Morning came rather quickly. They woke up to another cold, cloudy day. At least the snow had stopped, but that didn't mean their journey would be easy. After walking out of the Inn they both made their way to the stables were a grey stallion with white speckles awaited them. Once mounted, they were off. "Good luck, River!" "Get home soon!" "We know you can do it!" Different villagers called out to them as they made their way towards the end of the cobblestone road. She tipped her hat to every one of them while Wood sat behind her trying to be just as polite. Most of them had warmed up to him, but he spotted Ajax a little farther in the back of the crowd with a face that stood between regret and anger. Wood still acknowledged him with a nod, but he doubted the blacksmith cared. By the time they were out of sight, everyone had gone back to their own business. It felt heavy to be leaving Pisces Village almost as much as Cadia Village. Wood still couldn't believe how kind villagers could be towards him despite his obvious difference. For River, it didn't mean much, but for him it was a whole other world.
"If we follow the compass east, we'll pass through a taiga biome." River said to him as the village soon faded into the distance behind them. The horse, which was named Raziel, moved easily through the snow beneath her hooves once they saw nothing but snowy hills ahead of them. "Good. It should be warmer there." Wood replied. With that, they were on their way.
The wind thrashed against their faces as Raziel picked up the pace once the snow began to melt. As they galloped through the frozen wasteland, the comforts of home were well behind them. Even River herself had never journeyed that far into the wild. Although it made both of them feel small, it was a beautiful experience despite the reasons behind it. Every now and again, rabbits would pop out of the snow to greet them. Little things like that made them smile. It took two hours to make it out of the snow and into the shadows of spruce trees. To get there, they had to cross a wooden bridge that went over a small frozen river. A polar bear and its cub rested on the banks, greeting them with soft dark eyes. Once they made it into the trees, they removed their heavy woolen clothes because of the newfound warmth. Now River wore nothing but a tank top and trousers underneath her diamond armor. She finally let her hair down to give her head a break. Wood did the same, removing the heavier layers of his clothing before settling with a thinner tunic. She wondered why he kept his cloak. When she asked him, "Why the cloak?" he replied with a similar question, "Why did you keep your hat?" They laughed gently before continuing through the forest. The trees towered over their heads and above them until they reached the sky. The sounds of foxes and wolves echoed through the land while the moist air gave them peace. River and Wood talked every now and again, still following the compass. They spoke about home, about what they'd do after the adventure was done, and about those that would miss them.
"Stone used to tease me when we were younger. He bragged all the time about how brave he was and that he'd make an amazing chief. But then one day, we were cornered by four undead zombies. The first thing that this brave hero did was run for a tree. I ran up with him and we were stuck there for hours at the edge of camp until a scouting party came and saved us!" Wood laughed. River laughed too, "How old were you when that happened?" She asked through their laughter. "I was twelve, Stone was fourteen at the time... what's even funnier is that it was a baby zombie that kept scaring him." They cracked up again before continuing onto another subject. River realized that she never asked him his age, "How old are you anyway?"
"I'm twenty eight, you?" He asked. She blushed deeply, "Uhhh..."
"What? Uh oh... Is it that much of an age gap?" He smirked. "No! It's just... I never knew my birthday. I-I don't know how old I am." She answered sheepishly. Wood's smile faded, "Really? In my tribe, birthdays are very important... they determine when a man is man enough to pick up a weapon and when a person can go out on their own to explore. I just... I wish I had the freedom you had." He admitted. River frowned for a moment, but tried to make him smile again. "What did you guys do anyway? To celebrate birthdays I mean..." She asked. Wood grinned, "We'd usually have a feast with the best meat we could find. There would also be a single gift depending on what age the person was turning. On their fourteenth birthday, they'd be gifted with a crossbow to signify their journey into manhood." He explained, recalling fond memories of both Stone and Coal. He remembered when he received his first crossbow as well, how special it felt. "Wow... usually the villagers throw a party with sweets like cake or cookies. The person usually receives several gifts no matter what age they are." She stated. "And to think we used to only be one race..." Wood said quietly. A few conversations later, they realized that the sun was getting lower and lower into the sky. Therefore, they made camp beside a large tree. River secured Raziel to the trunk, feeding her an extra apple as Wood began to make sleeping arrangements in the trees. Since the trunk of the spruce tree was so large, the center of it was big enough for the two to sleep on. It would be perfect for protection against the undead. They ate a small meal of bread, pork, and water.
Sleep felt better than ever before as they were wrapped in each other's arms. Wood loved holding her more than ever. It was a shame that night had to leave so soon and they were forced back on the road again. It took a whole day just to make it out of the taiga woods and journey into a birch tree forest. At first the warmth was nice, but eventually it became too hot. Raziel was strong enough to gallop as long as she could, but River missed riding on Ziggy. Sometimes River would ride in front, and sometimes Wood would swap places with her. Talking everything over with Wood felt nice. It got to the point where they could say anything around one another. If there was any barrier between them, that barrier was long demolished by their sense of passion for each other. The more they spoke, the more they knew about themselves. On the second and final night in the wilderness, they had made camp inside a small cave that had a dead end. It decided to rain, so they both felt grateful that they had found the cave in the first place. "Do you think Notch is watching us right now?" She asked Wood as they huddled around the fire. "Yes... somewhere somehow." He answered, taking another bite of bread. "I always thought of him as a crazy old man that lives in the clouds." She said, letting out a chuckle. "Well, I always imagined him as a version of my father, just... wiser and calmer... a little less insane." They spoke for a little while, but the topic of Notch himself was a touchy one.
On the third day of travel, they had finally reached the large oak forest. They found themselves miles and miles away from everything they ever knew, standing at what could be the place of their origins. With butterflies in her stomach, she knew what they had to do. "The eyes of ender will point us the way once they're in the air. I've read it in a book once, and I'm fairly sure the stronghold will be revealed." She told him, pulling out the small bag they had carried all that way. "Alright, so all we need to do is throw it?" He repeated. "Yes. That's exactly what we need to do." Her hand dug inside the back to pull out one of the smooth, aqua green spheres that glistened in the sunlight. It had a reptilian like pupil in the middle of it, dark and oddly mesmerizing. She took a deep breath, and hurled it into the air. Immediately, the orb glowed with a strange light purple blast of light- rushing into the forest as if it was being summoned by something unnatural. The motion startled them, causing their eyes to widen with surprise. "Let's go! We have to follow it before we lose it!" She suddenly said. Wood obeyed and they both mounted Raziel again. "Hyah!" River cried as they galloped as fast as they could through the trees. The eye of ender kept glowing madly as if it might explode. It hovered frantically beneath the shade of the trees, searching for its landing place.
Their horse breathed heavily as their heartbeats escalated. While their insides were pounding from such a wild chase, River couldn't take her eyes off of it. She glared at the orb in front of her with an intensity that couldn't match the stares of her enemies. This was the eye of ender, this was what made travel to the end possible. This was what created history.
Around them, a nice and thick fog began to build. Wood was about to shrug it off, but he soon realized that something was about to happen. "Something's waiting for us..." He said over the commotion. River was about to reply when all of the sudden the eye of ender stopped. Raziel let out a neigh of distress that echoed the entire valley as her hooves slid on the moist surface of the ground. "AHHHHHHH!!!!" River began to scream, her eyes shrinking in shock. At first Wood was confused, but then his eyes widened with terror as he realized why she was panicking. He let out a scream too as Raziel tripped and tumbled, flinging them off hard until they both hit the forest floor. They rolled and tumbled down the hill until they plummeted down the ravine that sat right in the middle of it all. "WOOD!" She yelled. "WHAT?" He yelled back. "I'M SORRY!!!!" She screamed. Wood tried to grab something, anything to keep them from falling, but it was too late. River's nails dug through the dirt, trying to do the same. It all happened so fast, she didn't even think! Flashbacks of Coal's death entered her mind and because of that she felt a fear like never before. The thought of losing Wood made her go crazy. It made her just want to curl up in a ball and die for good. They both screamed as they finally fell down and down the ravine. River braced herself for the agonizing pain that waited for her, tears in her eyes already flowing with the idea of losing him. She thought she might've had a heart attack if not for the cool embrace that caught her. With a loud smack, she landed safely due to the water that rested at the bottom of the ravine.
It was cold and dark and deep, but it didn't let her die. She emerged at the surface gasping for air, her entire body drenched. "W-Wood? Are you there?" She called out, begging whatever god was there to give her an answer. A few moments later, she heard splashing coming from the opposite side of the small pool. "River! I'm here!" Wood answered, making is way over to her. "Oh Wood..." the large weight in her chest was lifted as a tear of relief fell from her face. "Don't scare me like that ever again! I thought I was going to lose you! I thought you would die just like Coal and I... I couldn't take it!!!" She cried. Before he could react, she slammed her lips against his. At first he was surprised, but soon he returned the rough kiss with everything he had. When they finally pulled away, they were both breathing heavily from both the action and the exchange. "I'd never leave you, River. Never. Even if I did, even if I die I'd want you to keep living." He told her. "That would be worse than death!" She argued. "That's not true! If Notch created me to love you, he'd want you to live after I'm done!" Wood replied sternly. "What about what I want?" River sobbed. Her question echoed through the dark ravine, with only the faint sunlight from above highlighting her saddened look. Wood felt awful, but he didn't have an answer to her remark. Moments of silence passed with only the sound of dripping water filling the void.
"Where's the eye?" He finally asked. They both looked around them, trying to pinpoint its whereabouts until she saw it. "Look there!" She pointed. They both turned their heads upwards to see the eye of ender levitating just above the ravine. It sunk down and down until it was almost touching them. Its purple glowing began to calm down as it slowly floated inches in front of them, closely landing at the entrance of a nearby cave. However, this was no ordinary cave. It looked too manmade... far too ancient. "Is that what I think it is?" Wood breathed as they swam towards it, climbing out of the water and onto the mossy brick floor. She finally stood up, coughing out the water that had become trapped in her lungs before speaking.
"It's the stronghold."