My trip through this time was not nearly as hectic as the first and it was night when I hit that world again. Night, and the sky was achingly, beautifully clear. Stars lit the heavens with their abundance and while I saw only 2 of the 3 moons I had seen before, one was full and the other half full. Light there was in plenty. I checked my inventory one more time and configured the hover disk to a sitting mode. Adjusting the goggles on my face, I stretched my senses trying to locate the source of energy I had felt on my first trip. I found it and set off in that general direction, keeping my eyes open for trouble. I had to be extremely careful because I knew nothing of this world.

If I sounded overly cautious, please bear in my mind that the portal I had found was an ancient one. It hadn’t been used, quite possibly, in decades or even centuries. There is the possibility also that it had been a forbidden portal, but it had been so long ago that the wards placed on it had faded with the passage of time and the memory of the reasons why and even of the portal itself had disappeared from the Keepers’ records. I certainly hadn't been able to find any mention of it. Perhaps it sounds cliched, but you can’t be too careful. I viewed this as a recon mission, look but don’t touch and keep a careful record.

I was on the fifth day of my recon. So far, I had found 3 villages and their inhabitants all appeared standard human. Their level of technology was medieval but from what I had seen, they were highly artistic and very competent. I was skirting the perimeter of the power source I could feel and which was drawing me, bee to flower. There were several paths leading into it and one major road. I suspected it was a castle, which could only make sense. I started moving closer to the source while trying to avoid the occasional armed patrol I was encountering. I had to leave my hover disk in a hidden place and make a base camp to foray from in my reconnoiter.

When I finally did see where the power source originated I was awestruck. It wasn’t a castle as it turned out. It was a volcano that sat in the center of a fairly large crater, smashed into the planet’s surface with an obscene force, God knows how many millions of years back. The damn thing glowed and pulsed an unholy green and seemed to have a permanent collection of dark clouds crowning its summit in contrast to the pristine snow surrounding it. There wasn't any snow on the volcano itself. It was dormant and the major road I had seen led straight into the volcano’s heart through a set of immense gates. Gates which were closed. Interesting.

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I made a few notes and turned around to leave.

The next time I went there, I took advantage of the technology Bridge has to offer and brought in a sophisticated spy system. It cost me a little but when you have walked the Bridge as long as I have, suffice it to say that I made my fortune years ago and can afford little toys like the spy sphere. Personally, when I recon, I like to see things up close and in the flesh as I had on my second trip but the spy sphere had undeniable advantages. It was about the size of a large marble and far heavier than it appeared. I suppose that was to stabilize it’s flight in the face of the heavy winds it would encounter. Earth had similar items but on a far more primitive level, light miniature helicopters and planes equipped with even smaller video and audio devices.

After setting base camp in a small cave I put on my VR glasses and made a few adjustments trying to focus the system. Then I dubbed the sphere Inquiry and sent it out.

As some may have noticed, I have a driving curiosity about things and being a Bridgewalker I was constantly presented with opportunities to expand my knowledge. Some things I can’t explain and technology won’t encompass. On Bridge all things are possible, a multitude of worlds touched. It is a place where fantasy walks hand in hand with the hard struck lines of reality and science.

I have been to the stars and I have talked to Dragons. I met one named Patriarch on the same world I found my Vorpal sword, a world of mists and death. He was an engaging old fellow and had taught me how to hang spells on the sword. I hated to leave him to go back to Bridge. He was a wise and cantankerous soul and had told me before I left that one day, when he got motivated he would come to Bridge and see me. I told him to let me know beforehand and I would have him a meal ready and guaranteed to satiate and satisfy even the largest and eldest of Dragons. He chuckled in that draconic rumble of his and told me he looked forward it.

I had sent the sphere on a ring around the mountain tour, psionically linking myself to it, welding my consciousness to its receptive surface, and tying it all in to the VR. I felt. I saw. I was and I could use it as a camera also. Of particular interest was the river I found. I wondered what kind of fish were in it. I sighed. There was no way I would be able to fish it. Too many people around.