Day 63

The Library’s main structure has now been finished. I’ve already begun assembling bookshelves. With luck, I shall have the place fully stocked by the end to tomorrow and I can begin the translation of the Hyss Valley writings.

Day 62

Southern library wing completed.

Day 59

The central atrium of the Library has been completed. This will act as a gallery. The North and South wings that lead off it shall house my books while the West wing shall be my new study.

Day 53

Began a quarry just to the south of my sugarcane farm. There is a huge drift of sand that’ll be a perfect source of sandstone.

Day 50

Construction on the Library’s foundations has begun.

Day 49

Returned to the lighthouse.
Scouted out a location to build a sugar cane farm. Didn’t want to build it too close to where I plan on constructing the library. Industrial farming is so unsightly.

Day 48

The last of the passages have been cleared to the best of my abilities. Three are utterly impassable. The weakness in the roofing of the main chamber seems to have been a flaw in the architecture of the entire tomb. The one passage that has not collapsed lead to a long, shallow set of stairs that ascend to the surface at a point just beyond the edge of the desert. Over this entrance is a high pillar, perhaps a marker for this site so that those who wish to pay tribute to whomever is buried here might more easily find it.
I have found no clues that might help me in the translation of the writings I have found, and I have exhausted all avenues of investigation at this site (bar, of course, the sarcophagus, which I have no intention of trying to open at this time).
I am going to return to the Lighthouse and begin construction of a library on the nearby island. Once I bring in a few books on languages, I can attempt to translate the writings on my own.

Day 46

The entry to the ruins has been successfully cleared, though it sustained substantial damage.
Also cleared was the new passage at the far side of the main chamber. Beyond is what I assume to be a tomb of some sort, with a sarcophagus at its centre. The walls are covered in writings that I cannot decipher.
I’m not game to open the sarcophagus until I’ve translated them. These ruins have been battered enough as it is. If there’s some sort of trap or mechanism in place to protect the body and/or treasures that may be within this giant stone box, I’d rather know about them before prising loose the lid!
I’ll leave the tomb be and clear the remaining 4 passages that lead off the main chamber. I may stumble upon a Rosetta Stone!

Day 43

Partially exposed another passage on the far side of the main chamber. It’s a taller doorway than the others. Might mean a more important chamber lies beyond.
That exciting possibility has, however, been tainted by disaster. I was attacked by creepers again while heading back to the hut at the end of the day. The resulting explosion has damaged the entry to the ruins and blocked it with sand.
It’ll take me days to clear it!

Day 41

The roof in the main chamber of the Hyss Valley Ruins doesn’t seem particularly stable. I’m going to construct some scaffolding to add a little reinforcement. Marauding creatures I can deal with but a steel sword isn’t going to do much against a tonnage of rock falling from a great height.

Day 38

The creeper explosion yesterday blasted open a small cave with a rich seam of coal in it. I thought my luck had turned….and then I broke open a larger cave full of skeletons. Hyss Valley is turning out to be a very unpleasant place. If my excavations at the ruin here don’t turn up something of note soon, I’m packing up and leaving!

Day 37

GOD DAMN IT! While at my workbench assembling new tools, a creeper snuck up behind me and nearly blew my camp at Hyss Valley to pieces. It didn’t damage the hut, but there’s now a crater where my storage chests used to be.
I’ve extended the hut and brought my workbench indoors. Something a smart man would have done in the first place….

Day 36

Excavations at Hyss Valley continue.

Day 33

I’ve broken into a much larger chamber with wide pillars at its entrance. Still a lot of debris to clear, but there appears to be a number of passages leading out of it.

Day 32

Exploration hindered by Skeletons and Creepers. They attacked and I was injured. Headed back to the surface to patch myself up, but it turned out that night had fallen and this empty landscape was crawling with creatures. Had to fight my way to reach the safety of the dig site’s hut. Had one of those creepers detonated near it, I would have had to try and run all the way back to Cactus Drift!

Day 31

Descended into the ruins.

Day 30

The Hyss Valley ruin is indeed the entry to a tunnel network. That tunnel network, however, appears to start with a deep, vertical shaft. If I’m going to make an attempt at descending into it, I’ll need extra wood for torches and ladders.
I’ve headed back to Cactus Drift. There are trees across the canal that I can use.

Day 29

I’m Going to name this place “Hyss Valley”. All I hear non-stop when I walk around here are spiders. There must be a hidden cave nearby that’s full of them.
Hope I don’t burrow into it by mistake!
The ruin seems to be an entrance to a tunnel network. It’s taking longer than I thought it would to clear the sand.

Day 28

Discovered a ruin in the desert valleys. Unclear as to what it once was at this point. I’ve constructed a hut nearby and will start excavations at daybreak.

Day 27

Returned to Cactus Drift Station to start exploring the nearby desert region.

Day 25

The portal was completed and I ventured into the Nether. As hoped: I returned with armfuls of Netherack, but I just couldn’t get close enough to any Glowstone in order to mine it. Ghasts kept getting in the way. I hate those things.
By the time I left the Nether, the sun was setting, making the descent down from Weird Spire rather perilous. On top of that; I had a nasty encounter with a Creeper on the way back to the lighthouse. The damn thing had decided to take a dip in the shallow waters and obliterated yet another boat.
Very nearly lost all my precious cargo!

Day 24

There was another lava flow marked on my charts that I had missed. It was located right next to Weird Spire, and to my delight: it was a small lake of the stuff! I’ve now harvested enough Obsidian to complete the portal. This time tomorrow, I should have ventured into the Nether and grabbed a stack of Netherack and Glowstone!

Day 23

Descending the western side of Mist Peak brought me to the second lava flow on my charts. This short trip has only generated two blocks of Obsidian. I may have to venture into one of the many caves I’ve seen if I’m to find enough material to build the portal.
I hate caves.

Day 22

Change in tactic. I’ve set off in search of the surface lava flows I spotted earlier. Found one just west of Weird Spire. From there, I climbed the high cliffs spotted on Day 8. At the summit I constructed another outpost, naming it “Mist Peak”.
Apt, given that the clouds run right through the trees up here.

Day 21

Mining continues. It’s too easy to loose track of time down here. I have some gold. Maybe I should build a clock?

Day 20

Found diamond at very nearly bedrock level in the mine beneath the Lighthouse.
I’m continuing to dig in the hope of finding a lava lake that I can convert to Obsidian.

Day 19

I’ve worked my way back to the Lighthouse.
Before I set out on further exploration, I plan on finishing the portal at Weird Spire. There are a few lava flows I’ve spotted in my travels, so Obsidian won’t be hard to find, but I’ll need to craft a diamond pick axe before I can harvest it and diamond is the one resource I have yet to find.

Day 18

The hut at Gravel Bridge clearly wasn’t as secure as I had hoped. Zombies and skeletons invaded at night. I was forced to dig an emergency bunker, which is where I spent the night.
When day broke I continued following the waters north. I believe I have found the south eastern edge of the desert region, sighted on Day 15. I am currently digging a channel back to what I think are familiar waters.
On these channels I have established “Cactus Drift Station”.

Day 17

A day spent digging small channels and canals between larger bodies of water.
Heading North again, through more lakes and seas I wasn’t aware of.
Tonight’s outpost I shall name “Gravel Bridge”, because of the huge amount of gravel that lines its shores.

Day 16

After rebuilding my boat (and killing all the chickens), continued following the coastline. Eventually reached an ice-flow that prevented progress. Constructed another outpost.
Will cut a path through the ice tomorrow. Perhaps following the coast will gradually take me northwards again?

Day 15

Explored the new, and much larger, ocean to the south. Followed its east coast and discovered a new desert region (yet to be named) and a towering, craggy mountain range that I dubbed “Demon Rock”.
I would have kept going south, but my boat hit a chicken and sank. I figured it best to set up camp where I swam to shore. I built a hut and placed within a chest containing an axe and some provisions, lest I find myself out here again, stripped of tools and need to construct another boat to return to the Lighthouse.
Unsurprisingly; I’ve named this outpost “Poultry Point”.

Day 14

Constructed the canal to the body of water south of the Lighthouse. Placed a couple of warning beacons at each end, just in case I have to find or navigate it in the dark. I’ll head south tomorrow.

Day 13

After exploration, I have found that the waters in which the Lighthouse sits are completely enclosed. There is a small strip of land near Weird Spire that I plan on digging up to create a canal that will link to a larger expanse of ocean so that exploration may continue.

Day 12

Finally found some Redstone. Now that I have a compass I’m going to construct a boat and start exploring.

Day 11

Built stairway up the most prominent peak at Weird Spire and constructed a placeholder totem for where I will one day build the portal.

Day 10

Ship built. Christened the “Sparrow”, because it’s a rather small thing. Maybe I’ll build a larger one when I find an ocean.

Day 9

Started clearing the Weird Spire region of trees. I plan to put a gate to the Nether there.
I’ll use the wood to construct a ship in the waters off the shore near the lighthouse.

Day 8

Explored to the south. Found a vast seam of clay. Might finally try to build something out of brick rather than stone.
Also found some strange tower formations and a floating island. I’ll dub this place “Weird Spire”.
Explored to the west. Discovered a huge cliff face.

Day 7

Lighthouse completed.
Need to find greater source of illumination. Neverack or Glowstone should do, but I’ll need to build a portal to the Nether if I want either.

Day 2

Began Construction of Lighthouse.

Day 1

Arrival. Built a temporary shelter and began mining materials.

Exploring Nu Eden

I like exploration in games. As such, Minecraft and Myst are two of my favorite games. With this little blog, I'm going to merge the experience of both together: exploration coupled with a journal and maps charting my adventure through a strange new world - that of Nu Eden.