Chapter 2 - Why Chores are Bad for You
All rights to Terraria go to Re-Logic.
I only own my OC's
Jacob woke to a banging on the door. He thought for a split second that it was his dad, nagging him to get up and train.
Then he remembered.
The memories of yesterday were enough to make him close his eyes and shed a tear. The door rattled again.
Sighing, Jacob got out of bed, his back and heart aching, and went to answer the persistent knocking.
'Walter? What are you doing at this ungodly hour?'
The offending merchant chuckled and looked him in the eye. 'I'm just going to wake Andrew up. Wanna help?'
Jacob wondered why he would need help waking Andrew. Then he saw the bucket of water Walter was holding.
'Ummm, maybe not, thanks all the same. I'll check back later to see how it went.'
Walter chuckled again. 'Oh, it'll go down great, I'm sure.'
He trotted down the hallway and opened the door to Andrew's room, giggling as he did.
A few seconds later, there was a shout, closely followed by a 'DAMNIT WALTER!'
The prankster hurried past Jacob, moving surprisingly fast for a man of his age. Andrew ran after him, screaming obscenities at Walter, his head soaking wet.
Jacob rolled his eyes, a smile on his face, and followed them downstairs.
When he found them, Andrew was pounding the bathroom door, still furious and still soaked.
Jacob decided to speak. Maybe give Walter a chance to escape.
'Did I miss something?'
Andrew turned and noticed Jacob standing there, an amused look on his face.
'Nothing. This slime gave me a rude awakening. Go back to bed.'
Jacob couldn't hold in a laugh. Andrew was immediately suspicious.
'You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?'
'No! He came to my door, asking if I wanted to help. I declined!'
A muffled voice came from behind the door. 'Tattletale!'
Jacob ignored the unfortunate merchant and spoke to Andrew.
'Well, I'm up now - how do you like your coffee?'
Andrew was so surprised at Jacob's willingness to help that he almost didn't notice the bathroom door handle slowly turning. Almost.
He turned and said in a calmer voice
'Out you come then. We're just making breakfast.'
Jacob, still not getting an answer, turned to Walter and repeated his question.
'I'll just have some tea, thanks - never liked coffee anyway.'
Andrew spoke up then, requesting his own coffee. Two teaspoons of coffee grains and a dollop of Royal Hive's honey.
Jacob nodded and strode over to the kitchen to find the necessary ingredients.
Ten minutes later, they had all finished their respective drinks and Walter and Andrew were going about their daily chores. Jacob, not knowing what to do, sat on the veranda.
It was a comforting place, a stark contrast to his home. His old home.
A sharp pain sliced through his head and his chest, bringing tears to his eyes.
'Pathetic...'
'Jacob? You okay?'
Andrew's voice cut through the pain and Jacob looked at him, fresh misery evident in his eyes.
'Yeah, just... memories. What can I do to help?'
Andrew was again shocked at his willingness to serve. The poor boy had been through so much, but still put others before him - Andrew had never seen such a selfless person.
'Uh, I really don't know. There's not much to do around here except fight slimes. Or rabbits, if you're really mean. I guess you could cut down a few trees, gather some wood. Or you could quarry stone for a bit. I'd like to renovate the house a little, maybe extend it.'
Jacob nodded and picked up his axe, which was leaning against the wall.
'Right then. How many do you reckon I need to - to cut down?'
He was slightly embarrassed at the little voice crack. Andrew didn't seem to notice, but it still bothered him. What if he got into a conversation with a cute girl, and then his voice broke? He wouldn't seem very manly, would he?
Andrew snapped his fingers in front of Jacob's face, snapping him back to reality.
'Hello? Anyone home? Please leave a message for Jacob - he probably only needs to cut down five or six trees, okay?'
Jacob rolled his eyes and headed off towards the woods. He chose a large oak and swung his axe at it, carving a small dent in the tree. Pretty soon, he had a pile of wood and leaves beside him.
He wiped his sweaty brow and moved onto the next tree, another oak. He drew back his axe to swing...
And felt another hand on his.
Startled, he swung his body round this time to see a young, green haired woman standing there, a miffed expression on her face. She was only wearing a few simple, well-placed vines.
"Oi! Go find an actual tree to knock down, you big oaf!"
Jacob was confused. "This is a tree, isn't it?"
The woman rolled her eyes, fire blazing inside them. "Look closer, lumberjack."
Jacob, starting to feel a bit scared of this strange girl, did as he was told. Upon inspecting the tree in question, he noticed the barely visible outline of a door.
"Right! I see your inferior human sight is getting better. By the Eye of Cthulhu, you humans must be blind!"
Jacob remembered something, the memory sparked by her statement. 'The Eye of Cthulhu?
His dad (he felt a pinch in his stomach whenever he thought of his late family) had talked about this creature with a sense of reverence in his voice. One of the Myths.
"What are the Myths, daddy?"
His dad laughed, a strong laugh that had always made Jacob feel safe.
"Well, son, the Myths are magical things that represent different parts of this world. There are twenty-two of these awesome things altogether:
The Eye of Cthulhu, Embodiment of Presence.
The Eater of Worlds, Embodiment of Evil.
The Brain of Cthulhu, Embodiment of Blood.
The King Slime, Embodiment of Monsters.
The Queen Bee, Embodiment of Wildlife.
Skeletron, Embodiment of Possession.
The Wall of Flesh, Embodiment of Change.
The Destroyer, Embodiment of Might.
The Twins, Embodiments of Sight.
Skeletron Prime, Embodiment of Fright.
Plantera, Embodiment of Growth.
The Golem, Embodiment of Protection.
Duke Fishron, Embodiment of Viciousness.
The Lunatic Cultist, Embodiment of Insanity.
And The Moon Lord, Embodiment of Absolution.
He was brought back to reality with an overwhelming sense of weakness and tears in his eyes. His arm felt like lead. He found it hard to stand upright.
He slowly turned his head back around, even that slight movement setting fire to his nerves, to see the green-haired tree lover with glowing leaves flying around her.
"How would you like it if your house was about to get demolished? Do you want me to do it for you? I think I will!"
Something about her voice had changed. It was no longer a terrifying voice from in front of him, but a terrifying voice coming from all around him, from the forest itself.
The woman disappeared in a flash of green (she seemed to love that colour), leaving Jacob stumbling around blindly, searching for something to lean on.
After finding a tree to lean on, he checked it for the outline of a door. Finding nothing, he sat down to catch his breath.
A few minutes later, he got up and staggered in the direction of the house. What he saw there made his blood run cold.
Andrew walked up to him, a furious look on his face.
"You pissed off a dryad, didn't you?"
RIP house, you were a good house...
1 review = 1 wooden plank to help re-building