Mystery on Mushroom Island Read online

  Edison, Amira, and Anna didn’t believe in curses, but they weren’t going to tell the older woman this fact. Instead, Edison thanked her for telling them the story about the curse and added, “I hope these mobs don’t spawn.”

  “They will,” the woman said. “Unfortunately, they will.” And the two older women walked off into the crowd.

  Amira suggested they go to Allyson’s house. “We should see how our friends are, and also it looks like one of the explosions took place near the house.”

  The trio sprinted toward Allyson’s house, which had a sandy surface and a red roof. Its design was inspired by the landscape, and it didn’t look as if it was constructed, but rather appeared as if it sprouted from the ground.

  Amira spotted Allyson standing in front of the house. Allyson called out, “Are you guys okay?”

  “Yes,” Amira replied. When they approached the house, Amira introduced her friends to Allyson and then asked, “Did my other friends show up?”

  “Yes, Peyton, Erin, and Billy are here,” Allyson replied.

  “What about Omar?” asked Edison.

  “I never met anybody by that name,” Allyson said. “Was he supposed to be here?”

  Amira’s voice shook. She was worried about Omar. “I hope he’s okay. I hope he didn’t get hurt in any of the explosions.”

  “Or cause them,” muttered Edison.

  “Edison!” Amira screamed. “How can you say that? I know you think he’s been acting strangely, but you can’t say that he’s responsible for these horrific explosions.”

  “I think we should go look for him,” said Anna. “I don’t know if he’s behind these attacks, but I do know he’s missing and he’s my good friend, and I must find him.”

  Allyson pointed to a cave in the distance. Smoke billowed from the cave. “That’s where there was one explosion. I don’t think anybody was hurt. Nobody ever goes into that cave. There aren’t any minerals left in the cave because we mined from it for such a long time. It hasn’t been occupied in years.”

  “I wonder how it exploded,” said Anna.

  “It’s the curse,” Edison joked.

  Amira and Anna laughed, but Allyson interrupted their laughter. “Please don’t make fun of the curse. It’s a part of our island’s folklore. I think it’s more than a coincidence that there were three explosions.”

  “There was an older woman who told us that after the three explosions, all of the hostile mobs from the Overworld would attack the people on Mushroom Island,” said Anna.

  “Yes.” Allyson bit her lip. “I’m very concerned that we are about to be attacked.”

  “I don’t believe in these sorts of stories,” said Edison. “I’m sorry to admit that, but I don’t think anyone or anyplace can be cursed.”

  “I know it sounds unlikely, but we have to be prepared,” Allyson said.

  Edison tried to contain his laughter, but he couldn’t believe a good friend of Amira’s could actually believe in curses.

  He didn’t feel like laughing when he heard a loud roar and looked up in the sky to see an Ender Dragon flying swiftly in circles, as if searching for prey.

  6

  DRAGON’S BREATH

  “And you guys thought I was crazy for believing in curses,” Allyson screamed as she pulled armor and a diamond sword from her inventory and raced toward the muscular flying menace.

  She fearlessly ripped into the belly of the beast and then raced back to her house to shelter herself from the purple fire–breathing dragon. She told them, “You guys have to help us battle these hostile mobs and mob bosses. Many of the natives have never fought in their lives. They haven’t even seen a mob.”

  Edison, Amira, and Anna were suited up and had their swords. Anna looked down at her wooden sword. She knew it wasn’t powerful enough to damage the Ender Dragon. Edison pulled a diamond sword from his inventory. “Take this. I have an extra one.”

  Anna was usually the one who handed out supplies. She always had a chest filled with armor and swords that she lent people when they had lost their weapons and other resources. It felt strange to take something from her friend when she was the one who was always the one helping others.

  The trio called for their friends, and Billy, Peyton, and Erin sprinted from the house and joined them in a battle against one of the most powerful creatures in the universe.

  “One of us should stay by the house and shoot arrows at the dragon. If we pound the beast with arrows, we’ll be able to weaken it,” Anna ordered the others.

  Amira told Allyson, “It’s easier to battle an Ender Dragon here than in the End because there aren’t any crystals that the dragon can eat to regain its strength.”

  “Well, I don’t think this is easy,” Allyson declared as she slammed her sword into the dragon’s wing and then lurched away from the fireball the dragon spit from its mouth. The dragon was focused on destroying Allyson, and it picked up its pace as it charged toward her. She was helpless. Her health bar was already low from battling the dragon, and one hit would destroy her. Allyson pushed her yellow hair from her eyes. Sweat dripped down her face as she sprinted to her house. Allyson felt an unnatural pain radiate down her back, and she cried out in agony, “Ouch!”

  Despite wearing the armor, the final attack from the dragon was fatal, and Allyson respawned in her bed. She could hear friends in the midst of the battle. The dragon’s wing ripped into the side of her house and made a gaping hole in her red roof. Allyson rushed outside and hurried to Edison, who pierced the side of the dragon and then splashed a potion that the weakened monster.

  “Just keep shooting arrows,” Edison called out to his friends.

  Billy, Erin, and Peyton tirelessly shot arrows and the beast, leaving the dragon incredibly vulnerable to a strike from a sword. Amira, Anna, and Edison ripped into the dragon’s belly with their swords. This final blow destroyed the beast. As it vanished, it left a dragon egg behind and a portal to the End.

  Edison stared at the portal. Billy sprinted toward him and breathlessly remarked, “This isn’t the time to go the End.”

  “We have to be prepared for what comes next,” said Allyson. “Maybe we can set up a place where we can hold a meeting and offer tips to natives of Mushroom Island that have never met a hostile mob. We can teach them how to battle the mobs.”

  “I can teach them how to brew potions that will help them defeat the mobs,” exclaimed Edison. He liked the idea of teaching people how to brew. He missed alchemy even though it had been only a couple days since he brewed potions. He still felt an absence when he wasn’t in front of the brewing station.

  Amira said, “I don’t think we have time for that. I don’t even think we should hold a meeting. I think we should just try to figure out how to stop the curse.”

  Anna asked, “Allyson, do you know if there is an end to the story of the curse? Did they ever say what had to be done to have things go back to normal?”

  Allyson paused. “I don’t know. I only know the story about the three explosions and the hostile mobs. Perhaps we could try to find the farmer who the traveler cursed.”

  “Yes,” said Billy, “we need more information to help us stop this curse.”

  Allyson said, “I know a bunch of farmers, but they’re on the other side of the island. Maybe we should start there?”

  “Yes,” said Anna, “that sounds like a good idea.”

  Allyson led them toward the farms and walked by the cave, which still had a steady stream of smoke coming out of it.

  “Do you think we should look inside?” questioned Billy.

  Edison walked toward the entrance. “It’s still rather smoky. I don’t think it’s a great idea.”

  “We need to see if there are any clues,” said Anna. “I know it seems dangerous, but we should go inside.”

  Edison didn’t want to explore a smoky cave and the aftermath of an explosion, but he did know they needed to search for clues. Even though the Ender Dragon had spawned, he still didn’t belie
ve in curses.

  As they entered the cave, he took a deep breath and told himself that it would be okay. He almost convinced himself that everything would be fine until they heard a voice shout at them through the smoky darkness.

  “Who’s there?” the nameless voice demanded.

  7

  CREEPERS IN THE CAVE

  “We’re here to help,” Allyson told the voice. “We just want to see what happened and if anybody was in here.”

  “Go away!” the person called out. The voice was high-pitched, and it sounded as if they had difficulty breathing. They took a deep breath between every word they spoke.

  “You sound like you’re not able to breathe,” said Amira. “Do you need help getting out of the cave?”

  A small woman who wore a striped dress and had violet hair walked toward them. “I can breathe fine, but I just want to be left alone.”

  Allyson recognized her from Mushroom Island. “I know you. You live down the road from me. You’re Greta, right?”

  “Yes,” Greta replied.

  “What are you doing in here?” asked Anna.

  “None of your business,” said Greta.

  Edison and Billy didn’t talk to the woman, but walked deeper into the cave. Through the thick smoke, Edison looked down at the ground and saw the explosion had cracked a large hole in the blocky dirt that was teeming with blue diamonds.

  “This is why Greta doesn’t want to leave,” said Billy.

  “Get away from there!” Greta shouted.

  “This isn’t your cave,” Edison said. “Anybody can mine here.”

  “But I discovered it first,” declared Greta. “It’s all mine.”

  Allyson looked at the hole. “Wow, this is weird. I spent my entire life mining in this cave. We dug deeper than this and there weren’t any minerals left. I wonder how so many more sprouted in the cave.”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care,” said Greta. “I just want all of these treasures. I deserve them.”

  Billy spotted a pair of red eyes staring at him from the dark musty cave. “A cave spider!” he warned the others. With his diamond sword, he rushed toward the cave-dwelling mob and destroyed the spider. The spider dropped an eye that Billy handed to Edison. “For your potions.”

  Greta stood by in awe. “How did you do that?”

  “It was easy. I’ve destroyed a lot of spiders,” said Billy. “I can show you how. It’s not hard to learn.”

  “Really?” questioned Greta. “I’ve never seen a hostile mob in my life.”

  “Well, get ready to see a lot of them,” said Allyson.

  “Why?” Greta asked.

  Allyson explained, “I believe these three explosions are linked to the curse on the island. We were just on our way to speak to the farmers about the curse when we passed by the cave and decided to see if anyone was in here or if there were any clues to help us figure out how to stop hostile mobs from forming on the island.”

  “I don’t believe in that story. I’ve been hearing about it for years, and it just seems like utter nonsense,” said Greta.

  “It’s not nonsense,” Allyson declared. “It’s happening.”

  Greta didn’t listen and climbed into the hole, pulled out a pickaxe, and began to dig into the ground. “Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds,” she called out as she gathered a handful of diamonds and placed them in her inventory.

  “Watch out!” Anna screamed.

  Greta had no idea what was lurking behind her. Two green creepers exploded before she had a chance to turn around or get advice from Billy on how to annihilate the explosive mob.

  “Greta!” Allyson called out, but Greta had been destroyed.

  “Oh no!” Peyton screamed as the small smoky cave filled with creepers.

  “Did someone place a spawner here?” asked Edison. “There are just too many creepers.” He pulled a potion out of his inventory and splashed the mobs as the group raced from the cave. A trail of green creepers silently followed them out of the smoky cave and into the lush, green, grassy path that led toward the farms.

  “We have to escape from the creepers,” said Erin.

  “How far does that cave go back?” asked Billy.

  Allyson said, “Not very far, and there’s no stronghold. I wonder where they could have placed a monster spawner?”

  “Maybe they aren’t being spawned from a monster spawner, but they’re a part of the curse,” suggested Erin.

  Edison was still leery of curses. He knew there had to be someone behind this attack on Mushroom Island, and he was going to find out who. But first they had to defeat the cluster of creepers that were trying to destroy them.

  “Let’s use our bow and arrows,” suggested Amira.

  The gang shot arrows and threw potions on the creepers, defeating the mobs without being destroyed. They felt victorious. As they jogged toward the farm to question the farmers, they heard a familiar voice call out, “Wait for me!”

  8

  NIGHT FIGHT

  “Omar,” Amira said, “where have you been? We were worried about you.”

  “I couldn’t find your friend’s house, and when I finally did find it, nobody was there,” he explained. Then he asked, “Where are you going? I thought there was going to be a big birthday feast tonight.”

  “Mushroom Island is in trouble. We have to help everyone,” explained Amira. “We have to find out what’s happening with the curse.”

  “What curse? What are you talking about?” asked Omar.

  “Just follow us. We don’t have time to explain,” Amira told him.

  Allyson introduced herself to Omar, and then they sprinted toward the farm. When they reached the first farm, it was empty, and all of the mooshrooms were missing. The mushrooms sprouting from the ground had been picked, and the farmhouse was emptied.

  “What happened here?” asked Allyson.

  “I have no idea.” Edison inspected the farm. “It looks like someone has ruined this farm. We should head to the next farm.”

  The sun was beginning to set, which wouldn’t have been an issue on Mushroom Island before, but now that the hostile mobs were spawning, they were vulnerable to attacks.

  “Does everyone have a fully stocked inventory?” asked Edison. “We have to be prepared for a long night battle. We have no idea what is going to come next. We already had to battle the Ender Dragon.”

  Allyson said, “I’m worried about all of the natives. Look at Greta. She was in awe of Billy destroying a spider. What will she do when she comes face to face with a spider jockey?”

  “The best way we can help the folks of Mushroom Island is by stopping this attack. We should go to the next farm and question the farmer. We need more information,” Edison said.

  The group sprinted behind Allyson as they reached the neighboring farm, which was also in shambles. A lone farmer stood by the farmhouse. She called out to them, “Someone robbed my farm and took all of my mooshrooms.”

  “Did you see what they looked like?” asked Allyson.

  “No, when I came back from the festival, I found that all of my mooshrooms were missing, and someone stole all of my diamonds from my chest in my house,” she cried.

  “We’re here to help you,” Amira reassured her. “We believe this is all a part of the curse. Do you happen to know anything about it? We were told that an old traveler once put a curse on a farmer.”

  “Yes,” she replied, “that was me.”

  “What’s your name?” asked Allyson.

  “Dina,” she replied, “One day a traveler came by and wanted to buy my mooshrooms, put them on a boat, and to bring them to spots all across the Overworld so everyone could have mooshroom stew. I am very protective of my mooshrooms, and I said he couldn’t have them. I told him they were special to Mushroom Island and if he wanted the stew, he’d have to travel here.”

  “When did he put a curse on you, Dina?” asked Allyson.

  “I told him that he couldn’t have the mooshrooms, and he told me t
hat my island would be cursed and one day there would be three explosions and then we’d have the same problems that all of the Overworld had, and we’d have hostile mobs. He said we’d never be able to go out at night because we’d be attacked by zombies and skeletons.”

  Before Dina could continue with the rest of the story. Four skeletons spawned and shot arrows at the gang. Dina wasn’t wearing any armor, so the arrows pierced her chest. She cried out in pain as she lost a heart.

  “Are those skeletons?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Allyson said. “Don’t worry, we’ll show you how to destroy them. Do you have any weapons?”

  “No,” Dina replied as she raced back inside her farmhouse to shelter herself from the attack.

  Allyson and Amira followed Dina into the house. They wanted to help her battle the hostile mobs that would spawn throughout the night.

  Edison, Billy, Anna, Peyton, and Erin sprinted toward the skeletons and swung their diamond swords at the bony beasts. As the friends ripped into the rattling bones, the skeletons lost all of their hearts and were destroyed. The gang picked up the dropped bones.

  “Some vacation,” Edison joked as he picked up the bones.

  “We have to stop these attacks,” said Billy. “I know we can do it.”

  As they walked back to Dina’s house, they kept a close eye out for hostile mobs that might spawn near the farm. Peyton looked around and asked, “What happened to Omar?”

  Edison replied, “Maybe he’s with Amira and Allyson in Dina’s house.”

  When they entered the house, they didn’t see Omar. “Where’s Omar?” asked Billy.

  “I thought he was with you guys,” said Amira.

  “Oh no.” Anna was worried. “I hope he’s okay. He was acting so off.”

  Amira suggested they search for Omar, but Edison said, “We will find him, but first we should talk to Dina about the traveler.”

  Edison didn’t want to get sidetracked. He knew that they had to find out more details from Dina. “Tell us everything about the traveler.”

  “I didn’t know him that well. He just came here, and when I refused to give him the mooshrooms, he was very upset. He shouted at me. I didn’t fight back, because there was nothing to say. When I didn’t respond, he got very upset, and that’s when he put a curse on me.”