The lights were so bright, he couldn’t see the audience at all. But he was pretty sure they were all dressed like chickens….
Theo strode across the stage, wearing his Phantasm costume. He pulled a cardboard croissant right out of Po’s hands.
“Ah, there you are!” said Theo. “Just the very thing to satisfy my traitorous hunger!”
Po let himself feel what Gunther the Baker would feel in that moment. To have created something precious, only to have it torn from his grasp? Gunther would feel shock and hurt. Disbelief and anger. Po let the feelings wash over him, and when he opened his mouth to speak, he spoke in the anguished voice of Baker Gunther.
“Unhand that croissant!” he cried.
The delivery was perfect.
And Baker Gunther was just getting started.
* * *
Over the next hour, Po was on and off the stage every few minutes. His nervousness didn’t return even once. When he was backstage, he was Po, spending time with his friends, putting on a play. When he was in the spotlight, he was Baker Gunther, Monster Hunter. And Gunther knew no fear. He would bravely pursue the Phantasm into the catacombs beneath the cafetorium. He would get his pastries back if it was the last thing he ever did.
Po thought he would like Gunther if they met in real life.
After he’d spoken his last line of the night, he returned backstage and pulled the baker’s cap from his head. Those lights had been hot, and he was sweating. But he was also smiling a huge smile.
Ash gave him a thumbs-up, even while she was speaking directions into her headset.
Harper gave him a pat on the back.
Jodi said, “Good job, Po.”
And Morgan said, “It was a slam dunk!”
“Thanks, everybody,” Po said. “And could I just say— Waitaminute. Morgan!” Po’s jaw dropped. “You can talk?”
“Oops,” Morgan said, clapping his hands over his mouth.
Everyone looked shocked. Clearly Morgan had fooled them all.
He was a better actor than anyone had guessed.
“Sorry I was sneaky about it,” Morgan said. “But I could tell you wanted to be onstage, Po. And I wanted everyone to see that you can be an athlete and an actor.”
Po felt a rush of gratitude for his friend. “Thanks, Morgan,” he said. “I’ll admit, I really enjoyed being out there in the spotlight.”
They watched the rest of the play from backstage. Po could see the actors onstage, and he also had a view of Doc as she controlled the lights. She looked like she was having the time of her life. Standing at the controls, she reminded Po of a concert pianist, totally focused on her task and loving every minute of it.
When it was all over, Po returned to the center of the stage, rolling back into the spotlight, and took a bow.
The applause thrilled him. And he had an idea. Next year, he could cut back on sports to make time for the drama club. If he planned it, maybe he could find a way to do both things.
His coach wouldn’t be thrilled with that news. But Po thought he would understand.
It was time for Po to choose his own roles.
Po found Ash as soon as the final curtain had dropped.
“Ash, that was amazing,” he said. “I can’t believe it all came together so well.”
Ash gave a wry smile. “Are you saying you doubted me?”
“You? No way,” Po answered. “But I thought for sure Baron Sweetcheeks would get loose and cause chaos.”
The hamster in Ash’s front pocket gave an indignant squeak.
Ms. Minerva swept in and gave them each a hug. “Good job, everyone,” she said. “Now, did either of you happen to notice any Broadway critics or Hollywood scouts in the audience? I think The Phantasm of the Cafetorium has a real future!” She peeked out past the curtain at the departing audience. “I sent out invitations but never heard back from anyone….”
As Ms. Minerva slipped past the curtain, Doc approached Po and Ash.
“So,” she said. “How did I do?”
“Doc, you nailed it!” said Po. “Honestly, you did even better than I could have done.”
“I suspect that’s not true,” said Doc. She smiled warmly. “But I appreciate you both finding a way for me to participate. Not only did I enjoy it, I also got some ideas for automating lights throughout the school. I really think Minerva will come around when I tell her she can be in a spotlight all day, every day.”
Po somehow doubted that.
“We have a little bit of time before the cast party,” Ash said. “Want to get some homework done?”
“I had another idea,” said Po. “I asked Doc earlier backstage, and the computer lab is open again.”
Ash’s eyes lit up. “Are you suggesting that we fit in a quick game?”
“I’d say Baker Gunther isn’t quite done hunting monsters yet,” Po answered. “There’s an Evoker King out there who needs to face justice—flaky, buttery justice!”
* * *
After days of waiting, they were back in Minecraft and again in front of that great vault door.
They looked around for enemies. They checked the door for booby-traps. But all was clear.
They opened the door.
“I don’t know what I was expecting,” said Po, looking at what stood before them. “But it wasn’t that.”
There was a single block in the middle of the room. It floated a few inches above a plinth. It spun in place like a miniature planet.
“I think it’s bedrock,” said Morgan.
“I think you’re right,” said Ash. “And that’s unusual, to say the least.”
“Because Bedrock isn’t supposed to be loose like that?” Jodi asked.
“Not in Survival Mode,” said Harper. “It’s not supposed to be collectible, but that looks ready to be collected.”
“Should we take it?” asked Po.
“No. I’ll be taking it,” said a voice at their backs.
Po and the others spun quickly around. There in the open doorway stood a gray-skinned figure with menacing eyes, a blocky nose, and the flowing robes of a spellcaster. The air around him shimmered with power, and Po knew for certain who this was: the Evoker King, at last.
“You can try to take it,” said Morgan, and he readied his sword.
The Evoker King didn’t flinch. He took a single step forward. “Why stop me now?” he asked. “After all, it’s you who cleared the way for me.”
“What does that mean?” Ash demanded.
“I was telling the truth when I warned you about the dangers of this dungeon,” said their foe. “But you assumed my warning was a threat. You assumed this was my dungeon, and that the treasure before you was the source of my power. But it’s not. It’s the heart of this world. And this dungeon was built to keep me away.”
“Oh no,” said Harper.
“With this Foundation Stone, this entire world will be clay in my hands,” he said with a sneer. “But I couldn’t get by the guards. I knew you, however, would figure it out if presented with the right challenge. So really, I couldn’t have done this without you.” He smiled an eerie digital smile. “Here. Let me thank you.”
With that, he lifted his arms, and the ripples of power all around him swirled and shimmered. In less time than it took Po to blink, the Evoker King conjured a swarm of vexes. The ghostly winged creatures filled the vault, swooping toward them and swinging their swords.
Po stood his ground. He defeated one vex, only to be hit from behind by another.
“I’ll get him!” Jodi said, coming to Po’s aid. Together, they banished two more vexes in a poof of pixels.
Po caught his breath and looked around. His friends had been victorious. They were all still standing.
But the floating piece of bedrock was gone. “He to
ok it!” Po cried.
“What would he even want it for?” asked Harper.
“What does it do?” asked Ash.
“And if he didn’t build this dungeon, who did?” Jodi wondered.
“I don’t know the answers to any of those questions,” Morgan said. His square shoulders slumped. “I only know that he beat us. The Evoker King won!”
“He won this round,” said Po. “But he’s all alone in here. And we have each other.” He looked at his friends. Their cube faces wore frowns and their brows were furrowed. “He’s trying to convince us that we’re losers. But that’s a role I don’t accept. And neither should any of you!”
“What can we do?” Morgan asked. “He’s been a step ahead of us all along.”
“Then we stop chasing him,” said Po. “We’ve got to come at this from a different angle. And I think…Theo might be the key.”
“Theo?” said Harper. “Are you sure he can be trusted?”
“I’m not sure,” Po answered. “But I learned recently that he knows how to code. And that could give us a huge advantage here.”
He saw his friends exchange a look. “It’s an interesting idea,” Ash said at last.
“You’re right, Po,” Morgan said. “We’ve been running from the Evoker King for too long.”
“It’s time to reverse the roles,” Po said. “We’re going after him!”
is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures. Build, play, and explore across infinitely generated worlds of mountains, caverns, oceans, jungles, and deserts. Defeat hordes of zombies, bake the cake of your dreams, venture to new dimensions, or build a skyscraper. What you do in Minecraft is up to you.
Nick Eliopulos is a writer who lives in Brooklyn (as many writers do). He likes to spend half his free time reading and the other half gaming. He cowrote the Adventurers Guild series with his best friend and works as a narrative designer for a small video game studio. After all these years, Endermen still give him the creeps.
Luke Flowers is an author-illustrator living in Colorado Springs with his wife and three children. He is grateful to have had the opportunity to illustrate forty-five books since 2014, when he began living his lifelong dream of illustrating children’s books. Luke has also written and illustrated a best-selling book series called Moby Shinobi. When he’s not illustrating in his creative cave, he enjoys performing puppetry, playing basketball, and going on adventures with his family.
Chris Hill is an illustrator living in Birmingham, England, with his wife and two daughters and has been loving it for twenty-five years! When he’s not working, he loves spending time with his family and trying to tire out his dog on long walks. If there’s any time left after that, he loves to go riding on his motorcycle, feeling the wind on his face while contemplating his next illustration adventure.
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Dungeon Crawl! Page 6
