Sitting against the cold stone wall, Elise closed her eyes, trying to ignore her two companions. She was tired, and didn't feel much like making conversation, nor did she have the energy to feel bad about letting the silence stretch further between them.
In the initial moments after joining them, Connor had attempted to talk, but they all quickly realized that none of them felt like interacting much. To make things worse, there was no food or drinks to occupy their time and their mouths, which left them with one final option.
Ignoring each other.
Keeping her eyelids pressed shut, Elise shifted, trying to find a comfortable position against the unforgiving rock and finding herself unsuccessful. Even if she could, what would she do, anyway? She knew Quinn enough to trust him, and Connor seemed nice, but even so, sleeping now felt like a bad idea on too many levels.
Unable to stand it any longer, Elise stood, turning back to her companions. "Why don't we walk and talk on the way? Maybe we can find somewhere that seems safe enough to sleep."
Quinn nodded, though his doubts were written plainly on his face. Connor, on the other hand, seemed relieved, and considering how outgoing he seemed, Elise wasn't surprised. He didn't seem like the type to enjoy sitting in silence.
They still didn't have any idea where they were going, but while Elise and Quinn had been wandering by themselves, they'd picked a general direction, and continued to follow it as they went back to walking.
As they walked, they began to talk. None of them wanted to talk about the maze, so they talked instead about their lives back home. Elise and Connor were both from America, but from different states. Quinn lived in Japan, though he and their father had traveled frequently and sometimes ended up living in other countries for months or even years at a time.
Eyes roaming, Elise noticed the walls as they became neater and less battered, becoming smoother and sometimes even having faded murals or patterns painted or carved into them. Taking another turn, they all startled, seeing the arch at the end of the hallway made of metal with some still indistinguishable words on the crown of it.
Nearing it, the words became readable: Welcome to District 1.
Stopping before the arch, they all studied it for a second, before moving to walk through it. It was the first thing they'd found that could offer any sort of clue for how to get out of the place.
As soon as Elise had passed the arch, a window popped up in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Judging by the similar reactions of the other two, she guessed they also faced a new message.
[Welcome to District 1]
Elise scoffed under her breath. How unhelpful, she thought. She had seen the writing on the arch.
The message changed, lightening her thoughts.
[Quest: Find Your Weapon!]
The Labyrinth is filled with friends and foe alike. Locate a blacksmith or a merchant to find the right tool for you to proceed.
"Wow," Connor mused, "it sounds like something from a video game."
Elise sneered at the overly cheerful title.
"The developer must have either been lame or desperate. What's the point of the exclamation point?"
Quinn said nothing, opting to keep moving as he walked further past the arch, walking along the hallway perpendicular to the arch until they found another doorway and turned down into it.
"Woah."
Connor looked excitedly around them, marveling in the boisterous alley filled with bustling crowds and stores lining the street. Stalls were also set up between them, with vendors hawking their wares and bargaining with customers.
Somewhat unsettled, Elise noticed that while the majority of the crowd was human, there was a substantial number of creatures that were very clearly not, with everything from horns to scales to feathers and fur.
Quinn sighed from beside her, still examining the place and the people. "I suppose we should look around. Any opinions on where to start?"