Ganne


Part 28 - Jolly Brolly.


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The Jolly Brolly emerged from the stone arch leading to the steps down
from the observation deck.  In the early evening gloom, its bright colours
stood out like a beacon against the grey stonework of the fortress.
Sheltering beneath the canopy was the Master.  In a stately parade, the
huge brolly, painted with laughing faces, proceeded to the crenellated
wall enclosing the observation deck.  The brolly was being born aloft by a
burly Vardenai soldier.  The pouring rain drummed unheeded upon the
bearded fellow.  His face remained impassive, despite the incongruous
spectacle the procession was making.  The fellow he had replaced had lack
such iron control.  As a consequence, his shrunken form was pinned over
the door to their barracks as a warning to tread softly around the Wizard.

The Master leaned out over the wall and peered into the east.  In the
fading daylight, the lake shore was barely visible through the sheeting
rain- not that that mattered.  What he had seen of the ambush in the pine
forest had brought a cheer to his hearts.  The debacle had been observed
by means of a sensor embedded in the amulet carried by a Vardenai officer.
Before it had been destroyed, along with the officer, the Master had
recognised the mad old baggage who ruled all the land to the south.

Over the last thirty five years, her craven compromises had kept him well
supplied with the women soaked in the Artron energies, which he had needed
for his plans.  Not only that, but she had brought that interesting
specimen she kept constantly at her side.  He had wanted to get that thing
into his hands for a long time; but no amount of pressure had been able to
part the old woman from that very valuable creature.

His lengthy sojourn on this miserable little ball of mud at the edge of
the galaxy was at last drawing to a close.  Once he was able to drain that
creature, there would be enough energy to put his proposed schemes into
full operation; and the stupid old baggage was still making her way to
Starnford, bringing the prize with her.

For a while, he'd suspected a trap; especially when he'd lost track of the
Doctor and his party; but the intelligence brought in by his network of
airborne spies convinced him that it was no trap.  Better yet, he'd
rediscovered the whereabouts of the Doctor.

The black clad Time Lord chuckled in the greatest good humour as he
recollected the fleeting glimpse he'd had of the Doctor hiding among ferns
at the roadside.  The Master had despatched another airborne spy upon the
instant to gather more detailed information.  That spy was now returning
to report.  The tracker showed that it was closing fast upon the fortress.
The Master raised a tiny whistle to his lips and blew a complicated trill.

A few seconds later, a Raven came floating down through the murk to his
outstretched arm.  The bird alighted gracefully.  It folded its glossy
black wings and then sat peering at the Master, awaiting the trigger which
would cause the bird to sing its informative song.

The Master blew another complicated trill.  The world flickered for a
moment; and the Master was circling lazily in the air over a ruined hamlet
in the middle of abandoned farm land.  The guard, invisible at his side,
gave a little cry of surprise.  He almost dropped the brolly.  Rain began
to patter upon the Master's neatly groomed hair.  His snarl of displeasure
was cut short as the view made a sickening swoop towards the hamlet, and
became static as the bird alighted on a cottage roof.  Mounted figures
were approaching up an overgrown lane.  Through the loud rushing of the
rain, the desultory conversation was just audible.  The Master listened
intently, all the while a smile lit his handsome features.  When he had
heard enough, he put the whistle to his lips, trilled out some more notes,
the vision vanished, and the world reappeared.

The Raven was watching him, its head cocked on one side.  When the melody
had ceased, the bird nodded its head, and clacked its beak.  In a flurry
of wings, it sprang from the Master's wrist, and flapped away into the
rain.  The enhanced bird was soon lost in the deepening dark.

The Master turned from the dreary evening.  As he did so, his booted foot
scraped the wall.  The stonework dissolved into a grey paste.  The Master
stooped and touched the scar in the stonework with a gloved finger.  More
rock crumbled away.  The Master scowled at the fractures running through
the stone.  The process of de-naturing of the material, which his
activities had begun, was going faster than he'd anticipated.  The arrival
of that Viper creature could not come soone enough, if he was to effect
his escape from this planet before it dissolved into dust.

He rose and stepped quickly to the far end of the observation deck, where
a set of stone steps led up to a higher level.  The Master mounted
quickly, the soldier scrambling to follow and keep the brolly over him.
Water pooling in the hollows made the going treacherous.

The higher platform was about twenty yards on a side.  It was entirely
featureless; there was not even a rail guarding the edge.  In the centre,
a red discus was parked, standing out shockingly bright in the gloom.  It
was about thirty feet across.  A well lined with four seat took up the
central third of the discus.  They faced each other over a circular
console.  It's conical top was packed with dials and switches.  A clear
dome covered the compartment.  Rain was spattering the dome, and running
off in rippling streams.

The Master hopped lightly up on the top surface of the red disk.  The
soldier hesitated in indecision, before the Master snatched the brolly,
and crossed to the central well.  The dome popped up and swung back.  The
Master stepped inside and sat down.  He tossed the brolly aside as the
dome closed.

Caught by the fitful breeze blowing at this height, the brolly meandered
over the saucer and dropped to the floor.  As the soldier hurried to
retrieve it, the saucer emitted a loud hum, and rose abruptly into the
dripping night.  The soldier stared up in awe at the departing disk.

Unnoticed, the Jolly Brolly wandered off the edge of the platform.


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