Martian Invasion Read online

  Other books by Winter Morgan:

  An Unofficial Gamer’s Adventure series

  The Unofficial League of Griefers Adventure series

  The Lost Minecraft Journals series

  The Unofficial Minecrafters Academy series

  The Unofficial Minetrapped Adventure

  Tales of a Terrarian Warrior

  Book One: Attack of the Goblin Army

  Book Two: Snow Fight

  Book Three: Wicked Warrior

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Re-Logic, Inc., Teh Gamez, Inc., 505 Games, Engine Software, or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in Terraria, or its characters, name, trademarks, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2016 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [email protected].

  Sky Pony® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover design by Brian Peterson

  Cover illustration by Amanda Bracken

  Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-2196-8

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-2198-2

  Printed in Canada

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Gone Fishing

  Chapter 2: Don’t Rain on My Parade

  Chapter 3: Thorny Mess

  Chapter 4: The Key

  Chapter 5: In the Temple

  Chapter 6: Stone-Headed Golem

  Chapter 7: Attack of the Cultists

  Chapter 8: What Happens in the Dungeon, Stays in the Dungeon

  Chapter 9: Spirits in the Night

  Chapter 10: Home Again

  Chapter 11: Space Invaders

  Chapter 12: The Next Wave

  Chapter 13: Martian Madness

  Chapter 14: Escape from the Extraterrestrials

  Chapter 15: Other Plans

  Chapter 16: Catch of the Day

  Chapter 1:

  GONE FISHING

  Miles woke up early, excited to get a jump on the day. He grabbed a quick breakfast, his new fishing rod and some bait, and stepped outside. The village was quiet as his friends slept soundly in their homes. Soon, he knew, it would be a bustle of activity, but unlike in the past when battles were on everyone’s minds, the activity would all be peaceful fun and games.

  Each night before bed, Miles read stories about legendary warriors and the great battles they fought. His dreams about mobs and drops, fighting techniques and quests, were all the adventure he needed now. Miles was glad his days as a warrior were over. Sure, he still had dreams of defeating Skeletron Prime. And the other day he had woken up certain he had been sleeping in a cave on his way to fight The Destroyer. But he always woke up in his bed, content knowing that The Destroyer was banished, The Twins were defeated, and his warrior friends Owen and Asher were the ones constantly seeking out danger and taking on quests. Passing the torch to them so that he could live a quiet life in the village was a smart choice. Miles was certain of it.

  Miles swung his fishing rod over his shoulder and whistled as he walked toward the ocean. It was only a few miles, and he enjoyed the brisk, early morning walk, watching the butterflies dance and admiring the flowers along the way. He couldn’t believe that once he had walked these paths, questing for achievements, and had completely missed all the quiet beauty around him.

  Just then, he heard a rustle in the bushes next to him. He instinctively reached for his sword, drew his weapon, and pointed it at the small, defenseless rabbit that had hopped onto the path in front of him. The rabbit stared blankly at Miles and hopped away, leaving Miles standing foolishly pointing his fishing rod at an empty space.

  Miles laughed and placed his rod back over his shoulder, realizing he wasn’t even armed. It was a good thing it was just a rabbit. Miles had gotten out of the habit of carrying even a small weapon when he left the village. A fishing rod wouldn’t have done much damage to a hostile mob charge.

  Before long, Miles reached the ocean. He breathed the fresh salty air and scanned the beach for a good place to start fishing. Not far down the sand, he spied an unusual item on the beach. It looked like something had washed up on the shore. Curious, Miles walked closer to investigate. As he peered over the mound, he gasped in surprise. It was a boy, and he wasn’t moving!

  Miles shook the boy gently and called out. “Hey, kid! Wake up! Are you okay?”

  The boy opened his eyes and appeared to be dazed at first. He looked around as if to check his surroundings, then blinked at Miles. “Thanks for waking me up. I think I’ve been asleep for days!”

  Miles helped the boy to his feet and tried to brush the sand off of his legs. The boy batted his hands away. “I can do that all by myself. I’m a big kid, after all.”

  Miles held his hands up and took a step back. “Of course you can. I was just trying to help. So what are you doing out here all alone?”

  “I’m an angler. My name is Danny,” the boy explained. “I could use your help, after all, actually. I may have a few jobs for you, if you’re up for it.”

  Miles eyed him suspiciously. “What kind of jobs?”

  “Oh, you know, the usual. I give you a daily fishing quest; you find me rare cool stuff; I give you a reward.”

  Miles considered Danny’s offer. He had just gotten into fishing and loved the excitement of putting a baited hook into the water and coming up with something new and unexpected each time. “That sounds pretty cool, actually,” Miles replied, sticking out his hand to shake Danny’s. “I’m Miles, by the way.”

  Danny stuck out his closed hand to give Miles a fist bump, resulting in Miles accidentally shaking Danny’s fist instead. He laughed awkwardly. “Paper covers rock, I guess.”

  Danny took his fist away angrily and held it behind his back. “No fair! I wasn’t playing.”

  “I was just kidding,” Miles apologized. “Hey, listen, what kinds of fish are you looking for?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.

  Danny looked around to make sure no one was listening. He beckoned Miles to lean in closer and whispered, “A batfish!”

  “A what?” Miles asked in surprise. He had caught a lot of fish since he started—and a lot of junk—but nothing that looked like a batfish.

  “You find it underground, but no digging. That’s the only clue I’ll give you.”

  Ah, a puzzle. Miles liked puzzles. They were like the quests he used to go on as a warrior, but a lot less dangerous. “Underground but no digging, huh?” Miles thought for a moment, then he figured it out. “Like in a cave?”

  Danny smiled and shrugged. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

  Miles shook his head. Little kids could be so annoying. “There’s a cave not far from here with a really deep fishing hole. I guess I’ll start there.” He looked over at Danny, but the angler wasn’t giving any more cues. He started walking toward the cave and noticed Danny was following him.

  The cave wasn’t far away. As Miles entered, he looked back and saw Danny hesitate at the entrance. “It’s safe, don’t worry,” Miles reassure
d him. “I’ve been here dozens of times and haven’t seen anything worse than a spider or two.”

  Danny shrugged as if he didn’t care, but he rushed to Miles’s side and stuck close to him as Miles baited his hook and plopped it into the deep water. Almost instantly, Miles felt a tug at the line. He smirked at Danny as if to say that it was almost too easy, then reeled the line in. His smile instantly turned upside-down as he pulled up an old shoe. Danny snickered, but didn’t say anything as Miles re-cast the line. His next haul was a tin can. Miles gritted his teeth, shifted to get more comfortable, and settled in for a long wait.

  Fifteen bass, six tin cans, three speculars, two armored cavefish, and about three hundred shoes later, Miles was getting impatient. And hungry. He pulled out the snack he had packed for himself and looked over at Danny. Danny didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. The angler’s stomach growled loudly at the sight of the food. Miles wordlessly pushed half of his snack over to Danny. They munched quietly on their snacks as Miles put the last of his bait onto the hook and cast his line.

  A quick tug told Miles he had a bite. He dropped his apple and reeled in carefully with both hands, knowing this was his last chance at succeeding at Danny’s challenge. He wasn’t sure why it felt so important. Danny hadn’t even offered anything in return. But after living quietly for so long, a challenge, any challenge, stirred something in Miles that got him excited for a chance to prove himself.

  He reeled in the last of the fishing line and a black fish appeared at the water’s surface, flapping wildly. He didn’t have to read the label to know it was a batfish—he could read it in Danny’s triumphant expression. “You did it! You really did it!” Danny jumped around in his excitement, forgetting all about being afraid of the dark cave. “You’re going to be really useful to me . . . I mean . . . we’re going to be great partners, you and me.”

  “You and I,” Miles corrected him as he handed over the fish. “Where do you live? It’s getting late. I can walk you home.”

  Danny looked down and scuffed his feet in the dust. “Um, yeah, no biggie. I can go back to sleep by the water. Can you walk me there?”

  “You don’t have a house?” Miles asked. “What about a village?”

  “You could build me a house . . .” Danny suggested eagerly. “Then I could send you on quests and give you challenges and we can explore together and go fishing and . . .”

  Miles laughed. “I’m happy to build you a house. Come with me and I’ll introduce you to my friends. You’ll like them.” Miles realized Danny had probably manipulated him into bringing him along, but he didn’t mind. Having Danny around was almost like having a little brother and Miles was enjoying his company.

  Danny started to follow Miles, then stopped and reached into his inventory. As Miles watched, he pulled out some high test fishing line, bait, and two gold coins, and handed them over. “This is yours. You earned it. For catching the fish. Okay?”

  Miles placed the items carefully in his own inventory. “Thanks! Now let’s get back to the village before it gets dark.” Miles walked slowly, giving Danny a chance to keep up with his long strides. They took their time heading home, skipping rocks in a nearby pond and playing hide and seek.

  It was mid-afternoon when they finally reached the village. He was surprised to find all of his friends crowded around two people, but he couldn’t tell who they were. “Hello! I’m back from fishing! I caught an angler!” Miles picked Danny up and held him out as if he was a fish.

  Danny giggled and squirmed free. “You didn’t catch me. I caught you!”

  Sarah the stylist was the first to reply. She broke free from the group and grabbed Miles in a giant hug. “You’re back! Guess what? Look who’s here and needs your help!”

  The crowd of friends parted and Owen and Asher rushed toward Miles. Miles was startled to see them back in the village so soon. Last time he had seen them, they had agreed to part ways. “What are you guys doing here? I thought you were off fighting Plantera.”

  “We need your help,” Owen said breathlessly.

  “Thank goodness you’re back!” Asher added. “We really need you this time.”

  “I’m sorry guys, but I’m not a warrior anymore,” Miles replied apologetically. “Hard as it is to believe, I’m really happy living a quiet village life. I was just about to take on some new fishing quests for my new friend Danny, actually, as soon as I build him a new house.”

  “I have no place to go,” Danny said with sad eyes. Miles could tell he was turning on the charm to try to win over Asher and Owen. “Mister Miles told me he’d make me a house and take care of me.”

  Bunny the party girl and Sarah took the bait, and started fawning all over Danny. “Oh, isn’t he the cutest?” Bunny asked.

  “You’re the sweetest little thing!” Sarah said, rearranging his shirt and fixing his hair. “We’ll take care of you, yes we will.”

  Owen put his arm around Miles. “Well, since the little guy is taken care of, now you’re free to help us.”

  Asher did the same on his other side. “Let’s get the Three Amigos together again! What do you say, old pal?”

  Feeling trapped and a little confused, Miles didn’t say a word. He didn’t know what to say.

  Chapter 2:

  DON’T RAIN ON MY PARADE

  With a backward glance at Danny to make sure he was in good hands, Miles reluctantly allowed himself to be led off by Owen and Asher to talk business.

  “So first things first, how’s quiet village life really treating you, Miles?” Owen asked with a knowing smirk. “It’s pretty B-O-R-I-N-G, isnt’ it?”

  Miles shrugged. “Actually, it’s pretty nice. I have plenty to do. I’m in charge of the whole village, and we have farms and this fishing thing, now . . .”

  Asher interrupted him. “That’s great, really great, but listen . . . We unleashed Plantera and he’s kicking our behinds.” He held out his arms, revealing rips in his clothing with cuts and bruises underneath. “We got shredded by the spike balls the first time. The second time, we got through that phase but got taken out by the hooks.”

  “It was really hard!” Owen agreed, showing Miles his own battle scars. “Then we dug a pit . . .”

  “So you built an arena?” Miles asked, remembering all he had learned about the mob boss.

  Asher and Owen looked at each other, clearly surprised. “You mean that’s a thing?” Asher asked. “We just figured digging a hole could help with all the spiky balls bouncing around and those nasty seeds hitting us.”

  “Let me get this straight: you summoned one of the toughest bosses and didn’t even have a game plan beforehand?” Miles was amazed. And disappointed. He had thought his friends were smarter than that. Why would he want to risk his inventory and health points and walk away from Danny’s new challenges in order to help guys who didn’t even know what an arena was?

  “That’s not how we roll, you know that, Miles,” Asher said, laughing.

  Owen joined in, laughing even harder. “Hey, Asher, you know how we roll, right?”

  “DOWNHILL!” They both shouted together and collapsed into a fit of hysterical laughter. Miles just stared at them. He couldn’t help feeling annoyed and left out. Clearly there was an inside joke that he was not a part of, and Miles felt like a third wheel, just like he had before they parted ways.

  “Sorry, Miles, you had to be there,” Asher said, recovering from his laughing fit. “We were running from a black scorpion and Owen tripped and fell on me, then I fell and we started rolling down this huge hill, and then . . .” Asher stopped suddenly. “I’m sorry, you’re probably not interested in all the stuff we’re doing. I get it. You’ve moved on.”

  “No, really, it’s fine. It sounds like it was pretty funny.” Miles forced a smile. He felt bad that he was annoyed. He was glad they were enjoying each other’s company and part of him was a little jealous they were off having adventures together while he stayed home. “Look, I have stuff to do here, but I can g
ive you some tips and help you make a plan for defeating Plantera if you want.”

  “That would be awesome!” Owen shouted. “What should we do? Tell me what weapons we need.”

  “Not so fast,” Asher interrupted. “We don’t just need your brain. We need your muscle too. You’ve got major battle skills, Miles. You’re planting pretty gardens and going off on fishing trips . . . you might as well be an old wizard, sitting on a tree stump watching moss grow.”

  “He’s got a point,” said a familiar voice from behind him. Hope the steampunker stepped out of the shadows, tightening a bolt on her jetpack.

  “You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” Miles said sullenly.

  “Maybe not, but they are right,” Hope replied. “You have great talent, Miles. You’re wasting it here in the village. Don’t pretend you don’t miss the thrill of the battle.”

  Miles couldn’t deny it. Just hearing about Asher and Owen and their epic fails in defeating Plantera got the wheels in his head moving. The stories he read weren’t enough. He had lain awake many nights, thinking about how he’d set himself up to fight the giant poisonous plant, and he had his eye on the wasp gun drop he might get if he succeeded.

  Asher took advantage of Miles’s silence to press him further. “It’d only be for this one battle . . .”

  “Unless you get a taste for spilling mob guts again, heh heh heh,” Owen added.

  Asher silenced Owen with a look, then turned back to Miles. “No, but seriously, just this one mob and we’ll let you get back to fishing and whatever other cute little hobbies of yours that you have.”

  Miles looked from Asher to Owen, weighing his options. He could just say no and get on with building a house for Danny. But, he reasoned, that would be rude. They did come to him for help, after all.

  He could give them some strategies and ask his friends in the village to help craft perfect weapons for their quest . . . a flamethrower, now that they’d defeated Skeletron . . . and a cobalt shield . . . Thinking of the glorious battle that awaited his friends, Miles unconsciously touched his hip where he usually kept his favorite sword. He came up with a handful of seeds. He had started wearing a seed pouch there for farming and feeding right after he hung up his weapons and armor. He flexed his fingers, realizing they were getting calloused from the farm chores and his muscles were aching from the hard farm work. He was in shape, and the call of the battle was strong.