Chapter 8: Scouting, bathing and preparing for hellfire

Waking up a little later than normal, slept off the slight aches and pains internally from my sour concoction and external from all my burns. With a massive loaf of bread, I start my day. Cloudy a little windy nothing to be done I have a plan today. I start by harvesting more trees I am low on wood and creating a clearing increases my view radius. This means safety for all the dull shed tools out there.

With some of the wood now in plank form, I create a noob pole up slowly, making sure to place ladders against it so I can get down and up easily. I create it until its about 20 above the treeline. I then place a torch on top and go down.

Someone astute may realise that’s a beacon, flying my new mini-ship to explore and don’t want to get lost. I will keep the search area close by for now, but with the mountain and the pole, I shouldn’t get lost. Once I start increasing my search radius il create smaller poles in a circle like breadcrumbs.

This is only until I find an effective means of not getting lost. Genius, right? Anyway, jumping in Larry, the jet. Cool name hu. Its obviously the slowest jet in the world but it will do, still better then that glorified moving van I made.

Non the less I get suited up and start up the craft, just brining an axe and chest plate. Just in case an axe is universally useful and a chest plate covers your vital organs. I should go mining today but I deserve a bit of flight. I likely am placing far too much trust in this rickety old creation of mine. I hope the laws for this world don’t suddenly change because I would be in for a bad time 50-60 blocks in the sky. Kind of obvious but at least with the trees I will either get off with a broken arm or get impaled. Neither good but one is clearly superior.

Felix would laugh his ass off if I fell off a flying jet I made out of wood and got impaled unlucky on a tree. He is likely well surprised I survived so far. I had a feeling he didn’t have the highest hopes I would live long. He likely had a whole spiel after I died immediately just to annoy me before throwing me back with a bone so I live and gratefully. All assumption but fun to ponder non the less. With the loneliness, I am starting to talk less and ponder silly ideas more.

Is that healthy? Not likely, neither is talking to your self silly! Eh, whatever I’ve done it since I’m young a little more won’t hurt, I guess.

I rise above the treeline, its refreshing, not the air but the freedom the forest can get suffocating after a while, dark and nasty’s around every corner. A little better with my cleared territory but not gone altogether.

As I bask in the relief, I choose a direction, let us have a look at the mountain, making sure I can view the beacon, I can. I wonder if it counts as extreme hills. Emeralds would save me a lot of time if I can find some nearby. I am not ready for deep cave diving but knowing potential locations are good practice. And I eventually will need emeralds otherwise some of my plans cannot come to fruition. Maybe other sources will become available but let’s not place all our eggs in one basket, shall we?

I follow along the river in the general direction of the mountain, they aren’t side by side but neither are they far from each other. I spend a good while just flying, mentally marking points of interest. A top view of the mystical area of the forest I identified before showed little other than a few sparkles every little while. Nothing to write home about. Other than that I noticed an odd shimmer in another part of the forest. I have a sneaking suspicion on what it is, but even with advanced knowledge I know it’s a stupid idea, at least until I have death protection and an inventory, cough golden bag. On top of the mountain is a small quantity of snow, may be useful in case snow golems pick my fancy. Who knows maybe they are useful now? Circling around I see now obvious sighs of structures, no smoke. I didn’t even mentally think it but I was kind of hoping civilisation was close by.

But be it by Felix’s will I am abandoned in the arse crack of the world, who knows where I am. Maybe I should try asking questions to NEI. Perhaps if it has an end goal of an item it will give me more information, like how to get coordinates. Not while I’m flying, I need concentration, not to crash but to avoid getting lost. I go over the general direction of the ocean, mostly for the view.

Finding an ocean temple was really a shot in the dark even if they make great building blocks. Anyway, with my more inclusive gander at how utterly abandoned, I am I head home. Today I don’t plan to push my self super hard. Not like I work my self to the bone but I am in no rush today. Time for some personal projects.

Parking my new car/jet if you want to be politically correct. I head to my home and get started on crafting planks, easy recipe, like actual wooden planks. Not the block form but single planks. 2 plank blocks stacked on top make about 32 of them I make a few stacks before soaking them in water, save a few. With my iron I find a recipe for nails and a hammer, crafting both I rest up.

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Time for the fun part. I craft a frame using the planks in a rough curve before nailing them together. Then I create a second one. Collecting the planks which now have been soaking for over an hour and a half. I place them in between the 2 curved objects before bending them into the shape of the curve by pressing the 2 together and tying it with string, lots of string.

The water softens the wood allowing it to bend, when it dries it will become hard and inflexible again, relatively speaking for wood. While they dry I go outside and collect flowers, I am aiming for fragrant flowers like roses. I also collect some leaves with lots of external natural wax, you can tell.

Getting home I break the flowers into petals and set them aside in a small glass jar. Crafted earlier in case I found a liquid food resource. I also turn the wax into a cylinder by warming it up then modelling it with my hand around some string.

By now the planks have dried so I take them out and use 6 of them plus 6 strait ones to create a frame, you guess it for a bath. Using the frame, I place the curved wood around the bath to create the shape I’m looking for, flat bottom curved sides. I follow up by melting the candle and dripping the wax down the cracks in the wood to create a waterproof seal.

I step away and make a small campfire, I made a flint and steel using some flint I gathered a while ago, can’t remember where. Lighting a log under the cauldron I place water in the cauldron. It quickly starts to boil, placing the rose petals inside then I set it aside. Pouring water in the bath, before pouring the boiling water in. So, I don’t melt the wax.

I keep the candle lit on the edge, a candlelit rose-infused bath, with pride I step into a bath, it is extremely feminine but I deserve this, deserve it I tell you. I have had to sleep on moss, wood, trees. I have had to dig, craft and build. I needed this. And I accept my own hardwork as a gift to myself. I won’t deny it took longer than expected as I got the curve wrong first, I also made some mistakes with the frame and even know I can tell its still not perfectly waterproof. For now, it’s okay.

Not everything in life is perfect, and with that, I drift into a trance-like slumber resting peacefully. Waking up, I shiver damn the baths cold quick. A shame its such a pain in the ass. I had to use river water too since I didn’t have enough cauldron water. But I feel clean and better. Almost like some of my emotions are at rest now.

Sigh, I guess I should go mining. With my axe and armour on hand, I recall minecarts exist. It is designed for rails but they still have wheels, I will have to look into it.

I go deep, following my previous torch trail until I find where I mined the gold recently, then I pull out? I forgot to craft it damn. I forgot to craft my gold divining rod. Now heading back upstairs to craft it before going down far less enthused. Damn my stupidity. Now I actually start searching for gold, less than iron but still a lovely spectacle of golden sparkles.

It is actually quite pretty and relaxing but I’ve always loved gold. Mining about a stack, I always gather it in an area as I mine it before taking it home in a few trips. I luckily happened upon both lapis, unsurprisingly and Redstone a pleasant surprise. Bring both up because they all have a place in my treasure chests.

Mining wouldn’t take hours if I had an inventory, “Felix why?” No answer but I guess I wasn’t talking I was complaining.

Finishing my mining trip, I craft 2 more furnaces, I am starting to gather a lot more each trip so I need more to smelt. I plan to craft Redstone and coal divining rods soon. For when I am low on said material, I don’t need them right now, they will be in a chest for when I need them. I salivate imagining a diamond divining rod or emerald one.

Back in my home unarmoured, I go outside, a little dark but not unreasonable. Getting in my jet I fly along the river, looking for sugar cane of course. With a little bit of common sense, I easily find some, all be it far sparser than anticipated. None the less I can grow more, I have the “demon can” after all.

I didn’t expect it to be so quick but useful as it is getting dark now. I quickly plant the sugarcane, I use the can to propagate a few more so it grows in reasonable amounts but I am not sitting around all, night in this case.

Heading back inside I sit down close my eyes and prepare, for what you may ask to finish the nether portal, I am taking it far to slow for my liking, drenching myself in the water I brave the fire and manage to grab 4 buckets worth on 2 trips before I decide this is stupid and il just be patient. Sigh seeing me 2 blocks away I bite the bullet and grab 2 more. As I place the final obsidian, I go to bed hoping I can even sleep in as much pain as I am.

As I wonder, wait is the nether gone be stupid hot, it is isn’t it. What am I going to do? I need to get creative and think about it.

I start typing random names into NEI hoping to find a cheap and easy recipe, and low and behold I find a heatproof vest. I think it may help. A little expensive including lapis, iron and gold. It also requires a potion of fire resistance, crap. I guess il need to suffer to be successful.

Sigh potion of fire resistance will work I just need to live long enough to do it. It shouldn’t be deadly got but it is going to hurt for sure. “famous last words” stupid brain.

Well, I spark up the nether portal before realising I should maybe cover it in stone and a door. Before I do though I look through. Unlike before I can actually see in, a little misty but I can clearly see a similar yet foreign nether with several odd entity’s, beehives. “Il be damned” the nether is more modded then where I am now. Not normal beehives mind you gigantic monstrous sized ones that I am sure to have equally large bees.

I spot a few pigmen, nice finally a friendly mob. Some nether ores, and finally Glowstone. Although I will not be tempting my self by looking further, stone box first to trap whatever might come through, a portal is 2-way Afterall.

I use brick instead of stone its slightly more aesthetically pleasing and I built it outside anyway. I am sure a ghast won't fit through it easily much less with a brick room on the other side. I go to bed ready for an adventure tomorrow. Should be fun I guess.