The Cursed Emerald Part 1

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Minecraft Decodable Reader with Longer Words
Page 1
On the right side of the image, Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, wearing a teal/cyan short-sleeved shirt, deep purple-blue pants, and dark grey boots with lighter grey tops, stands in a dark underground cave holding his cyan diamond pickaxe raised mid-swing in his right hand. He looks toward a bright green emerald ore block embedded in the cave wall to the left, his expression alert and surprised, having just noticed the green flash amid the dark rocky surroundings. The cave is dimly lit with warm torchlight glowing faintly in the background, and rough stone and dirt walls surround the narrow tunnel. Steve faces the viewer at a three-quarter angle.

My pickaxe goes CHINK, CHINK, CHINK against the coal. Same old coal. Same old dark cave. Same old Tuesday. Then something flashes green in the wall, and my pickaxe stops mid-swing. An emerald. A big, fat, beautiful emerald, glowing like it wants me to find it. My brain says, "Don't touch it." My fingers say, "Too late."

Page 2
On the left side of the image, inside a dimly lit underground cave, Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, wearing a teal/cyan short-sleeved shirt, deep purple-blue pants, and dark grey boots with lighter grey tops, stands facing the viewer at a three-quarter angle while holding up a wooden shield defensively, bracing against an explosion blast. Just behind and to Steve's right, Creeper is mid-explosion — its tall green blocky armless form beginning to flash white and expand. Dust and debris fill the air between them. The cave is lit by a warm orange glow from a lava flow visible on the far left wall, with torches providing faint additional light. Stone and dirt walls enclose the scene. On the right side, the emerald ore block is visible in the cave wall, its interior glowing with a strange, deeper green flame-like light flickering like a tiny flame.

HISSSSSS. I know that sound. Every miner knows that sound. I spin around and throw up my shield just as the Creeper explodes. BOOM! The blast slams me backwards into the wall so hard my teeth rattle. When the dust clears, I look over at the emerald. Something inside it is glowing. Not regular emerald green. A deeper, weirder green, flickering like a tiny flame. "That's new," I whisper. And then the whole cave starts to spin.

Page 3
Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, stands on the right side of the image on a grassy surface at nighttime, wearing cyan diamond armour with a matching helmet, chest plate, and leggings over his canonical teal/cyan shirt and deep purple-blue pants, with dark grey boots with lighter grey tops. He holds a wooden shield at his side and his cyan diamond pickaxe in his other hand, looking around with a surprised, confused expression, facing the viewer at a three-quarter angle. The scene is dark with a starry sky and scattered clouds overhead, and the terrain around Steve is open grassland — a stark contrast to the underground cave he was just in. A wooden sign sits in the dirt nearby to Steve's left. The glowing emerald, with its strange deeper-green inner flame, rests in his hand or at his belt, casting faint green light.

I blink. I am standing on grass. Under stars. Outside. One second I was deep underground, and now I'm in the middle of nowhere with the wind on my face and a wooden sign I've never seen before. I check my diamond armour for cracks. No cracks. I check the emerald in my hand. Still glowing. Still weird. "Okay," I say to nobody. "So it's THAT kind of emerald."

Page 4
On the left side of the image, Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, stands on open grassland at nighttime in a post-combat stance, wearing cyan diamond armour with a matching helmet, chest plate, and leggings over his canonical teal/cyan shirt and deep purple-blue pants, with dark grey boots with lighter grey tops. He holds a dark netherite sword in his right hand and looks down at a small green glowing orb of experience floating up from the ground where Skeleton fell. Scattered white skeleton bones and a wooden bow lie on the grass nearby. Steve's wooden shield is strapped to his back. He faces the viewer at a three-quarter angle with a satisfied expression. The scene is dark with a starry sky overhead, with faint moonlight illuminating the grassy terrain. The right side of the image fades into the dark night landscape.

TWANG! An arrow zips past my ear. A skeleton. Of course it's a skeleton. I catch the next two arrows on my shield, then pull out my netherite sword and charge. One swing. Bones everywhere. A little green experience orb floats up from the pile, and I breathe it in. "Thanks for that," I tell the bones. The bones do not answer. But somewhere behind me, something else does. A clicking, scratching, many-legged something.

Page 5
This is a Minecraft-style scene set at nighttime under a starry sky with purple-tinged clouds. On the right side of the image, Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, is sprinting forward across dark grassy terrain, wearing cyan diamond armour with a matching helmet, chest plate, and leggings over his canonical teal/cyan shirt and deep purple-blue pants, with dark grey boots with lighter grey tops. He holds his dark netherite sword in one hand and has a determined, urgent, slightly alarmed expression as he runs, facing the viewer at a three-quarter angle. Spider can be seen creeping toward Steve from the shadows on the left, its multiple glowing red eyes visible among the dark blocky landscape. Further behind in the mid-ground, a Skeleton stands with its bow drawn and an arrow on the string, and a Baby Zombie riding a Chicken can be seen in the background — the small green zombie perched on the white-feathered chicken. The environment is dim and foreboding, with dark trees barely visible in the low nighttime light.

I turn around slowly. A spider creeps out of the shadows, red eyes glowing. Behind it, another skeleton with an arrow already on the string. And behind THAT... a baby zombie. Riding a chicken. "Oh, come ON," I groan. I don't wait to count any more. I pick a direction and run. My boots pound the grass, my armour clangs, and somewhere behind me a chicken goes "Bawk bawk bawk" like this is all very exciting.

Page 6
The illustrated scene occupies the left two-thirds of the image, while the entire right side is a large, flat, solid muted-purple panel with no artwork, left blank as empty space for text. In the scene, Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, is wading through a dark river with water up to his waist, wearing cyan diamond armour with a matching helmet and chest plate over bare tan arms, his dark blue-purple leggings visible just beneath the waterline. He raises a cyan diamond pickaxe with a brown wooden handle in one hand and looks back over his shoulder at a three-quarter angle with a worried, open-mouthed expression. On the dirt riverbank behind Steve to the right, Zombie stands watching with hollow, dull eyes, an open mouth, and outstretched arms, its green-skinned blocky humanoid form stationary, wearing a cyan shirt and blue-purple pants. The scene is set outdoors at nighttime, with a starry sky, dark clouds, a pink-purple glow on the horizon, silhouetted trees, and dark, reflective rippling water filling the foreground around Steve.

A river. Perfect. I splash straight in. Zombies can't swim fast, skeletons can't aim at a moving target in water, and baby zombies on chickens... well, I don't actually know what they do in rivers. I don't want to find out. A zombie stands on the shore, watching me with its dull, hollow eyes. It doesn't follow. I paddle out to the deep part and let the river carry me. Behind me, the monsters shrink to tiny shapes in the dark. "Not today," I whisper.

Page 7
Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, is swimming in a river at nighttime on the right side of the image, his head and upper body visible above the dark water, wearing cyan diamond armour with a matching helmet and chest plate visible above the waterline. He looks determined and focused, swimming toward the left and facing the viewer at a three-quarter angle. In the background on the left, a small wooden cabin sits near the riverbank among dense tall jungle trees with overhanging vines and thick ferns, its structure reflected in the still water like a painting. The sky is dark nighttime blue with stars overhead, casting a dim, moody light over the jungle-lined river scene.

I swim until the trees on the banks get tall and tangled. Jungle. Vines everywhere. Way too thick to run through at night. Then I see it. A little wooden cabin, half-hidden in the ferns, its shape reflected in the still water like a painting. A cabin means a door. A door means nothing can get in. I swim for it so fast I nearly swallow the river.

Page 8
On the left side of the image, Steve, a blocky Minecraft-style figure with a square head, tan/light-brown skin, short dark-brown hair, a full dark-brown beard, and large round white eyes with black pupils, stands inside a small, warmly lit wooden cabin, holding a glowing green emerald up in front of him with one hand, examining it closely with a curious, fascinated smile. Steve wears cyan diamond armour with a matching helmet, chest plate, and leggings over his canonical teal/cyan shirt and deep purple-blue pants, with dark grey boots with lighter grey tops. Two torches mounted on the walls cast warm orange light across the cosy interior. A white bed with woollen covers is visible in the corner behind Steve. Morning sunlight streams in through a window on the right. The emerald glows bright green, and deep inside it a strange, brighter green flame-like light dances visibly. Steve faces the viewer at a three-quarter angle. The right side of the image has warm, sunlit interior background.

I slam the door, flop onto the bed, and sleep hits me like a falling anvil. When I wake up, sun is pouring through the window. I eat my last piece of bread and sit there chewing, staring at nothing. Then a green glow catches my eye. The emerald, sitting right there on the bed where it fell out of my pocket. That strange little flame still dances inside it. Last night it zapped me to the middle of nowhere, threw monsters at me, and nearly got me eaten by a baby zombie on a chicken. I pick it up. I hold it to the light. I smile. "So," I say. "Where to next?"

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