AN: Sorry for being late... again... I will take pride, however small it is, that I managed to update it on a Wednesday.
Not only was this chapter boring to write, but it also conflicted with my work schedule. By the time I'm done, I'm too sore and tired to type (or otherwise looking up funny cat videos).
That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
In other news... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY CRAFT! TWO YEARS OLD! It's practically a teenager now. Soon it'll be off driving cars, drinking booze, and maybe - just maybe - it'll become an M rated story.
And geez, it's almost at 1000 reviews too. Probably has more words than the Harry Potter series too.
Congrats to Ari-Dexel13 for guessing last we - er... last Chapter's riddle correctly. The answer was reflection. Enjoy your cookie and your acknowledgment.
(::)
What else... what else... Oh! Right! The popularity contest I wouldn't shut up about for the past several Chapters. I'm calling it now, so here are the results of which characters are most liked.
1st Place: Cobb ("I mean, who else would be winning? Wynn? Pshh!")
2nd Place: Wynn ("What is this!? Who voted for him over me!? I swear to Notch I'll stab him!")
2nd Place: Spark (";D")
3rd Place: Floyd ("Wait? I had to die for people to like me? That's... actually pretty depressing...")
4th Place: Noman ("Still looking for artifacts. Thanks for thinking of me.")
4th Place: Carys ("That pigkiller got first? First!? How dare you assholes like me less! I'll kill you all!")
4th Place: Lenz ("Hmm. I must have won people over with my redstone expletives. People love redstone expletives.")
4th Place: Cara ("You know what this calls for? Celebratory arson! Where's that orphanage and puppy farm.")
4th Place: Veronica ("I wouldn't mind being crowded in this place if a certain ivory-haired Captain was beside me. Wink wink, nudge nudge, be my girlfriend, Wynn.")
4th Place: Marble ("Looks like I won't get my Most Popular in a Random Group of Schmuck's Badge this time... Oh well, on to my Leatherwork Badge!")
5th Place: King Miles ("Haha! I'm lovably oblivious!")
5th Place: Erin ("Th-thank you for c-considering me.)
5th Place: Soul ("Meh.")
5th Place: Spring ("Proving once again that bastards get votes on principle alone. Suck it!")
5th Place: Leslie the Iron Golem ("LESLIE WANTS BETTER PLACE THAN WIMPY FIFTH!")
5th Place: Billy ("Thanks for remembering me... and my sacrifice for Halstatt...")
And that's the contest done. Some of the results were surprising while others... well... I have no doubt in my mind which people voted for Veronica. (Their names rhyme with WaxMelix and Shaded Azure.) And I'm sure if Teal or the internal organs were an option, a few of you would have voted for them.
Puzzle: You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, but the future can never taint me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add oysters and pearls.
Beta: Myself
Chapter 78
Herd
[Outside of Ringwood]
4Blite watched the Creepers march with barely suppressed triumph. The makings of a smirk were already beginning to form on his face, and it was with great effort for him to appear passive and calculating. On the inside, he was already patting himself on the back for a job well done.
The execution had been sloppy, of course. The Creepers gathered in the valley had not reached full saturation. The attack was also planned to commence at night, when visibility was lowest; the guards wouldn't have seen the Creepers until they were at their gates. But it was necessary for the plan to be rushed. Either one of those intruders could have caught on to the Creeper herd, warned Ringwood, and ruined months' worth of planning.
Ember would have been displeased. 4Blite would have been disgraced. And that accursed Lieutenant would have looked upon his shame with smug satisfaction.
His knuckles tightened reflexively just thinking about that damn woman. Oh, how he longed to surpass her. To knock her down a peg. To show up the so-called 'Ember's favorite.'
And he'd do it too.
After today, his resourcefulness and cunning would never again be questioned. Ember would see that ruthlessness and intimidation was the key to garnering respect from one's underlings. That it was the only way to produce results.
The Creepers were already at Ringwood's walls. He could see from afar. His cultists—keeping hidden with the use of Potions of Invisibility—were herding the Creepers in a widespread cone with Ringwood at the center. The green sea of volatile Mobs lapped at the high stone and wooden walls before spreading out around it. They touched upon the Southern and Eastern gates first.
A few guards had attempted to shoot them. How laughable. They at least had the sense—or rather some Captain had the sense to order them to retreat behind the walls and stay away from the Creepers closing in. The Mobs wouldn't explode unless a Crafter got too close, making the Kingdom's high walls its best defense.
But 4Blite wasn't a fool. He had considered the walls in his planning… and he already had several willing martyrs ready to take care of it.
"Remi. Armand. Emeka." He turned around and watched with satisfaction as the three cultists kneeled before him. "I trust you know what must be done?"
"Yes, 4Blite." They all spoke with unquestionable resolve. They had ender pearls ready and were willing to lay their lives on the line to further his—the Endward Cult's ends.
"You will forever be remembered after today." He assured. "When any of us look upon this Kingdom pockmarked with explosions… we will remember you three, and the noble sacrifice you made to steer Minecraftia towards a brighter path."
"Thank you, sir!" They shouted, ready to act.
"May you all enjoy a better life on the other side." He nodded solemnly, signaling them to get a move on. As one, they hefted their pearls towards Ringwood with grim determination set upon their faces.
It wasn't easy finding such devout cultists within his subdivision. Most cultists followed orders not out of faith, but because nobody else would accept them. Killers and thieves shunned from the populace. Their continued service for the cult was tied to self-preservation. Not like those three, though. They were ready to lay their lives on the line in the hopes of attaining their mythical 'better life.'
Whether or not there was a 'better life' after one died mattered little to 4Blite. As did whether or not those three fools would find it. All that mattered was their use to him. None of the other cultists volunteered for taking out Ringwood's toll gates for obvious reasons. And that annoying Spring_Fever had wormed his way out of the task, opting instead to help herd. Talented or not, 4Blite would have thoroughly enjoyed watching that man die after the insults he spewed at the Gathering. It was truly a shame Ember had stepped in.
No matter. Spring would learn respect in time. And if not, well, perhaps the 'next life' would be kinder to him.
4Blite internally smiled at the thought while watching his Creepers amass around Ringwood's walls.
After today, Ember will finally see how useful I am. And my subdivision will have enough Heads to fulfill our quotas for the next fifty years.
[Wynn]
"Clear the gates!" I shouted amidst the panic and confusion of citizens and guards alike. "Get behind the walls NOW!"
The southern toll gate had always been a bustling area of commerce. Many Crafters passed merchandise and items for inspection here since the Southern District was the busiest and most densely populated. There was no better place to unload goods.
And that's what made it a prime target.
"Let us in, damnit!"
New Crafters waiting in line to pass through the gates and gain citizenship were scrabbling desperately to get around the guards. They didn't have time to get searched or pay fees when over a thousand Creepers were bearing down on them.
"We can pay the toll later with interest!" Another panicked Crafter screamed. "Don't lock us out with those things! Please!"
The guards were petrified by the sheer amount of suicidal Mobs in one place. Their swords were half-raised as if they were stuck between wanting to fight and wanting to stay away from a potential sea of explosions. It was only my harsh bark of orders that snapped them back to reality.
"Fall back!" I kept shouting to the guards that were approaching the tide of Creepers with swords drawn. "Fall back! One wrong move and this toll gate becomes a crater!"
Warily, the guards followed my orders, backing away from the Mobs at arm's length. The Creepers kept marching forward, their prey in sight. With all the Crafters there, it was too good to resist.
"Everyone keep away from them!" I shouted out in case any stupid guards got any ideas. "They'll only blow up if they get close to anyone. And would you let those Crafters in!"
"But ma'am!" A guard by the toll gate argued. "One of them could be a smuggler or a—"
"We can worry about smugglers and criminals when there is still a Kingdom to defend!" I roared, silencing the idiotic guard. "This is no time to turn them away! Let them through so we can all hide behind our walls!" There was a great whoop of thanks from the Crafters at the gates before the guards reluctantly let them all enter.
True, a criminal could enter sneakily in the chaos, but this wasn't the time to start doubting people. Right now, every Crafter was a possible landmine if ever they got too close to a Creeper. So for the sake of Ringwood, all Crafters had to be let in. No exceptions.
I just had to trust that the Crafters would value their own lives enough not to poke the explosive Mobs.
For some reason an image of Cobb flashed through my mind during that thought and I had to bite back a groan. If there was anyone that didn't value their life, it was the guy that threw himself at cultists.
I darted around the now deserted clearing in front of the toll gate, looking for any stragglers that might trigger the Creepers. The Mobs were still getting closer, but they only had one consistent speed. Anyone could outrun them, even without a Potion of Swiftness.
But with so many…
When my eyes glanced over the clearing for the fourth time, I let out a gasp. There, by a dinky stand, was a female Crafter, cowering in terror at the approaching Mobs. Her eyes were screwed shut and she was shivering so badly she couldn't move.
"Archers! Get on the walls and cover me!" I shouted before I sprinted forward toward the female Crafter. Behind me, I saw the Creepers branch off and stretch across a gap so that I was cut off from the gates.
I kept my distance from the Mobs and kept even further away from the light blue ones crackling with electricity. If they were capable of killing Hackers, I didn't want to even think what they could do to a Crafter.
One of the Creepers was about to reach the terrified female and she screamed helplessly. A quick arrow from above pierced the Mob's head and spared the female an explosive demise. Finally, I got close enough and wrapped an arm around her before easily lifting her to her feet and dragging her back to the gates.
They were everywhere, closing in on us. Even with the archers picking them off from the wall, there were far too many. The gates weren't close enough. Forcing our way through would just result in our deaths. I couldn't even use Cobb's method of blocking the explosions with a sword since the only blade I had was my rapier and the female Crafter looked unarmed. Soon, the Creepers circled us.
There was one thing I could do… One thing I could do to clear a path to the toll gates… but it was pretty risky. We could both die.
…
Though we were about to die anyway.
Ignoring my senses screaming that this was a bad idea, I walked up to the wall of Creepers standing between me and the toll gate. My legs were tensed to jump back to the female Crafter at any second.
One of the Creepers began to flash white and hiss. I waited until it was ready to burst before I jumped back and gathered the female Crafter in my arms. By that time, the Creeper had exploded, either killing or scaring off the Mobs barring my path.
I didn't give them the chance to regroup. I rushed through, knocking Creepers aside with my rapier before skidding to the toll gates and banging on iron doors. "Open up! NOW!" I shouted, pressing the injured Crafter against it.
I spun around, whipping my rapier against another Creeper or two before spotting another Crafter further back. This one, however, made my blood run cold.
He was wearing a black leather cap and had an ender pearl tucked under his arm.
Before I could call him out, I was pulled through the iron doors by the scruff of my blouse. The green hair and loud voice of Iron_Lung filled my senses and the injured female Crafter was helped away by the guards.
"OI! WYNN! YOU OKAY!?" Iron_Lung yelled in his usual tone.
"Cultist…" I mumbled, realization dawning on me. "It's the Endward Cult, Iron_Lung! They're the ones behind these Creepers! There's one out there right now… watching!"
"WHAT!? THOSE COWARDLY—"
But whatever insult Iron_Lung had was drowned out by an eerie voice coming from the other side of the sealed toll gates.
"For the Endward Cult!" The voice screamed in triumph before several loud hissings made me go white as chalk.
"Move!" I shouted, pushing as many guards and Iron_Lung away from the toll gate as I could.
The explosion was more deafening than Iron_Lung's voice could ever be and it rocketed everyone off their feet and crashing back into the ground nearly ten meters away. The toll gate was nothing more than smoke, rubble, and crumbling walls. For one hanging second, it seemed as if time had stopped. Nobody dared to breathe, keeping their attention fixed on the broken walls.
The moment was broken when the first Creeper climbed through the rubble, its face as horrible as ever.
The other Creepers clambered after it, and soon they all were pouring into Ringwood, walking over downed Crafters and stunned guards and blowing them up with little to no mercy.
I was briefly aware of Iron_Lung and Spencer hoisting me to my feet and pulling me back to the line of houses and buildings. The other guards helped as many as they could, whether it was picking up immobile Crafters or wielding bows against the suicidal menace.
It was pointless though. There were too many. At least twenty Creepers to an archer, and that ratio only got larger the more Creepers poured in.
That cultist—the one that I saw—had given his life to destroy the toll gate. He had thrown his life away to crack open Ringwood's defenses and lead the Mobs towards innocent Crafters. How many other cultists were doing the same to the other toll gates? How long had they planned such an invasion of Mobs? How many had to die to fulfill their twisted goals!?
I couldn't let that happen. Not just to stop the cult and their plans, but because Ringwood was my Kingdom. The home I defended against killers and criminals and thieves. And I wasn't about to let it fall to something as pathetic as a herd of Creepers!
Reclaiming control of my senses through sheer fury at the Endward Cult, I wrenched myself free from Iron_Lung and Spencer.
"Spencer, give me a sword."
Spencer looked bewildered at my latest request. "But… but don't you have your rapier—?"
"Did I stutter?" I challenged the guard, glaring at him with burning amber eyes. "Or did I ask you for a sword?"
"Er… yes Captain!" Spencer nodded before handing over one of his iron blades. I wordlessly snatched it before clearing my throat.
"Everyone!" I called out, grabbing the attention of the guards and terrified Crafters not already running for their lives. "We're stopping these Creepers here!"
"What?"
"How?"
"Are you nuts!?"
"Stop that!? There's no way!"
I ignored them all, holding the sword defensively before the approaching Creepers, just as Cobb taught me…
"Just watch me."
The Creeper hissed and exploded, creating a smoking crater and dispersing its fellow Mobs, but sparing me all of the damage.
"Oh… Oh yeah!" Spencer shouted in realization, pulling out a sword of his own and joining me on the left. He blocked two Creepers, smirking widely as the damage failed to touch him. "Like riding a bicycle!"
Liam and Noah joined in with swords of their own while Solara sniped with the archers. "Don't you know?" Noah spoke to the awestruck guards and Crafters watching behind them. "Swords can block Creeper explosions!"
They fanned out to my right, holding their swords defensively to block the damage that came to them. The ground before us was riddled with explosions, but still we stood strong.
"WHOA!" Iron_Lung shouted in amazement. "LET ME TRY THAT!" He scrambled forward, whipping his sword out in his haste and held it defensively just as a Creeper approached him. It hissed. It exploded. But Iron_Lung took it without batting an eye. "HAHA! INCREDIBLE!"
The other guards were muttering to themselves, hesitantly holding up their own swords before them as if they couldn't believe the tools to have such power. They were much like my guards had been the day we stumbled upon the Creepers in that basin… and didn't that explain where these Creepers had come from. The cult must have been stockpiling them since that day.
Slowly at first, the guards joined us, forming a wall of defensive swords. They flinched as the Creepers hissed right before them, but gained confidence when the first explosions didn't reduce them to piles of gear. By the fourth explosion, they had no qualms about facing the Mobs.
The Crafters took longer to convince, but after watching us block explosion after explosion, the craters forming a divisive chasm in the street, they joined in with crafted swords of their own.
"It's only swords that work!" I shouted back, dissuading Crafters from defending with axes or shovels. "Block with your swords! Swap out if they start to lose durability! Spread out! We're not letting them cross us!"
The archers standing at the rooftops focused their arrows at the source of the Creepers, funneling their attacks to try and stem the herd. It helped control it to an extent, but there were still too many. Other Crafters and guards, now armed with swords, fanned out to form a semicircle around the broken toll gates. They were containing the Creepers before they could spread.
"It doesn't work on the Charged Creepers!" Solara called out from her sniping position. "Blocking doesn't work against Charged Creepers! Focus your fire on them! Arrows only!"
The electric blue Creepers that dotted the incoming herd were systematically shot and killed; put down before they could get close to us.
This was all we could do.
We had to weather this attack, somehow push the Mobs back through the wall, and patch it up. The other toll gates were probably facing similar problems, only they had no idea about this strategy against Creepers.
The strategy that Cobb had imparted unto us in his determination all those days ago.
It was one thing to get through a Creeper herd. It was another to force it back.
"PUSH FORWARD!" Iron_Lung screamed, signaling the adjacent Crafters and guards to walk forward in their defensive positions. Slowly, the semicircle closed against the Creepers while the archers rained deadly projectiles on them all.
It wasn't going to work, though.
Pushing forward wasn't an option, not when there was a chasm of craters where the Creepers had exploded. We could only stop at the edge, allowing the Creepers below to explode and explode until the chasm was too steep for them to climb up.
It was like we had inadvertently formed a moat against them. The Creepers kept falling into it, packing themselves tightly against one another and writhing in silent discomfort. If only we had some lava lying around.
"GUARDS!" Iron_Lung commanded, but with more calm after seeing we had the situation somewhat under control. "I WANT A SECOND MOAT DUG HERE TEN MINUTES AGO!" The guards scrambled to fetch shovels and picks. "MAKE A THIRD MOAT TOO! WE CAN'T RISK THESE CREEPERS GETTING THROUGH. ARCHERS! IF YOU SEE ANY BLACK-CAPPED CULTISTS, SHOOT THEM IN THEIR COWARDLY FACES!"
The archers nodded grimly before fanning out amongst the rooftops to search.
"Spencer, Liam, Noah." I beckoned the three guards over and spoke to them in a hurried whisper. "The Cobb search party is postponed until this crisis is averted. I want each of you to go to the other toll gates and assess the situation. If Creepers have passed in, try and convince as many guards and Crafters as you can that you can block them with swords. Show them if you have to, but know that you must stop them. Even a single Creeper can puncture the wall and unleash the rest upon us."
"Yes, Captain." They saluted determinedly before rushing back down the main street.
I tried to remain calm, to assure myself that the Mobs hadn't breached any other toll gate, but the distant explosions that punctuated the air made it pretty difficult. Somewhere, Creepers were exploding, ripping buildings or walls, or people apart. And nobody seemed to have any idea how the Endward Cult was involved or how they were herding them towards Ringwood.
Our only defense was the knowledge that swords could block them. Cobb had said he read about it, but—but there was no guarantee he had anymore safeguards against the Mobs, even if he was within the Kingdom.
We needed to contain things as much as we could. The Kingdom would be shut down, obviously, but as long as the citizens were safe…
As guards and Captains, that was our highest priority.
[Cobb]
Standing on the rocky base of Mt. Mur beside Cara and Soul, watching the Creepers surround the Kingdom, the first thing to come to mind was…
This is bad.
Brain: No. Bad would be forgetting to pack a fishing rod. This is… is… what's a word worse than horrible?
Heart: Unholy?
Stomach: Abhorrent?
Liver: Grim?
…Wait! Shit, I did forget to pack a fishing rod! I realized, remembering I left mine with the enchanter.
Bladder: I think the word you're looking for is plutonic.
…What?
Brain: Yes! That's the word! Plutonic! This whole situation is a great big plutonic mess.
Heart: …I don't even think that's a word.
Brain: Who's the Brain here? Hmm?
Heart: Sometimes I wonder…
Brain: I can have Bladder check the dictionary right now. I bet you fifty bucks it's a word. Plutonic. Look it up.
Heart: I don't—
Stomach: I'll take a piece of that action. Thirty bucks it's not a word.
Brain: There. Stomach's showing his guts. Any other takers? Going once? Going twice?
Lungs: *Sigh*
Brain: Of course it's a real word. Look, the way I see it, there are enough weirdoes with nothing better to do than come up with crazy-ass words. If platonic is taken, then plutonic must be—
I don't care about words, shut up about words, stop talking! Stop! I internally screamed, silencing the organs. There's a gaggle of Creepers down there and it's only a matter of time before one of them—
A distant explosion cut me off before I could finish. Ah, that would be the southern toll gate going up in smoke.
…Plutonic.
Brain: It's catching on already. It's only a matter of time before it trends…
"You're sure the Endward Cult is doing this?" Soul asked sharply, nudging my shoulder while his crimson eyes were fixed upon the Kingdom. "It's not just… I don't know… migration patterns?"
"There's migration patterns, and then there's mass exodus!" Cara exclaimed, her voice cracking hysterically. "This is mass exodus!"
"The cult had a map of Ringwood with Creeper Heads decorating it." I explained. "If that's not foreshadowing this, then I don't know what would."
"But how are they doing this?" Cara questioned as another distant explosion went off near the eastern toll gates, cracking open the Kingdom to a fresh wave of Creepers. "Even if they're triggering the Creepers at the gates, how were they even able to gather this many? They should've blown themselves up long before reaching this size!"
"Why don't we ask them the next time we see them?" Soul replied sarcastically. "Right now, the Silver Intent is at risk. We gotta get back to help."
Soul was right. We needed to get back into Ringwood and find out what they needed. Wynn and Iron_Lung would probably be rallying the guards, but what could they possibly do against so many Creepers? And what about Lenz and Erin?
But Cara had a point too. How did the cultists herd so many Creepers to Ringwood's gates? Mobs wouldn't just swarm a Kingdom like that. I kept trying to recall something from Herobrine's first book about the Creepers, but I couldn't think of anything that would apply.
The only thing I had was that swords could block Creeper explosions from damaging people. It worked at the basin so it would work now… only the basin was a natural formation rather than a Kingdom full of shops and homes and people. Even with enough people blocking the Creepers, the explosions would still rip apart the surroundings. Ringwood wouldn't be left standing.
Still it was the only idea I had. I'd get into Ringwood and convince enough people—show enough people—that swords could block Creepers and then… and then hopefully everything would settle itself out.
…Yeah.
I was already taking the first step back down to the forest floor when a voice stopped me.
"Where do you think you're going?"
It was Cara who asked that, but there was no puzzlement or confusion in her tone. Just annoyance and exasperation. Annoyance and exasperation! As if she couldn't fathom why I was preparing to run back to Ringwood. As if I was doing something incredibly stupid. Just when I thought we had understood one another…
I whirled around, ready to tell the woman exactly where I was going, only for the biting words to die on my lips. She wasn't looking at me.
She was looking at Soul.
Like me, he had taken a step towards the base of the mountain, his axe drawn and a scowl on his face. "If the Endward Cult is behind this, it's our duty as members of the Silver Intent to stop and kill them." His answer was brimming with killing intent towards the black-capped bastards and I couldn't agree more with wanting them dead.
But I had other reasons to fight. People I needed to protect. "My friends are down there, Cara." I matched Soul's tone. "They're down there and I can't just stand here worrying and wondering whether they'll make it out alright. I have to do something—"
"Oh, like what? Like maybe charging an Endward Cult outpost by yourself? I hear that plan works wonders." She added, making me balk, before turning her glare on Soul. "Or perhaps running away with your anger right into the arms of a game-happy Lieutenant? Sound familiar?" Soul gritted his teeth, but found no way to argue. "The both of you just… just… Ugh! You'd think either of you would actually learn something, but here you are, ready to fall into the same holes again!" Cara sounded like she was tired of our shit, which made her irritated tone prior make a lot more sense.
"But… but we—"
"If we could just—"
"No!" Cara practically screamed out her rejection. "You can't make decisions without thinking. You want to get killed? Because let me tell you, running into Ringwood through that Creeper herd will kill you! So unless you suggest something better than throwing yourselves at them, shut up and hear me out!"
I clenched my fists in frustration, biting my lower lip as I conceded her point. I could only block an explosion from one side and there were thousands of Creepers down there. Even as we spoke, Creepers were filling in through the broken toll gates and forcing Crafters to retreat. Trying to get into Ringwood through all that was suicide.
"Then you lead us." Soul prompted, gesturing to Cara with an expectant look on his face. "You want to be a leader so badly, well here's your chance. Tell us how to win."
If Cara was surprised by the command, she hid it well. She seemed to draw strength from the axe-wielder's words, as if it were a challenge. But before making any attempts at a plan, she turned to me, her eyes asking I allow her one more chance.
My reluctance was only for a second before I nodded for her to continue. Even though the last mission she led had been a failure… she looked to be rising to the occasion now. She was the most level-headed out of the three of us, and therefore had the right to lead.
Bolstered by our support, she scanned the sea of Creepers, looking for a weak point. Something to capitalize upon. Her eyes swept across before tracing the source of the Creepers to a valley between two mountains to our right. Creepers flowed freely from there without signs of stopping.
"We can't stop the Creepers surrounding Ringwood." Cara deduced, ignoring our signs of protest. "They're already in the Kingdom or surrounding it. We can't change that. So we'll leave it to the guards to handle. What we can do," she gestured to the valley to the right, "is bottle-neck the source. There's no telling how many Creepers the cult stored in the mountains. But I'm betting they don't want us to block their way."
"Which is why we should be doing just that." Soul smirked. "I like the sound of that."
"How are we going to block them though?" I asked while peering at the valley. "Even if it's between the mountains, that space isn't small. It's probably a mile wide."
It was Cara who smirked this time. "Have you forgotten you're talking to a professional arsonist here?" She asked while brandishing a flint and steel. "I'd love to see those Creepers try and cross the swathe of flames I have planned."
"Setting fire? In a forest?" I asked skeptically. "Is that really the best plan you have?"
"The fire won't spread." She assured with a wave.
"How do you figure that?"
"Because I'm going to burn the other trees before the fire can spread to them."
"…Is that really the best plan you have?"
Soul just shrugged. "Hey, if the Endward Cult is somewhere nearby coaxing those Creepers, maybe burning the forest down isn't such a bad idea."
"I'm pretty sure the 'when in doubt, arson' plan won't work in this situation!"
She rolled her eyes. "I know what you're thinking, but it only sounds worse than it actually is. I'm going for a backfire."
"Well no problem there because I can imagine this plan backfiring pretty easily."
"Backfire as in setting one fire to burn into the other one." Cara clarified. "Fire can't burn what's already burned."
"…You can do that!?" I shouted in surprise. That actually sounded pretty damn cool. And here I thought fighting fire with fire resulted in bigger fires.
"Not on my own." She rummaged in her backpack and tossed Soul a spare flint and steel. "I need both of you to set fires at certain points and try to create gaps in the trees. We need to keep the fire as contained to that valley as possible. Otherwise we might make Ringwood's situation worse."
I nodded at her reasoning and pulled out my weakened flint and steel. "I can probably make some gaps in the trees with my leftover TNT. It'll be a lot more useful than what I brought it for." I mumbled the last bit to myself, but Cara wasn't listening. She was too busy talking to Soul.
"I'll take the side furthest away. I'll have to run across, but I'm the only one—"
"You're not crossing that herd of Creepers." Soul argued. "It's just like you said, it'd be suicide. And if the Endward Cult catches you…"
"Someone has to run across to get in position! If we just burn one side, the Creepers will break off to the east and then circle back. It has to be me."
Soul scowled at the arsonist's words, but couldn't find a way to talk her out of it. She was committed. "…Fine. You still have Brett's map on you?" Cara answered by holding up the aforementioned paper with the white blips. "Good. I'll stay with Cobb since he has the other one. Just point out where you want us to light fires and make gaps and we'll do it, but… but please be careful."
Cara smirked. "What? Don't think I'm tough enough to handle a few Creepers and some cultists?"
Soul's expression softened. "I've seen what you can bounce back from. You're tougher than the whole Silver Intent combined. I… I just don't want you to meet something tougher than that. It's… it's scary… fighting someone stronger…"
The pointed look he gave Cara and the way she reacted made me think they were remembering the Lieutenant from Nitebane. The same one that killed Floyd. Teal.
And with that came the very real possibility that another Lieutenant was spearheading the Creeper attack now. That we might actually have to face one.
That was their biggest worry too. It was scary… thinking that things might go bad the same way they did before. The outpost had nearly killed me and now I was prepared to impede a gaggle of Creepers.
But my friends were in danger. All of Ringwood was in danger. If nothing else, we would at least be buying them a little more time to deal with the explosive Mobs.
And that was a plan I could get behind.
I just hope Lenz and the others are okay.
[Lenz]
"Great merciful hoppers!" I shouted in alarm as I saw the sea of Creepers approach from out of the destroyed rubble of the eastern toll gate. Someone must have triggered a handful of them at once to make a hole that big.
The guards stationed there were either knocked out, stunned, or in full retreat after witnessing the sheer amount of Mobs pouring into the Kingdom. Several of them were injured badly, unable to escape the surge of suicidal Creepers. They screamed for help and barely clawed away before the Creepers descended upon them. One or two would start flashing white, prompting the other Creepers to scamper off, and then…
*BOOM*
*BOOM* *BOOM*
Explosions ripped apart the earth, killing guards and citizens alike, and widening the wall's breach even further. The Creepers kept fanning out as well, making it impossible to keep track of them all. They were wandering past fences and trotting across farmland, their faces split into sickly frowns, as they searched for their next victims.
"Oh, Notch no…" Erin whispered, horrified at the sight before her. "We… we need to go, Lenz…" She whimpered, tugging my hand as hard as she could manage amidst the chaos. People were running past us with reckless abandon, buffeting us aside in their haste to live. "We… we need to get h-help…"
…Help.
Help?
That was the word I never considered before. Whenever people called for help, I was the last person expected to do anything. I mean, why would I be? I was a redstone nerd. It was always the stronger people before…
"Help!" I vaguely heard someone cry out and my eyes followed to a guard supporting a limping Crafter while wildly swinging a sword to keep the Creepers away. It was a last-ditch defense, only permitting the pair to retreat without killing any Creepers. And they were soon to be backed against a fence.
"Somebody help us!" The injured Crafter cried out again, looking around for someone… anyone!
That was right. I was a redstone nerd.
But I was also an archer.
Without even thinking about it, I whipped out my bow and shot two of the Creepers advancing upon the guard and the limping Crafter. The Creepers died in a shower of gunpowder and allowed the pair more room to breathe. The limping Crafter shot me a grateful look and it was then that I moved my legs.
"Lenz!" Erin cried out as I pulled her along with me. "Lenz, what are you doing!?"
"I am helping." I answered back without looking at her as I switched my tinted glasses for my tinted goggles. I let loose three more arrows at the advancing Creepers, keeping them away from the pair, before placing some cobblestone beside a fence to enable me to clamber over it. "Get over the fence!" I shouted in what I hoped was a confident tone towards the pair of Crafters.
They looked behind them as if noticing the fence for the first time and quickly followed my instructions. The injured one dug out some gravel and replaced it at the base of the fence while the guard helped them both up and over before breaking the gravel with their boot.
The Creepers pressed up against the fence, but lacked the capabilities of breaking it without someone to trigger them. Erin and I ran over to the pair of Crafters and watched as the Mobs pressed in against the fence, their soulless eyes and saddened mouths pointed at us in every direction.
"Thanks for the save." The injured Crafter grimaced as he leaned down to touch his leg. "I don't suppose any of you have a Potion of Healing?"
Both Erin and I shook our heads, though Erin was kind enough to share some food with the man. I looked around the fenced-in farmland, scanning it for breaches. My eyes narrowed upon spotting a gap made by the initial Mob explosions near the wall. Creepers were already trudging in, though they had not spotted us yet. "We need to get out of here."
"Where are we supposed to go?" I flinched as four more Crafters approached us, apparently having copied our strategy to avoid the Mobs. They were slightly out of breath, but were looking to us for assurance or safety.
Though why were their gazes directed at me? Come to think of it, why was everyone looking at me!? Could they not see that there was a guard who would surely have more experience in such a situation than I? All I said was jump over the fence!
"We need to… to get indoors." The guard reasoned slowly as if remembering some safety protocol for such emergencies. "Creepers can't open doors. We just need to stay away from them."
That sounded like a reasonable strategy, but one of the new Crafters had an argument ready. "Even if we find shelter, what then? These Creepers won't clear themselves out! We'll run out of food long before they die. I say we get out of this Kingdom as fast as friggen possible!"
"In case you haven't noticed, we're on a farm." The guard argued back, looking disgusted that the Crafter would even think about fleeing the Kingdom, leaving tens of thousands to die. "We can grow wheat for days, but we can't make a break for an exit when there's half-a-million Creepers in the way."
"Um… excuse me…" I spoke up, noticing the Creepers finding their way into our fenced in farm and making their way towards us. "We might want to move—"
"Have you ever considered I don't want to eat bread twenty-four seven?" The Crafter continued, not having heard me. "All those carbs will make me fat!"
"You're arguing about a little body weight?" The guard countered incredulously. "What do you do when a Hacker invades? Swap beauty tips?"
"Er… fellows?" I tried again urgently. The Creepers were getting closer and their argument was getting nowhere.
"I'll have you know I'm a gorgeous eight-and-a-half out of ten! My beauty tips are infallible! Not that they would help you in the slightest." The Crafter eyed the guard disdainfully. "Please tell me your atrocious horse-kicked-you-in-the-face look is not on purpose, and merely the result of a horse kicking you in the face."
"I'll have you know that my wife loves this face!"
"That's not what she said in bed last night…"
"Why you…!"
"Fellows!" I exclaimed, startling the two out of their argument and directing them towards the Creepers trampling crops to get at us. I loaded my bow with arrows and shot into the herd again and again. But for every one I forced back, twenty more advanced. They were too spread out; I needed to narrow them more.
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream filled the air before it was cut-off in a series of explosions. My head whipped back as I saw the fences behind us give way and more Creepers pour forth. The whole farmland was filling up with Mobs faster than a chest attached to a hopper.
"We're surrounded!" One of the Crafters shouted, backing up towards the farmhouse and water tower.
The water tower!
"Climb!" I shouted, waving towards the wooden water tower. "Quickly!"
As the six Crafters and Erin scrambled towards the water tower, I kept shooting arrows into the herd, thinning out as many of them as I could. None of the others could help without a long-distance weapon like my bow. They would have only blown themselves up.
By the time Erin and the others reached the base of the tower, the Creepers pouring in from both sides of the fence had merged into a united front, cornering us towards the farmhouse. My arrows kept flying, killing Creepers occasionally, but doing nothing to stem the herd.
On my latest shot, I heard the familiar, soul-crushing snap of my bow breaking. The durability had run out.
"Repeaters!" I cursed as I dug in my backpack for some bow materials. The sticks and string were barely at my fingertips before I realized how close the Creepers were. Two of them were already in front of me, flashing white.
I jumped back and covered myself as best I could before the explosion blew me off my feet and into the dirt and crops. The farmlands' wheat collapsed under my weight, filling my Inventory or scattering about. Even through the pain of the explosion, I knew I had to keep moving. The pain was proof I was still alive.
I got onto my hands and knees and began crawling towards the water tower. It was pointless to check my Health; if a single Creeper exploded right on top of me I would be dead.
The water tower was only a few meters away. The ladder was in sight. It was so close…
But the Creepers were closer.
I heard the tell-tale hissing before I rolled myself over and backed away by the heels of my hands, helpless. If I had a bow I could have shot the thing. Instead, all I could do was watch as it flashed white, ready to explode and kill me…
Just when I thought I was going to that great big redstone convention in the sky, a dozen eggs sprayed down upon the Creepers near me, sending the flashing one back just enough for it to explode without outright killing me.
I was still blasted off the ground, however, and sent surging into the ladder. I impacted it roughly and already started to slide down before I threw out an arm and caught a rung by my elbow, nearly breaking my arm in the process.
"Hurry, Lenz!" Erin cried from above before throwing down another volley of eggs at the approaching Creepers. The other Crafters were with her, looking fearfully down below, and as unhelpful as ever.
"Don't let them get close to you!" One of them warned as if it already was not obvious.
I climbed as fast as I could, clinging to the ladder for dear life. Below, the Creepers pooled around the tower's foundations and I prayed to Jeb that they could not climb.
Once I neared the top, I was helped up by the other Crafters. The roof of the water tower was slanted, making it incredibly difficult to stand on, but the eight of us somehow managed to fit without buffeting anyone off. We huddled together, watching the sea of Creepers that surrounded us.
"Great plan…" One of the Crafters muttered sarcastically. "Climb the water tower… well we're set now, aren't we?"
His words made everyone realize the present situation. Stranded atop a tower in the midst of a crisis. We had nowhere to run unless someone rescued us. And who knew how long that would take.
"We did not have a choice." I commented, placing my Crafting Table down now that I had the time and crafting a bow. "We would have died if we stayed down there."
"Well now we're gonna die up here!" The same Crafter panicked, staring around wide-eyed. "Look at us! We're screwed! Doomed to starve up here!"
"We'll think of something." The guard assured, though he himself did not sound so confident. "We can… we can build a sky bridge…"
"Oh yeah?" The panicked Crafter asked skeptically, a note of hysteria in his voice. "You happen to have a ton of building materials on you? Because otherwise there's no way we'll reach the wall or the plateau."
While the group bickered, I was busy thinking, laying some of my Inventory on the table. My tinted goggles were fixed over my eyes, showing that I was putting the utmost focus into my actions.
I have redstone... TNT… some odds and ends… my bow… what can I make with that?
If I had some slime blocks, I could probably make one of those self-pushing platforms. I had never made one before, but I grasped the concept well enough. It was used in the monorails of Daymonte. A piston would push or pull a slime block, which would then stick and push adjacent blocks, before resetting and repeating, creating a moving platform.
But of course, I did not have any slime blocks. Most of them I had used in fixing the outhouse.
The sky bridge the guard had suggested was an option. It only required building block after block, precariously, so that someone could make a floating surface. It was very dangerous though. The fall was just as deadly as the Creepers. One wrong move and you could slip off. We would have to dismantle the bridge behind us as we built it just to have enough resources to get anywhere. And if we failed to grab the blocks as we broke them, we would end up stranded in the sky.
A cobblestone generator would be more pragmatic, utilizing flowing lava and cooling water to make an infinite source of building materials. Of course, I would need lava and water…
…Water.
We were standing on a water tower, after all. Maybe… maybe there was a way to use that with the TNT.
"I… I may have an idea…" I began tentatively, looking at the Crafters gathered before me. "I think I can get us all out of here alive. But I need you all to listen and do exactly as I say."
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Stone Pickaxe, 1 Golden Sword [Sharpness I, Unbreaking I]{Weak}, 1 Golden Shovel [Silk Touch I, Unbreaking III], 1 Flint and Steel {Weak}, 15 Cobblestone, 12 Flint, 12 Torches, 5 Coal, 2 Oak Wood Planks, 2 Sticks, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Oak Wood Door, 1 Clock, 43 Dirt, 1 Bucket, 4 String, 6 TNT, 19 Steak, 31 Cooked Mutton, 1 Pumpkin, 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Unbreaking I], 1 Iron Leggings {Weak}, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Leather Pants [Dyed Black, Unbreaking I], 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Black, Protection I], 9 Rotten Flesh, 63 Emeralds, 1 Map {Ringwood Region}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 20]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Bow, 1 Shears, 3 Levers, 4 Wooden Buttons, 3 Stone Buttons, 5 Redstone Torches, 18 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 36 Redstone, 64 TNT, 64 TNT, 1 Hopper, 1 Dispenser, 3 Blocks of Redstone, 5 Pistons, 10 Cobblestone, 10 Torches, 13 Wheat, 2 Sticks, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 9 String, 25 Gunpowder, 27 Steak, 8 Cooked Mutton, 42 Arrows, 1 Potion of Night Vision {8:00}, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Pumpkin, 64 Emeralds, 14 Emeralds, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 5]
AN: Not much happening. Just setup really.
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Omake: Overshadow (Part 4)
"Sounds like it's kicking off." Anibal grinned as shouts, clashing swords, and other similar noises of warfare reached her ears. Kalmarin_the_Prophet was doing his job well.
"Which means it's time for us to move." Carys spoke in a commanding tone. She already had her Wither Skeleton mask on, signaling the rest of her covert band to follow suit. From within backpacks and belts, every accompanying Paragon withdrew Mob Heads or the Heads of fallen Crafters to conceal both their faces and their names. Carys had been explicit with that order. No one was ever to know that the Paragons had a hand in Overshadow.
There wasn't much room to move around while perched on the side of Nitebane's cliffs, but it was the only way to enter Lunar Castle undetected. Kalmarin had all of the Griefers' attention on him, allowing Carys and the others to handle their part of the plan.
Anibal covered herself with a Skeleton Head, making sure her dark hair was tucked in. Z7 was motionless only for a moment before she donned her disguise: the Head of a fallen Crafter. It fit rather tightly on her head, most of the space being taken up by her voluminous purple hair.
Anibal and Z7's respective teams did the same, and, after checking their disguises, pulled out shiny ender pearls from their backpacks.
Carys already had her pearl drawn and reared her arm back to throw it across the cliffs towards Lunar Castle. The target was the wall above the ramparts.
She narrowed her eyes, judging the distance as best she could, comparing it to the hundreds of times she threw an ender pearl in the past, all in an instant.
Then, she let it go.
The other Paragons did the same, causing over a hundred ender pearls to soar across the night like sparkling meteorites.
Seconds before it hit, Carys pulled out her new scythe and held it before her, ready to strike down. Anibal had her Sharpness V, Looting III Diamond sword and Z7 had her daggers held loosely.
The next instant, Carys vanished in a warping sound that sent her hurtling through space to appear at the castle's battlements. Her pearl struck true, materializing her along the side of a wall, where gravity was quick to take hold. Below her, she could spot a dozen Griefers crowding along the side to glimpse Kalmarin's distraction.
As she fell along the wall, she angled herself and kicked off, hurtling herself towards the unsuspecting Griefers. Her scythe was already poised to carve into them, the diamond edge shimmering in the moonlight.
With a swift swing, her scythe sliced into seven of them. They cried out in pain while the others cried out in alarm at the sight of a female Crafter concealed by a dark skull mask that could only be...
"The Angel of Dea—!?"
That was all he managed to scream before Carys' scythe tore across his neck, both silencing him and sending him over the towering battlements where the fall would surely finish the job. A few other Griefers saved her the trouble by leaping off themselves, certain that the fall would be more merciful than her.
They were right.
Thankfully, not all of the Griefers were as cowardly. A few had begun to draw swords and bows, looking terrified yet determined.
A few seconds against the Angel could change that easily enough.
As one of the Griefers raised their sword to attack, Carys swept at his feet before bringing the scythe down on his head. He was stunned enough for her to shift her attention to the arrows coming in on both sides. She rolled beneath them before jumping back up to crack the handle of her weapon on the nearest skull. She jabbed her scythe into another attacker's gut before pulling back and spinning with her scythe held out as far as she could manage. The diamond-edged whirlwind of her attack batted aside swords and bows and stymied the Griefers.
It was no great accomplishment, however. Griefers were unskilled, focusing most of their time on watching others suffer. They were only ever a threat when they banded together or behind a Hacker. But facing only a dozen?
She wasn't even breaking a sweat. Even while testing her new weapon out.
Again and again the Griefers fell. Some tried to escape, only to encounter the other recently teleported Paragons who were watching from the sidelines. Anibal spat out a laugh as her sword sheared into a Griefer, killing him. Her team, Gamma, was doing just as well to the fleeing and newly arriving Griefers.
None of them could be allowed to live.
Out of the corner of her eye, Carys spotted a female Griefer watch from the battlements in horror as her fellow Griefers were slain. She saw her frightened eyes through her mask and watched as the Griefer backed away in terror before turning on her heel.
Carys was about to pursue when a few small projectiles shot past her face. The next instant, she saw two iron daggers bury themselves in the fleeing Griefer's calves, causing the girl to stumble over in pain. She clutched at her legs, but the next second, her head was pulled back by Z7, who yanked one of the daggers out of her target's calf and sliced it across her throat.
She never even saw the assassin's face.
Z7 picked up her other dagger and darted down a ladder out of sight, with the rest of her team, Epsilon, following. Anibal took her team through a door leading deeper into the castle. Carys decided following them would be the quickest means of locating the throne room.
They were inside now. Inside Lunar Castle. Now it was only a matter of clearing it out…
And finding the Hackers hidden somewhere within.
AN: Is Carys ready to take on the Hackers?