The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 43
The wind blew through Marcus's hair as the horses galloped to Redwater. The dense forest made it difficult to see where they were going, but according to Zacharius, it was the quickest route to Redwater. Marcus, Notch, Franz, and Zacharius rode at the front of the group. Thomas was on the same horse as Zacharius and held onto him for support. It had been nearly a whole day since they'd left Coy and everyone was starting to get anxious as the Sun slowly crept downward.
"How much further until we get to Redwater?" Marcus asked.
"We should be able to get there in the morning, we need to find a place to hole up in for the night," Zacharius answered.
Great. Marcus thought. Another night of fighting those monsters.
"It should be a few more hours until sundown," said Franz.
"Are there any towns nearby?" Marcus asked.
"No there aren't. This trail is primarily used by soldiers. I'm honestly surprised we haven't run into any yet. Although, they may be busy with mobs" Zacharius answered.
"Soldiers?" Marcus asked, "Why didn't you tell us we could run into soldiers on this trail?"
"Why did you ransack several of our villages and kill hundreds of our people?" Zacharius shot back.
"That's enough," Thomas said, exhausted by the journey.
Damnit, we should've taken the main route. Marcus thought. It would've taken longer, but there were several towns we could've stopped at for the night. What are we going to do if we get caught out here? There's still many of us that are wounded. Marcus looked at the trees. The forest is so dense, we'd probably smell the mobs before we saw them. Marcus looked at Notch. However, Notch was pretty good in that fight. He is a God after all.
"Hey Notch, how do your powers work exactly?" Marcus asked.
Notch quickly turned, surprised by the question, "Well, most of my power is gone. I stored Herobrine and my power into the Enderdragon Egg."
"I know that, but what can you do? Herobrine has been making all these new creatures out of nowhere, can't you do the same?" Marcus probed.
"No, I can't. Herobrine still having his creation was a shock to me. I suppose when I took his power, I didn't completely take it away. Me on the other hand, I took my creation away in fear of being corrupted."
"If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you just kill him?"
Notch paused before answering, "I guess, I had hoped he'd change his ways."
"Do you have any powers left?"
"Herobrine and I are the same in terms of what we have left, aside from his creation which, from what I've seen, appears to be limited. We're both faster and stronger than the average person. We're both semi-immortal. We don't need to eat, drink, or sleep to live. We can't die from old age either. However, we can die if we're damaged enough."
"What do you mean?"
"Say you took your sword there and stabbed me or Herobrine in the throat, that would kill us. That's what I plan on doing to my brother."
"Out of curiosity, what happens when someone dies? Is there an afterlife?"
"That's a good question. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer."
"You don't?"
"I've never been dead before."
There was a moment of silence before Marcus asked, "If you don't mind me asking, where have you been?"
"What do you mean?" Notch replied.
"Nobody has seen you in the last twelve-hundred years. Where were you during all that time?"
"Well…I…um…"
"Wait," Marcus interrupted, "What's that sound?"
The distinct clomping of hooves was coming from the left. The rustling of vegetation was becoming more distinct. Marcus pondered if a knight had strayed off the path, but then he remembered Zacharius talking about soldiers using this trail. The sound of hooves suddenly intensified and the nearby forest began to violently shake as if something big was moving towards them.
Oh shit. Marcus thought as he turned around to where the sound was most prevalent. Marcus tried to warn the riders behind him, "We're under att-"
CRUNCH!
A giant pig with tusks barreled out of the forest and chomped down on the head of a horse. Marcus saw it in gruesome detail. The horse's final bellowing scream as its head was crushed in the jaws of the pig. The riders look of pure horror as he began to fall forward. And finally, the life rapidly leaving the rider's eyes when the golden sword cut off his head. Marcus looked at the wielder of the golden sword and saw a pigmen riding the giant monster pig.
The pigmen let out a loud squeal which was answered by several other squeals coming from the forest. Suddenly, several pigmen riding these pig monsters popped out of the forest and began their attack. Several knights were shot down by pigmen holding crossbows.
The pigmen began screaming, "Hoglins attack!"
"It's an ambush!" Marcus yelled, "Notch, I need you to-" Notch had already jumped off his horse and began to run towards the back.
"Zacharius! Is there anywhere nearby we could barricade and defend ourselves, anywhere at all?" Marcus asked.
"If I remember correctly, there should be a bridge not far from here!" Zacharius answered.
"Good, we can use that," Marcus turned back to the knights, "Attention! Keep riding, do not engage the pigmen unless absolutely necessary! We're going to draw them to a bridge and use it as a bottleneck!"
"Yes sir!" Everyone yelled back.
Notch leaped from horse to horse trying to take out as many pigmen as possible. One pigman took a horse from a dead rider. Notch jumped onto the horse and sliced the pigman's head off. The head flew into a tree and the body engulfed in flames. Notch kicked the pigman off before it could hurt the horse.
Franz looked back unsure of what to do. His arrows had all been used up the previous night. He had no way to fight back. He watched as another hoglin barreled out of the forest. The pigman on top squealed in triumph as the large jaws of the hoglin opened and bit down on the unsuspecting knight. Franz could hear the screams of the knight inside the hoglin's mouth. He screamed for help as the hoglin opened its mouth again and bit down, finally ending his suffering.
Marcus, Zacharius, and Thomas pushed forward looking for the bridge. Suddenly, five pigmen emerged from the forest in front of them. They didn't ride hoglins, but they ran at full speed towards them. The pigmen seemed to know absolutely no fear as they ran and squealed. Marcus ran ahead of Zacharius and Thomas so that he would be the main target. Marcus's sword swung at his side as he braced for impact. As the pigmen rapidly approached, he could see on the pigmen's faces that they were enjoying every second of the fight.
Even though I have every advantage on this horse, they still run blindly at us. He thought. Three of the pigmen leaped onto the horse. Two grabbed onto the head of the horse while the other lost his grip and fell below. Marcus could hear the sickening crunches of breaking bones as they ran over the fallen pigman. However, Marcus was more concerned about the two pigmen who ran past Marcus and made a B-line for Zacharius and Thomas. Marcus was about to turn around when he felt a sword strike at his chest, nearly causing him to fall off his horse.
He turned just in time to duck his head in reaction to the second sword being swung at his head. The pigmen had crawled up the horse and were now right in his face. Luckily, the sword that had hit him bounced off his iron armor and now the pigman was preparing for another attack. Marcus took advantage of the moment and with one swift motion, he stabbed the pigman in the head. He quickly pulled it out and blocked the attack from the second pigman. Their swords clashed together like two titans. Marcus pushed with all his strength and sent the golden sword into the pigmans face. It squealed in pain as the sword lacerated his eye. Marcus then swung his sword across the pigmans neck. Blood sprayed into Marcus's face as the pigman fell off his horse. For a moment, he felt triumphant. He had fought two pigmen and survived. He had killed the monsters who'd decimated them at Zamafar.
His victory was short lived when he turned back and saw the pigmen jump onto Zacharius and Thomas's horse. The pigmen stabbed at them and Marcus saw blood fly into the air.