Author's Note:
Hello everyone! I'm here to announced that I'll be taking a week or two off from writing when I post this. I'll be just resting for a while so I can get back to full energy. That's all I have to say. Please continue supporting the story. With that, I hope you enjoy this chapter
Chapter 10: Someone's Brewing Trouble
Deep within the murky swamp,
Where foliage rises and the ground is damp.
An evil plan is being prepared,
When it is through men will be scared.
In order to stop the plan from commencing,
Several guards are now advancing.
They march bravely towards the location,
Where their foe has been mentioned.
Following through with them is our known group,
Worried about the wounded troops.
They now traverse across the marshland,
To subdue their for hand in hand.
Xander's Perspective:
Waking up the next morning, I couldn't help but feel energized. It felt good to be at full power once more since yesterday's encounter was extremely exhausting. Before I got out of bed, I did a little bit of stretching to get my blood flowing. After doing so, I got out of bed and was about to wake Chrome up until something caught my attention.
Outside the inn, I could see several injured guards walking towards, possibly the town infirmary. With them came a damaged and almost broken Iron Golem, it was staggering to keep itself up as it passed by the inn. Soon enough, they were out of sight.
Seeing that group passed by, made me wonder what happened to them. As a fellow guard, I felt unease just seeing them walk by. At first, I thought that they were just fending off mobs but seeing an Iron Golem is...a different issue. Usually, when an Iron Golem enters the fray, it means that the enemy is no joke.
And seeing how much that golem is dented, I could only imagine what kind of threat they're dealing with. But as much as I'd like to help them, I currently have a task to accomplish. Now as I turn away from the window, I saw Chrome standing by the window next to him as well. It seems he woke up without me noticing.
He noticed me looking at him and said, "Piques your interests, doesn't it?" as he held Zoey in his arms. "Didn't notice you were awake already." I said. He chuckled, "Why wouldn't it be? The sound of metal clanking is hard to ignore, you know." he said.
"I'm guessing you saw that too?" I asked. He turned to face the window, "Indeed, I have." he said. "Have you any thoughts about it?" I asked. "Perhaps, something formidable is the cause..." he suggested. "You think so too, huh." I said. "Well, it ain't easy beating down a golem in the first place." he said. I nodded, "I know. I've tried taking one down." I said.
He looked at me with interest, "And?" he asked. "I had to stay in the infirmary for 3 days." I said. There was a moment of silence before Chrome burst out laughing, "What made you decide that was a good idea?" he asked. I sighed, "I sometimes ask myself that." I replied, making him laugh even more.
It didn't take long for Chrome to calm down and return to the previous topic. "So what do you plan to do?" he asked. I sat back down on the bed, "I plan to complete my given task. What else?" I said. He raised his eyebrow, "Is that so?" he asked. I nodded, "Yes. I plan to complete this task no matter what. An order is an order." I explained.
Chrome sighed, "You won't get far if your mindset is like that." he said. "What do you mean by that?" I asked him. He shrugged, "Beats me. Figure it out yourself." he said. "You won't learn anything that way." he added. "Okay then..." I muttered. He then stood up, "Anyway, I think it's best we eat breakfast first." he suggested.
As soon as he said it, my stomach growled like a hungry beast. "I agree. It would be a shame to not avail the free meals this inn provides." I said, standing up as well. With that, both of us exited the room. "Wait! Shouldn't we wake Cupa up? It would be rude to eat without her." I said. Chrome grinned and said, "Suit yourself. Go wake up you're sleeping beauty. I'll save a spot for us while you're at it." as he went down the stairs.
I asked, "What are you implying this time?" but he didn't answer. I sighed and knocked on Cupa's door several times, like Chrome, she didn't reply. "Hey Cupa! It's morning already." I called. Still no answer. "Don't you want to eat breakfast?" I asked. Then I heard a thud from the inside like something dropped on the floor, followed by the sound of scrambling feet, and then the door opened.
"Good morning, Xander!" Cupa happily greeted. I looked at her, she was clearly sweating a bit and panting slightly. "You don't look so well." I told her. She tilted her head, "What do you mean?" she asked, acting ignorantly. I sighed, "Never mind. Let's just get some breakfast first." I said. She nodded, "Sure thing!" she agreed.
Both of us then went downstairs into the inn's eatery where Chrome and Zoey were waiting for us. "Took you long enough. I thought you've fallen asleep as well." Chrome joked. "That's unlikely to happen to me." I said. He shrugged, "You never know." he said. "Yeah, Xander! You should always expect the unexpected." Cupa told me.
I sighed, "Let's just get some food already. I'm starving." I said, walking towards the food counter. Chrome and Cupa then followed after me to get their meal of the day. My breakfast was bacon and eggs with a side of toast, Cupa's breakfast was a stack of pancakes with an awful lot of syrup, Chrome's food was a small basket of garlic bread, and Zoey ate a bowl of kibble. It was an uneventful breakfast so to say.
After eating breakfast, the three of us decided to take a look around the village and see what else is there to find. We also agreed to meet up at the inn at 10:00 am afterward. With those being said, we split up...in a way. Chrome went his separate way while I accompanied Cupa to wherever she wants to go to. Although, there ain't much to go to in the first place. In short, Chrome went along and I'm with Cupa. A princess needs a bodyguard, you know.
Chrome's Perspective:
So by the time Xander finished his monologue, I was already going about doing business. What kind of business, you ask? Well, it involves the village elder. You see, my curiosity got hold of me this morning so I just had to find answers. And what better person to ask than the village elder himself. Luckily, I know the old geezer, actually, I know a lot of old geezers.
Anyway, I was currently talking with the village elder in his house about what I saw this morning. "So you came to ask me about what you saw this morning?" he asked. I nodded, "Yup! That's the reason, old man." I said. "I thought I told you to call me Marlon, Mr. Donovan." he said. "I don't recall you telling me that. Must be old age messing up your memories, old man." I said.
Old Man Marlon groaned, "If I were younger, I'd teach you manners, you know." he told me. "Lucky for me that you're old, right old man?" I said. He sighed, "You never change do you?" he said. "Why of course! I like my current self, thank you very much." I declared.
He sighed once more, "Anyway, you wanted to know what is going on, right?" he asked. "That is what I told you." I said. "Well, I'm sure you already know this but the village has a hidden spring." he said. I nodded, "Yeah, I know. The one that has extremely pure water, right?" I said. He nodded, "That's the one." he agreed.
"So what does this have to do with a bunch of bruised guards and a dented Iron Golem?" I asked. "Calm down. I'm getting there." he said. "The spring is only to known to a few people, like you and Mayor Espring. But for some reason, someone else knew about it..." he added. "That doesn't sound good." I said. "Not at all." he agreed.
"So how did you know that they know that you know about the spring?" I asked. The old man paused to process what I said before answering. "They sent me a letter." he said. "What did it say?" I asked. "It said that they knew about the spring and that they will destroy the village if we were to not hand it over." he explained.
"That's ridiculous, old man!" I exclaimed. "Right? These people are probably going to use its pure water for something evil, I know it." he said. "No, what I mean is that, how are you going to hand over a spring when it's in the ground?" I pointed out. The old man sighed, "Not literally, Chrome." he said. "Oh. I thought you were planning to excavate the entire thing and give it to them." I joked.
"That's ridiculous." Marlon said. "Right? Told you so." I said. "What I meant was that your idea is ridiculous. If we were to excavate it then there will be no spring left." he said. "I know. I know." I told him. "Then why say that?" he asked, looking a bit annoyed. "I thought I might lighten the mood." I explained myself. He sighed, "You're going to end up giving more white hair." he said.
I looked at his receding hairline, "I think you need to worry more about your hair than its color." I said. "Look. Are you going to listen to my story or not?" he asked, looking like he's had enough. "Of course I will! That's why I came to you in the first place." I told him. He sighed, "Where was I? Oh yeah..." he said.
"They said they were going to destroy this village. And so I contacted the Mayor and he sent some guards to protect the village immediately." Marlon explained. "Were those the guards sent by the Mayor?" I asked. "Those that you saw are the ones he sent yesterday. The first one we're brought to the town infirmary." he replied.
"The town infirmary? They must have been pretty beaten up to be sent there." I said. He nodded, "They were. The enemies they fought were pretty tough they said." he said. "Why? What weapons we're they using or what kind of people they were?" I asked. He shook his head, "They weren't using weapons and neither were they people. What attacked us the first night we're mobs." he explained.
"Mobs? A coordinated attack by mobs? Are you sure?" I asked, trying to process what I just heard. Marlon nodded, "It's true! I saw it in the watchtower. The mobs we're acting like a well-trained army." he exclaimed. "So what happened afterward?" I asked. "The guards were able to fend them off but they sustained major injuries while defending the village." he said.
"And so after reporting this, Mayor Espring dispatched more guards and an iron golem as well." I guessed. Marlon nodded, "As usual, you're on point. Those guards and that golem have been defending this village for the past three days. But as you can see, they aren't looking so good." he said. I nodded, "Yeah, they looked like they went through one hell of a night." I agreed.
And so our conversation continued for at least an hour, Zoey even fell asleep through it. Nevertheless, I got all the information I needed and all of it was very, very, very, did I say very? Very intriguing to say the least. With our conversation now over, it was time for me to leave.
"Thanks for the information, old man. I appreciate it very much." I told him while getting up. "What do you plan to do with all that info?" he asked. "Dunno. I guess you could say I was just curious." I said. He sighed, "I know that's not the case. Whatever it is you're planning to do. Promise me you won't be rash, okay? He said.
I smiled and nodded, "I'll do my best, old man. So you do the same." I told him before leaving the room. I heard him say, "Don't worry, I will." as the door closed behind me. "Now I know what's going on." I muttered as I exited Old Man Marlon's house.
With all the information I got, I went to the tavern to think.
At the tavern, I sat by the countertop and ordered a glass of juice and a plate of garlic bread. Lucky me for me that they serve the food of the gods. This tavern has good taste, I'll give them a good rating if I could. So after taking a bite of some delectable garlic bread, I stopped to think.
Narrator's Perspective:
After an hour or so, everyone met once more at the inn. They then decided to eat first at the village diner before they pick up their carriage and leave. Again, it was an uneventful lunch. And after eating, they went to pick up the carriage and their horses at stables.
It didn't take them long to get back their carriage and horses, all they did was pay the fee and their food to go. As simple as that, they now had their carriage again and it was time they hit the road once more. And so, they left the village at around 11:00 am, fully recovered and energized.
This time Chrome was the one driving the carriage while Xander sat quietly by his side. Cupa, on the other hand, was playing with Zoey inside the carriage. The princess had wanted to play with the adorable thing since breakfast but could not do so. But now that they're traveling, she can play all she wants with the fluffy furball. Chrome even gave her some treats to give to Zoey.
Chrome was quiet all throughout the trip, making Xander rather worried and paranoid all at the same time. "Are you okay?" he asked. "No, I'm not okay. I'm Chrome." he replied. The chubby one sighed at his response, "I guess I was worrying over nothing." he said. With that, things went back to being quiet and peaceful.
After an hour and a half, presumably 12:30 pm, it began raining harshly. So the group decided to take shelter from it all under a nearby tree. The rain kept on pouring with no signs of stopping. Hoping for it to stop, they waited under the tree. But as time passed by, the weather got worse.
Chrome and Xander have to put on their raincoats just so they don't get too wet. "This is some strong rain, don't you think so too, Chrome?" Xander asked. His companion nodded and said, "It is." all the while spacing out. But Chrome soon snapped out of it when another came flying past them.
Both guys looked towards its origin and saw several skeletons locked on to them. The arrows then flew from the quivers and at the two men. Luckily, they were able to dodge all of them by jumping off the front seat. They then took cover behind the carriage. Cupa saw what had happened and opened the window on the side of the carriage.
"What's happening?" Cupa asked them. "Mob attack. I forgot that we were near a dark oak forest." Xander replied, drawing out his sword. Zoey then jumped out of the window and on to her master's lap. "Mind taking out some skeletons for us, girl?" Chrome asked. His canine companion barked in approval. "I'm fighting too." Xander announced.
"Be my guests, buddy." Chrome said. "Can I fight too?" Cupa asked. The chubby warrior shook his head, "The answer is no. I'm not letting you fight in unnecessary battles." he said. "Boo!" she complained. "Keep watch over her, okay Chrome?" Xander told him. He nodded, "Sure. Why not?" he replied as his companions entered the fray.
With that, Xander and Zoey entered the forest to clear up the nearby mobs. Meanwhile, Chrome kept watching over the carriage and the princess. "Just when I thought I'd get to do something..." Cupa sulked. Chrome noticed the princess's discomfort, "Do you really want to fight that badly?" he asked her.
"Well, not that badly. I just wanted to help lessen the burden on your shoulders." Cupa explained. "Burden? Do you think you're one?" Chrome asked. "Kinda, I guess. But that's not the point! My point is that I don't want you to see me like a princess that needs to be protected. I can fight on my own, you know!" she stated.
Chrome chuckled, "I know you can. I've seen you kick bandit butt, you're good at it." he complimented her. "Thanks, I appreciate it. But Xander doesn't see me that way." she said. "I'm sure he does." Chrome said. "Then why?" she asked. "Probably, because he doesn't want you getting hurt. I mean we are bringing you back home, right?" he said.
Cupa nodded, "I know that too but..." she muttered. Chrome smiled, "Don't worry too much about it. He knows you are strong but you are still a princess." he said. "Let the guy be your knight in shining armor. Not many guys get to show off to a princess, you know." he added.
"Show off?" Cupa asked. Chrome nodded, "Yup, show off. That may be one of the reasons he's doing this. Xander wants to fulfill his duty and show off at the same time, hitting two birds with one stone if you may say." he explained. "What about you? Have you shown off to a princess before? she asked. Chrome shrugged, "Not really. It was more like the princess was showing off instead." he said.
This piqued Cupa's interest, "Oh? Who was it?" she asked. Chrome chuckled, "That's classified information. Although I do remember her being quite the tsundere. Makes me laugh every time I remember her." he said. Cupa smiled, "You seem to have a fond memory of her." she teased. "Well, I was fond of teasing her. That's for sure." he said. "But this is where we end the topic. Those two will soon be arriving." he added. "Aww..." Cupa whined.
Soon enough, Xander and Zoey came back unscathed. "Took you long enough, Xander." Chrome said. "Also good job, Zoey! Come here!" he added as his furry friend shrunk and leaped into his arms. "So I get the complaint and the dog doesn't?" Xander asked. "Why yes! I don't have the heart to discourage my own daughter. But for you, I do." Chrome said. The chubby one sighed, "Talk about bias." he muttered.
"Anyway, we've managed to clear out the mobs. Also, the downpour subsided so it'd be best if we get going." Xander suggested. Chrome looked up, "Oh yeah! I didn't notice that it stopped." he said. "Well, it still looks like it'll rain again so we better cover as much ground as possible." Xander said. "Sure thing." Chrome agreed.
And so, they continued their way down the path. Only for them to see a couple of wounded guards lying by the roadside. Upon seeing this, Xander immediately pulled over to check if they were okay, which they were not. Chrome and Cupa got off the carriage and accompanied Xander.
Chrome then saw the conditions of the guards and quickly handed Xander a splash potion of healing. Xander used immediately and soon enough the guard's wounds slowly healed. Cupa handed the guards some water to drink since she thought they looked thirsty. And she was right, the guards quickly gulped down the beverage they were given and exhaled.
"What happened here?" Xander asked the guards. "We were headed to the swamp with the others when..." the first guard paused. "When a group of mobs ambushed us!" the next one added. "It was unthinkable! They were wearing armor, all of them!" the other one exclaimed.
"So where are the others?" Xander asked. "They're probably heading towards the swamp still." they said. "I thought you were ambushed?" I asked. "We were!" one of the guards stated. "But we offered to hold the mobs off for the others to press onward." another added. "That was very courageous of you." Xander commended them for it.
As Xander talked with the guards, a lot of thought was going in and out of Chrome's mind. "They must be part of the unit dispatched by the mayor. Old man Marlon was indeed right. It seems like the person who initiated the attacks on the village must be in the swamp." Chrome thought.
"But to be ambushed so quickly when the swamp is still a bit far. The enemy must be really cautious. I have a bad feeling about this..." Chrome thought. "For now, we have to get you to back to your group." Chrome said. "Yeah, I'd be better if they were with the other guards." Xander agreed. "C'mon in the carriage. We'll help reunite with your team." he added.
The guards entered the carriage, it sped off directly towards the swamp. And as they drew nearer to their destination, the weather soon began to worsen. The rain began to pour heavily while the wind blew strongly. Soon enough, they arrived at their destination.
Xander parked the carriage on the roadside and tied the horses under a nearby tree. The guards as well as Chrome and Xander got off the carriage. There also seemed to be some kind of struggle in the area. "It looks like it already has begun..." one of the guards said.
"What has begun?" Xander asked. "The Subjugation of Baba Naga, the Cauldron Witch." a guard said. "Subjugation? Are you serious?" he asked. The guards nodded, "Some Stream Scouts were dispatched to investigate the recent attacks on the nearby village. One of them came back with a report about a witch conjuring mobs and brewing potions inside the swamp." the guard explained.
"And so after investigating for a few days. The scouts have identified who she was which is why we were dispatched to subdue her immediately." another guard added. "But if it's just one witch, why bother sending a huge task force." Xander asked. Chrome butted it and said. "That's because she's not just any witch. She's a powerful practitioner of the dark arts. She's wanted by many kingdoms for the many crimes she committed but is yet to be captured. But the most terrifying part about her is the fact that she serves the bane of all Minecraftians, Herobrine."
Author's Note:
Thanks you so much for reading this chapter. If you liked it, don't be shy to leave a review. Your reviews help motivate me a lot to continue writing. It can be anything from jokes, opinions, suggestions, or straight up criticism. With that said, I hope you have a wonderful day/night! Thank you as always! Take care and God bless! :)