Those Who Whisper Always Lie

Chapter 14

"HEY!" Grian yelled down the seemingly endless hallway. It was dark, really dark. Grian wished he had a night vision potion on him, but since he doesn't, he slowly stepped down the hallway. His hand reaching out to touch the wall beside him. It was smooth and cold... like it was made out of a metal like iron or gold. He used the wall as a guide as he carefully made his way deeper and deeper into the darkness.

"Is there anyone here??" Grian's words echoed the hallway. Fear began to settle in as he took each step. Where was he? Was this a dream?.. it didn't feel like one.

"You wanted to speak with us?" A voice called out from behind.

Grian jumped and turned around, there was a glowing golden light that was vaguely human form. He squinted. Was this?? An actual Watcher??

"Yes, I am a Watcher, Grian. Excellent observation," the glowing being spoke.

Did Grian say that out loud? No, no, he's sure he didn't.

"I can read your mind while you're here," the Watcher responded.

That wasn't creepy at all. Grian shook his head. It was about all he could do. He felt like he was frozen in place. He wanted to get answers from the Watchers, but he didn't think they would just show up like this. It was convenient... and terrifying at the same time.

"W-Who are you?" Grian stuttered out, trying to seem confident and failing miserably.

The Watcher chuckled at the boy's nervousness, "I am merely a messenger. I am here on the behalf of the King and Queen."

King and Queen? The Watchers had royalty? Grian tilted his head, all his questions seemed to disappear. What did he want to ask again? Oh right...

"Who are you guys? Like.. The Watchers?"

"Who are we?" They repeated, they moved their hand up to their chin... or what Grian thought was their chin, "We're interdimensional beings that travel world to world. But I'm sure you wanted a more deeper answer than that... Didn't you Grian? Maybe the question you should be asking is 'what do we do?' or perhaps, 'what do we want?' Hmm?"

Grian looked towards the ground... or the lack of ground. It was dark like the rest of the hallway. He could feel the floor beneath his feet, but couldn't see it at all. He hated this.

The Watcher smiled at the boy, they've obviously seen this all before, "You assume we're the bad guys and by what you've been told, I don't blame you. The Listeners are sly, yes?" The Watcher paused, "You like birds don't you, Grian?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"Do you know what's the one thing you can never feed a parrot?"

"Cookies..."

"Yes. Chocolate in particular are bad for parrots... but the silly birds want to steal the cookies straight from your hands. They don't understand how it's bad for them, they just see you being mean and not giving them what they want."

Grian looked up at the golden being, where were they going with this?

"Sometimes, players are the exact same way. They don't understand us... and why we do the things we do... and they assume we're evil and mean."

Grian was at a lost for words. What the Watcher was saying made sense, but Taurtis... his story... Grian didn't know who to believe! Who were the bad guys? Grian felt his heart race... he didn't know what to do.

"Grian?"

"Grian?"

"Grian?"

"Grian!"

His eyes fluttered open. He was... sitting up on his bed? In front of him was Pearl and Xisuma. Pearl a bit closer to him than X. How long were they there?

"Grian! You've been zoned out for awhile!" Xisuma stepped closer to him.

"Oh.. was I?" He placed his hand behind his neck, nervously.

"What happened??" Pearl innocently tilted her head.

To tell them... or to not tell them? Did Pearl even know anything about the Watcher and Listener situation? Grian has never mentioned it to her... He felt like he had an obligation to tell Xisuma though... He was the leader after all... He stood up from his bed.

"Pearl.. can you stay here?" Grian asked the girl.

"What? Why?? Whatever is going on, I want to know!" Pearl protested.

"You know, it's not fair to keep everything a secret from her," Xisuma said, looking towards Grian. He had a feeling of what was going on.

Grian sighed, "A Watcher visited me..."

Pearl gasped, "W-What?" She looked around herself and then down at the ground.

"Why?" Xisuma questioned.

"I-I— wanted answers! And I guess they knew that! I don't get it either!" Grian threw his hands in the air.

"Grian! That was extremely dangerous!" Xisuma shook his head, "Don't do that again!"

"I-It's not like I had a choice..."

Pearl was staring at the ground... She didn't understand why this was happening... Why was a Watcher contacting Grian? It made no sense to her... She slowly backs up away from the group. Thoughts flew through her head...

"I can't just choose wether these guys just pop up in my head!" Grian puts his head in his palms. He was stressing out... He didn't know who to trust... Taurtis or the Watcher... he wished he had someone to make that decision for him...

Xisuma gently placed a hand on Grian's shoulder, "I'm here for you... we all are. No matter what happens, Hermits stick together. And you are as much as a Hermit as the rest of us."

Grian smiled, "It feels better knowing that people have my back..."

"Always..." Xisuma smiled back through his helmet, "Now, why don't you tell me what happened with the Watcher?"

"Oh where do I begin?" Grian chuckled.

He began where anyone would begin... at the beginning. Grian told Xisuma about the endless hallway, the glowing figure, and the weird bird metaphor. Retelling it made Grian feel insane, but Xisuma made him feel a little more grounded.

Hermits stick together... That was the phrase that repeated through Grian's head.