As we crested the small rise, we could see laid out before us an idyllic panorama.  Dozens of cottages and homes, with wood smoke drifting lazily out of their chimneys, were scattered about, linked by several dirt roads.  The cottages were mostly wood, with thatched roofs, but a few had fieldstone foundations and wooden upper floors, and a fewer still had fancy wooden shingles.  A few dozen people – men, women and some children of various ages - in the distance were still in the fields, finishing up whatever work they had before their daily supper.  We could see pens of goats, sheep, and pigs, as well as a few other animals we couldn’t so easily recognize, and we saw off in the distance, about a mile from town, a stone circle that was very reminiscent of a smaller version of Stonehenge, with some small buildings beside it.

 

 “Alyssa?  What is that Henge over there – the circle of stones?”  I asked.

 

“Oh?  That’s the temple to the Divine Familia, Geoffrey.  The temple is run by a priestess named Seoni Haines.  She’s very pretty, and rumor has it that she’s sweet on Hammy Fletcher, but he either doesn’t notice, or doesn’t care.  I’m betting on doesn’t notice – he’s always got his nose in books and his formulas.  He’s the towns alchemist.”

 

“Hammy is so nice, too!”  Tika joined in.  “I think he and Seoni would be a cute couple.”

 

“Is that where I could find out more about the rituals you’re going through, Alyssa?”  Rachel asked.

 

“Yeah.  If you like I could introduce you to Serra Hayes tomorrow.”

 

“I would like that, thank you.  I thought you said her name was Seoni?  Is Serra a title?”

 

“Umm…” Alyssa thought.  “When I talk to you, you would be Serra Wilson, and he would be Ser Fowler.  I am Serra Saranel and Tika is Serra Calhoun.  They are honorifics that signify male, Ser, or female, Serra.”

 

“Oh!  Like Mister and Miss or Mrs. Back home.  That makes sense.”  Rachel smiled.  “This new world takes some getting used to!”

 

I laughed.  “Well if it didn’t, it would be pretty boring, wouldn’t it – it would be just like home.”

 

“Hehe.  True, but Mercia is home now, at least for me.  Better say it would be just like Earth.”

 

“Fair enough.  I’m still not decided.  Where are you taking us, Alyssa?”

 

“Well, you’ll need a place to stay for the night, and some food – so I thought I would take you to our villages inn and tavern.  It’s called the Emerald Candle, and its run by Gideon Balda.  He moved here almost 20 years ago from Madragoor to get away from the politics, so he’s practically a local!”

 

“What?”  Rachel laughed.  “You can live here for twenty years and not be considered a local?” 

 

“Well some of the families that live here have been here for six generations or more!”  Tika chimed in.  “Gideon’s pretty much considered a local by all but the most annoying folks.  Aren’t small towns like this where you come from?”

 

“Come to think of it,”  Rachel began, “…they aren’t that different.  We lived in a small town too – but compared to this village, it was probably the size of a city.”

 

“Are towns bigger where you come from?”  Tika asked.

 

“They can get pretty big.” Jeff replied.  “Some cities have more than a million people, and lots of cities have ten thousand or even fifty thousand people.  The town we came from, Lebanon, has over one hundred thousand people living in and around it.”

 

“Oh my stars!”  Tika gasped. “That’s enormous! How do you feed all those people?” 

 

“Do you remember what we mentioned about food alchemy?  And the artifices?”  I asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, we used food alchemy to make the ground extremely fertile and used artifices to plow, sow, and reap the crops faster and better than anyone could do by hand.  One artifice could do the work of 100 men and women with ease, and there were tens of thousands of these artifices.  They used other artifices – wagons that moved without needing horses – to carry the food to the cities, so the people could have food to eat.”

 

“Wow!  That sounds really complicated!  Does anyone know how to make food without the food alchemy and the artifices anymore?”  Tika asked.  “Rachel said sometimes the artifices did so much people forgot how to do stuff without them.”

 

“Yeah, It happened at times.  A lot of people back home have no idea where their food comes from, or even how to make their own bread.  If we lost all our artifices at once, tens of millions of people would starve or go hungry very quickly.”

 

“Well, Geoffrey, that sounds like your people gave themselves a very serious weakness.  I hope they never have to suffer what you described, but with all the horrible things you said happen on your world, I worry that they will.”  Alyssa replied.

 

“I hope not too, Alyssa.”  I kept walking alongside our new friends, and realized my leg – the one bitten by the spider yesterday – was getting a bit sore.  “Alyssa, can we change the bandage on my wound one more time today, before you head to your home?  My leg is still feeling a little sore and twitchy.”

 

“Of course, Geoffrey!  It would be my pleasure.”

 

“Are there people other than Reechi and Humans living in Enders Hollow?”  Rachel asked.

 

“Yes.  Most people in town are human, but there are some reechi, some dwarves, some wolfen and some harvon.  Do either of you know what they are?”

 

“Nope!”  Rachel laughed.  “Except for dwarves – on our world, dwarves were short, squat and good miners – at least in our myths and legends.  No one has seen a dwarf or an elf in at least a thousand years.  Maybe they didn’t even exist, except in stories?  Some people believe they’re not real.”

 

“Well, they’re real here.  Dwarves are very similar to what you describe, and you’ve met Tika so you’ve seen a reechi.  Wolfen are a race of wolves that were raised by the gods to stand and talk as men do, in return for an favor in the ancient past, much like the reechi.  In ages gone by, the wolves of the north came to the aid of Feana and Hathor, and in return, the Twins transformed the wolves into Wolfen – wolf-people.  Since that day they lived alongside the Harvon.  They prefer more northerly realms to warmer climates, and are very honorable sorts.  Harvon are like humans in appearance, but have a special ability to trigger a burst of speed and strength that transform them into peerless warriors.  They are superhumanly fast, strong and tough while this ability is active, but when it wears off, they crash – like you said Tika would with the coffee.”

 

“Wow! Cool!”  I replied.  “Do elves live in Mercia, too?”

 

“Yes.  There are two large groups of Elves in Mercia – the Lytherane, who are a bit reclusive, but considered to be friendly to outsiders, and the Rillianers – who are considered violent, dangerous, and as my father puts it ‘batshit insane.’  Some large cities have communities of elves in them, along with small groups of half-elves – the children of humans or harvon and elves.”

 

“What kind of elves will we have to worry about here?”

 

“The reclusive but friendly kind.  Lytherane is not far from Ghaelorn, which is the country we live in.  Rillian is really far away to the west, beyond Madragoor and Valris, on the edge of the western sea.”

 

“Well that’s good at least.” 

 

“Yes.  We have a Dwarven smith in town named Dwali, Tika’s teacher Cheerit, who is also a reechi, teaches some of the young ones with the talent sorcery.  She’s my teacher too.  There’s a few harvon and wolfen hunters, and I think Seoni, our priestess, is a harvon, as is our town Sheriff, Cainen Fallows.  Most of the rest are human.”

“That’s pretty neat.  Thank you for letting us know.”  Rachel replied.

 

“You’re very welcome.” Alyssa answered.

 

We walked towards town, and as we went, the figure working in the fields grew larger and resolved themselves into the forms of various people – people dressed as medieval peasants and workmen, working in the fields or at their crafts.  It was like being in a renaissance faire.  I smiled.  This is what we came to experience – the people and places on the far side of the portal.  After thinking about it for a bit, I realized I was probably going to like it here.  It did feel like home, after all.

 

I was still a bit out of sorts from my scare earlier, too.  Those voices had been unnerving, and the feeling I had failed an important test still lingered with me – but the unnatural fear and apprehension I had felt shortly after hearing the voices had long faded.  What the hell was my destiny, anyway?  What did they want?  Test my mettle?  What does that even mean?  I wish I could look it up on google so I could figure out what they meant.

 

“Does anyone know what knowing someone’s mettle means?”  I asked to everyone. 

 

“I think it has something to do with your stamina, Jeff.”  Rachel answered.

 

“Um, yes, but more.”  Alyssa chimed in.  “Someone’s mettle is a mixture of how well they deal with adversity, how much fortitude they can muster in a very bad situation, how much courage they exhibit when danger rears its head, and also a measure of their moral fiber and their honor.  May I ask what brought this up?”

 

“The… the voices I heard in the house on the mountain.  They were trying to see my mettle.  I don’t know why.  It felt like a test.  They said something about honor, and how theft was bad, and about me fighting something stronger than greed.   I didn’t understand what was going on, and got really scared and ran out of there as fast as I could.”

 

“Weird.”  Rachel commented.  “Was there anything else?”

 

“Yeah.  There were two voices.  A guy and a girl.  They blended together at times, like they were both talking at once.  It was really creepy.  They knew my name.”

 

“What?  How?!”

 

“I have no frikken clue, Rachel.  They knew my name, and told me stealing was wrong, and started talking about my mettle and stuff.”

 

“Geoffrey, did the voices identify themselves?”  Alyssa asked.  “Did you see any lights, or images, or hear anything like music?”

 

“No… They didn’t say who they were.  They said ‘don’t be afraid’ – yeah, like that worked – and I heard birds wings fluttering just before I felt something, like a presence, in the room.”  Rachel had a thoughtful look on her face, and Alyssa did too. 

 

“I’m not sure what you encountered, Geoffrey.”  Alyssa began.  “I’ll look into it and see if I can find some answers for you.”

 

“Thanks, Alyssa.”

 

Alyssa nodded, but didn’t say anything; she was lost in thought. 

 

About then, a young woman about the age of 15 ran up to the four of us, calling out to Tika.  She was short, and had short red hair and freckles.  “Tika!  Hey!  You’re back!” 

 

“Hi Kirsten!  I’m back!  So is Alyssa, and we brought new friends!”

 

“Oh!  Hi!  I’m Kirsten Ulster.  I’m a friend of Tika’s.  Who are you?”

 

“Well, I’m Jeff – although Alyssa calls me Geoffrey, and this is Rachel.”  I replied.

 

“Nice to meet you, Ser, Serra.”  Kirsten replied.  “Can I borrow Tika for a while?”

 

“I can’t, Kirsten.  We’re showing Geoffrey and Rachel the town, and then I have to go home and see mom.  She’ll want to make sure I’m alright.”  Tika sighed.

 

“Did you get to jump off the mountain like you wanted to?”

 

“I could have, but I stayed and talked to Geoffrey and Rachel instead.  I’ll jump off the mountain the next time we go.”

 

“Okay.  I’ll see you tomorrow!”

 

“Bye Kirsten!”  Tika called.

 

“Bye!  It was nice to meet you both!”

 

“It was nice to meet you too.”  Rachel replied as the young girl ran off.  “She was full of energy.”

 

“Yes.  She’s one of the people who’s almost able to keep up with Tika’s hyperactive energy.”  Alyssa replied, smiling.  “You know, Tika, you could head home to your mom, and I’ll get our new friends settled.  We can visit them tomorrow, if you wish.”

 

“Yeah, maybe I should get home.  Mom and dad will be worried.”  Tika mused.

 

“Well then, good luck, Tika.”

 

“Yeah!  We’ll see you tomorrow, Tika!”  I called out.

 

“Thanks, Geoff!”  Tika clambered down Alyssa’s cloak and onto the ground.  “I’ll see you and Rachel tomorrow, probably after my chores.  I have some free time after my chores until lunch, and then after lunch I have some magic lessons until late afternoon.”

 

“Aye, the same with me too.”  Alyssa remarked.  “I’ll have some time in the morning to spare, and in the evening after supper – but for the afternoon, I’ll be busy with my classes, and in the early morning I’ll have chores.”

 

“Okay, thank you for letting us know.”  I replied.  “Bye Tika!”

 

“Bye!”  The little reechi scampered off at a pretty good clip.  Even for a small creature as Tika, she moved as fast as an adult human, if not a bit faster, even while on the ground. 

 

“I really don’t know how someone that small has so much energy, especially after all the walking we did today.”  Rachel laughed. 

 

“Reechi are always energetic.”  Alyssa began.  “Oh they can get tired too, but don’t forget Tika rode most of the day on my shoulder.  I assure you, I’m rather tired too.”

 

“Thank goodness.  I thought it was just me.”  Rachel laughed.  “Is the inn up this road?”

 

“Yes.  It’s not too far now.  Just over this bridge is the Emerald Candle, and across the street from it is The Bushel Basket, our general store.  This is the Reaching Stream.  To the left is the duck pond and Hasps Mill, and to the right, down river, is Fishtickle bridge – a legendary local fishing hole.  Behind us and to the right is the Deeping Stream, that leads to Treacher’s Gorge.  I’ll show you all these places in the next few days, but please don’t wander too far until you know what plants and animals are dangerous, okay?”

 

“Sounds like good advice.  We won’t wander too far, Alyssa.”

 

“Thank you, Geoffrey.”  Alyssa halted after we crossed the small wooden bridge – one of those eponymous covered wooden bridges you often see in paintings of the countryside back home, with the colored sides and roofs.  It was wide enough for two wagons to pass each other – one on the left and the other on the right. 

 

Standing before us were two largish buildings.  One was marked with a sign that had a bushel basket stuffed with fresh

produce – basically pronouncing it as a general store, like Alyssa said, which made the other building the Emerald Candle.  It was a two storey building, with what appeared to be a kitchen and restaurant on the ground floor, and what were probably many rooms on the second floor.  I felt like I had walked into the set of an awesome fantasy movie.  There was even a cool sign with a green candle displayed on it.

 

                “We should go inside.”  I suggested.

 

                “Definitely.”  Rachel answered.

 

                “I’ll introduce you to the owner, Gideon Balda, and once you get a room we can go upstairs and get your wound changed.”

Alyssa replied.

 

                “Great!  Thank you.  After you, Madams – Oh, I mean Serra’s.” I said, holding the door open for Rachel and Alyssa, who gratefully entered while I held the door.   I noticed Rachel grinned a mile wide when I held the door for her, which was a bit strange, considering I’d held doors for her like maybe a hundred times before. 

 

                Inside the inn, the taproom was still relatively empty.  There were barrels of drink on the bar, and several sets of tables to seat a pretty decent number of people.  The place was mostly rustic, with wooden beams and hardwood floors.  Each table had a brilliant green candle placed on it, with a glass shield to prevent it from being blown out.  Behind the bar, a man in his mid forties, with olive skin and short black hair stood, talking quietly to a young lad of maybe 14 years.  The younger lad had fair skin and blonde hair.

 

                “Go to it, Unther.”  I head the older man say.

 

                “Alright, Gideon.”  The young man headed out a side door, and disappeared.

 

                “Ah! Serra Saranel!  What brings you to my inn?!  And with new friends?”  The man looked over and obviously saw the three of us, and motioned for us to come forward.

 

                “Hi, Ser Balda.  These are my friends Geoffrey and Rachel.  They need a place to stay, and probably some dinner.”

 

                “Ah!  And would you be wanting a room together, or two rooms tonight?” 

 

                “I guess that depends.”  I replied.  “How much is one room, versus two rooms, and what are the rooms like?”

 

                “Well, I don’t often brag about my rooms,” he said, humble-bragging in the process, “…but when I do, I like to say they have warm soft beds, clean sheets, soft pillows, and no bugs or vermin.  If you have a serious problem with bugs, I’ll give you the room for free, I’m that sure of myself, and I’ll throw in breakfast too.  Each room has two beds, sized for one human folk, with a night table and a lamp between them.  Some rooms have a hearth – they usually cost a wee bit extra, but the warmth of the fire is pleasant in the winter.  All rooms have at least one window, with shutters, and a chamber pot, which is emptied each day, mid morning.  There are trunks at the end of the bed where you can store your belongings, and I give you a key to the room, which you can lock – although if you do, you’ll have to empty your own chamber pot.  If you lose the key, you pay for the locksmith to open the door.  I charge seventy five copper suns for a room for two for the night.”

 

                Crap!  How many copper to a silver?  How many silver to a gold?  I should have thought to ask Alyssa about that before we started talking prices.  “Um, excuse me for a moment.”  I said, and gently pulled Alyssa aside.  “How much is that in silver coins?  Is it expensive?”

 

                “Yes, for an inn, but it’s fair – the rooms are really nice.  It’s much cheaper to live in a house.  There are ten copper suns in a silver crescent, and a silver star is worth fifty coppers.  A gold penny is worth one hundred coppers, and a gold crown five hundred.  Does that help, Geoffrey?”

 

                “Actually, yes – thank you, Alyssa.”  So seventy five copper is just under eight silver crescents.  I removed the coin purse I’d found in my grandma’s trunk, and opened it, taking out a single gold penny – at least it looked like a penny in size – and put the rest away. 

 

                I stepped back up to Ser Balda, and offered him the gold penny.  “Will this do, Ser Balda?”

 

                “Aye, and it will pay for your dinner and your friend’s as well, my friend.  Welcome to the Emerald Candle.”  He turned, and fetched a key, and proffered it to Jeff.  “Your room is the second door on the left as you go upstairs.  It has a nice view of the town square, and gets a nice breeze in the summer.  There’s a hearth, if you want a fire, but I expect you’ll be fine without it.  I’d normally have Uther carry your bags, but they look far too large for him.  Do you need some help?”

 

                “I’m fine with mine.  What about you, Rachel?”

 

                “I’m fine with mine, as long as I can put it down soon.”  She joked.  “It seemed lighter this morning.”

 

                “Yeah, I understand that.”  I replied.  “No thank you, Ser Balda – we’ll be fine.  We’ll be down in about an hour or so for dinner.”

 

                “Excellent.  Our special tonight is stewed pork with apples and pecans, with a flagon of fine ale, or smoked sausage and blue cheese and some local root vegetables, with buckwheat bread, served with fresh butter.  It also comes with a honeyed light beer.”

 

                Geez, that sounded pretty good!  “Thanks Ser Balda.”

 

                “Please, call me Gideon.”  He asked.

 

                “Okay then, Gideon.  We’ll be back down in a bit.  Alyssa?  Are you still willing to check that wound of mine?”

 

                “Yes, of course.”

 

                “Thanks.”  Noticing Gideon was looking curious, I realized he was wondering how I got injured.  “Giant spiders.”  I said.

 

                “Nasty work, those.  Good thing you’re safe, Ser Geoffrey.”  Gideon replied.

 

                “Yeah… When they ran at us I nearly freaked out.  They were as big as large dogs!”

 

                “Well, I’m glad to see you safe.  Alyssa has a doctor’s touch.  She knows her herbs too.  She’ll get you patched up in no time.”

 

                “Thank you, Gideon!”  Alyssa replied, smiling.

 

                “Tis only the truth, Serra.”

 

                We waved farewell to Gideon, and began the hike upstairs.  After walking all day, the stairs were a challenge, but we made it up, and down the hall to our room.  I tried the key, and it unlocked with ease.  A moment later we were easing our heavy packs off, and setting them down on the floor at the end of our beds.  The room looked exactly as Gideon had described, complete with a small hearth with a wire mesh shield in front of the hearth to keep flying embers from escaping.  All in all, it was a cosy, comfortable room.  It was smaller than I expected, but then again, I wasn’t sure what I expected, other than it was definitely not the local Ramada inn.

 

                “You okay with sharing for a while, Rachel?  At least until we split up some coins so you’re not too broke?”

 

                “Yeah, I’m fine.”  She said.  “I still feel guilty that you’re giving me a ton of the money your grandmother left you.”

 

                “Well, don’t be.  I owe you at least a third of it, as per our agreement.”  I replied.

 

                “You know, I meant maybe a few hundred bucks – not this.”  Rachel answered.

 

                “I know, but you’re my best friend, and in case I don’t stay I want to make sure you’re taken care of.”

 

                “Have you and Rachel known each other for long?  It sounds like you’re old friends.”  Alyssa asked.

 

                “Yeah.”  I replied.  “We’ve been friends for years – almost ten years now, right?”

 

                Rachel smiled.  “Yup.  Almost.”

 

                Alyssa looked like she didn’t know what to say. 

 

                “Hey, Alyssa.  I’m sorry we made you wait for us.  Can you check my wound, or do you just want to go home?”

 

                “I’ll check your wound, Geoffrey.  Did you want Rachel to leave first? To preserve your modesty, as you said before?”

 

                “Umm…”  I turned to Rachel.  “It’s up to you Rachel.”

 

                “I’m just going to unpack.”  She said.  “I’ll stay out of your way… Unless you want me to leave?”

 

                “No… No, that’s fine.”  I sighed.   “I guess I need to drop trou.”

 

                “It would be helpful, Geoffrey.”  Alyssa smirked.

 

                Jeff quickly pulled off his boots, and pants – and once again, Alyssa went to work, checking the wound.  It was far less pussy, weeping some clear liquid, and seemed to show signs of healing nicely.  She used the stinging nettlewort solution again to disinfect the area, and withdrew the small amount of packing and discarded it, then re-bandaged the wound. 

 

“I think once this dressing comes off your leg in the morning, you won’t need it to be looked at again, unless you get it infected.”  She said.  “It’s healing up nicely.”

 

“Thanks, Alyssa.”  I replied, still blushing that her hands had been so close to me.  If the spider bite had been a bit higher, I might have been singing soprano. 

 

               

                “You’re welcome, Geoffrey.  I should get going.  I’ll look for you later in the morning, alright?  I should at least show Rachel to the temple, so she can talk to Seoni.”

 

                “I’d really appreciate that, Alyssa.”  Rachel replied.  “Thanks.”

 

                “Yeah.  That sounds great.  We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

 

                Alyssa paused for a moment, and smiled shyly.  “Bye.”  She turned and left, closing the door behind her.

 

                “I think she might like you, Jeff.”

 

                “Really?”

 

                “Are you clueless, dude?  I think she likes you.”

 

                “Huh.” I didn’t know what to say.  I liked Alyssa – but I didn’t know if I liked her like that.  Come to think of it, I still wasn’t sure of Alyssa or Rachel’s transness and how I felt about it.  “I need to think about that, I guess.”

 

                Rachel seemed satisfied with the answer, and kept putting her stuff away.  Jeff joined in, and put some of his gear in the trunk at the end of the bed. 

 

                “You know, Jeff, I think I might know what you ran into in that house.  You said the ghosts said ‘don’t be afraid’ as the very first thing out of their mouths, right?”  Rachel began.

 

                “Yeah.  If not it was pretty close.”  I replied.

 

                “Well, in the bible, when an angel appears to a mortal, the very first thing out of its mouth is always ‘be not afraid’ – cause angels look ridiculously scary and weird.  It would dovetail into them wondering about your mettle or your moral fiber well.  I’m not sure about fighting something stronger than greed, though, and I don’t know what they meant by a destiny.”

               

                “Ha!  Right!  Why would an angel want to talk to me, let alone two of them?  Anyway, it doesn’t matter.  I think I failed their stupid test anyway.”

 

                “I dunno, Jeff.  Maybe they were cruising to recruit you as a Paladin or something?  You know, a holy warrior?”

 

                “Maybe.” I said, feeling a little brought down.  “But I still felt like I failed whatever test they were doing.  I felt like I didn’t measure up, and never could.  I felt small and scared.  I felt ashamed.”  I realized I was close to tears, and had no idea why.  The memory of that moment – of being weighed, and found wanting – still haunted me.

 

                I felt Rachel sit down beside me, and give me a quick bro hug.  “It’ll be okay, Jeff.  You’re a great guy.  You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

 

                “Thanks, Rachel.”  I said, trying to smile.  “I don’t know if it was a ghost or an angel, but if it was an angel that’s almost worse.  I’ll be alright in a day or two.”

 

                “Do you want me to leave you alone for a bit to feel better, before you come downstairs for dinner?”  She asked.

 

                “Yeah.  Do you mind?”

 

                “Nah.  I’ll see you soon, unless you want to talk about it.”

 

                “Not yet.  It’s all awhirl up there.” I said, pointing to my head.  “I’ll be down soon.”

 

                “Okay, Jeff.  See you soon.” Rachel got up and went downstairs.  She was still wearing my grandmother’s chainmail.  She looked badass.

               

                I laid back on the bed to rest for a bit.  Angels.  Alyssa.  Rachel.  Mom and Dad.  I had a lot to think about.