Chapter 32

Boyd blinked and took in his surroundings.

When Seamus had uploaded the pictures of where the High mages lived, one had included Adelia Vestus’s home in the township of Rocky. Apparently, she had retired from the Senate some sixty years before.

Boyd looked around the deserted study and had a feeling it wasn’t a room that was used much anymore. It wasn’t that it was particularly dusty or anything, but it had that unlived in feeling. Boyd went to the door and opened it.

He headed out into a huge foyer. He was quite gob-smacked at the splendour. Huge chandeliers hung down from the second story, and two curved stairways led up to a wide balcony. The height of the two stories were closer to 3m each as far as he could determine.

“Geez, it must cost a bomb to maintain this place,” he muttered.

“And then some, young man,” A tall, stately woman replied as she glided towards him.

Boyd blinked at her several times as he admired the way she moved. And she was tall. He guessed she was damn close to 2m, and she had a good 12-13cm on him.

As his eyes travelled to her face, he noticed that she had kept herself in good nick over the years. At a wild guess, he would say she looked in her early forties. However, if she was a retired High Mage, he would bet that she was older than Seamus.

Boyd bowed his head forward, “Sorry to intrude without knocking, but Seamus Juventus could only give me a picture of the study for me to focus on to blink here. My name is Boyd Flynn.”

She chuckled, “And how is that old reprobate?”

“Fit as a fiddle. He has been off sailing around this world. He even found Keltrian people on some Islands to the southeast. He the place he went to was called the High Islands.”

“Ah, yes. I believe they are a mix of the Prol and Pix races.”

Boyd frowned, “You know about them?”

“Of course, young man. I’ve been to all of the main island groups,” Adelia informed Boyd.

“Then why did your people take mine from Earth?” he asked in confusion.

“Because nobody asked me. I’m probably the oldest person alive on these islands. Most mages find three to four hundred years long enough to live and do the sleep-death. I’m too cantankerous to die.”

Boyd gave her a big grin. “Yeah, me too. I’m already in my eighties, and Antonia informed me I could be around for a thousand years. I’m still wondering if I’ll have enough time to explore this world.”

“Good, I like that spirit. Now I gather that this isn’t a social call. I don’t get many of those these days. So, what do you want?”

“Um, well, first off, can we find somewhere to sit, rather than standing in your foyer, as nice as it is?”

Adelia tipped her head to her right side and smiled. “I guess you have a long, sad tale to tell me.”

“That I do, and I wish to borrow your wisdom to help me solve at least some of the problems my new life had thrown at me.”

“Very well. I don’t use that study much these days. Follow me.”

Boyd followed and had to admit that she had one fine are to follow. He grinned when he heard her chuckle, and she put a bit more sway in her hips to his delight. He was going to need some tighter undies.

Adelia led him into what he guessed was once called a drawing-room. He got that old English Manor feeling from the room and the furniture and wondered if Adelia had ever visited Earth during that era.

“Yes,” she replied as she seated herself in the most elegant manner.

Boyd had never seen a modern woman sit that way other than the Queen of England.

“Psychic Mage,” he guessed aloud as he picked the comfortable looking single lounge chair that was opposite her more stately chair.

Not that it looked uncomfortable, just more a lady’s chair than his more masculine variety.

“Very good,” she replied as she rang a small bell. “Tea?”

“Please,” Boyd replied.

“So, tell me your tale of woe, Wizard Boyd Flynn.”

So, Boyd told her of what had transpired since his arrival on the planet some ten days before. The housekeeping came in halfway through his rendition of the past. He gratefully accepted the tea before continuing.

“You have been a very busy boy,” Adelia replied once he got to blinking to her home.

“To bloody busy,” Boyd replied, and he then drained his cup of tea.

He had taken sips to keep his throat wet, and the cup was empty before he knew it. Adelia offered the pot, and Boyd let her fill his cup again.

“So, the gist is that you have people who you believe will cause some bother, and you wish to find somewhere where they will cause the least trouble.”

“That’s it in a nutshell,” Boyd replied.

“So why here?”

“Catia said your town was at least 150km from the next nearest settlement. I wondered if I could get the mine working again, we could use some of these people to mine and run it. The rest could also find other employment in town or learn to farm.”

“They are not all bad people, just people with very strong opinions that would cause grief for a host family. Most could even prove productive if they could keep their mouths shut.”

“Opinions like bigotry and, let me guess, religious zealots,” Adelia said.

Body nodded and replied, “I’m afraid so. If I could send them back to Earth, I would, but Catia said the portal won’t open for another twenty-five years. She told me that when she went back two years ago, she found that someone had created a coordinates book at the Earth portal. It wasn’t there the time before.”

Adelia sat up at hearing this.

“This book had her come back here so it could propagate. The books then informed her that there was a time flux and alignment issue between here and Earth. The two planets were just entering a period of stability, and they gave her two years at most to do what she needed to do.”

“But she still has the coordinates book?” Adelia asked excitedly.

Boyd wondered what had gotten the woman excited. She was positively vibrating as this tib-bit of news. It wasn’t his problem, so he answered her anyway.

“Yes, she said it was on a stone lectern. It told her if she wanted to go somewhere new, she just had to ask. It would leave a copy of itself at the new portal if it didn’t have a book so she could get back with less fuss.”

“Now that is news I did wish to hear. Are you planning on staying with the Marcus’s long term?”