by Mark Mulle
you.”
Steve’s jaw fell open. He couldn’t believe what he was wearing. “What are you talking about? Why would you do that?”
“I need your village”, Herobrine said in a booming voice, “First yours… then the rest.”
Steve shook his head, trying to understand what he was hearing. “What are you talking about? You sound insane!”
Herobrine laughed. It was a loud, scary laugh that shook Steve where he stood. “There’s nothing you can do now. Turn back now and surrender. You have no chance out here.”
Steve’s arms were aching now. He pulled his sword back and wildly swung at Herobrine. He wasn’t trained in the art of sword fighting. He used the sword as a hunting tool, not for fighting other people.
Herobrine ducked the swing and laughed. Instead of attacking back though, he pulled back and within seconds disappeared into smoke like the Enderman did.
Steve collapsed to the ground, out of breath. He had never experienced anything like that before. It was insane.
But it cemented Steve’s need to find a cure for Shelby. If he was ever going to stop Herobrine he was going to need his best friend beside him. So he stood back up, grabbed his sword and headed back on his path towards the next village. It was dark now, so he had to light a torch.
The encounter had frightened Steve and he was constantly looking over his shoulder, scared that Herobrine would return for him.
But thankfully Steve was able to make it to the next village without a problem. He was so tired when he made it to the village that he practically collapsed. Some of the villagers made it to him and helped carry him to the villager elder.
They gave him some water and sat him down to wait while they got the elder. When he came in, he greeted Steve immediately.
“Thank you for coming to see me.” Steve said.
“Of course. You looked like you were in trouble. What’s wrong?” the older man asked.
“It’s my dog.” Steve began. “He’s been infected by some sort of creature. I’ve only read about it in books. I think it’s called an Enderman?”
The village elder nodded gravely. “I’ve heard of them. Never seen one around here though. They tend to stay in the mountain ranges and even further out. Almost volcanic.”
Steve nodded. “That’s what I thought. But there was one near our village. It attacked my dog, Shelby. It infected him with… something.” Steve really didn’t have any clue how to describe it. “But he’s sick and I need to find a cure.”
The elder nodded. “I see. Unfortunately I don’t have any information for you here. We don’t have dealings with the enderman out here.”
Steve sighed. “I knew there was a small chance. Do you know of any other villages that might have information?”
The village elder let out a slow breath. “I’m honestly not sure. I’ll have to consult our records. Why don’t you stay the night and I’ll take a look in the morning.”
Steve didn’t want to wait, but he was rather exhausted. So sleep wasn’t the worst thing he could be doing right now. It had been a long day and he had many more to go he assumed.
He just hoped that Shelby was alright.
“Okay,” Steve said. “Thank you.”
“I apologize that this has happened to you.” The elder said, standing up. “I’ll get you some food and you can stay the night here. I’ll bring a bed spread as well.”
“Thank you.” Steve said again. He was very tired and hoped that the food and rest would clear his mind.
He waited patiently for the elder to return with his things. The meal was delicious and restored a great deal of Steve’s mind. A full stomach was a wonderful thing, he thought. Now it was time to sleep. He rolled out the bed spread and tucked himself in. He would reassess his situation in the morning.
The next morning Steve awoke feeling a little bit better about things. The food and rest had helped a great deal. He was feeling better about his quest and was ready to get going as soon as possible.
He started by talking to the village elder. Though he had related his quest to the elder the night before, the elder had told him that he’d look into what the other villages might know. Steve wondered if he’d found anything.
“Unfortunately I haven’t.” He told Steve. Steve let out another sigh. He was hitting brick wall after brick wall. Would he ever find a cure for Shelby?
“But I did come across something you might be interested in.” The elder continued.
Steve’s head perked up immediately. “What is it?” He asked.
The elder took a deep breath. “There’s a witch a few miles out from here. She creates potions and sometimes helps out with medical emergencies in the nearby areas. She might know what’s happened to your dog and how to take care of it.”
Hope filled Steve once again. He was finally making some progress! “Where is this witch? How far from here is she?”
The elder withdrew a map from his pocket and started drawing on it. “I’ll give you the path. She isn’t hard to find, but she’s quite… Different.”
Steve arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well she’s lived alone for quite some time. That gets to people. She’s a tad crazy in short.” The elder explained.
Steve let out a short laugh. “It doesn’t matter. If she can make a cure for me then that’s where I have to go.”
The elder nodded. “I understand. I hope you will find what you are looking for, Steve. Just be careful.”
Steve began to gather up his things. “I will be. Thank you for all your help.”
The elder nodded and smiled at Steve. “Of course.”
Once Steve was all packed up he headed back to the village gates. He bid farewell to the village elder again and thanked him for his help and hospitality. Then we went back on his way.
He still kept his sword close, just in case Herobrine came after him again. He wondered why the man was after the villages. How was he able to control the enderman as well? Were they his people? Steve had a lot of questions and hoped that someone – maybe this witch – would be able to answer them.
Steve followed the map that the village elder gave him. It led through another forest that was filled with high trees that seemed to be taller than Steve could see. It was kind of amazing. Thankfully Steve continued through the forest undisturbed by anything dangerous.
Passed the forest were the Great Plains. They were made up of flat lands that spread out as far as the eye could see. The grass was green and fresh looking. The skies were blue and the wind blew with a nice breeze. All in all it was a great walk for Steve.
It was about nightfall that Steve finally saw what he thought was the witch’s cabin. Towards the end of his walk in the fields, the sun went down. It was then he saw a lamp or a small fire on a hill nearby. He assumed that had to be the witch’s cabin. He rushed over there as fast as he could. He wanted to make it there before all sources of light disappeared.
The climb up the hill was difficult. It was a much steeper hill than he thought. But he jogged up there as quick as he could. By the time he’d reached the top he was out of breath. He’d been doing a lot more physical activity as of late and he was starting to realize he might be more out of shape than he thought. He’d have to take care of that when everything was said and done.
Steve dropped his sword and caught his breath. When he was feeling better he stood up straight and knocked on the door.
There wasn’t an answer for several minutes. Steve even considered looking around back or through the windows to see if anyone was home. Yet, before he could really do that, though, the door creaked open.
Steve looked up, stunned. The person standing in front of him was a woman. At least he thought so. She had old, leathery skin and long grey hair. She wore dark robes and had missing teeth.
“Hello?” She asked. Her voice was raspy and hollow. Steve wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to go inside anymore.
“Is anyone there?” She asked again
. “You’ll have to speak up if you are. My eyes aren’t so good in the dark…”
Steve cleared his throat and noticed she almost jumped when he did so. “Yes. Hi. My name is Steve. The village elder from nearby told me to come here.”
The witch nodded. “Yes. Why is that? Are you sick? You sound perfectly healthy.”
Steve shook his head, though he doubted she could see that. “No. It’s my dog. He’s been infected by an enderman.”
Even in the dark he could see her expression sour. “Come in quickly then.” She said and stepped aside.
Steve went inside the cabin, which was only one floor. It was made of wood and had various furniture spread all around. There were shelves and tables that were covered with books, bottles, and odd instruments that Steve had no idea about. Everything looked very weird.
“Tell me everything.” The witch said, moving with speed Steve was surprised she possessed.
Steve recounted the story once again. By this time he knew the whole thing by heart, which details were important, which were best left out, and everything in between. As he told her all of this, she was moving around the room, picking bottles off the shelves and placing them on a nearby table.
Then Steve saw her bring out an extremely large pot. He almost asked if she needed help but he looked like she knew what she was doing. She set the pot down on the table and began pouring the bottles inside.
“The affliction will spread if you don’t get this to him soon.” The witch said. “I hope it’s not too late already.”
Steve nodded; he felt exactly the