𝙵𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐...
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𝙻𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍.
𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷 - 𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙴
The warm, dimly lit room was illuminated by a small fire in the center. A thin figure casted a tall silhouette shadow on the wall.
The figure was shaking, clutching its knees with its arms tightly.
The figure looked to be a young girl, around 15. She looked to be starved-thin.
'When is Mom going to be back...' She thought.
Lifting her head, she looked around the room. It wasn't really a room, it was just a construction made from the rubble and bits of broken buildings. The make-shift room had an exit. It was heavily blocked, however.
She stood up, legs shaking from lack of food and nutrition.
Mother had always told her not to exit home, but she had been gone for at least 6 hours.
She wasn't sure what the outside was like. For all she knew, she was born here in this room. She had faint memories of being carried by mother in thick smoke. She had been crying.
She assumed for the most part that it was a dream.
Her nerves skyrocketed with each step she took towards the "door".
Five steps away,
Four,
Three steps away,
Two,
One step away...
She reached her shaking hand to the piece of wood that blocked the entryway.
To her dismay, the wooden piece wouldn't move. With all of her might, she slammed her body weight into the door.
Surprisingly, the wood was pushed over relatively easily. It came crashing to the outside earth with a thud. A cloud a dust wafted up, blowing in the girl's face.
Coughing a few times, she pushed through the cloud of dust.
It soon cleared to reveal her first glimpse at the outside world. A red, thin layer of smog surrounded the area.
There was rubble of long lost buildings everywhere. The tattered remains of a city that once stood high and proud, now laid broken and battered on the ground.
The girl turned around, taking a look at the home that housed her since birth.
It was nothing but a broken building base with a wall that fell on top of it.
Home.
But what it really?
Was this place really her home?
This couldn't be what the world really was. I can't be. There has to be more. There has to be something better.
She didn't realize it, but the girl was increasing her walk speed, almost at a run now.
'Where is mom? I can't find her.' She thought frantically, becoming desperate.
"M-mom?! Mom!" She broke into a full sprint when she saw the sight in front of her. Tears pricked at her eyes.
It was mom, her head beaten in. Blood and brain matter scattered on the ground. Her limbs were contorted into odd angles.
"Mom! Mom! Please... no! This can't be..." She dropped to her knees beside her mother's mangled body.
"Who.. did this?" Tears poured down her face, not stopping.
A mixture of rage, sadness, and loneliness filled the young girl. She wanted to destroy whoever dared to bring this upon her mother. She clenched her fist, but then remembered something her mother had said to her once.
"Y/N, if something ever happens to me, I want you to get your things and leave. I want you to be safe when I'm not there. You can't be safe here on your own."
Y/N was breathing heavily, her head bowed. Tears still pouring down the young girl's face.
Mother had always been strong for her, so she would have to be strong. She wouldn't let her mother die in vain.
Y/N stood, rubbing the tears from her eyes. She bent down after quickly looking around to make sure no one was around.
She attempted to pick up her mom before her arms gave out and Y/N ended up just dragging her.
As carefully as possible, she dragged her mother back to heir make-shift home, laying her next to the fire.
"I'm so sorry, mom." Y/N kissed the back of her hand gently before hurriedly standing back up. She looked around the room, scanning for her mother's bag.
She gathered up the few things that they had and packed it into the leather bag.
The world felt like it was going so fast for young Y/N. Before she knew it, she was outside, running aimlessly for some sort of exit based of her intuition.
Everything hurt. Her heart, her head, her feet. This was the most she had walked in her life. However, she kept going. From her knowledge, they lived on the outskirts of the city. Not many people went near the outside of town.
'Except for the man that killed mother.' Y/N thought.
She remembered all the stories that mother had told her. About the outside world. The green trees, the grass, the smell of nature. About father..
Y/N gasped, out of breath. Hope coursed through her when she saw what looked to be the city exit. It was particularly blocked by rubble, but it looked easy to climb over.
She ran faster and harder, every part of her hurting. Adrenaline had given her more strength than she thought it would, but that didn't stop the physical backlash.
As soon as she had gotten to the pile, she scaled it as quickly as she could. She jumped down and rolled down a small hill.
Suddenly, the tiredness kicked in and the fact that she was running on an empty stomach.
'Nonono! I can't stop now. I have to keep going. They'll kill me!' She thought desperately, clawing at the grass and dirt.
This was her first time seeing these things. But she couldn't focus on it now.
Another adrenaline rush flowed through her and she pulled herself to her feet.
'Run. Run as far and long as you can.' Y/N tried to motivate herself.
Y/N noticed something in the very distance. It looked to have... houses? At least, she that they were. She didn't know what they looked like.
She desperately hoped that they weren't like the people in the city. She didn't want to find out, but it was her best bet.
Y/N felt her limbs becoming heavy as she approached the village.
Black spots had begun to grow in the corner of her vision.
Before she knew it, her numb legs collapsed and the black spots consumed her vision.
Everything was dark.
Y/N jumped up, gasping. Her head darting around, quickly scanning the area for any danger.
Sighing in relief, she relaxed and laid her head back onto her pillow. Rubbing at her face, she groaned.
It was that dream again.
Actually, it was more like a memory. A memory of her childhood. Before she escaped. Her mother's death.
"Hrrm?"
Y/N looked over to find the source of the sound, only to find Nurm, one of her closest friends. Even since her escape.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that... dream again." Y/N responded. What Nurm said was basically the equivalent of 'are you okay' in villager language. Nurm was sitting at his desk near his bed, writing.
She looked in front of her bed to the calendar. It was founding day.
'Crap. I totally spaced that.' Y/N thought.
When Y/N escaped the city, she collapsed by a village that took her in. They helped her back to proper health. Once the figured out where she came from and who she was, they enrolled her into a school system that schooled mostly villagers. That's where she met Nurm. They became friends quickly.
"I need a shower." Y/N mumbled absent-mindedly to Nurm, who nodded.
She exited the shared room that Y/N, Nurm, and her other friend, Jack owned.
When She and Nurm met, Nurm told Y/N about his dreams of adventure. They promised each other that when they got older, they would travel the world.
And that they did.
On one of their many adventures, they met a man named Jack. He was also an adventurer. From there, they became some of the most famous adventurers on the planet in modern day. Out of the trio, it was Jack that got mostly all of the credit for the adventures and treasure. Not that Y/N really cared, she wasn't one for clout anyway. She was perfectly content with just having adventures in the first place. She wasn't doing for profit. It was only an added bonus when they got treasure out of it.
The hallway had a window on one end and the bathroom at another. The house had a simple layout. Considering they built it themselves, it fit their needs.
Jack, Nurm, and Y/N had picked this spot in town because of the area. They lived in Beacon town. A town founded by the most famous heroes on the planet. Axel, Olivia, Petra, Reuben, Lucas, and the leader, Jesse. They were the ones who slayed the beast known as the Wither Storm. It ravaged the planet and destroyed a good 1/3 of the buildings and some land.
Luckily, it never hit anywhere around the trio, so they were fine.
The spot in town they had picked was a bit different than the rest of the town. Bad Luck Alley. It mainly consisted of the rebels of the town. Thankfully, they were nothing like the people in Y/N's old city.
Griefers, killers, they all inhabited that hell hole of a town.
From what mother had told her, the town used to be a bright city. No problems, nothing to worry about. Until griefers got a hold on it. The group were some of the worst in the world.
Y/N shivered thinking about them.
She stepped into the bathroom, making sure to close and lock it behind her. She trusted her housemates, but it was just for privacy.
The shower was a quick one. Y/N had learned to save water when showering since she settled down with her friends in Beacon town.
Y/N dried off quickly with a towel and got dressed. It was her usual clothing. A white plain shirt and a pair of denim shorts. Just her usual casual clothing.
After hanging up her towel on the wall, she stepped back into the hallway and made her way to the stairs.
Y/N yawned as the entered the kitchen. The stairs had led into the kitchen and the kitchen led to the main room. Jack often called it the "treasure room". Mainly because they displayed everything they got from adventures in there.
The clock on the kitchen wall displayed the time of day it was. It was near sunset already.
"I slept for that long? Damn." Y/N said, surprised.
She shuffled over to the coffee machine, placing her mug and pouring water into the machine. She pushed the button and waited.
Y/N figured she must've dozed off slightly because Jack had apparently been trying to talk to her.
"Y/N!" Jack called. Y/N jumped, startled.
She rubbed her eyes and looked over at Jack.
"How long have you been standing there?" Jack asked, concerned.
"I dunno, a few seconds I think?" Y/N said drowsily.
Jack just gave her a look. "You really need to stop staying up so late. It's becoming a bad habit." He looked over to the coffee that was sitting in the coffee maker, untouched.
"Your coffee is getting cold."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Y/N grabbed the cup and took a sip. It was lukewarm. Looking outside, she noticed the sky. It was a red-ish color now, indicating it was sunset.
She scowled under her breath.
"Something wrong?" Jack asked.
"Not really. I just wanted to at least be awake for most of founding day." Y/N sighed. "The festival is starting soon, I believe."
Jack nodded. "We should go check it out later. I doubt we'll be getting any business around these parts of town when there's everything else going on."
"Yeah, I suppose not. I'll go see if Nurm wants to come with." Y/N said, picking up her mug and began walking up the stairs.
"Hey, Nurm!" Y/N called before entering the shared bedroom.
"Hrrrm hrrrmhe hrm hrm?" (Yeah, what is it?)
She entered the room, being careful not to spill her coffee. "Me and Jack are thinking about going out into town to see what everyone's doing for the festival. You wanna come with?"
"Hrrrm... hrmhe, hrm." (Uhm... yeah, just give me a minute.)
Y/N nodded and exited the room, walking back downstairs.
"Jack?" Y/N called out. She didn't find him in the kitchen where he had been previously.
She walked into the main room after sitting her cup down.
The sight before her was the usual. Jack was at the front counter, giving his talk about his many aliases to a group of customers.
However, Y/N was surprised at who the customer were.
Before her was Jesse and Petra, two of the heroes who practically own this town. Mainly Jesse, but she did recognize Petra.
She decided to let Jack handle the customer situation, so she just went over to her and Nurm's desk to shuffle through her most recent work.
"So awesome to meet you! Love your shop." Y/N overheard Jesse's conversation with Jack.
"Of course it is, and of course you do. Pleasure to have you in today." Jack replied.
"Tch, ego..." Y/N mumbled.
She tuned out of the conversation and continued looking through her work.
What she did was rather important when it came to adventures. While Nurm handled the maps and Jack handled the fighting and experience, Y/N was the plan maker.
She calculated the plans, routes, and fighting tactics that are needed for success in an adventure.
Many customers came in and required assistance in plans, maps, etc. Her job was to make those plans tailored to the person's capabilities and the place they planned on going to.
Y/N looked over at Nurm's part of the desk. He was working on a map currently, it looked nearly finished.
"Hrrm." (Hey, Y/N.)
She jumped and yelped slightly. Turing around quickly to find Nurm.
"Buddy, you scared me!" Y/N whisper-yelled.
She was interrupted suddenly by Jack's surprised tone of voice, raised a bit. Both Nurm and Y/N looked over to see what was the matter.
"Yeah, that's what we're here about." Jesse had his arm on the front desk. At the angle they were standing at, neither Nurm nor Y/N could see what it was.
Jack coughed a few times before responding. "Wow, uh, crazy glove you got there. Not that I've ever seen one before.."
"Looks real crazy though, yeah, hehe.."
"'Never seen it before?' That's not the way I heard it. Petra here said you know more about this stuff than anybody."
Y/N was slightly pissed at his attitude. If the "glove" is what she thought it was, than Jesse had no right to be snarky about it.
To but it bluntly, Jack had a bit of trauma when it came to a certain prismarine gauntlet that he had found a few years back. Before Nurm, Y/N and him teamed up.
He and his friends Sammy and Vos had set out to find the prismarine sea temple, where Vos and Sammy later met their fates.
Jack mumbled something before walking around Jesse and Petra. "Found it on top of a creepy bottomless pit, right? Spitting out monsters?"
"Yeah! And it had a slot with, like, a weird symbol?"
Jack turned to face the pair. "You should've never picked up that gauntlet... It's not for us mortals to tamper with."
Jesse retorted. "But it was whispering my name!"
"And that made you want to pick it up more?" Jack growled.
"That pit... it's as deadly as they come. And that symbol you saw was the symbol... of the structure block."
Jack continued. "Legend says I was a mighty tool that could grow civilizations like seeds, create cities in the blink of an eye. You need one of those to close your pit."
Jesse took a step forward. "So where can I get one of these 'structure blocks?' Petra thought maybe an ocean monument, because of the prismarine."
Jack nodded his head. "Oh, it's an ocean monument alright. The villagers of Mushroom Archipelago call it 'the sea temple.'"
"Hrm Hrmm.." (There a problem here?) Nurm asked.
"Yeah, something wrong, Jack?" Y/N and Nurm had gone over to Jack, Jesse and Petra.
"No, no. No problem." Jack said, turning to face Petra and Jesse.
"Guys, this is Y/N and Nurm—my other sides. Nurm's the genius behind all of our fine maps. Y/N is the brains behind our well-calculated adventure plans."
Both Nurm and Y/N looked at each other with pride.
Jack turned to face Nurm and Y/N. "Guys, this is Jesse and Petra."
"Hm." Nurm nodded.
"You're quite popular here. Your names and faces have already been well established." Y/N said bluntly. She had a habit of speaking her mind. "Anyway, nice to meet you two." She extended a hand forward.
Jesse smiled and shook it as well as Petra.
"I was just about to tell these two that I can't help them." Jack sighed.
"What?" Jesse asked, shocked.
"Don't get me wrong, I love your early work. Witherstorm? Old builders? Awesome. But at a purveyor if fine maps, plans, and adventures, your death would be terrible for business." Jack spoke.
"But-" Petra was cut off by Jack.
"Sorry. I just can't."
A moment of silence spread throughout the room until Jesse spoke up. "Okay... so how about you come with us then? You could, I dunno, protect us? Be our guide?"
Jack groaned. "Vowed I'd never go back there again..." He turned and walked another direction. "Let me show you something."
They followed Jack until they reached Nurm's map wall. "It's like I said before. The world's a lot bigger than you think it is, Jesse." He turned to a lever and flipped it downward.
Within a few seconds, the wall had moved and replaced itself with more map area.
Y/N watched, leaning on a bookshelf. It was always funny to see newcomers' reactions when they seen the rest of the map wall.
However, one part of the map was an eyesore.
"Let me guess, the empty space is where we need to go." Jesse guessed.
"Yep."
"And it's missing because..?" Petra asked.
"Well, I.. uh... kinda burned it. I threw it into a volcano, okay?" Jack snapped at the last part.
"What? Why?!" Jesse asked, irritated.
"You didn't need that kind of danger anyway, alright? I swore I'd never take anyone else to that temple ever again... I refuse to let it take any more lives."
"Hrrm Hrn" (This could be important.)
"Shut up Nurm." Jack said, shrugging off Nurm's protest.
"Jack, if this is like last time, they could really need the structure block." Y/N reasoned.
He gave her a look, but she stood her ground. Before either could say something, Jesse spoke up.
"Jack you don't understand. We need that map."
Jack turned to face Jesse once more. "And I hear you, I really do. But I swear to you, it's not worth it." Jack paced past a display shelf. "I found a gauntlet just like that once. Teamed up with my friends Vos and Sammy to follow its trail..."
"Neither made it out alive."
Jack begun mumbling a few things before he spoke louder, in his normal tone.
"But burning the map couldn't erase the... horrible memories. And thanks to the curse of my perfect sense of direction, I couldn't forget the location of that temple if I tried."
"So if you're the only one who knows where it is..." Jesse begun.
"Yep. Without me, you're not getting to that sea temple. That knowledge is.. a curse."
Y/N walked over to Jack, putting an arm on his shoulder, while Nurm comforted him.
"Jack, Jack! Sounds to me like it's your lucky day! Petra and I have a lot of great experience helping people get over their tragic backstories." Jesse exclaimed.
"We do?" Petra mumbled, but enough for Y/N to hear.
She gave Jesse a look. Not exactly an angry look, more like a judgmental look. Y/N could sense that he was lying.
Jesse's eyes landed on her for a moment. She could tell that the look intimidated him.
"Yeah?" Jack asked.
"Yeah! Well tackle that temple together." Jesse had looked back to Jack, ignoring Y/N.
Jack looked over at Y/N and Nurm, beckoning for them to get closer. They all nodded in silent agreement.
"You know what? You've inspired me. I mean, am I the Velvet Tornado or aren't I?" Jack said, walking past them.
Y/N smiled over at Nurm, who returned it.
"That's the spirit, Jack." Y/N placed her hands on her hips.
"Yeah! That's the spirit." Jesse repeated.
"Nurm, Y/N, time to get our adventuring things!" Jack said, walking into the kitchen.
"Alrighty!" Y/N hummed.
Nurm gave a "hm!" in response to Jack.
As Y/N headed into the kitchen, she could hear Jesse and Petra chatting excitedly.
She gave a low sigh. As much as she was excited to get the team back on their feet, she was worried for Jack. She was worried that he might break down once they got there. Or even worse, one of them could die.
Y/N shook her head. Now was not the time for overthinking.
When she entered their shared bedroom, she saw Nurm gathering his mapping supplies and Jack grabbing his sword and a few other miscellaneous items.
Y/N paced over to her bed, crouching down to reach under it. She retracted her hand once she found what she was after.
Mother's backpack.
It was the bag she used in her escape, along with it being a treasured item of her mom's.
Y/N remembered the story that she was told about it. It was a vintage bag passed along generations until it reached her mother's hands. She told her that once she was older, she would give it to her. Y/N missed her.
She gave a sniff and rubbed at her eyes, which drew the attention of Nurm.
He walked over to her. "Hrrrmm." (Is everything okay?)
Nurm stopped once he saw what was in her arms.
"Hrm hrrmm hm hrm." (Oh, that was your mother's bag, right?)
"Yeah, it was." Y/N stood up. "And I'm completely fine. No need to worry." By now, Jack had looked over to see what was the matter. He figured it out quickly.
"Hey, it's okay. We all have our demons." Jack put an arm on her shoulder, similar to how she did earlier with him.
"Thank you guys. I really do appreciate it." Y/N turned around to face them, a bit of noticeable pink on her face from her near-tears. "You two are like my family." She leaned in to hug them both, which they returned.
"I agree. I've known you guys since my late teen years." Jack said. "You guys really are like family to me."
"Hm." Nurm agreed also.
Once they pulled away from the hug, Jack spoke. "Don't tell anyone about this. I don't want them to think I'm a...'softie'..."
"Haha, nahh. You're still 'tough ol' Jack' to me." Y/N gave him a light punch to the shoulder. Both Nurm and Jack gave a chuckle.
"But seriously. I want you guys to be extra careful. I know we usually protect ourselves pretty well, but this is a bit different." Y/N crossed her arms.
"Hrmmm hr hrm hrm hrrr" (I promise we'll be careful.)
"Yeah, I promise too." Jack said in agreement. The three nodded and they went back to packing.
Y/N grabbed her bow and Sword. The bow had a lot of enchantments because she was pretty good at archery. She mainly relied on ranged attacks, but she could go ham on someone with a sword if she wanted to. Her sword was diamond, same as Jack's. However, it didn't have any enchantments on it like her bow.
She strapped her arrows, bow, and sword into her belt.
It had been a while since their last adventure as a team, and Y/N had been kinda lazy recently, so she hadn't taken out her gear in quite some time.
Her gear consisted of her Green, iron plated bomber jacket, her black bandana, and her brown boots and goggles. It was pretty simple, yes. And it also wasn't anything fancy, but it worked. Not to mention that Y/N really liked it.
Soon enough, she had her boots laced up, her jacket on, bandana around her neck, and the goggles secured on the top of her head.
Slugging her bag over her shoulder, she made her way back downstairs where Jack, Petra, and Jesse waited for Nurm and her to get there.
Jack noticed her and asked: "Hey, where's Nurm?"
"He's just getting some extra things, he'll be down in a second." Y/N replied. Jack nodded in response.
He took a good look at Y/N. "It's been a while since you wore your gear. It reminds me of the good ol' days. When me, you, and Nurm had just met, going on our early adventures together." He gave a chuckle. "You still look as young as ever."
Y/N gave a laugh. "Oh, quit it! You're gonna make me blush." Y/N joked. "And besides, I'm becoming an old lady!"
Jack scoffed. "Oh come on, you're only in your thirties. You're not old."
"Says you! You're like, five years younger. You still get to be in your twenties! I miss those days." Y/N retorted jokingly.
"Yeah? Well—" Jack was cut off by Nurm, who had just entered the room.
"Hrrmmm?" (What are you two doing now?)
Jack turned to face him and pointed a finger at Y/N. "Tell her she's not old!"
Nurm looked past Jack to see Y/N.
"Hr hrm hrrr hrmmm hrm hr." (Stop talking that way. You aren't old. And by that logic, you're calling me old.) Nurm said.
"Yeah, aren't you guys like, the same age?" Jake asked the two of them.
"Well, kinda.. he's a year older." Y/N rubbed her arm. Nurm did have a point.
Sighing, she gave in. "Fine, I'm not that old."
"Fair enough." Jack said, shrugging.
"Hrm hr he hrm hrm hrmmm." (By the way, I want to make a new map of the area.)
"What's he saying?" Jesse asked, confused.
"Nurm here wants to make a new map of the place.
"Hr he Hrm hrm hrmm hm!" (I can't wait! This will be our first big adventure in a while.)
"Easy there, Nurmie, we don't want you blowing a gasket." Y/N placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What's got him so excited?" Jesse asked.
"Uhh.. we'll explain along the way." Jack said.
"So that means we're off to the sea temple?" Jesse asked, beginning to walk towards the door.
"Hey, kid. Don't you think you're looking a little, erm, squishy?" Y/N asked, leaning up against the wall.
Jesse turned to face her. "What about you? All you're wearing is a jacket."
Y/N chuckled. "This isn't any ordinary jacket. It's got iron platings on the inside so it basically functions like real armor." She knocked on her arm, there was a muffled noise of tapping on metal. "Made this baby myself."
"Oh." Was all Jesse said before he spoke up once more. "Well, I just need to make a quick pitstop and I can show you some real armor."
Jack looked around at everyone. Making sure they were all ready to go.
"Well, alright. Let's get going then!"