by Taki Drake
On the one hand, they wanted to get back to their bank with what turned out to be a quite large deposit. The accolades from securing those funds would be extremely useful for them. Fighting against that desire was the fact that the Master Trader showed no signs of being ready to leave.
On the other side, Master Trader Dede appeared to be settling in for a long afternoon of observation and discussion. When Madrik had stood up and finessed the others into leaving, Dede had somehow managed to join a table of other drinkers. Muting his flamboyant nature down, the trader was soon exchanging war stories with one of the mercenaries. It was all very convivial, and Madrik was amused. The BHB also found it humorous although Madrik noticed that the merchant’s glass would travel slightly away from him across the table when he wasn’t watching. Stop that! It’s not nice to play with people’s minds. The only response from the BHB was a sense of unrepentant giggling.
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Something was different in the bar, Madrik couldn’t put his finger on it. His usually boisterous noontime crowd was much quieter today. The BHB didn’t seem to know what the issue was either, so their mutual confusion bounced back and forth until Madrik felt like he was going to blow up with curiosity. What on earth was going on?
The mystery was finally solved when one of the mercenaries on penalty chore duty with Wynn came up to where Madrik was standing at the bar with Brechal. Holding one of Wynn’s decorator napkins in his hand nervously, the big, tough fighter said, “Begging your pardon sir, the boys and I would like to just tell you that we’d be happy to stay on penalty chore duty if we can eat like this every day.”
Madrik and the BHB came to the same realization at the same time. It was like light bulbs going off in a collective mind where the light bounced off the sides of the room and intensified till the flash left spots floating in front of their eyes. Madrik managed to sound at least coherent with his reply of, “I will make sure to let Wynn know that.”
A cook! How could he have forgotten that somewhere, somehow they had acquired a cook!! Quickly, the bar manager turned to his bartender and asked, “Who is she or he? Where did we get a cook?”
Brechal answered cryptically, “I found him.”
Staring at the bartender and trying to connect the answer to some meaning, Madrik’s mind skittered around like a horse on ice. Finally, he found something that made sense. “The man that disappeared! He’s the cook?”
Brechal nodded assent and Madrik sank back against the bar in sudden realization. He said, “Of course! He came through the right-hand door. He was part of the solution, not a problem.”
Alastair added his thoughts from where he was standing a few feet away from the bar manager, “Every time the right door opens, and there’s been no problem defined on the floor, it turns out to be somebody we need here.”
Thinking back, Madrik was forced to agree. Trying to put his thoughts into words, the bar manager said as he pointed to the right-hand door, “If the door opens…”
In the middle of Madrik sentence, the door opened. Again, there was no fanfare and no rush. However, the person that came through was shaking and had a crude prosthesis on his left hand. It was obvious from his skittish nature that this man had some trauma behind him, although he didn’t show any recent signs of injury.
Moving immediately into a semi-defensive posture, Alastair said in a calm tone, “Welcome to the Badger Hole Bar. My name is Alastair, and I’m the head bouncer here. How may we help you?”
Their visitor’s shaking increased as he stared at the bouncer like an animal caught in the glow of oncoming lights. With an immense effort that even Madrik could feel, the man opened his mouth and said “I am on my last ropes. Nothing has been right since I came back from Vietnam. I can’t deal with all these people who have anger all the time. I can feel it pounding on me, and everybody thinks I’m crazy. They’re going to put me away, I know, even though they say something different with their mouths. Their eyes are lying, and I can tell.”
Zipping through the bar inhabitants as if she was a broken-field runner, Wynn almost materialized next to the new person. She said, “Come on, sugar. Let’s get you settled and put something in your stomach and in your throat. You need some good, old-fashioned TLC and it is about time you got some.”
“Didn’t you hear me? I may be going crazy! And I’m a Vietnam vet which means that I’m a baby killer and I’m dangerous.”
With tears in her eyes, Wynn patted him with one small hand and said, “Don’t be silly. Everybody here has their own quirks. Yours sound pretty minor compared to some,” as she looked over at Brechal.
Staring at the tiny woman in shock, the dumbfounded man plopped ungracefully down on the seat of a chair. Staring first at Madrik and then at the rest of the staff, the man put a large hand over his eyes and broke into heartrending, gut-wrenching tears. When Brechal would have gone to the man, Alastair put out a hand to stop him. In a low-toned comment, the bouncer said, “Let him be. Those are tears of relief, not pain.”
Nodding sharply at the bouncer, Brechal went to the bar and started mixing a drink. Looking at his staff, Madrik thought that this had been a pretty miraculous time. In less than two weeks he had gone from a desperate man with a broken heart to a bar manager and the head of a pocket dimension. Even more strange to him, his world had changed from one where he had traveled alone to a dimension where he was a member of a close-knit team. It was pretty amazing when Madrik thought about it, but even with all of the uncertainty and confusion, his life was much better once he came through the Badger Hole.
Content, Madrik watched as Wynn worked her magic on their newest employee. The bar manager knew that this new guy was important. And that his second bouncer position had now been filled. He also knew that more adventures were coming. He could predict that the next two weeks would be equally exciting as the two that had preceded it. Smiling in pleasure, Madrik started making lists of things to do in the morning.
Brechal came around from the bar and set drinks out in front of Madrik, Wynn, Alastair, and the new guy. The bartender held one in his own hand, but set another at the table, a small cup of tea. Before Madrik could ask the question that was percolating in his mind, a slim shape wrapped in a colorful apron came bustling out of the kitchen. It was the small man that Madrik had seen before and then lost. In his hands were trays of beautiful and luscious smelling little appetizers. Putting the trays down in the center of the table, Najeer scooted four of the plates in front of the new man. In a soft voice that was almost indiscernible, he said “Eat! You need nourishment for both your body and your soul.”
Inside of Madrik’s mind, the sound of the bar changed like a missing gear had been slipped into an assembly, fixing a discordant sound that had been noticed but not consciously heard. As he raised his glass and saw the others lift theirs, he smiled. And when the damaged vet and the shy cook raised theirs also his smile broadened into one of blinding happiness.
In the suddenly quiet atmosphere of the bar, where his words could be heard in every corner and niche, Madrik said, “Here’s to all of our health and to our happiness. Here’s to coming through the Badger Hole.”
Author Notes
This story has been a long time in the making, fraught with massive planning and a bubbling excitement at the world that is forming.
This is the first in a large series of Badger Hole Bar stories, with three more books planned for release this month. The second book is coming so soon because I could not fit as long a story as I wanted to tell about the foundation of the Badger Hole Bar in one book. So the second has a lot more about the people that will form the core of the ongoing stories and adventures.
The other two are more in the nature of woven anthologies, with character backgrounds and special tales that will give you insight into the characters that have chosen to find sanctuary and purpose in the BHB universe.
I will try to not overwhelm you with these books, but the story has taken on its own life and calls to me and the ot
hers that will be contributing to the tales of life, love and intrigue in the brain-storming think-tank that this bar is.
I have a lot planned for Madrik, Brechal, Alastair, Wynn, and the others. Let me know which ones are your favorites and I’ll try to drop snippets on my blog and Facebook page over the next few weeks. That way you can see a bit of their journey before the next book comes out.
Thank you all for your contributions and your interest. It makes all the late nights, computer cursing, and agonizing worthwhile.
Cheerfully,
Taki
Author Introduction – Taki Drake
The mixture of technology and magic is where my mind and heart live. In today's world, it mixes engineering and creativity. In the worlds of my mind, technology and magic live intertwined. I hope that you will find my stories interesting enough to be frequent visitors to where my heart beats.
I am continuing to write my stories of intertwined technology and magic. The challenges of that are fertile grounds for many story lines and series. Several of those planned for the next few months have been listed below. I am happily writing each of them, discovering new worlds, new situations and new challenges. The wonder for me is the number of readers that are enjoying my visions and tales.
Enjoy the stories in the emerging genre of techmage!
Please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected] or visit my blog or my Amazon page.
Unfettered Mage
We Are Not Prey
Fleet of the Mage
Fleet Genesis - Early 2018
BattleMage Investigates
An Attitude Adjustment
Frozen Hands - Early 2018
Maritime Madness - TBD
Badger Hole Bar
Thru the Badger Hole
Grand Opening - Jan 2018
The Remembrance Wall - Jan 2018
Passage Beyond - Jan 2018
Becoming Sephera
A Learning Experience
You Just Go On - Early 2018
Life Rebuilt - 2018
New Paths - TBD
Standard of Honor
In the World of the Federal Witch
Shade of Honor
Coven Codex - Jan 2018
A Confluence of Covens -TBD
Familiar Magic
Familiar Shadows
Familiar Trials - Fledgling
Familiar Travels - Coming Soon!
Familiar Trials - Expert - Early 2018
Familiar Trials - Master - Mid 2018
Familiar Trials - Adept - TBD
Cookbooks
The Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
Fergus Favorites Cookbook
Marcella's Garden Cookbook
Marcella’s Summer Bounty Cookbook
Marcella’s Autumn Harvest
Tasting Sampler
A Food Palate - Holiday Heartwarmers
Taking it on the Road
Baba’s Kitchen - Coming Soon!
Anthologies
The Expanding Universe: An Exploration of the Science Fiction Genre
The Tide: The Multiverse Wave
Inanna's Circle: Flight of Imagination - Thru the Darkness
Holiday Heartwarmers: An Anthology of Short Stories
Inanna's Circle: The Game Begins
Mysterious Hearts
Journal with a View
CyberWar: Digital Battlefield
CyberWar: Byte Conflict
Prime Fantasy
Phoenix Fantasy
Phoenix Imagining
The Imp Prince
The Goblin and the Grocer
Prime Peek I
Snapshots of Life I
Tales from the Pumpkin Patch
Haunted Hearts I
Reindeer Don’t Fly
Keep Connected
Taki Drake is a long-time reader that was convinced to make her initial attempt at writing fiction in this anthology. Intrigued by the concept and challenge of Inanna’s Circle Game, her efforts found their shape in a story reflective of the complexity of life. She currently lives in the Midwest of the US, happily ensconced in the midst of her cats, dogs, and husband. She can be reached at [email protected], or by signing up for her newsletter at http://www.technologymage.com. Her blog is at http://www.takidrake-author.com/.
If you would like to learn more about the Phmyoenix Prime program or authors, please visit pprcollective.com and look for her book-related merchandise here!
Thanks for joining me for this brief time.
Cheerfully, Taki