Chapter 9

Clent cannot risk his men fighting tonight. They need more warriors to fight against the savages. A lone howl was only the beginning. If they kill one tonight, other unexpected creatures may appear.

The heavy thudding of footsteps was heard. As he expected, the lone savage rogue was not alone.

Their lungs started to burn as they waited for them to disappear; staying underwater was to get them undetected.

When their footsteps lessen. Many gasps came out as they greedily breathed air, filling their lungs.

"What was that ogre doing with a rogue? How are they traveling together?"

"Calvin, you saw them?"

"I sneaked air when I could not hold myself anymore. But they did not see me."

Clent narrowed his eyes at him. His little brother was such an undisciplined, spoiled brat.

"Listen, warriors, we will have to move the rocks if we have to. His Majesty is expecting us before dinner."

They proceeded as planned and swam down and back to the surface to breathe air, then went back again.

It did not take long for them to find a secret path underneath.

One of them succeeded in locating the secret passage and went to the surface for some air. When all of their heads were gathered up, Jason exclaimed while catching his breath.

"I have found it. Haa, there's a huge hole, and we could all fit through."

They all nodded and wasted no time. His fellow warriors followed behind.

As they swam, they took a turn on a curved path. When they saw light above, they quickly resurfaced towards it to breathe air.

A huge opening in the cave greeted them in awe.

"Woa-!" Clent covered Calvin's mouth. His voice echoed halfway.

The light that they saw was coming from the sparkling, huge crystals that were attached to the rocky wall and illuminated around them.

"Stay cautious, warriors. We are in an unfamiliar territory." He mindlinked them.

Clent headed straight through the narrow walls, with his men silently following behind. No footsteps or heavy breathing were heard. Apart from their huge size, they made themselves physically invisible.

There were no cobwebs beyond the narrow path. They halted after reaching the dark linen cloth that was hanging and blocking their way. It was as a barrier between them and the unknown.

They were all very calm but remained vigilant. When the linen cloth was slowly pushed aside, no being was inside, and the place stunned them.

All heads looked up and saw a crystal chandelier designed like raindrops hanging from the center of the ceiling.

Crystals were everywhere, and everything was shaped like furniture. Their eyes were madly drowned by the shiny things around them.

"Woah." Clent mumbled.

There's this huge crystal closet on the right side that Calvin finds intriguing.

Vanity tables, a small round dining table with a stool, a small kitchen with hanging cabinets and kitchen tools neatly arranged on the left side, and a door on the right at the far end of the corner.

All were made of crystals. They could hear the glistening sounds as they succumbed to its beauty.

There's this one that stood amongst the rest, a weird-shaped oval crystal that was between the vanities. It was six feet long, big enough to fit a person inside.

"Woah!" This time, Clent did not cover his brother's mouth.

"Where is she?"

"I no longer care where the female is! This stuff will make us super rich!"

"Watch your mouth, Calvin! His Majesty will be informed first."

"What should we take as evidence?" Mark asked as his knuckles touched the chandelier.

"The one that stood out the most"

"That one?" Pointing at the capsule. "I'm quite sure it won't fit in that passageway we came in."

"Brothers, there's another way here." Calvin stated as he pushed the huge stone aside, revealing a bigger exit. "I believe that's the same waterfall we have been at."

"Unbelievable." Calvin mumbled yet again, too overwhelmed to think clearly.

When they got out, they walked along the pathway behind the waterfall. It was slippery, but they managed to walk out unscathed.

"There's another hidden pathway all along! How could we have missed this? We were so blind. This is unacceptable!"

No one replied to Calvin's rant. They were too stunned to speak.

As they treked towards the clearing of their land, the moon was out. Jason and Calvin carried the crystal capsule, and the others followed suit.

"Wait!" Mark shouted. Their heads swiveled in his direction. "I saw a figure inside." He claimed.

A few raised their eyebrows and looked at each other, debating mentally whether he was delusional or not.

Calvin and Jason gently put it on the ground, and they surrounded it immediately. Out of curiosity, their heads bowed to get a better eye on it.

"I swear in my life, I saw a figure inside." He further stated.

"Hardly believeable, Mark." Clent rubbed his jaw.

As their eyes fixed on it, the moon was covered by clouds.

"There! Did you see it?" He pointed at the near end. And when the moon was fully visible again and illuminated the crystal, they witnessed a magical discovery.

A few gasped and kept their eyes straight. Some blinked and rubbed them, finding hard to believe.

Inside was a person sleeping soundly. The female for whom they have been looking.

A white blanket covered half of her body. She was wearing a black, thin strapped silky shirt, and the familiar coper-red hair flowed on her shoulders.

The sleeping female looked so beautiful and exotic that they were in a trance. They hadn't noticed that the crowd of warriors gathered amongst them and more eyes could see.

When the moon was covered, loud murmurs occurred, and that's when Clent and his men were able to snap out of it.

"What is the meaning of this?! Go back to your stations!" Out of nowhere, their king commanded.

Clent and a few of his men were left beside the crystal, and as he approached them, Telisha appeared beside him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Lady Telisha" They all greeted each other and kneeled on one knee.

"Bring that crystal to the dungeon. Gamma Clent, I will have a word with you in private."

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty."

In his office, Gamma Clent stood in front of his office desk with his hands behind his back and his feet at 45 degrees.

"What has transpired from your expedition?" He started off.

"There were two secret passages we had discovered. One was underneath the waterfall with twisting paths, and the other was behind the gushing waterfall. As we entered her domain, we were greeted with lots of crystals of different shapes and sizes. We had not found the female's whereabouts until this very night, Your Majesty."

"Is she in that crystal as we speak?"

"Unbelievably, yes."

"Illaborate."

"The moon, Your Majesty. The light of the moon gave us a glimpse of the sleeping woman. We haven't directly seen her face before, but this female, at first sight, was extremely enchanting. She had us in a daze."

"The way you say it makes me reckon that you were bewitched, Gamma."

Clent's face contorted confusingly.

"I believe so? Her beauty is out of this world." He admitted.

He stared at him. Clent remained calm despite his growing anxiety.

The Lycan King tapped his finger on his shiny wooden desk to fight the prolonged silence. He was deeply in thought.

"Have her cell heavily guarded. No one is allowed to enter except me."

"Yes, of course."

"Oh, and..." He threw a brown pouch at him that was two times the size of his fists. "You and your men deserve this."

Clent weighted it on his hands and smiled.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Do tell those warriors you've been with to guard the female's place secretly. Nobody else must know of her dwelling. I have yet to explore it myself."

"As you wish."

He gestured for him to leave, but Clent has something else to say.

"What is it?"

"We have made a shocking discovery today, Your Majesty. Other than the female, an Ogre and a rogue Lycan were spotted together. It was a rather odd combination, alarming at that."