#may 24 2022 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dmwrites · 2 years

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The plan was to be back before nightfall. And Impulse liked to stick to his plans. The universe, however, rarely complied to his plans, no matter now well-laid and thought out they were. And so now Impulse was trudging through the quickly darkening Sahara with no bed (he’d intended to be back before night, after all), a broken elytra (he’d forgotten to fix it), and a dead communicator (never let Zed “have a look” at anything you love or need).

“Of course this was the week Tango had to shut down all the nether portals. Of course! Couldn’t he have waited one more week so I could get the terracotta I needed! But no…” Impulse muttered bitterly, hiking his bag further up on his back. He was still thousands of blocks away from home, and had no way back other then to walk. “Stupid… it’s all stupid.”

He decided to climb a tree for the night. Sure, dwarves weren’t particularly known for their compatibility with trees, but the idea of being in a two by one dirt hole all night was just downright depressing. At least if there were mobs he could shoot them with a bow and hopefully not die and lose all of the terracotta. So, with the light almost gone from the sky and the all-too familiar sound of monster groans, Impulse made his way awkwardly up the jagged branches of a nearby acacia tree.

It didn’t take elven eyes, however, to see that there was something out here in the far-off wilderness. With the little light he had left at his disposal, Impulse could see an enormous stone structure built into the side of a mountain. It was a bit of a walk to get to it, but there were lights illuminating the structure, which was a lot more inviting then the tree tops.

Impulse decided to run for it, eyes fixed on the lights and nothing else. He could hear the ever-expanding collection of mobs gathering to chase him, and he hoped beyond hope that the door wasn’t locked.

The building- the closest thing Impulse could liken it to was a palace- was even more jaw-dropping close up. Even Impulse, who was running for his life, could appreciate that. It was huge, neck-craningly so. The doors alone were probably fifteen Impulses high. Not to mention the whole thing was intricately carved, work which probably had taken decades to complete.

“Please, please, please!” Impulse whispered, pounding up the stairs and finally reaching the giant double doors. There was no knobs, but there was a small crack between the two doors. Impulse wedged his axe blade between them and pulled back, hard, grunting, while the mob noises got louder and louder. There was a painful sounding grinding, and the door opened just enough for Impulse to squeeze through. There was a leather strap on the other side, which he pulled with all his strength. The door ground closed, and abruptly, there was silence. Not even mob sounds from the door. Just abrupt silence.

Impulse bent forward, hands on his knees, wheezing hard. He put his battle axe back in its holder on his belt, easily accessible but out of the way for the moment. After a few minutes of recovery, he began to take in his surroundings.

Now, as a dwarf, Impulse was used to stone halls and beautiful precious metals adorning the walls. As a hermit, he was used to the outlandish and decadent nature of some builds. But this, this was in a class beyond all of that, all he knew. The hall he found himself in was just as tall as the front doors- taller, probably. It was a huge room with soaring ceilings, carved from the stone of the mountain, but so much more. There was moss everywhere. At first glance, it could have been gardens brought from the outside, but no, this was all man-made. Every block of moss was deliberately placed. There were bushes and trees, but they shone in a way that trees didn’t, because every branch was adorned with refined jewels. Diamonds, emeralds, amethysts, even gold. Candles illuminated everything, casting strange shadows in odd places. There was a big golden throne against the wall, facing him, caked in moss. And right in the middle was a long shining checker-board floor; must be a ballroom. The room broke off into several long hallways, Impulse could see them careening off into the distance as he stepped further in.

The feelings of this place were ones like which Impulse had never experienced before. The candles were lit, so someone must be home. Right? But it felt so empty, like Impulse was at a party with silent watchers as the other guests. But there was no one, and no sound except his boots snapping against the floor.

He would call out, ask if anyone was here, but his voice felt almost stolen. He didn’t want to hear how it would bounce in this room; his imagination wondered if his voice would be saying something else back to him in echo.

He hesitated, now standing at the golden edges of the dance floor. Something deeply innate in him told him he needed to go stand in the middle of the floor. It was all so strange, like a call to a final scene. Impulse took out his battle axe just in case, admired the shine it had in the candlelight, and stepped onto the floor. He walked quickly until he was directly in the center. Still nothing. He turned on his heel slowly, taking in the room as it was probably made to be seen. Everything glowed dully back at him, neither ancient nor new.

“You are quite a ways from home, Impulsesv.”

Impulse spun back around, and there was someone lounging on the throne now, watching him. They was draped in green robes, almost like Scar’s elven ones but fuzzier. They had big eyes and a crown that threatened to droop over one eye. They stood and slowly walked towards Impulse.

Impulse cocked his head as the person approached. “Bdubs?” The word died in his throat, because it didn’t look… exactly like Bdubs. The man had darker skin then Impulse, and the same hair and affinity for moss (for it was moss on the dragging robes he wore). But the big eyes were a loud golden color, and the smile he wore was more of a smirk. There wasn’t that goofiness that Bdubs usually kept firmly all around him.

“Not… exactly.” The man Impulse knew as Bdubs said, now uncomfortably close to him. “I am the master of ceremony, the guardian of the tree of whimsey, the puzzle master, the moss king, the banisher of night. And, in these halls, I am the mountain king.” Bdubs raised his arms to the room. “So.” He continued, looking right in Impulse’s eyes. “What brings you to me, Impulsesv?”

“Uh, well, I was actually escaping the night myself. Mobs, you know?” Impulse chuckled nervously. “I didn’t know you were here, and I’m so, so sorry for intruding… I’ll just go.” Impulse took a step backwards, but Bdubs stepped with him.

“Dance with me. You are my guest, after all.” Bdubs said, holding up his hands. After a pause, Impulse stepped into the embrace, took the man’s hand, and they began a slow dance around the floor. There was no music. “Impulsesv. I know of you.”

“I- do you? I mean, I’m just some guy, really. A redstone innovator, if you wanna get technical about it.” Impulse tried to joke, but his voice shook a little. This was weird, this whole thing was weird. Like, boatem and moon big weird. Bdubs’, or this not-Bdubs guy’s eyes were so haunting. Almost blank, like staring right into a vat of molten gold. And he was smiling, almost too big for his face.

“No, no, Impulse, I’m talking about the man under this dwarven costume.” Bdubs nodded at him. “The demon.” For a second, Bdubs’ eyes flashed red. Impulse tried to step backwards, but Bdubs held him tight. They kept dancing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Impulse said firmly. There was fear racing through his body, but also a deep, inherent need to keep up with the moss man. He took the lead, looking right into those eyes he did not want to see turn red again, daring the thing that was his friend to take back control.

“Oh, don’t you?” Bdubs chuckled. “Big boy like yourself, practically bursting with dark power? Oh, I’m sure you know nothing of that.”

He didn’t. That was the whole thing, this whole back and fourth and power struggle. He wasn’t a demon. This being that was holding him in dance was calling him something he wasn’t. But why would Bdubs lie? A golden-eyed man wouldn’t be interested in just some human man, would he? Impulse’s breaths were not coming as easily now. The lights swam before him, candy-colored blurs. Bdubs had to be wrong, right? There was no way-

“I have to go.” Impulse blurted out and pulled away from the moss man’s embrace. He had a feeling that he couldn’t place an origin to that staying in dance with the mountain king would be like a parasitic vine on a tree, killing it slowly from the inside. “Listen, great place you have here, and thanks for the dance, but I gotta go. Now.”

Impulse walked to the front doors without looking back, and they opened after a second of tugging. Bdubs didn’t follow him. It was morning out, thank goodness, and Impulse descended the steps quickly. He kept waking until he knew he was out of sight of the mountain, and then he broke out into a sprint. Ran away from the golden and red eyes, the confusing knowing smile. The word “demon” ran through his head like an alarm bell. He pushed it away, knowing it was just a lie. A weird, super specific lie to tell.

Impulse paused by a lake, kneeled down to look at his own reflection. A troubled dwarf stared back at him. But under that he was just a man. Had only ever been just a man. But Bdubs had sounded so eerily confident in his words... Impulse decided that perhaps it was time to ask a few questions. Maybe even go to the Hermitcraft library, see if there was anything hidden in there. Anything to ease the quell of anxiety and wrongness that had permeated Impulse’s mind like fog.

#May 24 2022 #fic #hermitcraft #s9 #impulsesv #long post

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