Ollie and the Shogun's Treasure: Episode 9
If you have a good memory you might recall that a few months ago I had been stringing some words together haphazardly and posting them under the guise of a steampunk fantasy. I'm still doing it.
Last time, on Ollie and the Shogun's Treasure:
Ollie and Fin were discussing folk tale monsters and cutting edge science while flying halfway around the world in a soy-powered rocket to rescue Fin's wife from treasure hunting kidnappers.
There I was up among the stars, higher than I'd ever been, and the trip was already over. We were dropping to earth like a falcon after a rat- except falcons don't usually burst into flame when they do it.
It's times like these people say they see their life flash before their eyes. Maybe they think about all the people they've known or the things they've done, or maybe they have regrets. When I'm falling out of the sky in a ball of fire-- and I do have some experience in that area-- I think about the ground. Mostly about what part looks the softest. I guess Fin does too, because he saw me looking out the window and decided it was a good time for a geography lesson.
“Over there is China, and that's Japan- those islands off the port side. We're going to come down in the hills by the north shore on the long thin island in the middle.”
“Are you sure you can hit it? It doesn't look very big.”
“Nonsense. I did all the calculations before we left. Now stop acting childish, you're fogging up the glass.”
I leaned back in the chair and tried to keep myself busy by thinking. I remembered my dream about Lucie and wondered if she'd be waiting in London when I got back. I caught myself looking around the rocket for a telegraph key to check with Alex. I started to whistle. Patience is not one of my virtues. Lucky for me, I didn't have long to wait before things got exciting again.
“Brace yourself while you can Ollie, In a moment I'm going to deploy the pilot parachute. This will guide the main parachutes into their optimal arrangement. I've run the math, but I've only really tested this once so it may be a little rough.”
Phineas grabbed a long brass lever with both hands and pulled it way back. There were some bells and a bang and the whole rocket bucked, but we slowed down fast and in a few minutes we settled to rest on the ground at a very comfortable speed.
The first thing I noticed when we popped the hatch open was the weather. It was cold! Snow crunched under my boots and curls of steam rose off the rocket's scorched hull. It was windy. There was a rock face on one side of us and open air on the other. We were on the side of a mountain.
I had just finished helping Phineas fold up the parachutes and hauled my sea bag and the tent out of the rocket when I heard the noise. It started with a faint whining carried on the wind, and as I stopped to listen here and there was the sound of trees falling. I had a brief flashback of the walking sawmills on Hispaniola tearing up the forests to make charcoal for Napoleon's cavalry.
Fin broke my concentration by shouting over the wind.
“I'm almost certain they'll want to bring their ship into this bay here. We'll have about a week to sabotage it so they can't dock.” Phineas and I were standing on a ridge where we had a good view of the coast. He was shading his eyes and pointing to a little rocky inlet not far from our landing site. I pulled out my pocket telescope and took a peep.
Almost invisible next to the snowy shore was a white steamer anchored in the bay. I only noticed it because of the busy activity taking place on board. From the forecastle, a woman in a long brown hooded coat was pointing this way and that, directing the sailors as they carried crates and barrels off the ship. Presently one of them brought her something to read and she swept back her hood and moved her snow goggles up to her forehead. It was unmistakably Anne-- brown braids coiled up and pinned, round, rosy cheeks, dark eyes and even that Egyptian necklace she always wears.
The wind was roaring so hard it felt like the ground was shaking, and even though he was right next to me I had to give a good shout to make sure Fin would hear me.
“There's nothing down there but a ship with your wife on it. And she doesn't look very kidnapped to me.”
Imagine my surprise when Phineas suddenly tackled me and we tumbled down over the snowy slope.
Last time, on Ollie and the Shogun's Treasure:
Ollie and Fin were discussing folk tale monsters and cutting edge science while flying halfway around the world in a soy-powered rocket to rescue Fin's wife from treasure hunting kidnappers.
There I was up among the stars, higher than I'd ever been, and the trip was already over. We were dropping to earth like a falcon after a rat- except falcons don't usually burst into flame when they do it.
It's times like these people say they see their life flash before their eyes. Maybe they think about all the people they've known or the things they've done, or maybe they have regrets. When I'm falling out of the sky in a ball of fire-- and I do have some experience in that area-- I think about the ground. Mostly about what part looks the softest. I guess Fin does too, because he saw me looking out the window and decided it was a good time for a geography lesson.
“Over there is China, and that's Japan- those islands off the port side. We're going to come down in the hills by the north shore on the long thin island in the middle.”
“Are you sure you can hit it? It doesn't look very big.”
“Nonsense. I did all the calculations before we left. Now stop acting childish, you're fogging up the glass.”
I leaned back in the chair and tried to keep myself busy by thinking. I remembered my dream about Lucie and wondered if she'd be waiting in London when I got back. I caught myself looking around the rocket for a telegraph key to check with Alex. I started to whistle. Patience is not one of my virtues. Lucky for me, I didn't have long to wait before things got exciting again.
“Brace yourself while you can Ollie, In a moment I'm going to deploy the pilot parachute. This will guide the main parachutes into their optimal arrangement. I've run the math, but I've only really tested this once so it may be a little rough.”
Phineas grabbed a long brass lever with both hands and pulled it way back. There were some bells and a bang and the whole rocket bucked, but we slowed down fast and in a few minutes we settled to rest on the ground at a very comfortable speed.
The first thing I noticed when we popped the hatch open was the weather. It was cold! Snow crunched under my boots and curls of steam rose off the rocket's scorched hull. It was windy. There was a rock face on one side of us and open air on the other. We were on the side of a mountain.
I had just finished helping Phineas fold up the parachutes and hauled my sea bag and the tent out of the rocket when I heard the noise. It started with a faint whining carried on the wind, and as I stopped to listen here and there was the sound of trees falling. I had a brief flashback of the walking sawmills on Hispaniola tearing up the forests to make charcoal for Napoleon's cavalry.
Fin broke my concentration by shouting over the wind.
“I'm almost certain they'll want to bring their ship into this bay here. We'll have about a week to sabotage it so they can't dock.” Phineas and I were standing on a ridge where we had a good view of the coast. He was shading his eyes and pointing to a little rocky inlet not far from our landing site. I pulled out my pocket telescope and took a peep.
Almost invisible next to the snowy shore was a white steamer anchored in the bay. I only noticed it because of the busy activity taking place on board. From the forecastle, a woman in a long brown hooded coat was pointing this way and that, directing the sailors as they carried crates and barrels off the ship. Presently one of them brought her something to read and she swept back her hood and moved her snow goggles up to her forehead. It was unmistakably Anne-- brown braids coiled up and pinned, round, rosy cheeks, dark eyes and even that Egyptian necklace she always wears.
The wind was roaring so hard it felt like the ground was shaking, and even though he was right next to me I had to give a good shout to make sure Fin would hear me.
“There's nothing down there but a ship with your wife on it. And she doesn't look very kidnapped to me.”
Imagine my surprise when Phineas suddenly tackled me and we tumbled down over the snowy slope.