Well, this is nice. I'm being sarcastic
TW: blood, injuries, dead bodies, burns
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The group approached the admin warily, watching his every movement. Every one of them was tense, fight or flight mode activated. Scar looked perfectly fine with doing neither. However, tales never work out the way one designs them to. The tension grew as the two parties faced off, thin, cracking ice barely holding together.
Xisuma broke it with a sigh. "Grian, why? Why is this happening?"
"I don't understand," the red sweatered hermit replied.
"Mumbo gives me your papers -- which I can't read, by the way -- and promptly runs off. When I go to find him, he's standing over the body of one of my friends. Explain all this."
"Xisuma, it wasn't Mumbo." Grian froze, turning to his friend.
"I swear it wasn't me, Grian," Mumbo insisted. "I found her there. I didn't touch anything, I swear."
"There's one way to know for sure," Grian huffed, running a hand through his hair. "We're looking at blood splatters."
"What's that going to tell you?" Scar asked as the group traversed the hall.
"I'm not sure yet," the detective replied. His forehead wrinkled in a frown. "I hope it will give up the information we need, though."
They arrived at the scene. The blood formed a puddle on the white floor, staining the clothes of the girl lying in the center. Her neck had been cut open, allowing her lifeblood to drain into the ground. A metal scalpel lay in her grip, its sinister blade coated with drying blood.
Grian stood back, preventing anyone from approaching. "Her carotid artery was cut. Since it's the main blood vessel to the brain, it would leave a gigantic splash, like we see here." He gestured to the ground. "If someone were standing here or nearby, the marks would be obstructed and there would be a space."
Bdubs knocked over a roll of bandages while retrieving casting material from across the room. He jumped back across the beds, avoiding the crimson liquid on the floor, and sat down with Scar to set his leg. The group watched in silence as he cared for his friend.
"What?" Bdubs asked, finally noticing the crowd watching him.
"Nothing," Xisuma replied. "Grian, what if the knife was thrown?"
The detective sighed. "It would either embed itself where it landed or fall near the wound."
"What if someone moved it?"
Grian glared at the admin suspiciously. "There are no footprints or disruptions in the evidence. She died and lies as she fell. It is infeasible in the amount of time shown here by the barely dried blood that someone had the time to rig up an apparatus to move the scalpel without disturbing their marks."
The admin seemed to wilt in front of them, seating himself on the edge of the bed and burying his head in his hands. He shook, overwhelmed by the events. Grian placed a hand on his back, rubbing comforting circles as he collapsed from the burden and exhaustion.
Footsteps pounded in the hallways, echoing on the stone walls. Hypno burst into the room, panting and out of breath. Dirt was smeared across his face, lantern oil and grease smeared up and down the front of his tunic.
"Labyrinth. Follow string. Barely made it out. Hurry," he breathed before nearly passing out on top of Mumbo. The mustached man helped him to a seat, avoiding the blood. Hypno laid down, chest heaving for air as Impulse grabs water.
"Mumbo, come on. You all, take care of Hypno and X," Grian ordered. "We'll be back as soon as possible, and hopefully without another dead body."
He dashed away, Mumbo close on his heels. The castle passed by in a blur as they sprinted through the courtyard. Wels waved at them, two Ravagers close behind. Grian barely glanced at him, bolting into the dungeon and down the stairs. Mumbo tripped and caught himself on the railing, slipping down the remaining steps.
A coil of rope was knotted around a stalagmite at the beginning of the Labyrinth. It led into the maze, quickly fading from view as the darkness swallowed it. Grian snatched a lantern from the ground, lighting it from the torch on the wall. Replacing the light, he held it up high and grabbed the rope to follow it, Mumbo close behind.
It wound through the maze, taking many disorienting twists and turns. Grian grimaced, realizing the deeper and deeper dangers of the maze. Strange whispers filled the air, followed by the familiar popping of sensors similar to the ones Doc had constructed. They lit up, dim teal lights casting a small shadow on the surrounding sculk.
Grian froze, watching a miniscule pulse spread from one of the strange plants to a larger structure. The eerie light struck the sickly white towers and traveled down them to the base of the boulder. It howled, more electricity sprouting from the top and sparking in nearly perfect rings.
Wind flooded the space, attacking the miniscule light Grian held. He shielded it with his body, protecting the flame. Mumbo moved close, adding his body to protect their light. The howling wind died down, allowing the light to fully shine. Mumbo fingered the rope, holding tight with shaking hands.
Grian brought his free hand to his lips in a shushing motion, moving forward with extra care. None of the haunting plants lit up as they failed to pick up the sound of their movements. Grian moved quicker, freezing as Mumbo tripped and nearly set another one off.
Finally, they saw another light ahead, the unsteady, orange glow coming directly from a lantern. Grian stilled, hearing muffled sobbing coming from the open chamber. Mumbo followed him silently, peering around the rocks with his friend.
Zedaph crouched over the body of Doc, crying on his chest. The scientist's coat was open, revealing red burns and bruises. Grian kicked a pebble across the floor, alerting Zed to their presence.
"Grian, I'm so glad to see you," the apprentice jumped up and buried his face in Grian's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. "It was all quiet, you know? Doc had a message from an anonymous person saying to come here. We followed the rope."
He took a shuddering breath. "Doc brought this book, see?" He showed them a leather bound volume titled Creatures of the Deep Dark. "He was looking through it. It's ancient. We were just doing research with Hypno. He came along because it sounded cool, he said."
The apprentice stopped, rubbing his nose with his sleeve. "That's sus," Grian stated.
"It came out of nowhere. The shrieker went off twice. We'd cleared out all of the sensors, so there shouldn't have been anything for it to react with. The dark and wind were terrible." He shuddered, trembling as Mumbo came to hold him while Grian stepped forward with the lantern to explore the cave.
"We thought we were safe and continued, even though there was an obscure reference in the book about death blowing every third time. We were about to leave, with all the sensors we'd packed up safely in the bag. Hypno had a hold on the rope, about to lead us out when it was triggered a third time.
"I swear none of us set it off. It was terrifying, Grian. It was awful."
By now, the young man had collapsed against a rock formation with Mumbo at his side. The redstoner was rubbing small circles on the apprentice's back, calming his breathing and mind. Grian continued poking his head in corners, trying to find a second entrance.
When Zedaph started speaking again, his voice was barely distinguishable from the silence of the cave. "The beast... I hope I never see it again. It was a mix of the black and the white of the shrieker, with massive feelers and a heart on display, pulsating, glowing, and beating louder than anything I've ever heard. Doc threw me behind the rocks and told me to shut up. For once, I did.
"It killed him with sound, Grian. With sound. I was too frightened to do anything. I couldn't do anything. It was three times larger than I am and more powerful than a Ravager. I waited in silence until it burrowed away."
Grian came back from his excursion. "I can confirm you didn't trigger the shrieker. Come look at this."
Mumbo helped Zed up, letting him cling to his jacket. Grian revealed three fist-sized chunks of sculk nested inside the shrieker, clustered on a glittering aquamarine gem.
Zedaph gasped. "It's the same color as the beast's feelers when it detected sound. Don't touch them. I can't sit through it again, even if the beast doesn't come."
"That's not all," Grian whispered mysteriously, shining light on a miniature crawl-space a meter away from the formation. The hole was two times the shrieker's height from the ground. "I'm going up," he announced, passing the lantern to Mumbo. "Hold it high so I can see."
The Brit boosted himself up the rock face, finding nooks and crannies to put his hands and feet. He peered down the tunnel, searching for visible hazards. Tentatively, he placed his hand on the rocky opening, withdrawing immediately and jumping off with a scream. He wrapped his palm in the fabric of his sweater, smoke rising from the seams.
"Water," he groaned, bending over and clutching the limb. Zedaph forgot his terror, sprinting to the cloth pack and snatching a bottle of water from the side. He uncorked it and poured it on Grian's outstretched hand, gagging at the wound. Grian let it run off his fingers, gasping in pain as the corrosive liquid was washed away.
Finally, he stirred from his shock, pushing himself up from where he'd sunk to the ground. His injured hand was still pressed against his shirt as he made his way to the cloth pack Zed had grabbed the bottle from. The apprentice fell into routine, taking out the carefully organized bandages and gauze.
The wound was raw, the skin burnt away and exposing the tissue underneath. Grian hissed as Zedaph ran more water over it, thoroughly clearing the grime. The apprentice wrapped the hand, effectively killing pathogens with one of Doc's potions.
"The entrance is protected by acid," Grian muttered, although Mumbo and Zed had already guessed. "We should leave. Mumbo, please carry Doc. Zedaph, get the bag. I'll be right behind you."
The trio staggered out of the Deep Dark, following the rope. Grian froze as he recognized the cavern they passed through. Guilt struck him as he remembered the friends he'd found there.
"Grian, you coming?" Mumbo asked. Grian started, not realizing he'd stopped.
"I- I think I'll stay here for a bit. Need some time by myself. Alone. With the bats. If there are any."
"You sure? I've barely seen you at all lately," Mumbo said worriedly.
"Yeah, well, I've been around a lot of other people, Mumbo. I just need some me-time to cope, you know?"
"Alright, dude. I'll see if Wels will come down in about thirty minutes, okay?"
"That's fine with me." Grian waved as their lantern light faded from view, swinging his own around, lighting up each of the corners. Once they were out of earshot, he spoke again: "Alright, I know you're there. I can hear your breathing."