The Complete Elementia Chronicles: Quest for Justice; The New Order; The Dusk of Hope; Herobrine’s Message. Sean Wolfe Fay
with the tribe there. I tell you, to be iffy about trading two Mooshrooms for four trees and bone meal when you don’t even have trees on your island! Still, you can’t say you’ve lived until you’ve killed a Spider Jockey while keeping two Mooshrooms interested in you with wheat. So, where’s Sally? She back yet?”
“Oh, she tried a new shortcut to get to the hill. She said that it would take her anywhere from half to double the normal time, she’s not sure. She said not to worry if she was late.”
“So, Jay, who are these guys anyway?” asked the Skeleton, pointing at Stan, Charlie and Kat, who had entered the room and were listening to the conversation with a mixture of confusion and admiration for these players who had clearly seen so much of the game.
“These are new players. The motel’s full today so they’re staying in here.”
“Excellent. I just love a good slumber party,” said a girl’s voice from behind them. They all turned around.
A girl was leaning against the doorframe. A plait of black hair ran down her back. She was wearing a green tank top and a black skirt. She was holding an iron sword with fresh Spider guts on the blade.
“Look what the ocelot dragged in! Sally’s back!”
“Glad you’re not dead, Sal.”
“What took you so long, girl?”
Sally gave a tired grin that suggested that she was dealing with little siblings who were entirely too happy to see her after a long day. “Do you remember when we used to greet each other with a nice ‘Hello’?” she asked.
“I’m sorry,” said the Skeleton. “Would you prefer that?”
“’Course not!” Sally laughed. “I’m just reminiscing. So, you gonna introduce me to these noobs?”
“If you insist,” Jayden said. “You’re lucky I hadn’t already introduced them to Archie and G, or I wouldn’t have wasted my breath on you,” he added good-naturedly. “This is Kat, Stan and Charlie,” he introduced them, pointing them each out in turn. “New guys, this is Archie” – the Skeleton nodded – “Goldman, aka G” – the golden guy nodded – “and Sally.” The girl nodded.
“’Sup, guys,” said G. “Cool dog, Kat.”
“What are you talking … what …?” Kat’s eyes widened as she looked behind her. Rex had just walked in the door and was walking over to Kat, who petted the dog, still looking amazed.
“How did Rex manage to get up the ladder?” she asked.
“Nobody knows …” replied Archie ominously.
They all stared at the dog for a moment and then looked away. None of them made eye contact with Rex for the rest of the night.
“So, anyway, why are these noobs staying in here?” asked Sally, frowning as she leaned against the doorframe.
“Could you please stop calling us noobs?” asked Stan. “It gets really annoying after a while.”
“Sorry, buddy, I paid my dues. I was a noob like you once, but then I took an arrow to the … heh, heh, heh, just kidding. My point is, people are gonna call you that until you pass, say, level ten. But until then, you’re just gonna have to put up with it. We all did,” she said, gesturing to herself, Jayden, G and Archie.
“Fine, I can accept other people calling me that,” said Stan, “but could you guys not, seeing as I have to live with you for a few days?”
“Hmmm …,” said Sally, pretending to think. “Uh, yeah, no, I think I will call you that. I probably wouldn’t if it didn’t annoy you so much though.” She shrugged.
Stan sighed. “Is she always like this?” he asked, turning to Archie.
He laughed. “Of course not! Sally is an absolute pleasure to live with. She’s not aggravating, obnoxious and condescending to us guys – whatever would give you that idea?”
Sally rolled her eyes. “Are you finished?”
Archie replied, “Well, as I glance at that sword in your hand, I think I’ll say yes?”
They all laughed.
“So, you guys starting the programme tomorrow?” asked G as Sally went to the chest next to one of the beds and put a sword and some watermelon in it.
“Apparently so. Jayden mentioned that you four teach the classes. Is that right?”
“Yep,” replied Sally as she sat down on her bed with her legs crossed. “I’m gonna teach you guys everything you need to know about sword fighting and crafting.”
“Yes, and when she says everything, that includes the how-to of disemboweling a Spider,” added G, and they all laughed again. “Anyway, I’ll teach you how to fight using a pickaxe, and everything you need to know about mining.”
“I myself,” boomed Archie, “will be instructing you on the precision art and skill of the launched projectile forged from the stone of gravel, the spindle of a tree and the coat of a bird. In other words, I’m teaching archery. Go figure,” he said, gesturing to his Skeleton costume.
“I’m teaching axe fighting and farming technique,” said Jayden. He reached into the chest next to his bed and pulled out an axe. But this wasn’t just any axe. The blade was created from diamond, and though the wooden handle was worn, the diamond still glinted in the light of the torches, sharp and deadly. Stan stared at it. It was the most impressive thing he had seen in the game so far.
“This is my most prized possession,” he said. “My brother gave it to me when I left his farm.”
“Stop showing off,” moaned G. “We can’t all have diamond tools,” and he opened his chest to get some food.
“Hold up! What’s that?” interjected Charlie, pointing to something in G’s chest.
“What, this thing?” he asked, and he pulled out something just as impressive as the diamond axe – a pickaxe, forged from solid gold.
“How can you say you have bad tools when you have that thing?” asked Kat, and Charlie and Stan nodded in agreement.
“What? Oh! That’s right, you don’t know, do you?” G laughed. “Well, it may look cool, but golden tools aren’t very practical at all. They break absurdly fast. They actually break faster than stuff made out of wood. The only upside to them is that they break stuff quickly, and even then a golden pickaxe can only break cobblestone and coal ore. I mostly just carry mine around for show, to go with my image.” G gestured to his golden body. As G sniggered at his own whimsy, Stan noticed Kat raise an eyebrow and give an amused chuckle.
“Well, I’m exhausted,” said Jayden, yawning. “That mission was awful, and I’m sure that you guys must be spent after all that you went through to get here.” The three new players nodded gratefully. “G, Sal, pull out the extra beds. Charlie, Kat, Stan, you guys should eat something before you go to bed. Try this.”
Jayden reached into his chest and pulled out two cooked steaks and a cooked pork chop. He handed a steak to Stan and Charlie, and the pork chop to Kat.
“Mmm,” said Kat, licking her lips when she’d finished, “that was so much better than the raw one.” Charlie rolled his eyes.
All fed, the seven players climbed into their beds, and five of them were out cold almost immediately. Stan was just about to fall asleep, too, when he heard a voice from behind him.
“You asleep, noob?”
Stan flipped over in his bed to face the one talking. Sally was crouching down next to his bed. “I’ll take that as a no, then,” she said.
Stan sat up. “Can I help you?” he asked.
Sally sat down next to him. “Yeah, you can,” she asked. “Is this