~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 26 (Grian)

wc: 2049 

tw: death, blood

this is quite a hefty chapter

Everything was going to... how to find a PG version to say it? Crap.

Because Grian was a red name again (memory of an arrow piercing his back, purple particles filling his vision as he hurled the pearl and forgot how the teleportation tugged at your heart, felt it become too much as his body pulled itself apart) and he was on edge.

Jimmy was gone, exiled. Grian had lost a steady stream of contact with him, but after some strange turns of events, he had ended up with Martyn, Jimmy himself, and Mumbo.

It was Mumbo's fault, really, for making such an idiotic mistake.

<MumboJumbo> martin I have a deal for you. Come through my bunker

Ignoring the fact that Mumbo had misspelled Martyn's name, Grian quickly made his way over, immediately suspicious. The drone of voices had seemed to fade into just a constant buzz, and he'd learned to accept what they said sometimes, because when it wasn't about death, it could be useful.

Suspicious

Why the word 'through?'

Grian didn't have the answer to that, all the more reason to dodge trees to make his way to the Southlands.

"Mumbo?" he called, emerging by Mumbo's bunker. He saw the iron door, thought no thank you, and mined a whole in the wall and hopped through.

The first thing he noticed was the pressure plate right behind the door, which he immediately put in his brain as dangerous. Mumbo himself was leaning against the wall, boredly tapping a finger on his arm, suit jacket long gone and only wearing a dirtied white button up and rolled up pants, tattered tie hanging loosely from his neck. I could choke him with it, if need be, Grian thought, and immediately felt a sharp stab of guilt.

"Oh, hi, Grian," Mumbo said cheerfully. He stared at the door.

"You're really taking this red name thing seriously," Grian said idly, sitting down by Mumbo calmly.

"What do you mean?" came the quiet reply. Mumbo's hands stilled.

Grian turned towards him, eyes tired. "The more serious you take it, the happier they will be," he said. "But maybe for you, being complacent is better," he muttered as an afterthought, fingers drifting towards the collar of his jumper and tugging it a bit.

"What?" Mumbo asked, voice trailing off in confusion, before Jimmy and Martyn made their presences known with crunching leaves and lowered voices.

"Anyway, all I know is that I'm not walking on that pressure plate," Grian said, indicating the little stone plate that lay right in front of the door, for any unsuspecting visitors to step on and most likely blow themselves up with.

"Why not?" Mumbo asked innocently as Martyn swung absent mindedly at the stone brick wall with his pickaxe.

"Don't use the words walk through," Grian told him. Instead of replying, Mumbo suddenly produced a block of obsidian, and knowing the explosion that would come with it, quickly vaulted over the half broken wall into the greenery, back hitting an unseeable obstacle. He turned and saw nothing, but when he raised his hand, a purple sheen shone. A border.

"Grian?!" Martyn exclaimed, and Grian turned to see Mumbo's end crystal meeting obsidian and his hand reaching out to explode it.

Without thinking, Grian's hand swung out, and the end crystal dissolved in purple sparks.

A noise of confusion escaped Mumbo as his hand closed on empty air. "Where did it- my crystal-"

Grian felt Martyn's gaze on him, but he said nothing and only tightened his grip on his sword.