The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 23
The past three days had been nice for Marcus and the other knights. They finally got a break from running around everywhere and constantly fighting someone or something. Marcus felt relief at finally being able to rest after two days of almost constant fighting. All he could wonder was, how long would it last.
It didn't take long for the second gate to become crowded and food rations to start becoming smaller. Over the past three days, there was a constant stream of knights flooding into the second gate. At this point, every legion in the Holy Notch Army was based at Fort Deepslate. Marcus knew they must have been planning something big to leave the rest of the Holy Notch Empire mostly unguarded. They must have been preparing for an attack on the pigmen and Herobrine.
Thomas and the other carrier slaves were under constant threat of being beaten by the other legions, so he kept Thomas close to him at all times. He never figured out who had actually beaten Thomas, he wouldn't talk. Either way, Marcus was determined to not let any of the other knights near him.
It was about halfway through the third day when the General finally came out of the Citadel. At first, Marcus thought the attack was about to begin, but instead, the General started organizing a scout party. He asked for volunteers from the Miter Knights and the Holy Golden Knights. Several members of the Holy Golden Knights sprang up to volunteer, but few from the Miter Knights wanted to face the pigmen again. The General stated they wanted mostly members of the Miter Knights on this scout party because we've actually faced them in combat. Since not many from the Miter Knights volunteered, they were selected. And Marcus was chosen to be part of the mission.
Fuck. Marcus thought. He was making good progress talking to the other knights about what happened in Zamafar. He found out what happened in Zamafar wasn't normal. They were often merciless against the heretic soldiers, but usually left the civilians alone. Many knights were disturbed by the massacre. Marcus thought he could use this to seep some distrust in the General, but now he was going back to Zamafar to try to find the pigmen's base. He wondered if the General found out about his talking, but one look at the other selected knights and he knew it wasn't a punishment. Many of the selected knights were the younger and more green knights. He didn't want to risk his veteran knights, especially since many of them were slain by the pigmen.
There was a surprise added to the scouting party. After Marcus was chosen, Franz volunteered to join. At least he's still trying to look after me. Marcus thought. The plan to fake an injury went out the window after their last talk. During the past three days, they hadn't tried to talk to each other. Marcus wondered if this was just Franz's way of showing he hadn't fully given up on him.
In total, there were about twenty-eight knights, most of whom were Miter Knights. They were split up into four squads of seven. They were given horses and strict orders not to engage the pigmen. This was only to be a stealth mission to find out where they were to plan for a future attack. Good enough. Marcus thought, glad they weren't expected to fight. However, he was still worried they'd be spotted anyway and be forced to fight. The four squads were given a squad leader, all of which were older knights. Their squads were named after the leader. There was Xavier Squad, Connor Squad, Herman Squad, and Franz Squad. Marcus was assigned to Franz Squad. Once they were organized, it was time to head out for Zamafar. As they left the two gates, Marcus felt more nervous than he'd ever felt before. Even more than Morzen or their first trek to Zamafar. He knew something was bound to go wrong, and he would have to face it head on.
It didn't take them nearly as long to reach Zamafar as before, now that they were all on horseback. The first thing they found was the bodies of their dead comrades. They still lay among the trees, completely unmoved from where they fell. It was even more grizzly than Marcus had remembered. Gallons of dried blood caked the ground and nearby trees. Their faces had the same look of fear frozen on their faces as the people of Zamafar. The pigmen also still lay where they fell. It was surprising to Marcus, he wasn't sure why, but he thought the pigmen would've moved their own dead, or eaten the fallen knights. But here they were, slowly rotting.
The members of the Holy Golden Knights commented on how disgusting the pigmen looked and how horrible the sight was. Marcus noticed Franz giving a prayer, just like he'd done at the mass grave. There was a quick discussion on if they should take the bodies back with them, even if it was just a few. However, the other squad leaders shut it down. They stated they were on an important mission and didn't have time for the bodies. The only squad leader that disagreed was Franz, but he was outvoted. They left their comrades laying in a pool of dirt and their own dried blood. Marcus hoped it wouldn't be too long for them to come back for the bodies. Hopefully when they destroyed these pigmen, they'd be able to collect them.
It was only a few feet away when they found Zamafar, or at least what remained. The fire had destroyed everything that wasn't made of stone. All that was left was the wall and the bases of what once were homes and shops. The only other thing they could spot was the charred bones of the villagers. Marcus felt like he was going to be sick. The site of his dead comrades and the villagers were becoming too much.
"The pigmen can't be too far," Franz said in a slight whisper, "We'll split up. Connor Squad and Herman Squad will search to the south. Xavier Squad, you search to the east. We'll go west."
Marcus and his squad moved to the west of Zamafar and began searching the area. This was strange of Franz. There was talk at the fort for the past few days about where the pigmen came from in the first place. A lot of people came to the consensus that the pigmen came from the west of the village. Franz was purposely taking them to the most likely spot of the pigmen. What is he doing? He thought. Then, Marcus remembered their conversation, the one where he said that Franz had always fought in the back with a bow. Is he trying to prove something?
They searched the western area for about an hour, but didn't find anything. Not even a trail leading back to the pigmen. The past hour had been mostly silent except for the mention of a broken stick or some disturbed looking vegetation. Nothing led back to the pigmen. The quiet and the sound of hooves constantly hitting the ground was driving Marcus nuts. The nervousness in his stomach had not subsided since they'd left the fort. He was starting to wish the pigmen would jump out and attack them. Just get it over with. The silence was abruptly cut when a roar blared out in the forest like a siren.
For a moment, everyone stopped what they were doing. Even the horses seemed confused at what they just heard. But then it happened again. ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRR! They all drew their swords, expecting an attack, but nothing came. Another roar blared out and now, they could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't close.
"It sounds like it's coming from the south." One knight said, finally breaking the silence.
"That's where Connor and Herman Squad is." Another knight blurted out, no longer caring about keeping quiet.
"We have to help them!" Marcus yelled out. He was about to take off, when he noticed the fear in Franz's eyes. Whatever made that roar spooked him.
When Franz noticed Marcus looking at him, he shook himself out of it and yelled, "Franz Squad follow behind me!" And they were off, riding to the south. Riding to save the other squads.