Tall Man's Note

            The Deep Field Observatory sat nestled between two large jagged, rocky hills, just shy of being mountains. The road leading to the observatory was a narrow path, like a causeway above the sand. The hum of the car’s electric motor was the only sound. It was after midnight, and Jack had fallen asleep, his head resting on the window. Tessa could not hear him breathe, no matter how hard she listened. She still had Tall Man's note in her pocket. She would have to destroy it soon, but she had not yet had an opportunity.

            She wondered how difficult it had been to sleep when he was underground in that facility. The torturers had gone insane. Tessa wondered why Jack had not. Tall Man had emphasized how important it was to get Jack to join the House, and Tessa had gotten the impression that the order was coming from somewhere above him.

            Tessa turned onto the road that led up the hill. The observatory was only a mile away now, as the crow flies, but they would have to wind their way up the side of the hill, and that would take several more minutes.

            They’d talked it over as they left Towatki. Jack was her boyfriend, but his name was Jack Cart – probably one of the most common names in Narcia. The story would go that Jack was a fellow grad student, working on a criminology degree (Jack already had a master’s in the subject, so it would not be terribly hard to bullshit) but taking an extended leave to be with her.

            There were a few scattered trees on the lower parts of the hill, though they grew quite thick as one approached the observatory itself. There was some strange quality to the Arizradnan soil – naturally it would appear to be dry, rocky desert soil, but nearly anything could grow in it. Many decades earlier, several redwoods were transplanted from Sardok by a wealthy businessman, along with other plants native to his homeland, so as you got to the top of the hill, it was as if you were in a thick woodland.

            The unfortunate result was that the road grew quite dark.

            The car lurched as the front right tire sunk into the ditch next to the road. Jack awoke with a jump.

            “Shit!” yelled Tessa.

            “What happened?” asked Jack.

            There was a hissing sound. Tessa unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. “Damn it, damn it, please let the tire be…” she came around to the other side of the car and her shoulders sunk. “Shit.”

            “Popped a tire?”

            “Yeah.” Tessa growled in frustration. “That damned turn does it to me all the time.”

            From deep in the woods, a woman yelled out. “Tessa, was that you?”

            Tessa looked up. “Freya?”

            Freya walked out of the trees, but her appearance was a big surprise. She was tall and athletic, with long, golden blonde hair tied back into a waist-length ponytail. She was dressed in a buckskin loincloth and nothing else. Along her cheeks and down her chest there was a great deal of blood,  smeared on in decorative patterns. In her right hand, she held an enormous steel greatsword.

            “Car trouble?” asked Freya.

            “Freya, what the hell is… what is… Explain.”

            “It’s Varhall. The Sardok spring festival.”

            “You’re naked.”

            “No, I’ve got this,” she said, and pointed at her loincloth.

            Jack stepped out of the car. “Hi,” he said. Tessa could see he was making a great effort to look Freya in the eyes.

            “I might have a sweatshirt in the back of my car, if you want one,” said Tessa.

            “No, I’m good,” said Freya.

            Tessa stood there for a second. “Jack, this is Freya Jorgensen. She’s here with the Sinret Project. Freya, this is Jack Cart, my boyfriend.”

            “Oh, great, hi!” said Freya. She switched the sword to her left hand and extended hers to shake Jack’s.

            “Nice to meet you,” said Jack. He then attempted to rub off some of the blood that had gotten on his hand.

            Tessa turned to Freya. “So Varhall means you go into the woods mostly naked, covered in blood with a sword? And what kind of blood is that?”

            Freya laughed. “It’s cow’s blood. I picked up some beef at the butchers and drained the blood for the ceremony. Incidentally, I’m cooking some hølstorn tomorrow if you’d like some.”

            “What’s that?”

            “Traditional Sardok stew. Barley and onions with steak cooked separately, and I like to throw in some janaños berries for a bit of a kick. Also there’s going to be a lot of beer.”

            “Count me in,” said Tessa.

            “You’re welcome too, of course, Jack.”

            Jack nodded, and Tessa burst out laughing when she noticed how hard he was trying not to look at Freya’s breasts. “Freya, could you put on a shirt? You’re making Jack uncomfortable.”

            Freya sighed. “Fine, I’ll go get it.” She then thrust the sword down into the ground and ran back into the trees.

            Jack smiled. “Well, she seems nice.”

            “She usually wears more clothing.”

            “I had assumed.”

            It took twenty minutes for them to replace the tire, lifting the car up from the corner and then slowly driving up the hill.

            The main observatory itself was an enormous building, but unlike any Jack had seen before. It was a square building, with a sort of upside-down trapezoid projecting up into the night sky.

            “Don’t people usually put telescopes in big domes?” asked Jack.

            “Yes, but this is the observatory, not the telescope,” said Tessa. She held his shoulder and pointed far up into the night sky. “Do you see that tiny speck directly above us? It’s easier to see during the daytime, but sometimes if the Watcher is bright…”

            “The Watcher?”

            Tessa paused. “Sorry, Redlander term. The moon. If the moon is bright, you can sometimes see it at night time. Anyway, the telescope’s up there.”

            “How do you…?”

            “Arizradna witchcraft,” said Freya. “If my dad ever got a good look at this place he’d want to burn it to the ground.”

            “The telescope is suspended magically?”

            Tessa nodded. “Something about arcane tethering. You’ll have to talk to Azjar.”

            “Who’s that?”

            “He’s our Arizradna witch,” said Freya.

            They settled in at the dormitory – a large wooden lodge where the dozen scientists and technicians could live comfortably. There were extra rooms, but Tessa recommended to Jack that they share a room to keep up the appearance they were a couple.

            As Jack slept on the bed, Tessa changed into her night clothes. The drive had been long, but it was good to be back at the observatory. She had not yet told Jack about the rumors floating around. As his superior, it was her call to warn him or not. So far, she had decided that there was little they could do.

            Tall Man had passed her a note that morning when she and Jack were at breakfast in the Stargazer Café. Something had happened in Harisha. One of Tall Man’s other subordinates – an Agent named The Flatfoot – had been found in a public restaurant with his throat slit. Tall Man would not give her any other details, but it appeared there was a pattern.

            Tall Man was going silent until things died down, but someone was killing off their chain.

            “What the hell are we getting you mixed up in?” she asked herself quietly.

(Copyright Daniel Szolovits 2013)