Treasure Hunters in Trouble Read online

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  Copyright © 2015 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

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  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Manufactured in the United States, December 2014

  This product conforms to CPSIA 2008

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

  Cover photo credit Megan Miller

  Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-090-6

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-091-3

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Lost Friends

  Chapter 2: Respawn

  Chapter 3: Surrender Slime

  Chapter 4: Views and Villains

  Chapter 5: Portals

  Chapter 6: It’s Not an Ending

  Chapter 7: The Return

  Chapter 8: Nether Again

  Chapter 9: Loot and Lava

  Chapter 10: Under the Sea

  Chapter 11: Mining Fatigue

  Chapter 12: A Blast from the Past

  Chapter 13: Treasure Hunt

  Chapter 14: Sweet as Sugar

  Chapter 15: Dunes in the Desert

  Chapter 16: It’s Not a Mirage

  Chapter 17: Treasures and Troubles

  Chapter 18: Rewards

  1

  LOST FRIENDS

  Steve was tending to his wheat farm when he heard his dog, Rufus, barking in the distance. He looked up to see two people approaching.

  “Who are you?” Steve asked as he walked up to them. Rufus stood by his side, as his ocelots, Snuggles and Jasmine, sat by the entrance of his home.

  At first the two people didn’t say anything to Steve. They just looked at the house and talked to each other.

  “Are you Steve?” the woman asked.

  “Yes. Who are you?”

  “Oh good, we found the right place. We weren’t certain we would. It’s been a crazy trip here,” the woman sighed.

  “You haven’t told me who you are.” Steve was getting annoyed.

  “I’m sorry. I’m Alex and this is Will, but that’s not important. I’m here to tell you that your friends are in trouble,” Alex told him. She was a blonde woman wearing a green shirt.

  “What? Who? How?” Steve blurted out, because this news bothered him greatly.

  “I met your friend Kyra. She was trying to help her friends, who were trapped by a griefer. He had them trapped in a desert temple, but she was able to escape,” said Alex.

  “Are they okay? Where were you?”

  “We met Kyra in the desert. We were starving and she gave us food. Kyra asked us to find you in return for the food. She didn’t want to leave her friends, Henry, Max, and Lucy, but she needed your help,” explained Will, who wore a red helmet.

  Steve paused; he wondered if Alex and Will were telling the truth. They could be the griefers who had trapped his friends and were now here to steal from him.

  “You traveled all the way from the desert to relay Kyra’s message? That seems like a huge favor to ask of somebody.”

  Alex looked down as though she were embarrassed when she told Steve, “Kyra also promised to share some of the treasure with us.”

  “That makes sense,” Steve reasoned.

  “The temple is full of treasure,” added Will.

  “I’m worried about Kyra. I don’t care about the treasure.” Steve was upset.

  “She has a tough job, but at least she can see hostile mobs more easily in the desert, because it’s flat,” explained Alex.

  Steve knew that was true, and he also knew Kyra was smart and would be able to challenge the griefers, but she was only one person. Even if she saw all the hostile mobs that were about to attack her, it didn’t mean she’d win. He had to help her! Steve went into his house and put on armor. He opened a chest and took out his diamond sword. He was ready to help Kyra save Henry, Max, and Lucy. He checked through his inventory to see if he had all the supplies he needed; the journey to the desert biome was a long and dangerous trip.

  Alex and Will were in his living room, waiting for Steve, eating apples to increase their food bars.

  “Do you have a map?” asked Steve.

  “You don’t need a map; we know the way, and we promised Kyra that we’d take you to her,” replied Alex.

  “But our inventories are almost empty,” announced Will.

  “What do you need?”

  “We have lots of emeralds. Is there a village nearby? We can trade them and get supplies,” suggested Alex.

  “Yes, but do we have time? I’m worried about my friends. We need to hurry and save them.”

  “If we aren’t prepared, we won’t be able to save anyone,” Alex lectured Steve.

  Steve tried not to laugh; this sounded like something he would say. He had to agree with Alex. They needed to be prepared.

  The trio walked toward the village to Eliot the Blacksmith’s shop. He had all the supplies they needed to craft powerful swords and protective armor to battle these tricky griefers.

  Eliot was surprised to see his friend Steve, and Steve’s two new friends. “What can I help you with?”

  “Eliot, this is Alex and Will. We are about to go to the desert. A griefer has trapped Henry, Lucy, and Max. Kyra is there trying to help them, but she can’t do it alone.”

  “Oh no!” Eliot was upset. “Tell me what you need.”

  Alex and Will traded emeralds. When they were done, they rushed back to Steve’s wheat farm and crafted all the items they needed to battle the many hostile mobs, but night was falling.

  Steve walked outside. He was ready to start the trip. He didn’t want to waste any more time.

  Alex called after him. “We can’t start our journey at night. We’ll be killed within seconds!”

  “Look behind you!” shouted Will.

  Click! Clang! Two skeletons walked toward him. One shot an arrow at Steve, but it didn’t graze his skin. With his armor on, he felt confident he’d win as he lunged toward a skeleton with his sword and destroyed it.

  The other skeleton was harder to battle. As he struck the white bony creature, he found he couldn’t destroy it. It was shooting arrows at him nonstop.

  Will and Alex sprinted from the house and shot arrows at the skeleton until they destroyed it and it dropped arrows.

  “We can use these skeleton bones for bonemeal,” Alex said as she placed them in her inventory.

  “See, it’s too dangerous at night,” insisted Will.

  Steve knew they were right, but he couldn’t sleep when he knew his friends were in trouble.

  “I hope Kyra is okay,” Steve told them as they walked into his house. Once they were in their beds, they’d be safe from the hostile mobs.
>
  “A spider!” Alex screamed.

  Its creepy red eyes glowed as it crawled across Steve’s living room floor. Steve struck the insect with his diamond sword. The spider’s eyes dropped out.

  “We can use these to brew potions.” Steve took the eyes as Alex picked up the string from the spider.

  “Let’s get into bed.” Will was nervous. “There are too many hostile mobs.”

  As they made their way to the beds, Steve thought about Kyra. He hoped she’d be okay. He climbed into his bed, but then he heard a familiar voice come from the living room.

  “Steve? Are you home?” the voice called out.

  Steve jumped out of bed and sprinted to the living room.

  “Kyra!” Steve saw his friend. “I thought you were in the desert!”

  2

  RESPAWN

  “It was a creeper.” Kyra could barely get the words out. “I heard it, but I didn’t have enough time to escape.”

  “That’s awful!” exclaimed Steve. “But you’re safe from creepers here. We have two ocelots.”

  “True. That creeper was a nightmare. The only good part was that I respawned in my bed, so I came over here to ask for your help,” Kyra paused. “Did Alex and Will make it here? Did they tell you what happened?”

  Steve started to explain, but Kyra interrupted him.

  “Oh, Steve you won’t believe what happened to Henry, Max, and Lucy.”

  At that point, Alex and Will emerged from the bedroom.

  “Kyra?” Alex was shocked.

  “You made it!” Kyra smiled.

  “Yes, we were going to leave for the desert in the morning. What happened to you?” asked Alex.

  “Did you give Steve my message?” asked Kyra.

  “We told him how you were trying to help your friends who were trapped by a griefer,” said Will.

  “Steve, three rainbow-colored griefers trapped us.”

  “The rainbow men! I’ve seen them in the Nether and the jungle.” Steve couldn’t believe the rainbow griefers had struck again.

  “We were just about to unearth the treasure when they snuck into the desert temple with diamond swords and trapped us.”

  “How?” Steve wondered why Henry, Max, and Lucy wouldn’t be able to fight back. They were experienced treasure hunters who had encountered many griefers.

  “At first we were so excited to find the hidden temple. When we found the room with the treasure, Henry was able to get around the booby traps, but he never destroyed the TNT. When the rainbow men came upon us, one of them stood by the TNT. He said he’d blow it up and kill us all if we didn’t comply with their demands. The men led us to a bedrock room they must have built. Luckily, I was able to run away. I don’t even think they noticed until it was too late.”

  “What was your plan to help Henry, Max, and Lucy escape?” asked Steve.

  “I was going to try to steal the TNT and then use it to attack the griefers, but it was getting dark and there was a creeper—and now I’m here.”

  “We need to get back to the desert to help them. They could be trapped in there forever,” Steve told Kyra.

  Kyra walked over to Alex and Will. “Now that I have Steve, you don’t have to come with us. I can reward you with some emeralds from my inventory. I can even give you one diamond each.”

  Alex looked at Will. “Would you mind if we still joined you?”

  “Why?” Kyra seemed stunned.

  Will said, “I think it would be an awesome adventure, and I know that desert temples have many treasures. They are one of the most valuable finds.”

  “We need all the help we can get. This isn’t going to be easy,” Steve told them.

  “Oh no!” Out of nowhere, Kyra spotted a spider’s red eyes.

  Steve destroyed it with one blow. “This is the second one tonight. We must get into bed before a spider jockey or an Enderman attacks us. It’s too dangerous to be out of our beds.”

  The door was still open. Steve went to close it, but two skeletons walked by, their bones creaking in the silent night.

  “Get your bows and arrows ready!” Steve told the group as the skeletons shot arrows at the gang.

  “What’s that sound?” Kyra asked, her voice shaky.

  A hissing sound grew louder.

  “It sounds like a creeper!” shouted Steve.

  “How could it be? You have two ocelots,” Kyra stuttered.

  “Stand back!” Will called out.

  The skeletons killed the griefer. A music disc dropped on the floor. Steve and the gang shot arrows at the skeletons and destroyed them.

  Steve picked up the disc and inspected it.

  “This isn’t the time to play music. We need to find our friends,” Kyra reminded him as the sun rose in the distance.

  The group walked out the door, ready to embark on the journey to save their friends from the griefer. They stopped when they saw another green, blocky, hostile mob slowly making its way toward them. Its four small legs made no noise as it moved closer.

  “I don’t understand. The sun’s up. How could a creeper survive?” questioned Kyra.

  “They can live in daylight. They’re one of the only hostile mobs that can survive,” Steve said as he slowly tried to walk away from the menacing creature, but it was pointless. There was no escape.

  The group stood in fear. They braced themselves for an explosion. But then Snuggles and Jasmine walked toward the creeper and distracted the evil green devil from Steve and his friends.

  “Run!” Steve shouted to his friends. They sprinted far from the wheat farm, starting their journey to save their friends trapped in the desert.

  Just when they thought they were safe, only a short distance from Steve’s farm, they encountered a swampy biome where the foursome stumbled upon a witch hut.

  The small, black-hatted witch ran out of her hut with a bottle of potion.

  The group had no means of escape. The witch charged at them and threw a potion on Steve. His body slowed down. He felt as though he couldn’t move another step. He just wanted to fall to the ground and sleep.

  “It’s the potion of weakness!” Kyra called out in warning.

  Despite knowing the potion’s effects, Will raced toward the witch with his sword. He leapt at the witch, striking her. Witches were very strong and could regenerate, so the attack had no impact on her.

  Steve needed help. Alex ran to him and handed him milk. “Drink this, it will make you feel better.”

  Steve drank the milk, but he felt awful and doubted that anything could help him.

  Will battled the witch. He hit the lavender-eyed figure harder, but it didn’t destroy her. She threw a potion at Will.

  “I’m sick!” Will shouted as the potion of poison took away hearts on his health bar.

  Kyra shot an arrow at the witch, destroying her.

  “That’s fantastic, Kyra!” Alex said as she gave Will milk.

  Will drank as Steve walked over to him.

  “It doesn’t take very long, but you’ll feel better,” Steve reassured his new friend.

  The group wanted to leave the swamp. They knew it was just a matter of time before they were attacked by the slimes that lived in that biome. But as they walked slowly through the marshy landscape, they could hear somebody call for help. Steve stopped.

  “I know that voice!” Steve said, but he couldn’t believe it.

  3

  SURRENDER SLIME

  Steve ran toward the voice. The potion of weakness had wiped him out, but the milk had worked; he was now happy to have energy.

  “I’m here!” Steve called out. “Where are you?”

  “Help!” The voice grew louder, so the group knew they were heading in the right direction.

  Bats flew overhead and the sun was setting as they searched for the person screaming for help.

  “We need to build a shelter. It’s too dangerous to be outside at night. The swamp is a death trap,” said Kyra.

  Steve didn’t pay attention
. He was too focused on reaching the familiar voice. They sprinted along the water until they saw five green blocks hopping toward a person in the distance.

  “Help!” the person called out once more.

  Steve’s instinct had been right! It was his friend Caleb from the building competition. “Caleb!” Steve screamed, “Don’t worry! We’ll help you!”

  Caleb was surrounded by slimes that hopped toward him, ready to attack. Caleb’s gold sword was no match for these slippery, slimy mobs.

  “Steve!” Caleb was surprised to see his old friend.

  “Caleb!” Kyra called out. “I’m here, too.”

  “Kyra! Please help me battle the slimes,” Caleb said as he raced toward a large slime and struck it with his gold sword. When he hit it, it turned into two medium-sized slimes. It was a neverending battle. Caleb was able to destroy a mini slime and was left with slimeballs.

  “Save the slimeballs!” Alex shouted, but Caleb was too busy battling the other slimes hopping at his feet to notice the slimeballs.

  Steve joined Caleb, striking and defeating three large slime cubes with a single blow from his diamond sword.

  Will, Alex, and Kyra fought alongside Steve, trying to stop this seemingly impossible battle of the slime.

  Squish! Squash! The slimes hopped. No matter how many they destroyed, more seemed to spawn almost instantaneously.

  “There must be a slime spawner over here. We need to find it!” Caleb told them.

  “There could be a slime farm,” added Kyra as she crashed her sword against a small slime. It disappeared and left a slimeball.

  “I’ll go look for the spawner,” Steve told the group as they battled the bouncy beasts.

  Steve stalked away from the swampy water. He knew that slimes couldn’t swim, so the spawner would be farther inland. He came upon a small patch of land, thick with trees, and looked down to see a large hole. Steve peeked in his head and saw a tunnel with torches lighting the path. He was about to climb deeper into the hole, but stopped. He knew he couldn’t do this alone. Steve quickly returned to the gang.

  “There’s a large hole in the ground. I think someone is spawning the slime down there!” Steve told them, and his friends rushed toward the tunnel, still trying to defeat the slime hopping around them.