The Mystery of the Griefer's Mark

by Winter Morgan

  “Watch out!” yelled Henry as a skeleton shot an arrow at Kyra.

  With one mighty blow, Max defeated a skeleton. Lucy and Kyra battled with two skeletons while Henry and Steve battled three.

  Henry found a skeleton spawner in the corner. It was a small cage situated by the dirt wall with a tiny skeleton inside its black bars.

  “I found the spawner!” Henry announced with excitement.

  Henry took out a pickaxe from his inventory and hit the cage with all of his strength and broke the skeleton spawner. The spawner crumbled into pieces and the skeletons could no longer spawn.

  With the skeletons no longer spawning, the group was saved! And since Henry broke the spawner, he was rewarded with XP. Getting an XP level meant he now had the power to enchant.

  “Good job!” Steve cried out as he raced toward a skeleton with his gold sword. “If I had my enchanted diamond sword, this battle would have been over by now.”

  Despite having only a gold sword, Steve destroyed the skeleton.

  “You did a great job without it, my friend.” Henry said as he joined the others to battle the remaining skeletons. When the last of the skeletons were defeated, the group walked farther into the tunnel.

  Despite winning the battle, they were still watching for other hostile mobs that could spawn in this low-lit area. It was dangerous, but they were on a quest. They had to find the griefer. They needed to stop this awful tormentor before he caused more trouble.

  Steve saw a door off in the distance. “Look, another door!” he said. Steve sprinted toward the door. He ran so fast, he couldn’t hear Henry calling out to him, warning him.

  “Don’t step on that!” said Henry, but it was too late. Steve had stepped on a tripwire string that opened a hole.

  The gang jumped back to avoid plunging into the cavernous hole.

  “Thanks for pointing that out, Henry,” said Steve. But there was no response.

  Lucy called out to Henry, but he didn’t reply.

  “Henry?!” Steve called out again. But Henry was silent. There was nothing on the ground but a small piece of wool, and no sign of Henry.

  Henry was missing!

  4

  WHERE’S HENRY?

  Lucy was upset. “Where’s Henry?” she asked.

  “We have to find him,” said Max as he placed another torch, “Does anybody see him?”

  “He must have fallen down the hole when the pistons activated,” said Kyra.

  “How are we going to find him?” asked Lucy.

  “I’m not sure, but we can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous. We have to move forward and then make a plan to find him.” Kyra started to walk toward the door Steve had pointed out.

  “We can’t leave our friend, Kyra,” said Lucy. “Henry is a part of our team. We can’t just abandon our friends when it gets too complicated or dangerous.”

  “Behind you!” Kyra shouted at Lucy.

  Lucy turned around to see a creeper. It let out a loud hiss. Before it could explode, the group sprinted toward the door. When they opened it, they saw Adam.

  “What are you doing here, Adam?” asked Steve.

  Adam was just as surprised to see them. “This is my house,” he said. “I live here. I didn’t know there was a door here. This is new.”

  Steve introduced his friends to Adam and then asked, “Why is there an underground tunnel leading to your house?”

  “I don’t know. I’m shocked. And to make matters worse, Thomas is missing. I’ve looked everywhere for him and I’m getting really worried. First, I lose all of my potions, and now I lose my best friend. What is happening?”

  “We lost our friend too,” said Steve.

  “Yes, we lost him in the tunnel,” said Lucy.

  “And you left without finding him?” Adam asked. He seemed shocked that they would abandon a friend.

  “We had to leave, we were being attacked by a creeper,” said Kyra.

  Just then there was a loud explosion. “Well, it followed you!” Adam screamed as they ran from the exploding creeper, which had burned Adam’s bed.

  The group ran to safety in Adam’s living room.

  “Now that the creeper is gone, I want to go find Henry,” said Lucy.

  “I’m not going back in that tunnel,” said Kyra. “It’s a death trap. Adam, you have no idea how many mobs spawned while we were down there, it was tense.”

  “Do you have another plan?” asked Adam. “If you do, I want to join you guys and also find Thomas. This griefer has to be stopped.”

  The group could see the sunlight come up in Adam’s living room.

  “I think it’s safe to head home,” said Steve. “We have to dig for seeds. My friends are helping me rebuild my wheat farm.”

  “We have to find Henry first,” Lucy reminded him.

  “I think I have an idea of where we can look,” said Adam. “But first we have to travel to the Nether to get Nether Wart so I can make some potions to help us on our search.”

  “The Nether?!” Lucy seemed shocked and reluctant to go to this dangerous land. “It will take us even farther from Henry.”

  “And how can we even trust you?” asked Max, “You could be the griefer and you could be trapping us in the Nether.”

  “If I was the griefer, would I have stolen my own potions?” Adam asked.

  “I’ll go, Adam,” Kyra told him. “I know how important it is to have potions when you are going on a dangerous journey.” The rest of the group agreed. They needed to find Henry, but going without any potions would be a fool’s errand and could cause more harm to them; then they’d never save their friend.

  The group followed Adam outside and created a large portal with obsidian, flint, and steel. They emerged into the fiery redness of the Nether.

  The gang walked through the landscape filled with lava pools.

  Within seconds two ghasts swept through the sky, lunging toward them and throwing a fireball at Adam. He hit the fireball with his sword. It ricocheted toward the ghast, destroying it. The other ghast shot another ball of hot red flames and Max punched the flame as it hit the ghast. They were safe! Ghast tears dropped from the sky.

  “These ghast tears are good for potions,” Adam said as he picked them off the ground. “But we need to find Nether Wart.”

  Lucy was excited. “I see a Nether Fortress in the distance,” she said, but then she remembered Henry was missing. “Henry is an expert at getting treasure from a Nether Fortress. I wish he was here.”

  “We’ll find him,” Max reassured Lucy. “We just need to be prepared and we will be able to save our friend and stop the griefer.”

  “We do need to go to the Nether Fortress,” Adam told Lucy. “It’s where you find Nether Wart. I know you miss Henry but maybe we can find some treasure to bring back for him.”

  “You act like going to the Nether Fortress and finding Nether Wart and treasure is so easy. Last time I was in the Nether, I was battling mobs every second and almost died a million times,” said Steve.

  “I think you’re exaggerating, Steve,” said Lucy “It’s bad, but it’s not that bad.”

  The minute those words came out of Lucy’s mouth, a zombie pigman emerged from behind a lava waterfall. Lucy accidently hit it, provoking the zombie pigman, who charged toward Lucy with a gold sword. The tip of the sword pointed at Lucy’s head.

  Max raced toward the zombie pigman striking it with great force and saving Lucy.

  Lucy sighed with relief. “Thanks Max!”

  The gang made their way past pools of lava, watching carefully as they approached the Nether Fortress.

  “I see someone entering the Nether Fortress,” Kyra said. “We need to get there before that person gets the treasure and the Nether Wart.”

  “And I think it’s Thomas!” Adam shouted to the gang.

  5

  THOMAS, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

  “Thomas?” Adam called out in the majestic Nether Fortress, but no one answered.

  “Thomas,
are you there?” asked Kyra, but again there was no response.

  Adam tried again. “Thomas, can you hear me?” Adam sounded defeated.

  “Are you sure you saw Thomas?” asked Kyra.

  “I’m certain. He was wearing a brown helmet like he always wears when he goes exploring.”

  “But I thought he was missing,” said Lucy.

  “He usually tells me when he is going to explore, so I was worried. Especially when somebody stole all of my potions. It just seemed as if somebody was out to get me,” said Adam.

  “I felt that way too,” said Steve.

  Suddenly in the distance they spotted a person in a brown helmet running past them.

  “Thomas!” Adam called out again.

  The person sprinted away.

  “I guess it wasn’t him,” said Adam sadly.

  “We are wasting time.” Lucy told the group. “Henry is missing. Let’s just get the Nether Wart and go back to the Overworld.”

  In most Nether Fortresses, Nether Wart is found along the sides of the stairs, but this Nether Fortress was barren. There was no Nether Wart.

  “We need to find another Nether Fortress. The person who was here before us must have taken all of the Nether Wart,” said Max.

  “Are you sure there isn’t Nether Wart in any of the other rooms?” asked Lucy.

  “Yes, I checked the other rooms while you waited by the Nether Brick Staircase,” said Adam. “This Nether Fortress has been emptied. I’m sure the treasure is gone too. We must find a new fortress.”

  Looking out on the horizon, they only saw fields of Netherrack and pools of lava. The group was growing weary of this trip to the Nether. It was beginning to seem like a waste of time when they had to save Henry.

  “My food bar is very low,” said Steve.

  “Mine too. I don’t think I have enough energy to walk another step, and I definitely can’t make it to another Nether Fortress,” Kyra added.

  “Lucy and I also have low food bars,” said Max. “We’re almost depleted.” One more attack from a hostile mob would leave them with barely enough strength to survive.

  “That’s why I don’t like The Nether,” Steve complained. “There’s no food here and it can destroy you.”

  “I still have a lot of energy. I could build train tracks,” suggested Adam, “and we can move through the Nether quickly on a train. You can get to another Nether Fortress without you using any food bars.”

  “A train is a great idea,” said Lucy.

  Adam started working, using all of his energy to lay tracks and create a train on the Netherrack ground.

  The group waited as Adam worked on the train, trying to use as little energy as possible.

  “I hope he doesn’t take too long,” said Lucy, “I want to find Henry.”

  “We have to be patient,” said Steve, “Adam’s right, we need to find Nether Wart. This griefer has taken hold of our resources. And who knows how much damage the griefer has done since we’ve been gone. The griefer could have destroyed my home.”

  “I don’t even have a home,” Kyra said glumly.

  The complaining came to a halt when a small magma cube jumped toward Max. Its menacing orange and yellow eyes stared at Max as it readied itself for an attack. Max fumbled for his bow and arrow. The cube jumped closer and Max’s arrow struck the dark reddish black skin unleashing Magma Cream.

  “I have to tell Adam; we can use this cream to brew a potion of fire resistance.” Max said proudly.

  The victory was short-lived. Seconds later, two more magma cubes leapt toward Lucy and Kyra.

  Kyra battled with her gold sword. The cube jumped closer to Kyra.

  “Hit it!” Max yelled, “Hit it now!”

  Kyra struck the cube, but it didn’t destroy the slimy beast.

  “Help!” Kyra called out.

  Lucy battled the cube with the enchanted diamond sword, but despite having a powerful weapon, the cube was a challenging fight.

  “My energy is so low,” Lucy said weakly as she mustered up enough energy to battle the cube.

  Steve jumped into the thick of the fight with his gold sword, but Lucy gave the cube a hard blow and Magma Cream dripped from the cube.

  “Good job!” exclaimed Max.

  Kyra struck the cube again, with all the energy she had left, and destroyed the hostile mob.

  “We’re safe!” Kyra said gleefully.

  “But we don’t have enough energy to battle any more mobs. This might be the end of us,” Steve said nervously.

  “No, we’ll be fine,” a voice called out. The group looked up to see Adam in a train. “I found a Nether Fortress. Just hop on the train and I’ll take you there.”

  The group made their way into their individual minecarts. The ride to the Nether Fortress felt like a vacation as they looked at lava waterfalls from the comfort of the carts. The group approached the Nether Fortress.

  “We’re here!” Adam said as they pulled up in front of a large Nether Fortress.

  “I hope we don’t have to fight any ghasts,” said Steve. “If we do, we’ll be ruined.”

  “Let’s just run in, get the Nether Wart, and leave. It will be quick,” said Adam.

  “What about the treasure?” asked Lucy.

  “We might have to leave that for another time. Right now, we have to get the Nether Wart.”

  As the group entered the Nether Fortress, they extracted the Nether Wart growing on the side of the stairs in the center of the Fortress.

  “Got it!” Adam collected the last of the Nether Wart. “Now let’s build a portal back home.”

  As they built a portal back to the Overworld, Steve saw something in the corner of the Fortress tucked away by the Nether Brick wall. He walked over to inspect the corner.

  “What are you doing?” Adam yelled. “We need to get into this portal and go back to the Overworld now! Come with us.”

  Just before Steve ran back to the portal, he took one last look at what lay next to the Nether Brick wall. He could have sworn it was a piece of wool.

  6

  TRAPDOORS

  The group emerged from the portal to the Overworld in search of food. Lucy saw a pig walking in the grassy field.

  “I’ll hunt the pig and we can eat.” Lucy took out her bow and arrow and skillfully hunted the animal. Using charcoal, she cooked the pig outside Steve’s house. They sat by the large crater and feasted.

  “I think we can rebuild this wheat farm.” Lucy said as she chewed on the food and increased her energy bar.

  Max walked over to an apple tree and picked a fresh red apple, “Does anybody want an apple?”

  Kyra took a bite of the apple. “I think we all have full food bars now.”

  Steve looked at the group. “Do any of you have a plan for finding Henry?”

  “I think we should go back into the tunnel. It’s our only hope of finding him,” said Lucy.

  “The tunnel!” Kyra cried out in fear. “I don’t think we should go back there. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Henry is our friend and we have to find him,” said Lucy, defending her plan. “I will go into the tunnel.”

  “Your house was destroyed, Kyra. Don’t you want to find out who did this? I’m sure once we find the griefer, we’ll find Henry,” said Steve.

  “Let’s enter the tunnel from Steve’s house,” suggested Adam.

  Before they could enter the house, dusk began to fall in the Overworld and as the gang quietly finished their food, two Endermen appeared holding blocks.

  “Don’t look at them,” said Max, but it was too late. Kyra had focused her attention on one of the Enderman’s white eyes and he teleported towards her.

  As Kyra reached for her sword, Lucy struck the Enderman with her diamond sword. It damaged but didn’t destroy the Enderman. Max threw a flame arrow and set fire to the Enderman but the powerful monster was still lunging toward Kyra.

  Steve ran toward the Enderman, and with all his might he hit the Enderman into the
pool of water that sat on the edge of his wheat farm. Steve fell in after the Enderman and swam safely to the shore. As he emerged from the water, Steve realized he used a lot of his energy to fight off the Enderman.

  “Good job,” said Adam, “but if you had bought my potion of water breathing, it would have been easier.”

  As the group walked toward the house, Max accidently glanced at the other Enderman. It teleported toward him. Max took out his diamond sword, prepared to fight but Steve called out, “Run! My house is safe from Endermen. It’s too high for them!”

  Instead of fighting the energy draining evil creature, Max and the gang sprinted toward the house. As they opened the door, the group fell down a hole in Steve’s living room.

  Thump! They landed in a new dirt tunnel.

  “Where are we?” asked Lucy.

  “It looks like an empty room,” replied Max.

  “We’re trapped!” screamed Kyra.

  “We’re not trapped,” explained Lucy, “let’s mine our way out of this room.”

  Lucy took out her pickaxe and started to break down the wall and the others joined her. As they banged against the wall with hard blows, the group crushed the dirt wall and unearthed a tunnel. There were several doors on the walls of the tunnel.

  “I bet the griefer lives behind one of these doors,” said Lucy.

  “Which one should we open?” asked Steve.

  “Let’s try this wooden door.” Kyra opened the door and found a room with a maze of wool. Wool was stacked around the room, making it virtually impossible to move around the room.

  “What is this?” asked Kyra.

  “It looks like a wool maze,” said Max.

  Steve thought about the wool he had seen. Now he knew the wool had to mean something. He was right, the griefer was leaving his mark, but why? Was this all a part of a big puzzle? Would completing this wool maze lead them to Henry?

  The group navigated their way through the maze. It was challenging. The wool was stacked as high as the ceiling and the path was extremely narrow.

  “Do you think any hostile creatures can spawn here?” Kyra asked fearfully.

  “I don’t know, but I hope this maze ends soon,” said Steve.