Lost and alone, disheartened by failure and wanting only to go home, Thomas Gown and his companions face the darkest hour of their lives when they stumble across a remnant of the once mighty Agglemonian Empire. There they make a stunning discovery t...
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The first reaction of the Agglemonians as the questers stepped out of the airlock was exactly what they’d expected.
Some of the younger women screamed in fear and fled as if they thought the dead had come to life and come amongst them. Others, although equally shocked, had the courage to stand their ground, the men standing protectively in front of the women and searching desperately for something to use as a weapon. A small group of children of mixed ages appeared to be fascinated by the appearance of the strangers and pressed forward to get a better look before being dragged away by frantic older relatives. A tumult of excited, fearful gossip broke out among the crowd, echoing noisily from the tiled walls of the long corridors, and more and more of the moon city’s braver or more curious inhabitants gathered around to see what all the fuss was about.
Shaun stepped forward, ready to explain who they were and where they’d come from, but before he could say a word there was a disturbance in the crowd and half a dozen soldiers stepped through. Thomas was fascinated by their uniforms, which were identical to drawings he’d seen of Agglemonians in an old history book, and his attention was so fixed on them that he failed to see the expressions on their faces until it was too late. Their leader, wearing the uniform of a Captain, stepped forward and glared at them as if they were something nasty he’d almost stepped in, his thick moustache quivering with anger and his face turning pink with indignation. “Traldian spies!” he said furiously. “Place them under arrest."
“What?” exclaimed Matthew in alarm as the soldiers came forward. Thomas stepped protectively in front of Lirenna, summoning the words of a spell to the forefront of his mind, but she dashed in front of him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “No, Tom!” she cried. “It’s best if we just go with them. I’m sure we can explain ourselves to them.”
“Quite right,” said the Captain. “You’ll do some explaining all right. Did you think our guard had grown so lax you could just walk right in with no-one noticing?”
“How can you think we’re spies?” asked Thomas. “We walked right in, completely openly…”
One of the guards slapped him across the face and Shaun and Matthew ran forwards, drawing their swords. The guards all drew their weapons and a battle was on the verge of breaking out when Diana threw herself between them. “We didn’t come here to fight,” she told them, brothers and guards both. “If you’ll just let us explain…”
“Put down your weapons,” insisted the head guard, although he looked as though he’d have enjoyed a fight and was hoping they’d refuse. “Or would you rather die here and now?”
Two more guards were on their way, Thomas saw, and he heard raised voices in the distance calling for more help. “It’s an attack!” someone was saying. “They’ve broken through!”
“This is crazy!” he cried in disbelief. “We haven’t done anything! We’ve literally only just stepped through the door…”
“Forget it, Tom,” said Shaun, though. “I’ve met this type before. They’re incapable of thinking, they can only do three things. Kill, brutalise and kiss the boss’ boots. I suggest we make a break for it, go back through the door. Me and Matt’ll hold them off…”
