Chapter 3: Shepherd

POV: Elsbeth

Author: p0tat0-g0ddess

Elsbeth fumbled with the sack in both her hands, trying to get a hand free so she could knock on the door. It took her a moment to achieve her goal, upon which she rapped lightly on the stained wood.

"Corson!" She called inside. It was a moment before she got a response, and she glanced down the street as she waited. There was a cart full of shriveled carrots being hauled down the road- Salkadina had been forced to buy food from another settlement, and after all the robberies this was all that they could afford. Elsbeth wasn't looking forward to having carrots for the next few months, but what could they do?

Presently, she heard footsteps approaching, and Elsbeth looked back to the door as it swung open and revealed the resident.

"Elsbeth! Hey." Corson gave her a cordial nod.

"Hi." Elsbeth waved before grabbing the sack again, staggering a bit under its weight. "I brought everything you asked for- sticks and string, an' lots of it." Finally, she gave up and set the sack on the step. "What d'you need all this for, anyway?"

"Who's that?" An unfamiliar face popped into the doorway, and Elsbeth jerked back in fright. The newcomer was a player, and an armed one at that, and Elsbeth assumed the worst for only a moment before Corson jumped in.

"This is Elsbeth, she's a shepherd here." He nodded to her, then gestured to the Player. "Elsbeth, this is Kaiah. She was sent from Zone 1 to help with the bandit raids."

"Oh." Elsbeth straightened, pushing her floppy hat out of her face. "Ah, pleasure t' meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine," Kaiah chirped, and Elsbeth couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Notch knew she hadn't seen cheer like that here in Salkadina for a long time.

"Anyway," Corson said, apparently bored already with introductions. "I asked for this stuff so that we could make weapons. We're going to defend the village the next time the bandits come."

"Oh. I-" Elsbeth paused. "'We'?"

"Yes, we." There was a glint in Corson's eye - and over his skin, for that matter, but Elsbeth assumed that it was a trick of the light.

"Testificates don't fight, Corson." Elsbeth set her hands on her hips. "Charna won't like this."

"She already doesn't, but that's not going to stop me." Corson said bluntly. "Someone's going to have to defend this village, and we can't always count on a player from zone one to come and do it for us." He paused, glancing at Kaiah. "No offense."

"None taken," she assured him. "I don't mind going this far out, but it was definitely quite the trip. So, yeah! Agreed! Being able to defend yourselves is good."

"See?" Corson gave Elsbeth a meaningful look. "So, are you with us, or not?" Elsbeth blinked.

"Oh, I…" She thumbed over her shoulder. "I need to get back to my flock."

"Suit yourself." Corson stepped down from the stoop to grab the sack of materials. "Thanks for the stuff, anyway."

"Of course." Elsbeth cast a final look at the player, then scurried away, still reeling from the daringness of Corson's plan.

She made her way back through the village, tucking her hat around her ears to protect them from the savannah sun. All around her were signs of damage and decay, brought on from months of raids that constantly increased in severity. The humans were smart, they knew that the iron golems wouldn't give them a second glance unless a villager was harmed. At this point, Elsbeth wasn't sure if even the golems would be able to stop them if they decided to do so.

One of the mechanical guardians stood at the village boundaries, motionless where it stared off over the nearby desert. Salkadina didn't have a resident toolsmith, meaning that their golems had gone without repair for a long time. The constructs were cracked and rusty, their movements slow and aching, and while Elsbeth knew that they could still pack a punch she doubted that they could stand against humans that outnumbered them five to one.

Elsbeth ducked into her hut for a moment, fumbling in the comparative dimness for her shepherd's staff. Her humble house had nothing but a bed, a chest, and a lantern, as anything extra had been sold off a long time ago for supplies. Nevertheless, it was home, and it was room enough for one testificate to live comfortably.

A joyful wuff caught her attention as she headed outside the village to where her flock was waiting, and she grinned at the sight of her rusty brown sheepdog.

"Hiya, Coco." She greeted him as she came close, making a quick count of her sheep. All fourteen were present. She gave Coco a pat on the head as she passed him, and he wagged his tail enthusiastically. She'd gotten the wolf as a puppy from a testificate of the jungles, and he had been her flock's guardian ever since. He was the only reason she felt safe leaving her flock alone, even if only for just long enough to make a delivery.

The afternoon sun was warm and sleepy, and Elsbeth found her thoughts wandering again as she stood under an acacia tree. Fighting against the bandits… it seemed hopeless. Testificates had relied on their golems and any humans that saw fit to help them to protect their villages for years, they had never directly fought back. Corson had always struggled to accept this- Elsbeth had seen him getting a scolding from Charna more than a few times. It seemed that having a Player by his side had given him the confidence to reject a direct order from the village authority.

Elsbeth heaved a sigh, leaning heavily on her staff. She, on the other hand, had never been one to challenge the status quo. She was quite happy to spend her days with her sheep, spinning their wool into clothes, blankets, and anything else that could be traded away for emeralds.

Though… if these bandits kept up their raids, and it seemed very likely that they would, her way of life may not be sustainable for much longer. She kept her sheep in a barn overnight, but once they were found they would likely be slaughtered for their wool and mutton. Coco may be able to keep away the average predators, but he would be little challenge for a group of armed humans.

Elsbeth glanced back over to the village, her lips pursed as she considered her options. Charna would already be angry with her for supplying Corson with materials, so it wasn't as if joining him would really affect her fate. Besides, she didn't think Corson actually knew how to craft bows and arrows- and Elsbeth, though not a fletcher herself, had worked with them before. She didn't have to join the fight herself, but maybe she could be of help.

"Watch the flock a little longer, Coco," she told her dog, and turned to walk back towards the village.

Corson held up the two halves of his bow, frowning at the point where they were supposed to join.

"Remind me again how you do this?"

"Okay, so the arrow rests here," Elsbeth leaned over the worktable in Corson's house to point to the bow that she had fashioned for them as an example. "You take your third stick and carve a notch in it, right here, and then you fix that ta' the two limbs."

"I'm already done," Kaiah announced. Both testificates looked up in surprise to find her standing over a crafting table with a bow in hand. "You just- oh." She looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry. Forgot you guys can't do that."

"It's fine," Corson said, though he seemed a bit irritated at being outdone. "Elsbeth, help me with this."

"'Course."

Kaiah began crafting arrows while the two of them finished Corson's bow, which only needed a few finishing touches before it became a usable weapon. Elsbeth had arrived at Corson's home about fifteen minutes ago, and had found the weaponsmith struggling to wrap a stick in leather. He was trained to craft swords and axes, not bows.

"There you go," Elsbeth tucked the final strip of leather in place and pulled her tanned hands back. "Do you know how t' fire it?"

"I know enough," Corson said vaguely.

"Maybe we should set up some target blocks out back and practice," Kaiah suggested. "Do you guys have any redstone?" Elsbeth and Corson exchanged a glance. "Well, I'll take that as a 'no', then."

"It doesn't really matter what we fire at, does it?" Corson pointed out. "We just need to have something to hit."

"Yeah," Kaiah agreed. "But something soft will make it a lot easier to retrieve them."

"Oh, I have wool," Elsbeth piped up. "Will that work?"

"Sure!" Kaiah said. "Come on, let's get a range set up."

The three of them stepped out into the 'backyard' of Corson's house, which was nothing more than a space of about ten by six blocks where the grass had been trampled down in the dirt. Kaiah directed Elsbeth to place a block of wool at one end, and the three of them spent the remainder of the afternoon firing arrow after arrow at it with varying amounts of success.

Before long, the sun was setting, and Elsbeth cast a nervous glance at the western horizon. "I have to get my flock inside," she told her companions. "Do you think… well, d'you think you're ready?"

"I'm ready," Kaiah announced. "Those bandits won't know what hit them."

"And I'm sure as Nether not letting them off without a fight," Corson said grimly. "If you don't wanna help, fine, but-"

"No, I do." Elsbeth interrupted. "I'll… meet you back here as soon as possible, alright?" Corson's face softened slightly, and he nodded.

"I'll have a sword and bow ready for you. See you soon." He said. Elsbeth nodded, then dashed off towards where she had left her flock.