Act 1, Chapter 3: New Places, Old Times
NEWLY CONSTRUCTED FOB AKA OMEN KEEP,
ALNUS HILL.
"What do you think he's got for us this time?", JD inquired.
"Not too sure, we'll just have to see", Del replied.
As the two gears headed for the on-site lab, the sun high up in the cloudless sky shone down on the heavily fortified base. Gears of various ranks moved about the base, carrying out their duties, with the occasional order being barked out in the distance. For the two gears who had graduated from the COG Military Academy and had their fair share of time spent in military installations, such an environment wasn't anything new to them. However, the fact that an entirely unexplored world was just laying outside the walls of the base stood out in stark contrast to this. For the two officers, it was surreal to really think about. Despite being in places like swarm-infested areas or the many ruins scattered throughout Sera, the thought of knowing where they stood now convinced the two that they truly were in another world.
"Thoughts on this new standard-issue armor?", JD asked as he inspected the new armor system that was issued to him and to all other Gears on Sera and in the Special Region shortly after the construction of Omen Keep had finished.
"Steel-lined boron carbide can take a serious beating, especially if it's all backed by layers of ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene and viscoelastic polymers. I'd say not bad at all", Del stated.
"I'll take your word for it but what about the undersuit? What's that made from?"
"The last two materials I mentioned"
"So, does that have anything to do with the new armor chest piece not having the circular seals like the old armor?", JD asked.
"As a matter of fact, yeah. The old configuration with the circular chest seals didn't work well with the new materials and layering, so the chest piece was redesigned to not include them"
JD understood and nodded.
"On a side note, I'm glad the DeeBees cleaned up the corpses and the other stuff outside the base", Del commented as he took a deep breath of fresh air.
"Having to deal with the Swarm stinking like shit was bad enough, so not having to deal with the stench of rotting corpses around the base is something I can appreciate" JD stated.
"This is the place", Del stated.
"Hey Baird, we're here"
"Ah good, IRIS let them in"
"Certainly, Damon"
The steel door opened promptly and the two gears made their way to their destination. Upon reaching the lab, they were greeted by the founder of DBi himself.
"Great, you two made it here just fine" Baird greeted the two as he left a computer terminal.
"You got something for us?", Del asked, getting to the point.
"Not even a proper greeting? Come on, you're better than that"
"Oh sorry, Hi Baird"
"Relax, I'm just pulling your leg, but seriously though I got something great for you two"
"Okay, so what is it then?"
"You're gonna love this. Buddy! Come on out and say hi to your old friends"
"Huh?"
Before the two could ask any questions, a familiar companion hovered into the room and making its presence known.
"Jack?!"
The robot beeped happily in excitement as it came over to greet the two officers.
"I thought you said he's one-of-a-kind?", Del asked.
"He was, but not anymore. Immediately after handing him over to you guys to replace Dave, I got to work getting JACK units just like him ready for mass production. I figured it was about time for all the Locust War Era models still in service to be retired and replaced by a new and improved generation. It took some time but once I got the mass production of the new JACK units going, I had plenty of spare chassis to use as backups in case yours was destroyed or lost"
"Okay but how did you recover his memories?", Del asked.
"I kept a drive that he made remote memory updates to once every day. Though, his most recent remote update to his memories was about an hour before he used himself as a Hammer beacon, so he remembers everything up until then" Baird explained.
Jack beeped in curiosity.
"Yeah, you sure did! You saved us and the city", Del responded.
Jack beeped happily.
"Unfortunately, Jack only has Pulse and Flash at the moment. He currently has none of the upgrades he had before. However, Jack did keep schematics of the upgrades you've been giving him in the past and since they were a part of his last remote memory update, they can definitely be recreated and installed but not by me, I got a big project I'm currently working on, so I'll have one of my engineers fill in for me here and get that done for you guys" Baird explained.
"Okay but what about the other squads? Will their new JACKs get the same upgrades?", JD asked.
"Oh yeah, their new JACK units will get those upgrades too"
"One more thing, what sort of project are you working on?", Del asked in great curiosity.
"Something that'll help you guys on future missions in the Special Region"
"That sounds awesome", Del commented.
"We gotta get going now so we'll see you later, Baird. Good luck with that project and thanks for bringing back Jack", JD said as he and Del turned to leave, with their robot companion following close by.
"No problem. IRIS, let them out please"
"Of course, Damon"
With this, the steel doors parted for the two gears to exit with Jack following.
"Hey, I haven't seen Fahz since we cleared the hill of Imperials, not that I'm complaining or anything", Del asked as he walked alongside JD, with Jack following.
"Oh yeah, he volunteered for the Hive Buster program", JD explained.
"Fahz 'voluntarily' doing something for the greater good? Yeah right..."
"Last time I saw him and asked why, he said and I quote 'Slaughtering those primitive savages across the Gate? That's a piss-take, I want a real challenge fitting an officer of my skill and prowess'"
"His ego really is something isn't it?", Del said in amusement.
"That's putting it lightly"
"Hey Jack, what do you of think of Fahz?"
Jack beeped in response.
"Damn, you don't pull back any punches, do you?"
Jack beeped in response once again.
"Ouch, gonna need a Cryo Cannon for that burn"
"Alright, his office shouldn't be too far", JD stated.
"Have you been in the Colonel's office yet?", Del asked.
"No, this is the first time I'll see it in person"
"Yeah, same. Speaking of which, we're here"
"Jack, wait out here for us, okay buddy?", Del asked.
Jack beeped in compliance and stayed hovering in position.
Del knocked on the office door and waited for a response.
"Come in", the Colonel responded from the other side of the door.
Del opened the door, revealing Landry tending to paperwork at his immaculate and organized desk.
The two officers filed in and formally greeted their superior with a salute.
"Good day, sir"
"At ease men. I have called the two of you here in my office today to assign you your duties for this operation and expect to uphold these duties for the duration of the operation unless stated otherwise by High Command. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir", the two officers responded in unison.
"Excellent, now for your duties...", he said as he looked for papers in one of his desk drawers.
"Ah, here they are. Alright listen up, Captain Fenix, you will be in command of Recon Team Delta and Lieutenant Walker, you will be Recon Team Delta's second-in-command"
"Yes sir", replied the two officers.
"All the details to your new duties and your squad's first mission of the operation will be in these documents. Please read them carefully", Landry stated as he handed the two officers their respective documents.
"That will be all. Gears, you are dismissed"
The two officers gave a salute in response and exited the office.
MEANWHILE,
THE IMPERIAL SENATE,
SADERA.
"This is unprecedented. The enemy on the hill has slain roughly ninety thousand legionnaires along with several thousand support units since the day our forces crossed the Holy Gate. As of now, we have lost nearly a fifth of our total military strength in a matter of weeks. Forgive my tone your majesty, but how in the name of Zufmuut does your highness intend to secure victory in this campaign at the rate our military strength is diminishing!?"
"Calm yourself senator, all present here and especially myself are fully aware of the implications such unfortunate circumstances have brought upon us"
"Who is to say your majesty's vassals will not strike at us in the near future once they have learned of our dwindling might as a result of our failed conquest?", asked another concerned senator aloud.
"Have you forgotten about the Arctic War two and a half centuries ago? Even a fifth of our total strength is more than enough to continue to defend the Empire and punish them should they dare to attack us!", boldly stated an Imperial general.
"Perhaps we can successfully defend ourselves from the vassals should they rebel in that case but what about the enemy on the hill now? This enemy is like nothing the Empire has ever seen before"
"The distant roars and bellows, the whistles of death, the very ground itself erupting...I saw it and heard it all, I was there. I saw the death and destruction this enemy is capable of dealing. It was sorcery the likes of which I have never seen before...", stated a scarred Legate.
As loud discussions of the Empire's current predicament broke out, an Imperial messenger had come to deliver news and the latest scout reports to Emperor Molt. Upon hearing what the messenger had to say, he was struck with an idea. So, he raised his hand, which almost immediately ushered in silence, and took a deep breath before speaking.
"I shall call upon our vassals' forces to march unto the Holy Hill and purge it of the enemy"
"Your majesty, the vassals will suspect you have sent them to die once they lay eyes upon the remains of our failed attempt to purge the Holy Hill, will they not?"
"They would, yes, but they will not"
Many present in the senate were confused at this.
"How, your majesty?"
"I have just received word that the enemy has appeared to have cleansed the area surrounding the hill of any trace of our forces' remains, including the camp"
"Even with this, the vassals will surely-"
"That is my plan, senator. They will be swiftly and utterly defeated by the enemy and suffer devastating losses, thus they should no longer pose a threat to us in any capacity. They will have lost far too much in the process to even strike at us any time soon. Furthermore, the enemy on the hill will have become too exhausted to continue to fight after dealing with the vassals, especially on top of recently dealing with the expeditionary forces and our initial 'hill purging' forces in quick succession. With this enemy left vulnerable through the extreme exhaustion from fighting three major battles in quick succession without proper rest, we may deal the killing blow with but only a few legions"
With the Emperor finishing his explanation, many present in the senate agreed with the plan and voiced their approval.
"I want messenger birds to be ready to go forth to the vassal states and deliver my soon-to-be written orders for each of their respective leaders and I want all of the most intact legions to prepare and rally for the killing blow that will be dealt to the enemy once confirmation of the vassals' defeat has been received!", Emperor Molt ordered
"With the vassals being completely unaware of the failed conquest and the campaign of conquest as a whole, all should go according to plan. Before this meeting is adjourned, do any senate members present wish to add any further comments or opinions on the matter?"
A few moments of silence answered this.
"Very well then, this meeting is adjourned", stated Molt.
As members of the Imperial Senate filed out of the spacious chamber, Molt remained seated and was deep in thought.
"Your majesty, does something trouble you?", inquired his trusted retainer, Marcus.
"No, I merely require solitude for the time being"
"As you wish your majesty"
Once Molt was certain his retainer had left him in solitude in the chamber, he began to contemplate the current state of affairs.
"Piña...I have not seen her since I gave her and the Rose Order my blessing to partake in the conquest through the Holy Gate. Was she captured? Did she perish or has a worse fate befallen her?"
"Had I made a mistake in thinking she and her knights were ready to face the realities of war?"
"Had I really condemned her to an ill fate?"
Despite the storm of emotions welling up within him and being in solitude, Molt did not deviate from his stoic demeanor and mindset.
"In any case, dwelling on this will yield nothing"
With this in mind, he stood from his senatorial throne and exited the chamber.
"Sam, how's the Packhorse and Armadillo?", JD asked.
"Both are fueled and loaded with everything we need, we'll get going whenever you're ready", Corporal Samantha Byrne replied.
"I'm ready, but I'm going to make sure the rest of the team are ready too, can you give me a minute?"
"No worries, go ahead"
Calling for the attention of the rest of Recon Team Delta, JD proceeded to give a quick rundown on the team's first mission in the Special Region.
"Alright Delta, listen up. This is going to be a simple recon mission. We'll head out and take note of anything of interest and report it back to Keep Command. In the event that we come across any locals, we'll do our best to establish friendly relations with them and hopefully get some intel from them too, other than that, standard RoE applies. Before we head off, are there any questions?"
With silence answering his question as he looked from team member to team member, he gave the signal to commence the mission.
"Outstanding, now mount up!"
With this, each respective member of the recon team embarked their designated vehicles and strapped themselves in, as well as JACK docking himself atop the Armadillo.
"Baird, are there any planted frags still left outside the Keep?", JD asked over Tac-Com.
"Let me check...Yeah, just a few. Give me a sec, I'm gonna get rid of them"
A few seconds later, a brief series of distant explosions could be heard.
"There you go"
"Okay but what about the caltrops and the barbed wire?"
"I had some of my bots clear them for you while you guys were getting prepped"
"Solid copy, Baird"
With the Packhorse positioned in front of the Armadillo, the vehicles were in formation and ready to depart.
"Control, this is Recon Team Delta, were good to go"
"Copy that Delta, opening the gates for you now", Mia responded.
Sure enough, the large reinforced steel gates that served as Omen Keep's primary entrance/exit parted, loudly emanating mechanical noise in the process. Once fully parted, the lush green plains of the unknown beyond the Keep were in clear view.
"Recon Team Delta, this is Control, you have the green-light, good luck"
"Solid copy Control. Alright Delta, we're Oscar Mike!"
The two vehicles promptly lurched forward, leaving the confines of the heavily-guarded fortress and out into the wilds of the Special Region.
"I've driven around some nice looking places but this 'Special Region' is something else isn't it?", Mac stated rhetorically as he drove the leading Packhorse.
"Yeah, it sure is, just don't let it take your focus away from the road", JD advised.
"Of course, sir", Mac responded to the Captain riding shotgun.
"Private Macallister, you are a member of Team Scorpio are you not?", Tai inquired from the seat behind JD.
"Aye, I was a member, the keyword there being 'was'. Now I'm here instead, not that I'm complaining at all. By the way, just call me Mac, that's what everybody calls me"
"My cousin, Lahni, is she doing well in the Hive Buster Program?"
"I'm not sure if she's still in the program now but from all the times I've gone hive busting with her and Keegan, believe me when I say she knows how to handle herself. It scares me a little to see how good that lass is with that knife of hers"
Tai chuckled at this.
"That is good to hear! I have always wondered if she still practiced with a blade"
"Hey Tai, you were there when the first grindlifts were being sent down during Operation: Hollow Storm, weren't you?", JD inquired.
"Yes, I was there and I remember that day very well. I was a member of Delta Squad, and we had just cleared out the grindlift deployment area of any Locust presence. It would have all gone smoothly, if 'he' had not shown up"
"He?"
"Skorge"
"The Locust High Priest who sawed a Centaur clean in half?", Del asked from his seat behind Mac.
"That's the one. He showed up just as we were about to be sent down in grindlifts. I took it upon myself to buy time for the other grindlifts to deploy, so I jumped out of mine to hold off Skorge with the rig driver, Dizzy. While our efforts were enough to allow the other grindlifts to be successfully deployed, it was not enough to defeat him. We fought with all the strength we could muster but we were inevitably overwhelmed by his superior strength and reflexes. Were it not for the concentrated fire from reinforcements that had just arrived that forced him to flee, we would have perished"
"Huh, I guess when my dad said you were 'Tough as a Brumak', he wasn't kidding"
"Cheating death regularly can give one a sense of insurmountability, though I try not to allow such a delusion to cloud my judgement. Still, I would be lying if I said it did not feel invigorating"
"The thrill of danger is something else isn't it?", Mac commented in response, fondly reminiscing on all the incredibly risky but nonetheless successful hivebusting that he, Keegan and Lahni had done.
"Sam, has Jack picked up anything?", JD asked over Tac-Com.
"Nothing except for the local wildlife getting spooked by us"
"Solid copy, keep me posted"
"Wilco"
The COG vehicles continued to drive along the well-worn dirt road, flanked by plains and hills of green on either side and under a cloudless cerulean sky. Such scenery was a far cry from that in many places on Sera. For the gears, it was a welcome change of pace, a sight for eyes tired of ruin and the cold hard steel and concrete of industry. However, it was scenery that couldn't be fully appreciated, at least for the time being, for the gears in the new frontier had an obligation to exercise vigilance, lest they allow a false sense of security to be their undoing. Granted the occasional bout of banter and Ice-breaking would happen now and again, deep down they never lost sight of their mission, their duty.
"Jack's picking up multiple life signs and structures in a forest just up ahead. Could be a settlement", Sam announced over Tac-Com.
"Could be, but we won't know until we get a good look ourselves. Mac, Sam, stop outside the forest and we'll take a look"
"Aye"
"Wilco"
The vehicles had stopped a fairly good distance from the edge of the forest and the Gears cautiously disembarked with the intention to investigate what could lie behind the dense collection of trees.
"Del, Tai, Carmine, Dillon and Jack, follow my lead and stay frosty. Sam, Mac, I need both of you and the DeeBees to stay put here and guard the vehicles, but if things get bad, we'll give you all a shout and if we do, don't hesitate to come in and provide support", JD ordered as he eyed the forest with uncertainty.
With the Captain taking point, the four other gears followed suit, along with their trusty bot hovering close by and following. The small scouting party stopped at the very edge of the forest once JD signaled 'halt' with his right arm.
"Jack, Pulse", JD commanded.
Jack promptly sent out a pulse, scanning a large area of the forest and relaying the info to the other gears' HUDs. The scan revealed dozens of human-shaped figures moving about and structures resembling huts and interconnected treehouses, confirming Jack's earlier preliminary scans while docked and connected to the Armadillo's long-range scanner array. With this more up-to-date information, JD began to mentally formulate ideas on how to approach the situation, but wasn't too sure on an exact method and so he turned to the member of the team who had the most experience in non-urban environments for insight.
"Tai, any thoughts?"
"Given their movements and actions, they are most likely inhabitants of a settlement"
"Villagers?"
"More or less, but even with this in mind, they would have a better understanding of the layout of this forest than we do and they can use that to their advantage should they wish to attack us but from the scan, we can at least take relief in knowing there are no traps waiting for us"
"Alright, let's make peaceful first contact and try not to do anything that'll give them the wrong idea about us and like I said before, stay frosty", JD ordered.
With Tai nodding in approval and not showing any objection, the small scouting party cautiously entered the forest, the Gears' weapons in hand should things go south, along with their robot cloaking and following suit.
"That was very good Tuka, you certainly have been practicing, have you not?"
"Thank you father! However, it is more so that I listened to the others play and just copied them"
"Even so you, you still needed to practice. You still had to perfect your emulation of their techniques, did you not?"
"I suppose you are right father", Tuka Luna Marceau said as she smiled.
A knock on the front door of the Marceau residence got the attention of the two elves.
"Stay here in your room Tuka, I will answer the door"
"Yes, father"
Answering the door, Tuka's father was greeted by the sight of one of his fellow villagers, looking very concerned and apparently armed with a bow and a full quiver of arrows.
"Hodor, I have spotted outsiders entering the forest and approaching the village"
"Outsiders? Do you know who exactly they are?"
"They are certainly human but judging from their armor and equipment, they certainly do not hail from the Empire. I am unsure if they pose a threat. I implore you to accompany me and see for yourself, it is difficult to accurately describe them"
"Alert four others to accompany us and await here, I shall collect my bow and quiver"
Nodding in compliance, the elven villager departed in haste.
The small scouting party of Gears had trekked a fair distance into the forest, with the fleeing herbivores of various species being the only other forms of life they've encountered thus far. The peaceful ambience of the surrounding trees, leaves and distant birds were in contrast to the Gears' rustling equipment as they moved through the forest.
"The soil must be of exceptional quality for the trees to be this lush", Tai stated as his gaze scanned the thick canopy.
"Hey Tai, you wouldn't mind showing me how to hunt later would you? If this forest has pigs, boars or whatever, I'd like to catch a few. I haven't had bacon in weeks", Carmine asked as he looked around for any signs of movement.
"If you do not mind using a bow that is. Guns would be too loud to hunt efficiently"
"Or you could get Jack to do it for you. He can cloak and stun for an easy kill", Del suggested.
"That too. Look, I really don't care how it's done, I just want bacon"
"Speaking of arrows, G-Day was the first time I've ever had to treat injuries involving arrows", Private Hank Dillon, the team's combat medic stated.
"Are they as bad as bullet wounds?", JD asked, never losing focus as he scanned in between the trees for any movement.
"From my experience, not too bad but it could've been worse. At least I didn't have to deal with poison-tipped arrows"
"Good thing our armor stops arrows", Carmine stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Suddenly signaling the squad to halt, JD saw movement among the dense canopy, distinctly different compared to how the wind disturbed the leaves.
"Jack, Pulse"
As the scan info was received, six human-like figures armed with bows made themselves known and trained their weapons on the Gears.
"Hold your fire, let me do the talking"
"Halt Outsiders! State your business in our forest!", Hodor defensively stated as he and his fellow elves had their bows trained on the strangely armored men.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the elves and the outsiders stared at each other, each side assessing the other for any signs of imminent hostilities. The drawn out silence was broken when one of the armored men spoke, albeit in a thick and strange accent.
"We mean you no harm, we come in peace. We only wish to have an audience with this settlement's leader or leaders"
Hodor being skeptical on this claim, he asked further questions without letting his guard down.
"Where do you hail from!?"
The armored man seemed to think for a moment before he responded.
"Alnus Hill"
"Alnus Hill? There is nothing there except for the Gate. Are you implying that-"
"Yes, we have come from beyond the Gate"
Hodor looked to one of his fellow villagers for guidance.
"Hodor, they may speak the truth. Their armor and equipment is unlike anything I've ever seen so I very much doubt they are Imperial soldiers or bandits"
After giving it some thought, Hodor made his decision.
"Very well, you may enter our village and have an audience with the village elders, however we will be watching you closely. Any transgressions committed against us will be dealt with harshly and swiftly, do you understand?"
"Crystal clear"
"Good, now please follow us"
JD signaled for the Gears to follow, including Jack, whose presence was still unknown to the forest dwellers.
"The Kaug? I am afraid I have never heard of your people. Where do you and your men hail from?", asked the oldest of the village elders, who sat with a dozen other elders around a fire in the centre of the village, all of whom carefully examined the outsiders.
"We have come here from beyond the other side of the Gate at Alnus and we currently occupy the hill", JD stated as he sat across the fire with his fellow Gears who were all being carefully watched by dozens of cautious villagers with bows in hand.
At this statement, every villager present began to exchange hushed words with each other, but was quickly stopped when one of the elders raised a hand in silence.
"Several months ago, our scouts who regularly venture outside had informed us of the Empire conducting a campaign of conquest across the Gate atop Alnus Hill. Furthermore, the most recent news brought to us by our scouts was of the Imperial Expeditionary Force being routed and suffering extreme losses. Was it your people that defeated the Empire?", asked another elder.
"Yes", JD simply answered
Once again, exchanges of hushed words broke out, with an elder raising a hand for silence.
"Why have your people come to this world?"
"We intend to find the people that the Empire have captured from us during their invasion and return them home safely"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. We have also established a stronghold on the hill, so we are prepared to repel any future invasions, Imperial or not"
"How does coming to our isolated community help you in this endeavor then?"
"When my people came here from the other side of the Gate, we decided it would be best to ask around for any information that may help us locate our missing people, as well as to do our best to establish friendly relations with any non-Imperial affiliated locals that we encounter in this world to ease navigation as we search for our missing people"
"I see. We shall come to a verdict after a brief discussion amongst ourselves", the elder stated as he and the other council members began to exchange hushed words.
The seemingly drawn-out and tense silence was finally broken when the elder cleared his throat to deliver the unanimously agreed upon verdict.
"I am afraid to say we possess no such information that will aid you in your search, however that does not mean you cannot stay for a while to engage in some cultural exchange with our people"
"Forgive my insolence elders, but you cannot be seriously allowing them to-", Hodor spoke up but was cut off by an elder once again raising a hand.
"Hodor, if they truly intended to raid our village they would not have bothered with formalities and being cordial, especially given their claims"
"But-"
"That is final. Now, does anybody else have anything to add?"
Silence was the only answer to the question.
"Very well, this session is adjourned"
With this, the villagers continued to go about their day. While Hodor isolated himself and his daughter at home from the rest of the village out of distrust, the rest of the villagers were open to talking with the apparently friendly, other-worldly soldiers. In fact, some of the villagers, especially the younger ones, were very keen to get to know their outlandish guests.
Tai was sharing stories of various kinds of hunts he used to go on as well as passing on some advice and life philosophies.
Carmine was flexing his proverbial guns for many excited female villagers on numerous requests, much to the chagrin of many of their husbands.
Dillon was sharing some modern medical theory with many of the village's herbalists and healers.
Jack, still cloaked, was observing the Gears' interactions carefully for any possible sign of trouble and ready to help them out at a moment's notice.
Last but not least, Del and JD were asking questions regarding the villagers themselves.
"If you don't mind me asking but why do you all have pointy ears?", JD asked.
This question completely caught the elves off guard.
"Have you never seen an elf before?", asked a villager.
"Elf?"
"Wait, aren't there elves in your world?", asked one of the other villagers.
"If you mean to ask if there are people in my world with pointy ears like yours, then no"
The villagers were taken aback to meet humans who have never even heard of elves before, much less seen one.
"What are the differences between an elf and a human aside from the pointy ears?", Del asked.
"The main difference is that we elves age much slower, so we have much longer life spans", explained a particularly older-looking villager.
"How long can an elf live for?"
"Under the right conditions, elves can potentially live up to a millennia"
"A thousand years?", Del said in surprise.
"Yes, the same can be said for the Dark Elves"
"Dark Elves?"
"They are another race of Elves very similar to us but the main differences between them and us are that they have much darker skin and worship a different patron deity. Speaking of Dark Elves, I had almost mistaken you for one when I first saw you Sir Del, my apologies!"
"It's fine but, what do you mean by 'patron deity'?"
"We Elves worship Lunaryur, the God of Music, while our dark-skinned counterparts worship Hardy, the Goddess of the Underworld. Furthermore, our middle names are determined by which patron deity we worship, so since we worship Lunaryur, all of our middle names are 'Luna' while the Dark Elves have 'Haa' as theirs since they worship Hardy"
JD and Del nodded in understanding as they processed everything they had been told.
Almost an hour had passed since the Gears arrived at the elven village when they decided to depart. Many of the elves waved them goodbye as they exited the forest to meet up with the Armadillo and Packhorse.
Re-embarking their vehicles after making first contact with the Elves of Koan Forest, the Gears continued to journey along the beaten path, continuing the search for anything worthy of investigation. Despite a tense encounter, the cordial interactions that occurred between JD's party and the Elves marked a successful start to the recon mission. The more hearts and minds they won over, the smoother it would be to navigate the Special Region.
"Elves?", Sam uttered in confusion over Tac-Com.
"Pointy ears?", Mac said, unsure if he heard the team captain correctly.
"I'll explain it all back at the Keep"
"What is most important is that we made peaceful first contact with one of possibly many ethnic groups here", Tai stated.
"Any day that any of us don't get fatally wounded is a good day", Del stated.
"Ain't that the truth", Dillon commented.
"Sam, has Jack got anything?", JD asked via Tac-Com.
"Negative...no, wait a second, yeah he's got something. A village less than half a klick away"
"That's our next stop"
"Sam, Mac, just like last time"
"Aye"
"Wilco"
"Captain, we're just coming up on the village", Mac stated.
"Yeah, I got a visual. Let's park outside that gate"
"What's the plan then?", Sam asked.
"Same one as before"
Parking the Armadillo and Packhorse just outside the village, the same scouting party from the encounter with the Koan Elves disembarked.
"Jack, Pulse", JD ordered.
The quick scan revealed the inhabitants of the village going about their day.
"We're going in to say hi then?", Carmine asked.
"Yeah, let's go", JD ordered.
Strolling with their guard up, the Gears made their way into the village and took note of the fact that this village was inhabited by humans, unlike the previous one they had encountered. Despite going in with only good intentions, the scouting party's overall intimidating façade wouldn't have been helpful in their first encounter with the inhabitants of the village, especially since these villagers had never seen a Seran soldier, much less ones affiliated with the COG.
As the Gears walked into the village, they caught the undivided attention of the villagers presently outdoors, with some even retreating into their homes upon seeing them. Some onlookers had expressions of wonder, curiosity and dread as they eyed the armoured strangers.
"Hello, we do not wish to cause harm to any of you. We would merely like to have an audience with this village's leader", JD stated in the most non-threatening tone he could muster.
Not a moment after this was said, a short, portly and bearded man came forth from the small crowd of villagers.
"Greetings strangers, I am the chief of Coda Village. If you truly have come here with no ill-intent and only wish to speak to me, then please follow me"
Following the village chief, the Gears were lead to a cottage, one that was slightly larger than the surrounding homes, where they were seated before him.
"It is not often we get visitors here in Coda. Most 'visits' we get are from roaming bandits that have a nasty habit of catching us by surprise and stealing what little provisions we have"
"No need to worry, we will not take anything from you"
"I suppose there is truth to your initial claims. If you truly wished to harm or steal from us, you would not have gone through the trouble of announcing your arrival in a cordial manner as you have. So, what is it you wish to speak to me about?"
"We would like to know about the various locations in Falmart"
"I would show you a map of the region, however it was stolen by bandits in a recent raid on our village and without it I will not be able to give you any detailed knowledge. If you wish for detailed knowledge of the continent, you could perhaps speak with Sage Cato"
"Sage Cato?"
"He is a wizard of great power originally hailing from Rondel, the city of magic. At the moment he is living in a cottage just outside the village"
"Wizard? City of magic?"
"Again, you will need to speak with him if you wish to know more about him, in addition to your questions on the continent"
"Yes, we would like to speak with him then. Can you show us where he lives?"
"Certainly, please follow me then"
"This is his home. Whatever questions you may have, I'm certain he shall be able to answer them", stated the village chief as he gestured towards a lone cottage in a small clearing.
"Thank you. My people and I shall leave after we have had our audience with Sage Cato", JD said as he visually examined the cottage.
"Have a good day then, noble knights", the village chief said as he waved goodbye to the Gears and proceeded to return to the village.
"JD, I really doubt this Cato guy is a "wizard". He could just be some old guy who fooled the villagers with really elaborate party tricks", Del stated as he looked at the cottage.
"I'd agree with you but with everything we've seen so far, I'm not really sure. Regardless, this guy might have intel we need and besides, if this guy is the real deal, you'd be able to tell"
"Let's go and say hello then", Del said as knocked on the door.
"Del and I will talk to Cato. The rest of you, hold position outside here", JD ordered.
"The door is open, you may come in", came a voice behind the door.
Opening the wooden door, the two Gears were met with the sight of an elderly man clad in blue robes and a pointed hat, sitting in a wooden chair, appearing to be deep in thought while stroking his beard. The lone occupant of the cottage was surrounded by piles and shelves of tomes and scrolls.
"Oh, I don't believe we have met before, gentlemen", Cato said as he turned to look at the Gears.
"We hail from beyond the Gate on Alnus Hill. We are unfamiliar with Falmart and so we have come to this village, hoping to learn more about the continent from the locals themselves", JD stated.
"Fascinating...", Cato commented as he took a moment to observe the men clad in the strangest armor and items he had ever seen. He took note of the exceptional craftsmanship and how their armor was glowing in certain areas, almost as if some sort of magical energy was flowing within the armor itself. These observations only served to provide credence to the strangers' claims, as he knew of no army or other force on the continent that could outfit all of their warriors with enchanted equipment of exceptional quality.
"In any case, I certainly hope you are only here to learn then"
"We have absolutely no intention of causing harm, if that is what you are implying", JD clarified.
"Then we shall get along just fine then. Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Sage Cato El Altestan. Now with introductions out of the way, what do you wish to know?"
"Before we ask our questions regarding the continent, I would like to point out that I was told by the village chief that you are a wizard. My colleague and I are skeptical, can you prove you are a wizard?"
"Certainly", Cato said proudly as he stood up and picked up his staff.
As soon Cato had a proper grip on his staff, the orange crystal on top of the staff began glowing. He then pointed the staff at a book on a shelf, causing the book to be enveloped by an orange aura and fly almost immediately into his free hand.
"Convinced?", Cato asked.
"Holy shit, Del, we found one. We found an actual wizard...", JD stated incredulously.
Del could only stare, slack-jawed. What he witnessed went against everything he learned as an engineer, as a man of science.
"How did you do that?", Del asked.
"Magic", Cato simply answered.
"No, no, no, how did you do that!?", Del asked again in a tone of incredulity.
Cato chuckled at this.
"I take it this is the first time you have personally witnessed sorcery? I thought you may have been familiar with magic, considering how you possess all of this enchanted equipment"
"Where we come from, magic doesn't exist", JD stated.
"Is that so?...", Cato said with a great deal of curiosity.
JD nodded sincerely in response.
"If I may be so bold in asking but, may I join you to verify your claim? If what you say is true then that would prove that the current fundamental laws of magical theory have been defined perfectly and require no further correction!", Cato stated in almost child-like excitement.
"Del, what do you think?", JD quietly asked as he turned to Del, noticing that he was somewhat vexed.
"Are you okay, buddy?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just getting over the fact that...'magic'...is a thing now", Del stated, putting a disdainful emphasis when uttering the word 'magic'.
"Look, I get that you're not a fan but we still got a mission to complete"
"Right, sorry...", Del apologized as he composed himself.
"We could do a trade. He can stay with us and give us all the intel he can offer in exchange for some basic science textbooks or something", Del stated.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing but from the little demonstration we just got, we should keep an eye on him"
"Definitely"
"What do you say then, gentlemen?", Cato asked as watched the two other-worldly soldiers discussing something in hushed voices.
"Sure, we will allow you to join us. However, we shall have to discuss the terms of your stay with us"
"Very well, I'm sure we can come to an agreement"
"Okay JD, remember what you said? No more of those stupid 'wizard' jokes, alright?"
JD sighed in disappointment.
"Sometimes I regret being a man of my word"
(Achievement Unlocked)
(20G - Peaceful Encounters)
(Read Chapter 3)