Chapter Two: The trial of the Pyramid.
Exephos stared intensely at the wall. Its flat stone seemed to have a feeling of smugness about it. It was as though the stone was speaking and saying, "You foolish mortals! You are weak with your tools and wits. I am the indestructible stone! You'll never break me!" It was for this reason that Exephos was hesitant to begin mining it. The stone kept its imaginary smirk.
"What are we waiting for friend?" asked Honeydew as he strolled up and began to mine. The silly image left Exephos' head and he joined his friend. He didn't know why he kept imagining silly things like this. Perhaps it was sheer boredom, for being stranded is not the most entertaining thing, even in a world of breakable blocks. So now they had decided to find new occupation in mining for materials. The mine would be a simple three by three tunnel, as deep as they could handle.
The tunnel was simple to mine. The stone gave way after a couple hits, and popped into its portable form, but riddled with cracks. This, cobble stone, as Honeydew had told Exephos, could later be cooked to recreate its smooth partner. It was a slow process to build anything large, but flattening out the walls of the cave was no large feat. After a few hours of downward digging and returning to the surface to cook the stone and flatten the walls with it, they grew bored with mining the stone uneventfully. Then, that changed. Honeydew heard it first. The sound of flames, and clattering bones echoed through their tunnel. They began to mine in the direction of the sound. They then broke through the wall.
The dampness of the mossy ground broke through their shoes and soaked their feet. In the center of the small room they had just entered there was a strange cage. It was flaming intensely, but the flames let off no light. Instead, it seemed that the fire drew in the light, darkening the small cubical area. In the cage, untouched by the flames, was a small spinning skeleton, wielding its bow. It spun quickly, increasing in speed slowly.
Suddenly there was a puff of smoke, and the cave was filled with a clatter of bones. A skeleton was suddenly beside them. Its skinless face turned to them emotionlessly, and its empty eye sockets stared with a lifeless feeling of menace. It began to draw its bow and placed an arrow in place. Exephos shivered at the thought of another arrow embedding itself in his skin. He closed his eyes and waited to be struck. Suddenly he was yanked by the shoulder back through the tunnel. Honeydew had grabbed him and thrown his pick into the skull of his skeletal foe with an ear splitting crack.
The pair sped up the narrow passage and just as they turned the corner, another skeleton appeared from the cage and fired its arrow, narrowly missing Exephos. The two sprinted blindly, stumbling over the edges of blocks. After what seemed like an eternity of climbing the stairs of the shaft, they saw light, and sped into the safety of the Yog cave. With great speed, Honeydew reached into a nearby chest and grabbed a newly crafted iron sword. He then put his back to the wall, just out of view of the tunnel. Exephos, catching on to what the possible plan could be, stood right in front of the shaft.
"Are we doing what I think we're doing?" asked Exephos.
"Don't move." Replied Honeydew.
Suddenly the skeleton rounded the corner, staring silently at its prey. With a blank, dead menace in its unchanging face. It drew an arrow from its quiver, but instead of loading it into the bow it approached Exephos slowly, preparing to stab him.
"Friend, you'd better be ready for him! He's walking up to me! Get ready! NOW!" Upon the command, Honeydew swung his sword with amazing strength, and decapitated the foe with one swing, before kicking him down the stairs of the mine shaft. He then returned to the chest, and grabbed an iron pickaxe. With it he sprinted to the bottom of the mineshaft, followed close behind by Exephos. Once in the room, he began to mine the strange box, and before long it broke, dropping nothing.
"Well," said Honeydew exasperatedly, "That was a small nightmare." Suddenly they heard an evil chuckle from up the tunnel. They turned, and saw a pale face, with a set scowl. Even when grinning evilly, he seemed hateful. Suddenly he flew with inhuman speed up the tunnel, as if he was smudging the fabric of reality, then reconnecting it at the other end of the smudge. As he disappeared from sight another cruel chuckle was heard. The two exchanged a quick look of concern, and chased after him.
Up in the Yog cave, a small volley of arrows narrowly missed Exephos' feet. He leaped back with a screech of fright, and returned to the safety of the tunnel. The tables had been turned. The construction of their home was now acting as cover for this unknown foe. They couldn't get in without some weapon. Honeydew reached out carefully to grab an arrow from the large quantity of enemy fire embedded in the ground just outside the mineshaft. He then reached for a chest and pulled a bow from it, and retreated to the tunnel again to avoid more arrows. He pulled the arrow into the bow, and prepared for a shot.
"You've only got one shot at this friend. No pressure!" Exephos then returned to the back of the tunnel to avoid an attempted punch from his friend. Honeydew then aimed again, and let the arrow fly. It struck the pale man in the chest, with a spray of dust. The man pulled the arrow out, and dust began to pour from the wound. The man was silent. His face twisted into a cruel snarl and he disappeared out the wall of the tower.
"After him!" shouted Honeydew.
Are you sure we should be chasing after the foe that nearly killed us only moments ago?" Exephos asked cautiously.
"If we kill him now, he will not be able to cause trouble again!" reasoned Honeydew in response to Exephos' cowardly thinking.
Exephos couldn't argue. He just nodded, and followed Honeydew up the stairs around the tower. As they reached the hole in the tower wall, they realized that something was very wrong. A path of stone pillars had been built with torches on them, disappearing into the distance.
"We follow them!" Honeydew commanded.
"Friend, I don't know if that's the best idea." Exephos said unsurely.
"Listen, Exephos," Honeydew stated, exasperated, "you are a pussy. That is all there is to it. I like you man, but you being cowardly pisses me off sometimes, so shut up and follow me, or stay here, and stay out of my way!" Exephos didn't know how to respond to this. He couldn't recall Honeydew ever being angry before. "Are you going to follow me?" Exephos nodded meekly.
As they jogged down the path, the pillars got more and more common, and were decorated by surrounding fungus and brutal carvings. The carvings got more and more realistic until they looked like they could jump from the pillars, then there was ice. There was nothing but an expansive frozen ocean, and off in the distance they saw another gathering of the pillars, and within was a small pyramid. They strolled toward the building, and found that as they came closer, they hear the noise of fire, and something boiling.
They arrived at the pyramid and strolled around to the far side, where they found a door. Within was a boiling pit of magma, dotted with small stone blocks, as though it was build to tempt them to cross to the other side. On the far platform were three chests.
"What do you suppose is in them?" asked Exephos.
"We'll soon find out!" replied Honeydew. "I'll jump across and tell you what's in them, then bring it back. He jumped three blocks and his leg dipped into the lava to be gruesomely incinerated. "Oh god!" cried Exephos. Throw me a pork chop!
Exephos reached into his pocket, and his stomach sank. "I have none left friend!" he yelled back.
"Well go get me some you idiot! My leg is gone here. I'm stranded in the middle of a magma lake you ass."
Exephos ran out of the pyramid and looked around. No pigs. Why were there never any pigs when he needed them? He sprinted out over the ice and finally arrived at land, only to find a much needed swine to butcher. Thank god. He grabbed one and stabbed it with his iron blade. It squealed and squirmed for a few moments, before dying, and being dismembered by Exephos, providing plenty of pork.
He arrived back at the pyramid and looked for honeydew. He lay unconscious on the block. Suddenly he began to slide slowly into the boiling magma. As he fell, his limbs were incinerated. Exphos couldn't afford to be careful. He sprinted over the blocks to his friend, and then threw him to a bigger platform. Honeydew was safe. Exephos jumped to him and shook him awake.
"Oh hello there Exephos. I don't suppose I have any legs, do I?"
"You will in a moment," Replied Exephos, "and be more careful, you almost died!"
Honeydew took a bite of a raw pork chop and chewed slowly. Exephos watched in amazement as his legs slowly reformed, first bone, then muscle and flesh. It was indeed a gruesome sight, but at least the legs were back. Honeydew stood, and tested them out. They seemed to work fine. It was amazing.
The pair leaped across the magma, more carefully this time, and arrived at the far platform.
"Do you want to open them, or should I?" asked Honeydew.
"By all means, go ahead."
Honeydew lifted the lid of the chest on the far right. "Oh my god, it's amazing!" cried Honeydew excitedly.
"What, what is it?" asked Exephos
"This chest contains: a spider web, and three torches."
"Oh my god, are you serious?"
"The next chest contains: One, stone sword, and a leather cap! Oh it's so amazing!" Honeydews sarcasm was obvious now. "And the third contains… A strange map. What could this be? It shows this pyramid, and just west of here, is a large bridge. How unusual."
Exephos took the map and stared at it. "Who do you think built all this stuff?" He asked.
"I don't know," replied honeydew, "but I think the logical thing to do is follow that bridge" He then turned, and began to jump the blocks again, and head out of the pyramid.
Exephos had no choice but to follow him. He was nice but he could be a little bossy. But you just wanted to listen to him. Exephos turned and followed.
