mindcracklove | Divided by Hostilities (Chapter 2)

Chapter 1

“Are you sure, your Majesty?” Bdoubleo said, scratching his head and looking worriedly at the king. Guude stared right back.
“Yes, I’m sure. Do you have any questions?”
Bdubs began to say something, but stopped, holding his tongue. No matter how irresponsible the king’s requests may seem, it was a citizen’s duty to do as he was told.
“Okay, I’ll get to work.”
“Thank you,” King Guude said. “And if you are ever in need of materials, please ask.”
Bdubs nodded, and began planning the layout for the king’s new palace. Secretly, he thought it was a silly time for an upgrade. There were rumours that the king of Abattia was demanding Daedalian land again, and if King Guude refused a war could break out. The king should be spending the kingdom’s resources on defences and war assets, not a shiny new palace. But King Guude surely had his reasons, and Bdubs was not going to be the first to question him.

The forest was empty but for the small flock of sheep that baaed at the two men as they snuck quietly through the trees. Swords in hand, they made their way towards the fence at the edge of the wasteland. Paul dispatched a creeper that came too close, and the two stood, waiting.
“He might not come back,” said Vechs. The two had come out to the fence every day since Vechs first met Pause. He hadn’t come back there. Paul suspected he was afraid of getting caught. The two were about to start hunting monsters when a lone figure caught Vechs’ eye.
“There he is! Wow. I cannot believe he came back.”
An arrow whizzed over Vechs’ head and twanged in the tree above him. He reached up and yanked it out, twirling the shaft in his fingers.
“You missed me!” He called, as Pause came nearer.
“I meant to miss!” Pause shouted back. “Trust me, if I meant to hit you, I would have hit you. I see you’ve brought a friend.”
“This is Paul Soares Jr. He won’t bother you, you can trust him. He just wanted to meet you.”
“PauseUnpause,” said the native, holding out a hand. Paul shook it.
“Paul Soares.”
“Long time, no see,” Vechs commented. “What happened? Get scared?”
“No, I just decided not to come for a while. I had a bit of a bad week.” Pause said, frowning. He stopped talking suddenly. He turned and shot a zombie. He didn’t talk to Vechs and Paul for the rest of the afternoon.

Zisteau had spent a week deliberating how to respond to King Guude’s reply, and was still thinking. The king of Daedalia had said quite firmly in his letter that under no circumstances would he relinquish any land to King Zisteau, nor would he engage in war. Zisteau was prepared to go to war anyway. His plans to expand his kingdom weren’t going to be stopped. He has the resources, the warriors, and the confidence that his army was much more powerful than Guude’s. Smiling a little now, he began to write.

Whack! The butcher knife came down, neatly slicing the hunk of meat in two. VintageBeef was whistling, preparing fresh meat for today. He ran a small butcher shop in the centre of the city, and made quite a good living from it. He liked the small kingdom, and was one of the few people that still had faith in king Guude. He would rather live here than the grand city of Abattia any day.
“Good morning, Beef,” said a voice. Beef looked up. It was SethBling. His first customer of the day.
“Good morning, Seth. What can I do for you?”
“Do you have any rabbit?”
Beef did. He chatted with the redstoner as he packaged the meat, and handed it over in exchange for a few gold pieces. Seth was one of his regular customers, preferring to buy food from Beef than to go out hunting. He earned a living creating contraptions out of redstone for other citizens, and often stayed at home perfecting the complicated circuitry.
Beef had good business all day, and the sun was just beginning to set as he closed up shop. Today he had decided to go hunting in the forest after sunset, something he hadn’t done in quite a while. It was a nice, warm evening, and he needed some experience.

Pause had decided to start coming to Daedalia regularly again. The morning after he got blind drunk, he had sworn never to go back again. His confused feelings about the bearded man had caused him to get so drunk, so what if he went back and saw him again? Seeing that man would only cause him more heartache. But soon, Pause found himself longing for the thrill of sneaking out, longing to return to the forests of Daedalia and hunt again. After a week, he decided to return, and met the green-goggled Vechs again, this time with a friend. Tonight, he had deliberated on going back again, but finally decided to again, this time later than usual. Maybe Vechs wouldn’t be there this late and he would be alone.
The forest seemed empty as he climbed over the collapsed part of the fence. No sound but the rustling of the trees and the twang of a skeleton’s bow, soon silenced by Pause’s own arrow. He soon fell into the comfortable rhythm of hunting, killing monsters easily in the dim sunlight. Soon, though, the sun was gone and Pause was ready to turn back to the comfortable lights of Abattia when he heard a noise. Someone was approaching, and they were human.
“Hello?” Pause called out bravely into the forest. There was no reply, but whoever it was still came nearer. They walked out from behind a tree and nearly bumped into Pause.
“Oh shit,” Pause said. It was the bearded man.

Beef’s heart pounded as he stood face to face with the stranger. Hide clothes, feather headdress, something red smeared on his face in the shape of a mask… was that blood? But the man was not looking at him unkindly, or with confusion. There was something else there. An emotion Beef could just not place.
“Hi, do I know you?” Beef said, trying to hide his fear.
“Um, no. I’m from Abattia, I’m just hunting here. You should probably not tell anyone.”
“You’re from Abattia?! You’re not allowed here!” Beef had regained a little confidence.
“Relax, I come here all the time. I won’t get caught, and anyway, what are they going to do? I’m Pause, by the way.”
Beef paused. “… Vintagebeef. But I’m not kidding, you should go back.”
“Why are you telling me what to do? I can look after myself. I’m not bothering you, or anyone else - sorry.”
“Wait, why are you apologising?” Beef said. He was confused at the sudden change of tone in Pause’s voice.
“I’m being really harsh on you. Look, I know I shouldn’t be here. But I just like it better. Abattia’s forests are very noisy, ok?”
“Lots of people?” Beef nodded sympathetically. “I like to be alone sometimes too. OK. I’m not going to tell anyone you come here. I just have one question.”
“Thanks. And go ahead.”
“Is that… blood on your face?”
Pause laughed. “Says the man with blood all over his apron! No, by the way. Paint.”
“Oh, this,” Beef said, looking down. “That’s animal blood. I’m a butcher, so I’m used to it. I just assumed, that, you know…”
“You thought this was human blood?!” Pause laughed again. “You’re kind of weird.”
“…Thanks?”
“I like you,” Pause said. “Maybe I’ll see you around again.”
“Maybe,” Beef replied.

‘What’s this?’ Baj said, staring at the scaffolding that was beginning to grow around the castle that stood at the centre of the city.
“Upgrades to the king’s palace,” Bdus said, squinting as he judged where to place a brick. “Don’t ask. I’m just doing what I’m told.”
Baj didn’t think that this moment was a good time for the king’s vanity to strike. He, along with every citizen of Daedalia, was aware of the whisperings that war might be imminent. Reinforcements to the crumbling walls would be a better use of time and resources, or perhaps investments in weaponry and armour.
Leaving the builder to do his work, Baj continued home.

Millbee, Avidya and Arkas sat late in the bar, talking. Pyro was running errands for the king, and Pause was nowhere to be seen. Millbee had a hunch he was off in the forest of Daedalia, but he told the others Pause had gone to bed early. It was probably for the best, seeing how the last time he drank with them had gone so badly.
“What’s wrong with Pause, anyway? It feels like he’s changed,” said Avidya, taking a sip.
“I don’t know man, he’s been ‘off’ for a while now. He keeps sneaking off to that forest,” replied Millbee.
“What forest? The one to the south?” asked Arkas, and Millbee realised what he’d said.
“Uh, can you guys keep a secret?” he said.
“What? Sure,” said Avidya. Arkas nodded.
“Pause goes across the wastelands. To Daedalia. Sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I think that’s where he is now.”
“What?”
“He likes to hunt there. Says it’s quieter, or something,” Millbee sighed. “But I think there’s something else. I think he goes there for some other reason. It’s just really shady.”
“He could get caught. He could get in trouble,” Avidya said concernedly.
“I’ve told him that, many times. He reckons they won’t do anything, nobody cares about those laws.”
“They’re still laws, whether he likes it or not,” said Avidya.
Just then, the bar door opened loudly and Pause came in. Scanning the dim room, he found Millbee, Avidya and Arkas, and came over to sit with them. They all looked at him.
“What?”
“It’s nearly midnight dude. Where have you been?” Millbee asked.
“…Out.”
Millbee chuckled, and moved over in the booth to make room for Pause to sit. He lowered his voice.
“No point in lying, they know. Come on, spill.”
Pause looked at Avidya and Arkas, taken aback. “You told them?”
“We needed to know where you go off to. Don’t worry, your secret’s safe. So, what’s it like over there?” Arkas said.
Pause sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it, ok?”
Millbee stared at him. “You’re hiding something.”
“Maybe I am. So what? I’m allowed to have secrets.” Pause said, a touch of irritation creeping into his words.
“Leave him be,” advised Avidya. “Look, Pyro’s here.” He gestured at the door. The others secretly felt relieved; there was never a tense moment with Pyro around.
“What’s up guys? Oh hey Pause!” Pyro grinned, squeezing into the booth. His friends knew not to ask him about his work for the day, as most errands he ran for the king were highly confidential. They knew a little of his job though: he often rode across the wasteland to deliver messages to the king of Daedalia. Other messages to faraway kingdoms were sent via ships, and Pyro would carry the messages to the docks.
The five men drank, chatted and laughed well into the morning. As the day’s light crept up on the kingdom, the streets and buildings bathed in the golden glow, the group dissipated and headed towards their homes.
Pause entered his home with a strange feeling in his heart. Confusion swirled around his body as he went upstairs and sat on his bed, thinking and staring out at the rising sun.

Guude rubbed his bleary eyes, staring in slowly dawning surprise at the message that had arrived yesterday. King Zisteau had replied to his letter. What does he hope to achieve?, Guude wondered. The message quite plainly explained that His Majesty, King Zisteau of Abattia wishes to pay Your Majesty, King Guude of Daedalia and your most wonderful kingdom a visit. Guude knew that Zisteau must have some evil motive for visiting Daedalia. He certainly wasn’t coming just to look at the scenery.
Kings rarely visited neighbouring kingdoms; much less ones they held quiet hostilities towards. Guude wasn’t quite sure how to prepare for the visit, other than to order his citizens to make the city look as nice as possible and to respect His Majesty when he arrives. He would have to deal with whatever Zisteau wanted, whether it was the land, a war, or whatever else he might desire. Guude was glad he’d ordered the palace renovations, although he knew it was seen as a stupid mistake among the citizens. Now he had even more reason the make the castle look nicer, even if it cost him resources. He needed to show the other king he wasn’t afraid of his size and power.
Wide awake now, Guude began to pen his reply.