Separated

Chapter 4: Mistral City


Honeydew reached the top of a hill and stopped, bending over slightly to catch his breath.

"Damn creepers. Why do they even have to exist in the first place?" He mumbled. "I mean, all they do is blow shit up!" He straightened and turned to see Lysander and Old_Peculier right behind him, the Skylord helping Peculier walk while Honeydew had kept the monsters at bay. The two stopped by Honeydew's side.

"How much farther?" The Dwarf asked Lysander. The Skylord looked past the Dwarf and squinted a bit before smiling.

"Well, we're almost there! Just a few more minutes down the path." He looked towards the sky, which was starting to lighten from the red-orange glow from the east. "I'm glad you'll be able to see the towers of Mistral at dawn."

Peculier started coughing again, causing both Honeydew and Lysander to return their attention back to him.

"Not a moment too soon…" The old man wheezed. Lysander adjusted Peculier in his grip before looking at Honeydew.

"Let's go, then." The Dwarf nodded and started down the hill, his companions following close behind. A few minutes of walking later, Honeydew looked up to see tall spires stretch up before him. Mistral City stood tall and proud, the new sunlight glinting off of the airships floating above the streets below. A cobblestone wall surrounded the area, the only way past it a gate. A drawbridge was lowered to help travelers cross the moat surrounding the wall.

Lysander caught up to Honeydew and smiled at his home city.

"Ah, here we are. Quickly, Peculier's family owns a house on Victoria Street. We'll stop there."

"Righto, mate. Peculier needs his rest." Honeydew agreed, starting towards the city again. Lysander helped Old_Peculier forward, the three stepping around a crater in the path, most likely caused by a creeper explosion. Right before they reached the drawbridge, an empty guard station sat beside the path. Lysander raised a brow.

"Strange. I thought the gate was guarded all hours." Honeydew looked through the window.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been inside for a good while." The tall Dwarf responded, squinting past the layer of dust and streaks on the window to see the dimly lit inside.

"This can't be good." Lysander frowned. "Let's get going."

The three crossed the drawbridge and entered the grand city. Three large fountains sat in front of them, all made with more cobblestone, much like the streets. The three walked further down the main path, Honeydew looking around at the buildings as he walked. His attention was then caught by the sound of humming, and he looked ahead of him to see a man watering flowers in front of what seemed to be a Church.

"Father_Braeburn!" Lysander called. The man stopped his humming a turned around.

"Lysander! Good to see you." His voice was calm and even.

"Where is everyone?" Lysander asked. Father_Braeburn frowned.

"Well, after you left, reports of monsters outside the city started increasin'. After a few citizens started to go missing, people packed up and left for Icaria. Only a few of us remain here." The Skylord sighed.

"Thanks, Father. We'll catch up later." He said, turning and still guiding Peculier up the street. Honeydew brought up the rear.

"May Notch watch over you and your friends!" Braeburn called after them.

They all walked towards Victoria Street, the path becoming narrower as the number of buildings increased. The party was forced to walk single file, Peculier managing to walk using the wall. Suddenly, Honeydew stopped and sniffed the air. He smelled smoke.

"Aye, anyone else smell that?" He asked, looking around.

"Probably just Granny's cooking." Lysander called, leading the line. "Her shop is right he- …Oh. Well. Um..."

Lysander had just reached the end of the narrow walkway, which had opened up to a small ridge, and a house just down the path a ways. Or, what used to a house. Now sat a charred wooden frame of what used to be a large, well-built structure. Fires still burned inside and around it, but surprisingly no flames spread to the other just-as-flammable buildings nearby. Old_Peculier looked over Lysander's shoulder, and his eyes widened in horror.

"MY HOUSE!" He yelled, his voice ringing across the entirety of the empty city. Pushing past Lysander, the old man ran up to the inferno and tried to put the closest fire out to no avail. The flames were persistent, as if not from this world. Lysander and Honeydew eventually had to pull Peculier away from the fire before he burned himself on these unholy flames.

"It's a lost cause, man!" Honeydew yelled, trying to keep the old man back.

"The Dwarf is right, Peculier. It's unsalvageable." Lysander added, frowning. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, friend."

Old_Peculier sighed a heavy sigh, hanging is head. Lysander and Honeydew slowly released their grip on him, as if expecting him to pull another wild move with the fire again.

"Well, where do we go now? Peculier's house is out of the question." Honeydew asked.

"I suppose we can stay at my house." Lysander said, rubbing his chin. He turned and pointed farther down the ridge. "It's just down this path here."

The three formed their lineup again; Lysander in front, Peculier in the middle, and Honeydew at the rear. They followed the cobblestone path a little ways down the ridge, where Lysander's house sat.

"The Elysium?" Honeydew asked, reading the sign above the door. "Why's it named that?" Lysander gave no answer as he helped Peculier inside. Honeydew sighed before following, closing the door inside him.

It was a cozy place. The front door led to the living room, where a few couches sat around a pink rug. The rest of the floor was cobblestone, and a fireplace sat near the two couches, logs stacked and ready for whenever the next fire was to be lit. Besides a painting and a few windows, not much else was in the room. Lysander helped Peculier up the stone stairs as Honeydew took a seat on the couch. He slumped down and put his hands behind his head, staring at the wall across from him in boredom. He started humming the first random dwarf hymn that came to his mind, listening to the voices of Lysander and Peculier upstairs. Slowly, his thoughts started to drift off to memories of some shenanigans he and Xephos had pulled in the past. The Dwarf instantly frowned, stopping his humming.

"Xephos…"

Is he even alive? Who knows what hellish things go on in the Nether. Honeydew had heard stories about it since he was young, and none portrayed any good in the place. Not only was he trapped in that fire pit, but Xephos was stuck down there with Israphel. If they didn't get there soon, both Xephos and Daisy would be destroyed, either by the flames of the Nether or by the hands of the demon.

Honeydew's thoughts were interrupted by Lysander's footsteps. He looked over to see the Skylord coming down the stairs.

"How's Peculier?" Honeydew asked. Lysander looked over, hands in his coat pockets.

"He's resting in the bedroom now." He replied. "We have a few hours to look around. Would you like a tour of Mistral?"

"I guess." Honeydew said, standing. Anything to keep his mind off of his poor friend. Lysander turned and headed for the door again, the Dwarf following after him. The two walked back up the path they had come from.

"Here's Granny_Bacon's Greasy Spoon Shop." Lysander said, pointing to a building next to Peculier's old home. "Best restaurant in the whole city."

Honeydew smiled before a growl rumbled from his gut. He looked down before looking at Lysander.

"Mind if we stop here? I'm a bit peckish."

"No problem. I'm a bit hungry myself."

The two then headed into the shop.


Sometime later, Lysander dragged Honeydew back out of Granny's shop, a very annoyed expression on his face. Honeydew had a complacent grin, seeming to be distanced from reality at the moment.

"Bye Grannnyyy…" He said, waggling his fingers as a wave. An old woman behind the shop's counter blushed and giggled.

"See ya' Honey. Come back whenva' you feel like it."

Honeydew held his dumb grin before Lysander whirled him around and slapped him.

"Ow! What the hell, man?!" Honeydew asked, snapping out of his trance and rubbing his sore cheek.

"Dear Notch, Honeydew! Do you know how you acted in there?" Lysander asked him. "Now I understand why Xephos kept you on such a short leash. That mouth and attitude of yours could get you kicked out of anywhere!"

Honeydew drew back, taking some offense to Lysander's statements but understanding his anger.

"I'm sorry…" was all he could say. Lysander sighed.

"It is fine, friend. Just watch yourself from now on." The Skylord replied. "Now, on with the tour?"

"On with the tour."

The two then continued back down the path, passing the church and the fountains again. Heading straight past the church, Lysander pointed to a building as they passed.

"This is Snozzi's House of Adult Entertainment and Pleasure." He told the Dwarf before adding more quietly. "I assume you can figure out just what type of entertainment."

Honeydew snickered as he followed the Skylord through the streets, finding it terribly ironic that such a place was next to a church. The turned a corner and found what looked to be a tennis court.

"Here's the Sports Court." Lysander continued. "Right now you can only play tennis off of it. And here's the Opium Hut..."

Lysander seemed to speak the name of the building with some distain in his voice. Honeydew read the sign above the door.

Absolutely NO minors allowed!

Seeking the opportunity, Honeydew smiled. "Hey, Lysander, looks like I'm not allowed inside…" He held up his pickaxe that had been strapped to his belt. "Ya'know, 'cause I'm a miner!" He then gave a hearty dwarven laugh. Lysander looked at him before he chuckled a bit.

"Good one, I'll give you that." He responded. Honeydew looked back at the Opium Hut and through the window, noticed someone inside.

"Hey, who's that?" He asked. Lysander looked at the man and frowned.

"Oh, that's Skylord_Jasper. He's not the nicest guy around…"

Honeydew smiled again, getting another idea. Clearing his throat and adjusting his belt, the Dwarf barged into the hut, interrupting Skylord_Jasper's fix. The Skylord glared at him.

"GET OUT SIMPLETON!" He yelled, furious.

"WHERE IS DRUGS?" Honeydew responded, faking a slightly crazed expression before Jasper shoved him out the door, slamming it in his face. Honeydew laughed as Lysander face-palmed, torn between laughing and wishing Xephos was here to help him keep Honeydew in line.

"Anyway, shall we continue?" He asked. Honeydew nodded, wiping away a tear from laughing so hard at his own, somewhat odd joke. Lysander led him down another narrow street before it opened. There was a fenced off area with a sign. Honeydew stepped closer and read it.

"'Danger, mine condemned, keep out.'" He quoted out loud. He suddenly heard a hissing noise and screamed in a rather high-pitched voice when he saw that a creeper was just in front of him, the only thing between them the fence. Lysander placed a hand on Honeydew's shoulder to calm him.

"Calm yourself, friend! That thing's harmless behind that fence." Lysander told him. It was true; creepers only exploded when they were right next to their target, and the fence kept the creeper too far away for it to hurt anyone. It was a good thing creepers weren't very good jumpers, either, or there would be a wild creeper loose in the city. How it even got there, however, was a complete mystery. Honeydew straightened and cleared his throat.

"Uhh, right! I wasn't scared or anythin'. Nope. Not at all." The dwarven man replied, trying his best to save his pride. Lysander rolled his eyes before dragging Honeydew down the path more.

"Here's Duke Smithy." He said next, passing by the old blacksmith's shop. Honeydew squinted to read the sign nailed to the door.

Shop closed until further notice.

Honeydew blinked. "Wait, Duke smithy? As in Daisy Duke?"

Lysander nodded grimly. "It's her father's place, but looks like he left to go search for his daughter."

"How sad…"

"Quite."

The two continued along the city's streets, passing the Lumber Yard, Notice Board, and a few other trivial things. Eventually they came back around to the rear of the Church, and Honeydew noticed for the first time; a giant stain glass window of an apple.

"It's beautiful!" He cried, smiling. Lysander nodded.

"Yes, it is. It's the Church of the Holy Apple, after all."

Honeydew was momentarily confused, wondering why people would worship an apple before he shrugged it off. Lysander turned and started heading down another street.

"Well, that's about everything. We can cut through the graveyard to get back to the main square." He called back to the Dwarf. Honeydew nodded and followed. The Skylord opened the back gate of the graveyard and was about to head inside before he froze and ducked back behind the Church.

"What?" Honeydew asked before he was quickly shushed by Lysander. The two peeked around the corner of the building to see Skylord_Jasper enter the graveyard through the main gate, his expression solemn as he placed a bouquet of roses down on top of one grave. He stared the tombstone for a moment before he sighed and left, closing the main gate behind him.

Lysander and Honeydew looked at each other before rushing over to the grave Jasper had visited. Upon the tombstone were bold letters carved into the stone.

Reverend_John

Missing

Presumed Undead

"Aye, not good. Not good at all." Honeydew mumbled, remembering his run in with the Reverend only a few months ago. Lysander looked confused and stroked his chin, trying to piece together why Jasper would be so concerned about Reverend_John as Honeydew started to look at the other graves. Some were terribly ironic, almost making the Dwarf laugh. There was Fellofalot, and he apparently died by falling off…a lot. There was another that simply read Michael Barrymore's Career, which just had to be a joke. Honeydew felt bad for laughing before he noticed something. There was a lone grave, near the very back of the graveyard. He walked over and read the tombstone.

Israphel

We don't speak of him.

"He's here, too?" The Dwarf asked, his brow furrowing. Part of him wanted to tear up the grave to see if there was another secret passage like there was in Terrorvale, but he then thought against it.

"Honeydew, come look at this." Lysander's voice called from across the graveyard. Honeydew turned to see the Skylord standing in front of two open graves, frowning. The Dwarf ran over and looked into the two holes. Absolutely nothing. He frowned before he realized that Lysander wasn't looking at the graves themselves, but the signs used as temporary gravestones. He read them closely. They were his and Xephos' graves.

"What the bloody hell is this?" He asked as he motioned towards the graves in front of him, more confused than scared at the ominous sight.

"I'm not sure." Lysander replied, scratching his head. "But I think it's clear that Israphel had something to do with this."

Honeydew fixed his gaze on the two signs again and noticed more text, but in smaller print. Under his name was written "AAAAAAAH!", as if he was supposed to be screaming and/or falling to his death. Xephos', however, was a lot simpler. All that was written was "Goodbye, friend".

Honeydew's heart sank. Those words reminded him of his friend's deadly predicament, and what would happen if they couldn't save him. Lysander noticed the Dwarf's change of attitude and rested another hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get going. I still have to show you the upper level." He told him. Honeydew stood silently for a moment before nodding, and the two continued on their way.


Author's Note: Sorry for not much happening in this chapter. Have to stick to the source material every now and then, after all. Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed!