Chapter 3: Going Deeper
In the morning, Reed had Sabrina and Stan accompany the group back to the mainland.
"There's another village several dozen blocks away," he said the night before the group left. "It will take a day's journey from the shore, so build shelter tomorrow and keep voyaging the next day." Jewel looked mad at her father, an expression that was rarely seen on her face. Reed sighed. "I'm sorry, Jewel. But sooner or later, Parker will try to kidnap you or kill your friends! We need to stay a step ahead of him." The look on her father's face was heartbreaking, but Jewel's expression refused to soften.
Pickaxe had just finished re-connecting the land bridge.
Crown would not be coming with them; it was too risky, even with diamond armor, to let a horse brave where miners would go at night. This didn't make Jewel's mood any better as the began to walk along the dirt. Stan would occasionally try to cheer her up, but to no avail. Sabrina was, uncharacteristically, silent most of the time. Pickaxe rarely noticed, but every now and then her face curled into a brief, cryptic smile. He didn't know whether to be worried or confused. Perhaps a bit of both.
When the group arrived at shore, everyone but Stan headed in the same direction.
"Ummm…" he brought up awkwardly, "Shouldn't we build a shelter closer to the village?" Sabrina stifled a small giggle. "Oh, right!" Endre exclaimed, "Stan and Reed don't know!" "Don't know what?" inquired Stan. Sabrina motioned for Stan to follow her, adding, "Don't tell your father." Within a few steps. The group had found the cottage. Stan's mouth was agape. "How long has this been here?" he asked. "That's for us to know, and you to never find out," Jewel commented.
Endre and Sarah worked on extending the sleeping space just before night fell.
The following morning, Sabrina handed everyone pumpkin pies for breakfast. "We'll need our strength for the journey ahead," she told everyone. "But we're just gonna flop right back down and do nothing all over again," Texik muttered. No one heard him but Pickaxe, and the group once again set off on the journey. But for some reason, Madison could have sworn that the group was being followed. She looked behind her just to be safe, but no one was there. Pickaxe noticed to, but no one else seemed to mind.
Of course, things got even weirder when they entered the forest.
At first it was simply a normal stroll. The taiga was an impressive biome with all its lovely spruce trees. Jewel's face looked sadly cute whenever she saw a wolf roaming around. "Cute little doggies…" she'd coo. Eventually, somewhere along the path, the taigas got huge. The group began swiveling their heads in awe and wonder. Eventually, they stopped at one of the huge trees. "Uh, Sabrina," Endre muttered, "We're not at the village yet." "I know," she replied calmly. The group began to get worried. Then they heard the sound of footsteps. They were getting closer and closer, but they couldn't see anything, or anyone. Suddenly, they came to a stop.
A floating milk bucket appeared in their midst.
"Okay, it's official. I've gone crazy," Texik uttered. Everyone else was looking at the bucket bug-eyed. Well, everyone but Sarah. "Oh, boy. Have you guys never seen a potion of invisibility before?" she asked annoyed. The milk bucket began pouring its contents into an invisible void. When it was an empty bucket, the wielder of the bucket turned out to be… the soldier Pickaxe had found during Parker's raid. "What's he doing here?" questioned Madison. "Actually, Vincent here has been following us since we left the village," Sabrina intervened.
"What is going on…" Endre muttered.
Vincent pulled a lever on the tree. The ground opened up beneath the group, swallowing them whole. Vincent flipped the lever back into place as he fell into the hole himself, covering up the fact that anyone had been there. When the group landed, they were on top of a sort of… squishy block layer. Slime blocks. Beats landing on stone…, Pickaxe thought, just as Vincent landed on top of him. "GAH!" he yelled in surprise.
Sabrina bounced off the slime blocks, and pulled another lever, revealing a hallway.
"Keep up!" Madison barked at Texik, who was trailing significantly behind. Jewel was busy giving Vincent brief glares. He tried to ignore her, but she just kept doing it… "...what?" he squeaked nervously. "What was Parker doing in the village last night?" Jewel inquired. Vincent heaved out a sigh, "I'd rather not talk about him…" he muttered. Sabrina put her hand on his shoulder. "Go on," she assured, "Maybe you should tell her everything." Sarah groaned, "Not another monologue…" Pickaxe shushed her; he liked the stories.
Vincent cleared his throat.
Our house was destroyed by griefers. My wife and my son had been gathering in the forest. I had been busy mining. We were devastated when we arrived at our former home. Luckily, I had a hidden chest stored away, and was able to gather provisions before we searched for a new home. We had to travel through blistering deserts, binding ice plains, and steep hills. Eventually, we came across a village, and we took refuge among their houses. However, that night a zombie siege occurred. We barely escaped with our lives, but this time, our provisions had gone down with the village. We wandered for days, having to hack through monsters and trek through caves just to keep going. I was afraid my family wouldn't make it. But finally, while we were in a mesa, another miner took us in. He gave us food, and a place to sleep. I asked him how I could repay the favor. He told me that he heard there was an expedition group in the Nether, and it was offering valuable rewards to those who participated. He wanted to go himself originally, but decided to take care of my family if I decided to go. "It'll help you get back on your feet," he said. So, I took him up on the offer. He even let me use his Nether portal, which he had hidden in his basement. After a troublesome and deadly experience, I found the expedition's base, and was recruited. If only I had known the leader's true intentions sooner…
"Ah, we're here," he finished, as the group found themselves in a room.
The room was somewhat bare bones. The walls were solid stone. A fire resting on top of a mysterious block illuminated the center. A double chest sat next to a rather familiar obsidian structure. "A Nether portal?" Pickaxe questioned. Sabrina had that familiar "overexcited Jewel" look on her face. "Sabrina…" Endre worriedly began, "What have you been planning?" "Did you honestly think I was going to send you to another village?" Sabrina asked. "Um, yeah?" interjected Stan.
Sabrina patted Stan on the head. "You don't know your mother!"
Sabrina began digging through the chest, giving the group some necessary materials. She handed Pickaxe cobblestone; "You'll need this to get past the lava." She gave Jewel a diamond sword; "Use this with the iron sword to really rack up some damage!" Madison was given a fishing rod; "This'll come in handy against the ghasts and blazes!" She handed Texik a flint and steel, and some TNT; "Fire's abundant in the Nether. Why not take it up another level?" Sarah was handed several potions of fire resistance; "This will help you cool down against the heat." Finally, she handed Endre a shield; "Protect yourself, and protect your friends, too." Sabrina stood back, and turned to face Vincent. "Would you like to do the honors?"
He stepped up in front of the portal, and sparked his flint and steel.
The portal's purple hue flashed in front of the group, it's spiraling lights somewhat disarming. It radiated a terrifying aura, suggesting that powers beyond this portal were far greater than any threat the group was yet to face. Jewel shared one final hug with Sabrina and Stan. "Stay safe," Stan told Jewel. "Take care of them," Jewel reminded Vincent. He nodded in understanding. Pickaxe began applying his armor. "Well…" he began, turning to face the rest of the group. "...here goes nothing." Endre finished, grasping his shield tighter. Vincent was the first to go through the portal. Pickaxe was the last. Before he entered, he took on final look at Sabrina. She was giving him a soft smile. "Take care of my Jewel," she told him. He nodded, and finally stepped through the portal.
Sabrina and Stan began making their way back through the corridor.
It felt as though he was heading toward the grave.
Purple spirals surrounded his vision on all ends. He didn't know whether he was plummeting or skyrocketing through this extra-dimensional fog. Distorted whispers floated in and out of reach. He no longer held the ability to perceive time. He just floated through the gateway. Just as he was about to lose hope of escaping, the area around him dimmed for a moment. Suddenly, he was flung from the fog, and landed on solid ground… flat on his face. He dusted his face off, and began to notice his surroundings.
The Nether was not the kind of place you wanted to visit.
The block he stood on felt like cobblestone, except it wasn't. He was standing on netherrack. The landscape ahead was greatly comprised of netherrack, as well as some magma blocks and some glowstone hanging from the roof of the cavern. If it was to be called that… the place was huge! It expanded into a red haze when it was out of his vision. Lava filled craters in the absence of water. He could feel his sweat crawling on his back and evaporating. Wait… sweat...evaporating?
...hOlY nOtCh, ThIs PlAcE wAs HoT!
It felt like the desert had been shoved into a furnace which accidentally fell into lava! He needed water! Luckily, there was a bucket on him, and he quickly poured it out… only for it to evaporate into steam with a hiss. "Yeah, the Nether's not exactly known for being a place to cool off…" Pickaxe turned to face Vincent and the rest of the group. Except for Vincent, the others also appeared to have tried cooling off with water buckets.
"Shall we get going?" he added.
Truding across the Nether was somehow more demanding than navigating a cave. Other than the already chaotic landscape, the netherrack occasionally combusted into flames out of nowhere. It didn't seem to stop, either. The group came to a stop when they came across a new type of monster. They looked similar to pigs, but more… humanoid. Parts of their skulls, ribs, and bones were exposed, with a green mold-like substance separating bone from flesh. In their hands, they carried golden swords. Zombie Pigmen.
"Don't worry," Vincent assured, "They don't attack unless you do…TEXIK!"
Texik was raising an iron sword, about to attack one of the pigmen. He slowly put it back in his inventory, receiving death glares from the rest of the group. Endre looked down at his map. He looked shocked. "Nothing but brown static!?" he gasped. "Oh, right… the Nether can't be navigated by traditional means…" Jewel recalled. "Um…" Madison stuttered, "We have bigger problems. Literally!" They turned towards Madison's direction. There was another monster, only… it was a large cube. A large white cube, with a closed eyes and mouth, and a disturbing amount of tentacles at the bottom.
The group was facing against a ghast.
"Run," Vincent commanded. The group began making a mad dash across the netherrack. "Wait, don't step in the-" "YEOWCH!" Endre squealed. To little too late, Vincent had failed to warn him about the magma blocks. As he was running around, trying to brush off the flames, the ghast got close enough for it to reveal its true nature. It opened its blazing red eyes, and shot a fireball out of its mouth. Endre barely dodged, as Texik attempted to shoot it with another glowing arrow. The ghast didn't catch on fire, and it proceeded to shoot Texik with another fireball.
"Nether mobs are immune to fire!" Jewel yelled as the group yet again retreated.
They spent the next few minutes catching their breath, the ghast gone from their field of vision. "Okay," Vincent began, gasping for air, "I recognize this place. We're not too far off from Parker's fort. However, we'll need some time to recollect ourselves. Pickaxe, start handing out the cobblestone. We need to build a hut." Pickaxe laid down the foundation, while Vincent and Endre built the walls and roof. Texik was just about to place a bed, when Jewel pulled him to the side and warned, "Sleep in that bed, and the following explosion will put you to sleep forever…" He decided to not place the bed. When the group had finished, they all took refuge in the cobblestone hut.
They simultaneously collapsed to the floor, exhausted from what they had experienced...