In Search of Herobrine: A Famous Novel About Minecraft

by Steve De Blanc

  Steve had his iron pickaxe in hand and a bundle of torches at the ready as he started mining. Pigphelas stood guard at the foot of the mountain as Steve carved into the rock and made his way diagonally down, leaving steps behind him so that he could easily make his way back up again. He put a torch on the wall every seven blocks or so.

  The light at the entrance of the mineshaft died away as Steve cut deeper into the roots of the mountain. He knew that diamonds were found only at the deepest levels, and even then only rarely. Steve had never found a diamond before, and now he needed

  enough to make a sword and a full suit of armor. “I might be down here a while,” said Steve to the darkness.

  Steve kept going deeper, leaving mountains of discarded cobblestone in his wake. He past veins of coal and iron ore without stopping; he was after only one thing. Redstone glowed on the walls as Steve got closer to bedrock.

  Steve was getting ready to turn back and try mining another way when he mined right through the wall of a natural cave. Looking around, he jumped down into the cave and placed a torch so he would remember where he came from. With his sword in one

  hand and a torch in the other, Steve set off through the winding cave.

  There was a growl up ahead and Steve held up his sword as a zombie stumbled towards him. As it came closer, he swung and swung again. The zombie tripped and fell over.

  Steve dashed past and headed deeper into the cave. He had never liked fighting quite as much as building, but sometimes it had to be done. Herobrine was probably going to be a lot harder to beat than a zombie.

  There was a bubbling noise up ahead and Steve turned a corner to see a lake of lava sizzling in front of him. The cave had

  opened up and lava stretched out in channels that disappeared into different areas of the cave. Steve looked around, and then he saw it: on the far edge of the lava sat a cluster of diamond ore. There must have been at least five blocks of diamonds.

  Steve’s heart started pumping. This was his big break, but with the diamonds so close to the lava, he had to be extra careful. If anything fell into the lava, it would be burned up— even diamonds are consumed by lava. Steve sat on the edge of the lake and planned out his route to the diamonds.

  After some careful thinking, he began edging his way around the lake, mining out just enough room to keep himself from

  touching the lava. As Steve got closer to the cluster of diamonds, he realized that there were even more than he had seen at first. He had hit a jackpot. Very carefully, Steve began to chip at the diamonds with his pickaxe.

  Steve collected one diamond after another, examining each carefully and storing them safely in his inventory. There was one moment when he slipped and almost dropped a diamond in the lava, but he managed to recover just in time. He had gotten almost all the diamonds he needed.

  Steve was reaching across a block to get the last diamond when there was a short hiss behind him. He spun around, but it was

  too late. A creeper was standing there flashing white and ready to explode. Steve threw himself at the wall as the huge blast sent blocks flying everywhere.

  The iron armor saved Steve from being blown up, but it still hurt as he was flung upwards into a nook where the ceiling and wall met. He just had a little bit of health left, and he jumped again as an arrow thudded into the stone beside him. A skeleton had followed the creeper and was shooting at Steve.

  With his health so low, Steve knew his only option was to mine up and out. Another arrow barely missed Steve’s feet as he broke some blocks beside him and jumped up. Mining an upward

  staircase this time, Steve ran from the skeleton. He sealed the passage behind himself with two blocks of cobblestone.

  Luckily, Steve still had a lot of torches, but it was still a slow and dark journey up through the rock. When he thought he was reasonably safe, he took a rest break and counted his diamonds. He had just enough for a sword and a set of armor. Now all he needed to do was get it enchanted.

  Steve hoped that he was mining up in the direction of the village, but the creeper explosion and the confusion afterwards had made him lose his sense of direction. All that he really knew is that he was going up.

  It seemed like a while later when the stone gave way to dirt and Steve finally broke the surface. It was raining outside— the drops rattled on Steve’s iron armor as he looked around. He certainly wasn’t in the village. Vine-covered trees sat around expanses of marshy water. Steve was in some kind of swamp.

  Steve climbed out of the hole he had come up from and looked around again as the rain ran off his helmet and shoulder-plates. He was so close to being ready for Herobrine, but still so far.

  Chapter 6: Bubbling Water

  Steve found a tall tree nearby and climbed to the top to get his bearings. He could see some mountains away to the north that might have been the ones near the village, so he decided to head that way and hope he was right. At the very least, the mountains would give him a better viewpoint to scout the land from.

  The rain died down a bit as Steve set off. He found himself missing Pigphelas’s company, and he certainly missed the ability to ride around at high speed. Steve trudged through the swamp, going around little lakes and rivers when he could and wading through when he had to. He stopped once to pick mushrooms— his bread was running low and he didn’t know how long it would take to find the village again.

  The swamp seemed to just keep going and Steve was beginning to think about where to spend the night when he saw a little hut in a circle of overgrown trees. Could it be a lone villager? That didn’t seem likely.

  Steve walked over to investigate. He opened the door carefully and crept inside the hut, trying to think of who would have built it. Could it have been Herobrine? Steve noticed a cauldron in the corner and suddenly remembered who built swamp huts in Minecraft. He turned around a saw a witch blocking the door he had come in. Steve gulped and reached for his sword.

  The witch had a black hat and a large orange nose, and was holding a flask of something that was probably not strawberry juice. Both Steve and the witch stood still for a second, then Steve made up his mind and ran and dove out the window. Fighting a witch was not what he wanted to do at the moment.

  Steve was out the window and running away from the hut as the witch stepped out the door and threw a potion at him. Steve jumped to the side and the potion splashed in the water. Steve didn’t look back, but he could hear the swamp water bubbling and sizzling behind him.

  When Steve finally stopped to catch his breath, he was well out of sight of the hut. He wiped his forehead and leaned against the nearest tree. After a moment, he looked up and noticed that the tree didn’t have any leaves. Suddenly, Steve was alert again. He spotted three or four trees around him that had had all their leaves stripped off. Walking a bit further, he saw a two by two tunnel.

  Steve was safe from the witch, but seeing Herobrine’s work made him uneasy again. Steve gathered himself and set off once more in the direction of the mountains. The swamp finally began to become less wet and overgrown. Soon, Steve was walking through a forest.

  The sun began to go down and Steve looked for a place to spend the night. He climbed into a tree and was just settling down when he heard a snuffling noise at the bottom of the tree. It was still too early for zombies to spawn, wasn’t it?

  Steve looked down and saw Pigphelas standing at the bottom of the tree, looking up at Steve and occasionally head-butting the tree trunk. He was still wearing his saddle. Steve almost fell out of the tree with surprise. Pigphelas had found him! Maybe Pigphelas knew where the village was.

  Steve climbed down to give Pigphelas a carrot, then tried to show that he was going to sleep in the tree. Pigphelas kept staring at him. As it got darker, Steve climbed back up into the tree and tried to get some rest. Pigphelas, after running around in circles for a while, lay down at the bottom of the tree.

  When Steve got down from the tree the next morning, Pigphelas was already walking back and forth, ea
ting the occasional mushroom from Steve’s inventory. Steve adjusted Pigphelas’s saddle and got on. Without any guidance, Pigphelas started off, heading slightly to the right of the distant mountains.

  Chapter 7: Always Watching

  Steve and Pigphelas were happy to be back together and anxious to be back at the village. Steve wanted to get to the bottom of who and what Herobrine was and why he changed. He had the diamonds and wanted to be back at the village as fast as possible. They travelled past more pyramids, trees without leaves and two by two tunnels dug into the sides of hills and mountains. Even if it was a bit creepy seeing all of Herobrine’s destruction the country side was beautiful with oak trees and flowers everywhere.

  They were enjoying the travelling and after a while the faint outline of the village could be seen on the horizon and Steve was amazed at how Pigphelas had found the way with no guidance!

  Everything seemed to be going good for the weary traveler and his pet but suddenly Pigphelas stopped dead in his tracks. Steve had been daydreaming but the sudden stop jolted him back to reality. He got off pigphelas’ back and took three steps and looked down. Right in front of them was a giant trench as far as they could see both ways. There was no way to go around it, however there seemed to be remnants of wood and fence

  “Maybe there was a bridge” Steve said to pigphelas.

  As Steve was trying to figure out where this random ravine had come from he saw Pigphelas sniffing at a bedrock block that looked a lot like the one that was left in the burning ruins of his first home. They both looked around the stone and found a sign that said the exact same thing as the one left in his house, ‘When you least expect it’, and at the bottom ‘Herobrine’.

  The sign sent shivers down Steve and Pigphelas’ back, why was Herobine doing all of these things to the two of them? “Well, I guess we have to build a new bridge.” Pigphelas ate some flowers while Steve chopped down a few trees and made a few fence posts. Every time Steve thought things were going steady the sign Herobrine left would remind him that Herobrine was watching him and was closer than steve thought. The sun began to set and Steve made a temporary shelter for pigphelas and his self. The night went by fast and the zombies and spiders did not seem to bother Steve and Pigphelas much. When Steve awoke he began again to try and tackle the ravine.

  Steve took a short break with Pigphelas, who was enjoying all the flowers. Steve wanted to get to the village as fast as he could so he could make his enchanted suit and sword and stop Herobrine from destroying anymore of the world. He was steadfast about finishing the bridge; he did not want to spend another night out in the open plains.

  Finally Steve laid the last wood block in the bridge and stood back to study his finished project. He was happy to overcome another obstacle that Herobrine had set before him. Steve knew now that Pigphelas and he would have no more trouble getting to the village. They both took a short brake and headed in the direction of the village. They got closer and closer, but the night had started to set in and the zombies and skeletons had started to take notice of Pigphelas and Steve. Pigphelas ran as fast as he could as the lights of the village started to become brighter and brighter skeletons had begun to shoot arrows at Steve.

  Just as the travelers were being surrounded, pigphelas ran straight into the village and right into a house and one of the awoken villagers closed the doors behind them. They were finally safe and ready for a good night’s rest.

  Chapter 8: Trapped!

  The next morning villagers crowded the street as Steve rode up and dismounted. The librarian was there too. “Did you find any diamonds?” he asked.

  Steve nodded. “Enough for a sword and full suit.” All the villagers looked around at each other, very impressed.

  “Did you find any emeralds?” asked a villager. “I’ll trade you three flints for an emerald.”

  “No emeralds,” said Steve. The villagers looked slightly disappointed.

  “Ah well, at least you have the diamonds,” said the librarian. “Come right this way.” Steve followed the librarian into a large house full of books with an enchanting table at one end. The

  librarian pointed to a crafting table in one corner. “You can craft your weapons and armor there while I get ready to enchant.”

  Steve was soon ready for the enchanting ceremony. The librarian took the diamond sword and raised it in front of the enchanting table. “May this sword always be sharp,” he said.

  Then the librarian raised the helmet. “May this helmet protect you from damage.” He picked up each piece of armor, one by one. “May this chestplate never break. May these leggings protect you from fire. May these boots keep you from taking too much fall damage.”

  As each piece of armor was enchanted, it began to glow with energy. The sword was glowing too. All the villagers watched as Steve put on the armor piece by piece and drew his sword. “It’s time to find Herobrine,” said Steve. The villagers gathered eagerly and the town’s blacksmith spoke.

  “We’ve often seen Herobrine come from the hills off to the east. If you look there, you may well find him. Also, I’d be willing to give you an enchanted shovel for three emeralds.”

  “I’ll have to say no to the shovel,” said Steve, “but thank you all for your help. I’ll look for Herobrine in the hills and come back once he’s been defeated.” The villagers cheered as Steve got on Pigphelas and rode off towards the hills.

  The villagers were right about the hills being an area where Herobrine was very active— Steve saw trees without leaves, little tunnels, and pyramids everywhere. There weren’t any animals around, and the only noise was Pigphelas’s plodding steps. Steve had his sword ready, just in case.

  Steve and Pigphelas came to a cave with little pyramids on both sides. Steve dismounted and pulled out a torch to investigate. Pigphelas followed as Steve carefully walked into the cave. Going deeper into the hill was a two by two tunnel.

  As Steve and Pigphelas stepped carefully forward, there was a click, and a load of gravel crashed down over the entrance they had just come in from. Steve tried digging through a few blocks, but more gravel always fell to replace the gravel he dug away. The entrance must have been completely covered.

  Gritting his teeth, Steve put a torch on the wall and went on. Pigphelas was staying closer now. The tunnel branched ahead, and Steve was beginning to feel a bit less sure of himself. He looked and Pigphelas and Pigphelas looked back at him. He had a bad feeling about the tunnel.

  Steve and Pigphelas continued along the tunnel and turned right, trying to look out for any dangers. The tunnel branched out again and this time Steve and Pigphelas went left. It was a pure guess, but Steve didn’t know what else to do.

  They were approaching a third branch when suddenly there was another click. Remembering the gravel, Steve dove to the side and Pigphelas rolled over, squealing. Gravel thundered down at a number of points all along the tunnel. Steve had reached safety, but four blocks of gravel had separated him from Pigphelas.

  Steve quickly placed a torch and took out his shovel, but when he dug through the thin wall of gravel, Pigphelas was gone.

  Steve barely had time to think before there was another click and the floor opened beneath his feet.

  Chapter 9: Saving Pigphelas

  Steve fell for a few seconds of terror and landed in some water with a huge splash. Looking around, Steve saw that he was in a rough cave lit by torches. He stepped out of the water and tried to clear his head.

  Steve took another few steps and suddenly heard a gravelly voice behind him. “Hello…Ssteve…” Steve felt a chill down his spine as he turned to come face to face with Herobrine. Steve

  swung his enchanted sword, but Herobrine teleported to the other end of the cave.

  The villagers weren’t far off in their description of Herobrine. His eyes didn’t glow, but they were completely white. Apart from that, he looked almost exactly the same as Steve, only without armor. It was eerie. Herobrine teleported again to stand on a rock a few blocks in
front of Steve.

  Steve lunged forward and swung his sword again, but Herobrine teleported away and then back to another rock. Steve took another swing, and this time Herobrine only stepped back to avoid it. “Hello Steve,” said Herobrine.

  Herobrine pulled a lever that Steve hadn’t seen before, and they both watched as a trail of redstone lit up and part of the cave wall disappeared to reveal Pigphelas surrounded by fences automated arrow dispensers. Herobrine looked back at Steve and suddenly his eyes started glowing. He reached for a second lever, which Steve saw was linked to the dispensers.

  Herobrine put his hand on the execution lever slowly, as if daring Steve to try and stop him. Steve froze, then made his move. Time seemed to slow down as Steve leapt through the air. Herobrine pulled the lever and teleported away, but Steve had not

  been jumping towards him. Steve landed on the redstone wire and cut it just as the current had begun to reach the dispensers.

  Herobrine growled in anger as Steve pulled out his axe and freed Pigphelas from the broken trap. Right away, Pigphelas lowered his head and charged at Herobrine. Herobrine teleported away only to find Steve rushing at him, sword in hand.

  Herobrine stepped to the side and summoned a diamond sword of his own, blocking Steve’s blow. Steve swung again and their swords clashed together as Pigphelas prepared for another charge.

  Steve and Herobrine fought back and forth around the chamber. Herobrine knocked Steve back and raised his arms. There was a hissing noise and the ground caught fire at Herobrine’s feet.

  Steve stepped back and saw Pigphelas take a running leap at Herobrine, who teleported away again. The ground at Herobrine’s new location also caught fire. Steve ran at Herobrine, his leggings protecting him from the heat. Pigphelas also charged forward, looking determined.

  Just as Steve swung his sword, though, Herobrine teleported back to the first fire. Pigphelas turned around, confused. Pigphelas