Day Ten

This had to be the longest night in history. There was nothing I could do but sit there, my eyes drifting skywards to the crawling moon then darting back to the creepers. I considered shooting arrows at them, but I didn't want to aggravate them if they were happy to leave me alone. As the moon eventually sunk below the horizon, I started to edge forward slowly, leaving the creepers to their splashing.

In the pre-dawn, i could see more land to the south, as well as more movement.

I see you, zombie.

Then, at long last:

Yay!

I picked up speed and headed for the sun. Land appeared to the south almost instantly, but it was still some time before my next eastward destination finally rolled over the horizon.

Land ahoy!

And on we go.

 And so my longest ocean adventure thus far at last came to an end. In fact, I was probably beginning the day earlier than any previous. As I had done no mining and used no tools, I had no crafting or smelting to do and could get on with the day straight away. Which, unfortunately, looked like it was going to involve more water.

Looking east from where I docked.

I did not particularly feel like getting back in a boat straight away, so I walked around to the north and followed the land. I collected some sand as I went so I could glass up the entrance to my next camp. Beyond the far side of the lake, it looked like the water was going to leave me alone. The grassy area broadened, and mountains began to climb up from the south. Some rather bizarre mountains, at that.

That's a new one (looking south).

But, alas, it was not to be. Soon enough, the ocean was again in front of me. 

Easier than climbing mountains, I guess.

It was still early and I could see islands peppering the water, so it was not too bad. Still, the previous night was on my mind as I crafted my boat and stepped off the shore.

Some cute little islands.

This tree practically screamed, "Sit under me and read a book!"

It sounds silly, but that above photo is one of my most memorable moments of the day. The minuscule island just looked so relaxing and, well, chilled out. I slowed down the boat just to stare at it for a while longer.  Not long afterward, the islands grew fewer.

Uh oh. Not again...

My anxieties were unfounded. Not far past the horizon, the land rose up again from the south and wrapped around in front of me. This huge ocean looked at last to be over.

South and east as the ocean ends.

Land ahoy! ...again!

I hastened up the hill, eager to see that there was no ocean awaiting me on the other side. I could have cheered aloud when I saw the meadow.

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Walking! Proper, actual walking! As I went, I chopped down a few trees to replace the wood spent in the past few boats I had crafted. I also found several deep caverns, but I only stopped long enough to take the visible coal.

More caverns left uncharted.

The land began to dip down after a while. One hill took me down into a forest, beneath a thick canopy of leaves.

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Does Minecraft have ents?

The forest continues north-east between the hills. There was quite literally an endless ceiling of leaves between the trees, with the occasional hole letting in sunlight. I would have liked to trek beneath it for a time, but it looked like it would be too dense to walk through. Instead, I chopped away at some foliage and climbed up the opposite hill.

Several hills later, I paused and looked down. Something was not quite right...

There's something weird about this hill...

Wait. Where's all the grass?

This one mountain jutted bare and barren out of the landscape. Aside from a couple of trees on the southern side, the mountain was sheer stone. I had never seen this before. Things got even stranger on the eastern face.

So strange...

Weeeeeee!

Looking back west at the dead mountain.

So that was strange. Minutes later, I came across a second waterfall on the side of a cliff that I needed to get past.

Double waterfall! Not all the way across, but still. What does it mean?!

The incline seemed less sheer north of the fall so wadded through it and up the other side. The afternoon was getting on by this stage and it had been a long day. Well, a long two days, actually, since I last made camp. Over the cliff, I was funneled into an eastward valley between two mountain ranges.

Looking south.

Looking north.

Looking back west. The day is nearly over.

I found a small cave carved into the east-facing side of a mountain and headed inside.

Been a looong time since I was underground...

It did not go back very far. I placed some torches, my workbench, and my furnace and smelted the sand I had picked up that morning on the beach. By the time I glassed up the entrance, the stars were out. After two very long days, I was finally able to relax.

Day Nine

 Wasting time rearranging my inventory, I heard a cow moo. I dug away at the wall, peered outside, and sure enough it was time to move on. I packed up my workbench and furnace, left a pile of coal and stone and dirt in a chest, placed my sign, and set off.

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A nice view to wake up to.

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Exploring this valley before moving on did not cross my mind until I was well on my way. A pity, as I had precious few hours before the sun set the previous evening. It was a decision (or un-decision) I came to regret as the morning progressed and the terrain grew stubborn in its mundane-ness. There is really nothing worth reporting from the first few hours of the morning. There were hills and forests, but nothing particularly fascinating or new. Still, for the sake of full disclosure, here are a few pics before I get to the exciting adventures of the afternoon:

Leaving the valley behind.

Some trees...

Some more trees...

Some hills...

Some more hills and a camera-shy cow. Hello, cow!

As I said, not the most fascinating morning of the trip. But then I reached the coast, and the day got a bit more interesting. A sand bank connected the continent to a southern land not on my path, but the sandy beach also wrapped around to the east. I worked my way down off the hill and followed the coast.

Looking south.

The ground rose again to my right (the north), with several chasms gouged out along the way.

Looking north. Perhaps the ocean level has sunk?

I was forced back off the beach for a time as the land rose to a high, narrow bridge.

A straightforward path.

Across the far side I descended back to the coast. On my way, I walked by a hole. Absentmindedly, I peered into it. Sand. No big deal. But mingled amongst the sand was another kind of block: cobblestone. As I had only encountered such an occurence only once (if you could even call that an encounter), it took some minutes before I comprehended what this was. A dungeon. A dungeon half exposed to the surface beneath some sand. I could clearly see the treasure chest from where I stood on the grass.

Intriguing...

I considered just leaving it. Nothing could possibly be in that chest worth the risk of death. But then I heard the moaning of zombies and had an idea. Pulling my trusty spade from my inventory, I set to exposing the entire dungeon to sunlight. 

I was pretty proud of this idea, if I do say so myself. Any zombies that spawned would instantly catch on fire. While I was considering just how clever I was, I dug out the block I was standing on and fell into the dungeon, right beside a zombie. 

Well that was stupid.

He was on fire, but this did not prevent him from hitting me a bit before he died. I hastily dug a staircase back up the sand, and with a bit more care, continued to expose the dungeon.

The final result.

The chest held nothing worth taking. Though, i did take the pig saddle in the vein hope I would one day be able to use it. The zombies did not continue to spawn, however, and I refused to go back down to break the spawner. As I turned and began to walk away, I almost felt bad. These zombies would be spawning forever, (un)living a brief life of burning agony. But considering the times zombies have nearly ended my adventure, I wasn't going to loose any sleep over it.

Moving on, I soon found myself back on the sand and progressively running out of land.

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A sand bridge I actually get to walk across!

Back west, the sun is getting low...

Sure enough, I eventually ran out of ground altogether. The afternoon was getting on by this stage, but it still seemed too early to set up camp. Instead, I set down my workbench and crafted a boat. Surely I would still have enough sunlight left when I landed at the next continent to dig a small cave. I set sail and maneuvered my way around a series of little islands. A larger continent was visible to the south, but nothing was appearing on the easter horizon.

Little islands.

Southern lands.

I pushed on, but no continent appeared. The sun was now perilously low.

Okay. This isn't funny anymore.

At this stage. I should have just pulled up to one of the small islands. But, no, I was convinced the next continent would be just over the horizon. Any minute now...

Hmmm....

This... This is not good.

An ocean. A literal ocean. I could not see land in any direction now, and the moon was above the horizon. All those past 'oceans' I had traversed were mere lakes compared to this. Back west, the sun was now submerged beneath the water. I was out of options. I had no choice but to sit back and pass the night in my little boat. Can zombies swim? I have no idea. I refused to sleep a wink. Instead, I spent the entire night looking north, south, east, west, and north again. I would not let any swimming monsters of any kind ambush me. Occasionally I would look back up at the moon as it crawled tortuously across the sky.

The longest night. Ever.

Impatiently, I nudged the boat forward now and then, but did not want to risk running aground in the middle of the night. To the south, I could just make out a bank of sand. Also, movement:

Not sure if you can see the creepers, but there are two of them! :s

At this stage, it is fair to say I was freaking out. Two creepers! Could they see me? Could they swim? Could I swing my sword while in the boat? I've never fought from a boat before; I have no idea! The moon still had some way to go across the sky. I spent the remained of the night with my crosshair centered on the two creepers as they waddled back and forth in the shallows, certain that if I looked away for even a second they would dive into the ocean proper and explode beneath my boat.

For future reference: I am not getting in a boat in the afternoon if I can not see my destination.

To be continued...