Terrors of the Forest

by Mark Cheverton

  All he could think to do was run. Arrows zipped through the air. The User-that-is-not-a-user could hear them bouncing off the rugged scales, but occasionally one of them would land with a thunk, the pointed shaft finding its way between the armor plating that covered the Naga’s skin. The monster wailed and turned again. Gameknight could hear the scraping of scales against the ground moving away as the Naga sought another target.

  Just then, pain erupted through his arm as a clicking sound filled the air. Gameknight spun, swinging his sword. A small spider was behind him, reaching out with a wicked looking curved claw, its fuzzy black body standing out against the grassy blocks. Gameknight blocked the attack with his iron sword, then brought his diamond blade down upon the creature. It screeched in surprise and pain. The spider tried to back away, but the User-that-is-not-a-user did not relent. He drove the attack harder until the monster disappeared.

  Glancing around the enclosure, he saw more monsters emerging from along the wall; a couple of zombies, a few more spiders, and two skeletons in chainmail.

  “There are more monsters about!” Gameknight shouted. “Everyone watch each other’s backs.”

  The Naga heard his voice and quickly turned, gliding toward its enemy. A herd of deer tried to get out of the way of the giant green monster, but the massive serpent was too fast. The Naga smashed through the deer without even slowing, and the innocent animals were instantly destroyed.

  “NO!” Gameknight shouted. He charged at the monster, anger fueling his courage.

  Arrows pinged off the monster’s scales, some of them sticking into its flesh. The Naga screamed in pain and rage, but kept its beady red eyes glued to Gameknight999. It loomed over him, about to attack.

  Suddenly, dodging to the left, the User-that-is-not-a-user slashed at the monster’s head just as its jaws closed with a crash where he had just been standing. Gameknight stabbed at the Naga with his diamond blade, scoring multiple hits, causing the creature to flash red over and over.

  “Gameknight, behind you,” Crafter shouted.

  Spinning, the User-that-is-not-a-user rolled to his right, just as a zombie swiped at him from behind with its razor sharp claws. He slashed at the zombie’s decaying legs, then stood, ready for another attack, when suddenly a pair of arrows hit the zombie, causing it to disappear with a pop.

  “This isn’t working,” Woodcutter said.

  Gameknight turned toward the NPC and could see cracks in his iron armor; he’d taken some damage. The User-that-is-not-a-user glanced at his other friends and could see similar dents and scrapes in their armor.

  “The Naga is slowly hurting all of us while we’re only doing a little damage here and there,” Hunter yelled. “We need to draw it into a trap and surround it.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Stitcher added.

  “OK, all of you spread out in a big arc with bows ready,” Gameknight said. “I’ll bring the beast to you.”

  Twang … twang … twang!

  “Stitcher, what are you firing at?” Crafter asked, an annoyed tone to his voice. “We need you to pay attention.”

  “Ha ha, I got him!” the young girl exclaimed with glee. “That’ll teach that zombie to show its ugly face. It needed to be destroyed … and now it is.”

  Gameknight was shocked at how causally Stitcher talked about killing things; it was not at all like the girl he knew in his timeline.

  “All of you just stay here,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.

  He put away his swords and ran back out to the center of the enclosure.

  “Naga, where are you?!” Gameknight shouted.

  The monster had moved somewhere closer to the enclosure’s walls, but the courtyard was so large, the distant walls were not visible through the haze of Minecraft.

  A scraping sound filled the air off to the right. Gameknight could see the herd of boars walking about, munching on the small tufts of grass that grew between the stone slabs.

  Squawk!

  A high-pitched screech came from behind him. Gameknight glanced over his shoulder. A small penguin was moving quickly across the courtyard, an expression of terror on the little creature’s black and white face.

  Suddenly, the boars squealed in terror as the Naga burst out of the shadows and crushed them all. A skeleton moved up next to the monster and fired an arrow at Gameknight999. The arrow bounced off his armor, doing no damage, but before Gameknight could pull out his bow and fire back, the Naga turned and devoured the monster, destroying it instantly.

  This monster isn’t just after us, Gameknight thought. It’s going to destroy everything in this courtyard.

  He glanced at the penguin, then sprinted toward the creature. The sound of hard scales scraping against stone and grass filled the air. The Naga hissed as it pursued him. Gameknight knew the huge monster was faster, but maybe he could still avoid it.

  When he reached the penguin, he scooped up the tiny creature and held it under his left arm.

  Squawk, squawk!

  “Yes, hello,” Gameknight replied as he sprinted.

  The Naga was getting closer. He could hear the monster’s heavy breathing; the smell of its rotten breath was almost overpowering. Knowing he had only moments to spare, Gameknight suddenly bolted to the left. A green, scaly blur shot past him, a frustrated roar filling the air as the monster missed its chance to attack.

  “Here he comes!” Gameknight shouted to his friends.

  Sprinting with everything he had, Gameknight headed toward his friends. They were hiding behind some of the few stone pillars that still stood, waiting to spring their trap. Behind Gameknight, the scraping sound grew louder and louder; the Naga was closing in. As gently as he could, Gameknight tossed the penguin toward his friends, then stopped and drew his bow. He turned with arrow notched and fired. His enchanted bow lit a magical flame on the projectile as it left the bowstring. The arrow soared gracefully through the air and hit the charging Naga in the forehead. The monster burst immediately into flame, causing it to flash red with damage. More arrows soared through the air and hit the beast. Those that struck its body just bounced harmlessly off, while the ones that hit the creature’s head seemed to pierce its protective scales and do damage.

  “Aim for its head!” Gameknight shouted. “We can only hurt its head; the rest is too well-armored!”

  The Naga turned toward the User-that-is-not-a-user and charged, its angry, bellowing cry making the ground shake beneath Gameknight’s feet. Suddenly, a zombie moaned behind him. With a quick glance, he saw that a zombie was emerging from the nearby shadows, moving toward the unsuspecting Digger, who stood nearby, his two pickaxes in his hands.

  “Digger … look out!”

  Suddenly, Fletcher barreled into Gameknight, knocking him aside just as the Naga reached him. He’d nearly been crushed; the big NPC had probably saved his life.

  The green serpent moved past them and headed for the penguin, a lust for destruction burning in its glowing red eyes.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Digger yelled.

  The stocky NPC charged forward, his big pickaxes swinging wildly. He smashed into the Naga, tearing into the monster with his shining iron tools. The picks dug deep into the green flesh, making it roar in pain as its HP decreased. Arrows from the other members of the group streaked through the air, hitting the Naga again and again until its head was covered with feathery shafts. And then Digger swung with all his might and hit the beast one last time. The creature shuddered, then flopped onto its side, shaking. Moans of despair came from the Naga as it began to shiver more violently. Suddenly, it exploded, showering the ground with glowing balls of XP and a handful of items

  Gameknight stood and surveyed the courtyard. He could still hear the sorrowful cries of a few zombies, but they chose to stay in the shadows rather than attack.

  “Digger, you saved us!” Crafter exclaimed. “You destroyed the Naga.”

  “Thank you, Digger,” Gameknight said. “When you stopped the monster with your picks, it
let everyone else open fire.”

  The stocky NPC glanced around, looking surprised and embarrassed. “I just couldn’t let that monster destroy this penguin. When I saw that little animal just standing there in the path of that serpent, all I could think about was my Topper.”

  Gameknight put his arm around Digger’s shoulder and hugged him. “I knew I could count on you.”

  Squawk! the penguin added.

  Digger glanced down at the little animal, then cast his eyes to the ground, the fire of courage in the big NPC’s eyes already fading.

  Gameknight sighed.

  Reaching down, the User-that-is-not-a-user lifted the penguin off the ground and checked the animal for injuries.

  “This animal belongs on the glacier, yes, yes,” Empech said as he leapt down from the nearby oak tree, followed by Herder and his wolves.

  The little gnome moved to where the Naga had been killed and quickly picked up the items dropped by the green beast. He held up a gold tile that had an image of the Naga’s face painted on it, then stuffed it into his oversized backpack. The tiny gray creature then collected the Naga scales that lay strewn about the ground and stuffed them away as well.

  “Glacier?” Gameknight asked.

  Empech pointed at the icy blue wall that was just barely visible in the distance. “That is the domain of the Snow Queen, and a very dangerous place, yes, yes. When she is displeased with a penguin, she throws them off the glacier. Few survive very long on the forest floor. Empech is surprised the penguin made it this far. She likely became trapped within this enclosure.”

  “She?” Crafter asked, confused.

  Empech nodded. “The yellow on the animal’s chest signifies her as a she, yes, yes.”

  “We need a name for you, little one,” Gameknight mused. He thought about penguins he’d seen in movies or read about in books, but the only one he could think about was the evil, villainous enemy of Batman. No, that’s no good. He looked at the black-and-white penguin again, hoping for inspiration, and then suddenly he had it. “I’ll name you Tux, like tuxedo!”

  Squawk, squawk! chirped Tux happily.

  In the distance, a group of wolves howled, filling the air with their majestic voices.

  “They found Weaver’s trail,” Herder said as he ran across the courtyard. “They exited the enclosure on the far side.”

  “Come on, everyone,” Stitcher said. “I want to catch me that Entity303.”

  As they moved across the courtyard, Gameknight moved to Crafter’s side.

  “Why do you think Entity303 led us here, into this enclosure?” he asked.

  “Maybe he wanted the Naga to destroy some of us,” Crafter replied. “That would reduce the number of his enemies.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense,” Gameknight said. “He could have led us into a trap much worse than the Naga. No, I think he wanted us to fight the Naga for some reason … but why?”

  “Maybe if you hurry up, we can catch him and ask,” Stitcher growled, her voice sounding impatient. “Come on … we should run.”

  They reached the far side of the courtyard and found a set of stone blocks that formed stairs. Stitcher sprang up the steps and leapt off the wall, dashing after the wolves. Gameknight reached the top of the wall with Tux under his arm. Below him spread more of the snowy forest, a large hill off to the left. Footsteps could be seen in the snow, a dragging mark amongst the tracks; that was likely from Weaver, telling them he’s still alive.

  “Don’t worry, Weaver, I’m coming for you,” he said in a low voice. “I won’t fail you again. I’ll protect you, like I was supposed to in the past.”

  A dark, heavy feeling settled in his chest as pangs of guilt filled his soul.

  Prrrr … prrrr. Tux nuzzled her soft, fluffy head against Gameknight’s arm.

  “Thank you, Tux,” Gameknight said, and stroked the creature’s head, causing the fluttery purring sound to grow even louder. He could sense the worry the penguin had for him, as if there was some kind of empathic link between them. Tux’s concern for him seemed to help push back the guilt he felt, but not the fear. He knew there were more monsters out there, some even worse than the Naga, and they were waiting for him and his friends.

  CHAPTER 11

  THE SWAMP

  Weaver’s trail led the party out of the chilly, snow-covered forest and into a dank and stinky swamp. Decaying sludge, rotting trees, and decomposing leaves covered much of the water, with strange-looking things moving about in the murky depths. Just to be safe, they stayed close to the land as much as possible, not wanting to find out what was really swimming around down there. Tux seemed nervous about the hidden creatures, so Gameknight carried his new friend. After the Naga, they’d all had enough of snakes.

  As they trudged through the damp landscape, Gameknight moved next to Crafter and spoke in a low voice.

  “I’m concerned about Stitcher,” he murmured to Crafter. “It seems as if she has no regard for other creatures; it’s like she wants to kill everything. Even if they are monsters, they don’t all deserve to die, but I feel like she wants to exterminate every one of them.”

  “Hunter tells us she was like this only after being rescued from Malacoda’s Nether fortress,” Crafter replied quietly. “I never knew her before her capture. She was held prisoner in that fortress for a long time, and was tortured and punished many times by the monsters. Stitcher told me she saw lots of her friends hurt and killed by monsters, some of them for no reason at all. I think that experience scarred her pretty significantly.”

  Gameknight sighed. “I should have been there to protect her.”

  I failed Weaver in the past, and it seems I failed both Fletcher and Stitcher in this timeline as well, he thought. These villagers would be better off relying on someone else.

  “We did what we could,” Crafter said. “But it took a while to rescue her.”

  “Wasn’t she freed after Mason, Hunter and I led the army to free you from Malacoda’s clutches?”

  “Mason,” Crafter said. “Who’s Mason?”

  “You remember, he led the army through the Nether, and I came in with a large group of cavalry. We …”

  Crafter shook his head. “That’s not what happened. We attacked, all of us using bows. You fought for days in the Nether until Malacoda finally finished his portal. You and Hunter snuck in at the last instant and grabbed me before they could take me through the portal.”

  “So they took Hunter?” Gameknight asked, his voice getting louder with surprise.

  “Of course not, what’s wrong with you? She jumped down on her horse and we rode away.”

  “Are you telling me Hunter was never Malacoda’s prisoner?”

  “Ha … me, a prisoner of that overinflated gasbag?” Hunter exclaimed. “That would never happen. I wouldn’t allow it.”

  “This time travel thing is too strange,” Gameknight said. Everything has changed so much. I just hope I can repair this timeline and put things right again. If I don’t, then Weaver and my friends will suffer for nothing. I don’t know if I can do this.

  Gameknight was about to voice his lack of confidence when suddenly, a squishy sound floated out from behind a copse of thick trees. One of the wolves growled. Gameknight held up his hand to stop the group as he waited to see what would emerge. Slowly, the luminous edge of a blue slime emerged from behind the trees, the gelatinous outer layer protecting the creature’s inner core, with its dark eyes and open mouth pointed directly at him.

  He quickly glanced around and saw a path around the monster. Slimes were slow and would be easy to outrun. Gameknight was about to point out the path when a flaming arrow streaked through the air and hit the monster. The slime screamed from within its squishy layers, the sound coming to their ears as a muffled cry. Another arrow zipped through the air and struck the beast followed by another. The slime split in two, then charged toward them.

  “Stitcher, I didn’t tell you to fire,” Gameknight complained.

  “I know,
” the young girl said as she stepped forward. “I saw you eyeing an escape path, so I made the right decision for you.”

  She fired again, loosing three arrows in rapid successions, causing the blue cube to split into four pieces.

  “The magma cubes in that fortress destroyed countless villagers, many of them my friends,” Stitcher said as she fired again. The tiny slime cubes screamed in pain, their cries getting higher as they became smaller and smaller.

  “But this isn’t a magma cube,” Gameknight protested.

  “Who cares,” she replied. “A monster’s a monster. Now are you gonna fight or just stand there?”

  He knew he had no choice now. Drawing his blade the User-that-is-not-a-user charge forward.

  “Wolves … destroy!” Herder shouted, a vicious expression on his face.

  Before Gameknight could reach the slimes, Herder’s wolves fell upon the monsters, snapping at them with their powerful jaws and sharp teeth. The tiny jelly-like cubes fell in seconds, leaving behind balls of slime and XP. Once the last of the monsters were destroyed, the wolves continued to follow Weaver’s path.

  “Now it’s a good monster,” Stitcher said with a vicious smile, then continued forward, following the wolf pack leader.

  Gameknight sighed. He glanced at Crafter and gave the young villager a worried look; the NPC returned the look, then shrugged and continued following the wolves. After a dozen blocks, the path suddenly turned to the right, exploring a different section of the swamp. A swarm of mosquitos attacked them from all sides, the wolves yelping at their stings, but fortunately the insects were relatively weak. Their swords swatted the creatures away until they were destroyed.

  After another twenty blocks, the trail took yet another sudden turn, now heading to the left.

  “Why isn’t Entity303 just heading in a straight line?” Crafter asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gameknight replied.