Kai and Alex have been walking for two days. Same old thing with the schedule, sleep during the day and walk at night and kill the monsters. Kai became very good at not making Alex's job harder and Alex is getting better every night, making sure to kill as many things as she can.
Alex is running out on patience and resources. Resources are running low faster since Kai is now with Alex. She is really impatient, but knows she can't leave someone just like that.
The girls really don't have a lot to do other than talking. They got to know each other better over time, but Kai has something lingering in her brain.
K: Hey, Alex.
Al: Hm?
K: I really want to know something.
Al: Alright.
K: Like, who do you work for?
Al: What?
K: Or do you work independently?
Al: I work by myself, I'm independent.
K: What is your end goal? Do you intend on working with something else? Do you ever think of stopping?
Al: I'll destroy all the evil in this world, or I'll die trying. That's my plan.
K: Oh… Have you ever thought of doing something else?
Al: Not really.
K: Ah
Al: Oh, no, actually, I wanted to become a scientist when I was a kid.
K: Wow, there was a shift then.
Al: I wanted to research the undead just like my mom. She became infected and died right after I was born. My dad also became infected. I tried doing my research and helping him, but gave up after it went wrong.
K: I'm… Sorry.
Al: Eh, It's alright, don't worry. I think the worst part of the whole story was me not sticking to the…
Alex stops. She just slowly stops moving and stares at nothing for a while. She goes back to walking and killing monsters.
Kai just stays quiet the whole night. She doesn't know what went on, but Alex looked dead for a moment. She doesn't want to risk making another mistake and saying something wrong again.
The girls stop for the night, the sun is coming up. They start looking for somewhere to sleep.
The next night, Alex and Kai get up during the sunset. While they eat, they see someone just walking casually through the forest.
K: Who is…
The person seems to be mumbling something, maybe talking to themselves.
K: Hey, that's… Someone, maybe we should ask them for directions.
Al: That person most likely lives in a village, they could take us there.
K: Oh, yeah, that too.
They get up and walk towards the person.
K: Hey!
E: Oh, hey!
K: Hi, my name is Kai, this is Alex, we are kind of lost.
Al: Not lost, we just want to find a village.
K: Oh, yeah, we don't really have anywhere– Alex doesn't have anywhere to be, so we're not lost. I mean, we want to find a place, so I think we classify as lost.
E: Huh?
K: Sorry. Can you help us find a village or take us to one?
E: Nope, I got out of the town I lived in and lost it.
Al: Now I gotta help two people find their way back home. NIce.
E: Don't worry, I don't really need to be anywhere.
The two keep yapping and talking about whether they are lost or not. Efe is just glad that she found someone to be with. They will probably get to civilization before sunset. Or sunrise. They walk more and more and there's really not a lot to see, no village in sight or anything.
K: Why is it so hard to find any civilization?
Al: Yeah… I don't know… Do you want to change the direction we're going?
K: I'm not sure.
Kai approaches Efe.
K: So, Efe, right.
E: Uh huh.
K: How exactly did you lose your town?
E: Huh?
K: You said you got out of the town you lived in, why?
E: Oh, yeah, I did. There really wasn't anything to live for there.
Al: So… You just abandoned everyone without hope of finding more people?
E: It's better than living there. It felt like the people there worked hard to be the worst versions of themselves.
K: Makes sense. I did the same.
Al: It's getting late, let's sleep a bit.
E: During the day?
Al: Yeah, I only travel at night. I'll watch over you two while you sleep, then I'll wake you up and you do the watching. Efe, you can sleep in my bag, I'm not gonna use it.
E: Oh, no, I have my own stuff.
Kai and Efe get comfortable and go to sleep. Four hours later, Alex wakes them up and goes to sleep while they watch around. It's hard to traverse around in a jungle biome, so the monsters don't like going into them a lot.
As the sun sets, Kai wakes Alex up to go back to their walk. Alex gets up, they eat and go back to their journey. Kai starts noticing that the color of the grass is changing, she notices the trees changing and realises that they are going into a dark forest.
K: Oh, great, I left a dark forest to go into another one. Let's just hope that there isn't a… Okay, I talk too much.
There is a mansion right ahead of them. It looks empty, a lot emptier than normal. Kai looks scared and confused at the same time.
Al: Okay, what is that?
K: A woodland mansion. This one looks kinda… dead, i think it's abandoned.
E: You want to go in?
K: I… You know what? I'm going into the mansion.
Al: Wait, are you insane? I don't even know what is in there! Also, it's a waste of time and resources.
E: Can I go too?
Al: We're not going in.
K: Don't worry, this one is very old. We will be fine. I've lived in one of those for my whole life, it'll be okay.
Al: What do you mean you've lived in one?
K: Long story. I'll tell you later. Also, mansions have vast storage systems and their libraries usually have logs of village raids and potentially raidable villages.
Al: What– alright, I'm going in. We are in need of some supplies and food.
They go into the mansion, not expecting much. Kai goes mainly because of the library. Alex wants to explore and maybe kill whatever dangerous thing is in there. Efe doesn't have anything better to do.
The mansion is dark, some of the torches are still lit. The girls go right first, the carpet in the floor is old and dusty, almost getting ripped just from being walked on. The corridor is long, wide and the ceiling is high.
Al: This place looks old, but if we're lucky, maybe we can find some old food.
K: Old food?
Al: I mean, some things can be very well preserved, maybe we can find something that won't kill us in a chest of whatever.
K: Dude, this is so weird. These places are usually full of life and active. Keep your eyes open, this might be a trap.
Efe stays quiet, she is distracted by the walls. The dark oak goes well with the birch on the floors and the white and red carpets. The yellow from the torches have a nice contrast and complement the atmosphere well.
The girls reach the end of the corridor and decide to go back to the entrance exploring the rooms. One with a lot of flowers, another one with a… Weird water thing, another one with a pumpkin and some weirdly placed blocks.
Al: These rooms are filled with weird structures. I wonder what the people living here were trying to do.
K: I'm gonna be honest. I don't know a lot, I just know that most of the things that have been attempted here have already been disproven or proven to be really inefficient.
Al: Oh, yeah, you said you were born in a mansion, didn't you?
K: I was born in a village, but I was raised in a mansion.
Al: What was it like?
K: It was nice, to be honest. I just didn't like the part where they wanted to use me for magic. That's when I ran away.
E: Nice. Sometimes you gotta abandon everyone.
Al: Dude, I swear I forgot you were here.
K: By the way, Efe, where is the town you came from?
E: Stalagmite Peaks.
Al: Where exactly is this place?
E: Stalagmite Peaks. That's all I know.
K: Alright. Second floor.
Al: But we didn't even explore the left side of the mansion.
K: The first floor is where they make the weird rituals, the first floor says a lot about the mansion we're in and how experienced the people here are. The third floor is the living quarters and meeting rooms. The second floor is where we find the storage, monuments and libraries. I came for the libraries.
Al: Nice, let's go then. I'll see if I can find resources. Maybe there's some more stuff in the bedrooms too.
Everyone goes upstairs. They turn right and decide to explore the rooms as they go to the end of the hallway.
There's a dining room, more flowers, a bedroom, then stairs to the third floor.
K: Okay, third floor or do we go for the other side?
Al: Other side.
E: Third floor.
Al: Next floor, actually.
They go up the stairs, hoping to find something interesting on the third floor.
Bedroom, reading room, meeting room.
K: Okay, at least we got a reading room, I'll check it out later.
Another meeting room, and to the left there is a room with a statue of a chicken.
E: Duck.
K: Sister, that's a chicken.
Another dining room to the left, another bedroom to the right, and another reading room at the end of the hallway.
Al: Kai, knock yourself out with those books. Efe, come with me, let's steal some bedsheets.
E: Hell yeah.
Kai stays and starts looking through the book shelves, looking for something interesting. Maybe some records of a nearby village, maybe some rare new magic book or at least something unique. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing. Kai picks up a dead daisy from the table and puts it on her hair, she looks at herself in the mirror and removes it. The flower doesn't match her hat. Kai leaves the room and goes to the previous reading room.
The reading room is a lot smaller and only features chairs and a couple of useless books. Disproven legends, amateur techniques, ineffective magic. Kai lights up a torch to see better. Nothing useful is present. Kai leaves the room and goes to Alex and Efe.
K: I'm done, you need help?
Al: Nah, we're alright. Did you find something useful– you did not.
E: She isn't holding any books.
K: I'm ready to go back to the second floor.
E: …
Al: Let's go then.
Kai goes ahead, Alex follows her while folding some bedsheets and Efe is right behind them, holding more sheets.
K: Woodland mansions are terribly lit up. I mean, they're terribly designed in general. Especially the amateur ones. The structures are just a bunch of rooms placed randomly. No one plans these things out ahead of time.
Al: My favourite part is that they made this huge place and they have - as you just said - nothing that's bright enough to light it up properly.
E: Do they even have something to hide or protect in the mansions?
K: They usually do. This one is kinda sad.
The girls keep walking and go past the stairs to the first floor.
K: Okay, let's hope that… I don't even know what to expect, honestly.
They turn left and go into the first room
Al: Another flower room.
E: Dead alliums, again. This makes me a bit sad.
K: Alliums are used to make fire resistance stews.
Al: Whaaa
K: As I said: Amateurs.
E: Oh, this room is different.
Al: A fighting ring!
K: Oh, yeah, people usually practice their magic here.
Al: You're telling me people used to fight each other using magic in these places!?
K: Oh, no, they used animals and monsters. Using potions, magic and enchanted weapons on another illager is illegal,
E: But raiding villages and killing people is not.
K: You got it. Come on, the upper half of the room has a chest with treats that people used to bring to the demonstrations!
They go up the ladders in the room, Kai almost falls because of the darkness. Alex spots the chest in the darkness and opens it.
Al: Bones, string? Seeds. Is it safe to eat beetroot seeds?
K: Is it?
Al: Is it?
E: It is. Also there's a piece of something in that corner.
It's a piece of rotten flesh.
The girls recoil in disgust and decide to abandon the potential food in the chest. They get down and leave the room to keep exploring.
There is another reading room.
Al: Oh, would you look at that! More nothing.
K: Yeah… But, like, I can't let this one go without looking around a bit. You can finish looking around and I'll catch up to you.
Al: Alright, let's keep going.
Kai stays behind again, while Alex and Efe go finish exploring the rooms. They see the sky become brighter and a bit orange through the windows.
Alex and Efe find another bedroom and more meeting rooms. They explore the rooms and find nothing. They go back to Kai.
Kai is sitting on one of the tables in the reading room with a book.
Al: Oh, finally something.
E: Girl, there are chairs.
Al: So, what did you find?
K: Gold.
Al: ?
K: I found gold in the middle of this trash. We need to get out of here and run.
E: Huh?
K: Let's get out and I'll explain.
Al: It's the second time you leave something to explain later.
K: Have you two found something useful?
Al: Nah, just more bedsheets.
The trio goes down the stairs and leaves the mansion, they look around being careful about whatever may be lurking nearby.
K: Okay. We will not sleep properly today ladies, we need to get far from this mansion.
E: I was really looking forward to sleeping properly, not gonna lie.
Al: You're not even with us, you can sleep on your own.
E: I still want to know what the book is about.
The girls keep going and walking, Kai begins to explain what her find is all about.
K: So, the book that I found is kind of a relic. It's a guide.
E: Mhm
Al: A guide to…
K: To reach and kill an ender dragon. I thought it was fake for a minute, but this…
Kai points at a stamp made with gold.
K: This is a legitimate stamp of approval from the council.
AL: The council?
E: The council.
K: I don't really know what the council is all about, but they are the higher-ups of the magic world. They know everything there is to know about magic and almost everything about the world in general.
Al: Mmmhm, and what is this ender dragon guy?
K: It's… a species of dragon. The only one believed to still be alive to this day. The ender dragons are a hivemind and the hive is a whole dimension dubbed "the end".
E: That's kinda cool! Why is there a guide to killing a dragon? Have they done something?
K: Legends say that the ender dragons are the source to all evil in the world
The girls go back to a jungle biome. Alex stops paying attention to the conversation and just keeps tripping over tree roots and vines.
K: Some sources say that if one were to reach the overworld, it would have complete control over every creature and be able to infect nature. That's why so many people were horrified by the dragons.
E: Oh… Did we manage to destroy all of them?
K: There is one left. Researchers said that over time it will be able to reproduce asexually and repopulate the end dimension.
E: Who is responsible for killing the dragons?
Al: Us.
E: Huh?
Al: Or me, I don't know.
K: What do you mean?
Al: I don't know about you two, but I really want to battle a dragon.
K: Hmmmm
Al: Or, like, you need some special ability or whatever to be able to do the thing? I kind of stopped paying attention to the conversation.
K: Oh, no, you'll just need a lot of help and resources. Also, we will have to study the guide a lot.
Al: I'm in.
E: Wait, are you actually insane? Do you really want to go to another dimension and kill a dragon all by yourselves?
Al: Yes. I mean, I need a challenge.
K: She will need help, so I'm in.
E: Eh, I have nothing better to do. I think I can help. Especially with this.
Efe pulls out a vindicator's axe that she found in the mansion.
K: Woah.
Al: Where did this come from?
E: Mansion.
K: Ay! Look at that!
Kai points forward, there is a structure made of wood in the distance.
