Not Kansas

Location???

March 27th???

0612

Nathan placed his binoculars down. He stumbled a few steps back before sitting on a tree stump.

"Did I cross some portal? What the hell happened? Is this the past? Or another world? The trees are different, temperature is warmer, the sun was in a different position, the terrain was different. Now this. I am somewhere else." Nate crumbled into himself, his head in his arms.

The wind picked up, and blew some of the leaves around Nathan, tumbling forward and out of the tree line. As the wind picked up , some of them were raised higher, sailing the wind, dropping softly in the ground.

Crunch.

An old man with skin stretched to the limit, dressed in a shabby tunic that had seen better days, dragged his feet with a rusty hoe in his skinny arms. His bare feet ignoring whatever there was in the ground, whether it was a rock, a branch, or a leaf, his feet used to it.

Not far behind him, a child no older than twelve years-old, shepherded four sheep out into the rolling hills in front of his village. His dreary brown eyes echoed better days, his bones stuck out from the holes in his tunic.

The boy passed by seven women with ages ranging from sixteen to late fifties taking care of a small plot of land. They moved almost mechanically.

Two men with gray hair carried baskets on their backs, and nets in their arms. They both slowly headed east towards the river.

Small huts and cruck houses littered together in the village. Some females brought their buckets of human excrement towards the river. Other old men took out their farm animals from their homes. The farm animals were better fed than some of their owners.

Farther into the village a lone tower stood in the middle, overseeing the village. Moss decorated the walls and foundation of it with a few rocks missing.

Pah!

Nathan slapped himself. "The only thing I can do is learn about where I am from the village. Come on. Keep moving forward."

Nate took out his E tool, and began shoveling, soon he had a four foot by two hole. He took out his Glock and hunting knife from his ruck along with a concealed carry holster. Nathan threw the E tool into the hole as well, using his boots to throw dirt and cover it back up.

He glanced at his surroundings, making sure to memorize everything he could. With a deep breath, Nate began walking through the forest.

"I can't approach it from the tree line, they might think I am attacking. Better to go around and approach from the dirt path."

Twenty-five minutes later, Nathan approached the village making sure to stomp his feet as he got around a hundred feet away from the young Sheppard.

The young Sheppard did a double take before Nathan's different and unknown appearance registered. His surprised faced clearly seen by Nate, as the boy sprinted back to the village, yelling something he couldn't make out.

Some of the females stopped their plowing and glanced at the boy before glancing at him. They too ran, making everyone else in the vicinity run after them.

Nathan couldn't help but chuckle. "Do I look like a devil?" Nate was a tall man, six feet two inches, with a muscular yet lean build from his running and work-out ethic. He had let his golden hair grow, as it now reached his shoulder. His full beard, although trimmed, look akin to a sea captain. His piercing green-eyes seemed to read your soul at a glance. Along with his army uniform attire, might have been perceived as a demon to people that had Mediterranean looks.

"He left his sheep." Nate noted as he continued his approach calmly.

He could still hear the boy screaming the same word, even though he couldn't see him anymore. "Sure has some strong lungs, that boy." Nathan shook his head. Wondering one more time if he looked that scary.

A man in his thirties used a longbow as a walking stick as he made his way down the crest of the hill towards him. His back straight as a board, his eyes never leaving his. 'He is military.' Nathan thought as he glanced behind the man.

Three teenagers followed, one seemed to want to show how brave he is, while the other two looked wary. All three held questionable-looking staffs in their hands.

The man in front held his hand in a stopping motion, which the teenagers did not seem to understand, which solicited a sharp whisper from the man. He cocked an arrow but aim it at the ground. He motioned towards Nate with his head as he spoke something that Nathan did not understand.

"Anata shi shei?" Is what Nathan heard. 'I can't make it out, sounds almost Japanese.'

"I don't understand." He spoke enunciating the words as clear as possible.

"Nani ni ganki sho ?" Nate repeat the same thing once more as he shook his head side to side.

The man grunted before saying something to the braver of the three teenagers. The teenager grumbled something but complied as he ran back.

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Brother Verus added more wood to the hearth.

"Damn place stays cold no matter the temperature outside!" He hissed as he approach a basin full of water. First rubbing his hands in the water before splashing his face. Some of the water splashing down his bare chest. He reached for his brown tunic resting in his straw-filled bed, putting it on , strapping a black belt with a brown scabbard attached to it.

Verus adjusted the belt properly, reaching for his gold necklace, kissing the pendant before tucking it inside his tunic. He grabbed a ladle hanging on the wall, filling it up with water from his drinking basin, refilling it enough times to have his fill.

He reached under the bed to pull his sandals out, putting them on. Verus approached the hearth once again, pulling some stalks of grain from the barrel beside it , and dropping it on the fire. He kneeled before closing his eyes in a prayer to his goddess Ceres.

As he prayed he felt someone closing on him rapidly, as he quickly reached behind him and rotated his arm as he grabbed.

"Ouch!" Verus opened his eyes to see Ballio on the floor grabbing his shoulder. "I told you to never rush at a Brother Priest of my order, if one of my Brothers do not injure you, one of the Sisters will. Why did they let you in?"

Ballio rubbed his whole arm as he stood up in a grimace. "You did not have to throw me like that." He mumbled.

"Pain is a great teacher."

Ballio mumbled some more. "What did you come here for? Just to sulk?"

"Ah! Priest Verus! There is a strange man speaking a weird language outside! Cario told me to get you!" Ballio rushed to say, his pains forgotten.

"Interesting. Lead me there." Verus rubbed his beard and his brown eyes shone in excitement.

Ballio sprinted down the long set of stairs as Verus followed steadily behind him.

"Wait till you see what he is wearing ! Its like he wants to disappear from view, do you think he might be a magician? He is also the tallest man I have ever seen!" Ballio spoke incessantly.

Ballio picked up his staff, leaning against the wall at the end of the stairs.

Verus motioned for the Sisters as he drew near to the first floor, he did not see them, but was confident they saw him.

Verus followed close behind Ballio, and soon he saw Lemus and his twin Lamus behind Cario. Cario glanced back at him before motioning forward.

In front, stood a man like no other he had seen. His hair was golden like the sun, his height was taller than six pes, and his relaxed posture reminded him of the Head priest. 'This man is dangerous.'

He glanced at his clothes, the clothes we wore was fit for royalty to wear, but the strange colors seemed to blend on the green pasture and trees on the back. 'Those colors would be perfect for the Sisters.' Verus made a note to ask who made that.

"Do you speak Akira?" The man eyed him back as well with an interested expression as he shook his head.

"Do you speak Lidati?" Verus asked switching to his native tongue.

The man perked up at that and asked back. "Do you know Latin?"