The Dark Legend (Star Stable) (Under Editing/Re-Write)

Chapter Fourteen: The Wildwoods

Erika was stunned at the sight before her, and she's not the only one. Rowan was amazed and smiled warmly at the sight before him. Enitan had heard many stories about the Wildwoods, but he's amazed to see it in real life. Freya was amazed and curious at the sight of the beautiful woods. Skye was amazed at the beautiful landscape before her eyes. Rania could feel the change in the air that could be expressed as amazement. Tiera was amazed by the beauty of the nature in front of them.
The forest was great and unlike any any other forest that most people have ever seen before. The forest has beautiful bright, vibrant colors everywhere around them. Towering over them were giant redwood trees. There's some smaller trees near evergreen with ferns and bushes dotting the trails. Sunbeams can be seen, illuminating the forest floor and casting a yellow glow. The woods was trimming with the life of plants and wildlife. But all of the sudden, torrents of rain poured down from the stormy gray skies. Gray thunderclouds swirled in the sky, rumbling with strong thunder overhead.
Rowan gestured for them to follow him down from the ledge on their horses. Erika looked around cautiously as she followed the team, feeling curious and wary about the storm. Storms bring rain, but it bring destruction just as well. But on the bright side, Erika has taught her three horses how to stay calm during storms.
"Look out!" Skye's voice was heard over the stormy wind when she caught sight of the trouble ahead.
As if she was showed to be right, lightning has flashed overheard as bright as the sun. Rowan's horse panicked and reared at the sudden flash of lightning. The startled stallion soon galloped away into the forest, surprising the rangers. That's not the bad news, Rowan had fallen off his horse from the sudden startle and landed next to Rania and Freya.
"Rowan!" Erika encouraged Nemain to carefully stand next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Whoa, Shay!" Rowan looked at the path his stallion had galloped off to, looking worried about his horse partner. "He chucked a u'ey! We have to go after him." He glanced at the other rangers, who were watching them in concern. "Someone better go after Shay before he hurts himself." Everyone exchanged glances and back at Rowan as he stood up. "He's young, and such a flighty thing. Keep close and that should calm him down."
"Go after him Freya!" said Rania calmly. "I'll keep an ear out."
"I'll help track him down," Skye said, glancing at the path that Shay had galloped off to.
"Me too," said Erika.
It didn't take long for them to find a panicked Shay. Rania, Skye, and Erika rode around the clearing as Freya struggled rode close to Shay, slowly calming him down. But the young stallion was still spooked from the incident. Shay stayed on top of a hill, a little away from the trio of girls and their horses a few distance away from the startled stallion.
"No wonder Shay got spooked," commented Rania. "There's something eerie about the forest."
"Easy Shay." Despite Erika's gentle coaxing, Shay was still whinnying and rearing. "He's still spooked."
"Freya, you got this," Rania told Freya. "Try to approach him and calm him down."
She nodded understandingly and dismounted her mare. Freya slowly, but carefully approaching Shay. Shay was slowly calming down as Freya carefully approached him. But everyone heard a small crack from a person's boot stepping on a fallen branch by accident.
At that, Shay had started whinnying and rearing in a startled panic once again. Freya was swift with her movements as she suddenly ran towards the panicked stallion. She managed to take hold of the loose reins and dodged the slashing hooves of the spooked stallion.
"Calm down fella." Freya's voice was surprisingly calm and soothing like the wind. She gently stroked Shay's muzzle and the stallion soon calmed down. "Easy boy. It's okay."
Freya took hold of Shay's reins and mounted Mythic Meadow. She and her friends led the jumpy stallion back to his relieved rider and the rangers.
Rowan sighed softly and gently petted Shay's muzzle as Freya released her hold on the reins. "There, there, it's okay. Shay had quite the scare there. Thanks for bringing him back safely, you four. He's a beaut, but he's still learning the ropes." Rowan soon mounted Shay and keeping him calm from the earlier startle.
Tiera glanced up at the clear sky, her expression stunned. "I've never seen lightning so close. It lit up the sky like a spotlight."
"I've never seen anything like that before," said Skye.
"This whole place seems angry," Enitan said as he gazed at the forest warily. "It's almost as if the forest doesn't want us here."
Erika hummed thoughtfully as Freya mounted Mythic Meadow and gazed at the beautiful forest around her. She doesn't want to admit it, but she started to have second thoughts about the idea of it.
"Stop getting yourselves all worked up," said Rowan calmly. "Nature holds no grudges, it only acts on its own behalf." Erika felt her sighed softly, slowly calming her nerves. "Let's continue. The station shouldn't be much further." Rowan looked around, as he was doing headcount. "Everyone here? Good, it's time we push forward."
The farther she rode, the more Erika felt it like she was traveling out of time, away from the modern world to a mystical place where anything was possible. But she's pretty glad that she's traveling with the rangers.
"We've had quite the journey, but we should reach the ranger station soon," said Rowan as he took up front of the team. "It's been a while since anyone's touched the place, so be prepared to do some fixing up."
Erika looked around and marveled the beauty of the Wildwoods. She soon felt another presence and noticed that it was Skye. She smiled at the beauty just as well. Skye was dripping wet, but her eyes were bright with amazement. Despite being soaked, Freya looked amazed by the beautiful sight of the woods.
"This reminds me of my first mission as an Aussie park ranger, into the Pillaga Scrub," Rowan continued as they broke into a careful gallop. "I stood on the edge of the woodland, standing between civilization and wilderness, and my mind ran wild thinking about what could await us." They slowed down to a trot as they started approaching the abandoned ranger station.
Erika was amazed at the sight of the abandoned ranger station before her and her friends. The paddock has some broken fences while the stables and the cottages were covered in moss.
Everyone had gathered at the cottage on the highest hill and looked at Rowan as he took his leadership position again. "Everyone, welcome to Redwood Point Ranger Station."
"Look at this place, it's beautiful," said Tiera. "And all this time, it's just out of reach."
Enitan soon spoke up. "Not exactly. The forest have been keeping us out. And the station's seen better days."
"I'm sure with some teamwork we can get things up and running in no time," said Rania. "Mama and Alonso will be so pleased that we got here!"
"You got that right," Freya said, while Erika nodded to her best (human) friend's amazed comment. "I never knew that such a forest was hidden away behind those brambles."
Rowan smiled proudly at the team he traveled with into the unknown. "You should all be proud of yourselves. It's been a difficult road, but we made it by sticking through it all as a team." Everyone smiled at that and dismounted their horses. "Alright, time to get to work. There's something for everyone to do." They each surrounded Rowan, waiting for their next mission. "Erika, Freya, you both can repair the horse pasture fence. Tiara, Enitan, try to get into the the boarded up buildings. Rania, Skye, and I can check out the other structures in the area."
At that, the rangers and the horses both separated from each other to do their respective jobs. Tiara and Enitan both managed to get into the buildings, considering it was unlocked for some reason. Rowan, Rania, and Skye were checking how sturdy the other structures were over the years. In the pasture was Erika who was busy fixing the broken fences near the shrubbery while Nemain who was protecting her rider and Freya was busy fixing the broken fences near the stream with Mythic Meadow.
There was a shimmering silvery-blue river outside of the fence with lily pads and colorful, croaking frogs. But as Erika worked outside of the fence with Nemain nearby, she didn't know that she was being watched as she worked on the broken fence. A small band of Jorvik Wilds were watching her from the other side of the river. But after she was done, Erika turned around and saw nothing on the other side of the river.
Erika shrugged uncertainly and mounted Nemain. She opened the fence and rode back to join the others. She soon reunited with Rowan and the rangers. "There you are, Erika!" He watched as everyone joined him and dismounted their horses. "We made it. We reached the Redwood Point, and now we stationed at the edge of the Wildwoods." Rowan became serious. "But we didn't just come here for the fun of it. We've got to remain vigilant, keep a close watch on the forest. Do our duty as Jorvik Rangers, by being stewards of nature." He radiated an intense energy; even Erika caught herself wanting to follow him wherever he went next. "Let's get down to business. There's much to do."
By the next dawn, Astrid and Yousef had joined them. Erika, Rania, Skye, Freya, Enitan, and Tiera had greeted them as they came upon their camp. She brought them to Rowan and he assigned them to respective jobs.
Rowan smiled as everyone had gotten to work, but Erika and Freya were both resting before they continued working. "The group really trusts you. You've proved a solid team member in the face of danger and uncertainty." The Redwood Point had been rebuilt and renewed.
Erika soon went to check on Rania who was looking at the direction of the waterfall and the huge lake with Dellingr. "The adventure is over, but not for you. I feel you eyeing the woods. How do you feel about the Wildwoods?"
Despite her wariness, Erika was ready to learn more about these unexplored places and the legends she had heard about. It was as if all the old stories were speaking directly to her. "Excited."
"Isn't Wilder's Verge magical enough?" Rania said, lightly teasing her. "The sounds, the smells, the feeling of the pine needles crunching under your feet... The Ranger's expedition is over, but I have a feeling yours isn't."
Erika soon went to check on both Astrid and Yousef their respective horses next to them. Astrid was pretty moody at first glance, but after Yousef had calmed her down, Astrid soon revealed that she was freaked out by the bramble wall incident. The two girls both became close friends too.
She soon went to check on Tiera by the paddock. "Hi, Erika! Can you believe we're here? Wilder's Verge is ours to explore! I've already started taking notes about the unique wildlife of the area. How do you feel about the Wildwoods?"
"Curious," admitted Erika as she gazed at the sprawling woods outside of the ranger station.
"Me too!" Tiera agreed. "There's so much to discover, explore, learn, see. I don't even know where to begin! I'm sure we'll learn a lot while being stationed at Redwood Point."
Erika smiled as she went to check on Enitan by the wooden stalls (or shops) for supplies. "Hello Erika. I hope you're feeling okay after your difficult journey." Erika nodded. "I must ask. Do you believe in the ancient folk tales of Jorvik?"
"Definitely," said Erika.
"I'm so glad to hear that," Enitan said with a smile. "We can learn a lot from the stories of those who came before us."
She soon rode towards Skye who was dragging some branches from a nearby clearing with Blaze's help. "Hey Erika. How are you?"
"I'm doing okay." Erika shrugged. "How about you?"
"I decided to stay here for a bit," admitted Skye.
Erika soon returned to Rowan and they both smiled at each other. "See you around, Erika. I knew you were tough enough cookie for the Wildwoods." At that, Rowan gently wrapped a red scarf around Erika's neck and they both smiled at each other.