Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

The carriage stumbled upon a tiny rock and the little elf was thrown out of his train of thoughts. Looking around with curiosity, he found nothing unexpected or out of normal.

The soldiers were casually talking to each other while constantly surveying their surroundings. Their helmets were off so the elf boy was able to see the trajectories of their eyes and the quickness with which they moved.

Since he was huddling at the innermost part of the carriage, the soldiers missed his keen eyes observing their actions. They were too busy checking the perimeter.

Swinging his eyes left and right, he could count about 11 soldiers in his sight. So he slowly raised his head to look ahead of the carriage.

His eyes fell on the carriage going in front. It was a covered one and kept the warmth of the daylight from disturbing those sleeping peacefully while recovering.

Walking on either side of that carriage was the soldiers with a keen sense of alertness. Many of them had their palms resting on the pommel of their sword. A few among them had unsheathed their sword in caution.

Unlike those guarding the rear, they did not chat. They were standing in pairs yet their lips did not move. At a glance alone, the elf boy could tell that they are too cautious for a simple bunch of soldiers.

At the very moment, Miss Aleria's voice resonated in his ears.

"Guards on. Something in the vicinity."

Every soldier pulled out their weapons. Their stance was perfect with alertness. Weapons rose as sword and spears began to reverberate their courage and strength.

Every soldier turned in a way that their backs are facing the carriages. Since they were on a mission to rescue the captured hostages, they are also supposed to bring them back harmless.

When Miss Aleria shouted, she did it with control over her voice so that she does not wake up those inside the carriages. She also nodded at a soldier who unstrapped the reins that held the veil from falling over and completely covering the carriage.

The next second, the soldiers driving the carriages were given the gesture to speed up. Miss Aleria felt something amiss as she silently commanded the soldiers to get on the carriages and to ride away.

"Squad leader, that is..."

Miss Aleria jumped onto the second carriage and she gently stood over the edge without falling off. A soldier who followed her lead could not suppress his exclamation and almost shout out.

One of the armour-clad men who got on the carriage exclaimed hushedly. His finger trembled as he pointed at something that emerged from the woods next to where they stood a few seconds ago.

"Yes, that is a Twin-headed Iron Hound."

The name sounded terrifying and the little elf poked his head in hopes of getting a glance of the beast. But the carriages had accelerated quickly and he lost sight of the beast.

"Don't slow down."

Miss Aleria turned around and gave the order to not slow down under any circumstances. The soldier nodded and he made the horses dash like there is no tomorrow!

And it was when she was turning around that she saw a pair of eyes looking at her. A smile was on her face when Miss Aleria saw the little elf staring at her.

"Do you remember anything? Your name, age, parents?"

The reply was not positive and her face lost the brightness. With a nod, she acknowledged the reality.

***

Five minutes later.

The carriages began to slow down and were moving very slow. It was smooth when compared to the rough ride the carriage provided.

The absence of the carriage's cover made it possible for the elf boy to scan the surroundings. He turned his head around and saw that they were nearing a town.

The soldiers began to jump out of the carriages when the town was in sight. About a minute ago, they crossed the borders of the forest. Thus they won't have to bother about beasts chasing them.

"Emo...gus."

The boy mumbled to himself and Miss Aleria overheard his voice. Her eyebrows rose upon hearing the little elf reading fluently.

"Can you read them?"

Miss Aleria pointed at the large wooden plaque with the town's name on it. It hung from one of the town's watchtower and was big enough to see it from a distance.

Upon hearing her query, the elf nodded and turned his head to the board again.

"Emogus."

Repeating the name without stutter or stammer, the boy proved that he is an educated boy. Miss Aleria then began to think about something so deeply that she did not hear him calling her.

It was only after nudging her shoulder that he caught her attention.

"What is it, boy?"

The pace of the carriage was well within the speed of normal human walking. This enabled the soldiers to walk peacefully and calmly while recollecting their breath.

The elf boy pointed at the town walls and asked-

"What is that?"

His eyes emitted curiosity when he asked about the stone structure standing erect and pride in his view. The wall was more than 30 metres tall and there were soldiers stationed on top of each observing spots.

"That is the protective wall of Emogus."

The boy turned to Miss Aleria and asked-

"What is this Emogus?"

The memories of Lee Shen about his childhood and school days are the only things in the elf's mind. The awareness of language was primarily embedded into Lee Shen's soul by D when he arrived in Utopia. So, the knowledge about words and letters of the alphabet were basic information coded into his being.

"Emogus is a town. It is where people live as one big community. And to protect these people, the government of the town built a wall around the city to protect it from invasion.

You are looking at the defence stonewall of Emogus town."

The meaning of words was borrowed from Lee Shen's memories. As the Earth was a technologically advanced planet, the elf boy was left with many words unknown to the Utopians.