Blade of the Sea Book 3: A Children's Survival Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Book

by Jesse Nethermind

  Patrick nodded, about to speak, when—

  “It won’t be a very long-lived partnership,” a voice said.

  They looked around for the source of the voice, and then noticed Sharp snarling and looking up. Above them, the ninja stood at the opening to the pyramid, and at least twenty more had appeared around the edges. They jumped down to surround Trish and her companions.

  “You’re trespassing,” the ninja above said. “Which makes you our prisoners.”

  Chapter 6: Patrick

  Patrick knew they were in real trouble when he saw the blue glimmer of diamond swords that the approaching ninjas held. These weren’t amateurs.

  Like a wave of black, the ninjas charged. Swords were flashing everywhere, but Patrick was mostly focused on getting Trish to the ladder. He knew she was getting better at fighting, but good enough to hold her own against a ninja clan? Unlikely.

  Luckily, Sharp was kicking butt and Veera was every bit the fighter he remembered her to be. She had her dual swords flashing, pushing ninjas back, but both sides were so skilled that neither was able to land a single strike!

  Two ninjas dropped down from the pyramid to land between the ladder and Trish. Patrick had to trust that Veera could handle herself. He dodged a ninja, kicked the guy in the face, then joined Trish so he could attack the two ninjas in her way.

  “Go!” Patrick shouted when they reached the ladder. “I’ll catch up!”

  Trish hesitated, not wanting to leave him but knowing that staying there would not be smart. She ran for the ladder and was half-way up, by the time Patrick caught up. He was fighting off the ninjas and threw one back before noticing that Veera was surrounded.

  “Leaving me again?” she shouted.

  No, he knew he couldn’t. With a shout of rage, he charged through the ninjas, breaking the circle around her. Sharp joined him and bit one in the butt, sending him running off in pain.

  “Get to Trish, hold them off of her!” Patrick said. “GO!”

  Veera didn’t even seem to think about it. She was on the ladder in a flash. She pushed off a ninja who was pursuing Trish, and then the two girls were up the ladder, disappearing into the temple.

  “Wait for Sharp!” Trish yelled, but the ninjas were pushing in, blocking Sharp and Patrick from reaching them.

  Trish’s face appeared back in the opening, and Sharp barked loudly before making a valiant effort, but Veera pulled Trish back.

  Several ninjas charged the ladder, more surrounding Patrick and Sharp. Patrick swung with all his might, trying to connect, but the ninjas moved as fast as he did. While he was almost twice their size, there were too many of them. He tried charging like he’d done to save Veera, but they were too close to him. Two of them leaped onto his back, and he found himself struggling to stay standing.

  With a ferocious growl, Sharp charged one and tackled him, creating a bit of a path between Patrick and the ladder.

  The ninjas were funneling up the ladder, disappearing into the pyramid in pursuit of Trish and Veera. He had to get to them!

  He put one foot in front of the other, moving for the ladder with swings of his sword. If he failed now, who knew what would happen to Trish and Veera, let alone the Blade of the Sea and the fate of the world.

  Aziz had to be here somewhere. They had to find him!

  Then Patrick remembered something he’d picked up from Ebin the Flebin’s stash before, in the darkness below the underwater city when Ebin had dropped some—an ender pearl! He swiped again with his sword, his other hand reaching into his pocket to get the Ender Pearl, and then he threw it at the top of the ladder.

  In a blink of an eye, the Ender Pearl had teleported him to the ladder and he was looking down at several confused ninjas. He reached down and grabbed Sharp mid-leap, and then disappeared up the ladder. As soon as he was in, he spun and kicked the nearby switch. As he’d expected, the switch closed a door in the pyramid and he was cut off from the ninjas below.

  But he couldn’t be sure how many ninjas had already entered the pyramid and were chasing the girls at that moment. All he knew was complete blackness and the sound of Sharp panting. It was as annoying a sound as any, but at the moment he was just glad to have company. He rummaged around and found his last coal and sticks. He had to make some torches—he’d find more coal in a place like this.

  The light of his torch flickered on, and he saw the only way onward was up, but there were three different ladder spots.

  “Come on!” he shouted in frustration.

  Then he noticed a place by one of the ladders where the cobblestone wall had been broken—recently, he guessed. A fight, maybe a stray sword strike as the ninjas pursued his companions? He took that ladder, knowing it had to be the right way.

  “What do you think, boy?” he asked Sharp.

  Sharp looked at him, then wagged his tail twice.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Patrick said. “As long as we’re all honest with each other.”

  With Sharp tucked under his left arm, Patrick used his right used to climb the ladder. He soon found the first room. It was just another chamber, it seemed, but with a line of chests sat against one wall. Patrick approached, considering what sort of treasure these ninjas could be guarding, then froze. Pressure plates around the chests. He knew this tactic well enough from his pirating days—set up the first room as a trap. If anyone was greedy enough to try and steal your treasure, they found themselves blown sky high.

  He wasn’t an amateur, and he was glad to see the girls hadn’t bothered with the chests either. Then again, they were running for their lives, so it wasn’t like they had time for treasure.

  He had to wonder why Veera was really here. Hadn’t she always been a bit of a treasure hunter back in the day? Patrick almost laughed at himself. Of course she had been, and so had he. They had both been pirates, after all.

  Right now, none of that mattered. He just wanted to find them and make sure they were okay. He looked around at the darkness, a fear starting to press down on his chest. Who was he fooling? He was the one alone. Just him and a stupid wolf. He wanted to find them to make sure he’d be okay.

  He continued on, searching the walls until he found a ladder. Again he paused. No pressure plates here, but he had an idea something wasn’t right. He held his torch high to see the room better, then saw it—one of the tapestries had a corner bent as if someone had quickly moved it aside and not smoothed it back over.

  Lifting the tapestry, he saw what he’d expected—a secret chamber. He entered the chamber and started running, sure this was the way they’d gone. But as he ran, he heard a click from the wall behind him. He spun and realized it wasn’t the same wall at all. The chamber was moving somehow, changing on him. Staying put wasn’t the answer, though, so he kept going, a bit more cautious now. Another click, and another, and soon the passage before him was changing—at one minute a left would be a right, at another it would open up to a ladder. A click sounded and the floor in front of him gave way to spikes. He leaped across the spiky gap, then reached out and pulled Sharp across.

  Sharp had apparently not even noticed that the ground seemed to have given way. Now he looked back and wagged his tail, and then nuzzled up against Patrick to say thanks.

  “Cut it out,” Patrick said, but he couldn’t help smiling and even rubbing the wolf behind the ears.

  Deep down in his gut, a horrible feeling began to emerge. Could Trish and Veera have survived this? With all the changes, would he ever find them?

  Wait, what was that? To the side of the wall…a peephole! He approached and looked through, at first only seeing a bright light. His eyes adjusted, allowing him to see a sight that made him clench his fists and want to scream.

  Two forms lay crumbled in the center of the room, a couple of ninjas standing over them.

  Chapter 7: Trish

  The journey through the pyramid had been the scariest thing Trish had ever done. First running through dark passages, nearly blowing up on a ladder,
and then the changing walls. It had been tough, but the worst thing was not knowing if their next step would be their last. All the while, the ninjas had been close behind them. Who knew what had happened to Patrick and Sharp. When the ninjas finally ran into the room, Veera quickly knocked them unconscious. Trish was lucky Veera had been there.

  “Quick, put on their costumes,” Veera said.

  “What? No!”

  “In case more come along, we can hope they’ll pass us right by.”

  Trish stood, amazed. Why hadn’t she thought of that? They hurried and put on the costumes in the darkness. Trish switched her boring stone sword for a diamond one.

  “A bit of an upgrade there,” Veera said approvingly.

  “You don’t want the other?”

  “I’ve grown to love my swords,” Veera said. “Even have names for them.”

  “What, why?”

  “That’s what real warriors do.”

  Trish considered this, then said, “Okay, but what about Patrick and Sharp. They might attack us if they see us dressed like this!”

  “Sharp?” Veera stared, confused for a moment and then got it. “Ah, the dog’s name?”

  “Wolf, dog…Yeah.”

  “Don’t worry about it, we’ll just shout out to them and they’ll know it’s us.”

  “You think so?” Trish picked up the cloth mask, not wanting to wear the same one some nasty underground ninja had been wearing, but seeing she had no choice.

  They stepped back into the light.

  “Of course,” Veera said as she put her mask and outfit on, then helped Trish.

  Veera looked pretty scary in that outfit, especially the way she was staring at Trish.

  “What?” Trish asked. “Why do people keep staring at me today?”

  “I was just thinking…You did it, you took out Carmine?”

  Trish shrugged. “That guy back there helped…And Sharp, of course. But that reminds me, why’re you here? I mean, you said you wanted to avoid PB&J at all costs.”

  “Well this isn’t exactly a pirate ship,” Veera said with a glance around. “Sure, it’s dangerous, but I didn’t plan on getting caught. You and that oaf Patrick ruined that for me.”

  “The Blade of the Sea…” Trish said, watching to see if Veera’s expression changed when she mentioned the blade. “He’s here.”

  “Is he?” Veera’s expression was unreadable with that mask. “Come on, we have to find a way out of here.”

  They started moving, and Trish double stepped to keep up. “So you had no idea?”

  “About the Blade of the Sea being here?”

  “Or that it was a he, because you didn’t seem super surprised, but that’s weird, since you failed to mention that little fact to me before.”

  “Did I?”

  “I’m pretty sure…” They circled the room, finding no way out, then ended up right back at the two ninjas lying on the ground in nothing but their underwear.

  “Well that’s not good,” Veera said. “There has to be a way out of here…but where?”

  “Hold on,” Trish said, wanting more answers. “The Blade…Is it Patrick?”

  “What? No, I mean, that’s not what I heard.” She leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Rumor is, the Blade is another pirate that used to sail with Patrick and me, one named—”

  “Aziz?”

  Veera pulled back, surprise evident in her eyes.

  “Yeah,” Trish continued, “Patrick said so. He’s supposed to have come here, or so he told me.”

  Veera tilted her head, looking at Trish in a different light.

  Suddenly a shout sounded, followed by pounding on the wall. Next they heard barking.

  “Patrick and Sharp!” Trish said, excitedly. “But, where?”

  “There!” Veera said, pointing to the eye holes in the wall.

  They ran over, and sure enough, Trish saw Patrick’s eyes staring at them. Then the walls were moving and she stood back, excited.

  Only, Patrick had his sword drawn, and as soon as the wall moved, he charged! The sword swooshed through the air, narrowly missing Trish, then swiping for Veera. The walls kept moving, some sort of mechanical contraption. As it moved, Trish caught a glimpse of redstone circuitry, and realized that must be how it worked. Sharp came a moment later, leaping up on Veera and snarling.

  “Wait, wait!” Trish tried to yell, but with the barking and Patrick’s shouting, she couldn’t even hear her own voice. Veera tossed Sharp off, but then Patrick turned on Veera.

  “Don’t ever throw my friend’s wolf like that!” he said, then raised his sword.

  “STOP!” Trish said, tearing off her ninja mask. “It’s us!”

  Veera too had seen the redstone, and moved for it with her sword.

  A look of comprehension crossed Patrick’s eyes, and he paused, sword in the air—but Veera had already hit the redstone circuitry, and suddenly the walls made one last move, sliding in front of Patrick again.

  “No!” Trish yelled, running to the wall and banging on it. “Patrick! Sharp!”

  To her joy, the sound of Sharp barking came from behind her—at least she had him back. But when she turned to him, she saw that he wasn’t just barking to say hello. The moving walls had opened up a passageway full of ninjas, all staring at her, ready to attack.

  “It’s okay, I captured her,” Veera said, coming over to put her weapon against Trish’s throat.

  Sharp looked at her, wide eyes full of the same betrayal and confusion that Trish felt.

  The ninjas stepped forward, looking from her to Sharp. It made sense that they’d want to investigate, considering Sharp wasn’t barking at the two, and then their eyes rested on Trish, who only then realized she’d pulled off her mask and not put it back on.

  She gulped. They stared. Then they charged.

  Chapter 8: Patrick

  Patrick stared at the wall as the sound of fighting picked up on the other side. He’d been so close, he’d actually found Trish and Veera…and attacked them!

  He couldn’t understand why they would’ve dressed as ninjas. How was he supposed to have known?

  And now he was alone, without even the wolf. He hadn’t liked Sharp so much at first, but being stuck with him in this upside-down pyramid, the little guy had grown on him. The sound of fighting grew distant, until it was gone and he was left in silence.

  He had to find a way back in. If the walls had moved before, they had to be able to move again. A line of redstone circuitry went along the floor and he followed it to a switch. He hit the switch but nothing happened.

  It must have been because of Veera breaking the circuitry, he realized. If he had the slightest idea how to work with redstone, maybe he could find some and get this going. But that was hopeless. First of all, he was clueless about redstone. Second, Trish, Veera, and Sharp could all be dead by then.

  It was up to him to find another way out of here.

  The walls snaked around into dead ends, but he kept moving, kept searching. Had he passed that wall before? He was pretty sure the answer was yes. He was going in circles!

  Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes to think. The walls had been moving, right? So they couldn’t be totally connected to the ceiling!

  He looked up and, sure enough, there was a small gap between the tops of the walls and the ceiling. His heart leaped with excitement.

  The next step was figuring out how to get up there. He couldn’t risk his sword against the rocks, not with the ninjas around, and he was in too big a hurry to mine by hand. Another idea struck him and he started searching the ground—sure enough, there were several pressure plates down one side passage. This was going to be risky, but he went for it.

  With a tap of his foot on the pressure plate, he jumped back and rolled into a ball for protection. A clang sounded as a series of arrows hit the far wall. Not what he’d hoped for.

  He went for the next pressure plate, steeled his courage, and again pressed his foot to it and leaped bac
kward. This time, he hit the ground just as TNT exploded, sending rock fragments everywhere.

  As he’d hoped, it was a TNT trap. The wall nearby was blown apart. He checked the new passage past the opening in the wall, but again it was a dead end. He groaned and quickly gathered up some blocks.

  As fast as he could move, he placed the rock blocks like stairs and made his way to the top of the wall. When he reached the top, he had to duck to move along the narrow gap, but he could move at a crouch.

  Soon he found the area where he’d fought Trish and Veera, and saw the passageway they must have taken in their escape. He clung to the side of the wall and dropped himself down, then ran after them in pursuit.

  It sure felt good to be free of that endless maze of walls.

  Chapter 9: Trish

  Trish, Veera, and Sharp ran up a stone staircase, torches providing light at intervals along the way. The ninjas couldn’t be too far behind them, so they kept going as fast as they could.

  “Wait, wait,” Veera said, holding her side. “It’s been too long since I did this sort of thing.”

  “You used to run away from ninjas?” Trish asked. “Was this a regular thing?”

  “Yeah…ninjas, knights, a dragon.” Veera leaned against the wall, breathing deep. “Those were the wild days.”

  “Why’d you stop?”

  “Wild days mean risky days, and I saw one too many friends learn that lesson the hard way.”

  Trish nodded, thinking about Patrick. She hoped he was okay.

  “Hear that?” Veera held up a hand for silence, and sure enough, they could hear soft footsteps behind them.

  Veera motioned over to the side of the stone wall, then crouched down. Trish did the same, a hand on Sharp’s back to keep him calm.

  “On my move,” Veera said. Another couple of seconds passed and then she leaped up and shouted, “Now!”

  At that exact moment, the ninjas appeared around the stairs. Veera already had her foot up and was pushing it out for a kick before the ninjas could even register what was happening. Her foot connected with the first one, sending him back to knock over the others and send them tumbling backward down the stairs.