Warriors (OH HOLD)

Chapter Twenty-One~ The Nether

THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION. I changed something that no longer makes sense to the rest of the story. (If you are reading this for the first time, this shouldn't affect anything else)

"Both of you have to be careful and look out for Alyssa while I'm gone," Dec said, hastily pack a full of provisions. Mot sat on a stool, looking at the priest curiously. He had just woken up to Dec reminding Jeriah the rules for when Dec left. As many rules as he had normally, when he left they may as well just stay inside the whole time.

"Don't stray too far from the house, and ESPECIALLY don't go into the Nether, got it?" Dec added, looking at Jeriah. He looked absolutely exhausted. His hair was sticking up everywhere and he had dark bags under his eyes. He looked at Dec with his tired eyes, nodding every once in a while. "Do you understand?" Jeriah nodded. "Repeat what I said back to me,".

"Uh, something about looking after Alyssa, not leaving the house and avoiding the Nether," he said, but it sounded more like a question. Dec nodded and turned towards the door.

"Remember, I'll be back in two days," he said one last time before the walked out the door shutting it behind him. Mot waited a minute before hopping off the stool and rushing to a chest, rustling through it. He pulled out two loaves of bread and some water bottles. Mot rushed over to the door and grabbed his pack and started to fill it.  

"Mot," the boy looked at Jeriah. "What are you doing?" Mot looked at him, confused. 

"What do you mean? We always go away when Dec does," Jeriah looked away. Mot slowed down in his preparations. If he had to go alone, he would, but he always preferred to have the older boy with him for protection. "Jeriah?". 

"I was thinking... maybe we listen to Dec this time and stay here," Jeriah suggested. Mot halted. He turned slowly to face Jeriah. 

"Why?" was all Mot could ask. It was Jeriah's idea in the first place for them to go out and explore whenever Dec wasn't around. Why didn't he want to do it now? 

"I don't know. I was just thinking maybe we should listen to Dec for once. And maybe it isn't a good idea to leave Alyssa alone by herself. I think all that time alone is starting to get to her," he said, referring to Alyssa's imaginary friend. Mot scowled, looking down at his feet, realizing Jeriah was right. What if they got hurt out there? That's why they would take swords. He looked back up at the older boy. 

"Feel free to stay here, then. I'm still going," Mot said, a certain confidence in his voice. Jeriah sighed, holding his face in his hand. 

"No, Mot, don't. You'll get yourself hurt," he said, looking up at Mot with tired eyes. He didn't sound concerned, but bored, like a tired parent dealing with an energized toddler. This sparked something within Mot. A rebellious spark. He shrugged. 

"If you're so worried about getting hurt, then don't come with me," Mot said, turning around and heading for the door. He didn't hear anything behind him.  No footsteps, no shuffling, no voices. The boy pulled his pack onto his shoulders, pushing open the door and stepping out into the field. 

Mot started towards a mountain on the north side of the island. When he reached the mountain, he started to climb down into the valley next to it. His hands gripped the stone, climbing down carefully. One miss step could spell death for the twelve year old. He hadn't noticed how tight he was gripping the rock until his feet were safely planted on the ground below him. He approached a small intent in the cliff, reaching in and pulling out two weapons. A worn, old bow with a quiver of arrows and two tiny daggers. He and Jeriah had stashed these here for their adventures. Since the older boy had decided to stay home, Mot took both the daggers and the bow, setting off towards the sea.  

Mot's destination was a dangerous one. When he got closer to the sea, he turned and climbed the hill to one of the houses of the people previously in this land. Home of Jericho and Firefoxx. Whoever they were, they sure lived a good life. Mot slipped quietly through a window into the mansion. He followed a line of torches down one of the many twisting hallways until he reached a lever. He pulled the lever down and watched the stone wall open in front of him. 

The secret room held the way to Mot's adventure. Inside the room, in the very center of the wood floor, stood a tall, black portal, the glowing amethyst center casting particles into the air. Mot stepped into the room, but stopped when he heard a sound outside. Hopeful Jeriah had decided to follow him, he whipped around, only to see a little spider in the corner. He turned around and walked into the secret room, letting the wall shut behind him. 

Mot approached one of the chests lining the wall, opening it and pulling out a potion. It was long expired. What did he expect? Dec said that whoever lived here had been gone for hundreds of years. Mot walked in front of the portal and looked it. 

The glowing purple surface showed the reflection of a boy, a determined look crossing his face. Mot stepped onto the portal frame, and finally, stepping into the portal. His vision went wavery, a purple light flooding his senses.  Suddenly, the cool air around him turned oven hot. He opened his eyes and the scene had changed. Instead of the stone and wood room he had just occupied, he was in a whole different world. Instead of dirt and stone, the ground was made entirely of a red and grey speckled rock. Lava flows and glowing crystals were the only sources of light in the hellish world. Pigs standing upright walked across the jagged cliffs, holding golden swords. Mot smiled. 

The Nether. 

Mot walked away from the portal, but stopped immediately when he realized it was on a sharp cliff edge, hundreds of feet above a lava sea. Mot felt fear rising in his chest as he slowly inched across the ledge. His heart gave a sudden lurch when a part of the cliff broke off behind him. Mot watched it fall into the molten liquid below. He then resolved to be extra careful in the fiery dimension. He slowly stepped across the ledge, not speeding up until he got to solid ground. 

He looked around, sipping some of the water fro his pack. He was looking for a certain staircase, one that would lead him to a mysterious building. How does he know? He saw it in a dream. And that may not mean anything, but before he fell into this new world, he saw it happen in a dream, so he's learned to trust his dreams. 

Finally, he saw what he was looking for. A narrow staircase cut into the dark rock. Mot ran over to it, and then down the staircase. And, just like the dream, the mysterious building was there. 

It was huge, to start. It almost reached the top of the hellish dimension, and Mot would have seen upon entering, if it wasn't covered by a cave wall. But now, seeing it for the first time in person, Mot was amazed. The building was made almost entirely out of a dark crimson brick that the boy had never seen before. Large portions of the building were made of quartz, forming elegant patterns with glowing crystal. It looked majestic, just as it had in Mot's dream. 

But one thing he didn't see in the dream was a silhouette of another person inside.  

Mot couldn't see anything besides a shadow, but they at least had a human figure. He decided to get a closer look. Carefully, he scaled the hill and followed a red path to the entrance of the temple. Mot inched against the wall, listening in before he walked in. He only heard the sound of bubbling lava, so he turned into the temple.

I just deleted a whole character from this story holy hell.
~Ross