India In Another World

Chapter 16: Traces Unmasked

May 30th, 1636, Some Where deep in mainland Feplaria, 1:05 P.M.

Dr. Horith squinted his eyes. No matter where he went, the scorching heat never spared him. whether it was in Nyllnoris, or in the middle of nowhere. The heat, the sweat, the stickiness, it was all the same regardless of whether he was in the comforting yet poisonous embrace of civilization, or whether he was supervising the unearthing of mysteries in distant barbarian lands.

He glanced around. He and his team were walking on a dirt path snaking through a densely packed forest. The path had been worn and almost completely hidden by vegetation for the most part, and it only got worse the deeper they moved. Horith wondered how they had managed to find this site in the first place.

Right now they were passing through an opening in the forest. To someone like him, it was more than welcome. Sure, it was hotter than before, but walking through a jungle with such thick foliage that midday seemed as dark as late dusk was certainly not any more preferrable either. Who knew what kind of abominations resided in the wild in this part of the world?

They were moving in a large group of people. In front were Professor Carron's team, led by a bunch of those unwashed local youths. It was tough. Being an ardent believer of Fliassauan supremacy meant, unlike many of his colleagues, that no amount of time spent in contact with anyone not of the same race as his countrymen could dissipate his disdain towards said persons, or races as a whole. That said, he had no choice but to put up with the 'filthy barbarians'. His work demanded it. Divine Leaf took key priority over anyone's personal preferences.

Horith looked down on his feet as he walked. His presence had been immediately requested by Professor Carron in regards to the newly discovered site. An intelligence officer from HEC headquarters had turned up on the scene, and was somehow already at the site. He had carried with him some 'interesting gossip' for the High Elves, something very crucial for Horith, which ironically enough, had not been shared with him yet for reasons unknown.

Obviously, there was the obvious question of how on earth did an intelligence officer make his way this far out in the wild and all the way to the site, and that too without Horith knowing anything about it, but more important than that was the info the officer carried. At the very least, he knew very well that it had to be something very crucial for the intelligence officer to pull off such an act.

Horith looked down. Even in the heat, he was dressed in his heavy priest garb. It couldn't be helped. They were still dealing with the poor local barbarians, and to the poor barbarians, they were the same as angels and mythical beings. Normal operating procedure demanded that it be kept that way, hence he had no choice but to bear with the heat and the sweat.

He wasn't alone in this. His entire team was in their 'ceremonial' outfits. Oversized, colourful robes wrapped in red-yellow embroidery, wrapped around humanoid shapes up and down the dirt path. Some were a bit creative, believing the Dark Elves to be too foolish to notice, and had simply worn their robes over their regular work outfits consisting of a pair of wrinkled shirts and trousers. Horith would have wholeheartedly agreed and collaborated with them had the image of that damn 'Arc Mage' not popped up in his mind.

The group was being escorted by a group of armed HEC agents. There were quite a number of agents in the crowd. Like the VIPs they were supposed to protect, they too were dressed in fancy clothes, though these were different. The locals had been introduced to them as 'Divine Guards'– Horith didn't bother remembering what it was exactly, besides someone would bring it up later anyway – and had been told that they were beings of terrifying strength who took an oath of eternal servitude towards the High Elves. They wore much lighter clothing, though it was still heavier and bulkier than what most would have preferred. Most agents were armed, and many held their A35 submachine guns tightly, as they had been trained. The weapons were concealed too, with the pistols being simply hidden in their holsters under the robes, while the submachine guns wrapped deftly under a decorated piece of cloth and obscured partially by a distortion spell, making it harder to discern their true nature.