The interwoven roots that were mangled together like frizzy hair, consumed the forest in a whirlpool of intensity. Aldweck, Erick, Steilart, Velis, and Chammie, roamed this forest, searching for Commander Larience and the others. Alex still following them. The dredges of this forest were muddied in large swaths of water from the storm. The trees grew thicker and the humidity of the island became ever-so apparent as the sweat rolled off of Aldweck and the rest of the group.

Erick stopped in his tracks and looked around at the group who were at their clear limits, mentally and physically. It had been nearly a full day and a half since the altercation at the cliff and they had been searching for Larience the entire time without revealing their location. Things hadn’t exactly gone swimmingly. Aldweck had felt a severe sense of exhaustion ever since his revival from General Hickory’s magical attack. He had been running on fumes compared to the rest of the group.

At the same time, Velis and Chammie couldn’t physically keep up. Steilart had been carrying Chammie on his back and Erick was helping Velis walk forward through the maze of the green forest. For whatever reason, Jarquale had a dense forest that was much more treacherous than the outer rims of the uncivilized portion of the island. This place was an untouched relic of where sentient life had not planted its feet in.

“We need to stop and rest. We’re at our limits. If we keep going like this, one of us is bound to collapse.”

“He’s right.” Steilart sighed, putting Chammie down on the ground and slumping in exhaustion against a large Dycara Tree.

Aldweck turned around and walked through the brush to the cliff’s edge. They were still at a steep cliff, but it was a much shorter fall. Soon, they could look toward the beachfront and possibly look for a way to escape, “Are there any ships in this area? If we want to have a shot at liberating the Cariqueys, we need to build a front against the main island and liberate the lesser islands first. We can assume Commander Larience made it out safely.”

“Not only that, but if we were to find him dead or alive, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. We can’t keep going without food or rest.” Velis said.

“Not that I know of any ships out here, but one of my men said something about there being a port back here. It was abandoned a long time ago after the village caught on fire, but we may luck out and find a ship that’s still roped up on the docks.” Steilart said.

“What is the likelihood that those ships are sailable?” Chammie said, looking down at the ground hopelessly.

“Well, you would be the one to know if we can sail the boat or not, Chammie.” Erick said, cracking his neck.

“Guess you’re right.”

With that, the party slept silently through the afternoon and night. The howling of wolves kept Aldweck awake, but because of his extreme exhaustion, he soon fell asleep. The sun rained down on them when Aldweck awoke. He wiped his face and looked toward the sea. The rest of the group was packing their belongings as he followed suit.

Mitch took his first step forward, conviction in his heart to find a way to liberate these people. In reality, even if he left here he would be unable to return to Earth. He knew in his heart that if he fled now, he wouldn’t be able to face himself in the event he found a way home. So, with a hesitant conviction, he followed his heart into his footsteps, “Let’s get down to the beach and look for this abandoned dock. It’s our only shot at getting off Jarquale.”

The group slid down the sandbank and onto the beach. The greenery of the forest was a beautiful contrast to the rocky and sandy beach that seemed pure in all things of mother nature. The ocean gently caressed the beachfront as they met. In the distant fog were two shadows that moved behind the mist. The shadows seemed to be approaching Aldweck’s group in the morning dew.

“Let’s scatter and see who it is, I don’t want to meet trouble if we don’t have to,” Erick said, sliding behind a rock with Chammie who was curious to see who it was coming through the mist. Aldweck and Velis took safety behind a neighboring rock, while Steilart climbed up into the branch of a tree. He slid his boot down the length of the tree limb as he craned his neck to get a good look of the figure, holding his rifle at attention if things got out of control.

A tall man with long golden earrings that chimed in the wind took a step out of the fog. His hair was a mangled black that ran down the length of his back. At his side was an elderly woman with greying hair and a wrinkled face that seemed to shrink in. Her years seemed numbered, but her smile would say the opposite. She held a staff that was knotted along its length. At the peak of her staff was a glowing gem that shined like a blue incandescent light bulb.

As soon as they reached the area where the group was hiding, they stopped dead in their tracks. Everyone had stopped breathing. They hoped that the endless time would surely end at some point. It wasn’t until the man with black hair and golden earrings looked up to the sky and then his gaze fell on the rock in which Aldweck and Velis stood behind.

“Come out. Do not attempt to harm Mother Dharma. We know you are here. There is no use in hiding any longer.”

Chammie took a step out before Erick did his best to grab him, shaking his head in disapproval. Erick wasn’t ready for them to fold on this bluff. He was going to call and bet on this one. They had seen enough trouble, and for once he wanted to be smart.

All of that crumbled when the golden earrings appeared in front of them and smashed the rock into pieces with his barefoot. He was topless and only wore shorts, this man was extremely fit and had the physique of a Greek god. Aldweck was perplexed by this man’s raw strength, frightened even. He thought he had seen a lot of shit lately, but there was always someone to show him he was just a small fish in a very large pond.

Chammie, in a shocked state, got down on his knees and clasped his hands together, “Please sir! Don’t hurt us. We’ve been through a lot and we don’t want to see any more trouble. We were going to let you pass, we were hiding because we didn’t know who you were!”

The man stood tall above Chammie, “It matters not. We have no intentions to harm you. We only want to know what you think you are doing on our land. By order of the Cariqueyan Lord, no one is to touch the ground of the Caraha Tribe.”

“C-Caraha!?” Chammie scrambled backward.

Erick turned to Chammie, “Why is that so scary to you?”

Chammie turned to look at Erick, “T-The Caraha were known as vicious clansmen that ruled over all the chiefdoms throughout the Cariqueys for hundreds of years! Only by banding together did the United Islands of Cariquey come to form and defeat them.”

“What he says is true, now the Caraha Tribe has been reduced to rugged states. We are persecuted against every lasting moment of our lives for the sins of our ancestors.”

The old woman opened her mouth, “I’m Mother Dharma, this is my son and the chief of the Caraha tribe, Zaberdack.” She motioned with her hand, “Why don’t you people come back to our village and tell us what led you onto our land?”

Aldweck came out as well with Velis, “Wow, I didn’t know that the Caraha tribe was still a thing.” Velis said.

“Neither did I.” Steilart dropped down from his branch and slid down the hill.

Zaberdack looked at Steilart’s rifle.

Steilart looked back at him, “Is this going to be a problem if I bring it into the village?”

Zaberdack smiled and chuckled, “If you think that gun is going to be of any use to you in taking even one of us down, you’re foolishly mistaken. Bring all the guns you want into the village. We aren’t afraid of what one or two malnourished soldiers can do.” he waved his arms before motioning the group to follow him.

Mother Dharma started to turn around and follow Zaberdack in pace. Zaberdack went slowly, making sure to be mindful of his Mother Dharma.

As the beach began to shift into grass and the fog lifted from the morning dew, a village of beautiful proportions came into sight. Built with all sorts of luxurious coastal wood and designed with interior designs that seemed out of this world for even someone like Erick. Aldweck had felt out of his domain the entire time, but it was still a shock to see something so beautifully interwoven together.

A few of the Caraha villagers were working on houses or carrying lumber. Some were cooking up food on a big pit of fire, but all of them were working together to create communion amongst one another. They smiled big and bright at the chief’s return.

“Chief Zaberdack! Mother Dharma! Welcome back, I see you’ve returned with the group of wanderers who have found themselves on our side of the shore.” A bubbly-looking woman approached with a large animal hide on her back and two men following her in suit with serious looks on their faces.

“Hunter Naomi, your skills are flattering in hunting. If you wish to meet me in my room tonight I wouldn’t--”

“Can it!” She smirked, “If we were talking pure strength, I could destroy you. You’re lucky that I have no ambition to take over the tribe. I’m satisfied as the lead hunter.”

“You always manage to fascinate me.” Zaberdack blushed and sighed.

Aldweck seemed unimpressed by this lover’s quarrel. He felt like an impatient observer as the world unwound itself one step at a time in front of him, “You guys seem awfully friendly for a whole nation to rise up against you.” Aldweck said.

“That’s because we are friendly. Our ancestors were a much more vicious and uncivilized bunch. Through the loss of our power over the tribes, we have humbled ourselves and become stronger in the process. More refined.” Zaberdack said.

“What exactly is refined about you?” Naomi scoffed, throwing the animal down on the ground beside the fire pit, “So, what brings you, wanderers, here? We could practically smell your stench miles away. You couldn’t have been more obvious.” She smiled as if she were proud.

“You guys are human right? Just because you’re a part of this tribe you get to have super strength and super smell?” Aldweck asked.

“You seem to be lost in delusions. We are people who rely on the hunt. We strengthen our bodies to hunt and can smell the disturbance in the forest when other hunters are scaring off the animals.” Naomi explained.

Aldweck nodded.

“Though, the only thing I can’t sense the presence of is that penguin behind you. It’s kind of creepy as well.”

“Hey fuck off! I’m not creepy.” Alex shrugged her off, waddling off somewhere random. Although Aldweck was the only one who could understand Alex.

“Explaining how we got here is going to take a while. Is there somewhere more comfortable we could go to discuss this? Most of us are really tired from the journey we’ve had to take to get here. It’s been a nightmare.” Aldweck said.

Zaberdack smiled, “Yeah, I know just the place we can go to talk. Follow me.”