Clash of the Creepers Read online

  Max silently studied the map.

  “Max, are you sure it’s to the right?” asked Henry.

  Max continued to look at the map and didn’t comment.

  Henry walked on the path Steve had sheared. He looked through the leaves shading the path and noted, “I think I see something.”

  The group followed Henry. Very far in the distance, they could make out a moss stone structure that looked like a jungle temple.

  “I knew it!” exclaimed Max. “The map was right, it just seems to be slightly off with the location. It appears that the jungle temple looks a lot closer on this map.”

  Steve sheared a clear path toward the temple. As they got closer they could see the entrance.

  “It’s definitely a jungle temple,” Lucy said enthusiastically. “I just hope the treasure is still there. I hope somebody didn’t get to it first.”

  “Shh!” warned Kyra, then with a whisper she asked the group, “Do you guys hear voices?”

  The gang paused. They could hear people talking.

  “Yes,” whispered Lucy, “I hope it isn’t griefers.”

  The group looked for rainbow griefers but they didn’t see any.

  “Look straight ahead.” Max pointed at two people who wore matching blue helmets walking toward the jungle temple.

  “Shh!” said Lucy, but it was too late.

  Max’s loud voice had captured the attention of the two people who stood by the temple.

  “Who are you?” asked one of the blue-helmeted people.

  “We could ask you the same question!” Steve’s voice boomed back.

  “I have nothing to hide. My name is Beatrice, and this is Charlie,” Beatrice called as she walked toward them.

  Max noticed Charlie also had a map in his hand. “Where did you get that map?”

  “None of your business!” proclaimed Charlie.

  “It looks similar to the map I have.” Max paused for a moment, then continued, “Did your map make the temple appear closer than it is? Is the map’s scale a bit off?”

  “Yes!” Charlie was surprised and responded, “Why?”

  “Maybe you were right, Steve,” said Max. “Maybe this is a trick.”

  “What’s a trick?” questioned Beatrice.

  “Would you mind telling us where you got that map?” asked Max.

  “We can tell them,” Beatrice told her friend.

  Charlie replied, “We were given the map by a very nice group of explorers.”

  “Did they call themselves the Exciting Explorers?” asked Max.

  “Yes!” exclaimed Beatrice.

  “I told you not to trust that map,” remarked Steve.

  “What are you guys talking about?” Beatrice was confused. “They were very nice people, and they said they couldn’t get to this treasure so they offered us the map.”

  “They didn’t just give us the map,” added Charlie, “we traded them two diamonds and an emerald for it.”

  “For a map that could be fake?” Max asked them.

  “Why? What did you trade them for the map?”

  Max didn’t reply. He simply said, “I guess we should enter the temple and see if it’s a trap.”

  The group headed toward the temple. There were no griefers in sight as they walked downstairs in the direction of the treasure. They stepped around the tripwire and took out their pickaxes to unearth the treasure chest.

  “I think we just have to pull this lever,” said Charlie.

  “NO!” Max shouted.

  But it was too late. Charlie pulled the lever and an arrow shot through the air.

  “I’ve been hit,” cried Lucy.

  Charlie apologized, “I didn’t realize. I’m sorry. I’m a builder, not a treasure hunter.”

  “Well, we’re expert treasure hunters, so you should listen to us,” Henry told him.

  “Henry, be nice,” chastised Lucy.

  “Look what I found,” Henry said with a smile. Two large chests were in sight.

  “Open them!” Kyra called out.

  “Yes! Let’s see what’s inside!” Charlie walked closer to the chest.

  Beatrice approached the first chest and accidentally stepped on the tripwire.

  Kaboom! There was a loud TNT explosion.

  “Is everyone okay?” Steve called out.

  There was silence.

  Chapter 4

  FACT OR FABLE?

  “Are you guys okay?” Steve asked again.

  “I’m fine,” Max called out.

  Steve let out a sigh of relief when he heard from the others. But there were two people missing. Charlie and Beatrice were gone.

  Lucy spoke quickly, “Oh my! The TNT destroyed them! How awful. I wonder where they will respawn?”

  “That’s not the only thing that’s missing!” Henry pointed to the treasure. The two chests had also gone up in a puff of smoke.

  “How did they do that?” asked Steve.

  “I have no idea,” Henry said. He was dumbfounded.

  “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted them,” Steve complained while he paced.

  Max searched through his inventory. “The map! They took our map to Mine Mountain!”

  “What? How?” Steve couldn’t believe his ears.

  “Clearly they are extremely skilled thieves,” proclaimed Henry.

  “There’s only one thing we can do. We must find them and get our map back,” Steve told the gang.

  “And we also have to kill that skeleton!” Lucy pointed to a skeleton walking down the stairs.

  Click. Clang. The skeleton took out its bow and arrow and aimed at Steve.

  Max ran toward the skeleton and destroyed it with one strike.

  “Good job, Max,” Lucy commended him.

  “We have to get out of here.” Henry had a worried tone to his voice as he noticed a brick of TNT in the corner. “I don’t trust Charlie and Beatrice. They could have placed TNT all over this temple. We have to get out fast.”

  The gang surged toward the door and into the jungle. They didn’t have a map but they knew they had to get far away from the temple.

  “I see a village in the distance,” Kyra pointed out to the others.

  Steve could see sheep and a horse in the field near some shops. “Yes, I see it! Let’s go that way.”

  The group walked on the yellow grass and into the gravel-filled streets of the village.

  “Should we go into the butcher shop?” asked Lucy. “I think we need some food.”

  “No, my health bar is okay. Your chicken really filled me up,” replied Henry.

  Steve saw a familiar face walking into the library. He ran toward the door.

  “Steve!” His old friend Adam called out. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here with Max, Lucy, Henry, and Kyra. We are on an adventure.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Adam replied.

  Henry and the others, excited to see their old friend, walked into the library.

  “Shhh!” the librarian warned them. “You have to be quiet in the library.”

  “Let’s go outside,” suggested Adam, afraid of angering the librarian.

  The sun was setting outside the library, so Adam invited his friends to stay at his house for the night.

  “When did you move to this village?” asked Steve.

  “Just recently. I found it when I was collecting resources to make potions and I stumbled upon this village. Everyone was so friendly, I decided to stay,” explained Adam.

  “Where’s Thomas?” asked Steve.

  “Funny you should ask about him. I heard he was back in your old town,” replied Adam.

  Steve paused. He remembered the piece of wool he had seen by his wheat farm. He hoped Thomas wasn’t back to his old shenanigans and planning on destroying Steve’s wheat farm, or even the town. Steve almost wanted to give up and head back home to make sure everything was okay. Of course he wanted to see Mine Mountain, but he also didn’t want all of his hard work destroyed while he was o
ff trying to find a place that might not even exist.

  “Guys,” Steve said to his friends, “now that we have lost our map, maybe we should go home.”

  “Go home? No, we will find it! Don’t worry.” Henry tried to convince Steve they should continue on their journey, but Steve didn’t want to hear any of it.

  Adam interrupted, “What map? What are you talking about?”

  “We were headed to Mine Mountain. We had a map,” explained Lucy.

  Adam walked over to a chest that sat next to the fireplace in his modest home. He opened the chest and took out a map. “Is this the same map you had?”

  Max took the map from Adam’s hands and studied it. Max nodded his head. “Yes, this is it. Where did you get it?”

  “A while ago some explorers came to town, and they traded the map for some potions. I’ve always wanted to go to Mine Mountain, but I didn’t think I could make the trip alone.” Adam looked over Max’s shoulders at the map.

  “Well, you’re not going to do it alone,” Lucy told him, “you’re going to come with us.”

  “Really?” Adam said excitedly, “You want me to come with you?”

  “Yes,” said Steve, “we’ll leave in the morning.”

  Adam was thrilled. “I can’t believe I’m finally going to make this trip.”

  The only person who wasn’t excited was Steve. As the group climbed into their beds, Steve thought about Thomas and the damage he might be doing to Steve’s town. He realized that they had to make it to Mine Mountain. Steve would need all the diamonds he could fit into his inventory to rebuild his town. As he drifted off to sleep, he imagined Thomas blowing up the shops and the houses.

  Steve didn’t sleep very long. There was a noise coming from the living room; it sounded like someone was at the door.

  “Don’t move,” Steve told the others, as he put on his diamond armor. “I’m going to see who or what is at the door.”

  Steve walked through Adam’s living room. He could make out a vacant-eyed zombie ripping the hinges off the wooden door.

  “Get ready to battle!” Steve called out to his friends.

  The gang put on their armor and rushed toward the door. Steve struck the zombie with his diamond sword, destroying it. Outside there were more zombies walking toward Adam’s house.

  Max shot arrows at the zombies, while the others charged toward them. It seemed as if there were a never-ending army of zombies. Steve and his friends wondered if they’d lose the battle.

  “If only the sun would come up now,” Steve said as he struck a zombie.

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” replied Henry as he clobbered two zombies.

  “Look, somebody is helping us,” Lucy noted when a sea of arrows flew in the direction of the zombies. The arrows hit a group of the terrors of the night and they were destroyed.

  Two people wearing red helmets sprinted toward Steve and his friends and helped them battle the menacing zombies.

  “Who are you?” Kyra asked as they destroyed the last few zombies together.

  “I’m Owen and this is my friend, Cyrus.”

  “They’re my neighbors,” clarified Adam.

  The sun began to rise. Lucy suggested, “Please join us for breakfast. You were so nice to help us.”

  “The zombies were attacking everyone. We were just protecting the town. There is no need to thank us,” replied Cyrus.

  “I insist,” said Lucy.

  The group feasted on apples and potatoes from Adam’s small farm.

  “Can you look after my house?” Adam asked his neighbors Owen and Cyrus, “I’m leaving with my friends soon and we won’t be back for a while.”

  “Where are you going?” questioned Cyrus.

  “We’re going to Mine Mountain,” Lucy told them.

  “We’ve been planning a trip there, too. We were supposed to go with our friends, Charlie and Beatrice. They had a map and everything,” said Cyrus.

  Lucy was silent. Could she be hearing them right? Charlie and Beatrice were the treasure thieves.

  “You should join us,” said Steve as he looked at his group, “maybe you will find your friends there.”

  Steve’s friends were shocked that he invited Charlie and Beatrice’s friends. Steve wished he could convey to his friends that he hoped Cyrus and Owen might lead them to Charlie and Beatrice and then Steve would be able to find out why they stole the treasure. Also Steve knew it was a good idea to keep potential enemies close by so you could keep an eye on them.

  “Do you guys have a map?” asked Cyrus.

  “Yes, we have everything necessary for a journey like this,” said Henry.

  The group gathered together their resources for the trip. Afterward, they stood around Adam’s map, plotting the journey.

  “It looks like we have to travel through the swamp,” Max pointed out.

  “I hope we don’t get attacked by slimes,” said Lucy fervently.

  They could see the swampy land in the horizon. They were on their way.

  Chapter 5

  WARRIORS AND WITCHES

  Night was setting in as they approached the swamp. As the light of the day grew fainter, a full moon appeared, filling the night sky with a dim glow.

  “We need to find shelter.” Steve looked around and began to construct a crude structure.

  Kyra grabbed some wooden planks to help Steve with the house. “If we all pitch in and start building, we’ll be able to finish the house quickly and we can stay safe.”

  The others grabbed what they could to help with the construction of the house. A bat whizzed by, almost flying into Steve.

  “That’s not a good sign,” Steve said as he looked up. “I think one of us should keep watch for hostile mobs. I know when I see a bat, I usually see a witch.”

  “Don’t worry, Steve,” Adam consoled. He lit a torch and looked around. “It looks like there isn’t any evil brewing around here. Just concentrate on the house.”

  The group worked as fast as they could, gathering every resource they had to build the house.

  “Wow, I can’t believe how quickly we can build a house if we all work together,” Lucy remarked as she grabbed another wooden plank.

  “I know!” Kyra was amazed, too. “We can finally get some sleep.”

  Cyrus placed the door on the house and Owen began to craft beds with wool and wood planks.

  “Come inside,” said Owen, “the beds are almost ready.”

  Steve and his friends placed the final wooden planks and the house was finished. Everyone raced inside.

  “Where’s Adam?” asked Steve as he climbed into bed.

  The gang glanced over at the empty bed.

  “I think he’s still outside,” replied Cyrus, “I’ll go look for him.”

  Steve followed Cyrus outside to search for Adam.

  “I don’t see him.” Cyrus looked around and began to feel nervous. “I think we should put on some armor. It’s not good to be out here without it.”

  Cyrus and Steve put on their diamond armor, although Cyrus still wore his red leather helmet. They trekked deep into the swamp biome, walking along a stream of murky shallow water lined with lily pads. Another bat flew close to Steve’s head.

  “Where is Adam?” Cyrus was getting worried. “How far could he have gone?”

  “I hope he wasn’t destroyed. He’d respawn at his house and never get to Mine Mountain with us. And he really wanted to go.” Steve thought about Adam. He wondered what hostile mob might have attacked him or if he had simply gone too far and gotten lost.

  “Help!” a voice called out.

  “That sounds like Adam!” yelled Cyrus.

  “Look!” Steve pointed and exclaimed, “a witch hut!”

  Steve and Cyrus jogged toward the witch hut. They could see the witch throw a potion on Adam and he appeared to move quite slowly. Steve rushed toward the witch and struck her with his diamond sword. The witch splashed the remainder of her potion on Steve.

  �
�I’m very weak!” Adam called out to Cyrus. Adam stood close to the witch and didn’t move.

  “Run, Adam!” shouted Cyrus, but Adam stood motionless.

  Cyrus shot an arrow at the witch but the purple-robed witch drank a potion and regained her strength as she grabbed another vile of her potent potion and aimed it at Adam. The drops from the potion of poison almost fell on Adam, when Cyrus sprinted toward the witch, striking her with his diamond sword. She was weakened. Steve used what little energy he had to deliver the final blow. The witch was destroyed, dropping sugarcane. Steve picked it up.

  “Adam, are you okay?” asked Steve.

  Cyrus gave him a potion of healing, which he drank very quickly.

  “Thanks guys. You saved me. I’m feeling much better now.”

  Cyrus looked at the witch hut. “I hope there aren’t any more witches in that hut. I think we have to get back to the house. We need to be safe and rest up for our trip.”

  They all agreed and raced back to the house. The house was in sight when they heard a noise.

  Boing! Boing! Boing!

  “What’s that?” asked Cyrus.

  “It sounds like slimes but I don’t see any.” Steve could hear the slimes bouncing. He searched through the moss-covered trees and the sugarcane that lined the swamp’s water.

  “They’re over there!” Cyrus shouted as four large green slimes bounced toward them.

  Adam ran toward the slimes, striking two with his sword. The two slimes broke into four smaller slimes.

  Cyrus and Steve hit the smaller slimes with their swords, destroying them and leaving small slime balls.

  The trio lunged toward the remaining two blocks of green slime, striking them with their swords, and then defeating the smaller slimes.

  “Finally, we can head back to the house,” Steve said as he walked toward the front door.

  “But look at the sky,” Cyrus frowned, “it’s too late to sleep.”

  The sun was rising. Their friends were getting up from their slumber. The three of them drank potions to replenish their health bar. “Eventually, I’ll get some sleep,” Steve said hopefully.

  Lucy walked into the living room and greeted her friends, “Were you guys up all night fighting mobs?”

  “Yes,” Steve replied.