Young Writers Society

Hidden deep below the surface is a magnificent city that has been forgotten by the descendants of those who once inhabited it. No one is quite sure where this city is located. Some suspect it is buried right under our feet. Others suspect that it is a crossroads of sorts between universes. Wherever this city is located, it impressive. It is a hodgepodge of different architectural styles combined into one complex underground metropolis - at least, that is what the myths say.

But through a stroke of luck or misfortune, you have ended up in a place that most believe is nonexistent. It is up to you and the others trapped here to determine why you were even brought here in the first place, and how you can return to your respective homes.

Setting



Source

The sound of their boots hitting the stone streets underneath them echoed throughout the cavern. They had been walking for the past few minutes, but had yet to make any progress on how they had arrived here in the first place. The walk had been accompanied with a steady stream of swears, something that was nearly impossible to tune out when the source was coming from inside their head.

They came to a sudden stop as they neared yet another one of the empty houses.

"Can you not do that?"

There was little reason to keep the conversation to themselves if no one else was present.

"Do what?" was the spiteful reply, following by another bitter string of swears.

A sigh left their lips. "That."

The swearing in their head resumed, a clear indicator that the vulgarities weren't going anyway in the near future. They resumed their walk, scanning the streets for any sort of activity. There had to be some sort of clue to how they had been brought here - and, better yet, where here actually was.

Enide sat at the edge of the bridge, dangling her feet over the aquamarine water. She stared absentmindedly at her sandals. Her head propped up by a fist, while her other hand gripped the bridge railing, she stifled a yawn. Her mind worked frantically to figure out where she was, much less how she'd gotten here. The buildings, a mismatch of architectural styles that she did and didn't recognize, loomed around her, embedded into the walls of this massive cave. If it weren't for the water, she would've sworn that she'd ended up in Wyandanch again. But Wyandanch was perpetually dry.

So she was somewhere new to her. That was fine; she'd been to plenty of new places before, and she'd always adjusted to them. At least the crystal lights set on braziers around her let her see. And the city, for the most part, seemed abandoned. At least, she couldn't hear anything. Not what she had been hoping for. It raised the possibility that she had been kidnapped, but she didn't believe it. The kidnappers would've showed up by now. It couldn't be her husband's fault either, since he was incapable of keeping himself silent.

The edge of her hearing picked up the sound of boots. Craning her head to the right, she spotted the outline of a figure walking in the distance. They were too large to be her husband, and the erratic rhythm of those steps suggested they didn't know where they were going. Were they lost as well?

Enide rose and stood at the center of the bridge, hands clasped as she waited. No need to pull out her katana just yet - she couldn't be sure if they were a threat, and she didn't want to make a poor first impression.

There was someone - or rather, something - standing on the bridge that they were quickly approaching. Whatever they were looking at matched none of the things that they were accustomed to. They were hesitant to call them a player. One of the gods would have mentioned their impeding arrival, according to the lore they had been taught by Telós.

But that left nothing else.

Maybe, just maybe, they were a god long forgotten, one who had taken on a form that none from the present era would recognize. Or maybe they were some sort of mob who had taken a position similar to Claire's humanizing one, only for it to get stuck between what they once were and the player they were becoming.

They came to a stop on the edge of the bridge.

They can't be a player, right?

We already established that, was the response.

A brief frown, quickly hidden behind a welcoming smile. I-I don't get it, then. Minecraftia doesn't have foxes, but whoever that is looks like a cross between a human and a fox-

Does it really matter?

A sigh resounded through their mind. I guess it doesn't. I'll talk to her. You get ready to fight if she turns out to be a threat.

"Hi," he said. The smile remained as they took another step towards her, nonthreatening but also assertive. "I'm Lex-"

"-al."

"I usually go by Lex," he said, trying to prevent the voice that was undeniably the same as the one he was currently using from butting in again.

"But you can call me Lexal," the voice added.

Stop it!

It's my body!

We can explain it to her!

I don't think we're in Minecraftia anymore, b*stard. We've got to pretend that we're normal, and I'm not letting you force me to pretend to be you!

...Fine! But stop butting in, because that's definitely not helping!

Hmm. Nothing about this person seemed right. Their steps were too awkward, the pauses in their sentences too forced, their expressions changing too quickly. That didn't even begin to account for their gray skin, black clothes, and the bangs that hid part of their face from view. If they weren't so inept, Enide would've suspected they were an assassin. If they were an assassin, it would be remarkable they were still in business. However, based on the slight change in their voice, she had to assume that this was someone who had bonded with someone else. Two minds in the space of one. They appeared to be trying to hide this from her; she wondered why the main mind didn't disconnect the bond. Still, if they didn't want attention called to the fact, she wouldn't bother them.

"I am Enide," she said, bowing slightly. "May I ask if you have seen my husband? I imagine he must be somewhere in this city, and I am concerned he may do something...unwise, to put it simply." No need to tell them she was a queen just yet, because she didn't know their intentions.

Wonder if he's whatever she is.

It would make sense.

Well, I didn't see whatever he is. It's just us and this lady.

A conclusion he could stand behind. As he gave a slight shake of the head, his counterpart casually leaned up against the railings of the bridge. It was something he normally wouldn't have done, but it had been a long time since he had protested a minor action like that.

"I haven't seen anyone besides you," he said. "But in case I do meet him, what does he look like?"

Enide thought for a few seconds. She wasn't quite concerned about him being ambushed, since he could fight his way out of it. Besides, the person in front of her sounded genuine (and she suspected they were a bad liar). The answer slipped right into her mind. "Slightly taller," she said, smiling faintly, "With a mix of gray and red fur. He will be wearing purple robes, likely calling my name, and most certainly have a sword in hand. It would be advisable to avoid him seeing you."

Alyis opened her eyes, lifting her fedora off of her face and looking around. She had layed down to take a nap, but was confident it hadnt been in a place like this. Yet here she was, in a massive cavern. The sides of the underground structure were lined with architecturally impressive buildings, and had the cave been properly lighted, it would be difficult not to be impressed.

She scanned the floor of the cavern, searching for other people who might have found themselves down here. It appeared mostly empty, but after a few minutes of detailed browsing, she noticed two figures about thirty feet off to her left. Without hesitation, she made her way to them.

Jay rolled over, half-asleep as she unstuck her face from the rock it was on and burying it in her coat instead. That was the moment when she realized she'd been sleeping in a sheep pasture that most certainly did not have any large rocks in it.

Her blue eyes jolted open and she was immediately upright as she surveyed the cavern she was in. It was big, and stony, and a bit chilly and damp, as most caverns were. Nothing all that remarkable about it, really, she decided, turning and realizing there were people across the cave and standing about ten yards away from the entrance.

She grabbed her hat (to the magpie-jay's annoyance, since she'd been perched upon it) and went to join the group. She must've looked like quite the character to them: her clothing was ragtag at best, a motley of bright colors, the most notable of which was her bright red tunic that clashed with a brilliant, irridescent green, ostrich-like panache in her worn leather sailor's hat. On her shoulder was the long-tailed, blue bird that looked like something between a jay and a magpie with a fun little crest atop its head.

The next course of action was to ask the woman if she knew where they were or how they might have arrived there, but, before she could, he abruptly turned their body around to face the two people approaching the bridge. Their hand immediately went for the sword on their back, though neither one of them made a move to remove it.

I don't trust the kid, was the first comment. And then, And that girl's outfit is weird. Do all players have your terrible sense of style?

You're the one with the love of black clothing, not me. Would it kill you to pick some color for once?

The grip on the hilt of the sword tightened; he clearly wasn't in a mood to chat. He never was, not when a battle was about to play out. So, which one will it be first? The kid or the one that looks like a rainbow barfed all over her?

He couldn't help it. A snicker escaped him at the comment, and it took all of their effort to keep a straight face. The second one, he decided, removing the sword from his back. After we take care of her, we'll take care of the girl. We can't let the mob get hurt by them.

The bandages were effortlessly removed from the sword.

Holding it out in front of them, they waited for the two to complete their approach.

Hmm, she'd misjudged them. They clearly weren't harmless. How harmful they were, however, remained to be seen.

It was perhaps an excessive use of force, but they'd upped the stakes by pulling out their sword. She silently drew her katana from its scabbard and placed it against their neck. "Let them come," she said. "I must suppose they are as lost as we are, and it would not do to try and harm them. We can take care of ourselves, should the need arise."

The glint of the sword was the first thing that drew her attention. She might've been happy-go-lucky but she wasn't stupid nor foolish, and her hands slipped towards her sleeves where she kept her daggers - just in case.

...There's a sword up against our neck.

What he meant to reply with was a coherent response, but all that was heard throughout their mind was what sounded like a mix between a scream and a random group of noises. Because no mob in their right mind would ever do something as stupid as trust a player without knowing that they worked for one of the gods.

Their mouth opened.

Aleks, don't-

"Are you out of your mind!?"

Well, he should have guessed something like this was bound to happen eventually.

He let Aleks take control. He was the one who had grown up fighting; it would be foolish for the less experienced of the two to handle a situation like this. The sword suddenly dropped from their hand. A second later, they had dived out of the wave of the katana, grabbed the sword again and were backed up against the railing of the bridge. Not how he would have ended it, but he had to hope that Aleks knew what to do.

"They're players!" Aleks continued, angrily waved his sword about. "They're not going to care about diplomacy! They're going to kill you the first chance they get, because they hate anything different."

You know that's not true.

I don't have time for discussing your philosophical views right now.

It's not philosophy-

"Just let me do my job," Aleks growled.

Oh, and saying that with that tone will definitely convince her.

Enide hid her growing frustration. Perhaps they were an assassin. All of a sudden, their steps and moves were coordinated, their wits sharp, and their speed incredible. They had gone from bumbling - enough to even deceive her - to a threat. The two minds were still bickering, if the pauses in their sentences were anything to go by. However, either one had deferred to the other, or both happened to be exceptionally good in dangerous situations. Unfortunately for them, so was she.

"Diplomacy is my specialty," Enide said, raising her katana to point at their throat. "I fail to understand who these 'players' are, but I suppose a murder attempt will make me feel right at home here. Besides, where diplomacy by the pen fails, diplomacy by the sword happens to be immensely effective. Which you, I should hope, have discovered." Ironically, she suspected she couldn't out-fight them, so she decided to do what she did best - out-talk them.

Alyis's interest suddenly seemed piqued by the change in tone, and the growing hostility. She pulled out the pocket watch kept in the inner pocket of her overcoat, staying well out of range of the aggressive crowd before her. "Hey guys. Things about to get bloody?" she called out to them, mostly to taunt them into acting on their violent impulses. If things went south, this whole situation would become immensely more interesting.