Descent Into Overworld: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure (6 page)

“Three?” The Keeper said, his scowl not letting up and his voice rising in volume. “Why only three? Where is the fourth?”

Hamid’s head buzzed as he tried to keep up. What was all this talk of True Diamonds? Bano stammered but no words came out. Their friend’s excitement for a triumphant return had vanished.

A villager in purple robes rose from his seat to address the others.

“Patience, Ranwin!” His words were as soft as the light from the flickering torches on the wall. “Just because you are the Great Keeper does not mean you may raise your voice inside my temple. We sent young Bano on a dangerous mission to seek out four heroes to save us from our tragedy.”

“And he returns empty-handed, Arnon,” Ranwin snapped, but his voice was lower. “He should have continued his search until it was complete.”

“That is why I have returned now,” Bano said. He stood tall, finding his voice as he spoke. “The danger is worse than we first thought. Somehow, he knows of our plan. He sent Slashax the skeleton king to stop us.”

The council members gasped at the mention of the name. The buzzing in Hamid’s head grew sharper. Was Slashax the skeleton that chased them back at school?

“Things are further along than we thought if Slashax is able to cross worlds,” Arnon said.

“He hunted me at this gathering of Minecrafters and he has hunted these heroes too,” Bano continued. “Their friend is missing, perhaps in this world or perhaps in another. As for the fourth True Diamond, I do not know where it is.”

Arnon took in Bano’s words without comment. He turned to Hamid, Ant and Bano.

“It seems we do not have much time or the tools we need to do the job. But we must work with the seeds we are given.”

“Indeed,” Ranwin said. The Keeper pointed to the chairs in front of Hamid, Ant and Bano. “Sit and join us. There is much that needs to be explained.”

“Finally!” Ant jumped at the chair and grabbed a loaf of bread. “And pass me that pork. It looks delicious.”

The food was delicious. Hamid had no idea how this strange version of Minecraft worked, but someone had added flavor to the foods. The bread was warm and buttery, the fish flaky and spicy. With each bite, fresh hearts appeared at the bottom of Hamid’s vision. As they feasted, Ranwin spoke.

“As you have probably guessed, this Minecraft world is unlike any other world,” the Great Keeper said. “This world is known as the Seed Server. It is one of the first Minecraft worlds ever created. It is also the source for all the seeds that make up every other Minecraft world.”

“Seeds?” Hamid said as he chewed on a piece of bread. “You mean that long bunch of numbers that defines what a new Minecraft world will look like?”

“That is how you see it on the other side,” Ranwin said. “When a player anywhere in your world creates a new Minecraft world, it is spawned from a seed. To players like you, the seed is merely a long set of numbers. But to the game, those numbers determine how much water will appear, how big the deserts will be and where the swamps, forests and other biomes are located.”

Hamid had seen seed numbers before in the files on his server and on the Internet. There were whole websites dedicated to sharing the most popular seeds. Server owners were always on the hunt for a seed that created biomes rich with resources or just had really cool land features.

Ranwin finished chewing his bread and continued.

“The seeds that define millions of other Minecraft worlds are all created here.”

“In this village?” Ant said.

“Beneath this village, actually,” Arnon said. “Since the first dawn, this temple has been home to the Seed Generator. A device that perpetually creates seeds for new Minecraft worlds.”

“And now it is missing,” Bano said.

“It was stolen!” Ranwin thundered. “A week ago, that foul skeleton Slashax broke into the Seed Chamber and stole the generator.”

“We were no match for his skeleton warriors,” Arnon sighed. “They tunneled below our village, attacked our guards and made off with the generator.”

“Why take the generator?” Hamid asked. His appetite had vanished as he listened to the villagers. “What can a skeleton do with these seeds?”

Arnon looked to the Great Keeper before answering.

“When a seed is freshly created by the generator, it can be altered.”

“Altered? How?”

“The safeguards that divide the world of Minecraft from your world can be weakened,” Arnon said. “Before the seed is sent to a Minecraft player, the seed code can be torn like holes in a blanket. These rips act like doors in the seed. Doors that let creatures from Minecraft cross into your world.”

“Creatures?” Ant said. A half eaten pork chop dangled in his hand. It looked like his appetite had vanished, too. “You mean creepers and stuff wandering around our world?”

Arnon nodded slowly.

Hamid’s mind raced at the thought of creepers, zombies and skeletons climbing out of their Minecraft worlds and roaming his neighborhood. The destruction would be unstoppable.

“It is already happening,” Bano said. “Slashax managed to do it when he came hunting for me at your convention.”

“Slashax is not working alone,” Ranwin said. “There is a greater force commanding the skeleton king. That is the real danger. He sent Slashax to steal the generator and deliver it to him.”

“If he gets his hands on the generator, all will be lost,” Arnon said. “He will corrupt the seeds of all known Minecraft servers, allowing him to escape this world to wreak havoc in yours.”

Ranwin sat up stiffly. “Then he must not get his hands on the Seed Generator.”

“You keep saying he. Who do you mean?” Ant said.

A silence fell across the table. All eyes looked to Ranwin.

“He is the one whose name cannot be mentioned within this temple,” he said simply.

Even Ant knew not to talk. No words were needed. Everyone in the room was thinking the same thought: the name of the one who had stolen the Seed Generator. The name of the one who could not be allowed to escape Minecraft. If he did, creeper explosions and zombie swarms would be the least of their worries.

That name was Herobrine.

Jaina was running out of chicken legs.

That’s what she called those drumsticks at the bottom of her vision. Ant had come up with the name during one of their Minecraft club sessions with Mr. Rodinaldo. When his avatar would get hungry, Ant ran around the computer lab yelling, “More chicken! Cluck! Cluck!” He wouldn’t stop until someone threw a loaf of bread at him in-game or a book in real life.

Only three drumsticks remained at the bottom of her vision. She was hungry. The grumbling in her stomach reminded her of this, too. She had been so busy building a shelter, fighting skeletons and rescuing drowning dogs that she had forgotten to get food. Now she was too busy keeping an eye on Principal Whiner.

In all the weirdness of the last day, from being attacked by a skeleton at school to getting sucked into Minecraft, seeing her principal here was the icing on the blocky cake.

Jaina knew Whiner hated videogames in general, but the old man had a special spot of rage for Minecraft. He had banned it from the school computers, except during their weekly Minecraft club meetings. She had no idea how Mr. Rodinaldo convinced Whiner to let them have the club. He had limited it to three students and done everything in his power to stop the “Minecraft menace” from spreading. He had banned games like “Creeper Chase” at recess. He had even stopped kids from wearing Minecraft t-shirts to school. Her principal was a one-man anti-Minecraft machine. And now, here he was with a blocky avatar, stuck in this strange world just like she was.

And he had made friends, like she had. Except his friends weren’t furry and cute, like Bones. Principal Whiner had joined forces with the strange red-eyed skeleton. She heard him call the skeleton Slashax. It was definitely the same creature that trashed their school and tried to fill them with arrows. In a way, Slashax was a perfect match for her principal.

She had stayed hidden on the cliff until Whiner, Slashax and his troupe of skeletons moved underground. They dragged their strange cage with them. The spinning ball continued to spew out numbers as they went.

Jaina knew she had to follow. Maybe they were searching for an exit back to the real world. Maybe they knew how to find Ant and Hamid. That was, if her friends were also trapped in this world. Jaina didn’t want to think about the possibility that she might be here alone.

They marched deep underground. Jaina was now cold, hungry and totally lost. Bones nuzzled his wet nose into her side. She stroked the wolf’s white fur. At least she wasn’t alone.

“I bet you’re regretting not returning to your pack,” she whispered to her friend.

Bones answered her with a wet lick. He knew not to make a sound.

Jaina peered over the low stone wall that was their hiding spot. Below them, Slashax, Whiner and his band of skeletons had taken a break from their long trek deep under the surface. She could hear them talking. That meant they could hear her if she made too much noise.

“Are we almost there?” Principal Whiner asked for the millionth time since they began their descent. He sounded like an exhausted first grader on a long hike.

“Our destination is not far,” Slashax growled. “If you continue to complain, we can leave you here to play with the cave spiders. They’re always looking for some bones with meat on them.”

“You wouldn’t do that. You need me to lead you to the others.” Whiner got to his feet and held up his diamond sword. “Each of those brats has one of these swords. You said so yourself.”

“And you said you could lead me to them, but I see little evidence of this being true,” Slashax said. “First, we get the generator back to Fang Fortress. Then you will show me where to find these children and their swords. For your own sake, you better be telling me the truth.”

Slashax’s skeletons gathered around Whiner, their bony hands on their own swords.

Whiner stepped back and let his blade fall to his side. “Okay, okay. No need to make threats.”

“Then no more complaints from you,” Slashax said.

Without a word, his band of skeletons resumed their march deeper into the caves. The scraping of the cage dragging along the ground echoed through the stone walls like a witch’s whisper.

Jaina scrambled out from her rocky hiding spot and followed at a safe distance. Bones quietly trotted at her side.

The rattling of skeletons marching bounced off the tunnel walls, just like the questions that bounced through Jaina’s mind. Why did Slashax want their diamond swords? Did Principal Whiner really know where to find Ant and Hamid?

Through all this weirdness, questions about those diamond swords kept popping up. That red-headed weirdo in the villager costume at Mini-Minecon had given them those four foam swords. They each got one and Whiner took the fourth sword from Ant. That was when things went pear-shaped. Slashax showed up at their school, the swords exploded when they were all together. Next thing she knew, Jaina had blocks for hands and was trapped in the most realistic version of Minecraft she had ever seen. She wondered yet again if Ant and Hamid were also in this world. She hoped they were. The thought of being stuck here alone with Principal Whiner made her want to run far, far way. She couldn’t be alone. The guys had to be here too. Somehow it was all connected. The swords, the villager with the red hair and Slashax were all tied up in the mystery of how she got here. Hopefully, they would also show her how to get home.

This whole mess was like a damaged redstone contraption. Jaina just had to follow the circuit along its logical path. The answer would be there, staring her in the face like a broken T flip-flop circuit.

“Stop! I hear something.”

Principal Whiner’s words snapped Jaina out of her thoughts. His voice sounded close. Too close. Whiner’s shadow moved along the wall, only a few steps away.

Jaina ducked behind the nearest block, cursing her carelessness. She had been so lost in her own questions she nearly wandered right into them. Bones hurried behind the granite block and squeezed in beside her. Jaina crouched low, making herself as small as possible, and hugged the dog. Staying quiet was her only hope of staying hidden. She peered through the wolf’s fur, seeing around the block but not daring to move.

Principal Whiner walked right past her. His ugly brown suit looked even uglier as a blocky Minecraft skin. His bald head and dark eyes peered into the shadows around them. The diamond sword in his hand reminded Jaina how dangerous her principal could be.

“Relax, Mr. Whiner,” Slashax chuckled. “What you hear are the spiders who dwell here. They know better than to show themselves when I am near.”

“I guess you’re right,” Whiner said eventually. He turned to join the others as they continued their march. “But I could swear I heard footsteps.”

Jaina didn’t come out of her hiding spot until their voices had faded to nothing.

Broken wooden beams crossed the low ceiling above her. Sections of rail track ran in a straight line on the ground into the shadows. She had followed the skeletons into an abandoned mine and hadn’t even noticed. The broken rail tracks led deeper underground. Slashax and his skeletons must be following the tracks. She could catch up to them easily enough. For now, the flashing drumsticks at the bottom of her vision told her she needed rest and food.

Against the far wall, she spied the thing that could provide both.

The wooden chest opened with a loud creak. Jaina smiled. Finally, her luck was turning around.

A few loaves of bread and a torch. All that remained of the miners who once dug in these tunnels. Jaina grabbed it all and dropped them into her inventory. She devoured bread, sharing it with Bones, who happily snapped it up.

Her chicken bones restored, Jaina felt renewed energy to continue. Maybe this could work out. If she just stayed far enough away from Slashax and Whiner, they might lead her to a way out of here.

Stones crunched behind her. Jaina froze, half chewed bread still in her mouth.