As
we neared the entrance, the loud voice of a lady floated out of the door,
“Don’t bother knocking. Walk straight in.” As we entered the room, the sight
that met us started the secretion of our digestive juices right away. On the
table was an enormous steak, complete with several loaves of bread and a bottle
of red wine. My eyes had been fixed so completely and fixedly on that
delectable dish that I hardly had noticed anything or anyone else in the room.
It was only when I heard the Sire’s voice that I shook myself out of the
trance. “ Before we proceed to that sorely tempting steak, I ask you to join me
for a glass of whiskey. Reluctantly we made our way across the room, our eyes
glancing back towards the steak every now and then to make sure it did not
suddenly just disappear, or maybe grow a pair of legs and walk off the table.
Also present
were the stocky bearded man and the giant. The Sire poured out five whiskies
and handed one to each person, after which he sat down opposite me. So Eldor,
Lothar here tells me that you seem to be interested in the history of our
village. I have to admit there is quite a lot of it. There are certain
incidents that would come under the ‘Unresolved’ and ‘Inexplicable’ categories.
Also there are others that are quite gory and tragic.” My hopes started to
rise. Maybe this was my opportunity to find out the details behind the
disappearance of the men of the Tronix. “ I have read about a group who used to
call themselves the Tronix. They were wiped out by some mysterious agency. They
were rumoured to have their base here in this very village. I would be greatly
obliged if you could tell me something further about the incident and the
rumours that have grown around it.”
The Sire waited a few moments, seeming to
gather his thoughts and memories of forty years previously. Then with a silent
sigh he began, “ Yes, it is true that an organization called the Tronix existed
in the early fifties. It was constituted during the repression, to right the
wrongs done against the people by the ruthless Smutlin government. They were
secretly based here in our village, though the headquarters they projected to
the public eye was supposedly located in another village Rubinsk, twenty miles
north of this one. Well the government, desperate to locate and destroy the
heart of the Tronix, conducted many futile raids on the homes of the residents
of Rubinsk, torturing them and even killing many of them in an attempt to force
them to divulge information about the identity and whereabouts of members and
resources of the Tronix which they never did have in the first place. Several
feeble attempts to overthrow the Smutlin regime later, the brain behind the
Tronix sat down and formulated a masterful plan of action. I was not let in on
the details of the plan as I wasn’t senior enough at the time, so my
information base is sketchy.”
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