MINECRAFT: Enders

Chapter Nine - Rankle And Ransom

Morpheus watched from a high-up cave as the young adventurers came running into the mountains on their horses with a pack mule and dog following behind them. He spotted Poet on the back of one of their horses and warbled a complaint. A Mob helping Crafters? Why, it was just unheard of and downright dishonorable. Morpheus knew the Extreme Hills Biome well for having lived in it for most of his life, so he figured he would find a way to lead the Dragon Seekers elsewhere and teleported.

His means of sabotage started off basic, a simple fork in the road with a sign, all he had to do was change the direction it faced in. The Dragon Seekers would get lost, and then there would be no worry about the Ender Dragon being slain. In fact, the more Morpheus thought about it, the more devious it seemed. With no food, the Dragon would become angry, and with that, the Dragon would rampage through villages and towns all across the World! Morpheus snickered vilely, then nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the adventurers coming up, so he teleported quickly.

"Okay!" Alex said as she slowed Sooty. "Which way do we go?"

"Well, this sign says that Ender Peak's on the right side, but I'm pretty sure we saw it on the left in the Badlands," said Steve. "We are getting closer, so maybe an Enderman or something moved the sign. This way!"

They went left, foiling Morpheus' plans to get them lost. No mind, he thought, he had another plan.

On the path heading toward Ender Peak was a Pillager Outpost and camp, there had to be at least twenty Illagers there, and Morpheus knew most of them (especially Captain Ransom) really well. Before Steve and Alex were within a chunk of the camp, Morpheus teleported right in the center.

"Hmm!" said a Pillager who was surprised by Morpheus' sudden appearance, but Morpheus merely warned him of the Crafters heading their way, and the Pillager nodded and saluted. "Hrhmm!"

The Pillager named Rankle ran back to the large Outpost covered in Vines and Leaves and went up the stairs to the top, where the Captain was with his stolen treasures.

"Hmm, hrm, hmm!" Rankle said, and Captain Ransom turned to face him, a glare in his eye.

"Ermm..." said Captain Ransom as he stood up and grabbed his Crossbow from off the wall. "Erm, Hm?"

"Hmm!" Rankle said dutifully, raising an arm to salute his Captain before hiding the stolen treasures they had inside of some Barrels.

"Ermm," responded Captain Ransom as he headed down stairs to prepare his kind for the entrapment of the adventurers.

Captain Ransom blew on his horn, just loud enough for the other Pillagers to hear. They came gathering around him in a circle, a few of them on their Ravagers' backs. Captain Ransom gave them a speech about the warning they received of the Dragon Seekers, and how the Captain worried that they would come to steal their treasures along the way. He told them that if they saw two Crafters and a Skeleton on horseback to capture them and to never let them go. The Pillagers saluted the idea, and scrambled to their posts around the path while Captain Ransom looked over the camp with a mightiness in his stance.

The Pillagers lowered their banners to hide that they were there, then they snuck into corners of the mountains to ambush the adventurers the minute they arrived. Morpheus rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he watched the Pillagers work to secure their base. Then Morpheus flinched and looked up at the sky. The heavy clouds were beginning to drip with rain and Morpheus grimaced, right as a raindrop fell on his face. He hissed in annoyance, then teleported somewhere out of the rain, which happened to be inside the Outpost.

Captain Ransom looked at him and chuckled, but Morpheus just grumbled. He despised water, some days he wished he could just go back to the End where there was not a drop of it, but as Lead Guard of the Dragon, that day would have to wait, and possibly a very long time. And he already had been in the Overworld for as long the Portal had been open.