275 Unknown language
With all his gear ready, Nero followed his guide back to the front of the wooden cabin, where the rest of his teammates were also gathering. Each of them was wearing a similar outfit to him, with only a few things different to distinguish them - excluding their distinct body shapes, of course.
The first and most obvious between them all is that the onesie being worn by the researchers was green near the face, as if marking them as high value targets. Their armour was also light and easier to move in - something which became a necessity since none of them had the same stamina and endurance as soldiers.
Between the actual guards, there were two distinctions, one more prominent than the other. The first, most easily spotted difference was their weapon of choice. Sword and shield was the most common choice, followed by spears, dual swords, sword and dagger and so on.
Finally, the most direct distinction was the number which had been printed near the base of the arm one the onesies. Each of them had a number, and Nero's was number 10.
One more time their group was briefed on their role and the command order - almost as if the army doubted the capacity for a group of teenagers to remember and execute orders properly. A ridiculous notion.
Nero studied the four researchers they were supposed to protect, and it was immediately obvious which one was Vanessa, and not just because she was the only girl in the group. Compared to the rest of them, she was the only one not reeking of nervousness.
It was a predictable issue. Even if Kolar was a nation of warriors, not everyone was suitable for combat. It went without saying that those who never expected to see a battlefield had not prepared themselves to one day face it. The thought of now suddenly finding themselves in an exceptionally dangerous place, the fact that they were only nervous, and not actively trying to get out of their duty was already admirable.
In such a situation, it went without saying that everyone reached a tacit understanding that among the researchers, Vanessa, the only one not losing her cool, would be the one giving orders.
"Alright team, we have our orders from up above," said Vanessa, looking at her fellow researchers as well as their protective detail. "A hornet hive has been detected near our point of entry. To accustomize the soldiers to combat in Perilith, and for us to get used to taking samples in the field, today we will only be taking care of that nest and collecting samples.
"Do not, however, think that this means that we can take things easy. A new proposal has been brought forward that is being considered by our superiors. Instead of relegating all exploration duty to Neophytes, the new proposal states that Arcanists can scout and lay down a path in Perilith, marking any targets for us to eliminate. Considering any foe we might face will certainly be less capable as a Neophyte, our mission objective may just end up becoming a search and destroy styled one. The actual result depends on our performance.
"Nero and Clarissa, you will take point, while the rest will form a circle around us researchers. Daisy, you will be in the centre with us. I as well as the other researchers will be using our scouting cards to watch out for points of interests and potential enemies, and may direct the team as per our findings, so stay close. If everyone's clear on their roles, let's head out."
Nero nodded towards Clarissa, who had chosen to equip a short sword and a dagger as her weapons of choice, before solemnly stepping towards the wooden cabin. All around them, other soldiers and researchers watched, excitedly discussing the potential that this mission held.
Nero was already using Keen insight, so he took in the state of the wooden cabin much better than before. While all the plants and growth around it had been cleared up, no one had touched the cabin at all.
That meant that its exterior was still covered in all kinds of vines and plants, with all kinds of weed growing everywhere it could find purchase. At least it had been confirmed that none of the plants in the cabin were cursed.
He stepped onto the porch, fully expecting the old wood to moan or creak, but it made no sound at all. In fact, he found the wood to be incredibly sturdy, as if unbothered by the passage of time.
That's when he noticed a couple of things about the cabin. Although it looked old and debilitated, and even the glass had been shattered, none of the wood that made up the building was actually damaged at all. Whereas from afar, he thought that plants had been sprouting from holes in the ground, upon actually coming closer he noticed that most plants were actually attached to something growing outside the cabin, whereas the few plants growing within the cabin were growing from piles of dirt laying on the ground around shattered clay. They had once been houseplants!
The second thing Nero noticed was that there was a plaque hanging just above the entrance of the cabin, a loose vine hiding it.
He lifted his spear and moved the vine aside, but to his disappointment, the plaque was partially broken. The part that remained had only the word "Tavern" left written on it. Nero was about to move forward, simply taking in the plaque, when he noticed a very significant problem, and looked back towards it.
He read the word once more, clearly understanding what it said, before he turned to look at the others in his team. It seemed most of them had not noticed the issue.
"What language is that?" Nero asked aloud, pointing to the plaque. "And why can I read it?"
08:19
The word written on the plaque was written using clear lines, making the letters easy to read and distinct, but the problem was, it was not Valen, the language spoken in Neire! It was not Old Valen either.
Whatever it was, it was completely distinct from anything Nero had ever seen, and yet he could read it easily.
"No idea, but the anomaly has already been clearly documented so we need not spend our time on it," said Vanessa, as she herself read the plaque as well. "Let's move forward. There are more mysteries to uncover."
Nero nodded, and moved forward, simply making a mental note to himself, referring to the wooden cabin as the tavern from now on. He could not help but wonder what kind of lavish, luxurious tavern it must have been, to have its entire structure made out of wood.
He entered into some kind of hall, with a long, wooden bar running along the width of the room on the left hand side, leaving plenty of room for tables and chairs for its guests, Nero assumed.
At the opposite end of the hall was a staircase leading up, which was another anomaly of the tavern as the stairs went directly into a wooden wall. Perhaps there had been an upper floor once upon a time, and had been boarded up. Either way, his destination was not that, but a door beside the staircase.
Despite the fact that the tavern was confirmed a safe space, Nero walked cautiously to the door before opening it, revealing an identical hall on the other side. The only difference was that outside the door on the opposite end was not the small, temporary base that Fordham had built around the tavern, but rather it was Perilith.
With slow, yet steady steps Nero exited the wooden structure, and laid eyes on the new dimension he had entered.
The environment outside the cabin, at least, wasn't mirrored as they found themselves halfway up a hill rather than in the middle of a forest. Yet the lack of a forest did not make this palace any safer.
The entire hill seemed to be covered by wild grass that rose up at least a metre high, with countless thick bushes all around, and a few, ancient looking trees.
The sun had already dipped towards the western horizon, yet it had not painted the sky in a blend of colours. Rather, the sky was a consistent, pale yellow throughout. This was a good sign, according to what Nero had read. This meant there were no storms on the way.
The air, even through the filter, smelled like an unsettling mix of something refreshing and something rancid at the same time. It was as if this was a boundless, bountiful world, but had been decayed and corrupted.
From where he stood, Nero could already see countless animals moving through the tall grass, their figures mostly obscured, but not enough to completely hide them. Yet even if they were hidden it would have made no difference, for even from afar Nero could feel them reeking powerful energies, far beyond anything he should have had to face. Some of them were filled with aether, and some of them were filled with cursed energy. But all of them were limited to Nero's own realm - one of the peculiarities of this dimension.
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