A Roll of the Die - 1. Inception
Copyright© 2026 by Michael Loucks
Chapter 67: Day 87
Matthias blinked a few times and took stock of the situation. Zoë was standing close to the platform, and Matthias was wearing his Nystrian garb. He looked down and saw the backpack he'd purchased lying at his feet, with the remote next to his left hand. How the transit had worked was a great mystery, but it had worked, and he was back in Nystria, where he knew he belonged.
Matthias was slightly dizzy, but it wasn't as bad because he was lying down. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then swung his legs over the side of the platform and sat up.
"Were you successful, my Lord?" Zoë asked.
"I believe so," Matthias replied.
He checked the backpack, and everything he'd purchased was there along with the books.
"What did you see when I departed and when I returned?" Matthias asked.
"Flashes of colored lights, and you disappeared and appeared out of thin air."
Matthias considered, and the only thing he was sure of was that he had no idea how the device worked, or what was actually happening, and the chance of figuring it out with any certainty was minimal, even if he made multiple trips. His head had cleared enough, so he stood up, picked up the remote, and put it in the safe, then slung the backpack over his shoulder.
"What now?" Zoë asked.
"I need to perform an experiment, so I'll obtain another twenty crystals, but that will have to be the last, due to the expense and scarcity of crystals. At that point, it will be up to Tranos to decide whether he wishes to spend the gold necessary to make significant use of the device."
"Another twenty-four hours?"
"Probably not — my test will be over quickly, and I don't need to acquire anything to bring back with me."
They left the laboratory, and Matthias went to find Lilia, who hugged him tightly and kissed him.
"Did you complete your mission successfully?"
"I did. I have everything I wanted to acquire, plus some flower seeds and bulbs — roses and tulips — for you."
"Roses? Like the girl's name?"
"Yes. And tulips are famous in my OP in a country known for the style of windmills we built."
Matthias put the backpack down and removed the seed packet and bulbs, along with the horticulture book, and handed them to Lilia.
"Very strange!" Lilia exclaimed. "The images on the bag and packet are so real!"
"It's called a 'photograph' and is created with a device called a 'camera'. Nystria is unable to produce that device, and won't be for some time."
"And the ... what is this material?" she asked, holding up the bulbs.
"It's called 'plastic'. It's strong, airtight, and lightweight, and you can obviously see through this type; other types can be made in various colors and have different levels of translucence and opacity. Being able to make plastic is much further into the future than a camera."
"I can read the words! They speak Nystrian in your plane?"
Matthias smiled. "Nystrian is a form of my native language, which is called 'American English'. The similarity has to do with how I came to be in Nystria."
"I believed you had learned to speak Nystrian quickly in some way."
"Do you understand the directions on the packet?"
"I do!"
"The book contains instructions on caring for roses, tulips, and many other flowers, most of which exist here in Nystria. It also explains how to use cuttings from roses to speed the process of creating new plants, rather than needing to use seeds."
"Thank you for thinking of me! Tonight you will have a very special reward!"
She kissed Matthias and pressed her young, firm body — which was carrying his child — against him. He kissed her back, then left to find Lisette, who was tending her garden.
"Success?" she inquired.
"Complete. I have the seeds for corn and tomatoes, as well as the potatoes. I also have a book on what we call 'organic farming', which means without using specialized alchemical mixtures unavailable in Nystria. That means you can follow the methods with materials and mixtures you have or can make, and increase crop yields. Additionally, I have one on animal husbandry that covers how to keep animals healthy, treat their illnesses and injuries, and improve their reproduction.
"Perhaps most importantly, I brought texts on herbal and plant-based medicine, First Aid, and basic medicine. I also brought First Aid kits, which contain medical supplies, along with instructions on how to use them. In addition to those, I brought a university-level chemistry book, which will provide you with a deeper understanding of how compounds combine and what you can do with the resulting compounds. It's a first-level text in my OP, but it contains things no Magister in Nystria — or the rest of this world, for that matter — knows, and they will not be known here for hundreds of years if progress in Nystria follows the pattern of my OP."
"Thank you!" Lisette exclaimed.
"Let's start with the potatoes tomorrow. Because we're far enough south, we can plant year-round."
"Your OP must be amazing!"
"In terms of scientific knowledge and what we call technology — applying science to build devices — it is. In other ways, it has many problems, as we've discussed. I also brought back several boxes of 'strike-anywhere' matches. With them, you don't need flint and steel or any other tools to create a fire. One of the other books explains how to make them, though you must be careful because the substances can be very dangerous."
"All these wonderful things make me question why you chose to stay, even with the things you did not like about your OP."
"An important factor is that in the OP, I would be studying at a university for another seven years before I could apply for a license to be a legal advocate, and it would be several years after that before I could have a house much smaller than the Manor House here at Newtown. To have even a similar position to what I have as Count, I would need to be elected to a series of lesser offices, something that is difficult. I also would not have married until much later in my life, and marrying a girl like Lilia would be prohibited in every part of my Realm, and bedding her would have been a felony."
"Such wonderful devices and such backward thinking!"
"That is exactly why I am here — the backward thinking and the limited opportunities compared to Nystria."
The remaining items were for Matthias himself, although he'd share the castle and siege book with the architect and work with John Tinker and Lewis Smith to build some of the items described in the medieval book and the printing book, most notably a printing press, which was the last major invention covered in the book on medieval technology.
As for his second trip to the OP, he'd acquire the crystals through Miri when the Company was in Haven for Robert's coronation. He'd also review the notes Kranos had made, compare them with the settings and the date in the OP, and make any adjustments so he could control the time and date of his arrival more accurately.
🎲🎲🎲
"The High Priest is here to see you, Your Majesty," the Royal Steward announced to Robert.
"Send for my wife, please. Show in the High Priest once she arrives."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Miri arrived several minutes later, and the High Priest was shown into the sitting room by the Steward.
"What do you want, Priest?" Robert asked dismissively.
"It is the gods who confer the Crown, not mere mortals! You must not allow this sacrilege to occur!"
"On the contrary," Robert replied, "I am King because my father lay with my mother and planted a seed. The gods had no say in that matter!"
"You deny the power of the gods?" the High Priest asked, sounding almost hysterical. "No man can be King and deny the power of the gods!"
No, Miri thought, we deny the very existence of the gods, but saying that would create significant problems with the people of the Realm.
"I am not disputing the power of the gods," Robert said. "I deny that you have any authority over the Crown. Your predecessors usurped the right and privilege of the Knights of the Realm, and broke tradition!"
"A false tradition!" the High Priest exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "The Knights had no right to crown the King until they claimed it by sheer power."
"Before the Knights crowned the King and he was subject to their supervision, the King was the strongest warrior with the strongest army. That led to Kings dying right and left, not unlike recent times when, under the usurped authority of the office of the High Priest, two Kings and an heir to the throne died! That happened on YOUR watch, High Priest!
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