Day Seven

As the moon set and the sound of zombies burning welcomed the morning, I christened my new bow with its first kill.

I feel less bad about killing those spiders now.

I collected the feathers and the arrows from the dead zombies and skeletons, climbed up the hill, and finally walked through my hole. It was time to move on. Looking ahead, it seemed the terrain would let me pass for once.

A clear path.

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To the south, some pigs were chilling out in the shade of a tree. This isn't important, but I found observing them enjoyable for a time. I couldn't say why. They just seemed very relaxed and content under their tree.

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Leaving the pigs behind and approaching the valleyit turned out to not be the easy path I thought it would be. Just beyond the crest, it sunk sharply into a ditch. Still, it was nothing a spade could not deal with. I even found some coal.

Up the opposite side, the land opened into rolling hills with some towering monuments to the north.

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Moving along, the land opened up and flattened out. I even found a few mushrooms in the shade. The next night I could make up some stew to replace all the food I devoured after the zombie ambush.

As I walked, I could feel another ocean growing near.

Mushrooms!

Another clan of shade-pigs.

The sea!

Sure enough, there was the ocean. On the sand, though, was a small cave. I decided to have a quick look and was fortunate enough to find some iron. Along with the mushrooms, the store that the zombie had destroyed was slowly being replenished.

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I did not go any deeper. In fact, the thought of going deeper didn't even cross my mind. Perhaps I was finally learning to let go of the underground. I didn't need diamond or gold, not where I was going. Rather, I returned to the beach, took out my workbench, and crafted my boat. Time to leave this land behind. Though, it turned out to be less an ocean and more a lake. My direct path east, however, was clear, so I kept my boat for a while longer.

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I sailed between the islands and onwards until I hit land.

New lands. Again.

I did not leave the ocean behind, however. It continued to creep up from the south in small bays and inlets. I found one bay particularly scenic with its rocky outcrop. I could imagine a small harbour town being established on its beaches. Not by me, though.

You can practically see the ships sailing in.

I had made good distance today, at least double that of the previous day, surely. Yet, the sun was finally beginning to set and it was time to find shelter. But not before one last fortuitous find:

I'm eating tonight!

Mushroom in hand, I found a cavern and set up my torches. It was not a small cavern, however, and I explored the various paths quite extensively before I was convinced I was safe. I even blocked off the deeper cavern entirely.

Ain't no zombies sneaking up on me.

 I set up my furnace and began smelting the iron I found by the beach. Eating my mushroom stew, it hit me that it had been exactly a week now since I left home. This was a good day to end the week on, I decided. Not too eventful, but constructive. I had made good distance, found some iron and some mushrooms, and landed on a new continent.

I think I'm getting the hang of this.

Day Six

The loudest night of the journey thus far, the fifth night was. Skeletons, zombies, spiders, and creepers were all accounted for outside my little den. I had not considered the previous night that by camping in the western side of a cliff it would be later in the day before the sun eventually appeared to burn up the mobs. But burn they eventually did, and the spiders calmed down. But I still had one problem remaining...

Ssssssssssssss!

Through the glass, I could see at least three Creepers. I toyed with the idea of digging through to the other side of the hill but decided that would take too long. In the end, I broke the glass and let them be funneled in one-by-one. I managed to take out two, but the third one exploded. Fortunately, though, I was far enough away to avoid damage. I stepped outside only to be greeted with yet more hisses.

While capturing this screen, another creeper blew up behind me.

Two to the north and two more to the south. I freaked out to some extent and lept away from the mountain and back into the gully. One more exploded, taking out a tree, but I managed to keep the rest at bay, losing only my nerves. Seven creepers! Little wonder the night had been so noisy. 

The aftermath (You can see yet another creeper's feet in the upper-right corner).

Anyway, with that done, I could finally begin my day.

In memory of the lost tree.

The sun was already high (a recurring theme of this adventure, it seems) when I finally set forth. The cliff was sheer so I rounded the mountain from the south. On my way, I slew a couple of benign spiders wandering about. The incident with the creepers had me thinking that it was time I started carrying a bow, and I would need the spiders' webbing.

As I made my way east through a narrow valley, I could see more cliff-faces and crazy mountains ahead of me. Most significantly, I saw a hole.

I'm a sucker for holes. They always look so cool.

I'm not sure why, but I decided I had to walk through that hole. Perhaps I was getting bored or fidgety, or even going a little crazy. Regardless, that was my current mini-goal: to walk through that hole.

As I finally clearing the mountain I had slept under, I began to appreciate the next one more and more. Not part of a larger mountain range, this monument stood alone. 

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So on I trekked, my crosshair firmly placed on the blue sky in the center of that hole. Clearly, I had forgotten the last time I made this mistake.

Ow.

I began to curse myself for not watching where I was going, but then I looked to my right and saw the waterfall.

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Don't fall...

This waterfall was perfectly vertical from where it exited the rock, all the way to the bottom of the shaft. Fascinated, I decided to work my way to the bottom. I could just see the lava at its base and thought perhaps, if I was lucky, I might find some diamond. Okay, I didn't really think I would find diamond, but it was worth a try. I chipped away a stairwell that circled around the shaft. Everything was going fine until about two-thirds of the way down when I accidentally chipped out the block I was standing on and started to fall.

I think I actually closed my eyes and waited for the hissing sound of my inventory going up in flames. This was it; I was going to fall in lava and this entire adventure would be over. But it was not to be. Whether by luck or fate, I landed in the pool at the base of the waterfall and not in the lava. I didn't even take any damage.

Looking back up.

Staying away from the lava...

Save a few blocks of coal, the entire expedition had been fruitless. I dumped some dirt and built my way back to where I fell and climbed back to the surface.

It's still an awesome waterfall.

Out of the shaft, out of the cave, and out of the hole I originally fell in. I looked west and saw just how fruitless my day had been: the sun was setting behind the mountain I had slept under the previous night.

Not the most constructive day, that is for sure.

Night fell and I had not even walked through my hole. Instead, I found a cavern entrance beneath it and built up a wall to block out the night.

Should have collected more sand to make more glass.

I put down my workbench and my furnace and got to work on my bow. To wrap up a day of stupid mistakes, I made the stupidest mistake of the entire adventure thus far: I didn't check the caverns behind me before beginning to craft. I didn't even place a single torch. I could hear zombies, but presumed they were all outside. 

I was in my inventory when it attacked. Worse, I was halfway through rearranging everything and for reasons I could not explain, my sword was not equipped. I lost two hearts before i even knew what was happening, another two as I frantically scrolled for the sword that wasn't there, and yet two more before I finally took the zombie out with my pick. I was practically dead: my armour was destroyed and the little health I had left was flashing. Cursing myself for being so stupid, I equipped my sword, ate all my mushroom stew, and inspected the rest of the cavern, placing far more torches than were necessary. I couldn't exaggerate how angry I was at myself for letting one zombie almost destroy me. This had not been a good day.

I returned to camp, confident I was alone. I used all my remaining iron to replace the armour the zombie had destroyed. I was back to full health and an acceptable level of armour, but I had no more iron and no more food. I would have to rectify that the next day.

I chipped out some of my wall and checked if I could move forward yet.

Soon...

Minutes passed and the night grew louder with hisses. I was convinced I had found the native country all creepers come from, and I was eager to leave it as soon as possible. I removed another block, equipped my new bow, and got ready for the sunrise, promising myself I would not repeat the foolish mistakes I had made this day.

Bring it, creepers.

Day Five

And on we go.

My fourth night was uneventful. I heard no mobs outside and found few resources in my little mine. The sun rose and I said goodbye to my hovel beneath the majestic mountain. 'Majestic' to look at, at least, but now I had to figure out how to get over it.The incline seemed more consistent to the south (to my right), so I went at it with a spade and managed to clamber to the top.

Looking west and not looking down.

The mountain continued to rise above me, but I had enough space to on my landing to get to the far side. The southern ocean that I seem to have been following for quite a while was visible again. It was seeming more and more likely that I would have to cross it before long.

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But for now, I still had to get off this mountain, and that was proving difficult.

Hmmm....

In the end, I ended up circling towards the south where the gradient was more forgiving. Quite some time passed before I was back on my eastward course. Looking back west at the mountain, I see the entire eastern side is just as sheer.

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But at last, it is time to turn my back on the mountain and continue on my journey. I wonder if I will see such a landmark again in my quest. Only time will tell, I guess. The ground is, thankfully, quite flat after the mountain. And even offers me a few rewards:

Why hello there. Om nom nom.

As expected, the ocean did indeed wrap around, and it was time to say goodbye to this mountainous continent.

New lands.

I chopped down a nearby tree, crafted my boat, and set sail. Though, it was not long before land appeared.

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Feeling somewhat impatient and eager to keep moving, I decided it was time to deviate slightly from my course. Instead of abandoning my boat, I would follow the coast around south. This turned out to be the right decision as just over the hill, the ocean hooked north again into a deep canal.

Keep it steady...

I kept my speed down, not too keen on the idea of swimming. After some tricky maneuvering, I left my boat of a sand bank and stepped properly on the third continent of my travels.

So long, boat!

Looks like I won't be doing more climbing, at least.

The terrain was instantly distinguishable from the last continent. More hills greeted me to the north and south, but no intimidating cliffs. The hills here were more gradual, more rolling. As the sun began to sink, my stroll was quite leisurely.

Looking north.

It wasn't to last, however. By about mid-afternoon, the ground began to rise and drop sharply. And then i found the most evil looking cave i have yet seen.

This does look like a skull, right? Or is it just me?

The sun would be setting soon, but I gave the caves a quick look over. They were deep and multi-pathed. I considered spending the night in them, but there were too many entrances to guard. Without a single block of iron or coal mined, I decided to push on and find a more manageable cave for the night. I had to hurry, as the sky was already darkening. I considered turning back to the skull cave, but then I finally spied what looked like a hole on the side of a hill. A hole it indeed was, but not the kind I was looking for:

Beautiful. But not what I had in mind. (Looking north)

Through the hole was an entire valley. I decided I probably had enough time to work my down and get to the eastern cliff-face. If I could find no caverns, I would dig out the visible coal and hide in there. The trick, though, would be getting down. The decent was not just sheer, but overhanging. Chipping away at the wrong block could send me tumbling quite the distance. It was slow work and the sky was getting darker.

Stars mean hurry up!

In the end I jumped. Not too far, but I felt it. Nothing some mushroom stew wouldn't heal when I was safely underground. I decided I didn't have time to search for a cavern so I headed straight for the coal and started digging with my iron pick, not wanting to waste any more time. I could already hear the spiders. Less than a minute later I was inside with the entrance glassed up.

Not too shabby for a rush job.

Not a moment too soon. It did not take long for the night to fill with the moans of zombies and hisses of creepers and spiders. I considered replacing the glass with stone. Would creepers sacrifice themselves to blow up the glass if they knew I was inside? I decided I was being paranoid. I tried to get some mining done, but the noises were too distracting, and I was scared I would get myself ambushed from some cavern. It was going to be a long, stressful night, and I was not looking forward to stepping outside in the morning.

We know you're in there...