“But if the wither army isss awakened, will they not eventually attack usss?”
“They wouldn’t dare. Krael and I have an agreement, and he will keep hisss end of the agreement or he will be dessstroyed.”
Shakaar turned from the Hatching Chamber and continued on through the tunnel. Finally, they reached a huge chamber, the largest in the lair: the Gathering Chamber.
“Bring all the sssisssters here; we have a trap to lay for the boy-wizard and hisss friendsss.” The warlord grinned. “When thossse pathetic NPCsss come into my lair, they will have a sssuprissse waiting for them . . . and it will be the lassst sssuprissse they ever sssee.”
They rode in silence with expressions of grim determination on their square faces. Watcher rode at the front of the army, his mount from the Horse Lord’s castle galloping with seemingly unlimited strength and endurance.
They left the roofed forest in the early morning after searching the third floor of the mansion; a secret room had been found, but no artifacts were discovered. They passed into a frozen river biome when the sun was at its peak, the bright rays heating the dark forest but doing little to warm this frozen terrain.
The chilly biome was a big change compared to the dark forest with its green roof. They were surrounded by white and blue, the snow-covered land stretching out in all directions as a frozen river wove a meandering path through the landscape.
Watcher was shocked by the drop in temperature. His breath now billowed out in clouds of white, as did that of the horses. His diamond armor had been too warm in the forest, but was now not warm enough.
“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Watcher shouted to Mapper.
The old man smiled, then veered to the left so he was right next to the boy, their horses galloping in lockstep.
“That map in the forest mansion showed the entire area.” Mapper glanced down at Watcher’s forearms; they still gave off the iridescent purple glow of magical power. He looked up into the boy’s blue eyes. “The strange thing was, when we entered the room, I thought the map showed a different part of the Far Lands, but when you laid your hand on it, the map seemed to change, giving a view of the Far Lands that you needed.”
“You think the map was enchanted?”
The old man glanced at Watcher’s hands, then shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t the map, maybe it was . . .” He didn’t finish the sentence.
“Maybe it was me. . . . That’s what you mean?”
Mapper just shrugged again. “There is much in the Far Lands that I do not understand.”
Suddenly, the moans of zombies filled the air. Watcher slowed his horse and drew his sword and shield. A company of the green monsters flowed out of a dark hole nearby, some with weapons and armor, some armed with just their razor-sharp claws.
“Attack them as we pass,” Watcher shouted. “We don’t slow down!”
Kicking his horse into a gallop again, he charged at the monsters, his shield knocking aside zombies on the left while Needle cleaved a path of destruction on the right. The other NPCs, following his example, slashed at the creatures as they passed, slaying some, but just wounding many.
The zombies growled in confusion as the villagers left them behind, refusing to engage them in battle for long. Many of the NPCs wanted to slow down and fire at them with their bows, but Watcher urged them forward.
“Our enemies lie ahead in their underground caves. Those zombies are but a distraction.”
Some of the villagers complained.
“You heard Watcher,” Winger snapped. “Ignore the zombies and ride.”
The warriors sighed with disappointment, but still turned their mounts and followed Watcher. Planter moved forward and rode at Watcher’s side. Her long blond hair bounced across her back like a golden waterfall; it was mesmerizing. She said something, but he didn’t hear.
Watcher snapped out of it and glanced at her. “What?”
She laughed. “I said, why do you think the zombies were out here? It was as if they were waiting for us.”
“Zombies must have leaders.” Er-Lan rode next to Planter. “Without leaders, zombies will take orders from any monster strong enough to give them.”
“I suspect the spider warlord is doing exactly that . . . giving them orders. As Er-Lan said, without the zombie warlord, the zombies are leaderless and likely easily manipulated.” He scanned the terrain, looking for more threats. “Next will be the skeletons.”
“You think?”
He nodded, then turned in his saddle and glanced behind him. The warriors rode in no formation to speak of; he needed to remedy that. “Swordsmen to the outside of the formation with shields drawn, and archers right behind them! Be ready for a skeleton attack.”
“Why do you think it will be skeletons next?” Planter asked.
“Those bony creatures are also leaderless. The spider warlord will pressure the other monsters to assist her.” Watcher paused to scan their icy surroundings. “She’s likely sending these monsters out after us, trying to reduce our numbers and slow us down. We aren’t gonna accommodate her. Speed is our weapon now.” He held his own shield high over his head. “Faster . . . we must ride faster!”
Just then, an arrow whizzed by his shoulder. Lowering the shield for protection, he scanned the terrain again. Something was in the snow up ahead, but it was difficult to see . . . and then he realized what it was. Skeletons—a lot of them—stood in ranks, barring their path.
“I have an idea,” Blaster said. “Stop here; you’re far from the monsters, and it’ll be difficult for them to hit anything at this range.” The boy smiled. “Wait for my signal.”
“What’ll your signal be?”
Blaster just grinned. “You’ll know it when you hear it.”
Watcher nodded. “Everyone stop and dismount. Keep your shields up.”
An arrow streaked overhead, landing in the snow far behind the group.
Blaster grabbed another soldier and both jumped onto the back of his white horse. As they galloped away, Blaster changed into white leather armor, then handed a similar set to the soldier with him.
“What’s he doing now?” Cutter asked, annoyed, staring at them ride off.
“I don’t know.” Watcher moved to the left, then extended his shield, stopping an arrow that might have hit the big NPC in his inattention. “He said wait for his signal and—”
“Look!” someone shouted.
The white horse galloped toward the side of the skeleton formation, going just behind the monsters’ ranks.
“Everyone, make some noise so the skeletons look toward us,” Watcher said.
The villagers shouted and banged their weapons against their shields and armor, making as much noise as possible. The skeletons stared at their enemy, unsure what was happening.
Blaster and his cohort dashed behind the bony creatures. The young boy pulled out a block of TNT, then his companion lit it with flint and steel. As soon as it started to blink, they dropped it, then pulled out another explosive cube. Dashing right behind the skeletons, they dropped block after block, not slowing to see what would happen.
The first one exploded right behind the monsters, tearing a huge hole in the terrain. The skeletons, confused as to what was happening, stared at the fireball that enveloped their fellow monsters, still unaware of the rest of the explosives blinking right behind them. One block after the next came to life, bursting into existence and crushing the skeletons in their explosive grasp. The monsters yelled and screamed in surprise and terror. Those that survived the blasts scrambled away from the newly hewn craters, and those that did not were just piles of bones.
The villagers cheered as Blaster steered their alabaster-hued mare back toward the army.
“That was fun,” Blaster said when he drew near.
“You could have told us what you were doing,” Watcher complained.
“And ruin the surprise? I don’t think so.”
Watcher smiled, then turned to the rest of the army. “Ev
eryone mount up.” He glanced up at the sun. “We’ll be at the lair of the spider warlord by dusk, so let’s get moving.”
The NPCs cheered, then mounted and followed their leader toward the Jeweled Mountain and a battle that would likely claim many lives on both sides.
The Jeweled Mountain rose high into the air, dominating the skyline even before they were even out of the frozen river biome. Watcher knew the mountain was made up of blocks of diamond ore, emerald, redstone, coal, iron, and more, but he hadn’t expected what he saw before him now. The mountain glittered as sunlight reflected off the ore, making it appear to sparkle, reflecting icy blues, greens, reds and silvers in all directions. It gave the huge peak a colorful look, as if some titanic god had sprinkled pieces of a rainbow onto its rocky slopes. It was breathtaking.
“That’s about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Planter’s voice was filled with awe.
Watcher glanced at her; the smile on her face was wonderful. “It’s a spectacular sight.” He wasn’t really sure what he was referring to.
“You know, Watcher, that mountain sort of reminds me of you.” Planter gave him a soft, peaceful sort of look, her voice only meant for his ears.
“What do you mean?” Watcher was confused. Why is she looking at me like that?
“Well, from a distance, that mountain is just there, but when you get up close, you see all the incredible details, like I see in you.”
Now Watcher was really confused. Is she saying she’s interested in—
“How big is that thing?” Blaster’s voice cut through his thoughts. “It must be three hundred blocks high, if not more.”
“Actually, there’s a limit to how high things can be in Minecraft,” Mapper chimed in. “Some say when you reach the top, it’s like there’s an invisible ceiling that stops you from placing any more blocks. Books I’ve read call it the maximum build height.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Planter laughed. “How can there be an invisible ceiling?”
“I don’t think the build height is our problem right now,” Cutter said, annoyed. “We need to figure out how to get in there.” He pointed at the huge mountain.
“I know how to get in.” Watcher slowed his mount, then stopped and pulled out an apple. He tossed it to Planter, then grabbed a loaf of bread and ate it. “Everyone eat something. I doubt we’ll have the opportunity once we go inside the mountain.”
The other villagers took out pieces of beef and cooked chicken, sharing with those that had nothing.
“There’s an entrance on the southern face. A large cluster of bushes hides the entrance, but we can climb over the top of the shrubs and get into the spiders’ lair.” He glanced at the faces of the villagers and could see the fear in their eyes.
“You have any plan on what we do when we get in there?” Cutter asked. “Or are we just going in blind? After all,” the big NPC said as he glanced at Planter, “we have people to protect.”
“I know . . . I’m working on it.” Watcher gave the big NPC a scowl.
That didn’t lessen anyone’s fears. He saw Cutter’s look toward Planter, and that didn’t ease any of his other worries . . . but he had to put that aside. Glancing up at the sun, Watcher checked the time of day. It was just passing its apex, the bright, glowing square now heading down toward the western horizon.
“We need to find the entrance before it gets dark. Once the sun sets, we’ll never find it.” Watcher urged his horse into a gallop and charged toward the mountain, the rest of the villagers following close behind.
They raced the sun as they rode to the edge of the frozen landscape, finally entering an extreme hills biome, the Jeweled Mountain looming bigger and bigger before them all the while.
A wide stone plain stretched between them and the sparkling mound, the gray of the landscape making it appear as if all color had been sucked out of the land. The only thing lending any color to the pale landscape was the sparkling mountain. As they drew closer, the glittering mountain of light seemed to change. The individual blocks of ore making up the peak became visible, giving the landmark a speckled look, as if the Jeweled Mountain were covered with a million colored dots; black-spotted coal ore, red-spotted redstone, blue-spotted diamond ore, and many others covered the mountain top. A faint shimmer of magical energy wrapped around every cube of ore; the enchantments likely protecting the blocks from being mined.
Moving around the flat stone base, Watcher headed for the southern side of the mountain. Waterfalls careened down the slopes at places, at times merging with flows of lava, the hot and cold liquids forming layers of obsidian and cobblestone. Ash from the lava mixed with steam from the cooling stone, creating a grayish haze in the air. It made distant things more difficult to see, but that also meant the villagers would be harder to spot by nearby monsters as well.
Finally, they reached the southernmost side just as the sun started kissing the western horizon. A deep crimson glow spread across the landscape as the sun put on a show of spectacular colors and hues.
“I see some bushes over there.” Planter pointed with her sparkling axe.
Watcher rode toward the foliage, then dismounted. He patted his horse on the neck, then scratched one ear. The animal nuzzled against him, then turned away and scanned the terrain for some grass to munch on; there was little to be found in this rocky landscape.
“Planter, cut through some of the leaves with your axe.” Watcher pointed to one of the green, leafy blocks.
Her golden axe cleaved through the blocks with ease, quickly shredding them into pieces. When the blocks disappeared, a dark tunnel, like something from a nightmare, was revealed, descending into the bowels of the mountain.
Watcher climbed over the blocks and stepped into the tunnel. There was nearly total darkness inside, almost as if something were covering his eyes. But slowly his vision adjusted, and features started to emerge. The passage was lined with more ore blocks, but these ones were not shielded by magic; apparently, only the exterior was covered by the protective enchantment.
He glanced over his shoulder. Others were following him, but slowly, and apprehensively, each with an expression of fear on their square face.
“It’ll be alright,” Watcher whispered. “I know what I’m doing.”
Blaster moved to his side and whispered softly. “Do you really know what you’re doing?”
Watcher shrugged. “I’ll let you know when I get it figured out.”
Just then, a scratchy, croaking voice emerged from the darkness. “Villagers . . . help me.”
Watcher ran deeper into the tunnel toward the sound, ignoring the terrifying places where the darkness was impenetrable. He homed in on the coughs and ragged breaths until he found a witch collapsed over a block of stone, her health dangerously low.
“Are you okay?” Watcher asked as he handed her a slice of melon.
The witch took the food and gobbled it down quickly. He handed her a pumpkin pie which she devoured as well. Planter appeared at his side, a torch in her hand. The flickering light filled the tunnel, allowing Watcher to see the witch more clearly. She wore a purple smock with a dark green stripe down the middle. The strip matched the band wrapping around her black, pointed hat, a green gem mounted at the front.
“What’s your name?”
“I am called Cassandra. Before I was a witch, my name was Harvester, but after the lightning strike, Harvester was no more, and Cassandra came to life.”
Watcher glanced at Planter, confused.
“Witches are created when a villager is hit by lightning,” the girl explained.
Watcher mouthed, “Oh” and nodded. “How did you get here?”
“Why, the spiders brought me here, of course.” Cassandra stood on shaky legs and gladly accepted a loaf of bread from Planter. “They must be stopped. If my sisters’ potions work, the new generation of spiders will be deadlier than any that walk the surface of Minecraft.”
“What do you mean?” a worried voice said from the darkn
ess. Cleric stepped into the torchlight.
“The spiders are forcing the witches to make a poison that can be put on the spider eggs. When the hatchlings emerge, the poison is infused into their claws.”
“We’ve already seen some of those monsters.” Saddler’s face, right before her death, popped into Watcher’s mind.
“Yes, those were experiments. By now the potion has been perfected and has likely been applied to all the eggs.” She leaned close to Watcher and Planter. “The improved potion poisons the target, and only death can stop its effects. Milk will not stop this poison, and no antidote exists. And that’s not the worse part.”
“You mean there’s more? . . . wonderful.” Blaster’s sarcastic voice drew no laughter.
“Yes, there’s more.” Cassandra turned and stared into Watcher’s bright blue eyes. “The potion not only makes their claws deadly, but it also poisons the spiders’ minds.”
“What do you mean?” Watcher asked.
“The poison makes the spiders more violent than any other creature in the Far Lands. They are born with a hatred for all living things other than their own kind. The spider warlord thinks she can control them, but I don’t know.” A terrified expression formed on the witch’s face. “There are thousands of eggs in the Hatching Chamber. If those spiders emerge from their eggs, they will cover the Far Lands with death and destruction, and I don’t even think the wizards from before the Great War could stop them.”
Watcher glanced at Planter, then to Cleric. Both had worried looks on their faces.
“What about the wither king?” Cleric asked.
“Ahh . . . you speak of Krael.” The witch nodded. “Yes, that evil creature took many of my sisters away. He’s having them make something special for him. I think he wants to stay awake, for he’s asking for a potion that will keep him from falling asleep.”
“It’s not to keep him awake,” Watcher said. “It’s to awaken the others.”
He thought about the mural in the map room, and how it showed the wither king throwing some kind of liquid on the other sleeping withers, allowing them to escape the Cave of Slumber.
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