The day before Minecraft's 1.5 patch was released, a few friends of mine and I decided to spin up a server and start building again. After a few days of downtime (since we were on a Bukkit server), we were ready to get things up and active.

Per our usual arrangement, one friend and I took off in opposite directions and travelled for three or four days before finding a nice place to settle and start building. I haven't seen where he decided to start building, but hear rumors of an island with the beginnings of a castle. Another friend set off in yet another direction, where construction has begun on a stone keep.

Meanwhile, I found a nice little section of swamp nestled between a jungle and a spruce forest where I've set up a base camp.

At first it was just a bed and a few knick-knacks, as seen above, but I quickly realized that this would not be enough. Other players on the server were already building fortifications. I needed to defend myself, and it would take more than an iron sword to do so.

So I dug. And dug some more. And built. The first phase of the bunker is complete:

No one can get in without being invited in - it's sealed from the inside. On that front, I'm safe. But if you get past the door, there is a tunneled stairway leading deeper into the safety of the underworld.

(We use McMMO, so Glowstone came fairly easily. I haven't been to the Nether yet.)

There is a quick stop for a bed and some stoves...

...before continuing into the deeps.

It is there that I will build my kingdom. I will be safe from the predations of my fellow players, should they not be content to rest behind their walls. I will be ready.