Foolishly maybe, but after Celina disappeared, the group had managed to break into the main hut. There was little inside but a few supplies..An eclectic mix of weapons,clothing and potions...former belongings of all kinds of people it seemed..whether abandoned or taken, Zephyr urged everyone to take what they could carry and with that they travelled north out of the eerie village.
The hours of trudging through dense undergrowth in the heat of the day were beginning to take their toll on all of them, even Byron stopped to wipe his brow often, leaning against the thick dark tree trunks. Jassu , Mikki and Malandra were still confused...hung-over almost...but lucid enough to keep up with the unaffected...another small group of huts loomed ahead as the sun dipped low through the branches.



..the dwellings there were raised off the forest floor..connected by rope bridges...it seemed long deserted, Luna lifted her face and closed her eyes.....”It is safe here.......we can rest easy”



Byron squinted up at the huts...”You can’t know that” he retorted...
Luna opened her eyes and smiled serenely at him...”I do”



“I believe her....come on...let’s get up there before the light goes “ announced Zephyr.
Luna moved around the edge of the clearing, softly repeating a strange melodic phrase and touching trees and rocks as she went....
Malandra stood watching her beside Byron and the others, from the balcony of the larger hut...
“She is performing a protection ritual....all will be well here ....nothing can approach with ill intent now”
Malandra sighed out the words, rubbing her temples...
Byron snorted...”I don’t get half of what you people are talking about”



In spite of that, he felt oddly comforted by Luna’s soft murmuring...it was soothing and haunting...she turned and looked up to him...she seemed stronger now...he hoped Malandra was right about the ritual.
Mia stood on the balcony quietly...it was hard to see anything at all now...the faint glow of the torches cast just enough light to make out the walkways. The water from the pool below glimmered softly.



“You haven’t spoken too much...I was wondering how you were doing” Kai was suddenly standing beside her. “You OK?”
Mia had been almost trance like, gazing into the dark...images were flitting through her mind...what was real and what was in her head seemed hard to separate. “I don’t know who I am Kai....I mean....I thought I did...”



“Still don’t remember much huh? It will come back...really...you know it will soon...maybe you swallowed too much sea water....it’s cool the other three are back with us huh?” Kai smiled, referring to Malandra, Mikki and Jassu.
“Oh yes....definitely...yes “murmured Mia...she was gazing ahead again..at nothing in particular.
Kai sighed heavily; he squeezed her hand warmly and disappeared back inside.



Mia was aware of Luna then, standing silently beside her.
“You said something before...about being ready.....what did you mean?” Mia asked
Luna smiled up at the moon...”Ready for the fight....and you ready for the truth..”
Mia frowned again..”I wish I understood”



“Then I will explain.....if you are sure you are ready”
Mia took a deep breath and nodded...over the past few days her world turned upside down several times. She felt nothing much would be a shock now.
“The men Byron, Zephyr and Kai.....we are not like them....”
 “What do you mean?...I mean we’re all lost here right”


Luna smiled and shook her head. “No Mia....you are closer to home than you realise”
Silence again as Mia struggled to figure out what Luna meant.
“Where in the world are we then....I mean, like Byron said earlier..wherever this is it’s not going to be too far from civilization”
Luna stifled a yawn..All of them were so ready for sleep now.



“Mia, we are so far away from their civilization it is impossible for them ever to return,...whereas you....you are of this world....like Allora, Malandra....Jassu..me”
Mia felt her head spinning....”That can’t be...why do I feel like the guys....I don’t understand at all”



“That’s easy” Mikki strolled out, looking much more alert



“Survival instinct,....your powers were affected...so you imprinted the first being you came into contact with....in this case , the human ....Zephyr...absorbed his knowledge of his world and customs so you could communicate peacefully...an inbuilt reaction to extreme forces....geez I can’t believe you forgot that!!”
Mia’s jaw dropped.......”But....I look like a human...I mean I must be ...I am right??”
Malandra joined them now...followed by Jassu...



“Similar in appearance but not the same” Malandra added “Even your clothing appeared familiar to them...but now your powers are returning , we all now see your true form”
Jassu smiled...”You are one of us Mia....more than that...you are our leader”

Fab, just what I was hoping for" Thanks x

Hiya and thanks very much for reading

A pale woman dressed in blood stained clothing lurched out of the shadows, eyes wide in fear as she fell at Sheas feet.
“Stay back!” ordered Shea....”tell me who you are....wh..what are you doing here?”





The woman clutched at her injury..She was moaning weakly...Shea saw the blood seeping through her fingers as she held her wound ....
“I beg of you...please help me”




Shea put her dagger away and knelt to examine the injury.....
“I have some potion....here...lay still.....” Shea uncorked a small bottle and trickled an opalescent liquid over the gash in the strangers’ midriff.....as expected, the bleeding subsided and the skin regenerated over the tear....
“May the goddess bless you”
Shea shrugged, “Now perhaps some answers”


The woman nodded.....her eyes nervously darting to Locke and Garrett who had awoken and stood either side of Shea.
“My name is Celina....and I need your help.....everyone is in grave danger”

The forest was pitch black save for the fire...Celina had recovered enough to join them at the fireside now. They waited quietly as she began her explanation.

“I was appointed by the High Council of Altana....we had reports from many sources of troubling activites from here in the Mist Continent....so.....” she shifted uneasily as wild creatures cried out in the not too far distance...”So.....” she continued..”I came here to investigate...not alone of course....my bodyguards also...the crew of a mercenary airship. ....I remember how we were shot out of the sky....then,......nothing....odd dreams ...visions I cannot explain....and searing pain...I feel I have been so lost.......”
Her eyes welled with tears....”I fear I have betrayed those closest to me..but I was infected with a strange sickness....”

Garrett and his crew exchanged glances...”And now?” he asked....maybe helping a member of the council would be useful for a notorious pirate such as himself.
“Memories are returning....I feel my colleagues are here somewhere...though I do not know if they recall how and why we came to this terrible place...”
“We met with a sorceress....Allora.....do you recognise the name” ventured Garrett, pulling his coat around himself tight as a chilly breeze whipped through the clearing.
Celina closed her eyes and smiled slightly, “Thank goodness....then we have a chance...if she and the others lived....my personal guards..Allora , Luna the healer....Malandra the ranger...Mikki.......Jassu....and Mia........”
“We were looking for the village weren’t we Captain? To join with them and find survivors” Shea announced, grinning at Garrett..
“Er yes of course.....anything to assist the High Council...to deliver good souls from this torment my lady” Garrett muttered quickly.




“Perhaps then, when we are rested...I may search alongside you?” Celina smiled weakly and lay down to sleep a little.

chapter 10.


Shea called out from a little way ahead. "I found something" she announced, Garrett and Locke caught up finally and found themselves beside a weary and triumphant Shea, who was gesticulating towards the remains of a small campfire and a crudely arranged shelter.
The three of them had been trudging through the forest for so long..Maybe a couple days..Exhausted and almost out of potions, they had no choice but to find somewhere to rest. In any other place, normally, all three well seasoned Pirates would have dropped to the soft moss and caught up with sleep as they needed to. But in this formidable forest, not one of them dared.
Their surroundings seemed to warp and shift as they tried in vain to retrace Garrett’s steps back to Allora’s Beach hut, and they had to concede at last they were lost.



“I would like to say Capn” Locke ventured nervously, “t’as been my honour serving on your crew...truly sir..An if my end is at hand here in this cursed place...well I can look back in me last moment and feel accomplished...” his voice trailed away a little.

Garrett prodded the wood that lay in the fire pit...




“Aye well....mustn’t be so resigned to it just yet old man...” replied the Captain...Shea had begun to light a mound of kindling, she focused on her task, not letting her emotions show...inside her heart pounded relentlessly against her chest....she knew Garrett and Locke relied on her to remain cool...but...it was becoming harder to keep the quiver from her voice as dusk fell.



“I promised I would keep you safe Shea......do you remember....and I will...I keep my word....to my own...always” Garrett patted her on the shoulder...”You’re a good girl” he murmured.



Shea nodded and thought back to the slave auctions at Troia. How the Captain had bid on her and taken her aboard his airship, and safely there, granted her freedom...he had kept his word for many years...and in return she had been his most trusted crew member...choosing to travel with him rather than go back to her tribe...



she was ever thankful...and ever loyal...and if this was the end, then so be it...



The three sat silently round the small fire, watching sparks drift up through the dark canopy of trees overhead.



Sleep finally began to take hold when Shea snapped back to consciousness ....hardly daring to breathe she felt in her jacket for her blade..The unmistakeable cracks and rustling in the undergrowth



..Something was on the move...she glanced at Garrett and Locke...out cold and oblivious to the approaching danger....grasping her dagger.. She rose to her feet and took a step toward the sounds.......
A faint voice called out......Shea strained to hear...shocked and still poised to fight to the death...”Is someone there?” came the voice......
“Yes.....wh who are you?”

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