The Jungle Temple Oracle

by Mark Cheverton

  When he completed his orders, Gameknight could see hope shining bright in their boxy faces—they all now had a chance to survive the impending battle.

  “Here they come!” one of the soldiers yelled.

  And as Gameknight turned to face the impending mob, that old familiar feeling spread through his body. It was a sensation that made his feet feel as if they had been planted in concrete and his arms feel weak. It made him uncertain if he was doing the right thing, or if his decisions would get everyone killed. It was a feeling that he’d felt so many times in Minecraft that it had become an old friend . . . or maybe a nemesis.

  It was fear.

  Pushing the fear aside, he focused on the now and gripped his sword firmly, then turned and faced the storm of monsters rushing toward them. With every bit of strength he had, he yelled out his battle cry and it echoed across the battlefield.

  “FOR MINECRAFT!”

  CHAPTER 5

  BROTHERSSSS AND SISTERSSSS

  Turning, Gameknight999 saw a large group of creepers stream out of the forest, their tiny feet a blur as they moved. Adding to their numbers, a dark wave of spiders slowly climbed down from the leafy canopy. Their black bodies hugged the tall tree trunks as they moved down the vertical blocks like huge shadowy drops of lethal rain.

  “Everyone back up and wait until they get in range!” Gameknight yelled as he continued to walk backward. “Show no fear, for you have friends and neighbors at your side. Your village is a family, and family always looks out for each other.” He took a few more steps backward as the spiders and creepers drew closer. “This battlefield is ours and we aren’t going to let a bunch of monsters take it from us.”

  “Yeah!” shouted Stitcher, her high-pitched child-like voice piercing through the clicking of the spiders and making the other warriors smile.

  “Ready,” Gameknight yelled. “NOW!”

  The front rank of warriors dropped to one knee, and then as one, all the warriors drew back their arrows and fired. They aimed for the creepers that were at the front of the charge. They only needed to ignite one. The arrows streaked through the air, their pointed tips finding both creepers and spiders, but none of them caused the creepers to explode. Apparently these creepers were better disciplined than those in the past.

  Fitting arrows to bowstrings, the small collection of warriors fired as fast as they could. Another wave of arrows flew through the air and landed amidst the green spotted creatures . . . nothing. Gameknight growled in frustration. The spiders were getting close, dangerously close.

  But then one lone flaming arrow streaked across the sky. It sailed high overhead, having been fired from far behind their formation. As it flew, Gameknight could see the waves of iridescent blue magic sparkling along the shaft, the tip burning red with enchanted flame. Looking back, he could see Hunter running to his position.

  Pausing, she fired another one, then continued to sprint. The first arrow hit a creeper directly in the chest. The magical flame made the green monster glow white as a hissing sound filled the air. Then the second arrow landed in its shoulder, making it glow even brighter. In an instant, the monster exploded, tearing a great hole into the landscape and throwing many of the other monsters into the air. Gameknight could see the creepers nearby were now glowing white as they fell to the ground, then exploded in a punctuated chain reaction that carved a deep gouge into the grassy plain. Explosions echoed across the landscape as the remaining creepers finished the last instances of their fiery lives.

  At least we stopped the creepers, Gameknight thought.

  And then the spiders charged forward.

  “Keep moving back!” Gameknight yelled. “Front rank, draw swords. Archers aim for the cave spiders.”

  Stepping forward, Gameknight put himself in front of Stitcher and glared at the oncoming wave of monsters, daring any of them to try to get by and hurt his friend.

  That’s not gonna happen! he thought.

  He could feel the weight of responsibility for all these lives standing at his side, but wasn’t sure how he would deal with it if any of them were hurt. He was sure that some of them would get injured or killed . . . it was battle. Right now, however, he knew that he couldn’t give that any thought. Right now, it was time to fight, and that was something that Gameknight definitely knew how to do.

  The front wave of spiders crashed down upon the NPC warriors. Swordsmen slashed at the fuzzy black monsters as their shining curved claws reached out to touch flesh. In front of Gameknight was the hate-filled face of a giant spider. It slashed out, but Gameknight was able to easily block the attacks. Countering, he swung at the monster, faking to the left, then attacking to the right. He tore into the monster’s HP, his sword cutting with ferocity that filled the monster’s eyes with fear. Not letting it escape, Gameknight pressed his advance as Stitcher’s arrows flew over his shoulder and sank into the monster’s side. In seconds it disappeared with a pop!

  Screams of pain on both sides filled the air as NPCs squared off against spiders. The archers behind the rank of swordsmen kept firing their deadly missiles from between NPCs, focusing their shots on the blue cave spiders amongst the attackers; the spiders’ deadly poison something to be feared. Gameknight was glad there weren’t more of them. The archers focused on trying to hold back the flood of violence, but there were just too many monsters.

  Warriors dropped as their HP was consumed, their inventory falling to the ground alongside balls of silk as spiders also met their fates.

  We can’t continue to lose one NPC for each spiders . . . we’ll end up defeated.

  “Pull back . . . pull back!” Gameknight yelled.

  The warriors, understanding Gameknight’s plan, moved backward, yielding ground to the monsters. This made the clicking from the spiders even louder as their excitement grew.

  Backing up even faster, the NPCs continued to fight, but now they were backing up the hill, slowly getting closer to the rest of the villagers.

  “Keep fighting, but pull back,” Gameknight yelled. “We can’t hold our ground against these spiders . . . pull back!”

  The massive wave of spiders approaching them was like an unstoppable flood. Gameknight could hear the villagers behind him now, Digger and Crafter yelling out orders and organizing their defense.

  “Ready!” Gameknight shouted.

  The warriors fought harder, trying to slow the advance of the monsters.

  “READY!” he shouted even louder.

  The swordsmen suddenly surged forward and hacked violently at the closest spiders.

  “NOW!”

  The ranks of warriors suddenly split in the middle and ran to the sides, exposing the center of the battlefield and giving the spiders a clear view of the villagers on the hilltop. The spiders clicked with glee, thinking the NPCs were retreating, but then the clicking suddenly stopped when they realized they were staring straight into a line of TNT cannons.

  “FIRE!” yelled Crafter.

  The clear blue sky was suddenly filled with thunder.

  BOOM! The cannons’ blocks exploded, launching flashing cubes of TNT into the air. They fell amidst the spiders and detonated, tearing up landscape and spider bodies. Before the spiders could figure out what to do . . .

  BOOM!

  Another volley of TNT blocks were launched into the air and exploded within the spider horde. As the monsters scrambled about, the warriors on the sides of the battlefield quickly slipped behind them and then closed in, sealing off any avenue of retreat.

  BOOM!

  Indecision ruled the spiders’ minds. They all turned and started to retreat, but found two ranks of swordsman at their rear. As they stood there trying to figure out what to do, the warriors from the hilltop charged forward. In an instant, the battle changed: the spiders, once the hunters, were now the hunted. NPCs from the hilltop surged forward as the swordsmen at the rear attacked.

  Gameknight, at the head of the charge, swung his diamond blade as if it weighed nothing. He hit spider aft
er spider, his sword just an iridescent blur as he dove into the battle. Watching those on his side, he frequently aided his neighbors as they did the same for him, their swords sometimes slashing at the same spider. As he fought, he could see his sister on the hilltop, her bow in her hand. She fired arrow after arrow into the center of the spider cluster. Her missiles sank into spider bodies as if guided there by a computer. Her aim was nearly flawless.

  Next to him, he saw a young NPC fall to one knee as spider claws tore into this leg. Gameknight started to move to his side, but Tiller was already there, her wrinkled arms wielding her sword with lethal efficiency. She swung it, not as fast as most, but she was painfully accurate. The spider stepped back from the young NPC as her iron blade bit into the monster’s side.

  “You leave our children alone!” she screamed at the beast.

  As the youth recovered from the blow, he stood and fought at Tiller’s side, each guarding the other’s back.

  “It’s not nice to slash at villagers with claws!” Tiller shouted at the spiders.

  That made Gameknight briefly smile.

  Moving from the pair, the User-that-is-not-a-user found more targets. Slashing at spider after spider, he was lost in the haze of battle, his body moving on pure instinct. The only thought that flashed though his mind was Please don’t let any of them die. And so he moved like a razor sharp whirlwind, spinning from one monster to the next without pause, protecting his friends—and himself—from the butcher’s bill.

  In minutes, the monster horde had been reduced to only a handful of creatures, then only two, and then only one lone spider. With its HP nearly depleted, the monster fell to the ground, its eight long legs sticking straight out to the side. Moving quickly, the warriors grabbed some rope and tied up the monster so that it could not escape. Gameknight’s last instruction had been to save one for questioning.

  He was about to approach the monster when he heard a moaning wail come from one of the NPCs. Turning his head, he saw Tiller on her knees before a pile of items that had once been in someone’s inventory. Moving to her side, Gameknight put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  Turning, Tiller looked up at him, tiny boxy tears flowing down her cheeks.

  “Who was it?” Gameknight asked.

  “Young Cobbler,” she replied. She put her face in her hand and wept for a moment, then looked back up at Gameknight999, her hazel eyes now streaked with red. “She was a good girl, almost the same age as my beautiful daughter, Rider, when she was killed.” She stopped speaking as uncontrollable sobs of grief raked over her.

  Suddenly, Monet113 was at her side, putting her arm around the woman and hugging her tightly.

  “Why do they . . . hate us so . . . much?” Tiller said between sobs, speaking to Gameknight999, to everyone.

  Slowly she picked up all the items and stuffed them in her inventory, then stood and raised her hand high over her head, fingers spread wide. Instantly, all the other NPCs did the same, the battlefield now sprouting boxy hands that slowly clinched into fists.

  I let one of them die, Gameknight thought to himself as he did the salute for the dead. He squeezed his hand so tightly that his knuckles started to pop and crack. I should have been there next to Cobbler. I should have protected her, but instead . . . I failed.

  Grief crashed down on him like a tidal wave. It was his responsibility . . . and he failed.

  How do I handle this? I never asked to be a hero, I only wanted to be a kid. I’m not . . .

  Suddenly, Tiller was standing before him, handing him a loaf of bread.

  “Cobbler would have wanted you to have her bread,” she said, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “She would have wanted you to stay strong so that you can defend Minecraft and all of us.”

  The woman carefully distributed the rest of the young girl’s belongings amongst the villagers. With the acceptance of each gift, the villagers became angrier and angrier.

  Click . . . click . . . click . . .

  The captive spider clicked its mandibles together. It sounded like the equivalent of laughter. Drawing his sword, Gameknight stepped closer to the monster. They needed information, for on the battlefield, knowledge was power. Monet113 stepped to his side.

  The spider looked up at the two of them, then swiveled one eye to look up over their heads.

  “There are two User-that-is-not-a-userssss,” the spider said in a screechy hissing voice. “The queen will know of thissss soon.”

  “Why are you attacking us?” Gameknight asked. “Answer me truthfully and I will let you live. What is your name?”

  “I am called Shakal,” the spider answered, then glared up at Gameknight999. “The Sisterssss and Brotherssss are commanded by the Maker to hunt down the User-that-is-not-a-user, but we were not told that there were two.”

  Gameknight turned and looked at his sister, then glanced at Crafter, who was now approaching the monster.

  “He doesn’t know that your sister is here,” Crafter said. “Apparently Herobrine doesn’t know everything.”

  “The Maker commandssss the queen, and the queen commandssss the Sisterssss. We have been instructed to hunt down the Maker’ssss enemy.” The spider then swiveled her eyes to glance about at the gathering crowd of NPCs. She strained to take another breath, the continued. “You will all be destroyed soon, and then the Maker will destroy the User-that-is-not-a-user. Your destruction issss inevitable.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way,” Monet113 said. “We don’t have to fight. It’s possible to live together even though we are different. There are always things in common that we could explore together.”

  “NPCssss and spiderssss can never live together. We know of the terrible thingssss NPCssss do, we know of your hatred toward ussss. There are too many differencessss . . . there can never be peace. Now kill me and be done with it.”

  One of the warriors lifted his sword, but Gameknight stopped him with a raised hand.

  “No, we won’t kill her,” Gameknight said as he turned to look at the crowd that now encircled the monster. “I said she could live if she talked with us, and I have to keep my word.” Kneeling, he brought his face up close and looked into her multiple burning red eyes. “You must tell your queen that there is another way, other than violence . . . that there can be peace. Our mercy toward you and letting you live is evidence of our intent for peace. Do you understand?”

  She clicked her razor sharp mandibles together. Their sudden, lightning fast motion startled him and made him move back.

  “Release her,” Gameknight ordered.

  “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Hunter said from behind him.

  Turning, he found her standing on a block of dirt near the back of the crowd.

  “We have to show them that we mean what we say . . . that peace is better than war.”

  She sighed.

  “There can never be peace with monsters,” she said in a low, cautious voice, hoping the spider could not hear. “There are too many differences, too many things we do not understand. Peace requires a common ground for us to understand them. Look at that monster . . . there is nothing there that is like us. They are hideous and dangerous. They have nothing in common with us, and they never will. Peace with the monsters of Minecraft is a dream that will never come true.”

  “But we must try,” Gameknight said, then turned back to the crowd. “Release her.”

  Digger stepped forward and sliced through the ropes with his pickaxe.

  The spider gathered her legs under her and looked furtively at the crowd that surrounded her.

  “Make way so she can leave,” Gameknight instructed.

  The crowd parted so the spider could make her way back to the forest.

  Her burning red eyes glanced at the forest, then swiveled back to Gameknight999. Each eye went in a different direction, surveying the crowd around her. Turning, she faced the opening and took a step toward the forest, then spun and sprang into the air. She headed straight toward M
onet. The dark claws at the end of each leg were pointed straight toward her head. Gameknight was too far away to do anything, and all the other NPCs had sheathed their swords. There was nothing he could do but watch.

  And then a flaming arrow streaked through the air and hit the spider in mid strike, followed by another. With a pop, the spider disappeared, a handful of silk thread landing on her intended target, Monet113.

  Gameknight turned and found Hunter aiming her bow at the place where the spider had disappeared, another arrow drawn back, ready to fire.

  “You see,” Hunter said, almost shouted. “They cannot be trusted!”

  Gameknight ignored her comment and rushed to his sister’s side. Pulling the strands of spider silk from his sister’s shoulders, he could see that she was shocked, a look of confused terror on her square face.

  “That monster wanted to kill me,” Monet said, her voice cracking with emotion.

  “Welcome to Minecraft,” Hunter said softly, but not soft enough.

  Gameknight glared at Hunter as she stepped off the block of dirt and put away her bow, then turned back to his sister.

  “How are we going to ever get out of here?” Monet113 asked, her voice now, finally, filled with fear.

  “I don’t know, Monet, I don’t know.”

  CHAPTER 6

  LOOKING FOR HIS NEMESIS

  Herobrine approached the village from a distance. He didn’t want to startle them or tip them off to his real identity. Concentrating for a moment, he tried to push all of his violent, evil thoughts deep down into his subconscious, doing his best to fill his mind with peaceful images. As he did this, the glow around his eyes slowly faded, giving him a normal, NPC look.

  He still held the appearance of the last villager he’d destroyed and absorbed their XP. He’d changed into the shape from which the XP came, not just in appearance but in every aspect. Herobrine actually became that person. He could choose not to transform, but only by avoiding the XP. It was some kind of cruel joke that the Minecraft server software played on him; he didn’t really understand it, but he’d found long ago that it had its benefits. Herobrine had used this to his advantage many times in the past, avoiding detection by that old hag in the jungle more than once. Today, he would use his changed appearance to draw information from the idiotic NPCs in the village.