Minecraft: The Marvelous Adventures of Steve: The Invasion Trilogy

Assignments

When everyone was finished eating, they were assembled together for Bernard to give a quick speech with instructions.

"Now, my friends, it is time to tend to your daily tasks."

Bernard pointed to Sam.

"Those of you willing to help me build the outer walls and defenses, follow me!" Sam shouted.

Sam started for the north side of the village. Many people ran up to him and followed from behind. He was easy to see with his diamond chestplate.

"The fields need a lot of work today!" Lucy said loudly. "We're expanding before the wall gets built. Gonna need a lot of hands on this one!"

"Bye!" Marie said to Bernard before leaving with Lucy. He waved to her as she left and smiled.

"Alright," he said. "You few who agreed to work in the mines follow me."

They followed Bernard and Miner to the mines.

"The rest of you, come with me," Steve said. "We're going to build an escape tunnel in case things get a little hairy. Let's go!"

They followed behind him. Everyone had a job to do. It was going to take a while, but they were all hopeful.

Still... work was to be done.

~~~

"Okay, people! Miner has supplied us with plenty of cobble to build on our defenses. First, we need to clear out all of the surrounding leaves so we can construct the wall and moat. Then, we build platforms and doors to make them accessible. I will talk to Steve about the escape tunnel, but in the meantime, let's clear all these leaves!"

Sam marked the areas that needed to be cleaned out with a crude drawing of the village on a piece of paper. It was simple enough. They had to start working on the north side. Sam was picking up some loose sticks when young Forester approached him.

"What's up?" He asked..

"I was, um... watching your people work, and I couldn't help but notice they're getting a little close to the small forest."

"Yeah. It's in the way of the walls."

"But it's... You can't... it's what I do. I need it to keep my living. Without it, I have no purpose."

"I can tell you right now that isn't true. You're a big part of this village. You don't need a forest to prove that."

Sam saw the disdain linger in young Forester's eyes. He brushed off the awkwardness.

"Tell you what. When this is all over, I'll personally plant a new forest to replace the old one. I'll even make it bigger."

Forester perked up.

"Really?"

Sam nodded. "You could help out, too. You know the woods best."

"Are you kidding? I'm an axe-wielding machine. I'll clear out all these trees better than a creeper explosion."

"Is that a challenge?"

Forester grabbed his axe. "If you want it to be."

~~~

"I was thinking we could build the escape tunnel at the south side of the village," Steve said. "Putting it past the wheat fields."

Sam looked toward the south side. He shielded his eyes so he could see through thee sunny haze.

"You want to start building there first?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but not much. We're going to dig underground and make a tunnel that'll lead outside where we can get some distance."

"Good. I've been thinking if something happened to the village. If we failed... we could evacuate the children there when the mobs attack. We don't want them to be trapped if the worst happens."

"That's a good idea, Sam. I could use some more builders to work on it."

"I'll call them over."

He turned and cupped his blocky hands, shouting, "Hey guys! Over here! Bring some materials with you!"

Twelve people walked up with wooden pickaxes, shears, and stacks of cobblestone and wood. Steve grinned.

"Awesome."

"I picked them out especially for you to help you build the tunnel. They can dig it out to the other side."

"Thanks for the extra hands," Steve said. "I need all the help I can get."

Sam looked at the fields being worked in. A woman on a donkey with chests had climbed down from it and was taking wheat and other crops from the villagers. Quickly, everything they had gathered was taken, but it wasn't enough to fill the saddle. Sam could see the sweat on their faces and their heavy breathing. It was only the first day.

"I hope it'll be enough," Sam replied.

~~~

Bernard stood in front of his small crew of miners at the entrance of the underground mine. Each was given an iron helmet, one or two iron pickaxes based on their condition, and torches to light up the tunnels. Lucy searched through their storehouse and took as much as she could and delivered everything. He counted fifteen volunteers, including himself and Miner. He wished there were more, but at the same time was glad there was less. There was heavy risk when it came to mining deep underground. It was a normal venture to some, but if you didn't pay attention, you could be flattened by weakened walls or falling gravel.

"Alright, men," Bernard said. "You have been given what was left of our iron. You are about to perform a long and dangerous mission, but don't fear. We will end our iron depletion and supply everyone with weapons, tools, and armor. Do not let these pickaxes go to waste, and be careful. There are lots of things down there that don't want you to come home. I don't want to make their wishes true. Let's move!"

He waved his pickaxe for them to follow. He started going down the cobblestone steps as the rest followed behind with their pickaxes. They descended for about twenty blocks before the staircase opened up to the first cavern. It was easy to see places where Miner had already mined out ore veins, so there was none nearby. Well... if you were holding a torch.

"We'll have to go deeper," Miner said, pulling out a torch himself. "There's another staircase over here. Follow me."

Miner quickly went down the left passage to a mined-out area. There was a dusty chest with a crafting table next to it. A book sat opened on top of it. Miner stopped and went through the pages. He stopped on one and read his last entry.

"We're on the right path," he said to Bernard. "There was a set of unexplored caverns going East. I don't know what's there."

"Fresh resources, it sounds like," Bernard said. He looked at the others. "Follow him, but be careful."

Bernard watched each face descend and disappear down the stairs. He stayed behind to be the last, keeping an eye out for mobs. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any. Bernard assumed Miner did a good job of keeping the caves lit up with fresh torches. After the last person went down, Bernard followed. He still felt uneasy about the lack of mobs. He chalked it up to bad memories of his banishment. Living all alone underground without another soul to talk to. It doesn't take long for reflections to talk back to you.

He suddenly heard a yelp and a thud, and the line stopped abruptly. Compaints muttered through the air as the line remained still.

"Settle down," Bernard said, trying to calm his racing heart. The voices diminished. "What's going on down there?"

"My fault," Miner shouted. "Slipped."

Bernard sighed. This was going to be a long day.