A Yogscast Fanfic Chapter 4 - Little Differences

The next day brought rain and thunder. Flashes of lightning illuminated the skies and the rumbling that inevitably followed echoed throughout their hideout, sometimes low and ongoing, other times near deafening. Amber spent the morning practising her power control. Rythian helped her through the exercises until he was sure she wouldn't hurt herself. She quickly got back into the mindset and was concentrating hard to release small amounts of magic through her fingertips.
Rythian sat with his back against the wall, eyes half closed deep in thought. He had checked his own powers as soon as he woke up this morning and found it little different to what it had been the day before. It was probably nothing to worry about.
He remembered when he had first started learning his basic spells. He had been cautious at first. Hoarding every scrap piece of knowledge and using as little of his own magic as possible. He had instead turned to using spell books and brewing potions. As he became more and more advanced in both fields, alchemy and enchanting, he remembered days when frustration got the better of him. It just hadn't seemed enough. One time, while he was on a mission through the Nether a stray arrow, directed at a ghast, instead hit a nearby zombie pigman. Suddenly he had been hard pressed. What he should have done was turn and run for the portal, but oh no, Rythian the mighty mage runs for no man! Or indeed a horde of undead pigmen. After the massacre that inevitably followed he had to steady himself every few steps to stop the world from spinning on the way back to the portal. That night he had been so sick he had begun to wonder whether he had been poisoned. That was the first time he had had no magic left in him. After that he had been careful to keep his different magical talents in the balance. You had to train yourself to use greater and greater amounts of power like you would train a muscle to become stronger.
     “How long do I have to do this for?” Amber's voice brought him back to the here and now. He glanced at her.
     “Show me.”
She pointed at the floor and let a small wisp of magic appear. “Now watch closely,” with an almost smug little smile she extended her middle finger and let the wisp disappear and reappear on the next finger. Now she held out both hands all fingers extended and let the wisp wander from her right hand to her left jumping across each finger in turn. Rythian was impressed. And also worried. This isn't natural. She is too fast. He didn't let any of his thoughts show on his face.
     “That's pretty good. Yeah. Pretty good.” he hesitated. I need to know a bit more about her before I teach her anything dangerous. Time for some serious talks, I think.
     “Amber, I think we need to get to know each other a bit better. We are going to live together for a while and it just doesn't seem right that we don't know anything more than our names.” He paused. If Amber had noticed his slight emphasis on 'names' she didn't show it. Fine. “I want to know why you think you are human.”
That got her attention. The wispy essence vanished.
     “If this is about this being 'Enderborn' thing, I'm not interested. And I think you will find it hard to convince me. My parents are human, my friends are human and so am I. Just because I have a knack for magic, doesn't mean I am not normal. And my eyes are nothing special. My mother has blue eyes, my dad has light brown eyes. Mine are a mix. As simple as that.”
     “That's not -” Rythian tried to interrupt, but she pointedly talked over him as if he never opened his mouth.
     “We used to live in a city pretty high up on some floating islands when I was little. My parents were both Skylords. So, yeah I'm not scared of heights. I used to love the place,” there was am almost dreamy expression on her face, “there was an old wizard, he didn't really do much magic but it was always worth listening to his ramblings. Sometimes he would suddenly turn around, stare at you with piercing blue eyes and tell you things... secrets about the city or magic or people. And then he would change back to the old forgetful man he normally was. It was amazing living up there. Until the rumours started and some of my friends left me and school kind of went downhill from there. And my parents got into trouble because of me. I wanted to be a mage back then so badly I imagined doing magic... only one day it suddenly happened for real and I didn't mean it. I had horrible nightmares some nights... Long story short, we had to move house and so my parents decided they wanted to try themselves as farmers. We moved to the lowlands.
Well, for us it seemed like the lowlands. It was actually quite high up in the mountains. Just us three on a little farm. It was nice. But I missed the skies and the wind and flying with my parents airship. And then some people came from the south. Travelling merchants. They were a bit weird. They all looked at me in a funny way. My dad didn't want them to stay for the night, but it was us three against seven of them and the mountains are quite rough. Especially at night. So he gave in and let them have the shed and barn.” She bit her lip, not meeting his eyes.
     “I had a terrible nightmare that night. I can't quite remember what exactly happened it was dark and then there was fire everywhere and people screaming and animals dying and it was terrifying.
I ran away. I'm ashamed to admit I lost my head and just ran. I could have stayed and helped, I should have done something, anything. I didn't. So now you know. I don't want anything to do with magic. But I don't want any more 'accidents' to happen either. So I need to learn. And I better be good at it. Cause I've had enough. It almost happened again back where I found you and I am sick of it.”  
Well, look at that. Rythian hadn't quite expected such a response. He was at a loss what to say to her.
     “Okay. Uhm. I am sorry to hear that about your parents. Why didn't you go back later?”
     “You don't understand! I failed them! Over and over again. It was my fault they lost their citizenship! Their home! Their lives! I am more than useless, because wherever I go 'accidents' happen! I don't want to cause anymore damage to my family and friends than I already have...”
Rythian raised an eyebrow at her.
     “I see. So you don't mind causing damage to people you don't know then?”
Amber jumped onto her feet her hands clenched into fists.
     “I have spent the last few years travelling the wilderness, avoiding people!” she hissed, “I've stayed in places only long enough to notice the signs. When I knew something was going to happen, I left. I spent the last month alone in the middle of a war zone fighting day in day out -” Amber stopped in mid sentence and took a deep breath.
Basically a life of self-pity and a subconscious suicide attempt. Great. Out loud he said: “And it never occurred to you that your family might not care about these things? Or that you could learn to control your magic?”
     “I don't care if they care! I can't do it. I can't. They are better off without me. And I didn't know who to ask. I mean, what should I say? 'Hello Mr Wizard, I keep killing people by accident. Please tell me how to stop? Oh, but as long as I am around random accidents might happen to people?' Tell me, Rythian, how many people can you kill without meaning to before you aren't sure anymore if you are actually sane?”
     “Alright, alright. I get your point. But don't you see? You are not just like any other human with a bit of magical potential!”
She threw her hands up. “I give up. You are obsessed. But can you please keep your crazy ideas to yourself? Cause I won't be listening. I think I have done enough magic for today, I am going mining.”
Amber didn't wait for a reply, just picked up her wooden pickaxe and started digging stairs down in the very back of the cave.
Notch, she is stubborn! Rythian followed her with a pack full of torches. They dug away in silence for a while. Eventually Rythian's pick broke and he went back up to make some stone ones instead, to last them at least until they had some iron or any gems to make proper tools out of.
He was half way down the stairs when he realised there was nobody at the bottom. He hesitated then went flying down the steps taking three at the time.
     “Amber!” She didn't have any torches and so the last few meters were plunged into near complete darkness. He cursed. He had picked up so much speed, he couldn't have stopped to avoid the sudden drop if he had tried. As it was he simply went with the fall and rolled when he hit the ground three blocks below. He came up in a crouch ready for any attack. Nothing happened. No arrows came flying, no growling zombies appeared, no spiders jumped out at him. But when he felt the slight draft of air down his neck it almost made him jump out of his skin.
     “Good thing I heard you stomping down the stairs, or this could have ended in tears.”
Amber lowered her battered pickaxe. It was covered in black ichor and looking past her, Rythian could see two dead spiders lying shattered across the floor.
     “Why didn't you wait for me? I mean, what the hell? You didn't have any light, you don't even have a sword!”
Amber carelessly tossed her wooden pick aside. “Well, it did it's job. And I killed them before I jumped through. I am not that stupid. Did you bring me another one?”
Unbelievable! Rythian wordlessly handed her two stone picks and half of his torches. They lit up the area, picking out any ores and coal they came across. Deeper and deeper they went through little gaps and down freshly hewn steps through a maze of tunnels and caves until they reached the lower levels. Occasionally they would have to confront skeletons or other monsters and so together they left a bloody trail of dead bodies behind. It made for hard work.
Finally, after Amber almost fell into a pool of bubbling lava, they decided it was best to turn back. Easier said then done. The complex they had entered stretched for miles in every direction. Following their torches as best as they could they found one of the bigger caves they had come upon on in their search for materials. Apart from their footsteps echoing softly on the stony ground, the silence felt heavy like too thick a blanket. Suddenly Rythian stopped dead in his tracks and cursed.
     “What?” Amber turned to see what had got his attention and saw the enderman. It just stood there facing the far wall, tall and thin with a small shower of particles streaming of its torso every time it moved slightly. Rythian was already charging at the thing, pickaxe raised high, murder in his eyes. At the first impact the enderman screamed and teleported to the opposite side of the cave, the furious mage hard on its trail. The fight was fast and brutal. The end creature managed to land a few painful hits, but didn't seem to have much of an advantage when it used its teleporting skills. Amber noticed that whichever place the thing turned up, the fighting whirlwind that was Rythian had already changed direction to follow. She could just watch in amazement as the two danced through the cavern, two pairs of purple eyes flashing, connecting and spinning apart in mad patterns. And as quickly as it had begun, it ended. One last swing at the enderman's bloody torso and it collapsed, leaving one last eerie scream echoing through the tunnels as its corpse vanished.  
     “Wow. What was that all about?” Amber lowered her pick she had hefted tightly during the fight, ready to defend herself. Now she looked the mage up and down with something of a mixed expression on her face.
Rythian was breathing hard but apart from the gash on his left shoulder where the enderman had managed to break through his defence and a small cut across his right forearm he seemed more than ready to start the whole thing all over again.
     “I hate those damned things. Come on. Let's get out of here,” he said, marching off at a brisk pace. Amber followed.    
Back at their camp they had to build themselves a double chest to hold all the ores and materials they had mined. Amber put up a second furnace and filled them both up with coal and ores.
     “Here, take this,” Rythian handed her a newly made ruby sword. He had already made himself one out of the emeralds they had found.  
     “Tomorrow I will have to go down into the crater. And I will be going alone. It will probably take most of the day.”
Amber shrugged. “I could go hunting and scouting the area bit. I'm a pretty good shot with the bow. Might need a little practice to get the feeling for this one though.” She took the old bow out of the chest and drew it testily. “It's not as powerful as my old one but still in reasonable shape.”
     “You have it then. I'm more of a swordsman anyway.”
They settled for the night. Rythian made himself comfortable on the ground and Amber took the bed after much eye-rolling and muttering how she wasn't made of glass, which resulted in eye-rolling on Rythian's side and muttering about women always finding a way to twist politeness into an insult.
Amber gave a snort. “Good night, Rythian.”
     “Good night, Amber.” Good night Zoey, wherever you are. I hope you are safe.

–

The next morning, after a small breakfast of yet more freshly caught fish, Amber tried herself on the bow. When she was satisfied with her aim, she prepared to set off on a day of scouting.
     “You are off then?” Rythian stood at the edge of the crater looking out towards the west. Amber came to stand next to him and nodded.
     “Try not to get lost. There are some very deep caves around here, most of them to the north. The forests stretch for miles around here, apart from the big lakes to the east and west of here. But as long as you can see this mountain here with the beacon on top, or any beacon really, you should be able to find your way back.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
     “I have been wandering the wilderness for months now, with a knife as my only weapon, I know how to navigate and this land is pretty tame compared to where I come from, believe me.”
Rythian held up his hands.
     “If you say so. But I won't be able to come looking for you after dark, just so you know. Oh, and try to avoid drawing attention to yourself...” he was going to say more but to judge by the look on her face she was just about fed up with good advice already.
     “Can I go now? Master?”
     “Don't...” He sighed. “You know this is serious. And I stick to my word. You are my apprentice and that means I am your master. I would appreciate it if you didn't make light of it.”
     “Hold on right there, mister. I agreed to an apprenticeship in magic, not how to live my life. So if you are thinking to boss me around in anything other that magic, you can damn well think again!” She stood there arms crossed, head held high and eyes ablaze. He shook his head.
     “I am not bossing you around! I'm just trying to help and keep you alive, Notch dammit! Can't you -”
     “I can keep myself alive, thank you very much. So far I seem to do a better job of it, don't you think?” Turning around, she stormed away without another glance. Soon she was hidden between the trees.      
     “Fair enough.” Rythian said to no-one in particular. “Okay, back to work. Let's see if I can salvage any computers from down there.”
Getting to the lower levels was quite difficult, now that he couldn't fly anymore. By the time he made it to the tunnels that were left of Zoey's lab, he was slightly out of breath. I guess that's what I get from relying on magic for everything. Hell, I need to get into shape. He had brought some torches, placing them around the caves. Suddenly an arrow zipped past him. He ducked and started running in a zigzag towards the cause - a skeleton archer. He hadn't brought any weapons, so he swung a torch at its skull knocking it back a step. He didn't waste time and kicked the monster full in its ribcage. It stumbled but managed to knock another arrow. Rythian dove into a forwards roll, the missile passing harmlessly over him, and crashed into the skeleton torch first, taking it down. The satisfying noise of crunching bones greeted his fist as he punched at its arm holding the bow. The other arm grabbed at his throat, but he got hold of it and pushed himself away and up.
     “Just fucking die already!” he growled. He stomped on a shoulder blade, the disarrayed pile of bones twitched violently until he grabbed its neck and twisted the wretched skull right off.
Catching his breath, Rythian shook his throbbing wrist, droplets of blood flying off where he had scraped skin of his knuckles during the short but brutal fight. He scanned his surroundings, searching the shadows for more mobs, but he was alone. He placed the last few torches along the walls and kept only one as he made his way deeper into the tunnel systems. He found the steps down to the server room, the iron door and alarm now missing. A huge pile of rubble and debris was blocking half the staircase, but further down the walls and ceiling seemed intact.
He stepped carefully, listening to any noise from below, but apart from a faint dripping of water in the distance there was only silence. At the bottom of the stairway the room full of monitors was dark and the air smelled of decay and acid. So... where to start. This could take some time. I might not be a computer expert, but I know I will need power if I want to kick these back to life. He could see the cables running along the walls and ceiling, most of them intact. He tapped at the lamp closest to the entrance and it flickered dimly before it went dark again. Right, so there is still some juice in there somewhere, just no contact, lets see... Rythian searched the room. He checked ever chest next to every monitor. Most only had useless stuff inside, a block of dirt, some mushrooms, a sapling... he took an empty bottle and a bucket out of one and went back up stairs, rooted around in the half demolished lab until he found what he had been looking for. A worn and dented BAT-box. Good. Let's do some science. With a wry grin he set to work on rebuilding Zoey's server room...

–

Amber stormed through the thicket making as much noise as a horde of pigmen on fire. Who does he think he is? My father? She forcefully pushed past some low hanging branches, breaking them with a loud snap. It echoed through the otherwise quiet forest.
     “Great. Every creature within ten miles is going to go into hiding. Bloody Rythian, bloody trees!”
She fell into a light jog. Better cover some ground then. She got to the sandy beach of a rather big lake and decided to try her hunting luck on the other side. Putting down a crafting bench, she quickly assembled a small boat and started rowing across. It took almost an hour and she felt out of breath and slightly shaky when she got to the other shore. Her legs felt heavy and her stomach grumbled. Her anger forgotten, she walked into the green, enjoying the peace and quiet and fresh air.
Apart from the odd rustling of small animals in the underbrush and the faint twittering of little birds the world seemed to be asleep out here. A breeze went through the lush canopy, making the leaves whisper. Amber wished she had gone up the mountains instead, where the air would have been even fresher and the wind stronger. She missed the feel of turbulent gusts tugging and pulling her hair and clothes. Back home... back home in the skycapital a day without a stiff breeze would have given people a heart attack.
Suddenly a bird burst through the brush right in front of her chittering angrily. Amber laughed out loud realising she had her sword drawn and ready to defend herself – from a bird! And her eyes lit up when she recognised the kind of bush the little blackbird had just evacuated with all haste.
     “Blueberries!” she laughed. Looking around she could see more bushes full with ripe berries. How had she almost walked past all this free food? She started picking with one hand and eating with the other. It tasted divine. She couldn't remember when she had last eaten something so sweet. Better not overdo it though. After filling her stomach to some degree at least she kept walking, more alert.
At a small stream that seemed just deep enough to soak her up to her knees had she waded in, but was narrow enough to jump across, she washed the blueberry juice off her hands and face before refilling her waterskin. There was a small hill close by, she could see the trees were sparse that way, giving room to an ancient oak tree on top of the hill. It was a perfect opportunity to get a better view from above, so she jumped over the stream and made for the oak. The closer she got, the more awed she felt. It had looked huge from across the edge of the forest, but standing underneath its mighty branches, its bark deeply furrowed and the slight wind making its wooden limbs creak with every gust, Amber felt almost overwhelmed. This tree might as well have been here from the beginning of the world.
She nestled her bow between two massive roots and started climbing. The thick bark gave plenty of hand and foot holds until she could reach the lowest branches. From there it was almost too easy. At the highest point she could see for miles across the deep forest that stretched up to the mountains to the south and to the blue lake she had crossed, also another, bigger lake to the west. To the east seemed to be low grass plains and soft hills and further south-east... some blocky structure, dark against the clear skies. That must be man-made surely. She squinted at it but couldn't make out much. It seemed to be a tower of some sort. She also noticed that it was well past mid-day and high time to be on the way back if she wanted to make it before dark.
     “I better had,” she muttered, starting the long way down.
She had had a good view and knew roughly where she was now. The easier and most likely quicker way would be to drift east a little before turning south, so she could run across the plains instead of fighting her way through the dense forests again. Picking up her bow she gave the oak one last glance before breaking into a light footed run home.

–