Chapter 14: Soren's Fortress

[Jesse's POV]

(The door opens to yet another hallway, decorated with quartz blocks.)

(Eugh... they remind me of the nether.)

Lukas: "Soren really lived down here? So far from... anyone."

Ellegaard: "Enchanting, isn't it?"

(Petra suddenly coughs and slows down.)

(I look over at her.)

(It looks like she was covering her arm.)

Jesse: "Are you-"

Petra: "I'm fine."

(Petra dismisses me and walks past me.)

(She was always the person to never show any weaknesses, so it was surprising to see her act like that.)

(But if she's going to be like that, then I won't corner her any further.)

(The end of the hallway leads to a large room with a lot of platforms, or columns, scattered across it and a lot of places to fall down.)

(It looked like a Parkour kind of room.)

(At the end of the room was yet another large golden door.)

(Looking down the pit, we could see a few Enderman moving some gravel blocks.)

Lukas: "Yeah and I'm reeeeeeally not feeling those columns..."

Magnus: "Aw, come on! It's fine! Look!"

(Magnus jumps over to the first one.)

(Axel follows right after, acting like it's a fun carnival ride.)

Ellegaard: "Wouldn't it be safer to just build across? I still have some supplies from Redstonia."

Axel: "That will take a while. And don't forget the fact that the Wither Storm could come here at any minute. You wouldn't have a few Parkour jumps get in your way, would you?"

(Ellegaard sighs.)

Olivia: "It doesn't sound like it, and we're in the middle of a mountain. It would take a lot of time even for the Wither Storm to eat its way through."

(Magnus looks pissed.)

(Ellegaard starts by slowly bridging from platform to platform.)

(The rest of us follow her lead.)

(Despite the risk, Magnus and Axel go ahead.)

(Now I can see why Axel idolizes Magnus.)

(We were making steady progress and it looked like everything was going well, then I suddenly heard Reuben squealing again.)

(And I had my eyes off of him for, like, a second.)

(Reuben was behind us, on the edge of the column, and was holding onto it with his front feet.)

(A part of the column was made of gravel, and it suddenly collapsed, causing a part of it to fall down.)

(and Reuben, who was standing on it, almost fell as well.)

(I was the first to come over.)

(I grabbed his leg from the still standing part of the column and try to pull him up.)

Jesse: "W-When did you become so... heavy..."

(Reuben looks at me with scared eyes.)

(Suddenly, Lukas grabs me from behind in an attempt to pull me up, along with Reuben.)

Lukas: "I got you!"

(It looked like everything was going well, but then, the gravel just had to collapse further, and Reuben loses his footing and is sent tumbling down.)

(I, who was holding onto him, was dragged down as well, along with Lukas.)

Lukas: "Ah!"

Olivia: "Jesse!"

Jesse: "Don't! You'll get dragged down as well!"

(Olivia backs down.)

(The three of us fall down, and I hit the floor of the pit on my stomach.)

Jesse: "Oof!"

(Damn it... just when I thought I wouldn't get any more injuries! I hope Reuben isn't hurt again.)

(As I try to get up again, Reuben comes over to lick my face again.)

Jesse: "S-Stop. If you're fine, then just say it or something."

(Reuben stops.)

(I look over at Lukas.)

Lukas: "Urgh. It was, uh... more of a drop than I was expecting."

(Lukas tidies his jacket as he gets up.)

(At that moment, we hear Enderman grunting behind our backs.)

(Oh my god, I almost forgot about them. We instinctively cover our eyes.)

Lukas: "Oh, man. We've got Enderman."

Jesse: "There are so many. I didn't think they ever came in groups that big."

Lukas: "No kidding. It's like an Enderman party."

Jesse: "Well, that's not the party I'm sticking around. Let's get out of here."

Lukas: "Agreed."

(We have no idea where we were, but assuming the others are by that door by now, we naturally go over in that direction.)

(Putting that aside for now, this is like the third time Lukas helped, or tried to help me.)

(Maybe I'm overthinking it, as I always do, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that...)

Lukas: "JESSE WE HAVE TO GO."

(Lukas suddenly grabs my hand and Reubens's, and drags us away.)

(I was so lost in thought that I couldn't understand what was happening.)

(I look back to see a herd of angry Enderman chasing us.)

(I'm guessing someone from us accidentally looked at them.)

(I separate from Lukas's grip to get on my feet so that I can start running.)

(The chase ends when we find ourselves in front of some water canal.)

(Enderman hate water.)

(It was the best option we had.)

Jesse: "Here goes nothing."

(I jump, followed by Lukas.)

(The water was quite cold, but I'll choose it over getting eaten by Enderman all day.)

(At least the 3 of us were together and safe again.)

(But of course, the danger wasn't over yet.)

(It didn't take me long to realize the water was bringing us further away from the Enderman.)

(It seemed like a convenient get away at first... but...)

Lukas: "Umm... do you hear that?"

(A loud gush of water.)

Jesse: "It almost sounds like a..."

Both: ""Waterfall!!!""

(It was approaching fast, and there wasn't enough time to get away.)

Everyone: """AΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗΗ."""

(The 3 of us instinctively embrace as we go over the edge.)

(The drop wasn't small either.)

(I could feel the wind breeze around me as we were airborne for a few seconds before splashing down into the small lake under the fall.)

(This separates us for a moment, as I take a moment to resurface.)

(I frantically look around and sigh in relief once I find Lukas and Reuben are still here with me.)

Jesse: "Well, waterfalls are also crossed off my to-see list."

Lukas: "Me too."

(Reuben agrees with a grunt.)

(Looking at our surroundings, we see the amulet symbol, along with a few statues in the distance on the other side of this indoor lake.)

(There was a big hole on the top, where some sort of light was shining down.)

Lukas: "Wow. This architecture, it's incredible."

Jesse: "I mean, it was built by Soren, one of the best architects in the world."

Lukas: "I know! Fascinating!"

Jesse: "Looks like the others already swam across... Guess we better catch up."

(We start to swim over there, and sure enough, we overhear two people arguing in that area.)

Magnus: "OH BE QUIET. IT'S JUST A POINTLESS BUILDING! That's all I'm saying, I mean, just look at-"

Ellegaard: "Magnus, if an artist painted the inside of your mind, he'd end up with the most extraordinary desertscape paintings!"

Jesse: "Those two never stop arguing, do they?"

Lukas: "Mmm-hmm."

Jesse: "You ever wonder what happened to them, like in the past? Cause, they can't despise each other over nothing, right?"

Lukas: "Don't know... I mean... it has to be something that bad if they end up like this..."

Jesse: "Mmm-hmm."

(We finally reached shore, and sure enough, everyone else was there.)

(watching Magnus and Ellegaard with no way of breaking up the two.)

Ellegaard: "THAT'S IT! I'M GOING!"

(Ellegaard, completely pissed off, walks away with a turned back, completely ignoring the fact that she's leaving the group.)

(The room we were in had four statues that resembled the members of the Order of the Stone, and between the statues was a hallway leading out.)

(There was one on both sides, and Ellegaard was heading into one.)

Ellegaard: "Once again, it falls to me to take care of everything! I'll find this 'Super TNT' myself!"

Magnus: "Oh no no no! You do NOT get to be the one who walks away!"

(Magnus looked like he was about to explode as well.)

Magnus: "THAT'S IT! I'M GOING!"

(He proceeds to leave in the opposite direction, into the other hallway.)

Magnus: "See! I'm walking away too now! 'Super TNT,' here I come!"

(And before the group even lasted for about 10 minutes, it had been ripped apart... again...)

(And, despite our best efforts to stop them, we're left here alone, the group reduced from 8 to 6 people.)

Olivia: "It's hard to pick 'glass half full' when they keep kicking the glass over."

Lukas: "And I thought they were doing so well."

Olivia: "Yeah, I wouldn't go THAT far."

Jesse: "Well, they've definitely got issues to work through."

Olivia: "What are we gonna do now? Where should we go?"

Jesse: "Guess we start by getting them back. I'm not really into the 'splitting up' thing, but it seems like the fastest way to find both of them right now."

Axel: "Okay then."

(Before doing anything, I was about to approach Petra again, after seeing her silently sitting in the corner, away from everyone.)

(but she decided to come to me first. She taps my shoulder.)

Petra: "I'm sorry, I don't mean to worry you. I've just got something I want to discuss in private."

Jesse: " *sigh* If that's what you want, then I guess..."

(Reuben tags along.)

Jesse: "Then I, Reuben, and Petra follow Ellegaard while Lukas, Olivia, and Axel, you'll go after Magnus. Is that okay for everyone?"

(No one goes against it.)

Lukas: "Stay safe, okay?"

Jesse: "Will do."

(We split off.)

(For a while, Petra remains silent for a while before speaking up, probably to make sure no one else hears her.)

Petra: "I feel bad about ditching everyone else, but I just wanted to talk to you about this alone. It's... a little tough to talk about."

Jesse: "Petra... it's not hard to see that something's wrong. You have been slowing down for some time now. What's wrong?"

(Petra sighs.)

(She has always been acting tough for as long as I've known her.)

(I can kind of understand why she might be hiding it, but I feel like she really should tell others if something is going wrong.)

(Reuben looks up with a worried face.)

Petra: "You got me away from the Wither Storm... But I'm worried that I didn't get away soon enough..."

Jesse: "What?"

(Petra slowly pulls her sleeve up to reveal something on her arm.)

(There were small stains of purple-ish things on her skin.)

(It appeared to be an infection... could it be?)

Petra: "It showed up not too long after you saved me..."

Jesse: "A-Are you sick???"

Petra: "Jesse... do you know what Wither is?"

Jesse: "You have Wither Sickness???"

Petra: "Precisely... and I feel like it's just going to keep getting worse..."

Jesse: "This is bad! You have to notify the others about this! We can get help-"

Petra: "No. You can't tell anyone about this."

Jesse: "W-What... why not?!"

(Before an answer comes, Reuben squeals to signal that something is behind me.)

(Our conversation is once again interrupted by something.)

(I feel like this happens way more often than it should.)

(A creeper was sneaking up on us while we were talking.)

Petra: "Ah! Creeper!"

(Petra and Reuben duck, but I'm caught in the explosion and end up hanging on the edge of the crater that the explosion created.)

Petra: "Grab my hand! I'll pull you up!"

(Petra tries to pull me up with both of her hands.)

(However, her infected arm gives way after a struggle, and her other hand, unable to support my weight alone, also gives way.)

Jesse: "AaaaHHHH--"

(With nothing to grab on to, I fall down the hole and painfully land on some kind of man-built cave below.)

Jesse: "OOF."

(The amulet falls out of my pocket and rolls away from me, lighting the cave in a white glow in the process.)

Petra: "Jesse! I just couldn't hold on... I'm sorry!"

Jesse: "I-It's fine... go and find help! Hopefully you can find a way to get down to me or something...!"

Petra: "Okay... I got this. Stay safe. I'll find a way down to you!"

(Petra and Reuben dash off.)

(Huff... I stand up and look around.)

(Man... what a terrible day.)

(I retrieve the amulet that was sitting a little far away from the hole.)

(I was about to go back to wait for the others to come.)

(but I noticed something glittering at the end of this cave, as the amulet was lighting it up with a blue- ish light.)

(It got my curiosity.)

(It didn't seem like it was too far, so I decided to check it out.)

(At the end of the cave, I find myself in a large library of some sort.)

(Just how big is this place???)

(The glitter I saw were these glowstone lamps that decorated the interior of this place.)

(The library was split into different rooms, with a small opening to lead into them.)

(The bookshelves extended quite high into the air.)

(There must be a lot of knowledge stored here.)

(I had been looking at this for a while now and intended to go back, but just then, something else caught my attention once again.)

(This time, it was the sound of something, or someone, rummaging through what sounded like books.)

(It immediately alerted my senses; there was someone in here that I didn't know.)

(Could it be Soren? Or someone else that might be dangerous?)

(No matter what, I quietly sneaked to the room where the sound was coming from, and then...)

(I heard the voice of the person that immediately caused my anger to turn on.)

Ivor: "He must have something useful in here! He has to! Why would he have so many books?!"

Jesse: "Ivor."

(Ivor jumps and turns to me.)

Ivor: "You..."

(Ivor's face turns into an ugly mess.)

(I guess you could call it a 'pissed off' expression, but I like my version better.)

Ivor: "Trying to interfere with my plans again, I see."

Jesse: "You are the one being in a place where he doesn't belong."

Ivor: "Don't make yourselves the villains in my story."

Jesse: "Says the villain. We're here with the Order to find Soren's Super TNT. We're going to take down your Wither Storm."

Ivor: "The Order? Ha! Believe me, that plan will blow up in their faces in more

ways than one. They can't help you. But me? I choose not to. Now, out of my way."

(Ivor intends to leave, but I was already planning not to.)

(I draw my sword and block his path.)

(He angrily pulls out his own as well.)

Petra: "Oh, you're not leaving THAT easily."

(To Ivor's surprise and mine too, a little bit.)

(Petra arrives on the scene, drawing her sword as well.)

(Ivor was cornered from both sides.)

Ivor: "P-Petra?! You escaped?!"

Petra: "Yes. and now... I'm making sure you don't escape as well."

(Petra is the first to attack.)

(Ivor blocks her, but this only makes him vulnerable to mine.)

(I slash at his back and kick him over to the side. Ivor yells in agony.)

Ivor: "I'm the only one who can stop the Wither Storm! Not you! Not the Order!"

(Ivor charges at me and we engage in a struggle over who's stronger.)

(But this is quickly interrupted by Petra, who karate kicks him in the face, sending him on the ground again.)

(Ivor was starting to bleed from his mouth.)

(He's starting to realize that he's losing this battle.)

Ivor: "This could all have been avoided... If you want to stop me, you'll have to catch me first!"

(Ivor brings out a potion and drinks it.)

(I ran up to stop him.)

(However, as I was about to grab him, he dodges it and dashes away with immense speed.)

Petra: "Jesse, look out!"

(Petra pulls me back as Ivor almost hits me with his sword.)

(Ivor starts to chaotically run all over the room.)

Petra: "You're not getting out of here THAT easily, Ivor."

(Petra runs up to the entrance and blocks it.)

Ivor: "Haha! I'm like the wind!"

(Ivor runs up to me, holding his sword at level with my head.)

(I frantically duck under it, with the sword passing over my head.)

(I thought it was over, but when I looked back at Petra, I realized that the attack wasn't meant for me... It was meant for her.)

(Petra... startled by this... is unable to fully block it and is knocked back a little.)

(But, unlike how Ivor wanted it, she wasn't thrown to the ground, and she stayed to block his exit path.)

Ivor: "Out of my way!"

(Even when she's infected, she still manages to put up a fight.)

(As they're busy, I run up to Ivor and stab him in the leg and throw him to the side.)

Jesse: "You can't run anymore. Finally had enough yet?!"

(Ivor stands up, but his movements were starting to get clumsy.)

Ivor: "It didn't have to go this way, Jesse. You could've just let me go."

(Ivor pulls out a splash potion and shatters it onto the ground.)

(He disappears.)

Petra: "Vanish all you want, dickhead. You're still not going anywhere."

(A splash potion suddenly appears out of thin air.)

(When you're invisible, your items in your inventory disappear as well.)

(But once you pull it out, they lose their invisibility.)

(I dodge the potion thrown at me.)

(He throws more, but I won't let them hit me.)

Ivor: "This one's on you, you puffed-up fool!"

(The next splash potion pops up, but instead of coming at me, it's aimed straight at Petra.)

(I react fast, and manage to catch it before it reaches Petra, and throw it back to where it came from.)

(The thrown potion hits Ivor, and his invisibility wears off as he's thrown to the ground.?

Ivor: "Eugh... There's no time... No time... This all could have been avoided..."

Lukas: "Jesse! Petra!"

(Suddenly, we hear Lukas's voice, along with Axel, Olivia, and Reuben, running up to us.)

Ivor: "Even more of you?! Will this endless parade of useless babblers never cease?!"

Olivia: "What's going on?!"

Jesse: "We found Ivor. We stopped him."

Ivor: "False."

(We all glare at him.)

(What can he do now?)

Ivor: "A query... Have you ever seen the effects of a Splash Potion of Slowness?!"

(Ivor, with his last trick up his sleeve, reveals one last splash potion.)

(Petra gasps.)

Petra: "DON'T LET HIM-"

(Ivor quickly hurls it at the ground beside us.)

Jesse: "...T...H...R...O...W....T...H...A...T....Ρ...Ο...Τ...Ι...Ο...Ν..!..!"

(My movements.)

(suddenly turn slow, and Petra's voice turns deep and slow.)

(Meanwhile, Ivor was limping slowly towards the exit, while all of us were unable to catch him with our slow movements.)

Axel: "Y...O...UBIGJER... K...!"

Olivia: "G...E...T...B...A...C...K.....H...E...R...E...!"

(Once Ivor was on the other side of the door, he turns around to address us one more time.)

Ivor: "Magnus and Ellegaard may think they can stop me, that they can destroy the Wither Storm... But they are mistaken. And it will cost them their lives."

(Suddenly, the bookshelves close the opening like a door.)

[To be continued...]