Chapter 5

To my growing shock my uncle explained my title to me.

I sat there shaking my head knowing somehow that he was telling the truth, but still having trouble believing it. On another planet, whose continents didn't even have formal names? I stared at Uncle Hank unable to fully accept what he was saying. "How is that possible? How could someone just travel from one world to another?" I asked.

Now of course I had read science fiction books before, but that kind of stuff never seemed to be possible. This was real life, and a trusted and respected member of my family was not only telling the tale, but had some very real looking props to back up his story. Not to mention how valuable those props must be.

Uncle Hank pointed at the large medallion. "The talisman is the how, Adam. There is also a set of plates that the talisman is enslaved to. You must stand on one of the plates and activate the talisman. The plates are some kind of a gateway.

"Gateway," I questioned.

"Yeah, Think Star Trek transporter, you stand on the circle and activate the gate with the amulet. The next instant you are standing on the plate in the other world." Now my Uncle really had my head swimming.

What he said was clear as a bell, but trying to get past the unbelievable aspect of the whole thing takes time. Traveling to another world? I was coming around to the whole idea though.

Looking at my Uncle I asked the question that would eat up a better part of the day. "So what is this other world like?"

He smiled at me. "Adam you just can't believe how beautiful it is. Your father and I used to joke about it a bit." I must have had a questioning look on my face, because my uncle quickly explained what he meant.

"We used to call it romantic earth. In a lot of ways it is the symbolic representation of what people like to believe the middle ages were like." I must have had the look on my face again, because he changed tack again.

"Let me try to explain that statement a bit," he continued.

"In the end of the 20th century and now here in the 21st, people have a very romantic idea of what the Middle Ages were like, what with King Arthur ridding around with all these knights in shining armor. Robin Hood the Lordling turned bandit taking from those that have and giving it to those that have not, along with all that other nonsense written in fantasy novels."

Uncle Hank pause for a sip then continued, "For cryin out loud it was called the Dark Ages for a reason. There were no Merlin's, no Vandal's, no King Arthur's, and sure as hell no Robin Hoods. The closest thing to Robin Hood was a bunch of bandits and there were many of those. Life was damned hard, and the men in power were cruel. The real Middle Ages were nothing like these romantic ideas of today, but there is a place where all these notions are reality."

I was enraptured by his words, waiting on every one, for I had been a boy once and had all those fantasies.

I heard the floor creak near the door, then a tentative, "Daddy?"

"Yes honey" my Uncle responded.

Kate stuck her head inside. Her eyes were drawn right to the objects on the desk. "Mama wanted, me to ask if you were..." Kate stood there staring unable to finish. She didn't ask any questions, just stared.

My uncle snapped his fingers. "Kate honey" Her head snapped up, her eyes meeting his. From my vantage point I could see the questions and confusion on her face. "Tell your mother we will be out in a second."

She stood there a moment longer, "Oh, okay Daddy. She glanced at me before pulling her head back out of the room. I could see a hint of worry on her face.

As she left I looked at my Uncle. "Uncle Hank, Kate needs to know what is going on. I was a little awe struck at first, but I'm a pretty quick thinker. What you are going to tell me in the end of this whole yarn is that I have to go and take my place as the 9th Earl of Rourke. But before any of that can happen Kate has to know what is going on. I sure wouldn't go without her and I can't make this decision alone."

Grinning at me Uncle Hank gave me a nod and said. "I agree Adam, why don't we go out and take a break. Then we can fill in Kate and resume where we left off."

"Sounds good I said." I stood to go, but before we left Uncle Hank carefully put everything away. Showing the same reverence he had when taking it out. It dawned on me the importance of keeping these things safely guarded. For even here, in his own home, Uncle Hank was taking the precaution of keeping it all safe and out of sight.

As we entered the Kitchen, Kate and my Aunt Judy were sitting at the table. Kate looked up at me, with a look of uncertainty plain on her face. I flashed her a smile, one I hoped conveyed reassurance, and the love I felt for her.

Kate looked as if she might cry. I walked over and sat next to her putting my arms around her and pulling her in tight. Kate buried her face into my shoulder and let out a sigh.

"I love you Katie, nothing will ever change that. Whatever is going on real or imagined can't change that." Gently pulling her ponytail till her misty eyes were looking into mine, her lips were quivering when I kissed them. As our lips parted one lone tear dripped down over her cheek at high speed racing toward her chin. Intercepting it with my thumb and gave her a wink. "It's going to be OK baby there is nothing to worry about."

Uncle Hank spoke up, "why don't we all go and sit in the front room."

"That's a fine idea dear," my aunt quickly agreed. "You all head on into the front room, I will be right there."

Uncle Hank eased down into his chair, relaxing a bit and waiting for Judy. Kate and I eased back on the sofa. I held her to me with her back against my chest. She snuggled into the security that she had always found in my arms.

Aunt Judy appeared carrying a tray with drinks. Handing me a beer, she then handed Kate a glass of eggnog. From the smell of it, I suspected there was more than a conservative splash of spiced rum mixed in her glass, but I also knew it would help take the edge off for Kate. The last week had been a roller coaster ride for us, and I knew she was wiped out emotionally.

After Aunt Judy was comfortably seated, Uncle Hank recapped my identity, family history, all which was already disclosed to me. It took him a while, but he finally brought Kate up to speed. All the while Aunt Judy was in and out of the room tending the pot roast dinner she had going. It was ready about the time Uncle Hank was finished filling Kate in.

The meal was outstanding, but the mood was a little somber. Kate's usually bubbly self was quite reserved tonight. I think in her mind she was thinking this new turn of events was going to mean more separation in our relationship.

I put my arm around her, pressing my head to hers, "Hey Sweetie, this changes nothing between us. We will decide together, what we want to do." Making her look into my eyes I asked.

"Do you think I could go off to some other planet, and play the part of some nobleman without you?"

I could see in her eyes that was exactly what she had been thinking. She was thinking I had been going off without her for years. What would make this time any different? But she didn't say it; she marshaled her insecurities, and gave me a forced almost-a-smile saying. "I don't know what to think, how am I supposed to know Adam? It's not like you wear your thoughts on your face where I can read them."

With a hooked finger under chin I pulled her lips to mine, cutting off what she may say next. As our lips parted I whispered, "You need not worry about being left behind. The only place I am going without you is back to Bragg, and that for less than a month."

She smiled with a little more sincerity, but just a little. "Adam I am so worried that you will leave me behind again."

I gazed at the worry on her pretty face, wanting to reassure her that my love for her was real. That there was no way God or man or a gateway would keep us apart, when my aunt broke in.

"Katie," her voice was warm and nurturing, but at the same time it held that tone that was not going to allow much room for nonsense. "I think you need to trust Adam. He has had a lot of hard decisions to make lately, and has been doing a fine job working his way through them." Replacing the no nonsense tone with the full force of motherly love, "Katie, Adam loves you, I would be very surprised if the three weeks that he has to be back in North Carolina aren't just as hard on him as they are on you."

I could see the voice of reason doing a fine job so I left it alone. For almost the first time since we sat down to eat my uncle spoke. "Katie honey," he said with a father's smile. "Do you really think I would let Adam run off to be the Earl of Rourke without you?" His face turning to a mock hardness,"There is no way on this Earth or the other that he is cheating my princess out of becoming the Countess de Winter."

It took roughly nine tenths of a second for what he said to start sinking in. You could see the change on Kate's face as it started to dawn on her that she was going to be with me in a capacity she could have never imagined. "Are you serious," she almost shouted. "I am going to be a Countess?"

My Aunt Judy had tears in her eyes, as she nodded her head yes.

It is kind of funny how mother daughter moments just spontaneously happen. Kate's attitude and outlook on the whole matter had completely changed in 30 seconds. The meal though fine, was obviously over so Uncle Hank and I excused ourselves, detouring to the fridge for a beer, before going back into the front room. My aunt told our backs not to resume the conversation till they were done putting away dinner, and could join us.

While waiting I asked Uncle Hank about the military situation in and around Rourke. Being a military man I had been thinking about it since I started thinking about having to go and take my place as lord over these lands. I needed to know what was going on around there. What the military strength of the territory was. Who would be my allies and who were my enemies?

"I will make sure you are well informed of the situation before you head back to Ft. Bragg. All is well as far as your military is concerned, but there is one you will have to keep an eye on. He may end up being trouble," he said in a hushed tone.

Kate and Aunt Judy entered bring a round of drinks. "So what were you two talking about while we were busy," Aunt Judy asked.

Taking the beer she handed him Uncle Hank smiled at her. "Oh we were just talking military stuff." Waiting for everyone to be seated and comfortable he asked, "Now where were we?"

"I believe you were telling us about Romantic Earth," Aunt Judy said with a wink.

"Oh yes," he said chuckling to himself. I had never known that my uncle enjoyed this perversion for making people wait.

"Well it is very much a romanticized version of our own middle ages. Castles, bridges, and construction in general run from the mid Middle Ages to the early Renaissance in appearance. While arts, crafts, trades, science, technology, and even style of dress range from early and in some cases late Renaissance period."

"It is very rare to see a hill fort or moat and bailey in use and then only in the far north. Everything within a couple hundred miles of Rourke is field or quarry cut stone, crenellated walls are all the rage. Closer to the castles or larger towns it is very common to see the crenel top bridges made of stone."

As Uncle Hank halted his description of Rourke to take a drink, Kate jumped in. "What about the houses Daddy, how are they built, are they of stone too?"

"No princess," he said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Oh some are but most are built of wood, or a combination of wood and stone. The farther from a town the simpler the designs are. You can still find many whole villages of the round huts with thatch roofs that were so common all over England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales for over a millennium."

Crinkling up her nose, Kate asked him. "Daddy are the people dirty?"

With a small laugh he said, "No Sweetie, they are far cleaner than their Earth counterparts had been. You know what it's like to work on the farm all day. It can get pretty smelly. So understanding the majority of the people are farmers gives you a clue, plus they only bath twice a week as a rule. But they are not filthy; their hygiene is leaps and bounds better than the dark ages of Earth, hell the Renaissance for that matter.

Kate and I sat digesting what we had been told. When Aunt Judy, who had been very quiet for the most part spoke, "Hank tell them about the improvements."

A bemused look came to his face. "Oh yes, the improvements!"

"It started in your grandfather's day Adam. He had contacted a couple of civil engineers to write an instructional text in lay-man's terms on the construction of bathing facilities, and sewer systems for a third world setting. They were told that it would be for an area where the most abundant natural resources were rock and wood. Though any plastics or fabricated metals would be out of the reach of their meager resources, fired clay tiles could be used if they could figure out a way to make forms for the clay to dry and then build ovens to fire them in. Once he had the base unbound manuscript he paid his scribes to copy it. Then took it to his stonemasons and his potters and sawyers entrusting them to build public baths and to set up working sewers and get water piped into the cities and towns.

Kate and I sat enthralled as he described the baths and wells of clean healthy water.

"It wasn't like that here in the middle ages. Even the wells that the wealthy drew their own water from were contaminated with filth before the roman aqueduct. And even those systems weren't perfect since some genius decided lead was a good gap filler." he said chuckling.

I knew my uncle had a twisted sense of humor, but this just reinforced what I already knew.

"What about medicine," Kate the nurse asked

"Since about Adam's Grandfather's time, they have really tried to bring knowledge of herbs to light. Of course they had their own herbalism and apothecaries and such but as with many primitive peoples a lot of it was steeped in superstition. In the last fifty or so years it has been cleaned up a lot and has become almost totally scientific in nature. There are no rumored cures related to herbs, they either work or they don't, and all herbs known properties are documented in books."