A Portal for Your Thoughts

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  Steve gave a subtle nod of his head in the king’s direction.

  “Kri’Calin, I presume?”

  “How do you know me?” the king demanded. “I have never set eyes upon you before.”

  “No, you haven’t,” Steve agreed.

  “How do you know Luther?”

  “He’s a new friend of mine,” Steve told the king.

  “How do you know about his mission?” Sauer demanded.

  “This is going well,” Cecil murmured softly.

  “You’ll never believe me,” Steve told the king as he looked from one angry Lentarian to the other. “Look, we need another athe crystal. Do you have one here that you can give us?”

  “An athe crystal?” Kri’Calin repeated, frowning as he did so. “Why does he need another? What has happened to the original?”

  “It was an accident. It broke. We need another. Do you have one here or not?”

  “Contrary to what you might think, athe crystals are not a commodity we keep in plentiful supply,” the king dryly told him. “It was difficult enough obtaining just the one.”

  “We have answered your questions, wouldn’t you agree?” captain Sauer cut in. “Answer ours. Who are you?”

  Steve took a breath.

  “My name is Steve. This is Cecil. We’re from the world you sent Luther to.”

  The king gasped aloud at the same time captain Sauer’s mouth dropped open. Kri’Calin suddenly frowned.

  “Wait a moment. That’s impossible. According to you, Luther needs another athe crystal. That means his portal is powerless. How do you expect us to believe you are who you say you are? How did you get here if you didn’t use Luther’s portal?”

  Steve nervously cleared his throat.

  “You picked up on that amazingly fast. I, er, hmmm. This is harder than I thought.”

  “Out with it,” Sauer barked. “We’ve been more than accommodating with you. How did you get here?”

  Anger flared. “Fine. You want to know how? My wife brought me.”

  Confused, king and soldier eyed one another.

  “Yeah, that’s right. You heard me. My wife brought us. She’s a teleporter and is strong enough to make the journey from our home to here, without a portal.”

  “Impossible,” Kri’Calin breathed.

  “Is it? Refresh my memory. What did your prophecy say?” Steve challenged.

  “The prophecy? What does that have to do with…”

  The king trailed off as he stared at Steve. His eyes widened even further.

  “Wizards be damned. I think I know who you are.”

  In response, Steve held up both hands and blasted a jet of fire from his left hand and absorbed it with his right. Sauer leapt backward with a cry of alarm. Cecil, on the other hand, leapt forward to encompass him in a bone-crushing bear hug from behind. Thrown off balance, Steve stumbled forward and toppled to the ground.

  The absurdity of the situation struck and Steve burst out laughing.

  “Man, this is wrong on so many levels. Cecil, get off me.”

  “You said that if the flames came out then I should get close.”

  “I did say that, didn’t I? Okay, clearly that was a poor choice of words.”

  Sauer pulled Cecil to his feet but was hesitant about offering an arm up to Steve.

  “My flames are out,” Steve grumbled as he rolled to his feet.

  Kri’Calin made it to his side first. He looked as excited as a school boy that had been told there wouldn’t be classes today.

  “By the Wizards, you are one of the Nohrin!”

  Chapter 7 – Persona Non Grata

  “I am sorry I ever doubted you, your majesty,” Sauer was saying. Again. “Not only did I think that Luther’s mission was a long shot, I never dreamt he’d be successful so soon.”

  “So soon?” Steve interrupted as he frowned. “He’s been gone for several years! If you consider that to be a short mission then I’d hate to see what is classified as ‘long’.”

  Captain Sauer and the king both shook their heads.

  “You are mistaken,” Sauer told him. “He left almost two fortnights ago.”

  It was Steve’s turn to shake his head.

  “You might want to check your facts. He’s been in Idaho now for over three years.”

  “The facts are,” Sauer angrily shot back, “that Luther was here last month, finalizing plans for his journey. That’s when we traded with the dwarves for that blasted crystal.”

  “Last month?” Steve repeated, frowning. He turned to Cecil. “How is that possible?”

  “I would imagine it has something to do with you standing beside me right now,” Cecil quietly answered.

  Steve looked up. “Where’s this Zevern character? I have a few choice words for him.”

  “What does our wizard have to do with this?” Kre’Calin demanded, instantly growing defensive. “We are fortunate to have a man of his talents at our disposal.”

  “His talents are what have gotten this whole situation so mucked up in the first place,” Steve countered.

  “Mucked? I’m not familiar with that word.”

  “Zevern created a portal that dropped Luther off on my world,” Steve slowly explained. “Since he’s a gatekeeper he’ll be able to modify the portal he built so that it will link up with your portal here, in R’Tal. That was the plan, right?”

  Monarch and soldier nodded.

  “Well, the portal Zevern created jumped Luther not only to my world but backwards in time. I kid you not, he’s been there a while now. He had pretty much given up hope of ever completing his mission until Sarah and I showed up.”

  “Who’s Sarah?” Kri’Calin interrupted.

  “My wife.”

  “What do you mean ‘showed up’?” Sauer curiously asked.

  Steve took a breath.

  “That same portal, which Luther said should have dissipated not long after its first use, remained active. It was still active in my time. Villagers have been stumbling through it for years. My wife fell in and I went in after her.”

  “Zevern assured me that the portal would collapse in only a matter of minutes,” Kri’Calin insisted. “How long has it lasted? What time are you from?”

  Steve bit his lip and tried to look serious for a few moments. He glanced over at Cecil before taking a deep breath.

  “If I tell you that, you two have to promise me that it stays here in this room. No one else can know where I’m from. And that goes for Cecil, too. Is that understood?”

  The king frowned. “I am unaccustomed to being given orders by mere peasants.”

  “I am no peasant,” Steve haughtily informed him. “Don’t you get it? Neither of us are. We’re not even Lentarian!”

  Kri’Calin sighed and rubbed his temples. He took his seat behind his desk and took off his crown. He stared at the two of them. “When is your time? Tell me. Please.”

  “About 120 years from now.”

  The king’s eyebrows jumped straight up. Steve was certain that if the king had still been wearing his crown then his eyebrows would have knocked it completely off his head.

  “120 years! But that means…”

  “That you will not live to see the prophecy fulfilled,” Steve slowly finished for him. “Your majesty, consider this a second chance. If we weren’t here then you’d always wonder if Caladonia’s prophecy would come true. Trust me, it has. I’m living proof.”

  The king was silent as he digested this.

  “Can we count on your help, your majesty? Do you see the problem we have here? If we don’t get an athe crystal back to Luther then his portal will never be completed. If it’s never completed then I’ll never get around to using it back in my time.”

  Captain Sauer gave an exaggerated shake of his head and scoffed loudly.

  “What you say cannot possibly be true. Your majesty, he’s jesting. He must. What he suggests simply isn’t possible.”

  “Tell him about the Nohrin, your majesty,” Steve
suggested. “I’ll be more than happy to give him a full demo of my jhorun.”

  Sauer turned quizzically to the king. “I’ve heard you say that word a few times now, your majesty. Nohrin. Can you tell me what it is?”

  “According to the prophecy, the Nohrin are the bodyguards of the future prince,” Kri’Calin slowly answered. “It was prophesized that the Nohrin will be non-Lentarians yet will have powerful wizard-class jhorun. One will have power over an elemental and the other will be just as powerful, but more cunning.”

  Steve ignited three chasers and juggled them in the air.

  “Got any other fire throwers around here?” Steve casually asked as he caught the flaming spheres and tossed them back into the air.

  “Can you juggle four?” Kre’Calin suddenly asked.

  The fireballs all poofed out.

  “Why isn’t three good enough?” Steve grumped. “No one ever says ‘hey, that’s pretty good!’ It’s always ‘can you juggle more?’ I’d like to see you juggle three.”

  The king gave him a good-natured smile. “You sound just like our jester.”

  Cecil clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from snorting with laughter.

  “And your wife?” the king continued. “What is her jhorun, if I may ask?”

  “I already told you. She’s a teleporter. She’s the one who brought us here.”

  “Simply incredible. I cannot even begin to imagine how powerful her jhorun must be if she can teleport across worlds.”

  Steve nodded. “Yes. She’s amazing, that’s for sure. Look, are we done proving ourselves? Can we get down to business now? What about that athe crystal? The sooner we get it the sooner I can meet…”

  Steve trailed off as he realized the last thing he wanted to do was reveal he needed to meet Sarah at their prearranged spot. He was pretty sure he could trust the king but the captain, true to his namesake, was a sourpuss and rubbed him the wrong way.

  “That’s not going to be easy,” Kre’Calin began. He caught sight of Sauer’s darkened expression and frowned. “Enhance your calm, captain. They are no threat. In fact, they are helping one of your soldiers complete his mission.”

  Captain Sauer’s suspicious expression slowly melted into a look devoid of any emotion. Steve didn’t know which face he liked better.

  “Now,” the king continued as he turned his attention to the items on his desk. He selected a sheet of parchment and uncorked a bottle of ink. “I will notify the Kla Guur and the Kla Chanus. One of them should have an extra crystal or else should be able to mine one for us. I’m not sure what they’ll want in exchange for it so just assure them that I will honor whatever they demand.”

  Steve groaned. “We have to wait until we can contact the dwarves? How long is that gonna take? I don’t think we have the time for them to mine another crystal.”

  “Do you have somewhere else to be?” Sauer asked in a clipped monotone.

  “As a matter of fact we do,” Cecil announced before Steve could shush him.

  The king leveled a stern gaze at the two of them.

  “If you want our help you must be honest with us.”

  The two Idaho residents eyed each other. Steve cleared his throat.

  “Fine. I’ll tell you the truth but I ask again for your assurance that nothing leaves this room. That includes Mr. Sourpuss here.”

  “My name is ‘Sauer’,” captain Sauer coldly told him.

  The king’s lips quivered. “You have it.”

  “We have two days,” Steve told the king. “Only two days to get the crystal and get back to our rendezvous point so that my wife can take us back to our world.”

  “Two days?” the king repeated incredulously. “It’ll take nearly a week just to make it up to Lake Raehón and back, not accounting for the time it’ll take to locate the dwarves and ask them to open negotiations to trade for another suitable crystal.”

  “The success of your mission is speed,” Sauer told them. At least it sounded as though his attitude was improving somewhat. “You need more time. Could you not arrange to delay your departure?”

  “How?” Steve demanded, at the exact time the king asked the same question.

  “How, exactly?” Kri’Calin asked.

  Sauer shrugged. “I’m trying to tell you that a journey to the valley, even on our fastest horse, wouldn’t make it in time.”

  “You should have given yourself at least a week, if not a fortnight,” Kre’Calin thoughtfully observed.

  “I didn’t want to leave my wife unprotected for that long,” Steve haughtily informed them.

  Captain Sauer cleared his throat. “She is a teleporter, correct? Could she not get herself to safety?”

  “Yeah, she can. However, did it ever occur to you that maybe she can’t leave the area?”

  “Why?” Sauer wanted to know.

  “She’s looking after Luther and his wife.”

  Both king and captain were rendered speechless. Steve nodded.

  “That’s right. Luther found a wife. I would imagine that since he thought he wouldn’t be able to complete his quest that he’d be forced to live the remainder of his life there on my world. It must have been lonely for him. I can assure you he met a wonderful lady.”

  The king stared at Steve for a few moments longer before he leaned back in his chair.

  “I sense there’s something else you’re not telling us.”

  Steve nodded again.

  “There is. You did catch the part about me coming from over a hundred years in the future?”

  The king nodded.

  “Well, there’s a reason my wife and I found that portal and went through it. We inherited that house from my relatives.”

  “Your relatives,” captain Sauer thoughtfully repeated. His eyes widened with comprehension. “You’re his kin, aren’t you?”

  “I am, yes.”

  Both of the Lentarians were silent as they studied Steve’s appearance.

  “Aye, I can see the resemblance,” the king softly muttered. “He has the same eyes and nose.”

  “And mannerisms,” Sauer added.

  Steve frowned. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  Ignoring him, the king turned to his captain.

  “We need to get these two north as quickly as possible. I will authorize your use of the castle portal to Verdayn. From there it’ll be a several hour walk to the furthest southern edge of the valley. That’s the best we can do, I’m afraid.”

  “It beats walking several days straight,” Steve gratefully told the king. “We’ll take it. And thanks. For everything. Oh, I forgot to mention something.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  Steve turned to captain Sauer.

  “Would you apologize to your guards for me? I really don’t like causing anyone pain. I’m sorry I heated up their armor.”

  Sauer dismissed Steve’s apology with a wave of his hand.

  “Think nothing of it.”

  “And those guards? By the west gate?”

  “What of them?”

  “Tell them to ask a few more questions before letting people through the gate.”

  “What manner of questions did they ask when you came across?”

  “They didn’t.”

  The captain’s face darkened.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  The king rose from his place behind his desk.

  “Good luck, Nohrin. I am honored to have met you. Captain, escort our guests to the portal room and see to it they make it safely to Verdayn.”

  The captain bowed.

  ****

  Several hours later Steve and Cecil found themselves sitting wearily on an overturned log looking north. Steve unstoppered his water bag and took a long draught. He nudged Cecil and passed him his water bag. Steve pointed north, through the trees, at the open valley floor not twenty feet away.

  “Do you see those large boulders that are several miles away?”

  Cecil rose to his feet a
nd cautiously approached the edge of the forest. He stopped short of exiting the safety of the trees and held a hand over his eyes.

  “Yes.”

  “One of those is the door leading down to the dwarves. We just have to make it out that far.”

  Cecil brushed by him and strode confidently out into the bright sunlight.

  “Then there’s no time to lose. Let us be off.”

  Steve grabbed Cecil by the arm and gave him a violent yank back inside the quiet forest.

  “Okay, just because you don’t see any dragons doesn’t mean there aren’t any nearby. The last time I made this trip we were guided by an actual dragon and even he warned us that hostile dragons were nearby.”

  “So how are we going to make it?”

  Steve sighed. “Ordinarily I’d say we should just run for it. However, the dragons fly quicker than we can run. By a long shot. They spit fire hotter than I can absorb, and they are so large and powerful that they can hammer us into the ground like railroad spikes.”

  Cecil gave a hollow laugh. “Might you have any good news to impart?”

  “Not really.”

  “Can you run, Steve?”

  “With a dragon on my tail I’m pretty sure I could run across water.”

  “Then do try to keep up.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Cecil broke free of Steve’s grip and ran out across the valley floor.

  “Cecil! Get back here! Cecil!!”

  Resigned to a lung-bursting sprint across the valley floor, Steve tore off after his companion. Twelve minutes later, gasping, wheezing, and clutching a painful stitch in his side, Steve smiled to himself. The large boulders were nearby. They had finally caught a break! Cecil had been right. There were no dragons nearby. What luck!

  Movement out of his peripherial vision had him veering slightly off course so that he could see around Cecil’s running body. One of the closest piles of boulders had started shimmering and changing shape. Whether Cecil had detected movement and had unwisely decided to run towards it Steve didn’t know, but what he did know was that Cecil was in for a reality check that was clearly wyverian in nature.

  A long sinewy tail seemed to materialize out of thin air and placed itself directly in Cecil’s path. Cecil, already winded and gasping for breath, collided with the tail and was knocked backwards by nearly a dozen feet. Low growls sounded as the heavily scaled black tail continued to extend out to the left. More shimmers appeared and the bulk of the dragon’s massive body materialized. The dragon growled again as it thumped its stinging tail against the ground.