Expedition Log
ActiveThe Message That Cost Ten Thousand TNT
The in-world record of the message that sent Andy back to The Ancient Lands — carried across the worlds by enderpearl cannon and allay courier at staggering cost.
Archive Summary
The message that sent Andy back to The Ancient Lands did not arrive by ordinary road, ship, or bird.
It came through the Wandering Trader network.
The traders had heard that Donaldson found something inside an ancient volcano and vanished. Local villagers expected him to return. Five months passed. He did not.
The message was written into a book, bound for delivery, and sent through one of the most expensive communication systems in the known Minecraft worlds.
The Cost
Long-distance trader messages are rare because each one can require tens of thousands of TNT to fire through an enderpearl cannon relay.
The final delivery is carried by an allay.
The allay delivers the book across the last distance to the recipient.
Most allays sent across such distances never return home.
Andy's Archive Note
A message that expensive is never sent casually.
If the traders paid that cost to reach me, then Donaldson is either in terrible danger, or he found something that should have stayed buried.