The Great Game

If you’re new to the Great Game, please have a quick look at the blurb to your left, where you’ll find a short catch-up introduction!

“How about you? How did you get so that smashing a girl’s hand off is no big deal?”

“Does it really matter?”

Alice shrugs. “You’re right, I don’t want to know.”

“I’m going to help you through this, OK? That’s what’s important.”

She looks at me directly. “Why? You don’t even know me.”

I meet her gaze. “We have a deal, remember?”

“Well yeah, I know… But…”

“But I could just waltz off with my new-found hotel knowledge and my possibly mojo eyes, and let you hang?”

She looks at her feet. “Something like that.”

“You were kind, helpful and reassuring to a very confused new arrival. I’d feel pretty shitty if I just abandoned you now.”

Alice smiles weakly. “Thanks.”

I grin at her in reply.

Massinisa, seeing the mood lift, makes his way over. He’s got a plate of assorted food, which centres around a small mound of pilaf. He looks reasonably cheerful again. “What is our strategy now?”

“We were told that Eadida’s hand could point the way to the place where she and Alice disturbed the ritual pattern,” I say. “When we get there, we can unsummon the thing that was called. This will stop it eating Alice’s soul, and will also take away one of the reasons that Eadida’s killers have for wanting Alice dead.” To her credit, she manages not to flinch at any of that.

Massinisa looks a bit bemused, he nods, and swallows his mouthful. “Very well. What should I do?”

A nugget of information comes to me from my new memories, something about the partial possession of a German surgeon. “Try blanking your mind as much as possible, and relaxing all the muscles in that arm and shoulder.”

“Very well.” He puts down his plate and closes his eyes, and the visibly relaxes. At first nothing happens, but then, slowly, the hand lifts and turns. It pulls the arm up bit by bit, as if there were a string lifting the fingertips. When Massinisa’s arm is fully outstretched, it is pointing in front of his left bicep, a bit to the side of Alice’s head.

Massinisa opens his eyes. “That was… strange.”

“But effective,” I say.

“So it seems,” he says. “If neither of you wish refreshment, then let us go. I can eat as we walk.”

We head out, and set off in the direction which is closest to the one Massinisa was pointing in. The next junction we get to, we turn to the right, crossing the direction we want. The idea is to keep turning in towards the bearing we want, and hope that keeps us reasonably true. Every few junctions, we take another reading, and it’s encouraging to see that our destination stays roughly where it should do. We pause to rest every so often, but with no idea of how far we have to go, none of us want to dawdle.

The corridors we walk through offer up quite a wild variety of styles. At one point, we find ourselves in a hallway with marble floor and tiled white walls striped with blue and green patterns. Later, there is a short stretch where everything is made of chrome-plated metal, locked down with bolts and rivets, and light comes from flaming braziers. Another series of passages make me feel like we’re walking through one of Tutankhamen’s palaces, right down to the stelae engraved in the walls.

Patches like these reflect particularly strong-willed local inhabitants, past or present. The hotel is reasonably accomodating, and if someone has fierce expectations or desires, then they can have quite an impact. The rest of the time, it just sort of does its own thing.

We hit one area with oddly crystalline walls and floor, and all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I know what shaped them. I speed up here, and urge the others to hurry, but I don’t explain. There’s no need to traumatise them further.

It’s about half an hour after that when I suddenly know that our destination is just a couple of corridors away. There are powerful entities in the area, too; I can feel them, like heavy weights on the fabric of the hotel.

“Wait.” They stop, and turn back to face me.

“What is it?” Alice looks nervous.

“We’re almost there,” I say.

“How can you be certain, my friend?”

“I can feel it now, Massinisa. I know exactly where it is.” He nods, thoughtfully. “There are powerful beings around here too. I don’t know what or where though, I’m afraid.”

Alice blinks. “Do you think it’s the thing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe some of the Macandal are heavy hitters. It’s quite a big coincidence if it’s unrelated, though.”

“What are we going to do?”

Sorry this is late tonight, folks. I’m not particularly well at the moment, and a busy day knocks seven shades of stuffing out of me.

Today’s photo is Wieliczka Salt Mine by Michal Osmenda.