Braeland

Chapter 16. An Old Man and His Granddaughter

"I tell you Jimmy, there's nothing in this life like going on an adventure in Greenwold.  These quests that Peter and Prue have been on will be treasured by them for all their lives, even when they grow older and can no longer go.  I have never been able to determine why that is so but I would go back at the drop of a hat," Martin said, as he and his son shared a bottle of wine on the evening of his arrival from England on Sunday and after the rest had gone to bed. 

"Dad, it's not Disneyland.  It is filled with danger, just like a warzone.  What man in his right mind would send his kids where they could easily get killed?"

"Just think of it though.  When you were a boy wouldn't you have liked to have gone on a quest where you could save lives?  Or hundreds of lives?"

"Yes, come to think of it I have.  You possessed that piece of the medallion when I was a boy and when you could no longer go off on one of those quests.  Why didn't you pass it on to me?" asked Jim.

"For the same reason why you have the jitters about your children using it.  I was afraid."

"Well, so there Dad.  So there."

Martin continued, "But the difference between you and your two children is this: they have already been infected by the medallion and will be unhappy for the rest of their lives if they never again experience Greenwold and they will fear that the Troken King will have done his worst."

There was a pause.  Jim took a sip of wine.  Then he said, "It's impossible to argue with you Dad but that doesn't mean I agree.  Let me sleep on it . . . and, speaking of sleep why are you insisting on taking the couch rather than my room?"

"I like the couch.  It's like a camp bed and I will sleep on it as well as I would in the jungle," answered Martin.

Every evening after a hurried dinner, and after Peter and Prudence claimed to have finished their homework, there was a "meeting" in the living room.  Peter argued that he needed to go and find Mortimer because he believed, with the note that Prudence brought back with her, that he must still be alive but in some danger.  But, given that he did not know where to begin looking for Mortimer, the other Jamiesons vetoed that plan.  Prudence wanted to see Rula, however briefly, to ensure that she was well, to see if she had any news of what was happening in the conflict between the Trokens and the Braelanders.  Jim thought this was somewhat better than Peter's idea but it was still dangerous.  What if Riverman George or Priscilla should be waiting at Rula's hut or show up while Prudence was there?  Priscilla had the power to appear instantly and had Prudence forgotten her threat?

"Why doesn't Prue take a gun along, Dad?  She would both be doing what Priscilla wants and could use it to defend herself in a tight corner?" Peter piped up, trying to be supportive. There was a dead silence and a look of amazement on Jim's face.

"I wonder about you, son, I don't know, at times like this, whether I brought you up correctly.  Introducing new weapons to Greenwold, whatever that is, is the last thing we want to do."  Here Peter's face turned red.  

The discussion then turned, as it did many times, to speculation on whether Greenwold was a parallel planet somewhere in the universe or a place in some other dimension.  Prudence asked if it could be a hidden place somewhere on earth but Martin, the expert on this field, said that was highly unlikely. They seemed to be getting nowhere but eventually the oldest and the two young Jamiesons were wearing Jim down. It was slow going.  He said he would feel better if he could go to Greenwold along with one or other of his children.

"But, Dad, that's impossible.  Prue and I tried it and it didn't work.  We can bring people here by doing the circle dance but there's no way of taking them the other way, even if we bring them here," Prudence said, seeing that Charlotte had put down her book and was looking at her.  Charlotte rarely took part in the discussion, speaking only when asked.  She always took a chair farther away from the others and brought along a book to study.  Jim had hired a tutor to give Charlotte home-schooling and she already showed she was a fast learner. Parsnips, always on the top of her chair, also seemed glad to be on the periphery of the debate.