Chapter 32: Luxmouth's Story

Following Jels' directions, Cupa led the party down the dirt passage. Melissa had seen enough of Teras to get a sense of the town's structure, so she wasn't surprised when their destination wound up being a featureless, cramped hole with room for only a pair of wool mats and dark oak logs on the floor.

Two people were inside, neither of whom bore even a passing resemblance to Cupa. One had clearly been a zombie: his skin had a distinctly greenish hue, and his dark hair was patchy and uneven. The other wasn't as easy for Melissa to identify: his whole body alternated between a deep blue and a dull white, and thin, membranous flaps of skin grew between his torso and his misshapen underarms. Both of them looked middle-aged at least, and given their incomplete transformations they were possibly two of the first few mobs experimented on.

"Meet Rot and Dusk, humans," said Cupa, respectively gesturing to them. "They're the chiefs, and my dads!"

Melissa had the closest link to Teras- as close as her brother's brief encounter could be considered, anyway- so she extended a hand first. Dusk stared at it for a second, but shook with a limp grip. She had to force herself not to flinch at the touch; his palm was cold and eerily soft.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Melissa Beryl- my companions are Celia Lumis, Felix Silverhand, and… Blake."

"Just Blake," the latter added, not moving from where he leaned beside the doorway.

"I see you've met our daughter," Rot said, ruffling Cupa's hair. "How did that happen?"

She didn't quite return the enthusiastic greeting, but looked at her feet with a gulp. "I-I might've had the other scouts drop them into water from the canopy…"

Dusk's eyes, bright green and unblinking, were locked onto her. "You what?"

"They were walking on top of the trees! Don't you always say not to do that? What if the Illagers saw them?"

"What if they thought you were an enemy? You know how humans see monsters, you could've been killed," Dusk retorted.

Between the hidden town, the transformed mobs, the Genesis Cores, and the looming Illagers, things were complicated enough in Teras. Melissa spoke again before the situation could escalate. "It was just a misunderstanding, sirs. We don't blame her for anything. In fact, we're here to discuss an alliance with your village."

Dusk's mouth opened like he was about to argue, but Rot gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Take it easy. If they haven't run screaming from the sight of us already, they might not be hostile. Let's hear them out."

Celia repeated what they'd told Cupa earlier about the Usurpation and the need for reinforcements. Melissa could see Felix and Blake in the corner of the room, silently watching the discussion. The latter in particular had a faraway look in his eyes, like when the politics began his attention faded.

"I fear we may have been too presumptuous," Celia said after she'd brought them up to speed. "Meaning no disrespect, but I would not feel comfortable asking the people of your village to fight."

Rot shook his head. "None taken. We don't have it easy here, not when we have to stay hidden so much. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure there's anything we can offer you."

"They seem interested in the dirt ball," Cupa told the chiefs, before turning to Melissa. "Do you know what it is?"

She didn't, so she looked to Celia and Blake. Neither of them were quick to speak up- in fact, it was Felix who answered.

"We've been looking for items like it, which we call Genesis Cores. They come in pairs, and manipulate a certain element or type of block. The Usurpation wants them too, but… to tell you the truth, we're not sure what they really are, or even where they came from."

Dusk crossed his arms. "We always thought the Illagers made them. There's a few more in that mansion, but I was only able to grab the one when I escaped."

"I remember that," Rot said, cracking a smile. "I also remember you were still holding onto it while I had to carry you out on my back."

"And that was after I took an arrow for you. You weren't paying attention to the pillager."

"Anyway!" Cupa cut in. "What do you two think? We could use their help freeing the other Turned, and they want more of those core thingies. They even gave us a bunch more stuff."

Melissa nodded. "My family is from the city of Tenebyss, where we manage ore mining efforts. We won't ask you to fight in our war, but if you'd be willing to lend us the Genesis Core our company will compensate Teras tremendously. You'll be able to develop your town, and won't have to live in the dirt anymore."

"And my father is the d- er, the chief of Luxmouth," Celia added. "I will speak with him about providing more aid for your people."

Dusk folded his arms. "And what about the Illagers? You can make all the promises for the future you like, but right now our top priority is rescuing the Turned still trapped in their fortress. Will you help us save them?"

"Taking on a woodland mansion's not going to be easy," Blake replied. "We'll need to prepare well. Weapons, armor, food, other supplies… not to mention we don't know what kind of fortifications we're up against."

Cupa raised a hand, bouncing on her heels. "I can show you what we've got to work with! There's all the stuff in the pile, and we have some more items hidden away in the village. Maybe you can figure something out."

The negotiations weren't going as expected, and it didn't look like they'd be able to bring more troops after all. But if more Genesis Cores could be obtained, maybe going there wouldn't have been for nothing.

"Felix," Celia began, tapping her chin in thought, "why don't you and Blake take inventory? If we can put together enough equipment, we might be able to mount an attack on the mansion after all. Melissa and I will continue to arrange our future alliance with Teras," at this, she looked back at Rot and Dusk, "if you would allow it, sirs."

Rot chortled. "Cupa, you've brought some interesting people here. Show them what we have."

"Okay! Right this way, humans!"

She left the room in a hurry, perhaps before Dusk could interject again. Blake and Felix gave each other a shrug as they followed her out.

"Well, she's certainly enthusiastic," remarked Celia, scratching her head.

"I've been trying to teach her to show more restraint. Clearly my lessons haven't stuck," Dusk said.

Rot leaned against him, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Cut the kid some slack; she might've just gotten us our first real allies." He glanced at Melissa again. "Beryl, huh? You're related to that other young man she met a year ago?"

"He's my brother. I came here to find you on his behalf, but he didn't know the whole story about your village. He even thought Cupa was the leader."

Dusk sighed, yet his mouth twitched like he was trying not to smile. "A delusion of grandeur. She's not trying to replace us already, I hope."

"Let's get back to business," said Rot, not at all hiding his own grin. "You say your two cities will be able to help us once you're done handling the Usurpation Army?"

"You have our word," Melissa replied. "After the war is over, cooperation will be more important than ever. The Overworld came together to rebuild when the last war ended, and I think it'll happen again."

Dusk's lapse in demeanor ended, and his more stoic visage returned. "Another war? Is this not the first time you've battled the Usurpation?"

"No, it is. Well before I was born, my parents had to contend with another enemy army," explained Celia. "An army which, it seems, has returned…"

Rot took a seat on one of the wool mats, and gestured for her and Melissa to sit as well. Unsure where he was going with this, the two settled onto the logs and tried to make themselves comfortable. Dusk, after a moment, sat beside his partner.

"Would you mind telling us more?" Rot asked. "I don't remember much of my time as a zombie, but I know I never went far from the shade of the trees. If I used to be a normal human before that… I have no memory from back then, either. It'd be nice to learn what's been happening outside of this forest."

Celia didn't reply. Her mouth hung half open, but it was as if the words needed to be forced from her. Melissa put a hand on hers, leaning a bit closer. "Hey. It's okay, you don't have to talk about it…"

"No. I am fine, Melissa… I can speak of the war, or at least what I've heard." She cleared her throat and began, while the chiefs listened closely. "A very long time ago, these lands were one kingdom called Lux. Little about that era is recorded, and even less is remembered, but what we do know is the royal family maintained power with the help of five noble houses. They were known as Igniz, Aurora, Tempest, Damascus, and Lumis."

Melissa's heart ached. She and her family were outsiders to the history of Luxmouth and its neighbors, but she knew very well where the discussion would lead. It wasn't even something she'd spoken of with Celia personally; hearing her talk about it for the first time was nerve-wracking.

"Nowadays," she continued, "the kingdom has fallen, and the royal family is dead. House Lumis has only two nobles left: me, and my father."

"And… the others…?" Rot asked, in a tone suggesting he knew the answer.

A change came over Celia. None of her normal energy, or even a façade of dignity, was present. She was scowling, her eyes not meeting anyone else's and her tightened fists trembling.

"Dead, at the hands of the Ender Forge."

"Well," Cupa thought as she left the room, "I think this is going great!"

She recalled almost nothing from her time as a creeper, but even she knew about the hostility mobs and humans had for one another. While none of the Turned retained that old instinct, whether any outsiders would fear them was still a concern for the chiefs. Dusk especially had always told her to be wary of those beyond Teras, who might mistake her for a threat.

It appeared they had nothing to worry about with this group, however. The chief-to-be Celia and her friends sounded eager to cooperate if it meant getting more of those magic orbs, which suited Cupa just fine. As she walked through the tunnels toward the central chamber, she cast a smile to the two boys following behind her.

"We'll reach the pile first, and then you can see the dirt ball. Or… what'd you call it, a gravelly core?"

"Genesis Core," said Blake. "Though the Usurpation would probably give it a more specific name, like the Dirt Core. Hm… doesn't sound very intimidating, does it? Not like the ones Felix and Celia have."

"To be fair, it's probably more practical than mine," Felix replied. "Without a lot of diamonds nearby, it's basically useless."

Cupa blinked. "You mean you've got more of these on you?"

Felix gestured to his chest. "I have one that controls diamonds, Lady Celia can conjure fireballs, and we also have a Core which can apparently shoot lightning bolts. Nobody's using that one right now, since we don't have a way to safely remove it."

"What, are they stuck to you?" she asked, even more interested. "We've never had a problem putting the dirt ball down after using it."

"Genesis Cores can be bound to anybody who holds one against themselves," Blake explained. "If you don't have a special tool to remove them, the only way to get rid of one is for the wielder to die. I used to have one that made plants grow quickly, and the Usurpation was trying to kill me for it. They wound up stealing it anyway once I got it out."

A shiver ran down Cupa's back. "Ugh. Creepy… good thing it's not stuck to any of us. We just use it by holding it out in front of the dirt we need to move."

"I didn't even know you could do that. We'll have to keep it in mind," Felix said.

"Yeah… my dads always tell me not to mess around with it, though. They said it could be dangerous."

Blake cringed. "They're right. We've seen what can happen when they go out of control. I found the plant-growing one when it made a tree spring up to the size of a mountain."

She had no idea what a mountain was, but it sounded big to her.

They reached the pile again, where they found more Turned lingering about. Among them were a boy and a girl with black, messy hair, rummaging through the items. Their red eyes were wide in excitement as they pulled up assorted blocks, but both went very stiff when they saw Cupa approaching.

"Hey, Spike. Jels says you had him do your job today," she said. "How many times have I told you? No goofing off."

"But it's important!" the boy protested, holding up an armful of oak logs. "Mindy 'n me are building a tower to see Illagers coming!"

"And it won't be taller than the trees this time, so they won't spot it back!" added his partner in crime.

The two former spiders were among Teras' youngest residents, and were from the final batch of Turned the Illagers experimented on. Though the chiefs had declared they wouldn't be able to join scouting parties for a few more years, their agility and small statures made the pair valuable lookouts from the many hidden entrances. If only they were able to stay focused on the task.

"Remember what Dusk said about towers? They'll stand out too much, so the Illagers will find the town no matter how tall they are," she replied.

"What if you built into a tree?"

She, Spike, and Mindy all turned around. While Blake had busied himself inspecting the pile's contents, Felix appeared to have been listening closely to their discussion. With the attention on him, he sounded a little awkward when he elaborated. "If remaining hidden is the priority, you could try hollowing out the trunk and some of the top leaves in a thick oak tree. You'll be able to keep an eye on the area without giving yourselves away."

An image formed in Cupa's mind as he described it, and the more thought she gave the idea the better it sounded. The kids must have felt the same: they were bouncing on their heels and scooping up blocks even as the ones they'd already grabbed were tumbling back into the pile.

"That sounds cool!" Mindy giggled. "We'll make the tree our fort, let's go!"

Cupa grabbed their shoulders before they could scamper off. "Not so fast. I like the sound of that too, but we should see what the chiefs think first. They're busy right now, so we'll do that later. In the meantime, Spike, don't you have something else to be doing?"

He put down all of the blocks with a pout. "Yes, I know… I'll go be the lookout again."

"Thanks, and be sure to say sorry to Maxil. I had her take over when Jels told us you weren't there."

Spike's palpable enthusiasm hadn't fully left as he wandered away; Cupa just hoped he'd be able to stay put and keep an eye out until her parents were done negotiating. As for Mindy, she turned her to face the tunnel beside the one leading to the entryway. "I've got a job for you too. Do you know where the dirt ball is? I need you to go get it for me."

"Okay! I'll be right back!"

She ran off too, leaving Cupa and the two guests alone in the pile. Blake was sorting through a few items, muttering something to himself as he examined them, while Felix watched the kids go with a smile.

"That was some quick thinking," Cupa told him. "You must be a great builder after all, if you came up with a plan that easily."

Whatever reaction she'd expected, it wasn't the uncertain sort of half-bow he gave her. "T-thank you, Lady Cupa. I just told them something I was taught at their age, that's all. My sister showed me how work with the environment-"

"'Lady' Cupa?" she asked with a raised brow. "Is that what you call all the girls you know?"

He frowned. "Er… no, it's a formality. I use the title for Lady Celia because she's nobility- and since you're in line to lead this town, I figured you're also a noble of sorts."

Cupa snorted, elbowing him in the ribs. That was equal parts hilarious and, dare she say, a little charming. "Pft! No need for that here; I'm just another Turned. I'm not the chief yet, you know?"

Felix nodded, almost looking more relaxed now. "Okay then… Cupa."

"Also, you have a sister?" she asked. "Your dads didn't teach you how to build?"

His grin faded quickly, despite his efforts to fake it. "Uh… I don't have two fathers. I don't… I don't even have one. My older sister raised me."

She didn't know what to say. Blake looked up from the pile with a worried expression. "Felix…?"

"I guess I should've explained by now," Felix told him, "why Em and I run the business. And what happened to Lady Celia's mother."

Blake stood quickly. "You don't need to-"

"No, I should. I've never talked about it before, so this isn't a bad way to start." He looked at Cupa again, and she could see the pain in his eyes. "If… you don't mind me opening up a little, that is."

Words failed her again, so she just nodded. This sounded important, and if she wanted Teras to make friends with other settlements, getting to know the people there seemed like a good start to Cupa.

"I guess I should start a little further back," Felix said, "around the time of the Ender Forge War."

"It all began 36 years ago in Tenebyss," Celia explained. "Unknown soldiers dressed as Endermen took control of the city, but they didn't seem interested in enslaving the populace. They… they slaughtered every inhabitant they could find, and from the mines staged an invasion of the neighboring settlements."

Melissa didn't let go of her trembling hand. She couldn't think of any other way to comfort Celia than to just be there for her while she recounted the story to Rot and Dusk. The war was something she'd never heard more than whispers about in Tenebyss, too recent and too painful for the populace to speak of.

"To this day we know neither where they came from nor what they truly wanted, but their targets appeared to be the five noble families. And the first to fall was House Damascus. Each member of the family was killed except the youngest daughter, Minerva. She only survived because she'd been betrothed to the Count of Luxmouth at the time, Xavier Lumis, and had left Tenebyss to meet him." She paused. "They are my parents."

Even before Melissa had met Celia, she'd felt nothing but respect for the late House Damascus, said to have led Tenebyss wisely in their day. Her family had arrived from further south seeking a new business venture, only to discover the ruined city and what scarce inhabitants remained in the aftermath of the war. She'd heard from Galen that there was a concern the company would seek to exploit the ravaged settlement, but good judgement had prevailed in the end. While TOEC may have grown to be a substantial power in the region, her father had always tried his hardest to let the company operate alongside Tenebyss, not over it.

Despite that, she'd never quite shaken a subtle guilt at the notion of her family profiting off the mines after such a catastrophe, and hearing about it from someone whose family had suffered so much only made Melissa feel worse.

"The remaining four houses banded together to avenge Damascus," Celia continued, "but the Ender Forge was tenacious. Cunning. And they seemed to be everywhere in hiding, ready to strike again. Whether by assassinations, mob traps, or even blunt demolition with fire and TNT, Houses Aurora, Igniz, and Tempest fell to them. House Lumis was nearly wiped out as well. Soon, only Xavier and Minerva remained of the noble families."

"It sounds as if the Ender Forge should have won," said Dusk. "What happened, then?"

"The war lasted five years, yet the end seemed to come as abruptly as the beginning. Nobody quite knows why, but the Ender Forge one day seemed to dissolve overnight. Its army vanished without a trace, and whoever was in charge was never identified. The territories of old Lux were left to rebuild, and to wonder why any of it had happened in the first place."

"And now the Ender Forge is back," Melissa thought, "just in time for these new enemies to invade. Were they waiting for the right time to strike again? If they need to rely on the Usurpation, their army must not be nearly as big as it was…"

Celia went on. "Without the noble families, each settlement had to reorganize under new leadership. Tenebyss was almost completely destroyed, with the few surviving inhabitants having fled to its neighbors during the war. The damage wrought by the Ender Forge took years to recover from, but with cooperation, the cities were able to rebuild."

She paused and wiped her eyes. Melissa's heart sank even further; the story of the war was over, but she knew what came next.

"But there was one more tragedy Luxmouth would face."

"Once the war was over and reparations were complete, Duke Xavier married Countess Minerva, who became the Duchess of Luxmouth. Lady Celia was born soon after, when things were finally looking up again."

Blake's little village seemed utterly insignificant. Just across the sea where he grew up, a kingdom had risen and fell, alliances were made, wars were fought- the more he listened to Felix's story, the more he felt everything was bigger than him here. He'd been a little overwhelmed by the bustle of Luxmouth, but he never could have imagined just how much had taken place. That wasn't to say he was jealous. If anything, Blake felt a little guilty having lived such a comparatively quiet and peaceful life.

"And when she was barely over a year old- when I was just a few months old- a plague hit Luxmouth," Felix continued, suddenly much quieter. "It spread across the city within weeks, and the people affected seemed to just… wither away, like their very vitality was being sapped. So many deaths… including Duchess Minerva, and my parents. It came and went quickly, and why or how it started was never found out." He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Sounds like a certain army that invaded beforehand, doesn't it?"

Blake felt like he was going to be sick. "Felix… I…"

"I don't remember any of it, and I doubt Lady Celia does- we were too young at the time. But Emily was twelve at the time. She and I were lucky enough not to get sick… after that, she raised me herself. Friends and neighbors helped her, of course, but otherwise… it's just been the two of us."

Nobody said a word. Cupa hiccupped, looking as if she would burst into tears any moment.

"Sorry," Felix said. "I know that got pretty heavy…"

Blake wanted to do something. Hug him? Offer condolences? Say he was glad his friends were spared from the plague? No gesture he could think of would begin to make things any better.

"Um… Cupa? I'm back."

Mindy had returned, carrying a purple Genesis Core. She trotted over and handed it to Cupa, who wordlessly accepted it.

"I never knew my real parents either," Blake somehow found the strength to say. "My friends and I were all adopted by villagers when we were infants. But… man, we never had to go through anything like that."

He wasn't sure what kind of response that would get, but it didn't matter. A second later, the sound of a bell reverberated through the tunnels. The Terasi present all tensed up and crouched low to the ground.

"Spike must've heard Illagers coming," Cupa whispered. "We have a few narrow roofs here and there to listen for them. They've passed by us before and never found the town, so just stay quiet until the all-clear is given."

Blake wasn't sure he could have spoken again anyway. He drew his sword, staying crouched like the others as a series of muffled footsteps passed overhead- even if his hearing wasn't as good as the Terasi, a wandering Illager team wasn't exactly discrete. One of them grunted something he couldn't make out, and the march continued over him. The patrol had overshot their position.

The next instant, the ceiling exploded. Dirt and grass rained onto the pile from above, and whatever dim light the forest let through shone in. Blake and Felix dove for cover, while Cupa shoved Mindy out of the way. The rest of the Terasi screamed and backed into corners of the room, or fled outright to the other tunnels.

An Illager dropped in through the hole, brandishing an axe. He cast a glance around at them, sneering, then shouted to the sky. "We've got 'em! Everyone in!"

They'd been found.