Stolen Treasure Read online

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2018 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB.

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB.

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  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.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB. The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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

  Cover design by Brian Peterson

  Cover image by Megan Miller

  Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3187-5

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3193-6

  Printed in the United States of America

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Treasure in the Nether

  Chapter 2: Founder’s Day

  Chapter 3: Stolen Treasure

  Chapter 4: A Stranger

  Chapter 5: Brewing

  Chapter 6: Original Plans

  Chapter 7: Customers

  Chapter 8: Verdant Valley

  Chapter 9: Where’s the Wheat?

  Chapter 10: A Clue in the Mine

  Chapter 11: I Can’t See You

  Chapter 12: Witch Hunt

  Chapter 13: Arrows

  Chapter 14: Mobs in the Mansion

  Chapter 15: Detective Edison

  Chapter 16: Invisible

  Chapter 17: Town Meeting

  Chapter 18: Fireworks

  STOLEN TREASURE

  1

  TREASURE IN THE NETHER

  “Watch out!” Billy called to his friend Edison. “What? Where?” Edison was confused. He wasn’t sure which direction he should turn. He looked to the left, but there was only an empty staircase with a patch of soul sand and Nether wart growing on the side.

  “Look to the right!” cried Billy. He pulled out his diamond sword and his blue helmet almost fell off his head. He brushed his black hair from his eyes.

  From the corner of his eye, Edison could see a dark skeleton sprinting in his direction. Before Edison had time to move, the skeleton plunged his stone sword into Edison’s unarmored leg. “Ouch!” he wailed as he was afflicted with the Wither effect, which turned his health bar black and left him frozen and exhausted as he stood powerless in the Nether fortress.

  Billy slammed his sword into the wither skeleton, but it was a tricky and powerful mob. The skeleton leapt at Billy, striking his arm and unleashing the Wither effect. Billy’s voice was low and Edison could barely make out the words that fell from his lips: “We need milk. Do you have any?”

  The Wither effect was fading, and Edison mustered up enough energy to reach into his inventory and pull out a bottle and take a sip of milk, instantly energizing him and erasing the damage from the wither skeleton’s stone sword. With renewed energy, he grabbed his diamond sword to pierce the skeleton with one hand and handed the milk to Billy with the other. The wither skeleton was destroyed, dropping a skull on the ground that Edison pocketed. Edison felt invigorated, like he could do anything. He had just decimated his first wither skeleton and he’d helped his friend Billy, the legendary treasure hunter.

  “Thanks! The milk hit the spot,” said Billy. “We have to go down this hall and get the treasure.” Billy pointed to a hall beyond the pillar. “But first, you should try and get some soul sand and Nether wart—they’re vital for brewing potions, right?”

  Edison’s brewing supplies were quite low, which was the reason he had accompanied his friend and neighbor on this treasure hunt to the Nether. The morning before, he was working on some new potions at his brewing table, but he was low on so many ingredients that he couldn’t brew anything. Both soul sand and Nether wart were essential for making potions, and Edison knew he had to get as much as he could. He picked a shovel from his inventory and started to collect the soul sand and Nether wart.

  “I’ll help you.” Billy clutched his shovel as he kept an eye out for any other hostile mobs that might be spawning in the dimly lit Nether fortress.

  As Edison filled his inventory with the two ingredients, he looked up. “I see a light.” There was sliver of light in the distance. “Do you think someone is there?”

  “No,” Billy replied, “it looks like there is just glowstone on the walls.”

  “Glowstone?” Edison asked. “Awesome. We can collect glowstone dust. Do we have time to mine a few pieces from the wall?”

  “Yes,” Billy said, “but we should make it quick because I want to get to the treasure. You never know who is lurking down here, and I want to get to the treasure before anyone else.”

  “Anyone else?” Edison was confused.

  “You never know who is going to show up in the Nether,” said Billy.

  “I haven’t seen anyone down here at all,” remarked Edison as he pulled the final bits of Nether wart from the side of the stairs and walked toward the glowing hallway. The Nether fortress was hot, and Edison’s brown hair was dripping with sweat. Walking down the hallway, he soaked in the beauty of the luminous wall. He pulled out a pickaxe and broke off a piece of the glowstone and placed it in his inventory.

  “I don’t need too much. Do you want any?” asked Edison.

  Billy shook his head. “I’m fine. I just want to get to this treasure. I think it’s down here.”

  The two walked down the hallway but stopped when they heard a bouncing noise.

  “What’s that sound?” Edison asked as he nervously took out his diamond sword.

  “Magma cubes.” Billy pointed to the room in front of them. “We have to destroy them.”

  “Where are they?” asked Edison. He wasn’t a skilled treasure hunter. Despite calling himself an explorer, he hadn’t really spent much time in the Nether. He wasn’t a fan of the hot, timeless biome where fiery mobs flew through the air and threatened you with fireballs. He much preferred the Overworld, where he’d happily travel through any biome, including the ice and the desert. He understood the Overworld. There was a sense of time. In the Nether, he always felt out of sorts and could never enjoy himself.

  “Over here!” Billy hollered as he ripped into a large bouncing magma cube, slicing it into three smaller cubes that surrounded him.

  Edison raced to his friend’s side, plunging his diamond sword into dark, boxy cubes with piercing, yellow-and-red eyes until they all disappeared.

  “Pick up the magma cream,” said Billy.

  Edison knew magma cream was incredibly helpful when brewing Fire Resistance potions, so he collected it while Billy ran ahead.

  “Down here!” Billy called to his friend. “I found it!”

  “
The treasure?”

  “Yes,” Billy said. “I’m in the room at the end of the hall.”

  Edison raced down the hall. As he walked into the room, he saw Billy leaning over an open chest.

  “What’s in it?” asked Edison.

  “Diamonds.” Billy showed him the open chest. “Let’s split up the loot.”

  “I see another chest.” Edison bolted to the corner and opened a second chest that was filled with iron ingots. “This one’s got good loot, too.”

  “Yeah, I want to check out the other rooms before we leave. Since none of these chests have been emptied, it’s a good sign that we might be the first people in this fortress. I’m hoping we find some more treasure.”

  Edison stuffed his inventory with the contents of the chest, dividing the loot equally between the two of them. When they entered the next room, there was one chest. Billy opened it. “More Nether wart. You can have it all. I don’t really use it.”

  “Seriously?” asked Edison.

  “You can pay me back by brewing a potion for me,” suggested Billy.

  “Deal.” Edison emptied the chest of Nether wart, and the duo went off to explore the rest of the Nether fortress.

  After perusing each room, they declared the fortress empty. They were ready to exit and craft a portal back to the Overworld when a yellow blaze rose from the ground and shot a fireball at them. Edison quickly grabbed a snowball from his inventory and dodged the flying flame as the cold snowball destroyed the heated mob. Edison reached for the blaze rod that was his reward. “This will come in very handy when I brew potions later today.”

  “Come on,” said Billy, “we should make our way to the portal now. We don’t want to arrive in town in the middle of the night. It will make us incredibly vulnerable.”

  The duo raced from the fortress, but once they stepped outside, they saw three ghasts circling in the sky to guard the fortress. One of the white mobs floated right in front of them, unleashing a high-pitched sound, opening its red eyes and shooting fireballs at Billy and Edison.

  A zombie pigman walked past them, but Edison didn’t make contact. He was too busy fighting the ghasts.

  Two more ghasts joined the group, surrounding Billy and Edison with more fireballs.

  “I can’t do this anymore.” Edison tried to catch his breath. “There’s too many of them.”

  “We can do it.” Billy shot an arrow, destroying one of the ghasts.

  “We can?” A fireball nearly singed Edison’s leg.

  “The portal is just a few feet away,” Billy reminded him as they shot arrows at the ghasts while trying to avoid the powerful blasts from the fireballs.

  “I know,” Edison said, “but it feels like we’ll never get there.” Another fireball landed by his feet. Edison jumped back and hoped they’d make it home.

  2

  FOUNDER’S DAY

  “Use your fist,” Billy instructed and punched the fireball, deflecting it and sending it back to the ghast.

  “I won’t get burnt?” asked Edison.

  “No.” Billy slammed his fist into another fireball.

  Edison reluctantly made a fist and struck the fireball flying toward him. To his surprise, the fireball didn’t burn his hand as he sent the fireball back at the ghast, destroying the white beast. He brushed his hand against his blue jeans. He couldn’t believe it didn’t feel any different than before. It was like magic.

  “Let’s go!” Billy called out as he raced toward the portal. “I think we have enough loot to trade in for emeralds and buy a map to the Roofed Forest Biome.”

  “That’s awesome!” Edison said as he hopped in the portal. The two had been planning a trip to this new biome. Billy was doing a lot of research on treasures that could be found in a woodland mansion.

  As purple mist enveloped them, Edison thought he saw someone in a green cape dash past, but when he went to take a second look, it was too late, and they had already spawned in the center of town.

  “It’s getting dark,” Billy said as dusk was setting in. “I think we should head home.”

  “Yes,” replied Edison. “I want to organize all of our loot so I can get up early and start brewing potions.”

  Edison and Billy walked toward their homes. They lived in a small seaside village called Farmers’ Bay where they both had bungalows on the water. Farmer’s Bay consisted of a cluster of beachside bungalows that shared a common farm. Everyone took turns working on the farm. As they walked past the farm, Edison saw Omar the Fisherman picking some carrots.

  “Working late?” asked Edison.

  Omar smiled. “I was at sea for a few days. I got a lot of fish. I was thinking of making a big dinner tomorrow night with the fish and these carrots. Would you guys like to join me for dinner?”

  “That sounds like fun,” said Billy.

  Edison agreed. He was excited to have dinner with Omar. It was times like these that he really enjoyed living in the small community. There were always dinner invitations, and it felt like everyone was family. As he entered his house, he waved goodbye to Billy.

  “Thanks for inviting me on the treasure hunt,” Edison said with a smile.

  “No problem,” said Billy. “Don’t forget to make some potions for me. I don’t have too many left.”

  Edison got ready for bed, but before he retired for the night, he unloaded his treasures into a large chest in the corner of his room. He climbed into bed and thought about what a great time he had in the Nether. He fell asleep and woke when someone knocked on his door.

  His neighbor Peyton was standing in front of the house, petting Edison’s pet ocelot, Cranberry. She looked up. “Oh good, you’re here. I wanted to see if you could make a meeting this afternoon.”

  “What’s it for?” asked Edison.

  “We’re going to have a huge celebration for the Farmer’s Bay Founder’s Day. Omar got a bunch of fireworks and there is going to be a parade and a party. I’d love for you to join the committee and help us organize the event.”

  Peyton was always organizing celebrations. She had put together many memorable parties. Edison recalled one of her beach parties. It was filled with cakes and music, and at the end of the party everyone participated in a swimming race, which Edison was surprised he won. He wasn’t the strongest swimmer, but the thrill of the competition invigorated him. He still had the ribbon from the contest displayed on his wall. With so many good memories from the previous parties, he wanted to be a part of Founder’s Day. They had a small event to commemorate Founder’s Day last year, but Edison knew it could be bigger.

  “I’d be happy to help,” he said. “I have a bunch of ideas that I wanted to share.”

  “Great!” exclaimed Peyton. “There’s a meeting later today at the town hall. Can you make it?”

  “I don’t see why not,” said Edison.

  When Peyton left, Edison walked over to his brewing station. He had an entire section of the house where he brewed his many potions. He opened the chest, took out some Nether wart and blaze rods, and carefully measured out all of the ingredients he’d need to craft his potions. He was in the middle of brewing when there was another knock on his door.

  Although Edison loved living in a small community, he’d admit there were also negative things about it. He was constantly being interrupted. Every time he started something, there seemed to be another person at his door asking him for help or inviting him to dinner.

  Billy stood at the door. “Do you have my potions?”

  “Not yet,” explained Edison. “I didn’t even have time to start them. Peyton showed up and asked me to be a part of the Founder’s Day celebration meeting.”

  “I’m going to that too,” said Billy. “It sounds like it’s going to be a fun event.”

  “Well,” Edison tried to sound polite as he said, “if I don’t get any work done this morning, I’m not going to be able to make the meeting.”

  “I won’t bother you,” Billy replied and left Edison to spend the morning work
ing on his potions.

  Edison carefully placed glass bottles on his brewing stand and positioned all of the ingredients for a potion of Strength. He poured the water and added the Nether wart and the blaze powder and started brewing. He poured the batch of potion into several bottles. He was hoping to head into town later to trade the potions with the other villagers.

  People traveled from across the Overworld to buy Edison’s potions—he was a respected alchemist. Edison had a stand positioned between the library and the butcher’s shop where he sold the potions. He loved making small talk with folks who purchased his potions and liked finding out how they planned to use them. He had one person who stocked up on potions of Fire Resistance because she planned on living in the Nether. After his trip to the Nether, he could never imagine living there. He had been so happy when he hopped on the portal to come home. He had gathered enough supplies from the trip that he wouldn’t have to return for a while.

  Edison began to brew his second batch of potions. As he organized all of the ingredients, he was startled by Billy rushing into his house. Edison was so surprised that he almost knocked over a bottle of potion.

  “What’s the matter?” Edison was annoyed. He wanted to work on his potions without interruptions, and he had already told Billy he needed to work.

  “I’m sorry to barge in.” Billy took a deep breath, and his eyes swelled with tears. Edison could see he was upset.

  “Are you okay?” asked Edison. “Do you want a glass of water?”

  Billy nodded as he spit out the words, “My treasure.”

  “What’s wrong with your treasure?” asked Edison.

  “It’s missing!” Billy cried.

  “Really?” asked Edison. “Are you sure you didn’t just misplace it?”

  “No.” Billy was annoyed. “When I got back home, my front door was open, which I thought was odd. I saw a bunny in my living room, and I assumed that it just wandered into my house. As I looked around my home to see if anyone else was there, I spotted the chest I filled last night. It was open and someone had emptied it.”