Chapter 9

Chapter 9 ONE MOB'S ROTTEN FLESH IS ANOTHER MOE'S TREASURE. BUT SERIOUSLY, I'D RATHER HAVE THE EMERALOSH Theo recognized the Minecraft village immediately. "We've been here before," he said. "THESE ARE THE VILLAGERS WE SAVED FROM THE GIANT CAVE SFIDER. "That's right," said Harper. "And one of them is a cleric, remember? Help me find that one." Now Theo was really curious. "What do you need a cleric for?" he asked. "It's a surprise," Harper said. Her avatar smiled. "TRUST ME. IVE GOT A PLANE That was good enough for Theo. He did trust Harper, and her plans tended to be good ones, so he set out in search of a cleric.

As Theo looked around the village, he saw that the square Minecraft sun was low in the sky. That made him anxious. Theo had grown to fear the night, because that was when it was hardest to avoid hostile mobs. Working together, the kids were still more than a match for any danger in Minecraft. Theo knew that. But they were running low on supplies. They were eating through their apples and bread too quickly. And they had used almost all of their arrows. They were nearly back to the swamp, though. Once they got there, they could trade the mooshroom for a cure. And this whole nightmare would be behind them. As Theo stepped onto a cobblestone pathway, he felt something nudge him from behind. He turned to see Michael G close behind him. "AH, HE LIKES YOU! said Jodi. "I dropped his lead to let him graze for a while, and he went right to you." Theo sighed. "He doesn't like me," he argued. "He doesn't like anything. He's incapable of it. HE'S JUST COMPUTER CODE WEARING A CON SUIT Jodi harumphed. "Well, he's not going to like you for much longer if you keep saying things like that!"

Just then, the sun dipped below the horizon. Theo felt his anxiety grow. "Keep a grip on Bessie's lead, okay?" he said. "THE TOWN'S TORCHES SHOULD KEEP ANY HOSTILE MOBS FROM SPANNING, BUT MONSTERS COULD ALWAYS CREEP IN FROM OUTSIDE." "Don't listen to him, Michael," Jodi said, taking the lead. "He knows your name. He's just being silly." Theo watched the villagers as they started returning to their homes for the night. He saw that Harper had found the cleric, and he walked over to see if she needed any help. "I traded a stack of rotten flesh for emeralds," she told him. "And now I'll use the emeralds to buy some

lapis." "Lapis?" Theo echoed. "You must be enchanting something." "You guessed it. Check it out!" Harper held up her brand-new piece of lapis lazuli. It shone bright blue in the torchlight. "HEY, JODI, CAN I HAVE THAT TRIDENT?" With the trident and the lapis in her inventory, Harper dropped an enchantment table right in the middle of town. Next, she placed a series of bookshelves around it. "I love libraries, too," Jodi said. "But are you sure you want to build one in the middle of a sidewalk?" "THE BOOKSHELYES HILL MAKE MY ENCHANTMENT MORE POWERFUL," Harper said. "And get me the enchantment I want." "What enchantment do you want?" Jodi asked. "I've been trying to guess," Theo said. "But I'm stumped." "Channeling," Harper answered. "We'll still need to wait for a thunderstorm," she explained further. "But with a trident that's enchanted with Channeling, we won't have to rely on luck for lightning to strike. WE'LL BE ABLE TO CALL DOWN A BOLT OF ELECTRICITY FROM A THUNDERCLOUD."

Theo wished he had fingers that he could snap. He settled for a little hop. "And the lightning will change Michael G from red to brown. Brilliant!" "I just hope this works," said Harper. She bent over the enchanting table. "I might not get Channeling ON MY FIRST TRY. You should get a grindstone ready, in case we need to start over." But she was worried for no reason. Theo could tell by the way she smiled. The enchanting had worked perfectly.

Harper whooped in triumph, and she held up the enchanted trident for all to see. It glittered purple in the night. The kids fell silent as they looked at it in awe. And in the momentary silence…Theo heard a hiss. Theo whirled around in alarm. His fears were true. He saw the creeper sneaking up behind Jodi and Michael. He saw it… Too late. With a sudden burst of light and sound, the creeper exploded. Jodi and the mooshroom both flashed red as they were knocked forward by the force of the blast.