Geron Kees

I've always been in a Fogg about ATWIED!

Raven-- Thanks for the warm review. I have no idea why my responses to reviews are not being saved. Need to as someone in admin about it, I guess.

Classics must always be acknowledged, right?

'Screwfix' sounds like the name of a REALLY horny elf!

That's a very nice way of saying you're enjoying the story. Thank you!

Hmm. Have you been hanging out with ReaderPaul???

So far, so good. It takes time for new abilities to become second nature. I once read an account of soldiers going into battle on a pacific island in WWII. For many of the soldiers, it was their first major campaign after boot camp. They had been well-trained, but the things they had learned had yet to become a part of their thinking. Had yet to become part of their reactions to the events happening around them. In the first hours of the battle, hundreds died. But as the fighting wore on, the amount of casualties actually decreased, because experience had taken the training of those that had managed to make it that far, and started to hone it into survivability. You can give a man the tools of any trade, but it takes time for him to learn to use them, and experience to learn to use them well.

It is all, as Jamie likes to say, the way of the world. And then some!

"I had no idea I was coming here," Jamie told Flitch, as they walked together in the nether. "It's getting to be a surprise, sometimes." "There are things your mind wishes to work upon - puzzles that need solving - and your lens tends to urge you here when you need time to think about them. As you know, no time is lost in your own world while you are here in the aether. You can work while the others sleep, then return and not miss a bit of sleep yourself in the process." Jamie suddenly

The world is a complex place, both ours, and the one that Jamie and his friends live in. To have them go off on a quest and never once think about what the things they encounter along the way MEAN would be a disservice to their characters.

Sedwick would be pleased that you are worrying about him.

And, the point of the story is to help the Prince. That other things may be happening along the way is beyond the character's control!

You're right. It is some chapters away. But there is no reason to return, until they are able to help the Prince, which is what they set out to do in the first place. And, just because the lazy author has not mentioned Raimey and the Prince, doesn't mean that Jamie and Garvin are not thinking about them!

The shop is still as they left it, though the interior has been shifted just slightly into the nether. The effect is that no time passes inside the shop, and that no one may cross the threshold between the real world outside and the nether within, without using the proper cipher to return the interior of the shop to the here and now. Snave can do that, and Thorvil, and no one else. Beats the heck out of Master padlock and a hasp, any day of the week!

Would a serious Scooby still be a doo?

I hope these guys will deal very well with matters of living, too.

That's actually right!

The term 'great' to indicate large in size, is very much overused in this tale. Once, human languages had far fewer words to describe scale. Something was either large or small, or in-between. Some words sounded 'off' when used in this tale. Too modern, maybe? But as the number of 'greats' grew, I was prompted to make fun of myself over it.

The building was surely once more secure. As usual, someone left a door open, and nature moved in!

Thanks for your review, Raven. The system just isn't saving my replies over in the review section.

Help, I think!

Maybe. He's scrappy enough to be Scooby.

Thank you for the kind words! I have to say, that sharing a story is most of the fun! 😃

You just have to wait until tomorrow, I am happy to say!

Most fantasies I've ever read that employ magic, the mages already know their stuff, and wield magic as a matter of course. I wanted my young apprentices to actually LEARN their craft. The hard part was showing that process without boring everyone to death with explanations. I still hope it's working! Sorta, kinda. 😁