Virus (A Minecraft Story)

Chapter 23

Dax's POV

I wearily rubbed my head. I was sitting on the edge of the well, waiting for Tash's sword to be finished in the blacksmiths. I'd already had my armour forged from diamond, the tougher transparent kind known only to Realmers. I'd been given a gold sword to fight with, the recently sharpened blade gleaming.

I stared at it sadly. I missed my old sword, the one my father had given to me. It had been an important part of my life, a connection to my childhood, and now it was gone. There were footsteps behind me, and I looked up to see Loca walking towards me, dressed in obsidian armour.

"Hi." I said uncertainly, as he sat down next to me. "Sup." He said casually, scratching his head. I looked at him. "What are you doing here?" He shrugged. "A little birdie told me that you'd lost your sword when you were taken, and it was kind of like your teddy bear." I felt uncomfortable. "I wouldn't say it was a teddy bear..."

Loca laughed. "Well, I think I could find it. Ana told me about an old legend where one of the Allies summoned a whole troop of warriors using the wind around him. And since I'm the Air Elemental, I think I can do it. I'm actually fairly certain the Four Elementals are the Allies, so it's just old tricks, right?" I stared at him incredulously.

"Why would you do this for me? You hardly know me." Loca nudged me. "I think the way Tash is going, you're going to become a member of this group pretty fast."

I turned red. "Err, I don't think so..." He grinned slyly. "I guess I just wanted to show you that we're on good terms, so Tash doesn't fry my head when I insult you." He stood up, flexing his fingers. "Alright, here goes nothing." He reached out, his eyes becoming unfocused.

A breeze suddenly sprung into existence, ruffling my hair and making leaves dance and twirl. Loca's eyes turned pure white, glowing with an intense light. His hands twitched, waiting. I waited patiently, not wanting to disturb this eerie ritual.

Then Loca gave a brief nod of satisfaction, and clicked his fingers. The air around him began to swirl, turning a powerful white. It collected into his hand, and began to shape itself. The wind died, the light faded from Loca's eyes and when he turned to me, a sword was in his hands.

"My god," I breathed, eyes widening. "You did it." He handed me the sword, my sword, and I held ot tightly, like it would disappear at any moment. The sword was so familiar - the worn handle and hilt, the gleaming blade.

The hilt was gold, studded with rubies from ancient times, before redstone took over. The handle was also gold, but was wrapped in leather for a better grip. The blade was white as quartz, but had tendrils of fire carved into it. I looked up at Loca. "Thank you." He shrugged. "No problemo. I'd better go check on my pickaxes, see if Amber's tried to use them to mine yet."

He saluted to me, and walked away. I looked up as the door to the blacksmiths swung open, and Tash stepped through. I nodded appreciatively. "Nice." Her armour was fashioned from smooth obsidian, but it was built totally differently to most armour. The helmet came down to shield her face, leaving only her eyes, mouth and chin exposed.

Her chestplate was more of a breast plate, with the obsidian as separate pieces encasing her arms up to the wrist. Her legs were encased almost the same way, coming up to her hips and ending by her ankles. Her feet were also encased in obsidian, which meant you really didn't want her to kick you.

She grinned at me. "A little different, right?" Then she reached down to a space between her breastplate and leg armour, where a belt was barely visible. A thin sheath was attached to it, resting against her leg. She pulled a sword out, and I shook my head in amazement. "Definitely a one of a kind."