Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 168

Chapter 168

This plan was not officially discussed. It was a secret operation carried out by only Nataek and Medeus. Therefore, there could be no suspicion from the very first step of recruiting scouts. It needed to appear natural.

Nataek entrusted this task to Medeus. While Medeus was out trying to win over the scouts, Nataek hurried to find the soothsayer, for at least their one modern companion needed to know the operation. He dragged the soothsayer out of the canal construction site like pulling out a radish.

“What’s the matter? What is it this time?”

Overwhelmed by Nataek’s tremendous strength, the soothsayer was helplessly dragged along. The two stopped at a makeshift hut near the northern gate for the canal construction manager.

“Oh dear, what now!”

“It’s important.”

Nataek glanced outside and closed the door of the hut. The soothsayer placed both hands on his hips and asked.

“Important, you say?”

Nataek went to the center of the hut, tapped the old table, and gestured. The soothsayer waddled over. The two placed their heads together on the table. Without further preamble, Nataek went straight to the point.

“The Hittites will invade soon.”

“What?! When?!”

“Shh—”

The soothsayer’s voice was loud enough to pierce the hut’s ceiling. Nataek quickly pressed his index finger to his lips.

“Quiet, please. Everyone can hear!”

Covering his mouth and lowering his head, the soothsayer asked.

“How did you learn this? Where did you hear it?”

Nataek explained the story at the meeting about the scouts, and the opinion he shared with Medeus.

“I’m going with Medeus to capture scouts. So when it happens, coordinate your words with ours here.”

“Coordinate with whom? The ensi of Ur?”

“To everyone within your breath’s reach. And since the Kish army alone may be insufficient, prepare for Umma’s forces to send reinforcements.”

The soothsayer nodded vigorously, then suddenly stopped.

“Are you confident you can get clear evidence from the Hittite scouts?”

“Probably, since Medeus is going.”

Nataek took a deep breath and continued.

“No matter what they say, the conclusion is fixed. Whether the operation fails or succeeds, once we catch the scouts, the Hittites will use this as a pretext to invade. Waiting quietly will lead to the same end. We should control the timing. This will be our last quest.”

“Last quest…”

The soothsayer’s eyes shone brightly at those words.

“The day you go home is near…”

Tears welled in the soothsayer’s eyes. He grabbed Nataek’s hand tightly.

“I always had an eye for people. I thought you would definitely see the true ending!”

“…”

So that’s why you abandoned me.

Nataek did not forget that the man before him was the one who had thrown him away. That thought made him feel bitter anew. He pulled his hand free.

“If you’d brought someone else, you wouldn’t even have made it this far!”

That phrase struck him as absurd… Ah, right.

Then, something occurred to him from the soothsayer’s words. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a card—one he’d taken from beside Medeus’s mother’s grave in Akkaldia village. He put the card on the table.

“Look at this, please.”

Surprised by the sudden offering, the soothsayer wiped his eyes with his sleeve and grasped the card.

“What’s this?”

“It’s from Akkaldia village. I found it near a grave. To me, it looks very much like a card. What do you think?”

Looking closely, the soothsayer scraped the card’s surface with a fingertip. But like Nataek, the hardened clumps would not dislodge easily.

Nataek stopped the soothsayer.

“I already tried. Scraping it erases the letters. I want to check it but do you have another way?”

“Hmm… wash it with water? Wait here.”

The soothsayer fetched some sikar (water) and wrapped a small cloth around his index finger.

“You’ll know once you try wiping it.”

Nataek grabbed his wrist.

“What if you wipe away all the letters?”

“Whether scraped or washed away, it’s the same. Better to know than not. Let’s try slowly.”

Eventually, Nataek let go of the soothsayer’s hand. Reflecting, no system message appeared when he found the card. Likely the card wasn’t strongly tied to the quest they were doing.

Nataek, equally curious, crossed his arms and nodded. The soothsayer agreed, licking his lips while scrubbing the hardened stain, occasionally moistening the cloth.

As he wiped, the dark brown stain began to fade—not falling off like dirt but dissolving like dried paint. Finally, the card’s text started to appear. Nataek and the soothsayer leaned close to the table.

“What is this…?”

“What language? English? Seems not.”

“Not sure…”

The letters resembled the alphabet but were unreadable. Nataek recalled the words behind reed walls in Delham. The clay tablets Medeus’s mother had shown in Akkaldia also bore similar script.

“Do you recognize any word?”

“No.”

The soothsayer continued cleaning. A strange detail emerged—the card was marked with grey writing as if used or expired; the text was faded.

Perhaps it’s old.

But another oddity was horizontal lines crossing the text, clearly indicating expiration. Anyone could see it was a card no longer valid.

“Why are there lines crossing it? Maybe because it’s a card from someone who escaped the game?”

“…”

Nataek touched one corner of the letters.

[död]

The red letters in the top corner were not crossed. Rubbing the bottom, Nataek noticed two lines where a hidden skill would be inscribed remained solid and uncrossed—as if that part still held validity.

“What could this mean…?”

Like their character cards were in Hangul, this card seemed in the original owner’s language. As Nataek rubbed the letters and pondered, the soothsayer looked closely at the cloth in his hand. It was soaked pale brown.

“What is this… what’s on it? It doesn’t look like mud water; no granules come off. Strange… It looks like dried liquid… Huh?”

Suddenly shocked, the soothsayer threw the cloth into the air. It landed on Nataek’s hand. He frowned and glared.

“What’s this?”

“Is…isn’t that blood?”

Nataek looked quietly at the cloth.

“Ew! That’s bad luck! I don’t want to touch someone else’s blood.”

The soothsayer sprang up in a panic. Nataek gave him a displeased look and gently gripped the cloth in his hand. The soothsayer shuddered and pretended to wash his hands in the air like a fly.

Knock, knock—

“Is the Ur soothsayer inside?”

Startled by the voice outside, the soothsayer signaled Nataek.

“I think it’s a Kish overseer. Perfect timing. According to you, we need to finish by tomorrow. I’ll do my best to talk it through, so don’t worry. Make sure to interrogate the scouts well!”

Nataek nodded reluctantly. The cloth still stained, uncertain if the card’s owner was who they thought or if it was really blood, and quietly pondering if it belonged to Medeus’s mother.

Carefully concealing the card in his pocket, folding the damp cloth, Nataek held it tight.

After seeing the soothsayer off, Nataek headed to Kish’s northern gate with Medeus. The northern gate was the bleakest of all Kish entrances—no major points or trade routes. They rode konka (draft animals) toward the border. Slowly guiding the konka, Nataek asked,

“What did you say to the scouts? Did they comply peacefully?”

“There’s nothing power can’t accomplish.”

Though the words seemed out of character for Medeus, it was not incorrect, and Nataek smiled lightly.

Throughout the journey to the border, he found himself recalling the conversation with the soothsayer.

Should I ask Medeus? He might know the card’s meaning… But explaining it would mean revealing the modern presence…

Glancing at his pocket, Nataek sank into endless thought.

Then,

“Teresi, come here.”

Medeus whispered. Drawing his gaze from the pocket, Nataek steered the konka closer. Medeus pointed with a fingertip.

Two soldiers, clearly not from Kish, rode konka and wandered near the border.