Hey hey! Chapter 2 is out and you guys have gotta get to reading I've got a feeling you will like it (Maybe). Input is much appreciated. Okay, I'm off. Ready, Set, GO.


Chapter 2

Once there was a path


Okay, so I was following this random guy that I just met (hopefully without him knowing) all because I had a hunch that this dude was bad news. I gotta say I'm probably not gonna be home in time for cards, not that I wanted to play cards anyway.

This man kept walking for quite a ways until he walked up to an abandoned building. It seemed to be an old and small apartment building. It was boarded up around all the windows. There was a sign on the front door that read 'Do not enter: structural damage. Entry may result in serious or fatal injury.' Even with that sign there, the man opened up the door and went inside. I looked around to see if anyone was watching. "Ehhh, what the heck," I thought and without hesitation, I walked up to the door and slowly opened it so the man couldn't hear me enter.

The inside of the building was very run down with many tears in the walls, floor, and ceiling. Other than a few bits of litter, the first room was pretty empty. Then I heard creeks coming from below the floor. I looked around for how the man had gotten down there. Soon, I spotted a hidden trapdoor under a cardboard box. I opened up the hatch and climbed down to the basement.

The basement was by no means, any better looking than the rest of the building. In fact, it might even look worse. A bunch of beer cans lay among the floor, skeletons of dead rodents haunted the place, and the walls were torn and battered. I gotta say anyone who hung out in this place is a loony. Though this is an Underlander that I'm looking for so maybe it makes a small bit of sense.

Back to looking around. I saw a curtain hung on the wall that was swaying back and forth, further than a curtain should be swaying so I pulled the curtain back and revealed a small door. The door wasn't too small I was easily able to lean down a bit to go in. Inside there was a path leading further down beneath the city. I then closed my eyes and listened closely. After a few seconds, I heard a footstep further along the way. The path obviously wasn't lit up. I guess it's a good thing that I know echolocation. Without too much thought, I began walking down the path.

The path seemed to go on forever and I lost track of time. I began wondering what I would find. Maybe this man was just a dude who liked to take a stroll in creepy places, maybe he was living up here like a hermit, etc. Heck whatever he's doing, he better not be stealing anything from above the surface.

After a while, I heard voices a bit ahead. I couldn't tell what they were talking about, so I continued forward. Eventually, I came upon a door. On the other side, I could hear the voices, they were not right on the other side. In fact, they were coming from close below. I gathered my thoughts and slowly cracked open the door. I could see torches hung on the wall.

From what I tell there was nobody on this top part. There were stairs that went down below. I opened the door a bit more and crept into the room. Looking around I realized this part of the room was a balcony over a room below. The voices came from right below. I took a deep breath and looked up over the railing on the stairs.

There the Underlander was but there were five other beings with him. First, there was a jet black bat with a huge scar on its back from the tail to the middle of its left wing. Second, there was another human but with black armor with red leather clothing under this man's face was quite menacing and had a very dark stare. The third was a rat with dark brown fur and plates of metal strapped to its back. The fourth was a mole with metal blades attached to its claws. And the fifth startled me.

It was a young man easily put between 19-25. He was without a doubt an Underlander dressed in the clothing of a Regalian scout. But the startling part was that he was strapped to a table and had many gashes on his body.

Then the man that I ran into outside pulled his cloak off. He was wearing armor I had never seen before. It was black much like the other man's but this armor was more menacing. It had blades on the sides of the gauntlets, shoulders, and knees stained with blood.

The scout lifted his head to get a better look at the man. The scout's eyes widened after looking at him. He then opened his mouth to speak. "Caris," he choked. "I thought... you were... in prison."

Caris smirked then spoke. "I was, but you see, I escaped with the help of my loyal friends," he gestured towards his companions. "Now you see scout, all I need is some information from you. I'd like to know where the Convention will be located."

The scout coughed, "Hah.. why should I tell you? What could you possibly want from that?"

The Caris laughed, "As an answer to the second question, I'll say you don't need to know. For the first question, well I think you have no choice if you want me to hold myself back from killing the young man that just walked in not too long ago." The scout's eyes moved to where I was standing. My stomach churned. They knew I was here the entire time.

"Don't attempt to leave, I wouldn't even try at this point," the Caris said. I looked around for a weapon. "You know, I'd like you to come down here and say hi to my friends," Caris smirked. "I think you'll make a nice prisoner." I saw a glint of metal from below a floorboard. I tore up the wood and drew out a sword with a dark silver blade and an obsidian handle. "Well, I hope I can still fight," I thought.

"Make your decision young man," Caris demanded, "Come down here or die." I stood up and raised the sword.

"I'll come down but I won't be your prisoner," I said. Caris laughed. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a sword. He walked towards his companions. "Leave us we don't need this place anymore," he commanded, "Lelentos, stay at the end of the hall, I will join you after I take care of these two." Caris' companions nodded and left the through a door at the other side of the room. Caris turned to face me and readied his sword. He laughed and began advancing.

I took a really deep breath and readied my blade, keeping my eye on Caris. After a brief silence, I lifted my sword and struck. Caris dodged and swung upwards knocking me back. "I'm going to enjoy every second of this," Caris chided. He continued slashing until I was backed up to a corner. I looked around for an opening. He was about to swing again then I found my opening.

I leaped onto a box to the side and kicked off a stray brick sticking out of the wall. Then I broke into a midair vertical spin hitting my opponent's sword and knocking it out of his grip. He quickly swerved out of reach and retreated backward away from me. "It seems I underestimated you," Caris exclaimed. The man retrieved his sword from the ground and began walking toward the exit. "Beware, I will not go so easy on you next time," Caris challenged. He turned his back and left the room.

I sighed and sat down a box to catch my breath. "Jeez who was that guy?" I thought to myself before remembering to free the scout. I walked over to the table and cut the scout's restraints. The scout sat up despite his injuries. "Hey take it easy. You don't want to get even more hurt do you?" I remarked. The scout slid off the table and onto a nearby box.

"I'll be fine, I've been through worse," he said enthusiastically. The scout began examining me closely. His eyes widened after a bit. "You... You're the warrior aren't you?" the scout asked. I took a deep breath. "No, I was the warrior. I killed him," I corrected. "Anyway, how'd you know who I am."

The scout let out a deep sigh. "Four reasons. One- you are an overlander. Two- you can fight well. Three- you were unnerved by the sight of the creatures of the Underland. Four- I saw you when you broke Sandwich's sword and 'killed yourself,'" He stated. The scout stood up and began gathering things from around the room and putting them into a bag near a bookshelf. He tried moving the shelf but began grimacing in pain. I walked over and moved the shelf over for him. "Thank you," the scout said and sat back down on another box.

Now I bet you're all wondering what exactly this 'Convention' is. I don't know and I probably shouldn't get into this. It's not really my problem. Then again, my past adventures down in the Underland didn't have much to do with me either. Although I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask what the 'Convention' is. I sat down on a table near to the scout.

"What is the 'Convention?'" I asked the scout. The scout took a breath and began to scratch his head. "Hmm before I tell you about that, I think you should know who I am first," the scout said, "My name is Ranuik of the Regalia 34th advanced scout team. Currently, we are located at a double exit to the Overland as in there are two entrances to the Underland from this room. The one I came through is a cave hidden by the edge of the waterway closest to spinner territory. The other, well, I don't know I just recently discovered this passage. This is where I got captured. I had come in here and came upon this hidden entrance to this room and slid the shelf back. But then Caris' team ambushed me a few minutes after I got here. My assignment was to track a team of kidnappers who have been abducting individuals from all the species."

"I'm going to go ahead and guess that this team was with Caris," I suggested.

"Right on. All I know about Caris is that he was imprisoned about 8 years ago for the murder of 17 Regalian palace guards," Raniuk explained, "Now I guess I'll explain to you what the 'Convention' is. The 'Convention' is a collection of two-three ambassadors from all species accompanied by three teams of five guards. Not one person besides the leader of the species knows who the ambassadors are, not even ambassadors themselves know who each other are. The main goal of the convention is to present ideas to the others at the convention that will influence how each species can help each other. The location of the convention is different every year and only the commanding officer of the three escort teams and the head of each species knows where the convention is held. That's about it really. If you want to know more you can come back down and ask my boss."

"Okay. I think I get it," I responded. Ranuik stood up and began going towards the exit. "If you would like to come back down to the Underland for a bit. I know you may not be able to come or you just don't want to. But if you find a way to come, I'll be waiting below the entrance below your apartment." I nodded and Ranuik left through the exit. I slid the shelf back in place, picked up the sword, and swung the sword across the wall so hard it shattered.

I began making my way back up out of the cave. I wondered what I should do. Stay above or go down below. If I'm going to go below, I'm gonna need a plan.


And that's all for now folks. More to come eventually. Just don't harass me on uploading a new chapter it will come just wait. Although I don't keep a schedule. See Y'all later.