Hero's Bane
Chapter 23: The Price You Pay
Edited 4/14/2022
Nigel carefully inspected the miner's head on all sides in curiosity as he just stood there with the glowing blade in hand. "I have absolutely no idea why he didn't take the blade, but my theory is that he may of forgotten. I say this because once you fell out of consciousness; he just stared at the painting like he was remembering something or reliving a memory, he was so caught up that once it was over that he may of just forgot about it. That is unless he knew about it the entire time but did not care for it. If not any of those reasons, then I don't know. Also, I don't see any new bruises or markings. I find it amazing how Herobrine can instantly project himself into one's own thoughts without so much as a touch; surely something to add to my notes on him."
"Reliving a memory?" Steve whispered to himself with his eyes now moving back on the painting again, he approached it once more.
"Can't be completely sure if it was that specifically, but the hero seemed so fixated on it that he remained motionless for several long minutes. I'm merely guessing, but you seeing him in your 'dream' might just be proving my theory." Nigel moved over to the miner and looked at the painting as well. "Oh how awful it must be to recollect such an terrible event."
"Wait!" Steve moved forward until the image was within reaching distance. "This happened in my dream!" He pointed.
"Yes, you've told me this before. Remember?"
"No, no no. I'm talking about the dream I just had, or memory, whatever it is. I had this same dream before, but this time I wasn't in Herobrine's place!"
"Oh?" Nigel cocked his head in interest.
"This time I was in the crowd when the people surrounding were shouting and attacking Herobrine, he screamed so loudly and looked like he was in so much pain."
"Then what happened next?" The old man curiously asked, lightly coaxing the human to continue with his soft tone.
Steve rubbed the back of his head while looking away from the adventurer. "I- I couldn't stand to watch them torture him anymore, so I sort of intervened?" The miner grinned with unease and a nervous expression.
"You went to defend him correct?"
Steve only nodded and glanced back to the painting with a frown, still feeling lost in the colored canvas.
"Oh Notch! That sounds terrible, it's just sad that you had to experience it; but I'm glad you stood up for him."
"Yeah." Steve spoke more softly. "I had to because-." The miner let out a long quiet sigh. "Because it just wasn't right, watching him get stabbed and pelted with stones was sickening. He couldn't die so they were just torturing him, criminal or not; the whole thing was going way too far." Steve could remember the pained and guilty look on Herobrine's face, he could also remember all of the bloodshed. "Some could say it's justifiable, I strongly disagree. The cries he made, I just couldn't stand it. I've had a dream where I was in his place remember? I know how it feels and trust me, that pain felt so real that I thought I was actually getting stabbed but the wounds healed. That sort of explains why they healed on me when they healed on Herobrine, because I was in his place."
"I'm going to go on a limb and say that what you went through was a memory. I'm not one hundred percent sure but that is what I believe, these two dreams you've had seem very connected to one another."
"Dream, memory, combination of both? It doesn't matter, it just means that we have to get to the shrine faster or next time he may not hesitate to spare me. I got lucky, I think."
Nigel nodded. "I guess we should get a move on then. This picture has taken up enough time as it is and we still must leave before it gets dark."
Steve quietly nodded back and the two grabbed their torches from the floor and headed through the large stone archway.
The miner took one last glance from over his shoulder at the picture while walking away, he couldn't get the agonizing image of chained tormented Herobrine out of his head. When looking back towards the direction they headed the miner then gawked in awe at the long corridor ahead of them, not only was it lengthy but the stone ceiling elevated and stretched to what seemed to be twenty to thirty blocks high. "Whoa." He looked up in wonderment as large stone columns climbed upwards then arched above his head in a beautiful form, there were missing blocks in places and cracks all around exposed by the torchlight; but the damages did not ruin the absolutely stunning design appeal above them.
"Impressive right?" Nigel smiled. "If you though that this was superb then wait until we enter the throne room. The main entrance hall is connected to it and the arches go up even higher than these, it's magnificent! I've always admired the grand architecture and flawless designs but unfortunately; we're not here for sightseeing today. We'll save that for another, but for now let's keep our objective in mind. Be very careful down these corridors, they're very open but it's still quite dark. Also, be weary of spiders too. They like to nest in the corners or at the top of some of these pillars. Why even sometimes they'll spring off of the walls and make an attempt to pounce on you, just though I'd throw that out there so you could take some precaution."
"Great." Steve gulped as he now searched the stone walls and support beams in paranoia.
"Don't worry too much, I haven't seen any yet. Besides, the library shouldn't be too far from here and… yep. The skeleton and zombies are still there." The older man sighed and held the stone sword loosely in his hand. "As much as I wish I could fight, I'm just not very good at it. Care to take these brainless sods?"
Steve's grip on the diamond blade tightened. He could still feel a strange energy flow from the handle all the way up through his arm and into his chest. He looked down the stretch of stone columns and squinted to see two zombies and one skeleton archer roaming about in front of a large open doorway on the other end of the passage.
"They're near the library, those buggars can be a real nuisance; especially since they're more powerful then the ones outside of this land. As a tactical advantage, I'd say to batter up that bag of bones first and then concentrate on the undead. Hopefully that blade you have there will make the fight easier."
"It will, but for a short time."
The old man raised a brow with an inquisitive look. "What ever do you mean 'short time'?"
Steve stared down at the glowing weapon. "I've used it once before when I escaped Herobrine. I fought and surprisingly killed a few mobs with ease on my way back, it was so powerful that all I needed was one clean blow and they just fell over dead. I thought it was so amazing but as soon as I sheathed it; I felt drained and almost passed out where I stood. I was so tired when I put it away, tired enough to fall asleep right there outside of that house we stayed in. I might of collapsed if I wasn't determined enough to get to safety and check on you."
Nigel tilted his head. "So you are implying that this sword gives you power like you couldn't have with any other enchanted weapon, but as soon as you drop it then it saps away all of your strength and then some?"
"Yeah, exactly that. That's why I'm sort of hesitating to wield it. It has it's use, but at the cost?"
"A heavy toll on your body." He finished.
"That pretty much sums it up. If I use it too much then there's no telling what would happen to me, I'm almost afraid that it could kill me."
"Then use the iron one."
"I would, but these mobs are too strong and in groups." Blue eyes move from the blade to the old man. "I'm not taking that chance, but I will risk using this sword again." He said lifting the blade out to his side, ready to charge at the unsuspecting mobs. "We've came this far, so no turning back and no giving up. I can't risk losing you; but I can at least risk taking a little fatigue." He said with a little more confidence and a small smile, deep inside however; he could feel the power already surging through his veins and his heart raced from the rush of energy as he prepared himself. It hurt to have this power flow through him rapidly, he felt his lungs heave for more oxygen with the feeling of an invisible weight on his chest; but in return he felt like he could cut through an iron golem in one swing. To refuse using it wasn't an option.
"Stay back, I'll take them." Steve looked back and handed Nigel his torch and the man took it and adjusted it in his hand so that he could hold both his and Steve's. Nigel then took a few steps back before bobbing his head agreement.
"Be careful." The older man muttered.
Steve turned back around and began to run down the lengthy stone corridor, keeping his eyes fixed on the monsters still pacing around at the end of the stone brick path. His feet echoed throughout the hall and that alerted the monsters ahead. Steve picked up his pace as the skeleton turned completely around and pulled back it's bow with in arrow ready to fly right at him. In the vigorous sprint he felt like he could run faster than an ocelot weaving through jungle vines, he felt himself move even quicker on his heels as he trained his mind on the walking pile of bones.
The pale archer released it's arrow as the human got closer, it whizzed through the air and in Steve's direction. The miner swiftly moved to the side before jumping upwards and bringing the gleaming sword onto the skeleton's head. The skull shattered on impact into hundreds of tiny fragments of bone as did other bones that were in the line of the sharp blade cutting trough.
Particles of the skeletons remnants flew into his eyes but he quickly wiped away at the tiny shards only to have loud moaning sounds come from in front of him. The miner looked ahead and pulled the sword back up as one of the darkened greenish silhouettes stumbled forward, it's mouth opened up revealing discolored teeth and tongue as it went for Steve's neck. He plunged the sword forward and impaled the zombie but the creature continued to wiggle it's way on the blade to get closer, shredding itself to pieces trying to get to the man. Not allowing for the same mistake to happen again, he pulled the blade upright with all of his strength and the sword's edge went up, slicing through the zombie's torso and exiting on the side of it's neck. It then fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"Steven quick, behind you!" A voice echoed.
He spun around to quickly find a himself being grappled by another dead fiend. The zombie's weight toppled the two to the floor and the monster bent down quickly to bite into the human's flesh. Steve quickly reacted by raising his forearm up at the monster's neck to keep the disgusting smelling maw from reaching him.
"I'm coming!" Nigel quickly sprinted down the hall despite the bad ankle.
"Don't! Stay-back!" Steve forced the fiend off of him with a powerful shove and rolled over onto his stomach to crawl to his knees. "I've got this!" He pulled himself off of the floor and held the blade high. He felt so much power flowing through him like he was something else, inhuman, immortal.
The zombie made it's way upright and lunged again but Steve was quicker and hacked the head right off of the fiend's shoulders.
Nigel abruptly stopped in his tracks after seeing many glowing red eyes clinging to the ceiling. "Above you!" He shouted.
Just when he thought it was over; loud screeching sounds came from above and four large spiders clung to an arch above his head, three of them started to scale down the walls while the other reared back then propelled itself off of the arch and down at the human.
Steve leapt to his right and avoided a loud and heavy thump just feet away. The spider began it's speedy crawl at him and he backed away a few steps ready to strike when another screech came from behind. He spun around and swung the diamond sword chaotically as it approached, making the mob stop and try to look for an opening.
He went plummeting to the ground with another heavy weight on him, but this time it was on his back and it's legs kept him pinned. Large fangs came down at the miner's shoulder and that's when the blade glowed brightly, Steve found the power to roll underneath the large arachnid and bring the sword up into it's face; quick enough to stop the bite. Steve then drove the weapon effortlessly into it's head making the body shudder then fall limp almost instantly, he then shoved the dead spider off to have another crawl upon him to take it's place. He kicked away at the mob's eyes and it stopped the attack for a short time but the fourth spider came over the top of his head and obstructed his vision and stepped on his wielding arm and blade, pinning the sword down to the floor. It shifted around and prepared to sink it's mandibles into this stomach.
Adrenaline rushed through his veins after seeing the spider rear it's head back to bite down, he jerked his arm and sword out of the hold and swung the blade around wildly while kicking and hitting the other arachnid, hoping to get the mobs off of him quick. A few stray swipes struck the spider blocking his view and it bounced back and off of him with a raspy chirp, giving him a chance to lean up and drive the sword through the other spider's back. It shrieked loudly before it's legs fell limp and the glow in it's eyes faded. He swiftly rolled to his side then lift up onto a knee, blade still ready and now pulsing in his grasp. The other spider had been struck in the face and it shrieked and backed away as it struggled to see with a bright green substance flowing from the it's wounds and seeping over it's eyes. Steve ran at the mob and slashed it across it's head, making the outsized spider to fall flat, dead.
Steve huffed loudly and searched his surroundings again, looking all around and even above so that he wouldn't be taken by surprise. He deeply inhaled after not seeing or hearing any other mobs. "It's over Nigel, you don't have to worry. At least not yet." He breathed with a small grin, it didn't last through, not after seeing Nigel continue his quick limp towards him with a worried face.
Steve wiped a few drops of sweat off his face with his forearm and unconsciously re-sheathed the blade back into the scabbard. In doing so he suddenly felt paralyzed, weak and nauseous as strength that once flowed faded. It quickly sapped away the power to his muscles and he expected that. He found himself swaying from side to side with each step towards the old adventurer, he felt disoriented and so tired but there was something else happening that he wasn't familiar with. He placed a hand over his heart as it began to race a lot faster than it did during his small battles. The sound of his heart pumped loudly in his ears and beat painfully in his chest cavity. He winced and wheezed as pain and weariness flooded his form, the weariness brought him down onto a knee. "What's going… going on now?" He staggered as he tried to stand back up, he managed to to get back onto both feet and proceeded towards Nigel; he then staggered to his right a few steps before toppling over onto his side unexpectedly.
"Steve!" Nigel rushed to the young man's side and laid the items in hand down before reluctantly touching the miner's shoulder in concern. "Are you alright?"
Steve's mind went blank for a second and he felt a wave of heat and some other indistinguishable sensation wash over. Such an uncomfortable pressure built up in his upper torso and it continued to grow, his limbs twitched and shuddered. He gasped for breath as he clawed at his chest in discomfort, his world was beginning to spin around him and it just kept spinning, his head felt light. "My arms?" He grimaced. "Why do they hurt so badly?" He asked as he balled up his fingers. The muscles throbbed excruciatingly, then started to burn. The man was now breaking into a cold sweat as he tried to move, but all he could do was writhe around on the stonebrick surface. "They hurt so badly. … And my chest, it burns! Burns!" He then grasped onto the collar his shirt with both hands and squeezed the fabric tightly, trying to suck in the cool air to relive the hot sensation; but he just couldn't take in enough. Steve closed his eyes as he tried to roll onto his back but Nigel stopped him.
"On my Notch, Steve! You're having a heart attack?!"
The incapacitated man peeled an eye open to see the shock on Nigel's face and gave a shocking expression of his own. "Hea-rt attack?" He copied.
"Yes. Now just calm down, remain still alright?" Nigel kept a straight face as he pulled off his bag and dug into it to find a collection of potions. "Just one second, try and steady your breathing alright."
The man lying on the ground did as he was asked and tried to stable his intake of air. "The sword- it'll-"
"No!" Nigel quickly reached over and batted Steve's weakened hand from reaching it. "I know the blade may seem like it would help, but just putting it back into hand will make everything worse over time. The price of holding it is too great, just leave it in the scabbard."
Steve didn't say anything and focused on breathing.
"Come on, I have to have something in here for this?" Nigel whispered to himself as he dug through a pile of glass bottles.
…
"There has to be something! I know I have something." The old man started to panic a little as time passed, he took some glass bottles out of the bag and lay them on the floor, quickly trying to find a remedy to soothe the burn and help the miner recover.
Steve sat up as his rapid heartbeat slowed, the burning sensation was now fading to his relief, at least enough that he could tolerate it and he could breathe a little better. He brought a weak hand to his head and rubbed the side of his cheek, wiping away a trail of drying saliva. He pulled off the heavy weight of his chest pack from his shoulders and rubbed his sore neck. "I'm so tired."
Nigel looked up from his bag and motioned for his friend to lie down. "You need to rest!" He said with apprehension. "Just lay there and rest up while I try to find a stamina potion."
"I have a few." He whispered, now lying back on floor with his bags next to his side.
"Oh, I forgot. I gave you all of them!" He quickly reached over and dug through the satchel to find the one of the potions. "Here, sit up a bit." He pulled out that icky green substance and Steve felt his stomach toss. "Drink it." He says as he pops the corck and holds the glass up to the miner's mouth.
Steve leaned up some and drank the flow tasting liquid, he almost spat it up but covered his mouth as he swallowed it down. "Bluuhhhh." His face wrinkled from the taste and he let his head fall back to the ground and stared blankly up at the ceiling.
"How do you feel now?"
"Sort of sick." He joked with a small smile but it fell into a frown. "Okay, I'm still exhausted and my chest aches, but it's not as near as bad as it was a minute ago."
"Good." Nigel breathed then started to collect his potions back up into his bag.
"So I had… a heart attack?" The miner asked softly.
"I'm afraid so. It seems as though that sword may be too much for a human to wield. Perhaps it is best to use the iron one from now on. At least until we come across a situation in which we'd otherwise have no other choice."
He hated the idea of using the weaker sword. It was very ineffective to the fierce mobs and wasn't as near as sharp and strong or as nice as Hero's blade. Steve then blinked in surprise from realizing something, it's Herobrine's blade but some feeling deep down inside wanted him to keep using it for it's immense power. The sword gave him immediate confidence and the power flowing through him made him almost feel invincible, it made him want to keep fighting. He lightly gaped at this revelation, the sword was unnatural and even influential. "I guess you're right." He stated quietly.
"The price is too steep Steven. It wasn't made for mankind, that I now know be true." The old man stood and readjusted his gear.
"When I held it in hand I felt so strong, so confident." Steve slowly lifted himself up and onto his knees, he took Nigel's hand as it came down to help him to stand up. He staggered as he stood but managed to stay firm after finding a good footing. He reached down and plucked the straps of his bags from the floor.
"I imagine, you fought lie a skilled warrior the entire time."
"I felt power flow through my body, like I could take on anyone. I was fast, evasive, powerful. At one point I felt invincible, that as long as I had it then I couldn't be stopped, but you're right. It gives a whole lot but also takes too much, too much from me that it could've nearly killed me." He says as he looks down at the glowing blade in his sword's sheath.
"It's alright now, we know the limitations of the sword. You can't use it excessively like that anymore though, it'd be best to try and save it for real troubles; but even then you must use it sparingly. Come now, the library is in that room there." Nigel pointed to large double doorframe that stretched upwards into a small arch. "Whilst I search for information, I want you to rest okay. You've earned it. Truly my friend."
Steve only nodded as he dragged his backpack and satchel through the large doorway.
…
A set of white eyes peered from behind a pillar, placing it's relentless gaze on the human's back and watching as he disappeared around the bend and into the archives. Herobrine knew it was going to be difficult to stop the human without killing him, but that was if the blade didn't do it first. He knew the weapon would be too much for the mortal to handle considered it was imbued with divine enchantments and even the hero's own potent blood, but perhaps it just may do the job for him after all. If the human, by chance; continued to wield it despite the incredible power.
Otherwise, he'd just have to rely on other methods to stop Steve in his tracks and that may just be what the old hero needed to do and soon. Herobrine's eyes narrowed a bit, he started pondering on the idea of battling the miner with his blade; the idea seemed like an amusing challenge. An amusing challenge indeed.