Chapter 96: Nice and warm!
"Remember what I said. Enter, follow me to the side, and put on one of the heat-resistant leaf shirts," Balarn said as he walked ahead of the others.
"You told them ten times already," Yogog bellowed joyfully as he led them toward a massive double door that sat inside the trunk of the tree.
Two slim, red-skinned women that walked behind them let out a burst of laughter, causing Irwin's mouth to go dry a bit. They had joined them during the second stop of the ship and introduced themselves as Ignalia and Hotzli. Wearing form-fitting leather armor covered by curved metal plates, and silver eyes, they looked every bit like the guards of Yogog and Balarn that they were. Something about them, the way they spoke, laughed, and moved, made Irwin have a hard time keeping his eyes from them.
A shove in his side caused him to glare at Greldo, who was grinning at him.
Yeah, yeah, Irwin thought as he sniffed.
"If they don't, they might fall unconscious from the heat," Balarn said. "We don't all have your ridiculous way with temperatures!"
Yogog turned, walking backward as he raised his hands. "I'm great, I know! But-" and he grinned at Irwin as he pointed both hands toward him. "I've been told you have a liking to the hotter side of life like me!"
Ignalia and Hotzli gazed at Irwin, their orange lips curving up to show sharp canines.
Irwin tried to keep his eyes from drifting to them and instead grinned back at Yogog. Over the last few days, he'd been hanging out with Yogog a lot, and he'd found he liked the man's rough and loud nature. He was always in for a laugh and willing to explain things in detail when asked. Besides this, he had a way with words and had entertained them all with incredible stories of his exploits during the trip.
Though if they are all true, Irwin thought as he turned to Greldo, who was looking ahead with sparkling eyes.
They were the only group to disembark and, as such, drew the attention of a group of guards. They were of a race Irwin had seen before, with bark for skin and leaves for hair. They resembled a mix between trees and men.
Viridians, Irwin thought as he recalled the information Balarn had given him.