The Book of Requests

Happy (belated) birthday Vexy101!

Sorry for taking so long, commissions got in the way... but happy birthday all the same! Enjoy the story!

It was a cold, dark night in Minecraftia. Even the mobs seemed to be afraid of the darkness. However, there was one girl who had ventured out into the deep night; one girl who, although afraid, never stopped walking.

Ana was on a journey. In her hand, she clutched a scrap of paper. There had been a knock on the door that morning, but by the time she had opened it, whoever had delivered it had disappeared. All that remained was a hastily scribbled note on the doorstep.

All it read was Head east. Although she didn’t know why she should trust it, something deep within her told her it would be okay. And even though the night had crept upon her faster than she had expected, she was unrelenting.

She could hear a few mobs, but she simply ignored them. However, if the worst came to the worst, she always kept an iron sword in her inventory. She knew how to put up a good fight.

Gradually Ana noticed that the scenery didn’t seem to be changing. Looking down, she noticed that she was stuck deep in a spider web. Panicked, she started struggling, but it only made it worse.

Soon, Ana realised that there was no point in moving. She sighed. The spider that this web belonged to would come back soon, and the size of the spiders in Minecraftia meant that it would make short work of her.

She decided that if she was going to die, she might as well go down fighting. Slowly, so as not to ensnare herself in the web further, Ana drew out her sword. Thankfully the web didn’t take the sword in its sticky threads, but she knew she had to be cautious if she wanted to keep it free.

Then she saw it. Eight menacing red eyes, glowing like fire in the night. As they came closer to her, Ana managed to make out the body, blending in with the darkness. Her hands were shaking as she raised her sword. As soon as the spider was close enough, she slammed it down.

It missed the spider by a pixel. However, it didn’t miss the threads beneath it. The sharp iron surface effortlessly sliced through the thin web, and that gave Ana an idea.

She swiped the sword through the cobweb, keeping the spider at bay while also disentangling herself from the web. She carefully selected the threads that held her trapped, and soon, she was out.

But as soon as her feet touched the ground, it gave way beneath her.

She was stuck in a one-block wide tunnel leading straight down. Twisting around in her freefall, Ana saw that all there was to stop her was a hard rock floor, countless blocks below her. Her mind raced. Hitting it at this altitude would mean certain death. The only thing that could save her was water.

She switched her sword for a bucket. She could pour it onto one of the walls, but she was already going too fast, and she would simply fall straight through the water. She had to pour it on the ground, but not just yet; there was only the tiniest fraction of a second where she would be able to touch the ground, just before she hit. It was risky, but it was her only chance.

The ground was only a few blocks away. It was now or never. Ana braced herself, closed her eyes, and poured.

After a moment, she opened them again. And smiled. She had made it. She picked up the water again, and was relieved to find that the ground remained solid this time. However, now she was faced with another problem: how to get out. She would have to do this the old-fashioned way.

Taking a pick out of her inventory, Ana was about to start mining in a random direction when she remembered the note. Head east. She checked the way she was facing, then began.

There was a small click. Ana looked up, and jumped. Lava was right above her. Terrified, she mined twice as fast in an attempt to escape the lava. It was a lost cause. Deep down, she knew that the lava would outrun her easily. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted that note.

Suddenly, she heard a faint hiss, just before the wall exploded. Beyond it was a long corridor. Without hesitation, she ran through it, only to be greeted by arrows being shot out of dispensers along the walls. Ana ignored the dots of pain flaring up all over her body and kept running.

Then she stumbled into a huge hallway. She froze. Inside were at least a hundred mobs. This time, there was no escape.

“You made it!” a creeper said, after a long pause.

“What?”

“Happy birthday!” the mobs cried in unison, and Ana almost fell over with surprise.

“A-aren’t you going to attack me?” she stuttered.

“Of course not,” a skeleton answered. “We just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday.”

Ana looked all around her. Colourful streamers, little balloons… it was perfect. She smiled. It had been worth coming all this way after all. The mobs smiled back.

“Welcome to the party.”