CHAPTER 8

REAPER

The skeleton king rode majestically atop his bony horse, a crown of bones leaning slightly to one side on top of his pale skull. Behind him marched a hundred of his best fighters, all of them expert archers and experienced warriors. Reaper dismounted when they reached the mouth of the tunnels and handed the skeleton horse’s reins off to one of his subordinates.

“Which way now?” he asked the large black spider that stood at his side.

“The chamber issss thissss way,” the spider hissed.

Moving quickly, the spider scurried into the tunnel, her red eyes seeming to glow brighter in the darkness, with the army of skeletons fast on her eight heels. She led them through so many twists and turns that at first it seemed like it would have been impossible to get back out without her.

I got lost when they led me out of that chamber to collect my troops, Reaper thought. Is this spider trying to purposely confuse us and make it impossible to ever leave this place? What kind of game is Shaivalak playing?

But then he noticed the blocks of spiderweb placed high up on the walls, carefully positioned in the shadows so as not to be easily noticed. They were markers, showing the spider where to go. Reaper continued to follow the dark monster through the twisting passages, descending deeper into the bowels of Minecraft, keeping an eye on the position of the markers. Soon, they passed a section of tunnel with a large opening in the side. Pausing, the skeleton king gazed through the opening and down into a massive chamber lit with a scant few redstone torches. He could see the narrow bridge stretching from the cavern entrance. The single-block-wide crossing led to a large cobblestone platform that appeared to float in the middle of the cavern, only touching the walls at a few strategic places. Beneath the platform, all he could see was darkness, the cavern stretching far below into the shadows. Another bridge extended away from the cobblestone platform, but whatever it led to was shrouded in darkness. Blocks of some kind were barely visible, but Reaper could not tell what they were.

“That issss Herobrine’ssss cave,” the spider hissed.

“I know that, spider,” Reaper snapped. “I’ve been here before. Just lead on.”

Without a reply, the spider moved off, continuing through the sloping passage. In minutes, they were at the cavern entrance.

“My queen hassss ordered that the sssskeletonsss are to guard thissss entrance with their livessss, and refusssse entrance to any usssser or NPC,” the spider said.

“You don’t give commands here, spider,” the king of the skeletons growled. “Leave us.”

The eight-legged creature glared up at the bony monster, then turned and scuttled back through the tunnels, likely heading for the surface.

Pulling out his massive longbow made of pale white bone, Reaper strode across the narrow bridge, unconcerned about the lethal drop that yawned on either side, and stepped onto the large platform. Moving to the edge of the bridge, but nervous about following their king across the narrow walkway, many of the skeleton warriors peered over the edge, down into the darkness. Reaper drew an arrow out of his inventory and dropped it over the side. The silence seemed to go on forever, and with each passing second, the skeletons grew more and more uncomfortable. Finally, it hit the ground with a tiny plink.

“Hmm. It must be a great distance down to the bottom,” the skeleton king said to no one in particular.

“Yesss, farther than you can imagine,” a voice replied from behind him.

Spinning around, Reaper drew another arrow from his inventory, notched it to his bowstring, and drew it back all in one fluid motion. Before him was the spider queen, Shaivalak. He recognized her by the purple eyes that peered up at him.

“We have done as Herobrine asked,” Reaper said, lowering his bow. “Here are a hundred of my finest warriors. We are ready to battle the User-that-is-not-a-user.”

“Excellent,” Shaivalak said. “Guard thissss chamber well, for Gameknight999 hassss already been sssspotted. Herobrine sssseekssss to have hissss revenge on the Usssser-that-is-not-a-usssser and all the NPCssss of the Overworld. On the far platform issss hissss greatessst invention. It will desssstroy all of the NPC villagessss and Gameknight999 will be forced to watch.”

The spider queen moved across the platform to the other single-block-wide bridge, which stretched into darkness, the other side hidden from sight. Reaper followed close behind. He hadn’t looked closely at the blocks that last time he was here, and now he was curious.

As they drew closer, Reaper could just barely make out the strange blocks in the shadows. There were lines on the ground connecting them all together. On the far side of the platform, he could see a hole in the cavern wall. Bright orange lava flowed out of the opening and fell into a large pool below. High up on the wall of the cavern was a display that showed the number 82 … tick … no, it was now 81.

“Gameknight999 will be here ssssoon,” Shaivalak said. “The Maker hassss predicted it.”

“The Maker predicted it, you say?” the skeleton king asked.

The spider did not reply.

“I just wish Herobrine could have left a portion of his code in the server,” Reaper said. “It would be a treat to see the Maker’s delight when the villagers are all destroyed.”

“The Maker decidessss hissss path,” the spider queen said. “We cannot quesssstion hissss plan. He issss gone, wreaking vengeance on the physsssical world, and we are here to carry out hissss lasssst commandssss.”

The king of the skeletons grunted, as if unconcerned, then glanced up at the ticking clock and smiled. Looking around the platform, he considered possible defenses against the User-that-is-not-a-user. There was no place for his warriors to hide and shoot their bows. They’d have to stand out in the open and fire—not ideal, but his warriors could easily cover that narrow bridge that led to the cobblestone platform.

“We will do what we must, but I have learned to not underestimate the User-that-is-not-a-user,” Reaper said. “What if he comes here with more villagers than I have skeletons?”

The spider queen moved across the platform to a strange-looking block at the edge of the stony plane. In the dim light, he could see that it was checkered, with an orange tint to it. Next to the block was a lever in the “OFF” position.

“The Maker left ussss thissss block jusssst for Gameknight999,” Shaivalak said. “If he getssss by your sssskeletonssss, then he will have to deal with all of the sssspiderssss thissss block will ssssummon. Hundredssss of the ssssistersss will be sssspawned if I flip thissss lever. Our enemiessss do not sssstand a chance.”

Reaper nodded, appreciating the deviousness of the plan. If Gameknight was able to get past the spiders out in the Overworld, and get past his skeletons, then the spider queen would summon hundreds of her minions to finish off what was left of the User-that-is-not-a-user and his friends. Their victory was guaranteed.

The skeleton king leaned his head back and laughed a dry, hacking laugh that echoed off the rocky walls.

“Perfect!” Reaper said as he looked down at his fuzzy ally.

And as he stared at her, Shaivalak’s eyes began to glow bright purple with evil intent.