The next morning, after the most delicious breakfast of Sapnap's life, the hunters packed up and were ready to go. The king led the group to the entrance of the castle, where they saw the sun rising over the horizon. "Alright, friends. It's time to see you off," Eret said. "Goodbye for now. My castle is always open."
The hunters bid the king a fond farewell, and began trailing down the staircase, all except for Ranboo. "Your Majesty, can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Oh, uhm, yes. Of course, Ranboo. What is it?"
The enderman hesitated for a moment, glancing nervously at his waiting companions. Despite them being a good distance away, Ranboo still felt anxious for even broaching the topic. "I- , uhm, I'd like to call in that life favor thing right now."
The monarch hummed. "This is rather sudden, but name it and its yours."
The sentient bit his lip, and said, "I need you to keep what happened here a secret, alright?"
Eret gave the enderman a puzzled look, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright. No problem. It'll be our little secret."
"Speaking of secrets," Ranboo transitioned, "this is going to sound kind of crazy, so don't freak out, but...there are piles of TNT under every building on the server. I need you to get rid of the ones in town before anyone finds out. Can you do that?"
Eret's jaw dropped in shock. "TNT?! What- How-"
Ranboo waved his arms frantically and violently shushed the king. "Don't freak out!" he whispered. "If word gets out, then everyone will panic, and we don't want that. We need to take care of this before anything happens, okay?"
"Right...," the king agreed. Eret paused for a moment, considering the situation, then asked, "Ranboo, how do you know all this?"
"I have a very reliable source," the halfling assured. "Do you trust me, Your Highness?"
"Without a doubt."
The tension built up in Ranboo's body suddenly left him, filling the hybrid with a sense of relief. "Good," he breathed. "Thank you."
The first phase of Ranboo's plan had worked out perfectly: he had saved King Eret from a hoard of dreamons, and alerted him to a major threat. To ensure things would go smoothly, the enderman hybrid decided to leave the monarch with reinforcements. "I'd like to leave Tubbo here to monitor your health, since you were- you know, almost possessed. The other hunters can help with the TNT."
Eret smiled, placing a hand on the sentient's shoulder. "Thank you, Ranboo. You've really thought of everything."
"I have."
A man on a mission, Ranboo ran down the first few steps, before turning back and adding, "Oh! And if you see any tunnels while you're digging, just ignore them!"
The humanoid proceeding past the band of dreamon hunters as he bolted off on his own. Techno watched with an open stare of confusion. "Did he just leave us here?"
Tubbo tried to think of a reason for this, but he couldn't think of any. "I-"
Suddenly, a message popped up on the hunters' communicators, sent directly from Ranboo: "Eret's got a job for you. Meet me at the prison when you're done!"
Right on que, the king clapped his hands to gain the group's attention. "Looks like we got some work to do, boys! Let's get moving!"
Phase 1 of Ranboo's plan is complete!! What will he do at the prison??
Will Dream try to kill him off in an enderwalk trance?? Vote to keep our enderboy safe!!
As always, thank you for all the reads and support! We're in the final stretch for the Watty's- let's hope we can finish this book in time!! <333
[Image Credits] "sunrise" (Cropped Slightly) by Sean MacEntee (https://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5783437672/)