Book 1: The Mob Invasion
Chapter 2: Out of the Frying Pan...
Days Since the Mob Invasion: 744
Hunter's Watch was, by all accounts, a strategically placed community. Located next to the second largest lake in Minecraftia, Calamari Lake, the coast provided the town with plenty of fish and water while also offering a natural defense against land attacks from the west. To the east and south, a dense forest conceals Hunter's Watch, hiding the town from the opportunistic eyes of most griefers as well as most mobs. To the north, about a day and a half's hike through the forest on foot, the Iron Mountains loom over the horizon, casting their shadow for miles across the valley. Hunter's Watch was, indeed, well hidden. However, it wasn't invisible.
Peering from a small cliff overlooking the settlement, a cautious pair of eyes surveyed the town, looking for any signs of danger. The figure was crouched between a rock and a tree making sure that any citizens, or mobs, wouldn't spot him. He had been there for the past day now, watching and waiting. Looking for any indication that this camp was a griefer camp. The settlement surely had an impressive wall, that much is true. Made out of solid stone with wooden beams as reinforcements, it would take a lot for anyone to penetrate through the town's defenses. Even TNT would need a few charges to break through. He looked again toward the gate. Pure iron grating, most likely with redstone engineering used to lower and drop it to allow traffic in and out. He whistled quietly to himself.
"Whoever their mason is, he's certainly skilled," he mumbled. He hadn't seen masonry that solid since pre-invasion. Most of the people with the knowledge to build that either died, turned into zombies, or lack the resources. He took another look at the gatekeeper himself. Though he was fairly far away, he could still make out the body from this distance if he squinted. A male with a spear and armor, most probably chainmail. The watcher looked down at his humble rough leather boots and broken leather chestpiece. He'd stand no chance against the gatekeeper if a fight were to occur. But, hopefully there would be no need for that. Not that he was going to survive much longer anyway at this rate. Farming is too slow, and he always was a poor hunter. He was desperate. "You can do it, Alan," he whispered. "Just like last time... Just like last time."
His heart was beating so fast he felt as if it would burst through his rib cage and out of his chest. It has been several months since he made contact with another group, and even then that was just for trading. This? This was entirely different. Worst case scenario, they're griefers and they kill him on sight and take his things like any well-respected griefer would. Second worse case scenario, they're griefers and they beat him up before taking his things like any well-respected griefer would, and then leave him for dead. Alan gulped. But, still, there's always that chance. That minuscule chance that maybe, just maybe, they're good people. Maybe they need people. Maybe they'd let him in. Normally, he'd say the worst they can do is say "no," but...
Alan looked at the gatekeeper again. That spear was probably taller than he was...
Yeah, no, there's definitely worse things they can do than say "no."
Daren had been on watch at the gate for the past few days since Hunter left to take care of their "little problem." Now that Hunter's back and bleeding all over the infirmary ward, it looked like he was going to be taking care of gate keeping again for the next few days. It was simple: watch the treeline in front of the gate for griefers, use his spear to eliminate any mobs that wandered too close to the wall, patrol along the top of the wall to keep a lookout on all sides of the community, and ring the bell if there's ever any danger. Not that Daren was bothered by it. In truth, it reminded him of his life before the invasion. Before everything fell apart.
"Spear sergeant," his former lieutenant's words echoed through his head in a distant memory. "From this day on, you'll be known as 'The Impaler.'" He felt a small smile creep across his face before stopping himself. Those days are gone. No point in thinking about them anymore. He closed his eyes and rubbed his brow. The smooth sheepskin leather rubbed away the excess sweat and oil from the day's patrol. It wasn't necessarily a hot day, but there was no breeze. The air was completely still and it was definitely noticeable.
"Hello there!" Daren instinctively jumped from his chair with his spear ready at the sudden disturbance in the otherwise quiet afternoon. Eyes wide open, he looked around for a brief second before spotting the source of the voice. A man, alone, walking out of the tree line with his hands held up.
"Stop where you are! Do not come any closer!" Daren barked his orders, his spear in an overhand position in case he needed to throw it at the encroaching intruder. Surprisingly, the man stopped without question. Daren cursed at himself mentally. He had allowed a complete stranger to take him off guard while he was on patrol. Still, he can worry about that later. What mattered now was this man in front of him. Daren inspected the man's face. Young, but far from a child. Early 20s most likely. Clean cut, no dirt, no grime. Handsome. Eyes wide open. He's scared. Shaking. Hands raised above his head, both empty. An iron sword attached to his belt on his right side. He's left-handed. Backpack, impossible to tell its contents from this viewpoint. Very little armor, but some basic leather boots and gloves as well as a dried out leather cuirass that looked like it was about to fall apart any minute. Either he likes to travel light, or he can't find better equipment.
"S-sorry if I caught you off guard! I didn't mean to-"
"Quiet!" Daren silenced the man. Daren stared into the man's eyes for a good minute. Finally, he spoke up. "Have you been bitten? Yes or no?"
The man shook his head. "Never!" he replied. Daren thought of his options for a few seconds. The man had followed his instructions so far. That's more than he could say about most people who've come crawling up to their gates before. Still, he could always be lying about being bitten...
"What's your name?" Daren asked, still keeping his spear ready.
"Alan!" the man replied. Daren sighed. Why didn't Hunter or Zeke ever get strangers like this on their shifts?
"Come closer, Alan. Keep your hands where I can see them and no sudden moves." He ordered. The man named Alan, once again, followed his instructions and approached the gate slowly until he was about 10 feet away. "That's close enough, stranger," Daren warned as Alan immediately stopped. Alan's hands weren't in the air anymore, but they were definitely still shaking. This, Daren thought, was either a good thing or a bad thing. Scared people do stupid things, sure. But if he's scared, that means he's vulnerable. That means he likely doesn't have any "friends" hidden in the treeline to back him up if things were to go bad for him. Daren finally assessed that his threat level was minimal, and relaxed his muscles... but only slightly.
As Alan was looking up at the gatekeeper who was atop of the wall, he was really starting to have second thoughts about this whole thing. He thought that his friendly introduction and by being as loud as he could when he first identified himself would let the gatekeeper know that he wasn't trying to sneak up on him, but it appears that his plan backfired and he only made the gatekeeper even more paranoid than he probably already was. This is why I don't socialize, he thought to himself.
"What do you want?" Daren asked. Alan could see the spear still pointed at him. Obsidian spiked, and it looked like it was chiseled down to a razor thin sharpness. That would cut through his leather chest-piece like paper. The man behind the spear was just as intimidating. A short, black beard, black hair, dark eyes, a tall well-built frame, and a stern face that did well to hide the fact that Daren was only a few years older than Alan was. This guy, Alan surmised, had definitely seen some shit.
"Well... I want to join you guys' community here, please. What's the name, if you don't mind me asking?" Alan was stammering over his words like a 6 year old, but he didn't care. He was just thankful that he even remembered how to talk at all with a spear aiming right at him.
"Hunter's Watch," the gatekeeper replied.
"Uh, no. I meant your name."
"Daren," the gatekeeper replied again, before letting out a deep sigh. "Look, Alan, I'm going to tell you what I've told everyone else: We can't afford to let people in. We got a good thing going here, and we don't intend to risk that. I'm sorry. I can toss you a little bit of food, a little bit of water, but after that I need to send you on your way. Nothing personal." Daren always hated this part of the job the most. Usually they'll break down and start crying at this point, or they'll get angry and demand to be let in. Either way, it never helped them, and they always ended up being turned away.
Alan's heart sunk. He expected this would happen, but there was still that small sliver of hope inside him that he clung to. As Daren spoke, he could feel that sliver of hope slowly start to fade away. He hung his head. He didn't know what to say, this was his last best hope. He didn't want to have to go back to sleeping in caves again, or living in the wilderness again, or running from mobs everyday just to stay alive. He looked back up at Daren, desperation in his eyes.
"Please... I-I was in the Capitol University. I was a student, I can help-"
"I'm sorry, we already have everything we need. I told you, we can't let you in. I'm going to have to ask you to-"
"I'm an alchemist! I'm an alchemist!"
"You need to leave-... Wait, what?" Daren stopped himself mid sentence. "You're a what?" Alan saw his opportunity and vehemently nodded his head.
"An alchemist! I'm an alchemist! I was at the Capitol University when the invasion began. I was almost through with my studies! I was an apprentice under Master Dodin, the best alchemist in the University! In all of Minecraftia, even. I can help you guys! My focus was healing potions, but I can make poisons and other potions too! See?" Alan quickly fumbled with his backpack, pulling out a vial of a bright, red liquid. He held it up for Daren to see. "See? I made this. I can make you more, a lot more. All I need are the ingredients and a brewing stand. You just got to let me in. Please!" Alan continued holding the vial up, his breathing quickening. He looked for any sort of emotion in Daren's face that might indicate whether or not he'll let him in, but he saw nothing. Only a furrowed brow and a frown, like he was heavily thinking about something. Finally, after what felt like hours, Daren reached over beside him and rang a large bell twice.
GONG! GONG!
"Ow, gentle, gentle!" Alan yelped.
"Hold still," Daren ordered. He watched on as Alan got a pat down from Zeke. Zeke was a brute of a man. All brawn, no brains, he was definitely the muscle of Hunter's Watch which made him especially useful for situations like this. "Any bites?" Daren asked. Zeke took a few seconds before grunting out a reply.
"Nah, I can't rightly say that he has any. I don't think he's much of a threat either. All he has on him is this sword and this little boot-knife," Zeke said, tossing the small knife away from them. Alan held his arms out in a "T" formation. He could understand some paranoia, but with a guy like Zeke patting him down he felt like it was almost overkill. Unlike Daren, there was nothing subtle about Zeke. Huge man, big muscled, long beard with a few graying hairs, and an iron sword the size of a small child dangling from a holster on his hip. Yeah, they didn't have to worry about him taking on a guy like Zeke. Alan was more concerned, though, about the man standing off behind the gate. While Daren and Zeke went outside the gate to search Alan, the man stayed behind and just watched.
"Take his sword and bring him in," the man ordered. Daren and Zeke immediately complied, picking up Alan's sword and marching him in front of them.
The iron gate opened, presumably by the man from the other side, and Alan was practically shoved through by Zeke. Once they were all through, the gate immediately slammed shut. Alan, though nervous as to what they planned to do with him, couldn't help but look around out of curiosity. The town had several wooden houses and a gravel walkway down the middle of the town connected all houses and buildings together. The houses weren't large, most were one story high with the exception of one building. If you were to follow the walkway, you'd run into a pier at the very end of the town that was overlooking Lake Calamari. Fresh water, Alan thought. He could tell these people really had their stuff straight. While he was looking around, he almost didn't notice the unnamed man walk over to him. Placing his hands on his shoulder, the man smiled at Alan.
"Welcome! Welcome to Hunter's Watch! She's a beauty, isn't she? Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Frederick and I'm the leader of this here settlement. And you are...?"
"Alan. My name is Alan, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir, I really appreciate you all letting me in like this, I-" Frederick waved his finger in front of Alan's face, stopping him. Frederick was an older gentleman, probably in his late 50s. His face was tanned and leathery, with two beady green eyes and by the way he pronounced his "r's" his accent was distinctly Capitol, likely born and raised there before the invasion. Like Zeke, he also had a beard, but his was much shorter and almost completely white.
"Now, Alan, we would love to just accept everybody into our gates on their word, but as I'm sure you're aware these are... troubling times we live in, wouldn't you agree?" Alan nodded, causing him to smile even further. "Good, good. Truth is, we can't afford to just let anybody in. We'd all starve if we did that. Or worse. But I like the look of you, Alan, and the truth is we need an alchemist. So, I've got a little test for you," Frederick's smile was the whitest Alan had ever seen. He could have sworn he could see his reflection on his teeth.
At least the dude still cares about personal hygiene, Alan thought.
Frederick told Alan about a resident that they had in Hunter's Watch: Hunter. Hunter had gone into the Nether a few days ago to see if he could scavenge some nether mushrooms. While he was down there, he got ambushed by a group of Zombie pigmen who sliced his shoulder with a sword, and he also got a pretty bad burn from a fire as we was trying to escape. He made it back to Hunter's Watch, but due to their lack of alchemist or alchemy training, they couldn't properly tend to his wounds with any healing potions.
"If you'll craft us a healing potion and a potion of regeneration," Frederick said, "we will welcome you into our community with open arms." He opened his arms for emphasis. Alan nodded. It seemed simple enough.
"Do you guys have any materials or a brewing stand? I can make potions, sure, but I don't have any of the ingredients on me," Alan asked, pointing to his backpack that was feeling rather light now that he thought about it. Frederick just laughed.
"Oh, I don't think you got to worry about ingredients..."
"Ho. Ly. Shit..." Alan could hardly believe his eyes. Trunks and trunks full of empty water vials, redstone dust, gold shavings, nether wart, preserved spider eyes, sugar, blaze powder, gunpowder, you name it and they had it. But they didn't just have it, they had chests full of it. The last time Alan had seen such a huge alchemy stockpile was at the Capitol University. Frederick and Daren had led him into a house on the left side of town and into the house's basement which was actually a huge alchemy lab. Zeke, however, refused to leave the gate unattended and went to go keep watch. They told him that it used to be their previous alchemist, Sofie's, house before she was killed by a group of mobs outside of the walls when she went to collect alchemy ingredients. "Sucks about your previous alchemist," Alan piped up, surveying the alchemy stock. Frederick clicked his tongue while shaking his head sadly.
"Yes, terrible business, that. Sofie was the light of this town, such a sweet girl. She still has a sister here though, our redstone engineer, Lana. I'm sure you'll meet her shortly." Frederick patted Alan's shoulder. "Now, let's see that alchemy magic, eh?" Alan grinned, eager to prove himself, and immediately started getting the ingredients ready. Keeping a guard at the door's entrance, Daren still had his spear in hand. Just in case.
"Frederick," Daren called out. "A word with you in private, please?" Frederick nodded and excused himself from Alan's presence as he walked over to see Daren. Daren gently pulled Frederick through the door back into the hallway so Alan wouldn't hear.
"What's wrong, Daren?"
"Lana is not going to like this. I already told Zeke to go send word to her, Hunter, and George, but when she finds out we're giving her Sofie and Rinoa's old house, she's going to be irate." Daren whispered. Lana was still trying to get over Sofie's death, and now recently this whole business that happened with Rin? No, she was not going to stand for this. Frederick rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"And what would you have me do, Daren? Have George build him a new house and move the entire alchemy lab in there? No, I'm sorry, but Lana is just going to have to live with it. She's lucky she's even still living here at all what with her sister being a murderous harlot," Frederick spat out. It's true. Rinoa did kill William, and Frederick had a right to be upset about that considering he was William's uncle.
"Lana had nothing to do with what Rinoa did. She's the one who told us about it in the first place, remember?" Daren reasoned. "Besides, like Hunter told us, Rinoa's gone now, hundreds of miles away, and she doesn't have her compass. She's completely lost, there's no way she'll be able to survive a week by herself out there."
"But that doesn't bring my nephew back..." Frederick sounded discouraged. Daren could tell William's death took a toll on him, especially when he found out that one of their own was the one to kill him. He placed his hand on Fredrick's shoulder.
"I know, Frederick, I know. Come on, let's go check up on the Alan, see if he's been able to-"
"Finished!" they heard Alan yell out in the other room. Looking at each other incredulously, they walked in to see Alan standing triumphantly with 2 potions in his hand: a potion of healing and a potion of regeneration. Daren could hardly believe his eyes, and looked up at Alan's beaming face.
He finished that fast? ... Who is this guy?
Hunter was laying on the bed in Hunter's Watch's infirmary ward trying not to focus on the pain. Making his way through the nether with a gouge in his shoulder and a severe burn on the side of his head wasn't easy, but it wasn't the hardest thing he's ever had to do since the mob invasion. Still, now that he was back in Hunter's Watch, the damages were starting to take its toll. He had bandaged the wound on his shoulder best he could, but infection had set in and if he didn't do something soon he was beginning to wonder if amputation might be the only solution. As for the burn on his head, well, if the infection did kill him at least he wouldn't have to deal with the pain from his burns anymore. He was certain he also had some muscle damage as well, but compared to the pain in his shoulder and head he could barely notice. Using his good arm, he gently touched his the gauze wrapped around his shoulder.
Squik!
He shuddered. He was pretty sure skin wasn't supposed to sound like a wet rag getting rung out. "Dammit, Rinoa," he muttered to himself. Closing his eyes, he could still see her. Laying on the ground, holding her ribs, cursing at him. And then watching her figure disappear as the nether portal closed around him. He didn't want to do it, but she left him no choice.
"She really gave you hell, didn't she?" Lana spoke up, sitting in the chair next to him. Hunter laughed wearily.
"She's one hell of a fighter, I'll give her that. That being said, if you could do me a favor and run with the lie I told Frederick and the others about me getting this from a zombie pigman and some fire, I'd appreciate it." Lana giggled and nodded, brushing her dark, red hair from her face. She was the only one Hunter felt he could tell the truth to. If Frederick were to find out that Rinoa had his compass and that he had nearly killed Hunter to get it, well, he didn't want to think of what he would do. Lana, though, was Rinoa's sister. If anybody could understand, it was her.
"Thank you, Hunter. I know Frederick wanted you to... you know."
"Yeah, well, Frederick needs to remember that this town is named after me, not him. He may be our leader, but he's not our ruler. Rin was just as much a victim as William and Sofie were. I wasn't about to kill her like that." Of course, he didn't tell Lana how much her sister made him want to kill her, especially after her little stunt with the hatchet to his shoulder. "Say, have you been outside yet? Seen this new alchemist guy we're supposedly getting? Name's 'Alan' from what I heard." He was curious. If this Alan guy was a real deal healer like he claimed he was, he could probably help Hunter with his wounds. Lana's face darkened at this.
"We had an alchemist, Hunter: my sister. Sofie was the only alchemist we needed." Lana spoke, barely able to hide the anger in her voice. She knew it wasn't fair to be angry, Sofie's death wasn't anybody's fault, but she still couldn't help but feel a deep sense of rage burning deep inside her. Hunter awkwardly fidgeted in the bed.
"Yeah, well- yeah... I mean, I was just, you know, wondering if you had seen him is all."
"No, I haven't," she responded back coldly.
Hunter didn't know what to say, so he just turned to look out the window. Lana may not like it, but... He tried moving his shoulder only for the pain to stop him. This alchemist guy might be my best chance.
His concentration was interrupted by someone knocking at his door. "Come in!" he called out. Immediately, Daren and Frederick came in, followed by someone he hadn't seen before. Alan, he assumed. Frederick gave a wave to both Hunter and Lana, greeting them. He then stood aside and let Alan in front of him.
"Alan," Frederick spoke up, "this is Hunter, and that's Lana. Lana, as I told you before, is our redstone engineer, and Hunter is... well... a hunter." Frederick laughed. Alan looked over at the bedridden man and raised his eyebrow, wondering if Frederick was playing a joke on him. Hunter noticed and laughed himself.
"It's true, it's true. A hunter named Hunter. I've heard it all my life, I'm used to it," Hunter always wondered if his parents were having fun when they named him that, considering he was trained as a hunter soon as he could just about walk. Meanwhile, Alan wondered why Frederick was the leader of Hunter's Watch if this guy, Hunter, was the one who the town was named after. He decided it's best not to bring that up.
"Well, it's nice to meet you all. I think I have something that might help you here, Hunter." Alan removed the two potions from his backpack. "Remove your bandage from your shoulder if you would for me, please. I'm gonna see if I can't fix you up." Hunter nodded and tried removing the bandage himself, but with little success. Lana stepped up to help him, much to his gratitude. Alan walked over and inspected the wounds, sitting down next to the chair beside Hunter's bed. The fresh smell of infection filled his nose, a scent he was very familiar with. Taking a closer look at the gash, he could see puss pockets filling up around the jagged edges of the cut... Jagged edges...
"Hmm... Hunter, how did you get this cut again?" Alan asked, looking at the shape of the gash. He noticed Hunter tense up for a second.
"Uh... A zombie pigman. Little bastard sliced me with one of those golden swords they carry around with them when I wasn't looking. Cut me real good, didn't he?" Hunter asked before letting out a nervous laugh. Alan's eyes narrowed.
This cut is way too jagged to be from any sword, he thought. A typical sword would have made a straight line as a slice. This cut was crooked, like it had been hacked with an axe of sorts. Alan could tell he was lying, but...
"Oh well, just curious," he smiled at Hunter before popping the cap off the vial the potion of healing was kept in. "Now, stand still and relax your breathing. This shouldn't sting too much." Alan prepared to pour the vial on the wound. Before he could, however, he felt someone grab his wrist. Hard.
"Wait," the voice said. Alan turned to see Lana staring down at him. Her eyes looked like they were shooting imaginary arrows at him. If looks could kill...
"What's wrong?" Alan asked.
"Did you guys test it before now?" Lana asked, turning to Frederick and Daren. Frederick looked at Daren and watched him shake his head. "No? Then how do you know he isn't trying to poison us?"
"Woah, wait, hold up... what?" Alan asked, trying to tug his arm away from Lana's grip, but to no success. Daren frowned and looked over at Hunter laying on the bed. Hunter shrugged.
"You know, at this point, I don't really even care if it does kill me, so if we could just..."
"We don't know anything about this man, guys. We don't know who his friends are or what he's planning on doing. We know nothing." Lana slowly unsheathed a dagger holstered on her hip, Alan's eyes widened and Daren took a step forward.
"Lana, take it easy now. I don't think Alan's trying to poison anybody," Daren said, trying to appeal to Lana's senses. Lana looked back down at Alan and into his eyes. He's scared. He's hiding something, she thought. After a few tense seconds, Alan felt her grip on his wrist tighten, but then loosen. She smiled.
"You're right, you're right," Lana laughed as Alan let out a sigh of relief. "Still," she continued, "Gotta make sure!" Her grip tightened again and Alan felt his arm tugged back before he saw Lana bury her knife into his forearm near his wrist. The shock and the pain was enough for him to drop the vial on Hunter's bed. Lana quickly pulled the knife back out of his arm and stepped back, just in time for Daren to grab her by the hair and pull her backwards down to the ground.
"Lana! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Daren yelled, peering down at her on the ground.
"He shouldn't have any problems using that health potion if it isn't poison, right? So go ahead, Alan. Use it!" Lana sat up, rubbing her head from where her hair was tugged. She was confident that she had caught him.
Alan was staring down at his wound, still feeling the pain. It was already bleeding heavily, she had definitely cut a vein or two. Scrambling to find the vial that he dropped, he noticed that it, thankfully, landed bottom side down on Hunter's bed, saving the life-saving contents within from spilling out. Not caring about anything but the potion, he leaned over Hunter to grab the vial, before pouring the entire bottle on his wrist. He watched as the red liquid mixed with the blood, creating a tidal wave of crimson on his forearm. There was a loud hissing sound that filled the room. Alan couldn't do anything but stare at his wound, waiting for the potion to do its work. Seconds went by, and he could feel the tissue start to mend itself together. The pain in his wrist started to fade. And then, just like that, the hissing stopped. Still breathing heavily, he used his good hand to wipe away the blood and potion mixture from his wrist. Wiping it away revealed...
"It's gone... completely," Hunter said, amazed. Sure enough, the wound had completely stitched itself together, no more bleeding, not even a scar. All within a matter of about half a minute. Daren, Frederick, and even Lana were all speechless. Alan turned to Lana who was still sitting on the ground and showed her his wrist.
"Good enough for you?" Alan liked to consider himself an easy-going man, but getting stabbed in the wrist for no reason surprisingly put him in a sour mood with Lana. Lana just looked back at him with her eyes on fire as if he was the one to stab her in the wrist. She promptly got up and headed toward the door.
"Lana, wait-" Daren moved to block her.
"Let her go, Daren. Let her go," Frederick ordered, stopping Daren. Lana walked out the door, slamming it behind her. Frederick walked over to Alan and took his forearm in his hands surveying where the wound previously was before. He traced his fingers over the skin feeling for any sort of scarring or bumps or anything. Nothing. "Well," he exclaimed, "I guess you'll just have to make another one for Hunter now," he let go of Alan's arm and patted him on the back. "I am sorry, Alan. Lana has, well, she's gone through a pretty rough few weeks. We all have, in fact. I hope you'll forgive her paranoia and know that I will certainly talk to her about it."
Fuck that, Alan thought to himself. He appreciated it, but the memory of having a knife dug into his wrist by a complete stranger was still fresh to him. It would probably take him a little while to be on speaking grounds with this Lana lady, much less forgiving her.
"Thanks, but you don't have to worry about me making another potion," Alan dug into his backpack and pulled out another potion of healing. "I have a spare that I made a couple months back. Hunter will be just as fine using this one." Alan looked back at Hunter, only to notice that in his panic for the healing potion awhile ago, he had completely bled all over Hunter's bedsheets. "Oh... shit, sorry about that." Hunter shrugged, eyeing the potion.
"Give me that potion and you can piss all over my bedsheets if you want, I don't care." Alan laughed uneasily at the joke, then poured half the potion of healing on Hunter's shoulder, and the other half on Hunter's burn wound on his head. The burn wound healed almost immediately, but the shoulder wound would clearly need another potion of healing or two to fully get rid of the infection and close up the wound. Still, Hunter already felt better.
"My God... that feels amazing," Hunter said, looking at his shoulder as the hissing from the potion subsided. The wound had closed substantially, but not all the way, and the infectious puss had nearly entirely been cleansed. And the pain! The pain had receded so much that he didn't even notice anymore. The burn on the side of his head was completely gone, leaving only a bald splotch where the hair burned off. Hunter didn't care, though, he already felt better.
Daren looked on at this, still shocked. This guy's better than even Sofie was, he thought. He watched Alan describe to Hunter how to properly ingest the potion of regeneration to help for his muscle damage and also infection. Drink potions of regeneration for internal damage such as broken bones, muscle tears, or blood loss, and apply a potion of healing to surface damage wounds, such as cuts. "Remember, a potion of healing won't help you if you drink it," Alan explained, "it'll just give you a bad stomach ache." Hunter nodded, taking a swig of the regeneration potion. Daren looked over to Frederick to see he was already looking at him. Frederick grinned and then gave a thumbs up.
They just found themselves a new member.
"The vote will be held tomorrow about our decision to allow you to stay," Daren explained. He had walked Alan over to his new home, Sofie and Rinoa's old home, and was dropping him off at the front door. Night had already fallen, and another day was over. "That being said, I think I can safely assure you that you'll be accepted. Until then, you'll be on watch. You'll be staying here tonight, and after tomorrow it's all yours. So, don't leave the house tonight under any circumstances. No creeping around, no snooping, no stealing, keep your feet inside this house until I come and collect you tomorrow morning, understood?"
Alan almost couldn't believe what was happening. He had gone from being homeless, sleeping in a cave, to now having his own home and living inside a walled off community, safe from any mobs or griefers. It was all he could do to keep himself from yelling in excitement. "Understood!" He was grinning ear-to-ear. Daren nodded, and began to walk away. "Daren," Alan stopped him. Daren turned around, his eyebrow raised inquisitively. "Thanks," Alan said. Daren sort of just stared for a moment, before giving a slight smile and another nod and then walking off to go relieve Zeke's watch at the gate.
Alan walked into his new home for the first time without an escort. Closing the door behind him, he realized how dark it was. Well, that's no good. Fumbling around in the dark for a few minutes eventually led to him finding some torches and a piece of flint and steel. Striking the steel, he lit up a torch and used it to light the fireplace. It was a cozy house. One bedroom with two mattresses. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were all grouped together in one room, with a small lounge area and a fireplace. Of course, the house made up for its size with the huge size of its basement. Thinking of the basement got Alan thinking.
"I should make some potions tonight and offer them as gifts for the others tomorrow at the vote," he thought aloud. He figured the only two people whose vote he might not have would be Lana (for sure) and "George" the mason that he never got to meet. Still, he was certain that maybe a potion of speed or a potion of strength for everybody would be enough to show them that he intended to make himself useful. Making his way down to the basement, torch in hand, he made it to the alchemy lab. Placing the torch on the sconce on the wall, he started looking around to try and find the blaze powder. He knew he had seen it in one of these chests. Digging around in them, Alan could tell that the previous alchemist, Sofie, was not very organized. The blaze powder was in the same chest as the gunpowder, a big no-no. Alan mumbled profanities to himself as he tried to sort through all of it.
Making his way to the chest marked as "poison," he decided he might as well organize that chest too. While sorting through some jars of spider eyes, he felt the glass slip through his fingers. He tried to catch the jar as it fell, but only succeeded in swatting it away. Alan closed his eyes and waited for the terrible sound of crashing glass, but thankfully the jar's glass was so thick that it bounced off the floor... only for it to roll behind one of the chests in the corner of the room. Alan's relief faded into annoyance and he let out an exasperated groan as he made his way over to the chest. Grabbing it from the sides, he pulled the chest out away from the wall to get to the jar. The chest, of course, was heavier than he imagined and he had to strain quite a bit just to get it to budge. Finally, after about a minute, he was able to move it enough to fit his arm through the crack. Peering into the crack, he could barely see anything, not enough light in the room. He reached in there, feeling around for the jar. He felt his fingertips brush up against something... wooden?
"What the hell?" Alan muttered. Is that a stick? He grabbed the wooden shaft and pulled on it until it clicked. In that instance, an entire wall on the left side of the alchemy lab whooshed open, making Alan jump from the sudden noise. Cursing, he looked over his shoulder to see a giant hole in the wall. "Oh shit, shit, shit, did I break that?!" Alan panicked. Rushing over to the wall to see the damages, he realized that this wasn't a hole at all. Looking into the darkness, he could see a tunnel, several meters long, with a red light at the end of it. A hidden entrance to a hidden room? Alan thought. Looking behind him to make sure that nobody had heard the noise and was coming to check on him, Alan turned back toward the secret tunnel. It was dark, but there was a definite light at the very end. Gulping, Alan took a step forward. And then another. And then another. Before he knew it, Alan was halfway down the dark hallway. Peering once again over his shoulder, this time to check to make sure that the entrance wouldn't close behind him, Alan decided to press on and soon found himself in a rather sinister looking red room.
The room was lit, but barely. There were several redstone torches on the walls still burning, casting a dark, red light over the entire room except for the back corner. The room itself was probably 60 square feet, big enough for a decent sized office. As for the contents, the only thing he could see was a single desk and chair positioned against the left side of the wall. What the hell were you hiding back here, Sofie? Walking cautiously over to the desk, he looked for anything of interest. All he saw on the desk was a single book. He picked it up and opened it to the first page. The lighting made it a little hard to read, but he could make out enough to tell that this was a field journal of sorts. He read on.
"Day: 696
My name is Sofie Carr, and this is my journal. I'm writing this because I believe that I am on the breakthrough of a massive discovery, a discovery that can change the world back to how it used to be... I believe that I am close to finding a cure for zombism. No, I'm not crazy. My training in alchemy has led me to believe that I can create a cure. The question is: What ingredients are needed? This journal will chronicle my findings and experiments. THIS JOURNAL IS FOR MY EYES ONLY! Yes, that means you too, Rin."
"Holy shit," Alan whispered. This Sofie girl was on the verge of something big before she died. A cure for zombism? Is that even possible? Alan went to turn the next page, he had to read more. What did she find out? How close was she? And what was the point of having this desk in a dark, dreary room hidden away in the basement?
And that's when he heard it...
"Grrraaaaghh..." Alan's blood went cold as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He could recognize that raspy, shrill moan sound just as well as anyone still alive in Minecraftia could. Zombie.
Alan spun around trying to locate the source of the noise. He reached for his boot dagger, only to remember that it's not there, and neither was his sword. Sweat beads were forming on his head and his breathing became rapid. He felt as if it were right behind him. He stood completely still, waiting to hear any footsteps or see any movement in the dark, red room. Instead, however, he heard clashing. Like something smashing against iron, and he could tell where it was coming from. The dark corner. Turning to the lightless edge of the room, he strained his eyes to see anything, but to no avail. Picking up one of the redstone torches from the sconce on the wall, he walked over to the corner, still prepared to jump and run at a moment's notice. He raised the redstone torch and gasped.
"Holy shit, Sofie... What the hell did you do?"
A male zombie, imprisoned behind metal bars in a cage just barely big enough to hold him with a steel chain wrapped around his neck fastened to a wall. The zombie lunged, only to get choked by his own leash. Reaching his hand out in a swiping motion, the Zombie clawed at the iron cage bars, wailing out a pitiful moan. Alan's breath stopped for a split second in horror.
Is it too late to go back?
Next Chapter: The Iron Princess