The Adventurous Creeper and the End Guardians, Book 7: The End Crystals

by Mark Mulle

“They were dragging him towards the portal. Maybe because he is a creeper. In any case, I fired an arrow and it freed him. That’s when Carl destroyed the necklace.”

  The room exploded in noise again. I felt thrust into the center of attention and it made me uncomfortable. I really did hate it when all eyes were on me. I glanced over at Liam. He looked on calmly. At least one of us were calm.

  “Enough!” Cassie shouted, “We need some order in here! Carl, please. Come to my quarters so we can talk. You as well, Liam. Everyone else, the meeting is over for now.”

  We wiggled our way through the crowd. Some people were glaring at me as if they didn’t trust me. Did they think I was working with the Ender Men? Everyone was scared right now and not thinking clearly. They just wanted to be safe. I couldn’t really blame them for that.

  Liam met up with me outside the room, “Tough crowd.”

  “Well, what can we expect?” I said, “I’m the only creeper in the village and the Ender Men were interested in me. Can’t really blame them, I guess.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.” Liam replied.

  Well, at least one of us were feeling confident. We went to Cassie’s small meeting room, away from the hustle and bustle of everyone else. She was looking out the window, lost in thought. Liam cleared his throat and she looked over at us.

  “Great, you’re here. Sit down.”

  She sat across from us and tapped her fingers against the table, “I have no idea if these portals have opened anywhere else. That will make a difference. If the portals just opened in this village, and came after you, Carl, then we must figure out why. But if they’ve opened all over the Over World, we have to all work together.”

  “What do you suggest?” Liam asked.

  “I want the two of you to go to the capital.” Cassie replied.

  I blinked in surprise, “Really?”

  “For a couple of reasons. First off, the king needs to know about this. Secondly, that will allow us to know if other villages or towns are having this issue. And my third reason is…”

  She didn’t have to finish because I went, “It gets me out of town. In case anyone is suspicious or worried about their safety.”

  Cassie nodded, “I believe you. I don’t think you had anything to do with the portals being opened. But this is for the best. Liam will go with you. He was there when the necklace shattered and is trained in combat.”

  Liam replied, “Of course. I’d be more than happy to go. I’ve never been to the capital.”

  “I’ll write you a letter of introduction. Be prepared to leave in the morning.” Cassie told us.

  A few minutes later, we were cramped in the dining hall, eating dinner. Liam looked lost in thought. As calm as I pretended to be, I kept thinking about the future me coming to warn me. Should I tell Liam? Or would I just sound crazy?

  “Are you nervous about going to the capital?” I asked instead once we were heading to our assigned place to sleep – everyone was staying here for safety reasons tonight.

  Liam shrugged, “Nah. But I heard it’s supposed to be gorgeous. I’m excited to see it. And to meet the king! That’s amazing.”

  I wished I felt excited. But I couldn’t fall asleep. My thoughts kept drifting to the Ender Men and that necklace. I kept seeing future me bursting into my house, rambling about End Guardians. I had looked panicked. What had occurred in the future? How had I come back?

  Since I couldn’t sleep, I wrote in my journal. It feels good to get it down on paper and to try to make sense of it. I’m nervous about traveling to the capital. I’m scared about Ender Men who can communicate and portals that can open directly from the End.

  I hope we get to the bottom of it. Soon – before something terrible happens.

  Day 4

  We packed in the morning. Nothing major, just what we could carry in packs. I brought my weapons. My house was a mess. It was as if a portal had opened inside of it. Things were thrown about and doors were knocked off their hinges. I sighed looking at it. I would have to rebuild when I got back.

  Liam and I set off just as the sun was rising in the horizon. The air was still. There hadn’t been any more End portals opening through the night. That gave us some hope. Perhaps it was some sort of freak accident? But deep down, I knew that it wasn’t. No, there was something terrible going on.

  The village I had moved to after my adventures with Chloe was on a hill. It overlooked the forest which we would have to cut through to get to the capital. Liam was in a good mood. He was excited to see the capital and meet the king.

  I wanted to be excited. I really did. But I was plagued by thoughts of the Ender Men and what it meant for the Over World.

  “Have you ever heard of the End Guardians?” I asked Liam as we entered the jungle.

  He looked thoughtful before shaking his head, “Nah. What are they?”

  “Not sure. I read about them in a book.” I lied quickly.

  “What did the book say?”

  “Not much. I guess I was dwelling on it because of the End portals.”

  “I don’t know much about the End,” Liam said, “When I was little, my mom used to tell me this spooky story about Ender Men. But the older I got, the less I thought about the place. Then I joined the guards and I was focused on protecting the village.”

  “You’ve lived there your whole life?” I asked curiously.

  “That’s right. That’s why I can’t wait to see the capital. I’ve always wanted to get out of the village. But it just never came up, you know? I didn’t want to set off adventuring and worry anyone. You, on the other hand, I’ve heard about what you’ve done.”

  “Really?” I asked, surprised.

  “Well, I’ve heard rumors, anyway,” Liam corrected, “When you first moved here, everyone was talking about you. An adventurous creeper! How could they not? They said you’ve been all around, exploring and discovering things, and now you wanted to settle down.”

  “I’ve traveled a lot. Seen some things,” I shrugged, “But I didn’t want to be chased down by Ender Men or taken through the portal.”

  “I guess trouble has a way of finding you, right?” Liam joked.

  “You have no idea.” I grumbled.

  We were in the jungle at this point. It was oddly cold today. Usually the jungle was muggy. I wondered if the weather had something to do with the portals.

  “The village to the east – do you think they had any problems?” Liam asked suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  That’s right. Chloe’s village was to the east. Originally, she had wanted me to move in her village. But they didn’t look kindly on me and it was easier to leave and find a new place to go. A place that was a bit friendlier towards me.

  “I’m not sure. I hope they’re alright. I can’t decide if we want it just to be portals opening in our village or around the Over World,” I replied, “If it’s everywhere, it’s some global threat. If it’s just us…”

  “Then it might be tied to you.” Liam finished for me.

  I nodded but didn’t want to talk about it, “Come on.”

  We picked up the pace. If we stayed on this course, we would get to the capital late tonight. That would mean we could see the king tomorrow. We walked for some time without anything happening. The sun poked through the jungle and illuminated the pathway for us.

  Liam was silent. He was holding his bow, on guard in case anything leapt out at us. I didn’t want to break his focus. Besides, no matter what we discussed, I would be dwelling on the vision from the future and what it could mean.

  We took a break around lunch time. We set up a tiny camp and ate lunch. I had some time to catch up in this journal. So far, the journey has been smooth. I just hope it stays that way.

  Later that same night

  I shouldn’t have ever written that things were going smoothly. I always jinx myself, don’t I?

  After we finished our break, we set back off along the path. We walked for about thirty m
ore minutes until we heard a twig crack. Liam raised his bow.

  “Did you hear that?” He asked me.

  I nodded and brought out my own sword. Yes, I had heard it. We waited for a few seconds but nothing happened.

  “Probably was just an animal.” I finally said.

  Liam was about to lower his bow when a portal exploded open in front of us. The force of it was so powerful that we were sent flying backwards. Ender Men poured out of the portal. That humming noise filled the air again.

  I got to my feet and looked around for Liam. He had struck a tree and was unconscious. The bow was at his feet. More wonderful luck.

  The first Ender Man approached me. It tried to grab me. I ducked and slashed with my sword. Down the pathway, I could see more portals opening. Ender Men came out, looking around, as if they were scouting the area.

  I ducked underneath one of them and swung my sword. Taking one of the Ender Men by surprise, it turned to ash. But that was only one down out of tons. Bad luck indeed. Somehow, we had just happened to be on the pathway that the Ender Men wanted to look at.

  With Liam unconscious, I was vastly outnumbered. The Ender Men had taken notice of me. They began to chatter to one another as if to say that no one was supposed to be here. One of them grabbed me and raised me up off the floor. I struggled. I didn’t see any of them wearing a necklace I could try to destroy to shut the portals.

  The Ender Man holding me looked over at another one from its group. It looked as if it almost shrugged. The one it looked at shook its head. It released me and I tumbled to the ground.

  I scrambled