The people rambled through the busy streets Etherea. A light breeze touched the flowers and grass. Etherea is a holy place, an enchanted place. Here lives the greatest Enchanters of all of Ardonia. On the west end, warriors bargain for their swords to be enchanted with sharness, knockback, and perhaps a special suppressing power for the undead. Near the north gate, farmers and miners are negotiating efficiency and fortune enchants for better harvests. The craftsmen, on the other hand, drove their prices sky high, relying on the legend such as that it was in Etheria that Ender and Netherswords were made.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle, no one noticed the two figures scooting near the city walls. The man was dressed in all black, and wore a black mask so that only his eyes were visible. Beady little ones his were, whose blue pierced the air, as if they desired something with a golden shine. On his belt, he wore a small knife. It is quite exceptional to wield such a small weapon when most in Ardonia used swords. However, it was evident that this man is confident enough to trade a longer weapon for something lighter. The other carried a straddle pack and a giant scythe on his back. He was evidently not human, for his eyes glowed blue and his skin---or armor---gave a silver hue. He struggled to follow the former through the grounds, almost tripping over a rock.
They stopped at the foot of the castle and peeked over a rock. "There it is Grim." Jalkar Bowmani pointed at Etherea's tallest tower. "If we pull this off I'm about to become a very wealthy man."
The other purred happily. He will finally be free of this money-loving idiot after his debt is paid. "Hand me the schematics." Jalkar motioned with his hand impatiently. Sometimes he wondered why he agreed to let such a clumsy idiot tag along in the first place. "Come on, hurry up."
Grim pulled out a piece of paper from the pack and handed it to Jalkar, who surveyed the plans carefully. "According to these schematics… Grim what is all this?" he burst out angrily, "I asked for schematics- I specifically asked for schematics of Etherea!" Jalkar scolded Grim as if scolding a child. In fact, Grim was a child. He could only purr, not speak.
Grim grunted reproachfully. "What do you mean, you can't find any?" Jalkar yelled under his breath. "You were supposed to be gathering information for this job!" He pointed at Etherea's gate. "How are we supposed to steal the Stone when we don't even know which tower it's in?!"
Grim grunted in defense. "Alright you don't have to shout!" Jalkar quieted Grim, hoping they weren't discovered. He glanced around their rock. The guards were exchanging posts. Phew! Jalkar turned back to face Grim: "You're going to get us caught before we've even started." He turned to the castle looming above them. "We'll just have to do what I do best," He pulled out his knife with a smirk. "Improvise." He beckoned at Grim. "Stick behind me and don't do anything stupid." With a swirl of the blade, he put the knife back into his belt.
The two snuck into the castle without much trouble. The guards couldn't be bothered less about two strange men carrying a knife and a scythe entering the castle. Afterall, Etherea is always brimming with diverse creatures from all over Ardonia with all kinds of weapons. Nevertheless, the two thieves tried to act natural. Most people did not come to Etherea to steal, they came here to buy.
As they travel through the market, they passed by a stand. An old man stood at the counter, over which the sign read "Thunderlord enchants". Grim had always wanted one of these. It gives weapons the ability to wield lightening. It was said only the most skilled enchanters can apply a Thunder enchant. One small mistake or mishap and the weapon, along with the enchanter, and maybe even Etherea, will be struck by thunder a thousand times more powerful than natural lightening.
Grim purred at Jalkar, pointing at the sign and bouncing up and down with "I want that!" eyes. Jalkar stopped to scowl at Grim, who was as excited as a kid seeing his new toy, and walked on. He didn't have time for this, not when there's treasure to steal.
Jalkar reached the exit of the marketplace and turned around to see a happy Grim pay one diamond to the old man. The old man disappeared into the backroom and reappeared with Grim's flashing, now enchanted scythe. Jalkar facepalmed. Even if Grim held the title of the "Reaper", and it was always great to have a capable warrior along on any mission. The drawback is he has to put up with… this. It's like bringing a toddler to kindergarten.
"Oh now what are you doing?!" He exasperated to himself.
Grim ran up and showed Jalkar his weapon. "Ta-da!" He purred. Jalkar didn't know how to explain this. "Grim, you don't buy from the people you're stealing from!" He whispered in anger "Now let's keep moving!"
Bit by bit, as they weaved through the huge castle, Jalkar spotted their treasure at the top of a side tower. They walked in, but it was not unguarded. A man turned towards them with spear in hand. Just when he was about to halt the intruders, Jalkar stabbed his knife into his stomach, using it as a leverage to let the body fall slowly onto the ground.
At long last, they approached their prize: a dark Stone sitting at the top of a pedestal. This was no ordinary Stone, Jalkar knew. A good thief always knows what they are stealing. It was an Ender Dragon egg.
"Watch the entrance, eh Grim?" He ordered his companion, but his mind was already swimming in gold. Carefully, he approached the pedestal, walking slowly to avoid tripping any alarms. Slowly, he picked up the Stone. Strangely, the surface under the Stone rose a little with an audible "Click".
"A pressure plate." Jalkar was processing the information, which took a surprisingly long while for someone as experienced as him. "It's wired." He murmured. Then, half a second later, the realization came. "IT WAS WIRED! RUN!" He shouted to Grim. Rushing to the entrance, the thieves found it blocked by guards. There goes their easy way out.
Jalkar whirled around. He saw a chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the ground floor and charged towards it. With the stone in one hand, he leapt over the balcony, grabbing the rope with his right hand and did an elaborate circle to land on the floor below. Grim followed, but his landing was much less spectacular with a "Splat!"
Jalkar charged towards the castle gate, elbowing through the confused crowd as he sprinted towards freedom. There was a "leaving committee" there. A band of guards had assembled and blocked the gate. Jalkar skidded to a halt. Grim ran past him and pulled out his scythe. He struck at one guard, who blocked the attack with a sword. An instant later, a foul smell, like burning meat, came from the man and he fell to the ground, singed and smoking. Before the other guards could react, Grim roasted each of them. He made a short purr as Jalkar ran past him. "Okay, okay, I guess it was pretty handy." Jalkar murmured.
One guard ran away to bring more help, but Grim jumped in mid air, twirled on the spot like a whirl wind, and launched his scythe at the runaway. The sharp point landed on the man's back and he fell to the ground, dead. Grim hurried to retrieve his weapon while Jalkar bolted away down a path with the stone down the mountain, leaving Grim in combat.
Jalkar turned a corner half-way down, and stopped in front of a small cliff. He tossed the Stone up and caught it. "We did it, Grim!" He could not hide his happiness. "I'm gonna be ri-Umph!" Grim, the clumsy creature he is, caught up. Still looking back, he failed to notice Jalkar standing up ahead and slammed into him. The Stone flew out of Jalkar' s hands and down the cliff. At the bottom, it hit the ground and vanished with a purple trail of smoke. Where it made contact with the earth, yellow Endstone replaced the dirt.
Jalkar wanted to murder Grim right now. For that split moment, he was the richest he'd ever knew. "Oh… Grim… YOU IDIOT!" He exploded. Grim gave a small purr. "I don't care if you are sorry!" Jalkar gave a long sigh. "Now we have to find it again before someone else does!" He shouted to the sky.
After that blast of rage was gone, Jalkar set to the problem at hand. "The energy trail pointed north… towards Underwood." Jalkar observed. Grim nodded. "You are right, it is heading away from Etherea," Jalkar wanted to shout "Duh" at the top of his voice. "So let's get moving." He checked his knife and lead the 3-year-old north.