The next day, I asked Higgins to get my father’s journal out of the safe again. I needed to read that thing and make sure I was much more informed before I went into another world. He got it for me and said he was going to take Anabel shopping for some modern clothing and let her see outside a bit. I sat down and started reading the journal.

To my son Eric,

This is a catalog of information I deem important enough to aid you on your quest. Not every world is well documented because even I have not fully explored them all, but I’ll tell you what I can about where I can.

That was a little note he wrote behind the cover. The next page was a table of contents. It had a list of the names of each world that the seven stones correspond to. I decided to flip to Bristol first.

Bristol

This is a world that Higgins and I have adventured in extensively. If you are planning on visiting the world, the most important thing you need to know is the secret handshake. If someone shakes your hand and asks you if you prefer wheat or rye, the correct response is to say Barley is best…

I facepalmed. Great, reading this almost feels like a personal attack on my own stupidity in hindsight.

…the passcode was designed as a way for members of a secret society known as The Order to recognize allies. Higgins and I spent much of our time in Bristol as well as other nations in that world expanding and initiating new members…

I skimmed ahead a bit. He wrote mostly about the different countries at the time and had a section on him and Higgins’ exploits throughout them. He also wrote a section of notable allies

I may encounter. There was Moreau, Benjamin, Thomas, etc…

Flipping around it looked like he structured each section the same way as best he could for each world. I turned back to the beginning of the book and found a blurb he had written about this world and some details of the well. It was mostly information Higgin’s had already explained but I guess my father recorded it here too just in case. Worthy of note that Higgins forgot to mention was that more than one stone at a time wouldn’t work and that if a stone was stolen or moved away from the well, it would return if the portal was opened on the other side by its corresponding stone. So not to worry about not being able to get back into a world if someone moved the stone on the other side.

Then I found a section he wrote specifically about Higgins. I decided to go ahead and read that.

Reginald Higgins

If you have any doubts whatsoever as to what kind of man Reginald is, let me quell that doubt right now. There has never been a finer friend, partner, man servant, and human being as Reginald Higgins. Whatever feelings you may have towards me, I ask that you don’t not place any negativity on Higgins. He is a person whom any member of the Noble family can put their utmost faith in. His sacrifices have been as great as mine and in some ways, greater.

By now, you’ve clearly met Higgins if you’re reading this journal. He may be short of words at first, but in time he will be a treasure trove of information for you. I’ll leave the details of his life for him to tell you but let me at least explain the origin of our comradery.

It all started with his predecessor, the head butler of the estate under my Uncle

Cornelius. This was long before I was tasked with carrying on the family burden…

(Flashback)

A middle-aged Butler from the estate of Cornelius Noble was gathering his groceries on a trip into town. It was an errand no different than any other week. He loaded the groceries in the boot of his automobile but unbeknownst to him, a local street urchin had decided to stow away in the backseat of the car.

It was well known that the Noble family was quite wealthy and times were difficult. The boy, about thirteen years old, had no family to speak of and had become quite adept at theft. As the butler unloaded the groceries at the Mansion, he thought he heard the back door to the car close, but when he lifted his head to check, there was no one there.

The boy hid in the bushes and took his time to stake out the place until nightfall. When the time was right, he let himself in through a window that one of the maids forgot to lock. He snuck around quietly at first, but to his surprise, there was no one about the house. Curiosity got the best of him, so he made his way down to the cellar.

It was dark enough for him to reach the bottom of the stairs unnoticed but what he saw, he could not explain. There was an old well in the middle of the cellar. Around it were the estate’s staff. Two maids, the groundskeeper, and the butler he had stowed away with. They were saying their goodbyes and wishing luck to the Lord of the house, Cornelius Noble and his four colleagues. The five of them waded into the well and with a flash of red light, they disappeared!

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This startled the young lad. He led out an audible gasp and caught the attention of the staff. He tried to run, but the head butler and the groundskeeper apprehended him. Unsure of what to do with him, they locked him in the attic until they could figure things out. The boy tried to escape from the window but was caught by the groundskeeper before he made it to the ground.

A while later, the butler came to the attic to speak to the boy. He asked, “what’s your name, son?”

“Re…Reginald, sir,” the boy answered timidly, “am I going to jail sir? I swear I won’t tell anyone of what I saw!”

“No, you’re not going to jail lad,” said the butler, “I have a proposition for you. How would you like to work here?”

And so, for the next few years, the young hooligan was refined into a well-mannered house servant for the Noble Estate. The sight he saw that first night became a regular occurrence for him; seeing Lord Cornelius and his band of comrades come and go from the well into various worlds. The Master of the house would often tell Reginald of his escapes. It wasn’t always so prestigious and heroic though…

One day, only four men returned from the well. The head butler asked, “is everything alright Master Noble?”

The four men held back tears as they climbed out of the well and Cornelius replied,

“...We lost Baldwin. There was nothing we could do.”

This was the point where Reginald realized that real danger was to be found beyond that magic well and not simply the glory of the tales Cornelius and his party would often tell.

As the years went on, the numbers dwindled, either through death or retirement, until only Lord Cornelius remained. On his deathbed, he requested that his estate be given over to his nephew in America, whom he had never and would never meet. When the new Master Noble arrived, Reginald was elated to discover that they were around the same age. The two became quick friends. They trained in fencing and other sports together and Reginald helped keep Noble on his toes to ensure he was as prepared as he could be when the time came for him to venture down the well.

“I don’t get it,” exclaimed Reginald as they finished up their game of tennis, “you have a wife and young son back in the states. Why not just move them here?”

“It's not so simple. I have really mixed feelings about involving them in all this. It’s not that I don’t love them. It's because I do love them that I want to keep them safe. I mean, what would happen if I go down that well and never come back. I’d hate for my wife to try and go in after me, totally unprepared. And if evil were to somehow make its way through that well, I don’t want them to be the first targets. Especially if the connection was made that they were my family.”

“I guess that makes sense, Master Noble. But I still think that someday you should involve them.”

“Yeah. Someday.”

But someday never came. What did come though, was the day one of the stones began flickering red rapidly again. It was time for Noble to descend into the well for the first time. The staff was gathered around in the cellar as they always did on days when Cornelius and his adventuring party would depart to another realm. But now it was only one person going.

Master Noble climbs over the wall of the well and dipped into its waters with a red stone in his hand. Just before it started to glow brightly, Reginald shouted out, “Wait! Master

Noble…it’s too dangerous to go alone!”

He took off running towards the well before the head butler could stop him and leapt in, just in time to grab Noble before he disappeared. The two of them were transported together to another world for the next six months.

When they returned, the head butler scolded him, but then thanked him for seeing that the young Master returned safe. As the years went on, Noble and his partner Reginald would do battle against the Seven Devil’s time and time again. But as time passed, so did the staff of the Noble Estate. One by one the maids and the groundskeepers would all retire or pass away, until only the head butler remained. When his time finally came, Noble did nothing to replace him or the other staff. Reginald would continue adventuring alongside Noble for some time, but eventually it became apparent that someone must stay behind to tend to the world affairs and upkeep the property. Reginald's role became much more of a support role in the remaining years of Noble’s adventures.

…and that’s how Higgins became my most trusted ally and why I left it to him to ensure this information reached you.

I sat back in my chair and closed the journal. I knew Higgins was close to my father but up until now I had no idea how indebted he felt towards the Noble family for turning his life around. I decided that was enough reading for the day and put the journal in my nightstand for now. It was about that time that I heard Higgins and Anabel return from shopping. I went downstairs to greet them.

“Eric! Eric! This world is wonderful!” Anabel squealed as she came into the Front Parlor, still wearing her colonial garb.

“Hey, I thought you were going to buy some modern clothes?”

She blushed a deep red and looked down. Behind her, Higgins came in with a sack of groceries in his arms and said, “the young lady said that she preferred to wear the clothing she’s accustomed to for the time being. She found the articles of the modern woman's clothing to be rather…lewd and provocative.”

“I guess I could understand that. But aren’t you afraid she’ll draw too much attention?

“Her outfit isn't exactly current, but it doesn’t draw much more than the odd glance.

Besides, this is a very rural area. We’ll figure something out before taking her to a place like London.”

Very well. So, what else did you think about this world?”

She perked up again, looked me in the eye and said, “Now I see why you were not adept at riding horses. Automobiles are incredible conglomerates of machinery. Higgins said he would even eventually teach me how to drive!”

“Ha! Yeah, now you get it. Horses are fine, but horsepower is finer. Can’t wait to see what you’ll think about TV!”

“Well, Eric. Please excuse me while I familiarize myself more with the estate grounds.”

“Sure. I’ll come get you when there's dinner if you haven’t come back in yet.”

She gave a little curtsy and skipped off to the rear of the Mansion. Glad to see she was doing well here so far, even with the culture shock. But now my attention was on Higgins. I went into the kitchen to help him put away groceries. He turned to me and gave a closed eye smile.

I said to him, “Thank you Higgins.”

“Quite alright sir. I’m more than happy to help acclimate Miss Townsend.”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, thank you for that too. But I really meant…thank you for everything.”

I put my hand on his shoulder and reiterated, “For everything you’ve done for me and my family.”

He put his hand on mine, gripped my knuckles and gave a nod before returning to work.