Chapter 18: Drowned City


Traveling was less painful than it had been before, and Steve could attribute that fact to nobody but Squash.

The ravager had trotted along eagerly, taking both him and Constiere without protest on a comfortable ride through the various landscapes they stumbled upon. Steve made sure that Squash had enough breaks to be comfortable and happy as they went along, pleasing the creature as they strengthened their bond.

The group continued their journey until the grass beneath them soon became heavily damp, the trees became further spaced out, and they soon found themselves making their way into untamed marshland. Approaching the waterline, they found themselves short one member as they carried on, with Herobrine sending Andvari off to "take care of other matters" while they were busy. The water was cold and nearly threatened to bring forth the promise of illness the longer the group walked within it. Surprisingly, however, it was relatively clear, and as Steve looked down at the water, he could easily see the dirt and gravel that laid at the bottom of the area.

As he was looking idly, he failed to properly notice the sound of shifting fabric as his passenger made the decision to go on foot without announcing his actions. Before Steve could say anything about it, Constiere hopped off of Squash without warning, causing a bit of a splash as he came down into the water. Much to Steve's relief, Squash did not react to the flung droplets, instead continuing to move on ahead as Constiere froze in utter shock at the contact with the water, a cry leaving his lips.

"W-why is it so cold?!" He asked as he slowly began to wade his way through the water, hesitating with every step as the flesh and fur beneath his shoes and pants begged for him to return to the back of the ravager.

"It's winter." Came Malgun's blunt reply.

"It's about to be, anyway. Also, Maemond Pond is relatively more up north and more in an elevated area than where we've been wandering around. It's bound to be colder." Herobrine added, walking through the water without much of a reaction to its temperature.

"Y-yeah, but it's still day outside! Shouldn't that heat it up a bit?!"

Stopping in his tracks, Herobrine thought over the other's words a bit before looking down at the water beneath him.

"...You have a point, there."

Continuing to walk, Herobrine faced forward as Constiere picked up his footing, though the cold had yet to subside.

"...As I've said before, Maemond is a waterlogged city. To what extent, I'm not sure, but cold temperatures plus a marshland city equals certain death. Do not let your guard up, and, whatever you do, don't fall completely in. We've yet to test that sort of strain on your system, Constiere." Giving a quick glance back toward the other to make sure he was listening, Herobrine continued to lead the group.

Looking toward the others, Steve began to idly pet Squash, whispering and thinking of several different apologies he could whisper to her for withstanding the cold in his stead.

Constiere, quite evidently, could not stand the cold, while Herobrine seemed to embrace it. Malgun, though pausing with each step, was making his way through the water rather calmly as well, though Steve shuddered to think of what it was like to do such a thing with your bones exposed, no flesh existing in order to cover them properly. He didn't even want to dip his toes into the water, even though his boots were made for tough environments and he still had his flesh attached to him, let alone walk in it.

The sun was doing nothing to help them. Granted, the sun was only just about to set, so nobody really expected for it to provide enough warmth, anyway. Apart from that, it was getting to be that time of year when the sun seemed to be chilled with the weather, as well. No matter what it did or how brightly it shone, it couldn't possibly break through the barrier of frost that winter brought.

The depth of the water soon became a bit deeper, and Constiere returned to the back of the ravager, who remained indifferent. Without much warning, Constiere buried his face into Steve's pack, shivering a bit as the miner could do nothing but brace himself and lean a bit forward with Constiere's weight pushing into him.

"...It's that bad?" Steve asked the boy, turning his head around slightly to look at him.

"Y-you wanna see f-for yourself? I c-can't feel my f-feet…" The boy shuddered as he spoke, shaking off his feet in order to get any sort of water out and off of his shoes as best he could.

"If this is 'bad' for you, I wonder what kind of hell awaits you when we get to the snowy wastelands of the north." Herobrine added onto their conversation, his tone filled with the implication that he'd rolled his eyes, as well.

Steve turned his head back in order to glare at him.

"You like the cold, or something? Why aren't you reacting to it?"

Herobrine turned around to look at him with a neutral expression, walking backward as he did so.

"...To be frank with you, I'm currently in my own personal hell right now. I hate the cold, the frost, and whatnot, but we have to be here anyway. I can bear it, for now."

"T-that's because you have f-fire magic, a-and stuff! And you're taller!" Constiere whined.

"...The water would threaten to drown you faster than it would me, I suppose. Remain on the ravager, then." Herobrine glanced over to the boy with an unamused expression.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

Constiere slightly brought his legs closer to his body, though he immediately regretted it as he was left with the realization that his pants were still wet.

"Ugh...I know it's supposed to be snowy up in places like Brickston, but that's solid snow! If you fall in that stuff, at most, you get a light dusting of snow on you. You don't get drenched, and it definitely doesn't last long!"

A quiet laugh escaped Herobrine's lips.

"Keep in mind that Brickston is at even higher altitudes than where we are now. A 'light dusting' of snow is more preferable to the blizzards we will likely have to face on our way there, if luck evades us and chance comes to bite us in the ass." Herobrine spat out the last of his words as he looked down with a glare, seemingly heavily occupied with his thoughts.

"...I know. I'm familiar with Brickston, and whatever. Heard about it before." Constiere mumbled as his words were muffled by the fabric of Steve's pack.

"...Good, then. You'll be ready for that when we get there."

As the group continued to travel through the cold marsh, they eventually came upon several, spaced-out pillars of cobblestone, rising from the waters in different directions. They reached toward the sky like sharpened talons, and varied wildly in terms of quality. Approaching one cautiously, Malgun stared at it for a minute or so before turning to look toward Herobrine.

"...These don't appear to be made by humans."

Walking up to one as well, Herobrine stared at the surface of the stone claw for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"I'll have to agree with you on that. These structures bear evidence of being made by claw rather than pure hand. They reek of death and appear to be so ill-thought-out in terms of placement."

Constiere lifted his head up from Steve's bag, glancing around at the claws as well.

"They might be a warning or whatever. I don't know about whatever mob placed these, but creepers tend to mark our territory with gunpowder and the remains of the detonated. Maybe it's the same for these guys, but with more rocks." After Constiere finished, he lowered his head back down and buried his face within the miner's pack once again.

Steve took note of the information, briefly thinking back to previous times when he could've spotted anything similar to what Constiere had mentioned.

"...The endermen wouldn't be so crude to make such disgraceful monuments such as these. Their architectural beauty is sporadic, but it's still, at the very least, organized. Relatively. Besides, they can't even come here." Herobrine placed a hand upon the claw he was in front of, watching unimpressed as it immediately collapsed at his touch, splashing him a bit as it fell into the water.

"The skeletons don't make things like these, either." Malgun said.

"Creepers can't build much other than nests." Constiere said, voice muffled.

"And hell if the spiders suddenly became aware enough to do away with webs. That leaves us with the zombies as potential suspects for these ugly things." Herobrine said, continuing to walk on forward.

Steve looked at the stone creations around them with confusion.

"...But why?"

Herobrine shrugged.

"Zombies don't typically do things like this, since their previous lives are typically washed completely away by the time they reanimate. They aren't acting by my orders, either. I'd never instruct them to make such a pointless move."

The demigod looked toward the miner.

"...But that's beside the point. I'm sure that these claws mean something important to the zombies and whatnot, but there are more important matters to discuss as we draw nearer to the city."

Walking backward as he placed himself slightly in front of the other, Herobrine gave Steve a stern, serious expression.

"Maemond Pond will likely have houses and buildings that have succumbed to the marsh. We will reside there. You on the other hand will be investigating things by yourself. I expect finding the portal will not be a big issue, as Maemond is significantly smaller than Litefall. If you ride on the beast and proclaim your title, they will most likely accommodate you well enough."

Steve nodded in understanding.

"That sounds easy."

Herobrine narrowed his gaze a bit.

"Find any information that would benefit us, as well. Report it as soon as you find it so that we don't delay in keeping our pace up."

Nodding again, Steve looked forward, spotting something in the distance that caught his attention. As Herobrine followed his gaze and turned around to walk properly, a smirk appeared on his face the more he examined the distant structure.

"...It appears that we've arrived."

Upon getting relatively closer to the distant figure, Steve soon realized that it was a building, most likely a house. It was made mostly of cobblestone and a bit of wood, though it was evident even from a distance that the wood was rotting.

Herobrine held an arm out, stopping the ravager in its tracks as Malgun stopped as well.

"...We'll wait behind here. Steve, go and introduce yourself. Constiere, get off."

With a groan, Constiere lifted his head up and began to slide off of the beast, holding himself on the saddle as he tested the depth of the water before completely dismounting, letting out a small cry of shock as he quickly moved away from Squash. Once the boy was far away enough, Steve directed Squash to keep moving, soon finding himself quite a bit away from the group as he entered the range of the city.

Saying that it was a "city" was quite generous, as the area he found himself in was completely devoid of trees and any signs of human life, with there being only a couple of houses present within the area. These buildings appeared to be completely empty, much to his surprise, though he could attribute that to the water that had lapped up upon the front doorsteps of these houses. As he traveled further in, he only briefly recognized the gradual density of the placement of the buildings before he noticed that the water had gotten a bit deeper. He suddenly found the tips of his feet being submerged within the water, and more of Squash's body had become submerged as well.

"Sorry girl…" Steve apologized quietly as he pet the ravager gently, hoping that his words came across and that he'd find a bit of higher ground before night came and made the water even more chilled than it already was.

He didn't have to search for long, however, as the sight of a raised platform caught his attention ahead of him. The sudden presence of living beings gained his focus, as well.

Despite the fact that the buildings that he had passed were currently in various stages of being consumed by the marsh, the area he was approaching had raised buildings and pathways held together by sturdy cobblestone pillars, reinforced by what appeared to be a light turquoise type of stone that he'd never seen before. In various different spots that he could make out from where he currently was, there appeared to be stairs leading into the water, sharing the same features that the building supports had. The closer he got to the village, the more he realized that these buildings were made more of spruce wood from the floor up, and the pathways were made of oak in the middle.

The more noise that Squash made by wading through the water, the more that he himself received attention as he closed the distance between him and the city. Stopping a few feet in front of the elevated road, Steve looked up at the various strangers who had stopped their various tasks in order to stare at him. He felt a bit nervous with the attention, tightening his grip around Squash's reins in response.

"...Um, hi there. By any chance, do you guys take in travelers?" Steve asked, voice a bit unsure.

A couple of the villagers looked at each other for a moment before one stepped forward, a smile on their face. They wore short, turquoise robes with their black hair tied in a small bun, hands wrapped with bandages.

"Yes! We have several inns here for you and your...companion there, to rest in! Come!" The stranger motioned for Steve to ascend the closest stairway to them, which Steve happily directed Squash toward.

As the beast slowly rose from the waters, he heard a general wave of awe wash through the small, spaced crowd that had gathered, watching him as he followed the villager who had offered to lead him.

The villager let out a small laugh, looking up at him with interest.

"Quite an odd beast you have there. Mind explaining why you aren't running away in fear because of it?"

Steve chuckled lightly.

"I...I tamed it. I'm known as the Champion of Beasts where I'm fr-"

"Champion?"

A wave of surprise and interest overtook their conversation as pure wonder lit up within the gazes of the crowd.

"Did it hurt you?"

"How did you become champion?"

"Champion?"

"How did you manage that?"

As the questions came, he felt himself becoming a bit overwhelmed, but thankfully, the one villager who had spoken to him first began to wave off the crowd.

"Hey, hey! He just got here, and he's probably tired from his journey! Besides, you lot need to get home and prepare yourselves for the night ahead. We may stop for conversation, but the sun doesn't not stop with us." Came the stranger's voice, leading to the crowd quickly dispersing as a general sense of realization washed over them, causing them to scatter.

The stranger looked back to Steve.

"Now, let's get you somewhere safe for the night. Maemond Pond isn't exactly known for peaceful evenings."

Nodding, Steve continued to follow the other.

The three made their way through the city rather awkwardly, with various other strangers stopping to stare at the miner as he rode upon Squash. Not wanting to stand out too much, Steve eventually dismounted her, instead choosing to lead her by the reins on foot. Though this did nothing to stop the stares, it eased his nerves a bit as he chose to hide behind her as much as he could.

Approaching another similarly-styled building that was significantly larger than the others, the stranger stopped in front of the building, glancing over to Steve.

"Here we are! These folks in particular have space for your friend, here. Tell 'em Ralphie sent you. Now, if you'll excuse me, we've got some set-up work to do for tonight's defenses, so I'll be heading off. Hope to see you again soon!" Ralphie waved to him as he went off, and Steve happily waved to him as well.

Turning his attention back toward the inn, Steve walked forward a bit, looking over to Squash as he placed a hand on top of her head.

"...Stay here, girl. I need to get us someplace to stay, alright?"

With a small grunt, the creature laid down on the ground without protest, leading to Steve smiling at the sight. Without any other words to say, Steve went inside, looking around for the front desk.

Upon finding it, along with curious eyes looking upon him from behind, Steve went up to the stranger, attempting to shake off his nervousness.

"Hey...uh, this is the inn, correct? Ralph sent me here, but I wanna make sure."

The man behind the counter nodded.

"Yup. Rainfall Inn. How long are you planning on staying?"

Steve thought to himself for a moment, before shrugging.

"...I came here to check out the area, but I'm not entirely sure on how long that's gonna take me." Steve let out a small laugh. "I'll pay for a couple of nights, and pay more if I have to stay, is that fine? Also, I have a ride I've brought with me, and she needs somewhere to stay, as well."

The man nodded.

"That's perfectly fine. Just gonna be a couple of emeralds. I'll show you where your friend will stay, then show you to your room."

Taking out his money, Steve smiled at the other.

"Thank you so much!"

Paying for his stay, Steve carefully put his money back within his pack as the man went around the counter in order to lead him back outside.

Following behind the other, Steve couldn't help but stifle a laugh as the man came face-to-face with Squash, who was still patiently waiting for the miner right outside the door. He let out a quick cry of surprise before Steve went to grab Squash's reins.

"This here is Squash! Don't let the appearance fool you, she's a sweetheart." He introduced the beast with a gentle expression, petting her head as the man in front of him relaxed a bit at his reassurance.

"I...I've never seen such a thing in my entire life...Well, anyways…"

The man quickly led them into an extension of the building, which simply held a few empty pens for animals to rest in, with a sturdy, wooden and cobblestone roof above them. Leading Squash into a relatively large enough pen, Steve petted her for a couple of minutes as the man went to fill the pen with fresh food and water, not once taking his attention off of the ravager as if she'd suddenly move to attack him out of nowhere. Once finished, the man led Steve away from the area, and with a quiet "goodnight" to the ravager, the miner followed him, looking back to make sure Squash was okay as he rounded the corner.


As the night finally came in, Steve found himself staring idly outside the window of his room, watching as several villagers went about the raised pathways in a hurried fashion. Compared to the people of his village, these citizens were more out and about during the night, and considerably more armed as well. Even though he now realized that Maemond Pond stretched out further than he'd originally thought, now that he had a good vantage point from his second-story room, it still appeared to be less populated than he would've expected it to have been. Where he was, the buildings were closer and smaller, but as the place stretched out into the distance into an area that was considerably less elevated, the buildings were only barely present, with most having sunk into the water, lost to time. The more he looked, the more he realized that the city had formed somewhat of a circle around what he believed to be the namesake of the area, Maemond Pond, which was devoid of any buildings or structures in particular. A faint light emanated from beneath the waters in this building-less clearing, drawing his intrigue.

He'd investigate the village on foot when there was less traffic moving about. He didn't feel like disturbing the villagers as they went about protecting their village.

With a sigh, he pulled away from the window, moving to go toward his pack in order to pull out his journal. It had been a solid minute since he last updated it to reflect his experiences rather than to input information, so he figured it was as good a time as ever to write a bit. Before he could even go to grab his writing materials, however, a fierce growl coming from outside came to his ears, alerting him to the outside world once again. Returning to the window, he looked to find nothing, but as another growl came to his attention, he soon realized why he couldn't see the source of the noise.

It had come from the other side of the building.

It sounded as if it was coming from Squash.

With a quickness that he almost didn't expect to come from his own body, Steve dropped the materials in his hands onto a nearby desk before rushing out the door of his room, moving to exit the inn as quickly as he could. Running out the building and going to where the animals were kept, Steve halted completely in his tracks as he found an unfamiliar figure standing before Squash, who was standing in a defensive position as low, threatening growls left her snout.

The stranger, who was clearly debating on whether or not to reach out and pet the beast, had long, light orange hair that was tied off in a messy, side ponytail. She was wearing a light green tunic that was long enough to fall slightly over her tanned pants, with a black belt that held a dagger at her waist. With what appeared to be a dark, forest green gaze she looked at the ravager before her with awe and curiosity, no fear evident in her expression.

Approaching the stranger in a way that he hoped wouldn't startle the other, Steve attempted to gather both the attentions of her and Squash.

"Uh...hey. You might wanna step away from her, a bit. She doesn't like to meet new people if I'm not around...I think." Steve mumbled the last bit to himself, but the rest of his words seemed to reach the girl, causing her to turn in his direction with a bit of surprise.

"Wait, she's yours?" Came the inquisitive tone of the other as she briefly looked back at the beast for a moment before doing as Steve asked, stepping away slightly.

Smiling with appreciation, Steve nodded.

"Yup. Her name is Squash, and I managed to tame her." With a small laugh, Steve approached both the stranger and the animal pen further, reaching out toward Squash as she visibly relaxed at his presence, dropping her stance as she hesitantly went forward to meet with his palm.

A quiet "Wow..." left the other's lips as she watched the sight, briefly turning to look at Steve with heightened interest.

"Who are you, anyway? I haven't seen you around here before." She asked, watching as his gaze turned toward her, kindly.

"My name's Steve! I'm all the way from Highland Village, down south." He held out a hand for her to shake, to which she immediately took.

"Name's Alex! What brings you here to Maemond? It isn't a safe enough place for travelers to even think of traveling to, so you being here is interesting."

Steve shrugged, letting go of the other's hand.

"I'm...I'm here to look around. I'm on a journey of my own, and I'm interested in seeing a bunch of cities and villages and stuff."

Looking down at the sword attached to his belt, Alex smirked.

"And I'm assuming you know how to use that thing well enough? Because if you're gonna be staying here for long, you're gonna be needing it."

Following her gaze, Steve nodded.

"You think I'd be carrying it if I didn't?"

With a small laugh, Alex shook her head and shrugged.

"Just making sure! A lot of newer folks tend to get pretty surprised when they step out to see all the commotion at night, and whatnot."

Joining in her laughter, Steve looked back toward the busy streets momentarily, his thoughts wandering away.

"...So what are you doing out here at night, anyway? What they're doing?" Steve asked quietly, briefly pointing to several passing figures.

Alex shook her head as she followed his gaze.

"I mean, I'm supposed to, but...I was actually on my way toward the inner circle."

"...Pardon?"

"...I'll explain over here."

Alex nodded her head over to the street, leading Steve off as he gave another quiet "goodbye" to the ravager.

As the two walked down the pathway, unnoticed by other villagers as they rushed by, Alex began to explain herself.

"I wouldn't expect a traveler to know anything about this, but I guess it's nearly impossible to hide it. Maemond Pond is the one place in all of Minecraftia where the people get swept away in the water along with the buildings, and yet, the people don't leave. The people here are almost guaranteed a death by drowning. At night, their corpses rise beneath the waters and travel beneath our buildings and bridges, all heading straight toward the inner circle. I wanna see why they're going there, but I've never been able to get close enough without finding a couple or so on my way who want to take me underwater with them. It's kinda hard to fight in water, but still. I'm not gonna stop until I get there."

Steve looked at her with curiosity.

"Can't you just...ask somebody who's been there what's so important that the zombies are going that way?

Alex shook her head.

"That's the thing. I wanna go there because no one has been there. The water there is too deep to build in, too dangerous to tread, and, ever since recently, strange buildings that we never built have been rising from the depths, and the inner circle has gotten bigger. It's getting close enough to where we can probably spy into that area of the pond, so I wanna test my luck."

With a grin, she looked at Steve.

"My 'mentor' isn't here to catch me. I've been getting as far away as I could from her as possible so that I can make another attempt to reach the inner circle tonight. I got distracted by your beast, but that's not important right now!"

"Your mentor doesn't want you going there?"

Alex shrugged.

"...She doesn't want me doing anything. Says I need to train first. Get better at combat. But who the hell can get better at combat when all she lets me have is this flimsy little knife?" Unsheathing her dagger, Steve looked at its surface with a bit of pity for the other.

The surface of the blade was scratched, and was evidently made of nothing but stone and a bit of spruce wood for the handle. It was dulled, hardly as threatening as the sword that hung from his hips, and would likely struggle to cut into a loaf of bread, let alone a creature of the night's flesh.

"...Can't you ask for something else?" Steve looked at her with worried eyes.

"This place will likely sink entirely before she lets me handle anything else. I've been thinking about purchasing an axe behind her back. It's both a weapon and a handy tool for building, y'know?" Alex laughed again, placing a hand on his shoulder as she led him onto a path separate from the open one that went through the village.

"I've decided. We're gonna swim through the marsh and get on one of those strange buildings near the inner circle. The zombies don't pay much attention to those as they swim toward the pond, so it'll be a safe enough vantage point."

Steve nodded, though, as the other's words began to register themselves within his head, he turned toward her with a raised brow.

"...Wait, we? Am I an accomplice now?" He asked quietly, looking around briefly to see if anyone was looking at them.

Alex nodded enthusiastically.

"Yup! You have a sword, and you managed to bring along that beast with you, so I think you have some potential, here. Besides, now that we've walked together in the street in front of people, if I suddenly go missing and yet you return, wouldn't that be a bit suspicious? I mean, we both were walking together on the street, so…" Alex folded her hands behind her back inconspicuously, appearing as mischievously innocent as possible to the other.

Steve was just about convinced that the person he just met was Constiere in disguise. The same sly, mischievous glint he found in the boy's gaze was the same one he found in Alex's.

With a sigh of defeat, Steve shrugged.

"Guess that's true enough. If I get sick because of the water, that's on you, though."

Alex smiled at him.

"That's the spirit! You don't have to worry about getting sick, though. We got plenty of medicine that'll put you right back into shape!"

With that bit of reassurance, Alex moved more towards the edge of the platform they were on, leading to Steve realizing that they had gone into an area of the city where there seemed to be little signs of life around them. Lowering herself down, Alex descended into the depths of the pond, the water coming up to around her waist as she took a moment to adjust to the chilled temperature. Seeing as her expression didn't change all too much in response to the water, Steve went down as well, albeit a bit more haphazardly than she had gone.

He regretted his impulsiveness almost immediately.

As the water touched his skin and dampened his clothes, he almost immediately lost his breath as the coldness shocked his system completely. He now, unfortunately, knew how Constiere had felt despite the fact that the water was now enveloping his body nearly halfway up instead of just up to his knees. He now, as he expected himself to be, was even more immensely jealous of Herobrine's ability to conjure fire and seemingly relegate his body temperature, wanting to exit the water and run however fast he could back to the other in order to beg him to use his abilities just this once, in order to prevent his body from finding a permanent resting place beneath the freezing depths.

As Alex further lowered herself into the water in order to start moving, Steve wondered to himself if she was either used to the temperatures, had powers herself, or was just absolutely insane. He figured that if the answer to that question was the last option, he was even more so given that he followed behind her not too soon afterward, a myriad of curses floating around in his mind as the water went further and further up his body.

The longer he remained in the water, the more Steve was shocked to find that his body was slowly, but surely, becoming more adjusted to the temperature. Even though he knew the chilled air that awaited them once they reemerged from the depths wouldn't be all too kind upon their flesh, he felt a bit of comfort as the water enveloped him, waking him up as he realized that the lack of proper sleep that he had been getting had exhausted him quite evidently. Swimming out to the closest sunken building, the two pulled themselves up onto the remains, looking back momentarily to see how far they had swum out from the city. They'd gotten a bit closer to the inner circle, but not enough to peak beneath the depths in order to see what they held beneath the blanket of mystery.

"There's a closer building over there!" Alex pointed toward the remains of another structure as she spotted it. "I think we can get over there without too much trouble apart from the water itself. The zombies don't start coming until a few minutes from now, so we have enough time to make it over there."

With an expression of shock, Steve looked at her.

"Wait, a few minutes?! Doesn't that mean we're gonna have to swim back through them?!"

Alex thought to herself for a moment, before shrugging.

"...As far as I've seen, they swim through the city in a massive wave, go toward the middle of the pond, and then stay there until like, right before sunrise. We have enough time to make it there and back without much trouble."

Looking back at the darkened depths, Steve let out a quiet sigh,

"...I hope you're right. I didn't expect for us to have to fight our way through this stuff."

Alex grinned at him.

"You have your sword, though! We'll be safe enough."

Steve gave a reluctant grin back towards her.

"I hope that you're right about that."

Lowering themselves back within the depths again, the two made their way toward the other building, going as fast as they could given the uncertainty surrounding the arrival of the zombies. Once they got to it, they carefully pulled themselves up upon the destroyed cobblestone structure, looking down at the sight before them with wide, stunned eyes.

The lights that had originated from the center of the pond belonged to a large, absolute behemoth of an underwater structure that was located far beneath the depths of the water in a large hole, yet it was still visible enough even through the darkened surface. The building was a light turquoise color, patterned throughout, at least as far as they could see, with various swirls and shapes that indicated a deep history that laid within its walls.

To their surprise, however, they found that they were currently not alone within the pond. Deep down beneath the depths of the water swam darkened figures; their bodies covered with spikes and turquoise scales as far as the two could see from their current viewpoint. These aquatic beings went about in and out through the building without seemingly any purpose, though, as a couple got closer to the surface, Steve and Alex were shocked to find that they had only one eye each, glancing around the area in search for something that they were completely unaware of.

As Steve continued to stare on with almost childlike wonder, he heard a giddy giggle escape the other's lips, leading to him looking over to find Alex nearly falling over the edge of their current resting spot in total excitement.

"This is insane! This whole time, our city was around this...thing? What do you think it is?!" She glanced over at Steve, expectant of an answer.

Steve looked back at the structure and the creatures around it, shrugging slightly.

"I...I don't really know. Maybe it's...an old city, of some sort? Maybe it got flooded back in the day, and this one was built above it?"

Alex looked back down at the building with an analyzing gaze. A hum escaped her lips as she thought about the other's answer.

"...This city was said to have been built over an area where another group of people had to move out, but is this what led to that? How has no one gotten that close to it before?"

Steve thought about her words for a moment before a certain thought came to his mind.

"...Maybe somebody didn't want anybody finding it. Even if it's in the most obvious spot, maybe there's a reason why nobody's come this close before, even though it was easy enough to get here. I mean, I was able to see a bit of this place from my room a bit, but unless I got on the roof of that inn, I wouldn't be able to see into it. Somebody might be preventing people from seeing it fully, or whatever."

Alex looked at him curiously before looking back at the building, slightly nodding her head in understanding.

"...You...you might be right about that. If those guys swimming around have anything to do about that, maybe they're the reason why people can't get this close? Besides the zombies, you know?"

Just as Steve was going to answer the other, his words were forced to rest on his tongue as the sound of underwater activity came to their ears, leading them to focus their attention downward. Looking back to stare at Alex curiously, opening his mouth to speak, Steve instead found her placing a finger over her lips, prompting him to remain silent. Turning back to face the water, Steve's eyes widened as he began to spot faint traces of light coming from the depths, rising slowly as he turned around to find even more small lights approaching their location. Many pairs of glowing, pale blue eyes came into clearer view as he watched on in shock, glancing around as the creatures swam past them without even giving them a moment's notice.

Were these the zombies that Alex had been talking about?

The horde of zombies began to swim deeper into the depths, descending into the hole where the building they had just discovered stood. Though both Steve and Alex were easy enough to spot, the two had yet to be discovered as they simply watched the zombies swim by. As the zombies drew nearer to the building, all of the strange creatures that surrounded it stopped in their tracks and focused on them, gazes narrowing. Suddenly, rays of pure energy slashed through the water from the eyes of the aquatic creatures, most blasts reaching their targets without issue as a battle began to break out. A few stray shots here and there escaped the water, but they quickly evaporated into the air, leaving no trace behind.

"Huh. So they've been coming here to fight?" Alex asked quietly, though it was more of a question directed toward herself than anything.

"...But why?" Steve looked at the scene before him with deep intrigue, watching as some zombies dived and evaded the blasts as best they could, while others simply took the shot and ceased all movement, their lifeless bodies floating upward not too long after.

Alex shrugged at his question.

"...Beats me. Maybe it's a territorial thing?"

Directing their attention back toward the battle ahead, Steve and Alex watched as the two forces continued to duke it out underwater. After a few minutes of fighting, however, the two were interrupted by the sound of something soaring through the air as it emerged from the water, immediately followed by the thud of something digging its way into a small, half-wall of cobblestone that sat in front of them. Peering around the wall to see what had collided with it, the two were shocked to find a glowing, three-pronged trident lodged deep within the wall. As Steve leaned over in order to pull it out, another trident flew right by his head, leading to Alex ducking for cover as Steve went to dodge the weapon as well, only to accidentally shift his weight so much that he ended up falling over the wall that had been protecting them, plunging him into the water along with the trident before he could reach for anything to assist him.

Well, at least he got it out.

Rising from the water as quickly as he could, Steve attempted to climb his way back onto the structure that they had been resting on, only to feel a cold, clawed hand grab onto his ankle just as he was about to fully drag his body out from the depths. Before it could drag him back under though, he yanked his leg away from the mob, pulling both himself and the trident that he had grabbed back on top of the structure.

"Steve! Are you alright?!" Alex asked, worriedly.

With a small chuckle. Steve nodded.

"Not one of my best moments, but…"

Presenting the trident to her, Steve grinned proudly.

"At least we have this to look at! What do you think it's-"

Before he could finish his words, the miner was interrupted by a few more tridents flying in their direction, leading to him realizing that quite a few of the zombies had directed their sights upon them. A few had reached the base of their safe haven as panic began to set in slightly. Without much warning, Steve handed off the trident to Alex as he drew his sword.

"Dunno if you have any prior experience with something like this, but it's better than your dagger at the moment. Think we can swim fast enough back to the city to avoid having to deal with these guys?" Steve asked the other, waiting as she thought over his words for a minute before shaking her head.

"Might be a bit hard with all the zombies, and whatever. Any last words, then?"

Steve thought to himself for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Nah. Anything I say might be canceled out by my screams in a couple of seconds."

"Got a point, there."

As the two braced themselves for the zombies, their preparations were cut short by the sudden feeling of being picked up and whisked away through the air, taking them far enough away from the structure they were on to suddenly find themselves back on the streets. Looking around briefly, Steve felt a wave of confusion overwhelm him as he realized that they'd suddenly returned to the outer circle of the city, despite the fact that he hadn't felt that same lurching, distorted feeling that he'd felt when Herobrine had teleported him away before. Realizing that Alex wasn't in sight, Steve began to look around worriedly before he finally found her, sitting at the feet of another figure before her.

The stranger stared down at her with crossed arms and a stern, but disappointed expression. A red cloak that draped from her shoulders hit the ground like a silk waterfall, with red hair that matched it draping down to her shoulders. Bright red eyes looked upon the girl with the intent to admonish her.

"...How many times have I told you not to go near the inner circle?" Came the other's stern tone, which matched her appearance well.

"...A couple of times." Alex answered sheepishly.

The stranger raised a brow.

Alex's expression fell into one of pure shame.

"...More than I'd like to admit."

"And you really thought bringing someone with you would make it any safer?"

Alex shook her head, looking up at the other with a fierce, confident gaze.

"You keep saying I can't handle myself enough to make the journey alone, so I brought someone to help! Isn't that what you wanted?"

The woman shook her head, raising a hand to her temples.

"No! I...ugh..."

Turning her head toward Steve, the woman rubbed her face for a moment as she attempted to get over the other's words.

"I'm so, so sorry about my protégé here. I've been trying and trying to teach her, you can't just run off into things you don't understand without gathering any-"

As the woman's eyes laid upon Steve's damp appearance, silence followed her apology for a moment as she stared at the other blankly.

Suddenly, her expression twisted into a look of utter horror as a scream left her lips, causing Steve to flinch as she reached for the girl at her feet.

"Alex! Get away from him!" Beginning to drag the other off, much to her dismay, Steve stood up from where he was and held his hands up in defense.

"W-wait! Why?" He asked, a look of confusion overtaking his features.

The woman's brow furrowed as she stared upon him with something almost akin to anger.

"You can't fool me. I know a rat when I see one, and I'll have you know that the king will be hearing about your appearance here!" Though her words were laced with fear, Steve continued to look at her with utter bewilderment.

"Wait, you know Steve?" Alex asked calmly, looking up at the woman as she let out a small scoff.

"Of course I-"

The woman froze.

"...Wait, Steve?"

Looking at the miner with some confusion of her own, the woman let go of Alex, drawing closer to Steve slowly.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, the woman's expression turned to one of judgment.

"...I suppose that it's entirely possible that I might have confused you for another. You do have different eyes from him, at least." She said quietly, throwing Steve into sudden realization.

Had she...mistaken him for Herobrine? Did she know him?

"...Who?"

With a wave of her hand, the woman let out a small scoff.

"Nobody important. Well, nobody important right now. My eyes deceived me. I apologize for the confusion, young man. Just to be certain, though..."

Without warning, the woman leaned in towards him, making him rather uncomfortable as she got within his personal space.

"Who is the god of Flames?"

Blinking in response to her question, Steve racked his brain for the answer, finding ultimately nothing. None of the mob generals had mentioned a 'god of Flames' before, to his knowledge, so he was left with no information.

He shrugged.

"I...I honestly don't know."

Looking at him closely for a few more moments, the woman soon leaned back as a smile of satisfaction appeared on her face in response to his answer.

"You aren't him. Your gaze does not betray your words."

With a huff, the woman looked off to the side in what appeared to be offense as her demeanor changed suddenly.

"Because if you were him, you'd know exactly who I was!"

A flurry of apologies left his mouth, but as each one reached the other's ears, her words slowly sank in, easing him into a quick state of shock.

He was talking to the god of Flames.

Steve looked at her with a surprised gaze, stopping his apologies entirely.

"...What's a god doing down here?"

The woman looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

"'What's a god doing down here?!' Why, we're here all the time! Reasons unknown!"

A sigh came from behind them, leading to their attention being caught by Alex, who looked at the woman with an unamused expression.

"Just tell him, so we can get the punishment or whatever over with already."

The woman rolled her eyes.

"Of course, of course. So eager, are we?"

The woman turned her full attention back to Steve, her gaze narrowing a bit.

"I came here in search of a firestarter, and ended up running into a firestarter. This young lady here has a fiery spirit of which I haven't seen in ages, so I couldn't help but take her under my wing!" As excitement came to the woman, it soon left and fell into a calm expression. "On top of that wonderous discovery, I found this quaint little village with an interesting enough monument that could summon my initial reason for being here. I've yet to come across my original little firestarter, so I've been sent to keep an eye out here for him."

Allowing her arms to drop to her sides, the woman gave him a small smile.

"You look exactly like him in terms of facial features, so I believed you to be him. Shame, that I couldn't muster up a fight even though I was under that impression, yes?" The woman waited for his response, but found none.

"...Lady Agnes doesn't tend to get in fights she can't reasonably win." Alex stated with a small smirk.

"Lady Agnes" looked back at Alex with a small glare.

"That may be true, but I'm only here to gain a sense of his location, nothing more. I don't need to fight him and risk my life."

With a bit of surprise at her words, Steve raised a brow, slightly.

"...Wait, but aren't you immortal? Why are you worried about your life?"

A laugh escaped Agnes's lips, much to Steve's surprise. Shaking her head, she began to speak with a tone of superiority.

"A mortal tends to think in mortal terms and laws, while a divine being moves about with complete knowledge and understanding of the world and how it truly works. I'll forgive you for your ignorance, but allow me to give you precious information."

Agnes leaned in a bit as her voice fell into a whisper.

"...Only divines can slay other divines, young man."

As she finished, she stood back up fully, her gaze falling upon the girl behind her.

"For disobeying my words, you'll be dealing with harsher dagger training for a week, now. Until that knife grows into your flesh and becomes your sixth finger, you will not be taking a break, young lady."

With a small groan, Alex rolled her eyes a bit.

"...Yes, ma'am."

Lady Agnes smiled proudly.

"Now that you understand your circumstances, come along. We need to leave this poor man to change and get some good night's rest!"

As Agnes began to walk off, Alex waited until she was far enough away in order to approach Steve quietly with a smile on her face as she did so.

"I'll see you around, yeah? We still haven't found out why they're fighting in the first place. Those zombies and other...things." She said in a hushed voice, though Steve could understand her perfectly well. With a nod, he waved the other goodbye as she ran off, leaving him by himself in the streets.

Turning to walk away, Steve found himself nearly tripping over a long pole on the ground. Looking down, he found that at his feet was not a pole, but instead the trident from earlier. Without much thought, Steve leaned down to pick up the tool, looking over its surface gently as a single thought rose to his mind.

'...Maybe Herobrine knows something about this?...'

Holding the trident tightly within his hands, Steve began to make his way back over to the inn, planning on retracing his steps in order to bring the weapon back to where Herobrine said he and the mob generals would be.


Ahahhhhh we're gonna be chilling in Maemond Pond a bit folks, lol. When I last did a chapter with a major city (Litefall), that ended up being like, what, over 20,000 words or so? It was a whole journey going through it and keeping the narrative focused and contained within that chapter. I didn't want to dwell on it for too long, but like, I wanted to introduce Minos so bad, so that's why it ended up being the length that it is, lol. Even then, I still feel like I rushed through it a bit, so that's kinda why I'm splitting Maemond Pond up.

Anyways, we have Alex here! Fun fact, I started thinking about the concept of this story before her creation! I was debating on whether or not to somehow weave her into the story the more I started thinking about seriously writing this fic out, but came to an answer rather quickly as I realized that, essentially, I had only the beginning and ending of this fic in mind, and had a whole buncha middle that I had to fill in XD. Honestly speaking, even though Alex's player model is the one I use for Minecraft, I've thought about how I wanted to portray her the least T_T. I love how she's usually the one taking action within the official art, so tried to include that bit of character insight here lol

Just a heads up! This next week, I'm getting my second dose of the Pfizer vax, so depending on how my body reacts to that, the next chapter may or may not be delayed. Most likely delayed. My first shot only gave me a bit of arm pain that was more annoying than anything, so I'm slightly anticipating that this shot is the one that awakens my full immune response and takes me tf out T_T I'll try to inform you guys better if I'm aware of a possible delay in chapter updates, in the future lol

Fun Fact time!

1.) Lady Agnes is the god of Flames! She's eternally jealous of Herobrine, and has made it her mission to find him in order to have like, a match with him lol. His flames hold evidently more passion and strength than hers, so she's got some serious beef with him for upstaging her.

2.) Alex got dragged into her mentorship, but doesn't actually mind all too much. The reason why she's only allowed to use a dagger at the moment is because she was too lethal with a full blade lmao

3.) The city is only a secondary target for the zombies, lol. The citizens put up defenses in order to prevent the creatures from destroying the pathways and stuff from directly below.

Anyways, that's it for now! Leave a review if you have any thoughts!