Last Stand on the Ocean Shore

by Mark Cheverton

  He expected to hear the banging of tools, but instead he heard silence. Looking at the surprised faces, Gameknight could see the NPCs and village crafter staring at the letters over his head, then glancing above to look for the server thread that was not there. By the awe on their faces, Gameknight knew that they recognized him as the User-that-is-not-a-user.

  Suddenly, Crafter shot out of the tunnel, followed by Digger and Hunter, with Monet and Stitcher following close behind.

  Before Gameknight could say anything, Crafter sprinted to the village’s crafter and started to explain the situation. As they spoke, Gameknight could see the village crafter continually looking at him, glancing up at the letters that floated above his head.

  While they spoke, Digger took a contingent of workers and started expanding the crafting chamber. If this was going to be the location of the Last Battle, lots more people would be coming here, and this chamber would need to be much, much bigger.

  As Gameknight stood there, more minecarts emerged from the tunnels. Like a well-oiled machine, the villagers hopped off the tracks as soon as their cart stopped and put the minecart into their inventory, making room for the next arrival. Without being told, the NPCs pulled out pickaxes and shovels and went to work on the crafting chamber. But when Smithy arrived, Gameknight999 called the NPC to his side.

  “Smithy, we need more NPCs for the Last Battle,” Gameknight said in a quiet voice.

  Smithy looked at the User-that-is-not-a-user and nodded his head.

  “We can’t do what we did last time, and have Crafter use his powers to call NPCs to this village,” Gameknight explained. “That would tell Herobrine right where we are. Instead, we need to send riders to all the villages and bring them here quickly and quietly.”

  Smithy smiled, then patted his dark apron, causing gray dust to fall to the ground.

  “Smithy knows what to do,” the NPC said.

  He grabbed a handful of villagers who were just arriving and pulled them aside. Explaining what was needed, the NPCs looked at Gameknight and nodded their boxy heads, then disappeared into different tunnels, their minecarts clattering down the tracks at high speed. Turning to give the User-that-is-not-a-user a smile, Smithy also disappeared down one of the tracks.

  “Good … it’s begun … the call for the Last Battle,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said to himself.

  Gameknight looked at the progress that was being made on the crafting chamber. The wall had been moved back by ten blocks and was progressing quickly. A group of diggers was starting to carve tunnels above the level of the minecarts, heading straight into the stone. Gameknight knew that these tunnels would serve as makeshift homes for the many families that would hopefully arrive.

  If Smithy fails on his task and nobody comes to help, we’re doomed, Gameknight thought. He must succeed!

  Images of the Last Battle with only a handful of NPCs on his side started to surface in his mind … images of what might be filled him with fear.

  NO! I won’t focus on the what ifs; I’ll focus only on the NOW!

  Shaking off the thoughts, Gameknight moved to Digger’s side and put a cautious hand on his shoulder, careful to stay far from the huge pickaxe that was tearing through stone as if it were sand.

  “Digger, let’s go up top and look around,” Gameknight said.

  Digger nodded as he put away his pick. He gave instructions to the other workers and followed Gameknight to the stairs that led to the tunnels and the surface.

  “Hunter, Stitcher, Monet … follow us,” Gameknight shouted over the sounds of pickaxes splitting stone.

  Not looking to see if they were following, Gameknight streaked up the steps and through the tunnels that led to the surface. While he waited for his friends in the watchtower, he peered out of the building’s windows. He could see the bright yellow face of the sun just starting to rise in the east, the warm rays of sunlight shining down on the land and lighting it with a golden hue. Seeing the sun made him relax a little.

  He turned and smiled at Digger, who had just emerged from the secret tunnel.

  “I love the sunrise in Minecraft,” Gameknight said. “It looks so much more spectacular from inside the game than on a computer monitor.”

  “I can assure you, NPCs love it as well,” Digger replied. “Nighttime might be monster time, but the daylight belongs to us, and we plan to keep it.” He moved closer to the window and looked up at the sun’s radiant square face. “If Herobrine’s monsters want a fight, I say let them come in the light of day so that the sun can burn them. But, alas, I’m sure we can’t be that lucky.”

  “You’re probably right, Digger,” Gameknight agreed. “You’re probably right.”

  As his friends climbed out of the secret tunnel, Gameknight stepped out of the cobblestone building and into the village. Instantly, he could smell salt in the air; the ocean breeze made everything seem fresh and clean.

  Stepping out into the morning sunlight, he could see the sparkling blue ocean stretching off into the distance. On the other side of the village, a birch forest filled his view, the white bark of the trees standing out against the dark foliage. The village sat on a narrow strip of grasslands, with the ocean on one side and the forest on the other.

  Large fields of crops stood near the center of the village, some filled with tall stalks of wheat, others with boxy melons, while some showed the leafy ends of carrots sticking out of the ground. Every shade of green was visible in the fields, with the beautifully colored striped melon cubes mixing with the bright green of the wheat, creating a visual feast for the eyes. By the look of them, Gameknight could tell that most were ready for harvesting. Good—they’d need the food when more NPCs started to arrive … if they arrived.

  Beyond the fields, Gameknight could see a large pen filled with cows and another pen with pigs, lots of them … likely the recipients of the carrots. The pink animals milled about in the fenced yard, their oinks filling the air, the moos from their neighbors adding to the symphony. It was a beautiful scene to behold, but it made Gameknight sad thinking about what was going to happen here soon.

  And then the pigs reminded the User-that-is-not-a-user of something.

  “Monet, call down for Herder,” Gameknight said over his shoulder.

  He could hear her footsteps shuffling back to the tunnel, then her voice echoing through the stone underground passages. In a minute, Herder was standing at Gameknight’s side.

  Gameknight pointed toward the forest.

  “Herder … we’ll need wolves, lots of them,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “You know why we need them, right?”

  Herder nodded his head.

  “I’m counting on you to be ready when I need them,” Gameknight explained. “Do you understand?”

  “They’ll be ready,” Herder said confidently.

  “Good,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “Monet, go help him collect ’em.”

  “I can do this better on my own,” the lanky youth said, then spun and sprinted toward the forest, his long, stringy black hair bobbing up and down as he ran.

  Pulling a bone from his inventory, Herder shot into the forest and disappeared as he wove his way around the birch trees, looking for his friends.

  “I’ll get to work on the defenses,” Digger said as he turned to start mapping out where he would build the walls and archer towers.

  “No, that’s what Herobrine will expect,” Gameknight said.

  This stopped Digger in his tracks.

  “Is it your thought that no defenses might confuse him?” Hunter asked. “I’m not sure that’s your best plan.”

  “We will have defenses,” Gameknight replied, “but just not what Herobrine will expect.”

  Closing his eyes, he imagined that he was at his keyboard, typing in the chat.

  Shawny, are you there?

  Yep.

  Good, Gameknight said. We need defenses that will surprise Herobrine, something that he won’t expect and cannot see, at least not right away.
You have any ideas?

  I have a few, Shawny said. But how can I build them? It will make all the NPCs stop what they’re doing and freeze up.

  I want to you draw the plans on the ground, so that Digger can see them. Explain them to him, then go away so that he can build them, Gameknight explained. You got it?

  I got it, Shawny answered. Have him meet me by the edge of the forest.

  And then his friend’s voice was gone from his mind.

  “Digger, you and Monet go to the edge of the forest,” Gameknight explained. “My friend Shawny will tell you what you need to do. Listen to him … he’s an expert at strategy. He can help us.

  “Monet, I need you to help Digger. You can ask questions if you think something isn’t clear … he won’t be able to. This is important—I’m relying on you to get this done. Can you do it?”

  “I’m all over it,” Monet113 said with a smile.

  She followed Digger, who was already heading for the forest. When they reached the tree line, Gameknight could see Shawny suddenly appear. Digger instantly went rigid and linked his hands across his chest, but his head followed Shawny as he spoke. Pulling out his own diamond sword, Shawny started sketching something on the ground; Digger looked down at the drawing intently. As Shawny explained, Gameknight could see Monet interrupt to ask questions, then nod her head, allowing Shawny to finish.

  “What about us?” Hunter asked, Stitcher standing impatiently at her side.

  “Let’s go down to the ocean,” Gameknight said. “I want to look for that Ocean Monument.”

  The trio sprinted down to the waterline, then placed boats in the water and got in.

  “Which way?” Stitcher asked.

  “Maybe we should separate?” Hunter suggested.

  “No, we need to stay together,” Gameknight said. “Follow me.”

  Moving his boat off to the left, the User-that-is-not-a-user peered into the cool blue water. As his boat glided across the surface, Gameknight could hear the music of Minecraft playing in the back of his head, but it was getting fainter and fainter. Turning his boat to the right, he found the music growing in volume, filling his mind with its melodious tones. The farther they moved to the right, the louder the music became.

  You’re helping us, aren’t you, Oracle? he thought, but he received no reply in return.

  “There … you see that?” Stitcher yelled.

  “What?” Gameknight asked.

  “I saw a squid suddenly flash red, as if it were being attacked,” Stitcher explained. “It flashed red once, then again, then just disappeared. Look, there, I can see its ink sack.”

  Gameknight steered his boat where Stitcher was pointing. Peering down into the dark waters, he could see a black ink sack slowly settling down into the depths. The ocean was deep here, and getting down there and back up to get air was going to be difficult.

  Just then, one of the puzzle pieces fell into place; an image of a door filled his mind … yes, of course.

  Suddenly, pain erupted throughout his body, a strange buzzing sound filling his ears.

  “Look out,” Hunter yelled as she stood up in her boat and fired arrows into the ocean.

  The pain slowly faded away.

  “What was that?” Gameknight said.

  “I don’t know,” Hunter answered. “All I saw was one giant eye staring up at you. It looked like it was shooting something at you, with rays of light coming from the center of that eye.”

  “It must have been one of the guardians,” Gameknight said. “I think we’ll have to—”

  Suddenly, Stitcher cried out in pain.

  Turning, Gameknight could see a shaft of golden, searing light shooting up out of the ocean and striking Stitcher in the shoulder. He steered his boat over to her, moving his craft so that he could block the beam with his body. Instantly, Gameknight999 was filled with agonizing pain as the beam of light struck him in the chest. Gameknight was almost doubled over in pain, but he was able to steer his boat away from the monster and head back to the village. As he moved his craft across the calm water, he looked back and saw a blue crystalline structure in the watery depths, its tall pillars and graceful arches lit up by strange white cubes of light.

  “Thanks,” Stitcher said.

  Gameknight smiled.

  “I saw the thing,” Stitcher continued. “It has just one huge eye, and orange spines all over its body … big spines, like the kind that could go right through armor. It was terrible.”

  “Well, we knew we weren’t expecting teddy bears,” Gameknight said.

  “What?” Stitcher asked. “Teddy bears? What are teddy bears?”

  “Never mind,” Gameknight replied. “At least we know our destination now. That building down there was the Ocean Monument, and that’s our next objective.”

  “This sounds like a really great idea,” Hunter said mockingly, with a nervous smile. “Crazed one-eyed spiny fish with deadly vision and needle-sharp spikes guarding an ancient building at the bottom of the ocean … this might be one of your best ideas yet!”

  “Yeah … I’m scared, too,” he replied as he looked back at the underwater structure.

  I know what’s waiting for me inside the Monument … another monster. I don’t know how I’m going to do this without seeing all my friends destroyed.

  As Gameknight landed his boat on the ocean shore, he tried to imagine destroying the creature that lay waiting for him in that underground temple. But all he could see in his mind was the monster that waited in the depths—a huge beast with long purple spikes and a single hateful eye. Instead of visualizing the monster’s destruction, he could see only a shaft of intense light blasting him from that angry eye and filling his body with pain … and fear.

  CHAPTER 18

  DOORS

  Running back to the village, Gameknight knew what he needed in order to go back to the Ocean Monument: doors … they needed lots of doors. But, first, they needed more doors in the village, for one of the pieces of the puzzle was still missing. Running a circuitous path around the buildings, Gameknight counted the number of doors … sixteen … not enough.

  “Stitcher, go down and tell the crafters that I need doors, lots of doors,” Gameknight said. “We need as many as they can make.”

  “Doors … why?”

  “No time to explain,” Gameknight replied. “Just trust me.”

  Nodding her head, the young girl spun and headed back to the crafting chamber.

  “Hunter, follow me.”

  Without waiting for her to answer, Gameknight headed for the forest. He could still see Shawny talking with Digger at the far end of the village, so he headed in the opposite direction so that Hunter would not seize up and stop helping. When he reached the tree line, the User-that-is-not-a-user pulled out his axe and started cutting down the trees.

  “Get wood, as much as you can,” Gameknight said as he hacked at a huge birch tree.

  The pair cut down tree after tree, putting the blocks of wood into their inventory until they had twenty blocks each.

  “That should be enough,” Gameknight said. “Follow me.”

  “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” Hunter asked, her voice sounding frustrated.

  “No,” Gameknight replied, then smiled at his friend.

  They headed back to the village, quickly changing the blocks of wood into planks.

  “Make a crafting bench, then start crafting doors out of the wooden planks,” Gameknight instructed.

  In the distance, he could see that Shawny had disappeared and Digger had his hands separated again. He and Monet were looking at the diagram that had been drawn on the ground. Carefully, they pulled out their own swords and started to scratch their own lines around the village, marking where Shawny’s contraptions would be built.

  Focusing on his own task, Gameknight made a crafting bench using four planks and placed it on the ground. Then, using more wood, he started to craft as many doors as he could with the planks that he still hand in h
is inventory. In total, he was able to make thirty-six doors from his twenty blocks of wood.

  “That will be enough for now,” Gameknight said. “Come on.”

  “Any time you want to clue me in on what you’re doing, it would be great,” Hunter said.

  “Well, it’s kinda fun seeing you confused,” Gameknight said. “But I’m trying to get an iron golem to spawn here in this village.”

  “We could just craft one,” Hunter insisted.

  “I don’t think it’s the same,” Gameknight replied. “You ever wonder where the golems come from when they spawn in a village?”

  “Of course not. Why do I care where they come from?”

  “Well, I think this time it matters,” Gameknight said. “Come on, start placing your doors on the ground.”

  They placed about ten doors on the ground, then stepped back and waited.

  “Why is nothing happening?” Gameknight asked. “All you need is twenty-one doors and then an iron golem should spawn. One should have spawned by now.”

  “No it shouldn’t have,” Hunter stated with an exasperated sigh. “Users know nothing.”

  “What do you mean?” Gameknight asked.

  Hunter ignored his question and ran to the watchtower, Gameknight following close behind.

  “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing?” the User-that-is-not-a-user asked.

  She stopped and gave him a smile.

  “No,” Hunter answered, then continued into the watchtower.

  She burst through the door and started down the secret tunnel that lead to the crafting chamber, but suddenly stopped and looked up at Gameknight999 from the hidden ladder.