//------------------------------// // Chapter 38: Blake // Story: Forbidden Places // by Starscribe //------------------------------// It didn't take long to reach the site of their negotiation with the buffalo. That made enough sense to Blake; if they had to go very far, that probably would've meant the map was bad. Either that, or the ponies had lied to them. At least so far, he had no reason to expect either one. Vesper remained surprisingly close during the brief trip, apparently watching his work. That was fine, the more of their group could sail the better. But it did seem strange that she'd taken a sudden interest, after this long not caring. But it made sense—if anyone on the crew was going to want to sail, it would be Jordan. Ryan was just too timid, and Kaelyn would rather be working maintenance behind the scenes, and let someone else be the one to do the sailing. When the butte came into view, Blake slowed them to a stop, raising the sails one after another. He still could see no sign of griffon ships on the horizon. But would that change in the next few hours?  There were no buffalo beneath them, or anything else for that matter. The butte formed at the center of a wash, which might've carried a river during the wet season. "Why would they want to meet here?" he asked, leaning over the edge for a few seconds. "There's nothing here." "Not nothing." Vesper pointed over the side with one wing, grinning. "There's a black spot there, and some rocks around it. Bet that's a fire pit with places to sit. We signal, and they come here to talk." Blake returned to the controls, settling one hoof on the lift crystal. Lowering them down was simple enough now that he could do it without too much worry, particularly if they were already stopped. "Galena! Galena, what do you think of... buffalo? Have you ever met with them before?" Jordan pouted, but Blake couldn’t even guess why. Did she not want him to ask the expert? Galena glided up from the main deck, large coil of rope around her neck and a knife in her mouth. She stuck the knife back in its holster, then looked up. "What does the pony ask?" "Buffalo," he said again. "What can you tell us about them?" She looked thoughtful. "I have heard this name. They have stomping grounds far in the wild, where other creatures do not reach. Incredibly strong, but also very heavy. No use as cargo, they weigh too much for the lift crystal. Very difficult as passengers. Not so bad as yaks, though." "Does that mean we can trust them?" Jordan asked. "We're just trying to get permission to use the Worldgate." Galena shrugged. "We never had any reason to meet. My ship did not make enemies needlessly. They refused to buy slaves, and did not make good for capturing." "Morbid," Blake said. "But hopefully we can talk." "You should go!" called another voice, from the steps. Kaelynn hurried up, taking them two at a time. "Ryan is kinda sick. Not sure if it's from the altitude or what. But he always does better when he has someone else around. I'm gonna stay here." "That's fine." Blake turned. "Galena, I expect you to keep watch. You get my attention at the first sign of a griffon ship. We can always come back to a safe portal. Not so much if we get blown to shit." The bird seemed confused by the expression. But she read the sentiment quickly enough, and nodded once. "It would be easier to watch the sky with more eyes. Where is the hippogriff? She could help." "I'm down here!" Janet made her way up the steps, without any apparent rush. She wasn't wearing her silly jacket, though she hadn't ditched the scarf yet. The lower they got, the hotter the desert became. "I can't keep watch this time, I'm going." She spread both wings just a little, puffing out her chest. Did she think Blake would argue? "Why?" Vesper asked. So apparently someone wanted to. "Blake and I can handle it." She shrugged. "Maybe you can, maybe you can't. But you've got more time to waste, bat. I need a way back now. I know this land better than you do. I've done the research, you haven't." "It's okay, Vesper. You didn't say anything about restricting the number of people who could help negotiate. There's no reason we can't have more help." Jordan didn't complain as they made their way down to the surface, though she looked sour enough. What had gotten into that pony over the last day, anyway? Was it something about the way she smelled? Blake didn't quite have the courage to ask. "Whatever. So long as she helps with the fire, too." They landed a hundred meters or so from the butte, far enough that there was no danger of a stiff wind smacking them into it. Even with an anchor dragging along the ground, there was no being completely sure the ship wouldn't be affected by the wind. Not without a proper mooring. Soon enough the three of them were in the center, with bundles of old cloth sending up huge plumes of black smoke. "And now we have a use for the last of the pirates' cargo," Jordan said, waving one wing through the smoke. Apparently she had reason to regret that, because she pulled it back quickly, hissing. "Still trying to sting us, even now." Janet found herself a wooden seat to perch on, and was already reclining there. Not to sleep, though—her eyes were on the horizon, watching intently. "What does this Worldgate say, exactly? Which one are we trying to get to?" "Name was Cahokia. They didn't have notes other than that, really. None have warned us about dangers before." "Cahokia," Janet repeated. "Hmm. Could be good, could be bad. I hope you two thought about just looking for it ourselves before you sent up that signal. These buffalo might not have noticed us." Jordan folded her wings, settling down on her haunches beside Blake. Right beside Blake, almost possessive. "We thought about it. But we’re not just trying to find one door to use one time. We're trying to open up travel between worlds. There's another universe in here, and people deserve to know. Think about all the scientific discoveries we could be making." Janet's mouth fell open. For a few seconds she was completely speechless, beak opening and closing. Finally she looked sharply to Blake. "You agree with her? Are you people actually planning to try and connect Equestria to Earth?" Blake thought he could hear something in the distance—rocks, maybe? He looked, but there was nothing ahead of them. No cannons blasted down on their ship. He might've thought he was hallucinating, except that Vesper looked up too. So she was hearing it. "After what we went through, it feels like we should get to be famous for it," he said. "But that's not the only reason we're cooperating. We have hundreds of options, and we've only eliminated a few. I will not risk pissing off a potential ally just because we're in a hurry." The hippogriff glowered at them both. "Oh, you'll be famous. You'll both be horse famous, because you'll be horses forever. Weird, alien horses. Don't you have families waiting for you?" "Sure," Vesper said. "But they probably think we're already dead. We were kinda going somewhere we weren't supposed to be, somewhere people die every few years anyway. They aren't going to be any less scarred if we reappear tomorrow, or next month. We've already been gone long enough that they probably did everything you can do. Funerals, tears, the works." Their conversation couldn't continue, though. The pounding was so loud that not even Janet could ignore it. Blake stood, turning off to the left. The roar was indeed coming from somewhere close—just behind the butte. Several hundred buffalo crested the hill, a wall of brown fur and black eyes and sharp horns. Fortunately they didn't seem to be charging directly for the fire-pit. Instead they curved around it, raising a great cloud of dust as they circled the pit and the stationary Bright Hawk nearby.  This wasn't quite the size of the great herds that Blake knew had once roamed the American West. There were hundreds, not tens of thousands. Even so, he found himself wrapping one protective leg around Jordan. Maybe he was glad he'd come after all. They circled around the group several rotations, until their different speeds made a dusty circle that turned the sun a deep red in the sky, and Blake could see no individual animals.  Finally, a few pealed away from the edge, moving in on the circle. There were two of them, one larger and one smaller. Even the smaller of the two was about as long as Blake himself, and several times bulkier. The larger was easily twice the size of Galena, maybe more. They reached the campfire. As they did, the great crowd of buffalo slowed, then stopped. The dust began to disperse, and the smoke of their little campfire was visible again. "Ya'll got here quick," Jordan said, grinning across the campfire at their new companions. "But you didn't all have to come. We're not worth that much of your time." "We know," said the smaller of the two—a female's voice, though much deeper than Jordan's high squeak. "But we enjoy running. Anything new is an excuse to travel." "Wisdom, as always," said the larger. "From my mate, Little Strongheart, of the Wandering Brush tribe. I am Chief Stoneback of the Burning Sun tribe. Who are you, strangers? Your boat is far from water." Many of the animals started laughing. Even Blake smiled. "True. We've come a long way." His words provoked nervous whispers from several. A few of the nearby buffalo even bowed to him. Not these two negotiators, though. "To ask permission," Janet said. She was the only one who hadn't stood. "We've come to speak to you about your Worldgate." Silence descended on the crowd, and any laughter died. Little Strongheart and Stoneback looked at each other, expressions unreadable. Blake winced. We could've been a little more delicate. Make them feel like our friends first. "Have you been running far?" he asked, before they could interrupt to tell them no. "We have cold water aboard the Bright Hawk. Not enough for so many of you, unfortunately. We are a small ship, with a small crew. But we would like to share." Though they both recognize what we were talking about. The map proves it's right again. Maybe not useful, given they'd failed to find a portal they could use safely. But right.  "Water, yes," said Little Strongheart. "That would be good. We will bring refreshment. The five of us may eat, then we will talk." Vesper stood suddenly, stretching her wings. "I'll get it, Captain! Be right back!" She took a few nervous steps back, spreading her wings wide. Then she took off—haltingly at first, dipping so low she almost smacked into a buffalo on the edge of the watching crowd. But she made it, flying the short distance to the ship. Blake wanted to cheer. He stamped one of his hooves, before he realized how silly it would make him look. He settled for a noble smile instead. He could congratulate her later. "Forgive us, visitor. But we have stories of your noble kind. Ponies and dragons together, a union of magic and strength. We honor your arrival." Stoneback nodded respectfully to him. At least he didn't bow. "We would request your name.” "Oh, right!" Blake's ears folded back, tail whipping back and forth behind him anxiously. "I'm called Blake. This is Janet, and the bat is Vesper." They're not bowing to the others. What's different about me? Another buffalo emerged from the crowd, heavily burdened with saddlebags bursting with cargo. Little Strongheart rushed over, unloading several sacks beside the fire. All of it looked hand-made, or hoof-made in this case. Amazing that creatures looking like they weighed in the tons were able to do any kind of precision work. "Blake," said Stoneback. "Blake the half-dragon, who travels with a flying ship. Is that why you seek the Worldgate—to extend your dominion to the place beyond?" He hesitated, watching as Vesper took to the air again, flying back with their own contributions. Not graceful exactly, this flying thing was far newer to her than it was to Galena or any of the natives. But her determination, biting her tongue and staring forward with absolute focus as she came in for a landing—that was a pony who didn't give up. Apparently that was too long a delay, because Little Strongheart spoke up from just ahead of him, portioning out several bowls of a grainy snack. Though one was different from the others—were those blue rocks? "Not to give the dragon-pony directions, but I would find another place to go. The world on the other side is not one you want to visit. It is a place of endless death, where many have perished. Lucky is the buffalo who can escape through to this side, and endless the tears over those who remain trapped." Jordan landed awkwardly, kicking and spraying sand to stop herself. But she managed not to fall over, or to lose the heavy pitcher of water emerging from her saddlebags. "Back! I brought better than water—Ryan was making lemonade! You do like lemonade, right?" Blake didn't—it was too sugary, too tart. But maybe if this bat was the one to bring it...