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It was a nice change of pace living in the countryside.
It was laborious and tiring but it was worth it. After living on the brink of starvation for so long, even just the few loaves of bread they had managed to scrape together was heavenly. Celebrating around a campfire, throwing sticks into the blaze, Saps didn’t know when he was last that happy, living in Capital City.
They had sat beneath the stars, watching the twinkling lights fill the sky. Stella had pointed out the different constellations, finally visible without the light pollution to dull their shine. They had fallen asleep without hunger for the first time since they left.
*
Afternoon light trickled through the clouds, warming his face as he sat beneath the shade of a tree. It was a lazy kind of day, waiting for the next lot of wheat to grow. He yawned, letting the day wash over him.
The shadows had grown long by the time he got up. The rest of the group were back at the barn, baking the new batch of potatoes they’d finally gotten to behave. Saps frowned.
Flux was on watch duty, ensuring no one came along and tried to pinch their spoils. He should have been back by now. Perhaps he had just fallen asleep on the job. A few of them had been guilty of that crime once or twice. It wasn’t entirely uncommon. But it would be good to check just in case.
He strolled down that path, whistling softly to himself. They had really made this place a home. Engraved lanterns hung by the road, each made by one of the members the first time they arrived. “A house warming gift.” Thomas had called it.
Saps arrived at the post but Flux was nowhere to be found. Perhaps Saps had just dozed off and missed his arrival. He turned around to leave but something caught his eye.
A trail of stamped crops led away from the fields, broken wheat lying scattered across the ground. No one had picked it up, despite its value. Saps’ stomach did a sick twist.
Something was very very wrong.
He sprinted along the trail, passing more and more trampled vegetation. More items littered the ground. Shattered glass here, a half eaten golden apple there. There had clearly been a skirmish. Flux was armed. He wasn’t the best fighter but he could defend himself in a pinch. Surely…
Saps’ breath hitched. A broken totem sat discarded in the grass, golden fragments scattered alongside, emerald eyes dull and fractured. Beside it, a silence armour trim lay nestled in the dirt.
He only knew one person who carried those around. Only one person had followed him to the deep dark, sliding past shriekers without a word, playing chicken until they were scared out of their minds. And now, it was all that was left of him.
A haunting sound filled the air, a drone that signalled a retreat by the king. But it wasn’t Parrot blowing the horn. The instrument was blown without care, a screeching undertone jarring his nerves. Saps froze, then broke into a reckless sprint.
Bandits. Bandits were here. The bandits had killed Flux.
And the rest of them were next.
He ran back to the clearing, the entire crop decimated.
Saps yelled for whoever was left. “Magic! Snowbird! Anyone?”
The barn was up in flames, the smell of burning wood filling the air. Saps coughed, the smoke becoming thicker as he continued forward. Items littered the ground. He couldn’t even tell who they belonged to through the haze.
A group of silhouettes bunched together up ahead. Saps burst through the smoke screen, gasping for air. His knuckles were white, clamped around the hilt of his sword. His blood ran cold.
Stella stared sightlessly ahead, her eyes glassy as a spear went through her throat. The man behind her looked apathetic, a skull and crossbones painted on his shield. Just another annoyance to take care of.
Something finally snapped.
Saps was seeing red, his body acting on its own. He charged forward, dodging past the other’s attacks. He ignored the ripple of pain that slashed across his arm. He brought the sword across the man’s neck before he could utter another word. Diamond clashed against scarlet as something warm and sticky covered Saps’ hand.
He was dead before he hit the ground, belongings scattered across the floor. Saps took another swing at the group, taking a chunk of health with him. Another totem popped. One of the members yelled out, signalling for a retreat. Their leader was dead. There was no point in staying.
They escaped on horseback, riding away into the sunset. They got what they came for. They wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.
Saps had never taken a life before. He almost couldn’t bring himself to care.
He sank to his knees, sword clattering to the ground. Flux, Magic, Thomas, Stella… All of them. They were… Furious tears filled his eyes. He dug his fingers into the ground, clumps of grass ripped from the dirt.
He promised. Parrot promised they’d be safe. And now they were all dead. Parrot had let them die. And it was all the new players’ fault.
They would have survived if there were enough resources. They never would have left Capital City if they had a choice. That choice was ripped from their hands as soon as Parrot opened up spawn. He chose them over the old players, in a world where they could barely feed themselves. They didn’t deserve any of the things they were given.
Saps picked himself up, heart set aflame with righteous fury. He stared at the destruction, letting his rage wash over him. All their hard work was gone in an instant. All his friends were dead.
He stared at his own reflection in the polished diamond of his sword. His face was covered in blood and soot, expression broken and dangerous. He had nothing left to lose.
Not anymore.
Before the massacre, the group had scraped together just enough resources to craft one pair of Netherite armour. They had hidden it underneath Saps’ favourite tree for safekeeping. It was their pride and joy to remind them of home.
Flux had always wanted to use those armour trims on something special, but never got the chance. Saps carved the pattern into the metal, redstone glinting dangerously in the sunset. He slipped the armour on, letting its weight dig into his shoulders. It reminded him what he was fighting for. Why he had to fight in the first place.
King Parrot had to be stopped. By any means necessary.
Saps brought the horn to his lips, letting the note ring true. It was a warning call to all who could hear. The new players could not be allowed to stand. He would make sure of it.
The barn was gone now, burnt into ashes. But from the ashes, something new would rise. A being made out of necessity to bring an end to this cruel ballad, to give life to those who deserved it. A phoenix by the name of Cindercrest.