142
Here's the blog I said I would write. It's a sequel to this.
Steve hacked and slashed violently at the practice dummy with his sharp iron sword. He had been doing this for two hours and his arms were getting very sore, but he kept going. He knew the ache made him stronger.
Steve wasn’t just exercising, he could do plenty of that just by doing his job as a blacksmith, but what blacksmithing couldn’t exercise, were Steve’s skills as a warrior, and Steve would need those skills for the challenge that he would soon face.
Three days before, Steve had seen a notice on the Osokkos notice board, asking for brave explorers to help explore the nether. The notice had been posted by a man named Hector, who was to lead the expedition. Steve had never met Hector, but it wouldn’t be long until he did, for this was the day they would set off.
Tired but refreshed, Steve put down his sword. Somewhat annoyingly, the combat dummy was barely scratched. It was enchanted with unbreaking III, so Steve could whack it all day if he wanted to, but he had no time. He was now ready to meet Hector and whatever other warriors had read his notice for their trip to the nether.
Steve met the group in the mages’ room of the Osokkos castle. The entrance to the room was behind a painting in the library and down a ladder. The room was dominated by a large black portal frame filled with purple energy and was occupied by three people, two of whom Steve knew. One was a young woman with brown hair and an enormous iron sword, whom Steve recognised as his cousin Shera. They had last seen each other about seven years ago when Shera had decided to leave Osokkos and become an adventurer. Now she was semi-nomadic, travelling the world like a trader, and smashing monsters with seldom seen skill. Steve had been startled by her decision at the time, but as the years went by, he wondered if he should do something similar. The other two people were Teron, the head mage of Osokkos, and a middle-aged man Steve didn’t recognise. He had short greying hair, dark complexion, and a crossbow strapped to his back. Shera introduced him. “Steve, this is Hector, Hector this is Steve,” Addressing Hector she said: “Steve is my cousin. We’ve known each other since we were children.” Addressing Steve she said: “Hector is one of the greatest explorers alive, but he keeps a low profile. Few have heard of him.” As he shook Hector’s hand, Steve got the impression that he wasn’t very chatty, but was truly the survival expert Shera said he was.
“Well, we’d best be off,” said Teron, bowing them through the portal with a somewhat theatrical air. Hector went first, followed by Shera, Steve, and Teron.
The view on the other side of the portal brought a new definition of the word “strange” to Steve’s mind. He was certain of only a few things, the most important being:
But Hector, who was no navigator as far as Steve knew, seemed to have no trouble with it. He showed them which blocks were useful, and which weren’t, and he showed them the best ways to fight the nether’s many monsters. Sweeping edge swords levelled magma cubes, and crossbows easily brought down ghasts. Sometimes several at once, with the multishot enchantment. The nether had many valuable blocks, like glowstone, quartz and soul sand, but it all paled in comparison to what they found next. An enormous dark shape clung to the ceiling of the enormous fiery cave. The ground below it had several strange contraptions, which Steve recognised as TNT cannons.
“That’s a blaze hive,” Hector told the group. “It’s inhabited by ferocious things called blazes. Blazes are like enchantments. It’s easier to say what they do than exactly what they are.”
“What do they do?” Steve asked.
“They fly and shoot fire,” Hector responded. “Not a safe combination. That’s why we attack from below.”
“And that’s what the cannons are for.” Shera finished.
“We will launch TNT at the hive,” Hector said. “But we’ll have to watch out for the Alpha blaze.”
Teron explained to Steve that the Alpha blaze was the leader of the hive, as well as it’s strongest member. “The Alpha blaze has enhanced abilities,” he continued. “It can fly faster, protect itself more effectively, and when it’s on the ground, it can release a devastating shockwave of fire.”
As Teron explained about the Alpha blaze, the four heroes readied one of the cannons. Each of them had brought a few blocks of TNT to load the cannons with. After the cannon was loaded, Hector pressed the button and everyone stood back. A thunderous blast launched the explosive block into the air. It flew up, and up, and up, and with perfect timing, it exploded right next to the wall of the blaze hive. The air was filled with a terrible sound, like mechanical breathing, and a swarm of creatures that could only be blazes rushed forth from the crater. As they flew closer, Steve saw that their bodies were mostly obscured by smoke, but he could make out its head, which was orbited by about 10 gold rods, like planets around a star.
When the attack came, they were prepared. A barrage of fireballs flew at them, but their shields held strong. Hector shot his crossbow, and the others shot their bows so that only a few blazes reached the ground alive, and they were soon brought down. But the worst was yet to come. The powerful Alpha blaze was now swooping down, ready to defend its domain. It was much larger than its minions, with four shieldlike objects orbiting its core, and a head protected by what appeared to be a helmet. Its shields were so quick that their arrows bounced off them. Hector drew back his crossbow and loaded it with a firework, which he shot. This stunned the creature, causing it to draw its shields around itself, forming a protective shell.
The shields pulled close together seemed to hinder the Alpha blaze’s ability to fly, so hector continued to shoot it with fireworks until it had lowered itself to about 10 blocks off of the ground. Then, Teron reached into his pocket and grabbed a bottle of water, which he threw at the Alpha blaze, smashing the bottle against its head. The water dripped through the small gaps in the shell and burned at the creature’s sensitive core. It thrashed and flailed to shake off the stinging water, but in the process, it opened its shell and was brought down by the sharp blades of Shera and Steve. The Alpha blaze was no more, and the spoils of the hive, namely blaze powder, were ripe for the taking. This was Steve’s first nether adventure, but it wasn’t his last...
Steve hacked and slashed violently at the practice dummy with his sharp iron sword. He had been doing this for two hours and his arms were getting very sore, but he kept going. He knew the ache made him stronger.
Steve wasn’t just exercising, he could do plenty of that just by doing his job as a blacksmith, but what blacksmithing couldn’t exercise, were Steve’s skills as a warrior, and Steve would need those skills for the challenge that he would soon face.
Three days before, Steve had seen a notice on the Osokkos notice board, asking for brave explorers to help explore the nether. The notice had been posted by a man named Hector, who was to lead the expedition. Steve had never met Hector, but it wouldn’t be long until he did, for this was the day they would set off.
Tired but refreshed, Steve put down his sword. Somewhat annoyingly, the combat dummy was barely scratched. It was enchanted with unbreaking III, so Steve could whack it all day if he wanted to, but he had no time. He was now ready to meet Hector and whatever other warriors had read his notice for their trip to the nether.
Steve met the group in the mages’ room of the Osokkos castle. The entrance to the room was behind a painting in the library and down a ladder. The room was dominated by a large black portal frame filled with purple energy and was occupied by three people, two of whom Steve knew. One was a young woman with brown hair and an enormous iron sword, whom Steve recognised as his cousin Shera. They had last seen each other about seven years ago when Shera had decided to leave Osokkos and become an adventurer. Now she was semi-nomadic, travelling the world like a trader, and smashing monsters with seldom seen skill. Steve had been startled by her decision at the time, but as the years went by, he wondered if he should do something similar. The other two people were Teron, the head mage of Osokkos, and a middle-aged man Steve didn’t recognise. He had short greying hair, dark complexion, and a crossbow strapped to his back. Shera introduced him. “Steve, this is Hector, Hector this is Steve,” Addressing Hector she said: “Steve is my cousin. We’ve known each other since we were children.” Addressing Steve she said: “Hector is one of the greatest explorers alive, but he keeps a low profile. Few have heard of him.” As he shook Hector’s hand, Steve got the impression that he wasn’t very chatty, but was truly the survival expert Shera said he was.
“Well, we’d best be off,” said Teron, bowing them through the portal with a somewhat theatrical air. Hector went first, followed by Shera, Steve, and Teron.
The view on the other side of the portal brought a new definition of the word “strange” to Steve’s mind. He was certain of only a few things, the most important being:
- They were in an enormous cave
- It was very hot
- The ground was made out of a type of red rock that Steve didn’t recognise
- He had no idea what else he would find here
But Hector, who was no navigator as far as Steve knew, seemed to have no trouble with it. He showed them which blocks were useful, and which weren’t, and he showed them the best ways to fight the nether’s many monsters. Sweeping edge swords levelled magma cubes, and crossbows easily brought down ghasts. Sometimes several at once, with the multishot enchantment. The nether had many valuable blocks, like glowstone, quartz and soul sand, but it all paled in comparison to what they found next. An enormous dark shape clung to the ceiling of the enormous fiery cave. The ground below it had several strange contraptions, which Steve recognised as TNT cannons.
“That’s a blaze hive,” Hector told the group. “It’s inhabited by ferocious things called blazes. Blazes are like enchantments. It’s easier to say what they do than exactly what they are.”
“What do they do?” Steve asked.
“They fly and shoot fire,” Hector responded. “Not a safe combination. That’s why we attack from below.”
“And that’s what the cannons are for.” Shera finished.
“We will launch TNT at the hive,” Hector said. “But we’ll have to watch out for the Alpha blaze.”
Teron explained to Steve that the Alpha blaze was the leader of the hive, as well as it’s strongest member. “The Alpha blaze has enhanced abilities,” he continued. “It can fly faster, protect itself more effectively, and when it’s on the ground, it can release a devastating shockwave of fire.”
As Teron explained about the Alpha blaze, the four heroes readied one of the cannons. Each of them had brought a few blocks of TNT to load the cannons with. After the cannon was loaded, Hector pressed the button and everyone stood back. A thunderous blast launched the explosive block into the air. It flew up, and up, and up, and with perfect timing, it exploded right next to the wall of the blaze hive. The air was filled with a terrible sound, like mechanical breathing, and a swarm of creatures that could only be blazes rushed forth from the crater. As they flew closer, Steve saw that their bodies were mostly obscured by smoke, but he could make out its head, which was orbited by about 10 gold rods, like planets around a star.
When the attack came, they were prepared. A barrage of fireballs flew at them, but their shields held strong. Hector shot his crossbow, and the others shot their bows so that only a few blazes reached the ground alive, and they were soon brought down. But the worst was yet to come. The powerful Alpha blaze was now swooping down, ready to defend its domain. It was much larger than its minions, with four shieldlike objects orbiting its core, and a head protected by what appeared to be a helmet. Its shields were so quick that their arrows bounced off them. Hector drew back his crossbow and loaded it with a firework, which he shot. This stunned the creature, causing it to draw its shields around itself, forming a protective shell.
The shields pulled close together seemed to hinder the Alpha blaze’s ability to fly, so hector continued to shoot it with fireworks until it had lowered itself to about 10 blocks off of the ground. Then, Teron reached into his pocket and grabbed a bottle of water, which he threw at the Alpha blaze, smashing the bottle against its head. The water dripped through the small gaps in the shell and burned at the creature’s sensitive core. It thrashed and flailed to shake off the stinging water, but in the process, it opened its shell and was brought down by the sharp blades of Shera and Steve. The Alpha blaze was no more, and the spoils of the hive, namely blaze powder, were ripe for the taking. This was Steve’s first nether adventure, but it wasn’t his last...
| Tags |
4304218
6
ScotsMiser
DoomStryker
PhoenixTheHunter
CrystalRuby
ClayMan1077
Nick_LM
ItBeTales
ruietto
EccentricEremite
Sophisticated_Trashcan
CassandraStudios
kettlecooked
MaximusPrime23
Create an account or sign in to comment.