The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 49
The next morning, Marcus finally gazed at the walls of Redwater. They were tall and strong. Mostly made up of cobblestone with a lining of deepslate, it was a fortification second only to Fort Deepslate. The walls were twelve blocks high, but they were ten blocks thick. The top was stacked with guards carrying crossbows. The horses were exhausted from the trip, but they finally made it to Redwater.
To the left of the gate, Marcus could see the river. He could already picture luring the mutant creeper into the river and finishing it off. He imagined slaughtering the pigmen army and taking down the mutant zombie. Marcus was giddy with ideas of avenging not just his fallen comrades, but all the innocent people who had been killed by Herobrine's monsters.
"We need to hurry and meet with the mayor," said Marcus, "Defenses have to be set up as soon as possible."
The townspeople lined the street, staring at their former enemies. Most had a disgusted look on their face once they noticed the Miter Knights. Some spit in their direction. The knights kept their heads down in guilt.
Marcus too kept his head down, until he noticed a young girl. She stared wide-eyed at them and turned to her father, "Dad, are they here to fight the monsters?"
The father picked up his daughter and whispered in her ears, but Marcus couldn't pick up what he said. Marcus took a breath and said, "Don't worry, we're here to help fight the monsters." The father looked up in shock, but the girl smiled. Marcus began to have flashbacks to the young girl and her father in Morzen.
I failed them before. Marcus thought. I won't fail these people.
The crowd really began to increase when they noticed Notch. People began lining up and praying towards him. Many called out saying he was their savior. Marcus could tell it was making Notch uncomfortable.
"Are you doing alright," Marcus asked.
"What? Oh, yes I am. It's just, I don't deserve this," Notch admitted.
"None of us truly deserve this opportunity," said Marcus, "But we can't let it go to waste. You're an inspiration to these people, a symbol of hope. Let them have it."
Notch smiled and nodded his head. Notch pulled out one of his swords and held it high into the air. The glow of its enchantments glistened in the early morning sun. The people cheered as he rode by.
"Today marks a great day for humanity! We will show these monsters what we're made of! Today, we send Herobrine and his monsters back to Hell!" Notch screamed. The rest of the knights unsheathed their swords and held them high. The city uproared in cheering.
Just you wait, Herobrine. Marcus thought. We'll kill you.
The meeting with the mayor was swift. Lt. Daegal managed to convince him quickly of the Miter Knight's intentions. Once they were given the approval. The meeting quickly became a discussion of strategy. It only took two hours to have a plan in place, once it was done, work began immediately to begin preparations.
"There's something I would like you to see," said Lt. Daegal.
Lieutenant Daegal led Notch, Marcus, and Franz into a large room. Once inside, the light shone in Marcus's eye. The shining of metal caused him to flinch and look away.
"Holy shit," said Franz.
"They look beautiful," said Notch.
Marcus readjusted his eyes and admired the diamond armor. His mouth dropped open at the sight of it. The light blue color made it look as if the sky itself had been smelted into armor. It was shiny and had clearly never been worn to battle before.
"This…this is amazing, it's actual diamond armor," Marcus complimented.
"It took us a while to make these," Lt. Daegal explained, "With diamonds being so rare, especially during wartime, it's been difficult to acquire the diamonds necessary to make these, but, we did it."
Marcus walked up and felt the smooth exterior which had the sensation of fresh glass. He saw himself in the reflection and smiled.
"Anyone would be honored to dawn this armor," said Marcus.
"I know, which is why I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to take up that honor?" asked Lt. Daegal.
Marcus smiled again, "I would love to, but these are so rare. I don't know if I could."
"It's true we don't have many of these, however, I insist on you taking it," assured Lt. Daegal, "I of course will also be wearing a set and a few of our best warriors will also be wearing some. We want you to stand beside us against Herobrine. Please, try it on."
Notch patted Marcus on the back as he took a helmet. Marcus nodded to Lt. Daegal and began to suit up. The armor fit snugly onto him. It was soft on the inside compared to its hard exterior; the most comfortable armor he'd ever worn.
When they finished putting on the armor, Lt. Daegal came to them with a chest in his hands, "Of course, with this armor, I'd like to offer you an upgrade to your weapons."
He opened the chest which contained three hand crafted diamond swords. The swords showed no stains, it was fresh and new. The blades were so sharp, Marcus felt he'd get cut just by looking at them. Marcus and Franz slowly each grabbed a sword and marveled at them. The brothers looked at each other with the biggest grins they'd ever had and they high fived.\
However, Notch did not take a sword, "If it's alright with you, I'd like to keep my swords."
"Of course, you can use any weapon you want," Lt. Daegal accepted as he placed the chest down.
"Although, I do have one question," said Notch, "Do you have a cape?"
…
Thomas and Zacharius had been sent to a hospital immediately upon arriving in Redwater. Thomas's arm had gotten infected, even after medical treatment at the fort and his leg needed proper treatment. Marcus arrived at the hospital and was devastated to see Thomas in his state. Marcus knelt by the side of his hospital bed.
"That's some badass armor you're wearing," Thomas laughed.
"Thanks man," Marcus chuckled, "How are you holding up?"
"I'm doing better than I was riding on a horse with a broken leg," said Thomas.
"Yeah, I'm sorry that you had to go through that," Marcus apologized.
"Don't worry about it. If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead right now," Thomas replied.
"It's not just that, I'm sorry for everything that you had to go through. We kidnapped you and enslaved you, I enslaved you," Marcus couldn't bear to look Thomas in the eye, "I know my apology will never make up for it, but I am truly sorry."
Thomas put his hand on Marcus's shoulder, "Look man, nobody is perfect. We've all done some fucked up stuff before, but it's who you choose to be now that determines who you are. And what are you going to do right now?"
"I'm gonna kill Herobrine," Marcus smiled.
"Hell yes you are!" Thomas laughed. The two embraced each other and patted each other on the back, "Just try to make it back man."
"I haven't died yet," Marcus assured.
Suddenly, Lt. Daegal came into the room, "We need to move out soon, our scouts have spotted the pigmen army. They're on their way."