The Chained Watcher

The Divergence of Paths

This chapter is mostly just closing up different plot points before we leave this world for good, so the segments may be shorter than usual.

~~~

Creeping quietly, the young Tier 1 Watcher Niblex keeps his eyes peeled and his ears strained, wary of any movements or sudden sounds. He absolutely isn't supposed to be here right now, but it's not his superiors that he's afraid of for once.

No, he's afraid of whatever did this.

Carefully, he does a wing-assisted hop over a fallen pillar, shying back when he almost steps on half of a wing. Yes, half. A Tier 2 lies next to it, dead as a doornail and in twice as many pieces. That's not the only corpse either. Littered around what used to be the temple of... Darkness, was it? No, wait, the carvings on part of a wall that's still standing are of a scythe and skull. Death, then. Morbidly fitting, now that everyone who had been here is now dead.

The few statues still standing give him the creeps. It's like they're watching him. He takes a moment to shake it off, dismissing the thought. They're just statues, idiot. Besides, if they were watching him, he'd be able to feel their gazes. He can't, so they're not, and he's just being paranoid.

His eyes fall on another Tier 2, a crystal chalice fallen on the ground next to it. The temptation to loot the object is strong... But no, he shouldn't. Not because it doesn't belong to him, but because he doesn't know when their killer may return. Only the Tier 3. He's only here to loot the Tier 3's stuff, and then he'll bail and hitch a ride with the next Tier 2 or 3 to flee as a subordinate, using some of the loot he gets from here to pay his way into their employ.

It takes him several long minutes to find the large corpse, and several more to drag enough pieces of rubble off of it to reach its pockets. It's tempting to search for the treasury too, but that is entirely dependent on whether or not the Tier 3 has enough to pay for his passage.

The first pocket is a bust, only containing the daily report, partially written, but the second has some better loot. A bit of gold, laced through with obsidian likely as a bored fidget toy, but still both decently valuable materials nonetheless. That's not guaranteed to be enough though.

Taking a risk, he sneaks further into the ruins, searching for wherever the main stash of goodies should be and praying silently that he doesn't catch anything's attention.

The storeroom's broken door hangs off its hinges, allowing him entry. Inside, there are a couple large chests, mostly locked, but one got its hinges busted by the remains of a large chandelier that didn't survive the attack. He opens it. His eyes light up. Jackpot!

Lifting up the orb triumphantly, he grins, admiring the object. Magical foci are always highly sought after, and one that ought to be for a Tier 3 will undoubtedly pay his way off the planet, no sweat!

Admiring his reflection in the smooth, misty sphere, he doesn't notice the near-silent steps walking up behind him.

The last thing he sees is a flash of bone-white teeth lunging for his head.

~~~

"So, it's time to head back, huh?"

Martyn rolls up the map with a sigh, rolling his shoulders as if that would get rid of the strange tugging feeling that softly entices him to return to Minecraft's portal.

"Well, I can't say this was unproductive, what with killing so many Watchers, but I really do wish we could have found where the Tier 5 is lairing."

"I know, right? I swear we checked everywhere it could be, but we didn't find it!"

Taurtis leans back in his chair, remarking, "We can leave it to whichever team comes to clear the planet. It's a pretty high priority due to the way it's dominating the planet, and if nothing else, studying how it went about it might yield some insight into how we might find planets like these in the future." He gives them a side-eye, asking 'casually', "And you two remembered to keep an eye on the aberrant Watcher? Not ignore it in favor of going after the temples?"