Sean Wolfe - The Complete Elementia Chronicles - Quest for Justice; The New Order; The Dusk of Hope; Herobrine’s Message

“We are very happy to have you here. It has been so long since we have had players act kindly towards us,” said Mella, Oob’s mother, who lived in the house with her husband, Blerge, and Oob.

“What do you mean, Mella? Have other players done stuff to you guys?” asked Kat.

“Oh, yes,” she replied, a grim look taking over her face. “Long ago, before Oob was born, the forces of the one named King Kev forced those in our village to pay a tribute of wheat from our farms. There were often shortages, and many of us starved.” Mella started to wander around the house again. Stan had realized that this was a quality of all NPC villagers – they all had a tendency to wander aimlessly regardless of what they were doing.

“What happened? Why did the King stop bothering you?” asked Kat encouragingly.

“What? Oh, yes,” replied Mella, as though she had momentarily forgotten that they were there. Stan suspected that she actually had. “Not long after Oob was born, a player made a deal with the King that in exchange for that player’s services, the King would no longer collect tribute from our village. We have seen no players since they took that brave player away.” And with that Mella again began to wander.

Seeing that she was obviously out of it, Stan chose to ask Oob, rather than Mella, the name of the player. Oob’s face took on a kind of elation in response.

“Oh, we have vowed to never speak the name of the Sacred One again! We have received a sign from the almighty Notch that in repayment for his sacrifice, we are never to speak the name of the Sacred One again!”

“The almighty Notch? Who is Notch?” asked Charlie, just as the back door opened and Blerge, Oob’s father, walked in from tending the farm.

“He’s the guy who created Minecraft,” hissed DZ under his breath to Charlie, out of the hearing of Blerge, whose face showed utter disbelief.

“You do not know of Notch, the Creator? Without the almighty Notch, life as we know it could not exist! At the beginning of time, Notch created this village, which protects our people from the evil mobs! Notch makes the sun rise and set, and he is the master of all the creatures of this world! Without him, we would all be at the unchecked mercy of Herobrine, master of evil and destruction.”

As Blerge kept on talking about the almighty Notch, Stan found himself intrigued. Did these villagers really worship the guy that created Minecraft? Well, it makes sense , he thought, their entire world is this game . Personally, he couldn’t see himself worshipping the guy, even though Stan thought Notch was pretty awesome for creating such an excellent game.

“That sounds really interesting, Blerge,” said Charlie. “So now I have a question. We’re trying to overthrow the King – you know, the guy who used to force you guys to pay him stuff?”

“Oh yes,” said Blerge, with his unibrow knitting over his eyes. “That man caused my people much suffering. I should be most happy if four kind players such as you were to take his place. You treat us very kindly, while the one called King Kev believed us to be inferior.”

Stan opened his mouth to interject, but he quickly caught himself. It was very hard to say that he was equal in any way to this race of NPCs, especially considering that since he had joined the village he had seen two villagers wander straight into cactuses and almost kill themselves. But Stan still had respect for the people, and that, he thought, was the difference between King Kev and himself.

“So,” asked Charlie to Blerge, “would you be willing to let us use your village as a base? We still have to collect six Ender Pearls in order to get to the End, and we could use a place to stay until we’ve killed enough Endermen.”

Blerge had begun to wander again before Charlie had finished his request, so it was Mella who answered Charlie, “I am sure that it would be fine for you to stay with us for as long as you need, my friends. However, before we may tell you certainly, we must consult Moganga, the priest and leader of our village. She will tell you whether or not you may stay. Come, I shall take you to her.” And with that, Mella started to the door. Oob followed her while Blerge still wandered around the house.

“Wait,” asked Kat, speaking for the first time in quite a while. “This is your house. Why does this Moganga lady get to decide if we stay or not?”

“Because the almighty Notch commands it,” Mella said, and she exited the house, as if this were a satisfying response. Oob and Blerge left behind her, followed by Charlie and DZ, then Stan and, after a moment, Kat.

As the group walked down the gravel street towards the tall stone church, Stan was vaguely aware of Charlie, DZ and Oob chatting in front of him, while he himself kept a careful eye on Kat.

Ever since Kat had confessed to Stan what had happened to her in the last NPC village she had gone to, she had been very calm and pensive, quite in contrast to her usual self. She had also seemed much more at ease around the villagers after she had gotten her crime against them off her chest. Now, however, Stan did sense a diminished version of her previous tension as she approached the church. Still, she entered, and after Stan explained to yet another villager, this one named Libroru, that walking into a cactus would hurt, he followed Kat inside.

The church was made entirely of cobblestone, with a ladder on the side leading to the upper stories. There were torches on the walls, and a cobblestone altar sat in front. A villager in purple robes stood facing the altar. When the players, led by Mella and Blerge, entered, the priest turned towards them.

“Hello, players,” said Moganga, gesturing to Stan, Kat, Charlie and DZ. “Oob has told me of your arrival. Welcome.” She turned towards Mella and Blerge. “With what may I help you, my brother and sister?”

“These four players have requested the use of our family’s house as an outpost for their hunting of the Endermen,” replied Blerge in a powerful voice. “I appeal to you to ask the almighty Notch as to his judgement on the matter.”

“I see. I will attempt to connect with the almighty Notch, my brother,” replied Moganga. Her eyes closed, and her single eyebrow began twitching. She remained this way for about two minutes, and by the time her eyes reopened, Blerge and Mella had begun to wander around the church. Oob stepped forwards.

“What is the word of the almighty Notch, Mother Moganga?” asked Oob with a serious face.

“The almighty Notch has spoken to me,” replied Moganga, and Oob’s face lifted. “The almighty Notch has blessed the endeavours of these players and calls us to offer them refuge, provided that we are able to cope with the evil that will befall us beneath the full moon tonight.”

“Oh God,” muttered DZ. “Are you saying that the full moon is tonight ?”

Moganga nodded, and Oob and DZ looked crestfallen. Charlie asked, “Wait, what’s the big deal about the full moon?”

A grim look passed over DZ’s face as he replied, “A siege is the big deal. Every full moon, if there are players staying in an NPC village, a giant horde of mobs will attack the village. And I mean giant . Makes the ones we killed off back at that sinkhole look like nothin’. And even though they’re mostly Zombies, you get plenty of the other kinds, too.”

“Years ago,” said Mella, who had stopped wandering, “when the Sacred One was still with us, the sieges used to befall us every full moon. We were able to survive as a species because in those days Zombies could not break through our doors. However, during every siege a horrible monster would terrorize our village alongside the Zombies: a Skeleton riding upon a Spider.”