Under The Helmet || Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 10

POV: Grian
Word Count: 806
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After that disappointing Hermit Challenges meeting, Grian decided he had to make a more foolproof plan. Or a simple plan that could be repeated easily. Either way, he couldn't let Mumbo and crew down after what he said during their last meeting.

So once again, he sat down to waste another couple of hours "planning" a scheme.

He thought maybe make an infinity room and use an invisibility potion to sneak up on him. But then he realised Xisuma would probably be high on the alert after their last encounter and wouldn't fall for it. Then he thought about cornering him while he was sleeping, then he remembered the Multiplayer Sleep datapack.

Finally, he just decided that he would buy an invisibility potion and sneak up on him while he was working. Surely he wouldn't be super alert after a whole day of building and grinding resources?

Yet again, he needed another person, as an assistant and lookout. Grian once again spoke to Stressmonster and GoodTimesWithScar at his base about the matter, but they were more... reluctant about it this time.

"Seriously mate," Stress said somewhat exasperatedly, "You had one task, and you messed it up!

"Just bear with me!" Grian tried to say, "I won't mess it up this time!"

"Grian...," Scar said, fiddling with his Hotbar nervously, "I'm kind of on Stress's side. We don't want to be part of this. We want to stay as friends with Xisuma. This isn't our task to complete." He added, with a hint of finality.

Grian saw red. Two of his great friends, refusing to aid him in a challenge that was so important to him? A challenge he had vowed to complete? They both had very reasonable and strong points, but he ignored that.

"Fine!" He shouted, "Fine! I'll ask someone more willing to help! You don't have to!"

The two exchanged guilty glances. Stress stepped forward and addressed Grian, "It's just-"

"IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HELP, I DON"T WANT YOUR HELP!" Grian screamed, "JUST LEAVE! I'LL ASK SOMEONE ELSE!"

The duo hesitated, then Scar and Stress reached for their rockets and flew out of the grassy courtyard of the small, slightly overgrown, Hobbit hole. Scar looked back over his shoulder, a look of pity on his face, but Grian turned away, staring at his glass villager building determinedly. 

After watching them retreat into the late afternoon sky, Grian exhaled heavily and collapsed onto the thick grass. He had just lost his temper at two of his good friends. What did I just do that for?

He looked around the grassy clearing he had created. He was starting to relax before a chorus of derpy villager "Hello"s punctured the silence. He grumbled and reached for his communicator, thinking for a few moments under the hot, jungle sun.

He decided to try calm, start over and call another of his friends to talk with.

>Grian: Hey Iskall

>Grian: Meet me at your omega tree of doom

>Iskall85: Yeah already there..?

>Grian: Cool

"Hi Iskall", Said Grian mock cheerfully about five minutes later, landing gracefully on the ground inside of Iskall's Omega Tree of Doom.

"Hey, Grian. What's up?" Asked Iskall, grinning widely as usual.

Grian swept the hollow oak trunk and admired its staggering beauty. In the early evening light, the dark shadows cast by the trunk caves looked picturesque. The winding wooden-slab staircase slowly climbing its way up the inside of the vast trunk fit perfectly with the design and mood of the build.

"Wow," Said Grian, awestruck by the incredible sight, "Thi-, this is truly spectacular!"

"Thanks!" Exclaimed Iskall, still smiling, "But it's nothing compared to your Mega Mansion of Doom, is it?

Grian looked up into Iskall's face and chuckled. "Hey, has anyone told you your face-belt looks like an olive?"

"Yeah... Say, what are you after? Because to complement my Mega building skills and criticise my red belt was hardly what you came here to do, was it?"

Grian hesitated, fiddled with the hemming of his sweater, and explained his rather rushed, un-thought-through and anti-full-proof plan to Iskall, who was left looking rather put out.

"So let me get this straight, you want to go and sneak into one of Xisuma's shops while he's restocking, I cover the entrance to make sure he can't escape, and you simply pull his helmet off?" Iskall said as dubiously as Stress and Scar, his enthusiastic grin faltering. Iskallman..! he thought, trying to stay cheerful.

Grian shrugged and tried to say as un-nervously as possible, "Can we just start now?"

"What, right now?!"

"Yeah," Grian responded. He passed Iskall some obsidian, "You'll be using this to block up the entrance." 

Iskall pocketed the obsidian and pulled out a sword and pickaxe, still utterly confused and trying to take in all of this information.

"Okay, let's do this!"