Minecraft: Night of the Bats (Minecraft Woodsword Chronicles #2). Nick Eliopulos

harmless,” Morgan said. “Just picture them as Baron Sweetcheeks with wings.”

      Now that he had said it, he couldn’t stop picturing Baron Sweetcheeks with fluffy little wings. And a top hat and a bow tie.

      “Uh, Morgan?” said Jodi, bringing her brother back from the world of flying hamsters in formal wear. “Why are you giggling?”

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      “No reason,” said Morgan, snapping out of his daydream.

      “There’s a point I’m trying to make,” said Po. “Bats are one of the most common mobs in Minecraft.”

      “Sure,” said Morgan. “We’ve heard them squeaking when we’re down in our mineshaft. But they aren’t scary or anything.”

      “Don’t you think it’s strange that bats showed up here just after we started playing the game?” Po asked.

      Morgan was confused. “You think . . . bats . . . came out of the video game and into our school?”

      “It’s a statistically improbable coincidence,” Harper said. “And it’s weird.”

      “But this whole thing is improbable, isn’t it?” said Po. “We can go into Minecraft. Who’s to say something else can’t come out?”

      Harper tutted. “That hypothesis completely ignores the law of conservation of mass.”

      “Now you’re just making stuff up,” said Po.

      “You’re the one who’s making stuff up!”

      While they argued, Morgan let his mind

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      drift. He thought about Po’s theory. He didn’t think it was very likely that the bats had somehow come to life because of the game. But he had to admit it was possible. And that was a troubling thought.

      Bats were one thing. It was crazy, but what if something else followed them out? Like a zombie. Or a wither.

      Or an Evoker King. Whatever that was, it did not sound friendly.

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      Chapter 3

      When Adventure

      Calls, Answer!

      Adventure Won’t Leave

      You a Voice Mail.

      A

      fter school, Jodi donned her headset and immediately found herself in the game. She stretched her cube-y arms and then walked a short distance from the castle she and her friends had built. While they waited for Po

      to finish practice and join them, Jodi had time to start on a new sculpture.

      It had been about a week since they’d completed the castle. It was an impressive build, and Jodi was proud of it. They all were.

      But Minecraft wasn’t about sitting still. Once the castle was done, they had started new projects. For Jodi, that meant a sculpture park.

      So far she’d created an obelisk out of cobblestone, an Easter Island-style head out of cobblestone, and a big floating cube . . . out of cobblestone.

      Cobblestone and dirt were the two materials they had in large supply. And she was iffy on using the dirt.

      Her next project would be a huge staircase that went higher than the castle. But it would be a floating staircase. There would be no way for a person to get on it. They would have to admire it from a distance.

      She started with a base of dirt, which she would clear away later. She had only just begun placing the cobblestone when Morgan and the others approached. “I’ve got an idea,” her brother

      said. “I think we should go looking for the Evoker King.”

      Jodi turned her cube head in surprise. “You do?” she asked. “I thought we were supposed to beware him.”

      “‘Beware’ doesn’t traditionally mean ‘go look for,’” Harper agreed.

      “I know what it means,” Morgan said. “If he’s so dangerous . . . and he’s out there . . . is waiting for him to find us a good idea?”

      “But that’s why we built the castle,” said Harper. “It’s meant to protect us.”

      “The castle can keep mobs out,” said Morgan. “I’m worried this Evoker King might be something else.”

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