Last Stand on the Ocean Shore

by Mark Cheverton

  “You don’t know the meaning of the word,” the Oracle spat, then lifted her cane and threw it aside.

  “What are you doing?” Herobrine asked, confusion showing on his face.

  The Oracle then smiled and closed her eyes, linking her arms across her chest.

  “What are you doing?”

  She said nothing … just smiled.

  Herobrine could hear the music of Minecraft growing louder, building to a crescendo. He looked about the room nervously, unsure what was happening, then turned back to his prey. Gripping his sword firmly, he raised it high over his head. Taking one last step forward, he swung his weapon down upon the Oracle. But just as the razor-sharp blade was about to reach her gray hair, she vanished, Herobrine’s sword slicing harmlessly through thin air.

  Turning quickly, Herobrine scanned the room. What happened? Had she teleported somehow? He didn’t think that she possessed any such powers. As he stood there at a loss for words, the torches mounted on the walls slowly started to extinguish, as if some invisible giant were pinching them between massive transparent fingers. One after another, flames flickered, then died out until the room was bathed in darkness.

  Gathering his own teleportation powers, Herobrine disappeared and reappeared on the cliff that overlooked the scene, a gigantic crater now carved into the ground where the majestic temple had once stood. Spinning around, he looked for the Oracle, but she was nowhere to be found. The only hint that something monumental had just occurred came from the music of Minecraft. It had been building, growing louder and louder, but now he realized it was gradually decreasing in volume, almost back to normal, clinking lightly in the background.

  With his glowing eyes darting left and right, Herobrine smiled.

  “I must have done it… . I did it! I destroyed the Oracle!” he exclaimed to himself. “YOU HEAR THAT, GAMEKNIGHT999 … I DESTROYED THE OLD HAG, AND NOW I’M COMING FOR YOU!”

  He disappeared, then reappeared on the shore of the ocean.

  “And this time, User-that-is-not-a-user, I will have a little surprise for you.”

  And as Herobrine cackled another of his evil, hateful laughs, he disappeared, leaving behind a smoking, cratered scar in the flesh of Minecraft.

  CHAPTER 2

  MILKY’S LAND

  The collection of boats sailed across the featureless ocean for days. The NPCs had been able to fight off the huge army of spiders back at the jungle temple, with the pitched battle ending when Gameknight999 destroyed the spider queen. But the battle had been close and could have easily gone the other way. With another army of creepers and zombies barreling down on them, a little gift from Herobrine, they were given no choice but to turn and run.

  Using boats provided by Gameknight’s user-friend, Shawny, they escaped Herobrine’s trap by sailing into the unknown; however, many were beginning to question this decision. With no sign of land for days now and their food supplies slowly getting depleted, many of the NPCs were whispering fears that they may never find dry land again. Gameknight could see some of the NPCs with fishing poles out, but the looks of discouragement on their blocky faces told him that few fish were being caught. If they didn’t find land soon, they would be in trouble.

  On his right, Gameknight could see a collection of squid swimming nearby, their bright red mouths, ringed with sharp white teeth, standing out against the soft blue of the ocean. He always found these creatures interesting. Their toothy mouths always seemed so menacing, especially now that he was within the game; the razor-sharp teeth looked as if they could tear an NPC to shreds in seconds. Yet they were completely harmless; their ink sacks were used as a black dye when crafting. The boxy creatures moved with a peaceful grace through the waters, their long, rectangular tentacles dragging lazily behind; they meant no harm to any creature.

  Gameknight999 envied these squid.

  Glancing to his left, he found Digger in his own boat moving steadily forward with the flow of wooden vessels. The big NPC turned and looked at Gameknight, his light brown hair glowing in the light of the rising sun just emerging from behind the endless blue horizon, his gray eyes, as always, glowing with hope. Next to him rowed Stonecutter. The stocky NPC moved his boat effortlessly as he scanned the ocean for threats. He was always on watch for monsters.

  “I love the colors of sunrise,” a voice said to his right.

  Gameknight turned and found Monet113, his sister, rowing next to him in her own boat. She was still wearing her iron armor, but had removed her helmet. Bright blue hair streamed down her back, emphasizing her obsession with color and art.

  “Me, too,” Digger said. “I don’t mind saying, even out here, I still feel better when the sun rises.”

  “Yeah,” Gameknight999 answered, “it’s been nice not having monsters spawn out here in the ocean. A few days without fighting was just what everyone needed.”

  The big NPC nodded his head, then moved his boat so that it was right next to Gameknight’s, leaving Stonecutter alone.

  “You have any idea what we need to do once we find land?” Digger asked.

  Gameknight shrugged his square shoulders.

  “Not really,” he answered in a low voice. “All I know for sure is that we need to find a village with some food and start recruiting more NPCs. I suspect that Herobrine will be furious when he learns that we escaped his trap back there. He’ll likely throw everything he has at us when he finds us again. All the battles that we’ve faced so far will be nothing compared to the wrath that Herobrine will call down upon us.” Gameknight then leaned a little closer to the big NPC and lowered his voice. “I have a feeling that the Last Battle for Minecraft was not what we fought on the steps of the Source, facing Erebus and the monsters of the Overworld and the Nether. The Last Battle will be the conflict that is waiting for us on the horizon, somewhere out there … and we have to be ready.”

  “Maybe we could get Shawny to bring some of the users to help us,” Monet said.

  Gameknight shook his head.

  “The ruling from the Council of Crafters is still in effect,” Gameknight replied. “If the users appeared, and the NPCs kept using their hands and weapons, they’d be kicked out of their village … and you know what that means.”

  “They would become the Lost … an NPC without a village,” Digger said in a low voice, the words sounding like poison on his tongue. “They’d be forced to roam the Overworld without a community or friends or anything … completely alone.”

  “You know how long a villager would survive in Minecraft on their own, Monet?” Gameknight asked.

  “Not long,” Digger said.

  The User-that-is-not-a-user nodded his head.

  “So, we’re on our own?” she asked.

  Gameknight and Digger both nodded their square heads.

  “If a villager kept fighting after the users arrived, they’d be sacrificing everything,” Gameknight said. “I can’t ask anyone to do that. We have to figure out how to defeat Herobrine without the users.”

  “Well, you should know; everyone has confidence in you to see us through this and defeat Herobrine,” Digger added.

  I wish I could feel some of that confidence in myself, Gameknight thought. I don’t know what I’m doing. All these NPCs think I’m some kind of great hero, but I’m really a fake, just trying to get by without anyone knowing that I’m clueless.

  He reached into his inventory and pulled out the spotted pink egg, the weapon that would destroy Herobrine, according to the Oracle. Rolling it between his stubby hands, he looked at the surface, trying to figure out what it was … but it was a complete mystery.

  What am I going to do with this thing?

  Thinking back, Gameknight could remember his last conversation with the old woman. She had said, “Look to the lowliest and most insignificant of creatures, for that is where your salvation will lie.”

  What did she mean? It must be important.

  He shuddered as waves of doubt crashed through his mind.

  �
�You have any idea what you’re going to do with that thing?” Monet asked.

  Gameknight shrugged.

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out; just don’t sweat it,” she advised. “When it’s time, you’ll know what to do, so don’t worry.”

  “That’s fine for you, Monet, but I don’t work that way,” Gameknight said. “I can’t just wait for it to happen. There needs to be a plan and preparations, for many lives are relying on me to do the right thing. I can’t be like you and just act first, think later … that’s not the way I work.” He looked away from his sister and stared at the rising sun. The blushing sky had now changed to a deep blue, making it hard to see where it ended and the sea began. “Jenny … what if I can’t figure it out?” he whispered. “What if I’m not smart enough?”

  “What?” she snapped. “Did you say ‘what if’?”

  Gameknight looked down at the bottom of his boat.

  “You know what Dad would say about that, don’t you, Tommy?”

  He nodded.

  “Yeah … he’d say don’t focus on the what ifs; focus on the now,” Gameknight recited as if he’d heard this from their father a thousand times. He leaned closer to his sister. “I wish he were here now instead of on the road. We could use his help … with the digitizer … with Herobrine. I bet he’d know what to do if he were home. But he never is, and he has me do his work for him when he’s gone … which is always!”

  Gameknight’s dad was always on the road, trying to sell his inventions, and because of that Gameknight had gotten stuck in Minecraft. When his dad was gone, it was Gameknight’s responsibility to take care of his sister and keep her out of trouble. But none of them expected his sister, Jenny, to use the digitizer and go into Minecraft. Her act first, think second nature put her in trouble all the time, and it seemed that it was always Gameknight’s job to fix the situation.

  Driving the thoughts of uncertainty and fear from his mind, Gameknight looked at the collection of boats that bobbed about near him. In the distance, he could see a sparkling missile streak up into the sky, then explode in a shower of color—one of Crafter’s fireworks. The wise NPC was using them to keep all the boats together, which proved successful through the long nights, but Gameknight was sure that the supply of fireworks must be getting low. Just as he was going to ask Digger about it, he heard Crafter’s young voice cry out over the sounds of the ocean.

  “I see land!” Crafter yelled. “LAND!”

  A cheer erupted from the collection of NPCs, Digger’s own exclamations booming across the watery landscape and filling Gameknight’s ears. With renewed hope, the villagers drove their individual boats as hard as they could, heading for the salvation that was just starting to peak its earthen head above the horizon.

  After a few minutes, Gameknight could see the new land … but it was not what he expected. He could see tall red mushrooms standing like silent guardians across the landscape, their crimson sides spotted with small white squares. Intermixed were flat-topped brown mushrooms, their stalks bone-white. The ground itself was a mixture of muted purples and pinks that gave the landscape an almost alien appearance. Gameknight grew excited as he realized that they were approaching a mushroom biome. He’d never been in one of these before, but he had read about them online and watched multiple videos on YouTube.

  As Gameknight grounded his boat and climbed out, he could hear the mooing of cattle. Running up a gentle rise, he was greeted by a massive herd of mooshrooms, red and white spotted cows with mushrooms growing out of their heads and backs. Their bright red skin stood out in stark contrast against the lavender mycelium blocks that covered the ground. As Gameknight surveyed the landscape, he could see his sister already standing atop one of the flat mushrooms, her eyes wide. He walked over.

  “You like this?” Gameknight asked.

  She nodded, then looked down and gave him a wide grin.

  “The colors are fantastic,” she said. “The blocks that make up the landscape …”

  “They’re called mycelium,” he said.

  “Right, mycelium; they’re wonderful. I can count at least six different colors across their tops. And there are tiny spores coming out of them, as if the land itself is trying to grow more mushrooms,” Monet said in an almost dreamlike voice. “And the cows—”

  “They’re called mooshrooms.”

  She laughed when she got the joke.

  “But no time for sightseeing right now, Monet; we have work to do.”

  She looked down at her brother and sighed, then moved down the makeshift steps of dirt that she had made to get onto the mushroom’s dome. Gameknight and Monet headed out in search of Crafter. Monet spotted the young NPC first, his black smock standing out against the mauve background. Crafter had his axe out and was heading toward the tall white stalk of a massive flat-topped brown mushroom, the plant standing probably ten blocks high.

  Gameknight started to speak: “Crafter, we need to—”

  “We need to start harvesting the mushrooms,” the young NPC said.

  “Right,” Gameknight answered, then turned to his sister. “Monet, start getting bowls from anyone who has one. These mushrooms can be used to craft a stew. It takes a brown mushroom and a red mushroom, and of course a wooden bowl. Gather as many bowls as possible so that we can get everyone fed.”

  He then scanned the sea of faces around him, looking for a specific NPC.

  “Herder!” Gameknight shouted.

  “Over here!”

  Gameknight turned and saw a tall, skinny boy with long black hair waving at him. He was wearing a smock the color of brown leather, a stripe of white running down the center. The boy ran toward the voice of his idol, the User-that-is-not-a-user, a huge smile on his square face.

  “I’m here … I’m here,” the youth said excitedly as he stopped directly in front of Gameknight999.

  “Yes, I can see that,” Gameknight answered. “You’re almost standing on my feet.”

  “Oh, sorry,” Herder said and took a step back. “What can I do to help?”

  “The mooshrooms,” Gameknight said.

  Herder looked at him confused, then glanced at the red and white creatures.

  “I want you to shear them,” Gameknight explained. “You can collect the mushrooms; then they’ll turn into regular cows. After the shearing, I want you to collect as many as you can. We need a new herd, and everyone knows that herding animals is your job.”

  “But I don’t have any wolves to help,” the lanky boy complained.

  “Then get some warriors to help. We will need food for later.”

  Herder cringed when Gameknight mentioned the idea of killing the animals. He knew that this was difficult for Herder, but they both knew the realities of Minecraft. If you ran out of food, you didn’t last long.

  “I’m relying on you to get this done. Can I count on you?”

  Herder looked up at Gameknight and nodded his boxy head, proud that he’d been asked by the User-that-is-not-a-user to do this important task. The boy streaked off with a set of silver shears in his hands. Gameknight gestured for a group of warriors to help Herder. The warriors stopped digging up mushrooms and ran off toward Herder, shouting, “Wolfman! Wolfman!”

  Gameknight smiled.

  There was been a time when Herder had been a target of ridicule and bullying. His differences had attracted sarcastic and hurtful gibes, with mean-spirited pranks being played on him at nearly every opportunity. His nickname used to be Pigboy because of his work with the animals. The name was meant to hurt, not honor. But the young boy had showed his true courage and strength at the battle for the Source, bringing a giant pack of wolves to push back the monster horde and save hundreds of lives. Now, instead of Pigboy, he was Wolfman, a name given out of respect, his unique strength finally recognized by all. Gameknight was proud of the lanky boy and smiled as he ran off.

  Turning back, the User-that-is-not-a-user scanned the landscape. Every NPC was digging up mushrooms, stuffing the small red and bro
wn fungi into their inventory. Some of the NPCs were already starting to make mushroom stew, sipping down the pale liquid, then handing the wooden bowl to the next villager. Gameknight could see Digger standing atop a tall hill, surveying the landscape. Grabbing a bowl of mushroom stew, Gameknight climbed up the block incline until he was at the big NPC’s side.

  “Digger … here,” Gameknight said as he extended the bowl.

  Reaching out with big muscular arms, Digger accepted the proffered bowl and drank down the stew, then handed back the empty dish.

  “Thank you,” Digger said in a low voice.

  Gameknight nodded, then stood at his side, facing away from the sea. From this height, they could see that the mushroom land was a large island, with only a narrow strip of water separating it from the mainland. In the distance, they could see the land that waited for them: desert. Hot, dry desert.

  “There will be little food out there,” Digger said without looking at his friend. “We’ll need to take every mushroom we can carry.”

  “Crafter has everyone harvesting them as we speak.”

  Digger grunted.

  “Any idea which way we need to go?” Digger asked.

  Gameknight shook his head.

  “I figure we keep heading east,” the User-that-is-not-a-user answered. “The farther we get from Herobrine, the better. But if we don’t find a village soon, we’re in trouble. These mushrooms aren’t going to last very long.”

  “We’ll need to figure out a strategy when we get to that desert,” Digger said. “There weren’t any monsters on the ocean, and there are never hostile mobs on mushroom islands, so everyone has been spoiled. But we need to remind everyone that there is still a war going on.”

  “I’m sure the spiders out there in that desert will remind everyone pretty quickly,” Gameknight added.

  “I hope not,” Digger answered as he pulled out his iron pickaxe and headed down the hill to start collecting his warriors.