“Do you understand your instructions . . . all of them?”
Shaikulud bowed her head again.
“It will be done,” she said as she stared at his feet.
“Very good,” Herobrine said in a menacing tone. “I always knew you were good and obedient.”
As she raised her head to look up at Herobrine, he teleported away, his glowing eyes the last thing to disappear. She then turned and faced the spiders that were now moving toward her.
“You heard the Maker,” she said, her mandibles clicking together angrily. “Open the eggssss and release the hatchlingssss.”
The blue cave spiders looked at her in disbelief, then glanced at each other. Shaikulud then moved with a speed that anyone would have thought impossible for a creature as large as her. She raked at the nearest cave spider with her razor sharp claws, tearing into the Brother’s HP until it was nearly exhausted. It happened so fast, the cave spider didn’t even have a chance to run away.
Falling to the ground, the cave spider looked up at his queen with its multiple red eyes pleading for mercy.
Stepping back, Shaikulud turned and glared at the other spiders in the chamber.
“You will follow the instructionssss of the Maker . . . open the eggssss.”
The wounded cave spider slowly climbed back to his feet and moved to the nearest egg. With his front claw, he carefully carved a narrow scratch into the outer surface of the egg. After going all the way around, he tapped at it along the scratch, causing a crack to form. In seconds, the top half of the egg was removed, showing an extremely small spider within. It was another cave spider, its blue skin almost glowing fluorescent due to the lack of the tiny black hairs that would come in later . . . if it survived.
“Give it moss, quick,” Shaikulud commanded.
Another Brother came forward with a clump of moss, but the tiny spider died before it could feed.
My hatchling . . . my hatchling . . .
Shaikulud mourned the loss of the tiny creature, but continued to oversee the opening of the eggs.
“It issss the Maker’ssss will,” she said over and over.
Many of the hatchlings survived this premature emergence into Minecraft, but still many died. And as her hatchlings disappeared with a pop, her anger grew . . . not toward Herobrine, for she knew that he was doing what he must to protect Minecraft. No, her anger was focused on the one responsible for her loss . . . the User-that-is-not-a-user.
As she picked up one hatchling that was struggling to survive, she thought of all the ways she wanted to make this Gameknight999 suffer. Suddenly, the hatchling disappeared as its HP gave out and her rage boiled over.
“The User-that-is-not-a-user is MINE!” she shouted to all the spiders in the cavern, her eyes glowing bright purple. “No one is to harm him but me! I alone get to make him suffer.”
As the echoes of her voice reverberated through the cavern, Shaikulud moved to the cavern wall and climbed up its vertical surface. Moving across the arching ceiling, she could feel all the new lives emerging from the eggs below, some only lasting a fleeting instant. When she reached the top of the cavern’s roof, her razor sharp claws dug into the stone and held her fast as she watched the life and death scenes play out on the floor below. For every new life, she could feel a drain on her mind as another slice of her awareness was used to hold that new spider in check. And as the new lives and new deaths grew in number, Shaikulud grew angrier and angrier. Her mind roiled with thoughts of what she would do to the User-that-is-not-a-user, sinister and malicious thoughts. And with each new thought, her eye grew brighter and brighter with hatred.
“You will soon be mine, Gameknight999!” she shouted to no one . . . to everyone.
CHAPTER 15
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
The NPCs moved quickly through the rest of the ice spikes biome, finding themselves in a grassy plains biome. Gameknight wished that the landscape were hillier to give them some protection from prying eyes, but as his friend Shawny was fond of saying, “It is what it is.”
With the company running most of the time, they shot across the grassy plains with great haste. Pausing only occasionally to rest, they ran through most of the day. At night, the cavalry created two rings around those on foot; the wolves roaming outside of both. Occasionally they heard the moans of zombies, but they were usually far off. Any monster sounds, though, quickly drew a violent response from the wolves, keeping the creatures of the night far from the group.
As the sun rose on the second day, Gameknight could see something bright green on the horizon ahead of them. Off to the left and right, he could see steep mountains . . . likely an extreme hills biome.
“That looks like jungle ahead,” Stitcher said.
She was walking next to him, his sister next to the young NPC. They had become fast friends during this adventure.
“I think you’re right,” Monet113 added.
“Watcher!” Gameknight yelled over his shoulder. “What do you see?”
An NPC with huge green eyes sprinted up to Gameknight’s side. He stopped for a moment and peered at the band of green that lay before them, then raced to catch up with him again.
“Sure enough . . . it’s jungle,” Watcher said.
Stitcher and Monet both smiled.
“I can see the vines hanging down from the tree branches and the thick bushes around the base of the junglewood trees,” Watcher continued. “There are numerous cocoa pods on the trees . . . we’ll want to harvest those when we reach them.”
“As long as we don’t need to slow down,” Gameknight said. “I feel that things will get a little crazy when we go in there.”
Looking to the back of the army, Watcher suddenly stopped and stared at the western horizon. He then gasped, causing Gameknight to stop and move to his side.
“What is it?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.
“Something is coming toward us across these plains,” Watcher said, his green eyes straining. “I can’t quite make out what they are, but I’m sure that there are a lot of them, and they’re coming fast. I can see a huge cloud of dust rising around them.” He turned and faced Gameknight999.
“Should we stop and fight them?” asked Crafter, who was suddenly at his side, listening.
“No, we keep going,” Gameknight said. “We learned something when we were battling back in the Nether that we must not forget. ‘Speed is the essence of war.’ It is important that we do not relearn that painful lesson.”
Crafter nodded in agreement, then spun and continued to run toward the bright green horizon, Gameknight999 following close behind.
They crossed the rest of the rolling hills without incident and finally reached the edge of the jungle when the sun was at its zenith. Sheer mountains sat on either side of the jungle, the line of steep hills stretching out to the north and south. Anyone heading this way had no choice but to pass through the jungle if they wanted to continue their journey.
“Welcome to the jungle,” Hunter said. “I’m sure it won’t be fun ‘n’ games in there, so everyone stay sharp.”
“Hunter’s right,” Gameknight added. “We don’t have time to rest, so everyone stay close.”
Gripping his enchanted sword tightly, Gameknight plunged into the undergrowth. Instantly, a wall of leaves and vines blocked his path. Pulling out his iron axe, he started to cut a path through the leafy terrain. Over his shoulder, he could see the other villagers had done the same; now a hundred axes were tearing into the jungle where necessary.
But even with all those blades cutting into trees and bushes, progress was slow. Some of the villagers tried to go around obstacles and quickly found themselves separated from the rest of the party.
“Where are you? I’m lost,” yelled some villager.
“Over this way,” yelled another.
Quickly, the NPCs became dispersed, separated by the thick junglewood trunks and lack of visibility.
“Crafter, we have to keep them all together someh
ow,” Gameknight said. “You have any ideas?”
“I have a few,” he said, smiling.
Moving to an open area, Crafter planted a small red and white striped rocket on the ground, then stepped back. It shot up into the air, leaving behind a trail of sparks, then exploded high over the treetops, displaying a shower of sparkling color.
“Excellent,” Gameknight said.
Crafter beamed a huge smile.
“Everyone keep going!” Gameknight shouted. “Stay near Crafter’s fireworks.”
“Don’t you think those fireworks will tell every monster where we are?” Hunter asked.
“They already know that we’re here, I’m sure of it,” Gameknight answered. “They’re probably watching us right now.”
Hunter spun around, drawing her sword.
“Relax,” Gameknight said. “If they wanted to attack, they would. For some reason, they’re waiting.”
“Well, I’ll be ready for them anyway,” she replied as she turned and continued through the jungle.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded through the jungle, punctuated by a scream and the smell of sulfur.
“Creeper!” someone shouted.
Just then another one exploded a little closer.
“We can’t even see them,” Brewer shouted as she came running toward Gameknight. “I saw it just at the last instant and was able to get to cover, but their green and black color merged right in with all the vines and leaves.”
“This is trouble,” Digger said, his voice low so that only Gameknight999 could hear.
“I know what to do,” Herder said as he came running to the front of the group. “We need more . . . many more friends.”
“What are you talking about, Herder?” Gameknight asked.
But the youth didn’t answer as he ran off into the jungle.
“We can’t just stand here,” Hunter said. “We’ll be sitting ducks!”
“You’re right,” Gameknight answered, then yelled out commands for all to hear. “Everyone, run toward the east. Stay together and keep close to Crafter’s fireworks!”
Turning, Gameknight started to run, going around obstacles when he could, using his axe when he had no other choice. Slowly, the collection of NPCs picked up speed, but their trek was still interrupted periodically by detonating creepers.
“We need to see where those creepers are coming from!” Gameknight exclaimed. “Hunter, you think you can get some of your archers up there on the treetops?”
“Piece of cake.”
She gathered a couple of NPCs, then moved to the closest tree and started placing blocks of dirt around the dark trunk. Gameknight watched as she built a spiral staircase around the tree, carving through branches and leaves with her axe until she disappeared into the leafy canopy.
“You see anything?” Gameknight yelled.
“Oh yeah . . . I see plenty,” she replied.
“Are you going to tell me, or just keep it to yourself?”
“I’m not sure you want to know what I’m seeing,” she yelled from the treetops. “You want to good news or the bad news?”
“HUNTER!”
“OK, here’s the bad news,” she said, then came down a step or two so that Gameknight could see her. “There are about fifty to sixty creepers heading straight for us. That must have been what was following us across the grassy plains biome.”
“What’s the good news?” Gameknight asked.
“It’s not a hundred creepers,” she said as she laughed.
Gameknight growled in frustration.
“Hunter, get all the NPCs down here,” Gameknight said, then turned to face Crafter. “Send up a bunch of fireworks, we need to get everyone together.”
Crafter nodded, then placed rocket after rocket on the ground, their sparkling images bursting overhead.
“EVERYONE COME TO MY VOICE!” Gameknight shouted.
He then heard his sister’s voice shouting as well as Stitcher’s.
“EVERYONE OVER HERE,” they shouted, bringing all the NPCs to Gameknight.
With their help, all the NPCs collected in a small clearing.
“Here’s the situation,” Gameknight explained. “A huge group of creepers is heading right for us. We can’t fight them in this jungle; our cavalry has no mobility with all these trees and bushes. Our only chance is to clear an area and fight.”
“Against sixty creepers? That’s impossible,” someone said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Gameknight replied. “We won’t just give up. You can only accomplish what you can imagine, and I imagine that we can get through this . . . somehow. Now, let’s get to work.”
They all pulled out their axes and started cutting down bushes and leafy trees. Soon they had a large clearing in front of them. Using some of the trees and bushes as defensive structures, then carving spaces behind them for defenders to stand, they hoped the obstacles would give them some protection against the creeper’s explosive touch. Archers climbed high up in the trees, hoping to shoot at the creepers before they came close, but it was hard to get a clear shot.
They were desperate and Gameknight knew it.
Look what I have done, Gameknight thought. I led my friends . . . no, my family, into this perilous situation, and now many of them are going to die. I hate this responsibility, it’s too . . .
Just then, another thought echoed in his head, but the strange thing was that it wasn’t his voice. It was that strange mystical voice he’d heard at the stronghold.
Be strong, User-that-is-not-a-user, and have faith in your friends. Being responsible doesn’t mean doing everything yourself; it means asking for help when you need help. Have faith and be patient.
The voice then faded away, leaving him with his own thoughts.
What was that? What did it mean . . . have faith and be patient? I can’t just . . .
Suddenly, the scurrying of short stubby feet pulled him from his thought and brought him back to the now. He could see a massive collection of creepers enter the clearing. Hunter may have been wrong . . . it could have been a hundred. However many there were, they were too numerous to count, and they could surely destroy them all.
“Everyone RUN!” someone yelled.
“NO!” Gameknight shouted even louder.
He wasn’t sure what to say, but then something unexpected came from his mouth.
“HAVE FAITH . . . AND BE PATIENT!”
But the creepers were not patient. They moved into the clearing, their tiny feet kicking up a thin layer of dust from the ground. Archers started firing their arrows, but they did little against this many creepers. And as they closed in, the lead creeper stared straight at Gameknight999 with cold black eyes overflowing with hatred, and then the creature started to glow as a hissing filled the air. Then all the other creepers stared to hiss as well.
All Gameknght999 could think was, Is this the end?
CHAPTER 16
WOLFMAN
Suddenly, out of the dense jungle sprinted Herder with a huge collection of cats following close behind. There must have been at least fifty of the spotted felines; some of them tamed cats while some were still wild ocelots. The clowder of cats bolted into the clearing, charging directly at the creepers, their meows and yowls drowning out the hissing monsters.
As soon as the creepers saw the cats, they stopped their ignition process and ran back into the dense jungle, the cats close on their heels.
“WOLFMAN!” the NPCs cheered.
Herder beamed as he waved at the villagers, then turned to follow the cats.
“HERDER, COME BACK!” Gameknight999 yelled.
The lanky youth stopped running and turned, staring back at the User-that-is-not-a-user, a confused look on his face. He then ran toward his friend and stopped by his side.
“Where are you going?” Gameknight asked.
“I was gonna check on my friends,” he said.
“There’s a huge army of creepers out there,” Hunter said as she moved to his side. “You think
going out there alone is the best idea?”
Herder looked at Hunter, confusion on his face.
“But I wouldn’t be alone,” he said. “I’d have my cats with me.”
Hunter shook her head and laughed, then patted him on the back. Turning, she faced the other NPCs and held his hand high up into the air.
“WOLFMAN!” she yelled.
“WOLFMAN!” the villagers responded with glee.
“We have to get out of here,” Gameknight said, then yelled to the other villagers. “Everyone keep heading toward the east!”
“And stay together!” Crafter shouted.
“Let’s go!” Gameknight shouted. They continued on their journey.
Scanning the jungle, he saw Monet easily in her multi-colored armor, her bright fluorescent blue hair spilling down her back. Next to her, he saw Stitcher, her red hair standing out in contrast to Monet’s electric blue.
With a circle of wolves around them, and another circle of cats around that, the group was able to move through the jungle without further creeper incursions. They stumbled upon a collection of spiders here and there, but with archers running along the treetops and warriors on the ground, they were not in too much trouble. Some of the villagers took injuries from the spiders, but all survived the encounters.
As the sun slowly settled down near the horizon, Gameknight thought he could see blue through the spaces between trees. The trickling of running water could be heard over the sounds of the jungle, waves crashing on a beach adding to the symphony.
And then suddenly, they were through the dense jungle, and out in the open. Before them stood a cool river that curved this way and that as it snaked its way across the landscape, draining into a massive ocean. Just on the other side of the river was an ancient looking structure made of cobblestone and mossy cobblestone, vines hanging down the sides as if it hadn’t been used in centuries.
“We made it,” Crafter said, relief in his voice.
He placed a hand on Gameknight’s shoulder, then patted him on the back.
“You did it . . . you got us here,” Crafter said.
The Jungle Temple Oracle Page 12
