Doorway to Another Wold. Chapter 3. Part 1.

Monday, at school, Mark and Gwen were feeling very odd. They had spent over 20 days in the other world and it seemed even longer. But for everyone else it had just been a normal weekend. Of course normal is a relative term. From her parent's point of view she had gone out Saturday and not come home till Sunday evening. Unusual behaviour for her.

But Gwen was a smart girl, and did what most teenagers fail to do. She told her parents she would be staying at a friend's place, before actually doing it. And she brought said friend into the conspiracy by talking to her before calling her parents. Building a web of lies was actually quite simple, so long as you followed the correct formula.

Having to keep the door to the other world secret, she told her friend Kathy the most truthful thing she could. “Im going to spend the week end with Mark, watching movies at his place.”

Kathy was super excited to be in on the plot. “You two have a great time, and give me all the details.”

“Calm down, nothing naughty is going on. He is a real gentleman.” she assured her friend.

When Gwen met Mark for lunch on Monday, the first thing she said was “We are now dating.”

He was confused and he looked it. Not unhappy about the sudden statement but very confused.

So she explained the talk she had with Kathy and the lie she had to tell her parents. “So its best if we just tell people we are dating.”

Part of him was disappointed that it was fake dating. Another part was relieved, because he really had no clue about what he should be doing in a real relationship. “OK then, I promise to be the best fake boyfriend you will ever have.” he said seriously.

Over lunch they also talked about the village education plan. Gwen did most of the talking because she had spent more time thinking about it. “We need to build a school and find a teacher. A simple one room school house should do. Of course we will need to provide a house for the teacher.”

Mark pointed out “Grandpa left a lot of money, but the supply is not endless.” He had actually been thinking about the merchant business of selling Earth items in the other world. “So I will take a few more steps to get the business up and running.”

Adventuring isnt very stable in its money making ability. Sure there is the occasional amazing find that can sell for many gold pieces. But usually once the expenses are covered, a quest only gets you a few coins more than you started with. Being a merchant is a much better job. Although they are subject to bandit and monster attacks too.

By the end of lunch hour they had a plan for the next week's worth of visits to the other world. They could do a few things around the village, like getting the buildings put up. But finding a teacher would require a trip to Midvill, and that would have to wait till the week end. Not a long time, from their point of view. But for the people in the other world it would be nearly 6 months away.

Moving the Plan Forward

Monday visit.

Getting the school and teacher's house built were easy enough, although not as strait forward as Mark had expected. The first problem was where to put them. Although no one questioned his authority, Miss Brown did point out that all the land within the village wall was in use. She carefully did not use the word owned, because of how the law worked. While he could, as lord, simply take any land for his own use, doing so without notification or compensation was of poor character for a noble. Thus the matter was left for Miss Brown to negotiate a suitable site near one of the gates. So that construction could begin when next lord Crane came to visit.

The second problem was getting the master carpenter to understand the sketch of what Gwen wanted. Eventually Mark explained it like this “We want a hall, 40ft long by 20ft wide, with a fire place at each end. Doors to be placed near the end of each long side. Also there should be lots of windows.”

Of course glass for the windows was not even considered by the locals. None of the village buildings had glass windows. But Gwen insisted the school should. “Natural light is necessary for good learning.” she said.

Mark committed to visiting a building supply store back on Earth. So long as the windows were small enough to be carried through the magic door, that should work.

Next was the question of furnishings for the school. Desks and benches were easy enough to make. Chalk boards were not. However Gwen knew special paint was sold at some handy-craft stores that would turn any smooth board into what they needed.

As for the teacher's house a regular cottage, large enough for a family, was ordered to be built near the school hall. With small barn next to it. A well would stand between the house and school for common use. This gave more pause than all the other building projects. As digging a well was considered a troublesome thing at the best of times and never done by arbitrarily selecting a spot.

In addition to all this Mark spent some time with Timmy, his squire in training. The boy was hesitant at first, worried that the young lord will not be satisfied with his training. For his part Mark didnt have the first clue about how to treat the boy. So the conversation was exceedingly awkward.

“How are things going?”

“Very well, sir”

“Do you enjoy your training?”

“Yes sir.”

“Its not to difficult for you?””

“No sir.”

And so it went for a while until Mark had enough and made up an excuse to walk away.

In the evening Miss Brown asked very quietly and formally, “Not to be rude, my lord, but it would help in my duty as your steward, if you could clear up a matter Im uncertain about.”

Mark was a bit surprised. She usually kept everything very brief and to the point. “Go on.” he said.

“What relation is lady Gwen to you?” the old woman asked.

He almost said, my fake girlfriend. Then thought, no I cant say anything like that. So instead he said, “By special arrangement she is my sister. We are bound by fate rather than blood.”

This seemed to satisfy the old woman. “Then it is correct if I refer to her as the lord's sister?”

Mark nods.

Tuesday visit

With the site selected and some lumber cut, construction could begin, as soon as lord Crane gave the official word. The master carpenter estimated that it would be complete in 20 days. Many of the villagers were still unclear as to what this project was all about, so Gwen decided to make a speech. When the people gathered for the ground braking ceremony. She told them of how important an education was and how it would be provided, free of charge, to every child in the village.

The villagers listened quietly then cheered at the end, as was expected of them. But many mothers had concerned looks and they murmured among themselves after the ceremony was done. Most wondered how much time would be required of their children, as they were needed to perform daily chores at home. This point was brought up to lady Gwen by Miss Brown later in the day.

“I know not how education is done in your homeland, my lady.” the old woman began “But here it is only the children of nobles and the wealthy who receive it.”

Gwen nodded, knowing this much, but not knowing where Miss Brown was going. “,,and so..?”

“The women are wondering, how much time each day their children will be required to attend this school?”

Gwen had assumed it would be similar to Earth education. “A few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon.” She answered.

“So it would not interfere with their household chores?” the old woman prompted.

Gwen considered the situation, then said “How about I let you work out the details with the teacher, once we find one.”

“As you wish, my lady.” Miss Brown ended the conversation.

This time Mark tried to keep things more focused with Timmy. He was the only one not affected by the mass sleep spell. His mana was somehow different than any Mark had seen before. He was a mystery that needed to be looked into.

From his point of view, Timmy found his master quite the mystery. He did not live in a castle, or in the village. They said he had a tower deep in the Frightful Forest. They also said his homeland was very far away. What seemed clear, was that he was much kinder than lord Asat.

“I want you to start learning magic.” Mark said

Timmy looked as stunned as he felt. “Me sir? How?”

'Im going to explain the theory of magic to you and give you a simple exercise to practice.” said Mark.

The boy nodded. Not for a second thinking it would work. Him a spell caster, not likely.

“Magic is all about controlling mana, using your imagination to make it do what you want.” Mark began the explanation. He kept it simple, knowing that too much information would confuse rather than help. He followed the same steps he had used to help Gwen find her mana. “Once you feel it, then you can start to focus it.” Lastly he explained how to cause a small flame to appear at the tip of a finger. Then for safety, he added, “Only try this when you have a mug of water nearby, just in case you have trouble putting the flame out.”

The boy nodded a lot. Trying to remember all that he was told. He would do the exerciser, but he did not expect to succeed. Magic could not be as easy as that.

Wednesday visit

Lord Mark arrived with the windows. Twelve of them, each 2ft wide and 4ft tall. Set in plastic frames so they could slide up to be open. He briefly explained to the carpenter how to install them. “A wooden frame must be made around the window, so it fits tight. But do not drive any nails into the plastic.”

The carpenter marvelled at the glass and assured the lord that he would take the utmost care when installing them.

Lady Gwen informed Miss Brown that the school building could also be used as a community hall. “In the evening or on special occasions, the village is welcome to use it.”

Seeing as the digging of a well had not been undertaken, Mark decided to do it himself. First he used a locate spell to find a good spot to dig, near the school. Then he used a new spell to drill a shaft down to the water level, plus a few extra feet. Next he hardened the walls of the shaft with a earth to stone spell. So in about an hour, he had a well. The villagers could put up a frame with bucket and rope later. For now he told the carpenter to cover the hole will a few planks. “I dont want Timmy falling in the well.”

Squire Timmy regretfully informed his lord that he could not produce even a flicker of flame. But instead of an angry reaction the boy got a very dismissive “OK then, I have another idea. Im going to take you to see my magic teacher, Bob.”

The boy was happy with this, until he found out that Bob lived in the Frightful Forest.

“Dont worry, the walk is not very long, and I can almost grantee no monster will eat you.” Mark said.

The boy looked even more worried after that comment.

The trip was uneventful. Although the forest still had many monsters, they were avoiding the area near the cabin and the path from it to the village. The creatures knew Mark by smell or from his mana, they knew enough to avoid him when ever they could. Timmy of course did not know any of this, so with every step he expected some monster to rush out of the dark forest and attack.

When they reached the cabin, Mark said “My mentor lives here. He may not look it, but he is actually very old and wise.” Timmy nodded and promised to be on his best behaviour. When they entered they found Bob, looking quite real, sitting at the table with a book in front of him.

“So this is the one?” Bob asked.
“Morpheus thinks so.” Mark could not resist making a Matrix joke.

Both Timmy and Bob looked at him wondering who Morpheus was.

“Well then I shall have a look.” the old mage said after a moment.

He cast a spell to analyze the mana within the boy. Then he hummed and haaaaed, as he considered what he saw. “The unique flavor of his mana is something Iv only seen once before.” he said, knowing full well that explained nothing to anyone.

Mark had endured this kind of verbal banter from his mentor a great deal. So he just played along, “Could you please explain his uniqueness to us?” he asked.

“The man I knew had two abilities because of his mana. First was immunity from any magic used on him. Friend or foe, no spell would affect him. Second was the ability to nullify spells and magic items. Usually as a temporary affect, although he did once permanently brake an enchantment.” Bob kept a level tone, but he was clearly excited by the finding of such a rare person.

Timmy struggled to follow the explanation. “So Im like that guy who brakes spells?”

“Yes my boy, you are exactly like that.” Bob said with joy.

Thursday visit.

Mark comes alone, because Gwen has real world obligations.

He is mostly there just to check up on Timmy, who had been given a new exercise. The boy would focus on a glow-stone and try to dim its light, or extinguish it, if he could. A glow-stone was a common magical item, often used by adventurers in place of a torch. Bob said there were a dozen of them sitting around in the cabin, so even if the boy somehow permanently snuffed out its magic, it was no great loss.

Timmy had practised hard for the past 20 days. At first making no progress, until his adventurer teacher had suggested a simple trick. “Hold the stone in your hand, close your fingers around it and try to squeeze it so tight, no light shines out.”

“But that is not using magic to put out the light, its just a sort of trick.” the boy protested.

“Once you can shut off the light that way, just imagine that you have shut off the light entirely. Believe it. Then open your hand and see that the light no longer shines. That is how magic happens.” The adventurer explained.

Timmy tried it, and it worked. The light went out. It was only for a few seconds. But it had worked.

By the time lord Mark returned he could easily put the glow-stone's light out. And so long as he concentrated it would stay out. He was very excited by this success.

Mark was impressed. It was a good first step. He didn't know exactly what to do with the boy's ability, but according to Bob an anti-magic caster was a rare and fearsome thing. A weapon, best kept secret.

Putting the vague sachems of the future aside, he got the boy some pie. Good work should be rewarded.

As they sat at the Inn and ate, he pondered on his own upbringing. As a young child everyone had seemed so happy and proud of everything he did. “Your a quick learner. Your so good at this. Etc” They thought I was so bright and talented. But then somehow delight at my accomplishments turned to expectations and demands. Any time I did not do a thing perfectly, people got upset. Some were angry, others were disappointed. For a while I tried real hard to live up to their expectations. But I just could not do it and all the trying was making me sick. So one day I just stopped.

He looked at the bright smile on Timmy's face as he considered his own unhappy past. “How do you like all the work Iv been making you do?” he asked the boy.

Timmy shrugged, and ate another bite of pie. “Its hard some days, but way more exciting that just tending horses.” the boy said honestly.

Mark tried to sound wise and sure of his words when he said “A lot of things will happen to you in life, some wonderful others horrible. Just do the best you can. And dont forget to enjoy the good times.”

“Good times like pie.” the boy said with no concern for the future at all.

After snack time, Mark went to find Timmy's instructor to ask. “Can you give me a summary of what you've been teaching the boy and how is he doing.”

The adventurer explained the training regiment. “A lot of exercise and weapons practice, along with some general talks about how to survive like an adventurer does. No fancy stuff that a squire might need to know. For that you got yourself the wrong guy.” He said before adding, “The boy is doing ok, but it will be a wile before he is ready for a real fight.”