Crossing through the dimly lit, empty tunnel, Aiden and the little adorable girl, Tolliah entered a larger, connecting hall. The girl, clinging to his father's rubbed her nose at Aiden's side.
"[Reptilian] What is it, little one? Don't be afraid, those bad dreams can't hurt you. I'm here." Sensing her troubled, shivering state, Aiden reached down and gently caressed the top of her head.
In response, Tolliah kept on rubbing her nose against his side. Her hot breath warmed his side, wetting the white linen robe as well, staining it slightly.
"[Reptilian] Come on, let's go, your uncles and aunties should already be waiting for us. There's a lot we need to discuss, you know."
Aiden sighed and reached down to pick her up. As if she was already waiting for the chance Tolliah didn't complain, nor did she resist, but allowed herself to be lifted, and seated at her throne - around Aiden's neck, riding his nape.
Instantly, her sadness seems to have been washed away, a much better-sounding, soft giggle rang behind Aiden's ears. At the same time, she kicked with her hanging little legs against his chest gently, as if urging a horse to start galloping.
"[Reptilian] Ehehehe! Go horsie, go!" She exclaimed, pointing at the exit at the western side of the hall. Unlike where they came from, which looked like a naturally made tunnel, the exit she was aiming for was clearly made by artificial means. Smooth edges, forming an arching dome.
Braziers lit the pathway along the way, with even a simple-looking rug covering the dusty ground. Still, despite the clearly better state, there were no signs of wooden doors at all. Instead like with their caves, stone slabs were placed in front of the entrances acting like one.
Noticing that her 'steed' didn't react to her command, Tolliah pouted and kicked against Aiden's chest once more.
"[Reptilian] Come on, horsie! Go fast, go!" She commanded, with her little right index finger pointing at the entrance-slash-exit again.
With a warm, gentle smile plastered on his face, Aiden didn't argue, and acquiesced to the command of her mighty 'rider' and walked towards the pointed direction.
Calmly, coolly, the duo made his way through the hall, and a couple more as well. Along the way, they were met with several other orange-brown scaled skinks of all ages and sexes, all greeting them with a hearty smile, cheers, and even some guffaws every now and then.
A few of the elders even dared to chip the little girl's cheeks, making it turn pinkish with all the attention it was receiving and forcing Tolliah to once again use her 'papa as her shield, much to the foray of her would-be 'assaulters'.
Eventually, they made their way through the slithering maze of tunnels, caves, and halls in front of large, probably the largest of stone slabs blocking an equally wide entrance. It was so large that the connecting tunnel itself turned wider. At the side of the walls, two bronze braziers, carved as little drakes spewing the flames to illuminate their surroundings, were adorning the smoothly polished walls.
Even the average light brownish carpet was removed, replaced with a much better quality crimson velvet. The stone slab that was used all around in place for doors was seemingly custom made, to eloquently fit its supposed slot, fitting into it like a sword to its sheath.
It was such a smooth fit, that it seemed to protect the room perfectly. Though Aiden could clearly see on his system's map that the 6 familiar blimps were already present inside the room, alongside a few more, specially selected individuals… not a single muffled, incohesive grunt escaped through the non-existent hair-thin cracks. Not even a strand of light could be seen coming through from below, illuminating the carpet's crimson to a lighter shade.
If not for the dragon-shaped braziers at the side, one could easily mistake this to be a simple dead end and would turn around. The craftsmanship was just that perfect, somewhat out-of-place even compared to the rest of the hillside base.
Stopping in front of the door-like slab, Aiden reached up for his little rider, gently picking her up and placing them down at his side. He looked at him, matching the gaze of her eyes, and whilst retaining the warm, kind-looking smile on his face he spoke in his usually calm, serene tone of voice.
"[Reptilian] You ready, dear? We do this fast, then we can go have something for breakfast, okay?"
The girl, looking less enthusiastic now that she lost her right-to-ride her beloved steed, nodded silently, timidly.
As her papa, Aiden straightened his back and reached for the stone blocking their path, she was already hiding behind his legs, clinging to them as if they were trunks of a tree in a forest each.
As if she was trying to hide from some predator, afraid to be ambushed, taken by surprise. Covering herself behind the spacious robes clinging to his calf, like a spooked little critter of the forest's undergrowth.
Seeing her state, Aiden could only sigh, and shake his head as he pushed against the slab. He aimed for the hidden mechanism that unless you were trained for, or had a godly divine blessing, a supernatural System fused with your soul, you could not find and push it in.
The button clicked, signaling that the mechanism activated. The slab began to churn, grinding some of the powdery grains of sand and rock along the way as it slowly started to move with a loud quake.
A large noise echoed through the halls, shaking the halls. The brazier, as if frightened themselves, trembled as the large piece of ore slowly slid out of its holster, and as if it was a living entity slowly rolled away by itself, allowing entry once again.
Tolliah was visibly shaken, scared at the scene, burying her face and ears deeply into the back of Aiden's robe.
Aiden once more reached down, hugging her gently, and patting her head, as he tried to soothe the shaken critter.
"[Reptilian] Come, let's go." He whispered, even his voice was kept low, not to startle the already agitated girl further.
Taking an extra moment so she could calm down, and collect herself, hand-in-hand, the father and daughter walked into the meeting, to discuss the next steps they would need to take to put an end to this war, to this despotic rule once and for all.
Though unbeknownst to them, at the very same time, far away from their location, at the heart of Ugburg, in the most luxurious looking temple a similar meeting was taking place.
After losing one of his most convenient tools of war, a certain white-robed majestic-looking elderly skink called for the rest of his generals, his warlords to similarly discuss the next steps they will take…
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