Demonic Skies *On Hold*

Chapter 08 : 'Boy'

"Sir Aidan, welcome back. Out longer than usual. Is everything fine?" inquired the gate guard into the city with some concern.

Aidan smiled. He had a lot of friends in the guards due to his contributions to Girland in supplying affordable materials. "Got turned around in the forest. Stumbled across a goliath in the middle region," Aidan explained.

"G-goliath? In the middle region no less? It's good you made it back," the young guard said with relief.

"It must of fought something in the interior that wounded it badly because it was dead by the time I got to it," Aidan continued to explain as the guard listened with interest.

"Then..." asked the guard but Aidan cut him off.

"The carapace was slightly damaged but still good so pass the word to the captain to come by my place if he wants first crack at them. Otherwise, I'll probably auction them," Aidan explained.

The guard nodded. The carapace could make extremely resilient armor. As the city guards had their own smiths who could fashion it into armor, buying the material directly from Aidan would save them a lot rather than buying the finished product. Aidan understood this which is why he made the offer. He would lose out compared to auctioning the two pieces but the good will earned with the guard was far more valuable. This city would remain his home for some time after all.

Aidan walked over to a commercial district. Many stalls and shops were run in the area and it was his favorite place to stop by when returning from the forest. Aidan walked over to a clean shop. It catered to the small number of upper and middle class residents of the city and various travelers. He was greeted by a familiar girl who smiled upon seeing Aidan with a blushed face.

Huh? Aidan was puzzled. The girl was reasonably shy but he felt something inexplicably off about her gaze. It had somehow changed. If before she looked at him like a love-struck young maiden then the look now was utterly perplexing. He couldn't understand it. Is there something on my face, he wondered?

"Aidan!" called out a voice from the second floor of the restaurant.

Looking up Aidan spotted the familiar youth. The blonde haired young butterball was the eldest son of a successful merchant in the Merchant's Guild of the city. He spent his days leisurely in debauchery. Referred to commonly as the 'Master of Mischief', he caused no end of troubles for the fathers of the city with his nightly escapades. Most of those noble and young girls knew of his wandering ways but none seemed resentful of the fact strangely enough and formed an odd sisterly bond.

"Donald, greetings young friend," Aidan greeted with a smile. Donald was one of the few acquaintances his age Aidan bothered to make. The young man had a way of making his days of monotony enjoyable these last few years.

"Hahaha, don't sound so cold Aidan. Come up my friend. Heard some funny rumors about you lately," Donald grinned through his teeth causing Aidan to furrow his brow.

"So what's this about a new rumor?" Aidan asked as he took a seat at the large table with a large amount of food spread on it.

Donald sloppily ate the chicken and gravy, licking his fingers as he burped then looked at Aidan. "I always thought you had some lass you were fond of back in your home town. However...I never expected you had such inclinations. Don't get me wrong. I believe in free love, so..." Donald blustered, as Aidan became even more confused by his words.

"What in Norquita's left tit are you on about?" Aidan asked utterly baffled by where his friend was going.

Donald looked at Aidan long and hard in thought. He had suspicions the rumors were false but also felt they could be true. Either way he would support his bosom buddy's love no matter its form.