Heir to a Bloody Throne

Chapter Sixteen

The next day, news of Herobrine's appearance was all over the settlement.

Evidently the guards (as well as a few others) had heard Lithian screaming bloody murder and run to investigate, but there was no one to be found. Since no one had come forward laying claim to having seen him, the general speculation was that Herobrine had killed whoever spotted him. Valor tried to appear disinterested, but not disinterested enough that it would become suspicious.

Lithian was calm enough when he woke up that morning, apparently having come to terms with his situation. Nevertheless, Steven had forbidden him from approaching the settlement, for fear of him blowing Val's cover. He was noticeably more wary around Valor again, for which the youth couldn't fault him. He had given him some very clear, very impressive scars. Valor was just annoyed that he had missed the meeting.

Notch, fortunately, never noticed him missing. He put him back to work in the smithy, which Val was almost thankful for given that his ankle hurt again. During his daily routine of suffocating until nightfall, Valor spotted an unfamiliar man carefully attaching an envelope to the bottom of a barrel. He would have to return that night to check it out.

That night, he brought the envelope to Steven for him to extract the message inside. It was another letter to the captain of the guard, scheduling their next meeting in a week. With Lithian given stern orders not to interrupt him this time, Valor returned the message to its' place and settled back into his daily routine.

The days came and went. After another two, the physician deemed him able to walk consistently again, and he went back to working in the mines. Valor grew more and more apprehensive as the date of the meeting approached - he dearly hoped that nothing would go wrong again. At least this time he didn't have to make a detour into town for a cloak.

The day of the meeting arrived. As he worked, Valor noticed that the third mineshaft was blocked off for 'routine care', which it likely had been for the previous meeting, too. He worked as lightly as he could without arousing suspicion, hoping to save his energy for a hypothetical escape, but was worn out just the same come the end of the day. He just needed to find a good hiding spot, then wait for the meeting to occur.

He waited until long after nightfall, until all the miners had retired to bed and the guards had thinned in their ranks. Only then did Valor don his cloak and eyes and slip out of the bunkhouse, heading for the mines. He was forced to teleport past a pair of guards that stood between him and the tunnels, but had no other obstacles.

The air felt cold, much colder than it felt during the day, but Valor chalked that up to, at least in part, his nervousness. His footsteps were nearly silent as he descended the primary tunnel, right hand clutching at the grip of a borrowed pickaxe. He longed for his father's weapon, but he couldn't think of any way to hide it on his person without being incredibly obvious, negating the advantage the cloak brought. So, an iron one it was. Even though it was quite blunt, it would still make for a decent weapon for clubbing someone over the head. He could almost certainly take on two opponents with it, if the need arose.

The third mineshaft came into view, blocked off with a small, wooden fence, and Valor climbed over it to enter. The main tunnel of the mineshaft was wide and empty, with a dozen smaller tunnels branching off from it. Rather than attempt to shelter himself in one of those, Valor climbed a wooden support to a small pocket halfway up the wall, tucking himself inside and wrapping his cloak around him. He dimmed his eyes, set the iron pickaxe beside him, and waited.

Nearly an hour and a half (in which Valor had to fight to stay awake) passed before anything occurred, and the boy perked up suddenly when he heard approaching footsteps. The sharp sounds echoed off of every surface, disorienting him until Valor could see the source- three men, one in military finery, flanked by two in common soldier garb. Valor clenched his jaw. The captain of the guard, and his escorts. Assuming the party he planned to meet with brought no one of his own, this already doubled the number of men he would have to fight if things went bad. He may have to run instead.