Hey Windy (I know you're over on IRC but I wanted to go the 'official' way, so here it goes): "Dew by Night" (bc I'm dumb like that and can't let go of the past and stuff, or something). Enjoy! Have fun! Good luck! I hope the wording fairy is kind to you! All that stuff!
Dew by Night sounds like something that could be romantic? Two friends talking under the full moon? A story about water gathering in the air, forming droplets on leaves and hanging out together? What would water talk about?
It sounds like that but there’s only One thing I can think of because I’m currently Obsessed:
It was night when I emerged from the cave. Near midnight, judging by the square moon being almost in zenit. My backpack was mostly empty, all dirt placed in the mine and only a few new stacks of granite and five iron ores all I managed to find during my search. My outpost needed more and I would have to return down later. I was running low on food and torches, my pickaxe was almost broken and my armor was falling apart at the seams. I took the helmet off, threw it at the ground and picked it up again. Some days I still had trouble placing items in my backpack.
My cows mooed at me and one of the many dogs spread out through the village gave a bark. I could hear foxes and Iron Golems fighting at the west side of the town. I would have to make better defences, place more lights. My thoughts went to the red dust I had found a few days earlier. According to rumors it could help make amazing contraptions but I didn’t understand how. The cleric in my village sometimes offered to sell me some, but they couldn’t tell me how to use it.
I made my way to the building I currently called my base. I was going to build something bigger later, when I had materials, a plan, more knowledge of the world. I couldn’t remember when I last slept, time always felt weird in the caves with no sunlight, but I wasn’t tired. Some nights I would sleep just to avoid the zombies and skeleton that attacked the village, would let the iron golems protect the village on their own. I had a chest full of arrows, another chest full of bones, but I could always use more of the rotten flesh I got from the zombies. The cleric bought it from me, hopefully to purify it but I never bothered to ask. Maybe I should.
I put the helmet on again, put the pickaxe away and took out my sword instead. Dropped all the granite I had found into one of my many chests and then walked outside.
There was an enderpearl on the ground and I picked it up. I didn’t know what those were for either but I had heard that they were pure magic. I put it in my pocket to add to my stash later (I already had 16 hidden in a chest in my basement) and followed the iron golem that had left it there. A battle was raging, a group of pillagers had found my village. I would have to search for their outpost later to take care of them. Hopefully we could solve it peacefully but the way they peppered my iron golems with arrows made me certain it would be impossible. I let the iron golems battle them and steered myself towards the zombies a bit further down. I was almost there when a flapping sound caught my attention.
The flapping was followed by a screech and I turned my eyes towards the sky, had to squint my eyes against the bright moonlight. There were three shadows moving across the sky, occassionally swooping down a little before flying further up again. I had never seen anything like them before. A zombie attacked me, grabbed my attention and the next time I looked up the shadowy figures were gone.
I heard the screech again just a minute later. Something hit me hard in the back of my head but when I turned around there was nothing there. The flapping sound was going further away. No, it was coming closer. I turned around. Two green eyes were staring into my soul. This creature was dangerous. I took a tighter grip on my sword, waited. I swung as it came closer, the tip of my sword brushing against its wing. It screeched, turned towards the sky again. Another of them arrived. This time my sword cut it along its side. Darkness spilled out of the wound and it screeched, returned to the sky.
They were like nightmares, moved like phantoms through the air. They hovered above me, then all three dove straight for my head. I was ready, my sword danced through the air. It only hit two of them, the third one tore another hole in my chestplate before rising again. My armor fell to the ground but I couldn’t run, couldn’t turn my back to them and couldn’t lead them into the village where they might attack any villager who was still awake. There was only one thing to do.
I had to stand my ground.
I took out my shield, took an even firmer hold around the sword. My eyes locked onto the Phantoms as they flapped and screeched above me. An iron golem was coming closer, preparing to take care of the zombies shuffling towards the village and I could focus completely on the phantoms. They screeched and swooped down again. I hit them all this time and more darkness spilled out of them. They rose and dove. Attacked my arms, broke my helmet. I attacked back just as fiercly. My sword went through one of them and it disappeared in a puff of black cloud. An item fell to the ground and I quickly put it in my pocket before taking care of the other two as well.
The battle ended. My body was shaking and I felt weak. I couldn’t run, my legs could barely carry me. I watched the iron golems fight, watched as the sky was turning from black to pink to blue. I had a few potatoes in my backpack and I ate four of them before my body was starting to feel stable again. I put the sword away, took out the things that had fallen to the ground and studied them. They were smooth, leathery, tough. I pulled at them, tried to figure out I could do with them. They looked rare, valueable. I had never seen anything like it before. I needed to get more, needed to study them, to learn more about them and the creature I got them from.
I put them in my pocket again. I would hide them in the treasure chest in my basement and then it was time to gather more dirt before returning to my cave. I still had a lot of work to do.