We made it across the desert, to the witch’s, Agetha’s, hut with the storm going overhead. Although to be fair it wasn’t actually doing anything more than covering the sun while we crossed the desert. It seemed to be enough, however, since the nightlings, including Skeleton, seemed to be ok with it. None of the Players seemed to be following us, but we still made sure to run as fast as we could, not stopping for even a moment in case they were actually following us.

When we got there, we checked in with her only to find that even she did not know where Creeper had gone to. The next few days were filled with silence and dread, knowing that the Players could come for us at any moment didn’t help. We mourned the loss of Zombie properly and found it hard to do much more than sit there and wish it was all over.

Finally, after a week of doing nothing and staring at my new diamond sword, which had barely been scratched even after that fight with Kaile, I decided I had to do something and asked Agetha what she could tell me about this world. She obviously knew more about it than any of us did after all.

“This world...it has no name you know,” she said, in her mysterious way of talking, fitting rather closely to the typical witch from my own world. What a coincidence, “and not even I know how it began.”

I walked over to her; she was closer to the jungle that grew right next to her hut than I was and it was hard to make out her form in the moonlight, “The nightlings know when it began, were you not around back then?”

“No, I wasn’t,” she said, turning around to face me. She had some sort of brown thing in her hand. I could smell it and it smelled like...cocoa? “I bet the nightlings don’t know how it started either. They might’ve been here when it happened but do you remember when you were born?”

She had a point. My first memory was of my old podmaster teaching us what it meant to be a changling. I usually got scolded because I kept looking at the walls when he was talking.

“What about when you first met the nightlings, how long ago was that?” I was curious since they had said their memories of before they became aware were primal but they remembered the villagers.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve known them. When we first met, I found a creeper approaching my hut and scolded him for trying to blow it up,” she laughed, walking toward a wheat field she had behind her hut, “You see this was before they knew what they were doing so he just looked confused before walking away.” She picked some wheat and planted the seeds that came with them.

“Why don’t you live with the villagers?”

“That’s a whole story for another time, shape shifter. I think you have other questions for me though, don’t you?” she asked, knowingly. How she was this perceptive I couldn’t say, but I probably wasn’t too hard to see through at this point. That might’ve been why it was so easy.

“The prince, he did something to himself,” I began, remembering our fight, my body trembling at the memory, “I don’t know what it was but it was like I couldn’t hurt him, and he suddenly could fly and move anywhere in an instant.”

Agetha moved over to a crafting table I had set up the first day we had come back, and to my surprise she turned back around with cookies. Handing me one, she said “I’ll be honest, shape shifter, I’ve seen many things during my life here but what you’re describing to me sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard of. I know of many things in this world, even some magic the likes of which I never want to see again, but nothing like that. Was there anything else you noticed, anything that could be considered strange?”

This whole world was strange, but I didn’t need to tell her that. I took the cookie and said, “After I took away his sword, he got up and suddenly his whole armor set started looking like it was covered in swirling oil or something, he even had a new diamond sword that looked the same as his armor.”

“Hmm, those sound like enchantments.”

“Enchantments? You mean his things were magically powered?” I asked, confused as to how the prince could’ve had magic when I hadn’t been able to use any myself.

“Yes, it would seem he has figured out how to tap into this world’s magic. There are tools that would allow you to do the same, shape shifter, but that would require a journey in and of itself outside this world.”

The look I had must’ve been a good one because she chuckled to herself. “What’s so funny?” I then asked her.

“I apologize, but that reaction never gets old. I’ve told the villagers about this before but none of them were willing to listen to me as I am but a witch to them, a crazy old lady who can see magic where no one else can. Look at your friend out there,” she pointed to Com, who was outside cutting a jungle tree for more wood, ”even he has magic that he has untapped. It isn’t much right now, but he has potential.”

I hesitated, but then decided to ask, “How about me? How much magic do I have untapped?”

She looked at me and said in the most serious voice I had heard her say thus far, “More than I’ve ever seen in a single body before.”

With that she said goodnight to me and I watched as she retreated down to her cellar before closing the door behind her. I wandered outside and I lay down on the sand. It was cold, but it helped to distract me from my current thoughts and frustrations.

According to the witch, Agetha, I had a very high untapped magic potential, but I couldn’t use it in this world. How could I tap into it? Was there some thing I had to build that would channel my magic like the prince’s enchanted armor and sword? If so, how would I even know when I saw it?

“Hello Craft,” I heard a bone like noise from behind me.

“Hi Skeleton,” I replied without looking at him.

“Why are you lying down on the sand?” he asked.

“Nothing really, just thinking about how we’re going to deal with the prince. I haven’t thought of much so far though,” I said, with a sigh as I turned over to my side, resting my head on my forelegs.

“I know it’s tough, I knew Zombie since we became aware, Creper too. Even so, we can’t give up on them. You know Zombie would want you to keep going, for all of us to keep going, though with fewer words,” he chuckled to himself, putting a small smile on my own face.

Another set of footsteps could be heard and when I looked up I saw Com standing over me.

“Any luck with Agetha, Craft?” he asked, sitting down next to me.

“She said that Kaile was tapping into some magic that only he seemed to be able to tap into. She said that somehow he had used his magic to enchant his stuff, but she wasn’t sure how.”

He hummed to himself for a few moments before speaking up again, “Maybe he made something with the crafting table. I’m not completely sure but it’s not out of the question, right?”

Then it clicked, the idea of the crafting table was something I had overlooked. I wasn't sure how though, I blamed the stress of the situation. I looked at him and said, “Com, that is definitely worth looking into.” I got up and opened the hut door looking over at the crafting table Agetha had used earlier to make cookies and set myself up to check out what I could make. It always confused me how all I had to do was sit in front of the thing and suddenly I would know what I could make if I had the right items. I thought about what could be made to channel energy into items, but nothing came to mind. I tried for several minutes while the others stood behind me waiting patiently for me to finish whatever it was I was doing, but even after what felt like forever I had no clue what I was actually looking for and gave up, smacking the table for good measure.

“Any luck?” Skeleton asked, to which I shook my head.

“I don’t know what he used, but he has had more time than any of us to figure out what it is he needs,” I said, walking over to a chair that looked more like steps than a chair, and put my head on the table, which clicked every time any of us put weight on it.

We decided to go to bed after that, although I don’t think Skeleton ever actually slept, and in the morning I grabbed some pickaxes and went to the cellar.

“Good morning, shape shifter, what are you going to do?” the witch, Agetha, asked as I wandered past the area she said was her room.

“I’m glad I ran into you actually Agetha, I needed to ask you a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to sound rude but would you mind if I started mining down here? I don’t want to risk the Players knowing where we are by starting from aboveground and we’re going to need resources to make some equipment for when we have to fight again,” I said, hoping she’d say yes.

“I don’t think there will be a problem if you do,” she said.

“Thank you, I’ll start it down at the end of this-“

“However, you must give me all the lapis lazuli you find,” she said with a smile on her face.

I was confused, “Oh, um, alright. If you don’t mind me asking, why is it you want those in particular?”

“I am partial to the color blue.”

Author's Note

Not much to say, other than I too like the color blue. The next chapter or two should be interesting. I'm not sure which though, I haven't decided where that interesting thing I want to put in will go. Also I just noticed I broke the 50k word mark. That's about a novel's length if I remember right.