One look at his face was enough to answer any questions the barbarian's still had.
Hao Xuan shook his head with obvious remorse.
"It will be...a few more days..." he informed them.
Hao Xuan expected them to get angry, ask some questions or even pick a fight but none of that actually happened.
Burak walked up to him and gave a light pat on his shoulder. His toothy grin giving some much-needed confidence back to Hao Xuan in this moment of distress.
"Don't worry yourself. No one blames you here. If not for you we would have died in that first place we entered. Every minute after that is a gift! Hahaha!"
Behind him, Isak who usually stayed expressionless also gave a slight bow and a smile before walking out of the room.
Be it genuine words of encouragement or a facade put up just to console his broken spirits, Hao Xuan didn't care anymore.
They might not see it that way but Hao Xuan knew the choices he and he alone had made led them here, stuck in a foreign world away from everything they knew. Even Hao Xuan had a lot to take care of in their world but the fact of the matter was that he simply could not return as of right now.
Baracus had either greatly underestimated the complexity of what he was trying to achieve or he simply did not have full information. The portal opened fine but the energy signature that Baracus had recorded didn't bring back any results.
They had just opened a random door and it led to a great number of other places, just not the ones Hao Xuan wanted.
Baracus returned to the drawing board, starting work on another possible rune sequence. But at this point it was all just a game of chance. It could be many days before he would find the right one.
Hao Xuan mentally prepared himself for what might come his way during this period. The creatures that came after sundown, the mirror dimension, anything else that was hiding here. The only good thing was that they needed to stay here and could move if the situation called for it.
And as such, this new routine of creating new gates and checking them for a possible way home continued.
*
*
*
Somewhere in the middle of a dense jungle were the remains of an age-old Giant sequoia tree, still towering over everything else in the vicinity. Currently, within its hollow trunk sat six individuals.
They wore rags, stitched together from a plethora of different materials including animal hides and tree barks. Their faces were unrecognizable due to the layer of dust and mud that covered their entire bodies and if one didn't pay attention, they would seem like beggers from a first glance.
But the brutal and ferocious auras that they gave off would quickly do away with such conjecture.
Half of them including the biggest one that was obviously Burak were sleeping soundly, tightly embracing their various weapons as if they were devoted lovers.
The remaining three stood watch outside, sitting around the campfire for heat because even though it was midday, barely any sunlight reached the bottom due to the dense canopies that acted as another layer of clouds.
There was a body of a half-cooked winged beast that rotated above the campfire with the help of a three-pronged large stick. Droplets of melting fat trickled down its light golden skin, sizzling as they hit the flame underneath.
One of the barbarians sitting in front of it inhaled with such strength that all the smoke coming off it went straight into his mouth. He burped, thumping his chest.
"Hehe, this will be a good one," he said wiping the drool from the side of his mouth.
Another barbarian that was taller by a few inches who was sitting beside him slapped the back of his head with a scowl, making a few quick hand gestures.
"I know I know, Lord Tasgall I was just saying that to-" he tried to speak but seeing the piercing glare coming his way, he could do nothing but keep quiet.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled lowering his head.
Tasgall stood up, gesturing to the third barbarian that was standing in the distance to come take his place.
Tasgall took another look inside the giant tree trunk to make sure everyone was still sleeping before walking off into the jungle. He crossed a hundred meters or so through the dense foliage before stopping next to a small hill.
With narrowed eyes, he examined the ground for a few minutes before suddenly taking one step to the right, one to the left, and three to the right again.
The slope in front of him opened up as soon as he finished and a cave showed itself. At the entrance was standing another barbarian, much smaller than the rest.
Isak walked out and nodded towards Tasgall who responded in the same manner.
"He said not to disturb him unless it is time to move again," Isak said while passing him.