Operation: BUTTERKNIFE (Part 13)
darthcourt10
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Yellowhammer
Operation: BUTTERKNIFE (Part XIII)
Stone of Lamentation, Tademait Plateau, Sahara Desert, Algeria
27 January 1942
Spoiler: Desert at Night
The stars overhead were a mass of diamonds spilled across the black velvet of the night sky. Colombe paused from stacking brushwood in the final fire pit to admire them. The wind from the Stone of Lamentation gave an eerie counterpoint what she saw, with the moaning of unspeakable sorrow at the transience of existence.
Spoiler: Night sky in the Sahara
"Takes your breath away, doesn't it, Del?"
"Yes, yes it does, Sis. It reminds me of a clear night on the Great Plains, nothing but me and the stars forever."
"Reminds me of the moon rising to form a rainbow over Mosi-oa-Tunya south of here."
Delilah looked a question at Colombe in the light generated by her wand as she glanced up from her watch.
Colombe's eyes were distant and her voice hushed "'The Smoke that Thunders' is the translation; the British call it Victoria Falls. Prefer what the locals call it. Waterfall on the Zambezi River in south-central Africa. I saw it in 1900 heading north to the Congo. One of the most awe-inspiring sights that I ever saw. In the dry season you can swim out to the edge and look down into the clouds as the water around you roars like a thousand lions."
Delilah nodded and responded in an equally hushed voice as the wind moaned and howled around them. "Something to look forward to after the war, Sis. Maybe we can take Mother, Jackie, and even our father there, make it a family outing."
"I'd like that. Thinking about it, a lot of what has happened over the years has sucked but then moments like tonight make it all worthwhile somehow. Sharing it with friends makes it even more special."
"Agreed. I would have enjoyed my around the world cruise a lot less if I didn't have Jackie along to experience it with. Half a hour until midnight."
Colombe mock pouted as she walked back to Delilah and surveyed the desert around them, resting one hand on her rapier. "Aww, and here I never got an around the world cruise. Woe is me." Her lower lip trembled and she sniffed obviously.
Delilah's voice was as dry as the sand that she stood on. "You never asked, Sis. I'm sure after the war that Jackie will be delighted to drag you off to get into trouble in some ports on another sea cruise. Jackie's never so happy as when she's got the wind in her hair and the wheel in her hands, after all."
"That...isn't a bad idea, Del. Maybe make it a family outing so I can meet your mother finally?"
The revolver frowned and spoke hesitantly, "Maybe. I'd have to talk Mother into it, and she has other commitments that she monitors that she won't drop to go off and sail. I...can't tell you more, because I'm sworn to secrecy and she makes the decisions on who to tell about that."
Colombe shrugged and drew her rapier. "I understand. What you don't know you can't tell. Same reason I have been vague about some of my activities because that way if the ICW ever questions you about me you legitimately can tell them nothing under Veritaserum."
Delilah smiled in clear relief. "Just so. Security's important. Speaking of that..." The revolver trailed off and looked up into the stars for a long moment as Colombe waited.
Delilah's voice was hushed and tentative. "You know the Ifrit better than I. What...what is the meaning of this emerald?" Her hand caressed the spot where the Medicine Pouch under her clothing lay next to her heart.
Colombe frowned in thought, picking through her memories of the abn Alnaar, stories that she had heard from Tamenokalt and other natives, and things that she had read during her travels. She spoke slowly as she nibbled her lip. "Mind you, I don't know, Del...but I can make some guesses."
The rapier shrugged, "All of what I know agree that while you can enslave a Djinn or Ifrit with the right item to trap her and the right spell to bind, they are always looking for a loophole. Commands carried out to the letter that harm their 'master', commands not given that liberate them. Knowledge withheld unless specifically asked for. The Devil is a lawyer, and another name for her kind is Shayatan. I rather doubt our quarry ordered Zamarad to leave a token forged from her magic in the embers of a fire that she perhaps ignited. Especially one as symbolically significant as the emerald representing her."
Delilah nodded and spoke slowly. "That makes sense. She admitted to me that she heard everything that was told to us therefore I would come here. Although our enemies are ahead of us..."
Colombe's teeth gleamed in the wandlight in a smug smirk. "Exactly. They were not at that haunted lake where we purified ourselves. If she was commanded to reveal the start of the path to the Sleeper's Mountain..."
Delilah's own teeth gleamed in a matching nasty smile, "She might only tell them to head here and summon the guide at midnight with fire. Not telling them a critical step to pass whatever lies ahead."
"My thoughts exactly, Del. Speaking of guides, how long?"
"Five minutes. Shall you do the honors, or shall I?"
"I'll handle it, Del. But back to Zamarad, we... well mortal humans and I guess those like us... represent a threat to them because we can bind them into servitude. Depending on the legends you read or listen to, that might date back to King Solomon. So they have an innate learned distrust of humanity, but we are also... well... the forbidden fruit to them. Now, it takes a lot to get an Ifrit to trust you and betrayal of that trust is really not worth contemplating, but if you are loyal to them then... there's more than a few folktales about genies having half-human children. Granted all of the tales that I know tend to have some apparently arbitrary rules that the mortal spouse must follow. Normally followed by the spouse getting curious or greedy or stupid and breaking the rules, then Bad Things happen."
Delilah nodded, her eyes distant and her voice very thoughtful, "Like Cupid and Psyche then. A common theme of a relationship between the Mortal and Immortal. They have rules that they have to follow and woe betide the mortal that violates them. Logically if I were to pursue Zamarad, honesty would be the best policy, and speaking to her directly about 'ground rules' is a must. Oh and never never letting Jackie hit on her in any serious way."
"Not unless you want to see if she can melt Jackie's blade. Ifrit can be extremely quick to anger and when they do...." Colombe trailed off with an impressed whistle at the memory, "Speaking of Jackie, where is she now?"
"In the Pacific. Some acquaintances were planning a private military effort against the Japs and I got Jackie in touch with them. She's incredible on the oceans. Byproduct of sailing the Seven Seas, I suppose. It's time." Delilah extinguished her wandlight.
"Oui." Colombe's rapier flashed in the starlight as she swept it in a salute and then spoke in a powerful voice that had an undertone of cracking flame as her blade moved, "Agni Kee Jvaala!" Fire trailed in the wake of the shimmering steel and all five bonfires lit as one.
Spoiler: A Midnight Guide
Delilah smirked, "Indian, Sis?"
Colombe nodded as she lowered her blade, "An invocation the priests of Agni used to light fires in their temples. Learned it in 1778."
Delilah smiled. "Works, I guess... Movement." Her head turned and tracked a dimly lit shape in the firelight who had appeared out of the darkness.
Spoiler: The Guide
Clad in a jet-black chador and with her face veiled in shadows, the figure approached to the edge of the flickering firelight with a slightly limping gait as the moaning wind fell deathly silent.
"Travelers. Met under starlight in the blaze of fire. Whither journey thou?" The voice was that of a young woman.
Colombe curtsied, "May your journeys find water and shade. I am Colombe Du Chasteler, and my sister is Delilah de Breuil. We journey to the tomb of the Sleeper under the Mountain of Flint. We were told to light the fire to summon a guide. Are you she?"
The figure gestured in affirmation, "I am Ghula-min-Mldalil. Well met Travelers. I knoweth the path, if thou hast the courage to follow it. Wilst thou follow me under starlight to where thou seeketh?"
Colombe's grip on her rapier tightened. "I shall, Ghula-min-Mldalil."
Delilah stepped alongside her sister, "As shall I."
Ghula stepped into the firelight fully then with her limp. As she did so, her head raised, showing an oddly-carved wooden mask covering her face.
Spoiler: The Mask
Colombe blinked twice. "That mask looks like ones from the Congo. May I ask where you got it?"
Ghulah laughed demurely, "A traveler many risings of the moon ago gifted me it as a token for his passage. It was crafted in the image of his God. All service cometh with a price, Colombe, Delilah. But you know that, this is the way of things since Adam was created."
She gestured. "Now, let us depart. the path is long and only those who wish to die wander under the heat of the sun. We travel by night and rest by day."
With that, the flames flickered and died suddenly in a cold gust of wind. Ghulah turned and began to walk, and nodding to each other the sisters followed her into the darkness.
Operation: BUTTERKNIFE (Part XIII)
Stone of Lamentation, Tademait Plateau, Sahara Desert, Algeria
27 January 1942
Spoiler: Desert at Night
The stars overhead were a mass of diamonds spilled across the black velvet of the night sky. Colombe paused from stacking brushwood in the final fire pit to admire them. The wind from the Stone of Lamentation gave an eerie counterpoint what she saw, with the moaning of unspeakable sorrow at the transience of existence.
Spoiler: Night sky in the Sahara
"Takes your breath away, doesn't it, Del?"
"Yes, yes it does, Sis. It reminds me of a clear night on the Great Plains, nothing but me and the stars forever."
"Reminds me of the moon rising to form a rainbow over Mosi-oa-Tunya south of here."
Delilah looked a question at Colombe in the light generated by her wand as she glanced up from her watch.
Colombe's eyes were distant and her voice hushed "'The Smoke that Thunders' is the translation; the British call it Victoria Falls. Prefer what the locals call it. Waterfall on the Zambezi River in south-central Africa. I saw it in 1900 heading north to the Congo. One of the most awe-inspiring sights that I ever saw. In the dry season you can swim out to the edge and look down into the clouds as the water around you roars like a thousand lions."
Delilah nodded and responded in an equally hushed voice as the wind moaned and howled around them. "Something to look forward to after the war, Sis. Maybe we can take Mother, Jackie, and even our father there, make it a family outing."
"I'd like that. Thinking about it, a lot of what has happened over the years has sucked but then moments like tonight make it all worthwhile somehow. Sharing it with friends makes it even more special."
"Agreed. I would have enjoyed my around the world cruise a lot less if I didn't have Jackie along to experience it with. Half a hour until midnight."
Colombe mock pouted as she walked back to Delilah and surveyed the desert around them, resting one hand on her rapier. "Aww, and here I never got an around the world cruise. Woe is me." Her lower lip trembled and she sniffed obviously.
Delilah's voice was as dry as the sand that she stood on. "You never asked, Sis. I'm sure after the war that Jackie will be delighted to drag you off to get into trouble in some ports on another sea cruise. Jackie's never so happy as when she's got the wind in her hair and the wheel in her hands, after all."
"That...isn't a bad idea, Del. Maybe make it a family outing so I can meet your mother finally?"
The revolver frowned and spoke hesitantly, "Maybe. I'd have to talk Mother into it, and she has other commitments that she monitors that she won't drop to go off and sail. I...can't tell you more, because I'm sworn to secrecy and she makes the decisions on who to tell about that."
Colombe shrugged and drew her rapier. "I understand. What you don't know you can't tell. Same reason I have been vague about some of my activities because that way if the ICW ever questions you about me you legitimately can tell them nothing under Veritaserum."
Delilah smiled in clear relief. "Just so. Security's important. Speaking of that..." The revolver trailed off and looked up into the stars for a long moment as Colombe waited.
Delilah's voice was hushed and tentative. "You know the Ifrit better than I. What...what is the meaning of this emerald?" Her hand caressed the spot where the Medicine Pouch under her clothing lay next to her heart.
Colombe frowned in thought, picking through her memories of the abn Alnaar, stories that she had heard from Tamenokalt and other natives, and things that she had read during her travels. She spoke slowly as she nibbled her lip. "Mind you, I don't know, Del...but I can make some guesses."
The rapier shrugged, "All of what I know agree that while you can enslave a Djinn or Ifrit with the right item to trap her and the right spell to bind, they are always looking for a loophole. Commands carried out to the letter that harm their 'master', commands not given that liberate them. Knowledge withheld unless specifically asked for. The Devil is a lawyer, and another name for her kind is Shayatan. I rather doubt our quarry ordered Zamarad to leave a token forged from her magic in the embers of a fire that she perhaps ignited. Especially one as symbolically significant as the emerald representing her."
Delilah nodded and spoke slowly. "That makes sense. She admitted to me that she heard everything that was told to us therefore I would come here. Although our enemies are ahead of us..."
Colombe's teeth gleamed in the wandlight in a smug smirk. "Exactly. They were not at that haunted lake where we purified ourselves. If she was commanded to reveal the start of the path to the Sleeper's Mountain..."
Delilah's own teeth gleamed in a matching nasty smile, "She might only tell them to head here and summon the guide at midnight with fire. Not telling them a critical step to pass whatever lies ahead."
"My thoughts exactly, Del. Speaking of guides, how long?"
"Five minutes. Shall you do the honors, or shall I?"
"I'll handle it, Del. But back to Zamarad, we... well mortal humans and I guess those like us... represent a threat to them because we can bind them into servitude. Depending on the legends you read or listen to, that might date back to King Solomon. So they have an innate learned distrust of humanity, but we are also... well... the forbidden fruit to them. Now, it takes a lot to get an Ifrit to trust you and betrayal of that trust is really not worth contemplating, but if you are loyal to them then... there's more than a few folktales about genies having half-human children. Granted all of the tales that I know tend to have some apparently arbitrary rules that the mortal spouse must follow. Normally followed by the spouse getting curious or greedy or stupid and breaking the rules, then Bad Things happen."
Delilah nodded, her eyes distant and her voice very thoughtful, "Like Cupid and Psyche then. A common theme of a relationship between the Mortal and Immortal. They have rules that they have to follow and woe betide the mortal that violates them. Logically if I were to pursue Zamarad, honesty would be the best policy, and speaking to her directly about 'ground rules' is a must. Oh and never never letting Jackie hit on her in any serious way."
"Not unless you want to see if she can melt Jackie's blade. Ifrit can be extremely quick to anger and when they do...." Colombe trailed off with an impressed whistle at the memory, "Speaking of Jackie, where is she now?"
"In the Pacific. Some acquaintances were planning a private military effort against the Japs and I got Jackie in touch with them. She's incredible on the oceans. Byproduct of sailing the Seven Seas, I suppose. It's time." Delilah extinguished her wandlight.
"Oui." Colombe's rapier flashed in the starlight as she swept it in a salute and then spoke in a powerful voice that had an undertone of cracking flame as her blade moved, "Agni Kee Jvaala!" Fire trailed in the wake of the shimmering steel and all five bonfires lit as one.
Spoiler: A Midnight Guide
Delilah smirked, "Indian, Sis?"
Colombe nodded as she lowered her blade, "An invocation the priests of Agni used to light fires in their temples. Learned it in 1778."
Delilah smiled. "Works, I guess... Movement." Her head turned and tracked a dimly lit shape in the firelight who had appeared out of the darkness.
Spoiler: The Guide
Clad in a jet-black chador and with her face veiled in shadows, the figure approached to the edge of the flickering firelight with a slightly limping gait as the moaning wind fell deathly silent.
"Travelers. Met under starlight in the blaze of fire. Whither journey thou?" The voice was that of a young woman.
Colombe curtsied, "May your journeys find water and shade. I am Colombe Du Chasteler, and my sister is Delilah de Breuil. We journey to the tomb of the Sleeper under the Mountain of Flint. We were told to light the fire to summon a guide. Are you she?"
The figure gestured in affirmation, "I am Ghula-min-Mldalil. Well met Travelers. I knoweth the path, if thou hast the courage to follow it. Wilst thou follow me under starlight to where thou seeketh?"
Colombe's grip on her rapier tightened. "I shall, Ghula-min-Mldalil."
Delilah stepped alongside her sister, "As shall I."
Ghula stepped into the firelight fully then with her limp. As she did so, her head raised, showing an oddly-carved wooden mask covering her face.
Spoiler: The Mask
Colombe blinked twice. "That mask looks like ones from the Congo. May I ask where you got it?"
Ghulah laughed demurely, "A traveler many risings of the moon ago gifted me it as a token for his passage. It was crafted in the image of his God. All service cometh with a price, Colombe, Delilah. But you know that, this is the way of things since Adam was created."
She gestured. "Now, let us depart. the path is long and only those who wish to die wander under the heat of the sun. We travel by night and rest by day."
With that, the flames flickered and died suddenly in a cold gust of wind. Ghulah turned and began to walk, and nodding to each other the sisters followed her into the darkness.