The Complete Elementia Chronicles: Quest for Justice; The New Order; The Dusk of Hope; Herobrine’s Message. Sean Wolfe Fay

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      Stan was dead to the world. His brain was numb and dumb from the destruction and death that he had just witnessed. He was unaware of the fact that they walked for hours or that the heavy woods eventually thinned out into a wooded plain but soon thickened again into a dense jungle.

      He was vaguely aware of Charlie and Kat trying to decide what to do next and of their eventual decision to climb one of the hundred-foot-high trees. They scaled the vines growing up the sides and ended up on a branch.

      Stan was still sickened by the senseless murder and destruction that he had seen back in the Adorian Village, and he couldn’t help wondering why the government had attacked the virtually unarmed village. He understood now that they irrationally despised lower-level players, but was the government so corrupt that they would attack innocent civilians out of prejudice? Despite how little he thought of the King and the Elementian government, he still found himself shocked that they would murder lower-levels for no reason other than spite.

      He looked up at Kat and Charlie. Neither of them looked good. Charlie had pulled his knees to his chest and was staring at the ground, a compassionate frown on his face. Kat was staring out into the starry sky, absentmindedly stroking the ears of the dog that had joined them up on the tree branch (Stan had realized by now that Rex possessed some sort of crazy teleportation power).

      Suddenly he knew what to do. He looked at his friends and spoke his first words since Adoria’s death.

      “So, how would you two like to overthrow the King with me?”

      Kat and Charlie turned their heads and stared at him. Charlie wore a look of confusion, like he must have heard Stan wrong. Kat looked incredulous. Stan, on the other hand, wore a disturbingly cheerful smile on his face.

      “You’re kidding, right?” said Kat.

      “No,” replied Stan.

      The boy and girl held each other’s gaze for a long time, and Kat saw that Stan was not joking. Then, it was as if Kat was trying to look past Stan’s eyes and into his head to see exactly which screw had come loose.

      “Are … you … insane?” she finally said.

      “No,” said Stan, still wearing that maddening smile. Perhaps he had gone insane, Stan thought. He was feeling unnaturally excited, and he had absolutely no reason to be smiling, and what he was saying was, in fact, insane, but he sure did want to overthrow the King.

      “I’m not joking,” he said as Kat opened her mouth again. His face became serious. “The King just had the entire Adorian village burned down for no reason. Because of the government, Crazy Steve, Blackraven and Adoria are all dead. Do you honestly want to stay on this server under the King’s rule? We need a new government.”

      “I agree,” said Charlie.

      Both Kat and Stan looked at him. He had not spoken since they had decided to climb the tree, and he still looked at the ground as he spoke. Kat couldn’t believe that he was going along with Stan’s crazy idea, and Stan was just as surprised that Charlie was agreeing with him.

      “Really?” asked Stan in quiet disbelief.

      “Yes. The government is biased and prejudiced, and their leader is a tyrant. He needs to be brought down.”

      “Oh, what noble thoughts,” sneered a sarcastic voice from behind them.

      Stan recognized that voice. The last time he had heard it, a wolf had nearly ripped his throat out. He instinctively turned around and whipped out his axe to counter the diamond blade of Mr A’s sword. The Griefer looked much better now, no longer beaten up, but full of energy and ready to kill. The diamond sword he was holding in his hands was not new but well worn, and Stan could tell that it had claimed many lives.

      The others were on their feet, too. Charlie stood with a determined yet scared look on his face, holding the iron pickaxe in his trembling hand. Kat was right behind him, sword poised to strike at a moment’s notice. Rex’s hair was on end, his eyes glowed red, and he snarled at the Griefer that was now engaging in battle with Stan. It appeared that the dog had not forgotten his last encounter with Mr A.

      The battle was intense. There was no doubt that both players were incredibly gifted with their respective weapons. Kat and Charlie were ready to strike if need be, but they stood far back to avoid being slashed by the axe or impaled by the sword. Mr A’s sword moved like lightning, blocking each swing of Stan’s axe without effort. It appeared that he was only toying with Stan.

      “By the way,” said Mr A coolly between strikes, not even breathing hard from the battle, “how did you like my presents, Stan? You know, back at the village, the Creeper in your bedroom, and Charlie’s defective helmet during the sword fight. Did those gifts make you think of me?”

      An intense surge of hatred bubbled up from within Stan, and without thinking he gave his axe an unnecessarily strong swing. Mr A fluidly sidestepped the frenzied attack, and before Stan could react, the Griefer’s sword struck him across the head. If it weren’t for his helmet, Stan’s forehead would have been slashed open. Instead he was knocked backwards. His helmet flew off and dropped a hundred feet into the jungle below, while Charlie grabbed Stan before he suffered a similar fate. Charlie gritted his teeth and used all his strength to pull Stan back up onto the tree branch. Stan was not hurt, just a little dazed, and as the boys caught their breath, Kat rushed in to take on Mr A.

      She was talented with the sword, but he outstripped her in skill. They fought for about a minute before Kat was finally disarmed, her sword sent sliding down the branch. She was knocked to the ground. Mr A was just about to deliver the killing strike when Rex flew over her and knocked Mr A into the thick tree trunk. His diamond sword spiralled off the branch and into the jungle far below, and he looked stunned as the dog glared into his eyes, growling.

      Stan did not want to kill, but he jumped up and held his axe over his head, ready to strike if Mr A tried to retaliate. Charlie had his pickaxe at the ready behind him, and they were quickly joined by Kat after she retrieved her sword from down the branch.

      The three players looked down at their adversary. He looked furious, but there was another emotion on his face, too. Stan couldn’t tell, but he thought that it might have been amusement.

      “You really think that you’re gonna overthrow the King?”

      Stan raised his eyebrows. He shot a quick glance back at the others, who looked a little unnerved at Mr A’s question.

      “I hate all three of you, but you don’t know what you’re talking about. I hate the King more than anybody on this server, but the citizens, upperand lower-level, are just as bad as he is. Mark my words: try anything, and you’ll regret it. You have my warning.”

      Without another word, he whipped something from his inventory: a small, black ball flecked with orange, which he threw to the ground. There was a short, hot explosion, and Stan was knocked back, with Charlie, Kat and Rex landing on the branch beside him. He looked up and saw a cloud of grey smoke. He held his axe at the ready, prepared to defend himself, but when the smoke cleared, Mr A was gone.

      Stan brushed himself off and looked around. There was no sign of the Griefer anywhere.

      “Fire charge,” coughed Kat through the grey smoke. “Great for quick escapes,” she added as she hurriedly punched out the small fire that the charge had left on the branch.

      “What СКАЧАТЬ