Chapter Text
Grian stepped outside equipping his elytra. It felt weird having wings but not using them. He did enjoy flying but he couldn't use his own wings. If someone saw, his life would be over. He often thought about it, freely flying over the world that he and his friends created.
He has also thought about flying at night often. He almost did, but he ended up backing out because fear of being seen was too strong. He still wishes the wings would just disappear one morning. He knew it was impossible but wishing can't hurt.
Elytra would do for now, he flew with them often. Feeling the wind go through his dirty blond hair is one of the best feelings he can experience. He just felt so free to go wherever he wanted. Nothing could hold him back when he flew.
He stood at the entrance of his midnight ally. Quickly send a message that he was on his way and flew to the boatem hole. They agreed to meet up there and figure out what to do then.
He didn't know what they were going to do but was still happy to hang out with his friends. The trip there was quick enough but he still arrived late since he was busy preening. He gracefully landed near the boatem hole.
"Hey! There you finally are." said Scar loudly. Scar has always been quite loud and enthusiastic. It always put a smile on Grians face to see someone that can be that happy most of the time.
It was something he was a bit jealous of. He wanted to be that happy too but never did. But he has no hard feelings about it to Scar. Scar was Grians friend and him being happy was the most important thing.
Mumbo spoke next, "Good to see you haven't forgotten." You could hear the amusement in the mans voice. Mumbo is normally very calm but today he seemed to be excited too. That was a bit strange since Mumbo only showed excitement when passionate about something or had a plan.
"So what is todays plan?" Grian asked, "I see that you have something in mind." He was a bit suspicious of what they were about to do. His friends were clearly ecstatic about something. It worried him a little bit but he trusted them that it wouldn't be bad.
Scar started suggesting "Well I say that we should go and explore. Maybe a couple thousand blocks south over the ocean? We could find something cool!" Something told Grian that Scar definitely found something past the ocean. His curiosity peaked, "Alright let's do it! Sounds like fun."
They geared up and picked up some food for the long journey. They talked and laughed as they flew. They were not flying aimlessly. Scar kept looking at his communicator as they flew. He was definitely tracking where they were and where to go.
It was going to be interesting to see what Scar had to show them. Grian was not sure if Mumbo knew exactly where they were going. He seemed too excited to not know, but it could just be because he wanted to explore.
Then an interesting builing came into view. It looked to be some sort of ruins. It was definitely old, it looked decayed and about to fall apart. The amount of cracks were concerning but it should be fine for today.
They landed infront of the structure. Scar almost fell over as he landed while mumbo landed fairly smoothly. The entrance looked like it had engravings in it that were no longer legible due to the decay and moss that grew on it.
"I wonder what it used to be" said Mumbo, "what do you think scar?" Scar almost looked like he was bouncing, "Oh I think it's some sort of temple, it looks really old. Let's go inside!" He basically ran inside the ruins of this temple. Mumbo and Grian looked at each other slightly confused but entered carefully after Scar.
Grian got a strange feeling as he entered. He couldn't place what it was, only that he didn't like it. He pressed his wings closer to his back as they fluffed up. They have never done that before. He started getting concerned about what they were getting into.
The walls looked cracked and there seemed to be patterns in the walls. He didn't recognize them so it must just be decoration. He really hoped so at least.
As he walked further he became increasingly uneasy. He glanced at Mumbo, he looked fine, just looking around to find something of interest. Then Mumbo looked back, "Hey, you okay mate? You seem nervous." "Yeah, I guess so. I got a strange feeling about this place." Grian responded nervously. "Okay, just say if it becomes too bad. We can always leave and go somewhere else." Mumbo gave a comforting smile that eased his nerves.
"Thank you" Grian said as he straightened up and took a deep breath, "Let's go find Scar before he gets into trouble." Mumbo nodded as they started walking faster in hopes of catching up.
Eventually they spotted scar looking at a hatch in the floor. It looked like there was a carpet or rug of some sort on it before it all decayed. As Grian looked closer it had the words 'Keep Out' written on it. That could not be good if that engraving stayed in there long enough while the rest is gone.
"Huh, strange," Grian said as calmly as possible, "These engraving survived for much longer then the others." "Yeah! I wonder what they say tho," said scar happily, "It looks quite important after all."
That statement struck fear into Grian. He could read this clearly, so what does that mean. "Mumbo can you read it?" He proceeded to ask carefully. "No, I can't. But I recognize it from some of the books X has", Mumbo stated, "We could go back and see if we could translate this."
Grian finally realized what this meant. This was the writing that the Watchers used. He could read it because They made him into what he is. He has a choice now. Either he tells them he knows what it says or keeps quiet and see what happens.
He could tell them he knows, it's a language you can learn. He could just say he learned it when he was younger. It could work and would let them know that they shouldn't go in there. So he decided.
"I know what it says," Grian decided to say, "It says to 'Keep Out', so maybe it is a good idea to keep in closed." "You can read this!" Scar basically jumped in surprised at hearing it. "It's amazing that you know that. I just see random symbols here." "Yeah I guess it is pretty great", Grian lied, "So maybe we should leave it alone."
Scar didn't seem to hear Grian as he opened the hatch. Grian couldn't believe what he was seeing. Scar went in as Grian turned to Mumbo. Mumbo looked slightly disturbed at what scar had done, but then shrugged and went in after.
Grian knew this was not going to end well. It was Their temple, he was sure of it. He couldn't leave them alone so he hesitantly followed them into the hatch.
They ended up in a room that looked surprisingly intact. The room looked mostly dark grey from the walls to the floor. Grians panic rose at the alter in the middle of the room. He knows why but tries to push it down. It's just his friends here they wouldn't hurt him.
He walked over to Scar trying to keep his composure. Scar was looking at the wall that appeared to have a mural painted on it. He knew it depicted Them, but he won't tell his friend that. He would have to explain why he knew. That was not something he was ready for just yet, maybe not ever.
"These beings look kind of cool don't they?" Said Scar excitedly, "I wonder why they wear those masks, those symbols on there must have a meaning. Oh, and those robes must be enchanted! It looks like they tried to paint them like they are shiny on here."
And so Scar started to ramble about the mural. Grian knew everything about Them but he won't tell Scar. Instead he nods and tries to push down the urge to trow up as Scar talks about Them as if They are wonderful creatures.
They don't deserve all this praise and excitement that Scar is giving Them. But he can't stop Scar from his ramble or say what they are actually like. Normally he likes to hear Scar ramble about anything and everything. This topic however is not a good one so he does his best to not listen.
He takes a closer look at the mural and reads the writing on the masks they seems to be names since they aren't familiar words. When he gets to the last one, his stomach drops, feathers puff up, and he freezes. He reads 'Xelqua',
It's the watcher name they game him. He cant believe that this is happening. How did this get here, why is that on there. He is horrified that this is here. He didn't like the alter that looked way too familiar and now this.
He felt his panic rising as he thought about what to do. Then Mumbo put his hand on Grians shoulder and turned him around, "Hey you okay mate? You don't look so good." "Sorry I just need some fresh air right now," he said as he left the room through the hatch. This was stupid, he already had a bad feeling about this. This should have never been found. It is extremely far away from spawn and it shouldn't be entered ever again.
As Grian left, Mumbo was left behind with Scar. Mumbo knew Grian didn't like being in this building but didn't know it actually made Grian panic. He is glad Grian snapped out of the spiral he might've gone down.But when he was looking at Grian in front of the mural, he had noticed that when Grian froze, his back seemed to extend. Mumbo thought this was quite odd, but he didn't know if he could ever bring it up. He will have to drop it for the sake of his friend. When Grian is comfortable he will tell Mumbo what is bothering him. He knows that Grian will, they are best friends. There is no way he wouldn't share something with him if it was bothering him.
As Grian left the hatch and was out of view from the others, he ran to the exit of the building. He just needed to be outside this cursed building. As he reached outside he slowed down and searched for a tree nearby to sit under. He will have to wait until his friends are done looking around. He can't believe there is a temple here with a depiction of what he could be. That mural was what They wanted from him. To join Them and whatever plans They had for him. He got away before he knew what his purpose needed to be. He wishes that he could've ran before They took everything from him. His server, his friends They even altered his very code. It felt like it was infected but there is nothing he can do about it now. He has gotten used to the feeling of disgust he felt over his code.
He started to calm down as he looked at the nature that surrounded him. It was quite beautiful seeing the untouched biomes of the world. He has gotten used to the terraformed lands and huge builds of the hermits. It was nice to see where that all started from. Hopefully he didn't ruin Mumbos or Scars fun. It was a cool building. If he didn't know who this building was for, then it was beautiful and interesting. Sadly that wasn't the case and he hated it.
He couldn't tell them why he ran out. It would reveal way too much. He would need to think of a reason that made sense. He could do that he probably had some time before Mumbo and Scar came out the temple.
He would just have to think of an excuse.