Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A little gnome was running, huffing, and breathing out hysterically. She looked behind her and watched as a swarm of red was trampling over the landscape. Her eyes were swirled by shock and sadness.

This was the Gnomeland Realm. Her home. A place where it was filled with gigantic mushrooms and overgrown nature inhabited by gnomes and wolves. Everything was living in peace while she was being cared for lovingly by her parents. 

But that was when all the touch of warmth and happiness shortly ended.

The tragedy of a sinister evil transcended across the Mushroom realm. A corrupted state of evil polluted the entire landscape, destroying everything beyond its path. Homes were devoured. Plants and trees soon wilted away like ashes. The citizens were vanquished into the darkness and everything was thrown out of balance. 

Shrub Berry, the name of the runaway gnome was the only survivor who manages to escape the horror of her home. Her parents forced her out and made sacrifices that paid a price to ensure the safety of their daughter. 

They said to never look back. Always move forward. Keep going until you can't anymore.

When she saw the continuous path of this red plague devouring the rest of her world. All she could think of was her family and the people she was with. One minute they were smiling and then the next, she heard screams of terror and faces of pure shock. The tears roll down her face as she continues to pursue on surviving, if she doesn't want to put the people who risk their lives in vain then she must move forward.

...

A flash of green light sparks in front of her.

It blinded her to the point she couldn't see anything but then the bright illuminating light shines before her eyes.

It continued further until the light completely devoured her body and she was gone 

...

...

...

"...Hey..."

Huh...?

"...are you okay?"

Who...

Is calling...to me?

"Wake up!"

...

"Hey!" 

Shrub squinted a little before she slowly opened her eyes. Everything in her vision was just a blur—maybe its because she was unconscious for too long. How long?...as she tries to take the chance to remember. She couldn't. Everything feels fuzzy the minute she started to recap her memories. Either way, nothing seems to help if she stalls into a complete daze. Once her vision clears up, her head motioned to a guy's face that was a few inches away from hers. She felt her body wrapped around the warmth of his arms. As she analyzes the person's appearance.

He had ruffled up ginger-colored hair that was held together with his red shiny goggles and dark purple eyes. A white collared shirt underneath a black jacket that reaches between the end of his knees. A red scarf wrapped around his neck, and brown protective gloves that are safely preventive against any dangerous things that could potentially harm him. A nice dark brown pair of trousers and lastly brown boots.  

fWhip: Count Tinkerer of the Grimlands. 

"...A human? Who are you? " Shrub finally had the voice to speak.

"That...doesn't really matter right now. What matters is if you're alright. I saw you laying unconscious here in the plains field" fWhip explained her state.

"Plains field...?" 

...

...

Shrub's eyes widened into shock. She pulls herself away from fWhip's grasp and hurriedly stood up. Her eyes wandered around the area around her. Nothing but a simple plains biome with endless oak trees and a calming view up in the sky. This place was unfamiliar to her. She doesn't recognize this place at all—any of it. 

"W-Where...what?! Where am I?! What is this place?!" The shock bounces into fear when she switches her glances onto the ginger-haired guy.

"Didn't you hear me? This is a grassy field, other known as the plains biome. I'm assuming from your overreacting, you don't belong here." fWhip made a necessary guess by giving the girl a quick analysis. Her clothes were an unfamiliar style to him, but what stood out the most was the height difference between him and the girl. She was quite short and had peculiar pointy ears.

"Don't you like stating the obvious." Shrub's eyes twitch a little. "I need to get back home! To my family!"

"Okay easy there Shortie. You just woke up after lying here for who knows how long—you're lucky you were found by me otherwise you'll be dead" fWhip dropped a harsh bold response which scared the little gnome a little.

She swallowed back hard. "Okay. First of all, don't call me Shortie. My name is Shrub berry. A Gnome from the Gnomeland Realm. Whatever brought me here was a mistake! I need to get back home!"

fWhip gave her a cold, soulless look of astonishment. The Count typically attempts to keep a distance from the magical category of strange activities like this one, primarily because he doesn't like the idea of magic. Although the little gnome's description of her predicament seemed dire, he isn't the ideal person to assist her.  Although there is somebody that specializes in situations like this.

A location known as the Crystal Cliffs was far away, an isolated empire nearby the snowy cliffside mountains. A magical empire with head wizards overseeing the region, pupils learning to utilize magic, and a grand powerful wizard who rules over the land as the head and professor of the Crystal Cliffs Academy.

fWhip arrived just at the gates along with Shrub who was in awe looking around the empire. It was a glorious town to settle across with a beautiful impression just at first glance. As Shrub entered the gates, she felt a sensation of the powerful magic aura surrounding her. She observed a large, diverse population of spellcasters and spell users in the neighborhood. There was an amethyst crystal tower overlooking on top of a mountain she saw from a distance since she was admiring the sky above and coincidentally saw it approaching her eyesight. Then a large structure that was pretty much hard to miss. She doesn't know what it was—obviously but there were a lot of younger-faced pupils coming in and out of the building as they, pleased. 

All of them had one thing in common and that was the practice of magic.

"This place is beautiful...I've never seen anything like it" Shrub takes a further look around.

"If you're interested, you can always apply to learn as an understudy from me" 

"Uh no thanks I don't do—" Shrub blinks when she heard a voice coming in her direction.

Gem: Head Wizard of the Crystal Cliffs. 

A young woman had the same hair color as the Count with a beautiful long braided hairstyle tied together with a purple ribbon bow draped over her left shoulder and green emerald eyes. She was wearing a magical purple cloak and a green dress underneath with white assets as added detail and purple shoes along with white stockings to complete the outfit. Holding within her hands was a wooden staff with an amethyst crystal that ties all the magic and power to create her spells of wizardry. Lastly was a set of beautiful amethyst crystal wings

Gem's eyes lit up when she saw the Count. "fWhip! I didn't expect to see you here! It's rare to have you show up to the Crystal Cliffs!"

"I came here because of her." fWhip responded a little coldly but sounded nice.

Shrub takes a small observation of the young woman wearing wizardry clothing and then glances over to the Count standing a few inches behind her. She blinks as she switches glances both ways.

"Are you both...like twins...?" She raises a hand to point.

Both Gem and fWhip blinked in confusion before Gem started bursting out in laughter.

"Please if we were twins you wouldn't believe he would act like my age" Gem wiped a tear from one of her eyes.

fWhip was somehow offended. "What is that supposed to mean...?"

"Just stating it out there that you are a few years younger than me. I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea since I am your big sister~" Gem had a cheeky smile and winked at him.

fWhip was offended once again and looked away not wanting to engage.

Why do I feel like I'm seeing something I shouldn't?

Shrub shakes her head. "Okay, so you guys are siblings, good to know. This human said you can help me" She pointed at fWhip referring to him as a mortal being since she haven't learned his name yet.

"You didn't even introduce yourself properly?" Gem whispered to him.

"It didn't seem relevant—plus what if she was an enemy?" fWhip crosses his arms whispering back. 

"...fair point but she looks innocent. And the way her ears are shaped. I've never seen her kind before. It's strange." Gem held her chin.

"If you think she's strange—then Scott's and Cod boy's kind probably fits the same category" fWhip snickers.

Gem gently slaps him on the side of his arm. fWhip let out a soft ow.

Shrub could hear the loud whispers the siblings were exchanging with one another. She was starting to get impatient as she rolls her eyes. "Hello! Can you stop talking as if I'm invisible? I didn't come here to see you both have a family reunion"

"Oh uh right. Right, pardon my rudeness there. Given the reason, I haven't seen a gnome before since they aren't around here I'm curious to know where you came from" Gem said with curiosity.

"I'll be letting you guys have your moment and then," fWhip said before turning around.

"Wait, you could stay and listen in. After all, you're the one who brought her in." Gem stopped him asking politely.

"I have some unfinished business to attend to in the Grimlands. See you" fWhip quietly dismisses himself and flies off on his elytra.

"Wait!" Gem sighed shaking her head.

"Are you alright...?"

"I'm fine. I should stay focused." Gem clears her head and turned around to face the gnome. "Why don't we go somewhere more private to talk?"

Gem and Shrub went together inside her wizard tower. She led her inside a comfy lounge around to rest before closing the door.

Gem snaps her fingers. A tray of sweets and a tea set appeared purely from magic on the table. She gestured a finger to the teapot commanding it to float and pour into the cups. Shrub's eyes were lit up astonished like a little kid, mesmerized like she was watching a magic show. Once it was all filled up, the teapot was gently settled down.

Gem sat on the couch and took a sip of her tea. "Now then. Let me properly introduce myself. I am Wizard Gem Head and Professor of the academy here in the Crystal Cliffs. It's a pleasure to meet you"

Shrub straighten her back clearing her throat before speaking. "I'm Shrub Berry. A gnome from a land called Gnomeland"

"Gnomeland?" Gem blinks. 

Gem previously mentioned gnomes are rare species found in their world. They aren't as common compared to elves and to her knowledge, they do not exist here within the world she lives in. After studying as a wizard for the majority of her life when she was a teenager—she knows a few things about gnomes but never enough about their homeland as they only coexist as nonexistent mythical beings.

"It's filled with giant mushrooms as our homes and lots of other unique plants. I...I lived as the daughter of a farmer. My father is named Fern Berry while my mother is Rose Berry...we were all happy but then...something tragic happened. It's a memory that feels vague to me right now but I still remember big chunks of the events that struck before my eyes. There was something evil and sinister that lingered on my land—it was dark and red...my whole land was destroyed and devoured before my eyes and the next thing I know...I woke up here" Shrub conveyed her sorrowful story.

Gem held sympathy for the little gnome. Her eyes narrowed softly staring at her silently while she listens to the gnome's story about the whole tragedy that went downhill through that timeline. 

"I'm truly sorry that all happened to you"

"...I just feel lost now." Shrub squinted her eyes shut gripping at her overalls upon her thighs. "Everything happened so fast and the next thing I know my home and my family were just gone...I don't even know if they're alive. I just have so many questions in my head. How did that evil started? And how did I end up here...?"

Gem gazes at her with the same expression. She glances to the side trying to think. "There's this thing called realm hopping when a person crosses through different dimensions but by doing so it's extremely rare and dangerous to perform. You'll need a specific type of relic—or a price to pay"

"A relic..." Shrub was locked inside her thoughts."When I was running from the sinister evils that were devouring my land. I remember there was a spark of green light. It was pretty and flashed before my eyes...I think that light transported me here but I'm not sure how it happened since it happened so suddenly"

"A spark of green light..." Gem holds her chin. Her eyes were fixated on Shrub as she was analyzing her appearance. Then a small glint appears through her peripheral vision. Her eyes retrace back to the direction of the glint where her gaze lay on a green emerald pin attached to her mushroom-patterned beret. 

"That gemstone on your beret."

"Huh?" Shrub blinks. She followed Gem's glancing up at her beret. Curious as to why she mentioned a gemstone, she reaches for the pin and unattached it. While it was resting on her palm, she observes it for a second.

"I...never seen this before"

"You mean, you don't own that piece of accessory?"

"No. I never had this" Shrub shakes her head.

"Do you mind if I could take a closer look at it?"

Shrub considered her request and kindly gives the gemstone to Gem. Once the gem touches the palm of her hand, Gem felt a magical sensation from the gem. Strong mana was hinted from the tiny jewel and it flared out another glint before becoming faint.

"Hmm." Gem gave the jewel a few turns around to observe the other angles. That soft glint appears once more which gave Gem a few suspicions. "It seems like this jewel is the explanation for your arrival here"

"What?" Shrub blinks dumbfounded. "You're telling me I crossed over to another world all because of this jewel?"

"Just theorizing from the obvious" Gem giggled a little. "I sensed a great grand of power just from this single gemstone. Is your world surrounded by magic?"

"Uh no? I mean our land may look like a mystical landscape, but no nobody has expertise in magic as you do. Us gnomes have lived on for 100+ years and nobody is really fixated on the life magic" Which explains the astonished gaze on Shrub's face earlier. 

"I see. Well, that's probably very interesting to know then." Gem holds onto her chin. "You know what, I may not be able to find out a solution to your situation yet...however it'll be helpful if we could know more about your land"

"If you wanna know about Gnomeland through specifics I could go on about my life there—but what does that have to do with the sinister evil that devoured my world?" Shrub responded not being able to comprehend.

"No not in that way. I'm talking about folklore tales and ancient origins. Something about this sinister evil could be connected by history and I think I might know who we could visit."

Located to the northeast was a mesa biome. A land that was transformed from a hot-dry desert landscape to a luxuriously lushed kingdom built around variants of colors and overgrown nature. The Kingdom was called Mezalea. 

The Mezalea kingdom was known to be the richest with a powerful economy and strong defenses with a whole army. It was led by the descendants of the first founder who transformed Mezalea into the kingdom it was today. Many centuries ago, the mesa was nothing but a dry ruined landscape with harsh conditions. The founder of this land was a frantic man. He had a strange appearance. His hair was wizened and straw-like. He had sad, way worn eyes and a distinctive beard. His clothes were tattered with an unkept shirt that was uneven from the sleeves. He stumbled onto the land of the Mesa, the look on his eyes when he was gazing off into the horizon strikes ideas through his mind. 

As a single hopeless nobody, he wished to become something greater to live on as a legacy for the great future. To achieve this goal, he will embark on a quest to build a Kingdom on this land.

Though it wasn't as easy. The reason why the Mesa has never been claimed was because of the harsh climates brought through the lands. Plants couldn't be fertilized properly because of the lack of water. Resources were scarce due to limitations and the lack of food wasn't enough to meet their survival needs. The conditions were too unbearable, building a kingdom was just an illogical dream.

But the man was too desperate. He wishes for this to work and will do anything to achieve his dreams of making this wish come true.

Ì̶̡̡̨̢̛̠̪͎̬͖̬͔̘͇̼̭͍͎̠̪͈̘͉͉̩̱̼͖͖̪̼̤̩͍̖̣͍̯̐̓̋̑̌̏̃̐͌͗̈́̇̾̉͊̉̒̒̈͌̉̐̀̑̅̇̈́͊̽̈́̂̈́̃̄͘͘͜͝ͅ ̶̲̲͙̏̆̓͒͋͐̍̓́̓̆̅̇̆̊̈́͌̀̎̉́̃͋͠͝w̵̘͈̟͌́̅̄͊̾͜į̸̡̡̫̝̯̻͙̳̝̯̯͙̭̳̗̺͕͔̲̘͉͕͓͖̗̙͚͇͚̅͊͂̆͜͜l̷̨̡̡̩̜̲̫̺͖̤͖̠̥̙̜͎̭̩͖̄͋͒͋̿̿̈́͋͑̄̃̅̆́͌̔́̌̉̓̇̅̒̚͜͠l̷̢͖̝͈̥̯͉̗̫͇̎̒̽̀̀̽̎̌͋̎̀̌͒͌̈́̚͜͜ͅ ̴̡̨̨̡̡̛̥̱̺͎̘̤̺͎̹͈̞̺̹̞̰͇̞͖̌̇̂͗̅̑͒͊̔̉̈́̈̒̈́̆́̽͑̑̚̕̕͜͜͠͝ģ̵̞͍͍̺̤̯͖̙̟̬̪̰̗̏̋r̷̡̡͓̫̲̗̩̩͂̓͛̈́́̽̌̈͑̀̎̑̌͊̉̀́͊̾́̅̾̓͛̽̋̐́͊̈́̍̈́̑͐̎͘̕͠͠͝͠ả̷̢̢̛̛̼͓̞̫͖̟͓̺̟̼̼̮͖̪̌͊̓͌̂̔͛̽̄́̂̃͗͝ň̴̡̡̢̪̮̜̳̮̠̤̟͉͈̺̩͔̣̮̈̉͛̒́̀̈͑̑̋̈́̇̆̄̉̆̌̾̐̈̋̇̂̂̾̅̕̚̕̕͘͜͜͝͝͠ͅt̷̢̡̢͕̣̟̻͕̮̗͖̪͕̺͓̥͈̰̰̣͚̣̔͛͛̍̑̈́̎̀̔̓̅͋̾͒̓̐̉͐̉̐̓̍̾̈́̍͒̃͋̊͛͑̌̄̌̚͝͝͝ͅ ̵̨̧̨̛̬̼̘̭͕̞̼͕̝̮̯̜́͂̈͆̂̏̍͂͊͑̃͒̉̈́͐́́̅͗̃̔͛́̕͝͠͝͝͝ͅẙ̶̢̧̛̭̫͚̠̜̖̝̖͈̗̬̪̤̰̼͚̖̰̘̳̗̹̖̻̳͖̻̘̰͈̤͈͕̮͚̺̖́̀͌̆̿͆͋̈́̌̒͛͐͌͜͝͝ͅo̷̧̻̼͙̤̙̊̓̄́̈́͑́̄̂̓̓͗͋̉͐̽̑̑͂͐̔̋͑̀̾̄̅͒̿͆͊͋̊̀̽͘͜͠͝ͅų̴̧̢̡̢̺̟̩͍͈̣̠̗̳͚̼̼̖͔͔̣̳͔͈̪̬̣̦̹̤͉̘̲͓̫͇͙͖͐̉̓̇̽̀̔̐̏͜͠͝ ̴̡̨̢̛͍̮̜̹̰͇̙͎̜̹̹͇̦͈̱͎̺͎͍͖͎̻̦̪̞̼̣̰̳̰̲̦̣̪̘̅̈̿͛̿̎̀̂͌̒͗̄̐̒̋̕͝ͅy̶̨̢̢̡̨̨̛̞͉͙̦͚̘̳̬͔͚̰͖̣̜͚̭͇̪̗̯͕͕̳̯͍͆̈́͑̃́̈́̓͒̒̈́̂͒͂͋͐̊͝͝͝ơ̴̢̠̠̗̓͋̒̔̌̉̈́̀͆̿̌͒͐̓͐͒͠ȗ̴̗̰̬̥̇̍̆̓̈́̆͛̌͋͝͠ŗ̵̡̧̼͇̞̙͙͎͈̜͇̯̩͓͚̗̭̹͓͉͕͐̽̅̌̐͋̈̆͌̎̉̾̍̈́͒̎̓̍̃̂̍̀̽̌͆̓͛͋̀̂́͌͐̈́͂͘͜͝͠͠ ̵̢̧̡̨̧̧̢̱̮͉̫̞̜̦̟͚̖͚̻̖͚̫̻̩̼̜̙̟̱̲̻̫̥̜̲̤̱̮͋̉̀͗͛̉̌̅̀̔̀͗̕̚͠͝͝͝w̶̱̮̲̪̄͊̂̓̽̅̎̾̒̅̆̾͂͐͑̓͐̊͊͝͝͝i̵̛̙̣͇̫̙̘̙̯͕̪͔̮̟̦̹̤̥͈̟̞̘̺̗͑̇̓̊̇̔̊̅̊͆̋̄͛̈́́̓̉͒̉́͆͊̅̂̀̀̃̐͒͑̕͝͝ş̷̛̙̮͙̝̞̖̭̈́̌̒̐́̆̈͒̌̈̐͐̀͒͐͒̋̇̒͆̀̂̎́̓̄̿͑͛͘̕͘̕͝͝͝͝͠ͅh̷̨̛̩̱̦̼̞̫̯͎̱̯̝͓̖̟̪̤͓̻̼̣̰͉̥̩͕͈̗͂̋͌͌̐̿͋͒̿̇͗͛̑͌̀̿͒̿̔͋̃͗̓̌̎́͝͠͠͝ͅ,̷̡̛͙͉̺̜̱͙̣̺̭̼̬̱̗̱͔͙̜̭̣̖̙̙͓̜͕̖̿̃̈́͌͑̏̃̅̑̋̍̑͌͌̎̒̀̾̈́͒̓͊͘͘͘͜͜͝͝͠͝͠͠ ̵̧̢̧̥͇͇̙̪͚͈̠̲̲̱̤̮͕̮͓̺̘̹͔̠̣̙͚͍̣̦͇̊̆̒͛̍͊̏̽̋̾͐̌͆̆͌̂̐̃͂̂̏̓͛͗̄̋̓̅̿͊̽̈́̄͘̕̕̚͝͝b̷̨͓͎̩͔̳̻͍̳͚̲̠͍̟̬̰̖͔̺͗̒́̈̇̂͑͒̌̐͆̈́̐̀̏̈̂̾̅̈́̎̿̾̚̕̕͘͠u̷̧̥̭̞̤̖̦͖̱̪̤͎͚̤̫̫̣̗̳͛̈́͒̍͊̂̿͋̎̊̄̇̉̾̿̾͘͝t̶̨̧͍̖̻͈̗̞̞̯̥̗͓̻͚͈̪͖̀̊͘͝͠ͅ ̶̝̭͙̥̭̰̫̻̺̖͎̞̻̗̬̿̾͒̓̍͐̉̌͌̐́̔̍͝ͅw̴̢̢̭̜̪͚͕̞͍̥͚̦̲̫̠̬͋̀̓͋̉͐̌͛̅͜ͅh̶̡̦͈͎̬͈̑͛͋͋̄̈́̾͛̄̒̒͊̓̋̃̍̅̽͒̽̚͝e̷̛̛̝̬̟͙̦͉͓̫̩͈̬͉̱̖̝̦̜͕̼̺̥̜̞̅̊͛͆̈̇͑̇̾̄͐̈́͑͌̀͗̀͋̑͆̂́̃̋͋̆̑̾̔͂̋̋̍̈́̈̊̄̓n̸̢̧̻̪̦̘̗͉̱̲̭̠̦̳͙̮̣̩͍͓͙̺̝̑͒͂̀̑̋͊̋͒̒́̆̒̏̀̆̀̋͊́͋̃̀̊̏͘͘͜͜͝ͅͅ ̵̧̡̨̢̡̨̛̛̫̥͙̭̥͙̱̯͇̞͕͚͙̞̰̰̪̟͓̰̜̳̆͐̎̎͋͛͌́̊̊͂͆͆̿͆͗̇̒͒̏̾̓̂̊̾̿̒̈́̈̉̔̄̚̚̕͝͝ͅṯ̷̨̨̢̧̛̠͚̠͇͉̞̯̫̞͙͇̞̻̙̹͚̺̣̤͇̳̟̰̤̝͍̙̙̮̲͙̼͕̒̌̋͗̇̽̍̑̿̈́͛̀̾̌͗̎̆͗̽̓̒̾̈̕͘͜͜ͅḩ̷̨̡̛̯͈͔͖̻̱̰͕̲̮̭̞̻͕̹̮̦̞͍͍̜͎̙̥̰͎̘̎̀̈́̋̃́̈́͗͛̓̇̌̐̄͋̊͂́̃͒̇̽̑̈́͒̓͛͘͜͜͜͝͠͝͝ȩ̸̢̲̼͖̲̟͖̗̰̖̤̣̘̤̤̖̯͖̱͉͙̪̖̯͙͙̣̒̓͌͒̑͐̿̑̄͆̾̉̎̊̚͜͠͠ͅͅͅ ̸̨̧̡̱̖̗̫̪͕̻̠̬͇̮̿t̷̢̢̧̛̗͉̗̲͇̞̫̖̭̭̝͈̯͇͔̗̐̒̍̽͋̍͐̉̆̅̋̃͑̓̄̀͌̓̏̕͘͝͝͝i̷̡̢̢̧̢̛̛̘̞̖͉̜̬̮̘͈̦̣̥̻͍͖̲̯͖̘͉͙̝̲͙̥̠͇͎̯̗͔̣͓̘̒̐̅̒̉̈̈̅̉͐͐̓̌̀̎̎̇̓̈͌̀́̾͛̄̿͆̾̌͒͌͌͋̐̐͜ͅm̵͉̲̝̒̈́̌̑́̅͐̊͗̈́̋͌͑̚̚͜è̷̯͎̩̮̙̮̤̟͖̟͙̲̪̤̘̦̙̽͋̆͊̀̓̓̾̈́̓͋͊̐̎̿̔̒̎̈̄̑̄̓̌̆͘͘͝͠͝ ̵̛̩̀̐̏̏̌̈́̍̾̈̀̋̈́̅̀̎̑̃͒̈́̈́͛́͝͝͠c̸̻͔̩͍̮̻̀̑͑͑̉͐̐͛̇̀͋̎̾̉̽̔̂͋́͒͆͊̇̿̚͜͜͝͠͝ȍ̶̢̨̧̨̨̹̬̜͕͙͍̬͔̦̝͇̺̻͈͇̹͓̭̙̗̹̤̹͕̳͓͜m̷̧̢̛̛̺̦̟̓͋̈́̾̇͌̑̎̾̎̐͊̿́͑̇̐̋̐͗̋͋̎̍̓̓͒͗̕̚̕͝ę̸̡̧̡͚͈̦̹̫̯̺̣̤̥̭̱̟̺̩͕̮͙͈̪̦̟͖̰̘̤͗͆̔̂̇̐̇̏̅́̌͂̄̉̒͑̃̒̚͜s̷̛͔̙̦̞̱̝͇͍̏̈́̎̃̔͒̆̆̉̄̏̑̔́̉̀́̎̔̀̈́̆̌̏͂̿̋͠͝ ̷̧͓̲͎̣͎͉̲͍̻̟̝̼̖͑̀͂͊́͒͊̇̉̏͌͋́̀́͋́̀̊̈́̆̐͒̕̚͜͝͝͝ţ̷̰̬͈̩̮̹̟͈̗̖͇͈̟͔̦͍̺̼̬̤̬̣͙͇̔̀͂̿̓͘͠ͅh̵̛̭̳͙̻͕̹͓̳̪̪͚̣̲̻͇̗̤̱̖͓͉͚͈̤̃͗́̿̈̾̔̈͌́́̿̌̊͛͛̎e̶̡̡̧̻̙̬͕͓͕͚̯͆̀̀̇͗̾̀͋̀͛̇͗̑͐̏̓̉̽̄́̚͠͝ͅŗ̵̢̟̺̠̱̭̭͉̣͈̙̪̫̪̳̣̯̹̮͓̘͍̦̞̜͎͙̩͕̙̼̝̆̚͘͠͠ͅȩ̴̻̲̮̲̬̍͒̎͋̆͆̾̋̀̄̑̀̏̎̈́̈́̐̓͗͆̕͘͝ ̸̡̡̡̨̛͙̦̥̭͖͎̙̟̖̲̦̫̠̦̳̥͓̤̼̔̀̃͐̄̅͐͠w̸̠͇͍̥̺̖̤̬̰̬̯͓̥͉̦̪̍͌͌̚ḯ̴̧̫͓͈̖͖̭̯̩̻͓̜͖͓̙͕̫͒͑͜͜͝ͅͅļ̸̟̻̳̩̻̏̏͋ͅl̴̢̢͈̲̼͖̪̜̙̯̻̮̗̪̯̗͉̠͌̔͂́̀̃̐̆͂̓͑̑͛̇͑͂͊̾̾̈́͊͊͌̃͌̿͗̍̅̀̚̕̚̚͝͝͠͝͝ͅͅ ̵̧̨̧̧̛̛̥̭̙͓͉͓̦͇̝͍̳̗͖̱͖̳̟̥̮̠̪̫͚͍̥̰̖̳̼͙̞̘̞̃̔̍͆́͗̌͋̅̿̽̌̿̌̃͛̈́́̊̏̎̈̍̕͠ͅb̴̡̧̡̨̨̢̞͈̻̩̫̱̱̫͙͇̬͍̥̲̥̰̱̠͇̙̙̫͖̹̲͍̹̹̦̮̟̭͙̖͌̎̀̚ͅě̶̛̛̦͙̱̬̹̦̆̽͌̇̏̔̅̽͆̇̑̊̆͂͂͋͛̌̎̌́̔̅͆̆̓̋̀̕͘͘̕͘͘͝͠͠ ̶̳̹̣̟́̀̈̓̑̏͌̍̀̇̈́͌͆͌̇̇̆̏̀̌̓̾̈́͌̈́̅̈́͆̍̄͐̚̚̕͝͝ą̴̡̧̱̮͕̼͍̯͎̟͉̺̱͎͔̼͚̱͈̘͕͓̌̄͑̿̽̉̒̄͒͊ ̵̢̧̤̭̮̻̭͇̠̬͍̖̘̤̖̩͎̺͈̻̻̺͉̪͙́̎́̍̀͋̒͜͜ͅͅp̷̢̨̡̡͚̼͖͕̰̖̼̳̲͓̣̯͉̤͇̏͒̂̐̃̔́̄̓̓̊r̷̨̢̩̫̲͖̯͎̗̱͙̟͍̙͍͈͚͖̪͍̣̭͔̲͇̳͉͕̱̭̗̜̲͓͖͖͎͉̤̓̄̅͐̂͗̎̈́̂̔̏̀̑̓̉̉͒̀̊̑̎̂̍͆̂̀͒̈́̕͘̚͝͝͝ͅǐ̸̧̨̧̘̦̰̣̺̖̻̝̦͈͈̤̤̥̬͙͚̐̐̿͐̋̔͊̍c̵̣͎͔̜̬̹̬̗̣̪̳̹̫͎̀̈́͌̅̅̓̐͒͋̈͆̿̽̏̕̕͘ͅȩ̵͔̭̗͖̩͚̦̼͉͕̜̘̖̹͔͋͒̈́̽̎̔ ̷̡̡̛͕̯̘̲̻̼̤͇̠̟̞̯̮̳̈̌͋̉̑̄̀̈́͐̈́̉͛̐̿̓͗̈́̌̋̈́̀̆̈́͆̂̊̎̊͘͜͜͝ͅt̸̙̼͇̗̱͖͙̲̹͙̱̠̬͆̈̊̇͒̓̽́͆́̀̋̔͐̐̏́̾̍́̾̆̌̒̾̒͂̅̂͌̈́͝͝͝ò̴̧̨̨̡̨̢̯̥͚̺̬͔̣̘̳̳̟̳̞̜͚̬͙͉̫̦̹̱͍̼͖͙̟͉̼̒̽͗̂͛͐͛͋̃͘̚͜͜ͅ ̴̳̻͚͈̑̐̅͑̊͂͒͛̈́̓̈́͊̃͘p̴̢̡̨̛͙̬͖̟̜̘̳̺̗͚̘͉̘̣͇͉̣̖̬͍̜͗̍̀̿̿̇͑͗͋̾̑̾̍͋̋̑͑̈́̈̔̋̆̔̃̉̓̂͐́̍̕̕̚͜͝͝͠ͅa̶̡͚̘̥̟̞͎̮̠͈͓̯͖̮̱̥̦̤̤̣̤͈̯̜̠͍̫̖̻̮̕͜ͅͅỷ̵̨̛̉̊̀̅̀̎͗͊̄̿́̾̓̈́̀̃͋̿͐͗͋͋̓͆̏͘͝͠

And the story lives on when this desperate man turned out to be one of the most dedicated and ambitious man that is rightfully crowned to be a hero of this land. His tales of providing needs and wants were shared all over the years that goes by. Many people will never forget his great deeds.

"And that my fellow friends is the story about how the glory of Mezalea rises as the richest and most powerful kingdom to ever exist" A handsome face man was enthusiastically telling a story about his Kingdom's origin to a group of people sitting around a table.

Joel: King of the Mezalea Kingdom

He has on brown hair was a green streak running through the middle bangs of his hair and amber-colored eyes. Upon his head is a golden crown, with his outfit that matches the color scheme of his kingdom. He wears a magenta tux jacket with golden assents for the trimming of the designs—also a green sash that crosses over his chest. Black pants & boots and finally white gloves to complete his outfit

"Very...knowledgable to learn about Joel." A man chuckles awkwardly expressing in the most ecstatic tone he could but almost sounding sarcastic.

Pixl: The Copper King of Pixandria

He has dark brown hair and a mix of greyish dark blue eyes, upon his head is a copper crown that has a variant of the coloring stages-with a few mixes of the teal copper color. He wears a brown shirt with brown pants, overlaying with a khaki jacket that flows to the back of his legs reaching just above his ankles, there were also yellow and orange assents added to the jacket.

"You also explained this story many times before and honestly, I don't think I can count up the many times you repeated that over and over," A woman who was sitting across Pixl said sighing.

Lizzie: Queen of the Prismatic Palace

She has long luscious pink hair tied together with cute space buns upon her hair. She also has marine sparkly crystal eyes. She wears a sparkly blue dress that was overlapped with a blue sheer fabric and silver blue laced heels.

"I mean it was still cool to hear about though! Even though it was over and over..." A dirty blonde hair guy rubs the back of his head.

Jimmy: Codfather of the Swamp Empire

He has dirty blonde hair with sage green eyes and green garments as his clothes

Upon his head was a glorious cod head accessory as one of his prized processions called it the "Codfather" head. He also had some codfish assets seemly to be gestured as cod gills for his ears.

"I'm just trying to give you all a friendly reminder about Mezalea's legacy! If you were to forget all about the glory of this Kingdom then it'll be disrespectful" Joel said shrugging his arms up.

"Joel I love you, but I need you to calm your eccentric behavior please" Lizzie kindly suggested. "Plus as an alliance, we didn't gather around just to have a storytime. Isn't that right Pixl?"

The Copper King nodded and takes out a scroll and laid it flat on the table with the other members crowding behind him and looking over his shoulder. "My guards have recently found this map, which seems to be a dungeon. It's filled with lots of traps and monsters but most importantly a lot of valuable treasure that's been lost there for thousands of years. I thought it might be worthwhile if we come as a group to take on the dungeon as a team" 

"Traps and Monsters? I don't know." Lizzie skims the map feeling reluctant. "It sounds really dangerous and deadly..."

"I'm here with Lizzie. It sounds like a great adventure but we could also be in a lot of trouble. What if we die?" Jimmy also said with uncertainty.

Joel hung his arms around Jimmy. "I think we should do it! It's not as often we get to go around exploring the world!"

"W-What? But Joel, you're a King filled with responsibilities. What about your duties here in Mezalea?" Jimmy said.

Joel shrugged it off waving his hand back and forth, paying no mind to it. "It'll be fine Jimmy! I can always request a break, now onwards to this so-called dangerous dungeon!" He pointed towards the door.

"I have a really bad feeling about this" Jimmy sighed.

As the Cod Alliance ventures underground, they were following behind Pixl holding a map in his hands to show the direction to the dungeon. They happen to stumble on a cracked stone entrance, the eerie ominous darkness sent a chilling shiver down Lizzie's and Jimmy's back. 

"Are you all ready?" Pixl turned to everybody.

"All ready to go Pixl!" Joel excitedly nodded.

Lizzie and Jimmy both looked at one another swallowing back hard and nodded.

A narrow crypt in an overcast wasteland marks the entrance to this dungeon. Beyond the crypt lies a scanty, dank passageway. It's covered in small bones, broken pottery, and dead vermin. Jimmy and Joel who's been holding a torch to light up the area show empty chests and broken statues, long lost and defaced by time itself. Further ahead were three paths, they took a left turn following Pixl's direction. Its twisted trail leads past collapsed rooms and pillaged treasuries, piles of bones for many centuries left behind by the dead. They continued to move onwards, deeper into the dungeon's darkness. Passing various rooms and countless passages, some have collapsed, others are dead ends or too dangerous to try. While passing by, it was unsettling how there hasn't been a single monster in sight, it made Lizzie and Jimmy feel somewhat queasy about the situation. 

They eventually make it to what is likely the final stages of the dungeon cells. An immense wooden door blocks their path. Strange writing is all over it, somehow untouched by time and the elements. Pixl takes a step to inspect the writing, holding his chin, although he couldn't decipher the meaning behind them as they were written in another language. He turned around to see if everybody was ready. They all gave him a nod and he pushes open the door that opens to a huge foyer. It was a massive filthy room, covered with dead insects and ashes on the floor, but it was strangely dark. Very dark. The Cod alliance cautiously—slowly starts to walk inside.

Soon a crackling sound opens wide with multiple trails of flames appearing from the torches chained on the walls. The room was lit up a bit more, still very dimmed but enough to have a full inspection of the entire room they were in. Now they have a full examination of the room, there was nothing special or fairly unusual about it apart from the pillars structured on the side of the walls, but there were a lot of bones piled around the walls which led to some concerns. There was a treasure chest at the end of the room. They slowly approached the chest in front of them which was rusted and aged, flying around with dust and cobwebs covering it. 

Jimmy bent down to open it but Pixl grabs onto his shoulder stopping him from any further.  "It's a trap."

"It's definitely a trap" Joel had his arms crossed together.

"It's obviously a trap" Lizzie places her hands on her hips.

"Guys come on, didn't we examine this entire area already? Plus this dungeon wasn't even filled with monsters, there were some small booby traps, but this dungeon is wiped out and clean" Jimmy said to assure them.

"Right and once you open this chest up, it's going to break apart this ground below us into a lava pool that will bring us to our demise,"  Joel said crossing his arms with a nonchalant tone.

Jimmy sighed back away from the chest. "Fine, but what do we do now? If we open this chest it'll trigger a trap, but if we don't open it then we wasted our time coming here"

"It's not like this is the only room that's available with treasure. Since this dungeon is an entire labyrinth, there are other routes to explore as well. Come on" Pixl starts heading to the door with the others walking behind him.

Joel felt a strange presence behind his head as if something was coming straight toward them. Lizzie was racing to the door when a massive silhouette appeared straight from the shadows up in the ceiling.  

"LIZZIE!"

Joel strikes his sword out from his belt rushing toward his beloved girlfriend. They fell to the ground with Joel covering her entire body as his sword was blocking something sharp that hit his blade.

Pixl and Jimmy were horrified by the sudden attack and rushed to the couple helping them stand up. The massive creature then landed on the ground spindling with legs crawling, it was rapidly seen out in the open by the traces of the fire illuminating its presence.

The creature resembled a skeletal centipede with an elongated skull for a head, with a pair of four sets of red shining eyes. Its arms and legs that are structured from its ribcages function as scythes with sharp edges. The room around them emits a glow that lights up the entire room.

Everybody looked at the creature in front of them with horror in their eyes.

Its eyes gleamed red, it growled a loud snarl.

The cod alliance then rushes out of the dungeon as they screamed at the top of their lungs. 

A morning breeze toured a dense jungle making the flowers and leaves tango with rhythm. The lush evergreen trees stood so firm as if the roots were clinging for their very life, in the distance, there was a Crystal River and a waterfall as its source. A spot of two figures was passing through the jungle leaping from one set of vines to the other.

"Come on Sausage don't forget! Last one to leave the jungle will be cleaning the chicken pen for a month!" A golden brown-haired woman giggles as she latches onto a vine-swinging across a river.

Pearl: Farmlady of the Gilded Helianthia 

She had blonde streaks that blends in like a gradient to her light brown hair and dark blue eyes. Upon her head was a flower crown made from the natural sunflowers. She wears a light green dress with yellow gold accents for the design and her shoes, she wears Greek-style sandals. She also has golden feathers like wings.

"At least try to go easy on me Pearl!" A dark chocolate brown-haired guy pouted and follows from behind.

Sausage: Lord of the Mythland Kingdom

He has dark brown hair with turquoise eyes sitting with one of his legs crossing over the other with his arms crossed. Upon his head was a typical golden-red crown. He was wearing a short-sleeve red silky cape, underneath was a long sleeve green collared shirt with gold assets. He was wearing dark brown pants and green boots along with gold assets as well.

"As you should know, you can never go easy on a girl which is why I'm making it 10 times harder for you!" Pearl sticks her tongue out winking.

"What's the point of that message if I'm not even trying to go easy?!" Sausage complains.

The race continues as the two friends fly through the jungle while they leap from one vine to the next. The excitement was rushing through Pearl's face as she was laughing freely feeling the soft wind sweep by her face. Meanwhile, Sausage was trying to catch up to Pearl's speed as he was struggling.

The end of the jungle was coming close. Pearl made one final leap as she did an elegant somersault toward the ground and landed gracefully on her feet.

"And I won!" Pearl raised her arms out, she turned around placing a hand near her forehead above her eyes to look for Sausage. She then saw him swinging by and gave a wave. "Sausage! Hey there you big loser!"

"What?! How did you—?!" While Sausage was quickly surprised by Pearl's sudden finishing. He latches his hand onto another vine—although the vine had a weird texture to his touch. He realized the vine loosen its grip on the tree and he fell toward the ground. Luckily he was able to catch himself before there were any fatality incidents. But it was too soon to be relieved. The vine turned out to be an emerald-green boa snake.

"G!—S-Snake?!" Sausage backs up a little as the green snake hisses loudly slithering towards him.

"Hey, big guy! Who's hungry?!" 

The snake turned its head looking at Pearl who was dangling an alive lizard in her hand. She was able to grab its attention and throws it in the opposite direction of the forest. The snake ignored Sausage and slithered away following its meal.

Sausage sighed out of relief. "Phew...thanks Pearl"

"No worries, as always the damsel in distress will always be saved by the golden farmer in armor" Pearl playfully teases giggling.

"Hey who are you calling a damsel? I admit I was a bit in distress...however! I could've taken care of it myself!" Sausage crosses his arms.

"Oh really? Who was the guy that was quivering out of fear when he disrupted an unfriendly boa snake?" Pearl smirks raising an eyebrow.

"Uhh, what fear?! I don't even know the meaning of fear! I was...uh just simply pretending to be scared so the snake would take...pity." Sausage tried to come up with a plausible excuse.

"Then perhaps we should have you sign up for theatre arts in your Kingdom's next festival. I'm sure people would be in awe to see how real your acting will be performed" Pearl giggled to herself.

"Hey! If that ever happens at least I know I'll be delivering a splendid performance! My acting may pay off after all if I end up giving it a try!" Sausage notedly boasts himself.

"Okay, you big superstar. We can work on your theatre acting after you're done scooping up all the unwanted gunk from the chicken pen...for a month!" Pearl smirks snickering.

"What?! I can not believe you are forcing a nice guy like me to do your dirty work, Pearl! Unbelievable!" Sausage whines dramatically.

"A deals a deal Sausage! That is you wanna switch out and bathe a dozen muddy pigs?" Pearl gave another devious option.

"You're so mean Pearl. So cruel to work a humble and sweet man like me. Not even Gem and fWhip would treat me this way" Sausage sniffs.

"Alright alright you big teddy bear. I'll be nice and only give you half a month, just because you're my best friend" Pearl smiled brightly.

Sausage sighed. "Fiiine...I suppose I can deal with that. Although...you just want me to deal with your dirty work while in you relax with your sunflowers Pearl!"

"Aww come on, we're friends Sausage! I would—"

"Heeeelp! Help!"

"Huh?"

Both Sausage and Pearl turned their heads to the jungle hearing a loud yelp from a voice. They looked at each other and started making their way through the jungle searching for the person who was in possible danger.

The voice was drawing closer and they stepped through the bushes appearing near a waterfall. Pearl scanned the area for a brief moment and heard the cry for help once more, this time it wasn't echoing as it sounded more verbal. 

"Sausage! Look!"

Pearl pointed to a man who was holding onto the edge of a cliff hovering over the waterfall.

"Help! Somebody, please help me!" 

Joey: Emperor of the Lost Empire

He has dirty blondish-brown hair with lime green eyes. His outfit ties in with the Aztec theme, the red-teal color scheme. With a red cropped sleeveless shirt with a teal design imprinted upon the middle. Upon his shoulders were tiger-like fur-like patches, he wears dark brown pants with a red-teal designed belt and brown sandals. He also has rainbow parrot-like feathers for his wings.

"J-Joey?! What are you doing from up there?!" Sausage shouted from below.

"Sausage?! Is that you?! Oh, thank Aeor! Somebody has come to rescue me! Please help me Sausage! I am in the middle of a death and life crisis here!" Joey shouted his pleas.

Pearl and Sausage stared at each other blinking with a blank expression.

"Uh, Joey...you have wings. Can't you just flap them?" Sausage scratches the back of his head.

• • •

"I-I knew that!" Joey flared out his rainbow-feathered wings and made his way down to Pearl and Sausage.

"PFT how could you not realize you have a pair of wings?" Pearl started giggling.

"Don't you dare laugh at me! I was put in a life-and-death crisis!" Joey fired at her.

"How did you even get yourself into that position anyways?" Sausage felt like laughing himself but held it in.

"W-Well! I was on an adventure to find some ruined artifacts and there was this disgusting slithering snake chasing after me! It targeted me as if I was going to become its meal! I ran so fast to the point I wasn't about to scan my surroundings before I reached a dead end! Oh, you wouldn't believe the torture I went through Sausage!" Joey dramatically cries into Sausage's chest as he clings to his clothes.

Sausage was a little taken back and awkwardly pats his back. "There there, Joey. What matters now is that you're safe! End of story!"

"Yeah! Plus what kind of ancient artifacts did you happen to find?" Pearl asks out of curiosity.

Joey pushes himself away from Sausage's grasp and pulled out a golden sacred item.  "Feast your eyes upon this glory!"

Sausage's and Pearl's eyes lit up with amazement. "Woah..."

"Isn't that the item you've been looking for ever since you stumbled across those temples around here?!" Sausage said.

"Yes! I managed to collect all three of them and I only needed one more to restore the Air temple!"

Through the steep dense of the jungle, multiple temples symbolize the ancient elements.

Fire 

Water

Earth

And lastly Air

Centuries ago, people lived in harmony devoted to great blessings and compassion for these temples. Fire represents passion. Water demonstrates patience. Earth lived for life and air symbolizes elegance. These temples not only bring the balance of earthly blessings but are also home to the people who reside within the region of the temples. However, a legend was told the temples were destroyed and the empire was fallen into ruins by an unknown curse. Nobody knew how or when this curse was struck, but it brought misery to the temples and destruction to the people. While the temples were destroyed, the people turned into carnivorous beasts lurking through the jungles.

The curse became a bad omen to the temples and the dignity of this kingdom was lost for good.

That was until there was finally hope. There was an artifact found by a lost dwelling. It was gold, polished that wasn't any ordinary gemstone or treasure. It was a totem of undying. A rare item that grants a human being the power of another life. This item restored humanity and uplifted the curse that haunted the temples. With the rebuild of the four temples, everything was finally restored in peace and the lost dwelling claimed its rightful place as Emperor of the Lost Kingdom.

Ever since he's part taken with the role to rebuild back the temples from their ruins to their final glory. He's been blessed with honor and dignity to his name. For years, he has been venturing farther through the wilderness of the worlds and exploring the depths of the unknown. Going through dungeons that hold secret passages and possibly endless traps—even caves that go beyond into the darkness of the unknown He was a hopeless man without anything much to lose, but because of courageous mindset. The restoration of the Lost Kingdom became known. 

"Well, what are we standing around here for?! I wanna see what the Air temple will look like once it's back to its original structure!" Pearl excitedly exclaimed.

With no further comments to add, the three runs through the jungle to reach the lost Kingdom.

A Kingdom named Rivendell was located in the southwest from the direction of the Crystal Cliffs. There was a palace that was located on a series of snowy mountains and beyond its borders was surrounded by the village where the Elvin citizens reside. The palace consists of multiple structures enclosed by walls, and each wall has towers spaced along its length. The wall and towers at the front of the palace are decorated with a series of crests, which is the golden stag charge known to be the symbolization of Rivendell's official crest Navigating throughout the castle is provided through at least two sets of staircases, one of which is a spiral staircase. 

Currently, at this moment Gem and Shrub were sitting inside a Council Chamber which contains a long table with a series of chairs that is reserved for meetings. 

Shrub was shivering from the cold temperatures inside the room as she was hugging her arms for dear life. "W-W-W-Why...d-didn't...y...you t-tell m-me...w-we...w-were g-going to a...s-s-snowy...a-area...?!?" 

"W-Well I didn't think it would matter...plus I thought gnomes could handle the cold" A tiny sweat drops on the side of Gem's face as she laughs nervously. 

"I-I live...in w-w-warm l-land! W-What m-makes y-you think I c-can h-handle w-winter conditions—?!" Shrub tried yelling at her.

Gem sighed giving herself a face palm realizing it may have been her fault for not being extra prepared. However, since she's a wizard, a small mistake like this shouldn't be too hard to fix. She waves her hand toward Shrub as a glint of red magic appeared from her palm. A visible barrier appeared around Shrub's body. It was a faint orange with fire symbols scribbled around. Once it is absorbed inside her body, Shrub was no longer shivering as she felt the warmth inside.

"Wait..." Shrub was rubbing her arms and let's go. "How did you do that?"

"Since I specialize in fire and arcane magic I can withstand the cold by casting a heating shield around me." A similar barrier appeared around Gem's body. "It's pretty helpful since I often visit this Kingdom a lot therefore I had to learn how to practice this kind of magic to endure these cold conditions"

"And all this time you had that fire protection spell cast around you?!" Shrub's eye twitches.

"W-Well...it's a temporary spell since it requires a lot of mana so I wouldn't say I had it all the time." Gem shrugs smiling nervously. 

Shrub sighed shaking her head. "I'm starting to think this is all a bad idea"

A set of white double doors opened up revealing the Ruler of this snowy Kingdom.

"Greeting you two!"

Scott: King of Rivendell

He has light teal hair with oceanic blue eyes and elf-like ears. Upon his head is a white crystallized golden crown. His outfit is very much with the elven style, with the blue, white golden coloring scheme. He wears a light blue shirt with golden assents for the detailing of the shirt. Overlaying around his shirt is a white cloak with golden assents for the trimming design. He wears a brown belt and golden brackets as his accessory. Behind his back is a white Angel feather-like wings tipped with golden flakes.

"Scott! Took you long enough" Gem smiled.

"My apologies Gem, as a King of this beautiful Kingdom you realize I have responsibilities that are far more important than your appearance here" Scott ill-mannerly said.

"Wow, and after all the years we had together I thought our friendship was something more" Gem crosses her arms together.

Scott chuckles a little and smiles. "It's great to see you again Gem"

"Uh...wait. Are you an elf?" Shrub blinks staring at Scott and observing his appearance.

"Yes, I am. You must be the new arrival who happened to stumble upon our world. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Scott, King of Rivendell which is the name of my Kingdom" Scott formally introduced himself.

"O-Oh uh...you're a Royal? Uh, it's a pleasure as well. I'm Shrub Berry. A Gnome from a realm called Gnomeland" Shrub awkwardly bows.

"Gnomeland?" Scott raised an eyebrow not following.

"Shrub suddenly appeared in our world due to a strange circumstance—which I'm still trying to figure out. However, the real issue is that the reason how she arrived here was that her world was corrupted by some kind of evil" Gem briefly explains on behalf of Shrub's situation.

"Right." Scott nodded quickly understanding. "So is that why you came to me for my assistance?"

"You're the only person in this world that has lived for thousands of years due to your immortality. If anybody knows more about this world and the history that goes around it—it has to be you" Gem logically explains.

"And that's where your point stands in a different context. I only know what goes on in our world. Not other worlds, this is my first time hearing about a realm called Gnomland." Scott frowns crossing his arms.

"Okay well, maybe you wouldn't know about it. How about the other elderly elves? Or what about your library? There has to be a story written about that" Gem tried giving more options.

"Gem if the other elves and I would've known about it. I would've already told you—plus if this is our first time getting introduced to a gnome. There's no logical way gnomes would be in any of our records. That information just doesn't exist" Scott disregarded all of Gem's options shaking his head.

"I see." Gem gave up sighing.

With how painfully the conversation went. It all went downhill as Shrub anticipated. She opened her mouth to say something but Scott decided to step in once more as an idea filled his mind.

"Actually. Perhaps there's one more person we could try visiting"

Gem and Shrub lift their head staring at Scott.

The Cod Alliances rush out from the caves panting heavily. They were settling on the Plainfield resting on the soft grass to regain some of their energy back.

"Pixl...just what was the beast we saw in there?" Lizzie swallowed catching her breath.

"I'm not sure. I didn't get to observe it much further before we ran out of there" Pixl sat up from the grass.

"Whatever it was. I don't ever wanna go back there...we would've died instantly if we tried battling that monster" Jimmy was frightened as he was laying flat on the grass.

"I still think we could've given it a chance" Joel slides his sword back and folds his arms across his chest.

"I don't think you should risk your life just to prove your ego, Joel" Lizzie sighed.

"Still we went through that dungeon and yet we didn't exactly find anything. I feel like that adventure was kind of a waste" Jimmy sighed to himself.

"What are you talking about Jimmy? Nothing is ever a waste. Just because we didn't find any treasure doesn't mean our adventure was closed off with disappointment. It's the experience that counts" Joel stood over Jimmy smiling at him.

"Even though our adventures are a little more dangerous than I thought they would always go. I agree with Joel, I think it's because we were always all in this together" Lizzie smiles gently.

Pixl nodded. "Alliance or not. I think we're practically family at this point" He chuckles

Jimmy stared at everyone, taking consideration for their words and smiles. "I guess you guys aren't wrong"

Joel slaps his back. "Of course, we're never wrong! At least I know I'm not—As I am the King of Mezalea, I will always point you in the direction of righteousness!" He points up into the sun.

Jimmy's back was left with a small sting from Joel's slap as he rubs it.

"There he goes again." Lizzie sighs shaking her head.

Pixl chuckles a little. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a strange structure from his view.

"Huh? Hey guys there's something over there"

Pixl runs off in the direction of the structure. The others follow from behind. As they moved closer and closer, they were confused and amazed by the structure that lies in front of them. It was made out of a dark crystalize stone arched around that created some sort of entryway.

"What kind of odd structure like this is doing in the middle of the Plainfield?" Lizzie looks behind her.

Pixl was observing the crystallizing stone. "I'm not sure but it seems like this structure is made out of real obsidian"

"Obsidian?" Joel raised an eyebrow. "But those are extremely rare to come across—even in the Mezalea kingdom those exports aren't as common to find"

"If those are rare then how is there a structure out here made out of a lot of this mineral?" Jimmy asks out of confusion.

"Who knows. Whatever the case is. One thing for sure is that this structure appeared here." Pixl made a small conclusion.

"Uh I don't follow," Joel said.

 "We've passed this area many times before throughout our adventures. We would've definitely noticed this here before. This can't just have been sitting here out of nowhere. Plus even if it was, an extremely rare mineral like this wouldn't be sitting out here just waiting—somebody would instantly break it down to take possession of it" Pixl gently slides his hand upon the obsidian feeling the smooth glassy texture.

"What should we do about this then? We can't just leave it here, can we?" Lizzie looked towards Joel's way.

"Well, what options do we have? None of us have any tools to break it with" Joel frowns crossing his arms.

"Even if we did. I don't think it'll be wise if we try to break it down. The way this obsidian is arched seems like it created an entrance—I have a feeling we shouldn't tamper with it" Pixl strongly advises.

Lizzie stares up into the sky and saw the colors starting to change. Meaning it was getting closer to sundown. "The sun is starting to set. Perhaps we should deal with this another day. Is it alright if we leave this here Pixl?"

"Well...it is out in the open which leaves me in concern, but there's nothing we can do so maybe it's alright" Pixl gives his final conclusion.

"Hopefully, nobody comes steals it then" Jimmy starts to walk.

Meanwhile, Scott Gem and Shrub were visiting a beautiful floral Kingdom located in a flower forest biome. It was a magical land filled with tons of plants and flowers ranging from different batches to variants of colors. There was a garden and a full meadow view that showcases all the various flowers displayed out in the sun with a large fountain built in the middle. Flying around were a few fairies who were maintaining the flowers. Sectioned off from the garden lays a castle of multiple sets of towers, color coated in white blue, and purple as the main theme. 

A fairy notices Scott and the others approaching the Kingdom and fly forward to greet them.

"Hello, your majesty! Are you here to visit the Princess?" She speaks to Scott

"Yes is she available currently?" Scott asks.

The fairy nodded. "She's enjoying tea time in her private garden. Please follow me and I will show you the way!"

The group follows the fairy to seek out the Princess of the floral land.

There was a white marble gazebo from far ahead surrounded by a variant of different flowers grown around. From bushes of roses to rows of white lilies. 

A beautiful woman was sitting at the gazebo enjoying a delicious cup of warm tea by herself. 

"Guardian! Guardian! You have guests!"

She heard a fairy calling to her and gets up from her chair to see who was approaching her land.

"Oh! Scott! Gem!"

Katherine: Guardian of the Overgrown and Princess of House Blossom.

She was a beautiful woman wearing a beautiful dazzling purple tiara with blue jewels. She was wearing a white ruffle short sleeve top with a long purple skirt as her main dress, attached with white blue assets as the floral designs of her skirt.

"I'm very happy to see you both! What do I owe you both the pleasure of visiting today? And oh! Who is this?" Katherine tilted her head noticing a gnome standing next to them.

"This is Shrub. Long story short, she came from another realm" Gem tries to summarize.

"Another realm...?" Katherine blinks in confusion.

"It's kind of difficult to explain but, she came to our world not too long ago found by my little brother, and we later found out she was somehow transported here because her the world was destroyed," Gem explains a little more in detail.

"Yeah my world was literally covered in red before I even realized it was happening," Shub added in annoyance.

"It's probably hard for you to understand—but try to bear with us here" Scott chuckles a little.

While it was hard for Katherine to process all the given information on such short notice. She gave a small nod and smiled. "I see. Well then, if that's the case. Is there anything I could do to help you all?"

"The spirit of the springs. Do you think we could talk to it about Shrub's situation?" Gem asks politely.

"I'm not sure if they'll answer our calling since the springs only give messages when it's necessary. However...I do find it quite odd I haven't received one since we have a gnome that came from another world." Katherine thought to herself holding her chin.

"What if we go all together then? If they didn't call for you, then that must mean the springs were waiting for us to find out about it ourselves" Gem provided her thoughts.

"Okay, whatever plan we are going with. Can we just go with it? I'm getting a little impatient here and I need to find out why I'm here and what's happening to my world" Shrub steps in—once again annoyed as she grows impatient.

"For a cute little gnome. You sure are feisty." Scott chuckles softly to himself making fun of her.

Shrub was triggered. "Don't call me little or cute."

Gem clears her throat. "A-Anyways. Do you mind if we visit the springs, Katherine? It's sort of an emergency now..."

"Of course. Follow me"

The group visited an isolated magical grove inside a small cave nearby. It was overgrown with plants and vines with a medium-sized pool at the end of the cave. 

A wave of magic swirls around in the pond like a breeze that flows through their hair as soon as their presence was picked up.

"Guardian. Elvin King and Head Wizard. Welcome, I sense your presence as soon as you stepped in. You have questions that are in need of answers, particularly the new arrival who is with you all."

Shrub froze up a little. She looked at the others gesturing to what she should do. They all gently pushed her to step forward to speak with the spirit, if anybody could help her with her troubles, this is her last chance. She swallowed hard and makes a few steps forward to the magical pool of water where the wave of magic was sparkling in front of her eyes. 

"M-My name is Shrub Berry. I came from a land called Gnomeland. It was a beautiful mushroom land where I lived harmoniously with my family and friends...but then somehow. Everything was destroyed in a split second and I ended up here." Shrub was in sorrow having to force herself to explain her situation. But she urged herself to stay strong. "If you are the only one who can help me with my troubles, please tell me. What is exactly going on?"

"Our world's spiral, which connects to other realms, is inhabited by an evil entity."

Everybody froze up.

"They are trapped and unable to reach us, however. This darkness will soon draw closer once broken free."

During the middle of a lackluster night. A small spike shriveled up and glows red along the obsidian crystals.

"You all must be careful."