~ ~ ~
As I squint nervously into the darkness around me, I realize that I was probably asking for something like this to happen when I decided to explore such a large cave. What's done is done, though, and I'm going to have to work fast if I want to survive for any great length of time. The tunnels around me stretch into darkness in several directions, and I can distinctly hear growls and clattering bones from a short distance outside of my torchlight.
Thinking fast, I slap down a quick barricade of dirt - it's not enough to deter any skeleton archers out there, but at least the spiders and zombies won't be able to get to me.
Next, I start building a dirt staircase to the hole I entered from. It's ugly, but fast, and it does the trick. I scramble up the makeshift stairs, expecting arrows to come hurtling out of the darkness at any moment. Fortunately nothing bites me, and I pop out of the hole and back into the tunnel where I'd originally fallen through.
This cave is still mostly unexplored, and after that scare I'm inclined to cut my losses and get out while I still have a large stockpile of iron. There's no telling when something nasty is going to come charging out of the darkness to eat me . . . and with my luck, it'll probably happen sooner than later.
I poke my head down yet another dead-end passage, and nervously dig up yet another iron vein.
"GRRRrrrrrrrr!"
I nearly jump out of my skin, but the owner of the gargling growl is nowhere to be seen. I take this as a sign and sprint back to the surface, where I can see faint rays of sunlight filtering through the clouds above me. I also notice even MORE iron, which I had somehow missed during my frenzied early exploration of the cave system.
This cave has TONS of iron. Did I mention that?
Now burdened with a hefty load of ore, I happily trot back to my cliff dwelling, which looks quite homey after my recent work. The sun's setting, so it's as good a time as any to settle in and do more crafting. Besides, it's Christmas, and I'm feeling like getting into the spirit of the occasion.
Back inside, I load the ore into my furnace, only to realize that I'm completely out of coal, and that in my zeal to grab every piece of iron I could find, I somehow completely neglected to mine any of the plentiful coal deposits. Well, darn it.
For lack of anything else to do, I switch to third-person view to check out my newly modified skin (partly of my own doing, and partly based on a downloaded model), complete with a sinister gas mask. In so doing, I notice something curious about my back:
Is that . . . a Christmas tree? I've never seen a cape on my character before . . . I guess Notch decided to be festive.
In an attempt to pass the time productively, I dig a side tunnel from my WIP giant staircase/mine. Several minutes of fruitless digging later, the rock in front of me suddenly gives way to a blast of water. The sudden wave tosses me back down the shaft, and I lose ground for a few seconds until I orient myself and manage to splash back to the hole. I seal it with a handy piece of cobblestone, while a spider on the other side of the gap voices its indignation (presumably at the sudden riptide I've caused).
At first, I think I've dug into the lake near the surface, but digging around the edge of the water gives me a clear look at what is in fact a long, low cavern just over the surface of an underground pool. A skeleton takes a couple of shots at me, but I duck behind a dirt block and deftly slice his shins.
The cavern is attractive, albeit small and lacking in resources. Strangely, the spider I heard earlier appears not to be inside, but I can hear him - and he's very close by. Noting that the ceiling is entirely dirt, I begin to suspect that the surface may in fact be just above me. One short staircase later, and I pop out on the sunny surface, only to be greeted by everyone's favorite green-skinned, armless kamikaze critter.
Ow.
Another creeper leaps down a nearby hill towards me, but he and his comrade (hiding behind a nearby tree) are safely dispatched. The spider, noisy though he is, doesn't bat an eye, so I leave him to his wanderings.
I trundle back to the ore cave and mine up a hefty load of coal. Seriously, how did I forget all this?
I also spot a new underwater cavern . . . a good site for future adventures, perhaps?
Now well-stocked with coal, I set my furnace blazing. With this task finally done, I grab a few ingots, make a bucket, and continue my ongoing side project of building my indoor farm - once finished, I'll have a renewable food source.
I make a hoe and scrape away at the grass outside. A few seeds pop up, and I tote my bucket down the hill and fill it at a nearby lake. I empty the bucket into a hole in my new alcove, and till up the soil around it.
Then I add the seeds. With the water nearby, the soil will turn dark and rich, and my plants will grow happily in the torchlight.
Now, at last, I can put some energy into something suitably Christmas-y . . . but what, exactly?
Next: Christmas 'Crafting!
Thinking fast, I slap down a quick barricade of dirt - it's not enough to deter any skeleton archers out there, but at least the spiders and zombies won't be able to get to me.
Next, I start building a dirt staircase to the hole I entered from. It's ugly, but fast, and it does the trick. I scramble up the makeshift stairs, expecting arrows to come hurtling out of the darkness at any moment. Fortunately nothing bites me, and I pop out of the hole and back into the tunnel where I'd originally fallen through.
This cave is still mostly unexplored, and after that scare I'm inclined to cut my losses and get out while I still have a large stockpile of iron. There's no telling when something nasty is going to come charging out of the darkness to eat me . . . and with my luck, it'll probably happen sooner than later.
I poke my head down yet another dead-end passage, and nervously dig up yet another iron vein.
"GRRRrrrrrrrr!"
I nearly jump out of my skin, but the owner of the gargling growl is nowhere to be seen. I take this as a sign and sprint back to the surface, where I can see faint rays of sunlight filtering through the clouds above me. I also notice even MORE iron, which I had somehow missed during my frenzied early exploration of the cave system.
This cave has TONS of iron. Did I mention that?
Now burdened with a hefty load of ore, I happily trot back to my cliff dwelling, which looks quite homey after my recent work. The sun's setting, so it's as good a time as any to settle in and do more crafting. Besides, it's Christmas, and I'm feeling like getting into the spirit of the occasion.
Back inside, I load the ore into my furnace, only to realize that I'm completely out of coal, and that in my zeal to grab every piece of iron I could find, I somehow completely neglected to mine any of the plentiful coal deposits. Well, darn it.
For lack of anything else to do, I switch to third-person view to check out my newly modified skin (partly of my own doing, and partly based on a downloaded model), complete with a sinister gas mask. In so doing, I notice something curious about my back:
Is that . . . a Christmas tree? I've never seen a cape on my character before . . . I guess Notch decided to be festive.
In an attempt to pass the time productively, I dig a side tunnel from my WIP giant staircase/mine. Several minutes of fruitless digging later, the rock in front of me suddenly gives way to a blast of water. The sudden wave tosses me back down the shaft, and I lose ground for a few seconds until I orient myself and manage to splash back to the hole. I seal it with a handy piece of cobblestone, while a spider on the other side of the gap voices its indignation (presumably at the sudden riptide I've caused).
At first, I think I've dug into the lake near the surface, but digging around the edge of the water gives me a clear look at what is in fact a long, low cavern just over the surface of an underground pool. A skeleton takes a couple of shots at me, but I duck behind a dirt block and deftly slice his shins.
The cavern is attractive, albeit small and lacking in resources. Strangely, the spider I heard earlier appears not to be inside, but I can hear him - and he's very close by. Noting that the ceiling is entirely dirt, I begin to suspect that the surface may in fact be just above me. One short staircase later, and I pop out on the sunny surface, only to be greeted by everyone's favorite green-skinned, armless kamikaze critter.
Ow.
Another creeper leaps down a nearby hill towards me, but he and his comrade (hiding behind a nearby tree) are safely dispatched. The spider, noisy though he is, doesn't bat an eye, so I leave him to his wanderings.
I trundle back to the ore cave and mine up a hefty load of coal. Seriously, how did I forget all this?
I also spot a new underwater cavern . . . a good site for future adventures, perhaps?
Now well-stocked with coal, I set my furnace blazing. With this task finally done, I grab a few ingots, make a bucket, and continue my ongoing side project of building my indoor farm - once finished, I'll have a renewable food source.
I make a hoe and scrape away at the grass outside. A few seeds pop up, and I tote my bucket down the hill and fill it at a nearby lake. I empty the bucket into a hole in my new alcove, and till up the soil around it.
Then I add the seeds. With the water nearby, the soil will turn dark and rich, and my plants will grow happily in the torchlight.
Now, at last, I can put some energy into something suitably Christmas-y . . . but what, exactly?
Next: Christmas 'Crafting!
I just recently fully explored a cavern under one of my new fortifications, and fruitful would be a understatement when describing all of the little morsels buried beneath the black. Some how two dungeons managed to pop up in the same cave system, and iron/coal where beyond abundant. Spelunking = Merry Christmas in Minecraft language..
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