Attack of the Shadow-Crafters

by Mark Cheverton

  At the head of the procession, a monster sparkled like the charged creepers, but with the addition of jagged bolts of red power mixed in with the blue electricity. The combination of the red and blue gave off a flickering purple light that lit the forest with a lavender glow.

  Gathering his teleportation powers, the Maker disappeared from the peak and materialized next to the flickering monster.

  “Oxus, you have returned,” Herobrine said to the king of the creepers.

  “Yes, Sire,” Oxus said. “And I have brought with me enough creepers to stop this war. There are hundreds and hundreds of creepers following me now. The sight of them will force the villagers to negotiate a peace, and give monsters a place in the Overworld without violence.”

  “Yes, you did very well,” Herobrine said, a devious smile on his square face.

  Suddenly, Erebus appeared in a cloud of purple mist at the Maker’s side.

  “Erebus, behold the fabulous gift Oxus brings to us,” Herobrine said.

  The king of the Endermen glanced at the massive body of creepers marching past, heading for the flat, rocky clearing between the four mountains that made up Dragon’s Teeth.

  “This many creepers will allow us to—”

  Herobrine held up a hand, stopping the Enderman from talking.

  “Oxus, take your creepers to the mountain with lava running down its side. On the back side of the mountain, you will find a huge cave. Take your creepers there and keep them quiet. There is a small chamber in the mountain with the waterfall; that will be your quarters. Wait there until I have need of you. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Maker,” the creeper king replied, then led his troops toward the lava flow.

  As they moved away, Erebus edged closer to Herobrine.

  “Maker, that many creepers could devastate the villagers in battle,” the Enderman king said, his eyes flaring bright red with excitement.

  “Of course, I know that already, Enderman,” Herobrine snapped. “I have a plan for how our creeper brothers and sisters will be the most effective.” He paced back and forth as his eyes glowed bright white with evil thoughts. “I know the blacksmith will not stay in his village. He will come out and meet us in the desert. I think he will come north, to the top of the Great Chasm. While we have him engaged in battle, the creepers will then go across the bridge that spans the Chasm and sneak in behind them. I will order the creepers to mix in among the villagers, then we will detonate all of them in one massive explosion that will destroy every villager.”

  Herobrine’s eyes glowed brighter as the image of all those villagers being destroyed filled his mind. He stopped pacing and turned to face the Endermen king.

  “Hopefully, the blacksmith will survive so that I can face him directly. The spider queen said he has challenged me to battle. Well, I’ll accommodate him, but only after I destroy all his friends right in front of him. And when he is overcome with grief, I will fall upon him and make that Smithy beg for mercy … only then will I destroy him. Nothing can stop us from certain victory!”

  Erebus’s eyes grew even brighter, the red light splashing on the forest floor like stains of blood.

  “Soon, the Overworld will belong to me,” the Maker said, “and there’s nothing that blacksmith can do about it!”

  The king of the Enderman gave off a screechy cackle as he laughed with malicious glee.

  CHAPTER 25

  NEWS

  Gameknight waited nervously atop the tower. He knew those brave villagers were doing something incredibly dangerous, staring into the mouth of the beast and expecting they could return unscathed. He desperately hoped their stealthy black armor would protect them; he didn’t want more NPCs suffering because of his decisions. But deep down inside, he knew this was the right thing to do.

  He stood watch for hours, waiting for news. Fencer tried to get him to come down to eat, but Gameknight refused. Instead, food was brought up to him: bowls of mushroom stew and loaves of bread.

  Gameknight watched the desert all night long. He stood at the top of the watchtower during the lightning storm, bolts of electricity striking the desert and flashing in the biomes far away. Clearly, the Oracle must have been resetting a lot of things. He looked down at the center of the village. The Oracle stood next to the well with her arms in her sleeves, completely motionless. Whenever lightning would strike, she would twitch ever so slightly, then go back to her motionless state.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user stood watch all night long, while the moon slowly crept toward the western horizon and the clouds cleared in the dawn sky. Then the sun slowly rose, painting a bright red stripe across the horizon; it was now morning.

  “Smithy, come down from there,” someone shouted from the ground. “There is something you need to see.”

  Nervous excitement pulsed through his veins like electricity. They’re back … already? Gameknight thought.

  Stepping to the ladder, he slid down to the ground floor. Dashing out of the cobblestone structure, he found a group of NPCs standing around the village’s armorer, Fencer, who was wearing a proud smile.

  “What is it?” Gameknight asked.

  “We have something new,” Fencer said as he patted the craftsman on the back.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  “Show him,” Fencer said.

  The NPC reached into his inventory and pulled out a bright sword that glowed a translucent blue, as if it were carved from glacial ice. He offered it to Gameknight, hilt first. When the morning sun hit the razor-sharp blade, it gleamed as if alive with some kind of internal cerulean flame. Gameknight took it in his hand and gripped the handle firmly. As he held it high in the air, a huge smile stretched across his face. Pulling his iron sword from his inventory with his left hand, he held the two weapons high in the sky. The villagers cheered and banged their weapons against their leather armor, making a rhythmical thud that echoed through the village.

  “How is this possible?” Gameknight asked.

  “Swordbrin has been busy in the crafting chamber,” Armorer replied.

  “This is fantastic,” the User-that-is-not-a-user exclaimed as he put away his weapons.

  “There’s more,” Fencer said with a devious grin.

  Armorer stepped forward and presented a handful of dull gray metal to Gameknight999. Reaching out, he took the items, confused, then recognized what they were.

  “Iron armor … nice,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.

  “Put it on,” Armorer said.

  Gameknight smiled at him and reached up to remove his leather tunic, but suddenly he remembered that he was wearing Smithy’s dark leather armor. Underneath was Gameknight’s normal blue shirt and green pants. He couldn’t show that to the villagers; they’d instantly recognize him as an imposter.

  “How is this possible?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.

  “The light-crafter, Armorbrin, made a few changes to what we could craft,” Fencer said. “Now we can make iron chest plates, leggings and boots. Finally, you have a complete set of armor to go with your iron helmet.”

  Gameknight wrapped his blocky knuckles against the hard metal, thinking. They made a dull thudding sound.

  “This is fantastic!” he exclaimed. “I am truly grateful for this wonderful gift. But if I am to wield this fabulous diamond sword, I think someone else should wear the iron armor.”

  He scanned the crowd, then found his target. He knew he had to keep him safe … for Crafter’s sake.

  “Weaver, come here.”

  The young boy pushed through the crowd and stood next to him. Gameknight handed the iron chest plate, boots, and leggings to Weaver.

  “I want you to wear these,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “Since you always seem to doing something you aren’t supposed to do and getting yourself in danger to help others, perhaps it would be best if you wore this armor.”

  The boy looked up at Gameknight and smiled, then gratefully accepted the armor. He put it on quickly
, then ran off to show his friends.

  “Well done,” Fencer said. “Weaver has been a remarkable warrior, even though he is just a boy.”

  “Don’t judge one’s courage by their size,” Gameknight said. “That boy is likely braver than all of us combined.” That was a close one, he thought to himself. But I’m glad that I was able to help Weaver as well.

  Fencer nodded, then spoke again. “We still have three diamonds left. Should we make another sword?”

  Gameknight glanced at Carver, then shook his head.

  “No, I think we will be in need of a pickaxe before long,” he said. “Please craft me a diamond pick. I might want to do a little digging in the middle of the upcoming battle.”

  “Digging?” Fencer asked.

  Gameknight nodded his head.

  “OK,” the confused NPC replied and signaled for the diamonds to be crafted into a pickaxe. “You want to tell me why you might start digging in the middle of a battle with Herobrine and his horde?”

  “Well, you see—” Gameknight began but was suddenly interrupted.

  “They’re back!” someone shouted from the village gates. “Some of our spies are back!”

  They all dashed for the gates. Gameknight was filled with excitement; he was grateful they’d returned safely. But as he approached the gates, his spirits fell; only two black-clad villagers stood by the entrance.

  “Smithy, come quick,” one of the spies exclaimed.

  “What is it?” Gameknight asked as he reached the villager’s side.

  “We saw some of Herobrine’s army,” he explained.

  “What did you see?”

  “Creepers,” the spy said. “Hundreds and hundreds of them. It was as if they’d drained the land of the monsters and brought them all here.”

  “They have them hidden at the base of one of the Dragon’s Teeth,” the other explained. “A sparkly creeper is in its own cave at the base of the mountain with water running down the side.”

  “There are so many creepers,” the first spy said, fear filling his voice. “I don’t know how we can stand against them.”

  “And what of the rest of the army?” Gameknight asked.

  “There were a few zombies in gold armor walking around on guard duty,” the first spy said.

  “Now they’re one guard short,” the other said with a smile. He reached into his inventory and pulled out a set of golden armor and tossed it to the ground. “We couldn’t tell how many were hiding in the caves underground, but they must have made a huge cavern. We could hear the moans and growls of the zombies and the clattering skeletons and clicking spiders. Somehow, the monsters must have carved out a huge space down there to house them all.”

  “But how would monsters use tools to do that?” Fencer asked.

  “I know how they did it,” Gameknight said, then began to pace back and forth, thinking.

  Creepers, by the hundreds, the User-that-is-not-a-user thought. What would Herobrine do with them?

  “Likely, Herobrine used the creepers to carve out the caverns,” Gameknight explained. “I think he’s doing that all across the Overworld as he gathers monsters for this battle.”

  “He’ll have a lot more monsters than before—I’m sure of it,” the spy said. “We’ll be outnumbered five-to-one if not worse. What are we going to do?”

  The weight of responsibility felt overwhelming. Gameknight found it hard to breathe. All of the NPCs were looking at him as if he could pull some magical solution out of the air and solve this problem, but with the number of monsters Herobrine had, especially all those creepers … it seemed hopeless.

  “If only we could rain fire down upon those creepers,” Weaver said. “Maybe they’d just blow up and take care of themselves for us.”

  Suddenly, the puzzle pieces began to tumble around in his head again. Something the young NPC had said started Gameknight to think.

  “Weaver, how much TNT do we have left over from the last battle with the zombie king?” Gameknight asked.

  “We have a lot,” the boy replied. “I know you told us to use it all on those zombies in the desert, but I had everyone hold back in case it proved useful later.”

  Gameknight smiled a huge smile as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. But his whole plan hinged on one critical thing … the creepers.

  “What are you smiling about?” Fencer asked. “You look a little crazy.”

  “You figured it out, didn’t you, child?” the Oracle asked.

  Gameknight nodded his blocky head.

  “You know how to beat them?” Farmer asked.

  “Yep, but it’s gonna be extremely dangerous,” Gameknight replied. “We’ll be walking on a razor’s edge, and any misstep will plunge us into disaster. Everyone must do as I say, or Herobrine and his massive horde of monsters will roll over us like an avalanche.” He began speaking louder so everyone could hear him. “This is going to be incredibly dangerous. If any villager wants to leave now, I understand, but Smithy of the Two-Swords is staying to see this through.”

  Gameknight looked at the anxious faces of the villagers. As one, they all took a step closer.

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” Carver said, his axe in his hands.

  “I thought as much,” Gameknight said. “Here’s what we’re going to do …”

  Gameknight explained the plan, sketching diagrams on the ground with the point of his new diamond sword. As he described the strategy, the villagers nodded their heads and whispered to each other, adding an idea here and there. But when he was done with the explanation, Carver spoke up.

  “Your plan hinges on the fact that the massive army of creepers is not involved in the battle. How is that going to be true?”

  Some of the villagers scowled at Carver for insulting the great Smithy of the Two-Swords, but rather than looking away, Carver kept his gaze on Gameknight. The User-that-is-not-a-user smiled at the stocky NPC and moved next to him. He patted him on the back.

  “Carver is right,” Gameknight said. “I appreciate his willingness to ask the hard question. That is an important trait in a leader.”

  “A leader?” one of the elders scoffed.

  “That’s right, a leader,” Gameknight replied. “I want Carver leading the defense of Midnight Bridge. He will make sure the monsters do not cross the Great Chasm, and I’m confident he will be successful.”

  Carver looked shocked, but pressed the point again.

  “I’m happy to lead that group, but you didn’t answer the question. How are you going to keep the creepers from joining the battle?”

  “While all of you are preparing for battle, I’m going out there to have a little chat with the creeper king.”

  He smiled at Fencer, then pointed to pile of gold zombie armor. Gameknight picked it up and put it into his inventory. “I’m going to sneak in there and convince Oxus that it’s in his best interests to take his creepers and just go away.”

  “Just go away?” Carver asked, astonished.

  “That’s right,” Gameknight replied. “When I’m done, I’ll meet you at the bridge, so you better be ready.”

  He then turned and walked through the village gates and into the sandy desert.

  “Smithy be crazy, that’s for sure,” one of the villagers said, the rest of them nodding their square heads, many of them repeating the phrase as they started preparations for the battle that was quickly approaching.

  CHAPTER 26

  MEETING OF KINGS

  Herobrine stood at the mouth of the tunnel that yawned open between the peaks of Dragon’s Teeth. He glared down into the darkness, his eyes giving off a harsh, white glare like twin searchlights. Below, huge numbers of monsters milled about, each trying to find room in the cramped chamber so that their feet were not stepped on by another monster’s claws. All of the creatures were incredibly uncomfortable, but that was no concern to Herobrine. The job of these monsters was to obey him, even if it meant their own destruction.

  Now, only a small n
umber of creatures were still trickling into Dragon’s Teeth from the surrounding area. Herobrine had successfully drained the area of monsters, and now the rest of his forces were clustered together in zombie-towns all across the Overworld. Soon, they would arrive, but the monsters would not march to this cavern. No, the Endermen would teleport with them in their arms, bringing the rest of Herobrine’s army to Dragon’s Teeth where they would gather before the final assault on the villagers.

  Without the countless creepers he’d exploded, Herobrine could have never built all of these zombie-towns, and likely the villagers would have figured out what he was doing. Finally, the usefulness of the creepers had been found.

  He stepped into the tunnel and followed the steps that led to the bottom of the passage. It was a steep tunnel, littered with the remains of many zombies and skeletons at the bottom that had not taken care of their footing while they followed the path. Herobrine had no fear of falling, however. If he were to stumble, he could just easily teleport away to a safe location.

  The bottom of the sloping tunnel finally turned until it extended horizontally through the stone. After a dozen blocks, it opened into a massive chamber, its far side now lost in the haze of Minecraft. Streams of lava fell from the ceiling as well as from the walls, lighting the cavern in a warm orange glow. Smoke and ash drifted through the air, creating a gray mist that smelled acrid and luscious.

  The floor of the cavern was pockmarked with craters, leaving very few places where the ground was actually flat and smooth. This was how all the zombie-towns appeared, as the explosive fists of the creepers did an unpredictable job at carving the chamber floor, even though they still opened up a lot of space in a short amount of time.

  Moving to the right side of the zombie-town, he entered a small chamber that had been carved into the wall just for him. Waiting within the alcove were the monster kings and queen: Oxus, Shaikulud, and Erebus. A small pool of lava glowed in the corner, casting long shadows of the trio on the rough-hewn walls. The sparks that danced across the creeper king’s body covered the walls with a flickering light. It created an almost magical atmosphere. That, mixed with the deep purple from Shaikulud’s eight spidery eyes, caused the chamber to be filled with color and light.