Hero's Bane

Chapter 33: Prepare Your Mind

Steve had sat in front of the warm flames for hours, dozing off on and on and letting his head dip down from the drowsiness. He managed to fall asleep a few times but woke up each time with tiny cold flakes of snow drifting through the gaps in the ceiling, the snow floated down onto his head before thawing in his hair. The now melted and icy fluid soaked his head and dripped down onto his lap, small chilling drafts from the holes in the walls made him wake up with a cold cranium. He shook his head to get more flakes off but now all that came off was droplets of water, he looked up to see a few small block gaps letting the flurries float on through. That was going to have to change.

Yawning, he forced himself to stretch and reach over for his shirt hanging over the side of the furnace. The shirt appeared dry now so he removed the warm robe and quickly swapped it with the even warmer top, it had been much closer to the fire as the furnace itself was next to the fireplace; he was kind of surprised that it didn't catch on fire. Now feeling up to it, Steve stood up and wobbled over to the bed to take a seat on the end of the mattress. It wasn't too dark yet and it was hard to tell with the heavy overhang of clouds, but the miner still had a few things to do before going to sleep.

His dry throat needed some relief first so he decided he'll collect some water and rehydrate himself. He moved over to his iron bucket to see two fish now sitting motionless in the pail. He found himself more hungry than before and in anticipation for a nicely cooked meal. He grabbed the two fish and walked over to the chest to take out some wood, he then moved over to the Netherrack block. He skewered both of the aquatic creatures on wooden sticks and leaned them close to fire to slowly bake from the hot flames, it was going to take a little time to cook them. With the idea of having something to eat now put aside it was time to get some fresh water, he grabbed his bucket and the enchanted sword as he walked out the door.

The miner felt chills down his arms and back but it wasn't that feeling he got from Herobrine, this was the iced droplets landing on his skin and melting away. He almost wanted to go back and get the royal robe for added warmth but he was only getting water, he'd be back at the house in a minute or two. He brought along the blade should Herobrine decide that the fight was now, though he had doubt. Steve didn't like the idea of having to be ready at every waking moment or dying for that matter, but it was for a justified cause. He quickly paced down the hill to where he had fished recently and took the bucket in hands before leaning down and scooping up some water. He made sure to clean out the pail and then scooped up enough until it was completely full before he turned to head back.

A sudden movement and slight sound to his left made him freeze up in fright, he cautiously turned his head to see something moving around under the shaded trees. It was too dark to see what exactly it was behind the shadowed cluster of trees, but he needed to get away from it or fight it. Steve's first thought was automatically on the hero and he was preparing the blade and himself mentally, however; upon moving steadily closer with the sword held high he could hear a weird deep grunting sound. Steve carefully placed the pail of water down then slowly made his way around the tree, ever so cautious that it was Herobrine or a freakish mutated mob of some sort.

He hacked away at the branches now in front of him and frowned at losing the element of surprise, what was ever on the other side of the thick bushy tree was now aware of him. The miner whacked away at the remaining branches and jumped back after a big pink blur moved up to his face with a loud snort. He fell flat to the ground and started to laugh, the docile thing behind the leafy tree was only a pig.

"It's been too long." Steve sat up from the snow and shook off the loose flakes, still lowly chuckling from being startled by a pig of all things, a harmless creature. He hadn't see one in so long that he almost forgot what they sounded like, this nightmarish land and it's creatures only heightened his mistrust of strange sounds.