Miles went to shake her hand, but she pulled hers away at the last second. “Ew, I’m not touching those dirty hands. Where have you been?”
“I told you. We were fighting the … oh, never mind,” Miles said, turning to the chest. “I came here for the treasure, and I’ve found it. And now you’re free from the web so you can go.” Miles opened the chest and cursed lightly under his breath. “Oh drat.”
“What’s up?” Sarah said, peering over his shoulder.
“No coins,” Miles said, but he pulled out a Web Slinger and placed it into his inventory. “A worthless trip.”
“Hey!” Sarah said, clearly insulted. “Not totally worthless—you met me!”
Miles shot her an annoyed glance. “Yeah? And what can you do aside from insult people?”
“I can … I can give you a shave and a haircut! And change your look for battle.” She pulled out a bottle of brown dye. “Dye your hair?” she asked hopefully.
“My hair is already that color,” Miles pointed out, walking away. “Thanks anyway.”
“Wait!” the stylist called after him. “If you’re looking for coins, take these cobwebs.”
“What would I want cobwebs for?” Mile asked, trying not to sound too interested.
“You can turn them into silk and trade for mucho coins.” Sarah hopped in front of him. “I don’t have my scissors, but I can help you collect them if you want.”
“What’s in it for you?” Miles asked.
“Do you have a spare room? It’s not that I’m lonely, it’s just that you could use a stylist to keep your look … fresh.” She wrinkled her nose with disapproval at his clothes and hair.
“Fine!” Miles said. “We have a spare room at the tree house, but you’ll need to help out.”
The stylist bounced around the cave, grabbing cobwebs as quickly as she could. “You won’t regret it, I promise!”
“I already do,” Miles muttered as he placed the rest of the cobwebs into his inventory.
As they were about to leave, something black and squeaky brushed past his hair. Miles shuddered. “What was that?”
“That was a giant bat,” Sarah said quietly. “Whatever you do, don’t let it hit you.”
“Why not?” Miles asked, ducking as the bat swooped back overhead. He tried to wave it away with his slime torch but discovered that was not going to keep this bat away.
“Giant bats give a nasty debuff. You’ll get confused and knock yourself out trying to get away while it eats your brains.” Sarah reached into her inventory and pulled out a pair of very stylish scissors. “Will you look at that? I had my scissors with me the whole time!” She began hacking at the air near the bat.
Miles placed his torch on the wall, reached into his inventory for his sword and instead pulled out a zombie arm. “Not quite a broadsword, but it’ll do the trick,” Miles said as he waved the arm at the bat swooping overhead.
“Like, ew!” Sarah squealed at the sight of Miles waving around a dead zombie arm. “Put that thing away!”
Miles ignored her and hacked at the bat, knocking it toward the cave wall. Sarah raised her stylish scissors and hacked at the bat’s wing.
“Nice job with those things,” Miles called out, impressed. He finished the bat off by clubbing it with the zombie arm. It dropped to the ground, leaving behind a handful of silver coins.
“We’re a good team, right?” Sarah asked hopefully.
“Yeah,” Miles admitted. “You’re actually good in a fight.”
“Actually? That’s not a compliment. That means you didn’t expect me to be good,” Sarah sulked. “But you’re right. I probably come across as all bark, no bite.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Miles reassured her. He was growing to like this fiery stylist. She was funny, even if she didn’t mean to be. “Let’s head up and I can introduce you to my other friends.”
“Other friends?” Sarah said hopefully.
“Oh, come on,” Miles said playfully. “Stop fishing for compliments and let’s go.”
Chapter 9
MINING
Miles led the way through the winding cave and took a left turn, straight into a dead end. “Not very good with directions, are you?” Sarah asked.
“I’m so glad you noticed, Sarah,” Miles said sarcastically. “Any idea how we can get out?”
“Why do you want to leave now? You came here for coins, so let’s find some chests in this dirty old cave.” Sarah led the way down a corridor Miles hadn’t noticed before. It felt like it led further into the cave, which could help his search for the Corruption.
“What do you want coins for, anyway?” Sarah’s voice echoed as she walked into a large, high-ceilinged chamber.
“Purification Powder,” Miles replied, lighting another torch. He held it up to the walls to make sure there were no more giant bats lurking in dark corners. “The Corruption is spreading quickly, and it’s my job to stop it.”
“I thought your job was to be a warrior,” Sarah said.
Miles shrugged. “That’s how it started. It was my dream when I arrived here. But the more I see of the world, the more I realize that the Corruption must be stopped and I’m the best guy for the job.”
“You’re a big braggart, you know that?” Sarah observed. “But don’t get all offended. I like that about you. You know what you’re good at, and you aren’t afraid to admit you’re horrible with directions.” She smiled at him.
“Well, you did catch me in a weak moment. Standing in a dead end and all.” Miles held up his torch, lighting up a small alcove in the room. “Hey, I think I found a chest!”
“Lemme see!” Sarah grabbed the torch and looked up close to it. “Yup. That’s a chest alright!”
Miles reached out his hand to open it, but the chest had opened itself revealing a set of pointed teeth and a tongue. “Look out! It’s a mimic!” Sarah called. Miles jumped back but it was too late. It lurched forward with a chomp. Sarah and Miles backed up into the large underground room, then turned and ran away from it.
“Let’s split up,” Sarah suggested. “We’ll confuse him.”
“No way,” Miles responded. “I’m not leaving you defenseless.”
Hearing that, Sarah whipped out her scissors and slashed at the mimic, slicing off a piece of its outstretched tongue. “I wouldn’t say I’m defenseless, Noob.”
“Nice,” Miles muttered, truly impressed. “In that case, I’ll go this way, you go that way.” Miles ran off in the opposite direction and the mimic followed behind him. He could see Sarah trying to sneak up on the mimic, and she was about to succeed when he saw something move behind the stylist. “Sarah, look out! Behind you!”
Two armored skeletons had spawned out of nowhere and were moving toward Sarah. She wheeled around and slashed, damaging both of them with one blow. They reeled back, stunned for the moment, but Miles could tell they wouldn’t be stopped for long. He fired his Ice Rod, hitting one skeleton right in the chestplate, damaging its armor. Then he fired an ice block straight into the open mouth of the mimic. It closed its mouth and shuddered, clearly surprised.
“Hey look, it has brain freeze!” Miles called to the stylist.
“How can you be funny when we’re under attack?” Sarah called out, trading hits with one of the skeletons. “It’s all I can do … ugh … to fight these … urgh … hostile skellies.”
“It’s a weird talent I have,” Miles said, taking a large leap and landing on top of the mimic chest with a loud bang. Its tongue was hanging out of its mouth as its teeth came chomping down, chopping off another piece of it.
“Way to go!” Sarah called out, stabbing each of the skeletons in turn, first the one on her right, then the one on her left. “If you’re done playing with your little monster, can you give me a little help here? It’s two against one.”
Matt brought his sword down on the chest, slicing it in two for a final defeat. He leapt over the mimic and somersaulted toward Sarah and the skeletons.
“
Heads up!” Miles called as he rolled like a cannonball. Sarah dove out of the way as the skeletons looked up in surprise. Miles bowled into them both, sending skeleton bones flying in all directions. He stood up dizzily as the cave spun into view. “Did we get ’em?” he asked.
“Yes!” Sarah replied, jumping up and grabbing Miles in a big hug. “We did it!”
Miles blushed uncomfortably as Sarah backed up. “Sorry, I’m a hugger. You’ll learn that about me. Well, I guess you already did.” She bent down to pick up what looked like an ordinary sword dropped by the skeleton. “What’s this?” She swished the sword in the air and unleashed a beam that crashed into the cave wall.
“Beam sword! Best drop ever!” Miles said, taking it from her. “It’s a sword, it’s a flashlight, it’s a fiery projectile launcher … it’s three weapons in one!”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “You are weird about your weapons. What else did you get?”
Miles picked up two pouches of silver coins from the skelly twins and a pouch of gold from the mimic, along with a Titan Glove. “Nice! Now I have to get a slap hand, and my knockback will be unstoppable!” He weighed the coins in his hand. “This wasn’t what I expected when I came down here, but overall it was a successful detour.”
“Is that because of the drops or because you met me?” Sarah flipped her ponytail and laughed.
Miles found his face reddening again. It had been doing that a lot since he entered the cave and he was willing to bet it didn’t have anything to do with the cave. “Both, I guess,” he replied. “If you can get us out of here, that is.”
“No worries at all.” The stylist looked left, right, up and down, stuck up her finger to test the wind and sniffed the air, then walked west. “This way.”
“You could tell which way to go from doing all those things?” Miles asked, impressed by her tracking skills.
“Nah, I was going that way anyway.” Sarah hopped down the corridor, her ponytail bouncing behind her. All Miles could do was follow.
They hadn’t traveled far before they turned a corner and were almost blinded by the bright sunlight that greeted them. Before he could check the time, a message appeared: “The Frost Legion is approaching from the East.”
“Oh no,” Miles groaned. “Not again.”
Chapter 10
SNOWBALL FIGHT
Sarah looked excited. “I’ve never met the Frost Legion before. I hear some of them drop cute hats.”
Miles laughed. “You would think of fashion at a time like this. Unfortunately, you have to defeat them first.” He looked at her scissors. “Do you have any ranged weapons?” Sarah shook her head sadly. Miles handed her a wrench from his inventory. “Just aim and throw, then hold your hand up. It’ll come back to you if you do it right.”
“I think I can handle that,” Sarah said. The two broke into a jog and caught up with the rest of Miles’s companions running toward them.
“We heard the Frost Legion is on its way again,” Isabella said. “We figured you’d need help.”
“You guys are the best!” Miles said. “Thank you for coming. Let’s get to that ravine so we can get an advantage over them.”
John caught up to Miles and whispered, “Where’d you pick up the stylist?”
“Cobwebs Cave. Watch out for her, she’s sassy.” Miles grinned.
“I’m only sassy because I care,” Sarah said defensively, running up to join them. “And because once all this is over, I’m so giving you a makeover.” She turned to look John over from head to toe. “Either you have style, or you get styled. For you, I’d recommend something … low maintenance.”
John smirked. “Thanks, I think. I’m John. I’m a merchant.”
“Nice to meet you. Don’t try to sell me anything. I’m not buying.” Sarah said.
“Suit yourself. I’m here if you need me.” John shrugged and headed toward the hill.
They had rounded the hill to find the snowmen were coming straight at them.
“I hate to bring up Asher, but has there been any sign of him?” Miles asked John. “I thought about it and realized he couldn’t have been defeated alongside the Goblin Tinkerer, because there was no headstone or drops where he disappeared.”
“I hate to say it, but do you think he ditched Isaac and took off?” John’s voice trailed off.
Just then Asher appeared from behind a tree. “You think I did what?” he asked casually. “I heard the snowmen were back so I came to see if I could help this time.”
He sounded sincere, Miles noticed. “That would be nice, Asher. Thanks,” Miles said, embarrassed for suspecting him of taking off. “Let’s get to our battle stati—” Whap! Miles’s sentence was cut short by a blow to the head with a giant snowball.
Asher was first to spring into action, scooping up the snowballs landing around them and then whipping out a snowball cannon to shoot them back at the intruders. “I’m fighting fire with fire! Or snowballs with snowballs, anyway!” He seemed to enjoy himself, calling out “Yeehaw!” or “Whoopiedoo!” every time he made a direct hit.
Sarah fought alongside these new companions, throwing and catching the wrench with the same skill she applied to her stylish scissors, while the Magician gleefully shot fireballs into the oncoming crowd of snowman with his Flamelash.
Miles took out the snowmen who had gotten through the distant defenses using his yo-yo, but as its power began to fade, he switched to his broadsword, slashing at their round white bodies. Miles reached into his inventory to unleash a heavenly shower of rocks onto the snowmen with his Meteor Staff and realized he hadn’t brought any of his new weapons.
As his sword gave out, Asher tossed him a musket. “This should get the last of them,” he shouted.
“Thanks!” Miles shouted back, firing the gun into the crowd of evil snowmen. Back-to-back, Miles and Asher fought off the invaders, high-fiving each other as the last snowman fell.
“I’m glad Asher stuck around for the fight this time,” Autumn observed quietly to Miles. “I was beginning to question his loyalty.”
Miles didn’t want to admit that he was thinking the same thing. “He did a good job. We couldn’t have defeated them as easily without him,” Miles said simply. He was being honest without openly agreeing with her. “I’m going to go thank him and return his weapon.” Miles excused himself as the rest of the team started picking up the snowmen’s drops. He noticed Sarah filling her inventory with snowman gangsta hats.
“Hey Asher.” Miles approached him as he was picking up the last of the snowballs. “Great job.” He held out the musket. “Thanks for the loan. I can’t believe I left my new weapons back at home.”
“No worries, friend,” Asher replied cheerfully.
“It was helpful in the fight. And you were great, too. I was glad to have you fighting by our side. We lost track of you somewhere in the middle of that first wave,” Miles said.
“Yeah,” Asher replied. “I ran off to get more ammo, and when I got back, you all were gone. Was the tinkerer able to hold ’em off when I left? Where is he, anyway?” Asher looked around, suddenly realizing that Isaac wasn’t there. “Did he get hurt?”
Miles shook his head. “Unfortunately, we lost him in the battle. The snowmen overpowered him when you left.”
Asher closed his eyes and looked genuinely stricken. “Oh! It’s my fault he’s gone. I’m sorry.” He looked at Miles, searching his face for an emotion. “You must hate me. You must blame me. Do you?”
Miles was uncertain how to respond. “He was one crazy warrior—rushing head first into that battle. I don’t think there was much we could do.” Miles admitted, realizing for the first time that was the truth. “I don’t blame you.” He stuck out his hand and Asher shook it gratefully.
“I’m so glad. And I’m sorry I ever caused you to doubt me.” Asher seemed relieved. “To make it up to you, I’d like to help you stop the Corruption,” Asher continued. “I know you have Purification Powder. I can spread the powder and do whatever it takes
.”
“We’re happy to have you on the team.” Miles felt relieved as soon as he said it. He was glad to have the uncertainty out of the way. He hoped he had made the right decision.
Chapter 11
WORMS
Miles stood at the top of the hill, looking over the piles of snow where the Frost Legion had fallen. He was proud of everyone. They had fought well and finished off the legion in an easy battle.
“Thank you all for your help,” Miles called to his companions. “We have defeated the snowmen—again—but now, we have the Corruption to fight. With Asher by my side, we will work twice as quickly.”
“Yay, Asher!” Isabella shouted.
“Let’s meet back at the tree house,” Miles announced. “When the Corruption is gone, we can enjoy a well-deserved rest.”
They applauded. Autumn gave him a thumbs-up of support. Then he and Asher prepared to hit the road.
As they were ready to leave, Isabella came over with the map, showing the spread of the Corruption. “You’ll have to dig deep. Remember, use the Purification Powder from the edges toward the center first, then dig a wide trench, deeper than you think you’ll need. The underground Corruption spreads as quickly and in another direction—down.”
“Got it, boss,” Miles said.
“There’s one teensy problem,” Sarah said as she walked over. “Mr. Rough-around-the-Edges here has a terrible sense of direction. He can’t even find his way out of a cave!” Miles winced as she laughed. “It’s funny because it’s true,” she added.
Miles joined her laughter. “I can’t argue with the stylist, actually. Fearsome warrior. Good leader. Not great with maps.” He shrugged.
Asher reassured them. “Where Miles falls short, I can fill in the blanks. I not only have an excellent sense of direction, I can memorize anything.”
“I hope that’s true, Asher, because I’m counting on you to get us there and back safely,” Miles said cautiously.
“I’ve got this,” Asher said confidently. “And now, we must bid you farewell!” he said with a wave and a bow. “Until we meet in the Hallow!”
Snow Fight Page 5
