AN: Okay, so, explaining the current Arc, the Triplex Arc.
The Chapters will focus on a set group of characters on a tri-weekly basis. This week will be Carys' group. Then, three weeks later, we'll return to them.
It'll also mean that Chapters will be published regularly on Wednesday, just like the good old days.
In other news, the site is on the fritz, so updated Chapters don't show up unless you have the app. I'm not sure if anyone's gonna be able to read this, but I'm posting it anyway in the hopes that the site will eventually fix itself. Here's to hoping.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd make a recipe for Horse Armor.
Chapter 167
Pecking Order
[Noman]
We left Ringwood the same day we separated from Cobb and Lenz. Carys returned late in the afternoon without Z7 or the other assassins that she took with her and ordered us to set off immediately. It was just as Kalmarin and Anibal had said; we were to leave promptly.
"What happened to Z7 and those other guys?" Floyd asked.
Carys fixed the blue-nette with a condescending look. "Do you want me to shut you down with 'It's none of your business'? Or would you prefer an obvious lie, since it's none of your business?"
"…Message received." Floyd let it go and Carys brushed past him.
She addressed her ten Paragons and I tried to commit their names to memory. Kalmarin and Anibal were obviously part of Carys' inner circle, but there were so many new faces and names. Spaatz, Buckner, Devers, Reuben, Albert, Harbord, Dyson, and Stayer. I also realized that Dorian wasn't among the group, which was odd since Shroud, Wing, and Luis—the Zeppil group—were present. I didn't feel comfortable asking, however, since there was the chance he died in battle. No point in dragging up bad memories.
Anyway, many of the Paragons gravitated towards certain team leaders. Dyson was by Kalmarin and Spaatz, Buckner, and Devers were by Anibal. By the potions hanging off of Reuben, Albert, and Harbord's belts, I assumed they were part of the support team. Then Stayer, who clearly looked like an assassin and part of Z7's team.
"We'll be grabbing our horses and setting off immediately from the Southern toll gate." Carys explained before casting a glance our way. "I'm assuming you three don't have horses."
"I've got one." Soul clarified, trying and failing to appear menacing with a cat bundled up in his arms. Carys shot the axe-wielder a deadpan look.
"What's with the cat? You're not bringing that with you, are you?"
"Well, I can't leave it here." He defended hotly. "There's nobody to feed it. Where I go, Cat-Face goes." He held up the cat by its forepaws and it meowed indifferently. "You got a problem with that?"
"No, but you will once that cat gets cut in half." She scoffed when Soul pulled Cat-Face close and shielded it from her crimson gaze. "You think I'm gonna kill your pet? The world will do that for me. Cats aren't suited as traveling pets like dogs or horses or pigs. You won't be able to keep it safe until Exter."
"Watch me." Soul promised defiantly.
Carys rubbed at the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Whatever. We got to get the other two horses so they don't fall behind."
"If I might ask," I raised a hand, "why are we leaving through the southern gate? Wouldn't the western one be—?"
"It's in case we're being watched." Anibal explained. "The Endward Cult has spies everywhere. Even if they relocated, there's no certainty that they aren't still around, waiting and watching. By heading out the south gate, we confuse them. Baltic's group will be doing the same thing at the northern gate tomorrow."
"So we better get you two horses." Reuben said before the entire group moved out.
The Southern District was still a wreck even if the guards had made a valiant attempt at clearing the gear of the deceased. It was just so much to go through and there were so few guards. With the evidence of so much death surrounding us, it was disturbing how unbothered by it the Paragons seemed. Indeed, they kept their eyes forward and dismissed the gear like it was just normal.
Wonder if some of them have seen this type of thing before...
We soon arrived at the ruined southern stables. There was a gaping crater at the entrance and most of the building looked demolished. Soul's horse was waiting outside, tied up by a lead, but there were only eleven horses within, all outfitted with diamond and iron horse armor. They obviously belonged to the Paragons. Any other horses tied there had been butchered by the Wither and its inclination to target all living things. Of course, that meant there were no horses for Floyd and I.
The man named Reuben, however, had the answer when he rifled through a chest near the stables and pulled out [GOLDEN CARROTS] and hay bales. He herded four horses together and fed each of them a golden carrot. Hearts emanated off the steeds and they began bumping into one another for a few seconds until…
*Neigh*
Two young horses popped out in the miracle of life. One gray with white fields and another that was white as freshly fallen snow. Reuben proceeded to feed them hay bales. Before our eyes, the young horses tripled in size, becoming adults in seconds. Then the one named Albert threw us some saddles and horse armor from another chest and gestured for us to get a move on.
We began the short process of taming them, mounting our chosen steed only to get bucked off due to foul tempers. My horse, the pure white one, was tamed first, but Floyd had a lot of trouble with his gray one. It bucked more violently with each failed attempt.
Finally, however, Floyd succeeded, and we got the saddles and armor on them.
"Good. Now we can—"
"Hold your horses." Floyd said, and Soul snickered from the pun. "If we're going to ride these guys, they're gonna need a few more personal touches."
"Like what?" Dyson asked curtly.
"Like a name." I answered, meandering over to one of the stable chests and taking out some name tags. It got me thinking of my past horses. Carrot and Beetroot. One dead and one left in Zeppil. It pained me leaving Beetroot behind, as it was Bailey's, but hopefully the horse would be lent to a good owner and enjoy a long life.
Soul named his horse Long-Face. Coupled with his name for Cat-Face, I was surprised he hadn't named himself Man-Face before escaping the Void. Floyd was more creative, naming his horse Stratus. As for me, I took one look at my horse's white coat and knew to call it Snow. We put our name tags through an anvil and labeled our respective horses with a bit of satisfaction. Soul even officially named Cat-Face.
"Waste of EXP." Dyson muttered disdainfully before leaving the stables on his own horse. His comment had us glancing at the green EXP meter on our arms.
He was right. Using the name tags had cost us each one EXP level. Two for Soul. It was more costly for our higher levels than if we named them at the lower levels. That was probably why none of the Paragons bothered to name their horses. They saw it as pissing away EXP.
"We'll get it back." Soul assured, slapping me on the back. "It's a good investment. These horses will last us the month."
He was trying to cheer me up, and it worked. We mounted our horses and followed the Paragons out. Navigating past the craters of the Southern District, we passed through the ruined toll gates and started our journey. Cat-Face trotted along behind Soul, the axe-wielder slowing down to so the cat could keep up.
"I'm already foreseeing a problem with this." I said to Soul. "Slowing down for Cat-Face will slow down everyone. The other Paragons won't stand for it."
"Tough tits. I'm not leaving this cat behind when there's no one to feed it." Soul complained. "Anyway, we're not fully setting out. We're just going south to confuse any cultists watching the Kingdom. After that… I'll carry Cat-Face if I have to."
"For the whole month!?"
"If I have to."
"Cat-Face'll claw your face off if you do that."
"Then I'll rename him Cat-Face-Off."
I shot Floyd a look but he just shook his head, acknowledging that Soul would do it too. He was stubborn like that.
As it turns out, we didn't need to worry about slowing the Paragons down. They were waiting up ahead near a clearing. Floyd seemed to recognize the location and his mouth thinned into a nervous line, his eyes watching Carys carefully.
"Are we turning here?" I asked.
"Not quite." Carys said as she hopped off her horse. "Noman, put on your Severe Shield." She commanded without turning to face me.
The three of us tensed up immediately, getting off our horses. "E-Excuse me?" I stammered, thinking I misheard her.
Her hand slid to the front, unseen, as she seemingly fiddled with her horse's saddle. Next moment, smoke erupted off of Floyd as he activated his Hacker powers and yanked Soul and me out of the way with his enhanced speed as an ender pearl was launched from under Carys' arms right at our feet.
She warped before us, her scythe drawn, and slammed it into the ground, creating a shockwave that would have hurt all of us had Floyd not pulled us back. She grinned darkly at the three of us.
"Nice reflexes."
"What the fuck are you doing!?" Soul snarled, drawing his axe.
"Sizing you up." She spun her scythe impossibly fast and darted forward.
Floyd shot forward to meet her, his Speed Hack activated, but Carys surprised him by throwing down a splash potion with her other hand. He had been more focused on the spinning scythe spectacle than her concealed hand.
He quickly stamped his foot down and shot to the right to avoid the splash potion only for Carys to swap out her scythe for a bow and arrow and fire off to the side. Floyd didn't see why, so he instead took the opportunity to slash at Carys with his iron sword. Carys bore the hit with a grimace.
"YOU FUCKING JADED US!" Soul roared as he swung from Carys' other side. The Angel of Death caught it by the handle, Soul's arm straining from the effort. Her green number showed her EXP level at 42. Soul was only at 25. Floyd was the closest, at 32, but he wasn't strong enough to beat her in a contest of strength.
"Noman! Get over here and help us!" Soul shouted.
I had been standing there, frozen in confusion and horror. Carys broke the alliance the second she was outside of Ringwood. Was this always her plan? But that meant by splitting us up, Lenz and Cobb were in the same boat. Had all her words of joining hands been lies? It was such a waste of effort that it caught me unprepared.
Carys threw out a hand and snagged Floyd by his turtleneck, trapping him. The next second, Kalmarin warped behind Carys and threw down a pair of splash potions that immobilized all four of them at once. That was why Carys shot to the side. To hit Kalmarin and trigger his 'warp behind' ability. Then trap everyone with the paralysis combo.
Floyd alone could move, his Speed counteracting the Slowness forced upon him. He weakly pulled off Carys' hand and tried to slash her only for Anibal to swoop in and slash him with her Sharpness V diamond blade. Floyd cried out and fell back while the other Paragons rushed forward with buckets of milk in hand, which they quickly poured down Kalmarin and Carys' throats.
Anibal and Floyd crossed swords for a bit, Floyd falling back from the Weakness Potion. He fired off MultiAura in every direction, but Anibal quick-swapped to a shield and blocked the barbs. I also had to raise my shield, as the barbs fired everywhere.
Carys leapt back into the fray, her scythe swinging, as she carved Floyd up with that area of effect power on her scythe. Then, after a few moments, the time limit on Floyd's Speed ended and he succumbed to the Slowness Effect, fully paralyzed just as Soul was.
"So you have a Speed Hack, but it's only active for less than a minute before you collapse?" Carys laughed. "Wow that is one piss-poor ability."
Floyd tried to snarl something only for Carys' boot to slam into the back of his head and grind his face into the dirt.
"You can't even conserve it once you set it off. It's like you're controlled by your own power."
Carys then turned her head to face me and I raised my shield. "Well? Are you going to put on your Severe Shield or what?" My eyes widened. Was she asking me to kill her? "Go on. Whip it out. Unless you want me to keep dismantling your friends, here."
"I thought you wanted an alliance." I spoke. "If you were going to kill us anyway, why bother with all this?"
"I already told you. I'm sizing you up." Carys answered, stepping off Floyd's head and drawing her scythe once more. "You did a number on me last time with that invincible chestplate. You should have no trouble doing it again."
My eyes narrowed. "I don't want to kill anyone."
"Then I wonder what use you'll be to me?" Carys mocked. "Between an annoying pest and a pacifist, I don't know which Billionth is worse! Don't you care what I do to these two?"
"Noman… run…" Floyd ordered.
"Yeah, Noman. Run." Carys echoed, resting a hand on her hip. "If you can't fight me, how do you expect to fight cultists? Would killing this guy change your mind?"
I took off my iron chestplate and pulled on the Severe Shield before charging Carys with my diamond sword and shield. She stood perfectly still and allowed me to get as close as I needed to before I swung my sword at her, cursing my own weakness.
She threw an ender pearl behind her and warped half a step back. Just far enough for my swing to miss her. It was just as Cobb had done to her the other day when they fought.
"If the idiot's gonna take my moves, I'm stealing some of his."
Then, with her scythe, she hooked the top of my shield and wrenched it to the side, opening me up to a pair of splash potions thrown by the Angel of Death. My body seized up and I collapsed forward.
Carys caught me by the shoulder, held me there, and then lifted the Severe Shield off my body. My heart pounded in my chest as the Severe Shield left me. Carys then gave me a gentle push and my body fell like a tree.
She stood over me then, looking over the Severe Shield in her possession. My pupils trembled as I saw that all three of us had been neutralized and were now at Carys' mercy. Cobb had been right. The alliance had been just a trap—an assurance to obtain the Severe Shield and Bottes Zephyr and have a better chance of destroying the Endward Cult! And we fell for it like—
The Severe Shield was tossed atop my immobilized body.
"The artifacts." Carys muttered disapprovingly. "Just a crutch for true strength."
I fought for breath at the contemptuous dismissal of one of the most powerful artifacts in Minecraftia. Carys walked away, fixing her scythe back to her belt.
"True strength comes from your own effort. Not some trinkets that can be taken away and used by anyone. Even before I had my scythe, I crushed the Southern Division by my own strength."
"You beating me before," Carys suddenly turned, facing me, "was because I was unprepared. But, as I've just demonstrated, I'm fully prepared for the three of you." She smirked. "This was just a test to establish the pecking order. The alliance will hold, I just wanted you to understand that I, at any moment, can defeat and kill all three of you if I deem you a threat."
"Say that again when I can move." Soul growled, paralyzed on the ground. Carys swooped over him, pouring milk down his throat and dispelling the paralysis. As soon as he could move, Carys repeated herself, her smile turning shark-like.
"I can defeat and kill you at any moment." She whispered with relish.
Soul swung a fist at her which she caught before flipping him over her shoulder and into the ground. Then she pinned him, choking him with the handle of her scythe.
"I do hope you'll try, Soul. Keeps me on my toes. Try to surprise me as much as you like. I'll crush you each and every time until I get it through your thick skull the difference between us." Carys seemed eager for the challenge. Soul's face screwed up as he attempted to dislodge her but was ultimately overpowered.
Carys kept choking him out until his eyes fluttered closed. Then she relented, getting up off the unconscious axe-wielder. Cat-Face trotted over and settled on his stomach, warming him.
"I'm not going to be as lenient as that pig-killer." Carys announced. "You're working for me, now. I won't tolerate any slack. I'll beat the three of you into shape and maybe you'll be Lieutenant-level by the time we reach Exter. Enough that you can be a threat without relying so heavily on Hacker powers or artifacts."
"I mean," Anibal piped up, "flying would be pretty cool. It's not wrong to use the Bottes Zephyr, right?" Carys shot her a look and she sunk into herself. "…Never mind."
"Burn this day into your brains." Carys continued. "I'm ready for you. So don't even think about stabbing me in the back." She turned, showing us her back just to demonstrate how little a threat she thought us. "Get them some milk, Reuben. A toast to the… next… month…"
Her trailing off had all the Paragons glancing her way. Carys stood stock-still, staring at something a bit further outside the clearing. I couldn't see her face, but I could see the small smile gracing Floyd's lips before he schooled it back to the picture of calm.
"Carys…?" Anibal asked.
Carys stormed forward towards a pair of wooden headstones poking out of the dirt, a stone slab before each one. She ignored one grave entirely, focusing her attention solely on the grave with an aged wooden sign.
"…What is this?"
On the sign, in big bold letters, was written:
[RIP Mr. Piggles and Carys. Even though you tried to kill me.]
"WHAT IS THIS!?" Carys demanded, whirling upon Floyd and me, her crimson eyes looking demented. "WHEN DID YOU HAVE THE TIME TO SET THIS UP!?"
"You're the one who brought us here." Floyd piped up, his face impassive. "I thought you knew about the graves and were trying to pay us back or something."
"You…" Carys clenched her fists around her scythe. "You couldn't have set this up… how long was this here…?"
"Since we first went through Mt. Mur. After we thought you dead. Months ago." Floyd explained, though I didn't understand the context between the two. All I knew was that the mention of Carys' beloved pig had unsettled her. "It was Cobb's idea. Said you wouldn't mind sharing a grave."
"…You're lying."
"Check the contents. It's a saddle and a lead."
Carys whipped back around and tore up the dirt and stone slab of the grave. The Paragons didn't dare utter a word as she worked. The grave was shallow and she soon opened the chest buried within. She looked at the contents for a solid ten seconds before shutting the chest and pulling herself out. Slowly, she refilled the grave, fixed the slab with mechanical precision, and broke the sign on the wooden gravestone, changing the words to simply read:
[Here lies Mr. Piggles. The noblest of steeds.]
After that was done, Carys grabbed her scythe and started stalking towards Floyd with shadowed eyes that glowed red like blood. Those boots clicking along the ground like the ticking of a clock counting out the end. She raised her scythe.
"Carys!" Kalmarin warned when she was within a meter from Floyd. She suddenly stopped, the red haze clearing from her eyes. "You good?"
The hand holding her scythe went limp and her eyes slid shut.
"Always."
She turned on her heel, shaking her hand out and returning the scythe to her belt. She had been about to kill Floyd. I was sure of it. As sure as Kalmarin and the other Paragons had been. Floyd breathed out a sigh of relief as Reuben approached with buckets of milk and dispelled our paralysis.
"We should… head out." Carys tried to shrug the moment off, but it was clear she had been rattled by Mr. Piggles' grave. She checked her map. "Get those two lugs up and we'll start moving west."
I frowned at her, but bit back pointing out that it was her fault they were still immobilized. Floyd was in the middle of his Speed Hack's cool-down and Soul was choked out with a cat on his tummy. All I could do was offer them healing potions. Going forward, I'd have to watch out for the violent and unstable Carys. We'd gotten lucky that this was only a warning—establishing the pecking order, as she called it. Cobb had been right to warn us about her. We thought we'd be careful. We thought we'd be prepared.
The truth was you couldn't prepare yourself for Carys. She was a force of nature. Dangerous and deadly. And prone to snap.
But she also had standards. She turned her nose at the artifacts. She considered them crutches for the weak.
And seeing how effortlessly she defeated the three of us, I had to agree. She was stronger and smarter. Just how had Cobb fought against her the other day? How did he keep her occupied at Cloud Castle? How did he survive her the first time they met?
I wished I could have asked him before we separated.
[Denzel's Grove]
Denzel's Grove was a village founded by Denzel_Dentworth, the third King of Ringwood. It was to the northwest of the main Kingdom, and it remained a peaceful community where Kings and Captains retired. The streets were lined with oak trees and were periodically harvested for apples and, later, Notch apples. It was a luxury and a delicacy in Denzel's Grove, enjoyed by its wealthier inhabitants.
The population of Denzel's Grove had swelled the past week. That was the first thing Captain Wynn noticed when she rode into town on her horse, Bitters, Solara, and Veronica flanking her.
"The cowards." Bitters spat, looking at the Crafters with disdain. "They all fled here instead of defending their home."
"Put a stick in it, Bitters." Veronica said coldly. "Even if they were fighters that fled, they would have just been more sacrifices to the Withers. Nothing could have prepared them for that. There's no shame in living to fight another day."
The last comment was meant for Wynn, but she was busy scanning the houses for the proper address. WorkingMann's address.
In all her time as a Captain, she had never once visited him after he resigned. She could never hate the man who rescued her from the ruins of her village and raised her, and she swore to him to protect King Miles—that was a failure she wasn't looking forward to facing him for—but a part of her… resented him. Not a lot. Just enough not to want to visit him.
She came close to visiting him earlier, within a year of his retirement. But then she saw the cushy lifestyle of the people of Denzel's Grove. The pampering. The diet of golden apples that instilled them with good feelings and effects whenever they partook. It was like walking into a dream, and it spoke of ease and bliss. A village without worries.
Did her King deserve a life like that after all his self-sacrifice? Absolutely. It's just… when she first saw that, she felt a wave of selfish possessiveness. She never wanted King Mann to retire. She wanted to serve his benevolence as his Captain for decades. Instead, he retired to the lap of luxury. She questioned whether his retirement was for the sake of passing the torch or for the sake of himself.
If she faced him again, she would have accused him of such. Words would have come out that she couldn't stop. So she left Denzel's Grove without visiting his address once. Now, she was back. And the circumstances were truly terrible.
She recalled the address from memory as she and her entourage galloped past the groves of trees. Many Crafters who had fled Ringwood squatted in tents on peoples' front yards. There were just so many people and not enough residences.
When she finally reached the designated address, she snorted in fondness to see that WorkingMann's front yard was inundated with tents, hosting more wayward Crafters than any other. Not only that, but she could see Jibbermen milling about, passing food and water to the hungry.
Jibbermen didn't often find work. They were viewed as a race beyond understanding. Many were forced to make a life outside the Kingdoms or else lived off the scraps of Crafters as homeless on the streets. Not many gave them a chance.
WorkingMann did.
Wynn and her entourage dismounted their horses and tied them up a fence near the front yard before navigating past the tents. Some Jibbermen called out and one stood in their way, making a series of clicks and sounds that none of them could understand.
"WorkingMann." Wynn said, trying to convey her purpose. "We wish to speak with WorkingMann. The master of the house. Is he in?"
She saw the flash of recognition at the name. The Jibbermen gave another series of clicks and sounds before beckoning Wynn forward. The others made to follow, but Wynn was quick to impress her need to go alone.
"This should be between him and me." She stressed.
"Are you sure?" Veronica asked. "Wynn, you don't have to treat this like you did something wrong. You have nothing to be ashamed of—"
"Thank you, Veronica." Wynn smiled sadly. "But I'd like to hear that from WorkingMann. If you please…?"
"…Alright. Just… just call us if you need us."
Veronica, Bitters, and Solara stayed behind while Wynn was ushered to the house by a pair of Jibbermen. Each step she took towards the innocuous home filled her with anxiety and dread. Soon, she'd have to face those blue eyes of His Benevolence. They'd be full of recognition at first, but she'd be watching them carefully for the moment they morphed into crushing disappointment over her failures.
She would deserve every second of it.
Through the front door, she paid brief attention to the décor. It was much like her old mansion—a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a stairwell to the second floor. It got her thinking about her destroyed home, burned to the ground along with so many others. The decision to rebuild would only be after deciding whether life in Ringwood was sustainable or not. If aid from Daymonte and Nitebane came through.
Hopefully, His Benevolence would have some ideas about that.
The ivory-haired Captain expected His Benevolence to be in the living room or kitchen this late in the day. Instead, the Jibbermen guided her to the stairs. Up to the second floor. Then, to a door guarded by four green-capped guards. She raised an eyebrow at them and they saluted respectfully.
"Captain Wynn_Whispers." One of them greeted. Then, after a moment of hesitance, added, "We're sorry. About the attack."
"So am I." She nodded. "Is WorkingMann in there?"
"I should hope so." One of the guards sighed irritably. "The former king is stubborn."
"Aye. We should call him His Persistence."
"Or His Perseverance."
"Or His Insistence."
"What do you mean?" Wynn asked.
"He's been trying to escape to Ringwood for the better half of a week." One guard reported. "Please understand, Captain. We heard dangerous rumors concerning the Kingdom and the Tragedy of Ringwood. Captains, councilmen, and heirs. Dead all." Wynn felt a wave of guilt wash over her. "We didn't think it safe for a former King to return, as we tried to explain to WorkingMann. But His Insistence was firm. So…" He trailed off, but a second guard picked it back up.
"So we're keeping him locked up for his own safety."
There was a noted bang on the door, which Wynn now noticed was made of iron and firmly locked.
"I demand you let me out of here!" Came a voice from the other side. "Miles will have been buried! I have to be there! I raised that young man!"
"Your Benevolence, please—" One of the guards pleaded.
"This is for your own safety!"
"No cultist will be interested in an old fart like me! I'll be perfectly safe!" He banged on the door a few more times before taking a pregnant pause. "Oh! Ow! Ow! I slipped and fell into my cauldron! I'm drowning! Drowning! Someone throw open the door and save me! Glub Blub Blub!"
"Nice try, your Benevolence. We're not falling for that one… for the second time in a row."
"Dangit!" He cursed. "As your former king, I am ordering you to free me!"
"Sorry, sir. We love you too much to see you in peril."
"I hate all of you! RAHH!"
"He's throwing a tantrum again." One of the guards reported. "This is what happens when we don't let him out enough for exercise."
"It's fine. He'll wear himself out. Then we'll feed him dinner and put him to bed early."
"My God… He's not a dog!" Wynn exclaimed before she could stop herself. Her raised voice created a lull in WorkingMann's banging.
"…Wynn? Wynn_Whispers?" Wynn's breath was stolen from her at His Benevolence's voice. "Is that you? Have you come to visit? Please answer. And would you guards open this blasted door already?"
"You better appease him." One of the guards advised, pushing Wynn closer to the door. She looked apprehensively at it, like it would explode if she uttered a sound.
"Captain?" His Benevolence's blue eyes peered through the gaps in the iron door and zeroed in on her amber ones. "Wynn! It is you! It's been so long. I'd hug you if there wasn't this door between us!" He glared pointedly at the guards whistling innocently. "I heard about Ringwood. I'm so happy you're alive… and so sorry you had to experience something like that. In all my years as a king, I never would have anticipated the same level of destruction that befell Nitebane all those years ago. The Endward Cult has gone off the deep end."
Wynn kept her mouth clamped shut, her eyes glancing away from the blue orbs between those slits in the door. Her lip trembled and her eyes started to mist.
"Wynn? What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me again?" His Benevolence misinterpreted her silence. "A-Ah. This is about my absence from Miles' funeral, isn't it? Believe me, I wanted to set out to Ringwood the moment those refugees turned up. I offered them food and shelter on my property and prepared to set off, but these guards insisted I stay behind for fear of my safety. Have you already buried Miles?"
"…Yes." Wynn sobbed, rubbing at her eyes.
His voice broke seeing her cry. "Oh, Wynn… sweetie…"
If anyone later asked, Wynn, a stern Captain, would vehemently deny responding to 'sweetie'. However, hearing His Benevolence utter that word, knowing she was as much a daughter to him as Miles was his son, she strode forward, flipped open the switch to the iron door (much to the guards' dissent), and stepped into the room to envelop him in a crushing hug.
WorkingMann, with his balding grey hair, kind face, and blue eyes, hugs Wynn right back. Despite not having seen each other for years, he knows instinctively that this isn't about not showing up to a funeral. This is about her own insecurities. And he's ready and there for her if she wishes to voice them.
But for now, Wynn settled for sobbing into his shirt, whispering feeble-voiced apologies, over and over.
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 2 Iron Ingots, 64 Steak, 64 Steak, 2 Sticks, 31 Coal, 20 Torches, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 16 Gunpowder, 16 Ender Pearls, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {6:00}, 1 Bucket, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 32]
Stratus the Horse
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 64 Iron Ingots, 28 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate, 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, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 64 Steak, 14 Cooked Mutton, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 25]
Long-Face the Horse
Cat-Face the Cat
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Green Shield [Beginners], 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Milk Bucket, 6 Buckets, 2 Cobblestone, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 5 Ender Chests, 16 Ender Pearls, 5 Ender Pearls, 1 Nether Star, 64 Steak, 3 Phantom Membranes, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Enchanted Golden Apple, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots
[EXP: 26]
Snow the Horse
AN: Carys flexing on the Beginners... until she sees Mr. Piggles' grave. That throwaway thing Cobb did in Chapter 18 came back in a minor way.
Also, Wynn and WorkingMann meeting. I can already imagine the shippers.
*Wynn and Mann Hug*
Shippers: Oh, they f*cking.
You'll get shorter Chapters, but they'll come out more regularly. That's what I'm trying for, anyway.
Next Chapter, the winners of the 4Blite Prisoner OC submission will be announced as we get a peek at what the Endward Cult is up to.
FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. PM. FORUM. DISCORD. POPTARTS.