“Who would do that?” Edison was shocked. They lived in a very safe community. Yes, there were the typical attacks from mobs, and the occasional creeper had surprised many of them and treated them to an explosion, but nobody had ever had anything stolen from their home.
“I don’t know,” Billy said, “but I’m going to find out.”
Edison looked at the clock. “We have the meeting at town hall now. Let’s go over there and see if anyone can help us.”
“How are they going to help us?” Billy paced the length of Edison’s living room.
“Maybe someone saw something,” suggested Edison.
As Edison and Billy walked to the meeting, Edison wondered if he should have hidden his treasure. He had left his treasure chest in the corner of his room. Despite what happened to Billy, he trusted the people of the town and believed that Billy’s treasure would be found soon. It had to be a misunderstanding.
3
STOLEN TREASURE
Omar and Peyton were discussing the fireworks celebration when Billy rushed into the room and announced, “I’ve been robbed.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Peyton. “Nobody in this town would rob anyone.”
“I thought the same thing,” Billy clarified, “but my chest that was filled with all of my treasures from my trip to the Nether was emptied. I searched my house for the missing treasure, but it was nowhere to be found.”
“Are you sure you didn’t put it in another chest and it’s in a closet somewhere?” asked Omar.
“No.” Billy wiped the tears from his eyes. “I had everything in one chest and now it’s all gone. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”
As the group discussed what might have happened to Billy’s treasure, his neighbor Erin walked in. “I can’t seem to find any potions in my house.”
“You were robbed too?” Billy asked.
“I guess so. I thought maybe I had misplaced them, because I hate to think something sinister could happen in our little town, but I can’t find them any-where.”
“I had the same thing happen to me,” said Billy as he told Erin about the missing treasure from the Nether.
“Wow, I guess my potions could have been stolen, but who would do something like that? We know everyone in town.” Erin looked off in the distance as she spoke, as if she were looking at the townspeople standing in a line, trying to figure out which one would steal her potions.
Peyton wondered aloud who might be responsible for the missing items. “I did see a new person walking through the village. I tried to talk to her, but she wasn’t very friendly. She walked into the library. I can talk to Liz the librarian and ask about her.”
“What did she look like?” asked Billy.
Before Peyton could respond, there was a thunderous boom, and rain fell on the town hall, making the windows rattle. Peyton looked over at the door, which was being ripped from the hinges.
“Oh no!” Edison called out. “Zombies!”
The impromptu rainstorm had created a small zombie invasion. Three vacant-eyed zombies lumbered into the town hall. The gang wasn’t prepared for battle—they were only prepared to discuss the fireworks celebration at Founder’s Day—so they weren’t wearing armor and they had to dig through their inventories for their swords. As the zombies lunged toward them, their undead rotting arms grasping at their warm bodies, the group scrambled to put on their armor and battle the smelly mobs.
Peyton was the first to grab her diamond sword, and she leapt at one the zombies with it, slicing into its rancid flesh. She struck the zombie two more times, plunging her sword into its stomach and ripping through its purple shirt. The zombie fell to the ground and was destroyed.
The others struggled to put on their armor while dodging strikes from the zombies. Billy wailed. “I’ve been struck by an arrow.”
Arrows were flying through the gaping doorway where the door had been ripped from its hinges. Peyton slammed her sword into a zombie blocking the exit and raced outside, trying to see what was attacking them with a barrage of arrows.
“Skeletons!” she yelled. “There are lots of them in the distance. We have to be prepared. This is going to be a hard battle.”
Edison wished the sun would come out and end this hostile mob invasion so he could spend his time figuring out who was behind the series of robberies, but wishing for the sun to come out wasn’t a good plan. They were in the middle of a serious attack, and he had to come up with a real plan. He adjusted his armor and pulled out a few bottles of potions from his inventory. He splashed the zombies that crowded the entranceway. The skeleton’s arrows weakened the zombies, making them easier to destroy with potions.
“Help!” Billy called as he ran out of the town hall and found himself cornered by three skeletons.
4
A STRANGER
Edison raced to his friend’s side, dousing the bony beasts with a mixture of potions that annihilated the skeletons in seconds.
“Thanks,” Billy exhaled.
“No problem,” Edison replied breathlessly. He heard skeleton bones clanging behind him. He turned around and threw a potion at its bony body. Billy plunged his sword into the skeleton until it was destroyed. He picked up the dropped bones on the ground and handed a few to Edison.
“I hope nobody steals these,” Billy said as he battled the remaining skeletons.
The residents of Farmer’s Bay let out a collective sigh of relief when the sun came out.
Peyton, Erin, and Omar rushed toward Billy and Edison. They wanted potions and help in figuring out why there were robberies in the town.
“Do you have a potion of Regeneration?” Erin asked Edison.
Edison pulled a bottle out from his inventory. Erin thanked him and asked how much it would cost. Edison smiled. “It’s free. Don’t worry about it.”
Omar fixed the door as the group walked back into the building to discuss the recent robberies.
“I can’t believe we had this meeting to talk about the Founder’s Day celebration and now it has turned into a much more serious meeting,” Peyton said.
Omar finished the door and joined the rest of the group. He was a fisherman and also a skilled builder. He was always repairing doorways and replacing windows for the town when they were attacked by hostile mobs. Since he was an expert builder, he had the nicest house in town. While everyone else had small bungalows, Omar lived in a stone mansion on his own private beach. He generously lent the house to the townspeople whenever they had an event. The Founder’s Day party was being held on his beach.
“Thanks for repairing the door, Omar,” Peyton said, and the others gave him a nod.
“What is going on in this town?” Omar questioned. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually nervous that the treasures and other resources I have stored in my home might be missing when I return.”
“I feel the same way,” said Peyton, and she suggested they halt the meeting so they could see whether there were any more robberies amongst the residents.
“Before we go, didn’t you say something about a stranger who was in the town?” asked Billy.
“Yes,” she said. “I saw someone enter the library. I’m pretty sure it was a woman.”
“Let’s go talk to Liz the Librarian and see if we can figure out who that person is and why she’s here,” said Billy.
“She might be here because she wants to purchase potions,” suggested Edison.
“Or she might be here because she wants to rob us,” said Peyton.
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” said Erin.
Omar added, “We should at least talk to her.”
They all agreed, and the group made its way to the library. Edison was sad that they had to question the stranger who visited their town. In the past, all of the residents of Farmer’s Bay were always welcoming to strangers. Now he felt as if this newcomer, who might possibly be visiting the town to purchase potions from him, was going to be interrogated by them.
“I don’t think we should assume this person is the one who is robbing us,” Edison told the group.
Peyton reassured him. “Don’t worry, we aren’t going to attack her. We’re just going to politely ask her a few questions, right guys?”
The group headed into town on a mission. Liz was standing in front of the library when Peyton approached her. “Hi, Liz. Is there someone from out of town who’s in the library?”
“There was a woman with red hair and glasses earlier today, but she left a while ago.”
“Did you happen to talk to her?” asked Billy.
“No,” Liz asked. “Why? Is there something I should know about her?”
Billy explained. “Someone stole my treasures I got in the Nether.”
Erin interrupted, “And somebody stole my potions.”
“That’s awful.” Liz sympathized with them, but she also wondered if somebody might have stolen books from the library. She hadn’t checked the shelves thoroughly in a while. She excused herself and went into the library.
Walking back to the homes, Billy asked Peyton, “Do you remember what the woman with red hair and glasses was wearing?”
“Yes,” Peyton said. “There was something a bit different about the way she dressed.”
“What do you mean?” questioned Edison.
“She wore jeans and a green shirt, but instead of a jacket, she was dressed in a green robe.”
Edison stopped walking.
5
BREWING
“What’s the matter, Edison? Are you okay?” asked Billy.
“When we were in the Nether, I saw someone in a green robe.”
“Really?” asked Omar. “Did you talk to them?”
Billy was confused. “We didn’t see anyone in the Nether. In fact, it was one of the few times that I’ve been able to obtain all the treasure from the Nether fortress. What are you talking about, Edison?”
“When we were on the portal, I thought I saw someone run past in a green robe. I went to take a second look, but it was too late—we were already in Farmer’s Bay.”
Billy was standing next to Edison on the portal, and he knew there wasn’t anybody there.
“I didn’t see anyone when we were on the portal and you never mentioned seeing someone there.” Billy was certain there wasn’t anyone in that section of the Nether. His years as a treasure hunter prepared him to always be on the lookout for people who might want to steal his treasure. In all of his years as a treasure hunter, nobody had ever plundered his loot; this was his badge of honor, and other treasure hunters respected him for it. Since he had never been robbed in the past, it made the stolen treasure from his house even more devastating.
“I saw it quickly. I went to take a second look and the figure was gone,” Edison explained again.
“That would make sense,” said Peyton. “I could see someone following you home and stealing your treasure.”
“But what about me?” asked Erin. “I wasn’t on the treasure hunt, so why would someone walk into my house and steal all of my potions?”
Omar reasoned, “Maybe they saw you leave your house and figured you must have some valuables there.”
Farmer’s Bay was a small and extremely safe town, which meant nobody locked their doors. This made it very easy for someone to break into people’s homes and steal anything they had stored in their chests.
“I hope they left the town and this mess is all over,” said Peyton. “I just want to get back to planning Founder’s Day. I have a bunch of fireworks and I want to put on an elaborate show. I need time to plan.”
“I love fireworks.” Omar smiled. “I’d be happy to help you with the planning.”
“Great,” Peyton said as they reached her door. “Let’s meet in the town hall tomorrow at the same time. We can start the meeting again.”
“What about my treasure?” asked Billy. “Even if nobody else gets robbed, I still want to find my stolen treasure.”
“And I want to find my potions,” said Erin.
“We might not be able to find them. I’m sorry to tell you that, but it’s true. I think the best idea is to acquire new treasure and potions,” Peyton said rather coldly as she opened her door. Her pet wolf, Cookie, came out of her house. Cookie wagged his tail as he greeted her.
Peyton invited the group in for cake and milk. Billy didn’t want to accept her invitation because she didn’t seem to understand how much his missing treasure meant to him. He was doubly annoyed when he heard Edison say, “We’d love to come in for cake and milk.”
This infuriated Billy. This wasn’t the first time that Edison had accepted an invitation for both of them. Even though they were best friends, they were separate people. Edison had no right to say we would come in. Billy looked over at Edison, but he seemed oblivious to his glare.
When the gang entered Peyton’s living room, she shrieked.
“Are you okay?” Omar rushed to her side.
“Look!” Peyton pointed at an open chest that sat in the corner of her living room. “It’s gone!”
“What’s gone?” asked Billy. He thought it was ironic that Peyton seemed so comfortable with his missing treasure, but when she was robbed, she became hysterical.
“The fireworks!” Peyton exclaimed as she raced around the house. Erin and Omar followed closely behind her. Billy and Edison were in the living room.
“We have to help her,” said Edison.
“She didn’t want to help me when my treasure was stolen,” said an irritated Billy.
“Stop thinking about yourself,” Edison told Billy.
“I’m not only thinking about myself. This was the treasure we were going to use to buy a map to the Roofed Forest Biome, remember? You wanted to join me on that trip.”
“I know.” Edison recalled their plans to go to the roofed forest. “If we were able to go we might find a chest of gunpowder in the woodland mansion and we could use that to craft fireworks to replace the stolen ones.”
“But we can’t go now, because we don’t have enough emeralds to get to the map.”
Peyton screamed from her bedroom, “Every one of them is empty. I have nothing!”
Billy and Edison joined the others in Peyton’s bedroom. Billy said, “I’m sorry you’ve been robbed. I know how you feel. It’s awful.”
“We have to get to the bottom of this,” exclaimed Erin.
Omar wondered aloud, “I hope all of my stuff is still in my house.”
“Let’s go check,” suggested Peyton, and the group rushed out of her house and down the sandy path to Omar’s home.
Omar’s home was intact. “Looks like nothing was stolen.”
“I hope the robberies are over and we were the only unfortunate ones,” said Erin.
Billy and Edison excused themselves and walked back to their homes. Edison had a suggestion. “I have an idea how we can get the emeralds for the map to the roofed forest.”
“How?” Billy asked.
“I can brew a bunch of potions and sell them tomorrow. I can ask people to pay me in emeralds.”
“That’s a great idea. Do you need any help brewing the potions?”
Edison nodded. “That would be great.”
As they walked inside Edison’s house, they were both nervous that Edison might have been robbed and they wouldn’t be able to brew the potion. They collectively let out a sigh of relief when they saw all of the ingredients for the potions on the brewing stand along with the few potions Edison had crafted.
Edison carefully instructed his assistant Billy on what he needed to do as they brewed a potion of Invisibility. He pulled a fermented spider eye out from a chest. As he looked inside the chest, he noticed there were only two fermented spider eyes left when he was certain he had more than ten. In fact, the chest had been overflowing with fermented spider eyes that morning. He searched through the rest of his supplies to find that they had also been looted.
“Is something the matter?” asked Billy.
Ediso
n didn’t answer. He was too preoccupied with wondering why the thief only stole a portion of his supplies when they had emptied everyone else’s chests. Did they think he wouldn’t notice the missing supplies? He wished he could splash the Invisibility potion on his body and watch as he caught the criminal in action. The only problem was, they had no idea who was robbing them, and at this point the thief was an invisible threat.
6
ORIGINAL PLANS
“Are you sure the chest was full?” Billy asked.
“I’m certain.” Edison looked through the rest of his supplies. “It’s weird, but whoever robbed me just took a small amount from each chest.”
“Maybe they did that because they didn’t want you to know that you were robbed?”
“It doesn’t make sense. They stole all of your treasure, and Erin’s and Peyton’s. Why would they only take a little bit of mine?”
Billy put a finger to his lips, signifying that they should be quiet. In a whisper he said, “Maybe they’re still here?”
Edison quietly grabbed a sword from his inventory and tiptoed throughout his house. He searched every closet and behind every door, but there was nobody there.
“Perhaps they splashed themselves with the potion of Invisibility you had brewed when they heard us coming and then ran out?” Billy wondered where the thief was hiding.
“Or they ran out of room and couldn’t carry it all,” Edison said as he put his sword back in his inventory.
“What if they’re still here and invisible?”
“They’re?” Edison paused. “Do you think there are two of them? What about the woman in the green robe?”
“We have no idea if that woman is the one who robbed us,” said Billy.
“But I saw her in the Nether,” said Edison. “Don’t you believe me?”
Billy nodded. “I guess so, but I really didn’t see her.”
“Okay, but what if the thief is someone from our town and they are just trying to distract us with the woman in the green robe?” suggested Edison.
“Do you think Peyton is behind this? She couldn’t be, right? She is the town cheerleader.”
Stolen Treasure Page 2
