The sun had completely set on the craggy, desolate landscape that the adventurers maneuvered through. They stayed hidden in low lying areas, just staying to keep out of sight of any prying eyes looking for a kill. The hardness of the rocky ground and the sharp handholds that had to be used to traverse the terrain mirrored the grueling unwelcoming feeling of the place.
Kayden's eyes hung in a depressive position, matching his shoulders in attitude. The horrible death of Lich was still fresh in his mind, the memories of that event making him sick to his stomach. That combined with the fact that he hadn't eaten in almost twenty-four hours made his insides feel like just as much of an enemy as the natives...the ones he hadn't even run into yet. He had just hear the stories. His eyes drew up to Gamma and Jonny in front of him, following the stranger they just met, Chigo, a fellow Farchonian who promised food and shelter for the night. To be honest, Kayden didn't care if he had to eat a boiled bat, whatever they provide would do. As if on queue, his stomach twisted, letting out a contorted growl like a mangy wolf.
Chigo, a chubby man, looked over his shoulder at the Trio with a smile. "Aah, do not worry my fellows. We will have a bit for you to eat once we arrive. We are almost there, do not fret." And with that he marched on.
Gamma turned back and fell in line with Kayden. "What do you think it'll be like?" She said quietly. She seemed to be a little cautious of their newfound companion.
Kayden chewed on the question for a second, he had been thinking about that since Chigo stumbled upon them. "Well it seems to be a Farchonian outpost. It is probably a pit-stop for people to get out of spawn, like Chigo said."
Chigo's words ran through his head again: "Come on, kids, you want to get out of spawn, do you not?"
Gamma took a deep breath in. "Kayden, there's something I want to say to y-"
"We're here." Chigo said, cutting off Gamma. He quickly glanced around as if looking to see if they had been followed but there wasn't much to see. They descended six or seven blocks and entered a dead-end in a small canyon; whether it was man made or not was indistinguishable. Cobblestone and grass blocks were scattered all over the place and there was no visible doorway to the base. No lavacasts or lavacases were in the immediate area. looking up, Kayden couldn't see any.
Chigo quickly pulled his iron pickaxe off his back and broke down two layers of cobblestone in the wall of the canyon. He turned and ushered them all inside. It was dark but that didn't stop Jonny from stepping in and vanishing. The rest followed and Kayden heard Chigo close up the doorway behind them. He then lit a torch, bringing the small tunnel to life, making shadows dance all over the one wide passage. "Go forward." Chigo instructed. "There are steps in a few blocks. Careful."
Just like he said, about ten blocks later, a sharp staircase led downward. The descent took a while and Kayden could see light at the bottom.
"Let me pass." Chigo ordered then squeezed past them.
They finally reached the bottom which Kayden suspected was close to bedrock. Why did it need to be this far underground? He was pretty sure making it close to the surface would have close to the same effect.
The hallway widened to three wide and about twenty blocks straight ahead was a closed iron door and a small slit in the wall created by an upside-down cobble slab. Chigo walked up and spoke into it. "It is Chigo with three recruits."
Gamma's arm brushed Kayden's as she fell in slightly behind him. "I don't think I trust him, Kayden." She whispered so quietly Kayden thought it could have been his imagination. He instantly got goosebumps at those words. He had some similar thoughts in his head but he decided to push them to the side. Jonny was standing a few blocks in front of them, facing Chigo silently. The wood sword he had earlier was discarded.
Suddenly, the iron door flew open. That door must be Redstone or just a simple push of a button from the person operating it on the other side of the wall he thought. Kayden's heart skipped a beat when it slammed open and Chigo turned and smiled at them. Once the door opened, the sound of hearty laughs, clinking drinks and even some music flowed from the room beyond.
"After you, fellow wanderers." Chigo warmly smiled and waved them in. Jonny looked back at them before turning back and stepping inside. Kayden sighed, grabbed Gamma's hand and followed him in. Once he stepped inside, the aroma of cooking food hit him, making all distraught feelings in his belly dissolve instantly. Warm faces turned toward the group form the tables in the stone walled room.
"New arrivals!" Chigo yelled jollily. "Someone bring these pour souls some food!" He yelled as he waved his open palm toward them. Cheers erupted in the room of grubby as people approached them and started patting them on the shoulders and congratulating them for making it this far.
"Welcome to the hideout!"
"Make yourselves at home!"
"Beetroot stew is being served tonight!"
"You're lucky, we just made up some beds for new arrivals!"
Overwhelmed by the situation, Kayden turned toward Gamma to see that a smile had broken over her concerned face. The tough layer of stress that was on her face a moment ago was broken through. She seemed so relieved to see that her worst fears were not true. These people looked like Farchonians. They even had their accent. Looking at Gamma, he saw her get a tear of joy in her eye. Before he could stop himself, looking at her, his eyes started welling up and a tear of his own fell down his face. He was so relieved! He quickly wiped it up. He was so soft. He chuckled to himself as he greeted and shook hands with the other Farchonians, all of them smiling. Kayden looked over at Jonny who still looked shocked at the quick turn of events. Kayden did have to admit, that it was strange seeing a place like this, not fancy by any means but still, among the wreckage of spawn.
They didn't have to wait too much longer before a couple people brought out wooden bowls filled with steaming beetroot stew. The crowd brought them over to a table and sat them down. They then started to disperse to let them eat in peace. The music Kayden heard earlier seemed to be from a young woman in the corner playing a makeshift guitar. She was humming lightly along with it. It was far from perfect but nothing had ever sounded better to Kayden's ears. Kayden and Gamma slurped down their soup so quickly, they hardly had a chance to savor it. Kayden looked up to the silent Jonny to see he had hardly touched it, he was just staring into his bowl. Before Kayden spoke up, Chigo sat down at their table. Laughter still permeated the room.
"I just spoke to the boss, told her you three have arrived. She seemed excited, we haven't had new recruits in a week. She will come by in a few and fill you in on everything you need to know." With that, Chigo stood up, his iron armor clanking. He winked and turned away.
"Wait, Chigo!" Gamma called after him. He turned.
"Yes, my dear?"
She stood up, ran around the table and squeezed him in a warm hug. "Thank you."
He seemed surprised at first but then smiled warmly and squinted his eyes as he returned the embrace. "Get your belly full." He said as they separated. Kayden nodded and smiled back.
Gamma sat back down and finished her bowl quickly burning her mouth in the process. The two laughed. Kayden moved his eyes over to Jonny across the table who still stared down at his soup. Kayden didn't blame him. They all had a cruddy day, hell, Kayden felt bad himself for laughi-
"How can you laugh at a time like this." Jonny whispered with a hint of anger in his voice, completing Kayden's thought. "Lich just died...we left him in that cave to suffer."
That quieted the table up. Kayden turned forward and folded his hands on the table. Jonny almost looked darker than previously...like he was wearing darker clothes but wasn't. "Lich din't have to save you. He chose to go."
Jonny clenched his teeth and spoke through them. "All those other people died to that wither, too."
"Jonny, you and Lich did all you could." Gamma said.
"But how much could I have actually done?" Jonny seethed. "I had a damn wooden sword and I ran in like I was going to save the save the world. I know you guys are good enough of friends to go after me...I KNEW that. Yet I still went." He pushed his bowl away. His angry words drew the attention of a few people at the tables around them. Their eyes seemed sympathetic.
Jonny went quiet for a moment. His next words came out almost silent. "Did it not remind you of the war?"
Kayden's eyes hardened...the war with the Southern Nation. They used withers as weapons of mass destruction against the Farchonian armies...a violation of international law. Everyone in Farchon knew someone who fell victim to the a wither. Half of the population of the southern part of Farchon had some sort of PTSD from their devastating effects.
"Yeah." Kayden whispered. "It kinda' did." Kayden could see that Jonny was trying to hold it together.
Gamma sighed next to him and lowered her head, strands of her blonde hair fell down out of her bun. Jonny just hardened his face more and looked down, seemingly not wanting to say more.
"So these are the new D tiers, huh?" A brash feminine voice boomed behind them. Even Jonny looked up. Kayden and Gamma turned around to see an iron clad woman standing behind them with a diamond sword at her hip. "Nice to meet ya'! I'm the leader or whatever of this place." She said with vigor as she grabbed Kayden's and Gammas shoulders and shook them wildly. She then let out a hearty laugh. She seemed to be around thirty and had long black hair pulled up in a bun like Gammas. She had a lean face and bright green eyes. She wore full armor but no helmet.
"My name is Bridget, but just call me Bridge." She swung around the table and slammed herself down on the seat next to Jonny. "Not hungry big guy?" She said looking at Jonny's soup. She grabbed his spoon and took a big sip herself. "Ooooh ho ho that's good stuff. Especially when you've been eating stale bread for weeks." She dropped the spoon back into the soup and looked right at the surprised face of Jonny. They had the exact same hair color except Jonny's was very short. "So big guy, what's your name?" She said as she laid a strong hand on his shoulder.
Too scared to do otherwise, he answered. "Jonny." It was almost comical.
"Well eat up now, Big Jonny. You only get one and a half meals a day around here and we don't take kindly to those who waste food."
"Oh." Was all he responded with as his eyes looked back down at his soup.
"And you two lovebirds?" She grinned at Gamma and Kayden.
Kayden blushed and held his hands up in defense. "Oh, no we're not-"
"I'm Gamma." Gamma responded cheerfully. "And this is Kayden." She gave Kayden a teasing side glance before returning her full attention to Bridget. "It's an amazing place you have here! It's like an oasis!"
Bridget seemed to like the praise. "Oh, girl, you haven't seen an oasis yet, but thank you. This place acts as a pit-stop to help get Farchonians out of spawn. But I have to warn you on one thing."
"What's that?" Gamma asked.
Bridget leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, her demeanor suddenly growing solemn. "Well first I have to explain something ELSE to ya'll." She sighed. "Have you heard of the powers the natives have?"
The trio was silent. Powers?
"I suppose not. Well no one truly know how or why, but the native people have very powerful abilities. Abilities that allow them to move at hyper speeds, have super strength, know everything about an opponent with just one glance, or the ability to detect if someone is nearby without even using one of their usual five senses. They call them hacks."
The table stayed silent as the trio processed what had just been said.
Kayden broke the silence. "That's ridiculous."
"Is it?" Bridget retorted. She turned to the far wall behind her and waved someone over who was leaning against it. He had his arms crossed and had a mean expression on his face. He was older...probably forty. He seemed different. His clothes were very tattered and his hair was unkept. Kayden didn't realize it at first, but now that he thought about it, that guy had been watching them this whole time. He came over and stood contraposto next to Bridget, hands in pockets. "This is Frosty. He's a native." Kayden felt the whole table tense up.
Bridget continued. "He didn't like the crap he was receiving from native groups out there so he came to us to help fight back, giving us helpful insight. He has hacks too." What? He stood with his hips out and his chin up, looking straight at Kayden. A piece of straw jutted from his mouth. "Frosty, display some of your hacks to our new D-ranks." "Should I scare him?" He asked menacingly looking right at Kayden. Kayden felt icy on the inside. For some reason he felt...scared.
"Just a bit." Bridget said as she smiled lightly. Kayden was frozen to his seat. He noticed everyone else in the room, about a dozen people or so had all stopped their conversations and had turned to see what was happening.
"If you say so." Was all he said before letting the straw fall out of his mouth. Kayden watched it fall, hypnotized by it. Suddenly, the man dashed left around the table at a very fast speed and grabbed Kayden in a headlock, throwing a knife up against his throat. Kayden had no time to react.
"Believer her now?" Frosty asked. Kayden looked back to see the piece of straw finally fall onto the table where he was just standing.
"Yes." was all he said with a shaky voice. Then Frosty released him.
He's so fast! Was all Kayden could think at that moment. He had never even thought it would be possible for a human to move that fast.
Frosty moved over to Bridget and picked his straw up and placed it in his mouth. "But up against the most skilled hackers, I wouldn't stand a chance."
"How did the people here get these powers?" Gamma asked.
Bridget opened a palm. "Like I said, no one really knows. It is just something tied to this strange land.
Gamma looked, quizative. "Tied to this land?"
"Yes. I say that because it is not only tied to the natives. Just being here grants you hack abilities." Kayden's eyes widened. "Some develop them stronger than others, even I am starting to see somethings emerging in myself and I've only been here two and a half months."
Kayden looked down at his hands. Still shaking slightly. "Even I can get these...powers? These hacks?" He looked back up at Bridget.
Bridget laughed through her nose and looked amused. "That's right D rank. But don't think they'll come easy or even at all. Even some of the Farchonians who have been here all of the past three and a half months have not developed any. Plus, you need to train them, like any other skill to develop and strengthen them."
"How?" Gamma asked.
Bridget sat up, closing her eyes and holding her hands out. "Look, I don't want to overload you with information right now. But remember what I said a moment ago about a warning?"
Gamma nodded. "I mentioned hacks that can detect nearby people, yes?"
"Yes."
"Well here is why the veil of this base is paper thin; why it can be found with relative ease by a bloodthirsty native. The average person's detection abilities range between seventy-five and one hundred blocks meaning if an enemy walks directly over us, they will detect a large group of people down here...leading to our likely demise. See where I am going? This is your warning. You have two choices. Stay here, work for us for a while, train up, then once we believe you're ready, we'll send you on your way, or, leave now and not take the risk of being in such an obvious spot. What do you say?"
Kayden looked up at Jonny who was looking down at his hands then over to Gamma who met his gaze. They nodded to each other. Kayden looked up confidently at Bridget. "We'll stay."
Bridget smiled. "Good." She said wholeheartedly. She stood up from her chair and the man named Frosty threw his straw back in his mouth and made his way over back to his side of the room. Bridget put a hand of Jonny's shoulder who flinched. She laughed. "Eat up Big Jonny, your work and combat training starts tomorrow. Chigo will show you to your room once you're done here.
They thanked her then she walked back down the hallway where she came from. The group sat in silence once more...it seemed to be a common theme.
"Well..." Gamma started. "That's a lot to chew on." Kayden just nodded. It was all he could think to do at the moment.
Jonny took one small sip of his lukewarm soup before pushing away and standing up. "I'm going to find Chigo." He didn't look at them as he stood up and walked away. Neither of the others tried to stop him. He left down the same hallway Bridget went down.
"He's in the dumps." Gamma said, stating the obvious.
"Yeah. I think the death of Lich meant more to him than it did to us."
"How so?"
"Well, when we were on the ship, he hinted it to me, but I think he lost a few close people to him during the war. He lived close to the southern border. He didn't tell me who died but he did say that Rusher's army liberated his town and drove out the withers."
Gamma bit her lower lip but it was far from playful. "Poor guy."
"Yeah." Kayden burped, tasting beetroot on his breath. He was thoroughly filled.
"I'm done here." Kayden said to Gamma. She said she was too.
Kayden nodded "Okay. Then let's go find Chigo and get to our room for the night. Sound good?"
Gamma nodded and her sad look faded a little as she stood up with Kayden. Kayden grabbed all three bowls and placed them where the rest of the dirty dishes were piling up. He looked back down at Gamma as they walked out of the dining hall. "Let's get a good rest. Tomorrow we start for real." Gamma gave a sincere closed lips smile and hugged Kayden's arm.
This place was a small flame of hope. The depths and desolation of spawn now seemed to have a small flame of hope lit in it. A small one nonetheless, but it was still lit. The depression and hopelessness he had before seemed to be ebbing away.
He almost pulled away from the hug but after a moment he realized he didn't mind. It was kinda nice.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow we start for real.