The Courageous Ocelot, Book 4: A World In Peril

by Mark Mulle

“Even I agree with that now.” Edd said.

  - “Wait, calm down guys! Where’s your funny bone? It was all a joke, gee. Back to the topic here, let’s fast forward to the period when we destroyed the forests.” Loki said. “That’s where lies my piece of information.”

  - “And what is it?” I asked.

  - “You see, there was a day where my woodcutters reached a small village in the middle of the map. It’s between West and East city, slightly to the south of North city.” Loki said.

  - “A village in the middle of the map? No, you’re wrong. We’ve mapped the whole world during the time the citizens worked on the forest, and the only villages we’ve found were near East and North Cities.” Edd said.

  - “Yep, and I know why. It’s because this village has been destroyed.” Loki said.

  - “Loki, you monster! Why would you destroy a village?! Villagers are innocent creatures, they would never harm anyone!” I said.

  - “Woah, calm down! I didn’t destroy that village. Well, at least not directly.” Loki said.

  - “What do you mean? Explain yourself! Greg said.

  - “We never destroyed any villages, okay. I may be a bit crazy, but I am not heartless. Anyway, in this village, there was an ancient villager who was also known as wise. He knew the language of humans, which is extremely rare for villagers.” Loki said.

  - “A villager who could speak to humans?” I said.

  - “There have been reports of villagers speaking to humans, they’re the only creatures in the world that may do so. Well, other than you now.” Greg said. “But it’s rare.”

  - “Anyway, this ancient villager foretold a curse over the forest, in case we continued with our work.” Loki said. “The woodcutters were scared to death of the stories this villager was telling them, and they called me immediately. Granted, I was at North City minding my business and leading my people, but I had to go down there investigate.”

  - “And did you go?” I asked.

  - “Of course. I went to the village to meet with the woodcutters and talk with this scary ancient villager. And that’s where I got my precious info.” Loki said.

  - “And what is it?” Edd asked.

  At this moment, Edd’s secretary entered the room.

  - “Mr. Mayor… We have an emergency. Could you come here for a second?” She said.

  - “Oh… We’re in the middle of something important, Haley.” Edd said. “But okay, I’m coming over. Wait for me, guys.”

  Edd left and we waited for his return. When he came back, he seemed anxious.

  - “Alright, we’ll have to postpone our meeting.” Edd said.

  - “What’s going on?” I asked.

  - “There is a group of people in front of the Town Hall, and they’re furious. It seems word has gone out that Loki was released from the jail, and they want to catch him.”

  - “What?! Why do they still hate me?” Loki said.

  - “And you still have the guts to ask?” Greg said.

  - “Let’s go, the bunker is a safe place to stay.” Edd said.

  - “You have a bunker in your Town Hall? How cool is that!” Loki said.

  - “Come on Loki, stop fooling around.” Greg said.

  Day 18

  We hid in the bunker and waited for things to calm down outside. There was a demonstration in front of the Town Hall where people demanded to get Loki and send him to prison again. Edd and Greg didn’t have the time to explain why Loki was free once again.

  But now, they needed to keep Loki in safety and extract all the information they could from him. It was important to make Loki fulfill his part of the deal, and get to know why the forest is cursed.

  And that’s why we can’t let Loki go outside; Otherwise, he will be sent to prison again and no deal is getting him out of there.

  - “I wonder what people out there are thinking…” Loki said.

  - “They’re thinking of getting their hands on you.” Greg said.

  - “Why?! I haven’t done anything in over a year!” Loki said.

  - “That’s because you’ve been imprisoned.” Edd said. “They still remember everything, Loki. The past is something that is hard to get over, especially when you’re a terrible person like yourself.”

  - “I wasn’t terrible… I was just doing my job.” Loki said.

  - “A terrible job, then.” Greg said.

  Day 19

  The demonstration had moved onto the park. We could return to the Town Hall now and Loki was safe.

  - “Alright, now continue with your story once and for all.” Edd said.

  - “Okay, where was I? Oh right, the ancient villager!” Loki said. “Very well. I went from the North City to check on this scary villager who laid a curse upon the forest. When I got there, I talked with him in person.”

  - “And what did he say?” I asked.

  - “He asked me to stop destroying the forest. Otherwise, the forest would never be the same again.” Loki said.

  - “And how’s that?” Edd asked.

  - “He explained to me that a few legendary trees inhabited the forest and were known as the Supreme Trees. Those trees were responsible for the balance of nature and the growth of trees in this server. For a normal human being, it’s almost impossible to identity a Supreme Tree, or to tell it apart from a regular tree; but they possess an unique power and energy.” Loki said.

  - “And what happened next?” Greg asked.

  - “I thought the old villager was just bluffing. It didn’t sound very realistic at all, so we just continued with our work. He told me several times that the Supreme Trees don’t produce seeds or new saplings, and if you happen to destroy all of them from a region…”

  - “Then what?” I asked.

  - “You’ll have to import another Supreme Tree from somewhere else.” Loki said.

  - “You mean, from overseas?” Greg said.

  - “Yeah, maybe.” Loki said.

  - “So that’s why the trees are not growing…” Edd said. “We need a Supreme Tree to keep the others in place.”

  - “And that’s my part of the deal! See? I wasn’t lying after all. I told you!” Loki said.

  - “I really hope what you told us is true, Loki.” Edd said.

  - “What?! Why would I make that up? I am not that creative for stories.” Loki said.

  - “Whatever. We’ll go with this story for now.” Greg said.

  - “We need to investigate the area where this village existed.” Edd said. “And you’re coming with us, Loki.”

  - “What?! No way! I have complied with my part of the deal, I am free now!” Loki said.

  - “You are not free until we make sure that your part of the deal is true!” Edd said.

  - “Alright…” Loki said.

  Day 20

  Today we packed up and left West City, heading to the abandoned village where the ancient villager lived. We wanted to make sure that Loki was not lying to us just to get free once and for all.

  He was our guide, since he was the only person who knew the exact location of this old village.

  - “Man… I have to be honest, never in my life would I pictured a trip with Loki.” Greg said.

  - “Haha, me either. Who would guess that we would be travelling with the worst criminal in this server?” Edd said.

  - “Hey hey, I’m still here, did you know that?!” Loki said.

  - “Yeah, we know and we don’t care. Stop complaining, Mr. Criminal.” Edd said.

  - “And I am no longer a criminal Mr. Mayor! You released me from jail, remember?!” Loki said.

  - “Oh right. Yes, you’re no longer a criminal. But you still need to complete your side of the deal.” Greg said.

  - “I am doing that right now. And what about YOUR part of the deal?! When am I getting all of my abilities back?” Loki asked.

  - “We’re working on it, Loki.” Edd said. “Remember, Herobrine isn’t any regular creature. He is a mythical being.”

  - “Mythical
or not… That creature owes me a lot!” Loki said.

  And so, we continued our trip through the valleys of the server.

  Day 21

  Another day travelling down the mountains and heading to the old village where the ancient villager used to live. According to information from citizens who worked in the forest, the village didn’t exist anymore. But we had to see it with our own eyes.

  During our travels, we saw wide areas of forest completely devastated. And many young trees dying out of sudden, and not leaving any saplings behind.

  - “This can only be a curse, after all.” Edd said.

  - “The trees don’t leave any saplings when they die, this makes it impossible to create new ones.” Greg said.

  - “And if it continues for much longer, soon enough there won’t be any saplings left in this world!” I said.

  - “Like I said, it’s a curse caused by the Supreme Trees. I know that.” Loki said.

  - “And you had to continue destroying the forests, even though you were warned, right?” Edd said.

  - “What could I do? I thought he was lying.” Loki said.

  - “When you meet an ancient villager living in the middle of the forest who can also speak to humans Loki, you can be sure of one thing – he can be anything, but a liar!” Edd said. “I can’t believe you are that silly.”

  - “Hey, watch your language. If it wasn’t for me, you guys would be struggling and running in circles with your pointless mission of restoring the forest. Now, you know what is going on.” Loki said.

  - “We’ll see about that. Let’s keep walking.” Greg said.

  Day 22

  Today, we finally reached the village. Or what was left of it… The village was in shambles.

  - “And here we are! I told you all!” Loki said.

  - “Well… He wasn’t lying about the