Kelia, her llamas, and Pint, and I have been traveling for about two days, and now I can finally see the first line of the ocean on the horizon. Today I wake up earlier than my frosty companion, who has remained virtually silent the entire trip. I am almost regretting my decision to take a llama guide, even though I know I will never make it on my own.

I gaze out over the edge of the cliff that we will precariously navigate down today and into the beautiful sunrise. The sun shines over the water illuminating a beautiful render of the likes I haven't ever seen before. I could be content to look at this all day, but Kelia has other ideas. "Come on, we have to move on - I have other customers waiting," she says sharply, already holding her lead.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" I snap, grabbing Pint's own lead. Usually, I ride him but under today's circumstances, it will be safer to lead him down the dangerous slope. "How do we know the way down?" I ask Kelia warily.

"We follow the llama guide route," she answers shortly. I'm about to ask what she means in a rather rude tone when I see the path. It goes down the short side of the cliff and is rather badly marked with a space of worn-down path every here and there. I suppose now is a bad time to bring up the sketchy jumps we'll have to take, but for once I remain wisely quiet.

We traverse down the path rather slowly, and as we move farther and farther down the cliff the sea-line fades out of view once again. We have entered a sort of basin. We go down one side and up the other slightly less tall side. The midday sun shines down on us, and if it weren't for the thin, threadbare garments I spawned in I would already be drenched in perspiration.

My mood plummets, even more, when I find no shelter awaiting us at the bottom of the basin and realize we will have to go all the way back up the basin before we get to our lodge. Ugh, I wish we could just take a beacon traspore like back in Thaytos! And that's when my first flashback of the week hits.

I'm back in Thaytos, and it is the day of the Wither attack. I'm on the outskirts of the city on a nice walk when I turn to look around and see something odd. The Thaytos beacon has gone out, and smoke rises from the town hall. I shield my eyes and squint - and in a blink, the town hall has just exploded.

I scream and several people look up at me. "We have to leave, now!" I cry, seeing the foreboding black figure literally hovering above the town hall. "NOW! THE BEACON's OUT, WE HAVE TO GO!" Several people looked doubtfully towards the beacon, and, seeing the hovering figure, they begin to cry out and run in all directions calling family members and grabbing belongings.

There is no time. I sprint out, rallying as many people as I can. I turn to run to my training station, where Desid, Kayko, and Tiras were talking and laughing only a half-hour before. And all I see is a distant tower of flames and smoke where it used to be. Tears blur my eyes, but I must get all the citizens to safety, I have to take them to Prisseters... and I wake up.

The crisp evening light greets me, and I realize I am alone at the bottom of the basin. My lead is gone and so is Pint, Kelia, and the llama caravan. How could she! I cry mentally. I feel utterly betrayed, but I must make it to the shelter. Already the stars are beginning to light up the ever-darkening sky. I can barely make out what I hope is the yellowed path through the grassy slope and begin my ascent. One good thing about steep slopes is that it's harder for mobs to follow you and spawn.

I am not nearly as hot as the deep chill of night settles over me. About halfway up though I stop to rest and survey my surroundings. The basin is strangely and totally empty of mobs. Well, that's a relief. Until I see the truth. As my eyes adjust to the dim lighting, the moon comes over the sides of the basin suddenly and I see something utterly terrifying.

Hundreds of mobs are stationed around the edges of the basin on all sides. And they are climbing down. As if on cue a skeleton arrow shoots down from almost directly above me, and a zombie growl resonates from my seemingly quite near right. I am frozen in panic. I can hear the clickety-clack of the skeletons and the gruhs of the zombies closing around me. But I stare straight into the center of the basin, an utter statue, I see the first mob plink into existence right in the center of the circle. An enderman. And one almost-met gaze from the enderman's jolting purple eyes is enough to zap me out of my stupor.

As though I have suddenly received an electric shock I begin to tunnel directly into the face of the earth, lighting up the way with torches and sealing myself off from the mobs with telltale thuds as the dirt blocks wham over the entrance. I began to breathe heavily, my heart slowing down. In the safety of the bunker, I am left alone with my mind. But my mind is no longer safe.

You should have listened. Already the mobs have you in their clutches. I can call them off... just turn back. Says the voice. No way! I think back, I will not give up this easily. You'll have to do a lot better void-face. Oh, I already have. There is no escape... I picture a mental wall coming up between me and the voice, and somehow it seems to actually work. Of course S, the voice exists in your mind, so anything you create in your mind is just as real!

I can get out of this. The voice is wrong, there is an escape... I just have to count correctly and do what I do best. I assure myself. I begin the process that I used when I was first trapped in my mineshaft back in the swamps. Except this time I have to make sure I emerge precisely at sunrise in order to catch Kelia.

Alright, three hundred and fifty. It's time to go. I am emerging a little early just to make sure I get there before Kelia wakes up. I tunnel directly upward and jump, placing dirt underneath me as I go. I'm sure I'm getting close to the top. Soon I will emerge at the top of the basin... as I break the block of stone above me I feel hot. I look up questioningly just in time to get a lava bath right in my face.

It's agony. Absolute horrible sweltering blistering agony. I am being ripped apart by familiar claws of heat and pain, and there is no way to stop it. I can feel my life draining away, and with my last bit of strength, I thud down a feeble block of cobblestone and feel the lava drain away. I instantly sway and my mental shield falters, giving me a split-second distorted yell from the voice before I can put it back up.

I gobble down the last of today's bread allowance and instantly feel my health returning. I need to keep going up though, so there is no time to rest. When the cobblestone above me crumbles I am ready and not a single drop of red liquid trickles onto me before I smother it with cobblestone. Thankfully there is no more lava, but even if there was I am now alert and ready to smother it at the slightest sight of a faint glow.

Finally, I break through the dark and a beautiful orange-blue sky greets me. The sun isn't even over the water when I emerge. I can't resist looking over the basin and seeing all the mobs struggling to get through my wall of dirt before I turn to the shelter and begin sprinting towards it. It is not far away, and I can see it clearly from here. Pint and the Llamas await me at the posts. I stop to compose myself before throwing open the door and finding myself face-to-face with Kelia.

Author's Note

Okay, so today's chapter had a lot more interruptions and fewer words, but I'm happy with it :D.

Anyhow, this chapter was going to be called 'Stormy Seas' originally and be about them crossing the seas and, (spoiler alert) you get the picture. But I think that will be in the next chapter. And there are quite a few mysteries to be solved.

Is Kelia a bad guy? What will she say when questioned by S? Will she tell the truth when she is? And today's big question... Is Kelia really a llama guide? 

Thank you guys so much you're the best! If you like this chapter please consider voting and give me some suggestions and/or character ideas!

Just Be!