The Chained Watcher

The Main Plane

Grian was working on his base when his communicator vibrated. Did someone need his help on something?

<<<HubAnnouncement>>>: Alert!!! Another portal has opened up in the main hub!!! Volunteer explorers please report as soon as possible!!!

Apparently not. Has Minecraft linked up to the main planes again?

<Xisuma>: Server meeting, anyone who's planning on volunteering please tell me BEFORE you leave, looking at you, Grian.

<Grian>: You know me so well~

Flying towards the portal, he was joined by several other hermits. Some of them were probably just being nosy, even if they weren't planning to head out themselves, but the company was always welcome.

Pulling up for a landing, he saw several other hermits gathered in front of Xisuma chatting casually. The admin noticed them arrive and waved them over, clearing his throat once all the hermits had gathered.

"Alright, I think you are all aware of the reason for the server meeting this time, right?" Nods from his audience. "This is the second time this has happened, but don't expect it to behave the exact same. Think of it like world spawns, one world may be in the desert, another on a lone mountain in the middle of an ocean. If you are planning to join the expedition, please, please remember that you won't be on a server. There's no respawn, and people natively inhabit those lands who might not be happy with our outpost, so play it safe. Never leave the base alone, and until we get a proper translator up and working, try to avoid interactions with the locals."

Everyone smiled slightly at their admin's cautioning words, knowing it was just him showing he cared. With that over, they made their way through the hub to where the cordon had been placed. Officials were directing the players towards either volunteer seats or observer bleachers in an attempt to keep the crowd from reaching critical mass. A massive clock had been set up above the portal, and was slowly ticking down towards go time.

Finally, the clock chimed, reverberating through the horde and bringing about a weighted silence. Today's announcer climbed up to the podium, looking around before they started speaking.

"How are we doing today?" The crowd roared. "Good to hear! I assume you all know what we're here for today, so I'll get the boring stuff over first." Groans rang out sporadically. "Yes, yes, you know what I mean. This is not a server, so respawn will not be enabled. The locals are not guaranteed to be friendly, and we cannot promise everyone will make it out alive. If any of the volunteers wish to back out knowing this, please do so now."

None of them moved, just staring while waiting for the disclaimer section to be over. "Alright then, boring legal stuff is over! You lot know the drill, pick your faction. Builders, Explorers, and Fighters, same as last time. You're not going to be forced to stick just to what you pick, so just choose what you want to do most often."

The seating arrangement was shuffled around until the three teams had been formed, and the announcer continued. "Well, with that out of the way, we'll start with the same thing we did last time. Shield wall in front, secure the area, then scouts go out and map the surroundings. After that, the builders can come through and start fortifying the portal area."

Plan set, the most proficient combat-oriented players slowly pushed through the portal with a shield wall, braced for an unexpected impact. Nothing jumped out at them, so they started spreading out while letting the scouts in. Grian promptly took to the air, circling above the portal while scanning their surroundings for anything out of place.

First impressions can be deceiving. At first, it looked like they were in the middle of a thick forest, but just beyond that was a ring of mountains, and when he flew higher, beyond the mountains was the ocean. As far as defensible positions go, this was definitely very good, but exploration was going to be delayed until better travel options became available.