The Minecraft Story: The Kingdom: Chapter 21
What a fucking disaster. Blackthorn thought as he hobbled to the war room with the help of Alex. The funeral had nearly turned into a riot. Soldiers had to step in and calm the civilians down. A meeting was called the next day to discuss the pillager threat. Alex swung the dark wood doors open, and Blackthorn hobbled inside.
"Sorry for the delay," said Blackthorn as he took his seat.
The war room resided in Gold District and was decorated with amethyst, gold, and lapis. Personally, Blackthorn had always hated the war room. A large dark oak table sat in the center of the room with all the major military leaders and noble house representatives sitting at each side. On the end of the table, sat the King.
King Leo Ironheart. He was an aging man, despite only being sixty-two. He had a long white beard that ran to his chest and his golden crown covered a head that had gone bald three decades ago. His eyes stared sullenly and darkened with tiredness at the table, not speaking.
His daughter, Princess Alice Ironheart stood behind him. In contrast with her father, Alice was a young woman; the same age as Alex. She had long brown hair and her eyes were full of juvenation and spirit.
It was General Blackthorn's job to do a quick report on the pillager threat. He cleared his throat as spoke with a booming voice for the old king to hear, "After an integration on Jadis the pillager witch, conducted by Commander Alex and later myself, we have learned some terrible information. Not only do the pillagers know where the Stone Kingdom is, but they also have the numbers to wipe us out five times over."
Some officers interjected, "Surely it can't be that hopeless."
"I agree, we should give our soldiers some credit, surely they can handle some animals in the woods."
"We do possess some amazing fighters," said Blackthorn, "But the pillagers have ten thousand soldiers at the ready. Even just half of that could destroy us." The room went silent as dread began to overcome the brass.
"And how long until these pillagers come to kill us?" an officer asked.
"Fortunately, we may have some time to prepare," Blackthorn answered, "The witch revealed that the pillagers' forces are spread rather thin across the lands. It will take them some time to properly mobilize. We don't have any way of knowing for certain how much time we have, but if I had to give an estimate, I'd say we have maybe two weeks."
The king had remained silent throughout the meeting thus far. On top of that, the king had not given much instruction ever since they first learned about the potential pillager threat. Blackthorn had grown impatient with the king over the past few months and his silence and recent absence at the funeral had begun to boil over.
"Your highness, what do you make of this," Blackthorn asked.
The king only sighed in response.
"Your highness, I'm not sure whether you've grasped the severity of our situation, but our people need some leadership right now," Blackthorn blurted to the surprised gasps of the many officers. "We still haven't even told the people what's out there. It won't be long until the information leaks and our people will be sent into a panic. And you not showing up at the funeral yesterday really angered many of the-"
"YOU WATCH YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH!" an officer screamed, "General or not, you do not have the-"
BANG!
"Enough!" the king yelled while slamming his fist on the table. After a moment, he sunk back into his chair and spoke, "I am aware that I have been rather inactive these past few months. And for that, I apologize." The whole room was silent, caught off guard by the apology. "The reason for my absence is because me and my daughter needed time and privacy to come up with a solution to our crisis; a solution that I believe we are ready to share. Go ahead and tell them sweetheart, my voice has gotten a bit hoarse."
The princess stepped forward to the table and revealed the plan, "As you know we've been aware of the pillagers for about sixty years now, but we haven't been in contact with them for about fifty. What many of you don't know, is that during the first pillager incursion, my grandfather built several evacuation passages under the city."
Evacuation passages? Blackthorn thought. Why have they been keeping this a secret?
Princess Alice continued, "If you're wondering why this was kept secret, it was because my grandfather did not want the Stone Kingdom to appear weak and scared of the pillager threat."
"However, we will do no such thing," King Ironheart included, "These passages have been abandoned for many decades now and have been left to rot. I want teams down there repairing these passages and having them ready for evacuation. Once they're ready, I want our citizens practicing evacuation drills."
"That's genius you highness," said an officer.
"I cannot take credit, it was my daughter who came up with the idea."
Another officer suddenly stood up, "If I may your highness. If our plan is to simply evacuate the city, then why not do it now?"
"How do you intend to defend two thousand individuals on the first night?" Princess Alice responded. "Sending our people out there now would just be setting out a buffet for the mobs."
"But our people will be out there anyway when the evacuation inevitably does happen."
"That's where we have to take a bit of a long shot," King Ironheart explained. "I know it's been a long time since we lost contact with the other kingdoms in the area, but we can't be the only one left. The first pillagers may have simply scared them off from conducting more trade with us. That's why I want to send scouts to each of our former allies in small teams of three. Hopefully, someone is out there who can aid us."
"And if there isn't?"
The room fell silent and through that silence, everyone knew the answer.
"Let's focus on our other concerns," said General Blackthorn. "Including our mole and new friend, Jadis the witch."
"The witch?" said one officer, "We haven't executed here yet? Why haven't we gotten on with that."
Alex chimed in, "With all due respect, Jadis has been very willing to help us so far. She's been a great source of information and she practically handed it over on a diamond platter. She has expressed discontent with the pillagers and their cause. With her unique abilities, I believe she may be a valuable ally."
"The witch? An ally? Did you hit your head during that ambush?" the officer mocked.
"We have the chance to learn from our enemy and achieve an advantage over them. Her magical powers and potion brewing abilities could take us far. She could train others to learn her ways and possibly raise an army of magical soldiers. I believe that is a good reason to keep her alive, do you disagree?" The officer went silent.
"And as for the mole," Blackthorn continued, "We still don't have any leads on who it might be. Many people knew of that attack. We need to stay vigilant and careful of whom we reveal information to."
"One more thing General," King Ironheart said, "Have we any idea of what the pillagers want with this nether portal?"
"From what you said, it was a barren hellscape full of monsters. What could they possibly want with that?" Princess Alice asked.
"I…I have no idea," Blackthorn answered.
There was a moment of silence before the king stood up, "Well, for the time being, let's begin going into detail of the evacuation plan."
…
Steve lay in his bed, trying to make sense of the past few days before he drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly, he was back in that void, back to that voice, "Steve, it's almost time."