Legacies || Hermitcraft

Chapter XVI - The Traveller

Joe, unexpectedly, laughed. That said, the unexpected was always expected of Joe Hills, which prompted the question of whether or not that laughter had indeed been unexpected. It was quite the thought-provoking paradox, and certainly not the first paradox that Joe had instigated. However, Xisuma had learned a very long time ago that questioning Joe Hills rarely led to a productive outcome, and instead took their laughter at face value.

"I'm Joe Hills." Was Joe's answer. "That's all I am, all ever I was, and all I'll ever be."

"But I don't understand, I-"

"I wasn't made to be understood, Xisuma." Joe calmly interrupted. "I know you're someone with a very technical mindset and that there's a lot that you're trying to make sense of right now, but some things in this world just don't make sense and I happen to be one of them. I think reacting to certain situations with emotion instead of logic would make life a lot easier... don't you?"

Then Joe smiled, shrugging as if they hadn't just made an incredibly profound and insightful statement. Cleo was far less nonchalant about it, staring at them with utter incredulity. "...You know, Joe, you could have said that three days ago when Xisuma was seriously in need of support and encouragement."

"He was bruised and bleeding to the Void and back, what was a motivational speech going to do?" Joe defended, bewildered by her criticism. Then they hesitated, glancing at Xisuma. "By the way, not to pry where I shouldn't, but how exactly did that happen anyway?"

Xisuma was about to dismiss the question, the same way he'd been dismissing every question asked of him for the last three days, when he remembered something that he'd completely forgotten about. A plan he made but never delivered. Something that could answer some of the many questions he was asking whilst simultaneously acting as the perfect distraction from the answers he was still awaiting.

He needed to go back to the testing facility.

"Where are we going again?" XB called, exhausted from walking as the Hermits made their way through trees and bushes. "And why is Mumbo so small and fluffy?"

"A fox, XB, he's a fox." Hypno reminded him. "Don't ask me how or why, it's a vampire thing. He's going ahead to try and find tracks, because Xisuma wants to try and find whatever attacked him a few days ago, remember? Again, don't ask why, but he's pretty determined to do it."

Xisuma had been acting strangely all day all day, manic and frenzied in his pursuit of a productive distraction. The Hermits had a feeling that there was something else going on, likely something related to the intruder and his slowly deteriorating mental state. They were even beginning to wonder if Xisuma's monster actually existed, or if it was just another symptom of his paranoia.

And, speaking of paranoia, the entire group was apprehensive and exhausted by now. After three hours of walking in search of a place that might not even exist, the simplest of things were putting them on edge, for example, a rustle in the bushes that made all twelve of them jump in surprise.

The rustle in the bushes was only another fox with white fur, a seemingly normal one at first glance, but once the Hermits got a better look at it they realised it was far from that. Most notable were the three tails bouncing along behind it, contrary to the standard singular tail, and its unusually coloured eyes. One was a deep shade of brown, nothing out of the ordinary, but the second was blood red with a long scar running through it.

"What the...?" Cleo questioned, as Mumbo shifted back to his humanoid form and lifted the strange fox up into his arms. "That can't be right... Do you think it's one of the experiments Xisuma was talking about?"