Despite the presence of the keyboard, exploration remained slow for the next few hours. I continued to explore the various programs available and slowly decoded the main screen. In addition to the racy background, I decoded a few of the widgets with great difficulty.

There was a clock on the top right with a calendar right below.

At first I had been confused as to what it was until I found the seconds counter. It beat at a steady rate and slowly filled one of the three circles with each tick. A minute was ninety seconds, split into six quadrants. With a rising counter, I easily figured out the numbering system. It was the same as standard Elven, only with different symbols. It also allowed me to find where the numbers were on the keyboard.

From that, I discovered that an hour was ninety minutes split into the same six quadrants. Examining the calendar gave me the date system. A year had sixteen months of twenty four days. Both the time and date were out of sync. I doubted it was day eight of year zero. The internal time had likely been reset when I had booted the bracer in the temple.

The rest was more nebulous.

I found one that had some notes I could cycle through. Whoever the previous owner of the device was, they liked to take a lot of them. Next to the notes was what I assumed to be an inbox. The list appeared to contain the subject line at the top with the sender and date below.

My patience paid off, however.

> Skill Elven Language reached rank 4, level 13 (+1)

> Skill Language Mastery reached rank 3, level 6 (+5)

> Gained Language Skill Ravri Ancient Dialect at rank 1, level 5

As I gained the skill. I felt the knowledge of the language pour into my mind. At level five, I had only the absolute basics of grammar and very little vocabulary. Much more than I had previously but not exactly enough to hold a conversation beyond the level of a young kid. I couldn't dump essence into the skill either. Language and Resistance skills couldn't be increased that way, only through training or exposure.

However, I still had an ace up my sleeve. Since I knew the name of the language, I could finally use the Read Language spell to speed up the process.

But that would be for later. First, it was time for supper and some rest.

----------------------------------------

Vel and I made our way to the dining area and met up with the Wanderers again. The food wasn't ready yet but a few beers had already been served. Gwynn waved when we approached. I served myself a cup from the pitcher of fruit syrup on the table.

"Interesting," Elyssa said as she looked at the gem on my thorax. "I assume you molted again?"

"Yes, this morning," I nodded. "The last one I plan to do here. We've been here quite a while and I don't want to keep you here too long on my account. You probably have other things to do."

"How long would it take?" Darrel asked.

"Two more molts would take around four more days," I said with a grimace. "I need to wait at least two full days between them for my carapace to recover."

"Personally, I wouldn't mind staying here a bit longer," Hamak said with a smile, "it's relaxing and the company is great. But I fear the Guild will send a rescue party if we are too long."

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"That was my concern as well," Darrel said. He tapped his finger on the table as he thought.

"I think we should leave for the guild tomorrow," Vel said, cutting through the silence. "The two remaining molts are not a pressing matter since Lis and I are still both a fair ways away from rank six. We can always come back here or visit another village if we need a safe place and the guild can't provide one."

"That's true," I said, "there's no need to rush on my part. And I am curious about the Adventurer's Guild as well. I know you said there shouldn't be any problems but I'd rather know sooner than later."

"Sensible," Katherine said, "I agree with that plan."

"I do as well," Elyssa added.

"I got my armor back from the smithy yesterday, excellent job they did, so I'm all ready to go," Gwynn gave us a thumbs up. "What 'bout you two?"

"No unfinished business for me either," Hamak said.

"Then it's settled," Darrel said. "Everyone, check your supplies and buy anything you need. We'll leave tomorrow morning once everyone is ready. In the meantime, let's enjoy the village's hospitality one last evening." He finished with a smile.

----------------------------------------

After the meal, everyone retired to their rooms to prepare. Vel and I already had everything we needed inside of our storage necklaces. It could be said we even had an excess of supplies with the majority of what we had taken from Nis still safely stored in the Amulet of Inazesa.

With nothing better to do, Vel and I went back to exploring the bracer's secrets. I wanted to find a way to unlock hers, and her gauntlet as well, since creating or finding the other pieces would likely take a while.

"Did you get the language skill earlier?" I asked Vel.

"No. I think I don't understand well enough how it works for that," she said.

"Let's see if Read Language works then," I cast the spell. "The language is called Ravri Ancient Dialect in the system and is related to Elven in some way." This time, the magic clicked together without issues. I waited for Vel to cast her own and brought up the interface.

This time, I had no trouble understanding the words on the screens before me. There was a noticeable delay however, one that increased with the amount of text, and a proportional increase in mana consumption as well.

"It worked," Vel said with a grin.

"Thank Gaia."

I scanned the main screen and found one of the things I had been looking for, the options screen, or configuration screen in that case. When I opened it, I was presented with a list of categories and a panel at the top with a small image of the armored Arachne next to her name.

"Looks like the former owner of this bracer was one Elinu Drosedi," I said.

"Cute name," Vel said.

She tried to tap the picture with her index finger, like she had seen me do a lot of times before, but hers sank right through the interface with no resistance.

"Why can't I touch it?" Vel said, confused.

That had been unexpected. She hadn't tried touching it before and I hadn't really thought about it either. I had just assumed the holographic interface worked for everyone.

"I … don't know. Maybe it's only possible for the wearer. As a security feature."

"So only the wearer can touch it but everyone can see it."

"We’ll have to see. I want to unlock yours sooner than later if that’s the case."

----------------------------------------

> Language Skill Ravri Ancient Dialect reached rank 1, level 7 (+2 levels)

With the assistance of the spell, I managed to read some of the notes and messages stored in the bracer's memory. Most of them contained fairly mundane information. List of supplies and personnel for several fortifications. Messages back and forth coordinating the movement of those things.

From the signature at the bottom of the messages, Elinu Drosedi was a High General of the Ravri army though it seemed that she had been a High Priestess at some point since some of her subordinates also addressed her as such. It was likely how she had met her wife, Luhinu. The messages between them were mostly mundane but it was nonetheless fascinating to get an insight into the lives of people who had lived so long ago.

And long ago it was. The bracer was supposed to connect to a wider network but it reported that no endpoints could be reached. It was likely none of them even remained. The state of the fort and temple told of a civilization that had fallen long ago. That any of their relics had survived was a miracle.

"From all the reports I can read, it doesn't look like they were fighting a war." I said.

"We haven't read everything yet," Vel remarked, "and it's possible that Elinu changed bracers as well."

"This is Epic-level gear. Why would she change it. But again, if they can provide this kind of quality in peace time, maybe they had something even better for war time."

"There is still the journal we found in the fort," Vel reminded me, "and everything we found at the temple."

"We'll have to get through them once our skill with Ravri is better."

"Yes. For now, I think we should sleep. I don't think the path to the guild will be particularly dangerous but …"

"… let's not take any chances," I finished. "You're right."

I dismissed the bracer's interface and settled in for a restful night with Vel.