Chapter 3: Descent

MAX

Max woke up on the ground. He shakily rose to his knees, feeling horrible from being dragged across the desert. Warily looking around, he saw that the sky had become completely black and that he was currently situated on an even area, seemingly about halfway up the mountain. A few feet away, there was a pole stuck into the ground. Attached to the top, was a glass bulb that had some sort of bright light source inside. The creatures who had captured him were keeping guard towards the ledge, encircling him and the others they had captured, whom Max could actually see now.

There were seven people on the ledge, excluding him and their armored captors, all of whom Max recognized. He could see the elderly barista from Ace's, Mrs Philips, laying on the ground and clutching her head while moaning, clearly in pain. Then there was the Johnson family, the two adults of which were currently huddled together, cradling their five-year-old twin children. Finally, he could see Dr Bright and deputy Rojas, the former currently tying a makeshift sling around the latter's arm.

Rojas then noticed that Max had woken up. He signaled for him to come closer with his free hand. The young man, still slightly drowsy, walked to the two men and sat down beside them.
"Hey, kid, you okay,"Rojas asked in a low voice.

"I think so," Max replied,"Head hurts a bit, but not much."

Rojas chuckled dryly, then said: "Looks like you got off easy then. Bastards nearly tore my arm off."

"Oh shut up," the doctor suddenly spoke up, "Damn thing was just dislocated." He finished tying the sling and stood up to go check on Mrs Philips who was still laying on the ground. Rojas however turned himself towards Max.

"Before you ask, your uncle's okay," the deputy said. "Atleast I think he is," he continued," Last I saw of him was when he drove for it in my car."

This confused Max. " So Adrian left you to be captured," he asked.

„No, of course not," said the lawman, "was my own fault getting out of the car. He couldn't have saved me in any way."

Max sighed with relief, then asked: "Where you think they're taking us?"

Rojas's face turned serious. "Hell if I know," he answered.

Suddenly, as if on que, they could hear quiet marching. It got louder and louder until Max could see a small light, somehow coming from inside the mountain that was behind them. Then though, figures carrying the light came into view and he could see that there was a tunnel inside the cliff. The figures appeared to be armored like the creatures who had captured him earlier, yet instead of white armor, theirs appeared to be dark blue. Also, instead of being overly tall, these creatures seemed to be relatively the same size as a human.

The group, which consisted of at least ten, made their way towards the prisoners and their captors. Most were carrying strange looking swords, while two of them were carrying short sticks with lanterns at the end. When they reached the light coming from the larger source, they stopped.
Then, the figure who was in front of the others stepped forward and yelled something in a language, which Max couldn't recognize. He noticed though, that the creature who had spoken had a different helmet than the others.

The armored figure then yelled something again. Dr Bright, who had been helping Mrs Philips, stood up and, gesturing at himself and at the creature, said: "I'm sorry, We do not understand what you are saying." He pronounced each word very clearly, though that probably didn't help with the labguage barrier.

The apparent leader of the blue-wearing group stayed silent for a few moments, before turning towards the other creatures and loudly speaking something. They then pointed their hand at the humans. With the order having been apparently given, the others started towards the humans.
Max found himself being pulled to his feet by one of them, while another did the same with the deputy. Getting a close look at these new beings that had captured him, Max started noticing a running theme with the creatures he had recently encountered, as they too closely resembled insects.

Their arms, which were uncovered by armor, were black and rigid on the touch, very closely resembling the exoskeleton of a bug. Also, he noticed that two of them had what appeared to be pairs of large, transparent wings on their backs.

The bug-knights, after getting every human on their feet, then started to escort them into the cave, with the one who had spoken earlier marching at the very front. They walked for some time, before coming to an opening to a different, larger tunnel. This new cavern looked much less natural, like the one they'd entered from, and more man-made. There were wooden supports on by the walls and the ceiling, the walls themselves appeared smooth and the ground was paved with cobblestone. The large tunnel also seemed to be fairly long, but it was hard to tell in the dark.

The bugs now started to march down this tunnel, pushing the humans along. Even though there wasn't much light, Max still payed some attention to his surroundings. Every once in a while, he could hear some sort of noise in front of them, along with something small and fast-moving disappearing into a hole or crack in the wall. Max figured that they were the critters who made their home in these caves, scurrying away from the light and sounds that were made by the bugs and their prisoners.

It took a while for Max to realise, but at one moment, he noticed that the tunnel was heading downwards. The angle wasn't too steep, but it was still visible, even in the dark. They continued walking for at least fifteen minutes. Max's feet were starting to hurt and Rojas, who was in front of him, didn't seem to be doing that well either. At one point, he heard what sounded like stumbling, come from behind. Attempting to look back though, was met with a whack to the to the back of his head from the bug that was marching beside him.

After some more walking, Max started to notice a faint glow ahead. Not soon after, the group of humans and their captors reached a new opening. This lead to a ledge, overlooking a large underground canyon. The ravine was lit up by what seemed to be white, glowing leaves, which seemed to be endlessly floating down from somewhere. The other side of the gorge looked looked like a giant stone wall had been built into it, with various large pipes coming out of the lower area of the structure.

Max could see that there was a stone bridge connecting the ledge on their side of the ravine to the other side, which had a more artificial looking platform. The bridge seemed sturdy, though it seemed that it was wide enough for only one person.

Then, the leader of the bugs barked an order, followed by them and another one crossing the bridge. When they reached the other side , the captain shouted another order, after which the soldier escorting Rojas pushed the latter infront of him and the nudged him forwards. The deputy started to carefully step across the chasm with the guard following closely. The two made it across without much trouble, but with Max being next in line, it also meant that it was now his turn.

'Don't look down,' was the only thing that Max could think of while he was making his way to the other side and, surprisingly enough, it worked. After he and his companion were across, he was shown to stand by the stone wall with Rojas. From his new position, he could see that the next one to cross was Mrs Philips. Though she seemed to be doing much better than before, the bug still had to support her from behind.

Before anyone else could cross however, one of the bugs suddenly shouted in their language and pointed at something in the air. Looking up, Max could see a flying creature. This one was different from the one that had attacked him yesterday. Its mask-face had four eyes with two horns on top and attached to its body was a large orange sack. Seeing it, the bugs on both sides of the ravine suddenly seemed very alarmed. The leader pointed at the flyer and shouted and order. Then, one of the winged soldiers jumped into the air and started flying towards it. This seemed to provoke the smaller creature, as it lunged forward as well.

The creature then did something unexpected, for the humans at least. It spit at the advancing soldier, which resulted in three orange blobs flying out from under its mask. The attacker quickly changed their course to avoid being hit by one of them, but dodged right into the one flying above it. This caused them to make a pained yell and be flung backwards, while the spit-bug flew towards the rest of the group. Before it could spit at them though, it was pierced from the back by the flying soldier's weapon, which he had thrown.

The smaller bug was flung forward and landed in front of Max, who recoiled in response to the gruesome sight. Somehow though, there was still some life inside of it and it let out a loud screech. It was cut short by the flying bug landing and pulling their weapon out of its body, which finally killed it.

After that, the remaining humans could be brought over. First were the Johnsons, whose walk over the chasm was fairly eventless. Then, halfway through Dr Bright's crossing, loud buzzing could suddenly be heard. A few moments later, the could all see multiple creatures, identical to the one they'd seen before, emerge out of various openings in the ravine. Seeing this, both the doctor and the bug behind him rushed to the other side without any consideration for safety. The group's leader then shouted something, pointing at the doorway in the wall behind them.

After making their way inside, the bugs once again forced the humans into a row, like the one they'd been in before, and continued escorting them. Very soon, the tunnel came to an end and the group found themselves in another larger area. This one seemed much more like the interior of a building, with the walls and ceiling made out of carved blue stone. There were multiple floors visible, with staircases to connecting them. The bottom of the large hall appeared to be in disrepair, as large parts of its floor were cracked or flooded.

Continuing along the second floor platform, the humans were then directed through another doorway and ended up on a semi-open area that closely resembled a train station's platform. There was even a metal bench. On the far end of the platform were two posts: one holding up various signs and another that had a golden bell attached to it.

The bugs' leader shouted an order, evidently telling his subordinates to stand still as they all stopped, boxing the humans in as well. Then, he walked up to the bell and hit it with his weapon, ringing it at a volume that seemed way too loud for an instrument that size. Not soon after, the ground started shaking and a large creature ran up to the side of the platform.

Much like the other living things Max had encountered here so far, it too looked like an insect. This new creature resembled a rhino beetle, with a long horn between its eyes and, weirdly enough, a long grey beard on the lower part of its head. It had six long legs, all of which were attached to its midsection, and strapped onto its back were two cushiony looking seats.

The leader of bug-soldiers then said something to the large beetle and, to Max's surprise, the other bug actually answered in a deep, scratchy voice. It then moved forwards and a carriage came into view, being pulled by the insect. It was construced out of dark blue metal, with a decorated roof and wheels. The vehicle was obviously meant for prisoners though, with the giant lock and barred window on the door.

The inside confirmed that even further, with nothing but a wide, wooden seat by the wall of the carriage, probably so it could fit as many prisoners as possible. One-by-one, the humans were pushed into the chamber. It wasn't unlit, a single lamp hung from the ceiling, but it was still mostly dark.

Max sat down on the poor excuse for a bench. He was tired from all the walking and very overwhelmed from everything that he'd seen in the last few hours. The creatures that had kidnapped him and everyone else were something completely alien, yet, from what he'd seen, they seemed to live right here, underground.
All the others were quiet, keeping to themselves. The only exception was Mrs Johnson, who was silently trying to hush one of her children, who'd started crying in her lap.

Suddenly, the entire carriage lurched forward and started moving. The pace seemed to be a slightly faster one than what Max would have excpected from a vehicle like that. Even after that, everything stayed quiet. Nobody said a single thing. It felt almost supernatural, though Max didn't even know what was supernatural anymore and what wasn't. This silent journey went on for some time, only the rattling of the carriage's wheels being audible.
At one point, Max noticed that the vehicle felt slightly angled.

About ten minutes after they started moving, the carriage came to a stop. This seemed to snap its occupants out of their sulking, as they looked around with uncertainty. The door was the opened and the bug who opened it motioned with their hand for the humans to come out.

Stepping out, Max saw the platform they'd arrived at was much different that the one than the last one. Everything was much darker and greyer: the stone walls and ceiling, the metal fence on the side of the path meant for the large insect. He also spotted, weirdly enough, giant spools of thread standing all around the cavern. Before he could look at anything else in the cavern, the leader of the soldiers shouted an order and he was, once again, boxed in with the others. They started walking towards a doorway that seemed have a lot of light shining through from the other side.

After a moment of getting used to the bright light on the other side, what Max saw next made him gasp and, from what he could hear, he wasn't the only one. Standing in an enormous cavern, was a giant white building, the likes of which he'd never seen before. A gargantuan palace with four tall spires surrounding a larger structure in the center. It was all bordered by spikes, which formed a semi circle.

The humans were then directed forwards what seemed to be the only visible entrace to the palace. The gate was designed to look like some sort of insect with long, spiky horns on its head. There were also two bugs guarding the gate, but unlike the ones that were escorting him and the others, these ones had white armor. Behind the gate was a long hallway, which was bordered with ornate windows and large pots with plants that seemed as pale as everything else in that place.

While being pushed through the hall, for a moment, Max was sure he heard a disembodied voice say: "...Welcome..."

It was certain that their jorney through the underground would be coming to an end soon, Max was sure of that. But what would it mean? Why were they even captured in the first place?

After a few minutes of walking, the group reached the end of the hallway and went through another doorway. There, found themselves in a large hall. Unlike the other places Max had seen before in the underground, this one seemed to be bustling with life. Bugs dressed in pure white moved around everywhere, either empty handed or carrying something. It all seemed to be happening in some sort of system, as they hurried in and out of doors or up and down of staircases.

Suddenly, one of the white clad bugs walked up to their group's leader and said something to them, pointing at one of the doors in the hall. The fancy-helmeted soldier answered with some kind of phrase and then started heading towards the location that he was directed towards, the other bugs pushing the humans in the same direction.

At that point, some of the other bugs had started to notice the unusual figures being escorted by guards. Max could hear quite a few gasps and noticed that some of them had even stopped whatever they were doing to get a better look. He noticed that Rojas seemed uncomfortable, which was understandable. The man wasn't that fond of attention and had moved to Elsewhere just because of that.

The door, that the bug in white had pointed out, lead to a medium sized, unlit room. There didn't seem to be much there, from what Max could make out, just half-pillars on the sides of the walls and a raised stage-like area on the far side of it. Five of the soldier-bugs then lined the humans up in a row in front of the stage, with one closing the door behind them, making the room even darker.

Then, a door Max hadn't seen before in the dark opened in the back of the room and a figure, who was somehow emitting light, stepped through and onto the raised area. This creature was about the size of the humans and aside from being able to light the entire room, they also seemed to have a very regal atmosphere around them, even more so than the rest of the palace. They were wearing long robes that were pure white and on their head were numerous horns that seemed identical to the ones Max saw on the gate to the palace.

Suddenly, Max heard the same disembodied voice he'd encountered twice before: "Welcome to Hallownest, my dear new subjects."

Max was baffled. This voice seemed to somehow be coming from the figure standing before him.

The voice continued: "I can feel your fears and I understand them, but you needn't worry: there is nothing to be afraid of."

There was a pause, then he continued: "I am the Pale Wyrm, god of Hallownest and now, all that lays beyond.
You are the first from the outside world to have the honor to witness my great kingdom. I've had you brought here by my loyal guard for a purpose."

There was another pause.

"You see, a great tragedy has struck my beloved old domain. One that has claimed the lives of many of my subjects. Yet I live eternally and have now chosen that it is now time for the creatures of the world to experience the majesty and purity of Hallownest!"

As he said it, Max saw that the light that was coming from him got even brighter. He then also felt that he couldn't move a muscle or even say anything, only stare at the figure who was standing in front of him.

"You will become good citizens. I know there are some who resisted, but you need not worry. They too will be brought here to understand my word. Now however, we must do one more thing before you are ready to bring new life to Hallownest."

From behind the king, eight of the white clad servants, whom Max figured had entered from the back door, suddenly appeared, each of them carrying some sort object in their hands. The bugs walked down from the sides of the stage and in front of the humans. Then they placed the items they were carrying down, one for each of the captives.

After the servants had left, Max found he could look down at the object in front of his feet. It appeared to be some sort of mask made out of a material that resembled bone. There were two stubby horns coming out from the top with two more on the sides, both pairs pointing upwards. It also had two eyeholes and a 'mouth' that resembled one you'd see on a puppet. The shape of it somewhat resembled a bowl.

Suddenly, in an authorative tone, the Pale King said: "Put them on."

Max noticed that he had started sweating. He slowly bent over and reached his hands towards the mask, not even fully sure if it was him who was doing it or something else making his limbs move. The moment his hands touched his hands touched the white object, he could feel a tingling sensation in them. The mask itself was about as heavy as a ceramic bowl so Max didn't have much of an issue raising it up. He turned it around and found that, weirdly enough, the inside was entirely black. Then, taking a deep breath, he put it on his face.

The moment he made contact with the piece of headwear, Max felt as if his entire head started burning. It felt as though the mask was being welded into his face. The pain was almost unbearable and he felt like throwing up from how much his head was spinning. It didn't seem clear which side was up and which was down anymore, everything around him seemed extremely sharp and also very muffled and hazy at the same time. For a moment, he thought he was going to pass out.

As suddenly as the pain had come, it left. Max found himself on his hands and knees on the floor. Then he noticed that he could freely move again. Shakily, he stood up, still weakened by the experience. Looking around, he saw that all the other humans who had been brought here with him were laying on the floor, unconcsious. Turning around, he saw that the guards at the door seemed very surprised. Weirdly enough, it seemed as though he could understand their expressions much more clearly than before.

"What is supposed to be the meaning of this," the voice of the Pale king suddenly said from the stage, making Max look back towards him.

"Why are you still awake,"he continued, "the process should have made you fall asleep like your companions."

Max didn't have an answer, he had no idea what was going on anymore.

"I-I have no-," he was cut off by the royal bug.

"Silence!" Then, in a calmer tone he said: "Please, approach so I can have a better look at your condition."

For a second, Max hesitated, before walking closer to the raised platform where the king stood.

The Pale King also stepped closer to Max, shortening the distance between them. When the king reached the edge of the stage, he leaned forwards and peered towards him. Max, who had also stopped suddenly felt, as if the two, black eyes were looking into his very soul. He could feel another headache, right on the forehead this time, as the Pale King seemed to strenghtened his gaze.

Max suddenly felt a yellow flash in his mind, which made the pain, once again, stop completely. The Pale King recoiled backwards, seemingly at what had happened.

"...Heresay...Resistance...," sounded through Max's head as the king stood at full height, his eyeholes somehow expressing anger.

"Guards, Apprehend him," he shouted, pointing a finger at the human in front of him.

This caused the two soldiers, who had been watching the events unfold from the door, to rush into action. Though Max tried to get out of their way, he was still too disoriented so one of the guards managed to land a blow to his gut. Another one then grabbed onto his arms, restraining them. The two bugs pushed him in front of the Pale King who, in a dark tone said: "I shall not allow one of your kind to freely terrorize my kingdom, renegade. I shall leave you alive for now, with your freedom, of course, taken."

He looked at the guard who was holding Max and said something to him that remained unheard to anyone else. The blue-armored bug said: "Yes, my lord."
Then, he released Max's right arm and used his to punch him in the back of the head.

For the second time that day, Max lost consciousness.

HORNET

The White Palace was a place of splendour. Designed and built to showcase the greatness and unending power of the Pale King. The large cavern in the Ancient Basin, that it was situated in, was lit up by the glow of the many lanterns placed on its walls, amplified by the reflection of their light on the smooth stone walls of the massive building.

Yet there was one place in that cavern, one where the 'Daughter of Deepnest' now found herself in, where the light from above could only slightly be seen. Beneath the White Palace, but still above the Abyss, there were Hallownests dungeons, built from dark grey stone, which was enchanted to be nearly unbreakable. Once used to imprison those who had broken the kingdom's law, they now stood empty, save for Hornet and the guard assigned to her. This wasn't one of the constructs who guarded the king, but a blood-and-shell sentrybug. A number of them had been part of the palace's stasis, but now, they could continue their duty as dungeon guards.

Hornet sat in her cell. It wasn't anything special, consisting of two raised platforms to act as beds, a hole in the corner for requirements that she understood the moment she glanced inside and chains on the walls which she thankfully wasn't shackled to. The thing keeping her from freedom, was a wall made of metal bars, outside of which, was a guard whom Hornet could recognize as some sort of larger beetle.

She had been here for at least a day now. When she had first woken up, her first action was to try and grab her needle to pry open the bars. Then she remembered what had happened before.

To a bug of Deepnest, it was the greatest dishonor to cry, as it was the ultimate show of fragility. During most of her life, Hornet lived by this rule, not even crying when she was mourning her mother's death.
Though now, she couldn't keep the drops of water from rolling down her mask. This needle had been a gift and, most importantly, a show of respect from the Weavers who loved her as much as Herrah had. Now, it had simply been deemed unnecessary by the king and destroyed in a heartbeat.

Hornet also found that her red coat, identical to the Weavers', had a large tear in its side. If she had her sewing kit, she'd have fixed it in a few moments, but she was confined to this cell, disarmed, dishonored and without any way to escape.

Though after a while, she managed to calm herself and decided to meditate to pass the time.

Suddenly, she was shaken out of her thoughts when a loud metallic clang could be heard and the reinforced door on the far side of the hallway outside opened up. Through the doorway came another guard, dragging something behind them.
On closer inspection, Hornet saw that the something was a someone. From her spot at the back of the cell, she could spot a typical mask of a Hallownest bug, but not anything else.

Having gotten closer, the new guard adressed the one already there in a gruff voice: "Need a cell for this one. King's orders."

The sentry stationed at Hornet's cell responded: "Just put them right here." He pointed toward's the chamber behind him.

"You've gotta be kidding," the other one spoke, "the damn spider won't leave 'im alive for a minute."

"Trust me," Hornet's guard said, "I've kept watch on Deepnesters before, they won't kill if it could result in pain."

He picked up a staff that was standing up against the wall. The handle was constructed out of wood and the metal tip was made so it could contain an electric lumafly. A jab with the tip would have given a shock that hurt and stunned its victim.

The gruff voiced guard nodded slightly, then said: "Alright, but if he dies, I'm a make sure you're held accountable, not me."

While one guard opened the door, the other held the stunstaff at the ready, should the cell's sole inhabitant try something. Then, the one who opened the door simply tossed the unconscious figure inside.

After the door had been quickly shut, the two guards exchanged something akin to goodbyes and the one who had brought the other bug left the dungeons. Hornet however, decided to have a better look at her new cellmate. What she saw, left her speechless. The creature that had been brough there might have had the mask of a bug, but their body was very different.

For starters, most of it was covered by clothing, which Hornet knew as being something only for vanity or distinguishing one's self. The parts that weren't covered with clothes were a very light colour and seemed very different from the shell of a bug.
It seemed more soft, like the skin of a maggot or a worm. Unlike these creatures though, who posessed simple forms that weren't held together by anything, its build still somehow resembled a bug.

Something that made Hornet wary, was the color of the garment on the creature's chest. The bright orange bearing close resemblance to the cysts caused by the Infection. Though, what was the point of keeping it in the dungeons if it was infected anyway?

The clothing on its legs was colored light blue and, appearing the strangest to Hornet, the objects at the tops of its legs were black.

Again sitting down with her legs crossed, Hornet decided that she was going to observe the creature until it woke up. Though appearance wise, it didn'y look very strong, it could still be agressive.
Keeping her eyes pointed straight at it, looking for any sign of movement. After some time, tiredness started to rear its head, but Hornet forced herself to stay awake.

After more time passed however, she couldn't stay awake any longer and slouched over.

And thus, another chapter appears. Please be sure to let me know how you think with a review. I'll gladly accept any positive or constructive feedback.