Destruction in the Desert Read online

  Brett told Jacques about the portal and his other time travels, and then Poppy added, “We all grew up hearing about Sandy Vista. I always wanted to go there. It sounded beautiful. Now that I am here, I see that it is even more stunning in real life. I am so glad I’m here.”

  Jacques eyebrows creased, and he looked tense. “What is going to happen to Sandy Vista? Can you help us? I don’t want Sandy Vista to become a lost city.”

  “Neither do we,” said Nancy. “We will help you keep the town in existence. Perhaps that’s why we were brought back to this time period.”

  Brett wanted to remind Nancy that the reason they were back in time was because of Joe. He wanted to find his friend. Brett hoped Joe had also found the desert temple and was with the king and queen. In the folktales about King Jed and Queen Gail, they were always known to be compassionate and fair rulers. As the crew reached the temple, a man in an orange robe sprinted toward them.

  “Colin,” Jacques called out.

  “The king and queen are missing.” Colin’s voice cracked.

  “What?” Jacques hollered.

  “They are missing. I worry that something serious has happened to them,” said Colin.

  “We will find them,” Jacques said. “These people will help us,” he said as he pointed to the gang.

  “Who are these people?” asked Colin. “Can we trust them?”

  “You can trust us,” Brett spoke for the group.

  “Why?” questioned Colin.

  Poppy said, “We want to help your town. We think it’s a special place.”

  Colin said, “You’re going to have to earn my trust.”

  “Do you have any suspects?” asked Brett. “Any idea who would capture the king and queen?”

  “At first I thought the woman with the green hair was behind it. She has been terrorizing our town. But I found someone lurking around the temple, and I decided to take him as a prisoner. I don’t trust him,” said Colin.

  “Can we meet the suspect?” asked Jacques.

  “Yes,” Colin replied. “I’ll lead you to the person.”

  The group entered the temple. It was much cooler inside the temple than it was outside. The gang was happy to escape the strong sun and the heat and to walk through the cool temple’s spacious living room. They looked over at the empty thrones. Colin said, “That is where you’d normally find King Jed and Queen Gail.”

  Colin led them downstairs into a dark, musty basement. Another man in a tan robe was standing guard in front of a small cell. The gang gasped when they saw the person who stood behind the bars.

  7

  BREWING LESSONS

  “Joe.” Brett grabbed the bars and tried to open the gate.

  “Stand back,” said Colin. “Don’t touch the bars.”

  Joe was filthy and famished. “Please, these are my friends.”

  “Are you working together? We have to capture all of them,” Colin said.

  Jacques said, “These people aren’t our enemy. They told me they would teach me how to brew potions.”

  “Potions?” questioned Colin. “Nobody can brew them. They’re magic.”

  “No,” explained Brett. “I can teach you guys how to brew, and then you can craft potions that make you invisible or gain strength or speed or health.”

  “That can’t be. You’re fooling us,” said Colin.

  “Colin,” Jacques said, “they’re telling the truth.”

  “Prove it,” said Colin.

  “I just need a brewing stand,” said Brett. “Mine is in my house.”

  “Very convenient,” remarked Colin. “Why don’t you go home and get it?”

  “They can’t go home,” said Jacques. “They’re from the future.”

  “Okay, I’ve heard enough. This is crazy. Nobody can travel through time,” said Colin.

  Callie pulled a brewing stand from her inventory. “I brought one because we were traveling, and I knew I might need one for the practical joke competition.”

  “Practical joke competition?” questioned Colin. “What is that?”

  Poppy started to explain the rules of the competition and list all of the practical jokes she had played, but Callie interrupted her. “This isn’t the time. We have to teach these people how to make potions. They need to learn how to defend themselves from this enemy.”

  “Yes,” said Jacques. “Please teach us how to brew potions.”

  “I will,” said Callie, “but not until you let my friend Joe out of your makeshift jail. He doesn’t deserve to be there.”

  Jacques said, “Okay.” He walked toward the jail cell, but Colin stopped him.

  “Are you sure we should trust these people?” asked Colin.

  “What do I have to do to convince you?” Jacques was annoyed. “We have to trust them. They are our only hope.”

  “Our only hope?” asked Colin. “Can that be true?”

  Callie pulled a bottle and a fermented spider eye from her inventory. “Do you want to learn how to become invisible?”

  Colin paused and looked over at Joe. “Okay, I do.” Colin opened the gate and let Joe free.

  “Are you okay?” Brett rushed to his friend’s side.

  “I am now.” Joe smiled.

  Callie called Brett over to the potion stand. “Brett, can you help me teach these guys how to brew?”

  “Of course,” said Brett as he stood by the brewing stand. As Callie started to teach Jacques and Colin about the potions, a thunderous noise roared from the outside.

  “What’s that?” cried Colin.

  “It sounds like we’re under attack again.” Jacques rushed outside and hollered, “An Ender Dragon. The villain spawned the Ender Dragon.”

  The gang put on their armor and grabbed their bows and arrows as they hurried outside to battle the lethal dragon. The Ender Dragon flew toward the gang, and they unleashed a barrage of arrows that struck the belly of the beast. The dragon roared as it lost a heart. The dragon swooped down at the group, nearly hitting Callie. She regained her footing and pulled a potion from her inventory and splashed it on the beast that flew next to her.

  The dragon lost another heart. Colin watched in awe as the gang used arrows and potions to destroy the beast. The Ender Dragon was weakened, and bits of light shone from its muscular body. The dragon’s health deteriorated until it exploded. Colin covered his ears as he watched the powerful dragon explode, and his eyes widened as an egg was dropped and a portal to the End spawned in the center of Sandy Vista.

  Colin walked over to the portal. Callie screamed, “Don’t go too close. You don’t want to go to the End.”

  “What’s the End?” asked Colin.

  “It’s a place where the Ender Dragon resides. It’s very dark, but if you destroy the Ender Dragon in the End, you can go to the End city, where you can find many treasures,” explained Brett. “But this isn’t the time to travel there. We have to help you guys battle this enemy.”

  Nancy said, “Jacques, you had mentioned there was a villain. Who is she?”

  “I don’t know her name, but she has green hair,” said Jacques.

  Callie interrupted, “Does she wear a blue sweatshirt?”

  “Yes,” exclaimed Jacques. “Do you know her?”

  “I saw her,” Callie said, “when we were back in Meadow Mews.”

  “Where is that?” asked Colin.

  “It’s the town we live in, but I don’t think it exists yet,” explained Callie, “which makes me realize that this villain is able to travel through time.”

  “She must be extremely powerful,” remarked Jacques.

  “Yes,” said Callie, “but we will defeat her. We will save Sandy Vista.”

  “But that will change the course of history. Isn’t that bad?” questioned Brett. “Aren’t we supposed to let things stay the way they are? I mean, I also want Sandy Vista to survive, but we have to be true to the history of the Overworld.”

  “I think we were sent back in time to change the future. We are
here to rewrite history,” said Joe.

  Callie added, “Since that villain was also in Meadow Mews, I believe she must be focusing on destroying our town too. This means that if we defeat her in the past, we won’t have to deal with her in the future.”

  Brett said, “That makes sense. This villain is a time traveler. So if we stop her here, we can save both towns.”

  “Please save our town,” said Colin.

  “Can we go back into the temple and have you teach us how to brew potions?” asked Jacques.

  The gang walked back into the temple, and Callie stood in front of the brewing stand teaching everyone how to make potions. When she finished her first batch of the potion of invisibility, she poured it on Colin, and they watched as he disappeared.

  8

  SAVE THE QUEEN

  “That was awesome!” said Colin. “I was invisible. Teach me how to brew other potions.”

  Callie looked through her inventory. “I don’t have too many ingredients on me. What about you guys?” she asked her friends.

  “My inventory is almost empty,” Brett reminded her. “We also don’t have food. Jacques, you had promised us some food.”

  “Yes, we have a farm here, so you can refill your inventories with food. Also, there is a large lake that is filled with fish. I can lead you there now,” said Jacques.

  “Not so fast,” said Colin.

  “What?” Jacques was confused.

  “I think we should negotiate a trade. If we give them access to our food, they will teach us how to source ingredients to craft potions,” suggested Jacques.

  “Of course we will agree to that. We don’t need to negotiate a formal trade. That’s just what friends do for each other. They help each other out,” explained Poppy.

  Brett said, “Before we teach you how to source the ingredients, we must warn you that we have to travel to the Nether.”

  “The Nether? Really?” Jacques’s voice shook. “I’ve only heard about the Nether but have never traveled there. It sounds very scary.”

  “If you stick with us,” said Poppy, “it won’t be bad. There aren’t many people who enjoy being in the Nether, but it’s a great place to gather ingredients for potions. We can get netherrack and Nether wart and ghast tears and other valuable resources in the Nether. Since you guys live in the desert, you have the advantage of being acclimated to the heat. The Nether is very hot, which is always hard for me,” confessed Poppy.

  “How do we get there?” asked Jacques.

  “We will build a portal,” replied Brett. “I have all the supplies we need to craft a portal to the Nether.”

  Brett walked outside of the temple, and the gang followed him. As Brett pulled obsidian from his inventory, a voice cried for help in the distance.

  “Who is that?” asked Poppy.

  “Help!” the voice cried out again.

  “Oh my!” said Colin. “That sounds like Queen Gail.”

  “It does!” Jacques exclaimed. “We have to help her!”

  “Help!” the voice cried and grew fainter.

  Brett raced toward the sound of the distressed voice. “It sounds like it’s coming from this direction.”

  The gang dashed toward the voice, which called out again. The voice was clearer and louder, and they were hopeful they would find her.

  “Queen Gail!” Colin called out. “Where are you? We are here to help you.”

  Poppy’s braids bounced as she hurried toward the sound of the queen. She was the first to see Queen Gail’s crown. She hollered, “She’s over here. Right by the swamp.”

  Queen Gail was standing on the edge of the murky water, and a woman with green hair held a sword toward her back.

  “Leave her alone,” Jacques hollered at the villain.

  She laughed. “Why should I?”

  “Who are you?” Callie sprinted toward the villain, and she splashed a potion of harming on the green-haired trickster.

  “You don’t need to know who I am,” the villain cried out as she lost a heart. “You just need to know that I’m here to destroy you.” The villain pulled a potion of healing from her inventory and took a quick gulp. “You are never going to stop me.”

  As the villain lunged at Callie, Queen Gail used the energy from her remaining heart to slam her sword into the green-haired woman, but the villain splashed a potion of invisibility on herself and vanished.

  “Her name is Veronica,” explained the queen as she pulled milk from her inventory and took a sip to regain her energy. “And who are you guys?”

  “They are helping us save Sandy Vista,” explained Jacques.

  “Good, you’ve recruited an army,” Queen Gail said as she readjusted her crown. Despite her traumatic capture, her curly red hair was flawless and her pink gown shimmered.

  “Army?” Nancy questioned. “I don’t think we’re an army. We are just people who want to help you.”

  “Call yourself whatever you like. We just need you to help us. As you might already know, Veronica has captured King Jed. We have to get him,” said the queen.

  “Where is he?” asked Colin.

  “She kept us trapped in a mine right out of the desert. I think I know the way,” said the queen.

  The sky grew darker, and a full moon rose above the swampy biome. Two bats flew close to the group’s heads, and everyone worried they would be attacked by hostile mobs.

  Poppy suggested, “Do you think we should build a shelter? It’s getting dark, and the swamp has many hostile mobs.”

  “We can’t waste time,” said the queen. “We have to find King Jed. He is trapped in a mine, and I can’t sleep knowing that he is there.”

  Poppy understood this reasoning, but she also knew that they were going to be incredibly vulnerable to hostile mobs. As they followed the queen toward the mine, they could hear a bouncing noise growing louder.

  “It sounds like slimes,” remarked Helen.

  Boing! Boing! Boing! ’

  Poppy slammed her sword into the slime, and it broke into smaller pieces. The gang used their weapons to destroy the slimy swamp mobs. When the final slime was destroyed, they continued on until they heard a shrill laugh.

  “Oh no!” Poppy cried. “It’s a witch.”

  Poppy had a slight fear of witches, and her body tensed. She took a deep breath as she pulled a potion from her inventory, readying herself for an attack.

  As the purple-robed witch lunged toward them, her laugh grew louder. She splashed a potion on the queen, leaving the queen exhausted and unable to move as she stood by the witch’s house.

  Brett and Poppy raced to the witch. Poppy splashed a potion on the witch, and Brett pierced the witch with his sword. The witch was able to splash a potion at Brett, and he stood next to the queen. Both Brett and the queen were motionless and felt a wave of exhaustion.

  “We have to help them,” said Helen, and she handed the two a potion of healing.

  Poppy was surprised when she destroyed the witch using her potions and enchanted diamond sword.

  As the queen regained her strength, she said, “Maybe you guys were right. Maybe this trip is too dangerous.”

  “No,” said Poppy. “You were right. We have to save the king.”

  9

  NIGHT ATTACK

  The night grew darker, and they pulled torches from their inventories to light the path. Then they heard a shrill laugh again.

  “Another witch!” cried Poppy.

  “We have to get out of the swamp,” said Brett.

  “I think we should build a house,” said the queen. “This is just going to get worse.”

  “You’re in luck,” said Brett. “Poppy, Callie, and Laura are expert builders. In our time period, they might be the most famous builders in the Overworld.”

  Poppy blushed, but it was dark out, and nobody saw she was embarrassed. “I will build anything if I don’t have to battle another witch.”

  “We will destroy the witch,” said Queen Gail. “Just build the house.”
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  The gang charged toward the witch as Callie, Laura, and Poppy pulled everything from their inventories and began to craft a house faster than they had ever built anything. Callie placed wooden planks on the swampy ground, and Laura helped build the foundation. Poppy placed a window and the door to finish the house in record time. Poppy walked in and began crafting beds. She said, “This is going to be very tight, but it’s better than nothing.”

  When the final bed was finished, Callie said, “We have to find the others.”

  Callie, Laura, and Poppy set out to find the rest of the group, but they were nowhere in sight. “I thought the witch was right near us,” said Laura.

  “Do you think somebody captured them?” asked Poppy.

  “Or the witch destroyed them?” questioned Callie.

  Laura didn’t think one witch could destroy that many people. “The witch was outnumbered. Veronica has to be behind this.”

  They heard a witch’s laugh in the distance, and Callie said, “We should go back to the house. We will search for them in the morning when it’s safer.”

  Poppy wanted to continue to search for Brett and the others. “These are my best friends. I can’t stop looking for them.”

  “The queen felt the same way, but even she realized that staying out after dark is way too dangerous. We need to stay in the house and search in the morning. If we are destroyed, there will be nobody left to save the king and find our friends,” Callie reasoned with Poppy.

  Poppy understood and reluctantly went to the house and crawled into bed. Within seconds, she was fast asleep. She dreamed she was in Meadow Mews building a tree house. She was crafting the ladder to the tree house when she woke up and realized she was still in the past and Brett was still missing. Her heart sank.

  Callie was putting on her armor. “We have to get going. The sun has just come out, and we need as much time as we can get.”

  Laura was also placing her armor on and said, “Yes, we have to find the mine. I’m sure everybody is trapped there.”

  “How are we going to find this mine without Queen Gail?” asked Poppy.

  “I don’t know, but we are going to search every hole and crevice until we find it,” said Callie.