Objective II, Phase III: Help The VIPs Recover

Agent Eleven's alarm sounded.

BEEP! BEEP! It was stopped quickly, but it still startled the other inhabitants of the burrow who looked around panicked until they saw the agent lean up and configure his watch.

Miri woke up with the nanite sheet covering her. She didn't want to move from under its subtle, relaxing vibrations and controlled climate. She merely muttered something in her language and pulled the sheet over her head.

"Miri." The agent called.

"Uhn!" Miri grunted as she gripped the sheet and pulled it closer.

He looked up at the entrance of the burrow seeing it's still blocked off, "(I can't go anywhere until she casts that spell), the agent thought to himself.

The older man says, "You may as well give up. When she's asleep, she's unmanageable like a drunkard. Even gets belligerent if you prod her enough."

The agent shakes his head, shrugging, "Oh well, it can't be helped."

The agent began configuring his watch, "(I planned on doing this later with free time, but, since I have dead time here, I'll start now.)"

With a button push of the watch his spectacles entered a scanning mode and he began flipping through the pages of Miri's book.

"(A guide to herbalism. Illustrations of plants, methods of processing, discussion of final products… This book is definitely useful.)"

The agent began scanning every word he could, "(I can probably have Miri read some of this to me so I can get a phonetic cross reference. I may be able to learn this language quickly considering it isn't too different from the languages of my world. They even use an alphabet system. Looks like there's 28 of them. Not far off.)"

Agent Eleven finishes scanning her book and replaces it in her satchel.

He then reaches into his toolbelt and retrieves his drone, putting it on the ground. This time, instead of having it fly around, the agent uses his watch to alter its capabilities. With the press of a button, the little drone's wings curve upward and twist around each other, making a cone shape.

The younger man, looking at the agent manipulating his contraptions, began talking to the older one. The older man says something in their tongue that makes the younger man perk up and get excited. The only word the agent needed for context was, "Eleven". The younger man, excited, begins chattering faster with more enthusiasm while the agent thought, "(Looks like he's close to a full recovery. He definitely has energy to spare.)"

The agent pulls out his briefcase as the drone undergoes its final transformation. He opens the case and begins the feed as the cone on top of the drone shifts downward to the front and shifts its exterior to give itself treads.

"(I can't be idle waiting for Miri to wake up, I'll at least try to get some more recon done.)" The agent thinks to himself as he begins to steer the drone.

It drills into the wall of the burrow steadily with nothing hindering it. The younger man sees the agent working and gets excited crawling over to him with more chattering.

The agent reflexively reels away, "Tell the kid I need some space. Strangers make my knife hand nervous." the agent says watching the man from the corner of his eye.

The older man calls his name, "Kona!" and laughingly corrects his companion to prevent him from further offending the agent.

"Kona, huh? And, I didn't get your name. What should I call you?" The agent inquired not looking up from his screen.

The man introduced himself, "I'm Derrin, leader of the - well, what's left of the Silver Sword Party."

The agent maneuvering the drone more asks, "The Silver Swords, huh? Is that why you brought up adventuring? Scouting me for your group?"

Derrin replies, "Not quite. We're mercenaries. Mercenaries and Adventurers have some overlap but aren't quite the same. We mercenaries are typically hired for work involving conflicts with bandits, bolstering armies with reinforcements, doing supply runs, even simple work like being a guard or security detail."

The agent, listening to the explanation, seemed intrigued, "You mercenaries sound like you would be the backbone to many operations in this society. What do adventurers do to differentiate themselves?"

Derrin nods, "While mercenaries function as miniature armies and a workforce, adventurers typically travel in smaller groups. They form parties and follow rumors of riches and glory. Some of them even have nefarious goals of hoarding powerful magic to forcefully conquer a land of their own. A few adventuring parties are in it for the security of having work while the others aim to get themselves status."

The agent interjects, "Status? Like titles of nobility?"

Derrin nods, "Exactly that. A kingdom gets a lot of benefits and recognition for having powerful warriors in its nobility."

The agent responds, "I can imagine that could cause some tension between kingdoms as well."

Derrin replies, "You're not wrong. Adventurers become a source of envy for the nobles who see them as useful tools and pieces to a grander game they play for control over their governments."

The agent thinks to himself, "(This man is perceptive. Seems to be well versed in the politics of this world from a worker's point of view.)"

The agent inquires, "Given the two descriptions, it seems mercenary work would be safer and have better job security. Why do you recommend I become an adventurer?"

Derrin twists his mustache responding, "Well, it's because you're more capable of any mercenary I've personally seen. There's a few higher ups who have their share of beast stones and have a pretty good grasp on magic. But, you have something those guys don't."

Agent Eleven briefly looked up from the screen, intrigued by what Derrin was going to say next, "And what would that be?"

The man replies, "A legend."

The agent was baffled by the response, "That's something I've yet to understand. How do you know the name, Eleven?"

The man thinks briefly, "Well, I don't know who started the story, but it's thousands of years old. Gods descended after being kicked out of the heavens. They all fought each other in a holy war for supremacy over the mortal races. A lone god triumphed over the rest, but it was injured. I'm not sure exactly how the rest goes, but the story ends with the dwarga trying to find Eleven to help the fallen god. The idea is, if Eleven saves the fallen god, he will save all mortals from all impending danger. Even the inevitable resurfacing of the Demon God."

Agent Eleven forgets he's piloting a drone and thinks to himself, "(Demon god? That sounds like a problem. And that must be where that term 'The All-Savior' came from… Hmm… I need to find out more details about this story. These people know something that I don't know. Maybe I should find the dwarga, whoever they are.)"

Derrin continues, "Well, that's pretty much all I knew about it. The elves know a lot since their lives are so long. You should try asking one of them if you want to know more. If you're really lucky, you can find a dwarga yourself that knows the story. Haven't known many of them to be religious these days, though."

Agent Eleven makes mental notes of the conversation, thinking about it and organizing information in his head, attempting to absorb it all. He then looks to Miri analyzing, "(Is she as young as she looks? Her temperament leads me to believe she's relatively young. Even for an elf.)"

He looks back at the screen remembering he was doing recon and begins to pilot the drone once more.

"Thanks for the information, Derrin. Glad to have met people like you after getting thrown into this world. I was half expecting to have to kill you all in your sleep after you tried to steal from me or something." The agent says looking at the screen, now switching the drone to its aerial mode.

Derrin laughed nervously, sensing both the sincerity of the agent's thanks and the nonchalance with which the agent pondered about dealing with them. Derrin knew he had made the right call in attempting to befriend this man and make himself useful.

The agent piloting his drone says, "Would you mind passing the stone to Kona? I'd like to talk to him for a moment."

Derrin complies and the young man takes the stone saying an incantation, "Lanh-gwi", making the stone glow temporarily.

"(So that's the word to trigger the translating stone. He must be less experienced than the others.)"

The agent, shifting his eyes between the screen and the young man, asks him, "So, what are you all doing out here?"

Kona replies, "We're The Silver Swords!" The man says with pride, "We're on an escort mission. I'm really grateful you saved us. I'm honestly surprised I'm even alive after getting torn into like that."

"(Seems that wasn't a cover story. They wouldn't have time to coordinate that if this is the first time he's waking up. Looks like these people get to live another day.)