The New Order, page 30
Commander Crunch, apparently, saw these disturbing-looking creatures as the absolutely perfect way to cut their journey to the mountain in half. Convinced that it was the best option, Commander Crunch wasted a half hour of their time trying to mount one of the Mooshrooms and ride it like a horse, despite repeated protests by the others that it was a waste of time. Eventually, after the twelfth time that Commander Crunch was bucked off the Mooshroom, he finally screeched at the herd, “Fine, then! Be that way!” His face was red, possibly with embarrassment, but more likely with genuine rage. “Ye’re a bunch o’ dirty, squiffy beasts anyway! We can get thar perfectly fine without ye!”
“As we’ve been telling you for the last half hour,” mumbled DZ under his breath in disgust.
“Honestly,” said Charlie, shaking his head as he whispered to Stan and DZ, “doesn’t he have to be stupid somewhere else?”
“Nah till four, Charlie,” replied Commander Crunch with a sly grin, apparently having overheard them.
And with that, Commander Crunch walked on. Stan, DZ, and Charlie looked at one another incredulously for a moment, before determining simultaneously and wordlessly that it wasn’t worth questioning, and they followed.
By the time the episode with the Mooshrooms was over, they were about halfway across the plains, and the sun was starting to dip into the afternoon position. As they trekked on, Stan felt increasingly anxious. There were giant mushrooms everywhere, far more imposing now than they had seemed on the cliffs. He had difficulty keeping himself from imagining Greater Tribesmen jumping out from behind every stalk, bent on taking them hostage. The terror of running into the tribesmen in this way only added to the eerie environment of the island, alongside the spore mist that hung in the air and the odd stretchy sound that the mycelium made underfoot.
Stan’s only consolation was that the Noctem Alliance was about to go down for good. Based on some calculations run by the Mechanist, they had determined that all of the Noctem Alliance’s available forces were now fighting on either the Hot Front or the Cold Front. That meant that, while the higher-ups of the Noctem Alliance were indeed hiding on the island somewhere, they would likely have no guards, and would be forced to take on Stan and his men themselves. The fight would no doubt be difficult, as Caesar, Minotaurus, and presumably Count Drake would be there, all of whom were exceptionally powerful fighters. And Stan still wasn’t sure what to expect from Lord Tenebris.
In any case, though, they had a team of nineteen highly skilled fighters on their way to fight what was probably a team of eight or nine. They had the element of surprise as well. The odds of victory were definitely in their favor.
And that was just here, fighting the leaders of the Noctem Alliance. As they were walking, all the leaders of Elementia were launching an all-out attack with the full force of the Elementia army on both fronts. If all went according to plan, by the end of the day, the Noctem Alliance’s leaders would be dead, and the war would be won on both fronts. In fact, with any luck . . .
“Halt!”
The sudden shout from up front snapped Stan out of his thoughts. He jolted to a stop, nearly crashing into DZ and Charlie, while the special forces came screeching to a stop behind him. Stan furiously marched his way up to the front of the pack, where Commander Crunch was still frozen in place with his blocky hand raised.
“You’d better have a good reason for stopping . . . ,” Stan started to spit out, but he was unable to finish when he saw what was in front of them.
They had walked all the way across the valley without Stan even realizing it. Now they stood atop the plateau, with the peak of the mountain high above them, and the sun setting over the panoramic ocean view behind them. Scattered between the giant mushrooms stood a crowd of players, all staring at Stan and his crew with horror, surprise, and contempt.
There were about fifty players, and it seemed they hadn’t seen civilization in quite some time. All of them were covered in a thin layer of spore powder. Many of them held bowls in their hands, some of which were filled with a brown liquid that Stan could only assume was mushroom stew. However, twenty of the players were empty handed. Far from looking shocked and horrified, they stood in fighting stances. Stan didn’t imagine that they would be able to stand up to any player with a weapon. However, he still didn’t want to fight, so he willed himself to remain calm.
A single player walked forward. He was skinned identically to Stan, but his entire outfit was darker. The expression on his face was that of disapproval of the highest degree.
“Who are you people?” the player demanded, quietly yet more powerful than a yell. “Why do you come to our island with weapons?”
Stan stepped forward, mustered up his courage, and, after clearing his throat, spoke. “My name is Stan2012, and I am the president of the Grand Republic of Elementia. I am here on a Presidential Visit to inspect your island.”
Sounds of outrage erupted all throughout the crowd.
“And you brought troops with you? It is illegal for you to carry out military operations on our island, President Stan,” seethed the player, his eyebrow twitching. “In the name of the Greater Mushroom Tribe, of which I am the chief, I demand that you and your cohorts leave immediately, or we will be forced to take action against you.”
And with that, the twenty fighters closed in on Stan and his friends, their blocky fingers clenched into fists. Stan wasn’t sure what to make of this. Did they honestly think they could take them in a fight, unarmed? Commander Crunch surged forward in a rage.
“Ye idiotic savages! I’ll ’ave ye know that under th’ law . . .”
“Commander, calm down,” said DZ, grabbing Commander Crunch by the arm and throwing him backward as the eyebrows of the chief knitted and a scowl crossed his face. “Let me handle this.” And with that, DZ stepped forward to address the chief face-to-face.
“Honorable Chief of the Greater Mushroom Tribe, we ain’t gonna carry out any type of military operation on this island. The Mushroom Islands are still part of the republic, I’m sure you know that, and so President Stan has the right to carry troops with him here, especially in a time of war.”
“What war?” demanded the chief, his eyebrows shooting up as whispers suddenly broke out in the group of tribesmen. “What are you talking about?”
“The Republic of Elementia has been fighting against a terrorist group called the Noctem Alliance for the past month. They have attacked us on multiple fronts, and we are engaged in an all-out war with them.”
“And what does that have to do with us?” asked the chief skeptically.
“Well, we have reason to believe that the leaders of this group, the Noctem Alliance, have been hiding on the Mushroom Islands. We have already conducted a search of the Lesser Mushroom Island, and we found nothing.”
“You are being deceived!” exclaimed the chief as mutters of disparagement and disgust broke out. “If there is an evil organization present in these islands, then it is being harbored by those ignorant, materialistic demons on the Lesser Island! They are lying, no-good animals who snuck away from us, and have destroyed the sanctity of the Lesser Mushroom Island for nothing more than the evils of capital gain and greed! Surely, such a despicable agenda would go hand-in-hand with an organization bent on taking over this server! And furthermore . . .”
“Enough!” cried Charlie, cutting off the chief’s tirade. “Look,” he continued, once the chief had finally stopped breathing heavily from his rant, “it’s not the place of the president, or the republic, to get involved in quarrels between you and the Lesser Tribesmen. But it is our job to destroy the Noctem Alliance. The organization is sly and devious, and isn’t afraid to use tactics like sneak attacks and Potions of Invisibility to win the war. The Noctem Alliance is determined to destroy everything that we hold dear, and it will surely come after both Mushroom Islands next if it is not destroyed.
“All we are asking is for your help to find out if there are any members of the Noctem Alliance hiding on this island. If there are, then we’ll get rid of them, and if there aren’t, then nothing changes. Do we have an understanding?”
The chief threw back his head and gave a dry laugh. “Ha! Of course we have an understanding. We’re not like those traitors on the Lesser Island, oh no, we respect our president and share your enemy as our own. We actually have integrity. And actually, now that you describe this . . . Noctem Alliance . . . to me, I think they might be here, and I can point you to where.”
Stan’s heart lifted, and he stepped forward to join the conversation. “Really? That would be hugely helpful. What do you know?”
A shadow crossed the chief’s face, accentuated by the sun finally dipping behind the horizon, bringing darkness to the world around him.
“Many of my people have reported unnatural disturbances to me, all of which come from there, President Stan,” the chief said solemnly, and Stan’s line of sight followed the chief’s pointing finger to the top of the peak rising high above the plateau. “Atop Mount Fungarus, there have been troubling signs. Loud noises of an unnatural sort. And on that cliff that you can see right beside the cave entrance, a sort of . . . shimmering . . . that we have only hypothesized to be some sort of glitch, or perhaps something more.”
TNT, thought Stan gravely, and Potions of Invisibility. The Specialty Base had been constructed up there, by hollowing out the top of that mountain.
“Many of us have wanted to go up and explore that cave atop Mount Fungarus,” the chief continued. “However, we have not found it wise. Throughout our fighting with the monsters of the Lesser Tribe, we Greater Tribesmen have developed great unarmed player-to-player combat skills, developing the style to the point where we are able to fight unarmed to the level of master swordsmen.” Well, thought Stan, that explains a lot.
“However, in the dark of the cave, monsters will spawn. Evil mobs cannot spawn on mycelium, and so we, on the Greater Island, have never had to deal with them. This also means, however, that we are not skilled at combating them, and so we have seen fit to avoid the darkness of the cave altogether.”
“Thank you, Chief,” said Stan, stepping forward and extending his hand, which the chief tentatively shook. “Thanks to you, we’ll be able to take down the Noctem Alliance quickly, and we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Chief,” said Commander Crunch in businesslike fashion, “I suggest that ye evacuate yer scallywags from th’ area. Thar’s a good chance that they will try t’ escape, ’n’ if they do, then we do nah want any hands o’ yer tribe gettin’ hurt.”
The chief nodded and gave a grunt of assent, before turning to face his people, who had been listening to their conversation with a mixture of awe and confusion. He briefly explained the situation to them, and ordered them to move down the mountainside. Within minutes, the plateau was cleared, and the Greater Tribesmen were nothing more than specks down in the valley below.
Stan looked away from the tribesmen and over at his men. Charlie, DZ, and Commander Crunch were staring at him, deadly serious looks on their faces. The fifteen men huddled behind them wore the same expression.
“It’s time, isn’t it,” said Stan, after a deep breath. It wasn’t a question. They all knew what was about to happen.
“Yes, sir, it is,” replied DZ. He looked around at everybody. “Is everyone ready?”
Eighteen heads nodded as one.
“Ender Pearls at th’ ready!” ordered Commander Crunch, and, in one motion, nineteen Ender Pearls were pulled out of inventories and sat in their respective owners’ hands.
“All right,” ordered Stan in tones of steel. “Let’s finish this.”
And, in one motion, he pitched the Ender Pearl as hard as he could toward the sky, aiming at the slight outcrop of rock directly outside the cave near the peak of Mount Fungarus. As soon as he did so, there was a flailing of limbs and arms as eighteen more Ender Pearls were pitched sky high. Stan closed his eyes and prepared himself. After a moment, Stan felt his feet leave the ground as he rushed through space at breakneck speeds until his feet finally hit stone.
CHAPTER 27 THE TRAITORS
Stan’s first realization atop the stone platform was a feeling of déjà vu, as immediately after he landed, all he was aware of were the projectiles flying all around him, bouncing off his chestplate and helmet. It was all Stan could do to sprawl to the pressure plate–covered ground and bellow “HIT THE DIRT!” repeatedly as loud as he could, hoping that the others would be able to duck in time to avoid the barrage of arrows. Indeed, the air was soon punctuated by the sounds of teleportation, shouts of pain, and players dropping to the ground all rolled together into a wild cacophony.
Stan looked up toward the source of the fire. He saw that the entire group had landed on a grid of pressure plates, and he noticed the redstone wire that ran across the ground toward a row of arrow dispensers. In one quick motion, Stan awkwardly dragged the blade of his axe across the ground, severing the glowing redstone dust lines from the dispensers and cutting off the entire flow of arrows instantly.
Stan pulled himself up off the ground, aware of the constant clicking noise being generated from the pressure plate–covered ground around him. As he looked around, Stan saw that, to his relief, there had been no serious injuries from the trap, with the diamond armor taking most of the damage. Only one of the soldiers had taken an arrow to his knee, and he quickly remedied the injury with a Potion of Healing.
As the group recovered, Commander Crunch walked up to the front of the pack. After glaring into the mouth of the cave for a moment, he gestured them forward. As Stan began to walk into the cave, axe now drawn, he noticed very quickly that this was not a normal cave. Immediately past the mouth, the cave entrance suddenly became very square shaped, with cobblestone patching up certain places in the otherwise pure stone wall. Furthermore, Stan could see a light at the far end of the tunnel, growing brighter and brighter the farther they walked. His heart began to race. They were getting close.
Every soldier had his eyes peeled and was scrutinizing every nook and cranny of their surroundings, on high alert to detect any more booby traps. Commander Crunch seemed to be particularly finicky, twitching around as he surveyed the premises. The walk down the squared-off cave went off without a hitch, however, and the group soon reached the source of the light.
As Stan looked around the brightly lit room, he was incredibly unnerved by the lack of anything of interest. The room was large and shaped like a cube, with a five-block drop down from where they were standing to the floor of the cube. The ceiling was high, and the entire cubic room was lined with torches. There was one element, however, that immediately caught everybody’s attention: two cobblestone staircases, at both of the back two corners of the room, that led out of sight.
Stan looked over at the others. DZ and Charlie looked bewildered, while Commander Crunch leaned over to Stan and whispered in his ear, “We needs somebody t’ go down thar ’n’ see if th’ coast be clear.”
Stan opened his mouth instinctively to protest, but then closed it. The commander was right after all. As much as Stan hated throwing one of his soldiers under the bus, he knew that somebody would have to go down there first, at the very real risk that they could die instantly. Stan accepted with a heavy heart that, though he would gladly go down himself in their place, as president, he was too important to do something so risky.
And so Stan nodded his head and looked at his men. All of them showed expressions of grim determination, showing that they all seemed up to the task. And so Stan pointed at the soldier nearest to him and said, “You, go down there and scout out the scene.”
The soldier stepped forward and nodded. Stan couldn’t remember what this soldier’s name was. He thought maybe it was Josh, but he couldn’t remember clearly. This player had pale skin and brown hair, and the little bit of his shirt visible under his armor revealed a red shirt with a Star Trek logo on it. The soldier stepped forward to the edge of the ledge. He took a deep breath, drew his diamond pickaxe, and jumped down the five-block drop to the ground.
The instant the soldier landed, there was a rapid series of clicks and whirs, and the wall with the staircases in them opened up, revealing a window. In a flash, a whirling blue blur flew out of the window, and before the soldier could even react, the flying diamond sword knocked the soldier to the ground. Three arrows flew from the window and found their way into the soldier, the last of which caused a ring of items to burst out around him.
Stan’s emotions were on a roller coaster in a matter of seconds. He was livid that his soldier had fallen and furiously wanted revenge. At the same time, though, he was relieved that this member of the Noctem Alliance, shrouded in shadows, wasn’t particularly skilled, having killed the soldier in such a clumsy way. Then, after a click, the lights illuminated in the window to reveal the smug face of Caesar laughing. Stan was a little surprised that Caesar had had to knock the soldier down in order to get a clean shot at him, but this emotion was drowned out by the beast in Stan’s chest roaring in simultaneous triumph for finding Caesar, and hatred and desire to take him down.
“Well, well, well,” simpered Caesar in his upper-class accent. “It’s nice to see that you’ve finally decided to show up. Minotaurus!” he suddenly shouted. “They’re here!”
Another series of clicks and whirs, and out of the wall underneath the window opened a hole two blocks wide and three blocks high, out of which burst Minotaurus in all of his giant, muscular terror, double-bladed diamond axe in hand. “Oh yeah!” he bellowed. “I’m ready to fight!”
Another equally powerful wave of rage crashed into Stan like a locomotive. Caesar may have been the mastermind and organizer of the Noctem Alliance, and he may have caused the deaths of Archie and hundreds of other Elementia citizens with his terror attacks and his war, but Minotaurus had taken Sally away from him. Now, on a fair playing field, it was time for Stan to take his revenge.
