Zach stood motionless as he basked in the glow of the mythical object, it was beautiful. Pulling open his inventory he cautiously placed the weapon in his hand. Swinging it around, it made a hissing sound as it sliced through the air like a knife slicing a piece of freshly baked bread.
Chapter one
Zach woke up to the golden glow of sunshine that streamed through his window. Stretching, he yawned and got out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and put on his normal morning clothes, a red striped t-shirt and a pair of battle-scarred jeans and boots. Looking around he noticed that his room was a mess and that his bookshelf was completely destroyed. Books were everywhere and he knew exactly why. Moving over to the book shelf he laughed at the culprit for he must have thought he was dumb. Even the worst of users knew that you hide anything of importance or value in a chest. Zach then turned around and opened a wooden chest that stood at the foot of his bed. The chest made a painful “creeeak” as the hinges were old and rusty being in this house for many years. Zach stood dumbfounded, the book wasn’t there! Looking deeper into the chest he saw the outline of dust that marked where the book once sat, alone. Panicking, he threw a leash on his dog, Sparky. Together the two of them rushed outside, zach figured that at least one of the villagers had seen or even possibly comprehended the culprit. After nearly falling over the threshold of the door, he saw that villain had gotten away, but not with his prize. On the gravel path in front of them sat a book, an iridescent blue glow shimmered from it reminding zach of the sun on the ocean. Picking up the book he tied Sparky to a fence post. He opened the book and choked to death as an angry fury of dust kicked up from the wind and went down his throat.He coughed and after his lungs were clear he glanced down at the book. It looked as if someone had written in a hurry, the ancient book was written in code that he couldn’t understand. He untied Sparky’s leash and they went down to the local village to see Jack, the village librarian. Once inside the village perimeter they made their way down the dirt path to the end of the village, this was where Jack was located. The door made a “cling” as it swung open. “Jack!” he called out, “Are you here?” “ Is that who I think it is?” a voice called out from the back. suddenly a big nosed villager came out around the corner. “ It is!” cried Jack. “long time no see! How are you?” “ Im fine.” Zach replied.
“Do you want to trade?”
“ No actually I was wondering if you could translate something for me.”
After 10 minutes of deciphering and lots of frustration, here is what Jack came up with.
The Translation
Within the depths you will find,
A weapon that was left behind,
Against time you must race,
But beware,
Things want to eat your face.
“ Okay thanks Jack.” replied Zack. Puzzled, he paid Jack and walked out the store’s front door. “ Weapon huh? What kind kind of weapon? Let’s see, there’s a bow and arrows,sword axe..” Making a list of all the possible weapons hurt his brain. With Sparky close on his heels he left the village and went home.
It was around midnight when Zach had finished his work. After ten cups of coffee Zach had figured out what the strange writing in the book had possibly meant. “ Okay Sparky, how does this sound? In the depths of a long forgotten cave is a hidden weapon that is yet to be discovered.” He glanced down and saw that his loyal companion was listening, giving his master his undivided attention. “ Also, in order to get this so called weapon, we must pass a monster horde hiding in the shadows.” As if on cue Sparky got up and gave his master a lick of approval. “ I knew I could count on you. Come on, let’s go to sleep.”
The next morning Zach and Sparky woke up early even though they had stayed up late the night before. Pulling out five pieces of parchment and a wooden pencil, he began to write letters to five of his friends. The first letter was to his friend Sarah who lived in the mushroom biome. The mushroom biome was Zach’s favorite biome because no hostile mobs spawned here. The second letter was to Steve, his best friend and expert alchemist. Zach figured that Steve’s seemingly never ending supply of potions would help them in the battle of the mobs. Steve lived in the roofed forest biome because he said it helps him keep his senses sharp. The roofed forest biome is a very dangerous place to live for hostile mobs spawn here, even in the day. the next two letters were to John and Luke, both expert battlefronts men. They lived in the cold taiga biome because they liked to use their weapons often. The fifth and final letter was to his brother Sam, an expert redstone electrician and rock climber. Zach figured that Sam’s expertise in redstone contraptions along with his bulky form would highly benefit them in their upcoming journey. Licking each of the envelopes shut he threw them in the mailbox. Now all he had to do was wait.
Luke and John were the first to respond for they lived closest to Zach. They said they would bring a health stack of swords and saddles for they could possibly find some horses on the way. It took Sam and Steve another day to respond because they lived so far away from the plains biome where Zach lived. Sarah on the other hand, had actually called and said she would be a couple days for she was currently in San Francisco on a sightseeing trip but she would definitely be there for them. After reading all their letters Zach looked at the clock and saw it was almost 12:00 am. This worried him because it was the harvest season, the season where the crops flourish the most. The minecart stations would be jampacked with villagers travelling from all over the world to trade. Soon his village would be crowded to the edge of the village limits. Zach wanted to get an early head start on his trading. he walked out the door and made his way towards the village. When he arrived he headed to John the farmers area of the village. He figured that he would need lots of food for their upcoming expedition. He opened the wooden door that led into the farmers shop.As in all shops the door made a ding when the door swung open.” Zach my boy” John said.
“ How are you? How’s sparky?”
“He’s fine” Do you have any bread or apples”
“Actually, we do, I just got a fresh supply of apples. I can whip up a fresh batch of bread if you would like.”
“That would be great” Zach replied. he sat down at a table in the corner of the shop. “So hows been business been?” zach asked. “ About average” John called from the back of the shop.” But with harvest season here it’s about to get a lot more busy. I expect to make at least 10 stacks of emeralds if all goes according to plan.” “ 10 stacks?” Zach asked.” What are you going to do with all that money?”
“ Well I plan to expand the shop to twice the size. The bigger the better.” John replied as he came out from the back. “ Here you go,freshly baked. That will be 2 emeralds.” Reaching into his inventory Zach plopped 2 emeralds onto the counter,thanked John and walked out the front door.
Zach hopped into bed later that day as he got ready to go to sleep. Sparky was already asleep at the foot of the bed, he slipped under the covers. He was just dropping into a deep sleep when he heard a loud thump from the living room. He pulled out a diamond axe from the chest at the end of his bed and cautiously made his way to the front of his house. Flicking on the lights, he saw two shadowy figures outside the door. He opened the door and asked “Who are you?” A male voice responded,” it’s us Zach, Luke and John” “ What? How?” he said as he swung open the door, axe still at the ready. The two figures stepped inside and looked at Zach. “ How did you guys get here so fast?” Zach asked. “ Well, we saw that the minecart stations were jampacked so we just teleported using Enderpearls.” Smart idea” Zach replied. John and Luke then proceeded to set up two red sleeping bags on the floor. “Well make yourselves at home, if you need anything I’ll be in my room sleeping.” He walked back to his room and went to sleep.
Chapter two
The next morning Zach was the last to wake up. He went to kitchen and saw that Luke had whipped up a fresh batch of eggs and orange juice.After exchanging the morning greeting, Zach reached in the cupboard and put a big juicy steak in Spark’s bowl. As quick as lightning, Sparky devoured the steak. “So guys what do you want to do today? “ Well I wanted to go fishing today. I saw a potential spot on the way here.” John said “ Well, why don’t we go hunting? I brought my bow with me.” Luke suggested.” Well we can do both of those things today, but I think we should go to the Overworld Weapons expo to stock up on some bows and other things. Our journey could possibly be a dangerous one.” “ Actually, that a good idea, I could sure use some arrows.” John said. “And I could use some enchantments on my sword. “ Zach mentioned. “ Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” The trio of friends made their way to the Minecart stations and found that it was empty,except for two minecarts approaching in the distance.”Hey Zach, I think that’s…” John started to say but he was cut short. “Guys, that’s Steve and Sam!” Zach said jumping up and down. He took off at the speeding minecarts,nearly tripping over his own two feet. “Sam! Steve! Over here!” The minecarts stopped and the friends rejoiced upon their arrival. “ Hey Zach,Luke, John hows it going?” Steve asked. “Oh everythings great. We were just on our way to the Overworld Weapons Expo if you would like to join us.” Zach replied.” That sounds like a great idea! We just stopped at the bank not to long ago and got some emeralds. We could really use some pork chops and stuff.” Sam mentioned. “ There’s a grocery store not too far from here would could stop by and stock up on food.” Zach then turned around and pressed a wooden button on the wall and five minecarts dispensed on the track in front of them. Each of them hopped into their separate minecarts and they were on their way.
In the distance a large building made mostly of quartz and glass appeared and filled in the chunks around them. The sound of villagers could be heard from a mile away. The travelers hopped out of their minecarts and began their expedition towards the colossal monument of quartz. “Well guys,” zach said. “Here we are. The Overworld Weapons Expo.” “it’s a lot prettier in person.” Sam whistled. “ are we just gonna stand here, or are we going to go in?” John said playfully. Zach rolled his eyes and the trio walked inside.
They stood Motionless as their breathe left their body like a spirit leaving a corpse, their eyes unable to focus on just one thing, “O-oh my god…” John stammered.” I should have stayed outside, this is too good to be true.” “ something tells me, that trip to the bank was pretty much a waste of time.” Sam laughed. Zach didn’t say anything for his eyes were frozen on the picture of the Famous Knights order. “ i have to buy that…” he thought. Going around the back he read the price tag. “200 emeralds!?!” He began to sway but steadied himself against a nearby table. That’s outrageous. “Ahem” a nearby man cleared his throat and gave Zach a glare. “sorry “ He mouthed and went off to find his friends. He found Luke by the concession stand. “I’ll have a chilli cheese dog with extra cheese…” Luke began as he placed his order “Luke, Is there anything in the world you won’t eat? You already had a large Cheese Burger on the way here!” Zach said in a snarky tone.” “ Nope.” Luke laughed. “You haven’t seen John or Sam anywhere have you? I’ve been looking for them everywhere!”
“Actually here they come now.” Zach said “Hey fellas what’s shakin’?” A huge smile formed on John’s face as he reached into his bag,and pulled out a shimmering sword. Zach’s eyes nearly rolled out onto the floor as he had never seen such a magnificent sword. It was iron and had the knockback IV enchantment. “For you.” John said handing the beauty to Zach. “Wha-Why?” He slurred his speech for he was in a daze. “ You shouldn’t…how much did it cost…” He stammered. “Well it was originally up for 50 emeralds but i managed to-” John was interrupted by a loud BAM and people rushing for the exits. “Whats going on?” Sam yelled over the chaos. “ I don’t know know!” Luke screamed. After the first wave came to an end the friends were left breathless, their hair a jumbled mess. “Is everyone alright?” John asked. “Yeah” All three replied. “Wait a minute, where’s-” “HELP!” “Luke!” They all yelled in unison. Rushing around the corner they found Luke and also an army of creepers. Luke was hastily trying to fend them off with a wooden shovel, only managing to receive a threatening hiss. Pulling out the sword John had just given him, he sighed and charged for the creepers. “Stay back!” he yelled as he swung at the first creeper. It was sent flying and crashed into the wall it had blown up.”Wow.” He thought. A Smile of determination and true grit spread across his face. He slashed and hacked. His arms a blazing fury giving no mercy to whatever was in its path. In less that than a minute the ground was littered with balls of XP and gunpowder. Only a single creeper remained. “ Zach put his boot against the repelling creature. “Why are you here?” He demanded. “ Zach, The Darkhand awaits your arrival…” It said with a hoarse tone. “Hmm” Zach murmured, and finished off the monsters remaining HP. “What was that all about?” John asked a tone of fear in his voice. “Whats the ‘Darkhand?”
“ I don’t know but it sounds dangerous.” The sound of sirens blaring in the background slowly grew louder as the M.C.P.D arrived. “ Everyone clear the premises!” They shouted to no one in particular. Zach, Steve and Sam went over the ambulance to check in on Luke. “How you feeling champ?” Steve asked.
“I’m fine, just a few cuts and bruises.”
“Ok, Well we are ready to go when you are.”
“ That would be now. I could sure use a shower.” Luke let out a half hearted laugh. They hopped back into their minecarts and sped home. “The next day, Zach was in the kitchen making breakfast when Steve called for him from the living room. “Check this out Zach, he said pointing to the Tv. They are calling us heroes.” The tv showed a long nosed Tv reporter standing in front of the Expo. “ Based on official eyewitness reports…” The reporter began, “Four young friends, which have yet to be identified, were seen here heroically trying to fight off an army of creepers, which unexpectedly attacked.” The Tv faded into a fuzzy video which in haste, had been taken at the time of the attack. “ Zach that’s you!” Sam cheered. “Yes i see…” Zach said intently “I’m just curious at what exactly the ‘Darkhand’ is.” Suddenly there was a deafening knock that came from the door. “Coming!” John called and went to open the front door. “ Hey guys…” He proclaimed. “I think someone’s here to see you!” “ To see us?” Sam thought. Together, the the three friends went to the front door. “Hey Guys.” Said a feminine voice from behind John. John moved and a smile resigned from everyone’s face. “ Sarah!” They all cried. “Sorry i didn’t get here earlier, I came as soon as i heard of the attack.”
“ It’s okay, we’re all just a little shaken that’s all.”
“ I know, my beauty does that to everyone.” Sarah laughed as well did everyone else. As the group ate their morning meal, Sarah was the first to speak. “So…When do we ship out?” She said. A tone of curiosity to her voice. “Excuse me?” Zach asked, puzzled. “ You know, why we are all here, the ‘Quest’ you wrote to us about?” Oh, that. Well, we all need some time to recover from yesterday. I suggest we just relax today. We will ‘Ship out’ tomorrow.” He emphasized with air quotes as a mocking gesture. The next morning, the group “shipped out” early. “ First we need to go see Jack, he migght have some info to help us. After all we dont even know where to go to first.” As they began to walk, John sudddenly ran back to the house and returned with sparky. “ If we want to do this, we should should have some mobile protection.”
“ Thats a good idea. As we get going we’ll collect some wolves if we come across any.” THey were nowinside the viillage perimeter and were soon inside Jacks shop. “ Hey Zach. What brings you back? Another translation?” “No actually…” Zach began, I was wondering if you had any information for our upcoming quest.” Jack stared at Zach and Peered around the corner as if to see if anyone was approaching. “ Thats better left for safer quarters.” Jack said and turned and motioned them to follow him into the back of the shop. The storage area was filled top to bottom with old books. Probably they had been here for ages without being touched. “ you want information eh?” Jack said practically in an evil laugh. “ Well bam!” He threw down a piece of parchment that was crumpled and torn. Its edges were yellow with age. “ what is this?” John asked as he waved away the dust that flew into the air. “ This here is a map. I have been wondering what to do with it. I think it could possibly lead you at least to the start of your expedition.” Sam picked up the Map and began to read.” Tenebrae manus praetorium.” He read. “ That means ‘Darkhand headquarters’ in latin.” “ There it is again!” Zach exclaimed. “What is this ‘Darkhand’? “ well based on the word ‘Headquarters’, I woud guess its some kind off organization.” Jack inferred. “ I would assume so.” Steve added. “Well, its been fun talking about secret organizations, But i would like to go. “ Sarah said in a peculiar tone. “ Sarah’s right…” Zach said. “ If we want to get a head start we should leave now. “ “ and according to the map…” John claimed taking the map from Zach. “We should be able to get to the roofed forest biome before sundown.” “ We will set camp there and begin again in the morning.” Do you think that this could lead us to the weapon?” Steve asked. “ All we can do is hope.”
Chapter three
The four acquaintances soon picked up horses from the village farm and formed a cavalry unit. “ Let’s keep our swordsmen at the front and archers at the back.” Zach directed. “ If we come across any monsters, we want to be able to pick them off from a distance” Let’s keep melee attacking to a minimum.” Zach rode on a brown horse with white spots. He managed to trade with the local blacksmith for gold horse armor. Sarah rode on a solid black stallion, John a white mare, steve a black and white calf and sam a brown horse. “ Are we there yet?” Sarah moaned.” I’m dying of thirst and i’ve broke a nail.” “ Well, It looks like a broken nail is the least of your problems .Look.” John pointed a finger towards where a horde of monsters had started to wander toward them.