"I think I can hear music playing," Forester said. "We must be getting close."
"Hope you're right. My arms are getting tired," Steve said, rubbing his arm.
"Me too," Sam agreed. "It's starting to get late."
Just then, Forester shouted.
"I'm through!"
"Thank Notch," said Sam.
After patching up the hole with their last few blocks, they turned to see what they had been searching for. The entire village was surrounded by jungle. There was not any shred of darkness visible anywhere in the village. If the sun couldn't reach it, and torch was close enough to prevent mobs from spawning in. The buildings weren't what Steve and Sam were used to seeing. They were bigger and had different colors. They were built from jungle wood. Some of them were for sleeping in, but others were used for storage and forging. The biggest thing that stood out from it all wasn't what was built; it was the people.
"Forester," Steve said. "You said you came from a village.
The others were puzzled.
"But I--"
"This place is a whole community!" Steve said happily. "It's so big!"
Forester let out a held breath.
"I'm glad you approve," Forester said. "I chopped most of the trees that built these houses."
"I love the houses," Sam said. "I was thinking of building with a similar design."
"Where's that music coming from?" Steve asked.
"The west side of the village," Forester said. "They have a feast at the end of every day. They play music and dance and eat together. If you're going to go ask for help, that's where you should go. You... might want to take your armor off and hide your swords. They're not used to seeing either of those things. It would be... intimidating."
"That's a good point, actually," Steve said.
They took off their armor and hid their swords in their inventory.
"I'm going to stay here," Forester said. "I'm pretty sure Nicholas wouldn't appreciate seeing my face around here again. If he found out I came back, it wouldn't end well."
"We'll try to bring you back some food," Sam said. "Golem, you stay here, too."
The golem nodded.
They followed the source of the music. As they got closer, it became clearer. It was like nothing Steve had ever heard before. He was a little nervous after the music disk he found in the dungeon, but this was very different. It was... inviting. He almost wanted to jump around to the music.
"Wow," Steve said. "I've never heard music like that before."
"Music disks are hard to find," Sam said. "You only find them in dungeons."
They turned a corner that opened up to the outside area they were looking for. A long table stood by a fire, and the occupants of the chairs around the table were a large blend of villagers and humans. Almost every chair was filled. Behind them by the fire, a jukebox stood with the disc playing inside. The campfire was large, casting light shadows on the walls of the houses. The table was scattered with a variety of bread, along with fruits and vegetables. Water was passed around in a bucket, as well as milk, and bottles were scooped inside for a refill. There were also some humans tending to anyone that needed assistance with something. Steve and Sam were amazed to see just how fun it all looked.
"Look at them all," Steve said. "People like us."
"I bet this isn't everyone in the village, either," Sam said. "There could be more that just haven't shown up yet."
At the end of the table, they could see Nicholas ferociously eating apples and bread while chugging it all down with milk.
"There he is," Steve said. "There are two seats open beside him. Let's go sit there."
"Okay."
They both walked by some people who were too busy attending to others to notice the newcomers and sat down. Nicholas didn't seem to notice and kept eating.
"Hi! Are you new here?" A voice said.
They turned to find a girl holding drinks. She had dark brown hair like Steve's but longer. Her eyes were green like a villager, but she was definitely human. She wore a long-sleeved brown shirt with gray pants.
"Yes. We're travelers," Steve said.
"Well, then, welcome to our village. I hope you enjoy your stay."
"Thank you," Sam said. "I'm Sam."
"And I'm Steve."
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Lucy. You need anything?"
"Some water would be great, please," Steve said.
"Here you go."
She handed them two water bottles she took from her inventory.
"You should talk to Nicholas about staying in one of the guest houses for the night."
"Thank you. Will do," Sam said.
"Waitress, bring me two bottles of water. Now," Nicholas said, still stuffing bread in his face.
She looked at Nicholas. For a second, they thought they could see disgust flash across her face. Then, she was back to smiling.
"See you guys later!" She said.
She hurried away to get some more water.
"Did you see that?" Sam asked.
"I did."
He picked up some bread. Sam did the same and took a bite. The bread was... amazing. It was the best bread he had ever tasted. He had to force himself not to stuff himself full like Nicholas was doing. Steve did the same and felt a similar experience. It was hard to hold back.
"This is amazing!" Sam said.
"Best bread I've ever tasted," Steve said back.
Lucy came back with a bucket.
"Here you are, sir," she said.
Nicholas snatched the bucket out of her hand. He waved his hand at her.
"You're too slow. Go attend to someone else."
Without another word, she left with haste. He tipped the bucket to his lips and gulped it down. Sam and Steve exchanged looks.
There's something wrong with him, Sam said with his eyes.
I know, Steve said back.
They continued eating some bread while putting some extra in their inventory. Nicholas didn't even give the two notice the whole time they were eating. By the time it was all over, almost everyone was gone for the night. The waiters and waitresses were busy cleaning up the mess left behind. Nicholas sat in his chair, his head leaned back and eyes closed. Lucy came by and picked up their empty glass bottles.
"Thanks, Lucy," Steve said.
She gave a nod and hurried off again. She didn't really like being around Nicholas for long.
"Um... hi," Steve said to Nicholas.
He opened his eyes and turned his head to them.
"Hey," he said.
"Are you Nicholas?" Sam asked.
"That's me. If you're asking to stay the night, the guest house is right over there," he said.
He pointed to a house closer to the center of the village.
"Thanks," Sam said quietly, "but that wasn't the only thing we needed to talk to you about."
"What is it, then?"
"May we speak with you privately, sir?" Steve asked politely.
Nicholas sat up in his seat.
"It's getting late," he said. "Is it that urgent?"
Sam and Steve nodded. He stood up.
"Follow me, then."
He took off for his house. They quickly followed him to his front door. Nicholas looked back through the doorway one last time before he closed it.
He didn't see her, but Lucy was sitting against the wall of the house where he couldn't see her. She crept up closer to the door, trying to listen in on the conversation.
Nicholas flipped a lever connected to a redstone light that lit the room.
"Now, what's going on?" He asked.
They told him everything, leaving out Forester in the story. It had taken almost half an hour to explain it all. Lucy's eyes went wide on specific parts that she picked up. When they finished, Nicholas pondered on the apparent situation in his chair.
"Did you actually see your house get blown up, Steve?"
"Well... no. We heard creeper explosions coming from the house. What about it?"
"You know what I think?"
"What?" Steve and Sam asked.
"I think you're playing me for a fool. You think you can just come in here and order me around? Scare me into submission?"
"Nicholas," Sam said. "That's not--"
"I won't have it," Nicholas interrupted. "These stories are ridiculous! Who would be dumb enough to believe that? Mobs not burning in the day my rear end!"
"It's true!" Steve said. "The village is in danger!"
"You're nothing but scumbags," he said. "If I didn't have a heart, I would kick you out right now. Because I do, you can stay for the night. In the morning, I want both of you gone at first light. Leave!"
He shouted and pointed to the door. Lucy shuffled back around to the other wall just as Sam and Steve walked out. Nicholas slammed the door behind them with a loud thud. She overheard everything but stayed hidden. Steve and Sam continued their conversation outside. She silently followed them.
"Man, can you believe this guy?" Steve said.
"He's going to get everyone killed," Sam said. "Does he really think this is a game to us?"
"Don't worry," Steve said. "There's no way we're leaving them to die. Let's regroup with Forester and figure out a plan."
Forester? Lucy was shocked to hear. Do they mean Bernard?
She had to know more. She followed them back to Forester. She was surprised to see the golem. She had never seen one before, but she knew what they looked like. They sneaked Forester and the golem to the guest house without anyone seeing them. Lucy hid outside to listen.
Steve and Sam gave Forester the food and water they had saved for him.
"I knew something wasn't right," Forester said between bites. "We can't let them be invaded because of his ignorance."
"We agree," Steve said. "There's not much we can do about it tonight. We should come up with a plan in the morning. We've worked all day."
Sam yawned.
"I second that."
Everyone, even the golem, had a bed to sleep in. The house was just big enough for all of them to be comfortable. Just when they started snoring away, Lucy made a judgement call against her gut. She knocked quickly on the door.
"Wha... is someone at the door?" Sam stirred.
She knocked at the door again. She head a loud *thump* followed by heavy footsteps. The door opened. The golem stood at the door, eyeing Lucy suspiciously with glowing, red eyes.
"It's okay," she said. "I'm a friend. I need to talk to them. It's important."
The golem stared at her.
"You can trust me," she said.
Hesitantly, it moved out of her way. She walked in.
"Lucy?" Forester said.
"Bernard! It really is you!"
She threw herself on him in a big hug.
"Lucy?" Sam asked sleepily. "You know each other?"
She let Bernard go.
"Wow. You really smell."
"You're not much better," Bernard said. "Lucy and I are old friends."
"I almost didn't want to believe it, but you're actually here," she said.
"What's this, then?" Steve asked drowsily.
"I need to talk to you. All of you," she said. "It's important."
"What is it, Lucy?" Bernard asked, now awake.
"I overheard that you had some urgent business to discuss with Nicholas, so I... I followed you to his house and listened in on your conversation. I'm sorry for being sneaky, but we have to be careful with Nicholas. Lately, he's had a distinct lack of better judgement. When I heard what you said, I knew Nicholas wouldn't listen to you. He hasn't been listening to anyone lately."
"The villagers have been talking, spreading rumors. The Ender Dragon is awake again, that much is true. We didn't know about the mobs not burning in the day. We tried to tell Nicholas, but he doesn't listen! He believes nothing that we tell him. He's neglected listening to us so much that no one is on his side, anymore."
"I'm not partial to listening to strangers' stories, but this I can definitely believe. We need to warn the rest of the village. They'll believe in you."
"That's great and all," Steve said, "but how are we supposed to get him to listen to us?"
"You can't," she said simply. "He stopped listening a long time ago. You'll have to find a way around him before there's any chance of getting help from him."
"Is it true that only Nicholas knows how to fight?" Sam asked.
"Not exactly. Bernard was a known exception, but I've been practicing since he got banished. If any mobs got into the village, there's no way only Nicholas would be able to defend us. That would be stupid. I knew when Bernard got kicked out that we were in danger."
"That was a while ago," Bernard said. "Has nothing changed?"
"It's only gotten worse. He kicked you out because he didn't want anyone to challenge his authority. We didn't want this. We didn't want to kick Bernard out. We wanted Nicholas gone, but he got rid of our only chance at that. I'm not skilled enough to take him on myself."
"What are we supposed to do?" Sam asked.
"I'll do my part to spread word around tomorrow to the other villagers. You just try to act normal and stay out of Nicholas's sight. If we can get people on our side, we might finally be able to do something about him."
She looked at the door.
"I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, guys."
She looked at Bernard.
"It's great to see you, again."
Bernard smiled. She slipped out the door. The golem made a creaking noise, and she looked back. He held out his hand, holding a rose. She gratefully took it. She then gave him a dandelion she had in her inventory. He thankfully received it.
"Thank you," she said and took off.
The golem smiled.