Chapter 2

Steve lay on his bed, unable to sleep. His hand kept stroking the jewel that hung on the thin golden chain around his neck as he wondered what he could do the next day. The darkness had set in a few hours ago, revealing a moonless night. It was the perfect time to go hunting the mobs for resources, and it would provide him with the chance of venting off his anger and sorrow. He looked at the jewel, it's usual light and smooth surface now had a more dark and rough texture. He held it in his palm for a while before swinging his legs off the bed and walking to the window. He looked outside, smiling the small smile his friend had loved; the forest was full of mobs, mostly zombies and skeletons. A few creepers could be seen and no Endermen.

'Perfect.' He thought, his smile broadening in the slightest. The miner moved to the closet furthest from the window and selected his weapon. He then went back to the window, his palm on the iron sword hanging from his hip. He didn't wear armor, as it would weight him down if he needed to make a quick escape. He didn't need it, either. He had knowledge and control, the only things that have kept him alive so far. He knew the mobs weaknesses, their stamina, their health, their strength and their damage. He would be fine.

He opened his door and went outside. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he made a dash to the forest. He hacked and slashed at anything to cross his path. The first being a zombie. As he hacked away at the mobs, he recalled how he met his friend.

Steve walked down the path that led to the kingdom at a leisurely pace, the wind brushing through his brown hair and tickling his skin. His clear purple eyes scanned the horizon, looking for any mobs that might've lingered or spawned around the Kingdom's outer walls. He passed a crystal lake, a flower garden, a small mine and a few of the Kingdom's pleasantries. Everything seemed to be fine, at the moment at least.

He saluted a few drunk guards as he passed by an inn. The sounds of laughter filled his ears as men huddled together to share their news, children sat by elders to hear the fascinating tales, and women prepared the food in the kitchens. He stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath, filling his nostrils with the different scents of cooking pork, fresh bread, mushroom stew and steaming fish that lingered in the air. He smiled, noticing that everybody was happy, despite living in the lowest sector of the kingdom. They had each other, so they don't care if they're rich or poor. They made their money by selling the goods they produced on the farm or from loot they got from mob slaying.

The miner turned his head towards the sky that was slowly darkening and sighed. It was his turn to have night watch, but that didn't bother him. He was rather excited. He would patrol the outer walls at night, making sure everyone's sleep remained undisturbed by the dangerous mobs that lurked around, looking for any opening to attack and satisfy their dark hunger.

Steve wandered around, late after dark, searching for any of the damned creatures that might try themselves. And he found just the ones that did. He made quick work of them, sitting down to skillfully clean his blade with not a second wasted before resuming his patrol.

Guars would usually patrol the outer walls in groups of three or more, spreading themselves out to cover more ground. Steve, however, could cover more ground than three men. There for he worked alone. He had great stamina, health, pain endurance, and experience; which made his patrols a lot more easier than anyone else.

He was walking down the road that led to the boarders of the village when he heard a sharp scream coming from somewhere around the village square. He sprinted, following the cry that now echoed behind him, and burst into the town square. Dark lumps moved in the darkness, surrounding a rather frail looking man. Steve didn't have time to think. The only thing that ran through his mind was: I must help. This person is in trouble.

He kept running, lifting his sword as he drew closer to the decaying mob. He let his sword drop, slicing through the rotten head with ease as he kicked another away from the frail looking man. Another came from behind, and he quickly shook his weapon free from the split head; the body fell unmoving to the ground. He jumped over the man, who was crouched down low and clearly frightened, and sliced the zombies torso. The mob groaned, reaching out a hand, before falling dead to the solid stone brick road. A groan came from behind him and he instinctively threw his sword towards the sound. A satisfying crunch and a thud told the miner the mob was good and dead. He turned to the man, who gazed around in wonder. Finally he eyed Steve, standing before him, unscathed by the zombies.

"Th-thanks." He stammered, looking at Steve in awe. Steve retrieved his sword, pulling it from the mobs face with slight difficulty before whipping it clean. He sheathed it and turned to face the frail man he had saved before responding.

"No problem." He said with his small smile, offering his hand to the frightened man, who accepted. "I'm just doing my job. Don't fret too much about it." He continued to stare at Steve in awe, unable to take his eyes off the miner's purple ones. The miner noticed this and his smile slightly broadened, he even chuckled a little. He turned and started walking down the road again, somehow knowing the man would follow him.

"Wait!" He heard footsteps approaching him, and the man was soon next to Steve, staying close to him as thought he was scared of another attack. Steve turned to actually look at the man.

He was frail all right, his white shirt hung loose on his thin frame and his black pants where a little baggy. He wore a transparent silver jewel that hung from a thin golden chain and a silver bracelet that wrapped twice around his wrist. His hair was pitch black, making his light blue eyes stand out by contrast, even in the darkness.

"So, what are doing outside at a time like this?" Steve wondered. He usually never saw anybody outside during the night hours. He was also curious about the lack of weaponry on the man. It was dangerous to go anywhere without a weapon, and it was certainly dangerous to go anywhere at all.

"Well..." He started, he rubbed the back of his head and flashed a guilty smile at Steve. "I was having a hard time concentrating in my house, with all the ruckus and all going on outside, so I decided to go out into the forest where things were significantly calmer. I didn't realize how fast time flew by 'cause the sun was already starting to set. I could hear mobs start crawling around in the forest and by the time I got to the village it was well past twilight. I tried to go home without attracting the mobs but..." He faltered, lowering his gaze from Steve's purple eyes.

"It didn't turn out so well?" The miner finished. The man nodded, still not meeting Steve's eyes.

"Yeah. I should've paid more attention, the woods being dangerous and all with the mobs lurking in every corner." The man scoffed himself. Steve nodded in understanding. He had gone through similar things during his first days as a miner.

"What were you doing in the forest anyways? What had you so distracted that time flew by you so easily? I hear it's hard to do that without working on the farms nowadays."

"I was writing a song." The man answered, his face lighting up so suddenly he put the torches to shame. His smile outshone the full moon that hovered over their heads. Steve was suddenly drawn by this man. He knew he was honest, kind, and friendly. Steve smiled again, wondering what it was like to have a friend with those qualities. His old friends merely used him for his abilities, then tossed him aside.

"Writing a song?"

"Yeah, I'm a composer. Writing songs is my favourite thing to do. I could write as much as I wanted and never get tired of it." He sighed contently, putting his hands in his pockets while breathing the cool night air.

Steve looked around, trying to figure out where the man lived. He took a few turns, the man going on about all the wonderful songs he had written and how many people enjoyed them. He even spoke about getting into the kingdom and serving as the King's Brainmaster. This made Steve chuckle.

"Brainmaster? I've never heard of the term before." Steve looked at the man. He stared at Steve like he couldn't believe his own hears.

"Are you serious? How can you not know what a Brainmaster is?" The man was certainly stunned. "A Brainmaster is someone who can travel to all the kingdoms and act as almost every King's top adviser. It's the most amazing privilege any adviser could ever dream of having. They take care of all the battle plans, the storage... Hell, they can almost compare themselves to Kings!"

"That does seem interesting." Steve murmured. The man still looked surprised, then disappointed. "Don't be disappointed. I spent most of my time in the mines. I don't usually stick around to get to know all the fancy terms like you do." This seemed to clear up a lot, for the man nodded and raised his head a little higher. Steve turned a last corner and stood in front of a nicely furnished house. It was well kept and in very good condition. The man looked surprised.

"Oh, thanks. I didn't even know you knew where I lived."

"Well, I saw you a few times when I was hanging around town after my mining trips." Steve shrugged. "I took a quick guess and look, I was right." The man only gaped silently. He seemed impressed, not really but Steve could tell.

"Can I know what your name is, by the way? In case we ever, you know, meet up again?" The man suddenly asked, looking at Steve. He was curious. The man didn't look like much, but the miner knew not to let appearances deceive him. He knew for a fact that the man was smarter than he let on, as he had gotten himself out of the forest with not a single scratch, and the forest was teeming with mobs.

"Steve." He held out his hand. The man took his hand and shook it. He turned to his house and let out a loud sigh. He turned his head to Steve, and smiled.

"Well, it's been nice to meet you, Steve." He said. "I hope to see you soon, my friend." He turned towards the house again and started up the stairs. Steve reached out a hand, placing it on the man's shoulder, catching him before he reached the door.

"Wait, you haven't told me your name yet." The man looked momentarily surprised and smiled sheepishly. Steve was even more drawn in by his features. They were so cheerful and full of life, despite his weakened appearance, but his eyes were what captivated Steve the most. Their twinkle seemed able to rival the stars, and their brightness was enough to outshine the moon.

"Oh, my bad. I keep forgetting every time I meet someone new." He took Steve's hand and shook it again, looking deep into his violet eyes. The man's blue eyes twinkled, slightly reflecting the moon's glow.

"My name is Casroth."

Steve slashed through a zombie, spun around and delivered a killing blow to a skeleton. He then ran, ramming any mob that happened to be in his way. He remembered the way his friend had said his name, the way his smile put the torches to shame, and the way his eyes sparkled...

'Focus.' He shook his head, scolding himself. He stopped running, hefting his sword towards any and all threats. He looked at the few remaining mobs that were inching their way towards him, taking note of two zombies and a creeper. The miner advanced, catching a glimpse of glowing green eyes somewhat hidden by the dark trunks of the trees in the dense forest. Nevertheless he continued forward, plunging his sword into the gut of the nearest zombie. The second zombie came closer, raising his rotting hands, thirsting for fresh blood.

As the fiend swung his decaying hand towards the miner, he bent down, put his hand on the ground and swung his legs at the zombies feet. The fiend fell to the ground with a loud thud just as Steve's sword came free and the miner managed to get up, raising his sword to kill. As the sword came down on the zombie, dark brown blood spewed on the ground and stained his sword. He groaned, it was going to be hard to clean his blade. Zombie blood was infectious, as it would make any blade's durability decrease terribly, even if it was brand new. If any got in your wounds, it would create an infection and degrade the body's health and regeneration speed. Yeah, zombie blood was terrible.

He looked around for the skeleton, but there was no sign of him except the few arrows that lay scattered along with the bow a few blocks from him. He sighed, disappointed that the mobs had fled from the area. He shrugged, carefully cleaning his blade before the blood dried and walked home. The sky was still dark, yet getting darker as dawn approached. He sighed again, suddenly wanting the warm comfort of his bed and found himself jogging to get out of the woods.

Once he saw his house, he broke into a run and burst the door open, slamming it shut afterwards. He climbed onto his bed, throwing his sword down onto a nearby chair in the process, and closed his eyes. He yearned his sleep, but wasn't excited about the dreams that haunted him...