Scar opened the door of the study of the woodland mansion to Joe, looking up slowly from the giant book of Vex knowledge Scar had gifted him a few hours ago. Joe had a suspicious looking cardboard box sitting beside him, which was not there before.
"Hi Joe, how are you doing with that book?" He greeted.
"I'm almost half way through, how are you?"
"I'm great! Where's Cub?"
"I haven't a clue"
Scar paused and seemed to think for a second. It was strange that Cub hadn't returned from his trip yet, he probably just got sidetracked. A part of Scar's mind decided that Cub was definately in mortal peril. Scar dismissed that as anxiety for his friends. There had been no sightings of the Architechs since their kerfuffle a couple days ago, according to the Hermits Scar had asked during his trip. That was both a relief and concerning. Who knew what they were up to now? Where are they at?
Scar turned to the box on the table, wanting to know what was in the box, and how Joe went about obtaining it. It was just a box, but just a box could have nearly anything in it.
"So, what's in the box?"
"I haven't opened it yet. It was delivered to me by a nice man, who had a purple cape "
Purple capes were the signature of watchers. Scar knew Joe knew that was the case. The box suddenly got a whole lot more evil.
"So I guess we should open it?" Scar said uncertainly. What if it was a bomb? Or a tracking device? Or? Just open it, Scar
Joe nodded slowly, and shuffled a little bit futher away from the package. Guess I'll have to open it.
Scar slowly ripped the tape off of the top of the package, and lifted the flaps. The soft purple glow of a watcher artifact covered the room. What?
-=+=-
After a lot of thrashing about, Cub had loosened the ropes suspending him enough to swing to safety. At least that's what happens in movies. Cub tightly held onto the ropes, and swung once, twice, thrice. When his feet seemed to be at the edge of the lava lake, he let go and sailed through the air. Cub landed roughly against the wall, sliding down roughly. He lay in pain at the bottom of the wall for a while, and finally reopened his eyes and tried to walk.
That was a mistake. He instantly felt dizzy at the sudden movement, and fell back down into a sitting position. His wrists were rubbed raw by the swinging, a throbbing pain in his chest which might be broken ribs, a broken leg. It might not be best to walk in his current state. Cub gradually turned his head to the side, wincing at the nausea and dizziness that ensued. There was the exit, the blue sky taunting him. The smoke that he had been breathing suddenly seemed more constricting, and a couple weak coughs made Cub try again to stand. This time he managed to heavily lean against the rocky wall. He took it slow, one step at a time. Just had to get out of the volcano. The heat seemed to increase every step towards freedom. The vex kept his eyes focused on the rocky floor, tripping would be the last thing he needed.
Cub fell onto his knees in the impossibly cold wind of the lush forest outside the volcano. It took a couple of blinks to get used to the light sunlight instead of the light from the lava. He quickly set off a Vex blast into the sky with his remaining energy. Any Vexes would be able to know where it came from, even if they couldn't see the actual blast. With that, Cub lent against a tree and closed his eyes. He needed a rest after that.
-=+=-
Joe looked in the box in awe. It was a purple Watcher cape, glowing ambiently. It looked almost inviting, its soft purple glow surrounding the room. Joe knew it was a trap, but just feeling the silky fabric couldn't hurt right? Joe tentatively moved his hand towards the contents of the box, before it was grabbed by Scar. He firmly closed the box, and waved a hand in front of Joe's face. But Joe was long gone. He stared blankly into the distance, not blinking when Scar clicked his fingers or waved his hand in front of his face. Must be some sort of entrancement spell.
Joe snapped out of it. A sound like a firework went off near his head, and by Scar's reaction he heard it too. Joe knew exactly where it came from, near Hermitville but too far away for the Hermits to find. Scar and Joe looked at each other and equipped their elytras. Whatever had happened the moment before had to wait, Cub was in trouble.
-=+=-
Cub was safely recovering in a bed, Joe was sleeping away in another bed, and the Watcher cape had been thrown into lava. Scar couldn't sleep. He knew something was coming, and there had to be a reason Cub was unconscious next to a volcano. The watchers had a plan, and the Vex were utterly unprepared for any kind of battle. They needed a strategy, but no strategy could be created if everyone was asleep. Scar sighed and looked out the window. The sunrise was purple... Wait. It was the middle of the night. Why was a purple light covering the horizon? Why was it getting bigger? No, not bigger. Closer.
