[Mobius POV]

It doesn't take long before we reach the village, but none of that really mattered to me right now. Right now, my worry was for Aria. No one else seems to notice how much pain she was in, but I did. I've been messing around with the cybernetics I have, and one of them for my eye included seeing everyone's health bars without them showing it themselves. I could see the small amount of hearts she had left. She wasn't telling as, as usual, and that never ends well. I know pushing it will do nothing, so I stay quiet as we begin entering it.

Before we get too far, I hear large, metallic footstep echo around. Suddenly, an iron golem rounds the corner, and we all stop dead in our tracks. Reginald glares at it, and the golem returns the look. Nothing happens, and I even hear all the villagers stop moving around us. I can see Aria stepping forward, but Anthony grabs her arm and gently pulls her back with a shake of his head. The woman actually listens (for once), and steps back. That only cements my fear of how tired she must be. 'She never backs down from a fight...'

She stands next to Anthony, but all of us were watching Reginald. There was no way we could take on that golem right now, and none of us wanted to just watch Reginald take it on alone. He was staring down the golem still, unmoving. The golem was a mirror image of Reginald's stance, protectively guarding the main area of the village. I feel my feathers ruffle in agitation, but I keep my distance. I knew if I stepped in, I'd get sent flying much higher than normal since I was now nearly only half the normal avatar size. We all wait, expecting yet another brawl to break out...

The golem straightens and clanks oddly. He offers a hand, and Reginald huffs, warbling something. He shakes the golem's hand, and then turns to us. I see his face struggle, like he was attempting to speak 'human' again, but Aria holds up her hand. "He's a friend, another like us that got stuck here. His avatar had been an iron golem." Reginald looks relieved and turns back towards the golem. He warbles more, and the golem looks towards us. His face is hard to read, but I see the features change a bit when it lands on me. I look away, slightly embarrassed at how small I was now. He looks away, and when I finally look around, I realize this village was definitely not a normal village. The houses were actual houses, and there were villager that were armed near the entrances, and I notice a wall was being built around the small town. As the sun starts to set, I see the other villagers start to head towards the homes.

Clanking snaps me back to the group, and I see the golem move towards the center of the town. Everyone was following, and I quickly catch up. Being so small means I have to move twice as fast to keep up. I feel my leg click, and suddenly I am nearly crashing into the back of Alexa. She turns around with a look of confusion, and I just point at my robotic leg. "Still figuring this out." She gives me a smile, and nods. We continue to follow the others, and I see Aria slow down and walk next to us. "I think this world has a village up mod...." I nod my head in agreement. "Makes sense. If everything is more realistic, it would definitely make the villagers more... well, 'human' like." 

Alexa nods and looks around as we walk. I look ahead and see us walking up to the center of the town. A magnificent fountain sat in the middle of a large colorful stone circle walkway. It was honestly quite amazing! It looked like something you would see in those big, fancy online servers. There was a bell on each edge facing each direction, and the water was flowing smoothly. Lily pads were laying in it, and as we near it, I see fish swimming in the water. Sea lanterns and glow stone sit beneath the water, letting off soft light. Flowers and benches are around it, and I make a mental note to use something like this in our server when we get out of here.

'When we get out of here...'

I shake my head. 'Positive thinking, Mobius.' We pass the fountain, and make our way to a two story building. It looks like an Inn, and when we near it, the golem gently taps on the door. The door opens, and the villager that opens it makes me gasp. It wasn't a squidward clone, or the Steve like NPC's, but it seems like a normal avatar! As it looks us over, I see hair slip off her shoulders as she gasps. "Not again...." She whispers, and I step forward. "I'm assuming you know what's happening?" She nods and opens the door fully. "Come inside. I'll take care of them, Rege." She looks up at the Enderman, and he nods gratefully. The golem nods as well, and the woman smiles at it. The door shuts behind us, and we find ourselves in a bar-like area. Aria has already collapsed into a char, head on the table before her. Alexa is in a booth, laying across the whole seat. Anthony was leaning back in a chair across from Aria. I feel fatigue starting to set in, and I crawl into the seat across from Alexa.

A bolt slides shut, and I lift my head to see the avatar locking the door. She turns to us and sighs. Her mouth opens as if she's about to speak, but her eyes stop on Aria. I carefully sit up and watch her carefully. Aria wasn't moving much, and her breathing was slow. Suspicion starts to flow through me, and I feel my feathers flatten against my neck. Alexa must have heard me move, because she sits up as well. I keep my eyes on the new woman, and she keeps her gaze on Aria. The way she was looking at her set me on edge, and I feel instincts kick in a little. A low growl rises in my throat as she nears the table. Aria still doesn't move, and I can only assume that she is out cold. She must have felt safe in here, but I couldn't shake the feeling this lady was giving me.

As she stops right next to Aria, Anthony finally stirs a bit and his eyes barely open. He doesn't move at first, then his hand slowly slips to his side where the sword was resting in it's sheath. He moves cautiously, but stops once the sword is slightly revealed. The female NPC seems to not notice this, and she stays staring at Aria. It's eerily silent, and at first nothing happens. Suddenly, the woman reaches out to touch Aria, and only then do I notice that Aria's right side was still pitch black. Soft purple particles were emitting from her skin. The NPC slowly nears Aria, as if trying to tame a wild animal. Anthony begins to remove his sword slowly and quietly, but before he can move, the NPC gasps as a hand snaps up and grabs her arm.

"Please, don't touch me."

Aria doesn't move anything else, but her voice is laced with venom. She releases the hand, and the NPC backs off slightly. Aria simply lowers her hand, and resumes her steady breathing. Anthony lowers his sword and I try to relax as the NPC walks towards the bar area. She stays silent as she leans against the counter top. The silence now is even more dense than before, and I can no longer really relax. 

"What happened?"

My head turns to the NPC, and I sigh. "It's a long, and not so nice story..." She stands up straight and crosses her arms. "You have plans tonight?" I shake my head, then I begin telling her everything that has happened so far. Anthony and Alexa pop in every once in a while, but Aria stays silent. She shifts in her chair when it gets to the fight part with the Wither King, and the NPC notices this. She doesn't address it for now, but I could see it in her eyes that she wasn't going to let that go anytime soon. When the tale ends at where we are now, we all fall silent. Aria finally shifts enough to lift her head slightly. Her eyes are barely open, and her face shows her exhaustion. 

"So, how did-"

"Name."

Aria finally speaks, and it startles the NPC. She slightly shakes her head. "I'm sorry, what?" Aria slowly sits up and turns to face the person. "I asked your name. You know all of this about us now, but we still don't know who.... or what you are." Aria's eyes, though tired, are narrow and dangerous. If looks could kill, the other person would definitely be completely dead. The NPC returns the gaze, but breaks eye contact first. "Fair enough. Name's Claire." She raises her hands and points above her. Her name suddenly pops up as if it's her gamer tag, and I shake my head. "So, you're trapped in here as well?" 

Surprisingly enough, she shakes her head. "Actually, not exactly." Aria looks at her in confusion, so Claire elaborates. "Well, I may have been once... But, I, uh..." She looks away for the first time, rubbing an arm. "I can't really remember."

'Well that's.... unsettling...'

I try to not look scared, but apparently I wasn't the only one thinking that as well. Aria sighs and holds her head in her hands. A curse slips from her lips, and I almost don't hear it at first. Anthony leans forward, trying to comfort Aria, and Alexa shifts in her booth. "Well, thanks for letting us come in."

This seems to snap Claire back to the present. Her whole demeanor suddenly changes and brightens up. "Sure thing! You aren't the first stowaways I've taken care of. If you're hungry, I have food in the chest near the furnaces, and under the counter is some drinks." She turns to walk away, but stops. "Oh, also, Aria is it?" Said person turns, and Claire whirls around to chunk something at her. Aria instantly catches it one handed, and turns her head to look at it. My eyes widen at the light pink liquid in it. Aria mimics my look and turns to look at Claire. The Inn keep smirks and turns away. 

"Drinking it works best for us, by the way."

I shake my head as Claire disappears up the stairs behind her bar, and Aria looks at the bottle again. She gazes around, and Anthony suddenly snorts. We turn to him, and he barely holds in a laugh. Alexa slightly snickers as well. "Guess your 'tough gal' look needs work, 'Ria." Alexa comments, earning a grunt from the half enderman. She takes out the cork and downs the bottle. Her face instantly brightens, and I see something on her back shifting beneath the sheath. When she finishes it, she sets down the empty bottle and sighs.

"Alright, I'll admit.... That was nice."

She lays her head down on the table again, and I realize there are probably beds upstairs, but...

I lay down again. 

No way I was going to move anytime soon.