Chapter 6: Inside Job
The time had finally come.
Pickaxe was decked out completely in diamond armor and his pumpkin, his signature pickaxe and sword by his side. His other friends were also decked out in diamond armor, carrying with them some essential tools. Jewel was wielding iron and diamond swords. Madison brandished her iron axes. Texik held a flint and steel and some TNT. Sarah was carrying a golden sword and several splash potions. Endre was at the door, shield and shovel in hand. "Everyone ready?" he asked. The group nodded their heads.
"Let's get going," Pickaxe commanded.
The netherrack was allowing them safe passage, for the time being. Fire combusted at all other ends, and the way they were heading was a bit more chaotic than the rest of the Nether. There were constantly cliffs and pitfalls that would have lead to the group's demise, had they not been careful. Good thing they had gravel on them. The fact that angry magma cubes and ghast also wanted to attack them didn't help either. They seemed to wander for hours. "Are we lost?" complained Texik. Endre scoffed, "We're not lost… it just takes a while…" "Oh, really?" Texik sarcastically added, "I didn't notice!" "Then you might be missing something," Pickaxe interrupted. He stopped walking.
"We're here."
Across another lava lake stood the fortress. Truly, the place WAS a fortress. The walls were comprised of iron blocks and diamond blocks. The corners were lined with quartz blocks and gold blocks. Towers of cobblestone clashed with the setup, where guards were making sure no trespassers were afoot. Glass blocks made for huge windows. That was the weirdest thing about the place, though: the guards looked different depending on their occupation. Archers at the tops of towers wielded bows, but were clad in leather armor. Gold-clad common guards and scouts wandered about with iron swords. Miners to collect the various resources from the nether wore iron armor with iron pickaxes. Finally, there were the elite guards and captains, clad in diamond armor, wielding shields and swords, if not something else to signify their captain positions.
The group let out a simultaneous *gulp*.
"Good thing we came prepared…" Endre sighed. He pulled out several ender pearls. "Only two for each person," he told everyone, "One for the break in, one for the break out. Pickaxe, did you bring the cobblestone?" Pickaxe nodded, pulling out said block. "Before we go," Sarah added, "I suggest you take these…" She handed everyone several potions of regeneration and fire resistance. "I would have made health potions, but all I had to work with were ghast tears, not melons…" she mentioned. "So we split into teams," Texik interjected, "Pickaxe and Jewel, you guys go find Parker. I'd go myself, but I think I'd kill him. Sarah and Endre, sneak around the fortress. See if you can find anything of importance. As for Madison and I, we'll create a distraction." "Are we seriously listening to him?" Madison questioned. Pickaxe shrugged, and rushed down to the shore.
He began creating the cobblestone pathway, the rest of the group closely following.
"Stop!" Endre commanded, halting Pickaxe from continuing any further. "Uh, Endre, we're still not at the fortress…" Madison commented. Endre pulled out his ender pearl. "That's what these are for. Aim for the opening in the wall! It's an abandoned storage area!" The group threw their pearls in the wall's small hole. Within an instant, they were inside the room. "Well that was easy," Texik smugly assured himself. "We're just getting started." Madison grumbled, "Don't get too cocky just yet." Endre was shuffling through the various chests in the room. He began laughing. "Those idiots! They forgot to empty their chests!"
The group had ditched their diamond armor in favor of disguises.
Pickaxe and Jewel were in golden armor, the armor of common guards. Texik and Madison were wearing the archer's getup. Finally, Sarah and Endre were disguised as harmless miners. Pickaxe looked through the window. While the other guards were in neighboring halls, they weren't going into the groups hall. The guards were all mixed up, too. "The coast is clear," Pickaxe announced, "They won't see us coming." Cautiously, Pickaxe opened the door. The group inconspicuously integrated with the other guards. Eventually, they had to part ways in order to pursue their current goals.
Texik knew just how to start up a motherload of a distraction.
He and Madison joined a group of archers at the tower. Currently, no one at the village was pulling an invasion, so logically their minds were at ease. So much so, the archers spent their time playing sniping games with the far off zombie pigman, and gambling their salaries with the hope of getting some "extra pay." "These guys are even worse than you," Madison snickered. Texik elbowed her in annoyance. The captain of the archers decided to pay them a visit. She didn't seem to pleased with their current activities. "Back to work, you lazy dogs!" she barked, "Or you'll be the 'lucky' few sent to the Nether fortress!" The archers were immediately back in positions with their bows. Even Texik was caught off guard by her commanding aura.
Now or never, he thought.
He casually walked toward his post like a good soldier, right next to Madison. He gave a little signal with his hands, outlining a bucket. Madison sighed, handing him one of her lava buckets. He looked around him to make sure the other archers weren't paying attention. Without warning, he poured the lava at the towers edge, causing it to cascade onto the tower post and outside the tower. "What in the blazes-!" the captain uttered, shocked, "I demand to know the reason for this muti- GAH!" Madison had shoved her into the lava, as well as the other guards. She and Texik quickly made a run for it.
The archers crawled out of the lava, and began to chase the duo.
Meanwhile, Endre and Sarah were simply pretending to head toward the mines. They were taking the long way. Several miners passed them by, but they seemed a bit… out of place. Some looked scared, others tired, and even others uncertain. That's odd…, thought Endre, shouldn't they know who they're working for? What they're working for at the least! Sarah nudged Endre out of his thoughts. She motioned her head towards a nearby room. There were bookshelves and chests in that room. Endre nodded.
The duo made a beeline for their room, closing the door.
Several various guards were also in that room, but they payed the two no mind, as if guards trickled in and out of the room every day. An anvil was surrounded by the books, and several chests with different signs in front of them. "Looks like instruction manuals," Endre guessed. "But for what?" Sarah inquired. She entered one of the chest, taking out two written books. SHe passed one written book to Endre.
The two opened their books, and began to read.
Dearest Soldier,
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you into our cause. With your help, we just might be able to solve the secrets of the universe! For the longest time, we have found ourselves left in the dark with our fate. Night after night, ruthless monsters claw from their caves and shadows, determined to eliminate us. Here, in the Nether, if one dares to enter, we face unspeakable horrors within the flames. Is there anything we can do? Actually, there just might be. In case you didn't know, there is actually a third dimension called 'the End.' Unlike the other two dimensions, you can't craft a portal to get there. The portals to the End are scattered about in various strongholds located in the Overworld, and they require special 'Eyes of Ender' in order to be unlocked. The good news is, we've already located an End portal. What luck! However, to get to it, we must first remove the leader of the village within the area. This leader is the rival of none other than our own glorious leader, Victor. Luckily, we have some intel on the village thanks to one of its former associates, a young man by the name of Parker. You may know him as the commander of our forces, and what a commander he is! Now that you're informed, it would be best advised to do your part to the best of your ability. If we can unlock the End, we can unlock the very secrets of the universe. Sincerely, Rosetta. A Fellow Soldier.
Endre and Sarah closed the book, their faces filled with worry.
Pickaxe and Jewel found that it wasn't easy locating Parker. Within the grand scheme of the fortress, it was easily understandable. After a few wrong turns, and some apologizes to the higher ranking guards, the duo eventually found Parker's study. They slowly snuck in front of the door, peeking inside to get a look. Unlike a majority of the fortress, it was rather humble, comprised of cobblestone and wood, with a netherrack fire place in the center. Parker was also inside, but without his golden armor or sword. His casual wear comprised of black pants, green shoes, and a yellow hoodie with a plain white t-shirt. He was rubbing his chin, as if lost in thought. On the other side of the fire was a girl. She was holding a black skull at her side. Pickaxe grimaced; that skull gave her away as the archer.
Though you'd never guess by her appearance.
She had long red orange hair, tied into two low pigtails that flowed in front of her. Her eyes were a pale green. She looked worried for Parker. Finally, he spoke. "Such a shame we couldn't retrieve the girl." Jewel flinched; just the mention of her name from Parker was enough to make her shiver. The archer looked sad, as if she too were disappointed in their failure. "Apologies, my lord," she began, "We would've succeeded if I had been more vigilant." Parker faced the archer; his expression softened; "My beloved, you were not to blame. If anything, Vincent should have been more vigilant. We were only lucky we had brought Blade and Krane for the operation. Have we heard anything from Krane?" "No, my lord. But it appears so far that the village has made no advances. Blade has yet to run into them either. Speaking of which, he said that the raid on the Nether fortress can proceed as scheduled." "Excellent. We must lay low for now. Bide our time. If we play our cards right, your father will most certainly have his revenge, and we, our reward!" "Yes, my lord." "Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you…" "Hmmm?"
Parker humbly bowed before the girl, presenting her with a gift: an enchanted bow and arrow.
The archer's eyes widened in surprise. "My lord…" she began, but Parker silenced her. "Now, now, you are my beloved. Why wouldn't I get a bow for you?" The archer had no words. She simply embraced Parker in a bear hug. "You're the best!" she squealed, as Parker tried lifting himself up, to no avail. Pickaxe and Jewel had the slight urge to vomit. Luckily, one of the guards was heading toward the study. Pickaxe and Jewel began to run off in another direction, where Pickaxe could only catch the words, "Boss, some renegades are sabotaging us!"
They would need to formulate an escape plan.
Texik started to notice more guards were on their tail. "Word travels quick around here…" Madison grumbled. "Now's probably a good time to escape," Texik added. He pulled out his TNT. He started bouncing off the hall walls, placing the TNT in a near parkour fashion. What in Notch's name is he doing? Madison questioned. When Texik was done bouncing off walls, he placed a final TNT block right in front of him. He then pulled out a bucket of lava. No, he wouldn't..., Madison thought. He placed the lava over the TNT. It traveled a lot faster in the Nether than in the Overworld.
Ssssssssss… BOOM!
Endre and Sarah heard the explosion. It even cut through part of the library! "Guess we're leaving early?" Endre squeaked. In the confusion that followed, Sarah and Endre slipped behind the scenes. Finding the abandoned room wasn't a problem. The problem was the person waiting at the room. They were only a few blocks away, when Endre saw the one thing that could hinder the entire operation. Parker was standing in the front of the door, accompanied by the archer and several guards holding Madison and Texik's arms behind their backs.
"I wouldn't move if I were you…" Parker warned.
Pickaxe and Jewel were about to reach the hallway where the room was. They had found Parker's base, but if only they could get the information to the village. After what they had done against Reed's wishes, a person couldn't exactly hop out of a Nether portal and deliver the information. "Dad might ground me for life before I tell him…" Jewel sighed. No one was at the door. Maybe they were inside? Pickaxe opened the door, but nobody was there. The cobblestone bridge wasn't deconstructed, either. Pickaxe's only warning was Jewel's sudden gasp.
All he saw was the archer, whacking him upside the head with her bow.
Below the beautiful fortress was a dungeon. It was comprised of mossy stone, iron bars and iron doors, and only enough torches and glowstone to keep mobs from spawning. Each member of the group was thrown into a cell, still unconscious. Well, except for one… "The village will have to make a crucial decision," Parker assured the archer. "I'm going to get our 'special guest' ready. Be a dear and keep her companions comfortable, won't you, Rosetta?" The archer bowed to Parker, as he left the dungeon with Jewel in tow.
Rosetta looked at the prisoners with contempt and disgust.