Uurf Ch. 02

I must have looked puzzled.

"Put it in the slot on the door, it's the key to your room," She explained.

I turned to Magus; he muttered something about for a few dollars more we could have had doubles. He looked over towards a small knot of people, clustered around two innocuous doors next to the stairs. I followed him over and stood waiting, puzzled why we were doing so.

There was a chime and one of the doors opened, sliding back into the walls.

A few people exited what looked like a box on the inside and then the four or five in front of us crowded in.

I followed Magus in, more curious than ever. The doors slide closed and two people touched numbers on a lighted panel on the near wall.

I felt a jerk; it felt like I was moving.

Magus reached through and touched the glowing three, a red circle lit around it.

I was fascinated; this was the technology they used instead of magic. This was a machine, flying up inside the building. Like the self propelled carriage outside, it was in widespread use.

We stopped and the chime sounded again, Magus stepped out and I followed. A long plain passageway stretched before us, lined either side with doors, it reminded me of the dorm at the wizard college.

Magus took one of the cards from my hand and examined it.

"Room 307," he declared.

He walked, looking at the numbers on the doors, when he came to 307 he looked carefully at the little metal box that was mounted there, then slid the card into the slit on the top. He turned the handle and the door opened.

Inside was a short corridor with a view of a bed at the end, Magus drew his wand from his sleeve as he walked to the bed.

"Exorior," he commanded, and a roll of parchment appeared, dropping onto the bed before him.

He bent and unrolled it.

I came and looked over his shoulder. It was a map of this world.

"The ring," he asked of me.

I pulled it from my pocket, handing it to him.

He placed it on our current location.

He looked at me and held his ring near it, I followed, placing my hand near it.

It began to slowly spin, two revolutions and it canted over.

Magus aligned his eye along the line of the ring and put his finger down.

"Some where along that line." He announced.

I looked at where his finger touched. La Paz, on that little finger into the ocean.

The scale on the map put it thousands of miles away. We would need rapid transport to cover that distance, we needed to conclude our business in days not weeks. I was still holding the stone and magic ring in the back of my head, an encumbrance I would wish I was rid off.

"Now we need to move a distance, so we may see where the lines cross." He looked at the map again. "Somewhere down here."

He was waving his finger over a peninsular with some islands south of it.

I read the legend, 'Florida'.

"So tomorrow we travel to Florida."

"So we will need a good night's sleep then," I said. "But first we must determine how we will journey to this place. We should visit the coach house."

"I think they call them stations here."

"Never mind the 'what-ever-the-name' it looks more than a day's journey, and we may need to book seats."

One of the stores we past had a sign saying 'Travel Agent' just before the yellow carriage stopped. We should find that.

As we left the hotel I put a spell on the door that I might find my way back if we travelled far, not that we left anything to return for, but the beds looked comfortable and the facilities nice.

With the colder climate here the clothes that people wore, and saw in displays in the windows, were heavier, with many layers. I clothed us similarly, with gloves for my hands as well.

The travel agents sign was a good five minute walk back.

We walked in and some young man rose to greet us.

We explained our needs, a relative had died and we wanted to leave on the morrow.

He started to look at airline schedules, then turned. "Do you have documents?"

I looked at Magus, he was looking at me.

"I'll put you on a train then."

He ran his fingers over the tablet in front of him, and the picture changed.

"What class, first or second?"

"First." Piped up Magus by my side.

"What time?"

"Oh, quite early...."

"I've got one leaving at six fifteen, another at eleven o eight, and the last at three fifteen. The eleven o eight, change at Jackson, will get your there in the early evening of Wednesday, around six local."

"That sound alright to me, said Magus to me. I nodded my head.

With the travel arrangements made Magus wanted to sample the local wines. We hailed another of those noisy yellow carriages, asking the driver for a good wine bar.

The wine bar Magus rapidly sampled three before agreeing the bottle; we sat at a table tucked into a corner.

"Well, my boy, what do you think of this world?"

"'Tis a busy world, I concede. But the magic at people's fingers is astounding."

"That is not real magic; the people here have uncovered a great deal of the engineering of God's plan. And put that knowledge to work, except their lords enslave them with it."

I nodded.

The thought that had seeded in my mind previously took root in my curiosity.

It would take great organisation to build like this, and to manage the carriages on the road.

There was a bundle of papers on a seat at the next table, and Magus reached and retrieved them.

I looked over as he opened it up, it contained news of this world, judging by the words there was great woe in this world, they surly needed a ringbearer here.

He shoved the paper on our spare chair.

Magus was up ordering another bottle of wine, red this time, before our first was half consumed.

If we spent the day here Magus would be rolling drunk before tea time.

"Magus, when you've drunk you fill of the new bottle can we seek out some food?" I asked him. "I'm getting a little peckish."

"Yes certainly my boy. We can go whenever you please."

Outside it'd started to rain again, we quickly hailed a yellow beast.

"You know any good restaurants round here?" I asked as we got in.

"Wadya want? Greek, Chinese, home cooked Italian..."

"Italian will do."

He pulled up outside a double windowed store. Inside I could see other diners, it looked agreeable.

When we entered a young girl came over and took us to a table, handing us a menu each.

The words were meaningless; I looked to the price, choosing a dish in the mid range.

"Can I have a Tagliatella?" I asked.

"And l'll have the Bolognese." Added Magus.

Magus also saw the wines on the menu, and ordered a bottle to go with the meal.

The meal was filling, and we sat the hour finishing the wine. With Magus drinking most of the bottle.

Magus was definitely tipsy as we left the restaurant, and it took some persuasion to get him to return to the hotel. I showed the driver the plastic key card for directions and we were soon home.

I took him straight to his room; he was gently snoring on his bed within minutes.

I had seen a bookshop not far from the hotel and while he slept I decided to explore, see what I could learn from this world.