Chapter 4: Escape!

The hooded people- the "agents"- fanned out around Blake, drawing weapons from their cloaks. They wielded swords like he'd never seen before, with short, curved iron blades instead of the traditional straight edge. Although they were smaller than his stone sword, the weapons his enemies carried looked much more compact and easier to carry-

He jolted, quickly sidestepping a slash from one of Ray's peons. Now was not the time to be distracted by small details. Blake shoved the hooded man into another who had tried to close the gap, frantically looking around for an escape route. The group had him effectively cornered against an impenetrable wall of tree debris and roots, and he couldn't go anywhere without forcing his way through them.

Two more agents charged. He brought up his sword to parry one of their strikes, grimacing as he felt the stone blade chip on impact. The second enemy stabbed at him from the right, only missing her mark when Blake threw himself forward against the agent he'd blocked. Both of them stumbled back, nearly losing their footing in the loose bark and twigs below. While the maneuver had saved Blake from the stab, it had done little to improve his position; Ray and his other cohorts had surrounded him in the meantime.

"Crap…"

Still in imminent danger from the man he was up against, Blake drove a knee as hard as he could into the agent's stomach. His enemy coughed and staggered, and a firm strike to the head with the pommel of Blake's sword sent him to the ground almost instantly.

"Enough messing around," Ray said. "Don't make this harder for yourself than it has to be; we'll make it as painless as we can. Finish him off!"

Time seemed to slow down as the agents closed in all around him. A pleasant, warm sensation spread from Blake's chest to his limbs, while his mind became clear of worry. Despite the fight for his life, he was inexplicably at peace. Somewhere within, he swore he could feel the item he'd absorbed guiding him. His attention traced across the ground, over leaf litter and scraps of bark, to a single intact leaf block that had gone unnoticed. Ray himself was stepping over it in that prolonged moment on his way to attack him-

A pillar of leaves about four blocks tall sprang from the ground. Ray was thrown into the air, landing in a heap a good distance away. A gap had been formed in the group's ranks, between two other hooded people who were paused in utter alarm. Seizing the opportunity, Blake made a run for it.

He wasn't sure if he was headed the way he'd came or not, but all that mattered was putting more distance between him and his pursuers. As he pushed his way through saplings and low-hanging branches, it occurred to Blake that the leaf block had grown as if in response to his concentration. The actual moment hadn't lasted more than a second, but everything felt so slow at the time.

"It must have been because of the 'Core' I have. I wonder if…"

The agents' footsteps crunched across the leaves not far behind him. Panicked, Blake looked for something else to experiment on. He settled for a small patch of grass just ahead that hadn't been completely buried under the debris. Once he'd passed over it, he gave the patch a hard stare.

To his amazement, the grass almost instantaneously shot up to just below his height. Perhaps more impressively, it had thickened so as not to fall over from its own weight. There was now a very tall, very dense clump of weeds between him and his pursuers. Encouraged, he kept running.

"What could they be after this thing for? Where did they even come from? How long has it been in these woods? Did the gang and I just never explore deep enough to find it?"

He couldn't fathom an answer to any of those questions. Blake forced himself not to let his mind wander any further; he'd have time to consider recent events once he was safe. If he made it that far.

Whenever he had the chance, he would use his newfound power to grow another obstruction behind him as he ran. To his dismay, the results weren't always as spectacular as he'd hoped. Grass blocks would sprout clusters of weeds and flowers, while stray saplings grew into small trees in his wake. The sizes of his makeshift barriers never remained consistent, and sometimes they never worked at all. One patch of grass seemed unresponsive to his concentration, and Blake only moved on from it when he realized lingering in an attempt to make the Core work was doing the opposite of buying himself time. He could still hear the agents in the distance.

Blake vaulted over a fallen log, only to nearly scream at the sight of a spider scuttling out from behind it and giving chase.

"G-get AWAY from me!" he yelped, focusing again.

Luck seemed to be in his favor this time, as his power caused the felled tree to sprout a branch. It sprang out, striking the spider almost like it had thrown a punch. The mob was knocked onto its back, allowing Blake to frantically stab at it until only a rather unsightly mess remained. Still fighting the urge to hyperventilate, he kept running.

"A spider. Why a spider?! What happened to all the zombies?!"

There was a clearing in the foliage further ahead, suggesting the forest was growing thinner. He sprinted as fast as he could…

…straight into another person who had suddenly appeared in his path. Blake felt the pain in his forehead a moment after he hit the ground.

"Ow! O-oh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Rubbing the stars out of his eyes, he scrambled to draw his sword.

"Please, don't be alarmed! I'm not a mob, I'm a human! See?"

Current circumstances didn't make that much more comforting, but when he finally got a better look at the newcomer, Blake could tell she at least didn't resemble his pursuers. She was a young woman in a frilly, marble-white dress that ended at her knees. Her hair was long and a deeper red than he'd ever seen, contrasting against her pale skin and dark brown eyes. The girl spoke with a slightly posh accent as she sized him up.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I should have looked where I was going. Are you okay?"

Blake got to his feet in a hurry, glancing over his shoulder. He could hear the growling of zombies nearby. They were standing at the edge of the clearing, where the sun was exposed through a gap in the trees. The small circle of light would ward off mob attacks for the moment, but it hardly put him at ease.

"I'll be fine, but we shouldn't stay here. There are these crazy people in hoods and masks following me, and-"

The girl blanched. "So there are Usurpation members here? Did they find a-"

"Lady Celia!"

Someone else was on her heels, namely a blond-haired boy dressed in light leather armor. Very light; his suit didn't include leggings, just plain tan pants. The most notable aspect of his armor was a small, silver badge on his chestplate shaped like a four-pointed star. He paused upon reaching them, gasping for breath.

"Don't… run off again right now, please…"

Blake stared at them. The pair were about his age, if a bit younger. There were no villages in that area, so where had they come from?

"Who's this?" the boy asked.

"Now's a bad time," Blake said, looking hastily over his shoulder. "The mobs are still out there, and those people are coming."

The redheaded girl- Celia- nodded. "He's right. He says the Usurpation are here, and that they've been chasing him."

That word again. Who were these two, and how did they know his assailants?

"Found you."

Blake spun, gripping his weapon. Ray and his six underlings had just emerged from the forest's ruins, spreading out in an arc again. The man he'd struck in the head was back on his feet, but clearly worse for wear; his mask sported a noticeable dent.

"More Inlanders?" Ray asked, brushing a few leaves off of his cloak. "Is this your backup? It won't help, thief. We've come too far to let that Genesis Core slip through our fingers."

"You… miscreants!" shouted Celia, suddenly brandishing an iron sword. "Do you know who I am?"

Blake saw her companion's eyes widen. "Don't-!"

"Let me handle this, Felix. I am Celia Lumis, the Countess of Luxmouth!"

Silence fell over the group. The agents muttered something to one another, while Ray looked at her closely. "The Ever-Glowing City…" he said quietly. "If you say you're the Countess…"

Celia's friend looked some combination of shocked, dismayed, and terrified. Blake had no idea who any of these people were or what was going on, but he got the sense she'd said something she shouldn't have.

Ray chuckled. "Is that true? Well then, it seems we'll be able to double our catch. Agents, non-lethally subdue her. Lime-2 through 4, attack. Limes 5, 7, and 8, defend. Go!"

Blake readied himself again, shouting to the newcomers. "I'll back you up!"

The redhead- Celia- nodded and raised her own sword. Her stance was poised and steady, but her composure didn't quite show in her expression.

"I just hope they can fight, too…"

Three of the agents approached. Ray prowled behind them, while the last three members of the team turned toward the woods. Blake found himself side-by-side with Celia, parrying rapid strikes from the hooded trio. Although his muscle memory in sword-fighting was beginning to come back, it wasn't quite enough to let him do more than remain on the defensive. Celia seemed to be holding her own as well, but the pair were being steadily driven back into the middle of the clearing. Felix leaped at one of the attackers from the side with a stone axe, only for the agent to effortlessly block his wild swing and kick him in the chest. He was sent sprawling, not achieving more than a temporary distraction. Their chances already weren't looking good.

The agent who had singled out Blake scored a glancing blow on his side. He hissed in pain, grabbing her sword arm by the wrist with his free hand before she could draw back for another strike. She responded in kind, leaving the two locked in a grapple while Blake continued to backpedal across more forest debris. As the sun shone onto them, he could see her eyes through the holes in her mask. They were blue and cold, focused on him with a glower.

Focused on him, and not on the stray leaf blocks at their feet. Blake grew another leaf pillar, this time horizontally so as to sweep her legs out from below. In fact, all three agents tripped onto their stomachs in unison thanks to his impromptu trap.

"Did you do that?!" Celia gasped. "You absorbed the Genesis Core!"

The skirmish had left her visibly disheveled, but she at least didn't seem injured. Blake, meanwhile, could feel the cut on his side bleeding. "I really have no idea what any of this is about," he said.

He concentrated again. The three agents were attempting to get back up, but the leaf blocks burst out like he'd done to the spider. They were thrown a short distance away, landing hard next to Ray as he watched with a frown.

Felix was on his feet again, tremblingly holding his axe. "Zombies! All around us!"

Blake tensed up. The clearing offered a small respite from the giant tree's shade, but the sounds of the fight had attracted a horde of the undead. At least twenty zombies surrounded them, waiting just beyond the sunlight's reach. If a cloud were to pass overhead at the wrong spot, there would be nothing stopping the zombies from swarming in.

"Sir!" one of the three agents at the rear yelled. "We may not be able to hold them off!"

"Then I'll make this quick," Ray said.

Blake felt something snag underfoot, and he hit the ground a moment later. Celia and Felix had also been tripped, to his alarm, by a cluster of extremely long grass blades which had tangled around their feet like shackles. Ray approached, smirking. "You have no precision with the Bonemeal Core, crude plant growth is all you're capable of. My Grass Core is more refined, more specific. I can exercise more control than you could ever imagine."

While on his back, Blake looked at the sky above. The sun continued to shine into the clearing, but the treetops were close enough together to give him an idea. A desperate, desperate idea.

"I might die one way or another… it's worth a shot!"

He focused all of the Bonemeal Core's energy he could muster on the branches overhead. They grew at his command, spreading inwards and extending leaf and log blocks every which way until a snug canopy had been formed. No light could shine through now.

All around them, the zombies snarled and rushed in. Ray and his agents almost immediately stopped focusing on the trio, closing ranks to defend against the horde. That gave Blake time to hack apart the weeds around their feet.

"Brilliant!" Celia said. "Now, we really should be going!"

A zombie shambled toward her from behind, only to be cut down by an axe swing from Felix. "Come on!" he said, already running toward the ruined forest's exit.

Celia was right behind him, as was Blake. He had a hand over his wound the whole time, grimacing at the sight of blood leaking onto his dark skin. They ran past more zombies, and arrows whizzed by from skeletons concealed in the woods, but nothing impeded their escape.

Nothing save for a mossy quadruped which blocked the way just as the end of the trees came into view. The creeper's eyes, soulless and black, narrowed at them. It scuttled forward, hissing.

Blake fumbled through his inventory for the skeleton's bow, drawing an arrow back on the frail string. The wound stung fiercely, disrupting his aim, and his shot went over the mob's head. Clenching his jaw, he tried again. His second arrow embedded in its torso, but the creeper continued to charge. As Blake drew the bow for a third time, its string snapped outright and the arrow clumsily fired into a tree.

"Have any more arrows?" Felix asked. "Let me use them!"

With his vision becoming shaky from the injury, he passed over his last three arrows. Felix, in quick succession, set up a dispenser and a button on the ground. Three frantic presses later, the creeper went down with a total of four wooden shafts protruding from its body. Now that the path was clear, they finally broke free of the forest.

Blake squinted. They had made it to the beach, and the sun was still high. The waves gently lapped over the sand, jarringly tranquil after their harrowing escape. Even the shore itself appeared smoother than expected, a series of blurring lines instead of blocks presenting themselves to the trio.

"Oh…"

He realized it was his vision that had blurred. The wound continued to bleed, more so than he'd realized. All Blake heard as he stumbled forward was Celia crying out in alarm, then consciousness left him.