Barley and Ian were sitting at the table when their mother came in the front door, carrying a paper plate covered with tinfoil. "Hey boys," she greeted them warmly. "What's up?" Ian glanced at Barley nervously before rising to speak.
"Mom, something weird has happened. We need to ask you something." Laurel took a seat across from her sons.
"What's wrong? And before you answer that question, take a raspberry muffin. Corey is a genius when it comes to raspberries." She pushed the plate towards them. Barley eagerly tore back the tinfoil and grabbed two muffins, handing one to Ian before resealing the tinfoil and taking a bite.
"Mmmm," he said, flashing Laurel a thumbs-up. "Fantastic. Ian, you should try a bite." Ian took a small bite. It was, indeed, fantastic. In fact, it rivaled his mother's blueberry muffins.
"It's really, really good. But Mom, we have a big issue. It starts with a dream I had last night." Ian retold his dream for the second time.
"That's a really weird dream," Laurel said. "But it was probably nothing, just something you ate, most likely." She made to leave the table, but Barley stopped her.
"That's not everything, Mom. There's more," he told her.
"Alright." She cautiously sat down again. "What else?"
"So Barley's being his nerdy self again, right?"
"Hey!" Barley exclaimed, but Ian forged on without acknowledging him.
"He asked me to describe the creatures in my dream to him, and I did. So then he looked up rounded ears-"
"Not rounded ears. Ears; rounded."
"Whatever. Barley looked up, ears; rounded'-" with these words, Ian shot a glare at Barley, "-in the index of his wizard biography collection. It came up with this journal excerpt." Ian pushed the biography of Ezpar the Forgetful forward. Laurel read it in its entirety. When she was done, she closed the book and looked back at her sons, a hint of panic in her eyes.
"Mom, Barley and I think we need to go on another quest." As Ian confirmed her suspicions, her eyes widened, she pushed up her glasses and she placed her face in her palms.
"No, no, no, no, this can't be happening again," she muttered into her hands.
"Mom, if there's another realm out there, one that's lost their magic altogether, shouldn't we try to help them?" Ian asked. Laurel looked at him.
"Should I risk my sons to help another realm, a realm I don't even know?"
"This isn't about us, Mom," Barley said. "This is about the connection we could be able to forge with a new species on a different planet, or maybe in a different dimension! If we can help, we should." Laurel seemed to calm down.
"Okay, okay," she mumbled. "We can do this." She seemed to be talking to herself, trying to find a solution that would satisfy her sons' taste for adventure and keep them safe all at once. "If you promise to put your own safety above all others, I might consider allowing you to travel between worlds, or dimensions, or whatever."
"You know we can't promise that," Ian said, right as Barley said, "We promise." Ian glared at Barley and then turned back to his mother.
"Mom, we will place ourselves equal to others. Not above them. Equal." Laurel laughed, but it was without humor.
"I guess that's all I can really ask for." She stood up, and grabbed the plate of muffins, walking over to the fridge and placing them inside.
"Is that a yes?" Barley asked tentatively.
"I'll let you go. Just… please be careful."
"Yes!"Barley jumped out of his seat and pumped his fist in the air. Ian walked over to his mother and put his hand on her shoulder.
¨We'll be careful, Mom. That I can promise."
"When will you guys be leaving?" Ian looked at Barley. He shrugged. Ian turned back to face his mother and removed his hand from her shoulder.
"Uhh, we weren't really planning on you saying yes. I guess tomorrow morning?"
"Works for me," Barley said.
"Why should you wait?" asked Laurel. "You should leave tonight, after dinner." Ian checked the time. It was two o'clock.
"That works, too, I guess," Ian said. "Why should we leave early?"
"The earlier you leave, the sooner you come back." Laurel smiled sadly at her children and then walked upstairs.
"She has a point," Barley said.
…
At the dinner table, it was quiet. Colt, unknowing of what the Lightfoot brothers were soon to do, wasn't sure what was happening. To Ian, it was slightly funny to see how he grappled for a conversation topic that would break up the silence.
"So, uh, Ian! How was your day?" he asked
"Boring," Ian replied, keeping his eyes trained on the mashed potatoes he couldn't quite bring himself to swallow.
"Oh, um. Okay." Colt fell silent again, looking to Laurel for help. She refused to make eye contact. Barley looked nervously to his brother and then his mother, both absolutely silent. Ian didn't know why his mother hadn't told Colt what was happening after dinner, but she didn't and he wasn't about to anger her by telling him himself.
"Barley, what did you do today?" Colt made another effort.
"Well, uh…" Uh oh. Ian thought. Barley never was the best liar. Ian said a silent prayer to whatever ultimate being might exist that Barley would be able to muddle his way through one lie. "...I read some books." Ian winced. The only books Barley ever read voluntarily were his Quests of Yore books. Colt seemed suspicious, but he let the subject drop.
"What else?" Barley broke the fragile eye contact he had with Colt and quickly stuffed a bite of asparagus in his mouth to prolong having to answer for about 30 seconds. At that time, Ian jumped in, saying "We worked on magic together."
"Well, that's cool!" Colt said, happy that someone was talking without having to be prodded by him. Barley looked at Ian, silently thanking him for his help. They sat and ate together. When Laurel finished, she stood up, put her plate in the dishwasher, and said "Colt, may I talk to you, please?"
"Yeah, sure." She motioned for him to follow her out of the room, and he did.
Ian and Barley sat at the table, unsure of what to do.
"What do you think she's doing?" Barley asked.
"Probably telling Colt about our next quest."
"Do you think he'll let us do it?"
"It doesn't matter if he does. As long as we have Mom's permission, we're going."
At that moment, Colt and Laurel reentered the room.
"So," Colt started. "Another quest?" Barley scratched the back of his neck.
"Yeah. We found a new spell, and it's supposed to help us help others," Ian said. He didn't know how much his mother had told Colt and didn't want him to know anything that might not help him and Barley get to the new world.
"You're sure you want to do this?" Colt asked.
"Without a doubt," said Barley.
"Okay. I guess I can't stop you. The best we can do is prepare you."
"What?" said Ian. Colt handed them each a backpack.
"Anything you might need is in there. Granola bars, dehydrated meals, a compass, water purifying tablets, even some mace if you run into hostile weirdos. Barley's has a small first aid kit. If you're in a pinch, these should help you."
"Wow!" Barley exclaimed. "Do you just have these lying around?"
"Always be prepared. Used to go hiking with some buddies, and I had to be ready to go at a moment's notice. If you ration your food, you can probably survive for two or three weeks with the stuff in this backpack alone," Colt said. Ian slung his backpack on. He tightened the straps so it fit perfectly.
"Oh, and Ian," Colt pointed to his backpack. "There's a little adjustable loop near the bottom. You can put your staff in there."
"This is great, Colt. Thanks so much." Ian spoke, fingering the little loop Colt had shown him. He stuck his book of spells inside.
"Thank your mother. She asked me to give them to you."
"Thanks, Mom," both boys said in unison. Ian stood up, and grabbed his staff, tightening it inside the loop, and said "We should probably leave now, Barley." Barley followed suit.
"Yeah! Let's go bring back magic to a previously unknown species!"
"Wait, before you go," Laurel rushed to her children, and hugged them both at once. "I love you guys so, so much."
"Alright, Barley," Ian and Barley broke out of the hug. "Let's get outta here," Ian pointed his staff at Barley, whose face was wrought with glee, and shouted "Intinerantus interregna!"