Day 35 - Building

Its been a week since my last entry.  I've been doing a lot of building recently.  I managed to make a staircase out of cobblestone down into the ravine.  If I ever encounter monsters down there, it'll be very handy being able to simply sprint all the way home.

As I intended when I first got the late blacksmith's place, I finally added to my living space a fair bit.  I haven't furnished it yet, but it should afford me a less cramped working area and more storage, something I'm running critically low on.  I've also made it accessible only by ladders; should any monsters find their way past the wall, it'll be nice to have something of a panic room.

Also, as an extra defensive measure, I've lit this place up like a proper town.  Should any monsters make it inside the walls, they'll have a hell of a time sneaking up on anyone in the dark.  It'll also make operations in the night easier, like my visits to that house whose nasty secret I haven't yet been able to divine...

Day 28 - Exploration

With the wall complete, I think its high time I explore that jungle I saw so very long ago.  Well, it hasn't been that long, but it certainly feels that way...I don't know what it is about this place, but time seems to drag on forever here.  Anyway, I found some apples today, as well.  With a little luck (and a little gold) I might have the start of some very useful minor magical items...

It looks foreboding on first sight, but this whole area's been completely devoid of monster activity for some time now.  I don't know if Rutsah is real and he's holding them back, or if there's just something about this place that makes it almost invisible to the bastards.  Either way, it should mean an uneventful foray.

Managed to find a little coal, not very much, but it should help with smelting metals and so on.  Upon initial inspection, this jungle is unfortunately barren.  Little more than trees, vines, and water.  Unfortunate, I was hoping for something more useful, maybe some fruit.  But, alas, I found no such thing.  This time.

Day 25 - Completion!

Finally!  The long nights of work have paid off!  The wall, such as it is, is complete.  I've even managed to install some ladders around it to permit entry and exit, thankfully, monsters aren't smart enough to use ladders, so I'll be allowed egress and ingress, but they won't, and the zombies won't be able to beat them down, like they would a door.

The harvest was today, and we got quite a bit of wheat out of the deal.  I have to say, honest, hard work isn't that bad once you get into it.  I've even managed to get a small sugar cane farm going, as well.

Through use of strategic, temporary holes in the wall, I've managed to lure some animals within the confines of the village.  They should be a good source of meat, wool, and leather.  Of course, I've not been able to lure in a pair of cows yet, so leather will have to wait, but I've managed to get a few pigs and some sheep.

Also, and I must keep this secret, I've managed to break into the abandoned house from below.  I've hidden my tunnel as best I can, as well, to ensure the villagers don't find out.  The place was totally empty, save for a lone torch.  I don't know why they say its cursed, but this place does make me feel uneasy...I could swear I heard faint whispers when I closed my eyes in this place...

Day 17 - Preparation

Its been three days since my last entry, and I've made a lot of headway, now that the villagers have agreed to help me.  While they still dare not leave the village, they at least help build the wall I started so long ago.  Due to our combined efforts the formative wall is almost complete.  I even managed to climb atop a tree in the nearby jungle the catch a view of the work thus far.  I have to say, ramshackle though it may be, its rewarding to see my efforts finally paying off.

In my efforts to gather the supplies necessary to finish the wall, I've dug quite the tunnel into a nearby hillside.  Its so long, in fact, that it reaches all the way to the other side of the hill, exiting near a small cave that I've yet to explore.

In an effort to make this village more self-sufficient, I've begun harvesting some nearby sugar cane.  I've been doing this off and on for a while now, to help me keep up with this journal...paper won't make itself, but this will be necessary if I am to find a way to bend magic again.  If that thing I encountered on the Night of Hell is any indication of what's to come, I'm going to need enchanted gear.  Lots of it.

With the wall nearing completion, I turn my attention to that abandoned house in the village.  I saw some villagers nearby, and heard hushed conversation regarding some kind of "curse."  This has me curious.  Rutsah's laws be damned, I'm finding a way in there.  Perhaps a tunnel...

Day Fourteen - Finds and Answers

I still can't believe what I found yesterday...an abandoned mine!  I had to be careful, I didn't want to come across a Creeper and run the risk of causing a cave-in.  However, I managed to find two incredible things.  Gold...and diamonds.  I didn't find much of either, so I can't use what I have yet, but this is certainly promising.

I finally managed to get some talking done with the village elder today.  What he's told me not only disturbed me, but created even more questions than it provided answers.  Apparently, they are tribals of a sort, but they're very civilized, one of many things they owe to their god, Rutsah.  Rutsah teaches a philosophy of total pacifism, which explains why I've never seen them wield weapons or take up arms against monsters.  These things are considered abhorrent, and they do not fight when the monsters come, because Rutsah tells them when they're coming, and when to hide.

I'm not sure whether to commend them for adherence to their principles, or admonish them for their foolishness.  To them, this explains why their doors are left undamaged from the zombies' relentless assaults, and the hole was from one of the villagers who was foolish enough to ignore Rutsah's warning of an impending invasion, and met a bloody end at the hands of a Creeper.

It isn't just their god and his apparent protection that raises questions, though.  The elder went on to tell me that I was one that was prophesied long ago.  An outsider who was not of Rutsah's way, who would take up the sword, axe, and bow to fight those who would prey on his people...and who would, one day, lead them to utopian greatness.  How I'm expected to do all this is a mystery, but for my work on the Night of Hell, I've since been proclaimed a hero...a hero of prophecy.

Something tells me there's more, though...the elder became very evasive when I asked him about that thing I saw that night, the thing that nearly killed me with almost contemptuous ease.  He only said this, "It is an envoy of The End."  Whatever that means...

Day Twelve

The past four days have been an endless, back-breaking affair.  The Creepers were especially vicious, and did a lot of structural damage, and really messed up the roads here.

Even with all our labors, the repairs are patchwork, at best.  We've had to fill the holes with whatever we could find: dirt, gravel, sand, stone...even had to cover some in wood just to shore things up.  The villagers say we'll be safe for some time, yet, but I don't trust that.  The attack that did all this damage to start with came out of nowhere, and there hasn't been any monster activity since.  Something's wrong...and we're going to need a bigger wall.

Day Seven - Aftermath and Pickup

I managed to survive the night.  I don't know how, but I managed it and managed to protect these kind people from horrible fates.  The village infrastructure, however, is a lot worse for wear, and there's a lot of Creeper damage.  I still have yet to find out what that thing was...and there's something else strange in this pile of strangeness.  Zombies were bashing at the doors all night, I fought them off, and killed at least two score of the monstrous things, but, in the morning, I looked at the doors and there was no damage.  Not even a scratch.  What's up with this place?  What the hell's going on?

The villagers said that repairs will begin tomorrow.  I can understand their hesitancy, the night's been harrowing for all of us, and I doubt any among us got any sleep.

Day Six - The Night of Hell

Its nearly sundown, and these villagers have gotten to the peak of their terror.  They're huddling in their houses like scared mice, and I'm starting to feel the fear, too.

WHAT?  Monsters?  But...how?  Where did they come from?  How did they get here?  Why are they swarming now?!

What in the name of god is this thing?  I've never seen a being like it before...the thing can teleport around as if it were as simple as breathing!

The hate.  The hate on its face when I looked directly at it...the rage.  I still have chills.  It...it tried to kill me.  A teleporting, monstrous foe of the kind of power I've never encountered before.  This isn't something we made!  What the hell is this thing?  Where did it come from?!

Day Five

I've found lava nearby, as well.  This place really is rich in natural resources...I've found some fairly impressive coal and iron deposits in the ravine I found on my second day here, which I've used to help manufacture some basic armor, tools, and weapons.

There's a house here that's become a curiosity to me...there's no way into the house unless you've got a ladder, and all the villagers seem to avoid it whenever possible.  I may try to get in there, soon, their fear makes me curious as to what could possibly be in there.

The villagers' panic is becoming more apparent with each new day.  I can see it in their eyes, now, there's something they're frightened of, something they're not telling me.  If its half as bad as I think it is, I'm taking action.  I've managed to rush a formative wall around the village using what resources I've managed to gather, but I don't think its going to be enough for whatever has these guys spooked...

Day Four

Something is odd...I mean, more odd than is usual around here.  The villagers seem restless, I see them together occasionally, speaking in hushed, sharp whispers.  I can never make out what they're saying, but they sound terrified...

Despite the unrest, they've extended me a great deal of access, one of them even offered me to see the view from his roof, which I have to say, is very beautiful.

Clay!  I've found clay!  A small discovery, one might think, but this means I can make bricks...and with bricks, I can build walls, and perhaps extend my home with something a bit more durable than cobblestone or wood.

Day Three

I've modified my living space a little.  Apparently, the blacksmith was a little overfond of natural light, and had no torches put up, something I immediately fixed after I made myself some charcoal from wood I'd harvested earlier today.  I've also used some of said wood to add some extra storage space, something tells me I'm going to need it.

After hours of hard work today, I've managed to dig my way into the ravine I found yesterday.  I threw up a few torches around the place, just because I don't see evidence of any monsters doesn't mean they aren't here...besides, working in the dark is always a pain.

After all this, I think I've more than earned an extended rest today.  I'll write more tomorrow.

Day Two

These oddly civilized villagers have kindly let me have the old home of their recently-deceased blacksmith in exchange for helping with various things like farming and such.  However, they looked at me with looks of great confusion when I reinforced the place to help defend against monster attacks...strange, that such basic defensive measures are seen as odd and out-of-place by these people.

As I wandered outside the village today, I spotted something very promising, a truly massive ravine!  I haven't seen a great gorge like this in a long time, its got to house some very valuable ores...now, to find a way to get in there safely...

I've also found that this village lies on the edge of a very dense jungle area.  There's lots of trees here, naturally, and that means plentiful supplies of wood and fruit, which is good, plants have always been more reliable for me than animals.  There may also be useful herbs here...

My first possible evidence of monster activity here: a hole that looks like the unmistakeable work of a Creeper.  That they've experienced monster attacks, yet look at me strangely for utilizing basic defensive measures against them makes this whole situation even more perplexing...

Day One

I awoke in a small village, in the cottage of a small town healer.  This place was strange from the beginning...instead of wearing tattered rags, feasting on raw animal flesh, and praying to their gods over my starved, broken body, this healer actually used proper, herbal medicine to restore me.

I've spent a few hours after my convalescence walking about the village.  The first thing I noticed?  Its night.  Its night, and there are no monsters.  This has never happened, I never thought this even could happen.  This place must have some secret, and I want to know what it is...

Foreword

Foreword

I write this journal in the hopes that, one day, humanity returns to its former glory in the world, and that future generations can benefit from my experiences in The Village.

A Brief History of Humankind

Oh, humans, once the mightiest race in the world.  We commanded the elements of magic, mastered the mysteries of redstone, created engineering marvels that boggled the mind and pushed the envelope of possibility.  Our cities were many, and our powers were great, but little did we know that our power would be our undoing.

I suppose I'll skip to the end, the Fall of Man, and the Rise of Monsters.  As they say, laziness and necessity are the mother and father of invention, and it was these two forces that brought about our demise.  Our hunger for resources was so great, that our labor forces in the mines of the world could no longer keep up.  Even with the vast powers of magic at our disposal, we could only do so much with our frail, corporeal forms.  A group of enterprising sorcerers saw a near-infinite expendable labor force in the dead.  As it were, they were just lying in the ground, rotting, and being of utterly no use.  The zombies and skeleton guards were the first monsters to be created in our hubris.  Zombies could work endlessly with no need for food or rest, and animated skeletons proved excellent archers, without the limitations of muscles holding their arms back.

These beings were designed to be rugged and durable, what's the point in animating a labor and security force if it just falls apart in a few days?  Well, our hunger wasn't enough.  We needed more, we needed simpler methods of demolition...and, thus, we began our first foray into magically-engineered species, the first success coming in the form of the Creepers.  Creepers were mobile mining charges, capable of finding rich ore veins and, upon reaching one, would explode just like TNT.  These beings were marvelous!  Humanity expanded even further, and we became indolent.  And complacent.

The first rash of human miner disappearances were ignored, assumed to be the result of accidental cave-ins or lava-related mishaps.  Then, our engineered labor and security started becoming restless, they started wresting free of their magical control, and began acting on their own.  Then, one day, the reins keeping the vast army of Creepers and walking dead broke, and their wrath was great.  It was found that those whom the undead killed would later rise as undead, themselves.  Creepers, being literal walking, intelligent demolition charges, unleashed their violent rage against their former masters, destroying cities with casual ease.  What's worse, experimental bioengineering magic flew wildly out of control, a single miscast spell led to the creation of gigantic spiders that could, and would, easily devour a man.

The monsters raged out of control, and our indolent species could do nothing to stop them.  Thus, our Fall was ensured, and humanity now lies decimated, only existing in tiny, scattered pockets of fear-filled, sun-worshiping tribals.

This, is where my tale begins...