Day Thirty-Two

All night I was accompanied with the hissing of spiders. They were directly above me. I had no idea how I would get out without them dropping on me. I didn't really have anywhere to run. Eventually, the sunrise begin to split the horizon like a scar.

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I had what I thought was a clever idea. Instead of breaking the glass, I would dig beneath it and swim out to a safe distance before rising to the surface. The genius of this idea seemed reinforced by the fact that I found a vein of iron just one cube beneath my feet.

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The swimming part didn't really work. The current kept pushing me back, and I could not get deep enough. Nor would I make it that far before running out of breath. Instead, I dug out a new path beside the glass and just ran and jumped into the water. I looked back behind me, but the spiders seemed disinterested. Perhaps they grew bored while I wasted my time digging.

Making a swim for it.

Just outside my camp, I found several large deposits of clay. I considered mining them, but I was already carrying around enough of the stuff.

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Moving on, I set out on the boat I had crafted the previous night.

But first, I need to make a brief stop.

Whoops.

There we go.

I crafted a new boat and was on my way. For a time there was only me and the ocean.

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Land off to the south.

Water water everywhere.

Land ahoy.

Cows on the mountain (looking north-east).

Much like the previous continent, I came to shore on the northern tip of a desert. The bulk of the desert disappeared to the south, but the occasional plain of sand and cacti jutted out into my path as I climbed the hills to the east.

Looking south.

The view north from atop the mountain.

My path east.

I followed the mountains around their southern faces. Trees were sparse and animals sparser. Perhaps the desert was slowly taking over all the land. After a while, the ground flattened out and began to funnel me into a deep valley heading north-east.

Looking north-east towards a waterfall.

An interesting monument to the south-east, pointing back west.

Oh. Hello there.

 Somehow I completely missed the tunnel leading east before I approached the monument. Through it was the tallest freefalling waterfall I could ever remember seeing. I abandoned the north-east-heading canyon and headed through the arch.

Heading through.

That is pretty amazing.

Looking north from the base of the waterfall.

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The base of the fall. Looks like the gravel fell and allowed the waterfall to exist.

I don't think I could take too many photos of this waterfall.

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Nearby I found a deposit of ore. Then, heading on, I looked north and glimpsed yet another waterfall.

Looking north.

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Looking north. An utterly breathtaking waterfall. Would be even more so if I had not just seen the other one.

I exited the northern canyon from the same path I entered it and continued east. Mere steps later, I spied several jack-o-lanterns to the north and another two deposits of iron. I left the pumpkins, but mined all the iron. Each vein was quite deep, giving me about ten blocks of ore.

Pumpkins and iron to the north.

Looking back west at the waterfall.

I hadn't realised how high up that floating island is.

I won't lie. I honestly considered quitting the nomad life right here. These floating islands, these waterfalls, this land were all stunning. I could gladly live out my days in this land, exploring its caverns. I stood still for several moments, just gazing around me and weighing up my options. I guess in the end, pure instinct got the better of me and I found myself once again walking east. Once I could no longer see the waterfall, I was happy with the decision. Looking at these pictures again now, though, I wonder if I should have stayed.

Anyway, the land narrowed after a time between mountains to the south and an encroaching sea from the north. The grass was a dark green and thickly forested.

Looking south-east.

East.

A peculiar patch of gravel.

As I inspected the gravel, I could hear the moaning of zombies. It grew louder as I moved forward. Thinking there may be a dungeon open to the sun nearby, I followed the sounds to the northern beach. I could see nothing but the moans were louder still. I dug out a single cube beneath me and found a wide cavern. I dug out more cubes and let the sun flow in. The zombies began burning instantly, but there was no dungeon to be seen.

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Between the waterfalls and now the time spent opening up this cavern, I had spent most of the afternoon.

Day nearly over.

I followed the coast east and soon came across an expansive desert.

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Camp time.

I was about to start digging out my camp when I had another idea. Perhaps I could build a tower instead of dig a hole. A commenter suggested it a couple of days ago, and I had already done it once, though not voluntarily. I was wary. More so of falling than of being ambushed by mobs. But it was not like I needed to mine resources. After today, I had plenty of iron. I decided I might as well give it a try. I created a perimeter of torches and cacti, then began building with the dirt I had excavated from the cavern.

This is either a great idea or a stupid idea.

Well the view is good, at least.

A bit roomier than last time, at least.

...or not.

At least that part of the plan worked.

The spiders, zombies, and skeletons threw themselves on the cacti all night. I did not have much to do up on my tower, but I felt safer than the last few nights underground. I just had to figure out how to get down in the morning without a creeper blowing me up...

Day Thirty-One

Western window.

I dug out a window in the western side of the monument so I could follow the moon. Far below, skeletons and creepers were moving over the countryside. 

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I tried mining for a time, but I did not expect to find much. I was fairly limited in the direction I could mine, too. Any direction except straight down just exposed me to the night. Eventually the sun began to rise and returned to the peak to survey my surroundings.

Digging a way out.

The monument was, thankfully, mob-free.

Today's path.

Now I had to find a way down. In my frantic climb last night, I had not thought to leave a path to easily get down in the morning. A commenter suggested jumping down the waterfall. Unfortunately, I could not see the waterfall from the peak so that was out of the question. During the night I had mined a narrow, spiraling stairwell through the center of the monument. I returned to it and continued it down to the ground.

Down we go.

Nearly there.

Free!

Thanks for the good times, Monument.

Onwards!

The land directly east of the monument was flat before rising in small hills. Before the hills was a cavern going down and south. In its mouth was a vein of ore. I mined it hastily as the moans of zombies rose up from the darkness.

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One last glance at the monument. Not so freestanding now with my dirt bridge.

Hills to the east.

I headed north around the cliff and followed the shore. In the distance I could quite a lot of sand.

Looking north-east.

My first desert.

A crazy floating sand house.

The sand clung to the southern faces of the mountains, as though it had been picked up from a desert in the south and dropped here by a north-blowing wind. I can only speculate.

More sand to the east.

Looking back at the sandy hills and floating sand house thing.

Mountains to the south.

I climbed the hills to the east and found myself out of the desert and looking down into a lush valley.

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It was about this time I realised there was still a sign sitting in my inventory. Whoops!

That's better.

On the valley floor, the grass and trees were visibly healthier. The stark difference between the hilltop and the valley floor was unavoidable.

The valley floor.

The valley ended with a vast lake.

I tried to find a way around the lake but the sides were sheer. Instead I paddled out and swam to the opposite shore. It did not see wide enough to warrant stopping to build a boat.

The southern cliffs (taken from the water).

South again, from the opposite shore.

Climbing out the other side, the forest continued until I hit the ocean.

Hey, pig.

Through the forest.

The coast.

Looking north from the sand bridge.

Across the sand was a small peninsula before the ocean blocked my path. Time for a boat. As I walked onto the beach, I noticed water pouring downwards into a hidden cave.

Looking east.

I wonder what secrets lie down there.

Opening my inventory to grab my workbench, I noticed just how much junk I was carrying. I swiftly threw the gravel and dirt into the water to be washed down into the cavern below.

More stuff than a nomad ever need carry.

Heading east.

I directed my boat to the south of the island, maneuvering around the small sand banks.

Taking it slow.

East again, with a desert appearing to the south.

Getting late.

I hoped to cover some more ground on this continent before making camp. I hurried up the hill and through a forest. To the north was an old inlet from the sea, nearly dried up.

Forest to the east and inlet to the north.

Looking north.

Through the woods.

Looking back west. Time to make camp.

I could see the ocean just up ahead. I jumped down a small cliff beside the sea and dug into it. Taking another suggestion from a commenter, I placed some cacti at the entrance to ward off any nosy mobs. Though, in hindsight, camping this close to the water was potentially a foolish idea. What if a swarm of skeletons decided to stand in the water? Oh well. I guess I will deal with that in the morning.

Planting my defenses. Literally!

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