“How did it get there?” Oxus asked.
“I don’t know, maybe it was …” the general began, but started to glow bright. He paused for a moment, allowing his ignition process to recede, then continued, “… a rogue creeper, trying to…” he waited again, “… destroy the treasure.”
“He must have been sent by Herobrine before he left the server,” the king of the creepers mused. “Thankfully, the lava did not reach the hive treasure.”
Oxus turned and glanced at the center of the chamber. A massive pile of gunpowder sat in the center of the floor: the hive’s treasure. It was the gunpowder from every creeper that had given their life to carve the tunnels and chambers of the hive out of the stone of Minecraft. This was a marker of their sacrifice, a reminder to everyone that the hive was more important than the individual.
The rogue creepers wanted to destroy the gunpowder because that was all the rogues thought about: destruction, Oxus thought. If the lava had reached the gunpowder, it would have detonated and likely destroyed the entire hive. Oxus knew how lucky they had been here.
“Put guards at the entrances to the hive,” the king of the creepers demanded. “We must protect ourselves from outsiders. Soon, it will be time for the creepers to rise up and take over the Overworld, but not yet. We must be ready and we must be strong.”
As the green-and-black creatures scurried off to deliver his orders, Oxus stared at the pile of gunpowder and breathed a sigh of relief. This gray mound was their most sacred of possessions, and the creeper king would do anything necessary to keep it safe, even if it meant going to war with the other monsters, or even the NPCs of the Overworld. But would it come to that?
CHAPTER 9
SURROUNDED
After traveling through the burned-out taiga forest, the party of NPCs finally reached a desert biome. As it was another wasteland, it offered little to look at, but at least it was alive. Gameknight felt like he could still taste the ash on his tongue, and drinking water didn’t seem to help. The black dust had seemed to coat everything as they moved through the burned forest. It was a welcome relief to have the smell of ash finally removed from their noses, replaced by the warm, dry odors of the desert.
As they rode, Gameknight heard the sounds of splashing water. But before he could say anything, Butch was leading them toward it, over a sandy hill to a nearby stream. The horses eagerly waded into the tiny river, washing all the ash and soot from their legs. The wolves took to the water instantly, their fur having become sooty and black. They clearly did not like having the dead remains of that forest all over them, and were happy to be snowy white once again.
The washing in the stream buoyed all of their spirits, as did the signs of life in the desert. Tall, green sugar cane grew in patches along the bank of the stream. Their thin stalks stretched high into the sky like living green ladders without the rungs. Tall, prickly cactus dotted the landscape as well, their lush, green skin beautiful compared to the ashen, gray land the group had just traversed.
At dawn, the party moved from the desert into a savannah. Gameknight loved the sight of the twisted acacia trees, their unique trunks bending and curving toward the sky. They paused for a moment in the hot environment to rest and eat. Gameknight found a large tree and dismounted. Tying his horse to the angular trunk, he sat down in the shade and took out an apple and some pork. The horse seemed grateful for the respite and hung his head down low to munch on the gray-green grass.
Looking about, he could see all of his companions under a different tree, relaxing in the shade, with the exception of Butch. The big NPC had ridden up a hill and surveyed their surroundings, searching for threats. It seemed unnecessary, as Herder’s wolves were out there patrolling already, and nothing could get past their lupine eyes and ears.
“Doesn’t he ever get tired?” Hunter asked, gesturing to Butch with a loaf of bread in her hand.
“Apparently not,” Stitcher replied. “He needs to slow down and rest, or he’ll fall apart.”
“He doesn’t need to rest,” Hunter added. “All he needs is to destroy monsters. That's what he feeds on now: destruction.”
“That doesn’t seem very sustainable,” Crafter said. “His body still needs nourishment.”
“You’d be surprised how long hate and revenge can keep you going,” Hunter murmured.
“Hmm,” Crafter said as he stared up at the big NPC, lost in thought.
“Hey, where’s Herder?” Digger suddenly asked.
The stocky NPC stood, a worried look on his face. Gameknight also got up, then mounted his weary horse. Kicking the steed into a gallop, he began to ride in a wide circle around the group, searching for his lanky friend. Just as he was about halfway around the party, he spotted Herder, riding toward them with a string of horses obediently following close behind. Four wolves ran alongside the animals, their keen eyes always scanning the terrain for monsters. When he saw Gameknight, the lanky boy sat up tall in the saddle and waved.
“Hi, Gameknight,” the boy said with a grin.
Shaking his head, the User-that-is-not-a-user had no choice but to smile in relief.
“Where have you been, Herder?”
“I figured we needed fresh horses, so I went out and got some.”
“You just went out into the wilderness, alone, to find horses?” Gameknight clarified.
Herder shook his boxy head as he drew up to his friend’s side, his long, black hair falling across his face.
“I wasn’t alone!” Herder replied. “I had some wolves with me.”
“Wolves!” Gameknight exclaimed. “You only have four of them with you. What if you had run into a large group of monsters?”
“If they had sensed any monsters, then they would have called the other wolves to come help,” Herder explained. “There was no danger, but it’s nice that you’re worried about me.”
The young boy rode past Gameknight999 and headed back to their companions. As he drew closer to the others, he motioned to the horses to come to him. One by one, he assigned each animal to a rider. Gameknight ended up with a white-spotted, gray horse with a black mane. His black-and-white horse seemed happy to have the saddle off its back and quickly wandered away in case Gameknight changed his mind. Somehow, Herder had tamed all the horses, so he didn’t need to do anything other than place the saddle on its back and mount. Strong muscles rippled within his new horse’s boxy form as Gameknight kicked it into a trot. This was a strong animal, the kind you would want with you in battle; she was a warhorse.
Though she was the wrong color, Gameknight decided he would name this horse after the most famous one he could think of. “I shall name you Trigger … that OK, girl?”
The horse whinnied and tossed her head, her black mane flipping from the left to the right.
“OK, then,” Gameknight said. “Trigger it is.”
He spun in a tight circle, looking at his comrades. They all had their new horses saddled and were releasing their weary ones back into the wild.
“Let’s get moving,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “If we keep going, we will—”
“We ride hard from here on out,” Butch interrupted. “We’ll get to Crafter’s village by dark if you all keep up with me.”
The others nodded and urged their horses forward, following Butch. Gameknight just sat there in shock.
I was just saying something, and Butch talked right over me, Gameknight thought. But what’s worse, everyone just followed him and ignored me. Do they even care that I’m here?
One of the wolves barked. Turning, he saw one of the animals bringing up the rear staring at him, the wolf’s black eyes filled with restless impatience.
“Yeah, yeah … I’m coming,” Gameknight said.
He kicked his horse into a gallop and caught up with the party.
By noon, they had made it to the other side of the savannah. Ahead of them was a plains biome; the thick, lush grass would be inviting to the horses. Right next to this biome was an oak forest. The
tall trees offered shade and would make the journey much easier. The party rode along the border of the two biomes, staying in the forest biome when possible, but also diverting to the grassland to allow the horses to eat.
After an hour of an easy gallop, one of the wolves stopped in their tracks and started to howl. The other wolves then did the same, howling and growling at the constant east-to-west breeze, as if it carried with it some kind of threat.
And then Gameknight smelled it … smoke.
“There’s a fire somewhere,” he said.
“This way, come on!” Butch cried as he kicked his horse into a gallop.
The big NPC shot to a nearby hill. When he reached the top, he skidded to a stop and glanced around. Gameknight streaked up the hillside, then gazed around at their surroundings. Near the edge of the forest, a column of smoke rose into the air, the black cubes forming billowing and ominous shapes. An angry glow encircled the bottom of the smoke, and it was growing brighter. Near the fire was a village ringed in a cobblestone wall. From this distance, Gameknight couldn’t see any activity, but he could imagine the fear surging through the villagers at the sight of the flames.
“Everyone, this way!” Butch shouted. “We need to stop the blazes before they destroy the entire forest.”
Without waiting for a response, Butch’s horse leapt forward, directly toward the forest. Gameknight turned to look at Hunter, but she had already kicked her new horse into action, followed by the rest of the party. Only Herder remained on the hilltop at his side.
“Herder, take your wolves and go to the village,” Gameknight said. “We’ll need the villagers ready with buckets and water.”
“But I can fight,” Herder complained.
“I know, but if you go down there, your wolves will get hurt. It’s more important that they go to the village and protect the NPCs. Besides, we will need that water if we’re going to stop this fire. I’m counting on you.”
Herder glanced at Butch and the other warriors charging toward the forest fire, then back at Gameknight.
“OK, I’m sure you know best,” Herder said.
I’m glad someone thinks so, Gameknight thought.
Without delay, Herder nudged his horse with his heels and took off at a gallop toward the village, the snowy-white wolves loping at his side.
Gameknight then kicked his horse forward and charged after his friends. As he rode, he pulled out his enchanted bow and notched an arrow. The iridescent purple light coming from the magical weapon shone on the tip of the projectile, as if it was enchanted as well.
In thirty seconds, he’d cut the distance between him and his friends in half. And in another thirty seconds, he was riding next to Butch, his big gray horse easily outpacing all the other steeds.
Suddenly, an unnatural sound reached his ears, making tiny square goose bumps form on his arms and neck. It was a mechanical breathing sound, as if some kind of robotic monster was gasping for air. He instantly recognized the sound: blazes.
Gameknight charged into the hazy forest, searching for targets, but the black smoke became so thick as they neared flames it was impossible to see any of the monsters.
“I can’t see anything!” Hunter said with a cough behind him.
“Me neither,” Crafter added. “How are we going to fight these things if we can’t see them?”
Gameknight scanned the smoke-filled forest, but he couldn’t make out anything.
“Everyone, get out your swords and follow me,” Butch said. “We’re charging forward.”
As usual, the big NPC didn’t wait to see if anyone would follow. He charged ahead into the smoke, yelling at the top of his lungs. Hunter glanced at Gameknight, then shrugged and drew her sword as she charged after him. The rest of them followed her example and rode into the black clouds, swords held up high.
“No, you can’t just charge out there!” Gameknight cried out to them, but nobody could hear him over the crackling of the flames.
Snapping the reins, he followed his friends, but kept his bow out instead of his blade. He knew they would never get close enough to the blazes to use a sword. After he’d moved a dozen blocks, he found a wall of flames blocking his path. Just beyond, he spotted his friends, all of them surrounded by the fire. Floating a few blocks above the flames were orange, glowing blazes lit up like bright golden lampposts on a foggy night. There were a lot of them, and they had completely surrounded his friends. They were trapped, and it was up to Gameknight999 to save them … somehow …
CHAPTER 10
THE PORTAL
“You should not be here!” one of the blazes thundered through the swirling clouds of smoke.
“We won’t let you burn this forest down!” Butch screamed back. “Come down here and face your punishment.”
The blaze laughed, making his internal flame glow bright.
The smoke shifted momentarily, and Gameknight could now see which one was talking. Drawing an arrow back, he fired, then drew another and fired again, and again. Three deadly missiles streaked toward the monster, their purple flames lighting the smoke with a blue glow. The arrows all struck the monster, causing it to flare bright for just an instant, then grow dark.
“Pull out your bows and fire!” Gameknight yelled.
Pulling out his hoe, he quickly extinguished the flames before him, creating an exit path from the ring of flame for his friends to escape through.
“Come on … this way,” he said, and he put away the tool and drew his bow again.
Fireballs rained down upon his friends, but the smoke made it difficult for the blazes to see as well. The monsters’ attack was focused on where they had heard Butch’s voice, but he had already moved. The party was now streaking toward the break in the circle, firing as they rode. Gameknight held his position and added his arrows to the attack, sending three quick shots towards a blaze, then turning to find another target. Glowing blaze rods fell from the sky as he destroyed monster after monster.
Once they were all out of the trap, Gameknight sprinted for the edge of the forest to regroup. As he rode through the smoke, the User-that-is-not-a-user saw something he didn’t understand: a rectangle of flame that undulated and pulsed, with sparkling yellow particles all around it. Blazes were flowing out of the rectangle as if it were a doorway to another dimension.
“A portal!” Gameknight exclaimed.
Kicking his horse into a gallop, he shot out of the smoke and rode to his friends.
“Crafter … I saw it,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.
“What are you talking about?” Crafter asked.
But before he could respond, Butch spoke.
“We have to go back in there and attack!”
“That worked really well last time,” Hunter said, sarcastically. “This time we—”
But before she could finish her sentence, a scream cut across the grassy plain. Gameknight turned and saw flames licking up the sides of the village walls like hungry demons. Some of the wooden buildings within the walls crackled and smoked as flames bit into the vulnerable walls.
“The village is under attack!” Butch shouted.
Pulling on the reins, he galloped toward the screaming.
“Come on!” Gameknight added as he urged his horse into a gallop.
As he rode, the User-that-is-not-a-user could see blazes drifting up from the forest and heading toward the village. Behind him, the glow of the forest fire was getting brighter. Small, fiery explosions cut through the crackling of the flames as blazes launched their deadly fireballs onto the defenseless forest.
Ahead, Gameknight could see the same fireballs falling on the village. They tore great holes in the cobblestone wall as they melted through the barricade and exploded on the ground. As he approached the damaged wall, a thin boy could be seen on the ramparts. He poured a bucket of water down the cobblestone face. Blazes fired at the boy, but the lanky NPC was too fast, dodging this way and that as he pulled more pails of water out of his inventory and dumped them aroun
d the village.
Butch reached the village gates just a step before Gameknight. The wooden doors were already burned to the ground, allowing easy entrance to the village. It was a good thing there were no other monsters nearby.
As they arrived, Gameknight drew his bow and began firing. He took down two blazes before they even realized what was happening. Hunter and Stitcher both rode for the tall watchtower that sat next to the village’s well. It loomed high over the community like a lone sentinel watching over the NPCs.
Smoke filled the air as wooden buildings were consumed in flames. Villagers were running everywhere, each with a bucket in their stubby hands, trying desperately to extinguish the flames.
Gameknight rode toward the fountain, then jumped off his horse and hit the ground running, his bow singing.
“Crafter, Digger, help the villagers put out the flames,” Gameknight said. “Do what I did at the last village and pour water over the buildings. Get the other villagers to help.”
The two NPCs did not reply; they just went into action. Organizing the NPCs into bucket brigades, they moved the water from building to building as Digger built steps up to the rooftops.
The User-that-is-not-a-user turned away and focused on the blazes again. Firing as fast as he could, he took down blaze after blaze while balls of fire streaked toward him. But then the monsters turned their fire away from Gameknight to focus on a figure charging at them from atop the fortified wall. It was Butch. He had his sword out and was yelling at the top of his lungs.
Gameknight999 steadied himself and fired at the closest blaze. His third arrow left the bow before the first had even struck home. In a few seconds, the blaze disappeared, its blaze rods falling to the ground. He then fired at another monster while he ran for the stairs that led to the top of the wall.
“Butch, get back here!” the User-that-is-not-a-user screamed.
But the big NPC ignored him, as usual.
Charging up the stairs, Gameknight reached the top of the wall just as a blaze flared bright with flame. Firing quickly, his arrow knocked the blaze aside, causing the volley of three fireballs to miss their target. Butch ran at the closest monster and leapt high into the air. His sword hit the lower blaze rod of the monster, causing it to flash red. Instantly, the flaming creature floated up higher, then fired straight down at Butch. Gameknight sprinted to the NPC’s side, then jumped. He pulled out his large rectangular shield and landed on Butch with a thud, his shield held over both of them. The fireballs smashed into the shield with the force of a giant’s hammer, almost knocking it from his grip, but the missiles were deflected away. The center of the shield began to glow as the heat tore away at the material. It almost grew too hot to hold, but Gameknight clenched his fist tightly and held on for his life. He knew if the shield were dropped, they were both dead.
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