Chapter 4: The Lost City of Krko
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I'm currently working on three chapters for the main story, alongside this series Chapter 4.5, the last one. That's because come September, I will get a lot more busy so I cannot work on Kai and the translations will take priority.

Discord: https://discord.gg/wEp44XuaT3

Cent. Calendar 13/09/1639, Zarak, Whispering Flatlands, Quila, 15:45

As they passed the great, wooden gates of the town that had been opened to them, the Japanese expedition into Quila, with guidance by the warlord Olek and his men, entered the quaint town of Zarak in the northern hinterlands of the Whispering Flatlands. In spite of it being the warlord’s hometown and the region’s de facto capital (no regional capitals have been officially defined by the kingdom), Zarak was home to hardly a thousand or so people. The population of this region’s supposedly biggest city was so small that it wasn’t much of a stretch to say that the crowd that had gathered to welcome the bronco-riding Japanese must have been the entire town itself. Just like the tribesmen back at the Watak oasis, they were welcomed not with waving hands and eager smiles but with curious stares and loud hushes.

“We will go see my wife and my mother to inform them of your good intentions in this place. They serve as the administrative leadership of this town in my absence.”

Riding the lead bronco was the warlord Olek, who turned around to inform his Japanese companions of what they’re going to do. Izumi, the one closest to him, smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, but as soon as he turned around she grimaced. She then looked at Kita and Cecilia, who were both behind her, and started speaking in Japanese so as to keep their talk discreet from the beastmen.

“My god. We’ve just gotten out of the desert and you want us to meet the town’s leaders? I’m sweaty, hungry, I’ve got sand in my camisole, and I haven’t put on any makeup! Can’t he give us some fucking time?”

In spite of her alien words, the beastmen were at least able to tell that she was not fond of something given her tone and heavy sighs. Ever the optimistic relief amongst the trio, Kita tried to console her best friend, who she knows have gone through a lot during their crossing of the Flatlands.

“C’mon, now. Olek’s just probably considerate of our time and all!”

Putting on a forced smile and a dry laugh, she wasn’t convincing anyone, much less Izumi. Cecilia, not wanting to put more instability on Izumi’s plate, supported Kita’s efforts.

“We’re almost home free, Izumi-san. It’s just like Olek said: Krko is just beyond that hill over there.”

Her words didn’t do much to alleviate the worries off of Izumi’s chest but her pointing out where Krko was managed to distract her. To the northeast of the town’s walls was a hill towering over the landscape. It appeared scalable but its sheer size and girth meant that it might take a lot of effort to navigate around the rocks and crevices on its slope. Off to the side of the hill just north of the town was a series of bigger rock formations that continued until a small canyon in the earth far away. In either case, there didn’t appear to be an easy, straightforward approach into Krko but given the fact that people have gotten to the city before, there likely exists some sort of pass that leads there.

She then set these thoughts aside as soon as she saw Olek and his men disembark from their broncos. Following suit, the trio and their escorts Sato and Takada dismounted and followed the beastmen towards a sandy white building that had a dome on its roof as its most striking feature. Entering the undecorated entranceway, they were treated to a similar interior as the tents back at the Watak oasis: the floors were covered in rugs and carpets of fascinating colors and curious geometric patterns all underneath lit candles on holders that either hung from the ceiling or were placed on tall stands. At the center of the chamber sat two beastmen who appeared to wear elaborate gold arm rings on both arms, which were the region’s traditional female accessories according to Olek. One of them, who also appeared to be the younger one, looked up at them with delighted eyes.

My dearest Olek!

In response, Olek also raised an equally delighted voice.

Sana!

The two then approached one another, placed their hands firmly on the other’s shoulders, and snuggled their noses closely and intimately. Despite not understanding what they’re saying, the scene was enough for the Japanese to assume that the other party was Olek’s wife. After two whole minutes of amorous nose snuggling, the warlord then turned away to face the Japanese.

“Forgive my unsightly demeanor. This is my wife, Sana, and my mother, Nezha.”

With his mother Nezha standing up to join them, both she and Sana presented their arms wide open while lowering their heads.

“A pleasure to have you in our town.”

In response, the five Japanese bowed in unison with Izumi speaking on behalf of everyone.

“The pleasure’s ours, Mrs. Nezha and Mrs. Sana. You may call me Izumi, and these are Kita, Cecilia, Sato, and Takada.”

Each of them produced the warmest smile they could as they were each introduced. After that, Nezha stepped closer to the Japanese, examining and scrutinizing their odd features and uncanny apparel in discomforting silence. Then, she opened her mouth.

“How mysterious, your appearances are. I admit that I have never left the kingdom in my lifetime, but I’ve seen foreigners coming from far and wide; yet I’ve never seen the likes of you before. Tell me: where do you come from?”

“We’re from an archipelagic country to the northeast just some distance away from Fenn and Gahara called Japan.”

Nezha caressed her snout as her eyes indicated that she was deep in thought. She had never heard of such a country before, but with the world being as unfathomably large as it is it didn’t come as a surprise.

“Why are you so far from home braving blistering heat and savage predators just to come to this relatively unremarkable part of the desert? For what purpose did you set out from Japan?”

“We’ve been sent by the Japanese government on this scholarly expedition to study the nature, origin, and fate of the ‘emissaries of the sun god’. As archaeologists–scholars who study past civilizations by examining what they’ve left behind–we’re here to study a site of interest related to the emissaries: Krko.”

As soon as Izumi said the word ‘Krko’, Nezha and Sana’s eyes opened wide in mild shock. They then turned their faces, which were wearing expressions of concern and bewilderment, to Olek.

Did you know about this?

Speaking in their local tongue, Olek’s mother asked him.

Yes, dear mother, but–

Didn’t we already talk about this?

Before his son could explain, Nezha interrupted him. The frustration in her tone was already more than apparent.

You brought them here, which means you have consented to their expedition! Are you not already aware of what’s going to happen? Our tradition is to–

But the last time already went well! Father led the Muish and the Mirishials to the city and nothing happened!

That was an exception!

At this point, the heated exchange between the mother and son had attracted attention from outside. Izumi, feeling responsible for this, was about to step in and break their quarrel when Kita and Cecilia held her back.

We still don’t understand why but the danger’s too much for a proper investigation! Don’t go! The circumstances were different back then.

I disagree, dear mother. As the reigning lord of this domain, I will make sure that nothing happens this time.

Nezha turned away and crossed her arms as emotions criss crossed in her heart. She believed in the legend of the accursed city and she did not want her son to be lost, just as she feared for her beloved’s demise decades ago when he ventured into the passes. At the same time, she knew that something wasn’t right with how the curse did not affect either her husband or the expedition. Above all, however, was her wish for her son to assert himself and outgrow his father’s shoes. With these conflicting feelings at an impasse, Nezha couldn’t give her son her ultimate say on the matter.

That was until her eyes came across two of the Japanese foreigners, both of whom wore the same mottled beige and brown clothing and helmet. While they were indeed curious looking for escorts, it was a rectangular patch on their shoulders and breasts that caught her attention. A bright red disc superimposed on a clean, white rectangle. She had seen such a symbol before, but it was not something she’d expect foreigners to wear.

Kita, seeing Nezha freeze as her eyes fixated on their escorts, felt concerned for her and called out to her.

“Is everything alright, Mrs. Nezha?”

Like a person being broken out from their hypnosis, Nezha began to move again and immediately turned her face to Olek; this time, her eyes were completely devoid of frustration.

Fine. Go and take them, Olek. Just... come back.

Hearing this, Olek breathed out a sigh of relief.

I will. Krko has cast its shadow on us for far too long. It is about time that we begin to move past it.

Despite the downs their meeting went through, Nezha and Sana ordered the nicest accommodations for the Japanese to stay in. After they’ve left the building, Olek reminded them that they will depart for the lost city in the morning.

Cent. Calendar 14/09/1639, near Krko, Quila, 7:20

As soon as the sky had changed into a purplish hue, Olek, along with three of his men, and the five Japanese set out for Krko. Exiting through the northern gate, the expedition continued to the towering, orange, sunschorced rocks on foot. Navigating northward along the length of the rock walls, they finally came across a nondescript entrance that led to a gap through the rocks with a clearance that allowed for three people standing shoulder to shoulder to pass through. Hanging on a well-placed rock above the entrance was a dried up bovine skull, perhaps a universal method of warding off unwanted visitors. The trio, looking up at the spooky skull above them, had a couple of words to say about it.

“If we weren’t commissioned for this, I’d have already been convinced to turn back.”

Swallowing what reservations she had left, Kita entered the pass, followed by Izumi, Cecilia, and then the others.

“Just now? You mean you aren’t already convinced by the stuff we heard and the things we went through?”

Right behind her, Izumi replied to her statement as she kept an arm’s length from the walls of the pass. Above them, the morning sun was already shining its warm, orange glow on the rocks but it was still too low to send them into the dark pass.

“Creepy, haunted house-like decor is an 8 out of 10 on my list.”

“Huh? What’s a 10 then?”

“That old lady, Nezha. She made a death stare on us last night. Now that’s hella scary.”

Their meeting with Olek’s wife and mother last night came to mind. It didn’t end without any sour aftertaste as the warlord and his mother seemed to disagree with one another over something but it appeared to be all good in the end. Still, the 180 shown by Nezha at the end of the quarrel was something of an oddity. Now that Kita has mentioned it, there was something unsettling about the way she looked at them.

“What makes you say that?”

“I’m not sure myself, Hikari-chan, but the way she looked at us...”

Just before they dropped down onto a part of the pass that had caved in, Kita looked back at her friend. Her dark, monotonous eyes had a hint of uncertainty in them but behind all that, Izumi saw that she had reservations–something she had not seen in her eyes since their expedition began.

“She looked as if she had seen the demon himself. That sort of fear was what I saw in her eyes.”

Before Izumi could ask her to elaborate, they heard Olek’s howl emanating from below them. He was already a considerable distance away from them.

“Pick up the pace! This way!”

Saving their talk for later, Kita and Izumi dropped down onto the caved in portion. The drop was hardly any more than two meters but now they couldn’t get back up. After Cecilia, Sato, and Takada dropped down, they were followed by the three beastmen under Olek. The three carried a massive, almost cube-shaped boulder and placed it against the wall from where they came, allowing them to climb back up and exit the pass towards Zarak.

“Oh look. They gave us a way out. Thanks.”

Izumi expressed her gratitude to the beastmen, who didn’t understand Asheran common and just ignored her.

Catching up to Olek, they continued a hundred meters into the pass, scaling and dropping down from the uneven, rocky terrain and obstacles that dotted the narrow pathway. Before long, they came across a hollow opening in the rock that appeared as if something had bored into it. Descending down the incline inside this opening, they crouched down onto their knees since the overhead clearance didn’t allow them to stand up; the beastmen, who had bigger, taller figures, were forced to crawl on their stomachs. Eventually, they reached another tight pass at the end of the opening and the expedition was back on their feet. As they neared the corner of a sharp turn in the pass, Olek turned to look at the Japanese faces following him from behind.

“We’re close. Krko is at hand.”

Then he rounded the corner. Following him, Izumi, Kita, Cecilia, and the others also rounded the corner.

“Woah...!”

The ragged rocky pass ahead of them was littered with hundreds–no, thousands of dried humanoid skulls; some were stacked up into a pile while others were hung like chandeliers from ropes that crisscrossed the pass above them. The orange, bronzed rocks that made up the pass’s walls were smeared in dried red and black paints or pigments of some sort with some forming coherent lettering while some were just disorganized splatters. Compared to the bovine skull that was placed above the overhanging rock at the entrance of the pass, this collage of sinister and terrifying signages was more convincing that the road ahead is not to be passed. Still, in spite of the spine-chilling warnings, the expedition pressed on.

“Any second thoughts?”

“I think it’s a little too late for second thoughts.”

“Yeah. If anything, this just means we’re on the right track, right?”

The three women exchanged quips with one another as they reveled–and shivered–at the sight of the ominous omens sprawled out all around them. Unlike the haunted houses they remember back in Japan, these were unequivocally real. Then, as if ruining the mood, they heard the clicks of a camera’s shutter closing: Cecilia had taken out her camera to take pictures of the signage for later study.

“Sir Olek! Could you give us a clue as to what these signs say?”

Cecilia called out to Olek, who then promptly answered with a straight voice.

“They say: ‘Turn back now, for from this point onwards the gods will not have mercy.’”

Just as the Japanese looked at one another with worried looks on their faces, Olek was quick to add a clarification.

“Fear not. These warnings were put up by my tribe. Because of the conditions here, in addition to the beasts that make the desert their home, these warnings have to be constantly fixed. Parts of the rope above us were put up just several days ago. Although, I am hoping that we would dispel the legend that keeps on pushing us to put up these warnings.”

Pressing on, the group continued to pass through a dozen more meters worth of bones, spikes, and other visuals that said “keep out!” Then, Kita spotted several fabrics suspended from ropes and fluttering in the air above them.

“Well... I guess now I have an idea as to why Nezha gave us the death stare.”

“What do you mean?”

Kita responded to Izumi by pointing her finger up at the fabrics above them. Upon closer inspection, the fabrics–although tattered and stained–were something all too familiar to them: they were the Hinomaru.

“If they had been working on the warnings up to recently, Nezha woulda seen this. Sato and Takada wear the Hinomaru patches on their shoulders so she might have been looking at them.”

“Yeah, but it’s been 2,000 years. Sure, these are tattered and are smeared with warnings and drawings of skulls but they still look better than 2,000-year old fabric.”

“You’re right. It is kinda uncanny.”

Setting aside the topic for later, the Japanese continued their advance. Eventually, the pass got to a steady, low incline upwards and the further they progressed up this slope, the more dramatic the warning visuals got. After a few minutes, they reached what appeared to be the summit of the incline, at which point the pass ended and an open area began.

“We’re here.”

Climbing onto the summit and out of the pass, Olek turned back to extend his hand to help Kita and the others out. As soon as the trio stepped out of the pass, they were treated to a magnificent sight that unfurled below them.

“Wow...”

Unable to hide the amazement, they all let out their own ways of expressing it.

From atop the dune-like hill of the pass’s exit, they could see the sprawling expanse of the blistering Whispering Flatlands from where they stood. Beyond the dry, sun bleached rock hills to the north were the towering peaks of the Rodenian Mountain range, the great chain of mountains that separate the principality of Qua-Toyne and the kingdom of Quila. Closer to their position was a canyon, which appeared to be the dried up remains of an old river that used to flow through the area. Closer still was an extensive network of ruined buildings and structures that appeared as if they were going to be swallowed by the desert sands stretching over an area that covered around four square kilometers. In between these structures were the remains of what appeared to be paved roads, steel tracks, and stone pillars. Off to the northeast end of this network of ruins appeared to be complexes of gigantic buildings with collapsed cylindrical stone columns reminiscent of industrial factories. Taking a picture of the scenery for data gathering, Cecilia was the first person to speak up about their thoughts.

“Well, there it is. Site X aka Krko.”

“It looks much bigger than it looked in the black and white pictures.”

“On top of that, it does look a lot like an early Showa-era town or city. Based on the development and scale, we’re looking at a population in the tens of thousands.”

“That many Japanese–sorry, ‘emissaries’–at least? I wonder why they were even here in the first place.”

“That’s why we’re here, though, ain’t it?”

As they were talking amongst themselves, Olek approached them.

“My father left a record of his trek here with the Muish-Mirishial expedition and detailed where he went. By following the route he described, we can get to that main street over there.”

He pointed to what appeared to be the widest, most intact street which ran through the city’s center. Taking Olek’s suggestion, the Japanese expedition descended from the pass and ventured into the ruined city.

- - -

Passing through a small gorge that ran from the hill towards the southeast end of the city, the Japanese and the beastmen were given ample shelter from the howling, sandy winds that blew past their heads. At this point in time, the morning sun was already up in the blue, cloudless sky above. The gorge was comparatively easier to navigate and walk through with patches of desert shrubbery and partially collapsed rock walls being the worst obstacles in their path. As they continued, Kita wiped off the sweat that had piled on her eyebrows with her headscarf as she turned to face Izumi and Cecilia.

“Is it just me or are there no more warnings?”

“That’s indeed the case. We’re probably already past the point of no return or at least that’s what the legend says.”

Before they could stop to catch their breaths, Olek, who had gone ahead, called onto them.

“Come! We’re almost there!”

Although exhausted from the trek, the Japanese made an effort to run and catch up to Olek. As soon as they caught up to him, they saw him standing on a rock in the middle of the path looking up at the edges of the gorge.

“Look.”

He pointed his finger towards what appeared to be structures on top of the wall. They were half buried in sand and parts of their foundations had collapsed into the gorge but parts of them were still standing. Taking a closer look, they appeared to be buildings made out of stone with intricate metallic grills still fixed over their now glassless windows. Some had columns made out of some stone-like material and had a design reminiscent of Greco-Roman architecture.

As they took pictures, the Japanese continued their traversal of the gorge but they soon arrived at a collapsed building in the gorge half-buried in rock and rubble. Its features caught their attention the most.

“Look... Is this what I think it is?”

Izumi looked closer at the roof, the only part of the ruined structure that was mostly intact. It had black tiles that appeared to curve downwards and supported by a complicated system of timber frames that would have cradled the roof above the building. The tiling even had intricate reliefs which were surprisingly intact despite their reputed age.

“It looks like it used to be a Japanese home.”

Cecilia nodded to Izumi’s statement.

“We’re definitely in the city now.”

Proceeding further, they eventually arrived at a slope made out of the rubble of collapsed structures and the parts of the rock on which was built and upon scaling it, they arrived at a wide clearing half buried in sand, shrubbery, and rocks that was flanked on both sides by ruined buildings. There were fallen and still standing remains of what appeared to have been lampposts positioned along the length of the clearing, which appeared to be a street made out of a smoothened kind of stone. As the beastmen and Japanese emerged onto the main street from the gorge, they looked around and examined their surroundings with awestruck eyes and wide open mouths.

“This is it... Krko...”

“Well shit. The place is bigger than I thought. We’re expected to be back in Barrat by the end of this week, so we can’t spend more than a day here.”

“Right, so we better pick the best place to gather data from. Perhaps they left behind some records? The city hall may be a good start.”

“Um, hey?”

Catching the attention of the trio was one of their escorts, Takada.

“I may not be an archaeologist like you, but I think that that building over there looks like a city hall.”

He then pointed towards a still standing building at one end of the road that had what appeared to be a clock tower in the middle of its facade. It stood out from the rest of the ruins in that it had rustic red bricks and was the biggest single structure around. Its position at one end of the main street added to their confidence that it was likely an administrative or government building.

“It’s a good start.”

Thanking Takada for his input, the three then made their way towards the building but not before informing Olek of their intent to do so.

Making their way down the dune covered main street of Krko, the expedition continued their examination of the buildings around them but given that they had already collapsed or were almost completely swallowed by the desert, there was little of substance that they could gain from them. Still, the thought of such a long lost city being slowly and gradually swallowed by the desert weighed unexpectedly heavily, all the more so when considering that the area did not used to be desert. As they were preoccupied with theories as to the cause behind the desertification mentioned in Olek’s tales, the towering facade of the building they were heading to had gotten closer. Continuing as they did, however, they started noticing peculiar setups all along the main street leading to the building.

“Come check this out.”

Kita invited the others to take a closer look at one of the aforementioned bizarre setups. It seemed to be part of a hastily constructed barricade made out of crates, metallic furnishings, collapsed rubble, and so on. What was left undisturbed by time and the elements appeared to contain damage in the form of bullet holes and burn marks. While Cecilia took pictures of the barricade, Izumi caught sight of something disturbing.

“Now that you mention it, look at what’s buried in the sand!”

Sand dunes buried the main street surrounding the building but what things the sand haven’t swallowed were disturbing: barricades made out of the burnt wrecks of cars, buildings with scorch marks and damage reminiscent of explosions, the rusting and partially broken down remains of what appeared to be cannons, and even the turret of what appeared to be a tank sticking out of the stand.

“What happened here?”

“Based on the barricades and how the cannons are pointed at each other, I don’t think we need to imagine what went down.”

The scene painted the picture of an attack being mounted on the building–probably the administrative center of the city–not by the natives but rather forces from the emissaries themselves. The details and particulars still elude them, but it didn’t take a lot of brainpower to come to the assumption that some sort of factional infighting may have occurred here. Due to the presence of heavy weaponry such as armored fighting vehicles and artillery, the scale of the fight may likely have been far-reaching and violent. Perhaps this may have been what Olek’s legends referred to when the sun god forsook the emissaries and the city? Or maybe the desertification may have caused supply shortages that led to hostilities between the emissaries? Either way, they were going to take whatever data they can to try and answer as many questions as they could.

Passing through the grim scene of violence and taking pictures and samples of scientific significance, they then arrived at the facade of the building. Just like the main street behind them, the entrance to the building was blocked by barricades and defensive palisades made out of furniture, sandbags, and debris taken from the destroyed parts of the building. Going around the barricade through an opening, they were treated to the sight of an appalling scene behind the cover of the palisades.

“Oh my god...”

“Fuck...”

Behind the cover of the palisades and half buried in dirt and sand were the skulls and bones of five people, their flesh and clothing having broken down long ago. However, they still had the rusted, decaying remnants of their helmets, steel buckles and buttons, and even guns. Sato and Takada, both enthusiasts of military hardware and uniforms, examined their equipment closely before coming to a chilling conclusion.

“Well shit. There’s no doubt about it: they’re soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.”

The hair on the trio’s skin stood up as their hearts sank. Instead of the supposed thrill they were expecting after hearing those words, their spirits instead collapsed deep into the murky depths of their hearts. Despite having done field work and unearthing the remains of people from bygone ages who experienced death both unsavory and peaceful, for some reason this discovery was different. While they’re yet to verify that they’re bonafide Japanese, the fact that they were indeed in this world before them had some disturbing and mind blowing implications. Before any of that though, Kita, Izumi, Sato, and Takada all clapped their hands and bowed their heads in the direction of the bones.

“May you have found peace in the life after this one.”

After offering a prayer for the souls of these soldiers, Izumi’s eyes opened, revealing her fiery determination.

“We’ll definitely come back here and lay their remains to rest.”

Hearing Izumi’s intention to return, Kita and Cecilia nodded in agreement as their eyes similarly burned with resolve. Leaving the remains as they were, they then turned to proceed towards the entrance of the building. Standing in front of the doorless opening that led into the dark interior, they looked up to see a familiar script etched into the stone just above the entrance. It read “黑湖市役所”, which went from right to left, the original direction of horizontal writing before the educational reforms postwar. Kita read it aloud.

“‘Kuroko City Hall’.”

Not only did the kanji script added credence to the Japanese emissaries theory, but now they had a lead regarding the origin of the Quilan name Krko and Qua-Toynian name Kil-quo. While the linguistic specifics is not their specialty, they could make out their semblance with the original Japanese name for the city, Kuroko. Leaving the task of taking pictures to Cecilia, Izumi and Kita approached the opening and were about to step over the rubble that blocked it when Sato called out to them.

“Wait, stop!”

Hearing those words, the two reflexively stopped their movements short of placing their feet on the ground just in front of the rubble. Looking towards Sato for an explanation as to why, he pointed towards some unusual-looking objects jutting out of the sand.

“Step away! Let me take a closer look!”

Heeding Sato’s commands, the two backed off from the entrance as he gently leaned in to get a closer look at the objects. After a while, he stands back up and scratches the back of his neck in frustration.

“It’s a landmine. Fuck. I’m sorry, I don’t know how to dispose of it...”

Takada carefully approached the landmine to see it for himself. He then offers his glass-half-full input.

“It’s already been 2,000 years though, right? It probably doesn’t even work anymore; hell, the detonator might have rotted away a long time ago.”

“Well I ain’t risking shit. It’s a fucking landmine! We need to dispose of it properly.”

As Takada showed his reluctant agreement by scratching his own head, Sato turned towards the three women with an apologetic face. 

“I’m sorry for this setback, but we can’t proceed any further.”

“No, it’s alright. We’ll gather data another way.”

Unable to proceed into the city hall, the trio went on to find other places where records were kept and may still exist.

Cent. Calendar 28/11/1639, Krko Excavation Site, Quila, 14:10

Bata bata bata bata

The sharp sounds of a helicopter’s blades whipping the air at high speeds echoed across the area as the downwash it produced whipped up a miniature sandstorm at the landing site. As soon as the helicopter touched down on the ground, the figure of a tall, chestnut-haired woman jumped off from the open compartment. She is then greeted by two women in headscarves shielding their faces from the sand kicked up by the helicopter.

“‘Sup, Cecilia!”

“Good to see you again.”

Like good friends reunited after years of contactless separation, the three women embraced each other, minding not the sand that got onto their skin and clothes. The black-haired woman, Izumi, looked up to Cecilia with an eager face.

“What’s the word back in Qua-Toyne?”

Cecilia’s already radiant smile got even brighter as if brimming with good news to tell.

“The remains of the soldiers we found are now being identified before being laid to rest. Additionally, that manifesto we found at the marketplace has yielded fruit; they’re now planning to survey three areas for the emissary sites listed.”

The two clapped as they breathed out sighs of relief. The woman with the blonde hair, Kita, chuckled.

“That’s great! Girl, this mystery is only getting more interesting as we further unravel it.”

“That’s not all of the good news; but I think it’s best if I show it at the tent!”

Bringing with her her laptop, Cecilia beckoned the two to follow her to the excavation site’s main tent before showing more of the good news she brought.

Back in the 14th of Seplenith (Month 9), the three, together with two SDF escorts and four local beastmen, stepped foot into and explored the ruins of Krko, originally known by its Japanese name Kuroko. After collecting pictures, data, artifacts, and some intact and legible records found at the marketplace, the expedition wrapped up its work and returned home. Their studies and the revelations contained within them gripped Japan, which was still picking up the pieces from the catastrophic transfer event, resulting in a societal distraction in which the public was consumed by curiosity behind the mystery of the emissaries. On top of a newfound sense of belonging in this new world came the unsavory consequences: the resurgence of a profound nationalism sprinkled with conscious feelings of racial superiority.

As for Krko, the explosion of interest prompted the government to invest into a full-fledged archaeological expedition at the site, which led to the establishment of the Krko Excavation Site. Due to the noted existence of possibly active landmines and unexploded ordnance all across the ruins, explosive disposal teams from the SDF were deployed to clear them, during which they discovered multiple remains of ancient native individuals who appeared to have been maimed by landmines. This discovery provided closure for Olek and his tribesmen regarding the legend that the city was cursed, but difficulties in diffusing their ingrained fear of stepping into the city remained. As for Izumi, Kita, and Cecilia, the trio continued their work onsite, although Izumi temporarily went home to spend much needed time with her daughter.

After passing through guard checkpoints, excavations, and mine disposal teams doing their work, the three finally arrived at the main tent where they do their work. Gathering around an empty wooden table, Izumi and Kita anxiously waited for Cecilia to open the files she wanted to show the two.

“Here!”

Opening the PNG file, Cecilia then swiveled the laptop for it to face Izumi and Kita. The image was that of a neatly preserved chronicle showing a crude drawing of people waving their hands at what appeared to be castle-shaped ships leaving. At the bottom was text written in the old Rodenius script.

“Our historian and linguist friends back in Myhark, with help from Qua-Toynian scholars, were able to translate what this chronicle says.”

“And? What does it say?”

“I think I have it here... Ah! Here it is. ‘Mere moons from their triumphant victory over the hordes of Malastriss and Nosgorath near the beaches of Achsai, Shamash’s formidable emissaries raised a great fleet of iron ships–magnificent vessels of tremendous power that cloud the sky with their great bonfires. On the 19th day of the 7th full moon, we and the emissaries’ allies bid farewell to the great fleet; they disappeared beneath the horizon before the sun has reached its zenith and are bound for the dreaded continent of Hiladon, of which Nosgorath and Malastriss still have reign over.’”

Before Izumi and Kita could mull over what the letter was trying to say, Cecilia cut to the explanation.

“According to the Qua-Toynians, Hiladon here is an ancient name for Philades, the continent up north that is home to the Parpaldian Empire and the rest of the Third Civilized Region. Now, what I’m about to say is still being confirmed by our friends, but right now they’re theorizing that the emissaries were in possession of then-modern ships and that they crossed the oceans to Philades at least once.”

The emissaries possessing early Showa era ships was a surprising find. The question of how they maintained them and where their wrecks now lie is still in the air, but given that they may have used them to cross the oceans to Philades and not be limited to Rodenius vastly expands the scope of their study. However, Kita had a few doubts to say.

“But that don’t mean that they settled in Philades, right? They could’ve taken their ‘great fleet’ to Philades and that could be it.”

So far, their story of the emissaries is as follows: summoned by the sun god to ‘smite the evil demonic hordes’, people from the early Showa period–especially from the war era–landed in the Rodenius continent. As they fulfilled their duties to the sun god and to the natives by chasing away the demons, the emissaries settled the continent, the best surviving of which was a city named Kuroko, now Krko. Some things happened, which may include the desertification of the lands around Kuroko, and infighting between the Japanese erupted which later resulted in the abandonment of the city. Their fate, where they went, and why they were here in the first place remains unknown.

“That’s valid, but with a lot of digging and a lot of reading to do, we may know the truth sooner or later. If it is indeed true that they had landed and settled in Philades then that just deepens the plot, no? Also, I’ve heard the accommodations in Parpaldia are a lot better than here.”

As the women wrapped up their discussion to return to their dig sites, the prospect of the emissaries venturing far from the shores of Rodenius hovered above their heads like flies. With the story of the emissaries being pieced back together artifact by artifact, the truths long buried in thousands of years of earth will soon see the light of day.

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