Joseph Hayes
A descendent of Steve? So what? Joe eyed the intruders, his grip shifting on his sword. "How did you know to find me here? I don't exactly have a desk job."
The man who had spoken shifted his stance slightly. Joe noted that his hand had gone to his sword as well. To protect against mobs, or was there a more sinister motive at work? The man's face was hidden by a hood.
But the others... they he could read. Two girls and a boy, one of the girls barely older than 12-year-old Amy. The other two looked to be about Clarice's age. All of them were armed with a sword, or, in one case, a bow. Four against one... it wasn't promising, but the teenagers, at least, didn't seem hostile.
"Miner employment is a matter of public record," said the cloaked man dismissively.
"Fine," said Joe. "Why does it matter that I'm a descendant of Steve?"
"Because I need you to do something that nobody else could do." The man held up a gloved hand to forestall argument. "Please hear me out before you ask anything else."
It sounded like some conspiracy theory to Joe. But although mining employment was a matter of public record, it was damn hard to find, buried in hundreds of poorly-formatted books in some great library. This man had gone to some trouble to find Joe and speak to him... alone.
"I'll listen. But you're cutting into my work hours. I'll mine, you follow me and talk." And without another word, he stepped back down onto the level of his strip mine, readied his pick, and started mining again.
And Joe did listen as the cloaked man, the first of a single-file line that trailed behind Joe as he mined, spun a surprisingly short tale. It was the usual conspiracy stuff - everything you know is wrong! This time, it was that they were being lied to, that Notch had been evil all along and that Herobrine was actually what, good? The most amusing thing was, this mysterious man just stated it all like it was fact, hinting at evidence but never diving into specifics. Was this all he'd said to convince the other three? Even kids their age should know better.
The cloaked figure finished his rousing speech with a final question: "So, will you join us? Help us defeat this evil?"
Joe finished his poke hole before turning and looking at the figure. He let the silence strech out for a moment, then said, "No. I won't."
He tensed, ready if the man came at him. With the narrow mine, he might be able to take all four down. When it was clear the man wasn't immediately going to attack him, Joe continued.
"Why? Because I don't believe a word of it. All you've told me is a story, empty rhetoric. No specifics, no proof, nothing but grandiose statements. Notch's army protects us - unless you can give me proof otherwise, I have no reason to doubt it. The world isn't divided into black and white, and even if Notch was evil, what does it matter? There's plenty of corrupt rich people, and it seems to me he's not doing much harm or good. What would awakening Herobrine solve? And why the hell do you need Steve's descendants to do it?"
He avoided mentioning his family. If he was a descendant of Steve, then so were his daughters. More likely than not, this man knew about them already, but if he tried bringing Clarice and Amy into this, he was going to get a lot more than he bargained for. Joe faced the cloaked figure and waited for his answer.
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