Clash of the Creepers

by Winter Morgan

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2015 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

  Sky Pony® is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB.

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB.

  Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover photo by Megan Miller

  Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-591-8

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-592-5

  Printed in Canada

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: Borrowed Map

  Chapter 2: Treasure Hunt

  Chapter 3: Similar Plans

  Chapter 4: Fact or Fable?

  Chapter 5: Warriors and Witches

  Chapter 6: Nether Again

  Chapter 7: Blaze of Glory

  Chapter 8: Safe in the Sand

  Chapter 9: In the Distance

  Chapter 10: Diamonds in the Dark

  Chapter 11: Ocean Monument

  Chapter 12: The More the Merrier

  Chapter 13: Fiery Battle

  Chapter 14: Burning Down the House

  Chapter 15: Creepers or Creeps?

  Chapter 16: Trouble’s Brewing

  Chapter 17: Rewards

  Chapter 18: Sharing Is Caring

  Chapter 1

  BORROWED MAP

  Steve was hard at work on a new irrigation system for his wheat farm when he saw familiar faces in the distance.

  “Steve,” Lucy called out, as she sprinted across the field toward him.

  His friends Henry and Max raced behind Lucy.

  “I didn’t know you guys were in town,” Steve said. He was happy to see his old friends.

  “We aren’t staying,” Henry told Steve. “We just came to pick you up and take you on a treasure hunt.”

  “That’s nice of you but I think I’d like to stick around the farm. I’m working on a new irrigation system. My crops aren’t growing and I think they need more water.” Steve stood by a patch of carrots that were in desperate need of irrigation.

  “That can wait,” demanded Lucy. “We heard about a magical mountain that contains endless diamonds, and we want you to come find it with us.”

  “How do you know it even exists?” questioned Steve.

  “We don’t, but we’re going to find out,” replied Henry.

  “I don’t think I’m going to leave my farm to travel through the Overworld in hopes of finding a mountain that you aren’t even sure exists.” Steve was annoyed.

  “But you have to come with us,” pleaded Lucy. “You’re so resourceful and such a skilled fighter.”

  “You have Max, he’s the fighter.” Steve went back to working on his irrigation system.

  Max walked over to Steve and showed him a map. “Look. This adventure map has the mountain on it. According to the map, the mountain is past the jungle and by the ocean biome. We’ve traveled through all of those biomes before, and we know how to survive in them. This is a no-brainer! We have to make this trip.”

  “How did you get that map?” asked Steve.

  “We were treasure hunting when we stumbled upon a group of explorers. We wound up mining with them, and one of the explorers started to talk about the mountain. Apparently they had been there and it was amazing. It has countless diamonds.” Lucy was so excited she rushed the words out in one breath.

  “And they gave you the map?” Steve was curious. After being attacked by griefers in the past, he didn’t trust anybody not in his circle of friends. How did his friends know this wasn’t a trick? That a griefer gave them a fake map leading them to a trap?

  “Well, they didn’t give it to us,” Max fumbled with his words.

  “Did you steal it?” Steve couldn’t believe his ears. These were his good friends, and he knew they weren’t thieves.

  “Let’s just say we borrowed it,” Henry said and smiled.

  “You stole it!” Steve raised his voice, “How could you do something like that?”

  “It’s not as bad as you think,” explained Lucy. “They dropped it when they were destroyed by a creeper. We escaped, but I was able to pick up the map.”

  “But this isn’t our map,” said Steve.

  Lucy defended herself, “I do want to find them and give the map back.”

  “Yes, we just want to do it after we get the diamonds,” Henry said as he looked over Max’s shoulder and studied the map.

  “And the group had already been to the mountain and mined for diamonds. They were only keeping the map so they could return when they needed more,” Lucy told Steve.

  Steve wasn’t sure what to make of his friends’ proposal. He needed to work on his irrigation system, but he also wanted to go on an adventure with his friends. Steve’s one serious issue with the trip was he didn’t trust the map.

  “Are you sure they didn’t drop it on purpose? Maybe they wanted you to take it and once we get to the mountain they will trap us. Maybe your new friends are griefers,” Steve guessed.

  “Well, there is only one way to find out,” said Max.

  “If it is a trap, we can fight the evil griefers and save others from the same fate,” Lucy reasoned with Steve. She knew that he loved to stop griefers from terrorizing innocent people.

  The sun was setting. Steve looked at his friends and warned, “We need to get back to my house before hostile mobs start spawning.”

  The gang heard a shrill scream coming from his neighbor Kyra’s house.

  “Oh no! It sounds like Kyra is being attacked. We have to help her,” Steve shouted to his friends. They sprinted toward Kyra’s house.

  As they approached the house, they could see through the window that Kyra was battling four zombies with her diamond sword, while more vacant-eyed zombies lumbered toward her.

  “Help!” Kyra screamed as she destroyed two zombies with her sword.

  Max shot an arrow at a zombie. The others charged at the undead creatures, striking them with their swords.

  “Good, we destroyed them! Quick, come inside my house before more zombies spawn,” yelled Kyra.

  Steve looked around and didn’t see any zombies. Everyone ran inside Kyra’s house. Steve lit a torch and placed it on the door outside the house to protect them from hostile mobs. He also placed another torch on the wall inside.

  “Oh Steve,” Kyra smiled, “you’re always thinking ahead.”

  “You know me,” Steve blushed.

  “Lucy, Max, and Henry,” Kyra remarked, “I had no idea you guys were in town.”

  “We’re not staying very long. We want to search for a magical mountain that has an endless supply of diamonds,” Lucy told her.

  “Mine Mountain!” exclaimed Kyra. “I’ve heard about it. I didn’t know it really existed. I thought it was just a myth.”

&
nbsp; “Well, we have a map.” Max showed Kyra the map.

  “Wow! Can I come with you?” asked Kyra.

  “Of course. We were planning on coming over here and asking you,” Lucy told her friend.

  “Are you going, Steve?” Kyra questioned as she stared at the map.

  “I wasn’t planning on it, but now I think I’ll go. Truthfully Kyra, I don’t trust this map. I think it’s a trick and someone is trying to trap us, and I want to be there for you guys if something goes wrong,” said Steve.

  “Oh Steve, you are always worried about something. Can’t you just be excited for our adventure?” Kyra asked her friend.

  “After all our run-ins with griefers,” replied Steve, “I just want to be cautious.”

  “I understand. But if this isn’t a trick, we can actually go to Mine Mountain. I’ve heard there are so many diamonds, the mine is filled with a blue glow.” Kyra couldn’t believe her friends had a map to this mythical place.

  “We should get some sleep before we head on our journey to the mountain,” Steve suggested to them.

  “Great!” Max said as he climbed into a bed at Kyra’s and snuggled underneath the red wool blanket.

  Kaboom!

  “That sounds like it was coming from my house,” Steve hollered as he jumped out of bed. “I guess we aren’t going to get any sleep tonight.”

  Chapter 2

  TREASURE HUNT

  As Steve and his friends sprinted in the dark, an arrow struck Kyra.

  “Ouch!” screamed Kyra.

  “Look, skeletons!” Max pointed out two white bony creatures behind a tree.

  “I’ve been hit, too!” exclaimed Lucy. “It’s so dark, I can’t see. Where are they?” She took out her bow and arrow.

  Max shot an arrow at the skeletons. “Can’t you see them? Behind that tree?”

  Max hit the skeleton. Henry charged at the bony beast with his diamond sword. Steve followed. They used all of their might to defeat the skeletons.

  Click! Clack! Clang! The sound of bones rattled as the skeletons lost their battle to Steve and his friends.

  “We need to get to my house,” instructed Steve. “I need to see what has been destroyed.”

  As Max ran toward the house, he fell into a hole. “Oh no!” he shouted, “Help me!”

  Steve had a ladder near his house and gave it to Max. Max slowly climbed up the ladder in the dark and made his way safely out of the hole.

  “I guess this was where the explosion occurred,” Henry noted, looking at the hole.

  “Looks like a skeleton destroyed a creeper,” Lucy said as she picked up a CD.

  “Thankfully, it was outside the wheat farm. I just couldn’t deal with any more damage to the farm,” said Steve. He was relieved his farm was intact.

  “When a skeleton kills a creeper, that wouldn’t leave an explosion,” said Max. “This hole looks like it was created by TNT. It definitely is the work of a griefer. Also, skeletons can only shoot at people. There must have been someone else over here.”

  Steve looked down and saw a piece of wool on the ground. “Do you think Thomas is back to his old ways?”

  “I don’t know,” remarked Kyra, “but we better be on the lookout for Thomas or any other griefers.”

  “Look out!” Henry screamed as he saw a green creeper approaching the wheat farm.

  Max aimed his bow and arrow toward the creeper. He was about to shoot when Snuggles and Jasmine appeared. Both ocelots meowed and the creeper left the wheat farm.

  “Snuggles and Jasmine saved the day,” Steve said as he walked over to his two pet felines.

  “I had the creeper in sight. I could have destroyed it,” said Max.

  “We’ve had enough explosions for one day,” Steve told his friend.

  The sun began to rise. “Ugh, there’s no time to sleep now.” Max was annoyed. “We should get ready for our trip to Mine Mountain.”

  “I’ll hunt for breakfast,” remarked Lucy, and she left the group, armed with a bow and arrow.

  Steve walked into his house and opened a large chest that sat in the corner of his living room.

  “We’re going to need a lot of supplies for this trip. I studied the map and it isn’t an easy journey.” Steve looked through the chest, took out his most powerful diamond armor, swords, and bows and arrows, and placed them in his inventory.

  “Do you have any potions?” asked Henry. “I’m running low and I think some might come in handy.”

  Steve agreed and placed potions of invisibility, underwater breathing, fire resistance, and many others into his inventory. “Wow, when I come back, I will be seriously low on supplies,” Steve told his friends.

  “We’ll help you replenish your stock,” Kyra reassured him cheerfully. “Once we reach Mine Mountain, we’ll have so many diamonds that we can trade them for all the supplies in the Overworld.”

  Lucy walked into the living room and announced, “I broiled a chicken. You should come outside and eat before we start our journey. We want to have full health and food bars.”

  The group gathered on the grass outside of Steve’s house and dined on chicken and apples.

  “How long do you think it will take us to reach Mine Mountain?” asked Kyra, as she took a bite of the juicy chicken.

  Max gazed at the map, calculating distance. “I would estimate two days but you never know what might slow us down.”

  Henry looked over the map and asked, “But don’t we want to stop at that jungle temple first and unearth the treasure?”

  “Ah, yes,” Max replied as he looked at the map and noted the jungle temple. “We can get to that temple by the end of the day.”

  The group was excited for their journey. As they finished the last bit of chicken, a bunny hopped by them. Max took out his bow and arrow.

  “You don’t have to shoot it,” Lucy told him. “We already ate chicken. We don’t need rabbit stew.”

  “I don’t trust this rabbit,” Max said, staring at the furry white rabbit.

  “But bunnies are peaceful,” declared Kyra as she approached the bunny with a carrot.

  “Stop!” screamed Max. “Look at those evil red eyes!”

  Baring its large teeth, the bunny leapt at Kyra.

  “Oh no!” Steve grabbed his bow and arrow. “Kyra!”

  Kyra struck the rabbit with her diamond sword; it retreated but then rushed toward her, ready to attack.

  Max and Steve shot arrows at the small killer rabbit. However Lucy charged at the rabbit with a nametag.

  “What are you doing?” asked Kyra in a rather loud voice.

  “Are you crazy?” Max was shocked at Lucy’s behavior.

  Lucy grabbed the evil bunny and placed a nametag that read TOAST around the bunny’s neck. The bunny transformed into a docile bunny, its white fur turned to patches of black and white.

  “How can you call me crazy, Max? That’s not nice at all.” Lucy fed the calm bunny a carrot.

  “But how did you do that?” Max stood by the bunny and put down his bow and arrow. He was in shock.

  “If you change the name to Toast, it calms the bunny down,” Lucy said, as if charging at a feral bunny and placing a nametag on the animal were the easiest thing in the world.

  “Wow, I’m impressed,” declared Steve.

  The group gazed in wonderment at the bunny while they gathered all of their supplies for the journey. They walked through the town, making sure to visit their friend Eliot the Blacksmith before they set out on their adventure.

  Eliot was always happy to see his friends. He smiled as they walked through the door of his shop.

  “How are you guys doing? Need to trade anything?” he asked them.

  Steve took out some wheat from his inventory. “I’d like to trade this wheat. I need some emeralds.”

  “Are your friends here to help you build that irrigation system on your farm?”

  “No, we need the emeralds because we are about to go to Mine Mountain, and we need as many resource
s as we can carry. It’s going to be a long journey,” Steve told Eliot.

  “Wow, Mine Mountain. I didn’t even think that place really existed.” Eliot said. He took Steve’s wheat and gave him a handful of emeralds.

  “Well, we will find out for ourselves if it really exists,” Steve exclaimed as he took the emeralds and placed them in his inventory.

  “How exciting! When you come back, you need to tell me all about it!” Eliot waved goodbye to the group.

  “Okay, Steve. Let’s go,” said Henry.

  “Wait,” Steve replied and walked toward the library. “I have to get books from Avery the Librarian.”

  “Books?” Max was shocked. “Why?”

  “I want to trade these emeralds so I can get all the books about Mine Mountain. I think they might come in handy.”

  “That’s Steve. Always thinking,” Lucy smiled.

  Steve walked into the library and Avery greeted him. “Steve, are you going somewhere?”

  “Yes. I am going to find Mine Mountain,” Steve told Avery. “Do you have any books about it?”

  “Of course.” Avery led Steve over to a shelf with a stack of leather-bound books. “Here they are.”

  Steve picked up three books and offered, “I’d like to trade some emeralds for the books.”

  “Okay, Steve. But you must promise to come back here once you return. I’ve only read about Mine Mountain in books, and I’d love to hear about it from a person who has actually found it.” Avery thanked Steve for the emeralds.

  Steve placed the books in his inventory and joined his friends. As the group walked past the town and into the thick of the tree-filled jungle, Steve hoped he’d have diamonds to trade with Eliot when he returned. He took a deep breath. He wanted to see the famed Mine Mountain, but there was still a part of him that believed it didn’t exist—and they were heading into a trap.

  Chapter 3

  SIMILAR PLANS

  The group stayed on the narrow path through the lush jungle.

  “The map says the temple is here.” Max pointed to the right.

  “It must be hidden behind the leaves,” remarked Henry.

  Steve sheared the leaves where Max said the temple should be located, but there wasn’t anything hidden behind the leaves. “I told you this map was a hoax!”