AN: Been a while since I kept track of stats, but here we go.
383 Favs. 388 Alerts. Holy Bawlz. Thank you, everyone, for liking my story so much. I'll strive to do better.
Before I forget, last week's riddle was solved by fanfic-addict91. The answer: They are standing back-to-back. Enjoy your Cookie and your acknowledgement.
(::)
The title of this Chapter 'Pitch' is a type of fossil fuel similar to coal. It also can be used to describe darkness, as in 'pitch-black'. Just felt like saying this. I don't just throw darts at a dictionary for Chapter titles... anymore...
Puzzle: Three Doctors said that Robert was their brother. Robert said he had no brothers. Who is lying?
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd include oil.
Chapter 135
Pitch
[Carys]
Half a day.
It took the others half a day to reach me in their new airship. It was called the Anemoi and Baltic made a point to say that Captain Fo was reluctant to part with it, only doing so for the sake of stopping dangerous cultists.
I couldn't care less for her reasons. The Anemoi was smaller and slower than the Asmodeus and lacked any of its flare. The Asmodeus had black sails and a silhouette that could strike fear into the hearts of even the most hardened of cultists. The Anemoi was a poor replacement.
But beggars couldn't be choosers. It flew and was faster than walking. The first thing I did upon boarding was take a short nap to recharge, after which I stormed onto the comparatively smaller bridge of the Anemoi and took command of my guild.
"They made frequent stops." I reported, glaring out the windows and into the stormy sky. It was a storm of a storm - thunder, lightning, the works - and I could only hope it would slow Cobb and his cavalcade of idiots long enough for me to sink my scythe into one of them.
"They couldn't have gotten far with their level of coal." Baltic said, catching onto the point I made. "What happened to your horse?"
"I don't want to talk about it." I grumbled. "Just focus on finding them."
"Yes, ma'am." He relented.
Heather, Wing, and Luis placed some items frames on the wall followed by maps of the Zeppil region of Minecraftia. The maps were marked with every village and community in the Kingdom. The three poured over the maps, taking notes and marking spots, and I watched on, simmering with my thoughts.
"They were swerving a bunch when Carys was tailing them. They probably guessed she was and did it to throw us off track." Heather frowned. "No telling where they could be heading."
"They have to be low on fuel, though. We can safely say that." Luis traced a circle over the map with us at the center. "Assuming their reserves are running low, this is the safest radius we can predict them to land."
"And these are all the communities inside the radius they can go to." Wing pointed to seven villages. "Five of them have coal mines, but there's no guarantee they know about them. Discounting Shansi, that gives us four possible targets. Since we know they have to go north, I suggest we-"
"Why discount Shansi?" I interrupted. I wasn't ungrateful for the information. It was succinct and well-reasoned. Except for the last bit. "If it's a coal-mining town, why discount it?"
It was a simple question, but it had the Paragons exchanging worried looks. All except for Z7, who sharpened her daggers on each other, her long hair obscuring her eyes and face. She was indifferent to the talks.
"Shansi is rumored to be the site of the Wailing Vale legend." Baltic supplied, his fingers busily working the levers and buttons of the Anemoi. "It's mine is haunted and the village abandoned. Not even Griefers risk raiding it. Nobody in their right mind would journey there."
Cobb would.
Yes, Cobb would. Looking at it sensibly, it was better for Cobb to choose a peacefully populated village to obtain coal, hide out, and catch his breath. But sense had no place where Cobb was concerned. In fact, sense and logic went out the window entirely. He did things differently. He was unorthodox. And his spur-of-the-moment plans - as loathe as I was to admit - had triumphed more than once, even beating out my carefully made schemes.
But he was as smart as he was chaotic, using his pawns in ways that outmaneuvered myself and my battle-hardened Paragons. I would never be in a position where I'd be running from a fight, but if I were him, I'd hide in the place I'd least suspect. A haunted, abandoned village, free from prying eyes and full of coal?
That had to be where he was hiding.
"Set a course for Shansi." I commanded.
Baltic furrowed his brow in worry. "Are you sure, Carys?"
"They'll be there." I said.
"But…" Luis glanced around worriedly. "What about the ghost?"
I quirked my lips into a smirk. "Don't tell me you're scared? Shall I purchase a couple of dresses for you and start calling you Daisy Mae Tinklepants?"
"N-No, ma'am."
"Then keep your trapdoor shut and start arming this thing. I want it battle-ready by the time we get there."
The Paragons made noises of affirmation before scrambling to ready the turrets and bomb bays. I was left with Baltic, staring out into the violent storm with my fingers tapping upon my scythe handle.
If Shansi really was haunted by a spirit, Cobb wouldn't care. After all, he had a different vengeful force chasing him.
And I was much, much scarier.
[Cobb]
"What is that woman thinking!"
Beican's initial reaction after being shown Mirabelle's note was much my own. It was a feeling shared by every member of my guild and Beican's band of Crafters and Testificates. Despite the story and obvious fear her husband showed, Mirabelle had opted to go into the mine, alone. And all because we helped them and we needed coal.
It was stupid. Touching, but stupid.
Beican seemed to think the same. He demanded to know where I found the note, and shortly after the bathroom was closely examined by Lenz, Beican, and Delaney. They saw the smashed window - of which I already informed them - but found nothing else of notice. She really just up and left.
"The book was right here." I patted the sink. "I don't know when she left or how much of a headstart she got, but if the mine is really just down the block then she's probably already down-!"
I was suddenly forced against the sink, my spine bending painfully against it as Beican pinned me with his powerful forearms.
"Why didn't you warn me when she went to the bathroom!? Why didn't you say anything!?" He growled, his eyes burning with intensity. "My wife would never go into that mine after the story I just told! You wrote this note and took her, didn't you? Didn't you!"
"Let go of him!"
I gasped for breath as he slammed me against the sink. Prying his arms off me was like trying to bend iron bars. I caught sight of the green Level Meter tattoo on his arms and paled. He was Level fifty-seven. He wasn't joking when he said he could wrestle horses. He was an old Crafter, probably a five or six-digit one if he was alive in the year 117. Mining and smelting ores was a way to gain EXP, and clearly he didn't care for enchanting. As a result, he had accumulated centuries worth of EXP. Enough so that when Soul and Jade tried to help pry his arms off, they were as powerless as me.
"Mirabelle's smarter than this!" Beican cried, his expression twisting. "She'd never risk her life! Not without telling me! You're not telling me something! You're not-!"
"Beican," a hand was laid on the old miner's shoulder, belonging to Cormac, his friend. "You're not thinking clearly. Mirabelle signed the book herself. So Mirabelle wrote the book herself." He held up the shimmering book, the author's signed name on full display. "Cobb came straight to us the second she went missing. He's trying to help. But this?" He gestured to my limp body being crushed against the sink. "This helps nobody. Least of all, Mirabelle."
Beican was breathing hard, his eyes watering as he glanced at Cormac over one shoulder. Jade and Soul had backed off and the pressure on my chest diminished slightly.
"Can you let him go now?" Cormac suggested.
There were a few moments of tense silence before Beican unceremoniously released me. My spine sprung back into place after being bent so painfully, and I fell onto the bathroom floor.
Jade scowled at Beican before stooping down to my side. "Cobb, are you-?"
"W-Wait." I coughed out, stopping Beican before he could reach the door. I tried to massage some feeling into my chest and back before forgoing it entirely in the interest of time. "I know you're going to go down into that mine, now."
Beican said nothing.
"I also know you're still terrified, but not for you." I pushed myself off the floor and propped myself up against the sink. "It's not about you anymore. It's about her. It's all about her now, and nothing anyone says is going to keep you from chasing after her."
"That's right." Beican nodded without even looking at me.
I closed my eyes. He was a lot like me in that sense, risking himself for those he cared for. This was his wife. Someone he swore to love and protect in sickness and health. Nothing was more important.
I decided.
"I'm going with you."
He turned around, his expression lifted in surprise. "...Why?"
I shook my head. "Knowing she's risking her life to help us leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can't just leave it to you. And the last thing she'd want to learn is that you died in a cave-in trying to find her. So?" I offered a raised eyebrow. "Any objections?"
For a while, Beican stared at me, sizing up my proposal. The other members of my guild and his band watched the exchange quietly, knowing a decision would have to be made, and thinking to themselves what they would want to do to help.
Finally, Beican sighed. "You're a good man, Cobb. Alright, you can come, but-"
"You can use a little more help." Soul and Cormac spoke at the exact same time, stopped to stare at one another, and then gave a short chortle. "What he said."
"My best friend is down there." Beatrix reasoned along with a nodding Delaney. "If you boys are going, then so are we."
"Of course I will go too." Lenz adjusted his glasses. "I remain unconvinced of any spooky specter inhabiting your coal mine, and wish to disprove this whole Wailing Vale mythos."
"If Cobb's going, so am I." Jade volunteered, earning a prickle of panic from me as I remembered the part of the legend where the spirit targets those in love. I didn't want her down there, but any argument I had would not only sound hypocritical, but would be turned against me.
No matter what Lenz argued, there was still some unsettling feeling that there really was a spirit down there, and that something supernatural may have been responsible for Mirabelle's bizarre compulsion to go down there by herself.
"Hold on. Hold on!" Beican shouted over our clamoring to join him. He rubbed the stress from his eyes. He must have wanted to sprint into that mine in a heartbeat, but he knew acting rashly would only worsen the situation. At times like these, you had to be composed. "We can't all go down there. Someone needs to stay with Sue and Clyde." The Testificates. "Their safety matters too. Delaney or Beatrix. One of you has to stay behind to watch them."
There was a short argument between the two, neither one of them wanting to leave a friend. Eventually, it was settled that Beatrix would go and Delaney would stay with the Testificates.
That was it!
"Jade," I suddenly proposed, "could you help Delaney watch the-"
Jade drew her cutlass with a sharp hiss of diamond, her face wearing a brittle, closed-eyed smile.
"If you say something silly like I should wait up here while you go down there, you best be prepared to fight me for it."
"...You didn't let me finish." I said robotically. "I was going to ask you to ask Floyd to stay and help watch the Testificates."
Floyd shot me a betrayed look. It was a sacrifice that had to be made. To spare me Jade's ire. A noble cause if ever I invented one.
"Good answer." Jade returned the cutlass before turning to Floyd with a smirk. "Could you stay and watch the Testificates? Thanks." She didn't even wait for a reply before leaving the bathroom.
As we left, with Floyd grumbling to himself, Beican stopped to pat me on the back, his eyes looking at Jade fondly.
"You sure picked a keeper, Cobb"
In no time at all, we were prepped and ready to depart. Floyd, Delaney, and the two Testificates wished us luck and made us promise to be careful. Our search party consisted of everyone else. Me, Lenz, Soul, Jade, Beican, Cormac, Beatrix…
...And Noman.
We opened the doors to pelting rain and tumultuous thunder. A few Mobs tried to impede us, but they all fell to Soul and Beican, our strong vanguard. The old miner's weapon was an iron pickaxe, and yet it had so much power behind each swing that the Zombies were bodily thrown back.
As we trudged down the rain-slicked path, Noman brought a hand out to stop me, and then pulled me down to ear-level, his expression grim.
"You may have given Beican a good speech, but I just want to make clear what we're going down there for."
I shot him a questioning look and he elaborated.
"Don't pretend you haven't been thinking about the coal reserves down there. Beican's leading us, and since Mirabelle said she'd be going there-"
I grabbed his offending hand, squeezing tight enough to make him wince. I had ten levels more than him, and it showed in our differing strength.
"I'll admit the thought crossed my mind." I said lowly. "But I assure you the priority is Mirabelle's safety. Not one of my guild thinks differently."
I knew them long enough to know that. We weren't helping someone simply because they were in need. We were helping because Mirabelle - whether by choice or by some supernatural power - was risking her life to make ours easier. Floyd, Soul, and Noman were all about jumping in to help without warning, but if someone helped me first or tried to, I wasn't about to let them fare on their own.
The only exception to that rule was standing right in front of me. But even then, I knew it was because we still needed him… and he didn't want to. So I blackmailed him.
I let go of Noman. He dropped his pained expression in favor of one that confused me. Contemplation. He was contemplating something. As for what, I didn't wait to find out. Neither did the rest of the group.
We reached the entrance.
The mouth of the mine gaped before us like the maw of some terrifying predator. Like one of those Killer Rabbits. It was lit up with torches and there were a few rails containing minecarts with hoppers, chests, and furnaces. It was a reminder that this mine had seen use before becoming abandoned, and there was even a reminder of its abandonment by the warning signs placed against every available surface.
[DANGER! DEADLY SPIRIT INSIDE!]
[THE WAILING IS THE WARNING!]
"Just trying to scare us." Lenz assured, idly kicking one of the signs. "I for one do not hear any 'wailing'."
He was right. All we could hear was thunder, wind, and the rain impacting the ground. We couldn't hear anything else.
"You will." Beican promised grimly. "Stick close. The mine is dark and unstable in some parts. Unfortunately, the most dangerous paths are the ones that reach the coal storeroom. I assume that's where she'll go. I pray that's where she'll be."
The eight of us wasted no time passing through the entrance. Lenz, noticing the rails and minecarts, suggested we ride down instead of walking, but Beican vetoed him, claiming that the rails could have been damaged after centuries of neglect. Not to mention there'd be no telling what we'd be riding towards.
"Just try not to jump at your own shadow." Lenz chuckled. He was talking big, but did he mean any of it? Everyone else looked scared to be going down there. I kept recalling bits and pieces of Beican's story as we descended further and further into the mine, my traitorous brain even making stuff up.
Brain: And then the spirit with Carys' face brandished a scythe and screamed 'I'm standing right behind youuuuu!'
Heart: Knock it off! I'm already palpitating!
Brain: And then she stole your shovel before turning you into a pig, forcing you to become her new steed forever more! AHHHHHH!
Stomach: I'm churning at the thought!
Lungs: *Gasp* *Gasp*
Bladder: I'm on the verge of wetting myself!
Liver: I'm… I'm… uh, I got nothing. But I'm really scared!
Blood: Cast aside your useless fear… Whatever comes, we kill… It's a simple matter...
As much as I hated to admit it, my darker internal voice was right,
Blood: Suck it…
No matter what we found down here, we'd survive as long as we killed it. Whether it was a Mob, fear, or the strange spirit from the story, killing it was the only option.
Gripping my sword a bit tighter, I thought of the others and continued down without fear.
The deeper we went, the further the storm got. Though the thunder was loud enough to shake the earth, the wind and rain couldn't penetrate as deeply. This allowed us to hear, for the first time, a low wailing.
Beican held up his hand to stop us as the wails became more noticeable. The echoing tunnels made them sound like they were coming from all over, from hundreds of crying ghosts.
Lenz blew out his lips.
"Really?" Soul hissed. "You're still doubting something's down here? Can't you hear that?"
"I would not call it wailing. More like howling." Lenz argued resolutely.
"What!?"
"Actually, I get what he means." Beatrix piped up. "Wailing is more high-pitched and full of grief. This is doleful, sure, but low. Not a howl, either. I'd place it as a waul."
"A what?"
"No, no, no. It's clearly a keen." Cormac chipped in. "Should be called the Keening Vale. Not as catchy, but-"
"Are your ears malfunctioning? This is a howl!"
"I consider it more of a lament." Noman added. "You know, like the-"
"They're all the same shit!" Soul suddenly blurted out.
"Language!"
"Howl, waul, keen, wail, or lament. It's all the same word for some creepy-ass thing making some creepy-ass noise!" He clutched his axe tighter, his eyes darting in an attempt to pinpoint the sound.
"He's right. Be on alert." Beican nodded. Despite the ominous noises, he kept leading us down the mine.
As expected, we came across Mobs. Lenz dispatched the Creepers and Skeletons while the rest of us covered the Spiders, Slimes, Zombies, Witches, and Endermen. We also came across forks in the tunnel, which Beican was quick to discern.
"It's all coming back to me." The miner spoke to himself as he pointed down paths. "That side was closed off due to a Creeper attack. And that side was exhausted or ore."
We passed a lot of coal ore on the way down, but as I expected, none of my guild-members went for it. Not when Mirabelle was still missing. I could feel Noman watching me from behind, measuring my guild's determination to find this woman.
"...I don't get it, Cobb." He whispered.
"Hm?"
"You'd risk the whole world for your friends," he started, "and yet you'd risk your friends to find one woman you just met. Why? Where do your priorities lay?"
I gave the shield-bearer a sour look before returning my attention to the front. It could've been me, but the wails were getting louder. I waited a second before answering.
"When someone reaches for you, you reach back." I explained as if it were obvious. "When someone helps, you help them back. You bridge the gap." I settled as an explanation. "You talk about saving the world, but to me that's like saving a billion strangers who've never reached out to me in the slightest. I'm just not as invested protecting them as I am protecting a loving wife who decided to do something stupid and get coal for us in a haunted mine."
"I can't care about people I don't know." I said. "And I wouldn't be surprised if there are people out there that don't care about me. Or my friends. It's not like, it's not hate, it's just… indifference."
"You shouldn't be indifferent." Noman frowned. "All life is supposed to be precious. It's supposed to be worth something."
"I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying that, to me at least, there's no connection." I could see I was losing him. "Think about it like this. Do you care about a random family living in, say, Daymonte?"
"Of course. Their lives matter."
"Then what are their names?"
Noman was left with his mouth open, stunned. "But… but how could I possibly know their names-?"
"What do they do for a living?" I pressed.
"I… I don't-"
"What about them matters more than anyone else? What makes them unique to you? What connects you to them?"
Noman found he had no answer. More than that, he wore a troubled expression.
Speaking candidly, I was surprised at just how much we were getting through, and I was making some adequate points.
So I kept going. "That's what I don't get about you, Noman." He looked up. "You keep going on about saving the world this and saving the world that, but nobody forced you to take that job. You could have turned it down. You'd have just spawned. Everything must have been new and scary for you. You were alone. So why take up the responsibility?"
"Somebody had to." He answered immediately. "Minecraftia's destruction would be millions dead."
"The Endward Cult is a threat, but it's not that much of a threat." I stressed. "If anything remotely world ending started to happen, don't you think the other Kingdoms would do something? It's not a problem one Billionth can handle on his own." My words made him look down, thinking about something. "So why are you really doing this?"
"...I was in the Void for a while." He admitted. "I was alone in that darkness. Everyone was, but… what I wanted more than anything was to matter."
His words made me turn my head.
"I wanted my existence to mean something. To not just be some floating Nowhere Man, disconnected from it all. So, when I spawned, and Helena said I was tasked with saving the world," a soft smile spread across his face, "I was so happy. What could matter more than saving the world? That one impossible mission gave me purpose, and I vowed to see it through. So that one day, I could look upon Minecraftia, free of any and all threats, and contentedly think to myself, 'I mattered'."
"That's…" God, what could I really say to that? The guy was spilling his guts to me, and it finally made sense why he was going through so much trouble. It wasn't that he felt connected to every single person, it was that he wanted to feel worthwhile. He wanted to be acknowledged. He wanted to matter.
"So I have to save Minecraftia." Noman spoke determinedly. "Every life matters."
"...You'll have to kill cultists, though." I said. "They're the bad guys. Do their lives matter?"
Noman didn't have an answer. So I tried a different, more relevant question.
"Saying every life matters is like saying one life means as much as the next," I began, choosing my words carefully.
Noman nodded sadly. "No life can mean more or less than another."
"...You don't really believe that, do you?" I asked, worried. "Didn't you have any friends before meeting us? Anyone that you cared about?"
"...One or two." Noman admitted. "But they're just parts added to the world I have to save."
"And you wouldn't feel any more or less upset if they were to die?" Noman furrowed his brow, no answer coming forward. "That's a tough way to live. I don't think I could ever do that. Without someone to fight for, I wouldn't want to win."
"But I can't form connections with every living being." Noman argued. "Why should I when I'm already resolved to save them all?"
"Because… the connections are the best part."
Noman went silent, allowing me to spill my guts.
"I'm not like you, Noman. I already matter to people, and they matter to me. I don't need to save the world to be acknowledged. The Void was just as lonely for me as it was you, and the world I spawned into wasn't much better. I don't think I'd have ever gotten this far if I didn't make connections and reach out to people. Not because they helped me out, but because being with them was something worth fighting for. And that's what I do. I keep fighting for them." I gave a short laugh. "Maybe if everyone in Minecraftia became my friend, I'd do the same."
Noman gave a huff. "You must know that isn't feasible."
"Guilty as charged." I smirked. "But until the impossible happens, I'll have my biases. Friends first, Minecraftia seco-"
I stumbled into Beatrix while distracted with Noman. She pushed me back and pointed to the rest of the group stopped in their tracks. Beican had his hand up, listening to the wailing as it grew in intensity. Everyone was silent as the grave, though Lenz looked like he wanted to say something to disprove whatever was making that noise. I was pleased to see Jade in position to slap a hand over the engineer's mouth.
After a few moments, the wailing died down, and we were set to continue.
We encountered a few more Mobs and some dangerous gaps we had to shimmy across (Jade and I just parkoured over), before we finally reached a set of wooden doors. Beican opened them up to a large, excavated cavern with support pillars, furnaces, minecarts, rails, and ender chest in the corner…
And chests. Hundreds of double chests lined horizontally and vertically against the far wall. They reached such a height that ladders were built to get to the higher chests. Lenz briskly walked forward and proved our assumptions correct when he opened the first chest and showed us a coal block.
We had reached the storeroom. So where was Mirabelle?
"Spread out and search." Beican and I said at the same time, the former more worriedly. I didn't even take a second glance at the coal-filled chests, instead searching the darker corners of the storeroom with Noman.
The cavern was a big place. Mirabelle could have been hiding somewhere, too injured by Mobs to fight. Lenz tried calling for her, but Beican and Beatrix hissed at him to keep it down. The wailing was still a threat. Lenz shook his head in derision, but complied.
The eight of us looked high and low for Beican's missing wife. Many of us hoped she'd walk into the storeroom any minute, to much surprise. Then Beican would berate her for doing something so reckless before hugging her tight enough to crush her ribs and being glad she was still alive to be mad at.
None of those things happened.
"Maybe… maybe sh-she took a wrong turn." Beican struggled to keep his voice steady. "She wouldn't have known where th-the storeroom is. She's pr-probably lost or… or hurt." He started breathing erratically. "Or maybe the curse got to her, or maybe she fell and got crushed against rocks, or-"
"Stop it, man!" Cormac shook Beican's shoulders. "Don't give up like that! Mirabelle's tough. She's smart-"
"If she was smart she'd never have come down here in the first place!" Beican wailed, causing a stronger wail to sound over the storeroom. Beatrix covered her ears, her eyes clenched shut.
"Keep it down!" Soul hissed. His axe was drawn while the wails echoed around the cavern, shaking our morale. "That spirit sounds mad."
"It is not a spirit. Some kind of Mob is making this noise." Lenz reasoned.
"Can't you consider for just a second there might be something sinister down here?" Noman asked.
"There has yet to be any evidence to suggest otherwise."
The wailings grew louder and louder, interspersed with booming thunder from the storm above. For a few seconds, it felt like the spirit was right next to us it was so loud. But then, slowly, it passed. The wailings grew quieter and quieter, becoming a distant threat once again.
"Okay, no more loud talking." I whispered before looking to Beican. "Where might Mirabelle have gotten lost? Do you have any ideas?"
"I… I don't know." Beican shook his head, his eyes wandering. "There are so many paths to take. Any one of them… could…" He suddenly trailed off, his eyes locking onto something behind me. I turned around and stared just the same.
Lenz, Soul, and Jade were raiding the coal chests.
"What are you three doing!?" I hissed, even as Noman joined in to stare.
"Obtaining fuel." Lenz answered as if it were obvious. He didn't have enough Inventory space, so he transported stacks and stacks of the coal blocks into the ender chest where he could retrieve it from after we got back to the Asmodeus. "We need this coal."
"He's right, Cobb." Jade nodded, cramming her coal blocks into the chest along with Soul. "We're here anyway. Might as well."
"Hey, Noman. Give us a hand, would you?" Soul added. "We need as many Crafters' worth of coal as we can carry."
Noman, however, made no move to help. He was looking at the Beginners in shame. So was Beican. And so was I.
"You guys! What about Mirabelle?" I hissed angrily.
"What? She isn't here. The coal is. We'll wrap this up quick and get back to looking-"
"We can come back to the coal later!" My voice raised. "There's only one Mirabelle and she could be in danger! Now drop that coal and get back to searching!"
The three turned to look at me with varying degrees of confusion and indignation, but before I could elaborate, Beican beat me to it.
"You only came here for the coal." He mumbled hollowly. "You don't care about my wife."
I whirled around, my head shaking to deny it. "No! That's not true! We came because-!"
"Because you knew I'd lead you straight to the storeroom!" He accused, his expression darkening and his voice growing louder. "Because you knew my wife would die trying to get you your precious coal! That's all that matters to you isn't it!?"
"No! Beican, please! We're all worried about Mirabelle!"
"Both of you keep your voices down!" Noman hissed. "You'll alert the-"
Noman was cut off. It wasn't by sound or someone else talking. He was cut off by silence. The wailing had suddenly stopped.
It was unsettling. After hearing it since journeying into the mines, it had become a sort of background noise. So much so that hearing nothing terrified us more than ever. Even Lenz was looking around, worried.
As the silence stretched on, we all could only look between one another, too scared to move and risk detection. We waited for at least a minute, before starting to calm down.
"Huh, I guess it-"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"AUUUUUUGH!"
Explosions sounded below us before the gravel floor of the storeroom gave way. Rails were ripped up in the avalanche as we rode it down into a freshly opened cavern. All of us were buffeted around by the falling blocks, and all I could hear was gravel and frantic screaming.
I struck the ground hard and rolled aside as more gravel came down after me. I covered my head and stayed down, even as gravel fell atop my back and began to suffocate me. I screamed into the loose block, thrashing to get it off of me. A foot struck out, breaking one bit, followed by a fist or two, then another kick, then a punch, until I got my sword out and started breaking as much gravel as I could.
When I finally hit air, I broke my head through the surface and my taxed lungs exchanged bits of gravel for sweet oxygen. I coughed and thrashed, kicking aside gravel as I pulled myself free. Behind me, I could hear similar sounds of shifting gravel.
I moved so fast I tripped, but I got to the first quivering pile of gravel and began furiously digging with my hands. Flints would sometimes pop out of the displaced material, but I shoved them aside, focusing all my efforts on digging whoever was buried.
One final block, and I spotted black hair and a sharp suit. Noman coughed beneath me, expelling gravel from his airways and waving his arms to grab something. I extended a hand and yanked him from the ground like a carrot. He caught himself on my shoulder and proceeded to hack up more gravel.
But I couldn't be a shoulder to lean on. The others needed to be dug out too.
After gently pushing Noman aside, I hurried over to the next quivering pile of gravel. Soul was already up. He shook his head free of gravel before reaching down to pull Lenz up by the scruff of his cursed tunic.
Beican was the last one out, and me and Noman worked together to pull him free. I looked around, but there were no more quivering piles. There was, however, a massive wall of gravel blocking one end of the chamber we had fallen into.
I crawled over the uneven floor before pressing my hands and ear to the gravel wall.
"Jade!" I desperately called for the Parkour master, pressing my hands deeper into the gravel. "Jade!"
Silence at first, but then some coughs that got my heart beating again. "Y-yeah, I'm here. I'm okay. Cormac and Beatrix are alright too!" More coughs and murmurs confirmed it. "Looks like the whole ceiling came down! Are you guys okay?"
I glanced back at our side of the chamber, taking stock of everyone. They looked shaken and dusty, but no broken bones or sprains. Their Hunger Meters were probably already at work fixing them up.
"We're fine!" I called into the gravel. I had to be loud, since Jade's voice was so faint. How many layers of gravel were separating us? "Make some shovels and start digging! We'll do the same and try to clear this-"
The wailing resumed. Louder than ever.
"It's here!" Either Beatrix or Cormac shouted from the other end. I couldn't tell which through the wailing.
"What's going on?" I shouted. "Jade, talk to me!"
"Oh, Herobrine, what is that…"
The wailing grew louder, turning into ear-splitting screams that chilled me to the bone.
"Jade! What do you see?" I tore out my blade and started hacking away at the gravel. Every time I did, however, more would fall down to take its place. I whirled to Noman, eyes desperate. "HELP ME!" Noman sprinted over and joined in shifting gravel. "Jade are you still there?"
I could hear explosions now. The same explosions that set off that gravel, I'd bet. Was it Creepers?
"Run!" Either Beatrix or Cormac ordered. "Run for it!"
"Jade!? JADE!" I furiously raked my sword against the gravel and Noman did the same, but even with Soul, Lenz, and Beican chipping in, we weren't making any fast progress. More gravel just kept falling down.
The shouting, horrifying shrieks, and explosions grew fainter, yet still I shouted madly at the gravel, begging Jade to answer. To tell me she was okay. She was in trouble! I had to get through! I had to help her!
"Move!" Beican commanded as he pulled out some torches. He broke the bottom block of gravel and then quickly placed the torch beneath it. The rest of the column of gravel cascaded down, breaking itself upon the torch and making more progress than any of us could. "An old miner trick. Do it just like that. Hurry! I have torches if you need them."
We followed his instructions, breaking the lowest piece of gravel before placing a torch per column. Gravel went everywhere, overfilling our Inventories against our wills or else covering the cavern's floor. After a while, we broke through the gravel wall and into the other half of the cavern. There were freshly made craters and a couple of tunnels, but no sign of Jade or the other two.
The final words of Beican's story rang out in her absence.
'So Crafters beware. If you have a love, stay out of the mine, lest you encounter the grieving spirit who lost hers, and will surely kill to share her aching pain.'
I gripped my sword so tightly it hurt.
[Floyd]
"Oh you have GOT to be shitting me…"
I peered out the second floor window towards the stormy sky, watching as an airship floated along. It descended slowly, touching down on a house a couple blocks away.
I recognized that ship. It was the Anemoi, the very ship Captain Fo had won in the Parkour Games. But any thoughts I had that the Captain was flying it were violently ejected when lightning flashed above, illuminating the windows of the bridge… and the silhouette of a giant scythe.
She followed us.
"What's up?" Delaney asked. "Why you look so sweaty?"
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green, Mending I, Unbreaking I], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Boots, 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Sword, 1 Iron Pickaxe {Weak}, 1 Banner {Beginners}, 64 Cobblestone, 61 Cobblestone, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 4 Gravel, 1 Bed, 36 Dirt, 15 Coal, 24 Flint, 12 Jungle Wood Logs, 64 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 1 Bucket, 5 String, 21 Emeralds, 11 Snowballs, 9 Gunpowder, 37 Cooked Mutton, 27 Rotten Flesh, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 33]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Leather Cap [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Leather Pants [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 30 Iron Ingots, 47 Dirt, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 46 Cooked Mutton, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Emerald, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Leggings, 17 Gunpowder, 8 Ender Pearls, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 32]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Leather Cap [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Leather Pants [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Bow, 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 1 Stone Button, 5 Redstone Torches, 1 Bed, 9 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 28 Redstone, 18 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 48 Cobblestone, 64 Gravel, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 25 Gunpowder, 49 Arrows, 16 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 50 Cooked Mutton, 16 Sugar Cane, 8 Paper, 5 Ink Sacs, 3 Leather, 5 Emeralds, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 15]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 64 Iron Ingots, 52 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Milk, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 24 Torches, 34 White Wool, 58 Dirt, 64 Cobblestone, 62 Cobblestone, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 18 Gravel, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 5 Ender Pearls, 28 Emeralds, 61 Cooked Mutton, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 24]
Inventory (Jade): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV], 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Leather Pants [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV], 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Cutlass, 1 Bed, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 16 String, 43 Cooked Mutton, 27 Torches, 30 Jungle Wood Planks, 64 Cobblestone, 64 Cobblestone, 24 Obsidian, 2 Buckets, 1 Compass, 1 Clock, 23 Emeralds, 2 Ender Chests, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Head {Mirabelle}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Dover Plains Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Lazuli Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 34]
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Black Shield {Slight Shield} [Blue Cross], 1 Bow [Infinity], 28 Birch Wood Planks, 35 Iron Ingots, 18 Sticks, 1 Bucket, 1 Crafting Table, 36 Cooked Mutton, 1 Ender Chest, 9 Ender Pearls, 1 Potion of Healing II, 1 Potion of Healing II, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Water Breathing {8:00}, 1 Bed, 1 Book {Artifact List}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Zeppil}, 1 Compass, 1 Arrow, 3 Sugar, 14 Bookshelves, 6 Enchanted Golden Apples, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Diamond Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots, 10 Emerald Blocks, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 18 Bones, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 53 Gravel, 10 Flint
[EXP: 23]
AN: NEVER split the party! Rookie mistake, Cobb. And something Carys this way comes.
As always, Fav, Follow, Review, and visit the Forum.