2 Into the Threshold

They pulled Antonio on the other side of the wall and dusted him off. They peered inside the hole he had made. They all stepped through the hole and dusted off the drywall.

Andrian was the first to speak "Mikey what were you saying about drywall."

"I was saying that we went down eight flights of stairs to get to the wall and there was no rice also if Jaime's store is about ground level why would we be more than fifty down. Also whoever did this is a true architect. It's very hard to make basements here in Arizona, let alone one about fifty feet underground."

"I asked you one question, couldn't give me one sentence" Andrian chided.

"Guys," Carmen said "look around"

Their heads swiveled and they saw that they were in a lab of some sort. A white room with stainless steel doors and tray tables. With medicinal tools and other unknown tools. Weapons from past centuries lined the walls as rust caked most of them making them seem grimy. They looked to the left of them. A large circle about the size of a garage door inspired with yellow, blue, green, and purple runes inscribed in the outer rim pulsated turning the colors of the runes every few seconds.

"Where are we?" Mikey asked his friends.

Antonio eyed the weapons "Cool…" he said as he ran over towards them completely disregarding Mikey.

As Antonio tried to grab the hilt of one of the weapons, a hand slapped him.

Antonio looked up and saw a stringy man with glasses and slick back hair.

"Hi," the man said "I'm Hector and don't touch the weapons, kids like you shouldn't use axes and you're not supposed to be here" Hector pointed to the daggers and short swords "those are more of your style"

"What's going on," Mikey said

Hector walked past him completely disregarding him.

Antonio went to one of the daggers and picked up a seax blade. Bandages wrapped around the handle and a tassel at the just below it a rune 'ᚢ'. A frame that reached and stopped at the very top with a serrated blade. Sharpened to the point where it could cut ice like a pommeler.

Antonio help the knife up to his face and cocked his head "what's this"

Hector patted Antonio on the back " It's a seax used by the Vikings just refurbished don't want a rusty dagger."

Hector tossed Antonio another knife to the dual set. Antonio caught by the handle but, to the point where the serrated blade was touching his forearm.

Hector chuckled "see you're a natural."

"Husband" a voice called out.

Hector looked up and beckoned the woman to come. She walked down the stairs and introduced herself."Hi I'm Mabel," she said and shook and held out her hand Antonio shook it and kept admiring his seax.

Hector whispered into Mable's ear "I think we did it we found the E.W.'s"

"Hector you know its called Elemental Warriors, not E.W.'s you know that sounds unprofessional"

Hector leaned back and chuckled. Antonio ran to gather the rest of his friends who were admiring other weapons. Andrian was admiring a Scythe.

A steel blade with the black frame spreading down to the foot of which was pointed with a small spike or weapon of some sort not only that but there was a red sash tied to the neck of the scythe which was the only splash of color.

Antonio and Andrian found Carmen studying a bow. The bow looked crystalline with the bow sides like wings spreading to the wind. While the arrow rest was sort of bland.

Antonio said thank you and began to walk around to find Hector. He found him holding a large three-pronged fancy pitchfork and standing next to Mikey.

"You sure you want this," Hector said, touching the middle of three-prongs.

Mikey nodded "Yessiree."

Hector handed the glorified pitchfork to Mikey. The greek runes and prismatic colors gleaming in the fluorescent light in the room.

Antonio raised the sword in the air heroically and dramatically and lowered it slowly. "May I have this?" Antonio said "Also can I get a scabbard?"

Hector smiled "what about Viking seax daggers," Hector asked politely.

"Oh yeah, the daggers I forgot all about those" Antonio said as he stroked his peach fuzz of a moustache. "I'd rather have the falchion."

Antonio held up the falchion for once more "I'll take it" he said brandishing the sword.

Hector and Mabel herded the group over to the portal they first saw. Men and women in suits ran toward them holding semi-automatic pistols. The portals softly colored runes pulsated slowly casting the room into a soft haze of blue, green, purple, and yellow. The group smiled at the lights and glazed their clothes in the colors. Hector and Mabel handed the six each backpack each different color.

"Wait" Mikey screamed, "can explain what is going on"

"GO" the pair yelled, pushing them mostly Mikey closer to the portal.

They walked even closer towards the portal and jumped into something unbeknownst by man, something arcane. The group jumped out of the portal, dazed and unaware of where they were.

"Where the hell are we?" Tara screamed, noticing what she had done by jumping into the portal.

"Interesting, another world, completely different from the one we know," said Mikey in awe

They looked around at their surroundings. They were in a valley of some sort, trees loomed overhead different from any species they had ever seen.

Tara took her book bag off and looked inside her bookbag. ¨Hey guys look¨

They each looked inside their book bags inside were sleeping bags, journals, iodine tablets, and water bottles were stuffed inside.

¨Wait do you guys have compasses¨ Mikey asked.

¨I have a bandanna" Tara said.

Andrian was looking around "Do you guys hear that," he said, facing where the sound had come from.

The five looked at him in utter confusion.

"Clearly there are some setbacks to these portals," Mikey said tapping his chin.

"No, you're clearly delusional if you can't hear it, it's very loud," exclaimed Andrian in a monotone voice sounding closely to Mikey.

They looked at each other's clothes, each was wearing leather boots and one colored garment was the only difference from them all. Leather vest and linen pants covered their knees while boots.

They then looked around staring at each other's weapons. Mikey was a prismarine blue trident with gleaming silver four prongs. The shaft of the trident was made of a mix of the same steel just colored in the same prismarine color. The tip had a small point also made of prismarine.

The steel gleamed in the light. The grouped looked at the weapon Eliza had strapped to her back a long flamberge the wavy sword imitated a flame the wavy blade made of tungsten with flecks of obsidian dotted the blade the hilt of the blade was made of obsidian and some the pommel was made of the same obsidian flecked to steel as the blade.

Antonio's new blade was made of tungsten as well with a pale blue tint. The hilt a three points two that sprouted to the outer blade and one that ran up the middle making simple symmetrical design. The pommel of the blade had a rounded tungsten knob perfect for knocking people out.

Tara was brandishing a basket-hilt rapier. It was a thin flexible point made with some microfiber type metal so the blade was strong and durable while still resembling the regular stature of a rapier. The basket hilt had a very intricate design twisting and turning but yet through the labyrinth of twist and swirls both sides were symmetrical. The pommel of the blade had yet another knob like Antonio's because rapier is meant for speed, agility, and stabbing the knob allows for some form of actual internal damage.

"Are we going to go to the horn that had been called?" Andrian said breaking the silence.

"Yay we get to go to the imaginary horn in the vast distance" Antonio chided, "Which way do we go," Antonio asked, sticking his sword into his scabbard.

Andrian pointed in the direction of the sound that had come from. The group trudged on through the valley with the only sense of direction being the noise Andrian heard and no one else. The sun had begun to set casting an orange haze in the distance.

Tara muttered a curse "It's almost night time and we don't know how climate and weather work here."

"We might have to make camp here," Eliza said, "don't want to run into any pirates or anything of the sort."

They made shelter under two trees that were close together. They made some makeshift pillows made of leaves from other nearby trees. They lie there crickets chirping in the distance, fireflies hovering overhead. Andrian was the only one up, he stood against the tree leaning on the trunk, unable to sleep. He watched as his cousin twisting and turning in his sleep having a nightmare of sorts. Andrian softly chuckled to himself. Would he make it through the next day?

Carmen awoke to see a band of thieves take their weapons leaving them defenseless. She arose and woke the others finding Andrian sitting at the base of the tree trunk. She kicked him and pointed to the thieves running the distance. Antonio jolted up and immediately began running to the thieves.

"Wait," Tara yelled, trying to grasp hold of Antonio's clothes. She turned to Eliza and slapped her face softly until she woke up. "You jinxed us," Tara said mad at Eliza.

"Reckless dumbass" Andrian called out.

Eliza shrugged and looked off at the land pirates and Antonio lagging behind them. Antonio was rushing after them, asthma not yet settling in but the heavy breathing had. The thieves looked back and started running even faster making the metal of the weapons clink together. Antonio cursed himself, looked down at his feet, and willed them to go faster but this time it was different arcs of lightning racing around as he ran faster than he ever had. His legs were unable to be seen as if they were as fast light. Antonio jumped and pounced onto one of the thieves wrestling the weapon out of his hands. He took the trident and tossed it over to Mikey and it landed in the dirt. For his love of Rick Riodaran reminded him solely of the trident and Percy Jackson.

Mikey ran over to pull the trident out of dirt and began to poke the thieves with the three points of his trident. Antonio got his falchion and began to try and slice at the limb thieves. The five thieves soon were lying on the ground not wanting to get hurt or worse. Carmen, Eliza, Andrian, and Tara went over and picked up their weapons brandishing them and cleaning off the dirt.

They patted Antonio on the back and took turns thanking him.

"What was that?," Andrian yelled, "How'd you run so fast."

Antonio shrugged "I dunno I willed myself to go faster."

Carmen cocked her head "You said what?"

Antonio looked down at his feet and poked at one of the thieves with the tip of his sword which was met with a yelp of pain.

"Hey where were you guys going anyways" muttered Eliza

"What'd you say," said the thief

"She said, where are you going, you one-winged seagull" stated Andrian

"Wait, what's a 'seagull'?" questioned the thief he said distorting the word.

"Just answer the question, where are you guys going," Carmen said impatiently.

"To the kingdom because the horn was blown." said another thief, her accent thick.

"Well you would have guessed it, I'm not delusional just you guys," said Andrian.

"Alright, then Rapido," Carmen said, pushing the group along.

They arrived at a village near the capital, holding the gigantic castle. They went to a small cottage and watched as a shepherd tended to her sheep. They knocked on the door almost instantly, a man with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and pointed ears opened it.

"I already gave you my tax money my young and well sir," he said to Eliza wave concern flashing through his face.

Mikey stepped forward "My apologies my good sir" removing his hood from his face "we are but mere travelers in this land and we found these ruffians, vagabonds, hoodlums…"

Mikey kept naming insults to the thieves until he remembered what he had been doing there. "Oh yes, what is your name."

Eliza exhorted her flamberge into another one of thieves "This is torture" he yelled.

"My name is Ardal Hemsworth of the Grand Agriculture Guild '' he said pointing to crops and then pointing to the crest on his tunic. "We provide assorted meats and crops to feed the entire country of Acheleo."

"Ok Ardal ''Carmen said, walking away just to get caught by a thief. The escaped thief raised her up and began to run away.

Antonio looked at his feet, willing them to go faster. Maybe he could slide over there without moving a muscle. He looked at the other four and Ardal "I dunno he said simply"

Eliza raised her hand and pointed at the thief "Stop" she yelled. The thief collapsed into the dirt writhing in agony a smoldering spot on his shoulder.

"Did I do that?" Eliza asked herself "looking at her index finger."

Antonio looked at Eliza then at the half-dead man still writing his way deeper into the dirt. "Did you just 'invisa-shoot´ that guy."

"Oh that's simple" Ardal started "but first why don't you come and have a seat, you're so young and it's beginning to get cold"

Andrian pointed to the thieves "and them."

"Put them right in there, lock the back door, the only other way out is through a heap of manure," Ardal said.

He led them inside a simple cottage for one person. It was pretty nice. The old-style couch and his special recliner dyed teal and a humongous shag rug welcoming any bits of thing to fall inside its cavernous grasp. While Eliza and Andrian took care of thieves the other four took seats on the couch and rug. Ardal walked into the living room and lit the lamp that hugged high on a beam.

"So let's get started eh," Ardal said "So in this area of time we have many different elements otherwise known as branch elements' ' he paused "wait why don't you know this' ' they group shrugged her shoulders.

"I dunno," they all said in unison.

Ardal resumed "these branch elements derived from a great time about nine hundred years ago there was a large dispute of who the prince was to be married to one of the most powerful defensive mages: Elizabeth. Prince Michealangelo disputes had started because what element princess Elizabeth had her stone element did not coincide with Michelangelo's time element that was so only pure elementals could be born. He asked his parents to create a new law allowing elements to mix which soon spread all throughout the world. She had six children and they all changed the course of the world.

Antonio raised his hand Ardal nodded "Does lightning mean super speed?,.

"I don't know, Antonio," Ardal replied.

Antonio brushed a random wisp of hair from his face and raised his hand once more, once more Ardal nodded.

"Can you take us to the capitol and can we also sleep here we have nowhere else to go," Antonio asked, once again Ardal nodded.

"Welp," Andrian said, "I think it's time to hit the sack," said Eliza, getting slightly more comfortable.

Antonio perked up "he's gotta punching bag"

Carmen patted Antonio on the head "yes so let's go to sleep"

Completely ridiculing his self-respect.

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