As you can see, I am not dead...

The portal opened, and as Adrian and Lilith stepped through, they were greeted by the harsh light of day. They had left the mystical chamber behind and now found themselves in the midst of a vast desert landscape.

The sun beat down relentlessly, casting long shadows across the golden sands. Adrian squinted against the sun, his eyes adjusting to the brightness.

A dry wind blew around them, sending dust and sand swirling through the air. Before them, a group of armored mercenaries was in the midst of preparations, readying themselves to leave.

Recognition washed over Adrian as he spotted familiar faces among the mercenaries. 

Captain Kael, their grizzled leader with a scarred face, was orchestrating the packing of supplies and checking weapons. 

Lilith and Adrian walked toward them, the sand crunching under their feet.

As they approached, the mercenaries stopped what they were doing, and looked up, their eyes locking onto his.

"Adrian! You're back!" Captain Kael's voice was gruff but filled with genuine relief.

"Captain," Adrian greeted him, a faint smile on his face. "It's good to see you."

"You too, lad," the captain responded, his expression somber. "We were worried when we found you gone."

"We thought you, uhm... you know, died while trying to locate the temple."

Adrian nodded, understanding what the captain was getting at. "Well, I did find the temple. And as you can see, I am not dead. By the way this is..."

Adrian turned to look at Lilith, his words trailing off as he noticed the aura radiating off her.

Lilith smiled at him, her red lips curving into a smirk as she sensed the attention. Her inmate seductive charm was having a great effect on the mercenaries.

She knew what effect she had on people, and she loved it.

They paused in their tasks as they stared at her with slack-jawed awe., their gaze casting a look of desire at Lilith. Even the usually gruff captain was transfixed, his eyes glued to her.

Adrian's gaze shifted from the lustful looks of the mercenaries before him to the mischievous expression on Lilith's face. "What's going on?" he asked no one in particular.

"Lorian?" Adrian called, following his line of sight; they were all staring at Lilith's bosom.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Lorian said with a dreamy and lustful voice. "I've never seen such beauty. She is exquisite."

Lilith drew in a deep breath of satisfaction and let it out. 

Adrian, on the other hand, felt anger surged within him, and he suddenly became furious. 

Why? He honestly didn't know, but the fact that they were all staring at Lilith like they wanted her got him all pissed off.

Without thinking, he drew his sword out of its sheath and swung it, slicing a nearby barrel into two pieces.

The mercenaries flinched in surprise, breaking out of their daze.

"Hey, watch it," one of the mercenaries complained, picking up the damaged supplies.

"Now listen you all. None of you have the right to look at her that way," Adrian gritted.

"And you do?" One of the mercenaries, Mike, asked. "You didn't introduce her as yours, so I guess she can be anyone's."

"Oh... I didn't introduce her? Allow me to do the introductions," Adrian said, summoning a fiery chain. It shot towards Mike with insane speed and wrapped around his neck, dragging him close to Adrian in seconds.

"This is Lilith. And I better not catch you looking at her or I'll gouge out your miserable eyes," he warned, then released Mike to the floor.

The man dropped on the ground, gasping for air. His friends came to his aid.

Lilian smirked at Adrian, clearly enjoying the attention.

No spoke, still trying to grabble with just happened.

Captain Kael was the first to speak.

"I don't know who you were before we saved you the other day, Adrian, but... you are now someone else," he said, eyeing the flaming chain that had just assaulted his men. "What happened to you when you left?"

Without giving an answer, Adrian grabbed Lilith by the shoulder and took a few steps away from the mercenaries. 

"What do you think you're doing, using your powers on them?" he asked through gritted teeth, his voice coming out in hushed tones as he tried to keep the conversation between the two of them.

"I was merely having fun," Lilith answered, her lips curved into a grin. "Plus I just needed to feed a little, considering you wouldn't reply if I had asked you," she said with a mix of an unapologetic and pleading gaze.

"Well, you didn't ask, did you?" Adrian retorted, his gaze briefly flickering back to the group. Mike was already up, rubbing his neck.

Lilian looked up at him with innocent eyes, and Adrian felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said, his expression softening. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I just don't want that repeating again."

"You're forgiven, Master." Lilith said with a teasing tone.

"Now, stay here for a bit while I go talk to them," he instructed.

"Fun spoiler," Lilith mumbled as Adrian made his way back to the group.

Captain Kael cleared his throat as soon as Adrian got to them. "We're getting ready to leave this forsaken desert behind," he said, his gaze sweeping over the vast expanse of sand. "We've heard rumors of Draegonian activity in the area, and we can't afford to stay."

Adrian nodded, his mind racing. "I need your help, Captain. I need to gather forces to take on the Draegonians."

Captain Kael's expression turned serious. "That's a tall order, Adrian. What do you have in mind?"