Chapter 6

Chapter 6 In the Lava Travel Industry, One Mob Is Making Great Strides! Get Your Own for the Low, Low Price of One Fungus! Back at their Overworld base, Ash helped Eek build a doghouse for his tamed wolf. "If you tell it to sit, it will stay here while we go to the Nether. We can come back for it later." Eek looked concerned. "Will it be bored?" "It won't wander off like you do, if that's what you mean." She smiled to show she was joking and nudged him with her blocky shoulder, but Eek looked embarrassed.

"I did not mean to cause trouble. I thought it would be helpful if I learned who our visitor was." He placed fencing around the small house, adding an extra layer of protection. "But that is not the only reason. I was also excited. I thought perhaps if I had another friend, I would not be as bored while you were gone."

"You did the right thing. And one day, when we get you out of this server, I bet you'll be able to go all sorts of places. You'll be wishing you had a quiet moment alone!" "Impossible," Eek said. "I could never get tired of my friends." "Did you have fun building in the village?" The fence was complete, and the wolf was safe. They headed for their Nether portal. "So much fun!" Eek hopped down the stairs, bouncing his head against the ceiling. "I got to see baby villagers. And I used my hoe to make a giant field of crops. And I collected, like, three hundred snowballs. And I have a bunch of emeralds, which are green rocks the villagers seem to like. And I saw rabbits! And a wolf! You met the wolf." "That sounds much better than a whole day cooped up by yourself!" Ash admitted. They stepped through the portal and paused a moment as the world swirled around them and the Nether loaded. On the other side, Jodi and Po were preparing for a journey deeper into the Nether.

"And I'm glad you love animals so much, because you're about to meet something even cooler and weirder than a wolf." "What could be cooler than my wolf?" Eek asked. "It lives in the snow!" Po laughed. He was wearing a cowboy skin today and holding a saddle in his hand. "Ash is right. What we're about to show you is more regal than a wolf. More graceful than a rabbit. Stronger than a piglin and friendlier than a skeleton. Follow me!" Po and Jodi led the way through the crimson forest, keeping an eye out for wandering mobs. Hoglins lurked nearby, so Eek got his boats ready to catch them just in case. "If you see any warped fungus, pick it up. Mostly around here we'll find crimson fungus, so they're kind of rare." Ash plucked one from the ground and handed it to Eek. "They'll be important."

"We brought fishing rods and saddles!" Jodi said. "Oh, I have my own saddle! I received it from one of my villager friends." But he looked confused. "A fishing rod? A saddle? Are we looking for some kind of horsefish?" "Better!" Po said, leading them down a slope toward a riverlike flow of glowing red lava. A crowd of tall creatures was wandering along its edge. "We're here to find the long-legged lord of lava, the sweet steed of speed, the hero with hair like unwatered wheat, and the voice of an angel gargling milk: STRIDERS!" With a hop and a

point, Po posed toward a shivery strider, wandering on land at the edge of the lava. Its two stiltlike legs wobbled under its cube body, which was also its head. Eek gasped like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "Co-o-A-A-A," the strider chirped. It was standing outside the lava and shivering in the cold. Then it noticed the fungus in Eek's hand and came straight for him. "Oo-WE-E-E!" it cried. Eek held out the warped fungus. "Don't! We—" Crunch. "…can use some of our extra bone meal to grow more." As Ash walked back to a patch of nylium, Po and Jodi held out their own warped fungus to lure more striders from the lava. Ash spread a few bits of bone meal, spreading nylium until another warped fungus popped up. Eek plucked it.