Chapter 4: Reclamation
After a few brief moments of leisure, the group heard another fireball explosion.
"And the ghast found us," Sarah muttered, "Of course." Vincent began tearing down the cobblestone walls. "How are we gonna beat that thing anyway!?" Madison inquired. Pickaxe looked at her for a minute. "Didn't Sabrina give you a fishing rod?" The group blinked. Madison face-palmed, pulling out said fishing rod. "We can lure it in, but what happens then?" Endre added. Pickaxe pulled out his pickaxe.
"We kill it without fire…" he stated.
The walls were down now, and the group could see the ghast in all of its deadly glory. It continued shooting fireballs at the group, especially Texik and Endre. "USE THE DARN FISHING ROD ALREADY!" they simultaneously yelled. Madison took a deep breath, then swiveled around, swinging the fishing rod. It latched right onto the ghast's forehead, which it didn't take very well. Madison reeled it in with some minor struggle, as Pickaxe and Jewel readied their weapons.
It died within the first attack.
The group let out a single sigh of relief. Madison was looking amongst the remains. "Gunpowder and a ghast tear…" she whispered, "Seems about right." "Come on, we need to keep going," Vincent urged, walking away from the ghast's death scene. Sarah picked up the ghast tear and gunpowder before continuing onward. "We're just several moments away from their base!" Vincent assured. The vast landscape of flames and death didn't make the trip any easier…
That, and the fact that Texik swatted at a zombie pigman.
"IT'S GONNA KILL ME!" he screeched, dodging the netherrack's flames as he ran away from the now murderous pig. "How much damage can it actually do?" asked Madison. As she said that, Texik made the mistake of running through a horde of zombie pigman. They immediately turned on him, and continued the chase, much to his chagrin. "*Sigh* He'll be the death of us all..." Vincent groaned. Jewel was about to step in and help Texik escape, but Endre stood in front of her.
"I got this," he assured her, pulling out his iron shovel.
He lunged into the mass of zombie pigmen, an act most people would consider to be made by a madman. However, the pigmen seemed to die rather quickly within a few swift strokes of his shovel. "Smite V…" Pickaxe recalled. "Some people get all the luck…" Sarah grumbled, just as Endre finished the last pigman. He looked dizzy. "Too much… rotten flesh…" he choked. It was true. The results of Endre's massacre had left mounds of rotten flesh, gold nuggets, and a few golden ingots.
It took all of Texik's willpower in order to not steal Endre's loot.
As they continued onward, Jewel began to notice some members of the group were starting to trail behind. Well, two in particular. She found Madison holding a ton of buckets and the shore of the lava lake. "What?" she asked, embarrassed that she had been caught doing a rather worrying obsession of hers. "Are you sure you can carry that all the way back home?" Jewel questioned. "If I could use a water bucket, I wouldn't have to…" she whispered in reply. Pickaxe, meanwhile, was busy mining netherrack. "Just because we're experiencing torments beyond our comprehension does not mean I can't get some materials out of it!" he protested. Sarah simply sighed.
"At least it carries an unyielding flame when lit," Vincent quietly added.
After several more paces through the Nether, they came across another lava lake. Vincent looked annoyed. "So they tore down the pathway…" he spat. Pickaxe plucked out his cobblestone. "Now I see why we needed these," he added, beginning to place the cobblestone slowly but surely. The rest of the group followed, helping place cobblestone blocks along the way. "If only I had some magma cream…" Sarah sighed, "Then I could make some potions of fire resistance…"
They reached the shore of the next landmass with a sight that was either really good or really bad omen.
They had found the village's Nether base. Unfortunately, there were several guards at the front, and strange cubes were bouncing around and inside the base, now in ruins. "Magma cubes…" Pickaxe muttered. Texik nodded his head; "Looks like you found your magma cream…" he addressed Sarah. "I can get past the guards easily…" Vincent muttered, "But I don't think I could persuade them to leave…" "What are they doing here, anyway?" Madison interjected, "The place is a mess!"
"Remember the portal?" Jewel reminded.
The group stood in place for several moments. How were they going to get in without the guards noticing. Heck, how were they even going to get rid of them!? … A lightbulb went off in Endre's head. "Do you still have some potions of invisibility on you?" he asked Vincent. He held out his bottle of the liquid. "Okay, I think I have a plan. Jewel, do you think you can act unconscious?" Jewel blinked at his request. "Just trust me. Pickaxe, ready your weapons…"
The guardsmen were shocked to see Vincent carrying a girl on his shoulders.
"Well, well…" one of the guardsmen 'greeted,' "You've been busy." "The boss said you were kidnapped," the other one added, "That, or you ran away." "I had to…" Vincent began, "They would've gotten information from me if I didn't. Besides, I completed the original objective. Shouldn't that be enough for redemption?" The guards paused. One of them took a look at Jewel. "Hmmm… chief's daughter alright," the guard confirmed,"Good work, Vincent. We'll send a message to the boss' base through the ender chest. This might earn you a promotion!" "Oh joy…" Vincent replied with a hint of undetectable sarcasm. The guard led him to a safer shack next to the village base, free from the magma cube's influence.
They neglected to notice the floating pickaxe and sword knocking out the other two guards.
Pickaxe dragged the guards behind the tower, while Madison, Sarah, and Texik approached with caution. "You sure this plan is gonna work?" Madison questioned Pickaxe, undetectable by the potion of invisibility except for his weapons. "Endre knows his tactics. I'm sure this'll work," he assured. Texik cautiously opened the door to the base. He motioned for the group to follow.
They were immediately ambushed by the magma cubes.
These things were stronger than slimes. Pickaxe could tell just by looking at them. Their fierce lava eyes and their dark rock-like color made them a rather strange combination of cute and deadly. Sarah didn't seem to mind though. "Give me your magma cream!" she barked, mercilessly slashing at the sentient blocks of lava. Unfortunately, they carried one of the slime's more annoying traits: it's ability to duplicate into smaller versions upon death. "DIE, SILVERFISH WANNABES!" Texik screeched, wield his sword and axe with full fury.
Meanwhile, at the shack next door, everything seemed to be going swimmingly.
The other guards were welcoming Vincent back with open arms. Jewel had been placed in one of the upper floor's rooms. Vincent had been treated to cake and golden apples, and the group was happily chomping on their delightful delicacies. Vincent eventually had to excuse himself for some alone time. He went to a room where one of the guards was using a book and quill. "Not as much of a wimp as we thought, eh?"
Vincent froze; he knew that voice.
"I thought you were back at the base, Krane," he calmly stated. The guard let out a chuckle, "Probably for the best. After you went missing and I saved the boss' butt, he appointed me as head of the guard at this base." He finished writing with his quill, signing his name in the book as the quill vanished. "I wish I was back at the base, but I'm certain Rosetta will take good care of him… congrats on getting the girl by the way," he finished, walking towards a dark chest with a glowing center. "Yeah, about that…" Vincent began, pulling out a shovel.
He swept Krane to the side, picking up the written book. "I had a change of heart."
He grabbed an enchanted pickaxe, using it to break the ender chest. "The village will need this later," he commented. He headed up to the upper floors. He found Jewel, a pile of unconscious guards at her feet. "Too easy," she said, brandishing her diamond and iron swords. "Come on, we need to get to the others," Vincent urged. The duo left the shack, only to nearly get shot with an arrow. Several guards were scattered in all directions, Endre snipping them further apart like a boss. They would never be seen again…
"Bless their souls," Sarah sighed, tossing her newly acquired magma cream.
Pickaxe finally finished rebuilding the original shelter. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, but his arm was also sweaty, so it didn't do much. "Done!" he yelled out to the group through the entrance. Vincent was the first to walk in. "You work fast," he complemented. Pickaxe shrugged. Jewel leaded Vincent to the portal. "You remember the way, right?" Vincent asked, making sure the group wouldn't get lost in the torturous landscape. "Relax," Texik assured, "Our boy Endre has that stuff covered. Go on, man!" Vincent gave an awkward nod, before pulling out his flint and steel. He struck it in the portal's gaping hole, filling it with purple light. He turned to face the group one last time. "Take care," he told them. "Just get that book to the village," Jewel stated. Vincent gave her a nod, and finally stepped through the portal. The purple light enveloped him, and he was gone.
Pickaxe began mining away one of the obsidian blocks, as Jewel and the others prepared for the journey ahead.