Iskall kept forgetting he had Grians sweater. He wasn't even sure why he had it, or why it felt like such a secret, but he had it and it was soft, and he used his bag as a pillow because of it.

Of course, he had to focus on the task at hand- not getting stabbed by a very determined False. In the past few days, she had honed her skills and then some, her actions sharp and precise, deadly to all those that opposed her.
Which, currently, was Iskall. And he was trying his best to not become the next scabbard for False's blade.

"Guys, I think I wanna call a meeting." Scar said, walking towards the duel while staring down at his book full of notes. Doc threw an arm out to stop Scar in his tracks, and the poor wizard bonked right into it.
"Doc!" He whined.

"Look where you're walking." The cyborg replied, pointing to the flashing blades moving too fast for Scar to keep track.

"Oh. Er-thanks for the save. Anyway- meeting in 10? I gotta tell everyone else."

"Want us to help? We're pretty much done here." False said calmly, holding Iskall at sword point almost casually. She won the duel. Again.

Scar eyed the scene before deciding not to ever make False angry and nodded. "That'd be great, yeah."

It wasn't long after that everyone was in the new meeting room, thanks to the efforts of the four-person build team that had been working tirelessly.

"While I still don't know much about the condition of the Fae realm since the only information I have is from Grian's books, I can't say for certain what lies ahead." Scar started, glancing over the crowd of everyone before him. "If some of you decide to stay here once we're done in this meeting, I don't blame you.
"But what I do know is that magic there is running low and that has led to one person overthrowing the courts and taking up solitary rule to address the matter. His methods are rather brutal and we must be careful.
"If any of you have red clothing, wear it- the fae cannot see people in red until they make noise. Never give out your real name, instead use a nickname or a fake one. Iron will burn the fae, but if your diamond sword is better, bring that. Or both, if you can manage to duel wield." Scar listed off, his tone deadly serious. "They can use glamour to disguise themselves, so be aware of the fact that they might use our own faces against us."
Had the words come from anyone else in any other scenario, they would have been laughed off. But the hermits has to trust Scar and the fact that faeries are real. It was all they had.

"Any questions?"

No one spoke up. They knew that a fight was coming, and that some of them might not make it.

Xisumas party grew while Scars shrunk as more people decided that they shouldn't go- that less was better, more stealthy, less noticeable.
Less people meant it was less likely for someone to be the weak link.
Scar understood perfectly well.

~~~~

Mumbo picked up on the different way to create inventions rather quickly. Maybe it was the fact that Grian had taught the redstoner well, maybe it was the fact that it was muscle memory.

Already he had made a small flying model of a faerie, watching with wonder as the runes etched into the pieces lit up in sequence, letting the metal faerie bat it's wings to steer itself about.

"See, you got it!" Grian cheered on Mumbo, smiling with wonder at the metal faerie. The redstoner pulled out the crystal that was powering it and the glow of the runes faded from sight.

"I get the feeling that making an automaton is easier than figuring out how to make magic." Mumbo sighed, turning over the faerie automaton in his hands.

"You're right. Even the research team has nothing. They tried using an improved version of an old charm to power crystals like that one and use that as a power source. It kinda works, but it's still not a renewable source."

"You said that this had been a problem for years- I don't think that we'll be able to solve the problem in a few days."

"But the less time we spend here, the better. They're probably worried about us, Dust. Time isn't the same here. It's faster. So we've probably been gone for a few months now, despite it being only a couple of weeks for us." Grian explained sadly, his hands fidgeting with the cover of a book as he fluttered about the room, his feet just barely above the floor.

"-and hes right in here if you'd like to speak with him." Came Lemur's voice from the hall, growing louder as she flew closer. The weird thing was that she seemed to be speaking to someone, and that person was walking- not flying. Which meant they weren't fae, or couldn't fly.

Grians brain reeled with realisation. This person likely knew him, and couldn't fly.
"Blue?" He asked nervously, flitting over to the entrance of the library, his conversation with Mumbo finished.

"You're kidding me-you weren't lying."

That was his voice, no doubt about it. "Blue!" Grian flew out into the hallway, a smile on his face as an all too familiar friend stared back.
Taurtis.