Veil of Shadows

Chapter 10. A Long Ride

"I have prepared horses for each of you, as the distance is too far to teleport. They are the stallions my personal cavalry rides; I hope they serve you well. Choose the ones you want." Notch said, gesturing to the enormous stables.

As all the horses were pure white, there wasn't much difference between them. But each of them went to a different horse. Ranger chose her horse and quickly placed a saddle on it, tightening the girth straps.

The horse cocked its head to one side and looked at Ranger. The Ender Hybrid smiled and ran a hand down the side of its nose, staring into the horse's eyes. They were green, almost like emerald.

Ranger heard a shrill whistle, and turned quickly to see Notch waiting for them. "When you reach the fortress, Salia will be there to assist in your infiltration of the base. Your goal is to capture Shadow and bring him to me."

A chorus of "Yes, sir" and "Affirmative, sir" came from the assembled Hero Squad members and apprentices. "I have also marked several inns on the map where I have arranged for you to stay the night."

Nobody spoke this time. They knew what was expected of them, and were waiting for the final order. Notch scanned the gathered Heroes and said "May Minecraftia Prosper!"

The chant was echoed by eleven warriors, battle ready and already astride their horses. Notch nodded and said "Find Shadow and bring him to me, before his rebellion destroys Minecraftia."

That was all they needed to hear.

Eleven riders thundered through the gates of Notch's Castle. Not a single one looked back. Wolf felt the wind whip past her as the horse she had chosen shifted from a canter to a gallop.

Wolf noticed that, of all the Hero Squad members, Ranger seemed the most unaccustomed to riding. She tried to hide a smile as the Ender Hybrid almost fell off the horse.

"You really need to practice horse riding." She commented, pulling her horse up beside Ranger. The black-cloaked Ender only scowled and replied "I was never able to ride horses, okay?"

Meanwhile, Blaze was watching the sky. The sun was only just creeping up over the horizon, casting an orange-pink glow across the landscape. They continued to travel in silence for another hour or so.

"That's it. I can't take this anymore." Wolf said, and she jumped off the horse, snapping out her wings in midair and taking to the sky. The horse, who looked bewildered, continued to follow the others nonetheless.

Steph watched as Wolf performed a flawless figure-eight above them. She sighed and said "I wish I could fly." Dave grinned. "That would make things a lot easier, wouldn't it?" He replied, watching Wolf as well.

Not much conversation occurred after that. They simply rode along the gravel road, every so often checking the map to make sure they were still traveling in the right direction.

"For the good of the order, how far exactly are we from Shadow's base?" Toxic asked. Wolf glanced at the map and replied "Do you want it in blocks, or approximate time until we reach it?"

Toxic frowned. "That doesn't sound good. I'm probably going to die, but I think the approximate time until we reach it would be better." Wolf studied the map for a few seconds more, calculating the time mentally.

"Somewhere around six days." She said finally. Ranger groaned and almost fell off the saddle again. "Can I start writing my will?" Blaze asked. Wolf sighed and muttered "Stop being drama queens."

Blaze and Ranger exchanged a look, and they said in unison "No."

Wolf facepalmed. "This is going to be a long ride..."