Chapter four: The portal

Two days later

Going back to Ironhand turned out to be easy. With the map's help, Jack had arrived at a mountain near the village. It was the very same mountain that housed the entrance to the Silver Cave—the place where Jack met Yaebi and betrayed the Hunters.

From there, Jack could see Ironhand in the distance. He decided to hide behind the mountain and rest a bit more before making his move.

As he lay down on a pile of dirt and leaves—using his jacket as a pillow—he thought about how he was going to do this. He had no idea where the portal was. The map he had with him wasn't detailed enough to give him answers in that regard; it only showed the way to the village itself.

As foolish as it sounded, he was going to have to explore a little.

That evening

Time to move, Jack thought as he left his hiding spot, once again revealing Ironhand to him in the not too far distance. The village's lights made it a shining beacon in the dark of night. As evidenced by the silence, the empty paths, and the curtains that covered the windows of the nearby buildings, most people had already gone home.

The lights in the church were still on. The church was notable, as its height exceeded that of the surrounding buildings. Jack had seen it during his short time in Ironhand, but he'd never gotten the chance to take a closer look.

He felt doubtful. Afraid. But he had gotten this far, and there was no going back to the Realm now. Even if the mobs wouldn't make the collective decision to lock him in his room for the next few years, Andr would probably make said decision on her own.

Well, Jack thought to himself, time to go.

He took a deep breath, then walked towards the village—making sure to stay out of sight as he did. Fortunately, the buildings at the edge offered some cover. When he reached one of said buildings, he ducked, silently moved to the house's corner and peeked around it.

He silently made his way to the next house and hid in the dark narrow space between both residences. He stayed there for a while, unmoving, listening for footsteps. He turned his head from left to right and back to make sure he wouldn't be snuck up on; he knew—from experience and rumors—that stealth was one of Raulyn's many deadly skills, and Tristan probably wasn't exactly one to announce his presence, either.

With his heart violently pounding in his chest, Jack moved from building to building, all the while making sure that he wasn't being followed. There were a few times when he thought he heard someone walking nearby, but each time that turned out to be his imagination.

He winced at the thought of encountering the Hunters—or anyone, for that matter. Ironhand was the single most risky place for him to be in. If the Hunters were to find out about Jack being here, he'd be dead within a heartbeat. They had numbers, and Ironhand was their domain. Any fight that happened here happened on their terms.

Jack was standing still between two lightless residences when a door nearby audibly opened and closed. He started and turned his head towards the source of the sound. Not that that'd be of any use; he couldn't see anything with one of the houses right in front of him. He realized, however, that he was going to have to stay very still if he wanted to remain undetected.

Two pairs of footsteps—accompanied by voices—came closer to where Jack was.

"—ery well," a voice he didn't recognize said. "What, then, are we to do?"

"This mob," Raulyn said, "has eluded us for a long time. My former mentor Karles told me to capture it alive and unharmed, regardless of how long it would take. Its power is not the most notable, but it may be the most useful."

Jack froze upon recognizing the Hunter's voice. Raulyn wasn't very far away now. If he saw Jack…

"Have you ever seen it, sir?" the unknown voice asked.

"I am uncertain…"

"Uncertain?" the unknown voice said. "You do not even know if you have ever met this mob?"

"I have…suspects…" Raulyn said. "But I cannot be sure. Apparently, it has the power to partly disguise itself as a human."

"Truly? That sounds…dangerous."

"It does. If someone you see looks or acts even the slightest bit moblike, keep an eye on them—especially if they instill you with an inexplicable fear or awe. If we are not careful, this mob could make its way into Ironhand and sow terror without even lifting a finger."

"Is this some sort of illusionist or something? I have fought many mobs during my career in Slaenone, but this one…scares me."

"I know what you mean." Raulyn sighed. "But I think it is time that I end this day. We will continue talking about this later. Return to base and tell some of the other Hunters to do the nightshift. Zane and Tvusn have not had to exert themselves much compared to the others recently; have at least one other Hunter accompany them, and let Crius take command of the group."

Jack felt the urge to swallow. Seemed like Raulyn had been recruiting some more Hunters. That was bad.

"And after that, sir?"

"You have done enough for today, Kai," Raulyn said. "Go to the inn and get some rest."

The unknown person—Kai—left. Raulyn did the same, walking past the alleyway Jack was in. His footsteps faded away quickly.

Jack let out a breath he'd forgotten he was holding.

After waiting for a short while, he continued to explore the village. Despite his best efforts however, he found nothing that hinted at the presence of a portal. Bad sign. Very bad sign. Had the mobs been wrong? Was the Ironhand portal just a rumor?

He proceeded to move to an alley next to him. As he moved out, he heard a sound. Startled, he looked around for the source—which turned out to be a figure in the shadows nearby.

His breath froze when he realized that the figure was looking his way. He had been found. And this time there were no buildings to hide him.

A moment of silence passed as Jack and the figure stared each other down. Neither of them were moving.

Against Jack's expectations however, the figure did not scream for help. It made no effort to alert the village of Jack's return. Instead they took a hesitant step towards him. "I know you," they whispered. The voice was definitely feminine.

Jack didn't reply.

"You are Jack, right?" the figure continued. "Jack…Snyder, was it? The one who stood up for the mob in the Silver Cave?"

Jack was ready to run should things go wrong. But he stayed still, not replying.

He flinched when the figure moved again. She walked in a calm pace towards a tall building nearby and opened its front door, allowing some light to escape into the night. The figure turned her head to Jack and beckoned.

"You will be safe here," she quietly said. "Hurry. Before someone sees you."

Jack hesitated. He had no reason to trust this person. This could be a trap for all he knew.

But she might know the location of the portal…

Being the reckless fool he had proven to be in recent days, he snuck towards the building and entered. The figure closed the door behind him once he was inside, and the two people turned to face one another.

When he noticed the woman's purple robe, Jack immediately realized who this was. As far as he knew, there was only one type of villager that wore purple clothing: the priest—or, in this case, the priestess.

He blinked, then looked around.

The room he was in was large. Stained glass separated the inside from the outside, and several glowstone lamps hung at the stone wall. There were rows of wooden pews, and one lectern stood at the wall opposite of the door. The 'regular' windows were covered by curtains.

"This is the church," Jack realized.

The woman nodded. "Yes," she affirmed. "I am the priestess of this village. My name is Christine. I am pleased to finally meet you."

Jack turned back to the woman. "Funny, considering I haven't exactly been making myself popular around here…"

Christine gave a brief smile. "Living in a village or city does not always make one an enemy of mobs, Jack. I am but one example of that."

"Not everyone here hates mobs…?" Jack narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "Then why don't you do something about it? The whole racist attitude, I mean. I've got some friends who would really appreciate that."

"I have made several attempts to remove the general hatred from the people of Ironhand… But those who openly support mobs are regarded as traitors." Her expression fell. "It goes that way in most villages. In Ironhand, a mob supporter could be sent to prison. I cannot do anything from there."

"What about the other people here? You said you were only one example, so there have to be more. Why not team up with someone?"

"I know that there are people who think the same way; several men and women in the Overworld have tried to stand up for mobs. Those people, however, have been exiled, imprisoned, executed or otherwise…'disposed of'. I do not know if anyone in Ironhand supports mobs, because anyone who makes it public is likely to be convicted."

"Hmph. Okay, then." Jack paused. "Anyway, I'm not here to talk about mobs. I'll just get to the point—I have to go to the Nether, and I heard there's a portal somewhere in or near Ironhand."

"The Nether?" Christine asked, confused. "Why would you want to go there? Alone, no less…"

"Long story. Point is, I need to get there as soon as possible."

"Do you know the dangers that the Nether hides?"

"I've got a suspicion."

"I am not comfortable with sending you to your death…"

"No one is going to send me to my death." He sighed. "Look, this is something I've got to do, no matter the risks. It's important."

She eyed him. She didn't seem happy about it, but Jack's words were apparently enough to convince her, because she walked to one of the windows and slightly moved the curtain aside. "Do you see that hill?" she asked.

He looked "The one at the edge of town?"

"Yes," Christine affirmed. "There is a small cave below it. You will find the portal there."

Jack grunted, then stepped away from the window and towards the door.

"Jack," Christine softly said. "Before you go, I must implore you to be cautious. I do not believe mobs are malevolent by nature, but I have heard rumors of forces dwelling in the Nether—forces more powerful and dangerous than any normal man or mob could ever be."

"I'll be careful," Jack replied as he looked at her. "Thanks for the help."

Christine gave a nod. Jack turned back to the door and put his hand on it.

He hesitated.

He looked back to Christine. "By the way," he said, "should anyone ask—human or mob—I was never here."

"Of course."

"Thanks again," Jack said.

With that, he silently made his way out into the dark of night.

It didn't take long before Jack arrived at the hill Christine had sent him to. He soon found what looked like a mine entrance that led diagonally down, with the only light being situated in a small cave-ish room at the bottom of the 'stairs'. It wasn't too far down fortunately, and all Jack could do as he descended was hope that this wasn't a trap.

With as little light in the tunnel as there was, Jack had to watch his step to avoid losing his balance. The ground was uneven. Looked like no one had been here in a while.

Almost immediately upon reaching the room below, he found the source of light.

Eerie sounds echoed through the room. They were accompanied by a pulsating purple glow, stationed in a crudely assembled rectangle of sharp black glass. The glow—the portal—had a grim, ghostly air, yet there was a sort of uncertain tranquility to it that Jack couldn't place.

He let out a breath. This was it. He was here, at the doorway that would lead to the infamous Nether.

He slowly made his way towards the portal, his doubt growing with each step. The backpack he was carrying suddenly felt heavy.

But he was so close. He had come all this way. He couldn't give up now.

When he was near the portal, he stood still for a moment, observing the entrance to a world that was feared by the vast majority of the Overworld's population. And he was going to enter it. Because of a dream.

He didn't feel like doing it. If anything, the mind-numbing purple glow almost made him feel sick when he considered what lay beyond it. But he'd gotten this far, and he wasn't about to back down.

He took a deep breath.

Then he went through the portal.

I was blinded.