Unrecognizable

~Chapter Seventeen~

Grian's POV-

In that moment, there was little he hated more than long, dark pits leading to an unknown and probably sinister location.

But soon after the stairs pulled out from under the Hermits, they sitting on another, rougher surface. Standing up, Grian glanced around sourly. There was no light coming from anywhere; the place was pitch-black. He couldn't see how big the room was, but it seemed rather large. Seeing a shape move beside him, the brit crossed his arms as Scar stood up, rubbing his back. The self-proclaimed wizard turned to him, and the two's eyes met.

"I said we should go back," Scar said cautiously, glancing around. "And now we're stuck here."

Grian mouth fell open. How was this his fault? "If we had moved quicker, we wouldn't have fallen! It's your fault we were still standing on that step!" He was certain that the two would've made it down just fine without falling into a pit of doom. "But noooo, you were so worried about your 'magic' not working properly and we stalled!" 

Scar sputtered and raised his arms in indignation. "It wasn- it's not!" He protested, his voice spiking. "I can't see a thing! I had a reason for not wanting to go down there!"

"Well, I had a reason for wanting to go down there!" Grian's words were loud and sharp, and were followed by an uncomfortable silence.

After a moment, Scar broke the silence, looking back up. "There has to be a way we can get out. We have elytras, we can just fly out-- there's got to be an exit somewhere." Grian nodded. They weren't going to get out by arguing, after all.

"You really are a spoon, aren't you?" An unfamiliar voice sounded in the distance. Grian and Scar both twisted around to find the source of the noise. It was a female voice, an overly saccharine cooing, not unlike the voice one would use to speak to a pet. But it was just a bit drawn out in a way that sounded as if it was mocking the Hermits. 

"You know," the voice continued. "I told Sage that he didn't need to trap the staircase. I told him not to worry, that you wouldn't be stupid enough to come here after he explicitly told you no." Grian froze. Who WAS this person? How did she know what he and Sage had spoken about? 

Scar must've felt Grian's tenseness, as he spoke quietly. "Do you know what she's talking about, G?" Before he could answer, however, the other spoke again.

"I told him that you wouldn't dare come here after he threatened the life of your dear friend Mumbo. And you even brought another person! How stupid are you, truly?" She laughed, a high-pitched cackle. With every syllable, the voice seemed to be growing louder.

Scar grabbed the sleeve of Grian's sweater and turned the brit towards him. "Grian, you know something. What do you know?" 

"Oh and the one you brought was Scar. How fun is that?" A silhouette formed in the distance. As it drew nearer and nearer it became clearer what the sound was coming from. 

The lights flickered on and Scar let out a gasp from beside Grian as the figure said her next words. "Now, look what the cat dragged in."

The area washed over with light, to reveal a rather large, empty room composed entirely of smooth stone. There were a few off chairs, and some higher surfaces, making the room seem bigger than it was. There was a hallway in the back of the room, from which emerged a small cat with striking amber eyes. "J-Jellie?" 

The cat let out a laugh, which would've sounded sweet had her prior words not have existed. "Scar, I really would've thought you'd have figured it out by now."