Journey to the tower

     Reaching the portal, the Enderman told us that they would be entering our world soon, and that they had to determine themselves how best to aid us. They were willing to do whatever it took to ensure we succeeded, but a fair amount of planning was still required. Standing beneath the shimmering portal surface, we each waited in turn as we were pulled upwards into it; it was an odd sensation to be floating above the ground. It wasn't like being lifted, but it was like... falling in reverse... if that makes any sense... UOPETA went first, with myself going second. COLUS would be last, carrying the Ender Keystone so that we could protect it if there was a need to. As I ascended through the portal, I felt a sickening lurch before my feet hitting a hard surface told me I had made it to the other side. I was a little confused as to how I had landed on my feet, standing upright, about two feet away from the portal itself, but at this point it wasn't worth wasting time and effort questioning it. Amie came next, followed by AMPHIS and then the others. COLUS was last, still holding the Keystone in his right hand as he floated to the ground. Shaking off the disorientation, he made his way to the front of the group.

"Okay, we're nearly there. We just need to get back through the structure and up into the iron mine again. From there, we can determine the best course of action. We can either head through to the entrance and go on the surface, or attempt to make our way through the tunnels. The latter would mean gaining entry to the base, but at this point speed is key."

"It would be best if we stayed on the surface; we're unlikely to be spotted that way. If we head through the base and are confronted or spotted, even if we make through to the tunnels, they could cut off our escape route at the end near to the tower. At least on the surface we have a way to get out."

"Then it's settled; we'll head back up to the top of the iron mine and exit through the main entrance. We haven't been gone long enough for the sedative to have work off yet, but security may have tightened in our absence."

COLUS led the way back through the tunnels and up into the structure, where we then headed on back to the iron mine. We were nearing the end, and we were so close I could almost taste the victory!

---

"When are we going to put this CPD to use? Jeff gave it to us with strict intentions on using it when we really needed to. I think one of us is going to need it to get into the conducting tower. It would make more sense rather than all of us going in to our deaths."

"It would, but we've got to get that far first. Also, who would be going in? That place is going to be heavily guarded and we can't guarantee even one of us can get through."

"What if we were to tunnel in? I've got a pretty good idea where would start to dig, and for how long. It could work."

"True, but there are a number of factors that would make that difficult, no, impossible. Firstly that would take far too long. We can't risk taking any longer than we need to. Secondly it would likely generate a lot of noise that would be heard above ground or at some point along the way, drawing attention to ourselves. Lastly, that would only get us past the guards, assuming it worked. If we tunnelled straight into the chamber with the master portal, we're going to draw everyone's attention to us. I know we've found ourselves in a lot of awkward situations before, but I think even that's beyond us."

"How would the CPD work for getting one person through to the tower then? It's all well and good activating it for them to pass by the guards undetected, but if doors start opening randomly, and objects start appearing mysteriously in front of people, I think they're going to catch on pretty quick."

"Well that's all the choices we have at the moment. We can only hope that the Endermen are able to help us out at some point further along the way. Maybe they can get us inside without being detected, or they could act as a diversion to lure the guards away."

"Whatever they do, it had better be incredibly distracting. We're going to see a huge force of guards and other HoN Co. soldiers there, and they're not all going to go running off after an Enderman..."

"Maybe not, but they may be distracted for long enough for us to get inside. As far as we know, they're not aware of the Endermen species yet. So when they turn up, it'll be completely alien to them."

COLUS silenced us with a wave of his hand; we had reached the base of the stairs that led from the tunnels and the shack back up to the iron mine. From here we would have to exit out onto the surface again and head West to the tower. Using the tunnels beneath us that led from the base to just a little South of the conducting tower wasn't a good idea. Firstly we'd need to get through the guards to get to it which would likely cause a disturbance. Secondly, if they found out quickly enough they could block off our exit, trapping us. Thirdly we would have nowhere to go in that situation. Slowing down to a cautious walk, we made our way up the steps to the top, where we were presented with three directions: the left path took us back to the iron mine entrance, straight ahead took us down another set of steps to where there was an opening to our base. To the right was one of the other tunnels that UOPETA had carved out when we were looking for iron to make the initial tunnels.

"It's left here, back to the entrance, and then we can head West to the conducting tower. We can fine-tune the plan from there..."

Reaching the stone door, UOPETA flicked the lever, and it began to slowly open, with a sickeningly loud grinding noise. We waited inside for a few moments in case we had drawn the attention of the other guards, but when nothing happened and when no-one came to see what was going on, we emerged. Looking down to the pool where the other guards had been, we were surprised to find no-one there.

"I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing... We'd best keep moving and not find out."

Closing the stone door behind us, we ran down to a lower level so we were harder to spot. It wasn't long before we were within the tree line and rapidly making our way West. We didn't get the full way however, before we started seeing strange, purple flickers of light and particles floating close to where we had been. We occasionally looked back to make sure we weren't being followed, but instead we had spotted these strange things, and we slowed down. We were being followed... by something... COLUS eventually decided that it wasn't worth slowing down over, and we could deal with it later, but as we turned to continue running, an Enderman literally appeared in front of us, conjured from nothing!

"We have news of evil ones and their progress with the portal. They are incredibly close to activating it; the time left is short, and you are heavily outnumbered. We will help out any way we can, but we cannot ensure you will all get inside undetected..."

"Don't worry about that; we've got that side covered."

"Good. Come with this one to the tower so that you can see what you will be facing. We can prepare the final plan of attack from an advantageous vantage point."

As we followed the Enderman, it began to rain softly, the blue sky being concealed slowly by ominous-looking black clouds; they roiled and bubbled as though being boiled by some unseen heat source, and distance flashes suggested a storm was coming. I didn't like the looks of that...

Syeonyx signing off