The moon was in full display in the clear skies above.
Through the thicket of numerous trees below it, fire in a pit blazed in the loneliness of the night.
In between the standout light in the darkness, two figures sat across from each other, observing the flickering flames that gave them a glimpse of the only other sign of life besides themselves. It was an uncomfortable and long stare into the abyss that hadn't helped ease their anxieties and worries. Worries about their friend and if he was truly out of harm's way or not.
"We'll find her, Knox. I know we will." Lute spoke up. "But we've been searching all day, and we have to make sure we're rested for the morning and for what comes next. We'll get right back on her trail then."
Knox nodded wordlessly as he continued his relentless stare into the yellow-orange hue of their source of heat. They weren't new to uncomfortable situations and harrowing danger. They just didn't look for it. It's how they stayed alive effectively for so long. Getting in, and getting out just as fast if not faster. He honestly didn't know how it all would turn out this time around. Every time something like this happened was a chance for it being the one time that luck had finally run out.
"Kara always told me you were the life force of the group."
The words came out to Lute unexpected. He gave a slightly surprised look at Knox.
"She thinks that? Why? Because I play the lute bard of the group sometimes?" he half-joked.
"No. Well, kinda. But it's just in you. I know we've all been dragged down, and your no exception...I'm not trying to downplay anything you're going through but-"
"Knox, I understand what you mean." Lute chuckled out lightly. He moved his eyes at the lute instrument laid across his lap, bringing a hand to softly strum against the strings. His strumming hand curled up into a fist and unfurled as quickly as it had tensed up.
"We're gonna find her. Alive. And then we're going to keep doing what we do best. But first," Lute laid the musical instrument he was fiddling with down against the tree next to him. "...let's get some rest."
Knox watched his friend lay against the tree and shut his eyes, the light of the fire highlighting his ever-present smile.
Knox brung his attention back to the flame that was losing it's spark and sighed quietly. He arose, stomping out the weakened flame and followed suit after his friend's actions. After finding a comfortable position, he relaxed his body and mind before drifting off into silence a few minutes later.
Dust and screaming.
The terror. The confusion.
And the pain.
Knox held his head in response to the small, but still decently-sized rock that contacted against his head. One of many to fall from the crumbling wall that exposed the outside world to them all.
He heard his father call from a closer position as the dust began to leisurely clear, but he couldn't make out what he was saying. Or where he was. But he was getting closer.
That was when he spotted his friend Noel not far from him. He was now on the ground with a large shelf pinning him against the floor. Noel cried out in pain, pushing against the heavy object to no avail. Knox's instinct drove him to ignore the sharp pain residing from his skull and immediately move towards Noel's prone form as the chaos unfolded around him. He struggled to lift the furniture from him as he squirmed underneath it. A loud bang rang out behind him, startling him. It was a large piece of the crumbling ceiling above him.
The adrenaline that coursed through Knox's veins only proved vaguely helpful as the piece of furniture was only lifted by a few inches. Too heavy to keep up, he was forced to let it fall back on Noel, the screeching yell his friend gave off nearly sending Knox limp.
"Noel, I'm sorry! I'm trying!" Knox told him through a shaky tone, the warm tears finally catching up with him.
Another piece of the burrow ceiling fell dangerously close to the child's side, missing them both by mere feet. The screaming around them didn't help, but things had finally cleared up. And Knox couldn't believe what he saw next. He regretted looking towards the beam of light the surface gave them through the hole in their home.
Multiple sources of sharp, piercing screeches filled the air.
Knox's eyes flickered rapidly before opening fully with a brief panic as he awoke from yet another restless sleep. He rubbed his groggy, blurry eyes and took his time adjusting to the morning light. His attention quickly leapt to Lute, who was still sleeping practically in the same place as he was late last night.
As his waking routine normally went, he then checked to find his katana still rested in it's scabbard against the tree he had slept beside. He walked up to it and pulled it out of it's casing. The handle was white with red threading decoratively covering over it. He observed his face in the reflective surface the sharp edge gave off. A face determined to get what was torn from them glared back.
"Hey Lute...wake up."
The shaking of his shoulders triggered a tired moaning out of Lute's mouth.
"Morning, pal. It's time."
Slowly but eventually, Lute caught himself up to speed, pulling himself straight and brushing his hands over his face.
"Mmmmm...okay. Just...let me get myself up to speed..." he responded, stretching out his worn out back.
Maybe sleeping against a hard tree wasn't the best thing Lute could have done for his sleep.
The first thing Knox and Lute did the day before was check the nearby neighboring set of houses they had first witnessed Kara through past. They had initially thought she'd taken refuge there, but it didn't make much sense in the grand scale of the situation. If that were the case, she would've made her way back and they would've all been reunited by now. Even still, the two humans had scouted hurriedly for a sign, trying their best to both be swift and leave no stone unturned. But all that came out of it was a rusted crowbar for Lute to carry along as they continued to search.
As a result of their failures, deeper into the neighborhood forest they went. And it went on longer than they had expected. They even came close to a few Mutes who seem to be doing the best they could to mind their own business, if anything. The humans hid regardless. No chances.
The trees only grew bigger and wider. Knox was perplexed on how he didn't pay much attention to how tall the trees were the first time he glanced past when he was scouting with the binoculars. The trees he and Kara climbed that day didn't even come close to how colossal these were.
It was only after a few more minutes of walking that things began to get weird. The worrying kind of weird.
The path quickly grew more structured and linear. Knox decided that keeping a hand on his katana's hilt wasn't good enough. He drew the blade out fully, a feeling of dread quickly reigning over him. He walked in careful motion alongside Lute and internally jumped when he called something out.
"Hey, look!"
Lute bounded towards something silver on the ground not far from them. He knelt down and gasped.
"It's Kara's! Kara's knife!" Lute said statically, showing it's familiar form to Knox.
"We're getting lucky. But we still haven't found her. I'm not sure if she would've dropped her weapon as some sort of trail...let's hurry up."
What next struck the two as odd were the razor-sharp thorns that circulated around the upcoming trees. The further in they went, the more the surrounding forest seemed to become more standout and developed.
It was the only moments later that they truly realized what they were getting themselves into.
"This is definitely Mute territory of some kind. We better tread care-"
"Treading carefully is far, far out the the quesssstion now."
Knox and Lute shifted their eyes around their surroundings in surprise, gripping their weapons extra tight.
"Who said that?" Knox demeaned out loud, showing off the sharp blade in front of him. "Show yourself, damn coward!" He could now tell it was coming from above, but he still couldn't spot anyone or anything.
A haunting, hissing laugh resonated tauntingly; this time from close by.
"Try looking up."
Lute and Knox darted their eyes towards the tree behind them and found the culprit emerging from the branches above. Something large. Something long. Very long.
"Lute, move!" Knox called out as the creature struck out of the tall tree and landed in the same spot the two humans had jumped back from.
The giant creature's impact shook the ground around them. Knox couldn't believe what he was seeing, and that was saying a lot. He's seen many different kind of Mutes on his long ten-year bout on the surface, but he's had yet to run into any snakes Mutes of this kind.
Well, his lucky streak was definitely out now.
The snake Mute that stood before them was of a gray-brown ground color. One of his eyes were a milky-white, indicating blindness. But what stood out the most was the tip of his tail; specifically, what had been fastened in place of what should have been the tail rattle.
The spear-tipped tail whipped dangerously above as the snake moved it's head towards them in an unhurried speed.
"You're both going to want to come with us." it spoke in a hiss.
Knox had no time to reply as numerous other snakes revealed themselves from above in the trees around him and Lute, giving off the appropriate feeling that there was no escape. Still, Knox pressed the spear snake.
"What makes you think we're-"
"Look around you, foolish human." the spear snake sharply interrupted.
Knox didn't find the need to look around at the reptiles he already knew was there, but he got the message.
"Besides," the spear snake continued. "You were heading exactly where we're taking you, anyways."
"What?" Knox asked, his face growing less angered and more worried.
The multiple snakes that flanked the two humans grew closer, leaving no other options but death, or compliance. They wisefully chose compliance.
"Follow." the spear snake ordered, turning tail deeper into the wooded territory.
Knox and Lute looked to each other and mirrored their nodding.
Soon, walls of thorns flanked both sides, cutting them off from the rest of the forest around them. They were soon to find another awing sight.
Not too far ahead stood the widest tree of all the others they've seen so far. But the most intrigue came from the enormous opening in the trunk, which led to who knows where.
"Why don't you take away our weapons while you're at it?" Knox asked with narrowed eyes.
The spear snake laughed, bringing his head to eye-level with Knox.
"Because it won't make a difference."
The snake continued to lead them to the tree's large entrance, turning to glance at the humans from the corner of his vision.
"Rude of me to not introduce ourselves." the speared snake added. "My name is Stryker. And your in Diamond Cutter territory, my friends."
Torches aligned the hardened dirt cave walls inside, giving off a fiery hue that dominated the entire tunnel space. Lute followed closely behind Knox, gripping his switchblade with shaky hands as they continued through the passage before it finally opened up into more illuminated space.
The inside was enormous.
The path ahead was straight forward, but the hidden underground colony went down even further.
An immense colosseum was revealed below, with two Diamond Cutter snakes engaging in combat from within it's circular walls. The caged prison-like rooms that were embedded into and around the colosseum walls were also of note. Lute blinked in alarm as he witnessed one of the battling snakes lunging forward and clamping their fangs deep into the other, the struggling snake banging it's tail against the dirt ground in what seemed to be an admittance of defeat.
"Ah! Guessst have arrived!"
The voice peeped Lute's attention back to where they were being led to find they were closing in on a throne made of rock. Thorns decorated the space behind it. However, the real attraction was the snake that rested upon it.
The snake leaned forward to greet the arriving group, showing off a unique tail of his own. It's tail end was like Stryker's. In place of a spear tip was a metal, spiked ball which gave the impression of a military flail. One eye concealed by an eye patch, the newly introduced snake raised his head high above the humans, towering them.
"I am Nevarr, leader of the many fine individuals you see around you. Together, we are the Diamond Cutters. But I'm sure my right-hand reptile here has already brung you up to speed enough."
"Where is she?" Knox asked angrily, stepping forward and causing the guarding snakes around him to hiss dangerously.
"Knox, chill it dude! Getting struck down by a bunch of weaponized snakes would definitely suck!" Lute reacted by holding his friend back with a hand to his shoulder.
Knox swiftly turned around. "You really think they don't have anything to do with this? Finding her knife so close to this place?"
"I didn't say that-"
"Ease yourselves..." Nevarr ordered calmly. "Please...we're reasonable reptiles."
"And what do you mean by that?" Knox replied, squeezing his hand around the katana's handle.
Nevarr chuckled at the visible irritation the human gave off. He looked over the edge of the elevated pathway and observed the injured snake that had lost his bid with his opponent.
"Humans...do you know what this colosseum symbolizes?" Nevarr asked, his grin revealing his sharp fangs.
"Your sick, twisted power fantasy?" Knox guessed, unimpressed.
Lute looked at his friend with an incredulous expression, gripping his hair nervously. The grin Nevarr had sported transformed into a hardy laugh.
"Ha! No, human...it symbolizes structure. It symbolizes greater reward. And every month of the passing year, this colosseum opens up to those willing to work for that greater reward. More than what's already given to them."
Nevarr lowered his gaze to level with Knox's. His one visible eye peered into the human's, failing to blink even once.
"Something rare...something exquisite."
A scream rang out from below them. Knox and Lute glanced below to grab sight of a squirming form being dragged in the curled tail of another Diamond Cutter snake. The victor of the previous battle below seemed to beam with pride as his tongue flickered in a hungered frenzy.
"No, please! Let me loose, I have a family!" the poor subdued creature, revealed to be a armadillo Mute, pleaded desperately.
Unfortunately, it's cries went unheard. With a swift strike, the reward was rendered stiff within mere seconds. The colosseum battle victor dragged it's prize of sight.
"Knox? Knox!"
The voice was unmistakable. Knox's eyes jumped around to find the source and his eyes widened simultaneously with glee and disturbance when he finally did. Down in the colosseum inside one of the many prison rooms was a human with her hands wrapped around the metal bars.
"Kara!?" Knox and Lute shouted in unison.
Knox lost all patience and raged towards the Diamond Cutter leader.
"Let her go, now!" Knox screamed, swinging his katana back and running the blade towards Nevarr's nearby form.
What came next was a slick, fast maneuver that Knox had failed to evade. Before he knew it, he was in the tightening coils of Nevarr's body. His katana clattered next to a distraught Lute.
"You have absolutely zero reason to think you have any power over the situation." Nevarr hissed into his ear.
"If you dont-"
Nevarr squeezed Knox just a bit tighter, the air in the human's lungs running thin.
"Please...don't hurt her..." Knox managed to get out. His vision was starting to blur.
"I won't lay a single fang on her...not if you listen."
Nevarr slowly released his constriction on Knox's weakened form. Knox struggled to get up, but found himself unable to. He was able to settle with being on his knees with his hands planted on the ground. Lute leaned down with his injured friend.
"What do we need to do?" Lute asked with pleading eyes.
Another chuckle escaped the leader of the Diamond Cutters, his eyes trailing to observe the newly caught human pulling on the bars of her prison below.
"I want you to steal something for me. Something precious to someone else. Do this, and your human friend will be released without a scratch." Nevarr clarified to the two.
Lute and Knox looked at each other.
"What are we stealing and who are we stealing it from?" Knox coughed, his strength slowly coming to.
A brief silence permeated the air of the underground colony.
"I want you to steal one of those wretched noise makers from another equally wretched group of snakes." Nevarr revealed as he brung his fangs out into view, staring the two humans down.
"I want you to steal a guitar from the leaders of the Umlaut Snäkes."
Knox's eyes widened in disbelief. He shook his head slowly, trying to find any other possible task he could offer to replace it. But he knew there were none. Nevarr's demands were law on this one. Knox had definitely heard of the Umlaut Snäkes. He's heard of what they've done with trespassers and those who threatened their hometown. He even knew where they lived.
But he's never once thought about crossing paths with them. It was a mutual agreement that had never been settled in person. A mutual agreement that would now have to be broken.
"I'm sure you've heard of Cotton and Camille...they're the pricks responsible for giving me this!" Nevarr said furiously, exaggerating the eye patch that covered his damaged eye.
"You have two weeks. Two weeks exactly, starting today. You got that?" Nevarr motioned his spiked tail towards the jails in the colosseum. "Say your goodbyes. It could be your last."
Knox and Lute stepped near the edge to find Kara still tugging helplessly at the bars that kept her from freedom. Knox cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled down to her.
"Kara, listen! We're going to get you free! Give us a week! We swear we will!"
It was impossible for her friends to see, but Kara gave them a wide smile. She shouted back as loud a she could. "I already know you'll both figure this out! I'm just f-cking claustrophobic!"
Knox gave a half-heavyhearted smile in response to her words as he and Lute were forced back down the path they had come. Back up the tunnel and out of the tree entrance they now were. Two of the Diamond Cutter snakes pushed the humans to the ground.
Nevarr slithered past his subordinate and gave them a fixed glare filled with venom.
"Two weeks. The Umlaut Snäkes reside in Cactus Town just north of here. It's easy to spot from a higher vantage point. Cactuses and all that. You'll know it when you see it." Stryker told them as he moved alongside his commander.
"You should know that the consequences for failing doesn't stop at just losing your friend. If you fail at this task...you're both dead." Nevarr warned, flailing his spiked tail in the air as if warning them visibly.
Knox brushed himself off and arose to stare up at Nevarr with an almost equally venomous look.
"What are you trying to start, Nevarr?"
A slow smile sneaked onto the leader's face.
"Time is'a tickin', human. There are only so many sunsets."
And with that, Nevarr and his posse retreated back into the tree hole, disappearing into the darkness.
"Sh-t...sh-t...where do we start? Um, how are we even going to go about this?" Lute asked in a panic, running a hand through his short hair, black hair.
"I have an idea of Cactus Town's layout...and I really hoped I wouldn't ever have to find use in knowing it."
"Okay! Ha, okay. So let's set up a plan. Let's get back to base and tell the others. We get some supplies and head back out! We can get this done within a couple days!"
"Lute...if I'm going to be honest," Knox looked back at the Diamond Cutter colony entrance.
"This is probably going to get worse before it get's better."