An Alchemical Quest for Time: Part Three of the Strange Quest Mission

By Will Forster Gordon

The third part of my saga has reached fruition. The intrepid team of misfits under the command of Lieutenant Jessica Barnes have found the Mysterious Professor Barker and the continuing story leads them through a strange odyssey involving shadowy forces and strange creatures found only in the worst of nightmares.
The story centres around a fabulous Riverboat with several intriguing puzzles contained within its environs.
A children's book is the pathway to discovery for the team.
Petyr the mad shaman figures largely once again in the story although new aspects of him come as a big surprise to the squad.
Sir Richard reveals some startling secrets that totally confound several of the squad as certain facts emerge.
These are only a few of the threads in the narrative that will grip and enchant the readers of my latest offering.
Book four is now underway with the characters having to travel through time to continue their mission.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667878331

Book preview

Chapter One

It’s written in Blood

My Angel, I knew you would come!  Jessica stared at the Professor in stunned bewilderment; she did recognise him as the man in the crater who had been with the Neanderthal cave man, even though he was much younger then.  He evidently recognised her despite the circumstances and the brief sight he had of her at that time.  The rest of the squad were totally silent and equally confused, the clarity and volume of his voice was enough to rouse Julian from his doze and he swung his legs over to enable him to get to his feet from the couch and move over to where Professor Barker was half sitting half lying and struggling to sit up. 

It was obvious that even that minimal movement had drained his of energy as he again began to wheeze with the effort of breathing, Jessica could see that Julian was very concerned as he held the Professors wrist feeling for a pulse, his eyes were beginning to glaze over and the life was visibly draining from his body once again.  Just as it appeared that the efforts by Randi and Julian were seemingly in vain Professor Barker managed to croak out some last words, the final point is here the words rattling from him as the life force left his body for the ultimate time.  There was a slight barely noticeable movement of his arm that may or may not have been a gesture.

What did he say? asked Alec, there was a long pause as everyone also tried to comprehend what Professors last words had been.

It soonded teh me that he said, ‘the past point is near’ or summat lyek that, Sam declared, a dying gadgie’s gibberish aah think.

I don’t think so Sam, Randi said he was I believe quite lucid and said exactly what he wanted to say and realised he did not have time to expound on what he wanted to reveal to Miss Barnes.

I think Randi is correct, added Calhoun after some thought.  Whatever he was trying to say he thought was important, we’ve just got to try and work out what he was trying to tell us.

I heard it clearly he said the final point is here.  Jessica stated in a positive voice.  So we must be looking for something in this vicinity.

Roberta was staring at the again deceased body of Professor Barker, she had watched Randi and Julian raise someone from the dead and felt both sad and cheated somehow to see him be retaken by deaths cold embrace; it was sad to see the poor man die in the way he had but what a story she had missed out on if he had survived.  She had a keen eye for details and realised there was something the others had missed, I think he was trying to indicate something to us with his hand, did anyone else see that gesture he made. 

They all looked at her then at the professor, his hand still had his index finger extended in a pointing gesture and they followed the path it was indicating to the wall of the room on the opposite side to the desk.  There was a large painting hanging there and there was a collective gasp when they saw the subject matter of the painting.  It was the first time they had looked at any part of the room with their attention being completely focussed on Professor Barker.

Jessica went cold at the scene depicted in the painting it was all too familiar somehow, with an angelic winged figure encased in a sphere of intense white light flying above the scrubby desert floor on the inside edge of a massive walled crater. Behind and above the angel was a weird rainbow coloured whirling vortex.  The sparse scrub changed to thicker and thicker tropical jungle towards the centre and the far side of the crater was not visible being obscured by the dense mass of trees.  On the crater floor were two figures, one who looked like a prehistoric Neanderthal caveman and another modern looking man.  More horrifying were the two giant bat-like creatures very similar to the ones that attacked the plane on its flight to Greenland.  Although Jessica was unconscious during the attack but she had seen them in the crater, at first attacking the two men but then breaking off to pursue her.

Sam, Alec, Julian and Randi had seen them attacking the plane so it was quite a shock to see them in the painting.  Disquieting as this was there was an air of disbelief when they examined the angel figure.  Is that meant te be yeeh Lieutenant, asked Sam?

It certainly looks like you Ma-am, agreed Julian and there were murmurs of assent from Calhoun and Alec.  Randi said nothing as he could sense the dismay in Jessica as she stared shocked at what she was seeing.  The angels face was undoubtedly a spitting image of her, if this was the handiwork of Professor Barker or something described by him to the artist responsible for it; he had caught her likeness to perfection.

The group by now were looking from Jessica to the painting and back again, the likeness was too similar to lightly dismiss as a co-incidence.  Jessica had believed the crater event was nothing more than a bad nightmare; she had convinced herself of this and had managed to push it to the back of her mind.  Now however she was beginning to realise that what had happened was more than just an unpleasant figment of her imagination, it was only too real.  With this startling self revelation she told the group about her weird flight from the plane and her encounter with the creatures and the two men in the crater.

The squad listened to her story and even Julian did not react in total horror and doubt as to the veracity of her tale, they had seen and experienced enough strangeness already to cast any doubts about what she was saying.  Aye me an Sor Richard saw yee gan into tha funny light, he thowt it wez a ‘foo fighter’ an then wi saw yee come oot agyen bein chased by those funny creatures we didn’t knaa it wez yee though. declared Sam.  He then had to briefly relate what Sir Richard had said about ‘Foo fighters’

This was all new to Roberta however and it was as if they had forgotten she was there, there was no way that she was going to draw attention to herself, what she was hearing was fascinating and there were news stories galore to be garnered from the revelations, even if they weren’t believed, they would sell papers by the thousands just for the sheer extravagant claims.  Everybody loved a sensational UFO story. 

Okay it’s a peculiar painting ma-am, but is there something significant aboot it? Calhoun remarked walking closer to it and examining it more detail. Randi got to his feet and walked up to the painting to see if he could discern something of an unusual nature other than the fact that it was indeed Miss Jessica, there was no mistaken her features, she could easily have sat and posed for the picture.  He ran his fingers down the outside of the frame which was a made of a dark brown wood that was highly polished and whilst it had a nice tactile feel to it there was nothing of an exceptional nature about it other than the fine craftsmanship. 

He peered behind the frame, aha, he exclaimed, Alec was stood at the other side of the picture and Randi said Alec, help me lift the picture of the wall, it was hung by a strong golden cord from a hook on the picture rail.  As the others watched and waited expectantly wondering what Randi had spotted, he with Alec lifted the heavy five feet square picture from the wall to reveal a wall safe in the middle of where it had been.

Not the best hiding place, said Julian walking over and taking a closer look at it.  It’s a combination lock, he declared and started to twirl the dials to see if he could get it open.

"Do you think you should be doing that Mr McCarthy? Asked Jessica in a dubious tone, it seemed to her to be both criminal and sacrilegious to be trying to open a recently deceased person’s safe.

Well it would appear that it was the safe he was trying to make you aware of Miss Barnes and given the nature of our mission.  I think we’d be failing in our duty if we let some misplaced scruples to get in the way. proclaimed Calhoun.

Sam walked over to Julian and pushed him aside saying, Heor , giss a gan at opening it,  ahm an export at opening locks and stuff lyke that.  Julian gave him an angry scowl but stepped back and was soon smiling at Sam’s total failure to make any progress as well.  After more lack of success by other members of the squad they admitted defeat and started to search the room to see if they could find the correct combination or anything else that may be helpful, with emphasis on the strange book.

Listen, said Randi suddenly standing still with his head slightly turned as if he was listening for something.

The rest of the squad followed suit and after several long seconds, Calhoun muttered that he couldn’t hear anything.  The rest of the squad nodded in agreement apart from the wind softly soughing through the trees outside it was utterly silent.  Exactly, declared Randi, the siren noise has stopped.  That comment made them listen more intently but they could hear nothing.

It could be that the heavy woods and undergrowth is blocking the sound, said Jessica, she was also thinking that the local police turning up now would be very awkward especially as, despite the demise of Professor Barker, they might have a chance of finding something.

Aye yee are correct ma-am, soond travels betta ower water so they might be travelling alang the road, but aah think wi should be hearing summat, Sam said in partial agreement.

I could hear it ever so faintly but it stopped suddenly, admitted Randi, I think they may have stopped at the boatyard first. 

Yes that would make sense, especially if they are acting on information from Jackson Snow, Julian suggested thinking it would make sense for them to check the boatyard first.

Alright, let’s get on with our searching, Jessica ordered, we don’t know if they will continue on to here but if there’s anything here we need to find it before this boat becomes a crime scene.  Having come this far and with so many dead ends she didn’t want to be confounded now in the search for the artefact.

The squad restarted their searching with more haste but after ten minutes Randi paused and stated, They are on their way here again.  It took the rest of them about two minutes to hear the sirens but they could tell they were getting closer as the volume was increasing.

During this time Jessica had been grimly looking at Professor and thinking how sad it was.  It would appear that he was waiting and expecting her somehow.  For her to turn up when he was almost dead was a cruel act of fate.  She noticed he had something clutched in his non pointing hand that was clenched into a fist.  Steeling herself for the effort she took hold of his hand and prised open the rapidly stiffening fingers and was able to remove a red stained crumpled A4 sheet of paper.  She very carefully and gingerly opened it up and laid it across the desk.

Roberta was the first person to notice what she was doing asking, What have you found Jessica?  Hearing this, the rest of the group turned to see what Roberta was referring to. The opened up sheet of paper was a gruesome sight and written on it were some strange symbols.

That looks like some sort of lettering that has been written in red ink, said Roberta peering at it more closely but making no move to pick it up, she had a suspicion it might not be ink.

It’s written in blood, I’ve seen enough of it to know what it is, declared Julian knowingly, thinking about his time when he was treating the retreating British expeditionary forces at Dover castle.

Jessica mistook his comment to mean his time that the squad had been together, yes you have Mr McCarthy and not always human. She said in agreement.  He immediately shut up realising he had nearly let slip information that he wanted to keep to himself.

Randi spotted something on the floor and bent down to pick it up, grimly he examined the object then said, I believe that this is what was used to write the symbols, holding up a blood stained calligraphy pen. 

Bloody hell, he must have used his own blood to do that as he was dying, exclaimed Alec in astonishment. 

That may be so but can you make sense of what they mean, ma-am, queried Calhoun.  It looks like nothing I have ever seen.

Jessica stared at the symbols, there was something about them that she felt she should know but just couldn’t drag it to the front of her mind.  I think I may have seen something like this on old manuscripts in a museum somewhere, but I’m blowed if I can remember where that was or what it is.  Although I think it is a language of some sort, in fact I’m sure it is some esoteric alphabet. She looked towards the bookshelves, he might have a book explaining what this is let’s see if we can find it.  The last sentence was said with a strong hint of urgency as the police sirens were getting louder and closer.

A frantic search ensued with the bookshelves being the main focus of their efforts, This byeuk has some of tha same funny letters in it, what dyer think Lieutenant? asked Sam holding up a small, badly worn, very old looking book.

She very carefully took it from him as the cover and binding were very fragile, she had visibly winced as she had watched Sam fully open the book and heard the glue cracking as he did so, she knew from experience of holding old books and manuscripts that incorrect handling of them could damage them beyond repair to the extent that they were impossible to read.

The sirens were by now extremely loud and it was certain that they must be very close and would arrive imminently.  She hastily placed the book in her handbag and placed the blood stained note in her handkerchief after refolding as carefully as she could, the blood was pretty much dry so it was unlikely to get any more smudged.  The picture was re-hung and a quick tidy up performed before they proceeded back down to the bow to meet the police.

Just as they were all leaving the room Calhoun noticed a leaflet that had a bloody fingerprint on it, he thought that it was odd the way it was at an angle as if Professor Barker may have been trying to extricate it from a rack of leaflets and pamphlets that was sat on the desk.  He picked it up and slipped it into his jackets inside pockets for some reason he thought it may be important, even odder was the thought that Polly had somehow whispered he should pick it up.

The group got back to the bow main deck just as the police car slewed to a halt just behind Roberta’s car.  Two figures emerged from the car after switching off the siren, engine and headlights, once the lights were off that could see that one of them was the same police officer who had questioned them at the University, Detective Sergeant Harry Wickham, he was accompanied by another officer whose name wasn’t given but Detective Wickham just called him Jake.

He had a perplexed look on his face at seeing the group standing on the riverboat, It’s getting to be a habit bumping into you lot, just what you are doing here? It wasn’t quite the response the group were expecting as he didn’t seem to be in a state of great urgency as if he was reacting to a possible murder situation which also made them wonder why he had felt the need to arrive with the siren blaring. 

Jessica decided to answer his question with a question saying, Aren’t you responding to Mr Snow’s warning that Professor Barker’s life was in danger?  Wickham blinked in surprise at this.

No, I haven’t spoken to Mr Snow, last time I saw him he was unconscious and fighting for his life in hospital. He paused and then continued his explanation for being there.  My station received a call that the professor’s riverboat was spotted adrift in the river, I thought it would be a good idea to check it out but wasn’t overly concerned as I knew he had the means to move it himself, it has done the same thing a couple of times in the past few years and he resolved the problem quickly.  So where is he, can I speak to him?"

There were some uneasy glances between the group as they waited for Jessica to answer the question, I’m afraid not Harry, he was dead when we got here, it looks like some sort of wild animal has attacked him.  It was Roberta who took the initiative and replied to Wickham’s query, to the relief of Jessica; it looked as if there was some kind of rapport between the two that was evident as she explained that they had managed to get onto the riverboat as it drifted away from the dockside.  She explained that it had started listing and that Mr Tomkins had managed to fix that problem and how they had managed to beach the riverboat in its present position.

She did not mention the reptilians, but told him that they had found Professor Barker dead in his study from some very nasty wounds but hadn’t found whatever had inflicted them. 

What about his servants, are they ok?  He asked causing a ripple of consternation and shock amongst the group at the unexpected question.

What servants? Calhoun was the first to react to this bombshell.  We have had a look around but didn’t see anyone else, although it is a big vessel and haven’t searched all of it.

Could they have had a night off? suggested Alec, surely they weren’t here twenty four hours a day and seven days a week.

Wickham took his time before replying, he was studying the group as if deciding if whether they were being honest with him and more importantly as far as he was concerned were they somehow complicit in whatever may have happened here.  Unlikely but possible, as far as I know they were totally loyal and faithful to him and apart from shopping trips into town never left his side!  He moved to the ladder and climbed onto the deck; Randi could see that for such a big fat person he moved with surprising grace and co-ordination. It occurred to him that in a fight he would be a formidable opponent.

Once he was on the deck he declared, we’d better have a look for them, then moved past the group heading towards the professor’s study.  It seemed that he wanted to have a look at the crime scene first. 

Roberta and I will go with him, the rest of you have a look for these servants, decided Jessica.  The apparent rapport between Roberta and Wickham might make any awkward questions easier to answer and if the servants were still alive she wanted the group to be able to question them first, this she relayed to Calhoun before they went their separate ways.

In the professor’s study Wickham paused in the doorway and visually scanned the room.  He then entered and walked up to the corpse and again examined it visually but didn’t touch it.  After standing up again he asked, Where was the body when you found it, was it lying as it is?  This had Jessica in a quandary, did he realise that they had moved the professor and if so he would wonder why.

Roberta again came to the rescue, not exactly, she replied.  He appeared to have fallen from the desk where all the blood is, said with a little shudder that Jessica guessed was for effect for the benefit of the Detective.  And I think he must have somehow in his dying throes slumped to the floor beside the desk, which is where we found him.  We moved him onto his back to see if he was still alive, alas he wasn’t though.  I’m sorry Detective Wickham; we shouldn’t have moved him, should we? 

Jessica was impressed with the way Roberta was emotionally manipulating the Detective, it was something most women were able to do and the more beautiful they were the easier they were able to do it.  She had never been able to use her femininity in this way although to be fair she hadn’t really tried, fully aware that she was a plain looking sort of woman.

Detective Wickham stared at her with a slight smile on his face, he wasn’t a man easily swayed in this way and was aware that there was something wrong with her story, he shrugged saying, really, that sounds plausible let’s take a closer look at the deceased.  He pulled a pair of thin rubber gloves from his pocket and began to examine the body.  Jake had been walking around the room examining it and he took a camera from his pocket and began taking photographs.

Wickham gave a little whistle as he studied the wounds and lacerations, just what sort of animal attacked him, I’ve never seen wounds like this.  Jake walked over and he began to snap away taking pictures of the body.  He too expressed surprise at the nature of the wounds. 

Calhoun and his group didn’t take long to locate the missing servants; at the back of the kitchen on the main deck where they had previously enjoyed hot drinks there was a small walk-in freezer and within it were their two badly mutilated bodies.  Bloody hell! exclaimed Julian as he examined the bodies.  It looks as those nasty sods have used more than claws on them, they have been bitten and even worse the flesh is missing where they were chewed, I reckon they were eating them. 

Wot are yee saying they are bloody cannibals, like? muttered Sam as he with the others stared horrified at the grim corpses.  They were both lying slumped half sitting against the back wall and it looked as if they had put up a fight.  There was a middle aged woman and in front of her with a wicked looking butchers knife lying on the floor beside him was an older man.  On the floor were some strange footprints in the blood pooled there that led to the outside of the freezer.  None of the group had spotted these initially but now saw that they led away out of the door petering out very quickly and barely noticeable on the kitchen floor.

No Sam, Randi remembered him asking the same question with the bears when he had first had that terrifying encounter with them and how Miss Jessica had carefully explained that, cannibals are creatures that eat their own kind, and these things aren’t human.

Oh aye aah remember whaat the lieutenant said noo, causing a mild ripple of amusement in the group, despite the gruesome circumstances.

To think we were sat drinking tea with this only a few yards away, declared Alec, the others nodded in agreement.

I suppose we had better tell that Detective laddie what we found here, said Calhoun, I expect that he’ll have a team of experts looking for clues, which might be a nuisance as far as we are concerned.

Well we aren’t going away completely empty handed sergeant, we still have that note and book, said Randi, and who knows we might get a chance to have another look.

Aye that’s true, Randi you come with me and we’ll go and tell Miss Barnes and the Detective what we have found.  If the rest of yeehs are okay with it can you stay with these poor people?  Julian, Alec and Sam agreed with Sam saying he might as well brew up another pot of tea whilst they are waiting.

Wickham bought his scrutiny to a close and stood up saying, I can’t really deduce much from the body; it’s going to need a full autopsy to learn more, so I’ll arrange for the body to be picked up as soon as possible.  I expect that this is going to be front page news tomorrow, Miss Henry.

Roberta gave him a wary stare; she could certainly headline the killing but whether to write about everything that had happened was a bit of a conundrum.  She didn’t want to spook her new found friends especially the handsome one with the cute accent and by keeping them out of it for the moment could lead to a bigger story or even bigger stories.  It is news Harry so yes, I’ll write about this attack by a wild animal but beyond that, it is going to need a bit more nosing about……….!  She left the conclusion hanging but he understood what she was saying.

Maybe but this is a crime scene so you are going to give this riverboat a wide berth until I am happy, we have not missed anything.  The tone of his voice made Jessica’s mood drop, it appeared that the chances of getting on to the vessel to look for more information were rapidly receding.  Just as he was finishing issuing his stern warning Calhoun and Randi came in, they had heard his final comment and exchanged worried glances; it was as they had surmised earlier.

We’ve found the servants and I’m afraid they are dead as well, it looks like they were savaged in similar way to the professor, you will need to see them for yourself however Detective Wickham.  The detective didn’t ask any questions as he could hear from the way Calhoun was speaking that there was a little more to the killing of the servants and that he did indeed need to see them.  Jessica’s hopes of getting a chance to nose around a little more were dashed when Wickham instructed Jake to stay in the study; she therefore thought she might as well follow him as he swept out of the study to