A glowing golden sword hung over the mantle of the great hall's fireplace. A table that was drawn close to the warmth of the fire was crowded with food and people. The people that were there were the oddest bunch that you had ever seen.
At the head of the table, laughing at something someone else had said, was a tall man. He was somewhat broad, but that was likely due to the vast amount of training and fighting he had done in his life, rather than the vast amount of food he was able to make vanish. His brown hair was a little long, needing a haircut, and it was somewhat curly. His features were what would be called cute if he was about fifteen years younger, but he wore them well. The only thing that most people couldn't see were his eyes.
It's not that he didn't have any, he just kept them hidden for reasons unexplained, behind a pair of dark sunglasses that only made him look more mature.
Directly to his right, was the man that made him laugh. This man, where the previous was all muscle and curves, was all sharp edges; thin and a little lanky. He flashed a happy grin at his friend, and clapped him on the shoulder. This man didn't really have any distinctive features, except for his maroon colored eyes, and the pair of green-tinted headphones that he wore nearly constantly, also for reasons unexplained.
Seated at the table across from him was a rather Asian looking guy. If it wasn't for the fact his accent was very similar to the guy at the head of the table's, he could easily be mistaken for one of those from that strange island known as 'Japan'. He really had no distinctive features, besides looking Asian.
Directly to his left, was a purple colored humanoid dinosaur, which should have normally been impossible, for obvious reasons, except that it was about six feet in height, and spoke in a humanoid, male voice. He had a weird, almost middle-eastern accent, and seemed to not be able to speak the human language perfectly. It was the source of much amusement of many at the table.
Across from the dinosaur was a large creature, a little over seven feet tall, so most everyone had to look up to meet him in the eye. Despite his hairy and terrifying appearance, he was soft spoken, and was obviously well-cultured, if the suit he wore was any indication.
To this strange creature's right was a sandy-haired man. Surprisingly normal. He had a very slight accent; a bit northern, but also a bit southern.
Across from the man, and directly beside the purple dinosaur, was a rather odd creature. Its skin was a light grey, and it had a rather strange growth extending from its head. Strangely, it looked like it was sulking. But, it was also quite cute, in a derpy way.
To the right of the normal man that was across from the strange creature, was also a rather normal looking man, except he was gabbing in a rather strange voice, and his eyes were rolling around in his head, looking at two different people at once. And he was dressed like a preacher. If you saw him walking toward you on the street, you would cross the road so you didn't have to make eye contact.
To the odd preacher's right, was a rather sulky individual. He was wearing a robe, and a band of white cloth around his forehead. He had pulled the band down over his eyes, which really made him look like a sulky teenager, which is exactly what he was.
Across from him was another young man. He looked perfectly normal, and was chatting with the woman who was sitting at the end of the table. The both of them occasionally glanced at the sulking teen, and grimaced.
The woman was red-haired, and looked rather tough. But, when you saw the bundle she was cradling, it was rather obvious why she looked rather tough. She was a mother, and would defend her child to her last breath.
The seat between the strange creature and the normal young man to the right of the woman was empty, but no one missed its usual occupant. Until said occupant burst into the room, his blue and green face tinted red from anger.
"You butts!" He bellowed, eliciting a scream of fright from the bundle the woman was holding. "You forgot me!" He stomped over to his seat and sat down in a huff.
"Husky!" The woman scolded. "I just got Mason off to sleep, and you just woke him up!"
The fishy creature that the woman called Husky, winced and sank down in his seat, his chin vanishing into the collar of the suit he wore. "Sorry Alesa." He mumbled.
But, the woman had already gotten the bit in her mouth, and had taken off. "You men always do this! Barge in just when I get him off to sleep! Make a big racket just after I feed him and get him all wound up! I've told you all a thousand times to be more aware of the new baby, and to be respectful!" She paused and took a deep breath, about to go off again.
She was promptly shut up by a kiss from the man who had been at the far end of the table. He had gotten up and snuck around to her while she was ranting. He broke off the kiss and turned toward the rest of the group, who were either catcalling or gagging. Mostly gagging. Or sulking, in the case of the teenager and the grey creature. "Do as the woman says." He said calmly, walking back to his seat.
A chorus of groans followed his statement. "Oh, come on, Adam!" The northern-southern man groaned. "Since you went off and got married, we never have any fun!"
Adam, the one who had calmed the woman down, grinned as he sat back in his seat at the far end of the table. He shrugged. "Hey. When you find a woman that you really truly care for, you'll understand." He looked down the table at the woman, who smiled back. She was gently rocking the baby again, and his wails had changed to soft pants and quiet gurgles.
Adam leaned back in his seat. "So. About the new stronghold…" He started, looking toward the huge furry creature and the dinosaur.
The dinosaur looked at the furry creature. "I don wanna do it. You tell um, J'rome. UH!" The dinosaur grunted, jumping a little in his seat as something kicked his leg, also making the table jump a little.
"SH!" Alesa hissed, glaring down the table.
The big creature, Jerome, if the dinosaur was to be believed, winced. He shook himself off and gave his report. "While mining, Barney and I found a new stronghold. We looked around for a little, but didn't find any signs of life, except for silverfish and some old skeletons chained to the walls. We didn't find a portal, but it what we saw is conclusive, there will very likely be a portal we can use."
The sulking teen perked up slightly. He tentatively held up a hand. "I just finished the last batch of Eyes of Ender last week." He offered, tentatively.
"Tried and True recipe?" The grey creature asked, only slightly accusingly.
The teen sank in his seat. "I had no idea you were allergic to Nether Lilies…" He mumbled into his collar.
"No shit!" The grey creature snapped back.
"Ross! Language!" Alesa snapped.
"Sorry…" The grey creature called Ross mumbled, sinking in his seat.
The young man to Adam's right sniggered. "Damn! Woman-burn!" He crowed.
"Ty…" Alesa growled, turning toward the young man. Her eyes flashed deep red, and a dark aura floated around her.
"Eep!" Ty squeaked, ducking under the table.
"Alesa~" Adam said, suddenly waving a plate of what looked to be chocolate covered strawberries under her nose. The dark aura around the woman vanished, and she perked up. Her free hand reached out and grabbed one of the strawberries and bit into it.
"Nom!" She happily chewed on the strawberries, and left the men to their mischief.
"So." Adam said, returning to his seat. "Anything else to report?"
The man who had sat on Adam's left raised a hand. "Squid population is down. The butter nugget farm in the Nether had recently expanded."
"Thanks Jin." Adam nodded. He looked over at the northern-southern man. "Anything on the covert operations, Mitch?"
Mitch shook his head. "Nothing at this time. I have some of my Canadians keeping an eye on possible locations, but nothing at the moment."
Adam nodded. "Good. It needs to stay that way." He looked around the table, and he focused his attention on the rather nuts looking man. "Did someone give Ssundee his medicine?"
The preacher suddenly looked toward Adam. "Hai!" He said, his voice sort of thick and weird. "I'm DerpSsundee!"
There were several sounds of faces being slapped around the table. "Seto!" Ty groaned.
The sulky teen known as Seto sighed and stood up. He rummaged around in his sleeve for a moment, before he came up with a small bottle filled with a pretty red liquid. The liquid was mostly opaque and looked quite thick, but sloshed around like water. Seto walked up to the rather crazy man and opened up the bottle. "Ssundee." He started. "I have something sweet for you." He gently coerced.
The man stared at the bottle for a second before he snatched it and drank the lot of it down. Ssundee froze for a second, the bottle slipping out of his hand and onto his lap. He fell face forward onto his full plate, and everyone winced.
After a long second, the young man to Alesa's right stood and walked around the table. He grabbed a hunk of Ssundee's hair and lifted up his head. He poked the older man's cheek. Nothing happened.
"Ssundee. Wake up~" The boy said, right in the man's ear.
Ssundee started, his eyes flying open. He reacted. Right into the boy's face.
The boy reeled back, clutching his nose. "Ssundee!" He cried out, glaring at the older man.
Ssundee blinked. "Oh, damn." He winced, and hunched over. "Sorry Jason…" He mumbled.
"Jason, how many times have I told you duck when you wake Ssundee up?" Alesa asked, a faint smile on her face.
Jason sighed, and rubbed his nose while tromping back to his seat. He grumbled something under his breath, which no one heard.
"So. When will we start this Stronghold exploration?" Husky interrupted.
Everyone looked toward Jerome and Barney.
"We cordoned-off the area, and posted a lot of signs. It should still be alright."
"So, tomorrow?" Adam offered.
"Wat will we deed?" Jason asked, his voice sort of muffled, since he was holding his nose closed to keep blood from spilling down his face.
"Just weapons, armor, arrows if you don't have an infinity bow, potions," Mitch started listing.
"I'll have those ready." Seto added.
"Food, butter apples, pickaxes, pistons, levers, bandages, maybe a change of clothes." Mitch finished, taking Seto's interruption in stride.
Adam nodded. "Good." He stood and stretched. Somehow, he had made all the food on his plate vanish, which no one really batted an eye too, used to his massive apatite.
Alesa had also finished her food, at a much more sedate pace. She gently hefted the sleepy bundle that was her and Adam's son. She smiled at her husband, and the two for them retreated from the room.
As soon as the doors closed behind them: "Ten iron ingots, after they put the baby to bed, they lock their door for a few hours." Mitch said, with a smirk.
"You're on!" Several other voices echoed out, followed by sounds of metal hitting wood.
Adam chuckled as he listened to the muffled chatting and arguing of his good friends.
"Sweetie?" Alesa asked in a quiet voice.
"Hmm?" Adam responded, looking over his shoulder at his beautiful bride and the wonderful bundle of joy that they had brought into the world.
"I really don't think that you should go on this trip to The End."
Adam turned fully and looked at his wife, concerned. "What happened?" He asked, his brow furrowed in worry.
"I just have a feeling. That if you go, Mason will likely wind up without a father…" Alesa said, softly.
Adam leaned across the bed and wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Hey. I'll be fine." He smiled kindly down at his wonderful son. "I will come back to you and Mason."
"Promise me." Alesa insisted.
Adam chewed on his lip. He was right to be cautious. Any promise he made, had to come true. There was no breaking his kind of promises. "I promise that I will come back to you and Mason, alive and whole, in both mind and body, before his third birthday." There. That was a promise that he wanted to be fulfilled. He had set a time limit: Mason's third birthday, and had specified the condition that he would return in: alive and uninjured.
Alesa smiled. She leaned toward her husband and kissed him. "You had better not break it, Adam-Gold Skydyver." She stated, invoking his true name.
"I promise." Adam repeated. It was a promise. He would return to his wife and son. Nothing would stand in his way. Nothing was strong enough, except a god. And probably not even then. Promises were forever binding.
"Good." Alesa replied, smiling sweetly.