Chapter 3
Dinner's Conversation
"You get that axe made yet boy?" my father asked as we walked into the kitchen.
My father was sitting at the table with a heaping plate of pork chops in front of him and a bucket of milk sitting beside it.
My mother was at the ovens cooking the rest of the food and cutting up apples.
"It's right here," I said raising the axe.
"Bring it here boy," commanded my father.
My father never was one to ask kindly. He had a stern authority and a hard face. But he was a good man, a kind man, at least on the inside. Years of war had toughened him and taught him to conceal his inner emotions. It was seldom that one would ever see my father laugh or smile. Mostly he just wore the same stern face.
He was getting older too, that can't be easy for a man like him. He refused to believe that he was older than twenty five, but his actual age put him at fifty three, despite how he refused to acknowledge it. Inside he was a young man, eager spirited and brave. But on the outside, his body was slowly failing him.
The doctor of our village said that he had cancer. Sarcoma to be exact. The doctor said that he would most likely not live longer then another year. The cancer had spread to his lungs and kidneys. There was nothing more that they could do to treat him of it. Even the village sorcerer couldn't seem to conjure up a potion powerful enough to cure the cancer. It would take something stronger than Ghast tears to cure this cancer I'm afraid.
"I made it just like you asked me to, see, the handle has our family crest engraved into it," I said handing my father the axe.
"Ah, it's heavy and firm. This is a very good axe son. You made this on your own?"
"Yeah I did."
"Hum… he said looking over the craftsmanship of the axe. "Keep this kind of work up and you might be make knighthood like Turk here one day soon. Your craftsmanship has improved a great deal since you where only twelve building your fist wooden axes."
"Ha, can you remember those days dad?" Laughed Turk sitting down at the dinner table and pulling up a plate of steak.
"Of course I can remember those days. I'm not that old! Back then we didn't even have redstone. Those were tougher times when less tools were around and we knew much less about our developing world. Much has certainly changed since then."
"Dad," I said, "We still don't have much redstone today."
"That's true. The caverns are mostly mined out now a days. It's hard to find any ores around here."
"How was your mining trip Tom?" my mother asked brining over the plates of sliced apples and bread.
"It proved more challenging than usual. We hit a cavern full of cave spiders about half way down. There were hundreds of them in there. At first we tried to seal off the entrance with cobblestone, but they started to break through, so we fell back a ways into a deeper line of the cavern. This line was unexplored and we had no idea if it was safe or not, but it was better than having to deal with the spiders. One bite from a cave spider and you're done for."
"Did you manage to lose them in the cavern?" she asked.
"Falling back into the deeper mine shaft allowed our crafters time to build tripwire traps laced to fire charges aimed at the entrance of the cavern. When the spider's found us they tripped the wires and were reduced to ashes. The rest of the spiders just sort of… dispersed. They didn't give us any trouble after that. We did manage to collect a good bit of string and a spider eye. I sold the spider eye to the village sorcerer, but I still have three pieces of string," he said handing the string to Turk.
"Here," Turk said putting it on the table in front of me. "You take it.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Find someone who knows how to craft a bow, that's what you do with it. I'm no archer."
"Do either of you know how to craft a bow?" I asked curiously.
"No I don't, and I'm sure dad does, but he is not going to tell either of us even if he did. Dad believes in the first hand learning experience philosophy."
"Did you find anything valuable down there in the mine?" mother asked.
"Just some lapis," replied dad, "Enough to make three blocks with a piece left over," he said pulling out a smooth blue stone and setting it on the table in front of us.
"They let you keep it?" asked Turk.
"Rigging the trip wires was my idea, so yes, they let me keep it, for saving the entire mining crew I suppose."
"You were the one to come up with that idea? I asked enthusiastically.
"Your old man has been around a while. He knows a thing or two," Father chuckled.
"Will you teach me how to craft a trip wire?" I asked.
"Maybe when you're older, you're still not a full fledged crafter. When you're older I will teach you everything I know, just as I will teach you Turk."
"You should eat your bread Steven," said my mother.
"I will mom… oh that reminds me, I found these seeds out there while I was cutting down trees," I said pulling out the seeds and handing them to my father.
He took them and looked at them carefully.
"Something wrong dad?" I asked.
"There's gunpowder on these seeds… where did you get gunpowder?" he asked sternly.
I looked over at Turk, who got up and walked over to the chest in the corner of the room where we had put the gunpowder earlier. We had done it right when we got home so no one noticed. He pulled out a paper sack which was full of the gunpowder and dropped it on the table in front of our father.
Dad opened the sack reveling a sizable amount of gunpowder. "Where did you get this…?" he asked somewhat discontent.
"There were two creepers lurking in the meadows where Steven was chopping wood. He was… attacked by them. He killed one, and I killed the other."
"You were together in the field? I thought that you were supposed to be helping find temporary housing for the new coming commoners Turk?"
"Yes, I had already done that and had joined Steven in cutting the wood. It's all cut in pile near here. We'll take you to it tomorrow morning."
My father stood up, a concerned look on his face. "Steven, Turk, come with me, I will speak with you in private," he said leaving the table and walking into the next room.
"I don't think that he bought the story," Turk moaned.
"Well, thanks for sticking up for me anyway."
"It's my job bro."
"Take a seat you two," dad said pointing to the wooden chairs across from him as we entered the room.
"What's the matter dad?" asked Turk.
"You know if it helps we killed a boar and brought that home too you know," I said trying to appease him.
"This is not about the gunpowder, and good, we could use some more meat around here, never enough of that. And I am not mad at you for not telling me about the gunpowder. You did what was right in slaying those beasts, in fact, I am almost proud of you two for killing them. Especially you Steven. You will make a fine knight one day son. But that is not why I called you in here to speak to you. I did not want to concern your mother; she already has enough to deal with with a baby on the way."
"What is it that you wanted to tell us then?" asked Turk.
"Listen closely to me. I want you two to be exceptionally careful when you're outside from now on."
"Dad it was only Two Creepers. They were probably just spies or something," I argued.
"Listen, it's not the Creepers that I am concerned about."
"Then what?" asked Turk.
"Something else happened down in the mine just before we returned to the surface. We saw something… something that we have never seen before."
"A cave ogre?" I suggested.
"No. The only way I understand how to depict its appearance is that it was at least nine feet tall with black skin and burning teeth. It had long arms and legs and was covered with some kind of scale mess armor. It was a creature like none we have seen before. When we saw it the beast looked immediately back at us and froze where it stood, shaking with its mouth hung open, perhaps as a warning. Then the creature disappeared, just like that, gone into a mist of purple snow-like energy. We did not see the creature again after that."
"That doesn't sound like a description of anything that we have seen before," said Turk. The king's royal guard are amongst the finest trained warriors in this land, I've spoken with most of them and they have never spoken of such a monster before. Are you sure what you saw was for real?"
"Yes, I am for certain that what we saw was real. I remember looking at its hand."
"It's hand?"
"There was something in it that it was holding. Something like a blue-green pearl that flashed bright purple just before the creature vanished. And then after it had gone a brave soul went over to where it had once stood and tried to find any clue of where it may have gone too. He discovered on the ground scorch marks resembling mossy stone. We mind the stone fragments and they are currently being shipped back to the king as we speak for analysis."
"So, if it was real, what do you think that it was?" I asked.
"The men are calling it, an Enderman. The scientists of our village think that maybe the creature came from the End, and the pearl I described to you was its source of teleportation. They say that they might once have been men, evil men that have fallen and become corrupted by dark magic that now take the form of a giant black demon. Or so they are saying. But my greatest concern is now what you have told me of these Creepers. If they are this far out from the mainland, that means that something sent them here as scouts."
"You think that Enderman thing was controlling them?" asked Turk.
"Them… as well as the cave spiders… it is possible," he said with a stern frown.
"So it's possible that the Enderman is an intelligent creature. One of the higher up monsters," I proposed.
"That is what the scientists are saying. They have been looking through hundreds of written books searching for an answer to what these creatures are and from where they truly came."
"Do they know anything more about them?"
"No, not yet. That is the primary matter I called you into private to discus. I do not want your mother knowing this. I have been ordered by the king himself that I am to form a search party that is to depart the day after tomorrow in the early sunrise headed Northeast towards the Swamp Land Cities."
"The Swamp Land Cities. What business have we there father?" Turk asked.
"They are the nearest colony that posses a functional Nether portal."
"The Nether. We are going to the Nether!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, there we are seeking a book of the most ancient origins. It is called the Bible of Notch; it was forged by the ancient being, a being of incredible power that once lived millions of years ago. It is said that being was last seen entering the Nether. There it remained until its dying days. They say that it never truly died, rather became something else, something more, but before its ascension it composed a book of all things to be known of our world, which it left hidden somewhere in the Nether. That book will allow us to understand this new monster, and to understand what our full potential is. With that book, we may be able to end this war once and for all. If we learn of the source of the monsters entry into our world, we may be able to shut it down once and for all. And that book may explain how to do that!"
"There really is something in the Nether that could tell us that?"
"We believe so. That is why the king has ordered me to gather a team of explores, gather supplies, and be ready to leave by the next coming of the sun after tomorrows… I want you two with me on this venture."
"And what about the houses that we are supposed to be mining wood for?"
"There are other crafters returning from the Eastern Forest brining vast amounts of jungle wood for construction. They will take our place."
"Who else do you intend to bring with us?" Turk asked.
"Anyone who is willing and brave enough to come."
"And we leave by the sunrise after tomorrows?" I confirmed.
"First thing morning light we leave. The journey is long to the Swamp Land Cities. It will take us the entire day to get there by flying horse. And we must get there by nightfall. The Swamp Lands are not as safe as our villages here in the plains are."
"Pegasus? We are taking Pegasus?" asked Turk in surprise. "I thought that all the Pegasus were bred out of existence long ago?"
"No, there are several that are kept in the village in secrecy. Do recall this land possesses the largest horse breeding center in all the lands. Why do you think our largest import is pumpkins?"
"That does make scene..."
"I'm surprised to hear that there are still living Pegasus in the world," I said reiterating what Turk had said.
"Yes few do remain, five of which we are taking the day after tomorrow to the Swampland Cities."
"Who are the other two we are brining?" I asked.
"Whoever you two can find."
"Then I'll start getting everything ready and asking around," said Turk.
"Good, but do keep it confidential, only tell who you must. And fist you should finish your dinner and get a good night's rest. I must take care of a few things before we depart. I will be in the main village if anyone needs me come morning. As for now, I am tired from my mining venture and I am retiring to bed. I will tell your mother something so she will not wonder where we are going or worry. You two are free to do as you wish, but be prepared to leave by the time I have designated. Gather others as well, and try to be safe you two," dad said walking out of the room back into the kitchen.
"You know Turk, he's been gone for a week, almost died in the mines, and still not even so much as a hug when he returns home and sees us."
"Yeah, that's how old men are, get used to it, one day you'll be one. That is, if you're lucky enough to live that long," he chuckled.
"What about you, do you think that you'll live that long?"
"Dad's one of the oldest in the lands. Most men don't live past forty years of age around here, thanks to this war. Most of them die in combat or from something stupid like falling off a cliff and missing the three blocks of water. As for me, I can guarantee you that I won't live past thirty," he said with a smile.
"And why is that?"
"Because, I was born to die a fighter. There is no greater sacrifice, and no greater honor."
"We'll see about that. Hopefully if this book dad's talking about does what the scientists think it does then maybe we won't have to live long enough to die young."
"We'll see about that," Turk said patting me on the shoulder and walking back into the kitchen.
I followed him, grabbed my plate of food and climbed the ladder to the tallest part of the house where I stood eating, leaned up against the wooden fence balcony. I looked at the village in the distance and thought about who I might ask to join our little expedition.
"Who was recklessly brave and has parents who wouldn't try and stop them?" I thought to myself scratching my chin. "Huh, of course… I know the perfect person to talk too… She's gonna love this one."