Sup guys, long time no update. Now that I'm back from my unannounced Hiatus, I have been feeling refreshed than ever, which should be a great thing.
Chapter IX
Across the Deserted Wastelands
Walking across the desert would be harder than you would have thought it could be. First and foremost, Sand is not very comfortable to be walked on, and the feeling of your feet sinking and you having to pull it out just to walk again could be tiring.
Second, having a person with us who can only be described as a 'Motor-powered-question-asker' next to us could make anyone annoyed. Even I could feel myself getting slowly but surely annoyed.
Cerulean had already cracked a while ago, being extremely far ahead of our position just to not hear and get annoyed by a specific person named on the blocks we were walking on.
"Hey Mono! What do you prefer more, the Desert or the Arctic?" Sand asked, for the fiftieth time in the row of questions.
Ignoring him won't do any good, so I decided to answer. "The Arctic. My attire doesn't make me feel comfortable in the current heat." I replied, gesturing to my ridiculously hot and thick Longcoat.
"Knock knock." He asked while he pretended to knock into a door.
"There is no door. Why are you knocking?" I asked, stating the painfully obvious. "No, seriously. That's just air."
He... reacted in a very odd way. He recoiled back, as if in shock. "You're mean." He said, then he scoffed and left me alone, before going to Dark Reaver. Let's just hope he won't snap under the pressure of annoyance.
The rest of the walk was as silent as a desert could ever be. However, even that was broken.
"Everyone, come here, now!" Cerulean yelled, his voice was loud enough effectively calling all of our attention. We sprinted to him almost immediately after. "I can see a couple of crafters, armed with different manners of weapons. Now that means that they are griefers"
"Wait. Why are you telling us this?" Dark asked. Cerulean gave Dark a gaze, which immediately answered his question. "What... We're going to-"
"Yes." Cerulean confirmed. "We are going to have to kill them."
While killing Crafters are supposed to be evil, Griefers themselves already killed other Crafters. I nodded grimly in response.
"Wait wait wait. We have to kill them?! Can't we just avoid them?" Sand objected. I would have agreed with him, if I hadn't seen where they were camped, and what they were doing.
"Come and see this." Cerulean said.
Sand hesitantly obliged. I saw was already in a position that would allow me to see the griefer camp.
"T-they're..." Words refused to form on Sand's mouth. We all watched on, our eyes unable to be taken off from the particular scene unfolding. A tied crafter, being killed slowly by Arrows. Not a bow, but just simply an Arrow being thrusted, before being pulled out.
And after a undetermined amount of time, an explosion of gear, and a faint cheer from the camp.
It was rather fortunate that the screams hadn't reached us.
"Why... would they do such a thing?" I asked, my voice was surprisingly calm and filled with pity.
They are Griefers. They cause and spread misery. Always remember that." Cerulean's sharp words bore into my memories. "And later, we will avenge the killed crafter."
"So... What are we going to have to do?" Sand asked, his eyes displayed specks of Determination.
Cerulean stared at the camp, which has gone mostly silent now, aside from a few crafters staying up and guarding. "First, we will get everyone a Bow, meaning we'll kill Skeletons, then we'll get some Arrows."
"Sand, how good can you shoot a bow?" Cerulean asked.
"Hmm... I used to throw an Egg, and hit a cow from a quite a distance away. Does that count?"
"Yes. Okay. Anyway, the second part of the plan," He turned to Sand with a grin, "Is a distraction."
"Wait. Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, traces of panic set in his voice.
"Sand, how much good are you at running?" Cerulean asked.
"Hmmm... I could run as fast as a headless chicken. Why is that-" He paused, before he realized, which led to his face darkening. "Why does it have to be me?" He groaned, which went unnoticed.
"And you, Mono. How much good at using a sword are you?" He asked.
Hmm. How much good of a swordsman am I. I remember, that I could kill a Zombie or two... But crafters who has brains? I don't really think so.
"Well, I could swing a sword cleanly enough to kill a Zombie." I said, before adding my second thought. "Does that count?"
"Hmm... Probably." He shrugged. "They themselves don't know how to use swords, either. Just punch with your left hand, or kick when you clash with other weapons."
I nodded wordlessly in response.
"And you, Dark?" Dark brought out a Stone Axe in response. "How good are you with an Axe?"
"My answer should be the same with him." Dark replied, pointing his finger to me.
Cerulean sighed, before gathering us all in one small circle. "Okay, here's the plan. First, we hide in a close enough to see the guards, but far enough to not be seen hill, using its shadow to hide us. Next is Sand, who will Snipe a guard with a Bow, which will draw his Attention, who will run to this place, then ambush the guard. Just repeat the tactics until all the guards are taken care of." He finished, drawing a long breath.
"What will happen next?" I asked.
"Simple. We will take care of them while they're asleep." Cerulean replied. "But if something goes wrong..." He paused, sighing, before turning to me and Dark. "Well, I did ask how good of fighters you are, right?"
"Well, I could spot a Skeleton from here. Wrestle the Bow from its grasp, then kill it for arrows." Cerulean looked at the camp again, counting the guards. "Then kill other Skeletons until we get atleast 7 Arrows. Clear?"
"Definitely."
"Yep."
"Now go kill those Skeletons." Shortly after finishing the sentence, I sprinted to the lone Skeleton, being careful to not trip by the Deadbushes present.
The Skeleton notices me, but it was too late. I jumped into the Skeleton, using my momentum to deliver a hard punch to its jaw. Skeleton's skulls are harder than I thought. Without wasting any more time, I draw out my Sword, before swinging it into a wide arc aimed to split its skull.
However, I noticed that it wasn't killed immediately. Worse, it was still functioning and could still fire a bow. Worst was, it was quite a distance from me. Then, an Arrow just fell from my blade, and a closer look at it shown a small, almost unnoticable chip in the edge.
The momentum was lessened because of the shot arrow.
I wonder if I could block its arrows with the flat of my sword. I idly pondered, while dodging the barrage of Arrows. Sighing, I draw my Sword, and... an Arrow bounced off from the flat of my blade.
It does work. Huh. With this new strategy, I blocked the Arrows I could, dodging ones I couldn't, and approached the Skeleton. With another swing of my sword, it disappeared, leaving behind two Arrows, and a few orbs.
The orbs phased through my hand, filling the empty bar quarterway. I placed the Arrows in my backpack, which got shot just a few moments after.
I turned around, and immediately blocked another arrow trailing dangerously near my face. The Skeleton this time, had an enchanted bow. Okay. Same strategy. I rushed to the Skeleton, and held my blade in a way that the broad, flat side was covering as much exposed spots in my torso.
An arrow was shot, and I blocked it. Wait. That shot actually made my hand shake from the force. Just what is that bow? I decided to doge the shots more, instead of blocking it for favor of my hand.
Within the hitting distance, I swung my sword again in a neat cleave. Without an arrow to disrupt my swing, it instantly killed the Skeleton. It left behind two more arrows, a shining bow and more Experience Orbs.
I grabbed the Loot, but upon grabbing the Bow, words appeared to my vision. "Power II" was written. I shrugged, before placing the bow into my backpack.
I sprinted across the sand once more. The journey was only a few dozen meters away.
When I reached our camping place, I saw Cerulean with a wide smirk, Dark with his jaw dropped, and beside them were... A pile of Arrows, and a few bows, with one shimmering...
I could also similarly feel my jaw dropping from the sheer amount of loot he brought in. The wide smirk he had didn't really help matters, but the loot he did bring in did.
"Now we're ready to initiate the second Phase of our plan."
Inventory:
Inventory:
Monologue_Master: Iron Helmet, Diamond Chestplate, Iron Leggings, Iron Boots, Diamond Sword, 5 Golden Carrots, 5 Steak, 1 Speed Potion (3:00), 1 Speed II potion (1:30), 2 Regeneration Potions (2:00), 1 Strength Potion (3:00), 3 Red Sand, 5 Hardened Clay, 1 Water Bottle, 4 Arrows, Bow {Power II}
Cerulean_Wastelands: Leather Helmet {Blue, Protection III}, Diamond Chestplate {Projectile Protection IV}, Leather Leggings {Blue, Protection II, Unbreaking I}, Diamond Boots {Feather Falling II}, Diamond Longsword, 40 Steak, 4 Golden Carrots, 45 Emeralds, 1 Book {"Philosophy I have in life"}, 1 Stone Pickaxe, 1 Iron Pickaxe {Effeciency III, Unbreaking II}, 1 Strength Potion (8:00), 3 Splash Potions of Healing II, 2 Red Sand, 8 Hardened Clay, 2 Glass Bottles, 76 Arrows, Bow {Damaged}, Bow {Damaged}, Bow {Power I}
Dark_Reaver: Stone Axe, 3 Cooked Chicken, Chainmail Chestplate
Sandy_Epitome: 4 Cooked Chicken, 8 Eggs, 3 Sand, Wooden Sword, Leather Boots
Okay, well, see you next week!