Minecraft

Butch, at the head of the formation as always, charged up the steep grassy mound, then disappeared over the top. Nothing we said could get the big NPC to slow down and stay with the group. He'd been riding fast and hard, racing to be the first one to the battle regardless of the danger or the foolishness of his decision.

Seconds later, Hunter and I crested the tall hill and looked down into the village before us. It was a normal grassland village, with a collection of wooden buildings clusted around a central well. Sunflowers dotted the landscape, their bright yellow faces pointing off to the west, following the setting sun. The tall flowers were a remanent from Herobrine's command blocks and the item number replacement I had made at the last second, saving the Overworld from massive destruction. I gave a sigh of relief as I thought back and remembered how close it had really been; they'd saved all the villages when we stopped Herobrine's revenge---but only at the last second.

A ring of bright sunflowers surrounded the tall cobblestone watchtower that stood near the center of the village. It loomed high over the fortified wall that encircled the community. There was no moat around the village, nor were there any tall archer towers visible. In fact, there were few defenses built into the village. I thought, If they were to take a direct assauly by the zombie king, this community would be in trouble.

From behind the tall cobblestone wall, thin lines of smoke curled upward into the sky and were dragged to the rest by the breeze that always flowed across the Overworld. It looked as if the smoke was coming from something near the watchtower. Sounds could be heard coming from behind the stone barricade---footsteps, many of them, were running throughout the village---but still no one came to the top of the fortifications to see who was approaching.

"Where are the sentries and warriors on the ramparts?" Hunter asked as she kicked her horse into a gallop.

“Hostages...” White sneerers, smelling the place out. They, personally were more interested in the forest smoke, but everyone had gone the other way so they reluctantly followed.

"I'm honestly struggling to keep up with what our goal is."

"I agree. Let's focus on Shado. These villagers can handle themselves."

"That's not what Butch says!" I said, following Butch in exasperation.

"I don't know," I replied as I struggled to keep up with her.

They rode down the other side of the hill, then across a flat plain that led to the very doorstep of the village. Ahead, I could see Butch reaching down and opening one of the wooden doors that served as the village gates.

"Butch...wait for the rest of us!" I yelled, but the stubborn NPC charged in without any backup or assistance.

"He's gonna get killed doing that one of these days," Digger grumbled behind us.

I turned and gave Digger a shrug, then kicked my horse into a gallop and shot through the doors.

Inside the village, I expected chaos: a scene of destruction as the village was consumed in flames. But instead, I saw villagers calmly but quickly moving back and forth between the well and the blacksmith's house that stood near the central tower. A column of smoke rose from the half-wood, half-stone structure.

Butch charged forward, yelling at the top of his lungs, ready for battle. This startled many of the NPCs, causing them to drop their buckets in fear.

I shook my head in exasperation, then moved cautiously forward, my sword held at the ready. Off to the right, I saw a donkey shuffling about near fields of wheat and carrots, a wooden chest embedded in his hips; it was a pack mule. I drew closer to the burning structure. The crackle of flames could be heard over the shouts of the NPCs. That wasn't surprising, as the blacksmith's shop always had multiple furnaces burning. But now, I could see flames licking up the thin wooden supports that held up the shop's roof. NPCS were throwing water onto the flames, trying to extinguish them.

Butch charged about, searching for monsters to attack, but there were none. As far as I could tell, this was just an accidental fire.

I reached out and took a pail of water from one of the villagers, who looked up at me with curiosity but handed the bucket over. I then moved to the side of the blacksmith shop and jumped into the air, placing a cube of dirt under my feet. After rising four blocks, I stepped onto the roof, then poured the water over the burning section. The water spread across the structure and extinguished all the flames.

Many of the villagers began to cheer, but only to fall silent one by one as Butch stepped up and questioned them.
"Who set this fire? Was it a monster? Which one?"
The villagers stepped back slightly, confused and a little afraid. Butch still had his sword out and was wildly swinging it around in the air to emphasize his point. I placed a block of dirt on the flowing water, stopping the watery cascade, then jumped into the flow and rode it to the ground. I then moved to Butch's side and gently pushed the NPC's sword hand to the ground.