Hero's Bane

Chapter 64: Of Troubles To Come

Edited 5/10/2022

Steve groaned as he moved an arm forward and slowly lifted his head, that counter kick had him temporarily nailed to the tree and he fell so gracelessly to the ground after he peeled off the bark. He forced himself to take in air with heavy and slow breaths, the wind was literally kicked out of him. 'Nothing new.' He told himself as he slowly pushed his weary body off of the ground, everything seemed to moved to the side a bit when he looked down at his hands that were pressed flat against the ground. He even felt himself swaying with his trembling arms, he was definitely in no condition to fight and yet he had to go and make such a bold and reckless move and ram Herobrine to get him to shut up. 'Herobrine?'

The miner quickly shot his eyes in the direction of the crazed being and he quickly rose onto his aching legs after seeing the powerful man make slow and steady steps towards him. "What have I got myself into?" He said aloud as bright eyes and the man that had them came towards him, a feral growl came up from his throat. "Please Herobrine, snap out of it!" Steve shouted aloud, but the being just kept walking in his direction with a scowl clearly indicating anger. Steve was way too exhausted to fight, he couldn't deal with the powerful immortal in his current condition. It was hard enough to stand already and that last charge took a lot of energy to do, he still had his sword but after glancing down at it in it's sheath; there was no way he could use it. In fact, whipping the thing out would probably escalate the situation and feed Herobrine's eagerness to fight.

He definitely didn't want that.

'Come on Steve, think!' The miner shook with each footfall getting closer and closer, it wouldn't be many more seconds before the white-eyed man would close the distance and probably kill him. 'Think!' He mentally slapped himself, trying to come up with any idea to get the more passive side of Herobrine to reemerge before the man's need of revenge gets to him.

'What would Lionel do. … He'd-… fight? No. He wouldn't, not Herobrine. But what then? Maybe he'd-' It was too late to finish that thought as he was immediately grabbed by the collar of his shirt and flung through the air towards another tree, his back smacked against it pretty hard and slid down onto his rear end in defeat. Every part of his body was aching and he definitely didn't have the strength to stay up on his shaking legs. Finding the willpower to stand; he actually rose back onto his feet. Then in the blink of an eye; Herobrine was standing in front of him, Steve was caught by a sudden and an unexpected uppercut to the jaw from the swift appearance and movement. He clasped his hands around the bottom of his cheek from having his teeth painfully gnashed together in the strike. However, before he could recover his stance he was pulled by the shirt collar again and was slung through the woods. He slammed into the ground and tumbled from the forceful throw, slowly rolling to a stop in a small clearing of trees.

The miner winced and forced himself to roll onto his stomach after finally coming to a stop on his back. "It can't end like this." The man said with anger bubbling up, he was spared and sent back here so he wasn't going to waste that life he was allowed to keep. Growling, Steve picked himself off of the ground and lightly stumbled as he regained balance on his feet; he wasn't going to quit. "Herobrine stop!" He shouted after finding the immortal leisurely walking in his direction with that wicked grin. The powerful demi-god however; continued his flouncing pace.

"I am your friend remember? You risked a lot to keep me out of Ender's eye and you took punishment because of me. You wanted me to leave, so now I'm leaving now okay. You said you'd let me live."

The being's expression didn't change, there even seemed to be a hint of malice on the old hero's face.

Steve shook his head back and forth as he took steps back, he was physically drained so there wasn't going to be a fight. All he had now was words and the knowledge of powerful man's history, maybe not all of it; but he had plenty enough to hopefully dissuade him. Now all he could do was talk his way out if Herobrine was listening, so far it didn't seem that way but words was his last line of defense. The miner straightened up his posture and narrowed his eyes slightly, he still took steps backwards to keep his distance. The clearing of trees he was in wasn't too open so if he was going to speak he'd have to make it quick and effective, otherwise; he'd be cornered by the dense woodlands and not be able to finish his piece without stumbling into a tree.

The miner's mind quickly scrambled for a start, the first thing that popped up was Lionel. 'That's it!' The miner realized. Lionel was very important to Herobrine, a symbolic brother as a matter of fact. The old hero even impersonated him in his dreams and mimicked him down to the finest of details. There was no guarantee that Herobrine would be able to understand while the white that clouded his vision, but it was worth the try. His side of logic and reason were generally replaced with the desire to kill and destroy, like a monster.

"Is th-this what you want Herobrine?" The miner began with shaky tone, noticing that Herobrine didn't seem interested in his words. At least not yet. "Do you think Lionel would approve of this? Do you think he'd want you to lose yourself like this? Like some savage?!" Steve could have sworn he saw a glimmer of hope in his situation when he said that name; Herobrine's psychotic grin fell to a frown. This was some good news, perhaps using that name got through because most of his words didn't. "Lionel died for you, he died trying to set you free. That is what I am trying to do now."

Herobrine kept stepping towards him with now tightly coiled fists.

"You know Lionel wouldn't want to see you like this, acting like a monster. Your brother would be also very upset if you killed his distant grandson, because I probably am; we look dead-up alike after all." Steve grew even more anxious as Herobrine narrowed his eyes. At least he was getting through, whether it be a dangerous approach or not. "You're blinded Herobrine. You're holding on to your dark past and letting the rage consume you, it's turning you into a mindless monster!" He shouted. Steve didn't regret his words but he wished he would of said them more calmly, shouting out loud only provoked the old hero and it spurred the powerful entity to lunge at him.

The mortal felt a fist slam into the side of his jaw, he then had the bottom of a boot fly into his stomach. Steve had been kicked to the ground before he even had a chance to recover from the punch, he immediately tasted crimson in his mouth after lightly touching his sore cheek. He then spat the coppery fluid to his side and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "You are not a monster Brine, so stop being one."

Steve gasped and grimaced as the same foot that kicked him came down on the center of his chest roughly. He cried out and grabbed a hold of the pressing force with his hands, he struggled to keep the foot from snapping his ribcage. The word 'monster' seemed to enrage the powerful entity a lot, or that is what the miner noticed.

"Come on Herobrine, let up." He gritted as the pressure grew. Steve tried with what energy he had to stop the crushing force but he wasn't doing so well, not with his lack of strength. "Lionel." The miner croaked in pain. He could almost feel his ribs bending inward. He pried his glued-shut eyes open to see the old hero with an expression of rage, the being towered over him and continued to bare his weight down on the human. "Lionel… he never saw you as a monster, neither do I!" The miner struggled. "Even back at that- that memory." Steve took a deep breath and pushed on the foot more. "At that stoning… He said that y-you weren't- one. That is because… you aren't! So let go of your anger, focus on what lies ahead. What has happened with those persecutors back then, are in the past, … so let go!" Steve swallowed up as much air as he could when the pressure lightened. He watched as Herobrine clasped both sides of his head and swung it back and forth with snorts and hisses. He appeared to be fighting for control.

Herobrine blinked again and again, slowly; the white fog that blanketed his mind and his eyes started to clear. At the same time however, he was enraged and it came back the more quickly as his mind wondered to the days of his torment. He couldn't let it go, these memories were too etched deeply in his mind. He was scarred permanently by his torment and most importantly; his loss.

"Don't... give in." Steve encouraged.

His line of vision was soon replaced with a pallet of warm colors and many idle forms with shaking fists raised up high, humans had surrounded a large stone column and chanted malicious words out of rhythm. He could see himself chained to the pillar of solid rock again, just hanging lifelessly as tiny rocks struck various parts of his body. He could still see the humans below him all shouting angrily and chucking sharp stones and sticks, most of them pelted him on the head and left small cuts that vanished rather quickly. Then he felt blades plunging into his stomach and twist, they sunk in like hot knives and burned.

He howled from the memory of the pain it brought him. He healed over and over just to take more and more pain. He couldn't die. He couldn't escape. When the blades stop he could hear the word 'monster' being spat at him from all sides, it was the one title he heard most. The crowd below shouted and raised their torches, calling him a monster, a murderer, a soulless man, and a demon. But that one single word drove him mad; he was ostracized, ridiculed, slandered, and forever smirched with such a damaging word. He was innocent and they still labeled him something that he wasn't. … Or perhaps… he was?

Herobrine grabbed the sides of his head and jerked it to each side; trying to block out the memory but it was there to replay his maltreatment, Lionel wasn't. Where was he? The being stopped jerking his head around looked at the crowd before him and searched it thoroughly and hastily for the young sentinel, but he couldn't find him.

"You're not a monster!"

He heard him, Lionel was definitely there! Herobrine could hear that mortal's voice through the uproar of the crowd but the man was no where to be found. He remembered what the sentinel said during the dying sunlight as he was being dragged away by the guards, but then he'd easily be seen moving through the forms amongst the idle crowd. The powerful being shook his head and blinked over and over his blurry eyes to find his brother, he had to be somewhere near. He just couldn't have been dragged off that quickly, that's not how he recollected the event.

Herobrine blinked a few more times and as he did; the crowd was starting to fade as well as the loud shouts, everything below him was turning into a cyan and a light brown color mix with some deep blues and what looked like the color of pale skin.

The white was still a haze in his sights but he could see through it a lot better. He could see the miner under his heel; holding onto his boot and panting with an exhausted look. He blinked again before removing his foot and wiping away at his eyes, the fog was still hindering his eyesight; but at least he could see again.

"You?" He saw Steve lying there and looking up at him with an expression of relief on his weary features. It wasn't Lionel, it was no wonder he couldn't find his brother because it was Steve he heard. He didn't realize it until now. Herobrine's head began to ache and the white started to fog his eyes and mind again, he was going to kill the miner if he didn't keep control. "I'm … messed up. I can't even control myself." He growled.

Steve watched as Herobrine removed his foot and stumbled away while rubbing his eyes, he then grabbed both sides of his head and swung it around wildly. Steve groaned as he sat up and watched as the being snorted and staggered around in frustration, the glow in his eyes would grow intense and then dim out before glowing brightly once more. He'd squeeze his head but it didn't help. "Herob-"

"Go!" Herobrine demanded aloud, still clinging to his head and jerking it random directions. He stopped and watched as the miner swiftly moved onto his feet. "Go now! Don't come back! … Be gone… before nightfall." He said to the miner more calmly before stumbling into the oak woods.

"I can't."

"I don't need your help, so go." He snarled. "I need to be this way, that is why you must go." He said darkly, stopping by a tree and leaning against it. "You've been warned miner. Leave and live, or stay and die. May we never meet again. … Farewell."

Steve watched as Herobrine leaned back up and walked through the trees with more control over himself, he took only one last glance before turning away and moving through the woods and disappearing in the columns of uncut wood. The miner felt lucky to survive the thrashing and get Herobrine back from his unstable and crazed state, but at the same time he felt almost betrayed. Herobrine carelessly told him to go and that he never wanted to see him again, this meant that there was no hope for trying to get the old hero to go against Ender.

He shouldn't of had that hope but it kept coming back to him, only to have it crushed time and time again. It was hard to grasp, but there was apparently no hope of ever freeing Herobrine from his hate, nor his endless debt. It took so long to sink in completely, now it finally did. He had but one thing left to do now, that was get back to the village and get his friends out while he still could.

…..

Steve ambled down the gravel road panting heavily, lightly swaying back and forth in exhaustion with each miserable step. He was tired, hungry, and sore all over, not to mention he had a bad headache to add to his distress. The little beating that he took from Herobrine a short while ago really made him feel worn down and now he was hoping to get to the village soon to rest. With his head dipped from energy expenditure, he paid no attention to where he was heading or what lied ahead; only his eyes stayed on the gravel path that he was told to follow. The walk was turning out longer than he expected, it didn't help that he was moving at an agonizingly slow place from his throbbing chest and limbs.

A low gasp and the sound of the small rocks crunching had the miner titling his head up from the sudden sounds, a human form then sighed loudly and stopped taking steps back. Steve blinked in surprise when he saw a blonde-haired man running right at him from twenty or so blocks in his direction. He looked oddly familiar, he somewhat knew this guy and he had seen him before; but it had felt like forever.

"Steve?!" The man screamed out as he ran up to the halted miner. "Oh my Notch, you're… you're still alive!" The man stuttered in disbelief, his eyes sparkled with relief and astonishment as he neared the injured one.

"Mark?" The miner raised a brow.

Mark skidded to a stop just a few spaces from the miner and almost couldn't believe his own eyes, he had to blink a few times and even pinch himself just to realize that he wasn't dreaming. There in front of him was a ghastly pale, thin, roughed, burned, bruised, battered, weary, and worn-looking man who shared the same appearance with none other than the fiendish legend; Herobrine. Of course with the exception of the many neck bruises, the thinned and starved looking build, and splotches of small burns on his arms and the few holes and burns in his dirty and stained shirt.

"Whoa!" Mark almost jumped back a whole block back from a noticeable hole in the man's shirt, a large dark brown stain ran down from the center of the torn fabric and all the way onto his pants; which also had the same dark stains covering a good portion of it. It looked like blood but dried out, it was a horrible idea to guess how the miner got those stains and all of those cuts and bruises. He wanted to know but at the same time; he didn't. "Dude! What… happened to you man?" Mark said carefully as his eyes trailed the stains from the center of the shirt to the right stained sleeve; then to the dark bruises on the man's neck. "You look like you've been to the Nether and back."

Steve couldn't help but make a weak smile and chuckle from Mark's accurate guess. "It appears so huh?" He rubbed his sore shoulder and laughed. He didn't want to spill the truth, at least not yet. Not while their lives were at stake, his main concern was getting them out after he rested a bit first.

"No, but seriously? How did you… Is this even- possible?" The guy raised a brow and scratched the side of his head as he thought, puzzled by the blood stains but seeing no cuts or open wounds that produced the life fluid. It didn't take much thought from the man's roughed up exterior to think that Steve actually pulled off defeating the White-Eyed monster. There was no way that the miner stopped Herobrine, but he must have or otherwise the guy wouldn't be there; standing right in front of him and speaking. He just had to know. "Did you… defeat Herob-"

Both of the men instantly shot their attention towards loud rustling sounds coming from the woods nearby with surprised expressions. Mark quickly pulled out his iron blade and held it tightly as he moved to stand in front of the miner, he shook in his place in fear of what was making the sounds. He wasn't too strong to really defend himself but he was determined to see that Steve would be protected so he took a few brave steps towards the trees.

"Ahhhgggghhh!" A human form came crashing through the tree branches above and landed roughly on the ground below.

The two men breathed a sigh of relief after they saw who it was.

"Luna?" Steve moved a little closer to see the young woman sitting on the ground and rubbing her back.

"Luna, don't scare us like that!" Mark quickly scolded before moving over to help her off the ground.

"I slipped, I'm sorry if I scared you. I was just practicing on getting my bearings on different surfaces, tree bark is a little tricky and uneven; but I might need to fire my bow from higher surfaces in the future." She said taking the blonde's hand and standing up.

"Be more careful next time, you could slip and fall and actually break something. The last thing we need you to do is break your leg again."

Lunaris huffed and rolled her eyes. "That happened like ten years ago. I'm not little anymore so stop acting like Warren, he still treats me like a child." She crossed her arms and lightly glared at the blonde, clearly annoyed for being what she considered being babied.

"Hey, I'm just saying that I care." The guy defended, sheathing his blade.

Luna froze when Mark sighed and slightly titled to his right, now letting her see someone standing; or more like slouching behind him. She gasped before shoving the taller form out of her way.

"Ah! Hey!"

"Hey Luna." Steve waved to her and gave a faint smile but it faded when her expression went from surprise to worry and then to anger. He could tell that she was distraught just from seeing him, it was a little concerning.

"You're alive?" She started, she then scanned him over after seeing the blood stains and burn marks that lined his clothing. She also noticed the bruises and narrowed her eyes sharply at the sight of them around his throat. "How? You- you did kill him right?" She asked with seriousness going strong in her expression. "That old man 'was' lying was he?"

Steve lightly tilted his head in confusion. "Herobrine?" He blurted out, finally realizing what she was asking, but the second thing she said was a little puzzling. "No, I- I didn't." He said looking away, knowing that he was going to have to upset the archer. He didn't want to see her reaction but he looked back at her anyways after he didn't get an immediate reply.

Luna then started to shake her head back and forth with a mad and yet alarmed look. She then slowly took steps backwards like she was afraid and disgusted even. "No. … No!" Luna closed her eyes tightly and shook her head again but with a more upset hint in her tone of voice. "Then it's true! That old man was right, and to think-…?! I- I can't believe you! How could you do this!? You're a traitor!" Her eyes snapped wide open and she clenched one of her hands tightly into a fist, looking like she was about to strike the miner but she didn't. She was reluctant to even raise a hand against him but did anyway.

"Uh, what?" Mark chimed in.

"How could you even think of that monster even possibly being ...?

Steve raised an arm out to her. "Just let me explain, ple-"

"Look what he did to you!" She interrupted. "Why you'd want to be 'It's'…" She didn't finish, instead she moved up to him and shoved him with both of her hands. She didn't make the miner lose his balance, but she clearly displayed her anger with that cold shove. After she pushed him a few steps back she turned away and ran off back into the woods, hiding her eyes as she did.

"Wait!?" Steve turned on his heels to see her disappearing through the thick overgrowth of the woods. "Why did she…? what did I do?" Steve asked Mark quietly as the blonde faced him.

"Well that was rude much?"

"I don't understand? She's- I should go and-" Steve immediately moved towards the oak woods until a hand clasped around his wrist. He glanced back to see Mark holding his arm and shaking his head in disapproval.

"She's upset, just let her cool off. I know how she gets when she gets frustrated or mad, especially when she's butting heads with Warren. She says she's all grown up but sometimes I question that." Mark said flatly, showing his concern but space as well.

"What did I do? I saw tears in her eyes."

"I don't know? Maybe she was really worried or something?" He said letting go of the miner's arm. "Either that or just completely disappointed that you didn't kill the monster."

The miner didn't want to go out and say that Herobrine wasn't a monster, no matter how much he really wanted top defend the being. Sadly, he knew that Mark wouldn't understand and neither would the rest. He'd have to explain everything on their way out of the village to not cause a huge fuss amongst the village folk. "Worried wouldn't have sounded that hateful and angry." Steve said softly. "What did she mean by what the old man? And about him lying?" 'Was she talking about Nigel?' He thought.

"Huh?" Mark looked back at Steve after spacing out. "Oh, I don't know? I'm sure she has a good reason. She does this kind of thing to me all the time, but I never let it get to me. She's tough on the outside, but once you get past that rough surface; she's actually softer than she looks. Luna likes to hide her emotions. Sometimes she can't. I don't know what's bugging her though. Ever since that old guy came here, she's- she's been on edge is all I can say. He seemed like a nice guy, I've been to busy with house repairs to actually meet him though."

"On edge?"

"Yeah, he arrived about a week ago. I think he left though. I haven't seen him recently, but I didn't see him leave either. So I can't really say." He shrugged. "We can talk more about it later. Here," Mark moved next to Steve's side and looped the miner's arm over his shoulder to help support him. "You look beat. Literally."

"Thanks for the help, but I don't want to be a burden." He faintly grinned.

"Nah, it's good. No problem at all. I mean, sure you didn't kill Herobrine, but at least you came back alive. That's something to be happy about right? Warren would probably like to see you, he doesn't have many friends so with you being alive; he'd be pretty happy. Oh, and we can probably get you a clean set of clothes and some food too, you look totally trashed."

Steve frowned from that notion. He hadn't seen his own reflection in a while so he knows he's probably in a bad shape. But as Mark said; he's alive and that counts for something after going into the cursed valley and coming back alive after facing the wrath of Herobrine. "Thank you. I'll be glad to finally sit down." He said as they walked slowly down the road.

…

Steve felt his stomach growl as they reached the outer limits of the village, passing by the crop fields to smell freshly cut melon being sliced up by the field workers and hauled in baskets towards the town. "The aroma is nice. Man am I starving."

"Yep, we harvest melon though we don't grow much of it. I wish we did, that stuff is great compared to everything else we eat here. What undamaged fields we have we mostly grow wheat for bread and other baked goods. Don't worry though, I'll get you something to eat. Maybe I can even get you a slice of that melon?"

"Thanks, I would appreciate that." Steve smiled. The miner blinked as he passed open fields that were barren and filled with long grass, the unused land would have been perfect for more crop. "What about that land there?" He pointed and the blonde glanced over. "Why can't you just use all that land over there? There's plenty of field to grow a lot of crops."

"Oh that? 'He' will not permit it. 'He' will destroy what we plant if we plow and grow too much."

"What?" Steve asked with a surprised tone.

"That's right. That demon will destroy everything we plant in the fields if we sow too much, or he'll just burn all of it in one go. I hate how he controls us." Mark said with a aggravated voice. "I can't say how many times this village had been to the brink of starvation, well at least when I was a kid. Maybe that's why all of us are so skinny?" He suddenly smiled and laughed playfully after seeing Steve's expression, but it was a sad laugh as the miner noticed. "We've lost a few to starvation before and not many of the villagers are brave enough to trek through the woods with Him haunting these lands, so that's why we had to adjust. When I was thirteen; the town decided to elect a village chief and now with a leader we have all of our crops and livestock accounted for, we've become conservative with growing and harvesting our rations. All of us have a pretty strict diet now but we manage and deal with it."

"That's horrible." The miner's gaze falls to the ground beneath their feet as they walk, still despondent that Herobrine was tormenting these innocent people.

"It is, but as I've said; we manage. It's how we live. We get plenty enough these days, a merchant stops by here every so often and we trade wood and coal for stacks of wheat, chickens, and eggs. Actually, I think he's supposed to stop by here later if I recall correctly. I guess we'll see. We have a few livestock around here but our diet mostly revolves around bread and fish, everything else is hard to come by. We need our cows for milk, the chickens for eggs, and the sheep for wool. As for pigs? We don't even see the critters around anymore which is odd since we used to have plenty of them."

"What happen to them?"

Mark shrugged. "I don't know? One night we had a small lot of them and the next day they were all gone. We don't see a hint or hide of 'em like ever, we think 'He' killed them all around here to stunt our muscle growth since pork chops were the primary meat dish in the old days. We mainly eat fish now and reserve cows for when the crops get low and for milk to stay a little more healthier."

Steve really felt bad now. He felt awful that Herobrine had went through so much, but at the same time he was mad at him for plaguing the village for something that this generation of the people never did. These people were suffering and it was sad to imagine that practically all would be dead by night time, though he never wanted that to happen. But what could he do? Herobrine hated these people with every fiber of his being, so standing in the way of a half-god not only sounded terrifying but insanely deadly too. He was almost killed just a short while ago over simply talking about the ancient people and their descendants. "That's too bad." He said quietly.

"It really is." The blonde agreed with a nod. "We've been plagued by the demon for so long."

Something soon caught Steve's eyes as they entered the village. He had noticed that the faces that once held fear from the sight of him were now replaced with ones of anger, he also heard a lot of whispering going on around him and Mark as they walked further into the town. The people at the small vendors and the people outside of their houses all had their eyes on him and muttered things to each other that he couldn't hear. Steve didn't like the gossip, he didn't like all of the negativity around him that was meant specifically for him. He didn't know if it was his failure or just his identical looks with Herobrine that had everybody on edge.

"Don't pay any attention to them Steve." Mark whispered loud enough to the miner as they walked the cobble streets. "You probably remind them of Him so just keep your head up and ignore them. They probably don't even know what you tried to do or what happened to you out there. Even I don't know."

"I'll tell you later." Steve said quietly and Mark nodded.

"Here we are, the pub." Mark smiled and lead Steve up the set of wooden stairs and opened the door. "Hey Warren? He's alive, it's Steve!" He happily called across the small room before pulling the miner inside the empty place.

The bartender was drying off a glass with his rag until he turned around from Mark's voice, he almost immediately seemed to be in shock as the miner that stepped in with his horrid condition. "Steve? Then it really is you?" He blinked, he almost couldn't believe his own eyes. He placed the glass and his rag on the countertop before moving around the counter and closer to the man. "It really is you." He smiled faintly.

"The one and only." Steve gave his best effort to smile but something seemed off.

"Well come sit down, you look absolutely exhausted."

Warren pulled out a chair from a nearby table and Steve pulled himself away from the young blonde man to sit down. He sighed relief and leaned his head back, the miner almost melted into the seat after finding rest from being on his aching legs for so long. He was tempted to close his eyes right there and fall asleep.

"Is there anything you'd like to drink? Or eat? Why you look awfully pale. I wish I had some red meat to give you but all we have is cooked fish."

"If you have milk or water then that'll be great. Maybe some bread too?" Steve asked politely.

"Why yes, just stay there and I'll fix you something quick."

"Well, looks like Warren's taking care of everything here, and he's even going to feed you."

"It's on th- the house friend!"

"Oh, thanks." Steve's smile broadened just a little but it didn't last. Something still didn't seem right with Warren though, he moved around in a disorderly fashion, knocking over glasses on the counter by the back window to reach a large cup. Steve even thought a few broke from falling but Warren didn't seem to mind at all as he now moved over to his supply unit. He dug through his chest behind the counter for a full loaf of bread and then he fished out a bucket of milk from the fridge. His hands lightly shook as he poured the white fluid into a large cup, spilling a little on the countertop as he did. His hands also shook as he took the rag and wiped away the mess.

"Just a- a sec. … one second Steve." He said while scrambling through the chest again for a plate to put the bread on.

His tone was also a bit shaky and he looked like he was plagued with seriousness underneath that seemingly fake smile. There was no doubt that Steve could read the nervousness in the old man's expressions, he looked and acted anxious too. Was he hiding something? Was he afraid? What was making him act this way? It was a bit worrying to see him acting so bizarre, the last he remembered of the man was that he was calm and quite and not so jittery.

Steve shook his head from the collection of suspicious thoughts. Warren was his friend, so he was probably just overly excited to have his company again after marching to what seemed like his grave. The man didn't have much friends after all.

"I have to go out and collect more wood guys so I'm out of here. I'll stop by later." Mark waved and stepped through the door. "Oh, and Steve?"

The miner looked away from the busy bartender to the young man. "What?"

"Take it easy man. You're finally safe for a while I guess. Just as long as O'l Briney don't show up." He said jokingly.

"Actually I have to talk to you and Luna later, there's something I need you guys to do." He said with his smile flattening. "It's pretty important."

"Then what? I'll go get Luna now and you-"

"No, not right now." He interrupted. "Later, if that is okay with you?"

"Oh, um… okay. Later it is then. I think she's still cooling off anyway. See you later I guess?" Mark said with a raised brow, he then waved once more and stepped outside; closing the door behind him.

Steve felt an eerie silence wash over him as the room grew dark with the main light source from the door now blocked out. The only sound he could hear was that of the old man putting the rest of the milk away and stepping from around the front counter with a large glass of the white liquid and a plate with bread on it.

"The bread is pretty cold, if you want I can pop it into the furnace for a moment."

Steve shook his head. "No, it'll be fine. I'm hungry enough to eat raw fish so cold bread won't be a-."

"Then fish I will get!" Warren said, placing both of the food items in front of the miner and walking away. He moved down in a crouch to open the furnace.

Steve stood up and watched as the bartender moved to the small furnace next to the fridge. "No, no. Don't worry about that. Bread will be fine."

Warren poked his head up after opening the little oven. "Are you sure? It'll only take about seven minutes to cook one?"

"No, don't worry about it. Bread will be enough for now." Steve sat back down after seeing the old man nod.

"Oh, alright then." Warren said blankly as he closed the tiny furnace door and walked slowly back over to the table that the miner sat at. He pulled the seat out that was opposite of the miner's and sat in it. He watched silently as the beaten man started to bite into the bread, Steve took a few big bites before taking the large glass into his hand and tilting it back and guzzling down most of it's contents in one go. The miner took a deep breath when he removed the cup and gently placed it back onto the table, he then went for the bread again and took a few more bites.

"Now that hits the spot." Steve cooed, refreshed by filling his empty stomach.

Warren dropped his overly excited expression and replaced it with a blank one, he had something to ask the other man. Something weighed heavily on the old bartender and it was driving him crazy to be sitting and not getting any answers. "You say there's something important that you must tell them?" He began. "Am I correct?"

Steve blinked before chewing and swallowing what he had in his mouth and placing the rest of the loaf on a plate. He got that kind of tone from the older man that he didn't want, which meant that it was time to get serious. "Actually, it's to you too." He said looking at his half eaten loaf, he wasn't sure if he had the courage to come out and tell the man what Herobrine was going to do soon. "I-"

"Well I have something important to ask you as well friend… if I can still call you that?" Warren said rather coldly.

Steve looked up at the man in surprise. Just a minute ago he called him a friend and they were friends when he left for the valley, he even gained the man's trust when they fought off the mobs on his first night at the village. "Wha- what do you mean?"

"I had an old friend come by here not too long ago."

"Uh… Nigel?" Steve asked nervously with a false grin.

Warren looked up at Steve with shock. "Yes. Yes… it was him." The bartender shook his head and gaped. "Then it's true. … What he said was absolutely true. I don't even have to ask you then. It's just as I feared." The elder closed his eyes and squeezed his fists tight his closed eyes were narrowed with his scowl. "I just knew it."

"What's true? How do you know Nigel?"

Warren opened his eyes and lightly glared at the man. "He was one of my first friends that I've ever met outside of this village, four to five years ago to be more precise. He came by like you did one day; saying he was going to the cursed land of the north. But before that; he stayed here for a while, he went around and interviewed a lot of the people about their experiences with the monster. We became friends not too long after his arrival. He would often come in here and ask for water or one of the more finer drinks, he'd then sit up at the main countertop and share his adventures and experiences with me.

We talked a lot and bantered over anything that you could think of, he was a good friend. Then shortly after gathering information here; he went to the cursed land and I've never heard from him in years until earlier this week. He wouldn't stay in touch. I thought that he had been killed years ago by that demon, but he never came back and told me he was still alive and going to that cursed land every year since." Warren said darkly. "So much for a friendright?" He said more quietly.

Steve could feel the tension in the room and it was only Warren who made it feel that way. The miner had never seen the man so mad and closed off. "What are you talking about? I'm, confused." Steve looked at the old man in bewilderment, Warren was getting angry but he still didn't understand 'the truth' of what the man was trying to say. "What did he tell you when he came here? Did he leave?" The miner asked carefully.

Warren moved both of his hands up onto the table and clasped his palms together and lightly rubbed them in anxiousness, yet still holding his serious look in his deep brown eyes. "You still seem confused. Well what you tell me now could cause a lot of troubles to come our… no, your way."

"Troubles?" Steve repeated with a raised brow.

"Hmmm… Maybe he was lying? But I need to know for sure." Warren took a deep breath and mentally prayed to Notch that the old explorer was lying.

"Lying?" Steve gaped. Nigel wouldn't lie. But what did the man say when he arrived? … Or more importantly- Where was he now?

"Tell me Steve, is it true that you have failed in killing Him? Is it true that you have become friends with that monster?"