Minecraft Dungeons:The Rise of the Arch-Illager/2CHP

Interlude 1
The group of heroes arrive at a hilltop overlooking the village. One of the heroes asks Karl if he was out of his mind with attacking the villagers. Karl responds with a simple "Yeah", and feels like that other heroes were people who competed with him for resources. The other heroes are revealed to be named Stache, Red, Scarface, and Pinky. The five embroil in a long argument about villages and villagers, with the other four shooting down every argument that Karl makes. Eventually, cooler heads prevail and Karl begins setting up camp on the hilltop, although he still thinks that the villagers might attack them because of his actions. Not long after, Pinky, taking watch on the edge of the hilltop, notices someone heading eastward. The other heroes join her and are surprised when it’s found out to be Archie, who is heading toward Soggy Swamp. Karl attempts to attack him, but Stache and Scarface intervene, saying that it isn’t worth his time to do so. The three then realize that Archie had been kicked out of the village, with Karl feeling relieved, saying that at least he won’t be able to attack anyone else.

Chapter 8
Archie continues to walk eastward, eventually ending up in the Creeper Woods. Although shivering from fear and the cold, and already missing the safety of the village, he still has some hope, and feels ready to face whatever comes at him. He keeps as quiet as he can to avoid hostile mobs until the following morning, when he finds a patch of deep grass underneath some trees and falls asleep. By midday, Archie wakes up and decides to head north, eventually stumbling across some mountains with a valley forged between them. He decides to head through the valley, but a few days later, he soon realizes that he had made a mistake, and begins heading south, back toward the edge of the mountains. However, Archie soon hears some hostile mobs in the distance, and eventually spots some zombies approaching him. With nowhere to go, he decides to head north again, eventually stumbling upon a river of lava atop a low-sloping rise.

Chapter 9
Although Archie is cornered by the zombies and the river of lava, he soon notices a narrow passage off to the east, sprinting toward it. The land changes from stone to sand as the canyon spills out to a massive desert. The sun was just beginning to rise, killing off the zombies that had been chasing Archie. He then walks along the desert throughout the day. By nightfall, the desert is hit with a sudden rainstorm. Archie soon notices some spiders off in the distance and picks up his pace despite not being able to see anything beyond the ends of his arms. Eventually, lightning strikes, revealing that Archie is close by a mountain. He begins to climb up it, with spiders following close behind. He fends them off by knocking down any loose rock he can find. Eventually, Archie finds a small, albeit rocky ledge and catches his breath, even if for a moment. Pushing himself back up, he carefully navigates through the ledge to another wall, so smooth and vertical that it would be impossible to climb. Archie then trips over an unlit torch. Out of curiosity, he holds it up, causing the tip to burst into flames despite the downpour. Eventually, Archie stumbles upon a massive doorway in a pass that cut deep into the mountain. He slowly pushes on the double doors, which grant him entrance.

Chapter 10
The double doors reveal a large, flat expanse. Archie walks along the shelf of the expanse, carefully walks over a bridge of rock, and begins to climb up a steep slope. As he does so, a voice begins whispering in his head to come closer to whatever it was. Eventually, he makes it to the summit, being greeted by the Orb of Dominance, who tells Archie that it is here to help him rule the world. Feeling eager, Archie reaches out and grabs the Orb, throwing back his head and laughing as sparkling lights begin to swirl around him.

Chapter 11
The next day, Archie wakes up inside the expanse, still clutching the Orb of Dominance. The Orb tells Archie that there is a lot of work to do, and soon they begin to leave the expanse. Now by the double doors, Archie notices several statues that resemble iron golems, but are later known as redstone golems, with three on each side. As he asks the Orb if they are alive, the golems separate from the wall, falling to their knees before him. The Orb mentions to Archie that they are his to command, himself suppressing an urge to squeal in delight. Archie then stares out the open doors, with the sun already setting in the distance. The Orb then exposes a vein of metal, along with some blocks of iron and gold, and melds it into a long staff with a small disk on top. Archie then places the Orb on the tip of the staff, floating over the disk. He then realizes that he’s starving, so the Orb summons a plate of hot food on top of a boulder, along with another one for Archie to sit on. Archie eats the food, only for more food to be summoned in its place. He continues to eat until he is stuffed, and then curls up on the ground beside the boulders. The Orb then summons a pillow underneath Archie’s head, followed by a blanket that settled down over him. He falls asleep as the redstone golems encircle him as a means of protection.

Moments later, Archie wakes up in a fright as he hears husks approaching him. Although the Orb says to Archie that he is under its protection, he feels unsure and grabs the staff with both hands, like a weapon. Looking out into the darkness, Archie notices several husks approaching him. Although his first instinct is to hide behind the redstone golems, he instead draws back the staff. Just as he is about to hit a zombie with it, the Orb glows brightly and shoots out a beam of light, killing it instantly. Archie slowly walks forward as more beams of light shoot out of the Orb, killing several more husks in an instant, and soon, every husk in the immediate area was reduced to ash. Archie gasps in delight at this newfound power from the Orb and thanks it. The Orb then says to him that it’ll show him the rest of his lands, asking him to wave the staff toward a rock formation to the south. Archie does so, and a beam from the Orb repeatedly carries large blocks of rock, setting them aside to clear a path. The Orb then suggests to use the redstone golems to help, in which Archie does so, telling the golems to clear the way for him. They do so, revealing a passageway toward another path that leads down the mountain. Archie and the redstone golems then head down to the base of the mountain, with Archie interested in taking out Salah, Thord, and Smacker (Karl) with the staff. The Orb then explains to Archie that if it and him wish to defeat them, then the two would need to build an army of their own.

Chapter 12
Archie, the Orb, and the redstone golems begin work on building a home for Archie, which he suggests to be "humongous, with high walls and even taller towers". The Orb agrees, saying that it will be "a castle fit for one who will rule all the lands". Eventually, the home is built, and the Orb decides to call it "Highblock Keep". Archie climbs up the set of stairs toward a chasm with a gate in the other side. He seems unsure as to how to get over there, but realizes that he can use the Orb. Archie then thinks of a bridge, and the Orb makes a drawbridge out of wood and chains. Now feeling confident, he enters Highblock Keep proper, with the redstone golems following close behind. They walk around Highblock Keep for a bit, and also notice a "mountainous island" that is called the Obsidian Pinnacle, connected to Highblock Keep. Archie then shows the redstone golems their new chambers in an underground area. The Orb then pulls Archie up to the peak of the Obsidian Pinnacle, consisting of a chair and a hole matching the width of the staff in front of it.

The Orb tells Archie to place the staff in there, which he does with some hesitation while sitting down in the chair. The Orb is now at Archie’s eye level, showing him the desert to the south of Highblock Keep, in which a group of Illagers is attempting to fend off husks and skeletons. Archie is shocked to find Thord among the group of Illagers, seemingly untouched as he attacks husks with vexes and evoker fangs. However, the other Illagers aren’t so lucky, easily being taken over by the hostile mobs. Archie then asks the Orb as to why it was showing him this, and the Orb says that he needs to see it.

Chapter 13
Looking into the Orb, Archie notices the sun rising in the desert, with the husks and skeletons falling victim to sunlight. The Illagers who survived either catch their breath, or tend to other’s wounds. Archie then notices Thord ordering the Illagers to stand up and march. Just then, Archie had a thought and wondered why the Illagers were raiding hostile mobs, despite them not offering anything in terms of loot. Although Archie knows that Thord was just following Walda’s orders, Archie realizes that the Illagers need him. The Orb then mentions that the Illagers can become troops for his army. Archie feels unsure about this, and the Orb offers a different plan: sending the redstone golems to fight on his behalf, which makes more sense to him. Archie and the Orb then awaken the redstone golems and leave Highblock Keep, heading toward the desert to the south. Upon arriving, they notice a desert temple, which appears to be where the husks and skeletons spawn from. Archie then questions as to whether the Illagers could attack him and the redstone golems but the Orb reassured him that it won’t happen, saying that if they did, they would be killed, and that he and the Orb can always make more. Archie feels confident that he’ll have the upper hand if that does occur, but he feels like looking for the Illagers now would be a waste of time. The Orb then mentions that making more redstone golems would require more heat than what’s at Highblock Keep, and Archie seems to have an idea.

Chapter 14
The sun begins to set, causing hostile mobs to begin spawning. Archie and the redstone golems look around the desert temple with no sign of the group of Illagers. Archie is about to rest for the night when the Orb tells him that the Illagers aren’t far away. Archie then hears "the twanging of bowstrings, the clash of steel, and the cries of the injured and dying". He and the redstone golems cross over some sand dunes, eventually finding the Illagers fighting some hostile mobs. Archie also notices "a skeletal figure wearing a bejeweled circlet on its head and long, priestly robes" with a staff. The Orb mentions to Archie that the figure is a necromancer. Archie and the redstone golems then charge at the hostile mobs, with some of the hostile mobs diverting their attention from the group of Illagers as a result. Eventually, despite two of the redstone golems being swarmed by husks, the others and the Illagers kill off the rest of the group, including the necromancer. The leader of the Illager group heads over to Archie to introduce himself, but Archie is surprised to see that it’s Thord.