The Griefer Chronicles

Chapter 5: Friends and Enemies

Arthur blinked. Had he fallen asleep? He rolled over to look at Magnus and Fredric, who were sitting around a campfire, despite it being the middle of the day.
"I told you!" Fredric was complaining. "We should have just picked some apples! Now I'm all drippy! That's what I get for letting you take us fishing!" he huffed.
Magnus went back to roasting the three fish they had caught. "It wasn't my fault that cow pushed you into the water. I didn't even see it."
Bart walked up from behind a tree and dropped a pile of soggy kelp on the ground. "Dinner is served!"
Elsie, who was sewing a burn hole in her long cloak looked up at Bart. "Where did you get that? It smells like rotting fish!"
Bart shrugged. " Some of it is. I found it on the beach. I had to sort out four rocks, a dead squid and three sticks."
Fredric gagged. "I refuse to eat that–that–garbage!" he spat out. "I doubt even you could!"
Magnus sighed. "What I wouldn't give for a nice steak!" he muttered.
Bart ran off after a cow and started punching it. The cow finally tipped over, and Bart walked up to Magnus, proudly handed him the raw steak. "Here! Enjoy!" he happily exclaimed.
Fredric scowled. "Do you actually expect us to eat that disgusting piece of drippy, bloody meat?"
Bart nodded. "Well, yeah! It looks really yummy! Don't you want some?" he offered.
"I have food. You can have some, if you tell me your names and give me an emerald." a voice said. They all looked over to see an Explorer. He was holding a loaf of bread.
Bart grinned and grabbed for the bread. "MagnusArthurFredricElsieGolemBart!" he shouted as he shoved an emerald in to the Explorer's face.
The Explorer jumped back in surprise. "Gah! Vindicator!" he drew a stone sword and lunged at Bart, who just stood there grinning.
Magnus leaped over, and grabbed the hilt of the weapon. "Stop! He's a friend!" he shouted.
The Explorer glared suspiciously at Bart, then glanced over at Elsie. "She's also a friend! So don't even think about it!" Magnus intercepted. The Explorer carefully accepted the emerald that Bart was handing him,
and passed a loaf of bread for each of them (save the iron Golem, who didn't eat bread) "I'm James948. Who are you?"
Bart's face fell. "I just told you! Didn't you listen?" he muttered.
James948 blinked. "That was your names? I thought it was some battle cry. Speaking of which....." he immediately began to try to hit them with his sword. "I want more emeralds! Right now!" he demanded.
"Oooh! Nice battle cry!" Bart complimented. "Rather greedy, but nice all the same!
Fredric jumped back. "Cowardly bully!" he grunted.
Elsie grabbed their arms and started to drag them away. "Run, you fools! Get out of here!" then she turned to face the greedy thief.
Arthur didn't need to be told twice. He hurried away with Bart, Magnus, Fredric and the Golem.
James948 laughed. "What are you gonna do?" he taunted. "Sip potions at me?"
Elsie shook her head. "Nah. I think splashing them on you would be more fun."
a glass bottle full of sloshing liquid came hurtling towards James948, but he deflected it with his sword, mocking her at the same time. "That the best you can do?"
she threw another and it hit him square in the chest. "No, that was the best I could do. Good luck catching us!" she turned and ran after her friends.
James948 tried to chase her, but his legs felt like rocks. Stiff and heavy. He was slowed by the potion! "I will get you for this! You will pay for humiliating me!" he shrieked after her.

*****

Arthur was wearing down. This constant running was causing him to flag. He tripped on a rock and scraped his knee, but he jumped back up again. But he just tripped again. He stumbled back to his feet.
Fredric stopped, causing Bart and the Golem to crash into his back, bowling him over, and he landed face first on the dry yellowing grass. Bart tripped over Fredric, and the iron Golem sprawled on top of both of them. Fredric wrenched his face from the dirt furrow he had carved. "Geth off, you dithwethpectfowl beatht! Off, I thay!" he mumbled through a mouthful of grass.
Bart squirmed out from between Fredric and the Golem. "What? I couldn't hear you over your shouting!" he asked.
The Golem levered itself off of the crabby librarian, blinking in embarrassment.
Fredric jumped to his feet, spitting out dirt and dead grass. "You manner-less creature! Don't you even have the slightest clue on how to behave properly?" he snapped.
Bart shrugged. "I suppose not." he muttered apologetically as he traced designs in the dirt with a stick. "That's probably why I'm a vindicator in the first place."
Magnus stepped between the two arguing people, grabbing Fredric's arm to prevent him from slapping Bart across the face. "Calm down, everybody! We can't fight each other if we want to survive! Now everyone just calm down!"
Fredric scowled at Magnus and Bart, but he lowered his hand. "I suppose you are correct. I will refrain from fighting." he huffed.
A new voice caused them all to jump. "The fellow's right, 'doncha know. Fighting never helped anybody! Only caused mischief, or I'm a chicken jockey!"
The group tensed. Magnus looked around at the surrounding acacia trees dotting the savanna. He grabbed a stick off the ground and raised it above his head, not remotely sure what he was going to do with it if a monster was trying to kill them. "Come out! This instant!" he shouted. "Show yourself!" Nobody was expecting what happened next. As Magnus glanced back and forth, searching for any signs of the speaker, something thudded down in the middle of the group. Fredric stumbled backwards in shock, tripping over his robe. Before the group stood: a wandering trader.
Fredric fainted from relief.
Magnus hid the stick behind his back. "Uhh, hi! I'm Magnus. Whats your name?" he casually asked.
The wandering trader tipped his head slightly in greeting. "My name? I'm Ack, and don't you forget it! Interesting story with that..."
Arthur looked up at the trader. "Your name is Ack? Why?"
Ack tapped his foot. "Hold on just a tick! I told you my name, now ya gotta tell me who I have the fabulous pleasure of meeting!"
Fredric was sitting up at this point. "You! You jerk! Do you even know how to introduce yourself? Definitely not by dropping out of a tree and scaring the soul out of a poor tired traveler!"
Ack was not deterred. "Oh, would you prefer me to fly from the depths of the earth? Not completely out of the question, old chap!" he winked at Arthur.
Magnus smiled. "Sorry, I forgot. That is Fredric, this is Arthur, this is Elsie, that fine–gentleman is Bart, and I am Magnus, the leader." he said.
Fredric glared at Magnus. "You are the leader?! Since when?" he snapped. But nobody payed any attention.
"What about the huge hunk of metal over there? What's his name?" Ack asked, gesturing over to the Golem, standing quietly by a tree looking at a flower.
Magnus shrugged. "He doesn't really have one actually." he admitted.
Ack grinned and leaned casually against Fredric (Who began to develop that "I am going to explode if this keeps up" look). "Well, if its all the same to you, I'm gonna call him Jarvis." he said. "Everyone needs a name 'o some sort, after all!"
Fredric shoved Ack away, sending him sprawling. "No! That is a terrible name! Who wants a name like Javrees? Disgusting!" this new acquaintance was really starting to grate on his nerves.
Ack picked himself up and dusted himself off. "Jarvis, not Javrees, 'doncha know! Name I learned from a friend of mine! He talks like a madman, but his stories are good!" He said.
Bart looked up at the sky. "Aw, man, past dinnertime, and we haven't even had breakfast yet!" he rubbed his stomach. "I'm hungry!" he moaned.
Magnus looked up. Bart was right. It was almost dark, and they hadn't had anything to eat in hours. "This isn't good." he mumbled.
Fredric snorted. "Well, obviously! Of course it isn't good to get stranded out in the middle of nowhere when it gets dark!" he quipped.
"Lighten up, Fredric! You don't have to be such a crab!" Elsie snipped.
Ack grinned. "Well isn't it lucky you guys found me! I know just the place! There's a house not far from here! Follow me, wot!" he laughed.
Bart brightened up. "Is there food?" he asked.
Ack rolled his eyes. "Duh! What would a place be without food?" he stated."
Bart grinned and began to follow Ack. "Well said, sir! I'm in!" he turned and looked back at his companions. "Wise fellow, this one!"
Magnus shrugged. "Come on, guys. Not much to lose by following him. If we stay out here, we'll probably be torn up by zombies and spiders."
Arthur, Elsie, and the newly named Jarvis began to follow.
Fredric huffed. "Fine! But if we are walking into a trap, you are the one to blame!" he called after Magnus.

*****

After about three minutes of following Ack, they came to a large, dark oak building. Without hesitation, Ack pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Come on! There's plenty of room for everyone!" he called.
Bart rushed in and began jumping on the purple carpeting on the floor. "I like it here!" he happily announced.
Magnus stepped inside, followed by Elsie and Arthur, and finally Fredric, who was very winded.
As they looked around at it all, they all caught their breath in wonder.
As mentioned before, there was purple carpeting. Aside from that, there were large windows looking out to the setting sun, there were shelves full of books, a fireplace with a nice warm fire burning, beautiful framed iron weapons, a fish tank, a long hallway leading to more rooms, and to top it all off, there was an elegant dorite fountain in the corner.
Elsie gasped. "This is beautiful! I wish I could stay here forever!" she sighed.
Ack walked over to a door on the far end of the room. "You think that's pretty, wait'll ya see the kitchen!" he said.
Bart rushed over, slammed the door open, and went barreling through. "Kitchen?! Kitchen means food! Come on!" he shouted. "I want dinner!"
"Hold on! No way am I lettin' a glutton like you in there! You'd chew the building down!" Ack laughed as he grabbed Bart's collar and endeavored to drag him back out. "You and yer friends are going to eat in the dining room!"
Fredric scoffed. "What, as opposed to the bathroom? Sounds good! Why not we just go sit in that cold fountain and eat there!"
"Ya can if ya want!" Ack shrugged. "No crumbs, that way."
Elsie looked deviously over at Fredric. "Alright, no crumbs." she said as she shoved Fredric into the fountain.
Fredric sputtered in surprise and scrambled to get out of the cold fountain water. "How dare you treat me like that!" he gasped.
Magnus reached down and pulled him out of the water. "She's trying to hint for you to relax a little. We get that you are uptight, but you are being downright intolerable yourself!"
Fredric opened his mouth, but clamped it shut again. No sense in arguing with him. He might even be right.
Ack looked around. "Where'd Jarvis go to?" he asked.
Arthur looked out the door. Jarvis was too big to fit through the doorway. "He's out there." he told the others.
Magnus scratched his head. "How're we going to get him inside?" he wondered.
Ack reached out and smashed a Golem-sized hole in the large picture window near the door. "Here. Tell him to go through there." he encouraged. The Golem looked in through the jagged hole, then stepped in without
any more hesitation.
Bart jumped up and down, waving his fists. "I'M STARVING! I WANT
FOOD!!!" he shouted.
Arthur looked at the window. "but what about that? Aren't we going to
fix it?" he asked.
Ack dismissed the idea with a wave. "Nah, no big deal, old chap! Not a
problem at all!" then he turned to Bart. "Go down the hall and in through the first door on the right. Wait in there, and I will bring in a feast fit for the Ender Dragon himself!"
Bart began shoving everyone down the hall and through the first door on the right. "You heard the man! Hurry up! I'm starving!"
the group stepped into the dining room (more like a dining hall) and sat down on the benches lining the huge dining table.
Fredric rubbed his sleeve on the smooth stone table in front of him. "Huh. Awfully nice house for a lazy fellow like Ack!" he muttered under his breath.
Just then, Ack came walking into the room carrying an armload of delicious food. He began to distribute the food around, then he set a large cake in the center of the table.
Bart reached for the cake, but Magnus rapped his knuckles with a carrot. "Mind your manners, Bart." he reminded. "Eat your good food first!"
Bart sighed. "Fine, I'll eat my "good food" first." he soon forgot about grabbing for the cake as he began cramming his mouth with bread, carrots, and cooked pork.
"Really good food, for a disreputable wanderer such as yourself." Fredric snipped towards Ack.
Ack snorted with laughter. "You think this is mine? What a laugh! This belongs to an Explorer, but they're gone on a mining expedition in the badlands!" he paused briefly to stuffed a piece of steak into his mouth. "But no worries, they're not gonna be back for several days!"
Arthur, not realizing the full extent of what this meant, tucked in with glee. He slowly nodded off, and the last he remembered of that day was Magnus picking him up and carrying him into a room, laying him on a bed and walking out. He snuggled deep into the sweet smelling covers, happy to have a safe place to sleep. No monsters could get in.

*****

As the sky began to turn shades of the darkest gray of dawn, Bart crept out of his room and snuck into the kitchen. Nobody was going to stop him from seeing the amazing kitchen! Or the delicious food.