With the new book Iskall gave him, Scar read.
A lot.
He always had a book open in front of him, his other hand holding a pencil to jot down notes and translations that he thought would be useful, spells to look into later and the history of Fae magic. He needed the information to keep everyone safe.
The other hermits tried to help, offering to read the runes without realising they weren't galactic and giving up easily.

Stress often brought Scar tea and food, both going uneaten because he didn't want to accidentally dirty the book.
Too many cups of coffee near his books back in the guild taught him that much.
She cast worried looks over her shoulder towards Scar whenever she came around- he looked like a skeleton. Pale and gaunt, his eyes always staring at runes on a page and a growing shadow under his eyes. She didn't think he slept much anymore.

False trained with Doc and Iskall a lot- more than she probably should be. She woke early and went to bed late, every hour in-between spent with her sword in hand and determination in her eyes. It wasn't really clear who she'd be fighting, but she damn well knew what she was fighting for and that was enough.
Once a hermit, always a hermit.
She smiled bitterly, putting her energy back into trying to stab Doc...in a friendly way.

Xisuma, Cleo, Joe and TFC worked on building more houses in the jungle, carefully attaching them to the tree trunks since Grian wasn't here to manipulate the vines around. The group worked fast and in a few days, they already had 6 little cottages so everyone could spread out.
Trying to fit 20 or so people into 2 minuscule houses didn't go well the first night and everyone discovered just how loud Iskall snored.
The expansion was necessary, especially since Xisuma would be staying behind with a small group to watch the portal.
And to try and spare as many people from Iskall as physically possible. The guys snores sounded like a train horn.

Cub had travelled back to his pyramid to gather some basic supplies to bring back, his mind racing with ideas for surveillance and little quality-of-life improvements. Wouldn't it be great to have a farm in the canopy so they'd never have to touch the sickly ground?
So Cub set to working on it, spending hour after hour perfecting the design. Who knew how long they'd be watching the portal after all?

~~~~

Scar felt guilty.
Here he was, leading the hermits into the fae realm and he had no clue what was awaiting them on the other side.
Maybe Grian left because he wanted to.
Maybe this was a pointless expedition.

And yet, as he stared out the window at the other hermits, it all felt right somehow. That they were gonna be okay.
Somehow.

The wizard sighed, turning back to his book at hand, the 8th one this week. He didn't remember when he last slept.

The group was relying on him to keep them safe- he had to protect them all. He needed to know more about the fae to do so. He'd push himself to the limit and then a little bit more to accomplish the impossible task. He wouldn't rest, reading runes until he learned them all, burning candles so low that they nearly lit the table on fire- he'd do anything to keep the hermits safe.

He had bags under his eyes.

He hadn't slept in so long.
God, he felt so tired- just a little nap wouldn't hurt? No- one more page, one more page, he could do it.
Just one more.

The fae are some of the best when it comes to creating new ways to use magic. In recent times, Red has created upwards of 30 charms and 50 spells within a few years. One of his latest charms is an improved and refined version of a preexisting charm. The charm allows fae magic to be stored inside crystals for an indefinite period of time with little to no adverse affects.
The magic doesn't deplete over time like the old one did. Instead it utilises the crystals intrinsic power to keep the magic contained rather than pull the energy from the held magic itself, leading to a much slower depletion of magic. The uses of this charm are not fully explored, but a common one is within weaponry, embedding a charged crystal into the handle or blade to allow for a powerful magic attack with no casting time. These are often one-time-use unless the physical crystal is able to be reached to be recharged.
An alternative use is as staff foci for spells, allowing for much more powerful results.
However, these crystals- if used in the context of spell casting- will eventually run out of magic and need to be charged, though much slower than in traditional weaponry.

Spell casting?
Crystals?
Staff foci?
Too much lined up with his own crystals.
Scar pulled out his crystals from his robe pocket, studying them in a new light.

How had he never noticed it?
There were runes swirling about inside the gem itself. More specifically, fae runes.

He knew how to open the rift.