Chapter 118: The End by the book

Having had our fun for the day, I opt to attend to the Daggers letter. Teleporting to their estate after bidding Cassie goodbye. She seemed mollified with a kiss on the cheek. If her blush was anything to go by.

Coming to the door of the estate, I was greeted by a member of the serving staff. A woman in a frilly skirt, wearing white and black, she showed great politeness in addressing me.

“Sir Aeternum, I presume. The Madam is expecting you. Allow me to guide you to her study.” She said that with great elegance; so much so I was at a loss for words. Mindlessly following the woman through the complex hallways.

Coming to a sturdy red, wooden door, she knocks three times. The rhythm speaks of a code I am unaware of. She clearly knows it well because, within moments, I hear “come in.” Tilda’s voice bleeds through the sturdy walls as she speaks with her strong voice.

The maid walks through the door, guiding me along as she does. We enter a room covered with red woolen carpets. Black and browns are skillfully placed around the room to create a desirable pallet.

Books line one of the walls; complex names tell me they are files of information rather than public literature. A few of them hold purple embossments along the spines, perhaps pertaining to the end. A mystery I have no wish to solve; paperwork sucks.

She beckons me to a red velvet single sofa seat opposite her desk. A black mahogany desk skillfully carved with swirls and twists or every shape; I think the desk is a beautiful piece of art.

She stacks the papers she was reading together by tapping them on the desk. The documents were quickly placed into a draw by her side, leaving her desk clear of clutter.

The desk holds only a few items, an inkwell to go with a smooth leather journal, a portrait of her partner, and a few seashells.

She “coughs” politely, pulling me out of my observational musings.

“Hello, Aeternum, welcome back.” She says with a level gaze, calm eye contact made.

“Thank you, it is good to be back,” I say in reply.

“Of course, you must be curious as to why I summoned you.”

“Yes, I burn with curiosity.” Said in a slightly joking tone.

She smiles lightly, “We are going to start an expedition into the end; I extend the offer for you to join them.”

“I see, how interesting. Do I get anything for accepting this offer?”

“Why, of course. We wouldn’t pay the most experienced End explorer poorly. It would look bad on us.”

“What or how much are you offering?”

“We will get you the lowest of noble titles.” She says with a straight face.

I am taken aback by her sudden offer. Nobility? Me? She sees the look on my face, smiling. “A baron, I would guess.”

“That is correct. You would hold the title of a baron. It will be inherited at your death to your firstborn child or whichever direct descendant is named.”

“I see,” I say with hesitation. Taking a breath to calm my mind before continuing. “I will accept for the novelty of it. But, I do not care for nobility.”

Her smile deepens, her white teeth glimmering through her lips. “Good.” Taking out a sheet of paper to look over. “We will file the paperwork; the team will leave in 2 hours. Please get your belongings ready for a short journey. We estimate the trip will take between 1-3 days. It will depend on the captain’s discretion. We will pack supplies for an estimated stay of 1 week.”

“Thank you, I will do so immediately.”

“One of the staff will guide you. Good luck.”

“Thank you.” And with that, I am excused.

I am guided to a living room of some kind. A rest area for me to stay until I leave, or I would assume so. One of the staff remains at the door, in case I need anything.

I motion for the maid's attention. She snaps her gaze towards me with laser focus. “May I have some fruit tea while I wait?”

“Of course, I will bring you some with haste.” And with that, she disappears.

Taking out some ender-mail, I send one to Cassie, Jenal, and Average. Informing them of what I am up to. I give my golden bag a quick check. Finding it in order, I lean back and relax. Enjoying a time-lord book; a nice change compared to other books here. Although it doesn’t help my situation, it is purely recreational. Not my wisest action, but I do love a good book.

My tea comes quickly after, a fragrant fruit tea. Apple and blackberry, a good combination, which I sip on lightly while reading. I enjoyed my peaceful time; it flew away quickly. A butler appears, “the team is ready; please follow me.” He says with a bow. I am starting to get sick of this politeness.

I follow him without complaint. Being brought to the same room hosting the minecarts. “I have to give them a better means of travel at this rate. My ass can’t take it.” I say with a forced smile.

I swear the butler smirked at my comment, but he quickly schooled his poker face. I don’t see Flor; maybe he has PTSD or something. A large muscular man approaches me; his armor is well made; he is the captain, I am calling it.

“Hello, would I be right in assuming you are a guide for this dimension?”

“You would be correct; nice to meet you.” Shaking the man's hand.

“Well met, my name is Picard; I am the captain for this expedition.”

“A pleasure, my name is Aeternum.” My opinion of him already sky-high with his jolly and polite way of speaking.

“A great name. How did you even come to know of this dimension? It is pretty much unexplored.”

“Call it out-of-world information.”

“Say no more; I don’t get paid enough to work with anything above the 4th dimension.”

“Fair enough.”

He guides me towards his crew, 4 other people.

“This is our survival expert, Kiran, are 2 combat experts, Dio and Dan, and finally are local scientist Demni.”

“Crew, this is Aeternum, Our End guide.”

Dio and Dan give me a quick bro hug while the other 2 shake my hand.

Demni speaks first, “Hello, how the Daggers found an expert on an unexplored dimension? I don’t know.” He says with a smile.

The captain jumps in, “alright, we best be going. Check your gear crew; we leave in 5.”

4 in sync “Roger,” echoes out. I wonder why Roger is the we understand response?

They quickly rip their bags apart, going through invisible checklists in their minds. Dio and Dan have a ton of weapons inside their bags, along with food. Demni has a whole host of unknown handheld technology.

Kiran’s bag has the widest variety. A terrifying array of tools inside his bag. What is he planning to do? Torture someone? Well, he is an expert; I shouldn’t judge.

Walking towards the carts, we begin to enter. Plan in mind, I stuff mine with pillows, getting a few raised eyebrows, but it was worth it. Moments later and we are off. Flying through the dark cavern with haste. I take out a book and some Glowstone for light. Reading the whole journey. Demni apparently liked my idea, using my light to read a book of his own.

Dan from the middle speaks towards me. The loud carts obscure his voice, but I can make out his words.

“Hey, Aeternum! What's the End like.”

“Did you not get a brief?”

“Nah, they stayed tight lipped, ya know. Just know the major threat has been eliminated.”

“Fine, find. The dimension is made of end stone. Islands of the stuff suspended above a void. Purple plants are the most common fauna. Purple is the theme; all structures sharing it.”

“I see, thanks buddy.” He says, quickly falling into a daydream. His partner is snoring, having fallen asleep within minutes of the journey starting. Impressive really, it is not quiet on the rails.

Eventually, we come to the portal. Disembarking from the iron bear traps. I feel notably better, having used pillows. The spontaneous stretching tells me the others didn’t get off so lucky.

The captain gives them all a moment to get the kinks out of their spines. He doesn’t show any discomfort, but I think he is faking it. Moments later, we are brought towards the portal. The space-like void was replaced with a see-through shimmering membrane. Honestly, I preferred the old portal look.

The captain speaks in a commanding tone. “Okay, team, attention.” They all snap straight, looking at the captain with focus.

“Upon stepping through this portal, we will be inside the End. It must be treated as a potentially lethal dimension. You need to maintain focus at all times. We don’t know how many hidden dangers are within. Aeternum and Demni are considered non-combatants. Prioritizing Demni, Aeternum has some tricks up his sleeve. Do not rely on those tricks. We will go by the book. Move out.”

His fellow crew salutes him before they all march into the portal. Stepping through one by one, the captain, the combatants, and then Me and Demni.

Arriving at the other side, I see the Captain and 2 combatants in a triangle formation. Wearily looking around at their surroundings.

The captain addresses me. “Aeternum, being the information source here, what would you recommend me to do?”

Shocked a little by his consideration, I pause for a moment. “This is the primary area of the dimension, the safest. But you should still be on guard. Endstone is durable; I say we create a small tunnel under an obsidian pillar and set up a camp. Having a base of operations and a potential hiding spot is the best I can advise at the moment.”

“You heard the man, start digging. And avoid looking at any of the Endermen.” They nod, Dan begins to dig. With rapid pace, a tunnel and room are dug. We settle into the room, the door guarded by Dio.

“Okay, we have made it safely into the dimension. The target for this expedition is information gathering and supplying Demni with research material. Aeternum, what threats are you aware of in this part of the dimension? And please elaborate on what you meant by primary.”

“Endermen are the primary threats here. Rare spawn monsters can appear, but as the name implies, they are rare. If you see a rare spawn, avoid it. Abilities will be unknown. I meant by primary as the end has 2 parts; the main island and the expanse. We are currently on the main island. A second portal can be found that leads to the expanse. A far more dangerous and treacherous area; I would advise avoiding it for now.”

“Very well, thank you, Aeternum.”

“Okay, we will first gather ground samples for Demni.” And with that, Dan and Dio begin digging. Strip mining through the earth. Collecting a few pieces of minicio, draconium, some kind of white crystal, and a lot of endstone. Supplying it all to our local researcher, who I now know is a geologist.”

He quickly begins analyzing the samples. “What are you looking for? I would think it better to bring them back to a full lab?”

He rolls his eyes a little. “That’s the plan. I am checking if any of it is releasing dangerous radiation or has any risk attached to it. I am also tasked with identifying geological objects that would otherwise go overlooked.”

“I see, that is very smart.”

Dan and Dio have finally finished digging. Having obtained a sizable haul of geological material.

“The next task is to explore the End. We need to bring a map home.”

We all leave the underground bunker; the 3 combatants circle Me and Demni in a rotating triangle. We slowly cover a lot of the end dimension, Demni drawing a basic map. Halfway through the map drawing, we spot a black mass, a rare spawn.”