Iskall shivered as he walked through Hermitville. Was it always this cold here? He approached Sahara Street, frowning as the chill seemed to increase. He was just passing Grian's house when he heard it. It was a strange sound, almost like someone was crumpling up paper.

He paused, and glanced at Grian's house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, aside from the strange sense of cold. He shrugged it off. It was late evening, no need to worry. The cold was probably just a bug in the system.

Iskall walked down the street to his own house and entered, quickly finding what he was looking for. It was just a couple emerald blocks, since he needed a backup set of armour. He wondered if he should sleep first before heading to iTrade. Well, he slept last night, so he's in no danger of phantoms anyways.

He passed Grian's house on his way out, and paused again. This time, he saw what looked to be the source of the noise. Some strange black roots were creeping through the wood near the base of Grian's door.

Iskall reached his hand out to open the door, but stopped. He could hear faint sobbing from inside. Iskall froze and listened closer.

The crying sounded ragged, as if the person inside had been weeping for hours. Iskall felt a pang of worry go up his spine. Was that Grian? Is he okay? What could've happened? Iskall quietly pushed open the door, and his breath hitched.

Frost covered the walls, and thorny roots seemed to be overgrown, latching onto every chest and shulker in the room. Sitting with his back facing Iskall, was Grian. His shoulders shook with every sob. And lying in front of him was a very familiar redstoner.

_____________________________

Doc did not like his sleep to be interrupted.

So when someone broke his bed, yanking him out of his dreamless sleep, of course he was cranky.

"Dude why? M'trying to sleep!" He grumbled.

"It's an emergency Doc!"

Doc rubbed the sleep out of his one working eye and glanced up to see a very worried Iskall. "This better be one." He muttered, standing up.

Iskall grabbed his wrist and ran out of Area 77, Doc clumsily stumbling behind. Iskall finally stopped at the Sahara street sign. He pointed at Grian's house. "Just... Just do your thing. I'm gonna grab Scar." Iskall began to run towards the town's nether portal, leaving Doc with no explanation.

Doc sighed, clearly annoyed. The one time he slept in Area 77. Of course.

He shook his head and opened the door into Grian's house.

_____________________________________

Joe stumbled out of the Hermitville portal, running to Area 77. He was met with a very distraught Iskall.

"What happened? I heard there was an incident-"

"I wish I knew." Iskall replied. "As soon as Scar got to Area 77, he told me to wait outside."

Joe sat down next to Iskall. The sun was just peeking over the horizon. The other Hermits would wake up about now, unaware of what happened.

Another hour passed, and finally, Scar walked outside.

The two hermits perked up, hoping for good news.

"Mumbo is still unconscious, but we have his vitals stable for now. We can't say if he's getting better or not yet." Scar said, taking off his hat.

"And Grian?" Iskall asked.

Scar was quiet, choosing his words carefully. "He's with Mumbo. But he's not doing to well emotionally."

Iskall sighed, sitting back down.

"But Doc found this with Mumbo." Scar added, holding up a book and quill. He handed it to Joe. 

Joe opened it. "It looks like therapist notes. About Grian."

"So that's why Mumbo was there. But what happened?" Iskall wondered.

Scar sat down next to Iskall. "I guess you'll have to ask Grian. Doc's not allowing any visitors at the moment, and I agree with his decision. You two should head off, I'll inform you if anything happens."

_________________________________

Grian was still shaking. He'd actually hurt someone. He'd hurt Mumbo.

And now, looking at his unconscious friend, guilt surged through him. Mumbo was very pale, and was hooked up to a couple machines to measure his vitals. His fingers were tinged purple as well. In short, he looked terrible.

And it was Grian's fault.

"Please Mumbo..." He muttered hoarsely. "Please, wake up..."