The Mystery of the Griefer's Mark Read online

  They stopped when the maze offered two different paths.

  “Which one should we take? Left or right?” asked Max.

  “Maybe we should split up,” said Adam.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Steve. “Do you? I mean we might never find each other again and I think it’s best if we stick together.”

  “I just want to get out of here!” Kyra cried out.

  Max peeked down the left side, “Let’s go left. It seems as if the wool isn’t as high on that side. Maybe that’s a sign.” Before the group had a chance to respond, Max started to walk to the left and the others followed him.

  At the end of the path, there was a door.

  “Wow! I chose the right path!” Max called out with joy.

  Max opened the door and let out a gasp.

  7

  THE ATTACK OF THE RABBIT

  They were back in Steve’s house. “How can this be?” asked Max as he walked into Steve’s house and found all of the beds in the house destroyed by fire.

  “I can’t believe the door led to my house!” Steve said in shock. “And the beds! Where are we going to sleep?!”

  Lucy was frustrated. “I can’t believe we haven’t found Henry yet and now we have no place to sleep.”

  “We can make new beds here or you can all stay at my place,” said Adam.

  They decided to go to Adam’s house instead of making new beds. His house was down the road, and as the gang trekked through the green landscape to the house, they kept a close eye out for hostile mobs that lurked through the Overworld at dusk.

  “I wonder what the griefer did to your house,” said Steve as they approached Adam’s door.

  “I don’t care what the griefer did to the house, I just hope Thomas is there.”

  Just as Adam was about to open the door to his house, Steve shouted out a warning. “Stop!” he yelled. “We have to check for TNT.”

  Adam and Steve told the others to stay outside as they inspected each room.

  “Everything looks good. I can’t believe the griefer didn’t do anything,” said Adam. “But I wish Thomas was here. There’s no sign of him.”

  Steve told the rest of the group the house was safe for them to enter. “We can spend the night here and in the morning we can rebuild Steve’s beds.”

  Night was setting in, and the group needed to sleep. They didn’t want to battle any creatures of the night; they had had their fill of adventure that day.

  Steve climbed into Thomas’s empty bed. He heard a noise, felt something scratching at his feet, and discovered a small piece of wool there. But it was dark, and he quickly fell asleep without telling anyone what he had found. He wasn’t sure what all the clues meant, and he didn’t want to share it until he could prove Thomas might be the troublemaker who had gotten them into this mess. He also didn’t want to blame Adam’s roommate and best friend for acts he might not have done. Maybe somebody was setting Thomas up?

  The next morning as dawn broke in the Overworld, Adam woke them up from a restful sleep and suggested they head over to Steve’s house to help rebuild the beds. “Finally, daylight,” he said. “We can build the beds and we don’t have to worry about being attacked by monsters.”

  Max picked an apple from a tree as they walked to Steve’s house. He took a bite of the apple. “It’s a new day,” he said, “and I feel hopeful that we’ll find Henry.”

  Lucy looked off in the distance, “Aw,” she said, “look at that cute little bunny in the grass. Does anybody have a carrot? I want to tame it and keep it as a pet.”

  “If we hunt the bunny, we can have rabbit stew.” Max said rubbing his belly.

  “And we can also use the bunny to make potions of leaping,” added Adam.

  Lucy got closer to the bunny, “You guys are awful. It’s so cute, I just want to keep it as a pet.”

  “No!” Steve shouted. “It’s hostile and it can kill you!”

  “Steve’s right!” Max called out. “It’s the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog!”

  The white bunny, which looked tame and innocent, was actually a hostile creature and it leapt toward Lucy. Luckily, she was able to sprint away.

  Steve shot an arrow at the bunny but it was too fast for any weapon and it was advancing toward Lucy. Unable to kill the fierce creature, Steve built a small brick wall in the bunny’s path. The bunny stopped.

  “Help me make a cage!” Steve shouted to the group, “We have to trap it!”

  Max hid in a corner to avoid the bunny and crafted a cage.

  “How are we going to get the bunny in the cage?” Adam asked as he stood on the wall, high enough to shield himself from a bunny attack.

  “We need to lure it into the cage with carrots,” said Steve. “You guys distract the bunny and I’ll get the carrots.”

  Lucy and Kyra jumped atop the wall. Then Lucy shot an arrow at the bunny but it hopped to avoid the flinging arrow. Kyra also shot an arrow. The bunny was too busy avoiding the arrows to notice Steve passing by and grabbing a handful of carrots.

  “The cage is done!” Max shouted. He placed it next to the wall and then jumped up to join Adam, Kyra, and Lucy on top of the wall.

  Steve threw carrots down as he sprinted toward the wall to avoid a deadly attack from this vicious rabbit. Just as the rabbit leapt toward him, Steve quickly threw a carrot into the cage and jumped onto the wall.

  The bunny had nobody left to fight. It looked up at the group and then down at the ground, noticing the carrots that lay on in the grass near the cage. It took a bite of a carrot and happily devoured the orange vegetable. Then it hopped toward the next carrot that lay near the cage and ate it.

  Steve was excited. “It’s getting close to the cage.”

  “Once it goes in the cage, who will close the door?” asked Max.

  “I’ll do it,” said Adam. “Once the rabbit takes its first bite of the carrot in the cage, I’ll jump down and slam the door shut.”

  They stared at the bunny waiting for it to enter the cage and take a bite of the carrot. It slowly finished the carrot it was chewing.

  “I hope it’s not full,” said Lucy.

  The bunny took its last bite of the carrot and walked toward the cage. Its floppy ears perked up when it saw the carrot lying in the cage.

  It cautiously made its way into the cage and took a bite.

  Thump! Adam jumped to the ground and with one hand, he trapped the bunny in the cage.

  8

  MORE CLUES

  “Do you think the bunny could figure out how to break out of the cage?” asked Lucy. “It’s so scary and dangerous.”

  “I think it should be fine,” said Max, “We need to find Henry. When I was making the cage, I had an idea. Maybe we can set up a trap for the griefer.”

  “That’s an amazing idea!” said Kyra.

  “What type of trap?” asked Steve.

  “We can create something very valuable that the griefer might want to steal or destroy and we can wait by it until the griefer arrives. Once the griefer shows up, we can trap him and then find Henry.”

  “That sounds like a great idea,” said Steve. “What should we make?”

  “I was thinking we could build a small house. The griefer would be curious because it’ll be new and there might be valuables in it,” said Max.

  “Great!” said Kyra. “And then I can live in it once we trap the griefer because I have no home.”

  “Where should we build it?” asked Steve.

  “I think we should build it between your house and Kyra’s house. Sound good?” asked Max.

  “Yes, let’s get started on that right away,” said Kyra. She jumped up and immediately walked toward the field where they planned to build the house.

  “We need to get some wood,” said Steve as they stood on the empty lot where they were going to build the home.

  “I have a bunch of wood,” Kyra told the gang. “But not enough to make a house.”

  “Wooden homes are very vu
lnerable,” said Steve. “They can be destroyed by creepers and can burn quickly.”

  “But we don’t want to use all of our resources building a house to trick a griefer,” said Adam.

  “But Kyra said she might want to live there,” said Steve.

  “Kyra can live with me until she builds a real home,” said Adam. “Right now, we need to focus on the griefer. I need to find Thomas and you need to find Henry, and we all need this griefer to stop destroying everything we create. It will take me months to get all of my potions back.”

  Max took out a crafting table and started working on the wood for the house. “Kyra’s right, we don’t have enough wood.”

  Steve looked at the tree that stood near his property. He always loved looking at the tree from his window, but he knew that if they chopped down the tree, they would have enough wood to make the house. “We can chop down that tree,” he said, pointing at the tree.

  Adam took out an ax and started to chop down the tree. As Max crafted the house with the wood, Lucy and Kyra built the windows and Steve crafted the beds.

  “We don’t have to make it very big. Let’s just keep it basic,” Steve told them.

  The group constructed the house, and when it was finished, they were satisfied with their new structure.

  “Not bad!” Max said, walking through the new wooden home. “I might sleep here tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t sleep here. I told you, it is too vulnerable,” said Steve.

  “I think we’ll all have to sleep here tonight,” said Adam. “We have to stay here and wait for the griefer. It’s the only way we can trap him.”

  The group had spent so long building the house that they didn’t realize it was almost nighttime.

  “I guess we have no choice,” Steve’s voice was shaky, he was scared to sleep in a wooden house—one attack from a creeper and the house could burn to the ground.

  “If we stick together, we can make it through the night and maybe the griefer will show up,” said Lucy hopefully.

  “And what’s the plan when and if he arrives?” asked Steve.

  Max took out a large cage from behind the house. “I built this earlier. We will trap the griefer in the cage, like we did to the rabbit.”

  “How are we going to get a person into a cage? We can’t lure him in with carrots, he’s too smart!” said Steve.

  “We are going to take out our swords and tell the griefer if he doesn’t surrender, we’ll attack.” Max had the plan all worked out.

  “Do you think that will work?” asked Lucy.

  “I hope so,” said Max.

  Boom! There was a loud blast.

  “What was that?!” Max cried out.

  “It sounds like it came from the direction of my house!” yelled Steve.

  “Should we look out?” asked Lucy. Night was slowly approaching and they knew hostile mobs were lurking on the grassy field.

  “We could armor up and see what happened,” suggested Kyra.

  The group put on their armor and walked out of the small wooden house into the night.

  “I don’t see any creepers or skeletons,” Lucy said as she looked in all directions.

  “But look at that! That wasn’t here before!” Kyra pointed to a witch hut.

  “She’s coming out!” cried Max.

  The witch’s lavender eyes lit up in the dark sky. Her black hat almost blended into the darkness.

  “Jump back!” Adam screamed. “She has a splash potion!”

  Max took out his bow and arrow and fired at the witch but missed her.

  The witch walked closer to the group with a potion in her hand. She took a sip of the potion and raced toward Max.

  “She drank a speed potion. Sprint, Max!” yelled Adam.

  Max sprinted away but he couldn’t move fast enough. The witch threw a potion of weakness at Max and he couldn’t sprint any farther.

  Steve shot an arrow at the witch, striking her. She fell to the ground.

  Adam ran over to Max. “Here’s some milk. This will help you combat the witch’s potion.”

  “Thank you,” said Max, barely getting the words out because he was so tired.

  “Adam,” said Steve. He pointed to something in the distance. “Look!”

  Adam stood up and looked in the direction of his home. It had been blown up. “No!” he cried out in despair.

  As the sun came up and a new day began, the group could see the side of Adam’s house ripped to pieces and the sun beating down on his roofless living room.

  9

  DON’T GIVE UP

  “My house!” Adam screamed out in horror. “All my stuff was in there, too.”

  “Maybe the griefer emptied it out before he blew it up,” said Steve.

  “That doesn’t make things better!” cried Adam.

  “When we catch the griefer, we’ll make him give back all the stuff he stole from us and you can have all of your potions, too,” Steve said hopefully.

  “You really believe we’ll find the griefer, don’t you?” asked Kyra.

  “We have no other choice. We must find this evil griefer,” said Steve as they walked toward the new house. “Luckily we have this new house. And I’m pretty sure that after what the griefer did to Adam’s and Kyra’s houses, the new house will be a target.”

  “Can we look at my house?” asked Adam. “I want to see how badly damaged it is.”

  The group quietly followed him to his house. The door was blown off the hinges, and the living room was burnt down, but the back of the house hadn’t been touched.

  “It’s not as bad as we thought,” said Steve. “You can still use the bedrooms. All you have to do is rebuild the living room.”

  “If we could build the decoy house in one day, we can certainly rebuild this one,” said Kyra.

  The others agreed with Kyra; they would help Adam rebuild his house. Steve looked at the burnt living room and then jumped over the remains of a wall and looked at the devastation around him. On the floor, next to the burnt couch, was a small piece of wool.

  Steve picked up the wool. “What is this? I keep seeing wool every time the griefer strikes.”

  “Do you think it’s a sign?” asked Lucy as she took the wool from Steve’s hand.

  “When the griefer blew up my wheat farm, he also stole my sheep,” said Steve.

  “I bet he is using the wool from your sheep!” said Kyra.

  “And what about that wool maze?” asked Adam.

  “You’re right. This has to be some sort of sign, but what does it mean?” asked Lucy.

  The group was dumbfounded. They weren’t sure what the wool meant. Then Steve said, “I think it’s the griefer’s calling card.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Lucy.

  “The griefer is using the wool to show that each of these horrible acts was done by the same griefer, and he’s taking credit for it,” explained Steve.

  “Why would somebody want to do that?” asked Lucy.

  “You know how griefers act,” said Adam. “They are very mean and they want people to know they can pull off such risky and complicated crimes.”

  Kyra started to cry. “With all of our stuff damaged and Henry and Thomas missing, I feel like just giving up,” she said. “It seems like we’re getting nowhere.”

  “We can’t give up,” said Steve. “We are going to solve this mystery and rebuild.”

  As the group walked back to the new house, Adam trailed behind them. Just then, he saw someone running past him. “Thomas!” he called out.

  The gang turned around, but they didn’t see anybody.

  “Are you imagining Thomas again?” asked Steve.

  “No, I just saw him run by. When I called his name, he seemed to disappear.” Adam sounded defeated.

  “Why would Thomas do that?” asked Steve.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where did you see him?” asked Steve.

  “By that apple tree,” said Adam.

  Steve walked to
the tree and checked for signs of Thomas. Most of the apples had been eaten off the tree. He wondered if Thomas was the griefer and was hiding in the tree and eating the apples to survive. Besides the almost barren apple tree, there was nothing there. Steve walked slowly to see if there was a hole in the ground. He thought Thomas could be hiding underground, but the grass hadn’t been touched.

  The sea was just a few feet away. Maybe Thomas stole Adam’s potion of water breathing and was living beneath the sea and eating fish. There were so many thoughts swimming through Steve’s head and he didn’t know how to make sense of them. He just wanted everything to be the way it was before. He wanted his wheat farm back. He wanted to enjoy quiet mornings in the village. He knew his friends thought he was the person who had hope and believed they would find the griefer, but Steve was beginning to doubt they’d ever find the griefer.

  Every day seemed to bring more devastation and no clues that could tell them who the griefer was and where he was hiding.

  “Are you coming back to the house?” Adam asked Steve.

  “We want to start digging for seeds to rebuild your wheat farm,” said Lucy.

  Steve tried to sound upbeat; he didn’t want the group thinking he had given up hope. “I’ll be right there,” he said.

  He decided to take one more look around the area where Adam had seen Thomas. He walked past the tree, inspecting the ground, and found a small piece of wool.

  10

  CHICKEN JOCKEY

  Steve ran to join the others. “I found another piece of wool by the tree,” he told them.

  “Do you think all of this wool and your missing sheep is a sign?” asked Max.

  “Yes. It has to be,” said Steve.

  “Once we find the griefer, we will find out about the wool and we’ll find Thomas,” said Adam.

  “And Henry,” added Lucy.

  “What happens if we find out that Thomas is the griefer?” asked Steve.

  “Thomas isn’t a griefer!” Adam said angrily.

  “Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” said Lucy, trying to stop the argument. “We won’t know who the griefer is until we find him.”

  “We can’t fight about who the griefer is. We need to rebuild Adam’s house and the wheat farm,” Kyra reminded them.