AN: Happy Birthday, 'My Craft'! It's officially four years old. My, how time flies. Never would have thought I'd still be writing this four years ago. But here I am!
Congrats to PiRounded for getting last week's riddle correct. The answer: Nobody was lying! The doctors were all his sisters. Enjoy your Cookie and your acknowledgement.
(::)
No riddle this week.
This Chapter is dark! (^_^)
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add party hats.
Chapter 136
Brought to a Head
[Floyd]
"What do you see, Floyd? Is it Beican and the others? Is Mirabelle with them?"
No. It was someone far worse.
I couldn't even answer as I slid to the floor, letting only my head peek out to watch the docked airship. The flashes of lightning would occasionally illuminate it, but there was no longer anyone on the bridge.
Small comfort. The sight of that scythe was still burned into my retinas, confirming that the Angel of Death had followed us.
It could only have been a lucky guess. She had to know we needed coal, but there were probably dozens of spots we could have visited. Yet, she had intuitively known we'd come to Shansi. What rotten luck.
"What's-" Delaney glanced curiously out the window - without fear - and her eyes sparkled when lightning lit up the village. "Holy moly! Is that your airship? I thought you said it was stuck?"
"Not ours. And get down!" I roughly pulled her down, and she peeked back up so that her eyes were level with the window sill, like mine. "The people on that ship are bad guys."
"You know them?" Delaney asked. Behind her, the Testificates - Sue and Clyde - shuffled over.
For a second, my brain struggled to come up with a good explanation. Carys wanted to kill us, true, but everyone respected the Angel of Death and her Paragons to some degree for their work against the cult. Delaney would be no different.
Carys had wanted posters of Cobb and me, and could spin a story so believable that Delaney, Beican, and all the others would turn on us. With everyone down in the mine, I had to keep things manageable. Better to beat Carys to the lie.
"...They're criminals masquerading as bounty hunters." I invented. "Yeah, we… er… ran into them in Zeppil and thwarted them, but now they want revenge. They want to steal our airship too! I wouldn't be surprised if they're flashing fake wanted posters of me to trick unsuspecting Crafters into giving them information."
Delaney gasped. "Those fiends!"
"Uh-huh." I nodded, pleased at her naivete. "Yeah, they won't hurt anyone, but if they find out you've seen me-"
"They'll try to make me spill the beans! Don't worry, Floyd." She gave a determined hum, her eyes harder than diamond. "I'll keep you safe."
"Thanks." I breathed a sigh of relief. "For now, let's just keep our heads down and hope they pass. There's a lot of them and they're pretty strong."
"Can do!"
"...Might want to keep your voice down while we're at it."
"Can do." She whispered.
It was probably fine. With the thunder and wind, there was no chance any of the Paragons heard her. We were also two blocks away. There was no reason for them to check in on our house.
...But there was a reason to check on the mine. They knew we needed coal. It'd be the first place they checked. Lenz was smart to hide the Asmodeus in the mountains, but this was a whole other problem.
If only I could signal them. I thought frustratedly. All I had was the map, but we never agreed on any signal because we didn't think anyone would find us. Making my blip blink might get Cobb's attention - make him think something's wrong topside - but he wouldn't guess Carys-freaking-Angel was here! There was a risk he would walk out of that mine right into Carys' angry lap.
Don't ask me how a lap could be angry. Carys' would be.
It came as no surprise that the Paragons walked into view. The mine was at the end of our street, after all. I could see them from my position at the second-floor window. Carys was at the front, sporting a fresh new set of enchanted diamond armor. Then there was Baltic, the hot-tempered Perry, the terrible trio of Wing, Luis, and Heather. Shroud, Dorian, and…
Z7's head jerked sharply and I ducked in the same span of time, hiding myself beneath the windowsill I was sure that Jibberwoman was looking up to. I didn't dare peak my head to see if she was still looking.
"Sue! Get down!"
It turned out it didn't matter. Sue - the goddamn Testificate - was still standing upright. Delaney was only now just dragging her down, followed by Clyde. I shut my eyes and internally cursed at how stupid Testificates could be.
"Hey! Hurry up or we'll leave you behind." The slightly irritated Carys called out to her assassin. I could hear the shout well enough, and it sounded like Z7 had stopped. I still didn't dare to lift my head. "Z7! What's with you? I told you we need to check the mine!"
She must have mumbled something in her garbled tongue, because the louder voices weren't leaving. In fact, it sounded like they were right outside our building.
"Something's up. She wouldn't be defying my orders unless she caught something." Carys spoke aloud and there was some murmured agreement from Dorian and Shroud. "Did you see something?"
Lightning flashed and the subsequent thunder drowned out whatever they said next.
"...Is there something in that building? Did you see Cobb?" The last question came out urgent. Z7 must have shook her head. Her inability to properly communicate was making this whole thing more tense. "Not Cobb? What about his buddies?"
She couldn't have seen me. It was just the Testificates. But she must have said something troubling because the next thing I heard was, "Heather, surround the building with Perry, Wing, and Luis. I'll trust Z7's instincts on this one."
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
"Go, go!" I hissed under my breath, shooing Delaney over to the door. The Testificates were herded along and I'm sure the Paragons caught glimpses of them again, but it didn't matter. They would be safe. The Paragons didn't want to kill random Testificates.
That would change if they found out they were harboring me.
"Don't mention anything about me… or Cobb… or my group." I warned the Testificates, deciding they were the ones most likely to reveal anything by the way they failed to hide themselves in time. The Paragons knew there was a pair of Testificates inside and would get suspicious if they hid. They had to reveal themselves now.
Delaney frowned. "Floyd, they'll know a Crafter is with them. Two Testificates wouldn't just be wandering by themselves. I have to reveal myself to."
"No," I shook my head, "they can just say the Crafters escorting them died in the storm or Mobs got them. They'd believe it and you'd-"
There came a loud knock on the door downstairs, followed by the sound of it being kicked open. "Hello? Anyone home?" Carys called.
"I'll cover for you, don't worry." Delaney winked. "We'll handle this. Just stay up here and keep quiet."
"Delaney, don't!" I hissed, trying to stop her. "They're smart. If your story doesn't fit, they'll question you further and get violent. Don't go down there."
"Relax, Floyd." She smiled. "I can handle myself."
She was already out the door. I wanted to go after her, but she suddenly turned down the hallway and said in a loud voice, "Hello there! How can I help you?"
"Ziv blf zolmv?" I froze at the garbled words of Carys' best assassin. She must have rushed up the steps the second Carys kicked the door in.
"Er, what was that?" Delaney asked too loudly again while shutting the door behind her. I caught onto the message and quickly sought to hide myself. I was between two options. Either the closet or behind a table. The closet was borderline cliche so I dove behind the table a second before Z7 opened the door.
"Hello, my name is Delaney!" She valiantly tried to steer the assassin away, but her efforts were wasted. The first thing I heard was Z7 opening up the closet door. Thank Notch I chose well. But now she was moving all around the room, scanning everything. Beneath the table, I caught a glimpse of her bare feet padding across the wood and her long, purple hair, sweeping across the floor.
"Qfhg blf gsivv?" She asked again, peering behind a bookshelf. I shimmied to the left, careful not to make so much as a peep.
"I… er… don't understand." Delaney laughed sheepishly. "Hey, why don't we continue this conversation downstairs with your other friends?"
"Yes." Sue, the Testificate, agreed. "We have quite the tale to share while we wait out this storm."
Not satisfied with her inspection, Z7 turned to the last thing she hadn't checked yet. The table. I pressed myself as close as I could, holding my breath as she got closer.
If only I had a distraction…
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO BUY COOKIES FOR EMERALDS!?"
Z7 paused at the Testificate's outburst, turning to regard Clyde with a tilted head.
Now or never…
Hactivate!
Dark smoke quietly poured from my eyes, enveloping my body. My eyes changed, but I didn't wait for anyone to see it. I reached deep down, drawing on every ounce of power my Hack held, and pushed myself to my top speed.
One momentI was hiding behind a table, the next I had stowed myself away in the closet. It couldn't have been more than a thousandth of a second in time. As soon as I was inside the closet, I turned off my Hack - not wanting the smoke to seep out - and collapsed against the wall, the cooldown robbing me of movement.
It paid off though. Not one of them noticed the movement. To the point where Delaney and the Testificates were stunned when Z7 peered behind the table only to find nothing and conclude her search was over.
She gave out a short huff and trudged over to Clyde, reaching into her belt for something. The Testificate flinched, but then visibly relaxed when the assassin held out some emeralds.
"Xllprv."
"O-oh! You want the…? Yes, right away!"
Clyde promptly traded her the cookies which she stared at between curtains of purple hair, her expression unreadable. Then, when she took a nibble, I swear there was a dusting of pink to her scarred face and her lips quirked up slightly.
She made a noise of appreciation before dropping the whole image and going back to being cool and terrifying. She padded out of the room with cookies in hand, beckoning Delaney and the Testificates to follow.
Delaney took one last glance around the room, obviously confused as to how I managed to slip away, before shutting it with a click.
I was left in the closet, unable to move, and praying the three could get the Paragons to leave before Cobb returned.
[Noman]
"Cobb! Beican! Wait for us!"
Soul's shout fell on deaf ears. The fisherman and miner were frantically running down the pockmarked tunnel. The damage wasn't the result of mining, however. The rock was littered with craters caused by something else. Something powerful.
Knowing that Jade, Beatrix, and Cormac were being chased by that same something made Cobb and Beican run faster.
"There's a fork up ahead!" Beican reported, his voice strained. "Which way did they go…?"
We slowed down reaching the fork, our ears trying to hone in on the wailing, which we were all certain - except for Lenz - belonged to the spirit of the Wailing Vale. But the echoing tunnels did little to help pinpoint the sound. No matter how hard we tried, it sounded like the wails were coming from all sides. Like the very earth was moaning.
"The maps!" Lenz panted, his poor stamina hurting him the most. "We can track Jade with them."
Cobb quickly pulled it out and scanned it. "It… it looks like she went right. And she's still moving!"
It was impossible to miss the hope in his voice. If she was still moving, she was still alive. That was his girlfriend being chased, and everyone knew it.
But Beican's friends were also being chased. And his wife was still missing. He was in worse shape because of it, his face tinged with worry. He and Cobb moved the second they decided on a direction, the three of us struggling to catch up.
"Don't be dead… don't be dead…" I heard Cobb repeating to himself, like a mantra. He channeled all his energy into running, throwing himself around corners and caring little for how much it drained his Hunger Meter. The rest of us ate regularly to maintain our energy, but not Cobb. He'd go until he couldn't go anymore.
I found I envied that drive. It was born from selfishness, and yet it was for the sake of others. His heart bled for his friends, and while my heart bled for the people of Minecraftia, I began wondering if my level of drive was anything close to Cobb's. I couldn't help silently comparing the two of us, and Cobb's words from earlier came to mind.
'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.'
He had such an intensity to him that even the spirit of the Wailing Vale didn't scare him. He had no fear for his own life and Beican was no different. To be able to care enough about another to the point of ignoring fear and committing your all to protecting them…
Compared to that, my motivations seemed incredibly shallow. I just wanted to matter, uncaring of the personal issues or plights of others. I thought of them as a whole, rather than millions of individuals. They didn't matter to me, and yet I wanted to matter to them. I was selfish in my selflessness, just as Cobb was selfless in his selfishness.
The two of us were a pair of walking inconsistencies.
"Crap!"
"Language!" I chastised automatically before shaking my head. "What's wrong?"
"The path took a twist to the left." Cobb hissed, stopping in his tracks and turning around, his face in the map. "We're moving away from Jade. We gotta go back."
"Hold on." Beican spoke up, pointing out the craters along the tunnels. "These craters are fresh, so whatever made them went this way. Someone is getting chased - even if it's not your friend - and they still need our help."
"But-!" Cobb bit his tongue, cutting himself off as he struggled on what to do. "...We split up. Soul, you and me will backtrack the other way. The rest of you stay with Beican and find-"
"If we split up, we are more… likely... to encounter... trouble." Lenz choked out in between gasps. "This started… because we got separated… from the others. We need to… stick together…"
"We can't stick together." Cobb hissed, his knuckles cracking from how hard he was tightening his grip. "Every second we waste is another second Jade could get killed!"
"The same could be said about my friends and my wife! At least your friend isn't being chased by the spirit." Beican countered. "Split up if you want, but I'm going on ahead." Without waiting for an answer, the miner took off down the tunnel.
"Beican, stop!" Cobb shouted before chasing after him. He was obviously conflicted, being torn apart between a kindred spirit as protective for his loved ones as he was, and those very same loved ones he cared for.
My legs were already moving, following him.
"We need to stick together!" Lenz called after, to no avail. "Comparators! Soul! I am too exhausted to continue! Carry me! Please."
Soul muttered a string of curses that I couldn't decipher or chastise him for before hefting the engineer over one shoulder and following.
After a few twists and turns following the path of destruction left by the spirit-
"It is not a spirit! These are just Creeper explosions!"
-we reached another fork. Though this one was of two paths joining back together.
"You think this is the path Jade went down?"
"Can't be." Cobb shook his head, his face still in the map. "Jade is more to the right. We need to find a new path that-" Suddenly, Cobb's face went pale, his voice cutting off with a strangled cry.
"What's wrong?"
"...gone."
"What?"
"She's gone." He turned to face us, his eyes wide and afraid. "Her blip is gone. I can't find it."
It was my first time hearing Cobb like that. His voice was soft, barely a whisper, and yet it carried such fear and emptiness. Like a lost child with nowhere to go.
When Lenzington heard the sound, he lifted his tinted glasses and stared at Cobb, sharing in his apprehension. Soul looked like he'd seen Cobb like this before, and wore a grim expression with closed eyes.
Slowly, Cobb got to his feet and wiped at his eyes. "She's… she's not dead."
"Cobb…" Soul reached out, but Cobb stepped away.
"She's not dead." He shook his head angrily. "She just… dropped her map, or.." His voice lost strength. "We need to find her. She's not dead. She can't be…"
It was the story of the Wailing Vale all over again; Cobb's persistence much like the grieving widow's. Despite our differences, I found myself supporting him from behind, gripping his shoulder.
"Of course she's still alive. She's stronger than most. You know that more than anyone, right?" He looked at me, at a loss for words. "Let's go find her."
I wasn't thinking about how Jade might be dead, or that the person most likely to have placed the Bottes Zephyr in an ender chest was now lost. I was only thinking about Cobb, and how he was feeling.
I was trying to make others matter.
Cobb offered a grateful nod before wiping more tears from his face and pushing forward. Up ahead, Beican had stopped moving. I thought it was because he was offering us a moment in our grief.
That changed when I noticed the gear strewn around ahead of him.
Torches. Food. Sword. Crafting table. All basic commodities that no Crafter would be caught dead without. And they were all strewn across the tunnel floor, a few craters here and there.
It was a dead end in more ways than one. The tunnel was incomplete, and with nowhere to run, the unlikely Crafter must have made a final stand against the spirit chasing them. They lost.
"Search it." Beican croaked. "Find out who… who this gear belongs to. Look for a… a Head or…"
He trailed off before going in to searching. The rest of us did the same. We were all reluctant to learn who had died, but Cobb was glacial in his pace, his feet dragging and his attention idling on the smallest of details on every item he examined. Everyone knew why.
He didn't want to find her Head.
As I prodded at some random blocks with my shoe, I thought about whatever did this. The spirit must have killed whoever was here before doubling back to the other tunnel. We must have just missed it.
But what could have killed a Crafter so easily? The tale said the spirit spat fire. Could fire cause such destruction? How powerful was it, anyway?
...What if it couldn't be killed by normal means? What if the only thing that could kill it was the invincible piece of armor in my ender chest?
My eyes strayed to Cobb as he leaned on the tunnel wall, using it as support to bend down and examine an unimportant chunk of stone. If he knew I had the chestplate, he would demand it to kill Carys. Whether or not Jade was alive, his friends were still in danger, and he'd kill to keep them safe. Even if it meant taking out the Endward Cult's greatest enemy.
It was one less for Cobb, but also one less problem for the cult. I couldn't do that. Not unless I was sure I could take her place and finish them off once and for all.
It was while I was keeping an eye on Cobb that he dropped to his knees, seemingly collapsing. He was staring into a hole off to the side, and his eyes were narrowed, as if trying to pick up details.
Slowly, he reached an arm into the hole, going all the way up to his elbow and grabbed something. But instead of pulling it out right away, he stopped and shut his eyes, biting his lip. I watched him as he took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm himself. He looked to be struggling between taking out whatever he had found and letting it go. An image came to mind of a child pinching a band-aid on a cut, debating whether it would be better to remove it slowly or rip it off at once and be done with it.
Whatever was in the hole was a pain that Cobb could deal with slowly or quickly.
He chose the latter, his eyes peering open with quivering pupils as he took a stronger hold of whatever was in the hole and screamed as he pulled it out.
It was a Head.
Cormac's Head.
Cobb fell on his back, the Head tumbling from his numb hand as he covered his eyes and took great heaving breaths as if he had just run a marathon. There were two emotions warring within him. Relief and despair.
Relief was more obvious. The tension drained from his shoulders and he laid on that floor just breathing. Thankful of the Head he didn't find.
But there was despair there too. Because he knew someone lost somebody. And as horrible as it sounded, he was glad it wasn't Jade.
"C-Cormac…" Beican whispered as he made his way over and gingerly picked up the Head from beside Cobb's hand. "Cormac! No, God, Cormac!" The miner openly wept for his fallen friend, Soul, Lenzington, and I just watching from a distance. Cobb's eyes were kept shut as he laid there, his hands covering his ears to block out the grieving sound.
A sound he feared he'd be making before the night was out.
[Floyd]
Sitting in that closet, with Paragons downstairs and unable to move due to my Hack's cooldown, it was remarkable how relaxed I was being. I was a sitting duck. If they found me I'd be dead.
The only thing that kept me calm was the fact that they wouldn't. Z7 had already swept the room and found nothing. As far as they knew, Delaney and the two Testificates were the only inhabitants of this house.
So, while I waited for feeling to return to my exhausted limbs, I closed my eyes, and listened to the business below.
[Carys]
"Ma'am. Can we please come inside? It's a deluge out here and Perry just got struck by lightning."
There was a flash of light and a particularly loud and close boom of thunder.
"GAAAH!"
"Oh, it happened again..."
"WHY!? Lightning shouldn't strike the same place twice!" The Paragon cursed.
I rolled my eyes at his whining, but raised an eyebrow when Z7 returned with a Crafter, two Testificates, and a handful of cookies. The leader of Team Epsilon was nibbling on them happily, stuffing her cheeks like a squirrel. It contrasted oddly with her bedraggled appearance. Shroud and Dorian must have thought the same as they flanked their team leader.
With the sweep of the building completed and the spotted individuals accounted for, I called the rest inside. Wing and Luis carted in a slightly smoking Perry, whom Baltic was quick to heal with a couple of Splash Potions of Healing. He had also set up his brewing stand in the corner, hard at work to replenish our stock. Blaze powder, glass bottles, nether warts, and all manner of alchemical ingredients. The leader of Team Beta was prepared.
I took my time walking over to the three individuals, taking in their names. Delaney, Sue, and Clyde. Ignoring the last two Testificates, I turned my gaze onto the sole Crafter. She looked back innocently.
"Hello." She greeted with a nod and a smile.
I nodded back in greeting, my face passive.
"You know," Delaney went on, "it's a surprise to see Crafters out here. Shansi doesn't get much visitors. It's been abandoned because-"
"The Wailing Vale. I know the story." I cut her off. Zeppil had been the first Kingdom I had visited after I spawned. Myths and legends were told often. Of course, nobody had warned me of the cult's influence in the southern region at the time, and I paid the price.
It all evened out though, since the Cult paid a bigger price after I razed that division to the ground. But enough about the past.
"It's probably pointless to say, but my name is Carys_Angel." I introduced with a tilt of my head. "You may know me by my work in Ringwood." There was a flash of worry in her eyes. "Ah, I see you do. Relax. I'm not here to kill you. Not unless you give me a reason to."
The Crafter shook like a leaf and I was reminded of something unpleasant. Women never had any backbone. Like they were born to be helpless. I just told her I wasn't going to kill her, so what's with the damn shaking?
"Carys, maybe you should let Heather and I talk with her." Baltic supplied, setting his potions to brew before ambling over. His black eyes were wide and calming, and his beard made him look like a jolly, old man. "Please excuse Carys' brusque exterior. She means well, but… let's just say she's had a stressful couple of days."
That was putting it lightly.
"I-I know who she is." Delaney whimpered, covering her stammer well. She didn't dare look me in the eye, instead talking with the gentler Baltic. "She's wanted for murdering more than a hundred people in Ringwood. If you're working for her, you must be just as bad."
This time, it was Heather who answer, speaking kindly. "I know how that looks bad, but there's more to it than that."
"...What?"
"Don't bother explaining." I called out, sinking into a chair and kicking my feet up on the armrests. "I don't need anyone to justify what I did. I was right, and I'd do it again."
"She'll be more likely to talk if she understands there's nothing to fear." Baltic assured before turning back to Delaney. "Carys did kill a lot of people in Ringwood, I won't deny. But did you know that her 'victims' were actually secret members of the Endward Cult?"
For an instant, Delaney widened her eyes, before narrowing them back down again. "You lie."
"We found the evidence against them." Heather bolstered. "It wasn't anything we could give to the guards, but we knew they were using a building to recruit new members. Carys took the initiative to end them, and in doing so made herself out to be a criminal."
All true. It didn't matter if the Crafters being recruited were interested or on the fence about joining. In my eyes, they were all cultists, and subject to the same punishment. Not one of them could live, and not one of them did. Of course, the guards hadn't seen it like that. All they saw was strewn gear and disembodied Heads. They jumped to conclusions and attacked, I defended, killed a few, and the rest is history.
"So… you were just doling out vigilante justice?" One of the Testificates asked.
"Of course." Perry spoke up roughly. "Everything Carys does is for the destruction of the Endward Cult, and if the world would stop getting in her way and just let her work, we'd already be free of their influence."
"Which brings us to our question." Baltic sifted in his backpack, pulling out a pair of Snowprints. Wanted posters of Bastard-Thief and Floyd. "We're trying to track down these two high-ranking cultists. They have stolen an airship - our airship - and we have reason to believe they docked here to replenish their coal stores. I understand Shansi possesses a coal mine, yes?"
"...Yes." Delaney spoke carefully. "But… but nobody would ever want to go down there. It's haunted! And I haven't seen anyone looking like these two."
"You sure?" I asked, my crimson gaze observing her. "I'm not the type of person you want to lie to."
"Yes, I'm sure. And anyway I don't appreciate being grilled for information."
I shifted in the chair, sitting upright and leaning forward with a small smirk. "You're quite mouthy for someone in the company of a known-killer."
"I thought you were a rogue vigilante and that you wouldn't kill me." Delaney shot back, meeting my eyes bravely. "Or was that just a lie?"
"If you're not being helpful-"
"Carys, can you stop?" Baltic put himself between the two of us. "You don't need to be hostile with everyone you meet. If she hasn't seen them, she hasn't seen them. This was a long-shot anyway."
I frowned, but backed off. My anger wasn't really directed at Delaney. It was directed at Cobb and my lack of a lead in locating him or the Asmodeus. He could have hidden it - and finding it would be impossible in this storm - but there was no sign he'd been here.
Had my intuition been wrong…?
I drummed my fingers along the chair, observing Delaney and the Testificates while Baltic talked with the others. Z7 was in the corner, still nibbling on cookies, though her gaze would tilt upward from time to time, pausing, before she went back to eating.
"We should at least check the mine." Perry suggested. "We came all this way. And I wouldn't mind seeing what all the hubbub about a ghost is."
"I-It's probably not even that impressive." Luis tried to shrug off. "Let's just forget the mine and move on. There's other places they could have gone to."
"You're just scared because of the Wailing Vale legend." Dorian claimed correctly. Looks like I'd be referring to him as Daisy Mae Tinklepants after all. "Don't tell me you have someone you loooove~"
Luis' eyes darted to Heather and Heather's to him - an action that nobody missed - and the two blushed faintly. Wing and Dorian poked fun of them, waving their arms like that of a spirit.
I tuned them out. If they wanted to fool around, that was their choice. My attention was focused on Delaney. Something didn't quite fit about the situation, and I had my suspicions that Cobb and his friends had been here. It was a hunch, but my hunches were usually spot-on.
"How did you get here?" I suddenly asked, Delaney flinching from the question. "We've told you a bit of our story. It's only fair you do the same." I leaned to the side, propping my chin with my fist. "How did a Crafter and two Testificates wind up in an abandoned - and supposedly haunted - village?"
Delaney blinked in surprise, sparing her companions a brief glance before launching into her tale.
"Well, I was contracted to help build a mansion in Zeppil." She began easily enough. "A couple of us were." She added rather quickly. "Since we were going there, we agreed to escort some Testificates who wanted a bigger market to supply goods."
"My cookies are the best around." Clyde assured. As if on cue, Z7 darted over, pressing emeralds into Clyde's surprised hands. He traded her a new batch of fresh cookies and the assassin happily returned to her corner, nibbling upon them without a care.
"Hdvvg…" She hummed, her eyes closing in bliss. "Xslxlozgvb…"
So Z7 had a sweet tooth. That was news to me. Not that I could have understood her if she ever told me.
"How many Testificates were you escorting?" I asked Delaney, scratching my cheek idly. "It's dangerous trying to protect so many alone. And in a storm like this? Don't you know to keep Testificates inside during lightning strikes?"
"How dare you!" My eyes darted to Sue and her apparent outburst. "We're well aware of the risks! We didn't think the storm would last this long! We lost people! You have any idea how many of our fellow Testificates we saw getting transformed into those mad, cackling monsters!? Friends we'd known and loved, coming at us with the intent to kill. Don't presume we're ignorant you insensitive-"
"As you can see, this is a bit of a touchy subject." Delaney covered Sue's mouth, but her expression was dour. "It wasn't just me protecting them. There were other Crafters, other Testificates. But with the Mobs and the transformations…" She shuddered. "We were caught by surprise. We're all that's left. Right now we're just trying to wait out this storm."
Baltic looked down, his expression grief-stricken. "I'm… I'm sorry for your loss. You have my deepest condolences. We won't bring it up again." He gave me a pointed glare, expecting me to back off.
I kept quiet, but not out of respect for the dead. In my line of work, grief was a useless burden. I was immune to its effects. Sure, Baltic or Heather might offer condolences and a shoulder to cry on, but me? I couldn't stomach it. Grief broke people down and prevented them from acting. And only action would prelude change.
The dead were gone. Dead and gone. Simple as that.
An adorable snout and wide eyes…
A nerve twitched in the back of my head.
An emaciated, smiling face…
I gnashed my teeth and shook free the image.
"Carys…?" Baltic asked, noticing my slight tick.
"Fine." I growled, going back into questioning the trio. "Sorry for your loss." I really wasn't. "So that's the full story of how you got here? And you say you haven't seen these two cultists? Or anyone else?"
"No. Nobody else."
"A guy with gray hair, tinted glasses, and a scarf?"
"No."
"A big guy with an axe? Brown hair? With a brown military jacket?"
"No."
"A green-haired woman with a green-leather jacket?"
"No. Nobody."
"A dark-haired man with a suit and a shield?"
"No! No! A thousand times, no!" Delaney ranted. "Notch, what's with you people? You know what 'no' means? It means I haven't seen anyone!"
Ugh, I hated this woman's shrieking. If only she were a cultist, or one of Cobb's friends. Then I could take out my scythe and rip her a new-
"Then we should thank you for answering our questions." Baltic dipped his head slightly, shooting Carys a look. "Right, Carys?"
I kept my lips sealed in the most unimpressed of frowns. If he was expecting me to thank the woman for giving us nothing, he was going to be waiting a long time.
Realizing I wasn't overflowing with ill-deserved gratitude, he switched tactics. "I have a suggestion. Since, you've been through enough hardship on your journey, how would you like it if we gave you a ride to Zeppil, hm?"
"What!?" I lunged out of my seat, indifference lost to justified anger. "Absolutely not! We're not taking a detour when Cobb's out of fuel! He's hiding out somewhere - resupplying - and going out of our way as a taxi-service would be the same as assuring his escape!"
"We don't even know if he's in Shansi's coal mine." Baltic countered, going over to the brewing stand and examining his work. Nodding to himself, he inserted a golden carrot, followed by a fermented spider eye. Then, a bit of redstone, to make three Potions of Invisibility with the maximum available time. "What are the chances we'll locate him in this or any of the other mines before he's moved on? Carys, we have no leads."
"I told you, he's here. I just know it." It was a weak argument, but I was desperate to keep up the search. If we lost him now, there was no telling if we'd ever find him again. The coward and his friends could go into hiding forever and live a happy life. I'd be damned before I let that happen! "We are not ferrying this woman and her Testificates to Zeppil. That's final."
"As charming as the idea of being flown around with a wanted criminal sounds," Delaney drawled sarcastically before Baltic could make a point, "we would have to decline. We don't want to waste your time having to backtrack to Zeppil. The three of us will get by, don't you worry. Just as soon as this storm subsides."
My eyes widened slightly, pupils sharpening, before I relaxed them, a small smile coming to my lips. "Ah… thank you, Delaney."
She looked confused as I got up from my seat. "Thank you… for what?"
I grinned. "For giving me something deserving of gratitude."
I walked right up to her with a lazy swing of my hips and brought both hands down on her arms, pinning them to the armrests. She squirmed, but before she could say anything, I made my move.
"What was it you said just now?" I asked, innocently.
"H-Huh?"
"What you said at the end." I said again. "I'd like you to repeat it. Loudly. For everyone to hear."
"Um… 'thank you for what'?" She guessed.
"Before that."
"Um… 'the three of us will get by-'"
"No." I shook my head. "The part where you said you didn't want to waste our time having to backtrack to Zeppil."
"Er… well, yeah." She admitted, squirming under my hold. "We don't want to waste your-"
I leaned in close.
"How did you know we would be backtracking?"
Delaney's eyes widened imperceptibly, realizing her mistake. This close, I could see the fear.
"To backtrack," I began, nodding to Dorian and Shroud to grab the two Testificates, "one must have already visited a place before. But I never said we came from Zeppil. Nobody mentioned we came from Zeppil."
"D-Didn't you?" Delaney tried, sweating a little. "I-I guess I just assumed, given the airship, that you… you came from there."
"Yes, it would be a very good guess." I acknowledged with mock contemplation. "Or - here's a thought - what if someone informed you that we followed them from Zeppil and warned you beforehand to make a believable story to throw us off their trail?" I smiled kindly. "That would explain how you were made aware that we'd be backtracking should we have taken you to Zeppil."
Delaney remained silent.
"It would also contradict your earlier statement of not seeing any of the persons we're looking for, as only they would know we've just come from Zeppil. That would mean you're helping to conceal dangerous individuals. It makes you complicit with the cultists we're tracking down, and therefore subject to the same punishment I showed the Crafters of Ringwood."
I pushed my head forward, staring coldly into Delaney's terrified eyes.
"You know where Cobb is, don't you?"
[Floyd]
Crap!
I heard everything, and Delaney was probably thinking the same thing. Feeling had long since returned to my numbed limbs and I quickly and quietly slipped out of the closet and peered down from the second floor landing.
"No, no! I-It was just a lucky guess!" Delaney shrieked as she was held down in the chair by Wing and Perry. The two Testificates were caught by Dorian and Shroud. Everything was going wrong, all because Carys was a sharp listener.
Why couldn't she just be stupid like every other foe we've faced!?
"Perry said it before, Delaney," Carys drawled, withdrawing her scythe and resting it dangerously close to the frightened girl's neck. "People keep getting in my way. Withholding information, interfering in my investigations, killing my noble steed," her expression darkened. "It's always something. Are you going to be one of those somethings? Because trees in my path tend to get violently uprooted."
This was bad. I couldn't sit still and watch, but what chance did I have against the nine of them? Thirty-five seconds of speed wouldn't matter if one of them survived. Because then it was game over.
"Where is Cobb? Is he in the mine? I knew my hunch was right!" She pumped her fist triumphantly before dialing back to terrifying. "You have a real pretty head on your shoulders." The scythe tapped rhythmically against Delaaney's neck. "I'd hate to have to cut it off."
"Alright, fine! They went into the mine." She confessed. "One of our own went missing down there, so our groups teamed up to find her."
There was a brief flash of irritation at Delaney for giving us up that was quickly extinguished when I took stock of her situation. They would have assumed Cobb was down there anyway, stocking up on coal. And she didn't give away my location on the second floor. Better to give them something than to have her Head rolling around.
Heather checked her Inventory and reported nothing of use. No tracking maps.
"And they left you alone to care for two Testificates?" Carys asked.
"I'm capable."
"You'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe." She smirked. "Anyone else up here helping you out?"
"No. It's just me."
"See, now I just think you're lying." Carys jerked her Head. "Z7, Heather, Luis. Do another sweep. I want this house scoured from top to bottom. You find anyone, kill them. Baltic, start making some Splash Potions of Wea-"
I didn't wait to hear the rest of it. Paragons were coming up the stairs and I needed to hide. I quietly crept over to the door leading out onto the balcony and slipped through as a trio of footsteps drummed behind me.
I gripped the railing of the balcony, looking down. It wasn't a big drop. I'd survive. I threw one leg over, then the other, and dropped down just as the footsteps approached the door. I landed with a slip on the soaked dirt, but pressed myself against the house, within the blind spot formed by the balcony. Above, I heard one of the Paragons walking around before leaving with the click of a door.
I breathed a sigh of relief, but then had a mini heart attack when the front door burst open and Carys waltzed out into the rain, her scythe hanging over one shoulder. I backed away as she started waving over a pack of Mobs. She killed most of them, but she kept two Zombies alive, letting them follow her around as she reaped everything else. I couldn't fathom why, though. Maybe she was blowing off steam?
Her sudden desire to slay Mobs at the front forced me to circle to the back of the house. I crawled in the soaked dirt while passing under windows, keeping myself hidden from prying eyes.
Then I came across what I was looking for. The bathroom window. It was still busted from when Mirabelle had run off, and it allowed me a quiet way back in. I waited for the Paragons to give it a second sweep, make note of the broken window that they undoubtedly noticed on the first sweep, and then leave. That was when I clambered inside, back out of the rain.
I dried myself in the tub - knowing the dripping water would leave a trail - and stealthily cracked open the door before going down the hallway. I saw the dancing lights coming from the living room fireplace. They cast the hallway in shadow, which I took readily advantage of. Just in time for the Paragons to reconvene.
"Found anything?" Baltic asked, busily making potions at his brewing stand.
He had shelved what he was working on in favor of Carys' latest demand. The brewing stand was so close to where I was hidden, I could have reached around and touched it. And gotten spotted and killed for my efforts. I could see that Baltic wore a grim frown while he worked. Whatever Carys had planned, he didn't like it.
"Nothing." Heather reported. "As empty as before. Though come to think of it," she paused, "the bathroom window was broken before we got here. On the first search. I thought it was just existing damage, but… it's possible someone slipped out."
"That was Mirabelle!" Delaney called out. "Our missing friend. She went off on her own without telling us. She knew we'd try to stop her from going into the mine, so she broke the window and slipped out."
"Shut up!" Perry twisted her arm, making her cry out and making me tense up in anger. "Don't speak unless spoken to. Carys has ways of extracting the truth from the lies. Wait and see."
Well I didn't want to wait and see. While the Paragons were focused on their captives, I darted across the hall to an adjacent kitchen. It had two doorways, one accessible via the hall and another accessible via the living room. It got me closer to them without being seen, but I needed a concrete plan to save them. I pressed up against the refrigerator and looked through my Inventory for anything useful.
Among the Beginners, my Inventory was easily the most lackluster. Lenz's was tooled with redstone gimmicks - any of which would have been welcomed right about now - while Cobb had a plethora of unorthodox equipment, from snowballs to fishing rods to lava buckets.
All I had to work with was thirty iron ingots, some ender pearls, an extra set of armor, gunpowder, and a boat. Those were the only useful things I could discern.
I felt like tearing my hair out at the uselessness of it all. If I had some sand, I could use the gunpowder for TNT. If I had a flint, I could combine it with an ingot to make a flint and steel and burn my way out. If there was a pool of lava, I could make a bucket and scoop it up and use that to fight!
But my supplies were all woefully incomplete. The only thing worth a damn were the pearls. An instant escape route. But Testificates couldn't use them. My and Delaney's escape would mean Sue and Clyde's deaths. I couldn't let that happen. Testificates were people too!
Maybe I could throw some mutton at them. I was desperate, sue me.
I heard the door open with a click, followed by an ominous flash of lightning. Of course Carys would use that to make an entrance. Peeking out between the doors, I let out a silent gasp at what she brought with her.
A pair of Zombies.
The two Testificates shuddered as Carys led the undead Mobs inside, allowing them to follow her and giving them gentle bops if they got too close.
"What are you doing?" Delaney strained against her captors, causing Perry to twist her arm again. She didn't care though. Her eyes were wide and afraid. "What are you going to do with those Zombies?"
"What nature intended." Carys answered darkly.
She got Heather and Luis to help construct a fence separating the Zombies - who had now abstained from following Carys in favor of their new prey - and the Testificates. Sue and Clyde let out short yelps of fear and tried to wriggle free, but they were held down tight to the point of pain.
"Stop!" Delaney begged. "Stop! Leave them out of this! They're just Testificates!"
"And just like Testificates, they'll turn into Zombies if they get infected by one." Carys pointed out, gesturing to the flimsy barricade keeping the undead creatures at bay. "No telling how long this will hold up. I hope it means someone becomes more forthcoming in providing answers!"
I don't believe this! I looked on in horror. She'd turn them into Mobs just to get a few answers? I have to do something!
But what could I do to stop them? I didn't even know Testificates could be turned into Zombies. It explained why Iron Golems were needed. They protected the defenseless Testificates from any danger-
…!
I lifted my head up, an idea coming to me, before I dug out my Crafting Table and placed it down.
Through Delaney's pleas and the Testificates' frantic cries for help, I threw open a chest by a couple of furnaces and found it filled with common food ingredients. Raw meats, wheat, carrots, potatoes, sugar, eggs, and-
Found it!
I grabbed a pumpkin and whirled around to the Crafting Table, pouring every iron ingot I had in my backpack. I arranged them frantically, hoping the Paragons wouldn't hear me.
Thirty ingots… nine per block… Damn, I'm six short!
My gaze flickered across the room, looking for anything iron, before resting upon the refrigerator. It was as basic as designs went and a common design for everyday households. An iron door placed before a dispenser filled with food and an iron block. A button was attached to it, wired in such a way that - when pressed - would spit out food.
It was the block of iron I cared more for as I broke it off the fridge with my iron pickaxe.
"So, are you going to start talking?" A cruel voice asked from the living room. "Or do I have to turn one of your companions into a rotting corpse first?"
I made the blocks of iron and stacked them in a t-shape along with the fourth I had obtained from the fridge. Then, as Clyde and Sue cried out for help, I placed the pumpkin on top.
The iron blocks morphed and molded into a bulky, sturdy torso. The pumpkin atop its head sprouted vines that curled and wound their way around the construct's arms and legs. Metal jutted out from the torso, replacing the fruit of the pumpkin and gaining features. A ridiculously-sized nose, red, robotic eyes, a solid unibrow.
The newly created iron golem stood to attention, its eyes blinking and taking in the life breathed into it.
There was another pained cry from the Testificates in the other room.
The Iron Golem jerked its massive, metal head in that direction, expression souring as it marched over with heavy footfalls, its arms swinging in the air.
"GOLEM PROTECT PUNY TESTIFICATES!" It roared.
There was no way the Paragons hadn't heard that. The Testificates weren't crying out anymore, though, so I assumed they stoppped the torture. The Iron Golem pressed itself against the door, unable to slip through. Its arms flailed madly, growing more and more frustrated.
"NOOO! TINY DOORS! MY ONE WEAKNESS!"
Seeing he needed a little help, I brought out my pick and broke apart as much of the door as I could without being spotted. The golem let me work, stepping politely back, but when the gap was wide enough…
He burst into the room, arms swinging.
"RARGH! TINY DOORS WON'T SAVE YOU NOW!"
"Golem! Heads up!"
"What the-!? Heather, Luis! What kind of sweep did you run to miss this!?"
"B-B-But there wasn't-!"
"GOLEM'S GONNA TAKE YOU DOWN!"
I backed off to the other kitchen door and slipped around to the hallway entrance into the living room. Predictably, the Iron Golem throwing its weight around proved to be the perfect distraction. Now for part two of my brilliant plan.
Baltic stood beside Perry, potions in hand and attention placed squarely on the golem. That meant that the brewing stand and the Invisibility Potions he shelved were unguarded. I took the three of them, placed them back in the brewing stand, and added a bit of gunpowder, remembering Brett's lessons about potion-making.
'Redstone extends the duration, glowstone dust strengthens the effect, and gunpowder turns them into splash potions.'
Thankfully, there was already some blaze powder to start the brewing. The potions bubbled and the bottlenecks slowly curled.
Meanwhile, the Iron Golem was swinging its arms madly. The two Zombies Carys had brought in were the first to go for the threat they posed to the Testificates. Then the golem went after Shroud and Dorian, the ones detaining and hurting the Testificates.
The two Paragons threw their captives aside in favor of arming themselves, but they were battered aside like skittles before its metallic might. Thirty-two tons of iron knocked them clean across the room where they crumpled against the stairs' banister.
Carys darted in low, her scythe coming up to scrape across the golem's neck. It bounced off, however, and the golem turned its attention to her. It brought its arms down in a devastating slam that Carys narrowly avoided with a backflip.
Z7, with a cookie still in her mouth, launched herself at the golem's chest with drawn daggers. The golem growled in annoyance before bashing its face into the assassin's chest. She mitigated the damage by kicking off the golem, but her shaky landing spoke of the damage she took.
After what felt like an eternity, the splash potions of Invisibility were done. I grabbed them out of the stand, taking great care with them, before fully revealing myself to run across the living room. Delaney was covering Sue and Clyde protectively, the Paragons forgetting all about them.
"What the - FLOYD!" Someone shouted when I was halfway to Delaney. I could feel Carys and Z7 glaring at my back, but I was comforted by the sound of the golem trying to crush them. I brought up my sword as Wing and Heather stood in my way.
Hactivate!
A smoking blur shot past the two Paragons, slicing them up five or six times before I made my way to Delaney. She looked at my smoking form and black-scleraed eyes with dawning horror, but now was not the time for explaining. Now was the time to get the heck out of there.
I splashed the two Testificates and Crafter with the Invisibility Potion and told them to run. The potions wouldn't help me with my cursed armor, but it would keep them safe from prying eyes. At least until the effects died out. Immediately they vanished from sight, and I hoped they had the sense to bolt.
I ducked as an expertly thrown dagger almost caught my shoulder, then I took off. Baltic and Perry moved to block the door, splash potions of Slowness and Weakness at the ready. I changed direction in an instant, bringing up my sword and crashing through the window. Three flaming arrows flew after me, but I outran them, sprinting down the rain-soaked gravel street.
Fifteen… Sixteen… Seventeen…
I kept counting in my head, turning down alleys and streets, running past confused Mobs, my eyes scanning for a place to lay low. It had to be somewhere absolutely safe. Curse my Hack and its short time. But then uncurse it, since it helped in a jam.
Twenty-seven… Twenty-eight… Twenty-nine…
I settled upon a house at the furthest reaches of Shansi. Two floors. No Mobs. It would have to do, since time was running out.
I zoomed up the stairs, lingered a second as I checked the room for a good hiding spot, and then darted into a closet hidden around a tall bookshelf.
Then, exhaustion hit me and I slumped to the floor. Smoke was extinguished, and my eyes returned to normal.
Lying in that closet, with rain pleting the roof and thunder booming all around, I hoped Delaney and the Testificates got away.
I'd like to say I did all I could, but that was wrong.
Once I regained feeling, there was one more thing I could do.
[Noman]
I watched somberly as Beican gathered up Cormac's Head and a few of the fallen friend's personal effects. A sword, an emerald, a chestplate, and a flint and steel. His friend deserved a proper burial. He must have been devastated, yet he restrained his sobs while collecting the items and did so with haste, knowing that we couldn't linger.
There were others at risk of sharing Cormac's fate.
Mirabelle, Jade, Beatrix. Three women and at least two in love. Did Cormac have a secret love? Something he kept hidden? It would explain why the spirit targeted him.
Or maybe it was just following Jade's scent.
I looked over to Jade's partner. He was shaken too, and he didn't even lose anyone. I knew better. It was the fear of losing someone that affected him like that. He cared for Jade. Maybe more than the others. Unfortunately, that put him in danger of being targeted by the Wailing Vale spirit as well.
If we ever found Mirabelle, she'd be devastated to learn Cormac died trying to find her. Why did she have to venture into the mine alone? It was a fool's errand!
Cobb couldn't look at Beican as the miner trudged over and piled Cormac's personal gear onto a stone. He set the Head down last and placed his palm upon it, closing his eyes and mumbling a short prayer.
The rest of us stood silent, allowing him this moment. Once he was done, he struck a spark with the flint and steel, burning the items and Head and giving his friend one final farewell.
"This sucks." Soul mumbled despondently, echoing our thoughts.
The fire went on for a while, smoke rising and curling against the cavern's ceiling. But, just like Beican's life, it winked out of existence, leaving nothing behind.
"We keep moving." Beican said shortly, wiping his face and readying his pickaxe.
"...Yeah." Cobb nodded, joining Beican at the front and leading us the only way we could go.
We were in a deep part of the mine now, evident of the ore deposits left untouched. Perhaps the tunnel had been excavated the week the wailing of the vale began, and the miners were forced to abandon it. Either way, it opened up into a more naturally generated cavern with many twists and turns.
"Which way, Beican."
"Dunno." He took a moment to observe each diverging tunnel before shaking his head. "Never been down this far. We're officially lost."
"So… there is no way to return to the surface?" Lenz asked, a nervous titter in his tone.
"No," Beican replied, his gaze unfocused as he warred with the grief. "Getting out is as simple as digging up while nerd-poling. There's the risk of lava, but we should be fine if we're careful." He turned back to the rest of us. "Your guess is as good as mine which way we should go.
Lenz and Soul turned to Cobb, but the fisherman was lost in his own world, gazing forlornly at the map in his hands, searching for a blip that wasn't there.
"If I had to guess," Lenz stepped forward, taking charge, "we should follow the trail of destruction left by whatever is pursuing our comrades."
"So follow the spirit?"
Lenz twitched. "If you wish to call it that. I prefer to think of it as an unidentified Mob."
"Follow the spirit." Soul repeated, deliberately annoying the engineer. "I see some craters that way. Come on, Cobb."
"What?" Cobb looked up, not having realized we were moving. "Oh, right." he hurried along after that, though his eyes were still roving over the map worriedly.
The longer he did that, the lower our chances felt of ever finding Jade.
The tunnel we had chosen went at a steady decline, taking us deeper into the earth. Craters peppered the rock, but there was no sign of whatever caused them. All around, the wailing continued to sound.
What even is this thing?
Continuing on, we came across something that gave us hope. Previously, torches were set up in certain spots throughout the dug mines to ensure maximum illumination. But here, in this naturally formed tunnel, they were placed irregularly on the floor. As if someone had placed them in a rush, likely while fleeing something.
It was enough to give Cobb and Beican hope, so we followed.
We shouldn't have.
Following the trail of torches, we were led into a widened cavern with a large hole in the center - almost like the cavern was modeled after a doughnut
The placed torches weren't thorough enough, and Mobs - spawning from the shadows at the edges - were drawn by our presence. There were two Endermen among them, and I was too slow to avert my eyes before they started vibrating with stretched open mouths.
They warped close before I could bring up my shield and I was knocked away.
"RAHHHHHHH!" Beican shouted with more anger than necessary as he swung his pick into an Enderman's thin frame.
*GHAIYA!* It fell back with a warped shriek before warping somewhere else. Lenz tried firing arrows at its counterpart, but it kept warping to avoid them.
"Arrows don't work!" Cobb warned, lashing out against the lesser Mobs. "Haven't you been reading the Mob book?"
"I have been too busy translating the final pages!" Lenz defended before directing his fire at the Mobs with more success.
Soul charged the Endermen with his own war cry, eviscerating them with his new axe and gaining a fair bit of EXP and ender pearls for his efforts. My shield blocked a few Creepers from getting close to him and Cobb finished up by tackling a Zombie before over-agressively bashing its head in.
He kneeled in the Zombie bits, eyes narrowed and panting to catch his breath. He placed a torch down to get rid of the darkness and prevent any more Mobs from spawning. As the corner lit up, he let out a strangled gasp. I turned to see what had happened, but only echoed the action, my hands drawing over my mouth in horror.
"What is it?" Beican asked.
"NO!" I whirled around, hands held wide as I stood in the miner's way. "Don't look! Don't!"
Confusion soon morphed into realization and he gripped my shoulders, slowly trying to peer around me.
"Just look at me." I urged, trying to pull him aside before he could get a glimpse. "Just… just focus on me. Please. It's not-"
His strength was unreal. He had more levels than any of us. He pried my fingers off of him and brushed past me as if I was a toddler. Slowly, with eyes focused on Cobb's hunched over back, he approached. His pick slipped out of numb fingers and he kneeled down behind the fisherman.
Cobb turned his head around, but shielded whatever he found with his body. There were tears in his eyes as he frantically shook his head.
"B-Beican… don't…" He begged.
The miner pulled Cobb back and revealed what he had found. What he had tried to keep from him.
Beican let out a horrendous wail - one more nightmarish than anything I heard in that mine - as he gazed upon the Head of his wife, Mirabelle.
[Cobb]
I didn't want to see what he'd do.
He made a noise I never wanted to hear. How can a person make a noise like that? It was like a dying animal, a beast with nothing left to live for. It was a pitiful scream of anguish full of all the joy in his life, leaving him a hollow, empty husk.
It was the fate Carys had in store for me.
Take a good long look. This is what awaits you.
I felt like throwing up. I didn't want to see this. First Cormac, then his wife. I didn't want to see this. Beican hunched over, cradling Mirabelle's Head with a face marred by grief.
I didn't want to see this, I didn't want to see this, I didn't want to see this.
I looked away, shutting my eyes for good measure, but the sounds. The horrible sounds! The wails that joined with those of the mine, creating a horrific chorus that implored I join them after Jade died.
I felt someone grab my shoulder and turn my around. I found myself staring at blue eyes, silently asking what was wrong? Noman. I struggled for the words, too afraid to think straight. I didn't want to end up like Beican. I had to find Jade! Or was it better I didn't find what was left of her?
Lenz and Soul gathered around Beican and me, trying to bring us back from whatever episode we were sharing, but Beican was the first to respond. He whipped his great arm back, clotheslining Soul and forcing the axe-wielder flat on his back.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"
It was that accusation, coupled with Soul getting hurt, that ultimately compelled me to move.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"MY WIFE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" Beican shrieked madly, throwing his arms around and bowling over Lenz. he dragged the engineer with his superior strength over to his discarded pickaxe and pressed the back of it against his throat, choking him. "She's DEAD! If you hadn't come, she never would have ventured down here!"
Through the haze of fear, I saw Lenz getting choked and stood up, my sword already drawn. "Let him go."
"She never would have come down here anyway!" Beican cried, speaking to himself. "She wouldn't come down here. Something made her do it. You forced her down here! I know you did!"
"Let him go." I repeated, walking over to the miner with sword drawn. Noman placed himself between us.
"Beican! Stop this!" Noman pleaded. "Cobb, don't do something you'll regret! He's filled with grief - he isn't in his right mind!"
He was in his right mind enough to be cutting off Lenz's air. The engineer struggled feebly, pressed up against the miner by his neck, the pick choking him.
"Admit it!" Beican demanded of the engineer in his hold. "Admit you arranged all of this to get me down here and gather your precious coal! That's all that ever mattered to you lot, isn't it!?"
Wrong. What mattered to me was dying in his arms.
"Let him go!" I screamed, straining against Noman to move aside. "I won't ask again!"
"Beican, release him!" Noman begged again, his shield raised to keep me from throwing myself at the miner. "I understand that you're upset, but we didn't arrange any of this! We've only been trying to help!"
"Help!? All you seem to be good at is FINDING THE HEADS!" He roared, tightening the hold on Lenz. He flailed, his tinted glasses lifting enough to see his eyes rolling back. "First Cormac, then Mirabelle. Will we find Beatrix's Head next now that you have your coal and don't need us anymore? Will we return to find Delaney's Head? When will it be my turn, hm?"
Noman's eyes flickered with doubt before he shook his head. That was all the time I needed to dart around him and swing my sword at the miner.
He deflected it with just his forearm. His accumulated levels were too far out of my league, and the strength of one arm was more than enough to brush me aside like I was nothing. Soul swung in next, only for the miner to kick him down. The pick tightened and Lenz went limp, losing Hearts. Noman had his shield half raised, conflicted on what to do.
I had no choice!
"Lenz has the artifact!"
Noman started before surging towards Beican with reckless abandon. His shield slammed down against Beican's face, but the miner didn't even flinch before cocking a fist back to retaliate. A fishing line snagged his hand before he could go through with it. It took everything I had just to hold his arm back for two seconds.
But two seconds was all it took for Soul to tackle the guys legs. They must have felt like iron posts, but he toppled like a felled tree, Lenz getting dragged down with him. Noman brought his shield up and knocked Beican's pick aside, freeing the engineer from strangulation.
While he crawled away, Beican rolled with Soul and Noman, his superior strength keeping things even in this two on one fight.
I tackled the recovering miner to tip the scales in our favor. The four of us tumbled around the cavern and I caught glimpses of Lenz with bow drawn, trying to find an opening to help.
A powerful fist crashed into my temple, causing my vision to blur. Beican shouted out something accusatory, but all I heard was white noise as I brought up my sword and struck Beican across the face. Once. Twice.
I was thrown off, but there was a ringing slam, followed by a body collapsing with a loud 'thwump'. I rolled back to my feet, breathing hard, but stopped when I saw Beican was knocked out, courtesy of Noman's shield.
I fell to my knees, clutching my head where Beican had hit me. I felt dizzy and exhausted. My fingers struggled to bring any food to my mouth.
"...Did you do it?"
I flinched, looking up at the questioner. Noman.
"...What?"
"Did you arrange this somehow?" Noman asked again, his expression serious.
I looked at him incredulously. "Did I plan this? Did I plan to have Jade lost in these tunnels with some fucking spirit chasing her down? No! No, I didn't!"
"Did you make Mirabelle come down here?" Noman rephrased, limping towards me and bracing himself against my shoulder. We were both hurting from subduing the miner. "Did you have anything to do with it?"
"I would never do something like that!"
"Really?" He huffed. "Because I seem to recall you saying that you'd keep your friends alive by whatever means, be it theft, blackmail, or murder!" He threw a hand back. "You were about to kill him!"
"He had a pick to Lenz's throat! What the fuck would you have done!?"
"Language!"
A horrible, drawn-out wail sounded all around us. It shhok the cavern and drowned out Lenz's warning as he frantically pointed behind me.
As I turned, I saw a Creeper flashing white and standing over Beican's unconscious body.
There was nothing I could do as Beican and the floor exploded in a shower of mismatched gear and stone… and gravel. The hole in the middle of the cavern widened like a gaping maw and the four of us fell deeper into the earth.
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, 3 Iron Ingots, 47 Dirt, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 42 Cooked Mutton, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Emerald, 1 Iron Sword {Weak}, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Leggings, 16 Gunpowder, 8 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {6:00}, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {6:00}, 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, 44 Arrows, 16 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 49 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, 7 Ender Pearls, 28 Emeralds, 59 Cooked Mutton, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 26]
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, 38 Cooked Mutton, 14 Torches, 30 Jungle Wood Planks, 64 Cobblestone, 64 Cobblestone, 24 Obsidian, 2 Buckets, 1 Compass, 1 Clock, 23 Emeralds, 2 Ender Chests, 1 Head {Beatrix}, 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: 36]
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, 33 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: 'My Craft' is a Humor/Adventure Story! R-Really! It is!
Those Creepers. Always sneaking up when you least expect. It's not like their name implies they would act in such a way.
I promised things would get dark.
Another title with two meanings. 'Brought to a Head' can mean when a situation intensifies to the point where action must be taken. Kind of like how the Chapter ended. It also refers to how the characters keep finding Heads lying around. Sometimes, my brain surprises me. Thanks Brain!
Brain: You're welcome.
Fav, Follow, Review, and thanks for four years of support!