Jalkar and Grim continued along the Tabora Crags. It was still night, but a slit of early dawn climbed up the clifftops. The air was musty and damp, as if the Crags were a pressure cooker. They had just turned a corner when suddenly the Egg in Grim's hands glowed briefly.
"Grr?" Grim pured questioningly as he looked at the object in his hands.
Jalkar turned around. "What?" Then, a black creature with purple eyes and arms and legs as long as he is tall materialized on a ledge opposite them with a small, "zap."
"Get down!" Jalkar said under his breath. He pulled Grim behind a big rock. There they remained silent. "An Enderman." Jalkar cautioned. "Don't look at it, Grim."
A moment later, the Enderman zapped away. The coast was clear. "Come on!" Jalkar beckoned to Grim. They need to hurry out of this ditch. Together, they started creeping along.
"Zap!" The Enderman appeared right next to them. Jalkar ducked behind a small ledge, and motioned towards Grim to do the same.
"Zap!" The Enderman vanished again. Jalkar was about to move out of his hiding spot when it appeared in front of Grim. It roared at the warrior, gaping its mouth wide. Clearly, it wanted the Egg.
"Grim!" Jalkar shouted. The Enderman stepped forth and knocked Grim to the side. He fell on the rocks, the Egg flying out of his hands. It slid to a halt on a small patch of grass. The Enderman turned, and teleported beside the purple object. It bent over to pick the Egg up.
Jalkar mounted a nearby cliff and leapt from the top. He flew towards the Enderman with knife in hand. The Enderman turned and caught its enemy mid-air. It flung its long arms like a whip and slammed Jalkar to the ground. Then, it teleported behind Jalkar and kicked him onto his face.
Jalkar spat out a mouthful of dust and swung his knife at the Enderman. It de-materialized briefly and re-materialized in a flash on the same spot, landing a solid blow on Jalkar's stomach. He flew back and landed next to Grim, who just recovered.
"That's a nice trick to use in battle." Jalkar grunted as he rose slowly.
The Enderman teleported beside the Egg and tried to pick it up again. Grim summersaulted on the spot, spun his scythe in a flashing silver arc, and threw it at the Enderman. Caught off guard, it only lifted its head in time, but lost its right arm to the scythe. It screamed. An unearthly sound pierced the silence of the valley as it disappeared with a flurry of purple particles.
Jalkar climbed up from the ground, rubbing his back where it had been hit hard. "This job has already become far more trouble than it was worth." He complained, picking up Grim's scythe and throwing it back to its owner. "Let's hurry and get out of here." He grabbed the Egg sitting in observance and helped Grim up from the ground. They found an easy spot on the ledge and started to climb.
"Oh come on Grim, put your back into it!" Jalkar shouted over his back. The two had been scaling the cliff for an hour. Jalkar was almost at the top but Grim had barely started. Grim rubbed his head. His ears were still ringing a bit from the Enderman's punch. He gave an angry purr and tried to pull himself higher.
Jalkar had reached the top with the Egg. He let down a hand to help Grim up as well. Just when their hands were about to touch, an arrow flew out of the meandering morning air and hit Grim on the back, right where he had landed earlier. His shoulders bucked, and he fell down the cliff, landing with a thud on the ground.
Abbigail emerged from the rocks with Sam, holding her bow. She readied, and fired another shot at Jalkar on the top, who dodged the arrow. "Sorry mate," He hollered down at Grim, "but I can't be slowed down anymore." He turned and ran away from the scene.
"Urrr!" Grim purred, reaching out a hand towards the clifftop. They were a team, Jalkar couldn't just abandon him like that, could he? He turned around and took out his scythe. This girl will pay for what she did. Even though he's injured, he has enough strength to deal with her. He leapt from the rock and, contrary to his plan, landed in a small stream.
Abbigail neared the stream, holding her bow and an arrow. She did not know where Grim would come out. Suddenly, the silver warrior charged out of the water and raised his weapon behind him, poised to strike. Abbigail dropped the arrow and took the hit with her bow.
Grim slashed with his scythe from the right. Abbigail squatted down and rolled to the side. The scythe landed on stone, sending pebbles flying everywhere. Abbigail put away her bow and took out her sword. Grim turned around. Faking a cut, he kicked Abbigail in the chest and sent her flying backwards onto the bank of the stream.
Grim advanced. If he could not pay his debt, at least he could take care of this girl. "Woof!" Sam bit down on Grim's ankle and dragged him to the ground. Grim kicked Sam in the muzzle and he let go. Abbigail was upon the silver figure with her sword, but Grim pushed off the stone and took her sword with his scythe, sending her flying back to the bank, where she lay still.
Grim shook his scythe dry and lit his Thunderlord enchant. Had he not fallen in the water with his weapon, this girl would be roasting by now. His scythe roared with the strength of a thousand lightning bolts as he jumped and aimed the falling point of his weapon at Abbigail's head.
Seeing him flying towards her, Abbigail rolled to the side. Grim's scythe landed where her head had been, and as it touched the water below, a strong electric pulse spiraled up the handle. It hit Grim on his silver armor and hurled him back. His weapon flew out of his hand and landed in a small bush. The shrub was instantly reduced to cinders. He hit the opposite side of the Crags and bumped his head on the cold rock. Specks of light circled in he eyes and when he came to, Abbigail was standing before him, bow drawn loaded with an arrow. Grim covered his face with his arms. He knew he had been defeated.
Surprisingly, no arrow came. After a while, Grim peered under his arm. Abbigail was now scaling the cliff. Sam followed her. Grim found his scythe and hurried off into the darkness.
Abbigail pulled herself to the top and turned to look down at the Crags. Then she saw them: three black creatures with purple eyes, exactly the ones she had seen in her confusing dream that night, standing on the opposite side, observing her. The middle one was missing half of his right arm. The Endermen exchanged a look with each other and vanished, leaving a trail of purple particles in their wake.