The girl gave an almost inaudible whisper, and Leonidas thought he heard the words “lost” and “community” in her answer.
“So there’s a community out here? Where? I thought the colony of the King’s banished criminals died out a long time ago,” inquired Leonidas.
Another dubious whimper escaped the girl’s mouth, and Leonidas heard the word “survived” in her response.
“So the community still exists? And you are a member of this community?” Caesar asked gruffly.
The girl, still kneeling and unable to stand, gave an almost imperceptible nod before her head sank to the floor and she dissolved into desperate sobs.
“That’s all I needed to know,” responded Caesar with a sly grin. An instant later, there was a flash of diamond. The girl fell backwards, a slash across her chest and her items lying in a ring around her. Caesar slid his sword back into its sheath.
Leonidas opened his mouth in horror, but quickly closed it again. It was necessary, he reminded himself, trying to keep his breathing steady. She knew too much, and she was a danger. Still, Leonidas couldn’t bring himself to look at her body, and he felt unable to look back towards Caesar until he heard the faint noise indicating that the girl had vanished.
“I’ll tell Lord Tenebris not to expect the capital completed for a few more days,” said Caesar, a smile appearing on his face. “But when I receive the next report, I expect that not only will the building be finished, but every member of the old community will be dead.”
Caesar threw back his head and laughed, and before Leonidas could open his mouth to object, he had swept out the door.
Leonidas stood looking at the floor for a moment, then realized that Corporal Emerick and Private Spyro were still looking at him, waiting for a command. He cleared his throat and, trying to keep his voice steady, gave the order.
“Private, you’re stayin’ with me and finishin’ this capital. Corporal” – Leonidas took a deep breath – “take half the men and find the village. Leave no survivors.”
“Yes, sir,” came Corporal Emerick’s response, and he left the room without another word.
There was silence as Leonidas stood in the room lost in thought, Private Spyro standing beside him. After a minute, the private spoke. “Is it really the right thing to do, General? Those players, they’re not hurting anybody, so how can it be right?”
Leonidas, ignoring his own strongly conflicted feelings, gave Spyro the response he was supposed to give. “It doesn’t matter if it’s right or not, Private, it’s what has to be done.” Leonidas let out a raspy sigh and fought the urge to vomit. “Come on,” he said, “we have a base to finish.”
And with that, General Leonidas and Private Spyro of the Noctem Alliance left the dirt shack.
Stan knew that technically, this was Elementia’s first real election for president. There had not really been a vote when he first became president. Everybody had been so euphoric at the downfall of King Kev that they had immediately wanted the one responsible for their freedom to be the new head of the Minecraft server Elementia.
Now, however, it was time for Elementia’s first true presidential election. The entire voting population was crammed into the square of Element City. Over three months ago, King Kev had stood above this very courtyard and made the announcement that it was time for the lower-level citizens of Elementia to leave Element City. Stan’s all-consuming rage at King Kev’s proclamation and the arrow he’d sent at the King to show it were the reasons he stood on the bridge of Element Castle now.
That fateful arrow had started an uprising among the lower-level players of the Minecraft server Elementia, and their rebellion had resulted in the death of the tyrannical King Kev. The majority of the King’s supporters were now dead or imprisoned, with the rest living as fugitives of the law. In their joy at the fall of the evil King, the citizens of Elementia were quick to jump on Stan’s idea of Elementia being turned into a republic. Stan was unanimously elected to be its first president.
Now, however, his first term was up. He had been president for four months, and it was time for another election. The councilmen, who assisted Stan in making the laws of Elementia, had already been elected. Stan’s good friends Kat, Charlie, Jayden, Archie, Goldman (aka G), DZ and the Mechanist had all been unanimously re-elected to the council.
The eighth seat on the council, however, was now filled by the former mayor of Blackstone, Gobbleguy. The seat’s previous holder, Blackraven, was running against Stan for president of Elementia. The majority of the players believed that Blackraven had been stupid to give up his seat on the council, as they believed there was nothing he could ever say or do to convince them to elect him to office over Stan.
Stan, however, felt Blackraven was a formidable opponent. He believed Blackraven was wiser than he was. If Blackraven played his cards right, Stan thought that his seat as president of Elementia may well be in jeopardy. This idea made him nervous as he sat on the bridge of Element Castle, preparing to give one last speech to his people before they voted.
Stan and Blackraven would both be asked five questions. These five questions, dealing with the most important problems in Elementia, would be Stan’s last chance to assure the population that he was the right player to continue leading them.
Stan’s stomach was in knots as he was called to step forwards and begin to speak. As he walked out onto the bridge of Element Castle, the crowd received him with hoots and cheers. Stan’s anxiety vanished. There was nothing to be nervous about, he realized. As long as he answered the questions honestly, he believed that the people of Elementia would agree with him.
The first question rang out, echoing around the spacious courtyard. “Stan2012, if elected president, how do you intend to handle the diamond shortage we have in Elementia right now?”
Stan, whose views on this matter were firm, responded confidently. “I know that diamonds are a very important resource for creating the best gear possible. However, I don’t think that diamonds are nearly as important as iron ore, which is way more common and equally useful. Right now, we don’t have access to a good diamond mine. If we find one, then Elementia will have more diamonds to go around. Right now, though, I think that we’re much better off mining more iron ore, rather than searching for diamonds.”
There was general applause as Stan finished. Although the players of Element City certainly did like their diamonds, they felt that Stan had a very reasonable view of the issue. As the applause died down, the next question sounded out.
“Stan2012, if elected president, how do you intend to fulfil Elementia’s coal needs now that the mines of Blackstone have been declared unsafe?”
Stan smiled. One of his most recent acts as president had been to close down the coal mines in the mining town of Blackstone after inspecting them firsthand. He had found that the entire mining system was situated around an underground lava lake. Though he was quite happy with the decision, one of the biggest concerns was how Elementia was going to keep up with the ever-present demand for coal after the city’s reserves ran out. Stan now, once again, shared his plans to resolve this issue.
“Well, let me first say that I have no regrets whatsoever in declaring the mines of Blackstone unsafe.