Hero's Bane

Chapter 32: Don't Run Away

Light chirping sounds filled the miner's ears and he yawned loudly while stretching his arms above his head, keeping his eyes tightly sealed with a bright light striking his closed eyes. He quickly retreated back under the sheet, it was a lot colder than he remembered. After minutes without being able to fall back asleep he finally forced himself to sit up and rubbed his tired eyes; blinking to clear his view. He then blinked again, then again in confusion. Something wasn't right, his surroundings were of the warm pallet of brown wood and not gray like they were supposed to be.

Steve looked around and noticed that he wasn't in the room that Herobrine wordlessly dubbed his prison cell, but in a slightly larger one that looked more like a small one room house. The walls were wooden and some of the wooden planks were missing in various spots; letting small drafts of air blow through. There was a broken window directly to his right and it let the sun's strong rays shine in. He moved his gaze away from the light to see a chest next to the bed, there was also a bookcase, a furnace, a few chairs, a crafting table, and an old fireplace on the other end of the room along with spots of snow on the floor; dust to coat practically everything.

The miner quickly pulled off the sheets then ran around the small wooden structure with a worried and yet puzzled look, wondering where he was now and if this was a dream. "Where am I?" Steve walked over to the wooden door and reluctantly opened it, slightly nervous; he pulled the wooden frame back to see the outside world just one step away.

He quietly and cautiously placed one foot out and stepped out into a frosty wilderness, he instantly wrapped his arms around his chest to keep warm from the cold spruce biome. Snow now stuck to his boots and it seemed a little deep upon observation, but it was also fresh and there were no mb prints to be seen. The place he was at looked to be up on top of a huge hill covered by cedar trees, he moved through the snow and walked away from the house to get a better view of his new prison. It appeared to be an old shack made of cedar wood and it's condition was horrible. The roof had holes in it, the wall had holes in it, almost all of the windows were either cracked or broken, the door was loose and almost about to break off of it's hinges, and a sign above the door also hung loose.

He paced over to the snow covered sign and wiped away the flakes only to see squiggles or as Nigel called it; 'ancient writing' across it. He couldn't read the sign but angled the corner upwards until the sign was hanging perfectly above the doorway as it was meant to. He then stepped back and tilted his head to see if he could read it but he just couldn't, it was all shapes and lines of what words were supposed to be.

The miner was about to head back into the shack but curiosity got the better of him, he wanted to see what was on the other side of the small shelter and see what damages it had. He quickly strode through the snow and around the corner of the building, he lifted one arm up to shield the sun's intense bright waves and his eyes went wide from the view.

He stopped dead in his tracks after seeing a large structure out in the distance, it was a stone structure with the appearance of a castle, one he was eerily familiar with. "Whoa." He held his breath as he gazed at the lonesome stronghold out in an open green valley, the huge settlements surrounding it on all sides. This impressive stone structure was the one he was just at. "Why am I here?" He asked himself. He remembered being back at the fortress, but now here he was at some old worn-out hovel quite away from the stronghold. He wandered if this was one of Nigel's small shelters though the wood even seemed weathered and old and it was in plain sight instead of hidden like Nigel's last one.

He ran back around and then suddenly stopped, something was making him feel nervous. He sprinted back through the door, closing it behind him quickly and leaning against it in fear that he was being watched. That feeling struck him as soon as he cut around the bend and it was unsettling to feel those eyes on him, he knew Herobrine was out there and he was too afraid to move his back from the doorframe. That explained his whereabouts.