by Dr. Block
We kept walking toward the main chamber. Soon, we came to a brand new side passage that had not been there when we descended into the mine earlier that day.
“Looks like Zeb did some mining of his own,” I said.
“He is supposed to be digging the pit by the cave entrance,” said Otis. “What is he doing carving passages?”
Otis was right. Zeb was not the type of zombie to do pointless things with his time. And, Zeb was as scared as any of us that players would discover our cave. It did not make any sense he would take a break from digging the pit.
“Let’s take a look,” I said, thrusting my torch into the new passage.
I led the way into the passage, with the skeleton following and Otis bringing up the rear. The passage was very narrow and perfectly straight. It went into the rock about thirty blocks deep and then stopped.
“It just ends,” I said, puzzled.
“Figures,” said Otis, disgusted. “Let’s go back.”
“Hey,” said Henry as he reached down to the ground and grasped a small object. “What’s this?”
Otis and I looked at what Henry held in his bony hand. It was a small golden rectangular cube. It looked like this:
“Let me see that,” I said. I took the object from Henry and inspected it. It was smooth, just like the small pyramid. “I think this is made from the same material as the pyramid!”
“Wait,” said Otis. “You are telling me we find a pyramid from a lava flow and a matching cuboid at the end of a mysterious passage all on the same day?”
“Cuboid?” said Henry.
“Yeah, that rectangular thingy,” said Otis. “That’s what you call it.”
“I’m getting freaked out about all this, Otis,” I said with a trembling voice. “And what about those signs?”
“Yeah,” said Otis, casting a sidelong glance at Henry. “And what about the pile of bones here? Pretty convenient he spawned when he did.”
“What do you mean, Otis?” said Henry. “I couldn’t control when I spawned. It just happened.”
Otis grunted. “Maybe so, but I’ve got my eye on you. Don’t do anything stupid,” he said, waving his diamond sword under Henry’s jaw bone.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get back to the others and tell them about all this.”
Chapter 11
When we got back to the main passage, we found Zeb hard at work digging the pit. He had already managed to dig a very deep hole, and was in the process of widening the pit.
I leaned over the edge of the pit and shouted, “Zeb! We’re back!”
Zeb looked up from the depths and waved. “I’ll be right up,” he said.
I watched as Zeb climbed the staircase he had carved into the side of the pit. As he reached the top, Harold and Bob walked into the main chamber from the farming area.
“Hi guys,” said Harold. “Where did the skeleton come from?”
“He spawned in the mine,” I said.
“He did?” said Zeb. “Hmmm. That is something we haven’t considered in our defense plan: the natural generation of mobs in dark places.”
“That’s right. And I have a strange feeling about this guy,” said Otis, jabbing his thumb in Henry’s direction.
“I mean you no harm,” said Henry, trying to smile in a kind way but looking super creepy and evil instead.
“What’s his name?” asked Bob.
“My name is Henry,” said the skeleton. Harold, Bob and Zeb all introduced themselves.
“Look, Henry’s cool,” I said. “But he’s not the only thing we found in the mine.”
We spent the next few minutes describing the mysterious objects, signs, and new passageway. Zeb denied making the signs or mining the passage. No one had any idea what the pyramid or cuboid were made of or what they might be for.
“Quite frankly,” said Zeb, “I am very concerned. These objects are unlike anything known to the Overworld. They could be ancient artifacts from some forgotten civilization or maybe even a divine message from Notch.”
“Don’t be such a drama queen,” said Otis. “They are probably just some bizarre mineral formations we don’t know about. The whole world can’t be cubes and ore, can it?”
“What would Notch be trying to tell us with these objects?” asked Bob, his tiny chicken legs shaking with fear at the thought of direct communication with Almighty Notch.
“I will not pretend to understand,” said Zeb. “We should get these to a village librarian. Perhaps there is knowledge in books about them.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think a village librarian is going to want to talk to us about those objects. He’ll be too scared.”
“Maybe a witch would know something?” suggested Harold.
“I think that’s a good idea,” said Henry.
Otis glared at him. “Dude, this is our cave and our stuff. Just keep out of it.”
“Chill out, Otis,” I said. “Henry can join our group.”
Otis grunted. “Well, I don’t like skeletons, especially skeletons who happen to spawn at the exact same time all this bizarre stuff happens. You’d better keep an eye on him, Zeke, I don’t trust him.”
Henry looked sad. “I can leave when it gets dark. I just don’t want to burn to death in the sunlight,” said Henry, starting to cry.
I walked over to Henry and put my little undead hand on his clavicle to comfort him. His bones felt like the cold of death and sent a shiver through me. I said, “No, Henry, you can stay. The rest of us like you.”
Otis shook his head. “Whatever.”
Zeb put his hands up and waved them around to get everyone’s attention and calm the situation. “Look,” he said. “Let’s just have dinner and then get some sleep. We can discuss this tomorrow. I’ll keep the mysterious objects in my inventory tonight.”
***
We ate our dinner of raw meat in silence. The skeleton ate nothing since he had no internal organs. Harold and Bob pecked methodically at their grain. Everyone was thinking about the mysterious objects and what they might mean.
After dinner, we all went to sleep in our chambers. Henry slept on the ground by himself.
“Tomorrow, you can build yourself a room, okay?” I said to Henry.
He nodded his agreement as he lay his bones on the rocky cave floor to sleep.
I fell asleep quickly, exhausted from all the digging I had done as well as from thinking about the possibilities of the strange objects we had found.
Soon, I was having a dream. In the dream, I saw giant shiny pyramids. At first, they were in a desert biome, then they seemed to teleport to a swamp biome, and finally to a snow biome. I watched the snow fall on the pyramids. It was peaceful.
Just as I felt complete peace, the scene in my dream changed. Suddenly, I was in the Nether, standing atop a gigantic obsidian pyramid. I held a diamond sword in front of me, ready to do battle.
In the distance, I could see a large cuboid, as tall as a mountain, with a pyramid perched on top of it. And, hovering above the massive structure were two glowing white eyes. Maniacal laughter echoed in my head.
I felt anger, rage and evil pouring forth from the eyes. What were they? What did this mean?
And then, I heard a bloodcurdling scream.
Chapter 12
I sat upright in bed, wide awake. Had I really heard a scream or was it just my dream? Then, I heard the scream again.
I leapt from my bed and pushed open my door. I heard the scream again and saw it was coming from Bob! He kept screaming over and over again as Otis wrapped his arms around him trying to calm him down.
I looked to my left and saw Harold staring at something. It was Henry. Or rather, what was left of him. Where Henry had been sleeping was nothing but a broken pile of bones.
“What happened, Harold?” I asked. But Harold could not reply. He simply stared dumbfounded at the pile of bones.
I looked for Zeb. And then, I saw him. He was on the ground moaning with pain. I rushed to his side. When I got
there, I saw a huge gash in his side, his putrid undead blood oozing from it.
“Oh my Notch!” I said, taking his hand in mine to comfort him. “What happened?”
“He was here all along,” he gasped. “Inside Henry.”
“Who was here?” I asked, desperately trying to understand.
“He took the objects,” said Zeb.
“What do you mean?”
“He said they were the final ingredients.”
“Ingredients? For what?” I was starting to panic.
“He went into the Nether,” said Zeb, “then the portal went dark.” I looked over and saw the obsidian frame of an inactive Nether portal.
“Who?” I said, squeezing Zeb’s hand. “Who?”
For the first time, Zeb turned his head to look at me. I could see fear and despair in his eyes. He paused for a moment and then spoke.
“Herobrine,” he whispered. “It was Herobrine.”
And then Zeb passed out.
Chapter 13
After he passed out, I tended to Zeb’s wounds. He was hurt very badly, but I was fairly certain he would survive. If only I had a potion of healing!
Bob finally calmed down and stopped screaming. Otis told me Bob had seen Herobrine emerge from the skeleton’s body and attack Zeb.
Harold finally emerged from his trance and sat next to Bob. He rested his head on Bob’s back, the way chickens do.
I sat next to Otis and told him what Zeb had said about the objects being the “final ingredients,” and asked, “What do you think it means?”
Otis sighed heavily. “I think it means we helped Herobrine get something he needed. Probably to conquer the Overworld and make us all his slaves.”
“You don’t really think that is possible, do you?”
Otis stabbed the ground a few times with his diamond sword before responding. “I not only think it is possible. I think it is likely.”
It was then that I remembered the dream. “Otis,” I said in a whisper, barely able to speak. “I think I had a dream about the end of the world. There was a tower made of the cuboid and the pyramid, and Herobrine’s eyes were floating above it.”
Otis put his hands on either side of his head and slapped his skull a few times. Then, he put his hands down, stood up, and looked me in the eyes.
“You know what we have to do, right?” said Otis resolutely.
I did, but I could not utter the words. “What?” I said quietly.
“It means we have to go to the Nether and defeat Herobrine.”
End of Book 4
Book 5: Pursuit of Herobrine
Chapter 1
Fighting Herobrine? Really? I thought as I looked down at Zeb’s unconscious form.
Herobrine had wounded him severely when he stole the two mysterious objects – the ingredients for Herobrine’s diabolical plan – from Zeb and escaped into the Nether.
I sighed. “So, Otis, how are we going to get through that Nether portal?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem to be active.”
“That’s the easy part,” said Otis. “We just need a flint and steel to ignite the portal. We can craft one from iron ingots and gravel. We have a bunch of that stuff from all the mining we have done.”
“Okay,” I said. I checked Zeb again. He seemed to be breathing comfortably. I was pretty sure he was going to live. Still, I did not want to leave him alone just yet.
I looked over at my chicken, Harold, and Otis’s chicken, Bob. They were still scared from what they had seen, but were now up walking around and stretching their legs.
“You guys alright?” I asked the chickens.
“We are alive, at least,” Harold clucked softly.
“That … that was horrible,” muttered Bob.
I turned to Otis. “If we are going to go after Herobrine, what should we take? I mean, how do we stop someone like him?”
Otis looked at me and shook his head. “I wish I knew. We should probably craft full diamond armor for each of us and bring as many weapons as we can.”
“You have that many diamonds?” I asked, surprised.
“Yeah,” said Otis sheepishly. “I was keeping it a secret. I wanted to surprise you with a set of diamond armor for your birthday.”
“I don’t even have a birthday,” I said angrily. “I’m a mob. I spawned. I wasn’t born.”
“Okay, then, I wanted to give it to your for your spawnday,” said Otis. “Gee, I just wanted to do something nice.”
I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’m just freaked out about going after Herobrine. This seems like a job for a dominant player, not a chicken jockey and a pigman jockey.”
“I totally agree,” said Otis, “but sometimes your life chooses you, you don’t choose your life.”
Otis was right. No one else in all of Minecraft knew that Herobrine was about to destroy the world. We had to do this. If we did nothing, Herobrine would be victorious for certain.
“Let’s do this,” I said firmly. “Harold, you gather enough food for everyone for the journey. Otis and I will craft armor and weapons. Bob, you can keep Zeb company and let us know if he gets any worse.”
With our tasks assigned, we began preparations for a trip none of us wanted to take.
Chapter 2
Otis and I quickly crafted two full sets of diamond armor, an extra diamond sword for each of us, several iron swords and one hundred arrows each.
As I slipped on my diamond armor, I looked at the pile of weapons we had crafted and said, “Otis, it still doesn’t look like enough to defeat Herobrine.”
Otis was putting on his new armor too. “Maybe not,” he said.
I continued. “The thing about Herobrine is that he doesn’t fight fair. I mean, if he would battle us like a regular mob, I think we might have a chance. But, I just don’t know.”
Otis walked over to me and put his little undead hand on my rotten shoulder in an effort to comfort me. “Look,” he said. “Maybe we can get allies in the Nether. Maybe they can help us. Maybe we really can defeat Herobrine.”
I grabbed Otis’s hand and pushed it off my shoulder. “Wait a minute. We don’t actually have to defeat Herobrine,” I said excitedly. “We just have to stop him from destroying the world.”
“Yeah, that’s all,” said Otis rolling his eyes.
“No, Otis, think about it. Herobrine obviously needs those mysterious objects to complete his plan to destroy the world. So, if we can find a way to take them back or destroy them, we don’t need to do anything else.”
Otis began to nod, slowly at first and then more rapidly. “I see your point,” he said. “I mean, it would be best if we could destroy Herobrine, but this gives us an alternative plan.”
“Of course,” I added, “both alternatives are super dangerous and likely to fail.”
Otis turned toward me angrily, shot his hand out and grabbed the back my neck. As he pulled my face toward his, he said, “No more negativity. We have to believe we can do this. I believe we can do this. If you don’t believe, I will do this myself!”
I pushed Otis away. “Dude, chill. I am ready to go to battle, but I am just trying to be realistic.”
“There is no time to be realistic,” said Otis. “We are going to fight the most powerful, most evil force in the entire world. This is a time to believe we are legend!”
Did Otis just snap? Was his mind gone? Legend?
“Um, yeah, okay,” I said. “I get it.”
“Good,” Otis said. “Now, just let me craft a flint and steel, and we can head back to the portal.”
Chapter 3
When we returned to the portal, Harold and Bob were both sitting next to Zeb. Harold had gathered a large pile of food, enough to last at least five days, though I did not want to be in the Nether for that long.
“How is Zeb?” I asked.
“He seems to be stable,” said Bob. “His breathing is regular and the bleeding has stopped.”
“I … I’m … fine,” moaned Zeb.
I rushed to his side and kneeled next to him. I took his undead hand in mine.
“Zeb,” I said. “Zeb, you are awake.”
Zeb’s eyelids fluttered. “Yes,” he said with a raspy voice.
“Zeb. We are going after Herobrine. We have to stop him,” I said.
“I know,” muttered Zeb. “I wish … I wish … I could go … too.”
I patted his hand. “So do I,” I said sadly. “You would know what to do. You are the smart one.”
I saw the hint of a smile form on Zeb’s face. “But you … you … you are the quick one, chicken jockey,” he said.
I smiled back. “I don’t know if quickness will help with Herobrine.”
“Check ‘em with the quickness, just to let ‘em know,” said Bob.
Otis looked at Bob. “Seriously, dude, what is with you?”
Bob flapped his wings and scratched the ground, saying nothing.
Otis shook his head. “Whatever,” he said.
“Zeb, do you have any thoughts about how we can defeat Herobrine?” I asked. “Have you ever heard any legends or rumors or anything that might give us an idea about how to attack him?”
Zeb shook his head. “No, I have not,” he said, coughing. “But, I know from experience that the powerful often underestimate their opponents.”
“The arrogance of power,” clucked Bob.
“Yes,” continued Zeb. “Be careful, but Herobrine must have a weakness. Everyone and everything does. Pay attention. You will see it.”
“I will,” I said.
Otis rolled his eyes. “Enough of this Sun Tzu nonsense,” he said. “Let’s get going.”
I stood up and said, “Wait. We need to protect Zeb. Let’s build him a secret chamber so he can hide if any players find this cave.”
