Chapter 58 – First UK Gate (Patreon)

In the morning, I went looking for a car to buy; I remembered promising Rue a fast car. I was a little worried about driving on the opposite side of the road, but figured I could always drive slower until I got used to it.

I met our neighbor, Miss Maggie, and asked, "Good morning, Miss Maggie. Do you know anyone selling a van or another vehicle big enough for Rue?"

"Good morning, deary. I haven't heard, but if you ask Henry in the pub, he will surely know; he knows everything that goes on here."

"When does he open?"

"Only in the afternoon, but he's there now to clean and prepare everything; if you knock on the window, he'll come to the door to talk to you."

"Thanks."

I went looking for Henry from the pub. I knocked on the window, and a fat man came to the door and asked, "What do you need?"

"Are you Henry?"

He nodded his head.

"I'm looking to buy a car, and Miss Maggie said you know everything happening around here. So, I came to ask if you've heard of anything?"

"I don't know you. How do you know Miss Maggie?"

"I think you know my dog. A big Saint Bernard named Rue."

He started laughing and said, "That’s your dog? You know he's an alcoholic?"

"Yes, I'm trying to make him quit, so he goes and asks the neighbors."

He laughed even louder while slapping his leg. After he stopped laughing, he gave me two names of used car dealers.

I bought a car, collected Rue, and set out to the first Gate. The Travelers’ Map didn’t have names of places if you didn’t put them there specifically, only a general view of an area. So, I found a place selling detailed maps of the whole country, bought every type of map they had, found a nice spot by the road, opened the first map, and looked at it. I forgot to ask Lis how to “upload” a map, but I figured this should work. After a minute or two of looking at the printed map, I opened the Travelers’ Map, but there was nothing new. I considered calling Lis to ask but decided against it. He wouldn’t be with me all my journey, and I needed to start figuring things out myself.

I thought about it and decided to try something else. I opened the Travelers’ Map and looked at the printed map while it was open. After a second, I checked the Travelers’ Map, and the specific area on the printed map I looked at was updated with names, roads, and even road numbers. Success!

I returned to the printed map and looked at it by sections so nothing would be left out. I checked my Map, and it was all there. I continued to “upload” all the other maps until I had a very detailed Map of all the English Isles. It uploaded everything: towns, roads, hotels and restaurants, tourist attractions, just everything. If it was on the map I was looking at, it got updated in the Travelers’ Map.

It’s unfair that it doesn’t stay updated for the next Traveler. What’s the problem to just let it stay like this? So we have to work harder?

I felt a rebuke directed at me.

I said to the air, “Just thinking. Don’t get all worked up.”

Rue gave me a strange look and sent a feeling of a question.

I scratched his ear and said, “Don’t worry about it, buddy, just talking to a judgmental text box.”

I felt the rebuke again.

Shit, I forgot to ask Lis about this communication. I should definitely do it.

I felt a firm “NO” with a feeling of danger. I wasn’t sure if the danger was to me if Lis would find out about it, or if the thingy was warning me that IT would decide to become dangerous to me if I told anybody.

“What’s the big secret? It’s not like somebody can hurt you. I’m pretty sure your all-powerful and shit, so what’s the secrecy?”

I felt amusement and gain a strong feeling of “NO.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

I didn’t get a response. It was interesting: When I asked a question, nothing. But if I criticized, I got a reaction.

Somebody is pretty touchy up there.

I waited but didn’t get a rebuke this time.

Ha, are you trying to pretend like you’re not?

Again, no response.

I returned my attention to the Map and looked for the first Gate. It was on the southern tip of the island near a place called Land’s End. When we arrived, I saw many standing solitary stones far from each other. I felt the Gate and followed the feeling. I found a big round stone with a hole in the middle; It looked like a donut standing on its side, and another stone near it were the Gate's anchors. We arrived by evening, but the place was still full of tourists, so I decided to wait till nightfall.

I spend the evening sitting on a cliff enjoying the sea. The area was beautiful, and the sound of the waves breaking on the cliffs put me in a tranquil mood. Rue spent the evening chasing seagulls. I didn’t know what his problem was with those birds, but I could feel his annoyance at every bird he chased.

At night, I returned to the gate, told Rue to stay on the Earth side and make sure no one saw me, cast Invisibility and Mana Shield on myself, and crossed the Gate. As soon as I was on the other side, my mana channels started burning painfully, and I immediately jumped back to Earth.

The burning sensation disappeared once I was on Earth, but my channels felt raw, as if I'd scrubbed them with a barbeque iron brush. I sank my awareness into myself and checked them. I thought they seemed wider than before but wasn’t sure, and I saw a few places with micro-tears. I checked my mana, and it went up about 280 points during the second I was on the other side.

I touched the Gate to see the mana level.

____________________ 

Travelers Gate #2672165

Destination: Tír na nÓg

Status: Integrated

Mana level: 89

Threat level: Lethal

____________________

I never considered the possibility that my spirals would be good on Earth but a problem elsewhere with a higher mana level, but I should have. I tried to cast Healing Touch on my channels and almost screamed from the pain. OK, no using magic for now!

I decided to return to London, let my channels heal, and think about a solution.

When we returned home, Lis asked me, “Did you go through a Gate?”

“Yes, but I encountered a problem. I almost tore my channels with the mana level there and had to jump out quickly. I need to find a solution to this issue.”

He looked thoughtful and said, “I never even considered the possibility. I don’t know much about wizard spirals; I know wizards can build them to boost regeneration, and an advanced wizard can build them in others, like my friend did for me as a thank-you. You know more than me about this subject.”

I nodded and went to my room to think about the issue.

It took my channels a week to heal. After a day, they felt less raw and more like muscle pain after a workout, which gradually subsided until they felt normal. I kept an eye on the tears, which healed naturally after three days—the places where the teats used to be felt normal and with no lasting damage. After a week, when I was sure all was fine, I cast Healing Touch on myself. I didn’t feel the spell do anything, but there was no pain or discomfort.

When Rue came home that evening, I told him, "I'm going to return to the Gate and solve the problem with my channels. This time, I want you to stay home. I'll try to stay inside the Gate longer, and with the time skips, I don't want you to sit by the gate for a long time."

He was very unhappy and sent me a powerful feeling of concern.

"Don't worry, buddy; I have no intention of venturing even a meter from the Gate. I will stay close to the Gate, and at the first sign of someone approaching, and it doesn't matter if it's human or creature, I'll jump back to Earth. I won't endanger myself; just solve the problem with my channels."

I sensed he had given up on the argument but was still unsatisfied.

I drove that evening to the last Gate I visited, parked in a secluded spot, and walked to the Gate.

Before I went through the Gate, I "broke" the closing points of the spirals and waited until they completely disintegrated and no trace of them remained.

I crossed the Gate and turned my attention to my channels. There was a slight itching sensation but no pain. I looked around; I was in a narrow gorge between two high cliffs and could see about two meters ahead; after that, the cliffs turned sideways. I looked behind me and saw a very shallow cave; the back wall was about a meter from the Gate's anchors.

I crept forward quietly to the corner of the cliff and looked. The gorge continued a few meters further, and then it turned again. I tried to listen and hear if anyone was nearby, but all was quiet. I looked up and saw tree branches above that hid the sky, but everything was silent and without people or creatures.

To be safe, I stayed as close as possible to the gate without going through it. I just stood there and let the mana soak into my body. After less than an hour, the itching sensation disappeared. I checked, and my mana was full.

I took out a rusty sword and started to channel Restore. The minute the sword was renewed, and I stopped the spell, the itching sensation returned. I kept casting Invisibility at myself to stay hidden, and at some point, it went up; it lasted now close to ten minutes. I also kept my ears trained for any sound of something or somebody approaching, but every time I channeled the Restore, it was harder to pay attention to my surroundings. I tried to split my mind so one part would continue paying attention to my surroundings and the other would continue channeling, and it worked. I was able to continue without losing situational awareness.

I stood there for hours, Restoring swords and absorbing mana. After a while, the itching stopped, so I added a small amount of the Absorb aspect and continued the Restore/Absorb cycle. I don’t know how long I stood there, but I ran out of swords, had to add more of the Absorb aspect, and my channels looked wider.

I built a loose spiral, only five rings in each orb, and the itching went up a notch but was still bearable. I took out the parchment I had and saturated it with mana. The itching subsided, and I was sure I was ready for a tighter spiral, but I ran out of parchment and swords and was starving, tired, and my feet hurt from standing for hours.

It was a good day's work, and it was time to head out.

It was the middle of the day on the other side of the Gate. I sneaked quietly behind one of the standing stones, made sure nobody could see me, and dropped the Invisibility. I took my phone out of Storage and checked the date. Five days passed on Earth. I thought I was about a day or a bit longer on the other side, but I wasn’t sure. I was too engrossed in what I was doing.

I called Lis to let him know I was fine, found a place to eat, had a big meal, and drove back home. I had some ideas on how to spend mana to continue upping my regeneration. It was a golden opportunity I didn’t want to squander.