Chapter 536: The Captors (1/2)

Just as Aiden was deep in thought, trying to ponder on his dear little girls, Galina's situation and reason for growing such an astonishing way, his attention was abruptly snapped back to reality.

Due to its constant use, his [Dark Gaze] abilities automatic scanning feature that came from its predecessor's [Dark Sense] have become second nature to Aiden, he hardly even noticed it as he subconsciously scanned his environment by instinct at this point.

So, when suddenly he felt the life forces of three creatures from not too far away and closing in on his current location at a steady, calm pace, he was startled by surprise. A moment later, however, a smirk flashed through his face, before he collected himself and displayed his usual calm, friendly outward appearance.

Deciding to greet his welcoming committee in an 'appropriate' manner, he pushed himself up from the ground and stood up. With his hands hanging by his sides, he looked casual, not too friendly, but not too stiff either. The light flickered in his draconic golden eyes, giving him a mysterious, dangerous feel to the onlooker.

…

Lit from the braziers placed sparsely along the carved out walls of the underground hall, three elongated shadows like a trio of summits of a vast mountain range could soon be seen at the corner of the barred entrance.

The hills continued to grow and reach towards the other, right side of the doorway as the figures kept approaching. Apart from the strangely familiar light pitter-patter noises, they made as the creatures walked, there was no other sound seeping into Aiden's small chamber. The creatures either didn't discourse at all, or their means of communication differed from what Aiden was used to.

In any way, soon, as the three mounds reached and even gone through their destination to reach the edges of the doorway at the right side, a strange, robed, small creature appeared at the hallway, stopping in front of the bars of Aiden's little temporary abode. The creature was holding a tall carved and illustrated wooden rod, something resembling a staff of some sort. The top of his walking aide, which actually reached slightly above its head resembled that of a roaring head of what Aiden could only call a dragon or a fierce lizard-like predator.

Though the robed creature couldn't be clearly seen, due to the bad lighting conditions provided only by the thin fires of the braziers placed alongside the walls, the tip of a long nose did manage to peak out under the cover of the pulled hood.

Still, the mystery of the creature didn't remain shrouded for long, as in the next moment the two figures, most likely bodyguards appeared, and took their places at the robed figure's sides.

Just like the leading, central creature, the two were short, probably a bit over a meter in height, sporting a thin, scrawny-looking physique. They were wearing armor, that Aiden just couldn't figure out from a first glance. The entire sleeveless chest piece they wore to protect the upper half of their bodies was made out of scales. Golden, or maybe bright yellow colored scales. They were, however, much, much bigger in size than the small ones that appeared all over his body whenever he unleashed the full might of his [Dragon's Wrath] innate.

Yet, as Aiden kept looking at it, he couldn't push the thoughts out of his head. What was it made of? Why does it feel so… familiar?

Still, there were more pressing questions at the moment, Aiden had to shelve his inquiries for later. Ignoring the rest of the armor that covered almost all of these little skink-like creature's bodies, his gaze wandered further.

Judging from the bare arms of his captors, they were either a subrace of the skinks, similar to Thuk's tribe or something similar. These bipedal, reptilian-looking small humanoids. Their faces, their bright yellow eyes, their razor-sharp teeth hiding behind those nasty-looking grins of theirs… Or even their thick, long tails tapping the ground and kicking of dust with each passing second.

Taking his time scrutinizing the armored bodyguards, Aiden returned his attention to the leading figure at the middle. His expression showing a calm, attentive outlook, he flashed a warm smile at them as he gave a light, silent nod.

Though he didn't act aloof, or hostile in any manner, he wouldn't be overly cordial either. After all, so far he didn't know of their reasons for his capture, even if their actions be it deliberate or not, helped him.

…