We See You

The Forge - Part One

The sea had not been on its best behaviour as Alex and Tyler travelled to The Forge, their decaying boat struggling to stay afloat through the horrific storms and wild winds. As they approached, the shadow of the volcano grew, plunging everything on the south side of the island into the shade. The Forge was iconic, its name and reputation being known throughout the whole world. Stories of The Forge constantly flooded Alex's home village, about how each weapon was made from extraordinary metal, found deep within the earth's surface, and how each sword forged there would possess incredible power. Alex remembered all the times he sat in his bedroom, surrounded by his friends, as they would discuss what they would want their swords to look like, and Alex never forgot his. Now he was finally here, to get his dream weapon.

Growing closer, Alex looked up at the top of the volcano island, "I've always dreamt of this place, but I never imagined it so..." he trailed off, in awe at the sight in front of him. Tyler turned his head to look at The Forge, his rowing motions slowing slightly, "I've sailed past here before, never been in though." He said, exhaling, "In fact, I'm not even sure where we go." Alex squinted, noticing a large platform balanced onto the side of the rock, he raised a hand, pointing in that direction "Is that it? It looks like some houses are up there." Shrugging, Tyler faced back towards the sea, pulling the oars to direct them to the shore "If not, it's still a good place to start."

As soon as the small rowboat hit the edge of the island, it began crumbling away. The two had just managed to climb onto the land and turn around, before it disappeared beneath the waves. "My protein!" Tyler cried, falling onto his knees slowly, a look of pain spread across his face. "My... protein..." he whispered. "That was protein?" Alex mumbled to himself, he was very confused, and concerned for Tyler. Who needed protein powder this much? "Tyler, I'm sure there will be more here somewhere, we can ask when I'm getting my sword."

"It's not the same..." Tyler mumbled, before slowly tearing his eyes away from where the love of his life had drowned, and following Alex across the coast. Reaching a small stone building, Alex's eyes trailed up a long rope tied at one end of the building. Eyes landing to the top, he could see it reached all the way to the platform on the side of the volcano. "Ah! Tyler, I found a way up!" he spun around, seeing Tyler sadly plodding towards him. The guy had just lost everything, and there was nothing Alex could do to help.

Suddenly, a small face popped around the side of the building, a big grin plastered on it. "Hi hi!" a small girl waved at them. "Uh, hello?" Alex took a step back, a little bit cautious. "Whatcha dooooin?" the girl stepped out from behind the wall, her hands folding behind her back as she looked up at them both curiously. Tyler raised his eyebrow, looking around the area for anybody else, "Kid, what are you doing out here alone? It could be dangerous," he asked. The girl giggled and shook her head "Don't worry! I live here so I'm suuuuper good at getting around, I can help you get up there if you want?" she pointed up to the platform. "Really? That would be awesome!" Alex's eyes lit up as he nodded. "Follow meee!"

Leading them inside the building, the girl showed them a large wicker basket that was attached to the rope. "All ya gotta do is get in there, and then I'll pull the lever and jump in!" she explained, pushing the two into the basket and shutting the gate. "I don't have a good feeling about this dude" Tyler whispered to Alex, who shrugged. "If it gets us to The Forge, I don't mind taking a risk."

"Did ya say The Forge? Why'd you wanna go up there then?" the girl began, before jumping and looking towards the door, her face covering in panic. "CRYSTAL!? Where are you?" a gruff voice called out, a red-haired male appearing in the doorframe. "Yo, you two seen a little girl about this tall? White hair, usually in blue?" The man raised a hand to signal a height at his stomach. "Yeah, she was right he-AHH" Tyler hissed and looked down, seeing Crystal hidden by his feet in the basket. She looked up at Tyler, pressing a finger to her lips and shaking her head. Tyler looked back to the man, before pointing down to the girl at his feet "She's hiding here." He said simply. The man exhaled deeply, before storming his way to the basket and grabbing Crystal by the ear. Pulling her out, he clenched his jaw and let go of her, "Crystal. What did I say about running off whilst I'm working? And how did you get so far away!" he scolded her. Crystal stood quietly, a small pout on her face before she replied, "It's so boring when you're workin', I wanted to do somethin' fun!"