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Chapter 3 | A New Home

WC: 2010
Warnings: Slight description of a panic attack

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Ranboo was given a place to stay in Scar's starter base until Xisuma could figure out what had gone wrong with his internal code.

"It's like the code was tampered with," X had explained to Ranboo over a video call while he was traveling with Cleo and others in the nether hub. "It erased any information that was there originally. It's rare, but it can happen—usually it's caused by glitches in servers, so I'll have to dig through the world code to see if there are any remnants. That's the best way I can start, though..." he trailed off, seemingly not wanting to trouble Ranboo any more than he had already.

"Anyway. It'll take a while," he'd warned. "Like I said, I can't guarantee how long it'll take for your code to be fixed. Then there's the matter of getting you back to your home server..."

The video call ended abruptly after that. That was fine with Ranboo—he didn't want to receive any more bad news right now anyway.

Cleo had pulled Ranboo aside after that. She'd been walking with Scar and Grian in front for the majority of the trip, so Ranboo was surprised she hung back to talk to him.

"I've asked Scar to lend his starter base to you," she'd said. "I would have you stay with me, but I've got a bunch of creatures to take care of at my base. Stupid monsters—they keep breaking out of their cages and running around. Or flying. Who knows at this point. Anyway, it's not really a safe place to stay; at least I know how to wrangle them up."

Ranboo had only understood a few bits of what she'd said, but he'd nodded anyway.

"You'll like Scar's starter base. It's very cozy. And, of course, I'll be sure to come check on you every now and then."

At the time, Ranboo had been surprised by how caring Cleo had been to him—especially since they had only met. He'd quickly learned, though, that that was just the Hermits' natures.

He now stood with Scar in front of a worn-down wooden gate. Paper lanterns hung from the archway, and a cobbled path started just beyond the gate entrance.

Behind the gate stood a giant snail. Ranboo wasn't joking--it was bigger than a village cathedral. Its shell was a soft brown, and it had left a trail of green slime behind it. Strangely enough, it had a few diamond blocks dangling from its face like a beard—a diamond beard? Ranboo didn't know which was odder: The idea that Scar had put that as a weird flex, or the idea that the snail had grown the beard on its own.

The snail craned its head to peer at Ranboo. It stared at him with what Ranboo could only describe as a blank expression—it might have not been the brightest creature. Then its gaze shifted over to Scar, and it let out a quiet squeaking sound that sounded almost like a noise of affection for Scar. The scene might have been cute if the snail couldn't have literally run over Ranboo if it wanted to.

"This is Larry," Scar said. "He's a part of my starter base, too."

"You lived in a giant snail before you built your current base?" Ranboo asked.

"Well, the snail's shell. Not, you know, the actual snail. But yes. I also lived in the part behind you."

Ranboo turned and looked past the wooden gates. The rest of Scar's starter base consisted of a dozen or so houses, all built in a fantasy-cottage style. They formed a loose circle around a centerpiece that resembled a crystal jutting out from the ground. Enormous trees flanked the outskirts of the village with hanging wooden bridges connecting them.

Ranboo noticed his jaw had dropped like it had when he first saw the Shopping District. Unlike Cleo, though, Scar thankfully took no notice. "Welcome to the Magical Village!" he said.