Chapter 22: far
Context is important. Especially when it comes to comparisons.
Without context, estimation of quantity loses its meaning, I feel. In other words, three instances of an item can lead to different impressions, depending on what those items are. Three dirt blocks is an insignificant amount in most cases, but three diamonds are much more valuable. Same number, different context.
The reason behind this tangent, is that I want to emphasize that context matters. So, when the evoker had told me that getting to the mansion shouldn't take too long, I didn't know how long was 'too long'. Therefore, I didn't know whether I should've been annoyed that we had spent an entire night and half a day at sea, or not. Here's how our journey went:
It had been sunset when we departed from the valley. In total, the fleet was composed of seven boats made of dark oak, which were arranged in a 'v' formation. The evoker was on the front boat, leading the way, along with a pillager that carried their trademark banner.
On the boat on their left, was a single pillager. Instead of a passenger, the boat's second seat was taken up by a small chest. On the right boat, was Matilda and me. The rest of the boats were all occupied by other pillagers.
When it comes to our boat, I was the one who was doing the paddling, mostly. I was following the leading group as best I could, but the witch's barrage of questions really tested my patience.
"Do you remember how you ended up in this world?"
"What's your level number?"
"Do you have any brewing experience?"
And so on and so forth. Most questions that were directed at me, were met deliberately with the shortest possible answers. I wasn't in the mood to chat, and I tried to make that obvious. The next question was no exception.
"How does being one of the last remaining humans make you feel?"
"Alright," I replied. There was a brief pause. Emphasis on 'brief'.
"Alright? Alright!? The hell sort of answer is that!? Days are 'alright'; the weather is 'alright'; a plan is 'alright'. You can't just confine your thoughts to a mere 'alright'!"
"You're right, my mistake... It makes me feel...fine..."
"..."
"..."
"...Oh, brother, we've got a real comedian here, guys! Did Sebastian teach you how to tell jokes?"
The pillagers that were paddling behind us, who were probably overhearing our one-sided discussion, started laughing, which only added to my irritation.
"Leave me be."
"...Fine. I'll ask again some other time!"
'Sure, you will.'
As the witch left me to my own devices – those being paddling, I could better appreciate the scenery. It was past midnight of the first day, and the water was completely still. This allowed it to reflect the full moon, along with the stars.
Beneath the water, various light sources shone through, although I couldn't quite identify them. Most appeared to be some kind of plant, strangely enough. These light sources were huddling close to corals of various sizes and colors, ranging from red and yellow, to blue and even pink. Squids and various fish were swimming by. Coral reefs were a beacon of life amidst the (mostly) empty oceans.
As the sun was starting to rise behind us, we were leaving the coral reef. The part of the ocean we were entering, was rather barren. Of course, there was the usual kelp, the occasional fish, and the rare squid, but not much else.
Now that the visibility was better, I decided to sneak a few glances toward the others, not having anything better to do. We were paddling on a straight line, for the most part, so I didn't have to be too attentive.
The leader, or Eva, as they'd said I could call them, was having small talk with their co-passenger. They would occasionally check behind them, probably to make sure that we were all following.
Matilda had pulled out a book, that lacked a title, or anything that would signify its contents. She was scribbling something on it, but I couldn't tell what that was, due to our positions. Not that I had any interest in knowing.
The other pillagers were having noisy conversations with each other. The duo right behind us, for instance, were having an argument.
"Dude, I'm telling you, I saw it! It was about this big, and it swooped down on me!" one of them complained.
"Babe, are you sure you didn't drink any suspicious stew, or something? Because I've never seen, or heard, anything like it," the other replied dismissively. The former pillager caught me looking at them.
"Hey, have you ever encountered a flying creature that looks like a reptile of sorts? Blue scales, green eyes, webbed wings, nocturnal?"
"Can't say I have," I replied. "I've seen crazier stuff than that, though, so, who knows...?" I added with little care. The pillager didn't appear too satisfied by my answer. When Matilda heard it, however, she chimed in with, "Would you mind elaborating on that?"
"Yes, I would mind."
She groaned quietly and resumed scribbling on her notebook.
As we kept advancing through the seemingly endless open sea, I began to notice that the temperature was slowly beginning to decline. We were traveling at a decently fast pace, so maybe that's why it was even noticeable... Initially, I had assumed it was because of a cold breeze, but upon realizing that it wasn't becoming warm again, I started having doubts.
It wouldn't be until I would see the small clouds formed by our breaths, that I'd figure out what caused such a shift. On the horizon, a few odd structures could be seen, sticking out of the surface of the water. Icebergs. Some spikier, some rounder.
On the bright side, just beyond the icebergs, was land, so we'd finally be able to walk again. Upon beaching, I stretched, in order to shake off the numbness in my legs. Most of the others did the same.
Eva held two torches, one in each hand. A few pillagers huddled closer to them. Matilda held on to some kind of yellow, glowing powder, that kind of reminded me of blaze powder, but its color and texture wasn't quite the same. As for myself, I took out a torch.
We treaded onwards, through the snowy plains. This biome was much flatter and more desolate, when compared to its non-snowy counterpart. The most common instances of life, consisted of some tall grass, and even a few flowers that had sprung up through the thick, white blanket of snow. It was impressive that they had the willpower to persist in such an extreme environment.
Seldom, we'd spot a tall, solitary spruce tree in the distance. A couple of white-furred rabbits were snuggling beneath one. The rarest form of life by far, was a polar bear I spotted prowling on a faraway hill. It didn't come near us, thankfully.
Soon enough, a white rabbit peeked out of a hole in the ground and got near our group in subtle hops. When it got close enough, Matilda flung a potion at it, in a lightning-fast motion. The animal let out a high-pitched shriek, and died, leaving behind an item that resembled a part of its body.
Matilda picked it up and inspected it for a moment. My gaze probably lingered for a little too long.
"Need help with something?" she asked, arching her brow.
I gestured toward the item she was holding.
"What? I need materials. How else do you think I brew potions?"
I nodded along in understanding. No one else seemed to have paid that event any mind, so perhaps it was normal. Anyway, as we continued forward, the environment didn't seem to change much. The sun's position told me it was around noon.
Feeling uncertain as to how much longer we had left to go, I decided to ask the witch.
"Hmm, we might get there by midnight, who knows?"
"Midnight, huh? That's gonna take a while..."
"Yeah... Would you like to answer a few questions of mine to pass the time?"
"Not quite yet," I responded, before picking up my pace to get closer to the leader.
"Figures," I heard her voice trail.
I walked up behind Eva. They hadn't noticed me yet. The others snuck curious glances my way, but nobody said anything. I gently poked them on their shoulder.
"Eva..."
"Steve? What is it?"
"I just wanted to ask, what will we do when nighttime comes? Will we keep going, or will we take shelter?"
They turned around and addressed their followers.
"Everyone, I need your opinions," they started. They asked their followers the questions I asked them and started a poll. Three pillagers voted to set down camp, whereas the remaining pillagers ultimately decided we should keep going. Eva and I were the only ones who didn't vote.
"There's your answer," she told me.
"Alright." I reclaimed my spot next to Matilda. Not that I had any obligation to, it just felt the most natural. We all pressed on.
Somehow, in the midst of all the white, I noticed a structure made of snow. It was hemisphere shaped, with a small tunnel for an entrance; an igloo.
'Who on their right mind would settle down in a place like this?'
...
Some time passed. The light that was emanating from our torches was becoming increasingly brighter when compared to our surroundings. Red streaks painted the section of the sky in front of us. This hue, which was reflected dimly on the snow, was dwindling down, before vanishing altogether, as the sun set.
On the bright side, that meant that we were probably getting closer to our destination. Matilda had left my side and walked up to her higher-up. I couldn't hear what they were discussing exactly, but from what I could gather, it had something to do with their base's safety.
Some groups of pillagers were quietly whispering among themselves, while looking up at the few stars that weren't obscured by clouds, while others remained more alert of their surroundings.
Mobs would probably start spawning anytime soon. I didn't care much. All of us here were armed, and, as I had learned from experience, perfectly capable in combat. Spiders; creepers; zombies – I'd seen it all before.
"Hey, pal," a pillager told me. "Don't you think you should take care of them?" They were gesturing to a nearby zombie.
"Why should I bother? You aren't going to die..."
'As if I'd be saddened if you would...'
"Oh, we're gonna be fine, because you're the one they're after," another replied. I turned my gaze, only for their words to be confirmed. The undead was ignoring everyone else.
"Good grief..."
I dispatched the threat without much effort, in spite of the inferior equipment I had. We carried ahead, and I was on the lookout for any other monsters that could sneak up on us.
...
It finally happened. I didn't want to jump to conclusions too hastily, but as we kept walking, I realized that the end of the cold biome was in sight. The outlines of the tall, dark oak trees were just visible, when contrasted with the night sky.
I felt some relief in the thought that I'd have a roof over my head again, but then...what?
I'd be living with the illagers? The original idea was that I'd get closer to the leader and take them out. And yet, as I kept thinking about it, would I even succeed in such a task? If I were to take them head-on, I'd probably be defeated... But if I were to attempt to do the deed in a stealthy way, would I even get a proper opportunity? Even if I did, what would their followers do? I'm sure they wouldn't let something like that slid-
"Ow!"
Something hit me in the back with great force, which led to me nearly falling face-first on the snow. I heard sounds of surprise at first, and then someone shouted, "A stray!"
I tried to move but felt exceptionally sluggish in the process. After finally managing to turn around, I saw a skeleton-like figure standing a good distance away from me. Even though it didn't differ greatly from a regular skeleton on a surface level, it still presented some key differences.
Its eye sockets were glowing white, and it appeared to be wearing tattered blue rags. The arrows it carried also had a black glow to them.
Upon seeing it, Matilda threw a potion bottle at the undead. I didn't know what that potion was, but the stray didn't move very fluid after it got hit. I tried to raise my sword, but that proved to be too demanding of a task for me, which was more embarrassing than I would have liked to admit. No one else tried to attack the undead, oddly enough.
That was, until a source of purple light lit up our surroundings. I turned my head around and saw Eva looming behind me. Their outstretched right hand was glowing. Once a few seconds elapsed, two rows of small fangs sprang from the ground around me. New fangs were forming closer to the stray, while the old ones were fading away, at a fast pace.
Once the fangs reached its location, they all disappeared. It was then, that a giant jaw pinched the skeleton, the undead's bones breaking with a deafening crunch. That was the same attack the evoker had used on Johnathan, except it was delivered more swiftly here.
Once the enemy was nothing more than a couple arrows, I felt the firm hand of the evoker squeeze my shoulder.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine..."
At the top right corner of my vision, an icon that depicted a metal sphere linked to a chain faded in. Inspecting it further, I learned that I had been afflicted with the 'Slowness' effect. How would an undead even have such an ability, I didn't know. We all exited the snowy biome without further incident, thankfully.
...
One dark oak after the other, we at last reached our destination. Even though I wanted to play it off as disinterested, the sheer scope of the structure made it hard not to be impressed.
Judging by the light shining through the windows, the mansion was a massive, rectangle shaped, three-story building, made mostly of dark oak planks, and cobblestone. It was so massive, in fact, that I wouldn't be surprised if even every building in Cornelia stacked together, had a smaller surface area compared to it.
Passing through the courtyard, we set foot in the front doorway, which was lacking doors for some odd reason. As such, the foyer could be seen without even entering. Naturally, the evoker entered first, while the rest of us followed suit.
The foyer had access to a long staircase on the front, and two long hallways on the left and right sides. Red carpet had been placed down on the floor, which was made out of birch planks. A bunch of other illagers had been on stand-by, probably waiting for us to arrive. A large, wooden chandelier, that was hanging from the tall ceiling, provided ample illumination for me to notice all these details.
Standing on the first step of the staircase, Eva cleared their throat, and spoke up.
"My dear comrades! Thank you for persevering on this special mission. Because of your efforts, we succeeded in making our voice heard in spite of our loses, and the fact that a new potential ally is here among us, is a testament to that. To thank you, I've made sure to leave a personalized gift in each of your rooms. You're free to rest."
Everyone began heading to their rooms with a satisfied expression.
"Well, see ya tomorrow, Steve. I'll be looking forward to our interview!" the witch called, and soon, I was left alone. Well, perhaps that's not totally accurate.
"Steve, let me lead you to your room," Eva offered.
'Kill the illager leader...'
They led me up to the third floor, which was quite a bit smaller in size when compared to the other floors. We walked down a hall, which was of a design similar to the rest of this place: Birch floors, red carpet, and dark oak walls. We stopped outside a room near the east corner of the mansion. It had a simple, wooden door separating it from the rest of the wing.
"This is it. Tomorrow, we'll give you a proper tour of this place. Thank you again, for coming with us."
"..."
"Goodnight."
"..."
They departed. In the end, I hesitated...
That was the ideal opportunity to get this over with, but I just...couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't know if it was because I couldn't do it, or because I didn't want to. Dejected, I opened the door to my... room... It was bigger than my previous one, having enough space for a bed with blue covers, two makeshift tables, a double chest, and a...jukebox?
Curious, I examined it, just in case it had a music disc inside. To my surprise, it did. The disc had a bluish-green inner outline, and it was titled 'far'. I re-inserted it into the machine, and a calm, almost whimsical melody began to play. Feeling like it fit the atmosphere, I let it continue, and rested on my new bed.
My mind still couldn't quite comprehend everything that had transpired in those last few days. I had no idea what my life would be like from that point on. All I knew for certain, was that, for the very first time, I was really far away from home...