Chapter 7

Chapter 7 THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY, VILLAGERS! I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED IT WHEN YOU STOPPED HITTING ME. Theo led the way back to the surface. While Morgan and Jodi had mined the amethyst, Theo and Harper had done some exploring. They'd found iron, copper, lapis lazuli…and even a few emeralds. It had been Theo's idea to head back to the village they had seen before. There, they would be able to trade their emeralds for something useful.

It took longer than he expected to reach the top. They were deep belowground, and they couldn't dig straight up, since they couldn't fly. (Theo wondered if he could come up with a mod to change that.) He had to cut a zigzagging diagonal path up through countless earthen blocks, while Harper placed torches behind him. He was cutting blind, and that was always risky, because you could accidentally open a hole right into a raging river of water—or worse, lava. Theo kept some cobblestone handy just in case he needed to quickly plug a hole. But he was lucky. He cut through stone, and then through dirt, and finally, the night sky appeared just overhead. As they emerged onto the surface, it took a moment for everyone to get their bearings. There was the mountain—and there, at its base, was the village. They

walked quickly across the plain, eager to avoid any unnecessary fights with the hostile mobs that prowled the Overworld at night. As they reached the outskirts of the village, Harper bounced on her blocky feet. "What should we buy?" she asked. "I had a few emeralds already, so we should have enough for something good. MAYBE AN ENCHANTED BOOKE OR REDSTONE DUST! We don't have much of it." Morgan nodded. "Let's see what the villagers have," he said. "I didn't see a librarian when we were here before. But their cleric might have redstone dust for sale." As the others spread out among the villagers, Theo saw Po placing a sign in the dirt. In glowing letters, it read VOTE FOR PO!

"Where in the world did you get that?" Theo asked. "I crafted it myself," said Po. "While you guys were mining for ores and amethyst, I FOUND SOME GLOW SQUID. THEY DROPPED GLONING INK!" "I don't think these villagers get a vote," Theo said, but Po didn't seem to be listening. Harper had already found the cleric, a serious- looking mob with green eyes and a purple robe. While they haggled, Theo looked around for a librarian.

It was difficult to see anything, though. The fog was partially blocking the light of the torches. "Wait a minute," said Theo. "WHERE DID THIS FOG COME FROME" Suddenly, the cleric's green eyes turned red. The villager lunged at Harper, bashing into her with a blocky shoulder. "Hey!" said Harper. "What gives?" "Oh no," said Jodi. She backed away from a red- eyed farmer. "Not this again!" Theo pulled a sword from his inventory. "Should we fight them?" he asked. "It feels wrong." Harper stood her ground as the cleric made another lunge at her. "They're…super weak, actually," she said. "I don't think this cleric is even doing any damage to my health."

The farmer was joined by a fisherman, and several other angry villagers were leaving their homes to join the crowd. "I'm almost afraid they're going to hurt themselves," said Po. "They're all worked up!" "I agree," said Morgan. "There's no point fighting them. Let's retreat and see what happens." THEO FOLLOWED THE OTHERS AS THEY FLED PAST THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VILLAGE. Some of the villagers gave chase, but they soon gave up. Their eyes still glowed red in the night, but they didn't seem interested in pursuing the kids.