Welcome to "The Diary of a Miner"; a blog detailing the adventures and mysteries that I, Syeonyx, embark upon in my quest to further my mining and survival skills! It'll be tough, there will be good times and bad times, but I'll always be alive to post my adventures... probably...

The LONG way back...

      After the little break I had, I decided it would be best to head off. I still didn’t know if anyone was following me, but I didn’t want to risk it, especially if HoN Co. had a plan set up for me! I waited until the stone had fully recharged before putting it in my bag; the last thing I wanted was to find out that another portal was hidden nearby and I hadn’t waited to see if the stone was glowing! It wasn’t, thankfully, so I packed it away and headed off. I’d decided to keep my bow in my hand for most of the journey, especially as I pretty much knew where I was going. I had the compass and the map if it came to it, but I doubted it would. As I left the dirt hovel, I made a note of the time; about midday, maybe a little earlier… The reason for this was because I was going to be spending the next few hours walking a very long and boring tunnel,. Completely encased in dirt, gravel, stone and who knows what else! I took the path to the right and located the small hole with a staircase leading down. I was going to be rather bored for the next few hours…

      I was right; the journey through the tunnel WAS boring! It was more than boring… It was so mind numbingly boring I could rather sit through an insurance seminar and still be more interested than I was down here! I don’t know why, but for some reason my mind didn’t want to wander, as it would usually so frequently do… I tried a number of methods to get the ball rolling, so to speak: humming, whistling and singing didn’t work. Physically trying to force my brain to think about something ended up with nothing as well… It wasn’t until the last few minutes or so that I actually started to think! Better late than never I suppose, but maybe it was the dull monotony of the tunnel that was stopping me from thinking… I had achieved the task that THEROS had asked of me, and I would now have to make my way back to Jonas’ house and wait for further instructions. Plan A was to take the boat that I remember leaving on the beach near to the portal down in the pit, provided it was there or it wasn’t being guarded. Plan B was to simply walk all the way back! Obviously plan A had problems, but it was still faster than plan B, and I stood a good chance of getting back to the house quicker. I emerged from the tunnel into the chamber. Thank God! At least from here on out, if my mind still refused to work, I could look at the scenery! I slung the bow over my shoulder, and took out the map as I ascended the stairs. From where I was, it was a short walk to the South East to the boat. I put the map away and climbed out of the pit, before taking my bow in hand again. I was very edgy… as I passed through the trees I became aware of whistling… I slowed down, and lowered myself to the ground, whilst continuing in the direction of the boat… Was that a guard? Had they finally sent someone to find me? As I came over the edge of a hill, I stopped… I stayed crouching and peered around from behind a tree. There was my boat… But also a guard…

       I knew it! I knew at some point along this trip there would be someone to mess it up! I had spent my entire time on edge, weary on case there was a guard around the next corner, or hiding in a tree behind me. But no, there had been no-one. Not until the last leg of my journey! All I had to do was take the boat and row across to the small link in the islands and then either drag the boat across or walk the remainder of the journey! Maybe someone from HoN Co. had been watching me… Maybe they still were! It didn’t matter now. I had destroyed the portals, and I would obviously have to be at my most vigilant now. At this point, I had two options: 1) Take out the guard with an arrow and take the boat. It was risky, especially if there were hidden guards watching this one. 2) Continue walking the rest of the journey, and ignore the boat. This would mean I wouldn’t get back to the house until tomorrow at the earliest, but I wasn’t about to kill a human being for the sake of a wooden boat! Especially if it put me at risk! I turned around, and crept back towards the North until the tree line covered my position. I stood up and continued the journey to the East. It was going to be another long journey back, and I was going to have to camp for one more day. I really hope they don’t find me…

      Finding the guard near the boat may have actually helped my brain! Since that incident, I had been able to let it wander, even though where it went wasn’t always pleasant. I had thought about the consequences of a number of events that could have unfolded. What would have happened if I had randomly blazed through the trees and the guard had seen me? What would have happened if I had killed the guard? It got me thinking about a weapon that I could use without it weighing on my conscience. An arrow was too powerful and not very accurate, especially with me. A sword meant the guard had to engage me, and there was the risk of losing, which was greater than me winning due to my dislike of close quarters combat. The only other option was a long distance stunning alternative. A sedative or a poison that could be fired as a dart from a blow pipe, or something along those lines… It would ensure I could remove the threat of guards from a distance without killing them! Obviously this would have to be conducted when I was with THEROS and the other five members of L7. I wouldn’t know where to start with that kind of thing… The only lead I would be able to go from would be something to do with the cacti around the area… Or maybe from a giant spider…? It didn’t matter now; I had ignored the guard and continued with plan B. That’d be another question added to the already-endless list of questions I had in mind. The sun had begun to go down by the time I reached the small crossing to the other island. Another five minutes or so and I’d be on the other side, hopefully safe and hidden from the guards of HoN Co. and the figure. That is if they’re not still tracking me…

       As it was nearly nightfall, there wasn’t enough heat to dry me off. But I was wearing a leather overall, and I wasn’t overly wet as it is. I continued Eastwards for a further twenty minutes of so until it became almost impossible to see where I was going. I set the bag down, picked out a torch and stick it into the ground before lighting it. Using that light, I then erected the tent around the torch. I was getting better: the tent was fully erected within a matter of minutes, and the sleeping bag was down too! Now all I had to do was get some sleep and hope no-one found me! It was going to be another day’s trek to the South until I reached the house, and then it was the waiting game all over again. I took the map out again and studied it: from my estimates, I was about two fifths of the way already. Once you got past the long tunnel, the rest of the journey didn’t seem so bad… All I needed to do was stick to the coast, check the map every now and again, and keep an eye out for any more guards. If they had began guarding the boat, they obviously knew I was around somewhere, and were likely to be still looking for me. If I could get to the house before the end of tomorrow, I’d probably be safe.

       Despite the long journey, and the large amount of walking I had done over the past few days, I wasn’t very tired at all! I wish I had brought a book with me to keep entertained, but I hadn’t thought it was necessary. I had the note from THEROS, which I had read a few times, and I still couldn’t get past the proposal. They were willing to enter me into the L7 to help take down HoN Co.! I didn’t know what I could bring to them; from the sounds of it, each member had a specific role. At least, that’s the idea I got when I heard one of them was a scientist working on the Creepers. I didn’t have a vast knowledge or experience with anything really… I knew the lay of the land quite well now, but chances were where I was going to join them would be nowhere I had been before. It would all be new to me. I’m going to try and get some sleep. Even if I’m not tired, I don’t want to let my guard down on the last leg of the journey because I’m drowsy!

Syeonyx signing off

No comments:

Post a Comment