The Realms Thereunder

2

Daniel pointed out the familiar shape on the coloured banner. “K?yle, that’s Great Britain,” he said.

“Then I have taken you to the right place. This is our destination.”

They made their way through the crowds and into a tent that was covered, apparently not wanting to display its goods. They pushed through a series of veils and curtains that hung under an awning into a room that was dark, lit by oil lamps. There were plush carpets underfoot and a dozen cabinets displaying mostly ornamental objects. In the centre of this tableaux sat the proprietor, adrift in the middle of a pool of cushions, rotund, and upholstered rather like a cushion himself.

“Welcome!” He greeted them brightly, thrusting squat little arms at them. He had a fat, jolly face with extravagantly curled whiskers that supported a large, bulbous, purple hat on his head that looked something like a turban. “I am Reizger Lokkich. What can I offer you fine gentlemen this afternoon? I have all manner of objects from distant lands and ages gone by. From coins and keepsakes to sculptures and machines whose use and operation are unknown, even to me! How do I fix a price on such items, you may ask? I have no way of knowing! A potential bargain lurks on every table!” He laughed heartily at this, amused, it seemed, by his own ignorance and generosity.

The collier gave the tables only the most cursory of glances. “We are here for another purpose than trinket gathering,” he said. “This one”-indicating Daniel-“is from another land. The land of . . .”

“England,” Daniel supplied.

“The land of England, and he needs to return. You were once known as a traveler, upon a time. Know you of any way to return him to where he needs to be?”

While K?yle was speaking, the merchant’s bushy eyebrows were traveling up his forehead, and his mouth was contracting more and more until it was just a small circle below a long moustache. When the collier paused, his features snapped back into place; he stood up and approached Daniel. His salesman’s mannerisms evaporated and he ran his eyes up and down in a professional manner, touching him on the arm and turning his palms outwards in order to study them. “It has been a long time since those paths were used by our people. They may be difficult to travel now.”

The merchant tilted Daniel’s head and peered into his ears.

Daniel felt like he was being appraised and that a price would be offered for him shortly.

“Yes, he looks in fair condition to travel. Allow me to consult my chart book.”

He rose and adjusted one of the lamps so that it gave off a brighter gleam. Pulling a large, square book from a chest behind the bank of cushions, he settled himself and started thumbing the pages, which seemed to be filled with dozens of interlocking circles of varying size, annotated with small scribbles. Within these circles were landmarks like mountains, cairns, trees, caves, standing stones, churches, and so on. Bordering these were pictures of the sun and moon in different phases. The merchant settled on one page and ran his fingers along it, reading the scrawls under his breath.

A young elf, dressed in suede leathers, pushed his way through the gauze veils of the tent. “Excuse me, K?yle, but you’re needed back at your stall.”

“I will be done here shortly,” the collier replied.

“But it is Agrid Fiall-he demands your presence. He refuses to have dealings with your wife.”

K?yle growled, annoyed. “Very well.” He sighed. “I leave him in your hands, Reizger Lokkich.” The merchant’s eye flicked up.

“See that you do right by him. He is not to pay you. Since he is currently my property, all payment will come from me, after he has returned home. See that he does nothing to jeopardise his return. Daniel, can you remember the way back to the tent?”

He replied that he could.

“Make sure you take nothing away with you, and that nothing is placed on your person.” And with that final warning, he left with the messenger.

The merchant Lokkich returned to his book and traced a path along the page with a fingertip. Then he looked up at Daniel, beaming.

“You’re in luck!” he exclaimed, tapping the page. “We are just at the start of a cycle and in the ideal place to cross over-up at the meeting rock. We could try tomorrow night, in fact. It will be a weak pull, but one in the right direction. If that doesn’t work, the one five days later almost certainly will. Tell me, how urgently do you want to get back?”

“Fairly urgently-I think my friend is in danger.”

“Ah, then it’s important that you leave as soon as possible. There are things that I can do to help you . . . but . . .” Lokkich looked sad.

“What is it?” asked Daniel, sensing a hustle.

“I’m afraid that the cost would be far beyond the means of a poor wood-burner.”

“You obviously have something in mind. Let’s hear what it is without the whole drama.”

The merchant smiled. “Ah, you see through me. I see I have misjudged your cleverness. Forgive me, I meant no insult, it is just that sometimes a softer touch is needed with clients. No matter. We will talk as equals and lay everything on the table before us. Yes, there are things I can do to help, but they are expensive. In short, it means loading you up with some of my wares, which I have appropriated from your own world. These will act as forces to draw you closer your destination-all things wish to return to their place of origin. However, you cannot buy them, as you have no money. Nor can I just give them to you, as that would make you beholden to me and increase your ties here. No, you will need to earn them.”

“How?”

“By doing a job for me-working for me, in short, like you work for the collier. I do not wish to trap or ensnare you-remember, it’s in my interest to see you safely home. But the type of work will be determined by the value of the objects you need.”

“Alright, let’s see these objects, then,” Daniel said, not too happy to be dealing like this, but if it meant he could get home faster, it would be worth it.

“Of course. Please, take a seat,” he said, rising and arranging a few cushions opposite his own pile. Daniel settled on these as the merchant waddled over to a display cabinet. “Think of yourself as a magnet-and the more things you possess from your own world, the greater your pull back to that world will be.” He fiddled around behind the cabinet and took out a drawer, carrying it carefully-almost reverently-and laying it on the floor between them. “The objects that are most recent will have the strongest pull and will be more worth carrying. The oldest ones will be almost useless to you.”

Daniel laughed when he saw what the drawer from the cabinet contained-it was just full of junk. There was a bundle of pencils of varying lengths and sharpness-some even bore teeth marks- all tied up in a silk ribbon. There was a gardening fork lying inside a glass case. A jar containing coins, bottle caps, ring pulls, paper clips, and brass tacks. There was a pair of binoculars, something that looked like an oven knob, a bottle of ink, and more besides.

“It is up to you to choose the most recent or valuable to you.

Tell me, do you recognise any of these items?” the merchant asked.

“I recognise all of them. How did you find them?”

“I have my sources,” the merchant said guardedly. “Tell me, this manuscript, what is its nature?” The merchant reverently handed him a bundle of decaying papers.

“This is a comic book.”

“I have studied it closely but do not understand the writing. Is it a history of one of your heroes?”

“It’s a story-none of this really happened.” He handed it back. “It’s not so old. It was printed about twenty years ago.”

“What about this?”

“That’s more recent-it’s a video cassette tape.”

“What is it used for?”

“Amusement. You stick it in a machine and it plays a story for you. We have lots of them where I come from. This one is Doctor Who.”

The merchant looked at him blankly.

“It’s a science fiction TV show. That would probably help me out, if I had it. As would this, I suppose.” He picked up liner notes from a CD and flicked through it. “And that, definitely.” He pointed to a cell phone charger.

“So, these three items, the . . . vidosette tape, the small booklet, the wire with the weight on it . . . and the manuscript as well?”

Daniel shrugged. “Sure, the comic book as well. Why not?”

“What about these? Can you tell what they are?” He handed Daniel a rectangular red box made out of thin cardboard. It had “.38 SPECIAL 130 GRAIN FULL METAL JACKET” printed on its side.

“These are bullets,” he said, turning the box around in his hands so that they were the right way up. He opened the box-it was full. “They can be quite dangerous.”

“Would you take those?”

“I’d rather not.”

“So,” the merchant said, businesslike again. “Four items from your world, and valuable ones at that.”

“And if I have these, I can go back tomorrow night?”

“Very likely.”

“Can you guarantee it?”

“Not absolutely, but with my experience as a traveler between worlds, I can offer you near certainty. As certain as anyone can be in these matters.”

“Okay, what do I have to do?”

“That moneylender,” the merchant said, nodding at the tent flap, “Agrid Fiall, is a vile and detestable creature who has the throat of this nation in his grasp. He is a disgusting leech who holds entire cities to debt and squeezes them as dry as if they were in a vice. Families starve because of him, and yet he blithely carries on, squeezing and squeezing every debtor as dry as a bone. Due to his power, he has risen to a high position in court and as a shameless flatterer to the princely brothers. He is here in attendance with Prince Lhiam-Lhiat at this Fayre.”

“I’ve heard of him already. What do you want me to do?”

Daniel asked, already having an inkling.

“Kill him.”

Daniel considered. “Would that be hard?”

“I have already devised a plan that will put you at minimum risk-one blow, and an easy escape. I must protect my investment, after all.”

Daniel thought a little longer and then said, “Very well, I’ll do it. But I’ll need those bullets after all. And also,” he said, pointing to a black, metallic object in the centre of the tray, “I’ll need that to put them in.”

“Are you sure you are up to this?” Lokkich asked. “Can I really count on you to complete this task?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve assassinated an evildoer.”