Stephan

Chapter Thirteen - Introduced

Me? Actually updating my WIPs?

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Steve carefully counted out one, two, three diamonds, then placed them in the chest. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he pulled out his pickaxe and collected one of the Shulker Boxes for sale, then hightailed it out of the shop. He didn't want to spend a moment longer than he needed to in such a high-traffic area.

Steve had read about shulker boxes in one of Herobrine's books, a special kind of chest available after reaching the End, and had known immediately that he had to have one for his project. Fortunately, one of the shops in the center of the server offered them as stock, which was much safer than trying to travel to the end himself. Herobrine would certainly notice if he fell into the void.

Making his way out of the spawn area, Steve crawled into a small hole in a hill and climbed down his hidden ladder. The passage lead straight down to the bottom of the world, where several chests were filled with stone - the fruits of several hours of labor looking for diamonds. Of course, he hadn't been here for all that time in one session, Herobrine would surely catch on. Instead, over the past few days, he had snuck in to do about an hour of mining, collecting stone, resources, and diamonds, before returning to the library as if nothing had happened. And now, finally, his preparations were complete.

The two players who had left him the sign were currently working on a large project in a far-away mountain range - a castle. And they were constantly in need of more stone, so Steve had taken it upon himself to get them some. After all, they hadn't ratted him out to the admin, which was kind of them. Especially since there was a possibility of them getting in trouble for harboring him.

As Steve filled up the shulker box with cobblestone, a message popping up in the chat gave him pause.

[Philinator joined the game]

The admin. Steve immediately felt a prickle down his spine, but assured himself that he didn't know he was here. The other players online offered greetings in the chat, further alleviating his fears. Surely he wouldn't hunt him down while others were online? Quietly, he finished filling the shulker box, then headed off down one of his tunnels. Traveling underground was much safer, so he had dug in the direction of the friendly players' castle to avoid having to make the trek in broad daylight.

As he walked, shulker box packed safely in his inventory, Steve mused over the possibility of telling Herobrine where he'd really been going.

Surely he would have to tell him eventually. He couldn't get away with this forever, either he came clean or he waited until Herobrine caught him. Or he stopped sneaking out, but he had failed so far in that regard. Herobrine would probably take it better if he was told... but it wouldn't be a good reaction either way. He was fiercely, almost obsessively protective, and filled with hatred against players - even these kind ones. He would have to choose his words very carefully.

Steve made his way up the ladder on the other end of his tunnel, hearing a firework go off about halfway up. So they were here. He took a potion before he forgot.

Quietly, he slipped out of his hidden exit, making sure to leave his hands empty until they weren't looking. The pair of them were buzzing around the partially-finished castle with their elytra, occasionally landing to place a few blocks before taking off again. Stephan crept within the walls, out of their sight, and quietly began to search for a good place for his gift.

It took him a little while, but he eventually settled on a spot. Of course, he didn't want them to see him placing it down, but he didn't want it to sit for too long without them finding it, either. He placed it within one of the inner courtyards, then placed a sign on it with a short message-

"I got this for

you. I hope you

can use it!"

Satisfied, he stepped back, turned around, and came face to face with both players.

He froze. They didn't move, both staring, crouched. Stephan eased back a step, and his heart stopped when he realized that he was completely visible. He must have lost track of time searching, oh Notch he hoped they wouldn't tip off the admin-

One of the players, FaithfulFangirl, stood, then crouched again. They repeated the action about six more times before the other joined in, neither of them making any move to approach. Stephan blinked, memories coming back of the last time he had met a player. It was... a friendly gesture. A greeting?

"Hello?" He offered quietly, instinctively as he mimicked the action. Immediately, they stopped. He froze, locked in a staring contest again before Fangirl spun around and took off, shooting off with a rocket. The other, SoullessEyes, stayed in place, crouching a few more times as they waited. It was only a moment before the first returned, immediately placing down a sign and writing on it.

"AYO you can

talk???????????

can you hear us"

"Ah..." They could hear him, he'd forgotten about that. "...no, I can't hear you." Fangirl crouched and stared at the ground.

"Its nice to see u" Soulless wrote on a second sign.

"is the shulker for

us?"

"It is." Stephan shifted, suddenly feeling horribly shy. "It's... a thank you for not telling the... admin."

"how are you talk"

"I'm not exactly like you?" He shrugs. "That's... why I didn't come out until now."

"is this proxy chat

lol"

"I... don't know what that is." The click of the shulker box startled him, and he turned to find that Soulless had crept around behind him. The box closed, and the player began to do the little crouch dance again.

"dude cobble thats

so poggers thank yu"

"Poggers?" Stephan echoed helplessly. Neither one explained.

"are u going to

go back to hiding?" Fangirl wrote. That gave him pause.

"I..." He bit his lip. There wasn't much point now, was there? And they certainly seemed safe. "I... I guess not."

"yoooooo"

"do u have discord?" Soulless asked. Steve blinked.

"Discord?" They just broke the sign and didn't elaborate.

"does that mean you

can hang with us now"

"I guess." Steve brightened a bit at that. "I have to leave soon, though." Fangirl crouched rapidly, then broke the sign and placed it again.

"come on let us

show you around!"