Chapter 9: Harvest

Finally, the garden was ready for a harvest.

There was wheat, pumpkins, and sugar cane to be harvested. Pickaxe was in the best of moods, obviously. The moment the sun had risen and he looked out the window, he knew today was going to be a good day. Of course, he had to remember to replant the harvest after gathering it. That way he could get more! He slumped out of his bed, ready to seize the day…

...only to be greeted by an angry Madison.

"Dumb lava. Stupid little miniscule… WhYcAn'TyOuBeInFiNiTe!?" was all she said before storming into her room. Pickaxe scratched his head. Then he looked to his garden. Parallel to his infinite water pool was a small empty ditch. He guessed that lava apparently couldn't be infinite. Poor Madison. He grabbed some dirt blocks to fill the ditch. Now was the time to take care of the harvest! One by one, he plucked the wheat, pumpkins, and sugar cane, save for the ones at the base. Seeds occasionally popped out of the wheat, so Pickaxe naturally planted them in the wheat's now empty stead. The pumpkin stem was still there, so logically it would later on create more pumpkins. The sugar cane, as previously stated, would grow so long as its base remained on the sand.

As Pickaxe was putting the harvest in the large chest, he noticed Jewel's face against her window.

Her eyes were sparkling. She looked rather excited, more so than usual. Suddenly, she vanished from her window, and was running to the back, practically crashing into the chest. She grabbed a piece of wheat and some seeds, and ran off yelling, "MAKE A PEN BEFORE I GET BACK!" She had a goofy grin on her face the entire time, too. Pickaxe didn't know whether or not she should be worried. Probably best to make the pen. He ended up making a 10x9 rectangle. That would work.

When Jewel came back, she was followed by a chicken, a cow, and a sheep.

She immediately crammed them all inside the pen. "Um," Pickaxe began, "What exactly are you doing?" "Shhh," shushed Jewel. She was watching with the most intent focus on the chicken. "Wait for it…" she whispered. Wait for what?, thought Pickaxe. The chicken made a clucking sound, and dropped this weird white thing. Then it did it again...and again...and again. Four weird white things. Jewel eagerly leapt into the pen, and grabbed the round things. Then she slowly approached the cow with a bucket in her hand. Pickaxe couldn't watch. When he turned his head back, Jewel had three buckets of white liquid. She left the sheep alone… for now.

"Well?" Jewel demanded, "Get to crafting!"

She shoved her newly acquired materials into Pickaxe's hands. Eggs and milk. That's what they were called. Why did he need these? Suddenly, an idea came into his head. He grabbed three wheat, three pumpkins, and five sugarcane. First, he turned all the sugar canes into sugar. Now what could he do? He had an idea. He placed the milk buckets on the crafting table's top row. He put one of the eggs in the center, and filled the bottom row with wheat. The remaining areas were filled with sugar. The crafting table shook.

Pickaxe had made a cake.

Jewel was jumping up and down like a schoolgirl on a snow day. Pickaxe decided he better finish before she lost it. He took a pumpkin and put it in the center left of the crafting grid. He put a piece of sugar next to it, and put an egg below it. He did this two more times. He ended up making three pumpkin pies. Jewel looked like she was about to blow up. She snatch two of the pumpkin pies out of his hand. "I'll give one to Madison. Poor thing needs cheering up," She gave Pickaxe a little smirk before entering the house.

She was definitely something else.

Pickaxe entered the house making a two-block table before placing the cake on top. It looked so tasty… no, he had to wait. But what would he do? He eyed the cake on the wooden table. Wait, wood... table… Oh shoot, his diamonds! He checked inside his chest. Yup, all 10 of them were still there. He crafted himself some sticks, and began to get to work. First, he'd make a diamond pickaxe. Then, a diamond sword. Finally, a diamond helmet. He tried on his new gear. He felt… amazing. The diamond was a strange element. It was surprisingly light, but sharp and crisp. The power of his arsenal radiated off of him. He felt tingly all over. It was a rush. Suddenly, Jewel and Madison walked into the room.

The look on Jewel's face was simply PRICELESS.

After running away from an angry Jewel wielding an axe around the house, they group sat down and had some cake. It tasted so sweet and savory, and it was surprising how hungry they all were. Up until this point, they had all been subsisting on meat and apples. They couldn't have imagined that such delicacies existed. "Back in the village, we do some farming," Jewel explained. "I LOVED the desserts that they made. Got a few scoldings when I took them without permission, though." Jewel blushed in embarrassment at this, while Madison exploded in hearty laughter. Pickaxe just grinned. Jewel was a good person to have around. She was always so nice and caring, though she did have the usual miner tendencies, like needing to do something.

Which was what Pickaxe was thinking about right now.

"Do you know where your village is?" Pickaxe asked. Jewel stared at him. She slowly shook her head. "N-not really," she admitted. "I was in the Nether when I came here. I wouldn't even know where to start looking…" Madison looked worried for Jewel. Pickaxe was curious. Couldn't they find a way back? "Wait, you said something about redstone. Could that help?" asked Pickaxe. Suddenly, Jewel's face lit up with realization. Of course! She darted to the crafting table. She placed her final lump of redstone in the center, and put iron ingots everywhere else except the corners. The ingredients began to shake…

...and transformed into a compass.

"My brother told me that compasses always pointed you back home," said Jewel, "No wonder he always kept one him!" "Now what?" asked Madison. Pickaxe stood up, holding his diamond pickaxe and sword. "Now we get ready," he declared. He ran to his room, gathering more necessary supplies. Then he darted out of the house. The girls were chasing after him, but he wouldn't stop. He could get to the mines before nightfall, and he made sure to bring his clock. All that mattered now was getting materials.

They were going to bring Jewel home.