The Lands of Ralosia & Ranuulo (Books 1-3)

Rebel Regenek Chapter 4- Night in the Lands of Ranuulo

~Chapter 4- Night in the Lands of Ranuulo~

They left the gulch, but the rats were still right behind them. They headed east, towards the sea. Jirro didn't know if there was any logic in that choice - they were moving on sheer adrenaline.

One of the rats charged at Jirro with an open wide mouth. Jirro gripped its top and bottom teeth and forced his mouth to stay open, preventing it from biting him. Aero circled to the rat's side and kicked it hard, making it squeal terribly and topple over.

Iggy hopped down over a ledge leading to a pond. Jirro and the others followed him. Iggy hurried underneath an overhanging piece of land over the pond, and the others joined him in this makeshift shelter. Even Ujiic.

All of them went quiet, and they heard the rats scurrying around frantically in search of them. They waited, hoping the rats wouldn't find them. Jirro noticed the sky was turning black. Night was nearing.

The sound of scurrying rats faded, and they felt relatively safe. But Ujiic was still there with them. But a fight could attract those rodents back to them.

"It's going to be night soon. With those rats nearby, we might have to stay here until morning," Valr remarked, "Gweneva, can you create a web wall around us?"

Gweenva nodded, "Sure."

Before Gwenva could start, Ujiic uttered one word, "Leave."

Jirro and the others looked at him, "What?"

"Leave. Find another shelter from those creatures."

Jirro could hardly believe what he was hearing, "You leave!"

Ujiic narrowed his eyes, "You should be happy to serve your natural superior. Leave now!"

Jirro stood with everyone else, "You leave. Unless you think you can take all five of us."

Ujiic scowled at Jirro and the others. He thought for a moment before stepping out from the shelter they were in, "You'll regret this."

Ujiic sprinted away before disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Gweneva hurried to form a wall of webbing around their shelter to further protect them. Jirro wasn't fond of wading in water all night.

Iggy extended his tail and flexed, and the missing end of his tail suddenly grew back. Jirro was impressed, "Is that another ability that you Regenek have?"

"Yeah, if I exert myself, I can regrow limbs quicker. I couldn't tell you how many times I've lost the end of my tail. But I've never lost my head! That's most important. There's no replacing that."

The sky turned from red and purple to pitch black, and the world around them was completely dark. They could barely see one another. The wails and roars of the creatures of the night reverberated through the landscape.

"Why did Ujiic want us to leave?" Aero whispered to the others, "We all could've stayed in here. I don't get why he thought it had to be us or him."

Jirro was thinking the same thing, "Yeah. Ujiic said something about him being our 'natural superior' too."

"Well, a lot of people in this world think Ranuulans are superior. Only one who could wield Ranuulo's sword could become king or queen. And in history, only a Ranuulan has been able to," Valr explained in a low tone.

Aero shook his head, "This place really is cruel."

"The Lands of Ralosia isn't like that?" Iggy asked.

"No one would ever say one group of people is outright better."

"You make the Lands of Ralosia sound like a paradise."

"Compared to here, it is."

Through the dark of night, the group could feel tremors through the ground, and strong wakes in the water would form each time. Occasionally they'd hear a loud croaking sound.

"What is that?" Jirro asked.

"Probably a few frogs jumping around. Stay quiet, hopefully they'll pass by without noticing us," Iggy said.

The five youths stayed as quiet as they could through the night. At one point Aero tried to fall asleep, but being partially submerged in water made that difficult. So they simply waited out the darkness.

The pitch-black sky started to turn red and purple, and they pulled away the webs of their shelter. Their clothing was soaked and dirtied, but they were alive. The five began to head south, back to Dontown.

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When they finally returned to the muddy terrain of Dontown, the citizens circled around them with great concern, but relief. When Jirro saw their boar back in its pen, he knew the other Regenek warriors had returned as well.

"Do you have any idea what you've done!?" Donato chastised Iggy and the others, "The militia will be back in force after what you've done! There's no way Ujiic will let this pass."

Iggy shook his dead, "Ujiic is dead. The beasts of the night should've gotten him."

Donato's eyes widened, "Are-Are you sure?"

Iggy nodded.

Donato told the people of Dontown about the potential plan of relocating to the Lands of Ralosia. The three Ralosian boys explained what a wondrous place it was compared to this, but the people were skeptical.

One said, "Now that Ujiic is dead, do we really need to leave?"

Jirro looked up at the turbulent red and purple skies of the Lands of Ranuulo as the people spoke amongst each other. But as he looked, he noticed a series of lights traveling through the sky, all varying colors. He watched closely, and they seemed to be approaching Dontown... They were Focus bursts. They arched and began raining down on the town, concussing all around them. Several of the hut's roofs were decimated when they struck.

Everyone looked for the origin of the lights, and were horrified by what they saw. The militia had returned in even greater numbers. Far in the back of the group, Jirro saw Ujiic, still alive.

"He doesn't give up," Aero remarked.

Jirro said, "Neither do we."