At first, Greile was reluctant to leave the narrow valley. This was because she knew some of her fellow Drakar were alive under the heap of rocks but were likely in a terrible state.
Aron obviously knew this as well so for him to ignore it meant he wanted them dead. Greile could only steel herself and turn away, leading the way for Aron with a heavy heart as many pained groans and weak heartbeats reverberated in her ears.
It didn't take long for the duo to arrive back at the southern Drakar dwelling that was now much quieter than before, with only the faint sound of rain in the background.
Upon arrival, Greile paused to look at all the dens, still finding her situation hard to believe. She did it this only for a moment before lowering her head and leading Aron to where the Tulsa were kept.
The location wasn't far from where they stood, just among the lowest dens. Its entrance resembled the other dens, with the difference only appearing once the two stepped inside.
Unlike the regular dens the Drakar lived in, this one was wider and had a much longer path to follow, nearly five times that of a regular den.
After following the straight path, they reached a gigantic boulder that blocked the way. This was of course easily moved by Aron, allowing them to proceed to the open rocky like hall ahead. Aron's focus however was on the center part of that area, there stood a very large and wide crude cage of sorts.
And within that cage were hundreds of humans. Some were banging their hands against the cage's barriers while screaming profanities. Others simply cried or looked devoid of life, as if all hope had been lost.
When the group of humans heard the large boulder being moved, they showed looks of fear. Those who were banging the barriers began pushing other people out of the way to hide while the already scared ducked their heads and began trembling in fear.
Very few stayed at the forefront of the side of the cage that faced the entrance. These individuals looked neither fearful nor devoid of hope.
They waited with stern faces, ready to confront their captors once again. However, surprise struck them and caused their eyes to widen as they saw Aron's figure appear first.
"Lord Aron!!"
A man burly man, roughly in his middle ages yelled out with great vigor and caused the other humans to look forward.
Not many individuals had seen Aron in his current set of armor but the few that did immediately recognize him without needing to see who was under the helm.
"The new emperor?"
Hope began to resurface but it quickly plummeted when they Greile appear from behind him.
"No… he was also caught." Someone muttered in a helpless tone, causing others to look deflated.
Aron ignored the various emotions being displayed about his arrival and just scanned the room for any familiar faces. Unfortunately, they were none he knew and the mana signatures he was seeing were all weak and pitiful.
p
His lack of reaction made her think he really didn't care about the Tulsa, because in her mind a being like Aron had no purpose being among such a weak race.
She nodded at his command and swiftly flew over to the cage before slicing parts of the barrier using her sharp underarm scales.
Surprise once again struck the group of humans as they watched Aron instruct Greile. Even after the cage's front barriers were broken, no one moved.
"If you want live head out and travel east from this mountain range. Come along Drakar."
Aron didn't waste time on this group of humans as they had nothing to offer. He also didn't want to waste time questioning them because he no longer had any reason to actively seek out humans.
They likely didn't realize how lucky they were to have been captured and kept alive.
With nothing more to be done, he turned to walk away with a confused Greile in toll.
"Wait Lord Aron! Forgive this me for being ungrateful but we cannot make it far, our captors and many other creatures threaten our lives the moment we step out. Furthermore, our children and women can't travel long distances, please let us travel with you."
The burly man got on his knees and pleaded towards Aron. Many followed suit and prostrated themselves before him and begged.
Aron paused for a moment but didn't even bother turning back as he gave them a reply.
"If you feel you can keep up and defend yourselves then you're free to try and follow."
After he spoke, he left without awaiting their reply.
Many didn't care and hurriedly charged out of the cage in an attempt to follow him but he was already out of sight.
By the time they got through the long dark path and made it outside, he was long gone… or so they thought.
In truth, Aron was in one of many dens higher up on the mountain face with Greile. Inside said den, Aron placed a runic life seal on Greile. The same type of seal he had placed on Khalifa from Pesia.
This seal created a runic pattern upon agreement on one's heart or hearts and would invoke if they broke an oath they had made. It did of course possess many flaws and loopholes that one skilled enough in runes could utilize but Aron was confident such a knowledgeable person didn't exist among the Drakar.
As for the oath, Aron had Greile swear to carry out his orders without question. In his eyes, although the Drakar weren't as strong as he anticipated, they could still be used.
Greile had only agreed because she thought the oath was because she thought it involved words alone, similar to how they swore upon their pride in her own race.
However, soon after agreeing she realized she had made a fatal mistake. She felt a painful ache in her chest just by thinking of betraying Aron.
Her eyes widened with fear, she couldn't understand what sort of power was at work.
"If you value your life and your people, I advise you to take the oath very seriously. Until I provide further instructions, you're not to reveal what occurred here or anything to do with me, I don't care what story you concoct."
Aron ignored her pained expression and revealed what expected of her before turning and leaving.
Greile tried to speak but no words escaped her mouth. Her vision just continued to get more and more blurry until she finally fell unconscious, with Aron's figure being the last thing she saw.
As for the humans who were captured, they panicked and rushed in the direction Aron had advised as fast as they could.
Without him, they felt every second they wasted was one too many. To them, the unfamiliar region of limbo was one in which they couldn't survive as they were.
'They're far too weak to stay in this region. It'll take at most a Pesian week for their organs to fail from mana poisoning. Until then, they're better used as a distraction, at least one patrolling Drakar should see them if any.'
Aron looked in the direction the people had run with a cold glint in his eyes, which were barely visible through the tiny opening of his helm.
With nothing more to do there, he jumped off from the den's entrance and began traveling in a direction away from the mountain range.
Little did he know that his movements were being observed by a figure some kilometers away on another mountain peak.
It was Osar of the northern dark scaled Drakar who observed Aron leave with a toothy grin.
'What an interesting display I've been shown. A tulsa capable of bringing ruin to an entire Drakar faction, interesting, very interesting.'
Osar remained stationary for some time before flying over to the southern Drakar dwelling where he had originally planned to come when he followed Greile, instead he witnessed a show like no other.
…
He arrived at the dwelling after a short while and showed an ugly grin upon doing so. As he noticed the lack of Drakar present, he still couldn't believe what occurred and shook his head before turning to face the den that housed Greile.
By the time he was at the entrance, Greile had regained consciousness and was about to rush out back to the narrow valley to see if they were any survivors.
She was surprised to find a grinning Osar block her path with his large figure. Him being there meant he either had a clue about what happened or knew completely, she couldn't immediately tell which was which.
"Greile, why the hurry to leave? I have something to discuss with you." Osar's grin didn't fade as he made his intentions clear but Greile wasn't in the mood.
Each passing moment meant the chances of finding any survivors decreased.
Osar laughed at her comment and gave way.
"Oh right, you must see if any of your people are alive. Let's go, I shall help. But in return you must listen to my proposition."
Greile had so much to ask Osar and so much to think about herself but her people came first and Osar knew this. So she could only answer…
"Alright."
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