This chapter is dedicated to my beautiful and amazing friend, Nutmeg - it's her birthday today!
You're a God-send Nutmeg. I really mean that. Your friendship means so much to me and I hope you have a wonderful and blessed day!
"So, what exactly was so important that you had to break into my school principal's office to get it?" Spencer asked snootily.
"I'm really struggling to understand why we brought him along for this," Arry whispered to Bert.
Bert scoffed. "You're telling me."
"Spencer, the reason I broke into Mr. C's office will be revealed to all in due time," said Tanner. "For now, only those who need to know know what I was after."
Spencer rolled his eyes, and resorted to lighting another cigarette. Diesel then walked in, and brought his father an old piece of paper.
"Was in the Duke's basement, underneath a ton of boxes," said Diesel. He turned his attention to his classmates. "Was real classy of you all to just let me do that by myself."
"I dug through earlier," said Bert.
"And I just don't care to get my jacket dirty," said Spencer.
Arry chose to remain quiet.
Tanner, however, ignored all three of the current arguers around his dinner table, and rolled out the piece of paper on the table. He used a whiskey bottle and a gun to flatten out the corners, and looked at the drawings…
The paper was old and worn… but still good. Good as gold, you might even say.
"What does it say, boss?" asked Sammy.
"It's a map, my dear boy," said Tanner, smiling at Sammy. "A map to something truly special."
"But what is this something special?" Davie continued.
"That, I will reveal at a later date," smiled Tanner, patting Davie on the shoulder. "But we've done good, boys. I truly believe this revenge plan will be greater than any heist I ever pulled off."
"Oooh, exciting!" Sammy said.
"When will we find out what it is?" Davie asked.
"Tomorrow," Tanner said. "I'm going on a special expedition, and you two boys are coming with me."
"Awesome!" the brothers said.
"Hey, hey what about us?" Spencer asked. "What are we, chopped liver?"
Tanner sighed… and approached Spencer. Despite Spencer being Tanner's height, as the serial burglar approached him, the man had a look in his eye that was quite hard to describe… he felt no taller than an inch.
"You listen to me, young man, and you listen carefully," Tanner whispered. "You are… really ticking me off. And your presence that is required on this team grows weaker with each snark comment you make."
Spencer gulped, seeming genuinely scared for the first time since joining Tanner's fleet. Arry and Bert stood back, also looking intimidated - Diesel, however, didn't even flinch.
This was the Tanner Vintex he remembered.
"So, if you expect to remain a person who doesn't need a wheelchair to get around," Tanner said, so calm and collected it was freaky, "I expect… better. Are we on the same page here?"
"Y-Yes, Mr. Vintex," nodded Spencer.
"Good man," Tanner smiled, and the smile sent chills up Spencer's spine. The rest of the crew, save for Diesel, were all frozen at the boss' language. "You all should probably head home - I will contact you when I return from where me and the Shunter's are going."
"Where are you going, dad?" asked Diesel.
Tanner turned to face his son, and smirked.
"Muffle Mountain."
-0-
"Is he crazy?!" Diesel exclaimed.
"Yes," Spencer commented.
"That was a rhetorical question, Spencer," Diesel snarked. "But seriously - Muffle Mountain?! What is he thinking?! What could be worth going to the most haunted mountain on the Island?!"
"You seriously think that place is haunted?" Bert laughed.
"Dude - people have gone there and never been seen again," Diesel said. "And that Tasha chick from school? Yeah, she used to live there."
"Lady?" Arry asked, speaking for the first time the whole car ride. "A-And isn't her name Martha?"
"Whatever, I'm not good with regular names," said Diesel. "Point is - if she could live on that mountain, you know something's weird there."
"Eh, you're paranoid," Bert chuckled.
"We should sneak up there while Tanner's doing whatever he's doing," Spencer chuckled.
"If you all do, he'll kill you," said Diesel - and he meant every word of it. "My father's never pulled the trigger on anyone, but the only time he almost did was when someone interfered with his work."
"And I am not gonna test him," Arry said.
"Good idea," Diesel nodded.
Spencer and Bert, however, just chuckled. Bunch'a wimps…
-0-
3:00 PM. Muffle Mntn. Drive.
Tanner's black Impala pulled up to the sign that warned everyone they were entering Muffle Mountain territory.
On some levels, Diesel was right to be paranoid - there was a lot of folklore surrounding Muffle Mountain, and supposed spirits that resided in the clefts and rock of the mountain. He had no idea how that Lady chick who was dating the teen he was currently trying to break mentally lived here…
Well, okay, she was dating Thomas Awdry. Evidently, she had a lot of mental reservation.
"What exactly are you after, boss?" asked Sammy. "There's no annoying high schoolers here to pester you."
"Yeah, so you can tell your buddies!" Davie said.
Tanner smiled - genuinely, he really liked these two. They weren't lackeys; they were partners to him.
"I'm looking for a book - King Godred's Memento," said Tanner. "It was said to be owned by a man who used to live on this mountain - Billy Twofeathers, I think was his name… he wasn't a descendant of our first king, rather a man who simply found the book and decided to keep it."
"How'd you find that out, boss?" Sammy asked.
"Funny enough, because of a pawn shop owner selling me his memoirs," chuckled Tanner. "I was just looking for a nice sidearm to stick my next bank up with, but then I found the book and it intrigued me, and the shop owner asked if I was interested in more from Mr. Twofeathers. He proceeded to convince me to buy a whole box of his stuff, and that's where I found that map too. It's a navigation map of the mountain terrain."
"How much did you pay for it?" Davie asked.
"Twenty pound," Tanner smirked. "You could say, I came looking for copper, and I struck gold."
Sammy and Davie smirked proudly at their boss, each getting a fist bump from him. "Well boss, good luck on your expedition!" said Sammy.
"Text us if you need help!" Davie added. "Or, y'know… if you can even get a signal."
"Will do, boys," said Tanner, nodding.
And with that, Tanner began to walk up a forested pathway, as Sammy and Davie watched to make sure he didn't slip, trip, or die, or anything like the above.
He disappeared into the forest preceding the mountain within a minute.
-0-
Tanner saw the forest coming to a head within five minutes of walking.
Twofeathers' map indicated that he needed to go through here to get to wherever it was he was going, so he proceeded as normal… until he was forced to stop.
Not by his own will, of course, but because… something was in the way. But he couldn't see this something; it was still blocking him, though. Tanner held out his right hand as an experiment, and this invisible barrier held him back… but his left hand passed through with ease.
Hmm. Well, this couldn't stand for sure…
Tanner growled, forcing his hands against this invisible barrier. It shook and groaned against his force, but he was determined to break through… nothing would stop him in this mission.
Even this stupid magic barrier.
"Grrr… hrnghhhh-AAAAAAAH!" Tanner screamed - and then, he fell to the ground.
...On the other side of the barrier.
He looked up… and his breath nearly escaped him. The scenery, the lush greenery, the mountain itself… it was breathtaking. It looked absolutely nothing like the other side of the magical barrier.
"I can see why, now… why you'd want to live here," Tanner whispered, taking a deep breath in of the cool autumn air. Was the air of Muffle Mountain magic too?
"I'm impressed."
Tanner's eyes shot open, and he pulled out his revolver from his trench coat pocket at the source of the voice.
It was this… floating, hooded entity. Had it not been for the arms and legs on the thing, Tanner wouldn't even have known if it was human or not. He couldn't make out a face… almost like he had an aura of some sort around him.
"Who the hell are you?" asked Tanner calmly, keeping his revolver pointed at the entity. "Or rather… what are you?"
"I have been referred to many names by those who have come up here," the entity said. "But you're the first one in a while to ask questions before you shoot."
"I like to think of myself as a person who respects others," Tanner said. "Now, if you please, answer the question."
"You can call me what you will," the entity simply answered.
"...You look like a spectre, so... I guess that's what I'll call you," said Tanner. "Spectre."
"Very well," nodded Spectre, or at least what Tanner thought was him nodding. He approached Tanner slowly, and raised his "hands" to show he wasn't intending to hurt him. Tanner got the message, and lowered his gun, putting it back in his coat.
"What do you seek… Tanner, son of Brittany?" asked Spectre.
Tanner froze at the mention of his mother... "H-How do you… how do you know her name?" Tanner asked.
"It is my first obligation to know the history of all who come to Muffle Mountain," said Spectre. "And frankly, would it not be for your politeness, I should've struck you dead the moment you stepped foot onto my grounds."
"Your grounds?" Tanner asked, scoffing. "Look, pal - Spectre, excuse me - I'm here for a book, and that's all. As a collector, I would pride myself in owning such a rarity. If you would point me in the direction of where I can find Mr. Twofeathers' home so I may retrieve the book, I will leave without incident."
"Twofeathers?" Spectre asked. "Now that name… I haven't heard it in ages."
"Pity, seemed like an alright chap," said Tanner. "Now, if you please - where can I find King Godred's Memento?"
Spectre paused for a minute… Tanner was patient, though. He knew this was probably an interesting occurrence for the entity, anyway.
"You will find it in that direction," said Spectre, pointing off in the general direction of Billy Twofeathers' old home. "In the Lakota Valley, there is a home with a large steam engine parked outside. Retrieve your book, and never return to these sacred grounds; our business concludes with that."
"Sounds fine by me," Tanner said. "Thank you, Spectre."
The Spectre nodded, and waved Tanner on his way. Tanner obliged, beginning the trek towards the Lakota Valley.
Turns out, it was closer by than he thought - the massive steam engine sat on a display track of sorts outside Twofeathers' house, and Tanner smirked when he saw it. "Bingo."
He made his way quickly down to the house, and opened the door - nothing inside seemed out of the ordinary, especially for a house residing in the valley of a magical mountain area of an isle of the British mainland coast.
Yes, he had to go in depth to show how odd this place was.
Tanner wanted to be here no longer than necessary, so he quickly looked in the obvious places he could think to store a magical book…
Lo and behold, it was on a desk in the middle of the living room. Written in Latin, the cover looked mystical… exactly what Tanner was looking for.
But this wouldn't be his last theft - not by a long shot.
Things were only gonna kick up after this for Tanner's plot.
He began to make his way out of Twofeathers' house, then out of the Lakota Valley pass towards the magic barrier that separated Muffle Mountain from the rest of the world.
When suddenly… it began to rain.
Now, this normally wouldn't be odd - Tanner had expected some rain, anyway, since the forecast had predicted a shower before the evening…
What was odd was the lightning.
It struck quick, hard, and fast - and far too close for comfort. Tanner began to pick up the pace, wanting absolutely nothing to do with this place anymore. He was full on sprinting within seconds, and the lighting only continued to strike closer and closer, nearly clipping his heel even…
"You should never have come here."
The voice that had whispered in his head… he knew who it was, no doubt. He needed to get out of here.
NOW.
Tanner finally made it to the barrier, and instead of doing that whole confused routine all over again, he headcharged the barrier at full speed… and broke through instantly, coming crashing down on the other side and falling into a pile of dirt.
He was soaked and dirty, but he had the book. He had gotten what he came for.
Tanner sighed, brushing himself off to the best of his ability. He then cleaned the book off as well as he could, before making the trek back to Sammy and Davie.
There was work to be done.
And so it begins... Tanner's plan is beginning to unfold! I cannot wait for y'all to see what's in store, I'm so excitedddddd
I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment! See you all in the next chapter! Your comments have literally blessed me, thank you all for being so dang nice. Love you all! :D