“No, wait!” Gameknight shouted, but it was too late.
Stitcher fired two shots with lightning speed. The arrows hit the skeleton, taking the last of his HP, causing the monster to disappear with a pop, a confused and frightened expression on his pale face.
The Lich King’s items scattered across the floor; his green-tipped wand, the enchanted gold axe, some armor, a fat yellow bug, assorted other items, and a gold tile with the monster’s face painted on the surface. Empech stooped and quickly picked up the tile, then placed it into his large backpack.
“Stitcher, why did you do that?!” Gameknight yelled, his face creased with anger.
“He was reaching for a weapon,” she replied. “I was protecting you. Besides, why should we have spared him? That monster killed Fletcher.”
“I think he was reaching for his crown, Stitcher,” her sister replied. “You didn’t have to shoot him.”
“Whatever,” the younger sister replied, sounding unconcerned.
“The elder sister speaks the truth, yes, yes,” Empech said, shaking his large head. “Too much violence … too many of Minecraft’s creatures being destroyed, yes, yes. All is getting out of control.”
Gameknight didn’t reply. He heard the accusation in Empech’s voice. This was getting out of control and too many were dying. They weren’t rescuing Weaver, they were just dancing to the tune Entity303 was playing for them. First the Naga, now the Lich, and next would be the Snow Queen. How many of his friends had to die before he ever caught up with them?
The room was quiet save for the sounds of monsters far below in the tower. The occasional scratching of zombie claws against their blocks of dirt filled the air; those creatures could still sense them up here and wanted to attack.
Great … more violence.
Gameknight sighed, then glanced at his friends. They all seemed to look back as if they felt sorry for him, like they all knew this was his fault. Gameknight thought they didn’t want to blame him directly, for they pitied him. Some of them glared at the items dropped by the skeleton, their unibrows creased with anger, but Gameknight assumed it was really directed at him.
The Lich King isn’t responsible for this tragedy; I am, he thought. Fletcher was my responsibility, just like all these people are. I couldn’t protect Weaver, and I couldn’t protect Fletcher’s wife and daughter, and now I’ve failed Fletcher as well.
He sighed then moved to Fletcher’s items. He sat on the floor, allowing some of his now-discarded tools to flow into Gameknight’s inventory. Tux waddled forward and stood next to him, her soft feathers rubbing against the back of his hand. One of the wolves limped across the floor and stood at his other side. The animal leaned over and licked Gameknight’s cheek. He reached out and stroked the creature’s white fur but was shocked at what he felt. The wolf’s fur was burned slightly all the way to the skin, and matted with sweat. The creature was clearly in pain.
“I should have just gone by myself,” Gameknight said in a low voice. “I shouldn’t have involved all of you. You’re all wounded and Fletcher is dead, because of me.”
“That’s not true,” Crafter objected. “We all know you did your best.”
“My best … what a joke.”
“The young crafter speaks the truth,” the little gnome said. “Empech sees Gameknight999 doing great deeds and defeating monsters just to save his friend.”
“You don’t get it; none of you do,” The User-that-is-not-a-user stood and walked toward the Lich King’s items. There was a large yellow bug with a brightly glowing body lying on the floor. The creature looked up at him with two dark eyes, then crawled closer on its six stubby legs until it was sucked into his inventory.
“I froze in that corner,” Gameknight continued, pointing to where Fletcher had perished. “I was so afraid of those skeletons that I just moved away from them and tried to curl up in a ball and hide.”
“We all get afraid in battle,” Crafter said. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Yeah, even I get afraid sometimes,” Hunter added.
“Not me,” Stitcher said.
The older sister glanced at the younger, then just shook her head disapprovingly.
“What?” the young girl asked defiantly.
“You don’t understand. I was terrified, not of the skeletons, but of failing. I don’t know if it was being afraid of losing a battle for the first time, or maybe … losing your faith in me, or maybe losing faith in myself. But don’t you see, I gave up and Fletcher had to come and save me. He sacrificed his life for me, but I wasn’t worth it! His death is my fault.” He stopped to take a breath and wipe the tears from his eyes. “How many more of you must die because of me being afraid to fail … being afraid to even try?”
No one said a word; they all just looked down at Gameknight999, the expressions on their square faces, even Stitcher’s, were all sympathetic.
“Empech hears Gameknight999 and knows he speaks the truth,” the little gnome said in his high squeaky voice.
“What are you saying?” Crafter chided.
The NPC reached down to stop the pech from saying more, but the little creature stepped forward before he could be stopped.
“Responsibility is a difficult burden to bear, yes, yes. Sometimes, it is a load that is freely accepted, and sometimes it is thrust upon someone, whether they like it or not, yes. Gameknight, you have freely accepted your role in Minecraft, for good or ill. At times, like today, you may regret this decision, but let me tell you, child, you are the one who must see this through; there is no other.”
“Why?” Gameknight asked, pleaded. “Why must it be me?”
“You know the answer to that, child, as surely as you know your own name, yes, yes.”
Empech stared down at him. Gameknight thought the strange little creature was expecting some kind of revelation.
“What? I don’t know the answer, all I know is a friend lost his life trying to save me.”
“After your friend was killed, did you run away?” Empech asked.
“Well, no, I had to finish the battle.”
“Empech saw you run out here and face the three monsters all alone, yes, yes. That was not the deed of a coward, it was the deed of a hero.”
“But Fletcher … he …”
“We do not get to choose when we will be successful or not; the random events around us make that choice.” The gnome looked down at the weapons on the ground, a disgusted expression on his gray face. He kicked the bone-handled wand of the Lich King, the green gem at the end now dark. The weapons slid across the wooden floor toward Gameknight999. It collided with the great battle-axe and both items flowed into the User-that-is-not-a-user’s inventory. “But Empech is certain, failure comes to visit us all eventually. You must learn from it and accept it with the same grace you use to accept success. If you let your fear of failure dominate who you are, then all your decisions will be clouded with doubt.”
“But how do I find the courage I need when I’m terrified?” Gameknight asked, his eyes now red and swollen from weeping.
“You look to your friends, yes, yes,” Empech said. “Fletcher gave you courage to finish this battle victoriously.”
“But it cost him his life!”
“Yes, but he chose to sacrifice himself for you, and for his wife and his daughter,” the pech replied. “Fletcher knew his responsibility was to protect his family, and the best way he could do that was to save you, so you could save Weaver, yes, yes. Repair the timeline and all will be mended.” Empech moved closer so he was staring straight up into Gameknight’s eyes. “You must choose whom you want to be, then follow that path.” He lowered his voice to just a whisper. “Whom is it you want to be, child?”
The words echoed in his head like thunder.
Whom do I want to be? Gameknight thought.
He considered everything that had happened to them: the monsters … the battles … Fletcher. Minecraft was a much more dangerous place now because of the mods Enti
ty303 had somehow loaded into the pyramid of servers. That user had poisoned Minecraft, and Gameknight999 had to somehow put it back the way it was supposed to be.
But why me? Why must I be the one to fix it?
You know why it must be you, a high-pitched voice said in his head. Just have faith.
Surprised, Gameknight glanced down at Empech and found the little gnome nodding his head.
You can hear my thoughts?
Empech just smiled.
Why must it be you? Empech’s voice echoed in his head.
Because I’m better with a sword? Gameknight wondered.
The little gnome shook his head.
Because I have more experience?
Empech stayed motionless, not responding.
Because of my bow … because of my knowledge … because of my speed or strength or … The possible reasons flowed from him, each sounding empty in his head. He thought of every possible answer, but none of them felt right, and yet he refused to give up. Reaching deep into his soul, Gameknight thought about what it was that really made him special. He could feel something down there in the depths of his inner being, but he couldn’t quite see it.
And then something started to bubble up from within the deep recesses of his soul. With his eyes closed, Gameknight reached for the fuzzy, insubstantial thing that was more of an idea than anything else. Slowly, square faces began to materialize from within his mind. They were the faces of his friends, the faces of villagers and creatures and everything about Minecraft. There was one wrinkled and gray-haired face that he instantly recognized as the Oracle from his timeline, and she was smiling at him. In fact, they were all smiling at him with hope and confidence showing on their face.
And then it came to him. The one idea that had helped him defeat Herobrine and all his monster kings and keep Minecraft safe: he wasn’t alone. I can’t fail, because I’m not alone, he thought. Only WE can fail.
Because he had all these people around him, whenever he was ready to give up, there were always people around to lean on and ask for help. He’d been chasing Weaver and feeling guilt about his abduction because he’d thought this was all his fault, but that was impossible, because they were all in this together.
He realized now that he couldn’t fail these people, for the only failure was in not trying … Fletcher had taught him that. The image of the Oracle in his mind nodded her head, then gave him one of her warm, grandmotherly smiles. She then winked at him, broke apart into three pieces, and dissolved back into his memories.
Slowly, Gameknight999 opened his eyes and found Empech staring up at him, smiling a huge toothy smile.
“I get it, Empech,” Gameknight said, nodding his boxy head. He stood a little straighter. “I was afraid to fail because I was trying to do this all on my own.”
“But we’re here with you, too,” Digger said. The big NPC stepped forward and picked up Tux, then placed a reassuring hand on Gameknight’s shoulder. “You’re never alone in Minecraft … never.”
“I know. I guess Weaver’s abduction made me sorta forget that.”
“Well, don’t let that happen again,” Hunter said, and punched him in the arm.
Gameknight smiled as he rubbed his shoulder.
“I forgot we’re stronger together than I am on my own,” the User-that-is-not-a-user added. “And maybe I should share some of this responsibility with all of you when I’m afraid I can’t see the solution.”
“You think?” Hunter added sarcastically.
“Gameknight, we’re in this together,” Crafter said. “And none of us are going home until Minecraft is repaired.”
Digger then stepped forward. He walked past Gameknight and picked up Fletcher’s bow. The big NPC looked down at the weapon, then held it out to the User-that-is-not-a-user.
“I want my Topper back,” Digger said in a weak voice that cracked with emotion. “I’ll do whatever it takes to fix Minecraft—even if it means doing what Fletcher did—to get my son back.”
“Digger, you don’t have to …”
The big NPC put a finger on Gameknight’s mouth, stopping his words.
“This is not the timeline I want.” He glanced around the room at the other villagers. “It’s not the timeline any of us want. Minecraft is wounded and is dying. None of us talk about it, but we’ve all felt it. Entity303 has poisoned the pyramid of servers and is destroying our universe. We need to stop it, somehow. I will do anything … no, we will do anything to fix it. Gameknight999, we have faith in you, even if you fail. We just need you to try.”
Gameknight reached out and took the bow from Digger’s hands, a tear now trickling from his eye.
“I will try, starting right now.” The User-that-is-not-a-user glanced at Empech. “Take out that square tile that the Lich King dropped.”
The gray gnome took off his huge backpack and rummaged around for a moment, then pulled out two gold tiles. One had the face of the Lich King painted on it, and the other showed the Naga.
“These are trophies, and are part of the progression in the Twilight Forest mod,” Gameknight explained. “I remember these. Each boss drops one when they’re defeated.”
“What are they used for?” Woodcutter asked.
“That’s the thing, they aren’t used for anything except for …” Gameknight became still as the puzzle pieces began to tumble around in his head. Three gold tiles appeared to his mind’s eye, and a huge castle, and a forest of thorns, and … their path formed within his mind, and the User-that-is-not-a-user smiled.
“What are you grinning at?” Stitcher asked.
“He figured it out,” Crafter said, his bright blue eyes filled with hope.
“I know where he’s going,” Gameknight said.
“So do we,” Stitcher said. “He’s heading to the Snow Queen; the skeleton told us.”
“No, that’s not his destination.” Gameknight pointed to the gold tiles in the pech’s three-fingered hands. “These tiles are keys that open something in the Twilight Forest, I just can’t remember what right now, but I’m sure it will come to me. All I know for sure is that we’re gonna need a third key. That’s what we’re gonna do … get a third key.”
“But don’t we need to follow him to the Snow Queen?” Herder asked.
“No, we aren’t gonna do what he wants us to do anymore,” Gameknight said. “It’s time we followed our own path. We only need one more trophy and then we have all the keys. By then, I’m sure I’ll remember what the keys unlock. We’re gonna get there before Entity303 does. But to do that, we’ll need to move fast.”
“And we’ll also need to face another boss?” Digger asked.
Gameknight nodded his head. “I fear we’ve destroyed the easy ones already. The Snow Queen, as I recall, is nearly impossible to defeat if you can’t fly. So we’re gonna do something unexpected.”
“Then where are we going?” Crafter asked.
“Someplace none of you are going to like, especially you, Tux,” Gameknight said as he reached out and petted the little creature on the head. “We’re going to the fire swamp.”
CHAPTER 17
EYES IN THE TREES
“What are those fools doing? They aren’t following my trail,” Entity303 said from atop a gigantic tree.
He watched as the tall skinny villager moved to the north, surrounded by a pack of wolves, the stocky NPC at his side. The last of his pursuers emerged from the stone tower, the two redheads firing arrows through the opening in the wall until it was sealed up. Entity303 did a quick count and found one of them missing.
“Ha ha ha,” the user chuckled. “It seems the Lich King took care of one of your friends for me.”
“What do you mean?” Weaver asked from the forest floor. He was tied to the trunk of a rainbow oak tree, a bottle of poison balanced precariously on the shaft of an arrow embedded in the bark. If he struggled, the bottle would surely fall on him.
“You are certainly dense, villager.” Entity303 shifted his position in the top
of the gigantic tree to get a better view. “There seems to be one less person in their company. Either someone really liked it in the Lich Tower and decided to stay, or the skeletons and other monsters destroyed one of them for me … perfect.”
He gazed down at his pursuers. Gameknight999 stood out amongst the other villagers, his dual swords and shining diamond armor marking him as their leader. With a word from the skinny NPC, the wolves moved outward, their white fur standing out against the lush green grass that covered the ground of the firefly forest. They formed a perimeter around the villagers, likely acting as an outer guard. Once the wolves were in position, Entity303 heard one of the animals howl. The entire group then started to move northward; the opposite direction from the Snow Queen’s fortress.
Entity303 glanced over his shoulder. The edge of the glacier was easily visible through the haze and he knew Gameknight999 and the others could see it as well. But why weren’t they heading toward it?
“Maybe the Lich King double crossed me,” the user said to himself.
“What did you say?”
“Be quiet and let me think!” he snapped.
Why are they heading north? There’s nothing there but swamp and more swamp, Entity303 thought. What is Gameknight999 up to?
“I wanted to see the Snow Queen destroy some of your friends, but it seems that’s not going to happen,” the user said, clenching his fists in frustration.
Moving to the edge of the tree limb, he glanced down at the ladder he’d placed on the side of the tree, then smirked and jumped off the impossibly high tree branch. Leaning forward, he opened his Elytra wings and glided gracefully through the air, banking in huge curving arcs as he reveled in the wonderful feeling of flight. Carefully, he glided around a tall canopy tree, its limbs reaching out over the neighboring trees as if trying to shelter them from the absent sun. A few rainbow oaks with their color-shifting leaves looked like miniature multihued kaleidoscopes between the soaring plants and seemed even smaller compared to the gigantic tree he’d been in. Eventually, as with all things, his flight slowly came to an end as the ground approached.
After a graceful landing, Entity303 removed his Elytra wings and replaced the Yeti chest plate. He rubbed the furry white armor and thought of all the Alpha Yetis he’d had to destroy to attain this armor; it made him smile.
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