//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12: Jordan 
// Story: Forbidden Places 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

Finding a ship wasn't as hard as Jordan might've expected.

He'd seen the docks waiting near the edge of town, and from the constant coming and going of vessels parked there. That meant real commerce taking place in Klugetown, and hopefully an opportunity to find someone to take them away.

It took only a few hours of inquiring before they finally found a ship with the facilities to bring a fish along. Part of the process had just been figuring out what terms to use to communicate their goals. 

But then they met Captain Callahan, and suddenly everything made sense. "You're looking for a ship that can fly hippogriffs!" he exclaimed, after ten painful minutes of explanation. "Like one who lost their pearl in a far country. It just so happens that we are so equipped."

Should it have reassured Jordan that the captain was more "like them" and less the bipedal lizard creatures of indeterminate origin and nature? Or maybe he should've been more deeply concerned by the obvious beak and talon that meant him and the rest of his crew were predators. 

"How long is the trip?" Jordan asked. "The mountain seemed decently close on maps, but that's still several hundred miles."

"Don't know how you ponies reckon distance," he said, stalking around them. He wore an oversized leather jacket and cap, concealing much of the body beneath. But like the state of their clothing upon arrival, he didn't seem to care what the jacket covered when he moved. 

"See that?" He pointed towards the sails overhead, and several thin streamers whipping and cracking in the breeze. "Favorable southerly currents. If you were headed north, it would be another matter entirely. But there's usually a good wind moving south in this corridor. Warmer air spiraling towards the poles. If she turns against us, we will have to make the trip under engine power, and divert away from the water as far as course allows."

Jordan yanked on Blake's collar, meeting his eyes silently. He nodded once, though he didn't dare say more. It wouldn't be right to speak about the bird as though he weren't even there.

"Sounds like you might be the vessel for the job, Captain Callahan. When would we leave?"

"By morning," he answered. "You and the other two passengers could make yourselves at home in the meantime. My crew will need at least an hour's notice to make the cabin ready. And payment in advance."

Without spending time in this strange world, there was no way to be exactly sure about what the money was actually worth. Was five coins per head a good price? It drained their supplies significantly, but if this were the trip that got them home, it wouldn't matter.

"I hope you were sure about that guy," Blake muttered, as they hurried back down the streets of Klugetown towards their hidden cart. "I didn't like the look of his crew. Shady as hell." 

"Our instincts are working against us," Jordan said. “Think about Ryan for a minute. He's our friend, and he hasn't changed at all. He's terrifying and he can't help it. I think the other locals might be the same way. Can't listen to your gut when you don't know where we are or why anything works the way it does."

Blake didn't answer for a long time, long enough for them to slip back into the darkest alleys where little light shone down from overhead. Jordan barely even thought about the gloom. Even in near darkness, he hadn't once felt so blind that he couldn't see. Being a bat did come with at least one advantage.

"Not everything my gut tells me is wrong," he said. "Ryan can be different than we expect because he's not from here. He's not a... whatever he is. None of us are. But those birds—maybe they are? I dunno. Is that racist?"

Jordan shrugged. "Callahan seemed fine to me. He volunteered all kinds of information about the journey. If he was trying to rip us off, he could've pressed a lot harder for more gold. He probably guessed we had more."

"You're probably right." Blake glanced over his shoulder, but if they were still being followed their pursuers were too clever to show any sign. "I'll be glad to spend the night aboard a ship, instead of out in the open. I should probably be grateful for that."

They found the cart exactly where they'd left it, and mercifully, with all the passengers intact.

"No visits this time," Ryan said, once he'd clambered from the water and changed back into himself. "Maybe word got around that we're not helpless. Or the smell is so bad nobody wanted to follow."

"The latter," Jordan said, covering his mouth with a bandanna. "Seriously, this is the worst. Let's get to the ship."

Before they left, they had to give Ryan a moment to catch his breath, then dress up like Blake again.

This time instead of looking away and letting fear rule him, Jordan stared, watching the entire process intently. If he could figure out how to imitate those powers, he could get a body more suitable. Even looking like Blake would be preferable. Probably.

"How did you know how to do that?" He asked the off-brand Blake. Ryan's imitations were accurate right down to the clothes, like holding a mirror up to the boss. "Were you expecting to find an alien portal in Paris?"

"No," Ryan said, in Blake's voice. Despite perfectly capturing the tone, he did nothing to imitate the inflections and speech patterns. He must still be Ryan on the inside. "I told you the story, Jordan. I felt it... I can't tell you where it came from. Must be as natural to copy things as to breathe. Neither of you have figured out any powers, have you?"

"No," Jordan snapped. "Unless you count seeing in the dark. But the automatic reflexes don't take figuring out. Eyes just work."

"I think I coughed fire once," Blake said absently. "But maybe that curry had really gone off. Dunno."

"Coughed fire," Ryan repeated. "Not sure what that makes you. Horse dragon thing... but what are any of us?"

"Pony." Jordan tapped his chest with a hoof. "That's what the captain called me. Capper too. When he wasn't calling me a mare, anyway. Guess we are smaller than most of what lives here, so it might be the right word."

"Don't let it get to you." Blake reached over, patting him on the shoulder. "We're going home soon, remember? Focus on that."

"Yeah. I know. I was just... hoping for a magic bullet. Hell, Ryan. Why limit yourself to just copying us? Just be yourself again!"

He rolled his eyes, or at least it looked like he did as Jordan and Blake started securing harnesses. Maybe it would look slightly suspicious to have a bigger, stronger looking 'pony' not helping pull. But having someone who wasn't slowed down with straps and clips would also make them seem better defended.

"I have no reason to believe I can do anything else," Ryan said, as soon as they started moving again. "I'm ditto without the face thing. Exact copies are my jam. Well, exact copies and looking like a hideous bug. Both of those.

They didn't have much time to discuss during the walk back across town. Even if they had been crossing through somewhere perfectly safe, this part of Klugetown was so overgrown and destroyed that they had to focus completely on the cart. 

They didn't get to make mistakes. Every time they took a bump too quickly and the cart wobbled to one side or the other, Jordan felt a brief surge of panic. He was the one pulling, could he live with the guilt of accidentally murdering Kaelynn?

They took the trip nice and slow, at least until they got the cart back onto solid ground. Once there, the pressure of fear manifested in the corner of his mind, albeit not as strong as Blake's paranoia. There were eyes on them, that was undeniable—but even without all that, it was getting dark. 

Jordan could still see just as well, even better than their guide in fact. Soon he swapped with Ryan, taking over leading them. But just because they wouldn't accidentally crash the cart into a pothole somewhere didn't mean he could lead them safely.

Maybe the shadowy figures marching with metal on their bodies were police patrolling the streets, and that was why nothing attacked them. Alternatively, maybe what Jordan had suggested about ignoring their instincts might be true for the streets as well. Who was to say the locals weren't friendly?

Even so, the hike to the docks took over an hour while pulling a cart. They toiled between mostly shuttered alleys and darkened boulevards, with only slitted eyes from crags of rock to keep them company.

Until they finally reached the docks, and Callahan's ship near the edge of the long expanse.

The docks themselves were built over the jagged edge of a cliff, where Klugetown plummeted down into rocky crags unseen and unimagined. Far in the distance below, Jordan thought he could hear crashing waves and surf. But even his vision wasn't that good.

They found a member of Callahan's crew near the dock, waiting for them. A long ramp was already extended, and beside the predatory bird was a... harness of sorts.

Like a bathtub, except that it had six sets of sturdy wheels, and tall sides. The bottom section was entirely brass, and something inside it hummed constantly.

"Captain said you'd be coming," grunted the sailor. He wore almost nothing, just an oversized cap on his head and a belt with a rusty cutlass that dragged when he turned too quickly. "I assume you're 'Blake' and company? Four passengers, including the hippogriff?"

"That's us," Blake said, unbuckling himself from the harness and stepping forward. "How do we do this?"

The sailor took hold of the rolling contraption, settling it up against the cart. "Your fourth will have to get in on their own. Less space than what you have, but we can't take that much weight of water aboard."

"Get her," Blake said, nodding to Jordan. "Nothing much we can do about the inconvenience. Captain said we'd be able to load the cart dry as part of our passage. I assume that's still fine?"

"Fine," the sailor grumbled, pointing. "You can drain the tank over the cliff there. Not our fault if there are any poor saps flying down there."

Jordan peeked in over the tank, waving one hoof. "Hey!"

Kaelynn swam to the surface in an eyeblink, already dressed in her rebreather harness. "We ready?"

Jordan pointed. "They have a smaller tank for you to travel in. When we talked to the captain earlier today, he was insistent it would be safe for you. They've taken 'hippogriffs' before."

"I'm not a hippogriff," Kaelynn muttered. "Haven't you ever seen harry potter?"

Jordan ignored her, pointing with a wing this time. "We can help you climb down if you need it."

She didn't. Despite being a fish, Kaelynn had surprising strength outside the water with her forelegs. Enough to flop over the side, and splash down the few-foot distance between the large tank and the transport one.

The transport pod had opaque metal sides, which wasn't that surprising. Despite the airships, this world didn't seem nearly as advanced as the one they'd left. Plexiglass just wouldn't exist here.

Even so, Jordan glanced in over the side, squinting down at where Kaelynn now squirmed. The interior wasn't just a blank container, but had a dense mesh along one side, and a spigot near the other, with a thin layer of gravel on the bottom.

Guess there's a way to keep the water clean when someone has to live in it. Not too surprising.

The sailor leaned in over the side, staring just as they did. Finally something made him react with anything more than exasperation. He stared down at Kaelynn, mouth hanging open. "Are you sure that's a hippogriff you're flying with?" he asked. "She doesn't look like any I've seen. Way too small, and the fins are all wrong."

Kaelynn sat up, and doing so brought her head almost to the surface. She only had to push up a short distance to glare at them. "I don't know what I am," she said. "But I'm not a hippogriff. Isn't that what you are?"

The sailor's eyes narrowed. "No, I'm a griffon, obviously." He flopped down onto the ground before them, apparently losing interest. "Empty your cart of water, then follow me. We'll be flying with sunrise, so you'll want to get everything situated now."

"Not exactly first-class airline flying," Jordan whispered. "But I'll take it. So long as it can get us to Mount Aris. I've been saving some battery on the GoPro, so I should be able to get some good footage while we're in the air."

"That could be cool," Ryan agreed. "Most of what we got were pictures of deserts. Don't want to make scientists think this place was Arrakis or whatever. Get more of the diversity on film."