Grabbing the carrot and chewing slowly, I began to calm down. I thought about the sword and the pickaxe I had in my inventory. I was better off than I had been before I met Sean. Maybe I could do this on my own. But I had to find my friends. Even if I didn’t need them, they might need me. I stood silently and listened. I could hear muffled voices. I was sure that my friends weren’t too far away, but I was shocked when they appeared in the center of my room.
“How are you here?” I asked in surprise.
“We used the potion of invisibility,” explained Molly. “Remember, Thao knows the ins and outs of this place—he was able to lead us back here.”
I looked over at Thao and nodded my thanks. In that moment I began to trust him. He had earned my trust.
Thao smiled. “I know another way out of here.”
I was about to ask about his plan but was distracted when two blazes spawned in the center of the room. We didn’t have any snowballs, and we also lacked the energy to fight them.
Thao said, “Quickly. Follow me.”
We followed Thao through the hole in the wall and narrowly avoided being struck by a fireball. Thao grabbed his pickaxe and banged it against the wall. The next room contained a staircase.
“This way!” Thao said as we climbed the stairs.
There was an opening at the top of the staircase and it led to the Nether.
“We’re free!” I called out.
As two ghasts flew through the sky, I held out my fist. We were together again and, together, we could do this.
13
NOBODY WINS
Good, we don’t know if he returns to the stronghold. He could still be trapped in the Nether,” said Harriet.
“But we still need to find him,” added Jack.
“But where?” asked Ezra.
“I feel like every time we make progress, we just wind up back where we started. It’s getting very tiresome.” Harriet was frustrated. They had been so worried and now she just wanted to find William.
“We have to be thankful for our small victories,” said Julian. “We did find Oliver.”
“That’s true,” Harriet replied.
They were interrupted by Toby’s cry. “Watch out!”
A group of ghasts and blazes flew through the sky and both of the hostile mobs shot fireballs at the group. They fought back with everything they had. They didn’t want to respawn in the Overworld.
Snowballs and arrows flew through the sky. Some struck the beasts. Harriet used her fists to battle the ghasts, feeling strong when she hit a fireball and it flew back at the ghast and struck it.
Ezra and Julian threw snowballs at the blazes, destroying them. When all of the hostile mobs were destroyed, Toby said, “Wow, we are getting pretty good at this.”
“Fighting is a great skill to have, but I wish we didn’t have to use it,” Julian remarked.
“Let’s travel further into the Nether,” Jack said, studying the clear sky. “It looks like we have a small break from battling hostile mobs.”
As they walked past lava waterfalls and through the netherrack landscape, Harriet spotted Veronica standing alone.
“Watch out, guys. Veronica’s here.”
Veronica called out, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to attack you. I was wondering if I could join you guys. I can’t trust Valentino anymore and you guys seem a lot more trustworthy.”
The gang was stunned. They didn’t want to tell Veronica that they didn’t trust her, that they believed this was a trap. “What happened?” asked Harriet.
“Valentino wants to destroy you guys. He wants to use command blocks to put you on Hardcore mode and destroy you. He doesn’t like having you trailing us on our quest to find William,” confessed Veronica.
“Your quest!” scoffed Harriet. “Ha!”
“And why aren’t you with him?” Jack asked Veronica.
“I don’t want to destroy you. I just wanted to find William first and get all the credit, but I don’t want to set anyone to Hardcore mode. That would be awful.”
“We aren’t going to take credit for finding William. This is just about helping him return to the Overworld. Would you be okay with that?” asked Julian.
Veronica paused. “You aren’t going to take credit for finding one of the most famed explorers in the Overworld? I don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense.”
“We are only here to help free my friend. I was a prisoner for many years and it’s awful. It’s not about becoming famous because you found someone; it’s about helping others,” explained Oliver.
Veronica looked surprised. “I just thought it could be about both. You could help others and you can get credit.”
The debate was cut short when a swarm of blazes flew toward them, shooting fireballs at the gang.
Veronica grabbed snowballs from her inventory and threw them at the blazes. Everybody else joined in. Harriet was about to get struck by the blaze, when Veronica pushed her out of the way.
Veronica was destroyed by the blaze, but Harriet survived.
When they had defeated all of the blazes, Harriet said, “I think Veronica has proven herself. If we see her again, we should let her join us.”
The others agreed. But for now they had to move on. They had already spent a large portion of time in the Nether and right now they had no clues and were no closer to finding William.
“I see a Nether fortress,” Harriet announced.
The group walked toward the Nether fortress. They were happy to see that it wasn’t being guarded by blazes, and they walked right in.
They entered the temple and looked for treasure. Two magma cubes bounced toward them. Harriet took out her diamond sword and struck one of the magma cubes. The others joined in and they quickly defeated the boxy creatures.
Harriet walked toward the room where they kept the treasure and saw the two purple-helmeted treasure hunters from the Overworld.
“You are following us,” one of the purple-helmeted treasure hunters called out to the group, aiming his bow and arrow.
“No. We aren’t. We promise,” Harriet called out.
The group didn’t want to get into a fight. They just wanted to find William. Three blazes spawned in the fortress and shot fireballs at the two treasure hunters. They were destroyed instantly. The gang used their snowballs to fight the blazes. When the blazes were gone, the group walked over to the treasure chest.
Ezra opened the chest. “Look, diamonds!”
“I feel bad about taking the diamonds. The purple treasure hunters found them first,” said Jack.
Veronica sprinted toward them. “I found you!”
“You just missed being attacked by two treasure hunters,” Harriet told her.
“Were they wearing purple helmets?” Veronica asked.
“Yes,” replied Harriet.
“They work with Valentino. They are trouble.”
No longer feeling guilty, the group gathered the diamonds and placed them in their inventories. Toby spotted something on the ground next to the treasure chest. “Guys, I think I see more pages from the journal.”
“I wonder if the purple-helmeted treasure hunters dropped them,” said Harriet.
“Could they also be searching for William?” asked Jack.
“I’m sure they are,” Veronica told them. “I told you that they work with Valentino. He has his heart set on finding William.”
“We have to read the pages,” said Toby.
The group gathered around and Toby read the journal aloud.
14
JOURNAL ENTRY: AN ENCOUNTER
Day 7: Encounter with Charles
We defeated the ghasts and felt confident as we traveled through the Nether.
“I think we can make it. I think we will get back to the Overworld.” Molly was hopeful, and so was I.
Luckily, we had enough resources to construct a portal and we were about to craft one when a stranger approached us.
“Who are you?” I asked. I was wary of new people and just w
anted us to make our way back to the Overworld without any more interruptions.
“I’m a treasure hunter. Who are you?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” I replied. We hopped into the portal and purple mist surrounded us. Before we could stop the stranger, he had joined us. We all emerged in a grassy field in the Overworld.
“Now that you’ve hitched a ride with us, can you go on your way?” I asked the treasure hunter.
“Fine,” he replied and darted off.
As we traveled through the grassy biome, I had a feeling we’d see him again. I wasn’t going to be so friendly the next time. Spending so much time trapped in the Nether and being held prisoner had hardened me. I didn’t welcome new people anymore. There was a time when I’d traveled around the Overworld and people had stopped me because I was a famous explorer and I’d spent time chatting with them. But now I had made my new friends and I just wanted to stick with them. I was so exhausted from trying to escape the Nether, that I didn’t realize that we should have been celebrating. Molly reminded me.
“We‘re here,” she said. “Finally, we’re really in the Overworld. I don’t believe it.”
“We need to find Oliver,” I told them.
“Do you have any idea where he could be?” asked Sean.
“He’s in the desert. Charles accidently let that slip,” I said.
“But there are many deserts in the Overworld,” Esther reminded me.
“I’ll search all of them if I have to. I’ll search until I find him,” I told the group.
“I want to go home,” Molly confessed. “I don’t know if I want to go on a wild goose chase for your friend. We might never find him.”
“Do what you want. I’ll do this alone. I can’t go home until I’ve found my partner.”
I looked out and saw cows grazing in the distance and as well as a few chickens. When I saw the chickens I realized that I was starving. It had been too long since we had eaten a proper meal.
Sean looked out and saw the chickens too. He grabbed his bow and arrow, aimed carefully, and shot a chicken on his first try. We feasted on chicken and apples that we picked from a tree. I told the others they could go their own ways—they shouldn’t feel guilty. Finding Oliver was something I had to do, and I was fine doing it alone.
Esther was the first to speak. “I used to look up to you and Oliver. I would always read about your explorations. I’d be honored if you’d let me help you find your friend. I’d love to join you.”
“Yes.” I was thrilled. “Please join me.”
Molly looked over at Esther. “I’ll go too. I want to help you. I’m sorry I suggested that I wanted to abandon you.”
“You don’t need to apologize. You were just being honest, and you have every right to leave.” I smiled.
Sean and Thao were in too. They weren’t ready for the adventure to end. As my food bar replenished, I felt extremely hopeful. We would find Oliver and one day I’d be able to return to my life as an explorer.
The sun began to set and Molly suggested we build a house. We didn’t have many supplies, so we built a small house rather quickly. We crawled into our beds. For the first time in a very long time, I was excited for the morning.
The morning was bright and I looked out at the sun. I had spent so long in the Nether, and the Overworld seemed even prettier than I remembered. We used some of Oliver’s old maps and made our way toward the desert.
When we were in the jungle, the sky grew dark and rain started to fall on us. We tried to take shelter by a large tree, using the leaves to cover us.
“Skeletons!” Molly cried.
Skeletons were marching toward us. One of the skeletons spotted us and shot arrows.
Sean took out his bow and shot his own arrows at the skeletons, while I charged toward them with Sean’s diamond sword. I was so glad to battle a mob in the Overworld. I never wanted to see another fireball. When I thought about it though, it seemed I’d grown less scared of fire, less scared of the Nether in general. I still didn’t want to spend time there, but I’d gotten used to it. I’d proven I could survive there.
Our battle wasn’t that hard and soon the skeletons were defeated. We picked up dropped bones and I was happy to find a dropped bow. The sun came out again and we continued our journey to the desert.
“Do you think we’re going to make it?” Molly asked as we climbed up a mountain.
I stopped at the peak and pointed out the desert in the distance. “If that is the desert where Oliver is trapped, I am sure we will make it.”
We climbed down the mountain and, according to Oliver’s map, we were very close to the desert. We made our way through another grassy biome, and I could see the desert in the distance.
I smiled, but was surprised by a sharp pain in my arm “Ow!”
“Stop right there.” The stranger who had followed us from Nether stood with his bow and arrow aimed at my chest.
“What do you want from us?” I asked him.
“I want everything in your inventory,” he demanded.
“Never!” shouted Molly.
Sean took out his sword and struck the stranger. He grabbed a potion of harming and splashed it on him.
Seeing him weakened, I leapt toward the stranger and destroyed him with my diamond sword.
“How did he think he was going to win? There was only one of him and there are five of us.”
Thao pointed behind us to a bunch of people dressed in black. “He wasn’t alone. He’s working with Charles. He probably led him to us.”
I looked out at soldiers that were marching toward us. I didn’t know how we’d escape. I took out my diamond sword and clutched it in my hands. I was ready for battle. This time we were out of the Nether. This time we had an advantage.
15
THE ATTACK OF THE WITHER SKELETONS
William isn’t even in the Nether!” exclaimed Toby.
“Let’s get out of here,” added Jack.
Harriet surprised herself when she suggested, “Should we look for more treasure in this fortress before we go?”
“No, we have to go back to the Overworld now,” Julian shouted.
Before the gang could exit the Nether fortress, a horde of wither skeletons attacked them.
Harriet struck a wither skeleton with her diamond sword, but the black skeleton of the Nether was powerful and it wasn’t growing weaker.
“Help!” Harriet called out to the others, but they were all fighting their own battles. She used all of her strength to strike the wither skeleton and, just in the nick of time, she destroyed it. Harriet looked up to see another group of wither skeletons approaching them.
Jack finished battling a wither skeleton and looked up to see the new crop of skeletons. “Someone must have summoned these skeletons. We’re going to have to stop this wither skeleton invasion.”
“How?” Toby gasped, half out of breath, as he tried continued to battle a wither skeleton.
“I don’t know, but we can’t go on like this!” Julian shouted.
Harriet took some potions out of her inventory and splashed them on the skeletons. They weakened. She called to the others, “Use your potions!”
The group took out potions and threw them at the skeletons. Then they struck the weakened skeletons with their diamond swords and sprinted from the Nether fortress.
When they were out of danger, Veronica said, “We should stop here and build the portal. We have to get out of the Nether.”
Quickly they crafted a portal. Purple mist rose around them as they emerged in the Overworld.
Harriet looked around the jungle where they had spawned. “Now we have to travel to the desert. I assume that’s where we’ll find William.”
“Are you sure?” asked Jack. “Maybe he never made it to the desert.”
“We need to find the next batch of missing pages from the journal,” said Julian.
“You’re right,” said Ezra, “but I agree with Harriet—we should try to go back to
search the desert. We know where they kept Oliver. Maybe William is trapped there too.”
Everyone agreed and they made their way toward the desert. As they climbed up a mountain, they saw a large three-headed blue creature fly by.
“Its color is changing to black. It’s the Wither boss!” cried Harriet.
The hostile mob flew by them and shot wither skulls at them. The gang dodged the skulls as they shot arrows at the three-headed beast.
“I bet Valentino summoned it!” Veronica said as she shot an arrow at the boss, striking the flying mob.
Ezra and Julian threw snowballs at the Wither. As snowballs and arrows struck it, it slowly began to lose energy.
After many hits, the Wither exploded, dropping a wither skull. Julian picked it up and placed it in his inventory. The group continued on their way down the mountain and toward the desert.
When they reached the desert, an arrow struck Julian. He looked around for the person that shot him, but he couldn’t see anyone.
“Where did that arrow come from?” asked Harriet.
A voice boomed, “From me.”
Valentino stood in front of them. The two purple-helmeted treasure hunters stood behind him and pointed their arrows at the gang.
“I hope you had fun fighting the Wither,” one of the purple-helmeted treasure hunters said with a laugh.
“The game is over, Valentino. You need to leave us alone. You’re never going to win,” Julian told him.
“I see Veronica has joined you.” Valentino walked over to Veronica. He put his bow and arrow back into his inventory and took out his enchanted diamond sword. He pointed it at Veronica’s chest. “You’re a traitor, Veronica.”
“No, I’m not. I just want to do the right thing. You wanted to put these innocent people on Hardcore mode. I couldn’t ever agree with that. I want to make my own choices.”
“Well, you made the wrong choice.” Valentino struck Veronica with his diamond sword.
Julian shot an arrow at Valentino, piercing his arm. Valentino was enraged. Together, the rest of the group attacked Valentino and the two purple-helmeted treasure hunters.
The trio was weakened. And within seconds they were destroyed. The gang sprinted toward a desert temple. As they entered the temple, they saw Valentino and the two purple-helmeted treasure hunters respawning.
An Explorer's Guide to the Nether Page 5
