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When Grian steps through the door to Mumbo’s manor, he spots someone else inside with him. Mumbo and this mysterious person are standing right in the foyer, the two of them talking rather animatedly about something. The stranger has fluffy brown hair, an eye patch covering one of his eyes. The contrast of their clothes against Mumbo’s is a little entertaining, considering they’re dressed in a green hoodie and a brown vest, nothing nearly as elaborate as Mumbo’s three piece suit.
Neither of them seem to notice Grian at first as he stands in the doorway, and he takes a second to watch them. Mumbo’s eyes shine and there’s a small smile on his face, hands doing all sorts of gestures.
Grian hums thoughtfully at the sight, staring with a bit of surprise. It’s weird to see Mumbo interacting with someone else and not looking grumpy.
Mumbo’s ear seems to twitch at the sound of Grian’s hum, and his gaze shifts to him. “Oh! Grian!” he greets, causing the other person with him to turn around. “When did you get in?”
Grian walks over to the two of them, “Just now.” He looks over at the stranger, and they offer him a small smile.
“Hallo! You must be the human that Mumbo’s told me about,” he says, and Grian does a double take. Mumbo’s talked about him? Maybe that shouldn’t surprise him nearly as much as it does, but considering Mumbo gives the impression that he doesn’t talk to anyone besides Grum, Jrum, and Grian, he does find himself a little shocked.
He looks to Mumbo with his mouth hanging open just slightly, and Mumbo sighs softly, “I may have mentioned you a few times…” he trails off, and Grian feels his chest warming. Mumbo looks a little bashful to admit it, and his companion laughs in response. He offers them a slight glare, but it lacks any real heat. “Anyways, Iskall, I believe you were just leaving.”
The stranger, Iskall, laughs again as they smile, “Yes, yes. I only overstayed because you brought up that new redstone technique, Mumbo.” He looks back to Grian, offering him a smile, “Goodbye! It was nice meeting you human, even if it was very brief!” They offer Mumbo a wave goodbye before stepping out.
Grian turns to Mumbo curiously, “So you’ve talked about me, huh?” He says it mostly to tease Mumbo, and the vampire looks rather embarrassed.
“He wasn’t supposed to mention that,” Mumbo grumbles before sighing.
“Who was that anyways? You two seem close,” Grian inquires. Something about that makes his heart constrict just a bit, as if someone had momentarily wrapped their hand around his heart and squeezed it. It isn’t painful, but it is uncomfortable.
Mumbo hums in return, “Hm? Oh, that was Iskall. They’re a fellow halfblood.” He meets Grian’s gaze, “I suppose you could say we’re friends.”
Ignoring the way his chest tightens, Grian stares at Mumbo with shock, “What?! But I thought the grumpy isolationist Mumbo Jumbo didn’t do friends!”
Playfully, Mumbo rolls his eyes at him, “I don’t. Iskall is an exception.” A small teasing smirk tugs at his lips as he gives Grian a side glance, “Just like a certain pesky human I happen to know.”
Grian responds with a wide grin, that warmth replacing any kind of restriction he may have previously felt. Pushing the feeling to the back of his mind, he questions Mumbo, “So, what’s on the agenda for tonight? More timelines?”
“Goodness no.” Mumbo quickly shakes his head, “I’ve had enough of creating timelines to last me another fifty years. For now, we’re not doing anything related to that mess,” he explains, making Grian blink.
“What? Why? The enchantment angle didn’t work out, so shouldn’t we look for something else?” he questions, feeling a little confused.
Mumbo seems to struggle with his response, a small noise of contemplation leaving him. “Well uh, you see… after the whole er… debacle at the Black Market, Doc sort of told me to lay low,” he says before pausing. Hesitation flickers across his face, and Grian lifts a brow.
“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” Grian asks bluntly, lips tilting low as he frowns softly.
“Kind of?” Mumbo answers, his voice dripping with uncertainty. It soaks his words, seeping into them and coating them like sugar. “You see, humans really aren’t meant to be at the Black Market, it’s an old law from the Council. Just bringing one in is grounds for uh, let’s just say a lot of trouble. And considering we ran into Scott… yeah, we’ve really gotten ourselves into a bit of a mess,” he frets slightly, hand absentmindedly playing with the tail end of his earring as he speaks.
Grian winces, feeling partly to blame for whatever trouble they’ve run into. “Sorry, that probably wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t so pushy about all of this,” he apologizes. Though he doesn’t really regret being so insistent. If he wasn’t, who knows if he and Mumbo would’ve ever become friends. He does regret being the cause for Mumbo getting in trouble though.
Quick to shake his head, Mumbo hurries to assure him, “It’s nothing Doc and I can’t handle, Grian, it’s fine! I hid that information from you anyways. I hold some of the blame in that as well.”
Thinking back to it, Grian remembers just how tightly Mumbo had held him back when Scott had started with Impulse. Had that been part of the reason why Mumbo didn’t want Grian to get involved? Because he knew that humans weren’t allowed in the Black Market? He winces, maybe throwing a rock at Scott really wasn’t a good idea. Though he doesn’t regret it, all things considered. He was able to keep Impulse from getting into any major trouble, and Grian knows that he’d do it again in a heartbeat.
“Anyways, I’ve got something else in mind for today,” Mumbo says, catching Grian’s attention.
“Oh? And what’s that?” Grian questions with interest. If they’re lying low and not doing any sort of work for Doc, then what does Mumbo plan to do? He blanches as a thought hits him, “Please don’t tell me it involves cleaning your library again.”
Mumbo laughs at that, something cheerful. He shakes his head, “It’s a bit more exciting than that, actually. I’m a bit miffed to admit it took me this long to think of it, but you need some kind of protection if you’re going to keep yourself involved with me.”
Grian lifts a brow, “And that entails what? More glyphs?” He thinks they’d be good protection, especially since Grian doesn’t need magic to use them. He could easily snag the book that Mumbo had shown him before and study everything in there.
Mumbo hums thoughtfully at that, setting a hand on his chin, “I hadn’t thought of that, it may be a good idea for later. But no, not glyphs. I was thinking more along the lines of an enchanted weapon.”
“I can get one of those? Seriously?!” Grian stares at him with a mix of awe and curiosity.
Mumbo chuckles at his reaction, “Go and set your bag down. We’ve got a few places to hit before the sun comes out.”
Grian stares at the shop they stand in front of. The place looks like something right out of an old dungeon, with the walls of the store designed with dark stones and actual cobble, windows built inside. The door is wooden, with a large door knocker for the door knob. Etched into the wall is DECKED OUT in big black letters. Looking over at the windows, Grian spots a few boxes set up, and if he looks close enough he sees that they’re board games.
Taking a step back, Grian squints and looks over at Mumbo, “No offense Mumbo, but why are we at a retro game store?”
Mumbo chuckles but doesn’t answer him, instead grabbing the metal ring of a door knocker and pulls the door open. He motions for Grian to step inside first, and the pair enter.
The inside of the store continues that cobbled wall design on the outside, with a stone floor and carpets. The walls hold shelves that are covered in all different sorts of games. It’s mostly all tabletop games and board games. Just the sight of it all makes Grian’s head spin, but it’s cool and it only serves to further his confusion. He turns to Mumbo as the other comes up from behind him, looking at him with a narrowed gaze.
Glancing at him, Mumbo smiles before walking up to the register. There’s a bell sitting on the counter that Mumbo taps on, “Tango? You in, bud?”
A head pops up from behind the counter, startling both Grian and Mumbo. The pair jump back with surprised yells, hands grabbing at each other as they do.
The man that startled them breaks out into laughter as he looks at the two of them, his hand slapping the counter, “Oh man! You two should see your faces right now!” His blond hair is slicked back, though a few rather stubborn strands of hair seem to hang in front of his forehead. He’s dressed in a red shirt with a black jacket on top, though the sleeves are rolled up to his elbows.
Mumbo sighs quietly, shaking his head as he moves closer. “Well that was certainly a shock,” he says, “But hello, Tango.”
“Hey there Mumbo!” Tango grins at him, “Fancy seeing you here. Been a while man! How’ve you been?”
“Er…. you know,” Mumbo answers rather vaguely, wincing at his own awkwardness. Grian doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of watching Mumbo interact with other people. It’s oddly endearing, how awkward he is.
Tango laughs in reply, shaking his head. “Awkward as ever, dude,” he chuckles fondly before lifting his head up. His gaze locks with Grian’s, and his ruby red eyes shine with curiosity, “And who’s this guy?” He leans forward with interest.
Grian steps up beside Mumbo, “Grian, nice to meet you.”
“I’d uh, like to get him something from The Dungeon, if you wouldn’t mind taking an order?” Mumbo inquires, and Tango’s eyes sparkle.
“Oh hell yeah, man! Come around back, I’ll take you guys down.” Tango moves out from behind the counter and motions them over to a door on the side. He pulls it open and leans into the doorway, “We’re coming down, Jim!” Tango motions for the pair to follow him.
Grian and Mumbo follow Tango down, listening as each wooden stair creaks beneath their feet. The trio walk down the stairs and it feels like they enter a whole different store. Much up the upper half of the store, the walls and floor are stone. Except rather than games lining the shelves, there are weapons.
Tango walks a bit ahead of them before holding his arms out, “Welcome to The Dungeon, boys.” He grins at them.
Everything seems to be organized by type of weapon, though interesting Grian doesn’t spot a single gun. It’s all swords and bows and other bladed things. Some hang on racks, while others sit on shelves.
As Grian looks around, he spots another man fixing up the arrow display. He holds a bunch of arrows in one of his arms, using his free hand to set them on the shelf one at a time. Tango seems to spot him too, and Grian watches as a mischievous grin splits the man’s face. He silently makes his way over to the man, who seems completely oblivious to the fact that there are other people around. When Tango gets close enough, he takes his hands and jabs his sides, “Jimmy we have guests!”
The man squawks, dropping the arrows on the ground. They fall with a loud clatter, and he turns to face Tango. There’s a pout on his face, “Tango! It took me ages to pick them up the first time ‘round!”
“Sorry, sorry. The opportunity was just too good!” Tango apologizes with a grin. “But we do have some guests. Mumbo brought a friend.” He nods toward Mumbo and Grian.
The man, Jimmy, looks over at them and he blinks, “Oh! Mumbo! It’s been way too long!”
“So people keep telling me…” Mumbo replies almost bashfully, causing Grian to chuckle at him.
“How can we help you guys?” Jimmy questions, coming over to them. Grian notes that he’s roughly Mumbo’s height, and Tango comes up to just below his shoulder. Jimmy’s got a white t-shirt on, a jean button up sitting on top of it. Like Tango, he’s got his sleeves rolled up as well.
“Well, this is less for me and more for Grian,” Mumbo answers, surveying the shop. “He needs something to defend himself against monsters.”
“And he can speak for himself, thank you!” Grian hums, passing Mumbo a cheeky smile.
Tango chuckles, heading behind the counter to grab a notepad. “Right, so we’re gonna want something that can be enchanted then. Oh! And something with holy metal.”
“Holy metal?” Grian looks at him with a raised brow.
“Yup! It’s a specific metal that works against most supernatural creatures. Vampires, zombies, you name it! Though it doesn’t work against fae or werewolves,” Tango replies as he writes a few things down. “You’re gonna want some iron if you’re dealing with a jerkface fae. A werewolf requires silver to put that bad boy down. And that’s just a base weapon without any enchantification!”
Grian nods along, trying to follow best he can. “Right… so holy metal is a general metal that can hurt most?” he questions, watching as Tango looks up at him.
“Bingo!” He gives Grian a thumbs up. “Now, do you have a preferred weapon of choice, good sir?”
“Uh…” Grian blanks at the question.
Jimmy seems to laugh at Grian’s response, looking over at Tango, “He’s not a monster hunter, babe. You’re gonna have to let him try some stuff out.”
Blinking, Tango looks at them all as he seems to process Jimmy’s words. “Oh! Whoopsies, sorry about that! I’m used to monster guys coming in here and already knowing what they need,” Tango chuckles. “Go on and take some time to figure it out. Feel free to grab any of the practice weapons we’ve got!”
Nodding, Grian steps away from the counter to look at all of the weapons around him. He surveys each section, feeling rather overwhelmed. There’s just so many options, and Grian feels a bit paralyzed at everything offered to him.
He takes a breath before walking over to the first thing that catches his eye, which just so happens to the bow and arrow. The bows all hang on the walls, price tags attached to the strings. Grian pales at some of the prices. All of the bows are stuck to the wall so that they can’t be taken down. Though there is a wooden bow that hangs on a rack in front of the others. It’s simple wood, maybe an oak coloring, and it shines under the lights. Grian grabs hold of it, taking it down from the rack. He holds it in his hands, brows folding in as he thinks.
“What are you doing?” Mumbo questions, watching him curiously.
“Seeing how it feels in my hands,” Grian answers. Making a curious noise, Grian takes a step back to give himself some room, and he holds his arm out. Grabbing hold of the string, he imagines himself taking an arrow and pulling it back. He grimaces as his arms feel heavy from the force. It puts a rather intense strain on him, one that he isn’t quite expecting. He may have taken karate classes while growing up, but using a bow feels like a completely different ballpark.
He tries to hold it for a few seconds longer, fingers and arms aching in protest. He releases the string, lowering his arms and shaking his head. “Definitely not for me.”
Putting the bow back, Grian turns his attention to the blades. They’re set up on a table, all laid out neatly, though they’re all set up under a glass covering. On top of the glass is a dull sword, one that Grian is able to pick up should he want to.
He hums, “Thinking about it, I’d probably want something that I can conceal. Or at least hide it from Pearl… I don’t think I can just show up back home with a sword in my hand without her raising a few questions.”
Mumbo nods in agreement, “That’s probably for the best, yes. It’d be good to have something on you in case you get separated from me. Which I’m fairly confident will happen again.”
Grian laughs in reply as his eyes pass over the swords in front of him. “And if it does happen again, I’m sure you’ll come running to my rescue,” he jokes, making Mumbo sigh.
“I think the real solution here is just to stop letting you out of my sight. Or maybe I should be seriously considering a tracking glyph,” Mumbo contemplates.
Lightly, Grian runs his finger along the glass leaning in to get a close view. They’re all sitting on shelves, some short swords and other long swords. Each sword is designed differently, with multiple levels of detail to them. “These are amazing,” he says. Some of the handles of the swords have engravings on them, with little intricate patterns. No handle looks the same, as if each one was given special attention.
“Tango is a lovely blacksmith, he’s got a great eye for detail,” Mumbo hums, his gaze also focused on the swords below. “I used to get some of my own things from him,” he says casually, as if talking about the weather.
Grian stops to whip his head over to the vampire, feeling his eyes grow wide. “Wait, hang on. You’ve gotten things from here before?!” he exclaims, the information surprising him for some reason. Maybe it’s because he never pictured Mumbo as the sort to wield a weapon. He’s a vampire after all, he has magic! Why carry a weapon?
Or maybe it’s because of how casually Mumbo admitted it.
“Er… yes?” Mumbo answers, though he phrases it more as a question. He tugs almost nervously at his collar, refusing to meet Grian’s gaze, “I used to do work for the Council that would require some metals from Tango.” His face falls just slightly as he frowns.
Ah, so no weapon purchases. Grian thinks that falls a bit more in line with what he knows of Mumbo. Of course he’d get metal from here.
Mumbo gets this look in his eyes, that same faraway one he had back when they had been at the Black Market with Scott and Impulse. The look isn’t nearly as intense as it was back then, but it still makes Grian frown. He wants to change the topic away, just so that Mumbo loses that gleam in his eyes. He doesn’t like how haunted Mumbo looks.
Just as he opens his mouth to say something, his eyes catch sight of something. It’s in the case next to the swords, and Grian looks at it curiously. It’s a display of smaller blades, knives and the sort. They’re given the same treatment as the swords are, kept safely within a display case. He picks up the one set out on the small shelf, holding it in his hands.
It feels light, but he can still hold it firmly. It feels comfortable, easy to use and attack with should he need to. It feels right in his hands.
“That’s it!” Grian declares, making up his mind. He sets the blunt blade back down on the shelf.
“Hm?” Mumbo peers at him curiously, “What is it?”
“Keeping in mind the part where it needs to be small enough to conceal and something that I feel comfortable with, a dagger is perfect!” Grian exclaims.
“Oh? We have a winner!” Tango and Jimmy seem to have been in the middle of a conversation, with the way Tango had previously been leaning into Jimmy’s space.
Tango leans back, heading back behind the counter as he reaches for his notepad and pen. “I’ll make a note of that for ya. And we can get into more specifics about the dagger itself in a moment,” Tango hums. He scribbles it down just as Grian and Mumbo walk back over to the counter. Tango sets the notepad down and leans forward with a little grin, “First, let’s talk pricing.”
After making sure that Grian got home safely, Mumbo returns to his manor alone.
His pockets feel a tad lighter, Tango was quite merciless with squeezing money out of him. But it was entirely worth it in order to make sure Grian would be well protected. Even if it’ll take a week for Grian to get it. Between the two of them, Grian is in more danger than Mumbo will ever be. He’s human. Fragile. It’s so very painfully easy to kill a human.
He would know.
As Mumbo steps inside his manor, he feels his hand twitch. He frowns, pulling the door shut behind him.
“Welcome home!” Grum and Jrum’s voices ring out, the two brothers running over to greet him. Jrum bounces forward to hug him, and Mumbo quietly chuckles. His frown melts away, replaced by a fond smile instead.
“Hello to you two as well,” he says softly, reaching down to pat Jrum’s head.
He heads into his study after speaking to them for a bit, sighing quietly. As he walks over to the chair, he slips his tail coat off. He sets it over his chair before flopping down on it. He moves to loosen his cravat slightly before running a hand through his hair.
Mumbo leans his head back, and takes a moment to think.
He just took Grian to get something to protect himself with today. Because Mumbo is concerned about his safety when he’s not around. Because Mumbo worries about him. And that particular thought is a tad startling. When was the last time that Mumbo had worried about a human? Not since he met Grum and Jrum and… stop. He won’t let himself think about it.
It’s almost terrifying, how quickly Grian has grown on him. He’s long since admitted to himself that Grian has become a friend. And clearly Grian has earned some of Mumbo’s trust (he gets a little embarrassed just thinking about that picnic). But to have his actions truly echo his thoughts? To realize just how big of an impact Grian has had on his life?
He’s known Grian for just a little over a month now, and maybe it’s a little terrifying to realize how quickly the human has become a part of his routine. The manor feels fuller, more lively. Grum and Jrum have certainly taken a liking to Grian, and Mumbo would be lying if he said he didn’t like him as well.
Grian is fun, snarky, he’s good company. He’s full of heart, and just a bit daft. But Mumbo likes having him around. And he doesn’t want to imagine a life where he never met him.
His heart aches, pain spreading throughout his chest as a heavy feeling of guilt settles over his shoulders. It weighs on him heavily, as if there were blocks of cinder placed strategically along his body.
Is it okay for him to have this? When the whole reason he’s kept to this manor was to repent?
He doesn’t know.
What he does know is that he wants to keep being Grian’s friend. And he wants to keep him safe. His life is so tangled with Grian’s now that it’d be strange to pull their strings apart. Grian brings a sort of warmth to his life that Mumbo feels like he had been lacking before.
The chime of a crystal pulls him from his thoughts.
Sitting up in his chair, Mumbo blinks. Sitting on his table is a green crystal, a glyph glowing within it. The goat shines the brightest out of the glyph, casting a green shine to the area around it. He takes a moment to stare at it, wondering why the elder would be calling him right now. Hadn’t Doc told him to lay low? To act as usual and leave the murderer case alone for now? They just spoke this morning about it! Unless it has nothing to do with any of that?
“Doc?” he asks, leaning forward to grab the crystal and hold it in his hands.
“Mumbo! Good, I got through.” Doc’s voice carries through the crystal. He sounds a little panicked, which sends alarm bells ringing in Mumbo’s mind. He can count the number of times Doc has ever sounded like that on one hand.
“You did!” Mumbo replies, nodding. “Though, is something wrong? You sound frazzled,” he inquires, frowning in worry as he stares at the green crystal. He wonders what’s going on from Doc’s side of things. Surely it can’t be that bad?
There’s a bit of hesitation from the other side, and Mumbo waits patiently for his response. His heart beats in his chest, stomach squirming with anxiety.
And then, Doc speaks.
“The Council is requesting an audience.”
It can be that bad.