Chapter 5
Jailbreak Part 2: Struggle of Power
BanjoNote: The Road to Pillage Arc is almost halfway done? Damn, these kind of things fly right by! The battle between Alex and the Outpost shall begin, but will she win? I'm aiming for a longer chapter, but, knowing me, it'll fall short. End of this chapter, I'll reveal something.
On with Struggle of Power!
[Alex]
"COME ON!"
On second thought, I shouldn't have yelled that out loud, but the pillager I was fighting was really pissing me off. I swung my sword downwards, but he once again raised his crossbow to block the strike. He jumped backwards and fired the bolt into my stomach, and I raised my shield, blocking the blow.
Alright. Time for my secret attack.
I ran at him and delivered a flying kick into his nether region. He yelled and dropped his crossbow. Standing up, I stabbed him in the gut, exploding him into a shower of green exp orbs that floated into my chest. What had Gimero called them? Experience?
A Ravager roared behind me, from somewhere in the village. I took out my cobble and blocked up the entrance to the outpost, giving me a moment's rest. I took out a steak from my belt that I had stocked up on before returning to the outpost and ate it hungrily. Looking up at the stairs, I rolled my shoulders and hefted my sword and shield.
"Two down, eight to go." My health was maxed out, so I progressed up the stairs, hiding behind my shield.
Funny what goes through your mind, I thought to myself. Wonder how Gimero's doing...
[Gimero]
Me and Athara arrived at the outpost, just in time to see 30 pillagers and a couple of Ravagers pile up on a cobblestone blockade. Athara pulled me behind a building, and whispered "Well, what now?"
I gave her a look of fear. "Don't look at me! I hav- MMMPH!"
Her hand clasped around my mouth, her eyes giving a message I chose not to interpret. "Half the camp is out there. Talk quieter."
I removed her hand from my mouth and nodded. "Look, you're the mastermind here. I just know that Alex is in that tower."
She looked at the half-obsidian Outpost. "Who is Alex? Villager? Human?"
"Uh..." I thought about the incident on the bridge. Who really was she? If she was a villager or human, then she was exceptionally strong. And, to make matters worse, she didn't look as strong then what she portrayed...
There really only was one answer, and I hated it.
"Crafter. She's the 14th Crafter."
Athara stared at me. Looking me up and down, she slowly came to realize that I was saying the truth - as far as I knew.
"Well, we need to get her the fuck out of there, then."
I nodded, then peered over the corner to the mob of pillagers. "What do we do about the crowd, first of all? Nothing that involves me running into there, and I'll probably agree." I asked her.
She looked around, then a diabolical grin slowly appeared on her face. "Josie."
"Josie?"
[Alex]
I swung my iron sword upwards, staggering one of the three pillagers in the room. He wobbled back and forth, and I bashed into him with my shield. Kicking away from him, I rolled to the side as an arrow flew overhead.
How I knew the arrow was heading this way, I had no idea. I switched out my sword for the purple crossbow, loaded it, and fired it. It hit the one that had shot at me, landing in his shoulder. He pulled the arrow out of his body and threw it on the ground, breaking it.
"Waste of a good arrow." I muttered. Miraculously, another arrow popped up in the crossbow. Frowning, I pulled the string back, and shot it into the staggered one. He promptly ceased to be in a matter of milliseconds.
The other two advanced at me, and I turned to meet them. I swung my sword at the left one, pushing him back a couple steps. I ducked under a swing of the crossbow, and slammed my crouched body into the right pillager As he fell over, I grabbed his arm and swung him around into the other pillager. I leaped upwards way higher then I should have been able to, and landed on top of the pile, sword pointed downwards. They both exploded under me, and I rolled onto my back, exhausted. I munched on some steak, though I was too tired to actually appreciate the taste. After taking a minute, I stood up and staggered towards to staircase.
Almost immediately, an arrow flew over my head. Surprised, I held up my shield in time to hear two thunks into the wood. Raising my sword, I looked around the staircase to find the attackers, but no one was on the staircase. I knit my eyebrows in confusion, then noticed a thin white line about halfway up the tower. It was connected to two hooks on opposite walls.
It didn't take all of my genius to figure out it was a tripwire.
I slowly approached it and tried to step over it. The string bent and I heard a slight creaking noise. I quickly retreated my foot back, and looked around for what it would trigger. When nothing was in sight, I stepped back and shot an arrow at the string.
Strangely, the arrow went straight through the string. I reached over the string and grabbed the arrow. When I brought the arrow back, the feather caught on the string.
With a horrifyingly silent click! The roof opened up above me and dropped 4 flashing white blocks. I had time to register the letters TNT and think well, that's overkill. before the inevitable happened.
[Gimero]
Boom!
Startled, I looked up at the tower just as an explosion blew up a side of the tower, at a part that wasn't filled in with obsidian.
"NO!" I yelled. Athara turned around and swore violently.
"Fuck!" She took out a... book? She started flipping through the pages and stopped on one. "Oh... oh, Notch..."
"What?" I asked fearfully. "Please tell me Alex survived."
"Ah... well." Athara closed the book and looked above me at the hole in the wall, refusing to meet my gaze. "Surviving explosions like that... was part of Jeb's ability."
"But..." I looked down at the ground. "I..."
"HEY! GIMERO!"
I turned to the tower, and stared in awe as I saw Alex waving at me.
"What... h-how?" Athara stuttered. "She should - I mean, I'm not complaining, but -"
"BEHIND YOU!" Alex pointed with her sword. I turned around just as Athara raised her pickaxe to deflect an arrow with the iron part. I picked up the arrow and stuffed it into my belt.
"Well," I sighed shakily as I ran behind a building. "All of this isn't helping my digestive system at all."
[Alex]
If there was any doubt before, that's gone now.
I, Alex, was one of the most powerful beings in existence. I was a Crafter.
I didn't know how to feel about that. I took literally zero damage from the blast, and I didn't go flying out the hole in the wall. A slight smoke hung around the staircase, and after I had gestured out to Gimero, I walked up to the next floor like nothing had happened.
I had no idea how to walk up to the next floor anyways.
The three pillagers were laughing like maniacs when I walked out of the smoke. They took a step back, fumbling with their crossbows. I raised my sword, smirked slightly, and whispered "Hello boys."
I was just doing that to be intimidating. In truth, I was still reeling from the blast. Still, I charged at the middle one and slashed him up until he fell over and disappeared. I pushed off the left one and somehowback flipped over the right one and stabbed him in the back. Still on the blade, I spun around and slammed him into the ground. With a burst of strength, I lifted his prone body and threw him out of the hole in the wall.
The last one retreated up the stairs to the top of the tower. I ran up the stairs after him, strangely not exhausted after throwing a person out of a window.
I stepped into the thin open air, in a gazebo - like area. There was a domed roof above me, made of cobblestone and some sort of dark wood planks. Instead of walls holding up the roof, nine pillars of obsidian were spread out on the edges. Remembering the tree's, I guessed that the pillars served no functional purpose, only aesthetic.
I walked up the stairs to the center of the room. In front of me, a pillager wearing full diamond armour stood with his back turned, flanked by two pillagers. They had their crossbows pointed at me, though one of them was shaking fearfully.
"So. You're the one who killed everyone in the tower?" The center one asked, his back still turned. What was the leader's name again? Pulley or something?
Oh, right. Pulos.
"Pulos, I presume?" I asked the pillager in diamond armour. "If I heard correct, you were the one who decided to use slave labour in order to gain strength."
Pulos laughed. "I know what you are, 14th Crafter. We did what we must."
He turned around and gestured to the room. "You won't find a better Outpost than this in all of Minecraftia. We have been given orders, and the eastern Outpost shall be the one to deliver the kill!"
"...You aren't making much sense."
Pulos pointed at my chest with and arrow. "Our master told us that you would be heading to the Jewel of the Plains, Lafor. We were to kill you when you got there, but here you are." He laughed maniacally. "It's almost... ironic!"
I raised my sword at him. "I think I'm going to kill you first."
"You can try! But this chestplate is enchanted with Thorns III, courtesies to my master."
Not having any clue what the hell that meant, I ran at him.
[Gimero]
Athara spun around, slamming her pickaxe into the side of a pillager's head. I ran behind her, watching for any threats coming onto her back.
At least, that's what I told her. In truth, I was hiding behind her. My skills only really involve merchandise, running and hiding. That's all I really have ever needed.
Except for now.
Athara blocked another arrow, and I picked it up off the ground, stuffing it into the rest of the arrows. She finished off the pillager and turned to me. "You gonna do something other than hide?"
"Yes!" I replied. "I'll, uh..." I pulled out the 10 arrows I've collected. "This?"
She rolled her eyes and pointed. I followed her gaze to a large house, which had the size of a slightly larger then normal house. Compared to all of the other houses, this looked like a mansion. I don't like mansions much.
"What's in there?" I asked, putting the arrows back into my belt pouch.
"Our things are in there, as far as I know, in there." She answered. My backpack had my essentials, but my wares were in my inventory. I liked my wares. They were my only way of getting emeralds.
Athara kicked in the door and ran in. I walked in at a slow pace, looking around for any signs of life. Frankly, it was unnecessary, as they would've chased after Athara. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a line of chests.
"Athara?" I called out. "Over here!"
She walked over to me, and we headed towards the chests. Above them, a pillager had a villager put up signs that described us in, suffice to say it, crudely correct ways. Or, at least, they had vendettas against Weak, Blue, Stickman people.
Listen, muscles ain't anything compared to the craft of merchandise. I opened that chest, the last one in the line. Inside was my inventory, which was quite alot. I started to stuff them into my belt.
Athara opened the chest that was labeled Red Girl. She took out all of her inventory, smiling when she finally pulled out an enchanted bow. She tested out the string, nodding when she pulled it back fully with ease.
"Alright." She nocked an arrow on her bow. "Let's find Josie."
"Who-"
"Josie. The Iron Golem."
I gave her a blank look, then a smile grew on my face.
[Alex]
The two pillagers stood in front of Pulos, their crossbows pointed at my chest. I twisted horizontally as they fired, narrowly dodging the bolts as they passed over each side of my body. I spun around and slashed at them, knocking them out of the way. Pulos raised his crossbow and fired as soon as the other pillagers were out of the way. Surprised, it met me straight in the chest, doubling me over. I raised my sword and blocked his crossbow that he attempted to swing down on my head. I pulled the arrow out of my chest and threw it off the tower, pulling out my shield.
He knit his eyebrows. On each side of the room, the pillagers got up from prone and began to load their crossbows.
Pulos raised his hand, signaling for them to stop. "We can't possibly beat this woman. Did you see how easily she dodged your arrows?"
I twirled my sword. "Don't you worry. I only need him." I pointed at Pulos. "He's the one who started the slavery... project."
He laughed again, and I resisted the urge to shoot him with an arrow. "Look. Aren't you tired of the same ol' combat situations? Sword against crossbow?"
"It's doing perfectly fine for me."
Pulos put away his weapon, then doffed his armour. "See, I fully expected you to pull off some bullshot like dodging projectiles, or surviving TnT. So, what we're doing, is a little something called Sumo. Heard of it?"
The answer to that came to me, though the thought was ludicrous.
I gave him a look, which conveyed are you an idiot? "What? So we just... punch each other off this tower?"
"...I have no idea how you knew that, but yeah. That's the basic premise."
I looked around, taking in the size of this arena. I really had no other choice, as they would try to knock me off the tower anyways. I nodded, putting away my sword but keeping my armour on. He smiled, and ran at me.
"This is the most ridiculous thing I've done in my two days of existence." I muttered, stepping away from his swing and returning one of my own, right in the nose
He staggered back, holding his nose. His leg came up, catching me in the gut. I groaned from being hit in the same area a million times. Gray spots danced in and out of my sight, and Pulos grabbed my neck.
"Look... here." His voice strained as he began to lift me up off the ground. "You come... into my home... and kill every person in my tower." He started to walk to the edge. "Now, I'm going to throw you... off... this fucking tower!"
And, true to his word, he thrust his hand out and dropped me.
I didn't like that ending to the Ballad of Alex.
[Gimero]
"ALEX!" Athara yelled. Frowning, I turned to the tower and yelped.
Alex's limp body fell off the tower, spinning and curled up like a ball. I started to run towards the spot that she was falling to. From my belt, I withdrew a bucket of water and started to jump in one last stretch as she fell...
Then she wasn't there anymore.
I blinked once. Twice. Her loot wasn't on the floor. I didn't see her Head floating in front of me. It was just... like she teleported. But that was Yara'lyn's ability... just like surviving TnT was Jeb's ability.
Athara ran up behind me and went silent. "Gimero, I... I do-"
I turned around, wiping off the dirt from from my beige baggy pants. "No need to apologize. I... believe I've figured out Alex's Crafter power. We need to get her to Lafor."
I told her my suspicions, and her orange eyes widened in shock.
[Alex]
Let's rewind.
As I fell off the tower, dizzy and spinning around, something started to heat up in my chest. Above me, Pulos grinned and watched as I fell down to my death. Below me, I heard a female voice yell my name. No female knew me, but as I twisted around, I saw Gimero running towards the spot that I was going to go SPLAT against. He took out a bucket and leaped towards the spot, and as soon as I hit the ground, my innards felt like a volcano-
-and then I teleported up the tower and right behind Pulos. Not giving a second's thought, I slammed my body right into his, unbalancing him and sending him tumbling off the tower. I heard Gimero's startled shriek from up here. I turned around and looked at the other two pillagers - and a third. Pete smirked and nodded. "Good job, Alex. It is good to see you."
I donned my armour and grabbed my sword and shield. "Alright. We had a deal. Release the slaves."
"Oh, those fools? They will be allowed to leave. Maybe even a head start."
I raised my sword, level at his neck. "You will release them onto the road, and you will not follow them. I've gotten rid of Pulos."
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I saw that. I only needed him gone because he was an incompetent fool. I didn't know that you were a Crafter, but this just proves that Pulos didn't have the smarts to kill.you himself. I on the other hand, do."
He waved his hand in a beckoning movement at the stairs, and about twenty pillagers flooded in behind him, arrows nocked and directed at my chest.
"So... you and Pulos had the same goal," I clarified. "Just you thought you could do it better. You need me dead."
He slowly began clapping. "Your slow mind finally catches up. Yes, 14th Crafter. You are to die, by the order of the master - the Eldest!"
The word Eldest sent shaking down my spine, though I had no clue as of why.
I looked around, trying to find a way out of this situation. My eyes rested on the open wall behind me.
I gave a pained smile to Pete, and used my weirdly athletic body to backflip off the tower.
BanjoNote: Well... It was a longer chapter, after all. Over 3000 words ain't too shabby.
Now, for that surprise I mentioned. I'm coming up with a template for you guys to make OC's for Update: Destruction! The next Arc isn't that far off, and Lafor is a big city, so it'll be great to see some of your suggestions in the story! I'll put up the template by next chapter, though it'll be up in my profile description!
Next Chapter: Gimero's Hijnks! Until then, Read, Review, Follow and Favourite! And, as always, Banjo-on!