My Craft

by OnTheCobb

Devoid of memory or purpose, a new Crafter is pushed forth into the unforgiving land of Minecraftia. Armed with nothing but his wits, he must…well…actually he's pretty witless. Hopefully he won't get killed in the first week. Hopefully.

104. Desideratum (Part 1)

AN: Previously, on My Craft...

"I'm publishing two Chapters this week because I want this Arc over with as soon as possible."

THREE WEEKS WITHOUT AN UPDATE LATER...

(:I)

Yeah, sorry about that. Finals are coming up, and April is usually the week they cram all the assignments in at the last second. You know it's been a while when people are PMing to see if I'm dead or not.

...

I'm not dead, by the way. I appreciate the concern, but yeah, it was just a metric butt-ton of homework and assignments and studying. Usual stuff.

Also it's unbearably hot and I don't have an air conditioner. Just three electric fans of varrying sizes. And don't even try and suggest I point all three of them at my face to cool off... cuz I already tried that and it didn't work. (T_T) I hate the heat. I really do. Give me freezing to death over sweating to death any day.

Congrats to Crafted Reality for guessing last Chapter's riddle correctly. The answer: The mother's name was 'What'. Enjoy your cookie and your acknowledgement.

(::)

Puzzle: There is a certain crime, that if it is attempted, is punishable, but if it is committed, is not punishable. What is the crime?

---

Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add Mega Bonemeal.

---

Chapter 104

Desideratum (Part 1)

[Soul]

"Hey, you. Know where a guy can find a locker or toilet?" I asked the fifth Crafter I came across. I had to raise my voice over Lenz's whining and flailing in my arms.

"No! Somebody help! Where are the guards!?" Lenz wailed as he waved his arms and legs. His torso remained held over my shoulder

"Er…" The Crafter I had asked looked at us weirdly. They all had. Honestly, it's like they never saw a guy lugging another guy around to be shoved into a locker or something.

"Come on, help me out. I've never been to this Kingdom before." I asked again while hiking Lenz up a bit so he couldn't slide free. The engineer let out a pitiful cry before again attempting to claw his way out. His efforts were unsuccessful against my new diamond armor.

He had this coming for setting those guards after me. Karma was a bitch. And so was Teal, even though she wasn't present at the moment.

"I'm just gonna… go now…" The Crafter backed away awkwardly, not wanting anything to do with what I had planned for Lenz. That made six people that refused to answer my completely reasonable question.

I sighed. "Oh well. Guess I'll rely on my own sense of direction. What do you think, Lenz? You think there's a bathroom or locker over there?"

"Soul, stop this! I am sorry!"

"Yeah, you're right. A public place with a lot of people is bound to have a bathroom. Let's check back at the bazaar again."

"Comparators, no! Nooooooo!" Lenz flailed around more, but soon stilled just as I was about to turn around.

I followed his gaze and paled when I saw a group of twenty guards walking towards us. The one at the front had a map held closely up to his face, tracking something with his finger. But that wasn't what caused me to pale.

"Guards! HELP!" Lenz called out, flailing even more and getting the attention of the brown-capped guards. They all raised their heads as one and zeroed in on us. "This Neanderthal is attempting to do me harm!"

"Hey, shut up!" I hissed. "This is payback! Justified payback!"

"Payback for what!? Stealing my emeralds? HELP!"

The guard at the front of the posse looked between us and the map in his hand twice before saying something to the others. That's when they all drew their swords and ran towards us.

"Oh, come on!" I cursed. I reached for my axe for a second before ruling it out. I couldn't fight twenty guards on my own, while holding onto a flailing Lenz, AND holding back enough to not kill any of them. Maybe if I wasn't holding Lenz I could manage, but not now. So instead, I ran.

"Get back here, criminals!" One of the guards shouted, making me glance back in confusion.

Criminals? Plural? But Lenz is the one getting lugged around like a sack of nerdy potatoes. What'd he do wrong?

…Besides pissing me off, I mean.

"Halt! Halt or we will shoot!" One of the guards shouted.

"Hang on a moment!" Lenz called out worriedly. "Why are you resorting to deadly force!? What happened to taking criminals alive? And what if you hit me!?"

"Something tells me they know we're friends with Cobb." I told the engineer as we went down a split wooden path. The guards leapt across corners to keep up, showing impressive agility and jumps. "I'm gonna have to put off my revenge… for now."

"Then will you put me down already!?"

"Sure. But that means you'll have to run too. Or do you think you can outrun these guys?"

"…Do not put me down yet."

"That's what I thought."

---

[Cobb]

It was dawn by the time I reached the base of the tree I was heading towards. It was a good thing I had taken that nap when I had the chance, since lumbering over massive roots really took a lot out of a guy. True, I could have used an ender pearl to save time, but something told me I would need it later in case those guards surrounded me again.

Now at the base of the tree my map said one white blip besides mine was positioned, I knew someone was up there. Most likely Jade.

There were three blips on another tree, and I figured them to be Soul, Lenz, and Floyd's map. And I was a hundred percent sure it was just Floyd's map up there, now being used by the guards to hunt us down. Which meant Floyd was probably in a prison or something…

…Unless they found out about his Hacker status.

And wasn't that a scary thought. After our discovery at the Origin—that a Hacker's death brought forth a new Bounty Day—we all decided to keep it to ourselves to protect Floyd. It was only a theory anyway, and the last thing we wanted was to give Crafters another reason to want Floyd dead. He didn't deserve that.

But Hackers were still universally feared. And hated. Enough so that a Jolin guard wouldn't think twice about killing a captive one if given the chance, bounty notwithstanding. When you had a being that could easily kill you imprisoned, keeping them alive was the last thing on your mind. So if Floyd was captured, and they found out about what those lines on his eyes meant…

I shook my head. It's not gonna come down to that. I just need to get him out before they realize. And the first step to that is meeting back up with the others… and figuring out where the misunderstanding about our wanted posters came from.

With that in mind, I walked up to the base of the tall tree and gave it a glance. It wasn't like the Gift Tree. There was no spiraling pathway that reached this low—down to the roots. It made sense since the toll gates were located near the base of the Gift Tree. The only way up into the Kingdom was there… unless you were in a climbing mood.

I was in some kind of mood, but it wasn't exactly pleased about scaling the blasted thing. Not for the first time, I wished Jolin had the slime elevators from Daymonte—the ones that could lift you hundreds of feet without you having to move a muscle.

I let out a groan that was echoed by Zombies marching towards me in the shadows of the roots. I gave them a dismissive glance before walking around the base of the tree, searching for a suitable ledge or handhold to get started.

It was tricky since there were roots surrounding this tree too. They were smaller than the Gift Tree's roots, but they were positioned so awkwardly that I had trouble circumventing them without tripping. Once or twice, I had to drop to my hands and knees and edge forward carefully to avoid hurting myself or falling. I was reminded of Jade and the guards and their Parkour acrobatics, thinking they could navigate this with ease.

At least the Mobs were having just as much trouble following me. Only the Spiders seemed able to scale the roots and keep up. And they were easy enough to knock off with a well-timed sword slash.

After knocking what seemed like the tenth spider off and skittering down a root, I made the mistake of slipping and missing my footing. All my weight lurched forward and I tumbled head-over-heels once before straightening out and sliding on my back down a steep root.

My feet hit the incoming ground hard and I felt my spine creak ominously, a shiver running up my body. "Owwwww..." I hissed before rubbing my back and stumbling forward.

And coming across a small tunnel in the tree.

My eyes widened at the sight. A tunnel? Here? At the base of a tree? Was it some kind of mine entrance or something?

Vines were hanging over it, and as I approached, I noticed a dusty sign hanging overhead. I raised an arm and wiped off as much as I could—clearly it hadn't seen much use—and read the sign aloud.

"Bough Terminus… Root Access Tunnel…?"

After reading the sign again, I peered inside, noticing it wasn't at all dark. It was dimly lit with redstone torches, casting a red glow on the inside of the tunnel. Ominous, but it meant it was free of Mobs.

Bough… wasn't that like a forked branch on a tree or something? It would be higher up than the base… did that mean this tunnel went up the tree? But how was that possible? They wouldn't keep an alternate path into Jolin without a toll gate. Otherwise anyone could sneak in.

Unless… it was a secret tunnel.

Bladder: Secret Tunnel! Secret Tunnel! Through the trees, secret, secret, secret, secret, TUNNELLLLLLLLL… Yeah!

I looked around at where I had landed with a bit of curiosity. The roots wrapped up all around, making it impossible to find if you weren't looking for it. Maybe it really was a secret tunnel, forgotten and lost to time. But where did it end up? What was a Bough Terminus?

"Ah, well. In for a penny…" I shrugged, figuring it was better than trying to climb a tree with my bare hands. I crept forward, brushing the vines aside, and kept a hand on the inner wood of the tunnel as I went deeper.

Quickly enough, I found the tunnel turning and inclining upward, meaning I was going in the right direction. And in the red light of the redstone torches, I could see that all the white blips were above me somewhere… or below me (again, verticality).

The tunnel had a musty odor to it, though. It smelled of stale air and something woodsier—if that was even a word. Made sense since I was in a tree.

Liver: Y-you know… it's kind of intreeguing there was a tunnel like this, just waiting for us.

Heart: Yes. We really lucked out.

Liver: Heh. I-I sure hope we can find our treeo of friends before something worse happens.

Brain: …Wait. Did he just—

Heart: Don't worry, Liver. We will. After all, Cobb's friends mean the World to him.

Liver: Y-you're right. I'm sure we can retreeve them without incident. Heh heh.

Heart: I wouldn't call it retrieving them, more like saving them—

Brain: Oh, God he's punning. Kill me now!

Blood: You got it, friend…

Brain: Hey! No! Put that down! I was kidding! If anything, kill Liver before he punishes us any more—OH, DEAR GOD, now he's got me doing it!

Liver: Geez, Brain. No need to resort to such extreemes. Heh heh heh.

Brain: MAKE IT STOP!

Liver: Why? I'm on a winning streek. Heh heh heh heh—

Brain: Cobb! Punch yourself in the liver right now! He can't get away with this!

No.

Brain: Darnit, listen to your brain when it tells you to punch your liver!

Liver: Ha. Making Brain mad is making me gleaful! What a releaf!

Brain: …So this is what insanity feels like.

Bladder: Oh, hey I got one. We're in a giant tree.

Brain: …Blood, I have a proposition for you.

Blood: Does it involve murder…?

Brain: You betcha!

Blood: Dueces…

Internal civil wars aside, I continued up the twisting tunnel, getting higher and higher, for what felt like hours.

Until finally…

I hit a dead end.

"Oh come on!" I hissed angrily, kicking at the wood blocking my path. Why have a tunnel if it only led to a dead end. Screw it, I wasn't going to walk all the way back after coming this far.

I took out my iron pick and began hammering it into the wooden planks blocking my way. It wasn't the best tool for the job, but it was sturdy metal against weak wood.

I pried out ten wooden planks before finally opening up the tunnel to a wide open space. I pushed forward and stumbled out into the open… and found it pitch black.

And that could only mean one thing.

*hiss*

Ah! Put it back! Put it back! I quickly placed down the planks, sealing the tunnel and effectively slamming the door right in the approaching Spiders' faces. I heard them angrily scrabble against the wood and I braced my hands against it even though I knew I was safe.

Now what? I thought, frustrated. That wasn't any kind of bough I've ever seen. So I have to either push forward and clear it out or walk back, which could take just as much time… and patience.

With a resigned sigh, I rummaged into my backpack, taking out torches in one hand and my sword in the other. I then proceeded to kick at the planks keeping out the spiders, chipping them piece by piece. When one block was finally broken, revealing dozens of angry red eyes, I held my sword blade out and proceeded to ram it forward with jerking, twisting stabs.

The Spiders hissed in agony as my blade raked and stabbed them right in the face, causing them to swarm the wall angrily in their attempts to bite my face off. They were just too big, though. Cave Spiders may have been able to slip through, but not these guys.

After about fifty stabs and a whole bunch of EXP that got sucked up by my Mending tunic, I had finally cleared the space of Spiders. I couldn't see out further than the redstone torches' glow, but I had a feeling there were other Mobs lurking.

With that said, I kicked open the other plank and walked out, quickly placing torches with my other hand to illuminate the space.

I found myself in a large, circular chamber (made of wood) with nine arched gates spaced with no real pattern. Some had free room in between while five seemed to be crammed right next to one another. But all of them were sealed by jungle wood logs. There was also stairs that led to a slightly elevated arched gate, but that too was sealed with logs.

On the floor, in the very center of the wooden chamber, was some kind of diamond pattern with letters on four of the sides. "N', 'E', 'W', and 'S'.

I couldn't contemplate that for too long, however, since my torches revealed a couple of Creepers, a Witch, and some Zombies coming towards me.

"Alright, come get some." I taunted as I swapped to Backlash and bashed the first Creeper that got too close. The suicidal Mob began to flash and hiss, but the Knockback enchantment on my fishing rod sent it hurtling away before it could fully detonate. Undaunted, it approached again.

Creeper Flail won't work on Mobs. I remembered as I jumped back, barely avoiding a Splash Potion of something courtesy of the Witch. Creepers would only detonate on other Crafters, of which I was the only one present, so…

The Witch was the biggest concern, since I knew she'd hit me with the one-two Paralysis combo. I tried to recall the proper entry from the Advanced Mob-Slaying book.

Brain, a little help here.

Brain: Ok Blood, now go hide the bodies before—UH! UH! Cobb! Right! Pulling up memories now!

…

[WITCH]

[Description: Similar to a Testificate, but with purple robes with green lining, a pointy, black hat, purple eyes, and a wart nearly as big as the nose it's attached to. I know that might not sound feasible, but it is. I've seen it with my own eyes and I still can't believe it.]

[Anyway, where was I…? Right. The noises they make are similar to Testificates, but with a feminine lilt, a slimy tone, and what I can only describe as a witch's cackle.]

[Tips: Witches are smart and dangerous, even if they are unable to physically attack like other Mobs. They attack via Splash Potions, which they can brew without the aid of a brewing stand or ingredients. They have a mind to them, employing Splash Potions of Weakness, Slowness, Poison, and Harming depending on the circumstances a Crafter presents. They weaken you if you get too close, slow you if you're too far away to catch, poison you if you have plenty of Health, and finish you off with Harming if you have little of it. The Potions of Harming only do three hearts of damage, but a Witch knows to wait until their Potions of Poison have drained the Crafter before issuing the killing blow. Many a Crafter have fallen victim to the plethora of potions at their disposal, and many more have succumbed to the dreaded Paralysis combination of Weakness and Slowness.]

[Its knowledge on potions extends to its defense as well as its offense. Although the Witch only has thirteen hearts of Health, a Crafter hit by a Potion of Weakness will find themselves fighting an uphill battle, even against a Mob as simple as a Zombie. They drink regular potions when it comes to defense, but they have a wide range of options. Water Breathing when underwater, Fire Resistance when on fire, Healing when damaged, and Swiftness if they need to close in on a target. They are resistant to Thorns and Potions of Harming and Poison, but not against Strength, Sharpness, or Power.]

[Their intellect could be due to the fact that they were originally Testificates before getting struck by lightning. Oddly enough, pigs undergo a similar change, transforming into Zombie Pigmen (but that's a Mob for another book). Whatever the case, it seems lightning has a hand in transforming peaceful Mobs into more dangerous versions of themselves, with no way to reverse the process. My studies at Blitz Peak have only bolstered this claim. Darkness spawns them, but lightning changes them.]

[Keep out of their splash potion range and fight at a distance. Or overpower them with strong physical attacks and Enchantments. Also have milk on hand. A quick sip will rid you of any negative potion effects. And killing one might earn you some potion ingredients. Or a useless stick—ah, I mean a Magic Wand.]

[Weakness: Bows, weapons and Enchantments with a lot of power.]

Fight at a distance. Super. Even if I had a bow, I couldn't hit a thing. Lenz was the archer of the group anyway.

The Witch let out a taunting cackle, tempting me to attack her while I clearly saw a glass bottle in her hands.

Instead, I waited for the Witch to waste another potion before lashing out with my fishing rod. I snagged her by her robes and yanked her forward before bashing her across the face and sending her hurtling to the far side of the chamber. She let out a high-pitched shriek, but recovered quickly by chucking a potion at her feet. Probably Regeneration.

But while she was away, I was free to clean up the Zombies and Creepers. I armed my other hand with a sword and beat back the Zombies easily while bashing the Creepers with Backlash to keep them a good distance away. Rinse and repeat until they were reduced to EXP and drops.

Finally, it was just me and the Witch left. We squared off, sizing each other up, before the Witch sipped a Potion of Swiftness and started zipping over to me with her stubby legs.

"Uh-oh." I elegantly surmised before getting hit in the face with a Splash Potion of Weakness. "Phth! Ugh, I hate these things!"

The Witch cackled delightedly before pulling out another Potion. I quickly dropped to my knees as it went sailing overhead and crashed into the opposite wall. I snagged the Witch with Backlash and tried to yank her off her feet, but I was too weak from her potion. I barely budged her with my yanking.

She cackled again and zipped towards me, getting in my face as she prepared another potion. There must have been a cool-down or something; otherwise she'd be spamming potions all over the place.

It wasn't a long cool-down. And the Splash Potion of Poison that hit my shoulder made my skin burn and my Health to slowly tick away.

"Get away from me you HAG!" I insulted, lashing out with Backlash and sending the Witch hurtling across the room and into the tunnel I had entered from… sort of. The back of her head hit the top of the tunnel and she tumbled in a frontward somersault the rest of the way. She even crashed down some stairs.

I quickly hobbled over to the tunnel, clutching the wall for support, just as I saw the Witch's purple eyes narrow from the stairs. Her wart wiggled angrily.

"Don't have the time for this." I mumbled to myself as I sealed the tunnel up with planks. The Witch rushed me, fueled by a Potion of Swiftness and even managed to lob one last Splash Potion at me. But with a final wooden plank, I simultaneously sealed up the tunnel and blocked her last attack, the bottle hitting the planks with a shattering of glass. I heard angered huffs and sighs from the other side, but I wisely backed off as I let the Potions of Weakness and Poison run their course.

With the chamber cleared of Mobs, I hobbled over to the wall and pressed my back to it as I let out a sigh of relief. Some days, Mobs were just as hard to fight as Crafters.

As I tilted my head up to look at the ceiling, I felt something bump the back of my head that wasn't the wall. I turned and realized it was a dusty sign. It must not have seen much use, much like the Root Tunnel I had stumbled across. This whole Bough Terminus place seemed abandoned.

But what was a Terminus anyway?

I raised a hand and wiped away the dust, trying to see what was written.

[EXTER]

…Huh?

Right beside one of the arched gates was a sign that said 'EXTER'. Glancing around, I realized the other gates had dusty signs too. I walked to the next nearest one, going in a clockwise circle.

"Dover Plains… Ringwood? Lazuli… Daymonte…" I hugged the wall, making my way across the perimeter of the chamber. Then I got to the gates with the biggest gaps between them. "Oak Docks… Nitebane too? Zeppil and… Akasha." I concluded, coming back to Exter again. "The other Kingdoms…"

With a start, I glanced back to the center of the chamber and realized that the diamond with the letters was a compass rose. The kind they put on maps to tell you which way is North. Suddenly the letters made more sense, as did the signs and how the gates were oddly positioned.

I took out my own map and walked to the center of the chamber, right on top of the compass rose.

Tracing my finger from Jolin, each arched gate led to a designated Kingdom. Akasha, Exter, Dover Plains, Ringwood, and Lazuli were all bunched together because they were all to the Northwest of Jolin. But Daymonte, Oak Docks, Nitebane, and Zeppil all had wider gaps between them since they were more spread out.

…Was the Bough Terminus like a station? A station where you could get to any of the Kingdoms? Maybe they had airships running that ferried Crafters to and fro. But then… why was it abandoned? Why were all the gates sealed up? And why did it look like nobody had set foot in here for over a hundred years?

These questions and more rattled in my head, but I soon realized something else…

What the hell am I doing? My friends are in trouble and I'm busy contemplating what this place is and what happened to it? This is not the time for this!

Picking myself off the floor and refilling my Hunger Meter, I glanced around the Terminus once more, spotting one arched gate that didn't belong. The same one with the stairs. I hurried over with a pick and busted the planks sealing it off. Two… five… twelve planks came loose and fell into my Inventory as I scraped more and more of the wood away.

More and more planks were hacked away until they melded from jungle wood planks into jungle wood logs. I must have been reaching the outer shell of the tree.

I ratcheted up the pace, peeling obstructive logs out of my way like it was nothing. Deeper and deeper until, finally, I busted through to reach sweet, sweet sunlight…

And a pretty head of green hair.

"Er… found you?" Jade chuckled sheepishly as she held up her map and rubbed the back of her head.

I was not amused.

---

[Floyd]

"Er… can you run that by me again?"

Captain Enyeto lifted his head to look at me with his brown eyes. We were both in my cell, but I was paralyzed in a bed with my Inventory taken and he was ironclad, standing strong, with every possible advantage over me. So I was a little confused by what he just said.

"I beg of you." He repeated. "Please tell me where your comrades are hiding."

Looks like I heard him right before. That didn't mean my brain comprehended it any better.

"You… you're asking me for information?" I asked skeptically, to which he nodded, completely serious. "You… you aren't going to torture me or something?" Why was I trying to give him ideas?

"No. No torture." Enyeto shook his head. "You're not going to be harmed. Neither are your comrades, provided you give them up. If you all cooperate, you will be safely imprisoned without any risk of harm."

I looked at him incredulously. What? Why would we give ourselves up to be 'safely imprisoned'? We wouldn't want to be imprisoned at all!

"I… feel like I'm missing some context in this conversation." I tried again to move, but my paralysis wasn't letting me.

I briefly thought about using my Hacker Powers to break loose, but let it go. Even if a Potion of Slowness had a hand in the effect, there was no way of knowing my Speed Hack would break me free. And there was no certainty that Enyeto even knew I was a Hacker; the meaning behind the dark lines over the eyes being unknown to the public. That could change if I Hacktivated. Then there would be no telling what he'd do. Best to play it safe.

The Captain ended his bow, lifting himself to his full, impressive height to look down upon me. But there was no condescension. "All I want is for Jolin to be free of criminals. That may not mean much to you, but I assure you it matters a great deal, both for this Kingdom and its people. So, again, tell me where your comrades are heading. Are they planning to leave promptly? Or will they try to rescue you?"

I closed my eyes. "I'm not telling you anything."

Enyeto grit his teeth. "Please, understand. If this were any other Kingdom, you would be getting interrogated. Brutally. And if I had the time for it, I'd—"

"Oh, dear." A feminine voice suddenly rang out. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Enyeto turned on the spot, blocking the newcomer from sight as I was still stuck to the bed.

"You are." Enyeto spoke brusquely, leaving the cell and then closing it behind him. "I was in the middle of interrogating this prisoner."

"Hm. Is that what passes as interrogation down here?" She noted airily. "Seems like you guards are going soft. But then, you'd have every reason to be, what with the law making us do all your work for you—"

"I don't want to hear about the law from you, Dahlia." Enyeto spat.

"A shame." Dahlia replied with a smirk. "Because the law is why I'm here, as is your latest prisoner." She raised a finger to point at me. "I'm going to have to take him off your hands."

"You can't."

"Oh?"

Enyeto moved to block the cell door almost defensively, allowing me to see where Dahlia was standing. Her skin was so pale it practically glowed in the dim lighting. She had lavender hair tied in twin-tails by black garments and she wore a black coat with trailing coattails. Underneath was a gray top that showed off her stomach. Dark red jeans with black straps and black sneakers. Dahlia_Darko. Her backpack and belt were also black, and she had eyes like charcoal that had a glimmer of amusement regarding Enyeto. Despite the Captain's imposing height, Dahlia didn't look the least bit intimidated.

"You can't take him." Enyeto repeated.

"Really? Because, as I recall, the Law of Desideratum—"

"I thought I told you not to speak of it in front of me."

"Forgive me this one time," Dahlia spoke, her 'apology' sounding as empty as my Inventory, "but I feel like I have to remind you when you're so blatantly neglecting it." She smiled before suddenly frowning. "We're allowed to take anything we find necessary to apprehend criminals."

"That doesn't include other criminals." Enyeto shot back.

"'Anything' is a broad term, wouldn't you say?" Dahlia asked offhandedly. "That's what I love about vague laws. They allow more freedom, depending on who's interpreting them."

"There's no precedent for requisitioning criminals." Enyeto said firmly. "We found him first. You can't take him. His Highness would never condone this."

"I think he would." Dahlia countered. "He's a good man, your King. He would condone this if it led to apprehending King_Cobb. He wouldn't want a criminal running around and threatening his people now would he?" Dahlia backed off a bit. "Or is that what you prefer? I would think you'd want Cobb dealt with as soon as possible."

"My men are taking care of it." Enyeto spoke coldly. "And unlike yours, they don't need to dig their hands into Jolin's pockets to do so."

Dahlia narrowed her eyes before letting out a weary sigh. "How many times do we have to do this, Enyeto? I come asking for something, you say no, I go to the King, he says yes, and you look the fool each and every time. It's beginning to get old."

I couldn't see his face, but I imagined Enyeto biting down on his lip.

Dahlia pressed her advantage though. "We both know the King will give me free rein on this, just as he and the past Kings have done for all of my Berserkers. Emeralds. Enchantments. Supplies. We get whatever we need, so long as we keep crime down. And I'd say we do a pretty good job of it." Dahlia rested a hand on her hip. "Face it. All this is going to amount to is me walking all~ the way up the Gift Tree for a quick chat with the King before walking all~ the way back down here to make you hand that guy over. Do you really want to waste my time like that?"

Enyeto stood a little taller. "When you put it like that… Yes." He smiled. "Anything to inconvenience you."

Dahlia's lips curled into a snarl, but she wiped it off her face a second later as she held both hands up and took a step back.

"Fine, fine. I'll go through the motions again. I'll be sure to make my displeasure known to your King and see if I can't drag your name into the mud." She turned, but paused, her hand on the doorframe. "And while I'm at it, my wallet's looking a little light." She turned to flash Enyeto a lopsided smile. "Maybe I'll pay the Royal Treasury a visit and 'requisition' some much needed funds."

Enyeto bristled and Dahlia let out a mocking laugh. One charcoal eye locked onto my prone form. "Don't get too comfy, Flawwed_Floyd." She called out before pushing off the frame and leaving us in silence.

"Vindictive bitch." Enyeto growled to the silence as he walked over to the chair and lowered himself down with a resigned sigh.

It was then that I started get feeling back into my arms. The paralysis was wearing off, Enyeto had forgotten to keep up the effects.

Moments passed until Enyeto lifted himself with a start and looked to me. He quickly fumbled in his belt for a splash potion, and I tensed to throw myself off the bed to dodge if necessary, but he suddenly stopped. He looked at me for a long time, then glanced back to the door, before ultimately giving up on the potion.

"Stand." He declared with an uncaring wave of his arms. "Or stay in bed. It doesn't matter. She'll be back to take you away before long."

Tentatively at first, as if expecting some kind of trick, I slowly lifted myself from the bed. It's only when Enyeto made no moves to do, well, anything that I began massaging feeling back into my arms and legs. Needless to say, this imprisonment wasn't meeting any of my expectations. A wooden cell and an uncaring guard—a Captain, in fact!

I was still locked in. That wasn't changing. Maybe I could break the posts with enough time (they were wooden, after all), but would Enyeto even let me? I really had no idea. I had no idea what he was doing, or what was going on, or why I was imprisoned when there weren't any posters of me in the first place.

I dangled my legs over the bed and propped my hands up behind me as I turned to regard the Captain.

"Who was that woman?" I asked.

Enyeto raised an eyebrow at the question before shrugging, seeing no harm in talking with a prisoner. "Dahlia_Darko. She's in charge of the Berserkers around here."

The Berserkers. I remembered them. One of the three major guilds of Minecraftia besides the Scouts and the Paragons. A guild of bounty hunters. Hunderprest was one of them.

"Of course the Berserkers would have a base here." I chuckled sarcastically, causing Enyeto to tilt his head. "It's always something. No matter where we go. Someone's always there to make our lives tougher."

"You can't blame the world for that." Enyeto called back, making me pause. "Jolin has been home to the Berserkers for centuries. It wasn't something that just happened because you were unlucky. You and your friends were fools to come here."

Well, Cobb did use a fishing rod for battle.

"Can't argue with you there." I said before shooting him a sidelong glare. "For someone that's hosted the Berserkers for so long, you don't seem too enthused about them."

"What was your first clue?"

"Calling her a vindictive bitch for one. And everything else for two."

Enyeto actually let out a laugh; Hearty and bright. "Well, you're right. We're far from 'enthused' about the bounty hunters robbing us blind." He sighed. "But, if Princess Alaqua can change the law, our fortunes might change."

"What law?"

"The Law of Desideratum." Enyeto spat in disgust, taking off his leather cap to rub at his hair. "It's why your kind aren't welcome here."

"My… kind?" My heart leapt and I unconsciously traced the lines over my eyes.

"Criminals." Enyeto clarified, calming me down.

So he doesn't know what I am…

"Sorry, I don't completely know what that Desideratum means." I said, though I clearly caught his hatred of the law. I had an idea of what is meant, but it was probably better to verify it first.

The Captain tilted his head to look at the door, checking to see if anyone was about to barge in. He drummed his fingers on his knee before tilting his head to the ceiling.

"Well… I guess we have time. And maybe I can convince you to tell me where your comrades are going… after you know the full story."

I doubt it. I thought, not said. I didn't need to give him a reason not to tell me important information. Nor did I need him spend his time doing anything desperate to get me to talk.

"Have you ever heard of the Age of Heroes?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "I've heard mention of it, but not anything specific."

"Well, Jolin's situation starts there." Enyeto began, sitting back in his seat. "The Age of Heroes was Notch's heyday; the first hundred-and-fifty years of anyone being on this earth. Notch, Jeb, Grum, and the other First Ten established the ten Kingdoms, but Notch was a king that set an example for all Crafters. He was selfless. He protected the weak. And he stood for truth, justice, and all that corny hero stuff." Despite the phrasing, there was no hint of sarcasm. If anything, Enyeto spoke with a fond respect for the man. "His efforts gave plenty of Crafters the courage to fight for good and not demand anything in return. It was a time of peace for Minecraftia."

"That all changed when Notch died."

"Notch was a major symbol, and with him gone, the heroes lost what had started them on the path of good. There were still heroes," he quickly added, "but none of them left the impact that Notch had. None of them were as inspiring. A hero that could inspire a thousand is worth more than a thousand that can inspire no one. And Notch? A king turned selfless good samaritan? There was nobody that could fill his shoes."

He sighed forlornly. "The day he died marked the decline of the Age of Heroes… and the rise of the Endward Cult. Griefers began gathering, the existence of Hackers became known when one of them slaughtered thousands in Exter… and in Jolin." My eyes widened and I felt like someone punched me in the gut. Yet another tragedy my 'people' committed.

"Heroes needed better gear to put down the growing evil. And better gear cost emeralds. 'Doing the right thing is its own reward' couldn't stand anymore. Heroes needed payment. And after that initial concession, when payment was provided for services rendered, heroes began to wonder why they were risking their lives for others in the first place. They had forgotten about Notch's example. The formation of Guilds and Factions, where paid quests prevailed, marked the end of the Age of Heroes."

"Nowadays, nobody saves anyone for free. There's always a cost, and if you can't pay then it's not anyone's problems but your own. Even the guards, though tasked with protecting their Kingdom, get paid for their services. They express nationalism, but other than that are akin to paid help."

"So what does that have to do with the Law of Desideratum?"

"I was getting to that." Enyeto promised before continuing. "Jolin wasn't spared the fall of the Age of Heroes. A Hacker came here, demanding something from our first king, Grum. The Hacker slaughtered thousands to force the king's hand, and when Grum stepped forward, offering his life for his people's, he was struck down."

Enyeto's face twisted with grief. "Jolin was left in shambles, much like how Nitebane turned out. Crime rates soared as criminals from all over flocked to Jolin's ruins. Their reasoning was that any pursuing authorities couldn't penetrate the thick jungles to get to them. And the Kingdom was in such disarray that guards couldn't be organized to drive them out."

"Jolin could have very well gone the same path as Nitebane… had the second king not passed a desperate law. A law of necessity."

"To curb rising crime and set Jolin on the path of reconstruction, the second king passed the Law of Desideratum." Enyeto spoke clearly. "It states, that any licensed bounty hunter is allowed to requisition—from both Jolin and its people—anything they deem necessary in apprehending criminals within Jolin's borders."

"In other words," the Captain paused, "a bounty hunter can take anything—emeralds, supplies, enchantments… maybe people—so long as they claim it's to catch a criminal."

That was what I thought. Based on Dahlia's words and Enyeto's reaction, it was clear this law favored the bounty hunters. But still, that was a lot of freedom the king granted.

"What was the king thinking?" I asked incredulously.

"I believe he was thinking of his people." Enyeto said, making me pause. "As vague and one-sided as the law was… I cannot deny that it provided bounty hunters with a tantalizing incentive to do their job. This was back when the Age of Heroes was dying, and people did everything for emeralds. The second king had to make use of that, and he did. Plenty of bounty hunters showed up to drive the criminals out. They… made a lot of requisitions, but it saved Jolin from the same ruin as Nitebane. I'm grateful to it for at least that much."

His eyes suddenly narrowed. "But that was centuries ago! The bounty hunters have overstayed their welcome and abuse the law at every turn. Crime rates are at a record low—and it is only for that reason that the current king doesn't do away with that silly law—but the people are dissatisfied at having to hand over their hard-earned wealth time and time again."

"What if there are no criminals?" I asked, seeing an obvious solution.

Enyeto turned to glare at me. "Tell me, if a bounty hunter were to come to your home and request all of your emeralds, food, and supplies, how would you support yourself?"

"Well, I guess I'd have to stea—" My eyes widened. "No…"

"Yes." The Captain nodded grimly. "More often than not, I've seen disgruntled Crafters turn to crime to support themselves. It starts out small. A bounty hunter takes five emeralds from a man. The man is annoyed and makes rude comments. The bounty hunter retaliates pettily by taking more from the man, who cries out in outrage and tries to fight for it. The man fails, gets targeted, gets more requisitioned from him, and must resort to theft just to keep food on the table. Thus, the man becomes a criminal."

"But that proves that the system is flawed!" I shout in outrage. "If the law is creating criminals, then the only ones that win are the bounty hunters!"

"Now you see how the rest of Jolin thinks." The Captain nodded before gesturing to the Root Cellar. "Many of the prisoners here are just regular Crafters that got taken for granted. But I can't always differentiate between the sob stories and the lies. A true black-hearted thief could just as easily claim to be a desperate Crafter driven to unsavory criminal acts for survival, and I'd have no way of disproving them."

"Maybe once upon a time the law was necessary for Jolin's survival, but not now." He attested. "The guards have been training themselves, almost racing bounty hunters to each new criminal that shows up. Though the bounty hunters strip down the wanted posters as soon as they are put on display, the guards have trained to memorize them and look out for threats before the bounty hunters can find them."

That explained how Lenz didn't see our wanted posters. The Berserkers must have already stripped them down a while ago. It also explained how the guards were able to mobilize and catch me so easily. Their response time was unnatural.

"It's gotten to the point where the guards are just as capable at apprehending criminals as the Berserkers—a fact Princess Alaqua has taken notice of. Our Parkour skills even give us a home field advantage in the trees. The sooner we announce all the criminals on the posters are accounted for, the less the Berserkers are allowed to take. They can't claim supplies when there are no criminals to hunt down."

"Which brings me to you and your friends." The Captain scowled. "If you see how much damage this law causes, you should just tell me where your friends are going. If they leave the Kingdom, good. The sooner the better."

I bit my lip. "I… see what you're saying." I admitted. "And I'm sorry for the situation you're trapped in… but I can't tell you where my friends are! Besides, we're innocent. We were framed."

"Even if that's true, it doesn't matter." Enyeto disregarded firmly. "You have wanted posters, which means you're perceived as criminals. Which means the Berserkers have the right to take anything they want in the name of dealing with you. Whether you mean it or not, your presence has a cost that the people of Jolin have to pay!"

"I… I never realized…" I said, feeling guilty. Were the bounty hunters taking stuff now, with Cobb still loose? Were the people already suffering just because we thought it a good idea to take a fucking pit stop?

Enyeto closed his eyes with a sigh, turning to the door. "All I want is for my people to feel safe. Like the way I felt back in the Age of Heroes… where I could say with confidence that peace would last." He gnashed his teeth together. "And they can't do that with this blasted law! If Alaqua succeeds in convincing the king to repeal it, and I never hear mention of it again, it will be too soon! And I want to see the look on Dahlia's smug face when it happens! When we can finally kick her and her bounty hunters to the curb!"

The Captain's words left a lot on my mind. Clearly the Law of Desideratum was a double edged sword that favored the bounty hunters. And for as long as we stayed in Jolin, the bounty hunters would be allowed to take, take, take. I vaguely wondered if the bounty hunters wanted criminals existing in Jolin, seeing how it benefitted them the most.

But there was another thing weighing on my mind. A Hacker had caused all this. A Hacker had attacked Jolin and slain Grum close to three-hundred-and-fifty years ago, resulting in a situation that needed the Law of Desideratum to even be put in place. In a way, it all led back to that Hacker's actions.

And why did he attack Jolin and slaughter thousands? I don't even know. Because he could? Because Grum had something he wanted? Because he was a sadistic bastard with no regard for human life? I had no clue. Everywhere I looked, Hackers were causing problems and adding to the horrible reputation that made people shirk in fear of me… if they were aware of the lines.

And yet, in the Age of Heroes, there had been none of that. Hackers were still a mystery back then. Not hated. Not feared. Not even known. They could have been living in peace with other Crafters.

The Age of Heroes…

An age of peace in Minecraftia…

And the Hackers and Cultists ruined that too. They only rose to power when Notch died. If he hadn't… if he was still around… maybe things would be different. Maybe the Endward Cult wouldn't have even existed to kill Silent. Maybe I could have lived a peaceful life, blissfully unaware of how much damage people like me could have caused.

"What does Dahlia even want with me?" I asked the Captain as he settled back down.

"The only thing I can think of is that she'd use you as bait to lure out Cobb." He admitted. "Other than that, I have no idea what that witch is thinking. But I'm not going to make it easy for her…" He noted as he folded his arms and glared at the door, as if expecting her to come back at any moment. "I bet she thinks reeling in a major bounty like Cobb's will change Princess Alaqua's mind about the Berserkers. That's why I hope my men find him first…"

"They won't."

The words were sudden, but they also sounded so assured, like it was a fact, that the Captain couldn't help but turn to me.

"My men have experience catching criminals." He spoke, sounding a bit defensive. "If you think they'll let Dahlia's people sink their claws into—"

"The Berserkers won't catch them either." I cut him off with the same confidence as I leaned my back against the wall. "They're tougher than you think. You asked me to tell you a bit about them. Here's something you should know." I fixed my eyes upon Captain Enyeto.

"My friends aren't to be trifled with."

---

[Cobb]

"Cobb. Come back. Please."

"Stop following me, stalker."

"I'm not a stalker."

"Right. You were just following me and my friends for weeks without our knowledge. And then lied about it."

Jade winced. "Okay… so, maybe I… appeared as a stalker…"

"You think?"

"But it's not what it looks like, I swear! If you'd just give me a second to explain—"

"Sorry, but I kind of have a lot on my plate at the moment, so I'll have to reschedule this explanation at right about never."

This was the scene presently occurring. Me making my way to the tree where Soul and Lenz were with Jade keeping up and trying to explain herself. Well whatever she had to say, I wasn't listening.

The whole situation was suspicious from the start, and I didn't have time to be convinced that she wasn't trying to round us up for our bounties. Sure, a small part of me wondered what sort of bounty hunter would resort to such tactics, get found out, and then try to salvage it. Shouldn't this be the part where she abandons the charade and tries to capture me by force?

I made my way across one of the suspended wooden bridges, keeping a close eye on my map all the while. To get to the tree Soul and Lenz were at, I'd have to cross back to the big tree in the center first. I kept my head down and went out of my way to avoid guard patrols, ducking around wooden huts and waiting for them to pass.

Jade wasn't so hindered. They didn't know her name or face so she could just wait in the open, her back pressed against an alley to obstruct me from view.

"The coast is clear." She'd always say as soon as the guards were gone, but I was already going a different way. "Hey, wait up!"

I power-walked around a hut, turning around to make sure she wasn't right behind me, then I slipped through a backdoor, shutting it quietly before I ran to the front, back out, and then bolted down the wooden bridge.

I spared a glance back and paled when I saw Jade running along the roofs of the huts, effortlessly long-jumping across them and keeping up with me. Frustrated, I spotted a crowd of incoming Crafters and quickly hid myself among them. They were clogging the whole bridge, but I knew Jade—I mean the guards—would have trouble picking me out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jade drop down and her green hair peek above the sea of heads as she tried to spot me. I went the opposite direction, allowing the tide of the crowd to carry me away. Jade tried to worm her way inside, but she found herself buffeted around by Crafters trying to do the same.

Then, up ahead, I saw a window of opportunity. One of the wooden paths branched off into the wooden suspension bridge equivalent of a side-street. So, while the crowd was busy going down the main-street, Jade being borne along, I pushed my way out to the side-street. I turned and watched with satisfaction as Jade's head poked above the crowd she couldn't escape, her eyes glaring indignantly at me as she mouthed something before she and the crowd moved on.

"Sucker…" I snickered before making my way down the side-street, humming to myself. It turned a corner and ran parallel with the main bridge, and I could still see the crowd moving along, but the gap in between was too big for anyone to jump.

I then did a double take when I saw the green-haired stalker pull herself above the crowd of bodies, steady herself on their heads of all things, and then run towards me. I raised an eyebrow as she used their heads as footholds, keeping her eyes on me.

…No way can she make that jump.

She apparently didn't hear my thoughts (or thought to defy them) as she leapt from the last head of the crowd over the gap between streets. But she came up short. She wouldn't make the—

But I saw her target then. A hut was suspended further down, and it was suspended by a fence post attached to a branch higher up. She reached out a grabbed the post with both hands, sliding down a bit and wincing at the pole-burn, but managing to stop herself. Then she wrapped her knees around the pole as well and started shimmying up towards me.

"This girl is relentless." I whispered as I turned around and bolted before she could get to me.

I came across a crossroads and picked a random direction, hoping it would eventually lead to the tree. I made the mistake of turning around and spotted Jade cutting the corner of the crossroads, shaving time off her pursuit of me. She waved urgently at me, mouthing something. I didn't stay to listen.

I continued down my path, puffing as I rounded bends or circumvented breaks that Jade had no trouble vaulting over. She was gaining on me. And when I reached a dead-end (since my luck at choosing paths was awful) I desperately took out my last ender pearl and chucked it at the giant tree just to be done with it.

I warped just as Jade reached me. I took the usual damage, but I was back on the spiraling path of the Gift Tree. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I glanced back over to the dead-end I had come from. Jade was there, watching me, and turning her head to take in the multitude of vines, branches, and obstacles between us.

"…No."

I watched her back up before dropping into a sprinting position, her head facing forward.

"No friggen way…"

She rushed forward and long-jumped across the gap, her arms extended as far as they could go. They found purchase on a low-hanging branch that she swung back and forth on like a monkey before letting go at the zenith and reaching a new height that allowed her to latch onto a hanging wooden hut. She pulled herself up, shimmying along to the corner, where she kicked off into a dive towards another fence post spanning the gap as a support. Her hands caught it and she used the force of her dive to fling herself upward into a somersault that she broke out of to trap her arm in the vines hanging off the Gift Tree. Then she freed her arm, and climbed up to the spiraling wooden platform of the Gift Tree.

…Where I was still standing, gobsmacked.

"Hey, there." She spoke offhandedly, a little out of breath. "So can I explain myself now?"

I was quietly staring at her in shock. The level of acrobatics she just displayed… did she plan all that out from the start? How!? How did she know there was a path to take? How did take that path at all?

My thoughts were interrupted by a slow clap, coming from my left. It was a Crafter who, like me, had witnessed Jade's acrobatic feats. Other Crafters soon joined in the applause, voicing praise and how impressed they were at her. Jade looked around with a sheepish smile, waving off their praise and saying how it was just natural to her. She did a slight bow, but then turned her attention back to me.

I was busy massaging the bridge of my nose. "…I'm not gonna lose you in this Kingdom, am I?"

"Er… probably not." She rubbed the back of her head. "I'm pretty good at Parkour so… yeah…"

"Parkour?" I asked again, though she had already told me, the meaning was lost amidst fleeing from guards.

"Negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, or climbing." She gestured over her shoulder to the gap she had made. "It's how I made those jumps. The guards here are skilled at Parkour too. They need to be to beat the bounty hunters." Her eyes widened as she saw something over my shoulder. "Speak of the devil…"

I turned and cursed when I saw a group of brown-capped guards. They saw my face and my name, and it looks like they didn't need a map to know I was a criminal. They rushed forward, shouting at me to stay where I was.

Yeah, right!

I turned and ran down the spiraling path… with Jade keeping up beside me.

"He has an accomplice!" One of the guards shouted.

"No I don't, asshole!" I tried to explain, hoping Jade would just go away. What kind of bounty hunter would implicate themselves by appearing to be with me? It didn't make any sense!

Maybe I should try attacking her? Then they'll get the hint that we aren't together.

However, before I could, Jade beat me to it, bodily tackling me from the right and sending both of us off the pathway. I cried out, but Jade grabbed the scruff of my hoodie with one arm while the other gripped the edge of the wooden pathway. With a grunt of effort, she swung us into some fence posts on the underside of the pathway acting as supports. We both clung on for dear life since there was a steep drop to where the path spiraled further down the tree below us. She pressed a finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture before pointing up.

Several sets of heavy footfalls echoed above as the guards lumbered down the path, oblivious to our hiding spot. Jade had timed it well. Soon, the lumbering footfalls were gone, and all that could be heard were the normal, dull thunks of regular Crafters walking by.

"We should be safe here." Jade said quietly. "Even if they track us via the map, they won't tell which level we're on. Unless they think to look under here."

I waited a few more seconds before speaking. "Okay, fine. I'm listening. Explain yourself."

Jade beamed with happiness before schooling her features and taking a calming breath. She knew enough not to waste this one chance I was giving her. We both pulled ourselves up to lean on the supports in a more comfortable sitting position.

"Alright." She began. "I know the circumstances may have been suspicious—"

"Try borderline distrustful."

"…Right. But I was trying to make our second meeting seem natural." She continued. "I wanted you to think it was a meeting of happenstance, rather than… well…"

"Stalking."

She winced. "Yes… stalking."

"Why were you trying to meet me though?" I asked. "I mean, I know I have a bounty, but—"

"I'm not after your bounty." She insisted. "And I know you're not a criminal like those posters are saying."

"Then why did you help me against the guards? And against the dogs? And with getting us off the wall in Ringwood?"

She sighed, thinking to herself. "I guess… it all really started that first day you saved me." She explained. "The same day of the Creeper Herd." She practically spat.

"After you had saved us, I took the newbs—"

"Fresh spawns."

"…Right, fresh spawns, towards Ringwood. We came across the occasional Zombie or Spider, but nothing prepared us for the Creepers marching towards us. S-sorry, I got something in my eye." She quickly wiped at her face, making a small sniffing noise. Tears?

"A-anyway, I was fine with my Parkour skills, b-but I knew the others would need help climbing the trees to avoid the herd. I tried to calm them down, but… but they panicked. They knew what Creepers could do. They knew what would happen if they got too close. They ran like mad. And before I could do anything to stop them they… they…"

Her head fell into her hands and her shoulders shook from the sobs. "I… I couldn't do a thing for them. I could only watch as they were killed. They cried out for help, reaching for me… but I… I…"

She shook her head and tried to calm her shuddering breaths. My eyes softened at her distress. It sounded a lot like how Floyd felt when Silent was killed right in front of him. Or like the guilt Cara felt telling me how sorry she was about Floyd.

"I'm sorry." I finally said, this time placing a comforting hand on Jade's shoulders. Familiar or not, nobody deserved to feel that level of grief without some form of solace. I let out an aggrieved sigh. The Endward Cult was to blame for all of it. For their selfish goals they would gladly slaughter Crafters and hurt as many people as possible. "Take a moment to collect yourself before you continue."

Jade did just that, taking several shuddering breaths and wiping at her eyes. "Thanks." She sniffled. "You really are as kind as the stories say."

"There are stories about me?"

"The Legend of the Billionth." She filled in.

"Ah." I realized before rubbing the back of my head. "You've heard of that too, huh?"

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about." She assured with a frantic wave. "If anything, being the Billionth makes you a legend akin to the heroes of old. Bravely fighting against a Hacker to save Halstatt, or thwarting the cult's Creeper Herd. I heard that the Lieutenant from the wanted posters had a hand in it, is that true?"

"Yeah, 4Blite was there." I answered, leaning against the fence post and feeling a bit more at ease now that she wasn't crying. "He used cats to gather them all and direct them towards Ringwood. I have to admit, it was kind of smart."

"Well, thankfully you were there to stop him." She praised.

"It wasn't just me." I began before looking into her eyes. "So, what happened after?"

"Hm? Oh, right, the story." She looked somber, but continued where she left off. "After… what happened… I hopped from tree to tree, trying to make my way into Ringwood where I thought it would be safe. When I saw the Creepers had already broken through the Eastern District, I almost lost hope." She looked up to beam at me, her purple eyes sparkling. "But then, from out of nowhere, you showed up, cutting a path through the herd and acting like it was nothing. I was amazed! And then I realized it was the same person who had saved me before. Along with some others." She added with disregard, referring to Floyd, Soul, and Cara.

"I knew then, that I had to learn more about you. In a totally-not-stalker way, I mean." She hastily added.

"Naturally." I shot back sarcastically, earning a laugh.

"Anyway, I remembered your name and I had a friend working at the Hall of Records, so I asked if I could check your Citizenship Information."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Not if you don't get caught." She winked. "But yeah, it is. But I really wanted to know more about you. I was hoping I could find your address and come over to introduce myself again."

"Like a stalker."

"Okay, can we stop throwing around the 'stalker' word?" She huffed. "I'm sorry it seems like that, but I was really just trying to know more about you."

"Alright, I'll stop." I consented.

"Good. Now, as I was saying—"

"Stalker."

She frowned, unamused.

"Okay, now it's out of my system. Continue."

"…I couldn't find an address on your information, but I did find out your number." Her eyes lit up. "The Billionth. The Hacker Slayer from the bar stories. It's really you!"

I nodded, realizing I hadn't placed an official address on my Information since I had been living with Wynn. "So you found out about my exploits through the Hall of Records."

"Yes. And then I absolutely knew I had to meet you." Her eyes were sparkling. "You're a hero! Like the kind from back in the Age of Heroes! Selflessly protecting the lives of innocents without asking anything in return. A true role model. I admired your accomplishments."

"So you just wanted to meet me in person." I nodded along, thinking I had it figured out.

"Not just that." Jade defied my thoughts. "I wanted to join you."

"…What?"

"I wanted to be part of your group." She continued, unashamed to admit it. "I've been in guilds before, but they always had selfish intentions or cared more about the emeralds than actually helping people. But you're different!" She clasped my hands in hers, gazing into my eyes. "You're the kind of hero that can show the other guilds what they're supposed to be. You act selflessly! Why else would you save Halstatt from that Hacker? You did it to save them!"

"Well, yeah, but… hang on, go back to the part about wanting to join the Beginners."

"The Beginners! Is that what your guild is called?" She gushed, reaching a higher pitch of excitement. "It's a wonderful name! Simple and humble, this must be how you want to be portrayed. How many other members are there? How many hundreds of thousands of fellow admirers have flocked to your guild?"

We had four members total.

"A few…"

Jade went on and on about how a guild like the Beginners could mean renewed hope for all the Crafters living in fear of the Hackers and cultists and I didn't have the heart to tell her she was making a bigger deal out of us than we were.

I mean, sure, it was a warm thought thinking I was an inspiration to Crafters everywhere, and that even when things looked bad, there was always a chance to fight back, but…

Jade was pretty much a fangirl.

Yeah, my first fangirl. Or maybe second fangirl because of Erin, but it was weird to admit. That someone else admired my actions and felt inspired by them. I could inspire others to act selflessly just through standing up for others or protecting my friends. And wasn't that all that had been going through my mind at the time. Protecting my friends. Protecting what mattered.

Protecting my World.

But back to Jade. She was either a dedicated bounty hunter playing the long game… or a stalking fangirl. Which was the safer option?

"Anyway, next thing I know, your wanted posters are all over Ringwood." Jade continued, feeling more at ease speaking to her 'hero'. "They said all sorts of lies about how you're a cultist." She gnashed her teeth at the mention. "The nerve of Nitebane issuing something like that without any proof! And Ringwood just went along with it." She shouted in outrage. "They have no idea that you saved them from the herd when you demonstrated how cats could scare off Creepers!"

"So you know we're not cultists."

"Of course I know." She folded her arms indignantly. "How could I not? A cultist wouldn't have saved Ringwood and Halstatt, let alone save me and the newbs—sorry, fresh spawns—from those Mobs. If you ask me, this whole wanted poster thing stinks of someone framing you."

She sounded so passionate about it, both in defending me and renouncing Ringwood, that I had to believe her.

"So that's why you helped us off the wall." I filled in, to which she nodded. "You poured the water to cushion our fall and allowed us to make our escape, because you knew we were innocent. But then why didn't you reveal yourself then?"

"Well…" Her passionate tone did a complete one-eighty when she suddenly turned timid, fidgeting in place with a blush on her face. "I-I was kind of… shy." She admitted. "A-and with Ringwood turning on you, I-I didn't think you would trust me right away. S-so I kept my distance, helping out when possible."

That explained the mysterious green-haired Crafter's actions. Was she shy because she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her hero? Or was it the same feverish disease that Erin had.

Heart: …Really?

I frowned, shaking my head. "I'm still having trouble believing this."

"Is it so hard to believe that I didn't want you to get caught? That I thought the world was a better place with you free?"

"Well..." I folded my arms, deep in thought. "Everything you've done can be attributed to wanting my bounty for yourself. And you fabricating meetings just like with those 'thugs' of yours doesn't really help your case."

Jade pulled at her hair and made a frustrated noise. "Grrr! Okay, sure, I hired those thugs to pretend to beat me up hoping you'd notice and come save me, but I only did it because I didn't know how else to get you away from him."

"Him who?"

"The Hacker."

My eyes narrowed and Jade quickly backtracked. "N-not that journeying with a Hacker is a bad thing, per se, b-but I wanted to be careful—"

"I trust Floyd with my life." I spoke lowly, causing Jade to shut her mouth. "He's been with me from the start, and has had to hear a lot of discrimination over something everyone claims he isn't. I don't appreciate what you're insinuating about him without even bothering to know him."

"I-I didn't mean to offend—"

"How do you even know he was a Hacker?" I asked, cutting her off.

She swallowed thickly before rubbing her arm and glancing aside. "I… I followed you to the Origin. I was going to make my appearance to you there. I could have disguised it as helping the newbs—"

"Fresh spawns."

"…fresh spawns, but just as I was about to work up the courage to go out there, that Hacker showed up." She shivered. "I… I was scared. I heard the stories about them and-and I knew the stories about you, but… but I couldn't move. I could only watch in fear and hope I wouldn't be seen." She clutched herself tightly, and there was obviously something traumatic behind her reaction. "And then the blue-haired one turned out to be a Hacker—Floyd was it?—and then I couldn't even think about approaching you with him around."

I nodded, finding sense in her reasoning. Lenz had been frightened to hear about Floyd's smoking problem too. He was still trying to get used to it. Jade never had that chance.

"So instead of meeting us… you went after the fresh spawns from the Origin." I caught on.

"Yes. And I didn't kill them!" Her eyes desperately sought out mine, begging me to trust her words. "Believe me, I would never think of killing anyone other than in self-defense. I know how bad people can be, b-but they didn't attack me and I didn't attack them. I just needed the map you gave them. The one I overheard the gray-haired one saying was synced to yours."

She was talking about Lenz.

"Then how did you convince them to give you their map. We told them not to give it to anyone." Since it would have led the guards and bounty hunters straight to us.

"I met them in the woods the day after they left the Origin." Jade explained, relieved that I had believed that she didn't harm anyone. "They were wary of me, but I helped them fight off some Mobs and they began to trust me. I asked for the map, claiming I wanted to meet the other map-holder." She frowned. "They refused."

"So then I offered to buy it off of them. They refused that too. Then I offered to tell them the most ideal path to get to Ringwood through Mt. Mur. They refused that too. One of them, Troy was his name I think, said they wouldn't part with the map. Even though they had two, he said the other map-holders were wanted criminals, and that they were going to give the map to the authorities."

Troy had said that? And the others agreed? I mean, yeah, we didn't leave on the most pleasant of notes and Troy didn't seem to like Soul after what happened with Douglass, but we had helped teach those guys about what to expect from the world. Was it bitterness over us not accompanying them? Or did they, like the rest of the world, believe that we were truly criminals?

"I panicked hearing that." Jade admitted. "They were going to sell you out as soon as they got to Ringwood. I couldn't let that happen. You should be thanking me for preventing your map from falling into the wrong hands."

"And how did you get it away from them?"

Jade smiled. "I pointed at the sky, shouted, 'WHAT"S THAT!?', and when they turned around, I swiped the map and ran like hell."

My face fell. "That's it?"

"What, were you expecting some daring tale of escape?" She giggled. "They were newbs—fresh spawns, sorry, not used to saying that. And anyway, once I got into the trees, with my Parkour skills they couldn't keep up. I was as good as gone."

Despite her modesty to the spectating Crafters earlier, her Parkour skills seemed to be a point of pride. And, I had to admit, they were pretty impressive. I wished I could move like that.

But her story made sense. It certainly explained why the fresh spawns' white blip was in Ringwood. It was from their one leftover map (the one only big enough for the Ringwood Region). So they really were safe in Ringwood. Even if they wanted to sell us out, I couldn't blame them too much. They thought we were criminals and that turning over our map would be the right thing to do. I was just happy they had made it there safe and sound. Though, would they even deliver my message to Wynn? I doubted it.

"So then you just kept up with us for the past two weeks. All on your own." I said, to which she nodded again. "You kept your distance because of Floyd… and the thugs?"

"I paid them." She admitted sheepishly. "It was sort of a long shot to get your attention. I'm sure they're upset that you roughed them up a bit."

"Just so you know, normal interactions don't usually involve paying people off."

"I know that!" Her face heated up in embarrassment. "But… well… what would you have done if it were the other way around?"

"Just walked right up to talk to you." I said easily, causing her to pause, wide-eyed. "It's more genuine that way. I don't really appreciate lies and manipulation."

"…Sorry." She said in a small voice. "I just… I really wanted to meet you, and for things to be perfect… with you saving me and then me joining your guild…"

"Oh, that's not happening."

"What!?" Her eye twitched. "B-but-but-but… aren't you going to reward me for my honesty and forgive my mistakes?"

"I'll forgive you for looking like a stalker, but I never said you can join. And I still don't fully trust that you're not a bounty hunter."

"But I'm not! Honest!"

"Well, a bounty hunter would say that now wouldn't they?" She was either a fangirl or a bounty hunter, and being a fangirl was a really lame cover story if it was one. Still, couldn't be too careful. Wynn had warned me about trusting people.

"Does that mean you won't let anyone into your guild?"

"Huh?"

"Well, think about it." She continued, tripping me up. "Anyone that wants to join your guild, you can make the case that they're only doing it for your bounty, especially in this day and age where most guilds are formed for emeralds." She nodded to herself. "Your guild must have a lot of members for you to stint potential applicants like that."

"Er…"

"It's weird though, since I've only seen the four of you traveling so far." Jade continued, staring into my eyes with her purple ones. "But I guess you don't need anyone else, right?"

I shifted awkwardly. It wasn't like that! Sure, I said no to the fresh spawns, but that was only because we were wanted criminals! Taking them with us would have been a danger to them. They weren't ready for—

…!

Did I almost think they weren't experienced enough?

It was true, but that mindset was precisely what I was against. Anyone could have knowledge to impart. Anyone could be experienced, regardless of what a stupid number could tell you. A ten-digit Crafter could beat a Hacker. An engineering archer could protect a Kingdom. A Hacker could be their own person. Since when did I think experience mattered?

"I… I mean…" I paused, thinking to myself. "I'm not saying I wouldn't trust anyone other than my friends, but…" I shook my head. "No, no. I'd know whether or not someone genuinely wanted to join us. I'd…" I trailed off, finding trouble believing my own words.

As much as I didn't want to believe it, Jade had a point.

Was I just going to turn everyone away just because I was worried they'd stab me in the back? What if I missed out on meeting other people like Floyd or Lenz or Soul? What if I gave up on making new friends just because I was afraid?

"I… see your point." I conceded. I expected Jade to give a satisfied smile. Instead she was looking at me with concern.

"I know I haven't appeared as the most trusting—even now, there are some things I can't quite tell you." That got a reaction out of me. "But it's not bad, I assure you! It's just… personal, I guess." She sighed. "I'm not a bounty hunter or a stalker. I know you aren't a cultist. I'm not after your bounty. I li—admire you for the people you've saved, and I want to become a part of that. I want to join the Beginners to help others like you do. Yes, I have secrets that I feel the need to keep… and I might lie to you to keep them, but I promise you that they won't be a problem to you or anyone."

And there she went sounding genuine again. Was it all an act? Was I really thinking about trusting her? Or would I play it safe and trust Wynn's words on not trusting anyone. The world was full of devious people wasn't it? But if I held onto that kind of fear… how many possible allies would I miss out on?

Did Jade really want to help? Did Jade deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I thought things over carefully, finding two concessions that went against the theory that she was a bounty hunter.

First, at the moment the guards had Floyd's map, enabling them to track down any map-holders. That put Jade at risk of imprisonment just as much as us. They would lock her in a cell and not listen to anything she had to say. She was confident in her Parkour skills, but it was an unnecessary risk just to keep the map on hand to find us. No matter how many emeralds were offered.

Second, whether or not she was a bounty hunter didn't matter at this moment. She needed to get me to Nitebane to collect, and that Kingdom was a week's journey away. If she suggested going anywhere near there, I'd know something was up. And if she paralyzed me to get me onto a horse or airship, I would be willing to starve myself to death if need be.

And, in the end, it wasn't the risk to me that I was most worried about. It was the risk to my World. My friends, of which Floyd was the only one she would want to turn over to Nitebane. Though, since he was a Hacker, turning him over to Nitebane would be the equivalent of sending him to the gallows.

But, again, that didn't make sense. Jade wouldn't want to distract herself with a lower bounty, especially one in the hands of Jolin. The risk was too high. Hunder did the same thing when he caught me. So her wanting to help me, and be extension help Floyd, would have been a needless risk for a bounty hunter to take.

That left a small window of opportunity for her, in between now and helping me find Floyd. If she turned on me at any point, it would be before we saved Floyd. But, if after saving Floyd, she still didn't turn on me, I'd know I could trust her. Because a real bounty hunter would've acted sooner.

I'd have to watch for that. But there was an easy way to tell.

"If I can trust you, show me your Inventory."

Her eyebrows rose, but she quickly turned around from her position of the supports, presenting her backpack to me. "See for yourself."

Hesitant at first because of her candid attitude, I quickly slid my hand into her pack to see what she had. I was looking for Splash Potions that could ruin my day should she decide to betray me. She fidgeted to stay standing upright as I dug into her supplies.

An iron sword with clear signs of use. Baked potatoes and porkchops; standard foodstuffs. Crafting table and furnace. Coal. Torches. Building blocks. A [LAVA BUCKET]. Never saw that before. Water bucket. A reasonable amount of emeralds. Ender chests? Some basic tools, and Entry Passes for Ringwood, Jolin, Dover Plains, and Lazuli. She'd been around.

No potions. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"And your Citizenship Information?" I asked.

She picked it out of her belt and presented it. "Knock yourself out. Both it and I are open books." She giggled… and I'll admit it got a chuckle out of me, which made her smile widen.

Even if it was intrusive looking at her Citizenship Information, I felt I had the right, since she looked at my information back at the Hall of Records first.

She wasted no time pointing that out. "Does this make you a stalker too?" She teased.

"Don't push your luck."

"…Sorry"

Anyway, I flipped through the book, which told me a little bit about herself. The first Kingdom she visited had been Dover Plains, she was a seven-digit Crafter, numbered four-million two-hundred-and-forty-six-thousand three-hundred-and-three, and she had a registered address in Dover Plains.

The thing that stuck out to me was her number. "A seven-digit, huh?"

"Y-yeah, just ignore that." She waved off. "I don't usually like people bringing up my number. Makes me feel old." She added hastily. "So! Is everything in order?"

"...Maybe."

Her eyes lit up.

Brain: Don't do it, Cobb! No matter how pretty she is, I'm certain she's hiding something. She even admitted she has secrets she can't tell us!

Heart: We have secrets too. We're not blabbing about how Bounty Days are tied with hacker deaths now are we?

Brain: That's still just a theory!

Lungs: *Sigh*

Stomach: Good idea, Lungs. Let's ask Liver and Bladder for their input.

Brain: Uh-oh…

Heart: Liver? …Bladder?

Stomach: Are either of you there?

Blood: Okay, Brain. I successfully stowed the bodies away in the elevator shaft. Nobody will think to look there until the smell starts to—

Heart: WHAT!?

Brain: Ahahaha! Blood! Such a kidder! Ha! Ha!

Blood: But I did as you asked. You wanted Liver and Bladder silenced for their horrible puns—

Brain: HA HA HA… would you zip it already!? You're making it impossible to get away with murder!

Stomach: Oh my God!

Heart: Brain, you didn't!

Brain: I didn't! I swear! My hands are clean! No blood on them at all—Hey! Blood, get off my hands!

Blood: But you were whining that there was none on them…

Wait, did you just commit organ genocide!?

Brain: Liver was a bitch anyway! Besides it's not like the human body needs either of those…organs? Is a bladder an organ? I can never tell. Bladder! Look up whether the bladder is an organ or not so I can—oh, wait, I see the problem now.

How am I supposed to go to the bathroom now! What have you done Brain!

Brain: Hey, I just did the premeditating! Blood did all the doing.

Blood: A professional doer I am…

So… I should be dead from Liver failure right now?

Stomach: And bladder failure.

Heart: And in front of a cute girl too! How embarrassing! I could just about die!

Stomach: No! We don't need heart failure to boot!

Heart: Brain, this is stupid, even for you!

Brain: Alright, look, calm your arteries. I can fix this!

Heart: How!?

Blood: How indeed? They're dead. Their bodies decomposing in an elevator shaft as we speak…

Heart: Good lord…

Brain: Yeah, but I still have that Necronomicon thing Bladder got me for my birthday.

Lungs: *SIGH*

Brain: Yeah, I know you told me to burn it—all the warnings you spouted about it being a gateway to the end times—but I had a wobbly table and figured I could use the book to prop it up instead. And boy, let me tell you, nothing props up a table better than a cursed book.

Blood: I am all for this cursed book plan…

Brain: Thank you. At least someone is trying to be optimistic. Now let me just remember which table it was… I have a lot of tables, mind you.

Heart: Ugh… Cobb. This might take a while. Just go along with Jade for now. She seems lovely. We'll let you know how we progress with this… 'genius' idea.

I let out a sigh, vaguely wondering how I was still alive with a bladder and liver effectively dead. I didn't feel any different. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they were all just voices in my head and none of them were real.

Meh.

"Okay, Jade. After some deep internal deliberation, I have decided to trust you." She lifted her head in glee. "For now." I tacked on.

"Does this mean I'm a Beginner now?" She shivered in excitement.

"That'll be up to my friends to decide." I answered carefully. "They're Beginners too, so they have just as much right to turn you away."

She nodded. "Well, we better go find them then. So I can convince them that I'll be a fine addition." She spoke confidently as she lifted herself off the supports

"Yeah." I answered as I did the same. I watched as she edged herself across the support before reaching up to cling to the edge of the wooden pathway above. She hoisted herself up, and then, a moment later, her head dangled into view, her hair falling free, as she reached out a hand to help me up.

I accepted it with a hint of wariness that I'm sure she noticed, but she didn't say anything as she helped me onto the path.

"Right." We both held our maps out and looked for white blips. "Three of them are on this tree here. Looks like they're heading our way fast."

"We'll meet them halfway." She nodded confidently before stowing the map away. "Come on, I know a shortcut."

"Fine, but no more insane jumps or climbs. I'm not Spiderman."

"Who?"

"Normal Sense."

"Ah." She looked disgruntled over not being able to Parkour. "It's one of my positive points."

"Hmm?"

"Parkour." She clarified. "I'm an expert at jumping, running, and finding ways over obstacles."

"I saw." I nodded as we made our way up the Gift Tree, Jade blocking me from the guards' sight all the while. "You had a sword and I saw you fight Mobs. What would you say you're skills are at?"

"Er… well… I'm… okay." She replied sheepishly, averting her eyes. "I mean, Mobs are one thing. Griefers, maybe. I… I don't think I could fight against cultists though. You're probably more skilled with a sword than I am."

More evidence that experience didn't always equal superiority. She'd been around—a seven-digit Crafter like herself—but she wasn't as good with combat. That could be a problem if we faced guards. Luckily, she seemed to be a professional Parkour…ist? Parkist? Nah, Parkourist sounded better.

"Oh, wait. Is this like an interview?" She asked suddenly before freaking out. "Did I just screw it up? I just screwed it up, didn't I? I take it back, I can hold my own in a fight. I'm… nothing special, b-but—"

"Everyone's special." I calmed her down with a few words. "Everyone's unique, and has some bit of experience that's all their own. For you it's your Parkour skills… which I gotta say were impressive." She blushed at the praise, making my heart beat a little faster. "A-Anyway, ahem, don't worry about fighting. So long as you can keep away from them, my friends and I can do all the fighting."

"That's a relief." She paused, before taking a long look at me and then blushing. "I… uh… I like your tunic, by the way. Green. It… it matches your eyes."

"Oh!" I placed a hand on my leather armor, shooting her an unsure glance. "Thanks?"

And with those awkward words said, the two of us continued to jog up the Gift Tree to track down my friends.

My friends. Not hers.

She wasn't part of my World yet.

---

[Lenz]

"Okay, Lenz. You take the fifty on the left, I'll take the fifty on the right."

I turned to glare at the axe-wielder. "You cannot be serious."

We were surrounded by a hundred guards on one of the bridges connecting the Gift Tree to the bazaar. Despite all of Soul's efforts, we could not shake our pursuers. They moved about the trees with an agility the lumbering Soul could not match.

And me… well… I was working on my stamina.

"Okay, fine." Soul relented. "I'll take the seventy on the right, you take the thirty on the left. Good?"

"No! Those are still hopeless odds!"

"Says you. I got diamond armor."

"Give yourselves up, now!" One of the guards stepped forward, sword pointed at us. "We have you surrounded. If you come quietly, nobody needs to be harmed."

I glanced warily at our situation, Soul pressed against my back, his axe already swinging and his red eyes clearly eager for a fight.

"Soul… perhaps we should surrender." I advised, causing him to w\predictably whip his head around.

"What!? Come on, I can take these guys! I'll take all a hundred of them if you can't!"

"Diamond armor does not make you invincible." I spoke lowly. "There are too many for you to fight and we still have no idea why we are being hunted. If we do not stand down now—"

"Don't listen to that nerd." A burly voice announced, causing us and all the guards to glance up at a higher branch.

It was a flaming-haired, burly Crafter with purple eyes and clad in shimmering diamond armor. The name above his head read—

"Brandr!" Soul shouted, pointing his axe at the new arrival.

"Glad you remember me, deadbeat." Brandr mocked before pulling out a diamond blade overflowing with powerful enchantments. "Anyway, ignore that nerd. This is your chance to get that fight you wanted. Wouldn't want to ruin it by giving yourself up, now would you?"

"Wasn't planning on it!" Soul called back challengingly, a confident grin spreading across his face.

But I could see the trap. This Brandr was baiting him. Goading him into a fight. As for why… I had no idea. We were already hopelessly surrounded. Who even was Brandr? Not a Captain since he wore no dyed-leather cap. A bounty hunter, perhaps? But we were not even criminals! Cobb and Floyd were ones.

"This is none of your concern, Brandr!" One of the guards shot back bravely, and I heard several others support the first. "We have them surrounded! We were just about to apprehend them! Your involvement is unnecessary!"

He scoffed. "Cute. But I'm gonna have to intrude, on the basis that these two have yet to be apprehended. Besides," Brandr smirked knowingly, "they don't look surrounded to me."

No sooner had he said that than the bridge we were standing on exploded. We let out shouts, both of pain and surprise, as the floor was blown out from under us and we fell through before landing badly on a lower platform of leaves.

"Agh…" Soul grunted, and I shared the feeling as I rolled onto my stomach.

And caught myself staring at a pair of red shoes.

"Ciro!" Brandr shouted as he jumped down from his branch, and then down from the bridge to land at our level. Soul had already scrambled to his feet, axe held at the ready as he stared down the burly bounty hunter. "You sweep up that trash. I'll handle old red-eyes over here."

Ciro nodded curtly before holding up his bow and pulling back an arrow, aimed at my feet. He shot, and I quickly dove aside as it struck where I had been standing…

And then exploded.

I was blasted to the far end of the leaves where I slid to a stop, right at the edge. My chainmail armor was already proving useful in staving off damage. Slightly smoking, I hesitantly propped myself up and gazed at the phenomena I had just witnessed.

Explosive arrows!?

It explained how he shot out that bridge. Was this a new feature of the Bounty Day? Crafting arrows with TNT to make them explode on impact? That sounded ridiculously overpowered. I wanted to know how to do that!

Ciro_Che, clad in diamond armor, stepped forward with his bow held loosely at his side. Behind him, I saw Soul and Brandr trade blows; Diamond sword vs diamond axe.

I shakily pulled out my own bow and stilled my breathing. This would be my first fight against a skilled archer since Veronica. And already I was at a huge disadvantage.

But the Gray Eagle would not be bested so easily.

---

[Noman]

I finally did it.

After spending weeks in the Dryrock Mesa, having to endure dry heat, flat, dusty landscapes, and abandoned villages, I was finally out.

The red sand that covered the landscape began to fade into isolated patches amongst lush green grass, and then into sparse dots. Instead of the flat mesas, Beetroot and I were greeted by tall, rolling hills. There was the occasional tree atop them, but this landscape was already leagues better than the dry, sandy mesas I saw day in and day out.

And the wind! The feel of the wind. It wove between the massive hills and blasted me and my horse like a tempest. It was refreshing, but also powerful. The gusts nearly bowled me off my saddle.

This was the land of Zeppil. The next Kingdom on my search for artifacts.

And it was there that I would—hopefully—find the Bottes Zephyr.

Glancing left and right to see that nobody was spying on me, I subtly extracted the Artifact List and looked it over once more. I skipped the entry about the Destierro del Palillo of Jolin and went right to the Bottes Zephyr. Herobrine's words describing the artifact were as explicit as always.

[Bottes Zephyr]

There were often tales of Gods—amusing stories brought on by Normal Sense—about ancient beings with certain abilities. Mercury, messenger of the Gods. He wore winged boots, or sandals, or footwear that granted him speed and the ability to fly.

Flight. A power to reach out and touch the sky. A power that, as far as I know, can only be possessed by a Hacker.

I saw that as a challenge. And I figured Dinnerbone would get a real 'kick' out of it. It seemed only fitting to grant the Kingdom leading in aviation technology the boots that could allow the wearer to fly. Or… a similar effect.

I'll admit flight was a trickier problem to wrap my head around than I thought. I had to make do with something lesser. A small concession with, ultimately, the same result.

The wearer will have the following properties:

-Flight

-Escape Artist

-Air Resistance

And that's about it. But it was much more difficult to forge with Command Blocks than it sounds! Since I couldn't design something to allow a Crafter to freely float in air, much like how one would float in water, it is inferior to the Fly Hack. But it is a close second.

The boots allow the wearer to summon invisible blocks beneath them. Blocks of Air, so to speak. The blocks are solid enough to walk on, but are designed to change back into empty space after being used as footholds. Thus, the wearer can literally walk on air.

Appearance: White-dyed leather boots with the name Bottes Zephyr.

Good for evasion. A Crafter could just jump into the air and then jump onto air, running up to evade any pursuer. Since the air blocks disappear quickly, no one besides the wearer can use them for a prolonged amount of time, constantly making footholds wherever they are standing. One could even make a shield of invisible air blocks by throwing up kicks to block projectiles or swords (Air Resistance). It is as versatile as the wearer allows. Simpler artifacts usually are.

Similarly, if the wearer finds themselves trapped in a room, they can put on the Bottes and summon air blocks to replace the walls and floor before they are changed back to empty space. Using these could even replace bedrock, breaking through the layer separating Minecraftia from the Void. But that is an extreme case.

Weaknesses: Wearing them at all times can ruin your home, replacing your floor with air blocks and then empty space. Don't leave blocks of diamond or emerald lying about, or those could get 'replace' too. Use this artifact sparingly whenever you wish to take to the skies. Otherwise, it can be a hindrance.

Location: Zeppil

It wasn't a violent artifact, which was the theme I was sticking with. It could allow the user to fly (sort of) which sounded very promising. Not to mention it could make air shields. The Voda Shlem may have been a failure on my part, but the Bottes Zephyr would be my second chance.

Provided I could find the things…

As I navigated through the windy hills, continuing my journey south, I came across a small village nestled between two hills. It had small walls made of cobblestone, but I could see people coming in and out. There was life there.

With an excited smile, I spurred my horse onwards. I would need to obtain a map of the region if I were to continue on my quest. And a quick resupply wouldn't hurt.

---

Inventory (Cobb): 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Golden Shovel [Silk Touch I, Unbreaking III], 54 Cobblestone, 19 Grass Blocks, 20 Torches, 37 Coal, 12 Jungle Wood Logs, 64 Jungle Wood Planks, 16 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 11 Cooked Porkchops, 1 Water Bucket, 9 String, 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Mending I, Unbreaking I], 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 5 Emeralds, 2 Gunpowder, 8 Rotten Flesh, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Jolin Entry Pass}

[EXP: 23]

Inventory (Floyd): {Empty}

[EXP: 29]

Inventory (Lenz): 1 Bow, 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Stone Button, 5 Redstone Torches, 9 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 28 Redstone, 18 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 21 Cobblestone, 25 Dirt, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 25 Gunpowder, 1 Leather Cap [Dyed Green], 1 Chainmail Chestplate, 1 Chainmail Leggings, 1 Chainmail Boots, 62 Arrows, 18 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 16 Sugar Cane, 18 Cooked Chicken, 11 Paper, 6 Ink Sacs, 4 Leather, 9 Emeralds, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Jolin Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}

[EXP: 12]

Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 64 Iron Ingots, 57 Iron Ingots, 12 Gold Ingots, 5 Ender Pearls, 1 Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Milk, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Diamond Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Anvil, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 35 Torches, 2 Cooked Chicken, 37 Dirt, 64 Cobblestone, 34 Cobblestone, 50 Coal, 38 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Paper {Jolin Entry Pass}, {Ringwood Entry Pass}

[EXP: 40]

Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Black Shield {Slight Shield} [Blue Cross], 1 Bow [Infinity], 34 Birch Wood Planks, 35 Iron Ingots, 19 Sticks, 13 Torches, 1 Bucket, 1 Crafting Table, 9 Beetroots, 10 Bread, 1 Birch Fence, 1 Bed, 1 Book {Notch Mission II}, 1 Book {Artifact List}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Book {The Art of Peace}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Dover Plains Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Dover Plains}, 1 Map {Mesa}, 1 Compass, 64 Arrows, 2 Glass Bottles, 7 Sugar, 7 Enchanted Golden Apples, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Blue] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots, 64 Emeralds, 64 Emeralds, 64 Emeralds, 64 Emeralds, 2 Bones

[EXP: 7]

Beetroot the Horse

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AN: I just realized I may have written too much. And this is a two-parter too!

The Law of Desideratum is revealed. The Bounty Hunters and the guards don't like each other and are constantly racing to catch criminals. And the Beginners are caught in the middle.

And Jade's back. People are still pretty split about her, like Cobb, but for now, he's gonna trust her.

It's been a while since we had an Omake. This one is totally non-canon, but it was too funny to pass up. Enjoy~!

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Omake: WWE Catfight

It was pitch black somewhere inside an unknown building. There were murmurs coming from all sides, reaching a fevered pitch before someone called them all to attention. The murmurs slowly died down, drowning the dark building in silence.

A few moments passed, someone cleared their throat, and then, with a flash of light, a small table was illuminated. Sat upon it were Soul and Lenz, the latter with a set of levers before him.

Soul cleared his throat again before standing up and gesturing wide with his arms.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He boomed. "Welcome to the first ever WWE Catfight Charity Event!" The crowd cheered from the stands. "Yeah, I'm excited too! So, without anymore posturing, let's get down to business!"

He climbed atop the table and pointed to the middle of the room. On his cue, Lenz flicked another lever, lighting up where he was pointing to reveal a wrestling ring within an iron cage. There was no top, but the ring was completely enclosed so that nobody could interfere with the fighters.

"In the west corner, weighing in at approximately however much a soaking wet cat weighs, from Ringwood…"

"…she's tough, she's mean…"

"…she knows how to cook and clean…"

"Please welcome our first fighter: ErinRunner!"

Another lever flick by Lenz and suddenly one corner of the ring lit up, revealing a dark-haired and timid housekeeper. She gave a little start at the reveal and shrunk in upon herself during the cheers from the crowd.

"Um… w-what's going on? Wh-what is this?" Erin looked terrified at so many people watching her. "Soul, why am I in a ring?"

"I'll get to that in a moment, Erin. Now for our second contestant!" Soul suddenly shouted, pointing a finger again. "In the east corner, weighing in at whatever a stalker fangirl weighs—"

"I'm not a stalker!"

"…she's pretty and more…"

"..she knows how to Parkour…"

"Put your hands together fooooooor, AceOfJades."

Lenz flicked another lever and the east corner lit up, revealing a beautiful, green-haired woman in a green leather jacket. Her arms were folded and she had a frown on her face from being called a stalker.

"Okay, what the hell is this?" Jade asked, taking in the iron cage and the timid housekeeper across from her. "I only agreed to come because you said you'd let me into the Beginners."

"Now with our fighters properly introduced," Soul went on, ignoring Jade, "let's get ready to catfiiiiiiight!"

The crowd cheered along, clapping and hollering for the show to start already. Erin and Jade were less enthused.

"W-wait, what!?" Erin yelled, eyeing Jade fearfully. "We h-have to fight? I don't want that!"

"Yeah, this isn't right. Call this off, we don't want any part of it." Jade banged a fist against the cage, but Soul held his hand up.

"Now ladies, I think you might change your tune when you see what you're fighting for."

The two women looked puzzled before Soul slapped Lenz's side, signaling him to pull the final lever, which he did.

A piston opened up above before Cobb dropped down into the open top of the cage. He was bound and tied by a lead, which kept him hanging suspended above the ring, just out of reach of the fighters. Jade and Erin stared at him in shock.

"Ladies… your prize." Soul gestured to the bound Cobb slowly rotating in the air.

"Soul, you bastard!" Cobb cursed as he flailed his legs. "You said this was a charity event for the poor!"

"It is. Poor people are in desperate need of entertainment."

"That's not the same thing and you know it! I didn't agree to get tied up!" He flailed. "And Lenz! How could you go along with this? I thought we were friends!"

"We are, Cobbert." Lenz nodded. "But, well, when am I ever going to get the chance to construct another WWE Catfight ring with my redstone prowess? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. For science!"

"Tell science to get me down from here!"

"Cobb, nothing short of you as a prize is gonna get these ladies to fight each other to the death, okay?" Soul explained in exasperation. "Quit being so selfish."

"HOW!?"

"Um… hang on just a second." Jade raised her hand. "You don't actually think we're gonna go along with this farce just because you got a cute guy dangling in front of us. We're not animals, right Erin?"

"Just ring the bell already!" Erin yelled as she tore off her frilly black dress and skirt, revealing a tank top and shorts, and squared her shoulders. Her eyes were like hardened emeralds as she focused on the opponent standing between her and her prize.

Jade blinked in shock. "Um… what?"

"BEGIN!" Soul shouted, hitting a note block that emitted a bell chime.

"RARGH!" Erin lunged at Jade, causing her to shriek in equal parts fear and confusion. The two tumbled around the ring, with Erin putting her in a chokehold right off the bat. The crowd cheered the housekeeper on, enthralled by the violence.

"I am a fricken genius." Soul praised himself before getting back to his announcer duties. "OH! What a pile-driver from Erin! That had to hurt!"

"Jesus Christ!" Cobb shouted as he spun around trying to see the fight. "What the hell!? Why is she a housekeeper? Jade, just play dead!"

A battered Jade tried to crawl away to the other side of the ring, but Erin dragged her back by the legs. "Nooooooo…"

"He's MINE!" Erin screamed, throwing Jade bodily into the cage, where she crumpled to the floor in a heap, defeated. "RAAAAAAGH!"

"I… give…"

Lenz rang the note block three times at Jade's weary words of surrender.

"WE HAVE A WINNER!" Soul shouted, pointing to the housekeeper. "ErinRunner has just proven that nothing is more powerful than a thirsty woman!"

Erin ignored the congratulatory words as she had dragged Jade's beaten body to the center of the ring and was now using it as a stool to reach the suspended Cobb. She kept hopping on tiptoes, her fingers barely grazing her prize, and her face looking so happy.

Cobb looked a little nervous.

"Thank you all for coming to this week's WWE Catfight! Next week! Solara vs Cosmic! Which one of them will fight harder for the heart of their beloved engineer?" Lenz slowly turned to look at Soul. "You don't wanna miss this, folks! Hey Lenz, want to do me a huge favor?"

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AN: No, I don't watch WWE so I have no idea if this is an accurate representation. I bet this is what the shippers want to happen though...