The Problems of King Wither (Preview)

Day 2

I slept fitfully last night, as one usually does before a big trip, and woke early. Right Head, who is never disturbed by nervousness or anxiety, still snored loudly at my side. But Left Head was wide awake and eager to have a word.

"Shall I wake the slumberer?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"No, no, let him sleep a while longer, my king," said Left Head. "I had an idea during the night—actually it could be the solution to all of our problems."

"Really? Well, then I'd better wake Righty so we can have his opinion—ow!"

Left Head had knocked himself against me, hard. "Not yet!" he hissed. "He's no good before breakfast, you know that. He's so...over-emotional. Just let me have my say without being interrupted by that fool for once."

"Fine, fine, go on then," I said.

"Thank you. Now, as you know, the Glowstone Port belongs to neither our kingdom nor the Blaze Brothers. It's a neutral trading zone. But what if it wasn't?" asked Left Head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...what if it belonged to the Wither Kingdom? We would never have to worry about a nether wart shortage again! Not only that, but we would control the Ghast River. It wouldn't just be a vacation destination—it would be ours! We could spend our summers here in the Red Fortress and winter along the shores of the River."

"But...how?" I asked. I must admit that my mind is also a little groggy before breakfast. It's annoying that Left Head does not also suffer from this ailment.

"The knights!" he replied, exasperated. "The port is undefended. It's ridiculously simple. We need only to walk in and claim it for ourselves. Just imagine—" Left Head stopped suddenly, as Right Head snored loudly and grunted in his sleep. When he was sure Righty was still unconscious, he went on. "Just imagine it. Our loyal subjects would be forever indebted to us, and we would have the best winter retreat in the entire Nether."

"It's an interesting idea, but isn't it dangerous?" I asked. A good king always exercises caution.

"Not if we're smart about it," replied Lefty. He hates it when I refer to him with that little nickname, by the way.

I promised him I would think about it on our way south. Righty was just then waking up, so we let the matter drop. And besides, I was pretty ravenous. Delectable smells were already drifting up from kitchen.

After another breakfast of mushroom soup, I metmy squadron of fourteen wither skeleton knights at the gates and, among muchcheering from the subjects, we began our long march south. I urged them to bequick. Only four days remain until the last of this season's nether wartdisappears.