Triple Life [3rd Life SMP]

5. Taken

Grian wasn't able to find Mumbo anywhere in the forest. He passed Pearl's team a few times in his wandering though. They were making progress fast, quickly building up a house in a clearing, Pearl doing most of the work on the house itself while Tango cut down trees to provide wood and Scott surrounded their area with a fence.

"Gonna go to the Nether once we find the portal," Scott said during one of Grian's passes, when he decided to stop and see how they were doing. Scott leaned on the fence, giving it a tap. "So we can replace this and the walls of our house with warped wood. So no one can burn it down!"

"A warped wood house would look amazing," Grian said. "But you're gonna need a lot of wood."

Scott shrugged. "Gives us something to do. Still haven't found Mumbo?"

"No," Grian said, sighing. "And it feels like it's getting colder too. Might just give up and go home soon. Or head back to spawn, see if Scar's still around. I've been thinking about it, and maybe I should claim him. If he wants me, anyway."

"I'm sure he'd accept you. But have you tried just messaging Mumbo?"

Grian felt silly. "Ah. Yeah, I should probably try that." He got out his communicator while Scott laughed and went back to placing fences. Grian sent Mumbo a message and waited.

<Grian> Just wanted to check in, are you good?

<MumboJumbo> I'm great. Over at the east side of the map.

Grian groaned. That was the complete opposite side from the forest. He set off in that direction, waving goodbye to Scott. He typed as he went, though his fingers were starting to feel a little numb. He was going to stop by the bonfire at spawn for a bit to warm up.

<Grian> Cool, can we meet up real quick? Wanna talk to you about something. Come to spawn?

<MumboJumbo> Sure, be there soon.

Grian put the communicator back in his pocket. He passed a few cows and his fingers twitched with the urge to get out his sword. He wanted to just kill them now, get their meat and leather. There were other ways to get leather if all the cows were killed before anyone could breed them. He was just so tired of this cold.

Grian scowled as it began snowing during his walk. He broke into a jog and reached the bonfire. It was still going strong, though no one was around. He could see footprints leading off through the snow. He hoped Scar was okay. He sidled as close as he could get without the fire burning him, holding up his hands and fanning his wings out, soaking in the warmth. If it was this cold already, he could only imagine what the night would be like. They had spent many nights outside going about their business, traveling, and getting into fights in Double Life. He had a feeling that wasn't going to happen as much here.

It took several minutes, but eventually Mumbo arrived. With an entourage.

"Hey, brought a few people, hope you don't mind," Mumbo said as he walked up.

"Nah, it's fine," Grian said, looking over the newcomers. "Hey Martyn, Impulse. Wow, it's 4/5ths of the old Southlands group, huh?"

They laughed and nodded.

"Just need Jimmy," Impulse said.

"Where is Timmy, anyway?" Grian wondered. "I haven't seen him since we split up at the start."

The others shrugged.

"I think I saw him off in the distance at one point," Mumbo said. "But he kept walking, I'm not sure where he went off to. Maybe he's just exploring."

"Well, I hope he's careful," Grian said. "So, uh. How have things been for you? Staying safe?"

"It's been fine. It's chilly here, but luckily I tend to dress warm." Mumbo patted the sleeves of his suit. "How are you, though? Avians don't do so well with the cold, right?"