areas.
Such was the devastation of the last war, and the resulting sickness, that many towns were viewed as poisoned graveyards. Left unmaintained, they had become ruins before they could be fully scavenged. This meant that it was a difficult process when the few scavengers started to move into the cities. It was also many years before the highly sophisticated Londoners would even trade with the rural survivors. In the end they simply had to. One of their needs, apart from more diversity in fresh food, was metal and other materials. In the last fifteen years the Regents had created a demand that ensured cooperation with Outsiders even if it was across a barrier. The Outsiders had, for a long time, shunned the historical sophistication of the towns. They felt that this sophistication was the cause of all their woes. Eventually, in the mutual interest of trade, they decided to nominate a few of their number to increase their trading potential by ‘recovering’ whatever could be found in the old towns .
The pair had been searching for a couple of hours, clambering over areas of collapsed floors until they reached the back of one of the larger internal rooms. It seemed to be about the size of a small field.
“There’s been a recent collapse here,” noted Cormic. They worked their way down a large slab of smooth stone, interspersed with cracks and splits but bound together by rusted poles that were visible in the cracks. The level they traversed appeared to show fresh cracks judging by the lack of discolouration. It had collapsed in a manner that left a slope to the lower level. The upper floor had been prevented from falling into the lower level by a mound of rubble in the middle area of the large room below, and by the supporting walls on the near side of the lower level. They walked down the slope stepping carefully over the cracked areas.
When they reached the bottom of the slope, Keller investigated the cavity created by the sloped floor from above with his own plas light. His light revealed a broken door frame in the lower level. It had a heavy-looking grey door leaning outwards at the top but still attached at the bottom. It appeared precarious, but no doubt it would still take some effort to fully prise this door away. He knelt down and shone his light through the gap created by the twisted door and frame.
“Look here. Crates! They’re balanced on top of each other. There must be at least thirty.”
Cormic came over and lay down next to him just poking his head between the door and frame. He pulled his light in beside him. “I have no idea what is in those crates, but they seem intact. They must have been valuable at one time judging by the thickness of this door. You would need a thousand mules to have opened this,” he said, shining his torch up the side of the frame.
Keller was apprehensive and excited at the same time. “Can we go in?” he asked, as Cormic reversed out of the gap. He got up into a crouch, dusting his tunic off.
“Yes. You are a bit skinnier than me, so it’ll have to be you. We just need to take some precautions.” He took off the harness that he had been wearing. He untied the device and extended the two longer lengths that had wooden handles on the end, similar to the spades they used for digging. “My father made this,” he said, by way of explanation. “It does what it needs to do. You need to put this over your head and shoulders, like a mules’ harness, and tie it around your waist. I will keep hold of the wooden handles in case I need to pull you out.”
He helped Keller put the harness on. He unwound the two longer lengths that were a thin, but strong, twine. These extended about five times the length of his body. Each had a handle grip.
Keller crouched down, pushed his light into the gap and slid through. He paused when his harness got caught on part of the damaged frame whilst his companion freed it.
“Look about you before you stand up. You need to ignore
Such was the devastation of the last war, and the resulting sickness, that many towns were viewed as poisoned graveyards. Left unmaintained, they had become ruins before they could be fully scavenged. This meant that it was a difficult process when the few scavengers started to move into the cities. It was also many years before the highly sophisticated Londoners would even trade with the rural survivors. In the end they simply had to. One of their needs, apart from more diversity in fresh food, was metal and other materials. In the last fifteen years the Regents had created a demand that ensured cooperation with Outsiders even if it was across a barrier. The Outsiders had, for a long time, shunned the historical sophistication of the towns. They felt that this sophistication was the cause of all their woes. Eventually, in the mutual interest of trade, they decided to nominate a few of their number to increase their trading potential by ‘recovering’ whatever could be found in the old towns .
The pair had been searching for a couple of hours, clambering over areas of collapsed floors until they reached the back of one of the larger internal rooms. It seemed to be about the size of a small field.
“There’s been a recent collapse here,” noted Cormic. They worked their way down a large slab of smooth stone, interspersed with cracks and splits but bound together by rusted poles that were visible in the cracks. The level they traversed appeared to show fresh cracks judging by the lack of discolouration. It had collapsed in a manner that left a slope to the lower level. The upper floor had been prevented from falling into the lower level by a mound of rubble in the middle area of the large room below, and by the supporting walls on the near side of the lower level. They walked down the slope stepping carefully over the cracked areas.
When they reached the bottom of the slope, Keller investigated the cavity created by the sloped floor from above with his own plas light. His light revealed a broken door frame in the lower level. It had a heavy-looking grey door leaning outwards at the top but still attached at the bottom. It appeared precarious, but no doubt it would still take some effort to fully prise this door away. He knelt down and shone his light through the gap created by the twisted door and frame.
“Look here. Crates! They’re balanced on top of each other. There must be at least thirty.”
Cormic came over and lay down next to him just poking his head between the door and frame. He pulled his light in beside him. “I have no idea what is in those crates, but they seem intact. They must have been valuable at one time judging by the thickness of this door. You would need a thousand mules to have opened this,” he said, shining his torch up the side of the frame.
Keller was apprehensive and excited at the same time. “Can we go in?” he asked, as Cormic reversed out of the gap. He got up into a crouch, dusting his tunic off.
“Yes. You are a bit skinnier than me, so it’ll have to be you. We just need to take some precautions.” He took off the harness that he had been wearing. He untied the device and extended the two longer lengths that had wooden handles on the end, similar to the spades they used for digging. “My father made this,” he said, by way of explanation. “It does what it needs to do. You need to put this over your head and shoulders, like a mules’ harness, and tie it around your waist. I will keep hold of the wooden handles in case I need to pull you out.”
He helped Keller put the harness on. He unwound the two longer lengths that were a thin, but strong, twine. These extended about five times the length of his body. Each had a handle grip.
Keller crouched down, pushed his light into the gap and slid through. He paused when his harness got caught on part of the damaged frame whilst his companion freed it.
“Look about you before you stand up. You need to ignore
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