“What did he look like?” asked Edison.
“He had yellow hair and glasses. I’m sorry,” she apologized, “but I don’t remember what he was wearing. I do remember that he coughed a lot. I thought he was sick.”
“Coughed a lot. Well, that’s a start,” said Billy.
“Do you think anyone else on Mushroom Island knows him?” asked Amira.
Dina paused and then replied, “I think some people in town knew him better. He spent a lot of time in the village trading stuff. We love when people come and trade resources because ours are so limited on the island.”
“I don’t think we should travel to town now. It’s dark out, and we have to get your inventory filled with all of the supplies needed for battling hostile mobs,” said Amira.
“Don’t bother,” said Dina. “I don’t even know what to do with a weapon. I’ve never been in battle. I’m not going to be much of a help.”
“We will help you,” said Anna. “Just follow what we do and try and keep up, and I think you’ll be okay.”
“I don’t know to fight.” Dina’s voice cracked, and she was so nervous she could barely get the words out.
“Don’t worry, Dina. You’ll feel much better when you put this on.” Edison pulled armor from his inventory.
“Really?” Dina asked as she looked at the armor.
“Yes, I have an extra one.”
Dina held the shiny diamond armor, inspecting it, “This is very nice. I don’t know how to wear it.”
Amira showed her how to place the armor on her body. “This is the first step to battle. You have to be prepared.”
“Thank you.” Dina looked down at the armor. “I feel a lot stronger now.”
“Now you’re going to get a crash course on how to battle mobs, but you’re going to have to help us stop the traveler who put a curse on the island,” said Allyson.
“I never left Mushroom Island because I never wanted to see a hostile mob, and now I’m probably going to see every one that exists in the Overworld,” she said in one breath. As she spoke, a gang of zombies ripped her farmhouse door from its hinges. “Who are they? What’s that smell?”
“This is your first zombie battle,” said Amira. “Are you ready?”
9
WITHER OR NOT, HERE I COME
The smell of rotting flesh filled the room, and Dina cried out, “The smell! I can’t take the smell.”
“Don’t let it distract you,” Edison advised. “Just use the sword. You can do it.”
Edison splashed a potion on the zombies, and Dina cowered behind him. Anna leaped toward a zombie, ripping into its belly with her diamond sword. Dina tried to fight. She mimicked Anna’s move and was shocked when she destroyed the undead beast with one hit.
“Great job, Dina!” Anna pointed to the rotten flesh on the ground. “Pick that up, you’ve earned it.”
Dina was confident after easily destroying the zombie. However, that feeling quickly faded when she looked up and saw an army of zombies lumbering through her door. She watched as Amira, Anna, and the others fearlessly fought the smelly creatures. Dina took a deep breath and reminded herself that she should just follow the others and she’d be okay.
A zombie grabbed Dina’s arm, and she lost a heart. She fumbled with her sword but regained control of the weapon and swung it at the zombie, destroying another beast. She slammed into another zombie but was flustered when an arrow flew through the door and sliced her unarmored arm.
“Ouch!” she cried as she stared at group of skeletons charging toward the house. “This is all my fault,” she hollered. “I’m sorry.”
“Your fault? How can you say that?” Billy was shocked that Dina blamed herself. This wasn’t her fault. She had the right to deny the traveler her mooshrooms.
“You aren’t to blame,” Amira said as she slammed her sword into another zombie.
Anna, Peyton, Erin, and Edison sprinted toward the skeletons and fought with their swords and potions. When Allyson, Billy, Amira, and Dina annihilated the remaining zombies, they bolted outside to help the gang battle the bony beasts. Dina banged her sword against a bony skeletons. It took a few hits, but soon she destroyed a skeleton.
“You’re a born warrior,” said Anna.
Dina had spent her entire life on Mushroom Island because she was terrified of battling hostile mobs, but now she regretted not traveling. She told herself that once the curse was lifted, she would travel around the Overworld and explore every biome.
The skeletons were annihilated, and the gang began to spout out various plans for stopping the curse. They all spoke at once, and nobody was listening to anyone else.
Edison called out, “Stop!”
Anna said, “Yes, I know we all have good plans and the same common goal of stopping the traveler who put a curse on the Island, but we also have to let each of our voices be heard.”
There wasn’t any time for people’s voices to be heard, because as Anna tried to create order amongst the group, there was an explosion and another creepy loud noise.
“The Wither!” Anna cried.
A flying, three-headed Wither changed from blue to black as it spit wither skulls from its trio of mouths. One of the smoky projectiles struck Dina, and she froze as her heart turned black. She was struck with the Wither effect. She couldn’t speak. Unable to move her arms, she dropped her sword on the ground. Edison sprinted over to her and gave her a sip of milk. He said, “This will stop the Wither effect.”
Dina barely had enough energy to sip the milk, but once she was able to swallow the milk, her energy returned. She picked up her sword and asked, “How do we destroy this?”
“Watch out!” Anna warned Dina, but it was too late. She was struck with the Wither effect again, and Edison gave her the last sip of milk from his inventory.
“You have to shield yourself from the wither skulls, because I’m out of milk,” Edison told her.
Anna handed Dina a bow and arrow and informed her, “This is easier.”
Dina stood in her doorway as she sent arrows at the three-headed beast. She hit its belly, and the Wither lost a heart, but it was still strong. Anna and Amira shot a barrage of arrows that hit the Wither, diminishing its health, but the Wither sprouted armor and was now immune to arrows.
Dina marveled as the beast put on armor. “This is a tricky beast,” she remarked.
The Wither flew closer to the ground, and Edison hurtled toward the armored beast, splashing potions on the Wither and weakening it. The Wither shot a wither skull at him, striking Edison with the Wither effect.
“Help me!” His voice was low.
Edison was shocked when he saw Omar appear and rush toward him with a bottle of milk.
“Sip this, my friend,” Omar said as Edison regained his strength from the milk.
As Edison finished the milk, Omar splashed potion on the Wither, destroying it and forcing it to drop a Nether star. Omar reached down and placed the Nether star in his inventory. Edison was glad Omar came to his rescue, but he was concerned that Omar had taken the Nether star. One could use the Nether star to craft a beacon. A beacon had the power to harm everyone on the Island. Edison hoped Omar wasn’t planning on doing anything bad. He told himself that Omar had saved him and destroyed the Wither, and maybe he shouldn’t be suspicious of his old friend.
“Thank you for helping me,” said Edison.
The gang ran through the dark and surrounded Omar. They congratulated him for destroying the Wither.
“Great job,” said Allyson.
Dina introduced herself to Omar. He smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Lina.”
“It’s Dina,” she corrected him.
Edison realized that there was something still off with Omar, but he wondered if it was related to some unknown illness or glitch, and perhaps it wasn’t as sinister as they had originally thought. But he was still suspicious when Omar said, “I’m sorry. Nice meeting you Dina,” and began to cough.
10
&n
bsp; DOPPELGANGERS
The sun came up and Anna smiled. “At least we have a break from hostile mobs for a little while.”
“We should head into town and start questioning the townspeople,” suggested Allyson. “I know most of them.”
“So do I,” said Dina. “That’s a good idea.”
“Is this about the curse you were telling me about?” asked Omar.
“Yes.” Allyson blurted out the whole story about Dina and the traveler who wanted her mooshrooms in one breath. The entire time she spoke, Edison wanted to interrupt her and point out that Omar had a cough and he could be the person behind the curse, but instead he stood by silently and watched Omar’s reaction.
“We have to stop this,” said Omar. “This is awful. The people of Mushroom Island aren’t prepared for a battle. Also, we were here to celebrate Amira’s birthday, and we have to find time to enjoy ourselves. We have to stop the curse.”
Edison was surprised that Omar was so concerned about the curse. This wasn’t the reaction Edison had expected.
Everyone agreed that they had to stop the curse, but the only plan they had was to question the merchants in town. As they raced toward the blacksmith’s shop, he emerged and started shouting. His green eyes focused on Omar. “You are a thief!”
“What?” questioned Omar.
“This man came into my blacksmith shop and stole from me. He told me he would trade two emeralds for armor, but as I handed him the armor, he escaped out of my shop.”
“I didn’t do that!” Omar exclaimed.
“No, I know it’s you,” declared the blacksmith.
“You have the wrong—” Omar screamed as he coughed, “—person.”
“Really?” questioned the blacksmith.
“Yes, I’ve never been in the town. I went to the festival and then I got lost trying to get to a friend’s house. I haven’t been feeling well,” explained Omar.
“Well, you must have a twin on this island,” explained the blacksmith.
Allyson said, “I think you have confused our friend Omar with someone else. We are all here because we’re trying to stop the curse that’s been placed on Mushroom Island.”
“The curse.” The blacksmith laughed.
“What’s so funny about a curse?” asked Amira.
“I can’t believe people really believe that a curse is behind this,” he replied, “when we all know someone is trying to distract us as they steal all of the mooshrooms.”
“Steal all of the mooshrooms?” asked Allyson.
“Yes,” said the blacksmith. “Look around the Island. There are no mooshrooms left. Our entire island has been robbed of mooshrooms.”
“What?” Allyson was shocked. “I can’t believe it.”
The white-robed librarian raced from the library and called out, “Isn’t it terrible? All of the mooshrooms are missing.”
“They’re not missing,” said the blacksmith, “They’ve been stolen.”
“I knew the mooshroom festival was a bad idea. Last year we had a similar incident, although it was much smaller,” remarked the librarian.
“What happened last year?” questioned Anna.
“Someone stole from a farm. They took two mooshrooms. This year, all of the mooshrooms are gone.” Tears filled the librarian’s eyes.
Edison asked, “Do you happen to know who might be behind all of this?”
The librarian paused. “It’s odd, but there was a man who looked like your friend over there. He stole a book from the library. I thought he was suspicious.” She pointed to Omar.
Omar raised his hands in the air. “I promise, I didn’t do anything.” He started to cough again.
Dina remarked, “The person who tried to steal from and placed a curse on me also had a cough.”
Omar defended himself. “You can’t think that everyone who has a cough is the person who cursed you, can you?”
“Well,” Dina said and looked down at the ground. She didn’t have a response.
“Do I look like the person who cursed you?” asked Omar.
“No, you don’t.”
“I don’t understand why everyone is placing blame on me. I haven’t done anything wrong, I promise.” Omar was upset.
A voice called out, “Guys, I’ve been looking all over for you.” Greta rushed down the grassy main street. Her violet hair waved in the wind.
“Greta,” said Allyson, “have you seen any mooshrooms?” Allyson couldn’t believe all of the mooshrooms had been removed from the island, and she needed confirmation.
“No,” Greta replied, “there aren’t any mooshrooms on the island. Haven’t you heard? They’ve all been stolen.”
“You didn’t believe me?” the blacksmith raised his voice.
“I did,” said Allyson. “I just couldn’t believe it. It seems so crazy. I was hoping Greta had seen one mooshroom. The idea that our island doesn’t have one roaming in the pasture is upsetting.”
“It’s upsetting to everyone,” said Greta, and then she paused as she focused on Omar. “I just saw you.”
“What?” Omar asked. “Me?”
“Yes,” she said. “I just saw you.”
“Where?” he asked.
“On the way here,” she said. “I walked past you a minute ago.”
“I think you have a twin,” the blacksmith said as he stared at Omar.
“There is more than one of me? That’s nuts,” said Omar.
Edison suggested, “Maybe somebody stole your skin or made a duplicate of it?”
Omar questioned, “Who would do that?”
“I don’t know,” said Anna, “but someone was trying to attack you in Verdant Valley the other night, and I think they’re behind this.”
“I think we should go back to Verdant Valley and investigate,” suggested Edison.
“Whoever was bothering him there is obviously on this island,” said Anna.
Edison wondered if the Omar they were with was the innocent one or if he was the Omar that was behind the chaos.
11
NO UMBRELLAS HERE
Omar asked Greta, “Can you lead me to the person who looked like me? Where did you see him?”
“Of course,” she replied. “I saw your twin at a farm right outside of town.”
“Finally, we’ll be able to clear this up.” Omar instructed Greta to lead them to the person who she thought was his twin.
They were hurrying toward the farm when a thunderous noise shook the grassy island.
“Oh no!” cried Dina. “Another explosion.”
Smoke rose in the distance. Dina and Allyson ran toward the smoke, but Omar called out, “What about the farm? I need to find this person who is impersonating me.”
“We have to help these people,” cried Dina.
Omar reluctantly followed the gang toward the smoke and away from the farm. When they reached the site of the explosion, they let out a collective gasp when they saw a gaping hole in the ground.
“What was here?” Edison asked as he looked at the rubble, trying to decipher what had stood in that spot.
Tears filled Dina’s eyes as she spoke. “This is my friend Louis’s farm. I have no idea where he is. I hope he’s okay.”
Dina walked them past the burning remnants of the farmhouse and toward the pasture, where she pointed out, “This is where he kept his mooshrooms. They’re all gone. I can’t believe there aren’t any mooshrooms on the island. It seems unreal. I feel like this entire attack on Mushroom Island is my fault.”
“You can’t say things like that, because it’s not true,” said Allyson. “This person or these people are attacking our island. You had every right not to give up your mooshrooms. I don’t ever want to hear you blame yourself again.”
“I wish there was something I could do to stop this,” said Dina.
Billy declared, “We will stop this. For the last year Anna, Edison, and I have been stopping all sorts of problems that have occurred in the Overworld, and we will stop this too
.”
Edison hoped Billy was right, but there was no time to ponder this thought because the sky grew dark and thunder shook the ground. Heavy rain poured down on them, and a sea of skeletons spawned in front of them. The skeletons unleashed a barrage of arrows that pierced through their unarmored limbs, weakening the group.
Four creepers spawned behind the skeletons. Edison struck one with an arrow, destroying the explosive mob. Another was destroyed by a skeleton’s arrow, and it dropped a music disc. Edison had never seen this before and risked being destroyed and respawning in Farmer’s Bay to grab the music disc.
“Are you nuts?” Billy asked him.
“No.” He carefully placed the disc in his inventory. “When this is all over, we’re going to have a big party for Amira’s birthday, and we’ll play this.”
Amira screamed as she battled the skeletons alongside her friends. “Thanks, but stop talking and fight!”
A creeper exploded and destroyed Greta as the gang tried to battle the creepers that invaded the landscape. Edison skillfully destroyed a creeper as he watched a bolt of lightning strike the remaining creeper, creating a rare charged creeper.
“Stand back!” Billy warned his friend. “The charged creeper is incredibly powerful.”
Edison tried to flee from the creeper while aiming his bow and arrow at the green beast wearing a dark frown, but he couldn’t escape. The last thing he heard and saw were a deafening explosion and a flash of light, and he woke up to the sound of Puddles meowing.
Edison looked out the window. Everything was eerily calm in Farmer’s Bay. If they hadn’t left for Amira’s birthday celebration on Mushroom Island, they would have no indication that something was going on there. The world seemed peaceful. The farm was luscious, and the sun was shining. A few people walked down the sandy path toward the beach without a care in the world. Edison wished he could be as calm as the two beachgoers, but he was too worried about his friends. He had to make his way back to Mushroom Island. He TPed to them and landed in the center of the battle.
Mystery on Mushroom Island Page 4