Chapter 56: We Need to Go Deeper
Geres'anmislar stepped through the purpur stone doorway, feeling utterly ridiculous at how difficult it was to do so.
He'd returned to the Land of Infinite Void, and specifically to the home city of his tribe, Nuroslar. Finding his way back hadn't been an issue; the Acolytes of the Violet Gaze maintained strategic control over one of the few remaining gateways to the Land of Bright Sky and Blue Pain. Their forces were not yet sufficient to launch a proper invasion, but the underground stronghold made for a good staging point between the two worlds. It was well-guarded, and his kin had provided treatment for the injuries he sustained.
No, what made entering that tall chamber in the depths of Nuroslar so difficult was working up the nerve to return. He had much to explain, and little of it was favorable for him. As he reached the center of the dark, circular room, he bowed his head and set an item wrapped in cloth on the floor. Perhaps he could still spin this in a more positive light.
"Grand Conqueror," he began, "pray forgive my late arrival."
From atop his high throne, the chieftain of the Violet Gaze leered at him.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't return, Geres'anmislar," he replied. His exoskeleton was smoother than those of most other Void Walkers, and his lower jaw sported three short horns on either side. An ornate diamond chestplate made his stature appear broader than was typical of their thin race. "Yet here you stand, damaged and attempting to mask your unease. What is it you hope to hide from me?"
Geres struggled to keep his tone subdued. "Nothing, mighty Phoros'malmislar. I only wish to present to you… a trophy from my latest hunt."
Still bowing his head, he unwrapped the cloth to reveal the severed arm within. Phoros didn't say anything.
"Behold," he continued, "this arm was taken from a Keeper of the Hallowed Grounds who refused to learn his place."
"Quite the catch indeed, Geres'anmislar," said another voice to his left. He cringed, but didn't look toward the speaker.
Lurex'skonaslar stepped from the shadows. He could feel the emerald gleam of her eyes judging him as she drew nearer, yet still he did not move or look at her. The pompous robe she wore, as bright yellow as voidstone, would have been enough to get on nerves even if she hadn't been tacitly mocking him.
"An arm of a Groundskeeper, yet nothing else? Why have you returned in such a battered state, I wonder?"
"I… was taken by surprise. I could not finish him off," he admitted, already bracing himself for the reply.
"You, surprised? By what exactly?" Phoros' tone was impassive.
Geres could barely get the words out. "The Groundskeeper had assistance. A… Walker of the Transforming Earth and a Walker of the Great Haven."
Lurex scoffed. "Ah, of course. Two Blue Walkers got the better of you? If only you were one of our most prized hunters, you may have stood a chance against such vicious opponents."
He willed himself not to shoot her a scowl. Geres looked up at Phoros with his teeth clenched. "Please, Mighty One, permit me to return and correct this. I will bring back the escapee's head this time, I swear it."
"A single Keeper of the Hallowed Grounds is of no concern to us, Geres'anmislar," Phoros said, "and you have already spent far too long on this distraction."
"But that tribe-"
"That will be ENOUGH." Phoros teleported to stand in front of him, towering above Geres. "The Keepers will fall in due time, but I will not have your impatience delay us any further. As we speak, there are uprisings in our conquered territory. You will ensure the submission of the tribes we have already defeated before you focus on those we have not."
Geres stiffened, but bowed his head. "As you wish, Mighty One."
"Lurex'skonaslar," Phoros went on, "what news do you bring?"
Her posture straightened as she delivered her report. "Our efforts to terraform the Land of Endless Blaze are yielding results. The red forests seem particularly susceptible to change, and we have made them much more habitable for us. Our territory now borders the fortress city Dalloreis."
Geres saw the ghost of a smile come over Phoros. "The Dwellers of the Ashen Fields, have they taken kindly to our arrival?"
"They have refused our offers of an alliance, but I believe some… light persuasion will help them see reason." Lurex's smug delight was clear in her tone.
"Then our focus will be placed on them for now. Geres'anmislar, you will take your hunters and accompany Lurex'skonaslar to Dalloreis," Phoros commanded. "The Ashen Dwellers will join our cause, or they will submit to our might."
Geres stood at last. He left the severed arm where it was, bowed, then teleported out of the room without another word. He had his orders, and he would fulfill them, but his priorities hadn't changed.
"The Hallowed Groundskeepers… I will dispense justice upon them if it is the last thing I do!"
"I had hoped for something to surprise me, and my wish would be granted by the fourth year of our travels together. One night, Steve was caught off-guard by a creeper. I still remember his short scream, cut off by the blast. I remember watching him die before I could help."
"And, of course, I remember what I learned about him that night."
A week passed. Alice even surprised herself with how readily she took to her new task, spending her days farming crops, collecting materials, and fortifying the mansion into a little base of operations as the group of three prepared themselves for the mission to come. She was no stranger to taking the time to gear up for an expedition; she'd done it plenty of times with her old friends, and the process came with a fair bit of nostalgia for her earlier adventures.
But there was more at stake this time than the thrill of discovery and loot, and their progress had tangible meaning. Every batch of ores she and Matthew found when they dug into the caves beneath the mansion meant more weapons, tools, and armor to equip themselves and- hopefully- the Endermen they would meet with. Every mob they encountered meant another chance to improve their skills and steady their nerves. Every victory meant they were getting better at fighting, at thinking and adapting to the stress of battle.
And every day they spent with Salsh meant more chances they had to learn from one another.
He would tell them stories about the End. She couldn't deny he was often hard to understand, especially with his difficulty translating names or concepts to them, but Alice always found herself enraptured with what he had to say. The sheer difference in perspective was fascinating, let alone the things he talked about.
"Ours is a race of great scientific prowess," Salsh explained one night as they settled down for dinner. "We have sought out other worlds, that we might gain further knowledge and expand our capabilities. Our first discovery was the Land of Endless Blaze."
"You mean you invented Nether portals? No wonder they need to be built so tall," Matthew remarked. "How many other worlds have you found?"
"As far as I am aware, only this one. It was speculated that a new dimension, one diametrically opposed to the Land of Endless Blaze, could have been accessed through a portal frame built using the glowing stones of that world." Salsh sighed. "Regrettably, testing such a theory yielded no results."
Alice giggled, recalling a time from her youth. "Great minds must think alike; my old friends and I once tried to do the same thing. We poured water into a glowstone frame, but nothing happened."
"Water," Salsh repeated, with a noticeable shudder. "The blue pain is far too deadly for us to work with. I remember being repulsed the first time I saw creatures from this world ingest it."
Alice had raised her water bottle to drink from, and she saw him staring at it with wide eyes as she downed the last of it. She couldn't help but flash him a smile.
"Astonishing," was all Salsh could say.
He would accompany them on mining expeditions every now and then, if only to help carry excess materials. Most of his days were spent in the mansion, attempting to cobble together a functional portal, but he would not refuse to join in on their outings when offered. His mood appeared better whenever he did, and Alice realized just how lonely his time in the Overworld must have been. He was far from home and on the run from his tribe's enemies, after all.
"Truth be told," she thought more than once, "I don't mind having him around either."
Matthew, for all his prior unease, got along with Salsh very well. The two shared explorative mindsets, and on many nights Alice could hear them looking over the maps Matthew had drawn and discussing how to most efficiently cover uncharted grounds.
Another week passed. Early one morning, Salsh unveiled his creation to them in what had once been the mansion's dungeon. It was a square frame of yellow and green stones, arranged around a space on the floor three blocks long and wide. Twelve round sockets lined the frame.
"The gateway is finished," he declared, "but we cannot yet open a portal to the Land of Infinite Void. A source of power is required."
A crafting table was in the corner (they'd taught him how to use them), atop which he placed a dark green pearl and a single blaze rod they'd found stored in the mansion. Salsh snapped the rod in half between his fingers, then crushed both pieces in his palm and dumped the resulting orange powder onto the table. He rolled the pearl across the blaze powder, coating its surface until a much brighter green light began to emanate from within. A dark pit within the pearl gave it the look of a large green eye, colored not unlike Salsh's own.
As he picked up the pearl again to show it to them, he explained his work. "Travel between our lands can only be achieved with twelve of these items. We call them Halzost'gan, or 'Seers of the Beyond', but in your world they are Eyes of Ender."
Salsh repeated the process with a second pearl, then tucked away both of them into his pouch.
"You don't happen to have more of those pearls, do you?" Alice hazarded, knowing full well how he would reply.
"I am afraid not, nor could I find any additional blaze rods. We will need to procure more ourselves."
Matthew's eyes widened. "And the only place you can get blaze rods from is… the Nether…"
She put a hand on his shoulder. "I can help Salsh look for them. I don't blame you if you're not comfortable going there."
"O-of course I'm not comfortable with it!" he sputtered. "Zombies and skeletons are one thing, the Nether is a whole other story. But… ugh, you know I'm not just going to hide here while you head off into danger." Matthew gave her a sheepish grin. "We're partners after all, right? If you want to go, then I will too."
Alice returned the smile. "Thanks, Matt. It means a lot. Besides, we've gotten better at handling ourselves in just two weeks, I'm sure if we keep working together we'll be fine."
"I admire your optimism, and I will assist you however I can," said Salsh, who appeared to be smiling.
Matthew looked his way with a hum. "Hang on a second. Even if we get the blaze rods, where are we going to find more Ender pearls? Can you make them?"
"The process involves a creature found solely in the Land of Infinite Void, and demands much more time than we have even if one of them were here." Salsh's expression turned dark. "However… that is not to say we cannot still obtain more pearls. But for now, I say we focus on finding blaze rods."
"Sounds good to me," Alice replied. His discomfort with the thought of finding more Ender pearls was evident, even if she didn't know why. "Let's get to work on that portal, then."
She and Matthew returned to their mine, gathering buckets of lava and water as well as a few diamonds from the deeper areas. By the end of the day, they'd gathered more than enough materials, and the morning after they erected the obsidian frame in the caves just below the mansion.
"We'll take this slowly and carefully," Matthew said as he lit the portal with a bit of flint and steel. "So… who wants to go first?"
Alice took the lead, entering the Nether for the first time in years. Memories of past adventures flickered back as she stepped into the portal. She expected the heat, and the stale air, and the familiar sounds of bubbling lava. She expected the cavern of dull red rocks which her footsteps echoed off of as she emerged from the swirling purple miasma.
What she didn't expect was the battle she stepped right into the edge of. A horde of skeletons, armed with crude bows and swords, bore down on a band of Piglins which had been backed against the cavern's wall. The portal was near enough to the fight that Alice drew the attention of a tall skeleton, its bones charred black after constant exposure to the Nether's heat. Appearing to forget about its initial targets, it brandished its sword and approached her instead.
She considered doubling back through the portal, but her eyes landed on the Piglins again. There were eight of them, struggling to hold back at least twice as many mobs, and it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed. One of them looked small enough to be a child.
"Crap… okay, fine!"
The wither skeleton slashed at her. Large and imposing though it was, its swordplay was clumsy, and she easily dodged the strike before swiping her own iron blade right into its torso. Her attack wasn't as impactful as she'd hoped; the sword had actually gotten stuck between its ribs, and yanking on it wasn't doing her any good.
A shout came from the portal. "Alice, get back!"
She let go of the hilt and took a step away, whereupon an arrow shot right into the skeleton's eye socket and shattered the back of its skull. As it collapsed into a pile of bones, she looked behind her to give Matthew a sheepish smile.
"Thanks for the help! Now let's help them!"
Salsh came through as well a second later, and the three of them set about striking at the undead pack from behind. The Piglins, perhaps realizing their situation was no longer hopeless, fought back with renewed vigor until the skeletons' numbers had been depleted. Salsh dealt with the final straggler by simply tearing its skull off with his bare hand.
Yet their troubles weren't over yet, as the Piglins they'd just rescued started toward them with aggressive snarls and grunts. Alice backed away, unsure what they'd done wrong and fearing another battle was inevitable. However, the child ran out ahead of his kin and approached her with a curious look in his beady eyes. She noticed he was wearing a dented pair of golden shin guards, and offered him a few gold ingots from her inventory.
"H-here, you like gold? Take these…"
The young Piglin grabbed them with a delighted squeal and turned to the others, jumping up and down to show off the ingots. They paused and muttered among themselves, still unintelligible to Alice or her friends. After a few seconds, they slowly put away their swords and stepped closer to watch the child show off his new treasure.
"Perhaps we've bought our safety for the moment," Salsh remarked. "It's a pity we cannot speak their language; they might be able to point us in the right direction."
Matthew perked up and pulled out a quill. "Let me try!"
He found a sheet of paper and a bottle of orange ink, and Alice realized what he had in mind. When he was done, he turned the page over to show the Piglins a finely detailed picture of a blaze and a few rods surrounding it. One of the adults appeared to get his meaning and pointed to the right, further down the tunnel.
"Good call, Matt," she said, dropping a few more ingots in front of the group in thanks. "Now, we should probably get moving before we overstay our welcome."
She placed a cobblestone block in the portal frame to deactivate it (the last thing she wanted was any of the Nether's hostile denizens stumbling into the mansion), then checked to make sure her equipment was in order and started down the way the Piglins had pointed out. The adults were too busy marveling at the gold she'd left to pay her group too much mind, but the child came rushing toward them one last time and held something out to Salsh. He had to stoop quite a bit to take it from him.
"What is this, small one?"
He unfurled a tattered gray banner, dyed with wavy orange and black rings around a pair of green dots. Jagged symbols surrounded the rings. A harsh grunt from one of the older Piglins made the child scamper back toward the rest of his party without so much as another glance at the travelers, leaving them to inspect the banner.
Salsh's eyes widened. "This is Voidscript! 'Dust and flame, tempered and strong.' And, this emblem…"
"Are there more Endermen here too?" Alice asked, seeing where he was going with it.
He tucked the banner in his pouch, almost smiling. "I believe so! I've heard tell of a tribe that settled here in the Land of Endless Blaze. We may be close to their territory; they can help us find what we seek. Come!"
They set off, thankfully finding the tunnel the Piglins had specified to be very straightforward and devoid of mobs apart from the occasional skeleton which was easily put down. It was a long walk, but not a difficult one. The path eventually brought them to an enormous cavern, with a sea of lava between their dark, sandy bank and the distinct shapes of towers, bridges, and parapets.
"That looks promising," Matthew said, "if a little scary. But look, there's a way across!"
Indeed, luck was on their side again: a bridge of dark red bricks was erected on one of the neighboring banks. They made their way to it and began to cross, but were around halfway over when Alice noticed something strange.
"Is it me, or does that fortress seem a little too quiet?"
"I'm not sure I understand," Salsh replied.
"The Nether has plenty of old or abandoned forts," she explained, "built by people who've visited years prior. Maybe they decided to leave, maybe they were driven out by mobs, or maybe they… a-anyway, I remember my old friends and I used to find some of them when we came to explore."
Alice pointed up at the closest tower. "See that, though? Perfect condition. No missing or cracked bricks, and it's not covered in dust or anything. But there's no signs of life either; do you see any guards or people walking around on the bridges?"
Matthew sighed. "You're right… maybe it was recently abandoned? Let's just hope whoever used to be here left their blaze rods behind-"
He was cut off by the familiar sound of something teleporting into their vicinity. Alice turned to see him struggling in the arms of an Enderman, but before she could raise her blade a second attacker appeared right behind her and squeezed her in a tight grip. She heard Salsh cry out, then the bridge, the lava, and the city all disappeared as the Endermen warped them away.