A Crown of Broken Runes (ACOBR)

Close Encounter

There was another tall structure in the shopping district. It was full of the porous yellow stone that had filled the crater, and purply mist hovered about its base. Bdubs knew that this massive new stature was the real deal. None of them even knew what the yellow stone and fog were, let alone used it in a build. He had gotten word from Scar that when they followed the directions of the first temple, they were met with an explosive puzzle. Now, he wanted in.

Can't let everyone else have all the fun!

He hopped up, and flew up into the skies, on his way to see which of his friends he could recruit.

~ ⬩ 𝙹ꖎ↸. ⬩ ~

"Hi Impulse!" Bdubs exclaimed eagerly as he glided over the ocean toward his friend.

"Hey! How ya doing buddy?" Impulse replied with a smile, setting down a piece of glass.

"Pretty good! Pretty good, actually!" He answered, the words soaring off his lips. He took off his elytra and folded it neatly. The straps always dug into his shoulders oddly, so he took it off when he wasn't using it.

His friend was just finishing putting glass casing around a huge pole. A strip of lights coiled around it in one direction, and a band of blue concrete spiralled the opposite way. There were four of them attached to the base of a large white and grey pyramid. At the top of each pillar, lay a huge disk. The massive structure rose out of the deep ocean blue, kelp and seagrass thriving around its foundation.

"Have you heard about the weird stuff that's happening? This- it's- I- I- it's so cool!" Bdubs stumbled over his words, breathing heavily.

"Woah there Bdubs," Impulse laughed," slow down. It's not all cool, is it? I saw what happened to Keralis in the crater. There was some kind of puzzle, wasn't there?"

"Yeah! And- and there's another! C'mon! C'mon! Let's go! " He attempted to jump off the edge, but Impulse grabbed his arm, chuckling.

"Alright, I'll go. But Bdubs," he conceded, "You'll probably need an elytra..." He pointed at Bdubs' shoulders, bare of any elytra, trying to keep his laughter at bay. He gave up. Both men slumped against the wall, wheezing with laughter and trying to regain their breath.

Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, Bdubs straightened up.

"Alright! Let's go!" Bdubs strapped on his elytra and shot a good-natured glare at Impulse. In response, Impulse rocked with another wave of laughter.

~ ⬩ ℸ ̣⍑ᒷ ⬩ ~

"GRIANNNN! Grian, are you there buddy?" Impulse banged upon the large wooden doors one last time.

Bdubs was peering in one of the dark windows.

"I don't think he's there, he's not home..."

Impulse sighed in disappointment.

"I wonder why."

Shortly after they had taken off, Impulse had suggested that they bring Grian along too. Bdubs had agreed. The waffle-haired wonder would be a welcome addition to their little adventuring party, but his base seemed to be deserted.

The two hermits flew down to the main storage and interior of the mansion, gliding gracefully between the two stone staircases on either side of the entrance.

The hermits breathed in sharply. The place was a mess. Pearlescent, light purple feathers were strewn about. Shulker boxes were scattered, helter-skelter about the place, and a brand-new desk in the corner had sheets of paper spilling off of its gleaming surface.