Part Thirty Five: Desperados Under the Eaves

	 As he hurtled through the darkness Caleb began to feel weightless, all of his senses either being blinded or excited by the varied sensory input that he was receiving. For several moments he really did feel as if he was no longer part of this material world, but was instead flying rapidly through some strange featureless void. Then he up ahead he saw a light, and a different thought struck him. That torch must be attached to a wall of some kind. If that was true, then that wall must be directly ahead of him. Maybe the track would curve in order to avoid it. The light grew even closer. He could no longer permit himself to sustain such an illusion. "I've a bad feeling about this..." Caleb observed, right before he bailed from the runaway mining cart.

	Caleb hit the ground rolling and cartwheeled backwards along the track. He then righted himself just in time to see the inevitable happen. The mining cart, forced to an almost unearthly velocity due to the gunslinger's own shocking strength, hurtled into the approaching wall and compacted into itself like an aluminum can that is placed directly underfoot a large boot. Not even Caleb knew that he could manage to do this amount of damage. The force of the shock and the rush of air produced by the cart almost appeared to snuff out the torch for several moments, but it did eventually reappear again in order to provide Caleb with enough light to guide him once more on the way ahead.

	Upon reaching what was left the mining cart, Caleb soon discovered that the track ended abruptly next to a platform in which an ornate carved stone door could be found, something that seemed considerably out of place given the industrial setting of the rest of the mine. With some effort he was able to wrench it open, and was then greeted by an elegant stone stairway found inside a carved tunnel supported by many well maintained wooden arches. Caleb proceeded to ascend the stairway, aware of the loud noises that his footfalls made as he walked, and once again felt as if he were walking up the steps of some great temple. After what seemed like an age he finally reached the top of the stairway, and if he had not been as impressed as he was by the sight that was now before him, he might well have realized that not all of the sounds of footsteps had ceased when he had done.

	Resting before him on top of great precipice was a gigantic castle. A massive bridge way connected the mountain face that Caleb found himself on to the peak that supported the mighty fortification, the gap between two mountains serving as a kind of empty moat that nevertheless would represent instant death if trespassed in the wrong way. Caleb could see the sun setting over a forest in the far distance, but could not for the moment see any signs of Cabal habitation. He was sure that they were here though. The Cultist had to be heading somewhere after all, and he had heard too much to doubt who it was that held the keys to the place. Seeing that there was no other way to gain admittance, Caleb simply shrugged and strolled his way across the bridge.

	He reached the other side without incident, with not so much as a curse being hurled at him. Caleb was beginning to feel annoyed. He knew better than to assume that they did not know he was here; he had just walked down their front path after all. Caleb was still not in the mood for any unnecessary drama. He knew perfectly that he was going to have to storm the castle, and that the Cultists must have been waiting to set a trap for him. He really wished they would just show themselves and get it over with. Maybe he should just knock and get the ball rolling himself. He looked up to the orange sky and noticed the overhang of the castle's roof. Caleb then realized that he had a far more personalized way of announcing himself.

	"Don't the sun look angry through the trees" his voice boomed out musically, just as he burst open the castle door. "Don't the trees look like crucified thieves." He marched into the castle's spacious entrance hall, finding nothing but chandeliers and Gothic art. "Don't you feel like desperados under the eaves, heaven help the one who leaves." Still no Cultists were there to greet him. "Still waking up in the mornings with shaking hands." He took a right turn which led him down a spiral stairwell, something which he found to also be devoid of any opposing life. "And I'm trying to find a girl who understands me, but except in dreams you're never really free." He reached another door decorated in a similar fashion to the one that he had found previously. "Don't the sun look angry at me." Caleb forced the door open and stepped inside. He would be giving them all a performance yet.

Hamish Paul Wilson
November 2, 2014