Tor's Thimble Submission

[Hardlec]

Tor's Thimble

Pennsylvania was once a wilderness. To protect his family, Tor's ever-so-great grandsire built a maze of underground rooms and tunnels. They were forgotten until the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Pre-civil war time of the Underground Railroad.

Tor's mother sat sewing on the porch until she could no longer tell a white thread from a black one. She put up her sewing, especially her precious thimble and needles, and went to the meeting place. Tonight it was a family of Negros; escaped slaves. She led them to the root cellar. Inside, with the door closed, she lit a lamp and located the trap door in the ceiling. No one puts a trap door in the ceiling. The runaways would stay in "the forgotten room" until they left on the next leg of their journey.

The civil war was over. Tor listened to his mother's stories and marveled at her cross stitch. He explored the forgotten rooms with delight.

At 14 Tor joined the navy. Join the Navy and see the world! As the youngest of 12 children, there was little room for him in the family business. It was the Wild West or the briny blue or boredom. When he joined the Navy they made him a Marine, which suited Tor just fine. Every couple of years he could visit his family.

Master Gunnery Sergeant Tor was in his room in the Barracks in the Philippines. Rank hath its privileges, and as a "gunny" he got his own room. The Spanish American War was just over. Today was twenty years to the day after his enlistment. Mail arrived. The tattered envelope had a letter from home. It was in his Father's handwriting. Tor knew what the letter was going to say just by the handwriting. Mother had passed away.

Tor gave the letter to the Chaplain who then took it to his commander.

Commodore Dewey was in Command and summoned Tor to his office. "The navy is changing, Tor. They are getting rid of us old sea dogs and bringing in new blood. The war is over and they are looking for honored veterans to come home. I've decided to assign you to the Iowa. (Note: The USS Iowa of WWII was the second ship to have that name.)She's a newer battleship and she's headed back to the West Coast. You will muster out in San Diego with a full pension. It will still take a month or more to get you home, but you have served us too long and too well to put you through the changes I see coming along. She leaves tomorrow with the tide."

The biggest moment in his life, and Tor was an onlooker. It took five weeks to steam across the pacific, and then train across the continent. A fast trip by the standard of the times. Mother's grave was covered with thick grass. The family plot was getting full. The old house was still the same. Father was old beyond his years. In a few months, he would lay beside his beloved wife. As the youngest of twelve children, Tor knew that if he wanted his own life, he had to leave his beloved old home.

After twenty years in the Navy, all his possessions fit into his sea chest. His Father left him his meerschaum pipe. His siblings gave him a chrome watch with a photo of the family in the lid. His last leave before the war; the last time they were all together. His mother left him a cross stitch picture of the old house, and her precious thimble. Tor remembered all the hours he spent with her as a boy. He toured the house and grounds one last time. He opened the root cellar, still in use, and let down the trap door in the ceiling. No one puts a trap door in the ceiling. For an hour, Tor was a boy again, playing in the forgotten rooms beneath the house.

His affairs in order, Tor got on the train to another world. He went to Malifaux.

Tor enlisted in the Guild guard. With his experience and ability, they made him a captain. Rank hath its privileges; he had a cottage all his own, bachelor officers’ quarters.

It had been a long three days. They hunted down the Green Faery, killed it, and Lucius hung its corporeal remains on a pole by the hanging tree. Tor doubted that the Faery had corporeal remains, but Lucius had a lot of money in making and selling Absinthe, and the town drank a round knowing the Faery, not the absinthe, affected your mind. Tor didn't care for absinthe. He had a bucket of beer and sat on his back porch watching the sun set. With no duty tomorrow he was looking for a long night's sleep after a sweet beer buzz.

Tor began to doze off. He thought of his crew, and then of his long dead parents. Fond memories turned into sweet dreams.

There came a knock on the rail of his porch. Tor looked with bleary eyes at . . . Holy Cheese, Lucius!! What-why in gods’ green earth was the Governor's secretary doing on his porch!!

Lucius said: "The walls of the governor's mansion have ears, Captain. Caleb and Joachim are here. We have to talk about the train job. The arcanists robbed their own train, stealing back a load of expensive cargo the guild had already paid for. We have not recovered much. Tomorrow I want to hit the lighthouse and search it. We are going in by boat. May we go inside?"

"Of course, milord, come in." replied a still bleary Tor.

"Cut the court crap, Captain. We’re in the field, not at the Mansion."

There was scarcely room at Tor's table for the four big men. Tor's quarters were Spartan. Over his mantle in a frame was an exquisite cross stitch picture in a frame behind glass. On the mantle were a pipe and a brass thimble. The thimble was old and worn, but brilliantly polished. Well, Marines and polished brass went together. Lucius was tired. They all were. Lucius explained his plan:

"I'm counting on surprise. We hit the lighthouse while we're supposed to be resting. In, out, fast. Tor and I will go in, Caleb and Joachim will stay outside and cover our exit. We have to hit it shortly after dawn, so the birds have enough light to see by."

They spent half an hour going over details, and then they left for the night. Tor offered beds to his crew mates, but they declined. Tor thought to himself: "I'll get an hour more sleep than they will, anyway.” Tor checked his equipment, set his alarm, and went to bed.

In the middle of the night there was an accident on the road to the lighthouse. A cart full of manure turned over, upset a lantern, and started on fire. The fire created horrid smells, and nearly blocked the road. If they had tried to come in that way, they would have been delayed until the sun was well up.

The group drifted downriver to the bluffs just upriver of the Lighthouse. Tor and Lucius moved silently to the lighthouse. The front door was not locked. An iron spiral stair ran along the outside wall and spiraled up. They cleared the first two floors. Tor looked up. No one puts a trap door in the ceiling, but there it was. Tor opened the trapdoor. Lucius motioned him aside and climbed the ladder first. The room was empty, cleaned and polished. Nothing there except a brass arachnid.

Lucius adjusted his grip and slid down the ladder. He uttered a word aloud:

"Run."

Tor tied a rope to the stair rail and smashed out the third storey window. Lucius again took the lead and rappelled down the outside of the lighthouse. They left the rope and took to their heels.

Ramos stood at the rail on the top of the lighthouse. Dozens of mechanical arachnids boiled out of the upper floor windows. Tor wondered if it was light enough yet, then he heard the shrieks. Sasha, Caleb's Raptor. Now Tornado, Joachim's bird, struck right behind. Sasha dropped a piece of a mechanical arachnid onto the bluffs. If a bird could laugh, Sasha would be laughing.

After the four men cast off and began to row away, Joachim spoke first. "Trap. I saw a dozen spiders, at least 3 of the big ones. I also saw Kaeris flying from inland. They did not expect us to come by boat."

"Tor, we need to search your quarters." Lucius spoke, slowly. There were two possibilities. One was unlikely, the other nearly Impossible.

Lucius lead again. He walked into Tor's dining room and saw the thimble rise and walk on spidery legs. Tor was ready to smash his treasure with his axe.

STOP. Lucius could issue a command with great authority. The Guild secretary scooped the thimble into Tor's beer stein and closed the lid.

"A bug, Tor. Probably planted when we were Faery hunting. I'll have Hoffman check this out.”

It took a week to get the thimble back. Cleaned and polished and encased in glass. The arcanists would not pervert it again.

[Hardlec]

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