look at them much earlier.”
“ I would have thought that they would be quite happy to run a copy off for you, I’ll go and tell them that we are going to call it a night once they have finished, I’ll ask them for some copies for you at the same time.”
“Thanks, well I’ll wrap things up this end with the driver while you do that.”
With that Sean turned and headed to where the JCB stood and as she went across to the Geo Physics Land Rover Helen wondered if they would be happy giving her a copy of their results as well, to get the chance to look at them in her own time tonight sounded appealing and it might just bring her relief from her loneliness if only for tonight. The autumn chill was starting to set in to the early evening air making her glad that they would be finished soon. Di was more than happy to run some extra copies of the Geo Physics off for her and Sean, in fact she was pleased that the two archaeologists had taken such an interest in the results, although these days most archaeologists recognized the benefits that Geo Physics had there were still very few that were prepared to embrace it totally.

Later that evening after she had got back home, Helen checked her answer phone to find she wasn’t surprised that there were no messages, she then decided to have a long hot bath and cooked herself a light meal of baked salmon with pasta and salad before sitting down wrapped up in her nice big warm fleece dressing gown. Not really wanting to drink vodka tonight a glass of red wine stood on the table next to the sofa and although it had been poured over an hour ago it remained untouched. A log fire had been lit in the grate just to keep the chill off. Helen wondered if Sean was a puzzled as she was by some of the Geo Physics readings. The two areas she had looked at again and again were the smaller one by the Altar and the larger one, which was just outside where they had been working. What ever it was about those two areas it was tugging at her brain as if it held some significance she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Both seemed too regular in pattern, as if they were man made, and both seemed to be orientated east to west, as if they signalled some kind of early Christian relic, but she knew that couldn’t be possible as the henge had been proven to have been built at a time which was far earlier than Christianity. Helen sighed, knowing that there was no way they would have time over the next couple of days to get test pits dug to investigate, as much as her heart wanted to. She may never again get the chance to dig at the site without the restrictions that were normally imposed. Remembering the wine she picked up the glass and as she sipped on the contents she couldn’t help but be plagued with the thought that she had missed something today. What ever it was she hoped it wouldn’t prove to be important.


Do not be put off fighting for what you want in life. When you get to the top of the hill and you see how tall the next one is..remember it is all downhill to get off the hill you are already on.. I say blueberry, you say whinberry



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 96





itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:10 pm
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So being off colour did little to dampen your writing.....thank goodness....so what's next??? will try to be patient for next installment BUT.... don't keep us waiting too long ok..lol I say blueberry, you say whinberry



Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 96





itsmetwo Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:11 pm
Chapter

itsmetwo
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Posts: 64
(2/13/05 19:51)
Reply | Edit | Del Gods Deceit
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Well, not too long until chapter 5 appeared, I am afraid Chapter 6 will take a bit longer to do ..... But I will try get it done asap ... Oh and once again its unchecked so sorry for the mistakes ..

Gods Deceit
Chapter five

With a start Sean realized that the noise he could hear was the phone ringing by the side of his bed, he groaned thinking that who ever it was, they had better have a good reason for disturbing his sleep. As he answered his brain noted that the alarm clock was only reading three in the morning. He groaned aloud just before he said, “ Sean here, this had better be goo