Patreon or PayPal Me keeps this site and its author alive. Thank you. |
Stories from the Verse
A Dozen Verses
Chapter 111: Cooper 109
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Kondor 292
There would be no breakfast for Brian this morning; he wondered why he hadn’t packed food, but then, living in Berkeley it hadn’t occurred to him that it might be necessary, and living on The Energetic they didn’t eat real food all that often. He was going to have to figure out how to find something to eat around here. He took a deep drink from his water can, and refilled it from the stream. Then carrying his gear he backtracked to the road and continued in the direction in which he had been headed.
After a few more miles he came to a crossroad, but he didn’t stop. The road ahead sloped down into what appeared to be a village, and of more significance there was what appeared to be a steeple, a large building intended for a gathering, what he was sorely tempted to conclude was a church. He realized that being in another universe it was entirely unlikely that it was any kind of church he knew; however, thus far his experience had suggested that God touched everywhere. In Nagaworld, the people weren’t believers but they had come from Earth. His visit to the Tells predated the Reformation, but the Catholic Church was present in force. Even on The Energetic there were those who believed in Jesus. If he were a betting man--well, he wasn’t a betting man, and he wasn’t going to bet. He was going to investigate.
Setting his walking stick to the path, he started down the slope into the village.
The town wasn’t exactly bustling, but there were people about--merchants, shoppers, tradesmen. Keeping his bearings, he headed for the steeple, which he could spot occasionally between buildings, and soon he was standing in front of a sign.
It struck him that the sign was written in English. He read it aloud: “Middle Valley Church of the One True God”.
He wasn’t sure whether that was promising. He’d never heard of a denomination of that name, and there was nothing to say that it was Christian, not even obvious symbolism like a cross or a dove or even a fish. He stood staring first at the sign, then at the building, then again at the sign.
“Can I help you, sir?”
The voice startled him, and he looked over to see a man standing by the door of the church, who was not dressed like a farm laborer but rather seemed to have some fancy outfit. This would be the pastor, he surmised, or some other official of the church, and he was at a loss as to how properly to address the man. However, he did need to respond.
“I hope so.”
Now he had to figure out how to avoid lying while not sounding crazy. He walked toward the man to give himself a moment to think, then said, “My name’s Barrelmaster--Brian Barrelmaster. I just arrived in the area, and am a bit lost.”
“Oh? Where were you trying to go?”
“Well, I want to find a place to settle down, and I don’t know which way to go. Complicating it, I ate the last of my food early yesterday, so at this point I don’t know where I’m going, nor how to get back to where I was, nor what to do about getting something to eat. I slept in a cave in the woods last night, which conveniently was by a spring, so I have water; but without food, I won’t get much farther.”
“No, I reckon you won’t,” the man said, then seemed to think a moment. “Well, come inside, we’ll at least get you a bit to eat, and then we can try to figure out what to do with you.”
The man turned and walked through the door, leaving it open behind him. Cooper decided this was the open door, and he walked over to it and went through.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with eleven other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #533: Characters Traveling. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
