AN: Time for another Chapter.
Been playing some more Elden Ring. First Souls Game, but the difficulty is what I heard it'd be. The most crushing feeling is losing runes in the five-figures because the stupid character tripped over a cliff or didn't pick up runes in time. It sucks. But I keep going back for more! The only unfortunate thing is that I can hardly find time to play it between work and typing. Also multi-player has only worked once and then never again. Big oof.
Had to do some Minecraft testing to see if Zombie Villagers keep their names after being cured. That's right. I do my research when I'm not pulling game mechanics out of my ass.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd make a Recipe for Enchanted Golden Apples.
...Pretty sure I said that one already.
[Mt. Mur]
Wynn found them.
Kenji and Chinami were stationed at the ancient stone brazier, a pair of Zombie Villagers corralled by fences just a stone throw away. Their Seconds weren't present, but judging by the hole in the ground, Wynn assumed they were mining for gold.
Why gold? Well, the second part of the trial - as Wynn and Mann had studied thoroughly - was to cure the Zombie Villager brought by the respective candidates. Only way to do that was with a golden apple, so they had to make one from scratch. There were plenty of trees around to harvest apples, but getting gold would require some mining unless you were prepared like Wynn and brought gold ingots of your own.
Now Wynn understood why Chinami and her Second didn't have to worry about their Zombie Villager while running interference. Kenji and his Second were keeping an eye on it for them. They were working together, and were now keeping watch so that the Seconds could mine some gold.
Wynn spied a single guard beside the stone brazier, illuminated by the blazing fire within. He must've been the one to inform them about curing their Zombie Villager. He was just observing them, likely prepared to verify whenever they cured their charges.
Wynn covered her mouth from her hiding spot behind a tree. They hadn't noticed her yet so she still had the element of surprise, but she didn't know how soon their Seconds would return with the gold. She was fairly sure she could win in a duel against Chinami, but Kenji's skill was still an unknown, and the Seconds could arrive at any moment. She didn't want to gamble everything on a fight she wasn't sure she could win.
Instead, Wynn's amber eyes zeroed in on the penned Zombie Villagers. She pulled out two Splash Potions of Healing II from her backpack.
Eye for an eye, Chinami.
There was a pair of noises - glass breaking - that had Kenji and Chinami whirling upon the pen. Their faces were livid as they watched the Zombie Villagers they spent the day escorting up Mt. Mur dissolve into EXP and rotten flesh. They were gone.
They traced the thrown bottles back to Wynn just before the Captain jogged off. There was an inarticulate scream before Chinami pursued. Several arrows whizzed past Wynn's fleeting back before she slid down the mountain and away. A vindictive smile covered her face knowing she set those Paragons back just as much as they did to her and Mann. A taste of their own vile medicine!
"Better get your king's funeral speech planned!" Chinami's voice carried on the wind as a chilling parting threat. It made Wynn want to meet back up with him as soon as possible. Kenji and Chinami would now have to go back down to get new Zombie Villagers. There was a good chance they'd run into Mann coming up. But not right away; they had to wait for their Seconds to return. She'd make the most of that time.
Under the cover of night, she leapt down the mountain blocks at a time, her Feather Falling boots cushioning her speedy descent.
[Hoogibsashit Outskirts]
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Another scream rent with despair and fury echoed across the plains as Carmen continued her wanton rampage. Spring and KillGore sat at the ruins of their failed ritual spot, watching the carnage through the night and into the dawn from a safe distance. The rising sun cast an orange glow upon the plains and gradually transformed the black night sky into a crystal blue.
Spring could clearly see the giant Hybrid stomping around and destroying buildings and people, though there were occasions where the guards fought back and her supersized form vanished. Seeing such a thing filled him with concern... the first couple of times. She always reformed and got back into it no matter how many times she was split up. Spring was sure even the guards had given up the idea of fighting her, but were killed all the same. She didn't stop while there were buildings still standing, Crafters still moving, or screams still sounding. She took everything out on that village, as if it was their fault she was trapped as a Hybrid for life.
Sleep threatened to take Spring once or twice. He had been up all night in preparation for the ritual, same as KillGore, yet he willed himself awake long after KillGore dozed off. The shrimp was slumped forward, his snores like that of a kitten, and Spring was half considering setting a bed down for him to lay in when the sounds of Carmen's rampage ceased.
Spring turned to stare at the remains of the village, blinking slowly. His face showed concern as he pushed off the grass, rubbed his butt that had been numbed from sitting all night, and started walking forward.
His sword weighed heavy on his belt as dozens of thoughts ran through his head.
The village gate wasn't a gate anymore. The wall was no longer a standing structure. The streets were pockmarked where Carmen had stomped and stamped, the occasional gear of a fallen Crafter filling it up. Spring walked past buildings ground down to the foundations, past busted lamp posts and broken bulletin boards, past Crafter Heads with dead gazes. The destruction grew more focused the closer he got to the center of Hoogibsashit.
There was Carmen_DelaCruz. Forever to be the Magma Cube Hybrid.
She stood in the middle of where a restaurant used to be. It was now a place of ruin, with food and ingredients littered about. Tables and chairs and carpet were torn up, the kitchen was stomped flat, whatever ambiance the place had long gone.
She was still a giant as she stood towering above the ruined restaurant. She must have chosen to stop her rampage here for a reason. She was a chef at her core before she gained a molten core. The place had meaning to her, deep below her haze of wrath.
Spring paused for a second before stepping past broken planks and stone into the ruins. He made sure to make noise so as not to startle Carmen (or worse set her off again), but Carmen paid him no mind. She just stood there, her shoulders hunched, back to Spring, and a faint sobbing rising from her throat. The sound twisted Spring's heart, yet he continued his tentative approach until he was at the Hybrid's feet.
Then, in a reckless move, he forgot all about his sword and embraced the back of her heel, hugging her tightly.
He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't think such a gesture would even do anything, yet he did it anyway. After all, who was he to her other than some guy she kidnapped? What worth did he have to her to make her feel anything from him hugging her? What comfort could he offer a being that had to come to terms with being a Hybrid for the rest of her life? He wasn't her husband. Alton was the one she needed now more than ever. He was just a-
There was a slight sniffling from above. That was all the warning Spring had before he was pitched forward. Carmen had sunk to her knees, the motion shaking the ground around him, and Spring was carried along whilst gripping her heel, winding up straddling it when she was done kneeling.
There was another sniffle that had Spring looking up from where he was hugging. Carmen's eyes were welling up with tears of lava, her vision blurry as she stared straight ahead. She was holding in her tears as much as she could, but her control was slipping.
Spring unstraddled her heel before climbing up her bent leg and up her torso to her neck. He found a stable position on her shoulder and, while she was still hiccuping to herself, he hugged the lower left side of her chin.
That was all it took for the dam to completely break.
"U... Uwaaaaaaaah!"
Carmen's head fell back as she wailed into the sky, her arms falling to her sides and the weight of everything finally hitting her. She surrendered to those feelings, crying twin streams of lava that could not displace Spring despite the heat boiling his skin. He just hugged her tighter without a word. Her bout of cathartic destruction couldn't hide how vulnerable she was.
Spring was squished tighter against her face when Carmen brought up two hands to his back to nuzzle him close. The pressure was a tad uncomfortable, but if she found comfort in him, he was content to stay quiet and be there for her. He rubbed his hands slightly along her face in what he hoped was a soothing gesture and was met with more boiling hot tears.
Spring wondered how anyone could accuse her of being a monster when she was a blubbering mess like this.
After an inexact amount of tearful hugging, Spring brought Carmen back to the ritual site. It wouldn't be a good idea to stay in the ruined village where the authorities' reinforcements would find them.
Carmen was so vulnerable that she split into her smallest bits and had Spring carry her back. His arms were laden with the miniatures with the exception of one who rode in his bandana, the prime seat. The Hybrid's sixteen miniatures were all hiccuping to themselves in the aftermath of an unrestrained sob session. Just being held by Spring seemed to be their only sense of comfort, and they nuzzled further into his body to feel more of it. Having them all exuding their Hybrid body heat helped to dispel the early morning chill and made Spring feel like he was wearing a belly warmer molded to his figure.
At the ritual site, KillGore was found right where Spring had left him, snoozing quietly.
"KillGore. Hey. Get up. We're getting out of here." Spring nudged with one foot.
KillGore stirred before bolting up and furiously rubbing at his eyes. "KillGore was not sleeping. KillGore's particular brand of villainy was just marshalling its-"
"Dude, it's just me." Spring assuaged before he could get going, making KillGore stop short, no pun intended.
"A-Ah." KillGore glanced aside awkwardly after swapping gazes with one of Carmen's tearstained miniatures. He had the decency not to comment on her rampage. "How... are you feeling?"
"Horrible." Carmen complained.
"Like there's no hope left in el mundo." Another clone whispered.
"I can't even begin to fathom what's next for me."
"I have... nowhere to go. Nada..."
Her clones leaned further into Spring's arms, their eyes sliding shut. "Qué debo hacer? What do I do now, Spring? Tell me what can I do?"
Spring swallowed thickly as he searched for an answer. The whole point of turning Carmen back was to give her a place to belong. As a Hybrid she had no place with the cult or the kingdoms; very much like Spring after going AWOL. The difference was that Spring was going to be redeemed with honors for helping KillGore with the Wither Skull Grinder. Meanwhile, Carmen was stuck as a Magma Cube Hybrid for life.
He hugged her miniatures tighter to his stomach. It was so stupid! She didn't look ugly or monstrous. Why did people keep shunning her? Why did those guards react with rancor? She was the best damn chef in the world and the kingdoms would be lucky to have her if they could just sympathize with her!
"Dígame, Spring." Carmen repeated insistently. "What do I do next?"
"I... I don't know." Spring admitted. In his arms, he felt the miniatures tense. His grip slackened and he lowered the miniatures to the ground despite their unwillingness to let go of him. "For now, you need to pull yourself together."
The double meaning wasn't lost on either of them, but it took Carmen a good minute or two to muster enough energy to fuse her miniatures into four regular-sized clones. Once she was back together, Spring lowered his head in apology. "I'm sorry."
Carmen showed confusion. "Para qué? You didn't-"
"I'm sorry I let you down." He clarified. "You did your part. You helped with the grinder. I swore to do everything I could to change you back, but all I've done is heap more disappointment on your life. I... I really thought I could help you. Do something good for once in my life." He gave a tight, self-deprecating sort of smile. "I guess I'm just no good at doing good."
Carmen and her clones wept fresh tears at the cultist's admission.
"I'm truly sorry for what Herobrine did to you." Spring continued genuinely. "And I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise despite all the work you put in on the grinder." He added. "But... I still have one promise I need to see through." He turned to face KillGore. "I owe you a Wither Skull Grinder. I'll finish it like I said."
KillGore nodded back respectfully.
"And Carmen." Spring sighed. "I... I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this sucks. This blows hard. This whole thing feels like a punch to the dick." He shook his head. "I'm still going back to the Endward Cult; no place else for a guy who can't do good. But the path I'm taking is one you can't follow. KillGore and I are different, but with you they'll want to kill you or experiment on you... or worse, I don't know. I can't ask you to come with us knowing all that. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"You're... leaving me?" Carmen asked tremulously. It made Spring's heart break all over again. "When I have nowhere to go...?"
"Agh. There's... there's nothing I can do!" Spring raised his voice. "I'm no good, okay? You want me to be with you? Me? The guy who can't keep promises? You should reconcile with your husband! He's the one you need to seek comfort with, not some cultist grunt from the organization created by the same bastard that made you!"
The Carmen clones stared dejectedly at Spring.
"So don't... don't look at me like that, okay?" He pleaded. "I get that this is the worst day of your life. My problems are weak by comparison, but I'm being pulled in two different directions here and we both know the place I belong is with those killers. That's who I am."
"...Y yo que?" Carmen asked. "Where do I belong? Where should I go?"
Spring shook his head. "Not with us. Like I said, reconcile with your husband."
"I'm too afraid to." Carmen admitted, hugging herself in solace. "I don't think I could take his look of disgust. It would destroy me, and I'm more scared of what I might do to him."
So even she was a little aware of her base Mob instincts.
"Then... find people who can look past your appearance." Spring decided next. "Find people who see you for your insides and not your outsides."
"Like you and KillGore?" Carmen phrased innocently.
"People that aren't part of some sick cult." Spring corrected. "Good people that like you for you. Find them, befriend them, cherish them. Then you'll forget all about this unpleasantness." He took her hand up in his. "Hey. Don't give up, okay? The world is a big place. I know you'll find a place to belong."
"...Okay." Carmen mumbled. She was still a little out of it, to be fair, and looked to be saying words just for the sake of saying words.
"Spring, we should gather the Heads." KillGore advised. "We can stash them and come back for them later if need be. It'll reflect well in the cult's eyes if you return that which you stole."
"Yeah. I can do that." Spring nodded before allowing KillGore a headstart. "Carmen, you should get moving too. Whatever you decide, I'd recommend staying out of Exter, Lazuli, and Oak Docks if you can. Dover Plains or Zeppil might be best to start looking for a new life."
"Oh. You... want me to leave right now?" Carmen asked, her vibrato etched with hurt.
"I mean, you can stay and watch us... if that's what you want?" Spring spoke helplessly. "But we're just going to leave through the Nether Portal. You wouldn't want to follow us in... would you?"
"I'll help with the Cabezas." A different Carmen clone interjected.
"What?"
"My clones will help you gather them." Carmen affirmed. "I cajoled you into stealing them, so I'll help you gather them. Especially if it helps restore your standing with the culto."
"Really, Carmen, you've helped us enough. I'm not holding anything against you-"
"I'm helping you gather the Cabezas and that's final. Perdóneme." The clones pushed past Spring and began picking up the Heads scattered about the ritual site and dumping them into a several buried barrels KillGore had set up.
"Why barrels instead of chests?"
"Barrels are sheek and new." KillGore claimed.
"But all we're doing is stor-"
"SHEEK AND NEW."
"Yeah okay sheek and new." Spring backed off.
It didn't take long to clean the place of Heads with six bodies, and KillGore blanketed the barrels with a thick layer of dirt marked only by a stone button.
"There. Should be easy to dig up later."
"We shouldn't tarry any longer, lest we risk getting caught by anyone investigating that carnage." KillGore led the way back to the Nether Portal, followed by Spring...
...and Carmen.
Spring wanted to address that Carmen didn't and shouldn't have to keep following them, but it sounded too callous no matter how he phrased it in his head. She was still coping with the idea of being a Hybrid for the rest of her life. He didn't want to be cruel kicking her off on her own, but he made it perfectly clear that he was going to rejoin the cult. She didn't want to be a cultist and they'd kill her if they found her. Did she just need a little more time to figure out a plan?
Spring had never felt so lucky to have KillGore's tactless bluntness on his side. As soon as they reached the Nether Portal, the midget confronted Carmen and demanded to know what she intended to do entering the Nether with them.
"You saying I'm not welcome? Tan rápida para cortarme?"
"KillGore is saying that Spring outlined the situation perfectly clear. He didn't spare your feelings to the reality of the situation." The blond-headed midget folded his arms. "If there's nothing more for us to offer you, having you tag along any longer only puts us all at risk, and you have nothing more to say to each other," he spoke with added emphasis, "then I think the present course should be obvious: we have to say our farewells."
She started to grow agitated. "Espere! I'm... I'm not ready to leave you two. I mean I'm bound by my word to help finish the grinder we started." She threw out hastily.
"You don't have to." Spring said.
"Agreed." KillGore added. "You fulfilled your end of the agreement, did the work, and paid your dues. More than that, given that the ritual failed, we should be owing you for failing to deliver what we promised. You are under no obligation to help finish the grinder."
"You demonstrated yourselves to be hombres honorables when it was inconvenient for you." Carmen spoke determinedly. "Honor demands I do the same."
"But you're not-"
"Look, let's just finish it together, okay?" She implored. "Por favor? I need more time with people right now."
Her words brought a fresh wave of guilt that had Spring cowed. He accepted the excuse and allowed her to accompany them and, as she said, 'finish what they started.' KillGore looked neither pleased nor disappointed to have Carmen's help. It would save him time crossing the sea of lava, and yet he didn't know how to feel for the companion stuck between joining and leaving. It was different before when her leaving was assured. Now they had to tiptoe around the subject to spare her feelings, but for how long? Days? Weeks? Months? They couldn't harbor her when they returned to the Cult. Ember would smell something was up from a hundred miles away and have all their heads.
It was obvious to everyone that Carmen was just making excuses to stick around with Spring and KillGore. They were the only Crafters used to and would sooner drink poison than condemn her as a monster. Few Crafters would be quite so understanding.
So, despite it being a bad idea, Spring bought in to the excuse and put off their farewell for a little while longer. It was a precarious arrangement. Nonetheless, the three amigos crossed the portal's threshold and entered the Nether dimension.
[Mt. Mur]
Wynn didn't like the idea of letting her guard down, but she knew she needed the bare minimum of rest so as not to be exhausted for the second day of the trials. So she dug herself a small cave concealed by low trees, set her bed down, and forced herself to calm down long enough to enjoy a few hours of sleep. As soon as dawn broke, she was up and rested, ready to take on the Paragons.
Since she had the time, she took the moment to chop down some trees to harvest apples. She needed at least one to make a golden apple. The other half of the cure was the Splash Potion of Weakness deep in her backpack. Together with the golden apple, it'd cure their Zombie Villager. There was just the small matter of escorting it to the stone brazier before the Paragons got to it... and His Eminence.
Wynn wished one of the Bounty Days could have devised a telescope; it would be difficult to pinpoint where Mann was along the mountain. Logically speaking, he'd take the quickest route from the starting line to the stone brazier, but he knew he would be hunted by the Paragons. Therefore it would make more sense for him to take a circuitous route, prioritizing safety over haste.
Wynn didn't have much to go on. All she could do was keep her eyes peeled between the base and the brazier. The trees thinned out at a certain part of the mountain, offering little concealment along bare rock.
Then again, she didn't actually have to find him first. If she found the Paragons and rendered them harmless then there'd be no reason to worry for Mann. He'd have a clear route to victory and Wynn could leisurely rack up virtue points without fear. Plus, it would be easier finding a group of four that she knew would be making a beeline to replace their lost Zombie Villagers than it would be to find His Eminence. In fact, Wynn bet those Paragons had pushed themselves through the night, forgoing rest to catch back up.
With that in mind, she vaulted off the mountain, dropping ten meters at a time with the aid of her Feather Falling boots. She headed towards the base of the mountain where the tents were, her eyes scanning for any signs of either Mann or the Paragons.
It was three-quarters of the way down where she located two sleep-deprived Paragons with a pair of Zombie Villagers. Kenji with one, and Broderick, Chinami's Second, with another. They were so blatantly colluding for these games that they didn't even bother separating. It was shameful to have two candidates gang up on another. They had no honor to Ringwood or its traditions.
It begged the question, though. Where were Chinami and Kenji's Second, Judson?
Wanting answers and feeling like throwing another wrench in their progress, Wynn leapt off her cliff with rapier raised. Kenji noticed the shadow before Broderick and jumped back just before Wynn's sword bit into Chinami's helper, his body breaking her fall as he was squashed flat against the rocks and knocked out. Wynn used his back like a springboard and launched herself at Kenji. The archer got off an arrow that struck her chest, but Wynn's momentum could not be stopped. She barreled into Kenji, the pair painfully tumbling down a few cliffs, before Wynn righted herself and pinned him to the ground, the tip of her rapier sticking into his mouth, prying it open and threatening to skewer the back of his throat.
His eyes went wide as he realized his predicament and his struggles soon ceased. Wynn wrenched his bow away from his fingers and chucked it as hard as she could down the mountain. It was hard to talk around the rapier in his mouth, but he spoke anyway. His mouth was his only weapon.
"S-So you decided to throw Mann to the wolves? Smart. Dead weight only drags you down. You're sure to get plenty of mental virtue points."
"That answers the question of whether you've found him or not." Wynn didn't let the barb get to her. She had to believe that Mann could protect himself for now. "Where's Chinami and your Second?"
"What makes you think I'd tell you?"
"Your unconscious 'friend' is laying back there helpless with two Zombie Villagers for company." Wynn watched his face whiten. "They might even be tearing him apart as we speak. You better give me something quick if you want me to save him."
"This... isn't very virtuous..." He spat.
"It's smart, though. A King has to know when to be cruel if it'll eliminate his enemies." Wynn drove the point home by poking her rapier further down Kenji's throat. "I won't ask again."
Kenji let go a defiant hiss, like a deflating balloon, before answering. "Chinami's playing defense at the brazier. She knows either you or Mann will have to turn up. I told Judson to perform side quests in the meantime. I don't know where he is. That enough for you?"
Wynn held his gaze for a second before deciding he was telling the truth. She lifted herself off of him and removed the rapier from his mouth before tending to Broderick. Predictably, the two Zombie Villagers were on top of him until Wynn dispatched them with ease, sparing the unconscious Paragon.
Kenji sat up to watch the whole thing with a confused expression. "You actually kept your word?"
"Always be honorable, even when nobody's watching." Wynn spoke simply.
"Very virtuous!" An observer for the trials exclaimed after popping out of a nearby bush. He quickly jotted the act down for points and Wynn smirked while stepping towards Kenji.
"But especially when someone is watching."
She then drove the handle of her rapier into Kenji's gut in an admittedly unvirtuous surprise attack, doubling him over and knocking him out. She collected the two Paragons and swept them into a hole in the ground before covering it with a torch and some cobblestone. They'd be safe there and would most likely wake up before the trials ended, but they'd be forced to get another new pair of Zombie Villagers. By then, it would be a mad dash to get to the brazier and back before the third day. Wynn had harassed them enough.
With them taken care of, she fueled strength to her legs and started climbing the mountain for what she hoped would be the last time. If Chinami was waiting at the brazier for His Eminence, Wynn would have to get there first. She had to move fast, though. A few seconds late could mean all the difference between a good day and the second worst day of her life.
Come on, Wynn. She told herself. Dig deep. Keep pushing. He's counting on you.
[Nether]
The Wither Skeleton Grinder was done.
There was no joy or fanfare in the wake of the crushing outcome of Carmen's failed ritual. When she ferried Sprung and KillGore back to the grinder site, they were met with dozens of Wither Skeletons that had spawned in their absence. KillGore's skills had proven themselves once again as only Wither Skeletons were present in the pen he made, thanks in no small part to the Wither Roses he had planted on it.
All that was left was the kill floor - a narrow chute where the Wither Skeletons would get deposited for harvesting. The fall down would deplete most of their health, making killing them as simple as throwing a punch or loosing a dog. Spring and Carmen didn't have much to do as KillGore quietly set up a sorting machine of hoppers to sift through the dropped gear. Bones, coal, and stone swords would go to a dump chest while the Wither Skulls went to a separate chest.
The completion of such a thing should have been a cause for celebration, and yet a bitter atmosphere hung cloying over the trio. Everyone's mood was subdued and dour, at complete odds with how they started the project.
Spring should have been over the moon. His return to the Endward Cult was assured; he'd never let Ember or that fucker 4Blite forget his part in providing them a supply of Wither Skulls. He'd grab the Executive's attention once again - prove that it wasn't a fluke, he wasn't a flunky, and that he was worth her time.
But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get excited for it. Rather than focus on how he pleased Ember, he just kept thinking of how he failed Carmen and how each passing moment brought them closer to parting for good. Maybe KillGore was onto something when he mentioned Stockholm Syndrome, maybe Spring fell in love with her cooking, maybe working together had built a real sense of camaraderie. They were the three amigos, and Spring found that meant something to him.
Spring lazily swung his sword, killing five weakened Wither Skeletons at once. He was sat in front of the grinder's chute, dispatching Wither Skeletons per KillGore's orders. The two were rotating to earn a hefty sum of EXP. KillGore's level, being league's higher than Spring's, rose at a slower rate compared to Spring. Spring went from Level 35 to 49. Spring's assumption that the midget was getting one level for every four or five Spring obtained proved true when he noticed his level went from 110 to 113. However, despite getting stronger with each EXP level, Spring was as downcast as ever.
The Wither Skull collection was proceeding steadily. The numbers fluctuated, but Spring got a Wither Skull two or three times for every hundred Wither Skeletons he killed. And they kept getting funneled right to him that it hardly took him much effort. He was laying down while stabbing them, their drops filtering through the hoppers beneath them and getting whisked away to their respective chests.
Carmen, being unable to accrue EXP due to her condition, merely sat about with her clones. The four of them seemed content to stare at Spring in silence, taking comfort in his and KillGore's company. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they went off to pick mushrooms for stew. It was nice, though. Peaceful. Like they weren't in a hellscape of lava and fire.
The trio spent days in the Nether focusing solely on farming skulls. They had no way of knowing how many days, but they knew they were staying longer than the Endward Cult would have allowed. By now, Abyssmal was probably wondering where KillGore was, yet the midget wasn't the one to break first. He wasn't the one to break up the trio by insisting they should go back.
Even after killing over a thousand Wither Skeletons, Spring didn't relent. He had twenty-seven Wither Skulls - a nice round number for triple the Withers used on Ringwood - and a ton of EXP, yet he kept stabbing with his blade, switching arms only when one got too tired. He was fine to keep going. For as long as Carmen needed, and without pressuring her once.
Of course, nobody addressing the obvious only added to Carmen's burden. She knew how selfish she was being following Spring and KillGore, and she knew they were being there for her out of consideration for her feelings. But they were right. They couldn't live in the Nether with her forever. It was easy to forget the rest of Minecraftia in the red hellscape's haze - something Carmen would have to grow accustomed to living there the rest of her life - but they were amassing skulls because they had something they were meant to do. It was for the Endward Cult. They were part of the Endward Cult. They were the Endward Cult.
She was just an unwanted monster. And it was time to close the book on her story.
The first to break was Carmen.
She and her clones sat up one day (or night, she wasn't sure) and drew the attention of Spring and KillGore.
"...I'm ready to be alone now."
Spring lowered his arms, the last of the EXP sinking through his skin to join the rest. He was at level 49, now.
"Okay..." Spring said simply.
KillGore stood up and nodded in acceptance. "KillGore will pack up the Wither Skulls." He subtly excused himself so as to give the two some privacy.
Spring and Carmen faced each other (four times over taking the clones into account), and an awkward silence hung in the air between them.
"I-"
"Be-"
They had both decided to break the silence at once, instead tripping over each other's words. Their was a brief chuckle of amusement shared before Carmen gestured for him to go first.
"Be careful." Spring advised. "There are a lot of cultists. Number keeps growing too."
"I'll watch myself."
"""Literalmente.""" The other three clones added.
Spring gave a sad chuckle before allowing Carmen to speak her piece.
"Espero que te dejen entrar. I hope they let you back in." She said encouragingly. "But... in the event that they don't... you wouldn't mind coming to visit me every now and again, right?"
"...Sure." Spring agreed, though he doubted he'd come back alive if they didn't accept his redeeming gesture. Either they forgave him or he died.
"Okay, then." Carmen's vibrato nearly cracked. "What say I give you guys one last ferry for the road?"
"Appreciate it." Spring smiled sadly before holding out his hand to the Hybrid. She took it and let him lead her and her clones back to the sea of lava.
It was time to go back and face the music.
[Mt. Mur]
"Come on, Cobb IV." Mann coaxed wearily. It was nearly sunset by the time he completed his circuitous route to the stone brazier, and his irritably hangry charge wasn't making the hike any better.
What happened to Cobb III? Nothing Mann would ever own up to. Anyway, Cobb IV was hardier, able to make the climb without incident. And the stone brazier was in sight, its pyre shining brighter than the setting sun.
Mann fished in his backpack for the golden apple only to freeze and let Cobb IV claw into him when Chinami stepped out from behind the brazier, her sword tip grazing the ground she walked on.
Mann whipped around and tried to nudge his Zombie as fast as he could, but Chinami struck first, slamming into Mann's back and knocking him down a steep incline with his Zombie Villager. He landed hard, his shoulder cracking painfully and eliciting a pained hiss.
Chinami pounced after the king candidate, forcing Mann to prop his shield up between them. He got it up just in time, though Chinami's full weight squashing him flat into the rock, driving the air from his lungs as she braced herself and crushed him further.
She worked the sword around the shield and grabbed a fistful of Mann's head, jerking his neck up as she readied the killing stroke.
A white blur blindsided Chinami, tackling her off of Mann. There was a tangle of limbs as the two women grappled. A rapier nearly took out Chinami's eye before the Paragon slashed at her torso.
"Glad you could make it!" Chinami taunted. "I let you go once. No more mercy!"
"You won't touch him!" Wynn snarled before the two pushed off of each other to disengage, their swords coming up in their familiar stances.
Wynn lunged forward with two quick jabs, her left foot extending forward for support. Chinami batted both aside with her diamond blade before spinning into a slash that had Wynn leaping back.
Behind her, Mann scrambled with his broken shoulder and got Cobb IV and himself out of harm's way. "Go, Wynn! Win!" He cheered.
"What'll happen to him once you fail, I wonder?" Chinami mock pondered in between slashes. She was trying to make her mad again. Trying to make her sloppy. "After you got him killed dragging him into this battle for the crown. You won't have to live with yourself, though. I can assure you of that."
Wynn ignored her words, her iron rapier whistling at the speeds it punched through the air. Chinami parried three stabs only for the fourth to sneak through and pierce her collarbone with the force of a sledgehammer. She cried out and tried to play it off as a laugh.
"S-Such energy!" She crowed, falling back from Wynn's swordsmanship. "Are you angry?"
A boot shot up and across Chinami's face, stunning her briefly.
"Don't ask such a stupid question." Wynn uttered coolly.
"Th-Then we'll let our swords do the talking!" Chinami declared, her diamond blade swinging for Wynn's throat. The Captain ducked it smoothly, transitioning into a tumble that had her heel cracking against Chinami's nose.
The Paragon's back barely touched the ground before Wynn was on her. She skewered her wrist to make her drop her sword, then grappled with her until she wrapped an arm around her neck. Chinami's flailing legs were soon locked by Wynn's and her last free arm too was seized, effectively entrapping her in a rear naked choke hold. Chinami struggled feebly while her oxygen was deprived from her.
"Yield." Wynn commanded.
Chinami thrashed harder, but her muscles strained futilely against the Captain's effective technique.
"Yield!" Wynn ordered more firmly, spitting Chinami's blue hair out of her face while tightening her hold. Chinami tightened the muscles in her neck to try and hold out. "Don't make me kill you!"
"I'd... rather die!" Chinami spat in between desperate breaths. "You'll... have to have... blood on your hands... to win..."
"Don't be a fool!" Wynn reprimanded. "Didn't you come here to get a foothold for the Paragons? They need you, and Ringwood needs more Captains, even if it's you. So yield!"
Chinami sputtered for breath, her eyes crinkling as her energy waned. She could tense her neck muscles no longer, and Wynn's choke hold intensified to suffocate her. There was no escape.
"YIELD WOMAN!"
Chinami clenched her eyes shut before her hand tapped Wynn's three slow times in a show of submission. She had accepted defeat. At once, Wynn released her choke hold and allowed Chinami a deep gasp of air. The Paragon doubled over fighting to get oxygen to her lungs and Wynn got to her feet and stood over her, triumphant. Chinami didn't dare meet Wynn's eyes lest she provoke her. She remained hunched over in submission, and Wynn was happy to let her as she instead turned to where Mann and an observer were watching near the stone brazier.
"Very honorable of you," the observer noted, "to spare a foe."
"She's not the one who hurt me most." Wynn called back, the adrenaline making her feel like she could kill Ember_Waves right then and there.
"I'm proud of you, Wynn." Mann nodded while rubbing his damaged shoulder. "You possess many of the virtues of a queen. I just wish you could see that."
"We're here to make you the monarch, not me." Wynn said wearily. "No way around it, Your Eminence."
"I'm not My Eminence yet. Cobb IV still needs a golden apple." He caught the apple Wynn threw to him. "Ha! You think of everything."
"What happened to Cobb III?"
"Nothing you can prove." Mann evaded before making the golden apple and splashing Cobb IV with the Splash Potion of Weakness. The Zombie Villager barely registered it, but after Mann shoved the golden apple into its mouth, it suddenly stopped and started to tremble slightly. The gray particles of Weakness turned red accompanied by a crackling explosion. Although there was no visible change in Cobb IV's complexion, the golden apple was doing its work, healing the creature from the inside out.
"I completed several side quests for points." Wynn informed.
"I didn't doubt you would."
"Mm." Wynn glanced down. "I just want you to know I did good. I didn't fail you again like with-"
"Wynn." Mann rested a hand on her shoulder, his reassuring eyes and fatherly smile comforting her. "You did exceptionally, but my faith in you never needed to be restored. I can always count on you for support. Although," he chuckled, "I'm a little embarrassed to admit I shit a brick when Chinami came out."
Wynn allowed herself an uncharacteristic giggle as the tension of the trials drained from her from such a simple joke. With Chinami surrendered and Kenji set back, she could finally relax knowing His Eminence was clear to reclaim the throne.
All that was left was the walk back.
AN: Wynn and Spring begin their walk back. Trying to parallel their journeys a bit.
One more Chapter with these guys, then we go back to Cobb and Carys.
Also, enjoy the last Omake of the My Craft Stew. Kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel character-wise, but oh well.
My Craft Stew: Pick-Up Artist
At a bar stationed along one of the canals of Oak Docks, an elderly blue-haired bartender was wiping the spit off used bottles discreetly so he could refill them without the patrons freaking out about germs. The bar was packed with people as it was late at night and everyone wanted to unwind from a stressful day at-
"Uh, excuse me." Baltic the bartender raised a hand tentatively from his work. "Mr. Narrator? Yes, hi. I was just wondering what I'm doing here?"
I thought I painted the scene pretty clearly. You're the local bartender, here to serve drinks and maybe hand out advice since you have such a world-weathered persona. You're full of wisdom and always know what's best-
"Okay, sure, but why a bartender?" He asked, his gaze getting distracted by something. "Also, what are Anibal and Jillian doing here?"
"Yeah, I was about to ask that myself." The dark-skinned woman leaned over the bar before stealing a trio of Mundane Potions from the back shelf. "I mean, I'm content to drink until this all makes sense, buuuuut-"
"And I'm supposed to be in Nitebane." Jillian frowned with folded arms. "That's kind of my whole character at this point. The readers haven't gotten to know much about me other than I'm a former Captain of Zeppil, Carys' puppet ruler in Nitebane, and the Leader of Team Delta. Also my impressive intel network, which can't seem to explain how I got here."
Okay, look, let's not break character - or the fourth wall - until our fourth actor enters the scene, alright?
"...And who would that be? Another Paragon Leader you dragged into whatever this is?"
"Fifty emeralds it's Z7. She has more screentime than the rest of us." Anibal spoke around the neck of a bottle as she tipped it back.
All of a sudden, the three Paragon Leaders SHUT THE HELL UP and let the narrator narrate the arrival of their fourth drinking companion.
The door of the bar swung open and a man with shaggy, jet black hair, a bow on his belt, and a white eye patch with a red 'X' covering his left eye walked into the bar. The Eastern Executive, Abyssmal.
"Evening, ladies." He greeted suavely before taking a seat at the bar between Anibal and Jillian. "Mind if I sit here?"
"You can sit on your finger and twirl around." Anibal shot back, slurring slightly. "Also, this guy's the Eastern Executive? Him? Mr. Pirate Pablo?"
"I haven't gotten much screentime either." He admitted. "Though I'm pretty sure the readers have picked up that I was the former leader of the Birds of Prey. The Night-Raven. I'm also good with portals-"
"The Birds of Prey? How can you be a renowned archer with just one eye?" Anibal challenged. "Why, I bet you couldn't even-" An arrow shot the drink out of her hand. "-get me a new bottle to drink. Okay, wow."
"Okay, so, what's he doing here?" Jillian asked, this time half-exasperated. "If he's an Executive like you say, he's the last person we should be sharing a drink with!"
It gives characters you wouldn't normally see interact a chance to interact. That was the theme with most of these My Craft Stew Omakes.
"So people were requesting a bar scene between Baltic and three of us with little to no screentime?" Jillian asked sarcastically.
...
...
...
"Hello?" Jillian asked.
"I think you broke him." Anibal said before grabbing another bottle.
"Ugh. Stupid narrator. HELLO!?"
Okay, look. You guys were the last four characters I didn't get a chance to write anything with. I'm kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
"Wow, tell us how you really feel." Abyssmal said dryly.
Look, I know Jillian, Anibal, and Abyssmal haven't had much screentime, but I promise a lot of character focus will be dedicated to two out of three of you.
The three shared dubious looks with each other over that before Abyssmal leaned back leisurely.
"I'm cool with that. Hell, I'm an Executive. I'm assured that spot of character focus."
"So one of us won't get focus." Jillian said despondently. "We might as well be Leadstripe and 4Blite."
"Don't say that!" Anibal shook her forcefully. "Don't even think it! That's a low we can never sink to!"
"Hey, it might not help," Abyssmal offered kindly, "but the one thing that makes characters interesting is if they're banging another major character. So, if either of you two would be willing, or both at the same time, I could-"
""NO!"" They screamed in unison.
"It was just an idea..."
"Why'd we bang you when we're enemies?"
"I dunno, why are there Cobb and Carys shippers out there?"
"Those aren't real."
"Also, people really liked Cobb and Jade." Abyssmal commented idly. "Even more so when the shit hit the fan."
"This whole scenario has been a series of shits and fans." Jillian spoke dryly. "Clearly the narrator just threw us together last minute without any thought or consideration for our characters because he's a lazy hack who can't even meet weekly deadlines.
An anvil suddenly fell on Jillian, killing her dead.
The narrator concluded the Omake so he could excuse himself and not curl up and cry in a corner.
Stupid... minor character...
AN: *sob sob*
I try to meet weekly deadlines. I really do...
But Elden Ring is so frustratingly engaging!