The Silver Sun - A Hermitcraft Watcher AU

15

The library has been abandoned with haste, with the small group of survivors wasting no time to find a new hideaway. Hallways that had formally been swarming with former allies were quickly emptied, likely due to the fact that they were heading to capture the remaining hermits. It had been easy enough to slip out through the back exit of the library, the hard part now was to stay on the move and away from danger.

Footsteps sounded more like gunshots in the echoing hall, like at any moment someone could hear them. Silence hung heavy over the four, the thought of being caught making it near-impossible to even let out a squeak. It was terrifying, and even Mumbo, who was still adjusting to his new sense of freedom, remained quiet. It was like he could feel just how horrified his friends were, which quickly ruined the idea of conversation.

His eyes couldn't meet the faces of his friends. They wouldn't. The cheerful hermits he used to know looked so worn out, so exhausted, so sick of fighting the people they used to call friends. Grian was doing slightly better, Mumbo could tell that his return gave the builder hope, yet it was far from enough. The redstoner, although barely informed, knew enough to fear for his life. He had already been controlled once before, and he could only imagine what he had done.

So, Mumbo kept himself occupied by listening to the squeak of his shoes against the tile flooring, while admiring the stunning architectural design of the castle. It was clearly a combination of different hermit's style of building, most notably Bdubs and Scar, though it was clear that this castle took much more than two hermits to construct. The Brit wondered if he had helped. He couldn't quite remember.

Joe had suddenly stopped, he had been leading the group deeper into the heart of the castle. His attention was focused on a rather average-looking door, possibly leading to a closet of sorts. Nothing grand, which was the best place to hide out and regroup. He quietly opened the door just a bit, peering into the room through the crack. After a quick survey, he nodded at the three, the southerner waving his hand to invite the three inside.

It wasn't large, it seemed to be a storage room with discarded shulker boxes and building materials. The four could barely move, but it was the best place to hide out. "Okay," the poet whispered as he carefully shut the door to the closet. "I think we'll be safe in here...for now."

"Is it possible to give me an explanation on where we are?" Mumbo asked, his words hushed in a whisper.

"Some kind of kingdom that the watcher created. She invades servers, brainwashes the players, then burns the rest of the world, leaving nothing. We're trying to get the rest of the hermits back home safely." Grian explained, the builder rummaging through the many different shulker boxes to search for a weapon of sorts.

"Do you remember anything that could help us, luv?" Stress asked in a reassuring tone, placing a hand on the redstoner's shoulder. Sadly, he shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. The last thing I remember was talking to Grian at the barge, then everything else is blank. It's like I woke up from a bad dream.."

"Well, it's over, for now." Joe mentioned cautiously, "But I may have an idea. Those masks are obviously connected to the watcher, I mean, she can control or possess anyone who wears one. And the only way we could take one off is right after she possessed someone."

"There's no way that'll work again. Once she finds out Mumbo is on our side, she'll catch on." Grian pointed out, though the southerner shook his head.

"We don't need her to. This confirms that the watcher is connected to those masks, even more so than we first thought, and if we take her out, there will be no one to control our friends. Not only will we free the hermits, but we'll free everyone that's been forced under her control!"