"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The sound of iron against iron woke Lucan. A guard opened his cell door and ushered him out. He followed him to the Warden's, Marcus's, office. Lucan sat down before the desk, facing the guardian of Riverstead prison.
The sun slanted through the windows. Another scorching hot day began. Lucan leaned back in the chair, waiting for the other to speak. Marcus, on the other hand, sat upright in his high back chair, reading through the document the guard brought.
"Alright Lucan," Marcus began, "since you continue to show good behavior, and your crimes were" He checked Lucan's record, "once again minor, we're going to accelerate your release."
Lucan let his chair fall forward. "So that explains the cake! A celebration!" He reached for the delicacy on the desk.
"Don't touch my cake." Marcus interrupted. He put his hand on the delicious piece of morsel.
Lucan withdrew. Marcus is a bit too protective. They'd known each other for years, even though it's always through bars, but he can at least afford a bit of cake for this unusual and long-lasting friendship.
"There is one condition," Marcus continued, reading from the paper. "You're being assigned to mining duty near the Basalt Coast."
The Basalt Coast? That deathtrap overflowing with Undead monsters like zombies, skeletons, and those cute but explosive creepers? Lucan tried to calm himself and make sure that Marcus read wrongly.
"Mining duty? You sure that paper doesn't read milling duty?" He asked with a slight tremor.
Marcus furrowed his brows. Lucan could see where this is going. "Guess not." He sat back and tried to act like it's no big deal.
"So mining duty huh? You mean… underground, where the Undead… are?" His voice dwindled.
"You'll be protected by a guard like every other miner. There's no need to worry, Lucan." Marcus replied, like it's really a daily chore around the house.
Lucan leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Uh, I'm feeling much safer here in jail, actually. Say," He let his chair drop. "What about road repair duty?" He reached again for the cake. "Or home animal domestica…"
"This isn't a request, it's an assignment." Marcus put his hand on the cake to assure his authority. Lucan withdrew gingerly.
"You know how it is." Continued Marcus, spreading out his hands as if there is a grander picture for the Greater Good. "Mines runnin' dry, resources gettin' scarce." He leaned forward with his hands on the desk. "We're being forced to mine deeper into the dangers that lie below."
Lucan stood up and slapped his hands on the desk. Marcus recoiled. This was very embarrassing, to be showed down by a prisoner in his own office. But he knew better. He knew what these prisoners were capable of. None of them were in here for a light crime like stealing an apple, or in Lucan's case, stealing several apples and injuring guards.
"If you wanted to kill me, we could have just gone with an execution!" Lucan shouted. He stormed out of the office and slammed the door shut.
Recovering from that outburst, Marcus realized something was missing from his desk. His cake was gone.
Lucan walked out of the prison, licking the last cake crumbs from his fingers. He burped, then gave a long sigh. Basalt, here I come. He began slinking towards his destination.