Chapter 7: Professional Mouthbreather
Tiberius felt a frown crease his brow as his eyes traveled across the unfamiliar script. He found he could read most of it, despite it clearly not being Latin, just as he was somehow able to understand this land's inhabitants. Strange as that was, it was also convenient, and it didn't take too long to get a grasp of its meaning. In some ways, it was similar to a report he might receive about troop numbers and other logistical details. But this was different. Very different.
His name, his position, his titles—how did the glowing text know them? He was even recognized as a "Roman Emperor," despite having only declared himself as an acting one a short while ago. Not only that, but there were other pieces of information as well. It was as though it were trying to encapsulate his very being into a short report.
Tiberius considered the implications of such a thing. Whatever magic was at play here, it certainly was adept at information gathering. But his attention kept being pulled back to the strange characters scattered throughout the text.
“Bard,” Tiberius said. "I am unfamiliar with some of these symbols. In the stats section—next to 'strength'—there is a circle with a hook extending beneath it."
The bard's face froze for a second as if he were carefully considering how to react. He allowed the man to think. The extreme care he seemed to place on appearances certainly wasn't helping his trustworthiness, though. After a few seconds, the man gathered his words.
"Er…" the bard began, his usual eloquence seeming to fail him. "I believe you are referring to a 'nine'."
Suddenly, Marcus's hesitance made sense. It was a number. One that was obviously foreign to Tiberius. The bard hadn't wanted to insult the Legaus's intelligence by suggesting he was innumerate. For once, he somewhat empathized with the fop.
"I see. So these are this country's numbers," Tiberius nodded in understanding. It was odd that they hadn't translated as well as the text. Still, not being able to read them would certainly complicate things.
As the thought crossed his mind, the text before him flickered and shifted.