AN: What!? A Chapter being published on an actual Wednesday? What madness is this!?
Anyway, I'm bringing back the weekly updates on Wednesdays. It'll be easier, I think, but the Chapters might be shorter. I want to see if I can progress the plot with less words. We'll see how it goes.
AxeHelix: Oh, and you guys are welcome for me kicking Cobb's ass into such a high gear that he posted TWO Chapters in one week.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add fishing rod grappling hooks.
Beta: AxeHelix
Chapter 86
Cobb vs Wynn
[Floyd]
This was just unfair.
Even with three of us against two of them. More like three on one-and-a-half since Wynn was going easy on us. But despite our numbers advantage, we were losing. Badly.
Veronica's shots were precise and deliberate, working to either damage or separate us. An arrow would aim towards one of our sides, forcing us to dodge in one direction. The blonde would then keep shooting to further widen the gap.
Meanwhile, Captain Wynn had no other choice but to capitalize on our separation. The moment Cobb was pushed far enough away from us she rushed in and jabbed at his chest. The strike was purposefully slower so he could evade it, but Veronica followed up with an arrow that weaved beneath Wynn's arm to nail Cobb in the chin, stunning him.
With no way to explain why she would hesitate upon a stunned opponent, Wynn spun around and delivered a swift kick to Cobb's side, sending him flying.
She salvaged it by kicking him towards us so that we could group back up, but she couldn't undo the damage it had inflicted. He was clutching his ribs, coughing for breath.
Running away was out of the question. The watching guards and citizens had taken up on both sides of the street. The half-repaired buildings rose up on the remaining two sides, effectively penning us. The toll gates were within sight, but Wynn and Veronica were standing between us and them.
We would have to subdue the Captains first before even attempting to fight through that crowd to the gates. And we only had a few minutes before Iron_Lung and his backup arrived to finish us off.
Needless to say I wasn't very optimistic about our chances.
"Get behind me!" I warned Cobb and Lenz as three arrows were sent hurtling towards us. I raised my broad shield and heard each projectile hit with a thunk. Just like before, however, I didn't take any damage.
This Bounty Day shield is amazing. I thought to myself as I heard more arrows impact the wood. It was like I had mobile cover at my fingertips.
"Okay, so, plan?" I asked behind while taking the brunt of Veronica's attacks. "What do we got?"
"We need to knock them both out." Cobb said, still clutching his side. "I'll take Wynn, you two take Veronica."
Oh, sure, give us the Captain trying to capture us.
"Why did you have to laugh at her?" Lenz asked while cowering behind both Cobb and I. "My archery cannot compete with hers! She is a Captain!"
"We can't waste time saying what we can't do!" Cobb snapped, arming himself with a sword. "We have to get out of here! Now!"
He was right. More and more arrows beat against my shield, both forming a constant cacophony of urgency and beating away at its durability. But what could the three of us do against two Captains?
…
Actually…
…There was one thing I could do.
My hands ghosted over my eyes.
Thirty seconds of power. If I could just harness it—
No!
No, I couldn't use it.
Not only would it make the others wary, it would only paint me as a bigger threat to the populace. I had to keep it bottled away.
"Perhaps…" Lenz glanced between the shield in my arms and the tall outer wall in front of us. He swapped his glasses out for his goggles in the process and adopted a contemplative look. "Yes… yes, I think I have an escape plan! A way of working around those angry citizens."
"That's more like it!" Cobb smiled supportively. "So what do we do?"
"First we must incapacitate our willing and unwilling pursuers." He whispered under his breath. "Then we… Arc Shot!"
Arc Shot? I thought bemusedly before feeling something strike my arm.
I glanced back to see an arrow lodged into it. But how'd she get past the shield?
My answer came in the form of several arrows being arced over the shield before angling towards us. I quickly raised the shield above my head. I succeeded in blocking the latest strikes, but cursed upon realizing I had exposed my front.
Wynn shot forward, sweeping at my exposed legs with her rapier. I was helpless to stop her, but found myself surprised when Lenz of all people ducked low beneath the shield before thrusting both arms out in a weak shove. It caught Wynn by surprise too, but she let it make contact and even jumped back to give the impression that his shove had a lot more power to it. She flipped in the air to recover and eyed Lenz warily.
His moment of glory was short lived when Veronica shot around Wynn's left, her bow notched with arrows. "Moving artillery, six-eyes! Remember?" She taunted before launching a volley of them at the engineer.
Lenz paled, only to yelp when he was yanked back by Cobb's fishing rod and away from harm. I dove aside from the arrows that pelted the ground.
After Lenz was safe, Cobb brandished his fishing rod with an eager smile. "No better time to test this out." He whispered before rushing towards Wynn. She bent low, narrowing her eyes at the tool, while Veronica settled for aiming her bow at him.
She had to give up her shot, however, when Lenz fired an arrow of his own at her. Then, as if remembering a lesson, he sidestepped parallel to Veronica, keeping her on her toes.
"Moving artillery, indeed!" He shot back with a determined glower, causing Veronica to smirk dangerously.
"Challenging the Mastah at her own game? Bring it on, six-eyes!" She mocked before circling him at a faster pace.
And straight into my shield. "AH! The Mastah is wounded!" I clotheslined the distracted Captain, causing her to crash into the ground. She skidded away, her momentum carrying her past me.
Despite skidding away in that state, the Captain was able to fire off an arrow that sunk into my calf. I leaned on my other leg and hopped about, wincing at the damage.
Well, these are the matchups Cobb was going for. I thought to myself with a grimace. He was off facing Wynn and we were left with the more dangerous one.
Hopefully Wynn would take a dive and free Cobb up to help us.
[Cobb]
"So you seek to challenge me, criminal?" Wynn asked aloud so that the onlookers could hear her.
"You could always move aside." I suggested, already knowing she wouldn't be allowed but figuring it was for the crowd's benefit. "Just let us pass and nobody gets hurt."
"And throw away my pride as Ringwood's Captain? I think not." Wynn countered with raised rapier. "If you want to get away it's only going to be over my broken body."
She was really getting into her acting. Either that or she was just spouting every dramatic cliché she could think of.
She was right about one thing. I'd have to defeat her if I wanted to get away.
"Prepare yourself!" Wynn suddenly shouted before darting forward. Instead of swapping out my fishing rod, I tried the dual-wielding thing. One arm held my sword while the other held my fishing rod.
Maybe it was a bit of a low blow to use my newest weapon against her of all people… but maybe that made it all the more fitting. It would give her something to seethe over in my absence. For some reason, I figured it would be a comfort.
She struck with her rapier, but at half-speed. Even so, I had difficulty deflecting it with my sword. She spun with the deflection, swiping high at my neck. Too high. I barely had to duck to dodge it. She was going easy on me. I didn't have a clue how much she was holding back to help us.
But someone noticed.
"Wynn! Quit playing around and hit him already!" Veronica called from afar before I felt an arrow strike me in the knee.
I stumbled off balance and Wynn's eyes widened as she had no other choice but to pierce me with her rapier. As the thin metal blade neared my torso, ready to strike the leather tunic dyed in her Kingdom's colors, I brought my fishing rod forward and tilted it so that the handle was pointing out. Then I swung it at her shoulder.
Her rapier ignored the armor's protection and cut deep. The handle of my fishing rod impacted her shoulder with a meaty thud.
I gave up a step. She gave up twenty.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she found herself being knocked back—without intending to—further than any regular strike would have caused. The force of it upon her upper shoulder lifted her a foot off the ground before she settled back down on both feet and skidded with the landing.
She ran a hand over her shoulder and checked her Health before shooting a Wynn-like glare my way. "What was that?"
"That was my newest weapon." I explained with a smile while showing off my fishing rod. My newly enchanted fishing rod. "What you just felt was the Backlash!"
Her eyebrow twitched. "The what?"
"The Backlash!" I exclaimed while waving the thing around. "You know, backlash! Like the recoil. The counterattack. The retaliation! It's a great name!"
"You enchanted your fishing rod?" Wynn asked testily. It was harder to tell whether it was an act or not. No doubt she was reminded of the bobbering from our last fight. "You could have enchanted your sword or your armor… and you chose that!?"
"I thought about it when I got back." I explained while staring at the tool in my hand. "I debated whether to dump my EXP into my armor or into a better weapon. Then it hit me." I raised my gaze to look at Wynn. "Instead of wasting levels enchanting what I'm mediocre with, I should try playing to my strengths."
She frowned. "You seem to put a lot of confidence into that—ow!"
"Bobber." I cut her off with a small smirk, reeling in the bobber of my rod. Wynn's face looked livid over being cut off in that way. And it wasn't an act.
I was really playing with fire.
"The Backlash isn't your average fishing rod!" I warned, brandishing the tool threateningly. "It's an extraordinary fishing rod—the only one of its kind! It has max tiers of Knockback, Unbreaking, AND Luck of the Sea! Which means it can be used to fight AND fish! It's the ultimate all-purpose weapon!"
"You can already fish with it, you moron!" Wynn yelled with indignant rage. "Don't make it sound like you've discovered some alternative funct—Ow!"
"Bobber."
"Stop tha—Ow! Nggggghhh!" Her anger reached a boiling point, causing her reason to evaporate and for her to momentarily forget that this wasn't an actual fight.
In hindsight, provoking the person trying to help us may have been pretty stupid. But I was getting into the role!
Wynn darted forward in a zigzag, this time at her top, potion-enhanced speed. The sunlight reflecting off her weapon made it appear as a bolt of lightning.
Uh-oh.
I briefly caught sight of her snarling face before feeling something tear into my shoulder with the force of an iron golem. I opened my mouth to cry out in agony only to have a knee rammed into instead. She repaid the Knockback from my fishing rod in spades by sending my body rolling across the dirt and crashing into one of the newly made-buildings.
Everything hurts… I groaned as I rolled onto my stomach and shoveled in some baked potatoes to refill my Hunger and Health.
Outside the Cobb-sized hole I left in the building, I saw Wynn blinking sheepishly over her lapse in restraint. She probably would have said 'Oops' if not for it tipping off the crowd.
Speaking of which, the crowd was cheering her latest attack. "Yeah! Go, Captain Wynn!"
"What a strike… I felt that all the way from here!"
"Don't even worry about catching him, Miss Whispers! Nobody would fault you for killing a cultist!"
"He has the nerve to wear Ringwood's colors when fighting a Captain? Put him in his place!"
I glanced down to the green leather tunic over my clothes. It made sense that they would get angry over that, particularly the guards. Wynn would be going ballistic. A cultist's colors were black, not green.
I slowly picked myself up and hissed when I moved my left arm. Something was definitely torn or broken after her latest attack. It would heal once my Health regenerated, but until then I'd have to stick with good ol' righty.
I brandished my fishing rod and flicked it forward, casting the line towards the Captain. She dodged it by leaping back, knowing the crowd wouldn't believe her getting caught by such an obvious attack.
So really, all my fishing rod grandstanding did was earn me a torn shoulder.
I reeled in my wasted cast. I hobbled out of the ruined building, wincing at the slightest jostle of my arm, and stood before the Captain. Was she still angry? Or would she go easy on me again to give me an opportunity? I wasn't going to bobber her again unless I was a safe distance away to avoid the fallout.
"I see you're still standing." She said.
I understood that to mean, "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to lose my temper."
"That really hurt. Ow."
I hoped she understood that to mean, "That really hurt. Ow."
She shrugged indifferently, but on the inside she was probably apologizing. There wasn't much time for interpreting. I had to give her an excuse to stay out of the battle for good so she wouldn't have to pursue us. That meant dealing an attack that she couldn't recover from.
The Backlash would work. One solid blow with the handle and she'd be launched by the Knockback. I just needed to aim away from the exit and hope Lenz and the others finished up on their end.
But first, to let Wynn know what I intended to do.
"Your reputation pales in comparison to your skills, Captain." I called across, beginning with a compliment. "I see now that I'll have to resort to my ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE in order to defeat you."
"Your ultimate technique?" Wynn questioned, taking a half-step back. "And you think this technique of yours will be able to stop me?"
"I'm confident that, if this hits, you'll be unable to pursue us!" Hint. Hint. Wink. Wink.
"Ah, interesting." Wynn got into a stance, sporting a haughty smirk that I desperately hoped meant she would let my attack hit. "You must have a lot of confidence in this mysterious technique of yours. Come then. Try and strike me with your special move. Just know," her amber eyes flared, "if you miss, it's all over."
She could say that again.
[Lenz]
Moving artillery. Moving artillery. I chanted to myself as I pushed past my physical limits and hobbled away slowly from several arrows. My stamina was truly garbage for me to be winded by a few minutes of fighting.
Moving artillery—EEE! I stopped short as an arrow shot across my path, followed by another one catching my unprotected shoulder. It shaved off three Hearts of Health and made me consider investing in armor should we manage to escape.
"I've got you now, six-eyes!" Veronica exclaimed triumphantly as she shot forward do deal the finishing blow. Floyd, armed with both his shield and sword, jumped in the way to impede her, but only succeeded in making himself a target of the blonde's barrage.
Floyd was at a severe disadvantage. Veronica's bow had an Infinity Enchantment, meaning her ammunition was only limited to the bow's durability. The shield, on the other hand, acted just like any Minecraftia tool. Finite durability and all.
Ten arrows stuck into the shield before it broke completely, falling apart in the blue-haired Crafter's hands. Floyd barely had time to curse before Veronica sunk three quick arrows in the gaps in his armor. Floyd only managed to evade a fourth shot before succumbing to his knees.
Veronica vaulted off of Floyd's shoulder like a springboard and somersaulted towards me with a fierce intensity to her eyes. She fired three shots in mid-air and I had to turn and flee as fast as my low stamina permitted. The shots barely missed, striking the road where my feet had been.
She was herding me towards the building. Every time I tried to dodge left or right, an arrow would shoot across to stop and force me to run a straight line to the building. I felt like herded cattle.
"Run, six-eyes, run!" Veronica laughed over the volley of her shots.
When I finally reached the wooden wall of the building, I whirled around and ducked as an arrow nearly caught my forehead. I was sweating profusely and panting like a dog. Two arrows impacted the wood on either side of me, subtly letting me know that escape was futile.
Seeing I was trapped, Veronica leisurely moved toward me, looking as fresh as she had started. She was not even winded.
I was helpless against her speed and accuracy.
"Not gonna fight back?" She taunted with a twirl of her bow. "Why not try shooting me? Or is your Inventory full of broken arrows?"
She knew full well why I couldn't hit her. Like she said, my shots could only hit enemies coming right at me. I was too stationary. She would just sidestep out of the way like she always had.
Veronica's smile fell a bit before regaining its arrogance. "Boy, I didn't even break a sweat beating the pair of you. My arrows are undamaged too. Not a broken arrow among them."
Why was she even wasting time taunting me? Should she not have been rendering me unconscious so she could assist Wynn against Cobbert? Her words were accomplishing nothing.
Veronica let out a slight sigh, her eyebrow twitching slightly, before she fired an arrow that only grazed my left cheek.
"Oh, shoot, I missed." She spoke loudly while inspecting her bow. "Did my bow malfunction or was the arrow's fletching bent? Almost like it was a broken arrow!"
What was she talking about? Arrows could not break. That was the third time she said that phrase too.
Broken Arrow…?
My eyes widened as I felt something stir within my memory. The previous day of archery training with Mastah Veronica.
'Maybe we should have agreed on a safe-word or something to let both of us know it was all pretend. Like… 'Broken Arrow'. Something easy to remember like that.'
Could it be…?
"Ugh, I'm starting to feel like a broken arrow saying this." She groaned before hissing under her breath, "Broken arrow, broken arrow, BROKEN ARROW!"
It was all pretend.
She…
She was helping us too?
"Broken Arrow… Mastah Veronica…?" I whispered hesitantly to which her eyes brightened in response.
Her smile was quick to follow. "Now give up you bastard of a cultist. Before I get serious!" A laugh slipped free of her lips. "Don't think I don't know about your Redstone Doomsday Machine! My Kingdom would be ruined if you were to perfect something like that!"
The watching crowd murmured to each other in confusion, wondering what the blonde Captain was talking about, but I had understood perfectly.
The hopelessness gripping my heart upon facing such an insurmountable opponent evaporated like mist. This was not Veronica the Captain. This was Veronica the Mastah, helping her pupil escape.
I raised my bow and, knowing these shots would hit, fired both of them straight at her knees.
"Agh!" She squawked in surprise, falling onto her side and clutching her legs. Her bow tumbled out of her hands. "I've fallen and I can't get up!"
The crowd was in an uproar over what just happened. Most of them had been more focused with Wynn's fight, thinking Veronica had already finished hers, and were confused as to how the once proud Captain was now rolling on the street with two arrows sticking out of her knees. They had not seen her take those hits.
I did not wait for her to recover. I caught my breath and clung desperately to it as I once more dashed past her to where Floyd was recovering.
"That's for helping with Halstatt." I heard Veronica whisper as I passed her prone form. "Don't get caught now, fucking eagle."
I looked back at her, trying to express my gratitude with a glance, but she was already rolling around again as if in unendurable agony. "My kneecaps! Not my lovely kneecaps!" She moaned.
As I approached the recovering blue-haired Crafter, I immediately noticed his astonished face.
"Holy… you beat her on your own!?" He asked, sounding impressed. "How? That Captain was fast!"
"Later." I waved off before pulling out some TNT which caused Floyd to flinch in fear. "Help me rig these up!"
"Sure…" He paled when he saw how much TNT in my Inventory. "We, uh, we're not blowing up the wall are we?"
"Do not be ridiculous."
"Good."
"We are going to blow ourselves up and over that wall."
Now why did that turn Floyd's frown upside-down?
"Oh, not to worry. I have done it before."
His grimace still refused to diminish.
"It is scientifically tested!"
His glower only doubled in power.
[Cobb]
Good! I thought happily as I glanced out of the corner of my eye. They took care of Veronica and are making Lenz's escape plan. All I got to do is finish this.
"Prepare yourself, Captain!" I announced, withdrawing my fishing rod. Her eyes widened and were darting towards my left, but I took it to mean she was ready.
"Ultimate tech—Gah!" I cried out as something tackled my left side, forcing me to kiss the street. I turned and gasped at who had done it. "Bitters!"
"I got him, Captain!" The green-haired asshole called out victoriously. He was already raising his sword, with murder in his eyes.
In that moment, I realized his petty grudge was more than it seemed. After repeatedly being one-upped by me, after weeks of being frustrated by the praise I had earned, he was fed up. He was tired of me. He no longer cared for the bounty or for any alliance brought about by turning me over to Nitebane.
Right then and there, he wanted me dead. And this would be his only excuse for getting away with it.
"Bitters stop!" Wynn called out, rushing forward with rapier in hand. "Think of Nitebane—"
"You're too soft with him, Captain!" Bitters called out while the crowd cried out in support. They were all for him killing me and were even egging him on. "You've always been too soft with him! You're not even fit to be called a Captain!"
Bitters' slash shaved away a quarter of my Health, but his insult towards Wynn demanded more of my animosity. That was my big sister he was talking about! She was ten times the Captain he would ever be!
I shifted to the right, grasping my fishing rod, and wiggled it free. I pushed myself up to free more room, ignoring the second slash to my head that shattered my iron helmet.
"No more of this cultist cursing us with his existence!" Bitters gloated as he raised his sword for one last strike.
Raising his sword also raised his hold on my body. Just enough to allow me to flip my fishing rod in a reverse grip, like Soul, and whip the handle across Bitters' torso.
Backlash lived up to its name, sending Bitters sailing up into the air by the Knockback. He flew up ten meters, his arms waving around in bewilderment. "Wha… how did—?"
My hook followed after him, fastening itself in his clothes. As soon as it did, I spun to my feet, yanking the line along with me. Bitters' body jerked back down as he was pulled toward me and I brought out the Backlash's handle for one last Knockback.
Wynn was right in front of me, rapier held defensively, and with worry no longer etched onto her face.
I flashed the Captain a grateful smile before Bitters fell before my vision. As if in slow motion, my handle was magnetically drawn to his infuriating face.
Oh, crap! I need a name for this move! Something epic! Something that won't sound stupid! Uh, uh, uh…
"Paddle Ball!" I shouted when Backlash connected with his face, activating the Knockback, and sending him crashing into Wynn.
…Oh, God! What did I just call it!?
The pair of them bounced off the street.
That's the lamest attack name ever!
They crashed into a wall, somehow with Wynn twisting herself so that Bitters took the brunt of the impact. The breath was driven out of him before he slid to the ground unconscious and tangled up with Wynn.
No! Take it back! Do over! Do over! I can come up with something better!
Half the crowd was shocked at my attack and how it had incapacitated a Captain. "Impossible! Wynn lost? And Velocishot too! Just how strong are these cultists!?"
Meanwhile the other half were snickering at my damnable attack name.
"Paddle Ball? What, was Table Tennis taken?"
"Shut up!" I pointed Backlash accusingly, silencing the hecklers. My face was burning with humiliation as I jogged over to Floyd and Lenz.
Stupid… Stupid! I kept hitting my forehead with my fist. Stupid!
The image had just come to me when I yanked Bitters back and hit him again. Like a ball tied to a rubber band. It just seemed fitting.
Ha. More like fitting me firmly in the Hall of Losers!
I heard a cackle of laughter emanating from Veronica's prone form as she pointed a finger at me. "Paddle Ball!? Ahahaha! Oh God, that's rich!" She openly laughed.
"Give me a break! It was a last minute choice!" This was some kind of cosmic punishment for laughing at her earlier.
"Oh, Notch, it hurts!" Veronica cried with tears in her eyes. "I can't bre-hee-hee-heath!"
Ah, screw it. Epic names would have to wait.
I ran up to Floyd and Lenz, the former barely containing his snickers at my name, and observed what they were working on. They had rigged up a bunch of TNT to explode. Like a launching pad.
"Just what kind of crazy plan are they thinking!?" I shouted worriedly before hearing a louder shout drown me out.
"WYNN!" Captain Iron_Lung bellowed, arriving on the scene with a small battalion of guards behind him. "HOW COULD YOU LET THAT STRING-BEAN GET THE BETTER OF YOU!?"
"No time to waste!" Lenz cried out urgently. "Give me a sword! We are going to block this explosion and ride it out of here!"
That sounded dangerous and unlikely to work. Yet I wordlessly handed Lenz my iron sword and held my golden one before the TNT defensively.
"This better work!" Floyd prayed as he held his own iron sword.
Lenz flicked the lever, activating the redstone and TNT and scaring the advancing guards into stopping.
"It's gonna blow!" Someone cried out.
*KA-BOOM*
The force of the explosion was jarring and I felt my arm pop out of its socket, but I was still alive. Floyd and Lenz were the same, though the explosion caused Lenz to lose his grip on my blade… and caused my golden one to finally break. The golden fragments fell to the street below as our trajectory carried us over the tall wall. We all clung to each other with our free hands, the Beginners refusing to get separated.
We only just barely grazed the cobblestone wall, which was probably by Lenz's design since we didn't have a method of landing. Floyd and I threw out a hand and grasped the wall's edge while Lenz clung to our legs, flailing his lower limbs to adhere to the cobblestone.
With a bit of effort, we managed to pull ourselves up onto the wall, only to see a problem.
How were we supposed to get down?
We had no water. Lenz had no slime blocks. We had no Feather Falling enchanted gear. No cobwebs. Nothing!
"So… now what?" I asked my two companions who were still giddy from having escaped the Captains and angry Crafters below. I watched their smiles slowly fade as comprehension dawned on them. We were high up, stuck on a cobblestone wall, with no method of getting down.
"Um… we—uh… hmm."
"We could… ah… no, no that would kill us. Er…"
Things quickly got worse when the guards below started to shoot arrows at us. We couldn't just sit up there, within sight, and expect them to give up. We were still Ringwood's problem until we got off the wall.
"Damn it! We have to jump!"
"What!?" Lenz exclaimed in terror. Why was he scared of this!? He blew himself up with TNT just fine! "From this height? We would be squashed like bugs!"
"What other choice do we have?" I shouted desperately, already looking down for whichever tree was the tallest.
I paused when I spotted a green-haired Crafter sidle up to the wall below. The Crafter had a bucket of water in hand and was looking up at me. My eyes widened as the Crafter offered a small wave.
"There has to be another way!" Lenz cried out, too preoccupied with dodging the arrows to see what I was seeing. Floyd pulled me out of the way, taking one of the arrows to the arm.
I watched as the Crafter below poured the water along the cobblestone wall. They offered another wave to me while pointing to the water.
"Who… who is that?" I couldn't see far enough to note the name. But Lenz's eyesight could. I quickly turned to him. "Lenz who's that down there?"
"The Crafters trying to kill us!"
"No! On this side of the wall!" I grabbed the engineer and pointed his face down.
"What are you—Ah! Where did that water come from?"
"That's what I'm saying! That Crafter down there—" I glanced back down, only to find that the green-haired Crafter had vanished, leaving behind the water. "Where did he—?"
"If there's water, we JUMP!" Floyd shouted, grabbing us in his arms and leaping off. We plummeted down the length of the wall and watched as the ground came up to meet us. But our acceleration stopped upon landing in the cushion of water.
The three of us floated in the puddle before I scooped the source with my bucket in case we ever needed it again. I checked the charred woods around us for any sign of the green-haired Crafter, but he was gone.
"Get up." Floyd pulled me to my feet. "Help me lift Lenz. The guy's too slow to outrun the guards on his own."
"I agree. Please carry me." Lenz pleaded while munching on some food. Floyd and I did the same to recover our stamina.
Once we were ready, we lifted him between us and sprinted south into the charred woods. Mt. Mur towered in the distance and I could hear guards shouting behind with plans to hunt us down.
But we had done it.
The Beginners had escaped Ringwood.
"So…" Floyd quirked an amused eyebrow. "Paddle Ball?"
"…Not one word."
[Wynn]
Good luck, Cobb. I thought while guards and citizens shouted amongst themselves to pursue him. They were discordant and disorganized. The confusion would buy Cobb a decent headstart. I've done all I could.
Several of Iron_Lungs' guards came over to help me and Bitters to our feet. I pretended to be more injured than I actually was by covering my Health Meter with my arm and faking a limp. Bitters, however, wasn't pretending. He was unconscious, having taken most of the damage when I accidentally flipped us so that he hit the wall.
The guards lifted us up and took us to a nearby building to recover. There were beds set up inside for us to recover upon. Veronica was already in there, moaning about her busted kneecaps and how she would never walk again.
When I was set down beside her bed, Veronica winked at me before moaning even louder. "Ugh… it hurts so much… I think I need a Potion of Healing… Ow…"
The guards watching us were keen to comply. "We'll be right back with them. Just hang on a little longer."
They hurriedly rushed out of the building, leaving us Captains and an unconscious Bitters to ourselves.
"So," Veronica began by tilting her head towards me. "You let them go too?" She wasn't moaning anymore and was instead sporting a knowing grin.
I scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about. Cobb just got the better of me."
"Okay, now I know you let them go." She laughed. "The Wynn I know would never admit to someone getting the better of her. Not in a million years."
I frowned as I looked to the side, but ultimately sighed. "Fine. I take it you let them escape as well?"
"Of course!" Veronica waved. "You think I couldn't dodge arrows coming straight for me? Or how about purposefully running into that guy's shield? I'm ditzy, but I'm not brain-dead."
"And what about when you shot Cobb and his friends?" I realized with a scowl. "Or when you gave me an opening I had to take?"
"Well I had to play the part." Veronica shrugged indifferently. "Otherwise the crowd would have suspected something." She smiled. "All things considered, I think I did pretty well. You and six-eyes certainly believed it. And the look on your face when I showed up," she chuckled to herself, "oh boy, priceless." She laughed to herself.
"I actually thought you were there to ruin everything." I spoke with barely restrained fury.
"I know! Priceless!"
I groaned to myself, ignoring how Veronica laughed at my expense. Her timely arrival had worried me. I thought Cobb and the others wouldn't make it out. She could have at least tipped me off!
"So why did you do it?" I asked the blonde, who suddenly stopped laughing. "Why did you trust them to be innocent?"
Veronica pondered for a moment before shrugging. "I owed them for Halstatt. And I guess that little six-eyes grew on me. Much like how Cobb grew on you." I looked away, hoping Veronica wouldn't notice my fond smile. "I hope he makes a name for himself as an archer. The grey, six-eyed eagle taught the ways of the bow by his Mastah, the Golden Hawk of Daymonte. That's something I'd like to hear."
Veronica turned to me and noticed the worry in my eyes. "Hey, don't worry about them. We gave them the chance to escape. The toughest part is over."
"Who are you kidding?" I answered back dejectedly. "Where are they going to go? The other Kingdoms' Captains will be hunting them. The toughest part isn't over." I bunched my knees and leaned my chin on them. Veronica's mirth died upon realizing the same thing.
"It only gets worse from here."
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III], 1 Stone Pickaxe, 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 Water Bucket, 4 String, 6 TNT, 64 Steak, 64 Cooked Mutton, 60 Baked Potatoes, 1 Pumpkin, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Unbreaking I], 1 Iron Leggings {Weak}, 1 Iron Boots, 6 Rotten Flesh, 46 Emeralds, 1 Map {Ringwood Region}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 6]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Bow, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 3 Sticks, 3 Ladders, 8 Cobblestone, 1 Oak Wood Door, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Fire Resistance {8:00}, 2 Flint, 2 Gunpowder, 9 String, 10 Ink Sacs, 2 Cooked Fish, 64 Cooked Chicken, 64 Apples, 3 Wool, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 5 Arrows, 1 Paper {Entry Pass}, 4 Emeralds
[EXP: 20]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Bow, 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 4 Wooden Buttons, 1 Stone Button, 5 Redstone Torches, 17 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 16 Redstone, 64 TNT, 7 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, 62 Steak, 17 Arrows, 1 Potion of Night Vision {8:00}, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Pumpkin, 64 Emeralds, 14 Emeralds, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 5]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Iron Axe, 1 Shield, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Potion of Strength II {1:30}, 1 Potion of Strength II {1:30}, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Crafting Table, 20 Oak Wood Planks, 18 Steaks, 9 Emeralds, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}
[EXP: 35]
AN: So the Beginners got away to see another day. Onward to Zeppil! With no ominous futures on the horizon!
The whole fight between the Captains and the Beginners doesn't really have the same stakes as, say, a battle with a Hacker. Especially since it's effectively a mock battle. The only concern was Veronica, who I revealed was helping them anyway.
The main point was Cobb's new weapon: The Backlash. It's his traditional fishing rod enchanted with Knockback, Luck of the Sea, and Unbreaking. He'll need it too until he locates a sword to replace the broken and lost ones.
And who was the mysterious green-haired Crafter that poured the water at the base of the wall? Given how few characters have green hair, I suspect most of you can figure it out.
Omake below. Leave a fav, follow, and review.
Omake: A Chat with Ember
Lieutenant 4Blite thought himself a calm and collected individual. His subordinates often whispered in secret of his cold-blooded personality, claiming ice ran through his veins. And it was true he could kill a Crafter without batting an eye, whether foe or friend.
Yet, having been called to appear before Executive Ember_Waves to discuss the results of his Creeper Herd plan, he couldn't help but feel anxious. The fabled ice running through his veins was now chilling him so bad he was shivering. He was nervous just standing before the door to her chambers, knowing the Executive wouldn't be pleased.
He had claimed his plan would wipe Ringwood off the map. It had not. And worse, Spring and Parker had escaped to inform her of his refusal to accept their blatant failure. Combined, he felt the issue would result in consequences. Ember might even be tempted to kill him.
His diamond axe was ready at his belt should things turn out that way. As exceptional as she was with her diamond rapier, he figured he could at least power through her attacks enough to escape. But only if things turned out bad.
He took a deep breath to salvage what was left of his courage and steel himself for the eventual confrontation. Looking somewhat dignified, he pushed open the door.
"Ah, 4Blite." Ember looked up from her desk with a small smile. She tucked her orange locks behind an ear and beckoned me into the room. "Come in, come in. I was just finishing up."
4Blite didn't drop his guard. He knew how deadly she could be. Her and Sdrawkcab were masters of false facades. That smile didn't relax him one bit.
He watched her scribble down notes with a wary eye. Edging forward, he noticed that the rest of her chambers were completely dark. Only she and the desk were illuminated by an overhead lamp. The current hideout was underground so light was rather limited, but she chose to keep most of the room shrouded in darkness.
4Blite gulped as he stepped up to the desk, only to nearly trip on a chair. He didn't see it in the darkness.
"Watch your step." Ember warned five seconds too late. She closed her book with an air of finality before fixing her attention solely on the Lieutenant across from her. "Sit."
4Blite paused for a moment, debating how much vulnerable he would be sitting than standing, before obeying. He folded the hands in his lap, making sure one hand rested on his axe handle in an otherwise neutral position.
Ember seemed content to observe 4Blite in the stretching silence. Her piercing light-blue eyes drilled into 4Blite, filling him with the sensation that he was being read like a book.
That was Ember's specialty. Something she called 'Soul-Gazing'.
It was the closest thing to a Hack any normal Crafter could achieve. She was so familiar with social ticks and expressions that she taught herself how to read people simply by observing them. She could detect falsities and lies just by the sound of someone's voice or the tiny movements of their eyes. It was frighteningly accurate.
One time, she had gathered the entire Northern Division in one giant room and asked them all to explain their reasons for joining the Endward Cult and where their loyalty lay. One by one, she went down the group, wasting an entire day hearing them all out. She used her Soul-Gaze on each and every one.
When it was over, she had picked out several of the cultists and asked them to accompany her into the next room. She had been polite and charming in her request, and everyone was fawning over her beauty. The handpicked cultists obeyed without much thought.
Two minutes after closing the door, Ember walked back out carrying the Heads of those handpicked cultists who, as it turned out, were all spies sent by various Kingdoms to infiltrate the cult. Their backpacks were filled with gear and orders no ordinary cultist would have possessed.
Her Soul-Gaze was just that good at detecting deception and uncovering truths. Everything about a person was laid bare before her piercing light-blue orbs. If you ever wanted to lie to her, you would have to write it down and leave it in her mailbox without her glimpsing you. Just one glimpse would tip her off.
The other two Executives had impressive skills of their own. It was why the Founder had chosen them as Executives so long ago. And in that time, they had polished their skills to perfection.
So with Ember observing him, 4Blite knew that there was no point lying to her. It would only make things worse.
"So," Ember began after finishing her gaze, "first, I would appreciate it if your hand wasn't resting on your axe." 4Blite instantly let go as if the handle had burned him. "Good. And second, I would like to discuss your recent attack on Ringwood. There have been a few complications I would like to address."
4Blite remained silent, awaiting the Executive's judgment.
"When you first told me about your Creeper Herd," Ember began, leaning back in her seat, "I admit I was intrigued. You researched one of the deadliest Mobs in Minecraftia—a Mob capable of instilling terror in even the most seasoned of veterans—and discovered their aversion to cats. You then presented your findings in a demonstration that won both myself and many of your subordinates to support whatever plan you had conceived."
Ember rested her chin on her hand, closing her eyes as if thinking back. "You requested resources and manpower to gather cats and push Creepers across Minecraftia towards Ringwood. You claimed you could—oh, what were the words again?" She tapped herself on the forehead mockingly. "What were your words? 4Blite?"
The Lieutenant's throat was dry, but he clearly stated, "I claimed I could crush Ringwood with the explosive Mobs' aid. I said they would be helpless to stop it."
"Ah, that's right. You did." Ember smiled before her eyes cracked open. "But life has a funny way of proving us wrong, doesn't it?"
"…I—"
"Your Creeper Herd lacked the size you promised." Ember interrupted, watching 4Blite squirm. "Not only that, it was released from the valley earlier than expected. I have been told it was your decision to do so. Is that true?"
"I—"
"I see." Ember cut him off, already privy to the truth after observing him. "You wouldn't jeopardize your chance to prove your competence in our cult by jumping the gun too early. Something must have forced your hand, no?"
"It was—"
"I see. An intruder." She hummed to herself, filling in the blanks just from the Lieutenant's stutters. "One that infiltrated our outpost without you present. Where were you during all this? I see. Herding Creepers, naturally. Were you aware we had to abandon that outpost once its location was revealed? Of course you were. You'd be aware of anything that would upset me and ruin your chances of becoming an Executive."
"The fault there lies with my subordinates, not me!" 4Blite cried out, desperate to get a word in. "They couldn't defend their posts. The intruder broke in without being stopped. I assumed he saw my plans for the herd—"
"The plans you had lying around in an unguarded room?" Ember posed which shut 4Blite up. "I see. A more prudent Lieutenant of mine would have simply destroyed the evidence of such plans, no?"
4Blite grit his teeth. Ember knew he hated being compared to her other Lieutenant. Her smarter, cleverer Lieutenant whom she had nothing but praise for. It made his blood boil.
"So, after your plans were exposed and the outpost infiltrated in your absence, you opted to unleash the herd early. Meaning it had not yet reached a size where it could decimate Ringwood and its population. Is that about right? I see."
"I had no choice." He defended.
"Of course you didn't." Ember hummed. "The element of surprise was a deciding factor in your plan. Otherwise, the people of Ringwood could have prepared with moats of lava and insurmountable ditches. What other choice did you have than to attack? That was a rhetorical question." She added as if he had even answered her.
"Despite your premature ejaculation," Ember smirked at her wording, "your Creeper Herd still had the potential to destroy Ringwood. The Mobs would have flooded through the walls and doomed the inhabitants to starvation. Yet, the secret of your Creeper gathering was leaked to Ringwood. Fires broke out in the valley to block advancing Mobs. In a matter of days, the herd was pushed back by cats and burned, sparing Ringwood from oblivion." She narrowed her eyes at him. "How did this happen?"
This time, she made no move to fill in the blanks. She wanted to hear 4Blite's defense from his lips, not hers.
Realizing he needed to forcibly calm down just to save face, he closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. His veins were full of ice. His veins were full of ice. Cold blood ran underneath his skin. Calming blood. He controlled his own emotions. He shaped his own tranquility.
When he was ready, he slowly opened his eyes. "It was Spring_Fever and Parallel_Parker." He explained carefully. "They unwittingly revealed the importance of the cats to their enemies. If they had been more furtive and cautious, such knowledge would not have fallen into their hands."
"Their story paints a different picture." Ember said bluntly, causing 4Blite to stiffen. "While they admit it was their fault the knowledge was revealed, they claimed you tried to kill them for making a simple mistake."
"They revealed our entire operation." 4Blite growled in outrage. "They let those Crafters know—"
"Then why did you not focus your attention on those Crafters?" Ember cut him off again. "Why did you try and kill two cultists loyal to our cause? They came to me for protection from you. I had to reassign them to the other subdivision and assure them you would not. Why, instead, did you not devote such ferocity into silencing the two Crafters? Were they too much for you to handle?"
"One of them was the Billionth!"
Ember's breath caught in her throat. Her light-blue eyes widened, boring further into 4Blite's as if to seek out any deception. "What did you say?"
"The Billionth was there." 4Blite repeated, knowing he had something concrete to defend himself with. "He was the one to set the fires. He was the one to find out about the Creepers. He was countering the herd every step of the way."
Ember narrowed her eyes. "Spring and Parker had no knowledge of any Billionth. They aren't privy to the importance of the ten-digit Crafter, but they should have informed me of his name. They only recalled that one of them was invisible…"
"That was the Billionth." 4Blite urged. "I engaged him in combat to try and—"
"You did what?" Ember's eyes narrowed dangerously, causing 4Blite to pause. "I thought we warned you and the other Lieutenants to stay away from the Billionth and to not kill him. What part of that wasn't clear?"
"I didn't kill him." 4Blite amended. "I engaged him while he was invisible—I had no idea who he was. Once I realized, I stopped attacking him and attempted to capture him to bring to you."
"I don't recall ordering you to kidnap King_Cobb." Ember replied coldly. "I told you to avoid him at all costs. All the Lieutenants were ordered to avoid him at all costs until we're fully prepared. He is both an unknown danger and a potential windfall of good fortune; A risk we don't need to confront at the moment. Getting in his way will only spell your doom and killing him will ruin our chances of locating the Founder. It was all in the book. The Founder himself warned us of his power. It's no wonder the Creeper Herd failed…"
"So then you admit there was nothing I could do?" 4Blite posed to the Executive with a triumphant smirk. "If it was destined to fail against the Billionth, what more could I have done?"
Ember begrudgingly conceded his point. Against a foe that frightened their Founder, she couldn't fault him for retreating. In fact, given how much he accomplished when faced with the Billionth, he did better than expected.
"...Your confrontation with the Billionth changes nothing. But until I say otherwise, he is off limits. Now is a crucial time to uncover his motives. Trying to kill him will undoubtedly cause him to lash out. We must tread carefully. Fortunately, I have all the pieces in place to do so."
4Blite didn't know what she meant, but it seemed like he was getting off the hook.
"As for you, 4Blite," Ember pointed at him before smiling. "While your Creeper Herd was, admittedly, half-baked, it succeeded in damaging Ringwood. The Heads recovered by our cultists in the Kingdom more than make up for the deficit caused by your subdivision. Furthermore, many Crafters on the fence about joining us have been won over by the scale of your herd. Cultist recruitment is at an all-time high and our ranks are swelling as we speak."
The news was like a breath of fresh air. They were all small victories, but, at this point, he would accept them. Anything that allowed him to stand out in Ember's eyes. And if their ranks were swelling…
"I can read your expression, 4Blite." She rolled her eyes. "And you are correct. At this rate, we should have gained enough new cultists to rebuild the Southern Division."
"And can I—"
"Appointing Executives is a decision made by all existing Executives. I must discuss it with Sdraw and Abyssmal." 4Blite closed his mouth and internally cursed. "But rest assured. Your contribution to our cause will not be forgotten. And, as a reward for your hard work, I will see about requesting a more powerful weapon for you." Her eyes strayed to the diamond axe at his belt. "I believe Tinker should have something appropriate."
"Thank you, Ember." 4Blite bowed gratefully. This was better than he had hoped. Not only was he forgiven, but he was also being rewarded with a powerful new weapon. And his contributions were already helping him rise above that other Lieutenant. Where was her Creeper Herd? Where was her contribution?
Soon, he would be Ember's favorite. He would be the Executive of the Southern Division.
And he… would have a heaping slice of the Founder's power when all was said and done.
He wished he could have kidnapped the Billionth just to interrogate him alone. He would have happily extracted the Founder's location from him without Ember finding out. Then he would have met her precious Founder. So what if the guy meant the world to her. His power meant the world to him. The power to destroy Nitebane. The power mentioned in that book. That was what he wanted. What he always wanted since joining the blasted cult.
It was a small miracle he had kept such desires a secret from Ember's Soul-Gaze. It was buried so deep she couldn't see it.
He knew he couldn't just let him go, though. That King_Cobb played dumb, but he just had to know where the Founder was. Currently, he was wanted and accused of being an Executive—an idea Ember found laughable—and was probably on the run. Ember had been angered by the news of Nitebane's recovery, though. Her light-blue eyes looked deadly whenever she read about the cult's birthplace being rejuvenated by someone other than her cult.
Nitebane wanted the Billionth enough to post a thousand emerald bounty, but 4Blite had to find him first. To force the Founder's whereabouts out of him. Ember's orders be damned, that power was worth the risk!
Already, 4Blite was getting up to leave his Executive's chambers, having been given permission to go. As he opened the door, however, he heard Ember give one last warning.
"Don't get any ideas about pursuing Cobb." Ember spoke in a chilling tone. "Nobody wants to see the Founder more than me, so nobody in this cult will reunite with the Founder before me. The Billionth has that knowledge, and it is only that knowledge that is keeping me from killing him. If I find out you're chasing him—and I will find out—then I'll come after you."
Her expression darkened. "I swear to our Founder, we will find out how long a Crafter can take before losing all reason. You will be subjected to every torture imaginable until I am satisfied you are too broken to defy my will—or anyone else's—ever again." Her darkened expression melted into a benign smile. "So, again, avoid the Billionth like your life depends on it. Got it?"
All signs of 4Blite's elation just got blasted to smithereens. He didn't dare turn around out of fear of setting Ember off. He swore he could feel her diamond rapier tapping at his neck even though she was still in her seat. He was walking a razor's edge here and he knew he had to postpone his plans of pursuing the Billionth.
"…Got it." He croaked fearfully.
"Good. That'll be all, Lieutenant." Ember cheerfully waved him off. "Keep up the good work."
AN: The cultist version of getting chewed out by your boss.