The Complete Elementia Chronicles: Quest for Justice; The New Order; The Dusk of Hope; Herobrine’s Message

CHAPTER 18

A DARING ESCAPE

Geno looked down at his partner sprawled out across two wool blocks on the Netherrack ground. Geno knew from experience that sleeping in a bed in the Nether was a bad idea, so he had decided that the wool blocks would have to do. Obviously, it would have been better for Becca if she could have lain down in a bed. However, King Kev had made it clear to RAT1 that they must catch the assassins at all costs. Geno had decided that the unconscious Becca would have to get her rest in the new dimension. As he thought this, Becca started to stir.

“Oh God …” she moaned, slowly sitting up as she held her stomach. “It hurts so bad.” She noticed Geno sitting there. She looked around and saw the fires burning everywhere, and she snapped into focus when she saw the armoured men patrolling with bows in hand. “Geno, what the … what is going on? Where are we?”

“We’re in the Nether,” he said. “Hold on, I’ll explain everything.” He sat down on a lone Netherrack block next to Becca.

“Well, what’s the last thing you remember?” Geno asked.

“Ah …” Becca mumbled. “Crap … well, Stan had just hit Leo with a shovel. And we were going after him … and then … then … that’s it. After that it was extremely painful for a second, and the next thing I know I’m waking up here. How long have I been out?”

“Almost a day,” Geno said. “Seriously, though, how do you remember their names? I looked at those pictures of them just as many times as you did, and I know what they look like, but I still don’t know them by name.”

“I still don’t know how you haven’t gotten that yet. Leo and I both did,” she said, condescension dripping from her voice. “But anyway, what happened?”

“Well, it turns out that the girl that flew into the lava—”

“Kat,” interrupted Becca automatically.

“Whatever,” continued Geno. “Well it turns out that she had a fire resistance potion on her, and so she went back through the lava and jumped out behind you. She stabbed you in the back and flung you into the lava. I dragged you out of the lava and healed you and Leonidas, and while I was doing that they escaped through the portal and broke it.

“After that, I set you up on the bed in your inventory, and Leo stayed to guard you while you rested up. I ran back to the jungle and led the legion of troops back here. The medics got to work fixing you and Leo up, and we fixed the portal. I sent a couple of scouts into the Nether to see where they were. When they came back, they told us that they had just entered into the Nether Fortress.

“So here we are. As far as we know, they’re still in the fortress. Thirty men are circling, ready to take them out if they try to escape. We know better than to try to find them inside that maze, so we’re trying a … different tactic.” A sly smile broke on his face at these last words.

“And …” said Becca, a wide smile spreading across her face as well. She liked where this conversation was going.

“We’re gonna blow the entire fortress off the side of the mountain,” Geno said, sounding like a child eagerly anticipating Christmas. “Right now Leo and a team of ten guys are laying TNT around the structure. When they’re done, they’re going to detonate the entire fortress, and if they’re still in there, they’re going to die, and if they try to escape, the snipers will get them.”

“Excellent!” Becca chortled. She loved watching stuff blow up, and if her stomach didn’t hurt so much she would have insisted on marching up there and helping them lay down the explosives. “When are they getting back?”

As if in response to her question, Leonidas jumped down from atop the fortress, redstone torch in hand.

“Well, that’s it,” he grunted. “Dynamite’s all over this fort. Soon as they lay the redstone down here, we’re ready to blow this thing up.”

“What took you so long?” sneered Geno. It had taken twice as long as he had anticipated for Leonidas and his team to set up the explosives. “Hurry it up or they’ll get away!”

“Hey, at least you don’t see me waitin’ around here like a useless sheep for your girlfriend to wake up!” snapped Leonidas.

“He’s got a point, Geno,” said Becca. “It was nice of you to stay here and all, but next time you should go and help lay down the explosives.”

Geno grunted and turned away from his friends. Honestly, he thought, sometimes I wonder why I don’t just kill both of them.

The figure in iron armour laid down the final redstone wiring along the ground, and he looked up at Leonidas.

“The wiring is ready, sir, and the premises have been evacuated. You may commence detonation when ready.”

Leonidas nodded, and the player backed away from the redstone wire, closely followed by Geno, who looked irate as he carried Becca over one shoulder, the latter of whom was still prattling on about how Geno needed to think things through more. Leonidas was about to touch the redstone torch to the wiring when he hesitated for a moment.

Did he really want these players dead? No, he did not. As a matter of fact, though he would be killed for admitting it, he secretly admired that they had enough defiance and courage to try to overthrow the tyrannical King. The server had been so much better before the King had become so paranoid.

Leonidas remembered an earlier time, a time of peace, a time of prosperity, when the King was fair and kind to those of all levels. Then came the darker influences on the King, mainly his advisors, Caesar and Charlemagne. They had stolen Leonidas’s peaceful life in the desert. With the threat of the death of his family, the King’s men forced Leonidas to commit heinous acts for RAT1 until he was completely desensitized to murder.

And now he was about to kill three players who were trying to prevent his fate from falling upon the other young players of Elementia.

All of this ran through his head in less than a half a second. Leonidas wished he could refuse, but he knew the consequences, and he knew that there was nothing he could do to prevent it from happening. There was no hope for him any more.

Leonidas touched the redstone torch to the wire, and the pain that he had kept bottled up was projected in the tear that trickled down the side of his blocky cheek as the entire Nether Fortress exploded in a shockwave of fire.

Stan was a half mile underground, but he was still seriously shaken when the mega-explosion above him went off. He had to give credit to Charlie. It was his quick thinking and mining instincts that had gotten them deep enough to be safe from the explosion created by RAT1. He knew now that they were being hunted by the assassin team known as Royal Assassin Team 1, or RAT1, which was composed of sword master Geno, demolition expert Becca and archery prodigy Leonidas. Apparently, according to the Nether Boys, they were a highly esteemed search-and-destroy group that the King sent after particularly evasive or dangerous targets.

Well, thought Stan as Charlie began to tunnel upwards, he was honoured that the King believed that he and his friends were a threat worthy of addressing with the most highly acclaimed assassins in Elementia, but this also came with a problem. Namely, that the King believed that he and his friends were a threat worthy of addressing with the most highly acclaimed assassins in Elementia. If these guys were willing to follow them all over two worlds, Stan guessed that he and his friends would have a pretty hard time finding their way to the End with these assassins in pursuit.

For the time being, however, Stan thought as Charlie hollowed out a little Netherrack room for them to plan their next move in, they had to focus on getting out of the Nether. Stan voiced this opinion to the others as soon as Charlie had finished the room and set up the torches.

“We have all the Blaze Rods we need, so the next thing we need to do is get out of here and break the portal. That way,” he reasoned, “we’ll be able to start hunting the Endermen, and they’ll be stuck in the Nether, at least until they figure a way out. We can use that time to get as far away from the portal as possible.”

“Good thinking, Stan,” agreed Kat. “Now that we’ve got people after us, we’ve got to get to the End as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, I agree,” said Charlie, nodding. “We’ll stop back by our old house to get our stuff and pick up Rex and Lemon, and then we’ll go off into the desert. We’ll keep moving around so they won’t find us, and we’ll hunt Endermen at the same time.”

Kat nodded, and Stan said, “OK then.” He turned to the Nether Boys, who had been huddled together away from the others whispering. “So, what about you guys?” he asked. “What are you going to do when you get out of the Nether?”

“Well, first, we’re going to kiss the sand beneath our feet,” said Bill.

“Then, we’re going to breathe in air that’s under thirty degrees Celsius,” said Bob.

“And then, perhaps, build a shrine to the clouds and swear that we’re never going to take them for granted again,” said Ben.

“OK,” said Kat, rolling her eyes. “We get it. You’re going to be very happy to be back in the Overworld. But what are you going to do? Long term, I mean.”

“Oh,” said Bill. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

Charlie sighed.

“Well, we were just saying that we want to go back to the Adorian Village to help you guys organize the rebellion.”

“Really?” asked Stan, his heart lifting.

“Absolutely,” said Ben. “You keep your end of the deal and get us out of this stupid dimension, and we’ve got nothing to lose by helping you guys out.”

“All right, well, thanks, guys,” said Charlie. “Now, it’s only a matter of time before they realize that we weren’t killed in that explosion, and after they realize it, they’re going to look everywhere, including underground. Now, if my calculations are correct, we should be located right under the cave that has the portal in it. If they got in here, that means that they’ve fixed the portal themselves, so that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

“So here’s what I want everyone to do.” They all leaned in to listen. Charlie had clearly thought this through. “I want Kat and Bob to jump out of the hole that I’m going to make above us, and be prepared to shoot down anyone in the vicinity. Stan, Ben and I will run towards the portal, and we’ll attack anyone who gets in our way. However, we shouldn’t have that many people to deal with, because I want Bill to use his fishing rod to fling any people between us and the portal out of the way so that Bob and Kat can shoot them. Any questions?” Nobody said a word.

“OK then, get ready,” said Charlie. Kat and Bob drew their bows and arrows out, Stan drew his shovel, Bill drew his fishing rod and Ben drew his sword. Charlie took his pickaxe and, trying to conceal his heart pounding within his chest, he gave three swift blows to the Netherrack block above him. It shattered, and Kat and Bob burst out of the hole, quickly followed by Stan and the others.

Exiting the hole, Stan had to do a double take to truly believe their good luck. He had thought that this was a daring escape, certain to be met with some opposition – but there were no guards around the portal, which was indeed glowing purple and complete once again. Stan looked back as he dashed towards the portal. He could see five men guarding the mouth of the cave, but the six players were silent as they dashed towards the portal, and the guards could not hear them.

Stan was still giddy at their good luck as Charlie dived through the active portal. Charlie was closely followed by Ben, and Stan was about to dive through himself when a figure stepped around the edge of the portal and into his path.

Stan didn’t even think or look at the figure as he beat it senseless over the head with the shovel. The figure fell, and it gave a squeal of pain. Stan was stepping into the portal when he realized that something odd had happened. Why would it squeal?

Stan looked down at the unconscious body and realized that he had not just knocked out a guard – this was a Zombie Pigman, and he had just knocked it dead. He looked around in horror for the horde of angry, undead warriors charging at him, lusting for his blood. But there were none. This Pigman had apparently been alone. However, he did see an even scarier sight.

The sound of the Pigman’s death had alerted the guards to his presence. The five of them were now charging towards the portal, shooting arrows as they ran. Stan became aware of Kat, Bill and Bob diving through the portal, and he did, too. He experienced the horrible squeezing sensation for the few seconds, and then tumbled out onto the sand in the dawn’s early light.

“They’re coming through!” Stan yelled to his five friends, who lay panting on the sand. Stan raised his shovel and began beating the bottom right block of the obsidian portal, and Charlie joined him, as did everybody else. Through the purple particles, they saw the five guards rushing towards the portal, coming to attack them. At the head of the pack was a player who had the skin of a cow but wore iron boots, leggings and a helmet and held an iron axe in his hand. Stan punched faster and faster to break the black block that was so frustratingly solid, and the block broke into several useless chunks at the same moment that the cow-man burst through the portal and set his axe on the nearest target, Kat.

The other five players stepped out of the war zone as Kat and the barbaric warrior battled, their iron weapons moving as fast as silver spirits in the dim pink light. It was obvious that Kat was the superior fighter. She remained calm, while the axe-fighter’s wild attacks became increasingly desperate. One false swipe later and the axe flew out of the player’s hand and skidded across the ground, coming to a stop at the base of the broken Nether portal.

Kat kicked the player to the ground and raised her sword. She held the sword above her head and looked down into the player’s face. He lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily from the kick that Kat had inflicted upon his chest. Kat raised the sword.

“Kat,” said Stan suddenly, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t. He’s unarmed. What good will it do?”

“It’ll stop him from ratting us out to the King!” said Ben.

“If we let him go, it’ll just come back to bite us!” cried Bill incredulously.

Kat’s sword was shaking. The look on her face showed pained confusion.

“Kat,” said Charlie. “Just don’t—”

But his response was cut off when Kat’s sword found its home in the cow-man’s chest.

CHAPTER 19

THE TOWN OF BLACKSTONE

The player’s items burst out around him in a circle, indicating the death that Stan had already known was coming. Kat pulled the sword out of the player, and she looked down at the body in disdain. She then looked over at Stan and Charlie, both of whose faces showed disbelief and horror at the murder of an unarmed player by their friend.

“I’m sorry,” said Kat, and Stan couldn’t tell who she was talking to, him and Charlie or the dead player. “I am so, so sorry.” On the last word her voice cracked and she sank to her knees and burst into tears.

Bill walked up to Kat’s weeping form and knelt down beside her. “I’m sorry, Kat, but these are the tough things about war. It’s eat or be eaten. If you had let him go, then he would have followed us and relayed our position back to the King’s forces, and we’d be captured within the next week.”

Kat had stopped crying, and she looked up to face Ben. “I know that,” she sniffled, wiping her eyes on her T-shirt sleeve. “But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

“I know that,” said Ben. “You know, when I first joined Elementia, I had to kill my old sword-fighting mentor to save Bill’s life. I realize that killing people, even if it is in self-defence, is hard. But if we are truly going to overthrow the King, then there are certain things that are going to have to be done. We are going to have to kill people to get to where we need to get. That is a fact. But we’ll be saving hundreds more and making life better for thousands. You understand, don’t you, Kat?”

Kat stood up, breathing deeply. “I understand. You’re right, Ben. Thank you.”

The two players hugged. Three of the other players looked on solemnly, but Stan looked away. He was filled with an overpowering feeling of disgust, and right then and there, he swore that he would never kill a player unless he himself was in mortal danger, no exceptions.

After the moment of peace was over, the Nether Boys stood back as Stan, Kat and Charlie looked through the stuff that the player had been carrying. Stan picked up the iron axe, relieved to finally have his choice of weapon back, while Kat pulled on the iron helmet, leggings, and boots. Charlie picked up everything else: apples, fire charges, TNT blocks, redstone dust, a redstone torch and a compass.

“So, do you guys know what you’re going to do now?” asked Bob.

“Yep,” replied Stan. “Thank you for all your help. We’ll rendezvous with you guys and the others back at the Adorian Village after we’ve made our way to the End.”

“All right, see you guys then,” said Ben, and the three Nether Boys turned and ran back towards the looming jungle trees in the far distance. As they were running off, Ben turned around one last time. “And be careful in the End! I’ve never been there, but I hear it’s way more dangerous than the Nether!”

“We will! Thanks!” cried Charlie, and the Nether Boys ran off into the distance. As they did, Stan, Kat and Charlie ran in the opposite direction, back towards their old campsite. Even without the compass, Charlie knew the way back, and they had reached the sand abode before the sun was at its highest point in the sky. Needless to say, the animals were very happy to see their owners again.

“Hey, boy! How’ve you been?” Kat laughed as Rex pounced on her and started licking her face, and she fed him some rotten flesh she’d picked up from a passing Zombie. Charlie stroked Lemon behind the ears, and he purred affectionately, rubbing up against Charlie’s hand. Stan went over to the chest and took some things out, readying for their departure. They had decided as they walked over that they would leave some nonessential things in the chest to give the illusion that the base was still in use. Stan put the Ender Chest and the book on entering the Nether and the End into his inventory. The rest of the items they decided to keep in place. They also decided to leave their beds – as they would be travelling a lot, they would have no need for them.

The three players resolved to spend the time until dark – when the Endermen came out – to hunt for food. All three players went in separate directions, but they stayed fairly close to the sinkhole. Stan went to the far side of the hole, and he saw a herd of cows wandering around the oasis where they had got the water for the obsidian, eating the grass and drinking the water. He walked up to them and started downing them with his axe, one after another. He was chasing one cow with an axe, ready to kill it, when he noticed something. About twenty blocks in front of him was a straight line of train tracks stretching in both directions as far as the eye could see, with one end headed towards the jungle and the other headed out into the desert.

Intrigued, Stan walked closer to examine the tracks, but he stopped when he heard a rumbling sound coming from the jungle-end of the railroad. He noticed something in the distance coming down the tracks. Fearing it to be the enemy, Stan dived into a shallow trench near the edge of the tracks that was deep enough to conceal him yet still allowed him to see.