Book Three: Part 2 Herobrine’s Message. Sean Wolfe Fay

the ladder and took his place on the ledge next to Stan. It was amazing, he thought, that so many of the people were happy to see him. Most of them hardly knew who he was, yet they were as excited to see him as Stan, Kat, Charlie and the others had been the previous night. He supposed that that was simply an added benefit of being friends with Stan.

      “OK now, everybody be quiet!” Stan commanded, and the crowd immediately complied. “Councilman Jayden has agreed to join our assault as a general, even after his long journey. As such, you are to do what he says and follow his commands the same as you would myself or any of my comrades. Now, prepare to mobilize, troops. When I give the signal, swarm up the ladders, through the ground, and into the streets!”

      And with that, Stan climbed up the ladder, Jayden directly below him, ascending higher and higher towards the roof of the cave and leaving the electric energy of the troops below him as he vanished into the dark belfry of the cave.

       CHAPTER 5

       THE BATTLE OF THE ADORIAN VILLAGE

      After Stan had been totally enveloped by the darkness in the upper dome of the cave, it wasn’t long until he reached the ceiling above him. He looked upwards and aimed a punch at the block directly overhead. The sound of his fist on the wooden block reverberated through the spacious cave, sending the scattered bats that had been nesting in the darkness flying down to where he had just come from.

      Stan looked down at Jayden, who was still clinging to the ladder beneath his feet. “Give me the potion,” he ordered.

      Jayden complied, reaching into his inventory and handing it up to Stan, who pocketed it carefully. Aside from the joy that Jayden’s return had brought to Stan and his friends, they were also elated that he had managed to sneak a few potions out of Nocturia. The Potions of Slowness, in particular, were of vital importance to the first part of their plan.

      Stan drew out a diamond axe, and for a moment, he allowed himself to relish in the feeling of completion that washed over him as he held his choice weapon once again. DZ’s diamond sword (now sitting in a chest in the mine; he had plans for it later) had served him well on his odyssey to return to Elementia, but there was no feeling in the world like having an axe clutched in his hand. Wasting no more time, Stan drew back the axe and shattered the wood block above him in two strokes.

      He pulled himself up and through the opening and found himself in the main room of a house. Stan grinned. Charlie’s aim had been spot on when he had calculated where to dig the hole. Stan turned around and pulled Jayden out of the hole, and they surveyed the house. It was plain, with hardly any outstanding features, just a cobblestone counter with a dispenser on it, some potted plants and wood plank–block walls with glass window panes. Outside the windows, Stan could see the streets of the Adorian Village.

      This was Stan’s first time in the village since it was reopened, and very little had changed in that time. After the Battle for Elementia, Stan had immediately delegated a team to rebuild the burned-down village. It looked largely the same now as it did then – houses similar to those in an NPC village, gravel roadways and a brick Town Hall in the centre. However, there were two major differences that struck Stan as he surveyed the village in the early light of dawn.

      The first was the wall. Thinking that it was wise to defend the village against any more attackers, Stan had ordered a cobblestone wall to be built around the village, fortified with the Mechanist’s redstone defences (though not nearly as impenetrable as the Element City wall had been). Stan could see the top of the wall over the houses of the village. Several Noctem troopers were patrolling the top of the barricade, their black armour silhouetted against the sunrise. That was the second change. Even at this early hour, Stan could see Noctem soldiers standing guard at the corners of the stone-block sidewalks, and platoons of troops marching through the streets.

      Suddenly, Stan became acutely aware of footsteps over his head. He turned around just as a player burst into the room from up a flight of wooden stairs that he hadn’t noticed before. This player was skinned as if she was planning on attending a disco party, with a tie-dye shirt, pink shorts and rainbow tights. The bright colours bore a sharp contrast to the black tunic on her head.

      “Who do you think you—” she started to demand, but was cut off when the bottle of potion Stan had thrown shattered on her face. Slowly, her eyes slid out of focus, and a slurred “intruders” slid out of her mouth before she slumped to the ground, unconscious. Stan was relieved that the potions Jayden had snagged were so strong; they had plenty of time to take her back down into the mine and imprison her until the battle was over.

      Stan gestured to Jayden, who hoisted the limp body of the unconscious player over his shoulder and descended back into the mine. Moments later, he re-emerged, and a line of other players followed him up the ladder and into the house.

      “Charlie’s got her in a holding prison, along with all the others we had to knock out,” Jayden said to Stan. “Phase one went off without a hitch. We now have troops in houses all over the village, and when you give the signal, we attack.”

      Stan was beside himself. He couldn’t believe that the plan was progressing so flawlessly. He reminded himself to thank Charlie the next time they met up; without his amazing mining prowess, they never would’ve been able to calculate so precisely where to make the tunnels. Stan’s only regret was that they hadn’t been able to dig under the Town Hall, which was their primary target – the floor was made of obsidian. However, that was a minor concern. With an ambush this size, Stan was confident that they would be able to overpower the Noctem forces; after all, most of them were still in Element City, according to their spies.

      He realized, with a start, that he was being watched; the eyes of all soldiers in the room were fixated on Stan, awaiting his command. Stan took a deep breath and drew his axe. The time had come to take back the Adorian Village.