World 1: Kismet Tundra
Chapter 2
It took about an hour for Rumor and Gunner to reach the West Wall on foot. Throughout their journey, Gunner felt a continuous tug at his conscious. Oddly enough, it wasn't telling him to head back– it was leading him on.
The wall stood nearly ten feet tall and was built out of stone. Rumor squint her eyes, surveying it. Soon enough, she configured a way to scale to the top.
"You ready?" she asked, facing Gunner.
He nodded hesitantly, "…Yeah."
Rumor clutched a stone that jutted from the wall and slowly began to climb. Gunner followed her lead, climbing at her side. Once at the top, the two of them pulled themselves up, hanging their feet over the side.
Barricaded by the wall was a spread of what looked like a completely different world. Tall pines loomed above the grassy ground, only partially coated in frost. A waterfall cascaded from a rocky cliff side, plunging into a blue pond. Patches of purple flowers hop scotched across the ground, piercing the dull gray tundra with color.
Gunner sat, dumbstruck. This is the West?
Rumor seemed to be as amazed as he was. Her mouth stood ajar, not a word able to escape it. Gunner turned to her, "Is this what you saw?"
"Y…eah," Rumor cleared her throat. "Yeah."
Gunner's jaw dropped, "Have you been here before?"
She shook her head, "No, this's my first time."
Gunner leaned in towards Rumor to ask her if she was lying, but his leg slipped off the ledge, causing his body weight to shift. Before he knew it, Gunner was falling off the west side of the wall.
"Gunner!" Rumor quickly jumped off the wall and landed on her feet. Gunner, who landed on his side, wasn't as fortunate.
"Ow…" he grumbled.
Rumor reached her hand for him, "You alright?"
Gunner took her hand and she carefully pulled him to his feet. He held his side with his free hand and winced a bit. "Yeah, I'm good. Probably just bruised."
Rumor bit her lip, "We should head back."
To Gunner's own surprise, he didn't want to leave just yet. His conscious keep pulling at him.
We could stay a little longer.
Nonetheless, even if Gunner wanted to leave, Rumor realized the two of them were trapped when she turned to the wall.
It was polished smooth.
Her eyes bulged from their sockets. "What the heck?"
"Can't climb it," stated Gunner.
Rumor scratched her head, "Heh, yeah. Nice observation, genius." Her lighthearted insult couldn't hide the fact that she sounded worried.
That's not normal, thought Gunner. He'd always been the worrywart of the bunch, but at that moment, the tables had been turned. For once, Gunner felt inspired to explore the unknowns of the West while Rumor felt apprehension.
He took his hand off his side and smiled, "Chill, Rumor, we'll find a way out."
Rumor took a breath and laughed away her unease, "'Course! It's all a sign." She put her hands on her hips. "This is just a way of telling us we should dig deeper and explore."
Gunner beamed. His eager conscious was satisfied.
Rumor halted her spur of energy and looked at Gunner's side, "But are you sure you're fine?"
Gunner nodded, "Yeah, it's no big deal. These coats padded the fall pretty well."
Rumor stood silent for a few moments, then shrugged. The both of them set out away from the wall and further west. They approached the pond and sat at its rocky shore.
Rumor scanned the scenery. "I wonder why they would block off a place like this," she thought aloud.
Gunner picked up a pebble and tossed it onto the pond's surface. It skipped three times before it sunk beneath the water. "Superstition?"
"What could be superstitious about this place?" asked Rumor.
Gunner smiled, picking up another pebble, "Maybe they think of it as 'too much of a good thing.'"