Chapter 41: Look at us Idiots Now

A few hours earlier

Karl and Darren are walking around the easter part of the town looking around for...something or someone they weren't really sure of what the objective was here. They had been walking for around 30 minutes or so and had found anything yet. This seemingly useless hunt was started to make Darren a bit uncomfortable. Especially since he and Karl hadn't been saying anything the entire time filling the silence with an awkward energy.

"I just don't get it. What in the Blaze are we supposed to be looking for?" Darren suddenly shouted breaking the silence causing Karl to jump and look at him. "Why are you yelling!?" Darren looked at Karl, now slightly embarrassed at his sudden out burst. "Sorry, I just don't understand. Everything looks the same. I mean look." Darren gestured to everything around them. "Everything is just destroyed buildings and nothing else!" Karl nodded he agreed that the scenery was quite repetitive.

"When you're walking around in a place like this things will look similar without actually being similar." Karl began to explain. "Really? Then my dear Karl, would you mind showing me the difference in the scenery?" Karl shrugged and started to point around.

"The buildings on the left seem to be spaced forming wide alleyways, likely to give more room for supplies coming in and out so we can assume that these were probably different stores with various goods." Darren listened as Karl's hand moved to the opposite side of the street. "These ones are basically stacked on top of each other and they seem to have a few of the same things lying on the ground inside so I assume these were inns or homes but the number of them makes me more believe that they are homes instead of inns." Darren was amazed at Karl's attention to detail. "Dude that's so cool. This whole time I thought that we were just walking in a huge circle."

"Oh well it is pretty obvious that we are not in the same area anymore." Darren looked at Karl with anticipation. "How do you know? Is it something with the layout? The material that the buildings are built with? Maybe you picked up on some sort of distinct scent." Karl turned to Darren and pointed directly in front of them. "The earlier area did not have a giant well in the center of an encirclement of buildings." Darren looked up and saw the well. "Tch, man I could have found that if I had just looked straight." Karl agreed. "I guess that is true, but you did not so it counts as my find."

The boys approached the well and looked inside. "Can you see anything down there, Karl." Karl shook his head. "Not yet. Give me a second." Karl closed his eyes and activated his ability changing his eyes into that of a beast that could give him night vision. Karl squinted as he looked inside of the well. "This thing is really deep. I can not even see the bottom of it. Is this thing even used to collect water?" Darren looked around the outside of the well for a bucket or the classic pulley system to collect water but he found nothing.

"I don't see a bucket or anything that implies that they use it for water collection." The boys were now more confused. "What is the point of having a well that you do not even collect water from?" Darren shrugged for no one because Karl's head was still in the well. "Aesthetic, maybe?" Karl pulls his head out of the well and looks at Darren confused. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" Darren asked now also confused. "That word you just said. What does that even mean?" Darren wanted to answer but he didn't know either, it was just something he heard people say. "I guess it's like a saying that means that something is there to, like, add a different energy to the place or decoration or something like that?" Karl thought about it for a second and nodded kind of understanding what Darren explained.

"I don't think that this is just for decoration though. No, I am sure that it is not just for decoration." Darren looked back in the well. "What makes you so sure about that?" Karl pointed to the opposite side of the well. "Because there is a maintenance ladder on the inside. What kind of fancy decoration needs you to maintain the inside of it?" Darren could kind of see the ladder but it was too dark for him to see it clearly. "Should we climb down and find out? There could be something really cool down there." Darren said gently nudging his friend and Karl didn't even hesitate to say," Of course! We will go down there and come back with the best information out of everyone." The two nodded at each other and descended into the well without even thinking for a second that there might be something waiting inside of it for them.

They climbed down for a while and it was completely dark so they couldn't really see much and had to rely on Karl and his night vision. "I hate long climbs. I grew up in a forest with trees so I should not have to climb down long, dark areas like this." Darren agree, "You and me both brotha'." They continued the dark climb when suddenly Darren could see some sort of light coming from below them. "I think we made it to the bottom."

"Yeah, come on we have a little bit more to go." The boys were now standing on solid ground again. "Climbing for so long can't be good for anyone. What is this even used for?" Darren looked to Karl when he noticed that Karl was looking at a cave. "Why is there a cave in a well? What in the world is going on here?"

"We should check it out." Karl looked to Darren and agreed. "I mean what else would we do? Go tell the others so that Lua can berate us with insults and possibly hit us? This is obviously the better option!" Darren and Karl started to explore the cave. The light was coming from crystals not too unlike the ones that were in the entrance exams a few months ago.

"Brings back memories doesn't it?" Darren and Karl continued deeper into the cave and on the way they found pickaxes on the floor and travel carts filled with ores and shiny rocks. "Did we go into the mine on accident?" Karl asked Darren. "We might've. Maybe we made a mistake coming down here, I mean Mill said that we were going to investigate the cave together later, didn't he?" Darren waited for Karl to confirm.

"To be honest, I do not often listen when he is talking, so maybe he did say that or maybe not~." Darren couldn't even be upset because he didn't listen to Mill or Lua when they spoke sometimes. "I mean I get tha-Wait. Did you hear that?" Karl listened closely to hear the sound again and it didn't take long for it to repeat. "Karl, I'm not sure if you know this but I don't have as good hearing as you so you're gonna have to do some describin' or somethin'."

"It sounds like a pickaxe mining. We might have just found the villagers Darren!" Karl and and Darren could not contain there excitement. "Lua and Mill always think that we're idiots, well look at us idiots now." Karl motioned for Darren to follow him. "We should go see if we can get one to come back with us. Then we would have proof." Darren nodded in agreement and the two of them took off toward the pickaxe noises. "Now is the time we prove ourselves. We have been treated like we were lesser than the other two since we met them a few months ago. Today is the day that we show them just how amazing and smart we really are, Darren. Today, WE SHIIiit....." Just as Karl was finishing his improved monologue he was greeted by a blade pointing directly at his face. "My beautiful face."

...Right, his "Beautiful" face.