The Nether Attack

by Winter Morgan

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp, Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark, or copyrights.

  Copyright © 2015 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

  Minecraft® is a registered trademark of Notch Development AB

  The Minecraft game is copyright © Mojang AB

  This book is not authorized or sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Mojang AB, Notch Development AB or Scholastic Inc., or any other person or entity owning or controlling rights in the Minecraft name, trademark or copyrights.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover photo credit Megan Miller

  Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-539-0

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63450-954-1

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: A Treasure Hunt

  Chapter 2: Skeleton Attack

  Chapter 3: The Only Escape

  Chapter 4: Small Mistake, Big Problem

  Chapter 5: You Don’t Belong Here

  Chapter 6: Climbing Mountains

  Chapter 7: Cold Front

  Chapter 8: Our Town

  Chapter 9: Dodging Blasts

  Chapter 10: Treasure or Trap?

  Chapter 11: Reunited

  Chapter 12: Distractions in the Desert

  Chapter 13: Rainbow Lava

  Chapter 14: Ghastly Creepers

  Chapter 15: Time-Out

  Chapter 16: Old Ideas

  Chapter 17: Sharing

  Chapter 18: Great Finds, Great Friends

  1

  A TREASURE HUNT

  Violet and Noah were talking to their friends Trent and Will, who were visiting the town. They were filled with new stories about their latest treasure-hunting adventure beneath the ocean.

  “Tell us about the elder guardian!” Violet was always happy to hear about the duo’s adventures. She often daydreamed about going on a treasure hunt.

  “The elder guardian is scary. He has a large eye that follows you.” Trent’s eyes opened wide as he talked about the menacing fish.

  Will added, “The eye can see you at all times. Even if you use the potion of invisibility, the elder guardian’s eye can still see you.”

  “Wow! How did you escape?” asked Noah.

  “It wasn’t easy. At one point I was struck by its laser and got Mining Fatigue,” admitted Trent.

  “I was pierced by the elder guardian’s thorns.” Will shuddered as he said those words. The memory of the elder guardian’s attack was still fresh in his mind.

  “Why do you put yourself in those types of situations?” asked Noah. “It sounds very dangerous.”

  “It’s also a lot of fun!” replied Trent.

  “And we finally found the treasure room in the ocean monument,” said Will.

  “Really? What did you find?” asked Violet.

  Will was excited to tell them about the loot they had discovered. “We found a room filled with gold bars.”

  “Gold is very valuable,” remarked Noah.

  “The best part is when we got to the shore and found an abandoned mine. We went mining and discovered twenty diamonds!” exclaimed Will.

  “What are you going to do with all of those diamonds?” asked Noah.

  “We don’t have that many,” confessed Trent. “We had to share them. We were on the treasure hunt with our friends Henry, Max, and Lucy.”

  “Where are they now?” asked Violet.

  “They went to visit their friend Steve who lives on a wheat farm. They’re taking a break from treasure hunting.”

  “Taking a break?” Violet said aloud. “So, you have nobody to join you on your next trip?”

  “Trent and I were just planning to go together. We usually meet people on the way,” replied Will.

  Violet wasn’t looking for any trouble when she suggested, “Maybe Noah and I could go with you on your next adventure.”

  “Really?” Will was shocked, but thrilled. “That would be fantastic!”

  Noah looked at Violet. “But we can’t leave our village. We need to keep a watch for Daniel and his band of evil rainbow griefers.”

  “Noah, we haven’t been attacked by Daniel in ages. The last time he tried to attack us was at the grand opening of the amusement park, Supersonic. I think it’s safe for us to leave town.”

  “I’m worried because Daniel hasn’t attacked us in a long time. I suspect he must be staging something very large. This isn’t a good time to leave.” Noah didn’t want to go on a treasure hunt. He wasn’t a fan of exploring the Overworld. He’d rather stay in the village and help Violet with her building projects.

  “Noah,” said Violet, “we don’t have to go on a long trip. We can take a quick one.”

  “I’d rather not,” replied Noah.

  “That’s okay,” Violet said. “I’ll just go by myself with Trent and Will.”

  “Fantastic!” Will was excited that Violet was going to join them on their next adventure.

  “We heard about a treasure in a Nether fortress,” Trent told Violet as he glanced at Noah. “Do you want to help us search for the treasure?”

  Suddenly, Violet began to have doubts. She remembered her last trip to the Nether. It was an ominous place with flying mobs that shot fireballs at her. “Umm, m-maybe,” she stuttered.

  Noah looked at Violet and noticed she seemed afraid.

  Violet was surprised when Noah said, “Yes, we would. I think this would be a great adventure for us both.”

  Violet had to admit she was happy Noah was joining them. She was glad there would be four of them on this treasure hunt through the lava-filled landscape of the Nether.

  “Great,” Trent said. “I’m going to craft a portal.”

  “Right now?” Violet asked. She thought they’d have more time to prepare.

  “Yes, I think we should leave as soon as we can. You never know who might be searching for the same treasure,” Trent told them.

  “But it’s getting dark.” Violet looked up at the sky. Night was approaching, and she wanted to head back to the tree house.

  “There is no day or night in the Nether. This is the perfect time to travel there,” said Will.

  “Okay,” Violet agreed, “but I think I should let Hannah and Ben know that Noah and I are leaving. They will be worried if they can’t find us.”

  Noah added, “And we should ask them to keep a watch over the town. You never know when Daniel might attack us again.”

  “That’s fine,” said Trent. “We can build the portal in front of Hannah and Ben’s house.”

  Noah suggested they head over there immediately. “We have to get there fast because it’s getting dark and we don’t want to battle hostile mobs. We need to save all of our energy for o
ur trip to the Nether.”

  The gang walked toward Hannah and Ben’s house. When they reached the yard, they saw Ben picking some carrots.

  “Hi, I was just getting some food for breakfast,” Ben said.

  “Hey! We wanted you to know that we’re going on a treasure hunt with Trent and Will.” Violet was so excited that she spoke her sentence in one breath.

  “How exciting!” Hannah called out. She was standing in the entrance to the house.

  Ben assured them, “We’ll keep an eye on the town while you’re away.”

  “Yes, please watch out for Daniel,” said Noah.

  Suddenly the night grew darker and then Hannah screamed, “Ouch!”

  An arrow struck her chest.

  “Oh no!” Violet spotted a cluster of skeletons in the distance.

  The gang put on their armor and took out their weapons. Noah shot an arrow at the skeletons.

  “I’ll make the portal while you battle the skeletons,” Will said.

  “But we can’t leave Hannah and Ben to fight alone!” Violet was upset.

  “She’s right,” Trent said, and he aimed his bow and arrow at the skeletons.

  Two skeletons approached the house. Hannah threw a splash potion on them, instantly destroying the bony beasts.

  Noah shot an arrow at a skeleton and obliterated it. “Only one more to destroy and then we’ve destroyed them all.”

  Ben defeated the final skeleton.

  “Hannah and Ben should join us on the treasure hunt,” Violet suggested.

  “Let’s do it!” Hannah said to Ben. “It sounds like fun.”

  “But who will watch over the town?” asked Ben.

  “We won’t be gone for too long,” said Violet. “And the townspeople are strong. They’re warriors, too.”

  Will crafted the portal. A purple mist permeated the air. Trent, Violet, Noah, Hannah, and Ben hopped onto the portal to begin their adventure in the Nether.

  2

  SKELETON ATTACK

  The group emerged in the Nether. Within seconds of entering the red landscape, a ghast shot a fireball at them.

  “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” said Violet, as she dodged the flames.

  Noah took a snowball out of his inventory and threw it at the ghast, obliterating the fiery beast.

  “Do you know where the Nether fortress is located?” Noah asked Trent and Will.

  “Yes, we were told it’s near the epic lava waterfall,” replied Will.

  “Where’s that?” asked Noah.

  “It’s … umm …” Will didn’t have an answer.

  “It’s not too far away,” said Trent.

  “You guys don’t know where it is, do you?” Violet was annoyed.

  “We sort of have an idea of where it is.” Trent looked at the netherrack ground.

  “Let’s not argue over this.” Ben was ready for an adventure, and he knew getting lost could be fun, even if they were lost in the Nether.

  “Watch out!” Hannah shouted as another white ghast flew through the air.

  Again, Noah grabbed a snowball from his inventory and aimed for the ghast, striking it before the evil creature could fire at them.

  “Good job,” said Ben.

  Violet looked at the lava stream that flowed past them. “Do you think this stream leads to a waterfall?” she asked.

  “Let’s follow it and see,” replied Ben. The gang began to walk alongside the stream. They kept a close watch for ghasts and other hostile mobs that spawned in the Nether.

  “Ouch!” Hannah was shocked when an arrow punctured her arm. “What is this?”

  “It must be griefers!” Ben looked for Daniel’s signature rainbow army, but there weren’t any colorful creepers in sight.

  “Oh no!” Hannah’s mouth opened in surprise “How could this be?”

  Just then, a horde of skeletons approached the gang. The aggravated skeletons shot arrows and a few struck Noah.

  “I need some milk or a potion of healing,” Noah requested. “I’m all out. Anyone have some? My health bar is diminishing.”

  Hannah offered Noah a potion of healing. “Take this,” she said.

  Noah drank it and thanked his friend. He then mustered up enough energy to shoot another arrow at a skeleton, destroying it.

  Hannah dashed over to the skeleton’s dropped bone and handed it to Noah.

  Noah placed the bone in his inventory and asked the group, “Do you think the skeletons followed us through the portal?”

  “I think you’re right. They must have followed us. We have to break the portal!” Hannah screamed as a group of zombies lumbered toward them, behind the bony skeletons.

  “This means we’re going to have to battle the hostile mobs of the Nether and of the Overworld.” Hannah’s heart began to race as she spoke those words.

  The gang went into overdrive while they battled the skeletons and zombies that were lurking in the Nether. Arrows flew through the air. Noah took out his enchanted diamond sword and, weaving his way through the group of skeletons, he rushed toward the zombies.

  The zombies outnumbered the skeletons and both hostile mobs outnumbered the friends from the Overworld.

  “How are we going to survive?” Violet questioned as she struck a skeleton.

  “I don’t know, but I think we may have some help.” Hannah pointed at three creepers that lurked behind a crowd of skeletons.

  “That’s not help. They’re creepers! They are harmful to us.” Violet was perplexed at Hannah’s reaction to the creepers.

  The skeletons struck the creepers with their arrows and destroyed them. The creepers dropped gunpowder and discs.

  “I want to grab one of those discs. They have great songs!” exclaimed Ben. He had always wanted a disc that was created when a skeleton destroyed a creeper, but Hannah warned him that it was too dangerous to collect it now. If he did pick one up, a skeleton could destroy him.

  “Do you think Daniel tampered with the portal?” asked Violet.

  “Is that even possible?” asked Hannah.

  “How would Daniel know we were traveling to the Nether?” Ben wasn’t convinced this was one of Daniel’s schemes to destroy them. Maybe they weren’t paying enough attention to who followed them through the portal. Also, when a portal is made in the middle of the night, there’s always a possibility for hostile mobs to hitch a ride.

  “Do you want me to break the portal?” Will asked his friends, as he shot arrows at the skeletons and zombies.

  “Yes,” Trent replied. He was worried more hostile mobs would emerge unless the portal was destroyed.

  Will sprang into action. When he reached the portal, he attempted to break it but another hostile mob came after him.

  “Help!” Will’s voice was loud and shaky. He was very nervous.

  “What’s wrong?” Hannah asked, as she hurried to Will’s side.

  Two spider jockeys unleashed a flood of arrows at Will and Hannah. She had her answer. There was something wrong—something terribly wrong.

  3

  THE ONLY ESCAPE

  As Hannah dodged arrows, Will struck the skeleton riding a black spider with menacing red eyes.

  “We can’t do this alone!” Will shouted.

  “The others are too busy to help,” Hannah said, as her arrow hit the skeleton and it was destroyed.

  “Good job!” exclaimed Ben. “I’ll get the spider. You fight the other spider jockey.”

  “You’re giving me all the hard work,” Hannah pointed out. She continued to battle the spider jockey, but it wasn’t easy. Her health bar was diminishing rapidly.

  Will destroyed the spider. “Don’t worry, Hannah. I can help you.”

  “Great, but I see two Endermen walking in the distance,” Hannah informed her friend as she struck another skeleton with an arrow.

  “Don’t stare at the Endermen!” warned Will.

  “You don’t have to tell me that.” Hannah was annoyed. “I know it’s foolish to stare at the End
ermen.”

  Hannah and Will were weak, but they were still able to defeat the final spider jockey.

  “We need to help the others now,” Will said.

  Hannah took a potion out of her inventory. “Take this first,” she said and handed the potion to Will.

  “Thanks,” Will replied as he gulped it down.

  Hannah sipped the potion too. As she placed it back in her inventory, an Enderman shrieked and teleported in front of her. Hannah was shocked and said in amazement, “I didn’t even stare at the Enderman. This doesn’t make sense.”

  “Run toward the lava,” Will called to his friend.

  Hannah listened to Will. She was worried that she’d slip into the lava, but she thought if she stopped before the pool of lava, she could push the Enderman into the pool. Hannah held her breath as she got close to the dangerous liquid. The Enderman didn’t notice that Hannah halted moments before she reached the lava pool. He kept running and fell into the lava—and he was destroyed.

  “Where are the other Endermen?” Hannah looked around, but couldn’t spot the lanky block-carrying mob.

  Will and Hannah heard cries in the distance.

  “It sounds like our friends need help,” said Will, and they ran toward the noise.

  “We can’t help them until we break the portal,” Hannah reminded him.

  Will raced over to the portal and smashed it with his fist, breaking the portal.

  Their friends’ cries grew louder.

  “We have to help the others!” Ben took out his bow and arrow.

  Hannah shot arrows at the zombies. There weren’t many left, but in the meantime, more skeletons had spawned.

  “We’re losing energy,” Violet called out breathlessly.

  Hannah rushed to Violet’s side and gave her a potion of healing. “I’m running low on this potion.”

  Violet took one of the last sips. “Thanks. Now what will we do?”

  “We’ll figure that out once we finish this battle,” Hannah told her friend.

  Once the skeletons and zombies were defeated, the group resumed their search for the Nether fortress.

  “I think I see something!” Ben pointed at a structure in the distance.

  The group used their last bit of energy to jog toward the structure. When they got closer, Noah called out, “It is a Nether fortress!”