Portals of Infinity: Book One: Champion for Hire

by John Van Stry

  “When they do the blessing at the weekly mass they do some sort of healing.” She continued. “Parson Miles says it’s easier to keep us all healthy than to run around healing us all when we’re really sick.”

  “Preventative medicine,” I said amazed, I guess that explained all the near perfect teeth. And my fillings. “Magic.”

  “Oh, it’s not magic; it’s just the goddess taking care of us.”

  “Maybe I should have given her more money,” I said thinking about that voice in the temple. This was definitely beyond anything in my experience.

  “Your gift was fine, do not worry.” I heard that voice again and shivered.

  “Something wrong dear?” Darlene asked.

  “Does your goddess talk to people?” I suddenly felt like I was being watched.

  “Only in the stories, now come here, love.” She said pressing up against me.

  “Someday we will speak again, but not tonight. I will leave you alone now, good night, my adopted child.”

  Darlene soon distracted me and I decided that later could wait, there were more important things in my life tonight.

  I sold one of the three remaining bows the next day, so fears of being destitute were quickly allayed. I started putting my stuff together for the trip back to earth. I was going to take back a dozen bows. That wasn’t too difficult a bundle to manage. I wracked my brain for other things, but I figured with the money I’d make from the bows, I could buy enough gold to be set for life back here. Then I could travel to my heart’s content and maybe even start a real trading business.

  In the next six weeks, I sold the remaining two bows. Darlene had settled in and was learning the business of running the Swann. Even I had learned a little. Her younger sister was working the tables now, which had me a bit shocked at first, but apparently society here felt that sixteen was an adult, and Darlene herself wasn’t yet eighteen. I think the fact that she had scored me working here convinced her parents to let her younger sister try as well.

  Plus Darlene informed me rather sweetly that it wasn’t anything for me to worry over. So I didn’t.

  I did go to the temple every Sunday after our wedding with her. Darlene was rather devout and never missed. I didn’t get any more whispers in my ear or feelings of being watched however, which was a relief.

  The day finally came though when it was time for me to leave. The spring rains were going rather well and I was hoping the snow in Pennsylvania would have melted by now as well. It did seem that the seasons were somewhat in sync when I had left. I hated tearful goodbyes, and Darlene thankfully didn’t give me much of one. I bought a rather inexpensive gelding for the ride, mainly because walking would have seemed suspicious at this point. I did pick one that looked somewhat ‘normal’ to my untrained eye.

  I kissed my wife goodbye, waved to the rest and rode out of town. It took me most of the day to get there, but I found it. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be, I was getting pretty sensitive to it, if I concentrated I could feel it from the road.

  Going through was anti-climatic, and the horse had no problems either. So I changed into my ‘normal’ clothes before riding off to the stables that I remembered were in the area from years ago. They were surprised by my appearance, but a good story and a little dickering and they took him in for me. I hitched a ride from another customer there back to my friend’s place, it was a Saturday, but no one was staying there this weekend. My car was still there and so was the hide-a-key. I left them a note and drove off to my parents’ house in New York.

  Then I got caught in one of those drunk driving check points on the Long Island Expressway on the way there. One of the cops saw the hilt of my sword sticking out of a bunch of stuff and had a fit. So I spent the next several hours cooling my heels on the side of the road until some police sergeant showed up. His name tag said Otto, and he was short, but built like a linebacker. Not someone I’d ever want to mess with. I realized Master Burdon would have made an axe man out of him. I’d been curious about the axe, but he told me I didn’t really have the build for it.

  “So, what’s with all the bows, and the medieval garb?”

  “SCA,” I sighed, “Re-enacting and stuff.” Once again, I was glad I had friends in college who did this kind of thing. What I’d learned from them had been priceless.

  “Oh?”

  I nodded.

  “Why all the bows? Must be at least a dozen there.” He poked at them a little.

  “Careful with those please?” I asked. “That’s months of hard work, and no small amount of money.”

  “Really?” He looked surprised, “For bows?”

  “Yeah, they’re all handmade. Very high quality. I brought these here to sell to some friends. Re-enacting doesn’t pay very well.”

  He looked them over. “Any good with these yourself?”

  I grinned, “I could hit the center of the circle of the nine on that sign over there with one.” I pointed to the ‘exit 39’ sign across the road.

  “Really?” he grinned. “Show me.”

  I smiled back, got up, took the really nice one I’d gotten from Sergeant Chaucer months ago, strung it, got out one of the blunt practice arrows. I took aim, and let fly, hitting almost dead center of the ‘9’.

  “Pretty good shooting,” he nodded. “When I was in Okinawa I watched a bunch of instructors have a shooting competition. Amazing stuff.”

  “Yeah, I’m still in the average ranks.”

  “We got a guy here into this SCA stuff, want me to call him over?”

  “Ask him if he wants to buy a bow. But I gotta warn you, they’re not cheap!”

  So he did, and I ended up showing my stuff to a small group of officers as the checkpoint got packed up. Sure enough, the officer picked the best one out immediately, and showed me he was a hell of a better shot than I was. He paid me nearly three grand for the bow two days later, and helped me sell the entire lot within a week. Turned out he knew all the good archers in the Society, I got top dollar for everything.

  I probably should have turned my butt around and left the next day, but I had to turn that money into gold and silver of course. I decided on a trick I’d seen a number of merchants do and bought gold rings instead. They weighed the same as a coin and had the same value. Plus you could wear them or tie them on a handkerchief or neckerchief, so they wouldn’t make noise and were less noticeable. I still picked up a couple of rolls of dimes. I also bought three dozen of those bows again. With the horse I could pack quite a bit more if I had too, plus I got a really good price break at twenty.

  Then I had personal business to wrap up, taxes to file, late. That whole unemployment thing had been resolved in my favor and there were some checks to cash. I had to explain being away to family members who wanted to know why I didn’t write. Kind of hard to tell them I had been living in some sort of ‘extra planer’ existence. Or whatever it had been. I went and saw my doctor who was impressed by my health, and avoided the dentist, as I didn’t want to explain the change in my teeth.

  Then I spent the next month catching up with friends, doing a little partying and cleaning up my ‘close’ personal business. Well maybe a bit more than a little. I found I now had a way with women, and yes, I did have my way with a couple. Suddenly I was a lot more confident about a lot of things, and didn’t care if I was successful or not. Some of that was due to six months of living the life of a wealthy man I suspect, but I suspected more that six months of bedding one of the best-looking girls around had even more to do with it. This kept up until one night I dreamt it was Darlene I was sleeping with, and pulling my bed partner closer was rudely surprised to find it was not my wife, but a girl I’d met over a friend’s house, and suddenly I wondered why I was drinking beer when I had Champagne at home – if you know what I mean.

  I got dressed, found my way out, went home, packed my things, and left a note for my folks that I was off again and I’d try to write but the mail overseas was terrible.

  I got in
my car and drove straight through, got my horse out of hock, and rode to the portal.

  But it was gone.

  Three

  To say I took it well would be a lie of epic proportions. It was two days before I gave up and went ‘home.’ But not the home I wanted to be at. For someone who hadn’t been keen on marriage, a child, or any of that, I realized quickly just how much Darlene and my unborn child suddenly meant to me. So I went and did the one thing I could do, I got drunk.

  And stayed drunk.

  Anyone who asked, I told that I had my visa canceled and was sent back. Anyone who pressed further was told to shut up and mind their own business. After that, they got thrashed. Even drunk apparently I had become more than capable of beating the crap out of people who didn’t leave me alone.

  It was the police who actually came to my aid. I was arrested on a drunk and disorderly after thrashing someone who didn’t understand the meaning of minding their own business. Apparently my name had gotten around the department enough from the bows I’d sold that I got a visit from the officer who bought that first bow.

  “So what happened?”

  “I’m here, she’s there, and I can’t get there from here. That’s what happened.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?”

  “I don’t know what I can do about it,” I sighed. I was sitting on the bed in the jail cell; he was on the other side of the bars of course. That and my enforced sobriety had a lot to do with my more reasonable state.

  “Well, drinking yourself to death isn’t going to get you there.”

  “You’re not the first to tell me this, you know,” I said stating the obvious.

  “There’s a renaissance faire upstate, runs all summer and into the fall. I know the guys who run it. I could get you a job there. People up there won’t know you; they won’t ask questions you don’t feel like answering.”

  “That’s hardly a compelling reason,” I said smirking, “I think I’ve got just about everyone round here convinced to stop asking.”

  “Yeah, but strange people show up at the faire: rich, poor, powerful, connected. Lots of connected people working there too, oddly enough. If there’s anyone out there who can help you, that’s probably the best place.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Tell you what, I’ll come back at the end of my shift and give you a ride home. You can give me your answer then.”

  “Sure, not like I’m going anywhere before then,” I said and gave him a wry grin.

  “Don’t worry, I talked to the desk sergeant, they’re going to ‘lose’ your paperwork.”

  “Thanks, Lou.”

  “Get some sleep. You look like shit you know.”

  I nodded and lay down.

  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but getting away from everyone I was sure would help. The last month had been pure hell. No one understood what was going on, and of course I couldn’t tell them. They’d think I was insane. Heck I was even starting to wonder if I was insane. Only the things I’d brought back were any kind of proof, but even those things could have been made here.

  I feel asleep thinking about his proposal, and I had a dream.

  I was sitting at a table, in a tavern not unlike the Swann. There were other people coming and going, barmaids, all that stuff. After a few minutes, I noticed there was a man sitting at the other side of the table.

  “Greetings,” He said raising his cup to me in acknowledgement.

  “Hi,” I said and returned the gesture.

  “So, what brings you here this fine day?”

  “I have no idea,” I replied honestly.

  “Strange, most people come into a tavern because they want a drink,” he joked.

  “Not me, I just want to go home.”

  “So why haven’t you?” He leaned forward and looked at me curiously. Everyone else in the tavern slowly disappeared, until it was just us. Even the surroundings started to slowly fade away.

  “Because the damned portal closed before I could get back to it.”

  “So find another one then,” he said leaning back and smiling. “I’m sure there are others.”

  “Yeah, but where?”

  “Oh, here and there. People tell me the woods can be full of them. Just got to find the right one.”

  “You’re not being very helpful you know.” I grumbled.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I never was much for riddles and the like. They give me headaches.”

  “Yeah, me too. And as this is my dream and you’re just my subconscious that would explain it.” At this point there was only me and him and the table between us. The dream was fading and I knew I’d be awake soon; a jangling noise was starting to fill my ears.

  “Well then, I guess I’ll be on my way,” he said getting up from the table, “I’ll be in touch. But if you want my advice, you’ll take the job upstate. But I don’t help drunkards Will, so clean up your act if you want to go home!” And he slapped me across the face.

  I awoke while bolting to sit upright, surprising Lou who was unlocking the door of the holding cell, the keys on the ring jingling noisily. I rubbed my face, it still stung where I’d been slapped.

  “Jeez, didn’t mean to scare you like that!” He laughed.

  “That’s okay. I needed waking.”

  “Well let’s get your stuff and get out of here. Come to a decision yet?”

  I nodded, “Yeah, I’ll take the job if you can get it for me.”

  # # # #

  Five months had gone by, it was September, and it was still hot. The Ren Faire job had been working out well. It turned out that I was the best swordsman, one of the best archers, and about the same as the better players on the quarterstaff. So I did a lot of shows and exhibitions, six a day Monday through Friday, eight a day on weekends, seven days a week. Usually things were pretty predictable, some of my partners for the demonstrations even liked to follow a pattern and keep things simple.

  A few however liked to show off and get fancy. With the quarterstaffs that could be painful, though I’d whack them twice as hard and let them know I wasn’t pleased. But with the swords, well that was something different, as we fought with live steel. Anyone who got cute with me soon found that he, or she, was fighting for their life as I came at them with everything. If they dropped their blade, I of course stopped. If they didn’t they got cut.

  Needless to say, I had a bit of a reputation by that point. But it did make me popular with the ladies, and with the Faire’s older hands. Both were positive benefits, because some nights I didn’t want to be alone, so I could either stay up talking with the old salts, or find someone to sleep with. The endless performances, along with my morning sparing sessions with a couple of the other performers, had me in probably the best shape of my life. I know my fighting skills improved tremendously, I had never done so much fighting in my life, and even if a lot of it was stage work, it was still practice. It still improved my coordination and my muscle memory.

  “Trouble sleeping again?” Josh asked me as I walked into the break tent. It was a fairly large tent, with a bunch of picnic tables spread out all over. There was also cold drinks, cold water, and coffee that was available for the performers, pretty much around the clock. Seemed like there was always someone here whenever I wandered in.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. It was late, probably two a.m., something had woken me and I couldn’t get back to sleep. “You?”

  “Nah, I like this time of night. Let’s me think about things.”

  I yawned, and went and got a cup of water. “Sometimes I’d rather not think about things. Just sleep.”

  “Well, at least it’s not nightmares keeping you up,” He chuckled.

  “Oh, I get them occasionally. You?”

  He nodded. “More than I care to talk about.”

  “How long you been doing these faires anyway?” I asked sitting down across from him.

  “Been doing this one for over ten years now. When it shuts down in October th
ere’s one down in Florida I spend the winter at, then run back up here in June when this one starts back up. You?”

  “First one.” I admitted.

  “Really? I’d have taken you for an old timer!” He said surprised.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Your experience with the weapons, especially the sword. And it ain’t that stage fighting like the others do. Also you don’t complain about the lack of amenities. It’s more like you’ve spent some time living like this before.”

  I shrugged, “Some, but not that much. Parents liked to go camping and rough it when I was a kid.”

  “Still doesn’t explain the training.”

  “Low self esteem,” I said looking down into my cup, “so I got into the martial arts and all that stuff.”

  “Uh-huh. Next you’ll tell me that the reason you have all those gold rings tied up in your neckerchief are because your parents were gypsies.”

  I looked up at him and stared. “Okay, now you’re starting to swim in dangerous waters.”

  Josh leaned forward and lowered his voice, even though we were the only two people in the tent and the rest of the camp was asleep. “You’re one of those portal jumpers, aren’t you?”

  I continued to stare at him, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You’re not the first one to come through here. I think George took a few jumps a while back, he gets a little strange once in a while.”

  “And you?”

  “I’ve taken a couple,” Josh said and smiled at me.

  I blinked. Josh was probably in his late forties, early fifties. I’d gathered from what the others told me, he’d been doing these faires for close to twenty years.

  “So why are you here?” I asked

  “Here at the faire? Or here here?”

  “Yes.”

  “I like it here. It’s safe, it’s easy,” he shrugged, “Why are you?”

  “I was born here. This isn’t really where I want to be anymore.”

  He looked at me a little strange, “Why would you want to leave here? This place is great!”