I laughed, sitting in my shifting cart as it rolled down the path behind a big horse. “Now that I listen to you, Lochie, I can’t believe I didn’t realize you were a time traveler.”
Quentin laughed. “You should have met Magnus, he was absolutely clueless.”
James said, “Had never been in a strip club — remember when we took him to buy a Mustang? Can’t believe we didn’t see it.”
I said, “You took him to a strip club and car shopping?”
James said, “Yep, he had been in town for less than a week, had not a bit of paperwork, no drivers license, it was like showing a caveman around. When I look back on it I feel like an idiot.”
Quentin said, “In our defense, time travel doesn’t exist.”
James said, “True that.”
Lochie said, “Ye dinna answer, though, could we bring the flat thing for the walls...?”
James said, “Nope, Lochie, you gotta have electricity to plug it in. Not as simple as bringing the plug.”
Lochie nodded, then said, “Electricity can be made by that... I canna remember what they are called, the chargy things? The black shiny squares on the roof?”
“The solar panels?”
“Aye, if ye brought them, or a water wheel, we could plug in the PlayStation, tis how it works — daena it work that way?”
James said, “Yes, we could charge big batteries, then plug things in — we do plan to, Lochie. We plan to plug in some lights, here and there, to beat back that medieval darkness, but you don’t really want a PS5 in the thirteenth century, it’s just too much.”
Quentin said, “You’d hear it for miles. You don’t realize how quiet it is back here until you roar an ATV to life.”
I said, “You brought ATVs back here?”
Quentin said, “We’ve fought many a battle with ATVs and drones.”
“Ah yes, I met a drone in the thirteenth century. That was craziness.”
Quentin said, “Balloch was attacked by drones, we called it the Battle for the Walls, we basically had an arms race.”
James said, “Also helicopters, tanks, really any weapon, but it has to be able to maneuver the landscape. There aren’t anyroads. It’d be a pain in the ass to bring a big ol’ truck, though it would be really freaking cool.”
Quentin said, “Hayley and Katie were pretty effective on the e-bikes at the battle for the Vessels and the Bridge.”
I said, “Whoa, you guys have had a lot of battles.”
James chuckled. “That’s not even the half of them.”
“Aren’t you worried about messing up history by having guns in a battle that should have been fought with spears?”
All three of the men said ‘aye’ or ‘yes’ at the same time.
Quentin said, “We do our damnedest to balance a need to keep history straight, with a need for survival. Sometimes survival reigns supreme.”
James said, “Stay strapped.”
Quentin said, “Yep.”
I said, “I heard Lizbeth mention they were running low on the battery-powered candles, the kind that flicker.”
Quentin said, “Oh good, thanks, I’ll add them to your list. But only if you have time, don’t sweat it if you don’t have time.” He stopped his horse, pulled the notebook from his pocket, and wrote, using the saddle for a surface.
James said, “Hey, Ash, did Quentin tell you about making sure the truck is gassed up after you’re done?”
