by Dan Raxor
She pulled out a device from her bag that reminded me of a metal detector. She locked the door before swiping the device over me, causing me to furl my brows in confusion. The next five minutes transitioned with her sweeping the room.
Then she stuck two devices onto the hotel table with a single chair. One did nothing when she turned it on, and the other was a simple noise machine for sleeping that made the sound of waves on repeat.
“What’s that one do?”
“Scrambles long range audio recorders,” she replied as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say.
There was a sigh of happiness once these were on. Ming set an ancient thin tome on the desk. The cover was leather with a symbol of a ruby branded into it.
Ming smirked when I gasped, that was the exact same pattern as the gems I found.
“Trevor Berns,” Ming said, her smirk converting into a grin. “You’ve found what I’ve been hunting for my entire life. Would you like to know more?”
CHAPTER 5
West Glendive Montana - November 2022
“A cock blocker and a tease,” I said playfully.
“Open it,” Ming said, pointing to the book. I don’t think she cared that she robbed me of my bedroom fun. She was serious and all business.
With a grimace, I asked, “This couldn’t have waited?”
Ming shrugged, further emphasizing she was uncaring about my sexual plight. When she pushed the chair back for me to sit, I accepted.
The book was old, maybe late eighth century, maybe ninth. These things were hard to tell. The spine revealed the book was written by Joseph Cloth. Hmm… I never heard of him. My finger traced the cover’s indented outline of a ruby, realizing this was a cowhide cover.
Ming pulled up a sleeve, showing a brand that matched the ruby shaped gem that was on the cover. I winced, knowing that had to hurt.
“Used by the exact same branding tool,” Ming said proudly.
I paused. “Why the secrecy? Is the FBI coming to kick down that door?” I asked, eyeing the door speculatively.
Ming scoffed. “Maybe. Why risk it?”
“Risk what?”
Ming groaned at my question, merely pointing at the book.
I flipped the cover open, revealing an author's note.
The contents of this book are factual. While other authors want you to believe the realm they’ve transported you into is real. I jest you not. These inscriptions are factual, and yet, they will be labeled as fiction. A sad truth about the closed minds of the masses. If you understand this is real, you’re a Ruby Mage. A Ruby Mage who was fortunate enough to get a warning. Heed these words. Study them because they may very well save your life.
Joseph Cloth - 1923
Instead of turning the page I thumbed the contents, letting the pages produce a gentle breeze. There were chapters and chapters of this man’s adventures transcribed. Each chapter had a location with a date that was either Earth or a place call Lornia.
As the 1890s shifted to 1910s the Lornia entries stopped. A quick assumption would deduce he stopped going and probably recorded his work before he perished.
I paused on a map page.
This hand drawn image must have taken him hours to produce. I was amazed at the level of detail he achieved. None of it made sense at the moment, but it did tell a story all on its own.
“How long are you here for?” I asked Ming, glancing at her from over my shoulder.
She reached into an interior breast pocket, revealing a document. She unfolded the paper showing a notarized stamp with a few signatures. When I saw a charter certificate for a private jet my eyes widened.
“Hold up,” I exclaimed in shock. “How did you book this connection for me?”
Ming was always smug, especially so when she felt the answer was obvious. I ran over the scenarios and indeed, my clues were obvious.
Halting her before she could talk, I said, “I showed you plain stones telling you they were magical rubies that no one else could see… I gave you a description of how they looked like a vortex of dazzling magic, like that branding, and when I sent the rock I include that I might -”
“Sound crazy, but there was also a corpse of a dwarf combating a werewolf.” She patted my back aggressively before pointing at the book. “Turn to chapter seven, fourth page,” Ming ordered.
Professors were so demanding.
I flicked the pages, hunting for the spot she indicated. I read the chapter heading first, hoping to extract some context.
Lornia
King Koer’s 18th year during spring
Returning to Lornia is troublesome. A war rages in the mountains. Battle lines are drawn with other species entering the fray. The dwarven hold of Jamas is under siege by a crazed fey. Pack Master Horva has stirred not only pureblood fey werewolves, but also those of mix. The army swells at the stern gates repelling the invaders. The mountain runs red with blood. Inside Port Ling, I’m far from the action, and normally that would be great. Except the looters are hawking fine dwarven relics for cheap. Meaning I’ll be heading southeast to try to exchange my gold for master crafted armor and weapons. The kind collectors will pay fortunes for.
So… there was a war? Maybe my stumble upon the dead warriors was the result of a side battle because they were alone. The deteriorated clothing would mean that fight occurred over a hundred years ago, making the timing possible.
“Okay, I take it this is part of why you're here?” I asked. She grinned with pleasure. I reached into the drawer that was filled with dirt. My fingers brushed aside the grit until a gem shone bright. “What do you see?”
“A better question. Nothing special,” Ming said in a snooty tone.
“Does the author know why some see the magic while others don’t?” I indicated the book, she shook her head. “Why are you here?”
“You need me,” Ming said confidently.
I grunted at her audacity. “Sure.”
“I mean it. That book will help. More importantly there are others who have copies of it,” Ming said and I flipped to the pages before the author’s note.
Transcribed by Elkhorn Publishing 1924 edition 1 of 1 copy 84 of 500
“Hmm… okay, maybe selling dwarven daggers on fleabay was a mistake. You going to... What? Fence stuff for me?” I asked, trying to see her angle.
“I want to go for personal reasons,” Ming said with a hint of sadness. “And yes, I’ll help you become rich.”
“Lornia sounds dangerous.”
“Extremely. More so for women. Far more so. That’s why I need to go with you,” she said, not improving my unease in the slightest.
I sighed at this, my head bobbing as I mused what Lornia would be like before reading the text. Women in medieval ages were little more than a warm slot to stick a dick in. Only the extremely fortunate gals had amazing lives and those cases were rare. Not a place any lady would have wanted to grow up.
For a guy like me… This was probably paradise if you could get over unwashed flesh and crummy dental plans.
“Besides tempting the chance of being raped and murdered, why do you desire to go?” I asked with a bite of my lip.
“I’m wanting relics, trinkets, and more. There is a personal reason too,” Ming said.
“Such as?”
She flicked her wrist dismissively. “I’m not rich, that tiny jet should have cost eight grand and thankfully the owner owed me a favor, so it was free. Sure, I have a nice condo in the Big Apple my parents gave me when they passed.
“And yes, I could sell it, but then I’d have money and no special place to call home. Making money as a fucking professor is bullshit when you get pushed aside,” Ming said between clenched teeth.
“Ah, yeah, I know your pain there,” I said in agreement.
She held one of the revered jobs that everyone in the world with my degree desired. Professor was the pinnacle vocation, and she lost it somehow. Those spots were extremely hard to hold onto, getting you shifted to librarian in a bl
ink with the slightest mistake.
When her grimace of a distant memory faded, I asked, “So what? We go to New York City and you let me crash in your place? That won’t work. I need to get new stones because these fade with—”
She interjected. “Those stones can recharge, and easily on Lornia and not so easily on Earth. That book has some great information, and so little at the same time. I think Mr. Cloth was scared to fully include everything because of the damage it might cause?”
“Damage to what?” I asked getting irritated, but still fascinated.
Ming shrugged and replied, “If you think I’m going to have every answer to your questions you’re wrong. This book is the best I got, and you’ll read it a dozen times before we go. Trust me when I say this. A single stone is enough.”
“Uh…” I muttered with a grumble. My thumb pointed to a hard traveling suitcase peeking from under the bed. “That has like thirty pounds of dirt and fifty stones.”
“Perfect. Beside the eye candy I kicked out, Montana is worthless,” Ming said with a playful tone.
“Right!” I blurted. There was a voluntary shudder to emphasize my point when I said, “It's like the outdoors makes them sexier. I do miss the city life though.”
“I thought your parents were in Kansas,” Ming said and I chuckled.
“Kansas City is still a city, and okay, maybe I want to experience New York City,” I admitted and she rolled her eyes. “What are you offering?”
“Privacy, secrecy, and the ability to get things done you can’t do here,” Ming said and I frowned. “Joseph Cloth would be gone for weeks in Lornia. He waited until he owned an estate near Scotland to vanish for such lengths. His wives… yes wives to him, lovers to the crown, would cover for his absences. There is no history of any of them existing before that estate—”
“No way!” I exclaimed.
“You’re figuring it out.”
“We can bring a half werewolf woman home?”
She shrugged with a smirk. “I’d favor a fine looking elf myself, but to each their own.”
My chin tucked in surprise. I may have rudely blurted, “A feminine man?”
“Tastes in lovers are subjective, surprised you questioned that, but yes. I guess rugged works too,” Ming admitted and we shared a sigh.
“So, we go to New York…” I paused, catching up to her plan. “Where I won’t be considered in need of a manhunt if I vanish for a few days to this… Lornia. We exploit that place to make wealth here. To what end?” I asked, drumming my fingers on the desk as I mulled the concept over.
Ming’s light chuckle turned into a loud belly aching laugh.
“The innocence of youth. Wealth means you can do whatever the hell you want. Take Joseph for example. You buy a mansion, fill it with ten gorgeous women, erect large walls for privacy, and bathe in luxury while feasting on the flesh,” Ming said with a brow bounce.
“All I need to do is learn how to be a Ruby Mage, go to a magical realm where women are objectified, and pilfer enough trinkets for you to fence until we're rich,” I said with a long exhale.
“No rush, my place is secure and we can ensure we're ready,” Ming said.
“Can I think about it?”
Ming looked at her watch. Her brown eyes squinting at the digital display as if she were calculating time. “No,” she said in a smartass tone that caused me to giggle.
“You had me at ten gorgeous women,” I said, heading to pack my minimal things.
I was off to the Big Apple.
CHAPTER 6
New York City - January 2023
We waited until after Christmas to attempt another trip.
I… I saw my family for what could be the last time, and that was important to me. There was an awkward reunion with my parents being proud of my supposed ranger job.
They were curious as to my winter activities along with me not asking for money. I was able to explain I found a trinket in the dirt which led to me lying, like a lot.
But once you start digging…
I felt especially bad for fibbing to my little sister Hanna. She looked up to me. I told her about how I became a well-paid trash collector, and earned some spoils by digging for treasure. For a thirteen year old girl, hearing that brought wonders to the imagination.
My efforts to divert discussions about my personal life was mostly successful. Finally, having a bit of cash of my own in the bank brought on a euphoric feeling that resulted in a spending spree. By the end of the trip I realized I really wanted to become rich.
When I returned to New York City, I felt vindicated in assuring my family that I loved them. Disappearing, by being trapped in Lornia, which was a real possibility, would crush me without having that goodbye.
Leading up to this fateful day was my study of all things Joseph Cloth, and the untitled book that I called ‘The Ruby Mage’s Guide to Lornia’.
His theory, because that is all he could give, was that the gateway was there to convert the Ruby Mage into a Lornian. As in the language, and features. I would change into a Lornian, as well as whatever I brought with me.
The how was magic, and the why was so a human of Earth could interact with others in Lornia and vice versa.
I feared having to learn a new language, and I’d seen this interaction myself when my phone converted. This revelation was something that excited me, until I got to understand where I was going.
Based on the book, Lornia was a brutal and harsh place. A world so vast that the geography was barely mapped or explored.
Joseph uncovered that humanity clung to a fragile kingdom in two places. He mentioned rumors of more but stuck to hard facts of what he knew.
There was Lornia, which, big reveal here, the portal reliably delivered the mage to, and then there was Primodat Nation.
The location I arrived at was different than what he encountered, either because of time, or because my gateway had a different exit point. Joseph warned to avoid Primodat at all costs.
There was less of a fiefdom in that kingdom and more of a slaver dictatorship. He never went into much more detail than dire warning.
Lornia was an isolated kingdom, surrounded by areas controlled by the other races or the beast-kin that were termed fey. A term I would later learn was wrong in today’s society and should be fae.
Regardless of terms it was important to Joseph to prove a distinction between a fantasy race, and a fantasy type beast-kin.
Joseph used elves as an example, but there were dwarves, dryads, ratkin, and more. Elves were a society with structure, understanding, and could be negotiated with.
They also could amass an army, form decisive tactics, and be a thorn if you explored the wrong area. Elves, along with the other races, would be rarely seen in human cities. Half-breeds were far more common to be mingling with humanity.
The beast-kin were animals with humanoid traits. That werewolf skeleton would have been a fey. The wolf-kin were known to form large packs sometimes, create armies rarely, and mostly behaved like animals.
There were drawings of full fey, and unfortunately Joseph was an atrocious artist. From what I could tell the fey were human lower halves with animal upper halves. So, that begged the question of how there were half-breeds of fey.
Apparently, sex with a fey was the ultimate no-no in Lornian society, and yet extremely pleasurable. Again, there was lacking detail on the subject. You could almost feel Joseph’s hesitation in those words about witnessing sex between a man with a human bottom half and fluffy fox top torso female.
He went on to say the offspring produced half-fey, which led to far more humanized versions. Joseph notated that one of his lovers was a quarter puma. When she returned to Earth she hid her tail, and the magic she used to control, escaped her grasp.
Which led into me reading and re-reading the same lacking material a hundred times. Magic was real. Just not on Earth, well, besides to go to the hallway.
Magic on Lornia was limited. That was written as a fact b
ut no reason as to the why.
There was not much to extrapolate from the entire book besides that general term.
Joseph said mages always strived to acquire more power, ever fearful of a dagger in the back or an arrow to the heart.
As to who had magic.
Apparently, magic awoke in a person at puberty, and it was difficult to learn as an adult. Joseph emphasized this because he was a Ruby Mage who sought training as a man.
Even as a male he ran into problems finding tutors because of his age. The only factor that helped him learn to cast spells was his ability to bring unmarked gold coins from Earth. This is where I wanted to throttle him. He explained nothing of the magic he learned; just that he was taught spells, nothing more.
Most of the book was dry history, and then warnings of the society. He wanted those who may venture to Lornia to understand where they were going.
There was a clear pattern in Lornia’s history, humanity fought in cycles. Waves of enemies, lots of death, and then there was a generational recovery until new young soldiers were eager for blood.
Between the massive wars there were constant battles. Basically, there was always strife with a place on the map to be cautious of.
As for society, Lornia was exactly like medieval times. There were peasants, tradesmen, merchants, and nobles of varying ranks.
Nobles lived lavishly, the privileged non-nobles toiled to make ends meet, and the peasants suffered often, struggling to stay alive.
The fey had it the worst, apparently any civil disorder was solved by a hanging. Reading that always sent shivers down my spine. There was some hope.
Powerful women did exist in this system, with most of them being attached to a powerful man. There were rare cases of powerful women Joseph included, in case a female were to read his notes.
In each of these situations the women owned estates that were something akin to forts. Servants held the glue together and a powerful woman conducted business in the safety of her walls.
If women didn’t have protection, they needed to be something that elevated them from society. For example, powers of a mage, with elegant dresses, and money to make them appear as a lady.