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Zedaph hummed a tune and flipped his wrench in his hand. It was a bright new day on the Create server, and he was one of only two members currently online. The other four were participating in their semi-annual death games. He picked a few shafts from his toolbox and connected them to the crushing wheels in front of him. Zed much preferred figuring out the complex mechanics of the Create mod to constant life-threatening doom and gloom.
He was about to begin calibrating the rotational speed controller when he felt a buzz in his pocket. It was from his communicator. Keralis had messaged him.
<Keralis1> Zedaph, up for a quick chat?
Zedaph responded promptly, saying that he didn’t have much going on and Keralis could stop by at any time. He put away his supplies and organized his toolbox before going to meet Keralis by the train tracks that connected all the members’ bases.
He was beyond surprised to see his friend come not by train, but by elytra. “Keralis! How’s it going, man?”
Keralis landed gracefully a few blocks ahead, dusted the dirt off his overalls, and adjusted his hat. “It’s alright, Zedaph. But I have a problem.”
Zed knew when Keralis dropped the constant “sweet face”s and got straight to business that he was beyond serious. “What’s the problem?”
Keralis tilted his head. “You don’t already know?”
“Why would I?”
“Zedaph. The train tracks.”
Zed quirked an eyebrow. “What?”
“Your train tracks! They are a crime against building!”
“What?” Zed laughed. “No, they aren’t that bad.” He paused, eyes widening. “Are they?”
Keralis shook his head. Gripping Zedaph by the wrist, he dragged him out to the front of his base. He pointed to the tracks with his free hand. “Is this what you’d call a completed build, Zedaph?”
Zedaph stared at the tracks. They were covered in leaves and grasses and positioned on uneven ground. There were trees hanging overhead, practically a forest’s full and low enough to scrape the top of any trains that went by. And many trains had gone by, both his and other server members’. So that’s where all those scratches came from… I thought they were from a particularly angry Jellie.
“What was that, Zeddy?”
Zedaph blushed. “Did I say that last bit out loud?”
Keralis nodded.
“Great,” Zed sighed. “Look, I understand that this-” He gestured to the tracks before them. “-isn’t exactly the peak of building-creative prowess. However-”
“We are going to fix it!” Keralis interrupted.
“I didn’t- What?”
“We are going to fix them,” Keralis repeated with a smile. “You and me. Right now.”
“Right now?”
“Right now!”
Zedaph took a step back. “Look Keralis, I get it, but I’m really busy and-”
Keralis grabbed Zed’s arm again, much tighter this time. “We are going to fix this. Right. Now.”
Zedaph audibly gulped. “Alrighty then! Just let me grab some materials and we’ll get to work!”
Keralis smiled brightly and satisfiedly. “Great! Oh, thank you so much, sweet face.” He giggled, “You have no idea how much that had been bothering me.”
A bead of sweat dropped from Zedaph’s cheek. “Yep. No idea at all.”