Portals (A Minecraft Storymode Story) {{REWRITE}}

Dragon's Keep ~ Pt.2

Jesse hated journeys. The journey to destroy the Witherstorm had spelled disaster. The second journey to the Old Builder's temple had gotten them stuck in a portal hallway. The journey to the White Pumpkin's mansion had trapped them in a house with a serial killer. Granted, not all were so bad - but Jesse had already decided that this was definitely going under the 'bad' category.

And it didn't help that Timber's white cat had woken them up by dropping a book on their head. Or that the villagers had all gathered around to stare at them. Or that they weren't bringing a map.

"What if we get lost?" Lukas asked anxiously, watching Kota and Dustin mount Aramis' donkey. "Not to doubt you or anything, but you said this place was at least a day or two away. How do you know where to go?"

Kota beamed at him and tapped the side of her head. "Don't be such a worrywart, Lukas. We've done it plenty o' times before! Besides," she added brightly, looking like she thought Lukas was being silly, "I've got it in my head!"

By the look on Lukas' face, Jesse figured that Kota's words did absolutely nothing to help his worrywortness.

As Petra swung up behind Jesse on another donkey, Aramis suddenly reached out and grabbed their arm. She pulled them down slightly so that their faces were barely inches away. Jesse tried not to wince at the awkward angle.

"Be careful, okay?" she warned, her normally bright eyes dark with worry. "Timber and the others are good travelers," she whispered fiercely, "But don't take any chances with those Lupiči, you hear me? Don't let your guard down for an instant!" 

Then she'd released their arm and stepped back in line with the other two knights, leaving Jesse startled and more than a little unnerved. Especially when Athos, who hadn't said a single word to them since they'd met, muttered, "Good luck," as he handed Lukas the reigns of Pathos' donkey. Although whether that was a 'good luck' for the journey, or for being unfortunate enough to get landed with Pathos' donkey (which was apparently the worst of the lot), Jesse wasn't sure. Even Pathos himself had acted like they were heading off to their deaths; he'd given them a quick, silent nod as they rode by, his eyes grim. 

All this seemed to have made Dustin heavily regret his choice in going, but Kota and Timber were acting like they'd just been promised a stack full of diamonds. They'd now been travelling long enough for Jesse to start feeling the muscles in their backside stiffen, and they'd left the rolling green plains behind for a thick forest with large oak trees and the occasional mushroom. Which wouldn't have been so bad - if said mushrooms weren't taller than trees and provided enough shelter from the sun for mobs to spawn. 

"Ooh, we can go past the Lagoon!" Timber was saying excitedly, her two cats Rhea (the white) and Charles (the black) curled up on the donkey's saddle behind her. "Remember when you got stuck in the coral, and we had to help you?"

"Or when we went to the Rimal Desert?" Kota went on cheerfully, "And Dustin got his horse stuck in the Rainbow Sands?" Dustin grunted and glared at her, but she ignored him. "He was shaking coloured sand out o' his socks for days!"

"Do these guys remind you of someone?" Lukas commented to the others in a low voice, smiling as Dustin curtly told the giggling girls to shut up. He'd spent most of the journey trying to keep Pathos' donkey from bucking both him and Ivor off, and Jesse was glad that Petra had been smart enough to grab Athos' donkey instead.

"They kind of remind me of us," Petra replied quietly with a small grin. "Y'know, when we first went out adventuring. Actually, didn't you almost get your hair caught on fire in our first temple?" she asked suddenly, grinning at Jesse.

Jesse stared at her. "N-No, that was Axel!" they protested. "And anyway, at least I didn't-"

"Everyone shut up!"