“I know. Isn’t that awesome?” asked Billy.
Awesome wasn’t the word Edison would have used. He might have chosen terrifying, but he looked at his friend and forced himself to smile and say, “Yeah, awesome.”
3
GOODBYES
The crowd cheered as the host called all of the treasure hunters and their assistants to the stage. Edison looked out at the crowd and couldn’t believe how many people were there to see them off. He saw Erin and Peyton smiling in the crowd, and he could also spot his good friends Anna and Omar.
The announcer introduced himself as William and addressed the crowd, “These are the best treasure hunters in the Overworld.” The applause was deafening, but William the announcer continued, “However, they still have to follow the rules. The first rule is this: If you are destroyed, you are out of the competition. This also applies to the assistants.”
Edison didn’t know about this rule, and it made him very anxious.
“The second rule: You can’t steal or attack any treasure hunters. If you see that someone has unearthed a treasure before you, you must search for another treasure. There are no battles in this competition.”
Edison looked at Sally, and she smiled back at him.
William the announcer handed each participant a map and told them to meet back on the stage in one week. Edison could hear Sally say underneath her breath, “I don’t need a week.”
Edison looked for Sally’s assistant, but he didn’t see anyone. He looked over at Billy, “I thought everyone had to have an assistant. Where’s Sally’s?”
Billy pointed to a small man dressed in armor. His black hair stuck out underneath the diamond helmet. “That’s him. His name is Herman. He’s also a treasure hunter, but he wasn’t asked to be in the competition, so Sally invited him to work with her. I guess she thinks she has a real advantage now.”
Billy’s voice was louder than he realized, and Sally turned around and said, “I’ve always had an advantage. They should just give me the award now.”
“Wow, you’re really confident,” remarked Edison.
“Yes.” She smiled. “And it’s deserved.”
“She’s right,” Herman said, and Edison was surprised that his voice was high-pitched and rather squeaky.
Edison looked at Billy. “Can you believe how confident they are?”
“Don’t let them distract you,” Billy warned Edison. “There are always people who think they’re the best, but I believe that if you’re truly good at something, you don’t have to brag.”
Billy studied the map. “It seems as if we have to follow their itinerary. I assume they don’t want us competing for the same treasure at each location. This treasure hunt isn’t about stealing from other players, but it displays how well you can unearth treasure. I’m glad they are using the same ideas and philosophies we discussed when we organized the hunt.”
“Where do we go first?” asked Edison. His heart raced. He feared they’d have to start at The End. He knew that was unlikely, but you never knew what they had planned for the participants in this competition. Edison knew they wanted everyone to be challenged.
Billy pointed to the first place they had to search for treasure. “We have to go to the forest.”
Edison was glad it was a rather easy biome. He was familiar with the forest and felt he could help Billy navigate. As they said their goodbyes to their friends and took their first steps on the treasure hunt, they heard someone say, “Good luck,” and laugh.
“Sally.” Billy was annoyed. “We have the same chance of winning as you do.”
“I don’t think so,” said Sally, and she splashed a potion of Invisibility on her body and Herman, and they faded away.
The sun was shining, and sweat formed on Edison’s brow. He was relieved once they reached the forest because the leaves shaded the sun, and the temperature was much cooler.
“What treasure are we supposed to find here?” asked Edison.
“We have to find the roofed forest biome.” Billy looked at the map. “It has to be close by.”
Edison recalled his last trip to a woodland mansion and the pain from fighting the illusioner. He was beginning to realize that maybe this trip to the forest wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.
Just then a wolf raced toward them, ready to attack. Edison grabbed his sword but was shocked when Billy took a bone and tamed the wolf.
“Now we have to care for this pet while we go on the treasure hunt,” Edison remarked.
“It will come in handy.” Billy petted the tame wolf and spoke to the animal. “I’m going to name you Lucky. You’re going to bring me great luck on this treasure hunt.”
Edison looked at the wolf. The path in front of them was dense with leaves, and he knew this was just the beginning. They had a long road before they found all of the treasure they needed to complete the contest.
“Is there any sign of the roofed forest biome on the map?” asked Edison.
“No,” Billy said. “We have to find it ourselves. It’s a part of the challenge.”
Edison and Lucky followed Billy, and as he cleared a path so they could travel deeper into the woods he called out, “I found it!”
In front of them was the lush roofed forest biome. It stood out amongst the birch trees that were so tall they seemed to kiss the sky. Billy raced toward the roofed forest biome covered in dark oak trees. Edison followed closely behind and took a sip of potion to increase his health and energy before they entered this gorgeous but challenging biome. He knew that the leafy biome was dark and an easy place for hostile mobs to spawn. One of his customers once told him a story about finding a woodland mansion, but getting destroyed by two sly creepers before they could make it to the front door. Edison thought he heard leaves rustling and someone walking behind them, but he turned around and there was nobody there.
As they rushed to the biome, Edison tripped. He looked around and didn’t see a branch and wasn’t sure what made him fall.
“Are you okay?” asked Billy as he helped his friend up.
“Yes, I don’t know why I fell,” he remarked. As he spoke he could hear the faint sound of laughter.
Billy also heard the cackle and said, “I don’t think you tripped. I think you were pushed.”
“It looks like we have some competition,” said Edison.
“I’m ready for it.” Billy smiled, and the duo raced toward the roofed biome.
4
SOME CALL IT LUCK
Edison entered the biome and looked up at the roof of leaves. Large oak trees shaded their path.
“We have to find a woodland mansion.” Billy paused and looked at the map.
“Isn’t that really hard? You’ve only been to one, right?”
Billy nodded. “Yeah, remember when I got the map for the woodland mansion? That was awesome. But we have to find one now because of the treasure hunt. If we don’t, we can’t win.”
Edison recalled the multiple mobs that dwelled in the woodland mansion. He knew Billy had to find one, but he secretly hoped they wouldn’t.
Billy called out, “I found one!”
There was no mistaking the grand woodland mansion peeking out through the leafy path. Billy leaped up the stairs and opened the door. As he walked through the grand entranceway, Edison sipped a potion of Strength to help him beat the vindicator and the other mobs that lived in the woodland mansion. The minute he entered the mansion and looked down at the red carpet, he remembered the impressive foyer and the room filled with flowerpots sprouting colorful flowers, and knew he had to be prepared for what would come next. This mansion, with its wood-paneled walls, might have been luxurious, but it was teeming with terrible mobs like the vindicator, which could spawn with an enchanted iron axe, or the evoker with its fangs and vexes.
Edison took his time and inspected each corner of the mansion, searching for any one of the multiple mobs that might attack them in the dimly lit hallway. Billy did the opposite. He raced through th
e enormous, rare treasure–filled dwelling and searched for every diamond he could find without caring about hostile mobs.
“I found treasure!” Billy exclaimed. “Come here!”
“Where are you?” asked Edison.
“In the room that has the chest above the door. I’m on a ladder, so be careful when you enter.”
Edison stood by the entrance of the room with the checkerboard floor. The walls were covered in oak fences, and Edison wondered why Billy constructed a ladder. Couldn’t he have simply climbed up the fence? But then he remembered you couldn’t climb fences.
Billy held onto the ladder as he opened the chest with one hand. “Can you help me?” asked Billy as he handed Edison some diamonds. “The assistant is supposed to carry all of the treasures.”
“I didn’t know that.” Edison placed the diamonds in his inventory. “Wow, looks like you found some great treasures here.”
When Billy climbed down from the ladder, they explored the rest of the mansion. Billy bolted into a room filled with construction. “We have to be careful,” Billy warned. “The vindicator always spawns here, but I know there is fantastic treasure behind the construction.”
Edison stared at the gray banner in the room as he followed Billy past the construction and to the treasure. He looked for the vindicator, but the hostile mob hadn’t spawned.
“Got it!” Billy exclaimed. “This treasure chest is filled with emeralds and enchanted books. This is great. We are looting this mansion in record time!”
Edison raced toward Billy, quickly placing all of the treasures in his inventory. He was grateful the vindicator hadn’t spawned, but he knew it was just a matter of time before they were in the middle of a battle with that enchanted axe-carrying mob.
“Okay, we’re done,” Billy said, and he raced out of the room and down the carpeted hallway.
“Didn’t you say the vindicator spawns in that room?” asked Edison.
Billy looked at the wolf that was wagging its tail. “I told you Lucky was going to be our lucky charm.”
Edison wanted to believe the dog was bringing them luck, but he knew this was slightly implausible. How could this tamed wolf stop a bunch of mobs from spawning? The idea seemed laughable. However, Edison decided not to question Billy. He didn’t want to get into any debate while they were in the woodland mansion. Edison wanted to loot the mansion and get out.
“Look—mushrooms,” Billy said, entering a room with mushrooms sprouting from the ground. “It looks like a mushroom farm room.” He walked toward a chest, but he sighed when he opened it. “It’s empty.”
Edison could hear voices as they passed a room with a large cat statue. “Do you hear that?” There was a high-pitched voice talking in the next room.
Billy said, “It sounds like Herman.”
“We can’t let them see us. They might try and steal our treasure,” said Edison.
“That’s against the rules,” said Billy.
“Do you think Sally is really following the rules?” asked Edison.
“I would hope so,” Billy walked into the cat-themed room, but there was no treasure. “Anyway, I think this room is usually empty. We have to find another room.”
The last place they searched for treasure was in a secret room with cobblestone walls. Billy swiftly extracted the treasure. While Edison placed the blue diamonds, golden apples, enchanted books, emeralds, and other treasures in the inventory and sprinted out the door of mansion, he remarked, “You have to agree it’s odd that not one hostile mob spawned in that mansion.”
“No,” said Billy. “I call it luck.”
5
HAVE YOU SEEN A CREEPER?
“Where do we go next?” asked Edison as they exited the lush roofed forest biome.
“It says we have to go mining. There’s a mine right outside of the forest, in a mountainous biome.” He showed Edison the map. “I know how to get there.”
The duo left the lush biome and walked uphill into the mountainous biome, where Billy pointed out the cave where they had to mine.
Edison pulled out torches for the both of them and grabbed a pickaxe. “I’m ready to mine. What do we have to find?”
Before Billy could respond, they heard unfamiliar voices in the cave. A woman with a thick French accent questioned, “Isn’t it odd that we haven’t seen one cave spider?”
“I know,” a deep voice with a French accent replied. “I’ve been mining for years, and I always find spiders in caves.”
“And I haven’t see a creeper in days,” the woman remarked.
“Me neither,” said her friend.
Edison and Billy listened. Edison said, “I told you something was off.”
Billy looked at Lucky. “I’m sorry Lucky. I don’t think you’re the reason for the absence of hostile mobs. I think someone must be stopping the mobs from spawning so they can get treasure easily.”
“But who?” asked Edison as he paced. He was getting into detective mode. He started to make a list of potential suspects, but he had only two people on the list. “I wonder if Sally and Herman have done something with the mobs.”
“We can’t immediately jump to conclusions. It could be anybody who is a part of the treasure hunt.”
“I think I have to solve this and find out who is behind the mob disappearance,” said Edison.
“But you have to help me with the treasure hunt. You’re my assistant.” Billy was annoyed.
“We can’t let someone destroy this treasure hunt. You worked too hard to let someone cheat.”
Billy agreed. The competition had been tampered with, and he had to find out who was behind it. “Yes, we can’t judge a contest where someone has obviously stopped the hostile mobs from spawning.”
“Is someone there?” The woman with the French accent called out.
“Yes.” Edison placed the torch beside his face. “My name is Edison, and I’m here with my friend Billy.”
“Billy,” the woman with the French accent said, “are you a treasure hunter? I’ve heard of you.”
The woman walked toward them; her assistant followed behind. “I’m Marie, and this is my assistant and good friend Pierre.”
“We couldn’t help hearing you talk about not seeing any hostile mobs. We were just in the woodland mansion and didn’t see a mob there. Somebody might have stopped the mobs from spawning. When was the last time you saw a mob?” asked Billy.
Marie and Pierre both replied, “Before the competition.”
Edison thought about the last time he saw a hostile mob. “I think I haven’t seen one since we battled the zombies a week before the competition.”
Marie said, “I saw one the day before the competition. When we were traveling here, we built a house in the swamp, and we were attacked by a witch and some slimes.”
“Have you encountered any other treasure hunters?” asked Edison.
Marie said, “No, we have been on our own since the start of the treasure hunt.”
They heard more voices in the distance. As they stood in the cave, another treasure hunter and his assistant walked toward them, and the two were surprised to find four people standing by the large crater on the cave’s ground.
“Hi, I’m Spencer, and I’m a part of this treasure hunt.” He wore diamond armor and glasses. “Is there something wrong? Aren’t we supposed to be searching for treasure? I see a large crater behind you, and I want to start mining.”
Marie asked the treasure hunter, “Have you seen a mob since you’ve been on the treasure hunt?”
“No,” Spencer replied, “but we started our hunt on Mushroom Island and you don’t usually find hostile mobs there.”
“Well,” said Billy, “we haven’t seen one, and we’re wondering if someone is tampering with the treasure hunt. I might speak with the committee and have them suspend the treasure hunt for an investigation.”
“Suspend the treasure hunt?” Spencer was angry. “I just found so much great loot on Mushroom Island. We’re not ab
out to let someone stop this competition, right, Aaron?” The treasure hunter looked over at his assistant. The assistant nodded as he traded in his pickaxe for a diamond sword and pointed the weapon at Billy.
Billy stepped back and put his arms up in the air. “I don’t want to fight. I just want this to be a fair competition.”
“We do too, and we don’t want some stranger telling us that they are going to cancel this competition.” Spencer also took out a diamond sword and waved it toward Billy.
Marie said, “We also haven’t see a mob. Look around this cave. Do you see any spiders?”
Spencer looked at the ground and walked deeper into the cave, but he didn’t see any red eyes. “You’re right. I usually see a cave spider.”
Aaron pointed to the blue that glistened from the crater. “Look at all of those diamonds. You’d better not stop us from gathering them. You know we have only a week to gather treasure, and it’s almost nightfall.”
“Night won’t matter on this treasure hunt because there won’t be any hostile mobs. The person who stopped the mobs from spawning wants to search for treasure all the time without getting attacked,” said Edison.
“Can you please stop talking about this and let us mine?” asked Spencer.
“Yeah,” said Aaron. “Just move out of the way and let us mine. If you want to drop out of the competition, that’s up to you, but you don’t have to ruin it for everybody.”
Edison and Billy watched as Spencer and Aaron mined for treasure. Marie and Pierre also started to dig deep into the crater and extract diamonds and emeralds.
“We’re going to lose if we don’t join them,” said Edison.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Billy. “This treasure isn’t going to count. I’m going to meet with the committee and put a stop to this competition.”
Spencer crawled out of the crater and swung his diamond sword at Billy, “You aren’t talking to anyone.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” screamed Billy. “What you’re doing is against the rules.”
“Nobody gets anywhere by following the rules. Listen to your friend. Mine with us and get some treasure. Stop trying to do the right thing all the time,” said Spencer.
The Case of the Creepers Page 2