Nicodemus had long outgrown any childish notion that adventure and exploration were glorious affairs, he had traveled too much. Even the greatest ancient ruins contained as many latrines and dungeons as giant spires and treasure. Even knowing this so he had to admit to himself that tracking through the dense jungel to the ruins had been many different shades of unpleasant.
The sound of footsteps followed by the sickeningly familiar splashing and groaning from outside the tent made him thankful that he had avoided the sickness. The fact that his measuring stick for a good day was to not currently be crouched behind a bush shitting out his intestines all over the ground (Something that had literally happened to one poor soul) said it all. He had noted with that only the humans had fallen ill. The orcs seemed to be more resilient and even thriving amidst the humid jungel. Not surprising given what he knew of orcs and their culture from the college, but still something of note. If it was due to their anatomy or more spiritual was speculation at this point.
Thankfully all but two of the mercenaries had gotten over the sickness and as such the expedition had not lose much of their valuable time.
The expedition had now been at the excavation site for over two months and they had nothing of true value to show for it. Sure what looked to be a barracks, a bathhouse and a market district was a fascination glimpse into a different time and civilisation, but it wasn’t really anything to write home about. At least not to his superiors at the College, they would be expect artefacts and arcane knowledge. The difference in shop and market layout could be a decent icebreaker next time he visited the family though. Should get a chuckle out his father, gods knew that was needed. The old man had gotten even grumpier with age.
Most of his time while the hired help was excavating had gone into examine the symbols and writings they had found so far. And then cross examine them with local dialects and discoveries from other ruins in the area. Looking for any connections or pattern. While having made little headway so far with the symbols looked like they could be deciphered into something meaningful, which was more than what could be said about the report he had received from his colleague Tamas earlier. Not only did the writing look like he had dipped a drunk mouse in ink and allowed it to run across the page, how the man could fill page up and page down with what boiled down to the fact that he didn’t know any of the symbols was beyond Nicodemus.
The unknown ruin and perhaps civilisation had seemed like such a promising lead, yet it had so far declined to part with its secrets. It hadn’t looked like the this day wouldn’t be much different until he was disturbed from his writing by the tent flap being pushed aside. The culprit, a tall orc stepped into his makeshift office as she pulled of her hood. She was a good head taller than him, dressed in practical leather amor with twin blads strapped to her hips.
"The boys dug out what looks like an ancient crypt. Sure does smells like it. Figured you’d want to know. " The orc called Sneak said with her usual grin, one Nicodemus yet had to decipher as either a smil or frown. In his defence, it was hard to read the expression on a face with such large fangs. Unless the owner of said fangs were trying to rip out your throat. He really should have read more about orc culture and behaviour. It was his first time working with orc mercenaries and his inability to read their expressions threw him ever so slightly off his game.
He didn’t even have any real idea why she was even called Sneak. His quiet inquiries and later straight out questions about it had gone ignored or gotten the same grin in return.
"Good, what about Alexander?" He asked as they made their way out of the small tent and down into the ruins.
"He’s gone on ahead." Sneak responded flashing her fangs, this expression the researcher didn’t need to read a book on orc culture to know was a smile. She knew he had told Alexander to not do anything rash. She seemed to find it all to be a great joke only she understood.
By the time they made their way pass the mercenaries guarding the crypt, down the staircase and along the corridor her grin had faded. It didn’t seem to Nicodemus like she much enjoyed the more confined dark space compared to the humid jungel. A sentiment he assumed went for the other orcs as well, seeing as there was mostly human mercenaries milling about in the corridors and in the chamber at the end. Personally he found it a lot more relaxing and soothing than the jungel above. While dark and damp, it held a promise of discovery, the half assed ruins and trees up top could not compare.
The chamber was the size of one of the larger lecture halls he knew from the college and carved out of the same dark rock as the ruins. Along with the usual assemble of bones and dust usually found in the deep dark there was a large obsidian pillar in the center. It seemed to Nicodemus to be covered in an ensemble of runes and cryptic symbols, the only one he could recognised seemed to be in the form of two pairs of black wings. Finally they were getting somewhere.
The sound of footsteps followed by the sickeningly familiar splashing and groaning from outside the tent made him thankful that he had avoided the sickness. The fact that his measuring stick for a good day was to not currently be crouched behind a bush shitting out his intestines all over the ground (Something that had literally happened to one poor soul) said it all. He had noted with that only the humans had fallen ill. The orcs seemed to be more resilient and even thriving amidst the humid jungel. Not surprising given what he knew of orcs and their culture from the college, but still something of note. If it was due to their anatomy or more spiritual was speculation at this point.
Thankfully all but two of the mercenaries had gotten over the sickness and as such the expedition had not lose much of their valuable time.
The expedition had now been at the excavation site for over two months and they had nothing of true value to show for it. Sure what looked to be a barracks, a bathhouse and a market district was a fascination glimpse into a different time and civilisation, but it wasn’t really anything to write home about. At least not to his superiors at the College, they would be expect artefacts and arcane knowledge. The difference in shop and market layout could be a decent icebreaker next time he visited the family though. Should get a chuckle out his father, gods knew that was needed. The old man had gotten even grumpier with age.
Most of his time while the hired help was excavating had gone into examine the symbols and writings they had found so far. And then cross examine them with local dialects and discoveries from other ruins in the area. Looking for any connections or pattern. While having made little headway so far with the symbols looked like they could be deciphered into something meaningful, which was more than what could be said about the report he had received from his colleague Tamas earlier. Not only did the writing look like he had dipped a drunk mouse in ink and allowed it to run across the page, how the man could fill page up and page down with what boiled down to the fact that he didn’t know any of the symbols was beyond Nicodemus.
The unknown ruin and perhaps civilisation had seemed like such a promising lead, yet it had so far declined to part with its secrets. It hadn’t looked like the this day wouldn’t be much different until he was disturbed from his writing by the tent flap being pushed aside. The culprit, a tall orc stepped into his makeshift office as she pulled of her hood. She was a good head taller than him, dressed in practical leather amor with twin blads strapped to her hips.
"The boys dug out what looks like an ancient crypt. Sure does smells like it. Figured you’d want to know. " The orc called Sneak said with her usual grin, one Nicodemus yet had to decipher as either a smil or frown. In his defence, it was hard to read the expression on a face with such large fangs. Unless the owner of said fangs were trying to rip out your throat. He really should have read more about orc culture and behaviour. It was his first time working with orc mercenaries and his inability to read their expressions threw him ever so slightly off his game.
He didn’t even have any real idea why she was even called Sneak. His quiet inquiries and later straight out questions about it had gone ignored or gotten the same grin in return.
"Good, what about Alexander?" He asked as they made their way out of the small tent and down into the ruins.
"He’s gone on ahead." Sneak responded flashing her fangs, this expression the researcher didn’t need to read a book on orc culture to know was a smile. She knew he had told Alexander to not do anything rash. She seemed to find it all to be a great joke only she understood.
By the time they made their way pass the mercenaries guarding the crypt, down the staircase and along the corridor her grin had faded. It didn’t seem to Nicodemus like she much enjoyed the more confined dark space compared to the humid jungel. A sentiment he assumed went for the other orcs as well, seeing as there was mostly human mercenaries milling about in the corridors and in the chamber at the end. Personally he found it a lot more relaxing and soothing than the jungel above. While dark and damp, it held a promise of discovery, the half assed ruins and trees up top could not compare.
The chamber was the size of one of the larger lecture halls he knew from the college and carved out of the same dark rock as the ruins. Along with the usual assemble of bones and dust usually found in the deep dark there was a large obsidian pillar in the center. It seemed to Nicodemus to be covered in an ensemble of runes and cryptic symbols, the only one he could recognised seemed to be in the form of two pairs of black wings. Finally they were getting somewhere.
