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"My eyesight's always been bad, and getting worse all the time," Parthet continued. "Weak eyes are a terrible handicap to a wizard. So much of the craft depends on being able to see what you're doing. A wizard who can't see the end of his nose isn't worth much." He sighed, rather theatrically, I thought. "I was so glad when spectacles were invented. It gave me the chance to do a spot of business now and again."
"Uncle Parker, I think glasses were invented more than six hundred years ago, back in the Middle Ages."
He looked toward the ceiling for a moment, then nodded. "That sounds about right. As soon as I heard about this newfangled invention, I went and had a pair made for me. I got this last pair-wherever they've gotten themselves off to-while I was visiting the World's Fair in St. Louis in your world."
"More than eighty years ago?"
"Why, yes, I suppose it was. My, how time flies. I'm due for a new pair, but I never seem to find the time."
We were getting way off track, drifting farther off into Never-Never Land. "Mom said you called Dad for help. What kind of help?"
"Well, there was a job of work to be done, the kind of to-do your father has handled for us for the last twenty-odd years. He wasn't much older than you are now the first time he came to Varay." Parthet licked his lips. "This will be thirsty work. Would you care for a flagon of wine with me?" I was begi
"I'd prefer beer if you've got it," I said.
"Ah, me, so would I, but I don't have any to hand, and it would take time to fetch some in."
Then I remembered. "I have some with me." I stripped off my pack-which shows how distracted I had been; all that time and I still had it on-and took out two bottles. Good thing I'd fallen forward in the cave. None of my bottles had broken. "It's not as cold as it could be, but I think it'll do." I handed one bottle to Parthet.
"It will indeed." He held the bottle close to his eyes. "Did you remember to fetch along an opener?"
"Don't need one. Just twist the cap." I demonstrated with mine and he managed his.
"Now, that's convenient." He almost drowned the last word by pouring beer all over it. He took a long swallow, smacked his lips, and held the bottle close to his eyes again. The afternoon was getting late and the inside of the cottage was getting darker by the minute. It hardly mattered that Uncle Parthet was more than half blind and I had perfect eyesight. Neither of us could see much.
"The doorways are a bit of family magic," Parthet said after a second pull on his Michelob. I wasn't sure if that was a non sequitur or a good place to begin whatever he had to tell me. "Been in the family for ages." He paused for a moment.
"I guess this story really starts when I went looking for a Hero, two, maybe three years before you were born. Your mother had been kidnapped by the Etevar of Dorthin, the neighboring kingdom. To the east. Her grandfather, your great-grandfather Pregel, is King of Varay. The Etevar wanted to marry his son to your mother to unite the two kingdoms. King Pregel didn't want any part of the union on general principles, and he couldn't stand the old Etevar anyway, so he absolutely refused-rather less than diplomatically, not that diplomacy would have mattered. That's why the Etevar kidnapped your mother, to force the marriage, but Pregel still refused to countenance the union. We had to rescue your mother, but open war wasn't considered a smart response. While Dorthin wasn't strong enough to invade and conquer us as we were, if we invaded Dorthin to try to rescue Avedell, our losses might easily have weakened us enough to make us vulnerable. And my magic wasn't enough, even though I did have my glasses then. The Etevar's wizard was a tad bit better than me even when I was at my best. I counseled that we find ourselves a Hero. That's the traditional method. It took a bit of doing-it always does-but we ended up with your father. He had no family of his own and he had most of the necessary skills after serving in Vietnam."
Parthet fell quiet then. His face was lost in the shadows. Maybe that's where his mind was too-not to mention mine. I brought out my last two beers and we started on them. After a couple of minutes, Parthet resumed his tale.
"How your father rescued your mother and gave the old Etevar and his wizard their just reward is too long a story to tell just now. And modesty forbids me telling my own part in that adventure. For a time afterward, your father lived here in Varay. He married Avedell. They didn't go to your world until Avedell was expecting you. Since then, Carl has returned whenever we've needed our Hero. Varay is generally a peaceful little kingdom, but we have need for a Hero more often than you might imagine. That's the way of things here."
"What about this time?" I asked.
"The young Etevar-oh, not so young as you, lad, more your father's age-has been causing trouble, more than usual. He's always looking for ways to avenge his father's death. His army took a small castle on the march between our lands, a fief belonging to a Varayan knight, a distant cousin of yours, I believe. His Majesty was angry, but there were other complications, a dispute with the elflord on our nothern border. Our army, such as it is, is fully occupied with that. Since it didn't appear that the Etevar would leave much of a garrison to hold Castle Thyme, His Majesty thought that your father might be able to handle the incident with such modest help as we could give."
I sat there and tried to soak it all in. No matter how it sounded, I had to accept everything as real until proved otherwise. Sure, it all sounded like the premise for an arcade game, but just maybe we weren't all crazy. I wasn't sure about this Hero jazz, but it would explain all of Dad's scars, and the way new ones appeared now and then. While I was on my James Bond kick, I thought Dad was a spy, off on dangerous missions with beautiful lady spies.
"What did Mother think she could do?" I asked.
Parthet chuckled. "Well, she's not all that helpless, lad. She's really deadly with a bow. I've seen her skewer a hot dog-the long way-from fifty yards. And she does control a wee bit of magic of her own. Nothing major, you understand, but a little, a little."
"So what do I do?"
"I'm not sure." He shook his head a couple of times. "If your father and mother didn't succeed, there may be more to this than I thought. There may be wizardry involved."
"It's getting dark," I said, since Parthet didn't seem to have noticed. "You have any candles or anything?" The shadows were so deep that I could do no more than make out Parthet's outline.
"There's a lamp, if there's any fuel left. Hold on, I'll try to find it." He got up and went to the end of the fireplace, right to the lantern. He shook it gently and brought it back. "There seems to be a bit of kerosene left." When the light came on, I was surprised to see that it was a Coleman lantern, not some primitive local thingie.
"Ah, yes, that is better." Parthet sat across from me again. "Now, where were we?"
"You said there might be wizardry involved."
"Yes, certainly there might be. A wizard with better eyesight than mine. You may have a touch of the gift yourself, lad, like your mother. Your father was going to bring you around so I could make some tests. Should have done years ago, but your parents didn't want to expose you to any of this until you grew up."
"So I gather. Still, I have to do something. I guess that means I have to go to this castle and see if I can find them."
"I suppose you do, lad." He steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them. "And I suppose I need to go along. Not that I'll be much use. I can't even see well enough to conjure up a meal in the field."