Day 69

Day 68
The Ledger was open to a page that held crafting instructions for an item with the simple name of “map.” I had seen it before but had dismissed it because I did not need a book to tell me how to draw a map, but the item described within was not a simple piece of cartography. The Ledger claimed that this item, aided by something almost mystical, would map this world by the crafters experiences.

I had not better ideas (other than wandering around aimlessly). The crafting would be simple. Paper was a necessity obviously, and the only other component was a “Compass”. I scoured The Ledger for any mention of a “Compass” and finally found it in a folded over page. To craft all I needed was Iron, which I had in excess, and Redstone, which I had an excess at The Bunker but I haven’t seen it since leaving 5 days ago. Has it really only been 5 days?

With the daylight already failing (Had I just looked at the Ledger all day?) I set out toward a lake where some sugarcane had been growing. The sun had slipped beneath the horizon and the tell tale moaning of the undead were starting as I returned with my satchel filled with sugarcane. I’d process the plants into paper tomorrow.

I stashed the plants in the corner chest, ate an apple that I picked up on my sprint, and began to dig down from inside my house. Its not going to be pretty, but I am going to dig for some Redstone.

Day 69
Hours of digging and my Pickaxe has broken. Nothing lasts forever even fortified with magic, I guess. I was out of wood, covered in dust, mud, and gravel, and still had not found Redstone as I emerged from my hasty mine. The sun was high in the sky. I was dirty, I was tired, I was hungry, and I still had work to do. I grabbed my Axe and my final pitted sword and headed outside. I walked into the forest and cut enough wood to hopefully finish the mine and keep me warm. Then i headed down to the lake again for a quick swim.

I took my time returning to the Hovel and walked the long way around. There was still hours of light left and needed food. I found it in the form of a large cow. I returned to the hovel loaded with meat. I at quickly and decided to try for redstone again. I crafted a pickaxe of iron it paled to its predecessor of enhanced diamond, but it should do the job.

I found Redstone only minutes later. I rushed to the crafting table and turned quickly to the instructions for the Compass. I arranged the iron around the redstone crafted the compass. I held it and spun it around. The needle constantly pointed in a single direction. I pocketed it and turned to process the plants into paper. It took time but near sunset I had enough.

Trembling I opened the Ledger to the map page. I placed the compass back on the table with the paper. I began to feel faint. As I hit the dirt floor images flashed through my head. Images of the last few days, my sprint to the lake, the search near the hovel, the trek from the Bunker, my first few days here then darkness,

Day 70?
I lay on the floor, the smell of burning meat, the sound of wind through trees of water dripping onto rock, and the sight of sun pouring through my door. I managed to stand up and walk outside. The sun was lower in the east. I was out all night (just one night?). I had searched, hunted, and worked with barely any sleep running on pure adrenaline for days. Surely collapsing after that ordeal made sense (or was it the map?)

I splashed some water that had pooled onto my face and returned to the hovel. I grabbed a hunk or over cooked beef and gnawed on it was I looked at my new creation. It was largely a blank piece of paper. A scant bit had filled in. The markings stretched in and out of the blank areas like corridors in a mine. I located a small blue field that could have been the nearby lake. Then noticed to the south east, following a corridor was a small brown a grey point that didn’t fit in its surroundings (It that the Hovel?) From that point I found the other landmarks The beacon on the hill, a long winding corridor ending in a sandy shore, a swampy coast, and then a large mountain with the largest mapped area around it. The Bunker?

If the map was accurate I had taken the long way around. I had set out going northeast along the shore line of a large body of water (ocean?) and then turned due south through line of hills. From there I turned west, passed the Bunker and ended up the western edge of the large lake/bay. The pinpoint of grey on a open green field just inland of the bay must be the beacon. Since then I had focused my search to the west thinking (wrongly) that I was still east of the bunker.

I’d have to follow the same path back over land and the thought of traveling through the caves and deep forest again was not appealing to me at this juncture. I decided to travel over the large lake.

I packed up all the food I could carry, the Ledger, sword, pickaxe, and bedroll. I left behind the crafting table, tools, iron, and ruined armor. I had better gear at home anyway and they would only slow me down. I buried the Hovel and did a quick job of camouflaging into the hillside. I left a small marker if I ever would need to return.

I arrived at the Beacon mid morning. I torn it down. The grey point on the map melted into the field of green. An hour later I reached the sandy beach and crafted a boat.

I pushed off of the shore and set out along the shore heading south east. The coast began to curve northwards mid afternoon. According to the map (which is more complete now than when I had set out this morning) I was over halfway through the bay by sunset. I fashioned a crude anchor with my pickaxe and positioned my boat far enough away from the shore to avoid the undead. i’m glad I brought the bedroll. Tomorrow I return home.