Chapter 54: Jordan
It was easily the worst hike of Jordan's life.
Wearing "shoes" that were really just a few pieces of wood wrapped around his feet with strips of ripped shirt certainly didn't help. There was no trail either, just mud and hillside with briars and thorns. Before they even started he was already shivering with cold, thanks to the water in the Worldgate. By the time they got anywhere near the bottom, he'd acquired a handful of brand-new blisters.
He moved roughly beside Galena the whole way down, traveling behind Janet by hundreds of feet. Despite what the former griffon said about her not needing shoes, even the makeshift substitutes clearly hurt her progress. But for all the times she stumbled and scraped herself, she somehow managed to catch up with him. Galena just didn't want to be in back.
"I wish to know," Galena said, as they finally reached flat ground. Janet waited beside a clear trail, one that extended towards the city. "Which tribes of your kind can fly, and why I was not made one of those. That path was a torment."
"None," Janet said. There was far more excitement on her face than either of them had demonstrated. But for her, it had just been a hike. "No humans have wings. We do have machines, like your airships—they move so quickly that even the fastest vessels you've seen would seem like they're crawling."
Jordan sat on the side of a large rock, adjusting his "shoes." What he wouldn't give to summon some sneakers from the Dreamlands right about now. He'd tried, during the walk down... without success. Not exactly surprising, however disappointing it was. No magical souvenirs from Equestria.
Galena laughed, a little of her good humor returning. "You say this thing, yet you have not heard the tale of the Guingelot. They say she could outpace even a pegasus diving with the wind! The village I saw from the mountain will be building no mighty airships, I think."
"They don't, other places do. If you think Canterlot was big, just wait until you see a real city. Stop by London or New York, and you'll know who builds them."
"I would like that," Galena said. "I would like to see your world, as you saw mine. But you say it is not possible."
Janet looked away awkwardly. "I don't know."
They walked along in silence then, long enough that the streets of the distant city finally came into view.
Compared to what Jordan had been seeing these last few weeks—wonders of another world, traveling the unseen mysteries of the Dreaming, it wasn't much. A modest Eastern-European village. Most buildings were packed close together in a few small rows, without even an alley between them. Some looked like they might even date to the Middle Ages.
Conversion to the modern world had been an awkward and piecemeal process for Bydska, with powerlines shoved in wherever they could fit, a few old phone-booths slowly yellowing in the sun with only bare wires hanging out, and plenty of graffiti.
Bydska wasn't much, but it was still the closest thing to Earth Jordan had been in months. This was it, the triumphant return. Bust out the palm fronds and the donkey, the explorers had returned.
Nobody busted out anything, though after only a few steps into town they had attracted a few locals, emerging from second and third story windows to point or snap photos with their phones. They muttered to each other in Polish.
To his surprise, it was Galena who reacted first. "Should we let them talk like that?" she asked, glaring at a little girl pointing at them from inside a shop. Bakery, maybe, judging by the sign. "I would not suffer such things to be said about my crew."
Janet nodded, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Not sure they like you two very much. Were you sure about the country, Jordan? I've never been anywhere but Mexico, but I didn't think the Poles were known for their Spanish."
His mouth fell open, confusion momentarily overtaking all else. They'd made it far enough into town now that there was some car traffic, albeit not much. An old bus traveled its slow circuit of the town, but mostly the residents walked or took bikes. But this place wasn't big enough to attract a proper crowd. Nothing big enough for them to disappear.
Jordan was no polyglot—even his French was only passable. But he knew enough Spanish to know what this wasn't. Maybe he could mistake this for Russian, if he was drunk enough. But Spanish?
"You saw the phone," he said. He pointed at a street sign. "You telling me Spanish has accented Vs and slashy Ls? I'd at least be able to feel out what Spanish might mean."
Janet stopped beside it, staring up in disbelief. "That just says 'Center Street.'" She fell abruptly silent, leaving the two of them to stare.
"That is what it says," Galena agreed. "Center Street. This is a confusing waste of metal. If the street is in the center, the label is not needed."
Finally they'd made enough of a commotion that a group of locals approached them. Teenage boys, by the look of them, dressed about how he expected. They really did wear stripes!
They said a bunch of... something. Polish words. Jordan couldn't be sure, but he was fairly certain one of them was “American.” Or maybe a butchered version of it. They seemed to be mostly pointing at Janet's jacket.
Is Poland one of the countries that hates us? He couldn't quite remember.
Janet answered them in Spanish. She gestured a few times, pointing at the jacket, then the two of them. Jordan could do a little better pulling the meaning out of it—something about them being lost, maybe a tour bus?
As if he wasn't already confused enough, Galena spoke up next, but in English. "She is right. We just looking for... somewhere to buy. Maybe stay for a little while. Where is good in your village?"
I'm missing something here. Jordan retreated from the conversation. He smiled and nodded whenever they pointed at him, but otherwise he stopped paying much attention. Whatever was going on here didn't quite compute anymore.
They're speaking three different languages, he thought. But the teenagers didn't seem to care. They laughed, and began to gesticulate wildly, pointing around town. At buildings, presumably.
They continued like that for what felt like ages. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, with the crowd of locals expanding around them in a circle. Why did I even come here? And even more confusing, When Blake learns about this, he's not going to care about me anymore.
He could understand everything Galena said. But with so many others talking at the same time, in so many languages, he lost track. Besides, she didn't say much—mostly it was Janet, conversing with them in Spanish like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Then a worn taxicab stopped beside the road, and the door opened. The other two members of Jordan's group moved towards it, apparently expecting it. Janet reached back, snatching him by the wrist. "Come on! That woman knows someone with a little house we can rent. We'll stop for clothes after that."
"How?" he stammered, baffled. "Nothing I just saw made any sense."
As he did, someone near the front pointed, grinning. "American!" they said, heavily accented. "You... American?"
"Yes," he said. And nothing else, following the rest of the group into the back of the cab. They rode for a short distance—it wasn't exactly a very large town. Jordan tried to keep the mountain present in the back of his mind, never losing track of it as they turned.
Maybe Bydska was nicer than they'd been expecting. Maybe the locals were actually friendly. But even if that was true, he couldn't forget his friends up on that mountain, still waiting for help. A piece of himself was on the other side of that pond.
They stopped about two minutes later, in front of a modest looking house a short distance down the road. Far enough away from the rest of town that it wasn't attached, and had a little yard of green grass. There was also a goat.
"Pay them," Janet instructed, nudging him. Suddenly she was speaking English again, without missing a beat. "Five euros."
"Highway robbery," he answered, but produced the bill. Good thing Blake gave him all the money—he wasn't sure either of these knew the value.
"I know," Janet answered. "We don't know what we're bringing here. We want a good reputation. It costs."
"I hope you're thinking critically about this, Janet. You shouldn't understand them. I don't know about the griffon, maybe there's some special magic about birds they don't know. But you're one of us. Magic doesn't work on this side."
Janet took the bill, and didn't reply until they were out of the car, waving farewell to the driver. After another brief conversation in a language he didn't understand, they made their way up to the old house, past the goat.
To be honest, Jordan got more from the goat than he did from most of the rapid speech he'd tried and failed to catch. At least he knew the animal didn't care about him.
"Call it a blessing," Janet said, as they made their way up to the worn old door. "Long overdue for me, far as I'm concerned. We can figure out the why once we get settled."
"How can you not understand them, bat?" Galena asked, grinning at him. Blake wasn't around to see it, but he could only imagine the conversation waiting when they got back. These two would certainly brag about how useless his interpretation had been. "It is so simple. Old, tribal tongue. Same as Equestrian, but simpler."
He had no answer to that—and a few seconds later, the door opened. An old woman stood there, face covered in wrinkles and a broom in one hand. She waved it threateningly in their general direction, at least until Janet said something.
Soon enough there was another conversation Jordan couldn't understand. Her expression softened, and soon she was ushering them inside. Jordan watched, saying little and understanding barely more. Only when Galena got involved did it become clear.
At least they were inside. The chill of the outdoors couldn't reach them once they had a space-heater rattling in their face.
"We will do no harm to your property. There are more of us, but they are skilled workers. We will make better improvements, maybe. No harm."
Then when they pointed at him, Galena only said, "Doesn't understand. He crashed a little too often when he was learning to fly."
At least the old woman's face was appropriately baffled at that particular comment. Jordan sipped at the tea he was served, produced a few more bills when Janet asked, and generally tried to make very little fuss.
It took less than an hour for the meeting to conclude. Suddenly they were leaving the house behind, following an old woman wearing slippers past the goat, and across the road to another house.
It was in even worse shape—dirty windows, holes in the roof, and a yard completely overgrown. But when they stepped inside, the lights came on. The water worked too, and she even stopped to point at an old TV.
Better than being out in the cold.
Finally the old woman walked away, clutching a wad of bills in her fingers.
Jordan watched her vanish up the drive, and didn’t say anything else until she'd disappeared from sight. "Do you mind telling me what we just agreed to?" he finally asked. "I'm in favor of getting things figured out, don't get me wrong. But I thought I was going to... help with that."
"Us too," Galena said.
Janet ignored her, walking through the little house opening every door. It had two bedrooms, a single modest bathroom, and a central living area with a simple kitchen. The building wasn't in great shape, and from the look of things the house had dozens or maybe even hundreds of tenants already, all with at least six legs.
"A hundred euros for the month," Janet said, sounding satisfied. "That's more than enough time to wait for our rendezvous. And in the meantime, she says there's a box of old clothes her kids used to wear. We can take that back, get clothes for everyone. Bedding here will be a little tight, but... we can make it work. Should have enough petty cash for meals without cracking the gold."
Jordan groaned. It did sound like a decent rate, assuming the woman didn't go back on her word. He couldn't actually be sure of the veracity of any of it, but from the sound of things... Janet and Galena had somehow made them welcome in a foreign land and got them a place to stay, without going above their means.
"It's good work," he admitted. "Still think I'd rather sleep on that side. The Bright Hawk has really nice quarters. Even if I have to clamber through a cave each way."
"I am... not certain where I go," Galena said. "This place, I do not hate. Tribe is... different. I want to see more."
"Going back isn't smart," Janet said. She fussed about with a nearby cabinet, then finally got the latch to open. Inside was a worn looking carboard box. She heaved it up onto the kitchen table, then flipped it open.
Apparently she could understand what the local woman said. The table transformed into the trash bin of a thrift store, complete with old clothes in varieties and patterns Jordan had never even imagined.
What would happen to that jacket if I took it back with me to Equestria. He decided he needed to know immediately, and snatched it off the table for his own use.
"I know I can't force you," Janet continued. "But you should think about staying here too. Everyone has limited time. Even if you do want to begin some... exploration of Equestria. Even if you want to run headlong into the train that is revealing it to the world, spending time here buys back time to be on that side. It's like... a pressure valve. It needs to be released."
"Maybe. But Kaelynn is still on the other side. If this really is our way out, we'll want to arrange someone to hold onto the ship until the rest of our crew gets here. Then... I dunno. Maybe Blake has some military friends he can talk to. Who do you go to when you want to share some secret with the world?"
He fished through the old clothes with one hand, not actually waiting for an answer. "I'm going back to the others before dark. Galena, you coming?"
"Yes," she said. "But only to bring this to... the others. And be there when you all decide what to do."
"Suit yourselves," Janet said. "I'll find a way to charge your stuff when you get back. Miss Wysocki doesn't have any US-compatible stuff. Obviously."
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Hm... the language thing is interesting. We already knew Janet knew Spanish pre-Equestria, but apparently being from a different species in Equestria made you speak a different language back on Earth? I mean, I guess it would make sense, but the fact that Galena equates Polish(?) to Old Equestrian does make me curious...
All of a sudden I'm a lot less confident in Janet's humanity and Jordan's lack of humanity. Back in chapter 7, Blake mentioned hearing the locals in Spanish while everyone else heard English, which makes me suspect that there is some auto translate function on the worldgate.
The fact that it works for Galena makes me think it works for non humans.
Janet might have been in there long enough that she won't (FP spoiler)Tracy in a meeting transform but instead sustain a transformation like Galena.
It also means that the auto translate function was still working in Cahokia, despite everything else going wrong.
I really wonder what is going on with the language thing. It might be connected to Janet responding in Spanish when she met Ryan. The fact that the translation extends to writing as well makes me even more curious.
Well this complicates things to a new level.
10952023
I can totally see a translation spell being added to help with the illusion. That spells really bad things for Janet.
10952005
10952069
Apparently a language translation component was added to the illusion spell usually placed on magical creatures using the gate. This is evident in Galena's (an Equestrian-born person) equating Polish to the old equestrian tribal tongue. It was translated for her. And Polish was translated to Spanish for Janet. Jordan wasn't affected because apparently humans don't get (or need) the spell. He still has time but it looks like Janet is a completely magical creature now.
Given that it's on Earth, I should hope so.
In any case, definitely some interesting developments. Maybe the rules work differently when dealing with the Dreamlands? We may need to see what happens if and when Jordan goes to sleep on Earth. Bringing in the others should provide some more data. We'll find out in time.
Considering how ubiquitous USB is for charging, they can probably find something to get their phones charged.
How long until they find out their fishy friend got kidnapped?
10952138
And almost every AC to DC power supply is built to work with both 120V and 230V. Even if the plugs don't fit, you can use a thick enough wire, like a clothes hanger, to build an (unsafe) adapter.
She'd better be satisfied. Less than 150 dollars a month would be incredible in many parts of north america.
Maybe Janet completely went hippogriff, so the magic is transforming her properly like Roseluck.
Was there a drawback to staying on the Earth side in that case?
10952746
According to Celestia in chapter 64 of Fine Print, "Any Equestrian creature who remained too long would eventually break that spell, and the illusion would fail."
I have two questions for the author:
1. What is Jolie’s relationship to the others?
2. What exactly is Vesper?
10952106
Darn, out of all of them, I believed Janet would be the last one to lose her humanity.
10952106
10952069
You know, something always bothered me about the language part and I finally thought of what it was.
Janet was using the magical translation to speak to the Polish natives. Why did Janet's magical translation not also work for Jordan if he is still human? Her words should have been translated to him as well.
10953864
I don't know, he wasn't part of those conversations. Maybe the translation is partly "directional". But that also presents a problem as Galena spoke English during the same conversations. So the two-way phone theory can only really work if the Old Equestrian Tongue is identical. Blake's POV might clear a few things.
Looks like it is gearing up for the rescue team for Kaelynn to be composed of our original four story members, if they are able to find her at all.
Also a minor note, but Poland doesn’t use euros (except in areas with lots of tourists apparently, which this village doesn’t seem to be one) they use złoty. But perhaps the villagers are just eager for whatever they can get.
If the bird girls have enough magic ticking to have some sort of magic auto translate running, they're probably both screwed long term as far as permanent human forms go.
Yep.
Old polish woman with a broom, the secret end game boss for the story.
10953144
The batpony identity Jordan has formed for himself while he's a she in Equestria.
Wtf, man. We can't possibly be that hard to understand!
Power ports aren't universal?
10952138
Unless they use one of those brands that promote non-interoperable chargers, which are less respected in EU.
10972413
US, EU, UK, and Australia all use different types of ports. Other countries typically use the standard plug from one of those 4.
Although it's better for them to just get a universal power adapter. It's basically the same price as buying a normal charging brick.