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The writing is very good. The characters, Cth’ka and Skeleton Steve are a riot!
“This creeper series is AWESOME!! So many creative things I haven’t seen before in Minecraft books. Like, Lord of the Rings caliber stuff, with Minecraft characters! I started out getting these to read for my son, but I love them too, for me! I find myself actually caring about young Cth’ka–he’s a really cool and good-hearted character. My son and I loved this book! Can’t wait to keep reading what this Skeleton Steve is putting out.”
– An Amazon Customer
Diary of a Creeper King – Book 1
**Over 22,000 words of kid-friendly fun!**
This high-quality fan fiction fantasy diary book is for kids, teens, and nerdy grown-ups who love to read epic stories about their favorite game!
Ever heard of the Creeper King, mighty Cth’ka?
Read the adventure diary of a young creeper who was looking for a way to protect himself without blowing up!
When Cth’ka the Creeper and Skeleton Steve leave the forest to ask the local witch for help, they are soon on a long and dangerous journey to find a secret artifact that will allow Cth’ka the power to move blocks with his mind! But will the difficulty of traveling across the Minecraft world, a village under attack, hiding from a fully-armored killer hero, and finding the way to a hidden stronghold be too much for a creeper and his skeleton companion to handle?
Love Minecraft adventure??
Read Book 1 of Minecraft Diary of a Creeper King now!
— Illustrated
— Available on Kindle and Paperback
–
Diary of a Creeper King – Book 2
**Over 21,000 words of kid-friendly fun!**
This high-quality fan fiction fantasy diary book is for kids, teens, and nerdy grown-ups who love to read epic stories about their favorite game!
What does Worla the Witch have in store for Cth’ka the Creeper King??
Now that he has the Crown of Ender, Cth’ka feels like he can take on the world! But at what cost?? Now, building a home for himself and his new friends in his favorite part of the forest, he can’t help but wonder what dreadful errand the witch will require him to do first…
With the help of Skeleton Steve and his new followers, will Cth’ka be up to the task? Or will he try to take the easy way out? And, as always, when Minecraft Steve gets involved, everything is headed for trouble…
Love Minecraft adventure??
Read Book 2 of Minecraft Diary of a Creeper King now!
— Available on Kindle and Paperback
–
Diary of a Creeper King – Book 3
**Over 20,000 words of kid-friendly fun!**
This high-quality fan fiction fantasy diary book is for kids, teens, and nerdy grown-ups who love to read epic stories about their favorite game!
Mighty Cth’ka the Creeper King is ready for his second task!
While working on his obsidian fortress, Cth’ka is approached by Worla the Witch and asked to perform his second task–to kill a fellow witch!! Sure, the witch of the icy mountains is probably evil and is planning on spreading her ice magic into Darkwood Forest, but is Cth’ka okay with being Worla’s assassin?
As more and more creepers join his creeper army, Cth’ka sets off on his dangerous mission with Skeleton Steve and Zarek the zombie, but have his powers grown strong enough to help him kill a witch? And is there something more sinister going on with Worla and her three tasks??
Love Minecraft adventure??
Read Book 3 of Minecraft Diary of a Creeper King now!
— Available on Kindle and Paperback
–
Diary of a Creeper King – Book 4
**Over 18,000 words of kid-friendly fun!**
This high-quality fan fiction fantasy diary book is for kids, teens, and nerdy grown-ups who love to read epic stories about their favorite game!
“Cth’ka, for your third task, I need you to kill the Steve…”
The good-hearted Mighty Cth’ka and his friends are back for the conclusion of the Creeper King series. Cth’ka only has one task left to perform for Worla the witch–but it’s something he really doesn’t want to do! After all, he’s not an assassin!! But stuck under the power of the witch’s binding spell, does he really have any choice?
With his bodyguard Zarek the Zombie, his friend Skeleton Steve, and an ARMY OF CREEPERS, Cth’ka sets off to assault the Steve’s castle in the mountains. With his powers growing, fighting bad mobs is one thing, but can Cth’ka really defeat the Steve? And what sinister plans lie behind the scenes with Worla the witch and her vindicators?
Love Minecraft adventure??
Read Book 4 of Minecraft Diary of a Creeper King now!
— Available on Kindle and Paperback
THIS SERIES HAS A BOX SET!
(Books 1-4)
**Over 80,000 words of kid-friendly fun!**
This high-quality fan fiction fantasy diary book BOX SET is for kids, teens, and nerdy grown-ups who love to read epic stories about their favorite game!
Books 1-4 of the “Creeper King” Minecraft Diary Book Series in ONE!!!
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Book One Preview
Day 1
(Audiobook Reading of Day 1)
Let’s see … is this ‘Night 1’ or ‘Day 1’? I figure I’ll write these entries in terms of days, since I never sleep. I will try to ignore the fact that, since I don’t have hands that I can write with, I’m sitting under a tree right now dictating, saying my story out loud, to my good friend, Skeleton Steve.
He says that I should just tell the story like I’m writing it. I’ll give this a try.
My name is Cth’ka. I’m a creeper. I don’t know if that’s the real name of my race, but that’s what everyone calls us, so it works.
Other creepers would probably say that I’m a weird guy. An oddball.
But other creepers don’t say much.
That’s what’s different about me. I don’t know very much about where we came from. Heck, I don’t even remember much about a year or so ago.
How did I get here? As far as I know, I’ve always lived in this forest. Skeleton Steve calls it “Darkwood Forest”. He says that there are hundreds—thousands of other forests, so he likes to give names to places.
I do love this place.
The hills rise and fall, and the trees are thick, tall, and dark. Dark oak, Steve says. It’s a very large forest too. I’ve never felt much of an urge to leave.
On one side of the forest, where the hills slope down, there’s a thick jungle where the trees are different. On another side, the hills rise higher and higher until the trees stop, and snowy peaks reach into the sky.
I never go there, to the cold mountains. Hardly ever, really. I prefer to be in warmer places.
The jungle is nice and warm, but it’s also full of water and rivers, and I don’t care for water—not at all.
On the other sides of Darkwood forest, the hills continue for quite a ways with tall, dark oak trees, until they wind down into some grassy plains full of flowers and horses.
I love this forest, but I’m getting side-tracked.
Creepers are very solitary. I’ve seen many creatures in this world, living in and passing through my forest. Some creatures have moms and dads. Most of them are babies and then grow up. The zombies and skeletons don’t. I don’t know where they come from. Where Skeleton Steve came from. I think he was something else before he became who he is today.
I don’t know much about my past. Or where my race came from.
I don’t remember having a mom or dad. And I don’t remember being smaller, or growing up in any way. I hope to find out about these things in time.
Creepers don’t exactly have a library of their race’s past. There’s nothing to study. Nothing we can learn from our elders. I can’t even tell the difference between a young creeper and an old creeper! I assume that I’m young, but maybe we just don’t have very good memories. Who knows?
And the creepers I see while I walk around my forest don’t have much to say either.
Earlier today, I was in my favorite part of Darkwood. My clearing. Near the very middle of this forest is a large clearing, a place where the trees break, and a wide valley of grass stretches out a long way. Red and yellow flowers pepper the open expanse. I love to go there during the day and watch the flowers sway in the breeze, feel the sun on my skin, and watch the clouds roll by.
At the time, Skeleton Steve was back in the forest. He doesn’t sleep either, but he can’t explore with me during the day. If Skeleton Steve steps into the sunlight … foom! He’d catch on fire. I’ve only seen it happen once before—he’s pretty careful. But I guess that’s just part of being undead.
So Skeleton Steve was back in the thickest part of the forest, waiting out the day in the shadow of a large dark oak tree, and I was watching another creeper walk across the clearing.
Whenever I see another creeper, I always try to make conversation, to learn about them. It’s always my hope to learn more about my people, and to make friends who are like me.
“Hi there,” I said.
The other creeper noticed me, said nothing, then turned to continue moving away. I followed.
“My name is Cth’ka. What’s yoursss?”
The other creeper stopped, and turned to face me. “What you wantsss?”
“I don’t sssee othersss like me very often. Where did you come from? Where are you going?”
“What doesss it matter to you?” he said in a gravely voice. He turned, and continued walking through the valley.
“I jussst want to be friendsss,” I said to his back. “Pleassse tell me about yourssself!”
I stopped.
The other creeper kept moving, without speaking again, and I stood in the sun and watched until he disappeared into the shadows of the dark oak trees.
Later that day, when the sun went down, I walked back to where I knew Skeleton Steve was waiting for me. In the shadows of the darkening forest, I could see the glowing red dots of his eyes, hovering in the middle of his empty black eye sockets, watching me approach.
“Why do you always try to talk to the other creepers?” Skeleton Steve asked after I told him about my day. “They always act the same way.”
We were walking along a ridge, watching the moon rise into the sky. Skeleton Steve’s face was silver in the fading light. I could see in the darkness just fine, but when the light faded away, the colors of the world disappeared too. I did love the daylight, when everything was bold and colorful. It was too bad that Skeleton Steve always had to hide in the dark.
“I’ve got to try,” I said. “There have to be more creepersss out there like me. I want to know more about why we’re here. How we creepersss get here.”
“So many creepers are just … grumpy, it seems,” Skeleton Steve said.
We walked in silence for a while.
“I wonder if we’re ssstuck like thisss, or if there will ever be sssomeone to bring usss together. If there are other creepersss, sssmart like me, I’m sure we can do great thingsss.”
“Why are you so interested in other creepers?” Skeleton Steve said.
“I think … it would be a good thing for usss to come together,” I said. I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting at, but I knew that I wanted creepers, as a people, to find strength together somehow. To have a real race, a real history. Something unique that we could pass down to whatever it meant to be the next generation. I didn’t even know if creepers had children, or how more creepers came to be. “We could maybe be—I don’t know—a real race. Develop ourssselvesss instead of jussst being like animalsss wandering around all alone.”
“You mean like creeper cities? A creeper nation?” Skeleton Steve said, smirking.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I jussst feel like, we could be … more.”
Day 2
(Audiobook Reading of Day 2)
I stayed with Skeleton Steve in the dark during the day. We were close to the jungle, and I thought it might be fun to walk along the border when the sun went down. We might even see some areas of the jungle that were dry enough to let us walk down into it for a while without having to cross any water.
It would be nice to feel the warmth of the tropical forest. I hadn’t visited the jungle in a long time.
Another creeper passed by, and I was at least able to get his name. Car’nuk. But we didn’t talk about much else. I tried to find out how old Car’nuk was, and where he lived, but, like all of the others, he scowled at me, and went on his way.
It was a little sad, how difficult it was to communicate with my people. It’s like we creepers were designed to never have anything to do with each other. And that was a pity. Creepers are natural-born explorers. We walk, all day and all night, and I’m sure there would be plenty to talk about if the others like me weren’t so grumpy about having conversations.
When the sun went down, Skeleton Steve and I walked to the next ridge over, where we could look down into the jungle. Even in the fading light, I was surprised at how green the area was.
Some of the trees were squat and so thick that it made it hard to see the ground beneath them, and they were covered with vines that descended like green, ropy sheets from the treetops. Other trees were massive and tall, popping out of the canopy with large clumps of leaves extending in multiple directions.
I bet it rained a lot here.
It was hard to see through the trees, but I could see water here and there, down below. There must be rivers and pools all over.
I could never live in the jungle. I don’t like the water. Never have. I’ve always had a hard time with the idea of floating in the water, even though I’ve seen other creepers swim before—I don’t know how to ssswim, and didn’t know if I’d ever be able to figure it out.
With my little legs, the idea of not being able to keep my head out of water, the idea of sssplashing and ssstruggling to get back to sssolid ground …. my lungsss filling up with water …. Ssssssssss … sssssssssplashing, ssssssstruggling …
No thanksss. Just the thought of being stuck in water gets me all … excited. I’ve always thought it would be better to avoid water altogether.
As Skeleton Steve and I walked along the ridge, we looked out over the expanse of trees into the dense jungle below. The ridge descended gently into an area of jungle that wasn’t as thick.
I hesitated.
“It’s okay,” Skeleton Steve said. “I don’t see anything bad in there. It’s just part jungle. Do you want to see what it looks like inside?”
I walked with him down into the tree-line. Darkwood Forest was behind us now, just on the other side of the ridge. There were no rivers or pools in the immediate area. No water.
We stood, peering into the depths of the jungle, and I was thinking about heading back to the forest when I saw movement! Green.
Another creeper!
I saw the distinct shape, its head turn, a face like mine looking back at us from the darkness for just a moment before it turned again.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Hello there!”
The creeper stood still, then turned to look at us again.
“Let’sss go in!” I said.
Skeleton Steve shrugged, and followed me deeper into the jungle.
We approached the creeper, and I called out to him again from a distance. “Hi there, fellow creeper! I’m Cth’ka! Do you live here in the jungle?”
As we continued making our way to my new friend through the heavy underbrush, I saw the creeper suddenly snap his attention to one side, then stagger back a few steps. I could hear him hiss, unsure at first, then again—intensely! The creeper fell back again, and I saw something on its chest—a blur of a creature, dim without color, but … spots?
The creeper was under attack?!
I was suddenly afraid, and faintly heard Skeleton Steve, at my side, pull out his bow and nock an arrow. The creeper hissed again, a continual, rising, sputtering sound! It was definitely an animal of some kind, a spotted creature, small, clawing and biting at my intended friend.
“Ocelot!” Skeleton Steve said.
Expanding and shaking, hissing even louder, the creeper suddenly exploded with a thunderous boom!
What?! How?
How did that …?
Shocked, I stood, staring at the spot where the creeper and the ocelot were fighting, now a crater of raw dirt and shredded plants, and I felt fear wash over me again when I saw two white and yellow forms darting through the bushes … straight at me.
Two more ocelots! Little greens eyes, focused on me.
“Run!” Skeleton Steve yelled, and I stumbled backwards as an arrow suddenly struck one of the cats. It turned and sprinted off to Steve.
As I focused on the ocelot about to attack me, trying to force my body turn and run away back up the hill, my hearing seemed to tighten around my heartbeat, my vision darkened around the edges, and Skeleton Steve’s shouted warnings suddenly seemed very far away…
The ocelot leapt through the air at me, and I felt its claws and teeth sink into my body. I tried to turn and run, but it was hanging onto me. My hearing, now weird and hollow like I was in a deep cave, was focusing more and more on a … hissing sound … I ssscrambled, tried to essscape, tried to call for Ssskeleton Sssteve … Ssssssssss …
“Sssteve! Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssave me!”
An arrow appeared out of nowhere sssticking out of the ocelot’sss ssside, and the cat fell. I turned and sssaw Ssskeleton Sssteve nocking another arrow, aiming past me.
I ran up the hill. Turned. Sssaw Ssskeleton Sssteve kill the ocelot. He ran to catch up to me, his bonesss rattling.
We ran back up the hill out of the jungle together, back up to the ridge.
“Are you okay?” Skeleton Steve said.
I could suddenly hear again, see again, like normal!
“Yesss,” I said. “What … ssssssssss …. What happened?”
Skeleton Steve sat on the ridge, looking out over the jungle, his bow still in his hand.
“Those were ocelots,” he said. “Mostly harmless animals. Strange that they attacked. Usually they mind their own business. I know they don’t like creepers, but I’ve never seen them attack one before.”
“What happened to the creeper?” I asked. “It blew up!”
Skeleton Steve looked at me. “You don’t know?” he asked.
I shook my head.
Skeleton Steve’s glowing red dots of eyes looked me over. “That—blowing up—that’s what creepers do. They explode. In self-defense, and also when they’re attacking a Steve.”
“When they’re attacking you?”
“No,” Skeleton Steve said. “A Steve.” He looked off at the moon. “My name is Steve, yes, but there is another creature on this world named ‘Steve’ as well. He’s different than us.”
“But why explode?” I said.
“That’s all that the creeper could do,” Skeleton Steve said. “When the ocelot attacked him, he exploded in self-defense, and killed it.”
I was so confused. Why would he defend himself … by killing himself?
“It doesn’t make sssenssse,” I said.
Skeleton Steve looked at me. “No one knows why creepers explode, Cth’ka. There’s no other way for them to defend themselves, really. And I’ve never seen a creeper really care. I’ve seen creepers launch themselves at Steve and happily blow up in his face!” He regarded me for a moment. “You were about to explode too, you know. When that ocelot attacked you? I’m surprised you didn’t, actually.”
I looked down at my body, at the wounds where the cat had ripped at me.
So that’s what that was—when I was losing concentration, when my vision and my hearing changed. Was I preparing to blow myself up?
“Why didn’t I explode?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Skeleton Steve said. “Maybe you’re a little different? Maybe with how smart you are, compared to other creepers I’ve seen, you’re able to control yourself better? We’ll have to look into that some more—so you can survive longer. I’d hate to lose you as my friend, if you ever get attacked again and blow up, or if we run into the Steve.”
What a twist to my pleasant little life, roaming around in my forest! I had never seen a creeper explode before. I didn’t even know it was possible. And now, there was a way that, if I was freaked out enough, I could lose control of my mind and blow myself up, too?
No way! That’s crazy. I had a life to live. I wanted to bring ‘creeperkind’ together and learn more about our race. To learn more about our past and our culture … if there was one. Surely there was more to the creeper race than random solitary creatures that avoid having friends and then eventually blow themselves up?
What could I do?
I was defenseless. If Skeleton Steve wasn’t with me, I would have been helpless, and killed by those ocelots. Or turned myself into a living bomb and ended up dead just the same.
“How can I defend myssself?” I muttered.
We sat quietly for a few moments. The tall grass swayed in the night breeze.
“I have an idea,” Skeleton Steve said. He was watching me as I sat, thinking. “You are special, Cth’ka. I’d like to see you learn to control your ‘defense mechanism’ and be able to defend yourself properly, but you can’t use weapons like me, and you can’t run very fast. We should go and talk to the witch! Maybe she’ll have an idea.”
“Witch?” I asked.
“Yes,” Steve said. “There’s a witch not too far from here, named Worla. I’ve dealt with her in the past, and she’s very clever. She might be able to figure out why you’re different. Maybe she’ll have an idea about how to make it easier for you to survive without blowing yourself up one day.”
For the rest of the night, Skeleton Steve and I traveled to the edge of the forest that was closest to the swamp. Before the sun came up, we found a small cave, and decided to wait out the day in there.
Day 3
(Audiobook Reading of Day 3)
When the sun went down, and undead could walk around outside safely again, we departed for the witch.
Standing at the edge of the forest, I could feel Darkwood behind me like a warm, safe hug, and the plains stretching out ahead of us, the empty rolling hills in the distance were … unknown.
We struck out, down from the shadows of the dark oak trees, into green and yellow fields. A group of horses of different colors stood quietly in the grass far off to the left, staying still in the night. A couple of zombies roamed aimlessly in the valley nearby.
“So, over those hills ahead,” Skeleton Steve said, “is a swamp where Worla lives.”
“A ssswamp?” I said. “Like, full of … water?”
Skeleton Steve laughed.
“Yes,” he said. “Swamps are full of water. But that’s where witches live.”
“Can’t we just have her come to usss?”
Skeleton Steve looked back at me while we walked. “Cth’ka, sometimes, to get good things, you have to take risks.”
We walked across the great, open valley, then up into some sparse hills, as the wind whistled across the plain and the moon slowly moved across the sky. The hills were mostly devoid of trees at first, then started sprouting white trees here and there. Skeleton Steve called them ‘Birch’ trees. The hills rolled on, with more and more trees, until we seemed to be heading downhill all the time, and the trees turned darker.
Eventually, vines started growing from the trees, then further on, thick sheets of vines cascaded down their sides, a lot like the trees we saw in the jungle. The ground flattened out, and we were suddenly standing at the edge of a huge swamp, with random dirt and mud and water alternating as far as I could see, full of weeping trees. The air was hot and wet, and large lily pads spotted the surface of the water.
“That’sss a lot of water,” I said.
“It’s okay,” Skeleton Steve said. “We’ll stay on land where we can, and you can use the lily pads when you need to.”
Lily pads? A sssaucer of plant stuff being the only thing keeping me from drowning in the murky water of this dreadful place?
“Where’sss the witch?” I said.
“Worla’s hut is a little ways past that outcropping of rock over there,” Skeleton Steve said, pointing to a spire of rock sticking out of a small hill, deep in the swamp.
Over the next few hours, we traveled across the bog. There was a lot of water, but Skeleton Steve was right! He was careful in planning where to walk, and planning ahead, and we stayed on dry ground most of the time. There were a few places where I had to cross water, but we were able to avoid swimming by finding areas where the land was close together, and joined with lily pads.
Once we reached the spire landmark, Skeleton Steve pointed deeper into the swamp, and I saw, in the fog, a small, dark dwelling standing on wooden stilts. The light of a fire inside made the hut stand out in the darkness.
“I’ve never ssseen a witch before,” I said.
“Just be respectful, and certainly stay calm!” Skeleton Steve said with a smile.
When we approached the little building, I was relieved to see that it was mostly on land. I was afraid that I would have to cross more lily pads or even try to cross open water to get there. A rickety wooden ladder was lashed to one of the stilts, and it led to the deck on the front of the little house, and standing on the deck…
“Who goes there?” a woman’s twisted and sharp-edged voice rang out in the quiet, dark night.
I saw a strange creature standing on the deck, just outside the doorway, her body wrapped in a dark purple robe, her hands hidden inside, and a black cowl hid most of her face. Her features were angry, and a hook-like nose curled down in front of a scowling mouth.
“Reveal your intentions,” she said, “or I’ll set you on fire!”
“Worla!” my bony friend said, “It is I, Skeleton Steve, and my companion, Cth’ka, come to consult your wisdom!”
She seemed to think for a moment.
“Skeleton Steve,” she said, her voice suddenly much more friendly. “You are welcome, but I cannot risk your creeper companion destroying my home! I’ll be down directly. Have a seat.” She disappeared back into her doorway.
Skeleton Steve smirked at me. He looked around the clearing where we stood, and walked over to a circle of fallen logs. He sat on a log.
I followed.
A few minutes later, the witch descended her ladder with ease, and approached us. She sat on a log opposite Skeleton Steve so that we could all speak. A torch stuck out of the ground in the middle of our circle, which I didn’t notice before, and it flared to life, casting fiery reflections and dancing shadows all around us.
“I am Worla,” she said to me, “the witch of Lurkmire Swamp.”
“I am Cth’ka,” I said, “creeper … of Darkwood Foressst?”
Skeleton Steve laughed. Worla laughed. I relaxed.
“What can my wisdom do for you tonight, Skeleton Steve?” she said.
“We’ve come because of my creeper friend here, Cth’ka,” he said. “He is on a quest to learn more about his race, and to bring his people together, but is in need of a way to defend himself without blowing himself up.”
Worla cackled. “A creeper trying to avoid blowing himself up?”
“Why isss that ssso funny?” I asked, my tone a little harsher than I intended. Skeleton Steve flinched a little.
“Because,” the witch said, “creepers are quite happy to blow themselves up. It’s their destiny. It’s how they make more creepers.”
What?
“Ssssss … More creepersss?” I said. That was absurd!
“Look into my eyes, young creeper. Let me look into your destiny.” She leaned forward toward me.
I looked at Skeleton Steve. He shrugged. Looking back at Worla the witch, I took a deep breath, steadied my fear, and held still, looking right into her beady, black eyes. In the flickering flames of the torchlight, I saw my frowning, green face reflected back at me in her eyes. Worla’s face was still and passive, then it transformed in surprise!
“Oh my,” she said, her black eyes unmoving but her face animating around them. “My, my. What an interesting path you have, mighty Cth’ka…”
Mighty?
She continued. “I can see what lies ahead for you, most interesting creeper. Interesting, indeed!”
“What isss?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Skeleton Steve said. “What’s so interesting?”
Worla laughed, breaking her eyes out of the dark and stony stare that held my own eyes in a tight grip. My attention to the swamp around me suddenly snapped back into focus.
“Cth’ka the creeper,” she said. “I will help you, yes. I will tell you the location of an … artifact of sorts, something that will allow you the ability to act with hands unseen, strong hands that will let you smash your enemies and defend yourself without using your … last resort. Is this idea to your liking?”
I had no idea what she meant by all of that. Hands unseen? Some kind of weird magic?
“What do you mean?” I said. “Handsss unssseen?”
“Yes,” she replied. “A magical item that will let you manipulate the world around you with your mind. The only possible defense for someone of your kind, assuming you don’t want to destroy yourself.”
She waved her hand, and the torch snuffed out like magic. A snap of her long, spindly fingers, and it flared to life again.
“I will give you items to assist in your journey as well. I only ask a small price in return…”
“What price?” I said.
“I am … building my interest here in Lurkmire still, and will require your assistance in the future. I ask for three favors upon your return with the artifact, and in exchange, I will give you the knowledge and ability to attain the power to fulfill your destiny and lead your people.”
Everything I wanted.
But at what price?
What could the witch possible ask of me that I wouldn’t be able to give her, especially once I had the power to manipulate the world with my mind and bring my people together in a nation of creeperkind?
I looked to Skeleton Steve. He returned my gaze without emotion.
He wasn’t going to help me with this decision.
Wasn’t this kind of idea what we traveled here for in the first place? Could I trust Worla the witch? If I asked Steve for his opinion, I would basically be asking him whether or not he thought I could trust the witch. I might offend her, and she might change her mind about the whole thing!
“Okay, I’ll do it!” I said. “I’ll get the artifact, then help you with your three favors.”
She instantly pulled her hands out of her robe, her fingers like white spider legs in the darkness, tipped with thin claws. “Say it again,” she commanded. “Repeat—I, Cth’ka the creeper, in exchange for assistance in finding the Crown of Ender, will perform three favors for Worla the Witch when she requires in the future.”
I repeated her words, and she traced patterns in the darkness with her fingertips as I did. When I completed the sentence, she lashed out with her index finger, and touched my forehead. I flinched in surprise, caught control of my hissssssss, and felt a warm sensation bloom between my eyes then disappear.
Some sort of magic?
“You are unique, creeper,” she said. “You will learn to control your last resort with your willpower. I can sense that already you can calm yourself back down. In time, you will be able to fight your enemies while keeping your mind calm, and not have to worry about exploding at all!”
Her hands disappeared back into her robes, then she produced three greenish-blue and yellow spheres. When she held out her palm to show us, the three spheres floated above her hand, throwing off purple motes of light. In the center of each sphere was a black slit of a pupil. They were eyes. Weird, magical eyeballs.
“These are eyes of Ender.” She looked to Skeleton Steve. “Use them wisely. They will show you the way to the underground stronghold where you will find the Crown of Ender. Use one at a time, and only when you need to find the way. They will burn out in time. Follow the eyes to the location of the stronghold.”
“Thank you,” he said. Skeleton Steve took the eyes and put them into his pack.
“Remember,” she said. “Only use them when you need to. Don’t squander them!” She stood, pulling her robes about her. “And take care crossing the desert, my skeleton friend!” Worla laughed, and pulled the black cowl over her face again. The torch went out. “Good luck, mighty Cth’ka. Return to me once you have obtained the crown.” She looked at the sky. “The night will soon be over…”
With that, Worla turned, and moved back to her hut with a speed and dangerous grace that I wouldn’t have imagined.
I looked at Skeleton Steve. “I guesss we’re ssstaying out of Darkwood Foressst for a while?”
He nodded, and we traveled back the way we came, stopping to spend the day under a large tree at the edge of the swamp.
…
Think your Minecraft buddies would like my books?
