Chapter 34: Inland Alliance, Part 1

"Dad?"

The old villager looked up from the beetroot soup he was preparing. "What is it, Blake?"

"Why do the Illagers hate us?"

He didn't get an answer immediately. His adoptive father brought a bowl over to the table where Blake was and sat across from him. "Why do you ask?"

Blake looked down. "We almost ran into a group of them today. They didn't see us, but we had to hide for a while before they moved on."

"Were they near the village?" His father's face creased in worry.

"No, we were pretty far. Out by the mushroom biome… Mark said we should've taken them out before they got any closer, but Alice told us it was too dangerous."

"She's a smart girl, I'm glad you all listened to her. As for your question… I wish I had an easy answer. The Illagers have had it out for everyone other than themselves forever. If you're not one of them, or the nasty monsters they make, you're an enemy."

Blake frowned, ignoring the soup in front of him. "But why us? We never did anything to them, it's not fair! Why can't we just get along?"

"I've heard stories of people who have tried to befriend them," his father sighed. "They never end well. No matter what, the Illagers just hate us all. Nobody knows when or even why their grudge began."

"But there has to be a way to end it! If it started with people a long time ago, why are we still fighting them? Can't we move on from all that?"

His father chuckled with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It'd be better for everyone, you're right. But I don't think the Illagers aren't going to change their ways anytime soon. Some enemies just can't be reasoned with."

The walk toward the mansion had dredged up a memory from Blake's youth. In the years since, he and his old friends had done battle with Illager scouts and defended their homes from raid parties. Hoping his old man had been wrong, he remembered trying to offer a peaceful solution to them, but the only burying of hatchets the marauders were interested in was the burying of their iron blades into whatever villagers or humans they could find. Disillusioned with the prospect of befriending such foes, he and his gang wound up with no choice but to settle things violently.

"They don't care about anything other than hurting us. They're all evil, and it's either us or them. None of 'em will listen to us anyway," he'd thought in the aftermath.

Blake didn't believe he was jaded- there were good people in the world, after all. But it was disheartening to face an enemy so single-minded, so unreasonable in their hatred. Destined to forever fight to the death based on some ancient grudge; was that any way to live? Now the Usurpation Army had arrived as well. Just as hateful, just as relentless, and just as unlikely to change.

"Except… they're NOT the same."

His thoughts turned to Ray, and to the encounter in Tenebyss' depths. The Illagers never seemed motivated by more than wanton destruction, but he- for all his perseverance in hunting Blake down- had shown the potential for something different. He was angry, and he'd raved something about his ancestors, but it was the loss of his team which really drove him. How could Blake think of such a motivation as on the same lines as the Illagers' blind fury?

"I wonder if he got out of there. Do I hope he did? I'm not sure…"

He shook away the thought. It wasn't the time to be distracted.

"So… you're saying these emeralds are what you trade for stuff? If they're not used any other way, what's the point?"

"It's a more stable system than bartering raw materials. Iron and diamonds are certainly more useful than emeralds, practically speaking, but since they can be crafted into different items their actual value is too up in the air. Is an iron sword worth more than just getting two iron ingots, if it can't be reverted back? What about a rail track? Hence, emeralds are used instead since they're mostly static."

"Does that mean emeralds are only valuable… because everyone agrees they are?"

"It's a little more complicated than that…"

Behind him, Cupa and a few Terasi were listening to Melissa as she tried to explain the concept of an economy. Best of luck to her, Blake thought, because the value of emeralds seemed to change per the whims of whomever one traded with. Even after working at the Silverhands' shop, he didn't have a clue how prices were decided- it was something he'd been unable to pick up from Emily or Felix.

Idly, he glanced at the Illagers' Core tracker and nearly yelped in alarm. "Hey, there are more Genesis Cores nearby! Six of them!"

A cluster of white dots were pinging from somewhere ahead of them. The tags were incomprehensible to him: H-B31, H-B51, N-B46, H-I368, N-I368, and N-E63.

Felix and Celia fell in step beside him, inspecting the device themselves. "They don't seem to be buried underground, either," Felix remarked. "That should make them easier to find, once we fight our way in. Do you know which types these ones are, Lady Celia?"

She stared at the dots. "I know a few for certain. 'B51' corresponds to fire in the Bedrock Index; that one is likely a Fire Core like mine. 'B31' is grass, and 'B46' is… TNT? Odd."

So another pair of Genesis Cores were accounted for. Knowing the counterpart to Ray's Grass Core was within reach gave Blake a strange feeling. He didn't know what to make of a TNT Core- did it summon full blocks of the stuff? That somehow felt out of place.

"I'm afraid I do not recall what 'I368' indicates," Celia continued. "And… hang on a moment, this doesn't make any sense… 'E63' is… um… human."

The three came to a stop. A few Turned had to stumble so as not to run right into them, and Melissa cut off her conversation to join the group.

"What's the hold up?" asked Dusk from the front.

"A-apologies!" replied Celia, hastily regaining her stride. Blake and the others followed suit, but what she'd said hadn't at all left their minds.

"What do you mean, human?" Blake asked in a low voice.

She frowned, peering at the tag as if to convince herself she hadn't misread it. "The Bedrock Index also includes humans, villagers, Illagers, and mobs. Humans have an ID of 'E63,' what with us being 'entities.' If such a tag is listed here…"

"Could that Genesis Core be used to create people? Or control people?" Melissa was speaking just above a whisper, but her voice wavered a bit. The implications were clear, and retrieving such a Core had just become their highest priority.

It was another half hour's walk before Rot signaled for everyone to stop. The trees were as dense as ever, making it hard to see far into the dark woods, and more than a few curious mobs had gathered around the party. Blake was on edge the whole time, but none of the zombies, creepers, or spiders seemed interested in fighting past the Turned to reach the four humans in the group. Lucky them.

With the mansion only a few chunks away, Rot had everyone take a moment to double-check their equipment. They hadn't been spotted yet, but as soon as the attack began there wouldn't be time to manage items.

"Looks like the tracker's pointing upward," Blake said, still checking the Genesis Cores' positions. "I bet the Cores are on the upper levels."

"That works out great," said Cupa. "Because we'll be going in through the windows anyway. The plan is to burst into the third floor and work our way down."

"Isn't that going to give us away? I thought you told us we shouldn't be above the treetops," Melissa replied.

Cupa tugged the string of a brand new bow Felix had crafted. "Doesn't really matter if they already know they're under attack. We'll wait until my dads have gotten their attention before making our move."

Blake's heart began to race, and he shuddered as he drew his sword. What he wouldn't have given to still have the Bonemeal Core, if only for some peace of mind.

"I'll hold onto the shulker box, in case the Illagers can track the Lightning Core," Celia was telling Melissa. "Please, stay safe…"

"Of course. And just so you know…"

Melissa leaned closer and whispered something to her. Blake couldn't hear it, but Celia's entire face lit up bright red and she rather stupidly nodded in reply before glancing around to check if anyone else noticed. Everyone did.

"I've still got the dirt ball," one of the former skeletons in Rot and Dusk's party announced. "What should I do with it?"

"Hold onto that, Clack. We're not going to use it unless there's an emergency," Rot told him. "With that out of the way, I think it's time to get going. Ready up, Teras! Today, we're taking these guys down!"

Blake, Melissa, Cupa, and the rest of their team hid in the undergrowth as the others moved out. The raid was about to begin.

Felix wound up near the front of the main attack force, just behind Celia and the chiefs. They hadn't arrived a moment too soon: another raid party was assembling before the mansion, including a ravager. Technically, a bad omen couldn't be triggered given the lack of villagers in Teras, but that clearly wasn't deterring the Illagers from setting out to hunt down the escapees. He locked eyes with an evoker holding a Core tracker, just in time for a confused melee to erupt around them.

The Terasi charged without much of a formation or strategy. Perhaps astonished by the sheer boldness of their attack, the Illagers responded in kind until combatants wound up spread haphazardly around the clearing in front of the mansion's doors. Felix, lacking the time to assess his situation, simply flung himself into the fray with his new diamond axe held tight. He struck down a surprised pillager before he could raise a crossbow, grimacing at what would surely be his first kill of several that day.

"Them, or me. Them, or me. Them, or-"

An axe blurred in the corner of his eye. He lurched forward in a panic, and winced when the blade's tip scraped against the back of his iron chestplate with a horrible metal screech. By the time he turned to face his attacker, Celia had already dealt with the vindicator. She gave Felix a nod before moving on to find a new target.

"Call for help!" one of the Illagers was yelling.

The attack was going as planned. More foes would emerge soon enough, leaving the inside unguarded. Felix steeled himself, deciding it would be best to thin out the first wave of defenders before more arrived. His attention turned to the lone evoker, who was by the edge of the skirmish and had summoned a trio of cackling vexes to harass the Terasi. They darted above everyone's heads, occasionally swooping down to jab at them with their tiny swords. Their master watched carefully, waiting for a chance to summon more.

Felix ran toward the evoker. A line of jaws snapped shut on the ground between the two, but he had too much momentum to stop moving. To avoid losing a foot, he dove clear over the fang traps and tackled the Illager to the ground. He dropped his axe in the process, but landing on his foe with the full weight of iron armor was enough. The evoker was knocked out, and a totem of undying fell from his pocket. Felix grabbed it and stood up to find his weapon.

Instead, what he got when he turned was the full force of another vindicator's axe swung into his stomach. His armor dented under the strike, and while the blade somehow didn't break through, the impact made Felix double over with a hard cough. But it didn't render him totally helpless- he responded by ramming his head (and by extension his iron helmet) into the vindicator's nose. The move bought him a second to stumble away, clutching his gut and trying to catch his breath.

"Little brat… I'll kill you as painfully as I can!" hissed the vindicator.

Felix's axe was on the ground behind his enemy. As the Illager advanced, sneering and preparing to strike again, he had an idea. He concentrated on his axe and tapped into the Diamond Core's energy to pull it from a distance. The vindicator took a step, jolted, then fell onto his face with the blue blade of Felix's weapon embedded in his back.

"Ugh… can't believe that worked."

He pulled the axe free with another grimace. Fighting never got any easier- he dreaded to think what killing a human would do to him, if it ever came to that.

The initial skirmish, at least, seemed to be over. The vexes disappeared, and what few Illagers remained of the raid party had retreated into the entryway to join their reinforcements. Even the ravager had been dealt with, as Celia withdrew her diamond blade from the beast's hide and ran over to him.

"We're about to push into the mansion," she said. "Are you hurt?"

He shifted his chestplate, trying to fix the dent pressing into his stomach. "I'll manage. What about you?"

Her armor was covered in scrapes and scratches, to the point it was beginning to crack apart. The purple magic shimmering around her Usurpation chestplate flickered, like it was struggling to maintain the enchantment. "I am faring better than I thought I would. I only hope Melissa and Blake will be able to help us soon, otherwise… I'm not sure how long we can hold out."

Felix saw what she meant. Many of the Turned were nursing wounds, and a few had been killed in the struggle. About 25 fighters from Teras had joined the direct assault, and before even entering the mansion they now numbered 19, not including him and Celia. Rot was tearing an arrow from his shin with a grunt, already looking tired as he bit into a loaf of bread to recover.

"Here," Felix said, handing Celia the totem of undying. "You should have this."

She frowned at him. "Your armor is in poorer shape than mine. You hold onto it."

"Your safety is more important," he argued, pressing it into her hands. "Just keep it, Lady Celia."

She withheld a gasp, clearly wanting to say something, but a shout from Dusk distracted them both.

"We have to keep up the pressure," he said. "Everyone, get ready to head inside!"

Clack, the former skeleton who'd been holding onto the spare Genesis Core, was using it to throw dirt blocks into the open doorways, where pillagers were trying to take shots at the attackers. They retreated as well, giving Teras' party time to regroup. Despite the many injuries, none seemed ready to give up.

Felix found the limp evoker and picked up his dropped Core tracker. Having two in their possession couldn't hurt.

"…stay close to me. We fight together, no matter what," Celia told him.

"As you wish," he responded, trying not to meet her gaze.

The pair of them were relatively unharmed, so they took point as they entered the mansion. With the pillagers retreating further in the halls, the attack party was able to enter unhindered. They were met by three paths: one hall to the left, one to the right, and a stairway leading to the second floor. The floors were covered in a fine red and white wool carpet, but the little color it provided was negligible in the mansion's minimal lighting. Between that and the otherwise featureless dark oak walls, the interior almost felt as dark and foreboding as the caves under Tenebyss had.

"We'll split up," Rot announced. "Half of us down each hallway, until we've taken over this floor."

"You're not going deeper in your condition," said Dusk.

"I'm not that hurt, I can manage. Don't worry about-"

"They're here! Get 'em!"

The Illagers had returned with a vengeance, some leaping down the steps to land in the middle of the party while others came from around corners of the hallway. They weren't alone, either. Zombies and skeletons- real ones- were dotted among their ranks, their eyes all glowing a sinister red. A skeleton raised its bow and loosed an arrow toward the Turned, and while the shot missed it was clear the monster saw no kinship in them.

In the dim light, Felix could see someone on the far end of the leftmost hall. A class of Illager he'd never seen before, wearing red and gold robes, was chanting while holding open a book that glowed the same red as the mobs' eyes.

"Do you see that one down there?" he asked Celia once she finished cutting down the first vindicator to draw near. "He must be controlling the undead."

As a zombie shambled toward him, he hesitated to attack. Suddenly, he wasn't sure how he felt about attacking mobs when people who'd once been them were his allies. If transformed, could they have become as intelligent? Would they lose their monstrous instincts?

Dusk settled the uncertainty for him by leaping forward and rending the zombie to pieces with his talons. "Don't fear them, everyone. They're mindless beasts, so don't hold back."

Rot slashed the head of a skeleton clean off, then looked down the hall at the unknown Illager. "If he's giving them commands, taking him out could make this a lot easier for us."

"Leave it to me!" Celia broke away from the group, darting between the incoming monsters and Illagers as she worked her way up the corridor. Felix, not wanting her to go off by herself, followed close behind. The robed Illager saw them coming and fled around the corner.

"Lady Celia, wait up!"

"We can't let him get away and summon more minions!"

The two gave chase, however, the number of mobs they ran past were taking interest in the pair. Their predicament wasn't made fully clear until they wound up in the middle of the adjoining hall, surrounded by undead.

"Did you really fall for that?" the Illager snickered. "I didn't realize the traitors wound up with a few dumb kids by their sides."

"There's too many for us to fight," Felix thought. Zombies were blocking both sides of the hall, and the only other place to run was a small, dark room to the side- also guarded by mobs. A skeleton beside the Illager raised its bow, seemingly waiting for his command.

Felix tried to stall while he thought of a plan. "Who are you? You're not like any Illager I've ever seen."

His question yielded a smirk. "I'm called an enchanter. The evokers can raise the dead, but I can command them. I wonder, will this work on the traitors? Guess I'll just have to find out once you've been dealt with… assuming the constructs don't kill them all first. Heh heh…"

He'd heard an Illager mention an enchanter before. Whatever "constructs" were, he didn't know, but they couldn't have been good news if he was so confident in them.

"Now then, dumb kids," he repeated, "time for you to go."

"Would you like to see just how 'dumb' I can be?" Celia challenged.

Felix didn't know what she meant until she lobbed a fireball his way. It missed, but hit the wall behind the enchanter. The wood quickly started to burn, alarming him and the assembled mobs.

"No! What are you doing?!" the Illager cried.

"This way!"

Celia grabbed Felix's arm and practically dragged him with her, shoving through the zombies to their right and into the small side room. The two of them barricaded the door with random blocks they'd collected in Teras, panting.

The enchanter's muffled voice could still be heard. "Ignore them! We can't let this spread! Put it out, put it out!"

But their escape had been one in name only. In that small room, blocked off from the flaming hallway full of zombies, they were trapped.

"Sounds like the fighting's moved indoors. I'd say it's time to get going."

Cupa looked to the six others in her team. Maxil, ever vigilant, was keeping an eye on the surroundings with her bow ready. Verval, once a zombie captured in the desert, was the youngest fighter Teras had brought but was also quick on her feet and knew her way around a sword- in her old life, she might have carried one with her. Prowl was another Turned creeper just like Cupa, albeit much older. His skin had a few greenish blotches: he was one of the first mobs experimented on years earlier, and the process of making a convincing human body hadn't been perfected quite yet. Luna, a former slime, retained the green color of her old body like Jels had. Despite looking soft, her jumping prowess was second to none in Teras.

The two newcomers, Blake and Melissa, were holding stacks of dirt and wood blocks they'd gotten from the pile.

"Can you two make us some steps to the highest floor?" Cupa asked them.

"Wait a second," Melissa said, looking at Maxil and Verval. "If you guys are- used to be undead, won't you burn in the sunlight?"

"Our bodies can manage. The sun's just a little uncomfortable for me," Maxil explained.

"I used to be a husk! I didn't even burn back then- at least, I think I didn't. Don't really remember," added Verval.

"You probably didn't. I've fought husks before, and the daylight never hindered them." Blake paused, suddenly looking a little awkward. "Uh… no offense?"

Cupa flashed him a grin. "Don't worry about it, we're not like the monsters anymore. Just get to work on those steps."

Reassured, her odd new allies did as told. She and the other Turned followed them up the makeshift stairs, past the treetops and into the open sun. It was a warm day, and the clear air was a nice change from the cramped forest paths. Such pleasant weather felt very at-odds with how serious their objective was, but Cupa would take the short bit of comfort before the attack began.

Blake and Melissa kept building past the second story windows, through which Illagers and a few normal mobs were scurrying to join the battle downstairs. Thankfully, they were all in too much of a hurry to notice the very conspicuous dirt stairway just outside. When they finally reached the third floor, Blake drew a blue sword from out of thin air (or perhaps that "inventory" he and his friends referred to) and prepared to break through the glass.

"Melissa, stay behind me," he said. "Have those potions ready."

"Got it. I'll let you know which one I'm about to use."

Verval, wearing iron armor like Blake and holding a sword of her own, prepared to breach with him. Cupa, Luna, and Prowl weren't armored, relying more on their mobility in a fight. Maxil had a partial suit of armor, but would also remain near the back with Cupa to provide support from a distance.

Two Illagers, one armed with a crossbow and the other with an axe, were patrolling inside the hall and spotted them through the window. Their element of surprise was gone, and it was time to take action. Cupa watched Blake smash through the glass, immediately bringing his sword up to block an incoming arrow. She raised her bow to shoot back, but Maxil was quicker on the draw and shot down the ranged enemy.

"More of 'em are up here!" the lone axe-wielder yelled, to someone they couldn't see. "Are the constructs ready yet?!"

"Get out there, you lot! Keep them busy!" another voice barked from within an adjoining room.

Cupa loosed an arrow at the Illager, but he was able to narrowly avoid it. More of his cohorts came out from the surrounding rooms, some brandishing axes and others loading more crossbows. There weren't that many to deal with- her dads and the rest of the town must have been causing quite the ruckus.

"I hope they're okay." She yelped when an arrow shot right over her head. "And I hope WE'LL be okay!"

"Throwing a debuff!" Melissa announced, hurling a bottle toward the nearest cluster of Illagers. They couldn't get clear in time, and their movements slowed to a crawl when it broke apart at their feet. "Slowness! That'll keep them off our backs for bit."

The Illagers who hadn't been slowed were more wary and spread themselves out in the hall, crossbowmen taking shots from behind doorways while their axe-wielding brethren stood ready to protect them. Cupa kept moving, strafing side to side between shooting back. Maxil had been the one to teach her archery, and she'd taken to it rather well over the years. It beat having to explode to attack- Cupa wasn't sure she still could, and didn't want to find out.

Verval and Prowl, wielding a sword and an axe respectively, took out the slowed Illagers before they could return to normal. The others were dealt with mainly by Blake, who'd gone with an interesting tactic: sprinting and leaping across the hall to close the distance, then attacking the nearest Illager with all his force. Cupa and Maxil shot down the remaining pillagers together, but not before one of their arrows managed to hit Luna in the side. She cried out and fell to the floor.

"It's okay, I've got you." Melissa was next to her in an instant, handing Luna another pink potion. "Is anyone else hurt?"

"All good," Blake answered. "And I think we got all of 'em on this floor. The rest should've come running when they heard the fight."

It wasn't quite over yet, though. Four cackling blue sprites phased through the walls and dove for Melissa while she was tending to Luna. Blake reacted first, throwing his sword right into one of them and dispatching it immediately. Prowl jumped between Luna and the attackers, only to suffer a few cuts from the vexes and recoil. Maxil loosed an arrow which struck through one and into another. The final vex was dealt with by Verval, who jumped to cut it down.

"There's an evoker somewhere around here," Blake told them as he picked up his sword. "They came through this wall, so…"

He ran into the nearest door with Melissa right behind him. Cupa followed, leaving her friends to secure the area. What they found was a lone Illager sorcerer in a room full of…

…what was this room?

Eight glass vats were lined up along one of the walls. She recognized them as the same kinds of containers used to transform mobs- Cupa remembered being in one herself when she was very young. But there weren't mobs in them, or even Turned. Two were empty, while the other six were filled with thick, swirling gas. The Illager was holding a pair of small golden totems which looked like him, chanting in a language she didn't recognize. Green wisps of magic flowed out of the totems and into the vats, mingling with the gases until they changed from murky purple and yellow to jet black in color. Cupa dispatched him with a single arrow before he could attack them.

"This was where they had the dirt ball, I think," she told Melissa and Blake. "It looks different than when I broke out… these glass things weren't here."

The rest of her team entered behind them, with Luna and Prowl's wounds looking better. Verval stared at the tanks and shuddered. "What's all this?"

Blake looked at the item they'd taken from the witch. "It says the Genesis Cores are in here. I'm guessing they're in these containers… let's see if we can get them out. They'll be a big help when we join the fight downstairs."

"We don't have much time to dawdle," Cupa replied. "Maxil, take everyone else and go find the prisoners locked up here. Free them and head down to help the chiefs. I'll stay here with these two."

"Got it. Be careful, boss."

Maxil and the other Turned from her group left the room in a hurry. Cupa approached one of the vats, trying to make heads or tails of the buttons and levers adorning its side. The gas within was beginning to crackle.

"…what the heck? There's another one nearby."

She looked back. Blake was squinting at the Core tracker, looking utterly perplexed.

"Another? You're certain it's not Celia or Felix you're seeing?" Melissa asked.

"This one's got a different tag: N-B1. Maybe the Illagers' scouts found another Genesis Core and are bringing it back?"

That made sense to Cupa, but his proposal seemed less likely when the whole mansion was rocked by an explosion.

"I don't think their scouts would return like that," she remarked. "And I'm pretty sure none of us would've made an explosion. What else could it be?"

Blake's eyes widened. "Of course… it's too tempting…"

"What is it?" Cupa pressed.

He looked at her and Melissa with a gulp. "It's the Usurpation. They'd never pass up on this many Genesis Cores."

Melissa put a hand over her mouth. "No…! How many soldiers?"

"I can't say for sure… but if their armor doesn't fool Illager trackers, there's only one person with a Core among them. Probably a squad leader, so hopefully just one squad's worth."

A thought occurred to Cupa. "What if they and the Illagers fight each other? They're enemies, right?"

Blake looked just a bit reassured. "They are. That'd make things easier for us, but I'm worried about whoever could be in charge. I have no idea what kind of Core they've got."

"Then we'd better get these ones out," Cupa began, turning to face the closest vat again. "Before they can- gah!"

She stepped back in shock at what was inside. The black gas was condensing into the shape of a human with a tanned complexion and blue clothes. He didn't look anything like one of the Turned, not even the former undead.

"What is that?!" Blake exclaimed.

Cupa wasn't sure what to do. Did the man, whatever or whoever he was, need help? His eyes, colored a striking blue like his clothing, slowly opened and settled on her. Before she could decide whether to even offer assistance, he punched one of his hands right through the glass- and clutched it around her neck.

Note from the author:

There's a lot going on, isn't there?

Part 5 ends next chapter. School's starting back up for me, but I'll do my best to get the second half of the raid out in a timely manner.