Two Worlds [Hermitcraft/DreamSMP Crossover AU]

Ruby Red

She felt her heart swell with pride. She trusted them all. Even Bad. She couldn't really figure him out, but could sense that he had good intentions. True intentions.

"I think we're close." She announced.

Hypno narrowed his eyes, peering into the Nether fog.

"Close to a Ghast." He finished, an arrow nocked. False strained her eyes, as did the rest of the group, but no one except Etho seemed to be able to see it.

Hypno paused for a moment, then adjusted his angle and let the arrow fly. It vanished into the gloom, and a heartbeat later she heard the dying shriek of a Ghast somewhere off in the distance.

"Good shot." Etho said after a heartbeat of silence.

Hypno managed a smile. "Thanks."

"That was incredible." False admitted.

Etho placed his own arrow back into his quiver. "The journey is supposed to take a day, correct?"

False nodded.

"Then you're right. We should be close. As long as we're headed in the right way at least."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took them another hour. False was afraid that perhaps they had overshot, and walked past it completely, or maybe they were just walking in the wrong direction, but then she had seen the dark red towers looming in the distance.

Now the problem was getting up it.

Keralis paused, humming. "I can craft some ladders."

Etho shook his head. "No. We need cover and a quick escape. It's better to mine a staircase through a pillar."

"Wouldn't it collapse?" Bad tilted his head.

"Never happened to me before. If we look around, we might be able to find the one that I made last time I was here"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They did find the one that he made.

It was a rickety uneven staircase that wound upwards through the colossal column of thick red bricks, and it made False a little dizzy when she peered at it. True, it covered one's head, but the sides were completely exposed.

The journey to the top was slow and treacherous. Keralis nearly slipped over the edge. He certainly would have if Etho hadn't managed to catch him by the back of his shirt, and the rest of them had shakily managed to pull him back to safety.

By the time she reached the top, her hands were trembling and she leaned on dusty red bricks for a moment to catch her breath. The rest of her group evidently felt the same way, with Bdubs immediately hugging the ground. "A flat ground?! I haven't seen one of these in a while!"

She managed a slight smile. "Etho, do you still remember which way the Blaze room is?"

He tilted his head, looking around. "I think so. I believe it's down that corridor over there, then down a set of stairs."

She glanced over at the corridor where he was pointing at and readied her sword. "Everyone good?"

They all nodded. She continued forwards, the hilt of her weapon slippery in her palm, slick with sweat.

She walked onwards, aware of how loud their footsteps were, echoing through the eerie fortress. The clattering of arrows met her ears and instantly she was on alert. A skeleton emerged from the next intersection, several blocks away from her. But it was no regular skeleton. It was an entire block taller, with thicker bones that were charred black. It held a dull but heavy stone blade.