The Wither Invasion Read online

  With a satisfied grin, Fencer casually walked over the two incapacitated villagers and stood directly in front of Blaster.

  “I think I’m gonna go with you.” She stared at Blaster, then glared at Watcher. “Any objections?”

  Both boys shook their heads, stunned by what they’d just witnessed.

  “How did you learn to do that?” Blaster asked in disbelief.

  “Cutter’s been teaching me a few tricks so I can fight better.”

  “I’d say he’s a pretty good teacher.” Watcher was amazed.

  “No … I’m a good learner.” She smiled at him, then turned and headed back to the others, Watcher following behind.

  After a few steps, Watcher glanced over his shoulder at Blaster. The boy was staring down at the big NPCs as they struggled to stand. Surprisingly, Watcher spotted a smile on Blaster’s face, as if he were impressed.

  “Come on, Blaster, it looks as if everyone’s ready to leave.” Watcher pulled Needle from his inventory and tapped it on the ground to get his attention. “Are you coming?”

  Blaster nodded, then helped Breaker and Chopper up. “We’re coming.” He glanced at the two big villagers. “I guess you’ll be coming with us now, but if a little girl can beat you up, I don’t know what’s gonna happen when real monsters actually show up.”

  “Monsters will take it easier on them than I did,” Fencer shouted from up ahead, then laughed aloud, a satisfied sound echoing off the cold stone walls.

  Watcher chuckled as well as a look of resignation came across Blaster’s face. The young boy had just realized he couldn’t stop Fencer from following him wherever he went.

  “Come on, Blaster, speed it up. We have a monster army to find and destroy,” Watcher said.

  “Maybe you should just send Fencer after them.” Blaster glanced at Fencer, the faintest smile still on his face. “She could probably take care of them all before we even get a chance to take out our swords.”

  “I hope so,” Watcher said. “I really hope so.”

  Images of battle and death filled his mind as he thought about the impending war. How many of my friends must die to stop Krael and his army? he thought.

  As many as is necessary, a scratchy voice replied in the back of his mind.

  Watcher held his hands up and glanced at the Gauntlets of Life on his wrists; he knew that voice came from Taerian, the wizard trapped in the magical weapons. The Gauntlets gave off a bright pulse of light, then faded back to their normal, glowing state. The disregard for life that came from Taerian made him shudder, but maybe that was how he would have to think if they were going to win the Second Great War.

  “Come on, Watcher, hurry up,” Blaster shouted from up ahead.

  Watcher realized he’d slowed to a stop while he was talking to the Gauntlets. With a nod, he sprinted through the cold passage, weaving around NPCs as he neared the main tower, then skidded to a stop next to Blaster.

  “The few horses we still have in the village are all up in the forest waiting for us.” Blaster removed his gray-colored leather armor and replaced it with his favorite: midnight black. “The other warriors are up there already.”

  Watcher nodded and headed for the steps, but Blaster grabbed his arm and stopped him.

  “How about you do that cloning thing with some TNT?” Blaster pulled out one of the red-and-white striped cubes and placed it on the ground. “I have a feeling we’re gonna need it.”

  Watcher nodded, then reached into his inventory and pulled out the Wand of Cloning. It was a bent and crooked stick with one end split into two, making the shape of a ‘Y.’ Tiny bands of metal wrapped around the ends, each glowing softly, giving off an iridescent glow. “Do you have a potion of healing?”

  Blaster nodded and pulled out a splash potion, the red liquid sloshing black and forth.

  “Stand back; I don’t want to clone your foot accidentally.” Watcher waved the wand over his head, allowing the magical power to build. Other NPCs gathered around to watch, but kept a safe distance from the young wizard.

  The Wand grew brighter, making it hard for villagers to see, and many moved back a little farther, afraid of magic. Watcher could feel the power building in the Wand, but also feel it growing within himself. Suddenly, pain blasted through his body as the Wand of Cloning looked for energy to feed into its enchantments and used Watcher’s HP. A glass bottle crashed against his diamond armor, cooling the flames of agony, but not completely.

  When he felt the time was right, Watcher pointed the wand at the TNT and flicked his wrist once, then again and again and again as a bright purple glow enveloped the explosive block, making it impossible to see. He continued the process as pain surged through his body, his HP diminishing. Another healing potion shattered against his back, the enchanted liquid doing what it could to rejuvenate him, but it never seemed to eliminate the pain completely.

  Finally, as fatigue caused his legs to weaken, Watcher stopped flicking his wrist and put the Wand back into his inventory. The iridescent glow on the ground slowly faded, revealing not just one block of TNT, but dozens. The crowd moved closer and gasped in surprise as they saw all the blocks, leaving the villagers uncertain what to say. Chopper moved to Watcher’s side and patted the boy on the back, then cheered. The other NPCs added their voices to the jubilation as more villagers patted the young wizard on the back.

  Blaster stepped forward and picked up the explosives, a huge smile on his face. “Good job, Watcher. I hope we don’t need all this.”

  Watcher just nodded, exhausted, then headed up the stairs leading out of the ancient structure and up to the forest overhead, with Blaster, Fencer, Chopper and Breaker following behind.

  When they finally made it out the giant hole in which the Wizard’s Tower sat, they found about three dozen villagers, all on horseback. Watcher found his horse, a dusty-gray mare with white markings around her hooves; it was the horse he’d gotten during the battle with the spider warlord at the Citadel of the Horse Lords. This horse had saved his life that day, as well as the lives of many others; Watcher was glad she was still here.

  Pulling an apple from his inventory, he offered it to the horse; the animal gobbled it up instantly. Grabbing the reins, he swung up into the saddle and glanced at Mirthrandos. “Any idea where we go to find Tharus’s portal?”

  The ancient wizard shrugged. “I know the Overworld is about a million blocks to the east, so I’d guess it’s to the west.”

  “Deeper into the Far Lands.” Watcher nodded. “That makes sense. Blaster, why don’t you take the lead? Let’s head west.”

  The boy nodded and turned his mount, then gave it a gentle kick with his heels. Instantly, the animal took off at a gallop, the rest of the company following.

  Watcher glanced at Planter; she looked scared.

  “It’ll be okay.” Watcher tried to sound confident but did a poor job. He could still feel that jagged tickle in the back of his mind, reminding him Krael was still out there and wanted to kill them all.

  The party rode with light hearts, the sounds of animals in the forest making it feel as if life surrounded them, but as usual, they couldn’t see any of them; the cows, chickens, and pigs were invisible amongst the oak and birch trees. Watcher knew many of those sounds came from the metallic wolves loping along with villagers; the animal sounds were how they communicated with each other. He always found it peculiar when he heard the sounds of animals but couldn’t find them, but now he understood: it had been the iron wolves patrolling Minecraft for years, if not centuries. They were too stealthy to be seen as they protected all the worlds in the Pyramid of Servers, watching for another Great War.

  Well, now they’d found one.

  Every few moments, the ground shook, as if a giant’s fist had slammed into the forest floor, but it was the heavy footsteps of the golems. The massive creatures tried to step lightly, but it was difficult when their bodies were composed of either iron or obsidian.

  The forest thinned out, revealing a wide t
rail, a tall spruce tree standing out of place amongst the oaks and birches. At the fork in the path, small groups of warriors peeled off and headed in different directions, obsidian golems traveling with each. Watcher’s group of NPCs, three dozen strong, followed the path to the west, a ring of mechites riding iron wolves around the villagers, the towering golems staying on the road to avoid the low-hanging branches.

  His sister, Winger, rode at the front of the formation with Blaster and Mapper on either side, Fencer trying to push her way between the villagers to ride at Blaster’s side. Mapper, always the courteous one, moved aside, making room for the young girl. Blaster scowled at the old man … it made Watcher laugh. Glancing over his shoulder at the sound, Blaster gave Watcher an angry glare, then shrugged and turned forward.

  They followed the sun as it slowly settled toward the distant horizon, their shadows growing longer and longer. Watcher swallowed nervously. He knew where this trail led: toward a place he dreaded and would have been glad never to visit again.

  “I hope the others can convince more NPCs to come to the Wizard’s Tower and help us.” Planter glanced at Watcher, her face creased with discomfort. “We need more troops for the war that’s heading for us. But I feel bad about bringing others into the violence.”

  “Why?” Watcher asked.

  “We may be bringing them to their deaths.”

  “If they stay in their homes, they’ll be destroyed eventually, after Krael finishes us off.” Watcher sighed. “They have no choice … like us. It’s war or destruction for every villager; there’s no other option.”

  “Come on, let’s speed it up,” Cutter shouted from up ahead. “The golems and wolves can easily keep up.”

  The big NPC kicked his horse into a gallop, the rest of the party following.

  Er-Lan guided his mount next to Watcher’s. “It seems like a long time ago when Er-Lan met Planter and Watcher on this very road.”

  “That was farther to the east, as I recall,” Planter said. “I think it was on the other side of the village in that direction.”

  The zombie nodded.

  “I think it was when the zombies were trying to kill all of us.” Cutter’s voice had an angry edge to it.

  “Bad times, indeed.” Er-Lan nodded sadly.

  “I wonder, now and then, why you let us capture you?” Cutter turned in the saddle and glared at Er-Lan. “I know zombies can be sneaky and quiet if they want, yet you just bumbled around in the forest that night, making lots of noise.” He glanced at Watcher. “I bet he wanted to get captured.” Cutter glanced at Er-Lan again. “Maybe you did it so that idiotic zombie warlord, Tu-Kar, wouldn’t discover anything.”

  “Discover? What could be discovered?” the zombie replied, confused.

  “Ahh … I don’t know, that maybe you’re a warlock, and you’re really working for the wither king?” Cutter pointed at Er-Lan with a thick, meaty finger.

  “Cutter, that’s ridiculous. Er-Lan is our friend, and we’ve taken him into our family.” Watcher glanced at the zombie and smiled reassuringly, then ducked as he rode under a low-hanging branch. “And the magic thing is absurd. Do you see him glowing like me, or Planter, or Mirthrandos? If Er-Lan were a warlock, I’d be able to sense it, and I don’t detect any magic in him.”

  Cutter still glared at the zombie. “He’s done some things that make me suspicious, like the last time we were in the Hall of Planes.”

  “You mean the time he saved all our lives by pushing Krael out of the portal?” Watcher replied. “That’s your evidence? How could Er-Lan be working with Krael if he stopped him?”

  “Well … he was glowing purple, like you and Planter.” Cutter’s voice was growing quieter.

  “That was because my magic leaked into him,” Watcher replied. “That wasn’t because of Er-Lan, it was because of me, of course.”

  “Well …” Cutter shook his head but remained silent.

  Blaster shouted something difficult to hear as he galloped back to the main party. Fencer rode right behind him, a huge, satisfied smile on her face.

  “What did he say?” Watcher asked.

  “Blaster said there is no one in the old village.” Er-Lan glanced at the young wizard, a concerned expression spreading across his scarred green face. “Is something wrong?”

  “I haven’t been here since … you know, the attack.” Watcher turned to Planter. “This might bring back some uncomfortable memories. Are you okay?”

  She nodded but remained silent.

  Everyone in the company could feel the tension from Planter and Watcher; both of them were clearly afraid of confronting the memories from that terrible day.

  “You and me, together,” Watcher said to Planter.

  She nodded, her long blond hair shining like fine gold in the ruddy light of the setting sun.

  They rode side by side into their village, the rest of the warriors staying back to give them some privacy. They headed first for Watcher’s former family home. Winger kicked her horse forward and moved to her brother’s side.

  “You okay?” Winger reached out and put a hand on Watcher’s shoulder.

  He nodded but kept his eyes straight ahead.

  When they reached the home, all three of them dismounted as the wolves and golems formed a perimeter around the charred remains of the broken structure. Watcher stared at the charred walls and shattered windows and wanted to weep, but he knew it wouldn’t help, not now. So many painful memories started from this point on that terrible day. Using every bit of self-control, he choked back the emotions as much as he could and tried to look brave; by the looks on his friends’ faces, he knew it wasn’t working.

  “This is it.” Winger kicked a piece of the door. It snapped off the hinge and fell to the ground. “These ruins are all that’s left of our home.”

  “I thought destroying the zombie warlord, Tu-Kar, would have brought me some peace.” Watcher scowled and shook his head. “But the empty place deep within my soul always reminds me of that terrible day when the zombie warlord attacked and shattered our lives. A feeling of despair still sits within me, festering, like a disease.”

  “It’s okay, brother,” Winger said. “We all did what we could that day, but we were outnumbered. It’s not anyone’s fault that the zombies took over our village and captured everyone.”

  “You don’t get it,” Watcher snapped. “You put up a fight; many people did. But all I did was lay here on the ground and pretend to be dead because I was afraid. I didn’t do anything to help our friends and neighbors.”

  “You did rescue everyone.” Mapper moved next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. “I’d say that’s something. That’s a big something.”

  “He’s right.” Planter stood directly in front of him, her emerald eyes filled with sadness, but also a bright spark of strength and courage. “You said you were gonna save everyone, and you did. If you hadn’t convinced all of us to fight back, Winger and all of the villagers from here would still be in the mines, digging up gold for Kaza. You defeated that wither and probably saved all of the Far Lands. I’d say that’s something to be proud of.”

  “Maybe, but how many acts of bravery will it take to erase the one moment of cowardice that I still regret?” Watcher lowered his gaze to the ground.

  “Never regret your failures,” Mira advised, her scratchy voice filled with wisdom.

  “Why? Don’t you think Watcher would want to forget that terrible day?” Planter glared at the ancient wizard. “We all want to forget it.”

  “I’m sure it was terrible, but our failures make us who we are.” Mira turned toward Watcher. “If you don’t learn from your failures, then you’ve failed twice. The defeats we experience mold and shape us just as much as our victories. For good or ill, we are the decisions we make. All we can do is learn from them and try to do better next time.” She turned and smiled at Watcher, then grew very serious. “I should know. I have enough failures for all of us.”

  “What was learned from the fa
ilure that cursed Mira with eternal life?” Er-Lan asked.

  “That wasn’t a failure. I helped a little wither named Kobael to stay alive. Every day I think about that tiny wither. I hope he had a good life and escaped the violence of the Great War. But there’s no doubt the punishment of eternal life molded me into who I am.”

  “How did it do that?” Blaster asked.

  Everyone turned and found the boy behind them, his black leather armor allowing him to merge with the darkening background.

  “With each loved one I watched grow old and die, I became more bitter, until I finally withdrew from the world and hid down in my underwater palace.”

  “So how is that a good lesson?” Blaster asked. “It sounds pretty miserable.”

  “For a couple of centuries, it was. But then I met you.” Mira pointed her crooked, metal-banded staff at Watcher. “You awakened something in me that I’d completely forgotten.”

  “What was it?”

  “Hope: hope that life can be worth living; hope that maybe I can help make the world a better place; hope that maybe … just maybe, my presence in this world will make a difference in someone’s life. That’s the gift you gave me, Watcher … hope.”

  “Wow, that’s a lot,” Blaster said. “All Watcher ever gave me was a headache from all his crazy plans.”

  Fencer punched Blaster in the shoulder. He flashed her a smile, then quickly looked away, abashed.

  “Come on, we need to keep moving west,” Watcher said.

  “Ok, but first I wanna go to my house quickly.” Planter grabbed the reins of her horse and headed deeper into the village.

  She led them past the charred remains of house after house, some of them just an outline on the ground, their walls and floors burned to ash. Finally, they reached her ruined home.