Swords, maces, shields, helmets, armor, knives, bows, arrows, spears, and more were arrayed against the glittering stone wall.

"Looks like a medieval yard sale," Mike observed.

"Yeah," Taeko remarked. "But no shimmering silver blades. The metal's all dark, nicked, and pitted."

"Well used stuff before it got put here," Dafydd suggested.

Taeko picked up a heavy longbow, then rubbed her fingers together and sniffed.

"Linseed oil," she observed.

Dafydd handled one of the simple conical helmets. Gavin and Mike were hefting various swords. All the metal sheened with some sort of bluish oily coating.

"Some kind of oil and heat treatment, I think," Dafydd observed.

Mike tested the edge of one blackened blade with a fingertip. "Sharp, though."

Gavin still tried to fill logic holes, but the mustangs kept getting out of the corral.

"Dafydd?" Gavin whispered off to one side.

"Yeah?"

"If you knew about this gate, why didn't we, or you, bring some modern weapons?"

Dafydd shrugged. "Two reasons. My Dad and Loomis cautioned against bringing modern technology to Avalon if it existed. And second, to tell you the truth, I didn't much believe any of this. Yeah, I saw the one manuscript and listened to those two professors all the time I was growing up. It was still hard to take any of it too seriously."

"Maybe we should back out of this and come back with better equipment," Gavin mused.

"Ahh, but I didn't say I brought nothing, did I?" Dafydd smirked and gestured for Gavin to follow him.

Dafydd pulled a duffel from the baggage pile and unzipped it, shining a penlight at the contents.

Five small matt black semi-automatic handguns lay in the bag, complete with belt holsters, spare mags, and many ammo boxes. Gavin picked one up, made sure it was clear and unloaded, and gave it a close look.

"Kel-Tec P17's," Dafydd said. "Shoots .22 Long Rifle."

".22's are a little lightweight, aren't they?"

Dafydd shrugged. "Maybe. But this model is simple, easy to use, and rugged. So they'll be easy to handle, even for Hannah. Also, I thought we should have a commonality of ammunition. And .22's are, yeah, lightweight so that we can carry a lot of rounds."

"Makes sense, I guess," Gavin said slowly.

"Look, Gavin. I've been there, you know. Everybody wants something big and scary. Not my style, okay? Besides, these are for self-defense. We're not on a hunting safari. Do you seriously want all of us weighed down like infantry troopers?"

"You put it that way, no."

"And the ammo I brought are fully jacketed .22 long rifle, not much different than your standard .223 or 5.56 mil-spec at close range. And besides, we're on a budget, remember? How much is an AR-15 going for today?"

"I don't know, a couple of grand?" Gavin responded.

"That's a fact," Mike chimed in, startling Dafydd and Gavin.

"Really?" Gavin asked.

".22's is what I used most back home. .22 ammo is cheaper and easier to get than the heavy stuff. Me and my Grandad had the 12 gauge shotguns and the thirty-ought-six rifles like most people around home. But a .22 does just fine for a lot, and like I said, it's a lot cheaper. Besides, shooting straight is better than a bigger bullet."

Dafydd looked at Mike with new respect. "Mike, just where are you from, exactly."

Mike looked smug. "York."

"Uh, no. I don't think so," Dafydd doubted.

"York, Pennsylvania, dude, not York in England."

"Ahh. I thought you were from one of the southern states."

"I get that a lot," Mike grinned. "But country boys are all over, you know?"

"Look now," Dafydd stated. "We should each carry an edged weapon and a bow. We all need a good knife too. And each of us gets one of these babies."

"Taeko is an expert in kendo and kyudo," Gavin supplied.

"I didn't see any samurai stuff over there," Mike observed.

"No need," Taeko came up to the guys.

She was holding a sword with a long blade, about two and a half feet, straight, double-edged, tapered, and with a wicked point.

"What do you call this, Gavin?"

"It looks like a spatha, Roman design. Later empire."

The spatha had a small cross piece and substantial round pommel. Taeko switched the air with it easily, getting a feel for the balance.

Gavin settled for another spatha, slightly longer. Dafydd selected a shorter sword with a broader blade, more like the gladius of the Roman infantryman.

"I don't see any, like, fancy longswords or anything that looks like what a knight would carry," Mike griped.

"I think these guys were 6th century," Dafydd told him. "Most of those types of swords didn't come out until much later."

"Okay then," Mike murmured. He rummaged around.

"Ah!" He exclaimed. "This is more my style."

Everyone turned to look. Mike held up a three-foot shaft topped with a long-bladed iron ax head.

"Best tool of the Vikings," Dafydd approved.

"Mike? Seriously?" Taeko raised an eyebrow.

The ax whistled in the air as Mike swung it around in a figure-eight pattern. He flipped it, caught it by the handle, and gave it a twirl.

"Been swinging an ax since before I can remember," Mike beamed.

Gavin was hefting a blackened chain mail shirt.

"Man. This stuff weighs a ton!" He griped. "And so do these iron helmets,"

"Ah, never fear," Dafydd dragged out another duffel.

"What have you got now?" Mike asked.

Dafydd answered by passing around black vests.

"What we bought with the last of the Loomis fortune. Good Level III protection. Wear it under your clothing. Doesn't weigh much and won't attract attention." He instructed.

Taeko lifted a vest a sniffed. "Are these things used?"

"Refurbished," Dafydd grinned. "Got them on the cheap."

Mike examined one of the pistols. "Now that I'm looking, these guns got a few nicks and dings."

Dafydd shrugged. "Cheaper than new ones. Look now. They're in good shape."

"Crap!" Mike snapped. "We're going through the gate to nowhere with flea market rejects? The medieval stuff looks pretty worn, and this stuff is used or refurbished?"

Dafydd frowned. "Sorry. Best we could do with the funds we had."

Hannah stood with arms folded.

"Should we even be doing this? I mean, we should be preserving these artifacts for research, or a museum, or something. Shouldn't we? We shouldn't even be handling these things."

"Yeah, you're right," Gavin answered, "but the letter said to use whatever is here, and it's the only gear we've got right now. I think it's worth the chance of finding something big." He smirked. "And as Dafydd said, we're on the budget tour."

"Hmph, well, maybe. Anyway, I've got a nice long knife with a belt I found, and I'll wear the vest, but I'm not going to carry a gun," she sniffed.

Gavin started to speak, but Dafydd held up a hand and walked over with the last Kel-Tec pistol.

"But, Hannah. If you've got nothing, the rest of us will go cross-eyed looking out for you. Would you please carry a pistol? For me?" Dafydd looked at her with big green eyes.

Hannah blushed and looked down but didn't move.

"You don't have to use it. But I'll feel a lot better about your safety," Dafydd kept up.

Hannah sighed. "Oh, alright then," she huffed and grabbed the pistol. She jacked the action, then checked the chamber and safety. Then, pointing at the water, she dry fired the weapon, then slapped a magazine in, jacked the action again, put it on safe, and stuck it back in the holster. The holster clipped onto the wide belt she had selected with a long dagger.

Everyone stared.

"What?" Hannah sniped. "Just because I didn't want one doesn't mean I don't know how to use one. Really. Michael, close your mouth. Something might fly in."

Mike grinned and shrugged. Taeko smirked. Gavin nodded.

"Thank you, Hannah," Dafydd smoothed. "You're a surprising one, you are."

"That's sweet, Davy."

"Okay, if we're all done griping and objecting, let's gear up," Gavin instructed.

"Gear-up?" Hannah asked.

"He means to change into whatever we're going to wear, get our stuff ready, and load the boat," Dafydd explained.

"Then why didn't he say that?"

The girls retreated behind a tarp they'd hung up for privacy.

Gavin dug into his bag and put on a green t-shirt under the armor vest, some old-style woodland camouflage Army trousers, and a matching shirt, with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows. He was glad he used the old stuff for camping. Then, with combat boots on his feet and a camo ball cap on his head, he put a web belt around his waist to carry the sword, dagger, and a canteen. A piece of rawhide served to tie the bow and quiver to either side of his pack.

Gavin looked up to see Mike in canvas-sided jungle boots, khaki shorts, and a khaki shirt. He had a bow and quiver on his backpack, a wide belt with a dagger, his Viking ax in his hand. A green Boonie hat sat on his head.

"Whoa, cobber," Dafydd called to Mike. "You look like the Viking from down-under."

Mike laughed. "That letter said 'endless summer,' so I thought I'd dress for it."

Dafydd wore hiking boots, green cargo pants, a black t-shirt under his vest, and a green cargo vest over the top. A green beret rode jauntily over his red hair, the Special Boat Service badge on the front.

The girls emerged from behind the tarp.

Taeko wore her kendo outfit of black hakama, obi belt, kimono, and jacket. Light hiking boots clashed with the outfit but made better sense than sandals. Her sword rode under the obi belt and bow and quiver on her back. Her raven hair went down her left side in a long single braid.

"Thought I'd stay in practice this summer, so I brought the outfit," she explained. "Too bad I only packed a wooden practice katana."

Hannah stood in knee-high soft moccasin boots, a long flared skirt of blue denim, and a short denim jacket over her vest. Her honey-blond hair was in a French braid.

"Well, then," Dafydd remarked. "You certainly look stunning, Hannah."

Hannah blushed, then sniffed. She put her hands on her hips. "I'm not going to Avalon as a tom-boy. There's no reason why comfort and practicality can't go with some style and femininity." She did a passable curtsy with a mischievous grin.

Dafydd bowed.

Mike laughed out loud. "We look like cosplay gone horribly wrong." They all grinned and smirked.

"Oh!" Hannah exclaimed. "We need a picture!"

"Mine has a timer," Dafydd pulled out his cell phone.

They all grinned, and the flash captured the group.

"I guess that settles everything," Gavin announced. "But shouldn't we try to let Professor Loomis know what's going on before we take off?"

"There's no cell connection, even when we camped outside," Taeko remarked.

"No worries," Dafydd quipped as he held up a small, hand-held radio. "I went outside and filled him in while we were getting ready."

"Okay, okay," Mike gruffed. "Are we going now, or what?"

Before long, they were in the ship and moving across the dark waters with Dafydd at the tiller, Gavin up on the bow, and lanterns hung on the mast and spar. A slight breeze seemed to come up on its own, enough to move the sleek craft slowly over the smooth surface.

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Chapter image by Nadine Deorle from Pixabay