by Cube Kid
Wimpy Villager
Book 13
Copyright 2017 Cube Kid
All rights reserved.
This ebook is an original work of fiction. It is not official. It is not authorized, endorsed, sponsored, supported or licensed by Mojang AB, Microsoft Corp. or any entity owning or controlling any rights to the Minecraft name, trademarks or copyrights. Minecraft and its related game characters and names are trademarks of Mojang AB.
Minecraft ®/TM & © 2009-2017 Mojang / Notch
This is a real Cube Kid book, not a fake. You can check my Facebook page to confirm, at:
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If I've forgotten your name, leave a review, a comment on my Facebook, or an email, and I'll add you in the 14th book of this series.
FRIDAY—UPDATE III—AFTERNOON
I stood next to Breeze in a small quartz room.
A sea lantern served as the only light source, bathing the room in its pale blue light.
Against the center of one wall stood a mysterious object. It was three meters tall, three meters wide, and flat, like a banner. However, instead of dyed wool was a surface like the calmest pool of water.
Breeze reached out with her right hand. Her fingers touched those of her reflection.
After she lowered her arm, we continued staring at ourselves in silence. In awe. It was the first time we'd seen ourselves this way. But more than that were our outfits.
Our clothes were made of spider silk, a type of cloth crafted using spider string. Puddles, the owner of the Clothing Castle, had worked with the humans for days to craft perfect recreations of Earth fashion. Then, to make us look even more majestic, our cloaks had been modified to fall over our shoulders.
Poster children. Symbols of hope. Villagetown's biggest stars. That's what we've become. Some say it's sweet: a budding romance between two young heroes fighting valiantly against all odds.
I'd say that's an exaggeration. Although Breeze and I are close, we haven't had much time for anything beyond battle or preparing for the next. I guess the mayor wants to change that, though. The people need something to believe in, he says.
I suppose that's why he whisked us away in the middle of the dance. And when we return, we're to smile, hold hands and raise them before a cheering crowd.
"You look so different from when we first met," I said.
"I suppose." Breeze stared vacantly ahead, until: "Wish we could have danced more."
"Me too." I adjusted the collar of my shirt.
There was the click of a door opening.
In the reflection, I saw the mayor step in. As he studied us, particularly our outfits, the faintest trace of a smile appeared beneath his mustache.
"I apologize for taking you away like this," he said, gliding in. "I just wanted to make sure that you two are . . . looking your very best for the award ceremony."
"It's fine," Breeze said, never taking her eyes off her reflection.
Stepping between us, the mayor ran his gnarled fingers across the edge of the mirror's smooth iron frame. "So, what do you think? Do you like it?"
Breeze nodded. "It's . . . amazing. What is it called?"
"This is known as a mirror. This one is thousands of years old. Crafted during the start of the Second Great War. As I understand, it came from an ancient temple. The Tabernacle of Gloomfell Cove. That's near the sea, far from here. Beyond a vast mountain range to the northwest."
"I suppose it would be impossible to craft such an object ourselves," I said. "How did it wind up here, anyway?"
"Our records say a trader brought it here. They used to be quite common, back when it was still safe to travel. I was just a boy, then, but it seems like yesterday when so many travelers turned up at our front door . . ."
I nodded, vaguely recalling reading something about that in school. Only recently did our village learn of The Eyeless One's return, yet our scholars believe he's been gathering his strength and amassing his armies for a very long time. The coming war is, perhaps, something he's been planning for at least fifty years. Before that time, monsters weren't all that common. You could have traveled the Overworld for weeks without encountering one. And now . . .
After staring off into nothingness, the mayor raised his head and smiled again. Was that a tear in the corner of his eye?
"You two look so wonderful," he finally said. "Yes, you're exactly what our village needs right now." Another pause. "I . . . hope you can understand why I asked this of you."
I looked his reflection in the eye.
"Of course, sir."
FRIDAY—UPDATE IV—AFTERNOON
We walked back in silence. Almost everyone was at the party by now, so the streets were mostly empty.
Still, if you looked, you could see distant figures on the wall, spaced evenly—every one hundred blocks, more or less. Humans standing watch, enchanted bows all slung. There was, no doubt, at least one more up in the sky tower—ready to activate the note block alarm system should trouble arise—but I couldn't see into the tower's nest from here.
Finally, upon reaching the village hall, I found things to be mostly the same as when we'd left: posters and banners, jukeboxes and cakes. And a thousand or so people celebrating Villagetown's success. After all, even though the Eyeless One was still out there, his minions had been driven back. It was enough. At this point, we'll take any victory we can get, no matter how small.
Some laughter to my left: Breeze was already being swept away by a handful of human girls. They couldn't get over her cloak.
Stump couldn't get over mine. After he slapped me on the back and flashed a huge grin, his gaze fell to my shoulders. "What's that about?"
"For the award ceremony. I guess." I glanced around at the jovial crowd of villagers and humans. "So what's new? Have you heard anything since I left?"
"Yeah. This kid—Tucker?—said he was playing on the wall the other morning and saw a rabbit in the plains. And not just any rabbit. He claims it was a zombie." He made a spooky face, then the slightest laugh. "The imaginations of kids these days."
"Hmm. Actually, I'd like to look into it. I'll speak to him later."
"Also, I keep seeing this weird old man," Stump said. "Red robes. Red hat. Black sunglasses. Huge white beard. Said his name is Cocoa. Cocoa Witherbean."
"Cocoa Witherbean, huh?"
I thought back, but didn't remember ever hearing this name, or seeing anyone who matched that description. That wasn't all that strange, though. New people have been showing up at our gate almost every week. Not travelers. Survivors. Usually, it's a small group of clueless villagers who'd fled from some tiny, obscure village after being attacked in the middle of the night. Otherwise it's a lone human who'd been wandering the Overworld for months. We take them all in and show them around, assign them some task.
"So this Cocoa," I said. "Is he one of the new arrivals from this morning?"
"Maybe. Whoever he is, he's creepy. I've seen him snooping around outside a library, too."
"Interesting." Once more I thought back, but didn't remember seeing someone like that. "All right, I'll keep an eye out for this guy." A pause. "Anything else?"
"Nope. Not really."
"Well, keep up the good work," I said. "And don't let your guard down. Even at a time like this . . ." I reached up and patted my diamond sword which was now sheathed across my back. "We can't forget who we are."
His smile faded. "Yes, sir!"
"Hey. You don't need to call me that."
"But they said I'm supposed to call you that. You're a captain now."
"That doesn't matter. We've been friends since we were just a single block tall. Just Runt, okay?"
"Sure." By now, he was frowning. "You
know, Runt, you . . . you're acting awfully serious all of a sudden. What happened? Is anything wrong?"
I lowered my head, unsure of what to say. What could I say? I couldn't forget what the mayor had said earlier. You're a warrior, Runt—a sworn defender of our village. And today, you'll have to act the part . . .
Of course, I didn't need to say anything to Stump. He understood. More than almost anyone else here he understood. For he'd been there when thousands had nearly breached the wall. And as I stood in silence, he didn't say anything either, just gave me a slow nod. Perhaps he was recalling that time as well. But soon, as several other villagers ran up, laughing and joking and handing us slices of cake . . . such times were quickly forgotten.
So wrapped up did I become in the celebration that I almost failed to notice their clothes. Many of them were dressed in human-style outfits. Just like me.
Breeze was right. We really are becoming more like the humans. And then, they're becoming more like us. All one had to do to arrive at this conclusion was look at their leader. There he was, Kolbert21337, He Who Hails From Earth, Lord Commander of the Lost Legion . . . dressed in a villager's robe.
"I have an important announcement!" he shouted. "My best friend, Kaeleb, recently discovered how to craft apple pie! We'd like to share some with you guys! In return, we'd love to try some of your grass stew! We've heard it's a village delicacy, and we really want to know what it tastes like!"
He went on to explain how there's a holiday on Earth that celebrates a time when two vastly different groups of people shared food with one another. The humans wanted to do the same thing here. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea what they were getting into. Grass stew is considered a village delicacy not because it tastes good but because it's hard to craft. You need shears enchanted with Silk Touch to harvest grass. As for the taste, you'd be better off eating grass raw. Poor Kolbert Kolb quickly discovered this.
Finally, the mayor announced the award ceremony.
As we approached, in the mayor's palm were six tiny objects, each no bigger than a single seed. Two resembled hearts, another two resembled swords. However, the last pair I didn't recognize. They were gray in color, stone, with flecks of white-blue diamond here and there. It almost looked like they'd been crafted to resemble . . . um . . . birds of some kind?
"For this year's graduates," the mayor called out, "we've crafted various emblems to signify their achievements, chosen professions and titles." He held one of the bird-like emblems in his right hand and raised it over his head. The bird's diamond flecks caught the setting sun, sparkling brilliantly. "This one specifically," he added, "the Diamond Blockbird, is crafted from a single piece of diamond ore to ensure its rarity and value. Each emblem has been crafted in this way to honor all those who have fought so hard to protect our village in these dark and troubled times. And out of the many brave young graduates here, the two standing beside me are the ones who've fought the hardest. For this reason, we've decided that they may both serve as Captains and share leadership of their group."
At this, a lot of people began whispering, but for Breeze and myself this news was no surprise. The mayor had mentioned this earlier when he first took us to that room. He said that he wanted our group to stand out above the rest. Since we've proven ourselves so far.
I think there's more to it than that, though. He also told us that our group will be the first to explore the Overworld. When it comes to leading and making the right decisions, he probably trusts Breeze much more than he trusts me. That's understandable. Sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me. Breeze, on the other hand, never loses her cool.
So she'll kind of be serving as . . . my babysitter? No, that's not how a heroic swordsman would say it. She'll be there to make sure I don't make any mistakes. Better?
The mayor turned and gave us a knowing nod.
Recalling our instructions, I fell to one knee, as did Breeze.
Then he began fastening different emblems to the left shoulder areas of our cloaks, so that they rested just above our hearts. They clung to our cloaks securely, like sticky pistons. (It should be noted that he retrieved another pair, which looked like little blue stars. The official emblem of a Captain. He replaced my original diamond badge with this.)
As he fastened each pair, one after another, he called out what they signified. From what I understand, he borrowed this from the Lost Legion. Every member of that clan is required to do this thing called roleplaying. Since they're supposed to be an order of knights, they have to act like knights. And whenever a clan member is promoted, it's through this special ceremony known as knighting.
While he said this, I couldn't help feeling that this whole thing was mostly just an act to boost village morale.
I don't think of myself as a hero. Not even close. In many ways, I'm still just a kid. I still get scared at times. And I still have so much to learn.
Yet, in that moment, I saw hundreds of faces light up, tears being brushed away, and suddenly it seemed that our survival wasn't unimaginable, but likely, or even certain, as if the Wizard With No Eyes was just another low-level monster out there somewhere waiting to be farmed.
Below, whispers grew louder, until finally, cheers and screams. But that seemed so quiet compared to the pounding in my chest. The more I stared at them, the more I felt this awful weight. It only grew heavier with every smile directed my way. Only then did I begin to fully realize what this all meant, and how much I had to live up to. The whole village was counting on me. When I glanced at Breeze, though, that feeling went away.
No, I thought. They're not counting on me . . .
Yeah, it really was the best day of my life. And tomorrow was going to be even better.
In the morning, we were to begin our first exploration. We were to head out in our groups, always staying within sight of the wall.
It took me an hour to fall asleep. Tomorrow was going to be my first real adventure, and I'd been dreaming about it for so long. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I simply couldn't wait for tomorrow to begin.
Huh? Who's knocking?
It must be mom. I slept in. I'll be late for school.
In a deep sleep, I actually thought this, until my eyes flew open and I sat straight up in bed.
But there was no way someone could have been knocking. I'd been so tired earlier that I forgot to shut my bedroom door.
That was when I saw the shadowy figure standing just outside my window. Okay, so I'm not the brightest person upon first waking up, but I knew that wasn't my mom.
DAY 1—SATURDAY
It all happened so fast.
Before I knew it, I was on top of a big white horse, doing my best to hold on as the animal chugged full speed ahead.
The whole time, a million questions ran through my mind. Was Kolb telling the truth? Why is he being hunted? Who is he? What about that crafting table? Will I really find one in some village called Owl's Reach?
Most importantly, did I make the right decision? It feels so reckless going out on my own like this. I'm terrified. The mayor's going to be angry.
What was I supposed to do? If I had talked to Breeze, she would have stopped me. Anyone I talked to would have stopped me. Kolb was right about that. And, if he's right about the upcoming attack, we really do need every advantage we can get.
I glanced at the map again. Owl's Reach isn't marked, but it's there. Somewhere. Some fifty thousand blocks away. Okay, so my quest is pretty clear: all I have to do is head somewhere, talk to someone and try not to get eaten by zombies along the way. That's fine, but I really wish he could have given me a better map—while it is the most complete map Villagetown's libraries had to offer, most complete isn't exactly saying much. Most of the other maps, well . . .
(He gave me one of those maps, too. I'm . . . not sure why. Yeah, if those maps are any indication of overall villager intelligence, I understand why so much knowledge has been lost over the generations.)
As far as supplies go, I'm set: he gav
e me a stack of carrots, a stack of oak, half a stack of coal, a crafting table, a furnace, a bed. Also 332 emeralds taken from his clan's ender chest. Plus, I have a full set of stone tools I'd crafted earlier, along with my sword. However, there is one problem. I'm still wearing these clothes.
Here's the thing about this outfit: although it makes me appear like a rich noble hailing from some powerful kingdom—a kingdom where golden apples are a common staple food and everyone drinks healing potions instead of water—it doesn't provide any armor or stats of any kind.
Here's the thing about armor and stats: I like armor and stats. A lot. Give me a huge sack that looks like it's used for carrying beetroots, and, as long as it provides even a bit of armor, or maybe increases my movement speed, I will somehow craft it into a shirt and wear that thing with pride.
DAY 1—SATURDAY—UPDATE I
As I make my way north, I sometimes glance to the south, the direction of home. After sunrise, I decided that, if I see any smoke, I'll head back to the village as fast as I can. Of course, by the time I made it back, it would already be too late, wouldn't it . . .
I can't help imagining the mayor's face upon hearing that I'm gone. It's kind of ridiculous when you think about it. Just a few hours after I was hailed as one of Villagetown's heroes, I vanished without a trace. So much for the mayor's plan of boosting morale. I can almost hear Emerald cracking some joke about it. Something about how I got so wound up over the whole Explorer of the Overworld thing that I zoomed off without any instructions. Okay, I admit it. That's something I'd do.
All right. The sun's going down. I'm about to make camp. That is, dig an emergency shelter.
I won't write about the process of digging a shelter here. I've already gone over that. Besides, I'd like to preserve what little dignity I have left by not going into detail about how I'll be sleeping in a dirt hole for the night. Next to a horse. A horse whose name I don't even know. A horse who slobbers all over me.