Time Maze

A Drunk in a Bar

Once through the portal, Tyson felt disoriented because previous experience taught him to expect the impenetrable darkness of the first place they had reached when they fell into the lake. However, what he saw was quite the opposite.

Instead of the eerie quiet and utter darkness, he heard such a ruckus that he started worrying they had fallen into an ambush.

"What is this place?" Tyson asked Sybil.

He had enough presence of mind to note that the clothing that appeared on Sybil was one he didn't recognize at first glance. Furthermore, it didn't suit the energetic woman as it was far too constricting, covering every inch of her body.

"Don't tell me this is your first tavern?" Sybil asked.

"Wow, this is so cool," Marcus said, appearing before the two.

"We are still very new to all this. Whatever it might be, so yes, this is our first tavern," Tyson said cautiously.

Tyson felt he was revealing far too much without receiving anything in return. However, he didn't feel like they had a choice in the matter. Sybil was bound to figure out how uncomfortable he felt in the noisy place. Thus, being straightforward sounded like a smart move.

Tyson hoped that honesty would get her to trust them and, in turn, reveal more of what they needed to know than she would have done otherwise.

"Ah, why do I always get entangled with rookies who can't be in any way useful to me," Sybil said, sighing deeply.

"If you fill us in, we might be able to help each other out. History is my expertise, and maybe we can use that to our advantage," Tyson said.

"I guess that makes sense though I am still not sure if I trust you guys," Sybil said, contemplating her next move.

"The feeling is mutual. However, I believe that under these circumstances, the least we can do is try," Tyson said, trying to be as rational as possible.

"Tyson, is this like a bar? Can we get some beer or something?" Marcus interrupted.

"Marcus now is not the time," Tyson said sternly.

"Talking about time, when are we, Sybil?" Tyson asked.

"This is around the 1500s. I forgot the exact date this was programmed to take us to," Sybil said.

"Programmed? So this is a manmade thing. It's not supernatural or something like that?" Tyson asked.

"Don't be ridiculous. There are no such things as supernatural events," Sybil said.

"Well, we thought time travel was a ridiculous notion, but here we are," Tyson said.

"Fair point, but as far as I know, everything that is going on, everything that you've seen, has a scientific explanation," Sybil explained.

"That's a relief. I don't think I could have handled more unbelievable things becoming true," Tyson said.

Upon finally taking a careful look at the overcrowded tavern, Tyson started wondering where they could sit down and have a talk that he hoped would explain their predicament.

"Dude, I need a drink!" Marcus yelled.

"Why don't you go to the bar and have a beer while your friend and I have a chat?" Sybil said, starting to move towards the only empty table in the whole place.

"It sounds good to me," Marcus said before Tyson had the time to object.

As Marcus reached the bar, he turned to see that Tyson and Sybil were already leading what seemed to be a lively conversation. However, he didn't care in the slightest what it was about as all he wanted to do was drink some beer and maybe have a bite to eat.