Chapter 3: Kaelynn
Kaelynn passed through the opening in the world to much the same sensations as her first time. First a current that she couldn't resist, blinding her with light that shouldn't be there. She spun in the water, only this time she had strong fins to right herself. She'd adapted to the absence of her legs so quickly that she managed to keep on course as she passed through.
She could even mark the exact moment that her body changed, an impossible instant where she was suddenly holding her breath again. Where the air had come from that must be in her lungs to stop her from drowning, she couldn't know.
But then she broke the surface of the water, exactly beside where she'd been. Her headlamp was still on her forehead, though of course she didn't need it to be. Sunlight still shone in from the other side of that opening. Either another planet, another place, or another time. She would've thought the latter, except for the transformation. That alone suggested something more complex was happening.
She waited beside the opening, watching for the others to return in their time. She wasn't sure what she could do if they got stuck somewhere in the middle of that process—probably nothing. A single round trip through that opening had taught her that changing direction wasn't going to be possible. Hopefully that meant her friends couldn't get lost somewhere in the middle.
One by one they broke the water, familiar faces with human features. Mercifully, their clothes were just as in place as all their other physical details. And she wouldn't have to stare at them from under the water this time.
"Thank god," Ryan coughed. He scrambled away from the portal, climbing from the ancient bath as though afraid it would drag him back. "You guys have no fucking concept for what I just experienced."
"We don't?" Kaelynn couldn't suppress a laugh. "Dude, ever drowned in the air before? Ever thought you were going to spend eternity in a room maybe ten feet across, because you were a fish in the desert?"
Now if we were out in open water, I would've made you dudes wait a few days while I had the best diving of my life. See you in hell, decompression stops.
"Freaky," Jordan muttered. Though what could've shaken him so much, Kaelynn didn't know. He'd just been a horse thing, right? She hadn't really been trying to get a good look at the time, when she was still trying to process her own transformation.
"I think we're about to change the world," Blake said. He settled on the edge of the bath, legs dangling into the water. His eyes were still fixed on the opening. "Honest to god portal hidden here. Every law we've ever broken, every risk we ever took... all paid off. We'll be so famous people will be begging to let us poke around in their old ruins.”
Kaelynn couldn't help but grin back, taken along by such a powerful wave of positive emotions.
Jordan walked past them out of the water, not fearful the way Ryan was. Rather than just sitting there, he began poking around in the shelves and cabinets on the far wall. Most of what Kaelynn could see looked like crumbling organic ruin, rotted away to nothing. But maybe he'd get lucky and find something useful.
"I don't want to rain on that idea," Jordan said. "This will be fantastic. But there are two big 'ifs.' First, we gotta get someone to believe us."
"I had this clipped to my head the whole time." Kaelynn lifted the GoPro, which was still recording. "You're on now. Smile."
Jordan waved, and the others smiled too, at least while she pointed in their direction. Even Ryan managed.
"That's the easy part," Jordan said. "We need to get back to the surface, while somehow leaving a path we can follow back here. Remember how lost we were? We are still just as lost. This world-shattering discovery was supposed to be our way to climb out of here."
The weight of his words settled on them like a two-tank BC with lead for saltwater. Finding their way back would be simple enough—she had battery and cards for a week of straight recording, so all they had to do was follow it to get back. She could plug the whole thing into her photogrammetry rig at home, make a model they could convert into a proper map.
But that wouldn't help them escape again. It could only serve those who found their corpses, years or even decades later. "We have to survive," she said. "I don't know what the hell this is. I don't know how it works. But I know that people should know. This is going to change... everything."
France had something incredible here, something that the ancients had apparently known about. But did they build this entrance around it, or did they somehow construct the entire thing?
Ryan probably had more idea about that than she could. She turned, and found him already removing the waterproof box from his pack. He settled it onto a sturdy table, and began arranging maps. "We're out of food already. How long can we hike through this place before we're too weak to keep going? Two more days?"
Probably a little pessimistic, but not by much. They had to keep moving, up and down constant changes in elevation, backtracking where passages had collapsed. All of them were in good shape, though by no means Olympian. If she had to bet, Kaelynn would've predicted their death by poison, animal attack, or cave-in long before they actually starved to death.
"We can get far in that much time," Blake said. "Ryan, find the shittiest of those maps, and grab a sharpie. We're making our own from here on out, good enough to follow back here. Surviving is more important, but only barely. We don't get to change the world if we're dead."
"There's another option," Jordan said. He turned towards them, holding something in his arms. It was a vellum scroll, several feet long. He unrolled it over all of Ryan's maps, exposing what he'd been looking at.
Kaelynn reluctantly left the water, standing far enough that she wouldn't drip onto his discovery.
"That's a map of the globe," Ryan said, frustrated. "Come on, Jordan. That won't get us out of..." He trailed off, right as Jordan's grin grew uncomfortably smug. "That's not our globe."
The map had a great deal of detail around the edges, with several different colors used. The writing along the edges was in French, a language none of them could read—but the map itself was entirely made of proper nouns.
Some of the dots were familiar places. "London" or "Rome". But many were less detailed. "Korea, location unknown" "Indian Territory", or even just "Inhospitable mountain".
The other set of names were readable, but that did not mean they were meaningful. Klugetown? Newhaven? Manehattan?
"I'm seeing a lot of horse puns on this thing," Blake said. "You think it's connected to our discovery, somehow?"
"I think I was a horse a few minutes ago," Jordan said. "You two as well. Kaelynn... not sure what you were. I think everything in black on this map is what's on the other side. And the blue writing... those are corresponding locations on our world. See this one for Paris?"
"He's right," Ryan said. "There's no rhyme or reason to these correspondences. These continents aren't even the right shape. But we already know it doesn't match, since there's desert on the other side."
"You're suggesting we... don't try to get through the catacombs at all?" Blake asked.
Jordan nodded. "There's a dot pretty close to here, not sure about the scale. This town here is apparently connected to New York. We could wander around in the catacombs until we're starving, or... we could walk straight to another way out. Even if we can't find it, maybe we could trade for supplies? Come on, you have to be thinking about it. There's another world through there. Forget everything we've ever done, this is bigger. Imagine what we'll discover!"
Kaelynn cleared her throat. "It sounds amazing, Jordan. Everything we ever hoped to accomplish every time we find a sign saying we're not allowed to go any further. But we've got a problem. Assuming the way across does the same thing to us each time—I only had two legs over there. Bigger problem: I had gills. How am I supposed to cross a desert?"
Jordan winced. "We've got plenty of plastic. Bags and tarps and rope. I'm pretty sure I saw carts in one of the old buildings on that side. We could make you a tank, and pull you across."
"And that goes great until it leaks." Blake smacked his fist down on the page. "We're done considering this for now. We can come back here. Maybe we could build something smarter and bring it back with us next time. Kaelynn, any ideas?"
She frowned, looking thoughtful. "Ryan and I could probably make a decent set of back legs with my workshop and a few 3D printer models for human prosthetics. Couldn't we, Ryan?"
He nodded absently. "That's the easy part. Most fish rely on their environment for cooling. Even if you didn't, we would still need to keep the water oxygenated and clear of any other things you breathed into it. Maybe a reserve tank with an aerator. But I don't know how big."
Blake cleared his throat, though he didn't seem half as angry at them as he had been with Jordan. "We'll think about all of this when we get out," he said. "I don't see anything to suggest this portal is going anywhere. It's like any other exploring: we'll come back and do it right."
No one argued—even Jordan seemed resolved. He took a few shots of the map with his phone, and Kaelynn did the same with her camera. Then he rolled it, and tucked it under one arm.
Kaelynn paused in the doorway, framing the best retreating shot of the portal she could. "We've decided to return better prepared," she said, probably to the future of all mankind. "This discovery is incredible, but we have to live to share it with you. We'll be back."
Then they left. They passed through that same perfectly carved passage, even decorated.
"Wonder who put this here," Ryan said. "Looks like someone used to use it all the time. There were even horse carvings on this side, just like we were all quadrupeds when we got there. They knew."
"And somehow we don't," Blake finished for him. "How could something this important be forgotten?"
"It was old," Jordan suggested. "Maybe they just didn't keep good notes? Except for their maps. Secret society then? Maybe the Freemasons or the Bilderbergs, or... who’s the coolest secret society you can think of?"
They moved more slowly than before, when they were just trying to walk to freedom as quickly as they could. Ryan had the blank side of a map turned towards him, and drew with a sharpie as they went. As usual, Kaelynn took one look and felt a pang of jealousy for his perfect script. He was definitely the best one to be taking notes.
"This way," Blake said, pointing in the direction they hadn't gone before. "Maybe we're close to a way out."
They clambered over the pile of collapsed bones, then walked for a while, through a hallway packed to the ceiling with ancient remains. Strange place for a door into another world. Why build it here?
Kaelynn felt a sudden twisting in her gut as she saw another dark lump on the ground in front of her. They'd gone another way, so it wasn't the same corpse. Another explorer.
Except... no. She closed in on it, and fear turned instantly to joy. She ran past the others, scooping up her diving duffel into both hands. "Hell yeah! I missed you, sweetheart!"
She felt the reassuring lump of her rebreather, along with her first mask, the same one she'd bought when she first started industrial diving. "You going to try to tell me to leave it behind again?" she asked Blake, settling it onto her shoulders. "I'm not abandoning her twice in one day."
Blake grunted, folding his arms in a stance somewhere between frustrated and furious. Eventually he shrugged. "Just so long as you don't expect us to carry you when you get too tired from hauling that crap. I told you that you wouldn't want to swim in any of the water we found down here..."
"Except we all did," she pointed out. "And it was the coolest discovery since the moon landing."
Blake's face reddened, and she knew she was going to get an angry reply.
A guttural roar tore through the passage, echoing so loudly that Kaelynn actually covered one ear with her free hand.
Somewhere uncomfortably close by came the sound of crunching stone. It had to be a cave-in, right? The thing she'd been most afraid of, so close it shook the floor under her feet.
By why did it sound like it was alive, and angry?
"Run!" Blake ordered, pointing back the way they'd come.
Kaelynn turned to obey, and as she did she caught the outline of something dark from the passage up ahead, with eyes that reflected their headlamps back at them through a pair of twin pupils.
She tossed her diving gear onto her back, and ran for her life.
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What, the town in Connecticut?
Very intriguing map plotting correspondences between the worlds. That's a lot of portals. The question is how many were destroyed, how many forgotten, and how many sealed away. After all, not only has Earth seemed to have forgotten them, but we're not exactly seeing a lot of Equestrians poking their muzzles in the other way. And whatever gruesome catacomb beastie that is may be part of the answer...
For now, it's probably best to see how SCUBA gear translates to a self-contained above-water breathing apparatus.
This map helps us pin down the time period for the portal even further. New York would not be named as such until 1664. So the area outside the portal is built no earlier than 1300, it would be used until at least 1664, but no later than 1810.
Also, Jordan seems excited to go through this other world where he's a mare. Anything you'd like to share with us, Jordan?
Everybody gangsta 'till that GoPro footage starts getting recommended on YouTube
Interesting character art and colorful story, can't wait to read it.
10658773
Argh, beat me to the Newhaven remark.
Alright, so I guess it was as easy as 'go back through portal, become humans again', but having a catacomb beast on your tail now... not as easy. At least Kaelynn has her gear now. Seems like yeah, that's somehow going to translate into her being able to move on the other side. What, a fishbowl of water on her head like Spongebob to breath? Maybe that cart Jordan found will come in handy after all...
What's down there in the dark with them I wonder?
10658892 Curiosity killed the cat. It's also not a survival trait when you hear something large and hungry roar.
"Hey, Thog! It's a saber-toothed tig-- Arrrgh! Get it off! Get it off!!"
10658942
They have to bump into a hippogriff or sea pony at some point
There are interesting implications about the world gates if mankind had knowledge of them before. If enough travel and intermingling happened far back enough in time then it's possible that the people from both worlds are more or less the same, sharing ancestry from both worlds. Humanity and Equine kind are merely two sides of the same coin. Then again that doesn't seem to explain much about Jordan.
A little bit from his gender change and a big bit from Blake. Should be fine.
Yup, Jordan's the one with the taste for adventure.
I wonder if the gate in "Indian Territory" happens to be located in modern-day Northern California? Currently inside an unassuming duplex?
The least enthusiastic of the group. He won't be given a choice in the matter and that will not be good for anyone.
And this might be the answer to the breathing problem.
What the heck is that?
10659021
The worldgate in Indian territory is likely in India. On top of the duplex's worldgate being a temporary and probably new gate, Lewis and Clark would not reach there until 1806. The locals at the time didn't call themselves Indians, so for that to be California, that pretty much defines the time of the map of somewhere between 1806 and 1810.
10659284
If the gate isn't new, that's four years. Not a good slot for much to happen but still enough for a little activity. Why would 1810 be the cutoff point? Even if this particular gate is a dead end on the Earth side, people could still use it from the Equestrian side as a hideout for any number of reasons. If nothing else, the latest activity could be the remains of some survey or mapping attempt. Do you have any context on Korea and its relationship to the outside world? Would that narrow the timeframe further?
As for that temporary gate...
I suppose if Tracy has the knowledge and funds, he might actually have his third option. Not a good one but one nonetheless.
10659393
The fact that the map has French written on it, rather than any horse language means that it was used by humans or at the very least pones with knowledge of humans. The wall they collapsed to get to the portal was likely built with the catacombs, which was in 1810. It might have been used briefly afterwards, but given that pone side is abandoned and crumbling, I find that unlikely.
Korea doesn't help at all, it didn't split until 1948 and was named as such in 1234.
10659410
I suppose a frenchman trying to find his way to Paris might be stretching it.
10659433
The map itself being there disproves that. If they were trying to get back to Paris, they wouldn't have left the map behind.
Edit: To the author, thank you so much for these stories! I haven't had this much fun with speculah since Madoka threads 10 years ago!
The distribution of these different portals reminds me of Minecraft.
Minecraft is pure and original, but what if somevillages, and undersea shrines are too far away? In this case, you can shorten the distance by using the Hell portal, because the 1 block in Hell is 8 blocks in the main world, which is equivalent to shortening the distance in the main world by 8 times.
Perhaps these portals serve a similar purpose? Can it be used for fast transport around the globe?
Guess under Paris isn't totally monster free.
Can't refuse the call to adventure anymore!
Intresting keep em comming
10658776
The portal could have existed for a thousand years prior to the map being created.
10660061
The problem is the portal is in the mines of Paris. Those wouldn't be dug out until after 1292 (We're not exactly sure on the exact timing of this; the earliest text about them is in 1292 and they don't exist yet, the next text after that establishes them as already existing in 1373. I'm going with a minimum year of 1300, just for a nice round number). Meaning, it was inaccessible until that point. The portal may have existed before that, but it would connect to the middle of a deposit of Lutetian limestone, among other rocks. Not really a portal if you can't go through it. Maybe it connects to a pool of water, but that pool of water is surrounded by limestone. No way through in any meaningful degree.
Even if there was just an opening there for the portal room, the construction around it cements that it wouldn't be used to any meaningful degree until 1300. No reason to build anything there for a portal to nowhere. When I say a time frame for the portal, I'm looking more for "A timeframe for usage".
10660094
The portal isn't in the Paris catacombs. The protagonists oopsed through a wall in the catacombs to get there. It's possible the architecture of the chamber wasn't even constructed by people who were born human. In fact, it's pretty clear that the portal chamber was not created by the same people that created the catacombs from the architecture alone.
So, it's possible the chamber was created, and then some time later the catactombs were created and by coincidence the catacomb passage passed closely to the chamber wall.
The map would have needed to have been created after the catacombs (since the map has Paris on it, access between the portal chamber and the surface would be necessary to identify that the portal is under Paris), but that doesn't mean the chamber the map was found in must have been.
10660311
The catacombs were built inside the mines of Paris. The wall they pushed through was likely them crossing into the mines. Construction like that has no reason to go up, especially on human side, if there's nothing there. The mines would be put up in Renaissance era, which was Blake's initial impression of the construction. Putting up that construction is basically a big "Investigate me!" sign if only one side knew about it.
There's no way this is in the catacombs, because that means the construction went up, then the portal was forgotten about in less than 200 years, and a 200 years where a lot of things were recorded at that.
Phantom of the opera:
"Oh that? That's just the alligator that lives down here with me."
Loving the story so far, just one small nitpick.
So the outer rim of the map is written in French, but all of the placenames are in English? Granted most of those are cognates like ‘Londres’ and ‘Corée’, so perhaps they’re just making good educated guesses.
I wonder if Jordan is so calm about what happened because he clings to the hope that he only sounded like a girl and wasn't actually a mare. The comment about back legs reminds of Gazing to ocean of the sky which has a similar concept.
What roams the catacombs of Paris? Maybe not all those disappearances are from getting lost.
Or maybe they just woke up a grumpy guardian who's chasing them to try and get them out of dangerous areas... And backfiring?
10658776
For that last point, he just might be more into adventure than he is attached to his sex. Which is absolutely fair: if I were him, this kind of discovery trumps having your sex changed ten-fold, especially since it is reversible. Heck, that last part might even be a major factor. Who wouldn't want to try out being the opposite sex if you knew it was reversible, even if you have to be a horse thing to do it?
10779705
I'm betting on an alligator. All underground places have alligators.
10801592
It's an essence of a fluid personality, who can adapt and more interested in own exploits than own identity. Someone who isn't finding comfort in routine.
BACK INTO THE POOL!
10851897
Alligators don’t roar, they hiss…….unless it’s a mutant sewer gator, those roar.
So, let me get this straight. They found a portal to Equus, went through it, and then their first instinct is to go... back to Earth?
In every HiE fic I've ever read, I can quite honestly say that's a first. How novel.