“We must make sure nobody sees us,” Noah told them. “We have to find out if Daniel is hiding in this house.”
The purple griefers entered the home. As the group studied the area around the house, they observed a large body of water behind the house. It wasn’t deep enough to house an ocean monument, but they could take shelter in the water if they drank a potion of Underwater Breathing.
“We can’t just storm into this house,” said Ben. “We have to come up with a good plan.”
“I’ve eyed the area for various escape plans,” Violet announced, and she listed the many places they could hide from the griefers, including the water behind the wooden house.
“Look!” Noah tried to keep his voice down, but he was nervous and it was hard to regulate the sound.
The group watched Daniel and a band of six red griefers walk out of the house. They stood silently as Daniel and the rainbow griefers passed just inches from the group. Everyone was worried they’d be captured. When Daniel and the griefers walked deep into the jungle, the gang collectively let out a sigh of relief. They were safe for that moment.
“We should try and enter the house now while Daniel is gone,” suggested Violet, and she started toward it.
“What about making a plan?” asked Noah.
“Nevermind that. Follow me!” instructed Violet as she walked confidently toward the wooden house. “And get your diamond swords out.”
Violet walked underneath the four stilts that held the house up. On one side of the house she saw a small staircase leading to the entrance. The others followed Violet as she climbed the stairs.
The only thing that could be heard was the sound of their hearts. They beat fast as Violet opened the door.
“We’re under attack!” a griefer called out from inside the house.
Noah rushed at a green griefer with his diamond sword, but an arrow struck him.
“Help!” Ben called out.
As the group each dealt with an intense battle of their own, they caught a glimpse of Ben surrounded by a horde of orange griefers.
7
CREATURES OF THE NIGHT
“Tell me where Daniel was going!” shouted Violet as she cornered a purple griefer, pointing her diamond sword at the griefer’s rainbow-colored head.
“Never!” the griefer retorted.
“What is he planning?” she demanded.
“I’ll never tell you!”
Violet struck the griefer and he was destroyed. She helped Ben battle the griefers that were quickly damaging his energy level. Ben was about to be weakened. Hannah gave him some milk, but she was struck as she handed it to him. Noah took a block of TNT out of his inventory and yelled to his friends, “Get out of here now!”
The gang dashed toward the exit. Noah followed, carrying the block of TNT, and ignited it by the entrance.
Kaboom!
The majestic jungle home was destroyed, along with the evil griefers who were living there.
“Daniel isn’t going to be happy about this,” Noah said as he looked at the charred remains of the house.
“Like we care,” Hannah joked to Noah.
“You did a good job,” Violet said with a smile.
“Now we have to find Daniel,” said Noah, and he looked off in the direction they had seen Daniel travel. “He went this way,” Noah said as he trekked farther into the jungle, hoping they were going in the right direction.
“It’s going to be night soon,” Harrison remarked. “We should build some shelter.”
“No problem. I can do it.” Violet began to gather all the supplies for building, and she crafted a house large enough for all of them.
The group gathered inside and helped Violet craft beds. The gang was about to climb into their beds when they heard a noise outside.
“We have to see if it’s the rainbow griefers,” Violet said, and she went to the window. A purple griefer walked near the house, but a creeper was silently lurking behind the lone griefer.
Kaboom! The creeper destroyed the purple griefer.
“We aren’t safe here,” Ben stammered.
“We need to sleep. It would be worse if we were outside,” replied Hannah.
The group covered themselves with wool blankets and drifted into a peaceful slumber until they were awakened by a blast.
Violet rushed to the window and saw smoke rising in the distance. “I don’t know where the smoke is coming from, but there are a group of zombies heading toward us.”
As the words left Violet’s mouth, a zombie ripped the door off the hinges of their hastily constructed home.
“Not my best work,” Violet joked about the door. She suited up and grabbed her sword, hitting the vacant-eyed creature of the night in the chest.
Harrison shot arrows at the zombies breaking into the small house.
“Gotcha!” shouted Elias as he struck a zombie with his sword.
The group dashed from the house, only to find themselves surrounded by zombies.
One zombie lumbered toward Noah with its arms extended. The black-eyed brute lashed out at Noah, and he struck the beast with his diamond sword.
“I’ve never seen this many zombies before,” Hannah said in disbelief, when a large group of zombies emerged from behind a jungle tree.
It was dark and the zombies’ purple pants stood out in the dim atmosphere. Since they were in the thick of the jungle, the battle was even more intense. Patches of leaves obscured some of the zombies. As soon as the gang finished battling one bunch of zombies, another group would jump out from behind the leaves.
Hannah threw a potion of Healing on two zombies that were hidden behind the bark of a large tree and destroyed the creatures. Elias struck zombies with his diamond sword. Harrison shot more arrows at the zombies. Yet no matter how many zombies they killed, more appeared on the horizon.
“I bet the rainbow griefers are behind this zombie attack,” Violet said. She struck a zombie with her sword, while another zombie hit her back.
“We’re losing energy!” Noah cried out as two zombies struck him. He was extremely weak and used all of his remaining energy to fight the zombie that stood inches from him.
Violet ran to Noah’s side and slammed the zombie with her sword.
“Help us!” Ben called out in desperation. Hannah and Ben were trapped in the middle of a circle of zombies, so Violet and Noah rushed to help them defeat the evil dead beasts.
Elias was cornered by the edge of the water. He used his sword to strike the zombies but they outnumbered him. Harrison rushed over to back up his friend, but they were both dangerously close to the edge. They didn’t want to fall into the deep blue water in the middle of the night.
Ben, Hannah, Violet, and Noah hurried toward them and used all of their might to defeat the zombies that were attacking their friends.
“I don’t think we can keep this up,” Noah said wearily as he destroyed yet another zombie.
“I agree!” Violet struck a zombie and realized that she was both hungry and tired. If she didn’t get something to eat soon, she would respawn in the tree house and would have to start the mission all over again.
Ben clobbered a zombie and stated, “That might be the last one I can fight.” He was also running low on energy.
Luckily, just when the group’s health bars were almost diminished, the sun began to rise.
Hannah passed around potions of Healing to her friends. Their energy bars began refueling.
“We’re saved!” Hannah shouted in relief.
“Let’s hold off on any celebrations,” declared Noah as an army of rainbow griefers marched toward them.
8
CLUES
Reenergized from the potion of Healing, Violet rushed toward the griefers with her diamond sword and demanded, “Tell us where Daniel is hiding!”
“Why? He wouldn’t bother wasting his time destroying an ordinary townsperson like yourself,” an orange griefer replied with a laugh.
“Daniel knows who
we are,” Violet warned as she inched her way toward the griefer, pointing her sword at his face.
The griefer laughed again. “I know who you are, Violet. So does Daniel. You are just a menace like one of the many hostile mobs in the Overworld. Soon you’ll be destroyed. Daniel set your friends to Hardcore mode once before and he’s not afraid to do it again.”
“We won’t let you destroy the Overworld,” Violet shouted. One by one, her friends stood behind Violet and pointed their diamond swords at the orange griefer.
“Daniel is still upset that you stole his enchanted book and destroyed his palace. You will have to pay for those crimes.” The orange griefer looked back at his army.
Before the griefer could signal his comrades to attack Violet and her friends, she yelled, “Crimes? I freed an entire town from his evil ways. He was controlling everyone with fear. And I didn’t steal that book. I found it. Daniel doesn’t own every valuable item in the Overworld.”
“You underestimate Daniel,” the griefer replied as he took out his diamond sword and held it next to Violet’s sword. “And you probably underestimate my sword skills. I’m the most skilled fighter in the Overworld. I will defeat you and then when you respawn in that house, the griefers will capture you and set you to Hardcore mode.”
Hannah stepped in between Violet and the orange griefer. “Why do bad guys always divulge their plans? Maybe next time you should keep your evil ideas to yourself!” Hannah splashed a potion of Harming and Slowness on the orange griefer, as Violet struck him repeatedly with her diamond sword until he was destroyed.
“I guess he wasn’t such a great fighter,” concluded Violet. But there was no time for critiques. The griefer army was enraged and rushed toward the gang with great force.
Hannah splashed a potion of Weakness on the griefers as they unleashed their arrows and swords at the gang.
Violet fought with her sword and Hannah stood next to her, splashing the griefers with as many potions as she could throw at this awful army.
The group was winning the battle, but this was just a small feat. They needed to find Daniel. He was hiding somewhere in the Overworld. They had to stop him from staging another attack.
As Violet lunged toward one of the remaining griefers, she saw another griefer holding a shovel and carrying snowballs.
“Here’s a clue!” she called out to her friends, but they were still immersed in their battle against the griefers.
“Help!” Noah cried out as he was struck several times by a green griefer.
Violet rushed to Noah. She swung her sword at the green griefer and demanded, “Tell me. Tell me if Daniel is in the Cold Taiga Biome!”
“Never,” the green griefer said as Violet thrashed him.
“I know he’s in a cold biome,” Violet said, and she destroyed the green griefer with her sword.
“Why do you believe Daniel is in a snowy biome?” asked Noah while he struck an orange griefer with his sword.
“I saw a griefer with a shovel and some snowballs. They must have come from that biome,” Violet said as she helped Noah finish off the orange griefer.
Harrison looked down at the red griefer he was battling with his diamond sword and saw a patch of snow from a dropped snowball. “You’re right Violet! I see snow!”
“You’ll never find Daniel,” the red griefer called out as Harrison delivered a final blow.
“I think we know where we’ll find him,” Violet told the group, as they destroyed the last few griefers in the jungle.
When the battle was finished, the group feasted on chicken, cake, and milk they shared from their inventories. As they ate, Violet said, “We have to figure out a plan before we head to the Cold Taiga Biome. I don’t want Daniel putting any of us on Hardcore mode. I couldn’t bear to see one of us totally destroyed.”
“But what if he does capture one of us?” Ben asked nervously as he took a bite of chicken.
“I think it’s a chance we have to take,” Noah said as he looked out at the horizon. He could see the snowy mountain. His heart sunk and he felt a lump growing in his throat.
“We are in this together. We’re going to defeat Daniel,” Violet told them. She wanted to believe they’d win this battle, but she had to be honest with herself. She didn’t know if that would happen.
The group finished their meals. They looked back at the small house they had created in the jungle and knew they couldn’t stay there any longer; they had to move forward.
They traveled through the Ice Plains Biome and past a Frozen River Biome. Violet felt a chill rush through her body. She didn’t want to end up on Hardcore mode. With each step through the Ice Plains Biome, she worried about what would happen once they reached Daniel. But she knew she couldn’t focus on the fear of fighting Daniel; she had to come up with a good strategy. Once she and her friends had a proper strategy in place, they’d have an advantage over Daniel.
“We need to think of a master plan,” Violet said to her friends as they walked slowly and carefully over a thick frozen river.
“I think fighting Daniel is as challenging as walking over this frozen lake,” declared Noah. “If we don’t take our time and go slowly, we’ll fall in and get very hurt.”
“Yes,” Violet agreed. “And I think you just gave me a good idea for a plan.”
9
FROZEN MOUNTAIN
“What’s the plan?” questioned Ben. His heart beat fast as they approached the mountain.
Ferns grew from the snow-covered ground and a wolf loped past the group, frightening them.
“Don’t tame it!” warned Violet. “We can’t have a dog now.”
The group let the wolf run past. Harrison asked, “Violet, what’s the plan?”
Violet picked snow up from the ground. “First we should craft some snowballs and place them in our inventory.”
Then Violet looked at the group and said, “The plan . . .” she paused. “Once we find Daniel we can’t let him know we are all here. We’re going to have to split up and surprise him.”
Although the plan was relatively basic, the group agreed it was a good starting point. And if they didn’t find Daniel’s hiding place, they’d never be able to stop him from carrying out his next attack. Ben said in a worried tone, “What if Daniel summoned another Ender Dragon while we were away?”
“I worry about that, too,” Violet replied as she inspected the base of the mountain for any holes that might indicate an entrance to a cave where Daniel might have set up his new frozen headquarters.
The gang explored the area surrounding the mountain, but it was only filled with snow and ice. There weren’t any caves or igloos.
“I don’t think we have time to climb up the mountain,” Noah said as he looked at the sky. “We have to build shelter.”
Although Violet was focused on finding Daniel, she had to admit she was excited to construct an igloo. She gathered snow and instructed the group on how to build a large igloo. When the snowy home was finished, Violet stared at it. “It’s so disappointing that we only get to stay here for one night. We did a really good job.”
The sun was setting as the gang entered the icy structure and began to craft beds for the night. Violet heard a rustling noise.
“I think there’s someone outside,” Violet told her friends and hurried toward the door.
“I don’t want you going out there alone,” said Noah.
The gang followed Violet outside. Ben lit a torch and placed it by the entrance of the house.
As a creeper approached the igloo, Harrison shot an arrow at the green explosive beast.
Kaboom! The creeper exploded.
Violet said determinedly, “We need to find out where that noise was coming from. It obviously wasn’t the creeper.”
Exhausted, cold, and nervous, the gang walked farther from the igloo and into the dark, frozen biome.
Harrison said in a quiet whisper, “Guys, I think I see something orange.”
The group huddled behind a la
rge snow-covered tree and watched an orange griefer in the distance. He was running away from a gang of skeletons who were hard to see because they were camouflaged by the white snow.
The orange griefer looked over at the group and instead of attacking them, he called out, “Please, help me!”
“Should we?” Elias asked his friends. “Do you think this is a trap?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Violet declared. She headed toward the orange griefer and shot an arrow at the skeletons.
The gang followed Violet and battled the bony beasts with diamond swords and arrows. The skeletons dropped bones and bows. The gang gathered the dropped items and placed them in their inventory.
“Thank you,” the orange griefer told the gang.
“Who are you?” asked Noah.
“I’m lost.” The griefer looked at them and asked, “But you guys look very familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”
“Your evil leader took over our village, but we were able to defeat him. Now he is staging new attacks,” Violet said in one breath.
“Yes! I know who you guys are. Daniel doesn’t like you at all.” The orange griefer’s energy levels were low and he had very little resources left. “I’m running low on energy. Do you have any food you can give me?”
Violet was shocked at how pleasant the griefer was acting. He didn’t behave like an enemy, but like a new friend.
“How can we help you? You work for one of the worst people in the Overworld,” Hannah said as she pointed her diamond sword at the orange man.
“Please don’t hurt me,” he pleaded. “It’s not my fault. I don’t even want to be a griefer. Daniel forced me into it.”
“Why should we believe you?” demanded Violet.
The orange griefer handed his diamond sword to Violet. “Please take this,” he said. “This will prove that I have no bad intentions. I just need a place to sleep.”
Violet looked at her friends. She wasn’t sure what they should do. She held the diamond sword ready in her hand and excused herself. “I need to consult my friends first.”
Each offered their opinion. Hannah said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Hidden in the Overworld Page 3
