Chapter One: The Board is Broken
"Annoying bug..." Muttered the small form of Wendy, who was glaring at the buzzing bug called Glommer. Letting out a small sigh, she slowly got up from the small bedroll she had made and started walking towards the buzzing creature, grabbing a poorly made ax on her way. 'Kill it...splatter it's blood over the grass...maybe it is as pink as the waste it makes?' She whispered in her head, the flying bug looking at her with its many eyes, not knowing the fate the young girl had in store for it.
Though it was saved, as the glowing form of the girl stood in front of her. The two looked alike in many ways, only the one protecting the bug was pure white, and lightly glowing. The only color she had was a bright, red flower in her hair. "Move Abigail!" Wendy whined, scowling at her twin sister. The ghost, Abigail, simply shook her head and pointed to the ax than the ground. The blond haired girl let out a small, slightly annoyed sigh before letting it fall.
"I do not see how you can like that thing." She muttered, watching her sister with disgust as she petted the bug, which seemed to press into her. Her mouth opened into what might have been a giggle, but not a sound left her. Wendy simply shook her head, her twin tails swaying as she looked up. "The moon is high, the form that of the reaper's scythe. Perhaps he shall finally let it swing on my world." She muttered, not noticing the sad look of her twin.
Shaking her head, she slowly got to her feet, not seeing a reason to just laze about ("I do not see why I have a reason not to as well.") and walked towards a small collection of chests. With a grunt she opened one of them and reached inside, pulling out a bundle of twigs and some long grass. Sitting near her fire pit, she threw one of the twigs into the pit, watching it be consumed by the flames than she went to work, carefully weaving the grass around the twigs, soon having a sturdy handle.
She felt a cold presence touch her shoulder and looked over to see her sister holding out some sharp flint. "Thank you, Abigail." She muttered, grabbing the sharp rocks and getting back to work, the grass getting tied around the flint. It took half the night but she soon had a pickaxe. Slowly she stood up, a few pops being heard, but she simply ignored them and started towards a trail she had set her camp near, and began walking, looking down at the magical map she had woken up with when she was taken here. To this hell...
With a grunt she let the pick slam into the large boulder, watching it crack easily. They were not normal, the boulders. Nor were the trees. They all came down under her strikes, but she was but a child. And even she knew she was not strong enough to do such damage. But she ignored the logic in this world and continued to slam the pick into the rock, able to see a glint of gold inside. Another clank. Another clank. Clank after clank the pick went until the once large boulder was reduced to rubble, and she started to loot through it, grabbing a few nuggets of gold. "The man-killer; Wealth." She whispered before standing up, dusting off her skirt.
Gold nuggets in her arms and Abigail holding her pick, she made her way back towards her camp, the weight of the nuggets making her sweat a bit in the autumn air. 'If she wasn't here, I would have been off this miserable plain of life...' She thought to herself, glancing over at her floating sister, who had one of the disgusting, furry catcoon in her arms, lightly stroking the fat creature while it slept in her transparent arms. 'Why does she want me alive...is it because I was the one who lived? Does she want me to live so I can suf-' Wendy let out a small gasp as she tripped over a stone, her face slamming into the ground, and tears were quick to well up in her eyes.
'Don't cry...do not cry...' She almost snarled at herself in her mind as the pain throbbed in her skull. She then heard a loud crack and tried her best to open her eyes, only able to see red. Then she felt the ground give from under her, and she was only able to let out a terrified scream. And she swore she heard another scream, one that was her name. Then she hit the ground, a loud snap echoed in her skull, and she was out cold, tumbling down a large, underground ravine.
"Kol! Give us back our toy!" A childish, yet very scratchy voice echoed around the large cavern, and the form of a human-like arachnid rushed through the darkness, his eyes glowing in the dark as he ran after a glowing, and very pale spider, which had a toy horse on its back. Said spider was lightly hissing in what may have been a laugh. The boy was running after him, lightly panting. He then let out a yelp as he was suddenly lifted up, and placed on the back of his 'mother', the Spider Queen of the Dangling Depth Dwellers.
She was the only spider queen to accept the abnormal spider boy. She was always known around to be a rather kind queen, so long as no one threatened her children. And she had accepted the boy as one of her's. Crawling towards the spider named Kol, she lightly scratched his head while taking the toy from him with the other leg, lifting it up to the boy. "Yay! Thank you, mother!" He squealed, holding the toy close. This boy's name was Webber, a child who had been eaten whole by a spider queen from the more common spider type. She had later died, leaving his body in her stomach. Once resurrected, however, his body and the queens has merged, leaving him the way he was now.
The glowing queen walked back towards the large corner she usually slept in, a few of the more powerful dweller spiders sleeping there as well. The large queen let out a quiet hiss as she let her large legs fold under her, her many eyes closing. Webber looked down at her with a smile, sliding down her back and landing in front of her. "Mother is going to sleep! We will leave her alone then!" He gave her a small nuzzle, which she returned before her large head flopped down. With a hum, he skipped away, a large smile on his furry face. He was never sad when he was around his family. They may prank one another from time to time, but they all looked out for one another.
He walked farther and farther from the den, wanting to take a small walk around the light flowers. Though as he walked around the dimly lit area, he perked up as he heard a distant sound, the sound of wind and the roar of a depth worm, a creature that liked to pester mother's army. But he could hear it fighting something. 'What if it is attacking one of u-They are not us.' He thought to himself, though the other consciousness in his head spoke up. It never did like mother's kind. With a small gulp, he started to run towards the sound. 'No! You will get us killed you fool!**' The queen hissed, but Webber ignored her.
As he grew closer to the fight, he saw the source of the wind like sound. A ghost of a girl, with two long twin tails, and short skirt. The only color his eyes could find was her burning red eyes and the red flower in her hair. Meanwhile, the large worm let out another loud roar, the lure on its head looking like it had been torn apart, a thick, glowing sludge dripping from it. The ghost girl quickly flew out of its way as the large creature jumped and slammed into the spot she had just occupied. Webber suddenly heard a sigh in his head, before he felt a searing pain in his back, and two black and white legs were now sticking out from his back. 'You know what to do, fool.' The queen hissed.
And then she drained every drop if sanity he had.
The cave grew brighter, and he could only see the color red. He felt a deep anger in his body. 'Why me...why me why me why me whymewhymewhymewhyme.' His voice got louder, and he tore the two legs from his back, pain rippling down his spine. With a loud hiss that was like a queen's, he rushed for the wiggling worm, which was trying to burrow back into the ground. Jumping high, he aimed for the creature's head. He was not lucky, however, the worm quickly digging into the hard ground, the spider spear only clipping its tail. He yanked the spear from the ground, his head jerking around as he looked for the worm.
He was not in his element. There was too much open space, and he could only see so much. He was relying on his and the Queen's hearing, and the ghost girl with him. The ground did not tremble one bit, until he felt a chilling object slam into him, followed by a giant stalactite falling onto the place he had just been. The worm was smart, most likely an alpha. The worms were just like hounds. One is always smarter than the rest. Looking up, he saw the transparent form of the girl standing above him, her eyes scanning the area. Seems her eyesight was good, even in death.
Quickly getting up, he held out one of the Queen leg's, and she took it into her hands. Now that they were both armed, they would hopefully fair better. Suddenly they noticed the ground in front of them shifting, and the large worm burst from the ground, letting out a loud roar and lunging forward, it's sharp teeth getting a hold, and tearing off one of the spider legs sticking out from his head. Letting out a pain filled his, he slammed the spear into the creature's hide, cutting into its flesh. It roared in pain, and the ghost girl quickly followed, floating high up and then diving down, slamming the spear deep into the worms head.
Webber's fur was covered in the glowing blood of the creature, which slowly fell down. He was quick to grab it, very slowly pulling it's large body from the ground. Lightly panting, he let out a groan as the pain from his missing appendage and drained mind finally hit him. 'Rest.' The Queen whispered, and he was quick to do so, falling onto his rear while heavily panting. The ghost girl that had been fighting with him floated towards him, and sat next to him, looking at him with what must have been curiosity.
"Hello?" He greeted her, though not a noise left her lips. 'The dead do not talk.' The queen hissed in his mind. "We are Webber! It is nice to meet you!" He said, giving her a fuzzy, if slightly bloody smile. Though she could not talk, she did give him a smile of her own. Though she was quick to perk up, slowly floating up and looking around. Then she looked back at Webber. 'She wants something.' The Queen spoke. She then pointed to herself. "You?" Webber asked, and she nodded. Then she made a few weird movements, her fingers crooked near her head. "Um...spider! You're a spider!" Webber exclaimed.
She shook her head, then pointed to herself, than to Webber, then made the spider movement once more. 'You...spider...no, a child...she is looking for a child like you. Perhaps a friend or sibling?' The Queen muttered. 'It does not matter. We must return to the...other, Queen, so we can heal.' She told him, though Webber simply looked at the ghost. "Do you need help finding someone?" He asked here, and she seemed to light up, nodding. It was then he noticed her eyes were no longer blood red, but a simple moonlight white.
"We can help!" He exclaimed happily, though felt a searing pain in his head. "Ow ow ow!" He whined. 'We will not!' The Queen hissed angrily. 'We already risked being killed by that worm, why should we help her find her most likely dead friend?' Webber let out a small whimpered, looking down, the ghost girl looking at him with a more worried look. 'Well...we would be getting away from momma...' There was quite a bit of silence after that little comment, and the pain stopped as well.
The sound of feet on cold stone echoed around the large cave, Webber walking with one of his spider spears in his hands while his new ghost friend floated next to him, holding the other one. They were following a trail marked by spiders that lead towards the Mushtree forests. They passed a few docile creatures, like Rock Lobsters and a Slurtle here and there eating at a gem or rock, though Webber did collect the slime they left behind, the Queen saying it could be useful.
Soon the two could see the glowing fungi tree, and picked up the pace, Webber lightly chewing on a slab of monster meat. After gulping down his mouthful he whipped his mouth. "If your sister is down here, she may have come here, lots of light and food." Webber said though he was simply communicating what the Queen was saying. The ghost girl nodded and floated a bit faster, so Webber picked up the pace. Soon the hard ground turned to a soft soil, with small mushrooms growing from left and right, but none compared to the giant trees of fungi. Spores floated with the thin layer of dust, making it a bit hard to see for Webber, who had two of his eyes closed at this point.
As they went deeper into the large forest, they saw remnants of creatures. From the skeletons of other people tricked here to bones of spiders hanging from the trees, some having rotten flesh still on them, showing clear signs of attempted escape. Webber was instantly on guard, the spear in his hand lightly shaking. The Queen in his head was the same, ready to drain Webber of his sanity at any time. The deeper they got, the thicker the spores got. Soon Webber could barely see his ghost friend, one of his many eyes looking right at her faint form.
Than he heard the crack, the very loud ground shaking crack.
His head whipped towards the sound, all eyes wide open and looking at the source of the sound. There was a large crack in the thick, muddy soil, with a faint light coming from inside, the light causing his head to lightly throb. Slowly he walked towards the crack, and the light from it seemed to get redder as he drew near, and with it the throbbing in his head. But he couldn't stop his legs, all of his eyes focused on the beautiful light.
"Hello, child."
He jumped as he looked around, his eyes wide. He looked towards his bedroom door, blinking in confusion at the strange, rather tall men looking down at him. Then he felt the legs, the thousands of legs crawling around his body. Black widows, Brown Recluses, Six-eyed Sand, and a giant Wolf Spider on his chest. They swarmed his body, and he felt them sinking their fangs into his soft flesh, venoms of all kind flooding his body. Then he saw the man in his face, a large smile on his face.
"How about a deal little buddy?"
That was when the large Wolf Spider took to its name, and pounced at its prey, sinking it's large fangs into the boy's beautiful blue eyes, turning them a bloody crimson. The pain was immense, from the venom to the biting, he could feel his head splitting in two, his screams echoing through the cave, the small spider boy laying on the ground, clutching his head, tears and blood streaming from his many eyes, though his two main ones were now gone.
The ghost girl looked down at the boy with wide eyes, he had just been walking towards the strange, glowing crack. and had watched his pure black eyes suddenly implode, causing blood to flow from them. That was when she saw it, a black mass slowly seeping from the crack in the soil. It started to take form, the mass rounding out, with small legs forming under its large body. It had white, pupilless eyes, and from the looks of it, no mouth. Slowly it started to crawl towards the quivering form of Webber, who has soon stopped screaming, now only whimpering.
The ghost was quick to stand in front of the small boy, her eyes slowly filling with red, and her hands tightening onto the spear in her hands. The creature stopped as the spectral being stood in its way. Then its body grew taller as it showed thousands of needle-like teeth, but just like her, it made no sound, simply a more sinister sounding wind, like that of a coming storm while her's was a nights breeze. With a sneer on her face, she started running towards it and jabbed at it with her spear. The thin spear punctured its slime like skin, but it tore itself apart, reforming right behind her.
Moving with a speed that should not have been able to come from something that large, it slammed its large body into her. She let out a silent gasp of shock and watched as a large stalagmite grew closer until she was slammed into it, the creature slowly crawling back, silently watching her. Pulling herself off the rock, she turned around, her eyes glowing in anger. The air in the large cave seemed to grow more restless, her hair flowing as she let out a scream of anger, the wind howling in response, causing the spores of the forest to clear out, and the creature was pushed back a bit.
She flew up high into the air and threw the spider leg spear at the creature. Not a noise came from it as the needle-like weapon impaled it. It once more tore apart, reforming near the large, now blood red glowing crack. Quickly flying to her spear, she tore it from the ground and rushed it once more. It had not expected her to attack so soon, but it was able to open it's mouth, the spear slipping into its teeth, and bit down, snapping it in two. She bared her teeth as she pulled what she had left of the spear, and slammed the jagged, broken end into its eye.
Seems it actually did feel some sort of pain, as it wheeled back, both eyes closed shut and a transparent sludge flowed from its wound. Grabbing the spear once more, she started to push it in deeper, teeth clenched as she felt it sliding deeper and deeper into its head, causing a bit of the thick sludge to squirt onto her dress, staining it black. Suddenly its eyes went pure black, and it vanished, bits of it floating back into the glowing red crack, before it dimmed down, and slowly closed up.
The girl looked at the now sealed crack, then slowly floated towards the now limp form of Webber, the red in her eyes draining as she got to her knees, and placed her hands on his shoulder, lightly shaking him. 'Webber?' She heard herself say, but nothing came out for anyone around her. She started to grow worried. as his furry chest wasn't even rising anymore. Then she heard a loud snap, and her eyes shot open wide. She looked around wildly, her hands grabbing Webber's own spear. But she saw no one around. After calming down, she looked back at Webber, only to let out a silent gasp.
Webber's once gouged out eyes, were now a shiny black, her glowing form causing his eyes to reflect white. His chest rose and fell as he took a deep gasp, all of his eyes looking right at her. Then she felt him lunge at her, his eyes now closed as tears ran down his cheek, into his furry cheeks. She let her own eyes close, her arms holding onto the poor boy as he sobbed into her shoulder. She was so focused on Webber, she didn't notice the eyes looking at them from afar, madness and care in the sickly orbs.
After Webber was back on his feet, if a bit tired, the two children were walking once more, one less spear which meant less defense. The forest of fungi started to grow thinner, the trees no longer appearing, all that left being the smaller mushrooms that lightly glowed in the cave. Webber was on edges. caused by the paranoia from the Queen in his mind. They passed a large Depth Worm, but it was busy with the large squad of Cave Spiders, with Spitters from the sidelines shooting large rocks at it. He and his friend were quick to get away from the battle, as to not get spotted by either.
Suddenly they heard what sounded like a pained groan, way too deep to be a human. Slowly they made their way towards the sound, and Webber let out a gasp. It was a large pile of rocks, but it moved and shifted about, and a pair of pure black eyes stared up at him and his friend. The tendrils on its face slowly moved as the loud groan was heard once more, and that was when they noticed the Rock Lobster's bigger arm, or lack of, the pincer being on the ground. The ghost girl covered her mouth, before flying down towards it, and slowly cupped it's cheeks.
It let out a much lower groan, and let its large head rest in her hands while Webber looked around, catching a few large chunks of rock. Running over, he started to collect the rocks, soon coming back with an arm full, and let it all tumble from his tired arms. "H-Here, they eat rocks." Once he said that the ghost girl floated away from the geometric marvel, which let out a small groan. Lifting one of the larger rocks, she floated over and sat it by the lobster's head. Slowly the tendrils started to rub at the rock, before pulling it into the mouth under the tendrils.
The Queen started to grumble in Webber's mind as the two sat camp near the injured Rock Lobster, soon having a fire going. The ghost girl made sure the creature was well while Webber, now with the spear, stood guard. They made plans to camp for at least two hours before getting back to the search. Webber's friend feed and comforted the large creature, and Webber stood near, sometimes giving the creature a few pats on the head. Soon an hour passed when it started to lightly shift, seeming to have gotten some more energy from the minerals. The ghost girl smiled and started to rub at the creatures back. Then it started to stand, and Webber let out a small gasp.
The Lobster had been covering a small girl, about as tall as Webber, with hair as golden as his family's wheat. She was fast asleep, bandages made of spider silk wrapped around her left arm, while a splint held what looked like a broken right leg. She wore a torn skirt and shirt, both covered in blood, which looked rusty and crusty. Suddenly the girl was covered by his ghost friend, who was hugging the girl tightly, and if she could, she would have been sobbing. Webber looked up at the Rock Lobster and saw it looking down at the two, slowly tilting its head. Then they heard the loud crack from above them, Webber looking up, and his eyes slowly grew wide as he saw the large stalagmite falling towards them, and it was a large one. There would be no getting away from it.
And then the world went still.
Maxwell looked down at the square in front of him, and through it, he saw the still image of the stalagmite he had just caused to fall, no longer moving, nor did the three brats and their friend rock. Then he heard a small snap, followed by a bright flash. He quickly looked up, eyes wide as he looked at who could possibly be in the realm he was in, where They lived and ruled. And what he saw confused him more than when he had learned of the shadow magic. Standing in front of him was a creature made of many animal parts. From a cloven hoof to a dragon's leg, a golden talon and lion paw. It had a long, serpent-like body covered in brown and grey fur, with the tail being that of a chines dragon.
The creature looked down at him with yellow, sickly eyes, and red pupils that looked like they were full of madness. And then it opened its long muzzle and spoke in a voice that could only be orchestrated by a silver tongue. "You know, killing two children is rather low of a man. Then again, can anyone really call you a man, William?" The moment it spoke his name, he felt rage boil up in his body. "I mean, they just found poor Abigail's sister, why try crushing them?"
"I do not know who you are creature, but you best leave while I am merciful. If I wanted I cou-" He was suddenly interrupted by the creatures laughter.
"Oh I am not scared of you William! I have more power than these nightmare creatures! Chaos is much more powerful my boy." As if to show his point, he raised his talon and gave it a snap. Instantly the room around them was shining with light, a large orb of light high in the sky.
"W...What..." Maxwell whispered, his eyes wide as he looked up at the orb, tears running down his face from not seeing light in years, and suddenly having the large ball of it right in front of him, burned his pupils. Then with another snap, it was no more, and darkness plunged the world.
"Now, I have enjoyed your little games, William." The creature spoke once more, slowly walking back and forth. But I questioned your very mind when you brought that poor boy into this world, and then had him eaten whole before the spider queen that ate him was struck by lightning. And then brought that girl when she had just lost her sister." The creature's eyes narrowed on the ragged man.
"I think it is time you chose new pawns, William because I am taking those children with me."
Maxwell looked at the creature with wide eyes, then slowly he started to shake his head. "N-No...no no no you can't! I can't lose them! They have to die! If They knew that I had lost them, that they were not given a meal...they would do unspeakable things!" He cried out, tears running down his face. But the creature simply sneered, shaking its head.
"Then I suppose you will just have to deal with it, won't you?"
And with that, he raised his talon and gave a loud snap as time started once more. Webber, Abigal, and Wendy were no longer under the large Stalagtite, and the Rock Lobster found itself in a large group of its kind, which quickly started to look him over. And Maxwell watched with wide eyes, as a familiar, scraggly beard form started to form in front of him.
"No...please by the Lord's name no!"
And then William Carter's screams of pure pain echoed through the cavern.
