A Tale of Minecraft- Book 1: Autumnal Equinox (A VT MC Fanfic)

Chapter 10

It was somewhat peaceful, a few days after the incident. The trees were turning shades of gold, orange, red, and brown. Jordan was taking an ax to some logs of wood to use during the winter months as firewood. He was sweating, but decided not to take off his shirt, as the wind was cold to the skin. He had a decently sized pile by noon, and decided to stack it with the rest, and call that job done. He sat down to rest, as Isaac and Cierra hauled raw ore from the depths of Isenguard, which was their mine. It was, on the outside, more of a small quarry, but if you climbed down into one of the entrance holes, and you entered a complex network of tunnels, leading to either a lava pool, a massive ore deposit, or a cavern. Most of what Isaac and Cierra were bringing up was iron and coal, but there was some redstone and a small bit of gold mixed in.
"Need any help with that?" Jordan offered.
"No," Cierra replied. "We're almost done here."
A breeze came over the yard, sending a chill down Jordan's spine. He shivered, and hugged himself. His shirt was already soaked in sweat, so the cold wind just made it all the more cold.
"I'm going inside," Jordan declared. "Let me know if you need anything."
Just as Jordan opened the door to go inside, Isaac shouted out.
"We've got a visitor!"
It was a young Mountain Cow by the name of Yaltan. He acted as a messenger for Ventar when the message was for the siblings.
"Venturian!" He called. "Ventar has sent me with a message for you! It's quick spreading news among the more civilized areas, but you wouldn't be able to know very quickly, so here I am!"
"What news?" Jordan closed the door, stepping back outside to receive the message.
"It's about the Tree Pigs," Yaltan explained. "They're still mad about how your siblings and Ventar attacked the camp to help you escape."
"The story was twisted!" Cierra shouted. Bethany hopped out to listen.
"The Tree Pigs claim that their camp was attacked, and that the dungeons were broken into," Yaltan told them.
"That's only a half-truth!" Bethany exclaimed. "We only attacked because Porteran lied about bringing Jordan back! He never mentioned what he was planning on doing on purpose! He was going to bring us his dead body! We tried to get down there to stop him, but we were blocked by a group of guards! We had no choice, but to fight! We weren't just going to let them kill him and dump his corpse at our feet!"
"I figured that you would've had to fight your way in to rescue me," Jordan commented. "But, I'm not saying that it wasn't embarrassing, having to wait to be rescued."
"Well, the Tree Pigs overreacted, as usual, and," Yaltan stammered.
"And?" Jordan prompted, keeping a gentle tone of voice, knowing full well that it wasn't going to last.
"The Tree Pigs declared war on the Mountain Cows."
All four siblings made vocal their frustration. A pointless war, started over one, small misunderstanding!
"Ventar wants to meet with you as soon as possible," Yaltan informed them. "As soon as you are all well enough to travel."
"I'm pretty sure we'll be fine to travel," Jordan assured the young messenger. "It's a half-a-day's walk from here to the Imperial City, so we'll leave here tomorrow morning." Everyone agreed to this, and Yaltan promised to tell Ventar about these plans.
After Yaltan left, the four settled inside for a meeting.
"Ugh! I can't believe a war was started over this!" Jordan complained, burying his head in his hands.
"Well, Tree Pigs are crazy creatures, always battle hungry and bloodthirsty," Bethany reminded him. "They'll take any excuse to start a war."
"It's like all they live for is idiotic, barbaric conflict," Cierra sighed. "But I can't help but wonder why they feel this way. It's like, it's a natural instinct."
"I wouldn't worry about that much, Cierra," Jordan told her. "Right now, not just us, but the entire Empire is in danger."