Given at Spawn (First clue for BB, second spawn clue for FU)
If the lodestar
Were in this world found
Following it
Would find this ground
Bedecked with skull
Near coast of sound
Its burning embers
Eye all around
The lodestar was a star used in navigation, which indicates a northern direction. It doesn’t exist in MC, but if it did, it would take you north. On the coast of a sound off the end of the north railway was a giant Obsidian Skull (-293, 71) with a ladder descending in to it from above. Inside a fake dungeon was a chest with Cobweb blocks, and the following clue:
O'er hill, past bluff
A salty kiss
It once sought treasure
But closely missed
Towards morning rise
You'll find your goal
There wrecked upon
A sandy shoal
Towards morning rise was intended to send you east, where the sun rises in the morning. A salty kiss suggested a sea breeze, and the fact that it was o’er hill past bluff meant to go beyond the first water to the east, til you’d passed the bluffs. There was a Shipwreck (128, -555) on the sand shoals there, containing a chest of Ice. The clue:
In murky depths
A secret lies
There hidden from man's
E'er prying eyes
This secret I know
From efforts hard
Seek in the inlet
The skull did guard
“The inlet the skull did guard” was the location clue here, sending you back to the skull that was found from the first clue of this half. “In murky depths” told you to look in the water of the inlet, there. On the sea-floor were a series of arrows made out of various materials that pointed you towards the glass-topped Room on the Seabed (-386, 110), containing a box of Water blocks and this riddle:
It towers majestic
Above the land
A living monument
That's close at hand
It breathes the air
But opposite you
Discover its heights
If you be true
The clues “living monument” “towers majestic” and breathes opposite” (CO2 instead of O2) told you you were looking for a tree, while close at hand meant it was nearby. Surfacing from the underwater room, the tallest thing you could see in any direction from that spot was a curiously Thick-Trunked Tree (-270, 62) on a promontory nearby. Examining the tree would reveal a ladder in a hollow of the trunk, leading to a chest (in its heights) containing blocks of Leaves. The clue was:
Looking for
a scenic stop,
I climbed a great arch
to the top.
The tale was true,
I kid you not,
Look for the X,
The pirates sought.
The major locational clue here was the mention of the pirates. The second clue of this half sent you to a sunken ship out east, which you were told went down while seeking treasure. The “scenic stop” suggested looking for a natural feature, which (along with "great arch") referred to the enormous natural archway you recently passed by or through to reach the shipwreck. If you climbed atop the arch and looked down, there was a large and distinctive Letter X (148, -378) in the sand, made out of grass. The tree in the middle had a ladder descending next to it, leading to a chest of Sponge. The clue stated:
Your quest by now
is getting long
Notify your admin
and return to spawn
This half the hunt
is at its end
Towards other tasks
You must now wend.
Exactly what it says, one half the items have been recovered, and it’s time to notify your team’s judge and return to spawn to be given the first clue of the other half (or to turn in all your items, if this was your second half)
Given at Spawn (First clue for FU, second spawn clue for BB)
A towering behemoth
Of lava and smoke
In to which you must leap,
Or cowardly, choke.
Head towards where birds
Annually fly
When winter’s steel clouds
Darken the sky.
Birds fly south for the winter, and so should players following this clue. Upon heading south, players are looking for a massive structure of lava and smoke, this being the Volcano (613, 218) readily visible from the shore that direction. Climbing the volcano, there was a temple of sorts with a single space hole in to which you had to leap. Water softened the landing, letting you access a room with a chest of Lava and this clue:
If you follow the moon
As she exits the sky
Search near where she’s watched
By an enormous eye
There find you a bridge
Twixt mountains on high
Take care when you fall,
Or else you may die.
The moon exits the sky to the west, so players were encouraged to head that direction. By proceeding in a westward direction, they would find a large sculpture of an eye floating above a hill in the desert, with a hole through it that the moon would visibly pass through while setting. Looking between the two tallest peaks nearby, there was a Wood Bridge (70, 697) with a hanging platform beneath it. On the platform was a chest containing Tall Grass. The only safe exit was to leap in to the pool of water below. The clue was:
To South and to West
So far you’ve all ran
Time to revist
The place you began
The isle holds secrets
Under the sand
Search in the places
Where water meets land.
If following the clues in order, players have only travelled south and west so far in this half. Revisiting the place you began means to return to spawn. The spawn island is made of sand, and there was a secret room accessed by a hole along the coastline, leading to the Lever Room (75, 23). A dummy chest with the notice “something isn’t right here” is surrounded by levers set in to the walls. Seven of the levers do nothing, while the 8th opens a secret door to the real chest, and plays the “Secret Found” jingle from the Zelda games. The chest contained Portal blocks and the clue:
Though you’ve seen it before
Ignore it you might,
For the next item is
Hiding in our plain sight.
Supporting the tracks
As they traverse the sea,
It boasts proudly of
Near-invincibility
Something any player on this half will have seen before is the Obsidian Pillar (330, 46) supporting the end of the southern rail track. The track extended immediately across the sea, and unlike the others, never came near land, ending floating in space, with a ladder down to some boats. Made of Obsidian, it is near invincible. Also, the base of the pillar, underwater, had an entrance in to a small chamber. That chamber contained a chest with Bedrock and this hint:
To heed advice
In days of old
Young men went here
In search of gold
Where fire from below
Meets fire of the sky
Near sulpherous odors
That make noses shy.
The directional clues are meant to send people out west, based both upon the famous gold rushes being to the west, and also upon the famous accompanying phrase “Go west, young man.” Fire from below suggests lava, while the fire of the sky is the sun. Where lava and sunshine meet is a Surface Lava Pool (25, 328). To emphasize this and keep people looking close to the pool, the sulpherous odors part is added. A ladder hidden behind a tree (notice a theme?) descends to a hallway that leads under the pool, where a room has a chest of Fire and these words:
Your quest by now
is getting long
Notify your admin
and return to spawn
This half the hunt
is at its end
Towards other tasks
You must now wend.
Just like what’s listed in the other half, this is exactly what it says. One half the items have been recovered, and it’s time to notify your team’s judge and return to spawn to be given the first clue of the other half (or to turn in all your items, if this was your second half)
Return to Spawn
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Ok, so that’s the event! If you have questions, comments, rage, etc, just let me know! Hope everybody enjoyed it, even the parts that had us all tearing out our hair
