The Chained Watcher

Rescue

~~~

They were back in the cell. The Watcher had made more snide comments on their failed escape attempt, mocking them as they were locked back up. At least it was the same one they were in last time, so part of the floor is still broken.

After waiting for the Watcher to leave, Doc had gone back to setting up the redstone to break the floor. Iskall and Pearl were running lookout, and Scar was enchanting some spare glass he had in his inventory. Checking the HUD showed them it had nearly been 24 hours since they'd snuck out of base to go blow stuff up. Xisuma must be so worried...

"I got the next block down!"

Rushing over, Pearl looked at the enlarged hole. It had been widened, and was now two blocks deep in the middle, would they be able to get out now? Her pick was raised, and she prayed that this time it would work. Down it went. The block did not break. She slumped, staring blankly at it.

"You know what, it's not like I've got anything better to do. If it's not going to break with one swing, then I'll just have to swing it ten times. Ten times doesn't work? A hundred swings then."

"I'll stay here and listen for footsteps. Getting caught with a hole in the floor isn't something I want to discover the consequences for."

Half an hour was spent on their various tasks, with Doc trying to design a machine that would break a block to its side rather than directly below it, Scar enchanting more glass into crystals, and Pearl beating on an unbreakable block with her pickaxe. Iskall, in charge of keeping watch, hissed a warning to them.

"I hear something, hide the evidence!"

Doc picked up all his redstone materials, Scar hid his crystals, and Pearl filled in the floor with her own bricks. Come to think of it, those bricks might actually be from the temple they blew up earlier. Footsteps could be heard now, and shortly after the door was opened, revealing the Watcher.

"Oh, no escape attempt this time? Pity, it looks like that was a one time trick." It tossed a sack of glass chunks to Scar. "Show me how you fill them with magic." He looked down at the glass uncertainly. "You appear to be misunderstanding something. This is not a request. You will fill them with magic, or your friends will pay the consequences."

"I-I'll do it..." Scar sat down, pulling out one of the colored glass bits from the sack and pushing magic through it. The blue glass gained a slight shimmer to it, and he held it out.

"It's an air bubble crystal. I use them to extend how long I can hold my breath for."

"Again."

Next was a red one. "Health boost, it increases the natural resistance against getting sick."

"Again."

"Poison resist, self explanatory. I can't enchant many more before I run out of magic."

"Again."

"Speed boost, it lets you move a little faster."

"Again. Purple."

"It's a poison bomb, like the flashbang I tried to use before. The poison is barely strong enough to cause mild nausea and light coughing."

The Watcher swept up the new crystals with magic, leaving without another word. Behind it, the door closed with a heavy thump, leaving the hermits by themselves in their cell. They listened to the footsteps fade before going back to what they had been doing. Iskall swapped with Pearl so she could give her arms a break, leaving her as the lookout this time around.

Another hour passed before the Watcher returned, again making Scar enchant the glass into crystals before leaving. Half an hour past that, something changed. A pained screech echoed down the hall, sounding both distant and very loud and harsh.