Welcome to our lands!

Entering the golden gate, Draveric was welcomed by a whole new world on the other side of it.

While it was plain and previously deserted on this side, behind the gate it was all green and flourishing. A round body of water scattered as far as the sight rolled and in the middle of it stood something like a stone castle. It certainly looked like a place where someone could live but instead of having rooms and windows, it had small holes that had hollow spaces beneath them, filled with crystal water.

Vines and moss were growing all over the building and there was water running down its sides like a waterfall, making a subtle calming sound. As Draveric's eyes were spared from the upper view he finally realized that the castle was seemingly floating on water and there was no solid land merely a few steps away from him.

Starting ahead was the clearest water which easily gave off all the view of its bottom where pearls and jewels could be seen piling. Victor had started coming back to consciousness, wiggling in Draveric's grip like the fishes that were swimming in the water along with the beautiful creatures.

The Sirens in there were a sharp contrast to the ones he had seen earlier. Their tails glowed with lively colors of the rainbow and shimmered as they wiggled them up and down in the water. Their skin and faces weren't green but just like normal human females however, far more attractive but, in an uncanny way.

His focus was distorted when he received a smack on his butt from none other than Victor Mosley who was getting impatient to get his cousin's buttocks out of the way of his sight. Gritting his teeth, he let him down his shoulder but instead of putting him down, he wiped him off like some dust on his clothes which resulted in Victor landing on his back right beside his feet.

Victor was about to remark his 'affectionate gesture' but a glare from his side forced him to keep his mouth shut. Another reason for his easy distraction was the breathtaking view that now occupied Victor as well. However, unlike Draveric, Victor hardly managed to stop himself from freaking out and screaming every now and then as the details settled in one after another.

The green-lady who bought them here turned around to look at them and smiled, giving a peek at her pointed teeth.

"Looks like your brother is all fine now." She commented seeing Victor standing on his feet.

"Yes, he may have just fallen unconscious due to sickness. Where are you taking us?" Draveric shifted the conversation to divert her attention from Victor who was gawking at the naked womanly creatures shamelessly. It was near that he may drool as well.

"To the Queen," The words smoothly rolled out of her tongue. She stood near the boundary of where the land was parting from the water and made a strange noise. It was neither a scream nor a whistle but something in between.

Responding to the sound, a vine with huge leaves and strong looking stems rose to the surface of the water and aligned itself in front of the woman.

"Follow," Without a second thought, the lady stepped on the leaves and easily walked towards the other side. Victor and Draveric shared a look before following her actions and strangely enough the leaves didn't even waver under their weight which was utterly odd.

"Why is she taking us to the Queen? Oh wait! More importantly, what happened to me earlier? Di-did they by any chance take advantage of my manhood?" Victor gushed behind Draveric.

"I didn't let them. Don't worry, you are still all poise for Alicia." Draveric rolled his eyes, focusing on the surroundings instead. He needed to remember every little detail of this place and how it all worked. After all, he was on a mission of robbery that demanded a safe escape afterwards.

"Great, now better question, why is she taking us to the Queen? Maybe they do it to all the men before they slurp their hearts out and then afterwards they roast their bodies above-"

One threatening glare from Draveric's side and he had to cut off his banter for the rest of the way.

Soon they had crossed the water and reached the other side where the castle's entrance was. Water was falling down the green, mossy gates but as soon as they opened, the water stopped, clearing out the way for them.

Inside of the castle was all stoned unlike the outside so they didn't have to walk over a vine anymore. They took countless turns, each carefully memorized by Draveric before finally stopping in front of what seemed like the Queen's room.

Soon Draveric's assumption turned out to be slightly incorrect as it certainly belonged to the Queen but wasn't a room, a huge hallway to be precise. It slightly gave off the air of a courtroom like the one they had back in the Palace but instead of having chairs, it had dark, long stones placed strategically in two rows. In the middle of the rows was a narrow stream of water with no base and it seemed like that the water stream connected with the water bodies outside without any hindrance of the castle boundaries.

Right ahead of the stone rows, higher than all of the other ones, was a black stone with pointed spikes around it. The spikes seemed to be growing out of the stone but appeared as sharp as a tip of processed metal. Gems and stones were embellished all over the spikes, only leaving the tips out. Upon the throne sat a dark figure on which there was a shadow, the source of which was indistinguishable. The upper body was completely hidden under the shadow except a pair of red eyes however a huge black tail could be seen underneath, swinging back and forth slightly.

"Greetings, mother Xobaria, the men are here." The green-lady kneeled on her knees before the figure.

"Bow down you absurd creatures!" She looked behind her. For the first time until now her tone had changed from sweet to bitter, almost threatening.

Victor followed her awkwardly; however, Draveric stood tall, holding his ground against whoever was sitting on that throne. Curious, he started walking towards it and suddenly the green-lady turned into a lizard-like creature. She almost lunged on Draveric from behind only to be stopped by the one on the throne. Victor had also gotten ready to stop her instinctively but it was stopped before he could have taken out his weapons and alarmed them. It could have possibly ruined whatever Draveric had planned in his head.

"Welcome to our land, we have been anticipating your arrival…"