A Crown of Broken Runes (ACOBR)

The Crater

Smack.

"AHAHAHAhahahahaha!!!"

Even Xisuma chortled a bit as Iskall and Grian laughed jovially. Upon the branches and leaves in front of them lay all of Keralis' items, along with several orbs of experience, floating about lazily. Iskall was sitting on a branch of the adjacent tree, while Grian and Xisuma were standing on the edge of one of the bee man's very own buildings.

Xisuma was a fair bit taller than both Grian and Iskall, but was only a little taller than Keralis. His yellow doom suit glinted, catching the sun, and his clear insect wings shifted slightly as he chuckled. They were merely cleverly disguised elytra, but it merged seamlessly into the body of the suit. His face was hidden behind the tinted window in his mask, and two small antennae poked out of the top, imitating that of a bee.

Iskall was wearing his normal clothing, jeans and a green sweatshirt to match his singular robotic green eye. His other eye was grey, and his hair looked as if it had been soaked in dark chocolate. Despite his initially startling mechanical additions, Iskall was friendly and agreeable, and another of Grian's jungle neighbours.

Grian had worn his normal red sweater over his brand-new cloak, and his dirty-blond hair was always messy. The wing concealment had worked marvellously so far. He had gotten friendly compliments on how it looked and nothing more. His eyes were the one thing he worried about, but they probably wouldn't notice the change.

Keralis wore a black cap on his head, and he had this look about him that made him look constantly shocked. His bright orange construction worker vest shone brightly as, a few minutes later, he rocketed back. He always looks ready to build with that getup. A pair of old spare elytra were strapped to his shoulders, and his dark hair looked dishevelled. He hit the ground with another loud thud, but managed to right himself. He picked up his armour and blocks, grumbling at his friends' continued amusement at his mistake.

"Keralis, what— how—" but Iskall couldn't finish the sentence and he collapsed, shaking with another bout of mirth.

"Oh hush." Sighed Keralis, giving in to a small smile. "It's not that funny."

~ ⬩ ⎓╎リ↸ᓭ ⬩ ~

The air seemed to press in around them. The dense lavender haze was almost suffocating, much worse than nether fog. They could just barely see a few steps ahead of their feet. The mist swirled around them in eerie loops, and sound was unable to penetrate the crater. It was black as night, and the ground was pale and porous. The only sounds were the muffled echoes of their footsteps as they made their way along. Dark shapes rose out of the fog around them, huge black towers rising into a starless void. Grian glanced about at his friends. Iskall's expression, Grian noticed, seemed very nervous, and Keralis looked downright terrified. Even Xisuma appeared to be shivering slightly, as if he was standing in a cold draft of air. Grian was scared, yes, but this place's spooky atmosphere seemed to affect the others more than himself. In the back of his mind, he dully wondered why.

They pushed ahead in silence, the hush was like in a church. It felt as if any small sound that could shatter the serenity would shatter the world as well.

They continued quietly, even the scraping of their shoes muffled by the thick, dreary atmosphere.

Finally, Grian broke the silence. "There's something dark up ahead..."

The others started, slightly surprised by the sound. They all gathered around, peering through the fog.

"This is pretty frickin spooky..." Iskall mumbled.