Treasure Hunters in Trouble

by Winter Morgan

  Steve was the first person to climb down the tunnel. He held a torch as he led the group into the eerily silent tunnel.

  “I don’t see any slimes,” Kyra remarked as she carefully made her way through the tunnel.

  “And I don’t hear any slimes,” added Caleb.

  “They have to be here.” Steve couldn’t imagine where else they’d be coming from. He also wondered who had built this tunnel and if they were still in the swamp biome.

  A blur of colors raced past Steve and the gang.

  “It’s a rainbow griefer!” Kyra called out.

  “Remember how Joshua used a rainbow griefer to destroy the building competition?” Caleb said as the group walked down the tunnel, closer to the griefer.

  “Rainbow griefers have Henry, Max, and Lucy trapped in the desert. I don’t think being in this tunnel is a good idea; they could trap us down here.” Kyra wanted to leave.

  “We’re all nervous, Kyra, but we have to find out where these slimes are spawning or we won’t be able to stop them,” said Steve.

  “But what if we are attacked by the rainbow griefer? Then we can never help our friends.” Kyra didn’t let the matter drop.

  Alex defended Steve. “Steve’s right. We have to get to the bottom of this slime problem.”

  They suddenly stopped when they heard a loud noise. Squish! Squash!

  “It’s the slime spawning room!” Steve was excited. “It must be right down this hall,” he guessed.

  The group made a right turn in the tunnel. Instead of entering a room filled with slime, they were stopped by a rainbow griefer wearing red armor and holding a brick of TNT.

  “You walk one step closer and I’ll blow up this tunnel!” the griefer shouted.

  “But you’ll destroy all of us,” Steve pleaded, trying to reason with the griefer.

  “Makes no difference to me. I live here, so I’ll just respawn.” The rainbow griefer laughed.

  Squish! Squash! Three slimes hopped from the slime spawn room and leapt at the rainbow griefer, destroying him. Steve and the gang sprinted away. They wanted to be far away before he respawned.

  The tunnel was longer than they remembered, and it felt as though they’d never reach the end. When they finally saw light peeking through the hole above them, they climbed up a makeshift ladder made of vines and made their escape. Emerging in the evening light, a bat flew close to their heads.

  “We’re safe! Let’s get out of here!” Will shouted, but he had spoken too soon.

  In the distance, the rainbow griefer sprinted toward the group, and although he didn’t have a block of TNT, he was carrying a diamond sword.

  The group tried to escape, but the rainbow griefer was fast. He caught up to them and leapt at Steve. The sword struck Steve’s arm.

  “Ouch!” Steve cried, as he lost hearts in his health bar.

  Caleb shot an arrow at the griefer and struck him right in the chest. The griefer was weakened. Steve lunged at the rainbow man with his diamond sword, pounding him with his powerful enchanted sword. The rainbow griefer sprinted away. They knew the battle was far from over. There were rainbow griefers lurking all around the Overworld, and they had just begun their war on the rainbow ruffians.

  Squish! Squash! The sound of slimes was emanating from the tunnel.

  “We need to get out of the swamp!” Alex cried to the gang.

  Steve picked up a large rock and covered the hole in the ground. “That should keep the slimes away for a while.”

  Night had fallen. They were stuck in the swamp. The group could make out two pairs of purple eyes in the dark sky.

  “How are we going to escape?” Alex whispered.

  “Swim!” Steve said, hopping into the murky swamp water filled with lily pads. The group followed.

  4

  VIEWS AND VILLAINS

  The sun rose, but the mountain’s peak kept it hidden. The group was far from the swamp but surrounded by large hills, caves, and enormous mountains.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” Kyra said as she stared at a waterfall at the top of a mountain.

  Alex had made her way to the top and was about to walk down.

  “Careful!” Steve called out. “You have to watch out. The other side is very steep, you can just fall off. There’s no place to climb down.”

  “What should we do?” asked Will.

  “We can just head back the way we came,” suggested Alex.

  “That’s not a plan. That’s how you get killed by a rainbow griefer,” said Kyra.

  “Do you guys know parkour?” asked Caleb.

  “You mean jumping from mountain to mountain?” Kyra asked, her voice shaky.

  “That sounds scary.” Will looked at the mountaintop that they would need to reach to make their way across this mountainous biome.

  “It’s not scary. It’s fun!” Caleb assured them. “It can seem a bit hardcore at times, but it’s the ultimate adventure!”

  The group wasn’t convinced. Steve looked at the other mountain, trying to evaluate how long he’d be in midair and how far he’d fall if he didn’t make it.

  “I’ve heard of parkour, but it always seemed a little risky,” Steve said, looking down at the valley between the two mountains.

  “Watch me!” Caleb sprinted and jumped to the adjacent mountain. He landed safely.

  “Wow!” Kyra was in awe.

  “It’s not hard at all!” Caleb shouted. “Join me!”

  Steve couldn’t believe he was going first. He wanted to close his eyes, but he knew he had to pay attention. This was an adventure, but it wasn’t as easy as Caleb made it seem. Steve sprinted, then he jumped. His feet were in midair. It was like flying but it only lasted a second. He landed on top of the mountain.

  “See! You did it!” Caleb was excited. One by one, they sprinted and jumped to the other mountain.

  “The views are incredible from up here!” Steve looked out at the mountains; they seemed so majestic. He wanted to jump from mountain to mountain.

  “Let’s jump to the other mountain,” suggested Kyra.

  “No, it’s too far. Parkour only works if you’re fairly close to the place you are jumping to. You don’t want to fall down and get killed,” Caleb told her.

  “I can’t believe I was so scared and I still had the best time,” Steve told the group.

  “I told you!” Caleb smiled.

  Everyone stopped and took in the view. It was the type of view you wished you could spend hours just looking at, the type that would make you want to paint a picture. The group couldn’t stay very long. It was going to take awhile to hike down the mountain, and they didn’t want to spend another night without shelter. They were getting tired and hungry and needed to make their way to a home for the night.

  Finally, the group was at the bottom of the mountain. As they made their way through a grassy valley, they stumbled upon an entrance to a cave.

  “Should we go mining?” asked Will.

  “It seems like a waste if we don’t,” replied Kyra. “We can get emeralds and maybe even diamonds.”

  “I know, but it’s going to get dark soon. We have to find some shelter. I think mining will be very dangerous,” Steve warned them.

  “Dangerous? You just jumped from the top of one mountain to another. That was dangerous,” Caleb said as he walked toward the cave.

  Everyone followed Caleb into the cave. Steve put on his helmet, got his pickaxe from his inventory, and met the others in the cave.

  “Look at how deep we can go,” marveled Alex.

  “I found emeralds!” Kyra called out.

  “I think we’re going to find diamonds soon,” Will said as he mined deeper.

  “I see a cave spider!” Steve cried out, and Alex sprinted over and slammed her sword at the spider.

  “There are going to be a lot of cave spiders, Steve,” Alex remarked. “We’re in a cave.”

  The group gathered emeralds, gold, and iron.

  “I told you this was worth it,�
� Kyra said, holding up gold ingots.

  “You were right,” admitted Steve. “Look at all of these resources. I can’t wait to trade them with Eliot the Blacksmith.”

  The group dug deeper into the mine.

  “I see blue!” Kyra shouted.

  “Where?” Alex followed Kyra.

  “Look! Diamonds!” Kyra banged her pickaxe against the wall.

  The group gathered the diamonds.

  “This is fantastic!” said Will.

  They worked fast to place as many diamonds as they could in their inventory before night fell.

  “Hand everything over!” a deep voice echoed in the cave.

  The group looked up to see three rainbow men pointing bows and arrows at them.

  5

  PORTALS

  “Don’t shoot!” Steve called to the rainbow griefers.

  “Why should we listen to you?” a rainbow man shouted and shot an arrow at Steve.

  Steve was hit, but he was still able to race toward the rainbow man with his diamond sword. Caleb ran after Steve.

  Clash! Steve struck the rainbow man but shielded himself with his arrow. Caleb was able to strike the rainbow man, too. Kyra shot two arrows, which significantly weakened the rainbow man. Steve delivered the final blow, and the griefer was destroyed.

  Yet the battle wasn’t over. Two more rainbow men remained, and they were fierce.

  One rainbow man was in a sword battle with Alex.

  Clang! The battle was intensifying. The rainbow man was forcing Alex into an area of the cave filled with cave spiders.

  “Help!” she cried.

  Steve wanted to assist Alex, but he was looking for the cave spider spawner. The spiders were filling the walls of the cave, and soon they’d all be bitten. He had to stop them from spawning.

  Alex tried to fight the rainbow man, but he was a skilled swordsman. Will shot an arrow at the rainbow griefer and hit him in the eye. Alex was able to strike him with the sword just as a cave spider bit his leg. He was able to escape though, and sprinted out of the cave.

  Then there was only one rainbow man left, and he was aiming an arrow at Kyra. Steve tried to reason with him.

  “Look at what happened to your friends! What do you want from us?” he asked.

  The rainbow man didn’t reply. Instead he took out a sword and lunged toward Steve.

  Steve sprinted. As he raced through the cave, Steve unknowingly stepped on a pressure plate.

  Thump! Steve landed in a spawner room surrounded by silverfish and spiders.

  “Help me!” he screamed from the hole in the ground.

  Kyra sprinted toward Steve. “The rainbow man is getting away!” she yelled to the others.

  Alex chased the rainbow man. She hit him from behind, but he got away. Alex ran to Kyra to help Steve get out of the hole. When Alex looked down, she gasped.

  Cave spiders and silverfish surrounded Steve, and no matter how many he was able to crush, he had no hope of survival unless he could destroy the spawner.

  Will jumped into the hole and ripped his pickaxe into the silverfish spawner. He banged against it as hard as he could. It was almost impossible to break, but Will worked hard and demolished it. Steve stamped out cave spiders and made his way over to the cave spider spawner. He placed two torches beside the spawner to disable it.

  “How do we get out of here?” asked Will.

  “We’re going to have to mine our way out,” Steve replied as he banged his pickaxe into the wall.

  Will joined Steve and the two pickaxed the wall of the spawning room.

  “Are you okay?” asked Kyra.

  There was no reply.

  Kyra looked down. They were missing!

  “They’re not there,” she told Alex and Caleb.

  Alex didn’t believe her and had to take a peek, too.

  “Where could they have gone?” Alex was shocked.

  Kyra jumped into the hole. Alex and Caleb followed.

  The cave wall had been demolished, and they looked through the other side and saw a large hole.

  “What’s that?” asked Alex.

  “It’s a stronghold!” replied Kyra.

  Alex had never seen one before.

  “Steve . . . Will . . . Are you guys okay?” Kyra called out to them.

  “Yes, we’re in a stronghold. And I think the only way out is through the portal to the End.” Steve’s voice had a shaky tone. Kyra could tell he was nervous.

  “I have Ender Pearls,” Alex said and jumped down into the stronghold.

  Steve thought it was odd that Alex was so eager to go to the End. Caleb followed Alex into the stronghold.

  Kyra reluctantly followed. She had put in enough time slaying the Ender Dragon and she didn’t want to travel to the End.

  “Don’t get so excited, Alex. We don’t even know where the portal room is; this stronghold has so many rooms,” Steve told her.

  The group explored the stronghold. Steve placed a torch on the wall, and they made a left turn into a hallway leading to an abandoned jail cell with iron bars.

  “I wonder who was kept prisoner in here?” Caleb asked the group.

  “It’s super creepy,” remarked Kyra.

  Will walked into the room.

  “Don’t shut the door. You don’t want to get trapped,” Alex said with a smile.

  Will rushed out. “Could that really happen?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure, but let’s not take any chances,” Steve replied as they made their way past the prison and to a staircase.

  “Should we go downstairs?” Kyra asked the group.

  “Yes!” replied Alex.

  They walked down the cobblestone stairs, but they couldn’t go any farther. The group stood in front of an iron door.

  “We have to use a pickaxe,” Steve said as he started to knock against the door with great force.

  The others joined Steve. They needed to see what was on the other side of the door. Using all of their strength, they mined through the door.

  As the door fell to the ground, Steve placed a torch to give the group light. Alex pushed her way to the front of the group and made a right turn down the hallway.

  “Alex, where are you going?” Will followed Alex.

  “Oh my!” Alex shouted in delight. “Look at this!”

  The group walked into the room where Alex stood. The room was lined with bookshelves and cobwebs. It was a small single-level library. Steve broke a cobweb away from his face.

  “A chest!” Kyra pointed out. It sat at the end of one of the large bookshelves. Kyra opened it carefully.

  “What’s in it?” asked Steve.

  Kyra held an enchantment book. “I bet this can help us.”

  “That’s cool,” said Alex, “but I’ve heard there are rooms in a stronghold that contain real treasures.”

  “What types of treasure?” Will was excited.

  “I’ve heard that, too, but strongholds are very large and we would have to find our way to one of those rooms,” Steve told him.

  “And the only way out of here is through the End,” Alex said with a smile.

  “That’s nothing to smile about, Alex,” Steve said. But nobody seemed to hear him. His words were lost when Kyra screamed, “I found treasure!”

  6

  IT’S NOT AN ENDING

  Kyra had climbed down a ladder placed outside the library and found a storeroom with a chest.

  “Open it!” Will stood over Kyra.

  “I can’t wait to see what’s in it,” Alex looked at the chest.

  Steve was walking down the ladder when Kyra opened it and screamed, “Saddles!”

  “Wow,” Steve exclaimed, “that’s rare!”

  “And there are five saddles in the chest. One for each of us.” Kyra handed saddles to the rest of the group.

  “You don’t have to share,” Alex told her. “You can keep them all to yourself.”

  Kyra looked at Alex, perplexed.

  “Thanks, Kyra,” Steve
said when she handed him the saddle.

  “Now when we encounter any animals, we can just put a saddle on them and we can ride them.” Kyra put the saddle in her inventory.

  “This is a great find,” said Will. “But we still need to find our way out of here!”

  The group walked into another hallway that seemed to go on forever. Steve was nervous about finding the portal room. He had little interest in returning to the End. Yet Alex seemed extremely excited about the prospect of slaying the Ender Dragon.

  “When we get to the End, I have a plan. I am an expert at destroying the Ender Dragon. Nobody has to worry; I can get us out of there,” Alex told them.

  The group stopped at another door. This one was also made of iron. They used their pickaxes to knock down the door again. It was another storeroom. Alex ran to the chest.

  “Gold ingots!” Alex called out and began to put them in her inventory.

  “What about us?” Kyra asked her.

  “I’m the one who found the chest,” Alex replied.

  “That’s not how it works. We’re in this together!” Kyra was angry.

  “I thought you were partners with Will?” Steve asked her. “Aren’t you used to sharing?”

  Alex paused and then put the remaining gold ingots in her inventory.

  “Will,” Steve asked him, “how can you let her do this to you? To us? Does she act like this all the time?”

  Will stuttered and could barely get his words out. “Alex is in charge.”

  “In charge?” Steve was dumbfounded.

  “How? Why?” Kyra also didn’t understand.

  Steve also knew they were getting distracted. He had three friends trapped by rainbow griefers who needed his help and here he was wasting time with Alex and Will. But he also didn’t want Will to be partnered with someone who wasn’t doing the right thing and, he had to admit, he wanted those gold ingots.

  “This is crazy. Everyone should get gold ingots,” said Caleb.

  “Give us our ingots,” Kyra demanded.

  “No!” Alex was adamant; she wasn’t handing them over.

  Steve wasn’t going to give up. He even contemplated threatening Alex with his diamond sword, but instead he calmly said, “Kyra gave everyone a saddle when she found the saddles. It’s the way it works when you are part of a team.”