Herobrine's Message (35 page)

“Okay, Ben . . . As awesomely awesome as that sounds, I'm not sure that it's gonna work. I mean, how do we know that the place is still in danger of blowing up? That seems like a feature that they would've gotten rid of by this point.”

“Because our spies heard them talking about it,” Ben replied. “Thanks to the Potions of Invisibility that were stored in the warehouse, it's been a lot easier for us to get close to the Noctem leaders and spy on them. Earlier today, Drake ordered that the TNT that was built into the walls of the castle no longer served a purpose now that the war is almost over, and that it should be disarmed within the next three days. We need to get to the Capitol Building before they're done, and use a redstone charge to detonate a block of TNT in the building. That should start a chain reaction that will destroy
the entire Nocturia complex, including everybody inside.”

A chill of excitement ran down Stan's spine. He imagined that, in one fell swoop, he could take out a hundred Noctem soldiers, crippling the Alliance beyond anything they could imagine. He could hardly believe his ears.

“So what're we waiting for?” Kat demanded. “We have three days to take out a fifth of the Noctem Army all at once. Why haven't we mobilized yet?”

“Because . . . there's a complication,” Ben said, looking tired. “While we were listening to the soldiers, Drake let something else slide. Apparently, they're working on building an army of mobs to help with the defense of Element City, and the base of operations is in Nocturia. Which means . . . that Oob is there.”

Stan felt like all the air was being sucked out of his lungs. Here, in front of him, was the chance to launch the biggest attack on the Noctem Alliance since the war began. It would no doubt be an invaluable move if they wished to win the war. And yet . . . to blow up Nocturia would also mean to kill Oob.

“Many of my soldiers,” said Ben, slowly and carefully, “have told me that they believe it is worth it to lose the life of one Zombie villager in order to take out the second-largest city the Noctem Alliance controls. I'm leaving the decision to you, President Stan.”

“Hey!” exclaimed Kat in fury, butting her way in between them. “What about the other council members? Shouldn't we get a say in what to do?”

Ben shook his head. “I'm sorry, Kat, but we don't have time to debate this. It's an incredibly important matter and, given that we only have three days, we can't waste time organizing a vote.”

Something clicked in Stan's head. He remembered a long time ago, as Blackraven had stood up at the council table in Element City, and yelled out at them all . . .
I only want what is best for Elementia, and I would like to see action taken against our enemies quickly, without wandering through the political swamp of your bureaucratic elections.

Blackraven had made the exact same argument for appointing himself to the council that Ben was making now. And yet, now, everybody was agreeing with Ben, whereas half of them had jumped down Blackraven's throat at the idea.

“Stan, you can't do it!”

Stan snapped out of his thoughts and realized that Kat was appealing to him, a look of desperation in her eyes.

“You can't kill Oob, you . . . you just
can't
! I mean, we've known him for so long now . . . he's our friend! His life is no less valuable than any of ours just because he's an NPC villager! There's got to be another way to destroy Nocturia without killing him!”

Stan knew that what she was saying was true. Oob was their friend. They could never just leave him to die. That would be like abandoning Kat or Charlie! He knew that he could never do that. On the other hand, the idea of a hundred Noctem troops sitting out in the tundra suddenly made him far more uneasy than it ever had before as they prepared for the closing phases of the war. And here was an opportunity to take them out forever. Stan thought that . . . just maybe . . .

“What was that?” a voice came from behind Stan. He turned around and saw Mella walking up to him, with little Stull asleep in her arms. “I heard you say the name of Oob, who is my son. Did you say the name of Oob, who is my son?”

As Stan looked back into Mella's quizzical, trusting eyes, all hints of doubt vanished from Stan's mind in an instant.

“Yes, you did, Mella,” he replied confidently. “We're breaking into the Noctem Capitol to free your son.”

It had taken far too much time to put together the plan for the infiltration of Nocturia, but now that Stan had entered the subzero snowstorm yet again, he was confident that their plan was solid. He looked ahead of him, past Ben, who was shielding his eyes from the snow. Stan's eyes locked on to Jayden, who was at the front of the trio. Even though he couldn't see Jayden's face, Stan knew that he bore a look of
grim determination and vengeance.

In the Adorian Village, Stan had found Jayden alone in an abandoned house. He had clearly been crying for the entire day, and Stan totally understood. When Jayden had first met him, he had gotten to know Stan, played practical jokes on him, and taught him, all alongside G, Archie, and Sally. And now, months later, all three of those friends were gone. Jayden was the only one remaining, and all of them had been taken out by the Noctem Alliance (or, in Sally's case, the regime of King Kev, which had led to the Alliance's creation).

When Stan had told Jayden that they were going on a mission to blow the capitol of the Noctem Alliance off the face of the server, he hadn't hesitated to volunteer. Stan was relieved that Jayden was feeling up to coming with them; out of all of them, he had by far the most inside knowledge of the Noctem Capitol Building, having stayed there for weeks on end.

Stan only hoped that they were almost there. They had been traveling for two days through the countryside of Elementia, speckled with abandoned Noctem outposts, and were just now in the midst of the trek through the tundra. Time was running out.

Suddenly, Stan's heart leaped. A few shimmering lights shone out of the darkness of the eternal blizzard and, slowly
but surely, the silhouette of the Nocturia complex faded into view. Stan took a deep breath as he realized that, if their mission went according to plan, it would be the last time that they would ever see the magnificent complex from the outside. Jayden raised his hand to indicate a halt, and he turned to face Stan and Ben.

“We're close enough,” Jayden said, his voice still gruff and gravelly from his days of woeful mourning and silence. “Use the potions now.”

Stan pulled the Potion of Invisibility out of his inventory and drank it along with his two friends. As Stan let the tingling feeling spread from his mouth through the rest of his body, he sincerely hoped that the last of the potion wouldn't go to waste. The Potions of Invisibility in the warehouse had proved invaluable for spying on Element City since they had taken over the Adorian Village, and the three of them had taken some of the last remaining bottles for use on this mission. Stan resolved to make it count.

It wasn't long before the potions had taken effect. All three players stood invisible, without armor on their bodies or weapons in their hands. The only indication of where Stan's comrades stood was a faint shimmering, as if the air was irradiated, that Stan could only sense if he focused as hard as he could. After fumbling about for a moment, Stan found what he was looking for, and grasped Ben's hand, as
Ben did the same to Jayden in front of him. As soon as the chain of the three invisible players was completed, they took off running.

Stan's heart, already racing from the effort, was thumping faster than he was aware was possible as they entered through the stone brick–block wall surrounding the Nocturia complex. It didn't slow as they sprinted straight past the four guards watching over the door framed with quartz blocks. The Potion of Invisibility only lasted for a short time. He could only pray that Jayden managed to locate a safe place in the capitol for them to reappear before that time came.

They were dashing past houses now, dozens and dozens of plain, tiny houses, constructed of cobblestone and wood-plank blocks, the windows on the wood doors revealing darkness inside. Stan supposed that these were the abandoned houses of the players who had made their way to Element City. For a moment, he considered questioning Jayden as to whether one of these houses would be a good place to reappear, but he decided not to. Whatever Jayden was planning, Stan trusted him. Fortunately, they reached the front doors of the Noctem Capitol Building just as a Noctem trooper was walking out, and they managed the slip through the iron doors just before they swung shut.

As the trio entered the main hall and dropped their hands, Stan allowed himself to take a deep breath, finally
breathing in air that wasn't below freezing (although the air in the capitol certainly wasn't warm). There was no time to stop, though. Stan saw the other shimmers pressing onward, and he followed.

Stan's anxiety levels were through the roof as he crossed the floor of the Capitol Building rotunda. Guards were stationed around every corner, and there were several lone soldiers passing through the center of the rotunda. Once or twice, as Stan sprinted past a soldier, he did a double take, and Stan's heart stopped. Luckily, nobody pursued them, but Stan still felt like he was about to have a panic attack. The potion was surely close to running out.

Stan ducked behind one of his two friends into a side hallway, not illuminated by the light of glowstone as the rotunda had been. The hallway was made entirely out of stone-brick blocks. Stan followed the shimmering figure around a corner and into another hallway, just as it grew much more substantial. In a matter of seconds, it had finally turned back into the form of Ben. Jayden materialized right beside him, and Stan looked down at himself to see that he had reappeared, too.

“Don't worry,” Jayden said quickly, before Stan could voice his alarm, “they won't look down here. This part of the building isn't done. They just built it so that the capitol would be symmetrical, and they haven't actually done anything with the space yet. And best of all, this”—Jayden grinned as
he gave three sharp raps on the stone-brick wall across from him—“is the outside wall of the castle.”

There was a moment of silence as they all realized what this meant. Then, slowly, Ben drew out a diamond pickaxe. He walked over to the wall and struck a piece of stone brick. As he chipped away at the block, Stan held his breath. Now was the moment of truth. If the TNT had already been removed from this wall, then the first part of their mission would be a total failure. Ben raised the pickaxe and, with all his might, he delivered one final strike to the stone-brick block. It broke, collapsing onto the floor, revealing a block of red sticks, with a white label bearing the black letters TNT.

Ben pumped his fist in excitement, while Jayden smiled a wild smile and Stan sighed in relief.

“Okay, Stan, you know the plan,” said Ben as he handed the diamond pickaxe to Stan. “And please—I cannot stress this enough—
do not
blow up the building until we're outside.”

“I promise.” Stan nodded as he took the tool and started to carve out more of the stone-brick blocks, being careful to leave the TNT blocks in place. “Good luck, you guys. Be out as soon as possible, and don't do anything too reckless.”

Jayden and Ben nodded as they pulled black leather armor out of their inventories, slipped it on over their heads, and proceeded to make their way back out into the main part of the building, Jayden leading the way. Stan, meanwhile,
turned his attention back to his job.

Stan reached into his inventory to double-check that he had everything that he needed to complete his job. To his relief, it was all there: several stacks of redstone dust, a stack of redstone repeaters, a map, and a lever. He raised the diamond pickaxe and struck the nearest TNT block. It immediately broke off, falling to the ground, and Stan pocketed it. Hastily, he continued to dig into the wall, mining through blocks of stone brick and TNT until eventually he was inside the wall. Wasting no time, Stan picked up some of the stone-brick blocks from the ground and fastened them on to the section of the wall that he had just tunneled through. Now, if anybody were to come across this section of the wall from inside the building, it would appear untouched.

Stan knew that, even though he was concealed, he couldn't slow down. It wouldn't be long before Jayden and Ben had gotten Oob, and he would be shocked if they managed to smuggle the villager out without being discovered by the Noctem troops. If they were to get out safely, Stan would have to be ready well before they left the Nocturia complex. With that knowledge in mind, Stan dug a downward stairway through the furrowed dirt-block ground, stopping when the stone-brick wall was directly above him.

Pulling the redstone dust from his inventory, Stan reached back up through the terraced dirt blocks and laid
a trail of redstone down the steps and toward him, starting at the base of one of the TNT blocks and ending at his feet. Stan pulled the map from his inventory and oriented himself so that he was facing toward the front gates of the Nocturia complex. Pulling out his pickaxe again, Stan then proceeded to dig forward, tunneling through dirt and stone blocks alike, and sprinkling redstone dust behind him on the ground.

After Stan had been digging and laying down dust for what he counted as ten steps, he pulled a redstone repeater from his inventory and put it on the ground at the end of the redstone dust. The stone plate of the mechanism had a few buttons and switches on it, but Stan was most interested in the arrow inscribed on the smooth stone base of the contraption, which was pointing in the direction he had just come from. Stan knew that he had to be vigilant in making sure that each and every one of the repeaters was facing toward Nocturia, or else the entire redstone circuit would malfunction.

On and on Stan went, in a pattern: dig further down the tunnel, lay redstone dust behind him, lay a repeater every ten steps. Every once in a while he would check the map to see how close he was to being outside the boundaries of the Nocturia complex.