Chapter 17: Lost in Translation
“So there are actually other people here,” Simon said, testing his voice again as he lay on his bed. “Cute ones too.” He smiled as he lay there. Sure, she’d killed him, but that was almost understandable. That sort of thing happened all the time in zombie movies. What really mattered was that there were cute girls in The Pit and that zombies weren’t so tough after all. There was even beer! He just had to get down there, without trashing his voice again.
Somehow he’d have to find a way to kill the slime with one spell, or with none at all. Even if he did that, though, it raised a whole new series of problems. It was easy enough to copy a single set of sounds from one goblin, but did the pit really expect him to learn 50 different languages for 99 different floors? That was more than a lifetime of work, assuming he could even find a tutor.
Simon sat up. “Mirror - how do I improve my magic skill? How do I make it, so I don’t feel like shit every time I say those words?”
‘Focus and practice,’ was its cryptic reply. Because of course Simon hadn’t thought of either of those things before himself.
“Fine, if you’re not going to say anything useful about that, then I want to talk about a very serious problem with this place with Helades.” Simon got up and picked up the wine bottle. This time he didn’t plan to throw it, though, he just wanted to enjoy a drink without having to swallow with a throat that felt like it was made of broken glass. “The UI for this whole place is kind of awful, but the languages are going to be a real problem.”
‘What is the problem with the languages in The Pit?’ The mirror asked, one character at a time.
“Well, since the main point of language is to be understood, and I can’t, you know, understand them, I’d say they aren’t doing their job very well,” Simon’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but he was sure that it went over the head of the machine or spirit or whatever was inhabiting the mirror.
‘I could teach you,’ the mirror typed. ‘Which language do you wish to learn?’
“Teach me? You? You can’t even tell me basic facts about this game… I mean, place.” Simon laughed derisively. “Tell me - how many languages are written or spoken in The Pit?”