And then a second one disappeared, leaving only one remaining.
“I can’t tell if I’m the real one or a clone.” Watcher took a step toward Planter and held his breath, waiting for the moment when he would disappear.
The Hall of Pillars grew still, every villager staring at the boy, waiting to see what would happen. Watcher’s heart pounded in his chest. What will it feel like? Will it be like dying? He felt a tingling sensation at his neck. Was it beginning? The tingling spread across his neck, then up to his cheek, and then suddenly … SQUAWK!
A parrot nuzzled his neck with his smooth beak, the bird’s feathers tickling his ear.
“I’m still here … I’M STILL HERE!”
The villagers cheered, many of them struggling through the flowing water to reach Watcher’s side. Those nearest gave the boy a hug as the celebration spread through the chamber.
Watcher felt as if he’d just narrowly escaped death. The skeleton warlord had been too much for him, and without the Wand of Cloning, he would have not survived. But if Rakir had killed him instead of one of the clones, the outcome would have been completely different.
If I had died, I wouldn’t have had the chance to tell Planter how I really feel, he realized. I need to take the risk and tell her while I still have the courage.
He took a step toward her. “Planter, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
Planter turned from a celebrating villager and faced her friend. “Yeah? What is it?”
“Well … you see … umm … I’ve been feeling—”
Suddenly, a shadowy presence appeared in the chamber. Instantly, the air grew frigid, a chill spreading throughout the chamber. It was as if the life had been sucked out of the air.
A wither appeared next to the warlord’s throne, its three dark heads scanning the villagers with vile hatred in its eyes. The center head, larger than the other two, wore a golden crown with tiny black skulls embedded in the rim.
“So, wizard, I see you have destroyed my skeleton warlord,” the monster said.
“Who are you?” Cleric asked.
“I am Krael, the King of the Withers, and I have come for what is rightfully mine.” The monster glanced at the silvery Helm of Calling that lay on the ground a few blocks away. The monster floated toward it, no one close by.
“We have to stop him!” Watcher shouted.
Krael laughed as he drew nearer to the enchanted artifact. When the monster was just a block from the Helm, the ancient relic started to slide toward the wither. The other heads joined the center, laughing a maniacal laugh that made the villagers cringe. But before the enchanted helmet could slide into the monster’s inventory, a flaming arrow streaked through the air and hit the Helm, pushing it across the ground, right to Cutter’s feet. It moved quickly into the big warrior’s inventory and disappeared.
Everyone followed the line of glowing embers still floating in the air along the path of the arrow. It led back to Winger and her enchanted bow.
“I think we’ll be holding onto that artifact for a while.” She glanced at her brother and gave him a wink.
“Archers, aim at the Wither King and get ready to fire,” Watcher said. He drew his own enchanted bow from his inventory and notched a fire arrow to the string. “Ready …”
“Another time, wizard.” Krael floated backward, away from the archers. “But our next meeting will not end so easily for you.”
“Aim …”
And then then Krael, the King of the Withers, disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke.
“I hate those things.” Blaster picked up his knife from amongst Rakir’s belongings. “But I thought we already destroyed the king of the withers.”
“Whichever one gets the Crown of Skulls becomes the Wither King,” Er-Lan said. “There have been many who have worn the Crown and become ruler of the withers. That artifact seems to be able to find a new wither to control when the old one dies. Great magic flows through that golden crown.”
“I’m just glad it’s gone.” Mapper reached down and collected the skeleton warlord’s items and stuffed them into his already-bulging inventory. “And we should be gone as well. There must be a way out other than the way the general escaped. Everyone look around for a lever or button; there must be another way out.”
The villagers spread out, moving along the walls looking for a secret exit.
“Watcher, you were saying something before the Wither King arrived.” Planter put a gentle hand on his arm.
It felt like fireworks going off within his soul.
“What was it you wanted to tell me?”
“Well … umm … it’s just that you and me have been friends for a long time. But now—”
“I found it!” a voice shouted from the darkness. A set of pistons could be heard moving, the sound of stone scraping across stone filling the hall. One of the villagers placed a torch on the ground, illuminating the secret passage. “Come on, everyone!”
The villagers all ran for the passage, anxious to get out of the Hall of Pillars.
Just as Watcher was about to continue, Cutter appeared at Planter’s side.
“Come on, let’s get out of this place.” The big warrior grabbed her hand and headed for the exit.
She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged, then smiled and ran in lockstep with Cutter, her golden axe shining as brightly as her beautiful blond hair.
Watcher felt as if he’d been punched in the heart. “I just want to tell her how I feel.” His voice as weak, barely a whisper.
“I know, brother,” Winger said, her hushed voice in his ear. “Another time will come, Watcher. You’ll have your chance.”
“But what about Cutter? I mean … look at them running together….”
“It probably doesn’t mean anything.”
“Or it means everything.” Watcher stared at the ground, feeling defeated.
“Come on, son and daughter.” Cleric put his arms around his two children. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we heading?” Winger asked. “We need a plan.”
“I was thinking about that,” Watcher said as they walked toward the entrance. Most of the villagers had left the hall, leaving them alone in the Hall of Pillars with Blaster waiting near the exit. “There was the huge village in the savannah before we went into that desert temple. I think we should go there and rest up, and maybe build some defenses around that community in case Krael comes knocking on our door.”
“That’s a good idea.” Cleric patted his son on the back.
“Will anyone listen to me now that all the fighting’s over?” Watcher asked.
“Er-Lan will listen,” a scratchy voice said from behind, his voice shaking as if afraid.
Watcher turned and found the zombie walking quietly behind them, an expression of guilt and fear on the monster’s face. Reaching out, Watcher pulled the zombie into the group and put an arm around his green shoulders. Er-Lan smiled.
“You’re still part of this family, no matter what you do or say,” Watcher said. “You lied to me about your vision to help me defeat that terrible warlord, and in it, you taught me a valuable lesson. I must first believe in myself and see my success in my mind.”
The zombie nodded. “Er-Lan’s mother taught that to Er-Lan many years ago. That lesson reminds Er-Lan of her, and keeps the memory of mother alive in Er-Lan’s mind … and heart.”
Winger leaned over to the zombie and kissed him on the cheek. “We can learn a lot from you, I think.”
“There is much that villagers can learn from zombies, and probably from skeletons as well,” Cleric said. “Maybe one day, there will be peace in the Far Lands, and the different races will have the opportunity to learn from one another.”
“That’s not gonna happen while the Wither King is out there stirring up trouble,” Watcher said. “We need to do something about that monster.”
“Later,” Cleric said. “For now, let’s go to that village in the savannah and rest … we deserve it.”<
br />
“Agreed.” Watcher and Winger said in unison.
They looked at each other and smiled, then ran for the exit to the Hall of Pillars, putting their frightening adventure behind them … for now.
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THE GAMEKNIGHT999 SERIES
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Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, and above all else, he loved to grief—to intentionally ruin the gaming experience for other users.
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Gameknight999, a former Minecraft griefer, got a big dose of virtual reality when his father’s invention teleported him into the game. Living out a dangerous adventure inside a digital world, he discovered that the Minecraft villagers were alive and needed his help to defeat the infamous virus, Herobrine, a diabolical enemy determined to escape into the real world.
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From beyond the digital grave, Herobrine has crafted some evil games for Gameknight999 to play!
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Can Gameknight999 survive a journey one hundred years into Minecraft’s past?
A freak thunderstorm strikes just as Gameknight999 is activating his father’s Digitizer to reenter Minecraft. Sparks flash across his vision as he is sucked into the game … and when the smoke clears he’s arrived safely. But it doesn’t take long to realize that things in the Overworld are very different.
The User-that-is-not-a-user realizes he’s been accidentally sent a hundred years into the past, back to the time of the historic Great Zombie Invasion. None of his friends have even been born yet. But that might be the least of Gameknight999’s worries, because traveling back in time also means that the evil virus Herobrine, the scourge of Minecraft, is still alive …
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Minecraft mods are covering the tracks of a mysterious new villain!
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EXCERPT FROM
INTO THE SPIDERS’ LAIR
A BRAND NEW FAR LANDS ADVENTURE
They slowed to a walk, everyone including Watcher tired from the chase. Moving next to Planter, he looked down at the black-and-white bunny she held in her hands.
“Have you been carrying that all this time?” Watcher asked.
She looked at him with her bright green eyes. Planter said something, but Watcher wasn’t paying attention; he was lost in those emerald pools.
“What?” He shook his head to clear it.
“I said no, I just found this one and picked her up.” She smiled as she scratched the fluffy animal’s ears. “Aren’t they fantastic?”
“It’s just a rabbit.” Cutter’s voice boomed through the forest, always louder than necessary.
Planter scowled at the big warrior, but he didn’t notice; he was adjusting his armor. Watcher smiled.
“I didn’t know rabbits were part of the mega taiga biome,” she said.
“Yep, there are lots of animals in this forest.” Mapper paused to catch his breath, then continued. “Let’s see, there are chickens and sheep and wolves and—”
“Wolves?” A concerned expression came across Planter’s face. “Don’t wolves eat rabbits?”
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