Our records say a trader brought it here Traders used to be quite common back when it was still safe to travel I was just a boy then So many voyagers and vagabonds constantly visited our village It seems like yesterday I nodded vaguely recalling reading something about that in school Only recently had our village learned of the Eyeless One's return yet our scholars believe he's been gathering his strength and amassing his armies for a long time The coming war is perhaps something he's been planning for at least fifty years Before that monster attacks were far from common You could have traveled the Overworld for weeks without encountering one And now After staring off into nothingness for a moment the mayor raised his head and smiled again Was that a tear in the corner of his eye You two look so wonderful he finally said Yes you're exactly what our village needs right now Another pause 1 hope you can understand why I'm asking all this of you I looked his reflection in the eye Of course sir
FRIDAY UPDATE 4 AFTERNOON We walked back in silence Almost everyone was at the party so the streets were mostly empty Still we could see distant silhouettes on the wall spaced evenly every hundred blocks more or less Humans standing watch enchanted bows slung over their shoulders There was no doubt at least one more up in the sky tower ready to activate the note block alarm system should trouble arise but I couldn't see into the tower's nest from here Upon reaching the village hall things were mostly the same as when we left posters and banners jukeboxes and cakes And a thousand or so people celebrating Villagetown's success Even though the Eyeless One was still out there his minions had been driven back For us that was enough At this point we'll take any victory we can get no matter how small I heard some laughter to my left Breeze was already being swept away by a handful of human girls They couldn't get over her cloak Stump couldn't get over mine After he slapped me on the back and flashed a huge grin his gaze fell to my shoulders What's that about 5
For the award ceremony I guess I glanced around at the jovial crowd of villagers and humans So what's new Have you heard anything since I left Yeah This kid Tucker I think said he was playing on the wall the other morning and saw a rabbit on the plains And not just any rabbit He claims it was a zombie Stump made a spooky face then busted out laughing The imaginations of kids these days Hmmm I said Actually I'd like to look into it I'll speak to him later Also I keep seeing this weird old man Stump said Red robes Red hat Black sunglasses Huge white beard Said his name is Cocoa Cocoa Witherbean Cocoa Witherbean huh I thought for a moment but the name didn't ring any bells and neither did the description That wasn't all that strange though New people have been showing up at our gate almost every week Survivors Usually it's a small group of clueless villagers who've fled from some tiny obscure town after being attacked in the middle of the night Otherwise it's a lone human who's been wandering the Overworld for months We take them all in show them around and assign them some work to do 6
So this Cocoa I said is he one of the new arrivals from this morning Maybe Whoever he is he's creepy I've seen him snooping around outside a library too Interesting Once more I thought back but didn't remember seeing anyone who fit Stump's verbal sketch All right I'll keep an eye out for this guy I said Anything else Nope Not really Well keep up the good work I said And don't let your guard down Even at a time like this I reached up and patted my diamond sword which was now sheathed across my back we can't forget who we are Stump's smile faded Yes sir Hey You don't need to call me that But they said I'm supposed to call you that now that you're a captain That doesn't matter We've been friends since we were just a single block tall I'm just Runt okay Sure thing he said frowning You know Runt you you're acting awfully serious all of a sudden What happened Is anything wrong I lowered my head unsure what to say What could I say I couldn't stop thinking about what the mayor had said earlier You're a 7
