by Jerome ASF
Bacca picked up the nearest invisible block from this category. It was lighter than a block of stone or rock, but heavier than wool or mutton. Parts of it were solid, but other parts he could run his paw right through. He tapped on it with his claws, trying to get a feel for the material.
“This has slats on it, and it’s made from wood,” Bacca concluded. “Wood sticks, in particular.”
“mmmmSlats with wood … hmm,” Dug said. “So maybe a rail for a minecar?”
“Rails have some wood, but they’re mostly iron,” Bacca said, shaking his head. “This is entirely wood. One, two, three … feels like seven wood sticks total.”
“mmmmA ladder is seven wooden sticks!” Dug said.
“Right!” said Bacca. “So that’s got to be what it is.”
Bacca set the invisible ladder to the side. Then, on the sandstone floor in front of it, he scratched the word “Ladder” so he would remember what it was.
“Okay,” Bacca said. “You do the next one, Dug.”
Dug crept to the pile of invisible blocks and felt around until he found one. He picked it up and turned it over and over. He felt it with his hands and scratched it with his long zombie fingernails. He held it up to his rotting ear and gave it a knock with his knuckle.
“mmmmThis is very similar to a ladder … but it’s not a ladder,” Dug concluded. “It’s still got slats though.”
To illustrate this, Dug passed his arm through parts of the block.
“Okay,” said Bacca. “Keep going.”
“mmmmThere’s no metal in it,” Dug said. “It’s more than just sticks, though. It’s got wood planks that I can distinctly feel. Four of them. The wood smells like … cedar, I think.”
“Very good,” said Bacca. “So what has no metal, sticks, and four cedar planks? And feels like a ladder, but isn’t a ladder?”
“mmmmA fence!” said Dug proudly. “This block is part of a fence!”
“You know, I think you’re right,” said Bacca.
They put the block on the ground and etched the word “Fence” beside it. To stay organized, Bacca suggested they continue going through the “something else” pile until they had extracted all of the other pieces of ladder and fence. They felt their way around the invisible blocks and found several more sections of both. Then Dug piped up.
“mmmmThis one is strange,” Dug said, holding up a new block that appeared heavy. “It’s got slats like a ladder or a rail, but it’s neither of those. It’s metal. Iron.”
“It’s iron bars then,” said Bacca. “People use them a lot like fences. Sometime they use them to make arrow slits on castles. Hmmm. We are learning things, aren’t we? Our sheep is surrounded by something with ladders, fences, and arrows slits. I wonder what it could be. Let’s keep working!”
Bacca and Dug kept looking through the pile. They found three torches, which were easy enough to identify on account of being long and thin and having one end that was too hot to touch for long, an invisible chest which could be identified via the padlock on the front, and a strange wooden block that seemed to have slats at the top, but not at the bottom.
“mmmmWhat kind of block has openings at the top, but not the bottom?” Dug wondered.
“Trying running your hands around the edges,” Bacca suggested.
Dug obediently felt along the edges of the block.
“mmmmThere are hinges,” Dug said. “Two metal hinges. Like for a cabinet or a cupboard or a … door!”
“Now you’ve got it,” Bacca said. “This is the door to the … to the … whatever this is.”
Dug and Bacca felt around the rest of the pile where they had stacked the ‘something else’ blocks.
“I don’t feel any more,” Bacca said. “That must be all of them. We’re going to have to move on to the final group—the heavy blocks. I think this is going to be the most challenging. It’s going to take all of our skill and cleverness to determine what these blocks are made of.”
“mmmmLet’s do it!” said Dug, practically diving into the invisible pile of blocks. Bacca was pleased to see this sort of enthusiasm (and also pleased that Dug had had the sense not to actually dive into a pile of hard blocks).
They began picking up the heavy crafting materials and inspecting their surfaces.
“Look for ways in which the blocks are different from one another,” said Bacca. “Any difference is important, even small ones. Don’t underestimate tiny details.”
After a minute, Dug brought an invisible block over to Bacca.
“mmmmThis one has moss on it,” Dug said, handing it to Bacca. “See? You can feel it.”
“That’s definitely an important detail,” Bacca said. “Good work.”
“mmmmIt’s probably moss stone, right?” said Dug. “Almost all stone with moss growing on it is moss stone. So isn’t that what we should assume? It’s like that old saying that zombie doctors have: ‘If you hear approaching feet, it’s probably a zombie and not a zombie pigman.’”
“Normally, I’d say yes,” replied Bacca. “But run your hands over it again. What do you feel underneath the moss?”
Had he missed something? Dug took the invisible block back from Bacca and carefully felt along each side.
“mmmmThere are long straight grooves underneath the moss,” Dug said. “And other grooves running across those. Almost like it’s … ”
“Made of bricks,” Bacca said, finishing the thought.
Dug’s jaw dropped. Not quite off his face, but still lower than it would drop on a normal person.
“mmmmMossy stone bricks!” Dug said when he had recovered. “That’s what this is. It’s slightly different from moss stone.”
“A slight difference, but an important one,” Bacca said. “Mossy stone bricks are only found in a few places. I think you just narrowed down our options for what this might be.”
“mmmmI did?” said Dug. “I mean … yeah, I guess I did!”
Bacca and Dug made a stack of the invisible mossy stone bricks and marked it, then turned their attention to the remaining blocks. They found several that also had the grooves running across them, and more that had grooves but also other, tinier lines.
“Stone bricks and cracked stone bricks,” Bacca pronounced.
“mmmmIs that important?” Dug asked.
“It does narrow things down even more,” Bacca said confidently. “Based on this, I’m feeling pretty sure that the remaining invisible blocks are going to include some arrangement of cobblestone, stone brick stairs, and stone brick slabs. Why don’t you go ahead and see if I’m right?”
Dug obediently rummaged through the pile of remaining invisible blocks and tried to feel the differences between them. As he did so, his eyes began to widen.
“mmmmYou’re exactly right!” Dug said. “How did you know?”
“Think about it,” Bacca said, taking a seat on an invisible block. “Very few structures have mossy stone bricks. So think about what has those blocks, plus iron bars, fences, torches, and all the other stuff we’ve already found …”
Dug thought. As a young zombie, his experience of the Overworld was far smaller than Bacca’s. His zombie parents never let him stray far from home. It was for his own good, they said. (They claimed they were just trying to keep him out of the sunlight, but Dug had his doubts.) Therefore, most of Dug’s exposure to the Overworld had come not from exploring firsthand, but from crafting.
Dug understood that crafting materials didn’t exist in a vacuum. They were all connected. They were connected to each other, as well as the rest of the Overworld. Because of this, Dug had been able to learn a surprising amount about the Overworld. In fact, Dug knew the Overworld better than many world travelers, even though his voyage with Bacca was his first real trip across it.
“mmmmIt’s got to be a stronghold,” Dug said after a long and deep consideration. “They have mossy stone bricks, and also all of the other blocks we’ve found. Strongholds are very, very rare. They occur underground, and have ab
solutely everything we’ve found here … except for a sheep.”
“I think you’re right,” Bacca said.
“mmmmSo should we get to work?” Dug asked, lifting an invisible block.
“I’m ready if you are,” Bacca said. “Let’s make a nice stronghold for our little sheep.”
Bacca and Dug began crafting. Right away, Dug saw the wisdom of organizing the invisible blocks and writing down which were which. It made construction go much more quickly. Bacca and Dug began by putting down a floor, and then made walls out of the different kinds of stone bricks. Then they created a central platform in the middle of the stronghold, with stone brick stairs leading up to it.
“Here is where we should place the sheep,” Bacca said. “Do you want to do the honors?”
Dug held up the mutton and wool, unsure of how to begin.
“mmmmNeither of my parents are crafters,” Dug said. “But my father used to tell a scary story about a crafter who lived many years ago in a faraway land. His name was Franken-something. He used parts like this to craft things that were alive!”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of that guy,” Bacca replied. “I’ve also heard things didn’t turn out so well for him. I don’t think we need to make a real sheep. That would probably end up badly for us too. Why don’t you just use this crafting material to make something that looks like a sheep?”
“mmmmWhew,” said Dug. “Okay. That sounds safer.”
While Dug worked on the sheep, Bacca placed torches on the walls of the room—even though they were invisible and seemed to cast no light—and ladders on the sides of the raised platform. Bacca had seen many strongholds before. He had a good idea of how to craft one so that it looked right. But easier said then done when all the blocks you were using were invisible! It was useless to take a step back from his work and see how it all looked, because there was nothing to see. (This also frustrated Bacca, because it gave you very little sense of accomplishment, even when you were nearly finished with your creation, and that was one of the best things about being a crafter.)
As Dug assembled the sheep atop the platform, it looked like Dug was magically hovering several feet in the air. That was a weird thing to watch! But, after the better part of an hour, everything seemed to be in place. Every few moments, Dug closed his eyes and felt the contours of the sheep he had created.
“mmmmLots of zombies don’t have eyes,” Dug said. “Often they lose them in accidents or they just rot out of their heads. I wish we had one of those zombies with us now. They have great senses of touch. They would definitely know the feel of a sheep. I’m not sure this sheep is very good at all. The eyes and snout are too big, and the wool’s kind of lopsided.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Bacca said. “It doesn’t need to win a sheep beauty contest. It just has to look a little like a sheep.”
“mmmmThat’s good,” said Dug. “Because I think this is the best I can do.”
Appearing to walk on air, Dug descended from the raised platform down the stone brick stairs until he stood beside Bacca.
Dug was about to ask what would happen next, but before he could speak a strange mist began to fill the room around them.
“mmmmWhat is this?” Dug wondered out loud. “Omigosh! What’s happening?”
Bacca smiled from ear to ear.
“I think we did it!” Bacca said excitedly.
As they watched, the mist grew thicker and began to spread. Soon, it was hard to see anything at all. Then, just as suddenly as it had arrived, the mist began to clear. When it did, it revealed a perfectly-crafted stronghold, exactly like the ones Bacca had encountered out in the wild. The only difference was that this one had a sheep inside of it. A real one, apparently. As Bacca and Dug looked on in surprise, the sheep on top of the platform opened its eyes. And then its mouth.
“Baaaa,” it said.
“mmmmOh my goodness!” said Dug. “I made a real sheep. I’m like that Franken-person. Oh no!”
Bacca saw it another way.
“I don’t think we did that … I think the fortress made our sheep come alive,” Bacca said as they watched the animal slowly descend the staircase leading down from the platform. “Keep in mind, this is a magical place.”
“mmmmOh,” said Dug. “Still, I hope he doesn’t blame me for his wool being crooked.”
The sheep walked over to the magically sealed door. After a few moments, there was a grating sound and the door began to open.
The sheep glanced over at Bacca and Dug as if to say: “Well, are you coming?” Then it walked through the opening.
“Should we see what waits in the next room?” Bacca asked.
“mmmmI guess so,” said Dug. It was clear that Dug was still a little stunned at the sight of the sheep he had crafted actually walking around.
Bacca took the astonished zombie reassuringly by the shoulder and led him through the door and into the tunnel beyond.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The tunnel led down into the heart of the fortress. The walls were lit with more ancient glowstones. They cast an eerie light that never flickered or changed. The sheep walked several paces ahead of Bacca and Dug. The animal seemed confident, like it knew where it was going.
“mmmmThis tunnel is kind of scary,” Dug said.
“Hey, you’re at least as brave as a sheep, right?” Bacca said. “And he’s not afraid.”
“mmmmI guess so,” agreed Dug.
They followed the sheep.
After journeying down, down, down—to a point that Bacca surmised must be deep beneath the fortress’s cliff face—they reached an open doorway. The sheep passed through it and walked out of sight.
Bacca and Dug approached cautiously and peered into the room beyond. It was a cavernous place with a very high ceiling. The corners of the room were crowded with crafting materials that were very old and covered in dust. It gave Bacca the feeling of discovering a long-abandoned construction site. There was a door on the other side of the room, and it was the grandest-looking door they’d seen so far, encrusted with diamond and emerald blocks that shined as if newly-polished. It was also—quite astonishingly—forty feet above the ground. Just to reach it, Bacca reckoned he would have to build a long ladder. But that was not even the strangest part of this room.
In the middle of the cavernous floor was a ramp. It led up to the jeweled door … or rather, it once had. The ramp was supported by two pillars, but there had clearly once been a middle pillar that had long ago been destroyed or removed. Only an empty base remained. Consequently, with nothing to support its center, the middle of the ramp had fallen to the floor. Another interesting detail was that the two remaining pillars—each easily thirty feet high—had been carved into statues. The first pillar, the one farthest from the door, had been crafted to resemble a villager. The third pillar, closest to the door, portrayed a skeleton—bow in hand. There was no clue as to what the missing, middle pillar might have been.
“mmmmHuh,” Dug said, surveying this strange sight. “At least it’s clear where we’re supposed to go. That sparkly door doesn’t leave much mystery. The challenge is going to be getting up to it!”
Bacca agreed. Both crafters turned their attention to the ruined ramp. Made of wood planks, it had splintered and split when the middle support column had been removed.
“mmmmZombies aren’t very good jumpers,” Dug said. “But you’re a great jumper, Bacca. Wash down a Potion of Leaping or two, and I’m positive you’ll be able to clear that part where the ramp is broken.”
“Yeah,” Bacca said, still carefully surveying the strange room. “I’m sure I could. The problem is, I don’t know if he could.”
“mmmmHuh?” Dug said, puzzled. “What do you mean by—”
“Baaaa.”
Dug was cut off by the loud bleating of the sheep. The creature stood at the foot of the ramp. It looked over at Bacca and Dug, then up at the door.
“I think we need to get that sheep up to that door along with us,” Bacca said. “
The sheep can’t jump. It has to walk up the ramp.”
Dug nodded in agreement. Based on how the fortress had behaved previously, he knew his teacher was likely right.
“On the other hand, building a new support column and fixing a ramp should be pretty easy to do,” Bacca continued. “The only question is … what’s it supposed to look like?”
“mmmmLook like?” said Dug.
“Yeah,” said Bacca. “One’s a villager, and the other’s a skeleton. So what’s supposed to stand between them? This room is full of all sorts of materials that we could use for crafting. I think that might be part of the challenge. There are a lot of different things we could make. It’s up to us to figure out which is the right one.”
Dug surveyed the crafting materials piled around the edges of the room. They could use this stuff to make almost anything. The possibilities were almost paralyzingly limitless.
“mmmmLet’s look at the—”
“Way ahead of you,” Bacca said, taking the Tablet of Mystery out of his inventory.
It was then that disaster struck.
The blocks of wool that Bacca and Dug had used to build the sheep were very oily. But neither had quite realized how much of the oil had rubbed off on their hands (and paws). As Bacca gestured for Dug to grip the other half of the tablet—so that they could both hold it together—he felt the heavy, ancient prismarine beginning to slip from his grasp.
“Ack!” Bacca shouted. “Dug! Help!”
Unfortunately, Dug’s hands were even slicker than Bacca’s. Dug had spent much more time handling the wool. The tablet went right through Dug’s hands like warm butter. There was a desperate moment where the two crafters bobbled the heavy tablet back and forth, and then a horrible “BOOM!” as the prismarine fell crashing to the cavern floor.
It splintered into a thousand tiny pieces.
Bacca and Dug looked down at the ruined Tablet of Mystery, then up at one another.
“mmmmOh gosh!” cried Dug. “The tablet! I didn’t know our hands were so greasy! How are we ever going to figure out what to do?”
Dug looked as though he might cry. Bacca, in contrast, put a comforting hand on Dug’s shoulder and even managed a smile.
