==A kid pops his head out the door, and then a man in a pair of pants and shirt with an odd jacket, and short tie comes out followed by his wife.  They join you in singing the same song, but it s different language.

After which, the man comes out, clasps your hand, and leads you back to the house, clearly telling the wife to get food, and she scurries off.  Three young kids show up, and study you intently.  You're seated at a wooden table on chair while the wife makes tea and sodabread.

They all beam at you.

OOC: OK, then I will gather up my stuff and pack it together.  We can firm up the list later.  I will probably travel relatively lightly.

As for language familarity, my Duolingo stats are:

Chinese 19975 XP
Spanish 8563 XP
French 6673 XP
German 4153 XP
Japanese 3803 XP
Latin 3746 XP
Indonesian 3719 XP
Portuguese 2932 XP
Greek 1119 XP
Esperanto 1082 XP
Hebrew 437 XP
Hindi 340 XP
Italian 75 XP
Korean 73 XP

I have sung in Latin, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Hebrew, and Japanese.

I have traveled in Germany and Austria.

I had enough Spanish to limp through my undergraduate language requirement.

I picked up some Chinese and Indonesian while living overseas for a dozen years.

Soooo...  I have had some exposure to languages, such that I might have some idea what language my hosts are speaking, even if I don't know enough to converse with.

Do I have any clue what language they are speaking?

Do they have any identifiable race, appearance, clothing style, etc.?

I am moved as they join me in song, and more so as my hand is clasped, and as I am invited in.

Already thankful, my eyes light up when the children come to study me, and I smile and wave gently and playfully.  I really love kids, and it shows.

" 'Peace be unto you.' Can you understand me?  I am John."

Assuming that they can't understand me, I then point to myself, and slowly say: "John."

Then I gesture gently toward the father, and look to him inquiringly...

German.

"Otto." He points to his wife. "Marguerite. " and his kids "Martin, Wilhelm, and Anna."

He starts chatting with you, and you have to get him to slow down.  He's asking if you are Lutheran, and if you are from the Evening Star.

Food is provided, and he prays to bless the meal.

His clothing is clearly not machine made, but woven, so after the industrial revolution, but before Sears and JC Penney.

Yes, I am pretty certain that they are speaking German, and I have enough exposure to recognize it as such, and to dimly remember a few words and phrases.  However, actually understanding someone in a real-time conversation, much less actually speaking myself, is a different matter entirely...

:: Dearest LORD, please open my mind to recall what little German I know, and to quickly learn what I do not... ::

Thus, when he starts chatting, I look uncomprehending, and hold up a hand inquiringly, using one thankfully remembered phrase...

"Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

When I hear the word "Lutheran", I respond by singing a verse of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" in English.

I bow my head, and when he is done giving thanks, I look at them all with gratitude.

"Danke Heilig Gott.  Danke Otto.  Danke Marguerite.  Danke Martin, danke Wilhelm, danke Anna."

OOC: "Thank Holy God" should actually be "Danke Heiliger Gott", but I'm nowhere near that good without Google Translate handy, and am more than happy enough to remember enough to just get that close... :o

In reply to Oak (msg # 11):

GE roll time...unlikely....no, he doesn't know English.

After you pray, you find you can pick up one word out of ten as your memory clicks into place feebly.

Roll of 2.

Magic: Bring to Mind 1@1

He speaks slower and more loudly.

Everyone joins you in Mighty Fortress, and that helps as you can now match words from that song to your language.

He's said something about asking if you come from or followed or came in the direction from the Evening or Night or Afternoon Star.

I look confused as I try to make sense if the query regarding the Star, since I don't know exactly what directions they signify, and since I don't know if I would be specifying where I came from or where I am following.

I silently pray for aid in being able to overcome any language barriers to communicate, both to understand and to be understood...

In reply to Oak (msg # 13):

The only thing that comes to mind is that the Evening Star is Venus.

I'm still confused... so I still look confused...  O_o

In reply to Oak (msg # 15):

They talk among each other, and decide that singing is in order.  So you spend the next couple hours singing, and then the man shows you to a rug by the fireplace as night falls.

I love singing, and I love fireplaces, and I love families with kids.

I note^* with interest the tunes I know, trying to tie their sung German words to English words that I know.  I also note^** with interest the tunes I don't know, and do my best to harmonize even when I do not know what syllables to sing.

If there are any chores being done, I look for ways to help.

And then I thankfully take my place on the rug near the fire, pondering the strange discontinuity that has brought me to this place.

The likeliest explanation is that I am unconscious, and having a very vivid dream.  But God is Sovereign over all, both external and internal, and he has brought me to this place, whether it be one that exists objectively or subjectively.  So I will serve Him as faithfully as I may, and pray silently for wisdom and strength to do so.

Before the discontinuity, it was evening.  Afterward, it was daytime.  So it has been a long day, particularly for someone who is not fond of jet lag.  Being in such strange circumstances, plus the mental strain of trying to make sense of a foreign language, make me very tired.

Thus, despite the discontinuity disquiet, music memories and flickering fire lull me rather quickly to sleep...

OOC:
^* (pun not intended)
^** (pun mostly not intended :)

You help bring in the cows to the barn, and Martin milks them.  Anna shows you the chickens which she clearly loves.

Next morning is oatmeal with a teaspoon of honey and warm milk.

Otto communicates to you more with gesture that he wants you to come w ith him.  The kids wave bye.  Unless you object, Otto takes you on a five mile walk (no mountains, and just a few small hills, and two small stone arch bridges) before you arrive in a small town he calls Freidstrasse.

He walks up to a door, and knocks on it, and a tall, thin man comes to the door.  Otto speaks a bit, and the man looks with interest at you.

"I am Sassen. A lawyer." He says in stilted English.

I enjoy helping with the chores, and interacting with the cows and chickens and kids.

I warmly thank them for the breakfast.

As I hike, I observe with interest the sights and sounds and smells, soaking up whatever trees and plants, birds and other critters, hills and whatever streams the bridges go over.  I observe the weather, the temperature and humidity, how fresh the air is (presumably better than 2021 LA smog), etc.

As we walk, I also point to various things, asking for the German words.

And as we meet the lawyer who can speak stilted English, my eyes light up.

"'Peace be unto you.'  I am John."

"Yesterday, I found myself near Otto's home, with no memory of how I arrived, and he kindly invited me in."

"I do not know how far or how long I may have wandered during my forgotten travels.  Please, where are we now?  And what is today's date?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:47, Mon 09 Aug 2021.

In reply to Oak (msg # 19):

There is the occasional smell of wood smoke, but yes, the air is fresh.

"Ah, Englishman. You are in Freidstrasse, in the minor princedom of Hallen, in Bavaria, one of the Germanies.  It is the Year of Our Lord 1592. May the tenth.  Otto thought you had come from the Evening Star, or what some call Venus, and I can see w hy based on your clothes and your language."

I blink as he gives me the date, and silently pray that God will help me to remember relevant details of what I have read about Reformation History.  My past reading has been rather detailed, including the entire https://doctrine.org/the-history-of-protestantism ...

"Well.  It would seem that I have wandered far and long.  What news of interest has happened over the past few years?  And do you have any maps I could look at?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 21):

"Oh yes. My brother is a navigator of the Dream. He gives me maps." He ushers you both in, gets you both tea and cookies, and pulls out a number of maps.

He shows you a map of the Germanies, and a less detailed map of Western Europe, and a map of the coastline out to the Azores Islands with various odd symbols beyond that and the words in German of 'dream' and other words like 'west gate' and 'storm gate' and 'main convoy route' and 'alexander convoys' and so forth.  And the map then ends with a fringe of a lot of fantastical symbols.

He then shows you a couple maps that show ships going past Charbydis and Skeleton Ships and other things, and have symbols that make little sense to you.

And finally  he shows you a partial map of Marsport.

"News, well, there was a witch trial in Trier, and much suffering of farmers. Thankfully, we in Hallen have not such.  The electorate of Cologne still rebuilds after their war."

I take in the information from his words and from his maps with great interest.

"Please, tell me of the Dream, and of the known places navigated to.  Which have clothes and language that are similar to me, and which differ?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 23):

"the Dream?" He looks a little nonplussed. "It is the space between the edge of the world and the Evening Star and the War Star.  The men of the Evening Star wear clothes more like yours, some say they livein the next century or more.  The War Star, well, they don't wear clothes being men of iron. But how do you not know this? Aristotle was the first to teach of the Dream, and Plato too."

"It would seem that there is much that I do not remember, and I do not know what I do not know."

I sigh thoughtfully.

"Let us assume for the moment that I do not know anything.  What things would I most need to know, if I wanted to stay in these lands?  And what things would I most need to know, if I wanted to travel to the Evening Star?"

"Hmmmm." he talks with Otto a bit. "You'd need to show the Mayor of this town you have monies or can do a job here.  Or find one outside the city.  Otto says he would be glad to  hire you as a worker at his farm.  Not much pay, but food and clothes and a place to sleep which he says..." 'You're already familiar with'."

"Ah, well if you wanted to go to the Evening Star, I think you would have to go to the coast, and find a boat going to the Azores. There are some former sailors and merchants in town who have made the trip, but I have not."

I am visibly touched at Otto's offer, and give him a grateful glance as Sassen relays it to me.  Then I consider thoughtfully...

"I would like to eventually go to the Evening Star, but it may be wise to first learn here more of what I do not know, and to save for the journey.  What jobs need someone in this town?  Could I be more useful here, or more useful with Otto?"

In reply to Oak (msg # 27):

You and they talk a bit.  One job that comes up is to be a computer.  That is, someone who does math problems.

That sounds interesting.  I pray silently for wisdom, and follow up to find out more details...

Q1: Is it a full-time job, or could I work (and live?) at Otto's when not needed for computing tasks?
Q2: How would it pay?
Q3: Would it include room and board?
Q4: What type of opportunities would it give me to meet people?
Q5: What type of opportunities would it give me to learn things about the village, culture, etc.?
Q6: What type of opportunities would it give me to learn things about the Evening Star?

In reply to Oak (msg # 29):

Its a full time job.

Its considered skilled work, but near the bottom of such.  you would not make as much as a doctor or lawyer or master of his craft, but more than most others.

No.

Lots. People come in to the computer shoppe with math problems to be solved.

Good. You'd be living in the village. And you'd be exposed to merchants and others.

Again good, merchants need to do calculations at times for travelling the dream and such.

That sounds even more interesting.  I pray silently for wisdom, and follow up to find out more details...

Q7: What options are there for my room and board, since I would have funds to pay for them?
Q8: Would Otto be one of those options?

In reply to Oak (msg # 31):

You could visit Otto for room and board, or an inn which is most expensive, or a boarding house which is less than an inn.  Of course, you can also buy a house, but thats not really in the cards right now.

Otto would be the cheapest and good food as well.  But you'd have a long commute.