Overworld in Flames

by Mark Cheverton

  Concentrating on his blaze rods, Charybdis made the glowing sticks spin faster within his body, causing him to float up into the air. Slowly, the blaze king rose and moved toward the center of the chamber, soaring to the top of a central prison-like building. Windows in the sides of the enclosure were covered with iron bars, a lone redstone torch within lighting the interior. A door sat open on the side of the prison, but multiple blazes stood guard nearby, ready to throw their fireballs at anyone trying to escape.

  “You said you would let us out,” cried a voice from within the prison.

  From his position atop the structure, Charybdis glared through an opening in the high ceiling. His eyes glowed dangerously bright as he stared down at his captives.

  “You forget who you talk to! I am Charybdis, the king of the blazes, and you had better watch your tone when speaking to me, or I might get upset.”

  “What are you going to do?” the villager complained from the dark cell. “Put us in jail? We’re already in jail. We did what you asked. We built your portals, and now we demand to be set free. If you don’t, then we will …”

  Charybdis formed a ball of fire. He launched it at the defiant villager. The white-hot sphere slammed into the NPC, lighting up the interior of the prison as it consumed the doomed villager’s HP. He only had time to scream out in terror before he disappeared with a pop. The Nether brick wall caught fire and burned for just a moment, revealing another half-dozen prisoners within the cell. All of the survivors moved away from the smoldering wall and edged back into the shadows, hoping to avoid the blaze king’s wrath.

  “The thing you NPCs should learn is that it’s not wise to be disrespectful of me when I have an excess of prisoners,” Charybdis said as he glared down into the cell. “You are all replaceable, so it would be in your best interest to do as you are told.”

  “But you said if we built those portals out of Nether quartz for you, then we would be released,” one of the villagers said quietly. “Sire, please have mercy.”

  Charybdis could see the villager lower her head and close her eyes as the other NPCs moved away from her, fearing the worst.

  “Cowards … you are all cowards!” the blaze king wheezed in disgust. “Fortunately for all of you,” he said in a louder voice, “these portals worked better than expected. I’m sure I will be in need of more of them and so will likely still be in need of your services. I command all of you to stay here as my ‘guests’ so that you can help me. Any objections?”

  The king of the blazes formed a ball of fire between his blaze rods. The fire burned bright white and was even hotter than usual. He let it grow larger and larger and waited to see if there would be any more complaints from those in the cell. Hearing none, he let the sphere of burning death slowly fade away. The NPCs all nodded their heads in reluctant agreement, some of them openly weeping in despair.

  Charybdis laughed.

  Suddenly, he noticed his general at his side.

  “Your fire seems to be burning hotter and hotter,” the general commented. “How is this possible?”

  “When that foolish Gameknight999 released Herobrine’s XP in the Nether, some of his glowing balls of XP fell into the great lava ocean,” Charybdis explained. “The Maker’s glorious power was transferred to the lava that we all feed from, and it has given all of the creatures of the Nether more power and greater strength. It was obviously part of his plan to make the creatures of the Nether stronger, so that we could destroy the Overworld and take it for ourselves.”

  "Is that how you are able to light these new portals?” the general asked.

  “Yes,” Charybdis replied. “My hotter flame lets me light the Nether quartz ring, creating a portal that can take us to the Overworld.”

  “It is truly wonderful,” the general said. “The Maker must have planned for this to happen when he let the villagers destroy his dragon body.”

  “Of course. Herobrine never would have let the NPCs of the Overworld actually destroy him. It was all part of his complex plan.”

  The general nodded his glowing head in understanding.

  “My lieutenant has reported that the savannah biome is completely destroyed,” the general said. “They are now returning.”

  The burning monster gestured to the ring of Nether quartz. Glowing creatures of flame began to flow out of the sparkling orange portal like a flood of fire and smoke. The creatures glowed bright with pride as they looked up at their king, smoke from the burning landscape billowing through the portal and filling the gathering chamber with a luscious acrid haze. Charybdis took a deep, wheezing breath and allowed the smoke to fill his senses. He could smell burnt wood and charred grass.

  “Did they melt the soil into glass?” the king of the blazes asked.

  The general nodded.

  “Yes, Sire. They did as you commanded. That biome has been completely destroyed. Nothing will ever grow there again.”

  “Excellent,” Charybdis said. “Soon, we will have destroyed all the biomes across this server. And when all the ground is charred to glass and the sky is filled with smoke and ash, the land will no longer support the lives of the NPCs. That is when the blazes of the Nether will flow out of our portals and take the Overworld for ourselves, as the Maker, Herobrine, promised so long ago. Soon, the villagers will be extinct and all life in the Overworld will be choked into non-existence.”

  The blazes that now filled the gathering chamber glowed bright with excitement.

  “We will take over all of Minecraft, as the Maker intended, and then Herobrine’s revenge against the User-that-is-not-a-user and his friends will be complete!”

  The gathering chamber grew even brighter as many of the blazes, no longer able to contain their intense internal flames, launched fireballs up into the air. They smashed into the Nether brick roof, causing it to glow a soft orange. As Charybdis watched the display, he laughed a wheezing, hacking laugh, then threw his own white-hot fireballs into the air.

  CHAPTER 3

  CREEPERS

  The party rode through the oak forest in silence. Gameknight was glad to see the healthy trees standing tall and majestic around him; it was comforting after what they’d all just witnessed. The ravaged forest was far behind them, but it lived on vividly in each person’s mind. Gameknight was shocked at the devastation that had been done to the Overworld. Whoever or whatever destroyed that forest had done it intentionally so that it would never support life again. What kind of creature would do that?

  “Maybe it was just a natural fire,” Herder said as he moved his horse up next to Gameknight. His words were jolting after the long silence the party had suffered since leaving the charred forest.

  “I’m not so sure … I feel like we’re missing something,” Gameknight said. “There is something else going on here that I don’t understand.”

  “Sometimes I think you want to find a conspiracy,” Hunter said. “It was just a burned-out forest, that’s all. Maybe it was just a super hot fire."

  “Perhaps,” Crater said. “But Gameknight is right. It did seem different.”

  “In fact, it smelled different,” Digger added. “There was a charcoal sort of smell to it. It just didn’t feel right.”

  “Of course there was a charcoal smell to it,” Hunter said as she turned around in her saddle and glanced at the stocky NPC. “There were fallen trees all over the place with their trunks burned nearly to ash. Naturally, you’re going to smell something like charcoal. After all, that’s how you make charcoal, by burning wood.”

  “But this smell was different,” Digger insisted. “I’ve been around enough furnaces to know the smell of burning wood, and that forest wasn’t the same. It had a harsh, acidic sort of scent to it, like there were potions used in the fires.”

  “Now you sound like Gameknight,” Hunter said. “You’re trying to create some kind of huge conspiracy here, when it was just a regular old forest fire. All the trees were burned up … so what? We’ve seen fires before. It happens all the time
in Minecraft. Lots of trees get burned up.”

  “That’s the thing,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “Have you ever seen a tree fall over during a fire? No. They don’t fall over in Minecraft. The blocks just disappear.”

  “Unless the ground was destroyed first,” Stitcher added.

  “Exactly,” Crafter said, nodding his blond head.

  “But how could—” Suddenly, a hissing sound came from behind Gameknight999 and interrupted him.

  “Creepers!” Hunter yelled as she turned in her saddle and fired an arrow seemingly right at the User-that-is-not-a-user.

  The flaming projectile streaked just to the side of him and hit one of the green mottled creatures that had snuck up behind Gameknight’s horse. The User-that-is-not-a-user instantly kicked his steed into a gallop and drew his diamond sword. The others in the party also urged their horses into a gallop and shot forward.

  But instead of running, Gameknight turned his horse in a tight circle and charged toward the monster. As he passed the creature, he reached out with his sword and struck at the green-and-black monster. It tried to ignite and detonate, but Gameknight did not stop to fight. Instead, he shot past, allowing the creeper to stop its ignition. Then he turned and charged again, his razor-sharp blade finding creeper flesh again and again. After three passes, the monster’s HP was consumed and it disappeared with a pop. Almost immediately, two more creepers appeared from behind nearby trees.

  Crafter veered to the right as Digger went to the left. They slashed at the mottled creatures with their weapons as they passed and kept going to avoid letting any of the creatures ignite and explode.

  However, rather than following their lead, Butch charged straight at the two monsters, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Stopping his horse right in between the two creepers, he attacked the nearest, smashing it with his big iron sword. While he fought, he completely ignored the other creeper, which was slowly moving closer and getting ready to explode from behind. Some of the wolves charged forward to bite at the monsters’ legs as the other animals moved to protect Herder. Hunter and Stitcher opened up with their enchanted bows. They each fired three quick shots, finishing off the approaching creeper’s HP before it could ignite and hurt anyone. Butch took care of the one in front of him, then turned to see if any more were near. The area was clear.

  “That was dangerous and reckless, Butch!” Hunter said. “And coming from me, that means something. The other creeper could have detonated and blown you up.”

  “But it didn’t, did it?” Butch replied with a sneer.

  “Foolish risks like that are going to get you hurt,” Stitcher said. “And they might get some of us hurt as well. You need to be more careful, Butch, and watch our backs instead of just charging straight ahead.”

  The big NPC shrugged, turned his mount to the southwest, and continued on the trek. The other NPCs all looked at each other, exasperated.

  “That was weird,” Gameknight said as he scanned the forest for more of the creatures.

  “You mean Butch?” Hunter asked, saying it loud enough for the big NPC to hear.

  “No, not Butch … I mean, yeah, he shouldn’t have taken that risk. But what I mean is, we haven’t heard much from the creepers since the battle at the jungle temple.” Gameknight kicked his horse forward, following Butch’s dark mount.

  “And now, all of a sudden, we find three of them … together?” Stitcher said. “You’re right. I don’t like it.”

  “Me, neither,” Crafter added. “Did you notice how the other two were waiting for us? It was like they were working together.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Digger said, his booming voice filling the forest with thunder. “Creepers that are smart can only mean trouble.”

  “Well, they’re gone now, so they couldn’t be that smart,” Hunter said.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Gameknight stared at the craters the creepers had left behind in the floor of the forest, deep wounds in the lush grass-covered ground. He could see the piles of gunpowder that floated at the bottom of the craters, but didn’t bother to stop and collect it; they had lots of TNT and didn’t need any more right now.

  “We’ll need to watch them,” Gameknight said. “But there’s something not right here. First there was the burned-out forest, and now the creepers.”

  “You are never satisfied unless there’s some monster king chasing you,” Hunter said with a smile. “Well, you’ll have to just get over yourself this time. There is no creeper king trying to come after you.”

  “Is that true?” Gameknight asked Crafter.

  “Hunter is right. A creeper king hasn’t been seen as long as I’ve been alive. And I’ve been around for a long, long time,” Crafter said. “The last time someone saw a creeper king was during the Great Zombie Invasion, but as the story goes, he suddenly disappeared in the middle of that struggle.”

  “You mean he was destroyed?” Gameknight asked.

  “No, they say the creeper king just gathered his warriors and disappeared right in the middle of the conflict,” Crafter explained. “If the creepers had stayed in the fight, then the NPCs might have lost that war.”

  “Is that why the creepers weren’t punished after the war?” Stitcher said.

  “What do you mean?” Gameknight asked.

  “You notice how creepers don’t burn in the sun?” Crafter said. “Creepers and spiders had a small part to play in the Great Zombie Invasion. As a result, at the end of the war, they were not punished. They can still live under the clear blue sky.”

  “But if the creeper king wasn’t captured at the end of the war, is it possible he’s still alive?” Gameknight asked.

  “Impossible,” Butch said over his shoulder, his staccato voice cutting through the air like a machine gun. “No one has seen him. It’s been too long. The creeper king is dead.”

  “Hmm …” Gameknight mused.

  “What?” Crafter asked.

  “Well, maybe it’s not that no one has seen the creeper king,” Gameknight said. “Maybe it’s that no one has seen him and survived to tell the tale.”

  “There you go with your conspiracies again,” Hunter said, rolling her eyes and smiling.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user returned the smile, but, inside, he was worried.

  There is something going on here and I don’t like it, Gameknight thought. I don’t like it at all.

  CHAPTER 4

  CHOICES

  Another creeper hissed as it stepped out from behind an oak tree. Gameknight was ready this time. Kicking his horse forward, he turned in his saddle and fired at the green monster with his enchanted bow. The arrow struck its shoulder, extinguishing the ignition process. The inner glow of the creeper faded, its angry eyes glaring at the User-that-is-not-a-user.

  “CREEPER!” he yelled as he drew another arrow and fired.

  Rather than charging straight ahead, everyone split into two groups, some going to the left while the others went to the right. The riders galloped in wide arcs, flanking any creepers that might be waiting ahead. So far, this was the third creeper attack, and both of the previous times, there had been a small group of monsters ahead, lying in wait.

  As the riders moved in large, curving arcs, the wolves charged forward, barking and growling. With the creepers focused on the sound of the wolves, the NPCs were able to fall upon the monsters from behind.

  Gameknight fired his bow, as did all the others—except for Butch. The big NPC charged forward, kicking his mount into a gallop as he had during the last two attacks so that he could fight the monsters face-to-face. Aiming at the nearest one, the User-that-is-not-a-user fired three quick shots into the creature, destroying it before Butch could get close.

  “Butch, slow down!” Crafter shouted. “We can get them with our bows!”

  But Butch ignored them and charged ahead, intent on destroying as many of the creepers as possible. Leaping off his horse, the NPC landed between a small group of the monsters. Not waiting for them
to respond, Butch attacked, swinging his iron sword with reckless abandon.

  Gameknight moved his horse forward as he fired his bow, closing the distance so he could shoot faster. The creeper behind Butch started to glow and hiss. The User-that-is-not-a-user aimed at the monster, but two arrows struck it before he could even draw his arrow back. Hunter and Stitcher then both fired another arrow at the monster, making it disappear with a pop.

  That meant only one remained.

  “Don’t destroy that last creeper!” Gameknight shouted. “We need to question him.”

  But Butch was lost to rage. He swung his sword at the monster, hitting it again and again as he yelled aloud, “FOR BUILDER, AND WEAVER, AND COBBLER, AND BAKER, AND …” The creeper disappeared with a pop, leaving behind a handful of glowing XP balls and a pile of gunpowder.

  Scowling down at the few remains of the monster, Butch growled and muttered something under his breath. The balls of XP started to move toward the big NPC since he was closest, as they always did, but Butch wanted nothing to do with them. He quickly stepped back, grabbed the reins of his horse, and swung up into the saddle. Turning away from the scene of the battle, he took off in their original direction, to the southwest.

  “Butch, you need to fight with us!” Crafter yelled after him.

  He didn’t reply, keeping his head facing forward, away from his comrades.

  Hunter growled as she put away her bow. “His recklessness is gonna get someone killed.”

  Stitcher nodded to her sister, then scowled at Butch’s back.

  They faced two more of the coordinated creeper attacks later that day, each of them unfolding the same as before: Butch charging mindlessly into the fray, ignoring the complaints of his comrades. His behavior worried Gameknight999 but not as much as the cooperation he was seeing among the creepers. The green-mottled monsters were becoming organized—and that could only mean trouble.

  Eventually, the party came to the end of the leafy forest biome and moved into a plains biome, which they were grateful for. The green creatures were always difficult to see in the forest biomes because their colors blended in so well with the surroundings. With few trees, it would be easier to see monsters approaching from a distance; unfortunately, the rolling hills also had a way of hiding monsters when they were nearby. Herder had his wolves spread out, forming a protective ring around the companions; their proud barks would announce when monsters were near. With their furry sentries, no more creepers would be able to get close to the riders.