Herobrine's War

by Mark Cheverton

  Gracefully, he floated downward toward a clearing ringed with acacia trees. Zombies moaned and growled in one section near a tall, twisted tree, while skeleton bones clattered in another. A ring of fuzzy black spiders surrounded the group: the outer guards. Farther out in the woods, Endermen zipped about like shadowy streaks of lightning as they teleported through the forest, watching for an NPC attack.

  At the center of the clearing, Malacoda saw Herobrine standing next to Erebus, the Enderman king and Shaikulud, the queen of the spiders. Malacoda pushed the ghast commander toward the Maker with one of his strong tentacles. They slowly lowered themselves to the ground.

  “Maker,” Malacoda said, his voice booming across the landscape. “This ghast has something to report.”

  Herobrine looked up, an excited look on his square face. The ghasts settled to the ground before the evil virus. With the flick of a tentacle against the back of his subject, Malacoda urged the monster to tell Herobrine what had happened.

  “We attacked over and over again, firing hundreds of fireballs at the waterfall,” the ghast explained. “I know the flames would have been extinguished, but we would have still done damage to the villagers. None in the cave behind the waterfall could have survived. We saw no one leave. That means they are all destroyed.”

  “You mean to tell me that none of the villagers tried to escape?” Herobrine asked. “Not a single one?”

  The ghast nodded and tried to move back, but Malacoda was right behind him, laughing quietly.

  “And you didn’t think that was strange?” Herobrine asked.

  The ghast said nothing.

  “Why didn’t you ask for help?” the Maker growled, his eyes glowing bright with anger. “We could have sent some zombies or skeletons in there.”

  Again, the ghast said nothing.

  “You fool,” Herobrine snapped. “They escaped somehow.”

  “But we saw no sign of them emerging from the waterfall. There was only a single narrow entrance, and we kept watch over it day and night. There is still a torch burning inside the cave … they must still be there.”

  “You’re an idiot! Do you think the blacksmith is stupid enough to use the same path out that he used to go in? They probably tunneled and emerged out of a hole somewhere far away from you.”

  The ghast moved back slowly, but Malacoda’s eyes grew bright with rage, warning the monster if he retreated any more, he would receive a lethal response.

  “That cannot be, Maker,” the doomed monster implored meekly. “We hovered about and watched the landscape all through the night. Ghasts threw their fireballs all around to light the terrain. No one was seen escaping.”

  “You let them get away!” Herobrine screamed, hot rage burning within him like a million suns. His eyes blazed. “How can you be so idiotic?!”

  “They must still be there,” the ghast pleaded. “They could not have escaped. I put ghasts all around that waterfall and we kept vigilant watch. The NPCs are still hiding in there. They must be.”

  “You fool,” Herobrine growled. “They’re gone already. I told you, as soon as the blacksmith was spotted to destroy him. If he tried any of his tricks, you were to notify me. You’re as stupid as you are careless.”

  “But I did everything right,” the ghast said, his narrow eyes filled with desperation. “We had them trapped.”

  Herobrine sighed.

  “The feeling of disappointment I have over your failure makes me feel….” He paused as he took a step closer to the ghast. “Makes me feel….” He moved even closer. “Makes me feel … furious!”

  He drew his sword and in a single, fluid motion struck at the monster, but the ghast was expecting this and quickly floated upward into the sky, away from Herobrine and his shining iron blade. The Maker flashed a glance at Malacoda; the king of the ghasts was ready. He had been forming a massive fireball during the exchange, getting ready for the inevitable outcome. It hovered amidst his tentacles, growing larger and hotter. He sucked the ball of fire into this body, then spat it at the pathetic monster. The flaming sphere struck the creature in the back, making it flash with damage. Before it could turn, Malacoda launched two more fireballs at the doomed ghast, burning away its HP until it disappeared with a pop, leaving three balls of XP to fall to the ground.

  Herobrine looked up at the king of the ghasts and smiled, nodding his square head as his eyes slowly grew dim. He turned and faced the queen of the spiders.

  “Shaikulud, send out your spiders,” Herobrine commanded. “I want the blacksmith found!”

  “Yessss, Maker,” she replied, her eyes glowing an angry purple.

  Herobrine turned back to Malacoda.

  “Go back to the waterfall and find their trail. Those NPCs must not escape. The blacksmith must be destroyed as an example to the rest of the villagers.”

  “Yes, Herobrine.”

  “Take some Endermen with you,” the evil shadow-crafter continued. “When you find him … and you better find him, you will send the Endermen back to notify me. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Maker,” the king of the ghasts replied.

  “Good, now GO!”

  Malacoda nodded his large head, then drifted into the sky as an Enderman teleported beneath him, his dark head looking up at the monster. As he drifted to the west, he watched as three Endermen teleported from place to place, keeping up with him. Malacoda smiled at the way he’d handled the situation. If he’d taken the report to Herobrine himself, he would have likely been the one punished, but by letting the commander of the squad give the report, Malacoda successfully shifted the blame … and potentially lethal punishment.

  He laughed a high-pitched, feline-like chuckle, then drifted faster to the west to begin hunting their enemy, the blacksmith.

  CHAPTER 19

  DESERT TEMPLE

  During the massive barrage of fireballs from the ghasts, the villagers had moved to the tunnels near the back of the cavern. They were all surprised that Gameknight had already known of the passages; the impenetrable darkness at the rear of the cave made them nearly invisible.

  Once the fiery attack was over, and night had settled over the land, the villagers had slipped quietly into the waterfall and floated down the river all throughout the night, staying submerged for as long as possible. As Gameknight had expected, the ghasts had left the waterfall to prowl across the savanna, looking for anyone trying to run away. With the monsters far from the river, and the cloud cover blocking the moon from lighting the terrain, they were able to swim away to safety.

  They floated along the river until sunrise. In the morning sun, when they could finally see the land around them, the villagers found themselves in a mesa plateau biome. Broad strokes of color and layered clay adorned the landscape, creating a surreal view.

  “It’s time to travel on land now, I think,” Gameknight said as he made his way to shore.

  “Oink,” Wilbur said as he followed.

  “Yeah, I’m tired of being cold and wet as well,” Gameknight said to the pink little animal.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user climbed out of the river and moved quickly up a nearby hill. Turning in a slow circle, he checked their surroundings. The orange-red light of dawn was spreading across the landscape, shading the already-colorful terrain with a crimson hue. Around him, red sand covered the ground as far as he could see. In places, white, gray, and brown clay filled the sides of hills in layers, giving the biome a striped appearance. It was fantastic to behold.

  Glancing skyward, Gameknight noticed the sky was free of clouds, which also meant it was free of ghasts … for now.

  He moved down the hill and helped others out of the river and onto dry land. Carver sent scouts out around them, making sure there were no monsters about.

  “You think the NPCs in that huge village in the savanna will be okay?” Weaver asked.

  “I don’t know,” the User-that-is-not-a-user replied. “I’m sure they saw the attack from the ghasts. Hopefully, they escaped before He
robrine extended his evil touch to them.”

  He glanced at the villagers that stood around him. They were all exhausted from the night’s ordeal, but there still remained an expression of determination on all their square faces.

  “Maybe putting some scouts up there on the plateau might be a good idea,” Gameknight said, pointing to the tall, flat-topped structure nearby. He glanced to the sky again, determined to keep watch, then continued. “We’re heading to the west from here, and we’ll follow the edge of that plateau for a while.”

  Carver nodded and gave out the commands.

  Gameknight glanced up at the sky yet again, searching the distant horizon for clouds.

  “Why are you continually looking up at the sky?” Weaver asked.

  “The clouds back at the waterfall, did you notice how they looked … different?” Gameknight asked.

  “Sure, they had crazed ghasts coming out of them,” Weaver said. “I’d think the ghasts are a bigger concern than the clouds.”

  “Ghasts, I understand,” Gameknight said. “But clouds should always look the same, and I think there was something, I don’t know … strange about them.”

  “I thought I saw sparks coming from one of them,” Baker said.

  “You mean the sparks were coming from the ghasts?” Weaver asked.

  “No, from the clouds,” the woman replied. “I thought I saw something sparkling in the clouds, as if they were on fire, which … I know, doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Maybe it was just from the ghasts,” Carver suggested.

  “No, it was from the clouds. I’m sure of it,” she replied.

  “That’s exactly why we need to get to Olympus Mons, to look at the clouds,” Gameknight said. “It’s the highest mountain in Minecraft, and, from up there, we’ll be able to get close to the clouds and really see what’s going on.”

  “Do you know where this mountain is located?” Carver asked.

  “Well, I can sorta feel if we’re going in the right direction or not,” Gameknight said. He moved closer to the two NPCs and spoke in a low voice. “Just between you and me, I think the Oracle is somehow directing me to it. I’ve asked her, but she won’t discuss it. She just says, ‘Take the advice of Baker, and listen to yourself and listen to Minecraft.’ That’s all she’ll tell me.”

  Gameknight sighed a frustrated sigh. Suddenly, Carver slapped him on the back and laughed.

  “Then maybe you should just take the Oracle’s advice and do it, Smithy,” the big NPC said.

  Baker glanced at Carver, then gave Gameknight a smile and chuckled. With her laughter filling his ears, she moved to an elderly villager and put her arm around the old man, helping him to walk.

  They walked quickly through the mesa, their eyes focused around the multicolored terrain but also up toward the sky. Moving along the flat landscape, the army made good time, passing through the plateau before noon. They next headed into a Bryce biome. Tall, multicolored spires reached high up into the sky, each a different shape and height, but the layers of color were all the same. It was as if this entire biome was made by putting layers of colored clay and sand down across the entire area. Then a sculptor had carved the land, digging out valleys and ravines, leaving behind the plateaus and plains and tall spires in the Bryce. It was fantastic.

  Traveling through the twisting, narrow valleys slowed their progress a bit. Baker suggested they go to the top of the canyons and head across the flat plateaus, but Gameknight remembered back to a time when spiders in lands similar to these had trapped him. They’d been traveling across the plateaus when the spiders saw them and gave chase. Without the help of Butch and his warriors, Gameknight and his friends might have been in serious trouble back then … although, technically it hadn’t happened yet, and wouldn’t for a long time. The whole time travel thing was still confusing.

  His friends … he missed them, he realized. Glancing at Weaver, then Baker and Carver and little Milky, Gameknight understood how important all these people were. If the past was inadvertently altered, it might change the future and hurt his friends. The pressure was almost too much to bear.

  Just then, a hand settled itself on his shoulder. Turning, he found Carver walking next to him, a reassuring smile on his square face.

  “You’re looking kinda serious,” the big NPC said. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, just worrying,” Gameknight replied. “When I think, I sometimes focus on all the bad what if’s that could happen, and it makes me a little scared.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t do that,” Baker said from behind.

  She moved up next to Carver. Gameknight saw their arms brush against each other momentarily. The stocky NPC smiled slightly.

  “When I have a problem I’m dealing with,” Baker continued, “instead of focusing on the bad part of the problem, I think about what I’m going to learn when I solve the problem. That’s how we ended up in the trees instead of walled up in our village.”

  “So your problems end up teaching you something?” Gameknight asked.

  “Yep,” Baker said with a smile. “Problems are only an opportunity to grow. What can be better than that?”

  “How about not having a massive army of monsters chasing us across Minecraft?” Weaver suggested.

  The boy had snuck up behind them and was now next to Gameknight999, Wilbur carried in his arms.

  “Oink,” the pig added; it made everyone smile.

  “I think from here we go northward,” Gameknight said. “I know there is a savanna village to the west. We could use their help, if they’re willing.”

  “No problem,” Carver said as he pulled his big, shining axe out of his inventory. “I’ll convince them to help.”

  “You can’t beat them into submission,” Gameknight warned. “They need to help because they think it’s important, not because they’re afraid of you.”

  “Okay,” Carver replied, rolling his eyes then laughing.

  He put away the tool, then glanced at Baker. They both held each other’s gaze longer than normal. Then the stocky NPC smiled and ran off to the west in search of aid.

  “He can’t go alone,” Baker insisted. “That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

  “I agree,” Gameknight replied.

  He glanced at two warriors and motioned them to follow. They sprinted after Carver, their armor clanking as they ran.

  “Don’t worry,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “They’ll take care of him.”

  “Who said anything about being worried?” Baker complained as she blushed.

  Gameknight watched the three NPCs disappear behind the curving passages as they headed to the northwest. In his gut, he knew this was the right direction to go, somehow. Glancing at the Oracle, he gave her a questioning glare. She smiled, but said nothing.

  They finally came to the end of the mesa and entered into another desert biome. This was a hilly terrain, with huge sand dunes and mountains that sometimes blocked their path. Weaving their way around the obstacles, Gameknight drove the NPC army hard. He wanted to get to Olympus Mons as soon as possible, so he could see what was happening in Minecraft.

  Leading the army around a large sandy mound, Gameknight saw a familiar structure slowly coming into view: a desert temple. The pyramid-like structure stood majestically on the sand, with a pair of tall square towers on either side of the main entrance. Orange blocks decorated the sides of the towers, giving the structure an almost Egyptian look.

  “Come on, let’s see what’s inside,” Gameknight said.

  He sprinted to the entrance of the structure and went in. Columns of sandstone lined the edges of the interior, with four tall pillars at the center of the room. Orange blocks decorated the floor, creating a geometric pattern that made the place seem ancient and mysterious.

  Turning to say something to Baker, he was surprised to find he was alone in the temple. The User-that-is-not-a-user went back to the entrance and motioned the others inside.

  “Come in and get ou
t of the sun,” Gameknight said. Tiny square beads of sweat were forming on his face, and he noticed the others were getting hot, too.

  “These places are haunted,” Baker protested. “All of us are afraid.”

  “They just have some simple traps in them,” Gameknight explained. “I can show you all how to disarm them, then take the loot in the chests. Come in and I’ll show you.”

  “I could use some loot,” Weaver said.

  The young NPC set Wilbur on the hot sand and went inside, the pig following close behind. Gameknight gave Baker and the others a questioning glare.

  “Even the pig is unafraid,” he pointed out.

  Baker sighed, then nodded her head and went in.

  Gameknight explained what he knew about underground rooms that could be found in temples. He dug a hole through the floor, then carved steps into the walls as he descended to the floor far below.

  “You see this pressure plate?” he explained as he worked. “If you step on that, it detonates all the TNT that is buried under the floor. As long as you don’t step on the plate, you’re alright.”

  A few of the villagers came into the pit and looked at the chests, taking loaves of bread and iron ingots from the stash.

  “You see, they aren’t haunted,” Gameknight said. “You just need to—”

  “SPIDERS!” one of the NPCs yelled.

  Gameknight glanced at Baker.

  “That’s Stonecutter,” she said, looking worried. “I had him go to the top of the temple to keep watch.”

  Suddenly, the villager was at the edge of the pit, staring down at them.

  “A bunch of spiders are coming this way. They look like they’re combing the land in search of us, taking a zigzag path across the biome,” Stonecutter said. “They’ll find us eventually.”

  We can either try to avoid being seen, or stand up and fight until none of those spiders are left alive, Gameknight thought. If we fight, then I have to come up with a battle plan. But what do we do to give ourselves the advantage out here in the open?