Chapter Text
“D3rlord!” I called out into the woods. The crisp wind carried my voice over the rustling trees gladly, but no chiding reply came back. Not even an echo.
Huh. That’s weird.
Wasn’t he the one who always insisted on sticking together? And it was just this morning that he had forced me to memorise a tune so we could ‘whistle back and forth to each other’!
He sure is inconsistent with his so-called ‘knightly word’.
I tried again, this time cupping my hands over my mouth.
“D3r-lord, where are you? I’ve successfully acquired-” I paused, racking my brains for the word. “-some rations. Might you be interested in sampling them?”
I patted my satchel for extra emphasis.
A pause. I half expected him to turn up from behind that towering spruce tree.
But nothing appeared.
Just a flash of orange fur near the berry bush, which meant I had to start moving, before something runs off with my dinner.
Sighing, I began to trudge my way into the thickest part of the forest. A bit to my right. I’m pretty sure he went in that direction, but then again, he could’ve gone gallivanting just about anywhere here if he carried a map. Did he though? I scratched my chin, trying to recall this morning. Eh, I’ll know when I meet him.
From what I remember, he mentioned something about gathering some iron? Maybe even diamonds if we had time.
But instead of going to the ravine near our house, he’d insisted on this dingy forest instead, saying I should ‘chop some wood’ to stock up for the winter, while he does the mining. So far though, I haven’t seen a single cave, or even the tiniest crack in the earth
I didn’t really think much of it. D3rlord always plans out stuff like these, and it was easier for me to just follow with whatever he suggests. It’s always worked that way!
The last time I tried to plan out anything was a couple months ago; it was supposed to be a relaxing picnic in the plains, but we ended up getting stung by bees and ants in our food. Silly, but ever since then I’d been too sheepish to try pitching in ideas.
Not that D3rlord would need it to begin with.
Now though, as I walked further and further away into the unknown, I was beginning to regret why I hadn’t tried suggesting going with him instead.
I kicked a lone pebble off my path. The trees grew much closer to each other the more I ventured. Everything remained identical however; same height, same shape, same dull green leaves, nothing to set it apart.
I don’t even want to think about how we were going to find our way back in this dizzying blur of conifers. If we even manage to, it might be well into the night. Just the thought of fighting back so many mobs- I shuddered.
The sudden hoot of an owl awoke me from my thoughts, and I immediately snapped back into reality. Good thing too; just a couple more steps forward and I would have crashed into that very solid and very rough looking tree.
My eyes scanned the surrounding area. Bushes. Spruce aplenty. Moss creeping up everywhere.
But no caves.
No D3rlord either.
And the sun had moved across the sky much more quickly than I would have preferred.
Have I really been walking that long?
A quick stroll around my perimeter immediately provided the answer. This place was really, really far from home. There wasn’t even the telltale peak of Mount Gizmo!
Gosh, I wiped the sweat on my brow, I need to find him fast. Being stuck in the forest at night is definitely not something I want to experience. I gripped my satchel and began jogging up a nearby hill.
Fog soon started to wisp around me, and the air dropped to a bitter temperature. Still I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, now more worried than ever.
“D3r!”
“D3rlord!”
I kept yelling now and then, hoping he’d hear me and shout back.
“D3r, I’m eating all this salmon on my own if you don’t turn up!”
A sudden rustle of leaves. Immediately, my legs paused mid step, listening intently.
A beat of silence.
And then another loud rustling from the bushes behind me.
I almost let out a whoop of relief, but then-
“Avery.”
My stomach dropped.
It wasn’t his voice. It wasn’t clear or resonant or deep in the way I would know.
It was a hoarse whisper, faint and dissonant, circling around me with a chilling quiver.
I staggered forward and whipped my head instinctively. My hand flew to the hilt of my sword, a reflex born of Skywars training, and unsheathed it in one swift motion.
“What do you want?” I shouted into the woods, hoping my voice sounded braver than I felt.
The hiss of a sound seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, filling my ears with disordered words I couldn’t understand. I could barely register the high pitch of a woman, the voice of a man, the shrill yell of a child, a mother’s hum, an elderly croak, someone’s chuckle, a hollow laugh, a shriek, a whisper.
And then, as abruptly as it had started, the voice disappeared.
“D3r,” I rasped out. “You’re not pulling a prank on me, are you?”
The voice, whomever it belonged to, though certainly not D3rlord, did not answer.
My insides had already turned to mush. It only took one imperceptible crack of a branch for all my remaining nerves to instantly vanish.
My legs took a stumbling step back, and I tightened my grip on the hilt. Whoever it was, whatever it was, was going to lurch from the darkness any now.
I gazed upwards, muttering prayers and pleading to every god I knew. Dying to an invisible muttering was not quite the glorious death I had pictured for a Skywars god like me.
Above me, the sky had already turned to a dreamy flurry of orange and pink. Maybe dying like this ain’t so bad if I get to see it.
I inhaled one shaky breath, and fixed my stare back at the forest.
Seconds ticked by anxiously, my anticipation for the inevitable stretched taut. Still, nothing.
Which felt way worse.
Before I could consider doing anything reckless, the silence was shattered with the unmistakable sound of metal scraping against metal.
The sound of armor shifting. One I’ve heard a million times before.
And from the corner of my eye, the familiar glint of gold, a glaring contrast against infinite shades of green.
My heart practically burst from relief. As soon as my sword was stuffed into its scabbard, I spun around and sprinted towards him.
“D3rlord!” The rasp of steel stopped as soon as the name left my lips. “Oh my god, I’m so, so glad you’re here! Is this forest haunted or something?- there were loads of weird murmurs and- y’know what nevermind. I called out to you, but you didn’t- you were nowhere to be found-”
“Avery, what are you doing here?” There was a rare note of surprise in D3rlord’s voice.
“Looking for you. Duh. Why else would you think I’d willingly walk into this creepy forest?” I waved my hand around dramatically. “Anyways, where were you? I didn’t know splitting up was part of the plan.”
There was an uncertain pause before he answered again.
“I went to look for another cave. There wasn’t much in the one I originally went to.”
“I told you we were better off in our ravine!”
My sudden outburst rang much too loudly, sending a couple birds screeching into the sky.
I immediately clamped my mouth shut. Beside me, D3rlord also stilled, startled by the sudden noise.
Once the flock was out of sight, I turned my attention back to the knight, who had his eyes set intently on the ravens.
Observing something again, I chuckled to myself.
“Hey, uh- don’t you think we should get going? Like, I know birds are real’ interesting, but it’s getting pretty late.” I prodded his shoulder. At my words, he instantly snapped out of his thoughts.
“Fair enough- where’s your horse?” He glanced behind me, as if Ketchup would suddenly materialize out of thin air.
“D3r," I said flatly, "I walked here."
“Then, we’ll walk back.” He hummed, way too calmly. I wanted to smack him right then and there, but I think I’ll leave that to the zombies. Instead, I settled with resigned huff, exasperated but too light-hearted to start another argument.
D3rlord ignored me, too busy rummaging around his satchel for something, which I soon found out to be a lantern.
He lit it without much comment and held it up, spilling radiant light everywhere.
“Classy, but nothing beats the good ol’ torch.” I commented.
He eyed me for a moment.
“Don’t see you holding one though.”
That shut me up.
He led the way, confident strides that spoke of familiarity with the place. Sometimes he’d halt to a stop and look back, to make sure I was still there. Once I managed to catch up, the walk would resume, his pace just a tad bit slower than before.
Strangely enough, there were hardly any mobs in sight. Not even a single skeleton skulking around. I eyed the dark silhouettes around me cautiously, awaiting any tell tale groan or hiss, but nothing came about. If D3rlord noticed it too, he made no comment whatsoever.
Still, I kept my hand firmly wrapped around the hilt of my sword. Better overly guarded than dead, I told myself.
After several minutes, I could feel my guard slowly lowering against my will. I stopped scrutinizing every suspicious looking shadow and started concentrating my energy on walking instead.
“So,” I piped up, after a couple minutes of comfortable silence, “are you not going to bombard me with any questions about the mysterious whispering? That’s very un-D3rlord of you.”
His steps came to a halt so suddenly that I almost crashed into him.
“What mysterious whispering?” He demanded.
“Oh y’know, the one I mentioned when you found me?” I waved my hand dismissively “Frightened me for a bit there but I’m sure it’s nothing.”
At that exact moment, the zip of an arrow registered in my ears, almost a second too late.
Skeletons. About time they showed up.
Gripping my sword, I leapt to the side, right before the arrow whooshed past me. It must’ve been mere inches from my torso.
The projectile landed with a soft thud on the muddy dirt.
I exchanged glances with D3rlord.
You or me?
In response, he gestured at his heavy armor and at the damp ground.
You.
I gritted my teeth and charged towards the direction it came from. Now that I knew they were there, it was easy to pinpoint their exact location; where darkness kept folding upon itself, and flashes of ivory appeared right before an arrow was unloaded.
In an instant, another shot was fired, this time aiming at D3rlord.
I didn’t bother looking back.
It was poorly aimed anyway.
I continued to run, my boots splashing mud everywhere.
So the skeletons had been hiding all along, camouflaging in the dark with their ink cloaks.
An attempt at ambush, I thought, drawing my sword.
It slid out of the scabbard easily, the sound of steel ringing in the air like a deadly promise.
Clever, I admit, but I really don’t think they should bet their bones on a fragile bow.
Especially not in close combat.
I pulled myself behind a tree to catch my breath. Looking back, several arrows were being exchanged, a violent rain of projectiles. It seems D3rlord’s aim really has improved; the several curses being uttered in Skaelk proved that for sure.
Slowly, I took a quick peek, careful not to reveal myself as an easy target.
Several bones already lay crumpled, half concealed by their cloaks. But the rest of the pack were still firing away at D3rlord furiously. I wonder how they have not noticed where I’d gone.
Alright, enough wondering, I scolded myself. D3rlord can only hold them off for so long.
At the count of three.
One.
Two.
Three.
I lunged at them, knocking the first couple skeletons with the impact. The few still standing immediately directed their bows at me, but I was quicker.
I swung my sword at the nearest skull. There was a gruesome crack as it collided with the hard bone, and the small tongue of flame in its empty eye sockets died out.
Normally, I’d have felt the slightest hint of guilt nibbling at my conscience. Not today though.
I was dislodging the skull from my blade when a sudden arrow tore itself into the flesh of my arm.
I let out a scream.
The pain wasn’t new to me, but it still hurt nonetheless.
“Come on, Avery,” I muttered to myself, digging my nails into my arm as an attempt to staunch the bleeding. The throbbing, burning feeling only increased. “The more time I spend whining about, the more time the skeletons have to shoot.”
With a newfound determination, I took a step back and thrust my arm forward. Although the movement was sloppy, the blade pierced through and shattered the skeleton’s core, earning yet another pile of bones at my boots.
This time, I didn’t wait around.
Clutching the slippery hilt, I listened intently for the tell tale creak of a wooded bow from behind.
And then immediately pivoted and slashed with all the strength I could muster.
Except.
The blow didn’t land.
I stumbled, barely catching myself.
How did I miss such a close-
Oh.
Sticking out of the bundle of robes at my feet was the oak shaft of a bolt, fatally aimed in between the ribs.
No wonder I missed it.
And then, as if on cue, our melody was whistled into the air. The tune was sweet, yet disturbingly out of place.
A warning, coated in honey.
I took a quick glance round the dark perimeter. Not a single skeleton in sight; even the bones had already started deteriorating. All that is left are the bone dusts, flying away into the wind.
Curiously, I scooped up the fine powdery stuff with my free hand, letting it seep through my fingers.
“They’re good for your plants.” came a voice from behind.
D3rlord approached me. He was still holding his crossbow, though in a more relaxed manner now. I couldn’t make out what he was holding in his other hand.
“I know.” I sighed. “Shame we didn’t bring a spare bundle. “
“Bones are rich in calcium. Who knows a bit of its seasoning in your steak can grant you some inches.” He eyed me up and down.
“Hey!”
I started towards him, but the pain that shot up my arm caused me to stop almost immediately.
D3rlord must’ve noticed the wince. I could tell because the humorous glint in his eyes was gone now.
“Don’t move too much, you’re worsening the injury.”
He muttered, tone mixed between exasperation and concern.
I was too eager to comply, though only for a second. As soon as I heard the pop and fizz of a bottle being uncorked, my senses sharpened immediately and I covered my arm in defense.
“None of those.” I gritted out through clenched teeth.
The swirling liquid glowed innocuously back in retaliation.
I think he raised his eyebrows. Or maybe not; hard to tell when behind that helmet.
“Do you really want to just wait the injury out? Not only does that render you more vulnerable, we still have to walk back. And in your condition, I can’t afford you overexerting yourself.”
“But it stings.” I protested. As convenient as it looks, past experience told me that even instant recovery had its side effects.
D3rlord only heaved a sigh, muttering something under his breath.
“Look, we’ll be here all night if you keep resisting. Just bear it for a moment, alright?”
I didn’t budge.
“I’ll take you to the mines next time.”
My face brightened in an instant, much to his evident relief.
“Deal. I’m sick of being your butcher.”
I handed over my arm, and braced myself for the blinding flash of pain. D3rlord was right; the sting lasted for a nanosecond at most, he just forgot to mention one vital fact. It was all consuming.
I couldn’t help but let out a gasp as the liquid absorbed into my skin, spreading pain millions of times more than I can endure. The agony was comparable to hot stakes puncturing my flesh, burning, peeling-
And stopping abruptly, in the midst of the sensory overload.
Simply disappeared. Nothing else remained, except a tingling sensation, and a sore feeling that settled deep within.
“All done.” D3rlord rumbled from beside me. I snapped my eyes open, not realizing I’d been closing them. The healed area still glistened with leftover potion, and specks glowstone dust, but my skin had no traces of an injury whatsoever.
“Thanks, D3r.” I croaked out. “The mines better be good.”
He snorted, not quite a laugh, which made my crooked heart swell a little.
“Let’s go home?”
“Let’s go home.”