Tales of Minecraft: The Curse (Remake)

10: Making plans

Fury's POV
I woke up to the sun on my face, like I normally do. There was a patch of furry warmth beside my chest and I gently patted it, not wanting to wake him up. Making as little movement as possible, I climbed out of my bed, got changed into some fresh clothes, strapped my two swords to my back and went to my window. By climbing onto the sill, I could reach the branch above me and I swung up. I jumped from branch to branch, slowly making my way up and around my tree. As I climbed, I looked out over the forest, making sure that it hadn't changed. When I reached my kitchen window, I leaned inside, picked up a canvas bag that was resting on a peg just inside the window and went back out. I made my way to the ground, dropping several metres at a time but never falling and never hurting myself.

At the base of my tree was a small crop farm surrounded by fences and torches. I grew some watermelons, potatoes, carrots and wheat here, as well as a few apple trees. I gathered the one small melon and carrots that were ready, along with a dozen apples and put them in the canvas bag. Hanging the bag in the fence, I opened the gate and went into my little chicken pen. My hens had laid several eggs and I carefully picked them up, placing them in a special pouch in the canvas bag so they wouldn't break. I fed my chickens, pigs and two sheep before picking up the canvas bag and climbing back up the tree, heading for the kitchen window. I scrambled the eggs in a frypan that I had taken (The previous owner didn't need it anymore), cut up the melon and put the apples and carrots in a bowl. I placed all the items on the dining room table, figuring that the group could help themselves to what they wanted. A flicker of shame ran through me when I remembered how I had run off last night. A flicker of confusion quickly followed when I remembered that Zip had comforted me. I hadn't expected that from any of them.

I climbed up the vines that grew from the roof of my home and landed softly in the hallway. There was a closed door and I could hear several voices talking behind it, muffled. I put my ear near the door, trying to listen in. I recognised Zip's voice talking.

"- to Fury about her brother, okay? She didn't ask us about our past, so we shouldn't pry into hers."

"I just want to know why she's here alone. And where her brother is." I think the speaker was Luke. But it could have also been Jade, their voices were very similar.

"Something bad happened to her brother." I heard Zip hesitate. "I think he died, but either way, if Fury doesn't want to talk about it, we shouldn't force her to. It's not polite."

I didn't want to hear more of the conversation so I knocked on the door. All conversation stopped immediately and I awkwardly cleared my throat. "Uh... breakfast is in the dining room when you guys are ready," I said before running off and climbing back down to the dining room. I could have used the stairs, but old habits die hard.

I was eating an apple when they shuffled into the dining room. They sat down and the boys instantly went for the eggs while Zip ate some watermelon.

"You know, this could only be better with some bacon," Tim said.

I tilted my head. "What's bacon?"

His mouth dropped. "You have no idea what bacon is?"

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks but I pushed it down. "I probably know what it is, I just don't know the name."

Now it was Tim's turn to blush. "Oh, right. Well, it's cooked pig, but it's not like pork. I think it's cured differently or something."

"Oh, that," I said, understanding. "Yeah, I have pork, but I only have a few pigs, so I don't eat them."

We fell back into an awkward silence. Well, it was awkward for me at least. I had barely any interactions with other people; actually, I had no interactions with other people. I had no idea how to start or hold a conversation. When they seemed to have finished eating, I cleared my throat.

"So where are you guys planning on going?" I asked. It's not that I wanted them to get out of my house, it's just that I didn't want to be living with them for an indefinite period.

Zip glanced at her friends. "Not sure. We need to do something, but I have no idea where to even begin."

"Hey Fury, can I ask you some questions?" Tim asked.

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Okay...."

"How do you know what an Elite skeleton is?"

"And why were you in our village?" Zip asked.

I would have to be careful about how I answered the first one. "I was at your village because I had seen you guys at our cave and I had followed you. As for the Elite skeletons.... I travel around a bit, and I had heard of them and seen a few. So that's how I knew."

"What do you mean 'our cave'?" Luke asked.

I looked down at the table. "My dad made that cave. My brother and I went to it before coming out here and making this house," I explained quickly. "Now my turn. What happened to that village and why did an Elite skeleton try to kill you?"

"Our village was attacked by mobs," Zip said. "They were stronger than normal, so we stood no chance. I don't know why they attacked it though. We hadn't done anything. And I don't know why we were attacked by that Elite skeleton either."

"How are you so fast with a sword?" Jade asked. "And how can you climb trees?"

I shrugged. "Practice. I've been climbing trees since I was young, and I'm mostly self taught with my sword skills. My brother trained me a bit, and so did a guy with a red and black checkered jumper and dog tags."

Tim frowned. "You said that you traveled around a bit."

"Yeahhh...."

"Do you think you could help us?" he asked, looking up at me. "The fact that the mobs are growing stronger affects all of us, even you. We can work together."

I frowned at him. Yeah right, I was not getting mixed up in something that was none of my business. But I couldn't just leave them to their own devices either.

"I'm not going with you. But I'll see if I can help you get started. Do you have any information or are you just winging it?"

"Pretty much winging it," Luke said. "All we know is that the mobs are crazy strong and that they're working together."

I thought for a moment. "So what you need is information. How the mobs became stronger and how to stop it, mainly. I know of a place near the centre of Minecraft. It's got massive underground caverns full of books. If you need information, that's your best bet."

"How do we get there?" Zip asked.

"It's north-west from here, behind a small mountain range. There are three main ways to get across: Through the forests that go around the range, over the mountains or through the valley that runs between them. The mountain way is the fastest, but it's dangerous. There's loose rocks and not much of a trail. The valley way is the next fastest, and probably the safest too."

"We'll do that then," Zip said, looking at her friends. "We'll get an early start tomorrow morning."

"You'll need supplies," I said. "I can lend you a few things: Food and extra weapons mostly. There might be some other stuff I can find in random rooms."

"Alright. Alex, Tim and Luke, you guys can get the food Fury shows you. Jade and I can grab some spare arrows."

"And an axe handle," Tim said. "I want to replace my one."

I stood up. "The sooner we get started, the sooner you guys are ready. Let's go."

Chapter in original book: 12 and 13