The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 29 Spencer's Field trip

The Sikorsky squatted smugly, like a large brightly coloured, highly toxic, South American toad, with its feet squarely and securely planted on the damp, lichen covered, but suitably flat and unencumbered outcrop of rock. Ostensibly the helicopter was only stationary, whilst Boris and Simon checked it for defects, although neither of them had a clue what they were supposed to be looking for, or how to look for it.

The landing site was high enough up the hill, to have an almost unobstructed, semi-panoramic view of the area. This location and its elevation were perfect for Sir Percy to try out his powerful binoculars, to gaze down on his machines arriving, but not so convenient for Spencer, who had to visit the nearest town a long way below. The outcrop wasn't served by any sort of road that the Corniche could negotiate, so Spencer had no alternative but to clamber down the steep slopes like a mouflon.

There were numerous large rocks strewn either side of most of the paths and the paths themselves were no wider really than mouflon tracks, radiating from it like a spider's web. The narrowness of the paths made it physically impossible for the Corniche to pick Spencer up from anywhere very close to the helicopter but Spencer was quite content with this.

Sir Percy never liked to walk anywhere further than a few metres. He was convinced that walking was for peasants, who were forced to walk because they were poor and therefore could not afford transport. This meant that Sir Percy always had to be carted around from place to place by some sort of vehicle. He was getting so overweight that he used a mobility scooter even for quite short distances and usually Spencer had to stay within a few metres of him to do his bidding. That meant that Spencer didn't get much exercise either, so Spencer viewed being ordered away as more of a blessing than a curse.

It was a nice sunny day, the smell of the damp pine trees wafted enchantingly in the gentle breeze, and the twittering of birds and the scent filled the air to overflowing, overwhelming Spencer's senses. Sunny days seemed to be fewer and farther between these days and so Spencer, who was unaware of any impending watery doom waiting to happen, seized the opportunity to take what he hoped would be a leisurely amble down the hill. It would do Spencer good to really stretch his legs for a change, Spencer contacted the Corniche's driver, Ivo and arranged to for Ivo to meet him at specific co-ordinates at the main road at least fifty metres lower down the hill.

It was forecast to rain later, in the afternoon, but by then Spencer hoped to be under cover somewhere, watching Sir Percy trying to fish after he had been swigging liberally from his hip flask. He supposed that it was too much to ask that Sir Percy would fall in and drown, but then it was probably a case of better the devil you know; than the inheriting relative that you have heard terrible stories about.

None of the upper slopes of Kopce Milosti, or the hills of grace, themselves, were part of the building project, because they were all owned by the Slavik Navy. Sir Percy had been unable to negotiate the purchase of them. He had pulled the usual strings and bribed the usual officials to attempt to purchase the rest... but it had all been in vain. The navy had an unbreakable deed of covenant that ensured that the land would stay that way, in perpetuity, but nobody knew why. It seemed a strange place for the navy to hold on to, being hundreds of kilometres away from any sea, but even Sir Percy's most persistent lawyers were unable to untie the red tape that bound and impeded its purchase.

According to Spencer's Dudat, Kopce Milosti had once been a popular holiday destination and the old halite mine, which was half way up the steepest part of the hill, had been an attraction of its own in the old days. Apparently one of the vast caverns excavated to remove the salt had been turned into a chapel the size of a small cathedral underground and thousands of sightseers had once flocked to see them.

There were still a few picturesque, Swiss style, holiday chalets scattered higher up on the hill, on land owned by the navy. They all had spectacular views of the landscape beyond, and the wooden structures were left over from happier times and when there had been a better, less rainy, climate, but they had probably been abandoned for years. Apparently the whole area was not only naval land but it was deemed to be infested with the evil spirits of drowned miners.