Chapter 22 - In a Cave

Wren anxiously pranced inside the small cave. The small gravel bit into his jade like foot, but he did not bother. He kept treading over it with an anxious expression.

"I'm sorry..." Hachin whispered softly from the side.

"It's not your fault. I should have tracked our path correctly." Wren said with a small smile.

"But we shouldn't have slowed down if not for me. wren....I'm so sorry," Hachin gently whispered with a frown.

At present they were house arrested in a small cave in the Mer Island. The cave's entry way was completely blocked off with a huge boulder and they were held prisoner there.

"Can we try to break it?" wren mumbled, flexing his muscular arm.

"Haven't I told you before? You can't,"

In fact, it would be really easy for wren to just punch it and shatter it into pieces. But his little friend insisted that this would cause a war against the clans. "Who the hell would wage a war over a rock?" wren confusedly glanced at him.

"The Mer would," Hachin rolled his eyes with a groan. "Were you even listening to our history lessons?"

"I slept." wren awkwardly scratched his hair. "They really went to war over a rock?"

Hachin stoop up and gently caressed the boulder that was blocking their path. "They would because that is not an ordinary rock, but it's pure jade crystal. Touch it,"

Wren placed his hand on the cool rock. It was cold as ice and smooth as a polished stone. "Jade, huh?"

"Yeah, in ancient times these jade crystals were a cluster of spirit hoards that had an immense amount of spiritual energy. Yearly the ancient Mer's used to surface and have their babies on it. It was said that the resultant child would have inherited some of the jade's spiritual energy."

"So it was a baby making rock?" wren, who was sitting down, sat up and glanced around with an awkward smirk. "Some Mer might have mated here.... I'm scared to touch it now. What if it has the remnant seed..."

"Oh god, wren, stop it." Hachin blushed red. "It was in ancient times, okay. The rocks lost their spiritual energy long back now it's just a piece of rock and the Mer's live here full time."

"It's just a rock now shall is smash it?" wren wiggled his brows at him.

"You are incorrigible." Hachin sat down on the corner and glanced at him. "This place is considered sacred. They won't take it simply if you break any part of it,"

"That's boring. How can we escape from here if you don't break out?"

"Don't know, by stroke of fate we might get a change to leave here soon," Hachin whispered with a hand on his chin.

Volcanic island of Halius:

A little chipmunk swiftly jumped past many pools of lava and ran to a heated cave in the center of the island with a small scroll in its mouth. It directly ran into the small scroll inside the cave and screeched loudly.

"You are back." Hua Ro gently caressed its fluffy tail and took the scroll form its mouth. "What good news does the oyster tribe send me now?" he mumbled, and opened it up with a wide smirk. As he read through the scroll, his expression went ecstatic to raging in just a few seconds.

Not getting the cue, the little chipmunk excitedly jumped on the side of the spring. "Master! Master!… when is little master coming here?! Oh I'm so excited. I'm going to show him around the whole island and we get to happily enjoy the hot water springs."

Hua Ro crumbled up the scroll and tossed it forcefully to the side. His thin lips lowered to a frown as he waded out of the hot spring. "He is not coming." The steaming hot water instantly froze over with a shimmering layer of ice.

"Master….. It might have been a mistake the oyster tribe agreed to send him over here… they agreed to us. Then why…." The little creature ran after him, trying to get a view of the scroll.

Hua Ro pulled on a huge cape and covered his naked body. "It seems like my darling mate ran away with another man." He said with a murderous smile.

Sensing the overwhelming killing intent, the chipmunk stumbled back from him. "What! But master, your child! Baby master will be in danger."

"Looks like I would have to go retrieve him myself. My future mate, of mine, I have to see what kind of man caught his fancy." he laughed manically.

Hua Ro jumped up high from the boiling volcanic mountains and changed mid-jump into a huge Roc. He screeched loudly and flew in the familiar direction.

The little chiming nibbled nervously on a small nut. 'oh… little master is going to be in so much.... no, the one he ran off with is the one in danger. I hope master doesn't scare off little master too much.' He thought to himself.