Welcome Minecraft fan! This is not your typical guide, but sometimes different can be a good thing.
I hope you will find that to be the case here. The following story is inspired by the game Minecraft®, and is best understood by folks who have played Minecraft. I hope that will be you!

Let loose your imagination, open your eyes and step into the world of Minecraft from a distinct point of view. Thanks for reading and I hope you will enjoy...

© 2014 - 2018, All Rights Reserved

He had not gotten more than thirty minutes from his home on his journey to find a mesa before it started to pour down rain. The sky, which had been sunny and clear just moments before, suddenly turned dark and gray as lightning flashed around him. It was as if a dam burst in the clouds as the rain poured down and pelted him. A blinding flash split the foreboding dreariness as a bolt of lightning struck the ground a mere five or six meters away, convincing Adam77 to seek immediate shelter.

He quickly removed all his iron armor as a precaution so as not to be electrified into a smoldering heap of melted metal and burnt flesh. He ran through the deluge using every flash of lightning to examine the surrounding area for any safe place to weather out the storm. Adam77’s every footfall splashed up water and mud as he sprinted headlong through the tall grass in the gloomy gray. He felt the panic growing into a larger and larger knot in his stomach.

Suddenly the ground under his feet was gone, replaced by open air as he barreled into a hole in the earth. He fell to the stone a meter or two below absorbing as much of the impact as he could by rolling forward with the force. He rolled across the stone and over an edge landing with a splash in a shallow pond of water. He steadied himself against the rock wall as he shakily rose to his feet. He waded through the knee-deep water for a few steps carefully putting his full weight on each leg. Everything hurt, but nothing seemed to be broken.

“That was a pretty stupid stunt!” Adam77 scolded himself as he gently massaged his sore knee cap.

He drew forth a torch and held it out in front of him to get a better view of the darkened nook he had fallen into. There was a narrow opening in the rock face at the far side of the pond. He splashed through the water until he reached the jagged gap that was barely wide enough to fit through. He stepped out of the water and made his way into the winding passage. He decided that he should don his armor once more to be safe. He didn’t want to be on the losing end of a chance creeper encounter.

It was a naturally made cavern that cut a random path through the rock and dirt. It turned out to be a relatively short passage without any branching tunnels, no dangerous drops or ravines, and no precious ores to be found. The tunnel was hot and stuffy and the air was stale and musty. There was sun light streaming in from the surface at the end of the corridor so he hurried toward it. He scrambled up the stones to find himself outside again, but he was standing in an unfamiliar area.

The storm had passed, the skies were clear and the sun was once again spreading its warmth. He could almost feel the heat rays drying his wet clothes as he stood gathering his bearings. He rotated his head and rolled his shoulders in an attempt to work the stiffness out of his neck. He would be sore and stiff all over for a day or two.

He was in another meadow covered with grass and flowers making it difficult to notice any holes in the ground until you were right on top of them. Adam77 stacked some wood planks to create a small pillar and topped it with a torch so he could easily locate the way home again. He then set off toward a dark oak forest that was not far off to his left, still hoping to find a majestic mesa painted in layers of soft earth tones.

The dark oak forest was densely populated with hulking masses skinned in rough bark; trunks that towered above him. Thick limbs stretched out is every direction, held high above the ground, supporting a thick, lush green canopy of leaves that filtered out the sunlight and the rain equally. The forest floor, protected from the harsh elements above, was peaceful and calm, punctuated with small ponds and giant mushrooms.

He was just about to start whistling a happy tune when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He drew his razor-sharp iron sword from it sheathe with practiced ease. The mystical enchantments imbued within the blade cause it so shimmer with a magic sheen. His muscled tensed, his senses heightened to full alert, his eyes locked on the target and his arm raised the sword in preparation to strike.

It was only a cow. A female; a heifer to be precise. Simply one of the ubiquitous, brown and white spotted bovines that roamed freely about the area. Probably a Jersey or maybe even Guernsey. A delicious, juicy and tender steak, cooked to medium, flanked by steamed green beans and crispy, golden French fries popped into his mind involuntarily. He suddenly realized just how hungry he was.

Adam77 was about to continue on his journey when he felt as if he was being watched. He glanced over at the cow again. The cow was staring at him intently as if it was attempting to get his attention. It was then that Adam77 noticed the cow carried an enchanted diamond sword in its mouth.

“Now there’s a first…” he thought puzzled.

His curiosity got the better of him and he started walking toward the heifer thinking it may have been hurt or in distress. She nodded her head and stomped a hoof on the ground when she saw him heading toward her, then the cow disappeared behind the large oak tree she was standing beside.
He rounded the corner of the large oak to find the cow was not there. He heard a snort and looked around to see the sword toting animal was standing several yards away peering from around another dark oak, still sporting a shiny diamond sword in her jaws. She was waiting for him it seemed.

“OK, this is really bizarre,” he conceded to himself.

He struggled to understand what was happening as his mind analyzed a flurry of possibilities. He didn’t feel threated and he didn’t sense any imminent danger, thus he decided to continue the pursuit. He started out toward the cow again, this time with a little more urgency in his step. Again the heifer disappeared behind the hulking tree trunk as soon as he started toward her.

“For such a large animal she sure can move,” he noted as he arrived at the tree only to find she was no longer there.

He traced the hoof prints left in the ground with his eyes, following them to the north, deeper into the forest. Their eyes locked for a moment; his a mix of blues and hers like large brown mud puddles. He was sure if cows could smile she would be smiling, except for the sword she clinched between her milky white teeth.

He lost sight of her again as she moved behind another full-grown dark oak tree. He ran toward the tree as fast as his clumsy iron armor would allow, knowing she would still be ahead of him. She had four legs to run with while he only had two and he was burdened with a backpack full of necessities. The forest echoed with the noisy clanking of his armor.

He rounded the edge of the graceful tree and, as expected, found that she was not there. He placed a hand on the coarse tree trunk and leaned against it to catch his breath. He was more out of shape than he realized and vowed to start exercising more often. He inhaled deeply then straightened up to look around.

He stood on the edge of a clearing, deep in the midst of the dark oak forest. In the center of the clearing was a shoddy, misshapen house, surrounded by a wood fence made of dark oak boards and posts. There was a modest garden in the backyard that seemed really well fertilized as well as some beautiful flowers arranged around the porch. As he approached the open gate he noticed the sword toting heifer standing in the side door waiting for him.

“This place looks like it was built by a bunch of…” he hesitated as he considered what he was about to admit, “…cows. Built by a bunch of cows?”

It wasn’t possible he thought as he approached the side door, almost involuntarily. He mind was racing at the almost inconceivable idea of bovines building a house. Of course it couldn’t be true. Someone must have built the house and abandoned it, or maybe they were even still around. He ran his hand along the door frame, touching it just to confirm in his own mind it was actually real.

He peered into what was obviously meant to be the kitchen. The room held all of the expected furnishing, but everything was built as if by amateurs. The diamond sword was laying on the floor in the center of the room right next to a shiny, red apple. His stomach growled as he recalled how hungry he was. He walked into the kitchen and cautiously picked up the diamond sword and the apple.

The side door closed behind him and he whirled around quickly, just in time to see his brown and white spotted quarry romping out of the yard via the side gate. Before he could reach the door to follow her, he heard a loud noise coming from another room and the sound of another closing door so he decided to see what it could be. As he carefully walked toward the other room he glanced out the window and was stunned to see a small herd of 5 or 6 cows standing at the fence, chewing their cud nonchalantly, watching the house as if they were scientist observing rats in a maze.

He entered what would pass for a cozy bedroom and was caught completely off guard. A young woman was in the center of the room, bending over to pick up a pair of items from floor. She rose up quickly as she realized he was standing there. She screamed in surprise, startled at his presence.

“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, “I didn’t meant to startle you. I’m Adam77.”

He realized he was still holding the diamond sword in his hand, so he tucked it away. It was then that he noticed what she had picked up off the floor just a moment ago. She held a pair of enchanted diamond boots and a delicious looking apple in her hands.

“I’m Eve006,” she said smiling, her eyes sparkling like the diamond boots she held. “Care for a bite of apple?” she asked winking at him.

Outside the cows smiled. They had achieved their goal so they slowly meandered back into the dark oak forest…

This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Minecraft is copyrighted by Mojang © 2009-2018.
"Minecraft" is a trademark of Mojang Synergies AB

Thank you for taking the time to read this far. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the story. I have several other guides available from my profile page, so please take a moment to check them out. The Starpoint Gemini 2 guide is game-related but written in story form and folks seem to enjoy that guide also.

Click here to view more of Taskmaster's Guides!

If you enjoyed Repopulation then may I suggest you check out my book, Task's Tales, which contains a collection of 16 short stories inspired by Minecraft®. You can read it for free if you have an Amazon Prime account I believe. Or get it the old-fashion way in the form of a book (look it up on Wikipedia! ha ha) or eBook. Repopulation is not in the book so there are 16 additional stories!

Kindle: Task's Tale[www.amazon.com]
Amazon: Task's Tale[www.amazon.com]

Again, thank you for reading this guide. I appreciate any feedback you may have and welcome any comments, positive or negative. I simply ask that you be respectful in your comments as I would be to you. If I get a few folks that enjoy the story I will be glad to post others as well. God bless.