Tommy sighed. He opened his inventory again and found a potion of invisibility. After drinking it, he saw gray swirls floating up into his field of view on the 1080p monitor; he knew that for what he was about to do, he couldn’t be seen.
Slowly, he hit double space and flew up into the air, then glided to the village, the landscape scrolling smoothly on the screen. He found Carver and Baker in one of the houses, talking quietly. Tommy couldn’t hear anything they were saying. In fact, he couldn’t hear anything. Likely it was because he didn’t have the speakers turned on—but it didn’t matter. Floating over Baker, he dropped one of the books. It landed in her inventory. He then floated over Carver and threw the other one into the big NPCs hands.
They both noticed that something happened and looked around, but obviously saw nothing.
“They’ll find the books soon enough,” Tommy said to his monitor.
“What are you doing?” his father asked.
“You won’t believe it when I tell you, but first, I have one more thing to do.”
He flew out of the house, then streaked across the village, looking for Weaver. Instantly, Tommy noticed the fortified wall was gone, as were the archer towers. But the tall cobblestone watchtower was still present; Notch must have liked that addition.
Soaring over the community like an invisible bird, he went into every house and down into the crafting chamber and into the forest nearby, but saw no trace of Weaver.
“Tommy, it’s time to turn it off,” his father said. “I think you have some explaining to do.”
“I know, I can’t wait to tell you what happened, Dad, but first I have to find….”
“I’m sure your friends are all right, but for now, it’s time to switch it off. There are more days ahead for Minecraft. Right now, it’s late and time for bed. And we can discuss the fact that you ignored what I said about the Digitizer tomorrow morning.”
“Awwww.”
Tommy wanted to resist, but he could tell from his dad’s voice that it would do no good. He looked at his Minecraft friends from the distant past one last time, somehow knowing that when he returned to the game he wouldn’t be able to access the game’s past again, then logged out and turned off the computer.
“Come on, son, it’s time for bed,” his dad said. “Maybe you’ll dream of three-headed dragons and fortified villagers and strange new distant worlds in Minecraft.”
“Maybe,” Tommy said, then turned away from the computer as he thought about his new friends, a smile on his face.
MINECRAFT SEEDS
These Minecraft seeds were tested for version 1.9. I had some difficulty finding anything in the normal places online as 1.9 disappeared quickly and became 1.10. So I just created a world and looked around until I found the following things. Sorry they are so far apart, but in creative mode, you can fly to these easily enough.
You’ll find all of these things much easier on the Gameknight999 Minecraft server. The IP address is mc.gameknight999.com. Use /warp bookwarps on the survival server and you’ll find the secret path to the BookWarp room. Just click the button and get teleported to see that terrain or structure. I hope you enjoy these bookwarps.
Chapter 3 – Desert well:
5933130188688503680
x: -1915, y: 69, z: -1291
Chapter 5 – Savanna village:
5933130188688503680
x: -1713, y: 70, z: -788
Chapter 13 – Mega Taiga:
5933130188688503680
x: -4021, y: 74, z: -860
Chapter 16 – Waterfalls:
On Gameknight999 Minecraft Server
Chapter 19 – Desert temple:
5933130188688503680
x: -4021, y: 74, z: -860
Chapter 22 – Olympus Mons:
On Gameknight999 Minecraft Server
AVAILABLE NOW FROM MARK CHEVERTON AND SKY PONY PRESS
THE GAMEKNIGHT999 SERIES
The world of Minecraft comes to life in this thrilling adventure!
Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, and above all else, he loved to grief—to intentionally ruin the gaming experience for other users.
But when one of his father’s inventions teleports him into the game, Gameknight is forced to live out a real-life adventure inside a digital world. What will happen if he’s killed? Will he respawn? Die in real life? Stuck in the game, Gameknight discovers Minecraft’s best-kept secret, something not even the game’s programmers realize: the creatures within the game are alive! He will have to stay one step ahead of the sharp claws of zombies and pointed fangs of spiders, but he’ll also have to learn to make friends and work as a team if he has any chance of surviving the Minecraft war his arrival has started.
With deadly Endermen, ghasts, and dragons, this action-packed trilogy introduces the heroic Gameknight999 and has proven to be a runaway publishing smash, showing that the Gameknight999 series is the perfect companion for Minecraft fans of all ages.
Invasion of the Overworld (Book One):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63220-711-1
Battle for the Nether (Book Two):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63220-712-8
Confronting the Dragon (Book Three):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-046-3
EXCERPT FROM TERRORS OF THE FOREST
A BRAND NEW GAMEKNIGHT999 ADVENTURE
They left the mushroom biome behind and moved into a snowy forest. The air was cold and biting, freezing Gameknight’s nose and cheeks. His breath puffed out before him like smoke that instantly disappeared as it left his mouth. This reminded him of the wintery biomes in the Overworld, but there was something still unusual about it. Far to the left, he could see something that looked like a massive, translucent wall. It was almost as if it were made of blue glass … strange.
The atrocity at the mushroom castle weighed heavily on Gameknight’s mind. He was confident it was meant to be a message from Entity303; that user was demonstrating his willingness to destroy anything to achieve his goal. Now they understood each other perfectly.
Crafter was furious. He couldn’t believe anyone could be so ruthless. Hunter and Stitcher were both anxious to exact some revenge, though Stitcher talked about it as if this were some kind of game. Woodcutter and Herder formed theories why the crazed user would do something so terrible, trying to come up with some justification that would explain this insane behavior. Digger and Empech remained silent, the shock of what they’d seen was still etched deep into the scowls they wore on their square faces.
Fletcher seemed the angriest, though also the quietest. He was boiling with anger, his eyes almost glowing with rage, but he was keeping it all bottled up. The large villager hadn’t spoken a word since leaving the mushroom biome, but his body was tense like a coiled spring, ready to explode in some unknown direction. Gameknight felt he needed to get the large villager to talk.
“Fletcher, tell me of your family,” Gameknight asked.
The villager seemed shocked by the question. An uneasy silence fell across the group, only the crunch of their boots on the freshly fallen snow making any sound.
“You know what happened to my family.” Fletcher adjusted his iron armor, his large shoulders and round belly fitting poorly under the chest plate and leggings. “After all, you were there.”
“I don’t remember, sorry,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “I didn’t live through that timeline. In my past, Weaver was an important person and things progressed differently for me than they did for you. Can you tell me what happened?”
“Well, Herobrine was in dragon form,” Fletcher explained. “I don’t know if you remember that?”
Gameknight nodded. “Yes, he did that in my timeline as well.”
“When he finally attacked and turned everything into End stone, some of the spiders attacked just ahead of the transformation wave. Those fuzzy beasts …” Fletcher grew silent as the nightmare replayed itself through his memory. He moved away from the rest of the group and walked by himself, hidin
g his tears from the others.
“Great … now look what you’ve done,” Stitcher said with a frown.
“What did I do?” Gameknight asked softly. “What happened?”
Crafter moved to his side and spoke softly.
“His family was caught in the spiders’ webs,” the young NPC explained. “They were caught by the transformation wave. Fletcher had to watch from the safety of an obsidian platform while his family was changed from flesh and blood to pale End stone.”
Crafter grew quiet as he, too, relived the terrible moments. The birds and animals in the forest seemed to feel the solemn nature of the moment and grew quiet as well. The only thing audible was Fletcher’s sobs. Gameknight didn’t know what to say.
When there were no more tears left to be shed, Fletcher returned and finally broke the silence. “If we had been able to destroy more of the monsters before Herobrine arrived, maybe those spiders wouldn’t have been there.” The big NPC sighed.
“When we fought that battle, we used minecarts with TNT in them, and hidden TNT cannons to blast the monsters,” Gameknight said.
“What do you mean? Minecarts with TNT? Cannons?” Crafter asked.
“Much of it was actually your idea, Crafter,” Gameknight said. “You were the TNT master … in my timeline.”
“I wish we’d had that in our battle,” Fletcher said.
“They were restored when the dragon was killed, weren’t they?” Gameknight asked.
Fletcher sighed, then glanced down at the ground with fists clenched. A lone tear trickled down his flat cheek.
“Gameknight, Herobrine destroyed everyone that was transformed,” Crafter said. “Even though they were no longer a threat, Herobrine flew around and shredded them with his dragon claws, regardless if they were warriors, women, children, the elderly … he destroyed them all.”
“You mean your wife and daughter …” Gameknight’s voice trailed off as the sorrow of what he just asked Fletcher to relive hit him hard in the chest. “Fletcher, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
Fletcher sighed as more tears tumbled down his cheeks.
“But we ended up destroying that dragon in the end,” Stitcher said in a loud, triumphant voice. The volume of her comment was shocking, shattering the uneasy silence.
“But too late,” Fletcher moaned.
The User-that-is-not-a-user placed a hand on the large NPC’s shoulder. Fletcher turned and looked straight into his eyes and moved a little closer. He reached into his inventory and pulled out a shattered piece of End stone wrapped in a soft, red cloth.
“This is a piece of my daughter,” the large villager said, his red eyes filled with despair. He then leaned in close and spoke in a quiet voice, his words only meant for Gameknight’s ears. “If getting Weaver back into your past will save my family, then I’ll do anything, even sacrifice my own life.”
“No one will sacrifice their life,” Gameknight whispered. “We’re all gonna survive whatever Entity303 has in store for us. We’ll stop that crazy user and fix all the damage he’s done to Minecraft.”
“I hope so,” Fletcher said as he wiped his cheeks clean.
One of the wolves far ahead howled. It was the forward scout.
“They found something,” Herder said with a smile.
“Come on, let’s see what it is,” Stitcher said. She sprinted forward, leaping up and down like a child excited for a surprise.
The rest of the party ran toward the howling animals, now more of the proud voices had joined the animal’s song. When he sprinted around a cluster of trees, Gameknight saw a huge stone enclosure, the walls decorated with the undulating shape of some kind of serpent. Bright fireflies sat on the side of the wall, their fat bodies glowing bright green, casting some light on the surroundings.
Near the wall sat an oak tree. Gameknight pulled out a shovel and quickly dug up some dirt blocks, then built a set of steps. He climbed to the top of the tree and peered down into the courtyard. The snow, for some reason, did not fall in the enclosure, making things on the ground easy to see. There were numerous creatures moving about; a small herd of deer munched on grass while a singular of boars moved about in the courtyard, doing whatever boars do.
“Weaver’s scent went into that enclosure,” a voice said at his side. Gameknight turned and found Herder standing next to him. “We need to go in there and see where they came out. Or maybe they didn’t come out, and there’s a tunnel or cave in there.”
Gameknight scanned his surroundings. The ground in the enclosure was covered with grass, stone slabs sprinkled throughout. Maybe twenty columns of stone stood tall throughout the courtyard, with a wide platform of stone slabs at the top and bottom. They were probably six blocks high and a good place to put some archers, just in case.
“Why do you think these walls are here?” Crafter asked from the ground.
“I don’t know,” Gameknight replied.
“I’m not thrilled with the picture of a serpent on the walls,” Hunter said as she drew an arrow from her inventory and notched it to the bowstring.
Stitcher paced about next to her, the younger sister clearly anxious to get in there and see what would happen.
“Empech recommends caution, yes, yes,” the little pech said from the ground. “It is not clear if this wall was meant to keep intruders out, or something else in.”
“Weaver went in there,” Gameknight said. “I think we need to do the same.”
“Excellent,” Stitcher said.
“Something ancient lies within these walls, yes, yes,” Empech said. “Empech can feel it through the fabric of Minecraft; something angry and dangerous.”
“Probably just a spider,” Stitcher said. “Let’s get started. Weaver’s getting farther away as we stand here.”
“I hate to say it, but my noisy little sister is right,” Hunter added. “We have no choice. If we’re gonna catch Weaver, then we need to follow his trail.”
“Okay, everyone, up onto the wall,” Gameknight said.
He stepped from the tree to the top of the wall, then moved further from the leafy blocks to make room for the others. When everyone was on the wall, he glanced to his friends, then nodded his head. They all jumped down into the enclosure at the same time. Instantly, a scraping sound filled the air.
“Did you hear that?” Digger asked. “I heard something.”
“Me, too,” Woodcutter said, his axe held at the ready.
“Move forward,” Gameknight said.
The companions walked slowly forward, stepping over stone slabs and around pools of black sand. Suddenly, a hissing sound, like that of a massive balloon leaking air, reached their ears, the scraping sound growing louder and louder.
And then a massive, scaly green snake emerged from the haze. It had a huge head that was as tall as Gameknight, with eyes glowing blood-red and filled with rage. Its mouth yawned open, showing a line of pointy white teeth. It stopped for a moment, staring at the intruders.
“The Naga,” Empech said in a high-pitched whisper.
“Maybe it’s not hostile?” Digger said in a low, shaking voice.
“It is certainly hostile, yes, yes. Empech can feel its anger. All should stand still and….”
The massive green snake suddenly bellowed an ear-splitting roar and charged straight at them, its body smashing through the stone pillars as if they were made of paper. It seemed to come straight at Gameknight999, as if it had been expecting him. Every nerve in the User-that-is-not-a-user’s body told him to run, just run away. He didn’t want to fail his friends; he just wanted to disappear, but he knew he couldn’t do that.
He glanced around to see if anyone noticed his fear—no, his panic. He was terrified he was going to fail here in front of everyone. But he knew he had to do something; Weaver was counting on him, and he didn’t want to fail him again. So instead, he focused on what was important, Weaver and his friends.
The giant green snake seemed to move in slow motion, its thick scales dragging a
gainst the ground.
Be strong and have faith, child, a voice said in his head. It seemed as if it came from some memory, the voice vaguely familiar. And, for a moment, it filled him with the faintest flicker of courage.
Gritting his teeth, Gameknight999 drew his iron sword from his inventory with his left hand, his diamond blade with his right, and charged straight at the creature, yelling at the top of his voice.
“FOR WEAVER!”
COMING SOON:
TERRORS OF THE FOREST
THE MYSTERY OF ENTITY303 BOOK ONE
THE MYSTERY OF HEROBRINE SERIES
Gameknight999 must save his friends from an evil virus intent on destroying all of Minecraft!
Gameknight999 was sucked into the world of Minecraft when one of his father’s inventions went haywire. Trapped inside the game, the former griefer learned the error of his ways, transforming into a heroic warrior and defeating powerful Endermen, ghasts, and dragons to save the world of Minecraft and his NPC friends who live in it.
Gameknight swore he’d never go inside Minecraft again. But that was before Herobrine, a malicious virus infecting the very fabric of the game, threatened to destroy the entire Overworld and escape into the real world. To outsmart an enemy much more powerful than any he’s ever faced, the User-that-is-not-a-user will need to go back into the game, where real danger lies around every corner. From zombie villages and jungle temples to a secret hidden at the bottom of a deep ocean, the action-packed adventures of Gameknight999 and his friends (and, now, family) continue in this thrilling follow-up series for Minecraft fans of all ages.
Trouble in Zombie-town (Book One):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-094-4
The Jungle Temple Oracle (Book Two):
Herobrine's War Page 19