The Battle of Zombie Hill by Nancy Osa

Author:Nancy Osa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

ROB WAS IMPRESSED. THIS COLONEL M WAS A legendary cavalryman—just what they needed to help them devise a rock-solid battle plan.

“There’s just one problem,” Kim said, tapping her computer. “The trader said the colonel isn’t . . . receiving visitors right now.”

Turner blew out a breath. “So? We’ll go down there and knock on his virtual door. Can’t nobody get thrown out of the Nether.”

“Perhaps because only an imbecile would willingly spend any time there—other than the colonel, of course,” Jools said.

“True,” Stormie put in. “But it rocks as a transportation portal. Before I met y’all, I was considering using it myself to avoid Overworld boundary skirmishes.”

“It’s not exactly a place where you can put your feet up and relax, though,” Frida explained to Rob.

“How come?” he asked uneasily.

“Raging lava falls,” Turner pointed out.

“And where there’s lava, there’s blaze mobs,” Jools said.

“Ghasts,” Stormie spat out. “They’ll blow you to kingdom come.”

“And don’t forget the zombie pigmen!” Kim added.

Rob’s eyes widened. “Z-zombie pig—what?”

“You heard right.” Kim nodded. “And zombie pigmen could care less about lava.”

Rob’s head was spinning. Those all sounded like formidable opponents. He tried to put on a brave face. “Well, at least there aren’t skeletons! That’s a relief.” He chuckled weakly.

“Oh, there are,” Kim said. “Wither skeletons. Tons of ’em.”

Frida noticed Rob’s baffled expression. “Captain. Sounds like you need an overview. Okay. Nether 101.”

She launched into a description of Colonel M’s adopted home. In the underworld, time stood still and maps were of little use. The netherrack terrain was sharp, uneven, and full of holes and trenches. Although traversing it would get you farther along than you could go up on the world surface, netherrack was extremely difficult to navigate. Certain horses and mules might handle it better than human players, though.

“Beckett, for instance, can hold his own,” Jools said of his sure-footed horse.

“With a potion of swiftness,” Stormie put in, “because you’ll probably have to flee from super-fast moving mobs and lava flows.”

Turner laced his fingers together and stretched his hands over his head. “And I hope you like fire,” he said.

“Who doesn’t?” Rob replied faintly.

“Fires generate spontaneously,” Turner went on. “Pow! Then there’s things that set you on fire: lava lakes, blazes, magma cubes. . . .”

“Ugh.” Jools shivered. “Those fire slimes.”

“Doesn’t sound too hospitable,” Rob concluded. “So, why would anyone move to the Nether?”

Turner’s eyes lit up. “Loot! Big time.”

Frida scowled at this evidence of her mercenary friend’s one-track mind. “Or, in Colonel M’s case, no pesky neighbors. The man probably got fed up with the state of the Overworld after all his hard work in the First War.”

Rob took this in soberly. If Colonel M had given up on the Overworld, what chance did they have of regaining the peace? Then again, the Nether didn’t sound all that hot, either. Or maybe too hot. “Are you sure this Nether isn’t home to fire-breathing dragons?” he asked.

Jools stared at him like he was crazy. “You’re thinking of the End. That’s where the Ender Dragon lives.

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