Volume One: The Road Out
Chapter Five
Verse four: The Mountain Calls
The Witch Doctor stared at Special
Agent Bridger with a knowing smile. Bridger, for his part, looked
like he'd being ten rounds with Muhammed Ali and was now being asked
to play chess against Deep Blue.
"So Special Agent Bridger? Do you
feel like the same person who walked into this diner, or have you
changed?"
"You've definitely added more than
a few new ingredients to mix."
"So you're help us?" Harley
asked.
"Not yet I won't." Bridger
answered, arms folded, "You've convinced me that the world is a
weird place, weirder than I thought a few days ago. But You haven't
convinced me that you're the good guys. I've seen this movie, just
because you can give a few answers to what's happening doesn't make
you automatically the good guys."
The Witch Doctor shook his head, "The
story was never going to make this easy. Right now, the world is
starting to crumble, the world built by the Locust King's story is
breaking. I need get Harley and Marion to a point where they can
teach the story to Maia, in her heart, so that she can build a new
story and a new world with it to take the place of the world that's
starting to die around us. If we don't do that in time, then things
get very bad. Without a story, humanity get's swept off the board by
big scary supernatural forces. Humanity lives and dies by its stories
and if we can't replace the Locust King's story with a new story,
people are going to die trying to enact a dead story. I can't teach
Harley on his own. The Dreamwalker is a duo, partnership and the
story needs both. The Dreamer and the Walker need to be formally
initiated into the story. If we can get Harley initiated, he can
venture into the Shadowlands where Marion, along with Maia and
Fitzroy, are trapped. He can bring the initiation to them, and he can
help them free themselves. But Harley's having real trouble working
his powers as Storyteller. He's too straight forward and too
practical, it's making the process of letting go and flowing with the
narrative difficult for him. Marion has the opposite problem, that's
why he's trapped in dream land right now. I have to send Harley up
the Mountain for his initiation quest. I don't want to send him
alone."
"And where does this whole
initiation nonsense come in?"
"Look at your stories, that's what
this is all about. Luke Skywalker had to face the ghost of Darth
Vader in that cave on Dagobah. King Arthur had to be trained by
Merlin prior to drawing Excalibur. We need a formal crossing of the
threshold in order to awaken Harley properly to his role as the
Walker and as a storyteller."
"And I'm supposed to believe this
on the basis of a song and dance from you and a demonstration of
walking through walls from a guy who I've been chasing in connection
to a kidnapping. For all I know, that little trick of Night's is how
he kidnapped the children."
The Witchdoctor turned to Harley,
"Marion and the kids are in no shape to go. So it has to be you
and Bridger. As soon as he's convinced, you'll head out. You need to
head for the only mountain visible for miles around here, due west.
It's called Great bear Mountain, or Brave Mountain depending on which
local tradition you prefer. The name the Locust King gave it is the
name of some dead Admiral in some European Navy."
"You're ignoring me." Bridger
said.
"Not at all Agent Bridger. I'm
multi-tasking. The End of the World, capital E and capital W, is a
busy time for a person like me. So I have to keep all my plots in
motions and all of my agents moving."
"What if I refuse and try to stop
you?" Bridger asked, opening his suit jacket to show his gun in
its holster nestled against his arm pit.
"Then you're going to force the
story to address that. Something will occur to push the plot along.
And it's unlikely to be something good. Remember that there are two
stories in combat here. And one has terminal cancer and is determined
to take everyone with it when it dies."
"What about me? What do I do?"
Henrietta the waitress and owner of the diner asked.
"I'll need to keep these three
safe. And if you're willing, I could use your help."
Henrietta nodded.
"So what kind of initiation am I
going to have to undergo?" Harley asked, "I can't say that
I like the sound of what you described. This is a hero's journey
thing, doesn't that involve a symbolic death of some kind?"
"That's later," the
Witchdoctor said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll warn you when
that's coming. In this case, you need to cross the threshold and
properly take up your role in the story. You'll need to head up the
mountain and pass through a series of mystic gateways, represented by
a series of Shinto Torii gates that were donated by Hatsukaichi City
as a gesture of ecological solidarity or something similar. It's all
very symbolic and stories like symbols. It is important that you
don't miss any of the gateways."
"Why is that?" Bridger asked,
not looking at the Witchdoctor- looking instead out the window and
narrowing his eyes as he spoke.
"The gateways are the accepted
entry point, and going through them triggers the initiation, by
trying to go around, you will anger the guardian spirit. You can
still get to the top, but you'll be travelling with the protection
afforded by the gateways. It won't be an initiation, it will be a
battle. I wouldn't recommend battling the Guardian."
"Does anyone else feel that?"
Henrietta asked.
Harley looked down at the glass of
water in front of him and noticed that the water was rippling, and
then Harley could her a distant rumbling, like thunder but
continuous, "Am I hearing an army?" He asked, rising to his
feet and walking to the window.
Bridger pointed down the highway, and
Harley saw thousands of pale figures moving like a great stampede.
"I've seen those before."
Harley muttered.
The Witch Doctor joined them at the
window, "The Wendigo, you'd better go now, before they cut you
off from your goal. I'll put up a protective ward around the dinner.
It will either last just long enough or not quite long enough,
depending on what kind of story this is right now. But either way,
get going."
"But..." Bridger started to
say, but the Witch Doctor cut him off.
"Special Agent Bridger, you have
an arm coming from nearly all directions. You're either going to have
to trust us for the moment, or deal with that army alone. I can
protect the people inside this diner for a little while, but if you
don't trust me and assist Harley, then however long I can protect
this diner is not going to be long enough. We argue later, if we
survive. Deal?"
As the horizon filled with pale hungry
figures, Bridger nodded, "I guess circumstances force me to
agree with that. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth though."
Harley stared at the mountain far in
the distance, "The Goblin is out of gas. Not that it matters
since we'd have to go through the Wendigo to get to the mountain. So
I guess Bridger gets to have a lesson in seven league walking."
"Oh no. I have a car."
Bridger objected.
"Can it go through them?"
Harley asked, pointing to the writhing horde of Wendigo still
increasing in numbers in the distance.
"Doubtful." Bridger admitted.
"Exactly. So take me hand, and let
me do my job. We have an appointment with a mountain and a guardian
spirit."
