Shadowbound Ascension: The Necromancer's Journey

Aiden was in the center of the inner chamber of the Eclipse Auction House and facing the founder group. It was a small room and it was rather dark with the tension manifesting in the air. Properly gloomy, the darkness clung to the walls of the room as if even the black hue was afraid of energies emitted by the persons in front of him.

There were three of them I think. Each one bore the emblem of power and might yet the four were silent as Aiden came into the room. They looked at him suspiciously, Surely they were trying to assess his every move and try 'unmask' him.

Nevertheless, this did not deter Aiden as he was one …lion that did not scare easily. He looked them straight in the eye without a hint of nervousness or trouble visible behind the mask. But if they tried to hit on him they would soon find out that he was no one to mess with.

And there is just one more thing to know — for a long, uncomfortable moment the two were silent. The founders appeared eager enough to wait the density of the growing air intensify and intently locked eyes with Aiden enshrouded by his cloak.

Finally, he kept silence, he looked up and with a very low tone of voice he spoke in the quiet room. 'Did you have something that you wanted to say or were you just going to sit there and blank out?'

His utterances came at them as a surprise. One of the founders was a tall, serious man with piercing, wicked stare that slowly turned his head to the side. The others looked at one another, hesitate on how to act next.

Then a man in the middle started to speak, slight build with faces obscured by darkness clad in black. "You're bold, as your father used to be"

Aiden could not believe his ears, his heart started beating very fast. That caused his previously sign of calmness to slightly shift as those words registered in his mind. His father? How did they know about him?

Well I didn't; Aiden's voice which was now laced with suspicion effectively broke the silence. They asked sharply: "My father? What do you know about him?"

The atmosphere shifted. The founders looked at each other again and this time there was a glimmer of understanding in both of their faces. That had been said too much. Then the man who had spoken narrowed his eyes but he did not resort to a retreat.

Aiden Shadowbane snarled, it was not wise to underestimate the forces of good, if this figure failed to understand that he was walking into his own death. But this is not the time for you to know everything.

Aiden's hands were tightly balled under his cloak. His mind was filled with question as to whether; Who were those persons, and how did they get acquainted with him and ascertain his real personality? He had been doubly careful this time, did not leave anything to chance, the cloak and the mask were perfect. Even if one was to combine them, no one should have been able to penetrate through them.

The atmosphere in the room became tense, but it did not distract Aiden who tried to follow the event. It was not the time for nervous breakdown. "In what ways can you observe my identity?" He asked with the hint of anger in his tone.

The man sat back in his chair a little and even though he seemed comfortable, the steely glance of his eyes never changed. There was a chuckle in his voice, 'You wouldn't understand, let's just say we have our ways.' 'And we've been observing you for longer, than, perhaps, you've been observing us.'

The once jovial face of Aiden could be noticed being replaced by a frowning one full of frustration though he was quick to contain himself. It was overall quite obvious that these people had a lot more information than they wanted to disclose. However, this does not let him continue as there was a change of tact that was discussed next.

"Hey, where did you obtain the Potion of Restoration (Rank D)?" a founder of the opposition group asked, to dispel the increasing aggression. Her voice was less shrill, but had the tone of command while she was speaking. he potion of that caliber does not get in to the hand of any person."

Aiden glared at me through the mask that he wore. "Why does that matter?"

"It matters," the third founder, a man with a deep, gravelly voice said, "Because potions like that haven't been seen in years. Decades, even. The worlds alchemists have been struggling to replicate them, but none have succeeded. Until now of course because you currently possess one that can actually pass through trials without any negative repercussions."

A few seconds of consideration and Aiden replied. He was still unable to share every detail of the reality they were in - at least not yet. The system was his weapon, his shield which he use to defend himself and to have an upper hand in this world that was turning into a jungle. Perhaps, which if he lets them know about it could put him at risk.

It took him good thirty minutes to say the simplest of phrases, "I made it," he finally said, his tone confident. "I have,.. certain talents "

The founders glanced at each other again, this time with expression of curiosity and disbelief painted all over their faces. The woman tilted slightly and her eyes sparkled slightly. 'I would have thought that you would expect me, a young girl like me to concoct a potion that even the worlds best alchemists could not even imitate.'

Aiden then inhaled and replied with a rather casual air about him, 'It's nothing.' That is a free country everyone is entitled to having their own believes as far as the result is as follows.

Dead air prevailed in the room after his comment as the founders tried to grasp the meaning of what he said to them. They were not satisfied clearly with his lame answers but they cannot resist the evidence that has been presented before them. It was not an illusion and it actually did what it said that it could do by changing the colour of her skin.

The man in the middle – the one who had said something about Aiden's father – finally spoke again; his voice was reflective. 'Wherever you got this potion from this is useful.' 'And it is much more useful than you can imagine.'

Behind the white material that was pulled over his face, Aiden gave a cold glare. My response to this would be: "And what do you intend to do with that information?"

The founder tensed forward, his eyes bore into the person. "Well Shadowbane that depends," A creature that I later identified as the leader sneered, "You've piqued our interest in a way and not just because of this potion. There is a lot more to you than what can be seen and heard and we aim to find out.

Inside himself Aiden felt his temples throbbing, but he answered without a quaver in his voice. "I am not here for games, if you want to sell the potion you should auction it. Otherwise, this is the end for us."

The three founders looked at each other, and in the middle of them the man nodded his head once again. "Fine. We will sell the potion. But allow me to give you a word of caution, Aiden Shadowbane: this is far from over. We shall be waiting."

At once Aiden spun around and strode out of the room with his cloak trailing and the shadows at his heels. He could smell their developing curiosityand something else he feared even more than death—Shame.

And when the massive doors shut with a thud, he exhaled with a loud sigh. He was still more confused along with the answers rather than the questions he was left with after the encounter. With bow and dagger, and shirt and trousers cut away, from what world did these people emerge really? They were aware of his father's existence and how?

But there was no time to gloat over this achievement as well as anyway to work it out. This world was evolving and he could not let himself be left behind.

All of that was going to get worse when the Potion of Restoration (Rank D) was up for auction.