Terror on a Treasure Hunt

by Winter Morgan

  “Besides, we promised him he could come with us on our treasure hunt,” Lily said. “I can’t believe we almost left without him.”

  Everyone halfheartedly turned back toward the center of town. They walked to Matthew’s cobblestone house, which he’d built on the shore when he came to the village a few weeks before. The small house had a large picture window that overlooked the ocean. Matthew was a big fan of taking undersea adventures; he was always trading resources with Ilana, who provided him with potions of water breathing.

  “Matthew,” Warren called out as the group approached his house, but there was no reply.

  “I bet he’s under the sea, searching for an ocean monument,” said Ilana. “He just traded a bunch of carrots for a potion of water breathing.”

  As she spoke, Matthew emerged from the crystal blue water and walked to the shore, dripping.

  “Is it time for the treasure hunt already?” Matthew asked.

  Lily shook her head. “Have you seen Otto?” she asked.

  “No,” Matthew replied. “I haven’t seen him in a long time, and I’ve been worried about him. Is he okay?”

  Mr. Anarchy replied, “I think I was able to transport him back to the real world.”

  “You’re trying to help us get back to the real world? But you’re the one who trapped us on this awful server.” Matthew was shocked.

  “Well,” Mr. Anarchy confessed, “I only helped him escape by accident. I really wanted him to TP to me.”

  “That sounds more like you,” Matthew said. “Only thinking about yourself.”

  Mr. Anarchy frowned, but before he could reply, a woman’s voice called out, “Can you send me back?” The group turned around and saw a short woman with red hair walking over.

  “I can try,” Mr. Anarchy said, looking at the woman.

  “Great.” She was thrilled.

  “Who are you?” Lily asked.

  “I’m Emma,” the woman replied. “I’ve been trapped on this server for a long time. I live in a small home outside of your village.”

  Mr. Anarchy nodded. “Well, if you want to give this a try, there’s no time like now,” he said. Using command blocks, he summoned a storm. The sky grew dark and rain fell on the group.

  “You spawned skeletons,” Warren cried. The rain was getting harder, the ground was getting wet, and now they had to battle mobs. “This had better be worth it.”

  Michael leapt at a skeleton. As he struck the beast he yelled at Mr. Anarchy, “Emma, TP! I want Mr. Anarchy to stop the rain.”

  Emma TPed toward Mr. Anarchy, but after she disappeared, she didn’t reappear.

  “Stop the rain!” Lily demanded.

  Mr. Anarchy used command blocks to end the rainstorm. Everyone waited, holding their breath, as the minutes dragged out.

  “So, where’s Emma?” Simon asked.

  “I think she must be back in the real world,” said Mr. Anarchy.

  “Could that really be possible?” Peter was dumbfounded.

  “I hope so,” Lily said excitedly.

  “I want to go next,” declared Matthew.

  Everyone agreed that Matthew could be the next person to TP in the rain. But as Mr. Anarchy started to summon a storm, Lily called out, “Wait! Can you pause for a second?”

  Mr. Anarchy looked perplexed. “Okay.”

  “I want to say goodbye to Matthew.” Lily looked at her friend, and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m going to miss you. Even though things between us weren’t perfect at first, I’m glad we became friends. I hope when you get back to the real world that you will remember us. Please try to find a way to get us off this server.”

  Matthew nodded seriously. “I will try to get you guys off this server. I promise.”

  Lily signaled to Mr. Anarchy, and he finished summoning the storm. Skeletons and zombies spawned under the rainy sky.

  “TP, now!” Mr. Anarchy called out.

  “Okay,” said Matthew. He grinned as he started to TP, disappearing.

  But just seconds later, Matthew appeared again, right in front of Mr. Anarchy.

  Everyone was disappointed, especially Matthew. “What did I do wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Lily replied. She could see over Mr. Anarchy’s shoulder to the shore beyond, where Emma was running toward them.

  4

  ADVENTURE MAPS

  “Emma?” Lily questioned. “You didn’t get sent home.”

  “No, I guess not,” Emma said. “I wound up in the desert biome. It was desolate. I looked for other players, but there weren’t any, so I TPed back here,” she explained.

  “I wonder if the man in the black jumpsuit was zapped back to the real world or if he’s just living in a new biome, too,” Lily mused.

  “I don’t know.” Mr. Anarchy sighed. “I thought if I could help people get off the server, it might make up for some of the bad things I’ve done. And for the first time in a long time, I had hope.” He started to pace, his voice rising. “But what’s the point? I can’t figure out how to get myself home, or anyone else.”

  “I knew it wouldn’t work,” Emma said with a scowl. “We are all trapped here forever.”

  Lily comforted her. “It’s going to be okay. We will get out of here.”

  Matthew looked defeated, but he agreed with Lily. “That’s right. I will work tirelessly day and night to get us off this server.”

  Emma sighed. “I’m going to head home. I just want to be alone.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Lily.

  “Fine,” Emma replied curtly, and she walked away.

  “I don’t think I feel up for a treasure hunt after all,” Matthew announced to the group. “I need some time with my thoughts. And while you’re away, I’ll test some new ideas that might help us find our way back home.”

  “I’ll bring you back some treasure,” Warren told his friend.

  “Thanks.” Matthew smiled weakly, still disappointed about the failed escape plan.

  Michael walked over to Matthew and, in a hushed voice, he asked, “Since we are leaving on a treasure hunt, is it possible for you to stay with Mr. Anarchy? I don’t feel comfortable leaving Lisimi Village without knowing he’s being guarded.”

  “Yes.” Matthew nodded. “Mr. Anarchy, are you serious about wanting to redeem yourself? If you promise not to try anything evil, you can work with my team to develop ways to leave the server.”

  “I’d … really like that,” Mr. Anarchy said. “Do you mean it?”

  “Yes, as long as you stay where I can keep an eye on you,” Matthew replied. “And as long as we don’t find out that you’re behind the most recent griefer attacks. You’ve been in Lisimi Village for a while and you haven’t done any griefing, as far as we know. We have to give you a second chance.”

  Mr. Anarchy was beaming. Lily looked over and smiled because she knew that she wouldn’t have to worry about the sinister griefer while she was on the treasure hunt. She was happy that there was peace in the village, however short-lived it might be.

  “Okay, friends,” Michael announced. “We should go on the treasure hunt.”

  Peter was thrilled. “Great. I’ll lead the way.”

  The gang said their goodbyes to Matthew and the others and left Lisimi Village.

  Peter studied the map. “We have to go through the cold biome before we reach the dungeon in the forest.”

  “I want to play in the snow,” Simon squealed.

  “I don’t think we’ll have time to play, but we should gather snow to craft snowballs. They are important to have in our inventories,” Michael told the group.

  As they walked along the shoreline, Peter told the group about his favorite activities in Minecraft. “Before I got zapped onto this server, I loved making adventure maps. I made all these different maps that people would download. It was a lot of fun.”

  “That sounds cool,” said Michael. “I used to love building in Creative mode. I’ve built skyscrapers and stadiums. And Lily, Simon, and I buil
t a lot of awesome structures together.”

  Noticing that Lily was teary-eyed, Robin asked, “What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t like talking about what we used to do in Minecraft. It makes me very sad. I know that we’ll be fine, but it’s just been so long since we’ve been home. I miss it. I want to focus on what we’re doing now.” Lily sniffled.

  “I feel the same way,” Peter confessed. “But I know that one day I’ll be back in the real world making adventure maps again.“

  “I know you’re right,” Lily replied, “but it’s hard to believe we’ll ever escape after all we’ve been through.”

  The group walked in silence toward the jungle. The path was thick with leaves. “We have to stick together,” Peter warned. “We don’t want to lose anyone.”

  Ilana took out shears and made a path for the group. “This will help us.”

  “How much further is the forest?” asked Michael.

  Peter said, “We just have to get through the jungle and the cold biome. It’s right outside the cold biome.”

  “That won’t take very long, will it?” Simon was excited to loot the dungeon.

  “Yes, it won’t be long,” Peter reassured them. “We should get there by nightfall, but we might want to move a little faster to be sure.”

  “I have a potion of swiftness,” Ilana announced to the group. “I’m happy to share.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Lily said.

  “Wait, look over there!” Robin exclaimed. “I think I see a jungle temple”.

  Warren called out, “I see it, too!”

  “We should see if there’s treasure,” suggested Robin.

  Peter scowled. “It could be emptied of treasure. Why are we distracting ourselves with possibilities when we know there is a dungeon filled with loot in the middle of the forest?”

  “We aren’t in a particular rush,” Robin replied.

  “Look. We still have another two biomes to travel through.” Peter showed the map to the group, pointing to show how far they still had to go.

  “But this is a great opportunity,” Warren said.

  Reluctantly, Peter nodded, joining the others as they dashed to the temple.

  Robin led the way into the temple. The mammoth temple was comprised of cobblestone and moss stone, and it stood on the edge of a wide river. She led the group toward the stairs, knowing treasure was most often found on the bottom floor.

  “Remember the last time we looted a jungle temple, Simon and Michael?” Lily asked. “We were so excited to get the treasure. It took us forever to figure out how to get the piston door open, but then we found the chest.”

  Michael smiled and finished Lily’s thought. “And it was filled with rotten flesh!”

  “And you wanted to eat it!” Simon added. “But Lily stopped you because she thought you’d get food poisoning.”

  The gang walked down the stairs and toward the puzzle they would have to solve to unearth the treasure.

  “This seems a lot more complicated now that we are actually in the game.” Lily looked at the piston-trapped door.

  “We have to be very careful,” Ilana said.

  “I told you this was a waste of time,” Peter said grumpily.

  The gang let out at collective sigh.

  Warren stood by the puzzle and began to open the piston door. But just then, the lights went out.

  “What happened?” cried Lily.

  “Somebody get a torch,” barked Warren.

  Lily looked through her inventory, but she didn’t have a torch. The others didn’t either.

  “I thought we had full inventories!” Warren said, annoyance creeping into his voice.

  “Don’t worry, I have a potion of night vision,” Ilana told them. “I’ll hand it out to everyone. I have enough.”

  “Great.” Lily tried to find Ilana, but it was very dark.

  “Where are you, Ilana?” asked Michael.

  “Just listen to the sound of my voice,” Ilana said, and everyone fumbled in the dark, trying to make their way toward Ilana.

  “Help!” Peter cried out suddenly. He sounded desperate and scared.

  Without warning, the lights turned back on.

  “Peter, are you okay?” asked Warren.

  “Somebody stole my map,” he replied.

  5

  A NEW ENEMY

  “What?” Lily was shocked. She looked around the small, dimly lit basement, searching for the map or the person who stole it.

  “Can we find our way to the dungeon without the map?” questioned Simon.

  “I’m not sure,” Peter replied. “We have to find out who took it!”

  “It wasn’t any of us,” replied Simon.

  “Are you sure?” asked Peter.

  Lily gasped. “Someone also unearthed the treasure!”

  Everyone turned to look at the emptied treasure chests.

  “They worked fast, and somehow they were able to avoid getting arrows flung at them from the booby traps. All without us hearing them.” Michael was in awe.

  “There had to be more than one person.” Lily paced around the basement.

  “They are also very skilled players,” Ilana added. “I bet they used a potion of invisibility to escape.”

  “And a potion of night vision,” added Lily.

  “Or maybe the people who stole the map and the treasure are right here,” Peter said. He narrowed his eyes, looking at everyone suspiciously.

  “That’s easy to disprove,” Warren said. “Everyone, show us what’s in your inventories. Whoever has the map or an unusual amount of treasure is the traitor.”

  The group began to show each other what was in their inventories, but no one had anything that looked suspicious on them. Peter stamped his foot. “Somebody must have hidden the map and the treasure. Tell us who you are!”

  “It isn’t any of us,” Lily said, stepping between Peter and her friends. “I’m sure of it.”

  “Why?” Peter raised his voice.

  “Because I know everyone here very well. I’ve fought alongside these friends in many battles against Mr. Anarchy. The only new person here is you,” Lily said, pointing accusatorily at Peter. “How do we know that you aren’t hiding the map? You could have planned this!”

  “I think things are getting out of hand,” Michael said. “Let’s all take a breath and calm down.”

  “I agree,” said Robin. “If we don’t work together, we’re not going to get anywhere. It’s possible that none of us are responsible for this attack. I really do think someone is griefing us. And this time, it isn’t Mr. Anarchy.”

  Michael shuddered. “I think Robin is right. We have a new enemy.”

  While the friends argued, a creeper silently lurked down the hall. Nobody noticed the silent, explosive mob until it was too late.

  Kaboom!

  It exploded right next to Peter. With a look of shock frozen on his face, Peter was destroyed.

  “Peter!” Warren called out.

  “What do we do?” Simon said. “He knows the way to the next temple.”

  “Let’s stay where we are. Hopefully when Peter respawns, he’ll TP to us,” Michael told the group.

  “But I don’t want to wait down here in this basement. It seems like someone is targeting us here,” Lily said, turning to walk up the stairs.

  As they made their way toward the exit, Peter appeared in front of them.

  “Guys,” Peter said. His face was flushed, and he looked relieved to have found them. “I have bad news from the village. Matthew told me that Mr. Anarchy is missing.”

  “Missing?” Michael couldn’t believe it.

  “It’s true,” Peter said. “The entire town is searching for him.”

  “What do we do? Keep hunting, or go back to help the town find him?” Lily asked.

  “The entire town is looking for him,” Robin said. “We can afford to stay on the treasure hunt.”

  “But we don’t have a map,” said Michael.
<
br />   “Or torches,” added Warren.

  “What if we help everyone find Mr. Anarchy, and then we TP back here to continue our treasure hunt?” Simon proposed.

  “Ouch!” Lily cried out, bringing the debate to a sudden end. “I’ve been hit by an arrow!”

  “What direction did it come from?” Ilana looked for the player who had shot the arrow.

  “It’s too light out for there to be a skeleton attack,” Robin said, walking onto the forest path and trying to see through the dense leaves.

  “Ugh!” Lily yelped as another arrow struck her.

  The group scattered, searching for the person who shot the arrow.

  “I’ve been hit, too,” Ilana wailed.

  “The arrows are coming from that direction,” Michael cried, pointing. He loped toward a cluster of jungle wood trees.

  The gang ran behind him, but when they reached the trees Michael had disappeared behind, they didn’t see him.

  “Michael?” Ilana called out. She inspected the area around the large trees, but he was nowhere in sight.

  6

  INVASION IN THE OVERWORLD

  “Michael?” Lily hollered.

  “He’s missing.” Simon started to shake. “Who would capture our friend?”

  “This has to be the work of Mr. Anarchy,” Warren said. “We shouldn’t have left him in the village. He was probably plotting this the entire time.”

  Ilana didn’t participate in the discussion. She spent her time closely inspecting the area where Michael disappeared, searching for clues. The patch of grass by the jungle wood trees seemed charred. “Do you think we missed hearing an explosion?” she asked the group. “It looks like the grass is burnt. Maybe he was destroyed by a creeper?”

  The others walked over to look at the burnt grass.

  Lily said, “But what about whoever was shooting arrows at me? They have to be responsible for Michael’s disappearance.”

  “That’s true,” Ilana replied. “Maybe it was Mr. Anarchy.”

  “If it’s him, he has to be working with a group,” Warren said. “He never could do much without his army.”

  Just then, an arrow pierced Peter’s arm, and he cried out.

  Ilana ran in the direction the arrow had come from and was shocked to see Emma hiding behind a tree, holding a bow and arrow.