AN: As chapters go, this one is kinda short. But I'm on vacation at the moment. So forgive me.

In other news, there was a HUGE problem with . The stories weren't on the main page.

Then again, maybe it just has to do with my internet connection or something. Who knows? I just hope some people get to read this. Even if it is just setup.

Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, there would be dogs that could track other players.

Chapter 7

Cavern

[Cobb]

*SPLASH* *GURGLE* *GURGLE*

By some small chance, the cavern I had dug into contained a large pool of water to break my fall. It was a good thing too, because with my health at half a heart it was crucial to avoid damage of any kind. Hell, a nosebleed could kill me.

The only problem—or rather the second biggest problem—was that this cavern had no light at all. The night sky offered no luminescence from the hole I made and everything was pitch black.

Which brings me to the third biggest problem: How to resurface for air when you can't see which way is the surface of a pool?

*GURGLE*

It was like the Void all over again. But wetter. And with less internal monologues.

And unlike the Void, this pool of water had weight to it. As if I knew that I was floating around in a fluid instead of a blank emptiness. Small comfort when I'm drowning.

I tried to look for the bottom of the pool or for light in any direction, but found nothing. I could barely make out my hand a few inches from my face. It was just so dark…

[Many of the Mobs spawn from the very darkness itself.]

I could practically hear Helena's irritating voice warning me of the added danger of being in a dark place. As if I didn't have enough to worry about! C'mon Cobb, use your brain cells! You know the ones that aren't dying due to a lack of oxygen.

*BLUB* *BLUB*

GKK! It's no use! I don't know which way is up in this…

Inspiration jolted through me like lightning as I reached into my Inventory and withdrew the first item my fingers met: a spider eye.

I held the eye up to my face, enabling me to see its faint color and outline, and released it. It began to fall like a stone…but it fell to the left! So the bottom of the pool is to the left of me while the surface would be to the…

"RIGHT!" I gasped as I greedily took in gulps of air. I managed to keep myself afloat and definitely above water as I waded around the pool. Eventually, I found the pool's rocky bank and dragged myself out, coughing and sputtering all the while.

In the darkness, I could barely make out the tattoos on my arms. My Hunger seemed fine and my Health was starting to tick back up. But my major concern was finding a way out of this cavern.

I looked up towards where I assumed the hole I made was and began to think up options on what to do. I could make a staircase to the hole, but I need some blocks. A lot of blocks. Guess it's time to test this pickaxe out.

I withdrew the pickaxe and hobbled blindly away from the pool; searching for a wall I could excavate blocks from without risking another cavern drop. After a minute of stumbling and tripping I located the wall and swung my pick against it. Unlike the wood, the [COBBLESTONE] felt denser and offered more resistance. Eventually, however, I 'picked' up enough of it to make a decent staircase.

I spun around as I heard…something. It was definitely something. A little more than nothing and a little less then anything. A cross between an ineffable snort and a quiet murmuring. And I had no idea what it could be. Nothing in Herobrine's book described a creature that could make a sound like that, and not knowing what I was facing was more terrifying than whatever horror that lied in this cavern. But only by a little.

I reacted as quickly as my fear would allow. Using the cobblestone I collected, I walled myself in a 3x3 shelter and stood in absolute silence. Meanwhile, my inner mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and fears.

What was that sound!? Was it another Crafter? Or maybe a Testificate? It couldn't be a Mob…right? There was nothing about any sound like that in the book and I doubt any conscience being, Testificate or Crafter, would reside in this dark place. So it must be a Mob, and an uncommon one at that.

I strained my ears to hear any other sounds from outside my rocky bunker. I didn't know how to describe such a sound, but I knew I'd know it when I heard it again.

There it was again! It was a cross between a pig's 'oink' and a low growl. The unbridled piss-my-pants fear I was experiencing was making it surprisingly easy to describe the unknown creature's guttural sounds. Oh, did I mention I was experiencing unbridled piss-my-pants fear?

*~~NK*

Seriously, I was amazed my pants hadn't already been turned into a piss basket while I was hearing those terrifying sounds.

*UNK*

Whyyyyyyy? Why does this have to happen to me? I internally whined. Why do I have to stumble upon all these Mobs!? Is this…how all of Minecraftia is?

That was a depressing thought. Was fighting these creatures all there was to Minecraftia? Just survive as long as you can until you die. Something so simple and yet so harsh.

*ZWIP*

A new sound caught my ear. It sounded like something had rushed past my cobblestone bunker. Did the Mob leave? I mined a chunk of cobblestone and poked my head out to confirm. What I perceived, however, was illuminating.

Literally.

The cavern was illuminated.

Across the pool, I could clearly see a dirt wall with but a single block missing. And behind that wall was where the source of illuminating light was coming from. Seeing no Mobs around me I quickly dug myself out and skirted the edge of the pool, swapping my pickaxe with my shovel along the way, and dug through the dirt barrier.

I was now in a torch-lit tunnel. Black ores were littered against the wall. One side of the tunnel sloped upwards while the other sloped downwards.

I examined the dirt wall. Was there always a hole in this wall and the torch was what was placed? Or is it the other way around? The dirt blocking the torch light was recently dug out. But by who?

"Hello?" I called down both ends of the tunnels. No response came. So instead I walked up to the torch and tried to pick it up. Instead, the torch broke and the tunnel was consumed by darkness. Apparently, torches lose their light when dropped.

I checked my Inventory before locating the [TORCH] and held it in my hand. When no light emitted from it I knew that the only way to use the torch was to place it. So I placed the torch where I remembered seeing it and, after the tunnel was relit, followed the path sloping upward.

If torches exist, then there must be a recipe for them. Those might come in handy for lighting up dark places. But what could the recipe be? A stick, for sure, but what else? A piece of cloth maybe? Or else something that burns.

As I continued pondering on my trek, I noticed more and more black ores across the walls, illuminated by torches placed at key points. As if whoever placed them did so to ensure no darkness could exist in this tunnel. I walked up to one and examined it closely, trying to discern the materials it was made of.

Unless all these torches were placed recently, there's no way I could have noticed the light from that underground cavern. And nobody could have meticulously placed this trail of torches in that short time. So then someone dug out that block of dirt. But then, where did that someone go? And what's this black ore anyway?

I took out my pick as I walked over to a particularly large vein of black ore. I paused, mulling over whether I should mine it or not, before swinging down. The ore broke slower than the cobblestone but flew into my backpack all the same. Only it wasn't as a block, but rather an item. I withdrew it and held it in my hand to examine the name.

[COAL]

"Coal…" I muttered before realization dawned on me. Coal. Charcoal. Grills use charcoal. Grills cook. Cooks cook. Meat cooks on grills. Hamburgers taste good. Barbeque. Barbed 'Q's.' Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet. Fences are barbed, just like Q's. Fences. Fence gate. Fence gates keep out Zombies, but doors can't. That makes no sense! This train of thought makes no sense! Realization hasn't really dawned on me.

"Darn, I thought I was on to something." I sighed as I deposited the ore back into my backpack and continued up the tunnel.

[Parker]

"See? SEE!? I told you I heard something." Spring jumped excitedly as he dispatched a Skeleton in a flash of metal. "I'm going to document this away for any future 'Park should listen to Spring more often' arguments."

"Alright, alright. Enough." I groaned as I took an arrow to the arm before shooting my own at the attacker's pale skull. It figures that, after spotting this abomination of a shelter, two Skeletons would show up to make our job all the harder. And now Spring is going to hang this over my head.

"But it's not 'all right.' It's I'm right." Spring joked with a smug grin. "I'm right and you're wrong."

"Every dog has his day." I replied with a dismissive wave before ending the last Skeleton. "And don't you forget it!"

"Oh don't you worry. I'm not planning on forgetting this anytime soon. I'm gonna milk it for all it's worth!" Spring sheathed his sword and began collecting experience and bones before noticing the sign in front of the shack. "Ha! Hey, Park you're gonna love this. Look at what someone wrote here."

I walked over and examined the sign. "'Crap, Sweet Crap?' So even the architect of this monstrosity knew he messed up."

"Or she." Spring piped up. "This sure wasn't here the last time we combed this quadrant."

"Yeah, it's definitely the work of an inexperienced Crafter. I mean, who uses a fence gate as a door? Think the Skeletons got him?"

"Or her." Spring interjected again before opening the gate and walking inside.

"Spring, it couldn't have been a female." I sighed exasperated. "Everybody knows females are badass survivalists." I examined the posts of the house to find several arrows jutting out of it. I can't pick these arrows up. No Crafter fired these. Skeletons must have attacked the shelter and the guy inside could do nothing, but wait for death. But then there should be dropped loot or, at the very least, the Crafter's Head.

It was common knowledge that when a Crafter dies, instead of blood and guts, the contents of their Inventory spill out. As well as a Head. A facial likeness labeled with the name of the deceased Crafter. Similar to dog tags used to identify…

There it is again. Stupid normal sense! Better focus on the task at hand.

"See anything inside?" I asked only to receive no answer. "Spring?"

I walked over to the entrance and made to step inside…only to stop at the last second with my foot hovering over a man-sized hole in the ground. Peering down into the dimly lit cavern below I noticed a pool and a head bobbing above the water.

"Spring! You okay down there!?" I called down.

"Yeah, just a little wet! The water's fine though so you can jump down!"

"Sure, just give me a moment." I quickly scanned the interior of the shelter for any other clues about the mysterious Crafter. There's a chest…that's empty. So the Crafter must have little in terms of resources. Otherwise he would have made a better shelter. He just used the bare minimum to construct this thing and still had space in his Inventory. But he was surrounded by Skeletons and, trapped, dug into a cavern as a quick escape route. Which means…

I smiled as I leapt into the hole to join my hapless partner.

Which means, this guy is easy prey.

[Cobb]

"Coal…" I contemplated as I held the black lump in my hand again.

Let's try this again. Coal. Coal burns. Burns burn. Fire burns. Fire hurts. Burns hurt. The Sun is a ball of fire. The Sun is a ball of burns. My clock says the Sun is about to rise. When the Sun rises the darkness is extinguished. When there's a fire, fire extinguishers extinguish fires. Mobs spawn in darkness. Without darkness, Mobs cannot spawn. The Sun is the Mob's greatest enemy, but the Sun is also a ball of fire. Therefore, fire extinguishers are Mob's greatest ally. What else puts out fire? Water! Water also puts out torches. The Sun and torch have the same enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Sun and torch are allies. Or perhaps distant cousins? Yes that makes more sense! Distant cousins!

"Ohoho! I got you now torch recipe." I laughed to myself as I continued through the tunnel. The veins of coal had stopped and the tunnel had taken a sharp left before leveling out. It had taken some serious thought, but I was sure I was close to discovering the secret behind making a torch.

Okay, so the torch and the Sun are distant cousins. That means they must share a family secret: The secret of illumination. The Sun is bigger than a torch, so the Sun is capable of sharing its fire with it. Coal burns when lit. Coal burns when hit by the Sun. The recipe for a torch requires coal atop a stick and must be crafted during the day, when the Sun is able to share its light with the torch! That must be it!

"I'VE GOT IT!" I exclaimed. "I know the recipe. Now I just need to get to the surface to test it. But how far does this tunnel go?" I looked up and noticed that the ceiling was made of dirt.

I know I didn't fall that far. I should be close to the surface by now. I took out some cobblestone and constructed a crude staircase along the wall. When I reached the ceiling, I took out my shovel and dug up. As soon as the first block was dug, natural light flooded in through the ceiling. I almost cried tears of joy as I hoisted myself from the enclosed tunnel and through the ceiling to breath in that fresh forest air.

Just as the clock said, the sun was rising up into the dawn sky. I could see the mountains were much closer than the day before. I guess it's a good thing I fell down that hole. Now just one more thing to do before I set off.

[Spring]

"Man this guy must be really stupid to keep shouting things." I joked with Park as we hurried up the torch lit tunnel. After drying off and noticing the light coming from behind the dirt wall, we briskly followed the trail of torches…only to break into a sprint after hearing the echoing shout of 'I'VE GOT IT!' from up ahead.

"Fresh Crafters are generally stupid." Park stated as he munched on some steak to refill his Hunger. "Now remember, we need to act all friendly at first. See if he—"

"Or she." I interjected.

"—if it is traveling alone or if it knows about any other Crafters in the area."

"That's fine. I kinda wanna know what number it is too! They've gotta be up to the 10 digits by now." I reasoned as we passed some veins of coal ore. "But then I can kill him right?"

"What about that last guy you killed yesterday? Wasn't he enough for you?"

"Hey, I'm just a guy doing my Cult-ural duties." I joked with a grin.

"That's not funny." Park deadpanned as we followed the tunnel veer sharply to the left. "But if you let me have its gear then you can take the kill."

Inventory: 1 Carrot, 1 Wooden Shovel, 1 Wooden Pickaxe, 13 Cobblestone, 1 Coal, 7 Sticks, 2 Wooden Pressure Plates, 1 Trapdoor, 3 Oak Doors, 1 Wooden Button, 1 Clock, 5 Dirt, 2 Signs, 1 String, 1 Bone, 1 Arrow, 20 Rotten Flesh, 1 Emerald

AN: Let me know if these author notes are annoying or not. I can handle the criticisms if they're the truth. (T_T)