The New Order, page 10
Through the door stepped someone Stan had not seen for a long time. Stan’s eyes widened in surprise before his face broke into a wide grin at the sight of Oob, the NPC villager, walking through the doorframe. His brown robes were more worn and torn up than Stan had remembered, but the huge smile on his giant-nosed face was unmistakable.
“Oob!” cried Stan. Kat burst up off the bed, ecstatic, to give him a hug.
“It’s good to see ya, buddy!” Stan grinned as he threw his arms around Oob as well, causing the villager to tumble back awkwardly a few steps.
“It is good to see you as well, my friends,” replied Oob jovially, struggling to keep his balance. “Now, will you please do a favor for me and let go of me? I am happy to see you but if you do not let go of me then I will fall over and get Charlie’s present all dirty.”
“Aw, Oob old pal! You got a present for me?” asked Charlie, smiling as he sat upright in his bed, looking happier than Stan had seen him in a long time.
“Yes, I have a present for you,” said Oob as Kat and Stan released him. “I did hear from a traveling player that you, Charlie, had been wounded while fighting the bad men who tried to make me dead during the battle at the big castle. So I decided that I would come from the village with a gift to make you feel not bad anymore.”
Stan couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle. Just hearing Oob’s slow yet sincere speech pattern was enough to brighten his day.
“Thanks, Oob! You’re the best!” replied Charlie. He looked thrilled. “So whadja get me?”
“Behold!” said Oob, plunging his hands into his brown robe and pulling out something pink. Stan examined it more closely and saw that it was a raw pork chop that appeared to be oozing a little bit of blood. Oob’s face was glowing with pride at the humble piece of meat, and Charlie gladly humored him.
“Thanks, Oob!” said Charlie, with an amused look. “Where did you get this?”
“Well, it is a funny story, actually,” said Oob, creasing his brow as he thought. “I had originally decided that I would bring two carrots from my village to give to Charlie. I took the carrots and immediately began to walk along the railroad tracks toward the city. As I walked through the big trees that have the yellow cats living in them . . .”
“The jungle,” interjected Kat, her face just as sincerely happy as Stan’s and Charlie’s.
“Thank you,” Oob replied with a smile. “As I walked through the jungle, a pig began to walk behind me. It was a very cute pig, and so I let it follow me. Then, I sat down under a big tree to rest, and when I put my two carrots that were to be a present to Charlie on the ground, Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink . . .”
“Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink?” asked Stan with a grin as Charlie laughed.
“Yes, that is the name of the cute pig that was following me,” said Oob in an almost exasperated tone, as if this should have been obvious as day. “Anyway, Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink put both of the carrots into his mouth and ate them! I was very mad at Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink for doing that, and so I hit him with my hand. This must have made Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink scared, because he ran away from me and right off the side of a cliff.
“I looked down over the cliff, and at the bottom, I saw this!” replied Oob, holding up the pork chop with a smile. “But I did not see Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink anywhere. I was very confused, but then I figured out what must have happened. Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink was embarrassed that he had eaten my carrots, and so, after he ran off the cliff, he left this . . . thing”—he gestured with the pork chop again—“to say that he was sorry, and ran away. I don’t think that Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink was very polite for not saying sorry. But it is okay, because now I have a new present to give to Charlie!
“And now, Charlie,” said Oob, his chest swelling with pride, “I give you, the gift from Mr. Piggy-Oink-Oink!” Oob held the raw pork chop out and dropped it into Charlie’s outstretched hand, an expectant smile on his face.
“Thanks, Oob! This is a fantastic gift!” said Charlie, biting his lower lip to hold in the laughter. Oob beamed.
“Do you think we should tell him?” Kat asked Stan under her breath, a smirk on her face.
“Don’t you dare!” replied Stan, giving Kat a lighthearted punch in the shoulder.
“So, Oob,” said Charlie, storing the oozing pork chop in his inventory, “how’s stuff in the village going?”
“Life in the village has been quite well,” replied Oob, kneeling down to pet Rex, who had been circling Oob’s feet since his arrival, almost as interested in the villager as in the piece of meat he had been holding. “Ever since the almighty Notch bestowed our Iron Golem, Plat, upon us, life in our village has been very safe. As long as the villagers retreat to our dwellings at nightfall, Plat will battle the evil mobs all throughout the night.”
And with that, Oob’s eyes slid out of focus, and he began to wander around the room in a confused manner, as if unsure how he had gotten there in the first place. Charlie chuckled.
“I’m glad to hear that, Oob,” said Stan, standing up and turning Oob around to face them again. “So your family’s doing okay?” he continued, prompting the refocused villager along.
“Oh, my family is very happy indeed,” replied Oob with a smile. “My father, Blerge, and my mother, Mella, were very happy when I returned to the village after I had taken part in the large fight at the big castle. In the village, my family and I are seen as heroes because we helped you players. My younger brother wishes to be like me one day.”
“Ah yes, your younger brother!” exclaimed Charlie as he pulled a watermelon slice out of his inventory to eat. “How’s he doing, what’s he been up to? Does he know the story of how he saved your village just by being born?”
While Stan, Kat, and Charlie traveled across Elementia on their campaign against King Kev, they had been in Oob’s village for the birth of his younger brother, Stull. In fact, it was Stull’s birth that had made the village population large enough for Plat the Iron Golem to spawn and help the players defend the village from a siege of hostile mobs.
“My younger brother, Stull, is doing very well. He does, indeed, know that his birth was the reason that the almighty Notch bestowed Plat the Iron Golem upon us. This fact makes our family even more famous in the village. Stull does not like the attention. He much prefers to play with Plat, and with his friend Sequi, the daughter of Ohsow, the village butcher. In fact, the two of them are going to be married when they are old enough.”
“Wait, what?” spat out Kat, caught off guard. Stan’s eyes widened in surprise, and Charlie gagged on his watermelon.
“I said, my younger brother, Stull, is going to be married to the butcher’s daughter Sequi,” said Oob, again sounding as if this were obvious fact, before proceeding to slip out of focus and wandering around the room again.
Once they had wrangled a very confused Oob back over to the conversation, Stan asked, “How does that work, Oob?”
“It is simply the way that we NPC villagers discover our mates,” replied Oob. “If a boy and girl are best friends as children, then they are to be married when they are old enough. Is this different from the way that players mate?”
Kat gave a dark chuckle. “Trust me, bub, it’s not nearly as simple as that.” Oob nodded, a disinterested look on his face.
“So wait a second,” said Charlie, something dawning on him. “Does that mean that you’re arranged to be married to someone in the village too, Oob?”
Stan’s ears perked up. “Yeah, were you ever good friends with a girl villager growing up?”
“I never was,” replied Oob, no discernible emotions in his voice. “You must understand, players, that I was the last child that was born before the Sacred One left our village to protect us from the bad players. After the Sacred One left, there was a time of Great Sadness in our village, during which no children were born. The Great Sadness lasted until you players arrived and killed the Spider Jockey. During the Great Sadness, the only child born was Sequi. She was born not too long before you players arrived, so she was far too young to be my wife.”
The three players looked at one another uncomfortably. They hadn’t realized just how bad life for the villagers had been before they arrived. The Great Sadness must have been unspeakably terrible, if they had stopped having children during it. Nobody was entirely sure what to say to Oob, who was looking around at all their faces.
“You look sorry for me, players,” said Oob. They all stared at him. He was rarely able to read players’ emotions accurately. “Do not be sorry for me, players. Personally, I have never been very interested in having a wife and starting a family. I was never sure what I wanted to do with my life until I met you players. Then I knew I wanted to help you protect other players and other villagers.
“And besides, ever since you good players have controlled the world, the Great Sadness has been over. New players travel through our village all the time. We have been able to trade with them, and all the members of my village are happy again. They have begun to have children once more. Our village is happier than we have been in a very long time, now that you good players are in control. We are more safe, too. In fact, there are now some players who have come to the village for the sole purpose of protecting us!”
“Those are members of the Elementia army, Oob,” replied Stan. It was true. After the Noctem Alliance had attacked Elementia during the Elementia Day festival, Stan had determined that it would be wise to give the NPC village a little extra protection. He had sent out three of his men to protect the village from any Noctem Alliance troops who should cross paths with them.
Oob’s eyes widened. “Is that true? You have used your own resources to keep my people safe? Thank you very much, my good friend Stan!” Oob exclaimed with a huge grin.
Stan was touched, and he, not for the first time, allowed himself a moment to congratulate himself for the job he and his friends had done here in Elementia. They had managed to touch the lives of the villagers, far away from Element City. It seemed, though, that Oob had finished talking, and there was one thing Oob had neglected to mention that Stan knew he had to discuss with the villager.
“Well, I’m glad that you and your people are happy, Oob,” replied Stan, giving the villager yet another warm smile before his face became serious. “But there is something I need to ask you. You say that players pass through your village all the time now. Have you ever heard of a group called the Noctem Alliance?”
Stan saw Kat and Charlie flinch out of the corner of his eye. They, too, knew that it was necessary to discuss the Alliance with Oob, but it was still painful to talk about something like that in the midst of all his joy.
Oob’s unibrow creased on his forehead, and his giant nose scrunched up a little bit. “The Noctem Alliance? I have never heard of anything called the Noctem Alliance. What is it?”
He took a deep breath, and thought for a moment about how to explain the situation to Oob without revealing to him the very real possibility that another great war was on the horizon. He opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, the door to the infirmary flew open with a bang. The three players and villager looked up with a start to see Ben, completely out of breath, sweat running through his sleek black hair. Rex barked at his sudden entrance.
“Stan . . . I came as . . . as soon as I could,” he panted, bending over and out of breath. “I have . . . new report for you . . . couldn’t believe it . . .”
“What happened, Ben?” Stan asked, his stomach already tightening. Surely the Noctem Alliance couldn’t have counterattacked already!
“We just . . . got a messenger from the Noctem Alliance,” replied Ben, standing up straight as he regained his breath. His face showed alarm and confusion. “He came here under a white flag, and he delivered a message to the police to give to you, Stan.”
Stan was floored. The Noctem Alliance had sent a message out to them?
“And . . . what was the message?” Stan asked. The tension in his voice was palpable. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. Kat and Charlie looked equally panicked. Oob looked around, terrified and perplexed at what was happening.
Ben took a deep breath. “I’d think you’d better hear it yourself.” And with that, he pulled the door open. In marched five players. Four of them were in Elementia police uniforms, holding out diamond swords pointed at the one player standing between them. This player was dressed in a dusk-gray jumpsuit with a black sash and a wrapping concealing his face.
“Give President Stan your message,” Ben ordered gravely.
From behind his face wrap, the player spoke. He had an unexpectedly oily and devious-sounding voice, but Stan didn’t notice this. It was what the player said that hit Stan with a feeling of being punched in the gut.
“I am here to tell you, President Stan, that the great and powerful Lord Tenebris, founder of the Noctem Alliance, has founded his own city in the Southern Tundra Biome, which he has named Nocturia. Lord Tenebris has claimed the city, and the land surrounding it, as his own. He has declared independence from the Grand Republic of Elementia. He has called his new country the Nation of the Noctem Alliance, and it will forever be a haven for those upper-level players who have been wronged by your tyranny, President Stan. Long live Lord Tenebris! And long live the Noctem Alliance! Viva la Noctem!”
And Stan could see from the look in the player’s eyes that, had his face not been concealed, his features would have broken out into a wicked grin.
CHAPTER 11 HOME AGAIN
Leonidas was in agony. With every step he took, immense pain shot through his entire body. He had used his two potions of healing to cure the arrow wounds in his legs. However, when the potion ran out, he was forced to grit his teeth and endure the pain in his shoulder and arm.
Leonidas glanced back at the jungle disappearing in the distance behind him, wincing in pain as he did so. He tried not to think about the fact that he was in the middle of the Ender Desert, only halfway back to the tundra that held Nocturia. He would love nothing more than to use his remaining Ender Pearls to teleport great distances in one throw, cutting the travel time in half. However, each Ender Pearl that he used took a toll on his legs, and seeing as they were the only part of his body that didn’t feel like they were on fire, he thought better of it.
Leonidas’s thoughts drifted to Caesar, and quickly turned bitter. He imagined Caesar was with Lord Tenebris now, plotting the details of their next attack against the Republic of Elementia. Leonidas knew Lord Tenebris was planning to found his own country out in the tundra around Nocturia. He wondered if the plan had gone into effect yet.
This thought was fleeting and vague, however. Leonidas found it hard to focus on anything else besides how much he resented Caesar. Why was it that Caesar got to sit around in a comfortable throne room, commanding Leonidas to go around on errands like a grandmaster maneuvering an expendable chess piece? There were four players who had started the Alliance on Spawnpoint Hill all those months ago, and somehow he, Leonidas, had ended up in a far worse position than any of the other three. Caesar had been in a nice, completed building the entire time. He had never been forced to run dangers like Leonidas had. Leonidas had no idea what Minotaurus or the Noctem spy within Stan’s government were doing, but he found it hard to imagine they were much worse off than he was.
A wave of anger crashed over Leonidas as these thoughts spiraled around him like a vortex. He had braved the cold of the tundra, constructed the whole of Nocturia with insufficient manpower, fought to take the Jungle Base, and then abandoned that same base the second Stan tried to take it back, getting seriously hurt in the process. And for what? Why was it that he, Leonidas, was still part of the Alliance? It had done nothing for him.
Leonidas looked back on that night atop the Jungle Base with painful recollection. He had spoken his mind to Stan that night . . . he really didn’t feel like he had chosen to join the Noctem Alliance, he had simply latched on because there was no other choice. Leonidas had never had any problems with lower-level players, or any players at all for that matter. He had never wanted to join King Kev’s army to begin with. The only reason he had was to save his family.
Suddenly, a rush of comprehension slammed into Leonidas full force, as he realized where he was. His mind began to race. Was there any possibility that they were still out here? Did the community that contained Leonidas’s family still exist out here in the Ender Desert after all this time? Leonidas didn’t have to think twice about it. He had to find out. Whatever Caesar had for him to do back in Nocturia, well, he could just get up out of his comfortable little safe room and do it himself.
Leonidas glanced up at the sun. It was early afternoon, so the sun was just past its apex and starting to tilt toward the west. Leonidas still knew where the village was by heart, and so he turned to face northeast and walked out into the barren stretches of desert. He did all he could to ignore the wounds that hurt exponentially more the faster he walked, instead focusing on the thought of seeing his family for the first time since he had joined King Kev’s army all those months ago.
As Leonidas trekked on for hours, the pain became harder and harder to ignore. The sun swung farther and farther toward the horizon, each minute bringing Leonidas closer to being trapped in the middle of the desert with evil mobs and roaming gangs of nomads. He had dealt with both of these dangers before, and had no intention of doing so again. Finally, when the sun was nearing the horizon and the sky was starting to turn pink, Leonidas saw it—the outline of buildings against the fading light of the sky.
Adrenaline and excitement surged through Leonidas as he soldiered on, the pain suddenly seeming trivial. As he got closer and closer to the village, more details came into view despite the fading light. The wooden houses, the gravel pathway, the rings of wood blocks containing water and wheat farms. Leonidas was overwhelmed by a feeling of joy to be back here, among his family once again. He saw farms of carrots and potatoes next to the wheat farms. It was good to see that the villagers had expanded their produce. They must have been doing pretty well for themselves.
