Stephan

Chapter Six - On the Verge

No i will not acknowledge my indefinite hiatus

*

Despite his most steadfast of intent, Steve had ended up in the new server again.

Steve brushed through the field of sunflowers, one hand trailing behind him to feel the sun-warmed petals as he walked. He had a brief moment of hesitance, wondering if it would be better to avoid the players' structures in order to keep from running across them, but soon talked himself into it. The players' structures were the majority of the reason he came, after all. This time, Apples was safe at home, and his only concern was getting back before Herobrine discovered him missing.

Shoving those thoughts away, Steve pressed on into the dim woods. He was sure he would be caught before long, so he wanted to enjoy it until then.

The woods were cool, but not cold, and seemed much more friendly without the threat of losing his dog hanging over him. He spied something moving twice out of the corner of his eye, but never saw anything when he turned to take a closer look, so he simply assumed it was a peaceful forest creature. After all, a hostile mob would've attacked on sight, wouldn't it? Either way, he knew how to handle mobs, even without a weapon. Herobrine would surely get on his case, but at this moment in time he was too excited to care.

The last time he'd seen another player's structure was at Herobrine's execution... obviously he hadn't had the time to enjoy it then.

Before he knew it, the tall spires of the first castle were appearing through the treetops, and then he was emerging into the field. He checked the chat - nothing. There was always a message when someone logged on, so that meant no one was online, right? That hardly quelled his nervousness. He busied himself admiring the castle instead.

It must be a hundred blocks tall in some places, richly decorated with windows filled with flowers. He could hear the buzz of bees nearby, likely attracted by the masses of flowers. The biggest tower, he could see the branches of a huge spruce tree poking through. He wondered idly if it had been planted before or after the construction of the tower.

Carefully, cautiously, he wandered around to the gateway and entered the courtyard. It was beautiful, the sunlight that sparkled off the water in the fountain giving every surface a shimmering effect. A bee bumped into him as it buzzed past, and he gave it a little pat before creeping farther to smell a rosebush.

Once he was finished marveling at the courtyard, he made his way up to the doorway. It was just a set of double doors, but it looked far more grand with the addition of trapdoors all along the sides. The inside was huge, it almost seemed built for a giant. The ceilings arched high above him, and he could spy other passageways built into the walls. Despite the weight and dimness of the stone, it felt almost as open as the outside due to the many windows that let in the sunlight.

It was lonely, though.

Other than the occasional animal, the enormous building was empty. He knew the player who lived here must be offline, but it seemed... excessive. Why create such a grand structure just for the use of a single player? It was possible it housed multiple, but this wasn't the only huge structure he had come across, and if so many players really existed then why weren't any of them online? It just seemed a waste of time and resources, which could be used for other things, like being prepared for an emergency, or helping those poor villagers...

[Nicky1289 joined the game]

The click of the chat startled him badly, and he dropped in a crouch on instinct before even reading it. Doing so scared him worse, and his gaze darted around the bedroom he was currently in. What were the odds that the player had spawned right here, he argued with himself. He hadn't even gone far the last time he was here, and had already seen two other 'houses'. The player was probably far away from here.

That's what he thought, until he saw a floating name coming towards him through a wall.

Steve scrambled for the other side of the room, vaulting over a stack of barrels and crushing himself into the farthest corner. He had nothing on him, nothing to defend himself except an iron pickaxe. If this player didn't kill him, Herobrine definitely would. He watched through the barrels as the name entered the room, hearing the soft patter of a player's footsteps. They stopped. Approached him again. A barrel, barely two blocks from his head, was opened. He held his breath.

The barrel was shut, and the player walked out of the room.

Steve exhaled softly, pressing a hand over his mouth as the name got farther and farther away. Nervous laughter bubbled up in his throat, but he held it until the name had nearly disappeared. Oh Notch, that was close.

Would the player have killed him? The first ones he had met didn't. Herobrine seemed to think every player was evil, but maybe that wasn't true. He could understand where he came from in that regard, though...

[Nicky1289 left the game]

As soon as he spotted the message, Steve fled his hiding place and made a beeline for the portal. No way he was sticking around there any longer. He practically ran through the dark forest, dashing through the portal and hurrying back to Herobrine's library. Grabbing a random book from the shelves in case of Herobrine's unexpected appearance, Steve sank down onto a bench, a hand pressed over his heart to calm his racing pulse.

He couldn't wait to go back.