Cedric the Wizard walked around the houses. He seemed to be impressed with Miles’s skill. “If it were my house, I’d like it in a different shade. Green, perhaps. But it seems sturdy enough to keep out bad creatures.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Miles told the wizard. He looked up at the sky. He calculated he’d have enough time to get to the village before dark. “I’m off to meet the new mechanic. You all stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
They all bid Miles farewell. As Miles walked quickly back through the desert to his village, he felt the weight of the Pwnhammer almost calling to him. There was much work to be done breaking demon altars and stopping the Corruption. He had already wasted too much time in the Hallow. It was a beautiful place, but it still wasn’t safe, and it wouldn’t be, Miles figured, so he might as well head out to do his job.
It wasn’t long before he reached the tiny village and sure enough, a light was burning in Shelly’s old house. He knocked, and the door was instantly answered by a mechanic who looked strangely familiar.
“Shelly?” Miles asked with surprise.
“Nah, you got the wrong gal. I’m Autumn.” She shook Miles’s hand firmly. “Nice digs,” she said, looking around. “Love the blinking lights.”
“Shelly did that. She used to be the mechanic here,” Miles replied. “I’m Miles. It’s nice to meet you.”
“So, Miles, what’s your deal?” Autumn asked.
“My deal?” Miles echoed. “I’m training to be a warrior. Fighting the Corruption, getting rid of hostile mobs, that sort of thing. I’m good at killing unicorns and goblins.”
“Good for you,” Autumn replied. “I’m good at traps and engines. I bet we’ll make a great team.”
“We can test that out now if you’re up for it. I’m off to seek out a demon altar,” Miles offered.
Autumn looked at the darkening sky. “We’d better prepare for night travel, in that case.”
“That reminds me, I’m low on supplies. I had been planning on buying some wire and wire cutters from Shelly …” Miles trailed off.
“No worries. How much coin do you have?” Autumn answered, pulling out the supplies.
Miles gave her a handful. “This should cover what I need. Plus a wrench.” He was quickly getting the hang of trading and liked making deals with his companions.
“Here’s a good one. It’ll protect you from zombies, but it won’t protect you from the Corruption. That’s what you have to worry about,” Autumn said. “You’re going to need some strong stuff to fight that enemy.”
Miles pulled out his Purification Powder. “I have this.”
“Whoa, you can do some serious damage with that.” Autumn said. “We should head out to find us some corrupted land and blast it with this stuff.”
“Let’s go!” Miles replied, making sure all the doors of the village houses were secured against invaders while they were gone.
Chapter 5
DEMON ALTARS
Zombies. Of course there were zombies. But why did there have to be so many on the way back to the Hallow? Miles’s sword arm was growing tired from defending himself, and he noticed Autumn’s defenses were slowing as well. Miles switched back to the yo-yo and took out the three remaining zombies with one hit.
“Gotcha!” he cried, looking around cautiously to make sure that was the last of them. It was getting so dark, Miles could barely see Autumn standing a few feet away.
“That was some zombie swarm,” Autumn said. “You’re good with that broadsword and yo-yo.”
Clear of the zombies, they entered the forest. Not too far in, the ground and sky turned purple, signaling the Corruption had already spread close to home. Miles was worried that his tiny village was in more danger than ever.
“Do you have any other weapons? Your sword is looking worn.”
“I have these throwing knives, your wrench, and of course the Pwnhammer, but I’m running low,” Miles replied. He quickly repaired his sword, then raised a zombie arm he had collected from last zombie he took out. “I hear this can be useful.”
“Good call. Now to search for a cave. Got a torch?” Autumn asked.
Miles lit a torch and held it up. He instantly regretted it. He was staring straight into the eyes of a gigantic coiled-up snake. “The Eater of Worlds,” he said quietly. “This is not good.”
“Grenades,” Autumn called out. “If you have ’em, use ’em!”
Miles threw a handful at the Eater of Worlds as it rose up and headed straight toward him. He hit the mid-section, which split it into two smaller enemies, continuing on their path. A second grenade split a smaller section, and a third hit the head of one, killing it instantly. He pointed his Ice Rod in the beast’s path, built a stairway of ice and climbed to the top. He then pulled out his broadsword, glad he had restored it. He slashed at the segments as they passed, chopping the beast into smaller and smaller pieces until he felt the ice melting beneath him. Miles hopped to the ground before the last block melted, slashing at two more segments as they passed.
Autumn sounded like she was having fun, throwing her wrench at the sections and catching it as it boomeranged back. She popped out some grenades with a 50 percent hit rate and started flinging them. “Yee haw!” she called out. “I love fighting.”
Miles had to admit that despite the danger, he was having fun, too. There was one last section left. He flung his yo-yo and took out its head. The Eater of Worlds was defeated, leaving behind a treasure bag for each of them.
Autumn and Miles inspected their treasures.
“Even if fighting wasn’t fun, this makes it all worthwhile,” Autumn observed.
“This is enough to buy more Purification Powder from Isabella,” Miles observed. He looked up and spied a cave entrance a few paces from where they were standing. “Let’s check in here,” he suggested.
The darkness in the corrupted cave felt a little darker and the air was heavier than usual. “Well, we found the Corruption,” Autumn said.
Miles gulped. He hadn’t had luck with caves in the past. There were always things hiding in the shadows, waiting to attack. “Are you sure this is the only way to find a demon altar?”
“Afraid so,” Autumn replied. “Come on.” She led him deeper into the dark cave.
The path split into two: a high road and a low one. Autumn went up and directed Miles to go down. As Miles inched his way down the corridor, he was grateful that nothing jumped out at him.
“You see anything?” Autumn called.
“Nope. Just a bunch of big claws sticking out of the ground.” Miles brushed past his fifth one and looked down to see them lined up all the way to a bend in the tunnel.
Autumn ran to him. “You Noob! Those are the demon altars!”
Miles blushed and pulled out an axe, ready to smash it.
“Wait!” Autumn placed a hand on the weapon. “Use the Pwnhammer. That’s what it’s for.”
Miles’s face grew even redder. In his embarrassment he had grabbed the wrong weapon. Matthew had warned him that hitting a demon altar with any ordinary weapon would cost him most of his health and do no damage to the altar.
“Thanks,” Miles mumbled. Raising the Pwnhammer over his head, he shouted, “Begone evil!” He brought it down with a mighty crash, shattering the altar and releasing a message that scrolled across his vision: “You have released cobalt ore.”
“Hey, Autumn, I released cobalt ore!” Miles announced proudly.
“You also released two wraiths!” Autumn replied testily.
Miles turned quickly to see two black ghost-like creatures with glowing red eyes hovering near Autumn. “Why aren’t you moving out of the way?” Miles yelled.
“Slow debuff,” she said, struggling to throw her wrench at the closest hovering form.
Miles flicked his Dao of Pow at the wraiths, causing them to flee from Autumn instead of attack. He slashed at them with his blade, instantly despawning them both. “Easy peasy,” he bragged.
Autumn shrugged off the debuff and resumed normal speed. She stretched. “I never get used to that feeling,” she said. “Ready for the next one?”
Miles readied his hammer above two altars, one stacked on top of the other, but then he paused. “Will wraiths come out every time I take out an altar?” Autumn nodded. “More altars at once means more wraiths, right?” She nodded again. Miles weighed his odds. He took out two with one swipe when he hadn’t even been prepared, so two sets of two wouldn’t be that challenging. He brought his Pwnhammer down, then quickly switched to his throwing knives. He whipped around and pegged each wraith, then turned to Autumn, grinning.
She clapped her hands in appreciation. “You are one solid warrior.”
“Thanks,” Miles said. “I do think it’s my calling.” He scooped up the coins the wraiths had dropped as another message scrolled by: “You have released mythril ore. You have released titanium ore.”
“This is fun. I’m starting to get the hang of this,” Miles said happily, readying his Pwnhammer for the next altar. “I bet I can take out three at once with no problem at all.”
“I bet you could, Miles, but remember why we’re here,” Autumn reminded him gently. “The Corruption is spreading. We won’t know how fast until we get back to your dryad, but I do know it is already close to your house.”
Miles raised the Pwnhammer again and brought it down on another altar. “I hate this Corruption! I hate fighting an enemy with no face. I kill zombies and goblins and unicorns and creepy floating eyeballs,” Miles continued as he slashed another two wraiths and pocketed the coins. He ignored the next message announcing his new cache of palladium ore. “Darkness is just … darkness. It’s no fun to fight.”
Autumn put her hand on his shoulder. “I totally get it, but you’ve gotten the most you’ll get out of these altars for now. With each one you hit, you release less ore than the time before. Our time will be better spent spreading the powder and pushing back the Corruption.”
Miles reluctantly put the Pwnhammer away, noticing a map he hadn’t seen before. “What’s this?”
Autumn looked over his shoulders. “That map shows the entire world. The purple is where Corruption has already spread. The pink is the Hallow.” She traced her finger along the line from where they were standing to the beginning of the Corruption. “Oh,” she gasped in surprise.
“What?” Miles asked anxiously.
“Isn’t that where your house and village should be?” Autumn pointed to a purple spot on the map.
Miles looked at the trail from their position in the cave through the Corruption-filled forest to the valley where his home once stood. “Oh,” he echoed. “It’s gone.”
Without warning, Miles lifted his Pwnhammer and brought it down on altar after altar, yelling out his frustration. “It’s not fair!” Smash. “I worked hard!” Smash. “I can’t do this anymore!” Smash.
Wraiths flew out at him from all sides and he switched quickly from weapon to weapon, first unleashing his yoyo, next his throwing knives, and finally slashing with his broadsword. Miles saw Autumn’s wrench fly past him and take out a wraith sneaking up behind him. He was glad she was sticking by him, despite his outburst of bad temper.
“One left,” Miles finally called out and slashed the final wraith as his drop of coins clinked to the ground. “We did it!” Miles announced happily. He expected a cheer from Autumn, or even a reprimand for acting irresponsibly, but there was no response at all. Miles looked around, panicked. “Autumn?” he called quietly. Still nothing. “Autumn!” he shouted. There was still no reply. “No.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Not Autumn, too.”
Chapter 6
POWDER IN THE WIND
What’s all the yelling about?” Autumn said, wiping her hands as she came into view.
Miles jumped up and surprised the mechanic by wrapping his arms around her in a giant hug. “You’re okay!”
“Yeah I’m okay,” she said, peeling Miles off of her. “A few floating ghosts aren’t gonna take me down. I figured you had them, so I took off to get my wrench back. Stupid thing didn’t boomerang.”
“Well, I’m glad. And you were right, we released enough ore to build as many weapons as we need. It’s time to spread that powder. Where do we start?”
“It’s easiest to find the edge and beat it back, then dig a trench to contain it,” Autumn advised. “Let’s see that map.”
Miles handed over the map. “Your old village is a goner for now, I’m sorry to say, but if we hit the edge of the forest here,” she said, pointing to a spot where purple met green, “and went to the Hallow for more Purification Powder, we’ll be in good shape.”
Miles and Autumn walked out of the cave. The sun was already rising on a new day. “We were down there longer than I thought,” Miles said. He checked the map and pointed to his left. “It’s this way, right?”
Autumn turned the map upside down. “No, Miles, this way is right.”
“I know that way is to my right, but is it the right way? Or is left right?” Miles turned the map upside down then right side up again, clearly confused.
“You’re better at weapons than directions, kid.” Autumn patted him on the head. “Let me hold the map.”
Miles handed it to Autumn and followed her across the dreary, corrupted landscape. “I’m beginning to hate the color purple,” Miles complained. “This place stinks like something’s rotten.”
Halfway through the forest, the trees formed a line, purple on one side, green on the other, as if they were choosing sides in a game. “This is it. The line where the Corruption ends. For now,” Autumn announced.
“So this is where we place the powder?” Miles asked.
“Yep,” Autumn nodded. “Spread it out, starting at this green tree line, and don’t skip a spot.”
The powder didn’t cover as much ground as Miles had hoped, but already the forest looked brighter and greener than before. “I think we bought ourselves some time,” Miles said proudly.
“Your work isn’t over yet. Now you dig a big wide trench,” Autumn answered. “Dig deep, all along the border between the Corruption and the healthy forest to stop it from spreading.”
Miles took out his pickaxe and eyed it sadly. “It’s not much of a digging tool. You don’t happen to have a drill, do you?” Autumn shook her head no. Miles took a deep breath and started digging.
The sun was high in the sky when Miles finished digging the trench. Autumn eyed it with satisfaction. She checked her map and saw that they had gained some ground over the Corruption. “Nice job,” she said. “Now let’s head to the Hallow.”
“One second,” Miles said. “I must have dropped my weapons when I was digging earlier. We have to head back down underground.”
Miles spied his weapons near the cave entrance. “Let me grab them and we can head out.” Miles had placed his hand on his Dao of Pow, when he heard a sound. He turned to see a giant bug spawn from the edge of a block. He recognized it right away. “That’s a clinger.” Miles lifted his shield as the bug fired a cursed flame. His shield provided knockback resistance, momentarily stunning the creature and allowing Miles to approach and slice it with his sword. “Hah! Take that!” Miles laughed as he collected the drop of four cursed flames and silver coins.
As he was about to leave, he noticed a wrapped gift that hadn’t been there before. He was about to open it when Autumn called him away. “Come on, let’s go!” Miles placed the gift in his inventory and went back up above ground.
“How are we gonna cross this gap?” Autumn asked.
“Easy,” Miles replied, taking out his Ice Rod and building an ice bridge. “Remind me to thank the wizard when we see him. This is a great tool.” Miles and Autumn crossed back into the healthy green forest before it melted. They made their way through the desert and back to the Hallow, passing a few harmless scorpions and picking off a dozen sand slimes along the way.
“This looks like a good place to mine,” Autumn suggested. �
�You need to grab some of the mythril, palladium and titanium ore we released.”
Miles didn’t have to dig far to grab a hefty cache of ore. “I think this should do it,” Miles said, counting his stacks of ore. “We can make a whole arsenal of weapons now.”
When Miles saw the rainbow sky and blue grass in the near distance, he broke into a run. “Hey everyone! I’m back!” The group came rushing down the tree house steps to greet Miles and meet the new mechanic. “This is Autumn, our new mechanic,” he panted, out of breath from sprinting.
After the introductions, Isabella took Miles aside and whispered to him. “You are making progress, but the Corruption is spreading faster than you are repairing it.”
“I was afraid of that,” Miles said. “Autumn showed me how to dig a trench around the Corruption to contain it, but not before we lost our village.”
Isabella was not surprised. “I know. Our new mechanic is good. Perhaps better than our old one.”
Miles felt badly admitting it, but he knew she was right. Shelly was a great mechanic, but Autumn knew about so much more than machines and fighting. She was a great advisor.
As Miles rejoined the rest of the group, someone walked down the tree house stairs and stood, waiting for an introduction. “Oh, Miles, we have a new friend,” Jack announced. “This is Asher. He’s an adventurer, like you.”
“Hey! How’s it going?” Asher shook Miles’s hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I wish I could say the same about you,” Miles muttered under his breath. “I mean, yeah, it’s nice to meet you, too.”
“I wandered over here after a battle with the Wall of Flesh. I was badly hurt,” Asher explained. “Your kind friends took me in and helped me heal. We traded for lovely items, like Greater Mana Potion and a Crystal Ball.”
Miles looked longingly at the items. If he didn’t have to spend all his hard-won coins on Purification Powder, he could buy magical items from the wizard, too. For the first time, Miles was regretting his decision to become a warrior.
Snow Fight Page 3