hello everyone, I'm recovering from the flu and im kind of lightheaded and dizzy which makes proofreading difficult lol, please be patient with me
edit: looks like on some browsers the glitched enderman text is replaced by confused boxes. that is ok! it doesn't matter bc u wouldnt be able to understand it anyway
Qorin stumbled as he was pushed into the main room of his captor's underground base, which was lit faintly by the glow of cave vines and spores. The Elder ambled in behind him, and as he passed him he grabbed his arm, continuing to drag him along to a different tunnel. Qorin didn't fight it. If he could slip away, maybe he could escape, but he would need to wait for his captor's guard to be down.
As they traveled, passing a few adjoining tunnels as they did so, Qorin could see a few of the other endermen milling around the cave system. They turned to look at him curiously as he passed, and Qorin noted that they always seemed to want to look him in the eye. Strange. Had they no concept of endermen customs, since they were raised in captivity?
Light was shining down the tunnel from the room ahead, and Qorin blinked in astonishment as the chamber came into view. A chorus plant grew in the center of it, and where the creeping vines reached the cave ceiling it snaked across it, the vines eventually crawling back down the walls and to the floor. Glowing chorus fruits hung from many of the branches, one of which the Elder plucked and offered to him. Qorin took it, surprised. He was... feeding him? Could he not just bring the food to his cell? Or was this a show of trust, to get him onto his side?
Qorin tugged his arm free to eat the fruit, snapping it up in a single bite. The chorus plant looked... strange. The branches, instead of smooth and elegant, were cracked and narrow. Was this the result of growing a chorus plant in an unfamiliar dimension?
"ℸ̓̐̾ ̣ ⍑͐͌̾╎͊͊͆ᓭ̀̽̿ ╎͝͝͠ᓭ͊̔͠ ∴⍑͋͆̓ᒷ̈́͐͋∷̔͘ᒷ͊͑͘ ╎̿͋ ⍑͒͊͝ᔑ͊̓͊⍊͛́͆ᒷ͊͋̓ ᓭ͑͛̒ℸ̓̈́̚ ̣ ᔑ̒͒̚|̿͒͝|̽̀̔ᒷ̓͌̒↸̒̀̀ ∴╎̓̿ℸ͐͑̓ ̣ ⍑̈́͊͝ ᒲ̈́̐͘|̒̈́͠|̓̔̚ ⎓̓́?ￌﾐ̀͊ꖎ̈́̽̕ꖎ͋͒̚?ￌﾽ̽∴ᒷ́͑̚∷̿͊̓ᓭ̈́͐͐ ᓭ͒̐͝╎͌͆̈́リ̒͋͠ᓵ̽̓̔ᒷ͌̈́͊ |̀̈́̚|̽͛̕?ￌﾈ́̚ ͆͝͝∷͊͌̕ ↸͒͑̐ᒷ̓͌͠ᔑ̓͑̚ℸ́͛͝ ̣ ⍑̿̈́̚.̽͌͝" The elder rumbled, and Qorin swallowed, looking up. Though his voice was scratched and warped, Qorin could understand his words in the old language.
"⎓?￢ﾈﾷ ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ !¡ ∷!¡?￡ﾓﾭᒷ?" He asked.
"∷̿̈́͝ᒷ̽̐̈́⍊̓͐͝ᒷ̒̔͘リ͌̕͠⊣̿̓̔ᒷ͒͋͠.̓̔̕" The elder responded. "ᔑ̈́̒̒リ͛͝↸̔̕͘, ͒͘ꖎ͛̕͝ℸ̀̾͘ ̣ ╎́̾̿ᒲ͋͊͘ᔑ̿̓͌ℸ͆͛͘ ̣ ᒷ͛͑͝ꖎ͆͘͘|̀͌͊|̈́̿̐, !̈́̓͒¡͋͆͝?ￌﾓ̿͝∴ᒷ͊̽̕∷̿͛̿.̈́̈́͆"
Qorin frowned. He didn't like the sound of that.
Beside them, one of the young endermen appeared, chirping nonsensically to get his master's attention. The elder glanced down, and his eyes narrowed. Qorin's gaze strayed back to the chorus plant, and he edged a little farther away, reaching up and straining to pluck another fruit from the vines.
No words passed between the elder and his servant, but shortly the younger one bowed his head and vanished again. Qorin popped the fruit into his mouth.
"∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ ╎ᓭ ⍑ᒷ ⊣?￢ﾕﾎリ⊣?"
"ℸ͌̿͘ ̣ ?ￌﾁ̓̔ ↸͌̒ᒷ̾̓͝ᔑ͛̒̈́ꖎ̐̿̈́ ∴╎̈́̿͠ℸ͑̒ ̣ ⍑̓̓̕ ℸ̈́̓͝ ̣ ⍑̈́͒̿ᒷ̒͋ ∷̓̓̀ᒷ̈́̿̓ᒲ̐̕ᔑ̈́̈́͠╎͑͋̈́リ́̒͠╎͆̒͑リ̒͌̚⊣̓͆̕ ?ￍﾒ͊́リ̿́͐ᒷ͌̾͝ᓭ̾͊͛.̈́͒͠" The elder rumbled lowly. Qorin swallowed.
"∷ᒷᒲᔑ╎リ╎リ⊣...?" The meaning hit him, and he spun in alarm. "∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ⎓?￢ﾈﾷ? ꖎᒷᔑ⍊ᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷᒲ ʖᒷ!"
"∴⍑̒̀͘╎͆͝͝ℸ̒͘̕ ̣ ᒷ͊̔̐-͆͋͝ᒷ̽̕̕|̿̓̚|̐̀͠ᒷ̔̐̓ᓭ̓͐͊ ⍑͊͐̕ᔑ͝͝ᓭ͛̔̚ ᓭ͆̓̾?ￌ ̕ᒲ̒̚͝ᒷ͋̈́̔ℸ͛̿͝ ̣ ⍑̾͌͆╎͋̀͒リ̿͆͐⊣͛͒̓ ╎͆́͝ ∴ᔑ͝͝͝リ͊́̐ℸ̿͋̒ ̣.̀̐̈́ ╎̈́̚ ᔑ͊̒̒ᒲ̽̐͘ ∴ᒷ͑̓̾ᔑ͆̾̿ꖌ́͊̾, ⍑̀͊̐ ̈́́͠リ̈́̒̈́ℸ́̔͋ ̣ |͆͆|͋͝∷͑͛̿.̓͌͠"The elder gazed down at him, face neutral. "ℸ̒̓̿ ̣ ⍑̽͘͝ᒷ̈́̾̿ ᓵ̈́̽̒⍑͑͊͝?ￌﾒ͆̚∷̓̓͝ ͌́͝ᓭ͆͆̿ ⎓̐̒̈́∷͒͛͑ ̒̈́̒╎̾̾͑ℸ̓́̀ ̣ ∴╎̽̚ꖎ͒̈́͝ꖎ̔͝ リ̕͝͝?ￌﾓ͝ ꖎ̈́̈́̽?ￌﾈ́͝リ́͊͝⊣̈́̓ᒷ͒́̀∷̓̾̀ ᓭ̾̀ ͆̽͝ᓭ̓̓͝ℸ̔͛̽ ̣ ᔑ̀̓͝╎̀͛̈́リ̈́̈́͝ ᒲ̾͠ᒷ́̚͝.̐͛̿ ?ￌﾽ̐リ̈́͆̕ꖎ͊͒̓|̓͝͝|͊̚͠ ᒲ̓̐̾ᔑ͆́̒⊣͘͝͠╎͊͐́ᓵ̽͐͋ ∴╎́͑ꖎ͛͒ꖎ͌̈́͆ ᓭ̿̈́ᔑ̀̈́͊⍊̓͒͘ᒷ́̒̈́ ᒲ͆͠ᒷ͛̓̈́ リ͛̾͠?ￍﾌ̿̿∴.̓͘͘"
Valor let out a low growl as pain shot up his leg, grip tightening on Null's shoulder where he clung to him.
"Ow." Null complained. "Move your hand."
"Sorry," Valor muttered, adjusting his grip. Going was slow, very much so, but they couldn't afford to stop for several days to allow him to start to recover. With no clue as to where Qorin had gone, all they could do was pursue the amulet, and hope that they would run into the endermen again. Preferably once he had healed up enough to walk on his own.
Herobrine walked along beside them, carrying the pickaxe to free up Valor's hands. His visible presence helped keep Val's anxiety at bay, his unease from being so close to Null. Surely the sorcerer would behave with the threat of a pickaxe going through his skull.
Null was out of his control, and so were the endermen, so Valor tried to just focus on staying upright. His good leg was aching from the strain of holding all his weight, and his bad leg throbbed from the broken bone, so walking was an altogether unpleasant experience. It put him in quite a sour mood.
"We should stop soon." Null said at last, glancing up at the sky. "Rest and eat." Val opened his mouth to protest, but he had to agree that he could use the break. So could Null, he reasoned. He had been walking all day as well, supporting Valor's weight along with his own.
"Alright."
They stopped to eat under the shade of an oak tree, one overlooking a patch of wildflowers. As he ate, Valor took a moment to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings. His focus had been on little else than 'find the amulet and don't die' since he'd left, but it was nice to... stop and smell the roses, as Steven would probably say.
Before he'd even finished eating, Null had fallen asleep in the grass.
Valor frowned at him, chewing on a piece of stale bread. Had he really been that exhausted? They had been walking since early this morning, before the sun had come up, but it couldn't have been more than eight or nine hours of travel. Null had spent the past year in prison, which couldn't have been good for his stamina, but he had shown no signs of weakness while they traveled with Qorin. Maybe he was faking it?
Valor reached out a hesitant hand, poking his guide in the shoulder. Null didn't move. Huh.
Movement in the corner of his vision caused him to turn, and his father's pickaxe lowered into the flowers beside him. He leaned back, reaching over to rest his free hand on the handle. He could feel peace stealing over him, from the gentle sunlight patterned from leaves on his skin and the birds singing in the trees around him. Maybe this was why Null fell asleep.
He didn't have the heart to wake the sorcerer for a couple of hours, but eventually shook him awake. Null seemed mildly alarmed that he'd fallen asleep, and muttered angrily until they were off again. Even though he hadn't slept, Valor felt rejuvenated from their stop, and the pair managed to keep going until the sun went down.
Once it did, they had little warning before they were attacked.
Valor was alerted by a flash of blue as Herobrine's pickaxe shot up, parrying the enderman's claws that arced down towards his head. Null let out a shout of surprise, and promptly dropped Valor to cast a spell. Valor stumbled to his knees. He could do nothing.
A white bubble encased him, and Valor jumped, heartbeat spiking. He soon realized the purpose when an enderman swung at him, and howled in protest as its attack bounced off the glowing shield. Null fired off a fireball, and Valor shuddered. Injured and unarmed as he was, there was nothing he could do to defend himself.
Herobrine's pickaxe danced through the air as the group of endermen attacked them, his assault far more effective than Null who merely worked to keep the gaps in their defense secure. It had been a long time since Valor had seen his father fight, but he was just as, if not more, deadly than when he had been alive.
An enderman teleported behind Null, raising its claws.
"Null!" Valor shouted in warning, and the sorcerer spun around, arms flying up to shield his face.
A throwing axe slammed into the enderman's chest, and it shrieked in pain before exploding into purple dust, an ender pearl dropping to the ground where it had stood.
"Get the pearl!" Valor shouted, and Null lurched forward, but he was too slow as one of the other enderman snatched it up and teleported away. Frightened, the group of endermen vanished in small pops of purple light.
Null dropped the shield around Valor, breathing heavily, and Valor glanced around the clearing. Where had that axe come from?
"Good evening." A voice called from within the trees. Valor turned just in time to see as a man dressed in white stepped out from between the trees, a second throwing axe held at his side. "It looked like you could use some help."
Qorin jumped as the room was filled with sounds of teleportation, looking up to see the young endermen appearing around the chorus plant. The elder's eye narrowed as he looked over, looking them up and down.
The tallest enderman chirped softly, holding up a pearl. Qorin's heart rose, though he felt a pang of grief. His friends had won, but another life had been lost.
The elder frowned deeply, holding out one scarred hand, and the enderman scurried forward to deposit the pearl into it. Straightening up, the elder lifted the pearl to a limp chorus flower, settling it in the center. Qorin hadn't even seen it until now, it was so lifeless. It must be strong enough to regrow hatchlings, if the one he had seen wandering around was any indication.
"ℸ͌͒͝ ̣ ⍑͐͑͝ᒷ͆̓͝ ⍑̽̓͠ ̈́̚͝ᒲ͐̿ᔑ́̒͝リ̀̽ᓭ̾͌̓ ᔑ͊̿∷̾̕͘ᒷ̈́͒͠ !̽͆͝¡͋͌͝∷͒̽͘?ￍﾆ̓͝⍊͑̔̾╎͊̔̐リ̒͠⊣̚̕͝ ℸ͒̐͒ ̣ ?ￍﾐ̓̓ ʖ̾̓́ᒷ̓͘͝ ᒲ̈́̒̔?ￌﾒ͑̕∷̽̈́͛ᒷ͛̒̐ ?ￍﾌ͒̕⎓̓̽̽ ᔑ̾͋͑ !́͠¡̈́̔̕∷͛̓͛?ￌ ̓̚ʖ͊͘͝ꖎ̓͋ᒷ̽̾͘ᒲ̓̓͠ ℸ́̚ ̣ ⍑̓̚ᔑ̾̿̚リ̈́̐͠ ᔑ̽͘͠リ͌̀ℸ͋̐͝ ̣ ╎̀̈́̿ᓵ̔̿̔╎̈́͑̈́!͆̀¡̈́͝͝ᔑ͑͠͠ℸ̿͆͐ ̣ ᒷ̓̔͐↸̿͠.̀͑͆" He spoke, looking down at Qorin. "∴⍑̿̾͝|̿̈́̿|͌̾̀ ᔑ͋̈́∷͒́̚ᒷ͘͝ |̾̈́|͘̚͝?ￌﾐ̔͝ ̀̈́͘ ꖎ̓̔͠?ￌﾓ̓̐|̾̕|͘̕ᔑ̀̈́͠ꖎ͊̿̕ ℸ̓̒͝ ̣ ?ￌﾈ́́͑ ℸ͋́͌ ̣ ⍑̐̒͒ᒷ͒̽͝ᒲ͛͆̈́?͒́̐" Qorin lifted his chin proudly.
"ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ|| ᔑ∷ᒷ ?￢ﾚﾍ∷ ⎓∷╎ᒷリ↸ᓭ."
The elder scoffed loudly, though it came out strained. "?ￍﾐ̐ ͐̈́̐∷͒̚ ⎓̈́̀̕∷͋̈́͆╎͐̓̕ᒷ́͝͝リ̈́̈́̚↸̒͊͋ᓭ̽̾̈́, ⍑̓͊̀ ̈́̈́̔リ͋̈́̕ℸ͛̓ ̣ |̀͐͝|͆͛͐∷͑͒̀?̓̈́͝ ∴ᒷ̓̿̚ ᔑ͊͝∷͒͌͝ᒷ̓͑͑ リ͛̿͝?ￌﾒ͋̒ℸ̕͝͠ ̣ ʖ̈́̕?ￍﾒ͘ ͐̽͑リ̓͊͒↸̿͠͠ ℸ͌̔̓ ̣ ?ￌﾈ́̒ ℸ̈́̾ ̣ ⍑͌̚͘ᒷ̾̔͝ ∷͑͛͐ᒷ̈́̈́̕ᓭ͋̓͘ℸ͑͛͝ ̣ ?ￍﾛ̓̓⎓͌͘͠ ?ￌﾓ̔̈́ ̐͝∷̀̓͠ ∷͋̚͝ᔑ̔̓̕ᓵ͊͠͝ᒷ͆͑͝.̓̚͝"
"||?￢ﾚﾍ ᒲᔑ|| リ?￢ﾄﾸ ̣ ʖᒷ, ʖ ℸ ̣ ╎ ᔑᒲ リ?￢ﾄﾸ ̣ ||?￢ﾚﾍ∷ ⎓∷╎ᒷリ↸." Qorin sought out the traces of the young endermen's teleportation, and hope seized him when he found it. "||?￢ﾚﾍ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ⎓ᔑ╎ꖎ."
He teleported out of the cave.