No Gods, Nor Masters

Timelapse

Doctor Halsey trudged through a swamp, clad in full military uniform rather than her labcoat. The knee-high waters, however, proved that had been the best choice for the good doctor. In front of her, Richard's platoon moved, followed by the guides from the Warrior Bunnies. The lattermost of the lot, however, moved between the trees with agility, avoiding the murky water below and the possible threats of animals and disease.

She eyed the leading Warrior Bunny as the girl pretty much waded unabated through the place Delilah had taken to leading their squad. She wore a full tactical kit as well, with her swords hanging by the belt, next to a Magnum M6G pistol. The swamp they were wading through was in the middle of a northern area, several kilometers from the MAC Crater currently decorating the landscape of the place. It was also a target for specific reasons.

Halsey pulled a device out of her pocket and looked it over. The map displayed on it pinpointed a small energy source just after the Swamp. Various small pinprick energy signs had started appearing across the continent, with Halsey pretty sure that was a signal for something happening. Water splashed as the woman waded forth through the grime, feeling the nasty smell and the bug-bites.

"No Relic is ever going to be somewhere less likely to give me Malaria, is it?" She murmured to herself, wading through now waist-deep water as she pushed forth, her clothes soaking. Delilah looked back to them and showed them to halt. The Marines and the doctor all tensed up as the girl dropped from the trees and into a shrub. She motioned the Lieutenant forward, then pointed forward.

"We're entering dragon-born territory," She stated and, for but a moment, the Lieutenant thought his translator was malfunctioning.

"Wait. Say again?" The man raised a brow as he whispered. She nodded, then mouthed the words, which the device slowly translated. The man sighed, "Oh, great... How the hell are you people bordering Dragons? And why are we only now finding out about this? Could've been some pertinent info to know before we waded into the waist-deep bullshit here, honestly..."

"It is a long story," She replied firmly, taking her binoculars out as Doctor Halsey joined them on the small island in the middle of the swamp. Delilah hummed, sweeping with her binocs in a forty-five degree angle and noting, "Seems they are lax about their border defenses today. Plus, they should do nothing to us, considering we mostly interact with them for trade."

"They know about us?" Richard then inquired.

"They've seen your ships come down and told some of our traders about seeing your patrols last month, so yes," Delilah replied, standing to her feet. She slid the binocs back into their container, then inquired, "By the way, the Queen says that we will all learn to speak English soon. Does that mean we will not require the translation devices anymore?" as the doctor was about to inquire who they were talking about.

"Yeah... Oh, doc, hey," The Lieutenant nodded to Halsey, "Apparently we're entering dragon-born territory, or something."

"... Dragon-born," Halsey murmured, "Well... I hope they do not mind guests."

"They don't," Delilah assured, "Now, come. We should reach the dungeon where your Relic is very soon."

Now, 'dungeon' was a relative term. The translation device gave false words some times, courtesy of certain Falmartian Latin words not having direct translations like normal Latin would. In this case, 'dungeon' could've meant a cave that poked out of the ground, a hole, or just an underground complex of some kind, not just the old jails of ye olde medieval and pre-medieval times.

Honestly? Doctor Halsey wasn't sure which would've been worse. The squad marched through, reaching the end of the swamp and entering just a natural chunk of forest that opened up into the mountainous region farther North-West of the FOB. The tall, snow-capped peaks of the place stood above them, poking into the fluffy, grey, glum clouds overhead. Some peaks outright vanished behind them.