Stolen Treasure

by Winter Morgan

  “I had the treasure in my inventory and I put it back,” Billy said as he relived the moment in his mind.

  Edison knew what they needed to do. He had no idea what they’d find in the stronghold, but he knew they had to go back there.

  12

  WITCH HUNT

  Edison held his torch and stared at the wall of the cave.

  “What’s going on? Where are the chests?” Billy asked.

  “Someone is trying to trick us,” Anna said as she walked along the wall, searching for any clues that might lead to the person or people who had stored their stolen treasure in the cave.

  “I wonder if they placed your treasure back in your house,” mused Edison. “We should go back to Verdant Valley and see if it has been returned.”

  “We have to continue with the treasure hunt. I don’t want someone to loot the woodland mansion before we get there.” Billy stared at the map.

  Edison tried to persuade Billy to pause the treasure hunt. “But we’re so close to solving this case.”

  “Who named you the lead detective on the case?” Billy raised his voice. “Even Peyton and the rest of the town said it was fine for us to go. We don’t have to be the first ones to solve it.”

  “Billy’s right,” said Anna. “I know how you feel, Edison. I wanted to be the star detective and solve the case. I wanted everyone in Verdant Valley to be proud of my sleuthing skills, but it’s not about us solving the case, it’s about the case getting solved. We made a promise to Billy. We said we’d go on this treasure hunt and we should stick to that promise.”

  Edison understood Anna’s logic. He knew that everyone was trying to solve the case and he didn’t need to be the big star that solved it first. He remembered the promise he had made to Billy. As he stared at the wall of the cave, his head spun with ideas of who might be behind these robberies, but he didn’t tell his friends. Instead he muttered, “Yes, I think we should finish the treasure hunt.”

  Billy pointed to the map, “We have to get to the swamp very soon or we will be behind schedule.”

  The gang left the cave without exploring the stronghold, which disappointed Edison, but he knew he could return. However, he did stop in front of the cave. “Guys,” Edison asked his friends, “if the case isn’t solved by the time we get back from the treasure hunt, would you come back here with me and spend a day exploring the cave and the stronghold for clues?”

  “Yes,” Billy and Anna replied.

  Anna added, “Of course. This cave will be our first stop. You have to understand, Edison, Billy and I want to solve the case just as much as you do, but you and I also made a commitment to Billy. This is a rare opportunity we can’t pass up.”

  Edison did understand, he just didn’t like the outcome. As they trekked toward the swamp, they walked through a forest dense with trees. The path was thick with leaves, and Edison could barely see his friends in front of him.

  “Billy,” Edison called out, “do you have shears? I didn’t bring any and I want to clear a path for us.”

  “Good idea,” Billy replied as he pulled shears from his inventory and ripped into the leaves, leaving a trail of fallen greenery on the dirt path. Billy paused, and Edison and Anna almost tripped over him.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Anna.

  “I thought I saw someone in the distance, but I’m not sure.”

  “Really? What did they look like?” asked Edison.

  “I think they were wearing a green robe, but it camouflaged them,” Billy explained.

  “Remember when I thought I saw someone in a green robe in the Nether?” asked Edison.

  “Yes, and Peyton mentioned the woman in the green robe,” said Billy.

  “Are you sure this person was wearing a green robe?” Edison asked.

  “Yes,” Billy confirmed.

  “That’s a major clue,” said Anna.

  “But we can’t get distracted.” Edison couldn’t believe he said these words.

  “No, we can’t,” agreed Billy as he sliced through another layer of trees, revealing the sun’s rays, which beat down on them.

  The sun was almost setting when Anna called out, “I see the swamp.”

  Edison looked at the sky. “I don’t think it’s safe to keep traveling at dusk. We could get destroyed and have to start the trip all over again.”

  Anna stood by a path of grass near the murky swamp water. “Let’s build a small house here.”

  Edison took out wooden planks from his inventory and placed them on the grassy patch. “I wish Omar were with us.”

  “Who is Omar?” Anna asked as she piled wooden planks atop the ones Edison had placed on the ground.

  Billy replied, “Omar is a fisherman in our town, but he also builds these incredible homes. He has a mansion in Farmer’s Bay, and he lets us have our town events at his home.”

  “Wow,” Anna exclaimed. “That sounds amazing.”

  The group was working on a tight schedule: with each plank they placed on the ground, the sky began to grow darker.

  Edison was placing the window in the house when he heard a noise in the distance.

  “What’s that?” shrieked Anna.

  Boing! Boing! Boing! The noise grew louder until they were face to face with four slimes. Edison halted construction of the house and grabbed his diamond sword. The trio raced with their weapons toward the slimy creatures. Billy was the first of the group to cut into the icky slime, but he didn’t destroy the bouncy beast. Instead the creature oozed and broke into smaller slimes. The gang slammed their swords into the smaller slimes and then began to attack the larger ones that cornered them by the side of the house. Edison used his free hand to pull a bottle of potion of Healing from his inventory. He took a sip, then passed the bottle along to his friends. With his newfound energy, he slayed the remaining slimes and helped finish the house.

  “We can’t forget to place a torch out front,” Anna said as she picked out the last torch from her inventory and carefully placed it on the side of the home. As she entered the house, she heard an eerily haunting laugh echoing through the swampy night.

  “Anna!” Billy cried from the doorway. “Watch out.”

  Anna turned around to see a witch laughing as it raced toward her clutching a bottle of potion. Anna froze as the witch doused her with a potion that left Anna with only one heart.

  Edison handed Anna a bottle of milk, instructing her to drink it, as he lunged toward the witch, ready to defeat the swampy mob, but the witch was too quick to battle. The purpled-robed witch dropped a potion of Slowness on Edison and he felt as if he were walking in a trance. He was helpless.

  Billy was the only one left to properly battle the witch, and he nervously streaked toward it, piercing its hand with his diamond sword.

  “Take this.” Edison held a poisonous potion as he tried to call out, but his voice was weak.

  Billy heard him and splashed the poison on the witch.

  Anna screamed, “Take that, witch!” With renewed energy from the milk, she raced to the witch and destroyed the sinister mob in front of her hut.

  “We have to get inside fast,” ordered Billy.

  The trio quickly returned to the house and crafted beds. As they climbed into their new beds, they wished each other a good night, but Edison wasn’t ready for sleep. As he listened to Billy snore, Edison tossed and turned, and he couldn’t get one minute of rest. He didn’t want to have a bad night’s sleep, so he did his best to relax. He thought about counting sheep. However, instead of counting sheep, he listed potential suspects in the case. He wanted to find the woman in the green robe. He was sure that once he tracked her down, he’d have answers. He was on his own personal witch hunt.

  13

  ARROWS

  The morning was glorious and sunny, and the gang was excited when they studied the map and realized they were steps away from the Roofed Forest Biome.

  “I can’t believe we’re going to finally see this biome!” Anna could barely contain
her excitement.

  “We should all drink this.” Edison gave them each a bottle of potion that would help them increase their speed and they raced out the door.

  Despite their ability to travel swiftly, the gang stopped when they spotted the oak trees and roofed leaves.

  “There it is,” said Billy in disbelief. “I’ve waited a long time to see this place.”

  “I heard that hostile mobs can spawn in the Roofed Forest Biome at all times because the leaves make it so dark,” remarked Anna.

  “Is that true?” Edison asked. He didn’t know that much about the Roofed Forest Biome.

  “Yes,” replied Billy. He took out the map and said, “We don’t need to spend too long in the biome. We just have to make our way to the center of the biome where the cartographer said there would be a woodland mansion.”

  This plan was one that was much easier said than done. Once the trio walked into the lush roofed forest, the beauty astounded them.

  “This is a lot more verdant than Verdant Valley,” Anna joked as she walked up grassy stairs that had red mushrooms sprouting on either side of the steps. She looked up at the trees that blocked the sky.

  “I’ve never seen such dark and majestic oak trees.” Edison looked and took in the beauty of the leaves.

  Billy cried, “Ouch!”

  “Are you okay?” asked Edison.

  “I was struck by an arrow!” Billy yowled.

  An arrow had struck his arm. The gang looked for a skeleton that might have spawned in the dimly lit biome, but there wasn’t one bony beast lurking around the leaf-filled forest.

  “That’s strange,” said Anna.

  Before they could investigate, Billy called out, “I found the woodland mansion.”

  The cobblestone mansion was the largest house any of them had ever seen, and they marveled at the size and the detail of the home.

  “I wish Omar could see this,” said Edison. “He wouldn’t believe something this grand actually exists.”

  Billy walked up the stairs to the entrance. Standing in front of the door, he looked up and couldn’t see the top of the house. “I’ve read about these woodland mansions for a long time, but I could never imagine something being this awesome and stately. This is a home you’d only think exists in fairy tales.”

  “It looks like it could be a university building,” said Anna, “not a house. I can’t wait to go inside. Open the door, Billy.”

  Billy put his hand on the doorknob when he screamed, “Ouch!” as another arrow flew through the air and landed in Billy’s shoulder.

  Anna pulled the arrow out, and Edison gave him a bottle of milk to regain his health.

  Edison looked for a skeleton, but again there was nothing there. They were in the roofed forest with no clues.

  “There has to be someone trailing us,” remarked Billy. He had been treasure hunting for years, and he knew what had just struck his shoulder. It was a warning shot. It was another treasure hunter telling him to stay away from his loot, but Billy wasn’t going to give in. He had waited his entire life to explore a woodland mansion. He opened the door and the trio quickly closed the door behind them.

  They walked through a grand foyer and into a room filled with flowerpots sprouting colorful flowers. “I’ve heard about these rooms,” Anna said as she smelled a yellow oxeye daisy that was blooming in a pot.

  “I want to find the room with a checkerboard floor. I know there is usually treasure in that room,” remarked Billy as he walked through the house with his diamond sword out. He knew they had to be prepared for a battle. The woodland mansion was home to three hostile mobs, but he wasn’t that worried about the mobs that spawned in the house. He was concerned with the possibility of another treasure hunter shadowing them and waiting to rob them of all the treasure they would find.

  14

  MOBS IN THE MANSION

  “I found the room,” Edison called out, “but I don’t see any treasure.” Edison looked down at the checkerboard design on the floor and was certain he had discovered the room Billy had wanted to find.

  Billy rushed into the room. “Look up,” he instructed Edison.

  Edison spotted the chest above the door, then he turned to watch Billy carefully pull out sticks and construct a ladder.

  “Do you need help?” asked Edison.

  “Yes.” Billy smiled. “Do you have any sticks?”

  Anna caught her breath as she ran down the hall toward Billy. “Edison found the room? That’s amazing. Let me help you make a ladder. I can’t wait to see what’s in the chest.”

  The trio constructed a sturdy ladder, and Billy climbed to the chest that was above the door. He opened it, “Guys! Diamonds!”

  “Awesome!” exclaimed Anna.

  Billy climbed down the ladder rungs and was splitting the loot with his friends when they heard a loud noise that sounded like a horn. They were enveloped with dark red smoke.

  “What’s happening?” Edison nervously asked.

  “Look over there.” Billy pointed at a gray creature dressed in a black robe. It was using its power to make a row of large fangs shoot up out of the ground in front of it.

  “Oh no!” Anna tried to talk and hold her breath at the same time, which was an impossible feat. “It’s an evoker.”

  The gang jumped back from the fangs, trying to avoid being destroyed by this strange creature. The smoke’s color changed from dark red to white, and the evoker unleashed a piercing, high-pitched sound. Edison and the gang traded in their swords for their bow and arrows and shot at the dark, creepy mob that lurked in the cavernous mansion, but none of the arrows struck the mob before it dashed away.

  The gang walked down the red carpeted hallway, and they kept a close eye out for any other mobs that might spawn in the poorly lit mansion. Edison said, “We should all carry torches.” He looked at Anna. She was the only one who wasn’t carrying a torch.

  “I don’t have any left. I used my last torch when we were in the swamp. I left it on the side of the house,” she explained.

  Edison and Billy were looking through their inventories for torches when a blue creature rushed past them and Anna cried out, “I can’t see!”

  The blue mob, which looked similar to a zombie, cast a spell of Blindness on Anna.

  “That’s the illusioner,” Billy said.

  “I know!” Anna was annoyed. “I want to see! Help me!”

  Billy and Edison’s jaws dropped when they watched the illusioner multiply in front of their eyes.

  “One. Two. Three. Four,” Billy said, “There are four new illusioners.”

  Anna shrieked. “Help me! I still can’t see!”

  One of the creatures, dressed in blue, grasped a bow and shot arrows at Anna. Billy and Edison lunged at the five illusioners, not knowing which was the original and which were simply illusions. Edison struck one illusioner, but nothing happened. Billy slammed his sword into another and quickly destroyed the remaining ones.

  “You found the real one! Awesome!” Edison congratulated his friend.

  Anna’s eyesight slowly came back. She smiled at Billy. “I didn’t get to watch you save the day.”

  Billy blushed. “There’s no time for compliments. We have to loot this woodland mansion. This place is filled with mobs.”

  “Don’t forget to pick up the bow the illusioner dropped.” Anna pointed at the bow that lay on the ground.

  “Thanks.” He grabbed the weapon and placed it in his inventory.

  Even with the light from the torches, the mansion was so dark that hostile mobs seemed to spawn in every corner. When two zombies lumbered toward them with outstretched arms, the gang used their swords to quickly annihilate the undead mobs walking in this mansion filled with treasure.

  Anna raced ahead. “I think I found a secret room.”

  “What’s so secret about it?” asked Edison.

  Billy and Edison raced to the doorway and jumped back. The room was covered in cobwebs. In the center of the room was a sp
ider spawner. Four red-eyed spiders crawled toward Billy and Edison. Billy swung at the spiders, swiping the side of one, just grazing the surface, but not causing any damage.

  Anna was in the room, right near the spawner. “I’m going to deactivate it,” she called out to her friends.

  Billy wanted to warn her to be careful, but he was too busy battling the spiders surrounding him. From the corner of his eye, he could see Edison in a similar battle. Splashing potions with one hand and striking the spiders with their swords using the other, the duo skillfully obliterated the spiders while Anna deactivated the spawner.

  “We’re becoming experts at battling mobs,” Anna said. She was proud of herself for single-handedly deactivating the spawner.

  “I don’t want to be a warrior,” confessed Billy. “I just want to find treasure.”

  Edison remained silent. He had to admit that he was distracted. Although the beauty of the house enchanted him, he didn’t really want to be on the treasure hunt. He wanted to be back in Farmer’s Bay searching for clues and trying to solve the mystery. He paused when they walked past a room that contained only a large cat statue.

  Anna laughed. “What is this?”

  Billy looked in the neighboring room. “Oh my! This one has a chicken statue.”

  “This is the wackiest place I’ve ever been.” Anna couldn’t stop giggling.

  “I know, these are bizarre rooms. One was filled with potted plants and these have large statues.” Billy snorted when he laughed, which only made the group laugh harder.

  Edison believed he struck the jackpot when he entered a room that was filled with chests. “Guys, come here! We just found treasure.”

  “Oh no!” Billy called out.

  As Edison peered inside the chests, he found each one was empty. The room wasn’t filled with treasure, but with a dark creature wearing turquoise pants and holding an iron axe. The beast swung its axe at Edison, but before the axe could rip into his arm, Anna and Billy’s arrows destroyed it.

  “What was that?” asked Edison.