Chapter 245: The Warding

Shifting his attention from the monstrous statues, gargoyles perched high above, Aiden turned towards the ebon-colored massive double door just a bit in front of them. Following the strange, non-standard design of this castle-like building, the door itself was most certainly made of a strange, unknown material. 

Instead of doors, one could say it looked like one massive, humongous gate that would lead one to the netherworld, or at the very least, to some other dimension, perfectly fitting the motif the architect or creator of this structure was obviously going for.

"[Orc] So, do you have any idea what will greet us inside? Will they detect we are no longer one of the 'followers'?" Aiden inquired, as he continued to size the massive door from top to bottom.

"[Orc] I have to apologize, but I just don't have any information about it. I only heard rumors from others, and they were also pretty vague. Like that the chamber where the gathered envoys and leaders of the horde should be meeting would be somewhere towards the top. Besides that, I only heard that there should be a huge, expansive underground part to the building as well that would eventually lead to the gateway to the true leader's world, but the entry is barred by some sort of magic." Roas responded from behind.

"[Orc] I see. That should be good enough for now. Thanks, Roas." Turning his attention towards his first and currently, the only follower, Aiden spoke with his trademark friendly smile stretched across his face.

Then, turning back to the gate, he let out a sigh, the smile immediately vanished from his face, only to be replaced by a solemn, strict look.

"[Orc] Still, it is very strange that such a structure could just… appear... " He muttered, focusing on the double doors ahead. 

He could already feel a faint feeling as he got closer to this central structure previously, but as he resumed his trek and got even closer to the door, the faint feeling gradually turned stronger, giving him an ominous, uncomfortable sensation. 

Unlike his draconic and his newly acquired, 'lordly' aura, this one was more an uncomfortable sensation that struck through the surface of his skin. It was similar to a cold gust of wind that would sometimes blow through the landscape, carrying that icy northern air with them, causing you to shiver as you try to stand against it.

Arriving in front of it, Aiden slowly reached out with both his hands to push against the door. However, as his hands touched the clean, dark surface, he felt a strange resonance pass through him. As if an invisible strand of energy was trying to invade inside him, trying to analyze him through his soul.

Confirming his suspicions, the familiar bell-like sound rang inside his mind, informing him of a new notification. Taking a quick glance at it, although the text was new, not something that he saw before, it still made it very clear what was happening.

[Warning: An attempt of intrusion of Dark Energy from Unknown Source has been blocked!]

[Update: Mental Resistance (Lvl 1) received 20 XP!]

Upon reading both messages, Aiden quickly let go of the door. Turning his head sideways, he looked at his servant and inquired.

"[Orc] Roas, do you know what sort of magic this door has been enchanted with? I could feel some strand of dark energy trying to enter me as I touched the door."

Hearing what his young master said, caused Roas to gasp in shock. A moment later, realizing the 'mistake', the 'blunder' he had made, he quickly bolted forward, standing in front of Aiden's lean, dark green body. 

Looking at his master, he immediately bowed deeply. His reverent outcry was like, as if a servant was begging for mercy before his feudal lord.

"[Orc] Please forgive me, my lord! I have made a grave mistake and let you stand against danger!" His tone was at the verge of crying, as it trembled. Before Aiden could interject, he continued his outburst with an increasing volume. "Please punish this useless servant of yours, young master!"

Not wanting to alert anybody, Aiden quickly reached for his servant and pulled him back up from his bowed, apologetic posture. Before he could continue and blurt any other nonsense, Aiden swiftly silenced this rejuvenated old servant of his with his index finger pushed against his thick lips.

"[Orc] I get it, don't worry about it, but don't shout like that! I already told you to be careful!" Giving a few short moments to Roas to calm down and collect himself, he waited patiently, only continuing when he saw as clarity slowly returned to his eyes. "Now, back to the topic at hand… Do you know how we can pass this hurdle? I may be able to destroy the door with a strong enough punch, but that would alert everyone inside. Preferably, we would want to avoid doing something like that, I hope you understand." 

Giving him a wry smile, Aiden slowly pulled his index finger away from his servant's lips unsealing them. Seeing how he remained silent and did not resume his loud outcry letting out an apologetic bluster of sound warning every resting orc surrounding them, he heaved a sigh in relief.

"[Orc] Uhm…" Giving it some thought, Roas looked at his young master, as he respectfully revealed an idea. "I am not sure about this, but… uhm, young master, I may be able to do something about it…" 

As he spoke, his face turned troubled, instead of showing signs of happiness, alerting Aiden that something was amiss. Not wanting any more surprises, he swiftly inquired about this conjecture of his.

"[Orc] Roas… You seem troubled. Is there a problem? If it's dangerous, don't worry about it, we can just continue looking for other solutions."

Although he was inwardly happy for his young master's reassurance, Roas shook his head.

"[Orc] No, young master, there is no other way, I am afraid, besides you destroying the door and alerting every leader of your arrival… No, this is the only way forward. It's just…"

"[Orc] What is it? Tell me Roas, don't worry, I will do my utmost to help you. We are a team, never forget!" Letting out a friendly smile, Aiden tried his best to reassure his troubled servant.

Taking a moment to breathe in a large gasp of air, Roas slowly exhaled, calming his agitated nerves before he finally continued.

"[Orc] I may be able to use my own knowledge and expertise in Dark Magic, to try to dispel the warding on the door… The problem is, if it was done by any of those beings, I may not have enough energy to do so… If that is the case, I am not sure what would happen… If it comes to that, just leave this useless servant of yours and escape!" Not daring to look at his young master's eyes, afraid of his disapproving look, Roas averted his gaze, turning towards the ground instead as he spoke. 

However, as he finished, he felt his young master's slick fingers reaching for his chin and slowly raising his face to match their gaze. With a bright, friendly smile dominating his dark green face, Aiden calmly spoke.

"[Orc] Don't worry about it, Roas. I will try to help you. If I see you are faltering, I will immediately jump in and save you. I don't care if we end up standing against the entire horde, I will not leave you behind!"

Giving him a few moments once more to get ready, Aiden let go of his face and turned back to focus on the current hurdle in front of them, the ebony door.

It didn't take long before Roas was back to his previous self. Stepping forward, he approached the door. 

He cracked his knuckles before reaching out and slowly, carefully touched the surface of the door.

Immediately, the same invasive action, caused a shiver to run through his back. However, not wanting to disappoint his young master, he gritted his teeth, and focuses his mind, activating his modest reserves of mana.

On the surface, Aiden could only see that after the momentary shiver that ran through his servant's body, a similarly colored, dark hue began to radiate from Roas's body. 

Although it was faint, much weaker from the looks of it at first, at least compared to the massive darkness that pushed against him from the other side, it gradually turned stronger, more vibrant, successfully thwarting the invasive actions of the demonic warding on the door.

Seconds passed, quickly turning into minutes as Roas continued to relentlessly withstand against the magic of those otherworldly, demonic beings. He refused to let the other side push even an inch further and eventually emerge victorious as that would mean not just his failure, but it could cause problems, possibly even a threat to his young master. 

He gritted his teeth even stronger, as he continued to pull all of his power and continued to push against the warding. 

No, he will not let on, this will be his first victory against those demons that destroyed the future of his people.