This choice: Approach the house. See who's home! • Go Back...Chapter #5Approach the house. See who's home! by: birdshoes   "Tess," you say, hoping she can hear you in your pocket. "I'm going to go talk to a local who saw us. I'm going to find out exactly where we are."
Tess says something, but you can't hear. You don't want to lallygag around here for too long, otherwise you'd pull her out and talk more. More than one person probably saw your time machine descend, and if you're not out of here soon, someone you don't want to talk to might come poking around. You're wearing modern clothing, too, which makes you stand out. Better go see who's in the nearby hut. Maybe you can convince them to give you some era-appropriate clothes, or something.
You walk briskly toward the hut. "Hey!" you call out to whoever is watching you through the window. Whoever it is, they seem alarmed. They almost immediately disappear from the window as they realize you are looking for them.
You reach the house and knock on the door. "Hey. Um, sorry for scaring you. I don't mean you any harm, really. I'm, um, a traveler from, uh, out of state. And I'm just trying to gather my wits about me, get some directions, you know?" you ask. You hope the translator machine is working - you'd hate to discover you'd just been rambling at this stranger in English, confusing her more.
"Hello?" you ask, knocking again. You try to push the door open, but it's locked. You sigh, and look toward the window the mysterious stranger was watching you through. It's open... and wide. You walk over and, careful not to tilt Tess around too much, begin to climb through.
You grunt as you clear the window, landing on your feet. You look around. The house is dark - there isn't much light inside. And it's relatively simple. Whoever this house belongs to isn't rich. You suppose the rich folks probably dwell in Memphis, with the Pharaoh. There will be time to find them later.
You look around, trying to see whoever it was that ran from you. You suddenly are overcome with the realization that they might not mean well for you - and, in fact, might be hiding with some kind of weapon, ready to attack you as if you're some kind of invader. Which, technically, you are. You grab your stun screwdriver and hold it near your waist, ready to fire with it at a moment's notice.
"Ok! I'm in your house. I don't mean you any harm. I'm just trying to get a little information" you say as you take baby steps around the house.
You hear a bump and a crash, and snap your head to your left. A shattered bowl has spread out across the pavement, having fallen from a small table in the middle of the room. Underneath the table, you spot someone hunched underneath, looking out at you fearfully.
"Hi! Hello. I guess that might not be how you greet people around here. Uh, I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry. My name is (INSERT YOUR NAME HERE). I'm, um, from, uh, across the sea" you say, trying to think about a way to make time travel sound reasonable.
The person underneath the table stays seated. You feel how tense they are. They're probably terrified of you.
You shift uncomfortably form one foot to the other. "Really. I don't want to scare you. Sorry. Can I, uh, ask what your name is?"
"Behenu" calls a feminine voice.
"Behenu! Hi. Nice to meet you. Sorry to scare you. Can you come out so I can see who I'm talking to?"
There's a short silence, followed by a slight rustling sound. Slowly, a young woman of about 19 or 20 stands up from behind the table. She watches you with intense dark eyes as she stands up, eyeing you warily. She has dark black hair, and is wearing simple white linen clothing. "What's that in your hand?" she asks, breaking the silence.
"This? Uh..." you say, looking down at the stun screwdriver in hand sheepishly. "It's nothing. It's, like, you have torches, right? It's like a torch. It lets me see in the dark." You quickly shove it back into your pocket, next to the neutralizer. No need to tilt your hand just yet. And you don't know this girl, or what telling her could do to the timeline. "Do you, um, have some torches, by the way? It's kind of dark in here."
Behenu stared at you for a moment, sizing you up. You looked down at your clothes, which probably appeared exotic and flashy by Behenu's standards. She was probably trying to figure out where the heck you came from. You met her gaze again, which seemed to penetrate you. She then slowly turned away from you and went around the small hut, opening several windows and allowing plenty of natural light to pour in.
"Behenu is real pretty... quite a looker" you think to yourself as you watch her go about the room. In fact, she looks like she walked right off of some movie set and into the real world. You felt yourself subconsciously reach for your size ray, but you hesitate. You don't even know this Behenu yet. You have no idea what the consequences of shrinking her might be. Maybe she turns out to be someone famous or important? By shrinking her for yourself, you might cause a significant change in a timeline. Better hold off for now, you decide, though you can't fight the urge to shrink her and pocket her. She'd look awfully cute on your desk or on a shelf... and she'd probably be lots of fun to play with, too.
Behenu goes back to the table, standing behind it. She seems less tense now that the windows are open. She motions for you to approach. "Sit" she says. "You are a guest. I have some bread and beer if you are hungry."
You sit eagerly. Oh boy! An authentic Egyptian meal in ancient Egypt. And beer? You didn't even know they had beer at this point in time. You sit down at the table, eagerly awaiting your meal. You pause. Should you unshrink Tess? She might like some. But... you don't want to startle your gracious host just yet. Maybe you ought to wait.
Behenu returns a few minutes later with a stale-looking flatbread and a large jar. Fair enough, you think. They probably didn't have cups back then. Or, rather, right now. She sets the bowl down in front of you and hands you the piece of flatbread. You gaze down at the bowl, with a frown on your face. "This is oatmeal" you say. It looks more like someone dumped an IPA onto a pile of mashed up oats than it does something drinkable.
Behenu seems nonplussed. "I guess you call it something else where you are from."
You use the large straw-type... thing Behenu stuck in the jar and take a sip. It's not the best thing you've ever had. But you could probably down a bowl if you were hungry.
"Thanks. Thanks, Behenu" you say, staring blankly at her. She sits down at the table opposite you and watches you as you push the jar away from you.
"You came out of a meteor that fell from the sky" she says, bluntly. You spit out the mouthful of beer you lapped up.
What do you say? Maybe you could try to convince her you were the incarnation of some Egyptian deity? You try to think of one you could convincingly represent.
"Sometimes, the gods send a meteor out of the sky as a message. But a person has never come out of one. So while the meteor might have been a sign, I don't think you're a god" she said. "Gods are more fickle. And a divine punishment would have been more direct" she says. She stares at you, waiting for you to offer some answer up.
You feel Tess shift uncomfortably in your coat. She's probably nervous. You pat her through your coat, trying to reassure her.
"Right... yeah, no, I'm not a god or anything. But I am magic, I guess" you say, half-convincingly. You remember lots of Egyptians believed in and tried to use magic. You remember something about ancient Egyptian magicians being able to use all sorts of powers, though, you realize, these were probably superstition and allegorical literary devices if anything. But... Behenu seems like a peasant. Maybe she's superstitious, too?
"So, um, I'm a magician! You know, magic. What did ancient Egyptians call it, heka? I cast spells. And, um, I found a way to travel through meteors. It's, um, not something most people know how to do. I learned it, um, from some secret books. Yeah."
Shiiiiiit. No way she bought that.
You wrack your brain, trying to remember anything else you can about ancient Egyptian magic. You remember reading something in some book or seeing in some YouTube video that ancient Egyptian magicians were said to be able to animate miniature clay figurines of animals.
"Sorry, Tess..." you mutter as you reach for your shrunken assistant. She yelps as you grab at her. You quickly pull her out of her pocket and stand her up on the table in front of Behenu, who stares down at the shrunken woman with interest. "Just follow my lead" you whisper to her.
Tess, mortified, stands completely still, as though she's playing dead. Or, rather, she's playing doll.
"Behenu" you say. "Allow me to demonstrate my magic abilities...  | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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