The Complete Elementia Chronicles: Quest for Justice; The New Order; The Dusk of Hope; Herobrine’s Message. Sean Wolfe Fay
players is made up of only the best fighters in Elementia … mainly upper-level players, that is. So, assuming that the lower-level citizens of the army were to abandon the army if you attacked the castle, you would still have, say, another one hundred and thirty or so men to face.”
Stan was shocked. He looked at Charlie and Kat. “Where can we possibly get that many people to invade the city?”
Kat was about to answer, but the Apothecary cut her off by saying, “How about the Adorian Village?”
There was a moment of silence. Then Kat said, “Um, sir, weren’t you listening? The King’s riot control destroyed the Adorian Village. Everybody who lived there is dead now.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” said the Apothecary with a smile. “New players join Elementia every day. Most of them will still be inclined to follow the path to the Adorian Village. And also, don’t be so sure that all the people that were in that village are dead.”
“How could any of them have survived?” asked Charlie incredulously. “They blew up all the stone houses and burned down the wooden ones!”
“Well,” the Apothecary replied, “One thing that I didn’t mention in my story is that the King has largely ignored the Adorian Village, as have the majority of the Council of Operators. Avery and I were the only ones on the council who aided young Adoria when she was a new player on the scene who wanted to create a village for the new players of Minecraft. We helped her design the village, and the houses within.
“Every few days, the Adorian Village has a drill. You must have missed it since you were there for such a short time. They prepare for a large-scale Griefer attack, which was essentially what you described to me. Each of those houses has an underground survival cellar, which can sustain four people for a month. The entrance is very inconspicuous; only the most observant soldier would recognize it. They also have that mine to hide in. I’d be surprised if more than a third of the inhabitants of the Adorian Village were actually killed in that attack.”
Stan’s heart lifted at the thought that there might have been far fewer casualties of the attack on the Adorian Village than he had originally thought.
“And I’ll bet that those survivors are furious with the King right now,” added Charlie. “And I’ll bet that Jayden and Sally and the others are still training those players, and they have no clue where to go now.”
“Well, that’s settled, then,” said Kat. “The survivors of the Adorian Village will be our main reinforcements when we attack the King’s castle. One of us should go back to the village and tell the others of our plan. The other three should try to find some supplies, like diamonds, steaks and golden apples. We need enough materials for an army of, say, one hundred.” She looked at the Apothecary. “Any idea where we might find all that? Because Charlie and I have been discussing it all afternoon, and we’ve got nothing.”
The Apothecary replied, “I actually might.”
Stan was caught off guard. He had expected the old player to shoot down all their ideas, not offer to help them prepare for their battle.
“Oh, hold your horses. I don’t know for sure where it is. But what I do know is that in the days of my seat on the Council of Operators, I heard rumours going around that the King had created a secret stash of armour, weapons, food – everything he would need to re-create his army if he was ever ousted from power. There were several rumours about where the stash was, but the one I heard most said that it’s underground, at the centre of Ender Desert. I’m not positive that’s where the stash is, but there definitely is a stash, and there was too much talk about that location for there not to be at least something there.”
Stan jumped up. “Charlie!” he yelled.
Everyone looked at him, and Charlie replied, “Yes?” with a concerned look on his face.
“Charlie, you have the best mining instincts of anyone. G said so himself! If there’s anyone who could find an underground stash of supplies, it’s you.”
The Apothecary stood up and slammed his fist on the table. “It’s settled then! I myself shall go back to the Adorian Village and work with Adoria’s pupils to train their new players for battle with the King’s forces. The three of you must go into the Ender Desert and find the secret stash. I swear to you, if the stash isn’t there, something will be, and maybe it will be something that you can use to your advantage.”
The old player walked over to a chest and put his leather armour into it. With a start, Stan realized for the first time that the Apothecary had a skin, or appearance, that was strikingly similar to Crazy Steve’s, save the white beard and the potion sashes. The Apothecary reached into the chest and pulled out a diamond chestplate. He stared at it for a moment.
“This place has given me so much, and then taken it away,” said the old player to his reflection. “It’s time for me to make this server a place that future generations can call home.”
He pulled the chestplate on over his head, and Stan watched in awe as the Apothecary pulled out a full set of diamond armour, including boots and leggings, and slipped them on. He then drew out his weapons of choice: two diamond pickaxes, glinting in the torchlight. He turned back to the players.
“Charlie, come here please,” said the old player. Charlie obliged, wondering what would happen next.
“Charlie, I want you to have this,” said the Apothecary as he reached out towards Charlie, diamond pickaxe in his hand.
“What? Wait,” said Charlie, eyes widening in disbelief. “Are you serious right now?”
“Completely,” said the old player, as Charlie took the pickaxe. “A good pickaxe is the best weapon and tool that you can have underground. This old pickaxe has served me well. I’ve brought it with me on several deep-mining expeditions, as well as every time I’ve gone to the Nether. Besides, I have two, so I want you to have that one.”
Charlie spun the pickaxe in his hand a few times and tapped the diamond pick of the tool. “Thank you,” he said in silent awe, still staring at the weapon.
“OK, I have a few things for the rest of you. But first, let me ask this: Are any of you over level, say, ten?”
Stan was about to say no, but Kat jumped up and said, “I am! I killed a bunch of animals this morning, and I levelled up to fifteen!”
The Apothecary smiled. “Good, good. Now, would you like to exchange your levels for enhancements to your gear?”
“Would I!” exclaimed Kat. “How can I do that?”
“With that,” said the Apothecary, and he gestured to the black table with the diamonds and red velvet on top. The book still levitated. They all walked over to it.
“This is an Enchanting Table,” said the Apothecary. “If you have enough experience, this little gadget will let you exchange that experience for enchantments for your gear. Do you have any weapons or armour that you’d like to enchant, Kat?”
“Yeah, I have an iron sword, helmet and chestplate back at the base,” she said. “I also have this bow.” She lifted it up. “So are you saying that I could use this table thingy to give my sword special powers?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes.” The Apothecary smiled. “After I finish giving out the rest of the things you will need to pull off this revolution, you can go back and get it,” he said. He then proceeded to walk back over to his chest and pull out a smaller chest. This one was black, and it appeared to be locked with a green orb.
“This is an Ender Chest,” the old player explained, handing it to Stan. “If you put any items in this chest, they will be accessible from all other Ender Chests everywhere, even in other dimensions like the Nether. The King doesn’t use Ender Chests – he doesn’t trust them. When I get to the Adorian Village, I am going to put down a second Ender Chest that I have, which, as far as I know, is the only other Ender Chest on the server.
“Now,