The Cult: Part One Read online

  Chapter Five

  Their reunion was a sweet one. When Steve saw Wendy sitting on the expansive table in the dining room, Steve forgot all about his pain and ran toward Wendy, embracing her with a hug. Meanwhile, Wendy did the same. The lady and the butler let the two be for their reunion, leaving the room altogether.

  “I thought you were dead,” Wendy told him.

  “Nah, it will take more than that to kill me,” Steve replied.

  “How did you survive?” she asked.

  “I don’t know myself. This man is more powerful than even my brother. He can change himself to diamond after all, and he used that to shatter my weapons and armor.”

  Wendy gasped. Then Steve explained how he fell down with the bridge but managed to escape through a hole just as Draven sent a flurry of fireballs his way. Wendy felt upset as Steve described him having to stay inside of a tree for the night, feeling guilty that she slept in a bed that was heaven in a mattress, even though she still struggled to fall asleep.

  “Are you going to be okay? Your legs are in pain, after all.”

  Steve wondered that himself. He needed to get better if he wanted to fight or, rather, evade Draven.

  “Here, I’ll get Lady Elena,” Wendy said as she left the dining room. When she returned with Elena, the lady looked legitimately concerned for Steve.

  “Don’t worry; I’ll prepare you a salt bath. It relieves the pain and fixes you up in less than an hour.”

  “Thanks for all that you’ve done,” Steve said. For someone wealthy, she was courteous. He hoped that they wouldn’t put her in danger of Draven’s wrath, however. She did not deserve that. All Draven had to do was punch the gate with his diamond hand, and it would break it like a bundle of sticks. He just hoped that Draven had no clue where they were.

  When it was prepared, Elena took Steve to the bathing room, an expansive area where the bath was the size of a miniature pool, the water steaming hot, a dish of fresh fruit on its side. Elena closed the door, and Steve took off his clothes, limping toward the bath. The repercussions from him running toward Elena were hitting him hard, and all he wanted to do was relax for a little while.

  His toes dipped in the hot water, and it felt a little scalding for his tastes. However, he knew that the rules for cold water also applied to piping hot water as well. He just dealt with it and plopped his whole body in there. As soon as he sunk into the water, his skin soon adjusted, and he loved its warmth. His legs began to loosen, and the pain slowly evaporated; his negative emotions soon followed. He felt tranquil, which he hadn’t been for quite some time. His anger seemed to fade as well, so he could actually fight with strategy the next time. He was just glad that he had gone off on a Creeper instead of something that could use his anger to their advantage, taking him out by creating a trap.

  Thirty minutes passed, and his legs felt like new again. All he needed to do was just relax for a little while longer and then—

  There was a loud knock on the door. “Steve, we have a big problem!” Wendy shouted from behind.

  Immediately, Steve hopped out of the bath. His legs still ached, as he hadn’t stayed in there long enough, but they felt much better than before.

  Steve wrapped a towel around him and opened the door. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Someone’s at the gates, asking for us. I believe it’s Draven. I told Elena to hold him off as soon as possible, but he probably isn’t a very patient pers—”

  Suddenly, the two heard an explosion from the outside. From what Steve saw, it came from the window in the bathroom, which he had paid no mind to before. Steve closed the door, slipped on his clothes, and observed from the window, which faced the entrance of the mansion. The gate was blown back, smoldering, its figure twisted and melted in some places. A group of hooded people marched past the gate’s ruins, all being led by what appeared to be Draven.

  No, already? I don’t even have any weapons or armor. I’ll be creamed! And this woman’s mansion will be destroyed because of what we did!

  Steve ran out, and then Wendy joined him. Steve didn’t even bother to grab his crude sword; it would be like trying to kill a giant using a toothpick. It just wasn’t going to happen. As they went down the corridor, Lady Elena and Jerkin joined them.

  “Who are these people? I tried to say that I might have people like that, but they left, and then he blew the gate down with just his finger!”

  “I wasn’t joking when I said that a wizard was trying to kill us,” Wendy said.

  “I see that,” Lady Elena replied. “But how are we going to repel them? I don’t carry any weapons with me.”

  “We just have to escape,” Steve said. “But how are we going to do that?”

  “I built an escape tunnel in case something like this was going to happen, but I need to grab my fortune as well. It’s sealed in a vault at the—”

  Another explosion occurred. Steve and Wendy looked down the corridor and to the main room. The cult used their magic to burn the room down and make objects burst into pieces.

  “There’s no time!” Jerkin said. “Lady, we need to get out of here.”

  “I know I can get more diamonds, but this mansion—I spent years building this place, getting it just right, and now it’s going to be burnt down, and it’s because I let you two in!” Her calm demeanor shattered, she suddenly looked like a monster. The once pretty woman had a slew of wrinkles and veins popping from her face.

  “It’s not their fault, Lady,” Jerkin said. “Let’s just make our escape and then get out of here.”

  Trying to keep her composure, Elena said, “Right,” and ran down the corridor. She opened a door and ran inside, and the three followed her. Her own room was decorated in jewels and gold, with a bookshelf the size of a library at the end of it.

  “It should be this one,” Lady Elena muttered to herself, pulling out a black book. At once, the bookshelf began to turn slowly, revealing a passageway as it moved to its side.

  “I never thought I’d use this. This will take us to a tunnel that will lead us to an island. My father lives there. He’s a wizard himself.”

  “A wizard?” Steve asked.

  “Well, he’s an alchemist and can enchant weapons,” Elena replied. She looked at Wendy. “I kind of lied when I said that I found the diamonds. He has the power to turn rocks into diamonds, and he knew that I wanted to live like a celebrity, so he let me have it in the exchange that I use it for good. I’m sorry that I got mad. You two can explain to me what happened after we escape.”

  They ran through the passage as the bookshelf closed. While they did that, Steve’s mind began racing.

  An enchanting wizard? Steve wondered a few things about this. If he could easily create diamond weapons for them and then enchant them, would it be enough for them to defeat Draven with? The idea could work, but he would find out soon enough. Right now, they needed to get out of here. The passageway eventually stopped, leading to an open hole with a ladder going down. Steve noticed a switch on the wall to the right of the hole that Elena pressed.

  “What’s that do?” Wendy asked.

  “This mansion has enough TNT behind its walls to turn this place into a giant candle. This switch will activate it and give us five minutes to escape. They’re going to burn up my mansion regardless, so I want them to go along with it. Don’t worry, once we reach the bottom, we won’t be harmed.”

  Frantically, they climbed down the ladder, which went down for what seemed like hours. When the four reached the bottom, a rocky passageway lit by a few torches, they heard a rumbling sound above them. A few pebbles fell from the ceiling, but nothing happened other than that.

  “I think that should deal with your wizard problem. Not even the strongest can survive that explosion.”

  I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Steve thought. While it was wishful thinking that it had killed Draven, he doubted an explosion even at that magnitude would even hurt him. As they went down the passage, he h
oped that this wizard would be able to help them out. Steve and Wendy looked at each other, and both of them sighed, feeling like two rats trying to escape from a giant cat. This chase game needed to end.

  ###

  About the Author

  Mark Mulle is a passionate Minecraft gamer who writes game guides, short stories, and novels about the Minecraft universe. He has been exploring, building, and fighting in the game ever since its launch, and he often uses in-game experiences for inspiration on creating the best fiction for fellow fans of the game. He works as a professional writer and splits his time between gaming, reading, and storytelling, three hobbies and lifelong passions that he attributes to a love of roleplaying, a pursuit of challenging new perspectives, and a visceral enjoyment the vast worlds that imagination has to offer. His favorite thing to do, after a long day of creating worlds both on and off the online gaming community, is to relax with his dog, Herobrine, and to unwind with a good book. His favorite authors include Stephen King, Richard A. Knaak, George R. R. Martin, and R. A. Salvatore, whose fantasy works he grew up reading or is currently reading. Just like in Minecraft, Mark always strives to level up, so to speak, so that he can improve his skills and continue to surprise his audience. He prefers to play massive multiplayer online games but often spends time in those games fighting monsters one on one and going solo against the toughest mobs and bosses he can manage to topple. In every game, his signature character build is a male who focuses mostly on crafting weapons and enchanting, and in every battle, he always brings a one hander sword and a shield with as much magical attributes as he can pour into them. Because he always plays alone, he likes to use his game guides to share all the secrets and knowledge he gains, and who know—he may have snuck some information into his fiction as well. Keep an eye out for his next book!

  Other books by this author

  Please visit your favorite eBook retailer to discover other books by Mark Mulle

  Other books in The Cult Trilogy

  The Cult, Part Two

  The Cult, Part Three

  The Doppelganger Trilogy

  The Doppelganger, Book One: Steve’s Chance

  The Doppelganger, Book Two: Steve vs. Herobrine

  The Doppelganger, Book Three: The Ender Dragon Reborn

  The Quest: The Untold Story of Steve Trilogy

  The Quest: The Untold Story of Steve, Book One - The Tale of a Hero

  The Quest: The Untold Story of Steve, Book Two - The Unfinished Game

  The Quest: The Untold Story of Steve, Book Three - Endings and Beginnings of a Legend

  The Obsidian Chronicles Trilogy

  The Obsidian Chronicles, Book One: Ender Rain

  The Obsidian Chronicles, Book Two: Hell and Back

  The Obsidian Chronicles, Book Three: Of Dragons and Demons

  The Temple of Destruction Trilogy

  Book One: The Lost Treasures

  Book Two: The Curse

  Book Three: Notch versus Herobrine

  The Dragon’s Mountain Trilogy

  Book One: Attacked by the Griefers

  Book Two: The Hidden Village

  Book Three: The White Mobs

  The Legend: The Mystery of Herobrine Trilogy

  Book One: The Start of the Quest

  Book Two: The Truth about the Myth

  Book Three: Herobrine versus the World