Ahead of them, a tall hill blocked the view of the horizon as they rode through a recession. Gameknight knew there was a cold taiga biome off to the left, but the grasslands continued to stretch out in front of them and off to their right. As they climbed the hill, one of the wolves gave off an angry growl, then a sorrowful howl, as if it were watching one of its companions suffering in agony. Instantly, Gameknight drew his diamond and iron swords, ready for battle.
Glancing about, he saw his companions also preparing for combat. But before they could discuss a strategy, Butch charged forward on his black mount, galloping up the hill, eager for a fight. It seemed he always had to be the first to reach the monsters; his blade always had to draw the first of the attacker’s HP. It was as if the NPC had decided that he was solely responsible for everyone’s safety … which was ridiculous.
Urging his horse forward, Gameknight followed Butch up the hill, with Hunter right behind them. When he reached the top, Gameknight readied his swords—but there were no monsters. In fact, the party of warriors and wolves were completely alone on the plain. One of the wolves, the large pack leader, stood staring straight ahead, his fur bristling as he glared at the horizon with angry red eyes. A column of smoke was rising up into the air, likely from the village they’d been riding toward.
“What is it?” Gameknight asked.
“Fire,” Butch replied.
“Is it the village?” Crafter asked when he reached the top of the rise.
“Probably,” Butch replied.
A glow lit the horizon where the tendrils of smoke climbed into the air.
“You think that glow is the fire?” Stitcher asked.
“Maybe,” Crafter said. “You can see smoke rising up; something is definitely going on there.”
“Why would the village be on fire?” Stitcher wondered.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Butch said.
Suddenly, another wolf barked, and then let out an angry howl, to the left. Turning, Gameknight found another of the wolves staring into the distance, toward the cold taiga, its fur bristling and tail sticking straight out.
“What is it, girl?” Herder asked as he dismounted and knelt next to the animal.
“Look,” Digger said as he pointed off to the horizon with his big iron pickaxe.
Gameknight glanced up from the wolf and saw huge columns of black smoke starting to rise. The billowing smoke was thick and climbed high into the air like dirty fingers clawing their way out of the forest. The ever-present east-to-west wind began to pull at the smoke and drag it to the west, making the smoky fingers bend and writhe with the wind, as if in agony.
“What is that?” Herder asked as he patted the wolf that was still growling.
“More fires,” Butch said.
Gameknight stared at the big NPC and could see an angry rage behind those tiny square eyes. Butch glanced back at the village, then turned again toward the forest. More columns of smoke were rising up into the air as fires spread across the snow-covered spruces.
“We need to go see what is happening and stop those fires,” Gameknight said. “They’re spreading and getting worse.”
“No,” Butch snapped. “We go to the village and investigate the fire happening there.”
“But it looks so small in comparison,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “That forest is being devoured by fire. We have to find out what is going on. It could be same thing that destroyed the birch forest biome.”
“Villagers come first,” Butch snapped. He turned his mount and headed toward the village. “Everyone, follow me. Wolves … forward.”
The furry animals barked once, then continued the trek across the grasslands, running to keep up with Butch’s galloping horse.
“I guess we’re going to the village,” Hunter said as she took off after the big NPC, the others following, leaving Gameknight staring at the burning forest, alone.
I feel like there is something important there, Gameknight thought.
He stared at the backs of all his friends as they followed Butch toward the distant village. The User-that-is-not-a-user sighed, then pulled on his horse’s reins and reluctantly followed the others. As he rode, he kept his eyes on the burning forest. The sky darkened as more fingers of smoke clawed their way into the air.
“Something is very wrong here,” Gameknight said to himself, then urged his horse into a gallop as a gray haze covered the shining face of the sun, casting a gloomy pall across Minecraft.
CHAPTER 5
SCORCHED EARTH
Charybdis floated high up into the air, then settled onto the top of the tallest spruce tree in the forest. His blazes were throwing their white-hot balls of fire at the trees, severing them at their bases, and causing them to tumble to the ground. Once they were down, more blazes fired upon the fallen giants, until they were completely engulfed in flames.
With a feeling of joy in his smoldering heart, the king of the blazes formed a fireball before him and sent it streaking toward a nearby tree. The flaming ball cut the tree in half. The top part toppled to the ground with a crash, while the bottom ignited like a massive candle. Charybdis gathered more of his internal fire and attacked the fallen piece. As the glowing spheres of death hit the ground around the tree, they instantly burned away any vegetation and boiled off the thin layer of snow that covered this cold taiga biome. The ground began to radiate with a soft orange light as the soil melted into a glassy mess. Continuing his fiery attack, he liquefied more of the soil until the ground glowed as if it were in the Nether.
Charybdis smiled.
A mechanical wheezing sound filled the air behind him. Turning, the blaze king saw his sparkling reddish-orange portal grow bright as more of his warriors passed through from the Nether. They arrived into the Overworld like a victorious army, but their internal flames grew momentarily dim due to the cold temperature of the forest. Spinning their blaze rods faster, the fiery monsters increased their temperature, allowing their internal flames to grow bright and dangerous again. Some of the monsters huddled near already-burning trees for warmth.
“Get to work!” Charybdis shouted. “This biome must be destroyed as soon as possible. There is no one here to stop us, so let your fireballs rain down upon this land. Burn all the trees, then burn the ground itself.”
The blazes’ internal flames blossomed to a bright yellow as they gazed up at their leader. Charybdis gave them a nod and then threw a fireball at a distant tree. The tall spruce exploded in a shower of sparks that flew high into the air like the shimmering lights from fireworks, igniting the trees around it. The blazes wheezed in amazement, then sent their own balls of flame into the forest.
Clouds of smoke billowed into the air, choking out the sun that had been approaching the horizon and covering the area with a gray haze. Below, the forest was filled with acrid smoke, making it hard for him to see his warriors. The blazes now appeared as glowing specters through the dark cloud, their orange glowing bodies creating bright spheres of flickering light.
“These hotter fireballs are fantastic,” one of his blaze commanders said to his king.
“They are a gift from the Maker, Herobrine,” Charybdis replied.
“I love them,” wheezed the commander.
“Excellent,” replied the blaze king. “As my blazes feed on the infected lava in the great ocean, their fires burn brighter. Soon, with our intense fireballs, we will transform the surface of the Overworld into glass. And then we will crush the glass so that it becomes netherrack. It will be a joyous sight when all of this disgusting green is erased and replaced with a nice, rusty red.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the blaze replied. “But when will we—”
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a mechanical-sounding scream that pierced the air, followed by a metallic clanking. Something was attacking one of blazes. Instantly, Charybdis sped through the air to investigate, his blaze rods spinning in a blur. With the thick smoke, he couldn’t see any attacking warriors,
but the sound of the suffering blaze was like a beacon that guided him through the inferno.
A flash of orange light flared bright off to his left and then disappeared; one of his warriors was being attacked. Gathering his internal flame, the king of the blazes formed a super-hot fireball as he moved toward the dying blaze. But he was too late. All that was left was a collection of blaze rods lying on the ground.
Glancing around, he searched for the attackers … but saw none.
“What happened to our brother?” the blaze commander asked.
“I don’t know,” Charybdis replied. “Spread out and look around.”
The commander moved off to the right while the blaze king moved to the left. They peered through the thick smoke, searching for the assailant, but before they got far, they heard another blaze yell out in surprise and pain. Charybdis rushed toward the sound. With his fireball glowing a harsh white, he whooshed through the smoke, ready for action. Metallic clanking sounds grew louder as he closed in on the battle.
Soon, he came upon the blaze that was under attack, and he watched as it threw its fireballs into the distance. The monster flared bright, then launched three flaming missiles in quick succession. The balls of flame streaked through the smoky air, causing it to glow orange with their passing. Suddenly, something struck back from within the cloudy shadows, hitting the blaze with enough force that it extinguished its internal flame. Clanking one last time, the blaze disappeared with a pop, and its blaze rods and glowing balls of XP fell to the forest floor. Furious, Charybdis fired his fireballs into the smoke, not even bothering to aim, spreading out his attack in hopes that he’d hit whatever was out there. As he moved forward, he could hear the footsteps of the attacker crunching through what little snow still remained in the forest.
Summoning another ball of fire, he floated toward the sound of the footsteps and launched a quick volley of three fireballs. One of the fireballs flared bright, indicating that it had hit something; hopefully, it was the enemy.
Moving through the charred forest, Charybdis closed in on the point of impact, another fireball ready to launch at a moment’s notice. What he saw before him as the smoke cleared shocked him so completely that he lost his grip on the fireball. It fell to the ground, forming a pool of molten dirt and stone that quickly cooled into glass.
Lying on the ground a few blocks ahead of him was a collection of snowballs. That must have been what the enemy used against his blaze, but there was no armor, no food, no weapons or tools … just snowballs.
What kind of idiotic NPC would dare attack a blaze with no armor or weapons? Charybdis thought. Only snowballs? That warrior was either a fool or incredibly brave.
“Who would ever do that?” the blaze king said aloud.
“What was that, Your Majesty?” his commander asked from behind.
Charybdis ignored the question and just glared down at the deadly snowballs. These were a blaze’s worst nightmare. The frozen snow could easily put out a blaze’s internal flame … which meant the end for that fiery monster. But he could only imagine one person that would have the audacity to use snowballs on the blaze army: Gameknight999.
He’d fought the User-that-is-not-a-user in the Nether, when Herobrine had escaped that cursed Ender chest. But according to the tales from the spiders and skeletons, Gameknight999 had destroyed the Maker.
“Impossible,” the blaze muttered to himself.
How could that pathetic user destroy the greatest virus ever created? He still didn’t believe it.
A scream echoed through the woods as the sound of clanking metal filled the air. Another blaze was under attack from their unknown assailant. Quickly, Charybdis gestured for some of the blazes to investigate, but before they could move, the groaning sounds of the suffering monster went quiet; another of his warriors had been inexplicably destroyed.
I’ll find whoever is responsible for these attacks and take my revenge, Charybdis thought. Especially if it’s Gameknight999.
“Watch each other’s backs, my blazes,” the king of the blazes said. “Let us scour the surface of the Overworld and destroy everything. We will turn the landscape into a smoldering wasteland, and then the blazes of the Nether will remake the Overworld as we wish.”
He gave a mechanical wheezy laugh as his internal flame grew bright with malicious glee.
CHAPTER 6
ANOTHER VICTIM
Gameknight drew his diamond sword as they approached the village. The rolling hills had hidden the structures from their view, making it difficult to see what was going on. The only things clearly visible were the thin tendrils of smoke that snaked their way high up into the darkening sky.
Hunter brought her horse up next to his, a grim look on her square face. The User-that-is-not-a-user knew from past experience that this was her battle face. All her concentration was focused on the upcoming fight, and there was nothing that would shake her mental focus.
Butch, at the head of the formation as always, charged up the steep grassy mound, then disappeared over the top. Nothing they said could get the big NPC to slow down and stay with the group. He’d been riding fast and hard, racing to be the first one to the battle regardless of the danger or the foolishness of his decision.
Seconds later, Gameknight and Hunter crested the tall hill and looked down into the village before them. It was a normal grassland village, with a collection of wooden buildings clustered around a central well. Sunflowers dotted the landscape, their bright yellow faces pointing off to the west, following the setting sun. The tall flowers were a remnant from Herobrine’s command blocks and the item number replacement Gameknight had made at the last second, saving the Overworld from massive destruction. The User-that-is-not-a-user gave a sigh of relief as he thought back and remembered how close it had really been; they’d saved all the villages when they stopped Herobrine’s revenge—but only at the last second.
A ring of bright sunflowers surrounded the tall cobblestone watchtower that stood near the center of the village. It loomed high over the fortified wall that encircled the community. There was no moat around the village, nor were there any tall archer towers visible. In fact, there were few defenses built into the village. If they were to take a direct assault by the zombie king, Gameknight thought, this community would be in trouble.
From behind the tall cobblestone wall, thin lines of smoke curled upward into the sky and were dragged to the west by the breeze that always flowed across the Overworld. It looked as if the smoke was coming from something near the watchtower. Sounds could be heard coming from behind the stone barricade—footsteps, many of them, were running throughout the village—but still no one came to the top of the fortifications to see who was approaching.
“Where are the sentries and warriors on the ramparts?” Hunter asked as she kicked her horse into a gallop.
“I don’t know,” Gameknight replied as he struggled to keep up with her.
They rode down the other side of the hill, then across a flat plain that led to the very doorstep of the village. Ahead, Gameknight could see Butch reaching down and opening one of the wooden doors that served as the village gates.
“Butch … wait for the rest of us!” Gameknight yelled, but the stubborn NPC charged in without any backup or assistance.
“He’s gonna get killed doing that one of these days,” Digger grumbled behind him.
Gameknight turned and gave Digger a shrug, then kicked his horse into a gallop and shot through the doors.
Inside the village, Gameknight999 expected chaos: a scene of destruction as the village was consumed in flames. But instead, he saw villagers calmly but quickly moving back and forth between the well and the blacksmith’s house that stood near the central tower. A column of smoke rose from the half-wood, half-stone structure.
Butch charged forward, yelling at the top of his lungs, ready for battle. This startled many of the NPCs, causing them to drop their buckets in fear.
Gameknight shook his head in exasperation, then m
oved cautiously forward, his sword held at the ready. Off to the right, he saw a donkey shuffling about near fields of wheat and carrots, a wooden chest embedded in his hips; it was a pack mule. The User-that-is-not-a-user drew closer to the burning structure. The crackle of flames could be heard over the shouts of the NPCs. That wasn’t surprising, as the blacksmith’s shop always had multiple furnaces burning. But now, the User-that-is-not-a-user could see flames licking up the thin wooden supports that held up the shop’s roof. NPCs were throwing water onto the flames, trying to extinguish them.
Butch charged about, searching for monsters to attack, but there were none. As far as Gameknight could tell, this was just an accidental fire.
The User-that-is-not-a-user reached out and took a pail of water from one of the villagers, who looked up at him with curiosity but handed the bucket over. He then moved to the side of the blacksmith shop and jumped into the air, placing a cube of dirt under his feet. After rising four blocks, he stepped onto the roof, then poured the water over the burning section. The water spread across the structure and extinguished all of the flames.
Many of the villagers began to cheer, only to fall silent one-by-one as Butch stepped up and questioned them.
“Who set this fire? Was it a monster? Which one?”
The villagers stepped back slightly, confused and a little afraid; Butch still had his sword out and was wildly swinging it around in the air to emphasize his point. Gameknight placed a block of dirt on the flowing water, stopping the watery cascade, then jumped into the flow and rode it to the ground. He then moved to Butch’s side and gently pushed the NPC’s sword hand to the ground.
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