Chapter 19: God of Flames
The trident in his hands softly reflected the harsh light of the demigod's eyes, its light turquoise surface shimmering as it dried in the cold, fresh winter air.
Herobrine's gaze remained unreadable as he reached for the weapon, taking it from Steve's hands without resistance from the latter's end.
"...Where did you get this?" The man asked, though, if Steve could guess, he would think that the other already knew the answer to that question.
Sheepishly, Steve fiddled around with his hands as he avoided the other's gaze.
"...I fell in the water trying to get it after it was thrown at me and a person from this village. We were checking out whatever was at the center of the city, and we were caught in the middle of a fight between a bunch of zombies, and some weird monsters that were swimming around this giant building in this deep hole-"
"-There's an underwater temple here in this village?"
Steve nodded, sighing in relief at the fact that the other was at least knowledgeable about what the two encountered.
"If that's what you call it, then yeah."
"Did those creatures have orange spikes?"
Steve nodded.
Herobrine looked at Steve with a serious expression.
"...Then that was an underwater temple."
Holding the trident up to the sky, Herobrine flipped it around in his hands for a moment or so as he examined it carefully. A couple of feet away from the two were Constiere and Malgun; the smaller of the two was sitting upon a rock, and the other was leaning against the remnants of a sunken building. Pointing at the trident, Constiere watched as the other cast his silent judgment upon the weapon.
"Anything different about this one?" He asked with a glint of curiosity in his eyes.
"...Not particularly, as far as I can tell." Herobrine responded, lowering the trident as he gave it another flip within his grasp.
Suddenly, quicker than anybody could process, Herobrine pointed the trident directly at Constiere, gaze blank as he stared at the other. After a couple of seconds of silence, the demigod lowered it to his side, a small scoff escaping his lips.
"...Yeah. It's a normal trident. Nothing special."
Looking off to the side in disappointment, Herobrine continued.
"...That, or I'm still not strong enough to do anything with it."
Curious, Steve looked down at the weapon as it hung by the other's side, its head half-submerged within the marsh. Why did he point it at Constiere like that? Did he mean to intimidate the boy, or what? Didn't he like him?
Was the trident supposed to do something?
"Oh!...I forgot, but…" Steve paused, looking off to the side as he hesitated in speaking to the other. "...There was this lady here. Lady Agnes, I believe. The god of Flames?"
The demigod rose a brow.
"...The hell is she doing in a place like...nevermind. She's most likely here for me, correct?" Herobrine asked, looking back toward Steve.
Steve nodded.
"She was mentoring somebody, actually. Said she got distracted from looking for you."
Herobrine rolled his eyes.
"She couldn't mentor a patch of grass, let alone a whole living being. That woman is another one of the 'high-and-mighty' types. One who subjects others underneath themselves to feign superiority and make themselves appear greater than they are. She wants mortals to worship her as a divine like all the others, simply put, even though in comparison, she lacks in skill greatly." He explained, lifting up the trident once again to hold it with both hands.
Herobrine looked at Steve with a slightly narrowed gaze.
"She's not doing any real mentoring."
Tossing the trident back over to the miner, Herobrine watched as he fumbled in trying to catch it, only barely managing to do so before it had the chance to become submerged within the marsh.
"We'll deal with her when she presents herself. I'm more concerned about the fact that the drowned are showing up in this area to fight guardians."
Steve looked at Herobrine curiously.
"...Drowned? Guardians?"
Malgun stepped forward from his place against the broken building.
"The drowned are regular humans and zombies who've fallen victim to the depths. The guardians are the creatures that protect the temple." He explained.
"Normally, they wouldn't even care about each other, but now? Them fighting all of a sudden is pretty weird." Constiere added.
Steve shrugged.
"We thought it was like a territory thing, maybe?"
"Zombies aren't cognitive enough to actually make out a territory that they would defend, willingly. Guardians are, but they usually pay the drowned no mind." Herobrine explained further, looking back toward the rest of the city with interest.
"I wonder if their meddling is why this city continues to sink into the earth. I wouldn't put it past them that they were simply doing everything they can to ruin each other's natural habitat."
As Steve turned to look back toward the inner city, an idea popped up within his mind.
What if he were to further investigate the situation on his own? Would it lead him to the portal?
Herobrine snapped his fingers, gathering the miner's attention.
"Whatever the case is, stay relatively far away from it. While it'd be great to know their intentions, getting fully caught in the crossfire will most likely kill you."
Steve rolled his eyes a bit.
"I mean, I got caught in between them before, and I came out alright, didn't I?"
Herobrine rose a brow at him.
"...Was that of your own doing?"
Steve stared at him for a moment or so before turning away sheepishly, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips as he avoided the other's gaze.
"...Would it surprise you to know that Lady Agnes saved me? Incidentally?"
The demigod let out a sigh as he brought a hand up to his face, dragging it across his skin as he stared at the miner with an unimpressed gaze.
"You only managed to survive thanks to a divine. Is this becoming a habit of yours, Steven?"
Steve shrugged, but before he could answer the other's question, Herobrine waved him off.
"Nevermind. That'll answer itself. For now, continue your search so that we can destroy the portal and leave as soon as possible. We've been looking out here, but our efforts have been quite fruitless. The pulse of this portal is weaker, too, so it's likely that this one hasn't been activated in a while."
Going back to the topic of the portal, Steve let out a small groan as a realization came to him.
"The person I was with took me far into the city, but not once did she notice anything different about my eyes. I don't think it's on this side, at least."
"Or it's somewhere below the earth, again." Herobrine suggested.
Steve thought about the other's words for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"...If that's the case, are we going to have to dig up the marsh?"
Herobrine blankly looked at him.
"...What do you think? Do you want to lose access to another portal and further our chances of losing all the progress that we've made? Is that what you want?"
Steve shook his head.
"N-no. I'll just...I brought some old tools. I'll use those if we have to."
"Good."
Moving away from the miner, Herobrine let out a small sigh.
"...May every force in this universe that's still somehow on my side keep you from running into Lady Agnes again. She acts dismissive, but rest assured, she's suspicious about your appearance and identity. When you least expect it, she'll make her move. Make of that information as you will."
Nodding, Steve began to walk away from the other, heading back toward the city.
"Let's hope you still have some kind of force looking out for you, then." He responded with a chuckle, wading through the water as best he could.
When the miner got far enough away from the others, Constiere looked up at Herobrine, a small smirk on his face.
"...He'll run into her again, right?"
With a returning smile, Herobrine glanced at the other.
"Without a single doubt. You suppose she has any clue about a portal of some sort, if she's gotten so distracted here as of late?"
Constiere playfully shrugged in response to the question.
"I dunno, do creepers explode?"
Though Steve had entirely intended on studying the trident as best he could as he went about searching for the portal, when he got back to his rented room in order to change out his clothes for drier ones, he found his efforts interrupted by the warm surface of his bed and the beckoning call of sleep. Even if he had managed to wake himself up after three, dreamless hours, he knew that he'd already lost precious minutes and seconds that could've been better spent searching for the portal that he needed to find, whether it was in plain sight or not. He hoped that neither Herobrine nor the others knew of his error already so that he would be able to escape the potential scolding that was likely in store for him.
…
Was he really at the point where he was legitimately scared of them treating him like a disobedient child? Really? Were they at that point of the agreement?
Letting out a small groan as he lifted his head up from the pillow that it had found rest on, Steve took a moment to instead rest his chin upon his crossed arms, staring at the headboard that was directly in front of him.
Champion or not, he was still rather pathetic, in his own eyes. Once a mostly self-reliant miner that worked tirelessly for his village, he was now essentially a mere dog, being sent out to fetch sticks, sit down, behave, and do whatever his so-called "owners" wanted him to do.
…
"Owners" was too generous. There was only one individual here holding the metaphorical leash, and that was Herobrine. The mob generals around him were more like other dogs, though they were let loose from their collars as they happily trotted around their commander without question.
Despite all that he was trying to do, he was still finding it somewhat hard to befriend the others with his current methods. Sure, he'd managed to break through to Constiere, but the others were still a problem. Herobrine was still sorting out his emotions, Andvari was apparently occupied with helping Herobrine on that, so Malgun seemed to be his next target. The other was more open than he originally thought, but he still needed an opportunity to converse with him. When would he get that chance?
Groaning again, Steve got up fully, looking down momentarily to find that he'd at least managed to remove his armour and change his lower layers of clothes before collapsing onto the bed hours earlier. Thanking himself for thinking ahead and holding out for that long, Steve went to put on his dried armour, making sure that it was secure before moving as quickly as he could to make his way outside.
It was still night, and he was rather thankful for that. The cover of the chilly winter night allowed him to move along relatively unnoticed, though various people walked by him as they made their way to defend the city. Feeling the chill of the air around him being focused primarily on the tips of his fingers, he began to rub his hands together as he glanced around, searching for places to possibly find a portal in.
Would it be within a large building or a small one? Above the gentle waters or deep beneath the marsh?
Glancing around, Steve soon found his attention directed to the distance, looking over at the slightly glowing surface of the water. Could the guardians there be guarding the portal? Were they simply guarding the place just because? How would he be able to confirm any of his suspicions regarding the building? He couldn't breathe underwater, and even if he miraculously could, there were still the underwater monsters to worry about, and if he could take a guess, he wouldn't be able to fight them as well as he probably could on land.
His feet took him in the direction of the inner circle, regardless of whether or not he was ready to get close again.
He found comfort in the fact that others were just as awake as he currently was, but found himself surprisingly upset that he'd have to walk alone this time around. Though in previous times he'd been alone in his endeavors, both before his appointment and afterward, there was just something about traveling with others that made him feel...lighter, in a way. Instead of drowning within his own thoughts, he shared them with others, preventing the weight of his ideas from crushing him all at once. Even if he was walking alongside a monster, or a semi-monster, or whatever you'd call the mob generals, it was a pleasant experience (when they weren't relentlessly teasing him, that is).
As he hummed sadly at the loneliness he was facing, Steve turned his attention back to the world around him.
There were various sounds of struggle coming from relatively far away, which he guessed were the residents of the city fighting back against the hordes of drowned zombies that he caught a quick glimpse of earlier. Counting himself lucky that he didn't have to deal with such a thing back in his own village, Steve trekked on ahead, silently apologizing to the people of Maemond that he couldn't assist them at the moment. Though, he found slight comfort in the idea that they'd gotten by without him, so far.
A loud creak from beneath him gathered his attention, leading to him meeting with the sight of a slightly weaker section of the city's walkway, where the boards were clearly more used and less taken care of. Looking at the buildings around him, he found that they were in relatively the same shape. Most seemed to have been abandoned, but there were a couple of buildings a bit farther away from him that had faint lights emanating from their windows. Peeking into a nearby empty house, he found the ground to have been mostly flooded with marsh water.
Why did the city build itself upon marshland? Was the place flooded with water when they originally came, or did it progress over the years? Why build on unstable ground?
Shaking his head slightly at the unfortunate sight, Steve continued on, eyes now focused on the now-closer center of the city.
"Hey you, stranger boy!"
A voice called out to him from behind, pausing him in his tracks. Curious to see who had caught him, he turned around to meet the owner of the voice.
"What are you doing here near the inner circle? Are you wanting to risk your life just for a mere glimpse again?"
His gaze fell upon Lady Agnes, who was approaching him.
Had she been following him this entire time, and he just hadn't noticed? Were Herobrine's words true, and she was suspicious of him already? Did she come to kill him, or was her appearance a mere coincidence, and he just happened to start his little walk at the wrong time?
Upon reaching him, the woman crossed her arms in front of her chest, gazing down at him with a judgemental expression.
With a bit of nervousness, Steve shook his head.
"No, I...I was just going to hang around here without going in the water again, that's all."
The other's expression didn't change.
"...Steve, was it?"
Nodding hesitantly, Steve attempted to give the other a smile.
"Yup. What's bringing you around h-"
"-Listen boy, I have some questions to ask of you."
Steve looked at her quizzingly.
"...Uh, ask away…"
"...You've witnessed how dangerous this place is for the inexperienced, and yet you return so eagerly. Why?"
Steve shrugged.
"Just wanted to, I guess. I promise I'll be careful, though."
Agnes hummed.
"You have no fear, I suppose."
Steve shook his head.
"Oh no, this is all terrifying to me. It's just that the fear is drowned out by the curiosity I have, y'know?" The miner laughed.
Agnes gave him a small smile.
"...Fear overwhelms you, and yet you persist?"
Turning away momentarily, Agnes thought to herself for a moment, leading Steve to stand in confusion for a bit. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she turned back toward Steve with an expression of interest.
"Say, by any chance, have you ever heard of an individual named Herobrine before?"
Steve froze, eyes widening.
By the look in her eyes, it was evident that she was going to ask him to do something about the demigod in question, which created a certain pit within his stomach. Though he struggled to find the words in order to answer her question, she took his silence for confusion.
"Ah...perhaps word of his crimes hasn't reached your home village? Well, I mentioned him briefly before, but if you haven't heard of him in further detail, just know that he's a danger to the Overworld. He's...more of a demon than a divine, really."
Lady Agnes gave him a kind smile.
"I'm looking for apprentices that can assist in fighting against him. I'll teach you the best ways to truly utilize that sword of yours, there." Agnes cast a quick glance down at Steve's blade, before looking into the miner's eyes once again.
Steve held his hands up in defense, shaking his head at the offer.
"I-I'm only here for a short while. I can't afford to become an apprenti-"
"-Nonsense! You'll have enough time to learn a defensive technique that will save your life if you ever encounter Herobrine, and that will be that. Sounds fair enough? You can be a traveling apprentice, if it fits you better."
Again, Steve shook his head.
"I really can't, I…"
Looking at Lady Agnes with as best as an innocent look as he could muster, Steve slowly began to back away.
"I believe that I can survive on my own just fine. There's nothing I can't handle, y'know?"
Agnes placed her hands upon her hips with a small huff.
"That mindset has gotten quite many fools killed, you know."
Crossing her arms again, Agnes began to turn away from the other.
"We'll start your training tomorrow in the morning. I'd advise you to get some sleep for the work we have to do ahead."
With a sound of shock and protest, Steve lifted a hand to argue against the other, though he found that, startlingly enough, she disappeared in a blast of flame dramatically, leaving only the sound of slight sizzling in her place. Looking down, Steve found the walkway to be slightly steaming.
Letting out a slight groan, Steve continued his trip to find the portal.
He was not about to let another demigod or whatever rule over him. One was enough, and that one in particular was infinitely more threatening than the divine being that had just decided to waste his time for him. With deep frustration, Steve directed his attention to the water surrounding the area, looking to see if any of the drowned zombies were around in order to distract himself. Finding none, he continued to walk deeper into the inner circle of the city, curiosity piqued as he focused his gaze back on the middle of the city in the distance.
The zombies had yet to return from their battle as Alex had said they would, but she'd mentioned that the zombies would start swimming back at around sunrise, or so. Even though he'd lost track of time, judging by the fact that the moon was still pretty high in the sky, it was safe to bet that sunrise wasn't coming anytime soon. He could probably get close to the center once again, but who's to say that anybody would save him this time around if he were to fall in this time? If he kept his distance, he'd probably be alright, though.
Finding his foot landing upon another unstable bit of walkway, Steve let out a sigh of frustration, hoping that he wouldn't break the wood entirely and fall in.
He understood why the citizens of Maemond Pond abandoned the inner circle of the city, what with the rising waters and seemingly sinking ground and all, but did the concentration of so many mobs in one place contribute to that, in any way? Were those zombies in particular the previous citizens of Maemond who had lived within the inner circle? Was that something he could confirm?
Shuddering at the thought, Steve treaded the walkway lightly, hoping that it would continue to support his weight until he could possibly confirm the location of the portal.
Eventually, the walkway decayed to an alarming point as he soon found himself balancing upon several uneven planks of wood in order to make his way through the city. Some of these boards had fallen into the marsh, which forced him to slow his movement down in order to shift his weight on the wood more appropriately. As he approached the center of the city, he found that the walkway had transformed into somewhat of a vantage point in front of the inner lake, providing a decent view that allowed him to see that the structure that was currently far below the surface of the water, quite a distance away from where the walkway ended. Some of the walkway had completely fallen away into the marsh, but a good amount of it was still present; enough of it was still intact for him to stand firmly upon it and not necessarily have to worry about falling in.
From here, he was able to see that yes, the mobs were still fighting. For what purpose, it was still very much unclear, but as the scuffle entertained him, his gaze turned more toward the area where their arena laid. Could the portal possibly be within the temple itself? Is that what the guardians were protecting? If so, why? Could he swim out to it, possibly?
Thinking about the logistics for a moment, Steve shook his head in disappointment. Even if the zombies had left the area, the guardians would probably still make an attempt on his life, and win. Again, he only stood a fighting chance on land, not water.
Though he wanted to watch the battle for as long as he possibly could, he figured that he'd be more useful exploring the rest of the inner circle, keeping an eye out for anything that could have indicated the presence of a portal. Looking over the edge of the walkway, Steve caught the reflection of his eyes, which, to his slight surprise, slightly glowed a bit in the darkness of the night within the water. They were still very much pinkish, so, with disappointment, he let out a sigh and continued walking.
At least he was able to keep working despite the overall darkness.
The sun had risen, and yet, he still found no sight of the portal in question, leading him to believe that Herobrine had been wrong, and not all large cities had one, despite him stating before that he felt a weaker pulse. He'd explored the inner circle to the best of his abilities, and yet, he still found nothing. His eyes hadn't changed, his chances hadn't changed, and all that he managed to find was total frustration.
He wished that he could feel the pulse of the portal like Herobrine could, so that things would be way easier than they currently were.
Maybe he could've fallen asleep and gotten some well-deserved rest anyways, since the result would've placed him in the exact same situation he was in currently, except the bags under his eyes would've been less pronounced. Half-debating on simply jumping into the water and swimming out toward the underwater building in order to search through it too, Steve approached another abandoned building and slumped down against it, letting out a defeated sigh. His eyes closed as tiredness overcame him, allowing the morning bird songs to slowly lull him to sleep as he simply gave up.
…
The sound of footsteps slowly began to approach him.
"Boy! I believe that I told you to get some rest, didn't I?"
Why him?
Gaze fluttering open, Steve looked up to find Lady Agnes approaching him, along with a familiar face not too far behind her. Alex, who looked at him with a slightly apologetic expression, approached him as well, trailing behind the divine being that was in front of the both of them.
"Now, if we're going to train, I'll have to confiscate your blade, there."
Waking up from his previous state of exhaustion, Steve looked at her with a surprised expression.
"W-wait, why?"
"In order to learn anything substantial, we have to mold your brain accordingly. To do this, we need to work our way up from basic techniques. Your sword is a mere tool that can be substituted with anything else, if you have the true skill behind it."
Conjuring a flame in her hand, the woman, in a quick motion, made a small blade appear out of nowhere. It hovered for a second or two before falling, but she caught it effortlessly by the handle before it had any chance to escape her.
"This will replace it for the time being. Now, hand over your sword there, young man."
Slightly turning his body away from the other to hide his blade, Steve shook his head.
"I'm not giving this thing to you. I don't even know you too well, what if you steal it?"
Agnes let out a dramatic gasp.
"You dare believe that I would do such a savage thing?!"
With a firm expression, Steve gave her a quick nod.
"Of course. I don't know you. Who's to say you wouldn't try?"
Despite how much it killed him to act in such a way, if being rude could possibly get him out of this situation, he'd try it.
With a huff, Lady Agnes turned away from him, thinking to herself momentarily before letting out a quick sigh of defeat.
"...Fine. Keep your blade. Since you're a traveler, I suppose it makes sense not to take something so precious away from you for too long."
Slightly upset that his actions hadn't fought her off, Steve slightly began to worry.
"...I didn't even agree to becoming your apprentice, though-"
"-And? I chose you myself, consider it an honor." Agnes looked back toward him with a narrowed gaze. "Stand up, boy! We have work to do."
Turning away to start walking, Lady Agnes didn't even wait to see if either of the two were following behind her. As she left, Alex approached him, kneeling down in order to talk to him directly.
"Things will go way quicker if you just do what she says now. Make up an excuse in the meantime, so you can leave if it gets too much, alright?"
With a small sigh, Steve nodded.
"...Was it like this for you too?"
Alex shrugged with a smile.
"Slightly different circumstances, but what can I say? She's pretty persuasive."
Standing up slowly, Steve adjusted the sword on his belt before beginning to walk, Alex right beside him.
"At least you got to keep your sword, though."
Steve sighed again.
"Yeah, yeah."
Following the woman in front of them, Steve gave one last glance behind toward the center of the lake, looking further beyond to find the other half of the city in the distance.
After minutes of walking, the woman led them into a well-kept area of the city, which led Steve to realize that they'd gone far away from the inner circle, much to his dismay. He'd been barely paying attention to where he was being led as he realized that there was a chance that Herobrine was watching him being sidetracked from afar, which he would no doubt blame him directly for. They approached a nice, sturdy house that was slightly more elevated than the buildings around it, possibly to protect it from the rising tides. Placed next to that building was a fenced-in area, similar to the animal pen that was next to the inn, though it lacked the individual places that were intended for the animals, and was instead bare.
Lady Agnes gestured out to the structure before them.
"Here is where we will have our sessions! Combat know-how is key to building up a good defense, and I happen to know quite a lot myself, so we will start with the basics to get Steve here up to speed."
Steve looked up at her curiously.
"The basics?" Steve cast a quick glance down to his sheathed blade before looking back. "Don't you think we can go a bit further than that?"
Agnes shook her head.
"Absolutely not! Without a firm foundation, everything built upon it will collapse! We'll start with the basics, and make sure that you know enough before we continue."
With a sigh and a nod, Steve began to walk forward as he remembered the earlier advice that Alex had given to him.
"Alright."
Standing in the center of what he assumed was the training grounds, Steve waited for Lady Agnes to direct him further.
"Now, we'll start with point one, in learning about combat maneuvers and techniques."
Nodding, Steve looked at her expectantly.
"Alright, and what would that-"
He was interrupted by a ball of flame being thrown directly at him, much to his shock and surprise. Dodging it before it could sear his flesh, he didn't even get a chance to rest as the woman continued to throw flame after flame, keeping him on his feet.
"Reflexes! It's important to know how to dodge in order to fight properly!"
A flame whooshed right past his head, sending more adrenaline down his veins as he barely dodged the attack.
"C-can't we go slower?! Or like, can't you weaken those things?!"
As Alex let out a small laugh at his request, Lady Agnes kept hurling the balls of flame right toward him.
"Herobrine won't be so kind upon you, so why should I? You need to be prepared for his attacks!"
Blatantly false statement aside, Steve continued to dodge each flame as best he could, coming into contact with a few more closer calls than he would've been comfortable with.
Today would be a long day.
A long day.
Running wasn't exactly what he had planned to do, but at this point, he was running out of options.
Dodging behind abandoned buildings and holding his breath every time the sound of his voice being called drew nearer, Steve journeyed away from the city, hoping desperately to find Herobrine so that Lady Agnes would be occupied by the demigod instead of him. Sure his wish was selfish, but at this point, Herobrine was more capable of facing her head-on than he was. If anything, the other would be more confrontational than he could ever hope to be.
Catching his breath as he hid behind a partially-collapsed cobblestone wall, Steve peeked around it slowly, hoping that he wouldn't find the Aethren divine right behind it. He, thankfully, found nothing but the sight of mostly darkness, leading to him letting out a sigh of relief as he went instead to lean against the wall with slight exhaustion.
He didn't expect for there to be a figure beside him when he turned back around.
Covering his mouth before he let out a scream, Steve felt his body tense up in fear before a noise of exasperation left his lips as he realized that it wasn't Agnes who found him, but a heavily-soaked Constiere instead.
"Hi!" Came the boy's chipper greeting.
"What are you doing here?!" Steve whispered harshly, leaning more toward the other as he worriedly looked around for the divine being that had been chasing him only moments earlier.
"I was sent out to scout the area and continue looking for the portal, but I ended up running into you instead." Constiere shrugged.
"...You snuck up on me despite being in the water. How?" Steve asked, keeping his low tone.
"Talent!"
Steve glared at the other for a moment before Constiere let out a defeated sigh.
"...I was already here taking a break, you just swung around without seeing me. Now why are we whispering?" Constiere responded, attempting to follow Steve's worried gaze.
"Remember that person I was talking about earlier? The divine one? Well, she forced me to become an apprentice of hers, and now I'm trying to escape so that we can find the portal and leave!" Steve slightly elevated his voice as he finished, briefly looking around in fear as he quieted himself back down.
"I thought you liked messing around and being friendly with the people we're trying to avoid."
"Not when they're trying to force me to do stuff for them! Without consent!"
Letting out a quiet "oh" in response, Constiere nodded, turning away in order to peer behind the wall they were leaning against.
"...Say, did you, by any chance, figure out what's going on with the mobs here, anyway?" Constiere asked quietly.
Breaking from his previous state of pure worry, Steve hesitantly shook his head.
"N-no, not at all. I thought that you guys would've figured it out by now."
"I thought so too. You wanna humour me a bit and go for a little stroll? I promise that we won't run into that lady again."
Finding the opportunity to travel with someone away from the threat of apprenticeship, Steve nodded eagerly.
"As long as we get as far away from here as possible, I'm in."
With a nod in response, Constiere motioned for Steve to follow him, leading the miner on a small detour from the path of an angered god.
The longer he followed after Constiere, the more that Steve realized that he was leading him toward the city once more, though they stayed relatively within the shadows as best they could. Looking upon the other's slightly shivering form with concern, Steve raised a slight brow as he wondered how the boy was faring in response to the uncomfortable chill.
"Hey, doesn't the cold like, bother you? A lot?" He asked, quietly.
Constiere let out a small, shaky laugh.
"It does! Malgun dunked me in the water while you were gone as an experiment, and I've been planning my revenge ever since."
Noticing that the other's expression was now clearly one of fake, forced joy, Steve let out a bit of a chuckle.
"Yeah, you look like you're gonna strangle him."
"What am I gonna strangle? Bones?"
Steve let out a sheepish shrug as he realized his error.
"Hey, you're a mob. I dunno what you can do."
Turning back toward the city before them, Constiere let out a small laugh as well.
"When he least expects it, I will manage to somehow strangle him, though."
Nodding, Steve continued to follow after the other.
"That'll be pretty interesting to watch."
As the two swam beneath the wood walkways instead of taking them, much to Steve's confusion, Constiere led him right back to the inner circle, allowing the water to overtake them as they remained in it instead of hoisting themselves up to an elevated surface.
With a smirk, Constiere looked back at Steve.
"The best way we can possibly figure out what's going on here is by just asking."
Steve raised a brow.
"They...they'll answer?"
Constiere shrugged.
"Depends on the zombie you ask and the guardian you encounter, but yeah, some of them speak the common language of the mobs."
Curious, Steve looked back toward the structure in the near distance.
"...There's a common mob language?"
Constiere nodded eagerly.
"Yup! Hard to learn, but pretty useful when you have to have negotiations, and whatnot."
As the other went deeper into the water, he took a deep breath before submerging himself completely beneath the surface. Finding himself hesitating in doing the same, Steve instead made his way over to a collapsed wall, pulling himself onto it as he waited for the boy to emerge once again.
Not even a minute had passed before the other came back out from the depths, splashing around as he was followed closely by one of the drowned zombies that he'd seen before. It only peaked its head out from the waves, watching Constiere with an empty, seemingly dazed expression. Calming down, Constiere looked around briefly for the miner before his eyes finally rested upon him, causing a smile to appear on the boy's face.
"Hey, I found one willing to talk!"
As Steve looked over to the zombie, the zombie slowly looked over to him, its empty gaze focusing on him for longer than the miner found to be comfortable.
After a few moments of silent analysis, the zombie quickly submerged itself back beneath the water, a small expression of what seemed to be fear appearing on its face before it disappeared. With a quick "Hey!", Constiere dove back down, staying underwater for a bit before coming back up with the zombie's hair firmly within his grasp. His technique only worked for roughly four seconds before the clump of hair within his grasp came out from the mob's head. Staring at the hair for a bit, Constiere soon after grabbed the collar of what could only barely be described as the zombie's shirt before it could escape once again.
"What's your deal, dude? I asked you to talk, but now you wanna dip?" Constiere gave the other a small shake.
The zombie groaned.
"I...No audience...with...king…"
Steve's eyes widened in surprise. He'd fully been expecting for the mob to speak in the aforementioned "common language" of the mobs, but instead, the creature spoke his language.
"That isn't him, you dolt!"
"...Ohh…"
As Constiere carefully let the other go, he waited for a second to see if the mob would attempt an escape, which thankfully did not happen. The zombie began to space out once again.
"So, what's with all the fighting, here? Don't you guys have anything better to do?" Constiere asked, bringing the other back into focus once again.
Before he could get an answer, another zombie rose from the depths, swimming over to where the other one was, trident in hand. Noticing the potential danger in the situation, Constiere backed up a bit in anticipation of an attack.
The new zombie brandished the trident in one hand, seemingly more aware of his surroundings than the other.
"You! You seem like one of us, but...not quite?"
Steve was quite surprised to find that this zombie spoke his language as well.
Constiere shrugged.
"Eh...I'm kinda somewhere in the middle between one of you guys and-"
"Wait a minute...I recognize your face…" The more "aware" zombie thought to himself for a moment before his expression lit back up in anger. "You're one of the members of the high court! You're usually by the king!"
Constiere nodded his head.
"Yeah, but I'm not right now, so tell me what's going on."
The zombie pointed the weapon closer to the other.
"No! We don't need you revealing anything and ruining our plans!"
Glancing momentarily toward Steve, the zombie then pointed his trident upward to him.
"A-and you! You...huh?"
Constiere moved in front of where Steve was sitting, waving his arms in order to get the zombie's attention.
"Hey! You're talking to me, eyes down here, pal!"
As the zombie looked back toward the boy, Constiere gave a shrug and held his hands up in defense.
"Look, whatever it is that you don't want the king to know about, I won't snitch. Maybe I'm interested for other reasons, hm?"
Both zombies looked toward each other, then back to the boy.
"...You...you'd betray him?"
Constiere smirked at the others.
"I said I was interested for other reasons. Make of that as you will, okay?"
The more "aware" zombie looked toward the other one, a silent conversation happening between the two. After a few moments, the other zombie groaned, then gave a slow glance back over toward the underwater temple.
"...I tell...you don't...to the king?"
Constiere rolled his eyes as Steve tilted his head in confusion at the other's words.
"Yeah, yeah. I won't tell him."
The zombie spaced out for a moment or two before continuing once again.
"...Guardians...want to be...king...Drowned...think too...Both fight...for crown…"
Nodding slowly, Constiere began to swim away from the being.
"Ohhhh, that's it? Huh. I was expecting something else, really."
The other zombie looked at Constiere suspiciously.
"What do you mean by that?"
Constiere shrugged.
"Thought it would be something bigger than that, if you wanted to hide it from the king."
The more submerged zombie slowly turned to stare at the boy.
"...Need help...you?"
Constiere thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't last that long underwater, I wouldn't be able to be that useful. Thanks for the information, though! Happy fighting!" The boy gave the mob a wave, and as he did so, the creature looked at his hand for a while before slowly sinking back beneath the depths. His friend, still with a suspicious gaze, continued to stare at the other before following, going back toward the temple without another word.
Looking back at Steve, Constiere gave him a bit of a smirk.
"All of this bloodshed and damage for an uprising. Kinda stupid, don't you think?"
Steve looked at Constiere with a slightly confused expression, though his confusion was laced with worry for the other's well-being given what he'd said earlier.
"You...you're gonna betray this 'king,' or whatever?"
Constiere's smirk fell as he glared at the other.
"No! Don't you ever say things you don't mean to get people to give you things that you want? I just said that to gain their trust, they're not smart enough to think twice about it."
Looking back toward the temple, Constiere huffed as he floated idly.
"Besides, I'd kill myself if I'd ever thought of the idea on my own, since it would save time. I'd rather drown myself in the nearest lava pool than live with the fact that I'd ever think about betraying master like that. He gave me another chance at life, and I'm not about to hurt him like that...monster hurt me. Betrayal is the worst crime anyone can commit." Constiere said, spitting out his words as he finished.
Steve looked at him with even more curiosity as the other swam more to where he was, beginning to climb the broken wall in order to dry off a bit.
"Wait, they were talking about Herobrine?"
Constiere shrugged.
"Well, yeah. Some of us call him 'master,' and some call him 'king.' Depends on what kind of mob you are, really."
Steve nodded.
"Uh-huh. And what's with that 'high court' thing?"
"Mob generals. I don't understand that one as much as I probably should, but I guess that whoever's a commander or leader or whatever after Herobrine is considered a part of the court. Or maybe it's just us three? Me, Andvari, and Malgun? Again, I dunno." Constiere shrugged, wringing out some of his hair a bit as he spoke.
"Whatever's the case, it sounds pretty important and noble." Steve let out a small laugh, a smile lasting upon his face as Constiere joined him.
"Yeah. Makes me feel like a duke, or something! Like I should be hanging out in a castle, or mansion, drinking tea and bossing people around! Or maybe I'd go to meetings, and stuff." Constiere waved his hands around as he talked, excitedly discussing his imaginary scenario.
"All of the above, I'd think."
As the two fell back into laughter, they directed their attention back to the temple before them, which was still the site of quite the interesting struggle. Constiere let out a sigh as his own laughter died down, expression falling as his gaze narrowed.
"They're wasting their time down there. When master needs all the help he can get, these idiots choose to instead fight over who's gonna take his place? Really?" Constiere pulled his knees up to his chest, placing his arms upon them and burying his chin.
"They're...wow, that's really what that guy was saying?" Steve looked over at Constiere with a chuckle escaping his lips.
Constiere nodded.
"Yeah. A bunch of sea-bound idiots are fighting over who gets to be king next. I wonder if they realized how weak master's gotten since the balance started shifting."
After thinking to himself for a moment, Constiere shook his head.
"...Doesn't matter. It won't matter. Because when I tell master this, whoever orchestrated this stupid plan will be dead. Master doesn't even need to be at full strength for that. They'll pay for it. Cause if he doesn't do anything, I will."
Looking back over at the temple, Steve let out a small hum.
"...They have leaders too, yeah?"
"Not for long. Guardians typically act under the commands of the Elder guardian. The drowned are like the zombies, and are too brainless to act under anything but mindless instincts and master's influence. Though, that one zombie was too...alive, don't you think?"
Thinking back to said zombie's vocabulary, Steve slowly nodded in agreement.
"...As morbid as it is, and as much as I'd like to not think about it, but do you think that the zombie died only recently, so its brain is more intact?"
Constiere shrugged.
"Dunno about the logistics of that, but maybe? Or...wouldn't the water have eroded that one's brain by now? What…"
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Constiere leaned back as he looked up at the sky with mental exhaustion.
"Whatever the case is, that one was too intelligent for there not to be foul play involved, here. I think that there's a smart enough zombie in that group to have formed a leadership, then to have thought about betraying Herobrine. Shame, since they could have well been recognized as a new mob general, if they had that kind of capacity for thought."
Nodding in agreement once again, Steve followed the other's gaze.
"...How do you become a mob general, anyways? I know that Herobrine said he...killed to get you guys the position, but how is it usually done?"
Constiere shrugged.
"Combat. Fighting for it. Proving you're the strongest. The usual stuff. Since master's the strongest though, nobody dares to attempt to steal our titles, or challenge our rule."
"I definitely wouldn't go for it." Steve chuckled.
"Which is why them battling for the chance is so dumb. He's taken out a leader or two before, so he'd do it again. Being underwater doesn't change that, or save them."
Looking back at the temple before them, Constiere let out a sigh, beginning to move in order to descend from his place upon the collapsed wall.
"Well, I gotta report this over to Herobrine. You coming with, or are you gonna continue the search down here for the portal?"
Steve shrugged.
"I'm probably gonna get caught by Lady Agnes and brought right back to training, but I'll try to continue searching. Or hide. Either one."
Constiere let out a laugh.
"Better keep hidden then, I'll make up an excuse for you if you take too long here, alright?"
Nodding, Steve began to follow the other in descending from his spot as well.
"Please. I don't know where Agnes went, and honestly, I don't want to look."
"Just hide, then! No shame in a bit of recon! Just avoid her like you're supposed to avoid the divines, and I think you'll be fine."
Lowering himself into the water, Constiere began to swim off, Steve following close behind as they made their way back toward the outer circle of the city.
The miner didn't know what to make of the information that there were some members of Herobrine's own army that wanted nothing to do with him, and wanted to overtake his leadership. Sure, some discontent with the situation was to be expected, but a full betrayal in the works? Fighting to see who would be the strongest group to go and overtake him? The fact that they needed such a large group in order to fight one man said enough about their current chances of succeeding in their task.
Letting the chill of the water keep him awake, Steve continued to move onward, not minding the fact that remaining beneath the surface gave him good cover in the night. He'd hide in his room for the time being, and when his clothes were dry once again, he'd take off, give one last look around, and flee toward Herobrine and the others for protection.
He really didn't know what to expect when he found Lady Agnes waiting for him at the entrance to the inn, arms crossed in front of her as he approached, soaked to the bone and slightly shivering from the cool air. Her expression was stern, slightly angered, and making somewhat of an attempt to be withering, though he was mostly immune to it. He was more fearful of the fact that he would be dragged right back into training, much to his distress.
And dragged he was.
With a tight grip upon his shoulder, the divine being led him back toward the training arena, where she threw him unceremoniously into the middle of the space, right in front of Alex, who was leaning against the fence opposite the entrance of the training grounds.
"You will be going over basic blade techniques with Alex. In the meantime, I will be organizing your punishment as you do so."
Lady Agnes turned and briskly walked away without another word, disappearing into the house beside the training grounds.
With a smirk, Alex pushed herself off of the fence, unhooking her dagger from her belt before twirling it around in her fingers.
"How far did you get before she caught you? You were out for a pretty long time."
Steve let out a sigh.
"...I went back to the place where all those mobs were fighting-"
"-Without me?!" Alex exclaimed with disappointment, letting out a small whine afterward as she stopped twirling her weapon, dropping her arms to the sides of her body in a slightly dramatic fashion.
"Please tell me nothing cool happened while you were there."
Remembering to keep his mouth shut about things relating to his bigger "quest," Steve shook his head.
"Nah, they were still fighting."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Alex moved to hold her dagger properly, pointing it toward Steve.
"Great! We can probably do some more investigating later, right?"
Steve shrugged, thinking about his earlier plans as he did so,
"I dunno, it all depends on how long we're going to be training for. I may want sleep, y'know?"
Nodding, Alex closed her eyes in agreement.
"Ah, that's fine. Always next time, right?"
Steve nodded in agreement, looking at the other's weapon before hesitantly pulling his own out of its sheath. Staring at his blade, he felt a bit of nervousness rise up within him.
He didn't want to accidentally hurt her. Depending on their levels of individual expertise, there was a very good chance he could do exactly that, and he didn't want to risk it.
With a nervous smile, Steve got into a defensive position.
"So...how are we gonna do this?"
Alex shrugged.
"Swing at me, and I'll swing at you. Simple enough."
"Aren't you afraid I'm...gonna cut you?" Steve cringed at the thought.
"Aren't you afraid that I'm gonna cut you?" Alex smirked at him, not doing much to ease his fears.
"...Didn't Lady Agnes have a dagger that I could use?" Steve looked around the area for said dagger, finding nothing.
"What, is that thing just for show? C'mon Steve, we're just training, you can't hurt me too bad!"
Alex took a quick swing at him, which he blocked rather quickly.
"I don't want to hurt you, that's the thing!" Steve exclaimed, stepping out of the way of another swing from the other.
Despite Alex not having the proper weapon to equally duel him with, she was still rather proficient with the dagger within her hands, attacking him with shallow, but strong and quick slashes that could very well cut an artery if he wasn't careful. Not wanting to get hurt or hurt the other, he decided to start talking once again.
If he could stop the training session by pulling her into conversation, his worries would be properly dealt with.
"Say, you're pretty good at fighting. Did Agnes teach you that stuff, or what?"
Alex waved her hand in a so-so fashion.
"Kinda? I mean, she gave me the dagger and taught me how to use it, but I was already a sword fighter, back then."
Slightly surprised but not shocked, Steve nodded his head in interest.
"Oh! Just for fun, or necessity?"
"Both, actually. Needed to help with protecting the city, and I found it pretty fascinating, heh."
As Steve continued to dodge the other's attacks, he noticed that they were becoming slower, and more evenly spaced out.
"Same here, actually. I was a mob slayer back in my home village, before I got appointed, and whatever."
Alex looked at him in confusion.
"...Appointed?"
"Yeah, as in I got appointed as being a new champion."
Steve returned that look of confusion after he slowly came to the realization that the other's expression hadn't changed all that much.
"...You don't know about the champions?"
Alex shook her head as she paused her attacks entirely.
"No…"
Stopping himself as well, Steve allowed the tip of his sword to hit the ground as he looked at the other with a small smile.
"You're lucky, then. It's a whole, weird thing and whatever. Kind of the reason why I'm here, and all."
With a curious gaze, Alex approached him.
"Tell me about it then!"
Nodding, Steve fully sheathed his blade.
"It's not much, but my village's Elder thought I was worthy, and appointed me as being a new champion. Champions go out and earn titles and whatever, bringing fame to their villages for their accomplishments. I earned the title of the 'Champion of Beasts,' for taming Squash. Y'know, that mob you saw in the animal pen beside the inn."
Nodding, Alex absentmindedly began to flip her dagger between her fingers once again.
"Really?..."
Thinking to herself for a moment, Alex looked toward the ground beside her before looking up at the miner with a gaze that held somewhat of a bit of desperation.
"Can anybody become a champion? Do you need to get an Elder's approval beforehand?"
Steve thought about her words for a moment before shrugging.
"I dunno, but yeah, anybody can become a champion. If you do something title-worthy and tell your city leader about it, you'd probably get an actual title right away. I didn't get mine until after I tamed that beast, and even then, I was still considered to be a champion before. You can be known as being a champion without...well, being a champion."
Nodding in response, Alex sheathed her dagger, looking past Steve as the sound of footsteps approached them both.
"I'll remember that, Steve."
Before Steve could respond, he found Lady Agnes to be walking up to them, arms crossed in front of her chest as she walked toward Steve in particular.
"I've decided on your punishment. We'll be doing some resistance training in the actual marsh, since you want to be out there so much. We'll be out of the way, so don't expect anyone to disturb us. Including you, Alex."
With a small "aw," Alex nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
Lady Agnes motioned for Steve to follow her, which he did so without much joy in his expression. Turning back in order to wave toward Alex, Steve gave the other a silent goodbye, which was returned eagerly.
Following the divine being further toward the outer circle of the city, Steve soon found himself being led back into the water, much to his disdain. It was still pretty dark out, and it was still rather cold, but he counted himself lucky that this part of the marsh only rose up to just under his knees, making it hard to move, but easy to breathe in as the coldness didn't suck the air away from him entirely. Coming to an area with larger, collapsed buildings within it, Lady Agnes turned toward Steve, uncrossing her arms as she allowed them to fall by her side.
"The waters here tend to be thicker thanks to the contents within the ground they hide below. Your feet will be held back by the sinking mud as you attempt to dodge my fire here."
With a mental groan, Steve braced himself for the possible third-degree burns he would be facing, which would heavily dampen his adventuring spirit.
How would he escape this situation? Could he run again? Should he run again? Could he save himself by dodging the other's flames and secretly use the opportunity to move away from the other? What could he possibly do? What feasible options did he have?
Caught within his own thoughts, Steve didn't even notice when the first fireball was sent his way, causing him to react way later than he would've liked to. Attempting to dodge, he found that his movements were heavily slowed by the presence of the water, making him slightly panic at the fact that the other had been right.
He would definitely be getting serious burns during this session.
Dodging the other's attacks soppily, Steve watched as they became faster and faster, much to his dismay. Before he realized it, he was already getting a bit tired, slowing his movements as it became more clear just how much danger he was in.
One particular flame aimed itself toward his face as he wasn't looking out properly. Before it had the chance to connect with his skin, it mysteriously fizzled out as it changed course abruptly, being thrown off to the side.
With a noise of confusion, Lady Agnes stopped her barrage of flames.
"What happened th-"
"-Really? You're sending those flames toward him?"
Their attention was suddenly grabbed by a voice that originated from the side, eventually taking their gazes upward to the top of a collapsed building, where stood a smug Herobrine.
"That's not even holy fire! Neither the hellish kind! You're fighting with simple Overworldian fire, with no flavour! No spice! How disappointing…" He continued, bringing the training session to an abrupt halt.
Lady Agnes let out a shriek of surprise before her gaze narrowed in an attempt to seem less frightened than she really was.
"Herobrine! It's just about time you finally revealed yourself to me!
Herobrine waved her off.
"I'm simply passing through. Now, let's get back on topi-"
The woman threw a larger, more intense ball of flame in the demigod's direction, which he dissipated almost immediately once it got close enough to him.
"Again, where's the holy fire? Now you're battling against a god, and you can't even manage to pull out the full power, here? How you managed to get sent out to do anything intrigues me."
Agnes narrowed her gaze at him.
"How you managed to elude us for so long is the real question, here."
Herobrine rolled his eyes at her words.
"That is a simple question that has a simple answer. I'm smarter than the lot of you combined, that's all."
Lady Agnes let out a mocking laugh.
"You? Smarter? Don't be so foolish! What intelligent being would manage to get the entirety of the Aether pitted against him? Tell me, how is that smart?"
"In my defense, it's always been against me. Only now, you've finally figured out how to pick up a sword and actually fight me. Besides, I've been running circles around you for this long, and you have yet to stop me, so really, who's the smarter one, here?"
Jumping down into the water, Herobrine began to walk right toward the other divine being in the area, a smile on his face as he did so.
"Now, please, tell me all about how you came to this area and wasted so much time trying to find me, knowing how well that typically works for you Aethren idiots?"
Agnes stared at him with a withering glare, though it didn't affect him in the slightest.
"I found it by following a trace of strong magic-"
"-From where?"
"A portal, located in a place of ancient worship. The building itself has fallen away into the marsh, but the structure within remained, so I followed that here, thinking I could stumble upon you through it."
Nodding at the information, Herobrine briefly looked back at Steve with a glint in his eye that expressed some sort of mischievous intent, along with a bit of satisfaction at the information that had been given to him so freely.
They'd already won, and Agnes simply hadn't realized it yet.
"Really? What, were you going to be a sitting duck until I stepped through that portal? How long would that have taken?"
"I'd wait just for the chance of ending you. I was sent to narrow down your location, but you've been a big enough thorn in my side to...inspire me to adjust my plans more."
Summoning a pair of flames within her hands, Agnes looked at the other with a challenging gaze.
"I'll give you two options, out of the mercy and kindness of my heart. Either fight me in a duel of flames, or face your arrest, by order of the king!"
Herobrine crossed his arms over his chest, raising a brow at the other's words.
"...And by what authority do you approach me with?"
"The one given to the gods at birth, renewed by the king." Agnes answered firmly, allowing her flames to grow brighter in an attempt at intimidation.
Looking at the woman for a moment or two, Herobrine thought over her words silently, before a quiet laugh escaped his lips as he shook his head. Tilting his gaze upward to meet with the other's, Herobrine broke through the silence that had formed between them in their momentary standoff.
"May I explain something simple to you, Lady Agnes?" He asked, his voice carrying over to the other despite its lowness in volume.
Turning around and walking through the water away from his opponent, Herobrine soon pulled himself up onto a nearby collapsed bit of an old building and remained there as he sat upon it, gaining a height advantage as he looked back down at the woman in front of him with a small smirk on his face.
"You see, the one thing you all have in common is that you, for some reason, think you are superior to all beings. You believe that others are beneath you solely due to circumstance. You think that the superiority that is granted to you in the Aether is transferred down here once your feet touch the ground."
Herobrine narrowed his gaze as his expression fell into one of judgment rather than amusement.
"However, I have to inform you that your assumption that you are above other living things here in the Overworld is utterly false."
Crossing his arms over his chest, Herobrine went back to smirking at her, enjoying her slightly fearful expression as her gaze rested solely on him.
"Here, you hold no power. Here, you are no ruler. One of the concepts that you consistently fail to grasp about the Overworld is that down here, all are equal. Mobs are not separate from humans, and humans are not separate from the divine. Your power that was gifted to you on high means nothing down here."
Letting out a dark chuckle, Herobrine leaned in a bit closer to her, a fake look of concern crawling onto his features.
"What? Is it so shocking to hear that nobody is obligated to fawn over you here? Did you expect the creatures of this land to fall on their knees in front of you? Did you expect me to turn myself in if I refused to fight you? Under the king's decree, and all?"
Leaning back as another serious expression overtook him, Herobrine gazed upon the other with a commanding sort of presence.
"You've failed to realize that the only person down here who has any power whatsoever is me. Here, you aren't given authority on a whim, you have to earn it. While you've spent your time gallivanting about, I've spent my time down here earning this power."
Crossing one leg over the other in a laid-back fashion, Herobrine smiled as Agnes's expression now clearly displayed total fear.
"The Aether follows a king of mere words. The Nether follows one of death and damnation. The Overworld follows one of power."
A certain, suffocating feeling swept through the area, though it was only slightly stronger than what Steve had remembered feeling before. Various mobs, mainly creepers, skeletons, and some of the drowned zombies, emerged from the depths of the marsh and from the remnants of sunken buildings, surrounding the group as the sound of hostile creatures began to flood the quiet atmosphere of the city.
"You stand before the King of the Mobs. Kneel and then flee, lest you fall to the claws of one that you consider to be far beneath you."
Lady Agnes glared at him.
"You dare to use the title of 'king' knowing full well who's really deserving of that title?"
Herobrine looked at her with fake realization.
"Ohhhh. I forgot! You mean that fool up in the Aether, right? Him? That king?" The demigod chuckled. "Ah yes. That king. The one who failed to govern over his people in order to avoid the cusp of disaster. The one who failed to get a group of weak beasts under his control. The one who couldn't even handle the presence of a mere child without divine powers. That king, yes."
Standing up from his spot, Herobrine returned a withering glare to the other divine being.
"With all things considered, I'm more of a real king than he is. And look, my subjects agree so. If you doubt, test it. See whose command they follow: the false king's, or mine."
With a huff, Lady Agnes summoned a couple of flames within the palms of her hands as she slowly began to back away from the scene.
"...I already know that they won't care to listen. I'm here for you, anyways. Come down and fight if you're so powerful!"
Shaking his head as a few 'tchs' left his lips, Herobrine smirked at the other.
"Wouldn't that be so satisfying? Getting to test your might against the one person who surpasses you in creating gorgeous flames? Fulfilling your personal vendetta against me? Wouldn't that be nice?"
Turning away, Herobrine began to walk off, making a hidden motion for Steve to do the same, silently.
"Sadly, I have more pressing things to attend to. You've done my work for me, so I must be off. Surely, when we meet again, I can maybe perhaps schedule a proper duel. Right now, we're a bit short on time, so I believe you'll be satisfied enough with dealing with my forces in the meantime."
Before the other could object, Herobrine had disappeared from her sight, sprinting off as the mobs leaped into action before Agnes, dividing her attention. Meeting up with Steve, the demigod began to drag him off by the wrist as they ran through the marshland, escaping into the darkness of the night.
Once far away enough from the scene, Herobrine let go of the miner, turning around to see how the other was faring.
Attempting to catch his breath, Steve looked up at the other with a slight smile.
"I'm...I'm going to have to ask you to either warn me the next time you're going to drag me off, or to just tell me to start running beforehand, okay?"
Though Herobrine looked at him with an unreadable gaze for a moment or so, eventually, he closed his eyes momentarily as he shrugged.
"I suppose that's alright. We just simply needed to flee, and I'm faster than you'll ever hope to be, so I assumed we'd make more ground that way. If you wish to be caught by the divines and killed, so be it."
Steve straightened himself up, letting out a small laugh.
"If you only do it in emergencies, that's fine by me, but again, please warn me."
Looking back at the distant city for a second or two, Steve then looked back at the other with an appreciative gaze.
"...Thank you, anyways."
Herobrine, almost comically, tilted his head slightly in confusion at the other's words.
"...For what?"
"For saving me from her. She forced me to tag along with her as an apprentice without my input and wouldn't let me leave. I was trying to plan an escape somehow, but you saved me the time. Thanks for that, Brine."
What he expected was for the demigod to shrug him off and berate him for saying such a pointless thing, which he would've been perfectly okay with accepting as the other was usually so stand-offish when it came to such things.
What he didn't expect was for a small spark of surprise to light up within the other's eyes, which had dimmed significantly to a point where there was only a hint of their previous harsh glow present.
When did that happen?
"...Constiere informed me of her quest to keep you under her control, and I couldn't stand by that."
Steve nodded.
"Whatever your reasoning is, I appreciate you taking the time to drag me away from all that. I would've gotten cooked if you hadn't."
Looking at the other's expression, Steve found himself being totally captivated by the clearer emotion that was now being reflected in the other's eyes. A lack of harsh, white light really did a lot to betray the demigod's serious expression, revealing a glimpse into the other's seemingly troubled thought process as he considered ways to respond to the miner.
Silver eyes looked back at him with a flicker of something beyond the rest of his expression, which held nothing but dismissal.
"Her flames are uncontrolled and lacking. You would've certainly been burnt into a crisp had I not intervened, yes."
Looking toward the distance, Herobrine began to walk ahead of the other.
"Go and collect your things and your beast. I will search for and destroy that portal, so we can get away as quickly as possible. She'll be occupied for the time being, so we'll be able to make this quick."
Nodding, Steve began to pick up his pace as best he could while traveling through the water after the other.
"Got it!"
"Meet with us on the opposite side of the city. Likely, the portal will be there, along with our exit."
Nodding, Steve separated from the other, going quickly in order to return to the inn. Thankful that he didn't have to do anymore searching or fleeing, Steve felt a wave of relief wash over him.
After thanking the innkeeper for his stay, Steve gathered his belongings and released Squash from her pen, soon taking the both of them to where he agreed to meet Herobrine and the others. The early hours of twilight were coming upon them in a crawling manner, but Steve found no reason to panic, as he was still experiencing the relief of being freed from his sudden "apprenticeship."
Thinking back to the one who saved him, Steve allowed Squash to guide them on their journey by herself, directing his gaze to the world around him instead.
Herobrine's gaze in particular had burned itself into his mind, given that it had been the most that he had dimmed the light of his eyes ever, in Steve's brief time of knowing him. What shocked him the most hadn't been that fact that he even did it, no, it was just how much of what he assumed to be the other's actual eye color that he had seen that surprised him. Herobrine had a gaze of grey, reminding him of the colors of a foggy rainy day, or the surface of a well-polished sword made from the hands of his friend, Almun. He was used to the cold exterior of the other, reflected in his face and the rest of his body, but the other's eyes rejected the will of his actions, telling him everything that he needed to know about the other in a silent method of communication. Maybe that was why they were usually hidden beneath that terrifying glow, maybe not, but whatever the case was, Steve couldn't erase the sight from his mind.
What surprised him was the extent of the emotion displayed within the other's eyes. What stunned him was the amount of pain that he'd only briefly caught a glimpse of, hidden in that gradient of stained silver. Whatever he found in that gaze was something that couldn't be denied, no matter how much the demigod wished to erase it.
It was the most human thing about the other that he had experienced.
Breaking from his line of thought, Steve realized that he had spaced out, and now found both him and Squash in an area of the city that was very much well-damaged, but not located within the inner circle. They found themselves in the other half of the city, and Steve was left with the realization of just how badly the city had fallen into decay.
As the two went further and further toward the outer ring of the other half, Steve soon found himself stumbling upon various pieces of what appeared to be stone falling into the waters of the marsh. With Squash slightly tensing at the sound, Steve began to gently pet her in order to calm her fears as they went along. Suddenly, in the distance, one of the decaying buildings collapsed entirely, creating a large splash that gave way into a good couple of waves that thankfully fell away before they even got remotely close to where he and Squash were.
Well, at least he found Herobrine.
Directing Squash toward the sight, Steve soon found the demigod in question standing in the middle of the rubble, a smile on his face as he stared at the remains of the large portal in front of him. Hearing Steve approach, Herobrine turned to look at him.
"Well, I believe that we can move on from this place, yes?"
Nodding, Steve directed Squash to walk a bit quicker in order to catch up with the other.
"Yeah, I don't really think there's much else to worry about, now."
Beginning their trip once again, Herobrine led the way as Steve followed close behind.
Curious, Steve began to speak to the other, staring at him with interest.
"Say, didn't Constiere also tell you about the drowned and the guardians? Did you do anything about them?"
Herobrine looked back at him with a smirk.
"I did, actually. We usually don't have use for those who don't follow orders, but their services in this area were too great to justify erasing their numbers completely. So, I let them off with a warning."
"...I'm going to regret asking this, but what kind of warning?"
"I found the leaders of each respective army and killed them. Have no concern, though, they'll elect new leaders soon enough."
Nodding, Steve directed his attention back toward the area ahead.
"Yeah, that's just about what I was expecting."
Sorry for the later update y'all, I had some school stuff (midterms and research papers lol) that needed my attention this week, so I didn't have much proper time to edit this chapter! We're here now tho, lol. Might be another slight delay this week as well, but such is life XD
Now we get to leave Maemond! Lol, I knew what I wanted to include within this chapter, but formatting everything to fit properly was a struggle lmao. We have a longer chap today because of that haha
Aight, fun facts!
1.) Not important, but Lady Agnes is like, huge lol. She's 6"7.
2.) That one intelligent drowned zombie that came to speak to Constiere and Steve was the one who commanded the others to fight for the title of "King of the Mobs".
3.) The drowned and the guardians began to fight because they believed that due to their aquatic abilities, they'd be able to counter Herobrine's fire, lmao
4.) The common language of the mobs is separate from Steve's language. Zombies are less likely to speak it. Mostly, higher-ranking members of the individual mob armies will be more fluent and knowledgeable about it.
Anyways, that's it for now! Leave a review if you have any thoughts!
