Chapter 15: Keep It Underground
After leaving the mesa biome, the group found themselves on the border between an extreme hills biome and a plains biome.
It was a bit weird to say the least. Seeing two different biomes side to side wasn't usually part of exploration. But the compass stated otherwise. As the group continued to make their way across the land, Jewel spotted a cave. "I can hear water…" she mentioned, as the group unanimously agreed to head toward the cave. There indeed was water… but it lead straight down into a dark abyss. "Umm, c-can we t-turn back?" stuttered Texik. But the abyss seemed to call out to Pickaxe, dare him, even. He looked at Jewel, who gave him a reluctant either way, it's your choice look.
He leapt into the abyss, the others following his lead.
As soon as they hit lower waters, they immediately began torching the place. Several mobs had managed to spawn in the place, and were quickly dealt with upon sighting. Pickaxe made sure to wear his pumpkin, in case they ran into an enderman. He hadn't worn in awhile, either. The group continued to make their way down the narrow path, when they started to notice the floor was becoming moss stone. And they also heard groaning. Zombie groaning.
Texik thought it was smart to break the moss stone barrier, unleashing the terrible creatures.
Pickaxe slayed the green monstrosities in an instant, but more were coming. There also seemed to be… smaller versions? "Darn it, baby zombies!" cried Madison, trying to kill the little ones. They were fast! "Awww, but they're too cute," muttered Jewel, before seeing one of them ride a chicken. Texik killed that one. "No. No chicken jockeys," he stated flatly. Where were all these zombies coming from? Pickaxe looked in the center of the room.
He shattered the monster spawner after ripping through a few more zombies.
The group took in the small room where the zombies had come from. It's structure had suggested it was anything but random. "Dungeon…" was all Madison said. The group had encountered a dungeon. But where there was dungeons, there was… "TREASURE!" Texik yelled, immediately flinging himself to the chests in the room. For some reason, both chests contained nothing but iron ingots… oh, and a bucket. He sulked with his lack of proper loot, and made his way out of the dungeon. "There's probably better loot in the cave," he grumbled.
The cave decided not to disappoint.
At least for Madison. Within the cave's walls, there was that one lava pool. Her eyes gleamed with a burning passion, or maybe that was just the lava reflecting off of her eyes. "You guys go on ahead," she assured, "I've got some obsidian to harvest!" She stole Texik's bucket, finding a nearby water source, and began pouring it over the lava. Jewel shook her head with a half worried, half amused expression. "Leave her be," she stated, "She wanted to gather obsidian several weeks ago." The remainder of the group made their way deeper into the cave.
Not long after, they came across a strange blue jewel.
"DIAMONDS!" screamed Texik, immediately lunging toward the area with a torch and pickaxe in hand. But upon placing the torch, he was greeted with the sight of… lapis lazulli. "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!" he bellowed, promptly deciding to rage deep within the cave. "But it is beautiful…" Jewel whispered. She pulled out her Pickaxe, and mined the ore, while Pickaxe kept watch, and Texik continued his rage, his parrot yet again keeping a safe distance. That was, until… "HELP!" yelled Texik from down the cave.
Apparently, this time the dungeon was filled with skeletons.
It took all the group's effort to just keep the skeletons at bay, as Jewel destroyed the mob spawner, thus giving them the advantage. Several moments later, it was Jewel's turn to look inside the chest. The first one had a name tag (hallelujah!), some diamond horse armor (HALLELUJAH!), and an enchanted golden apple (HaLlElUjAh!). The second chest had… melon seeds, beetroot seeds, and some string. "Welp, that was underwhelming…" commented Texik. Regardless, the group left dungeon, continuing their way down into the cave. Madison was yet to return from her obsidian mining.
Then a squishy sound was heard deeper within the cave.
The group drew their weapons. Strange green blocks made of a translucent goo emerged, but they were moving. Moving. On their own. Bouncing straight towards them. They were cute… but in a I'm gonna murder you kind of way. "Slimes… great…" Pickaxe muttered. "KILL THEM!" Texik screeched, lunging toward the slimes while his parrot mimicked their squishy noises. But then he killed one… and it split into two.
After the next few minutes of battling, the group decided to try and find an exit.
After backtracking, they found Madison just as she was completing her obsidian harvest. "Finally, I'm finished!" she sighed in relief. There was a rather empty pool where the lava once was. Only the water Madison used to cool off the lava remained, which she was currently soaking in. Jewel helped Madison out of the crater, and the group began searching for an exit. They mined anything that could be considered useful along the way (diamonds, especially), when once again, they came across moss stone.
Texik should seriously keep away from the stuff.
After defeating the hordes of spiders, with a few bruises for good measure, it was Pickaxe's turn to open the chests. Yet again, he found an enchanted book, some gunpowder, and some redstone. He also found a strange flat circle with a green center… a music disc, as well as an iron ingot and a regular golden apple. "A music disc? Lucky you," commented Madison, "Usually, a skelton has to shoot and kill a creeper for you to get one of those." "True…" added Jewel. " I think that disc is called 'cat.'" With the loot collected, the group continued down the cave, pleased to find an entrance several blocks ahead.
They left the underground just as the sun began to rise.