Stumbling On A Tale

By Suzanne Roche

It turns out that trips back in time haven’t ended for Peri, Henry, and Max. In the second book in the TIME TO TIME Series, the children find themselves right in the middle—the Middle Ages, that is. And this time they’re lost in a forest, where they stumble upon a group of travelers who seem to be long on medieval tales but short on helpful information.

Peri and her stepbrothers are sure they know what they have to do to get home, though, so there won’t be any problems this time. End of story.

Okay, maybe not.

It turns out everything Peri and the boys know is wrong and nothing is how they expect it to be. So when none of their ideas work, they have to rely on a peasant chaperoning his pig, a maiden searching for her dog, a dragon-hunting page, and an unappreciated sorcerer to find the answers. Only everyone seems to be better at losing things than finding them.

Now if only someone knew exactly when that pesky bubonic plague was going to start.

Don’t forget that at the end of the book, you can get your hands on history! Try the nine puzzles, activities, and games based on the story. Make medieval gingerbread, learn to play Nine Man’s Morris, and solve a riddle from the 10th century, plus more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Suzanne Roche
• Release date: Jul 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9780996148481

Suzanne Roche

Suzanne's initial lifetime plan was to marry Tarzan, but moved on to consider becoming an actress, a baseball player, and a Soviet spy. These aspirations came entirely from reading and writing about them rather than from any meaningful training or talent. In fact, Suzanne was terribly shy as a child and scared to be on stage. When she played baseball, she practiced her ballet positions in the outfield. The whole Soviet spy idea fizzled because, while on the way to job interview with the CIA, she took a detour to browse in a bookstore and completely forgot about the interview. As each of these career plans fell through, it was the love of history, reading, and writing that grew. Growing up, she wrote letters to Laura Ingalls Wilder, pretending to be her pen pal. She parked herself in front of the television on Saturday mornings to watch "Big Blue Marble." After reading "Dr. Zhivago," she decided to major in Russian History in college. Now she writes historical fiction because it lets her pretend to live in different times and meet everyone she's always wanted to meet. No book about Tarzan has been planned yet though.

Book preview

Do You Know What Time It Is?

Imagine you’re at a movie theater. Let’s call it The Empire. That way a big, impressive image comes to mind when you think about it. The Empire is the only theater in town, and it has one manager: Roman.

Roman does everything at the theater, and he would be the first to tell you it’s a very big job. In fact, it gets harder every year. The demands of customers, paperwork, the cost of doing business, and countless other responsibilities are proving to be too much for Roman.

Finally, Roman’s had it. Some say he was fired; other people say he quit. Either way, the theater goes downhill without him. People are stealing the concessions and fighting for the best seats. With Roman gone, there’s no one to order new movies, pay the electric bill, or make more popcorn. Don’t forget that without Roman, no one is shoveling the sidewalk or cleaning the restrooms. It’s hard to imagine a happy ending here, right?

But wait... Before long, smaller theaters start opening up around town. They’re different sizes, with different movies and managers and candy at the concession stands. Things seem to be looking up.

World history has been a little like that. From around 30 BC to 500 AD, the westernized world was a one theater in town kind of place. And can you believe it—it was called the Roman Empire! What a coincidence! By the way, there were other very impressive empires during this classical period but they all deserve their own stories (hint).

After a great run of more than five hundred years, Rome started having a hard time governing all that land it ruled. It couldn’t keep up with the invasions and the high cost of running an empire. On top of that, good emperors and soldiers were proving hard to come by. In short, the empire was crumbling. Of course, there was a lot more that went into causing its downfall, but that is another story (that’s another hint).

Skip ahead to about the year 1500 and that’s when the period called the modern age began. We are still in it now and will be until another age or empire comes along and replaces us.

Think of these two periods, the Roman Empire and the Modern Age, as bookends with about one thousand years between them. Some wise, highly creative person went out on a limb and labeled those years in history the Middle Ages. It sounds more impressive when you use the Latin words for middle and age, medium aevum, or the medieval times.

When the Roman Empire ended around the year 500, so did its laws, the protection of its people, and the defense of its land. Instead, there were different tribes and groups living in smaller territories. Not surprisingly, given the lack of leaders and laws, there were a lot of problems. The biggest problem was that people were invading the lands of other people and no one was safe anymore.

A new system grew that gave people protection in return for their work and loyalty. It was called feudalism. Under this system, everyone had a role, that is to say, a king was in charge and everyone else had jobs to make his kingdom run smoothly. One of the perks of being a king was that he could set up a system designed (not surprisingly) to keep him in power.

When people speak of feudalism, they are speaking of the Middle Ages. The two go hand in hand, and once one ended, so did the other.

The king ruled over the land and allowed people to live there. In return, people supervised, protected, or worked on the land. The only other people were the clergy, who devoted their lives to the Church.

A number of events, inventions, and circumstances brought about the end of feudalism, including the inception of the printing press, the Black Plague, and the growth of cities and towns. Those and other reasons are enough to fill another book (that’s another hint). Together, they changed the world dramatically and ushered in the first period of the modern world: the Renaissance. None of that should come as a surprise though, because whether it’s the theater business or history, the objective is the same—the show must go on!

PART ONE

Peri, Henry, and Max hunt for answers

ONE

THE TIP OF THE TALE

Figuring this out was going to be hard. Twelve-year-old Henry Hawkins had been telling everyone that for weeks. It turned out that talking about it was way more fun than actually trying to do it.

Whenever he was working on a new Scout badge, Henry knew right away if it was going to be tricky or not. Insect study wasn’t a problem. Coin collecting and bird study were pretty straightforward too. But Henry was trying to earn his chess badge now and figuring out the difference between a Scholar’s Mate and a Fool’s Mate was not coming easily.

All the rules and moves were tripping over each other in his head and he felt like he was running out of space in his brain to fit them. It was for that reason Henry was trying to ignore his older stepsister, Peri.

Henry, I have a great idea!

Henry didn’t say anything. Even though Peri hadn’t been his stepsister for long, Henry knew more than a few things about her. Most of those things worried him. In fact, in the ongoing list Henry kept in his head, called the list of things to worry about, Peri always managed to secure a spot at the top of it. That’s because she had caused enough trouble already in their short time together, and it didn’t look like she was about to stop anytime soon.

Of course, Henry’s list was pretty long and included things like accidentally swallowing a bug and jumping out of a plane only to discover his parachute had a hole in it. Five words from Peri were also on the list.

I have a great idea, were the words.

Henry knew her ideas were never great and they never ended well. He wished Peri would just spit out what she really meant.

I have a crazy idea that’s probably going to make a mess of things and make you freak out, was what Peri actually meant.

Those words settled in Henry right now like the cold leftovers his mom had packed him for lunch, which is to say not very comfortably.

Focusing on chess was proving to be impossible. Like most afternoons, they were at Wallingford Antiques & Heirlooms, waiting for Henry’s mom and stepfather to close up the store and drive them home. Usually, Henry sat downstairs in the back room with his eight-year-old brother, Max. Today, though, he was upstairs in the office with Peri because he didn’t want Max bugging him and asking if he could help.

What was he thinking? This was a girl who had an answer to everything, even if she hadn’t been asked a question.

Don’t you want to know? Peri asked Henry again.

Be quiet! he wanted to yell. You’re almost fifteen! Aren’t teenagers supposed to want to be alone and not talk to anyone?

Don’t you? she said again.

Henry didn’t even bother to look up from the chessboard when he mumbled, Don’t I what?

Don’t you want to know?

No.

Don’t you at least want to find out where it came from?

There was nothing Henry wanted to hear about it ever again. If anyone had ever told Henry they could set an antique from the store on Roger’s Encyclopedia of Antiques and Extraordinary Curiosities and be sent back to where the relic first came from, he would never, ever have believed it. But it happened to them a few months ago, and now he wanted to go back in time again about as much as he wanted to slam his finger in a heavy door. No, make that his whole hand.

Peri wiggled the key in the credenza lock for what was probably the sixth or seventh time. It still wasn’t catching. Roger’s Encyclopedia was in there, and she was determined to get it.

This doesn’t make sense, she mumbled. The key used to work.

Peri’s newest idea was to find out who the publisher was and contact them.

"Maybe they’ve heard from other people who had copies of Roger’s, she had told Henry. Maybe someone else has seen its weird, magical powers too and can explain what’s going on."

I really don’t think you should be— Henry started to say now.

Got it! Peri slid the credenza door open and took out the encyclopedia.

Henry tried desperately to ignore her as she set the heavy book in her lap and opened the cover. She scanned the first page, then flipped to the next page and the next. No luck.

One leaves the king open for checkmate, Henry said to himself. But so does the other, doesn’t it? That’s the whole point, right? But then why is one called the Scholar’s Mate and the other the Fool’s Mate? Wait, it’s because one uses the queen. Or do both of them? He found himself having a very hard time focusing on chess.

That’s strange, Peri said after a moment.

Henry was not going to answer her. He locked his lips closed and refused to look at her. He did not want to hear anything she might have to say. So you use the queen, he said in his head over and over. Or is it the bishop? Is it four moves or—

What did Peri mean by strange?

He waited for Peri to tell him, but she didn’t. She was busy turning the pages of the thick book, looking at each page carefully.

"Very strange," she added.

He couldn’t stand it any longer. What’s strange?

She looked up from the book and huffed, as if he had interrupted her instead of it being the other way around. I thought you didn’t want to know.

I don’t, but you might as well tell me since—

No, no. I don’t want to bother you, Peri insisted lightly.

Just tell me! Henry regretted it the minute he said it.

With a dramatic sigh, she set the book in the middle of her father’s desk. There’s no publisher. It only—

Wait! Henry wanted to make sure there was not a single object that might look, feel, or smell like an antique anywhere near the book.

It was as if Peri could read his thoughts. Max is digging around in the storage room, she said.

Only then did Henry look at the book on the desk. At least Max wasn’t nearby to set anything on the encyclopedia like he did that first time.

It only says it was printed in New York City, Peri went on to say.

Then how about who wrote it? Henry suggested. We can always write to the author.

Peri read through the front pages again, shaking her head as she went.

It has to be there somewhere, Henry insisted. Someone had to write it.

She checked the back cover. Nothing. She closed the book to look at the spine. Still nothing.

When was it printed then? he tried.

Peri went back through the first few pages and quickly looked up.

It doesn’t show a date? Henry guessed.

No, it does, she mumbled. It says May.

So?

So who puts a month in the publication date? That’s weird.

Okay, so it’s different, Henry admitted. But it’s not that weird.

No, it’s still weird. It says 2014.

So? Why does that matter?

It matters because I found it for the first time when I moved here in 2013.

They were so busy staring at each other in confusion they didn’t see Max come in.

Look what I found! he said with a sneeze.

Max had allergies and spent most of his time either wiping his nose or rubbing his eyes. The old storage room he rummaged through only made it worse.

Peri and Henry both heard him at the same time, but neither was quick enough.

What do you think this is? he asked.

Henry and Peri looked surprised to see him, but that didn’t stop Max from coming in and setting an antique down on the desk. And he must not have noticed the encyclopedia open there.

Because it happened again...

TWO

STUMPED

ARE. YOU. SERIOUS?" Henry looked at Max when he hollered, his hands clenched while he shook them in the air. Anyone watching might have thought Henry was about to pull his hair