Bacca and the Riddle of the Diamond Dragon

by Jerome ASF

  Bill, Bacca, and everyone else started emptying their inventories. Soon, there was a big pile of all the strange, corrupted items from the Tinkerer’s workshop. Bacca gave Bill a thumbs-up. This was going according to plan . . . so far.

  “There’s all sorts of things here you might like,” Bill said to the golems, who had now formed a large half-circle around the pile and were looking on intently. “We’ve got everything from weapons and armor, to fishing rods, to clocks, to compasses. You can’t imagine all the neat things we’ve got!”

  Some of the bolder members of the golem army began picking items up and examining them.

  “Yes, go right ahead,” said Bill. “There should be more than enough for everybody. Just form an orderly line. No pushing.”

  The golems began picking through the pile of items like it was an enormous yard sale. Every golem seemed to find something it liked. Some of the golems even took more than one item, which did not bother Bacca in the slightest.

  “Er, what do we do now?” Bill whispered to Bacca as the golems began trying out their new toys and trinkets.

  “We wait,” Bacca said. “And from the looks of it, we won’t have to wait very long.”

  Bacca pointed to a spot in the crowd where two golems appeared on the verge of a fight . . . with each other.

  “What did you go and do that for?!” one of the golems said angrily.

  “What are you taking about?” barked the other golem sarcastically. “I was just swinging this diamond sword, and for some reason you jumped right in the way of it.”

  Next, Bacca pointed to another part of the crowd where a different tumult had begun.

  “Hey, watch it!” a golem was saying. “You keep snagging my ear with that fishing line.”

  “That’s impossible,” said the golem holding the fishing line. “I was casting it in the other direction. It couldn’t have hit you.”

  “Are you calling me a liar?” asked the first golem.

  Then a momentous thing happened. The golem with the fishing pole pushed the other golem in the chest. The victim was knocked off his feet and landed on the netherrack floor. He got up and dusted himself off. His mouth curled into a sneer. And his hands curled into fists.

  Suddenly, physical disagreements seemed to be erupting all over the island.

  “Wow!” said Bill. “This is crazy. They’re all fighting with each other.”

  “Exactly!” Bacca said.

  It slowly dawned on Bill that this had always been the plan.

  “Okay,” Bacca said, calling his group into a huddle. “Here’s what we’re going to do next. Wizard, I need you to make a bunch more nether blocks—enough for us to craft a bridge back across the lava. Witch, we’re going to need all of the same potions we had before. Gargantua and Bill, I need you to keep a look out for any of the golems who might not be distracted, and who might see what I’m about to do.”

  “What are you about to do?” asked Bill.

  Bacca pointed to the top of the hill, where the Dragon Orb hummed and glowed.

  “Oh!” Bill said, having momentarily forgotten all about their mission. “Right.”

  Moments later, Bacca was sneaking through the rows and rows of brawling golems. The corrupted items had quickly caused all kinds of injuries and accompanying insults. Being inherently prideful, Bacca had known that the golems would not let these offenses go unpunished . . . even if the offenders had no idea what they’d done.

  Taking full advantage of this confusion, Bacca climbed the hill in the middle of the island and hustled toward the summit. The Dragon Orb was so very near. Then, quite unexpectedly, a grouchy-looking golem stepped out from the other side of the hill.

  “Hey,” it said. “What are you doing? I’m the only one allowed to be up here by the Dragon O—”

  The golem did not have time to finish the sentence. Bacca pulled out Betty with lightning-fast speed, and gave him a surprise chop on the nose. The golem went tumbling end over end down the other side of the hill.

  Bacca quickly grabbed the Dragon Orb and stuffed it into his inventory. Then he began running down the hill back to where the rest of his group waited. The majority of the golems continued to fight with one another—they were so thoroughly engaged that they were now no longer sure who had even started the island-wide brawl, or why—but one or two of them noticed Bacca taking the orb, and began calling out to their friends. For the moment their calls were drowned out by the fracas. But Bacca knew that would not last forever.

  “I got it,” he said as he reached the edge of the lava. “Now we need to get out of here . . . quickly!”

  Suddenly a booming voice rang out across the island. It was not quite as loud as Gargantua, but close.

  “They’ve taken the orb!” it cried. “Stop fighting and get them!”

  Bacca looked and saw the grouchy-looking golem at the top of the hill. Betty had left a nice big dent in him, but he was apparently still standing. Several of the other golems heard the command. They stopped fighting and began looking around for the culprits.

  “All right,” Bacca said. “Let’s get to it!”

  “Here,” said the witch, handing out potions. Everyone drank them down and quickly felt much speedier and better able to jump long distances.

  A moment later, the lava splashed high in the river. Bacca and the Wizard knew that their window to craft the bridge had just opened. They immediately went to work. A couple of golems—a few of the more clever of the bunch who had realized what was happening before most of their compadres—ran up behind the group.

  “Oh no you don’t,” said the witch, and hit one in the face with potions of harming until it fell to the ground.

  “Oh No You Don’t,” said Gargantua in echo, and lowered his bony foot on one of the sprinting golems, smashing it into a thousand pieces.

  “Nicely done,” the witch said to Gargantua.

  “That Was Fun,” the giant agreed.

  “Oh no!” shouted Bill.

  Everyone turned and saw Bill pointing at a new, much bigger group of golems that had begun to charge. There had to be fifty or more.

  “Yikes,” said the witch. “I don’t have enough potions for all of them.”

  “And I Have Only Two Feet,” Gargantua observed.

  Then, much to their relief, they heard Bacca’s voice.

  “Okay everyone,” Bacca said. “Let’s go. Just like before!”

  Bacca and the Wizard had only been able to build the bridge three quarters of the way across the river of lava. A new lava wave was bubbling up and about to break, and the horde of golems was practically at the foot of the bridge!

  Bacca, the Wizard, the witch, Bill, and Gargantua, all leapt off of the edge of the bridge and into the air. Propelled by their potions, they managed to clear the river of lava and land safely on the other side.

  Several of the golems followed them out onto the bridge. A few jumped after them. Without potion boosts, they all ended up falling into the river of lava. Most of the rest stood on the partially built bridge, wondering what to do. Then the lava wave came and crashed over them. The golems were set on fire and ran away back onto the island, trying to put themselves out.

  Bacca and his group had landed in a heap. For a few moments, they collected themselves, breathing hard. Then there was a sudden realization that spread across them like wildfire. They had done it!

  “We did it,” said the Wizard. “We got the orb!”

  “Yippee,” said the witch.

  “Yay,” said Bill.

  “Hooray For Us,” said Gargantua.

  “Thank you for your help,” Bacca said to his team. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Well, I mean, maybe I could have. We’ll never know for sure. I am Bacca, after all. But thank you for helping!”

  The group stood and dusted themselves off. The golems on the other side of the lava were shaking their fists in anger. Bacca and his team prepared to walk back to the Nether Portal and return to the dragons.

 
“Wait,” Bill said. “Now I see what you mean about this place being all right for a hermit. There are lots of nooks and crannies in the walls where people would never think to look for you. And it’s so dark and gloomy! Perfect for making people want to stay away. I think I’d like to stay here, if that’s all right with you.”

  “Of course,” said Bacca. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  “I Also Will Stay,” boomed Gargantua. “In The World Above I Never Saw Giants To Shoot With My Bow. Down Here I Have Seen Several. And Shot Them With My Bow. Maybe There Is More Where They Came From. Plus, Here It Is Always Night. Here, I Like It.”

  “That sounds fine,” Bacca said. “And, of course, if either of you ever change your minds, you can always leave again by exiting through the Nether Portal. Thank you both for all of your help. I wish you the very best of luck!”

  Bacca shook hands with Bill, and then shook the end of Gargantua’s little finger (which was still a bit too big to properly grip).

  “We’re still coming with you,” said the Wizard, as if there were any doubt.

  “Oh, absolutely,” seconded the witch. “This place is much too dark and smoke-filled for a honeymoon. Ick!”

  Leaving Bill and Gargantua to their new home, Bacca, the witch, and the Wizard journeyed back across the Nether until they once again found the portal back to the plane where the dragons dwelled. Bacca leapt through. The witch and Wizard followed. There was a flash as each of them disappeared.

  Suddenly, Bacca found himself back atop the highest branch in the forest. The trees all around were covered with dragons. It appeared that all of them had lost the ability to fly. They craned their necks and blinked their eyes, hardly able to believe what they were seeing. Bacca took the glowing Dragon Orb out of his inventory and handed it over to the Diamond Dragon.

  “Here you go,” said Bacca. “I believe this is yours.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bacca had seen some strange things in his time. But almost nothing prepared him for what happened when the Dragon Orb was once again safe in the claws of the Diamond Dragon.

  A glowing light seemed to shoot out from the orb and strike every one of the sickly, exhausted-looking dragons. The moment it touched them, they were magically restored to their former health. Their muscles bulged, their claws gleamed. They took off from the branches and rose high into the sky, making dramatic swoops as they did so. Many of them roared with glee.

  “Come on, everyone!” cried the Emerald Dragon. “You know what we have to do!”

  The dragons fell into a V formation and flew off into the distance. Only the Diamond Dragon remained.

  “Where are they off too so quickly?” Bacca asked, scratching his head.

  “Let’s just say that a few minutes from now . . . the creeper fortress probably won’t exist anymore,” the dragon said with a smile.

  The thought made Bacca smile too. Served those mean creepers right. The jerks.

  “Anyway, you’re welcome,” said Bacca.

  “Excuse me?” said the Diamond Dragon.

  “I was just saying you’re welcome . . . for the Dragon Orb that I went and got for you. At great risk and personal expense, I might add.”

  The dragon looked at Bacca to see if he was being serious. Then it laughed. It was a deep, diamondy sound.

  “Oh, our thanks to you are only just beginning,” said the Dragon. “But come, first we must return the Dragon Orb to its rightful place.”

  Bacca hopped aboard the dragon’s back, and motioned for the Wizard and the witch to join him. But instead, they remained where they were.

  “We think we’re going to stay in this forest for a while,” the witch said.

  “Yes,” said the Wizard. “Fresh air. Friendly animals. Nice tall trees. Now this is the kind of place where you can have a great honeymoon.”

  “Oh absolutely,” agreed the witch.

  “Have a nice time,” said Bacca. “Thank you both for all of your help! If you ever need to find me, I’m sure the Diamond Dragon can put you in touch. So long for now!”

  With that, the Diamond Dragon rose high into the sky. The Wizard and the witch waved goodbye from the branch below. Bacca held on tight. Empowered by the presence of the Dragon Orb, the Diamond Dragon flew like an arrow through the clear morning sky.

  Due to their considerable airspeed, the wind whistling past was quite loud in Bacca’s ears. Even so, at one point he could have sworn that in the distance he heard a very great structure being turned into rubble, and hundreds of tiny creeper voices crying out in alarm.

  The Diamond Dragon arrived at a beautiful circular palace made of redstone. The dragon landed in a verdant green courtyard in the center of the palace, next to a platform made of blocks of gold. As Bacca looked on, the dragon gingerly placed the Dragon Orb atop the shimmering golden pedestal.

  “I don’t want to seem bossy . . . but have you thought about a less conspicuous place for it?” Bacca asked. “You don’t want it to get stolen all over again, do you?”

  “This is the appointed resting place of the orb, where it has sat for centuries,” said the Diamond Dragon. “Have no fear. From now on, we will never let it out of our sights.”

  Just as these words were out of the Diamond Dragon’s mouth, Bacca heard the sound of many, many wings approaching. It was all of the other dragons, fresh from their destruction of the creeper fortress. They had very satisfied expressions on their faces.

  “The Creep is no more!” announced the Emerald Dragon, alighting near the orb.

  “Neither is their fortress,” said the Gold Dragon proudly.

  “There were some villagers who lived there too, you know,” Bacca pointed out. “And sheep.”

  “Have no fear,” said the Emerald Dragon. “We left the innocent unscathed.”

  “Yeah,” added the Lapis Lazuli Dragon. “After all, we’re dragons . . . not monsters.”

  “Now we must discuss your reward,” said the Emerald Dragon, turning to face Bacca.

  Bacca shrugged.

  “Actually, if someone could just take me back home now, that would be a great start,” Bacca said. “I miss my friends, and I miss LadyBacc. They’ll be wondering where I am.”

  “But we must reward you!” insisted the Gold Dragon.

  “You can bring me a reward whenever you like,” Bacca said, turning to the Diamond Dragon. “After all, you know where I live!”

  “That’s true,” said the Emerald Dragon.

  “Besides, this way it can be a surprise,” Bacca said. “It’s not as fun when you watch people pick out a present for you. Surprises are much better!”

  “Very well,” said the Diamond Dragon. “If you are prepared, I can take you back to your home server plane.”

  “And how!” Bacca said, jumping atop the dragon’s back. “Fellas, it’s been real. Good luck, and see you later!”

  The dragons on the ground waved goodbye as the Diamond Dragon once more soared high into the air. It shot across the landscape, until it found the strange hovering block that would take them back to Bacca’s home server. The dragon headed into it. There was a blinding flash, and suddenly they were on the other side. The dragon carried Bacca over a wide blue ocean that was starting to look very familiar. Soon, the towers of Bacca’s castle began to rise in the distance.

  The dragon landed gently on the highest tower of the castle. The roof was still mostly destroyed from the dragon’s first visit. Bacca hopped off the dragon’s back and landed back inside his bedroom.

  “Thanks for the lift,” Bacca said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I feel like I could sleep for ages. I haven’t had a chance to fix my roof since your last visit, so let’s hope it doesn’t rain.”

  “Sorry again about that,” said the Diamond Dragon.

  “No worries,” Bacca said. “I’m just messing with you. I’ll fix it first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Very well,” said the Diamond Dragon. “I will depart, but you will be seeing me again soon. I don’t
know if you appreciate just what your actions mean to our community. Your deeds will be remembered for many years to come. For generations, the name of Bacca will ring out from the mouths of dragons, when they recall the greatest, bravest crafter of all time. Young dragons will be taught about you in school. They will . . . they will . . . umm . . . Bacca?”

  But he was already asleep in his bed, exhausted from his travels, and dreaming about all his adventures and the new friends he had made.

  The Diamond Dragon smiled to himself, and flew off into the sunset.

  The next day, Bacca was walking through the gardens of his castle with LadyBacc, telling her all about his trip.

  “It sounds like those dragons were a lot friendlier than the ones we usually play Dragon Escape with,” LadyBacc observed.

  “Absolutely,” said Bacca. “And they talked more, too.”

  “I bet you had a really good time,” said LadyBacc. “I’m totally jealous. Those dragons must have been so interesting! I wish I could have met one of them.”

  Suddenly, an unusual shape on the horizon caught Bacca’s eye.

  “Actually,” Bacca said, “it looks like that might be possible.”

  He pointed skyward. Not one, but two dragony-shapes were now making their way across the ocean toward Bacca’s castle. By the way the sun reflected blindingly off of its skin, Bacca could tell that one of them was the Diamond Dragon. The other was less reflective, and its body was an unusual orange hue.

  And the orange dragon was carrying something in its teeth.

  “This is totally awesome!” shouted LadyBacc as the twin dragons circled above.

  The dragons slowly descended, eventually landing right next to Bacca in the garden.

  “Hello again, Bacca!” said the Diamond Dragon.

  “Nice to see you,” Bacca said. “Did you notice I’ve already repaired the ‘work’ you did to my bedroom roof?”

  The Diamond Dragon hung his head.

  “I’m just kidding,” Bacca said mischievously. “Here, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend. Diamond Dragon, this is LadyBacc.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” said the Diamond Dragon, extending his talons in a friendly way.