The Event - Tales of the Triad, Book One

by R J Murray

Chapter 13 - Money

  John tapped the gavel. “This is some good stuff you're getting into here but may I ask what reason we have to introduce currency?”

  “Barter is working, but we need to have something to use for services rendered. We need something to pay our troops with besides food and clothes and the farmers are not just going to want to give us the food they grow. If all we do is loot what was left, then we don't need to change from barter to anything else. If we are going to build something besides a scavenger society, we need to have a currency. Everyone here is used to reaching into their pocket and pulling out money, not two chickens and a loaf of bread.” Colonel Davis sat back down, and wiped his brow. “AC would be nice too.”

  “Yes, it would. OK, you sold me on having money. Where do we get some and how much is it worth?”

  Christine asked to speak. “Paper is harder to come by and it won't hold up too well. It would be easy to counterfeit. I think we should start with coins. You could mint them, John.”

  “Yes, I could. What metals do we have?”

  “I can get you a few hundred tons of gold and silver.”

  Everyone looked at Gary. “You have our attention. Please tell us how to perform this miracle.” John leaned forward, interested.

  “We hit the US mint and the gold reserve at Ft Knox and New York.”

  They all sat back. “That was easy. Where are the mints and what do we know about their defenses? Do they have any now?”

  “I have some knowledge about the Mint and Ft Knox. I told you all that I was in IT, but that wasn't exactly the truth. I worked for the Mint and I can get us to the best places for coins and even some equipment to get us started.”

  John asked Gary and the Colonel to put their heads together after the meeting and come back with a working plan and they would do it. They would still need to figure out how to decide the value of things and how much to pay people, but it was a good start.

  John once again tapped the gavel. “Any other new business.”

  Jenny raised her hand. “I think we need to go back to the coastal cave and collect as many of these new stones as we can, before the flooding gets any worse. Suki and Dr. Crowder have been working on the ones that you finally told us about. They think that these are even more important than the stones in this cave. One in particular may be usable as a power source for all other stones. If so and we install that stone in an airship, anyone can operate it and it can go for years. Other stones are also proving to be important. Please refer to page three of the report I passed out for a list of their properties.”

  “OK. Do we need to take a vote on this? I thought not. We should plan on going in the morning so, who is on the next flight team? Do you have the list Christine?”

  “You, Jenny, Sergeant Edgerton and the 1st Squad, plus whatever specialist or extra bodies you think you need.”

  “How about Dr. Crowder?”

  “I'll let him know. Leave at dawn?”

  “Yes. Thanks Jenny. Any other business? No. A motion to adjourn? Second? Meeting adjourned.” And the gavel tapped once again.

  “John, you think you need anything special to get to the stones?”

  “Let me ask you something, Christine. When did we start calling the crystals, stones?”

  “You have the strangest mind. I don't know. When did we start calling this place the Citadel? Stuff just happens. Somebody says it once, it's easy to say, it catches on and we all start doing it?”

  “So you don't know either. Jenny sounded pretty good today, didn't she? Very professional. And the report was well done. Did you help her with it?”

  “Do you need anything special to get the stones out of the flooded cave tomorrow? Just answer yes or no and then you can ramble to your heart’s content.”

  “Am I doing it again? I didn't notice. No, I think I have what I need, as long as the water isn't too deep. We need to establish some kind of constitution or charter or something. Laws of the kingdom. Just basic stuff, property ownership, marriage, inheritance, civil laws, that sort of thing. I'll have something ready for the next council meeting, for everyone to look over and add their thoughts on. I'm going down to the hanger and check out the ship. Anything else?”

  “No, that's it.”

  “See you at dinner.”

  Christine watched as John walked off, worried. His rambling was getting worse and he rarely finished a thought without the notes he kept in front of himself at the meetings. Jenny and Elizabeth had been keeping an eye on him and Joshua went where they couldn't. Between the four of them, they did their best to keep him from doing anything too stupid, but they were all worried. Maybe someone else should go along. She would talk with Joshua next and see what he thought.

  The next morning the airship lifted off and headed west once again. John had the flight path written down, in case someone else wanted to pilot the ship, but neither Jenny nor Elizabeth wanted to. John looked at the two girls, their heads together, whispering and wondered how much longer he could keep up the absent minded professor thing. He knew they were worried about him, but he also knew things they did not and was shielding his thoughts as best he could. He knew that one of them was developing faster than the others and unintentionally was dreaming with him. He could feel their presence at night and was doing his best to keep his thoughts as confusing as possible.

  Not that he was worried that someone was plotting against him, but there were some things they just didn't need to worry about yet, especially the kids. He had a few revelations about the age thing that would upset them in particular and it would be better for him if he had some idea on how to tell them. If they were developing mental joining capabilities, then their enemies could be doing it also. He needed to know one way or another and develop a better defense.

  The row of hills appeared ahead and John landed the airship in the same place as he had before. The beach was much smaller and in places nonexistent. He put half the men at the entrance to the cave and went inside with everyone else. The water was much deeper within, coming to John's waist. Last time it had only covered his feet and now he was concerned about the girls, as they were covered almost up to their shoulders.

  “You want to wait here?”

  Both girls shook their heads in the negative and stayed close to John. The remainder of the squad stopped at the side tunnel leading to the crystal room, but the girls kept going as did Ben Crowder. He wanted to examine the chamber to see if he could tell why some crystals only formed in certain areas. He was still toying with the idea of growing them in a lab and possibly even tailoring them for use. The water was now up to Elizabeth's neck and she was hanging on to John's arm, almost treading water. Jenny was only slightly taller and was staying close to John, in case she needed a lift.

  When they finally reached the chamber. John was carrying one girl in each arm and the water was up to his armpits. He remembered a ledge on one side of the chamber and was rewarded with higher ground as soon as he headed in that direction. He kept going until the water was shallow enough to set the girls down. They let go of his neck with some reluctance and watched nervously as he moved away.

  John took a light stone from his pocket, activated it and threw it into the water, toward the center of the chamber. As it sank, the crystals around it were illuminated, glowing in vibrant colors through the clear water. Oohs and aahs came from the girls as they watched the light touch the bottom where it lay glittering in shimmering rainbows among the crystals laying in drifts around it.

  John had come dressed in lightweight clothing, slacks, shirt and slip on moccasins made of soft leather, knowing he would be swimming. Bags and leather gloves were the only things he carried, other than a small shovel with the blade covered in heavy canvas to prevent chipping any crystals, glued to the surface of the metal with some concoction Charles Benton had come up with. His chemist was proving his worth over and over. Farmer, indeed.

  John waded out to where he could see masses of crystals laying in piles and started car
efully shoveling them into the bag Dr Crowder was holding for him. He tried to use his senses and his levitation abilities to scoop as many of the different ones into the bag as he could. He continued to scan the area around him for that one elusive crystal, the singular item that bonded with him.

  He was concentrating hard, trying to control his breathing so that he could duck his head under with each scoop to search more carefully and he was getting winded. He stopped, panting heavily and trying to catch his breath when he heard splashing behind him. He turned and caught both girls as they swam up to him, dropping the shovel in the process.

  “What are you doing? What's wrong?”

  Both girls were also breathing heavy and clung to his neck, but they were angry.

  “Why didn't you tell us? What is wrong with you that you can't just tell people things?”

  “You are in so much trouble. When Christine finds out she is really going to hurt you and I'm going to hurt you too. You need to stop keeping these secrets.”

  They both went on for a bit, while John caught his breath and tried to decide which secret they had found out. He decided that he would just have to ask.

  “If you two can stop for a minute, maybe you could tell me what you're talking about. You are not very clear other than you're pissed off and want to hurt me. That much is very clear”

  “Don't play innocent! You know exactly what we're talking about.”

  “No, I don't. I do have more than one secret, you know.” Probably not the smartest thing to say at this time, but John was trying to find an answer. The girls were not happy with that disclosure and said so.

  John gave up and walked back up to the fork where he had left half the squad. Dr. Crowder carried the shovel and the bags. When the girls stopped to take a breath he asked the squad to go and fill the other two bags, while they rested. The men left, chuckling and shaking their heads. When they were gone, John asked again. “What specifically are you upset with me about?”

  “The special stones and what they do. How important they are and how bad we need them. That's one. Our ages. We are Wizards and we will live longer than anyone else around us. That part we knew, but we didn't know that we would be kids for twenty years. How is that fair and why wouldn't you tell us? What's up with that?”

  “Are you mind readers now?”

  The girls looked at each other. Elizabeth finally answered. “I don't think so. It just came to us, like you say it does to you. Pop! Surprise!”

  “Sorry. I just didn't know how to tell you. It's hard enough with what you've got to do and I know you two want to grow up fast. We Wizards will live for thousands of years. It is the price we pay. Humans will grow old and die. Dwarfs will grow old and die. Elves will eventually grow old and die. We will still be here, living on, burying our friends and possibly family, watching the Humans growing and building lives, while we continue to observe and guide. If our lives are so long, then our adolescence is also equally long.”

  “I look twenty and I am eighty one, but I am still a teenager as a Wizard. Christine and Joshua are Elves and Wizards, but they look like teenagers and they are in our years. But, without these crystals, we are the only generation of Wizards. It's not locked in yet. The Goblins will overrun the Humans and the Dwarfs and eventually the Elves and we will all be dead. If we cannot find them, then who am I to tell everyone that we are doomed and to give up all hope. What would you want me to do? Give up all my secrets or give people hope and not burden them with things they cannot change, things that scare me half to death?”

  “It's a Wizards burden, right? Knowing things, knowing the future, living and guiding for generations of Humans?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Aren't we Wizards, too?”

  John looked at the two girls, then hugged them both. “Yes, you are. Let's go look for the future.”

  The airship came back three days later, wallowing in the wind. When the side door opened, crystals fell out onto the ground and the people inside had to wade through them to get out of the ship. The chamber under the sea was empty, except for the incoming sea. John had decided to leave all of the many sets of the more massive crystals attached to the floor and walls, for two reasons. He wasn't comfortable trying to break them free, a bad feeling coming over him and the girls when they talked about it, and just because the ship wouldn't hold any more and still get off the ground. John was glad in a way that the chamber was so much smaller than any of the others they had found. It had been difficult enough without having to search a place the size of the chamber under the Citadel. It would take weeks or maybe months to sort all the stones they had brought back. Finding a place to store them was next of the list of things to do, right after a special meeting of the Star Chamber.

  This time, the meeting was closed to all who were not Wizards. John had sent Joshua to get Carl and Tasha earlier in the day and by the time the airship landed, they were waiting in the council chamber in the castle. With Jenny and Elizabeth leading the way, the three of them left the airship and its cargo with Suki and Colonel Davis while they headed for the meeting. John tossed his personal gear down at the door to the meeting room and walked inside, with the girls doing the same. Then he walked to the head of the table, flanked by the two girls.

  “Please sit. We have a lot to talk about. I said once before that we did not want any secrets then I kept things from everyone including you. I was wrong on both counts. We need secrets and we need a Star Chamber. We do not need secrets from each other, just from the normal people, the non magic people.”

  He reached into his pouch and the girls did the same. They laid leather bags on the table and after Elizabeth had laid out a square of leather, poured out the contents. A set of stones unlike any other lay before the group. John told them about the gene and how these stones would lock in the genetic pattern, about the long lives and about everything else he had been holding back. It was a lot to swallow all at once, but they did their best. When John stopped, Jenny took over.

  “We are the only Human Wizards that we know of but you are also Wizards, two Elves and one Dwarf. We think Tasha is an Elf as well, but she has not yet shown the characteristics of an Elf yet, except for being physically identical to Christine, so we will leave that open. We have seven stones, one for each of you and one for the future, to be kept in the vaults beneath the Castle. We, Elizabeth and I, have written down all these things that John has shared with you today and each of you will receive a copy. Whether or not you use these genetic stones is your choice but that choice must be made within this chamber and it must be made before anyone leaves. These stones are too dangerous to allow them out of this room, except to lock them away. Carl, will you use this stone?”

  “Of course. It's obvious that we must do this. I will not allow my people to die. This is a burden too small to be so concerned with.”

  Elizabeth handed Carl the stone and went with him to a small couch in the corner of the room. When he sat down she put a booster on the couch next to him and moved away. When she was back at the table Carl took the booster in his other hand. Immediately the stones reacted and Carl passed out. In less than a half an hour he was up and Joshua was on the couch. After they had all recovered, John let them experience the sensations for a bit, then removed the wards and shield, opening the doors and picking up his wet clothes. “I need a hot bath. Not a sink bath, not a bucket of hot water poured over my head, a real bath. I think I'm going to build a Japanese bathhouse. A small one, just up on the Wizards wing.”

  “We have a Wizards wing?” Joshua asked.

  Elizabeth nudged Jenny in the ribs. “We do now and we are Wizards.”

  Jenny smiled and the girls were kids again for a minute. Giggling, they picked up their wet clothes and followed John. The others left as well, the guards and other people in the halls watching them and wondering. When they got to the end of the hall, it wasn't the end. A new corridor had opened to the left, opposite the staircase. There was a massive oak door, boun
d in iron and bronze, inlaid with curly maple and ebony, which swung open as John approached and shut behind him and the two girls.

  Carl smiled and went down the stairs, thinking about the wing he had in mind for himself and improving the look of the door. Joshua and Christine looked at the door and Joshua walked toward it. It swung open for him and Christine and shut behind Tasha. The corridor was not long, but had three doors on either side and a single door at the far end with a split curtain hanging across it.

  As they walked down the corridor, they looked in each open room and were impressed. John was talking with Elizabeth and Jenny before picking one of the rooms himself. The girls chose one next to his and the doors shut behind them. The left side had three open rooms, but the right had only the one, the other two the rooms John and the girls had chosen. The half curtain hid the entrance to the bath and had a split down the center with a drawing of a tree and a geisha. Inside the curtain was a short hall, which split right and left, with a dog on the right door curtain and a cat on the left.

  “Don't know that I like the dog too much. I'm going to take a look in here and see what kind of bath they have in Japan.” Christine nodded and headed through the other door.

  Joshua was impressed. It was clean and warm, a privacy wall blocking the room from view of the open door, with real toilets on one side, the American kind and sinks along the other wall. Another doorway was at the end with another privacy wall which Joshua walked around. It was great, tiled floor, wooden stools down one side, bins with a towel, wash cloth, a bathrobe and a pair of woven sandals in each and a huge tub steaming with hot water at the end. John walked in behind him, wearing a bath robe and sandals. “What do you think?”

  “Nice. Really nice. I could get use to this. You didn't do this just now, did you? I mean you couldn't just say I'm going to build a bath and it’s there, right? This wing took time, didn't it?”

  “You don't sound like you're sure either way.” John smiled, not answering the question. “Pick out a room yet?”

  “We can stay here too?”

  “This is the Wizards wing. You are a Wizard, yes? This place does have rules though. This bath is a little different than what you had back home.”

  “You got that right.”

  “Rule one, no shoes. You pick a bin and that's your bin. The bathrobe and sandals go with you. No shoes and no street clothes in here. You come to the bath in this.” John modeled his robe while Joshua laughed at him. “You wash on the stools. Water in the bucket, soap in the little bin in front of you, wash cloth here. After you are clean, you rinse off and then you get in the big tub and soak your worries away. I keep the water a little cooler than the Japanese do, because I like to soak a bit more. They seem to like it really hot. You start bathing like this and you will be convinced that the Japanese are the most civilized people on earth.”

  “I think I'll pick out a bin and a room. Be back after I move in. Enjoy your bath. So, did you?”

  “I will, trust me, I will. Did I do what?” John headed into the bath without saying anything else.

  Joshua met Christine and Tasha in the corridor and told them about the bath rules. He had his robe and flip flops and the two women went back in and got their own, then they took the three rooms on the left, tossed the robes inside on the bed and left to get their belongings. The doors to the rooms shut behind them, but reopened easily enough with a turn of the knob.

  “Neat trick. I got to learn how he does this stuff. Do you think he just whipped this all up after the meeting?” Tasha asked.

  “It's a lot to do that fast. He's probably been working on it for a while and just decided to get all dramatic and do the door last. He does tend to like putting on a show.” Christine grinned.

  After everyone left to get their few belongings, Jenny stuck her head out of the second door on the right and motioned Elizabeth to follow her. They were dressed in robes and carried their flip flops as they headed down the hall. Elizabeth tugged on Jenny's sleeve. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Shh. Just follow me. You said you wanted to stay close to John, didn't you? Taking a bath with him was one of your ideas, wasn't it?” She led the way to the door with the dog, stuck her head inside and walked in, pulling Elizabeth behind her. They approached the second privacy wall and slowly tiptoed around it, entering the bath. It was empty. “I know he was in here. Where did he go? Let’s go back and see if he's in his room.”

  They walked back out and as they pushed aside the curtain they saw the picture of a dog in front of them. The doorway curtain they were standing in had a cat on it. Jenny walked across the hall and went in the men’s room again, while Elizabeth waited in the entrance of the ladies room. Jenny came out from the privacy wall behind Elizabeth. “How does he do this stuff?”

  “I don't know, but I'm going to learn. Since we are here, I'm going to take a nice hot bath.” She turned and walked past Jenny into the bathing area. After a moment Jenny followed. An hour later, they both came out, red and wrinkled but refreshed and cleaner than they had been in months. They ran into John in the corridor. He smiled and they blushed and ran to their room, shrieking and giggling like a couple of little girls.

  “Tasha, you need any help moving?” Christine was standing in the corridor, looking into Tasha's room, the door blocked open so they could carry their things in.

  “I'm good, not like I had much anyway. Most of my stuff that I would have wanted didn't survive, stuff like pictures and CD's. None of my clothes would fit now anyway. You really go for that Goth stuff, don't you?”

  “Yeah. I never would have before, but now, I love it. You seem to like browns. You want to get some clothes like what John wears or is that just what you can find?”

  “I love what he wears! Its steam punk and it is so cool. I wish I could get a pair of boots like his and the coat. Yes, I most definitely want to get some clothes. Do you know where he shops? Or loots?”

  “Steam what?” Christine turned as Joshua came down the corridor with John and the younger girls. “Any of you want to go shopping?”

  “Shopping? For?”

  “Tasha needs clothes and we need you, John, because she likes what you wear.”

  “Can we come?” Jenny and Elizabeth were in sync again.

  “Everybody is welcome. I need to check on Tricia, she'll want to come. Maybe we can pick up Cecilia also. She's been looking a little threadbare lately. Just take the rest of the afternoon and get outfitted. We all need something else to wear, right?”

  “I think so too. I've got a shop I cleaned out my first week up here and it had most of the styles I see us wearing. I put everything in the cave in a storeroom I built. We may have a little trouble with boots and shoes for the smaller feet, at least.”

  Joshua and Christine were in unison this time. “You got black?”

  “I thought Elves liked green and flowers and stuff. How come you both want black?”

  “You cannot depend on the movies Tasha. We have had things that are somewhat similar but this is not what we all picture as fairy tales. You are wearing browns. They like black. Dwarfs seem to like brighter clothing, greens and reds and leather. Frank and Carl and even Loren were very interested in my chain mail.” John answered.

  “I can understand that. I like it too. Where did you find it?”

  “Actually, I made it.”

  “Can you make some for us?” Jenny and Elizabeth were both handling the mail cape John had over the shoulders of his coat.

  “Me too?” asked Tasha.

  “I can but I will insist on you all learning the technique. It's not hard but it's time consuming and can best be done in the evenings when you're sitting around watching paint dry. I have a workshop in the cave. We can stop there after you loot my warehouse. Sound good?”

  “Did you ask Badger to make you some boots?”

  “Badger. The guy from your group with the neat coat? He does boots? I thought he was a saddle maker.”

  “Oh sure, he does a lot of
stuff. He's a cobbler and one of those back to nature people. Maria was telling me about some of the stuff he makes and he's really good. He has a lot of hand tools too, old stuff that he uses. He likes antique tools and the 'old ways', he says.”

  “I'll visit Badger after we're done: no sense making him work if we have what we need in the warehouse. But, I will see him today. He has just become a teacher in our school and you, young lady, have just earned your pay for the day. You have any other tips on skilled people; don't feel the need to be shy.”

  “Cool. We get paid for this? How much?”

  The silence was deafening.

  “We haven't actually started paying anyone yet. We were just talking about it the other day, though. Here, take a look at these.” John pulled a handful of coins from a pocket and passed them out.

  “Where did you get coins?”

  “Made um. You did suggest it, remember. When Gary and Joshua make their trip to the mint, we will make more.”

  “Who did the design?”

  “Gary. I wasn't sure, but he said it was distinctive and simple. He is the expert so I went with it. What do you think? Keep them. We will each get an allotment to spend in town and we will probably use them to help finance a few business ventures for these people. A nice restaurant would be good. Not too fancy, simple food, pizza, burgers, steak, maybe a bakery. Man, do I miss peach cobbler. We need orchards, too. So much still to do.

  “On a totally different, yet related issue, I am curious as to how you and Christine look like twins and yet are completely different in the way you act and dress? Any thoughts on that?”

  Christine responded first. “Maybe my being killed has something to do with it.”

  John thought about it for a moment then answered. “We all passed out in what seemed to be a deathlike state during the event. Is that what you mean?”

  “No. I was standing next to a car, screaming at the driver and a bus hit me and shoved the car through a block wall. I'm pretty sure I was at least hurt a little bit.”

  It was John's turn to stare. “That sounds painful and pretty much fatal. Did you have any injuries when you woke up?”

  “Nope. My pants fell down; my coat was torn with parts of it embedded in the buses grill. That's about it.”

  “I don't know if it's a coincidence or not but I was doing about seventy five on my bike when this hit and I might have landed a little hard when I passed out. Just thought I would mention it.” Joshua almost seemed apologetic.

  “Did your pants fall down too? Never mind, don't tell me! So both Elves may have been resurrected by the event. Tasha wasn't dead, just sick, I was just real old and you two were just young. Interesting. Not enough data to form more than a tentative theory, but very interesting.”

  While they talked they had been walking toward the cave entrance. As they walked through the mouth, John led them around the corner and to a blank wall. To their surprise he didn't even break stride but just walked through the solid stone face. The group wasn't sure what to do until John poked his head through and waved them on, before disappearing again. Elizabeth and Jenny looked at each other, giggled, took Cecilia and Tricia by the hand and walked through the wall. The others, after a moment’s hesitation, followed. Inside, they found neatly organized shelves of clothing, boots, moccasins, coats and pile after pile of leather, metal and wooden trunks and cases. The area was well lighted with several glowing stones around the interior, each connected to the other by a copper wire which ended near the entrance. Jenny was showing Cecilia a leather trench coat in her size and Elizabeth was looking through a chest with Tricia. Christine walked over to John and punched him in the arm.

  “Ow! What was that for?”

  “You need to start telling us how you do these things.”

  “Where's the fun in that?” John ducked as Christine drew back her fist again. “Wait, wait, wait! I'll explain my reasoning. That will have to do, unless you can convince me I'm wrong. I shouldn't have to do that much but you haven't had the meld implant for long so this time only, I'll explain.”

  “Fine. Start talking.”

  “If I show you how I do everything, what will you learn?”

  “We'll learn how to do this stuff.” Christine leaned forward onto the balls of her feet, her arms straight down at her sides. She was a bit loud, too. “That's a stupid question.”

  “Will you learn how I came up with it? Will you learn how to think through the formula, the equation that makes the wall become permeable and come up with a variation? Will you learn a better way to do the same thing or subtle but important variations on this same theme? I didn't have anyone show me, I just had to experiment and learn by trying and failing, most of the time. I cannot teach you how to think, to analyze, to learn, if I just show you how to do something. If I show you the finished effort, the working equation, you will try to figure out how it was done. You should be trying to figure out how it's done, at any rate. Now, if thinking is too much trouble, if you feel that the ability to analyze how a particular formula is worked, if the ability to come up with something better, faster, easier, stronger, more efficient, is too much for you, then I guess I'll just have to bottle feed you and hope that the next generation will be stronger.”

  By now, everyone was looking at the floor and wanting to be somewhere else. They recognized that they should have been working on their own, but just hadn't.

  “I've been using Jenny and Elizabeth as Guinea pigs, to see what differences information would make. I came to the conclusion that the less I told them outright, the better off they were, the better and quicker they were to think about how to do it. I actually mentioned it in front of you people at one of the council meetings. A Wizard cannot afford to go by their feelings. They must use their senses and KNOW the truth when they hear it. A Wizard can see through deception, can see how an equation, a formula is cast and in that seeing, can unravel it to see how it was formed in the first place. So, do I spoon feed you or do you grow?”

  “I feel like my mom just caught me sneaking cookies. I hate to ask but I have no clue how to use my senses the way you’re talking about.” Christine shrugged her shoulders. “So beat me a little more.”

  “You listen to trees?”

  “Yes. Joshua and I both do. So?”

  “How do you do that?”

  “We just listen.”

  “With your ears?”

  “Uh, I don't think so. I'm not sure. Joshua?”

  “Beats me. Are you saying that if we listen the same way to what you did to that wall . . . ?”

  John just raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms across his chest and waited. Everyone else turned to the wall except Jenny and Elizabeth, who looked at Joshua and Christine. They were just looking at the wall, puzzled, when Tasha gasped and a light came on behind her eyes. Joshua and Christine followed close behind and Jenny and Elizabeth switched their view to the wall as well. John put his hand on the shoulders of his two youngest students. “People, listen up. Why did these two watch you instead of the wall?”

  “So they could see what we did and save time?”

  “Very good Tasha. That was fast and probably right. Is she right girls?”

  Jenny and Elizabeth nodded. Elizabeth added, “It made sense after your little tirade.”

  “So, we didn't come here for school, although it was an important lesson. Let's do some shopping. When we have time, I'll get Elizabeth and Jenny to copy a few more pages, describing some other things I've worked out and let you see them. Later, I'll let you see the finished items set up and you can work on analyzing them.”

  Christine smiled wickedly, “John, why don't you just call them spells? Wouldn't that be easier than trying to come up with a new name?”

  John favored her with a glare.

  “It does seem simpler to say spells than all that other stuff.” Joshua added coals to the fire.

  “Let's vote. All in favor of spells instead of all that stuff John is trying to get us to say, raise a hand.”
Elizabeth counted. “The ayes have it. Spells wins.”

  “So, John, how many spells do you have, oh mighty Wizard?”

  “Christine, you really enjoy that, don't you?”

  “John, you're a Wizard with a capital 'W'. You walk through walls, throw fire, you toss lightning bolts with your bare hands and you are teaching us how to be better Wizards, but you can't say the words 'magic spell'. What kind of massive mental block do you have?”

  Elizabeth interrupted what was promising to be an interesting argument. “I have a favor to ask.”

  “OK Elizabeth.” said John, relieved to have an interruption.

  “I was named after my mom, but she was always Beth. I would like to be called Beth from now on, if it's OK.”

  “That's fine, Beth. We will all do that for you. I thought it was going to be something hard. That's just nice.” John thought about his own daughter, also Beth, but said nothing.

  Beth wiped an eye and ducked her head. Her last name would be for her dad and her first name would be for her mom. She felt a bit better for the decision.

  “Beth Roberts is my name from now on, then.”

  “You got it.” Christine put an arm around her, and squeezed. “So, Beth Roberts, what kind of wardrobe are you looking for?”

  “Something in brown, with some really tall boots with lots of brass and copper.”

  “Wizards. I should have known.”

  The next two hours were spent in going through the shelves and chests, finding clothes, trying them on, and listening to everyone's opinion of what was the best style. Boots for the smaller people, who included all the females, were not to be found. John picked up the bag of clothes he had settled on and also picked up a roll of heavy leather.

  “If we are going to ask Badger to make us boots, we might as well take him something to make them out of.” The others either picked up leather or findings and followed.