I stood over the freshly filled grave, with the marble gravestone standing over it, glowing white in the setting sun's glow. For the thousandth time, I read the inscription – "As fearless in death as he was in life" – that I had chosen. I took a deep breath, my eyes aching from the effort of not breaking down in tears after my friend's funeral, and reached out to the beautiful stone. I carefully wiped a little smear of mud from the pristine marble and ran my hand up the intricately decorated border, my fingers slipping inbetween the tiny carved patterns, to the smooth top with a carved figure. It was a detailed figurine of a rearing horse, carved into creamy yellow marble with its mane and tail gilded in a thin layer of gold, tiny pieces of turquoise and a single piece of smooth flint forming an eye. I sighed painfully, lowered my head for a moment in respect, turned around and slowly walked down the cobbled path through the rows of graves to the gate. I took one last look at Firenze's grave and left the graveyard, trudging slowly home.
I arrived and half-sat, half-fell onto my bed. I buried my head in my hands, trying to block out the horrible memory of his execution. I knew I should leave, get my bag and run, but I couldn't leave yet with the funeral still fresh in my memory. A loud knock on the door roused me and I yanked it open, a sour look on my face. Whoever decided to disturb me that night was going to get some serious trouble. A man in the black uniform of Kakonatos was stood outside.
"What do you want?" I snarled at him, ready to slam the door. He ignored my anger.
"The Council wishes for you to travel to Kakonatos, and spend the night there. The expedition is to be carried out tomorrow. Fetch a bag with the necessary items and prepare yourself. Be ready to leave in 5 minutes."
"Right. Fine," I replied, turning away. I slammed the door and grabbed my bag. I cast my eye around my home, the sloping thatched roof and wooden walls, low bed and chipped table, and pulled open the door. The man gestured for me to follow him and he turned around. I closed the door behind me, blowing out the candle next to it first, and slowly walked after him, planning on escaping from this guard and running away – whatever it took. I took a knife from my bag, short and serrated, and lifted it silently. Before I could act, however, I felt something cold press into the back of my shirt. The guard turned around and nodded to whoever was behind me.
"Good timing," he said to them. "Detain him and remove his weapons." The person behind me withdrew their weapon and turned me around with a hand on my shoulder. It was another guard, with yet another standing behind him. The first one raised his blade, a sword gleaming wickedly in the afternoon light, and took my knife from me. I didn't fight him, knowing there was no point. They took my bag and removed the others from it, leaving my clothes and such inside it. One of them threw it back to me and they walked me forward, towards the main road and the dock. We reached it without incident and we boarded a small boat. It set off across the water, surprisingly fast for such a small craft, turned left at a river mouth and sailed around the mountains. It took a long time, even at the fast speed, and it was well past midnight when we arrived at the end of the river. We got out and they walked me to a main road.
"Walk," one of them said, the first thing any of them had said since we reached the dock. I did so and one of them overtook me, leading me up the winding road. The other two walked behind me making sure I didn't escape. Dread was building in my stomach when we rounded a corner through a gap barely large enough for a small cart to fit through and my breath caught in my throat. Kakonatos was stood in the valley below us, huge and black in the moonlight, towering up almost above the mountains. It was the perfect place – sheltered on all sides by mountains, with just a single stone bridge connecting it to the entrance to the valley. Far below us, a leafy jungle covered the ground entirely, an impenetrable wall of green. We walked over the bridge, seemingly held up by nothing more than thin air, and approached the gigantic gates of Kakonatos. A guard nodded to us, perched in a small tower, and did something. The gates silently opened, eerily dark in the night, and I was led inside.
The hall took my breath away. Incredibly high walls loomed up, lined with silver tables for officials and politicians to meet, rows of desks, doors with golden plaques on them – no doubt for important officials and the like. I had known Kakonatos was the hub of Minecraftian politics, often said to be the only good thing about our little town, but I had no idea of the sheer scale of the operation they were running. Hundreds of people were working away, regardless of the time, yet barely a quarter of the desks were filled.
I was marched straight through the middle, to a large silver lift in the centre of the far wall. It was rather like a giant tube, big enough for fifty people to stand without complaint. I saw two smaller lifts on either side of the entrance. The guard tapped something into the panel on the wall and we shot up to level 4. It opened onto a spacious corridor with doors lining it. He opened one of these and motioned for me to enter. I did so and dropped my bag next to the door.
"We will return tomorrow morning. Be ready to leave. We will provide appropriate equipment, so do not worry about tomorrow," my guard said, then turned and left, closing the door behind him. I waited silently, listening for movement outside my door, but heard nothing. Crossing the room, I tried opening the door, but found it locked. Cursing, I jiggled the doorknob, trying to coax it open, but to no avail. Eventually I gave up and looked around the room I had been assigned for the night.
There was not much furniture – a small bed, a table and chair, and a wardrobe – and a single window about a foot wide. I crossed to it and tried to open it, but it too was locked. As for breaking the glass, it was out of the question – metal wiring was crisscrossed through the thick glass. Sighing, I fell onto the bed. I closed my eyes, thinking deeply about the situation, but before long I heard someone fiddling with the door. I jumped up and crossed the room to it. With a final clunk it opened slowly, revealing Firenze's old housekeeper flanked by two guards. She nodded to me and I noticed her eyes were red and swollen.
"Firenze wanted you to take this with you," she said. "He said it would be very important, and that you must use it when all seems lost." She held out a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied neatly with a long piece of white string. I took it and examined it.
"All seems lost?" I asked. "What does that mean?"
"He said you would figure it out," she replied. "Take it with you. Keep it with you at all times." I nodded my acknowledgement of her request.
"Thank you," I said. She smiled and turned, walking down the white corridor with small, measured steps. One of the guards closed the door and locked it, sealing me in for the night. I sat on the bed, turning the package over in my hands, then tore off the paper. It was a small black box, with a silver border running around the edge. I took off the lid and examined the item inside.
A gleaming gold rune was set into a hexagon of some sort of red stone. I had never seen anything like it in all my years of mining, and I was sure I had never even heard of it. It was marbled with darker red branching lines and felt curiously warm to the touch. I examined the rune and could not make out what language it was. Again, I had never seen it before. I racked my memory and could not think of what it could be. I pulled the pendant out of the box and found there was a tightly woven black cloth chain connected to it. I put it around my neck, the pendant slipping just under the collar of my shirt, and lay back on the bed. As I put my head on the pale brown pillow, it struck me how tired I was, and I fell asleep there, my dreams plagued with thoughts of Firenze, his warning and what was to come the next day.