"George, you stay." Dan watched as Marcus gave the ex-soldier instructions about what to do while they were gone, "You know how things are, if anyone suspicious shows up, try to scare them away first, only use violence as a last resort."

  Dan just looked on from the side as the chief security officer handled things. Taking care of things like this was what he was there to do, and Dan would never try to get between his officers and their areas of expertise.

  George was the only man in the group who had an AKM with him, seeing how he was staying on the boat and didn't need to worry about hiding it.

  As Marcus finished his instructions to George - including how to start the tender and prepare it if he got any news of them about that, or to contact them with the walkie-talkie if anything turns up on his side- he turned around to Dan, Fleta, and Leonard and said,

  "Keep in mind, when we are there, make sure to do whatever I say as fast as possible. Don't act on your own, don't stray from the group, don't interact with the natives casually and always be ready to retreat. We are in hostile grounds and things can go south fast. Understood?"

  Dan nodded seriously, Fleta and Leonard doing the same next to him. That was something all three understood, even the happy-go-lucky-looking Leonard. He had a serious expression on his face unlike his usual one.

  "Okay," Marcus nodded with a faint release of air, "Let's move."

  They had chosen to dock a few hundred meters away from the village, just like they did with the natives the night before. Making their way towards it slowly and stealthily. Dan hoped that getting in wouldn't be much of a problem.

  It didn't take long for them to see some signs of civilization, a well-trodden path came into sight. Weirdly enough, the path had a faintly glowing blue line at its center. As soon as they saw it, Marcus signalled for them to stay away from it and keep to the trees on the side, while he went and took a closer look.

  He approached the line slowly after making sure that no one was nearby. As he stood next to it and studied it for a few seconds, he crouched before touching it with a twig he had with him. A few seconds later, he returned to them.

  "What is it?" Dan asked.

  "From what I saw just a means to point the road," Marcus said, showing them the glowing twig. It didn't take him long to wipe the glowy substance from it.

  "Okay, let's go. Keep to the trees," he added after making sure that nothing was off.

  Unlike when they dropped off the natives, this time they didn't wait till it was late at night to move. They needed to collect some info after all, so, as soon as the sun fell they made their way to shore.

  Soon enough, the village came within their sight. It wasn't hard to notice considering how the walls themselves were faintly glowing in a blue hue too. Marcus had them stop, looked ahead silently, then had them wait as he closed in slowly.

  It didn't take long for him to return and have them move away from the village. Once they were a few tens of meters further, he said quietly,

  "There are guards around the gate, I doubt they would let us through, we need to find another way in." He then looked at them and added, "The walls aren't that high though, we can climb over them, so let's go with that. Any other opinions?"

  "Do you think the glowing walls are some kind of skill?" Dan asked worriedly. who knows what this world held.

  "Possible," Marcus said after thinking for a short while, "But I doubt it. I think it's only for light, like the road we just saw. I'll be careful though, don't worry."

  Dan didn't have anything to add, so he looked at the other two with him just to see them remain silent. Marcus nodded at that and continued,

  "Okay, wait here for me while I go around and see if I can find a location where we can pass through. Leonard, keep yourself ready."

  After saying that he left them again, disappearing into the darkness. Dan didn't know how long he had been gone, but it sure felt like ages to him, and every little sound was amplified and made his heart do a little dance. When Marcus's form finally entered his sight, he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Follow me," After saying that, Marcus turned around and started walking, keeping low and walking slowly.

  "This is the furthest point from both gates," Marcus said as he pointed to a section of the wall, "I've kept an eye on it for a bit and saw no guards keeping watch or on patrols. It is our best bet to go in. Any questions so far?"

  Dan didn't say anything and the same for the other two. Marcus nodded and continued,

  "Okay. Now who isn't sure of being able to climb that wall on their own?"

  Dan threw his eyes to the village wall, if it could even be called that. It wasn't that high honestly, which was kinda expected from a small village, but it was still close to 2 meters high. Dan felt that he wouldn't have much trouble with it.

  Even though he wasn't that into training, he still kept his body healthy and put the Voyager's gym to use. A small part of Dan's brain even wondered if Marcus himself was going to have some trouble with it, the man himself was only around 1.65 meters, but he didn't say anything about that, he wasn't that much of an idiot.

  "Besides you, you mean?" Just as he was thinking so, he heard Leonard's words from his side.

  Dan was sure that the man only said it in jest, to lower their nervousness maybe, but Marcus's unblinking eyes made the big guy fidget a little.

  "I'm more worried about you," Marcus finally said. Dan could almost swear that he heard a teasing tone in his voice.

  "Okay," Marcus brought the conversation back to the right track, "I'll go first, Fleta will come after me, then Dan, and finally you, Leonard. Wait a while before following after me, Fleta, I'll try and take a look around first, maybe even see if there's something off with the glow. I will contact you through the walkie-talkie after I make sure the coast is clear. Only move after hearing from me, okay?"

  After getting an affirmative from Fleta, Marcus took a deep breath, looked left and right then suddenly ran ahead. Dan looked on in astonishment as the short chief security officer climbed the wall as if it was flat ground. Once he got his hand on the edge of the wall, he pulled himself up only enough for his head to peek above it. He looked around for a few seconds before pulling himself up effortlessly and dropping to the other side.

  Dan and the gang waited with bated breath, before Marcus's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie on Dan's side,

  "It's clear, move!"

  Fleta didn't need to be told twice, as soon as his voice sounded, she was running towards the wall, passing it just as effortlessly. Finally, his turn, Dan ran as fast as he could towards the wall. He jumped and grabbed the edge before pulling himself up... Or tried to, he found it extremely hard to bring himself up. He didn't get a good grip when he jumped, and the fact that the wall was wet and almost slimy didn't help. Just as a part of him started panicking, he felt hands push him from behind, giving him the final push he needed.

  With some help, Dan jumped the wall and fell on the other side, Leonard following a few seconds after him. Dan lifted his head and saw Marcus waving him over in the shadows of a nearby building, with Fleta shaking off the glowy residue next to him. He and Leonard made their way towards them while keeping close to the ground.

  "Okay, now that we are here, just follow after me and act normal. As decided, we will try to find a bar or a restaurant, a gathering place where it's easy to get some information."

  They took a few seconds to calm down, bring their breath under control and remove any of the glowing residues, before they left the side alley they were in, heading to what seemed to be a main road.

  As they made their way there, Dan couldn't help but be thankful for Robert who had the idea of taking some coins from the natives before they sent them away. He had no idea how he did it, but his chief officer managed to get some money from here and there.

  Dan found himself taking a deep breath when they were a few steps away from the main road, he could hear people talking and the sound of their footsteps going up and down the street. He looked at his companions and saw that they too had clear signs of nervousness.

  "It's alright." He steeled his heart and tried to comfort them, "We look the same as them, they can find nothing off about us if we don't make any mistakes. So let's just try and relax."

  He didn't know how much his words helped, but having said them he and Marcus took their first steps into the road. He saw a person or two glance their way when they came out from the alley, but they looked away in disinterest soon after. His heart calmed down at the sight and he nodded at Fleta who met his eyes.

  The trio stopped in their place for a few seconds, unsure where to go before Marcus started moving, leading them deeper into the village and away from the wall. They walked for a while, Marcus's eyes scanning the people passing by them as if searching for something. Finally, his eyes fell on a gentle-faced old lady walking their way with a small child holding her hand.

  "Excuse me, ma'am," Marcus said politely, "It's our first time in the village and we were wondering if you could point us to an inn, bar, or a restaurant where we can rest and fill our stomachs?"

  The old lady looked at them suspiciously, her eyes lingering on their get-up for a bit, before finally saying,

  "Just keep going down this road, and you will find all three. The village's inn also works as a restaurant, and a bar isn't too far away from it."

  Marcus thanked the old lady and Dan smiled at her as they left. A few steps away from her, he turned to his security chief officer and asked,

  "Which one are we going to?" Both the inn and the bar were valid options for them.

  "The restaurant." Marcus didn't even hesitate before answering, "We might find it easier to get info from the drunks in the bar, but it's the same for trouble, we can just as easily find ourselves in a fight if we aren't careful. The inn is much more manageable for us. Besides..."

  "Besides?" Leonard asked as he saw Marcus stop talking.

  "Besides, didn't you notice how the old lady looked at us?" Marcus finally said, "Her eyes roamed over our clothes and she seemed a bit worried about interacting with us. Even the people we pass are taking more glances at us and our clothes. I think even though they were just some set pieces for the escape room and the theater, their quality is still quite a bit above what the commoners in this world could afford. Heading to a bar in this get-up might not be the smartest idea, it could paint us as naive, perfect targets."

  Dan didn't know what to say, he thought he had been keeping an eye on their surroundings, but he found that that wasn't the case at all. He could only attribute it to the difference between an amateur and a professional at work.

  After finding out about the translation skill he had, Dan had wondered before if it could also translate the written forms of languages he didn't know. Unfortunately, he had no way to verify that, so it remained a question only. But he finally had his answer.

  "Windy Village Inn," He murmured as he read the signs that were in a language he had never seen before.

  "Let's go," Marcus said as he pushed open the door and stepped inside.

  THREE for today!!!