Sean Wolfe - Quest for Justice

First published in the USA by HarperCollins Publishers Inc in 2015

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2015

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,

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London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is

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Copyright © 2015 by Sean Fay Wolfe

Cover art © 2015 by Max Gonzalez

Design by Victor Joseph Ochoa

Sean Fay Wolfe asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008152864

Ebook Edition © 2015 ISBN: 9780008152871

Version: 2017-05-18

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Epigraph

PROLOGUE

PART I:WELCOME TO MINECRAFT

CHAPTER 1:Welcome to Minecraft

CHAPTER 2:The First Night

CHAPTER 3:Mines and Creepers

CHAPTER 4:The Adorian Village

CHAPTER 5:The Programme

CHAPTER 6:Stan and Steve

CHAPTER 7:The Thunderstorm

CHAPTER 8:Proclamation Day

PART II:BIRTH OF THE REBELLION

CHAPTER 9:The Shot Heard Round the World

CHAPTER 10:Flight to the Jungle

CHAPTER 11:The Apothecary

CHAPTER 12:The Desert

CHAPTER 13:The Abandoned Mine Shaft

CHAPTER 14:Avery’s Story

CHAPTER 15:The Portal

CHAPTER 16:The Nether

CHAPTER 17:The Fortress and the Blaze

CHAPTER 18:A Daring Escape

CHAPTER 19:The Town of Blackstone

CHAPTER 20:The Monster Slayer

CHAPTER 21:Oob’s Helping Hand

CHAPTER 22:The Siege

CHAPTER 23:The Twelve Eyes of Ender

CHAPTER 24:Within the Stronghold

CHAPTER 25:The End

ENLIGHTENMENT

PART III:THE BATTLE FOR ELEMENTIA

CHAPTER 26:The Speech

CHAPTER 27:The Battle for Elementia

CHAPTER 28:The Ultimate Sacrifice

CHAPTER 29:The Last Casualty

CHAPTER 30:The New Order

Preview to The Elementia Chronicles Book 2:The New Order

The Quest Continues …

From the Author

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Publisher

The hallway of the brick castle echoed ominously with footsteps as a figure ran down the corridor. His outfit was comparable to that of a medieval English king: red shirt, trousers of elegant design and a flowing cloak with white fur around the edges. This man was a player on the Minecraft server Elementia. His tag was Charlemagne77, known informally as Charlemagne.

The hall he ran down was lined with paintings of pixel art. Torches protruded from the walls and gave light to ward off the mobs, terrifying creatures that lurked in the dark. There were arched windows that revealed an expansive metropolis, sprawling as far as the eye could see, beyond the outer protective walls of the castle. All of this was made entirely of cubes, one metre long on each side, with textures that resembled brick, wood, glass and all sorts of other materials.

In this game, Minecraft, the entire world was made of these cubic “blocks,” which stood in formations with textures that were made to resemble the trees of the forests, the water of the oceans, the green grassy hills and the stone and minerals of the underground mines. These blocks also made up the castle and the city, textured as stone and glass. Living things were composed of blocks as well, including Charlemagne and all other people, animals and monsters that inhabited the spacious world.

Charlemagne ran because he was late to the meeting of the Council of Operators (though there were no operators on the council, despite the name). This council was made up of the highest-level players on the server, and was led by King Kev, most often referred to simply as “the King”. The meeting had been called to discuss a most important matter, a matter that, unbeknown to the council, would be the downfall of the King, Charlemagne and so many others. This one decision would be the downfall of the luxurious life that the high-level citizens of Element City enjoyed.

The man finally reached the iron doors and pressed a button on the wall. Five note blocks above his head activated and played a chime that functioned as the doorbell. Moments later the doors opened, and Charlemagne stepped into the council chamber.

There was a round table in the middle of the chamber, the King’s allusion to the mighty King Arthur. Around it sat six of the eight council members. The other two seats were situated at the right and left hand of King Kev, who sat upon a throne, elevated eight blocks above the floor, presiding over the council. The right seat held Charlemagne’s fellow adviser to the King, Caesar894, while the left was reserved for Charlemagne himself. The King looked down at Charlemagne. He changed his skin , Charlemagne noted. The King had, indeed, changed his appearance. King Kev now had on a baby-blue shirt with navy trousers and black boots, and he had even added a blood-red cape. The only thing that remained unchanged was his head: a golden crown perched upon his neat blond hair. But enough of this , thought Charlemagne, I have other things to attend to.

“Forgive my tardy arrival, Your Highness,” said Charlemagne, bowing by looking at the floor and crouching simultaneously with his golden sword drawn. This sword was ceremonial only; all council members and the King had one, though it was an impractical weapon.

“Forgiven,” boomed the King, pointing his own golden sword at Charlemagne in a sign either of welcome or intent to kill. “I trust your lateness has a good reason?”

“Oh, yes, my liege.” Charlemagne grinned. “My lingering among the low-level peasants under a disguise of leather armour took longer than I had anticipated, as I took part in a conversation regarding the local attitude towards certain aspects of the last major law you enacted.” At this, several council members cringed. Like most upper-class players, they were averse to mingling with the commoners.

“The Law of One Death?” asked the King.

“That’s the one, my lord,” Charlemagne replied. “The attitude of the common folk is mixed. Some, mainly those under level ten, say that it is a good law as it gives the game a higher risk factor, while most say that it undermines the superiority of the high-level folk. To be totally frank, I agree with both arguments.”