Coins and the Dragert

            A tapestry on the wall behind Jess smoldered.  He stood to his feet and wondered what had just happened.  Suddenly, he noticed his dress had changed. He wore leather pants, a cotton shirt, and a white-hooded robe.

            He heard voices outside the castle – no longer a manor.

            “I’m in the middle of my own fantasy.  Weird.”

            A distinct, clear voice rang out, “The twerp is inside.  Kill him on sight.”

            “They’re after me.  Get out of my fantasy!”

            It didn’t work because Jess heard soldiers running across a wooden drawbridge. No magic, he remembered.  He darted down the hall and stopped at the place where the mysterious man disappeared.  The wall before him was covered with a portrait of a man in robes, his face concealed with a half mask.  Below the mask, his lips curled into a smile.

            Huskus the first.  A bully.  His kind always thinks it’s funny – he stopped his thoughts.  Jess looked at the crooked smile and noticed it had a little depth to it.  Stepping on the pedestal in front of the portrait, he reached for the painted mouth.  Unlike all the rest of the painting, the mouth had a slight indentation.  He heard soldiers pounding on the front gate trying to break it in.  Jess searched frantically for a lever or button.

            As the door splintered, Jess found a lever and pulled it.  The pedestal and wall swiveled just as the door crashed open and the wall settled in place.  Jess, safely on the other side.   Then, Jess feared Huskus stood behind him ready to kill him so he whirled around. Nothing.

            What if they know how to get in, he thought as he heard the soldiers in the hallway.  No, he reasoned, Huskus would want to keep his little escape route secret. As he studied the room, he spied a chair against the wall.

            “Secret escape door number 2.”