Mythical Artifacts

Chapter 15: Darkened Path

It was dark and cloudy in the damp place. The only thing we could hear was the sound of the wind, blowing against the towering hedges that surrounded us like a maze. It was humid, and extremely cold, making me wish I had more clothing on. The sky above was mostly clear, but a storm could be seen in the distance. The atmosphere was eerily unpleasant, making me wish we could return immediately — but we couldn't, for the portal behind us had shut as all of us entered . . . except that two of us stayed behind.

We had talked it through before entering, and decided that Kiqy and PixelPig2004 would stay behind, in the case that we did not return. PixelPig stayed because he was too fearful of what was inside; even though she wanted to go, Kiqy remained to ensure that somebody who knew the truth would be staying behind. If only she knew how uncomfortable the place was, perhaps she would've been gladder to stay.

So now, looking around at the thick hedges, I attempted to see where we were. I was quick to realize that there was no chance of navigating by merely looking through the hedges. We discussed what we were going to do — whether we would venture out through the maze, or remain where we were in hopes that the portal would reopen — but we couldn't really decide. The entire reason we ever went into the portal was to explore, but it felt too barren, almost as if it were a trap.

We still had, however, our compasses and cosmetics. I first attempted to text Kiqy, to tell her how plain and distasteful the place was, but I was unable to: my compass was glitching wildly, much like it had been in the Bedwars game where I found the first Mythical Artifact. It didn't work whatsoever, aside from its pointing abilities.

As we looked through our cosmetics to see if they worked, my stomach began to growl. I glanced around for some food, but obviously there wasn't going to be any. The only thing around was a small pond of muddy water — which was of little help.

"Hunger and cold," muttered Typo. "It sounds like the Dragonstar map you guys were in."

"Yeah, but this time it's probably not because of an artifact," I said, wandering around the area with my arms crossed. "I think it's just because this world's abandoned."

"As long as we don't feel pain, I'll be fine," said Ferbooper, who was leaning up against one of the hedges, which hardly budged up against his weight. "I hate when pain tolerance is off."

"Want me to test it?" I asked.

"You're joking," he said. "Of course not."

I smiled. "I'm more worried about the cold, anyway," I said. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm freezing . . . and these surroundings aren't exactly interesting."

"What do you suggest we do?" said Mine. "Hope that the portal reopens and warm clothes pop out?"

"Maybe we should try getting out of this maze . . . or whatever it is," I said. I looked at my compass. "I'm assuming that our compasses are pointing toward spawn, but if that's the case, then we aren't at spawn."

The others looked at their compasses, all of which pointed in the same direction. "Well," said Ferbooper, "it could just be broken."

"It could," I said, "but without any other leads, I think we should go to where it's pointing."

Melon, who was attempting to climb up the hedges, gave up his attempts and sighed. "Let's just do something. I hate this place."

"I'll lead the way," I said.

We began trekking through the maze, walking uncomfortably upon the sodden grass. As we walked, we kept a close lookout for anything out of the ordinary. In no time at all, we reached our first dead end; our morale plummeted as we turned around to go back the way we came. We continued on our route, somewhat determined to do something in the place we were stuck in.