Chapter 6: Expansion
Pickaxe needed something to do.
Ever since he remodeled the house, nothing exciting ever really happened. All he and Jewel ever really did was mine, gather wood, and kill the nearby livestock. Pickaxe even managed to make a full set of leather armor! He would've made a second set of iron armor, but Jewel took some of the iron to make a set of tools. He could tell the two needed a change of pace. Jewel wasn't in the mood for mining today, but still needed some armor. Pickaxe wanted to see if he could do something with the iron ore that was left over.
Finally, Jewel couldn't take the silence.
"I'm going cow hunting," she stated flatly. "I'll be back before dark." She took one of Pickaxe's stone swords, and marched out of the house, determined to kill some cows for both leather and dinner. So now Pickaxe was alone. Great… What was he supposed to do now? He looked inside his large chest. There was some wood, several iron ingots, and some cobblestone, among other small things. He looked over the crafting table. He got an idea. He crafted a wooden shovel, something he hadn't done in a long time. He placed the shovel in the top center, surrounding it with wood blocks where he could. They turned into a boat.
He could use that later.
He took his iron ingots and crafted them into buckets. Now he could go on with the wood. He used them to craft another new set of materials: fences and fence gates. Nice. He walked out of the house to the back. He fenced off a majority of the area, making sure he added the gate for entry. Before he could continue, he needed to head to the ravine. While a majority of the water was rushing toward the falls that dove into the canyon, some areas of the water were still. Perfect! He scooped up the water using two buckets. He quickly ran back to the house. In the fenced area's lower right corner, he dug a 2x2x1 ditch. Then he surrounded the inner edge with cobblestone, and replaced the remaining floor with cobblestone. He took out his two water buckets. He poured one in one corner and another in the other.
Now to test his theory.
He took out three empty buckets. He took one scoop of water. It replaced itself. He took another scoop of water. It replaced itself. He took a third scoop of water. It replaced itself. ... … ...he had infinite water. Oh, heck yeah! Now he just needed to do something with the fenced area's upper territory. He looked at his boat. It was about time that he did some aquatic voyaging. But first he'd have to get to the ravine. And to do that, he'd have to get through the forest, which was infested with tall grass! Wait, tall grass? Hmmm…
Seeds had shown up in his inventory, the grass gone in his wake.
He had finally arrived at the ravine. Rather than head toward the canyon, which he knew quite well, he headed in the opposite direction, which he hadn't explored up to this point. He plucked his boat in the ravine's shallow end, hopped in, and began making his journey. The scenery was quite beautiful. Every now and then, among the grasslands, he could spot a mountain, a few caves, and unfortunately, creepers. He shivered. Luckily, the creepers were otherwise uninterested in him. Then he came across a rather strange block, just in front of a new area which was covered in sand and weird spiky green blocks.
He took out his axe, and slashed the block to its collectible form.
Apparently, these things were called pumpkins. To the side, there were two more. Perfect for him to harvest, though there was something weird about the faces carved into them. Regardless, they looked useful. He put one on his head for the fun of it. While his vision was a bit limited, he thought it looked cool… if he could've seen himself. It wasn't nightfall yet, but it was a very bad time for Pickaxe to remember that ONE essential task: torches. He quickly dashed back to the boat with his loot, and rowed like a rouge madman. He finally got back to his house's area, and plucked the boat out of the water.
Time to continue the setup.
He had an 11x4 grid to work with. He dug a one block deep ditch on the bottom left and right corners. He dug a vertical trench three blocks long. He put two rows of sand on the sides of the trench. Then he built two vertical trenches aligned with the top of the area on both sides. Now what could he do? He took out his stone hoe. He made sure he tilled a majority of the farmland. Now to add water and crops. He filled the trenches with water, having to make frequent stops to his "well" for water. He put the seeds from the grass on the sides of the farmland. He turned the two pumpkins into six pumpkin seeds, and put them on horizontal rows. Finally, he put the sugar cane he harvested days ago on the sand.
He added a chest and a crafting table for the finishing touch.
He was so tired, he ended up dragging himself to his room, waiting for Jewel. Occasionally, he'd go outside, watching his little garden from afar. He was quite proud of his work. But then nightfall came. Jewel hadn't come back yet. She never stayed out this late. Pickaxe grew anxious. Finally snapping under the pressure, he equipped his leather armor, stone & iron swords, bow, and arrows. He cautiously exited the safeness of his house, and began trekking in the darkness. The groans of zombies echoed throughout the dark void. Pickaxe had to kill a few spiders on the way there. Heck, he even snipped a zombie! But then he heard a scream…
Jewel was being held at arrow point by a skeleton, a shattered stone sword at her feet.
Pickaxe was too far. He'd never reach Jewel in time if he decided to run. There was no way he could run fast enough, even with all the adrenaline coursing through him. Then he remembered: he had a bow. He immediately strapped an arrow alongside the string. He had practiced shooting a few times, so he knew long range shots required… an angle. He arched the bow so that his aim was above the skeleton. He inhaled, concentrating his energy… and he sent the bow flying. It caught the skeleton straight in-between the eyes. Jewel looked stunned, as the skeleton directed its attention to finding it's attacker.
Pickaxe shot it two more times, collecting a bone and an arrow for the repercussions.
Jewel practically pounced on Pickaxe, apologizing a great deal for making him worry. Pickaxe shrugged it off; Jewel was okay now, wasn't she? He pulled out an iron sword, motioning for them to get back to the house. Halfway there, a skeleton shot off Pickaxe's leather helmet, destroying it in the process. After an arrow shot and two sword slashes to the chest, the skeleton was defeated, but Pickaxe was subjected to wear his pumpkin as a substitute. Jewel chuckled to herself, as Pickaxe did an eye roll, though she didn't seem to notice. They had just arrived at the river bank close to the house, when they noticed a mysterious figure.
A tall, thin figure, with skin dark as night and eyes purple and bright.
Jewel was looking down, shivering. Pickaxe could only make out her mumbling as her saying, "Nonononono…" Why was that figure giving her the cree-? It suddenly appeared in front of him. Pickaxe was now shivering. The creature was carrying a grass block in his hands, eyeing Pickaxe curiously. He and Jewel simultaneously gulped. Were they gonna die? The creature cocked its head to the side. Pickaxe began to reach for his sword…
The creature lost interest. He teleported away to who knows where in the night.
Pickaxe and Jewel made a mad dash for the house. Both of them were breathing hard. That creature was the stuff of nightmares. Looking into it's eyes was like seeing the end of his life. He took off his pumpkin. End of his life… "Enderman…" he muttered. Jewel nodded, replying, "Scary things. They're supposed to be rare, but they're frightening if you catch yourself in their crosshairs." Pickaxe nodded; he could see why. They looked dangerous. "That's not all," Jewel continued, "If you look at them, they go crazy. They won't hesitate to slaughter you. The only way to avoid that is if…" "...if you wear a pumpkin," Pickaxe finished. Jewel shook her head in agreement. "Good night, Jewel," uttered Pickaxe, slowly trudging to his room. Jewel followed his example, walking up the steps as sleepiness began to crawl upon Pickaxe.
The enderman was a creature he wouldn't soon forget...