The Wither Invasion

by Mark Cheverton

Er-Lan hissed, his claws slowly extending from his fingers, ready for battle. Planter cried out in surprise, then pulled her enchanted shield from her inventory. Instantly, the edges of the shield ignited with magical purple flames.

  Watcher opened his eyes at the sound and yanked his enchanted sword, Needle, from his inventory when he saw the wither king.

  “Relax … it’s just an image.” Mirthrandos laughed. “A very realistic one, at that.”

  Fixit whistled his agreement but stayed back from the terrifying apparition.

  “Where is our friend Krael going?” Mira glanced at Watcher. “Move back so you can see the surroundings.”

  Watcher focused his mind and imagined himself moving away from Krael. The wither in the center of the room shrunk in size, revealing his surroundings: he was floating over a birch forest with a smattering of oak trees here and there. Colorful splashes of color punctuated the scene, with flowers of red and blue and yellow mixed in with the green grass. Watcher pulled back even farther, making Krael appear as a miniature figurine in the middle of the Viewing Chamber. But now, the rest of the wither army was visible flying a respectful distance behind their leader. On the ground, weaving between the trees, was a huge mob of distorted monsters: skeletons with zombie heads, slimes with spider legs, endermen with skeleton arms … every combination possible marched along beneath the wither air force.

  “That’s … a lot of monsters.” Planter’s voice cracked with fear.

  Pain exploded again along every nerve in Watcher’s body. He grunted as he clenched his teeth. Planter cracked the splash potion onto his shoulders, the cool liquid extinguishing most of the agony, but not all.

  “Where are they heading?” Mira glanced at Watcher. “Change your view, so you’re behind the army.”

  Watcher imagined himself drifting behind the terrifying monsters, then looked up to see their destination. The scene shifted in the Viewing Chamber to show the monsters’ backs. Far ahead in the distance, they could see a strange valley, with steep hills on either side. Within the valley, tiny things zipped through the air, flying in all directions.

  “What is that?” Watcher was confused. “It looks like—”

  “Oh no,” Mirthrandos interrupted. “Do you know what that is?” She turned and faced Watcher and Planter.

  They both nodded.

  “The Valley of Arrows,” Planter said.

  “And behind that illusion is Wizard City.” Watcher grunted again as agony ravaged his body.

  Planter cracked another splash potion of healing on his back, easing the pain a bit.

  Watcher made the scene zoom in on the valley. They could all see the stacks of dispensers piled up in the illusion, imaginary arrows streaking out of them and speeding in all directions through the valley.

  “Why would the monsters want to go to Wizard City?” Er-Lan glanced at Mira. “This zombie does not understand.”

  The old woman sighed, shaking her head. “It was rumored during the Great War that Tharus had his own portal leading back to the Far Lands.”

  “Why would he have that?” Watcher asked.

  The ancient wizard shrugged. “I think Tharus was a little paranoid; he didn’t trust anyone. That’s why he gave his cloak a spell of invisibility.”

  Watcher reached into his inventory and pulled out the wizard’s cloak that had saved his life when he fell from Krael’s shoulders during the last terrible battle. The gold stitching around its edges sparkled as if it were brand-new. “You mean this cloak?”

  She nodded. “Yep. That’s the one. Tharus used it to disappear when he wanted to move about without being detected. Many times, he’d reappear in the Far Lands, without going through the Hall of Planes. We figured he had his own portal, but no one ever found it.”

  “You mean he had a portal just to himself, and he didn’t let anyone else use it?” Planter scowled at the ancient wizard.

  Mira nodded. “That’s exactly right; Tharus didn’t trust anyone. His suspicious nature matched his arrogance. I bet, to make himself feel famous, he wrote about his portal in some book, and likely the wither king found something, a book or scroll, maybe, that told about Tharus’s portal. Now, Krael wants to find it.”

  “Great, so now Krael’s trying to find another way to bring his entire army here to the Far Lands.” Watcher sounded scared, as they all were.

  “Don’t you think you should have told us about this hidden portal when we were in Wizard City?” Planter asked.

  “You didn’t need to know about it.” Mira didn’t even bother looking at Planter, she just stared at the image floating in the center of the room.

  “We didn’t need to know?!” Planter was getting angrier. “You just decided, and that’s it?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Just like you didn’t bother telling us about this Viewing Chamber until you thought it was necessary.” Planter scowled at the old woman.

  Mira just nodded.

  Planter turned to Watcher. “You see, wizards only do things for themselves.”

  Watcher didn’t reply; he had learned sometimes it was best to stay silent.

  Suddenly, an ice-cold chill slithered down his spine. Watcher turned his view toward the approaching army and found Krael staring straight at him.

  “So, you’re spying on me again, are you, boy?” Krael’s three skulls glared at him.

  The floating specter in the center of the Viewing Chamber drove icicles of fear straight into Watcher’s spine. He felt as if he’d gone numb, his mind overwhelmed with panic.

  “Ahh … I see you have the little girl with you.” Krael shifted his gaze to Planter, then to Mira. “And I see the old hag is still with you as well; excellent. I’m looking forward to meeting you again.” The wither’s three faces took on a confused look as he shifted his gaze from Mira to Er-Lan. “You have a zombie with you? Curious. Is he a pet?”

  “That’s our friend, Er-Lan,” Planter shouted. “You stay away from him.”

  “Ha ha ha … the little girl is mad, how precious.” The image of Krael moved closer in the Viewing Chamber, his entire body looming larger and larger. “Your little shield isn’t gonna protect you when we next meet.” He glared at them all. “If you think you’re safe from me in the Far Lands, then you are tragically mistaken.”

  The wither king glanced over his shoulder at the illusion covering Wizard City, then turned back to his adversaries. “I’ll be inside Wizard City soon, and I bet there’s no one home to stop me. It’s just a question of time before I find what I’m looking for. I’m sure the old hag knows what I’m talking about.” He laughed. “Your days in the Far Lands are numbered. Prepare yourselves to meet your doom in the Great War; it’ll be on your doorstep soon enough. But don’t worry … I have a few surprises for you. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.”

  The Crowns of Skulls on his three heads started to glow brighter and brighter, the wither’s eyes doing the same.

  “Here’s a little something to remember me by.” The monster fired a magically charged flaming skull at them.

  The image of the projectile slowly floated across the room, getting larger and larger. At the same time, the Eye of Searching grew hotter and hotter until it started to burn Watcher’s skin. He reached up and pulled the scorching Eye off his head and threw it across the room. The artifact slid across the ground, glowing red with heat. Instantly, the image of the wither king disappeared from view. Watcher groaned, then collapsed to one knee, his health points (HP) dangerously low. Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out an apple and ate it quickly, eliminating his hunger and allowing his health to replenish.

  “He knows about the portal,” Planter said. “We need to do something. If we find Tharus’s portal in the Far Lands, can we destroy it and stop Krael?”

  Mirthrandos nodded. “Yes, that would work with this kind of portal. The problem is, we don’t know where it is in the Far Lands. Tharus never told anyone of its location; I’m sure it’s well hidden or located someplace th
at’s too dangerous to explore.” She sighed. “We’ll never find it in time.”

  Watcher stood after gobbling down a piece of chicken to further boost his health. “So you’re saying there’s no way to stop Krael from coming into the Far Lands?”

  The old woman shook her head. “Eventually, after tearing apart Wizard City, he’ll find the portal.”

  Planter glanced at Watcher, a terrified expression on her square face.

  “Then it may be time to prepare,” Er-Lan said.

  “For what?” Watcher turned toward the zombie.

  “For the Great War, of course.” Er-Lan spoke as if it were no big deal. “War is coming to the Far Lands, whether it is welcome or not.”

  “Er-Lan is right.” Planter put a hand on the zombie’s shoulder. “Let’s get out of here and tell the others.”

  Fixit squeaked, his scared metal face staring up at Watcher.

  “Come on, let’s get back to the Tower.” Planter headed out of the room, Mira, Er-Lan, and Fixit fast on her heels.

  Watcher stood there for a moment as the torches along the walls extinguished themselves somehow, bathing him in darkness. He stared down at the floor, the faint glow of the walls was barely visible all the way down to the Void.

  “How am I going to battle Krael and his army again?” he whispered to himself. “We barely survived the last battle, and now it looks like he has even more creatures under his banner.” He sighed. “This is impossible.”

  Hopelessness makes things impossible, Baltheron said in the back of Watcher’s mind. Where there is hope, there are possibilities, but if you give up, all are doomed.

  Watcher nodded but didn’t reply; he had nothing to say. The thought of another war made him want to weep. Turning, the young wizard headed for the door, but gave the terrifying Void one last look. Something in the back of his mind told him it was important, but he had no idea why.

  With a sigh, he headed out of the Viewing Chamber and toward a war that would likely consume them all.

  Krael turned in midair and stared down at the collection of distorted monsters weaving between the many birch trees in the forest, then glanced up at his wither army floating above the treetops and smiled.

  “That foolish boy-wizard thinks this is the extent of my army and air force.” The wither king laughed. “What a pathetic idiot.”

  “What was that, husband?” Kora floated up to Krael’s side. “Who were you talking to a few minutes ago?”

  “That stupid wizard, Watcher, was spying on us again,” the left skull said, his voice scratchy and harsh, then laughed. “He won’t be doing that again very soon.”

  “Did he see our army?” Kora asked.

  All three of Krael’s skulls nodded.

  “The wizards likely know the size of our forces, for now, as well as our destination.” Right’s voice was smooth and melodic, as always.

  “That’s terrible!” Kora exclaimed. “He’ll know what to expect.”

  “And that’s exactly what I want.” Krael’s three skulls smiled. “The fool will think this is all we have … but he’ll be wrong.”

  “What do you mean, husband?”

  “The three Crowns of Skulls give me the ability to communicate with monsters on other planes of existence in the Pyramid of Servers. I’ve been whispering in the ears of hundreds of monsters in the Far Lands, slowly nourishing their anger and resentment toward the NPCs. Soon, they’ll start their own revolution, and attack the villages, which will distract the three wizards and that zombie-pet they have, and—”

  “Zombie-pet?”

  Krael nodded. “While they were spying on me, I was able to see all of them. Usually, I can only see the boy-wizard, but this time, I could see the girl and the old woman, too; they must have been using some kind of magical amplifier. But the strange thing was that I could also see a zombie. The Crown of Skulls is linked to the magic plane, letting me sense other wizards, but I could see this one particular zombie, as well.”

  “They were probably in some special room built by the ancient wizards during the Great War. It likely lets them spy on us from a different world in the Pyramid.” Kora smiled. “If the zombie were in the room with them, then he’d be visible too, right?”

  “Perhaps,” Krael said. “But I don’t like mysteries, and I don’t like that boy-wizard spying on us.”

  “So how do we stop him, husband?”

  Now it was Krael’s turn to smile. “Hopefully, I destroyed the artifact he was using to spy on us: the Eye of Searching. I poured my magic into it, trying to shatter the thing, so I bet the Eye shattered on the fool’s face. Maybe if I’m lucky, the glass blinded him as well.”

  The wither king laughed cruelly. “Now let’s continue toward Wizard City.”

  Krael and Kora continued floating toward their objective, the army and air force now catching up with them.

  “Husband, with the Eye of Searching destroyed, is the link between you and the boy-wizard completely severed?”

  Krael shrugged, then veered around a tall oak tree. “Watcher’s link through the Eye of Searching should now be broken; he’ll no longer be able to spy on us, I think.” Krael smiled an evil smile. “But I can still sense him.”

  “You can?” Kora sounded surprised.

  “The Crowns of Skulls lets me feel his presence. From this world, it is just a faint sensation in the backs of my skulls, but when we get to the Far Lands, I’ll likely be able to sense exactly where he’s hiding.”

  “That’s fantastic!”

  Krael nodded, grinning evilly, then slowed to a stop. They were at the edge of the Valley of Arrows. Many of the monsters on the ground seemed afraid, the arrows streaking back and forth across the valley looked deadly; they didn’t know it was just an illusion.

  Turning, Krael faced his army. “The arrows are a lie and do not exist. You need not fear, and I’ll prove it. Where’s the tiny wither named—”

  “Kobael,” Kora said.

  “Right. Kobael, where are you?”

  “Here,” a high-pitched voice squeaked.

  “Kobael, come forward, and go into the Valley of Arrows,” Krael commanded. “Show the others the arrows are harmless.”

  A small wither floated out of the collection of monsters and headed hesitantly for the Valley of Arrows. Kobael moved into the magical image, letting the deceptive arrows pass through him, leaving him unharmed.

  “You see, it’s just a bit of trickery made by our enemies.” Krael glared at the Valley of Arrows as if it were itself a mortal enemy. “Now, withers, get ready to fire your flaming skulls at the shield protecting Wizard City.” Krael floated higher into the air, his eyes glowing with evil intent. “Once the shield opens, we’ll go in and attack any golems or wolves left behind to protect the city. When they are all destroyed, the City will be ours.”

  The monsters growled and snarled, excited for the imminent battle.

  “Now … FIRE!”

  The withers concentrated their flaming skulls on the illusion, targeting a spot near the ground. The fiery projectiles smashed into an invisible shield, making it give off a soft orange radiance. The glowing spot grew larger as their projectiles continued to crash into the protective shell, straining its magical power. The illusion for which the Valley of Arrows was named slowly faded as the withers’ attack drained the enchantments of their energy. Now, the withers could see through the illusion into Wizard City, where a series of sparkling buildings, all made of iron blocks, shimmered behind the protective shield. A group of iron and obsidian golems gathered near the glowing spot, ready to do battle.

  Krael gathered all the magical power in the Crowns of Skulls and channeled it into his next attack. When he fired, the three flaming skulls shined with such intensity, all the other monsters had to look away. They slammed into the enchanted shield with a bang, causing it to finally rip apart.

  A clap of thunder filled the cloudless sky as a huge gash tore across the barrier. The monstrous horde below Krael screamed with de
light, then charged into the city, their battle cries echoing off the metallic buildings. Instantly, the legs on the iron golems extended, allowing the metal giants to reach up and grab the low-flying withers, pulling them to the ground, where, as they held the dark monsters, the obsidian golems stepped up and hammered on the captives with clenched stone fists.

  The warped monsters on the ground attacked the golems with sharp teeth, pointed claws, and stone swords. Releasing the withers, the golems fought back, kicking and hitting their attackers, but there were just too many of them. Falling back, the golems tried to move into the streets, fleeing from the attackers, but a group of withers moved behind them, blasting them with their flaming skulls. The golems turned and reached up, grabbing an unwary wither or two to defend themselves.

  “Monster on the ground … charge!” Krael shouted.

  The warped creatures ran forward again; spidery monsters climbed up the golems as zombies and skeletons slashed at their metal legs, enveloping the golems in a storm of claws and fangs.

  A golem staggered and fell to the ground. Before it could stand, thirty monsters swarmed atop it, devouring its HP in seconds; it disappeared with a pop, leaving behind a handful of iron blocks and three glowing balls of XP (experience points).

  “Withers, ATTACK!” Krael roared.

  A deluge of flaming skulls fell upon the remaining metal and stone defenders. Even the monsters held within their massive hands took damage as the deadly rain enveloped them all. One after another, the golems fell to the ground, their strength finally waning.

  Finally, the last golem fell, adding to the litter of iron and obsidian blocks strewn across the streets, balls of XP glowing amongst the defenders’ remains. With so many monsters and so few defenders, the battle had been decisive and brief. The last protectors of Wizard City were destroyed.

  “Wizard City is ours!” Krael’s voice boomed across the city, magically amplified by the magical power of his Crowns.

  The monsters below him cheered, holding weapons and clawed hands in the air.

  “Now, we must find the wizard’s portal.” Krael glared down at the monsters. When his eyes fell upon the tiny wither Kobael, he realized he couldn’t remember if he’d seen the tiny monster actually fight during the battle. With a shrug, he continued.