Chapter 24: ENCHANTED LAND

Their ship halted as it hit the land. The people even moved their bodies with currents and the sudden stop.

"Woah!" They all expressed as it goes.

"Keep an eye on your children! Do not make them walk barefooted!" Zergee advised. "And be careful!"

"Alright, papa Zergee, don't be a worrywart." Verra giggled at him while covering her mouth and closing her eyes.

Zergee blushed upon seeing the woman. "W-who are you calling papa?"

"You are!"

"No, I'm not!"

They jitter around and Hermes couldn't handle her smile as she shook her head at the two. "Seriously, are they kids?" She whispered.

As the crew dropped the plank down for the people to be able to set foot on the land. The family members were the first to go down the plank, the second was the men and lastly were the crew; managing the ship.

However, Maurelle was still inside the ship along with Logan. She was awestruck and kept staring at the massive land place just right in front of her eyes. The woman roamed her gaze around as she still can not believe they came across a land so far away as theirs. She breathe the nature and plastered a sight smile.

"Maurelle, don't you want to go down?" Asked to her by Logan.

She felt the man's footsteps behind her. "Are they all down?"

Logan appeared to her eyes and she gave him a glance.

"They are, you should too."

She released a sigh of relief.

"Is there something wrong?" Logan asked Maurelle, with his eyes slowly filling in worrisome.

Maurelle shook her head. But somewhere in her head, she is unfortunately very wary once she settles her foot here. She questions herself, what will be of her after she finally creates a new home? Will she still be left alone? Or will someone be with her as she lives her life in the arms of these people?

"Nothing precisely, I am absolutely alright. Just the thought of the future scares me, Logan." She exclaimed and sighed.

"Well, there is nothing to be afraid of. We're here, I am here. But if you are talking about something else other than accompanying?" Logan leaned on the boat to look more clearly at the woman.

"That, you're right, you all are here. However, I know my mother so well. It's either my sister sided with me or mother insists to follow me here." Maurelle said and looked behind them.

Logan was silent as he thought about it as well, he doesn't want to assert things to only add more danger to the fire, doesn't he? So, instead of talking about her mother, he gave Maurelle a breather.

"They can't possibly find us here, this land is not on our map, it's as if it's another world, it'll be many more years or if they ever get fortunate to arrive inside our land. Come on, Maurelle, look at the bright side, we have things to focus on rather than worrying about something you can't change."

And because of that, Maurelle became optimistic. The man is right after all. Dwelling on the negative side will only make things worst. She took the leap of faith, now she ought to drive onwards. The people here need her help and she has finally escaped her mother.

"You're absolutely right, Logan!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah?"

"I don't need to worry, I have you and the people. This enchanted land fairly needs me more than the world on the other side." She smiled widely.

Logan saw how she changed her mood so he was also affected by it. "So should we head down?"

Maurelle glance down to see the people as they all reunite in their smiles. What wonderful scenery it is when there is also the living surrounding the view.

"Yes, we should," Maurelle responded.

Logan lend his arms to the woman and guided her to reach the ground. They slowly went downwards but as soon as Maurelle laid her foot on the land, she felt a sudden thump in her chest. For a short moment, it made her head hazy and she had to hold on to the ma beside her.

It seems that there is strong energy coming from below the land. So powerful and affecting. It was not a cynical energy but one very lively instead. She also felt that there are other people wandering around the land already. It wasn't just them alone.

She then remembered the shipwreck. 'So this is where they have gone to? They are inside this mystery land.'

"Maurelle, you keep doing the most unexpected thing a second or so, are you alright?" He asked the woman. "Is this still your sickness? Then you should head to—"

"Logan, there are other people here and someone owns the land. A powerful one." She cut off Logan.

Unfortunately, the people heard her loud and clear, they started to panic.

"What if they slaughter our children?"

"Or steal our stocks and goods?"

"Our ship too. What if they ravage us until we're all empty-handed?"

"Calm down, you people. There's nothing to worry about, our Captain here has a plan."

"Uh— what plan exactly, Zergee?"

"Oh, you got to be joking me, Logan. It was your plan and said we'd escape and you got no plans if a thing like this happens?"

"Well, I was certain it was all us here. But I guess I was wrong. But fear not, I know how to make business with people. We'll be alright, people." Logan said with an awkward and uncertain smile on his face.

The people just stared at each other, thinking of whether they would trust their captain's words. But what can they do? To spare a little trust was always what they did to their captain.

They started to wear their bags and the mothers were advised to stay on the ship until they could find a place to stay on the land. But Logan knows what may come for them once they enter inside.

He gave a glance to the woman who was guiding the people back to the ship.

'Come what may, as long as I am with this woman I can guarantee that I would be safe.' He said inside his subconscious.

But the moment he realized what his mind unconsciously thought of. The man widened his eyes in shock as he came up that he may really have fallen in love in the early days with the woman. His face reddened. Oh, what could the woman have done to his heart? Was it her kindness? The beauty outside and inside her?

He was distracted by his reverie as Maurelle noticed him, she went and walked towards the man. When she was already standing behind him, he tapped his shoulder only for the man to jolt.

"Ah!"

Maurelle was caught off guard. "Are you not feeling well? Have you fallen ill? You seem to be standing there for long." She worriedly asked when she saw the man's face thoroughly.

Logan heaved a sigh and nod his head continuously. "My head was above, but I am well, Maurelle."

"If you say so, Logan. Then, should we head in already? We're wasting time just standing here." She said and spreads her palms referring to the shore.

"Oh, right." He responded and diverted its mood to optimism. "Zergee, let's go!"

Shortly after, they had already made a decision to enter the land. The mothers and their children had to stay on the ship, not because they were a burden but the men says so, it's for them to stay safe and may enter once they clear a path of danger and seek a peaceful place.

Logan, Maurelle, and the crew started their journey ahead. What welcomed them was a mad jungle, the tall grass brushing through their feet, the vines they settled aside, and the thick trees shadowing them.

"This greenery, even at our land there was never a thing like this." One of Logan's crew said as he used his hands clearing away the vines on his face.

"That's nature for you right there," Zergee responded.

"Silly, have you never seen your wife's greenery?"

"Oh, would you cut off that malicious conceits?"

They all started to get into each other nerves when Maurelle shush them. "Don't let your gear down, crew. We're entering an unknown zone."

The crew pressed their mouth shut and Logan chortled and shook his head.

They started to trace their foot again but as they go further in, it started turning into a forest. A forest of tall slender trees, dried leaves on the ground, and an odd tinge of the wind breeze. With that setting, they felt sudden anxiousness. It's as if someone was watching them, eyeing them from afar.

That's when they heard rushing from their backs. They turned around and saw nothing. Then, another rustling on their front, again, there was no one.

Maurelle suspiciously wandered her eyes as she hid her head with her black cloak's hood. Until one of their crew was taken hostage just right in front of their eyes. A man with brown cloaks was seen, threatening their man with a knife on his neck.

"Stay back or this man of yours," he scoffed. "Well, you would not dare know what I'll do."

"What do you want from us?" Logan asked.

"Us? Want from you? I should be the one asking you that, don't you know this is an enchanted land? Who knows if you're a bunch of evil conquerors." The man responded, his face was yet to be seen.

Logan stopped and stared at the man, he walked closer to him and signalled him to lower his weapon. "Let your knife down, we are not evil conquerors. We have families on our ship at the shore. We've escaped from our land and our crew are just searching for a home to start." He briefly and calmly explained their situation.

The man was tight-lipped. They were engulfed in silence, the only noise made was from the rustling of the trees. Maurelle was observing them, Logan had his hands on the air as he tried to calm the tension between them.

"And how should I believe you?" The man asked Logan.

"We saw your shipwreck and if you want something to believe in, head to the shore and see it for yourself."

No one dare to speak more but the tension ended when the man released Logan's man. He heads close to Logan.

"Well then, why didn't you say so?" The man let out a laugh. "Come out, people."

And with that, a bunch of people with brown cloaks came out from behind the trees. There were dozens of them.

"We are here with the same sole purpose as you are here. We shall make a truce and reunite, that is if you would agree." The man lends him a palm.

They all looked at each other. Logan looked at Maurelle and Maurelle? All she did was gave the man a slight nod from his head. She believe that they had a good intention.

'I can feel they are good people.' She thought.

She saw Logan walk closer to the man and continued shaking his hand. After that, they removed their hood and there they revealed their faces.

All of them had a mark on their foreheads, the lead man had a diamond-shaped mark in tint black. The others also retained a mark with different signs. It made them stare at it.

"I am Zalon, and you are right. It was our ship that you saw. We are people of another world, we arrived here to also find our home. Unfortunately, we are yet to find one." The man introduced himself and was continued by a bad statement.

Maurelle saw how Logan furrowed his brows, and she too was confused about what the man, who named himself as Zalon, was trying to convey to them.

'How come we are yet to find a home?' Maurelle thought.

"Yet to find a home, what do you mean exactly? Are the lands owned by other folks?" Asked by Logan.

The man, Zalon let out a scoff. "It seems you are unaware of this land, for a fact, fellow. This is not called an enchanted land for no reason." He said with a humorous grin.

Maurelle's heart thumped. She saw this coming, someone owns this land, she thought that maybe Logan knew about it already. He brought them here. He should know about such a possibility.

She looked at someplace while the men were blabbering.

"This land right here is owned by a goddess, fellow," Zalon said making Logan widen his eyes.

"That was not a tale?" He asked confusingly.

"What tale? In this world there is no such thing us tales, everything is bound to the world, everything is alive and seen and I know that that woman is no ordinary, as well." He pointed to Maurelle who was still looking at somewhere.

Logan glanced at her and then went back to Zalon.

"Logan, what is this man saying?" Zergee asked. "The mothers and the others are waiting for us to move, we don't get all day."

"So what shall we do?" Logan asked.

"To perform a ritual."

"A ritual?"

"Indeed, a ritual." Zalon approved.

"What ritual are you saying? Shall we cut to the chase and spill what ya' need to spill?" Zergee said with annoyance on his face.

Zalon titter. "Oh, don't be hasty. Let me tell you, this forest, this land, it's been taken care of her. If we want to stay here, we shall grant her the ritual prophecy, 'tis to approve that we are trustworthy and won't be destroying her land. She wants her nature to be kept by someone whose hands are good. And if you dare not do this ritual, the land would swallow you whole and massive trees will grow upon your souls." He elaborated as he encircled his body as his hands spread.

Logan stopped and thought. He doesn't know what ritual it is or how it should be done.

"How is this ritual done? And where shall we find this goddess?" He asked the man with his brows met.

The grinning face of the man, Zalon, was erased by his question. "That is what I and my people failed to find. We search through the high and lowlands, unfortunately, there was no goddess met." He exclaimed.

Logan was about to ask again when they heard Maurelle converse.

"You are all a tribute of pagans." She said.

Zalon raised the side of his lips. "I am not wrong about you after all, but we're not just pagans. We are born from side deities, however, humans or the evil conquerors forged to slaughter us. And so, we arrived at this land, our ship was a wreck as we have arrived from the above." He explained.

"You blabber too much, what should we do really?" One man from their crew asked in irritation. They don't understand even a thing.

"If I could find that goddess, would you help us with the ritual?" Maurelle asked, or precisely made a deal with these people.

"So it's a deal, milady?" Zalon wanted to approve.

"Indeed, it is," Maurelle responded.

The crew knew nothing about this at all. Even Logan kept his mouth shut of what he knows about the woman's true identity. They were lucky that the crew did not suspect anything. Along the way of their search, as they go inside the land, Maurelle felt strong energy that she felt a while back.

'We're close.' Maurelle thought.

The dark forest they saw at the front was no longer followed by it. The land was filled with colourful organisms. There were animals all over, the birds chirping and even fresh green trees surrounded them, everything was a mystery beauty. However, the so-called pagans did not achieve to find the goddess.

It took them a while before Maurelle halted in front of a large tree. The tree had a trunk much wider than their body. There were vines on it and the leaves were swaying in mist. The roots were very thick. In there, Maurelle felt her heartbeat palpitations, it was fast and the pace of it was getting even more tensile as she touched the tree.

"Why did we stop?" Zergee asked. "What is she doing with that tree?" He whispered to Logan, as he judged on the woman's behaviour.

Logan shushed him with his one finger placed in front of its mouth.

Zergee made a face on Logan.

Zalon walked closer to the woman. "What is it that you feel about this tree?"

"It's here." She muttered. "The goddess. She's inside this tree."

The crew heard her say that so they ask the woman. "What's in there? Are we still going on about that goddess?"

"Oh, folks, we are not just about to see just a mere being, but a powerful one. Brace yourself, we're going down." Zalon said and touched the tree.

Maurelle can not be able to do something and cast something. Good thing, these pagans are not mere humans.

Zalon went on his knees, placed his hands on the root of that tree, and closed his eyes. In his head, he started muttering things and prayers. To not only show his intentions but to open the gate of the nature.

The crew stared at him for a long time. Everyone was silent as Zalon goes on with his thing. He was done when he blinked his eyes open. Maurelle took a few steps back, Zalon did too and also the rest as instructed.

And for a few moments, they saw the roots moving. It was changing positions and making them an entrance.

The crew could not believe just what they are seeing before their eyes. Some of them gasped and others even almost fainted.

When the roots fully changed, stairs towards the underground were seen, it was stairs made of nothing but land and there were roots seen on them. And in that same view, a green and purple tinge light was spread and they could feel it was from the inside

"Let us now head to her, this will serve as our first step to a united land," Zalon exclaimed.

The crew gulped. Maurelle smiled and Logan embraced her.

Maurelle didn't mind, she was more focused on seeing what could they actually face upon entering this ground?

And every each one of them slowly heads over and set foot to the mystery ground under the huge tree.

To be continued...

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ABYSSCESS