//------------------------------// // Chapter 51: Vesper // Story: Forbidden Places // by Starscribe //------------------------------// Vesper was the first to pass through the Worldgate. This was a fitting reward, since she had been the one to track this one down. With several maps and some educated guesses from a book on the subject, maybe. But if it got them back to Earth, it still counted. By now she was more than prepared for the rush of water and sudden moment of painful transition. She was even expecting the stretching that came when her bat body became something that wasn't a bat anymore.  But the water wasn't usually that deep, and this time was no exception. Vesper swam upward, breaking the surface with one arm, then clambering out of the way for the rest of the group to pass. She'd gone through dressed, knowing full well what this transition would entail if it worked properly. And work it had. In the blink of an eye, Vesper was no more. Jordan had returned, in time for the rest of this exploration. His last? That was less certain. He shouldn't feel so disoriented to be back in his own body. It must've just been the damp cloth, transformed back in ways that weren’t always easy to predict from the other side. Yet there was something off—what was bothering him? Jordan stood up slowly, unsure of what would be waiting for them. After all, Paris had begun their whole adventure with a plunge against their will back into a world that wasn't theirs. Another creature like that could be waiting right now, and his friends were just a few feet behind. The room did resemble that space in Paris—a Roman bathhouse of sorts, at least in basic layout. But he doubted any Roman had planned on swimming in water so cold.  He started shivering instantly, and moved one shoulder to try and cover himself with his wings—except there were no wings. Only damp clothing, that soaked straight through to his skin beneath, sucking the heat away from his body with alarming rapidity. There was only a single door leading outward. There was light in that direction, though diffuse enough that it clearly didn't lead directly out into the sun. Other splashes came from behind him, but Jordan was momentarily too distracted with other things. He was himself again, old body and all. This should feel good—this was the relief he'd been waiting for. This was the entire reason they fought so hard, wasn't it? They didn't want to be stuck. It should be like a breath of fresh air. Jordan felt like his whole body had been tightened a few notches, or maybe wrapped in rubber bands. Everything was where it ought to be, as though he'd never gone to Equestria. As though Vesper was never born. Somehow, he found he wasn't a fan of the experience. If only he'd kept some piece of her, to remember his time in Equestria. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to let go.  "That was... thoroughly unpleasant," Ryan exclaimed, flopping sideways out of the water to roll a few feet towards him. "But hey, you're back! Looks like this one works!" There was no predicting precisely how their clothes would adapt to the new bodies transformation gave them—but the same basic ideas held. Being fully dressed in Equestria meant they would have a full set of clothing here.  "Yeah," Jordan said. His ears twitched, or maybe that was just his imagination. His voice wasn't supposed to sound like that.  Deep breaths. I've had less than a minute to adjust. Jordan backed away from the opening, watching as the others came through one at a time. He just needed a little more time—there were plenty of other members of the expedition to take the lead while he figured out what was going on. Blake emerged from the water next, kicking powerfully to the surface and heaving himself into a crouching position with one arm. He stood a few seconds later, shaking away the moisture. "Cold on this side. Wasn't expecting that." Was it, even? Jordan shivered once, shaking a little water out onto the ground. It was cooler than he would've liked, though that was mostly from the water. That wasn't what bothered him about all this. Janet broke the surface of the water a few seconds later, kicking and struggling with every breath. She flailed wildly with her arms, and might've gone back down into the darkness if it wasn't for Blake there to catch her. Jordan stood beside him, and together heaved the woman from the water. She was wearing the most clothing by far, enough that her heavy jacket and trousers soaked completely full and began to drag her downwards towards the Worldgate below. Jordan was strong enough to help Blake get her up into the air, though it burned both arms as he did it. So maybe he hadn't spent as much time adjusting lines and hauling water as some other members of the team. It wasn't his fault that the Dreamlands were so much more interesting! "Gracias..." Janet muttered, shivering visibly. She was instantly the shortest member of the group, gone from towering over Jordan to a head shorter than he was in a single instant. "Wait a minute. Where's the bat girl?" "Right here," he said, backing away from the opening. There was still another figure to make it up from below, one heading rapidly to the surface. Apparently griffons did know how to swim. "I don't see it," Janet said. She seemed more confused than anything. "Are you sure?" Jordan didn't continue to explain, just backed away from the opening. Blake did too, so the two of them gave it plenty of space as another shape surfaced from deep below. Galena came up, struggling through the water and hauling herself onto the shore. She rolled onto her back, tangling a little in the backpack as she finally stopped. "That was much worse than last time. Ancestors punish those who built such a thing." Though bits of cloth poked out the open flap of her backpack, Galena was as naked as she had been in the world they left behind. But unlike Janet, and apparently Jordan himself, she looked exactly the way he'd expected. She was tall, probably equal with Jordan. Her hair was mottled brown and tan, mixed in a way he'd never seen before. Her build was incredibly fit, lean muscle on every limb broken only by frequent scars. Dripping wet and panting like that, this could just as easily be a photoshoot for some "gentleman's" magazine. Jordan turned away in frustration. Blake just kept staring, for another few seconds. "Wait, uh... Galena? Those clothes, you should put them on." She looked down at herself, then back up. The disorientation was similar to what Jordan himself remembered—and that made perfect sense. She had just changed as radically as they had when they first arrived. "I'm wet, as is that clothing. It may be cold, but wet cloth will make it colder." She sat up, grinning playfully at them. "You're the ones who insist on freezing to death." Jordan groaned. "We have modesty on this side, Galena. It means we always wear clothing when we're around other people. You can't leave like that." He snatched the satchel from the ground beside her, dumping her clothes out onto the slightly dusty bathhouse floor. "Get dressed." Galena stared up at him, her confusion growing. Like she didn't know what she was doing. Blake just kept staring—and how could he not? "You are distressed. Did the Worldgate confuse me less than you?" How could she sit there like that, without feeling even a little embarrassed? "We do not even appear to differ in tribe anymore. Is there something here you haven't seen before?" She grinned, though she did occasionally glance down at herself. Jordan's attention might've riled her up, but Galena was new to her body.  Jordan grunted, turning his back on the stupid naked griffon. He stormed past open-mouthed Blake, to where Ryan was investigating something on a back wall. He rubbed it clean with the back of one sleeve, clearing away the dirt. It was another map, one carved painstakingly in wood, then painted. Most of that paint was gone now, though the underlying design had mostly survived. In it was an image of Earth, one that focused on the globe in a way he'd never seen it before. Not even Europe was properly centered.  The Equestrian side was recognizable to him by now, thanks to the number of times he'd poured over the Worldgate diagrams. Unlike the other one, this showed both sides of the globe... but not with worldgates. This one seemed to be a monument of population centers. Maybe they had full city names once, but they'd mostly faded away to nothing by now.  "The style is the same," Ryan said, apparently oblivious to the drama behind him. Jordan kept glancing back to see. It did seem that Janet was trying to convince Galena. Maybe she would have more luck, since they were both birds. "Same ones who made the map under Paris?" Jordan suggested. Ryan nodded. "The manner is distinct. Same style in the construction, same lettering. But the language isn't French. It's too worn for me to read it. Good thing the one we found was in better condition, or we wouldn't have a clue where we were going." Jordan slid past it, still shivering as he made his way into the single doorway leading out. This was what really mattered—the one thing that would decide if they remained through this portal for any length of time, or slid quickly back through to Equestria. He couldn't let himself get too hung up on how annoying the griffon was acting and wish for a swifter return trip. The others wanted to get home. And he probably did too? Jordan made it only a few steps before he realized what he was missing here—shoes. Away from the bathhouse, the ground was rough and rocky, cut unevenly from the cavern. He glanced back through to the bathhouse, and found only Janet had shoes. For the rest of them, the strange hoof-wraps they'd appeared wearing had evidently slipped their minds and not been replaced. Jordan flipped open his own saddlebag, which was now a plain-looking backpack with crude buttons instead of a zipper. There was camera equipment inside, a few extra batteries, and all his identification, passport, and cash. His phone was inside too, packed in a dry bag. But its battery had long since exhausted. Ryan had their last working device. Instead of striding comfortably out, Jordan had to walk on tiptoe, moving slowly and precariously towards the light. "Where are you going?" Ryan asked. "Shouldn't we go together?" "No," Jordan answered. He didn't look back, or even slow down. It was hard enough walking that turning around would be its own adventure. "There's sunlight this way, I'm gonna check where we are. Might not need to waste time here." Ryan didn't say anything else, so Jordan made his way through the tunnel. It wasn't just the rocks that made the process slow and awkward. Though he did catch himself trying to spread his wings to help him balance, something that he just couldn't do anymore. Of course, a little rough stone wouldn't have given hooves trouble either way. The cold started to get to him as he reached the end of a tunnel, through to a horizontal crack in the wall at about waist level. He bent down, squirmed through, then peeked out into the world. They were on a rocky hillside, covered with the occasional patches of wildflowers and sparse grasses. But the most interesting thing by far was what he saw when he looked down. Down the hill, no more than a few miles away, a little town stood surrounded by sparse farms and patches of trees. The place wasn't in the best shape, with narrow buildings only a few stories tall, many with peeling paint or corroded metal rooves. But there were powerlines, narrow roads, and actual cars driving on them! We found a way out. Jordan should've felt more excited about that. Wherever this was, it would help them get back to civilization. He should be thrilled. Jordan made his slow way back down the tunnel to the hidden passage—not so well hidden, considering how close it was to civilization. At least by the time he made it back, Galena had put some clothes on. Kaelynn's, he guessed, though they couldn't possibly be the same size. How did that work? "How was it?" Blake asked, as he made his way back in. "What was out there?" He almost lied. But his friends deserved better than that. "Civilization. I don't know where, but maybe it doesn't matter. Cold as butt, though. It's nicer in here."