I have opened the door to my room. Elegant furniture consisted of two chairs, a desk, a small table, a cupboard, a wardrobe, a mirror, and a big bed. The room was lit with candles on the table, which gave enough illumination. Vera, now dressed but still not awake was laying on the bed. I came to check in on her. I sat on an edge of the bed and pressed my hand against her stomach. Her breath was steady. I smiled, knowing that now, I will truly re-unite with her. I kissed her neck, and she opened her eyes. Her mouth was open wide, as her eyes stared at mine, widened. We both touched each-other's cheeks, as if being afraid of seeing a dream. "Vera..." I spoke up, tearing the silence "Listen... we have re-united. But...please listen to me. I realized one thing... one thing I thought about wrong while we were still in Goodswill. I was a fool, I...I knew we were in love, but I never quite understood it. I thought it was love from partnership, trust...I was so wrong. I am sorry. Now, I understand...and I am saying this because I think it is important to understand, our love is nothing like that. You stayed in this world, awaiting our reunion after your last breath because our love binded us...even after death. Vera, this is TRUE love. Vera..." She grabbed the sides of my head with both of her hands. As her soft lips touched mine, I cried. Other people went through the feeling of love but, somehow, our love was the strongest... "I...love you" top ^ Chapter 15 The cold water latched on to me and bit at my skin. My hands grabbed the cloth and wiped my face, eradicating the small drops of water hanging from the pores in my skin and chin. The small bubbles created due to the splashes danced around below the clear surface of the ice-cold water, shimmering brightly from the torchlight. I watched them slowly ascend and disappear. They looked as if they were tiny souls of the water - raised out of their body with violence, achieving their ultimate fate... I looked at the mirror and examined my own face. A small beard begun to grow on my chin and sideburns begun to form on the sides of my face. Grinning, I took a small barber's razor from the table and brought it up to my face. It was uncomfortable looking at my own reflection on a blade as it made me remember the time when the kobold sliced my face with a sickle. For a second I put the razor away and felt the scar on my face - not the reason why I was called Spike, but even so it was a reminder. A reminder to never let an enemy's sword close to you. The blade slowly glided near my skin, guided by me, eradicating the hairs. I slowly changed the direction and started going down to the cheek, but felt cutting pain as the razor sliced the skin, creating a cut. "Bloody...damn" I cursed, putting some cloth against the cut. I grinned because of pain, and sighed. The bedroom, a bathing room, a small kitchen with two beds for workers... that is our temporary domain. I even use the room at the first floor to wash my face and clean my teeth since the bathing room is too small. Hannah and Jack are our serfs. They are a kind couple, both in their forties. Of course, the two rooms are suppose to be the castle, while an old pair should be six healthy workers, but until the situation changes, we will have to accept what we have. The strategic meeting begins after a couple of hours but before that I want to spend more time with Vera. Thinking of her made me remember her beautiful dark hair, her green eyes, our yesterday's re-union... I remembered how weeks before this day, I thought I would never see her. Yesterday's events changed nearly everything. Our relationship felt special. I would not break under any strong emotion, unless that emotion was caused by her. No feeling felt as complete as feelings I experienced near her. Everything seemed to fade away somewhere, out of reach, when I've been with her. I sighed as I applied the salve to the wound. I closed my mouth tightly as the cut burned me with stinging pain. For a second I thought of Bivar. The Marquiz was a true leader, and he reminded me of Joe. I admired his resistance to the grim and ruining news. He never panicked and always seemed to have the matter in his hands. I grinned as I remembered how he reacted to the news, the news of the whole band of soldiers slaughtered. That man I would trust. I wiped the rest of the blood from my face, and took a string and some powder. ~~~~~ As my hand gripped the door knob, I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned around, quickly, whipping my arm at whoever stood behind me. It was Katrin. "Not talkative today, are we?" She smiled, dodging my hand. "Forgive me...did Marquiz inform you of the news?" I said, and then blushed, realizing I forgot to add "milady". "Nay, not all of it, but he did tell me something...about you." She said, nodding her head at the door to my quarters. "Look, I am sorry. I did not know about anything on this matter. If I knew I would not try to...seduce you." "So... you aren't that..." "I am not a complete rotten whore, if that's what you mean" she said, laughing "But I am quite wicked at times." We looked at each-other as if the dialogue has ended, and yet we both stood in place, waiting for each-other to say or do something. "Spike, I am not going to leave without a farewell" she said, winking. "I...sorry Katrin. No" I responded stiffly. "Well, aren't you a saint!" she laughed and slipped her finger across my lips. "Good bye." She turned around and disappeared around a corner. I picked up a rose I dropped after Katrin's intrusion, and opened the door. Vera was sitting at the table with her new, rich, and elegant noble-man clothes on. She held and was reading a tome, entitled "The Scarlet Coat", but stood up as soon as I walked in. I smiled and kneeled before her, presenting her the blood-red rose. "Yours, my lady" I said, while standing up to embrace her, and felt her hair brush against my face. top ^ Chapter 16 "Have you seen...death?" I said, quietly. We sat on a bed, our backs touching the wall. One of my hands held hers, while the other stroked her hair. Vera was resting her head against my shoulder, and had her arm wrapped around me, as the other one sat on my chest, gripped by my hand. "It was...strange" Her soft, melodical voice was music to my ears. "I've seen darkness. Everything appeared...everything was in the shades of green. I heard voices, desperate sounds of struggling and screaming. I appeared to follow them, not really sensing nor understanding anything. I saw shadows, silhouettes of people; I connected with them and a stream... a stream pushed us along our ways. We seemed to travel, guided by this strange path... then, silence. All of us became one, and wouldn't move anymore...we were trapped. That was very confusing, but somehow I could understand what happened." "The stream...the Cathedral...I need to tell you something about Joe." I said, and told her about the wraith and the cathedral. I also told her about Joe's past and his hate for men of fortune. I saw small tears on her eyes as she looked at me. "What have we done...by saving ourselves, we created him; the wraith. We sealed the fates of thousands..." She whispered. I gently shifted her head and kissed her in the cheekbone. Her arm wrapped around me even tighter. "Not all is lost." I explained about the ghasts and about the way which seemed to be our only hope to avoid death. "We shall do this. We shall...together." She said, glancing at me. "Yes, my love. Together..." I said before we kissed passionately, once again. As I felt her warm breath touch my cheek I felt happy. ~~~~~ The meeting room was once again filled with people. Only the table was empty, since it was Wolfie's old place. Again, I felt that draining and painful sense of regret. Soon, a scribe took a place on the table, and rolled out another map. That map pictured the city much smaller, and focused mainly on the surrounding areas. I could see the city, the mine, and the sea. I stood somewhere at the side, closer to the commanders. Beside me stood Vera, wearing a different, more formal outfit rather than her silky nightwear. "It is very painful to tell you this, milords, but we seem to have bad news." Marquiz slowly started. After explaining the basics of the situation to everyone, Marquiz spoke again. "Of course, our current situation may seem extremely grim right now, but let's look at the bright side - eliminating ghasts will also eliminate Kobold's goal, thus allowing us to kill two birds with one clever stone." Marquiz was always looking at the bright side, while never forgetting the dark one. "Because of this, I think it is urgent to start our quest now. We do not have much support from the Duke nor the King, since they are far to the east. However, this does not matter, as I am sure we can deal with this ourselves. Firstly, we will have to find diamond. Unfortunately, these lands have always struggled for this material, and we will have to use the knowledge of more experienced people. Lord Spike, is there are any technique for finding diamonds?" "Yes, milord. Diamonds are usually found on the ninth ground level from the bedrock." I replied. "Very good, Lord Spike, thank you for being so specific." Marquiz nodded to me "So firstly, we shall mine for diamond. Alexander, please dispatch an order for twenty miners to start mining. Next, we shall try to mine for obsidian. Most of the lava we have is contained in the natural lava ponds in the desert and there are very few of the lava in the caverns, but we shall try. Finally, once everything is done, we shall send an expedition into the...Nether World. What is the shape of the device, Lord Spike?" As I was about to speak, Vera cut me off. "I remember it well. I believe that the portal is four blocks wide and five blocks high. Fourteen pieces of obsidian, that is." "Excellent! We shall plan out getting the obsidian after the diamond is collected. Dismissed." top ^ Chapter 17 My eyelids opened. I sat up on a bed, putting the palms against my face. Did I just wake up in the middle of the night? I turned my head to see Vera. But I did not. The sheets laid undisturbed, as no one lay on them. Where did she go? I stood up completely and pulled on my nightwear. I then made several steps towards the rest of the quarters, the bathing and the worker's rooms, to ask the serfs about Vera. An ominous cackling stopped me dead on my track. With a chill running across my spine I turned around, eyeing the other door. The laughter appeared to come from the hallway. I gulped some saliva that formed inside my mouth and wiped my face. Was I imagining it? I took a deep breath and turned away, now opening the door to the bathing room. My eyes widened. I have indeed found our serfs. Their dead, lifeless eyes seemed to gaze into oblivion. They sat in the water-filled tub, now coloured in red because of the blood. Hannah's arm was outstretched, holding a dagger which pierced Jack's forehead. Jack was sitting in the same position. I closed the door shut, sitting down and putting my hand against my chin. What the hell did I just saw? What just happened? Did they tried to kill each other, and did it simultaneously? That old couple would never do that, I am sure of it...unless they hid some secrets. I stood up and decided that I would go to the corridor, find Vera, inform Marquiz, and figure out what was going on. I walked towards the door, looking at the doorknob... Which moved. Moved freely, not stuck by the lock, which it should have been. The knob jumped to right and to the left, with each move slowing down my heart. Suddenly, the knob exploded. Something with a pointy end shattered it, breaking through. Blood lashed my face, as I fell on my back. Suddenly, everything was quiet. I slowly stood up, looking at the shattered doorknob. In my head I retraced my steps; I walked up to it, something moved it, it shattered blood in my face... I dashed toward the chest, trying to get my sword. Whatever happened might be more dangerous than I first thought. With one strong move I lifted the lid of the chest and was free to overlook horror. There was no bow in the chest. There was no sword either. A long, hand sat in the chest. The ripped flesh showed cracked bones. I grunted in disgust as I saw a large maggot rip through the flesh, devouring it. I slammed the lid shut. My mind was a mess. So much questions and impressions ravaged it. The only sensible thing right now was to enter the corridor... or so I felt. I carefully nudged the door opened and peeked through. The corridor seemed longer than I remembered it. Stepping in, I felt my bare legs touch hard, cold stone. Harder than I thought it would be. Looking down, I saw that the whole corridor seemed to be encrusted with a hard, black rock. I moved to touch it, and its ragged texture almost cut my finger. "Obsidian?" I quietly said to myself. Of course, I have seen obsidian, but this one seemed different... it was not purplish but pure black. I wiped my forehead of sweat yet another time and continued to walk down the corridor. Suddenly, I saw something red on the ground... A trail of blood stretched at several meters away from my room to the door on the right side of the corridor. Gulping, I slowly followed it, getting ready for the worst. I stood in a front of this very door. As I reached for the handle, I heard something on the other side. Not laughter, not an evil cackle but a...moan? I pressed my ear against the wooden door, listening in. I hear someone moan again. A woman? A tingling sensation of fear crept into me. Suddenly, a scream busted out. It was terrifying, and probably was the most horrific thing I ever heard in my life. It was a man's scream, a scream of pure anguish and suffering, a scream that you could never picture. The scream...it was followed by the most disgusting sound. The sound of the fried of skin being torn to shreds, it was the bubbly, smacky sound of ripping flesh. The one you hear just before landing a blade on your enemies head, only times fleshier. I don't know what overcame me, but I grasped the doorknob and pulled it open. Yet another terrifying sight was open to me, but this time it was the most horrid. Marquiz lay on the bed naked, with his skin from his throat to his belly ripped apart. Intestines and organs were scattered around the blood splatter filled room. In a front of what was left of him stood a woman, her back facing me. Red hair... "Katrin?" She...IT turned. No. God, no. Red hair and the same facial build was the only thing that was Katrin's. The creature was completely nude and had blue skin. Its face had full but black lips, sharp chin and... three horns, staggering out of the creature's skin as if they were daggers. Blood splattered across her body, but the horns made her face yet more terrifying. The horns and the...the eyes, oh god the eyes. Two holes where the eyes should have been, menacing with a pupil with a size of a fat cockroach. It was black and it stared right into mine. I stepped backwards. "WHAT ARE YOU?" I screamed. The creature leaped onto me, smiling. Pinning me to the floor, her head leaned to mine. "GET OFF ME FIEND!" I screamed as hard as I could. She leaned and pecked me. The aftermath almost made me vomit. I could see the flesh on my mortify and rot before my own eyes... because of the kiss. I woke up, screaming. top ^ Chapter 18 The loud, melancholic thumps of picks against stone echoed through the stone corridors. Miners worked on the walls, urging to get to the precisions diamonds. Many of them did not know why they needed exactly enough to be able to mine obsidian, but simply wanted to share the fame of the ones finding these rare stones. Thumping was joined by another sound, as heavy steel boots of the foreman boomed through the halls. Therion the foreman grinned, admiring all the work. Large shafts were heading to the core of the earth and great progress was made every hour. "Hello, Therion. I thought we would never meet." Therion heard someone scream through the racket. He turned to see his friend, Jack. "Jack! What are you doing here, old bastard?" Therion smiled, patting his friend's shoulder. "I was told to keep track of all the progress in here. Sort of like your own personal clerk" Jack answered, winking. "Alright! I just wanted to descend onto the one of the potential diamond sites. Follow me." Together, the two miners descended down a mined-out staircase leading downward. "The site that we are going to reach is about nine blocks from the down-most layer of bedrock" Therion said, snorting. As the two men finally reached the site, a huge lake of lava stretched in a front of their eyes. Three other miners already awaited them. "Hey! Found diamonds here?" Therion asked. "Aye. Right there, on the isle." One of the three pointed on a small stone platform. Therion and Jack both saw it. A small and glittering piece of a diamond, stuck to a side of a stone. For a moment they just stood there, tranquilized by the rock. "So...now that we've seen it, why don't you get to work?" Jack said, urging to hold the diamond in his own hands. The miners smiled and nodded. "We will make our way there, and you can stay and watch the first diamond of Shoresburry being recovered." One of them said. Therion agreed and the miners got to work. First, one of them carefully crouched next to the gap which cut the current isle from the one with the diamond. Then, he started putting blocks of cobblestone down, which stuck to the already existing block of stone, as if they were together once. Finally, as the small stone-bridge was made, the three miners leaped to the diamond vein in greed. Their iron picks smashed the stone which incased the gems. It cracked and soon fell apart. The miner cheered, holding a piece of a diamond in his hands. FLAAAAAAP. "What on earth...did you hear that, Jack?" Therion asked, alerted. "I..." FLP. A huge, cubed slime fell from the ceiling and onto the head of the miner holding the diamond. His neck crashed under the weight and so he, the slime, and the diamond fell down, burning in lava. top ^ Chapter 19 I was forcefully woken up again. Second time now. I heard heavy knocking. "Lord Spike? Are you there? Please, milord, open!" A voice was heard behind a door. I quietly grunted and stood up. Then, took a glance at sleeping Vera and smiled - she lay undisturbed even after all the knocking. Her black hair covered her body and she looked like a beautiful nymph. I finally opened the door. A young guard immediately began talking. "Milord! Grave news have arrived! The...the lower levels of the mine! They have found diamonds but the lower levels are overrun with slime-like creatures!" The boy literally yelped. Slimes...darn. I remembered encountering them at Goodswill mines. When we saw them we immediately blocked off any accesses to the part of the mines in which they hid. These critters form themselves at incredible speeds. First small, they grow to huge ones at a premium rate. They would overwhelm you, making you suffocate... But the worst of fates are to be torn limb-by-limb by these creatures. If any of your body touches them they will pull it until it snaps off. "Give me a second. I will be ready to go." I nodded to the guard and darted to the wardrobe. I put on my new set of chain and iron armor and grabbed the iron sword I took from the armory. I quickly put on my gear. "Where are the rest?" I asked, ready to face slimes. "I...milord, I just wanted to inform you that we are meeting in the meeting room in two hours!" Damn. ~~~~~ The faint torchlight barely illuminated the cave, but I could already see that there was a commotion here. Over-turned tables, smashed candles, lost picks and shovels lay around. Our small group of six proceeded. We came to what appeared to be a barricade. About eight miners stood alert, picks ready. One of them stood at the center and had a rather dirty face (much more dirty than other miners), a mess of a black hair which covered most of his face, and huge iron boots. Shreik stepped forward. "Therion, I presume?" "Aye, sir-rah. The slimes are wa-a-ay down there, but after we found them they came to the higher levels...shut it, Jack, the jabbering of your teeth is unbearable!" Therion spoke. "Right. We are going to go in. Keep the side door open, but close it if we say so. We are..." "Not so fast, sir-rah. I am in charge of this mine." Therion cut Shreik off, showing his curved dirty teeth and raising a gigantic steel pick. After a short preparation the door bolted open and we were free to charge. "Check your backs, watch out for the ones at the ceiling. If it sticks to you whatever you do don't move, try to kill the slime before it tears you apart." I said, before dashing in. I heard thumps as six others followed me. ~~~~~ I rolled under the hopping slime and crashed the smaller one with my boot. Spinning around I slashed the bigger one in half, splattering goo at my own face. "AAAGH!" I saw the slime attach to the face of one of the guards. I made a fast but an accurate slash, slashing it apart. The slime slided of the guard's face, and he started breathing deeply. I covered him, slicing another slime which fell from the ceiling. Therion and Shreik both fought with ferocity, chopping away at the disgusting blocks of goo. Both screamed foul language and made dirty jokes as they fought. I think they will be good friends. ~~~~~ I kicked the slime up. It was risky, as it attached to my boot, but it only made it easier to stab. I breathed heavily and rubbed my boot on the surface of the stone. "I think this is the last one... let's go check the corridors." top ^ Chapter 20 Today, to celebrate the eradication of the slimes, I took some excellent wine from the cellar at the Court, and shared it with some soldiers at the barracks. The reaction was hilarious - the lads were quite shocked to see Lord Constantine the Spike in flesh, present them six bottles of top-shelf drink. Soon, all of them were drunk, and I quietly snuck out of the barracks leaving the snoring battalion behind. I hope that the soldiers would be smart enough to not tell anything to Shreik - I would anger him if he finds out that I've been spoiling his dependants. Near evening I came back to the Court. I kept one of the bottles for a small romantic evening with Vera. When I came in, she had just finished putting on her leather armor set she went to buy at the morning. She saw me and smiled, opening her arms. I gave her a small hug. "Feeling fine today, milady?" I asked, taking off my cloak. She nodded, still keeping her smile. I fished into one of my pockets and delivered a wine bottle. I put it on a table and sat down. She followed me and soon we begun drinking. The cold wine was more sweet than bitter. It had a spicy feeling to it and drinking it once would make you feel an entire paradise of flavors in your mouth. I enjoyed the drink, and made a mental note to sneak more of these sleek bottles out. "How was it?" Vera broke the silence. "The slimes? We lost no-one. I instructed everyone how to act when it latches on to you." I said, smiling "We've got five diamonds. Five! Marquiz himself came down there, and instructed the miners to make him a sword. The other three stones became a pick, and now the mine's foreman wields it." Vera shifted her head to a side and fixed her gaze onto something. Her eyes shone in the humble light of a candelabra. "I wish I would be there..." she said, quietly. Her spirit was the same as it was before. There, with a shadow half-covering her face, her eyes shining like jewels, she was my goddess. I leaned over and kissed her. I took a breather and put my hand onto her cheek. "Vera...what do you think is going to happen after...this?" I asked. "I think... we can come back to the life we experienced at Goodswill. Scouting around, helping miners, fighting...but now accounted as a Lord and Lady." She answered. I stroked her hair. "I thought of the same thing..." ~~~~~ The barrel stuffed with sulfur rolled along the dunes, and into a small wooden entrance. The portal gleamed towards it, trying to eat it up. It did not, as a flaming wooden stick crushed down on to the barrel. An explosion rocked through the mine. top ^ Chapter 21 We were on the run. Way to start off the morning. Today I have been awakened by that young lad again. Apparently, something happened in the mines overnight. The portal was already prepared and placed into a special room, and it was attacked. An explosion was heard, and half of the mine ended up being caved-in because the sandstone was knocked down by the said explosion. The miners which did survive were stuck near the very entrance of the mines, and quickly delivered news to the city. Bivar made an order for a squad of twenty guards and twenty beige cloaks to go to the second entrance of the mines (which was the one attacked) and deal with the unknown attackers. Vera and I convinced Marquiz to allow us to come, mainly because of our skills in both archery and swordplay. After this operation is done, we are suppose to help miners clean up the rubble which blocked off the major part of the mine and rescue survivors, before repairing the portal and preparing to enter. Right now, however, we've been thinking who awaits us, over the dunes, in the sand... ~~~~~ We've ran for an hour, and I heard the leader of our party (I did not learn his name) tell us to start walking to conserve our strength. We kept an organized formation known as the "phalanx" with guards at the front and beiges behind them. I and Vera had some chain mail armor on, and we marched with our bows in the cases on our backs and swords in our hands. My body felt good in this equipment and I was barely tired from all the running. "Everyone, be on your guard! We shall arrive at the entrance in about twenty minutes!" I heard the leader's voice again. ~~~~~ "Do you see any of them?" Someone whispered. We lay down on the sand dune, overlooking the second entrance to the mine. The small wooden arch was on fire but there weren't anyone around. Only a miner's dead body was seen, and a couple of blood splatters. "No...damn, I've been expecting kobolds, undead, bandits..." I heard someone else reply. "Maybe the bastards left?" Suddenly, I saw movement at the edge of my sight. I fixed the gaze on the object - the body. Now, I saw it clearly - the man nudged his shoulder. "Heh, I always though kobolds eat dead bodi--" "Shut up" I cut the guard of "I think he is alive." Everyone immediately looked at the body, listening and watching. "Ughh.... Ah..." A loud, painful moan came from the miner. "Damn...this might be a trap. Lads, advance! Beiges, stay at the dune and cover us!" The leader yelped. We slowly descended. We sprinted towards the entrance, un-sheathing our swords. "H..gh...ugh..." We could see the miner perfectly. A dirty green tunic, torn. Grey, ragged pantaloons. His chest bore a long cut, and his face was covered with bloody hair. He appeared to be...sitting on something. "This looks like a trap..." Vera whispered into my ear. I answered her with a nod. Our leader made several steps towards the wounded miner and turned around. "Alright, lads. Carefully, after me. If you see anything fishy, tell me." He ordered. He proceeded to walk towards the miner. We followed him. "Dou...n..no...don't...dooon't" Miner moaned, waving his head. I saw our leader about to jump back, and the others try to duck in case things go bad, but I also saw something under the miner. A small red lump of powder, which can only be... "REDSTONE!!!! RUN!!!" Suddenly, the redstone lit up. BBAAAMMM!!!! The miner exploded, and so did the ground under him. The sand under our feet started falling down, into a giant sink-hole. I struggled for my balance as the ground shifted, failing and falling down, hitting my head hard against the sandstone. I blacked out. top ^ Chapter 22 Darkness swirled in my mind. My head pulsated with pain, and I felt as if my skull was cracked. Slowly, I heard something, spoken strangely, as if it was coming from a dream... "Grubzzz, yik ne trisss! Yik tre dezzz jzzz kin! (Boss! You lucky bastard! You are more adapted to these things!)" "Griz. Hur iy jivers. (Yes. Way stronger.)" "Ughhhh... yik dai gura nisss? (Ugh... you will get to her now?) "Har! Nakz, yiy lon det jivers. (Hah! No, I like them strong.) I heard the strange voices, but could not understand the language nor understand the situation. My head was swimming and my vision still did not clear. After a couple of minutes, a beam of light seemed to shine into my eyes. The blackness was gone, but my vision was blurred. I shook my head, clearing it. I found myself in the middle of some sort of a camp. A campfire was in a front of me, and a chest, a workbench, and several stacks of something which looked like TNT were inside small tool sheds scattered around. I looked around with my head and saw my captors - kobolds. These red devils were walking around, some conversing, some laughing and playing games of sorts. The past events came clear to me now, and I decided that I was taken possession of while knocked out, and brought here. An intense feeling of something missing overcame me. Vera... "Mfirgh!" I let out a muffled sound. I realized there was a piece of an oiled cloth in my mouth. Damn these bastards... Suddenly, I heard a sound similar to mine. I turned my head to the right and saw Vera. She was also tied with her hands behind her back with iron shackles. I tried to smile at her, but only gagged at the piece of cloth in my mouth. "Mhm! Mfere!" Vera tried to say, nodding her head at her right. I looked there, and saw...it. An obsidian gate. Not just any, but the first one I've ever seen. It came clear now - we are sitting inside a big crater, that tool shed is on a small hill where Lloyd was attacked... These kobolds took us all the way to their base, carrying us all the way through the desert. Several days probably pass, maybe a week... what happened to Shoresburry? Did the dead-line already pass and the Wraith destroyed the whole city? My thinking was interrupted as I saw two kobolds carry another prisoner. I remember him - a short man, with a dirty face and rough hair - it was the mine's foreman, Therion. He was dragged with his back facing the stone of the cliff overlooking the gate. Then, another kobold approached him, a different one. He was almost as tall as a human and had a similar constitution. His skin was also more pinkish and his horns were much smaller compared to the ones of the other kobolds. He bore a full set of leather armor and looked like a wicked, menacing cross between a human and a kobold. The tall kobold drew a rather long iron sword and pointed it at Therion's throat. "We've asked you this before. Last time you did not answer, and we've beaten you. The next time we asked you, we killed your friend. Now, I can cut your throat. Will you answer now?" I was astounded by the kobold's manner of speech. He lacked the whistling, high-pitched, yelping voice, and instead possessed clear, deep and human-like voice. Therion's face seemed to change into a hateful, burning expression. "You, goddamned bastard. You killed Jack. I am not going to betray my kin to the monstrosity such as you." Therion spoke, hate dancing in his voice. "Very well." The tall kobold said, striking forward with his blade. It pierced Therion's neck. The muffled wail of pain started and ended, abruptly. I felt rage overcome me. The feelings of loss from Goodswill came again. Vera was here, next to me, but the others would never come back... they were slaughtered and killed by these animals. Lloyd, Brom, Derek... Angela, Joe, Elizabeth! I clutched my fists and sunk my teeth deep into the cloth which blocked my mouth. The kobold threw the bloodied sword at Therion's dead body and barked an order in the kobold's damned language. Then, he looked at us. Looking at Vera he smiled and came near. I clutched my fists even harder. I feel that they are bleeding. "You're up, sleeping beauty." The bastard said, chuckling, reaching for Vera. He did not. Vera jumped to her feet and sprung her leg up, striking at the tall kobold's head. He wailed and stepped backwards. I stood up and stepped forward, head-butting the tall kobold. He fell down on his back. Two more kobolds jumped at us. One of them yelled and slashed at me with his short sword. Suddenly, within seconds, I spun around taking the hit on the iron shackles. The chain in the middle cracked, but it was not enough. I let out a low wail and moved my hands to the sides as much as I could, ripping the iron chain to pieces with my arms. The kobolds looked at me with fear. I clacked my teeth and sunk them in the cloth again. Then, I gulped, trying my best to keep the gag reflex away. I succeeded and swallowed the tight cloth. "Payback, you bloody animals" I said, lunging forward to the nearest kobold. I grabbed him by shoulders, wrapping the chain from the shackles around his neck. I pulled the chain sideways and heard the kobold's arteries crack. I continued until his head was almost severed. I felt joy in the horrible sound of ripping skin... The other kobold stood, paralyzed with fear. I was guided by hate and rage, and so I tackled him, bringing both of my fists down on his face. I did this again and again, until the blood and his eye-jelly were inside my mouth, and his face was almost completely caved in. I stood up and spat at his corpse, looking around. I saw about fifteen kobolds surrounding us. I quickly grabbed the sword from the ground and plunged it into the tall kobold who begun to stand up, then darted to Vera, cutting her chains. She nodded at me and grabbed another sword. The kobolds charged. I swept the feet of one of the kobolds, then blocked the other-one's attack and counter-striked immediately, stabbing my blade between his ribs. I kicked him away like a yelping dog and turned around. For Derek... I though, as I bit off the kobold's finger and dodged another blow. For Brom... I though as my mighty slash severed a kobold in half, letting a wave of organs and chopped entrails shower me. For...Joe... I though as I stuck my middle and my index fingers into the kobold's eyes, crushing them into jelly. I parried a blow and saw Vera swirl inside a hurricane of steel, cutting through enemies down like a knife through butter. I somersaulted backwards, severing someone's head while in the air, and landed beside Vera. As by the instinct we stood back-to-back, preparing to take yet more of the kobolds. Her back felt good against mine. We looked at the only kobolds left - six of them. Without a doubt we charged, feeling better with each yelp, agonizing wail, and scream heard. As I detached the last kobold from all of his limbs I whipped my face and looked at Vera. She shared the gaze, tired but at the same time...refreshed? We quickly kissed and we walked towards the gate. "Well... what is it to do now?" Vera said. "Wait... if we light the portal right now, kobolds will not be able to come through because it will not be activated by their magic!" "Good idea...what can we use to--" Suddenly, I felt something grab me from behind. I spun around, throwing it on the ground. "Damnit..." The hills were red with kobolds. They tried to mount us and stab us, weighting us down. I felt like a giant being overpowered by a bunch of midgets... I tried my best to dodge and dash away, but felt as the last of my strength begun to leave me. Desperately, I ran towards the stack of TNT, picking it up and immediately throwing it. The loud explosion sent body parts flying, as something flashed, blinding everyone.... The portal. The purple, swirling field appeared inside the obsidian frame. I ran to the portal, grabbing Vera's hand. It was our only chance. As we were three blocks away from it, another explosion issued, knocking us through the portal. My vision swirled and pain filled my mind... ~~~~~ As I opened my eyes, red, bloodstained rock was everywhere. Somewhere a lava stream shone, and a smell of blood and ashes filled the air. Vera held my hand. "Vera... I think we are in the...Nether." top ^ Chapter 23 I groaned and tried to stand up. My legs moved fine, but my back was crushed against the red stone. Vera pulled my hand and I stood up, reaching for my back. A small cut was made because of a sharp edge of a rock. I felt sharp pain, but nothing too serious. "Well, we made quite an entry...by flying head first." Vera said and I chuckled. I flexed a little and took a look around. A large, ominous cave surrounded us. Solid, demonic rocks covered with red, blood-like moss encased us. The cave was quite dark but yet not completely, as a huge sea of lava stretched before us and pieces of glowing, chunky stone were growing out of the ceiling. I could see patches of some grey, lifeless dirt surrounding earthly brown mushrooms. "Netherack is the name of the bloody-looking stone. It's relatively easy to break. The glowstone on the ceiling provides illumination, and doesn't do much else; breaks like glass. Lastly, the soulsand. I don't know why the explorers call it that, but it appears to slow you down dramatically." Vera commented on each type of the blocks. "Alright... I guess now we can try to understand the surroundings and...what will we do later? We cannot defeat the demons with the things we have now." "Well, according to the explorers, if you walk one block in nether it's like walking eight on our homeworld...thus, we might be able to find the soldiers Shoresburry sent...if they are still alive." Vera suggested. Suddenly, I thought about Gabriel. What happened to my brother? I hope that Shoresburry is still standing. "Alright I...I agree. Let's go, I think that there is a way here." I said, pointing at a small, winding tunnel. We entered it and soon we were walking. The red walls made me feel uncomfortable-they pushed on me and brought feelings of nausea and claustrophobia. "How...strange. Usually the caves are not linked like that...besides, where are the 'inhabitants'?" Vera said, thoughtfully. After we finally left the tunnel, another cave, similar to the one before opened to us. We found ourselves on an island connected to another one, a broader one. Our island, however, was not at all as interesting as what was located on the other one. A small cobblestone fort stood strong right in a front of us. We faced it's back, but could hear an enormous cacophony of sounds of struggle and squealing. "Well, I think we just found our friends... and the inhabitants." I said, winking. As we walked around the fort we took a good look at it. The cobblestone was almost un-damaged and a big tower with small, accurate windows spiraled to the top of the cavern. As we rounded the fort, we finally saw what was happening: The front of the fort had small, convenient slits for arrows and pikes. Ends of crossbows and bows as well as of sword were seen through the slits, striking at the invading force. The invading force itself was, in fact, three dozen of undead pigman, wielding golden swords and small slings. They charged at the gates, screaming, but were cut down before they did anything to the fort. Pigman...I remember reading about them. They were old creatures, long gone. Some said they were wise and powerful, but some said they were barbaric and had a brain of a Neanderthal. Overall, not much was known about them, except the fact that they ended up extinct millions of years ago. As we arrived at the gates there were only three pigman left. Suddenly, the gates sprung open, and someone stepped away from the fort. Marquiz Bivare drew his sword arm. "GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM, FIENDS!!!" He slashed, and two pigman lost their torsos. Then, he raised a heavy battle crossbow he carried in his right arm and shot. The big bolt, almost as long as my entire arm, thundered through the air and struck pigman into his blocky head. The upper chunk of his forehead was torn off, and the zombie pigman fell flat on his back. "Nice shot, sire!" I exclaimed, running up to Marquiz. A smile of both disbelieve and joy rested on his face. He gave me a friendly hug, welcoming me. Now we can form some force. top ^ Chapter 24 Marquiz filled us in with a great amount of information. It turns out that after we were declared missing Bivare still gathered the squad of men and entered the Nether. As they got in they immediately got attacked by the ferocious zombie pigmen, (Vera commented that people never saw pigmen attack first) and were forced to create some temporary cover. They were also attacked by the ghasts themselves - giant, floating heads spitting fireballs. Things were not too bad, but they were quite bad. Shreik was killed during one of the attacks (fortunately, he was the only commander besides Bivar who was present, due to his skill with the blade), and the portal ended up being half-submerged in lava. So far our only lead was to follow a long, unnatural tunnel paneled with glowstone. It looked like the route that the kobolds took to get away from their angered deities. Right now I was told to get some sleep, and as soon as we would wake up, our party would go - there is only 3 days left until the Wraith runs out of patience. Vera already went to a small tower connected to the fort for some sleep, but I stayed to share news. It was time to go. I opened a door leading down a small corridor and felt something wrap around my wrist. Before I could do anything someone pulled me into a small storage room. I twisted my head and saw someone I less expected to see - Katrin stood in a front of me, grabbing my wrist. She had a smile on her face and she was dressed quite simply. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked, forgetting about the thrice-damned etiquette. "Why such aggression? I came here for you, Spike" She said, with her classy smile and a wink. This was getting beyond ridiculous. I tried to pull my hand away, but something sunk into my skin. I looked down with horror and realized that her fingers did not end with nails - sharp claws were close to my skin. "Ahh, I simply sneaked into the portal and..." "Katrin, the portal is filled with lava, and you have...claws." I cut her off. Suddenly, her face seemed to change. Her pupils blackened and her skin slowly changed until it became a dark shade of purple. I pulled my hand with terror, but I was held with amazing force. Soon, I was bound to watch three huge horns grow on a top of her head. The only thing that connected her to Katrin now was her beautiful and energetic hair. "What are you?!?" I asked, as my eyes were fixed on her impossibly black pupils. "Hmm, why, I was here before you. Corrupted and dirty, I was...recruited by my true Lords - the ghasts. They do not want you here, Spike. Others - yes, but not you. You are...special. You came through a lot, and a great sense of redemption guides you through much, much more than a simple man can handle. It was my job as a demonic seductress to handle you...after all, that's what I do best..." She said, chuckling and looking straight at me. "Don't bother screaming - all the drinks they shared are drugged...now, how about a kiss, dear?" Her face neared mine, and I kicked away, screaming. Her grip loosened as I kicked her again, sending her tumbling backwards to the opposite end of the room. I darted to the heavy door. I unbolted it's lock and ran down the corridor. ~~~~~ I was stuck. I made a wrong turn, and instead of getting to the tower got into another one of these storage rooms. I saw Katrin appear in a front of me with a lightning speed, and corner me. "I do not have to spare the others to kill you" She said, grinning. Her claw stroke against the wooden interior of the wall, and it was set aflame. Fire was everywhere in the room. The interior was to create a cozy, comforting atmosphere inside of the fort behind the stone walls... instead, it was sabotaged by a demon. I decided to take immediate action. I ran right towards Katrin, tackling her. She grabbed my foot while I was running out of the room, but I slammed the door on her hand, hard. I continued running and saw the fire slowly make it's way throughout the fort... I ran past the snoring soldiers, grabbing a short broadsword from a weapon's rack, while punching the button and running outside. I was right outside the fort. I heard no pigman and no ghasts. I ran towards lava and stood on the edge of the small pool. I had a plan. Suddenly, I heard a metallic "crack" as the gate opened behind me. I did not look at the direction of the fort - instead I closed my eyes, concentrating on sound... A thumping against stone... She is running. Closer, closer... She is right behind me. I somersaulted backwards, and over Katrin. I drew the sword into her unprotected back and heard a disgusting, ripping sound of flesh. Black blood splattered against once red rock. "eeeeeeeeeeeeeee" Katrin let out a low wail. I grabbed the sword and whispered: "I am sorry." I kicked, sending Katrin's body into the lava. As she burned, I saw her once horrifying body become normal... ~~~~~ I got some men out of the fort. The drug was working quite differently for different people. Sadly, most of them never woke up... We gathered all equipment we could before leaving the ruined fort. Seven guards, Vera, Marquiz and I escaped and now headed down the mysterious tunnel. Everyone was silent. I did not tell Marquiz about his niece, and everyone thought it was an accident. An unfortunate, grave accident which just dramatically lowered our chances to save Shoresburry. The guards looked especially exhausted and shocked - dozens of their comrades burned in their sleep, and the stench of burning flesh inside the fort was impossible to handle. With this many men left we simply couldn't defeat the ghasts... the only way back is the portal we used to get here, but I and Vera rather die trying to save our friends and families inside Shoresburry than to be slaughtered by kobolds. Family... Gabriel and Vera is my only family. I brought my mind to concentrate. It was time to face the...end? We reached the end of the tunnel. top ^ Chapter 25 The glowstone cracked slightly as we stepped on it. It's shine seemed artificial and not welcoming, as nothing looked good in our current situation. The end of the tunnel was right in a front of us, daring to enter. Everyone stopped and looked at each other. We did not share words, but traded grim looks dampened with sadness. Our eyes were filled with despair, and the painful memory of Goodswill came to me. Marquiz was the first one to break the pose, as he looked at the end of the tunnel and begun to open his mouth. He wanted to say something, but instead he just drew his blade. This was our signal. We were ready to enter the belly of the beast. We ran forward, our weapons in a front of us... just to be amazed by the gigantic size of the cave that we were in. This "cave" was huge. It was partially gloomed with shadows, and partly shining because of the lava dripping from the ceiling above. I don't think that the human mind can ever grasp the scale of this place...it was bigger than anything I have ever seen. "Katrin was good, while she lasted" It was that sound...that voice. It was a mixture of screeching metals, screams of suffering, punctured flesh; the voice was darkened even more by the cave's atmosphere. However, what sounded like a cacophony of wails and sounds was spoken clearly. All of us seemed to shake our heads chaotically, trying to locate one who possessed such voice. And we found IT. It was floating, suspended in mid-air, near the ground. The creature was so big (although it seemed like an infant compared to the cave) I wondered why I didn't see it the first time I looked. It was hideous, and struck horror into me with its appearance. It's maggot-white flesh was shaped into a child's head, which gave it an infinitely disturbing appearance. About a dozen long tentacles swung from the bottom of the floating, blocky face. It's nose looked like it was caved into its own face, and its eyes were open slightly, revealing wrecked pupils. I have finally met one of the Ghasts. Above the ghast there was a tiny platform, formed out of the wall of this hellish cave. Tentacles erupted from the walls near the platform, and seemed to tear apart someone standing on it. As I looked more, I saw the horror - a single kobold was half-embedded into a wall, with his arms to the sides. The tentacles which grew out of the wall pierced him, tearing apart his chest. The kobold seemed to struggle and scream, but he was alive...who was he, and what was he here for? Why did he have to eternally suffer? "So, you. Joe's little Deus Ex Machina sent to do an act of vengeance. You think you are a champion, a winner, if you came here, but no; you are a fool. You simply cannot understand the importance of this place to the whole Nether." The ghast spoke, in the same tone as before. Anger sounded in his voice, but the anger was controlled. I felt a stiff lump in my throat. I heard heavy breathing coming from Bivar beside me. "I am a god, the most powerful of the ghasts... and who are you? Spike...your name is Spi-i-ike..." the ghast said, teasing me "followed a blind suggestion of a crazy old man and decided to name yourself after an accident? Humans are ignorant, pathetic insects that never care about the ones more powerful than them...us. We are immortal...you are weak...and yet you think you deserve to live? And yet...one such as you can be so dangerous, after falling to the...lesser emotions...hatred, lust, love...this why I did not want you in this place. I did not want it to become the object of your destruction...Humans...you are only good for cattle." "Your...hate burns stronger than my does, I see." I said, nodding at the tortured kobold. The ghast's impression seemed to change. The corners of its mouth curved into an expression of bliss. The bastard looked...happy. "We simply show our place in this world by putting the likes of you in your place. As useless cattle, our power should feed upon your suffering. Allow me to introduce you to Raziekiel." The ghast answered. Raziekiel... I knew the name. I started remembering - it was the name of the kobold that revolved...who caused the ghasts to exile kobolds. The ghasts must've kept him alive and suffering through all of this time. "I suppose that now you can understand why this place is so important - it's Raziekiel's home...and the heart of the nether. You see, we need power and energy to exist. Kobolds provided an excellent source, but they had to be rid of...thus, my kin invested much of our power into keeping this one immortal, so we could get an infinite supply of energy in return. He deserved it, just as all of others do; however, this also made this place quite crucial. You see, all the magic we used to keep him alive...all of his hate towards us...it is still inside him. Remember the last words that the Wraith has spoken to you? 'Remember the things that were said today'? Well, he meant it; as he said, hate IS a strong, although a lesser emotion. Raziekiel has plenty of it; so plenty, if it is released, it will destroy this place...it will destroy the Nether." The ghast said, opening his mouth wider with each time. "Do you now see why I wanted to keep you away from this place? Do you see why I did not want someone as dangerous yet as stupid as you here? Well, know one thing - I will kill you if you try to destroy Raziekiel. Even if I don't... the exodus of our power will destroy you along with this place." This was the ideal opportunity...the way to end this all. Marquiz didn't say anything; he simply looked at the ghast and listened. Everyone else did the same. Looks like I had to say something. "Now, you listen to me. Whatever your call "lesser" is something you can never have, and never understand. However, I will tell you this: everyone who I lived with for the recent years were slaughtered because of you. The one who is the most precious to me was almost lost forever. I learned to live with it...yet when I see you as an icon of all evils that happened to me I...I summon the long forgotten rage back. Now, you care about this goddamn place. But I don't. You call me foolish because I have the ability to destroy it...you also call yourself immortal and think that everything that humans do is useless...well, I will tell you something. MY hate is MY power; an INSTINCT of SURVIVAL built into us. YOU CAN CALL YOURSELF IMMORTAL! YOU CAN CALL YOURSELF A GOD! BUT IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN KILL THE ONES WHO SURROUND ME AND PUT MANY MORE LIVES AT STAKES, I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU AND PROTECT THE ONES I TRULY LOVE, YOU DEMONIC SON OF A WHORE!!!" I screamed on a top of my lungs. This putted an end to the talking. Marquiz raised his hand signaling us, and charged. All of us did. The ghast's mouth opened wide, revealing a fiery jaw. It spewed a huge ball of fire at us, which blew three guards to pieces. The survivors just ran... I jumped over a small lava lake. There were about thirty blocks between the ghast and us... Suddenly, ghast's tentacle extended and pierced through another guard. The others continued to run, yelling out war cries to cheer our last effort to end this struggle. Finally, we neared the ghast. He was just 5 blocks in a front of me. I raised my sword, about to strike... A huge tentacle whipped at me, sending me and nearly everyone else flying. I was in the air and braced myself for impact, gazing at the nearest lava lake with horror... My body hit hard against the stone, as I rolled. I stretched my arms desperately, sliding and stopping a mere block away from the lake of lava. My sword was gone, and I heard the guards scream as they burned in the distance. Suddenly, something landed near me with a thump. It was Marquiz - sprawled on the ground, lifeless. I crawled towards him and felt his pulse - none, or very low...hard to tell, but did it really matter? Unconscious he wouldn't survive. My hand slipped across his face and over his eyes, closing them. I lowered my head, letting out a single tear. He was a great man... I will NOT make his life be wasted. I took the diamond sword that he still clutched in his hands, and stood up, looking at the ghast. Vera was laying in a front of him on the ground, and ghast whipped at her. Vera rolled and dodged the first blow; however another one sent her flying into a wall. I charged, fueled with rage. The ghast saw me and extended four of his tentacles to meet me. I dashed through them, chopping them with my blade. They sprayed disgusting, black blood, which shattered against the cracked netherrack. Finally, I stood right in a front of the ghast. He floated right under the platform to Raziekiel - it was my chance. I jumped, sinking my blade into the ghast's flesh. The sword was stuck and I pulled up with both of my arms, both cutting and climbing the ghast. It wailed with anguish and tried to swat me with one of its tentaces. I took the hit on the shoulder, losing my balance, and my hands begun to slip of the handle. I reached out, desperately, and caught onto the ghast's eyelid. It screamed again as I crushed his eye and used his empty socked as a climbing step. I pulled up and rolled onto the top of the ghast. It twitched in agony, and started falling down on the ground. The ghast shook, but I leaped towards the Raziekiel's platform. This is the time for my vengeance... I turned around, overlooking the wrecked ghast. In the corner of my eyes I could see Vera begin to stand up. Finally, I turned around, facing the kobold. Whatever was left of his face looked up and muttered "heeellppp...meeeee". I raised my fist and breathed in. Here, so close to my target, I felt poetic. "This is the end..." I muttered "FINITA!!!" I crushed the kobold's head, just as I did once before... Then... A flash... ~~~~~ I was flying. The adrenaline that pumped through my veins seemed to slow everything down, and that strange state was very...harmonic. I was flying through the Nether, as it crumbled before me. Corpses, broken blocks, bits of weapons flew past me... this really did destroy the nether. What is going to happen to me? Where will I end up flying to? I know not, but if I truly saved my world from being overrun by kobolds, the undead, and ghasts, my death was worth it... I was flying... as the cave collapsed. ~~~~~ Bright, purple flash...purple? Another shadow near me sped by, sharing my path... I was lying on the grass, as the birds tweeted above me. The broken obsidian gate lay in ruins right in a front of me... I saw someone in the corner of my vision... Vera.
Lolz fan fiction on pimd is for pimd not minecraft which it why I placed it on off-topic and I only posted it to share it coz it was a good story on my opinion.