Blade of the Sea: Book 1
Jesse Nethermind
BLADE OF THE SEA
by Jesse Nethermind
Copyright © 2016 Jesse Nethermind.
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. No people known to the author have had to fight actual pirates or save the world. Please consider leaving a review, and tell your friends about Blade of the Sea.
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Chapter 1: The Village Meeting
Trish set the piece of flint on the crafting table, completing her arrow. She leaned over to check it, ensuring she’d gotten every last detail right. She had made hundreds of arrows over the years. Possibly thousands. But she was still careful, checking each one before even considering the word “finished.” A single arrow could mean the difference between life and death in a battle.
Not that there were ever battles around here. Or any excitement, really. These arrows would only be used for hunting…And not fun hunting either. Hunting chickens, mostly. Trish thought she must live in the most boring village in the world.
“Trish.”
She looked up and saw her friend Rob standing in the doorway. He had an urgent look in his eyes.
“Come on,” he said. “It’s time.”
She blinked hard. “Time for what?”
Rob frowned. “Seriously? The village meeting!”
Trish shook her head to clear it. Of course. How could she have forgotten?
“Sorry,” she said. “I was crafting and lost track of time.”
“We better head out if we’re going to have any chance of getting a seat.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and dashed down the road.
Trish set the arrow on the table and followed Rob.
As she stepped outside, a cool breeze touched her face. The haze of a day spent at the crafting table fell away, replaced by a sudden alertness. This meeting was the first exciting thing to happen here in a long time.
Yesterday, a stranger had arrived in the village. He hadn’t been willing to say much, but he’d gone to the mayor and asked if he could speak to everyone in town. He claimed he had something important to tell them. Something they needed to hear as soon as possible. The mayor had hesitated, but Trish and a few of the others had persuaded him.
Trish was breathing hard by the time she caught up to Rob. She wasn’t the fastest person in the village, but what she lacked in speed was made up for in spirit. Always the first to volunteer for new projects around town, she often pointed out parts of the village that needed improvement.
“He probably wants to sell us something,” Rob said.
Trish didn’t think so, but she kept quiet.
They arrived at the meeting hall and stepped through the wide oak doors. Just as Rob had predicted, most of the seats were already filled. The mayor stood in the front of the room, fidgeting nervously.
The stranger sat at the end of the row closest to the front, two empty seats next to him.
Trish nudged Rob. “There.” She pointed to the empty seats.
Rob raised a doubtful eyebrow, but when she headed to the front, he followed.
As they reached the seats, Trish looked back at the room full of villagers. Most of them had their arms crossed, and their expressions made it clear they were not happy to be there.
As they passed the stranger, Trish greeted him. He simply nodded, a slight smile on his face.
The mayor cleared his throat loudly, and the chatter in the room stopped. “All right, let’s get started. As most of you probably know, this gentleman in the red cloak arrived in our town yesterday. He says he has a serious matter to discuss with us.” He cleared his throat again and turned to the stranger. “I trust he won’t waste our time.”
With that, the mayor turned and sat down.
The stranger stood up and carefully straightened his flowing red cloak. He walked slowly to the spot where the mayor had been standing, then turned to face the crowd. He waited a long moment before speaking.
Trish admired his confidence. If she were standing in front of the whole village, she would talk as quickly as possible. But the stranger didn’t appear to be in any hurry at all.
Finally, he said, “Thank you for allowing me to speak today.”
His voice was so deep, Trish imagined she could feel the building shaking with each of his words.
“My name is Carmine. I come from a village on the coast, far west and north of here, where the snow falls half the year.”
A murmur ran through the meeting hall. The sea was a three-day journey west. Who knew how long it would take to get to this snowy village in the north? What could a man from such a distant place have to say to them?
At the same time, Trish felt a twinge of excitement. She’d only left the village twice and both times had only been for a few hours. She’d never set foot outside the village after dark. The idea of traveling all the way to the sea seemed impossible, but she couldn’t help imagining what it would be like.
“Last year,” Carmine continued, “a group of men came into my village at night and burned it to the ground. We lost everything in only a few hours.”
Trish’s jaw dropped. She glanced at Rob and saw a concerned look on his face. Then she looked over her shoulder and noticed most of the villagers still wore scowls.
“Since that day, five more villages have been burned,” Carmine said. “These evil men are working their way south, and now they are beginning to move inland.”
“How far inland?” The voice came from somewhere in the back of the room.
Carmine grimaced. “Not far yet. Only a day’s journey from the sea.”
A grumble went through the crowd.
The mayor stood up. “Mr…Carmine. I fail to see how something so far away affects our village.”
Carmine said, “They may be far away now, but they won’t be forever. This is the time to act.”
“What should we do?” Trish asked. She hadn’t intended to speak, but the question just came out.
“I need warriors,” Carmine said. “If I can gather a few from each village, we’d have an army capable of taking down these men. Together we—”
The mayor held up a hand, cutting him off. “Mr. Carmine, we keep to ourselves in this village. We mine. We grow food. We craft. We can’t concern ourselves with things happening by the sea.”
“Exactly!” someone yelled.
“Tell him, Mayor!” someone else said.
A sudden anger flared inside Trish. She knew how this would end. The village wouldn’t send any warriors to help. They were far too stubborn.
“I can’t listen to any more of this,” Trish muttered. She stood up.
Rob touched her arm. “Trish, wait. Let’s see how this plays out.”
She brushed him off. “I already know how it will play out.” She turned and hurried down the aisle and out of the village hall.
Chapter 2: The Abandoned Mine
Trish walked the streets with no clear destination in mind. She was so angry she couldn’t think straight. Why was everyone in her village so selfish? Couldn’t they think of someone besides themselves for one second?
A loud CRACK split the air, and she looked up, suddenly alert.
Three figures dressed in black stood in front of the old abandoned mine up ahead.
The mine had closed down years ago. It had stopped producing resources and the villagers had dug deeper and deeper to find more. In time, the cave became infested with so many creatures tha
t villagers voted to seal it. Now it was blocked with an obsidian door.
“Hit it again,” the man on the left said. He was taller and wider than the other two.
The woman in the middle raised a diamond pickaxe over her head. “You think this is easy?”
Whoa. Where had they gotten a diamond pickaxe?
“Quiet, both of you!” the man on the right said. He was the shortest of the group, and he seemed to be in charge. “We don’t have time for chitchat.”
The woman brought down the axe and an even louder CRACK split the air.
“Finally!” said the tall man.
Trish squinted through the sunlight. They’d done it. They’d shattered the obsidian door.
She crouched down behind a wood block and peered out at them.
“You think anyone heard that?” the woman asked. “My ears are going to be ringing for a week.”
The shorter man laughed. “No chance. Carmine’s got them in that meeting hall, penned up like...like…”
“Chickens?” offered the woman.
“Pigs?” the tall man said.
“Sheep,” the short man said. “They’re penned up like sheep.”
“How long until they figure out he’s lying, you think?” the woman asked.
“Well, he did say the town’s in danger,” the short man said. “He just didn’t tell them the danger was us.”
The three strangers laughed loudly.
Trish felt her heart sink. Carmine was working with these fools? Everything he’d said in the meeting was a lie! She felt so stupid for having believed him so easily. And then the anger started to boil up inside her again.
The meeting was just an excuse to get the villagers out of the way. But why? What did these bandits want from the old mine?
“Did we come here to steal or to laugh at my awesome jokes?” the short one asked. “Let’s get going.”
“Can we even call it stealing if we’re taking it from an abandoned mine?” the woman asked.
“Aw, don’t say that,” the tall one said. “You’ll ruin the fun.”
Trish glanced to her right and saw she was in front of her friend Rob’s house. These jerks needed to learn a lesson, and she figured Rob wouldn’t mind if she borrowed his sword.
She slowly opened the door to Rob’s place, making as little noise as possible. Not that the bandits would hear her over the sounds of their own laughter. The sword was on the table, the same place Rob always left it. She picked it up, pausing for only a moment to admire the iron construction. Then she grabbed a torch and slipped outside.
The three bandits were entering the mineshaft.
Trish crouched behind the wood block and thought for a moment. She had two options. She could either go back to the meeting hall for help, or she could follow the bandits. If she went back to the meeting, she could confront Carmine in front of the whole village. But then the bandits might escape with whatever they’d come to steal.
She thought back to all the stories she’d heard about great heroes. Carol the Strong. Liu Yang. And of course Steve. What would they have done?
She knew the answer to that question. Gripping her sword, she walked toward the mine.
Trish stepped across the threshold and into the darkness. She felt a thrill run through her. An hour ago she had been crafting arrows for the millionth time, and now she was hunting bandits in an old mine! She could be attacked by spiders, or bats, or even creepers at any moment! Okay, maybe that last part wasn’t exciting. More like terrifying.
She heard the laughter of the three bandits echoing through the darkness. When the sound seemed far enough away, she lit her torch and followed them.
She walked for what felt like an hour. Strangely, she didn’t see a single creature. Not even a spider.
As if echoing her thoughts, the tall bandit said, “Hey, I thought this place was supposed to be dangerous. Isn’t that what Carmine said? That’s why the village sealed it with obsidian, right?”
The short bandit laughed. “They probably just used that as an excuse. I’ll bet the mayor didn’t want anyone getting their hands on the map.”
Trish squinted into the darkness. Map? What map?
“Hold on,” the woman said. “I see something.”
Their footsteps were faster now, and Trish went faster too, wanting to see what they’d found.
“This has got to be it!” the short one said. “Mac, open the chest.”
“Working on it,” the woman said.
Trish rounded a corner and stopped. She could see them clearly in the glow of their torches. Trish quickly put out her torch so they wouldn’t be able to see her.
The three bandits were crouched around a chest. The woman named Mac opened it, and all three gasped.
“Yes!” the short man said. “I’ve done it!”
“You’ve done it?” Mac asked.
The short man reached past her and yanked something out of the chest.
“With this map, we’ll find the Blade of the Sea,” he said. “Captain Blackheart will shower us with riches, and the world will fall to its knees!”
The tall man let out a whoop of joy.
The Blade of the Sea? Where had Trish heard that term before…That’s right! Old Man Buckles, one of his stories, about a mythical land that contained ultimate power. If these bandits got their hands on it, burning villages would be the least of the world’s concerns.
She had to run back to the village, warn anyone she could find.
But then the skeletons attacked.
Chapter 3: The Secret Map
The tall man yelped and grabbed his leg. Trish drew in a sharp breath. An arrow was sticking out of his right thigh.
“Aw, not fair!” the tall man yelled. “Who did that?”
The short man’s eyes narrowed. “Skeletons.”
Sure enough, just as he said it, Trish saw three dark shapes step out of the shadows.
Trish’s heart was racing. She suddenly wished she’d decided to get help rather than follow them down this mine. Sure, she had a sword. She could probably take out a spider or something. But a skeleton? No way. And she certainly couldn’t fight three of them.
Every instinct told her to run, but she stayed crouched in the shadows, frozen by a powerful curiosity to see what happened next.
Mac and the short man spun toward the skeletons, both drawing their swords. Trish didn’t like these two bandits, but she had to admire the confident way they stepped toward the skeletons instead of running away.
“Roger, which one do you want?” Mac asked.
The short man glanced at her. “One? Why do you get two of them?”
Mac lunged forward, swinging her sword as she charged. The closest skeleton raised its bow, but it had no chance against Mac’s lightening-fast iron sword. She hacked at the skeleton until it fell to the ground.
Mac turned, ready for more. “Like I said. Which one do you want?”
Trish’s eyes widened in disbelief. She’d never imagined anyone killing a skeleton so easily. These bandits seemed like they might be a few planks short of a block in the brains department, but they sure could fight.
Roger stepped toward the skeleton farthest to the left. “Since you’ve killed the easy one, I guess I’ll fight the leader. If you don’t mind taking care of the other underling.”
Trish thought the skeletons all looked identical.
“Riigghht,” Mac said.
The skeleton closest to Roger drew back his bowstring and fired an arrow. Roger lunged to the right, and the arrow hit the stone behind him with a THUNK.
The tall man was bent over, clutching his leg. He said in a pained voice, “Well, at least you evened the odds.”
As he said it, two arrows struck the rocks near Mac and Roger. Five more skeletons lumbered out of the shadows and toward the bandits.
“You said you wanted to kill more than one, Roger,” Mac said as she inched away from the creatures.
Roger let out an angry groan. “We have to
get out of here. Let’s charge them.”
“What about him?” Mac nodded toward the tall man.
Roger shook his head. “We’ll be lucky to get out of here ourselves. He’s on his own.”
Mac turned toward Roger, a shocked looked on her face. “I’m not leaving him. He’s my partner! It’s always been Mac and Chiece!”
“You can find a new partner! We have to go.”
But even as he spoke, the skeletons moved closer, their bows raised.
Suddenly, Trish saw something. The map. It was dangling loosely from Mac’s left hand. Another bunch of arrows flew and one hit the map, piercing the paper and ripping it out of Mac’s hand to pin it to the wooden chest behind her.
Trish tensed. All of Mac and Roger’s attention was on the skeletons, and the skeletons were focused on Mac and Roger. No one was looking toward Trish. Or the map. Roger had said it could help them find the Blade of the Sea. Whatever that was, it had to be powerful. She didn’t know much about these bandits, but she knew she didn’t want them to have a weapon that could bring the world to its knees.
Knowing her sword wouldn’t help her, she put it away. This was time for surprise and speed.
If she didn’t act now, she’d talk herself out of this crazy, dangerous behavior. Without giving herself another moment to think about it, she jumped up and sprinted toward the bandits.
Roger and Chiece’s attention was glued to the skeletons. Trish was almost on them when Mac turned with wide, surprised eyes.
“Who the heck are you?” Mac shouted.
Trish ignored her and kept running as fast as she could. The skeletons were spread out far enough that Trish was able to dart between them. She shot past Mac and Roger, grabbed the map, and ripped it off the arrow. Turning back toward the skeletons, it seemed they hadn’t noticed her. Their arrows were pointed in her general direction, but they hadn’t proven to be very accurate shots so far.
Suddenly, something slammed into her, knocking her to the ground.
Mac.
Blade of the Sea: A Children's Survival Unofficial Minecraft Book Page 1
