The auction would not be held in the coliseum.

This deserved a separate space on the server dedicated to nothing but the sale of people, a place with the appropriate amount of bells and whistles to make the illegal act seem almost appealing to those that engaged in it but who still had a smidge of morality in their bodies. Somewhere ornate and hidden, where they could masque their dirty market from the public eye.

Technoblade did not care when two handlers arrived to take them there. He was prepared, or as prepared as he could be under the given circumstances. The communicator was hidden on his person, and he had gotten Ranboo to eat and drink as much as he could stomach – who knew how long it would be before either of them could get a proper meal again.

Whatever it would take, they would break out.

They were shackled properly this time, no more flimsy ropes. Dark blackened metal cuffs with curse of unbinding, because the universe was cruel and prone to make things harder for Technoblade than they had any right being. Chat was already giving him the good ol' L routine.

It was just another small hitch in the continued disaster that their escape attempts had been so far.

Outside, several more slaves had been lined up to be auctioned off. Techno saw the woman who had broken his nose during one of his first fights, and a younger boy he'd seen mucking about the armory as a helper. One handler took the front and one the back, while the others kept on either side to keep their merchandise from wandering. Mel was among them, walking to the side of Ranboo and not making any eye contact. It all was a little too rehearsed to instill any confidence that they'd make a mistake.

And thus, little chance that there would be a good opportunity.

Nobody spoke – Technoblade knew the handlers would have told them to shut up if they'd tried – and before long they were near the back of another building. Techno looked up at the windows, curtains drawn, sloped roof and cornered in on either side by more houses. It didn't look all too different from the auction house back on Hypixel, only that they were being brought in through the rear entrance instead of the front. Because they were delivered wares, not potential costumers.

The handler who had been ahead slammed their fist on the door three times then waited. A few seconds later it was opened, the gruff-looking fellow who had answered it gave them all a cursory glance before standing aside to let them in.

What they were let into could only be described as a backroom at best, and that was when Techno was being generous. Crates lined the walls almost high enough to touch the ceiling and it was a mess of items the store probably sold on the regular. They were being sent a different direction though, through another door behind which a staircase to the basement was hiding. Techno memorized as much as he could – knowing Ranboo was doing the same by how his eyes flicked around the room – all small details they would need to remember to get out in a hurry later.

Then they got to the basement itself and it was like when they first arrived at the market all over again.

From what Techno could see, they had broken out the walls of the basements on the neighboring houses to enlarge their own, making it almost triple its original size. The walls and floors were decorated with plush carpetings and drapes, chandeliers, flowers, gold framework – anything to make it not feel as cellar-y anymore. And the most eye-catching element of all was the stage set front and center at the other end of the room, a gaudy wooden contraption where the auctioneer would do their thing.

The salesroom already had plenty of people in it – both slaves and interested buyers - the first of which were put on display along the walls with their own little wooden podiums just large enough for one person to stand on. Techno tried not to look at them as they passed them by, tried not to think of how these people were probably even worse of than them. Taken from their homes and brought to this server by slave traders willing to sell them off to who knows where.

He had to focus on his current goals. Get out, get Ranboo home safe. Then come back and destroy this place.

The podiums had a metal ring set in their bottoms to which the shackles around their wrists could attach. The handlers set Techno up on one, Ranboo on the next. They left and just like that they were alone. Or as alone as one could be in a room full of strangers.

"This is cozy," Techno said.

Ranboo wheezed, a half laugh half sound of distress. "Better than the box, much better than the box." His tail flicked. "Anything better than the box." Calling it a box somehow helped him deal with what happened. Techno didn't argue.

Two owners sauntered over to them. They were watching the slaves they passed with disinterest, sneering in disgust at most of them. When they got to Techno the woman tried to move on immediately without giving him a second glance, eyes set on something else. But the man whose arm she was chronically clinging to stopped, looking him up and down. He seemed to consider for a moment before deciding against it and turning his attention to whatever had his companion in such a trance.

Which was Ranboo.

"Oh, look at this one!" She spoke about Ranboo as if he wasn't perfectly capable of hearing and understanding her. "Isn't it just darling? What strange hair-" Leaning up on tiptoes to touch it, she was only held back by the man pulling her away a step.

"Don't touch it. It hasn't been trained yet, who knows what it'll do?"

"I uh, I don't bite." Ranboo looked bashful, almost as if he'd be ashamed to speak out. Or maybe he just didn't know if they'd expect him to.

Either way, the woman giggled. "It's adorable. Can we take it home?"

"Hm..." the man considered Ranboo carefully. "Enderman, huh? Rare. It's gonna be expensive."

Letting go of his arm, the woman crossed her own with a pout. Like a child throwing a tantrum over being denied a toy they had been promised. "You said I could get anything I wanted today."

Technoblade wanted to puke in his mouth.

Her husband watched her with a fond smile, reached out to cup her cheek. "Yes, of course, Dear. We'll see about getting it, yeah? Pick out some other favorites just in case though."

The encounter left Techno feeling bizarre, otherworldly. This was the kind of thing hybrids grew up hearing about in cautionary bedtime stories, tales to scare unruly children into obeying their parents and not running off in crowded places. Sure, part of him had always known there was some truth to the myths – part of him had known slave trading was a real thing. A thing hybrids and humans alike fell victim to if the others 'on sale' in this room were any proof.

But there was such a difference between that and these people who were treating a slave auction no different than they would a trip down to the local market to buy a pet.

Others passed to stare at them too. Ranboo got a lot of attention, his uniqueness drawing in not only possible buyers but anyone wanting to see what an enderman hybrid looked like. He was clearly struggling with having that many eyes on him. None of the owners cared for his comfort – which might perfectly illustrate what his life would be should one of them decide to buy him.

Some people were interested in Techno also, as Mel had predicted they seemed to be mercenaries and similar types looking to buy up skilled but affordable army recruits. Techno didn't pay them much mind, focussing on all the other things going on in the room. Still searching for an opening to escape.

Nothing, absolutely nothing. They were running out of time.

He didn't find anything helpful as the room slowly filled even more and then the auctioneer took their place on the stage. One by one the slaves were brought up to the front and bid on, the screaming loud and distracting Technoblade from what he was trying to do. He kept searching until a handler came to unhook his shackles and lead him forth to be sold, an animal brought to slaughter.

The auctioneer was a young, distinct-looking person with slicked hair, pulled tight into a low ponytail. Their eyes were big, deep-set, and sparkled in the room's dazzling light. They read out loud from a piece of paper.

"Next thing up is a piglin hybrid. Good condition, some wear and tear but nothing that should keep it from doing its job according to the sellers. It has experience in fighting and has been trained at the arena to become one of their most feared warriors."

Wow, Techno was almost impressed by them spouting such bold lies with a straight face. They had hardly finished their sentence before the first bid was made, by one of the guys who had been looking at Techno earlier. It went back and forth between people for a bit while steadily rising until a clear voice rang out over the others to double the prize.

It was the general Technoblade had fought in the arena.

At their offer, everybody else fell silent. Suddenly, nobody seemed interested in bidding anymore. Either this man's reputation was holding them back or they didn't see the worth in spending that much on a disposable recruit. Pleased, the man waited for the auctioneer to finish his spiel and wrap up.

"Going once... going twice..." They left it in the air, but nobody was going to butt in this late. "Sold to the gentleman in the atrocious uniform." Their quip got a small chuckle out of the crowd at least. The general grinned thinly, unamused.

The same handler removed Techno from the stage again. One down, one to go.

And he hadn't come any closer to figuring out their next plan.