A Portal for Your Thoughts

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  Steve turned to Cecil.

  “He’s inferring that I’m stupid, isn’t he?”

  Sensing the growing hostility amongst the many dwarves that had surrounded them, Cecil had to clear his throat a few times before he could speak.

  “Er, I believe so.”

  Steve crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Where’s the Council? I want to talk to someone in charge.”

  “The Council isn’t in session today,” Tan Armor informed him. “And even if they were, they wouldn’t want to talk with the likes of you.”

  Steve took a couple of deep breaths. Sarah had always told him that oftentimes he came across as being too brash and ill tempered, especially with strangers. He couldn’t expect the dwarves to do him a favor if he ended up angering everyone, so it was time to change his tact. He smiled.

  “That has to be the creepiest smile I have ever seen,” Cecil whispered to him. “You’re forcing a smile. Don’t. In fact, let me.”

  Cecil turned to the dwarf spokesman and gave them a short bow.

  “Good afternoon, my friends. What my large companion is trying to do, albeit not too successfully if you ask me, is…”

  Several dwarfs snickered.

  “…to ask for a favor,” Cecil finished.

  The chattering of the dwarves tapered off and it became eerily quiet.

  “I realize you don’t know us,” Cecil continued, “and we have no right in asking this of you, but I was hoping, er, we were hoping that you would grant us this favor so we can return home.”

  “Who are you?” the lead dwarf asked, completely ignoring Steve and not bothering to look his way.

  “I am Cecil. This is Steve. What is your name, friend?”

  “I am Selwyn, head of security. And I am not your friend.”

  Unconcerned by Selwyn’s brusque manner, Cecil gave the dwarf the friendliest smile he could muster.

  “Understood. I don’t blame you. Before today I have never seen a dwarf before, so if one would have strolled into my home, I’d be taken aback, too.”

  Selwyn’s scowl lessened. A little.

  “A favor for a favor, eh? What do you –”

  Sensing movement behind him, Selwyn turned to look at the many faces that were still staring at them. He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Show’s over. There’s nothing to see. Back to work, all of you.”

  The crowd dissipated and the city’s activity levels returned to normal.

  “Come with me, humans, and we’ll talk. Brugar, assemble a team to scout for a location for a new tunnel.”

  Brugar nodded and wandered off. Once they were alone Selwyn turned to the intruders and raised an eyebrow.

  “Well? What type of favor do you want?”

  “I don’t know much about these things,” Cecil confessed, “but I am led to believe that they are difficult to come by. We need a crystal.”

  Selwyn stopped so abruptly that Cecil walked right into him.

  “A crystal? Let me guess. You humans want another athe crystal, am I right?”

  Steve nodded. “Yes. Due to technical difficulties beyond our control, the first crystal was destroyed. We need another.”

  “So you’re working for the human king who wants to put a portal on another world, is that it?”

  “As a matter of fact,” Cecil began, but this time Steve stomped on his foot.

  “Yes, that’s it,” Steve told him. “Can you get us another? The king was afraid you people would have to mine another, and apparently that takes a while. We need to get this crystal as soon as possible. If it takes longer than two days then we’re in serious trouble.”

  “Two days, eh? You don’t ask for much, do you?”

  “Can it be done?” Cecil asked the dwarf. “Do we ask the impossible?”

  “Impossible, no,” Selwyn admitted. “The Council mined an additional half dozen crystals when the human king asked for one. So there are others, aye.”

  “How do we get our hands on one?” Steve wanted to know. Having been told that the crystal was within their reach had lightened his mood considerably. “What would we have to do?”

  Selwyn shook his head. “The only way to get you approved for one of those crystals is to get every single member of the Council to agree. It took the human king several months of endless pestering and convincing before the entire nine members of the Council were swayed.”

  Steve groaned aloud. “Several months? We don’t have that kind of time.”

  Cecil held up a hand.

  “You did say it was possible, right? There has to be another way. What is it?”

  Steve swallowed several choice expletives he had been ready to fire off and nodded appreciatively at Cecil. He had completely forgotten about that part.

  Selwyn nodded.

  “Aye, I said there was a way. However, I think it would be easier and quicker to convince the Council to give you another.”

  Steve’s hackles rose. This wasn’t going to be good.

  “What? What is the other way?”

  “Steal it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. Steal it. The only way you’re going to get your hands on an athe crystal is if it is stolen.”

  Steve eyed Cecil before he looked back down at the dwarf.

  “Let me get this straight. You’re recommending we steal an athe crystal. You. A dwarf. Recommending to us, two humans, to steal property from the dwarves.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Steve frowned. “Yes, you did. You want us to steal it.”

  Selwyn sighed. “Human, you’d have an easier time trying to steal a diamond from a dragon. There is no way a mere human is capable of stealing a gem from us dwarves.”

  “Then why did you…”

  “I would have to do it.”

  “Come again?”

  “Are all humans as deaf as you?”

  Steve cleared his throat.

  “Let’s see if I have this right. You. Steal from your own kin. Why would you do that?”

  Selwyn crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “Okay, I’m confused here. You just said…”

  Cecil laid a hand on Steve’s arm.

  “I believe I know what he’s doing. The agreement was a favor for a favor. He is saying that he’d be willing to do it but he wants a favor from us.”

  Selwyn nodded. “Aye. I really don’t want to have to face the Council and explain why I would steal one of our own crystals, so no, I don’t want to. However, that being said, there is something that I want even more.”

  “What’s that?” Steve wanted to know.

  “Grant my ailing daughter her fondest wish.”

  Taken aback, Steve knelt down to stare at the dwarf at his own level.

  “Of all the things I thought you were gonna say, that was nowhere on the list. You know what? I’ll agree to that without even hearing the request. What’s wrong with your daughter?”

  Selwyn’s eyes filled. He angrily blinked them a few times in rapid succession so that they cleared.

  “Her heart. It doesn’t beat as well as it should. Our healers have told me that there’s nothing they can do for her.”

  Both Steve and Cecil quickly wiped their eyes when they thought the other wasn’t looking.

  “What can we do?” Steve softly asked.

  Selwyn pulled the tip of his braided beard out of his belt and began twisting it into knots, a telltale sign that he was nervous.

  “You find a way to grant her that wish and I’ll see to it you get your crystal, in whatever time frame you need.”

  Still kneeling, Steve nodded. Cecil placed his hand on Steve’s right shoulder in agreement.

  “You got it. What does she want?”

  “To ride a dragon.”

  Chapter 8 – An Eerie Encounter

  “What are we to do if he comes back?” Cora nervously asked as she sat beside her husband on a plush navy blue ca
mel-back sofa in the manor’s living room.

  “Believe me, he will be back,” Luther grimly told his wife as he laid a reassuring hand over hers. “Sarah is right. He’s been thwarted. He will be angry. Not only will the sheriff undoubtedly return but this time he’ll bring whatever forces he deems necessary to ensure his success.”

  “But what are we to do?” AnnaBelle asked, voicing her own concern. “Do you not think it prudent that we simply hide in the forest until he goes away?”

  Sitting directly across from two of her husband’s ancestors, and one new friend, Sarah leaned forward in her armchair and shook her head no.

  “What if he doesn’t go away? You’d just be prolonging the inevitable. He must be dealt with.”

  Luther nodded. “I agree.”

  Cora turned to her husband and frowned. “What would you have me do? I am no fighter. I’ve never handled a gun. You cannot possibly think I can defend myself.”

  “Nor can I,” AnnaBelle agreed.

  Before Luther could respond, Sarah cleared her throat.

  “It is my belief that not only can we defend ourselves against that lunatic but in such a way that will see to it no one ever bothers you or this house again.”

  Cora let her hands fall dramatically to her lap.

  “How? They have guns. We don’t own a single firearm!”

  “Cecil has a pistol, but neither of us has ever used it,” AnnaBelle added. “I wouldn’t be of any help there, I’m afraid.”

  “If we were only standing on Lentarian soil then the advantage would be ours,” Luther muttered.

  “Your jhorun allows you to modify portals,” Sarah pointed out. “What exactly would you have been able to do?”

  “I’m a king’s soldier. My fellows would have been by my side at the slightest sign of trouble. That’s what soldiers do for each other, Sarah.”

  “Well, you’re not in Lentari and your soldier buddies aren’t here to help. What you have is me.”

  Luther snorted. “You? No offense, Ms. Sarah, but what can you possibly do?”

  In answer to his question, Sarah smiled and rose to her feet.

  “I have a plan. Come on, we have work to do.”

  An hour later Cora deposited another armful of her best linen down onto the growing pile of fabric in the living room while AnnaBelle scouted around the house looking for more.

  “There are none in here,” AnnaBelle called out from somewhere within the depths of the house.

  “Try the cupboards in the guest rooms,” Cora answered back. She turned to look at the mound of sheets and towels and frowned at them. “You cannot possibly think this will work, Sarah.”

  “Oh, it’ll work. Trust me.”

  “How can you be so certain?”

  Sarah sank down to the floor and began sorting the linens by size. Pieces that were deemed too small were handed back to Cora. All others were tossed haphazardly up onto the blue couch where Cora and her husband had sat as she had outlined her plan. Cora took the delicate silk handkerchief Sarah was holding out to her and dropped it onto the discard pile. She stooped to retrieve one of her luxurious white towels, a gift from the mayor’s wife, from the growing ‘acceptable’ pile next to Sarah.

  “How is this supposed to frighten anyone?”

  Sarah finished inspecting the large ivory colored tablecloth and decided it wasn’t white enough. She draped it over the discard pile. She looked up at Cora and paused. She held out a hand and waited for the towel to be passed over to her. Then she took one of the smaller unacceptable cloth napkins she had recently discarded and wadded it up. Next, she wrapped the wadded up cloth in the sheet, making sure to use as little as possible to cover the crumpled up cloth. She then tied a short black ribbon around the lumpy shape so that the sheet wouldn’t fall off. Sarah triumphantly held her makeshift ‘ghost’ up to Cora for her approval.

  “That? You think that will frighten away the sheriff’s men?”

  “Nobody likes ghosts. Even you. As soon as I suggested turning this place into a haunted house you and AnnaBelle almost passed out on me. Even Luther’s face turned a little bit ashen. We obviously can’t make it haunted but we sure as heck are going to make it look as though it is.”

  The makeshift ghost Cora was holding suddenly sailed high up into the air. Sarah let the ghost hang in midair for a few moments before directing her jhorun to move it around the room in an impromptu demonstration. The towel gently flapped in the breeze as it soared around the ceiling of the living room.

  Sarah glanced up at Cora. Luther’s wife wore a bemused expression on her face as she watched the homemade ghost fly around her living room. She knew what Cora was thinking. During normal daylight hours they didn’t have much of a chance of convincing anyone that their creation was supposed to be horrifying. But, once the sun had set, maybe, just maybe, their plan might work.

  “Perhaps if we drew some faces on them they might be more believable,” Sarah suggested.

  Cora frowned. “I will do no such thing. That towel was a welcoming gift from the mayor’s wife.”

  The large towel cruised silently through the air as Sarah had the ghost fly circles around the crystal chandelier in the center of the room. AnnaBelle unwisely chose that moment to return to the living room. She took one look at the object sailing by overhead and let out a shriek that could have shattered glass. The stack of folded sheets and blankets she was holding was thrown high up into the air as she flailed her arms and ran from the room.

  Sarah laughed, her concentration evaporating in the blink of an eye. The ‘ghost’ promptly nosedived straight to the ground. A few moments later Luther sprinted through the front door. He was holding a large net and a wooden bucket that had a square piece of fishing net draped over the top, acting as a lid.

  “What has happened?” Luther wheezed as he fought to regain his breath. “What –”

  Sarah let out a shriek, followed almost immediately by Cora. Both women had backed as far away as they could and were pointing shaky fingers at Luther. The wooden bucket he was holding was positively crawling with bugs. Grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, every type of bug imaginable were visible through the fishing net lid covering the bucket. There was even a large red-banded dragonfly buzzing angrily in the net in his other hand.

  “Get those things out of here!” Sarah shouted as she gathered herself to go sprinting after AnnaBelle. “Are you mad? You don’t bring bugs inside a house!”

  “But I heard…”

  Cora later admitted this was the first time she had ever refused to go anywhere near her husband. She had appeared by Sarah’s side and she, too, was ready to evacuate the room. The house, her possessions, her friends, nothing was worth remaining inside when so many bugs were only a few feet away.

  “We’re fine,” Sarah assured Luther. “We spooked AnnaBelle. That’s all. Get those things out of here! Hurry!”

  Luther sulked a bit but reluctantly returned to his job of collecting as many bugs as possible. Only when the buzzing bucket was out of her sight (and earshot) did Sarah visibly relax. She wandered over to the closest window and watched Luther pull the dragonfly out of the net and drop it in the wooden pail. Brandishing the net as though he was holding a two-handed broadsword, Luther spotted another insect and hurried off after it.

  Sarah smiled. It had been an interesting couple of hours. She could only hope that people from the 19th century were just as gullible as the people from her time.

  “What are people afraid of?” Sarah had asked them when she had begun explaining her idea. “What would spook you so bad that you’d want to run away in fear and never return?”

  “Being covered in insects,” Cora promptly answered.

  “Or spiders,” AnnaBelle added.

  “Hearing unexplained noises,” Luther decided.

  “What about you, Sarah?” Cora asked. “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m right there with you two,” Sarah told her with a smile. “I can’t stand any type of bugs, espe
cially spiders.”

  Cora shuddered. “Spiders. Yes, I don’t like spiders, either.”

  “What about seeing an object move about when no one was there to touch it?” Sarah suggested. Luther and Cora both nodded. It was AnnaBelle’s turn to shiver.

  “That would be unsettling,” she agreed.

  “So that’s what we’re going to do. We are going to make those townsfolk so scared of this place that they wouldn’t come back here even if they were forced to at gunpoint.”

  Luther smiled. “You want to make our house haunted? I think that’s a splendid idea.”

  Sarah looked at each of them.

  “Here’s what we need to do. Someone needs to go through the house and bring me all the white linen that can be found. Someone also needs to find a container and start catching bugs.”

  Cora’s eyes opened wide and her face drained of color.

  “I cannot do that. Do not ask me that, I beg of you.”

  AnnaBelle’s reaction mirrored Cora’s.

  “I cannot collect bugs, either. I would be reduced to a blubbering mess. I’m sorry, Sarah.”

  Luther coughed and raised a hand.

  “I can see about gathering some insects. While not a fan, I can at least pick one up without having a conniption fit.”

  All three women glared at the sole male in the room. Luther smiled weakly and indicated Sarah should go on.

  “We’re going to need some rope,” Sarah continued, casting another frown in Luther’s direction. “I plan on making most of these objects move by themselves, but this is a big house. I’m going to need some help, I’m sure. So we’ll rig some sheets to be pulled through the air at various places throughout the house.”

  Luther nodded. “I have plenty of rope.”

  “Good. Do me a favor. Grab all the rope you can find before you set out to collect bugs.”

  AnnaBelle frowned.

  “What do you plan to do with bugs, if I may ask?”

  “Do you like bugs crawling all over you?”

  “Heavens, no!”

  “Then neither will they. Nothing will make a grown man scream like a little girl quite like having a bug skittering across an arm or face.”