Chapter 20



It is amazing how much power a church can accumulate over the centuries. I waited 'till the early afternoon on the second day of my trip into Rothenburg, before trying to do my time dive. I wanted to see the differences in architecture, and how the streets and buildings had changed over the years.

I was finally ready. I changed into my period clothing, and walked to the church. People smiled at me, and I smiled back and waved. I had no problems with them seeing me in my old time clothing. I wasn't the only one, as a matter of fact. There were groups of period actors always about.

I went into the church and started my time dive almost at once. I had all this power! I went deep into the past. I came to a stop and stayed in the 'between' and picked my time to come out when I would not be seen. It was easy, actually.

I stepped out into the past with no idea of what the actual date was, but I knew it was close to when I wanted to be. Now the reason for my seeing the city in the future should help out. I knew of an inn that had supposedly been in existence in one form or another, for three hundred years.

The first thing I noticed was that it was crowded and noisy. I had picked a time when I could come out and mix right in with a crowd, and I succeeded in that. Also, the people here stank, as well. I was going to have to get used to that, all over again.

I remembered where the merchants who dealt in gems were supposed to be located in this era, and recognized several buildings. I made my way to the place where I could exchange gold, silver, gems, even foreign currency, into the local stuff. Not bad really. I was pleased with my previous scouting of the area, even if it was in the future. It had stood me in good stead here, already!

A short time later I had exchanged some gold dust and two medium grade gems, for seven gold coins, three silver coins, and some copper coins. While this might not seem like a lot, I checked the prices as I wandered the city. I decided that if I was frugal, I had enough to last me almost a year!

I looked around, as any normal tourist would, and gawked at everything. I did keep an eye out for thieves, and was careful not to attract too much attention from the watch, which seemed to be out in force.

They always seemed to be either in pairs or threes, and they carried long pikes. They were all in uniform and were easily identified from the average citizen. They wore a sort of half cloak, helmets, baggy pants and puffed blouses or shirts.

The citizens were dressed in various assortments of pants, blouses, dresses, and everyone wore a hat of some sort. Most of the clothing was a dark color for some reason, or a gray. I am sure there was a reason for this, but I didn't know what.

I strolled along and found what I wanted; a sign with a bed and a flagon of some sort, hanging above a door. Ah ha! The inn I was looking for. It's front was very narrow, but it was long from front to back. This was due to the close proximity of the neighboring buildings. They had a tendency to put them as close together as possible.

If I had come out in the right time, there would be around six thousand people plus or minus however many visitors there might be. I went in and asked for a "halbe", which meant half. It referred to the size of a drink. I placed a couple coppers on the counter of the long bar and he took one of the two I had laid down. I nodded.

I listened and slowly started to translate what was being said around me. I missed a lot, so it was a piece-meal translation at best. They used words I had no clue as to the meaning.

"Haben sie eine zimmer frie?" I asked the guy behind the bar.

I was pleased when he nodded. I had just asked if he had a room free! My German was paying off already! We dickered a bit, and he asked where I was from, as my German made it obvious I was a foreigner.

I made up a story of being of English decent and he nodded again. I pulled out a silver piece and asked how long I could stay for this. He said a little over two weeks with meals and all I could drink as well. Perfect!

---

I spent the next couple of days wandering the city, and basking in the time. I would find a place, and just sit and watch people going about their business. I also went to the main gate, and watched as people with wagons or horses came in or went out.

They closed the gates at dusk every evening, and re-opened them at first light in the mornings. I supposed it gave them a feeling of safety, but I actually felt like a prisoner at first.

I also looked at the wall. There were steps going up or down. Which way did steps run anyway? I grinned to myself when I thought that question. At some points the guards were in the open, at other times they were in covered ways. I was going to find a way to tour the top of the wall. It might take a little money, but I was sure it would be possible.

The morning of my fourth day there, I got up early. I ate some left over venison and bread for breakfast, and went out dressed for travel. The walk to the gate was about ten minutes from where I was staying. I went out, waving at the guards as I went.

I turned to my right, and started walking parallel to the wall in the direction of the river. I came to an area that explained in detail what the projections from the wall were about. Shit. To put it bluntly, the guards had little shit houses up there. The wall was discolored with shit and pee, as well as the ground. It stank!

My stomach nearly heaved, and I made a wide detour getting into the long grass as I did so. Damn! Who'd of thought this? Well, obviously they did, but come on! I shook my head and continued walking, as my stomach settled. It took a while, but I made it down to the river. There were docks, and boats out on the river. People were fishing, or ferrying other people back and forth to the either side. There was also a smallish looking barge.

As I watched, it was being pulled up river by a team of horses on the opposite bank. It was definitely much smaller than the modern barges I was used to seeing. The deck was crowded with people and animals.

As I watched all this, guards were also walking the perimeter of the wall. It came very close to the river, but stopped several feet short of it. There was also a gate located down here. Of course, the river gate.

I whiled the day away, watching the river traffic and just taking it all in. There was a bunch of houses outside the walls of Rothenburg, but they were kept a set distance away from the walls of the city proper.

Barges came down the river, stopped and offloaded, or took on loads at the dock, and went on further down river. I could not remember what was down river from here. The barges that were going to go back upriver from here would have workers on the barge grab hold of a rope that was strung across the river. They pulled the barge to the opposite bank, for the upriver trip.

I had brought bread and cheese with me, and a flask of water. The water was fresh drawn this morning, from a well located in the city. It was good clean water. While this was not my normal meal, it was what the locals ate, so I ate it too.

Everything fascinated me. The way people cooked. What they ate. How they interacted with each other. I watched caravans of packhorse and wagons arrive and depart the city. Every once in a while a troop of cavalry would depart the city and be gone most of the day.

1596 Rothenburg was a fascinating time to be sure. Still, I was going to head back 'uptime' (back to my own time), soon. So I started looking for items to bring back with me. I was interested in clocks of the time, and anything mechanical. Weapons, coins, books, and art were of interest, also. I had a whole list of items to look for. I found several, which I purchased.

Everyday I found new and interesting things to see and do. The market place was another interesting smörgåsbord of people and items. I did get to walk the wall, one day. I paid the outrageous sum of 1 silver, for the privilege of being escorted by an officer whose job it was to inspect the troops on the wall. As I walked the wall, spaced at fairly even intervals, were those little out-houses on the wall where the guards were posted. Well, that explained a lot about castles I had seen in the past. I had seen those projections from the top of castle walls, before, but had never known what they were, until the other morning. I looked through the hole where a guard would sit. You would actually be sitting out over the wall, with a huge drop under you! I guess these things were built to support the weight, but if it were me, I think I would hold it!

Finally I had enough items collected and placed in the 'timeout'. I still had a couple of golds, a silver, and a few copper pieces left over. I took one more walk around the small city. The streets were very narrow, the houses were narrow, and everything was crowded together. I sighed. I was going to miss this place. I had grown used to it, very quickly. Everyone was friendly, for the most part.

I went back to the church. I dropped one of my remaining gold pieces into the alms box. These people had a strong belief in God, and the priest would make very good use of the gold I had just donated. Besides, if a person from today were to pay for a trip to the past, how much would he pay? I thought it well worth the donation.

The present was a bit of a let down, really. It took me a moment to remember where I was staying, but I had only a short walk to get there. I tried to stay away from people, as I was as smelly as the people from the past had been. I did not wish to offend anyone.

---

I was checked out of my hotel and in fact was already at the airport. I had checked my bag through, and was inside the boarding gate area. I was enjoying a beer and had to go use the facilities. It was while I was in the john, that it happened.

A sort of pressure had been building in me about the flight. Of all the things in the world, I hated wasting the time getting from point A to point B. I was getting antsy and frustrated with the waiting that was associated with air travel. I was dreading the long flight. I was sitting on the john wishing the flight was over, when it happened!

One minute I was in a stall at the Stuttgart airport. There was a timeless moment of, well, nothingness. Then I was sitting on the john in my house! I freaked. This was totally unexpected, and I freaked! I stood up, then sat down fast, as I discovered that the phrase "Scared the shit out of me", was more literal than I had ever believed.

My flight had been scheduled to leave at 8 PM. It had been about 7:10PM in Germany, when I went to the john. I finished my business in my john, and went to check the clock on the nightstand in my room. It was a little after 1 PM!

Damn! What had just happened?

I sat on my bed, and said to myself, "Ok. Think, Tom!"

I had been at the airport, getting annoyed with the prospect of a long flight. I had felt a pressure building; sort of like anger, or frustration. I did not really get the associated feeling I got when I time traveled, yet it was somehow similar.

Wait. The POWER used was similar, but the results had been totally different. I had moved in space, not time. I had gone a good long way around the world, in what seemed an instant!

What about that nothingness I had encountered? I thought furiously about everything that I knew of my abilities. Perhaps it was that 'timeout', or a place of no time? Hmm, the No Time Zone. I liked that!

Was that nothingness this place of no time? The NTZ? (No Time Zone) Also, how exactly did it work? How was I able to affect this transfer? I closed my eyes, and thought about it. Ok, what if I had somehow gone through the NTZ? How did I end up here at home?

While I was thinking of that, I started to notice something else. I could SEE the things I had in storage, in the NTZ! Not only that, but I could also SEE the places from which I had placed items into the zone! This was going to take a lot of thought to figure out!

I started concentrating on the last place I had been, when I put items into the NTZ. A mental picture of Rothenburg built up in my mind. Not just a picture, but it was as if I could actually see it as it was! Live like a video feed! Just to prove my point, someone walked across my view!

I had placed a container, holding the coins from the past I had gotten from Rothenburg, into the NTZ. I didn't feel like paying taxes on collectible coins. I had done this from my room in Stuttgart! I was now seeing that room in my mind! Shit! The possibilities this opened up in my thoughts, were stunning, to say the least!

I also found that I could access the other sites where I had placed items into the NTZ. I could also sort of move around mentally, and leave the immediate area. It did seem to have a limited range though. After about fifty feet in any direction from the point of insertion, I found I started loosing the picture, or the contact. Well, well, well. This was interesting indeed!

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Edited by TeNderLoin

Volentrin

Chapter 21