Oh wow. I actually did not expect that I would manage to finish this when I did.

Nevertheless, if you're reading this now… it means big things are finally starting to take shape.

The true story of One Block at a Time is beginning to finally take shape.

And truthfully… I could not be more excited to finally begin telling the story I've wanted to tell for years now. It's taken so long, but I'm finally ready to begin telling the main story… but don't worry. There's still so much more to come.

So, without further ado…

Let's begin.

Chapter 56: Governor of Blockington

I was shaking like a leaf the entire trip. I was doing my best to not give the impression that I was hiding something, but that was a hard thing to manage as I was being led down the staircase towards what I was sure would be my doom.

The words of the guard still lingered in my ears, with Paige looking utterly horrified at the prospect of me going to the governor. However, despite her pleas, the guard refused to allow Paige to come as well, saying that the governor had requested me by name.

How he had even gotten my name at all was the least of my worries. I was scared to death of why he had even called me to his presence in the first place.

The guard had taken me out of Paige's apartment complex, down through the city (where it was quickly approaching night time), and through towards the City Hall.

However, we passed by the official building, and when I hesitantly inquired about where we were going, it turned out that we were heading to Governor Reginald's own house. And that was even worse for my anxiety.

Soon enough, we were at the house. Under more ideal circumstances, I would've loved to see the place. It was beautifully designed, with handsome dark oak details and even solid blocks of wood used as decoration. A fancy sign above the door signaled this house as the governor's house, flanked by what I assumed was the crest of Blockington: a pair of wolves standing at attention next to a single, boldly styled letter B.

"The governor is upstairs, in the first room on the left. Do not keep him waiting. I am to wait here for your return to escort you back to your residence safely." the guard prompted, standing at attention near the entrance.

I nodded and entered, feeling more nervous and scared than ever. Vivianna was doing her best to keep me calm, but I still couldn't help but feel as though my entire body language was going to give me away.

The house, despite its clear age, was handsomely decorated: lovely oak furniture, a handsome staircase with a metal finish, and even an elaborate redstone chandelier hanging from the ceiling above. It was rather cozy, all things considered.

I hesitantly climbed the staircase, trying to decide on whether it was worth trying to just book it back to the apartment (or out of Blockington entirely), but I had to steel myself. If I chickened out, it would put Susie and all the others in great danger.

So, after steeling myself one last time, I reached the door and, hesitantly, gave it a knock.

"Come in!" a familiar voice called out.

I opened the door and got my first look at what had to have been Governor Reginald's private office.

It was a beautiful room, with a big brickwork fireplace. Along each wall were stacks and stacks of bookshelves filled with books, papers, folders, and Notch knows what else. Directly in front of me, behind a large window, was a very finely crafted dark oak desk, which was littered with books, papers, and quills of various degrees of wear.

And standing behind it, looking out the window, was Reginald himself.

He glanced over as I slid into the room. "Ah, yes, the man of the hour! Cameron, is it?"

"Y-yes. Sir." I agreed. I was still incredibly nervous, but… somehow, I still couldn't help but feel as though Reginald wasn't dangerous. He just felt… too friendly. Against all odds, my fear was starting to wane just being in his presence.

"Please, come, take a seat." the governor insisted, gesturing to one of the fancy armchairs in front of his desk. I nervously took a seat, keeping a close eye on Reginald the whole time.

"Everything alright, dear boy? You look dead on your feet." the governor kindly asked.

"A-ah, no, sir, everything's f-fine." I stammered. "I just, uh, wasn't expecting someone like you to, you know, know a traveler like me by name."

"Ah, right. Truth be told, I learned your last name through a conversation with Zach a few days ago. He came to give me the report of his tools he was working on making, and we made some pleasant conversation. I learned your name there, and had a hunch that Miss Paige was some sort of relative of yours." the governor admitted.

That made me feel a little better that he learned of me through Zach, though not by much, considering this was still the most powerful man in the entire city.

"I do hope I didn't give you too much of a scare. Here, ah, have some of this." the elderly man encouraged.

He slid over a small jar with a few cookies. I hesitantly looked at the jar. "Cookies…?"

"Can never have enough snacks. It's sometimes hard to remember to get proper meals all the time, after all." the governor chuckled, helping himself to a cookie.

I hesitantly took it and bit a small piece of it off. It was actually pretty good, though a little stale. I bet even Susie would like them and ask for the recipe if she tried one.

"Now, ah, I won't take up too much of your time." Governor Reginald explained, leaning forward slightly. "I simply wanted to talk to you a little bit before… something happens."

"S-something? What does that-" I started to ask.

"Ah, I've said too much already. Please, don't worry yourselves about it." the kindly old man said, waving a hand. "Anyway, dear boy, I just wanted to ask… you're a somewhat frequent traveler of this place, are you not?"

"Uh, yes, I try to come at least once or twice a month, visit my sister and all that." I agreed, still not entirely sure where this conversation was going.

"Right. Well, you see… the reason I want to talk to you, is because…" the governor softly spoke. He continued, "Truth be told, when I saw you in Zach's shop the other day… I had a revelation."

"A… revelation…?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Yes… a vision, if you will." Reginald agreed. "I am a firm believer in signs, my boy. So imagine my surprise when I had a dream the previous night, dreaming of a boy bearing a striking resemblance… to you."

My eyes went wide. "You… dreamed about me?" I asked.

"And what's more, you were holding a sword to my throat!" the governor said, his expression rather serious. "It was rather strange, to say the least. So you can probably imagine my shock when I saw you that same day, sitting in the backroom with Zach and whatnot."

I blinked, still very confused about what this meeting was about and what fate Reginald had in store for me. My nerves were creeping in still that he was somehow about to drop TNT on me and have me arrested…

"However… you did not seem to want to be holding the sword." the elderly man explained. "I could see your grip shaking."

I blinked. This was becoming very confusing. "I… I don't understand. You had a dream about me holding a sword to you… but I didn't actually want to hurt you…?"

I was suddenly remembering the shattered fragments of a nightmare I had had my first night here: me, holding a sword up to Reginald, and him looking rather flustered, almost angry. But… but how can that be possible?

"S-sir…" I started to say.

"Reginald. You do not need to be so formal." Reginald insisted.

"Right, um… Reginald… when I was, um… holding you up, as you say… did it happen to be this sword?" I asked.

I carefully pulled out my diamond sword and gently placed it on the desk in front of him. The governor took an immediate interest in the blade, running his fingers over the smooth surface and the obsidian flecks.

"Remarkable… it's the exact sword I saw in my dream… exactly as I saw it…" Reginald whispered, running a finger across the edge carefully.

The governor leaned back, allowing me to sheath my sword carefully. "It is as you say. That very blade is what I saw… but… hmm…"

"W-what?" I asked.

"I would like to ask you something, Mr. Cameron." Reginald explained, his voice suddenly quiet.

I grew concerned. Reginald took a moment, before quietly asking…

"Have you ever seen a man… without any eyes?"

Dead.

Silence.

The only noise in the room was the fire, and even that seemed to have gone quiet in the wake of what Reginald had said.

My eyes immediately went wide, and my face paled.

Reginald noticed immediately. "So… so you have…"

The old man took a look down at his papers, and let out a sigh.

"I was afraid of that." he said, his voice soft.

"W… why…?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"I… I do not want to say. You… you would never forgive yourself if you knew." the old man explained, his voice unbelievably soft.

"W-why…?" I asked again. I… I didn't want to hear it either, but I had to know. "H-how… how do you know a-about…"

"If you know who He is… then you are in terrible, terrible danger." Reginald whispered, his voice deadly quiet again. "My boy… can I see it?"

I was confused, and very nervous. "S… see what…?"

"The book. I… I think you know which one." the governor simply replied.

My eyes went even wider. "Y… you… you know about…" I whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

"The very same." Reginald replied.

I slowly reached into my bag, and procured the Enchanting Book from within. Governor Reginald seemed to age ten years before my eyes when he saw the book.

"Yes… that's the one." he softly agreed with a nod. He took it very gently from my hands, and rested a hand on it's cover. "It's… been a very long time since I've seen one of these…"

"W-what? There… there are more?" I asked.

"Not anymore. They have been lost to history." Reginald explained, handing the book back. "A long time ago, they were extremely common in our world. People used to research these books, study their meanings and their fates, trying to learn all they could from them. However… the books have been lost to the folds of time. More could be made, but it would not be easy."

My head was spinning. How on earth did Reginald know all of this? Why was it all connected to me? And more importantly… how royally screwed was I at being able to leave this place?

"I… wish I could do more, my dear boy. But… my time is running out." Reginald responded, his voice sorrowful.

"Wh… what?" I asked.

"I… I tell you this in confidence… but… I was told to impose these travel restrictions… precisely because you would be here at this time." Reginald admitted, his face long and full of regret. "It… was a cowardly move, but… after seeing you, and your wonderful friends… I knew I couldn't move forward. I had to talk to you. To tell you of the danger you are in. To convince you to leave this place."

"I-I…" I stammered.

"Ah… my time grows ever shorter. Very, very soon now… I will die." Reginald explained. "Once our guest of honor arrives… I will meet my end. This city will fall into chaos, but it will recover. However… you cannot stay here. You must leave."

"I… I w-want to… b-but…" I started to say, and then stopped. I… I couldn't tell him why.

However… Reginald nodded. "You… have friends you cannot bear to leave here. So you cannot leave on your own."

I nodded, my throat tight.

"I see." Reginald responded. His voice was somber. He carefully stood up and looked out at the sky.

It was rapidly turning night. Soon, the moon would be out, and another day would be upon the world.

"Such a strange thing, life… I have done so much… and yet, it feels like I have accomplished so little. The things I would do to have another chance… to get one more try to make a mark on this world…"

Reginald looked back at me, and although he still seemed sad, he also seemed ready. He was ready for whatever he faced.

"I will help you as much as I can." Reginald explained. "I will give an order that you and your sister's apartment are not to be searched. You will have perfect privacy there."

I blinked.

"And… I will also give you this." Reginald hesitated, then reached into his desk and pulled out a small badge, with the crest of Blockington on it. "When a guard sees this badge, they will not stop you. You will be safe from them… but your friends will not be. They can still be questioned. You will need to keep them safe."

"I…"

"Unfortunately… that is as much as I can do for you. I cannot repeal my orders, not quickly enough for you. Whatever plans you may have to leave… I encourage you to act on them. Quickly." Reginald continued.

I was stunned. "I… I don't understand. Why… why are you… doing all this? Why are you… helping me? We are strangers to each other… so why…?"

Reginald gave me a long, unbroken stare. It was a long time that he sat there, gauging me.

"Some things, Mr. Wallis… are simply unexplainable with words. But… if you want proof that I really do want to help you…" Reginald slowly said, his voice gentle, his tone soft.

"Then… please. Take this. Read it when you are alone. You will understand when you see it."

With one last motion, he moved forward and handed me a somewhat large, folded envelope, with my name written on it in neat script.

I hesitantly took the envelope and pocketed it, curious, but also afraid.

"You are free to leave. I have some loose ends I must wrap up. Please, go back to your friends and help them, however you can. Let an old man get his rest." Reginald said, his voice tired… but glad.

I hesitantly stood up. I stammered out a thanks for Reginald's time, and headed for the door.

"Oh… Mr. Cameron…?" his voice floated back, just as I reached the door.

I turned just in time to see Reginald rising from his chair, and moving over to the door. He reached the door, gently put a hand on it, and softly spoke,

"And next time, do tell your slime friend to not let her sleeve rise up when she shakes someone's hand. She might cause a panic, and she seems like such a wonderful young lady."

And he quietly shut the door, leaving me alone in stunned silence.

I'll never remember how I got back to Paige's house. I'll never remember how I explained to Paige and the others what Reginald wanted, how I managed to convince them that the governor knew me through Zach and seemed concerned when he went to 'check up on him later', and asked me to keep an eye on him. I'll never remember how the rest of that night was spent before we all went to bed.

All I remember is laying up in bed, staring at the ceiling, as so many feelings and emotions and fears collided with me all at once.

'Reginald… he… he knows. He knows about Susie. H-he… he knows about me. B-but… but somehow… somehow…'

He didn't throw me in jail. He didn't arrest me, or question me, or kill me. He… he helped me get tools to escape.

I couldn't sleep. I was far too keyed.

I eventually couldn't take it, and quietly left the bedroom to look over one thing in particular.

Diana and Andr were fast asleep. I was careful not to disturb them when I smoothly entered the room. Paige was in bed as well, probably not having nearly as much to keep her awake as I did.

I took a seat at Paige's dining room table, and gently gazed at the envelope. It was rather heavy. I found myself staring at the neat script of my name, clearly listed in the center.

"Are you going to open it, Cameron…?" Vivianna whispered in my mind.

"I… I don't know." I whispered back. "I… I'm scared. Ever since Reginald started talking to me, I… I just don't know what to think anymore."

Vivianna slowly shushed me. A gentle, calming sensation came over me. It wasn't enough to wash away all my fears, but… it did help a lot.

"I can do it for you, if you want." the water spirit offered. "You can take a moment to keep your head cool, and just observe."

"That… might actually be useful, Vivianna." I agreed softly.

And slowly, I felt myself gently being guided away. I hadn't felt this in a very long time. But I was gently losing the feeling of my arms, body, and head, and was simply… observing. Allowing my consciousness to swim in a large pool of cooling waves.

Meanwhile, Vivianna gently let out a sigh, using my body. I could tell (even though I never saw it myself), that my eyes were right now a deep, vibrant blue.

"Okay…" Vivianna whispered, still wanting to keep the others quiet. "Let's just see…"

Vivianna gently opened the letter and took out an assorted stack of papers. She gently unfolded them and took the first from the stack, and began reading quietly:

"Ever since I have become governor of this fair city, I have always known my time would end soon. I have always known this, but I still did my best to run this city to the best of my abilities. Unfortunately, I know all too well that my family name will fall with my death. I do not have any children. The next governor of this city will not be of my family's name."

"If this were any other family, they would feel ashamed. But for me… it is a breath of fresh air. My family name will be remembered as a cornerstone of this fair city. Whoever comes to fill my role… they will no doubt be someone of like mind as me. Someone who will run this city well."

"But… that's not what you're interested in, is it, Cameron?"

Even though I was much calmer, I still got a jolt when I read my name. Vivianna paused for a moment, then kept reading,

"Alas, there was so much I wish I could've done for you. So much I wanted to tell you. But, I could not. For if you knew what I did, what I have in store… if I told you in person, you would do something you would never forgive yourself for."

"You know who I spoke of. His name… I will not speak it here. But know that He is powerful. He will not attack you directly. He considers that beneath him. Instead, He will bide his time. Waiting until the perfect moment to strike you. Waiting until you are at your weakest. He has waited many, many years for this chance. He is willing to wait however long it takes. You cannot let this happen."

"I have enclosed some documents for you. Please, when you see them… do not be alarmed. I… have had some adventures myself, when I was a young lad. What I would give, to have had a chance to show you…"

"If you are still afraid… I do not blame you. You may choose to cast these letters away. To forget that they ever existed. But I believe I have a good idea of what kind of person you are. You are a good man, I can tell just by how you act."

"Notch has placed a terrible burden on you, young man. However… even if you do not think this is how you want your life to live… fate will force it. Please, do not run from your fate. You will only delay your time. You will only suffer until your time."

"And, please… forgive me for having to have done this in such secrecy. I did not want to burden your friends… not until you were ready to share this burden."

"You are a wonderful young man. I hope you find true happiness, and find a life that you will one day look back upon fondly, and have no regrets."

"I wish you the best."

"Your friend, Governor Reginald."

…

"I… I don't understand…" I whispered to myself. "What… what does he mean…?"

"I… I don't know." Vivianna whispered back. She carefully placed the letter aside and opened the second paper.

I could feel me, Vivianna, and Aira all grow surprised. This… this letter was written in Standard Galactic.

"Reginald… he knew how to read and write in Standard Galactic." Vivianna mused. "Amazing… Cameron, do you, um, want to take over and read this?"

I quickly remembered that even Vivianna or Aira couldn't read this text, so

I agreed, and gently felt myself returning into control of my body.

Once I was situated, I slowly looked over the document.

"I was given my final orders today. He has decided to take care of what He calls his 'last threat' before He begins his conquest."

"I will not do so."

"I will not do as He asks."

"I will be killed for refusing, but I will be killed regardless. And in any event… I am old. I had a wonderful life as it was."

"If you are reading this, Cameron, then my hunch was right: you are a Reader, just like I once was. Like you, I once held in my hands an Enchanting Book, but I have since had it destroyed. Nevertheless… I still remember how to use Standard Galactic to my advantage. Even He doesn't know of this."

"I was ordered… to kill you, Cameron. However… I knew that I couldn't do this. I knew that if I did… the world would end."

"So… I have given you a chance. I have given you the ability to safely begin your fate. It may take a long time. It may never happen. It may happen tomorrow."

"But… if you are willing to trust me… then I have given you my blessing."

"In the next pages… are the goals you should seek. Take the time that you need. He will not strike until he is confident that he can eliminate you. This will be your greatest advantage. As long as He does not think you are an immediate threat, He will never directly come for you. Instead, He will simply bide his time, waiting to kill you through chance. It matters not how it happens."

"Please… do not mourn me. I have made my choice. I know it is the best choice for you, and for me, and for everyone in the world."

"Your friend, Governor Reginald."

My hands were shaking as I read the note over again. "What… what fate…?"

"Shhh! Don't wake the others!" Aira suddenly loudly whispered.

I jumped and looked over. Diana and Andr were still fast asleep, but Diana looked like she had turned over in her sleep, and was now facing me. I realized I must've raised my voice a bit.

"R-right…" I whispered, looking back and reading the note quietly once more. I was highly confused about what this whole note was talking about. I didn't understand at all what it meant by 'goals you should seek'. Goals for what purpose?

I kept flipping through some more of the papers. Some were written normally, while others were in Standard Galactic. Me, Vivianna, and Aira all took turns flicking through the various papers, carefully reading over each one and having a quiet discussion about each.

One paper talked about how Reginald learned he was a Reader, many many years ago, and how he learned his fate would be filled with danger as a result. Another was nothing more than a map of some strange place I had never seen before. Yet another was a page torn from a book, which seemed to be some person's thoughts about the 'Reader's Sight' gift I (and Reginald, I suppose) had.

Every document we looked through may have answered one question, but it created five more in their wake. The three of us spent all night reading through those papers, until I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my temples, only to then realize the light beginning to filter in from the sky outside.

Vivianna and Aira were telling me that maybe it would be a good idea to just try to sleep, but I couldn't. I was much too keyed. Even though I did feel tired, I didn't have it in me to rest.

Instead, I quickly folded up all the papers and stuffed them back into the envelope, storing it back safely in my bag next to the Enchanting Book.

Ignoring the tired feeling coursing through me, I turned back to look out the window as a new day dawned over Blockington.

It was going to be a very long day.

"You should go rest, Cameron."

"No… I'm fine, I promise. I'm not tired."

"The bags under your eyes tell a different story."

"What were you even up all night for in the first place…?"

"I… I couldn't sleep. I just was worried about our plans for getting out of this city, and… well, I didn't have it in me to pass out."

The others were all sitting around me in Paige's small living room, eating some breakfast while gently talking with me. Paige wasn't here, she had stepped out to grab something from the store, but she too had noticed me when she woke up. I must've not looked great, having spent all night awake, but I didn't feel tired… at least, not enough to go to sleep. I was too nervous.

Susie gently rubbed my shoulder as I stifled a yawn. "Are you sure you're not tired…?"

I nodded. "I wouldn't be able to sleep either way, it's daytime, and we have things to do."

As much as the others looked like they wanted to argue, they conceded that we did in fact have a lot of other, more important things to take care of, and so my condition was thankfully dropped.

Fortunately, I revived a bit over breakfast, and by the time Paige returned I had showered and felt a lot better, though not perfect.

First order of business, me, Paige, and Diana all headed out to go and check up on Zach and Blake. It was now day three of Zach having had the Living Death curse, and we wanted to check up on both him and the amount of picks we had amassed.

Blake was immediately more relieved to see us. "I was just about to run out and get you guys. He's… well, look at him."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was talking about. Zach's condition was rapidly growing worse. His clothes were torn, stained, and burned. His hands looked gnarled and sore from having worked with metal for so long. But the biggest concern was his head, which was now all the way to his neck washed in a dull, lifeless gray color.

And still, Zach didn't seem concerned in the slightest. As far as he looked, he seemed focused on hammering more metal on the anvil.

"Well… it's concerning, but this is still a normal progression for it. He still has time, and we're almost ready to start acting on our escape plans." I explained. Turning back to Blake, I then asked, "What about the picks? Has he finished those?"

Blake nodded, and gestured towards a closed chest in the corner. "He closed that chest just this morning. It's full to the brim with iron picks."

I nodded. "Then… I suppose the biggest thing right now is figuring out how to get him to stop working at the forge." I agreed, turning back towards Zach.

That turned out to be an involved process. Try as we might, we found it almost impossible to get anywhere close to Zach without him becoming aggressive. Thankfully, he didn't try to hurt us with any of his tools or a weapon or the like, but that still didn't mean he wasn't a danger to us. Even with our rope, he was putting up a terrific fight and not allowing himself to be tied up.

After an hour or two, including a few very close calls where we almost had him, we had to call it a break. We were all nursing small injuries, but nothing too extreme, and we agreed that if we got the others to help too, we surely could wrap him up and get him bound. More hands surely would lead to success.

In any event, the three of us bade Blake goodbye for the time being, saying we'd be back a little later after we had a meeting with Quinn.

We reached his apartment right around four, and he opened the door as soon as we knocked. "Thought you'd be here now. Inside, quick."

We entered, and after a quick introduction (seeing as Paige hadn't met him before), we got right down to business.

"So, good news. I got both the shifts." Quinn stated. "I got the mine shift tomorrow, all night, so you guys have plenty of time to work before anyone arrives for the day. As for the guard post, I got that as well the next day, but only from ten to four in the morning."

"What's the bad news, then?" I asked, worried.

"Like I said, those were the only times I could get those shifts." Quinn warned. "You said you needed to leave here before the week was over, right? Well, this is the only chance you'll get from me for help. I sincerely hope you and your friends have plans put together and are ready to work."

I nodded, as did the other two. "Don't worry, we're pretty much set to work as soon as tomorrow comes. We just need to focus on our plans, and surely everything will work out as intended."

Quinn nodded, his expression serious. "I… I really appreciate you for helping us out. I know I kinda just… sprung this on you and all that, but I really do appreciate you helping me with getting my daughter out of here… even if it is by some rather extreme methods."

Luka, who had been sitting quietly in the living room reading while the rest of us talked, looked up when she heard her name. She gave her father an innocent smile, as only a child can.

I nodded. "Don't worry. We'll help you and your daughter. You can trust us."

Quinn let out a small breath, and nodded. "I'll be sure to stop by your apartment tomorrow before work, and hand over Luka so you can 'babysit' her. Just… keep her safe. Whatever you need to do."

We nodded.

We left Quinn's apartment, all of us taking a very, very deep breath.

No turning back now.

The rest of that day was a blur.

The five of us combed over our plans, talking about what our plan of attack would be. We had nailed down as many of our fears and worries about both plans as we could, and it would only be a matter of a few more days before we were all outside the city walls and free from Blockington.

Susie and Paige had already started working on estimating the distance needed to mine underneath the city, and how far we would need to keep going before we were out of range from the watchtowers. Diana and Andr, meanwhile, were both making sure that we had all the supplies we needed, as well as extra backpacks to hold all our extra tools and stone we'd end up digging through.

As for me, I had taken to making sure to brush through both plans with a fine tooth comb, making sure we hadn't forgotten anything important. The mines would be easy enough to enter, especially with Quinn on our side, but it would be a very long, involved process of mining through so much solid stone (especially if we happened to come across a cave full of monsters along the way. On the other hand, the flying machine plan also didn't have any glaringly obvious snags, aside from hoping against hope that Quinn would be able to keep the guards away long enough for us to get up and out of sight.

I let out a gentle sigh of relief as I again came up negative on anything new to worry about. With any luck, tomorrow morning, we'd be tying up Zach, lugging him and Luka to the mines, and we'd be homeward bound.

Everything finally felt like it was starting to come up. For the first time, all my friends around me had much lighter, happier expressions on their faces. We all knew these plans were long shots. And yet… we still had plenty of reason to hope that they would work. We just had to keep our cool.

Finally, after a long while, it finally became dark out, so we all gratefully put away our plans (hopefully for the last time) and started getting ready for bed. It would be a very busy day tomorrow.

One by one, we each bade each other good night, nervous but determined for the plan tomorrow.

We had to be ready.

And yet…

…

An hour later, and I had yet to be able to fall asleep.

I was aching. I was much more tired than I had been that morning, having had to use most of my already limited energy the entire day. My eyes were heavy, and I just wanted to roll over and sleep the night away.

And yet… my entire body refused to fall asleep.

Even Vivianna and Aira, who were quite capable of helping me sleep, didn't seem to be able to do anything. As far as they could tell, there shouldn't have been any reason why I couldn't sleep.

And yet… I couldn't.

There was no other explanation for it.

Finally, after another hour of fruitlessly shifting and trying to get any shut-eye, I gave up, and quietly threw the covers off of me.

Susie stirred gently, but did not wake. I hesitated for a moment, and then quietly crawled out of bed.

'Maybe… maybe I just need some fresh air.' I slowly thought.

And so, once I properly dressed myself again, I carefully and quietly eased my way out of Paige's apartment and to the ground level.

It only dawned on me then that the guards probably wouldn't think too highly of me being up past curfew, but I had thankfully already pinned the crest of Blockington pin Reginald had given me to my shirt. Hopefully, I reasoned I wouldn't be disturbed.

For a while, I simply… wandered. Truth be told, I was half expecting a guard or whatever to show up and come tell me off for being up so late, but I didn't encounter any guard as far as I could tell.

Either way, I was very wrapped up in my thoughts. Things had finally been going upwards and, for the first time, I actually felt confident that things would wrap up and we'd finally manage to leave this city.

But as much as I wanted to be happy about that…

I couldn't. Because I had too much to worry about.

'Reginald… just what did you mean with all of this…' I absentmindedly thought, instinctively touching the pocket that still had the envelope with all the papers in it.

I hadn't dared told any of the others about it. I still had yet to tell any of them about that whole… that whole Herobrine thing. I was too afraid to tell them.

"I did not want to burden your friends… not until you were ready to share this burden."

Reginald's letter was still ringing in my ears, clearer than ever before. He knew about all of this.

'Maybe…' I slowly thought, suddenly feeling my thoughts clear a bit more. 'Maybe I should try… try seeing if I can talk with Reginald again.'

It was definitely a long shot, but at this point… I needed anything to help me feel better, and to make my nerves ease up a bit.

So, now with a destination in mind, I back-tracked through the city, and eventually, after several wrong turns, ended up back at the grand house Reginald lived in.

I climbed the stairs, still a bit unsure of this. And yet… I really didn't have any better choice. I already came all this way. I was committed at this point.

I took a deep breath… and then gently knocked on the front door.

*crrrreeeeaaak!*

The… the door wasn't locked. It… it opened on it's own, the moment I touched it.

That… that didn't seem right.

I glanced around, but there was still no one in sight.

Very, very slowly, I pushed the door open the rest of the way, and peeked inside.

The main room was dark. Nothing looked different from how it had appeared when I showed up just the other night.

And yet… something had very clearly changed. The entire room just had a very different feeling to it.

Feeling nervous, I hesitantly entered, closing the door behind me, and quietly started walking up the staircase towards Reginald's office.

His office door was ajar, but there was no one inside. Everything looked exactly the same as it had been the night before.

Confused, I started trying to wonder what was going on, before I heard a loud, rattling cough coming from the end of the hallway.

I jumped nearly a foot into the air and clumsily grabbed at my sword.

Suddenly, I noticed the door at the end of the hall had a very faint light coming from it.

Slowly, cautiously, I approached the door. The loud coughing happened twice more as I approached, sending jolts of fear coursing through my body. For a moment, I considered bagging it and just high-tailing out of here before someone found me.

Then, just as I reached the door…

"I… I know you're there, Mr. Wallis…"

That time, I actually did jump in alarm, accidentally knocking over a picture frame in the process. Silence followed for a moment, before I heard a sigh.

"Well… d-don't just stand there, please… come in…"

I… I couldn't fail to recognize that voice.

Reginald.

But… but something was wrong.

Hesitantly, I reached out, and very slowly opened the door.

I realized it led to a handsomely decorated bedroom, with a very large bed in the center of the room.

And yet… any and all details about the room almost immediately became lost on me as I looked towards the bed.

And saw Governor Reginald, lying in his bed, looking like he had aged almost thirty years since the other night.

"M-Mr… Mr. Reginald…?" I hesitantly asked, my eyes wide.

The old man gave me a feeble nod. "I… I knew you would come. I had hoped I would be wrong, but…"

I hastily sheathed my weapon and approached the elderly man, looking at his sickly cheeks and his dull eyes, far from the lively man I had known to this point.

"What… what in the name of Notch… happened to you…?" I asked.

Reginald, against everything, gave me a slight smile. "I tried to tell you, my boy… I'm an old man. I've lived a very long life, and now… I'm afraid I'm almost spent."

"B-But… you looked fine yesterday!" I cried out. "And now… you look like you've been bedridden for years. What… what in the hell happened to you?"

Reginald took a very deep breath, though not out of annoyance. He merely seemed like he was preparing to talk.

"Let's just say… my health has been… greatly exaggerated. I… I have always been like this, my boy. And… you can thank that potion for hiding my true condition."

He pointed a gnarled finger over to the corner of the room. There, sitting on an empty bookshelf, was a potion unlike anything I had ever seen before. It softly glowed as it sat there, shifting from pink to red to yellow to orange and back again. Even just looking at it, I could tell there was something very, very different about that potion.

"That, my dear boy… is a potion of Youthful Vigor." Reginald explained, leaning back heavily. "I… I was a fool for having taken that potion for as long as I did. It can give any creature in this world the strength to do just about anything they wish… as though they had the motivation and energy from when they were young once more. But even so… even having so much as a drop of that cursed potion will rid you of all your vigor when it wears off. Unless you take it in extremely small doses… you will almost immediately develop a tolerance, and it becomes something you have to take in order to function…"

Reginald broke into a coughing fit. He recovered after a moment or two, looking up at me. "My dear boy… can you do me one last favor? I know I have no reason to ask you for one, but… I no longer have the strength to do it myself…"

He pointed to the potion. "Can you please… take that bottle… and smash it. Destroy it, and let the cursed liquid dry up, so it will never hurt another…"

Wordlessly, I stood upright and, slowly, headed over to the fancy potion.

I took the bottle carefully in my hands, and almost immediately, I felt a warmth unlike anything I had ever felt before. The warmth was in my fingers, gently spreading through my arms, and to the rest of my body… it was incredible. I suddenly felt as though I had just had a twenty hour nap.

"Do… do not let it sway you, my boy…" Reginald warned. "You do not want to let it control you…"

Gently, I shook my head away from the thoughts, and, with little regard for finesse, raised the bottle above my head and threw it towards the ground.

It hit the floor with a loud shattering noise, and the multi-colored liquid slowly began dissolving. As soon as I had stopped holding the bottle, the warmth left my body.

Within moments, the liquid was dried up, and it was gone, with the only trace being a faint smell of rosebud.

Reginald let out a small sigh, seemingly relieved. He leaned back into his bed, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly asked, "So… you came back, dear boy. I… can only assume?"

"Y… yes sir." I stammered, slowly moving back around the bed to Reginald's side. "I just… a lot of the information you gave me in that letter… it doesn't make any sense…"

Reginald nodded. "That is quite intentional. You would be overwhelmed if I simply gave you everything you needed to know… I had to limit myself in telling you everything, so that… you may discover your own path."

"B-but… but I don't understand." I insisted. "What… what even is my path? Why is it a path I have to take? I just don't understand what's going on anymore, and…"

I stopped. I realized far too late that… Reginald was in no fit state to be able to explain all of his writing to me. It was taking almost everything he had just to be able to look at me, nevermind talk.

Reginald simply shook his head softly. "I'm afraid… I cannot. Even though it pains me to, you are the only one who can determine what your fate will be."

Silence followed for a while, as I processed everything amid my confused, tired thoughts while Reginald took another deep breath.

"How… however…" Reginald suddenly spoke. "I can offer you one last piece of information…"

I kneeled down to Reginald's level, immediately interested. "W-what is it?"

"When you wish to learn more of your fate… head directly east, towards the sunrise. A day's travel away from this city… there is a place that you should visit. An old, prosperous village. You will learn much from there, even if it does not make immediate sense…"

Reginald suddenly broke into a brief coughing fit. He recovered, though his breath was shaky as he continued, "Seek out the protector's ward… he knows much that even I am not fully aware of. Tell him that I sent you."

"A… a village. Due east, a full day's travel, and… the protector's ward?" I repeated, confused.

"I cannot say more… just know that you should travel there, at least once… the ward can help you. I promise." Reginald insisted, slowly reaching out towards my hands.

His wrinkled, rough hand gently cupped one of my own. "Notch has placed a burden upon you, dear child… I only wish I were younger, so that I may help more… but I believe in you. You will do great things. You will make this world a better place… I can feel it."

Slowly, Reginald released my now shaking hands. "You should go. You have a busy day tomorrow, do you not…?"

A jolt passed through my body. "H-how… how did you…"

Reginald somehow managed a short laugh. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeves, Mister Wallis. I've been doing what I can to help you as much as I can… but the rest is up to you."

"Now… please, let an old man rest." Reginald whispered, leaning back into his pillow gently. "Do not mourn for me, my child… I have chosen my fate. You should instead focus on yours…"

Reginald gently let out a deep breath, a sigh of relief.

"B-but… w-wait, R-Reginald, I… I still have so many questions! Please, I… I need your help!" I insisted.

…

…

"N… no…"

Hands trembling, I slowly reached out towards Reginald's hands.

…

His wrists were silent. I could feel no pulse.

He was no longer breathing.

And yet, somehow…

Reginald was forever sleeping with a smile on his face.

It seemed as though…

He'd finally accomplished his final mission.

…

If I may be perfectly honest…

This entire segment of being stuck in Blockington, for the longest time, felt like it was going nowhere fast.

To put some perspective into just how hard it was for me to actually figure out how to work on these past couple of chapters, I still remember writing one of the beginning chapters of this story segment back in 2020.

And yet, somehow, finally, I have finally found the ability to be able to tie it together in a way that not only satisfies me as a writer and a storyteller…

But also ties it into the story I've been wanting to tell for many, many years now. Ever since the S&S Corps arc (can I even call it an 'arc', seeing as how it's just a series of chapters that are connected in a certain way? Is there a term for this in writing speak that I'm missing?), I've been thinking long and hard about how I want this story to progress.

Don't get me wrong: I'm still going to write a lot about various wonderful people being introduced into the lives of Cameron and his friends. It wouldn't be my story if I didn't.

But finally, finally, after years of writing, I'm finally getting to a point where I'm starting to be able to take on the story I've been building towards all this time.

Even as I write these author notes, I'm still hesitant to fully publish this chapter, because it's so… different from how I've written before.

And yet… this fear is good. It means I'm branching out. Trying something I've never done before. Something novel. Something exciting.

Something that's going to change how the story moves forward.

Rest assured, dear readers, that when you're reading this, I will be moving forward with pride and determination! I am finally reaching a point in the story I've never really thought I'd be able to reach. I honestly thought I would've given up at this point.

But if there's one thing I am, it's ruthlessly stubborn even in the most mundane ways.

Anyway, folks… I do hope you enjoyed.

Look forward to the next update I have in store. No idea when it will come out, but hopefully it will be very soon.

But as always, dear readers, until next time…

Stay awesome! =D