CHAPTER 4 - Bogged Down
When he spotted a rustic tavern, all was right in the world. He would get directions, a beer, and perhaps a doctor, then things would return to normal. Entering the establishment, he saw this might not be the case.
The interior looked like something out of an old movie: it had wooden tables, exposed beams, and was lit by lanterns and a fireplace. The patrons, all men, were wearing simple rough-hewn clothing, and they were all staring at him.
“Can someone help me? I seem to have been in an accident and I’m a bit lost.”
The funny thing about time travel is that time travelers transported to a new era somehow absorb the language and speech patterns of the area they have traveled to or perhaps it’s just too much work for your near omniscient narrator to research language and speech patterns of ancient civilizations every time Dan changes location time.
That being said, what the bar patrons heard and what Dan actually tried to say were quite different, but they did get the message.
One of the patrons responded: “Good sir, have you been injured?”
What Dan heard was: “Are you all right, buddy? Anything broken?”
“I don’t think so, but I crashed my car and I don’t know where I am.”
“Well let’s see if we can find your wagon.”
It doesn’t always work precisely the way one would expect.