Words Unspoken - A Hermitcraft Story

The Engineers

Mumbo made it back to the castle with no more fanfare, thoughts of what he was to do invading his mind. He easily excused himself from Grian's side, the prince was far too focused on his new kittens. Now, he sat in one of the many hidden servants' tunnels in the castle.

The rough cobble scratched his back as he leaned against the wall but the floor was smooth with thousands of steps being taken on it every day. It was slightly damp, and warm. Probably because he was near the kitchens.

"Mumbo?"

"What?"

"What are you doing down here?"

Mumbo looked up. Quite a scary figure stood over him. A creeper hybrid with a mechanical eye and arm, dark brown hair, wearing black pants and a white coat. This was Doc, the resident redstone master. Mumbo and Doc had been taught together, working side by side to grow into their powers. Doc, however, grew to be a much better redstoner than Mumbo, capable of tearing apart cities with just a little bit of dust and magic.

"Just having a moment. Nothing much."

"Sure..." Doc reached out his non-metal hand and helped pull Mumbo to his feet. "Did Tango hurt you?"

Mumbo yanked his hand away from his old friend. "How did you know it was Tango?"

Doc sighed. "It's always Tango when you have this look."

"Oh. Sorry, Doc. It's just..."

"What did he ask you to do?"

Mumbo hesitated, but gave in. There was nothing else he could do. "He wants me to disable all of the redstone in the castle at a specific time."

An excited glint appeared in Doc's eye. "But that would be nearly impossible. Unless..." Doc ran off down the tunnel, with Mumbo scrambling to follow behind him. They run down some tunnels and up some stairs. Doc turned sharply down a corner and Mumbo slowed to a stop when he saw that Doc had stopped running. They were in a tiny hallway, with only a single door at the end. Doc, without a moment of hesitation, pulled a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and walked in the room. Mumbo followed, his mind moving faster than he just ran.

The room was small and scrupulously organized. The only thing not clean was the board on the very right side of the room. It took up the entire wall, and was filled top to bottom, left to right, with different circuits, magic power sources, and other revolutionary ideas. But it all disappeared with a couple swipes of a dusty rag. The board was blank, ready for anything.

Mumbo could only watch as Doc took up a thin piece of chalk and began writing. His hand couldn't move as fast as his mind, and the chalk took the punishment. Whenever one of the soft sticks broke, he tossed down the broken piece on the floor, and grabbed another one as if it didn't bother him at all. It was fascinating, really, how Doc could make his ideas come alive. Even as simple drafts, Mumbo could see the genius in each stroke.

"Wait." Mumbo exclaimed as he spotted a small rune near a completely different circuit drawing. He grabbed a piece of chalk, and began writing. Each stroke gave a satisfying clack and scrape as his idea came to life.

Beside him, Doc stopped writing. "Wait... that could work." He grabbed the rag again, brushing away everything but where Mumbo was writing. The redstoner nodded along with the rhythm of Mumbo's strokes and began writing beside his old friend. The pair always were good at working together with no talking between the two. It was like an old song the pair had sung a thousand times before.

When they were done, the wall was filled, a collection of drawings and writings that no one but the pair would understand.

"This could definitely work." Mumbo whispered.

"No Mumbo," the creeper said as he turned to his friend, "this will work."

"What time is it?"

Doc looked at his clock. "About an hour before sundown."

"We gotta move. Do you have an extra quick-kit?"

Doc nodded, and opened a trunk by his workstation. He swiftly grabbed two sturdy leather bags and tossed one to Mumbo, slinging the other over his shoulder. "Do you want southside or northside?"

"I'll take... south. Meet back here?"

Doc nodded.

"See you soon, old friend." And Mumbo ran out the room, moving across the hidden halls with no hesitation. 

~~~

Doc watched Mumbo rush out of the room with a sinking feeling in his gut. Tonight was not going to end well. But that was not his problem. Right now, he had to focus on helping Mumbo. He gave his wall one more look, and walked out of his room, locking the door behind him.

The creeper always walked with purpose, even if he didn't have any. But tonight he did, and his steps pushed him forwards as fast as he could risk. Mumbo ran everywhere all the time. No one would suspect anything of him. But Doc? Doc never ran. And if he did, something was wrong. They would definitely suspect something of him. So he walked.

Fortunately, Doc was known for messing about the redstone in the castle. Even though he wasn't officially employed, he had a key to every redstone room in the castle. Mumbo did as well. So when he made it to the main hall's back room, no one thought a thing as he slid a silver key into the lock and twisted it. No one thought anything. Notch, when did he get this paranoid?

He walked into the dim room and closed the door behind him, bathing the room in shadows. He breathed in and breathed life into the redstone in the room. Tiny lines of maroon dust lit up, casting flickering light all over the room. Here. Here is where he was at home.

"Hello." Doc chuckled to himself. He set his bag down, pulling the components he needed out of his quick-kit. It had everything he needed to fix up basic circuits to build entirely new machines. As long as they weren't too complicated that is.

He pulled the magical aura closer to him, trying to relax. Fortuanantly, it worked, and Doc was able to get to work. The red dust stuck to his hands and clothes as he pulled at the magical strands. It felt so right, the magic, the power. More right than any people made him feel. All they saw was a freak. Save a few.

It was only about five minutes later when he stood up, uttering the final word needed to prime the new circuit.

"∴ᔑ╎ℸ ̣"

The dust glowed brighter for a second before dimming back down to its usual level. Doc walked back out of the room, locking it behind him. He checked the time, and began to walk faster to the next room. He had much to do.

He was able to get fourteen rooms done, getting faster each time. He rushed back to his room, Mumbo already there waiting.

"We ready?"

"All that's left is hope."

The pair watched the clock as if it would implode, not taking their eyes off the ticking metal hands. Three minutes left. Two. One.

"You remember what to say?"

Doc took a deep breath. "I do."

Just a couple more seconds. Now.

"ᔑᓵℸ ̣ ╎⍊ᔑℸ ̣ ᒷ" The pair spoke together. They held a breath, not daring to make a sound. And the castle was bathed in darkness. Even the fires, which were controlled by the castle's redstone, went out. Not even the backup lines lit.

Doc and Mumbo looked at each other with childish smiles.

"We did it."

"I told you it would work." Doc said with a smirk.

"Shut up." Mumbo paused. "I have to go find Grian. Thank you Doc." And he ran away with no further word. Doc was left alone, wondering if he had done the right thing. 

1305 Words