The shadowy monsters nodded their heads.
“Then go, and return here when you are successful,” Feyd commanded.
The monsters disappeared sporadically as each struggled to form a strong teleportation field. But eventually, they were all gone.
“We will find you, Gameknight999,” Feyd said to the darkness that surrounded him. “Then we will exact our revenge on you at last.”
He cackled a spine-tingling laugh that echoed through the cavern like the sound of a nightmare, then he disappeared from sight.
CHAPTER 23
BACK TO ZOMBIE-TOWN
Gameknight had sent out riders to the other nearby villages to spread the word about the captive NPCs and Xa-Tul’s horde of zombies, in hopes of convincing more warriors to join their group. Many were concerned that the zombie king was amassing a giant army, but when they heard about Herder being taken prisoner, they were all enraged and agreed to help.
Herder was known by every village in Minecraft for his generosity and selflessness: gathering horses for those on the plains, bringing pigs and cows and chickens to those in the desert, and, of course, distributing his wolves throughout every community for protection against the monsters. He had become something of a legend amongst all the villagers. They called him the Animal-whisperer, because he could just speak softly to the animals and they would do his bidding. His willingness to help everyone, coupled with his innocent nature, made the villagers furious when they learned of his capture. This anger galvanized the villages together, making them want to seek revenge. Without this, Gameknight would probably not have been able to convince all the NPCs to come and help.
Gameknight’s castle quickly became filled with villagers as they streamed in from all across the Overworld. But as the army grew, so did the demands on the village. Hunters were sent out to bring in food, and farmers harvested all the crops. Groups of warriors were sent to the Nether to collect Nether wart, while large groups were instructed to forage for melons—two necessary ingredients for healing potions. But after a few days of preparation, they were ready.
Using the minecart network, the NPC army moved quickly to Cobbler’s village in the savannah. But when they went to the surface of the Overworld, the wolves began to whimper and howl.
“What’s wrong with the animals?” Hunter asked, pointing at the pack leader, who was the loudest.
“They miss Herder,” Gameknight said. “It’s just like Jenny’s dog in the physical world; he’s named Barky the Physics Dog. He always whines and howls whenever my sister is out of the house. My mom and dad hate it, but with a few snacks, they can get him quiet.”
“Sounds like a pretty smart dog,” Hunter added with a smile. “He gets what he wants.”
“Yep.”
Others tried to calm the animals, but there was no sating their grief; they missed Herder terribly.
With the army fully assembled, they now ran across the gray-green landscape with Gameknight out front, the wolf-pack leader, Buck, at his side.
“Come on everyone … keep up,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “Our friends need us.”
He shifted to a sprint for a while, then slowed to a run, then walked to give the warriors some rest.
“Creepers to the left!” someone shouted.
“Archers … get ’em!” Gameknight yelled.
A group of warriors, led by Hunter, dashed off to the left and fired upon the green monsters. Gameknight wanted to have the element of surprise on his side, and because of that, they had to silence any monster that saw them, or risk word reaching the zombies that the NPCs were coming.
In minutes, the archers returned, Hunter giving him a satisfied smile to show that the threat had been taken care of.
They continued across the savannah in silence. Occasionally, they came across a few more creepers and spiders, but all of them were eliminated by squads of archers before the monsters could escape and report the army’s position.
Gameknight could feel the tension in the group building as they went on, but he was lost in his thoughts. The expression on Herder’s face as Gameknight ran away into the tunnel tore at his heart. It had been a look of acceptance but also of bravery, like Herder was telling him: I can handle this. Herder was so brave, and now Gameknight999 struggled to brush aside feeling like a coward for running away.
But he knew there was no point in dwelling on the past. He refused to see only the bad side of that situation. They’d found this ancient zombie-town and learned that Xa-Tul was amassing a huge army; this information was important, and if they hadn’t gone to that zombie-town, then they would still be clueless to the monsters’ evil plans. Instead of focusing on what they’d lost that day, Gameknight was focusing on what they had gained: knowledge. And glancing around at all the warriors that ran at his side, they had gained more insight than Xa-Tul could have ever imagined.
I’m coming for you, Herder, he thought. We are coming for all of you.
The words repeated over and over in his head as if it was some kind of magical incantation. He’d made every preparation he could, planned for every possible outcome, but he still knew that nothing was certain. “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” That was a popular saying amongst military commanders, and Gameknight had learned its truth all too many times in Minecraft. Still, they would not be dissuaded on this quest.
“Anyone in there?” Hunter asked on his right as she tapped lightly on the Gameknight’s helmet.
“Ahh … what?” he replied, only half-hearing the question.
“I said, is there anyone in there?” Hunter repeated.
“Yeah, I’m here. I’m just thinking about Herder.”
“We all are,” she replied. “But if you ask me, we should have—”
“We’re here!” Crafter shouted from the front of the group as the sound of the waterfall filled the air.
“Quickly, everyone follow the narrow pass and go through to the cave on the other side,” Gameknight said.
He didn’t wait for any of them to respond. The User-that-is-not-a-user charged ahead, darting through the falling water with a line of wolves right behind. As he moved into the tunnel, the wolves began acting strange. It was like they were nervous or unsure about what they were doing.
“What’s wrong, Buck?” Gameknight said to the alpha male, but the animal just stared up at him and whined. “Don’t worry, we’ll get Herder back.”
When the rest of the army had made it through the falls, they moved carefully forward. The passage dipped downward as it plunged into the flesh of Minecraft. As before, the tunnel twisted this way and that, but this time, torches marked the path from the last time the villagers has visited. Soon, they came to the entrance of the zombie-town. In the distance, they could see the end of the tunnel, a dim green light marking the opening to the objective. With the army twenty blocks or so from the edge of the massive cavern, diggers pulled out pickaxes, and started burrowing into the stone walls.
“Now explain this to me again?” Hunter questioned. “The cave is right there, but we need to make our own tunnels?”
“You remember the passages that led into the zombie-town from all sides?” Gameknight asked.
“Sure,” Hunter replied.
“Some of the warriors are going to carve their way to them, then enter from those tunnels, while we go in from the front,” Gameknight explained. “The zombies will see our small force here and charge toward us, but then the other warriors will attack their flanks … a classic pincer movement. They’ll think they have us trapped, but instead, we’ll have them surrounded.”
“Nice,” the redhead replied as she nodded.
Soon, the warriors were through to the other passages. After the forces separated, Gameknight led his squad forward.
The awful smell of the zombies hit him as soon as he moved into the massive cavern, but somehow it didn’t seem as bad as last time. Maybe he was getting used to it. Moving about ten blocks into the cavern, Gameknight stopped
and banged his sword on his chest plate. The sound echoed off the stone walls, but no moans or growls came in response. The place looked empty.
Suddenly, Buck moved next to Gameknight, sniffed in the air, then let loose a loud sorrowful howl, causing the other wolves to join in. The animal peered up at Gameknight and barked once, then turned and fled back toward the exit and the waterfall, the rest of the wolf pack following close behind.
“Wait!” Gameknight shouted, but it was too late. The wolves had abandoned them.
Before anyone could ask a question, the other warriors stormed out of their tunnels, but no zombies attacked. In fact, the cavern seemed completely empty.
“Where are all the monsters?” Hunter said with a disappointed tone to her voice.
“I don’t know,” Gameknight replied. “Everyone, move to Digger’s tunnel and form up … tight formation.”
The warriors sprinted to Digger, then formed a tight ball of armor, archers on the outside, swordsmen at the center.
“Move to the next tunnel,” Gameknight commanded.
The army moved to the next tunnel, then the next and the next. Each time they found the same thing … nothing. Everyone was gone, the zombies and their friends.
“The portal room,” Stitcher said.
“Of course,” Gameknight exclaimed. “Follow me!”
The User-that-is-not-a-user sprinted across the cratered floor, heading for the stairway that led downward, the walls of the passage glowing with shifting colors. He charged down the steps with both swords in his hands, ready for battle. But like the rest of the cavern, the portal room was empty, only the three glowing obsidian rings standing silently at the far end.
“Where did they all go?” Crafter asked. “It’s almost as if Xa-Tul is avoiding a direct confrontation with us. Like he doesn’t want to fight.”
“But why?” Cobbler replied. “What is that monster afraid of? He outnumbers us ten to one, and he knows the terrain far better than we do. The zombies have every advantage, yet they still run from us.”
“Thanks for that inspiring summary,” Hunter said.
Stitcher punched her in the arm. The older sister flashed the younger a smile.
“Gameknight!” yelled a voice from the zombie-town.
The User-that-is-not-a-user turned and faced the stairway. He saw an NPC pushing though the crowd. It was Weaver.
“What is it?” Gameknight asked. “Are you OK?”
Weaver nodded his head as he took huge gulps of air.
“I found another portal in one of the side passages,” Weaver said.
“Another portal?” Digger said.
“Of course,” Crafter said. “There must be two of them. One of the portals leads to the previous zombie-town while the other leads to the next one in the network, just like with our minecart network.”
“So how do we know which one the zombies used?” Stitcher queried.
All eyes swiveled to Gameknight999.
“OK, this is your show,” Digger said. “What do you want to do?”
The User-that-is-not-a-user glanced up at his friend and saw complete confidence and grim determination in the stocky NPC’s blue-green eyes. The portal room was so completely silent; Gameknight thought maybe he’d gone deaf. He turned and scanned the faces of those near him and saw the same expression as Digger’s. He could see the confidence they all had in him and his preparations; they were ready for anything.
Gameknight999’s heart swelled with pride. This moment, right now, was a great moment in his life, and he knew he must never forget it. All of these people were willing to follow him into certain danger, and none of them had any doubts. He was humbled and felt a tear start to trickle out of his eye.
Reaching up, he wiped it with his sleeve, then turned and faced the shimmering green portal next to him.
“This portal seems just as good as the other. After all, when you don’t know where you are going, any direction is the right direction,” Hunter said with a laugh. “Let’s get this party started. I don’t want to miss any of the fun.”
The villagers all laughed, many of them slapping Gameknight on the back.
“OK,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said in a confident voice. “Then let’s bring this party to Xa-Tul.”
The NPCs cheered as Gameknight999 stepped into the portal.
CHAPTER 24
ZOMBIE PORTALS
Gameknight999 leapt out of the portal and sprinted to one wall. There were zombies in the room. He couldn’t see them yet, but he could certainly smell them.
“NPCs in the—” he started to say.
Then a zombie stepped into the portal room, and Gameknight never got the chance to complete his thought. He fell on the creature with his swords in a blur of motion. The monster struggled to defend itself, claws reaching for its attacker, but it quickly disappeared with a pop.
“All zombies to the portal chamber!” another creature shouted from the stairway.
Gameknight charged ahead, but now he had Digger on one side and Crafter on the other. The trio sprinted up the steps, only to be confronted by twenty zombies, most clad in golden armor and wielding razor-sharp swords. The monsters saw the three warriors and started to laugh.
“There are only three invaders,” one of the zombies growled. “How typically pathetic of the NPCs. This should be easy.”
The other zombies laughed.
But then, fifty more warriors charged up out of the portal room and smashed into the creatures. Gameknight slashed at one monster, then rolled to the right and came up swinging at another. He moved so quickly that the monsters didn’t know where to look. It was clear to Gameknight that the zombies knew who he was, because they all tried to attack him at the same time. That was foolish. There was enough room for one or two to face him at a time, and that left the other monsters trying to squeeze past their comrades to attack the User-that-is-not-a-user. They never noticed the hundreds of villagers flowing out of the portal room and surrounding them, attacking their flanks, until it was too late.
Monsters growled and moaned as the NPCs moved in from all side. Arrows began to rain down upon them as Hunter and Stitcher climbed the rough-hewn walls and fired their enchanted bows. With deadly arrows falling from above and razor-sharp blades on all sides, the zombies didn’t last very long.
Soon, every zombie had been destroyed and the ground was littered with gold armor and balls of XP glowing like tiny little rainbows.
“Collect the armor,” Digger commanded. “Squads, check the tunnels to see if they are empty. Archers, get in a defensive formation around this portal room. Swordsmen, get ready to …”
Digger moved the warriors with practiced efficiency, placing his pieces on the game board like a chess master. In seconds, the warriors were prepared for a counter-attack, while squads of armored swordsmen checked all of the tunnels that opened into the massive cavern.
For the first time, Gameknight surveyed his surroundings. This zombie-town was like the last one, in that the ground was covered with craters. At the center of the cavern, a tall stone pillar reached up to the high ceiling as if it were the lone support that prevented all the tons of stone and dirt from falling down on them. He knew the rules of physics didn’t really work in Minecraft and the ceiling could not fall in on them unless it were made of gravel or sand, but he still felt comforted to see that thick support.
“There’s nothing over here,” one of the warriors shouted from the opposite side of the cave.
“Or here,” said another NPC.
“It seems this one is deserted like the last one,” Crafter said.
“Then we keep going,” Gameknight growled. “Herder and the other villagers are waiting for us and we can’t afford to let them down.”
He glanced at the other villagers around him and could still see courage and determination in their eyes.
“Come on, everyone,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.
He ran for the second green portal nestled in a different porta
l room. The sound of the clanking armor and thundering footsteps behind him reminded the User-that-is-not-a-user that he was not on his own. But the fact was, he didn’t care whether the others were following or not; Gameknight999 had friends to save, and nothing was going to stop him. He knew the risks, but instead of focusing on what might happen, Gameknight was focused on how happy he was going to be when Herder was safe again. The image of the lanky boy with the long black hair playing happily with his wolves kept Gameknight’s resolve as strong as steel.
He simply refused to give up.
When he reached the stairs that led to the smaller portal chamber, Gameknight charged down without a thought. With his diamond sword in his right hand and his iron blade in his left, he readied himself for battle in case any zombies were hiding down there. Fortunately, the room was empty.
The shimmering green portal stood in the center of a stone chamber, the black obsidian ring lit with a flickering emerald glow. Gameknight moved next to it. He could hear the hum of the portal as the tiny green particles flowed out of the gateway, only to get sucked back in again. But the strange thing was that the humming seemed to stutter and skip, like a scratched CD in his CD player. It was as if the portal itself was having difficulty working—another sign of the mysterious server glitches.
As the warriors gathered around the shimmering gateway, Gameknight turned and stared at them.
“I’m going through,” he said. “None of you have to follow me. You can turn around and go home without any shame. I will not stop until I find our friends, and likely one of these portals will lead to a massive army looking to destroy us all. But I am grateful for the help of any who wish to stay with me.”
He waited to see if any of the villagers headed up the steps and back toward home. Instead, all of them took a step closer.
“Let’s get on with it,” Hunter said. “You promised us a party, and that last battle was barely worth noticing.”
The warriors laughed.
Gameknight smiled, then turned back to the portal.
“OK, here we go,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.
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