Somehow, he knew Grian would be back. So when the initial shock of finding the cage empty faded away, Scar made his way back to Larry.

He was greeted with a small wave from Mumbo before the man went back to staring out the window.

"Would you like tea?" Scar asked gently, setting a kettle over the fireplace all the same.
Mumbo didn't reply and Scar sighed woefully.
"You must have a lot of questions, right? If you want me to, I can try my best to answer them."

"He escaped, didn't he." Came Mumbo's curt reply, the words frosty and cold.

Scar gulped and nodded. "Vines cover his base now. He used them to break the bars."

"Good for him.
"I'm not happy that you used me like that, Scar." Mumbo said as he turned around slowly to face the wizard. "I only agreed because he pranked my house too. I thought you were planning a prank in retaliation. Not this entire mess." He sighed.

Scar was silent, suddenly feeling very guilty for his actions. He didn't think, didn't know that it would lead to this. And now Grian was missing and it was because Scar didn't know when to stop. Grian was missing because of Scar. The other hermits would hate him. Mumbo probably already does.

Ignorant to Scars thoughts, Mumbo continued. "Why didn't you tell me what you were gonna do? Why did you lie to my face like that?" He wasn't yelling. In fact, his words were so quiet that they could barely be heard. And yet, somehow, they carried anyway, the disappointment and confusion etched into every sound that poured from his lips, etched into the expression he wore.
"I thought you were a good person, Scar. Was I wrong?"

That did it. Scar bit his lip as silent tears fell down his face. He didn't bother to wipe them away. He really messed up, didn't he?
"B-before you judge me t-too harshly." He started, tripping over his words as he cried.
"At least hear where I'm coming from?"

Mumbo looked about the room, taking in all the small details of the space, purposefully avoiding looking at Scar. Letting out a sigh, he finally met the wizards eyes and sat down, recognising the olive branch and accepting it.

"My world was full of magic. Some of it was stored away, but most of it was used to run massive cities with schools for us to study it. We were dependent on magic to keep us going from day to day. It was how we worked, I guess.

"I was part of a guild- a group of wizards who used our magic to help those who were weaker. Usually this meant fighting, but sometimes it was small jobs, like finding a missing pet, or gathering resources that they couldn't. We used our magic for good.
"If someone got hurt, we had healers to fix them. If someone went missing, we could usually track their magic to find them. Sometimes bandits would try to fight us, and we had to fight back, but we meant good. We helped others. We helped those in need." Scar said softly, pouring Mumbo a cup of tea and then one for himself before he sat down.

"One day, the sky tore open and dozens and dozens of winged people came through it. They called themselves "faeries." The one who looked in charge was a tall man, with a crown of dying flowers on his head and armour made of twigs and leaves. He had an army of faeries behind him, most of them with crude weapons and dark wings. For no reason at all, he just pointed towards my guild hall and the faeries flew at it, tearing it to the ground.
"I don't know what they did to my guild mates, but they were different. Their eyes were hollow, emotionless, not a spark of life in them. They were alive, sure, but it was like they had their personalities stolen. They couldn't do magic. They could barely muster the energy to speak.
"And when one flew at me, pinned me to the ground as its eyes grew wide, I think the only reason I was okay was because my magic isn't inside me. It's in the tools I use, so the faerie didn't take anything from me." Scar pulled out a handful of small crystals and set them on the table. "See- my magic is in these. I use them as foci for my staff so I can cast spells." He explained before pocketing them again.

"The faeries came to my world and stole magic from everyone they could. Those of us left who could fight weren't strong enough to do so.
"Most people went into hiding. They acted like the hollow, empty people that roamed the streets. I ran. Used a good portion of my magic to escape to here and never look back." Scar finished, looking down at his cup as his words trailed off into a whisper.

Mumbo studied Scar with an unreadable expression before speaking softly.
"So that's why you acted like that to Grian."

Scar nodded.

"I'm guessing Grian has a similarly sad story. He seemed sad to end his friendship with you- I doubt he wouldn't have felt that way if that wasn't the case." Mumbo said. "So while I understand why you did what you did, I can't stand with you."

The wizard looked up at Mumbo, betrayal clear as day in his eyes. He thought that Mumbo would understand, would believe him and support his actions.

"You forced a secret from Grian, trapped him in a cage, and lied to me just so I would help you. He's done nothing wrong, Scar, he's hiding from his past just as much as you, or Iskall, or Keralis, or I am." Mumbo explained, a frown on his face. "We're hermits after all. We look for shelter and a helping hand. You went against what we all stand for. And I can't accept that." He said with a sad air of finality, casting one last glance over his shoulder as he stood in the doorframe of Scars house.
"Thank you for the tea." And like that, Mumbo was gone, the door shut behind him.

Scar picked up the two cups and walked to the sink to clean them. He stared down at them, one empty with tea leaves stuck to the bottom, the other full and a dark shade of brown.
Mumbo didn't even drink his cup.