Day Twenty-One

Before I begin the day, I must recall some of the events of the night.

Not long after glassing up the entrance, I noticed I had left a one-block hole in the roof. Fortunately, I blocked it up before any mobs fell in, but something strange happened. I placed the block, and my entire screen filled with dirt and I began losing health. I was being crushed. I had no idea what I had done. I lost several hearts while I just sat their stupidly. I was going to die from a god-damn block of dirt. What a way to go out. Then I snapped out of it and just started punching. I punched and punched and punched and I was free. I ran in circles and looked around frantically. What the hell just happened? Was a mob in here with me? Was there a hole in the wall? What had happened? To make things weirder, the ground was covered n a purple-black mist.

What. The. Hell.

I was really shaken up. It took another minute before I had the nerves to open my inventory and grab some mushroom stew.

Feeling better, but still shaken.

I felt better, but I was still shaking. Whatever had hurt me could surely continue to hurt me. To make things worse, a cacophony of moans and rattling was sounding in the night outside. I tried to shut it all out and open my workbench to craft some more armour. My boots and helmet had taken a beating from the mysterious damage. I was down to 24 iron now. I really had to find some more soon. Once I finished crafted, the mist was gone.

So confused...

I mined for a while and even found two cubes of iron--enough to replace a single boot. When I returned to camp, the noise outside was deafening. Zombies and skeletons strolled by the glass. They knew I was in here. The mist returned for a time, too. Thinking about it now, it was probably just night-time cloud. Perhaps I have never just camped this high before.

Skeletons at the door.

Zombies, too.

I want this night to end! >_<*

If this was all some Halloween joke Notch was playing on me, I was not impressed. The noises were growing louder; the mist was growing thicker (okay, that was probably just my imagination); and my nerves were wearing thin. But eventually, the end came in sight, climbing over the horizon.

At last!

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Deja vu.

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One by one the sounds faded. I could still hear a lone zombie burning for a while but then there was nothing but silence. I left slowly and backwards, but no creepers were waiting to ambush me.

Time to move on.

An easy enough path.

Almost forgot!

I got halfway down before my creeper-free morning was interrupted.

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Gazing forward, it looked like my day might just be a calm, relaxing one. The ground was flat, the trees were sparse, and the sky was blue.

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Today is going to be a good day.

Looking back west at the hill I just came down.

To the south were a couple of creepers. I decided to take them out for the gunpowder--and to clear a few arrows from my inventory (I had more than 64).

Two creepers.

A waterfall to the south, beyond the creepers.

That sorted, it was time to head on east. The ground was flat for quite some time. It was a relaxing morning with little hindrance. After a time, I did find myself in a wide valley. I have used that word 'valley' quite regularly and care-free before now, but this was a real valley. Not just an area of ground with some higher ground around it, but a slither of land between near-symmetrical rolling hills. It made for quite the scenic walk.

East over the plains.

Valley up ahead.

The Valley Animal Convention, perhaps?

In that previous picture, look very closely towards the distance in the top-center. Can you see it? Not just a mountain blocking my path, but another lava fall!

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It is probably obvious in these photos, but I did not notice what was happening until I got a fair bit closer: the lava was still flowing. 

Don't get too close.

It's still spreading!

  This was amazing. Certainly, the fall itself was not nearly as majestic as the previous fall, but this was a brand new fall coming into being. It was flowing out from the mountain before my very eyes! I found that quite amazing. 

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I walked around to the northern side (left in the above photo) where it looked like I could find a path through the gap in the mountains. I scaled the mountain slowly, careful not to get too close to the lava flow.

Up we go.

Easy...

Eeeeasy....

Made it!

I jumped up the last few blocks and left the valley and the lava fall behind.

The other side, looking south-east.

And looking more to the east.

The following lands were bumpier than the morning had been thus far, but still relatively east. There were a few crazy craters, though; like inverted pyramids.

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Crazy crater. It was hard to do it justice. This was the best I could do.

Eastern bumps.

Coming down the mountain.

More ahead.

It was quite an elegant mountain I was looking at, standing by itself on the plains. It reminded me of that monument I saw early in my travels, day four, I believe. The one that reassured me this journey was a good idea. I had a nostalgic moment, and then I headed to the south to get around.

The southern side of the mountain.

Mushrooms!

Om nom nom. I have quite the collection, now. (Not sure what the deal is with that gravel block.)

Moving on, the plains continued to favour me and I made good time.

One of the few caverns I saw that day.

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Mountain ahead.

Crazy cove.

The mountain looked climbable enough, but I thought I might as well continue on the trend I had started today and walk around it. Besides, what was the rush? I headed to the north where the ground looked more flat and walked around, beneath the jutting overhang.

Heading around to the north.

East again, in the shade.

And on we go.

Beyond the hill the plains continued, but now they were blanketed in a large forest. That was really it for the whole afternoon, so here are a bunch of photos:

Looking south, rear of the mountain to my right.

East through the trees.

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A rather awesome large tree. (Don't worry, I didn't cut it down!)

More flat land. More trees.

You get the idea. It was a really nice walk at the time. Perhaps you had to be there. Eventually, though, the sun began to set.

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This was a problem. I had not seen a mountain worthy of a camp for quite some time. Ditches, yes, but no hills. I did not much like the idea of camping lower than ground level, where a creeper could easily fall on top of me in the morning. I decided to push on a bit further and see what I could find. In the distance, I could see a small hill, only six blocks at its highest point. I made a run for it, half expecting the skeletons to start appearing before I got there.

Hurry...

I made it to the hill and quickly dug a small cove. Problem was, however, I had no glass. I had to block the entrance with dirt.

Not ideal.

I set down my furnace and smelted some glass. The night was still quiet outside. I decided it was worth the risk. I knocked out a single cube and quickly replaced it with glass.

That's better.

I mined for a while that night, still nervous about my dwindling iron supply. At this rate, I would have to start using stone tools again. Not ten cubes down, though, I struck a vein.

Yay!

It was only four more blocks, but better than nothing. I could hear zombies moaning, but continued to mine in the opposite direction until I opened up into a cavern.

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I blocked it off, sealing away any potential treasure. I wonder just how close I have come to finding diamond? What if just three or four cubes deeper there was a diamond vein? I guess I'll never know. I guess it doesn't matter, either. I returned to my camp, put the iron in the smelter, and watched the creepers flicker in and out among the trees.

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