Chapter One-Dancing Flames

AYE.
Steve plunged his Diamond sword into the zombie, destroying the green monster. It was dawn, but monsters were still about. A second later, an arrow flew under his arm and hit the exposed side of his body, piercing his skin. Tim ran over to attack the skeleton that the arrow had come from, destroying it in 2 blows from his powerful enchanted iron sword. Alex looked up from the dead spider in front of her and yelled “Let’s run for it!” The trio sprinted up the hill that bordered the east side of their village, dodging arrows and zombie claws. Because they were sprinting up the hill they quickly lost strength, and the group slowed down to rest.

“We can’t slow down now!” panted Tim as arrows whizzed past them. “Here” Alex said. She splashed a glistening red potion on the group. The potion of strength immediately took effect and Steve, Alex and Tim, with renewed energy, continued their way up the hill. As they reached the top of the hill a horrific sight met their eyes. Flames were dancing from rooftop to rooftop, and many houses had no rooves left. “Griefers” muttered the three in unison. They ran down the hill towards the east village gates. Thankfully, the drawbridge was not on fire yet, but it did not seem like it would be unscorched for much longer.
Suddenly, Alex stopped in the middle of the drawbridge. Her face was pale. “My house” she murmured. “It’s made out of wood!” “I’ll destroy the walls around the well to flood the streets!” yelled Tim. Sprinting into the village, Steve realised that there were no guards on the wall. “If the griefers decided to attack again right now we would be extremely vulnerable” Steve realised. Tim and Steve jumped over burning logs that had once been the corner supports of houses that had fallen onto the paths that criss-crossed their way around the village. Their knowledge of parkour helped them to avoid getting on fire and losing all the items in their inventory.  Steve made a beeline for his base. The Creeper Fortress held many valuables that could be used to put out the fire. It never hurt to be prepared, unless you got a splinter while mining wood to turn into chests to store it all. He heard his friend DragonSlayer72 selling water buckets and potions of fire resistance to the locals to rescue their valuables from the fire. He pulled the lever next to his iron door and it swung open.

He climbed up to his storage room, located in the watchtower of his base. He removed redstone blocks, sticks, string, water buckets and cobblestone from his many chests. He placed the sticks and string into the shape of a bow on his crafting table and then surrounded it with cobblestone. Repeating this procedure 7 more times, he ran out the door with 8 newly crafted dispensers in his hand. He climbed the ladder up to the wall and placed one of the dispensers facing the village. He placed a water bucket inside and then activated the contraption with a block of redstone. Soon he had water falling on all the sides of the village, and Tim’s water from the well took care of the middle of the large town. The village was now safe.

Tim replaced the walls of the well with cobblestone and the water slowly died down. Steve ran around the wall removing the redstone blocks, but not the dispensers. He planned to connect them with redstone dust later to create a water-spraying system in case this ever happened again. He slowly slid down the ladder, his iron boots resting on the soft green grass. Many of the village’s residents were making their way towards the south gates  to collect wood from the forest to repair their homes. It was a sad sight, but he knew some of his friends would improve their homes rather than rebuild in the same way.

Chapter Two-The Factory

The sun had fully risen by now. The village was the emptiest Steve had seen in weeks, as most of the natives were out collecting supplies to rebuild their homes. Archers patrolled the walls, and Steve felt safe, unlike when everyone was putting out the fire. He met up with Alex and Tim at the well, and slowly he dipped an empty bottle into the well and drank. He had not realised how thirsty he was. “How’s your house, Alex?” he asked. “”Fine” she replied. “Most of my flowers are burned though, so I’ll need to stop at the flower forest sometime soon”. “OK” Tim replied. “I’ll need to check on the creepers sometime soon.” The creepers were 26-block high green creeper-shaped walking bombs. They were packed full of TNT, and could create a devastating explosion when lit. They were vital in the current war against the griefer army.

The creepers were created in a secret factory in  the extreme hills biome. The factory was Steve’s idea. Many of the village’s inhabitants were working there. The factory not only created creepers (they were Tim’s idea) but slime block flying machine bombers as well. Some were hidden in the large hill they had climbed over an hour ago, but not enough. The secret factory was also a huge mineshaft, used to create armor and weapons for the war against the griefers. If it was discovered, nearly all hope was lost.

“I’ll go to the factory with you, Tim” said Steve. “While you guys head to the factory I’ll go to the Flower Forest” stated Alex. She watched them walk away, their usernames hovering above their heads. At Steve’s base, they put on their Elytra and collected their fireworks. They couldn’t use a minecart as griefers might follow the tracks and find the factory.
They climbed the ladder to Steve’s watchtower and jumped down. Their Elytra quickly activated and they took off towards the factory, flying high over the village wall.

The pair flew east towards the Extreme hills biome. They passed over the hill they had climbed over an hour ago. Steve thought about the flying machine bombers hidden under the hill. They were ready to take off at moment’s notice. Pistons would retract, opening a small hole in the side of the blocky slope. They could fly anywhere needed, so they were especially helpful in substantially damaging enemy lines. “Have you heard the server’s news?” Tim asked. “No, It hasn’t been emailed to me yet” replied Steve. “Apparently gunpowder/TNT farms have been out of stock” Tim said. “Some have sided with the griefers” “It would be bad if we run out of places to get our TNT from” Steve thought out loud. “Yeah” said Tim.

Eventually they saw the extreme hills biome. Steve flew down and reached a large cliff. He pressed a small button on the side of a spruce tree, and a piston opened in front of them. The double quickly scampered through. A user was behind a glass wall, and dispensers were positioned above them. It was Steve’s idea. The one above them poured lava, and the sides shot arrows. The floor could also retract into a very deep pit with lava at the bottom. It was set up so if the guard didn’t see their names on a list, he would kill them. “Names?” he grunted. “Steve and Tim” stated Tim. “Very well” the man, pressing a button next to him after checking their names in a book on a lectern in front of him. An iron door opened, and the pair walked into the secret factory.

Steve gasped. The factory had grown twice the size since he’d last been here. Scaffolding snaked around the room, allowing workers to move between every possible level. Users were slowly expanding the room in a small corner. 5 unfinished creepers sat on the stone floor of the artificial cavern. A tunnel was being built, 36 blocks high, that would lead to the village. All finished creepers would travel along it and then be deployed if needed. He saw flying machines lined up in a floating docking port with a piston door in front of them.

A voice startled them. “Hey guys!” said a person walking up to them in a green hoodie. “Hey CreeperKiller!” Steve said. “Good to see you!” exclaimed Tim. “Yeah, so what’s the status report?” Steve asked. “We’ve got 5 creepers being built” said CreeperKiller64, gesturing to the Creepers. “But we ran out of Concrete, so our 10 Creeper builders are at the mesa right now mining concrete” “That’s too bad that we ran out” interrupted Tim. “And we ran out of dye, so some of our workers are collecting cactus in the desert” he finished.

“Also, I have 20 guys working on the tunnel to the village to transport the creepers-it should be done in a week or so” said Ryan. “We’re going to add a minecart track as well, for easier access to the factory” “Thanks for telling us, Ryan” said Steve. “Good to see you!” waved Tim. Ryan strode off. “I’m tired,” Steve told Tim. “Me too-let’s head to the barracks” The two walked over to a wooden door. The sign above it said “BARRACKS” They each entered the room and climbed into a white bed, and they slowly drifted to sleep.

Chapter Three-Pillagers

Steve woke up to the chime of a note block. He removed his iron armor from the chest at his bedside. The redstone lamps flickered on above him. He wasn’t used to waking up in a room with no windows, but he knew any griefers would easily be able to see through a window and the industry would not be secret anymore.

Steve walked out the door, pulling on his armor. He entered into the large cavern. He was still impressed at the side of this place. He opened another wooden door to the side of him. This one was labeled “MESS HALL”. He opened it and stepped inside. The middle of the room was dominated by large tables. The sides had chests with lots of types of food. He opened a large one labeled “BREAD”. He pulled out a loaf, then went over to a chest labeled “APPLES”. He munched on both of them, walking out the door. CreeperKiller64 saw him and waved. Steve returned the gesture.

Suddenly, a large party of 15 workers walked through the entrance. “Did you get the concrete?”CreeperKiller asked. “Did we get the concrete?” said the one in front. “We got tons!!!!” the rest replied. “Nice going, PotionChugger!” Ryan exclaimed. “Get to work on those Creepers right away” he ordered. “Yessir!” the group replied, walking to the scaffolding and climbing up the tall bamboo towers.
“I’d better get going,” Steve told Ryan. “OK” he said “Tim left an hour ago” “Oh no!” Steve said, turning to the entrance. “Wait-The minecart line is done!” Ryan called after Steve. “Tell the guys back at home to send more TNT and workers” “Will do” Steve called. He ran to the nearby door. It was labeled “TRANSPORT TUNNEL”. He went through the entrance. Stepping on a pressure plate, a minecart popped out of a dispenser. He climbed into it, rolling down the long, straight, stone tunnel towards the village.

Half an hour later, he ascended the steps to the surface. Alex and Tim ran over to him.”Griefers have built a Pillager Outpost near a village in the savannah” Alex said. “We three need to go destroy the outpost,” Tim said. “It’s a nearly impossible task” Tim remarked. “OK” Steve said. “I’ll put on my Diamond armor and repair my sword,” Steve announced. He walked back to his base, with Alex and Tim trailing behind him.

He entered the base, and grabbed a diamond from his ore chest. He laid his sword on an anvil and put the diamond on top of it. Steve collected a hammer from the side of his anvil and began to bang on the diamond. Clang! Clang! Clang! The fully repaired diamond sword went into Steve’s inventory with a Plop! He removed his enchanted diamond armor from a chest and put it on. Then he led Alex and Tim to his Elytra launcher. They each took turns stepping into it and being fired into the air.

They used fireworks to not fall to the ground with their Elytra. The trio flew north, over the village gates. DragonSlayer72 waved to Steve, as he was on sentry duty. Steve waved back, yelling “CreeperKiller wants a supply chest!” After leaving the plains, Steve, Alex and Tim headed into the desert. The harsh landscape didn’t attract many visitors, but for some reason NPC villagers found it as good a place as any for their villages to spawn. Well, they didn’t have a choice anyway. Steve only knew 2 or 3 users that lived in the desert, and he never visited them. He, Alex and Tim had once looted a desert temple, but it was a hard journey as they did not have their Elytra yet. Steve preferred the desert from the air. He enjoyed seeing the green cacti to break up the tan, dry desert sand. “Stop showing off, Tim!” Alex said, knocking Steve out of his trance. Tim was flying high, doing loop-de-loops and diving down at astonishing speeds. “You’re going to run out of fireworks!” Alex screamed. Tim pulled up and became level with Steve and Alex, then laughed. “Sorry Alex, I was just having a little fun,” Tim said, chuckling. The threesome flew into the mesa. This was the Bryce variant of the biome. Tall towers of striped hardened clay rested on the orangish-red sand. The occasional dead bush and cactus poked out from the ground.

Small pools of shallow water were a contrast to the landscape. He thought of the Creeper building team that had been here two hours ago. Steve spotted exposed sections of an abandoned mineshaft, rails poking out of the holes. He suspected the minecarts had once rolled deep underground, but then they had caved in.

The three players flew using their Elytra and fireworks to boost their altitude and speed into the Savannah. The crooked orange acacia trees were accompanied by large amounts of animals. One of his friends had a hugely successful trading shop nearby, selling leather, meat, feathers and other items from a nearby village. He hoped he could stop by to get trade for some items after destroying the pillager outpost to stock up on stuff, but that was unlikely. “My map says we should be at the outpost in around 100 blocks,” Steve said. The group landed and Steve told them the plan.

Tim placed the last block of cobblestone. Wiping his brow, he pulled out his bow and notched an arrow to it. “Go” Tim said, nodding to Steve. He shot up with a blast of a firework, and flew towards the outpost with a brick of TNT in his hand. Tim stepped out from behind his cobblestone fortifications and fired his arrow. It struck a pillager, and the pillager burst into flames because of the Flame Enchantment on his bow. He fired again, and the pillager died with a grunt.

Steve soared towards the wooden outpost, dodging arrows from pillager crossbows. One struck his Diamond leggings, snapping the arrow in half on contact with the hard surface. His boots rested on the ceiling made of spruce planks. He placed his bricks of TNT and then placed a redstone torch next to them. The closest block turned white, signifying there were only a few seconds before the block exploded. He jumped off the outpost, and touched the ground just as a loud Boom! Shook the tower. A party of four pillagers ran out of the entrance. Drawing his diamond sword and shield, Steve deflected an arrow and then attacked, his sword carving through the maroon-clothed mob with deadly accuracy.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The rest of the TNT exploded. Steve looked up, and he saw that the roof was no longer there. There was a hole in the watchtower’s floor, and judging by the many Ow!s he had done a lot of damage.  All of a sudden, the dirt block to Steve’s right shattered. Alex popped out, iron shovel in hand. She replaced the shovel with flint and steel, and struck the wooden outpost walls. The wooden lumber burst into flames, and the fire quickly spread around the settlement.

Woosh! An arrow flew past Steve’s helmet, striking the pillager in front of him. He dived forward, striking the pillager’s legs. He then backflipped over the mob, hitting its head twice. It disappeared with a gentle Pop! It dropped a crossbow and 5 experience (XP) orbs. “Now!” Alex yelled. Steve pulled out an orange bottle that looked like a grenade filled with honey from his inventory. He chucked it into the air, and the vial shattered, splashing on both of them. They were granted fire resistance for eight minutes. The two charged into the tower.

Flames licked their legs, but they were unscorched because of the fire resistance potion. Most of the pillagers were on fire, reducing their health points (HP). One hit from each of their swords and the pillagers were reduced to smoke and XP. Soon there was almost no floor left. “Jump” Alex yelled, vaulting herself into the flames below. On the way down, Alex removed a bucket of water from her inventory she had been using to fight the fire at their village.

A meter above the ground, Alex dumped the water bucket. She and Steve splashed into the cool blue water. It quickly flowed into the area, dousing the blaze. The only thing left of the pillager outpost was a few blocks of burnt wood floating in the air. The two walked over to Tim and put on their Elytra, then they soared towards the mesa.

Chapter 4-Netherite

The group touched down at the village just as night was falling. Tim walked back to Cobblestone Castle and Alex went to her house. Steve trudged along the cobblestone path. He slowly opened the iron door to his house and walked inside. He climbed into bed, and day turned to night instantly.
Steve woke to sunlight streaming through his window above his furnace. He put on his iron armor in place for his diamond and climbed up to the watchtower of his base. The sun was rising, and the sound of zombie moans filled the air. He slid down on his water elevator and then walked towards Tim’s house in the early light of dawn. He went over to Tim’s house and knocked on the door. “Guess what!” he asked. “What?” Tim asked, obviously still tired. “Put on your armor,” Steve told him. “We’re going to the Nether!”  

Suited up in their enchanted diamond armor, the 3 players strolled down the path towards the glowing purple portal in the down center. The portal was actually 5 portals connected to each other. The threesome stepped into one of the glowing purple fields, and their vision turned wavy. A second later, they stepped out onto a nether brick platform. It was open-aired, and many other players were stepping out of the glowing purple portals.  Tim, Alex and Steve walked over to a large sign marked “MINECART CENTRAL STATION” Steve passed out an iron ingot to everyone in the group. They waited behind five other players. When it was their turn, they threw the iron ingot into a hopper on the floor. The ion door in front of them swung open.

Tim, Alex and Steve arrived in a large chamber. Tracks zig-zagged across the floor. Signs hanging from the ceiling on nether brick fence read: “GREAT LAVA OCEAN, BASTION REMNANTS, CRIMSON FOREST, WARPED FOREST,  ” More signs read: “BASALT DELTA, SOUL SAND VALLEY, NETHER WASTES, NETHER FORTRESS ” “Where are we going to go?” Alex asked. “The Great Lava Ocean!” exclaimed Steve. “Why there?” Tim inquired. “The ocean is lower on the y coordinate then any other place” Steve explained. “I get it now,” Tim said.

The small group went over to the sign marked “GREAT LAVA OCEAN”. They walked over to the track underneath the sign and stepped on the pressure plate in front of it. A minecart came out of a dispenser nearby and it rolled to a stop in front of them. Steve hopped inside it and when Alex and Tim were in their own minecarts they rolled out of the station and into the fiery landscape.

Their minecarts were rolling on blocks of cobblestone, which rails had been placed on. Workers nearby were repairing a section of track that had been damaged, most likely by a ghast’s fireball. They sped on, the tracks clattering under their feet. Steve wiped the sweat from his forehead. The Nether was a strange and magical place, but it was Hot, with a capital H. The trio entered a netherrack tunnel that was sparsely lit with glowstone blocks in the ceiling.

Eventually, Tim, Alex and Steve reached a small hut made out of warped wood planks. Their minecarts hit a cactus block and then it fell into a hopper, which transported it to the return track. They climbed out and stepped onto the hard red netherrack. They hiked to the Great Lava Ocean. The lava was so hot, Steve felt like he was melting. The small group walked down to the shore and then turned around. Drawing their iron pickaxes, they created a large 2 by 3 hole in a matter of seconds. Steve began heading down to the coordinate y=15, as that was where ancient debris spawned most

Tim pulled a bed out of his inventory. He placed it down, and it exploded. If he had not had a chestplate with Blast Protection III, he would have lost a lot more health than just a mere two health points. The bed’s explosion created a crater 4 blocks deep. Standing on the side of the newly-made hole, he placed another bed and it exploded. He saw something at the bottom of the pit.

“Hey Alex, what’s this?” He asked. Alex strode over to him from her own tunnel and looked down into the large hole. Multiple blocks of netherrack with gold dots on it were at the bottom of the pit. “Ooo, I’ve read about this,” Alex said. “It’s nether gold ore” “Cool!” Tim exclaimed, jumping into the space below. He pulled out his pickaxe and began harvesting the gold-spotted blocks. The small gold nuggets flew into his inventory as fast as he could mine (which was very fast).

Steve walked backwards toward them, placing redstone dust on the ground in a line. Pulling out a lever from his inventory, he placed the switch on the ground. Then, Steve looked down at Tim’s large excavation site. “Found anything?” he asked. Tim held up a fistfull of gold nuggets. “Cool!” Steve said. He then went back over to the lever. “Ready?” he asked. “Go for it!” Alex replied. Drawing in a deep breath, Steve pulled the lever.

Seconds later, explosions blasted through the scorching  underground tunnels. The three ran ahead, searching for any Ancient Debris that might be uncovered. Suddenly, Steve spotted a chunk of the brown-colored blocks. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “Get in there!” Tim yelled, pumping his fist into the air. Switching from iron pickaxe to diamond, Steve drove the tool through the blocks. Shattering it in five seconds, the block entered his inventory with a faint Pop! Steve continued mining the cubes, while Alex placed a furnace and smithing table in a small alcove she had mined nearby.

Tim pulled out a crafting table and began shaping his gold nuggets into ingots. Steve went over to the furnace after finishing mining all the Ancient Debris. He placed the rare blocks in the furnace and after adding some coal, the furnace began to smelt it. Five minutes later, all the Ancient Debris was turned into Netherite Scrap. Alex walked off to get more Ancient Debris from Steve’s TNT explosions. “Pass me the gold, Tim,” Steve asked. “Here you go!”Tim said, passing over the newly-crafted ingots of shiny metal.

Steve placed four Netherite Scrap and four gold ingots in the grid of the crafting table, and one Netherite ingot popped into his inventory. He then moved over to the smithing table and placed the netherite ingot in one slot, and his enchanted diamond sword in the other. The two combined, making a Netherite sword appear where his diamond one was a second ago. “Yes!” he exclaimed, hefting it high into the air.

Alex came back with more debris, and their diamond swords and armor was replaced with grey swords and battle-armor. The three stormed out of their small hole and stepped onto the shore of The Great Lava Ocean. Suddenly, an arrow flew and hit Alex’s unprotected arm. Her blocky figure flashed red with damage. The attacker came into view. It was wearing diamond armor and riding a red animal with two legs towards them. He fired another arrow at Steve, but he deflected it with his shield, making it fall into the lava ocean and burn up almost instantly.

“He’s riding a Strider,” Steve said. Tim fitted an arrow to his bow enchanted bow and aimed. Steve noticed it had a red tip. “Harming,” Tim said, noticing Steve’s curiosity. “Oh” Steve replied. Tim released the string, sending the arrow flying straight at their attacker. Two more strider-riding men stepped into view, both wearing iron armor. “Give us your armor and we won’t hurt you!” one of them yelled. “No way!” Steve replied to the griefer. The trio of attackers charged, swerving away from every arrow fired so it buried into the lava. “Stop firing,” Steve said, halting their assault. “We need to attack them on land in hand-to-hand combat.” “We’re more heavily armed than they are, so that gives us an advantage,” he said.

The attackers soon reached the netherrack beach. They drew Diamond swords and enchanted bows. Suddenly, Steve and Alex came running over the nearby hill, swords drawn. The two groups met with a clash of Diamond against Netherite. The battle had begun.

Steve threw himself at the leader. The griefer commander swung his blade at Steve’s new chestplate, but he stopped it with his shield. Steve swung his sword, knocking off his helmet. It fell into the lava and burned up, disappearing. “Noooooooo!” he yelled. His cry was stopped quickly by Steve’s sword. He stole a glance at Alex. One of the griefers had been killed by a combination of Alex’s sword and Tim’s tipped arrows. “Aha!” he yelled to no one. Reaching into his inventory, Steve pulled out a light pink bottle.

He splashed the potion of harming on the griefer, but he was prepared for this. He drank a potion of regeneration, and the health that the griefer had lost was quickly restored. The griefer swung his sword down, but Steve was ready. He slipped to the side, hitting his leggings and making a large chunk fall off.

While the griefer was still in shock, Steve lifted his sword high over his head and brought it down, doing terrible damage against his unprotected head. A second later, Alex was at Steve’s side. The two battled the commander, but he had a large supply of potions, which made it hard to defeat him. “We need to enchant our swords at home” said Alex while delivering a large blow to the griefer. Suddenly, Tim’s arrow attack had stopped. “I’m out!” He yelled.

Tim ran down the hill with a…..stick? It was glowing purple, obviously enchanted with something.  He sprinted down the rusty-red slope, stick raised. Alex and Steve parted for him, and he swung his stick. The griefer flew backwards into the Great Lava Ocean and began to burn. Lava began to seep under his diamond armor, which wouldn’t fight unlike netherite.

“Looks like Mr. Griefer here forgot to bring a Potion of Fire Resistance to the Nether” Steve said, laughing. “Yeah” Tim agreed. They walked back to the minecart station and inserted one iron ingot and climbed into the new minecart. The friends sped towards the Nether Station, ready for their next adventure in Minecraft.

Chapter 5-Battle with the Wither

Back at their bases in the walled village, night was falling-and fast. It was Steve’s turn for sentry duty, so he collected his powerful enchanted bow and arrows, then walked to the wall. He climbed to one of the circular towers that rested on the four corners of the wall. “Why do you think the griefers target our village so much?” a voice said behind him. Steve jumped.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there, PotionChugger18” Steve said, turning around. “Well, I think because we have access to lots of resources from all the biomes nearby” Steve answered. “The spawnpoint has Griefer Police to protect it, so that’s why they don’t attack there often” “Hmm, that’s interesting” PotionChugger said.

Clatter! Clank! “What was that?” Steve asked, peering over the side of the tower. “Look, there are some skeletons,” PotionChugger18 said, pointing. Steve drew back his bow and fired; the arrow hit the ribs of the skeleton. It fired, but with only half strength the arrow was easy to avoid. PotionChugger dodged an arrow fired by the other skeleton, which stuck into the battlements. Steve fired another arrow, and it struck the head, destroying the beast. PotionChugger18 fired two more arrows, destroying the mob.

“Let us in…Please!” said a voice from the darkness. Steve ran to the gate controls. “Who are you?” He asked. “CoolGamer146 and RainbowHeart85” a girl’s voice replied. Steve pulled the lever, and the first set of iron doors swung open. The players walked inside, and then they swung shut. “Do you have any food?” RainbowHeart85 asked as Steve entered the small barbican. “Yes, here” siad Steve, handing a loaf of bread to each.

“Thank you” the two replied, gulping down the food. “We joined the server this morning” CoolGamer146 said. “And?” Steve asked as PotionChugger18 entered the chamber. “The spawnpoint is really crowded, no place to build or mine or anything” He continued. “Yeah, It’s crazy over there” PotionChugger agreed. “We saw a sign for your village there, so we decided it didn’t seem too far away and began to come here, hoping we could make it before nightfall” CoolGamer said. “But highwaymen attacked us” RainbowHeart interrupted.

“Highwaymen?” Steve said, frowning. “Sounds like the griefers” PotionChugger stated. “We’ll look into this,” Steve said, gesturing for PotionChugger18 to go up the ladder and flip the lever. “You can stay in our village, we have a house for new players” Steve said as the iron door swung open. “It’s a large cobblestone place, with a wooden roof!” Steve called after them. He watched the two players enter the temporary house and disappear.

PotionChugger18 and BlockBreaker55 climbed back up on the wall, their armor glinting in the dawn sun. They heard zombies moaning in the distance, but then their griping was silenced by the rays of the sun. The night shift was over, and the two guards left, being replaced by two other guards.

Steve walked down the road to the large red creeper face; he had made it that way as red was his favorite color. He remembered all the trips to the mesa he had taken and all the red dye (he had used Alex’s flower farm for the poppies). In no time, he found himself at the door. He opened the door and opened the chest next to his anvil, then took out his iron armor and replaced it with his set of netherite. Suddenly, he heard the chime of a bell.

Steve ran out the door, and he heard it shut with a loud Clang! A small group of players were gathered at the brown-and-black meeting podium. Someone was ringing a bell, which signified that a meeting was taking place. He squeezed between Alex and Tim, giving them a smile.

“Hello,” said PotionChugger18 at the front. Lucy and Adam were standing next to him. “Last night, RainbowHeart85 and CoolGamer146 arrived at our gates,”He said, gesturing to each of them in turn. “We were attacked by highwaymen,” CoolGamer146 reported. “We think they may have been griefers” PotionChugger18 explained. “We have decided to send out a trio of investigators to figure this out,”

DragonSlayer72 stepped up onto the podium. “CookieMaster73, AwesoneDude39 and I will go and figure this out,” The gold bell rang again. “Meeting ended!” someone called out. The council flooded onto the streets, the meeting dispersed. Everyone was returning to bases or visiting friends. Steve paused, watching the three investigators walk down the street. They were heavily armed, all with diamond armor and powerful swords and bows. DragonSlayer72 turned around, and Steve waved.

DragonSlayer waved back, sword still in hand. They went through the gates, and then they disappeared from view. Steve stayed there for a moment, then turned around. He realized he was low on some supplies, so he decided to go trade for more. His first stop was his own market stall.

His market stall was a small, wooden, open-aired building. A counter made of slabs was in the front for trading, and the roof was yellow wool blocks. He had item frames adorning the front full of items to buy or trade. “Market open!” Steve yelled as soon as he had gone inside the small trading shop. “Hey Iron King!” said a player, walking up to the counter. He wore a blue hoodie and had dark hair. “Could I buy some iron blocks, as you are the king of iron?” “Sure thing,” said Steve, opening an ender chest at his side. He pulled out thirty-six iron ingots and  began shaping them into blocks at a crafting table. “What do you need it for?” Steve asked the stranger.

“I’m just low on some supplies, like I recently died and lost my armor and sword while mining,” he said. “OK, well, I hope these replenish them,” said Steve, placing the newly-crafted iron blocks on the counter. “How much will that be?” The boy asked. “Three diamonds should cover it,” Steve replied. “I, Um, will need to go back to my place and get the diamonds” He replied, clearly embarrassed. Steve pointed at another Ender Chest outside the shop.

“Whoops, I didn’t see that-Sorry, Steve,” “It’s fine,” Steve said as he put the diamonds on the counter. A loud racket filled the air. “Bye!” He yelled, running into the rain. Steve left the small shop and raised his shield above his head. He walked back to his house, and soon dried him and his armor off with a block of wool in the lantern-lit room of his base. Steve opened his inventory and frowned “This will need a lot of sorting,” He said to himself. He climbed the ladder to his storage room and began opening chests and placing items inside them.

When he was done sorting his items, Steve sat down at his table. He ate a piece of bread and then walked to the window above his crafting table. The rain was still pouring down, and suddenly A loud Crack! filled the air. It was followed by a large Boom! The lightning struck the village’s wheat farm, scorching the ready-to-harvest food. A small fire was created, but the rain quickly doused it.
Loud assorted noises filled the air. Monsters were in the village. Steve bolted up the ladder to the wall. He loaded an arrow into his mounted crossbow and took aim. The arrow streaked out of the crossbow, hitting a zombie square in the forehead. It flashed red for a moment, but it was quickly devoured by the infantry’s swords. More monsters spawned, making it a tough battle.

One player was riding down the street on a pig, sword high in the air, but lightning struck a block in front of it. The player fell to the ground, and a Zombie Pigman took the place of the pig. The player screamed, hitting the mob. It oinked, and then drove its golden sword forward, hitting the user in front of him. They fought, Gold against Iron, but assistance was needed to win.

Steve fired his arrows, and the pigman was defeated. One of the village warriors rode a horse down the street, slashing with dual diamond blades. He dismounted and jumped into the fray, swords a blur as it killed many monsters. Suddenly, the lightning struck the horse and caused it to turn red with damage. It was replaced with three skeleton horses. Their riders carried glowing purple bows and wore enchanted iron helmets.

“We need backup!” Their leader yelled. Citizens ran out their doors, swords in hand. Others clambered onto rooftops, then began firing enchanted bows and crossbows. Five minutes later, the battle was over. Knock Knock Knock!  Steve climbed down the ladder to the door. He stepped on a pressure plate below the door, and it instantly swung open. CoolGamer146 and RainbowHeart stood at the door. Lucy wore pink leather armor, while Adam wore iron, a bow clutched in his hand. An iron sword rested in Lucy’s.

“PotionChugger18 sent us here to get some supplies,” Lucy said.  “The village storeroom is out, because the weekly restock hasn’t come in yet,” Adam explained. “OK, well, what do you need?” Steve asked, letting them come through the door, which swung shut as soon as they touched the wood plate. “Um, food, potions, and some lapis lazuli to enchant stuff” Adam recalled, as Steve nodded, his back to the ladder up to the storage room. “Got it,” Steve said, climbing the ladder. “Just have a look around while I’m gone” He called, voice echoing down the narrow shaft.

When Steve returned he saw Lucy and Adam staring curiously at a purple wing on the wall. “What’s this?” Adam asked. “Phantom Wing” Steve replied, matter-of-factly. “Anyway, here are your supplies,”Steve said while placing items on the table in piles. “I got you each twenty loaves of bread, two healing potions, half a stack of lapis lazuli, a golden apple, and also a bottle o’ enchanting” Steve told them as they took the items from the table.

“The enchanting room is over near the villager trading hall and the armory, “ Steve told the small group as they walked out the door. “Thanks for everything!” Lucy yelled, waving. Soon they had disappeared from sight. Steve left the door, and he heard the familiar Clang! as the door swung shut. He climbed into his red bed, and fell asleep.

That morning, he hopped out of bed. Climbing the familiar ladder to the wall, watching the sun peek above the hill where the bombers were stored. His gaze moved down to the sea of homes. The houses looked nearly on top of each other, only separated by the two-block wide cobblestone paths. The loud Clang! of a bell woke him from his trance. He saw a flood of people moving to the obsidian platform; It was another meeting. He jumped off the wall and swooped down towards the ground, but his Elytra activated just in time.

Steve flew above the heads of the crowds of users that were making their way to the meeting. When he reached the large crowd, he glided over their heads, looking for a place to land, but when he found one, he fell to the ground, rather than the graceful landing he had pictured in his head. The crowd around him laughed.

Tim was up on the platform, ready to read the speech he had in a book that was resting in his hands. He rang the bell for silence. Everyone obeyed. Tim cleared his throat, and began to speak. “For months, the Griefer Army has been attacking settlements of users across the server,” Tim said. “Ours has been targeted most, because we have resisted every attack,” “Some smaller villages have turned, or been destroyed, down to the last grass block,”  

Tim moved to the side to let DragonSlayer72 step up to the podium. “As most of you know, we have recently received intel that the Griefers are trying to STOP people from joining us” Percy said while pacing from one side platform to the other. “This is why we need stronger defences-Build team, I’ve sent you the plans via email” “Let’s go, guys!” Tim yelled. Most of the users trickled off to their homes, but some stayed behind, talking to each other.

“Well, I’m gonna go and donate some of my private resources to the village armory” Steve said to Tim and Alex. “One of the ultra-automatic farms and also one of the bamboo farms have broken as well, so I need to fix those,” “What about the Nether Wart, melon, pumpkin and berry farms?” Tim asked. “Oh, those?” Steve asked. “They’re fine-I think.” He answered. Alex laughed.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Steve, Alex and Tim whipped around toward the direction of the voice. “The Wither!” The voice yelled again. Steve pulled out his Netherite Sword and began to run, but Alex and Tim stayed where they are, pulling out potions. Tim grabbed a pinkish-blue bottle from his inventory and drank it. Meanwhile, Alex took a light blue bottle out and drank it.

Tim leaped up onto the roof of the closest house and notched an arrow to his crossbow, then switched to bow as soon as it was loaded. He began leaping from roof to roof. Alex dashed past Steve, her armor a blur. Steve ran down the street, while yelling: “Wither!” Armored warriors rushed out of houses, swords and bow in hand. “Ender Bouncing!” Steve yelled, bulling out a stack of Ender Pearls. Many of the warriors threw them, while continuing to run. They flew into the air, and when they hit the ground, the village’s defenders were teleported to the battle. Bows were singing as blue and black wither skulls rained on the warriors.

As the Wither floated around the village, attacking players, there was still hope of winning the intense battle.The Wither’s dark purple health bar was slowly dropping. This was much helped by a stream of splash potions of healing. Arrows struck its bony body, some of them also delivering potion effects which continued to drop it’s HP.

Suddenly, arrows flew from the watchtower in the corner of the village. The sentries pulled back on the string of their enchanted bows and arrows tipped with fire sliced through the air toward the black, bony beast and hit it, setting the Wither alight. A smell of burnt coal filled the battlefield.

The sharp Thwang! of the archer’s bows filled the air, the flint-tipped sticks falling on the dangerous monster. Explosive Whither skulls slammed into the ground and exploded, rocking the grass blocks beneath their boots. When the Wither was at 50% health it lowered close to the ground. It was now immune to arrow damage.

“SWORDS OUT-MOVE IN!” yelled the army leader. Switching from ranged to melee weapons, the village army formed a tight ring. They slowly moved forward, dodging Wither skulls that were destroying the cobblestone paths and replacing them with 5-block deep pits. Dirt blocks floated casually at the bottom. When they were in range, the army began to swing their heavily-enchated swords. The Wither’s HP dropped fast, as the swords were doing more damage than their waves of arrows.

As a diamond sword wielded by a user in iron armor struck the beast it’s health bar dropped to zero. A cloud of smoke replaced it’s body and after the smoke cleared it left behind many glowing orbs of XP and a shining purple, yellow and white star-The Nether Star.

Steve ran forward and picked it up. The XP floated to all the players that had helped destroy the Wither. It entered their XP bars with a loud chime. “Well done, guys” Steve said. “That was a tough battle” Alex said loudly. “Well, we wouldn’t have killed it without my arrows, would we?” Tim asked, smirking. The armored warriors laughed.

“I’ve been thinking it might be a good idea to put a beacon in the center of the village to use as a signal” Steve suggested. “Permission to use it for this?” He asked. The commander nodded, smiling. ” Any objections? ” A user in chainmail armor raised his hand. “We should make a memorial to the players that died during the battle” he suggested. Tim stepped forward. “No offense, Caveminer456, but the beacon is a better idea and will improve our village” Caveminer frowned. “But we can put a sign up saying that on the beacon” Tim added.

” Tomorrow at morning meeting let’s set up the beacon” The commander announced. “Please bring some iron, gold or diamond blocks for it” Steve went back to the Creeper Fortress. Tim walked back to Cobblestone Castle, while Alex headed to Flower Cottage. Steve was up late that night, mining and gathering supplies for the Beacon.

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This e-mail was sent from a contact form on Mark Cheverton (https://giants-markcheverton.com)