Look me in the Eyes

The Friend of my Enemy is my Friend

Back to his house. I kept my teeth shut tight as I bore the Player, with Rolburn's help, back to that home I'd robbed so many times. Repulsion for the creature in my hands fought with remorse for having lied to Rolburn. I didn't know which to yield to, for each would be a betrayal of the other. But since I could not think of an answer, I just kept walking.

Eventually we reached the little pond and the earthen bridge that connected the house to the mainland. I opened the gate that would normally keep the monsters out and we trudged inside. There was a bed in the far left corner of the room, so we carried the Player there and set him down. Rolburn took a moment to glance around the house, which he'd never seen before. "Trex, it's tiny." He said in a tone of surprise. "And it's got no floor."

He was right, in a sense, for we walked on grass instead of any wood or stone that I'd seen through other Players' windows. But I was unconcerned with architecture just then. I was watching the Player on the bed. He was very pale and his jaws were shut so tight I wasn't sure he could open them again. He'd made hardly a sound as we carried him here, other than a groan or two, but his injuries were obviously painful. Hesitantly I looked over at Rolburn. Neither of us, I was sure, knew how to heal. "We should go." I suggested. "He can recover here on his own well enough."

Rolburn shook his head, still gazing fixedly at the pink flower which had somehow been fixed to the ceiling. "Now it's our turn to prove who we are."

I closed my eyes in frustration. "Rolburn, we have nothing to prove. Please let us just go. Players heal quickly, he'll be fine." I turned a quick glare upon the still figure on the bed. "I do not wish to linger here longer than we must. And if another Player comes while we're still in the house, what do you think they will do with us?"

Without answering, Rolburn reached up, fingering the petals of the delicate blossom. He made no move to leave, so I reached forward and took his hand. "Come. Let's go."

"Trex-" Rolburn blinked and came to himself. "Trex, no. No, I'm...I'm staying. There is still a debt of peace to pay." He pulled away from me and went to the Player's bed.

"What are you talking about?" I began to feel desperate. "Rolburn! We could be in deep trouble if we're discovered here. What debt?"

The Player winced as Rolburn put one hand on his chest. The Piglin narrowed his eyes, carefully probing. "He needs to stay in this bed for a while. Everything will fall apart all over again if he rises. Don't paint the air with his pain, Trex, please."

I growled deep in my throat. "What about my pain? What about what has been done to me? To you?"

Rolburn made no reply, except to moan a little and pat his head where his ear should have been. Hissing under my breath, I sat down on a chest and stared at the opposite wall. "We don't even know how to heal him. What exactly are you planning on doing?"

But again, there was no reply. I kicked against the chest in irritation, but could not find it in myself to just drag Rolburn away. Nor could I leave him here. I had no idea what his "debt" might refer to, but if he had decided that making sure this Player pulled through would fulfill it, my best course of action would be to make sure that happened as quickly as possible. I let out a long, grating sigh. "Alright. I'll help you. Just...when this is all over, please let's just go." Rolburn nodded once and I had to be content with that.

We spent a few days in that Player's house, taking care of his garden and of him. I mostly tended to the former, honestly. Rolburn seemed to be doing fine at taking care of the Player, so I left him to it. When there was nothing to do, I would wander about in the surrounding area, looking for signs of other Players. I found resources and more often than not I brought them back to Rolburn to use or store away somewhere, but for nearly four days there was no sign of Players anywhere.