AN: More Blood for the Blood Gods - I mean, here is another Chapter my loyal readers!
Yes, that's what I meant to say. (；一_一)
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd add Blood Gods.
What?
Chapter 142
Settle
[Carys]
"I couldn't believe my ears when I heard your armor got destroyed."
I made a noncommittal grunting noise at Anibal as her and Kal's forces mingled with ours.
"Seriously, you enchanted it yourself with the highest Unbreaking enchantments, yet they all broke at once? What happened?"
"I fell down some stairs."
"…What about the Asmodeus?"
"Fell down some stairs."
Anibal's head pulled a small retreat and she shot me a suspicious smirk.
"You screwing with me?"
"Do you have the new armor or not?" I demanded.
"Ah, but of course." She said in mock posh, presenting a fresh set of diamond armor with a flourish. I was halfway to accepting it when I noticed the thin sheen of enchanted energy. My hand stilled.
"I thought I told you to bring me unenchanted gear."
Anibal shrugged. "Must have gotten lost in translation. Anyway, I saved you trouble, didn't I?" She ran her hand along the enchanted surface of the armor. "It's got Protection, Projectile Protection, Unbreaking, Thorns, and Feather Falling at max level on one piece of armor or another. It's just as good as your old set—"
"That's not the point." I snapped. "I wanted to enchant the gear myself. You can't give me what I want."
"Are you listening to yourself? Enchanting the armor yourself will drastically lower your EXP. That's pure strength you're pissing away."
"Then I'll grudgingly piss it away." I countered coldly. It didn't matter if I was more vulnerable without a proper set of enchanted armor; I wasn't going to accept a hand-out from Anibal. Nowhere_Man broke my old set, so I'd pay the price myself. "Now get me an unenchanted set of diamond armor, some bookshelves, a load of lapis, and an enchanting table."
Anibal clicked her tongue, the sparkling set of armor falling to her side. "I don't have any spares. It's either this or nothing."
There was a slight twitch to Anibal's lips, a show of cockiness that I'd take her armor.
Her cocksure grin fell off her face when I withdrew an iron pickaxe and walked off.
A couple hours of mining later, I was back with a set of iron armor. Anibal was in disbelief at my stubbornness, but she set up the table and bookshelves and I was able to distribute my EXP evenly. It was costly, as Anibal predicted, but if my mistakes had no consequences, then I'd never learn from them. My proud level of fifty-seven dropped to twenty-two, and for my tremendous drop in strength, I was rewarded with peanuts.
Protection II Chestplate. Unbreaking II Leggings. Protection I Helmet. Projectile Protection I Boots.
I felt more vulnerable. Weaker. It reminded me too much of the old days, and I didn't like that. I'd have to slay my share of cultists if I was ever to replenish my levels.
Fortunate, then, that we were planning an attack.
"It'll do." I put on the armor, stretching my limbs to get accustomed to the new weight. At least I still had my scythe. "Good work, Anibal. Oh, and here's a souvenir."
"If it's throwing me out a window again, no thanks." The dark-skinned beauty choked on her words as I presented the Golden Silk Touch Shovel I had pilfered from Cobb. "Holy tits! These things are little mini gold mines!" She gushed, snatching the shovel and marveling at the enchanted glow. "And its durability is still good. This could earn me a mountain of emeralds! Where'd you find this beauty?"
I shrugged with a knowing smirk. "It fell down some stairs."
She shot me a quizzical look. "I feel like I'm missing some context… and I don't care right now because I have a Silk Touch shovel in my hands." She cradled it lovingly between her thighs and made some… awkward motions that had me coughing pointedly to make her stop. "Whoops, sorry."
Kal had been more reliable in following orders. He brought along a sizable force—fifty of his best fighters. He left Attila behind, but she was needed to protect Jillian in Nitebane.
As planned, we had gathered on the outskirts of the Birch Forest. The Endward Cult weapon's outpost was close. We just needed to plan our assault.
"Did you look into what I asked?"
"Yes." Anibal dropped the jocular attitude in a rare display. She was serious as the grave. "There was next to nothing about the term 'Billionth'. Closest Jillian and I got was the 'Millionth', Ciro_Che, Notch's Captain way back when. As for powerful enchanted items…" Anibal's black eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. "I can tell you everything."
I leaned in, interested.
"It's been a pet project of mine ever since I heard the rumors." She whispered, clearly excited to share what she knew. "Tracking down Herobrine's Eight Cursed Items is a treasure hunter's dream!"
"Wait, what?" I backed off. "I thought we were talking about powerful enchantments, not curses. And adding Herobrine to the mix? What does the Cult's Founder have to do with it?"
"Herobrine has everything to do with the powerful enchantments." Anibal stressed. "See, I've been mingling with the... let's call them the odd crowd… and they've been weaving an interesting web of tales that trace to the very start of Herobrine's meteoric rise to infamy."
"Herobrine enticed the rulers of Minecraftia's Kingdoms with eight powerful enchanted items. One item per Kingdom. But these same items carried a curse that attracted the unwanted attention of the Hack Clan and sparked dozens of incidents all over. Jolin, Zeppil, Exter, Akasha. The only Kingdom spared was Ringwood. Herobrine never made one for Notch."
'I was entrusted them by Notch.'
Nowhere_Man's words came thundering back to me.
'He passed them on to me, because he entrusted me with a mission. A mission to save Minecraftia. Because I am the Billionth.'
"Was… was one of the cursed items a pair of flying boots?"
Anibal's eyes widened and she slumped forward, gripping my jeans like a vice. "You've… you've heard of them? You've seen them? What happened? Did they really fly like the tales say? Tell me everything!"
"We may have encountered them." I explained, recalling Nowhere_Man and his magic boots that could walk on air. But that paled in comparison to the chestplate that blew off my armor. "Was there a chestplate among the items?"
"A chestplate? No. No, I don't think so…" Anibal hummed to herself, rubbing her chin. "Let me think… There were two boots, two bows, a book, a helmet, leggings, and a stick. But I don't think there was ever a chestplate among the eight."
"…What if there was a ninth." I thought aloud. "One that was made for Notch and kept secret. The most powerful one of all."
If it were possible, Anibal's eyes went even wider, her eyebrows disappearing behind her hairline. "What did you see out there? Carys, did Cobb fight you with those items? Does the Endward Cult possess the others?"
I couldn't tell her that Cobb and the Endward Cult weren't allies, even if, by some strange coincidence, they were wielding the same items made by the cult's Founder. I had whipped her up into a panicked frenzy without meaning to. But I learned something new.
Nowhere_Man had two of Herobrine's items in his pocket. And Nowhere_Man was in Cobb's corner, fighting his battles and sparing him from threats like me.
How many other of the items did they plan on tracking down? Anibal seemed to think they possessed the ultimate enchantments—and they would have had to if they were crafted by Herobrine, the leading expert in Command Blocks.
Just what could that group of nothings accomplish if they had all nine?
"Run through the items." I commanded, taking Anibal's full attention. "I want to know what each of them can do. Tell me anything you can."
[Floyd]
I woke up feeling more exhausted than usual.
I must have tossed and turned in my sleep because I was lying on my arm and had the unpleasant sensation of pins and needles up to my shoulders.
Also, was Soul cooking something in my room? Because there was a strong scent of smoke around…
Whatever. My restlessness must've been caused by my latest dreams. Back when I blamed myself for Silent's death, I had nothing but nightmares reliving the moment he was slain by the cultist Spring_Fever. They'd become benign after Soul forgave me, but in the wake of the recent Herobrine reveal, they were back.
Before, I always associated Spring's face with the enemy. Or 4Blite. Or batshit crazy Teal_Larkspur. But now, there was just an empty face at the helm of the Endward Cult.
Made sense. I had no idea what Herobrine looked like.
I didn't consider myself a judgemental person, but I went from ambivalent towards the guy to full on hate boner all in the span of a day. Herobrine was the reason the Hackers attacked Kingdoms all over Minecraftia. He had manipulated them into killing the Kings and murdering thousands of innocents.
I knew it wasn't all his fault. The Hackers' mindset rated them as supreme beings to lord over lesser Crafters. I hadn't met a Hacker yet who thought otherwise. But Herobrine's actions hadn't helped their case. Hackers might have lived in obscurity if not for his stupid plans.
And what was it all for? To throw Minecraftia into chaos? To make killing Crafters easier? What was it all for?
Just thinking about it made me so… so…!
I blinked, noticing smoke curling at the edges of my vision. My Hack had gone off without me realizing. I clenched my fists and fought it back down, only it didn't die down immediately. It kept springing back to life, like a flame that refused to go out completely.
"What the heck…?" I rubbed at my eyes, concentrating. Knock it off!
At my command, the Hack obeyed. The smoke extinguished. Back to normal.
"Phew…" I braced a hand against the door, feeling more exhausted. "What was that?"
Being alone in my room, silence was the only response.
With the exception of Cobb, everyone was waiting for me back at the bridge. Lenz was at the controls, having flew through the night, but Jade was nearby, ready for her shift.
"Morning, sunshine." Soul sang lazily tearing a bite out of some mutton. "Breakfast."
"You ever think that too much mutton isn't healthy?" Jade asked with a raised brow.
"Psh. No. It's the breakfast of champions." He chewed noisily.
"Yes, but must it be the lunch, dinner, and dessert of champions as well?" Lenz asked.
Soul stared at Lenz dumbly. "I don't understand the question."
"Ugh, it's too early for this." Jade yawned before glancing out the window at the mesa below. "And hot. And dry. Hate the mesa…"
"We need to figure out what we are going to do about Akasha." Lenz said. I could almost hear his brain going a mile a minute. "The guards of Chataan Village saw us. They have our names and they know we reside in an airship. It will be hard to miss us."
"Yeah, that's a problem." Jade rubbed the back of her head. "We didn't even figure out if Cobb and Floyd are wanted here. Thinking back, we should've—" She stopped herself when she saw Noman staring at her and coughed. "A-Anyway, what's done is done."
I knew why she stopped herself short. She was going to suggest silencing those guards to ensure our safety, an idea I couldn't flat-out reject, but would have repulsed Noman, pacifist that he was. I knew the guards were just doing their jobs, but how much easier would navigating Akasha be if we could just undo that altercation? If we could just wipe away the hostile encounter and start fresh.
It was all Herobrine's fault. Him and his books.
Speaking of which…
"Hey, Noman." I called out. "The guards called you out on having a Herobrine book." The suited man flinched. "What was it?"
"Oh, yes, I was wondering that myself." Lenz piped up. "Also, I felt like when I was caught, somebody ran in and stole one of the books…?"
"Yeah, I got a good luck at the guy." Soul raised a hand. "Arquero. He had gray hair with violet tips. Guards seemed to know him as the Book Burglar."
"I saw him too." Jade added. "He popped in, snatched a book, and cloaked himself in an Invisibility Potion before we could blink. Considering Akasha's heavy ban on the material, I wonder what he intends to do with it?"
"Better he have it than us." I snarled.
"I'll say. Good riddance." Soul added.
Noman frowned to himself, biting his lip.
"Anyway, Noman, where did you get a Herobrine book?" I pried further. "If we're entering Akasha we should burn anything to do with the guy."
"We can't."
Soul and I turned our heads to regard the suited man, our expressions incredulous.
"What?"
"Look, I… I understand what you're saying, but—"
"The Herobrine books are contraband here. Possessing them got us into trouble. They were written by a maniac!" I marched forward, right into Noman's personal space. "Keeping them is just asking for trouble."
"I-I know, b-but," Noman took a step back, "I figure I can just keep it in an ender chest and it'll be fine."
"Balls to that!" Soul raged. "Throw those books overboard. Cobb's too. The Endward Cult's Founder wrote them!"
"You have every right to be angry. But… it… it has… sentimental value." It was as lame an excuse as it sounded and it only served to make me angrier. What, was he going to stand there and lie to keep a book written by a psychopath?
"Noman, the Herobrine books are bad news. They should be destroyed, just like the Endward Cult. Right Jade?"
"Actually, so long as he keeps it hidden there should be no problem." She shrugged. "What? So long as nobody finds it—"
"What was all that stuff you told us about Herobrine and his acts of evil!?"
"All true!" Jade defended. "But I was just letting you know the context of why the name is banned. He clearly gets why we shouldn't be flaunting things around." She gestured to Noman who even now was avoiding eye contact. "So it's settled."
"It's settled when we're done scattering the ashes to the winds!"
"Er… perhaps we need to take a moment to relax." Lenz tried to diffuse the tension, only for the door to slam open.
"Goooooood morning world and all who inhabit it~!" Cobb sang, beaming brightly and getting five sets of stares. "What's on the itinerary today?"
"Wha… uh… we were just talking about…" Lenz paused, trying to remember. "About what we were going to do with Akasha. Since, well, we were seen, with an airship, and they might be after us."
"Right, right, right." Cobb strode into the room with a smile on his face, as if there was no problem he couldn't solve. "Skipper Lenz. How close is Akasha?"
"Oh! Yes!" Lenz preened at the title. "We should reach our destination by tonight. I am just concerned about whether we should."
"I've been thinking about that." Cobb leaned against the controls, looking out into the mesa as if he could see the far-off Kingdom. "We've got about a day lead on them, maybe two. It'll take that long for a message to get there. Two days. Maybe two-and-a-half. That's our window to get this done. After that, we're officially fugitives and we can add Akasha to the list of Kingdoms we can't go to anymore."
"It's sad that that is a real thing." Jade muttered. "What about the Asmodeus? We can't hide a whole airship."
"Why not? We hid it in the hills of Shansi." Cobb grinned. "Just sink this baby into the sand and we're golden."
"…That could work." Jade nodded, impressed. "As good a plan as any."
"Don't act so surprised. I'm full of good ideas."
"We should also burn the Herobrine books." I interjected, forcefully. "Right, Cobb?"
It may have been low to run to him like a toddler tattling to an adult, but Cobb was the decider. Not only was he the leader, but we were tied in the votes. Noman and Jade for, Soul and I against, Lenz neutral. We needed this settled.
The books had to go.
"Hm?" Cobb smiled back, his eyes shut. "The books? Oh, sure, whatever. I don't really care."
I tilted my head. "You don't… care?"
"Not really, no." A smile was pasted on his face, but it was too sickeningly sweet to appear natural. "Books are books, right? Paper and ink."
"Don't tell me you're on Noman's side, too." Soul frowned. "We need to be in agreement on this—"
"It's not something we need to worry about, okay?" Cobb stressed, his eyes peeking open and empty green looking back. "Forget about it."
"Cobbert…?" Lenz took his hands off the controls and turned fully to the fisherman. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Super." He whipped his head back, his eyes closing and the smile straining ever so slightly, like a fabric ready to rip.
"…Cobb." Noman stepped forward.
"Jade!" Cobb suddenly shouted, causing the green-haired woman to jump. "Do you mind if we get in some parkour training. I feel like stretching my muscles."
"Oh… sure, we can—ah." Jade glanced to the controls. "Actually, I can't. Lenz has been flying all night and it's my turn."
"So? You can get to it next time. I'm sure Noman wouldn't mind bumping up his shift, right buddy?"
"Uh… no, I wouldn't mind, but Cobb I need to talk with—"
"Great! Problem solved. Now come on, let's get lost in parkour." He gestured for Jade to follow, but Noman cut off his escape. He muttered something under his breath, and I thought I heard 'artifacts' whispered before Cobb laughed loudly and pushed him aside.
"Later, alright." He smiled. "Why don't you work on getting to know everyone? You're an official Beginner now, Noman, so you should get to know your fellow guildmates."
"But… but we really should—"
"Noman." Cobb stressed, smiling the man into submission. "Don't keep us."
Under Cobb's strange glare, Noman backed off, and Cobb and Jade left the bridge, shutting the door with a soft thud.
So much for settling things.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. I didn't see head or tails of Cobb and after his thrust-upon shift, Noman came and went, looking increasingly agitated each time.
I took my shift, watching the sun pass over orange and red sands.
But sometimes, I took a glance out the port window. West. Where I could see that line of stone piercing the horizon. The Obelisk. The Hack Clan's base.
This was probably the closest I'd come to joining those guys. Thed had said I'd always be welcomed. There'd always be a place for me. Right next to killers and thieves.
"It's a lot." I said to myself. I was alone on that bridge. "I thought I could raise the opinion of Hackers, with enough good to outweigh the bad." I shook my head with a sad chuckle. "But it's just too much."
I breathed out a sigh. "I wonder if it can really be done."
Suddenly, there was an intense pressure on my left shoulder. Like someone was trying to glare a hole into it. I bristled and took out my sword, pointing it to the left.
Nothing.
My eyes flickered across the empty bridge. Nobody was there. I was taking in panicked breaths though. The intense pressure hadn't let up just yet. It persisted, and I had to rub my shoulder to calm down.
Then it was gone.
I stood there silently, waiting for the pressure to flare up again, but nothing came.
For a minute, it felt like I was being watched.
First the Hacker smoke in the morning, now this.
It got dark quick and Jade relieved me. She was beaming brightly, Cobb having beaten off some more of that cursed leather. She proudly wore her best diamond leggings when she walked in.
I wasted no time getting to my room and sliding underneath the covers, wanting to forget that intense feeling on the bridge. So instead, my thoughts turned to the one thing that could distract me.
Herobrine.
I closed my eyes and imagined all the horrible things he did, summoning that monster in Nitebane, arranging for the Hackers to kill the Kings, killing Notch and soiling his grave with an eternal message.
Herobrine… Herobrine… Herobrine…
My dreams were a dark swirl of overwhelming hatred for the man and his cult.
And if I bothered to open my eyes, I'd have seen a dark swirl of smoke that moved to my tune.
[Noman]
Three times.
I tried three separate times to talk to Cobb after my shift of flying was over. The first time he had been busy sparring with Jade, the second time he and Jade were having a discussion with their lips, and the third time nobody answered when I knocked on the door.
Was Cobb avoiding me?
Didn't he realize I had burning questions I needed to get off my chest about Herobrine and Notch and the artifacts and he was the only person aboard I could talk to? I assumed he would be eager to chat, having the same questions about Herobrine as me, but instead he took every opportunity to avoid me.
And what was that about getting to know everybody? I had certainly had my fill of the others. Like with Soul and how he jumped to violence in a heartbeat. How close had those Akashic guards been to getting slaughtered by the axe-wielder. They had Lenzington at sword-point, sure, but there must have been a way to talk them down. It was just like what had happened with Beican. Soul was too prone to violence, and that was something we didn't have in common.
And now it was late. Jade was finally flying in a shift that threw us all off and Floyd had gone to bed. I was going to try once more. Just once more to talk to Cobb about this Herobrine business before going to bed. I just needed someone to talk to—!
"Oh! Nowhere." It was Lenzington. He was the only one who called me that, despite the fact everyone else called me Noman. It was kind of like how he used 'Cobbert' whenever he addressed Cobb, despite it being longer and nothing like the name hanging over his head. He didn't have special names for any of the other Beginners.
The engineer and I met outside Cobb's room from either side of the corridor. That couldn't have been a coincidence.
"Did you want to talk with Cobb?" I asked.
"Yes, I did," he hesitated, "but it can wait. You can go talk with him first, if you want."
"Actually…" I hesitated too, "you can go ahead. It might not be the right time to talk about... I don't really know if…" I trailed off, wishy-washy.
This Herobrine business was eating away at me, and the only person I could share my thoughts with was Cobb. He alone knew about the artifacts and their creator's dark past. I couldn't wrap my head around Herobrine's actions and I desperately sought a second opinion to reason with. I needed someone to bounce ideas off of. I needed someone to contradict what Jade had told us.
I needed Cobb.
'Why don't you work on getting to know everyone? You're an official Beginner now, Noman, so you should get to know your fellow guildmates.'
If I couldn't make any headway with Cobb or Soul, maybe I could make progress elsewhere.
"Actually, Lenzington," I began, clearing my throat, "this Herobrine business is really messing me up. Do you think I could… talk with you about it?"
"Oh!" He blinked, caught off guard. "Yes, yes by all means. Ah…" He glanced around before pointing to a spare bedroom across from Cobb's. "We can chat privately in there."
"That's good. Thanks." Opening the door, I took in the room. There was a brewing stand in the corner, bottles at the ready. "Why don't I make us something? What would you like to drink?"
"Tepid water, please."
Good, because I didn't know how to mix potions. Alchemy was a useful skill, but beyond me. There were too many ingredients. If I had the Vivlio Zythopoiias, it'd be a different story—but further usage of the artifacts was a can of worms I needed Cobb to help manage. Opening up to Lenzington was just to get the ball rolling, and there'd be stuff I'd keep from him. Namely, the artifacts.
Lenzington settled himself comfortably at a table and I joined him with two bottles of water, one more tepid than the other. He accepted it gratefully and I sat across him, ready to talk.
"So, Herobrine." I began. "What're your thoughts?"
"Me?" He asked, perplexed. "Should you not be asking that to everyone else? They seem to be taking it harder than me. Learning of Herobrine and his muddied past seems to have unsettled our guildmates."
"But not you?"
"Of course not." He sipped his water with little concern. "Herobrine's actions have nothing to do with me. The past is the past. Why everyone is so hung up on tragedies that have already transpired is beyond me—beyond any of us, in fact. Why, we were never around for any of it. So what is there to be angry over?"
"I don't think it's just anger." I said, seeing an opening to delve into how I was feeling. "It's confusion. Betrayal. You carried his books for weeks. Did you know they were written by a killer? Doesn't any of what Jade told you make you see the books in a different light?"
"I do not have the books anymore, so there is no new light to see in them." Lenzington huffed. "In fact, before you showed up, I was about to—No, my feelings towards the books have not changed in the slightest."
"Really?"
At that, Lenzington sighed. "What do you think I saw in those books?"
"Herobrine's teachings?" I guessed.
"Incorrect." He shook his head. "Cobb had the books and the information all on hand. I just wanted a copy to translate the back pages written in Jibberish. And I still do, regardless of what I learned. Because there is more to be learned!"
"I don't follow."
"Knowledge is knowledge. A book is hardly going to bite you on the nose for reading it. No matter who Herobrine was or what he did, the book's purpose has always been to impart knowledge. A job it has upheld adamantly."
"But, it was written by the Founder of the Endward Cult." I stressed. "They want to kill every Crafter in existence, and after what we heard, the Founder had the same goal. How can you be sure the knowledge won't bring about ruin? How can you trust what it says?"
For a moment, Lenzington thought about my words. It had been a question I kept asking myself over and over.
Herobrine wrote the Artifact List. Herobrine made the nine artifacts. Except those artifacts were 'cursed' as Jade put it. More likely, Herobrine leaked their existence to the Hack Clan shortly after doling them out as a ways to eliminate the other Kings. Hackers were a dangerous bunch from what I'd heard, and if they even thought their position threatened by the introduction of powerful artifacts, it wasn't hard to imagine they'd involve themselves.
From the incidents Jade outlined, I was certain the Hackers went after the artifacts. Exter's Yanhua Gong was claimed by Ciro, and I had no idea how he had managed that unscathed. Jolin's Destierro del Palillo was unaccounted for, but the Bottes Zephyr, at least, were safely in hand. In the Labyrinth story, the boy in the tale had been pursued by shadowy, smoky figures. Was that a hint of them being Hackers? If that was true, then the boy was Dinnerbone, and, in his final moments, he had hidden the Bottes Zephyr and built the Labyrinth around them. The Labyrinth had been his tomb.
There were probably more incidents, but it all boiled down to the same indisputable fact. Herobrine sold out the other Kings. The artifacts were a gambit to arrange their deaths and plunge Minecraftia into chaos.
He killed Notch.
Notch, who bragged about Herobrine being his friend. Notch, who warned about the Founder and their impending battle. Why did he talk about them like they were two different people? Was he unaware his closest friend was a monster? Or was he in denial, choosing to treat them as two separate beings to make it easier do what had to be done. Only it wasn't done. He lost.
The artifacts had never been created to stop the Endward Cult. They had been designed to entice the Kings and Hackers and make them kill each other while Herobrine watched and laughed. So why give the Severe Shield to me? Why not keep it to fight Herobrine? What had been going through Notch's mind to instead entrust it to the Billionth, a number centuries away from spawning?
It was just too much…
All this time, I thought the Artifact List was instructions on how to save Minecraftia, when really it was the scheme through which Herobrine intended to doom it. It was a harsh blow to my faith, and I found myself questioning whether gathering them was the right move. The map I was following could have easily led to a dead end.
"How can you trust Herobrine's words?" I asked again, demanding an answer from the engineer sitting across from me.
Lenzington hummed in thought. "I guess… because they work?"
"…What?"
"They work." He repeated matter-of-factly, his glass bottle resting atop the table. "The information was honest, reliable, and worked as intended. Ergo, I trust more of his works to be of equal or greater benefit."
"But he betrayed the Kings!" I shouted. "There's nothing honest about him!"
"That," Lenzington pointed, his tinted glasses betraying nothing, "is neither here nor there. Have you never opened a textbook in your life? Have you never had a teacher or tutor to learn from?"
"No, I—Actually… yes." I looked down at my shield. "Master Bailey. He taught me Aikido."
"And this 'Master Bailey', did you trust him implicitly whilst he was teaching you, or did you question his past and moral choices at every opportunity?"
"I…" Looking down, I remembered the lessons he bothered to share with me. "I followed his teachings without question."
"See? There you go." Lenzington withdrew a book, Airship Piloting 101, and rapped it twice with a knuckle… before wincing from the pain of the leatherback. "Anytime someone has to learn something, they have to put their faith in a teacher or an instruction booklet like this. I must have gone through hundreds of textbooks back at the college just to grasp the full spectrum of redstone, and do you think I had the time to check if all those authors were axe-murderers or saboteurs? Of course not! But it did not matter! All that mattered was—"
"Was that there was knowledge on offer." I finished, finally realizing what he meant. Bailey did not have to teach me Aikido, but he chose to waste his time on me anyway, because he had knowledge I wanted. "We just need to pay attention."
At my words, Lenzington nodded with a bitter smile. "Perhaps Herobrine was a killer and a liar and all the horrible stories are true, but he also spent his time researching Mobs and publishing his findings in those books. It is knowledge proven to be true, and far be it for me to abhor the words of a veteran. A book is a book. Knowledge is knowledge. It seems I am the only one who gets that, unlike the rest of our guild who are falling apart at the seams." He muttered under his breath.
"Cobb isn't falling apart." I pointed out, to which Lenz sighed.
"Is that what you see? I envy you, then." He drained his tepid water in one gulp. "I for one can tell that Cobbert is taking it harder than everyone else combined."
"…Really?" Now that he mentioned it, he had seemed all smiles. And tense. "Is that why he's been avoiding me all day?"
"I imagine so, yes." Lenzington tapped his chin. "Though… I might have an idea on how to speak with him."
"Thanks." I smiled, feeling better to have talked… and also having an ally on my side. "I'm all ears."
[Lenz]
I knocked smartly on the door.
"Cobbert. It is I, Skipper Lenz, here to report about something dire."
There was a pause before Cobbert walked to the door, opening it wide. "What's…"
He trailed off when Nowhere stepped out from behind me, waving a hand sheepishly.
"My mistake, it was nothing. But while I have you, Nowhere wishes to speak." I smirked a little at my cleverness and crossed the threshold before Cobbert could slam the door on us.
"Look, guys, it's pretty late." Cobbert evaded, rubbing his neck. "I'm sore from training with Jade and I just want to go to bed."
"I'll be quick, then." Nowhere stepped forward, confidently. "Why have you been avoiding me all day? You know we need to talk about this."
"No we don't." he shot back. "And while I'm happy you and Lenz are working together, I'm pissed that it's against me. So just get out of here. I'm tired and I want to go to bed."
"Cobb…"
"It is not just he who wanted to speak with you." I interjected, seeing no better time than now. "Cobbert, I want new copies of the Herobrine books."
This had not been part of our discussion, so Nowhere's surprise came as no surprise. Cobbert, however, merely shook it off, plastering a fake smile upon his face.
"You're still on about those books? Forget it. We'll be in Akasha soon and we can't talk about them too openly." Another evasion.
"I am still trying to decipher them, and I think I am on to something big here." I stressed. If there was a way to translate Jibberish, I wanted to be the one who discovered it. And I was close. So very close to cracking the language. I was not going to let Herobrine's sordid past stop me. "I shall need some feathers, but I have all the other necessary ingredients. Leather, paper, ink sacs."
"You do understand how dangerous that idea is, right?" Cobbert tried another evasion, almost desperately. "It's too risky, Lenz. I don't want to hear another word about it."
"No, Cobb." Nowhere was the one who spoke this time, brandishing a book of his own. It must have been his Herobrine book, only he never clarified where he had gotten it. "We need words now. Stop dodging this."
"I'm not dodging anything." He shot back, laughing derisively. "I'm just pointing out that we're talking about a taboo when we're not supposed to. Aren't we in enough trouble as is? We only have two days before the guards come after us!"
"Then say how you really feel about this." Nowhere nearly shouted, waving his book. "You must feel something about Herobrine."
"You want to know how I feel? You want to know how I feel!?" The smile creased, the eyes hardened, and the façade fell apart. He tore out the books from his pocket and threw them at Nowhere. "I FEEL LIKE A FOOL AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE THESE BOOKS AGAIN!"
"Well, if you insist." Came a smooth voice.
Immediately, the three of us were on edge. None of us had uttered a word, and indeed it was a voice none of us recognized. It was when Nowhere and Cobbert were searching for the mysterious voice that I saw it.
"AHH!" I pointed to the floating Herobrine books.
The two Cobbert had chucked were lifted into the air before a third was snatched from Nowhere's hand. They hung there, suspended, even as Nowhere made a grab for them. They danced out of his reach and the suited man crumpled atop the bed before, to our very eyes, a man appeared.
His outfit consisted of a brown leather jacket fitted with dozens of straps, buckles, and pockets. He had tight, blue jeans, a brown belt from which dozens of bottles and books hung, and a brown backpack. And his hair… gray with violet tips…!
"Book Burglar!" I blurted out, before seeing the name that confirmed it. "Arquero!"
"In the pasty flesh." He bowed theatrically before bringing out a new Invisibility Potion. He must have stowed away after we fled Chataan. No better place for a quick escape.
Before he could finish throwing the potion, Cobbert's fishing hook caught his wrist and pulled. The potion went wide and crashed into the opposite wall, Arquero cursing before plowing through me to the door.
"The books!" Nowhere cried out in alarm before pursuing the thief. Cobbert stooped down to help me up before joining the chase. I brought up the rear.
Nowhere's black hair went down the ladder and Cobbert and I slid after him. We arrived at the loading bay to find, Arquero grappling with Nowhere and rolling on the floor.
"Get the books!" Nowhere cried, Arquero fingers fitted into his mouth and stretching his cheeks to the point of tearing. "Hhe thwew a perwl! Wneder perwl!"
Ender pearl? Oh, Comparators.
Arquero flashed us a smile before he vanished without a trace. Nowhere picked himself up and flew to the open doors in a panic, scanning the moonlit mesa for any signs of the Book Burglar. Even if he had my eyesight, I knew it would be fruitless without a Potion of Night Vision.
Or it would be if not for the illumination coming from the Kingdom of Akasha.
It was not a glamorous Kingdom. It looked like a dusty relic suited to the environment it existed in. Like Chataan, it was built atop a mesa—possibly the largest mesa I had ever seen—but the buildings were dry, sandstone structures lit by primitive torches. No tall or imposing buildings. Everything was flat, save for an archway of sandstone that stretched over the caprock like a rainbow with nearly as many colors, and at the top a series of grand sandstone buildings where the King undoubtedly presided.
"There!" I pointed out a brown speck against the red sand as it got closer and closer to Akasha. I got to the speaking tube in an instant. "Jade! Get us closer to the ground, we have a situation!"
"Roger!" Her garbled voice replied before the Asmodeus descended.
"He stole them. He stole the books. He stole all the books!" Nowhere was beside himself, fidgeting as he tried to see what I could see of the thief. "We have to get them back. Who knows what he can do with that information!"
"You mean the Mob information?" I asked, perplexed. Certainly, I wanted the books back to translate, but there was nothing dangerous about the information… unless Nowhere's book was different to ours.
Whatever it was, Nowhere did not wait to answer. Impatient, he took out a pearl of his own and lobbed it towards where I pointed out Arquero. He vanished in a *zwip* and Cobbert cursed in a way that would have earned a reproving 'language' from Nowhere. He withdrew his own pearl and followed the suited man's lead, teleporting to the ground in an audible *zwip*.
I waited a bit longer for the ground to get closer before taking out my ender pearl. "Dock here!" I shouted into the speaking tube before hurling my pearl and warping onto the ground with a rough tumble.
I scurried after my friends who were sprinting and parkouring over the uneven and shifty sand leading up to the base of Akasha's massive mesa.
We were not by any toll gate. No, we were by an unused portion of the physical boundary. A blind spot without guards. A dead zone.
I watched from the rear as Arquero glanced back to us, gave a little laugh, and then disappeared down some concealed tunnel. Nowhere was trying to jump in after him, but Cobbert held him back.
"…don't know what's down there!"
"I don't care! He has the book, Cobb! He has the Artifact List! We got to get it back!"
"We will, but we can't run in without thinking! If this tunnel pops up somewhere in Akasha, I'll be caught in a heartbeat. I'm a wanted man!"
"Then stay here! I'll go by myself!"
"And get killed if Arquero has friends? I don't think so. Noman, this smells like a trap—!"
"I need that book!"
I caught up, panting like a dog, and glanced into the tunnel Arquero disappeared into and was even now getting away from us with each passing second. Behind us, the Asmodeus stood docked, and our friends within must have been running around in confusion over how the evening had gone so wrong.
The books. Arquero had the original copies of Herobrine's Mob books.
"What a mess."
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 Banner {Beginners}, 64 Cobblestone, 61 Cobblestone, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 4 Gravel, 1 Bed, 36 Dirt, 7 Coal, 24 Flint, 12 Jungle Wood Logs, 56 Jungle Wood Planks, 2 Sticks, 7 Torches, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 String, 21 Emeralds, 1 Ender Pearl, 4 Snowballs, 9 Gunpowder, 27 Cooked Mutton, 27 Rotten Flesh, 2 Maps {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, 21 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, 4 Ender Pearls, 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 Pants [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III], 1 Bow, 1 Shears, 2 Levers, 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, 1 Minecart, 1 Compass, 25 Gunpowder, 32 Arrows, 16 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 43 Cooked Mutton, 1 Ender Pearl, 16 Sugar Cane, 8 Paper, 5 Ink Sacs, 3 Leather, 5 Emeralds, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha 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 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, 3 Ender Pearls, 28 Emeralds, 51 Cooked Mutton, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}
[EXP: 26]
Inventory (Jade): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV], 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV], 1 Leather Boots [Dyed Brown, Curse of Binding I, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Chestplate [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, 26 Cooked Mutton, 14 Torches, 30 Jungle Wood Planks, 64 Cobblestone, 64 Cobblestone, 24 Obsidian, 2 Buckets, 1 Compass, 1 Clock, 19 Emeralds, 1 Ender Chest, 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}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}
[EXP: 36]
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Black Shield {Slight Shield} [Blue Cross] {Weak}, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Bow [Infinity], 28 Birch Wood Planks, 34 Iron Ingots, 18 Sticks, 1 Bucket, 1 Crafting Table, 17 Cooked Mutton, 6 Ender Pearls, 1 Potion of Healing II, 1 Potion of Healing II, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}, 1 Potion of Water Breathing {8:00}, 1 Bed, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Zeppil}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Compass, 1 Arrow, 3 Sugar, 14 Bookshelves, 6 Enchanted Golden Apples, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots, 6 Emerald Blocks, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 18 Bones, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 64 Gravel, 49 Gravel, 9 Flint
[EXP: 25]
AN: The Book Burglar strikes again! In case any of you were wondering, yes, he's friends with the Hamburglar.
This Chapter had a bit of perspective from everybody. Carys, Floyd, Noman, Lenz. And the Beginners are at Akasha, the Mess Kingdom. I'll describe the Kingdom more next Chapter, but for now, take what you got.
I got to bang out a lot of text because I was stuck in a Hospital for 2 hours. Nothing serious, I just had to drop off and pick up somebody because they can't really drive whilst on heavy medications.
Traffic Laws, amirite?