Chapter 12: Lions den

When they came to, Bjorn and graum examined their surroundings to see nothing but four sturdy brick walls, the room they found them selves in was dark and offered poor visibility, they felt clasps around their arms. They had shackles chaining them to the wall.

"Was the risk worth the reward brother?" Graum snickered with sarcasm.

"Are you mad at me?" Bjorn deflected the

question

"No. Not really, after all it would seem we were set up from the start." Graum exhaled

"We wouldn't be chained to these walls if we had just focused on our quest" Bjorn sighed clanking his shackles against the wall.

"Real talk brother, I'm glad you convinced me to save those two twins. I'm glad that you are able to see more than just 'the objective' thanks to your actions we SAVED lives." Graum began, his tone low, setting a gloomy atmosphere "Taking lives comes naturally to me, like breathing or walking. Regardless of whether or not the target is good or evil, man or women. I guess what I'm trying to say is… thank you. Thanks for making the strong choices. For making the choices I'm to afraid to." Graum confessed, his depression seemed to fill the room.

"Aye…" Bjorn chuckled nervously, alleviating some of Graum's depression.

When ever graum seemed to say something emotionally soft towards Bjorn, Bjorn would say: aye. This serves as a warning of sorts, it warned graum that he was getting to emotional. Bjorn wasn't accustomed to dealing with such emotional depth. As a warrior, he didn't have the need to. So now he finds it somewhat difficult or unpleasant in such matters.

"I see… aye, haha." Graum laughed, reeling in his rampant melancholy.

"In any case what should we do now, sit here and wait?" Bjorn asked testing the durability of his chains by clanking his chains by clanking them even harder against the wall.

"Well the first thing we should do is STOP CLANKING THOSE CHAINS, unless you want to wake up what ever that is" graum gestured flinging his leg at a large figure in the corner.

As soon as graum gestured towards the figure, it started to move uncoiling itself like a snake.

"What in oden's name…" Bjorn whispered under his breath just loud enough for graum to hear.

The brothers watched as this creature uncoiled itself, it appeared to span the entirety of the room.

"Any idea what that is?" Graum asked under his breath.

Bjorn's intuitive eyes glanced over the creature. From the way it spanned the room, to its low blood curdling hiss; Bjorn had an idea what the beast was.

"I could be wrong, and I hope that I am but it looks like an adolescent wyrm." Bjorn stated in a small amount of excitement.

"Why do you hope it's nope a wyrm?" Graum asked oblivious to the potential danger of the creature.

"Well if it isn't a wyrm, and is in fact a giant snake than we should be able to manage. BUT if it's a wyrm than we stand no chance of surviving while still being shackled. Wyrms are a sub species of dragons, which mean they can use mana arts." Bjorn informed.

"Are wyrms inherently hostile?" Graum asked detecting no trace of malicious intentions.

"To my knowledge. They are very territorial as most of dragon/ dragon sub species are. But un like the others, wyrms only attack when they feel they or their territory is threatened." Bjorn further explained.

"So what I'm hearing is. Don't to anything to seem threatening?" Graum asked focusing his detection skill.

As graum focused his detection, his guise started to fade, and graums eyes looked like the eyes of the devil kin. The whites of his eyes melted to black, and his false green iris' began burning a deep scarlet red.

The wyrm reacted to graums change in appearance and slithered across the room and up to him.

"Brother what ever you're doing you should stop" Bjorn cautioned.

"I'm not getting the sensation of any danger" graum casually replied.

The wyrm slowly coiled around graum immediately after he spoke.

"Oh ya, hahaha, how about now, feel like you're in danger now?" Bjorn couldn't hold back his laughter.

The wyrms grasp was loose as to not crush its prey but tight enough so he couldn't move.

~knock, knock~

The sound of knocking echoed, abruptly filled the room.

"Niadra are our 'guests' awake?" A feminine voice faintly called out.

"Who?" Bjorn and graum asked each other at the same time.

The wyrm let out a soft squeak followed by what seemed like purring when the feminine voice called out.

"Brother, what does it mean when a wyrm vibrates?" Graum asked now concerned by the beasts vibrations.

"Either it's cold, which I doubt because wyrms are cold blooded and would go into a coma like state or it's excited. Maybe it thinks you're cute" Bjorn continued to inform, but added a joke.

"Sounds like youre jealous because this is more 'action' than you've recently got" Graum joked back

Next thing they knew, a door opened up that seemed to be concealed due to the lack of visibility of the room. And In walked one of the Imalidae sisters that Bjorn and graum had saved.

(Guise:on)

"Niadra, let that one go!" The Imalidae yelled as she noticed that the wyrm had coiled around graum. The wyrm let out an even louder squeak acknowledging the command it was given, it the uncoiled itself from graum.

"Excuse me. You wouldn't happen to be a beast tamer would you?" Bjorn asked in awe.

Bjorn had heard of people with the ability and skills to tame wild animals... but none powerful enough to tame a dragon sub species.

"Me? oh no that would be our guild master Mystelyyn. My name is Rheila, Rheila Malkr"

Bjorn then looked to graum, and graum to Bjorn. They then turned their attention to the Imalidae.

"My name is Bjorn, and this here is my brother" he gestured to graum as so he could introduce himself.

"I'm Graum. Pleasure to meet you... officially that is." Graum said managing to fake a smile.

"So no sur names?" Rheila asked somewhat confused.

"Listen baby, you can only be on a first name basis if the only name you got IS their first name" Bjorn laughed shooting Rheila a wink, trying to flirt

"From a first name basis to pet names, sweetheart you're moving fast" Rheila flirted back, returning bjorns wink.

Taken back with how casually Rheila responded to bjorns not so subtle advance, Bjorn looked to graum in bewilderment.

"Is there a specific reason why we are chained in what I'm assuming is some sort of jail?" Graum asked changing subjects

"Actually you're in a guild hall, albeit the basement of a guild hall, but a guild hall nonetheless" Rheila asked crossing her arms with sass.

"So we are chained.. to the wall.. in a basement.. my gods I'm in one of graums fantasies" Bjorn sighed

"Don't knock it till you try it." Graum grinned, feeling a little to comfortable with the current situation.

"If you two need a moment I can leave" Rheila said gesturing towards the door

"I think I would be happier if graum left giving the two of us a moment" Bjorn quickly added raising his eye brows.

"Look if you can't handle some chains you couldn't handle what I'm into" Rheila smirked.

Rheila felt comfortable flirting back, because no one, particularly her sister wasn't around to witness it.

"Brother, I don't know how to handle this." Bjorn whispered to graum with panic in his tone.

"Umm could you maybe un-shackle us?" Graum asked clanking the chains against the wall.

"That's actually why I came down here in the first place. That, and to make sure

Niadra didn't kill you " Rheila had a smug smirk on her face as walked closer twirling a ring of keys

"I think I'll start with you" Rheila paused noticing bjorns tattoos. "It's strange to a human with tattoos, I thought tattoos were rites given only by dwarves and orcs"

"Hey! I'm actually a dwarf!!" Bjorn hissed pridefully.

"Oh my apologies.... but aren't you a little short to be a dwarf?" She laughed unshackling Bjorn.

"Even she thinks your size is humorous brother" graum chuckled, finding it funny that yet another person is skeptical of Bjorn being a dwarf.

"So does that mean you're a dwarf too?" Rheila asked trying to find the key to graum's shackles

"No, I'm not a dwarf"

"So then, you're human?" Rheila asked confused

(Guise:off)

"Not exactly"

dropping his guise, graum looked into Rheila's eyes and watched her playful expression change to shock.

"A devil-kin?!" She whispered under her breath.

"Brother, behave yourself." Bjorn sternly ordered.

"If I'm to be treated as a criminal, I may as well look the part" Graum's tone hardened.

"You just caught me off guard is all. This guild is full of all kinds of Demi-humans one of them happens to be a devil-kin. Come on I'll show you." Rheila sweetly smiled.

Rheila unlocked graum's shackles then proceeded to walk towards the rooms door. Bjorn and Graum followed Rheila up some steps and into the guilds foyer. And true to her word the guild had a vast assortment of Demi humans from various Imalidae's to elves... although what she didn't mention was that all the guild members were all girls.

"Brother, is it just me or are they all women?" Graum astutely noticed.

"Brother, where ever we are... I never want to leave!!!" Bjorn couldn't contain his excitement.

"Ah there you are Rheila, and I see you've brought out our guest" a voice called out.

"Sure did" Rheila stood aside to reveal a gorgeous blonde elf.

"Gentlemen allow me to introduce to you our guild leader, Mystelyyn Grainwood" Rheila said gesturing to the beautifully captivating elven guild leader.

"Brother, I want to do lustfully indecent and shameful things to that women" Bjorn's eyes were affixed to the guild leader

"Brother, I would let her do lustfully indecent and shameful things to me" Graum quickly added. And the two brothers bumped knuckles in complete agreement.