Ren awoke, for the first time in a long time, in an actual bed. Or, at the very least, a cot.

Jumping to a start, he quickly donned the clothes provided to him; itchy and somehow both too small and baggy, but nonetheless clean and free of wear.

Not a moment too soon, a knock came at his door. At first speaking in the same Latin-like language he heard prior, the speaker cleared his throat before speaking again.

“And again, for the outsider, we’re moving out in 15, grab your gear and head outside.”

Others in the room groaned, some literally rolling off their cots and half-assedly throwing on what appeared to be a peculiar mix of Roman soldier-esque symbology on perhaps a late 19th century military uniform - not unlike what he had seen on the guards a day prior. The conduct of the soldiers, though, is what amused him, as they acted not completely unlike his compatriots back home; prone to bitch and complain, but nonetheless still doing what they're told.

‘I suppose some things hardly change,’ he thought to himself. 

Packing his old clothes and few possessions into a small bag he was given, Ren went outside the small barracks building to find a number of horse-drawn escort wagons marked with military insignia on their wagon-covers. 

Sitting down on the mildew-rich grass, Ren took in the scenery; beyond the stone walls, vast mountainscapes and forests persisted as far as the eye could see, with roads winding up various hills and disappearing into the distance. On his side stood the various apparently military-owned wooden cabins, one of which had housed him and another in which he had been interviewed and, later, administratively set up to travel with a group of soldiers planned to go back to the nation’s capital city; a convenient coincidence for him.

Slowly but surely, the other soldiers mustered outdoors, speaking and joking around in the same foreign tongue to one another.

Now standing, Ren spotted the man he had spoken to the day prior, walking beside and talking another man in a pannonian hat - an officer, perhaps? - and occasionally pointing to Ren and a few of the other soldiers.

After chatting for a bit, the officer called to attention the other soldiers and made an announcement. All of it was, of course, lost on Ren. A moment later, the soldiers dispersed, some headed back to the various buildings and others towards the wagons. 

Following some chaos and confusion, the english-speaking guardsman trotted over to Ren.

“Listen, like I said yesterday, you’ll be riding along with these gents up to Palantti. From there, you’ll get redirected to the Outsiders’ Bureau. They’ll help set you up - especially with that letter of yours, from the royalty. Oh, and take this-”
The guardsman reached into his pocket and pulled out yet another letter.
“I told the captain over here about your experiences, and he wrote you a short recommendation for the Valentian Imperial Guard. Shouldn’t be a problem with that other letter of yours, but, y’know, just in case. Good luck out there.”

Ren smiled and shook his hand before boarding one of the wagons, already with three other guardsmen in it. Almost immediately after, the convoy began to move.

He sighed and shook his head. “Another long ride ahead.”

“Yep.”

Shocked, Ren looked up. A guard he hadn’t seen before, an East Asian man with longer black hair sitting in the seat across from him, gave him a goofy looking grin.

“Huh? You speak English too?”

“Yep.”

“...any more than ‘yep’?”

His grin widened.

“My name’s Junling. Or Junius, according to the imperial register, but, yeah, just use Junling. Outsider, much like yourself.”
“I’m, uh, Ren. Renat Gavriel. Why hadn’t I seen you before?”
Junling shrugged. “Got to the racks later than you. Got up a bit earlier than you did too, I think. Went off to the woods to take a dump, got lost, found my way back at the last second. Oh, and, fair warning, avoid the raisins in the guard rations. Does a nasty bit on your guts.”

“...noted.”

Junling leaned back on the inside of the wagon’s cover. “So, newbie, what’s the plan? When we get to Palantti, I mean?”

“I’m gonna go find this ‘Outsiders’ Bureau’, get myself settled, and possibly join in with you guys in the army. I’ve got this - apparently -valuable piece of paper over here for it, too-” Ren said, pulling out the letter from Sarai and showing Junling.

“Oh huh, that’s interesting. Any idea why she gave you that, though?” Junling’s grin somehow became less inviting.

Ren furrowed his brows “I… actually, I’m not entirely sure. She mentioned having a debt to outsiders, but… I didn’t really press the topic.”

Junling sighed. “Be careful, newbie. Especially with people like her. I shouldn’t have to tell you, but she might be wanting something out of you. A lot of outsiders - especially those who find themselves lost within Palantti - will fall into the supposed ‘grace’ of royalty or wealth, and, best case scenario, become personal housemaids for life.”

Ren looked down, slightly bothered by this warning. “I don’t know. Call me naive, but I do think she was genuinely trying to help…”

Junling leaned across and grabbed his shoulder. “Hey man, maybe she was, but maybe she wasn’t. Who knows. But… you’ll need money and security when we get to Palantti. I can help you with getting into the Imperial Guard - heard you talking to the Optio back there about doing that - but do watch out, really. People prey on us. We’re valuable, easy targets to some of these… people. Especially when we get there. We have a new emperor, after all, and, while he’s been de facto emperor for some time now, next week is his formal coronation. Even more people, so even more confusion.”

Ren nodded. “I suppose so. Optio?”

Junling waved it off.  “Just the term for sergeant. The one english-speaking guy, y’know. You’ll learn all that stuff during training.” Leaning forward, Junling gave an inquiring look. “So, newbie, what brought you to Valentia? What was your ‘past life’?”