Underlined text = Chat messages

Note: All the hermits have communicators. Most hermits wear them as watches, but some use them as phones or walkie-talkies.

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Grian stepped through the portal.

As if the portal contradicting the rules of the universe wasn't strange enough, where it took him was almost even stranger.

Grian found himself in a stronghold. Looking around, he realized that the portal was gone. It had simply vanished... or it had never existed in the first place. Either one was unsettling. The strange urge Grian had felt drawing him to and through the portal was gone, replaced with confusion. He wandered aimlessly around the stronghold, wondering why there were no signs of other hermits.

Grian's confusion only deepened when he found the portal room of the stronghold and discovered that the portal was unlit. The entire stronghold had seemed unexplored, with no hints that another hermit had been there before, but this cemented Grian's suspicions. It was very late in the season for this stronghold to not have been found. He wouldn't have been nearly so worried about it if it hadn't been for the strange feeling that had drawn him here.

Grian was almost relieved that he didn't have any ender eyes on him. He didn't really want to know what was beyond the portal. 

I just want to go home. This is all so strange, Grian thought. Distracted by thoughts of today's strange events, he forgot what made strongholds so dangerous.

Silverfish.

Grian absentmindedly mined a block of the wall and was quickly jolted out of his thoughts by the tiny gray mob.

Oh, queen's crown... 

Out of reflex, Grian hit it with his sword, killing it, but the damage had been done.

Hundreds of wriggling gray things came out of the walls. Grian quickly built a tower out of a few spare blocks from his inventory and assessed the situation. 

He didn't have the gear he normally would have taken to a stronghold, having only planned to restock the barge. He had a couple of shulker boxes of things that would be completely useless against the silverfish- oh shoot, he'd brought his valuables box, what had he been thinking?- a set of netherite tools, a stack of food, his elytra, and some fireworks. No real combat equipment, besides his sword. 

This is gonna take a while. Grian sighed and began hitting the silverfish. Each death seemed to bring ten more of the annoying creatures, and he stopped after a few minutes. Killing them only seemed to multiply them. Jeez, these things are like the heads of a hydra, kill one and two more take its place, Grian thought in annoyance.

He built up his tower another block. His head would have touched the ceiling if he'd been taller, but of course it didn't, since he was Grian. Grian sat down atop the stack of blocks and watched the silverfish attempt to jump at him. At least the things couldn't climb.

Well, I'll have to ask for help, Grian realized. There was no way he could fight this many silverfish on his own. But asking for help would require giving an explanation as to why he was here, and Grian didn't know himself. Checking his coordinates, he realized two things. Firstly, why no one had found this stronghold. It was hundreds of thousands of blocks away from world spawn, twice as far as the farthest base was. He didn't know if any hermits had been out this far. He certainly hadn't. And that brought with it the second realization. It would take hours for help to arrive anyway. 

But how had the portal brought him there? Grian hadn't gone that far inside the nether, he knew it. Even in the Nether, a journey that far would've taken hours. That wasn't important at the moment, though.

What would he do?

Grian just stopped and laughed at the situation. Here he was, a professional Minecrafter, and he was bested by a swarm of silverfish. 

Grian just waited.

----

(time skip of a day)

"Hey, have you seen Grian?" Mumbo asked Cleo.

"Nope, sorry!" Cleo replied.

Mumbo had been looking for Grian for hours. He was getting a horrible sense of déjà vu. He was sincerely hoping he wouldn't find his friend flying aimlessly above the shopping district with pale skin and dusty wings. 

"Okay, thanks Cleo," Mumbo told her as he flew off.

Just then, his watch buzzed.

----

Xisuma: hey mumbo have u seen grian?

Mumbo Jumbo: no ive been looking for him all day and cant find him either.

Xisuma: thats not good

Grian: oh sry to worry u guys

Mumbo Jumbo: grain! where have u been!

Grian: whos this grain character

Mumbo Jumbo: very funny

Xisuma: grian where are u

Grian: kinda busy

Mumbo Jumbo: you tell me where u are right now or else

Grian: ok ok 

Grian shared their coordinates.

Xisuma: what are you doing there???

----

Should he tell them? Should he ask for their help?

Grian didn't know. He didn't want them to ask...

The silverfish decided for him. One of them finally managed to latch on to his foot. I can't stay here forever, Grian realized. He was getting tired having been stuck on this pillar for an entire day. Sooner or later, they would get him.

Grian: long story but i need some help do you guys mind

Mumbo Jumbo: x you wanna...?

Xisuma: ill meet you at your base asap

Grian felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. I hope they get here soon...