"To Be A Miner..." PT2

A dream finally came into view....

A black,very crowded starry sky...looking as if purple Television static were staring back at him. The backgrounds surrounded with reverse spruce tree designed buildings of a strange purple material...islands of a strange,porous and pale stone that could spread miles..branchless trees with bulb fruit at their peaks..

"Wha..?"

"Its you..."

Grayson turns to the Enderwoman he encountered earlier...

"Where am I..?"

"The End...Everything and nothing....and I'm so glad you're here....You can meet Gladys...In person...But you need to wake up."

From downstairs Alex and Kupa hear a terrified scream.

Alex was the first to come in,kicking the door in such a way to have perfectly split it in two and charge through the remains to find Grayson,against the headboard taking the color of a flour ghost as he did when he first met Kupa,shaking and hoarding the blanket as if ice had taken over the room,even the headboard emitting a soft rattle until Alex burst in..

"Grayson?" Kupa asked,pushing past a wary Alex to join Grayson on the bed.

"Hellooo??" She asked,waving her hand in front of his eyes,getting no response...

'Give him a second....' Alex said.

As Grayson sat there and regained his color,a very worried Kupa and Alex were seen worryingly staring into his eyes..

"We have 3 hours to leave this building." Grayson said.

"What makes you say that?" Kupa asked,worry lacing her tone.

"Gladys and whoever she calls an army. Alex,Whatever you have,get packing now and find us the shortest route we can. I am NOT joking if we don't start now our lives will be at narrow risk of escape."

With that warning Alex began looting her own home,grabbing a huge bag of holding and stuffing whatever she could find of use.

Grayson grabs his bag and a slightly smaller bag of holding to assist Alex in clearing the place out and making it look as abandoned as possible.

After about an hour the house was trashed in a fashion that time hadn't froze.

'Are you sure?'

"If I wasn't you won't see a dustball in the direction you found me." Grayson said in an assuring tone.

Alex heads to the highest floor of her home,deploying a spyglass and looking about northwest,and zooming in on the sight of at least a kingdom sized army...

They abandon the house through the front door with swift motion and no warning at sign of Alex leaving the house.

Grayson checked his phone only briefly..

1:30 PM

And so they fled,as long and as hard as they could to Terris Magai.

After a long hour of running they came to rest near a pond,an oddly familiar one in a shared exhaustion..

'How about we rest here..? Maybe I can teach you how to harvest and craft with your hands?' Alex asked.

"Wouldn't hurt to have some non-magic skills." Grayson agrees.

'When harvesting a tree trunk,you must focus...then block it.' Alex explains

"Block it?"

"When you punch it,make it a block." Alex verifies.

A look of 'Ohh' struck his face,and he tried punching the wood again,this time splintering it perfectly,producing a block of oak wood.

"That-a-boy! You'll be a great Miner with time." Kupa comments warmly. Grayson observed the block in enthralled interest. As he looked at all of the dimensions looking for so much as a glimpse into it's form,to find nothing more than the age of the tree,and it be almost sharpeningly smooth.

"Bewildering,isn't it?" Kupa asked.

"Definitely not something you get to encounter and learn every day.." He said,looking at the cube and its dimensions.

Alex hums,climbing up into a tree that peeked over the canopy to gather her bearings. After a few more minutes of silence Alex slides back down.

'We can't stay long. That army is passing the house now.' Alex said,getting the group running once more.

Most of the day had been spent travelling and watching their pursuer's gait,until it finally disappeared behind the horizon as it changed directions.

The sun was dipping below the horizon as well,bringing back the threatening facade of night yet again,Grayson becoming visibly wary..almost scared to sleep.

Kupa noted how his eyes were flicking about,watching the dark canopy above as their fire raged. 'Grayson? Is something wrong?' Alex asked..

"Something has me spooked is all...I met a less than pleasant girl earlier...she was terrifyingly intent on staring me in the eyes.." He explains.

"Ah,so you've met an Ender...Kinda surprised you lived." Kupa said,leaning forward with intent interest.

'I've heard a few legends surrounding the mystic people. Before the Tyranny of Gladys,they were all over,males were known for taking the souls,females the same way,except dying was said to be more pleasant. Nobody ever really went into detail.' Alex said,poking the log in the center of the fire with a stick.

"Maybe for good reason..." Grayson mutters.

"So,Why terrified of something so shy?" Kupa asked.

Grayson tensed as that night came back to mind vividly...

"Because when I slept...I met her in my dream too. She was telling me how glad she was for me to be there.. wherever I was..."

'Ah...an End Dream...A glimpse into our future,and our past if you meet an Ender and live. You must have been degloved from your soul if you are detectable by her when sleeping...' Alex said.

"That sounds bad..." Grayson said

"It means that you're susceptible to End Magic. It will be too easy,almost so much as a proper glimpse from an Ender will be enough to allow Gladys to invade your mind because your soul is now partially disembodied from you,and unless we talk to someone with hugely powerful creation magic,we cannot repair what has been torn from you." Kupa explains,spurring Grayson to get a sleeping bag and start curling up to try to sleep again.

'Its been a long day for him. Let him have what little rest he can get.' Alex said.

Kupa quietly nods,joining Grayson at his left to share some body warmth,which she seemed to have in droves.

"Damn...Youre warm..." Grayson remarks as he settles in more,allowing both the warmth of the fire and Kupa helped him settle more.

"One of the perks of having a Creeper's piping hot body temperature..." Kupa chuckles,making sure she was settled in a way that would comfort him.

Sleepless grogginess took over,and his eyes slowly fade shut,allowing the world to muffle...

For a while it was a simple darkness,no dreams,only the quiet chirring of crickets to compliment the night..

Grayson's phone buzzed,stirring him with those off tune chimes again...

4:20 AM

The fire was out...Kupa having rolled off to the side snoozing softly. Alex was placed in a chair nearby,iron sword in hand,but she too fast asleep,her ginger hair hiding her eyes..

Grayson grabs his sword from his bag and decides to walk a short distance into the forest to use the bathroom..

Once he had relieved himself,he was on his way back when he heard a soft whisper...

Grayson quickly turns,seeing nothing..

As he turns back around a strange,winged girl peers from behind the tree,her eyes a glowing green...

She was thin...and bony...her claws left marks in the trees...

She faded through the tree...trailing a short distance behind him until he was back in the presence of the group,then faded as she watched Grayson settle back in....

Daybreak soon came,and she disappears with the rise of the sun.

And with that the incessant nudging of Kupa.