Chapter 11

The screams of terror from the horses were absolutely heart wrenching, as were those of the men as they struggled to live. The animals never had a chance, being connected to the wagons. They were unable to pull both themselves and the wagons clear of the fast rising tide. And it was fast. Men lost their footing, went under, and did not resurface. They were held down by the weight of their armor and equipment.

Swimming was not a skill set that everyone seemed to know, as it was when I was a child. Plus, the weight of the men's armor tended to pull them under right away if they lost their footing. It was a royal mess, literally. Panic was everywhere.

I sighed to myself, and started making my way to the boxes and chests that were in the wagons. The tide was fast and strong. I let it help me along in the direction I needed to go. I started touching crates, chests, anything I could get my hands on. Visibility was not the best, and I depended a lot on my ability to sense things around me. That was how I avoided people and animals. I placed item after item into the 'between'.

I still had the uncomfortable experience of being swept into underground obstacles, or having to dodge, as something was pushed my way. Finally, I had done as much as I could. I teleported to a location I had previously made ready, and changed out of my scuba gear.

I got into my period clothing. I wandered around the small town, making myself visible. Shortly, there was a commotion and a couple soldiers were there. They were trying to round up help, to see what could be saved. Like the good citizen I was, I headed at a fast pace to the river, along with the others. We spreading out, searching the bank for survivors, and pulling them up if they were in reach. There weren't many. I did manage to transport a few who were close to the bank to better positions, but covertly. In their panic, they would never know, and no one noticed the miraculous disappearance and reappearance of the men, into slightly improved locations for the struggling soldiers.

Finally, there was nothing left living, in the water. All who could be rescued, had been. We stood silently, looking at the pitiful few we had managed to save. The other side of the bank had done similar work. Someone had thought quickly, and had tossed rope out to some of the men. That side had more survivors. It was still but a fraction, compared to how many had been lost. What a waste of life. What monumental stupidity on the part of the organizers of this mess.

By this time, evening had fallen. The men rescued were taken to the town, and given food and drink. Blankets were passed out, but no one had extra clothes to spare for them. We had not many survivors on our side of the river. Of course, the soldiers in the advance had made it fine, being mounted and not held back by wagons, and they had been on the shore with us, helplessly looking on. They set up camp not far away, and took in the few survivors who had been rescued from our side.

I wondered why I was still hanging around. I had what I came for, but something kept me in this time zone. For some reason, I stayed. I wondered at this myself. Usually I had a plan, and stuck to it. This time, I was hesitant about returning home.

Sure, it was an exciting time in the history of England, and I'd had the opportunity to observe one of the most reviled kings in history. But there were other time zones that were more important I could go to. I could head back and watch Winston Churchill during WWII, who had know when bombers were coming to England. He could not warn the targeted areas because he didn't want the enemy to know that England had broken their code machine, already. In effect, he had sacrificed all those men, woman, and children to protect the fact they had broken a code. Was he a hero or a murderer? Depends on whom you talk to, I suppose.

For now, though, I was hanging around this time zone. I had listened to the voices and accents around me. While I copied them a bit, I still spoke in a way that said 'different, educated'. I made sure to only speak when spoken too. I minded my own business, and kept my head down. After all, I could not claim to come from America, as it would not be discovered for a while longer yet.

I spent a total of three weeks observing what happened after the jewels were lost. Then the king died shortly afterwards. Someone got smart and decided to put king John's son, Henry the III, on the throne. Of all things, most of the nobility rallied behind him! This is what actually brought the civil war to an end. Henry also ruled for about 56 years, which is the longest any king of the this era ruled.

Finally, though, I had had enough of the 1200's, and made the trip back to my time in two easy stages. I sighed as I got home.

"Any calls while I was away?" I asked the computer.

"Negative. You have been gone for 6.023 seconds," the voice of the AI responded.

"Well, you can help me catalog my new acquisitions. But not 'till after I get cleaned up, change into some comfortable clothes, and rest a bit."

"Acknowledged," the AI responded in a monotone voice.

"Another small box of raw gems it would appear," I told the computer as I opened my third small chest, taken from inside a much larger chest. I removed all the gems from the velvet liner where they were sitting, and let the computer scan them. I had found raw and cut diamonds earlier, along with jewelry.

"Good quality emeralds and sapphires. You have 29 emeralds and 14 sapphires of varying sizes in this lot," the computer told me after it scanned the objects.

I sighed and sat back. Some of what I had "rescued" was not actually the crown jewels, but personal items belonging to king John. Several chests turned out to be clothing. I had quite a collection of the king's personal wardrobe in my possession, along with the treasure.

Ok, I couldn't resist. When I found the chest with crowns stored in it, I put one on! First and foremost, the crowns might look good in the movies and on TV, but they are heavy. This one was not sized for my skull, either. There was also a circlet of gold, and I wondered what it was. He had one crown that I was assuming was for official business, and a couple little circlet types. Perhaps for children? One certainly looked small enough for a young child.

I had also found not a huge chest of gold or silver, but smaller chests that were placed into large ones for easy transport. Two smaller chests turned on their sides with iron handles up, were packed inside, and these chests contained the gold and silver. There were also several bags of coins, containing different amounts of gold and silver.

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