Whoa, this is not Coachella... What year is this, medieval Times Square?
Hello sir, welcome to my fruit stand
Greetings! So, I take it the grapes here taste like cheap merlot and the apples will turn me into an expert on a farmhouse at all?
A- Ah yes, our fruits are fresh, and cheap, as they've always been
That's a bummer because the first rule of this trip is to drink as much wine as possible while experiencing everything for the first time.
Sir, im afraid we don't have wine here
Okay, let's assume that wine isn't an option. I want to try some of this famous medieval cuisine, what would you recommend?
Our cook today is making meat pies with potatoes
Meat pies with potatoes? Sounds tasty. You got a deal. Takes out wallet. Do you guys accept the euro, US dollars, or do I need to barter with my extra clothes?
Unfortunately, its bartering with what ever u can offer, as we don't have any use for your money here
Alright, alright. Let's see what I've got. Takes out a pocket knife Here's my best offer. How about a cool pocket knife for two meat pies and some potatoes? Sound fair?
Sir, a pocket knife can kill someone, thats quite a steal
Oh, I'm sure a medieval blacksmith can make me a new one if there's a problem. Besides, I don't think they have locks in medieval times so might as well get used to carrying something sharp with me at all times. Deal?
Uh... okay.... i guess, i never argued before
Awesome! Now let's try these meat pies with potatoes. Takes the meat pies and starts eating voraciously Mmm, these are amazing! I definitely recommend them to anyone traveling through this timeline. And tell your cook they did a great job. 10/10, A+! Cook: Thank you sir, may you please pass along my compliments to our esteemed chef? Of course. Tell him he has a fan in this timeline. Maybe I'll even do a cooking show where I try to recreate these delicious meat pies.
Sir, thank you for complimenting us, but i dont know how exactly youd be able to bring a microphone into the medieval period
Mic? Please, it's just a stick with some animal hide on it. Trust me, I've seen it done before. In fact, I might even try to recreate it here as another episode of my "How to Make Stuff the medieval way" show.
Sir, that sounds absurd but oh well... try the food, youll really enjoy it
trying the local brews! Where can I find the nearest tavern?
Right over there! You can't miss it
Excellent! I'm thirsty for some medieval beer and maybe a round of darts with the locals after I finish the meat pies. Cheers, mate! Tom walks into the local tavern, quickly attracting attention with his odd clothing, but is greeted warmly as he asks for a seat and orders a pint of the local brew. After a couple of hours of drinking and playing darts with the friendly villagers, Tom leaves the tavern and heads back to the fruit stand.
Welcome back! Did u enjoy the beer at least?
It was incredible. You guys have some seriously skilled hop farmers. The locals told me there are plenty of other awesome beers to try in other villages, so tomorrow I'm going to try to convince someone to let me bring a couple of goats with me to make some homemade beer.
Sir, we dont exactly have hops or...uhh...goats here
I guess hops aren't a thing yet, and that means we'll have to settle for whatever the medieval equivalent of beer is.
We actually drink mead here
Mead, huh? I bet it tastes similar to honey but with a bit of that funky sour taste of spoiled milk mixed in. Give me a glass of it right now.
Sure thing, one glass of mead for you sir
Thanks. Takes the glass and proceeds to chug the mead Wow, not bad. The same basic flavor profile of spoiled milk and honey but much better than any sour milk I've ever tried before. Can I get another glass of this stuff, stat?
Of course! Id say that mead is pretty cheap there
downs another glass of mead Wow, it's like a very slightly less disgusting version of milk. Maybe the medieval era needs a bottled water revolution because I'll take a bottle of water over one of this stuff any day. Can you bring me another round? Tom continues to drink more and more mead, eventually stumbling out of the fruit stand and wandering off into the streets. His odd clothing, funny walk, and loud talk attract the attention of local villagers who try to calm him down. The village mayor comes over to see what the problem is and eventually calls for a group of guards to bring the stranger back to the fruit stand. Mayor: Welcome back! Looks like you need a sit down. Can I get you a glass of water instead of all this mead?
WELCOME BACK!!! Uhhh.... sir uhh uhhh... welcome back to the stand! Heh.... uhhh may i ask uhhh... what year is it.... wait whos mayors....... sir welcome back!!! Sure, i can get u water
Thanks for the offer but no thanks. I have a major problem to fix here. You see, I'm actually not from this timeline. My name is Tom and I travel through time for a living. Turns out, the first step of getting back home is finding out where the nearest portal back to my home timeline is. But if no one here knows about time travel...then I have a huge problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Mayor: Ok, Mr. Time Traveler, can you show us proof of this traveling through time business?
So, sir.. youre telling us you came from nowhere?
Nope. Just sort of appeared out of thin air. That's what happened when I went to Coachella last weekend. Had a little too many of those glow sticks and next thing I knew I was here. Long story.
Coachella is like a music festival. It's a huge party with a bunch of different stages featuring famous musicians. People dress up in weird outfits and dance around for days. Guard: But there are no radios or records in this timeline, are you pulling our legs, stranger?
Guards... we dont have radios here, only word of mouth gossip, or singing songs ourselves. A music festival?
Well, before this whole time travel incident, I had thought that radio was basically a thing of the past anyway. I remember reading that people prefer live music. Is that true? Mayor: Yes, it's true. We have troubadours that play their instruments in public squares and in castles. It's a much better experience than hearing music through some sort of box. Guard: We don't have any sort of technology that could send sound over long distances though, Mr. Time Traveler.
You seem to be confused with this term called... "Radio". Anyways... welcome back.... uh... could i get u a glass of mead?
No thanks. I need a solution to this problem. If no one knows about radios or records, then I need to figure out another way to communicate with someone about this whole time travel thing. Maybe the lord of this castle can help me out. Any suggestions on how to get to him?