The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 47
The bodies of the fallen knights were collected by the southern soldiers. When they were brought to the base, they quickly had to decide what to do with the bodies. Night wasn't far away. A decision was made to burn the bodies and hold a quick funeral for them. The knights, Notch, and even some of the southerners attended. Embers and ash danced around their mourning comrades. A small piece of ash landed on Franz's hand.
Why am I the way I am? Franz thought. If my brother fell in combat, would I really just leave? That's what I've been saying…but. Franz squeezed the ash in his hand. These people fought so that they could save the world. I'm fighting just to keep my brother safe. I don't care about anyone else.
The heat from the flames made Franz take a step back. But…these knights were willing to cross into the Southern Territories to warn them. They're not just fighting for themselves or their own families, they're fighting for strangers. That goes double for the one's still alive.
Franz looked to the other knights. Some stared stone faced into the flame. Some silently wept. These men are truly worthy to be called knights. Franz's eyes found Marcus, kneeling down and giving a prayer. He especially deserves that title. Me on the other hand, no. What would happen if he fell? I'll do my best to keep him alive, but what if it does happen? Will I really abandon them?
"So," a voice spoke from behind Franz, "You're really the one who killed General Ausmin?" Franz turned and say Lt. Daegal.
"Yes sir," Franz responded.
"I haven't had the chance to thank you yet," said Lt. Daegal, "I know this might not be an appropriate time, but you really did us a great service in taking him out."
Franz was surprised by the compliment, "Oh, I did?"
"That man was a war criminal. He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of our citizens. I just wanted to say thank you. I look forward to fighting alongside you, Franz." said Lt. Daegal.
"I look forward to fighting alongside you as well lieutenant," Franz said whilst shaking Daegal's hand.
"You're a real hero Franz," said Lt. Daegal as he walked away.
A hero? Franz thought. Not likely.
…
After the funeral, the knights were invited to a feast with the soldiers. Inside the cave, a small banquet was prepared. Porkchops, mutton, chicken, carrots, potatoes, beets, it was a bountiful feast. Marcus, Franz, Notch, Thomas, and Zacharius sat near each other. Lt. Daegal also joined the four at their table.
"So lieutenant, what's your story?" asked Notch.
"Me?" Daegal responded.
"Yes you," Notch laughed, "We've told you practically everything about us, I want to know what your story is."
"Well, I was born and raised in Redwater like your friend Zacharius here," said Daegal, "It's good to meet a fellow resident."
"It's good to meet a fellow resident too," said Zacharius, "Speaking of which, we don't seem too far apart in age, I wonder if we went to the same school."
"Oh yeah, I went to Lunberi Academics," said Daegal.
"Really me too, did you go to Mallan's party a couple decades ago?" Zacharius enthusiastically asked.
"I did! That party was insane, first time I ever kissed a girl," Daegal laughed.
"Me too!" Zacharius and Daegal laughed.
"Well anyway," Daegal continued, "After I graduated, I joined the military like my father did. Although, I haven't seen too much action. My father was a high ranking officer before he passed away. My father's influence helped me rise the ranks quickly. As a result, most of my military career has been spent in logistics. That fight at the bridge was the most combat I've seen in probably five years."
"It was certainly good luck you found us on the bridge when you did," Franz laughed.
"No, not luck," said Daegal, "We were actually on our way to fight you. Some of our scouts spotted you, likely not long before you were attacked. I figured you were part of an invasion force. We were waiting in the treeline by the bridge to attack you. That's when we heard the screams and we saw Thomas and Zacharius."
"Woah, really?" said Marcus.
"Yeah. In a weird way, I guess it was good you were attacked," Daegal replied, "Speaking of which, you're sure water stopped that creeper from killing you?"
Flashbacks to the creeper in the water enveloped Marcus, "Yes I'm sure. I could reach out and touch it, I was that close to it. But when it exploded, it didn't hurt me at all. That's why I think we could do the same for the mutant creeper."
"Are you sure the river is big enough for that thing?" Franz asked.
"Oh yes there is. The river by Redwater is fifty blocks deep and one-hundred blocks wide. I assure you, if Thomas's estimation of its size is correct, it should be deep enough," Daegal answered.
"Yes, but what I'm more curious about is how we lure it into the river," said Notch.
"I'm still working on that," Marcus answered, "Hopefully our survey of the town itself might give us a better understanding of what to do. As for the pigmen, I think that will be a lot easier than we think."
"I don't know, those little bastards are vicious," Franz challenged.
Marcus answered, "Listen, they are vicious, but they're also incredibly stupid. These pigmen just run full force at whatever they're attacking. They ran straight at me during the ambush, even while I was on a horse. There was also no strategy to their attack at Zamafar. They just blindly attacked. We can lure them into a trap and take out as many as we can at once."
"What about the mutant zombie? We never came up with a solution for him," asked Daegal.
"We'll still need to work on that," Marcus begrudgingly answered.
"Hopefully Herobrine is at the battle," said Notch, "Otherwise, the only other way I can think of finding him is by going to the Nether Portal."
"I was going to ask you about this. So, this Nether Portal, what does it look like?" asked Daegal.
"It should be a purple portal surrounded by obsidian," Notch answered.
Suddenly, Daegal snapped his head towards Notch, "Purple?"
"Yes purple," Notch replied.
"Oh my god," said Daegal.
"Do you know where it is?" Notch asked.
"No, but I do have an idea. The day the monsters appeared, something odd happened. It was in the middle of the day, I was patrolling the wall. Suddenly, there was a loud bang noise from far off in the mountains. And that's when I saw it, a purple shockwave rifted through the sky above Redwater. I thought I was hallucinating, but several others saw it too. This light took the form of a circle, like the shockwave from a tnt blast. We were thinking about finding the center point of where it might've come from, but that's when the mobs showed up and the purple light became much less of a priority. However, after talking to many of the refugees who saw the light that day, we think we might have an estimation of where the source might've been. Do you think this could be this Nether Portal?"
"It is," Notch answered, "I remember when I created the portal, it made a loud noise and a stream of purple light cascaded through the sky. That's exactly what it is."
"Perfect, we can begin drawing up a map of where it might be," said Daegal excitedly.
The group high fived each other and lifted their drinks.
"This is a weird feeling," Marcus suddenly said. Everyone turned to him, "I just mean, I've never felt this hopeful. We have a solid plan and tomorrow we'll really solidify it at Redwater. I feel good about this."
"Cheers to that brother," cheered Franz.
"Hell yeah Marcus," Thomas yelled.
"We'll take our revenge for all the people killed by that monster," Daegal ensured.
"Soon, Herobrine will die," Notch cheered.
"This nightmare will be over soon," said Marcus.