Chapter 2

Chapter 2 DON'T BLAME THE SCARECRON FOR BEING CREEPY. IT'S SORT OF HIS WHOLE JOB. Jodi tugged at the cobwebs surrounding her. She wasn't completely stuck, but the webs were slowing her down. And the oncoming spiders clearly didn't have the same problem. They skittered over the sea of webbing at full speed. "Somebody do something!" buzzed Po. "I must look delicious right now!" "THERE'S NO TIME TO ESCAPE," Ash said. "We have to fight." Morgan held up his sword. "They're coming right to us, so just be ready to hit them

when they get close!" he said. "If you time your swing right, you'll be okay." "Don't miss, don't miss," Jodi muttered under her breath. She held her sword like a baseball bat. She waited as a spider came closer…closer… SHE SWUNG! The sword knocked the spider backward. It recovered quickly, and it pounced once more, but Jodi was ready. A second hit was enough to destroy it. The spider flopped onto its back and disappeared in a puff of pixels. "I should play more baseball," Jodi said.

"Don't let your guard down," Harper said. "There are more spiders where that came from." "WE WANTED SPIDERS," said Jodi, readying her sword again. "WE GOT SPIDERS." "Be careful what you wish for," said Po as the next one moved in for the attack. When the last spider fell, Jodi and the others turned their attention to the cobwebs. Using their swords, they hacked a path through the sticky strands until they were all free. Ash picked up the strings left behind, and Harper went around to collect the loot that had been dropped by the spiders.

"Beautiful!" said Harper. "I was hoping for a spider eye or two. But there are at least ten here." "SO DO YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR POTIONS?" Jodi asked. "More than I need," said Harper. "Between these eyes and the blaze powder that the Librarian left for us, we're in good shape. Let's head back." "I remember the way," Ash said. Jodi was always impressed with Ash's sense of direction. It was just one of many talents Ash had honed as a Wildling Scout. Ash led them out of the woods, over a hill, and toward a small blocky structure in the distance.

"HOME, SWEET HOME," said Morgan. "It's not much of a home," said Jodi, and she made a face. The bunker was just so basic: a plain gray cube with a single door and no windows. She had wanted to make it a pyramid, or an obelisk—or a llama-shaped tower! But the group had asked her not to spend time or materials on a temporary shelter. It was simply a place to store their beds and crafting materials while they got ready for their next big mission. "SPAWN POINT, SWEET SPAWN POINT," she said with a sigh. There was one artistic addition that Jodi had insisted on, though. She saw it now as they got closer. A blocky human-shaped figure stood watch over their shelter. He had a body of hay, wooden-fence limbs, and a carved pumpkin for a head. Jodi had named their new friend Scarecrow Joe.

"Hi, Joe!" said Po, and he waved at the scarecrow. "What's new?" The scarecrow, of course, said nothing. "I don't think he likes me very much," Po stage- whispered to Jodi. She giggled. Harper got right to work. She walked up to the cauldron that they'd left just outside the shelter. "The spider eyes were the last ingredient I needed. NOW I CAN FINALLY MAKE THESE POTIONS."