Armaros looked at the dragonewt and the girl groaned as she looked at him and her eyes widened as she looked at him as he showed his sword to her. Her eyes focused on its tip as it was a warning for her, and she understood it as well, and didn't try to make any sudden movements. Fanah also walked to his side as she glared at the dragonewt.
"Now, relax. We don't want to actually hurt you, unless you attack us." Armaros said to her seriously as the girl looked at him.
She looked at the sword and then nodded as she slowly got up and he and Fanah watch the girl stand up. And now that she wasn't attacking them they were able to get a clear view of her now. And he noticed that the girl is taller than him and shorter than Fanah.
The girl had long jet black hair with red strands in between which reached her ankles as it framed her face, two big horns protruding from the sides of her head looking quite menacing. Eyes as green as emeralds, with fair skin which made them more menacing, human like ears which ended with scaly protrusions like an elf's, a very beautiful face and black scales on the sides of her face.
Her arms were human like, except for her hands which was more dragonic. The palms were human, but the rest of her hand was covered in scales and she has slightly curled claws. Her feet were much the same, dragonic and with gleaming slightly curled claws. Her claws red, as if coated with blood, gleaming like rubies. Her tail was also covered in scales, the upper part was jet black, and the underside of her tail was the same blood red.
'Quite the combination. Red and Black scales, but also with emerald green eyes, which makes her look quite beautiful with her fair skin.' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at her.
The Dragonewt looked at them warily, especially towards Fanah who was glaring at the girl as she was ready to attack the monster should the need comes for it.
"What's your name?" Armaros asked her as the girl looked at him.
"Dracaena." The girl introduced herself with caution.
'I feel like I heard that word before... but I can't remember it from my memories of this world. Probably from Earth.' Armaros thought to himself as he hummed.
"Well Dracaena, I will be asking you some questions, and you must answer them." Armaros said to her, ending it by tapping his sword two times.
She got the message, he wanted answers and she should tell them, otherwise they might come to a disagreement and fight, which is not in her favour as of the moment.
"Okay." Dracaena said with a nod.
"Good. What type of Dragonewt are you? Natural or turned?" Armaros asked her as she scowled at the question.
"I'm a natural born Dragonewt." Dracaena said with a low growl.
'Okay, so she doesn't like being compared to the other type. Good to know.' Armaros thought to himself as he filed that info for later.
"Why were you kept sealed in that crystal?" Armaros asked again as he glanced at the space between the dragon statues.
"My father wanted to protect me so he sealed me." Dracaena said to him as he felt confused.
"But why would he seal you to protect you? I thought dragons were quite proud creatures." Armaros asked in confusion as the action didn't seem logical to him.
After all, sealing her here would've either caused her to be trapped here for centuries at best, or cause her to be found by hostile beings at worst. And dragons were proud creatures and greatly valued strength, so the fact that her father, whom he assumed to be the dragon, had decided to seal her here instead of having her fight for her freedom was kind of surprising for him.
'I guess he loved her enough to seal her. Or was it a matter of pride for him to save his daughter?' Armaros thought to himself as he wanted to know the angle through which the dragon had come to his decision.
"My father was proud, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that my life was in danger, so he sealed me away here to protect my life, and put these protections in place so that my life won't be in danger." Dracaena said to him with a frown.
"And what danger was there for your father to do that?" Armaros asked as he wanted to get the timeline.
"That's something that I won't talk about." Dracaena said with a glare.
'Awfully defensive about that one.' Armaros thought to himself, though he noted the shift in Fanah's stance.
"My master told you to answer him didn't he? Tell us what he asked, or else." Fanah growled at the Dragonewt.
"You can growl as much as you want you fleshbag. I have given him more than what I usually give to you humans." Dracaena said to him as she growled and small flames appeared in her mouth.
"You—!" Fanah growled in anger at the disrespect shown by her enemy.
She grabbed her sword, intending to teach her a lesson, as it was clear to her that he Master won't allow her to kill the thing.
"Stand down." Armaros ordered her and Fanah felt her brand work as she flinched and looked at him in shock.
"Master, she isn't telling us everything!" Fanah asked in shock, as her religious zeal was resurfacing due to being in such close proximity to the Dragonewt.
'Fuck. I should've accounted for that. This is like the middle ages so faith has more prominence than fact and truth. Even if she is my slave now, she was a member of the church. I thought that it would've been diminished due to her experiences, but I guess not.' Armaros thought to himself as he glared at her.
"I know. But she can't exactly leave us either. She has probably been here for many decades or so, and the world has changed as well. She can't go out carelessly, not unless she wants to be hunted down by the people." Armaros said to the girl with a smirk.
Dracaena heard the smug tone in his voice as she curled her fingers a bit, anger bubbling inside due to being talked to like this. Her eyes glowed for a moment, but seeing the confident grin on his face made her more angry, but also cowed her as well. Despite her instincts and pride telling her to attack him.
"Look. You don't have to tell us that if you don't want to. But what was the condition for clearing the test?" Armaros asked her as he decided to gloss over the previous question.
"I don't know. I was not told about the conditions of the test, so I'm clueless." Dracaena said to him as she crossed her arms.
Armaros hummed, not seeing the need to push and antagonise the girl. Though their exchange is short, he can see that the girl is someone who is proud of her lineage, and also prideful as well, which meant that trying to force things out of her would make her either angry or feel insulted. He can guess that trying to force answers out of her that she doesn't want to would only be detrimental in the long run.
Diplomacy had its place and uses after all, otherwise civilization wouldn't have taken root. He had enough wisdom to know that much, and it has prominence in this world as well, even with its focus on strength and power.
"Look, the world outside has changed. Dragons had lost the war against the Gods and are almost non-existent in the world. And Dragonewts are much the same, however unlike dragons your kind don't get the same prejudice so to speak, so long as you hide the fact that you're a natural born." Armaros said to her as she growled.
"Are you saying that I should hide my lineage from the world and pretend to be those fakes?" Dracaena asked in irritation and anger.
"Unless you want to make an enemy of the churches and other races who worship and follow the Gods, yes. There are people who are more powerful than me, those who have divine weapons and powers as strong as a demigod. If you, in your arrogance dared to reveal yourself, you will be hunted, and if you're lucky, killed by them." Armaros said to her as she narrowed her eyes.
"Lucky if I'm killed?" Dracaena parroted to him.
"Yes. After all, there are people who are interested in dragons and to study them, and Dragonewts, pure Dragonewts especially. If you hide your lineage entirely and pose as a full human, you can go under the notice. And even if you lie that you're a result of a magical process, that would still gain attention. So I would suggest hiding as a human. It will also allow you to enter and understand the current world as well." Armaros said to her as Fanah looked at him in shock.
'He... He is giving her advice on how to infiltrate the human kingdoms?! What is he thinking?!' Fanah thought to herself in confusion as she didn't know what to think about that.
As a believer of the divine, she obviously didn't like the Dragonewt, and dragons, yet her master is willing to help her, and she doesn't know what she can do to avert that, as it is clear that he won't be letting her stop it.
"M-Master. You can't help her, we can't let a dragonspawn walk around freely." Fanah said to her master as Dracaena glared at her as her eyes narrowed, her pupils which were slits became smaller as she glared at her.
"Do you wish to be turned into ashes human? I'm sure a mere slave like you has no right to advice your master." Dracaena said to the one armed woman with a growl.
Fanah glared at her at that, her anger showing in her face due to being spoken to like that, her own pride surfacing as she growled.
"Enough Fanah. I won't tolerate more of this behaviour of yours." Armaros said to her causing the woman to flinch as she looked at her master with a look of betrayal.
After all, despite turning her into his slave he had treated her much better than most slaves, and to some extent she has come to respect her master as well. But him doing something like this which is against her entire belief was akin to a betrayal to her.
"She is the last remnant of the dragons that we know of, and she probably knows things from tha era that we don't know about. And I'm not especially that faithful towards the Gods. Besides, she can't do much before she is taken down by the forces of the empires." Armaros said to her as he looked at the Dragonewt.
Fanah stayed silent and nodded to her master, not being able to defy him as she decided to stay put.
"Look. I wish to know more about the time you come from, and you will need my knowledge to traverse this era. If you can accompany us, I can ensure safe passage for you with all my capabilities and help you learn about the current world order." Armaros said to her as Dracaena looked at him with a glare before she looked down.
'He is right. I don't know much about this new era, and if the Dragons have been defeated, then my life isn't safe outside as well. And if his words are true, there are powerful groups as well, alongside people who hate my kind like this slave.' Dracaena thought to herself as she assessed her situation.
After a few seconds of consideration she came to a conclusion as she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Fine. I'll accept your proposal. I'll give you knowledge about my era, you will inform me about this era and ensure that I stay hidden." Dracaena said to him seriously.
'Inform instead of teach. She is doing everything to make it seem that she is not below me.' Armaros thought to himself as he looked at her.
"Understood." Armaros said with a small smile as he presented his right hand for a handshake.
Dracaena looked at his hand for a few moments before she grabbed it, though her eyes were still hard.
"Don't think that I will trust you just because you have passed the trial. If you dare deceive me, I will make sure to show you the wrath of my kind, even if I were to die doing so." Dracaena said to him with a glare as she tightened her hold on his hand, small flames arround her mouth as she threatened him.
"Of course. So long as you don't betray me, I won't betray you. And don't worry, I am not so weak that I will die to you. If you decide to betray me, don't be surprised when I kill you." Armaros said to her with a grin as he also tightened his grip.
Dracaena was a bit surprised by that, but she couldn't help the small grin that appeared on her face as he said that. As she had never been threatened by a human like this before.
'This human is... different.' Dracaena thought to herself as she looked at him.